Upper West Side Soweto - Articles - Zimbio

Move Over Vampire Weekend, Ra Ra Riot Take Over

Sat, 21 Sep 2008 17:59:01 GMT

posted by musicunderfire

Its worth mentioning them again since our 300th post, but Ra Ra Riot have already made a big impression on music this year. Perhaps its the similarity of Wes Miles' vocals to that of Vampire Weekend's Ezra Koenig. The similarity is unmissable, maybe even obvious, yet Ra Ra Riot seem to be the sleeper here. Already sitting on top of this years greatest albums, many music critics have marked Vampire Weekend's self-titled debut a must have, but have they spoken too soon?

If you're like me, and like to kick the popularity to the side, lift the cover and see who else has a great shot at it, perhaps you should give Ra Ra Riot's The Rhumb Line (released on Aug 19th) a sip and see how it swallows. The vocal similarity is there, yes, but if I had to match any of VW's songs to Ra Ra Riot's "Can You Tell Me", I would have to choose the latter.

The group, who hails from Syracuse, NY is yet another band to veer away from the norm in terms of band setups too. Not only do they work the guitar, drums and vocals angle (no bass), but they've consist of two more string intstruments a cello (Alexandra Lawn) and violinist (Rebecca Zeller). I can't say enough how much depth this adds to their sound, which is one reason The Rhumb Line could be a late surprise this year to top many other favorites we may have already had.

MP3: Ra Ra Riot - Can You Tell Me (buy)
MP3: Vampire Weekend - Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa (buy)

Official - http://www.rarariot.com/
MySpace - http://www.myspace.com/rarariot

NEW REMIX #3 : Vampire Weekend - "Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa" (The Teenagers Remix)

Fri, 4 Oct 2008 15:28:10 GMT

posted by chanteusesanders

Vampire Weekend - Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa (The Teenagers Remix)

Vampire Weekend's lost in the hemisphere of Radiohead and TV on the Radio. What could've happened to them? Well, as of now they've released Ottoman for the movie Nick and Nora's Infinite Playlist, but if they continue on releasing amazing tracks like this remix, we'd surely be tailing them for a long time. Jesus, I'm loving the Teenagers more and more each day.

Here is the rest of the list:

NEW REMIX #1 : Madonna - "Music" (Groove Armada Remix)

NEW REMIX #2 : Frank Musik - When You're Around (Boys Noize Remix)

NEW REMIX #4: The Killers - "Human" (Christian Vorbau Remix)

NEW REMIX #5 : M.I.A. - Planes Booty (Atomic Hooligan Remix)

NEW REMIX #6 : Radiohead - "Reckoner" (Diplo Remix)

NEW REMIX #7 : Get Lucky (Twelves Remix) - New Young Pony Club
How'd I do?

Vampire Weekend - Live Music Mondays*

Sun, 25 Aug 2008 12:50:00 GMT

posted by ATARICOOLKIDS

Vampire Weekend is an indie rock band from New York City, formed in 2006 and signed to XL Recordings. Their moniker is derived from lead singer Ezra Koenig's amateur film of the same name. The film centers around a younger Ezra fighting off vampires in scary masks.

In 2007, Vampire Weekend's song, "Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa", was ranked 67th on Rolling Stone's list of the 100 Best Songs of the year. In November 2007, they toured the United Kingdom with The Shins. They were declared "The Year's Best New Band" by Spin magazine in the March 2008 issue, and were the first band to be shot for the cover of the magazine before releasing their debut album.
In 2008, Vampire Weekend were dubbed the "whitest band" by Salon writer Christian Lander.

Vampire Weekend: Vampire Weekend

Sun, 11 Aug 2008 16:45:00 GMT

posted by mth13009
This Band, I discovered last week while on my Myspace. There was a video for the song "Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa", I watched the video and decided to get the album. Ok, to the review.

Vampire Weekend (the band), is perhaps, one of the most unique bands I have ever heard. Their style is apparently influenced by popular African music, western classical, and 80's new wave... The result, this band. Their most popular song, "Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa" ranked 67th on Rolling Stone's top 100 songs of the year list, and is my favorite in the album. The lead singer has a very unique style of singing that can be startling if you have never heard them before (like me). Other favorite songs on this album include "M79" and "Walcott", both songs hooked me with the intros alone. Personally, I enjoy most of the music on this album, one of the problems is that the music strikes me as a casual band... What i mean by this is that, I don't think I could ever call this band a favorite, it doesn't impact my music taste by much, you could have different feelings but these are mine. The only other problem I had was that the songs all sound to similar... Many of the songs are good, but they all sound similar to each other, with few differing... The only songs i found were different from the others were the three i mentioned previously. Either way, its a good album, but it's style is very unique, so listen before you buying it.

In all I give this 6 of 10

And remember, if you have an album you want reviewed, just leave a comment!

Best Albums Of January 2008

Thu, 1 Feb 2008 04:59:00 GMT

posted by TWSIS

2008 started out with a busy month full of strong releases. Here are my favorites:

Vampire Weekend – Vampire Weekend | buy it at amazon
Vampire Weekend self-describes their music as “Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa” and “Upper West Side Soweto.” The band is a foursome that connects with the upscale, liberal areas of Cape Cod or Upper West Side Manhattan and the South West Townships of South Africa that is known for an uprising against apartheid in 1976. They play indie rock that is influenced by African pop, like the Conga dance rhythm kwassa kwassa. You can read what you want into this band, but they play intelligent, syncopated rock that swells with its guitar and keyboard melodies and drives with its percussive rhythms.

The Helio Sequence – Keep Your Eyes Open | buy it at amazon
Download “Keep Your Eyes Ahead” (mp3)
Every time I listen to this album, it sounds like a combination of Band Of Horses and Modest Mouse. There are layers of resounding guitars, mellifluous keyboards, benevolent reverberation, and dexterous rhythms. Beneath the production, however, you can hear the roots of folk songs that developed into resonant pop songs.

Jeffrey Lewis – 12 Crass Songs | buy it at amazon
Anti-folk singer-songwriter and comic book artist Jeffrey Lewis released the best cover album of the month. Originally released in the UK in October 2007, 12 Crass Songs finally came stateside. Adapting 12 songs by the anarchic punk band Crass, Lewis breathes life into the songs with his acoustic guitar. The simplistic production of this album highlights the intelligence and despondent pragmatism cynicism of Crass’s lyrics.

Thao Nguyen – We Brave Bee Stings And All | buy it at amazon
Download “Beat (Health, Life And Fire)” (mp3)
Download “Bag Of Hammers” (mp3)
With a sultry voice, Thao Nguyen presents her hypnotic take on folk rock. “Bag Of Hammers” is one of my favorite songs of the month with its rollicking, repetitive rhythms and tuneful melody. The songs on this album are based in Thao’s acoustic guitar playing, but are backed by driving but controlled drums and well placed compliment of banjo, mandolin, piano, and more.

MGMT - Oracular Spectacular | buy it at amazon
This electronic rock duo has found a way to mix the sounds of The Verve, Muse, and Big Star with the mock earnestness of The Flaming Lips. “Time To Pretend,” the opening and standout track, records how the band “pretends” they became the big hit. “This is our decision/ To live fast and die young/ We’ve got the vision/ Now let’s have some fun// Yeah, it’s overwhelming/ But what else can we do/ Get jobs in offices/ and wakeup every morning with you.”

Tyler Ramsey - A Long Dream About Swimming Across The Sea | buy it at amazon
This is a relaxing release. It makes complex compositions sound simple. His voice bears a strong resemblance to Neil Young and Ben Bridwell, Ramsey’s Band Of Horses band mate. This album is padded with mollifying and skillful acoustic guitar playing.

The Spectacular Fantastic – Consume / Reward | buy Consume at 75orlessreocrds | download Reward here
Download “Limitless And Free” (mp3) from Consume
Download “Feelings” (mp3) from Reward
This is a combination of 2 EPs, one to purchase (Consume) and one to download (Reward), that bring together 10 tracks for a total of 25 minutes worth of indie power pop. Consume demonstrates more of the diverse elements of The Spectacular Fantastic. For example, within the first 1:30 of “I Don’t Want To Live,” which is only 2:31 long, the guitar tones switch from propulsive clean tones to overdriven, darker ones, before turning back to a cleaner, more subdued tone. And it works!

Times New Viking - Rip It Off | buy it at amazon
Download "(My Head)" and "R.I.P. Allegory" (mp3)
Download "DROP-OUT" (mp3)
This lo-fi trio from Columbus, OH, released 2 previous records that lead to their signing with Matador Records. Moving to a more prominent indie label did not change the sound of the band’s recordings. The short punk songs were recorded with harsh, clipped sounds, much like The Paisley Reich, but somehow this noisy rock is mesmerizing and abrasively haunting.

The Motion Sick - The Truth Will Catch You, Just Wait... | buy it here
Download "30 Lives" (mp3)
This album puts the vocals front and center. The lyrics are full of existential and potent subjects, but with whimsical hedonism. There are references to revenge and murder mixed with quips about mood rings and Nintendo cheat codes and a Joy Division cover.

Black Mountain - In The Future | buy it at amazon | buy the limited edition version at amazon
Download "Tyrants" (mp3)
Full of psychedelic, prog rock, and stoner rock, Black Mountain returns for their sophomore release. In The Future it’s still the 70’s. Anthemic and epic songs full of classic rock guitar virtuosity will still be main aural pleasure.

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