The Animal Show » MGMT

Are You Immuzed?

dfjacobs — Thu, 08 Apr 2010 15:00:05 +0000

It’s been more than a year since we last checked in with Alfredo Lapuz Jr, or, as he’s known on the streets, Immuzikation. His absurd skills have surprisingly only managed to improve with time. To say that he’s thumpin’ out the hits is an outrageous understatement. While none of these tracks are iPad new, the thought of you not having them in your iTunes kept me up last night, well, that and the cocaine. How he was able to blend the tremendous hits “Ambling Alp” and “Giving Up the Gun” so seamlessly that it actually sounds like one song, I’ll never know. Immuzikation is truly a master of his craft, and an artist who should absolutely be watched. With his abundance of talent, no one can be certain what Mr. Lapuz will do next, but I can promise you it will be miraculous. And thus endeth another installment of “Mailing It In” with your host, David Jacobs.

Author insert a music with WS Audio Player
(Download) this music.

Giving Up the Alp (Vampire Weekend vs. Yeasayer) – Immuzikation (YSI)

Author insert a music with WS Audio Player
(Download) this music.

One More Time to Pretend (MGMT vs Daft Punk) – Immuzikation (YSI)

Author insert a music with WS Audio Player
(Download) this music.

Sleepydream – Immuzikation (YSI)

Immuzikation is AMAZING

Congratulations, Volume Two Leaked

dfjacobs — Tue, 23 Mar 2010 15:00:29 +0000

How many hipsters does it take to fix a leak?

Since I have been voted commander in chief of your musical enlightenment (by myself), a responsibility I very nearly take seriously, I spent the better part of my Sunday night (about 3 minutes) isolated for profound reflection and diligent research. In that seemingly interminable time, I had storyboarded an entire weeks worth of articles, only to be awoken by a cyber blitzkrieg of music news. I was so consumed by my prolific plans that I did not check the news wires until Monday morning (very late afternoon). For those of you who are not on spring break and do not have immeasurable time on your hands, She & Him’s Volume Two and MGMT’s Congratulations both leaked over the weekend. Now one of these album’s leakage is far more noteworthy than the other. Many of you are probably asking, “did he write that sentence because he had always dreamed of using the word leakage in a public forum?” Absolutely I did, but I also think that it really is the proper conjugation in this context. I digress. Volume Two was intended to be released today anyhow, so its slightly premature arrival does little for anyone outside of those select individuals who believe Zooey Deschanel and Sonic the Hedgehog to be on neighboring levels of awesomeness. Congratulations on the other hand, was not supposed to be released for another 21 days (but who’s counting). The two albums not only represent polar opposites in terms of content, but also in what they mean for the careers of their respective creators. Now because I know most of you care more about MGMT, I’ll begin with She & Him.

Volume Two is exactly what one would expect as the sophomore release from Queen of the Hipsters Zooey Deschanel and her ever-so-talented compatriot M. Ward. Her Royal Highness Deschanel diverges little from her successful Volume One except perhaps in exhibiting more shrewdness about her range. She continues to perform her classic lighthearted lyrics sung in her raspy, smile inducing voice. And while the album sounds nothing like an archetypal M. Ward release, his producing and arranging fingerprints are strewn about the record. The majority of the record is given a 60’s and 70’s oldies arrangement to accompany Zooey’s vintage voice, which is often layered atop itself for smile inducing harmonies. There’s absolutely something Beach Boys-ian in many of the melodies, in addition to heavy influences of early R&B. This volume, much like its predecessor, goes down exceedingly smoothly, like my pick up lines on the hard of hearing, until of course, they are told what I said.

On it’s first listen, Congratulations goes down about as smoothly as ten year-old dfjacobs trying to get into the 20/20 club or the highly explicit diatribe I gave to my 5th grade English teacher. It’s distant, completely unexpected and at some points abrasive. MGMT depart from their idyllic dance-pop on Oracular Spectacular and morph into futuristic psychedelics. The Brooklyn duo of Ben Goldwasser and Andrew VanWyngarden responded to the leak by streaming it on their own website with the message, “Hey everybody, the album leaked, and we wanted you to be able to hear it from us. We wanted to offer it as a free download but that didn’t make sense to anyone but us.” whoismgmt.com seems to be a genius web address, mirroring the thought process of most of the band’s listeners. The album requires many listens before its endearing qualities are fully appreciated, and for those of you waiting for the “Kids-ian” or “Time to Pretend-esque” song, you will be heartily disappointed. The duo said that they didn’t truly understand why Oracular Spectacular became so popular on mainstream airwaves, and that they did not believe themselves to be a pop group, but rather a rock band. Whether you love the new direction or hate it, you have to respect their gravitas. They could have easily created the mainstream dance-pop follow-up and sold a million more records, but they tried something different. While I’m still on the fence about how fantastic their creation is (it’s growing on me massive amounts with every listen), I respect the hell out of them for trying it.

I apologize for writing such an epic, and I promise to return to my Zooey Deschanel-esque light-hearted elegance tomorrow. In the meantime, enjoy some of my favorite tracks from each record.

Author insert a music with WS Audio Player
(Download) this music.

In the Sun – She & Him (YSI)

Author insert a music with WS Audio Player
(Download) this music.

Me and You – She & Him (YSI)

Author insert a music with WS Audio Player
(Download) this music.

Someone’s Missing – MGMT (YSI)

Author insert a music with WS Audio Player
(Download) this music.

Brian Eno – MGMT (YSI)

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times

Edward — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 16:15:27 +0000

Miss ya already

It was the summer of 2009. Everyone died. Seth McFarlane tried to make Family Guy among those deaths, but the American people showed their loyalty and continued to watch stubbornly despite its increasing idiocy. Meanwhile, the Animal Show was put very quietly on life support. For a while there we weren’t sure if Frosted Miniguns and the rest of the family was going to be able to pull through. My fellow writers and I waited anxiously in the sterile hallways of Internet Hospital; IcebergXC in his morbid obesity scooter, the 6-11 Marquis Meowmers squatting due to the low virtual height of the ceiling, Dave flitting in and out of visibility as he is wont to do, and Rookie of the Year David in his little incubator. (Because he’s a baby to the Show. Get it?) Meanwhile, I got my hand stuck in an ice machine, because I LOVE SCRUBS. But just then, when things looked bleakest, the Show got up on its confusingly metaphoric hind legs and stampeded through That Guy Who Directed Home Alone and Ferris Bueller’s Day Off Memorial Hospital, trampling all the decrepit websites on its whirlwind way out. And let me tell you, man, I was worried for a minute there. But, quoth Dumbledore (or someone similarly old and white): the night is always darkest before Batman shows up. Or something. So now, the reference you’ve been waiting for off and on since mid-July or so:

Aaaaand we’re baaack!

Though the 2009-2010 academic blogging year may be off to a bad start, what with the Jimmy Fallon skit link and all, I can promise you that the Animal Show is here to stay. Update your homepage, kids. This is about to be your one-stop shop for all the music your ears can take in. Which is to say I’m aiming for at least 3 posts a week. Luckily, I’ve got some extra help, because I’m officially taking little yellow Voldemort baby David out of his incubator and making him enough drink blood potion to resuscitate him, so that I’ll have to make myself confusingly half-dead to kill him, if I ever want to do that. But I would never want to kill David, because, as I said, he’s about to Run This Town.

And, with that deftly-incorporated reference, we’re back to talking about music. But before I address that catastrophuck, allow me to briefly comment on everything else that happened this summer, because I know you’ve been dying for more of my opinions. So, to wrap up:

The new Harry Potter movie sucked; Dirty Projectors are pretty cool; Michael Jackson is dead; “I Gotta Feelin” is the song of the summer (2 out of 5 Animal Show staffers agree!); Mad Men is a show I watch; Two-suit Spider Solitaire is hard, but a lot easier than four-suit Spider Solitaire; Chinatown is the filthiest place on earth, short of Trenton, NJ; E-603’s new album is pretty dope; President Bartlet has MS; Where the Wild Things Are will be enjoyable; It’s “The Climb,” ya’ll; I have seasonal allergies; IcebergXC is nicer in real life than in internet world.

I’ll almost certainly elaborate on several of those in the weeks to come, but for now, allow me to tell you what’s new:

Nothing.

It’s gonna be business as usual around these parts, albeit a much more frequent “business as usual.” I am considering taking the dramatic plunge from wordpress.com to wordpress.org, which would only mean webhosted mp3s as something new for you, but that’s none of your business. For now, just sit back, relax, and enjoy a few hand-picked songs from my summer, which are sure to be your new best friends.

Author insert a music with WS Audio Player
(Download) this music.

If I Ever Feel Better – Phoenix (Mega) (YSI)

Author insert a music with WS Audio Player
(Download) this music.

Kids (feat. MGMT) – Chiddy Bang (Mega) (YSI)

I've Just Been Falcon Punched in the Ear.

Edward — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 16:34:40 +0000

Show me your moves, indeed.

After a lengthy spring break from the Show, ably handled by my co-captains with covers, mashes, and MSPainted shutters galore, I’m back in full force. It’s Edward time, bitches. And I’ve decided that, with the extra time SB09 has given me, I’m going to be treating all ya’ll to some full album recommendations. It’s gonna be the beginning of a weekly album feature, where we try to turn you onto sweet gems, new, old, hip and forgotten. Quick! Sweep everything off your desk in a symbolic room-making gesture. It’s Show time. Animal Show time.

Coming at you first is a monsterpiece of a compositional sampling album from some sweet dudes called Super Mash Bros., who have unleashed “Fuck Bitches. Get Euros.” on the world. For the uninitiated of you, compositional sampling is the full-album kind of mash-upping, a la Girl Talk and my personal favorite, E-603. The problem is that, at this point, many of the potential matches have been played out. Hence Mash Bros. promise to be “Girl Talk’s hot cousin,” and obviously one who’s sporting sweet nineties jorts, an oversized polo, long, long blonde hair and spunky sneaks. And, like every good mash-up album, it’s got the sort of moments that make you grin with the brilliance of the pairing.

For sampling purposes, I’m providing 4 of the tracks streaming. I’ll let them more or less speak for themselves, but let me fill you in on what you’re not hearing: In “D.G.A.F.L.Y.F.”, there’s a bone-chilling mix of “Crank That” and DaRude’s deathless “Sandstorm,” which will make your grandmother break both her hips with some serious heel-toeing. In “Testarossas for Everyone!” we find yet another “Say Yeah”/”Better off Alone” mash, coming tied to Li’l Mama’s “Lip Gloss.” I should be tired of all these songs, but, damn it all if they don’t keep getting better. Also, I think the Bros should get mega points for the moment in their brilliantly-titled “Broseidon, Lord of the Brocean,” where Imogen Heap’s “Hide and Seek” is paired with “Tipsy,” which then transitions into “Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger” and Death Cab’s “Title and Registration.” One other serious highlight is Modest Mouse’s “Float On” flowing into Sixpence None the Richer’s “Kiss Me,” both bouncing over “Miss New Booty,” which has me grinning ear to ear as I type. And if “I Fucking Bleed Purple and Gold” doesn’t sell you with its “Kids” vs. Eminem moment, don’t read my blog, dammit, because you obviously have feet for ears and snot for brains.

Listen, download, dance:

Author insert a music with WS Audio Player
(Download) this music.

I’m Onto Something (That’s What She Said) – Super Mash Bros.

Author insert a music with WS Audio Player
(Download) this music.

I Fucking Bleed Purple and Gold – Super Mash Bros.

Author insert a music with WS Audio Player
(Download) this music.

Stop That Booty (Here We Come) – Super Mash Bros.

Author insert a music with WS Audio Player
(Download) this music.

Meet Me at Fantasy Island – Super Mash Bros.

Download the album for free here. Listening to this album will be the best half hour of your day.

Super Mash Bros. will make you poop gold. It's a fact.

Ziggy Stardust Remixed…ALBUM

icebergxc — Thu, 12 Mar 2009 18:31:40 +0000

This is where the reference is illustrated with the subtlety of a cranial cudgeling.

Gloriously, Every once in a while, several members of the mashup community collaborate on a project, or at least happen to all mash/remix common songs, and then realize it. It’s usually pretty good (maybe we’ll see a few more here in the future) but sometimes its so bad you must have it. Imagine an ENTIRE MASHUP ALBUM of Rick Astley’s hit! Or EIGHTEEN permutations of “I Kissed a Girl”!

If you’re tiring of this earth, let David Bowie and a team of DJs space you out for a bit. This gem is great for all you Bowie fans who also like funky, beepy remixes and mashups, as well as the occasional quote from Star Wars and E.T. The Extraterrestrial. My favorites so far are the A+D mashup Stardust Kids (David Bowie vs. MGMT), and Starman (ATOM’s Space Funk Journey). Check the tags for a list of who’s in or around this album.

Beep Boop.

Ziggy Stardust Remixed – (Full album, .zip file)

The Animal Show Rocks You Into 2009: Part II

Edward — Sat, 27 Dec 2008 20:16:50 +0000

THE GHOST OF NEW YEAR'S PAST!

It’s 1 PM on a Saturday, which means that, after waking up at the crack of noon, it’s high time for some BLOGGING. Can I get an “amen?”

Anyway, I’m delivering you the party jamz again today, in the form of two mash-ups. You know you love them, and these are the best. Definitively. I like mash-ups for the same reason I like putting “Better Off Alone” and “Say Yeah” on the same mix: because it totally screws with your friends. And if that isn’t what New Year’s is about, I don’t have a witty thing to say.

Get em after the br8k.

Electric Touch (Steve 1der & Mighty Mi Remix) – Kanye West vs. MGMT

wutt wutt?? MGMT IS A BAND!

Wamp Wamp Kwassa It Do (Vampire Weekend vs. Clipse) – Les Bank Robbers

Related posts:

The Animal Show Rocks You Into 2009: Part VI

The Animal Show Rocks You Into 2009: Part III

The Animal Show Rocks You Into 2009: Part I

My Top 10 Albums of 2008

Edward — Tue, 23 Dec 2008 19:02:59 +0000

Only 8 days left to wear these!

I know, I know, dear readers. You’ve been so very patient these past 24 hours waiting for this, and I appreciate it. Well, now you can stop sending me hate emails, and feast your eyes and ears on this cornucopia of musical goodness. Just in time for Christmas Eve.

Did you know making year-end lists is hard? I really hadn’t counted on there being so much writing involved in blogging. I thought it was all about writing funny things over people’s faces in MS Paint. Dagg, yo. Anyway, I wrote many many words, and I hope you read at least one out of every 5. That’s really what I’m going for.

Catch the list after the break.

10) MGMT – Oracular Spectacular: Technically a 2007 release, I’m including this because the physical release was 2008. And because I don’t care to split hairs. I liked this album a lot, but not as much as some people (deep, right?). Mainly, I was turned off by the album art. What the hell, guys? Do you think you’re cooler than me? I can paint my face, too. Anyway, there are some sweet tracks on here, which have inspired some even sweeter remixes. Check em both out.

MGMT – Electric Feel

9) Esau Mwamwaya – The Very Best Mixtape: I do a lot of reading the internets for music. Presumably, you do too, unless you’re my dad, in which case, Hi, Father. Anyway, in September, the entirety of the information superhighway was blowing up with news of this dude, Esau Mwamwaya (pronounce his name just by reading it so fast that noone can tell the difference). He was totally bringing afro-pop into the world-wide-web generation, man. He sang Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa! Totes out-Africa’d Vampy Weekend! And then he released this super-sweet mixtape for free, and I was all like, dang, bro, this is sum hawt shitt. You’ll prolly be like that, too.

Esau Mwamwaya – Funa Funa

8 ) Cut Copy – In Ghost Colours: The word “Colours” snagged me, although this album has the dubious distinction of being the only one on this list I purchased at Pitchfork’s recommendation. To be fair, I bought it because I was going to Pitchforkfest (which I cannot recommend highly enough), and they were one of the bands on the lineup I hadn’t heard of. I was not disappointed. My major criticism of Pitchfork is their love for music more cacophonic than melodic. Cut Copy is none of that. If anything, they err on the side of Eurotrash pop beats, which is fine by me. All in all, this is an album which delivers the jams without compromising intelligence.

Cut Copy – Feel the Love

7) She & Him – Volume One: Zooey Deschanel is a mystery to me. Mainly because I have no idea how to pronounce her name. I’ve been told it’s supposed to be like Zoe, but I will continue to call her “Zoo-ee” until she personally corrects me. I find that exoticism makes her all the more attractive. She has one of those instantly recognizable voices, and the songs on Volume One could have been written forty years ago. And I mean that in the best way possible. She’s a cutey patootie. I’m waiting for Volume Two.

She & Him – This is Not a Test

6) Okkervil River – The Stand Ins: I had a poster of the cover art from The Stage Names up on my wall last year, and I told my roommate at the time that I thought it would be hard to find creepier album art. Then Okkervil River stepped it up, to make something even more disturbing. Then put them together. Yummy. This was completely a sequel to The Stage Names, which was, at one point, going to be a double album. Stage Names was probably my favorite album of 2007, so I was understandably very excited about Stand Ins, and it really didn’t disappoint. It didn’t have as many amazing individual songs as Stage Names, but it flows perfectly and makes me all the more excited about the prospect of new Okkervil material. Of course, now if they don’t release another album in 12 months I’ll probably be disappointed.

Okkervil River – Bruce Wayne Campbell on the Roof of the Chelsea Hotel, 1979

5) E-603 – Something for Everyone: If Girl Talk and Diplo had a lovechild, I would be very confused. But I’d be a lot more interested if, instead of Girl Talk, E-603 and Diplo had a lovechild. Because I think E-603 is legitimately better than Girl Talk. And not just because he looks like this or dresses like this, or writes things like this. Having seen both perform this year, I can say that E-603 puts on a better show. Period. Whereas Girl Talk plays through his hits, prolonging some samples and occasionally venturing into new material for a few seconds, E-603’s show is completely different every time. I kept looking for my favorite samples from the album, and being impressed and surprised when the ones I heard were even better. His debut album is all the mash-up I need. And it’s available for free on his website. Download it now.

E-603 – Crystal Friend

4) Santogold – S/T: If I said this was due to my embarrassing affection for Gossip Girl, I wouldn’t be giving Santi enough credit. But I can’t say it didn’t help. If you’ve never heard the blood-curdling “Ah-ah-ah-ahhh”s of “Creator,” you’re missing out. I’m not afraid to say I like Santogold more than M.I.A., and her collaborations have been sick. Though I have too much of a conscience to post her album (you should buy it. Now.), she did release a mixtape with Diplo, one of my favorite DJs of the year, which is nasty (and an honorable mention on this list). Catch it.

Santogold – Creator

3) TV on the Radio – Dear Science: 2006’s Return to Cookie Mountain has been one of my favorite albums of the past couple years. It showed TV on the Radio’s stepping in stride, perfecting their formula for hard-hitting electro-rock. I would have been all right with a straight sequel to that (a la The Stand Ins), but Tunde and the boys rocked my world with a deep and troubled album that still rocks. I feel it’s hard to write about it in a way that gives it enough credit. Just listen.

TV on the Radio – Halfway Home

2) Fleet Foxes – Sun Giant EP/ S/T LP: Pitchfork packaged this as their number one, the LP I bought came with the EP in it, and both were released in ’08. I’ll follow Subpop’s lead and do the same. Enough has probably been written about Fleet Foxes, but I’ll say this: the album continued to surprise me. It stood the test of time, of overplay, of overblogging, and still came out a surprisingly strong effort. I’m a big fan of indie-folk, and this seems to be the perfection of it. The most amazing thing about Fleet Foxes to me is how note-for-note they could replicate their harmonies live. Listening to them, you’d assume that overdub after overdub had gone into the recording, but those chords in White Winter Hymnal really just are a few guys singing together. Beautiful.

Fleet Foxes – Drops in the River (From the Sun Giant EP)

1) Vampire Weekend – S/T: It’s a little disappointing to me how quickly the tide of public approval can turn against an artist. Overexposure really is deadly (and I suppose I’m not doing much to remedy that..), and Vampire Weekend suffered more than any other band in 2008. They deserved all of the hype, though. They brought simple youthful joy to music for upper-middle-class hipster kids. They exposed the too-cool-for-school to pure, unadulterated fun. And that’s no easy task – I saw them in concert in July, and, during “A-Punk,” they attempted to get audience participation in the form of a few well-placed “ohs.” Ezra Koenig, before teaching us, looked out at the audience (which had been standing still for the entirety of the 4 songs leading up to the moment) and asked, “do you guys do this? Are you into this?” Not really, but Vampire Weekend helped them try.

Vampire Weekend – M79

Related posts:
My Top 5 Songs of 2008

A Cover Worth Covering: First Aid Kit Finish Fleet Foxes

Music for a Thursday: "The President's Dead"