After one day of torrential rain, two days of ankle-deep mud, and countless ruined shoes, the third and largest incarnation of New York’s Governors Ball Music Festival wrapped up last night with a headline set from Kanye West. Although West did treat the audience to some brand new Yeezus tracks — and also let everyone know know the album is coming out sooner rather than later because he “doesn’t give a fuck” about album sales — his set was mostly a compilation of crowd-pleasing hits and surprisingly cheesy visuals. Compared to Friday’s shortened sets and canceled headliners, however, the majority of the Governors Ball went smoothly, with the exception of a retooled main stage schedule that pushed up acts like Japandroids and Cut Copy, and some sound issues that led Animal Collective to flat-out leave the stage on Saturday night. Standout performances included a show from embattled Harlem MC Azealia Banks and a visually stunning set from The xx, along with the much-hyped return of Guns ‘n’ Roses. Flavorwire’s ace photographer Andrew Boyle was there to capture all the action, so click through for a look at some of the dozens of acts that took to the festival’s four stages this weekend — minus the mud. … Read More
Foals
Our 15 Most Anticipated Albums of 2013
We have good vibes in general about the year to come, and we’re hoping that it holds as much musical goodness as 2012 did. The early part of the year is certainly shaping up well, and we’ve put together a kind of extended edition of our regular monthly album release preview, looking at the 15 albums (with confirmed release dates) that we’re hanging out for in the new year, in addition to a roundup of records that are rumored/don’t have firm release… Read More
10 New Tracks You Need to Hear This Week: Lower Dens, Oneohtrix Point Never
With the release schedule pretty much all wound down for the year, the stream of downloadable tracks has also largely dried up. Over the next few weeks, we’re therefore replacing our regular grab-bag of free MP3s with a more general roundup of new tracks that we reckon are worth hearing, downloadable or otherwise. Never fear, though — the downloads will be back in January! In the meantime, click on through to see what’s been floating our boat this week in terms of new music — there’s a pretty awesome Lower Dens remix, new stuff from Widowspeak and Foals, a free Oneohtrix Point Never rarity, Marnie Stern vs. Infinite Jest, a shitload of Lawrence English’s field recordings, why we love Bear Ceuse, and more. Click through and get listening! … Read More
Mixtape Primer: An Introduction to “Math Rock”
Like many genre titles, “math rock” is a label abhorred by pretty much everyone that it’s been applied to. But that doesn’t make it any less fitting a description for the complex, highly rhythmic guitar music that emerged from the Midwest in the early 1990s. Math rock grew out of hardcore, working with the basic elements of rock ‘n’ roll — guitar, bass, drums — but shifting the emphasis away from melody toward rhythm and sonic dynamics. The result was a distinctive sound characterized by sonic minimalism, robotic drumming, and strange time signatures. The genre arguably had its heyday in the ’90s, but with Battles’ new single “My Machines” out this week, along with a new record by reunited veterans Braid, it seems a fine time to cast an eye back over math rock past and present — so here’s a mixtape of some of our favorite songs. And we don’t use the word “angular” once! … Read More
The Morning’s Top 5 Pop Culture Stories
1. Winter’s Bone, a gritty family drama that’s set in the Midwest and based on Daniel Woodrell’s 2006 novel of the same name, won top honors at the Gotham Independent Film Awards last night. [via WSJ]
2. “How does it feel to know that you could have any man in the world? Or… Read More
The Flavorpill Mixtape XVI: Nada Surf, Neon Indian, Ellie Goulding
This week’s mix will take you all over the world: the Spanish Sahara, Bermuda, South Africa, and back home to New York. In addition to the globetrotting tracks are a few new spins on classics, along with some completely raw new talent. Right Click + Save As if you prefer to pick and choose as you go, or save yourself some time and download the mix in its entirety here. … Read More
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