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A Selection of Exercise-Themed Music Videos to Whip You Into Shape

By Tom Hawking on

The well of music video ideas is somewhat limited, and three decades after the advent of MTV, it’s interesting to see the themes that have recurred again and again over the years. One of the more enduring conceits, curiously enough, has been the workout video, either rendered in parodic style or played completely straight. We’re not entirely sure why this is — perhaps because, stereotypically, musicians aren’t generally the ones who enjoy gym class, or perhaps the curiously sexualized imagery of the fitness video provides rich material for satire and also for commentary on our society. In any case, the arrival of the latest addition to the genre — Dan Deacon’s “Crash Jam” — has gotten us thinking about gym-centric videos past and present. … Read More

Music

15 Hilariously Negative Early Reviews of Classic Albums

By Tom Hawking on

Everybody likes reading a really nasty review every now and then, but sometimes critics get it wrong. Here’s a look at misguided reviews of albums that’d go on to be acclaimed as… Read More

Music

10 of the Best Remix Albums in Musical History

By Tom Hawking on

The art of the remix is an interesting one — depending on context, it can be a fascinating reinterpretation of an existing track or a throwaway four-to-the-floor cash cow. There have been some great remixes over the years, of course — indeed, some have ended up being more definitive than the original (we looked at some such tracks here). And then there’s the remix album, which is a whole different beast. Like, for instance, the fantastic Philip Glass remix album, which has been on high rotation at Flavorpill central of late — since it’s soundtracking our countdown to the apocalypse, we thought we’d take a look at it and some of the other great remix albums from throughout the history of music. As ever, let us know (nicely) if you reckon we’ve missed any. … Read More

Music

A Selection of Musicians Who Reliably Defy Expectations

By Tom Hawking on

Music lovers, rejoice — the new Liars album is out! If you’ve missed our earlier raves about it, suffice it to say that WIXIW (it’s pronounced “wish you,” incidentally) is one of the best things we’ve heard all year, and we’re very, very excited about it. It’s also the latest creative left turn for a band whose history has been full of them — if Liars’ career has been characterized by anything, it’s unpredictability. This is, of course, one of the reason we like them so much — bands whose sound varies radically from record to record are few and far between, but there are some great such groups operating today. Here’s a selection of our favorites. … Read More

Music

The 5 Best Music Videos of the Week

By Aaron Gonsher on

Some days you just feel like surrendering yourself to visual eye-candy, removing those pesky blinders like “realism” and “believability” and “sobriety” in favor of some awesome rocket ships, life-size board games, pastel knife-fights, and Bruce Willis. This week’s crop of the best music videos includes some stunning design elements, from the animation/live-action combination in Gorillaz “Stylo” to the trippy apartment complex of Owen Pallet. After the jump, watch Flavorpill’s choices for best music videos of the week to remind yourself that slavish lyrical literalism can be way overrated. Let us know if you ever feel like returning to the real world. … Read More

Music

The Flavorpill Mixtape XI: Goldfrapp, Caribou, Not Final Fantasy, Some Kid CuDi

By Andrew Hwang on

This week’s mix might help you remember bands who have been off the radar doing non-band things. It might jog your noggin and make you feel nostalgic for more decade music. It might even give you something new to play to break the ice when your friends are are all over and you didn’t remind them that it was BYOB. Oh, it just happened? Go ahead, save the day.* … Read More

Music

Video of the Day: Name That Blonde Pop Star

By Kelsey Keith on

Nothing we love more than an internet mystery to spice up the workday. Courtesy of YouTube user “iamamiwhoami” we’ve got a viral video on our hands that features a blond nymphet licking tree bark to an audio background of trippy techno. Some speculate the clip is in anticipation of Christina Aguilera’s March LP, “which the label has been selling as her Ray of Light, ‘motherhood changed me’” affair. Others argue that it’s more likely a Goldfrapp production (Head First will be released March 23 in the US); curiously, the duo worked with Aguilera on a couple of tracks of the aforementioned new album. Take a gander after the… Read More

Earplug

Flavorpill’s 12 Most Anticipated Albums of 2010

By Judy Berman on

2009 has been such a fantastic year for music that, honestly, it’s difficult to start thinking about 2010 so soon. How can we, when we still haven’t tired of milestone albums from the likes of Animal Collective, Atlas Sound, The Flaming Lips and Dirty Projectors? Thankfully, next year is shaping up to be equally exciting, with new offerings on the horizon from Vampire Weekend, Yeasayer, Spoon and many more. After the jump, we pick the 12 albums we’re most excited for in 2010. Which records are you looking forward… Read More

Music

Lost in Translation: The Hottest New Western Releases in Japan

By Caroline Stanley on

Every month Yahoo Japan chooses five new Western releases as their “must buy” picks — because evidently “buy” and “music” are two words that Japanese listeners still use together without adding “I can hardly remember when I used to.” Mysterious.

But what piques our interest even more: What Western music do the Japanese think is worth buying? After the jump, multilingual Flavorwire contributor Doug Schrashun is here to translate the scoop from Japan for the rest of us.

Brace yourselves — Christina Aguilera made the cut. … Read More