Monthly Archives: April 2013

Cayucas Gets Us Ready for Summer

Summer is just around the corner, and this year’s beach music will definitely include tunes from Cayucas’ freshman release “Bigfoot” due out this week.

Cayucas began a couple of years ago as a one-man, bedroom studio recording effort by Zach Yudin.  He put his first tunes out under the name “Oregon Bike Trails” but apparently decided that a variation on the name of a California seaside town suited his vibe better.  “High School Lover” was first recorded under the OBT name a couple of years ago.  The video for “Cayucos” sets us straight on the proper spelling of the town but is otherwise baffling.

If you need a couple of other tunes get you in the mood for summer, it’s hard to beat these two classics.  Feel free to send us a comment or email with your favorite summer songs, and we’ll round them up for post when the weather gets hotter.

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Reader Suggestions: Justice, Hundred Waters, and Vintage Trouble

Over the past few months readers have suggested some bands definitely worth a listen.

First up, Justice, a French electronic duo who gained notoriety (Grammy nominations, etc.) with the release of their debut album “Cross” in 2007.  “New Lands” is from their 2011 release “Audio, Video, Disco”.  This track and others from the album pay homage to older synth-rock styles, funk, disco and more.  And the video’s Rollerball theme is more evidence that Justice enjoys updating the past.  Thanks for the suggestion, Cliff!

Next is Hundred Waters performing “Boreal”.  A close-up of musicians recording with a mix of vocals, classic instruments and electronics makes this video especially fun to watch.  Looks like this band is set for take-off, too, touring with The XX beginning in May. A link to their website is also included below – some really cool art work on the “Images” page. Thanks for the link, Charlie!

http://www.hundred-waters.com/

As for something definitely NOT electronic, check out “Blues Hand Me Down” from Vintage Trouble. The track appears on their debut 2011 release “The Bomb Shelter Sessions”. The rock and soul band is opening for The Who on a number of tour dates in 2013, has been hitting all the big festivals, and has recently made the late night talk show circuit. Got to be a good band to see live! Thanks for the tip, Rainer!

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Django Django, Go Go’s & Duran Duran

There aren’t many bands with name names, but new music from Django Django (“the D is silent”) and Belinda Carlisle of the Go Go’s is in the news.

Django Django has a stripped-down sound (check out the drum kit on the video below), and their eponymous first album was named to Rolling Stone magazine’s list of the best 50 albums of 2012.

Belinda Carlisle was the lead singer of the early-80’s hit machine the Go Go’s. The band had the beat everyone danced to in that era, and in the first single she’s released in the U.S. in over 15 years Belinda updates her dance sound and shows that her voice hasn’t lost anything in the last few decades

Likely the most popular name name band of all time is Duran Duran.  Drawn from a character in the bizarre Jane Fonda sci-fi vehicle “Barbarella”, the band’s name was apparently inspired by the night club Barbarella in their hometown of Birmingham, England.  After watching the Duran Duran video, feel free to send in a comment about your favorite name name band, or place an order for a wedding dress!

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Great Music in Any Language

People around the world listen to music with English lyrics whether or not they understand the language.  Great music comes through regardless. The links below will likely challenge your language skills, but the great music certainly comes through regardless.

Japan is chock full of great rock bands, and one we’d love to see tour the U.S. is Asian Kung-Fu Generation.   AKG wrote lyrics in English for their first EP in 2000, but most of their catalog is in their native language.  The track translated “Blue Train”, performed live in the clip below, was a hit single from “Fan Club”.  It shows off their nifty rhythms and song structures.

Thandiswa Mazwai is a South African singer/songwriter who wins music awards regularly in her home country, and who also performs internationally.  The track below appeared on “Zabalaza”.

“Buena Vista Social Club” was a worldwide sensation when it was released in 1997.   American guitarist and musicologist Ry Cooder brought together many of Cuba’s greatest musicians to record what would become the biggest selling Cuban album of all time.   The first track, “Chan Chan”, was written by Compay Segundo.

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