So I apologize for the long leave of absence, but I am currently in the works of looking for other methods of sharing music. Until now, I have been using youtube as an easy way to share music, however starting late last year, their new music rights are driving me crazy. I have not been able to easily embed youtube videos anymore and so I am looking into other options. Until then, hop on over to 8tracks.com and search caitlyn83 and you can see some of my most recent music picks and recommendations. I promise I’ll be back soon
For now, commercials seem to be fairly easy to share via youtube, so enjoy:
Subaru has been doing a stellar job on their ad campaign starting late last year in which ads are showcasing great indie artists. Check them out and see what you think:
And not only is this my favorite Subaru commercial, but regarding musical selection, I would rank this right up there with the Sony Bravia bouncing ball commercial, my personal favorite
So back in December, I was able to get into the sold out Portland Cello Project holiday show and they did an amazing cover of Kanye West’s All of the Lights. Im pretty sure they made a kanye fan out of everyone in the crowd with this one:
If you wanna hear the original, here you go (though due to music rights, you’ll have to go to youtube to watch this one)
Another favorite of that night was PCP’s collaboration with the band Typhoon on their song “CPR/Claws Pt 2″ Typhoon was named #2 on Portland’s Top 10 New Bands this past year and #5 on Amazon’s Top Albums You Might Have Missed.
Speaking of bands you might have missed, I just recently went to see Ra Ra Riot in concert and one of their opening bands, the Givers, were so good! They had amazing energy and put on a really great show, and I think the crowd was pretty blown away. The band got a ton of buzz at last year’s SXSW festival as well as opened up for the Dirty Projectors on their national tour. Here are couple of their songs.
Nice work Advil on your music selection. Job well done
In case you’re interested, this commercial features the song, Chugjug, by a band called Family of the Year, a band based out of southern CA. Give it a listen. They sound a little bit like Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros
Here’s an amazing singer out of the UK that has been getting a lot of recent coverage in the US including a performance on this year’s MTV VMAs. Although I only recently have gotten into her music, her name actually came up about a year ago when I heard a great remix of her song “You’ve Got the Love” done by The XX. Check her single out below of “The Dog Days are Over” as well as both the original version as well as the remix of “You’ve Got the Love.”
So I bit the bullet and bought Sufjan Stevens tickets to his show on Oct 29th and I seriously cannot wait. I’ve always been a moderate fan, going weak for songs like “To Be Alone With You,” “For the Widows in Paradise, For the Fatherless in Ypsilanti” and of course “Chicago.” His album, Illinois was named best album of the decade by Paste Magazine and was in the top ten by other publications such as NPR and Rolling Stone. Although I have always liked his stuff, something about his newest CD, Age of Adz, totally clicks with me. It has been 5 years since he last released a full length album and his music has done a full 180, replacing the soft whispered lyrics and strumming banjo with heavy synthesizer effects and overall darker overtones. He finishes the album with the song, Impossible Soul, a 25 minute song in which Pitchfork reviewer, Ryan Dombal, described as having “more engaging ideas than most artists could muster in a career.” This cd has also been noted to be one of his most controversial given its radically different sound, and also noted to be the most personal to Sufjan. Either way, I lOVE it and cannot wait to see him in concert. I feel like for any indie music fan, seeing him live is a drop in the bucket list. Below is a little taste of what I get to look forward to and a chance for you to hear his new sound:
For any of you that have Google Chrome, go to The Wilderness Downtown for an interactive music video of Arcade Fire’s song, We Used to Wait…coolest music video I have ever seen. They ask you to enter the address of the home you grew up in, and the video is then personally customized to feature that address, though the video can be customized to any address you want. For those of you who don’t have Google Chrome, below is a video of what its like. Though, I have to say I’m loving Chrome, so it might be worth it anyway to switch over if you haven’t.
So it sounds like Sufjan Stevens is finally going to be releasing a proper followup to his highly acclaimed album, Illinoise. And he has been recording with none other than The National. According to The National’s Bryce Dessner, the album is “going to be incredible. It’s going to probably blow people’s minds.” Unfortunately, there is no set release date so until then, we will have to be content with what is out there on youtube. Here are a couple new songs performed in NY…I definitely see a trend of leaning to electronic music, which I’m liking. These songs sound pretty amazing on youtube, so I can only imagine that they are going to be “mind blowing” on an album. And for you Portlanders that need your Sufjan fix, check him out live…he’s performing at the Schnitz on Oct 29th
Menomena played on Jimmy Fallon a couple nights ago which not only meant getting to see one of my favorite bands on tv, but also getting to see my music crush, Brent Knopf, complete with his awkward mannerisms, beautiful voice, and his “magic machine” (aka synthesizer).
Check them out:
Also, I have to admit I’m not a big fan of air instruments, but I LOVE this music video for Dirty Cartoons,
