Light Asylum

Posted by YoungCreature / at 12:39 PM / / 0 comments

There are so many ways to discover new music these days. Whether it be from a friend, Hype Machine, other blogs, magazines or whatever, there are SO many ways! I can chalk up my recent discovery of New York's Light Asylum to twitter. When you're going through your tweets and JD Samson calls a band "Best Band Ever!", you should probably take notice. So I did, and now I'm sharing them with you!

Light Asylum is pretty much a moniker for singer/songwriter/musician Shannon Funchess. Even if you're like me and are just discovering this project, you're probably more familiar with Shannon Funchess than you may think. She toured as a vocalist with !!! in 07/08 and was a featured on Heart of Hearts. More recently she lent background vocals to Telepathe on Dance Mother and appeared in their So Fine video. She's also worked with Bunny Rabbit and the Cult of Miracles and TV on the Radio, so between all of that stuff, you've probably at least heard Shannon Funchess' unique and fantastic voice!

As far as Light Asylum goes, she's began working with Bruno Coviello and they have a show with MEN coming up in New York, but no word on a record. She is, however, working on a record with TV on the Radio's Gerard Smith under the name Rose Parade. Let's hope for more music coming out from Shannon Funchess in 2010 in either form!

Here is Light Asylum's shallow tears remixed by Fatima Al Qadiri and the original, as well as !!!'s Heart of Hearts featuring Shannon Funchess on vocals. AND if you are in NYC, check out Light Asylum with MEN March 10 at the Mercury Lounge.

Light Asylum - shallow tears

Light Asylum - shallowtears (Fatima Al Qadiri Remix)

!!! - Heart of Hearts

Light Asylum

Posted by YoungCreature / at 12:39 PM / / 0 comments

There are so many ways to discover new music these days. Whether it be from a friend, Hype Machine, other blogs, magazines or whatever, there are SO many ways! I can chalk up my recent discovery of New York's Light Asylum to twitter. When you're going through your tweets and JD Samson calls a band "Best Band Ever!", you should probably take notice. So I did, and now I'm sharing them with you!

Light Asylum is pretty much a moniker for singer/songwriter/musician Shannon Funchess. Even if you're like me and are just discovering this project, you're probably more familiar with Shannon Funchess than you may think. She toured as a vocalist with !!! in 07/08 and was a featured on Heart of Hearts. More recently she lent background vocals to Telepathe on Dance Mother and appeared in their So Fine video. She's also worked with Bunny Rabbit and the Cult of Miracles and TV on the Radio, so between all of that stuff, you've probably at least heard Shannon Funchess' unique and fantastic voice!

As far as Light Asylum goes, she's began working with Bruno Coviello and they have a show with MEN coming up in New York, but no word on a record. She is, however, working on a record with TV on the Radio's Gerard Smith under the name Rose Parade. Let's hope for more music coming out from Shannon Funchess in 2010 in either form!

Here is Light Asylum's shallow tears remixed by Fatima Al Qadiri and the original, as well as !!!'s Heart of Hearts featuring Shannon Funchess on vocals. AND if you are in NYC, check out Light Asylum with MEN March 10 at the Mercury Lounge.

Light Asylum - shallow tears

Light Asylum - shallowtears (Fatima Al Qadiri Remix)

!!! - Heart of Hearts

Best (and by best I mean my favorites) of 2009

Posted by YoungCreature / at 9:30 PM / / 1 comments

So a little while back I posted my favorites of the decade, but now I'm gonna give it a go on 2009. I think everyone would agree that 2009 sucked in a lot of different ways, but there were actually a few really great things so I'm gonna focus on those.

Here's my list (in no particular order)

Telepathe - Dance Mother

Although the album contained several songs we'd heard before I still listened to Dance Mother more than most other records this year, old songs and all.

the xx- XX

Quiet, dark, breathy boy/girl vocals, the perfect amount of reverb and lyrics that make you want to be a teen in love. I like this album so much that I'm already sad because their next one isn't gonna be as good.

The XX - Heart Skipped a Beat

Bat for Lashes - Two Suns

Can someone drop me off in the desert with psychedelics and this record? That's how the record was made and I feel like I should experience it that way. In the meantime, I'll turn the lights off and lay on my couch to listen.

Kristen Stewart
The Twilight movies suck (no pun intended) but I love Kristen Stewart's tortured teenage lesbian portrayal of Bella Swan. It's like she doesn't even really want Edward, she just wants something. If she could stop being stupid about Edward for like a second and go to college she would finally find out that the something is lesbianism. I'd like to believe that KStew's thesbionic choices are a reflection of her lesbionic desires in real life, but we'll probably have to wait like 50 years to find out for sure. In short, I'm tired of Lohan.

Pictureplane - Goth Star

I can't say I've given Pictureplane's whole Dark Rift album a fair shot at making my top faves list because I just want to listen to Goth Star. How could you not love a song that chops up and fuzzes out Stevie Nicks?

Pictureplane - Goth Star



MEN

Great dance jams + totally radical queer lyrics = one of the most exciting bands of 2009.

Kristen Wiig

Even though Kristen Wiig has been overextended as of late on SNL, she is CLEARLY the best part. I pretty much only watch Saturday Night Live to see what weirdness Kristen Wiig is bringing that week.

Gossip - Heavy Cross (Fred Falke Remix)

Heavy Cross is a good song. The Heavy Cross remix Fred Falke did is a GREAT song. It's everything a good remix should be. It resembles the original version but takes it in an unexpected direction. The song is a love song, but I never really felt the romance and sadness and hope and everything else Beth Ditto was singing about until I heard the remix.

Gossip - Heavy Cross (Fred Falke Remix)

YACHT - Psychic City
Maybe Psychic City won't go down in history as one of the greatest songs ever written. It might not even be on that many end of year lists, but I love it. It kind of feels like a modern version of "Genius of Love". It's fun, but not novelty and just generally interesting to listen to.

True Blood Season 2
Maybe I'm a total nerd, but True Blood is one of best shows I've seen in A WHILE. I started watching it this year (thanks internet!) and was immediately hooked. Since I watched it in a (more or less) marathon format, I'm really just choosing the show in general, but I can say that 2009's Season had some pretty wild stuff going on and I loved every minute of it. Can't wait for Season 3!

Best (and by best I mean my favorites) of 2009

Posted by YoungCreature / at 9:30 PM / / 1 comments

So a little while back I posted my favorites of the decade, but now I'm gonna give it a go on 2009. I think everyone would agree that 2009 sucked in a lot of different ways, but there were actually a few really great things so I'm gonna focus on those.

Here's my list (in no particular order)

Telepathe - Dance Mother

Although the album contained several songs we'd heard before I still listened to Dance Mother more than most other records this year, old songs and all.

the xx- XX

Quiet, dark, breathy boy/girl vocals, the perfect amount of reverb and lyrics that make you want to be a teen in love. I like this album so much that I'm already sad because their next one isn't gonna be as good.

The XX - Heart Skipped a Beat

Bat for Lashes - Two Suns

Can someone drop me off in the desert with psychedelics and this record? That's how the record was made and I feel like I should experience it that way. In the meantime, I'll turn the lights off and lay on my couch to listen.

Kristen Stewart
The Twilight movies suck (no pun intended) but I love Kristen Stewart's tortured teenage lesbian portrayal of Bella Swan. It's like she doesn't even really want Edward, she just wants something. If she could stop being stupid about Edward for like a second and go to college she would finally find out that the something is lesbianism. I'd like to believe that KStew's thesbionic choices are a reflection of her lesbionic desires in real life, but we'll probably have to wait like 50 years to find out for sure. In short, I'm tired of Lohan.

Pictureplane - Goth Star

I can't say I've given Pictureplane's whole Dark Rift album a fair shot at making my top faves list because I just want to listen to Goth Star. How could you not love a song that chops up and fuzzes out Stevie Nicks?

Pictureplane - Goth Star



MEN

Great dance jams + totally radical queer lyrics = one of the most exciting bands of 2009.

Kristen Wiig

Even though Kristen Wiig has been overextended as of late on SNL, she is CLEARLY the best part. I pretty much only watch Saturday Night Live to see what weirdness Kristen Wiig is bringing that week.

Gossip - Heavy Cross (Fred Falke Remix)

Heavy Cross is a good song. The Heavy Cross remix Fred Falke did is a GREAT song. It's everything a good remix should be. It resembles the original version but takes it in an unexpected direction. The song is a love song, but I never really felt the romance and sadness and hope and everything else Beth Ditto was singing about until I heard the remix.

Gossip - Heavy Cross (Fred Falke Remix)

YACHT - Psychic City
Maybe Psychic City won't go down in history as one of the greatest songs ever written. It might not even be on that many end of year lists, but I love it. It kind of feels like a modern version of "Genius of Love". It's fun, but not novelty and just generally interesting to listen to.

True Blood Season 2
Maybe I'm a total nerd, but True Blood is one of best shows I've seen in A WHILE. I started watching it this year (thanks internet!) and was immediately hooked. Since I watched it in a (more or less) marathon format, I'm really just choosing the show in general, but I can say that 2009's Season had some pretty wild stuff going on and I loved every minute of it. Can't wait for Season 3!

Best (and by best I mean my favorites) of 2009

Posted by YoungCreature / at 9:30 PM / / 1 comments

So a little while back I posted my favorites of the decade, but now I'm gonna give it a go on 2009. I think everyone would agree that 2009 sucked in a lot of different ways, but there were actually a few really great things so I'm gonna focus on those.

Here's my list (in no particular order)

Telepathe - Dance Mother

Although the album contained several songs we'd heard before I still listened to Dance Mother more than most other records this year, old songs and all.

the xx- XX

Quiet, dark, breathy boy/girl vocals, the perfect amount of reverb and lyrics that make you want to be a teen in love. I like this album so much that I'm already sad because their next one isn't gonna be as good.

The XX - Heart Skipped a Beat

Bat for Lashes - Two Suns

Can someone drop me off in the desert with psychedelics and this record? That's how the record was made and I feel like I should experience it that way. In the meantime, I'll turn the lights off and lay on my couch to listen.

Kristen Stewart
The Twilight movies suck (no pun intended) but I love Kristen Stewart's tortured teenage lesbian portrayal of Bella Swan. It's like she doesn't even really want Edward, she just wants something. If she could stop being stupid about Edward for like a second and go to college she would finally find out that the something is lesbianism. I'd like to believe that KStew's thesbionic choices are a reflection of her lesbionic desires in real life, but we'll probably have to wait like 50 years to find out for sure. In short, I'm tired of Lohan.

Pictureplane - Goth Star

I can't say I've given Pictureplane's whole Dark Rift album a fair shot at making my top faves list because I just want to listen to Goth Star. How could you not love a song that chops up and fuzzes out Stevie Nicks?

Pictureplane - Goth Star



MEN

Great dance jams + totally radical queer lyrics = one of the most exciting bands of 2009.

Kristen Wiig

Even though Kristen Wiig has been overextended as of late on SNL, she is CLEARLY the best part. I pretty much only watch Saturday Night Live to see what weirdness Kristen Wiig is bringing that week.

Gossip - Heavy Cross (Fred Falke Remix)

Heavy Cross is a good song. The Heavy Cross remix Fred Falke did is a GREAT song. It's everything a good remix should be. It resembles the original version but takes it in an unexpected direction. The song is a love song, but I never really felt the romance and sadness and hope and everything else Beth Ditto was singing about until I heard the remix.

Gossip - Heavy Cross (Fred Falke Remix)

YACHT - Psychic City
Maybe Psychic City won't go down in history as one of the greatest songs ever written. It might not even be on that many end of year lists, but I love it. It kind of feels like a modern version of "Genius of Love". It's fun, but not novelty and just generally interesting to listen to.

True Blood Season 2
Maybe I'm a total nerd, but True Blood is one of best shows I've seen in A WHILE. I started watching it this year (thanks internet!) and was immediately hooked. Since I watched it in a (more or less) marathon format, I'm really just choosing the show in general, but I can say that 2009's Season had some pretty wild stuff going on and I loved every minute of it. Can't wait for Season 3!

In Your Line DJ/Rupture & Matt Shadetek Remix

Posted by YoungCreature / at 11:12 AM / / 0 comments

One of the bands who will surely find themselves on my Best of 09 list is Telepathe. Dance Mother had so many great songs and seeing the band live earlier this year solidified them as a YoungCreature fave for sure. In addition to a great record and live show, their music has lent itself well to the remix. With about a million Telepathe remixes out there one may think that adding another one to the blogosphere is tired, but that is not the case with DJ/Rupture and Matt Shadetek's take on In Your Line.

The DJ/Rupture and Shadetek mix sticks with the moody, spaced out feeling of the original but adds some subsonic bass and trades in the marching band-esque drumline for a more sparse and syncopated beat. Its moody and mildly romantic and perfect for the winter. You can find the In Your Line remix along with a bunch of remixed/mixed tracks on DJ/Rupture and Matt Shadetek's new digital release Solar Life Raft.

Check it out!

Telepathe - In Your Line (DJ/Rupture and Matt Shadetek Remix)

In Your Line DJ/Rupture & Matt Shadetek Remix

Posted by YoungCreature / at 11:12 AM / / 0 comments

One of the bands who will surely find themselves on my Best of 09 list is Telepathe. Dance Mother had so many great songs and seeing the band live earlier this year solidified them as a YoungCreature fave for sure. In addition to a great record and live show, their music has lent itself well to the remix. With about a million Telepathe remixes out there one may think that adding another one to the blogosphere is tired, but that is not the case with DJ/Rupture and Matt Shadetek's take on In Your Line.

The DJ/Rupture and Shadetek mix sticks with the moody, spaced out feeling of the original but adds some subsonic bass and trades in the marching band-esque drumline for a more sparse and syncopated beat. Its moody and mildly romantic and perfect for the winter. You can find the In Your Line remix along with a bunch of remixed/mixed tracks on DJ/Rupture and Matt Shadetek's new digital release Solar Life Raft.

Check it out!

Telepathe - In Your Line (DJ/Rupture and Matt Shadetek Remix)

In Your Line DJ/Rupture & Matt Shadetek Remix

Posted by YoungCreature / at 11:12 AM / / 0 comments

One of the bands who will surely find themselves on my Best of 09 list is Telepathe. Dance Mother had so many great songs and seeing the band live earlier this year solidified them as a YoungCreature fave for sure. In addition to a great record and live show, their music has lent itself well to the remix. With about a million Telepathe remixes out there one may think that adding another one to the blogosphere is tired, but that is not the case with DJ/Rupture and Matt Shadetek's take on In Your Line.

The DJ/Rupture and Shadetek mix sticks with the moody, spaced out feeling of the original but adds some subsonic bass and trades in the marching band-esque drumline for a more sparse and syncopated beat. Its moody and mildly romantic and perfect for the winter. You can find the In Your Line remix along with a bunch of remixed/mixed tracks on DJ/Rupture and Matt Shadetek's new digital release Solar Life Raft.

Check it out!

Telepathe - In Your Line (DJ/Rupture and Matt Shadetek Remix)

Simian Mobile Disco f. Telepathe

Posted by YoungCreature / at 12:13 PM / / 0 comments

The more I hear of Simian Mobile Disco's new album 'Temporary Pleasure', the more excited I am to grab the whole thing! There have been a few great tracks already leaked from the record like Cruel Intentions (f. Beth Ditto) and the remixed a million times over Audacity of Huge - but there's a new one to add to that list.

The latest track to leak is called Pinball and features one of my fave bands over the last year or so, Telepathe. It's hard to say something is "a departure" for SMD because their songs are kind of all over the place, but Pinball sounds more like a cleaned up Telepathe song than what I'd expect from Simian Mobile Disco. Either way, it's a keeper.

You can pre-order the 'Temporary Pleasure' LP or buy the CD at Insound and you can catch them on tour in Chicago at the Metro on November 4th. They will also be doing a DJ set at Smartbar for the Chicago Workgroup DJs' All Systems Go afterparty!

Here's a preview of "Pinball" and the Luke Vibert remix of "It's the Beat" from their last record Attack Decay Sustain Release.

Simian Mobile Disco featuring Telepathe - Pinball (from Temporary Pleasure)

Simian Mobile Disco - It's the Beat (Luke Vibert Mix)

Simian Mobile Disco f. Telepathe

Posted by YoungCreature / at 12:13 PM / / 0 comments

The more I hear of Simian Mobile Disco's new album 'Temporary Pleasure', the more excited I am to grab the whole thing! There have been a few great tracks already leaked from the record like Cruel Intentions (f. Beth Ditto) and the remixed a million times over Audacity of Huge - but there's a new one to add to that list.

The latest track to leak is called Pinball and features one of my fave bands over the last year or so, Telepathe. It's hard to say something is "a departure" for SMD because their songs are kind of all over the place, but Pinball sounds more like a cleaned up Telepathe song than what I'd expect from Simian Mobile Disco. Either way, it's a keeper.

You can pre-order the 'Temporary Pleasure' LP or buy the CD at Insound and you can catch them on tour in Chicago at the Metro on November 4th. They will also be doing a DJ set at Smartbar for the Chicago Workgroup DJs' All Systems Go afterparty!

Here's a preview of "Pinball" and the Luke Vibert remix of "It's the Beat" from their last record Attack Decay Sustain Release.

Simian Mobile Disco featuring Telepathe - Pinball (from Temporary Pleasure)

Simian Mobile Disco - It's the Beat (Luke Vibert Mix)

Simian Mobile Disco f. Telepathe

Posted by YoungCreature / at 12:13 PM / / 0 comments

The more I hear of Simian Mobile Disco's new album 'Temporary Pleasure', the more excited I am to grab the whole thing! There have been a few great tracks already leaked from the record like Cruel Intentions (f. Beth Ditto) and the remixed a million times over Audacity of Huge - but there's a new one to add to that list.

The latest track to leak is called Pinball and features one of my fave bands over the last year or so, Telepathe. It's hard to say something is "a departure" for SMD because their songs are kind of all over the place, but Pinball sounds more like a cleaned up Telepathe song than what I'd expect from Simian Mobile Disco. Either way, it's a keeper.

You can pre-order the 'Temporary Pleasure' LP or buy the CD at Insound and you can catch them on tour in Chicago at the Metro on November 4th. They will also be doing a DJ set at Smartbar for the Chicago Workgroup DJs' All Systems Go afterparty!

Here's a preview of "Pinball" and the Luke Vibert remix of "It's the Beat" from their last record Attack Decay Sustain Release.

Simian Mobile Disco featuring Telepathe - Pinball (from Temporary Pleasure)

Simian Mobile Disco - It's the Beat (Luke Vibert Mix)

Telepathe ARE musicians

Posted by YoungCreature / at 12:26 PM / / 0 comments

Telepathe just did an interview with XLR8R TV where they discuss their musical backgrounds, their love affair with The Cure, and how the douchebags at Pitchfork took the liberty to discuss their personal lives, among other things. They're super cute and I was REALLY impressed by their live performance. I'm a fan.

Here's the interview, and their video for "So Fine"

Telepathe ARE musicians

Posted by YoungCreature / at 12:26 PM / / 0 comments

Telepathe just did an interview with XLR8R TV where they discuss their musical backgrounds, their love affair with The Cure, and how the douchebags at Pitchfork took the liberty to discuss their personal lives, among other things. They're super cute and I was REALLY impressed by their live performance. I'm a fan.

Here's the interview, and their video for "So Fine"

Telepathe ARE musicians

Posted by YoungCreature / at 12:26 PM / / 0 comments

Telepathe just did an interview with XLR8R TV where they discuss their musical backgrounds, their love affair with The Cure, and how the douchebags at Pitchfork took the liberty to discuss their personal lives, among other things. They're super cute and I was REALLY impressed by their live performance. I'm a fan.

Here's the interview, and their video for "So Fine"