SMSS: Vit Päls – “Hösten talar med oss” (Autumn Speaks To Us)
Words: Amy Kerezstes
Sometimes you get to meet the musicians you really like, and sometimes you don’t. Sometimes you just end up sitting in their general vicinity while they play a very good acoustic set at a student union house of an agricultural university in rural Sweden. An experience you’re all surely had.
SMSS: Patrick Watson – “Into Giants”
Words: Amy Keresztes
I am a big fan of NPR’s All Songs Considered, and one of my greatest pleasures is their breathless, jubilant coverage of SXSW. This year, their late-night dispatches and pre-and post- festival coverage were chock-full of someone I’d never listened to before: Patrick Watson. (And I don’t think I have ever been more musically indebted to Bob Boilen, Robin Hilton, and others on the show: a thousand thanks, gentlemen!)
“Into Giants” by Patrick Watson, is transformative. (If I am reluctant to say “life-changing,” I can at least confidently call it “season-changing”). It’s a sprawling, lush number with the best combinations of ear-pleasing snaps, claps, jangling, horns, “oohs”, and harmonies- but still while being far from formulaic or familiar. It deserves to be listened to in the most beautiful location on the most beautiful day you can rustle up.
Interview: Jay and Mark Duplass
The Maidstone. East Hampton, NY.
Interview: Rob DeStefano
The Coens, Wachowskis, Afflecks, and Olsens… is there room for more siblings? We originally scoffed at the idea, but then remembered that Jay and Mark Duplass are a modern pair and were not a part of Duck Soup.
This fraternal collaboration both writes and directs their films, though the younger of the two, Mark, often takes center stage – most recognizable as Pete from the popular TV series The League; however, most prolific as Ben in Humpday. The duo made their first splash on the indie film scene with The Puffy Chair (2005), a road trip dramady that falls underneath the Mumblecore awning. The brothers’ use of improvisation, a handheld camera, and quirky yet heartfelt characters would become a staple of their craft, giving life to their later filmography: Baghead (2008), Cyrus (2010), and Jeff, Who Lives at Home (to be released Friday, March 16th). As their careers have expanded, so have their budgets and star power, but this seems to have had no adverse effect on these humble chums. IF had a chance to talk with them at an early screening of their newest film.
SMSS: Wild Nothing – “Nowhere”
Words: Amy Keresztes
Wild Nothing is Jack Tatum, whose admirable 2010 record Gemini gave me instant heart palpitations from the very beginning. Judging by the sound of his latest track “Nowhere” from the recently released single of the same name, he’s back at it. The song is full and satisfying from start to finish, with rich, warm Americana accents and a healthy dose of twang. I can imagine critics calling it formulaic and safe, but it’s a kind of safety that works, especially because it’s a charming novelty when contrasted with his earlier work. The guest vocals of Andrea Estella, who is immediately recognizable as the gentle drowse-inducing lead of Twin Sister, add an even richer depth to the completeness of the song.
Happy Leap Day
May you never steal, lie, or cheat, but if you must steal, then steal away my sorrows, and if you must lie, lie with me all the nights of my life, and if you must cheat, then please cheat death because I couldn’t live a day without you Leap Year. Cheers!
-Love IF-
SMSS: Electric Guest – “This Head I Hold”
Words: Amy Keresztes
This week I was headed in a very Smog direction, until my lovely sister sent me the link to a song by Electric Guest called “This Head I Hold.”
Before I could be annoyed that she “discovered” something before I did, the pleasures of the song took over. How could anyone deny the instant crush one gets on a tinkling keyboard, snappy percussion, hand claps, and a velvet-smooth falsetto from a groovy frontman vocalist? It’s good clean fun, quite simply. And pretty soon I had it on repeat.
IF’s 2012 Oscar Jamboree
Words: Rob DeStefano & James Passarelli
For thousands of years, the Grammys have been the most relevant of the four award shows, but after bestowing upon some chump named Bon Iver the sought-after Best New Artist honor, they might find themselves trailing the Academy by the month’s end. Sure, the Oscars picked their fair share of losers this year: from silent movies (I’m told that’s how they used to do all of them – yikes!) to comedies (who wants to laugh?), but they redeemed themselves with nominees that reminded us of the joys of nineteenth century race relations, the inspiration animals have on all of us, and the delicate manner in which national tragedies can be remembered and replayed. So this year, we just thought we would give our two cents on the best and the brightest in film in 2011, as well as reminding everyone all those filmic masterpieces that tragically slipped through the cracks (it would seem the Academy forgot Joel Schumacher is still making movies). And the Ferret goes to…
If Your Favorite Rapper is a Famous Rapper, Need to Put Him on This Gibbs Shit
Words: Doug Knickrehm
The smoking section introduced me to Freddie Gibbs December 1, 2009. They promoted the mixtape Labels Trying to Kill Me, hosted by DJ Skee. The tape was really a compilation of songs from four or five of Gangsta Gibbs’s previous mixtapes such as the Live from Gary Indiana series, Midwestgangstaboxframecadillacmuzik, and the Miseducation of Freddie Gibbs. Immediately impressed by his impeccable flow, raw lyricism, and street sound, I quickly regarded Freddie as one of my favorite rappers. I usually argue that debates over the “best” rapper or album are irrelevant because “best” is such a subjective term. However, as 2012 gets underway and rappers-turned-mafiosos, wanna-be Curren$y rappers, and what Gibbs so artfully refers to as “butt-fuck rap” dominate the airwaves and blogosphere, Freddie is one of the last rappers with an identity backed by lyrical prowess. This combination makes him the best rapper alive.
SMSS: Lijadu Sisters – “Orere Elejigbo”
Words: Amy Keresztes
I was excited to see this piece in the Guardian this week asserting “It’s about time the Lijadu Sisters’ unique, punkish slant on 1970s funk, soul and disco got its rightful dues.” If you know Nigerian music, you know King Sunny Ade and Fela Kuti, but few people seem to be as familiar with the Lijadu sisters. It’s not too late to remedy this for yourself with this excellent compilation album.
Known as the most successful female musicians in Nigeria in the 70s, twin sisters Taiwo and Kehinde Lijadu are difficult to pin down, genre-wise. Their warm, soulful, body-moving music has been labelled everything in various combinations of “jazz,” “dubwise,” “highlife,” “funk,” “Afrobeat” and many more, but once you hear this track and others, you’ll be calling it mostly just smashing.
SMSS: Kate and Anna McGarrigle – “Avant la guerre”
Words: Amy Keresztes
Sometimes it’s best to stick with a sure thing. You know what I mean? We all have those records that fit every season, ever mood, every epoch in our lives, and we listen to them from start to finish, equally satisfied each time.
For me, one of those is Kate and Anna McGarrigle’s Entre Lajeunesse et la sagesse, also known as French Record. Part of the insanely talented clan that also includes Loudon Wainright III and Rufus and Martha Wainwright, sisters Kate and Anna grew up in a mountain village in Quebec. They both attended university in Montreal in the 1960s and took the city’s folk scene by storm. Since then, the duo has recorded a dozen records and performed at venues and festivals all over the world, until Kate’s death in 2010.