Miscellaneous

~ Coldplay has sold over 30 million records which is a pretty staggering number in this day and age. EMI/Capitol would have you believe that they carry the weight of the world on the shoulders with this upcoming release. Of course it's going to be a let down in some way. That said, I think they've done a solid job with the new album. It seems to lack those big sing-a-long choruses which may turn off their casual fans and the lyrics are still terrible but there's quite a bit of quality in the music to be found here. The new album will be streaming on their MySpace page later today.

~ Despite the critical acclaim, I've really had very little interest in any of Deerhunter's recorded material. However, the two songs now playing on their MySpace page show a very different direction and both are damn good. It seems their new album Microcastle has leaked without, I believe, a release date.

~ I really dislike the NBA (Kobe especially) but how can you not watch the Finals? I'm in.

~ Not surprisingly, Pitchfork has given the Fleet Foxes s/t debut a Best New Music tag and a 9.0. I know I've mentioned this before but for all of the terrible things that Pitchfork is known for (e.g., never read one of their reviews of a band you like - you'll only be disappointed, Amy Phillips, etc.), I still count on them to find new bands. Fleet Foxes was one of them. The Sun Giant EP is awesome. I don't think the s/t is better but I've got tickets to see them next month and am really looking forward to it.

~ If this iPhone 2.0 is anything like the rumors suggest, Verizon and I will be parting ways after 9 good years.

Additional Headlines Cont'd w/Klaxons, Deerhunter, and PB&J

I wanted to take a quick moment to recognize the debut Klaxons album Myths of the Near Future. I haven't quite figured out if this album should be considered a guilty pleasure but I am sure that you can throw throw this NME-loving term "new rave" out the window. I have no clue what that means but damn is this album fantastic. I've read some grumblings that there isn't a lot of new material beyond the 4 pre-released singles but for someone who didn't follow them previously, this album surprised me in more ways than I can remember. It reminds me a lot of when I listened to Silent Alarm for the first time. It's not as good, mind you, but I keep asking myself how each song can be so catchy and it's the only thing pulling me away from Cloud Cult right now. As InMyTree mentioned this morning, the album will be released in the States in late April. However, it's out now in the UK and you can stream the full album now at NME. After an altogether down year in music in 2006, it's hard to complain with the music I've heard in the first month of 2007 alone.

Klaxons Album Stream

The writing has been on the wall for the Best New Music tag for the Deerhunter album. I've managed to collect 6 songs off the album from various Hype Machine sources as Ryan Schreiber has been pimping these guys for awhile now. I'm not quite convinced this deserves an 8.9 but I think I need to hear the album in full before passing judgement.

Going to see Peter Bjorn and John tonight at Bowery. After reading the gushing reviews from BV (night 1, night 2), I can't fucking wait. There is currently an interview with the band on Pitchfork. This is my vote for the second best song on the album.

MP3: Peter Bjorn and John - "The Chills"