Grant Manship

The Heavy + Yo Gabba Gabba + Kia = Best Super Bowl Ad

My favorite ad from last night's Super Bowl was hands down the Kia ad.  If the awesomeness of seeing the various characters like Muno from Yo Gabba Gabba and the always classic Sock Monkey (among others) out on a joyride around places like Las Vegas wasn't enough, the spot also featured a great musical track.

The always trusty Shazam told me the song in question is called "How You Like Me Now?" by The Heavy.  You can hear it on their most recent album (released last October) called The House That Dirt Built.  I can safely say that while I may not be in the market for a new car at the moment, I'm definitely in the market for this album now.

Check out the ad and the video for "How You Like Me Now?" below.  You'd should also check out their appearance on David Letterman from last month here.  You'll notice always stellar Dap-Kings horn section helping out.  Dave liked it so much he asked them to do it again.

St. Vincent - Laughing With A Mouth Of Blood

Check out the video for MusicNow 2010 participant St. Vincent's track "Laughing With A Mouth Of Blood" below featuring Fred Armisen in drag.  You've got to love that part colonial, part Robert Plant wig he's sporting.

Beach House Stops By Daytrotter

Make sure to swing over to Daytrotter and check out today's session which features Beach House.

Broken Bells - The High Road

Preview A Track From Joanna Newsom's Have One On Me

While you're patiently waiting for Joanna's new album and her show at this year's MusicNow Festival, have a listen to a song called "'81" off the aforementioned new album Have One On Me here.  And in case you didn't know, the new album is going to be a triple album.  Yes, three times the fun!

Beach House - Silver Soul

(via Gorilla vs. Bear)

Indie Asia: On Tour with Handsome Furs

I was scanning the headlines on CNN.com today and was suprised when I saw "Come along on tour with Handsome Furs" on the front page.  After clicking the link, I was taken to a page for a documentary series called Indie Asia: On Tour with Handsome Furs.  The series is made up of episodes filmed by the band on Flip cams as they tour Asia.  Mashable.com has a story talking about the partnership between CNN and Sub Pop that lead to this series (CNN has also partnered up with Vice to bring a bit of Vice's interesting brand of journalism to the masses).

It's cool to see a band like the Handsome Furs get exposure like this.  They put on one of my favorite shows of last year at the Southgate House and deserve any credit or exposure thrown their way.  Check out the online series here.

2010 MusicNow Festival Lineup Announced

Yet once again, it looks like this year's MusicNow Festival (Mar. 30th - Apr. 1st) is going to be an absolutely stellar event.  Joanna Newsom will kick things off on Tuesday.  Having never seen Joanna perform, I'm extremely excited about her performance.  St. Vincent is slated for Wednesday.  Annie will be performing works, both new and old, and will also have a piece she wrote (which was commissioned by the festival) performed by yMusic.   Justin Vernon (aka Bon Iver) will close out the fest on Thursday night with a rare solo concert.

If you haven't already read it, our friend Joe at eachnotesecure has a great write-up looking at 5 great years of MusicNow.  Also, you might as well get your tickets now because you know you don't want to miss this.

Toro Y Moi - Blessa

Wyclef Jean's Statement Regarding The Haiti Earthquake

Haitian-born artist Wyclef Jean issued the following statement in regards to the earthquake that struck the island nation yesterday.  If you're able to, make a donation via the methods mentioned below.

Haiti yesterday faced a natural disaster of unprecedented proportion, an earthquake unlike anything the country has ever experienced.

The magnitude 7.0 earthquake – and several very strong aftershocks – struck only 10 miles from Port-au-Prince.

I cannot stress enough what a human disaster this is, and idle hands will only make this tragedy worse. The over 2 million people in Port-au-Prince tonight face catastrophe alone. We must act now.

President Obama has already said that the U.S. stands ‘ready to assist’ the Haitian people. The U.S. Military is the only group trained and prepared to offer that assistance immediately. They must do so as soon as possible. The international community must also rise to the occasion and help the Haitian people in every way possible.”

Many people have already reached out to see what they can do right now. We are asking those interested to please do one of two things: Either you can use your cell phone to text “Yele” to 501501, which will automatically donate $5 to the Yele Haiti Earthquake Fund (it will be charged to your cell phone bill), or you can visit www.yele.org and click on DONATE.

New MP3 from Clogs

Check out a track from the new Clogs record, The Creatures In The Garden of Lady Walton, due out March 2nd on Brassland. The Clogs are comprised of Bryce Dessner, Rachael Elliott, Thomas Kozumplik and Padma Newsome. The track below also showcases the talent of Shara Worden (My Brightest Diamond) on vocals.  In addition to Shara's multiple contributions, Sufjan Stevens makes an appearance on a track called "We Were Here".  You can listen to that song here.

• Clogs - "On The Edge" from The Creatures In The Garden of Lady Walton

Animal Collective - Brothersport

Islands - No You Don't

Ken Katkin's Best of 2009

The always popular "Best of" list from everyone's favorite Rock and Roll law professor Ken Katkin has arrived.  You can see it in all its glory below.

Top Ten New Albums of 2009 (in order):

1. VA - Stroke: Songs for Chris Knox 2CD (A Major Label) (New Zealand)
2. Jeffrey Lewis & The Junkyard - 'Em Are I LP/CD (Rough Trade)
3. VA - Score! 20 Years of Merge Records: The Covers! CD (Merge)
4. Scarpling & Wurster - A Vampire Or A Dogman CD (Merge)
5. Wussy - s/t CD (Shake It)
6. Pajo - Scream With Me LP/CD (Black Tent Press)
7. VA - Not Given Lightly: A Tribute To The Giant Golden Book Of New Zealand's Alternative Music Scene 3LP/2CD (Morr Music) (Germany)
8. Bonny Billy and The Picket Line - Funtown Comedown LP (Sea Note)
9. Jay Reatard - Watch Me Fall LP/CD (Matador)
10. Home Blitz - Out Of Phase CD (Richie)

Top Twelve New Singles/EPs of 2009 (in order):

1. Cotton Candy - Fantastic and Spectacular 7"EP (Teenbeat)
2. Jeffrey Novak - Home Sweet Home 7"45 (Shattered)
3. Bonnie "Prince" Billy - Chijimi (Ultraload) 10" EP (Drag City)
4. Concerto Caledonia & Lisa Milne/Future Pilot AKA & Kim Fowley - "Boredom"/"Walking the Cow"/"Devil Town" Split 7"EP (Aufgeladen Und Bereit)
5. Wussy/The Fervor - "Green Belt" split 7"45 (Karate Body)
6. Pajo (featuring Bonnie Parker) - "Francie's Song" MP3 (Blazebirth)
7. Spectrum - War Sucks CDEP (Mind Expansions)
8. The Bats - Don't You Rise 7"EP (Slumberland)
9. Edie Sedgwick / Aran Epochal split 7"45 (Silver Rocket)
10. America Hearts - Fond Regards MP3-EP (Bandcamp)
11. Julie Doiron/Calm Down, It's Monday - IPU CXX Split 7" (K Records)
12. Soulsavers - "Sunrise"/"You Will Miss Me When I Burn" 7"45 (Columbia)

My Favorite Albums of 2009

Like last year, it took me until the first day of the new year to look back and decide what my favorite albums were.  Here they are in no particular order.  Happy New Year!

Flaming Lips - Embryonic

Dirty Projectors - Bitte Orca

Julian Casablancas - Phrazes For The Young

Animal Collective - Merriweather Post Pavilion

Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros - S/T

Empire of the Sun - Walking On A Dream

Phoenix - Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix

Neon Indian - Psychic Chasms

Grizzly Bear - Veckatimest

Various Artists - Dark Was The Night

Julian Casablancas - 11th Dimension

Well... I hadn't planned on a back-to-back posts about Julian Casablancas this week but I guess Christmas has come early with the arrival of his first video from Phrazes For The Young. And besides, it's my blog and I can do what I want.

The video for "11th Dimension" finds Julian honing his musical skills as he travels through colonial times, the 80s and then into some post-apocalyptic Mad Max action by ascending the floors of a Pagoda. And get this, dude can act! Check it out below.

Julian Casablancas - I Wish It Was Christmas Today

I had planned on posting this track on Christmas Eve but I figured that for any day that isn't Christmas, the song will work just fine. That and the fact that Jimmy and Horatio reprised their role as part of the band last night on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, this clip is a must post. Check out Julian's performance below.  You can also check out the original from Saturday Night Live below that.

Foreign Born - Early Warnings

Zach Galifianakis + Will Oldham = Supreme Awesomeness

Today's release of The Hangover on DVD reminded me of the following alternative video for Kanye West's song "Can't Tell Me Nothing" featuring Zach Galifianakis and Will Oldham.  This definitely has to be one of the greatest videos of all time. I can also say with 100% certainty that I would watch infinitely more videos from Kanye if these two were cast in any of his future videos. Enjoy!

The White Stripes - Let's Shake Hands

Check out "Let's Shake Hands" from the upcoming White Stripes DVD Under Great White Northern Lights.

Hot Chip - One Life Stand