Tell Us About The 2011 Line-Up

[unknown]

Nobody has touched on any of the DnB artists on the lineup and I think Donald should do one for High Contrast (I've already bugged him about this and he will eventually). I will go ahead and throw some info on the biggest dnb dj on the lineup.

Andy C

Also known as The Executioner (I didn't know this until recently) and my best guess as to why he has this nickname is because he fucking KILLS (I prefer this explanation at least). Known for his djing skills more than production, he is quite a pleasure to catch. He usually drops a lot of tracks in a set because as soon as he lets a track drop he is already starting to mix in the next track. He is FAST on the decks and drops heavy hitting rollers.

In 1993, at the age of 15, he and Ant Miles formed as Origin Unknown and produced Valley of the Shadows and released it on his own RAM Recordings label. This track is a classic that is still heard today proving that Andy C has been a huge influence in the world of drum n bass for over 15 years.


He has won best dj a number of years at the Knowledge Awards, Drum n Bass Arena polls, and for DJ Magazine. He is able to take crowds on hard hitting journeys through the jungles of bass. He has a number of mixes that have been released over the years including his Nightlife Series (5 in total) that all showcase some of the top anthems in dnb mixed together flawlessly; Drum n Bass Arena mixes; Fabriclive 18 with Hype (also on the lineup this year); and there are COUNTLESS of live recordings from KISS, BBC, and live shows.

For a taste of what he will bring to Coachella's Pure Filth stage I suggest listening to any of the Nightlife series - Nightlife 5 was released October 2010. I can't post any live youtubes because I guarantee the mc's will get on your nerves (it's not as bad live and GQ may or may not be annoying at Coachella). I've caught Andy C a handful of times and a few of those times I have been BLOWN AWAY. The speed at which this man drops tunes is just amazing. I believe Coachella will be another set where he just blows me away.

[DANCE MAGIC]

Eeesh. I was going to do Animal Collective. When I get to work, I'm going to write up my take on them because there's a lot of...wrong (?) things in that post, it doesn't do a good job of establishing their importance/relevance. Fuck, I nearly wrote a book about them, so I think I can do them a bit more justice. I have to keep up my status as the O.G. AnCo groupie.

Oh. Sorry if my opinion about some band didn't include enough reverence for your super elitist hipster standards.

this kind of attitude is why people hate on AC, and its pretty warranted.

[JustSteve]

i would have loved to have gotten her book about animal collective, though. you see, i have this wobbly table and...

[PJandBompton]

i'm gonna fix up my Wiz post in a little bit...

[DANCE MAGIC]

And I call Bright Eyes. If I didn't, I think 13 year old me would go cry in a river, or something.

I was tempted to do Bright Eyes, you know, just for fun... but I started it out like this:

Bright Eyes

Connor Obherusrts is a whiney little bitch that makes the worst kind of emo. He is, in a large part, the reason emo, as a genre, became mallcore hot topic bullshit..

But then I decided that would just be an asshole thing to do, and it wouldn't help anyone... so I didn't do it.

[Laura owns you]

Daedelus

Alfred Darlington is a huge favorite among many of us. He is so humble and kind to his fans and he is such a great time live. His sets incorporate many of his tracks and remixes. He is very fun to watch on the monome. His music can be labeled as bass, experimental, glitch... He throws down live and is a must see if you like to dance. His albums over the years have been released on a number of labels including Alpha Pup, Ninja Tune, Warp, and Brainfeeder. He's played Coachella a couple times over the last few years and it is great that he will be playing in a tent this year. I am quite positive that he will bring an amazing set to the polo field.

edit: he will also be in a spiffy outfit. guaranteed.

HA! i literally had just watched this video ten minutes ago, awesome

but i think this one gives a better idea of him live:

[kitt kat]

they have both been done already with youtubes posted. no need to clutter and bore us with more hipster drivel.

First of all, fuck off.

Second of all, the person who did the Bright Eyes post I have on block so I never fucking saw it. Finally, both the AC and the Bright Eyes posts sucked because THOSE seem to be written by fanboyish "hipsters" who really can't speak to the significance or appeal of either band. Just being like "Oh, I like this, and I kinda sorta think I know shit about this band even though I've only heard their popular album makes me qualified to encourage people to go seem them." Fuck no.

I spent a good portion of my life invested in both of these bands and, while I may not be so fervently dedicated to either anymore, I do feel the need to look at their careers/body of work intelligently and not like the example I just posted.

So again, fuck you.

And the hipster jokes are really fucking cheap shots that just make everyone here look fucking stupid. Way to operate on stereotypes, everyone.

[TommyboyUNM]

The National

The National is a 5-piece band from Cincinnati, Ohio. Though, they are pretty much based out of Brooklyn at this point. It took a while for me to get into these guys, but I’m glad something finally clicked. They’ve released 5 proper albums: The National (2001), Sad Songs for Dirty Lovers (2003), Alligator (2005), Boxer (2007), and High Violet (2010). My two favorites are Boxer and High Violet, the latter being my favorite album of 2010.

Matt Berninger is the lead singer, primary song writer, and wino of the group. I’m not usually much of a lyrics guy, but it’s hard not to notice the incredible pictures that most of his songs paint. On the surface, their music can seem a little drab. Especially when taking into account the pre-High Violet era. There is, however, a lot of emotion and texture in which to get lost. I saw them perform at the Sasquatch festival last year, and it was pretty brilliant. What was great about the show was that the emotion and texture that I just mentioned was so beautifully juxtaposed with a great level of aggression. You can especially hear it in Matt’s voice. He gets surprisingly gritty and intense on stage. If you see them, you will surely be taken along for a memorable ride.

[WALRUS]

Animal Collective

This is where I fucking nerd the fuck out on AC, because I've never gotten to see them live, and I've been a big fan for years. I know a lot of people around here hate on them, and their live shows have been described as a feast or famine type of thing, but I'm super fucking excited about finally getting to see them.

So, Animal Collective is 4 guys from Maryland. Avey Tare, Panda Bear, Deakin and Geologist. All of these guys, except Geologist I think, have also done extensive solo work which is also super bad ass and awesome. Really though, the two main guys are Avey Tare and Panda Bear. Some of their best work was done by just those two guys. Anyway, I'm pretty sure they all grew up and went to high school together and probably ate a lot of acid and listened to awesome shit like Pet Sounds and lots of Pink Floyd together.

Their first album was called Spirit They're Gone, Spirit They've Vanished. Here's them playing Chocolate Girl, from that album, at Coachella 2008. I was watching Portishead.



So, they kept being awesome and everything and released some more albums and whatnot, and then in 2004 they released Sung Tongs and my face exploded apart. It's pretty much one of those albums where every song is bad ass and awesome, but if I had to pick one song from Sung Tongs to play for someone who didn't know about Animal Collective it would be "Who Could Win a Rabbit."



After that, they put out a couple more awesome albums, Feels and Strawberry Jam. I guess you could say that Strawberry Jam got them some of the commercial attention that they hadn't really hit on before. At the time, it was their best-selling album and everything, but whatever who gives a shit about that. It had this fucking jam on it:



So I guess after that, AC really kind of blew up and starting getting all huge. They put out Fall Be Kind and Merriweather Post Pavillion, which you've probably heard or you wouldn't have read all of this shit in the first place. I'm sure you've heard My Girls, What Would I Want? Sky and maybe even Brother Sport, so I'll refrain from youtubing them here, but if you haven't heard those songs, then fix that.

edit: On second thought, I guess maybe some people are reading this that have just never heard of Animal Collective at all and don't know anything about any of their music. That's cool, and for you, here is the regular album version of "What Would I Want? Sky" It's one of those songs with a long, slow, gracious buildup. It's beautiful and a little bit challenging. Animal Collective isn't the kind of band that cares about being radio friendly, and their live shows probably don't tend to exactly recreate the songs on their albums. These guys are fucking artists. If you give up on this song before like 3:00, you're really doing yourself a disservice. And don't just skip forward either, because that's a dick move.





In closing, I'm fucking nerding out on the fact that I'll finally get to see Animal Collective. I'm a much bigger fan of these guys than I've really let on, because I know how people look at them as some kind of stereotypical hipster douche assfuck band, and I sort of get it. But fuck you, these guys are god damn genius.

ANY CHANCES OF A NEW CD BEFORE COACHELLA? I LOVE ANIMAL COLLECTIVE, BUT I THINK THAT SUBHEADLINING WITHOUT NEW MUSIC IS NOT THAT GREAT FOR THE FESTIVAL

[kitt kat]

Oh. Sorry if my opinion about some band didn't include enough reverence for your super elitist hipster standards.

this kind of attitude is why people hate on AC, and its pretty warranted.

It's not that I'm a hipster elitist, I just have done a lot of research on the band in the past, I've interviewed them numerous times... It's like me trying to write a post on Kanye; I know SOME things about him, but I'm not qualified to convince people who have a preconceived opinion about him to invest their weekend in his set.

Also, pretty much the only words you used to describe them were "badass" and "awesome." Those are really weak words to describe music by.

[PlayaDelWes]

If an act is good LIVE, can you please cross-reference your review by posting a link to in the Who are the best LIVE acts of 2011? thread?

[Mr.Nipples]

[kitt kat]

Robyn

Swedish pop star Robyn first burst onto the mainstream scene in the late 90s; you may remember this jam...



Initially signed to pop powerhouse Jive records, Robyn severed all ties with the label in 2005 when the company resisted the heavier, more electronic-oriented dance pop songs she was producing. Among those songs was "Who's That Girl," co-written and produced by none other than Swedish electro-wunderkinds The Knife.



After leaving Jive, Robyn formed her own label, Konichiwa Records with the intent of having complete creative control over her music. She spent most of the mid 00s releasing music to moderate success in Scandanavia and the UK, but was significantly overshadowed in the US by more "mainstream" pop stars. During this time period, her song "Konichiwa Bitches" became a minor success in the UK.



Recently, however, Robyn's unique brand of fembot dance pop experienced a resurgence in the US, due largely in part to the rampant successes of other creatively experimental artists, such as Lady Gaga. Her most recent album, Body Talk (a double album of sorts, featuring a sampling of tracks from Body Talk Pt. 1 and Pt. 2, both released in 2010) received a surprising "Best New Music" designation from Pitchfork.

While Robyn's voice tends to be more aligned with the sugary, flirty vocals of artists like Madonna and Katy Perry, the instrumentation and production on the Body Talk songs is some of the best in contemporary pop music; driving, thunderous bass lines sit beneath spacey synth lines pulled straight from the Kraftwerk or Brian Eno songbook.



Lyrically, her songs range from cheesy and overly-maudlin to witty, feminazi power-wielding battle cries.





(Oh, but the cheesy stuff can be really entertaining and well-produced.)

[Still-ill]

I'm so glad we have qualifications for these things. Otherwise, anyone could write the things!

[Kyliediscope]

I ess I did a decent job. No one tore it apart. *Sigh of relief*

PJ Harvey is kinda hot, huh?

She's realllllllly short and realllllly skinny and has big eyes and a huge mouth. So, her features are really exaggerated and unique looking. Not everyone's cup of tea, but I think she's gorgeous.

She's on fire there.

Hah. Nice one.

[faxman75]

Finally, both the AC and the Bright Eyes posts sucked because THOSE seem to be written by fanboyish "hipsters" who really can't speak to the significance or appeal of either band.

Sorry but I disagree. I really dislike Animal Collective and find them annoying and pretentious. I think they are very over rated and this seemed more like a down to earth unpretentious review of who they are and what they have done. You say it was a fanboyish hipter review yet later you rip on DanceMagic for using simple words like "awesome".

You can't have it both ways. It's pretty basic. If something has been done don't repeat it. Should I go cry and write a better review for the National because Tommy ignored going into their early catalog? Of course not. His review was fine. They don't touch much of the older stuff anyway. Go play your 'i'm a bigger fan and know more than you' card somewhere else.

[Kyliediscope]

Fancy's review made me want to listen to Animal Collective and I have honestly never had that urge before. Though, I don't think it's a bad idea to get another perspective on the band... I'd just add to what he said and post minimal youtubes as to not over flood the thread.

[Kyliediscope]

Yelle

Yelle is currently a three person french band led by Julie Budet, who has adopted the name as her own. They have released one album titled Pop-Up in 2007 and have a second album titled Safari Disco Club due out later this year. It is important to say that the lyrics are in French. This will be an electropop dance orgy. I promise fun.

Ce Jeu


A Cause Des Garçons

[dorkfish]

Gordon Downie is the guy from Tragically Hip.

[DANCE MAGIC]

CSS

CSS is this group from Brazil. They're kind of indie electroclash sounding i guess. Their name means Cansei de Ser Sexy, which is Brazilian for "tired of being sexy," and also the name of their debut album. They are one of those bands that first started getting big because of the internets, and blogs started posting their shit and everything. They also had a bunch of songs in video games and on shitty TV shows. This song, which is very appropriate for Coache11a, was their first big single.



Their first album was initially only released in Brazil, but then after the whole internet got up on their nuts, they got international distribution and whatnot. Then they had a song on an ipod commercial. You've probably heard this song:



That's pretty much it. Their last album came out like 4 years ago or something, and I don't know if they'll have anything new out before April.

[TommyboyUNM]

A lot of what it takes to be a good writer is understanding your audience. While you may have a wealth of knowledge about Animal Collective, Kat, perhaps a more minimal approach is what's needed in this context. I think the nuts and bolts should be to relay what type of music it is, how they may sound in a live setting (if you've seen them), and post songs which you feel are good representations of the music. Many people who are reading this thread are researching a lot of artists almost simultaneously, so the most helpful approach might be to just give the CliffsNotes.

If you have some more to add concerning Animal Collective then, by all means, write something. I'm sure it would be helpful and Matt would have no problem linking to it on the 1st page. There's no need to criticize Scott, though. It's always interesting to read about why someone likes a certain artist. He has his reasons and you have yours. I can't stand Animal Collective, but I appreciated reading about why Scott likes them. He doesn't have to like them for the exact reasons you like them.

[liquidsnake28]

The National is a 5-piece band from Cincinnati, Ohio.

Too bad they never, ever play here. Even though 3/5 of them are from Cincinnati, most people consider them to be from Brooklyn because that's where they actually formed. High Violet was one of the best albums of the year, it really got me into them and they killed it at bonnaroo last year.

[know ID ya]

Sorry but I disagree. I really dislike Animal Collective and find them annoying and pretentious. I think they are very over rated and this seemed more like a down to earth unpretentious review of who they are and what they have done. You say it was a fanboyish hipter review yet later you rip on DanceMagic for using simple words like "awesome".

You can't have it both ways. It's pretty basic. If something has been done don't repeat it. Should I go cry and write a better review for the National because Tommy ignored going into their early catalog? Of course not. His review was fine. They don't touch much of the older stuff anyway. Go play your 'i'm a bigger fan and know more than you' card somewhere else.

I disagree. Taking only one person's point of view on a specific band goes against what music boards are all about. For example, I appreciate the National review, but personally I think Alligator is the best album they will ever create, especially lyrically, so someone saying Boxer and the new album are their favorites isn't exactly fair to someone new to the band (and in no way am I bashing the National review).

There is no reason why the first post of this thread can't be linked to three of four introductions to give the people new to the band a better idea of what is essential. If someone wrote a short paragraph about PJ Harvey, that means another boarder can't write that epic longer version?

I think this thread is great, and I hope it reaches 200 pages, I'll read every post. By the way, I don't post here much, but I read a lot. I'll probably do a Menomena intro, time permitting.

[PJandBompton]

updated Wiz, hope that helps...i don't see anyone not having a good time at the Wiz set...

[Mr. Porter]

Man I don't give a shit I want my props for giving examples of Kanye's production. Cite my post in the OP. Swag

[Kyliediscope]

Stay tuned for Twin Shadow.

[unknown]

Stay tuned for Twin Shadow.

nice

I fucking LOVE this thread. Thank you, Matt.

[MissingPerson]

Fancy's review made me want to listen to Animal Collective and I have honestly never had that urge before. Though, I don't think it's a bad idea to get another perspective on the band

Word.

Animal Collective wore thin on me precisely because I've heard so much about how fucking significant they're supposed to be, rather than what I'm supposed to actually enjoy about them. That's one of the first Animal Collective reviews I've ever read that sounded like the writer actually likes listening to them, and I was not being sarcastic in applauding it.

I do think multiple perspectives are awesome. We kinda established that waaaaaaay back on the first page of the thread too, so by all means throw your piece into the conversation - but that kind of posturing doesn't lend you any more authority than any other poster.

[kitt kat]

That's pretty much it. Their last album came out like 4 years ago or something, and I don't know if they'll have anything new out before April.

Their last album came out in 2008 on SubPop. And it bombed. Hard.

but that kind of posturing doesn't lend you any more authority than any other poster.

I just enjoy being a bitch.

[bmack86]

It's much too hard for many people to get away from academic-style analysis and to truly be able to express the way music actually affects them emotional, mentally and even physically in an interesting and legible manner. S'why I like reading multiple reviews for anything good; different people are going to express different things and you can get a wider view of an album by looking at it from different points of view.