When we asked readers yesterday if Gwyneth Paltrow was the mainstream’s Zooey Deschanel, we got an interesting response: a yawn. It turns out, many of you are sick of hearing about Zooey at this point. And frankly, we’re beginning to agree. Which begs another question: Who has enough style and substance to become the next Queen of the Indies? We’ve got 10 solid nominees after the jump.
Slate ran a piece earlier in the week about a computer program that is “writing great, original works of classical music,” and then posed the question to their readers: “Will human composers soon be obsolete?” This got us thinking, what would the world be like if Terminator-esque robots replaced our favorite bands with “post-human” counterparts? What would we write like if we were replaced by blood-thirsty auto-bloggers?
Earlier this week the announcement that Vampire Weekend, Beach House, and Dum Dum Girls would all be performing together this summer at Merriweather Post Pavilion (among other venues) may have gotten us a little bit too excited. The combination of these three massive indie bands all playing on the iconic stage that legends from Jimi Hendrix to Janis Joplin have graced (and that Animal Collective, of course, named their critically-acclaimed album after) has convinced us that this may just be the most “epic” concert of the summer. And that got us thinking: Could we come up with a concert that was even more epic in scope?
With all the coverage Greyson Chance, the mini-Justin Bieber who covered Lady Gaga and instantly scored a record deal, has been getting, you’d think no one under 16 had ever posted a song cover on YouTube before. But today, we spotted a video of a group of ambitious middle schoolers performing their rendition of Deerhunter’s “Nothing Ever Happened,” and something occurred to us: A whole lot of youngsters seem to be so into indie rock that they’re posting their very own covers of songs hipsters love.
1. Greyson Chance — the 12-year-old whose talent show performance of “Paparazzi” went viral earlier this month — has signed a record deal with Interscope, Lady Gaga‘s label. Watch your back, Biebs. [via NYP]
2. Emerging playwright Annie Baker (who we interviewed here) has scored the Obie Award (think: Off-Broadway Tony) for new American play for a pair of works: “Circle Mirror Transformation” and “The Aliens.” [via Variety]
3. Artist Justin Lowe (whose faux meth lab took over Deitch Projects last summer) is going to recreate CBGB‘s iconic bathroom for Hartford’s Wadsworth Atheneum museum. [via WSJ]
4. Brace yourselves indie rock fans: Vampire Weekend. Beach House. Dum Dum Girls. All together on a north North American tour, beginning in August. [via P4K]
5. Christina Aguilera has posted an official statement on her website saying that she has “absolutely nothing against Lady Gaga” or any other female in the biz, for that matter. [via Vulture]
1. After Katy Perry ripped off their album title, Beach House is threatening to record a song called “I Kissed a Girl.” [via Vulture]
2. Some news that will make our prepubescent male readers happy: Playboy plans to unveil a 3D centerfold in their June issue. [via AP]
3. In the wake of Gang Starr rapper Guru’s death, someone has hacked into his former partner Solar’s email account. What they found suggests that he is just as evil as some people have always suspected. [via Sound of the City]
4. Coming soon to a theater near you, a Beatles zombie movie, Paul Is Undead: The British Zombie Invasion, based on an illustrated novel by Alan Goldsher. We look forward to finding out who gets cast as the band’s arch nemesis — a zombie-killing Mick Jagger. [via Spinner]
5. Chuck Klosterman’s upcoming release isn’t a new book. It’s a set of 50 cards intended to inspire debate and conversation among friends. [via Paste]
Bonus link: Richard Linklater’s pre-production notes for Dazed and Confused
So maybe the origins of today’s national stoner holiday aren’t all that flashy (you have a group of kids from San Rafael High School who called themselves “the Waldos” and are now in their fifties to thank), but it still deserves a decent playlist. If you plan on inviting some friends over after work to “brainstorm”, check out our thirteen selections after the jump to avoid harshing anyone’s buzz. Enjoy!
We sighed when Britney Spears considered a clothing line for Ed Hardy, but we weren’t exactly surprised. We were confused when Avril Lavigne forced her love of ties and “punk rock” skull imagery upon us with her line, Abbey Dawn, but it was quickly relegated to the sales rack at Kohl’s. Amy Winehouse’s line for PPQ, thankfully, never even got off the ground. This, however, is just too much: Fall Out Boy bassist Pete Wentz has launched Clandestine Industries, a “fashion line” that appears to consist of Louis Vuitton knockoff hoodies and T-shirts adorned with bulbous anime characters. Oh, and a haute couture straight jacket and Jason mask worn by the designer himself at a recent runway presentation.
After reflecting on that for a moment, we decided that it’s time to pay tribute to the musical artists whose real flair for fashion in everyday life would actually be sure to create some kick-ass couture.
There have been enough Valentine’s Day-themed mixes to overwhelm lately, so rest assured, this isn’t another one — though there are a few love songs to satisfy your fix. This week brings updates from singers who were off doing their own thing (Kate Nash, Yes Giantess) and fresh faces that deserve the light of day (Baby Monster, First Aid Kit). So without further ado, prepare to click ctrl + left click and “save as.” And as always, leave a comment to let us know what you think.
Beach House‘s Victoria Legrand is a woman of many trades. She is a wordsmith inspired by the imaginary “shape” of an individual lyric, a keyboardist who crafts woozily whimsical flutters of notes, and — as we most recently discovered — a fur tree maker. In the wake of her band’s acclaimed third release, Teen Dream, we had the pleasure of chatting with Legrand about these aforementioned skills and more, finally confirming the meaning behind the single, “Norway,” and introducing us to five great bands from her Baltimore home that we may not have heard of. Oh, and Selleck Waterfall Sandwich also made its way into the mix.
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