By now, the psychedelic Brooklynites in Yeasayer are probably sick of being compared to Animal Collective. So we hope they don’t mind us saying that listening to their second full-length, Odd Blood, this January reminds us of playing AnCo’s Merriweather Post Pavilion at the same time last year — which is to say, as far as we’re concerned, Odd Blood has set the bar for 2010. A 2007 buzz band with the release of debut All Hour Cymbals, Yeasayer have massively overhauled their sound on the new record, trading the devotional and hypnotic for something that’s more upbeat and darkly revelatory.

This reinvention has saved Yeasayer from the sad fate of so many former critical darlings, from Clap Your Hands Say Yeah! to Tapes ‘N Tapes to (dare we say it?) Vampire Weekend: that disappointment we call the “sophomore slump.” So, in celebration of Odd Blood, we offer 10 blog-age artists whose second full-lengths lived up to (or surpassed) the promise of their predecessors.

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Search for “Do They Know It’s Christmas?” on iTunes and you’ll see an endless array of interpretations of the 1984 Band Aid classic. And beginning today (with a 7” to follow in February), you’ll find perhaps the most exciting rendition of all time. The brainchild of post-hardcore innovators Fucked Up, the new version also features the vocal stylings of a shockingly stellar selection of musicians, including Yo La Tengo, GZA, Vampire Weekend’s Ezra Koenig, Bob Mould, Tegan & Sara, Andrew W.K., Kyp Malone of TV on the Radio, David Cross and Broken Social Scene’s Kevin Drew. And in the grand “Do They Know It’s Christmas?” tradition, the band is looking out for the ladies: Fucked Up will donate all proceeds from the single to Justice for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, DTES Power of Women Group and Sisters in Spirit.

Fucked Up’s track is the kind you’ll want to construct an entire holiday mix tape around. So, for inspiration, check out six more new, seasonal releases under the cut.

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Kyp Malone’s anticipated solo project Rain Machine is more experimental than anything his band TV on the Radio have put out. It’s an album that is personal and raw; it’s Malone at his most exposed. Gone is the sonic fuzz, leaving space for more melodic instrumentation and allowing more focus on his lyrical content. Lush, Astral Weeks-eqsue orchestration, stripped-down, bluesy acoustic guitar/banjo strums, tribal drum beats, and soulful gospel breakdowns are all tied together by Malone’s soulful croak. After catching his tour kick-off at Bell House earlier this week, we got together with Malone to learn a little more about the project. Read More »

1. TV on the Radio is taking a year-long break from touring and recording to work on other projects. [via NME]
2. The official statement: “Oprah is very appreciative that Chris Brown performed at her school but she takes domestic abuse very seriously. She hopes he gets the counseling he needs.” [via TMZ]
3. Jane Fonda, Wallace Shawn, and David Byrne are protesting the selection of Tel Aviv as this year’s Toronto Film Festival spotlight city. [via NYT]
4. A young graffiti artist was arrested after taking a £500,000 box of pencils from Damien Hirst’s latest installation at the Tate Britain gallery. [via Daily Mail]
5. Tyler Perry will write, direct, and produce an adaptation of Ntozake Shange’s 1975 play For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide When the Rainbow Is Enuf. [via The Wrap]

Jane's Addiction, photo credit: Dave Mead

Total bedlam with a good soundtrack, that’s Lollapalooza. The last time I was in Chicago’s Grant Park with this many people — estimates show 200,000 bought tickets — we’d all just voted out a malevolent Washington administration that was past its expiration date. This time the masses and I were there to see as many different bands as humanly possible during a three-day free-for-all. People may not have been crying tears of joy, but spirits were definitely high. It would be nice to think that the world is a gentler place now than it was last November, but it’s not exactly true. Instead, the Midwest’s main music festival just seemed to prove that we’re pretty good at ignoring hard times. As Perry Farrell himself said, Lollapalooza is recession proof. Read More »

1. Bruno‘s performance peaked on opening night and had a huge drop the rest of the weekend, finishing with $30.4 million. [via Yahoo!]
2. Brooklyn band TV on the Radio isn’t as popular with fans in the UK. [via NME]
3. “A made-for-tv gun battle erupted outside a Brooklyn baby shower for the wife of a star of the HBO crime series The Wire Sunday, killing one teen and wounding two men, cops said.” [via NYDN]
4. Green Day’s drummer would like to have Banksy tattoo rats on his chest. [via NYP]
5. Why is Target afraid of being associated with Anna Sui’s Gossip Girl-inspired collection? [via NYDN]

Before we begin, we’d like to point out that in this edition of the BBBC, links to purchase books go to Powell’s instead of Amazon. We don’t have a problem with the ‘zon – maybe we’ve mentioned our love for Kindle, blogger issues aside? — but they seem to be doing just fine, while independent bookstores are dropping like flies. We may love Kindle, but we also love bookstores and the people who run them, and they need our book buying dollars a hell of a lot more (plus e-books occasionally skimp on features, like Benji’s map of Sag Harbor). Yeah, we know Buy Indie Day was May 1st and that Powell’s is one of the most famous independent bookstores in the world, but we’re reminding you that there’s  nothing wrong with buying indie every day, online or locally. On to the books, after the jump. Read More »

I’m one of those people who sometimes goes to the gym. Like everyone else, I get sucked into the many televisions strategically placed in front of the stationary bikes, elliptical machines, and treadmills. And what’s on? The same channel as always: mtvU. Insipid music videos stream steadily. News updates from ABC… which feature the FOX news logo. Blargh. Sometimes you can’t help watching the changing colors and images with voyeuristic curiosity. TV on the Radio showed up one day this week. Their video for “Golden Age” is pretty mythological and psychedelic; I’d argue that the costumes are more stimulating than the song, though. Read More »

Today at Flavorpill we were excited to find out that Gang Gang Dance will still be playing our Armory Show afterparty at the MoMA, even after fire destroyed their gear. We nearly fell out of our seats laughing at this kittens video. We listened to TV On The Radio remix Nat King Cole — it’s part of an upcoming compilation. We found it funny that Gayle King gets to reject Chris Brown’s apology — who does she think she is, Oprah? We weren’t sure who to believe in the Don Murphy/Alan Moore Watchmen smackdown. We’re officially intrigued by this Scott Pilgrim flick. We want to know how Phelps avoided getting in legal trouble for the pot. We nearly threw up thanks to this collection of stuff (read: teeth) found on the London Underground. And finally, we enjoyed Idolator’s take on William Safire’s take on (explanation of?) mashups.

Now sharing stages with everyone from T.I. to Lil Wayne, hungry young rapper Wale was originally bred on go-go, a percussive subgenre of funk and hip-hop indigenous to DC. Despite the capital’s surplus of musical talent, the city long suffered from a hip-hop ice age, until Wale emerged in 2006 and began a slow and steady takeover. Now, after a handful of acclaimed mixtapes, high-profile collaborations with Mark Ronson and Nick Catchdubs, and a record deal with Interscope, Wale is poised to release a hit debut this spring.

After the jump, we chat with the rapper about go-go, his hometown, what it means to be an intelligent MC, and the details of his recent collab with TV on the Radio.

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