Music Archive

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Foo Fighters headlining BlizzCon concert

By
Andy Yen
– September 28, 2011Posted in: Music, Video Games

Sarcasm aside, Dave is actually right in that the Foo Fighters are actually the most relevant band Blizzard has booked for Blizzcon. I mean, The Offspring, anyone? It’s actually kinda surprising that the Foo Fighters actually agreed to do it since they’re selling out arenas on their own tour this fall and don’t necessarily “need” the money.

I guess when you’re making $175 a head, you can afford to splurge on festivities entertainment. Seems almost like a waste of money since tickets for Blizzcon already sold out in May. They could have booked Har Mar Superstar to play the ‘Con and no one would think any less of them.

You know what, good on Blizzard. Getting the Foo was probably unnecessary from a business perspective, but going that extra step in delighting their fans only serves to bolster their legendary brand loyalty.

“We’re pretty sure that in the future, music historians will look back at BlizzCon 2011 as the unquestionable pinnacle of Foo Fighters’ long and illustrious career,” said Foo Fighters lead Dave Grohl in the announcement. “We look forward to living up to that prediction by bringing the Horde and Alliance together to rock the hell out of Anaheim next month.”

via Shacknews.com

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Download The Portal 2 Soundtrack For Free From Valve

By
Andy Yen
– June 6, 2011Posted in: Music, Video Games

Being the nice people that they are, Valve is offering up the soundtrack score to Portal 2 on their website for free. They’ve also got up some ringtones in both Android and iPhone audio formats along with some previews to boot.

I can’t say I’m enamored with any of those ringtones to actually use them since they’re a bit noisy for me, but if you’re into any of them, they’re there for you. What I really need is a great short SMS notification sound clip because the iPhone comes with the worst noises possible.

The soundtrack itself is innocuous enough to use as background noise while you work, although some people might find the tracks with high pitched beeping and pew pews a little annoying.

You can hit up the direct link for the ZIP file for the soundtrack here.

via Official Portal 2 Website – Music.

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This Is The New National Song From Portal 2

By
Andy Yen
– April 19, 2011Posted in: Music, Video Games

With Portal 2 officially in stores today, we can finally hear the new The National track from the game, “Exile Vilify.” Unsurprisingly, the song sounds extremely mopey and downtempo. At least Matt Berninger writes about trials and “mind troubling.” That sorta sounds like what Portal is about.

Granted, I haven’t played through the game yet so I’m not going to comment more on the song in the game’s context. However, anyone expecting anything remotely resembling “Still Alive” needs to quickly reevaluate their expectations.

via YouTube – The National- Exile Vilify.

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Did You Know That Tiesto Makes $20 Million Annually?

By
Andy Yen
– April 5, 2011Posted in: Music, Music Industry

Yeah, me neither. That’s a breathtakingly high number, especially for someone who is “just a DJ.” To put it in perspective, that would make his annual salary higher than anyone in the NBA, save Kobe Bryant (who makes $24.8 million a year).

But you know what? Good for him. The dude has worked his ass off since the mid-eighties to get to here he’s at today. He tours constantly and loves what he does. He’s clearly good at what he does, including marketing himself, his music, and establishing relationships with his fans.

Witness Tiësto, the stage name of the Dutch disc jockey, producer and composer Tijs Michiel Verwest, the headliner on Friday, Ultra’s opening night. Though he’s never had a crossover radio hit and his solo albums sell modestly, Tiësto is a major international star, as confirmed by one familiar evaluation: His annual income apparently exceeds $20 million.

“Yeah. Could be that,” he said without a trace of affect recently by phone. “Before taxes and costs.”

via WSJ.com.

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Watch LCD Soundsystem’s Three And A Half Hour Last Show From MSG 4/2/11

By
Andy Yen
– April 3, 2011Posted in: Music

Apparently Pitchfork TV streamed LCD Soundsystem’s entire three hour, forty-one minute last performance from Madison Square Garden over the weekend. This is some epic shit here, folks. Not only did Arcade Fire show up to guest on “North American Scum,” LCD Soundsystem played the entire 45:33 mix! I guess if you’ve planned out your band’s last live show, you may as well go hog wild and play for almost four friggin’ hours. What a way to go out.

I recommend using something like SaveYoutube to download a local copy of the show just in case someone forces Pitchfork or YouTube to take down the video someday.

Set 1:
2:10 Dance Yrself Clean (with “I’m Not In Love” by 10cc intro)
12:40 Drunk Girls
17:09 I Can Change
23:45 Time To Get Away
28:16 Get Innocuous!
35:18 Daft Punk Is Playing At My House
41:45 Too Much Love
46:53 All My Friends
55:30 Tired (with “Heart of the Sunrise” by Yes snippet)
—
Set 2:
45:33 Part One
45:33 Part Two (w/ Reggie Watts)
Sound of Silver
45:33 Part Four
45:33 Part Five (w/ Shit Robot)
45:33 Part Six
Freak Out/Starry Eyes
—
Set 3:
1:54:39 Us v Them
2:04:00 North American Scum (with Arcade Fire)
2:11:45 Bye Bye Bayou (Alan Vega cover)
2:16:30 You Wanted A Hit
2:24:07 Tribulations
2:29:15 Movement
2:33:48 Yeah (Crass Version)
—
Set 4:
2:45:30 Someone Great
2:53:06 Losing My Edge (With “Da Funk” by Daft Punk snippet)
3:03:36 Home
—
Set 5:
3:15:53 All I Want
3:22:18 Jump Into the Fire (Harry Nilsson Cover)
3:30:30 New York, I Love You But You’re Bringing Me Down (with “Twin Peaks Theme” by Angelo Badalamenti intro)

via YouTube – LCD Soundsystem’s last show in all its glory. Arcade Fire guesting!

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New Death Cab For Cutie Single – You Are A Tourist

By
Andy Yen
– April 3, 2011Posted in: Music

Personally, I haven’t really been enamored with what Death Cab For Cutie has been putting out after Plans. This new single, “You Are A Tourist” isn’t as poppy as “Soul Meets Body” nor is it as euphoric as, say, “We Looked Like Giants,” from Transatlanticism. It’s just kinda… there. It’s decidedly Death Cab, but the song feels like its a shade of what the band has accomplished in the past. In fact, “You Are A Tourist” feels like it was already on a previous album.

Listen here and tell me if you agree:

via YouTube – Death Cab for Cutie – You Are A Tourist.

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The National Will Write A Song For Portal 2

By
Andy Yen
– March 23, 2011Posted in: Music, Video Games

This news is from a little over a week ago and it’s not much more than a short announcement, but screw it, it’s noteworthy.

The National are writing a song to be featured in Portal 2.

I’m still a bit skeptical because though, yes, The National are a “buzzworthy” indie band these days, The original Portal’s signature song, “Still Alive, was great because it was written from the perspective of a whimsically evil yet fun ode from a sardonic computer AI. The only imagery The National conjures up for me is a mid-tempo soundtrack to moping.

I hope I’m proven wrong, but this news doesn’t exactly excite from the point of view of a Portal fan. The good thing is that Jonathan Coulton has already been confirmed to be writing another song for Portal 2. It would have been a shame if Valve dumped him in favor of a “bigger” indie rock artist.

“The inclusion of the original song, Still Alive, in the first Portal game was part of what made the game special,” explained Valve writer Chet Faliszek.

“For Portal 2, we wanted to extend the use of music. When Bug Music mentioned to us that The National might be interested, we jumped at the opportunity to work with them.”

via The National write song for Portal 2 News – Page 1 | Eurogamer.net.

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New Deadmau5 Track – HR 8938 Cephei

By
Andy Yen
– March 22, 2011Posted in: Music, Music Picks

I’ll admit, Deadmau5′s latest album, 4×4=12, wasn’t exactly my favorite mix of songs. Sure, it had some nice tracks (“Some Chords,” “Right This Second”), but it doesn’t come close to some of his other mixes or previous albums. It just felt a bit disjointed and not quite memorable.

Fortunately, his new song, “HR 8938 Cephei,” is pure awesome. It has a more “traditional” electronica trance-y feel, eliciting visions of a journey through space. (Which makes sense, given that the title of the track is the name of a distant star.)

Best listened to while driving at night or on a rainy day or when you just need some music to get you through the workday. Clocking in at just under 11 minutes, it’s an epic soundtrack for when you have to just do shit.

YouTube – Deadmau5 – HR 8938 Cephei (Full – 1080p).

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Listen To Two New Burial Songs With Four Tet And Thome Yorke

By
Andy Yen
– March 17, 2011Posted in: Music

The Thome Yorke dubstep train continues on with two new songs from a new Burial 12″ EP featuring Four Tet and Yorke.

There are two songs making the rounds from a Floating Points + Four Tet Rinse.FM show a couple of days ago.

Mirror:

and Ego:

If you’re like me, your tastes may gravitate more to Ego which makes sense since the track is the “A-side” on the 12″ release. It’s a solid track, if not a bit predictable. Are we poised for dubstep to become the “chillwave” of 2011?

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Liam Gallagher Reviews King Of Limbs

By
Andy Yen
– March 3, 2011Posted in: Music

I heard that fucking Radiohead record and I just go, ‘What?!’ I like to think that what we do, we do fucking well. Them writing a song about a fucking tree? Give me a fucking break! A thousand year old tree? Go fuck yourself! You’d have thought he’d have written a song about a modern tree or one that was planted last week. You know what I mean?

I know what you mean, Liam. I know exactly what you mean.

Liam Gallagher Reviews King Of Limbs – Stereogum.

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