MGMT-Flash Delirium (Video)

Kind of hard to know what to make of this, but its definitely strange. Does it make any fucking sense whatsoever? No. But that really doesn't matter because it's weird in a total nightmare kind of way which I guess works for it somehow...

One can stream the entire new album before it's released here.

The Runaways

Before I get started, please read this and forward it quickly, because I just have an idea some of these pictures (one in particular) are gonna get flagged and we might get shut down for a couple of days. Without further ado…

Finally, and after much anticipation, The Runaways, directed by Floria Sigismondi and starring Kristen Stewart and Dakota Fanning as Joan Jett and Cherie Curry, respectively, has been released (actually I’m surprised to see how little anticipation there has been.) In my earlier post on the film, I talked about how this film would really be about whether the two starlets could pull off such adult roles after building names for themselves as American PG sweethearts. That remains the only story to tell here. The film was lacking a lot, but it sure as shit wasn’t lacking a performance from either of these two. Both did an awesome job and definitely changed the way I’ll look at either one moving forward.

If I give Sigismondi credit for anything in this film, she had the balls to push the envelope with these girls and convinced them to do some stuff on camera that I never would have thought they’d be cool with. We meet up with 15 year-old Cherie Curry as her legs are dripping with the blood of her first period on the Sunset Strip, on her way to a random hook up with a random guy in the back of his car. They don’t hold back on the drug front, either. My favorite scene is when the girls are en route to Japan and the rodie tells them they’re about to land, so, “if you have any drugs, get rid of them.” Curry and Jett head to the bathroom where they proceed to shovel mountains of blow from their palms, straw free up their noses and onto their tongues, and pop whatever pills they can handle. Ahh, to be a 15-year-old rock star of the 1970’s (sorry, I couldn’t find a picture from this
scene.)

Joan Jett is an angry young punk chick, hell bent on changing the face of Rock and Roll at any cost. She’s sick of being told that Rock and Roll is a man’s game and 20 minutes into the movie, I was sick of being reminded of how unfair that is. There is no point in the movie when you aren’t reminded, either by a menacing crowd, Kim Fowley, or Jett, that people don’t want to see girls play rock and roll and that The Runaways have to shove it down their throats. It gets a bit annoying, but not thanks to Stewart who personifies the future Rock Goddess impeccably. From the awkward, developing teen that can’t yet play the guitar, to the fully formed leader of the band, with a mastery of her instrument and the art form, Stewart evolves and grows with the character seamlessly. She manages the tough-guy persona as leather clad leader of a kick-ass punk band without sacrificing her femininity, which really comes across during tender moments between Jett and Curry. Kristen, you really kicked ass here.


Having said all that, Dakota Fanning definitely takes the cake in this film. I’m not surprised that she should be capable of delivering such a stellar performance, she’s been getting nominated for awards since she was a little girl in 2001’s “I am Sam.” What surprises me is that she’s managed to translate her skills as a convincing and heartbreaking child actor to the role of a drug addled sexpot. What’s more, in the role of Cherie Curry we get to see this evolution of a character play out on screen. A better metaphor for this transition than the aforementioned “first period” scene would be tough to come by. When Fowley and Jett spot Curry in Rodney Bingenheimer’s on the Sunset Strip sipping Mountain Dew, she’s still a young girl with stars in her eyes but no marks on her soul. From her botched audition for the band to her ownership of the tough as nails sexpot (a role in which, it’s worth mentioning she did her own singing,) to the washed up drug addict less than two years later, you never get the feeling that she’s faking it. And she’s hot! Fanning has always been adorable and loveable to moviegoers but in this role she needed to shatter her girl-scout next-door persona, and when she’s rocking out seductively onstage in signature Cherie Curry Lingerie, she blows any preconceived notions about her innocence out of the water.


Perhaps the most effective aspect of her performance is not that of the drug addict or the daughter of an alcoholic but that of the fucked up kid discovering herself in a relationship with Joan Jett.


You get the idea that Jett is less than straight, but for Curry, the attraction is less about girls and more about Joan. Joan Jett discovered Curry at a real low point in her life and gave her a purpose. She told her that just by being, she was a superstar and what’s more, she turned her into one. Curry couldn’t even sing before Jett and Fowley came along while Fowley’s help came from a place of greed, Jett’s came from a place of love and adoration.

While we’re on the subject, let’s get into the character of Kim Fowley and his portrayal by Michael Shannon. I couldn’t possibly end this thing without ripping someone apart, right?


While the character of Kim Fowley is undeniably integral to the telling of this story, his representation both in the film as it’s written and by actor Michael Shannon is fucking miserable and one of the film’s biggest drawbacks. While Fowley was definitely an over the top eccentric, the overacting on the part of Shannon shatters any chance this film had at being taken seriously. He is caricatured at best and if at any point you start to enjoy the crazy ride The Runaways are on, he is right around the corner to spoil it for you. I literally went through 2 minute periods that started with me loving the film and ended with me wanting to get up and leave. He just fucking ruins it.

Director Floria Sigismondi may have fumbled here but how can you really blame someone who’s previous directing experience includes only music video compilations for VHI? I want to know who’s job it was to pick such an inexperienced director to direct such an historically significant film? The woman uses headline montages to compress time for crying out loud! The Runaway’s first major show was opening for Cheap Trick at the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium, but Sigismondi shows none of the bands the girls opened for on their way up. In fact, though this film is about a revolutionary time for Rock and Roll, no music from the era is featured in the film, save a few selections of The Runaway’s music and some Joan Jett songs which came out a couple of years after the film’s conclusion. If Sigismondi had chosen to take advantage of more of the music that inspired Jett and the band they may have been inviting a whole demographic of movie-goers who will surely sit this one out.

All said the movie was sub-par. I have to admit I walked away a little disappointed. There was so much I would have changed, but it’s been a few days now and I can’t get Dakota Fanning’s or Kristen Stewart’s performances out of my head. They didn’t have much to work with, but man, they made the most of it. Two thumbs up or tomatoes or whatever the fuck you prefer, for both of them.



Here’s to hoping “The Dirt”, whenever it comes out is in the hands of a capable director, and a few actors as talented as these two stars.



... and now, just for fun, pics of Kristen Stewart smoking weed

THE RUNAWAYS PRE-POST

I promised some people earlier I would have this review up tonight, but I'm waiting until the morning for two reasons. First, I'm positive these pictures are gonna get flagged for a number of reasons and I want that to happen during the day when at least a couple flockers have had a chance to see'm. Second, I'm going dizzy and I need Ferenzi to check it for spelling errors. ok?

The Never Home-EP

Download
Tracklist:
1.Repent

2. Sick Religion

3. Mary Johnson

4. El Paso

5. High Horse (Demo)

6. Down Low (Demo)

Wakey! Wakey! covers Yeasayer

Live videos of bands off stage are becoming a new phenomenon on the internet these days with people like Vincent Moon of La Blogotheque creating some amazing stuff with the right bands. I am someone who sees a shit ton of these videos and am rarely impressed due to lack of production quality etc. But there are a few people out there creating the "good stuff". I came across this video of Wakey! Wakey! covering Yeasayer's "Ambling Alp" and wanted to share it with ya'll. Although everyone in this video looks as if they are hipper then I could ever be they are making good tunes and having fun doing it. Also that violin player has some sweet chops. This video is brought to you by the Goddamn Cobras Collective.

Deleted Scenes

Deleted Scenes released their LP "Birdseed and Shirt" and mentioned in every blurb about them on the web they received a 8.0 rating from the Pitchfork gods. They are from Brooklyn and Washington DC which I thought constitutes mentioning them because the writers of this blog are from exactly those two places. The front man Dan Scheuerman has been quoted saying that Soren Kierkegaard, the nineteenth century philosopher inspired the bands music. Intellectually inspired musicians making memorable melodies...worth checking out. The photo above was taken from their blog and apparently has some members of the family pissed off.

Deleted Scenes - Fake ID's


Deleted Scenes - Ithaca

The Black Sessions

Bernard Lenoir is a radio DJ from France who has a show called C'est Lenoir and he features many of the indie artists we know and love. The shows that he puts on are in front of 200 people, recorded live and called The Black Sessions (Lenoir in French means black) He has been doing this for many years and if you go to www.freewebs.com/blacksessions you can see the amazing catalog that has been forming over the years. You can also purchase all these recordings at that website. Below is the recording of The Kills song "Monkey 23" at their Black Session.

The Never Home Play Maxwells!

I'm giving away tickets to this show if you're one of the first 200 people to email me at flockalone@gmail.com with the answer to this question: What city do The Never Home call home?

Notorious B.I.G-Who Shot Ya?

On March 9th, 1997 Biggie was killed over a disagreement stemming from an interpretation of the lyrics to this song. No one is sure whether or not this song actually references the then recent shooting of Tupac in a New York recording studio, but that soon became besides the point as it kicked off a chain of nasty events which sadly culminated in both their deaths. It's total bullshit, that should never have happened.

Notorious B.I.G-Who Shot Ya?

This is can be found off of Mister Cee's definitive collection of BIggie songs found over here

Blu-Amnesia

I don't know Blu, this is the first jam I ever heard from the dude, but I thought this track was nice, got a cool Billie Holliday sample, and this video compliments the vibe nicely...not you typical rap video

Teru'Ah-Edward Receives A Letter From An Old Friend

Here's a jam from our friends Teru'Ah who released Mad Kids in the Holy City around this time last year and we've yet to give them some well deserved shine. Although singer Mike Cades's lyrics are melancholy, they exhibit a degree of wisdom which may belie his age. This is especially true on "Edward Receives A Letter From An Old Friend" a song about the banality of the average man's life, and the seeming inevitability that one's dreams will inevitably be over-run by daily responsibilities until they die.

"If we are reasonable men, its seems absurd to expect anymore than
an ill-tempered life."

The excellent production and instrumentation of this track gives Cades's lament a bittersweet quality: a quiet mandolin sets the tone, as the track builds upon a brass band to reach a subdued coda that audibly expresses this sad story of a life filled with regret. Poor Edward.

Teru'Ah-Edward Receives A Letter From An Old Friend


Check out their myspace
And dont forget to cop the album on itunes

In The Summertime by Mungo Jerry

It was August, 2005 and I was driving out to Los Angeles with my then girlfriend to try and find work in the film industry. The sun was hot and staring us right in the face as we drove in silence through an endless desert. I was low on cash and not quite ready to move, she was chomping at the bit to head west but wouldn’t leave without me. I didn’t want her to leave without me, either. We were in that uncomfortable point in our relationship when we'd lived together for so long, the outside world seemed scary, no matter how far the two of us had drifted apart since we first fell in love. However we got to where we were, I never would have expected that on that hot day In August of 2005, we’d be burying a hitchhiker together in the Nevada Desert. This song always reminds me of that long, hot day in August of 2005.

Ben Sollee and Daniel Martin Moore: Dear Companion

Ben Sollee and Daniel Martin Moore both great musicians in their own right have teamed up to come out with Dear Companion. They have received help from My Morning Jackets Yim Yames in the recording process and this album was released last month on Sub Pop Records. A portion of the money made on the album will be donated to Appalachian Voices an organization devoted to ending mountain top removal. The first track is the free download from the album and also included is a song of each of their own solo stuff. Hug a tree, listen to bluegrass and find a better way.

Ben Sollee and Daniel Martin Moore – Something, Somewhere, Sometime



Daniel Martin Moore – Stray Age


Ben Sollee – A Few Honest Words

The Hold Steady: Heaven is Whenever (New Album)

The Hold Steady from Brooklyn (yup thats right kids the BK) are going to release another album on May 4th. Recording took place in Queens at Arctic Studios over a six month period. This will be the fifth album to date since this band began in 2004. Their taste of rock and roll is melodic, punk influenced and fun. I will post a few videos of their older stuff ("Stuck Between Stations" also featured on Flock Alone Mixtape Volume 10). The band will begin their tour in Ardsley NY on 4/2 and it seems to me like an odd set of venues for a band like The Hold Steady. Check out the tour here and buy the new album.

Mixtape Volume 11

Breakbot-Baby I'm Yours

Miike Snow-Burial
Toro Y Moi-Causers of This
Passion Pit-Cuddle Fuddle
Little Dragon-Feather
Joe Crepuculo-Gabriella (El Guincho Remix)
Michael Jacksonnnn-Human Nature
Lillo Thomas-I'm In Love
Kenny Loggins-Lady Luck
Boy Crisis-L'Homme
Animal Collective-On a Highway
Prophet-You Really Turn me ON
Tiga-What You Need (Chromeo Remix)
DWNLDTHEMIXTAPEHERE

Foals-Spanish Sahara

So The Foals have a new album coming out soon, its called Total Life Forever and considering how fucking rock their first disc was, anticipation is high for this follow up. Initially it seems like they've taken a softer sound this time out, but by the end of the song you realize they haven't lost the intensity that they worked up so well first time out....

Most singles arent almost 7 minutes long and have a video about a guy on a tundra.

The Sandpit

This is a short film about a day in New York city, created in miniature with stop motion photography...not sure how it was actually created, but you can find out more here straight from the lips of director Sam O'Hare.

The Sandpit from Sam O'Hare on Vimeo.

Elton John & RuPaul-Don't Go Breaking My Heart

Personally I enjoy the original version more (when Elton duets with KiKi Dee) but fuck it, that song doesn't have a video as colorful as this one. I've found myself daydreaming/wondering what happened to RuPaul, and whether RuPaul went back to being just Paul after his/her 90s heyday...but ive been informed that he is still a very very fabulous She on his very own television show called RuPaul's Drag Race, check your local listings!

English Sounds Funny: Adriano Celentano

We all enjoy making fun of the way other languages sound. Asian people say ching chang all day long. Arabs seem to do a lot of throat clearing, you get the idea. But have you ever wondered what we sound like to people who don't speak English? Lucky for us, Adriano Celentano, a prolific Italian comedian and songwriter from back in the 60's and 70's wrote a little gem called "Prisencolinensinainciusol" (don't run for your Italian to English dictionary, I'm pretty sure it's meaningless.) The song is composed of gibberish meant to sound like English words. It's hilarious. What make this perfect for Flockalone is that not only is the song really catchy, the video is pure eye candy. Anyways, I had fun watching it, I hope you do too.

Broken Social Scene: Forgiveness Rock Record

Broken Social Scene is back with a new record coming out on May 4th. It has been five years since their last LP and that is just too long. The band has a lot of people in it and many that float in and out. Feist a member of the band at one time has had quite a bit of success and is well known to the masses due to the iPod commercial she made with her song 1234. Kevin Drew of the band has also done some solo stuff that you should check out but sadly no real commercial success for him. The new tune is here for your listening pleasure.

Sleigh Bells

So the mega music blogs pitchfork.com and stereogum.com have done quite a good job of hyping this duo Sleigh Bells. The recordings sound as if they may have been turned up too loud and creates a fuzz that has you thinking "Is there something wrong with my speakers?" My unpaid intern seems to think that they did it on purpose. Maybe it sounds more gritty, more real, more like it was actually recorded in a basement. The song "Ring Ring" is the catchiest thing I've heard in months and once you start you can't stop. Buy into the hype...you know you want to.

Sleigh Bells - Ring Ring



Sleigh Bells - Crown on the ground

White Hinterland: Chronos and Kairos

The new dream pop group White Hinterland have released their new album Chronos and Kairos. The couple of songs posted are ghostly sounds with an angelic voice of Casey Deniel bringing it to a new level. With the band Beach House stealing a lot of attention these days and bringing to light this genre this band will most likely be picked up as a favorite in the blogosphere. Electronica music has reaped the benefits of technology involved in music production and makes albums like this possible. This studio album should be listened to if only to increase the pleasure of ones childlike imagination.

Winter Hinterland - Icarus


Winter Hinterland - No Logic

David Hasselhoff-I Believe (Video)

Baywatch is the most popular syndicated show of all time, and it's easy to see why from this video. Not many shows on television can combine swimwear, action, romance and comedy into a single 45 minute episode. Baywatch was the one show that could do that, and that's why it was able to transcend language barriers and social norms to become an international phenomenon! Here's Mitch and the gang in a montage from season six, with a song from the Hoff himself (featuring Laura Branigan).

Black Eyed Peas-Meet Me Halfway

As a regionally semi-famous professional playlister I encounter a lot of requests for extremely cheesy songs (like "Womanizer" or "Poker face") from drunk chicks. This tends to make what would otherwise be an extremely tasteful playlist look like the itunes top 10 pop chart. I relent to these requests for one reason: people dance to them. That's really what it's all about: creating a fun environment where everyone gets laid...I'm not trying to convince the crowd that Bitches Brew is truly a milestone of jazz fusion. That said, I download alot of 'pop' music in order to "please the crowd". Sometimes I end up un-ironically liking the stuff I download, for whatever reason. One such song is the new song from the Black Eyed Peas called "Meet Me Halfway". It's a pop song through and through...a strong easily relatable romantic sentiment is expressed, it's got an extremely catchy hook, and its unique enough sonically to stand out (but not too much to be weird), and its got a propulsive steady beat that makes it easy to gyrate to.
The video for the song clearly was created with a strong budget and although the story is stupid (as is usual for music videos), the visuals are striking. Excellent costumes, lush backgrounds, and cool camera shots. Basically its the Avatar of music videos.

All of this causes me to re-evaluate the role of The Black Eyed Peas in modern music. How did they transgress from a roots hip-hop group to the modern day answer to C&C Music Factory? The an$wer is probably not a$ hard to figure out a$ one might think...their financial success is probably enough to justify this evolution. To contrast where they are at now, I've provided the video for their song "Joints&Jams" off of their first album Behind the Front.

Tegan and Sara: Warner Theater DC Show

So last year I started to listen to a band that many people I know love and adore called Tegan and Sara. I have to be honest in saying all I knew about them were that they were twins, they were women, they were from Canada and they liked walking with ghosts. In fact in early 09, late 08, if they walked by me, chances are I wouldn’t have even batted an eye. Other than remarking at the fact there were twins that passed by me, and I don’t see twins very often in my duration on the planet. And really people, who does? It occurs once in a blue moon. Maybe twice... So on the 17th; I trudged on after work to the Warner Theatre in beautiful downtown DC, ready to hear them perform.

The relationship these two twin sisters have with their audience is incredible. And the fact that they turned off the stage lights, and had the house lights turned on so they could see all of our faces were pretty amazing. Not too many bands do that. In fact, NO other band I’ve ever seen time and time and time again, has ever done that. It really means a lot to them that fans love their music and are supportive. And even with the size of the Theatre being pretty spacious, Tegan and Sara made it pretty intimate as possible. Total eye contact, responding to things the fans shouted out, including myself (I said “olden” out loud to which Tegan responded to), and pretty colorful stories about growing up as twins made it for a fantastic evening. The audience (myself included) ate it up. It felt like friends were watching fellow friends on stage…friends who they had seen grow in front of their eyes musically and stylistically (do a google search of Tegan and Sara pictures over the years..It’s like a complete transformation.)

They were definitely beyond friendly, discussing with the audience topics such as the white house, DC’s snowpacalpyse, and the tick that apparently Tegan has for having a tendency not to remember lyrics. And trust me, if I had a catalog of tunes that was as big as theirs, I wouldn’t remember half of them eitiher. Tegan and Sara delivered and then some. You could really and truly see the progression in sound from their early songs as “You Wouldn’t Like Me,” “Speak Slow,” “I Hear Voices”, to “Paperback Head,” ” The Con,” “Nineteen (a DEFINITE FAN FAVORITE),” to “Hell” and “On Directing,” among lots of others.. What was once acoustic sounding pop with a wee bit of folk has now changed to electric, keyboard heavy, and percussion heavy dance tracks in some aspect. But the lyrics about love and heartache, isolation, and divorce are just as powerful as ever. The three guys in the band, Ted, Shaun, and Johnny, were ALWAYS on point as back up to provide the weird quirky sounds from the bass and drums, to laughter in support of Tegan’s ramblings (of which there were many, followed by reassurance by Sara, that she’s ok). I admire Sara, who I’ve dubbed, “The Peanut” because she’s tiny in stature but has this loveable ability through her heartfelt lyrics to drag you in and make you want to give her a hug. And...Her head is shaped like a peanut. I don’t know how she can see through her hair, but that’s for a different blog. Tegan can go on and on and Sara just stands there, waiting to interject her two cents. It’s amazing these two can put out albums and still make it work. Just.. Amazing. And Tegan I’ve named Gans because...It’s just funny to me. Gans and the Peanut.

This review, the photos and the video was produced by our guest blogger Gabby Bond.

Never Home-Repent (Video)

It's been a hot minute since we've heard from our friends the Never Home, well they're back and stronger then ever. Their demo tape is in the can: you can hear it streaming on their myspace. And they just released their first music video, for the song "repent" watch below...

Rick James-Give it to me Baby

With Valentines day fast approaching all I've been listening to on my ipod are sappy love songs, and this one in particular really strikes a chord with me. This #1 R&B hit from 1981 spent 5 weeks at the top of the charts, and its easy to see why. Besides having a really funky beat, the lyrics reflect Rick's sensitivity to relationship issues and honesty about his priorities (dancing, staying out late, getting high, and having sex) which he seems not to have shared with his partner.
Sharing common interests are very important for healthy relationships, and clearly Rick and his lady friend have to find some things to do to keep the flame alive, if I were friends with Rick, I would send him a link to this article I just found "5 Simple Hobbies that Can Help Couples Reconnect" I found it very interesting, and informative!!

Mixtape Volume 10

Dodo Bird - Beards

Ryan Bingham - Ever Wonder Why

The Felice Brothers - Frankie's Gun

22-20's - Friends

Holly Golightly - Getting High for Jesus

Dan Auerbach - Going Home

The Wooden Sky - Hiding for us in the Night

Morphine - In Spite of Me

M. Ward - Magic Trick

Deer Tick - Smith Hall

The Hold Steady - Stuck Between Stations

Download the latest Mixtape HERE

Air-So Light is her football (Breakbot Remix)

Imma get all french for you for a minute, cause this dude is great. He's on the same label as Justice (Ed Banger Records) but Breakbot has more in common with Christopher Cross than Calvin Harris. I put a few of his remixes on some mixtapes way back, but I had no idea what a Breakbot was, well now I know...hes some soft rock french dude who looks like Jesus.

Air-So Light is her football (Breakbot Remix)

Bonus: Dude put together a valentines mix of some schmaltzy shit, check it out here

The Tallest Man On Earth

Kristian Mattson aka The Tallest Man On Earth is on the verge of releasing a new album "The Wild Hunt". Mattson himself does not sound at all like he is from his home country of Sweden. This new song "King of Spain" is the first thing to hit the interwebs. I am also including a song from his session with Daytrotter. Peruse this website and you will surely find some gems.

The Tallest Man On Earth - King of Spain


The Tallest Man On Earth - I Won't Be Found

Danger! High Voltage!

I've loved this song for years. A friend gave it to me in a mix a while back and it's always made me laugh and dance uncontrollably. Tonight I was at a friends house trying to get things going and I pulled this song up on Youtube. I can't believe I've never seen this music video.

Delta Spirit: DC9 Show

Delta Spirit visited the fair city of Washington DC last night with new material and guess what, these guys are getting better and better. The first time I saw this band they played a sold out show at the Bowery Ballroom in NYC and I went around saying that I thought it was the best show I had ever seen. The music has so much energy at times that it gets people jumping up and down screaming along with the lyrics. There is so much more to this band though. The lyrics are substantive, poignant and Matt Vasquez proudly wears his heart on his sleeve, and gives himself to the crowd. This band’s live performance will send true emotion coursing through your veins.

Delta Spirit all hail from San Diego, and Mat Vasquez was the last addition to the band. The band supposedly found him busking loudly on a park bench late at night, and he would later become their front man. Their debut album “Ode to Sunshine” was well received by the critics and now they're currently working on their sophomore effort “History from Below". The tour they are doing now is undoubtedly a way for them to try out the new material in front of a crowd. From what I heard last night (which was mostly new stuff) it's stronger lyrically than anything off “Ode to Sunshine.” And that's not to say that that album wasn’t great itself, it's just that the new stuff sounds even better. Along with the new stuff they played some favorites off the old album such as “Trashcan” where Vasquez plays keys and the keyboard player uses the top of a trashcan as a drum. The song “Motivation” which was off of their LP and that they said they have not played in three years was played as well. They've added a new guitarist into the mix; filling out the sound and making them sound even bigger than they were. Vasquez is deliberate and honest in his tone and delivery. To me, its almost unbelievable how much goddamn passion and soulfulness is in this band at the moment.

DC9 is a pretty small club and the scene was really different than when I saw them at the Bowery Ballroom over the summer. I'm surprised that they played such a small venue considering they sold out in New York but maybe it might have to take a bit more time for the rest of the world to catch on to the talent of this band. They deserve to be huge. The up close and personal experience may be the best way to see this band though. Go see them live, listen to the lyrics, open up and let it all sink in.

Presenting the Flockalone Ringtone Collection for iPhone

Here at Flockalone, a team of our unpaid interns busied themselves for the most of the morning creating some of the most annoying/wonderful ringtones for their iphones. Before sending them back to listening to Lite FM radio and scouring the 1974 R&B Billboard Chart for our next post, we've decided to upload them for you, our loyal readers. Simply Download, and pop this into itunes and you're good to go

The Collection includes:

Lady Gaga-Bad Romance
Lady Gaga-Pokerface
New Boyz-Youre a Jerk
Miike Snow-Animal
Juvenile-Gonna Ride With Me
Budgie-Parents
Christopher Cross-Sailing
Amy Holland-She's on Fire
Yes-Owner of a Lonely Heart
Snoop-Tha Shiznit
Very Best-Warm Heart of Africa
Bone Thugs-Tha Crossroads
INXS-Need You Tonight
Yes-Heart of the Sunrise

Download

The Heavy: The House That Dirt Built

The Heavy's brand of music is some gritty, funky shit with elements of neo-soul. This foursome from Noid England (uhh where the hell is that) has dropped the recent album "The House That Dirt Built" on the music world sometime last year. It is noted that the guitarist Dan Taylor and and vocalist Kevin Swabby originally bonded over vintage R&B and Jim Jarmusch films. I certainly hear the vintage R&B in there. Do you hear Jim Jarmusch?

Colleen


Sixteen

Lindsay Buckingham-Holiday Road

Oh yeah, this is it, the theme song to National Lampoon's Vacation movies, of all people it was sung by Lindsay Buckingham. I'm guess Kenny Loggins was already booked. This song is incredible and makes me want to dance like i'm a Griswold in a discotheque. Enjoy it.

Lindsay Buckingham-Holiday Road

Here's another gem from this cinematic trilogy: Power Station's Some Like It Hot. In case you didnt know...Power Station is a super group with Robert Palmer, dudes from Duran Duran, and the drummer from Chic. It blows my mind that I didn't know about this until today. Here's Rusty getting down to their jam wearing one of the most beautiful white leather jackets I've ever seen.

Power Station-Some Like It Hot

Justin Townes Earle: Do I Ever Cross Your Mind

Justin Townes Earle the son of music great Steve Earle was probably destined for the stage ever since he was born. He started out playing in a two different bands The Distillers, a bluegrass band and The Swindlers, he was only a teenager at the time. Justin began using drugs at the tender age of 12 years old. When he was still in his early twenties, after 5 overdoses and being fired for from his fathers band The Dukes for his erratic performances he got clean. After his new found sobriety he became focused on music again and since 2007 he has released 3 albums. He is currently signed to the Bloodshot Records (the quality of this label will be discussed at a later date) and still making music. The newest track "Do I Ever Cross Your Mind" is a duet with the ever so beautiful Dawn Landes.


Justin Townes Earle - Do I Ever Cross Your Mind


Bonus Track - Justin's Cover of The Replacements Can't Hardly Wait

Frightened Rabbit: Swim Until You Can't See Land

Frightened Rabbit the band aforementioned in the previous post is not currently touring the USA so no you cannot see them until they are done with their third album The Winter of Mixed Drinks. The band didn't fully realize itself until lead singer and guitarist Scott Hutchinson completed the lineup with his brother Grant on the drums. The critically acclaimed Midnight Organ Fight is what put them on the map and some have been anxiously awaiting the follow up. A new video has been released for the single off this new album. Your sneak peak here.

We Were Promised Jetpacks

These Scots are turning up their guitars and doing some screaming and it rocks with angst. Label mates with Frightened Rabbit who are a band that is more somber and melancholy We Were Promised Jetpacks are yelling with all they got and filling out their sound with raw emotion. The first album was released last year and they have done some touring with Frightened Rabbit. When you are at a point where you are afraid you cannot feel, put these boys on and sing along loudly. The Scottish accents add flavor and I am sure if you try you may be able to imitate them well. They will be at Rock and Roll Hotel in DC on 2/13 and at the Knitting Factory in Brooklyn on 2/15. Come back for a review of the DC Show.

Beach Boys-Wind Chimes

After Pet Sounds, California got weird for The Beach Boys. Brian Wilson took too much acid and became a recluse; Dennis Wilson got mixed up with Charlie Manson; and Mike Love went to India with The Beatles and Donovan to study transcendental mediation. As a follow up to Pet Sounds Brian Wilson wrote SMiLE, an album which he supposedly dubbed as "a teenage symphony to God", whatever that means. The project imploded, and was ultimately shelved, even though Capitol Records had already planned on creating a gate-fold record cover for it including a 12 page booklet (the finished cover art is below).
For once (supposedly) an apparently brilliant album was not released by a major label for some fault other then their executives...it wasn't a Yankee Hotel Foxtrot situation...it was worse. Some claim that it was Brian Wilson's escalating drug use and mental deterioration that caused the ultimate collapse of this highly anticipated masterpiece, and rumors swirled that he had been caught trying to burn the master tapes of the album, however, it has been stated by many studio musicians involved in the recoding that Wilson conducted himself in an extremely professional manner while recording. Why would anyone lie about that when it might cost them future jobs?

The most common speculation for the lack of an offical release of the SMiLE project is that it was shelved due to frictions within the band, specifically between Mike Love and Brian Wilson. SMiLE is far removed from the "Beach Boys" sound (and Brian was one of the youngest Beach Boys members) so it ended up getting shut down by the rest of the group. Its a shame, really...this is one of the strangest, strongest and most creative albums that came out the Beach Boys camp, up until that time, the boys usually stuck to singing about (as Dan Meth points out) girls, cars , and surf); however this album was much more psychedelic and varied in its subject matter.

SMiLE would have given the recently released Sgt. Peppers album a run for it's money back in the summer of 1967...had it been released, so its a shame that it was never given the chance. So be it though, instead, this has become the holy grail of bootlegs, and is widely regarded to be the most important album to have never been released by a rock band in the 20th century. Besides the fact that it's the direct follow up to Pet Sounds, the album was supposed to house the song "Good Vibrations" one of the best charting Beach Boys songs (no.1 in Britain and America).
Many songs intended for the SMiLE album (including "Good Vibrations", "Heroes and Villains" and "Surf's Up") were later re-recorded and released on subsequent Beach Boys album such as Smiley Smile, Wild Honey, and Surf's Up, many of them did not come out the same way (like all of them), and one of those such gems is the SMiLE version of "Wind Chimes" which lost some of the pleasant haziness of its original incarnation. Too be honest, and I dont think I'm alone here...it seems as if Brian Wilson never wrote another song again after SMiLE.
Beach Boys-Wind Chimes