Wednesday, December 21, 2011 12:07PM - By Angel Baker
Without a doubt, 2011 was a year of great music. Wrapping up the year is no easy task, especially with so many new emerging artists hitting the indie scene and settled greats releasing records as good or better than their efforts decades prior. Our picks for the Top 20 Albums of the year cover a lot of ground, ranging from Indie Beard Rock to Spaghetti-Western, Rockabilly to Hip-Hop, and everything in between. Check out our Top 20 Albums of 2011 after the jump …
It’s a wonderful week of new album releases, save for the bottom two (but hey, even those albums could float your boat. It never hurts to try), and though this week’s winners might not be the most uplifting band on the list, their album has won over the heats of critics all around, see what you think of these new releases:
Robin Pecknold is known for those soaring and butter smooth vocals he provides in his band, Fleet Foxes. With their self-titled album released via Sub Pop back in 2008, it’s really hard to find people who aren’t fans of the indie folk band. (It is at least in our circle of friends!)
So when Pecknold debuted a new song a couple of times on his solo tour with the lovely Joanna Newsom, we couldn’t help but wonder if the new song will end up on the next Fleet Foxes album. A fan at the MusicNow Festival show in Cincinnati was lucky enough to get a video of it, and it sounds pretty solid!
The long and short of it is that Fleet Foxes lead singer Robin Pecknold really doesn’t care if people illegally download their music. He downloads music illegally too, so hey, at least he’s not being disingenuous about the issue.
In a candid interview with BBC News, Pecknold said he did not object to file sharing and believes his access to the once-mighty Napster helped him discover a wealth of great music.
Fleet Foxes put on a great set at Coachella on Saturday night. It certainly didn’t hurt that the sun was setting, and the weather was perfect while they played the Outdoor Theater.
Check out some photos of the Fleet Foxes set at Coachella on Saturday…
SNL’s been having a great season with musical guests. The show generally features big name – no talent artists (ahem… Ashley Simpson), but this season’s booking agent for musical acts has been kicking it into overdrive. They’ve still had big names such as Lil Wayne (we all know what we think about him), The Jonas Brothers (and them), Beyonce, and Kanye, but they have also submerged themselves into the ocean of great indie artists out there. So far, they’ve been able to knock it up a few notches with performances by Fleet Foxes, TV on the Radio, and the latest – Phoenix. This Saturday (April 11th), indie music lovers who just happen to be staying in will catch the Yeah Yeah Yeahs performing. Too bad they couldn’t find a better host than Zac Efron, so we’ll just take him for what he is: Eye candy. Hopefully, the good streak continues and the guy or gal who’s booking the artists will get a raise. Which musical guest are you most happy with so far? Vote and then check out Jorma (of Lonely Island) dancing to Fleet Foxes, Fred Armisen talking with TV on the Radio, and Phoenix’s performance from Saturday night after the jump!
Robin Pecknold, vocalist of the Fleet Foxes, has launched a new side project, White Antelope, discovered by fans on Myspace. Two songs are available to stream, ‘False Knight on the Road’ and ‘Guitar Duet’. The former will be featured as a B-side on the Fleet Foxes upcoming single ‘Mykonos‘, and on the re-release of their self-titled 2008 debut album.
The band’s self description is “covers and assorted stuff, nothing serious.” Everything was recorded solo by Pecknold, who told Chocolate Bobka:
“I’m going to record a cover of Ridge Rider, the Judee Sill song, for this compilation. Trying to write new stuff is hard right now for some reason.”
Monday, February 2, 2009 12:00PM - By Seraphina L.
So, the Coachella line up (potential line-up – there could be additions) has officially been posted! From the looks of it, the roster of artists is very spread out in terms of genre, mainstream, and quantity. Friday’s giving us Girl Talk, Morrissey, and the Ting Tings. Saturday’s presenting Dr. Dog, Fleet Foxes, and MSTRKRFT. Then Sunday anticipates Jenny Lewis, No Age, and Vivian Girls…. However, the question is: What is the quality of this line up?
We’ve been hearing mixed reactions to the line-up and some of them have been extremely disapproving or extremely delighted. So we want to know one thing. If you had to choose ONLY ONE DAY out all all three dates, which day would you go to Coachella for?
Thursday, January 22, 2009 4:00PM - By Matt Unangst
It’s rare that Saturday Night Live features indie rock these days instead of whatever NBC gets more money to promote, but Fleet Foxes were on last weekend and did extremely well with both of their performances, especially compared to some of the show’s recent guests. So more indie rock SNL!
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