Taken from http://www.earthdanceaustin.org/: “EarthDance, the Global Dance & Cultural Festival for Peace has grown to become the world’s largest simultaneous music and dance event. Founded in 1997, with 22 cities and 18 countries participating, EarthDance events have occurred in over 400 cities in 75 countries, with locations ranging from the club-lands of New York to the rainforests of Brazil . Every year, in alignment with the International Day of Peace, over 250,000 people unite in dance with hundreds of thousands more joining online in support of global peace and humanitarian aims.
EarthDance has been described by the music industry as the “Dance Aid” for the new millennium. “Think Global Act Local” is the aim of the event bringing together global communities to create a synchronized global festival and dance event to help fund humanitarian causes and develop an environment of peace throughout the World.
The highlight of the EarthDance Global event is a synchronized dance floor link-up, when the specially created song, “The Prayer for Peace” is played at every event across the world at exactly the same time. 6pm Central Time Houston TX, morning in Australia, sunrise over the Himalayas, midnight in London, afternoon in California – the universal prayer is a powerful moment that unifies our intention for a peaceful world.”
The first annual EarthDance Austin is happening in September! The 3-day camping festival will run September 25th-27th, and EarthDance Austin 2009 will support the non-profit charitable organization, Lance Armstrong Foundation. Among many artists from around the world, Chillville friends and Austin locals Govinda are on the bill, along with an impressive lineup of acts that are sure to serve up lots of dance energy and a great festival experience. Guests can also enjoy the psychedelic sights and sounds of Austin’s Canartic which has joined the festival lineup, and new acts continue to be added. The fun will go down at Apache Pass in “Downtown Texas” where there are several acres of open areas and some forested spots in which to camp, play, dance, and sing. You’ll find artisans, workshops, concerts and events all weekend long on five stages and plenty of room to frolic or simply – chill. A limited number of pre-sale tickets are now available. More information at EarthDanceAustin.org, or you can check it out on MySpace.
I have been a huge fan of The Dandy Warhols since they broke out on the scene in the mid ’90’s. They do a fantastic job of blending rock, psychedelic, electronic, and pop into one large sound. Last year the Portland based band released Earth to the Dandy Warhols through their own digital music service, and eventually released it on iTunes several months thereafter. Unfortunately, I was extremely disappointed in the album, and thought it was there weakest album to date. The good thing is that the Dandy’s recently released a remix EP on iTunes entitled Earth to the Remixes Vol. 2, and these tracks actually gave a new life to the songs I was initially uninterested in. I happen to find myself really liking these new renditions of the originals, especially today’s catch “Love Song” which was remixed by Fathead and Jeremy Sherrer. Any Dandy song that implements a human beat box is alright in my book. Listen to samples of the remix EP, and “Love Song” right here. Enjoy!
The Kills have a disquieting intensity to their music. It reflects into their videos – the gritty, unsettling, often violent cinematography of Last Day of Magic and Black Balloon exemplify – and, appropriately enough, carried into their live show on Friday. Alison Mosshart and Jamie Hince prowled the stage, pacing and circling each other like a cat and dog ready to fight. They leaned over a sea of grasping hands and sang into the crowd; Jamie aimed his guitar at Alison like a gun; they each snarled lyrics into the other’s face.
Within the three-song encore, they included a cover of I Put A Spell On You… it was entirely appropriate.
Spoon played last night to a sold-out hometown crowd for a solid hour-and-a-half, with a mix of old and new material.
The first part of the set was devoted almost entirely to new music, and it showed in the band’s slight hesitancy at first: you could tell that they were not quite comfortable with the songs yet. At the same time, their focus on recording over the past months also meant that some of the older songs showed the same hesitancy, as the band tried to get back into the swing of playing live again.
The crowd called out requests for old favorites, Britt laughed off any slip-ups with a rueful smile, and the sound was superb. The new material was intriguing, and while Britt didn’t let slip any details about a release date, you can be sure we can’t wait to hear the tracks all polished and pretty.
NPR is streaming the entirety of St. Vincent’s new album Actor a full two weeks before it drops. We haven’t had much chance to listen, but what we’ve heard is stellar. Annie’s voice is at its charming best, and the lyrics contain her usual unexpected bite to balance out the instrumental delicacy. But her sweetness, always forefront, is broken also with an unexpected but welcome palate-cleansing punch of distorted guitar. Other than the two singles already out, the songs that immediately resonated were Neighbors, Marrow, and Just the Same But Brand New.
In other album news, the Pixies have a new album, apparently titled Minotaur, coming out June 15th, which excites us beyond measure… ETA The Pixies’ Minotaur is actually a box set of all their studio albums, along with some other extra goodies. Not quite as awesome as new material, but very cool nevertheless.
The Lollapalooza lineup is out, and is – of course – a doozy. Just a few of the Chillville artist making an appearance include Depeche Mode, Thievery Corporation, Andrew Bird, Animal Collective, Fleet Foxes, Santigold, Lykke Li, and so many more it’s kinda ridiculous.
The king of Chillville is gracing us with his second album in a year. Hitting the stores in early summer, Moby’s Wait for Me LP will be more stripped down than previous albums, with tracks on a much more personal level.
Speaking of personal, he mixed the album himself - with help from Ken Thomas (M83, Sigur Ros) – and the album artwork will be Sharpie marker sketches from Moby’s own hand. Now here is where it gets interesting: today’s catch is called “Shot in the Back of the Head”, and was inspired by a meeting he had with David Lynch. Lynch then agreed to direct the animated video for the song. What you have right there is two of the most creative minds joining forces and producing a work of art. Check it out below, and enjoy!
