The Flaming Lips and 14-year-old musician Nell Smith have returned with cover of Nick Cave’s “Red Right Hand.”
The cover comes from Smith and the band’s Nick Cave covers album, Where the Viaduct Looms, released back in November.
Backdropped with a psychedelic light screen, and with members of The Lips faded into the background, Smith takes center stage coupled with her beautifully-mature vocals and presence.
The performance, captured live on CBS, is the latest in a series of videos, including a stunning cover of Cave’s “Ship Song” dropped in November.
At the end of the performance for “Red Right Hand,” drummer Matthew Kirksey reveals a t-shirt which reads ‘Bad Seed.’
I hadn’t heard of Nick Cave but Wayne suggested that we should start with an album of his cover versionsNell Smith
Where the Viaduct Looms features nine Nick Cave covers performed by Smith and The Flaming Lips.
“I hadn’t heard of Nick Cave but Wayne suggested that we should start with an album of his cover versions, and then look at recording some of my own songs later,” Smith said about being asked to record with the band. “It was cool to listen and learn about Nick Cave and pick the songs we wanted to record.”
The record features “Red Right Hand,” plus previously released covers “The Ship Song” and “Girl in Amber,” among others.
The band and Smith first met at a Flaming Lips concert where Wayne Coyne offered the mic to Smith who was seated in the front. Apparently, Coyne heard something special in her voice.
Interesting, the album’s front cover referencing only “Nell” without even a mention of The Flaming Lips. View it and listen to the stream via Bandcamp.
Everyone loves a solid summer banger but there’s something to be said for summer songs that lie on the other side of the spectrum. Music that moves us inward into a state of reflection as the fragrance of sweet magnolias drifts on the warm breeze. Summer possesses a beautiful sense of ennui. A languidness that settles with the heat and hangs in the thick humidity. It’s no mistake that Joy Division’s masterpiece Closer was released in July or that the Cure dropped their introspective tour de force Pornography in May. Lou Reed also chose July to bring his heartbreaking album Berlin into the world and graced us with the raw beauty of poignant songs like Candy Says.
Vancouver’s duo Focus Your Audio’s latest single On Your Own hits just before daybreak on summer nights when it’s too hot to sleep. When we sit at open windows looking out over the stillness of the city as solitary cars move silently on dark streets. It’s a gorgeous reflective song that uses one voice to present two perspectives. As Focus Your Audio states in their press release,
“Not everyone we love chooses to stay and not everyone who asks us to stay understands why we can’t”.
This predicament is felt in the strength and nuance of Sarah McArthur’s voice. Mike Young’s (of Mother Mother fame) artful production is perfectly understated and he allows the vocals to carry the song’s weight and intent.
“Bobby McAloney’s instrumentation supports the sense of quietude and contemplation with a subtle atmospheric quality. This an immersive song. It pulls us into a familiar emotional place where questions are unanswerable and holds us there softly with a sense of love. In the swell of the final chorus McArthur’s voice rises in an emotional plea for certainty. When she sings “Maybe I could stand here and change your mind” it resonates in a familiar place deep in the heart of every sleepless summer night.
A blockbuster year for album releases, 2021 is quickly coming to a close as we head in to 2022 – lots of 2’s.
From those releases have spawned a series of popular singles that make-up the last Top 10 Indie Songs playlist of the year. They include singles (and the albums) from Psychedelic Porn Crumpets; Snail Mail; Elbow; The KVB; Blake Rose; Richard Dawson/Circle; IDLES; Tonstartssbandht; Bakar and Clairo.
The sequence of the tracks is not a hard (but close) placement because we might feel like No. 4 is No. 2 in a week from now; or, again, for example, if No. 8 went up to No. 5, etc. It’s more like – these are our favorite ten tracks of the month – mostly from albums dropped during December.
That’s another reason that sequencing the tracks in a one to ten order would be skewed anyways because many of the top tracks on an album are dropped months earlier.
NOTE: We’ll be posting the Top 10 DIY Songs, December 2021 playlist in the next couple of days.
If you want to submit your own music, we’d be glad to give it a listen (as long as it falls within our genre-scope). Enjoy and please share/like/follow if you wish.
While we typically prefer instrumental post rock, Ward swayed us to change our mind. For “What is it Now”, the artist provides a sweeping sound that is only made better by his ethereal vocal parts. The track is a bit of mindfulness; a reprieve from a world burning with doubt. What Ward does so well is crafting a building space of peace and intention, while providing a sonic space to dream and even hope. We were reminded of 30 Seconds to Mars when we hear this track and cannot wait to hear more.
Flying Gravity – “The Rain is Coming”
Inspired by a coming storm, “The Rain is Coming” is a sweeping piece of sonic creativity. The artist offers a metaphoric soundtrack for the “storms” of our lives, while offering a small piece of shelter. The compelling bass offers a throughline sound in which the drums and guitars thrive. If we were to expose listeners to one track to properly showcase the style of post rock, it would be this one. The track soars and impresses.
Since 2008 we’ve been curating alternative Christmas Songs playlists – because the old ones of grandparents and great grandparents just don’t work anymore.
Browse our Christmas songs playlist posts from 2008 to present.
This time around, though, we put together a playlist of non-traditional, offbeat indie/alt/rock Christmas songs with the theme (that they all fall into) being: “WTF Santa?!?!#@%$” – Enjoy and please share with others that may enjoy.
You may also want to see our post of awesome songs hitched with each stanza in the famous poem Twas The Night Before Christmas
These Are So Good: Other still-in-the-works Christmas related playlists and all kinds of themed, specially-curated indie/alt/rock playlists on our Spotify page.
November was not just a great month for regular single releases and album drops from more ‘mainstream’ and well-known indie/alt/rock/pop artists and bands, but also for DIY tracks submitted to us that most people haven’t heard.
If these DIY singles, skimmed from hundreds of submissions, did not have something interesting, redeeming or exciting about them, they’d never make our Top 10.
Don’t miss the Top 10 Indie Songs November 2021, featuring Holly Humberstone, Snail Mail, Black Marble, Courtney Barnett, Ovlov and Matt Pond PA, among others.
For the most part, we base our DIY picks mainly on what is submitted to us throughout the year. Sometimes it’ll be months after we first start listening to a song that it grows on us (or holds up as much as the first few exciting listens) – or weeks or months since the official release – and we become convinced of its place on the top of our DIY lists.
Of course, there are plenty of songs that we know right away whether we dig them or not.
Every song has been chosen for one good reason or another – it just feels/sounds good; the lyrics are impressive; the total production of the track is noteworthy; it has a hook; the song is a preview of an artist or band to watch, or all of them combined into one powerful track.
The one to ten format is not necessarily meant to be scientific or even decisive – it’s more of a loose assocation but we think the order is pretty solid.
* label-associated and/or ‘popular’/well-known
In This Installment of the Top 10 DIY Songs, November 2021:
#1 – Barrie BROOKLYN, New York
#2 – Cloud Vincent LONDON, England
#3 – RVST PORTO ALEGRE, Brazil
#4 – Drive NEW CASTLE, England
#5 – Dear Other STEUBENVILLE, Ohio
#6 – Atlantic Canyons MANCHESTER, New Hampshire
#7 – Remote Control RICHMOND, Virginia
#8 – Adam Stall COLDWATER, Ohio
#9 – Jarod Grice DENTON, Texas
#10 – Jared Rabin CHICAGO, Illinois
#1 – “Frankie” – Barrie
BROOKLYN, New York
Indie enthusiasts may – or may not – be familiar with Brooklyn indie band Barrie. For the past few years, the band has been ‘band to watch’ favorites for many blogs, especially thanks to singles like “Canyons” and “Drag” and 2019’s “Dig,” – Barrie’s last single until now.
The band’s latest drop is the melodic single “Frankie” swirling synths and a driving hook. Check out the video above.
According to the band, “Frankie” was inspired by songwriting legend Glen Campbell.
“Glen Campbell had just died and the radio was playing ‘Wichita Lineman.’ It felt relevant to the social justice movements at the moment, to the push for democratic socialism, or at least a rejection of capitalism and where it’s gotten us,” Barrie explains in a statement.
“The Wichita Lineman has a shitty oppressive job that isolates and overworks him, as many Americans do, and instead of feeling outraged on his behalf we honor and lionize his commitment to labor. The song is a great litmus test. People either find the character really heroic and noble, or find the whole situation sad and fuk’d.”
#2 – “Can You Get Over Him?” – Cloud Vincent
LONDON, England
“Can You Get Over Him?” is for people who love a bit of indie, pop, and rock, with some singing/rapping, and an infectious groove. The song focuses on this summer sound, while detailing a story of a new relationship.
The single comes byway of Cloud Vincent a 23-year-old musician born in the U.S. and currently based in the U.K.
His sound revolves around catchy cheeky lyricism and warm vibes – “for sunny days with an indie-pop take on capturing summer nostalgia.” This new track is the first single from his upcoming 2022 EP.
#3 – “My Violent Friend” – RVST
PORTO ALEGRE, Brazil
The powerful powerpop anthem ‘My Violent Friend” from Brazilian band RVST delivers a catchy and contagious chorus with a theme that ” celebrates the taking of the streets and the fight between the distorted views imposed by ultra-conservative rulers.”
RVST is the cryptic rubric that has been around the few rock venues and music-friendly spaces in Porto Alegre, Brazil, since 2015. Idealized as Rust Costa Machado’s solo project, the singer-songwriter has dedicated his efforts to tiny-lenght minialbuns (EPs, if you will), where he finds room the creations of his short trajectory.
Whether for his manipulation of duo vocals, on the combination of nostalgic and fresh melodic designs, or on the employment of the second language (English, the one he works with, as a teacher for Brazilians), RVST presents on his discography an original style of making the music he loves – ambitious, universal, yet bedroom pop.
Spot somewhere between the solemn and visceral, his third release Electrified dropped in October.
facebook.com/rvstmusic
#4 – “The Rain” – Drive
NEW CASTLE, England
The nostalgia-tinged single, “The Rain,” from the 80’s-influenced New Castle, England duo of Jake Fletcher and Andy Bell is “an 80s-inspired track reminiscent of some of our favourite coming-of-age movie soundtracks.
“It’s about coming of age in a small town which no one really gets out of,” Bell adds.
On FB, the duo announced: “‘The Rain’ is out now!! This is the first song we wrote as Drive and really think it captures who we are as a band.”
Influences include The 1975, Arcade Fire, Bleachers and “anything remotely 80s sounding.”
facebook.com/drivethebandofficial
#5 – “Houses Hallowed” – Dear Other
STEUBENVILLE, Ohio
“Houses Hallowed” is the lead single from Ohio indie rock/lo-fi folk band Dear Other‘s latest release "The Wizard Clip.", a recording that explores a 1794 exorcism in West Virginia.
“The Wizard Clip addresses dead friends, eternal life, and the ghosts we live with,” the band said in a statement, adding “House Hallowed” was “recorded in the attic of Marc and Marua Barnes, the vocalists for the track, on a Tascam 4-Track. This song is an apocryphal summary of the text, exploring our relationship to the other, to the poor.”
“Our music tends to be folkloric throughout, blending elements of indie rock, folk, lo-fi, with catchy hooks throughout tying it all together”
facebook.com/DearOther
#6 – “One More Minute” – Atlantic Canyons
MANCHESTER, New Hampshire
New Hampshire indie band Atlantic Canyons recently achieved the “number one most added EP” – See The Hue – on The North American College & Community Radio Charts. Behind the moniker is Andrea Levesque and apparently unnamed band members (unless she’s a one-girl band?).
Anyways, the top track, “One More Minute,” from the EP is dreamy, lush, and perfect musical soundscape for Fall.
“It bears witness to feelings of fear and loneliness, and there is catharsis in acknowledging unpleasant emotions,” she reveals. “By allowing myself the freedom to experience these feelings without judgment, I became unburdened by them.”
A fiery passion for playing music was lit within Levesque in childhood as she learned to play piano and violin.
“I really love feeling a sense of personal connection when the music resonates with other people,” Levesque shares. See The Hue is Levesque’s debut EP, written, recorded, and produced in her rural New Hampshire home. She constructed her project remotely with the help of some session musicians she met in online music chat rooms.
OK GO drummer Dan Konopka mastered the album, adding the finishing touches before the release. Orchestral elements combine with delicate vocal melodies, ethereal harmonies, and frequent lyrical references to the ocean.
Virginia indie band Remote Control began at the start of the pandemic and thus, their first batch of songs are influenced by pandemic-related issues.
The new single, “Blow For Blow,” is a “reflection on the futulity of arguing with people online in the way that we have seen recently,” says band member Bob Spires. “The song is a self-critique of the trap we all sometimes fall into.”
While the band calls its headquarters Richmond, Virginia, band members come from the Richmond, Philly and Athens (Georgia) music scenes: Spires (the Possibilities, Nutria, Jack Logan band); Nick Bergheimer (Sea of Storms, Landmines, Volunteer); Casey Martin (Sixer, Landmines) and Adam Caldwell (Fire in the Radio).
The band combines punk, garage, rock, and indie sensibilities with a classic two guitar, bass and drums setup.
Although it’s been touch and go for live events over the past nearly two years, Spires says the band loves the “fast, hard, loud, heavy, rocking, punky, poppy or catchy bands” they see play “as they combine all of those elements into a hybrid eclectic style. With a song by Remote Control, you can expect loud guitars, bashing drums and catchy vocals and lyrics.”
#8 – “Two Beaches” – Adam Stall
COLDWATER, Ohio
“Two Beaches” is the second track from Ohio artist Adam Stall‘s independently produced debut EP.
“A love song of everlasting and longing faith and hope, inspired by the picking patterns of John Denver and dramatic transitions of classical music,” he writes. ” Alternative rock with classic rock influences, an emphasis on vocals and bass guitar.”
His hometown of Coldwater Ohio, surrounded by friends and family playing music Stall is trained in classical piano and trumpet and is now a “fully realized, independent musical effort utilizing all my past experiences and influences.”
An upbringing with the legends of the 60’s and 70’s, classical music, and the blues influenced with antique flavors, but the production and soul behind the music is striving for a new and accessible sound of rock.
facebook.com/stallmusic
#9 – “Weary Hands” – Jarod Grice
DENTON, Texas
“Weary Hands ” is the first track from Texas musician Jarod Grice‘s forthcoming album, Cradle the Songbird, which debuts in March 2022.
“The song is about struggling with your own brokenness,” says producer Chris Howell. “It starts out with the idea of feeling worn down like a rusty machine…and moves into the realization of seeing that brokenness rooted in a common birthplace. We’re all being called back to the dust; we all struggle like our fathers/mothers/generations before us.
“This type of imagery haunts many of the songs on the new album, which will most likely find an audience among the indie rock/Americana crowd.”
The band members are: Jarod Grice – vocals, acoustic guitar, keys, songwriter; Bill Campbell – drums; Paul Alexander – bass and Joseph McClellan – electric guitars.
facebook.com/jarodgricemusic/
#10 – “Cold Rain and Snow” – Jared Rabin
CHICAGO, Illinois
Jared Rabin‘s arrangement of the traditional song "Cold Rain and Snow," the title track from the new album released this year is painted with down-home Americana bluegrass colors.
The album is Rabin’s first all-acoustic record and follows 2020’s acclaimed No Direction.
The album is a mix of bluegrass standards and "New Grass" originals and finds Jared playing all of the instruments (save for drums) and handling a majority of the vocals.
THIS IS something completely different, and even unconventional. A playlist like no other . Many of the tracks we chose are not available on streaming networks so we linked all of the tracks below.
The concept is simple: match as close as possible great indie, alt. rock and some classic rock songs with the famous stanzas to the classic Christmas poem, ‘Twas The Night Before Christmas.’
The songs that accompany each stanza are not meant to be literal, and not necessarily related to Christmas or the holidays in many instances. Nor is this playlist meant to be religiously-slanted or centric – just all about sharing music and goodwill.
Please share on Facebook, Twitter and your other favorite socials. Love :)
And he looked like a peddler just opening his pack. “Take Back The Toys“ – Take Back The Toys – The Hives
His eyes, how they twinkled! his dimples how merry! “Santa Claus Go Straight To The Ghetto“ (James Brown) – Santa Claus Go Straight To The Ghetto – Belle and Sebastian
His cheeks were like roses, his nose like a cherry! “Color in Your Cheeks“ – Color In Your Cheeks – The Mountain Goats
His droll little mouth was drawn up like a bow, “Mouth Wooed Her“ – Animal Collective
And the beard of his chin was as white as the snow; “Santa’s Beard“ – They Might Be Giants
The stump of a pipe he held tight in his teeth, “The Pipe“ – Vulture Whale
And the smoke it encircled his head like a wreath; “Cinder and Smoke“ – Iron and Wine
Indie veteran Anthony Gonzalez, aka M83, has jumped into his time machine and traveled back to 2011 – the year of the brilliant M83 album Hurry Up We’re Dreaming. Now, he has a new video of “My Tears Are Becoming A Sea” to share.
The revisiting of Hurry Up We’re Dreaming involves a larger video trilogy project for the album tracks “Midnight City,” “Reunion,” and “Wait,” directed by Sacha Barbin and Ryan Doubiago. Gonzalez will also drop a 10th-anniversary orange vinyl edition of the album (April 15 via Mute).
Doubiago clarified in a press release: “this story takes place 10 years earlier in order to highlight the first moment one of these children uses their supernatural gifts.
On the way to the hospital and moments before his birth, the child’s parents are victims of a horrible car accident. The unborn child is forced to use his powers to save them from within the womb.
The idea was to show the literal birth of a superhero. We wanted to place this story in a realistic and universal setting. We think that the panic created by this magnificent moment speaks to everyone.
We also wanted to pay homage to the mothers who are too often absent from the mythology of superheroes. And finally, to go beyond the codes of the genre to carry a symbolic message of hope where future generations would come to save us from a dark fate.”
The Top 10 Indie Songs for November 2021 highlights the best, and most popular, singles from some of November’s best album releases – and from 2021 in general.
Over the past few months, many of these singles have had time to really make the rounds on millions of speakers and buds. They include releases from MUNYA, Matt Pond PA; Ovlov; Holly Humberstone; Black Marble; The Flaming Lips and Nell Smith; Courtney Barnett; Snail Mail; Deap Vally with jennylee and Gov’t Mule.
Since we love so many of the songs in the Top 10, selecting the No.1 track is almost impossible.
Therefore, we are going to default and use Spotify’s number of recorded plays to rank these tracks – which were already going to make our Top 10 for the month regardless of the number of plays.
From that batch of tracks (which can be dozens), the number of plays helps whittle it down to ten tracks and to make more sense of a playlist that would otherwise be ten fresh songs in no particularly helpful order.
It’s up to you to choose which of our top 10 tracks you dig the most. D
Listen to the previous months’ Top 10 Songs playlists to discover more talented artists and bands from across the globe.
Number of Streams at Publish Time
12.8M holly 3.8M snail mail 3.4M court 500K govt mule 432K marble 372K deep 296k muny 219K lips 162K ovlov 3.9K matt
The new Netflix film Don’t Look Up may be getting more love for its music than the star-studded flick itself.
The film’s score was composed by the immensely-talented composer Nicholas Britell.
Britell’s other film score credits include Succession and If Beale Street Could Talk.
His style is distinctly orchestral, mixing together lush, sweeping string movements which are evident on the standout film track, “Second Nature,” in which indie star Bon Iver layers bright sounds and a breath of magic with an inspiring choir of background vocals.
Over the past few years, Bon Iver has really expanded his musical boundaries. His work with Taylor Swift has revealed a more introspective, even gloomy, side to Justin Vernon that fans haven’t seen in such fashion for a while.
The track includes contributions from yMusic’s CJ Camerieri (French horn and trumpet) and Rob Moose (strings), as well as vocals from Wye Oak’s Jenn Wasner (vocals).
The film stars Jennifer Lawrence, Leonardo DiCaprio, Meryl Streep, Ariana Grande, and Timothee Chalamet, among others.
Last year at about this time with all of us shuttered and nervous and hospitals overwhelmed and 2,000 Americans dying every day (still hard to wrap our heads around that), we needed distractions and humor to help us through.
What came along just in time was the forward-marching, incredibly funny and just plain stunningly-done short comedy series Sassy Justice.
Founded and created by Matt Stone and Trey Parker – the guys from South Park – Sassy Justice is a deep-fake video series featuring none other than our twice-impeached, one-term ex-president Donald Trump (although at the time he was still president and fighting – against the real numbers – to remain president by almost any means necessary even though he clearly lost the election).
The creators wrote a series of comedy sketches based on the fictional consumer advocate Fred Sassy who reports for the local TV station based in Cheyenne, Wyoming.
The realism of the deep-fake is pretty damn good. And yet we all know that in a few years we won’t even be able to tell the difference between a deep-fake and reality. (That’s kind of scary.)
In the meantime, we still have Sassy Justice complete series set embedded below for you to peruse.
However, the team hasn’t dropped a new video in the series since last year, and we couldn’t find (in a quick search) any mentions of when – or if – Sassy Justice will return.
No doubt this series involved a lot of work, time and money.
Perhaps the SJ team is waiting for Trump to run again? But why would that stop the video series? The entire Trump family and all of their associates continue to be in the news all of the time.
If it was intended as a one-off series, well thank you guys for doing it. It really helped relieve anxiety.
