New Charlotte Gainsbourg And Beck Video "Heaven Can Wait"

by Meg Ruddick

French actress and singer-songwriter Charlotte Gainsbourg enlisted serial collaborator Beck to help write, produce, and mix her upcoming album, IRM. She recently debuted the video for the album's single, "Heaven Can Wait," on her Web site. The surreal video features Gainsbourg and Beck in a number of weird and completely random situations. Flying axes, half-beards, and a failed game of tennis round out this strange, but definitely entertaining clip. The song's pretty catchy, too.

IRM's trippy title track, which was inspired by Gainsbourg's frequent visits to the MRI after suffering a brain hemorrhage in 2007, was posted on her Web site back in October. You can download the song for free here.

2:15 PM ET | 11-19-2009 | permalink

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What Makes Music Important

by Robin Hilton

Monkey See blogger Linda Holmes has a great new post on our list of the decade's 50 most important records, some of the user comments we've gotten about the list and what, exactly, it means to call something "important."

An excerpt:

"Here's how the (list of the 50 most important recordings) explains importance: 'These are the game-changers: records that signaled some sort of shift in the way music is made or sounds, or ones that were especially influential or historically significant.' That's about the same way I would explain it.

"Note that this description is value-neutral. It has nothing -- nothing -- to do with quality. If I made a recording of myself whanging away on a couple of tin cans with a meat thermometer, and somehow it turned out that this was an untapped market, and I sold five million copies, and lots and lots of other people followed with their own kitchen-implement records, my recording would be important. Influential, historically significant, and -- let's face it -- a game-changer."

Read more at the Monkey See blog.

12:16 PM ET | 11-18-2009 | permalink

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Velvet Underground Reunite In NYC

by Meg Ruddick

Members of the legendary New York band, Velvet Underground, will reunite not to perform, but to discuss the group's new biography, at the New York Public Library, on December 8. It'll be part of the LIVE from the NYPL series.

The Velvet Underground: New York Art (Rizzoli Publications)

Lou Reed, Maureen Tucker, and Doug Yule will meet with Rolling Stone journalist David Fricke to talk about the band's music and legacy and to promote the new book, The Velvet Underground: New York Art. According to Rizzoli publishing house, the compendium contains "never-before-seen photographs... Andy Warhol's cover and poster designs, Lou Reed's handwritten music and lyrics, underground press clippings and controversial reviews, flyers, handbills, and posters." For more info on this rare reunion, visit the LIVE from the NYPL website. Good new for those who can't make it in person: the NYPL site posts past LIVE events on its Web site, so look out for video and audio from the discussion sometime soon. (Via Billboard).

11:05 AM ET | 11-18-2009 | permalink

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Exclusive: The Antlers Offer New Version Of 'Sylvia'

by Bob Boilen

One of this years best CDs is from the Brooklyn-based band The Antlers. Hospice tells the story of a man losing a loved one to cancer. It's an incredibly dark record at times, but stunning and even oddly uplifting.

The band recently went into the New York studio known as The Orchard and recorded a new version of one of the album's standout tracks, "Sylvia."

The lyrics really come through loud and clear on this version.

They're bundling this song on iTunes with this amazing video that's been out for a while called "Two."

Let us know what you think.

10:40 AM ET | 11-17-2009 | permalink

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The Decade's 50 Most Important Recordings

Over the past few months, contributors to NPR Music have been combing their collections, reading listener nominations and putting together a list of the Decade's 50 Most Important Recordings. Not our favorites, but the music that made an impact.

Here's the full alphabetical list:

John Adams: On The Transmigration Of Souls
Animal Collective: Merriweather Post Pavilion
Arcade Fire: Funeral
The Bad Plus: These Are The Vistas
Beyonce: Dangerously In Love
Bon Iver: For Emma, Forever Ago
Bright Eyes: I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning
Burial: Untrue
Clap Your Hands Say Yeah: S/T
Kelly Clarkson: Breakaway
Coldplay: A Rush Of Blood To The Head
Danger Mouse: The Grey Album
Death Cab For Cutie: Transatlanticism
The Decemberists: The Crane Wife
Eminem: The Marshall Mathers LP
The Flaming Lips: Yoshimi Battles The Pink Robots
Osvaldo Golijov: La Pasion Segun San Marcos (Saint Mark's Passion)
Green Day: American Idiot
Iron And Wine: Our Endless Numbered Days
Jay-Z: The Blueprint
Norah Jones: Come Away With Me
Juanes: Fijate Bien
LCD Soundsystem: Sound Of Silver
Lil' Wayne: Tha Carter III
Little Brother: The Listening
Yo-Yo Ma: Silk Road Journeys: When Strangers Meet
Mastodon: Leviathan
M.I.A.: Kala
Jason Moran: Black Stars
OutKast: Stankonia
Brad Paisley: 5th Gear
Panda Bear: Person Pitch
Robert Plant & Alison Krauss: Raising Sand
The Postal Service: Give Up
Radiohead: In Rainbows
Radiohead: Kid A
Shakira: Fijacion Oral, Vol. 1
Sigur Ros: ( )
Britney Spears: In The Zone
Sufjan Stevens: Illinois
The Strokes: Is This It
The Swell Season: Once Soundtrack
Ali Farka Toure & Toumani Diabate: In The Heart of the Moon
TV On The Radio: Return To Cookie Mountain
Various: Garden State Soundtrack
Various: O Brother, Where Art Thou? Soundtrack
Kanye West: The College Dropout
The White Stripes: White Blood Cells
Wilco: Yankee Hotel Foxtrot
Amy Winehouse: Back To Black

Continue reading "The Decade's 50 Most Important Recordings" »

5:22 PM ET | 11-16-2009 | permalink

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Q: Are We Not Men? A: We Are Devo

by Bob Boilen

When I first saw Devo, I was dressed in a yellow radiation suit. It was October, 1978, and the band was on its first tour. It was the first and last time I was inspired to "dress up" for a concert, but these guys were special. (I wish I had a photo, maybe an old friend will come out of the woodwork and send me one).

Last night at the 9:30 Club, Devo returned to perform its entire first album Q: Are We Not Men? A: We Are Devo. It was just as good as that 1978 show I saw, minus the surprise of seeing a band like this for the first time.

This was always a quirky and fun group, and it still is. We had hoped to webcast the show. The band wanted to and we wanted to, but, in the end, we couldn't come to terms with Warner Brothers over rights issues. So just 24 hours before the show was to go live, we felt like we had no choice but to pass on it.

That said, something quite historic happened last night. After the band played its last song, the house lights came on and the Devo muzak started playing through the house monitors. But a very vocal majority of the audience stayed and screamed and chanted "D-E-V-O." More then 10 minutes passed. And just when we were about to lose any hope that the band would reappear, Devo returned to the stage. The house lights stayed on, but everyone went crazy.

Those in the audience who were lucky enough to stay took an oath. Booji Boy (Mark Mothersbaugh's alter ego) made us swear that... well, I can't tell you exactly what happened, because I took the oath. But I can tell you that the oath was "Swear not tell anyone you saw Devo perform in street clothes."

That's all I can tell you. But it's a "Beautiful World."

Tonight the band returns to perform Freedom of Choice.

Continue reading "Q: Are We Not Men? A: We Are Devo" »

8:54 AM ET | 11-16-2009 | permalink

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Beck Invites Wilco, Feist, Jamie Lidell Into Studio

by Meg Ruddick

For the past few months, Beck has taken on the task of covering his favorite albums in a project he calls Record Club. According to his Web site, "there is no intention to 'add to' the original work or attempt to recreate the power of the original recording. Only to play music and document what happens." He invites his musician friends to lend a hand recording the entire album in just one day. The songs and videos are then debuted in weekly episodes on the Record Club Web site. He has already finished The Velvet Underground & Nico and the Songs of Leonard Cohen with MGMT and Devendra Banhart.

This latest undertaking is the 1969 album Oar from former Jefferson Airplane and Moby Grape member Skip Spence. Beck enlists the help of Wilco, Feist, and Jamie Lidell, who just happened to be in town. The first track, "Little Hands," went up today.

Record Club: Skip Spence "Little Hands" from Beck Hansen on Vimeo.

3:21 PM ET | 11-13-2009 | permalink

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Paul McCartney: Good Evening New York City

by Bob Boilen

In 1965, The Beatles played a 34-minute set (standard fare for the times) at Shea Stadium (which was unprecedented for the times). Fans back then were truly fanatic. No one heard The Beatles music, really. The screaming was a steady roar and the sound system inadequate.

In July 2009, McCartney came back to site that used to be Shea Stadium, and is now New York's Citi Field. The sets were five times longer and probably five times louder. McCartney and his band tipped their hat to that '65 concert by playing "I'm Down." But all the other Beatles songs they played had yet to be written when McCartney last stopped at Shea, with his old mates. Here's McCartney and his band performing "Flaming Pie," from McCartney's 1997 album of the same name. It's a song inspired by a 1961 quip from John Lennon, who said, "It came in a vision -- a man appeared on a flaming pie and said unto them, 'From this day forward, you are Beatles with an A.' Thank you Mister Man, they said, thanking him."

On Nov. 17, this video, and the rest of the concert, will be released in multiple formats. I'll let the press release (after the jump link) in this instance get all the facts right.

There was a time when most people listening to rock music were probably under 25, and anyone over 30 was considered old. The idea that you could be 40 and still rock was really just a bad joke. Maybe it's seeing the world with my older eyes and hearing it with my older ears, but Paul can still sing and play the most lyrical bass lines, and write great songs.

After returning to the stadium site for the first time in several decades, McCartney had this to say: "It was three great nights for the band, and for me personally, it was very exciting to be back, opening a new stadium, on the site of the old Shea Stadium, where we had played 44 years previously. Even more exciting, because this time 'round, you could hear us!"

Continue reading "Paul McCartney: Good Evening New York City" »

6:36 AM ET | 11-13-2009 | permalink

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Them Crooked Vultures Stream Entire New Album

by Meg Ruddick

The much-hyped supergroup Them Crooked Vultures is combating the leak of its upcoming album by streaming the entire 13-track album on its own YouTube page. The self-titled debut from the Dave Grohl, John Paul Jones and Josh Homme epic rock group is set for release in the U.S. on November 17. You can preorder Them Crooked Vultures on the band's Web site.

Stream the entire album after the jump (video will begin playing automatically).

Continue reading "Them Crooked Vultures Stream Entire New Album" »

1:54 PM ET | 11-10-2009 | permalink

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Second Stage: The House Floor

by Meg Ruddick

Download "Tyrants!" by The House Floor (Right-click or control-click to save to your computer)

There's a lot going on in The House Floor's music. The band's epic album, Warship, was recorded in Virginia in the spring of 2009. With just 10 songs, the album clocks in at over an hour, with most songs averaging a good six and a half minutes long. Lead singer and guitarist Alex Tschan's voice is reminiscent of Conor Oberst, and the breathy, quavering vocals make for an almost spoken-word, poetry reading feel. His imaginative lyrics stand out above the music, and make you wonder just what the heck he's talking about. Sharp guitars and an incredible rhythm section (Ryan Lee on bass and Peter Chudzik on drums) give the music its bite and make it really fun. The songs themselves move and shift constantly and remind me more of compositions than standard rock songs. "Tyrants!" seamlessly blends about three or four songs into one, transitioning at one point with a really fantastic freak-out about midway through.

The band's album is available for download on its Web site.

Subscribe to the Second Stage podcast to automatically download each song to your computer.

Submit your music for possible inclusion in Second Stage or All Songs Considered.

10:52 AM ET | 11-10-2009 | permalink

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