A little Byorke.

What happens when two totally fucked up artists get together and make a song? Their collective fuckupedness increases exponentially. Such is quite clearly the case with Björk's latest, Nattúra, featuring none other than Radiohead's Thom Yorke. Yorke really only provides background noise, while Björk sings the melody. The songs is nice, if nice is the word you would use to describe a forest burning to the ground. I can't decide whether I like it or not. Needless to say; it's certainly not for everyone. The song will come out next monday, and all proceeds will go to Iceland's Náttúra fund; a nature awareness organization for which Björk played a benefit concert alongside Sigur Rós this past summer. So, if you are in possession of a credit card, try and buy this one. In the meantime, here is the video.

It Feels So Unnatural...

So, Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist (also known as "that movie that seems to be taking everything that people loved about Juno and exploiting it in a major label production) comes out tomorrow, and with it comes, well, a playlist. While the playlist is quite clearly finite, it has some other qualities to fill the void. Even though the movie is stirring some discontent inside of me, the playlist certainly is not. This is mostly due to the fact that it features none other than Vampire Weekend. They have written a new song apparently for the sole purpose of getting onto the playlist of Playlist. The track is pretty damn good, and feels very natural (Peter Gabriel too), despite the Cape Cod lyrics which are featured once again in this song.

While we are talking about the Weekend, I've decided to make their cover of Radiohead's Exit Music (For a Film) available as well.

Vampire Weekend - Ottoman
Vampire Weekend - Exit Music (For a Film)

Get Intimate.

The month of August brought a pleasant for fans of British indie alternative band Bloc Party. The band announced their new album, Intimacy. Then, three days later, it was out. Not out in the physical sense; they seem to have taken a page out of Radiohead's book and offered the CD as a download, however, this is no "pick your price" model; the album is available only through the Bloc Party official website as a digital download for 7£, or $10 to those of us on the other side of the Atlantic. Speaking of Atlantic, one thing that seems to be troubling is the Atlantic Records logo in the bottom corner of the North American download page. Has Bloc Party gone over to the dark side of major label recording? It doesn't seem so at any rate; Atlantic could have just been brought into the picture for distribution purposes. We will have to wait and see.

Anyway, major label or not, the album is absolutely incredible. If the lead single Mercury is any indication of the direction of the album (and believe me, it is), they have taken a far more experimental approach on things this time around. And it works. Starting out on Ares, you see the sound of this album in full colours. Mercury, the lead single, is an incredibly catchy, almost electronic track that will more than likely be stuck in your head for days. The rest of the album follows suit; not one song is less than stellar. Signs is like Blue Light on steroids. One Month Off is an upbeat track, but there are plenty of slower ones (Biko, Less Than Heaven) to create the perfect balance. The album is a somewhat short 10 tracks, but not to worry; the full release of the CD in late October will contain bonus tracks (kind of a dick move towards those who only purchased the download, but the download was nonetheless a step in the right direction.)

Here are some tracks from the album, for you to decide on yourself. Right click and "Save As..." to download.

02 - Mercury.mp3
06 - Signs.mp3
07 - One Month Off.mp3