Official YouTube Blog: music tuesday

Bonnaroo: Live on YouTube this weekend

Kamis, 07 Juni 2012

YouTube PresentsBonnaroo Music and Arts Festivalyoutube.com/bonnarooRadioheadRed Hot Chili PeppersPhishhip-hopretro soulcontinent-spanning collaborationswebcast schedule"Bonnaroo 2012" playlistSojaPunch BrothersDebo Bandfun.Alabama Shakesyoutube.com/bonnarooSarah Bardeen, music community manager, recently watched “Bonnaroo 2012 - Ben Folds Shoutout."

Music Tuesday: Live music, original music channels and more

Selasa, 14 Februari 2012

We’ve quite the week of music ahead of us on YouTube, including two live performances and a new selection of channels bringing you closer to the music you love.

Jason Mraz and Sleigh Bells live
It’s February 14 and Jason Mraz wants to be your Valentine. He’ll be dropping into YouTube’s New York HQ to perform a selection of his favorite love songs as part of the YouTube Presents series. Tune in at 1:30pm PT.

And there’s more! Brooklyn-based noise pop duo Sleigh Bells have been wowing audiences with their debut album Treats and live performances. We’ll be giving you a front row seat at their show this Friday night at Terminal 5 in NYC. Catch them on the new Bowery Presents YouTube Channel at 7:30pm PT. And speaking of the Bowery Presents channel...

Noisey, Pitchfork and Bowery come to YouTube
In October, we told you even more great folks were coming to YouTube, and we’ve already seen new channels from areas like action sports, education and autos. Over the next months we’ll be introducing you to the new kids on the YouTube music block and highlighting our favorite shows. To get you started, check-out three new channels entering the world this week, bringing you exclusive performances, behind-the-scenes interviews, news and entertainment.

Vice’s Noisey YouTube Channel lets music fans watch live music, follow the bands they love, and discover the artists who are on the rise — all with that unmistakable Vice feeling. We’re already digging the acerbic reviews from Record Store Dude.

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Since 2008, Pitchfork.tv, has produced award-winning video, documenting independent music as it happened. Beginning February 17, they bring a host of new shows exclusively on their YouTube channel, including Pitchfork Weekly, +1 and Sixty Seconds Left, featuring 1-minute snapshots of artists doing crazy things.

Along with live broadcasts from Bowery’s iconic venues, the new Bowery Presents YouTube Channel will be be a hub for music films and intimate acoustic performances from the industry's leading and emerging artists.

If you like any of these channels, subscribe so you can get all their new videos and updates on your homepage, and see even more tunes on the YouTube music page.

Tim Partridge, music marketing manager, recently watched “Whitney Houston - I Wanna Dance WIth Somebody.”

Music Tuesday: Nada Surf, Sundance and more

Selasa, 24 Januari 2012

YouTube Musicnew videoplaylistIn The MiddleNada Surf: live and playlisting!Popularinnovative coversYouTube competitionNada Surf ChannelSundance 2012Reckless (With Your Love)BienvenueTim Partridge, YouTube music manager, recently watched "Girls - 'Honey Bunny' Official Video."

Music Tuesday: Power to the People, YouTube Slam and more

Selasa, 17 Januari 2012

Music TuesdayYouTube stars rock JerusalemMaria Aragon2CELLOSCobusMarina Maximillian BluminFive people, one guitarSomebody That I Used to Knoworiginal songYouTube SlamYouTube SlamYouTube SlamTim Partridge, YouTube Music Manager, recently watched “Stereo Express - Shadooroack (Official Video Clip).”

Music Tuesday: A bevy of year-end lists from tUnE-yArDs and more

Selasa, 27 Desember 2011

2011: Merrill Garbus’ Picks2011: Amoeba Music’s PicksSarah Bardeen, Music Community Manager, recently watched “Favorite Albums of 2011.”

Music Tuesday: Songs of the Season and more

Selasa, 20 Desember 2011

CommonYouTube PresentsSongs for the SeasonDaptone Records 10 Year Anniversarybook named after itSarah Bardeen, Music Community Manager, recently watched “XMAS SWAGGER by Princess Superstar.”

Music Tuesday: Wilco, an introduction to juking, and more

Selasa, 04 Oktober 2011

What’s happening on youtube.com/music this week? We dig into two facets of Chicago’s music scene, starting with Wilco’s indie-Americana explorations and then exploring the future-forward sound of juke. And then we go even farther afield...come with us!
Wilco curation The iconic Chicago band Wilco have just released one of the most acclaimed albums of their career -- and possibly of 2011 (time will tell) -- in The Whole Love. The hook-filled album also stretches at its sonic space, artfully scarring its easy beauty with shards of noise and the occasional extended guitar jam. And yes, they’ve made some pretty lovely videos to go along with it. We invited the band to take over the YouTube homepage today, and they flood it with music you might not ordinarily see there. Sister Rosetta Tharpe. Frank Sinatra and Antonio Carlos Jobim. The inimitable Bill Withers. They gravitate to music that endures...not unlike their own.

Chicago Juke While Wilco reps one aspect of Chi-town (its indie-Americana side), we turned to a completely different set of musicians to explore another facet of the city’s music scene. Maybe you've heard about juking. It's a dance scene; it's a musical style. It was born in Chicago, and it takes house music and hip-hop and strips them down, cranking up the BPMs and muddying the production values so it feels as if it could have come out of any corner of the world. People get wild to it; the footwork style has become hugely inspirational to dancers around the country. Even overseas dubstep producers have been influenced by the scene in recent years. Check out our introduction to this vibrant musical subculture.

Dakha Brakha “Vesna” Speaking of going local, you can’t get much more local than Dakha Brakha -- it’s just that the locale is a bit farther afield. (The Ukraine, to be exact.) Dakha Brakha play Ukranian folk music, but they do it with such art-house panache that it feels avant-garde instead of old. In “Vesna,” the band’s most recent video, they emerge from Ukraine’s forests in full traditional garb, setting up and performing in modern-day Kiev. The video builds slowly, but by the time it ends, modern life feels as if it’s been briefly transformed.

Sarah Bardeen, Music Community Manager, recently watched “Yo Yo Ma - Attaboy.”

Music Tuesday: Fresh faces, Burning Man’s musical side and more

Selasa, 30 Agustus 2011

Summer’s drawing to a close, but there’s still time to discover a new summer anthem. Perhaps it’s a tune from Cults, the indie-popsters Noisey profiled last week on youtube.com/music. Or perhaps you’ll find your summer song in one of this week’s featured playlists.

Fresh Faces: August
Every month, we feature a handful of newly-signed music partners on YouTube’s homepage. This month, the pickings were so rich we couldn’t narrow it down to just four, so we chose six artists to feature, and they’re an inspiring group that spans the gamut, from a sixteen-year-old emcee from New Jersey who’s sworn off cursing to J Dilla protege and former Slum Village member Elzhi. Add a few jazzy singer-songwriters into the mix and there’s something for everyone.

Burning Man Survival Kit
The annual art festival takes place in Nevada Black Rock Desert this week. And while the event’s official focus is art -- kinetic, sculptural and frequently fire-breathing -- it’s also a premier gathering spot for fans of electronic music. Soundsystems on the “playa” vie with each other, putting on all-night raves that host cutting-edge deejays as well as some of the business’ biggest names. We’ve assembled a playlist of some sounds you might hear if you were there.

James Blake and Bon Iver: Fall Creek Boys Choir
Dubstep’s errant child and indie’s golden son have teamed up for an EP that releases later this year. They’ve dropped the first song from it on YouTube, and it’s a mysterious and spacious experiment in sound...just as we expected.

Sarah Bardeen, Music Community Manager, recently watched “Pigeon John ‘The Bomb.’”

Music Tuesday: Catching our breath with Zee Avi, Tom Waits and The Decemberists

Selasa, 23 Agustus 2011

Whew. Did you catch all that? We’re still trying to recover from five intense days of music mania. That’s right, we relaunched youtube.com/music last Thursday, and throughout the weekend you saw our logo redesigned and a bundle of playlists from folks you might have heard of: Lady Gaga. David Guetta. The Red Hot Chili Peppers. Eminem and Royce Da 5’9. And we had folks like SPIN Magazine, XLR8R and The Needle Drop clueing us in about what music we don’t know about, but should.

In the coming weeks, keep returning to youtube.com/music to discover more new videos, live performances and eye-opening playlists. Not only will our first batch of curators be returning with new features to share, we’ll be adding even more regular features from influential blogs, magazines, video bloggers and others. Keep coming back; we promise you’ll dig it.

Zee Avi curates the YouTube homepage
After featuring a bevy of celebrities over the past week, it’s fitting to come back to a celebrity YouTube helped foster. When Zee Avi posted her first video on YouTube, she had no idea it would make her a star; she just wanted to share a performance with a friend. One album and oodles of views later, she’s back with her second album, ghostbird. Today she shares an extremely lovely acoustic performance of several songs from the new album with us (we’re tripping over the first song, “Anchor,” which she filmed on a rooftop). She also shares some videos that put her in a state of self-described enchantment.

The Decemberists “Calamity Song”
The song is off their most recent album; the video was inspired by a scene in David Foster Wallace’s door-stop of a novel Infinite Jest. It feels to us like a metaphor for bad international decision-making, set on a tennis court with kids playing world leaders. What do you think?

Tom Waits “Bad As Me” Private Listening Party
How do you keep albums private in the digital age? How do you build excitement and mystery in an age devoted to breaking it down? Tom Waits, as always, shows us how.

Sarah Bardeen, Music Community Manager, recently watched “Beirut - O Leaozinho.”

Music Tuesday: Jeff Bridges and other actors-turned-musicians

Selasa, 16 Agustus 2011

We’ve been a little obsessed with the intersection between film and music on youtube.com/music this week -- we kicked off Monday with a playlist of music videos by the acclaimed director Spike Jonze, who just directed Kanye West and Jay-Z’s easy, playful video for “Otis” and is also known for his work on the big screen, most recently for Where The Wild Things Are. And then there’s Jeff Bridges...

The Big Lebowski...Sings
Actors can convince us of a lot of things, but historically speaking, it’s pretty hard to make us believe they’re actually musicians. (Remember William Shatner’s “music” career?) But after his portrayal of a washed-up country singer in Crazy Heart, Jeff Bridges got inspired to go back to a recording studio -- which he built on his own land -- and start writing songs again. With the expert support of producer T Bone Burnett, Bridges is proving himself to be more than an actor playing a part. His first single from his new album is catchy, smart and -- best of all -- convincing. Today we feature the man better known as “the dude” sharing a little bit about the music that has influenced and inspired him.

Actors: Wannabe Musicians?
In the spirit of Jeff Bridges getting his songwriting on, we thought we’d look at the track record of other actors who tried their hand at the music biz. You might be surprised by how many there are: from Keanu Reeves and Ryan Gosling to Minnie Driver and Zooey Deschanel, a lot of thespians have tried to cross the divide -- with mixed results. Wondering who soars and who falls flat? Only one way to find out: watch!

Fool’s Gold: Wild Window
Back in 2009, the L.A. band Fool’s Gold convinced reluctant indie rockers that they actually could enjoy music that wasn’t in English -- in part because the unholy mongrelism of the band's debut album was just too compelling to ignore. (Perhaps that was due to the incongruousness of a singer crooning in Hebrew over guitar licks that came straight of the Sahara.) The focus has changed on their follow-up Leave No Trace -- vocalist Luke Top sings primarily in English and the once-sprawling collective has become a tight five-piece. But if this charming video is any indication, change is a good thing.

Sarah Bardeen, Music Community Manager, recently watched “Feist - How Come You Never Go There.”

Music Tuesday: Lollapalooza, old-school hip-hop and supporting East Africa

Selasa, 09 Agustus 2011

Lollapaloozayoutube.com/musicLollapalooza 2011

Old-School Hip-HopKurtis Blow’s

High Tide or Low TideTim Partridge, Music Marketing Manager, recently watched "LisaNova Does Royce da 5'9 Tinie Tempah Foster the People, Ellie Goulding & Mayer Hawthorne."

Music Tuesday: Lollapalooza Week on YouTube, and more

Selasa, 02 Agustus 2011

Lollapaloozayoutube.com/lollapaloozahereyoutube.com/musicMy Morning Jacket curation

Global Ghetto Music

Toro y Moi “How I Know” video premiereYo Gabba GabbaSarah Bardeen, Music Community Manager, recently watched “Toro y Moi - How I Know.”

Music Tuesday: Bjork, Mick Jagger and bidding farewell to Amy Winehouse

Selasa, 26 Juli 2011

youtube.com/musicRIP Amy WinehouseAmy Winehouseher borrowed band The Dap-Kings“Rehab”“Love Is A Losing Game”“He Can Only Hold Her.”

Happy Birthday, Mick

Bjork “Crystalline” video premiere
Sarah Bardeen, Music Community Manager, recently watched “The DL - Amy Winehouse ‘Valerie’ Live.”

Music Tuesday: Portugal. The Man and vintage global sounds

Selasa, 19 Juli 2011

some of the best actsTyler, The Creator’s “Yonkers” videoresults‘80s Summer Party songsPortugal. The Man’s sci-fi obsessionPortugal. The Manepicstrange

Global RetroAnalog AfricaSoundway RecordsVampiSoul

Joe Clausell “Hammock House”Fania RecordsSarah Bardeen, Music Community Manager, recently watched “Tinariwen - TENERE TAQQIM TOSSAM.”

Music Tuesday: The Needle Drop, fresh faces and more

Selasa, 12 Juli 2011

It’s been a busy few weeks on youtube.com/music. We celebrated the July 4 weekend in the U.S. with a playlist of music to BBQ by and took a look at the women of Americana. Last Tuesday we were wooed by indie rockers YACHT, who made a completely adorable video introducing their curation of the YouTube homepage. We also paid homage to the Latin Alternative Music Conference, a gathering for Latino buzz bands that took place in NYC last week. Then it was on to a haunting new genre of music, and a look at the latest in live performances on YouTube.

Introducing The Needle Drop
This week we debut a new monthly series from Anthony Fantano, the DJ and music critic otherwise known by his channel name, The Needle Drop. Anthony quickly became one of our favorite music reviewers on YouTube for his witty and perhaps nerdy insights into a broad range of music. Sure, he skews indie, but as he admits himself, that’s only when he’s not reviewing major label releases, hip-hop or metal. His serious engagement with the music is matched only by his entertaining screen personality, and this week he begins a monthly round-up for us of his favorite releases, complete with music videos and reviews.

Fresh Faces: July
Oodles of under-the-radar musicians find a home for their work on YouTube, and every month we feature four of them on the homepage. Today we profile four very different artists who bring strong, distinct perspectives to their work. Shankar Tucker is a young clarinetist who got obsessed by Indian classical music, with awesome results. Jayanti’s now-burgeoning career got started when a friend took a video of her singing a song at dinner one night. LaTosha Brown is a crazily talented singer who actually stopped performing eight years ago and now heads the Gulf Coast Fund, a social justice philanthropy organization. (San Francisco micro-label Porto Franco Records caught one arresting video of her singing recently, and we decided it deserved a feature.) And we just liked Faded Paper Figures’ style.

Kurt Vile “Baby’s Arms”
Vile’s deceptively simple song gets its power from its stripped-down aesthetic, and it’s bolstered by an extraordinarily lo-fi video which was shot entirely on a smartphone. This is the kind of one-two punch you have to love.

Sarah Bardeen, Music Community Manager, recently watched “SBTRKT - Wildfire.”

Music Tuesday: Mystery bands, Buddy Holly and more

Selasa, 28 Juni 2011

Things have been popping on youtube.com/music over the last week. Afrobeat pioneer Fela Kuti’s son Seun just released a new album, and in honor of the potent genre his dad created, we put together a playlist of Afrobeat essentials. We also joined the world in celebrating pride week last weekend with a clutch of anthemic songs new and old. And we turned our attention to England, where the Glastonbury music festival raged. We remembered Glastos past and heard from a young band named Viva Brother, who played the festival for the first time and guided us through the experience. Oh yeah, and pop star/actress Selena Gomez debuted her new album (with commentary) on Sunday. On to this week!

Mystery bands
With the release of Shabazz Palaces’s full-length debut Black Up this week (which you can listen to in its entirety here), we found ourselves thinking about disguises, and all the bands over the years who’ve used them. Shabazz Palaces offers an avant-garde take on hip-hop; the group is helmed by Ishmael Butler of Digable Planets, but he hid behind the moniker Palaceer Lazaro for several years and still refuses to name his collaborators. Butler isn’t the first to cloak his musical experiments in a veil of mystery. This week, we present some artists who have used anonymity to fuel their boundary-pushing work, starting with San Francisco provocateurs The Residents and moving through the leftfield R&B of The Weeknd (who seem to be linked with Drake), the pop culture pastiche act Nike7UP, British oddities Hype Williams and more.

Buddy Holly raves on
Buddy Holly forever altered the course of rock’n’roll with his astonishing 25 hit songs—all of which he penned and recorded before he died in a plane crash at the age of 22. Don McLean famously sang that the day the plane crashed was “the day the music died,” and it was hard not to agree with him. But nothing proves Holly’s music lives on like Rave On Buddy Holly, a tribute album that features everybody from CeeLo Green to Patti Smith covering his songs. We check out a few tracks from the album as well as other tributes to the rock’n’roll pioneer.

Breakbot “Fantasy Jacques Renault Remix”
With “Fantasy,” the French producer Breakbot turned out a song that could have come off of Michael Jackson’s “Off The Wall” circa 1979. But really it’s the video that had us at hello: a mash-up of roller-skating videos from the 1970s and ‘80s that practically screams “summer.”

Sarah Bardeen, Music Community Manager, recently watched “Bon Iver - Bon Iver ALBUM REVIEW.”

Music Tuesday: Other Music, Terra Naomi and Pete Rock

Selasa, 21 Juni 2011

Summer is finally underway in the northern hemisphere, and while new releases may be slowing down, youtube.com/music is getting busy. Neo-soul songstress Jill Scott graced us with a playlist of her inspirations over the weekend, the ever-charming Alicia Keys celebrates the ten-year anniversary of Songs In A Minor with an invitation to the YouTube community and the music world mourned the loss of Clarence Clemons, the gentle giant who played saxophone with Bruce Springsteen for more than thirty years. Meanwhile, everybody from Bon Iver to Pitbull are releasing new albums today. Later this week we’ll feature a contest, another video premiere and some very special coverage from England’s Glastonbury music festival; be sure to check out youtube.com/music over the weekend for updates.

Other Music recommends...music!
When we started inviting independent record stores to curate playlists of their favorite music, we had no idea that so many of you would be watching. More than 500k views later, Amoeba Music’s playlist is still turning people on to good music, so this month we head to the East Coast to see what’s popping at Other Music, the New York record store known as a home to all things indie, experimental and adventurous. They came up with a creative collection of videos which we’re featuring on the homepage today.

Terra Naomi
One of YouTube’s early music stars, Terra Naomi set the template for many who followed. Her song “Say It’s Possible” featured one of the first crowdsourced music videos; five years later, she’s releasing a new album and a new crowdsourced video, which she’s premiering with us today. The video is directed by Alex Albrecht and made in conjunction with iPhone app Hipstamatic and pulls images from over 10,000 entries from around the world. She also shares a playlist of some of her favorite cover songs of all time.

Smif-n-Wessun & Pete Rock premiere the album Monumental
Smif-n-Wessun (later known as Cocoa Brovaz after a legal dispute over their name) helped define hardcore hip-hop lyricism with a string of successful, critically-lauded albums back in the 1990s. Pete Rock has been in the game just as long, an emcee and producer who helped define jazz-hop alongside acts like A Tribe Called Quest. He went on to become one of the Wu-Tang Clan’s go-to producers, crafting tracks for everyone from Raekwon to Ghostface Killah. Monumental proves the duo’s tag-team rap style is still on lock, while Pete Rock’s production never misses the mark — and often recalls his late, great colleague, the venerated J Dilla. Check it out now, one week before release date.

Sarah Bardeen recently watched “Breakbot - ‘Fantasy’ (Jacques Renault remix).”

Music Tuesday: Eminem’s live Q&A, new jazz and dubstep meets G-Funk

Selasa, 14 Juni 2011

It’s a quiet week on the new release front, but on the video front, things are popping. Perhaps the biggest debut was Katy Perry’s new video. The pop vixen performs as her alter-ego Kathy Beth Terry, and the video features none other than Rebecca Black and other familiar faces. If that doesn’t float your boat, check out what else is happening on youtube.com/music today.

Eminem’s favorite collaborations
How many EPs generate this much buzz? Eminem and fellow Detroit rapper Royce da 5'9 go way back -- the duo met in 1997 and immediately clicked. They formed Bad Meets Evil and recorded a few songs, but then Emimen got signed to a major label and, well, you know the rest. Though Royce appeared on The Slim Shady LP, various beefs led the friends to fall out until a mutual friend’s death reunited them a few years ago. Now they’re back in the studio, and Royce’s skillful rhymes seem to have invigorated Eminem: he sounds looser and more playful than you’ve heard him in years. You can see their chemistry in the video, which emphasizes the lyricism and wordplay with painted graphics. Today, Eminem picks his favorite collaborative videos to celebrate the release. It’s a Dre-heavy mix, naturally, but he also showcases an EPMD classic and the Junior Mafia evergreen “Mo Money, Mo Problems.” Also, Royce and the famously publicity-averse Mr. Mathers take to his YouTube channel this afternoon at 5 p.m. ET/2 p.m. PT to answer your questions live.

New jazz, now
This week, we extract some fresh jazz tidbits for the curious. Top of our list? Ambrose Akinmusire, a young trumpeter out of Oakland, Ca. who has been making waves among jazz fans for his fluid compositions and compelling tone. We’ve also got Norah Jones singing a lovely rendition of “Come Rain or Come Shine” with Wynton Marsalis and a short piece on the new album from the sultry Brazilian vocalist Eliane Elias.

CHLLNGR “Ask For”
This is the first single off of CHLLNGR’s upcoming release Haven. Who is CHLLNGR? The Danish producer has been quietly remixing everybody from M.I.A. to The XX, but that’s not why we love him. First, the creepy video is a win: shot in a forest outside of Copenhagen, nothing much happens, yet you keep watching in rapt anticipation. Something might happen. Equally awesome is the song’s G-funk synthesizer line, which erupts straight out of the West Coast circa 1992 and collides with dubstep’s unsteady bass (currently London’s biggest export). It’s a subtle and smart combination, and it has us looking forward to more from this producer from the north country.

Sarah Bardeen, Music Community Manager, recently watched “Bob Dylan - Tangled Up In Blue.”

Music Tuesday: Battles, Vetiver and the power of CANADA

Selasa, 07 Juni 2011

This week, Coldplay returns with a brand new song, Duncan Sheik covers ‘80s classics, Youssou N’Dour celebrates reggae, Branford Marsalis keeps jazz vital and country star Randy Travis celebrates 25 years in music. But we first turn our attention to a math-rock supergroup some had written off after they lost their lead singer -- until their new album landed on critics’ laps, four years after their lauded debut.

Battles curate the YouTube homepage
Battles’ 2007 debut Mirrored still amazes with its precise shards of sound and wholly formed aesthetic. It integrated electronics and rock instrumentation into such a seamless whole that some hailed the band as the future of rock — and avant-garde vocalist Tyondai Braxton as its voice-manipulating headman. Braxton’s departure from the band left doubt about their future, but four years after their lauded debut, they’re back: sans Braxton, but full of sonic innovation and a bevy of guest vocalists. Gloss Drop is an engrossing listen, and it gains in texture with contributions from Gary Numan (yes, the man behind the ‘80s classic “Cars”), Kazu Makino of Blonde Redhead, Chilean producer and vocalist Matias Aguayo and Yamantaka Eye of Japanese rockers the Boredoms. Battles bring their heady, wonky, original aesthetic to the homepage today, choosing their favorite videos and debuting a new version of their video for “Ice Cream.”

The Power of CANADA
Battles are likely to gain fans on the strength of their new video, and they have the amusingly-named Spanish video director collective CANADA to thank for that. The team features three directors: Luis Cervero, Nicolas Mendez and Lope Serrrano. After spending years as the go-to videographers for Spain’s indie rock artists, CANADA gained a massive following from their provocative video for El Guincho’s “Bombay.” El Guincho has a growing U.S. fan-base, and his global ghetto pop/electronic sound mashed perfectly with the directors’ aesthetic: bawdy (which has earned their videos more than a few age restrictions), comic and flooded with images that often find their power in rapid-fire juxtaposition. Their videos poke fun but also celebrate everything from bad ‘70s flicks and European art films to Carl Sagan. They seem to have an endless storehouse of images at their fingertips, and their editing borders on revelatory. We share some of their best work today on youtube.com/music.

Vetiver “Wonder Why?”
They’re transplanted San Franciscans (native to North Carolina), friends of freak folk luminaries Devendra Banhart and Joanna Newsom, and willing slaves to harmony and twang. Vetiver make the kind of urban roots music that feeds people looking for organic, unprocessed music in our highly digitized age. Check out the brand-new video from their upcoming album, premiered on youtube.com/music today. It takes a city’s inanimate landscape and brings it to life; watch as sandwich carts mouth the words to the song and buildings blink their windows in time.

Sarah Bardeen, Music Community Manager, recently watched “J Rocc - Stay Fresh.”

Music Tuesday: Death Cab for Cutie, Cibo Matto and more

Selasa, 31 Mei 2011

What’s happening on youtube.com/music? If you’re a fan of one of indie rock’s most influential bands, a lot. Check out our picks for what's happening in music this week.

Death Cab for Cutie curation
Death Cab for Cutie’s intelligent, heart-restrained-by-head songs have always vibrated with barely-contained desire. They’re also innovative video-makers -- earlier this year they released a pretty stunning one-take video for “You Are A Tourist.” They followed it up by asking Shepard Fairey to tag L.A. with the lyrics to “Home Is A Fire.” So we were pretty psyched when Ben Gibbard and Nick Harmer agreed to sit down and choose some of their favorite videos for us on the eve of the release of their new album Codes and Keys. Like the band itself, their videos are diverse, thoughtful, surprising and sometimes cute: you’ll find indie rock videos, sure, but also French bulldogs, exploding volcanoes, and a starry sky. Prepare to swoon.

Cibo Matto reunites
Everybody’s favorite quirky Japanese alterna-pop duo, Cibo Matto grabbed a devoted following back in the ‘90s for their deceptively simple, sly and silly songs. They weren’t rockstars, but they were cool and goofy and hard to ignore. They recently announced they’re getting back together for a tour and a new album. Here’s why you care:

Lavalier "Santa Claus Ain't Comin'"
When even Nylon Magazine is trying to remind us that there’s music being made outside of Brooklyn, it feels a bit perverse to hype yet another Brooklyn band. But Lavalier -- a slightly psychedelic, slightly melancholic indie band -- have something else going for them: their new video from the art collective Everything Is Terrible. The collective scours junk sales and thrift stores for discarded VHS tapes and turns them into hilarious videos. They hit the jackpot with this one, sending up ‘80s culture by using detritus from the decade itself. This is cultural archeology at its best -- and the song’s not bad, either.

Sarah Bardeen, Music Community Manager, recently watched “Go - Santogold & Karen O."

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