Suicide Saturday by Hippo Campus

Thanks to KCRW helpfully reminding me last week that I needed to check out adorable, super young, indie rockers Hippo Campus, I've been enjoying a lovely, upbeat weekend soundtrack of new (at least to me!) tunage! And it works out beautifully that Hippo Campus will be opening for Real Estate when they play the 2nd week of the 2015 Santa Monica Pier Twilight Concert Series on July 16th!

Head Over Heels by Tears for Fears #TBT

For #TBT, here is 1 of the MANY excellent songs from the Donnie Darko soundtrack. I'm majorly craving another viewing of that movie!! It's 1 of my favorites!

My Favorite Track on A$AP Rocky's New Album AT.LONG.LAST.A$AP

A$AP Rocky dropped his new Danger Mouse, Juicy J & A$AP Yams-produced album AT.LONG.LAST.A$AP only yesterday but I already can't get enough of the 5th track entitled Excuse Me. 

I'm Loving The 1st Single from Destroyer's Upcoming 11th Studio Album Poison Season!

I discovered Canadian indie rock band Destroyer a few years ago when they played Coachella 2012. I missed their set but heard excellent things about it which compelled me to buy tickets to their next show in LA. 

Destroyer's performance at El Rey Theatre on June 6, 2012 was simply wonderful as is the 1st single from their upcoming 11th studio album. The song is called Dream Lover & the album, which is set for an August 28th release, is entitled Poison Season. 

If you haven't heard of Destroyer before, they have 10 albums worth of music you should catch up on ASAP!

The 2015 Santa Monica Pier Twilight Concert Series Lineup Is Better Than Ever!!

After attending 20 straight weeks of the FREE KCRW-sponsored Twilight Concert Series at Santa Monica Pier the past 2 years, it's probably comes as no surprise when I say I will be on the beach from 7-10pm every Thursday for 10 straight weeks starting on July 9th :) And the 2015 lineup is 1 of the best I've ever seen! 

You can't beat getting to kick off the summer of fun with MORRIS DAY & DÂM FUNK! Then, we'll be following it up with Real Estate on July 16th! I'm also super pumped for JD McPherson on July 30th, Australia Rocks The Pier on August 6th, Ariel Pink with The Mynabirds on August 20th & Jefferson Starship on August 27th!

For more information, go to http://tcs.santamonicapier.org/ or just ask me! I'm pretty much a pier concert expert ;)

A Simple Design by The Juan Maclean

I love that Nancy Whang (previously of LCD Soundsystem) collaborated with John MacLean aka The Juan MacLean on his latest album In a Dream, which was released by DFA Records on 9/16/14. The entire album is quite phenomenal & 1 of my top fave tracks is A Simple Design. I'm jealous of anyone lucky enough to be attending The Juan MacLean's Saturday night show at The Regent Theater in DTLA!

Upward Mobility by The Helio Sequence - Official Video

Now that I have discovered Beaverton, Oregon-based duo The Helio Sequence, it looks like I may need to hit up The Roxy in West Hollywood 2 nights in a row in July. I already have tickets for Memory Tapes on 7/14 then The Helio Sequence is playing The Roxy the very next night! I have a feeling they might kick ass live.

The Decemberists & Lucius @ The Greek Theatre - 5/2/15

After having only caught the last few songs of their Sasquatch 2011 set, I'm grateful I was finally able to witness a full, headlining set by The Decemberists on May 2nd at The Greek Theatre! They were simply marvelous!! Colin Meloy is so charming, engaging & hilarious. He rocks...as does the rest of the band! I was especially happy to get to hear 2 of my favorite tracks from my favorite Decemberists album The Hazards of Love. 

The Rake's Song

Lucius performing Turn It Around

Eventually by Tame Impala - NEW!

Eventually is the 4th new track from Tame Impala's upcoming album Currents & it is awesome. I'd be stoked if they released the new album early! July 17th feels so far away!

The FYF Fest 2015 Lineup Isn't My Favorite

I hate to say it but, after 5 straight years of attending FYF Fest in Downtown LA, I'm going to have to pass on FYF Fest 2015.

Despite there being plenty of artists I'd happily see, they're pretty much all FYF repeats, including several artists who JUST played FYF 2014, &/or artists I've already seen multiple times. I'm significantly more stoked on Modest Mouse playing Hollywood Forever Cemetery on Friday 8/21 (which was also just announced this morning) than I am on 2 full days of FYF. Tickets for Modest Mouse go on sale Friday 5/8 at 12pm PST.

I hope the 2016 FYF Fest lineup interests me enough to go back next year but, for now, I'm gonna save my $175 (tix cost $129 last year, $99 in 2013 & only $77 in 2012!) for the MANY concerts & festivals I'm attending this summer & fall. 

If AXS TV ends up streaming sets from FYF this year though, I'll happily watch Bloc Party, Frank Ocean, Chet Faker, Purity Ring, Run The Jewels, Deerhunter, Cold Cave, D'Angelo, Flume, Belle & Sebastian, Spiritualized, Toro y Moi, The Jesus & Mary Chain, FKA Twigs & Unknown Mortal Orchestra from the comfort of my couch!

Go by The Chemical Brothers Featuring Q-Tip - Official Video Directed by Michel Gondry

May 4th is working out to be an excellent day for both music lovers & Star Wars fans alike. Not only did My Morning Jacket & Other Lives both release new albums this morning, but The Chemical Brothers also dropped the 2nd single from their upcoming album Born in the Echoes which is set for release on July 17th. The track is called Go, it features Q-Tip of A Tribe Called Quest on vocals & the always brilliant Michel Gondry (of Bjork music videos fame) directed the official video. I'm starting to think I might have to attend Hard Fest for my 1st time this August just so I can see The Chemical Brothers live again!