December 2011
(Photo: Royal Baths)
New Year’s Eve is one of the biggest party nights of the year, but it’s also a battle. Can you manage all the expectations? Can you get that kiss you really want? If you don’t, will the combination of substances turn your stomach into a fiery cauldron and send you home early? Maybe it’s that “anything could happen” attitude that makes the...
San Francisco indie-electronic band The Limousines, formed of multi-instrumentalist/producer Giovanni Giusti and songwriter/vocalist Eric Victorino, is known for its fun, dancey tracks as seen on last year’s debut Get Sharp. Now the band is offering its take on the Paul Simon classic “Call Me Al,” and while that’s definitely well-trodden territory, I find this rendition fairly imaginative and...
(Photo: The War On Drugs)
Perhaps we’ll remember 2011 as the year we returned to “the song.” Yes, I know, music is almost always based around songs, but those elusive mysteries with actual choruses, verses, bridges (remember those?) and emotions seemed kind of rare for awhile. Whether in the loose slacker forms of Kurt Vile, the Petty-meets-experimental vibe of The War On...
(Photo: Katy B)
Dance this year was all about getting low, getting high, freaking out, hooking up and sweating into delirium. Oh, wait. That’s what every year in dance is. Oh well. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. House, club, R&B-laden vibrations, garage, drum’n’bass, bangers, dubstep and a smattering of cruelly-labeled microgenres that we can’t even wrap...
(Photo: Curren$y)
Diversity was the key concept in 2011 rap music. While new MCs bubbled-up from all corners of the country and used blogs to gain equal footing with rappers from major media centers, a diversity of sound gave us everything from the spacey minimalism of Drake and The Weeknd to The Throne’s maximalist stunting to Maybach Music Group’s by-the-numbers street bangers.
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Ah, 2011. It’s almost over, and in the spirit of music media protocol, we’ve decided to give you our editorial picks for the best tracks of the year by both person and genre. Relive music’s sonic glories or just discovery a ton of new tracks that we think are really good. Stay tuned all week for playlists galore on both RCRD LBL and Spotify. Up first, our Creative Director...
As we conclude our recovery from last night’s Diplo show, we also look back at yet another great week of music. Check out our weekend playlist for new selections from Miike Snow, Royal Baths, Matthew Dear, Kid Sister, Lee Fields and much more. Also, be sure to come back next week as we begin a robust end-of-year series featuring playlists from all of our editors and genres on both RCRD LBL...
(Photos By Loren Wohl)
We seriously just stopped sweating from last night. That’s how good the second edition of the RCRD LBL & BING Presents Smoke & Mirrors party featuring Diplo, CREEP and Matt Shadetek was. Hosted by our Creative Director Elliot Aronow and Eyebeam Art + Technology Center, the entire evening was a beautiful mess of innovative beats and crazy dancing all topped...
Tonight! It’s happening! Smoke & Mirrors featuring DIPLO, CREEP (DJ Set) and Matt Shadetek of the fabulous Dutty Artz crew starts at 9pm at Eyebeam Art + Technology Center in Manhattan. Here’s a handy Q&A to answer some of your burning questions.
I am 20, but like, that is kind of close to 21. Can I still come?
We are sorry, but no, you cannot. This show is 21+ – no...
(Photo: Noah Kalina)
Off-kilter Anticon popster Raleigh Moncrief collides with queen-of-ghoulish-things Chelsea Wolfe on the White Horse remix of his track “Lament For Morning.” It must be about all the bad things you did last night with those disembodied voices raining down in melodic bubbles like some oddball sonic acupuncture. It’s like the original’s ping-pong effect...
More than two years after the group’s debut, Miike Snow is indeed back. Here, they lead-up to official singles in January with the track “Devil’s Work” – a serious, cinematic march that does its title well. Andrew Wyatt’s haunting vocals narrate the song’s sharp swells, while hooks jet from all corners and resolute melodies are backed by horns and piano...
Come December 13, Moby’s “The Right Thing” gets the double A-side single treatment along with a cut entitled “After.” On this remix, Kleerup takes the reigns, diverting potential late-night sterility for organic drums that knock in an uncompressed fury. This one is calibrated for making you spin in wild circles at a sawdust-strewn loft – a winter party savior.
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From The Internet doing “Cocaine” with Little Dragon to Charles Bradley’s “Heartaches & Pain,” this was a week where things could have gotten a little too intense. We found a way out, though. Moby made us dance, and new jams from of Montreal, Guards and Spector made us feel just fine about how the future will turn out. See you next week, and don’t forget...
We’re one week away from the second Smoke & Mirrors presented by RCRD LBL and Bing. Featuring Diplo and brand new additions CREEP (DJ Set) and Matt Shadetek, we wanted to throw you out a little mix of some of our favorite Diplo productions that have been featured on the site. Stream or download and be sure to RSVP!
DECEMBER 15, 2011
RCRD LBL + BING Present:
SMOKE &...
With a title like “Bodies In The Dunes” you probably already surmised we’re not heading into glittery dancefloor territory. Pop. 1280 is abrasive, atonal and finds glory in a dirty tribal stomp. Vocals, intoned like older material from Liars, tell you exactly where those bodies are hidden while kitchen sink percussion clatters with the sort of reckless abandon that I love in a...
I feel kind of weird when I intro a new cut as one of the best songs of the year. Surely all the songs I bring your way should be the best songs of the year? But alas, they cannot, or at least they can’t be as great as Fairewell’s “Born Under a Bad Sign.” This is the kind of vulnerable, wide-eyed indie rock song that’s been missing from the world too long. Here,...
DECEMBER 15, 2011
RCRD LBL + BING Present:
SMOKE & MIRRORS
DIPLO
with special guests
Hosted by Eyebeam Technology and Art Center
21+ event
Doors: 9pm
Entry is RSVP Only
Click here to RSVP.
Smoke & Mirrors is your favorite new party, brought to you by RCRD LBL. Smoke & Mirrors brings big names to small rooms. Be prepared to get lost in the music and enjoy some smoky surprises....
(Photo: Josh Anderson)
Holiday cheer, sure, it’s all well and good, but I love a depressing Christmas song and Caitlin Rose comes through on the countrified “You Never Come Home For Christmas.” With a light guitar strum and Zooey-meets-Patsy vocals, she sings, “You never come home for Christmas, and maybe it’s better that way.” Dang.
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