Sleepyheads 
© Miranda Thompson 2010
DISCLAIMER: The video links hosted on my blog are not being presented as my own. If you believe that the copyright in your work has been violated through this post, please contact me through the blog.
Showing posts with label Passion Pit. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Passion Pit. Show all posts
Thursday, 15 April 2010
Snooze Button
Sleepyheads © Miranda Thompson 2010
DISCLAIMER: The video links hosted on my blog are not being presented as my own. If you believe that the copyright in your work has been violated through this post, please contact me through the blog.
Sunday, 7 March 2010
My ears are blown to bits from all the rifle hits but I still crave that sound
Experts in the satirising of their own enduring East Coast preppy-ness, Vampire Weekend have pushed the good vibe on from the rampant alley action of Cousins and the pottering continuity of Oxford Comma, to come up trumps with Giving Up the Gun. Burning tennis rackets and a gurning Jake Gyllehaal: this is how music videos need to be.
The premise focuses on an indoor tennis match with a redhead clad in a natty polo shirt and skirt combo seeing off competition from luminary cameos such as Joe Jonas and Jake Gyllenhaal, in front of the equally well dressed Vampire Weekend. RZA of the Wu-Tang Clan acts as umpire, Lil’ John is originally cast as a francophone coach resplendent in boater and grills. If Tom Ford did Wimbledon I’m sure he’d be looking here for inspiration.
Giving Up the Gun reads like 5 minutes and 4 seconds of a sleek sports advert; clean lines, cool colours and some pretty banging ball action. Even if the star cameo pisstakes don’t keep your eyes glued to the action, the deliciously coordinated fusion of red, white and blue makes for design heaven. The lingering camera draws you into the variety of flickering emotions traced through the shots; a puff of pride here, a sulky scowl there.
Of course, the music is divine; a mismash of classic Vampire Weekend qualities. Delicate vocals tiptoe across thundering percussion with cheeky chimes picked out here and there, and the visual accentuation of Ezra Koenig in a pillar box red headband only adds to the fun.
A brief run down of the pit of passion from Wednesday night at the Bristol Academy (which must be applauded as one of the few venues which give the most punters possible fab stage views). Having seen the ‘Pit in action for now the second time, I’m not surprised they lulled me into a pear cider-tinged nap. It was like being fed melon balls whilst having a hot, scented Jacuzzi and; a relaxing and refreshing musical experience which seemed to flash by in the toss of the lead singer’s Jewfro. The amount of musical instruments and bits and pieces crowding the stage made it seem more like a gig taking place in a church hall jumble sale than anything else, and the apt abilities of each band member at switching from synths to guitar or drum machine was astounding, as well as lead singer Michael Angelakos’s trilling vocals consitently hitting the spot. Particular highlights; Little Secrets “higher and higher’ raising the roof whilst the “oh no’s” of The Reeling rang across the Academy. Sleepyhead was a wall of ebbing sound. Please see this band if you ever get the chance; your ears will only thank you for it.
Post gig (and post 40 minute wait to retrieve battered parka from the cloakroom), I managed to catch up with bassist and self confessed “ginger ‘tard’ Jeff Apruzzese hanging about outside amongst the clutter of chuntering fifteen year olds. Having just hollered to him in baritone Lancastrian tones that the gig had been ‘WELL GOOD” from across the Academy it was nice to congratulate him at a normal level, grab a goon-tastic photo with Woz and also get his view on Ellie Goulding dropping out, something it seemed had lead to a considerable amount of worry among the Passion Pitters that no one would turn up if she wasn’t playing. Quite the opposite was the case, I can assure you! Chat turned to the wonders of Twitter, with Jeff proving to be a bit pizzled off that Ellie Goulding’s manager had tried to tempt me to her Alan Carr filming and away from the Bristol show. However, he perked up when he revealed that the band have begun using the chat site as a rustic tour guide to each city they rock up in; a brief request for some Banksy art in Bristol or “good record stores” in Manchester leads to inudations of recommendations from devoted followers and hey presto, top travel tips at their fingers!
Passion Pit’s genius had been revealed to me by my own guru of all things musical, the Jeffmix podcast, with a early 2009 episode featuring this snazzy remix of “Sleepyhead” by The Knocks. Ebullient and rousing, it’s a bit of a party banger. Apologies for the crude accompanying video.
Bed and hot chocolate calling. Hope you had a bobby dazzler of a weekend.
© Miranda Thompson 2010
DISCLAIMER: The video links hosted on my blog are not being presented as my own. If you believe that the copyright in your work has been violated through this post, please contact me through the blog
The premise focuses on an indoor tennis match with a redhead clad in a natty polo shirt and skirt combo seeing off competition from luminary cameos such as Joe Jonas and Jake Gyllenhaal, in front of the equally well dressed Vampire Weekend. RZA of the Wu-Tang Clan acts as umpire, Lil’ John is originally cast as a francophone coach resplendent in boater and grills. If Tom Ford did Wimbledon I’m sure he’d be looking here for inspiration.
Giving Up the Gun reads like 5 minutes and 4 seconds of a sleek sports advert; clean lines, cool colours and some pretty banging ball action. Even if the star cameo pisstakes don’t keep your eyes glued to the action, the deliciously coordinated fusion of red, white and blue makes for design heaven. The lingering camera draws you into the variety of flickering emotions traced through the shots; a puff of pride here, a sulky scowl there.
Of course, the music is divine; a mismash of classic Vampire Weekend qualities. Delicate vocals tiptoe across thundering percussion with cheeky chimes picked out here and there, and the visual accentuation of Ezra Koenig in a pillar box red headband only adds to the fun.
A brief run down of the pit of passion from Wednesday night at the Bristol Academy (which must be applauded as one of the few venues which give the most punters possible fab stage views). Having seen the ‘Pit in action for now the second time, I’m not surprised they lulled me into a pear cider-tinged nap. It was like being fed melon balls whilst having a hot, scented Jacuzzi and; a relaxing and refreshing musical experience which seemed to flash by in the toss of the lead singer’s Jewfro. The amount of musical instruments and bits and pieces crowding the stage made it seem more like a gig taking place in a church hall jumble sale than anything else, and the apt abilities of each band member at switching from synths to guitar or drum machine was astounding, as well as lead singer Michael Angelakos’s trilling vocals consitently hitting the spot. Particular highlights; Little Secrets “higher and higher’ raising the roof whilst the “oh no’s” of The Reeling rang across the Academy. Sleepyhead was a wall of ebbing sound. Please see this band if you ever get the chance; your ears will only thank you for it.
Post gig (and post 40 minute wait to retrieve battered parka from the cloakroom), I managed to catch up with bassist and self confessed “ginger ‘tard’ Jeff Apruzzese hanging about outside amongst the clutter of chuntering fifteen year olds. Having just hollered to him in baritone Lancastrian tones that the gig had been ‘WELL GOOD” from across the Academy it was nice to congratulate him at a normal level, grab a goon-tastic photo with Woz and also get his view on Ellie Goulding dropping out, something it seemed had lead to a considerable amount of worry among the Passion Pitters that no one would turn up if she wasn’t playing. Quite the opposite was the case, I can assure you! Chat turned to the wonders of Twitter, with Jeff proving to be a bit pizzled off that Ellie Goulding’s manager had tried to tempt me to her Alan Carr filming and away from the Bristol show. However, he perked up when he revealed that the band have begun using the chat site as a rustic tour guide to each city they rock up in; a brief request for some Banksy art in Bristol or “good record stores” in Manchester leads to inudations of recommendations from devoted followers and hey presto, top travel tips at their fingers!Passion Pit’s genius had been revealed to me by my own guru of all things musical, the Jeffmix podcast, with a early 2009 episode featuring this snazzy remix of “Sleepyhead” by The Knocks. Ebullient and rousing, it’s a bit of a party banger. Apologies for the crude accompanying video.
Bed and hot chocolate calling. Hope you had a bobby dazzler of a weekend.
© Miranda Thompson 2010
DISCLAIMER: The video links hosted on my blog are not being presented as my own. If you believe that the copyright in your work has been violated through this post, please contact me through the blog
Monday, 1 March 2010
The smattered colours of ecstatic fright
Happy St David’s Day!! Leeks and dragons and sheep oh my!
Beams of straggling sunlight peeking through the gaps in my curtains this morning made it seem like the first proper day of spring today, putting a bounce in my step and instilling some form of motivation after a week grumping about with tonsillitis. Running out in the fragrant fresh with clouds floating aimlessly across an azure sky made me think of this; probably the most underrated dance choon of the early Noughties.
To be honest, I’ve been trying to find an excuse to post this since the dawn of my blogging time. It’s a firm stayer in my Top 25 most played and has accompanied me down powdered pistes, floated across crystal Canadian lakes and boomed out of rickety Rabotian balconies.
However, I digress.
I’m off to see Passion Pit, purveyors of musical goodness, in Brizzle on Wednesday night, cueing the past week spent “warming up” with their epic album “Manners”. Thing is, I’ve already seen them at the heatwave that was Glastonbury this summer, but since “seeing them’ consisted more of passing out to them outside the John Peel Tent, it’s pretty much essential that I enjoy them again. Actually being conscious this time would be a massive plus as well.
Passion Pit are a delightful mashup of aural goodness, resonating with some chunky percussion, swirled about with vibrant electo and dusted off with some admirably high pitched vocals. They are American, yes, but seem to be blessed with a sweetly genuine demeanour and not so much blustering bravado as one might find with other cross-pond successes.
Top tracks off of the album? You must have already heard of “Sleepyhead”, the carousing, multi layered affair summing up the band’s abilty. Check out the stripped down piano version here.
Or if you fancy, Ellie Goulding and Starsmith have done a natty little electro-y cover featuring Goulding’s always amazing vocals.
I’m not going to lie. I’m actually in a bit of a mood with Ellie Goulding at the moment. Musically, I’ve been blown out. Twitter was alight with moans and whinges yesterday as she announced:
“I'm so sorry and I'm so gutted that I've had to cancel the Bristol date with passion pit to do a tv thing. I'm genuinely so sorry :( :(“
The TV thing? Alan Carr, appazas. No words.
She then went on to offer her flat as a potential venue for gutted fans. Forget the rescheduling , I think I need a hotline. It’s a bit like being told not to drink again; all you want is an ice cold gin and tonic or ten.
Consequently I then went straight to spotify and spent the next hour masochistically replaying Starry-eyed, like the absolute goon I am. I need to get a bloody life.
Ok. Enough is enough. Back to Passion Pit.
Please relish these two little beauties; let their sheer genius roll around your eardrums and seep into your subconscious and I will let you know if they were as amazing as they sound post passion frenzy. Try and make out the lyrics if you possibly can, there's some little gems squeezed about just crying to become blog post titles. Ahem
Little Secrets: A proper goer; smashingly good drums and some buzzy electro makes for a win win situation.
Swimming in The Flood slowly builds into languorous loveliness. Lip smackingly good.
ONE MORE THING!!! You cannot progress any further with your life without hearing this. A collision of goodness as Passion Pit pose as their producing alter-egos, The Wet Bandits" and give Two Door Cinema Club's "Undercover Martyn" a thorough overhaul, Passion style. Gleeful is probably the most apt description for this treasure. Apologies for the dire quality....
© Miranda Thompson 2010
DISCLAIMER: The video links hosted on my blog are not being presented as my own. If you believe that the copyright in your work has been violated through this post, please contact me through the blog
Beams of straggling sunlight peeking through the gaps in my curtains this morning made it seem like the first proper day of spring today, putting a bounce in my step and instilling some form of motivation after a week grumping about with tonsillitis. Running out in the fragrant fresh with clouds floating aimlessly across an azure sky made me think of this; probably the most underrated dance choon of the early Noughties.
To be honest, I’ve been trying to find an excuse to post this since the dawn of my blogging time. It’s a firm stayer in my Top 25 most played and has accompanied me down powdered pistes, floated across crystal Canadian lakes and boomed out of rickety Rabotian balconies.
However, I digress.
I’m off to see Passion Pit, purveyors of musical goodness, in Brizzle on Wednesday night, cueing the past week spent “warming up” with their epic album “Manners”. Thing is, I’ve already seen them at the heatwave that was Glastonbury this summer, but since “seeing them’ consisted more of passing out to them outside the John Peel Tent, it’s pretty much essential that I enjoy them again. Actually being conscious this time would be a massive plus as well.
Passion Pit are a delightful mashup of aural goodness, resonating with some chunky percussion, swirled about with vibrant electo and dusted off with some admirably high pitched vocals. They are American, yes, but seem to be blessed with a sweetly genuine demeanour and not so much blustering bravado as one might find with other cross-pond successes.
Top tracks off of the album? You must have already heard of “Sleepyhead”, the carousing, multi layered affair summing up the band’s abilty. Check out the stripped down piano version here.
Or if you fancy, Ellie Goulding and Starsmith have done a natty little electro-y cover featuring Goulding’s always amazing vocals.
I’m not going to lie. I’m actually in a bit of a mood with Ellie Goulding at the moment. Musically, I’ve been blown out. Twitter was alight with moans and whinges yesterday as she announced:
“I'm so sorry and I'm so gutted that I've had to cancel the Bristol date with passion pit to do a tv thing. I'm genuinely so sorry :( :(“
The TV thing? Alan Carr, appazas. No words.
She then went on to offer her flat as a potential venue for gutted fans. Forget the rescheduling , I think I need a hotline. It’s a bit like being told not to drink again; all you want is an ice cold gin and tonic or ten.
Consequently I then went straight to spotify and spent the next hour masochistically replaying Starry-eyed, like the absolute goon I am. I need to get a bloody life.
Ok. Enough is enough. Back to Passion Pit.
Please relish these two little beauties; let their sheer genius roll around your eardrums and seep into your subconscious and I will let you know if they were as amazing as they sound post passion frenzy. Try and make out the lyrics if you possibly can, there's some little gems squeezed about just crying to become blog post titles. Ahem
Little Secrets: A proper goer; smashingly good drums and some buzzy electro makes for a win win situation.
Swimming in The Flood slowly builds into languorous loveliness. Lip smackingly good.
ONE MORE THING!!! You cannot progress any further with your life without hearing this. A collision of goodness as Passion Pit pose as their producing alter-egos, The Wet Bandits" and give Two Door Cinema Club's "Undercover Martyn" a thorough overhaul, Passion style. Gleeful is probably the most apt description for this treasure. Apologies for the dire quality....
© Miranda Thompson 2010
DISCLAIMER: The video links hosted on my blog are not being presented as my own. If you believe that the copyright in your work has been violated through this post, please contact me through the blog
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