international geographic » music http://www.chetanislazy.com/blog ooh, shiny! Thu, 19 May 2011 04:16:08 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1 Best music of 2010 http://www.chetanislazy.com/blog/2010/12/31/best-music-of-2010/ http://www.chetanislazy.com/blog/2010/12/31/best-music-of-2010/#comments Fri, 31 Dec 2010 23:47:51 +0000 chetan http://www.chetanislazy.com/blog/?p=229 Oh boy, here we go again. I actually managed to come up with a list of my top 3 this year, so let’s just cut to the chase, shall we?

  1. Kanye West – My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy
  2. LCD Soundsystem – This is Happening
  3. Titus Andronicus – The Monitor

And the runner-ups in alphabetical order:

  • Arcade Fire – The Suburbs
  • Beach House – Teen Dream
  • Best Coast – Crazy For You
  • Das Racist – Shut Up, Dude
  • Das Racist – Sit Down, Man
  • Robyn – Body Talk
  • The-Dream – Love King
  • Toro Y Moi – Causers Of This
  • Wavves – King of the Beach
  • Wild Nothing – Gemini
  • Xiu Xiu – Dear God, I Hate Myself

Best EPs:

  • Annuals – Sweet Sister EP
  • DEERPEOPLE – DEERPEOPLE EP
  • Girls – Broken Dreams Club EP

Can’t wait for next year!

]]> http://www.chetanislazy.com/blog/2010/12/31/best-music-of-2010/feed/ 0 Social Distortion @ Roseland Ballroom / Nov 4, 2010 http://www.chetanislazy.com/blog/2010/11/18/social-distortion-roseland-ballroom-nov-4-2010/ http://www.chetanislazy.com/blog/2010/11/18/social-distortion-roseland-ballroom-nov-4-2010/#comments Fri, 19 Nov 2010 03:40:17 +0000 chetan http://www.chetanislazy.com/blog/?p=178

]]> http://www.chetanislazy.com/blog/2010/11/18/social-distortion-roseland-ballroom-nov-4-2010/feed/ 0 Bad Religion @ Irving Plaza / Oct 20, 2010 http://www.chetanislazy.com/blog/2010/11/02/bad-religion-irving-plaza-oct-20-2010/ http://www.chetanislazy.com/blog/2010/11/02/bad-religion-irving-plaza-oct-20-2010/#comments Tue, 02 Nov 2010 23:30:25 +0000 chetan http://www.chetanislazy.com/blog/?p=173

]]> http://www.chetanislazy.com/blog/2010/11/02/bad-religion-irving-plaza-oct-20-2010/feed/ 0 Best concerts of 2009 http://www.chetanislazy.com/blog/2009/12/31/best-concerts-of-2009/ http://www.chetanislazy.com/blog/2009/12/31/best-concerts-of-2009/#comments Thu, 31 Dec 2009 05:02:09 +0000 chetan http://www.chetanislazy.com/blog/?p=113

This year was something of an anomaly for me: I only went to five shows. Two of those shows, however, were music festivals and easily made up for the otherwise quiet concert calendar — Lollapalooza with a staggering 35 shows in three days and the Newport Folk Festival with another 6.

I also went to 3 free shows at Madison Square Park: Jonatha Brooke, Raul Malo, and the John Scofield Trio. I’m a huge fan of Raul Malo and the Mavericks so we ended up braving some of the worst rain of the summer to see him. It rained through most of his shortened set, but it was still worth it.

With so few real shows this year they all made the list, but here they are in order:

  1. Matt & Kim – at the Music Hall of Williamsburg
  2. The Thermals – at Bowery Ballroom (my favorite venue)
  3. Warren G – at the Music Hall of Williamsburg
  4. Raul Malo – in the rain at MadSqPark
  5. Jonatha Brooke – at MadSqPark
  6. The John Scofield Trio – at MadSqPark

Lollapalooza

The name of the game at lolla was coverage: we tried to see as many shows as humanly possible with the size of the venue, the crowds and the weather (from soaking rain to blazing heat) all working against us. Some shows we stopped at were simply on the way to a must-see show, while others we went to because they were starting on a nearby stage. All in all, we saw a ton of great shows, but these were the best:

  1. Dan Deacon – I’m actually not a very big fan of his [albums], but his live set was just amazing
  2. Passion Pit
  3. Depeche Mode
  4. Lykke Li – another surprisingly great set

Full list of shows:

Lollapalooza

DAY 1:

Heartless Bastards
Thievery Corporation
Peter Bjorn & John
Depeche Mode

DAY 2:

Miike Snow
Ida Maria
Los Campesinos!
Joe Pug
Carebears on Fire
Gomez
Coheed and Cambria
No Age
Glasvegas
Lykke Li
Animal Collective
Tool
Yeah Yeah Yeahs

DAY 3:

Friendly Fires
Portugal. The Man
Car Stereo Wars
The Greencards
The Kaiser Chiefs
He Say, She Say
Neon Hitch
Gang Gang Dance
Dan Deacon
Vampire Weekend
Passion Pit
Cold War Kids
Deerhunter
MSTRKRFT
Band of Horses
Jane’s Addiction
Deadmau5
The Killers

Newport Folk Festival

Ramblin’ Jack Elliot
Ben Kweller
The Avett Brothers
Gillian Welch
Fleet Foxes
The Decemberists

They were all great shows at Newport, but the main stage was just too crowded by the time we arrived and the sound was sorely lacking at the further reaches of the field. We ended up sitting on the grass at just about the furthest possible point from the stage, save for the boats just off shore, on the only patch of grass that was not yet covered by blankets.

We had a terrific time, but the shows we caught on the smaller tented stages were far better, so I have to give the best in show prize here to Ben Kweller, whom I’m a big fan of. We also caught the last couple songs of Ramblin’ Jack’s set, which was just amazing. We even got to sing him happy birthday as he was celebrating his 78th birthday at the festival.

The weather was beautiful and it turned out to be a perfect day for outdoor music. What the shows lacked, the weather and the scenery more than made up for.

]]> http://www.chetanislazy.com/blog/2009/12/31/best-concerts-of-2009/feed/ 3 Best music of 2009 http://www.chetanislazy.com/blog/2009/12/31/best-music-of-2009/ http://www.chetanislazy.com/blog/2009/12/31/best-music-of-2009/#comments Thu, 31 Dec 2009 05:01:26 +0000 chetan http://www.chetanislazy.com/blog/?p=96 I’ve been procrastinating publishing this latest post for several weeks now. I’ve had ample time to write it; that’s not the problem at all. No, I simply find it painfully, frustratingly difficult to narrow my collection down to only a handful of records, especially in a year with so many fantastic releases to choose from.

I began making a mental draft a couple of weeks ago and sketched out my initial list a week later. Since then I’ve revised it six or seven times (and grew the list from five spots to ten in the process), but I think I’ve finally locked it down. Here, then, are my picks for the 10 best albums of 2009 (sorted alphabetically):

  1. The Avett Brothers – I and Love and You
  2. Black Joe Lewis & The Honeybears – Tell ‘Em What Your Name Is!
  3. Discovery – LP
  4. Girls – Album
  5. Monsters of Folk – Monsters of Folk
  6. Passion Pit – Manners
  7. Phoenix – Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix
  8. The Thermals – Now We Can See
  9. Wilco – Wilco (the album)
  10. The xx – xx

A lot of the folk/rock influence comes from listening to NYC’s best music radio station, WFUV, and indeed, four of my top 10 albums are also on the listener’s best of 2009 poll. I’m actually a little surprised that Black Joe Lewis didn’t make it into their top 50, given how much they played it over the summer, but there’s still lots more great music on there.

Here’s some more of mine that didn’t make it the top 10 but were also in heavy rotation this year:

  • Andrew Bird – Noble Beast
  • Bell X1 – Blue Lights on the Runway
  • Ben Kweller – Changing Horses
  • The BPA – I Think We’re Gonna Need a Bigger Boat
  • Camera Obscura – My Maudlin Career
  • The Decemberists – The Hazards of Love
  • Fanfarlo – Reservoir
  • Felice Brothers – Yonder is the Clock
  • Gomez – A New Tide
  • Grizzly Bear – Veckatimest
  • Heartless Bastards – the Mountain
  • The Low Anthem – Oh My God, Charlie Darwin
  • Miike Snow – Miike Snow
  • Mos Def – The Ecstatic
  • Röyksopp – Junior
  • Them Crooked Vultures – Them Crooked Vultures
  • Yeah Yeah Yeahs – It’s Blitz!
]]> http://www.chetanislazy.com/blog/2009/12/31/best-music-of-2009/feed/ 0 Concert roundup http://www.chetanislazy.com/blog/2008/06/01/concert-roundup/ http://www.chetanislazy.com/blog/2008/06/01/concert-roundup/#comments Sun, 01 Jun 2008 22:07:00 +0000 chetan http://www.chetanislazy.com/blog/2008/06/01/concert-roundup/ I’ve been to a bunch of shows lately and even though they were all really good I haven’t been moved to write anything about them. Well, here they are… recorded more for my poor memory than anything else.

  • March 25 – Crystal Castles with Health (Studio B)
  • April 8 – Explosions in the Sky (Terminal 5)
  • May 5 – The Teenagers (Bowery Ballroom)
  • May 18 – Black Kids (Bowery Ballroom)
]]> http://www.chetanislazy.com/blog/2008/06/01/concert-roundup/feed/ 0 My favorite albums of 2006 http://www.chetanislazy.com/blog/2006/12/20/my-favorite-albums-of-2006/ http://www.chetanislazy.com/blog/2006/12/20/my-favorite-albums-of-2006/#comments Tue, 19 Dec 2006 23:47:33 +0000 chetan http://www.chetanislazy.com/blog/2006/12/20/my-favorite-albums-of-2006/ It’s always tough trying to pick my favorite albums of the year. The biggest problem is the sheer amount of music I listen to in a given year. By December it’s difficult to remember what I was listening to in January and February. This year it was even tougher since my main computer crashed over the summer and since then I haven’t listened to most of the stuff from the first half of the year, opting instead to only listen to newer albums for the most part.

There were a few clear favorites this year, like any other year, and then some which got off to a fast start but quickly fell by the wayside.

My top four in alphabetical order — these got the most listens this year. According to iTunes, about 30 listens each and probably the same amount in winamp!

  • Sure Juror – Sure Juror
    I saw them at Pianos where they played a ridiculously short four song set but they rocked it anyway. Wish their upcoming NYC shows coincided with my trip next month…
  • The Format – Dog Problems
    Indie pop at its very best.
  • The Long Winters – Putting the Days to Bed
    No, wait.. THIS is indie pop at its very best!
  • The Thermals – The Body, The Blood, The Machine
    Saw them at Fontana’s in NYC and again in Zurich. Of my top four, these guys rock the hardest.

And the rest:

  • Barenaked Ladies – Are Me
  • Cansei de Ser Sexy – CSS
  • Hot Chip – The Warning
  • I’m From Barcelona – Let Me Introduce My Friends
  • Lupe Fiasco – Food & Liquor
  • Sean Lennon – Friendly Fire
  • Silversun Pickups – Carnavas
  • Tokyo Police Club – A Lesson in Crime (EP)

Late breaking favorites, because I found them so late in the game…

  • Matt and Kim – Matt and Kim
  • Showstar – Showstar

And finally, the best albums from 2007 which leaked this year:

  • Of Montreal – Hissing Fauna, Are You The Destroyer?
  • The Shins – Wincing the Night Away

And there was so much more good music this year, I just can’t list it all. According to my iTunes library, I have about 120 albums from 2006 and that’s not even counting all the stuff on my desktop at home! Now to make room for the year ahead…

]]> http://www.chetanislazy.com/blog/2006/12/20/my-favorite-albums-of-2006/feed/ 2 The Bird’s Eye II http://www.chetanislazy.com/blog/2006/12/10/the-birds-eye-ii/ http://www.chetanislazy.com/blog/2006/12/10/the-birds-eye-ii/#comments Sun, 10 Dec 2006 20:41:11 +0000 chetan http://www.chetanislazy.com/blog/2006/12/10/the-birds-eye-ii/ I was bored last night so I decided to go back to the Bird’s Eye and catch the second set at 10:30pm. For some reason, as soon as I took a seat and the set started, I got really sleepy. I couldn’t stop yawning for about 3/4 of the hour long set even though I really enjoyed the music. The band this time was the Jürgen Seefelder – Ingrid Jensen Quintet and they were really quite sharp. Loud, energetic, and at times playful, it was a fantastic show. They really put the great acoustics of the Bird’s Eye to good use.

]]> http://www.chetanislazy.com/blog/2006/12/10/the-birds-eye-ii/feed/ 0 The Thermals know all your secrets http://www.chetanislazy.com/blog/2006/12/10/the-thermals-know-all-your-secrets/ http://www.chetanislazy.com/blog/2006/12/10/the-thermals-know-all-your-secrets/#comments Sun, 10 Dec 2006 18:53:41 +0000 chetan http://www.chetanislazy.com/blog/2006/12/10/the-thermals-know-all-your-secrets/

On Tuesday I went to see the Thermals and the Lords of Altamont in Zurich. Zurich is Switzerland’s largest city and cultural capital — and nothing screams culture like Iron Maiden and the Thermals playing shows on the same night! Luckily for me (and a whole lot of Maiden fans) it’s just an hour away by train.

I actually saw them about a month ago at Fontana’s for the Brooklyn Vegan CMJ show but they only played a half-hour set and the place was so packed I could barely get in the room. They kicked ass, though, so there was no way I could pass up a chance to see em again.

It took me a while to figure out which train to get on so I ended up getting to Zurich at about 8pm instead of 7:30 when doors opened at Mascotte.

It only took about 5 minutes to get there by cab; apparently rush hour is long over by 8pm, just like in Basel. US$14 for such a quick ride is ridiculous, though, even if it is in the back of a comfortable E-class Mercedes.

The club was fairly small with room for maybe 100 to 200 people and not very crowded. I guess the show wasn’t sold out like the Nouvelle Vogue show on Friday or Iron Maiden across town.

The Thermals came on at about 9 and thoroughly rocked the joint. It was hard to tell whether or not the majority of the crowd had actually heard them before, but it was easy to see that everyone was into it. It was a fantastic set and I only wish it could have been longer. They played for about an hour and were unfortunately denied an encore, which was really unfortunate because the next band, The Lords of Altamont paled in comparison, and they did get one. They played some of my favorites including No Culture Icons and St. Rosa and the Swallows and finished with Everything Thermals (video) which was the perfect ending to a fantastic show.

After the show, I took my time walking back to the train station, but didn’t explore too much as there was only one last train back to Basel. Anyway it was almost midnight — the streets were deserted and everything was closed. Not much to do but head home.

I have a feeling I’ll be back in Zurich before long. Maybe take in the sights this time.

]]> http://www.chetanislazy.com/blog/2006/12/10/the-thermals-know-all-your-secrets/feed/ 1 Found: Cypress Hill liner notes http://www.chetanislazy.com/blog/2006/11/28/found-cypress-hill-liner-notes/ http://www.chetanislazy.com/blog/2006/11/28/found-cypress-hill-liner-notes/#comments Tue, 28 Nov 2006 21:22:58 +0000 chetan http://www.chetanislazy.com/blog/2006/11/28/found-cypress-hill-liner-notes/ I found the liner notes for Cypress Hill’s Black Sunday in Restaurant Gundeldinger-Casino. Pretty random. Wish I took a picture of it, laying there on top of the booth. I didn’t actually keep it, either, so if it’s yours and you want it back, you better hope it’s still there…

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