During a recent visit to Australia in November to promote the release of their new album Contra (Jan 12, 2009) Vampire Weekend performed an exclusive concert for Triple J radio. Previous Triple J radio Live At The Wireless artist include Lily Allen, MGMT, Modest Mouse, and Air.
Ray LaMontagne – Trouble (2003)
When Trouble came out it was hard not to become overwhelmed by the power and depth of Ray LaMontagne. The title track is entirely timeless, instantly bringing on comparisons to Van Morrison and Otis Redding, with Ray’s rich and impassioned vocals rising above perfectly nuanced guitars and strings, echoing his quietly devastating meditations on life and love which is the soul of this release. mp3: Ray LaMontagne – Trouble mp3: Ray LaMontagne – Forever My Friend mp3: Ray LaMontagne – How Come Download Trouble MySpace | Website
My Morning Jacket – Z (2005)
When Z came out all I wanted was wrap myself in the sonic blissfulness of “Wordless Chorus”. MMJ’s 4th album sees the band proceeding forward without fear or shame, shaping a sound distinctly their own. Fiery guitar, folk-inspired melodies, soaring rock passages, and psychedelic flashes marry sublimely with Jim James’ legendary vocals. mp3: My Morning Jacket – Wordless Chorus mp3: My Morning Jacket – It Beats 4 U mp3: My Morning Jacket – Off The Record Buy Z MySpace | Website
In early August, Modest Mouse released the music video actor Health Ledger directed for the song “King Rat”, a bonus track off of 2007’s We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank.
The animated video was conceptualized and directed by Ledger, but left unfinished when the actor died of an accidental overdose in January 2008. The Masses, the film company that Ledger was a partner in, completed the video in his honor. The video was animated by Terry Gilliam (Twelve Monkeys, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas).
Disturbing and intense (consider this before watching), the video presents Ledger’s unique perspective on illegal whale hunting, an abuse which he stood vehemently against. It reverses the role of whales and the poachers who hunt them off the coast of Australia. In the video, humans are hunted by a ship of whales. They are harpooned, beaten with clubs, skinned alive, processed and made into seal food.
Modest Mouse chose to release the video in honor of Ledger, being his last directorial work. According to the band, Ledger approached them with the concept for the video back in January 2007. “Heath and I have a mutual friend and when we were in Australia, some of us in the band went out on a boat with him and his family and friends and talked about the idea,” Modest Mouse frontman Isaac Brock told VH1 in 2007. “The idea sort of dropped, but then he just sent me an e-mail saying that he wanted to do it.”
The band wrote the following in a post on their Myspace blog. “Always one to operate from his heart and take a stand for what he cared deeply about, Heath’s intention was to raise awareness on modern whaling practices through a potent visual piece without having to say a word. It was his way to let the story, in its candid reversal, speak for itself.”
Proceeds from the iTunes download of the video benefit the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, an international non-profit organization committed to ending the slaughter of ocean wildlife worldwide.
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