Tonight, Miley Cyrus hosted the VMAs, and surprises were promised. What kind of surprises, you ask? Lots of jokes about bad decisions, probably. A lot of buzzkill jokes ruining Justin Bieber and Kanye West's breakthough moments. Oh, and a new fucking album. It's called Miley Cyrus and Her Dead Petz (RIP Pablow and Floyd). You can listen to it below and check it out here. Holy shit.
Follow Kyle Kramer on Twitter.
For over 30 years MTV’s Video Music Award show has collected the biggest acts in pop, rock, and hip-hop into the same room to celebrate their accomplishments and rib their differences, but it’s more than just your average award show. It’s about flash and spectacle, and ever since Madonna rolled across that stage in a wedding dress in 1984’s inaugural show, the VMA ceremony has been engaged in a constant struggle to top itself. Will anyone beat Kurt Cobain baiting Guns N Roses’ Axl Rose on stage after a snub behind-the-scenes in 1992? Courtney Love throwing her compact at Madonna during a pre-show interview in 1995? Diddy bringing out Sting to help eulogize Biggie in 1997? Diana Ross jiggling Lil Kim’s boob in 1999? Madonna kissing Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera in 2003? Kanye West vs. Taylor Swift in 2009?
In recent years the show’s controversies, Mr. West’s Hennessy-fueled gaffe notwithstanding, have felt jerry rigged by a guiding hand, brimming with overarching intent where the quiet magnetism of celebrity ought to have sufficed. That’s how we arrive at spectacles like the 2013 show’s tandem Robin Thicke and Miley Cyrus performance of “We Can’t Stop” and “Blurred Lines,” roundly and in retrospect, somewhat unfairly reviled for (scare quotes) hypersexuality and promoting promiscuity. The Miley/Robin debacle was the VMAs’ dogged quest for headlines caving in on itself, but the alternative, the following year’s comparatively scaled back festivities, didn’t fare much better. Viewership dipped by a fifth from the 2013 to the 2014 ceremony; the latter is remembered for a nearly 20-minute Beyonce Video Vanguard praise service, a Nicki Minaj wardrobe malfunction, and precious little else.
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It was a very VMA thing to do to call Miley back to host this year. She perfectly embodies the show’s axis of intrigue, the blend of unassailable talent and questionable taste that keeps the lot of us from switching the thing off for good. She’s outspoken, free-spirited, and just a few degrees removed from the Disney circuit, and all of this makes her a natural lightning rod for controversy. (See: earlier in the week when she came after Nicki Minaj for maybe suggesting she doesn’t deserve her moonmen and complained that Kendrick Lamar enjoys a sexist double standard when he raps about LSD… when he doesn’t have any songs about the stuff.) When she’s switched on, Miley gives herself completely to the creation of memorable moments. When she’s not going over as swimmingly as she wants, she’s exasperating.
#VMA goals ft. @MileyCyrus + @KimKardashian http://t.co/YfOSGAWsbo pic.twitter.com/aUn841LBvq
— MTV (@MTV) August 31, 2015
Last night Miley bombed. Her skits never landed, her monologues were clunky, and her outfits poorly mimicked vaporwave collage art. In her stream of melting rainbow get-ups and cartoon hyperreality, we got try hard Miley. Every joke was beat to death; every skit was stretched past the edges of its usefulness. A marginally funny one began as a charming riff with Snoop Dogg about laced brownies and ended with a rapping pig and a grandmother baking with heat vision. The most affecting moment came at the end of the show, when members of Miley’s Happy Hippie Foundation for homeless LGBTQ youth got up to speak, introing an unexpected performance of a new song alongside a bevy of popular drag artists (and the Flaming Lips.) It was a poignant reminder that Cyrus is still working through the baggage of being a former child star and more recently, sorting thru the kinks of being a queer artist in the public eye. It’s too bad so little of the show reflected her in her most flattering light.
Elsewhere the VMAs were a stressful balancing act between cultural exchange and appropriation: Near the end of the pre-show Taylor Swift premiered the video for “Wildest Dreams,” a tale of old Hollywood on African safari that starred only white people and zoo animals but made damn sure to tell you it would generate money for the local community in a disclaimer at the end. Right afterward Nicki Minaj took the stage to perform “Trini Dem Girls” in Caribbean carnival gear, only to be joined by Taylor (after their chilly tete-a-tete over the VMA nominations a few weeks back) for an awkward, too-obvious bit of “Bad Blood.” This was followed immediately—dizzyingly—by Macklemore and Ryan Lewis showcasing their not-bad-but-soon-to-be-infernal comeback single “Downtown.” A$AP Rocky did a five-song medley with Twenty One Pilots so ill-advised, inscrutable, and riddled with mixing flubs it should never be mentioned again. Iggy Azalea made an inauspicious return rapping a verse no one could understand during a flatline dead performance of an unmemorable Demi Lovato hit. It seems her brief break from music was misspent. Macklemore, to his credit, is a better, stronger mackler than he was just a year ago: the elaborately staged “Downtown” routine gave facetime to rap legends Kool Moe Dee, Melle Mel & Grandmaster Caz where before they might’ve remained tucked away in the album credits. Proofing himself against criticism by trotting out the architects was an S-class mackle.
“Downtown” ended up one of the most eye-catching displays of the night thanks to the sensory overload of its winding, West Side Story-influenced dance lines. (See also: the intricately choreographed jaunt thru Pharrell’s single-that-can’t-be-the-single “Freedom.”) Other performances fared better on the ears, like the Weeknd’s umpteenth televised run through “I Can’t Feel My Face” and Justin Bieber’s one-two punch of “Where Are Ü Now” and “What Do You Mean?”, but failed to make near as exciting use of the room. Bieber deserves a spirit award for pouring himself into reconnecting with fans, though. You can tell he’s really searching for redemption in a way that last year’s apology tour didn’t give off. I joked last night during the medley that it was his “Chris Brown crying singing Michael Jackson” moment, in reference to the emotional 2010 BET Awards appearance where Brown pulled off the impossible trick of winning people over after his highly publicized domestic abuse case with a spirited song and dance routine. Then Justin maybe really did cry? Thankfully, Bieb’s only coming back from some partying and localized assholery. He’ll be fine.
Does he have your vote America? @kanyewest accepts the Video Vanguard award http://t.co/pyg3SBh8gq
— MTV (@MTV) August 31, 2015
Speaking of assholery, redemption, and the VMAs pushing narrative where chill would suffice, Taylor Swift presented Kanye West with a Video Vanguard award. After a beautiful montage of classic Kanye music video moments, Taylor recounted buying The College Dropout on iTunes as a tween (You ain’t gotta lie to kick it. You know you copped Here for the Party instead.), meeting Kanye for the first time during the 2009 VMAs incident we, for whatever reason, seem to have to talk about forever, and later becoming friends. When Taylor finished making everything about herself, we were treated to Kanye West in rare form: possibly drunk, admittedly high, and reflecting on a decade of warring with award shows. You should get comfortable somewhere and watch the whole thing in one sitting if you can; hearing Kanye speak is inspirational and watching him collect top honors from an institution whose aloofness has often annoyed him very publicly was the night’s redemptive moment of pure joy. Elect him president.
(The ceremony’s other high was Nicki Minaj dragging Miley’s entire life after last week’s slanderous New York Times interview. It’s possible that all the summer’s squabbles between Nicki, Taylor, and Miley were protracted, WWE-style promo for the main event, but Lord knows Nicki’s acceptance speech dig felt good and necessary.)
Finally i got an hd version pic.twitter.com/HMq2OhXveF
— MILEY WHAT'S GOOD (@kiwibtch) August 31, 2015
The night’s lows frustratingly offset its fleeting, transcendent peaks, though. In a turn that mirrored the 2009 show very closely, Taylor won every award she was up for against Beyoncé, though Bey would take home some moonmen that didn’t make it on the air. How do you squeeze the incomparable Beyoncé out of the show? Same for Kendrick Lamar, who won three awards off camera but admittedly didn’t show when “Bad Blood” took the Video of the Year award. Giving “Bad Blood” the win felt right just in terms of the sheer bombast of the production, and it allowed MTV to praise Taylor without exactly snubbing Kendrick, but “Alright” would’ve been the heavier, more sentimental gesture. “Alright” did win for Best Direction (off camera, as did Flying Lotus’ Kendrick-featured “Never Catch Me” for Best Cinematography. How do you not put Flying Lotus on TV?) but lost Best Hip-Hop Video to Nicki Minaj’s “Anaconda” somehow and didn’t even get nominated for Best Video with a Social Message. The wins were janky in spots, as was MTV’s narrow focus on rock, rap, and pop. If there’s room in the proper show for whatever Tori Kelly does, there’s room for a Miranda Lambert or a Sam Hunt. Closing country out of MTV’s circle of cool seems imprudent in a summer where Luke Bryan can outsell the brand new Dr. Dre album. EDM barely got attention last night. The music world of the VMAs proved as frustratingly contrived as most of the show’s biggest moments.
So MTV’s 2015 VMAs got back to the old tricks again, fishing for controversy where none was needed, perhaps because that is how a show like this endures in times radically changed by advances in tech. We’re in the twilight of the shared music experience, in a time where we have complete control over the music we hear at home, in the street, at work, and in cabs. Shared television experiences seem next as Netflix, DVR, and Hulu allow us to watch TV on our own time at our own pace. The 2015 ceremony represented MTV lurching toward the center of a dialogue it’s less and less a part of. The prestige it keeps, it snatches. Is there a way to keep it going without resorting to the low brow, quite frankly corny antics that beset last night’s show? Or is this thing heading the way of record stores, boomboxes, and iPods? The 90s teen in me wants to see it prosper another ten years, but the tech-spoiled brat he’s becoming doesn’t see how that’s possible.
Craig Jenkins is a contributing editor at Noisey. Follow him on Twitter.
Photo by Myles Pettengill
We've been fans of twin brothers / Burger Records fam / sometime Saint Laurent models, The Garden since they emerged way back in 2013. Since then they've released a debut LP—The Life and Times of a Paperclip—and return this coming October with their follow-up, Haha (out via Epitaph/Burger Records on 10.9). Premiering below is the album's title track an instantly appealing garage-pop cut with a slinky, descending bassline and a sing-speak segment reminiscent of Art Brut at their best. It seems they've sloughed off the scuzzier elements of their earlier work and their songwriting is all the better for it. "Hip swing, hip swing, means nothing if you don't have thighs," sing the Wyatt and Fletcher Shears, and we're compelled to agree.
Take a listen, plus we have a quick chat with the brothers below.
Noisey: First record?
Fletcher Shears: Herb Alpert & The Tijuana Brass – Going Places
Wyatt Shears: 7 Seconds – The Crew
First idol?
Fletcher: Rozz Williams I think. His music and his style influenced me a lot over the years. He was pretty inspiring at a young age for a lot of reasons.
Wyatt: Steve Yzerman. I grew up around hockey, and my favorite team growing up was the Detroit Red Wings. Steve was the captain, so I always fancied him the most.
First band/solo project ?
Wyatt: S2C. It was your average run of the mill « punk » band. It was a bit before we started reading outside the lines music-wise. Then I started Enjoy around 2011 I believe. I wanted to hear myself sing and I wanted to see if I liked the way it sounded on recording.
Fletcher: S2C was definitely your basic punk band, but everyone starts somewhere. I started Puzzle in 2012. I needed something else to express myself. I was extremely pent up and going through a lot of emotional struggles I had never faced. I was looking for a different way of playing music, something where I could express myself more with words and hooks, and melodies. I guess I just needed to do it.
First show?
Fletcher: A backyard show with an empty pool. I think D.I. was playing.
First stage diving ?
Fletcher: Ceremony 2010? I really don't know...
Wyatt: I think the same…
Continues below.
First fight?
Fletcher: While playing Hockey in high school during what I think might have been a relatively important game. Against two guys. As far as I remember, the fight was never finished, due to my whole team and the other two players teams skating up in a big mass ready to fight with us. But I think I did fine.
Wyatt: Either hockey or a random show I went to in highs school.
First flirt?
Fletcher: Ray Romano, first!
Wyatt: Ray Romano.
First hangover ?
Fletcher: Never got a hangover. I just never really got a around to drugs and alcohol. It was always around me, but I was just naturally focused on other things.
Wyatt: Never. Not into drugs, alcohol, and what comes with it.
First runaway?
Fletcher: Never ran.
Wyatt: Never really did that.
First book ?
Fletcher: First book I actually picked out myself: Scary Stories to tell in the Dark by Alvin Schwartz.
Wyatt: Same one, the first I ever remember getting into.
First fave movie?
Fletcher: Slapshot.
Wyatt: Slapshot or Strange Brew.
First job?
Fletcher: Worked as an intern for a video editing company in 2009.
Wyatt: Worked as a baker at a cupcakery.
Last diploma?
Both: High school.
First expensive clothing?
Fletcher: Still don't have any.
Wyatt: I don't think I own any.
Fave piece of clothing?
Fletcher: Mmm… My bomber jacket I had thorough high school. Wish I would have kept.
Wyatt: I often found myself picking up "Hang Ten" mock neck sweaters.
First fashion show?
Both: Saint Laurent, in Paris, January 2013.
First fave magazine ?
Fletcher: I liked reading through the gossip magazines at the supermarket when I was younger. They are ridiculous and hilarious of course, but it's interesting to see what they "writers" try and pull off.
Wyatt: Well, I don't read up on magazines too much, but I did read zoo books when I was younger.
First time someone bashed The Garden?
Fletcher: To be honest, I really have no idea. It happens, and it always will. It's like so many other routine like occurrences in life. For a moment it's not too fun, but then you move on and it's easily forgotten.
Wyatt: I don't remember the first time anyone insulted us. That's just part of making music, it's comin' at you either way. There is no avoiding it.
Last time you got upset ?
Fletcher: Stepped on a knife and opened up my back yesterday.
Wyatt: When grasshoppers get too close. Can't stand it.
Catch The Garden on their European tour at the following dates:
26.10 Molotow Bar, Hamburg (DE)
27.10 Yuca, Cologne (DE)
28.10 Paradiso [upstairs], Amsterdam (NL)
29.10 Trix, Antwerp (BE)
30.10 Madame Moustache, Brussels (BE)
31.10 Ramsgate Music Hall, Ramsgate (UK)
01.11 Bodega, Nottingham (UK)
02.11 The Exchange, Bristol (UK)
03.11 Green Door Store, Brighton (UK)
04.11 Dingwalls, London (UK)
05.11 Hare and Hounds, Birmingham (UK)
06.11 Gullivers, Manchester (UK)
07.11 Broadcast, Glasgow (UK)
08.11 Headrow House, Leeds (UK)
10.11 Badaboum, Paris (FR)
11.11 Les Z’Eclectiques, Cholet (FR)
16.11 Bar Rossi, Zurich (CH)
19.11 Arena, Vienna (AT)
20.11 Comet Club, Berlin (DE)
21.11 Stengade, Copenhagen (DK)
22.11 Cafe Mono, Oslo (NO)
23.11 Babel, Malmo (SE)
24.11 Fangelset, Gothenburg (SE)
Once again, iLoveMakonnen just dropped a new song that's trippy and cool as fuck. In "Trust Me Danny" produced by Danny Wolf, the beat and production provided to the track is warbly and strange, fueling a cadence and flow perfectly suited for a video about doing hella drugs. In the video, Makonnen proves he's friends with everybody, because let's be real, at the end of the day, everybody is friends with the Red Dragon.
Young Thug does not do many interviews. But if there is one interview personality worth breaking your customary silence for, it's noted UK rap slang enthusiast and radio host Tim Westwood, of popular YouTube channel Tim Westwood TV. And that's what we get here: Young Thug, looking amused as Tim Westwood calls him "fam" over and over again. There is no way to cover every ridiculous thing that happens in this interview, but, to quote Westwood, the "swag levels [are] off the freaking chain."
Young Thug wears a diamond-encrusted Apple Watch and responds to Westwood saying he's making a lot of heat with the comment, "A lot of drugs." Tim Westwood tells Thug that Lyor Cohen hadn't had a hit artist in a while previous to Young Thug, and Young Thug is impressed: "You heard what he said, Lyor? You hadn't had anything big over there in a minute. Until I came in." Tim Westwood spends a lot of time trying to get Young Thug's weed rolling guy to bring them some weed, and then he refuses to smoke it. Tim Westwood claims "We are getting turnt!" like a kid who just showed up at his first ever party with alcohol at it. He tells Thug do all his concerts a capella, and Thug responds, "A cappella Thugger up here in this UK. Real big business." Young Thug is a fucking legend. Tim Westwood is drunk. To quote him, "I could do with some of that swag juice this side of town, baby." Don't waste another second of your life. Watch this interview now.
Haven't you always wanted a moody, electronic remix of "Hot N Cold" by Katy Perry? Well, here ya go! Up-and-coming XL signee Empress Of has taken it upon herself to spit a sheet of ice all over this heat wave with a glacial drift of a cover. According to an interview with Rookie, Empress Of aka Lorely Rodriguez had toyed with the idea of covering Johnny Cash but c'mon. That's so cliche. Luckily for us, she chose a stone cold classic by Katy Perry instead. Good choice, Empress. Stream it below via Rookie.
“Thumbing through magazines / Pacing a dream house” sings Kiley Lotz in the opening lines of "Sooner" - her new track under the moniker Petal, which we're premiering below. It's a vivid image that conjures up all those days spent mincing about your bedroom doing absolutely nothing while your brain is doing far too much. With a rotating line-up including Tigers Jaw's Ben Walsh and Brianna Collins, Petal sounds like the space where Lemuria and Waxahatchee would meet; the crossroads between listlessness, earnestness and endurance. It's being aware of the worst that could happen, with your fingers crossed hoping for the best.
"Sooner" is taken from Petal's debut album Shame out next month on Run For Cover. In Kiley's words, it's about "having someone in your life who you desperately want to make changes in their life to be healthier and happier and wishing you could just convince them that it's worth it to make those changes. You want them to be around as long as possible but the decision is ultimately up to them. And because you love them you will stick it out even if it means sometimes sacrificing what may be best for you.”
Listen to "Sooner" below:
Shame will be released on October 23 via Run For Cover and is available to pre-order here.
David Bowie - a man renowned for his eccentric persona and timeless songwriting, a man known for exploring the spatial proximities of the universe with his god-like brain, a man more aloof and elusive than a Central Asian snow leopard - is writing music for the new SpongeBob Musical, set to air next June.
At first glance, it might seem like an odd match, but let's take a step back here: has anything ever sounded more fitting than David Bowie dropping a sonic masterpiece from nowhere to complement a musical based on the deep sea adventures of an over-emotional sponge guy? It's damn perfect!
After all, SpongeBob is a man now. Redditors worked out that the character must be at least 50+ years old. Old Squarepants and Bowie: they are two peas in a pod, mirror images of eachother - both otherwordly eccentrics, now entering their veteran years, resplendent in all they have achieved. It was inevitable that they would come together at some point, right?
Anyway, the musical will also feature songs from Dirty Projecters, T.I. and Flaming Lips, so it's gonna be an absolute blissful barnacle loaf of a pop show. Watch this space.
Over the past few years there's been a massive resurgence in shoegaze groups. You've got your post-shoegaze acts like Nothing and Whirr, your DIIVs and your Wild Nothings, your Title Fights and your Pinkshinyultrablasts. Then there's Cheatahs, a four piece group who formed in London back in 2009. Maybe you know them from their impressive break-out single "The Swan", perhaps you heard their debut record last year, or it could be your first time listening. Whatever the reason, welcome to Cheatahs, welcome to one of the best music genres known to man, and prepare to bask in the glorious reverb-drenched sound of the group's latest video "Seven Sisters".
Pre-order Cheatahs new record here. Catch them on tour at the following dates:
Tuesday 17th November - SHEFFIELD Picture House Social
Wednesday 18th November - MANCHESTER Soup Kitchen
Thursday 19th November - EDINBURGH Sneaky Petes
Friday 20th November - LEEDS Wharf Chambers
Saturday 21st November - BRIGHTON The Green Door Store
This episode of People Vs. sits down our pal A$AP Rocky and forces him to read the comments on his psychedelic music video for “L$D” from his latest album AT.LONG.LA$T.A$AP. He also gives us an answer to the most important question of our generation: just what color was the dress?
Ahead of their reissue of Revolution Girl Style Now, which was initially only released on tape, the riot grrrl originators have unearthed a song that has, until today, never seen the light. It's a tune that will join "Playground" and "Just Once," in the ranks of new compositions on their upcoming re-release.
Musically "Ocean Song" is a dark, discordant cut that was, according to Kathleen Hanna (speaking to T magazine), inspired by her time spent working at SafePlace, a shelter for abused women back in Olympia. “I felt crazy, I felt like I’d been dropped in the middle of the ocean, and I was screaming, ‘Look at all this stuff that’s happening,’ and was just making dolphin noises, nobody could hear me,” she told T mag.
Her dolphin noises sound doomily eloquent and still so very relevant here. Have a listen.
Revolution Girl Style Now is out on 9.22 via Bikini Kill Records.
Photo courtesy of Willie Nelson
Country music legend Willie Nelson—a.k.a. America's most beloved stoner uncle—just gave GQ's Chris Heath one hell of an interview, during the course of which he peered out from behind his famously Zen smokescreen and dropped a couple of bombs. Besides ruminating on his own weird sleeping habits, Nelson also casually confirmed a rumor that's been following the Red-Headed Stranger around for decades—that he smoked weed on the White House roof with then-President Jimmy Carter's son.
As the article notes, "Nelson has told this story in his autobiographies and cagily acknowledged it in endless TV interviews. In his 1988 autobiography he describes being up there “with a beer in one hand and a fat Austin Torpedo in the other,” enjoying a view you can get from nowhere else of how Washington’s principal streets fan out from the White House. In the 2015 version he describes “a friend of mine who happened to be a White House insider” coming to his bedroom door at the end of the night and offering him a private tour, which took them to the roof." His pal then pulled out a joint, and the rest is history.
The identity of said White House insider had never been revealed, and the story itself faded into the colorful patchwork of Willie lore, joining his various outlaw exploits and ganja-tinged adventures to become just another small part of his legend. When Heath brings up the incident, though, and mentions his theory about who that friend had been—Chip Carter, the president's middle son—Nelson finally gives up the ghost, remembering, "We were there, and there it was, and why not, you know? And they have a great view from the roof.” He's still not sure how the story got out, and that part, at least, remains a mystery. An awkward phone call to Chip—now known as James Earl Carter III— himself down in Georgia confirmed the story. Carter sheepishly explained, "Well, he told me not to ever tell anybody," before hanging up.
So, not only has Willie Nelson smoked Snopp Dogg under the table and signed on to launch his own marijuana brand, Willie's Reserve, he once burned one on the roof of the goddamn White House with a Presidential spawn. Don't act surprised, though; he's not an outlaw country hero for nothing.
Kim Kelly is staying lit on Twitter - @grimkim
What is the color of love? For some it's turquoise, for others it’s aqua blue. Unfortunately, this answer escapes even OVO’s Majid Jordan for their Drake-assisted single “My Love.” What we get instead is an insightful examination of human behavior through fill lighting as the trio ruminate in the respective rooms of a motel. There also seems to be a lot of sensual touching and for reasons beyond our understanding Drake has a carry-on pencil case attached to his sweater. But we’re going to chalk that up to him experimenting with cool things since he’s successful and able to remain charming even after kicking a ball into his own lamp.
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Photo courtesy of the band's Facebook
This article originally appeared on Noisey Canada.
In 2014, Victoria-bred garage rock band Slam Dunk were given the opportunity of a lifetime when Canadian superstars Arcade Fire invited them to open for them on a year-long tour. Now, a having spent the past 12 months playing for massive arena crowds, Slam Dunk have chronicled the whirlwind trip with a feature-length documentary film called Playing with Fire.
In the meantime, however, there are still some questions that remain unanswered. Strangely, Arcade Fire’s press materials have never made any mention of Slam Dunk and there’s no indication that they are even aware of the British Columbia group’s existence. What’s more, Arcade Fire weren’t even on tour for most of the time covered in Playing with Fire. Did Slam Dunk make the whole thing up? Or is there more to this story than initially meets the eye? Set to arrive on YouTube in October, Noisey sat down with Slam Dunk frontman (and film director) Jordan Minkoff at a Vancouver park to discuss Playing with Fire. We cued up Arcade Fire's debut album Funeral on the laptop speakers and Minkoff held nothing back when dishing the dirt on how they got invited on tour in the first place, and what it’s really like to spend a year on the road with Arcade Fire.
Here, let me turn on Funeral.
Jordan Minkoff: Oh here it comes, flooding back. You’ve opened the floodgates. Both tears and memories coming back right now.
Is the last year of your life flashing before your eyes?
Yeah, straight up. A whole year of this. Just pure Fire.
They’re just “The Fire” to you now?
Yeah, yeah. You get close and you give each other nicknames. We have a lot of nicknames for the guys. We don’t actually call him “Win” [Butler], we have another name for him, you’ll see in there [in Playing with Fire]. Close-buddy style. We didn’t let them give us a nickname. We were like, “woah, chill.” But we got a bunch for them. Mostly the Firemen. It’s quicker to say.
Tell me about the origins of your tour with Arcade Fire.
Well it started when we got asked to play Squamish Festival, which was last year. They just had the other one [in 2015], so it was exactly a year ago. You might want to take note—exactly a year ago, how could I be lying? We had a manager switch-over. Somehow in there they just hooked it up. They hooked it up big and before we knew it we were on cruise control.
Continued below...
What’s it like to tour with Canada’s hottest indie arena sensations?
It’s crazy because the venues are huge. You can imagine. You can’t even see to the end of them. They’re just vast, never-ending landscapes. So that’s mostly what we saw—the horizon up there. So that’s cool, and it’s great getting hooked up with all of the free swag. Those guys have so much swag in their bags, so they would hook up the swag, and we would put the swag in our bags, and that was nice of them. So we’ve got lots of T-shirts and hats. Fire hats, we’ve got the Firemen helmet. They even let us play with the fire hose.
What were Win and Regine like?
Win’s definitely more of a bad-boy than I thought he’d be. He loved to goof around. He’s always got a lot of magic tricks up his sleeve. He’s a real magic guy. He’s got a lot of Magic: The Gathering cards up his sleeve, they keep falling out everywhere. And then the other person too, yeah. I can’t remember any of their names, to be honest. We didn’t really get a very good chance to figure out what they’re like, because both bands were quite busy doing their thing. But I assume they were all really nice.
Did you have any intimate moments with them backstage?
On the first night, there was a pretty intimate moment, at Squamish Festival. They were going on stage, and we were pretty close. I think both them and us agree that was pretty intense—I think they agree. And then when they came off stage too, they whooshed by and I could see Win looking at me out the corner of his eye, like, ‘This is about to happen.’ And then we toured with them across the grass next to the stage. That was one of the more memorable moments with them. They got in their car—it was a really big, long car they got into. And we said, “See you in a bit!”
Your film advertises that it contains a new Arcade Fire song called “Irish Lad.” It’s interesting that a band with roots in Montreal, Texas and Haiti would do a song about Ireland.
Yeah, they get into character. I think with a lot of their songs, they’re always doing silly characters. They’re a silly band. They’re kind of like a “Weird” Al thing, I think. It’s a long con, from what I understand, so I guess “Irish Lad” is just another silly joke of theirs to fill the fans with glee. They’re kind of like an improv troupe—that’s why there’s so many of them. It’s a big think tank, they’re all bouncing ideas off each other. I can’t even—well, I can kind of imagine what it was like backstage because I was there behind them. They were just riffing, and there’s a lot of them. I saw at least twenty of them, and they were all very funny, silly monkeys.
How do you respond to the conspiracy theorists who allege that you never actually toured with Arcade Fire?
There’s been a lot of that. There’s been a lot of doubt. I’ve had people tell me that they were looking on the internet, saying they couldn’t find anything about it. Which is crazy, because I have the internet, and when I look, I see tons of stuff about us and them. So I guess they’re checking out the wrong websites and maybe they don’t know how to use Google. I’m setting the record straight—we journeyed hard.
Alex Hudson is still confused by the legitimacy of the band's claims. Follow him on Twitter
Haus are a brand new band from North London. Their latest video includes the following three things: skateboards, guitars, and grainy footage. From those three signifiers, it would be wise to believe Haus sound like one of those lo-fi, snot-ridden SoCal punk bands. But guessing is for fools; facts are better. Haus don't sound like your average skate-rock band. Instead they're much more upbeat and poppy than their image would suggest, coming roaring out of the gate with a scintillating hook and joyous melodies. The video above is for a track called "Haze" which may or may not refer to drugs or a slight obscuration of the lower atmosphere. Listen above.
It’s been a whirlwind of a month. Frank Ocean pulled out of his headline set at FYF fest; The Weeknd dropped a long awaited new record; Bieber explained that “Where Are Ü Now” uses “expensive sounding sounds” to the NY Times; Tyler, the Creator was banned from the United Kingdom for the next three-five years; Dr Dre released Compton.
A lot of stuff has happened. Perhaps the most important new release of all has come from FKA twigs who released a fifteen minute long self-directed video that further cemented her position as one of music’s greatest auteurs. But aside from all that, there’s been a wealth of new, relatively unheard music from across the globe that deserves you attention. So without further ado, here’s “All The Good Shit” released across the world in August 2015.
All The Good Shit from the United Kingdom can be found here.
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The voice is important. It’s simple, really. Without one, you’re reduced to ambience. And without one that stands out, then you’re even worse, reduced to mediocrity. So it’s with no surprise then that the lead vocalist of Liss has a voice that immediately piques interest, at times bordering into the territory between Connan Mockasin and Frank Ocean. The band are relatively young – they were still sitting exams before their shows in June – and that youthful energy exerts itself in their debut track “Try”. Having already supported the likes of Dean Blunt and Jungle, you can take our word for it they’re one to keep an eye on - Ryan Bassil
This track walks a fine line between shoegaze and R&B. According to producer Ryan Hemsworth – who released the track as part of his Secret Songs series – he also exists “in the same realm maybe as Grimes”. Two interesting tick points then, for a new artist, and as an added bonus, “Ain’t Coming Back” is inspired by Jesus and the Mary Chain’s “Never Understand” and premier songwriter The Dream. Listen above - Ryan Bassil
I’m going to go ahead and out Scotty Leitch as one of Philadelphia’s best kept secrets. Like a lot of people who make music primarily in their bedroom for themselves - like fellow Philadelphian songwriter Alex G, who he happens to drum for - Leitch has been knocking around for a while now, crafting comforting acoustic pop from private insecurities. Taken from his debut album as Shelf Life, “Sinking Just Right” recalls early Death Cab For Cutie and possesses a similar wistful atmosphere that grips you hardest in moments of reflection. It’s unhurried and almost hypnotic, which is the probably the exact opposite feeling you’d expect to get from listening to someone muse aloud about tying themselves to a cinder block and stepping into a swimming pool - Emma Garland
Junglepussy isn’t only everything you want from a rapper in 2015, she’s also everything you want to be in your life. Talented, rude, hilarious, and unapologetic in all of the above, Junglepussy has it all going on. Accompanied by a video that will change the way you look at kale forever, “Now Or Later” sees the new queen of New York asking if you’ll be fucking with her now or later, because no doubt you’ll be fucking with her eventually - and with incredible lines like “dipped out the Uber slowly like a lady” you’d be an idiot to sleep on someone whose flame is only going to get hotter. Emma Garland
If you are born in Australia and have ever touched a guitar, the chances are you will have, at some point, worked with Tame Impala’s Kevin Parker. That guy is omniscient over there. He’s Ozniscient! All an Australian kid needs to do is open Garage Band and say "Innerspeaker" three times into the bathroom mirror, and Kevin Parker will appear with a poof of glitter and offer to compress their drum sounds. Koi Child are an Australian hip-hop/jazz/psych seven piece fronted by a soulful rapper, and their latest track “Black Panda” has obviously been produced by Parker. It sounds incredible, and word is he'll be producing their entire debut album. If you like The Roots, or have been digging any time that Badbadnotgood have worked with a rapper, then this is so outrageously far up your street it’ll hurt a bit at first. Joe Zadeh
With everyone and their nan dropping bars over beats constructed in Logic, Soundcloud is becoming an increasingly difficult landscape to navigate. Luckily, Seattle-bred MC and producer Mackned stands out like Andrew WK at a State funeral (the artwork, featuring himself illustrated as Jesus surrounded by Tumblr girls getting lit, probably helps). One of the founding fathers of the LA/Seattle-based collective Thraxxhouse, Mackned dropped Female - his second full-length of 2015 - this month. Balancing menace and melody, danger and comfort, it’s one of the most authoritative fusions of trap and cloud rap since A$AP Rocky came through with Live.Love.A$AP. Emma Garland
You can find Noisey UK on Twitter: @RyanBassil @Joe_Zadeh @EmmaGGarland
My initial reaction was—Eh! It's like British people doing The Strokes on Aderall. Not that there's anything wrong with that! But in fact Made Violent hail from Buffalo, NY, they have one EP to their name, and they're about to hit the road with Wolf Alice and Drenge, so they keep rather good company. Musically "Wasted Days" is rambunctious, city gritty rock 'n' roll that'll make you wanna grab your buddies and ride your bikes to the nearest bar where you'll spend the next seven and half hours propping it up. You may end up in bed with your best friend and wake up wondering what the hell? Then you'll high five, get back on your bike, and go about your day. Apparently the song is about "losing everything," but this song sounds so much more upbeat than that overriding sentiment.
Below is their video for said song—a dizzying, kaleidoscopic crystal ball of a video that sees the trio gallivanting around NYC, the park, apartment rooftops, Times Square, wherever, and it's all over in under three minutes. Wham bam, just how we like it.
Made Violent UK/US Tour Dates with Wolf Alice and Drenge
September
16 O2 Academy
17 The Institute
19
21 Newcastle University Newcastle
22 Plug
23 O2 Guildhall
24 The Islington (Made Violent only) London
25 Albert Hall
26 O2 Academy Brixton London
29 The Met Pawtucket, RI
30 The Trocadero Philadelphia, PA
October
02 Warsaw Brooklyn, NY
03 Adelaide Hall Toronto, ON
05 First Avenue Minneapolis, MN
06 Lincoln Hall Chicago, IL
11 Valley Bar Phoenix, AZ
12 The Irenic San Diego, CA
13 The Fonda Theatre Los Angeles, CA
15 The Chapel San Francisco, CA
Last night in Austin, TX longrunning heavy metal act Motorhead had to cut their show short due to frontman Lemmy Kilmister's ongoing health problems hitting a head. In the midst of their third song of the set, "Metropolis," Lemmy slowed down, and eventually gasped out "I can't do it," to the crowd before shuffling off the stage. After he left, the crowd began chanting "we love you," and eventually he came back out to address the crowd. "You are one of the best gigs in America," he said, "and I would love to play for you, but I can't. So please accept my apologies. Next time, all right?"
This is a continuing health problem. Back in 2013, he endured a haematoma, the collection of blood outside of a vessel, causing the cancellation of a number of the band's European festival shows.
Whether you've always been a lifer or just heard "Ace of Spades" in Tony Hawk's Pro Skater and fell in love from there, please put on a Motörhead record today. Lemmy has been doing it for 40 years at this point for all of us, without an ego or anything. It's a tough video to get through. If this is the end of their tour, so be it. He's done more than we deserve already.
Breaking: One third of Teddybears, Patrik Arve, has gone solo as Swedish Tiger Sound. "You Hunch" is the first single from his upcoming solo debut Grr, which is set to deliver a wide spectrum of genres and styles.
Although "You Hunch" sounds like something Arve experimented with alongside Teddybears' visit to Kingston, Jamaica last year, it's not. Apparently Jamaican rhythms are something he's been into since the 80s, which is why he went back to Jamaica after the Teddybears trip, and hung out with dancehall master Pampidoo.
Arve describes his solo project as "total freedom" and yes, with references to en svensk tiger, you can expect STS to become political. "The world faces plenty of crises. In Swedish Tiger Sound, I'll be able to highlight these without compromising with others," he says. However, STS doesn't seem to be a lonely project. "You Hunch" features indie artist Britta Persson, while the album, Grr, will feature a bunch of DJs, rappers and dancehall artists.
Grr will be released on the 11th of September via Woah Dad!
The Swedish dream pop duo Dolce has distilled their spacey sound to its most basic components in their newest single, “Gröna Höjder”. This barely two minute long Sunday delight is the latest single and title track off of Dolce’s debut EP, which still has that fresh new-EP smell, as it only just dropped on August 31st on the Swedish-based label Nomethod.
The somberly tender vocals of Anna Levander float dreamily over the top of the gentle and effortless piano lain down by her counterpart Leopold Nilsson, making their front yard carrousel ride seem all the more other-worldly. So center yourself, put on this little slice of harmony and let yourself drift off and soar away to the green heights with Dolce.
