I love old school horror and zombie flicks. Zombies used to be cool until hipsters started going zombie crazy. I started to see inklings of it in music videos like the one above and on t-shirts local (faux) hipsters started to wear. Is it me or does anyone else notice a hipster zombie craze? I wish the zombies would just eat the hipsters wearing their shirts already. What would George Romero do?
So I came across this today in my inbox and wondered why someone would send this to me, other than publicity. It is a music video from Sean Bones, a New York band that is influenced by reggae and indie pop. I'm not into this genre or sound really. The first thing I thought after looking over everything was "This band is for hipsters." Check out their music video for "Let's Do Something Else" here.
I saw this online the other day and realized that it just came out recently and not too many people have seen it. So, I thought I'd share it with you all. It is by Hank & Cupcakes, a Brooklyn (surprise) based indie-pop duo. Named after themselves it seems, although I'm thinking Cupcakes is a nickname, the duo covered one of my favorite Joy Division songs, "She's Lost Control". While I like their cover, I will always prefer the original. Two things caught my attention in this video. Cupcakes is a super cute indie chick that reads Bukowski in bed (hot!) and she appears to be wearing fur. I don't care how cold it is, I'm not down with wearing fur. Check out the video directed by Casey Randerson here:
Something else cool about the duo is that Cupcakes is the drummer and vocalist. She sings and drums while standing up as I saw in a couple of their other YouTube videos.Check it out in their first official video released back in April for their single "Pleasure Town".
I'm hoping they make it down to Austin some time soon. My guess is probably for next year's Southby, when all of New York and Los Angeles come down. I'd check them out.
What more do you need to know? Oh wait, there is more. If you are on of the first 200 people to RSVP on Do512, you can win tickets and maybe even a VIP table for four. If you've never seen White Denim live or heard their music, time to get with the program. These dudes rock. I'm so glad they are playing Antone's because the sound and lighting are always good. Good for White Denim.
Friday nights in Austin are full of great shows to check out. This Friday is no exception. With that being said, I think avoiding the downtown riff-raf is the way to go Friday night. Austin Latin funksters, Brownout, perform at The High Ball on 1120 South Lamar. You will be hearing a lot about this place as it seems to have some cool things happening this year.
Joining Brownout, as if they aren't reason enough to go, are DJ Manny and Bigface. You may know them from DJ Dojo, the record store that they have DJ lessons at. They've spun all over town for years now. I last saw them at Beauty Bar before the Afrika Bambaataa set in 2008. It's been too long, I know.
Manny is known for his crazy DJ bicycle. If you've never seen it, it is quite impressive. Even more impressive is the crew from B-Boy City who are going to be doing some breakin'.
Check out this video to get an idea of what this whole crew is about in terms of vibe, sound, etc. There is nothing else like it in town that I know of, so treat yourself to some dope beats and funky rhythms.
Monday night at Mohawk is where you can go take pictures for Look At This Fucking Hispter. If you haven't seen that blog, check my blog roll...hilarious. At Mohawk this Monday night will be a bunch of hipster bands of the moment, or what my friends and I refer to as "blogger bands". It seems that all the Austin Bloggers talk about and post fliers for Neiliyo and Markus pretty regularly, but the real gem and reason to get out of the house Monday is to see The Octopus Project.
In the past few years they were the quintessential festival band it seemed, having played Fun Fun Fun Fest, ACL and even Lalapollooza. The Octopus Project is arguably Austin's most musically creative indie group. Most of their music is instrumental, but all very danceable. Think "Blue Stage" at Fun Fun Fun Fest.
What is most memorable about the group is their front woman, Yvonne Lambert, is the the world's prettiest theremin player. She is the indie crush of just about all the sensitive indie boys in attendance, while making the girls consider getting their own classic flipped-up bob haircut. For me though, it's the theremin I find most fascinating about this band. If I had one of those, I'd never leave the house except to go see shows. Oh wait, that's what I do without the theremin.
I'm pretty sure they will playing some songs off their latest EP, Golden Beds. Maybe you'll even hear this song here, which also happens to be called "Golden Beds". For some real Octopus Project goodness, pick up the 2007 release, Hello Avalanche. If you've never seen them live, Mohawk is a a great place to see them.
One thing my friends often tease me about is my affinity for cute indie girls who either act, sing, play instruments or all of the above. I usually deny it in effort to curb the teasing, but it is all so true. I love beautiful indie girls, especially those in bands. I find myself more interested in some of those bands as a result. With so many indie bands that feature many of my girl crushes, I decided to start a brief series if you will on my blog to pay tribute to my future ex-girlfriends. It works for Revolver with their "Hottest Chicks in Metal" series, so I figured why not an indie girl series? Maybe someone will discover a new favorite band in the process, which the main reason I started this blog in the first place.
The first installment of Ian's Indie Girl Crush is none other than the lovely, Zooey (pronounced like Zoe) Deschanel. I just recently saw 500 Days of Summer and the whole time I kept spacing out, just kind of staring at Zooey every time she came on because I didn't find the movie to be that entertaining. It was alright, but didn't live up to the hype. Deschanel made the movie for me and I see this movie as solidifying her as a current generational icon. Her style, her music and her beauty make Deschanel the complete package.
Speaking of her music, Deschanel is half of the indie super duo, She & Him. Her partner in crime, M.Ward, is another Indie taste maker favorite. Together they form a super duo of sorts, playing classic 60's inspired folk pop. Deschannel sounds like an old country artist instead of the indie darling she appears to be. Their first album, entitled Volume One, has been in my iPod since its release. From what I have been reading online, Volume Two is in the works. I wonder if it going to be more of the same indie-folk or something totally different.I look forward to it.
If you haven't heard She & Him before, then check out this video below of my darling Zooey, who is married to the Deathcab For Cutie dude by the way. That's only because that bastard met her first, but I am alright with it since Deathcab is a pretty good band. Check out "Why Do You Let Me Stay Here?" and see what all my fuss is all about.
I have no intention of going out tonight as I have been feeling under the weather since yesterday, but you should go out. If you're not going to see Charanga Cakewalk at Momo's, then you should head over to the uber hipster hangout known as the Beauty Bar for some drinks and dancing with DJ Scorpio and friends. I'll post some links for you to check out, but do check out the poster collection these dudes have using old vintage soft core images. I love their posters, easily the best in town.
EZ Action Tuesdays info:
Location: Beauty Bar, 617 E. 7th right by the I-35 Bridge and Red 7.
Hosted by DJ Scorpio, featuring DJ Trey Lopez and DJ Czech 1. Get there at 10 and stay until 2. Dance to some underground glam and dance music. Drink Lone Star and forget about working Wednesday morning.
Monday nights can be slow but still worth going out. My Monday nights used to consist of Monday Night Football, library time, or going to Nasty's for hip hop night with DJ Mel. An Austin staple, DJ Mel is one of Austin's "it" DJs who is known for spinning at Nasty's, the Rock The Casbah parties and Hip Hop Karaoke back when Tambaleo was still open.
Now on Monday's Mel has his homie, protege, fellow DJ Prince Klaussen spinning with him. Many in town know him from his many nights at Beauty Bar. I admit, I haven't been to either Nasty's or Beauty Bar in a while, but it is always a good time when I do venture out there. I sure miss Wednesday nights at Tambaleo. Oh well, we still have Nasty's on Mondays. It is a great Austin tradition of sorts after this many years. I still highly recommend it.
Austin Vintage clothing staple, Cream Vintage, is partying to celebrate their grand opening this afternoon. I am not a "fashionista" by any means, but the music of the event is what drew me to the event. Austin psychedelic/garage rockers, The Tunnels, are scheduled to perform. That's a good pick for this store and a free First Thursday show.
photo by Briana Purser
Also on the music front is a DJ set by Glynn Wedgewood from the band Stereo Is A Lie. My friends Ajay and Sal turned me on to Stereo Is A Lie. I saw them play at Emo's recently for one of thoe 101X Homegrown Live shows. They are pretty cool to say the least. They grew on me. Even though they aren't performing, just spinning, I just wanted to show you a quick video of Stereo Is A Lie.
The event is sponsored by Lone Star and starts at 5pm. Cream Vintage (this location) is located at 1714A South Congress between The Woodland and Crafts. For more information, visit the following links:
Hipsters rejoice! Get out your best American Apparel and Grecian headbands! The Yeah Yeah Yeahs have been officially added to this year's ACL Fest lineup as a Friday replacement for The Beastie Boys. It was a totally predictable move but still a good move none the less. It would have nice to see The Beastie Boys though. I am surprised they didn't go with something more in the hip hop realm, but then again I'm not. I read some online rumors that Jay Z was in line to replace the Beasties, but I didn't see that happening.
Other good news includes the addition of former Tony! Toni! Tone! and Lucy Pearl frontman Raphael Sadiq. His solo music is amazing and has not gotten the commercial credit it deserves. Sadiq adds some much needed R&B flavor to ACL Fest and I couldn't be happier about it. He'll be playing that Friday as well. All good things in my opinion.
Ian is a graduate of Round Rock High School and attended St Edward’s University in Austin, Texas. In 2008 he joined the team at Double Stereo (formerly CD Fuse) as their Blog editor where he reviewed concerts, albums, and did interviews for the popular music site.In January 2009, he became the Editor in Chief for Austin Vida. In 2010, with the help of some of his most talented friends, he launched Red River Noise. "Ian's Music Blog" is also one of the few blogs selected to be a Do512 All-Star.
On any given night of the week he can be found in downtown Austin on 6th Street and the Red River live music district.
Friday nights in Austin are full of great shows to check out. This Friday is no exception. With that being said, I think avoiding the downtown riff-raf is the way to go Friday night. Austin Latin funksters, Brownout, perform at The High Ball on 1120 South Lamar. You will be hearing a lot about this place as it seems to have some cool things happening this year.
Monday night at Mohawk is where you can go take pictures for Look At This Fucking Hispter. If you haven't seen that blog, check my blog roll...hilarious. At Mohawk this Monday night will be a bunch of hipster bands of the moment, or what my friends and I refer to as "blogger bands". It seems that all the Austin Bloggers talk about and post fliers for Neiliyo and Markus pretty regularly, but the real gem and reason to get out of the house Monday is to see The Octopus Project.
Monday nights can be slow but still worth going out. My Monday nights used to consist of Monday Night Football, library time, or going to Nasty's for hip hop night with DJ Mel. An Austin staple, DJ Mel is one of Austin's "it" DJs who is known for spinning at Nasty's, the Rock The Casbah parties and Hip Hop Karaoke back when Tambaleo was still open.
Now on Monday's Mel has his homie, protege, fellow DJ Prince Klaussen spinning with him. Many in town know him from his many nights at Beauty Bar. I admit, I haven't been to either Nasty's or Beauty Bar in a while, but it is always a good time when I do venture out there. I sure miss Wednesday nights at Tambaleo. Oh well, we still have Nasty's on Mondays. It is a great Austin tradition of sorts after this many years. I still highly recommend it.
Austin Vintage clothing staple, Cream Vintage, is partying to celebrate their grand opening this afternoon. I am not a "fashionista" by any means, but the music of the event is what drew me to the event. Austin psychedelic/garage rockers, The Tunnels, are scheduled to perform. That's a good pick for this store and a free First Thursday show.
photo by Briana Purser
Hipsters rejoice! Get out your best American Apparel and Grecian headbands! The Yeah Yeah Yeahs have been officially added to this year's ACL Fest lineup as a Friday replacement for The Beastie Boys. It was a totally predictable move but still a good move none the less. It would have nice to see The Beastie Boys though. I am surprised they didn't go with something more in the hip hop realm, but then again I'm not. I read some online rumors that Jay Z was in line to replace the Beasties, but I didn't see that happening.
