Fishpork’s 10 Favorite Shows of 2011
While 2010 may have been the year we got to see Jeff Mangum play five songs, who would have thought we’d get to see three full Mangum sets in 2011?! It’s hard to compare that experience even in a year that was loaded with unforgettable performances. We were also lucky to catch James Murphy bid farewell to LCD Soundsystem, Tapes N’ Tapes proved why they are one of the best live bands on the planet, and Portishead blew the roof off of Asbury’s Convention Hall twice in ATP headlining performances. ATP recently announced that it will be returning to Asbury Park next year for another round of I’ll Be Your Mirror Performances, a guarantee that 2012 will have much live music to look forward to. Until then, here is our very biased list of favorite shows of 2011:
1. Jeff Mangum @ Paramount Theater
2. LCD Soundsystem @ Terminal 5
3. Portishead @ Convention Hall
4. Tapes N’ Tapes @ Johnny Brenda’s
6. Avey Tare @ Johnny Brenda’s
8. Black Moth Super Rainbow @ First Unitarian Church
9. Amon Tobin @ Brooklyn’s Masonic Temple
10. Elephant 6 Holiday Surprise @ Knitting Factory
Amon Tobin @ Brooklyn Masonic Temple
Amon Tobin’s music has always taken on a cinematic characteristic. With his current ISAM Live tour, Tobin’s live show brings the experience to its full potential. The ISAM tour features a stunning 25′ x 14′ x 8′ multi-dimensional, shape-shifting 3-D art installation surrounding Tobin and enveloping him and the audience in a visually-synched experience (see video below). Tobin is physically set in a center cube, which only reveals who is inside about once every 10 minutes or so. We arrived at the Brooklyn Masonic Temple with great anticipation, which was partly created by a trailer for the show that was posted months ago (see below). It was the first of three sold-out shows in Brooklyn and featured British electronic artist Emika as the opener. For a classically trained musician, she didn’t “play” much live besides triggering samples and twisting a few knobs. However, her vocals were inspired, albeit dreary. The crowd reacted well during moments where her songs featured monstrous bass and face-melting synths. We concluded during the set that a visual component was needed since the performance was not visually engaging.
Amon Tobin’s set began about 20 minutes after Emika exited the stage. It began with images slowly moving up and down the installation, fading in and out. And then all hell broke loose! Tobin’s new record is loud, obnoxious and just plain mean. There were rare opportunities to take a breath and discern if your ear drums still worked. I won’t go into much detail about the visuals, as you’ll have to watch some videos on YouTube to understand how complex the programming and planning was. And words really will not do it justice … they are not meant to. After 60 minutes of being eviscerated aurally and visually, we were ready for it to be over and it was. Tobin exited from his center cube and acknowledged the audience with drink in hand, and we returned with a much-deserved ovation for being part of it.
Fishpork’s 10 Favorite Videos of 2010
MTV might not play them anymore, but that doesn’t mean the music video is dead. 2010 saw a resurgence of the art form. While there were a ton of worthy videos this year, we narrowed down a list of ten favorites. Featuring two videos from iconic director Spike Jonze, an homage to the French horror scene, and a web exercise that places the memories of the viewer into the experience, these are Fishpork’s 10 Favorite Videos of 2010:
10. Flying Lotus – Kill Your Co-Workers (Directed by Mike Winkelmann)
9. Holy Fuck – Red Lights (Directed by Brian Borcherdt & Michael LeBlanc)
8. Deerhunter – Helicopter
7. Arcade Fire – The Suburbs (Directed by Spike Jonze)
6. Nosaj Thing – Us (Jon Hopkins Remix) (Directed by Anthony Ciannamea & Mark Wisniowski)
5. Amon Tobin – Esther’s (Directed by Charles De Meyer)
4. How To Destroy Angels – The Space In Between (Directed by Rupert Sanders)
3. LCD Soundsystem – Drunk Girls (Directed by Spike Jonze)
2. HEALTH – We Are Water (Directed by Eric Wareheim)
1. Arcade Fire – We Used To Wait
http://www.thewildernessdowntown.com/
Short Film For Amon Tobin’s “Esther’s” Released
September 19, 2010 by Peter
Filed under Electronic, Experimental, News
Belgian director Charles De Meyer (aka Chuck Eklectric) first met Amon Tobin in 2007. It was then De Meyer proposed his idea to create a short film for the song “Esther’s” featured on Tobin’s then just released Foley Room record. Tobin was impressed and collaborated with De Meyer to work on the sound design. Three years later, the result is a must see:
Check out more from Amon here: http://www.amontobin.com
Fishpork’s 100 Favorite Tracks of the 2000s
This is an attempt at the impossible. Here are our 100 favorite songs of the past decade (featuring multiple tracks from Animal Collective, The Knife, Radiohead, and Elliott Smith). Our top two choices are more like 1a and 1b. Be patient, as the page needs to load the embedded songs.
1. Panda Bear – “Bros” (2007)
2. The Knife – “We Share Our Mother’s Health” (2006)
3. Animal Collective – “For Reverend Green” (2007)
4. Grizzly Bear – “While You Wait For The Others” (2009)
5. The Knife – “Heartbeats” (2003)
6. Grizzly Bear – “The Knife” (2005)
7. LCD Soundsystem – “Someone Great” (2007)
8. TV on the Radio – “Staring at the Sun” (2003)
9. Crystal Castles – “Crimewave” (2008)
10. Beirut – “Ciloqut” (2007)
11. Thom Yorke – “Harrowdown Hill
12. Animal Collective – “Derek” (2007)
13. Nine Inch Nails – “Me, I’m Not” (2007)
14. Beck – “Lonesome Tears” (2002)
15. At The Drive-in – “One Armed Scissor” (2004)
16. Animal Collective – “Grass” (2005)
17. Deerhunter – “Nothing Ever Happened” (2008)
18. Atlas Sound – “Recent Bedroom” (2008)
19. Panda Bear – “Comfy in Nautica” (2007)
20. System of a Down – “Chop Suey” (2001)
21. Animal Collective – “Peacebone” (2007)
22. Battles – “Atlas” (2007)
23. Error – “Jack the Ripper” (2004)
24. Enon – “Pleasure and the Privilege”
25. Elliott Smith – “Son of Sam” (2000)
26. Animal Collective – “Did You See the Words” (2005)
27. The Knife – “Marble House” (2006)
28. LCD Soundsystem – “All My Friends” (2007)
29. Thom Yorke – “Analyse” (2006)
30. The Flaming Lips – “Ego Tripping at the Gates of Hell” (2002)
31. Girl Talk – “Smash Your Head” (2006)
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32. A Perfect Circle – “Judith” (2000)
33. Radiohead – “Idioteque” (2000)
34. Tapes N’ Tapes – “Manitoba” (2006)
35. TV On The Radio – “I Was A Lover” (2006)
36. Radiohead – “Reckoner” (2007)
37. Fever Ray – “Coconut” (2009)
38. Animal Collective – “My Girls” (2009)
39. Built to Spill – “Things Fall Apart” (2009)
40. Wilco – “I’m Trying to Break Your Heart” (2002)
41. Modest Mouse – “Tiny Cities Made of Ashes” (2000)
42. Animal Collective – “Leaf House” (2004)
43. Modeselektor – “Happy Birthday” (2007)
44. Arcade Fire – “Wake Up” (2004)
45. Autolux – “Blanket” (2004)
46. MGMT – “Time to Pretend” (2007)
47. Built to Spill – “Conventional Wisdom” (2006)
48. Wilco – “Side With the Seeds” (2007)
49. Elliott Smith – “Happiness/The Gondola Man” (2000)
50. Avey Tare – “I’m Your Eagle Kisser” (2007)
51. Department of Eagles – “Waves of Rye” (2008)
52. Animal Collective – “Summertime Clothes” (2009)
53. Radiohead – “2+2 = 5″ (2003)
54. Dredg – “Sang Real” (2005)
55. While Lies – “Farewell to the Fairground” (2009)
56. Grizzly Bear – “Ready, Able” (2009)
57. Matisyahu – “King Without a Crown” (2005)
58. Modest Mouse – “Paper Thin Walls” (2000)
59. Dillinger Escape Plan – “When Good Dogs Do Bad Things” (2002)
60. Elliott Smith – “Twilight” (2004)
61. Deerhunter – “Flourescent Grey” (2007)
62. Holy Fuck – “Lovely Allen” (2007)
63. LCD Soundsystem – “Never As Tired As When I’m Waking Up” (2006)
64. The Notwist – “Boneless (Panda Bear Remix)” (2008)
65. Liars – “Nothing Is Ever Lost or Can Be Lost My Science Friend” (2004)
66. The Mars Volta – “Inertiatic E.S.P.” (2003)
67. The Notwist – “Solitaire” (2002)
68. Of Montreal – “The Past is a Grotesque Animal” (2007)
69. Queens of the Stone Age – “Tangled Up in Plaid” (2005)
70. Radiohead – “Jigsaw Falling Into Place” (2007)
71. Saul Williams – “Raised To Be Lowered” (2007)
72. Autolux – “Great Days for the Passenger Element” (2004)
73. Sigur Ros – “Untitled 8″ (2002)
74. Yeah, Yeah, Yeahs – “Maps” (2003)
75. Portishead – “Threads” (2008)
76. Sufjan Stevens – “Chicago” (2005)
77. Ugly Casanova – “Things I Don’t Remember” (2002)
78. Animal Collective – “Brothersport” (2009)
79. Radiohead – “Pyramid Song” (2001)
80. Nine Inch Nails – “Only” (2005)
81. El-P – “Flyentology” (2007)
82. Queens of the Stone Age – “No One Knows” (2002)
83. Ghostface Killah – “Shakey Dog” (2006)
84. Modest Mouse – “Missed the Boat” (2007)
85. UNKLE – “Persons and Machinery” (2007)
86. Amon Tobin – “Verbal” (2002)
87. The White Stripes – “Denial Twist” (2005)
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88. Tomahawk – “Captain Midnight” (2003)
89. Modest Mouse – “Bukowski” (2004)
90. Sigur Ros – “Hoppipolia” (2005)
92. Fuck Buttons – “Sweet Love For Planet Earth” (2008)
93. Bon Iver – “Skinny Love” (2008)
94. Built to Spill – “In Your Mind” (2001)
95. The White Stripes – “Icky Thump” (2007)
96. Does It Offend You, Yeah? – “We Are Rockstars” (2008)
97. Dub Trio – “Not Alone” (2006)
98. Modest Mouse – “The World At Large”
99. The Walkmen – “In the New Year” (2008)
100. Nine Inch Nails – “The Great Destroyer (Modwheelmood Remix)” (2007)