19. Saul Williams – “Triumph”

20. Amanda Palmer – “Map Of Tasmania”

21. Atlas Sound – “Mona Lisa”

22. Adebisi Shank – “Century City”

23. Puscifer – “Monsoons”

24. Battles – “Ice Cream”

25. Givers – “Noche Nada”

Fishpork’s 10 Favorite Videos of 2011

Did Andreas Nilsson really not make a video this year? I suppose that takes a bit of the bite out of this year’s favorites list, doesn’t it? Just like last year, 2011′s list includes more from the legendary music video auteur Spike Jonze. While there were many worthy videos this year, we narrowed down a list of ten favorites. Featuring the Beastie Boys sequel to a 25-year-old original, a raucous comedy by Maynard James Keenan, and a performance piece that incorporates light and darkness to perfection, these are Fishpork’s 10 Favorite Videos of 2011:

10. “Don’t Play No Game That I Can’t Win” by Beastie Boys (Directed by Spike Jonze)

9. “My Machines” by Battles (Directed by Daniels)

8. “Dance” by Saul Williams (Directed by Cédric Blaisbois)

7. “Midnight City” by M83 (Directed by Fleur & Manu)

6. “Lotus Flower” by Radiohead (Directed by Garth Jennings)

5. “You Don’t Know How Lucky You Are” by Keaton Henson (Directed by David Wilson)

4. “Conditions of My Parole” by Puscifer (Directed by Mike King and Maynard James Keenan)

3. “Fight For Your Right (Revisited)” by Beastie Boys (Directed by Adam Yauch)

2. “Shipwreck” by Modeselektor (ft. Thom Yorke) (Directed by Tony “Truand” Datis)

1. “Enough” by SONOIO (Directed by Matt Sundin and Caspar Newbolt)

Album Review: Angles

What a massively addicting album this is! From the masterstroke of an opener in “Machu Picchu,” which is personally my favorite track of 2011 so far, to the Cornel West namedrop in “Life Is Simple In The Moonlight.” Yes, Is This It? was THE album that reinvigorated an apathetic rock scene early last decade. And it was an album that cannot be disputed as an all-time great. Fortunately, The Strokes topped themselves with 2003′s Room on Fire, which I contend is their best.

With their fourth album, Angles, the band releases their most diverse album to date. In a sense, they have reinvented their sound and challenged themselves to progress their amazingly successful formula. Of course, you still have that classic Strokes sound in tracks like “Under Cover Of Darkness” and “Taken For A Fool.” But I’m a bit disappointed by all the fans who are instantly dismissing so much of this album. “You’re So Right” has been labeled a “throw away” in many reviews and by fans on social networks. The track is refreshingly unique and comprises elements the band has yet to explore. I’m reminded of Radiohead when listening to the glitchy percussion and late screeching guitars. Julian Casablancas never ceases to amaze me with his ability to deliver vocals with a unique approach on each track, which is exemplified on “You’re So Right.” It may be an unpopular declaration, but it’s a standout for me on Angles.

The Strokes – Machu Picchu

Angles is not an album that I needed repeated listens to appreciate. The 80s vibe of “Two Kinds of Happiness” and “Games” and the Steely Dan homage on “Gratisfaction” had me instantly hooked. It’s a shame that many reviews of the album focus on the struggles the band had during recording sessions. Some even admit that you hear a separation in Julian’s vocals and the rest of the band. Let’s write about the music, ya’ll! I revisit the discography more often than I’d like to admit, but Angles is my favorite album of 2011. Hipsters, you may resume your head bob.

Album Review: The King Of Limbs

Radiohead took a four-year hiatus only to return and release an eight-song, 37-minute LP of pretentious, heavily-looped B-sides. That sentiment seems to be a popular complaint among the talentless members of the underachieving blogosphere. Let’s take another listen, evaluators! Radiohead albums have always required repeated listens. I despised Amnesiac upon first listen, but the album grew until it sprouted into a six-month addiction during Napster’s peak. Why are we expecting another OK Computer or Kid A? Let your favorite band explore new ground, experiment, and not give a fuck what you think …

The King of Limbs not layered enough for you? The opening track, “Bloom” features more gorgeous layers than I can recall from other songs in the entire discography. Haunting strings and the high-pitched perfection of an emotional Thom Yorke conduct a stunning wall of noise. “Little by Little” sounds like a bastard child of Amnesiac and In Rainbows. “Feral” is my favorite track this week, a complete departure from anything the band has released in years. Yorke is definitely wearing his recent collabs with Flying Lotus and Modeselektor on his sleeve. “Lotus Flower” is a beautiful and stifling track that features exquisitely ambiguous lyrics from Yorke, who also serves up a free-form dance for the official video (see below) inspired by his freak-out antics during live shows. YouTube videos immediately surfaced with Yorke dancing to mainstream dance favorites like Beyonce’s “Single Ladies.” I’m not going to embed it here, you can search for yourself.

“Codex” finds Yorke at a piano singing a heart-wrenching ballad: “Jump off the end into a clear lake | No one around, just dragonflies | Flying to the side, no one gets hurt | You’ve done nothing wrong.” Although the song reminds me of “Last Flowers” or “Videotape” from In Rainbows, it’s a severely stripped down track that relies on Yorke’s delicate delivery and late accompanying strings. Another highlight is “Give Up The Ghost,” which finds Yorke singing along with a sampled version of his own voice, as he’s done on previous efforts (see “I Will” from Hail to the Thief). For those complaining there is no guitar on this album, have you listened closing track, “Separator”? Johnny Greenwood’s melodic guitar arrangement accompanies Yorke’s harmonies and Selway’s off-time back beat for a nearly perfect ending. “If you think this is over, then you’re wrong” Yorke repeats four times near the end of the track. While some are hoping for a sequel, I’m going to put this one on for another spin and be thankful my generation’s most talented group of musicians still finds the energy and inspiration to continuously challenge my musical predispositions. The King of Limbs is our early leader for favorite album of the year.

Trent Reznor Nominated For Golden Globe

Today’s Golden Globe nominations revealed that Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross’ score for David Fincher’s near-perfect The Social Network was nominated for “Best Original Score.” This is Reznor’s first Golden Globes nod, although he has twelve Grammy nominations with two wins (for 1992′s “Wish” and 1995′s “Happiness in Slavery (Live)”). It’s uncertain if the Academy Awards will figure out that the soundtrack contains a brilliantly re-worked version of “35 Ghost IV” from 2008′s Ghosts I-IV that is cleverly titled “A Familiar Taste.” Johnny Greenwood (Radiohead) was disqualified from a potential Oscar nomination for his There Will Be Blood score for a similar reason in 2007.

Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross – A Familiar Taste by hralupka

Trent Reznor Lets You Sample His Score of “The Social Network”

As he has done with past projects in recent years, Trent Reznor is giving away more of his music. This time it’s a five-track sampler of the score he and Atticus Ross did for the upcoming David Fincher film about the origins of Facebook, The Social Network. Reznor, who many believe has revolutionized the way music is distributed on the Internet, will offer an array of packaged formats for the soundtrack, including CD, HD Blu-Ray Audio, and Vinyl. The soundtrack hits on September 28. You can download the five free tracks and pre-order the album on his Null Corporation label’s web site here. Reznor says he and Atticus have been working on the project for months. This news just might be the nail in the coffin for Reznor’s involvement in an HBO series based on his Year Zero alternate reality experience and concept album. Reznor posted a comment about the sound of the soundtrack on his web page:

Musically, this all came out of our secret laboratory – electronic in basis, but mostly organic sounding. Lots of experiments and emphasis on sound fraying around the edges while focusing on the proper emotional tone for the various scenes.

You can download one of the tracks “On We March” here or stream it below:

The film hits theaters on October 1. Trailer is below (and features an affecting cover of Radiohead’s “Creep”) :

Atoms For Peace @ Roseland Ballroom

We’ve been waiting four long years for Thom Yorke to take his electronic-heavy Radiohead side project and catalog stand-out on the road. That wait ended last night as Thom and company (including Radiohead producer Nigel Godrich and bassist Flea) invaded New York’s Roseland Ballroom for the first of a two-night stint. The band called themselves Atoms For Peace, which is also the name of a track on Thom’s lone solo EP, 2006′s The Eraser. Written mostly on a laptop using samples, many from unreleased Radiohead tracks, we were curious to hear how the band would translate the electronic vibe of songs played from The Eraser for the live environment. With two percussionists, Godrich on electronics, Flea freaking out on bass, and Thom switching between piano and guitar, the live incarnation was stunningly similar.

The band started in grand fashion with a slow building version of The Eraser’s title track and continued to play the LP in its entirety! After the nine song set, the band walked off the stage, returning shortly for what turned out to be a seven song encore. Yorke started the encore alone on stage and played two new Radiohead songs and Kid A standout “Everything In Its Right Place.” The rest of the band joined Yorke for the last four songs, which included Radiohead b-side “Paperbag Writer” and more new, unreleased tracks. Yorke and company absolutely blew the doors of off Roseland last night. The only complaint I have was the atrocious sound, which was flat-out embarrassing during Flying Lotus’ cracking and popping opening set. The sound crew seemed to have things slightly more in order for Atoms For Peace, but audiophiles may have been wincing at times throughout the show.

Setlist:
01. The Eraser
02. Analyse
03. The Clock
04. Black Swan
05. Skip Divided
06. Atoms For Peace
07. And It Rained All Night
08. Harrowdown Hill
09. Cymbal Rush

Encore 1
(thom solo)
10. Chris Hodge/Let Me Take Control (NEW SONG)
11. The Daily Mail
12. Everything In Its Right Place

(full band)
13. Paperbag Writer
14. Judge, Jury & Executioner
15. Hollow Earth
16. Feeling Pulled Apart By Horses

Fishpork’s 50 Favorite Tracks of 2009

This year really didn’t end up being that “greatest of the decade” as January-March may have suggested. With that said, our favorite tracks list became very album-heavy as it evolved throughout the year. With seven tracks from Animal Collective and Grizzly Bear in the top 20, you kinda get the point. Here is our very biased list of favorite tracks from 2009:

1. HEALTH – “Die Slow”
2. Grizzly Bear – “While You Wait for the Others“
3. Animal Collective – “Summertime Clothes”
4. Fuck Buttons – “Olympians”
5. Built to Spill – “Things Fall Apart”
6. Animal Collective – “My Girls”
7. Fever Ray – “Concrete Walls”
8. Grizzly Bear – “Ready, Able“
9. White Lies – “Farewell to the Foreground”
10. Moderat – “New Error”
11. Atlas Sound – “Attic Lights”
12. Grizzly Bear – “Two Weeks“
13. Animal Collective – “Guy’s Eyes”
14. Fuck Buttons – “The Lisbon Maru”
15. Atlas Sound – “Walkabout”
16. Animal Collective – “What Would I Want? Sky”
17. Dredg – “Information”
18. White Lies – “Death”
19. Fever Ray – “Coconut”
20. Animal Collective – “Brothersport”
21. Built to Spill – “Good Ol’ Boredom”
22. MC Rut – “I Don’t Really Know”
23. The Mars Volta – “Since We’ve Been Wrong”
24. Modest Mouse – “The Whale Song”
25. Dirty Projectors – “Cannibal Resource”
26. Deerhunter – “Game of Diamonds”
27. Morrissey – “It’s Not Your Birthday Anymore”
28. Animal Collective – “I Think I Can”
29. HEALTH – “We Are Water”
30. Dredg – “Mourning This Morning”
31. Sufjan Stevens – “You Are the Blood”
32. Fuck Buttons – “Surf Solar”
33. Phoenix – “Girlfriend”
34. The Flaming Lips – “Silver Trembling Hands”
35. White Rabbits – “Rudie Fails”
36. The Mars Volta – “With Twilight As Our Guide”
37. Radiohead – “These Are My Twisted Words”
38. Great Northern – “Fingers”
39. Royksopp – “Tricky, Tricky”
40. Dirty Projectors – “Useful Chamber”
41. St. Vincent – “The Party”
42. YACHT – “Ring The Bell”
43. Bat For Lashes – “Sleep Alone”
44. Atlas Sound – “Sheila”
45. Washed Out – “Feel It All Around”
46. Das Racist – “Combination Pizza Hut and Taco Bell”
47. Dirty Projectors – “Stillness Is The Move”
48. Yeah, Yeah, Yeahs – “Skeletons”
49. Great Northern – “Driveway”
50. Morrissey – “I’m OK By Myself”

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)

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