The Morning News

Saturday, November 21, 2009

Currently: TMN wishes you a very good weekend equipped with interesting things to read. Thank you, as always, for reading us. http://tmne.ws/h
1 day ago

Listening • What the Kids Don’t Stand

It’s become difficult to remember the hazy epoch that was last year, when the musical contents of a simple CD-R became an epidemic. The songs of Vampire Weekend were everywhere, which made the official “release” of their “debut album” in January of this year somewhat of an exercise in anachronistic formality. The current release of an EP featuring a single from that same, self-titled album seems all the more so, especially since it seems like those fine, young men should be coming up with new material by now. Aside from a contribution to the Nick & Norah’s Infinite Playlist soundtrack, we haven’t heard another peep from them. They’ll probably use the whole “we’ve been touring constantly in support of the album” excuse. Which is not so much an excuse as it is a point of fact.

They could learn a lot from Chromeo. Though they only have two albums to their credit, and though they are touring constantly in support of last year’s Fancy Footwork, Dave 1 is currently earning his PhD in French literature from Columbia university. Which is where he probably met those fine, young Vampire Weekend men. Which is probably what led to this, where both bands performed together for mtvU last week.

The live version of VW’s “The Kids Don’t Stand a Chance” is interesting, if only for the addition of a vocoder, but the version that appears on the new EP, remixed by none other than Chromeo, is nothing short of a revelation. Retaining Ezra Koenig’s plaintive vocals and the song’s most basic keyboard melody, Chromeo throws a seductively glossy and disco-digital framework underneath. Combining the best elements of each disparate group, the resulting product is euphoric, colorful, brilliant. More like this, please. —Erik Bryan, Nov. 19, 2008

» Listen to "The Kids Don't Stand a Chance" at The Tape Is Not Sticky

SHARE THIS • EMAIL THIS • FILE UNDER: Chromeo, Columbia University, Dave 1, Ezra Koenig, mtvU, Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist, Vampire Weekend

Watching • Chromeo & Juliet

Intimate relationships with computers can get a little too much, even for your most progressive electro band. Chromeo, below, take part in a strangely familiar reality show, complicating matters. P-Thugg and Dave 1 share their experiences, as the digital Juliet gets between them. “I’m just in love with the hottest piece of hardware on the East Coast,” Mr P-Thugg shares in a vocodered voice I wouldn’t wish upon anyone. Dave 1 calls a band meeting and tries to get to the root of the problem. Juliet would be better off with HAL, her motherboard insists. —Mike Smith, Oct. 16, 2008
SHARE THIS • EMAIL THIS • FILE UNDER: Chromeo, The Hills

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