"My Girls" by Animal Collective

New music video for my favorite song off my current favorite album.

I think that Animal Collective is one of the most original groups making music these days, and of the quest to find the "American Radiohead" (other contenders: TV on the Radio, My Morning Jacket) they are definitely the most abstract and straight-up weird. Their most recent album, Merriweather Post Pavilion, is somehow both their weirdest and most accessible.


Animal Collective "My Girls" from Chad von Nau on Vimeo.

My Inaugural Concert Experience

My mom and I arrived at the concert area around 9:30 a.m., and after going through security, we found a spot to sit on a slight hill on the far right about a quarter of the way down the reflection pool. Security took mere seconds, because we arrived so early. My mom and I both wore lots of layers to keep warm, and we brought magazines to pass the time. Luckily, we never got too cold.

What you couldn't tell from watching the concert on TV was that if you weren't in the seated area, you could barely see anything, jumbotrons included. We could see some of the performance area on the memorial though, if we craned. I saw the Obamas and Bidens for a second in the beginning, and the edge during U2's set- but even then, it was very hard to make out.

The event was very, very crowded, but everybody was in a great mood and singing along. Despite the huge roster of performances, ranging from Josh Groban singing "My Country Tis of Thee" to Herbie Hancock playing keyboards while Sheryl Crow and Will.i.am sang Bob Marley's "One Love," the concert only ran two hours. One of the most engaging performances was Garth Brooks' medley of "American Pie" and "Shout," which had every member of the huge crowd singing along and jumping.

Singers of every genre were represented at the show along with mixing of genres with performances of duets or trios with other artists. Jon Bon Jovi sang with Bettye Lavette, James Taylor sang with Jennifer Nettles and John Legend for "Shower the People," and Shakira sang with Usher and Stevie Wonder on "Higher Ground." Other performers included Heather Headley and Mstr. Sgt. Caleb Green of the U.S. Army, who sang the national anthem to kick off the show.

Overall, it was an awesome experience. Between all the musicians and speakers (such as Tom Hanks, who spoke about Abraham Lincoln; Jack Black and Rosario Dawson, who commented on Teddy Roosevelt; and Laura Linney who spoke about Franklin Roosevelt) and hearing Obama speak live, it was definitely worth waiting for five hours.

My favorite parts of the show included Bruce Springsteen singing "The Rising" with a gospel choir; U2 playing two of their hits; Pete Seeger leading a sing-a-long to "This Land is My Land;" and Beyonce closing the show with "America the Beautiful."

If the concert was any indication of Inaugural events to come, Tuesday's inauguration will draw huge crowds, and it pays to arrive as early as possible. Many of my friends texted me saying they arrived too late to even enter the designated concert area. Also, hopefully there will be more jumbotrons set up around the mall so that everyone can get a view of the ceremony.

Friday I'm in Love

The first 30 seconds of the Cure's "Friday I'm in Love" may be the best opening bars of any song, ever. The second I hear the the synth (the "da-na-na-na-na-na-NA") and the beat comes crashing in I just get in the best mood. It's not even my favorite Cure song (that honor would go to "Picture of You") but the open is just wonderful.

I'm not allowed to embed the video, but here's a link: clicky

In Defense of Top 40- 2 new ones

I have two new columns up on BYT:

"Love Story" by Taylor Swift
"Just Dance" by Lady GaGa

BYT Inaugural

For all of those in DC for Inauguration, I highly recommend picking up tickets for Brightest Young Things's Inauguration Classic 2k9 Spectacular at Bohemian Caverns. The line-up is fantastic (comedian Tig Notaro, DC next-big-thing rapper Wale, Team Robespierre, Art of Junk, to name a few) and the party is literally ALL DAY. From 9:30am til the wee hours of the next morning, you can come and go as you please- you can even drop coats or bags off and then come back after street festivities to pick it all back up. It will be the perfect homebase for the day. Tickets are only $20 so act fast! Should be a great time.

"Daylight"- Matt & Kim

I just saw the music video for one of my current favorite songs, Matt & Kim's "Daylight," and it fits the song perfectly. From what I've heard and this video, Matt & Kim are one of my must-see-live groups. Along with Arcade Fire, Mates of State, and the Submarines, they are one of my favorite married indie-rock couples.

They're supposed to be tons of fun, and get everybody dancing. I really regret not getting tickets to see them with Dan Deacon. That would have been a crazy show.

"Sleepyhead"- Passion Pit

When my friend told me that she had heard the best song ever, I obviously had doubts. She and I declare something the "best song ever" every few weeks. When she played the song, Passion Pit's "Sleepyhead," for me, I was very turned off. On first listen, it sounded like a MGMT knock-off. Synth-pop with shreaked vocals and droning noise. But then as I listened to it more, I realized that it is, in fact, a brilliant song.

Similar to MGMT, Passion Pit produces trippy freak-pop, but PP puts much more emphasis on the "pop" while MGMT sticks to the "freak." On "Sleepyhead," the point-of-awesome builds slowly. A thumping beat, hand claps, twisted vocals, spoken word, and a curtain of glittery synth layer perfectly and climax in the best purely-intrumental "chorus" I've ever heard. The synth gets thicker and goes absolutely nuts, and rather than retreating into slower verse, frontman Michael Angelakos prolongs the hype with shrieked lines that segue right into another synth meltdown.

Passion Pit's Chunk of Change EP is out now, and yes, the other songs are also great.

N.A.S.A.- Money

David Byrne, singer of one of my favorite bands, Talking Heads, somehow linked with N.A.S.A. (production duo Squeak E. Clean & DJ Zegon) to create this insane single. It's one of my current favorite songs. The jam features the most ridiculous line-up of guest stars for one song I think I've ever seen: Chuck D, Seu Jorge, Ras Congo, and Z-Trip.

My Favorite Albums of 2008

This is a rough list that will probably change in about an hour. I think that while last year brought a lot of good follow-ups (M.I.A., Arcade Fire, LCD Soundsystem, to name a few) 08 brought a lot of really great new bands (Vampire Weekend, Fleet Foxes, Bon Iver, Los Campesinos, Santogold). Folk music (Fleet Foxes, Bon Iver) got pretty big, as did grunge (No Age, a runner-up for my list) and anything afro-beat inspired (Vampire Weekend, Dodos). Can't wait to see what 2009 will bring, and if any of this year's debuts will create some great follow-ups!

1. fleet foxes
2. keep your eyes ahead- the helio sequence
3. narrow stairs- death cab
4. visiter- the dodos
5. viva la vida- coldplay
6. volume one- she and him
7. vampire weekend
8. for emma, forever ago- bon iver
9. little joy
10. hold on now, youngster...- los campesinos
11. feed the animals- girl talk
12. mission control- the whigs
13. evil urges- my morning jacket
14. pershing- someone still loves you boris yeltsin
15. stay positive- the hold steady
16. santogold

While all of those are albums released this year, my ultimate favorite album that I listened to in 2008 would have to be the New Pornographer's Challengers. I don't know why I never bought this in 07. Every song is perfect and wonderful and amazing.

In Defense of Top 40

Hey all.

I started a weekly column over at BYT called "In Defense of Top 40," in which I defend (or attempt to defend) the musical merits of whatever song is currently #1 in the nation. Here's links to my first two. Enjoy and comment please!

http://www.brightestyoungthings.com/music/in-defense-of-top-40-single-ladies-put-a-ring-on-it-by-beyonce/

http://www.brightestyoungthings.com/music/in-defense-of-top-40-live-your-life-by-ti-feat-rihanna/