Awesome Portugal. The Man Interview (link)

Damn, I love a good interview. I spend alot of time nerding out, reading interviews and trying to peice together how my favorite bands have gotten to where they are.

And today I found a great one. Its a lengthy interview with one of my, at this point obvious, favorite bands Portugal. The Man. Its with a site called You Aint No Picasso, a site which Ive never heard of but did a great job and delved deep into all facets of the new album. I read half of it and had to stop as it goes pretty deep into the specifics of some songs, songs which arent availble yet (grrr). Defintley gonna come back to it though.

Check it here.

P.S. great this pictures lol.

Live Review: Portugal. The Man 6/3 in NYC

Head over to AtlanticRecords.Com or click this link.

http://atlanticrecords.com/news/portugal-the-man-at-webster-hall/

3/18/10 Playlist

Dr Dog - My Old Ways (We All Belong)
Florence & the Machine - Dog Days Are Over (Lungs)
Portugal. The Man - The Sun (The Satanic Satanist)
The Walkmen - Weve Been Had
Quantic Soul Orchestra - Pushin On (Pushin On)
Grizzly Bear - While You Wait For The Others (The Veckatimist)
Suburban Legends - All Around The World (Infectious)
Parliament - Dr. Funkenstein (The Clones of Dr Funkenstein)
The Flaming Lips - Fight Test (Yoshimi Battles The Pink Robots)

This was also during WVUD's Radiothon!

Top 5 Albums of 2009

My Top 5 albums of the year are;


1.Rx Bandits - Mandala

Favorite Track : "My Lonesome Only Friend"


2.Dirty Projectors - Bitte Orca

Favorite Track : "Temecula Sunrise"


3.Portugal. The Man - The Satanic Satanist

Favorite Track : "Mornings"


4.The Flaming Lips - Embryonic

Favorite Track: "Worm Mountain"


5.Big D & the Kids Table - Fluent In Stroll

Favorite Tracks: "Describing the Sky", "I I I", "Down Around Here"

Honorable Mentions;
Grizzly Bear - The Veckatamist
Soulive - Up Here
Animal Collective - Fall Be Kind EP
The Mars Volta - Octahedron
Everytime I Die - New Junk Aesthetic

Rx Bandits was my far and away favorite but the rest were kinda tricky. I wrestled between Dirty Projectors and Portugal. The Man, and although The Satanic Satanist has more staying power for me, I ultimately think Bitte Orca is the superior album. What initially caught my attention and ended up setting them apart for me was the excellent use of the human voice and harmony. The beautiful and intricate arrangements that David Longsreth and the crew put together in the name of pop music is just outstanding.

Embryonic was everything I didn't know I wanted from the Flaming Lips. They brought back their noisey past by way of kraut-rock inspired grooves. The fearless and dramatic turn that the Lips took really defines why they are one of my favorite bands.



The Veckatamist was close to making the cut but I had to give it to Fluent In Stroll. Big D really went for it with this record and it fucking payed off. Its a shame, but Big D is really the only band doing something new and creative with ska. But be warned, although ska influenced, it is by no means a ska record. What it is, is a record full of sunny and up-beat inventiveness.



Octahedron, which I thought was just ok at first, has grown on me quite a bit. Although not my favorite Volta, its a new side of them and makes for a great record in their long discography. The new Animal Collective EP is also great with "What Would I Want Sky" being down-right infectious.

What ended up winning me over this year were the bands that did something new and progressive with their sound. All the records in my top 5 are departures from the respective artists usual sound. This sense of freshness and exploration is what I love in music, and these bands really embodied it this year.

New Portugal. The Man

One of my favorite bands in the world, Portugal. The Man, is putting out a new record, The Satanic Satanist , in July and I couldn't be more excited. Not only from them putting on one of the best shows I've seen or my being completely enthralled with each of their albums, but also from their new track "People Say" which you can download here.

This song just gets me all excited for the continuing evolution that is their sound. With each album they've completely reinvented their sound and each time for the best, with time being no exception I'm sure.

They also have some more previews up on their website (http://www.portugaltheman.com), but I'm holding out to hear the album in its entirety. This album also has some insane packaging which I won't even try to explain. Just take a look;