'Kids' : The Deep Red Sky [Cover]

Covers are a bit of a fascination for me. This one hit my inbox yesterday– it's a cover of "Kids" by MGMT by a Scottish band called The Deep Red Sky. For one, MGMT is one of those bands that I never think about as lending itself to covers because they have such a distinctive sound, but that's partly why I enjoyed this version so much. It's unexpected. The Deep Red Sky gives the song a much softer treatment in the beginning and eventually revs up by the end. The slowed pace, the gentler instrumentation, the sweeter harmonies, the fact you really have the chance to listen to the words– these qualities make for an interesting cover. The single will be available for download Oct. 7. Check it out.

The Musically Inclined's Top 10 Discoveries of 2008

Well, here we are again at the end of another year. 2008 definitely got some mixed reviews music-wise, but from TMI's standpoint, it did alright for itself-- nothing too mind-blowing, but not a write-off either. After all, last year there was The National, The Shins and Radiohead, to name a few reasons why 2007 was a good year to launch a music blog. Not the easiest acts to follow. On the flip side, this year gave us new bands like Fleet Foxes, Death Cab's sixth release, and tons of backlash controversy to last us all a few decades (or weeks in the music world). But enough of that, the 2007 ship has long sailed and 2008 is pulling out of the harbor as we speak.

The songs that made it on this list have some mix of uniqueness, substance and addictive appeal, which ultimately meant surviving the shuffle of new music at TMI, but this year, we're doing things slightly different. Top 10 Discoveries formerly covered anything that had been (wait for it) discovered that year regardless of release date, but this time around the list is pure 2008. So then, what does "discoveries" have to do with it if it's just one more "best of" list? Glad you asked. All the artists on this list were previously unheard of, or rather, un-listened to before Jan. 08.

Crafty, yes? So crafty, I wound up shafting some of my own staple bands/artists who had releases this year like Death Cab for Cutie and Coldplay, plus neglecting the new finds from years past, like "Grace Kelly" by Mika. That said, let's take a moment to silently pay our respects.........awesome, thanks.

Moving on, some of these have yet to be mentioned on these lovely virtual pages, but that doesn't mean those write ups aren't on their way-- so, no worries.

Here now are The Musically Inclined's Top 10 Discoveries of 2008.

1. A Question of Trust : Their Hearts Were Full of Spring

Hands down, the best find of the year. This little indie band from the U.K. features some of the prettiest sounds you'll hear-- romantic and sprightly, but hearty and sincere. Though technically, this is their anti-Tony Blair statement, there's no bitterness there, only verbally and musically articulated warning while managing to radiate upbeat vibes. Listen


2. Use Somebody : Kings of Leon

2008 saw a bit of a revival in southern rock. MMJ is cool, but Jim James' vocals just don't do it for me. Kings of Leon, on the other hand, have the right amount of gruffness and grit. "Use Somebody" takes you to a moment on the brink of something just out of reach, amid wistful "ooh woa"s that fly by like blurred headlights. These guys are further proof that there's more to Nashville than tired commercial country. Listen


3. He Didn't Know Why : Fleet Foxes

The overall sound of Fleet Foxes is an intriguing blend of ethereal and rustic. "He Didn't Know Why" exemplifies a certain quality in their music that is so difficult to pinpoint. Piano, drums, guitars, and those mid-range vocals have a clarity to them making Fleet Foxes possibly the earthiest new band of the year. Listen


4. It's You : Pictures and Sound

Think Jack Johnson's lyrical sensibilities and Mat Kearney's vocals, but with slicker, more stylized instrumentation. This song specifically, is a really great groove plus a good balance of bass and lighter, flickering, stringed sounds. Listen


5. Fragments of Green : The Travelling Band

The accordion alone is enough to grab anyone by the heart, but then the harmonies kick in, the song builds in the repetition of the chorus and you're just finished. It's a great way to spend five minutes. The Travelling Band sounds like the tussle that would ensue if Nickel Creek and The Shins got tangled up in a wheat field. Vaguely retro, just a bit rootsy, but ultimately timeless. Listen


6. Electric Feel : MGMT

MGMT captures a 60s psychedelic rock vibe with shuffling, uninhibited, primal pulses accented with clear, flute-like synth. Plus, it weathers successive listens well. "Electric Feel" 's biggest offense has nothing to do with what the pair (Andrew Vanwyngarden and Ben Goldwasser) might have been smoking while recording it, but more to do with how it never seems to last long enough. Listen


7. A-Punk : Vampire Weekend

Quirky and spunky, Vampire Weekend had some of the freshest sounds to emanate from the predictable college music machine in a long time. Never mind if you can hardly understand a word lead singer Ezra Koenig says, between "oh"s and zippy guitar riffs, "A-Punk" is pretty catchy. More prep than you can stand? Never. Listen


8. Buildings and Mountains : Republic Tigers

Spin called these guys "glossy electro-folk" and I'll second that description. Seems I've had a penchant for dashes of ethereal in music this year. In any case, the song flows in hypnotic, computer generated waves, making for an enjoyable and atmospheric tune. Listen


9. Sing Again : Chris Walla

There's a simplicity to "Sing Again," not only in the mild instrumentation and airy vocals, but in the call for engagement in one's world. "A life packed full of mindless joy, is not easy to enjoy." Hard to argue with that. Listen


10. Skinny Love : Bon Iver

Bon Iver has been one of the bigger breakouts of 2008, it seems. Lord knows, For Emma, Forever Ago has been on just about every "best of" list I've seen so far. Again, the simplicity is highly appealing. Iver shifts from the high vocals down to the forcefulness of the chorus and its effect is mildly jarring, but jarring in a deliberate way. Plus, the banjo adds a compelling shade to the song. Listen



Happy listening.

Erin

Thirteen Minutes with MGMT

Well, hello there. Long time no see, but with all this Olympic business, who has time to do anything but speculate about Bob Costas's hair and marvel at how a hundredth of a second can actually matter?

Actually, it's just been a slow week with just two minor pieces of news. The Killers named their album Day and Age. Sounds terribly exciting. The other scrap is about MGMT. Apparently they've released a thirteen-minute song called "Metanoia." Rolling Stone sounds like they're ready to pee themselves with excitement. We'll see. So far it's only available on iTunes and a mere three minutes can be seen in a live version on a YouTube video. The quality of the video is not great so at this point it's hard to say if the song is anything more than discord. About a minute in my patience left me. The song is described as having a lot of different sections instead of the traditional verse-chorus. Oh, MGMT...

MGMT: Saline IV Not Included

As many of you know, Bonnaroo wrapped up on Sunday, and while The Musically Inclined didn't get its butt over to Manchester, TN for four shower-less days of non-stop music, the internet made it pretty easy to stay in the loop while avoiding a veritable smorgasbord of infections and hippie sweat. Early on in the coverage, Rolling Stone posted a couple videos featuring a Brooklyn duo by the name of MGMT. By now MGMT has played Letterman, made it onto a few "artists to watch lists," and of course debuted their first full-length release, Oracular Spectacular. In other words, they've been anointed.

After watching said video, I started investigating. The duo humbly proclaims on their web site that they are "celebrating the grand re-opening of the third eye the world with Oracular Spectacular, [their] much-anticipated first full-length album, an enigmatic and prophetic collection of hallucinatory sounds and hook-riddled pop tones for the new millennium," all this amid a cheeseburger-tiled background. I hate to break it to these kids, but synth was not exactly the baby of recreational drug use. In any case Andrew Vanwyngarden and Ben Goldwasser are diehard about their psychedelic pop/rock. If the web site isn't maddening enough with the strange squares that follow your mouse around and its visual assault on your eyes, check out their music videos.

The video for "Electric Feel" is some kind of forest commune/ Lord of the Flies on acid, featuring a Chuck E. Cheese-esque band of animatronic woodland creatures. At one point the merry clan of stoners pulls the moon out of the sky and Vanwyngarden cuts it open to allow this sparkly, color-changing nail polish type goo to spill out. The scene is vaguely reminiscent of that scene for Un Chien Andalou (you know what I'm talking about. Ick.) It's trippyness is only surpassed by the video for "TIme to Pretend" which is an absolute hallucinogenic mess, including the giant cat that runs across the screen with Vanwyngarden on its back.

As far as the music itself, the vocals are nothing to write home about, they feel stretched and whiny at times though on a few songs it sounds as if they're channeling a little Mick Jagger. MGMT admits that in college they used more experimental sounds, like turntables hooked up to pedals, etc. but on this album stuck mainly to keyboard, drums, electric guitar, bass, and synth so they could replicate the sound on stage. "Electric Feel" is probably their best. It captures that 60's retro vibe well and has a shuffling, pulsing beat accented at times with clear, flute-like synth. It's not at all bad. In fact it's getting to be addictive, for lack of a better word. "Time to Pretend" comes off as a cross between a lament and proclamation of their chosen path in life. " Yeah it's overwhelming, but what else can we do? Get jobs in offices and wake up for the morning commute?" Unfortunately the rest of the songs on their Myspace didn't quite measure up, but perhaps upon further inspection my idea might change.

I'm curious to see where MGMT winds up. Drug use has long been intertwined with popular music, producing mixed but typically determinate results. They've got a set mission and a clear penchant for whimsy as well as a desire to tap into that late 60s counterculture of "openmindedness" and life without mental limits. The unfortunate side of things is one they allude to in "Time to Pretend" when they say "this is our decision, to live fast and die young." Back in the day, the expiration age seemed to be around 27 for far too many folks.

In the meantime, MGMT is worth checking out...just maybe not if you're epileptic.