On Repeat - 9/29(ish)/2010

New weekly feature of the three songs I can't stop listening to.

Matt & Kim - Cameras

Last summer, I went to see Matt & Kim’s free concert at Pier 54. It was the first concert I ever went to completely alone and it was at the time (and might still be) one of the best times I’ve ever had at a show. Their new single “Cameras” from their soon-to-be-released third album Sidewalks is another infectiously happy tune with a catchy tuba riff and a call for everyone to enjoy the here and now.

The Drums – When I Come Home

It took me longer than most to get into The Drums because honestly, the phrases “surf pop” and “band from Brooklyn” are so redundant these days. But what I forgot was that I really like surf pop and bands from Brooklyn. If The Beach Boys were still in their 20s and living in Bushwick, they might sound something like this.

The Vaselines – Sex With An X

This duo certainly took a long time to come out with a second album. I can’t pretend I knew about The Vaselines back in the early 90s when Kurt Cobain was singing their praises (he said they were his “most favorite songwriters in the whole world”), but the title track of their latest effort makes me wish I did. This ironically joyful song is (obviously) about that masochistic tendency that we are all guilty of.

You Should Know About Mirah

I was at a loss about who to write about for this week’s You Should Know About. Luckily on my walk home today I let my iPod do what it wanted and “Generosity” by Mirah came on.

Mirah is like a more electro Regina Spektor plus a less angry Fiona Apple. She’s by no means new to the music scene, having released her first album Storageland in 1997, but I’m surprised at the lack of recognition she receives. Her songs are unique yet sing-able and the lyrics capture thoughts of childhood innocence (“this makes me wanna spin ‘round in the yard”) and adolescent vacillation (“if we sleep together would it make it any better”). She also has one hell of a remix album. Joyride: Remixes contains many tracks that come across better than the originals (in the playlist below, “La Familia” is the remixed version). Chick rock fans – give this veteran your overdue attention.

This Week's Show: Foals at Bowery Ballroom/Music Hall of Williamsburg

This week was almost another toss-up between Best Coast at Music Hall of Williamsburg on Thursday, September 30th and Foals at Bowery Ballroom/Music Hall of Williamsburg on Friday, October 1st/Saturday, October 2nd but (and I hate to say this) Best Coast failed to impress me last time I saw her. I went to her free gig at South Street Seaport over the summer and it just seemed like the band was disconnected and tired. Granted it was insanely hot and sweaty and they were playing in front of Free Energy, which is an indecent arrangement of set times if there ever was one, but if there is one thing I ask from performers it’s that they act like they are having a good time up there. I’m still a Best Coast die-hard, so hopefully the indoor, ticketed gig will restore my faith in the girl.

But This Week’s Show has to go to Foals. The British band is coming to Bowery Ballroom and Music Hall of Williamsburg at the end of this week as part of their North American tour in support of their incredible second album Total Life Forever. It’s no secret that I harbor an intense desire to recreate the Skins Secret Party, so I can’t wait to dance it out in one of my favorite venues (MHOW) on Saturday. I also plan on getting in some heavy eye-flirting time with the lead singer.

You Should Know About Foals

Continuing with the trend of rolling out weekly features, the You Should Know About section of the site will now be a weekly thing wherein I hope to introduce you to a new artist you may not have heard about. Every Tuesday I’ll provide a quick overview in the form of a three song playlist (that you can play right here on the page) accompanied by a few of my own thoughts.

OK, so you really should have known about Foals for a while now, but I’m playing a bit of catch up. They are British, they are cute, and they can pull off eyeliner.

I was first turned on to Foals after I saw the Skins Secret Party video and immediately wanted to take off all my clothes and do a bunch of drugs in an abandoned castle in the woods. Their song “Hummer” is featured in the video (as well as the boys themselves) and it's a pulsating riot inducer.

The band has since released Total Life Forever, a Mercury Prize nominated second album that is more ethereal and liquid-y than their debut Antidotes, but just as good.

Photo courtesy of IM // UR.

This Week’s Show: Pavement at SummerStage OR Ra Ra Riot at Bowery Ballroom/Music Hall of Williamsburg

First things first: I’m back. I went away for a while and didn’t blog because I was feeding starving children in Africa (or some other lie that gives you a good opinion of me). Anyway, I’m finally getting off my butt and making a promise to myself to update Infinity Yeah more often. I’m starting by debuting a fancy new custom domain (www.infinityyeah.com) so update your RSS readers and bookmarks! If you don’t, you will still be redirected here, so no sweat. I’m also debuting a slew of new weekly features this week starting with Monday’s column: This Week’s Show. I go to a lot of shows (duh) here in NYC so every Monday I’ll blog my picks for the show that you really shouldn’t be missing this week. Even if I don’t attend a concert in a given week, I still have a good idea of which bands are in town and where they’re playing.

This week is a little bit of a toss up. Pavement played the Williamsburg Waterfront last night and they play Central Park’s SummerStage for like the rest of the week starting tomorrow, Tuesday. Tickets for the band’s reunion went on sale last August and sold out in about 5 minutes so hopefully you remember where you’ve kept your tickets for the past year (mine managed to remain safe through an apartment move so I’m golden). I guess I should be a little bit more excited for this show, but I really only listen to Pavement because too many friends keep on insisting how important they are. Pitchfork agrees with my mates as well: they recently named the band’s “Gold Soundz” as the toppest track of the 1990s. I’ll be at the show on Tuesday, but it would be more exciting if this truly were the reunion show. It was when they announced it, but since the tickets went on sale, Pavement has been touring almost nonstop everywhere but NYC. Honestly, seeing them at Coachella was probably enough for me. Might ditch them for the Wavves/The Babies show that snuck up on the Music Hall of Williamsburg calendar.

Speaking of Coachella, if you read my horrible recap, you’ll know that seeing Ra Ra Riot was one of the highlights of the weekend for me. This week, the band is playing 2 shows at Bowery Ballroom (Tuesday and Wednesday) and another 2 at Music Hall of Williamsburg (Thursday and Friday) in support of their new album The Orchard. I’ve been listening to the album for the past couple weeks and I think that it’s a great sophomore album that shows the natural evolution of a talented young band. It’s a more mature sound than they've expressed before and while I miss the bouncy playfulness that The Rhumb Line possessed, I’m anxious for Ra Ra Riot’s excellent live performance to give me a renewed enthusiasm for an album that should be the perfect soundtrack for the city’s slow descent into fall. Really can't wait to hear “Dying Is Fine” though!

UPDATE: While writing this post, I find out that my all-time favorite band Yeah Yeah Yeahs is playing an intimate anniversary gig on Wednesday night? In the forests of Brooklyn? Oh man…

Photo of Pavement courtesy of Gothamist.

Photo of Ra Ra Riot courtesy of BrooklynVegan.