Skip to main content

Ascending Melody: Dirty Projectors - "Climax" @ Triple J (Usher & Diplo)



I first discovered Brooklyn's premier Indie Rock experimentalists, Dirty Projectors, quite a few years ago; Right around the same time that frontman Dave Longstreth decided to re-record an entire Black Flag record from memory (2007). The band's line-up seems to morph/permeate a little bit with each album and has previously included cats like Angel Deradoorian, Ezra Koenig, Rostam Batmanglij (Vampire Weekend), Adam Forkner, and former-drummer Brian McOmber. Dirty Projectors-13's latest line-up consists of Longstreth, Nat Baldwin, Michael Johnson, and the sultry 3-part harmonies of Amber Coffman/Haley Dekle/Jenn Wasner Olga Bell. I guess I'd almost describe their overall sound as some sort of post-Destiny's Child R&B crooning. Case in point: "Stillness Is The Move," which Beyoncé's little sister Solange just so happened to cover, too. I just ordered used copies of Rise Above, Bitte Orca, and Swing Lo Magellan from Amazon and so should you, if you're slackin'!


Dirty Projectors are currently over in Australia, touring behind their latest album, Swing Lo Magellan (2012). Dave Longstreth and the girls stopped by Triple J [radio] on their day off... where they performed a laid-back rendition of Usher's recent Electro-R&B smash, "Climax" as part of the station's notorious Like a Version series. It's mildly reminiscent of their a capella take of "When The World Comes to an End" backstage @ Fallon or breath-taking Roots-assisting album opener, "A Peace of Light." When compared side-by-side against either Usher Raymond's original recording or even Dave Sitek's glitched out remix, Dirty Projector's spirited "Climax" cover really manages to hold it's own! The stripped down 808 drum-based instrumental let's Longstreth/Coffman's smooth, complimentary vocals, which add another layer of depth [emotion], shine through. But check out Dave Longstreth's latest creation, "Hi Custodian," a 20-minute short film and companion piece to Swing Lo Magellan. It's a surreal narrative about life, death, and spiritual re-birth that was inspired by Purple Rain/Runaway, which co-stars his fellow Dirty Projectors in various roles. The film has since been broken down into 4 shorter music videos: "The Socialites," "Swing Lo Magellan," "Offspring Are Blank," and "About to Die."

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

"Let Me Shine for You:" Lindsay Lohan for Playboy (Winter 2011-12 Leak)

Lindsay Lohan essentially embodies exactly "What NOT to Do In Hollywood :" Fame, fortune, success... sex, drugs & Rock "N" Roll . Within a fairly short period of time, Lohan somehow managed to obtain a plentiful helping of POWER @ a very young age. This gradual rise-downfall was captured on film; Between 1998-2010, she portrayed a wide array of roles across the silver screen in movies including: Mean Girls, Bobby , Herbie Fully Loaded , Georgia Rule, Machete , and Freaky Friday . Between rapid-paced film shoots, Lindsay Lohan also found time to record 2 Pop Rock albums for Casablanca , Speak (2004) and A Litter More Personal-Raw (2005). Needless to say, Lindsay Lohan has gotten roped up in a lot of troubles and woes with the law over the last 3-5 years... a vicious cycle of drugs, arrest, court, rehab, "daddy issues," jail time [Repeat]. That's the pure basics of it - But Google that shit for additional info, if necessary. Towards the end of...
1 comment
Read more

[W]reckless, Topless American Youth: Lana del Rey - "Born 2 Die" (Britney Spears Birthday 30)

Lana del Rey [Lizzy Grant] effectively became 2011's "It Girl" with the release of her phenomenal debut single, "Video Games" (Stranger) . Like many struggling singer-songwriters, Grant has been signed, dropped, and significantly changed her public image since bursting onto the scene (2009). With that said, it can be assumed that Lana del Rey has collected just as many "haters" as she has avid supporters. To be perfectly honest, the only other artist I can think of that made this much commotion... garnered so much wide-spread buzz/hate and critical acclaim -- right out of the gates -- with just one track is Britney Spears . And maybe in this post- Mike musical era, that's the true synthesis of Pop Culture: Britney Lynn Spears . After months of repeated teasing and speculation, Lana del Rey 's major label debut, Born 2 Die will [finally] be released this coming Jan. 30-31, 2012. Pitchfork reports that it will feature "Off to The Ra...
3 comments
Read more

Liberty Bell Cracked In 1/2: Ween - "Freedom of '76" (Gene Ween's Final Send-Off)

Chocolate & Cheese (1994) was one of the first albums I bought with my own money. I was in some sort of BMG Music Club , where you'd buy 5 CD's and then get 10 for "FREE." It was all sent through mail order and you picked the titles from some special booklet. I'm almost positive that Chocolate & Cheese's side boob-baring album cover was what initially drew me in... mind you, I was 12-15 and the zany Ween logo/middle finger CD graphic really didn't hurt either. Honestly, I forget how I really felt about it @ the time, but a few years later, my older cousin Josh told me that Ween were this BIG college "jam band." CKY did some sort pf 93.3 radio takeover to promote their new album and played "Freedom of '76" late that night on air. Needless to say, I re-visited Chocolate & Cheese @ about 20-something this go 'round and I fucking loved it! Ween were really weird, yet talented... almost too talented. I can vaguel...
1 comment
Read more