Tagged: stars

[Post-Chella] Edition three.

coachella camp site

And finally, I’m back. I’m not going to lie, Tuesday was an incredibly rough start.

A scratchy throat to wake up with, a looming inbox that I keep trying to prolong taking care of, and realizing I barely have anything to eat in the cupboards. As fast as Coachella did arrive on the calendar, it no sooner got the fuck out and dropped me back into reality.

I really hate writing recaps of these sorts of experiences. Sometimes, I just don’t want to reflect. I want to keep the good memories alive and well within my head. But, I feel there’s such a bad stereotype on these things. I think a lot of my friends believe I’m crazy for going year after year, buying the tickets almost 365 days in advance, and spending hellishly hot days out in the desert sun.

It’s no secret that these festivals are on the pricey side of things. They even offer installment payment plans. But you get what you pay for. Hundreds of live acts from an eclectic array of musicians. I can go from hardcore hip-hop to fuzzy, lo-fi bedroom rock and old school legends in the matter of a handful of hours. All within walking distance on lush, isolated polo grounds – this place is painstakingly put together from the art installations to the flow of traffic, they do a wonderful job.

One of my favorite things about this now-becoming-annual-trip is the camping. Coming from gritty Philadelphia to panoramic Southern California really opens my eyes and has become a fun getaway. Sure, waking up before 7 am every day solely due to the fact that you’re baking inside your tent can probably get old but the element of roughing it up for the next 4-5 days with plenty of friends is enough to make me forget.

Being an extremely obsessed music lover, I’m always asked who I’m going to see. There’s definitely plenty of artists I’d love to see live…but I know chances are that it probably won’t happen. I found the best way to enjoy myself is to go with the flow, have a rough idea but always be open to plan B.

So, here were my favorites from the weekend.

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[Music Video] LA – SURES

This past summer I randomly stumbled upon one of Australia’s cutest four piece, a young group with a massively mature surf-pop sound.

With ju

st a quick 5-track EP to their name, SURES have been stirring up quite the scene back in their homeland proving they’ve got a hell of a lot more left in them. Be sure to listen to their debut and check out their new music video for the track, “LA.”

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The sun goes over the sea, I hear her talking in her sleep.

They’re cute, have fabulous pop melodies and that warm, lo-fi 60′s sound. Of course I dig everything abut them.

Meet the SURES, a young four-piece based out of Sydney, Australia. With their 5-track EP released back in March, they’ve sure drawn some attention even getting on the WAVVES tour last month. Being freshly inked to record label, Ivy League, keep an eye on them for a proper EP release coming soon. Until then, give Stars a thorough listen below.

Meet Stars.

I write these “Meet so and so” posts frequently because I truly believe you need to listen to a particular artist. I almost always pull the music from something personal. Each and every artist I am hung up on is because some song of theirs has affected me for some emotional/mental reason or another.

The band Stars has been there in my life before the tender age of 18 years old and I feel I have to share their music.

Before there was Arcade Fire, before my obsession with Land of Talk …no, these Canadians had my heart first.  Once upon a time, when I was a faithful subscriber of Paste Magazine, I was introduced to Stars through my monthly sampler (and it was physical damnit) with the track, “Your Ex-lover is Dead.” I always felt the intro was exactly what the band onboard of the Titanic would be playing while it was sinking.

Ever since then?  Love.

I don’t have to convince you that the back and forth boy/girl vocals are solid.  Nah, you’ll fall in love just listening to these songs.   Torquil Campbell and Amy Millan’s voices just blend perfectly together, not once needing the support of the other, strong enough to stand alone.  And members are also part of famed Broken Social Scene.  I wish there was more hype on their last year’s The Five Ghosts…just download.

Your Ex-Lover Is Dead – Set Yourself On Fire

Take Me To The Riot – Set Yourself On Fire

Fixed – The Five Ghosts

Dead Hearts – The Five Ghosts

Right-click and enjoy.