Friday Five: 1st 1/4 2010 Highlights!

You guys, it's already April! That means that a quarter of the year has passed us by. Fortunately for the keen music fan, there has been lots of great new stuff to soak in through our ears. We've already had great new releases by Hot Chip, Owen Pallett (formerly Final Fantasy), Vampire Weekend, Spoon and MGMT (oh what? it's not out till next week...LEAK ALERT). Plus I've stumbled upon new interests, like Das Racist whose reference-laden rap makes me smile. Their mixtape/album is well worth the free download.

And there is so much more too look forward to in the coming months: LCD Soundsystem are releasing LP3, 'This is Happening', on May 18 in North America and Wolf Parade are dropping their next one, 'Expo '86', in June or July (fingers crossed for June). Broken Social Scene have new record, 'Forgiveness Rock Record', coming out May 4 which I'm sure will be another epic based on these tracks. Not to mention every morning I check the interwebs hoping for some piece of information about highly anticipated LP3 by Arcade Fire - tipped to appear later in the summer.

Enough talking, these songs are all objectively great.

LISTEN / TELL YOUR FRIENDS:

LCD Soundsystem - Drunk Girls

MGMT - Flash Delerium

Hot Chip - I Feel Better

Owen Pallett - Lewis Takes Off His Shirt (Dan Deacon Remix)

Das Racist - You Oughta Know

Spoon - I Saw the Light

New Chiddy Bang Video "Opposite of Adults"

I've talked about Chiddy Bang on here before, particularly this track where producer Xaphoon Jones does a great re-inventing of 'Kids' by MGMT. They have now released a very fun video to accompany the track just ahead of the UK release of their EP out February 22nd.



And if you are at all interested in how they made the video's visuals, we were just sent over a 'Making of' video for the track.

Behind the Scenes: Opposite of Adults from LOOSEWORLD on Vimeo.

Hip-Hop Hipsters and their mixtapes

The best hip-hop right now is coming from the unsigned and underground. No question. That's right 50 cent, your album sucks. Upon my return from some epic surfing in Tofino I came across these tracks to add to my November playlist. Chiddy Bang, who have been mentioned before on BTA, have recently released their mixtape The Swelly Express. Available in it's entirety on their myspace. I think one of the guys left the group...I'm not really sure. Let's just say he did and you can correct me. Xaphoon Jones kills it with the beats he forms from the likes of MGMT, Passion Pit, and now this one from Sufjan Stevens. These are not mash-ups for the most part. Xaphoon really takes the song and makes it his own.

Next is Wiz Khalifa, a new name for myself at least, only hearing about him recently. His mixtape, Burn After Rolling has a pretty good track with him rhyming over Empire of the Sun. The rest of it is.. so-so. I mean what's with the DJ drops man? You know I hate those. And probably could have done without the shout outs to your twitter followers. I think I am just really liking how the new face of hip-hop is showing that they are definatley aware of what's going on in the other realms of music and harnessing it.

Chiddy Bang - All things go (w/Sufjan Stevens)

Wiz Khalifa - The Thrill

KiD CuDi + Ratatat = Goodness

Anyone who has read BTA for a while knows that we (well..myself at least) are huge fans of electro beat masters Evan Mast and Mike Stroud, also known as RATATAT. So ever since I heard the slightest whisper that the Brooklyn duo may appear on KiD CuDi's 'Man on the Moon' LP I've been waiting...watching..wondering. And wait no more as I finally got a chance to hear the two tracks with the instantly recognizable RATATAT sound with CuDi's flow layered over top. The trademark synthed out guitar riff which calls back to CuDi's chorus line on 'Alive' got me right away. 'Pursuit of happiness' presents a more laid back beat centered around one of their simplistic piano lines. As an added incentive on this track, MGMT also make an appearance, singing in unison with Cudi on the chorus. Finally, after two mixtape albums, a hip-hop artist has finally decided to work with Ratatat on an official release. This seems like an obvious choice to me, no? I'm hoping this is the first of many high-profile collaborations for the guys and we get a regular fix of new RATATAT from now on. Be sure to catch the boys performing live with Cudi on their first ever late night performance for Lettermen on Friday night. 'Man on the Moon' drops September 15th.


KiD CuDi - Alive (feat. RATATAT)

KiD CuDi - Pursuit of Happiness (feat. RATATAT & MGMT)

Chiddy Bang

I’ve had a bit of a BTA hiatus this summer whilst working in the fjords of Norway. With an interweb connection that works depending on the weather in a house that pretty much used to be a brothel. So I’m going to try to make up for some lost time. Seems like I’m a little behind on this one, but I’m sure Chiddy Bang would have been part of my summer playlist if I had heard them earlier. Just when you thought you couldn’t stand to hear any more re-works of MGMT, these hip-hop hipsters from Philly drop a mixtape beat sampled from ‘Kids’ to get you bobbing. Lyrically, this track I find is hit and miss. But I’d be lying if I said I didn’t like the beat. I don’t know much about these guys but they seem to be making the rounds lately due to their new era indie rock sampling. Along with this track they also put their own spin on Passion Pit’s “Truth” and have taken a little something from the book of Radiohead in their live performances. These precision cut samples are largely credited to producer Xaphoon Jones, who along with working with the Chiddy Bang boys also dropped his own mixtape this summer. I’m looking forward to some more hipster beats from both these camps as well as seeing what else these guys have to offer besides chopping up indie favorites.

Chiddy Bang – Kids (Feat. MGMT)

Chiddy Bang – Truth (Feat. Passion Pit)

Walking On A Dream

The Sydney duo that makes up Empire of the Sun is not to be confused with it's 1987 movie counterpart of the same name. Which oddly enough I am watching on TV as I write this post. Ben Stiller's in it..but he's not very funny so far. And so is Batman! Anyways, Luke Steele and Nick Littlemore have created one of the most impressive debut albums I have heard as of late. The production is fantastic with the highlight being the oh so crisp vocals. The ten track album starts off strong with instantly loveable tracks like Walking on a Dream, and We are the People. There is little filler here as each of the other tracks have grown on me with each listen. I think it's safe to say that fans of MGMT, which at this point would seem to be everyone, will thoroughly enjoy this album, which in fact is meant to be a concept album based around the cult film 'The Holy Mountain'. The singles have been all over Australian radio for months and are currently featured downloads on itunes UK, but I'm not even sure if this album has seen a North American release yet. If the Star Wars / Dali-esque album art is'nt enough to peak your interest. Perhaps the video will.




Empire of the Sun - We are the People

Review - BCK IN MTL w/ MGMT

Let me set the stage; a concert hall, 2000 seats, and anticipation that filled the air. With all the hype surrounding the show, the audience was thirsty for a Beck fix. Montreal is known for its love of all things Beck, so you can be sure this show was sold out before it went on sale. Luckily, I discovered this interweb classified site by the name of Kijiji. Moreso, the seller only asked for face value since she had made a mistake in ordering 4 tickets as opposed to 2.

MGMT did their thing in warming up the crowd. These guys sound great live, but lack the show aspect. I know they'll learn a thing or two from Mr. Hansen.

Beck's set speaks for itself. It was a good mix of old and new and Beck proved that truly has fun playing. Opening with "Loser" set the night off in style. Not a person was left seated after the first note. 25 song sets are rare, but he pulled it off with ease. In an act of appreciation, he invited the MGMT boys back at the end of his set for 2 covers and "Where it's At". The encore had everyone humming, whistling or singing "NA, NA, nanana NA!" out the door.

Setlist:

Loser
Nausea
Girl
Timebomb
Devil's Haircut
Soul of a Man
Mixed Bizness
Nicotine & Gravy
Guero
Hell Yes
Black Tambourine
Think I'm In Love
Modern Guilt
Orphans
Walls
Missing
Chemtrails
Lost Cause
The 15th (by Wire, cover)
Planet Queen (T.Rex, cover)
The Wind Cries Mary (Jimi Hendrix, cover)
Leopard-Skin Pill-Box Hat (Bob Dylan, cover)
Where It's At
------------------------------
ENCORE:
Gamma Ray
E-Pro

Beck - Gamma Ray

Friday Five: Weekend Entertainment Edition

So, I was wracking my brain trying to come up with something original or interesting for the Friday Five; this is the result.  Feeling inspired by all the shows I'm going to see in the next few days I decided to feature a track from each artist, off their latest albums.  Here's my schedule for Thursday through Monday: 

Thursday, Oct. 2nd, Chad Vangaalen and Women at Zaphods in Ottawa.  This was an extremely inpressive show.  It's very hard to fill Zaphods on any day at 9:00, but this lineup was able to pull in a very good crowd.  Both acts responded well.   Women put on a lo-fi inspired set with excellent guitar harmonies.  Chad managed to silence the crowd with a banjo during the opening song "Willow Tree".  He proceded to play a headless guitar for the rest of the set.  Chad's live show screamed of Neil Young, who better to emulate than transplanted folk-rock extraordinaire.  By the way, Mr. Young will make his way across North America in the next few months.

Chad Vangaalen - Rabid Bits of Time

Women - Black Rice

Saturday, Oct. 4th, Wintersleep at Barrymore's in Ottawa SOLD OUT.  I like Wintersleep and everyone has told me to see them live.  Any past reviews would be greatly appreciated.  Their last album was solid, so here's a great track from Welcome to the Night Sky, no not THAT song that we have heard a million times.

Wintersleep -Laser Beams

Monday, Oct. 6th, Beck and MGMT at Theatre St. Denis in Montreal SOLD OUT.  I haven't been so excited for a show in AGES.  This anticipation is only intensified by the rumours that this may be Beck's last tour.  I have never seen Beck live, but I'm told that he is amazing.  MGMT produced one of my favourite albums of the past year, so I'm excited to see if MGMT can start the party right.

Beck - Volcano

MGMT - Pieces of What

With that, have a great weekend!  I know I will.

Festival Season: Osheaga - Day 2

Day 2 in Montreal was overwhelming to the point where we're only collecting our thoughts over a week later, now that's journalism. Day 2 was the Georges St. Pierre to Day 1's Jon Fitch, or pick your analogy where Day 2 is much, much better. For the record, we caught The Black Keys and Gogol Bordello, though neither for long enough to make any worthwhile commentary here.

The Kills - 4:00-4:45
Grade: B

I’m not too familiar with this UK/US duo, despite having heard their name thrown about in all sorts of publications for several years now. With three full lengths under their belt, The Kills were consistent in their loud but minimal garage jams. They have a definite aesthetic appeal, not trendy really, just a refreshing “we could give two (choice expletive deleted) what you think of us or this song,” which was a pleasant way to start our day after missing Jamie Lidell’s soulful stylings for some Peel Pub $6 pitchers.

The Weakerthans - 4:15-5:00

Grade : C+

The Winnipeg post-punk veterans rocked the Mountain Stage in the late afternoon on Monday. For me, the music was overshadowed by lead man John K. Samson's actions about 'insufficient' set time, highlighted by a seemingly passionate exchange with an Osheaga staffer who I saw yelling from stage left. Despite the organizer's finest efforts to dissuade Samson, he decided that the Weakerthans needed more time on stage then what they were allotted, and the band played on. The songs were done well; it was a standard Weakerthans set. Advice for group for future time-crunched sets; avoid unnecessary (and boring) tangents about "the great game of curling", and you won't have these kind of issues.

MGMT - 5:30-6:15
Grade: B

Adorned with an oversized tie dyed t-shirt and an arsenal of beloved tracks to sing, Andrew VanWyngarden of MGMT led the group in a relatively impressive performance at the Meg Stage. For a band surrounded by a great deal of hype, I found that MGMT came on stage with a refreshing level of modesty. Not too much chatter, just straight up psychedelic hipster indie rock. "Electric Feel" and "Kids" were favorites.

Duffy - 6:45-7:45
Grade: N/A

It was difficult to get a good look at the Welsh vixen from our spot on the grass, but I let my imagination roam. Duffy sounded confident and powerful enough to confirm her press package, though I can’t say she really caught our attention all that much. Where the day previous Sharon Jones barked bold statements and dared you not to pay attention, Duffy approached her set with slightly less bravado and we only stayed for a few songs. Hard to rate this performance based on our attention span at the moment.

The Go! Team – 7:00-8:00
Grade: B+

Ninja and crew took the stage with some authority, albeit some of the samples remained as simply playback to accompany live instruments. This wasn’t the case for every track, and I won’t try and make the argument that their songs should be, or are easily converted into fully fleshed out live tracks. Minor gripes aside, songs like “Grip Like a Vice” and “The Power is On” were catchy as they are on record and the band moved around the stage with the youthful energy they channel so well in song. As a big fan of both of their LP’s, I have no complaints about their live showing. They’re as charismatic as Benny Hinn and Randy Savage put together.

Broken Social Scene - 8:00-9:00

Grade: A

The evening BSS set was one of the most anticipated performances of the day for me. At Osheaga, the ever-changing live version of BSS consisted of its regular core (Kevin Drew, Brendan Canning, Andrew Whiteman of Apostle of Hustle, as well as Amy Millan of Stars, Liam O'Neil from the Stills. And I am sure there were others participating who I did not recognize as well…it is BSS after all. Highlights of the set include "7/4 Shoreline", "Diary Of a 17 Year Old Girl" and "Ibi Dreams of Pavement." Each song built on the next during the set, setting a gorgeous stage for the set's climax; a brilliant and powerfully enhanced version of "Pavement" played as the second last song. However, BSS's finale (an extended version of the already 9:55 minute "It's All Gonna Break") spotlighted Kevin Drew entirely too much, and it took away from the sets momentum in a very unfortunate way. Overall I was surprised by Drew's leadership/dictatorship on stage. Away from his vocal dominance, he presented himself akin to an overzealous high school band conductor, as he waved performers onstage when they had chosen to step aside, introduced members as if they were his own, and acted generally like he was the shit. Truthfully, the set reminded me of eating a cookie with too many chocolate chips in it. It was delicious, but at many points I just wanted to taste the sweet sweet cookie without being bombarded by cheap Kevin Drew cocoa bite after bite.

CSS – 8:30-9:30
Grade: A

The Brazilians, much like The Go! Team before them, brought a pretty bombastic, super-fun-happy-hour kind of set that worked perfectly in the dying light of the evening. Lead singer Lovefoxxx (parents lucked out she didn’t become an adult contemporary Jann Arden type, and yes I know it's a stage name) was pretty wild on stage in her technicolour bodysuit, with tons of running around and that cute Portuguese/Japanese/German/Whatever accent singing “Off the Hook,” “Let’s Make Love,” and new cuts like “Left Behind.” Cansei de Ser Sexy did not disappoint, and along with the Go! Team, buttered up the crowd real nice for the Meg Stage headliners and their bonafied lovin.

Chromeo – 10:00-11:00
Grade: A++

It was epic. A huge crowd chanted in unison when the lights went down. They chanted loud. They even chanted in tune.

CHROME EEE OOOOOO OOOOOOOOOOOOO!

CHROME EEE OOOOOO OOOOOOOOOOOOO!

CHROME EEE OOOOOO OOOOOOOOOOOOO!

Then Boom! The lights came up, and the music started. There was a fancy footwork epidemic spreading rapidly throughout the crowd. Tenderonis everywhere were grinding up on their man lovers. Kitschy dance music was played, and it had never been played better before. Chromeo's set at Osheaga stole the show. The well-traveled dance masters played an unbelievable set in front of a huge hometown crowd, dropping nothing but pure hotness. And best of all, they seemed genuinely happy to be playing at home. If BTA had an achievement award for perfection, Chromeo would be its first and only recipient.

Osheaga, we hardly knew ye. Until next year, hopefully headlined by Chromeo.

- mca & BA

Festival Season: Pemberton Wrap-Up

As I sat on a bus in the traffic in between Whistler and Pemberton, in what major media outlets would later call ‘ a logistical nightmare’, and behind a pickup truck full of shirtless ‘bro’s’, heckling those that took their chances walking, I wondered if this town would still be standing in three days. As I cursed the woman at the media check-in who assured me that the festival grounds were a ten minute walk, I began to realize just how much of a nightmare this could potentially be. Staff and concert goers alike were equally lost in the confusion. So we took it upon ourselves to track down a campsite and settled in a fairly open area at the back of the campgrounds, away from the dust bowls and refugee style tent city area. Well, we had already missed most of the acts of the first day, so drinking seemed like the best way to get down to work. The gracious liquor companies, who saved us from the overpriced beer tents, were more than accommodating to the media. Although I’m not sure I’d say the same for Joe-concert goer. Lines to get into the 19+ areas spanned two or three hours, resulting in some spectacular fence scaling and dashing techniques. I wondered if that’s what the U.S and Mexican border looked like. As I stepped into one of the closed off areas, I found myself surrounded by the seemingly musically challenged and would be Hunter S. Thompson’s. They ranged from fashion magazines to those breakfast radio hosts who make you want to shoot yourself in the face rather than have a cheery start to your morning. All of them going apes shit over seeing the Tragically Hip and Sam Roberts…again! When I mentioned that I was looking forward to covering the likes of Chromeo and MSTRKRFT, I was met more often than not with blank stares. Don’t get me wrong, there were journalists around that border lined hipster-dome, and I don’t expect everyone to be a huge fan of this new indie-electrio dance wave that has been taking the blog world by storm. Hey, I myself am pretty down with Sam Roberts. But is it too much to ask that these people have a general awareness of the new Canadian talent coming up around them? Well maybe not you, hot fashion zine girl, but the music people! Apparently, the answer is yes. That’s cool man, go and sing along to ‘My music at work’. I watched the guy in front of me tip our server with our other national currency, giving me a smile and saying, “It’s gonzo baby”. Better make that two rum and cokes.

I can’t say too much about Chromeo that hasn’t been said about every other performance we’ve seen of them. The sea of people demonstrating their fancy footwork can testify that the boys blew the roof off the tent that night with their own special blend of synth-dance pop that they do so well. Though I will say that it wasn’t as intimate as other shows they have played as they were set up behind what was seemingly an unmovable DJ booth, and separated a few more feet by a security fence. It didn’t seem to phase the dancing though.

The next morning consisted of trying to find some food we could afford, and a line that we could tolerate. We found neither, so we hitchhiked to Pemberton. Someone had spray painted ‘DIRT’ in massive letters right across the four stalls near our campsite. I decided that was a good indication to wait until we got into town. The day consisted of avoiding dust clouds, rum, and the occasional game of hacky sack with neighbors in the camp ground while waiting for the music to begin. Organizers had however begun to pick up the slack from yesterday. Security was tighter, things were getting cleaned, and things seemed a bit more controlled. Mates of State showed they could hit those harmonies and fill the place with sound by means of just the two of them and the occasional help of some strings. The Flaming Lips should play a show where they don’t have massive bubbles floating around and crazy shit blowing up on stage. Where absolutely nothing happens. That would be really unexpected, and would probably mess with the drug-riddled kids even worse. MSTRKRFT took control of the dance party that night, which had been completely charged up by a day of some quality DJ sets. JFK and Al-P kept their usual company of crown royale and cigarettes as they threw down their set. Was that a shout out sample from Ghostface on the intro?



The campgrounds were not as hectic in the early morning hours as I had anticipated, but they were not without character. As one burly dude stumbled around and slumped down on the ground next to me, he mentioned how he didn’t want to see ACDC because they were “fucking head bangers”. It was an appropriate thing to say, as they were not playing at the festival, or anywhere at the time for that matter. He then went on about slitting throats and hobbits or something and proceeded to pass out on top of one of our tents. It was easier to move the tent rather than the guy, and let the medics take care of it.




The final day saw plenty of tired faces as well as those still ready to take in some of the biggest acts of the festival. Vampire Weekend started off the afternoon right, and I really enjoyed the first live performance I’ve seen of them. The airy upbeat sound of ‘Oxford Comma’, and ‘Walcott’ really got fans and new listeners alike bouncing around and set a great mood for the day. I attributed the non-existent encore to the fact that they had played their entire album. The crowd grew restless as N.E.R.D was delayed due to the continuing traffic chaos. When they finally did arrive, they came Chad-less. The guys blamed traffic but this is their second Canadian appearance where he hasn’t shown up. Hmmm I don’t know, but even Jay-Z was telling the crowd that our border security needs to mellow out a bit. Pharell made the best of it by getting as many women on stage as possible, and performing as long as they would allow. I think it was evident to everybody which girl was going to get the backstage tour. And Speaking of Hova, he got the crowd throwing them diamonds up into the night sky. If you’ve seen any footage of Glastonbury, it was pretty much, well, exactly that performance, minus that great rendition of ‘Wonder wall’. I almost forgot, Coldplay was there too.



All in all, it was a pretty good few days up in the mountains. Logistically, yes, there were a number of issues, but that’s to be expected in a festivals inaugural year. Losing MGMT and Brazillian Girls definitely hurt though. With them on the lineup it would’ve been a fairly good balance between the lesser-known acts and the superstars to appease the varying tastes. Pemberton festival has a future, and it is almost definite that it will happen again in 2009. My hope is that it continues to support up and coming artists and gives Canadians the chance to hear something that wasn’t on the top 40 that week. Only time will tell if Pemberton will fall amongst the ranks of the elite festivals, or winds up being a predictable affair with acts you may remember from the 1990’s.

…There was also Guitar Hero and a giant robot spider thing which surely only has one reason to exist. And that is to destroy the human race.

- Matty B.


Surkin ft. Chromeo - Chrome Knight

Remix Sunday

A couple of dance numbers on this most dreary of Sundays (at least in Ottawa). Can't say I've heard the original of the first cut, Jap-pop's not really my thing, but MSTRKRFT's Al-P puts his stamp on this Ayumi Hamasaki song with some thunderous knob twiddling and buzzing synth. If you can't stand the lyrics, which is understandable given the track's dance mix '93 kind of feel, skip to the sweet breakdown at the 2 minute mark. Not for everybody, but worth a listen.

Ayumi Hamasaki - Beautiful Fighters (MSTRKRFT Remix)

Justice do MGMT? Sounds like a decent combination, no? I like it better than the original, a lot more actually.

MGMT - Electric Feel (Justice Remix)

- BA

MGMT featured on Late Late Show

MGMT played a somewhat sedated version of 'Weekend Wars' on Monday night's Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson. Nice bandanas, boys.



Contrast the above with this rather lively version of 'Kids' from their SXSW performance:



I hope their performances at Glastonbury and Reading draw more from Figure B than Figure A.

MGMT - Pieces of What

- a.m.p.m.

Contest: MGMT Signed Vinyl

So everyone in the whole world knows about MGMT by now. But not everyone has a signed copy of Oracular Spectacular. BTA does. Two, actually.

But we're really nice. And so is Red Ink, who hooked us up. So, if you want one of them, send us an email. Title that email "please please please please please". Include your mailing address. Also include how much you love us. Be descriptive. Contest closes at noon on April 15th.

We also have a couple (two) runner-up prizes: a package including Oracular Spectacular on CD, an MGMT poster, and some ssssweet stickers.

Speaking of MGMT and April 15th - they're hitting the Mod Club in Toronto that night. Tickets here. Full tour dates here.

And... here are a few tracks that you won't find on that album - vintage MGMT for the folks back home.

MGMT - Just Becuz
MGMT - Indie Rokkers
MGMT - Kids (Afterschool Dance Mega Mix)

Oh, and check out this insane Youtube user footage of Andrew and Ben from MGMT drunk and belligerent at Zaphods in Ottawa, uploaded just last week. I'm pretty sure that's one-half of DJ Snugglebots in the background.

- bbbykmbrly.

YEEEEEAAAAAAAA(sayer)

Ok, so the band known as Yeasayer has been around the blog circuit for a while, and they deserve it.

No really, they do. If Vampire Weekend was the first real band of "Web 2.0" then Yeasayer are definitely setting themselves up to be next in line, just as Fall Out Boy and Cold War Kids were children of Myspace and social networking sites. Yeasayer's phenomenal debut album, All Hour Cymbals, was dropped on Oct 23rd of last year but really started to pick up steam on the last legs of 2007. The band describes themselves as "Middle Eastern-psych-snap-gospel" which is a safe bet whilst describing their sound. The album is a mix of desert folk and psychedelic vibes all put together with a mix of indie rock.

Yeasayer is playing this weekend in Toronto with MGMT (which we contested some tickets away for) at the El Mocambo.

Sunrise - Yeasayer
2080 - Yeasayer
Wait for Summer - Yeasayer (Live)

Cheers,
MF Blaz

MGMT/Yeasayer Ticket Giveaway

Today is an exciting day in BTA land. It marks the first-ever contest that we've hosted, and I personally can't think of a pair of bands that I'd rather be sharing this monumental occasion with than MGMT and Yeasayer.

Thanks to our friends at Red Ink, we've got a pair of tickets for their February 9th show at the El Mocambo in Toronto, as well as a copy of MGMT's debut album, Oracular Spectacular, due out January 22nd in Canada.

This news comes on the same day that MGMT is making their major television debut, performing on David Letterman tonight, January 8th. Tune in and check it out.

So, to enter this inaugural BTA contest, email us with "MGMT/Yeasayer tickets!" in the subject line, and answer the following question: which song did MGMT perform on Letterman? Also include your full name and contact info. We'll be drawing a winner from successful entries on Friday, February 1st.

MGMT - Weekend Wars

Yeasayer - Sunrise


- bbbykmbrly.

Middle MGMT

The story of Brooklyn, NY's MGMT (pronounced "management") is that of two friends who consciously opted to cash in instead of packing it in. In 2002, while studying music at a nowhere university in nowhere, Connecticut, Andrew VanWyngarden and Ben Goldwasser formed a "band" - an electronic rock two-piece whose first gig consisted of a never-ending rendition of the theme to Ghostbusters in a dorm room.

In the half-decade that has passed, the duo have come from playing music for their own amusement, to almost playing none at all, to forming a full band and touring with the likes of Of Montreal and the Fiery Furnaces, to shamelessly signing to Columbia records. Their debut album, Oracular Spectacular, was released this winter in the US and hits Canada January 22nd of the new year.

Produced by Flaming Lips' go-to guy Dave Fridmann, Oracular blends elements of electro, prog rock, experimental/indie and disco. Each of the 10 tracks have an entirely unique flavour, and one can assume that their list of influences might read like a detailed history of a Syd Barrett-inspired generation.

The obvious stand-out track is the first one. Time to Pretend kicks off the album with a flashy combination of crunchy bass, an impossible-to-ignore keyboard hook, and lyrics which display their tongue-in-cheek viewpoint on life as a rock star. Time to Pretend has single-handedly landed the band on the "top artist to watch in 2008" radar for Rolling Stone and others, and recently found itself in Pitchfork's top 100 songs of 2007, released late last week.

Other highlights include Weekend Wars, whose vocals rip a page from Ziggy Stardust, the undeniable disco-funk of Electric Feel, and the synth-rock gem Kids.

MGMT kicks off their North-American tour with a.m.p.m's latest discovery, Yeasayer, January 16th and includes a stop at the El Mocambo in Toronto on February 9th.

MGMT - Time to Pretend
MGMT - Electric Feel
MGMT - Kids

- bbbykmbrly.