The Dears at OPB

As I have mentioned multiple times this year, The Dears' new album, Degeneration Street, is fantastic, and they have done some interesting promoting up to and through the release of the album.

The band recently passed through Portland, and, prior to playing a free show at Music Millennium, managed to squeeze in a quick performance and interview at OPB. Well, it turned out great, and the entirety of the evidence is up at www.opbmusic.org. For now, here's one song from the set, Yesteryear:



P.S. I have been playing a lot of Dears tunes during my sets at opbmusic, and you can catch me on the internet waves Tuesdays and Saturdays.

www.thedears.org

The National: Conversation 16

The National released a new video this morning for Conversation 16. In it, Secret Service agent John Slattery dreams of getting together with President Kristen Schaal, but, alas, well...you'll see:

The National

www.highviolet.com

Local Natives Take-Away Show

Local Natives put out a stunning debut last year (Gorilla Manor). So stunning, in fact, it made my top 10 for 2010. If these guys come to your town, go see them - they put on a great live show.

They were recently featured on La Blogotheque, a french documentary-syle music website that features all sorts of bands playing live, impromptu versions of their songs. Well, the latest Local Natives video is gorgeous and probably my favorite version of Who Knows Who Cares. Check it out:

Local Natives | Who Knows Who Cares | A Take Away Show from La Blogotheque on Vimeo

(Thanks to Hoyt for bringing it to my attention.)

Local Natives

The Strokes

Ten years after their magnificent debut, The Strokes are back with a new album in March called Angles. Hard to believe it's been 5 years since the last album, but at least we've had a number of releases from individual members (Albert Hammond Jr's two solo albums, Julian Casablancas' solo release, Little Joy...).

The first single from the new 10-song album is Under Cover of Darkness. It is a fine return to form musically with catchy-as-hell vocal and instrument riffs. Take a peak at the video below.



Angles is released March 22nd on RCA.

Music Video Monday

I have not ever been an avid follower of music videos, but there have been a few that caught my eye over the last month or so. Maybe it's because they all relate to new releases I am excited about, maybe they are great videos. Regardless, here they are:

Apex Manor - My My Mind
Ross Flournoy's post-Broken West project released their debut at the top of February, and it is full of gems. The first video comes from an unlikely track on the album - and the only song that was co-written - but the video is simple, stark and compelling.



The Dears - Omega Dog
Re-creating a video shot nearly 10 years prior [check], this single shot follows frontman Murray A Lightburn through the streets of Montreal following a live performance.



Radiohead - Lotus Flower
Released on the same day as their surprise new album, we see Thom Yorke dancing his unmistakeable white-boy chicken/freak-out dance, moving in a way that no other person can make look so cool.



What other music videos have you been watching?