Did I mention how much I love great remixes? The one bellow is mixed by The Soundmen, and it simply sounds amazing. Think Grizzly Bear meets Lil Wayne, erhhh… literally! Bet you never thought this kind of mash up could work. Well, think again, give it a listen and prepare to be astonished!

[MP3] Grizzly Bear + Lil Wayne - 2 Weeks Til Prom

And if you thought this was a coincidence, download the whole “VeckaFlyest” three track EP and prepare for more Grizzly Bear/Lil Wayne extravaganza. God, this is awesome!

[via I Guess I'm Floating]

Last year, in August, we had a veritable indie soap-opera on our hands, after Brandon Cox, also known under the moniker of Atlas Sound, had an early version of his latest album “Logos” leaked all over the internet. Some harsh words were thrown out then, and even the thought of giving up on Logos all together was mentioned. Luckily for all of us, he soon relinquished the idea and such Logos has finally been completed, getting released this autumn.

What’s interesting is that Logos is heck of a lot different for Brandon’s previous effort, the very introverted “Let the Blind Lead Those Who Can See But Cannot Feel“. “The lyrics are not autobiographical…I became bored with introspection,” he confesses in a recent press release announcing the upcoming Logos release. As proof, super stars like Animal Collective’s Panda Bear and Stereolab’s Laetitia Sadier were invited to put their mark on the album as well by collaborating.

But hey, who better than Brandon to talk about his new album?

“My last album was a bedroom laptop type thing. Very introverted. Logos is an album that was recorded all over the world. It’s not about me. There are collaborations with other musicians. The lyrics are not autobiographical. The view is a lot more panoramic and less close-up. I became bored with introspection. This was also the case with Deerhunter’s Microcastle LP, which was written during the same period.

I started recording December of 2007. I recorded the first version of the album, which was not intended for release. Due to some unfortunate mistakes on my part, this ’sketch’ of the album was leaked. Many of the songs where simply ‘placeholders,’ songs I created quickly to help design the ‘arc’ of the album.

I did not react well to the leak, in retrospect. It became the kind of internet-fueled drama that I was quickly learning to despise. I had always desired to speak through music, not blog posts and interviews, etc. I considered abandoning the project.

I toured for a period in Europe with Animal Collective, whose band dynamic was very inspirational to be around. On the bus, we often played improvised iPod games. We would take turns formulating a theme or unifying concept and then play three songs. The goal would be for everyone to try and figure out the theme. During one of these games, someone played ‘What Am I Going to Do’ by the Dovers. I was amazed at the hook– a weird organ thing with drums and electric bass. I mentioned to Noah [Lennox] that someone should really sample that riff. He agreed and he taught me a little about sampling and matching up beats. This ended up as the collaborative effort ‘Walkabout’.

Each song on the album has a similar story. That might be my favorite thing about the album. It’s a collection of songs. There is no ‘filler.’ There are little scrapbook details everywhere. Sasha Vine [of Sian Alice Group] provided a double-tracked improvised violin part to ‘Attic Lights’ which was recorded backstage at a Deerhunter/Sian Alice Group show in Brighton. It might be my favorite moment of the album. I played it for some younger friends of mine. They cringed. They wanted more songs like ‘Walkabout’. Something with a big beat. I told them when they get older they will appreciate things like harmonicas and violins more.

Laetitia from Stereolab, who I idolized as a teenager and would later befriend on tour, contributed words and vocals to ‘Quick Canal.’ The song was originally about 15 minutes long. I had zero ideas for vocals and asked if she could give it a shot. Andy Ramsay [drummer for Stereolab ] took a dub of the original and recorded Laetitia’s vocals at his Press Play studio in London. It was quite a treat to hear the finished product, now at an economical nine minutes.

Almost everything you hear on the album is a first take. This makes it almost like a ‘live album’ where a band sets up in a studio and just rolls tape. There are songs on here I don’t even remember recording.”

Logos will be out October 20 via Kranky Records. Tracklist bellow.

01. The Light That Failed
02. An Orchid
03. Walkabout [ft. Noah Lennox (Panda Bear)]
04. Criminals
05. Attic Lights
06. Shelia
07. Quick Canal [ft. Laetitia Sadier]
08. My Halo
09. Kid Klimax
10. Washington School
11. Logos

[via strange glue]

Last year’s “Crimes” by D.C.’s These United States was quite incredible, packing loads of witty garage rock, sprinkled with a touch of sweet folk and gospel. Jesse Elliot’s narrative talents simply shine in his lyrics, such that a remarkable depth in sound is being reached. Yes, I’m in love with These United States’ music, and it’s quite refreshing when you finally see a band with personality, especially considering when you’ve got an evergrowing thick pool of superficial indie acts on your hands.

Worth noting is that the band released not one, but TWO records last years within a few months apart from each other, their very well received debut “A Picture Of The Three Of Us At The Gate To The Garden Of Eden” and the exquisite sophomore “Crimes.” Now, These United States are prepping for their third full length effort, as  “Everything Touches Everything” will get out on September 1 via United Interests.

Nothing much is known about it, appart from this recently released stunning single, “I Want You to Keep Everything.” Check the track out bellow and be sure to catch the band live too (dates listed on These United States’ myspace).

“Black River Killer” represents not only our first attempt at a fully live action video, but also a massive collaborative effort on the part of at least 120 people in and around Portland.

The Dead Weather’s debut, the Nashville all-star quartet comprised of White Stripes’ frontman Jack White, the Kills’ Alison Mosshart, Raconteurs bassist Jack Lawrence, and Queens of the Stone Age’s Dean Fertita, is set for its official release next week, slowly bringing the excitement of thousands of intrigued fans to an end. This seeing how we’ve all been terribly keen to see (more like hear) how this project will turn out, ever since the first announcements about the band were made more than three months ago.

You can now silence your curiosity, though, as “Horehound” is streaming right now in its entirety on facebook (nice to see less myspace). Before writing this article, I’ve been frantically listening to it for the last couple of hours, and all I can say to sum it is …. impressive. I still need a couple of listens to sink in and better digest it, but I’m definitely linking it so far. The title track, along with “3 Birds” and “Rocking House” are personal favorites up to now.

>> Stream: The Dead Weather - Horehound

Check out the band’s North American tour dates here.

Make yourselves a favour, and before starting to read this article, go to JJ’s MySpace and listen to his songs while reading the following interview. They’re really good pop songs. Just as You! like them. And while listening, go through this article and read about his music, his future plans, when he plans on releasing his next album and so many more, including his hot party track list and his favourite bands.

Zme: „If we just want to” is of course my first interest. I don’t stand alone when I say that it is one of the most beautiful pop songs of the last few years. What’s the story behind it?

JJ: Well, it’s no secret that most people have both ups and downs. At this point of time I had had quite a few downs. But then I went for a walk in the spring sun with a dear friend of mine and after that everything just started to come around and change for me. A short time after that I celebrated my birthday with a picnic in the sun with wine and other good stuff together with the previously mentioned friend. The song is really just about two great days in my life…

Zme: You mentioned a quite ironical „yes” when answering the MySpace „Influences” question. Would you please elaborate on that?

JJ: I’m not good at irony. I don’t really understand it and I seldom use it, mostly because I don’t understand it. So it was not really ironical at all. I just didn’t know what to put there. So I answered that question as truthfully as I could: with a simple yes, I do have influences. I could have listed some bands or artists. Or be overly pretentiuos and claim I’m influenced by people, the wind or whatever. But that would be to easy for me. Or rather it would not really be correct at all. Sure, you might have heard it before. Sure, you can find similarities to other artists. But that’s not what influences me to do music. Not at all. It’s way more complex than that. So the correct answer is: yes. But it could also be: love.

Zme: You’ve released your last album in 2006. When can we expect to see the next one? Even though you have released a couple of singles too, I think that a second album should be expected and strongly hope that you are planing on doing that. Are your recording it already? Is it finished? Just tell us a bit about this endeavour.

JJ: Yes! Your hopes have been fulfilled! The new album is called Have I ever told you I love you? And it will in fact be released at the end of the summer. In August/september actually. It’s all recorded and I’m mixing and finishing it as I write these lines.. You can expect brilliance and grandeur beyond compare. The tunes are beautiful pop songs dressed in a grand and magnificent costume. I play most of the instruments myself but I have also teamed up with fantastic musicans too. There will be orchestral strings and horns, timpani, bells and grand piano.

Zme: Please try to describe what you look for when listening to a pop song? What makes it a good song? What are the things that make it mediocre? A special guitar sound? A mix of instruments? Etc.

JJ: There are three things I generally look for when listening to a new song: the melody, the sound and the lyrics (or the voice of the singer). That’s about it.

Zme: Please mention 10 other indie pop/rock bands you like listening to when you’re at home, relaxing, working, doing chores, etc. Also, please mention a couple of other genres you enjoy hearing, because I’m sure there are quite a few.

JJ: Tough question. It may sound pretentiuos (not that I mind) but I don’t really categorize music by genre. Actually, if the song has a good melody I refer to it as pop music even though others might refer to it as hip-hop, death metal, twee, dub or whatever. But I could tell you two genres I don’t enjoy listening too at all: reagge and pan flute music. It gives me shivers down the spine…

When at home I usually listen to music I’ve already heard before. I mostly listen to new music on my Ipod riding the bike or a train. But here’s a few bands I like to listen to when I do the dishes:

The bands:

1. Robot
2. Edge of sanity (or some other metal band like At the gates, Dimmu Borgir, etc)
3. Fleet Foxes
4. 22-Pistepirkko
5. Gunnar Wiklund
6. Julie Doiron
7. Enya (haha..)
8. Belle and Sebastian
9. Koop
10. Nina Simone

Zme: Let’s imagine the perfect party: mention 10 tracks you always want to hear, in order for the party to be a successful one:

JJ: I find these questions hard to answer.. But then again, if it’s a good party I’d probably want to dance my shoes off. So here’s 10 songs I like to dance to.

1. Blumchen „Ich bin wieder hier”
2. Pulp „Common people”
3. Stereo total „Touche moi”
4. Jeans Team „Ein atom”
5. Robot „Gross”
6. Feist „I feel it all”
7. Royksopp „Only this moment”
8. Koop „Come to me”
9. Little Big Adventure „Ben and Jerrys”
10. the last song before they close down and light up would be the theme song from Twin peaks „Falling”.

Zme: Who would you love to tour with? Mention 5 other indie pop/rock bands you’d like to see next to your name on a festival print advertisement. And let’s make it a little harder: you are not allowed to pick names from questions 4 and 5 and they have to be either British or Americans ! But you can ignore time frames and you can pick bands even though they might not be singing/touring anymore:

JJ:1. Beatles (Imagine the publicity!)
2. Elvis (wouldn’t that be fun!)
3. Antony and the Jonsons
4. Magnetic Fields
5. Woody Guthrie

Zme: Where do you fiind yourself when considering other swedish indie pop bands? Is there a clear similarity or is your style completely different? Are there any bands from Sweden you enjoy listening to very much? Do they influence you?

JJ: I listen to a lot of Swedish bands and artists. Here’s a few of them: Hello Saferide, Robot, Monster & maskiner, Firefox AK, Kent, Jay-Jay Johansson, Little Big Adventure, Koop, Anna Ternheim and Marit Bergman just to name a few. If there is some similarity, I guess you have to ask someone else really. I’m too blind to say.

Zme: Any shows coming up? A tour around Europe? Attending some summer music festivals this year? Somewhere close to Romania maybe?

JJ: Honestly, I have no idea! I’m too busy finishing the new album. I have a booking agency. I’ll talk to them and ask them what’s up!

Zme: Tell us more about your latest released single „Looking at you is like looking at the sun”. Is it a piece of a future album? Give us a gist of its story. I picture it to be the perfect song for an old movie. It sounds so postmodern and it’s so close to a pastiche, using nostalgia to go back to the past. Or is it just me?

JJ: Yes, it is the first single form the upcoming album. And it’s free for download on my website too! The story? It’s just a wonderful lovely dumb love song. You know, we only have like one and a half months of summer in Sweden. So when the sun comes out and the weather is fine it’s almost impossible to not to fall in love.  About the sound. I really like the sound of an old swing orchestra and that’s what I had in mind when I produced and recorded this song. And I wanted to make the sound wide and big so I added strings too. The result: absolutely gorgeous!

Zme: Thank you very much for doing this interview for us and I look forward to hearing from you soon!

JJ: Why, thank you. Let’s hope that I can come by Romania some day!

Yes, you can easily guess it’s Homme’s wife that leaked. Brody Dalle, also playing in a band called Spinnerette let the news leak out and she also pretty much summed up what it’s all about:

“I think it’s pretty fucking amazing … Just beats and sounds like you’ve never heard before.”

The still-nameless-uberband consisting of Led Zep bassist, QOTSA frontman and Nirvana drummer Foo fighters frontman is not a surprise, especially since Dave Grohl and Josh Homme played together for quite a while and they couldn’t pick up anybody better for this.

Also, John Paul Jones gave some hints on this:

“I’m working on some other music, which is more rock based, with a couple of other people,” he said. “We hope to be everywhere this summer.”

Only bad thing is that this is probably the last nail in the could-have-been Led Zep reunion, but I’d bet my AC/DC ticket that they’ll definitely TEAR IT UP!

If you saw it too, chances have it you weren’t just impressed by it’s multitude of stunning visuals, but also by it’s diverse soundtrack, which features Linkin Park’s new single “New Divide” at its center, along with various other great songs by the likes of Green Day, Taking Back Sunday, The Used, Avenge Sevenfold, and much more. It’s really a rocking soundtrack, and seeing how we’re feeling really generous today, we’ll be giving it away in the following contest, along with a myriad of Linkin Park music and merch.

Yes, one lucky ZME reader will take home the following prize bundle pack:

• Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen - The Album.
• Linkin Park’s Songs From the Underground CD which includes a Free One Month Online Membership to the Official Linkin Park Fan Club
• Linkin Park’s “Breaking The Habit” Single CD & DVD Set
• Linkin Park’s Reanimation Enhanced DVD Audio Disc
• Linkin Park sticker & pin pack

To enter the chance of winning, all you have to do is subscribe to our blog for free by entering your e-mail in the form right bellow this post and leave a short comment detailing who’s your favorite Transformers character and why. The winner will be picked at random (via random.org) next Friday (10/03/09).

Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen - The Album tracklist:

1. “New Divide” by Linkin Park
2. “21 Guns” by Green Day
3. “Let It Go” by Cavo
4. “Capital M-E” by Taking Back Sunday
5. “Never Say Never” by The Fray
6. “Burn It To The Ground” by Nickelback
7. “Burning Down the House” by The Used
8. “Not Meant to Be” by Theory of a Deadman
9. “Real World” by The All-American Rejects
10. “I Don’t Think I Love You” by Hoobastank
11. “This Is It” by Staind
12. “Almost Easy” by Avenged Sevenfold
13. “Transformers (The Fallen Remix)” by Cheap Trick

Surprisingly, something like a week ago, the band premiered a new single, right out of the blue, called “One More Chance” - a catchy song with a lot of hooks and bouncy piano keys. Thought Bloc Party played art rock, not house music , though. Not to bash on the single or anything, it actually sounds fine, but I’m not entirely convinced these recent changes in style are all to healthy for the band.

The video was released today and … emmmh. Nothing either interesting or visually stimulating, just a multi-perspective story of various persons wanting a second chance, with the promise of “this time will be different” marked in their eyes. One More Chance gets out August 10 via via Wichita Recordings. [via The Music Slut]