Listen To This: “Channel Orange,” by Frank Ocean

There is no SoundCloud embed for this one, so I’m gonna post some vids. This is one of the more acclaimed debuts of the year, I just finally got around to listening to it.

“Thinkin Bout You”

Official Video for “Pyramids” – featuring John Mayer at the end playing a guitar solo that is not on the record:

Go download the whole record, which is awesome.

The Walkmen: Tiny Desk Concert

The Walkmen’s wiry, weary, seething rock ‘n’ roll has mellowed in recent years, as vein-bulging hollers have given way to a richer, more gently paced and layered sound. But it’s still not exactly the stuff of campfire crooning: We’d spent the days leading up to this Tiny Desk Concert in the NPR Music offices wondering how on earth The Walkmen would downsize these songs behind Bob Boilen’s desk. For one thing, Hamilton Leithauser sings with such intensity that it’d be hard to dial down the instrumentation too much — you’d never hear it.
Leithauser may wield an acoustic guitar in these three songs, but this is no awkward attempt to shoehorn booming rock anthems into meek arrangements that don’t suit them. From the opening notes of “Heaven,” the magnificently stirring title track of The Walkmen’s recent seventh album, it became clear that these guys were making the Tiny Desk accommodate their sound rather than the other way around. Leithauser’s voice soared far down the hallways at various points in all three of these songs from Heaven — “Remember, rememmmmmmmber, all we fight for!” “It’s been soooooooooooooo long!” “Love is luuuuuuuuuuuuuck!” — lending them grit and grace, not to mention hair-raising intensity that feels a little jarring coming from a bunch of guys in crisp button-up shirts.

Set List:
• “Heaven”
• “We Can’t Be Beat”
• “Love Is Luck”

Credits:
Producer and Editor: Bob Boilen; Videographers: Becky Lettenberger, Nick Michael and Bob Boilen; Audio Engineer: Kevin Wait; photo by Blake Lipthratt/NPR

via YouTube

Bon Iver, Woods HD (Live from Radio City Music Hall)

Bon Iver play a track from the ‘Blood Bank’ EP during their September 21 webcast on The Bowery Presents Live.

http://boniver.org/

Subscribe to The Bowery Presents Live: Subscribe: http://tbp.im/xHmiTH
http://www.bowerypresents.com/

The Bowery Presents Live features groundbreaking, must-see live music and the latest in emerging music culture. The Bowery Presents Live offers live multicamera concert films and intimate performances from industry leaders and the next big things in music.

A Show Cobra Production
http://www.showcobra.com/

Executive Producer: Jason Ross
Supervising Producer: Kate Susman
Director: Matt Boyd
Live Director: Dom Whitworth
Director of Production: Bryan Walters
Line Producer: Karen Scarminach
Editorial Director: Peter Gaston
Tech Manager: Tony Pietzrak
Broadcast Engineer: Jacob Feinberg
Consulting Producer: Dan Huiting

Bon Iver, Calgary / Beth/Rest HD (Live from Radio City Music Hall)

Bon Iver play two tracks from their self-titled album during their September 21 webcast on The Bowery Presents Live.

http://boniver.org/

Subscribe to The Bowery Presents Live: Subscribe: http://tbp.im/xHmiTH
http://www.bowerypresents.com/

The Bowery Presents Live features groundbreaking, must-see live music and the latest in emerging music culture. The Bowery Presents Live offers live multicamera concert films and intimate performances from industry leaders and the next big things in music.

A Show Cobra Production
http://www.showcobra.com/

Executive Producer: Jason Ross
Supervising Producer: Kate Susman
Director: Matt Boyd
Live Director: Dom Whitworth
Director of Production: Bryan Walters
Line Producer: Karen Scarminach
Editorial Director: Peter Gaston
Tech Manager: Tony Pietzrak
Broadcast Engineer: Jacob Feinberg
Consulting Producer: Dan Huiting

Best Albums of (75% of) 2012 (So Far)

Updated version of: http://scotty-t.com/2012/06/22/best-albums-of-2012-so-far/

Top 10

fun., Some Nights
Porcelain Raft, Strange Weekend
Dirty Projectors, Swing Lo Magellan
Beach House, Bloom
Metric, Synthetica
The Walkmen, Heaven
Bruce Springsteen, Wrecking Ball
Matthew Dear, Beams
Sharon Van Etten, Tramp
Father John Misty, Fear Fun
Escort, Escort

The Rest (Bottom 10)

Grizzly Bear, Shields
Strand of Oaks, Dark Shores
Metric, Synthetica
Daughn Gibson, All Hell
White Rabbits, Milk Famous
Silversun Pickups, Neck of the Woods
of Montreal, Paralytic Stalks
Japandroids, Celebration Rock
Craig Finn, Clear Heart Full Eyes
Heartless Bastards, Arrow
Bear in Heaven, I Love You, It’s Cool
Escort, Escort
Sharon Van Etten, Tramp
Beach House, Bloom