Advanced tickets are available at the (Le) Poisson Rouge website. Doors open at 10:00 PM, flyer, mp3′s, and more below.

 

“New York City’s THE GOLDEN FILTER may have just put out one of the sexiest jams of the summer with ‘Solid Gold’ and no one knows a single thing about them. A revved up, glittery disco-bassline and icy synths anchor your feet to the dancefloor while airy female vocals breeze past on rays of golden light – a combination that’s enough to cool you on the most humid of days.” [FRICTION NYC]
[MP3]: “Solid Gold”

 

“Beware; those who enter the HEARTSREVOLUTION world may never leave. Ben and Lo’s music takes hold of you with its silvery, digital clutch – cut’n’paste, overlapping beats, dream-like synths and mantra lyrics – and never lets you go.” [NME]
[MP3]: “C.Y.O.A.”

 
”
PINK SKULL‘s first full-length released earlier this year (Zeppelin 3), plays like a time- and genre-transcending masterpiece like nothing you’ve heard — a mélange of soundscapes ranging from dancefloor killers to experimental funk to psych-rock to ultra-low-key acoustic folk.” [Prefixmag]
[MP3]: “Unicorn Harpoon”

 
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It’s going to take me a little while to fully comprehend what just happened these last three days, right now I’m somewhere between complete exhaustion and stoked that this festival went off without a hitch. In short, I need a few days to really take things in as the weekend was a non-stop whirlwind. The early reviews have been pretty positive and it seemed like a lot of folks were really enjoying themselves, which brings a huge smile to my face. Pat recapped it best with his haiku about POPPED! on Saturday:

saturday was fun.
the bands were cool.
weather was hot.
justin was sober…
nghia was not.

Philebrity has a slideshow of pictures up from the weekend’s festiveness, while Music Snobbery has complete (and extensive) coverage from Saturday.

All of the pictures below were taken by Nghia, while the photo at the beginning of this post was captured by Dan Murphy. More photos to follow on Flickr here. I’ll get back into the swing of things in a few days. Thanks to everyone who made it out.

DAN DEACON @ POPPED! 2008
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title="Popped Festival 2008 by FRICTION NYC, on Flickr"> width="455" alt="Popped Festival 2008" />

CRYSTAL CASTLES @ POPPED! 2008
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title="Popped Festival 2008 by FRICTION NYC, on Flickr"> width="455" alt="Popped Festival 2008" />

title="Popped Festival 2008 by FRICTION NYC, on Flickr"> width="455" alt="Popped Festival 2008" />

MATES OF STATE @ POPPED! 2008
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title="Popped Festival 2008 by FRICTION NYC, on Flickr"> width="455" alt="Popped Festival 2008" />

VAMPIRE WEEKEND @ POPPED! 2008
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title="Popped Festival 2008 by FRICTION NYC, on Flickr"> width="455" alt="Popped Festival 2008" />

I woke up on Monday morning and the first thing that came to my mind was, “holy shit, POPPED! is this week!” I couldn’t believe that nearly a full year had gone by since I started working on this year’s festival and that now we were just a few days away. I’ve mentioned the details of POPPED! on here in the past, but wanted to give everyone a final blast and mention some additions that have been made since we first went to press.

The press release reads: “Only in its second year, Philadelphia’s POPPED! Music Festival is already a testament to the city being a prime destination to visit for live music. Centered in the accessible downtown area, POPPED! is a truly unique festival that highlights some of Philadelphia’s best music venues and local culture.” For me, it all comes full circle with Vampire Weekend, a band who just over a year ago was playing FRICTION shows and other small venues in New York. Fast forward to 2008 and the band is playing a slew of well-established festivals across the world, touring Europe and the United States, making appearances on Saturday Night Live, etc., and headlining their very first festival right here in Philadelphia on June 21st.

The Vamps have a solid line of support acts on Saturday beginning with UK buzz act The Ting Tings, Philly’s own Hoots & Hellmouth and Mr. Lif, gypsy-punks Gogol Bordelo, Mates of State, and FRICTION alums Dan Deacon and Crystal Castles. Between sets, three of Philly’s best DJ nights will be bringing their parties to the stage including Sorted’s Mike Z spinning indie/Brit/dance, along with heavy cosmic groovers Rock Tits, and Turnaround vs. Immediate with soul, psych, and amphetamine-fueled R&B.

On Sunday, the festival moves from outdoors at 33rd & Market Streets, down the block to World Cafe Live where Daniel Johnston and The Capitol Years will cap the day’s festivities which will see performances by Cheers Elephant, O’Death, Sam Champion, Gildon Works, Takka Takka, Tickley Feather, PWRFL Power, Project Jenny, Project Jan, The Swimmers, and The Vandelles.

Slick Rick starts things off on Friday night fronting a live band at The Trocadero, while White T’s & White Belts and Steven Bloodbath fuel the party with hip-hop and electro.

Check the new POPPED! website where the full schedule is posted for Saturday and Sunday. 3-day passes are currently sold-out, but tickets for the individual days WILL BE available at doors.

[MP3]: Dan Deacon  ”Pink Batman”
Spiderman of the Rings, Carpark; 2007

Not to be confused with Crystal Castles, Crystal Stilts, or Twin Crystals, Long Beach, CA’s Crystal Antlers are set to leave the fair-weathered West Coast for possibly more hot and humid pastures. Following a few solo tour dates in the American Southwest, the chaotic five-piece will hook up with the Fuck Yeah Tour (Matt & Kim, Team Robespierre, The Death Set, Dan Deacon and more) in Tennessee and join the travelling schizo party until it brings havoc to the East Coast in early July.

Upon reaching our muggy coast, Crystal Antlers will play two New York City dates including FRICTION at The Mercury Lounge on July 8th and a loft party on the 12th, along with a balcony party TBA in Philly on July 11th. Expect these guys to bring an epic rock sound with a side of freaky funk and loads of fuzz soaked energy to the stage. Boasting psychedelic organ drones, slicing wiry guitars, throaty vocals, soul-tinged basslines, and a drummer dubbed “Sexual Chocolate” this is one live act not to miss. Grab “Vexation” below and be sure to catch Crystal Antlers as they storm through the U.S. this summer.

[MP3]: Crystal Antlers  ”Vexation”
EP, Self-Released; 2008

Crystal Antlers East Coast Tour Dates (Full U.S. Tour):
7.4.08 – Sky Lab / Columbus, OH (Fuck Yeah Tour)
7.5.08 – The Grog Shop / Cleveland, OH (Fuck Yeah Tour)
7.6.08 – Sound Lab / Buffalo, NY (Fuck Yeah Tour)
7.8.08 – The Mercury Lounge / New York, NY (FRICTION)
7.10.08 – Tinder Box / Brattleboro, VT (Fuck Yeah Tour)
7.11.08 – Balcony Party / Philadelphia, PA (Fuck Yeah Afterparty)
7.12.08 – Loft Party / New York, NY (Fuck Yeah Afterparty)

Video for Tickley Feather‘s scratchy bedroom track “Fancy Walking” features Philly favorite Annie Sachs tapping her toes around the occasional appearance of a tabby cat. Tickley Feather plays the POPPED! Music Festival in Philadelphia on June 22nd with Daniel Johnston and FRICTION at NYC’s Cake Shop on June 29th with Crystal Stilts, Rings, and PWRFL Power.

[MP3]: Tickley Feather  ”Fancy Walking”
Tickley Feather, Paw Tracks; 2008

Verve Records might just be sitting on one of the most desired jazz and blues vocal collections from the 50s and 60s containing records from artists including Ella Fitzgerald, Nina Simone, Billie Holiday, Marlena Shaw and others. Every few years or so, Verve dives into their vaults and gives modern DJs and producers a shot to remix and rework some of the best jazz music in history.

Since its debut in 2002, Verve//Remixed has paired the world’s most preeminent DJs and producers with some of the greatest names in jazz and blues. The first three remix compilations saw artists like Junior Boys remixing Billie Holiday’s “Yesterdays,” along with a Danger Mouse remix of Dina Washington and Carl Craig remix of South African jazz musician Hugh Masekela.

Released yesterday, Verve//Remixed 4 sees the likes of Diplo remixing Blue Note soul and pop diva Marlena Shaw’s “California Soul” along with sweet pairings of Antibalas with legendary Cuban group Patato & Totico, and The Cinematic Orchestra with Ella Fitzgerald. The Diplo remix of Shaw is particularly tasty as the Mad Decent founder adds to the vigorous grooves with knee-jerking breakdowns, an echoing beat and a criss-crossing horn section. Grab it below.

[MP3]: Marlena Shaw  ”California Soul (Diplo Remix)”
Verve//Remixed 4, Verve; 2008

Verve//Remixed 4 Tracklisting:
1. Dinah Washington “Cry Me A River (Truth & Soul Remix)”
2. Nina Simone “Gimme Some (Mike Mangini Remix)”
3. James Brown “There Was A Time (Kenny Dope Remix)”
4. Marlena Shaw “California Soul (Diplo/Mad Decent Remix)”
5. Nina Simone “Take Care Of Business (Pilooski Remix)”
6. Astrud Gilberto “Bim Bom (Psapp Remix)”
7. Anita O’ Day “Tenderly (Mocky Remix)”
8. Sarah Vaughan “Tea For Two (Chris Shaw Remix)”
9. Patato & Totico “Dilo Como Yo (Antibalas Remix)”
10. Willie Bobo “Evil Ways (Karriem Riggins Remix)”
11. Roy Ayers “Everybody Loves The Sunshine (9th Wonder Remix)”
12. Ella Fitzgerald “I Get A Kick Out Of You (Cinematic Orchestra Remix)”

Philly’s Pink Skull (aka Julian S. Process and Justin Geller) are having a solid 2008. Following the release of their stellar and diverse debut LP, Zeppelin 3, they unleash one of the best remixes for HEALTH’s soon to be released HEALTH//DISCO remix album. Process and Gellar do justice to the FRICTION alums’ track “Heaven” and spin it into a dark dance-inspired late-night rager. “Heaven” is given a sturdy thumping beat and other electronic flairs, while entrancing vocals bubble up to the surface from the noise and lure you onto the shadowy dancefloor.

HEALTH//DISCO drops next Tuesday, May 27th on Lovepump United. Grab the remix below along with the dirty dance-floor-friendly “Unicorn Harpoon” from Zeppelin 3 below, which is out now on Tonearm/Free Press.

[MP3]: HEALTH  ”Heaven (Pink Skull Remix)”
HEALTH//DISCO, Lovepump United; 2008
[MP3]: Pink Skull  ”Unicorn Harpoon”
Zeppelin 3, Tonearm; 2008

If you live in or were recently visiting Philly, you may have noticed a winding trail of white-washed lines travelling through Independence Park, bounded by Walnut St. on the south, Chestnut St. on the north, Fifth St. on the west, and Third St. on the east. The white lines cut across cobblestone sidwalks, through lightposts, benches, and parkland demarking the once vibrant flowing Dock Creek, long ago buried beneath the city in which it helped sprout into the metropolis it is today.

Dock Creek, in a sense, gave birth to Philadelphia. American Indians once traversed this pristine stream and William Penn later landed in a nearby cove where Front St. is located today. The first European settlers built their homes on the banks of the creek, which provided a gateway to the city. By the time Philly playboy Ben Franklin entered the picture in 1723, the once translucent creek had become an open sewer, much like most waterways, swamps, and marshes in developing cities. Tanneries, beermakers, slaughterhouses, and raw sewage were dumped into the creek making it one of the first of many polluted waterways in America. It soon became a public nuisance and after failed attempts by a young Franklin to clean it up, the once freely roaming Dock Creek was encased in brick and buried becoming a subsurface waterway. It has remained that way to this date.

In an evolving sculpture project conceived by artist Winifred Lutz, the spring-fed tidal stream breaks free of the grid imposed upon it hundreds of years ago. Lutz’s project brings the tidal stream back to life again with white-wash and lime flowing over grass, concrete, cobblestone, marking its course from the juncture of Dock and Third Streets where it splits into two branches. Permission has been granted by park authorities to allow the lawn between the white lines to grow into a river of tall grasses containing clover, dandelions, and wild strawberries. In September 2008, Lutz will “animate” the grass swale with nearly nine miles of vibrant blue elastic stretched from end to end, recreating in a sense, the waterway that once served this city.

The installation runs from now through September 27th and Lutz is currently looking for volunteers to complete the blue elastic waterway. More information on the project, including photographs can be found here and by calling the American Philosophical Society at 215.440.3427.

Check out more of Philly’s hidden streams at Philly H20: The History of Philadelphia’s Watersheds and Sewers.

How many times have you gone to a show and see a werewolf pouring batter into a waffle iron on-stage? That shtick has been repeated time and time again, but for Aunt Dracula-sidekick Waffle Wolf that time has come to an end. Maybe he was getting too many of his coarse hairs into the waffle batter or maybe he mamed a soundguy because they were out of Aunt Jemima (waffle eating werewolves dig on Aunt Jemima, none of that Whole Foods Pure Maple Syrup shit, they live for high fructose corn syrup). I digress; I’m making myself hungry for waffles now and getting away from the point of this post, which is Philadelphia’s Aunt Dracula.

Aunt Dracula’s sound would be what Philly bands evolve into if global warming continues to raise southeastern Pennsylvania temperatures and turns the Delaware River into prime tropical beachfront. On their debut, Face Peel (produced by Jeff Zeigler, Swirlies/Relay), the Philadelphia trio crafts LSD-infused psychedelic folk à la Animal Collective infused with a heady mix of textured stuttering shoegaze guitars and tropical impulses. Songs awash in hippyish ambiguity tell tales of weirdo characters among paranoid shifts in tempo. Aunt Drac’s loyal followers, used to leaving live shows satiated, will instead have to fill up on the band’s spacey psychedelic nuggets, something I’ll take any day over waffles.

The group celebrates the release of Face Peel this Saturday at Johnny Brenda’s with an impressive lineup of local acts including Papertrigger and Hermit Thrushes.

[MP3]: Aunt Dracula  ”Mongo”

Single, Self-Released; 2008

Tix available now/ Doors @ 7pm / flyer, mp3s + more below

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