“Evil Friends”, the new song from Portugal. The Man

"Evil Friends", the new song from Portugal. The Man

Nearly a month ago I was listening to Morning Becomes Eclectic when I heard this new song from Portugal. The Man called “Evil Friends”. Since then, I haven’t been able to get it out of my head. Produced by Danger Mouse, “Evil Friends” recalls late 90′s Blur to me, with the
super fuzzed out guitars and shout-y lyrics. And how great are the harmonies in the chorus parts? Gives me chills every time I hear it. If you prefer, you can also watch the music video for the track below.

The track comes off the album of the same name which will be released June 4.

Bobby Solomon

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April 22, 2013 - See more posts by Bobby

It’s Here: “Get Lucky” by Daft Punk

'Get Lucky' by Daft Punk

I think everyone I know has been looking for a legit version of Daft Punk’s new track “Get Lucky”, and sure enough, the amazing Rdio suddenly drops it, out of nowhere, for all of us to enjoy. I asked Kyle what he thought of the track and his off the cuff opinion was the it sounded “like a David Guetta song”, haha… I think it is a bit Pharrell heavy, I would have liked more robots, so I’m curious to see what the rest of the Random Access Memory ends up sounding like.

Bobby Solomon

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April 18, 2013 - See more posts by Bobby

Lovely Little Songs From Chris Rubeo

Chris Ruebo

“What kind of music do you like?” is a perfectly reasonable and polite question, but it usually makes me a bit panicky. What kind of music do I like? Well, it’s kind of iffy, to be honest. Unlike every other contributor to this site, my ear is distinctly un-cool, un-hip and if you saw the kind of music I listen to when I’m alone, you might suspect that I’m a retired shopping mall Santa who is now supplementing his income on a gay cruise ship.

So imagine my horror when Bobby tells us three months ago that we should start contributing to a monthly playlist for the site. I felt like it was inviting judgement into an arena where I already felt an excess of judgement, highlighting my lousy eardrums. So I added a few songs from bands that I knew were passable as cool and started scouring Rdio for new music. I found a bumper crop of new bands that I sincerely enjoy and ones that I think are cool enough to share with all of you. If you’re curious what this sounds like, I’ve started this playlist as a way to force myself to get rid of the anxiety I’ve attached to my musical preferences for so long.

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Alex Dent

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April 17, 2013 - See more posts by Alex

Five Questions with Aaron Meola, founder of Portland record label Dropping Gems

aaron meola by patti miller

I was first introduced to the Portland-based label Dropping Gems two years ago when they released their first compilation, Gem Drops. I was shocked. Here was a labor of love, done by friends for friends, with incredible beats and songs, and all the revenue went to the American Cancer Society. I stayed fresh and young, I got down with some kale jams (seriously), and I loved it so much I even featured a track on my Redford Rise mixtape, for all of you to enjoy.

Gem Drops Two followed the next year with the same inspired blend of tracks. Anything from synth pop, hip hop beats, ambient, drone… it was there. This was music to fall in love to, to get lost in a forest with, to make you dance in the sunshine. Once again, the proceeds went to cancer. Once again, I was smitten with the music.

Gem Drops Three came out yesterday. Many of the same things are there, but after several years, the sound is more refined. This is a labor of love. So through some help by friends of friends, I got a chance to ask label founder and Portland native Aaron Meola how he does it. And in the loving tradition of The Fox Is Black interviews, I asked him five questions about music, love, and passion.

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Alec Rojas

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April 17, 2013 - See more posts by Alec

Listen to the soundtrack for ‘Upstream Color’, composed by Shane Carruth

Upstream Color Soundtrack; Composed by Shane Carruth

Lately I’ve been hearing a lot of great things about Upstream Color, a film that was written, directed, produced, stars, edited, and scored by Shane Caruth. I swear I’m not making any of that up. I purposely don’t know much about it, but I was able to find this interesting short description.

“A man and woman are drawn together, entangled in the life cycle of an ageless organism. Identity becomes an illusion as they struggle to assemble the loose fragments of wrecked lives.”

I’m a sucker for dramatic situations set in sci-fi-esque worlds and this is definitely up my alley. While I don’t want to know more about the plot, I did dabble in the films score. A mentioned earlier Caruth also created all the music for the film, which when you listen to it that seems quite impressive. I’m no expert on film scores, but this sounds like something that can stand toe-to-toe with anything Hans Zimmer has done recently.

The music has eerie, mechanical tones interlaced with deep resonating cellos. It’s both familiar with and undercurrent that’s alien and machine-like. It reminds me a bit of Takagi Masakatsu’s music, only with a more orchestral root to it. If you’re into soundtracks I think this is certainly one not to miss.

Bobby Solomon

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April 16, 2013 - See more posts by Bobby

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