Click Track - January 17, 2010

Keys open doors: How Baltimore indie rock duo Beach House found its sound in America's thrift stores

Vintage keyboards play a large role in Beach House's sound. (All photos by Benjamin C Tankersley/FTWP) In Sunday's Washington Post, Alex Scally and Victoria Legrand of ascendant Baltimore indie duo Beach House speak lovingly of their dusty vintage keyboard...

By Chris Richards | January 22, 2010; 6:30 PM ET | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Archive | Tags: Beach House
Save & Share:

Coda: Customized Coachella, decoding "hiatus," Thievery's thud

Jay-Z is one of Coachella's headliners; would he play your version? (AP Photo/Jason DeCrow) It took us a little while but we finally got some fantasy sports onto Click Track. We used Coachella's lineup announcement to develop a game where...

By David Malitz | January 22, 2010; 6:00 PM ET | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Coda
Save & Share:

Baltimore's Beach House: Living the "Dream"

Victoria Legrand and Alex Scally of Baltimore indie band Beach House. (Benjamin C. Tankersley For The Washington Post) By Chris Richards This rehearsal space smells like a thrift store -- which is to say it smells like dust and history...

By Chris Richards | January 22, 2010; 5:28 PM ET | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: In today's Post | Tags: Beach House
Save & Share:

In concert: Otis Taylor

Otis Taylor did plenty of talking Thursday at Blues Alley. (All photos by Brandon Wu/FTWP) By Mike Joyce Operating on just four hours sleep and confessing to feeling thoroughly caffeinated, Otis Taylor never settled down during his quartet’s opening set...

By David Malitz | January 22, 2010; 5:00 PM ET | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: In concert | Tags: Otis Taylor
Save & Share:

As heard on TV... "Jersey Shore"

Goodbye for now, "Jersey Shore" cast. We'll always have the vomiting. And bad techno. So, that wasn't so great, right? The last episode of "Jersey Shore" -- at least until MTV figures out what to do about a second season...

By Allison Stewart | January 22, 2010; 12:38 PM ET | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: As heard on TV | Tags: Jersey Shore
Save & Share:

Riffs: How does Prince's Vikings anthem measure up with Bootsy Vegas's "Hail to the Redskins" go-go remix?

Bootsy Vegas is better than Prince ... when it comes to writing songs about football teams. As this year's NFL season winds down, a pattern emerges: Losing teams will be serenaded with really cool songs performed by incredibly obscure...

By Chris Richards | January 22, 2010; 11:00 AM ET | Permalink | Comments (1)
Categories: Riffs | Tags: Bootsy Vegas, Prince
Save & Share:

Morning click: MTV denies Kanye diss rumors; Lilith Fair returns

Kanye West: The only major celebrity in America not confirmed for the Hope for Haiti telethon? (Photo: Paul Beaty/AP) - MTV is denying rumors that Kanye West was shut out from the network's major Haiti telethon airing tonight. With practically...

By Ally Schweitzer | January 22, 2010; 8:30 AM ET | Permalink | Comments (1)
Categories: Morning click | Tags: Aerosmith, Cat Power, Gossip, Heart, Kanye West, Lilith Fair, Loretta Lynn, Teddy Pendergrass
Save & Share:

In concert: Thievery Corporation

Lots of ambience, little dancing for Thievery Corporation's 9:30 club show on Wednesday night. (All photos by Evy Mages/FTWP) By Chris Klimek Another January, another Thievery Corporation residency at the 9:30 Club. Don’t forget: 1) Earplugs; and 2) Drugs (optional)....

By David Malitz | January 21, 2010; 3:30 PM ET | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: In concert | Tags: Thievery Corporation
Save & Share:

Taking sides... Choose your own Coachella adventure

Jay-Z and Thom Yorke can play at your version of Coachella - but it will cost you. In an effort to turn everything in life into some kind of draft and/or fantasy sport, Click Track has developed a Coachella salary...

By David Malitz | January 21, 2010; 2:25 PM ET | Permalink | Comments (9)
Categories: Taking sides | Tags: Baroness, Beach House, Calle 13, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Coachella, Corinne Bailey Rae, De La Soul, Dead Weather, Dirty Projectors, Echo and the Bunnymen, Faith No More, Gil Scott-Heron, Girls, Grace Jones, Jay-Z, LCD Soundsystem, Pavement, Phoenix, Sleigh Bells, Sly Stone, Spoon, The Soft Pack, Thom Yorke, Wale
Save & Share:

Local news: Haitian stars Tabou Combo to perform benefit concert at Kennedy Center

Haitian group Tabou Combo is coming Washington. (Photo courtesy the Kennedy Center). Haitian stars Tabou Combo and Tatiana Pierre & John Pierremont will join members of the NSO and Georgetown’s Let Freedom Ring Choir for a free benefit concert on...

By Chris Richards | January 21, 2010; 1:45 PM ET | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Local news | Tags: Tabou Combo
Save & Share:

In concert: Pree

Pree's May Tabol sang about ghosts, houses and snow in an unconventional soprano Wednesday at Millennium Stage. (All photos by Brandon Wu/FTWP) By Mark Jenkins The marble-clad Kennedy Center stood in for a back porch Wednesday night, when Pree played...

By David Malitz | January 21, 2010; 12:34 PM ET | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: In concert | Tags: Pree
Save & Share:

Morning click: Quincy Jones plans "We Are the World" remake, Beyoncé joins "Hope for Haiti"

Q is planning a "We Are the World" remake. (AP Photo/The Atlanta Journal & Constitution, Hyosub Shin) - Quincy Jones and Lionel Richie are planning to record a 25th anniversary remake of "We Are the World" to benefit relief...

By Chris Richards | January 21, 2010; 9:05 AM ET | Permalink | Comments (1)
Categories: Morning click | Tags: Beyoncé, Jay-Z, Lionel Richie, Mystikal, Quincy Jones
Save & Share:

Riffs: Killers, Dixie Chicks, Nine Inch Nails... What to expect when your favorite band goes 'on hiatus'

It was a sad day in Sam's Town when the Killers announced a hiatus. The Killers recently saddened literally dozens of fans when they announced they were joining the long, proud tradition of bands going on hiatus. Hiatus is a...

By Allison Stewart | January 20, 2010; 4:00 PM ET | Permalink | Comments (4)
Categories: Riffs | Tags: Dixie Chicks, Fugazi, Fugees, Killers, Led Zeppelin, Nine Inch Nails, The Strokes
Save & Share:

News: Bruce Springsteen, Stevie Wonder, Jay-Z sign on to perform "Hope for Haiti" telethon

The Boss is one of many big names that will perform to raise money for Haiti. (Photo By Michael Williamson) A constellation of pop stars have signed on to perform at Friday's "Hope For Haiti" telethon, including Bruce Springsteen, Jay-Z,...

By Chris Richards | January 20, 2010; 2:31 PM ET | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: News | Tags: Bruce Springsteen, Jay-Z, Stevie Wonder, Wyclef Jean
Save & Share:

Really quick spin: Surfer Blood, "Astro Coast"

Either "alternative rock" died early last decade or everyone just decided to start calling it "indie rock" because that sounded hipper and newer. They're both pretty meaningless and interchangeable terms but then along comes an album like "Astro Coast,"...

By David Malitz | January 20, 2010; 2:30 PM ET | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Really quick spins | Tags: Surfer Blood
Save & Share:

Play favorites with... Neal Becton of Som Records

Neal Becton shopping for records in Brazil. (Courtesy of Neal Becton) Every Wednesday Click Track finds out what the city is listening to with Play favorites -- a weekly column where we ask a Washingtonian what's been in heavy rotation...

By Chris Richards | January 20, 2010; 1:28 PM ET | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Play favorites
Save & Share:

Really quick spins: Paste, Ballerstatus.com

Both Paste Magazine and Ballerstatus.com have new mixtapes out this week and both are good, as they should be — if publications that report on music and musicians put out mediocre product, they lose the right to talk smack....

By Sarah Godfrey | January 20, 2010; 12:32 PM ET | Permalink | Comments (1)
Categories: Really quick spins | Tags: Phil Ade
Save & Share:

Morning click: Coachella Lineup Announced; Folk singer Kate McGarrigle dies

Jay-Z, Gorillaz, Phoenix, and MGMT are scheduled to play this year's Coachella Festival. (Photos clockwise from top: Jason DeCrow/AP; Myspace) - The 2010 Coachella lineup has been announced and it's looking a little less wrinkly than in years past....

By Ally Schweitzer | January 20, 2010; 8:30 AM ET | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Morning click | Tags: Jay-Z, Ludacris, Phoenix, Vampire Weekend, Wale
Save & Share:

Riffs: Robin Givhan on India.Arie's butterfly wings

Singer with butterfly wings. (Photo by by Margot Schulman) India.Arie gave a spirited performance at the Kennedy Center Monday night, but I wasn't feeling her encore outfit: A pair of butterfly wings that a pre-schooler would wear on Halloween. Didn't...

By Chris Richards | January 19, 2010; 3:10 PM ET | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Riffs | Tags: India.Arie
Save & Share:

Local news: Winners of the 2010 DMV Music Awards

Baltimore upstart Rye Rye won Best Club/Dance Artist at Sunday's DMV Music Awards. (Photo by Tim Mosenfelder/Getty Images) R&B's A-list congregated in Washington on Saturday night for the annual BET Honors, but on Sunday, local musicians were staging an...

By Chris Richards | January 19, 2010; 2:43 PM ET | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Local news | Tags: DJ Class, Rye Rye
Save & Share:

In concert: Carolina Chocolate Drops

Carolina Chocolate Drops offered plenty of musical history Monday at the Birchmere. (All photos by Brandon Wu/FTWP) By Sarah Godfrey The members of the Carolina Chocolate Drops call their style "traditional innovation"; musicians Dom Flemons, Rhiannon Giddens, and Justin Robinson...

By David Malitz | January 19, 2010; 12:41 PM ET | Permalink | Comments (3)
Categories: In concert | Tags: Carolina Chocolate Drops
Save & Share:

The Obamas attend Kennedy Center's annual King tribute featuring India.Arie

The Obamas enjoyed a performance from India.Arie at the Kennedy Center. (Pablo Martinez Monsivais/Associated Press). By Chris Richards A chatty India.Arie took the stage sporting a tangerine shawl and what seemed like a case of the butterflies. When she...

By Chris Richards | January 19, 2010; 11:21 AM ET | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: In today's Post | Tags: India.Arie
Save & Share:

Album Review: Spoon, "Transference"

By David Malitz Spoon emerged as one of the great bands of the '00s because it strictly adhered to one of rock's most overlooked principles: The notes you don't play are as important as the ones you do play....

By David Malitz | January 19, 2010; 8:30 AM ET | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Quick spins | Tags: Spoon
Save & Share:

Singles file: Marion Cotillard, Yelawolf, Justin Bieber f. Ludacris

The Oscar winner teams with Franz Ferdinand for a Dior ad campaign. Art! By Allison Stewart A weekly playlist for the listener with a one-track mind. Marion Cotillard: "The Eyes of Mars" (music and lyrics by Franz Ferdinand) Once you...

By David Malitz | January 19, 2010; 8:15 AM ET | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Singles file | Tags: Ben Bridwell, Courtney Jaye, Del McCoury, Justin Bieber, Ludacris, Marion Cotillard, Preservation Hall Jazz Band, Yelawolf
Save & Share:

Album Review: RJD2, "The Colossus"

By Jesse Serwer Ramble John "RJD2" Krohn began his career as a beatmaker for the Columbus, Ohio, underground rap group MHz in the late '90s. Since then, he's meandered around hip-hop's periphery with a series of predominantly instrumental, increasingly...

By David Malitz | January 19, 2010; 8:00 AM ET | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Quick spins | Tags: RJD2
Save & Share:

Album Review: Motion City Soundtrack, "My Dinosaur Life"

By Allison Stewart It would be easy to mistake Motion City Soundtrack for a guyliner band of recent vintage - a less punny Fall Out Boy, circa '07, with the same brutally efficient hooks, the same self-deprecating and clever...

By David Malitz | January 19, 2010; 7:45 AM ET | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Quick spins | Tags: Motion City Soundtrack
Save & Share:

Morning click: Aventura helps Haiti, Willie Nelson makes "Country Music," Gaga and Dizzee to perform at the Brits

"C'mon, give us your relief dollars." Aventura is raising funds for Haiti. (Photo courtesy of the artist) - Benefit concerts for Haiti are popping up across the map and bachata superheroes Aventura are the latest group to get in the...

By Chris Richards | January 19, 2010; 7:00 AM ET | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Morning click | Tags: Aventura, Lady Gaga, Willie Nelson
Save & Share:

In concert: Joe Pernice

Joe Pernice played highlights from throughout his underappreciated catalogue Sunday at Iota. (All photos by Kyle Gustafson/FTWP) By Patrick Foster After two decades of making "regular" albums, it seems logical that Joe Pernice would eventually try his hand at recording...

By David Malitz | January 18, 2010; 3:44 PM ET | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: In concert | Tags: Joe Pernice
Save & Share:

In concert: Timbaland

Timbaland was on his own at 9:30 club on Saturday night. Well, mostly. (All photos by Kyle Gustafson/FTWP) By Sarah Godfrey Producer Timbaland has a ton of hits under his belt -- but mostly as a beatmaker, rather than a...

By David Malitz | January 18, 2010; 11:45 AM ET | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: In concert | Tags: Timbaland
Save & Share:

Morning click: Stars lining up for Haiti benefit, Weezer ready to come off disabled list

Bono and Sting will be among the performers raising money for relief efforts in Haiti on Friday. - Superstar performers including Bono, Sting, Justin Timberlake, Christina Aguilera and Alicia Keys will perform at the "Hope For Haiti" telethon on Friday....

By David Malitz | January 18, 2010; 8:31 AM ET | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Morning click | Tags: Bono, Neil Young, Sting, Weezer
Save & Share:

Network News

Click Track: January 17, 2010 - January 23, 2010