TVOTR, as we all surely know, rules; so too do Arctic Monkeys and Warpaint. We don’t often claim that shows are a must-see but this show is a must-see! If you want to buy tickets from L.A. Phil, go here. But if you are a gambling man or woman and think you might be able to win tickets to go for free, just email rsvp@larecord.com with subject TV and a link to the most ridiculous TV commercial you can find on YouTube Here’s a taste of what you’re in for if you win!

TV ON THE RADIO

Here’s a great live video of the band on Letterman playing the song “Will Do” from their album Nine Types of Light. Sound is solid, performance is pitch-perfect!

WARPAINT

Check out Warpaint playing “Elephant”. Hypnotic vocals, syncopated drums, intricate guitar lines fits together to make a mix of psyche and shoegazery 90s rock and everything in between…

ARCTIC MONKEYS

I wish I had this drummer’s energy. Seriously. Drummers among you, behold the constant 16th notes on the cymbals; guitarists, enjoy the Dick Dale influenced guitar line; everyone else, rock out.

PANDA BEAR

What else but awesomeness could you ever expect from a founding member of Animal Collective?

TV ON THE RADIO PLAY WITH ARCTIC MONKEYS + WARPAINT+ SMITH WESTERNS + ON SUN., SEPT. 25, AT THE HOLLYWOOD BOWL, 2301 NORTH HIGHLAND AVE., HOLLYWOOD. GO HERE FOR TICKET INFO AND ADDITIONAL DETAILS.

I’d only been to Coachella once, in 2004, when the horse-flavored dust was hot enough to scorch my nostrils on its way to my lungs. By the end of the weekend, I was more than glad to leave: as my crew headed for the car on the last night, I got on my knees and pounded my fist in the dirt, screaming “NEVER AGAIN!!!!”

But time changes a lot of things, as does a free VIP wristband and a press pass. And so with a tinge of trepidation, I found myself in the early afternoon hours on Friday in a Coachella parking lot in Indio, California, loaning some of my precious sunscreen to a jeepload of bucking bros, who were slathering their muscular chests and explaining to me how to hide drugs when going through the guard checkpoints: socks could be checked, but probably not sacks. “Just put it in your underwear, next to your balls—last year they rolled down the elastic band of my boxers, but that’s the worst they’re gonna do.”

I headed in, and after two checkpoints, the first being suspiciously more laissez-faire than the final one (where my sack was only slightly brushed during a hearty leg-pat), I found myself within the Coachella grounds, which seemed peppier and less barren than I remembered them seven years before. There were T-shirt stands and help desks and water carts, but also more installation art and domes and carnival rides, extra little structures here and there where skin-saving patches of shade could be savored. It felt like they were making a stronger effort to get every dehydrated kids out of the sun and under a giant metal tarantula. The only thing there was less of was people—was attendance down this year, or had they somehow made progress on getting the lines shorter, the parking easier, and the hassles less hassly?

Excision by Dan Collins

Excision by Lainna Fader

But I didn’t question things as I rushed to the Safari tent to see the last dregs of Excision’s set, which was making the early Coachella crowd go apeshit with dancing, screaming, and adoration straight out of a church. This Canadian’s wobbly-based dubstep, spun from behind a giant desk/platform that would have looked good with Mao Tse Tung behind it, didn’t match the sunniness of the afternoon for me, so I was forced to wash him down with a $9 tequila sunrise at the adjacent VIP rose garden, and an $11 margarita at the VIP tent near the Coachella main stage, where Ozomatli were sounding exactly like what you’d expect them to sound like if you’ve ever heard fourteen seconds of their music at any point in their recorded history.

It was in the VIP lounge that I realized how different the Coachella experience would be with a press pass than how I’d spent it in proletarian misery seven years before. The big VIP area had a fountain, an air-conditioned tent bar, free wifi for the press, delicious Woodfire pizza, and close proximity to the main stage itself! Sure, you were still too far away to see the actual physical performance, but you could hold a drink while not seeing it. And anyway, despite the near-nudity and the “Adamandeve.com” banner being pulled behind a plane in the sky, Coachella is not exactly about the intimate experience.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=q0BbKAJ9c0I

Warpaint by Dan Collins

Perhaps because of that lack of intimacy, I craved seeing bands I was familiar with. So after a brief interview with YACHT, I headed over to the Outdoor stage, Coachella’s second largest, to see Warpaint. Margaret Wappler from the L.A. Times says they were dressed “like the shipwrecked daughters of a one-eyed pirate captain and Stevie Nicks” but aside from singer Emily Kokal’s amazing Sheila E. coat, the other members actually wore the kind of billowy nineties dresses you’d see models in Sassy wear circa 1992. They were great—Jenny Lee Lindberg on bass danced around and boogied it up with Stella Mozgawa on drums, and Kokal and guitarist Theresa Wayman more or less swapped singing duties every other song. Their pretty, dark wave, shoegazey-chimey-crunch worked great on a blistering spring afternoon, like sprinkles of cold water on your back. And maybe this is what Coachella’s alternate stages are best at—letting bands you’ve only heard on the radio wow you with how good they sound on a big stage, with a roaring crowd, clean vocals, and the natural lighting of the sun!

Ariel Pink by Lainna Fader

Ariel Pink by Lainna Fader

And all that Vitamin D was giving me a delicious energy, which I should have used to watch Cee Lo’s famed meltdown, but instead used to get to Ariel Pink early, at the Gobi stage. Aaah, a shady side tent, where the crowds were small and I could zip right on up to the photographer area in front of the stage. Drummer Aaron Sperske spotted me in my photographer’s perch and gave me a little “sup bro” head nod: it was an isolated moment of connection with a band in a weekend where the barriers between artist and audience were rigidly enforced. And that kind of isolation can lead to trouble—perhaps this is why Ariel Pink stormed off the stage, telling us that we must “hate” him, when in fact we were all really enjoying the souped-up Gary Numanisms on display, vocals and all. Ariel, I’m sure there were no monitors and a whole lot of ‘tude from the sound guy, but maybe you could have just rolled with it?

Same goes for Lauren Hill, who on the main Coachella stage had a tiny little tizzy about the sound that delayed her set uncomfortably close to the “will they pull the plug” threshold. But I liked that she dressed just like I would if I were a woman—hoop earrings, a funky knit hat under a second hat (trés Bartholomew Cubbins), and a stripey dress so big and billowy and protruding in the front that she’s just got to be pregnant again with her sixth kid.

Drunk with the power of my media wristband, I took a first saunter into the very front of the Coachella stage, only to have an authoritative white woman looked at my wristbands and tell me “You don’t have a photo wristband: you have to leave.” I walked out, sullen and confused, but not before I got a good glimpse of Ms. Hill’s hijinks close up, the way they look best. Though the big video screens on the sides of the stage captured her swagger, they did NOT capture her slight figure, her frail, crazed humanity, or the baby bump, which I repeat is DEFINITELY a baby on the way and not a trick of the light or media hyperbole. And it was a good listen: lively versions of Fugee and solo Hill songs bopped, booped, and poked out at us from the stage. Hill had a damned good backing band, with tubas as tight as the bass, and when they closed with “Doo Wop (That Thing),” I felt like maybe it was going to be a pretty cool weekend.

That feeling dissipated later, when I foolishly departed from Interpol’s sunset performance to check out Kele and Sleigh Bells. Really? Is this what the kids are into these days: anthemy showdown music with the most boring guitar punctuation in the history of power chord cheese, and vocals that were 45% just “Whooooaaaaaaaaah?”

Marina and the Diamonds at the Gobi stage were more entertaining. Though some of their actual recordings are rather overproduced (I doubt you’d ever play them in the car for your friends), the band had a real patchwork charm live, like Bjork trying to cover Annie Lennox while dressed in Josie Cotton’s outfits. Principal songwriter/performer Marina Diamandis enticed me with her glitter and Raggedy Ann hair, but she nailed my heartstrings to a fucking cigar box and picked a chord on them them when I realized her earrings were little bananas. And the crowd went a little bananas when she jumped into the hit single “I Am Not a Robot,” her arms outstretched in an unironic Bono pose.

I heard glimpses of Cut Copy and then the Black Keys on my way back to the press tent, but being unable to enjoy any band from the Coachella stage without feeling like I was just at a movie with good surround sound, I headed to the Dome, where I saw the best performance of the night and possibly of the whole weekend: Beardyman, a UK hip hop import who would fit right in on Fake Four or Plug Research. More than that, he was possibly the best beat boxer I’d ever heard, and I’ve seen Doug E. Fresh live. Beardyman clearly had his mouth in the game, and could do great block-rocking beats a capella, but his technique of recording mouth loops on the fly and then manipulating them into Low End Theory-style glitch hop/dubstep beats was more than impressive—it was clever, and soulful, and made me think he was a force to be reckoned with, even if he was playing all the way out here on the furthest outreaches of Coachella (albeit in the most awesomely decorated stage of all Coachella stages, which was adorned with spray-painted tatters of cardboard sculpted into an Avatar-esque tree creature seemingly imbedded in a 1960’s style monkey bar set for giant toddlers).

Leave wanting more, I thought, and since Flying Lotus was scheduled to play at the Ace Hotel in Palm Springs that night, I grabbed Associate Publisher Lainna Fader and headed for the exit. At least, I thought it was the correct exit, but after a wrong turn supplemented by bad instructions from completely clueless guards, we ended up walking for miles against incoming Coachella traffic, taking random lefts and rights around stables and golf-cart garages, each dusty trail leading to more guards who couldn’t direct us to Lot 4 but still wanted to search our bags and beep our wristbands.

At last we found the car, and liberated from the dust, the glow lights, and the Chemical Brothers, we headed to the oasis of the Ace Hotel. After a day in the dirt, I didn’t want to pound my fist in the ground, but it was nice to see a quality DJ spin in an intimate environment. Flying Lotus and friends reminded me that while a desert spectacle can be impressive, music is better when it’s part of a community. Hopefully the next day at Coachella would provide a little of both.

—Dan Collins

www.youtube.com/watch?v=iBlpjZ2VAAE

Coming down the stairs of the Troubadour and facing a sold-out crowd is beginning to be standard procedure for this group, whose buzz has been steadily climbing in the right direction after releasing 2 of the better records from the last 2 years. 2009′s EP, Exquisite Corpse, was a brilliant 6-song disc mixed by former Red Hot Chili Pepper John Frusciante. It checks in at right-under 34 minutes and can be listened to over and over and over again—seductive stuff indeed. After cycling through a few drummers they eventually found the perfect fit in Stella Mozgawa, were signed to Rough Trade Records, and have since completed an extensive tour and released their debut album, The Fool, which is an impressively unique effort in its own right.

Leading off the Troubadour set was “Bees,” one of my favorites from the album. Usually when performed live this song has an explosive percussive intro that immediately grabs your attention and forcibly nods your head. This night they did the mellower album version, but if you search YouTube for their performance you can see the difference. “Stars” followed, which I would quickly describe as a dreamy array of floating rhythm. The darker and harder “Warpaint” was next, which moved into the territory of effect-laden guitars and an inaudible chant. This was meant to lay the path for “Composure,” a roller coaster of a song that has vocalist Emily Kokal eerily repeating “How can I keep my composure?” while bassist Jenny Lee Lindberg and guitarist Theresa Wayman jam out and move with each other on the side of the stage. Drummer Mozgawa flawlessly drives the tempo, first fast and then transitioning with basically a high-energy solo before merging back down into the harder chant over a slower movement. That slower pace sets the stage for the most “mainstream” song off the album, “Undertow,” which is a melodic crowd-pleaser full of Kokal and Wayman’s hypnotic vocals and layered harmonies. Lindberg’s bass lines always kick and Stella Mozgawa ends with another example of her consistently creative rhythmic interpretation.

During “Shadows,” Jenny Lee Lindberg and Stella Mozgawa share constant faces back and forth, laughing and just having fun. Clearly from an outsider’s perspective they all seem to get along just great, they have much history as friends, and that definitely carries over into how cohesively impressive they are on stage. Lindberg’s dances and movements while playing is a prime example of her being totally in tune and comfortable with her element, not to mention very cute and endearing. Theresa Wayman and Mozgawa switch instruments for “Set Your Arms Down,” then back to normality for “Majesty.” The groovy “Burgundy” moves them through their set which has balanced their two discs well, and finishing strong with fan-favorite “Elephants” got everyone excited and dancing. Kokal’s airy vocals blend beautifully with the guitar textures coming out of Wayman and Lindberg—and with that the people wanted more, which they got when Warpaint came back out for an encore that included the vocal-driven “Baby” and my personal favorite song, “Beetles.” The latter is a high energy thrill-ride that mixes both intensity and subtleness about as good as you possibly can—in essence creating 3 songs in 1 and not to mention giving the crowd the opportunity to scream “Fuck it, where’s my shit?” a few times—always a winner.

Warpaint’s music is not rushed—rather the opposite, building and building until it’s transported you elsewhere and you haven’t realized how much time has passed. Most of the live show is made up of what feels more like jam sessions than actual songs, which for me makes for an extremely fun time. They are a great live band— their sets are challenging, which shows their immense talent—and their music is ambitious, which shows they are not content on playing it safe. That equation will only yield greater things to come.

—Josh Liddy

Anne Litt has been involved with KCRW for fifteen years, and has earned critical acclaim not only for her on-air talents, but also her supervision of the Little Miss Sunshine soundtrack. She’s also the one responsible for the recent appearance of the Black Keys and Sean Hayes on Subaru commercials. Litt was a crucial player in the establishment of KCRW’s internet identity and on-line music channel, and you can hear her on Saturday and Sunday from 2 to 5 pm (or on demand) playing “progressive pop and new rhythms.” This interview by Kristina Benson.

What are your favorite five albums of 2010 from L.A.-based artists?

Anne Litt:

Flying Lotus – Cosmogramma – Flying Lotus is a genius, in my opinion. The beat culture that he has been instrumental in building truly defines an L.A. sound. Other artists like Nosaj Thing, Gaslamp Killer, Tokimonsta, Daedelus, Teebs, Take, and on and on are part of a scene that is hands down the most exciting one happening now. I want to hear more from all of them in 2011.

Darker My Love – Alive As You Are – I’ve written a lot about Darker My Love’s latest record because I keep going back to it over and over again. The sounds are from another era and feel distinctly West Coast. The psychedelic, trippy guitars and down in the dirt, organic sounds of this record have made it a favorite.

Local Natives – Gorilla Manor – They are so good live and I think this record is a great example of what bands are doing today, pulling in different influences and sounds from a global perspective.

Warpaint – The Fool – This record missed some Top Ten mentions because it’s such a new release, but I think it’s just amazing. This is their debut full length and their sound is easy and unforced. It’s hazy and organic and will seep into your brain. Their cover of “Ashes To Ashes” on Manimal Vinyl’s Bowie tribute record rivals the original.

Ozomatli – Fire Away – Ozo has been the standard bearer for L.A. culture for two decades. The responsibility they feel to the community and the fun they have making music is inspiring. This record is razor sharp. I was also proud of the remixes we KCRW DJ’s did of tracks from the record too.

What releases in 2011 are you most looking forward to?
Anne Litt: I hear that new records are coming from all of these artists in 2011, but I’m sure there are tons more amazing records that I don’t even know about yet!
* Other Lives
* Devotchka
* Iron and Wine
* The Shins
* Death Cab For Cutie
* DJ Shadow

Do you think it’s hard for an artist to keep the attention of listeners and music fans these days, given how much music is out there competing for our attention through internet-based blogs, radio stations, MTV, YouTube, etc?

Anne Litt: On the one hand, I think it’s much harder and more work to keep the attention of the listeners. But, on the other hand, since the playing field has been leveled, so many more artists have a voice. Honestly that’s what gets me most excited. I feel as though I stumble upon something new that I like almost every day.

The “noise” level is high though because of the sheer volume. And because there are not physically enough hours in the day to read every blog and watch every YouTube video, I have my trusty, secret sources who hip me to things that I might have missed. For example, just last week one of my secret agents turned me on to Danish singer songwriter, Agnes Obel. Her debut, Philharmonics, came out in a few European countries in October and has gotten a lovely review from the BBC. The world might have missed her spare and lovely compositions if this was 1991 when the world was ruled by major labels.

There are a couple artists that appear consistently on a lot of top tens. I’m thinking of Flying Lotus and Janelle Monae in particular. What do you think it is about these artists that resonated so broadly?

Anne Litt: I think that people today are looking for art—for sounds that remember our collective past but look forward with a new perspective. Also, because the globe has gotten smaller through technology, sounds from other eras and times have seeped into our consciousness and music in a really exciting way. Flylo and Janelle Monae are two great examples of that. Flying Lotus takes jazz, soul, and electronic music and has twisted into something else, while Janelle Monae’s songs are musical theater with messages and hooks.

How has the music scene in Los Angeles changes since you started at KCRW?

Anne Litt: My sense (I’ve been here since 1991) is that the scene and sounds are more cohesive. I don’t mean that all the bands sound alike, but that everyone is supporting each other. The independent records stores, club scene, internet radio stations like Dublab, KXLU, KCRW, and KPFK are supporting a giant variety of local music and it’s flourishing.

L.A. likes to party at hotels. It’s like going on vacation for a couple hours except usually without a free buffet or conga lines. Until that happens, hanging out by the pool and looking at each other affords plenty good times. IAMSOUND Records is setting up Mondrian Sessions, a series of free poolside performances at Skybar at the Mondrian LA in West Hollywood. Free and 21+, RSVP to skybarla@morganshotelgroup.com.

On January 2nd, Manimal Vinyl announced an upcoming 28-song David Bowie tribute album. The tracklist has since been revised, and will be released as a double-disc release of 32 covers. The album, titled Repetition – A Tribute to David Bowie, features Bowie classics covered by Duran Duran, Warpaint, Carla Bruni, Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeroes, Rainbow Arabia, MGMT, among others.

The album is scheduled for release on September 6th as a two-disc set, available as a limited CD, limited double LP, and download with bonus tracks. All the profits from the release will be going to War Child UK — a branch of an international charity for children affected by war. Manimal is now accepting preorders.

Repetition – A Tribute to David Bowie Tracklist:
Disc 1:
01. Exitmusic – “Space Oddity”
02. Duran Duran – “Boys Keep Swinging”
03. Megapuss (Devendra Banhart) – “Sound + Vision” (en espanol)
04. Warpaint – “Ashes to Ashes”
05. Charlift – “Always Crashing in the Same Car”
06. A Place to Bury Strangers – “Suffragette City”
07. All Leather – “Fame”
08. We Are The World – “Afraid of Americans”
09. Carla Bruni – “Absolute Beginners”
10. VOICEsVOICEs – “Heroes”
11. Corridor – “Be My Wife”
12. Vivian Girls – “John, I’m Only Dancing”
13. Lights – “World Falls Down”
14. Keren Ann – “Life on Mars”
15. Genuflex – “Soul Love”
16. Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeroes – “Memory of a Free Festival”

Disc 2:
01. MGMT – “TVC 15″
02. Aska & Bobby Evans (feat. Moon & Moon) – “African Night Flight”
03. Tearist – “Repetition”
04. The Polyamorous Affair – “Theme From Cat People”
05. Halloween Swim Team – “Look Back in Anger”
06. Jessica 6 – “I’m Deranged”
07. Rainbow Arabia – “Quicksand”
08. Swahili Blonde (feat. John Frusciante) – “Red Money”
09. Aquaserge – “The Superman”
10. Sister Crayon – “The Bewlay Brothers”
11. Lewis & Clarke – “Changes”
12. Mechanical Bride – “Sound + Vision”
13. Zaza – “It Ain’t Easy”
14. Ariana Delawari – “Ziggy Stardust”
15. Mick Karn – “Ashes to Ashes”
16. Xu Xu Fang – “China Girl”

NEW SHOP ARRIVALS: FEB 1ST, 2010

-New Arrivals

Nocando – Jimmy The Lock (MP3)

Bobb Bruno – Dreamt On (CD)

Mikki & The Mauses – The Problem With Male Sexualty (MP3)

VUM – Strange Attractor (CD)

Blue Jungle – Baby Don’t Cry (MP3)

Jail Weddings – Inconvenient Dreams (MP3)

Witch – Paralyzed (LP)

Valient Thorr – Immortalizer (2xLP)

Night Horse – The Dark Won’t Hide You (LP)

Rainbow Arabia – Kabukimono (LP)

Warpaint – Exquisite Corpse (CD)

Grizzly Bear – Veckatimest (LP)

-Top Sellers

Audacity – Power Drowning (MP3)

Gangi – A (LP)

Sun Araw – In Orbit (CS)

Arthur Verocai – Arthur Verocai (LP)

Voices Voices – Origins (12″)

-Pre Order

We Are The World – Clay Stones (LP)