The Weeknd - "Take My Breath"

The Weeknd returns with his first new single of the year.

Ten Years | | Ten Songs

I've spent the past decade writing about music and my time in New York. It's one thing that makes me feel connected and relatable to everything around me. Over ten years, I've written about countless songs and concerts, but I've selected ten songs from the past ten years that feel really special to me. Thank you to everyone who has ever read any of these posts.

The Weeknd played Terminal 5

For a man shrouded in mystery, Abel Tesfaye better known these days as The Weeknd, had no problem packing Terminal 5 to capacity to deliver a stunning set of material from three mixtapes that will see an actual release next month. Within a year, The Weeknd went from a small bedroom project to playing headlining slots at major music festivals. Tesfaye's smooth as silk vocals have been reportedly unimpressive live, but he was in top form for this sold out crowd. Playing all the hits "Wicked Games", "Lonely Star", "High For This" the audience was in the palm of his hand shouting along to every word.  Backed with a sensational live band, every note was perfect, it begs the question of how big could this project get if everyone stays on board. He's already had guest appearances from Drake and it seems inevitable that he will soon reach a level many never would have imagined. "Loft Music" and "The Party & The After Party" acted as nice shout-outs to Beach House and the overdose of Siouxsie and The Banshees' "Happy House" had people losing their minds and made me wonder how many people knew what they were screaming along with. The technicolor pulsating orbs added flash and the breakdown into the second half of "Glass Table Girls" sounded rich in trip-hop nostalgia (hell Portishead's epic Dummy was the house music before the guy took the stage). When Trilogy hits stores in November, it'll be interesting to see how much of a shift there is in the momentum of his career and just how much bigger he'll get. "The doctors told me to cancel these shows" Tesfaye told us at one point, but 3 sold out shows in New York City was just something he couldn't pass up. Thursday evening he even dropped a new track "Empty" "for the fans that can't make it" in NYC which features a nod to The Smith's "Please Please Please Let Me Get What I Want". He knows his music and isn't afraid to acknowledge his indie indulgences something the R&B genre is not necessarily known for doing. His first mixtape "House of Balloons" showcased his strongest song writing so far, but he could still be on the verge of his biggest and best work to date.

omg-nyc | Coachella 2012

The dust has cleared, the sun has set, the feelings of heat stroke have worn off and Coachella 2012 is in the books. Unless you're living under a rock (or you don't care about music), you've probably heard that Coachella expanded to two weekends this year fully stocked with identical line-ups and after rave reviews from weekend one, the bar was set high for the weekend two. With temperatures rising to over 100 degrees, the pristine Empire Polo Fields welcomed the masses to the desert.

Capturing sets from every band over the weekend would take too much brain power to recall in full and you'd lose interest half-way through day 1, so I'll just hit up the highlights. Things kicked off Friday afternoon with sets from Yuck, Neon Indian - "It's so hot my fingers sizzle when I touch my keyboard" (that's not a song, he said that), Jimmy Cliff covering Rancid's "Ruby Soho" and the Clash's "Guns of Brixton", GIRLS - melting the audience with "Vomit", and Arctic Monkeys before we were treated to the heavy hitters. Brit-pop gods Pulp, who were playing their last scheduled show in North America, put on one of, if not the best, sets of the weekend as Jarvis Cocker sprinted from end to end of the main stage and delivered possibly the best performance by a front man I've ever seen. With unparalleled energy, the wiry Brit chatted up a storm between songs and before delivering an epic, song of the weekend, "Common People". From there it was the Outdoor Stage for the stellar combination of Mazzy Star, Explosions in the Sky - another contender for best set of the weekend, and the reunited Refused - see Pulp and Explosions in the Sky. The mind blowing magnitude of "Fade into You" in the desert followed by a powerful April 20th performance by EitS climaxing with "New Noise" is not a night I will soon forget.

As temperatures blazed on, Saturday saw an energetic Azealia Banks give tribute to Amy Winehouse by covering "Valerie" (she later covered the Prodigy's "Firestarter"...), tUnE-yArDs power through non-stop sensations from her fantastic W H O K I L L, Andrew Bird bringing Annie Clark onstage for a crooning duet, Jeff Mangum who still brought me nearly to tears by once again engulfing the audience in pure serenity, St. Vincent thrash on guitar before a kick-ass stage dive, Flying Lotus, Bon Iver - seeing the transition from a small church in London to the pre-Radiohead slot at Coachella is a crazy thing and while "Skinny Love" was awesome, "Beth/Rest" was not, and then there was Radiohead. The best live band on the planet rocked out as tight as ever playing classic after classic (all post-The Bends songs) and nailed each track with such power and greatness, the one-two punch of "Pyramid Song" and "You and Whose Army?" was particularly mind bending. Video screens floated above the band, backed with Clive Deamer on drums, and erratic lights dazzled from all sides. Thom Yorke danced like a wind-up doll, relentless energy keeping the audience hanging on every note.

Santigold got things moving on Sunday before a perfect mid-afternoon set of breezy jams from Real Estate. Wild Flag tore up the Outdoor Stage just prior to the Hives recalling early 2000s glory with their garage rock revival jams that still pack a punch a decade after they crashed into the states. Decked in tuxedos the Swedes rocked with the charm and poise that heralded their fame from day one. As the sun descended on the final eve of the Weekend, the Weeknd made luxurious and sultry R&B that doused a scorching crowd. Abel's smoked out and silky vocals hit the limit as he closed out with "House of Girls / Glass Table Girls" and swooned off into the sunset. Justice brought the house down with their neon † firmly in place on the Main Stage before the crowds swarmed for the explosive reunion of At the Drive-In. Cedric Bixler-Zavala slithered the stage inbetween leaps from the stacks of speakers. As the crowd for Dr. Dre and Snoop Dog grew by the second, the hip-hop legends took to the stage with a blazing vengeance immediately launched into "The Next Episode". A star powered performance ensued, featuring 50 Cent performing "P.I.M.P." and "In Da Club" and Eminem delivery a raw "Forgot About Dre". Dre and Snoop rocked "Nothin' But A 'G' Thang" and "California Love" to supreme approval and of course, there was Tupac. The now infamous, and underwhelming (yes, I said it) hologram resurrected 'Pac for two brief tracks before disappearing to endless screams of devotion, however the forever-young Tupac throwing down rhymes with an obviously aged Snoop left some unsettling feelings.

Of course there were other highlights like hearing Noel Gallagher dish out the classic "Don't Look Back in Anger", the Buzzcocks tear up "What Do I Get?" and the howl of WU LYF among others while doing simple things like wait in line for the bathroom that made the festival in the desert live up to its legendary status, but it is more than just the bands that made the trip to the desert so memorable, it's the experience and the idea that music can bring together thousands of people for a lost weekend in paradise.

omg-nyc's albums of 2011

Continuing with my end of the year lists, here are my favorite albums of 2011. I'll finish things up next week with guest lists, but in the mean time Happy Holidays!
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10. The Weeknd | House of Balloons
Almost over night, The Weeknd became 2011's big name in post-dubstep R&B. Spitting stylized rhymes over warped Beach House samples and embodying the essence of elusive and ever so smooth textures, the Toronto crew set forth an enigma that filed the black and white shadows and smoke filled beats of this self release mix-tape with uncanny ambition and strokes of genius that left the biggest names in the game wishing they could reach the level of this soulful conundrum. Silky smooth vocals over boisterous bass lines have become signature moves and although a lesser follow-up emerged later in the year (Echoes of Silence withstanding), the sultry swagger put forth is still grabbing attention.

09. Girls | Father, Son, Holy Ghost
Christopher Owens will be the first to admit that Girls is the ultimate nostalgia ridden rock band in recent years. Rollicking riffs recalling the 1950s underline the duo's expansive follow-up to their impressive debut and displays the group reaching to new heights as showcased in the scorching "Die" and the shuffling "Alex" and "Love Like a River". Yet it's the classic crooning in "Vomit" that really displays the tremendous growth the band has made in such a short amount of time. While old school vices are certainly a prominent presence in the band's day to day life style which are clearly hinted at numerous times in Owens' lyrics, the bouncy and youthful flow of each track ads to the ambiance and mystery of any great rock and roll band.

08. WU LYF | Go Tell Fire to the Mountain
Early comparisons to Wolf Parade and Explosions in the Sky almost neglect the true originality of these Manchester natives who are daring enough to name themselves for Lucifer and greet listeners with a mighty howl worthy of any basement and far from the rungs of Radio City where the later comparison played a milestone performance earlier this year. Towering guitars are battered amongst vocals sifted through gravel as leader Ellery Roberts bellows over marching drums that come together at all the right moments before falling apart into intimate grooves all of which scream for camraderie and cult like tendencies that sit quite well with the trends of 2011.

07. James Blake | James Blake
Anyone who spent the year listening to this record through earbuds or laptop speakers has done themselves an incredible disservice. The majesty of Blake's songwriting skills might have actually been the biggest surprise on this record as his bombastic bass, warped beats, and suspended angelic vocals allowed for so much open space that his lyrics were able to fill an incredible void. The haunting crevices of emptiness, vacuum sucked emotions and brought frenzied distilled warbled production to the forefront and showcased that not only is Blake able to carry the weight of comparisons to the legendary electronic acts of Burial and Aphex Twin, but also prove that covering Joni Mitchell and Feist is right up his alley as well.

06. tUnE-yArDs | W H O K I L L
Through intricate loops of horn blasts, punching percussion, sqwaks, and steely guitar, Merrill Garbus produced a cacophony of tribal beats and worldly jams for one of the most infectious records of the years that simply screams 'party' with more enthusiasm than any other record this year. Her unique ability to create monumental moments that seem to climax into euphoria just before crumbling back into non-sequitar jams draws easy comparisons to Dirty Projects' 2009 classic Bitte Orca. However, the tribal tendencies exhuded by Garbus seem to end those comparisons in an immediate fashion. While Dirty Projectors exhibit a more invitation only sound, tUnE-yArDs live by the more the merrier attitude. Garnished in face paint and eccentric outfits (which many audience members replicate), Garbus has invited everyone to the party and serves as a great reminder that there is plenty worth gathering about and making some serious commotion along the way.

05. Real Estate | Days
On their sophomore record, Brooklyn-via-New Jersey upstarts Real Estate put some polish on their lackadaisical rhythms and set their guitars on cruise control for countless wasted miles. Sun-soaked intertwining guitars and simple melodies evoke soft spoken 70s rock and quintessential indie rock while hopelessly embracing the nostalgia of endless suburban settings. Tranquil and flowing vocals spill over effortlessly cool guitar licks that somehow never seem to grow repetitive and offer some of the most breezy songs of the year fit for all of your aimless drives.

04. Iceage | New Brigade
With slashing guitars that echo Wire and Gang of Four, these Danish teens broke onto the scene in 2011 before anyone even knew what they looked like or could figure out that the band name was actually just one word. Known for their abbrasive, loud, short (hell, the album doesn't even crack 25 minutes), and often bloody live performances, the hardcore quartet made quite the name for themselves and even landed a spot opening for Fucked Up on one of their first U.S. shows. Without giving anyone a second to breathe, they reinvigorated gloomy post-punk with a fresh D.I.Y. twist and in a year in which there was plenty to rebel against, helped give punk rock a refreshing face-lift.

03. Panda Bear | Tomboy
By now it should come to no surprise that Noah Lennox (better known as Animal Collective's Panda Bear) is a true master of sonic texture and layering sample over sample to create some of the most hymnal and sharp drones in indie music. Ditching the sprawl of Person Pitch's epic track lengths in favor for some more traditional times, Panda Bear was able to achieve some of the most mutilating sonic compositions of the year. Reverb soaked guitar drenched skewed sampled and still allowed for Panda Bear to be as questioning and charismatic as ever before, while still sailing forth into uncharted territory. More accessible pop opportunities that exist on his previous releases (both solo and as part of the collective) are not as apparent as one might have expected, this album is truly for the patient listener, however if you think you can guess what Lennox is going to do next, you have a lot to learn.

02. M83 | Hurry Up, We're Dreaming
Anthony Gonzalez did not do himself any favors when he described his new album as "very, very, very epic" months before it was officially released. However, when lead single "Midnight City" hit the internet this summer, he seemed to turn any doubters into believers and when the double album dropped this fall, anyone still on the fence seemed to leap over in excitement. Combining soaring shoegaze guitars reminiscent from his early (and also phenomenal) work and the recent styles that reflected John Hughes' film soundtracks, Gonzalez and company complied over twenty intergalactic jams that launch listeners into the cosmos without retreading on a single note from the past. Upon first listen, a friend said to me "I wouldn't be surprised if this launches them to the next level" and that is exactly what this album has done.

01. Fleet Foxes | Helplessness Blues
"I'll have so much to tell you about" only begins to describe the journey Fleet Foxes set out to embark upon this year with the release of their second record. The liner notes describe ring leader Robin Pecknold as a 'prophet' and after joining the band's celestial voyage through the lens of a wide-eyed walker wandering towards the dawn, it is difficult to argue this statement. Even with a band as profound as Fleet Foxes, the gang is still full of wonder and uncertainty that fulfills the listener with incredible amounts of hope and aspiration that the wonders of an illustrious rock band seem to be the furthest thing from their minds. Dreams of working til you're sore and soon owning the store are not those typically associated with the most promising musical group in recent time, however that seems to be where Fleet Foxes separate themselves from the rest of the pack. These woodsman are still longing for a person as bewildered by the world and as full of imagination as they are and they present their joyous ambitions through golden autumnal melodies and voices as pristine as the lights hung in the night sky.