Keep Shelly in Athens - "Recollection"

Grecian duo Keep Shelly in Athens recently shared their latest single "Recollection", which matches Balearic rhythms and synths with the effortless bedroom haze of the Cocteau Twins. Look for their debut full-length At Home, on September 17.

Legends of Summer: Jay Z and Justin Timberlake at Yankee Stadium

It seemed more than fitting that the biggest tour of the summer rolled into New York City on the hottest day of the year (the heat index in Brooklyn was hovering around 106 when I made my way to the Bronx). Shortly after 9:00 PM, the iconic baseball stadium darkened and erupted in cheers as the two legends of summer strolled onto the stage for their recent collaboration, "Holy Grail" off Jay's recent Magna Carta... Holy Grail. The early part of the set consisted of the two pop stars volley hit for hit with some added assistance. Mr. Timberlake sang the vocals on the Jackson 5's "I Want You Back" as Hova transitioned into "Izzo". The duo made some well calculated moves on how to make this show as smooth as possible while still making each of them the biggest names in the game. Setting themselves up as equals (a similar method that Jay Z and Kanye West used during the Watch the Throne Tour), there was no opener and this was not a pop vs hip hop show either, but rather a collision of superstars using their talents to cement themselves as entertainment legends. Both are heroes in their own right. Jay Z just scored his thirteenth number one album and while JT is fresh off the release of his first album in seven years, he is proving his showmanship with exquisite production.

Despite Justin's recent reclaim of pop music, The 20/20 Experience is currently the best selling album of the year, the night clearly belonged to the Jigga-man. Playing to his home crowd, Jay knows how to use his many anthems to rock arenas and stadiums and the massive Yankee Stadium wasn't new territory for the king of hip hop. Even with smash hits "Señorita", "Rock Your Body" and "My Love" couldn't keep up with Jay's "Big Pimpin'", "Hard Knock Life (Ghetto Anthem)", "Heart of the City" and the forever epic "99 Problems" (although Justin acting as the cop was surely a site to see). The middle of the set allowed each artist sometime personal time to highlight their esteemed discographies and where Jay powered through each number, Timberlake's definitely had to carry some extra weight. That isn't to say that his musicianship and talent were laking, his soulful croon and savvy dance moves had people screaming and the hit of the summer "Mirrors" was sensational, but next to Hov it was clear who had the upper hand.

As the show began the final run, Justin appeared in left field to cover "New York, New York" before Jay launched into the mega anthem "Empire State of Mind" which has certainly been played into the ground at this point, but when Alicia Keys made her way out to deliver her infamous chorus, the song reached new levels of supreme. The entire stadium belting along with the city's new anthem was the absolute high light of the night and one of the best moments of the summer.

The use of "Encore" in a Jay Z set will never be wasted at this point in his career. The mark that the night is about to come to a close is never easy, but when the biggest hits start coming, it's hard to be too upset. Not letting Jay outrightly steal the show by brining Alicia Keys for added back-up, Justin pulled out the stops as well by ushering Timbaland onto the stage for his role in "SexyBack". Another moment fans won't soon forget.

Nearly three hours after the show began, the duo closed out the night with their other big collaboration of the year. This time it was "Suit and Tie", the single that blasted Timberlake back into the spotlight before he aided Jay by singing the hook to "Young Forever" as the two ascended up the staircase set center stage. In a day and age where the notion of a what constitutes rock star status, these two are flexing their celebrity muscles with relative ease to show just how much power and control they have over the game. "And we're all just entertainers" the duo borrow from Nirvana on "Holy Grail", but these entertainers are in ballparks all their own.

J Mascis - "Fade Into You" (Mazzy Star Cover)

Dinosaur Jr are set to release a custom designed shoe for LA Brand Keep. The limited edition shoe costs $75 and includes a 7" picture disc of J Masics covering the dream-pop classic "Fade Into You" by Mazzy Star. Check out the cover over at Pitchfork and head here to order the shoe.

Widowspeak - "True Believer"

Despite just releasing their great sophomore record this past winter, the incendiary Widowspeak will release a six song EP entitled The Swamps, on October 29 via Captured Tracks. "True Believer" is a perfect breezy summer jam that follows the more sepia-toned, twee vibes of Almanac.

Phoenix - "Trying to Be Cool"

The second single from Phoenix's latest release, Bankrupt!, and an essential summer jam.

2013.5

With the first week of Summer under our belts, we also say goodbye to the first half of 2013. I typically save my lists for the end of the year, but I think 2013 has been off to a fantastic start already, so I'm giving you twenty albums I've enjoyed in the first half of the year (Spotify links when possible).

The Besnard Lakes | Until in Excess, Imperceptible UFO
James Blake | Overgrown
Boards of Canada | Tomorrow's Harvest
Daft Punk | Random Access Memories
Mikal Cronin | MCII
Deafheaven | Sunbather
Deerhunter | Monomania
The Haxan Cloak | Excavation
Iceage | You're Nothing
Inc | No World
The Knife | Shaking the Habitual
My Bloody Valentine | mbv
Pharmakon | Abandon
Phoenix | Bankrupt!
Savages | Silence Yourself
Sigur Rós | Kveikur
Unknown Mortal Orchestra | II
Vampire Weekend | Modern Vampire of the City
Kanye West | Yeezus
Widowspeak | Almanac

Tell me what I missed in the comments!

Enjoy the Experience: Homemade Records 1958-1992

"These psych/funk/folk/jazz/lounge/boogie tracks from American private press records are idiosyncratic, funky, psychedelic, weird, funny, cool, and crazy.

This stuff is unfiltered by producers and record companies: American artistic ingenuity at its wildest and most fun."

Recently, Sinecure Books published the coffee table book Enjoy the Experience: Homemade Records 1958-1992 edited by Johan Kugelberg, Paul Major, and Michael P. Daley as well as the accompanying double-album. The 24 songs were carefully selected from the thousands of records featured in the book. The first disc is available for streaming on Spotify, but you can order the whole album here. An excellent compilation of wonderfully strange songs spanning almost forty years of American "homemade recordings".

Iceage, A Place to Bury Strangers, Lower played Music Hall of Williamsburg

A mid-June evening in New York City doesn't sound like the ideal setting for a show featuring the dark brooding work of Iceage, A Place to Bury Strangers, and Lower, so it seemed rather fitting that unseasonably low temperatures, torrential rain, and driving winds descended upon Brooklyn for the first night of the 2013 Northside Festival.

I missed the opening local bands, but Lower got things off to a raucous start. Shrieking guitars echoed through Music Hall with serious force while the band's militaristic demeanor gave quite an intimidating impression. With matching shaved heads, the Danish punks blasted through their brief catalog at an alarming sound. Drummer Anton Rothstein playing as if he had channeled Thor to crash upon his kit with excessive vigor. The bleak lighting and minimal emotion from the band made it feel as if they were completing a civic duty, acting as ambassadors of their Copenhagen scene and proving their worth on their first American tour.

Between Danish hardcore acts, local Brooklyn mainstays A Place to Bury Strangers brought out their robust shoegaze drone for a visceral performance. With technicolor projects acting as the only source of light, the ear splitting tones and maximum energy have not been neglected by the band, despite their plateauing popularity. If anything, these guys proved that the only ones sleeping are the critics. Smoldering guitar and bass created a deafening haze and the drumming acted more as a metronome as opposed to the relentless rolls provided by Lower. With the hall shrouded in fog, it didn't take long for flying guitars (and amps) to become a part of the stage show and when the flashing strobes kicked in, the evening was taken to another level.

A little after midnight, the lights dimmed until only two sharp lights were illuminating the stage. Iceage ripped through forty minutes of pure adrenaline fueled chaos. Slashing guitars, hammering drums, and stentorian vocals from frontman Elias Bender Rønnenfelt displayed the band's aggressive attitude with maximum intensity. Highlighting material from this year's wonderful You're Nothing, the band's loose sound has been sharpened into focus without sacrificing any of the raw appeal of New Brigade. Ditching guitar about two songs into the set, Elias marched across the stage tossing the microphone stand and lurching over the crowd with serious passion matching the militia vibes of Lower. This wasn't a show with lots of onstage banter, and when the frontmen did speak it was barely understandable (I think the only words I understood were "Iceage" and "Morals" which wasn't even paired with "this song is called..."). While Iceage appear to be on a mission to spread their ferociousness, their ability to blend hardcore with some kind of accessibility allows the music to really speak for itself.

Governor's Ball 2013 (Part 2)

The third and final day of the 2013 Governor's Ball was certainly the highlight of the weekend. After two days of intense mud, Sunday saw the grounds at their best and temperatures soar to make it actually feel like a summer music festival. I give a lot of credit to the crew who were able to save the festival from disaster and make it an enjoyable experience.

Governor's Ball 2013 (Part 1)

For it's third installment, NYC's Governor's Ball kicked things up a notch by turning the once single day festival (actually on Governor's Island) into a monster three day festival with all-star headliners. It finally seemed as if New York City would have a proper festival after the disastrous Field Day fiasco of 2003 and All Points West. And then there was a tropical storm.