Yelle’s debut album, Pop-Up, has been in the stores for almost a year now so it’s a little odd that she’s just now getting around to releasing a video for “Ce Jeu”.  That’s ok with me though, since the video is tres fantastique.  Nice, colorful candy for the eyes and ears.

It occurred to me the other day how great it is that artists once again have a way of getting their videos out there to people who want to see them.  I grew up watching MTV and VH1 in the 80’s and early 90’s and can’t stand what they have turned into.  Few things anger me more then flipping past MTV and seeing some bullshit reality teen show.  If the record labels are so concerned about album sales, why don’t they throw their weight around and force MTV and VH1 to show videos again?

Here’s a remix of “Ce Jeu” done by Cool Kids Can’t Die.  It never went over well in my DJ set, but maybe it will do wonders for you.  Who knows.

Yelle - Ce Jeu (Cool Kids Can’t Die Remix)

TOUR DATES

SAT AUG 9 - Summer Sonic Festival - Tokyo, Japan
SUN AUG 10 - Summer Sonic Festival - Osaka, Japan
FRI SEPT 26 - Niceto Club - Buenos Aires, Argentina
FRI OCT 3 - ? - Mexico City, Mexico
SAT OCT 4 - ? - Monterrey, California
TUE OCT 7 - House of Blues - Dallas, Texas
WED OCT 8 - The Mohawk - Austin, Texas
FRI OCT 10 - Polish American Legion - Miami, Ohio
SAT OCT 11 - Social - Orlando, Florida
MON OCT 13 - 9:30 Club - Washington, D.C.
TUE OCT 14 - Webster Hall - New York, New York
WED OCT 15 - Roxy Theater - Boston, Massachusetts
SAT OCT 18 - Airwaves Festival - Reykjavik, Iceland
MON OCT 20 - Magic Stick - Detroit, Illinois
TUE OCT 21 - Logan Square Auditorium - Chicago, Illinois
WED OCT 22 - Turner Hall - Milwaukee, Wisconsin
FRI OCT 24 - Ogden Theater - Denver, Colorado
SAT OCT 25 - Urban Lounge - Salt Lake City, Utah
MON OCT 27 - Neumo’s - Seattle, Washington
TUE OCT 28 - Commodore Ballroom - Vancouver, British Columbia
WED OCT 29 - Berbati’s - Portland, Oregon
FRI OCT 31 - Mezzanine - San Francisco, California
SAT NOV 1 - Henry Fonda Theater - Los Angeles, California
SUN NOV 2 - Beauty Bar - San Diego, California

Is there any band more eternally hip than Stereolab?  I mean, you never hear hipsters bitching about how lame Stereolab is.  It’s just kind of an accepted fact that they’re untouchable.

Stereolab - Neon Beanbag

“Neon Beanbag” comes from Stereolab’s first album of new material since 2006’s EP collection, Fab Four Suture.  Chemical Chords will be released on the equally legendary 4AD label on August 19th.

Honestly, I wasn’t aware that Stereolab was still a functioning group.  I kind of lost track of them after I left my jobs at CD Central and WRFL and focused on booking bands instead.  Also, there was the tragic death of long-time member Mary Hansen in 2002 as well as the various spin off groups like Imitation Electric Piano and Monade that seemed to signal the end.  As it turns out, Stereolab has been steadily releasing albums all along.  Where have I been?

Stereolab - Silver Sands

Chemical Chords, happily, seems to be classic Stereolab.  I’m sure the glockenspiel makers everywhere are rejoicing.

TOUR DATES A PLENTY BA DA BA DA BA TOUR DATES A PLENTY

SAT SEPT 20 - W/Atlas Sound - Detroit Bar - Costa Mesa, California
SUN SEPT 21 - W/Atlas Sound - Glass House - Pomona, California
WED SEPT 24 - W/Atlas Sound - La Zona Rosa - Austin, Texas
FRI SEPT 26 - W/Atlas Sound - Variety Playhouse - Atlanta, Georgia
SAT SEPT 27 - W/Atlas Sound - 40 Watt Club - Athens, Georgia
MON SEPT 29 - W/Atlas Sound - Cat’s Cradle - Carrboro, North Carolina
TUE SEPT 30 - W/Atlas Sound, Chessie - 9:30 Club - Washington, D.C.
WED OCT 1 - W/Atlas Sound, The Van Allen Belt - Trocadero Theatre - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
THU OCT 2 - W/The Van Allen Belt - Fillmore at Irving Plaza - New York, New York
FRI OCT 3 - Fillmore at Irving Plaza - New York, New York
SAT OCT 4 - W/Monade - Fillmore at Irving Plaza - New York, New York
MON OCT 6 - W/Monade - Paradise - Boston, Massachusetts
TUE OCT 7 - W/Monade - Club Soda - Montreal, Quebec
WED OCT 8 - W/Monade - Phoenix Concert Theatre - Toronto, Ontario
THU OCT 9 - W/Monade - Crofoot - Detroit, Michigan
FRI OCT 10 - W/Monade - Vic Theatre - Chicago, Illinois
SUN OCT 12 - W/Monade - First Avenue - Minneapolis, Minnesota
TUE OCT 14 - W/Monade - Gothic Theatre - Denver, Colorado
FRI OCT 17 - W/Richard Swift, Monade - Showbox - Seattle, Washington
SAT OCT 18 - W/Richard Swift, Monade - Wonder Ballroom - Portland, Oregon
SUN OCT 19 - W/Richard Swift, Monade - Commodore Ballroom - Vancouver, British Columbia
TUE OCT 21 - W/Richard Swift - Fillmore - San Francisco, California
WED OCT 22 - W/Monade - Fillmore - San Francisco, California
THU OCT 23 - W/Richard Swift, Monade - Henry Fonda Theatre - Los Angeles, California
FRI OCT 24 - W/Richard Swift, Monade - Belly Up Tavern - Solana Beach, California
FRI DEC 12 - The Pavilion - Cork, Eire
SAT DEC 13 - Tripod - Dublin, Eire
SUN DEC 14 - Black Box - Belfast, Northern Ireland
TUE DEC 16 - Oran Mor - Glasgow, Scotland
WED DEC 17 - Academy 3 - Manchester, England
THU DEC 18 - Concorde 2 - Brighton, England
FRI DEC 19 - Koko - London, England

I’ve been in a pretty mellow mood lately.  With The Dame in the middle of being demolished and no real leads on a new location it isn’t too difficult to get bummed out.  In times like these I’m often drawn to the pleasant melodies of indie pop.

Oh No! Oh My!’s tour date announcement today gives me the perfect excuse to feature a nice, happy tune for the dark times.

Oh No! Oh My! - Walk In The Park

I’ve not had the chance to see Oh No! Oh My! live and it looks like I won’t anytime soon.  They’re not coming to Lexington, and I’m not sure how road-worthy my old Volvo wagon is.  Can a car fall apart on the highway if it is rusty?

TOUR DATES

WED AUG 13 - Abbey Pub - Chicago, Illinois
THU AUG 14 - (This is where they should have contacted me and set up a show in Lexington)
FRI AUG 15 - Beachland Tavern - Cleveland, Ohio
SUN AUG 17 - Mercury Lounge - New York, New York
TUE AUG 19 - DC9 - Washington, D.C.
WED AUG 20 - Local 506 - Carrboro, North Carolina
THU AUG 21 - The End - Nashville, Tennessee
FRI AUG 22 - Barley’s - Knoxville, Tennessee
SAT AUG 23 - Hi-Tone - Memphis, Tennessee
MON AUG 25 - Drunken Unicorn - Atlanta, Georgia
TUE AUG 26 - 40 Watt - Atlanta, Georgia
THU AUG 28 - Walter’s 1H - Houston, Texas
FRI AUG 29 - Emo’s - Austin, Texas

Kind of a slow news day around here so I’m going to feature another group who I feel deserves a little more credit than they’re given…..The Sleepy Jackson.  I suppose I should say “he’s given” since the band is basically Luke Steele and whomever is performing with him at the time.  The story goes that Luke is difficult to work with, an egomaniac, and has gone through something like 27 different band members over the years.  I can’t vouch for all that; I’ve only hung out with the guy once at a party and he seemed perfectly pleasant to me.

His music is certainly derivative of a lot of 70’s AM pop, but it’s done in a way that isn’t simply a generic rehash.  Sure, that guitar riff is straight up George Harrison, but how many times have you heard a band pull that sound off so well?  Luke doesn’t half-ass the songwriting or production.  Everything is over the top, but not in a bad way.