By Luigi Gianni The first time I heard about The Shins was while I was watching this really strange (kinda awkward) movie called Garden State. In one of its most memorable scenes, Natalie Portman’s character gives her headphones to Zach Braff’s (Yes, the dude from Scrubs!), saying “You gotta hear this song. It will change your life, I swear.” I didn't get it. I mean, the song was ok. I heard it a couple of times after the movie, I liked it, and then I downloaded it and threw it along with every other song I had ever listened to before. And then I forgot about it. The thing about The Shins though is that it’s hard to understand them at first. They’re not exactly likable. They're odd. They sound too calm for people who appear like they're repressing way too much anger. Or they just don’t take life that seriously. Either one. Trust me, it’s strange. But, as long as you give them time, you understand exactly that. And that’s about when they go from “ok” to “you gotta hear this”. Two years later I saw the same movie again. And there she was, giving her headphones to a random guy she’d just met, telling him about this not so known band that, supposedly, was pretty damn good. But this time… Yeah, this time I got it. Oh, by the way, you really should hear this song. It will change your life. Or, you know… It won’t. It’s just music. Worst case scenario: you’ll hear it a couple of times, like it, and then throw it along with every other song you’ve ever heard before… And then forget about it. Still worth the shot, right?
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By Luigi Gianni Ok, I admit it.
I’ve been wanting to write about these guys since Panda started, almost two months ago. Hell, I wanted to write about them before, and I didn’t even have a blog. I opened a Word document and typed Death Cab on top just so I could have the excuse to turn off shuffle and listen to them only. Of course, I had to deal with my brother’s complaints, but you get used to that. Because here’s the thing: there’s music before Death Cab for Cutie, and there’s music after. I can even let go the fact that they made a song for Twilight, which is saying something! (I guess we all have dark days…) Why, you ask. ‘Cause Ben Gibbard was born to compose. Long time ago, he convinced me there was (much) more to music than good rhythm and catchy beats. He made me pay attention to the lyrics. I mean, really pay attention. I should contain myself though. I get easily excited when I'm talking about these guys, and it's common knowledge that high expectations usually lead to high disappointments. Maybe I should lie and tell you that they're not that good after all. But you know what!? They are THAT good. Listen to Transatlanticism. Or Plans. Or Narrow Stairs. And then I promise you, music will never be the same again. So much for lowering expectations… By Luigi Gianni “I feel too young”, Mars sang in their innocent, bittersweet debut single in 2000. Vocalist Thomas Mars, bassist Deck d’Arcy and guitarist Chris Mazzalai started as a garage band in the suburbs of Paris. In 1995, joined by Chris’ older brother Laurent Brancowitz, they became the band we know today, Phoenix. Three albums later, in 2009, they released their most famous one yet, Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix. And they matured as well.
As they’ve announced a fifth album coming up in the end of August, it makes you wonder how they can top their last one, the same way you realize Phoenix should be bigger than it really is. After all, it’s not like they’re getting any younger... “Do you remember when 21 years was old?” by Bruno Gianni Hello there, first of all i would like to thank all the support, comments and suggestions we are receiving in these first days of our platform. Then to characterize this post, I would like to recommend to all music lovers out there this pretty amazing website/music service, or whatever you wanna call it... 8tracks... This handcrafted internet radio, as they call themselves, has been responsible lately for introducing to me a lot of great songs and, mainly, a lot of great bands... How does it work? Yes, users create their own playlists/mixes so then others can listen to it... Well, nothing new there, right!... The thing is that it is so user friendly, neat and good looking that really catches the attention... at least got mine... And there are really good mixes, which makes it even better!! It is definitely a must check website. And it will probably help me out in a lot of posts here, so whenever I find a mix worth sharing I will definitely post it here or in our facebook page. And obviously, if you also find a good one, let us know... So, check it out, and enjoy this great mix to inaugurate.
About the mix... "34 different Indie songs to be played out loud, with friends or alone. Aww yeee. Music from Foster the People, Young the Giant, Mumford and Sons, Two Door Cinema Club and more. " (8tracks user: sonalxm) by Luigi Gianni Have you ever heard about 'em? The band, (for some reason) named after a Britain Indian food chain, was the winner of Channel's 4 "Road to V" competition on 2006. In fact, when they won, all of the four members of the band hadn't even graduated from high school yet. The next year NME called them "the hottest band to come from North London for quite some time". But still after three realeased albums and various (sold out) concerts in Great Britain - and a few other places - they're still unknown around the world. The good part is we can still call them indie... Even so, their first album, "I had the blues but I shook them loose", was one of the best to come out of the old continent in quite some time. Laura Snapes from NME put it well... "If you’re over the age of 18, consider ‘I Had The Blues…’ your invitation back to the heady rush of teenaged rapture... And the rest of you, stay drunk on its certain romance while you still can." There's nothing you've never seen before... But still, they're just pretty damn good.... |
Panda on the Radio
is a platform of different medias designed to offer you, in the simplest way possible, suggestions of the best of what we've seen (and what we'll see) regarding alternative and indie rock. Our newsletter
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November 2012
The Panda Radio
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