Carl Sandburg Visits Me In A Dream

Sandwiched between a burgeoning NYC band, takka takka, and mediocre English rockers, The Cribs, White Rabbits delivered the best block of live music I’ve seen all summer. Polished and percussive, the Rabbits opened with “Kid on my Shoulders” without a hint of timidness. The rest of the set unfolded with the same amount of New York urgency and style. Sounding like The Walkmen on crack, the rhythm section (including special guests) made their presence felt, delivering a clean, powerful calypso rock beat going for the entire set. The band was tight and the vocals were strong all around, as the White Rabbits played several songs off their debut album along with two new songs and a Bob Dylan cover.

Don’t have much time today so I thought I would post a remix of The Cribs’ tune “Men’s Needs.” While I do like The Cribs, I mostly wanted to feature them because they are taking the White Rabbits on tour this summer. 

the band: I first heard about this band back in February when a friend of mine told me that they rocked a mostly empty house while opening for Peter Bjorn and John in NYC. Their debut, Fort Nightly, was released on May 22 and the ‘Rabbits have been gaining a tremendous amount of buzz ever since. Hailing from NYC, this high-energy sextet is sure to be one of this summer’s best bets.

the sound: The White Rabbits use a well-portioned blend of vintage-rock and calypso grooves, while paying greater attention to details than many other concise garage rockers. They are akin to The Walkmen, but the music is less dense and the vocals less edgy.

the pros: They have what many similar bands lack: variety and subtly. They make full use of all six members, delivering especially well with their great harmonies and driving rhythm section.

the cons: Their recorded sound is a bit too confined to really set them apart from similar bands. At times it seems as though they should have given one more rub to the lucky rabbit foot in order to assure their status as indie rock allstars.

the verdict: This record will surely be one of the strongest releases of the summer. With a mainstage-worthy live show they are sure to be met with welcoming arms and pumping fists after a pitcher of margaritas.

it’s no facebook, but it is a myspace

Listen to “the kid on my shoulders” (4/5)
Still not convinced? Listen to “navy wives” (4/5)
Also, check out a video segment on the band called “Practice Space”

I want to do something a bit different for CSV since there seems to be a sudden flood of great new music and videos. Since summer is fast approaching, I thought I would cancel the class reading for today. However, I still expect you all to look over this concise study guide. It’s so easy some might call it cheating! You might want to put it on the inside of your nalgene or program it into your ti-89 or something clever like that for the test. Just don’t get caught!

The Video Countdown:
5. Tokyo Police Club – “Cheer it On”
4. Beastie Boys – “Off the Grid”
3. Spoon – “The Ghost of You Lingers”
2. Mutemath – “Typical” check out the making of the video
1. The Chemical Brothers – “Do it Again”

The mp3 Countdown
5. Rocky Votolato – “Postcard from Kentucky”
4. Travis – “Selfish Jean”
3. White Rabbits – “The Plot”
2. The National – “Fake Empire”
1. Elliott Smith – “High Times”

Extra Credit: The Basement – “I Just Caught a Face”

If you’re just so studious that you can’t bear taking a day off from the required reading check the archives. There has to be something you missed. Cheers!