Photo courtesy of dcmandrill

We can officially score one for the females, as The National Zoo announced today that the zoo’s 3 week old baby gorilla is a girl! Apparently, it can take a while for humans to know the sex of a gorilla, which is why we are only finding out today. In terms of family lineage, the zoo was hoping it would be a girl, so it’s a good day for gorillas and zookeepers everywhere.

It’s also good to see that the zoo prefers mother-rearing over hand-rearing, meaning the baby girl will be able to stay with her mother, Mandara. Be sure to check out the video below of them together!

Video of Mandara and baby courtesy of RoxandaBear.

Song Mandara and boyfriend probably listened to on dates:

Animal Collective – Grass

Song by Gorillaz for humans:

Gorillaz – Last Living Souls

I’ve been listening extensively to Beirut’s two upcoming EPs, March of the Zapotec and Realpeople Holland (2/17). Zach Condon, Beirut’s frontman, has shifted his sound once again from previous albums–Zapotec features a new Mexican folk music style, while Realpeople Holland is Condon’s electronica side-project. In fact, it’s such an odd mix, that originally the electronic EP was just called Holland, and Condon was going to release it under the name Realpeople. He decided to release both under the Beirut name after a friend advised him, “You should trust your music enough that people should be able to enjoy them both in their own way.'”

Zapotec was partially recorded in a small town outside Oaxaca, Mexico, where Condon traveled last year after canceling his European summer tour. In his two weeks down there, he played with a funeral band, in which he says in a Pitchfork interview, “The entire town plays in the band. It was pretty interesting. It ended up being 17 people.”

I think both EPs are fantastic, but slightly favor Realpeople Holland. My favorite tracks on the two EPs include, “La Llorona” (Zapotec), “My Night With The Prostitute From Marseille ” and “The Concubine” (Holland).

For those who are new to Beirut, they are based in Brooklyn, New York, fronted by 22 year old Zach Condon, and have two LPs to their name–Gulag Orkestar (2006) & The Flying Club Cup (2007). Both albums are amazing, with Gulag Orkestar having a lo-fi Eastern European sound, while Flying Club Cup is more on the French Pop side. When Metromix asked Condon in an interview what part of the world he wants to explore next, he responded “Probably nowhere. I feel like everything’s jumbling together in my head. I feel like I’ve explored all the palettes and now it’s time to look inward for inspiration.”

Beirut should be announcing more tour dates soon, so I’ll keep you up to date (they just announced they are playing at this year’s Coachella festival). Below is a video of Beirut debuting “The Concubine” at a last minute secret show in Greenpoint. The band contacted the venue, Coco66 at 4pm to request the space and took to the stage at 10pm.

March of the Zapotec / Realpeople Holland EPs (2009):

Beirut – La Llorana

Beirut – My Night With The Prostitute From Marseille

The Flying Club Cup (2007)

Beirut – The Penalty

Gulag Orkestar (2006):

Beirut – Postcards From Italy

Beirut – Mount Wroclai (Idle Days)

Lon Gisland EP (2006) :

Beirut – Elephant Gun

Site | Myspace

Check out the new video for Animal Collective’s “My Girls”. This band always seems to be on the cutting edge of awesome sounds and images. The video just consists of the band performing their song, but with crazy effects going on throughout the entire video. I’d say it accurately portrays how the music makes me feel sometimes.

Merriweather Post Pavilion (2009):

(mp3) Animal Collective – My Girls

As of recent, I’ve been listening a lot to David Karsten Daniels’ album Fear of Flying. If you are a fan of Devendra Banhart, The Bowerbirds, or Wilco, I think you’ll dig his folk sound–It’s unfortunate that such a talented musician hasn’t gotten more exposure. Daniels incorporates a variety of beautiful instrumentals into his songs to make for a lush listening experience.

Fear of Flying released in 2008, and is Daniels’ sophomore album (there have been five albums in all, but this is his second widely available one). My favorite tracks on the album include “That Knot Unties?,” “Martha Ann,” and “Falling Down.” The first track on Fear of Flying, “Wheelchairs,” quickly reveals the theme of the album: fear of growing old.

What I respect so much about Daniels’ music is similar to what draws me to some other folk musicians, particularly The Shivers. Like Shivers frontman Keith Zarriello, he isn’t willing to compromise his art to make an easily recognizable hit song, though he is clearly capable of producing one. Listening to his albums, it’s apparent that with a little self-restraint, Daniels sculpts his music to fit his messages. Most artists compose their music to be instantly gratifying, while Daniels often uses build ups, and with a little patients, it’s extremely rewarding.

David Karsten Daniels is from Seattle, though his website bio says he “has lived in too many places to really be from anywhere.” It goes on to say, “He currently resides in Ashland, Oregon with his lovely wife and schizophrenic pet rabbit [editors note: you have to watch out for those schizophrenic pet rabbits]” Although Daniels debut, Sharp Teeth, was widely overshadowed when it came out in 2007, it got critical acclaim from those who did hear it. His two main albums have been released on FatCat recordings and were recorded at his home.

Fear of Flying (2008):

David Karsten Daniels – That Knot Unties?

David Karsten Daniels – Martha Ann

Sharp Teeth (2007):

David Karsten Daniels – American Pastime

David Karsten Daniels – Jesus and the Devil

Site | iTunes | Amazon | Myspace

As you may know, the second season of Flight of the Conchords begins tomorrow (1/18 @ 10p/9c) on HBO. We thought we would celebrate the return of the funniest show currently on television by giving away a Flight of the Conchords prize pack.

So here is how the contest is going to work:

Below are 3 general topics for what we would like to see happen in Season 2. You need to take one of the topics and have up to 100 words to expand on it. For example, if the topic is “Jermaine gets the hiccups” you would have up to 100 words to write out what else happened. What were they doing when the hiccups started? How did they try to get rid of his hiccups? Be creative.

Topics:

1) Bret goes to the doctor

2) Jermaine questions his sexuality

3) Murray befriends a Hasidic Jew

Submissions should be made by January 25th in the comment section below. Then a panel of expert judges (the writers of IM) will decide which submission is the funniest.

Note: Unfortunately, we can only ship the prize pack to U.S. addresses. Sorry!

The winner will receive:

+ Season 1 of Flight of the Conchords on DVD
+ an FOTC notebook
+ FOTC guitar picks
+ an FOTC poster + some FOTC postcards

You can only post one time so make it count! Thanks and good luck.

p.s. if you are looking for something more on the interactive end, check out this lip dub Flight of the Conchords contest.

The Flight of The Conchords (2008):

Flight of the Conchords – The Most Beautiful Girl (In The Room)

Flight of the Conchords – Mutha’uckas

The Distant Future EP (2007):

Flight of Conchords – Business Time

Flight of the Conchords – I’m Not Crying

Also, you can watch the first episode below:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dcLMH8pwusw

I think I’m in love with Zooey Deschanel. Actually, I think I’ve been in love with her since I first saw Almost Famous. But this video drove it home. Apart from being a relatively-famous actress, she’s the voice behind She and Him, her being the She, the phenomenal M. Ward being the Him. IndieMuse readers are probably already familiar with the two, but they play brilliant 60s throwback pop-country complete with winding, jangly, reverb-soaked country riffs, haunting piano arrangements and Zooey Deschanel’s poignant, crisp voice. It fits coming out of a crackly AM receiver just as well as it does over the internet, streaming from MySpace. It’s natural and unaffected. “Why Do You let Me Stay Here?” is more of a straightforward pop song, and I love it.

Also, here’s an instrumental M. Ward gem, from End of Amnesia:

Silverline

I don’t have any of She and Him’s music, so this video will have to do. Also, check out Pitchfork’s top 40 videos of the year. A great way to kill an hour…or four.

MySpace

Eagles of Death Metal are the product of Jessie Hughes and childhood friend Josh Homme (who also happens to helm Queens of the Stone age). The band formed after Hughes went through a divorce, and Homme came to his rescue. “I was married square going into an ugly divorce, when Josh says ‘Here’s a song I wrote,’ drives me across Hollywood in my mom’s car and now here I am talking to you,” he said in an interview with FHM. Pretty goddamn rock and roll. I wish I was friends with Josh Homme.

Regardless of their name, which speaks to something slightly more malevolent, they play throwback, 70s garage rock, amalgamating everything good the other side of ’83; bombastic, Stonesish riffs over fuzzy bass and a 70s sleaze fit for a velor suit and a vintage Camero. The riffs in “I used to couldn’t dance (tight pants)” pop between the speakers, channeling Keith Richards while Jessie Hughes croons soul over Motown harmonies: “It used to be a massacre/I never got a second glance/now I’m kinda lethal on the dance floor/check it, tight pants huh!” The lyrics jump from tongue-in-cheek fun of “I used to couldn’t dance…”to the straight, delicious sleaze of “High Voltage” (You want to hit it don’t lie/you want to come in from the west side/I want to be the showcase of her nasty boy collection.)

But midway through the album, they drop a truth bomb with “Now I’m a Fool.” It’s instantly infectious, a massive rock and roll ballad. Hughes uses falsetto in all the right places, the bassline is elegant and reserved, moving the song along, but not being too pushy, and the guitars shimmer over everything, a sparkling cloud nearly obscured by rain. Considering the content of the six previous songs, it’s hard to judge Hughe’s sincerity when he sings “Not to say you’re the one/but I put down my guns/and then you went Hollywood on me,” but it sounds like he just might have endured a devastating enough heartbreak to mean it.

From Heart On:

Now I’m a fool

I Used to Couldn’t Dance So Good (Tight Pants)

And this video…Jack Black, Josh Homme, David Grohl! See if you can spot any more cameos:

http://youtube.com/watch?v=xe6p-5tUh3M

MySpace|Label|Amazon

For all those Radiohead fans out there, I recommend keeping a very close eye on Mike Fish, also known as Dakotafish. Though his music is a more instrumental based than Radiohead, a little folkier, I won’t be the first person, and definitely not the last, to acknowledge how similar his vocals are to Thom Yorke. It’s eerie.

I am extremely impressed with the four tracks on his self-titled EP, and if Fish’s debut is as memorizing as this EP, I could easily see him becoming a leading musician in the indie scene. His blend of beats and guitar rifts, mixed with various electronic and orchestral arrangements makes for a unique sound that fits perfectly with his vocals.

In the summer of 2007, Mike Fish formed the Dakotafish project in San Diego (they are based in Encinitas, California). He plays many of the instruments heard on the EP, but Jennifer Argenti and Manuel Rhueda help with the strings and drums, respectfully (Aaron Sterling played drums on the EP.) Fish seems like a really cool guy, which can easily be seen in the FAQ’s he coincidentally wrote and answered. He is also a talented photographer, and you can see some of his pictures here. The EP packaging was beautifully done, and the aesthetics on their own make this worth physically owning.

Fish said after taking his EP to the Amoeba CD store in Los Angeles, “As a friendly rocker behind the counter took it away, I felt a little like I was looking at the last scene from ‘Raiders of the Lost Ark.’ You know, with the guy wheeling the ark into that huge government warehouse amongst thousands and thousands of other buried and lost artifacts?” Don’t allow that to be the fate of this EP. Check it out.

Self-Titled EP (2008):

(mp3) Dakotafish – Landlocked

(mp3) Dakotafish – Teenage Years

This is a neat 30 second Obama ad with Fish’s music in the background.

Site | Paypal (direct EP purchase, with limited edition print) | iTunes | Myspace

As of late, I’ve been really digging the music of Michigan based band Mason Proper. Their album Olly Oxen Free came out in September and is one of the best releases of the year. Their music has a chill, lo-fi experimental feel to it, and songs like “Safe For the Time Being” bring to mind a more mellow Born Ruffians.

This album as a whole is really solid. Pretty much every song has a catchy hook, and the band does a great job of keeping things simple, while keeping a unique sound that’s not quite like anything I’ve heard before. My favorite tracks include “Fog,””Lock and Key,””Out Dragging The River,””In The Mirror,” and “Safe For The Time Being.”

When Culture Bully asked the band in an interview if they were cautious writing new music in fear of sounding too much like stuff that’s already out there, Visger responded “Oh, absolutely. We’ve got a very developed personal palette of signature tricks at this point, so I don’t think we have to worry about it consciously very much, but if something sets off our pastiche alarm we don’t do it.”

Mason Proper formed in Alpena, Michigan in 2004, originally under the name Patterns in Paris, and is made up of singer Jonathan Visger, Zac Fineberg (bassist), Garrett Jones (drummer), Brian Konicek (guitarist), Matt Thomson (keyboards). In 2006, after releasing their debut album the The Early Years and Moth, they signed to New York based label Dovecote.

Olly Oxen Free (2008):

Mason Proper – Out Dragging The River

Mason Proper – Lock and Key

(video) Mason Proper performing “Fog” live on Lansing’s Impact89FM

Site | iTunes | Amazon | Myspace