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Malawian-born, London-based singer Esau Mwamwaya teams with the European production team Radioclit for a hugely eclectic mixtape that veers from South Africa's marabi and kwaito music to Hans Zimmer scores to French and American hip-hop to Michael Jackson. While strong collaborations with M.I.A., Santogold, and Vampire Weekend include some surprising left-turns, tracks that lean away from the familiar work even better.
Microcastle and its bonus disc, Weird Era Cont., sidestep much of the art-damaged squall of previous Deerhunter records, but they don't embrace 1950s and 60s pop as dramatically as lead singer Bradford Cox had intimated in early interviews. Instead, this 2xCD set captures urgent and imaginative songs that reorganize 4AD haze, off-kilter indie pop, crashing garage-punk, forward-leaning krautrock, and hypnotic Kranky ambience into a singular-sounding call-to-arms, or at least call-to-guitars. Black Lips' Cole Alexander guests.
Reviews
After seven years, the Flaming Lips' Christmas film finally comes to DVD; not surprisingly, both the movie and its soundtrack reflect the Lips circa 2001 more than the group's post-millennial output, which has emphasized the band's cute and quirky qualities while submerging the strange.
[Stuart Berman]This invaluable box set traces the legendary career of Nina Simone from her first recording session to one of her last, as she marches through Duke Ellington, Kurt Weill, torch songs, folk songs, and the pop and rock hits of her day.
[Chris Dahlen]Through her solo work and as a member of Charalambides, Christina Carter has long been an expert avant-folk minimalist, mining depth from small, repetitive songs.
[Marc Masters]Collecting recordings of small ensembles found in and around Baghdad in the late 1920s, this compilation sheds light on a misunderstood region whose recent history obscures its cultural legacy.
[Joe Tangari]Dependable Scandinavian singer-songwriter Ane Brun returns with another record of spare instrumentation, slightly broken sentiment, and an unwavering devotion to prettiness.
[Mark Pytlik]Thu: 12-11-08
Wed: 12-10-08
Tue: 12-09-08
Mon: 12-08-08
Forkcast
- New Music: Arcade Fire: "Burning Bridges" [MP3]
- New Music: Sufjan Stevens: "Good King Wenceslas" [MP3]
- Pitchfork.tv: USA for Affluence [ft. Tim Harrington, Moby, Andrew W.K., Will Sheff, Fred Armisen, Carl Newman, and many more]: "BEARDO" Episode 5 - "Cash for Christmas" [Video/MP3]
- Pitchfork.tv: Johnny Cash [ft. Jerry Lee Lewis, Roy Orbison, Andy Kaufman, and more]: One Week Only: Selections From the Christmas Specials
- New Music: Prince: "There Will Never B Another 1 Like Me" [Stream]
- Video: Of Montreal: "An Eluardian Instance" (Live on "Late Show With David Letterman")
- New Music: Kanye West: "Love Lockdown (Flying Lotus Remix)" [MP3]
Features
2008 Albums of the Year: Individual Lists
Our staffers' personal favorite albums of 2008.
[Pitchfork Staff]Albums of the Year: Honorable Mention
We kick off our look at the year's best albums with 20 also-rans that, for a variety of reasons, threaten to slip through the collective cracks.
[Pitchfork Staff]The 100 Best Tracks of 2008
From indie rock to pop to disco to hip-hop, we count down our favorite tracks of the year.
[Pitchfork Staff]2008 Tracks of the Year: Individual Lists
Our writers' personal favorite songs of 2008.
[Pitchfork staff]2008 Pitchfork Readers Poll
Here are the results of the second annual Pitchfork Readers Poll, in which we asked you for your picks for the best album, song, live artist, and more.
[Pitchfork Readers]