The Melodic Tree’s Weekly Playlist

1. Eyes of the Muse – King Tuff

2. I Remember – Devandra Banhart

3. Depreston – Courtney Barnett

4. Turn Around – Mikal Cronin

5. Mr. Adams – White Fence

6. Goshen ’97 – Strand of Oaks

7. Mercury Dime – Death Vessel

8. I’ll Never Be Able to Love – Shamir

9. I Wish I Wish – Sam Amidon

10. Put You to Sleep – Dolorean

11. Eventually – Travel By Sea

12. The Place I Left Behind – The Deep Dark Woods

13. To Ohio – The Low Anthem

14. Darkness of the Dream – The Tallest Man on Earth

15. Ends of the Earth – Lord Huron

16. The Ballad of Mr. Steak – Kishi Bashi

17. This Head I Hold – Electric Guest

18. Ramona Reborn – Delicate Steve

19. Hillside Song – My Morning Jacket

20. The Mates of Soul – Taylor John Williams

Hear three new songs from Odd Future’s Hodgy Beats

During all of the back-and-forth from its primary members on whether the collective is still together, one member of Odd Future, Hodgy Beats, is still putting new music out there. The workhorse MC, who has released The Dena Tape 2 earlier this year, has already released new material on his SoundCloud to be a sort of trial for various ideas. The three new songs are the piano-led “NOHOOK”, the header “THANKKSGIVING” and the grippy “Choppedd”, the other two are likely to be produced by OFer (and Hodgy collaborator) Left Brain. Listen to the three songs here.

NXNE cancels free Action Bronson show in response to petition

North by Northeast music festival has decided to cancel the free, all-ages Action Bronson concert set initially to happen in Toronto’s Yonge-Dundas Square after a week of controversy.

The free concert, which was scheduled for June 21st, was subject to an online petition, which was started by Erica Shiner, who sought towards getting the concert cancelled. In the text of the petition, Shiner says Bronson “glorifies gang-raping and murdering women” in his music, especially in his song “Consensual Rape” and the video for “Brunch”. The petition, which argues that letting the show happen would be similar to turning a “blind eye to rape culture and violence against women,” has 37,832 signatures in just three days.

John Tory, Toronto Mayor, spoke publicly about the show as well. Even though story said it was not “place to decide sort of what is art and what is music,” he thought that “this kind of performance to take place certainly in a public space was not consistent with our policies.” The mayor went on to say that Bronson’s lyrics were “astonishing and very disturbing. Again, it’s not my place to decide what music is, but I certainly registered with [the petitioners] that we just can’t have that sort of thing happening in public spaces.”

Organizers of NXNE had originally come to the defense of Bronson, saying that they believe “each and every one of these artists have the right to express their views through music, but those views belong to them and them alone.” Organizers wrote that Bronson was in a similar show in the same venue in 2012 with  Killer Mike, Ghostface Killah, and Raekwon also on the bill. After the “significant number of Torontonians” who advocated their opposition of the show, NXNE have decided after all to cancel the gig.

The festival still hopes that Action Bronson will still perform there in a ticketed venue and shared a level of uneasiness about stopping the Yonge-Dundas Square performance. “We remain fundamentally committed to presenting this artist on a Toronto stage,” NXNE said in a statement. “We are not moving the Action show because we believe in censoring him or any other artists. In fact, we find the limiting of artistic expression distasteful. When artistic expression is limited, freedom and the evolution of ideas is often the casualty.”

Organizers of the event continued with “We hope that this series of events does not foster some type of artistic chill in Toronto and its public spaces. Yonge-Dundas Square must remain a dynamic place where many viewpoints are expressed not just culturally but also at political events and rallies staged there.”

The full NXNE statement is below:

“We at Northby Northeast (NXNE) are very proud of our 20 plus years relationship with the people of the City of Toronto. And for almost ten years we’ve shared Yonge-Dundas Square with you to present free, all ages shows open to the public. YDS is the city’s space and as such we are obliged to listen to how the city and community want it used. A significant number of Torontonians have indicated their desire to have Action Bronson not perform at the Square. As annual guests in this space we feel we must accede to the strong wishes of the community and honour their input.

As a result, we will not be presenting Action Bronson at Yonge-Dundas Square but, hopefully we will still be presenting Action Bronson as part of Northby. We remain fundamentally committed to presenting this artist on a Toronto stage. We are not moving the Action show because we believe in censoring him or any other artists. In fact, we find the limiting of artistic expression distasteful. When artistic expression is limited, freedom and the evolution of ideas is often the casualty.

Hopefully, Action Bronson will accept our invitation to play at another, ticketed venue in the city so the public can decide for themselves if his work has merit. We booked Bronson, in part, because of his latest excellent disc, Mr. Wonderful.

We hope that this series of events does not foster some type of artistic chill in Toronto and its public spaces. Yonge-Dundas Square must remain a dynamic place where many viewpoints are expressed not just culturally but also at political events and rallies staged there.

We are heartened by the community engagement that has been taking place around this YDS show. This debate continues an important conversation about violence against women and its depiction in art and culture that is long overdue. We salute all of those who fight this battle and we would encourage everyone who has signed the petition or been engaged by this conversation to commit themselves personally to continuing the fight against violence against women. We at Northby pledge to continue being part of this discussion with the intent to help act as agents of change.

Sincerely,

The Directors of North by Northeast”

Fun Fun Fun Fest announces 2015 lineup

Austin-based festival, Fun Fun Fun fest has revealed its lineup for 2015. The festival, on its 10th anniversary, will take place November 6th to 8th at Auditorium Shores.

Included on the lineup are acts such as D’Angelo, Wu-Tang Clan, CHVRCHES, Jane’s Addiction, who are performing Ritual de lo habitual, Ride, L7, Future Islands, Grimes, Chromeo, MSTRKRFT, Coheed and Cambria, Desaparecidos, Drive Like Jehu, American Nightmare, Gogol Bordello, performing Gypsy Punk, Converge, Neon Indian, Cass McCombs, Antemasque, Hudson Mohawke, Peaches, and Fucked Up.

On the lineup as well is British heavy metal band, Venom, who are performing their first-ever Texas performance at the festival. D.C. hardcore band dag nasty are also reuniting during the weekend to play.

Other acts are ScHoolboy Q, NOFX, Odesza, Toro y Moi, FUZZ, Mikal Cronin, OFF!, American Football, Parquet Courts, Benjamin Booker, Viet Cong, Alvvays, Joey Bada$$, Doomtree, Shamir, BadBadNotGood, Dwarves, performing Blood, Guts & Pussy, Andrew Jackson Jihad, together PANGEA, Babes in Toyland, The Growlers, King Khan and BBQ Show, and Big Freedia.

Three-day and VIP passes are avaliable for purchase at the festival’s website. Check out the full lineup above and watch the lineup announcement video, which stars Bill Nye the Science Guy, on the website as well.

Mikal Cronin’s video for “Say” is a shot for shot remake of Paul Simon’s “You Can Call Me Al”

Mikal Cronin has teamed up with Funny or Die to create the video for “Say”, one of the tracks from his third album, MCIII. With the help of director Jonah Ray, Cronin creates a recreation of Paul Simon’s famous video for “You Can Call Me Al”, the one where Chevy Chase and Simon are in a pink room and Chase keeps ruining the musician’s lines. Lorne Michaels, beloved creator and producer for Saturday Night Live, helped create the concept.

Everything in Cronin’s new video is perfect, the room, the outfits, the dance moves, and the most subtle of things like the random moving of a conga drum in the back. However, it gets complicated when comedians, including Kurt Braunohler, Nelson Franklin, and Nick Thune can not decide who is playing Chevy’s part. It gets crowded and the tensions rise and then things take a dark and unexpected turn. Watch it below.

http://www.funnyordie.com/videos/7e1796b04c/mikal-cronin-say

Neon Indian releases first song in two years, “Annie”

Since the 2011 release of Era Extraña, Neon Indian has been quiet. The indietronica band had a song that was part of Grand Theft Auto V and released a remix EP in 2013 but have not been around since. Alan Palomo announced in December that he was working on a new album and shared the first taste of the effort today.

The song, named “Annie”, can be listened to below.

Neon Indian’s plans on releasing the new album later this year through Static Tongues and Mom + Pop Records. New material will be likely released when the band performs at FYF Fest this August. More new material will likely be on display when the band stops by FYF Fest this August. Check out the single artwork for “Annie” above.

Grimes to release new album in October

Having one of the most anticipated albums of the year, it’s clear why Grimes is brig meticulous about her fourth LP. Originally scheduled to be released in 2014, the album was scraped after Grimes thought it sounded too commercial. However, it seems she has recorded something she likes now. Responding to a fan on Twitter, Grimes revealed that the follow-up to Visions will be released in October.

Grimes is on tour currently with Lana Del Rey. Listen to two tracks from the “scrapped album” with “Go” and “REALiTi”.

The Melodic Tree’s Weekly Playlist

1. The Uncanny Terrace Treeclimber – Pomegranates

2. Blood Orange – Foreign Born

3. Sunburns – The Shaky Hands

4. You’re On Fire – All Smiles

5. Make You Feel – Setting Sun

6. The Path – Unbunny

7. Newfallen – A Weather

8. Slow Down Chicago – Canasta

9. Morning After Cuts – Skybox

10. Dear Pressure – Miracles of Modern Science

11. Forget Me – Dozens

12. Gone So Long – Wonderful

13. The Shores – The Sea of Cortez

14. Sink – Inspired and The Sleep

15. As Bright as Your Night Light – Nerves Junior

16. In A Boat On A Lake – Whistle Peak

17. Zombies – Radiation City

18. Walkability – Way Yes

19. Our Hearts – Firehorse

20. This New Year – Big Tree

Justin Vernon confirms comeback of Bon Iver

At one period of time, the future of Bon Iver was bland after an extensive world tour following the band.s self-titled sophomore album when frontman, Justin Vernon, expressed some disinterest in furthering with the project. He later went back from the comments, and in July, he will bring back the band to headline the first Eaux Claires Music Festival, for which he was a curator as well. In a recent interview promoting the upcoming festival. Vernon revealed that the performance will not be a one-off for the band but the beginning of the band’s third cycle.

Vernon explained to Minneapolis’ KARE 11: “It’s the perfect platform for us to be like, this is how we’re starting this new cycle, new life of the band. It makes so much sense to start it here.” Watch the full interview here.

Eaux Claires will take place July 17th – 18th in Eau Claire, Wisconsin, Vernon’s hometown. Beside Bon Iver, the lineup includes The National, Sufjan Stevens, The Tallest Man on Earth, and more.

Watch Miracles of Modern Science cover Foo Fighters’ “Everlong”

Since starting at Princeton University 10 years ago, Miracles of Modern Science haven almost perfected working arena-sized songs to symphonic-style composition. The Brooklyn-based band have worked this into their own material such as their debut album, Dog Years in 2011 and their upcoming LP, Mean Dreams, which is due out on August 14th. The band have excelled in their cover songs such as hits like Daft Punk’s “Get Lucky”, Charli XCX’s “Break the Rules”, and Foster the People’s “Pumped Up Kicks”.

The latest cover is “Everlong” by the Foo Fighters. Due to the anthem status and its part in David Letterman’s emotional send-off this week, it was an ambitious cover for the band. Even with that much ambition, they perform it exceptionally especially with instruments such as the violin, mandolin, and cello. Watch the performance below.