Tuesday, March 27, 2012

Line-Up Video by Joslyn Crocco


\\CULTURE SHOCK 2012 // Official Lineup Video// from Joslyn Crocco on Vimeo.



CULTURE SHOCK 2012 LINEUP:

THE CULTURE SHOCK 2012 (AKA APOCALYPSE SHOCK) LINEUP IS HERE! IT'S WRITTEN BELOW IN A SORT-OF DESCENDING ORDER WITH SOME DESCRIPTIONS OF ALL THE ACTS IN CASE YOU'RE UNFAMILIAR AND WOULD LIKE TO LEARN MORE. THOSE DESCRIPTIONS ARE FOLLOWED WITH DOWNLOADS AND/OR STREAMS OF ONE SONG BY EACH ACT. ENJOY!!

The after party on Friday will be a live performance in the stood by New Orleans bounce artist Big Freedia. If you're unfamiliar with bounce music, it's big on call and response vocals, high energy beats, and a whole lot of ass shaking. Big Freedia has been considered one of the "sissy bounce" like Katey Red and Sissy Nobby, who all identify as queer, though Freedia disregards the categorization, saying there's no reason to separate straight bounce and sissy bounce. If you've seen Big Freedia then you know what you're in for. Otherwise, this video should clear things up. Recommended if you like: to dance

Saturday's headliner is Idle Warship. a collective fronted by the duo of hip hop emcee Talib Kweli (also of Black Star with Mos Def and Reflection Eternal with Hi-Tek) and R&B/soul singer Res, who has collaborated with Talib on all of his solo releases. The group released their debut full length album, Habits of the Heart, late last year, and it blended all of the genres that both Talib and Res have become known for creating. Live, they'll be bringing a full band and we can even count on them playing some Talib Kweli classics, like "Get By". Recommended if you like: Mos Def, Janelle Monae, Common, Erykah Badu, The Roots

Friday's headliner, Islands, were formed in 2005 by frontman Nicholas Thorburn (aka Nick Diamonds) after the breakup of his former band, The Unicorns. They hail from Montreal and make the kind of indie rock/pop that we've seen from their fellow Canadians like Wolf Parade and The New Pornographers. They've got four albums under their belt, having most recently released A Sleep & A Forgetting earlier this year. RIYL: The Unicorns, Wolf Parade, The New Pornographers, Broken Social Scene, Arcade Fire

Experimental pop singer Grimes (aka Claire Boucher) released the excellent album, Visions, earlier this year on 4AD, who has also put out records by St. Vincent and tUnE-yArDs. Like those two artists, Grimes makes incredibly forward thinking pop music and since the album's release date, she's only been getting bigger and bigger. Regardless of your taste in music, most can agree that Visions is already one of the most standout albums of 2012. RIYL: tUnE-yArDs, St. Vincent, Animal Collective, Gang Gang Dance

IDM producer Tycho (aka Scott Hansen) has been one of the leading names in electronica during the last decade though not much had been heard from him towards the end. His most recent album, Dive, came out in late 2011 and since then he's been the talk of the dance music scene. RIYL: Four Tet, Caribou, Boards of Canada

The Felice Brothers have been making country leaning folk rock for the better part of a decade with eight full length albums under their belt. They've left a huge mark on the folk scene having played folk festivals like Newport Folk Festival and Clearwater Festival, in addition to others outside of their immediate realm like Bonnaroo. RIYL: Deer Tick, The Avett Brothers, Gillian Welch

Casey Veggies is a young rapper from LA who has collaborated with Dom Kennedy, Pac Div, Odd Future, and others. He released his debut LP, 'Sleeping in Class,' in December 2010 and has spent the last year touring. He released the deluxe edition of 'Sleeping in Class,' which includes 5 bonus tracks, this past September. RIYL: The Cool Kids, Dom Kennedy, Pac Div, Kendrick Lamar

Cloud Nothings began in 2009 as an outlet for frontman Dylan Baldi to create home-recorded noise pop in the vein of contemporaries like Wavves. This past January, they released their second official full length, Attack on Memory, and took things in a much bolder direction. The record was recorded full band in studio and produced by the legendary Steve Albini, who has lent a similar style of production work to Nirvana, Pixies, and PJ Harvey. The new album sees the band channeling the guitar-driven alt-rock of those bands and especially of Sunny Day Real Estate. As a result, Attack on Memory is one of the best no-frills rock records of 2012 and Cloud Nothings are sure to bring this newfound energy to Culture Shock this year. RIYL: Sunny Day Real Estate, Nirvana, Japandroids, Wipers

Pissed Jeans, along with bands like The Men, Ceremony, and Fucked Up, are bringing back the sound and spirit of 80s hardcore punk. Since 2007, they've been recording for Sub Pop, whose eclectic roster has given us everyone from NIrvana to The Shins to Fleet Foxes, so if Sub Pop trusts a punk band in an age where punk is dead, so should we. Their live show comes stacked with outlandish stage antics and tons of moshing from the crowd. Should be nuts. RIYL: The Men, Ceremony, Fucked Up, The Stooges, The Jesus Lizard

Bio Ritmo is a salsa band from Richmond, VA who celebrated their twentieth anniversary last year with the album La Verdad. They've toured with everyone from salsa king Tito Puente to alt-country rockers Wilco, and based on live videos, they look like a ton of fun to see and dance to. RIYL: Tito Puente, Jimmy Bosch, Ikebe Shakedown

Click the links below for downloads and/or streams of a track by each artist:

Big Freedia - "Excuse"
Idle Warship - "Rat Race"
Islands - "Rough Gem"
Grimes - "Oblivion"
Tycho - "Hours"
The Felice Brothers - "Frankie's Gun"
Cloud Nothings - "Stay Useless"
Pissed Jeans - "Sam Kinison Woman"
Bio Ritmo - "Carnaval"

Thursday, March 8, 2012

Another Artist Announced...When Will We Find Out the Whole Lineup?!

Click here to check out David Grimaldi's article in the Indy from the March 8th issue!
Culture Shock announcements on page 9 - write ups about Grimes and Casey Veggies
and another artist announced...



Here she is...BIG FREEDIA AND THE DIVAS
Friday After Party in the Stood at 11:30





Find out the rest of the line up on March 27 at 10pm in the Cinema at the Stood!!

Join the FB event HERE!