I thought I'd start dedicating some blog posts to the music in my life because I know how much I love being turned onto new music. You're welcome ;)
The first music blog is dedicated to the band Living Things. Link to their site: http://www.livingthingsband.com/
I found this band when I went to see The Cult a while back and they opened some of their shows. I had never heard of them and loved what I heard. I giggled when they took the stage exclaiming "We are Living Things!" - cute, so cute. Right on. :)
Some of their music one might be tempted to casually dismiss as rather generic Pop or mindless Punk, but minimal further investigation does not support this. What I like most about Living Things is their versatility. I was first attracted to their Punk edge (which was a bit more evident live than on the recorded Habeas Corpus) but soon discovered their more ostensibly "Poppy" tracks which are actually satire-ific. On the post-Habeas Corpus Malocchio Mixtape one could classify the song Pollen Path as almost "New Age" in feel and some of the others as Reggae-esque. Not to mention the genius of the Pollen Path video which I will reference specifically below. Truly multifarious for a young Rock band. I can't wait to see what they will do in the years to come. Lillian Berlin reminds me of Jack White in his "everything I touch comes to life as art" knack. Thank the Gods.
From Ahead of the Lions (2005)
Habeas Corpus (2009) has some political gems, among them:
The following are from the relatively recent Malocchio Mixtape (2011). Pollen Path was accompanied by an incredibly creative video. This is from a Spin article regarding the video:
"Living Things have produced a stunning video for the new song "Pollen Path," which is featured on a free downloadable mixtape Malocchio. (Grab it for free at their official website). The clip was directed by Berlin's wife, Floria Sigismondi, who has directed videos for the White Stripes, David Bowie, and Marilyn Manson.
The inspiration? The couple's daughter, who stars in it. "She was describing this really vivid dream and we were like, 'Wow, that sounds like a movie,'" says Berlin. "Being the artistic household we are, we talked about bringing her dream to life." And they did: the graceful, Dali-esque clip is a haunting, 7-minute epic, featuring their daughter dancing in falling glitter and wandering around an abdandoned beach littered with decaying bedroom furniture, puppets, and a broken clock."
Link to referenced Spin article: http://www.spin.com/node/87611
Other songs from the Malocchio mixtape include Postmortem Bliss. Love the Reggae spin. Oh, and make sure you listen to the whole thing. <3
The Malocchio mixtape is available for free download on the band's site, linked above. Living Things recently formed their own record label and have promised a 27-track indie production next month. It looks as though it may be running a bit late but hopefully there will be new Living Things yet this year!
