Listen to Friendly Fires vs Holy Ghost – “On Board”

MTT is big fans of the music that gets your feet movin’ and your body groovin, and for years, DFA and XL Recordings has been putting out consistently great dance tunes.  We’ve got a sneak peek of On Board for you off the split single from Friendly Fires and Holy Ghost!

The split single “started off as a drunken conversation at Corsica’s Calvi Rocks festival in July 2009. Friendly Fires had just played live, Holy Ghost had just finished DJing, and in the post-gig haze the decision was made by each band to cover one of the other’s songs.”  Have a listen!

Latest tracks by Girlie Action

‘Hold On / On Board’ will be available on the following formats:

12”:

A1. Friendly Fires – Hold On
A2. Friendly Fires – Hold On (Instrumental)
B1. Holy Ghost – On Board
B2. Holy Ghost – On Board (Instrumental)

Download:

1. Friendly Fires – Hold On
2. Friendly Fires – Hold On (Instrumental)
3. Holy Ghost – On Board
4. Holy Ghost – On Board (Instrumental)
5. Holy Ghost – On Board (Dub)

XL RECORDINGS / DFA SPLIT 12” AND DOWNLOAD RELEASED ON MARCH 8TH, 2010

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Great Gym “Pump Up” & Cool Down Albums

Team Excelsior is fitness. King B and The Train firmly embrace the throwing around of iron as much as possible.  Maybe not as much as those d-bags from Jersey Shore, but we like to get it in.  It’s not all about the aesthetics, but the best residual benefit is the huge spike in energy.  Excelsior utilizes the energy in the quest for world domination.

When we hit the gym, the tunes have gotta be pumping through the earphones at all times.  My iPhone is filled with all kinds of music that fits the “pump up” or the “cool down” role.  (Sometimes I tweet the tracks with Twittelator as I’m at the gym)  Here are a few of the albums that get the blood pumping (or calm me down!):

Pump Up:

Pantera – Vulgar Display of Power

Sepultura – Chaos AD

The Suicide Machines – Definition By Destruction

Atreyu – The Curse

Cool Down:

Fujiya & Miyagi – Transparent Things

XX -XX

jj – n2

- Moe

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Moe Train’s Favorite Live Albums

Some people prefer studio recordings.  Some prefer live albums.  Should music be enjoyed as “studio perfect” artifacts or “the way music should be heard” in the live form?  Either way,  it’s a debate which will never be settled.  As for The Train?  Well, I enjoy a bit of everything.  I’m partial to studio recordings, though there are some rare live album gems which very accurately convey the feeling of a concert performance.

These three albums are a few standouts which are on heavy rotation in my sizable music selection:

Bob Marley & The Wailers – Live!

It’s no secret that Bob Marley is my favorite and most quintessential artist of all time, and what better soundtrack to the summer/festivals than the smooth skanking of Bob Marley & The Wailers…  Inspired yet “feel good” to the utmost, Live! is aural bliss.

Daft Punk – Alive 2007

For those lucky enough to see Daft Punk perform during 2007 (we saw them in Vegas and Chicago!), you know just how memorable Daft Punk’s live sets are.  Not only do the robots perform amazing dance music, but the sensory overload of the pyramid leaves you breathless.  Every time I crank up this album, I’m brought right back to the enormously undulating crowds of Vegoose (RIP) and Lollapalooza.  One word:  Amazing.

Manu Chao – Radio Bemba Sound System

Manu Chao is a performer that spans genres.  Punk, ska, reggae, salsa, and any other latin music style that you can imagine are worked into Manu’s manic live sets.  Contagiously positive energy emits from the stage during every Manu Chao performance, and Radio Bemba Sound System is one of the finest examples of live embodiment on an album.

Got any favorite live albums?  Share em with us!

- Moe

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Festival Fever

Every year about this time, I get “Festival Fever.”  You know the feeling…  The weather’s shitty, you’ve been cooped up indoors for way too long, and all of the festival lineups are coming out.  You long for fun in the sun, and the amazing music which becomes the soundtrack of your life.

Well, that time is here, and The Train’s got the fever!  (No, it’s not a Swine Flu symptom.  I’ve gotten the shot, thank you.)  We’ve got about four months until The Tracks kicks it into super media mode, and does some more amazing interviews! (Check out the new interviews posted on the site)  King B and I love being out in the crowd and also back behind the scenes so we can bring you as many great and uncensored musician interviews as possible!

What do you do when you get the fever?  Do you start researching all of the bands that you’re going to see?  Listen to new music?  Check your tent to see if it still works?  Hit the gym, so you can physically make it through the grueling festival weekends?

Well, no matter what you do… You’d better get ready, because there’s not much time before FESTIVAL TIME!

- Moe

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Train’s Thoughts on Unorthodox Festival Booking

What’s up everyone?  I’ve got summer festivals on my mind (and why shouldn’t I?  All the lineups are coming out!)  Anyway, I was on Twitter (@MoeTrainsTracks), discussing what people would think if festivals like Bonnaroo would do a booking that was totally out of character for the festival.  For example, I was watching the Olympics tonight and heard Andrea Bocelli’s music used for ice dancing.  I thought, Andrea Bocelli would be an off the wall, yet amazing addition to Bonnaroo’s lineup this year.

Metallica seemed to be one of the biggest stretches for the perennial hippie/jamband and indie friendly festival, and their booking was met with very mixed reviews.  Personally, I was pumped to have Metallica on the farm, as I’m a big fan of their music.  Yeah, I definitely think that Lars was an absolute prick for what he did to Napster, but Metallica’s live performances are top notch.  Many of the Bonnaroo purists were upset that the balance of their universe would be thrown off it’s axis by such a notable metal act.  On the other hand, their presence brought a different “type” of festival goer which wouldn’t usually have made the trek to Manchester, TN.  When all was said and done, Metallica had blown the roof off of the farm, and made fans out of non-believers.

The same booking mentality would certainly apply to a talent like Andrea Bocelli.  Imagine Sunday night, when everyone is exhausted from four straight days of music and mania, and enter Andrea Bocelli on the main stage.  Surround him a laser show of Tool proportions, and give him the best backing band that Bonnaroo artists have to offer.  The result would be one of the biggest sensory overloads that the festival world has seen.

Everyone’s always wondering who the Superjam lineup will consist of, and it’s usually a nicely diversified group of musicians, but sometimes, the best things come from the most motley of crews (or Crue).  In the overloaded market of festivals (RIP Rothbury…for now), promoters need to continue pushing the envelope so they can continue to attract huge audiences.

What do you guys think?  Are music festivals doing enough to keep you coming back year after year?  What would be the most off the wall booking that you’d like to see at the festivals in the coming years?

- Moe

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Bonnaroo 2010 Lineup

The 2010 Bonnaroo Lineup (as of 2/10/2010)!

Dave Matthews Band • Kings of Leon • Stevie Wonder • Jay-Z • Tenacious D • Weezer • The Flaming Lips with Stardeath and White Dwarfs perform “Dark Side of the Moon” • The Dead Weather • Damian Marley & Nas • Phoenix • Norah Jones • Michael Franti & Spearhead • John Fogerty • Regina Spektor • Jimmy Cliff • LCD Soundsystem • The Avett Brothers • Thievery Corporation • Rise Against • Tori Amos • The National • Zac Brown Band • Les Claypool • John Prine • The Black Keys • Steve Martin & the Steep Canyon Rangers • Jeff Beck • Dropkick Murphys • She & Him • Against Me! • The Disco Biscuits • Daryl Hall & Chromeo • Jamey Johnson • Clutch • Bassnectar • Kid Cudi • Baaba Maal • Kris Kristofferson • Medeski Martin & Wood • The xx • GWAR • Dan Deacon Ensemble • Tinariwen • Wale • Deadmau5 • The Melvins • Gaslight Anthem • Miike Snow • The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band • Dr. Dog • They Might Be Giants • Punch Brothers • Isis • Blitzen Trapper • Blues Traveler • Miranda Lambert • Calexico • OK Go • Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue • Martin Sexton • Lotus • Baroness • Dave Rawlings Machine • Mayer Hawthorne and the County • Japandroids • Jay Electronica • Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros • Ingrid Michaelson • The Dodos • Manchester Orchestra • The Temper Trap • Cross Canadian Ragweed • Big Sam’s Funky Nation • Carolina Chocolate Drops • Needtobreathe • Tokyo Police Club • The Entrance Band • Local Natives • Brandi Carlile • Mumford & Sons • Rebelution • Diane Birch • Monte Montgomery • Julia Nunes • The Postelles • Lucero • Here We Go Magic • Hot Rize • Neon Indian • B.O.B