New Music On The Alternate Side

If you listen to The Alternate Side here on the web or on WFUV-HD3 - you're bound to hear new music from:

Coconut Records - Davy

Jason Schwartzman is a talented fellow. He is of the Coppola family and his mom is actress Talia Shire. Such facts don't make him talented necessarily, but they do make him cool. You may recall his own acting work in movies like Rushmore, I Heart Huckabees and The Darjeeling Unlimited. Plus, he's a had a career as a musician - first with Phantom Planet (who were never the same once he left) and now as Coconut Records. "Davy" is his sophomore release as Coconut Records, and Schwartzman produces and plays most of the instruments on the record. It's infectious indie pop...and Schwartzman is proof that it is possible to act well AND be a talented musician at the same time. Jared Leto was the first to prove this.

BLK JKS - Mystery

Are you aware of the South African alternative scene? What?!?! NO?!?!? Slacker. Had you been on top of your alternative music from Johannesburg, you'd have already heard of BLK JKS. They've drawn comparisons to TV On The Radio, and for good reason. There are lots of thumping afrobeat drums on this record, multi-layered vocals and well-arranged fuzz and distortion. If that's your thing, you may want to check these guys out. They'll be in NYC in a few days. Here are the dates:

03/13/09 Brooklyn, NY - Union Hall

03/14/09 New York, NY - Santo's Partyhouse

Speaking of TV On The Radio...they contribute to this new release:

Various Artists, Nat King Cole Re-Generations

OK - we've read some pretty nasty reviews of this new release. And, to a certain extent, we get it. The voice of Nat King Cole is timeless. His legend well established. So the argument that you don't need to bring new sounds to classic ditties doesn't go over our heads. But there are enough talented artists re-contextualizing Mr. Cole's sound and voice to make it worthy of a listen. TVOTR, The Roots, Cut Chemist, Cee-Lo and others.