Music Tuesday: Mastodon, Warpaint and Strawburry17
Austin, Texas is accustomed to hordes of music lovers descending on its streets periodically. But at this year's Austin City Limits Music Festival, you didn’t need to be there to be part of it—the festival was streaming live all weekend on YouTube; check out some festival highlights now. And, just in case you didn’t get your fill last weekend, we have oodles of musical goodies for you today.
What is a mastodon? A massive, lumbering animal that first appeared on earth 40 million years ago. Does Mastodon, the metal band, share the same gravitas as its namesake? If you like heavy music, twin guitar squall and hard rock with a side of prog, then the answer is yes. Mastodon’s fifth release jettisons the concept-album conceits of its predecessors, liberating the band to dizzying stylistic pivots that can, at their best moments, feel like small revelations (check out the song “The Ocotopus Has No Friends”). We’re pleased to present their new album The Hunter in its entirety today, set to excellent visuals, a week before release.
It’s all about the live sessions these days. Everybody’s doing them, whether they’re seated on the Big Ugly Yellow Couch, crammed into the studios at KCRW or KEXP, vibing out in Room 205 or rapping to a boombox on the Brooklyn bridge. This week we celebrate the beautiful diversity with exclusive live sessions from the indie band Warpaint, whom we in part love just because of their website name. (Warpaintwarpaint.com — why say it once?) This is a band that manages to sweetly brood, skirting the line of psychedelia with a kind of entrancing intensity. We also include a smattering of great live performances found on other channels. Got a suggestion for live sessions we haven’t seen? Send Music Tuesday a message.
Strawburry17 Gets More Into Indie Pop
The music video creator Meghan Camarena, better known as Strawburry17, has earned herself a devoted following on YouTube for her work crafting videos for up-and-coming bands. Last week, she reached out to the community to help her get more into indie pop—and you responded in a big way. Check out her favorite picks, and dig deeper into the genre with her.