Cajun Tomato’s Favorite Songs of 2011 (Better Late Edition)

January 25, 2012 By 3 Comments

Charles Bradley

The calendar has turned, snow has fallen in Portland, and it is time for a belated list.

I am referring to my Favorite Songs of 2011 (Better Late Edition). Let’s pretend it’s December, and this list is being released at the same time everyone else in the world is releasing theirs. OK. Nevermind. It is too cold for pretend.

Below are the 40 songs I enjoyed the most in 2011, with one minor caveat. I limited myself to one song per artist. This kept the list from being 200 songs. It also forced me to make some tough choices with regards to several artists.

Enjoy!

[Read more...]

Filed Under: Dig This Tomato, Yo!, Kanye West, Lupe Fiasco, Music Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Cajun Tomato's Favorite Song of 2011 Nominees

October 2, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Charles Bradley makes the list.

Goodbye, late-arriving summer. Hello, rainy and gray Pacific Northwest fall.

Yes, 2011 is nearly three-quarters in the books. That means I need to buy a suitable jacket, and also begin considering what my favorite songs and albums of 2011 are.

I’ll take a stab at songs first since 2011 has a bountiful crop. Below are 12 songs released this year that I love and could see naming my favorite song of 2011. That does not mean these songs will necessarily populate my top 12 spots at the end of the year though.

NOTE: I decided to list them in alphabetical order according to song title. Ranking them at this point would be an exercise in futility, since I know my mind will change between now and year’s end. Besides I ranked my favorite songs at this year’s midpoint.

[Read more...]

Filed Under: Dig This Tomato, Yo!, Music, Portland Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , ,

Photos From Pitchfork Music Festival 2011 (Sunday)

July 28, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Earlier this week I wrote about my experience during the final day of Pitchfork Music Festival in Chicago. You can read my thoughts on performances by TV On The Radio, Cut Copy, Deerhunter, Superchunk, and Kurt Vile by clicking here.

I purchased a new camera on Saturday to capture the action. Below are some of my favorite photos from Sunday’s performances.

NOTE: I took all of the photos below — the good, the bad, and the morbidly out of focus. Click on the photos for larger versions.

[Read more...]

Filed Under: Live Music, Music, Photos, Travel Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Cajun Tomato @ Pitchfork Music Festival 2011 (Sunday)

July 27, 2011 By 2 Comments

NOTE: This is the final part of a three-part series chronicling my Pitchfork Music Festival experience. You can read my Friday recap here and my Saturday recap here. Also, I plan to post photos from several shows from Saturday and Sunday later today.

More than a week after Pitchfork Music Festival 2011 wrapped, I am still reaching for superlatives to describe the event’s final day. The word amazing seems like too faint praise. Pitchfork’s final day was the deepest collection of musical talent I have seen.

Selecting a favorite act from among the great performances I witnessed seems like a moot case. Except … well, Australian dance juggernaut Cut Copy made me forget time and space existed during their dusk set. I witnessed Cut Copy prior to that steamy Sunday in Chicago, albeit in a shortened set. Never had I seen a crowd of thousands go apeshit in unison like they did for Cut Copy.

It seems weird to write this but … my favorite band TV On The Radio was almost a cool-down lap after seeing Cut Copy. Sure, I jumped up and down on songs like “Wolf Like Me” and “Satellite,” but that was purely out of choice. With Cut Copy’s show, I had no choice. Otherwise, I would have been swallowed by the sweat-drenched masses.

To my ears, eyes, and music-loving soul, Cut Copy and TV On The Radio alone made it a sensational day. But there were plenty of other great performances — Odd Future, Deerhunter, Superchunk, and Kurt Vile come to mind.

[Read more...]

Filed Under: Concert Reviews, Live Music, Music, Travel Tagged With: , , , ,

5 Bands I Want To See At Pitchfork Music Festival

July 7, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Pitchfork Music Festival kicks off July 15

Say what you want about Pitchfork the web site — it can be pretentious, overly in love with its tastemaker status, the reviews are dense beyond compare — but the people behind the site put together a stacked, yet affordable festival year after year.

This year is no exception. The headliners — Animal Collective, Fleet Foxes, and TV On The Radio — leave little to be desired. The quality and depth among the 45 acts performing during the three-day festival is a booking triumph.

Next week, I will depart the Pacific Northwest for the Windy City and the 2011 Pitchfork Music Festival. I can’t wait. Last year I saw a who’s who in indie music including LCD Soundsystem, Robyn, Wolf Parade, Broken Social Scene and many, many more. This year should be equally good, if not better.

Perhaps picking the five bands I am most looking forward to seeing is a futile task. Part of the allure of a festival like Pitchfork is discovering new bands, often on the spur of the moment. Without further ado, here are the bands I most want to see at Pitchfork:

[Read more...]

Filed Under: Dig This Tomato, Yo!, Live Music, Music, Travel Tagged With: , , , , ,

Cajun Tomato's Favorite Songs of 2011 (Mid-year Edition Pt. 2)

June 12, 2011 By 11 Comments

Today, I am unveiling Part Two of my favorite songs of 2011 (mid-year edition) list. Part One can be viewed here. Per this list: I am going out on a limb and ranking the songs. Just because a song ranks high on this list does not mean it will receive favorable treatment at the end of the year, and vice versa. As always, this is a favorites list NOT a best of list.

Let’s end the wait, shall we? Here are my Top 15 favorite songs of 2011 (so far). PS: Click on the links below for more on songs, albums, and events.

[Read more...]

Filed Under: Dig This Tomato, Yo!, Music, Portland Tagged With: , , , ,

Album Review: Nine Types of Light by TV On The Radio

April 30, 2011 By 1 Comment

Nine Types of Light

TV On The Radio produced my favorite sounds of the 2000′s. From Tunde Adibempe’s barbershop croon on “Ambulance” and lovesick poetry on “Satellite” to Dave Sitek’s rushing, futuristic guitar on “Wolf Like Me” to the limber funk of “Golden Age,” the Brooklyn quintet excelled at finding exciting, new ways to capture our war-weary times.

Enter Nine Types of Light, the band’s first album in three years and first this decade. The 10-song album features the kind of slow-burning seduction that makes you forget the wars the band sang about last decade are still going on today.

Adibempe and fellow vocalist Kyp Malone lay their arms down, in essence. There’s no loaded declarations like “I was a lover before this war.” And there are precious few rockers in this set, which will come as a surprise to longtime fans.

But that doesn’t mean songs like “Will Do”, “You”, and “Keep Your Heart” are white flags waved or signs this band has nothing more to say. There’s still tension where love’s concerned. This time, it’s more stripped down and direct.

[Read more...]

Filed Under: Album Reviews, Music Tagged With: , , ,

TV On The Radio Bassist Shunned Spotlight Despite Talent

April 20, 2011 By 1 Comment

RIP Gerard Smith

Gerard Smith never called attention to himself. Quite the contrary. He seemed to dislike the bright lights that came with being in a visionary rock band like TV On The Radio.

I have attended five TV On the Radio shows since Smith joined the band in 2005. I don’t recall seeing Smith face the crowd while playing live. He played his bass with his back turned and rarely moved. Let the band’s vocalists, Tunde and Kyp, have the spotlight, his body language said.

Last month, the band announced Smith would not join them on tour in support of their newest album, Nine Types of Light. He had lung cancer, the press release said. The band expressed confidence his “legendary willful disposition” would win out. But the diagnosis was grim.

Still, I was surprised and saddened when I read this afternoon that Smith had died. He was just 36, according to the New York Times. The end for him came mercilessly quick.

[Read more...]

Filed Under: Music Tagged With: , ,

My Favorite Songs of 2011 (1st Quarter Edition)

February 25, 2011 By 2 Comments

Ed. Note: You can view my mid-year favorite songs list here and here.

It is snowing today in northwest Portland. Meanwhile in south Louisiana my friends there are enjoying temperatures in the 80′s just in time for Mardi Gras. Go figure.

I am attempting to avoid Snowpocalypse 2011. As such, I am sitting inside the warm confines of Coffee Time, my friendly, neighborhood coffeeshop. I’m sipping an organic green tea and listening to new tunes by Tv On The Radio, Lupe Fiasco, and Tyler, the Creator, among others.

Each month I collect songs I’ve enjoyed immensely into a playlist. These songs are a mix of new and old, hip-hop and rock, mainstream and indie.

This month I decided to do something a bit different. Here are my 13 favorite songs of the year so far. I placed them in alphabetical order. It’s way too early to rank these songs. I haven’t had enough time with them, and I am probably leaving out a few songs.

[Read more...]

Filed Under: Dig This Tomato, Yo!, Lupe Fiasco, Music Tagged With: , , , , , , , ,