Are there Any Grace Jones Fans in the House? Hurricane Dub Released Sept 5

Grace Jones just wowed the crowd with her performance at  London’s Wireless Festival on 3 July. Now, her Wall Of Sound, have announced Hurricane Dub – a special edition version of Grace Jones’  2008 LP. Due for release on September 5 2011. “Her first album since 1989’s Bulletproof Heart, Hurricane – considered by some to be one of her best records – was supported by a major international tour, receiving praise from audiences and critics alike.  The dub version of the album brings a new, dark dynamic to her signature vocals and crashing bass lines (news.pinkpaper.com).” As if that wasn’t tempting enough, just lay your eyes on the cover artwork. Grace teamed up with her once creative partner, Jean-Paul Goude, and magic happened once again. Like a sparkly disco ball, Grace covers her shiny head with a trade mark Philip Treacy hat.

Pre-order the new LP today 

Music: Richard Swift :: Walt Wolfman

It must be the season for new Richard Swift. Last month we shared the troubadour’s ode to a maimed hand, “Broken Finger Blues,” and today Swift offers up “Whitman,” the first taste from his forthcoming release, Walt Wolfman. A fine ode from one American iconoclast to another, “Whitman” — all propulsive chugging drums and keys — finds Swift’s r&b falsetto in fine form. A vinyl/mp3 only release, look for Wolfman October 18th. (via http://www.aquariumdrunkard.com )

Listen here: MP3: Richard Swift :: Whitman

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Video: Billionth Reason to Love the Foo Fighters: Wet Beards & Trucker Ass

Foo Fighters set their sights on their North American tour .

Let me Introduce The Water Tower Bucket Boys

 

water tower bucket boys by jeremyokai® on Flickr

Step outside of your musical comfort zone and get down and dirty to some blue grass with the Water Tower Bucket Boys. No, you don’t need to be a folk/ hippy to enjoy these sounds, just a craving for good soul moving music. Readers, meet Water Tower Bucket Boys, Water Tower Bucket Boys, meet our readers (knuckle punch). Mike Enders

After 5 years on the road, 4 albums under their belt and multiple international tours, the Water Tower Bucket Boys have been brewing up a storm in the folk music world.  The boys have collaborated live with members of bands like Frank Turner, Kitty Daisy and Lewis, the Red Stick Ramblers, and the Foghorn Stringband and shared the stage with acts like Old Crow Medicine Show, Mumford and Sons, Wilco, Pokey LaFarge and the South City Three, and Woody Pines.  They have toured extensively in both the USA and abroad, and performed live on the BBC, NPR, and RTE.  Their all original sound is infectious and has spread far and wide to audiences of all ages and walks of life.  Based in Portland, Oregon these young gents got their start busking on street corners playing traditional old time and bluegrass, eventually honing their sound as a solid dance band playing square dances and bluegrass festivals up and down the west coast. www.watertowerbucketboys.com

Melbourne, AZ: The Beards & Gay Paris

(Via www.au.timeout.com)

These two bands go together like a pot and a parma, but more importantly you’re unlikely to spot finer chin topiary anywhere in this city Head down to Northcote Social Club on Friday, to catch Adelaide’s The Beards pulling tunes from their third fuzz-promoting album – which spawned the smash hit ‘You Should Consider Having Sex With a Bearded Man’.

Sydney’s shadowy Gay Paris, meanwhile, sport the sort of beards that should be twirled thoughtfully while contemplating a broken string – and make sartorial elegance seem like something you should put in your pipe and smoke.

Time Out cornered both bands for their favourite gentlemanly haunts in Melbourne. MORE

Bearotic Turns us on to Irish Musician Stephen Tunney

We give big fuzzy bear hugs with an intense press of our pelvis to the web site Bearotic for bringing  Stephen Tunney to our attention.  Stephen Tunney, a 20 year old Irish bear cub has been crawling around on all fours trying to find place to lay his head. Through the outlet of music he has found a safe place in the bear community. The out come of this journey was his album In Search of Home with the band name Retreat From Moscow. Love it! We are going to do our best to get this one to talk with us here at Accidental Bear.

Stephen puts it best. From the horses mouth read on “This project (Retreat From Moscow) was the beginning of something I felt comfortable with and something I had complete control over. I began recording in late 2009 just as I started college. I bought a really cheap acoustic guitar and found a typically 80s casio keyboard in Spain and put together my old drum kit and that was it, I had all the ingredients to make a record. I was very secretive about the whole thing, releasing teaser excerpts online once in a while. I would spend weeks neglecting university and working on a song until I was satisfied with it. The software I use tells you how long you’ve spent recording a song and in some instances it was as a high as 35 hours on one track. This was because I had to record everything by myself, instrument by instrument and tweak everything accordingly in the mix. Honestly it took forever and it might not sound like the most polished piece of work but I couldn’t be happier with it or it’s naturally occurring warm sound.”

Music Watch: Sweet Sweet Moon – “Psalm For The Elks Lodge Last Call” (Weakerthans cover)

Do yourself a favor and turn off the television for 4 minutes and watch this sweet video and song by Sweet Sweet Moon who  performs “Psalm For The Elks Lodge Last Call” (Weakerthans cover). His EP Pomidou is out now on Siluh Records, and he’s also got two new singles out – “Smoke Up” and a cover of Beirut’s “My Night With The Prostitute From Marseille”. Thank you and you’re welcome!

They Shoot Music Don’t They video / Sweet Sweet Moon play a special acoustic session at Topkino in Vienna in June 2011 / check out more videos, pics, location info, etc. on http://www.theyshootmusic.com

INTERVIEW: Drag Terrorist CHRISTEENE Plays with Accidental Bear & There’s a lot of Stank Mentioned

I just wrestled a wild, mysterious, gorgeous and stinky wild animal for you named CHRISTEENE, who has been handed the title ‘Drag Terrorist” on a silver platter. Tranquilizers did not work so I had to strategically reel CHRISTEENE in with food scraps and then I pounced hard, swinging with questions. In 2009 singer CHRISTEENE mysteriously appeared in the conservative state of Texas and was mostly spotted  within its capital city, Austin. Reporters and private investigators have not been able to get the bottom  of his/her age, origin, race, religion and even gender leaving the public to rely primarily on an impressive and highly stylized collection of music videos. My  first CHRISTEENE sighting was when it’s video for the song “Fix My Dik” landed in my  email inbox and boy did it stink (in a good way). For hours I danced to its track and then masturbated to CHRISTEENE’s dirty & sleazy back up boy’s T-Gravel and C-Baby. From that day forth CHRISTEENE has been a dirty stain in my mind and I wanted more.

“Reports from live shows describe scenes involving butt plugs tied to bouquets of balloons being released into the air from CHRISTEENE’s arse, intimate and bizarre confessionals over tea, backup boys urinating on canvas bags containing the singer, and a wardrobe styled from the scraps of society…classifiable as ‘Dumpster Couture’. The singer’s impressive sound arsenal includes a wide range of musical appreciation and mastery ranging from Electro to R&B, Hip Hop to Dub Step, with titles including ‘Fix My Dick’ ‘Tears From My Pussy’ and ‘African Mayonnaise’.  All songs are written by CHRISTEENE and present an intimate and fascinating glimpse into the personal experiences of this talented nightmare.” christeene.org 

 I peeled back all the warning labels screaming WARNING: EXPLICIT CONTENT at  me and tried to get to the bottom of this deep, dark hole that we have all learned to love, CHRISTEENE.

Interview:

Accidental Bear: I just read on your website that you appeared in Austin sometime in 2009. Would that be dropped from an alien ship or you dug your way out from the earth? Either way you are dirty rotten hot.

CHRISTEENE: Diz sheeeet is STANK HAWT an I doo like too push it out ferr da boyz an baybeeez out derr in da wurld ya’lllz. Austin been my nay nay place fer a while now. Iz hawt as SHIT here an i wish all u people can cum an play up in diz nugget when u can wit me haaaay. 

A B: As a small child did you dream of being on stage?

CHRISTEENE: whut ?

A B: If you were locked in a 12×12 room with 10 sweaty, bearded, construction workers, a pepperoni pizza, chop sticks a lube for 24hr (not toilet) what might happen in that room?

CHRISTEENE: I would take da chop stix an pic da lock den I would go down da street to dat place wherr u doo da laundry an watch da clothes spin in da hot box machine. 

A B: What kind of emotions stir inside of you if I say stinky pinky?

ALBUM PREMIERE: CSS’ ‘La Liberacion’

“We just wanted to be over the top,” singer Lovefoxxx tells SPIN. “We would be very exuberant [in the studio] and not think of how to do it live. This was the only rule that we had.” With that said they may skate a fine line of trying to hard. Being unaware of your ‘over the topness’ is key to be successful at it.  When there are ‘board meetings’ involved in image consulting, there is a need for being cautious of authenticity. CSS has the beats that allow us to breathe easy with power dance songs. You could care less if they are naked because CSS’s music is rock solid.  Mike Enders

(Via Spin)

Brazilian dance rock quintet CSS arrived on the global scene in 2006 with a handful of playful jams and seemingly boundless onstage energy. It’s reassuring to know that they’ve lost none of that spirit on their third album, La Liberacion, which hits stores August 23. Experience it for yourself: the entire album is streaming here exclusively.

LISTEN: CSS, La Liberación
http://cdn.topspin.net/api/v2/widget/player/93442

CSS head out on a North American tour Oct. 1 in Vancouver — visit their Facebook page for details.

INTERVIEW: Singer Aiden James Gives Accidental Bear the Scoop on New Album and Life

Singer, song writer Aiden James is no small town honky-tonk.  Aiden craved more than his upbringing had offered him and he took off for Philadelphia where he embraced urban life, got himself a big serving of the local music scene and found himself an audience to play for, which quickly turned into a large crowd.  Folk music and singer song writers inspired Aiden and gave him the platform to go after his musical dreams. Aiden has added a healthy dose of electronic music to his personal listening roster and says it has most definitely rubbed off onto his current projects. He leaked to me that his new album will be a pop record.

“Currently working on his 3rd studio album due out fall 2011, this self-taught musician was pulled from obscurity when his first music video “On the Run” had its television broadcast debut on Logo’s NewNowNext PopLab in Febuary 2010. A buzz quickly followed on all the big blogs like AfterElton, Joe My God and so on.. saying “Aiden James has stolen our hearts with his video for “On the Run” -AE. You can watch that on MTVmusic.com, VH1.com or his Youtube page.

Aiden added, ” I’ve written, arranged, engineered and performed everything on this new record which is a HUGE undertaking. I am psyched and blown away that I was actually capable of accomplishing.”  We see a musicians life on stage, let me do some digging for you and find out about the man behind the music.

Interview with Aiden James:

by Mike Enders

Accidental Bear: I was doing a little Aiden stalking online last night and see that you have folky roots but then starting listening to more electronic music. How would you describe the music on the new album you are working on?

Aiden James: It’s going to be a pop record. More an electronic singer songwriter kinda thing. Big hooks, catchy..cool sounds, beeps, beats, and some hot vocal stacking harmonies. Not often found in electronic music. You will still find my acoustic guitar in there ’cause after all, that’s my thing (smiles), it will still have the substance that you expect from a singer songwriter but with a very modern feel.  “po-ro-tronic” pop rock electronic (laughs)

A B: Do you come from a musical family?

Aiden: No. Most times my family would tell me to turn down my lil keyboard. So I’d go outside and play it on the rock behind my house. 

A B: As teenager, who might have you had a poster of on your wall and danced frantically to you your room?

Aiden: Well, I didn’t have any posters on my wall, but I remember doing all the Backstreet Boys choreography to like “larger than life” does that count? 

A B: Oh, busted. That totally counts. Which one of these terms described your high school years: Musical or a mosh pit?

I’m in Love with Twin Lesbians Tegan and Sara: Live In Concert Newport Folk 2011 (Audio of concert)

Listen to live concert HERE

Canadian twin sisters Tegan and Sara Quin usually traffic in fizzy, punky pop music, so it’s a refreshing twist to see them pop up at the 2011 Newport Folk Festival in Newport, R.I. The smart and outspoken pair will throw an extra curveball when they show their faces Saturday: They’re translating their spiky music into acoustic arrangements. The mission is to highlight the sturdy songcraft behind Tegan and Sara’s cultishly adored music, without sacrificing any of the hard-earned potency. Here’s hoping the pair unsheathes some new stuff, too, since it hasn’t put out a new record since 2009’s Sainthood. Via NPR

Local Musician Steve Taylor Performing at The Independent on Saturday, July 30th

Steve Taylor has played and recorded with a number of bands in his time – Rogue Wave, Vetiver, Avi Buffalo, The Botticellis and more – but he’s somehow also managed to find time for his own music. Mixing psych, folk and soul into a classic-sounding pop melange, Taylor and his band are performing at The Independent on Saturday, July 30th (9pm, $10), with A B and the Sea and Benyaro.

In the above video, from the third annual Mother Hips Family Hipnic in Big Sur in May, Taylor performs a soft-pop gem joined by Andy Cabic (Vetiver), Eric Johnson (Fruit Bats) and Farmer Dave Scher.

PSA: Women are from Venus, Men are from New Jersey: Video

Titus Andronicus – “No Future Part Three: Escape From No Future” (Official Video)

Josh Ritter: NPR Music Tiny Desk Concert

One of my non-guilty pleasures is NPR‘s Tiny Desk Concerts. Musicians chosen wisely. I’m not sure but I think NPR may have me in mind and smoke grass (a lot). If this is your first time or you missed this one, I present to you, Josh Ritter.” Josh Ritter carries himself with the bearing of a folk-singing mayor: gregarious, charming, down-to-earth and impeccably dressed. But there’s not an ounce of insincerity about him, or else he’d have found a way to sing the apocalyptic ballad “The Temptation of Adam” without letting all those wry smiles slip through. Watch Ritter perform a Tiny Desk Concert at the NPR Music offices (NPR).”

 

 

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TYLER ROBINSON: Rocking the Nerdy ‘White Boy Soul’

NewNowNext has held down this guy and asked him the who, what and Whys of his future and beyond. I am all ears. Here is the juice they squeezed out of him:

America was impressed and a little taken aback when singer Tyler Robinson came out to his dad on the NBC show The Voice. The kid’s got courage! He’s also got talent, with a style he calls “white boy soul.”

Now that the show is over and he has moved on, NewNowNext checked in with the adorable redhead to see what’s going on now and in the future. He has an EP expected out by the end of the year, and he’ll likely be performing locally or touring as well. Check him out!