The past couple of weeks have seen some nicely varied activity on Row Three. The series posts seem to be going well, and generating the hoped-for interaction, so we’ll try to keep that up. As far as regular reviews, I got one up for Steven Soderbergh’s Contagion, and only a week or so after it was released! That’s a major triumph for me…I need time to mull things over. I’ll never make it as a weekly trade reviewer. Good thing I don’t really want to be that. In any case, I liked the movie a good bit, and I’ve already talked about it in my September Scorecard, so I’ll just leave you to read that and/or the full review at Row Three.

I’ve been idly figuring out which directors I’ve seen the most films by, and Billy Wilder came out fairly close to the top, with fourteen. Not surprising; he’s a fantastic writer/director and I went through a period as a teenager just gobbling up everything of his I could find. In fact, I’d say he’s probably one of the first directors I actively knew by name and sought out their films. So I decided to do a Rank ‘Em entry and see how his filmography stacks up. I threw in films he wrote but didn’t direct, too, for good measure, bringing the total up to eighteen. It was challenging near the top simply because his top four or five films are all top-notch and difficult to choose between, but I’m fairly content with my placement. Meanwhile, Marina ranked Guy Maddin films, Domenic ranked Steven Soderbegh films, and Ross ranked Brad Pitt films. We like lists, yes we do.

Along with our ongoing post series, we’re also going to try to participate a little more in blogathons and other events across the blogging community, and what better way to get our feet wet than with a few posts about Canadian maverick Guy Maddin, a favorite among many Row Three contributors, for a blogathon hosted at the Keyframe blog over at Fandor (a streaming video site you should really check out if you like non-mainstream film). Kurt talked about his favorite Maddin film Careful, Colleen posted a 3×5 review of Tales of Gimli Hospital, Marina ranked her top five Maddin films, and I wrote a bit about my early experiences with Maddin, since I’ve only just started looking at his filmography this year.

For my latest MorePop entry, I threw together a list of some music I’ve been checking out in September – there have been a LOT of indie releases this month, including some I haven’t even had a chance to get to yet! So this is just a sampling of what’s been filling up my Spotify, along with videos and streams of songs for each one. Including the new Mates of State album Mountaintops, which is earworming me right now. This week, Marina says goodbye to R.E.M. and gives us her top ten R.E.M. songs.

A new Mates of State album is always reason to rejoice in my book, and this is their first original one since 2008′s Rearrange Us. Don’t get me wrong, I loved their covers album (#9 on my list last year), but it’s great to hear new stuff from them as well. Mountaintops dropped on Tuesday, and I’m still acclimating to the whole thing, but the first couple of songs are instant winners. They’re getting a bit more melodic, a bit more generous with their sound, but it’s still very much them.

Even better, as a special for TODAY ONLY (September 16th), Amazon.com has the first track on the album, entitled “Palomino”, as a free download. Absolutely free. It’s a great song that hooked me on the album immediately. So if you’re new to Mates of State, go snag that before the free part goes away. If you’re not new to them, why haven’t you bought the album already?!

And then come back and watch the video for the second track, which was released a few months ago.

I came across this video when scanning Stereogum the other day; I wasn’t aware of London-based band Veronica Falls before, but this song hooked me immediately. It’s catchy, has a driving beat, lovely female vocals (from lead singer Roxanne Clifford), dense backing vocals lead by James Hoare, and a combination of upbeat melody and slightly gloomy lyrics. In other words, totally exactly my thing.

Veronica Falls’ self-titled debut comes out 9/20 on Slumberland Records. I’ll likely be checking it out.

I‘m well on my way to buying more new albums this year than any other year thus far. As such, I could not keep this list to five, but I’m not a big fan of arbitrarily limited lists anyway – even the ordering on this is fairly arbitrary. Theese seven albums have distinguished themselves in my listening habits far above anything else I’ve gotten this year, and I wouldn’t be surprised if several of them stuck around for my end-of-the-year list as well. Anyway, here they are, my favorite albums of 2011, released before July 1st.

#7 – The Joy Formidable – The Big Roar

Jonathan introduced me to this Welsh band via their half album about a year ago, but I only really listened to it and got into the band just before they released this full-length, so I was perfectly primed for this to go into repeat, and that’s just what it did. It’s a big bombastic album, with lots of layers in the orchestration to go along with the lead vocals.

#6 – The Raveonettes – Raven in the Grave

I didn’t fall in love with this album quite as hard as I did with The Raveonettes’ previous release In and Out of Control, but it has grown on me quite a lot since I first got it, and I do really appreciate the band’s ability to innovate their sound (here softer and more contemplative than their previous noise-heavy rock) without leaving behind who they are – there’s still plenty of fuzz to go around here, and I actually expect the more thoughtful approach here may eventually be the one that stays with me for longer.

#5 – Death Cab for Cutie – Codes and Keys

Somehow I missed out on really being a Death Cab fan back in the day – I managed to get into indie rock somewhere in between their releases, and even though their name is omnipresent and I’m plenty adept at dropping it whenever appropriate, I actually know very little of their music. I decided I’d check this one out, and lo and behold, I cannot turn it off. I didn’t expect that, but it’s addicting, and I really want to fill in the gaps of their other albums now.

#4 – Cults – Cults

I came close to putting Cults on my list last year on the strength of a 3-song EP, but I just couldn’t do it with that little to go on. Now there’s a full album (which incorporates at least some of the EP, including the hit single “Go Outside”), and I can say with very little doubt this will be on my year-end list this time. Every one of these tracks is irresistibly catchy – fair warning, they WILL get stuck in your head.

#3 – Lykke Li – Wounded Rhymes

I have Lykke Li’s 2009 release Youth Novel, but despite my best and repeated efforts, I have never been able to really get into it. Even seeing her live for part of a set at Lollapalooza wasn’t quite enough, even though she’s a charismatic performer. So it was with trepidation I picked up Wounded Rhymes…and loved it immediately. Still don’t love Youth Novel, but something about this new album is very nearly perfect. It’s strident and vulnerable, with a depth in the songs both musically and lyrically that I found lacking in the earlier outing. It’s a gorgeous and heartrending album that clearly cuts close to her heart, and that comes through in every song.

#2 – The Submarines – Love Notes/Letter Bombs

If the Submarines’ first album is about the dating process, breaking up and getting together again (which they did), and their second is about a young couple embarking into fully committed and joyful love together (which they did), then this third one is about dealing with the struggles and joys of married life (which they are doing). It’s more mature and more complicated than Honeysuckle Weeks, understanding that two people being a couple isn’t easy, but the happiness is worth the struggle. Not every song is autobiographical, but they can’t seem to keep the general trajectory of their lives out of their music, and when they’re able to capture their emotions as well as they are, I have no argument with that.

#1 – Dum Dum Girls – He Gets Me High EP

I usually don’t include EPs unless they’re exemplary. I guess this one is. It probably ranks high on my listening chart because I simply can’t turn it off when it starts and end up playing it on repeat forever. I had Dum Dum Girls’ full-length I Will Be on my year-end list last year, and I actually think this EP is better than that album. All three new songs are great, catchy in both music and lyrics, and the fourth now ranks a among my favorite covers, a pretty straight but really lovely rendition of The Smiths’ “There is a Light That Never Goes Out.” The band has another full-length due later this year. Will it top this? We’ll see.

Honorable Mentions: The Pauses – A Cautionary Tale, The Violet Lights – Sex & Sound EP, Vivian Girls – Share the Joy, Obi Best – Sentimental Education EP, The Belle Brigade – The Belle Brigade

Although I loved Mates of State’s cover album Crushes, it’s really great to hear them doing more original stuff, and so soon! Their next album will be called Mountaintops, and will drop on September 13th from Barsuk. They’ve also got a tour lining up for September/October (with a couple of earlier one-off dates), though not out my direction yet. If you’re in the east, midwest, or south, though, definitely look them up when they come through your town. They put on a great live show.

To tide us over, they’ve released a performance-based music video for “Maracas” off the new album. It’s very poppy and synthy, as they are wont to be, but sounds like they’re continuing some of the trajectory of Crushes, allowing the vocals to be a little sweeter and mellower, showcasing Kori’s lovely voice.

Tour Dates
7/9 – Rochester, Minn. @ St. John’s Block Party
8/5 – Southampton, N.Y. @ Escape to New York
9/21 – Washington, D.C. @ 930 Club ^ /
9/22 – Cincinnati, Ohio @ Mid Point Music Festival
9/23 – Pittsburgh, Pa. @ Mr. Smalls ^ /
9/24 – Philadelphia, Pa. @ Popped Festival ^ /
9/26 – Boston, Mass. @ Royale ^ /
9/27 – Montreal, Quebec @ Il Motore ^ /
9/28 – Toronto, Ontario @ Phoenix ^ /
9/29 – Detroit, Mich. @ St. Andrews ^ /
9/30 – Chicago, Ill. @ Metro ^ /
10/1 – Columbus, Ohio @ Newport Music Hall % /
10/3 – Asheville, N.C. @ The Orange Peel % /
10/4 – Nashville, Tenn. @ Exit/In % /
10/5 – Charlotte, N.C. @ Visulite Theatre % /
10/6 – Atlanta, Ga. @ Drunken Unicorn % /
10/7 – Orlando, Fla. @ The Social % /
10/8 – Sunrise, Fla. @ Langerado Festival % /
10/10 – Richmond, Va. @ Canal Club % /
10/11 – Baltimore, Md. @ Ottobar % /
10/12 – New York, N.Y. @ Webster Hall %
10/28 – New Orleans, La. @ Voodoo Experience

^ with Suckers
/ with Yawn
% with Other Lives

hat tip Paste

The local band I’ve seen the most times is Obi Best, partially because, well, they play a lot, but also because I go almost every time I can because Alex Lilly is pretty much the coolest person in existence, and she writes some of the catchiest and unusual songs I’ve heard, and has one of the clearest and most lovely singing voices I’ve heard. Okay, enough hyberbole, though really, it’s not hyberbole by much.

Alex released a new EP this year called Sentimental Education that you can get on iTunes or on Amazon (that one’s an affiliate link). It’s got four songs that she’s been performing live for quite a while, but it’s great to have them as studio tracks, too.

Here’s probably my favorite track off the EP, a slow one which shows off Alex’s voice beautifully:
Obi Best – Knock On Any Door

And now, the real, original occasion for this post, before I got sidetracked on actually, like, talking about the band and EP. They put a video out recently for the song “Tropical Fish,” with an intriguing Bollywood theme. I actually have no idea how this relates to the song, but whatever.

I‘ve been listening to this piece of music over and over for the last two days, and I finally had to share it. I’ve heard of Bedřich Smetana and Má Vlast before (I likely listened to it all the way through before I went to Prague, as Smetana is one of the foremost Czech composers of all time), but the immediate cause of my current infatution is Terrence Malick’s use of themes from this particular movement in his recent film The Tree of Life. It makes up the majority of the music in the trailer, and is featured prominently in the film as well, alongside Alexandre Desplat’s original score and various other classical pieces. It’s pretty brilliant.

And here’s the Tree of Life trailer if you haven’t seen it yet. The film, which just won Cannes’ prestigious Palme d’or award for best film, is in limited release in NY and LA, and should be expanding soon. It’s a heady and transcendent experience, and a welcome change from the usual summer blockbuster fare, so I highly recommend you check it out if you get the opportunity. In the meantime, I’m going to listen to Smetana some more.

Arcade Fire finished snugly in the top five of my year-end list last year with their Grammy-award winning The Suburbs, and now they’re readying a deluxe edition of that album, a CD/DVD combo set which will include the Spike Jonze-directed short film “Scenes from the Suburbs” (a portion of which was used as the video for the song “The Suburbs” – it’s embedded in that post I just linked) as well as two previously unreleased songs.

Well, unreleased until now, as Zane Lowe premiered them on BBC Radio 1 last week, and it doesn’t take long for music to make its way from BBC Radio 1 to the internet. Here are rips of the radio plays courtesy of Listen Before You Buy.

The deluxe edition of The Suburbs will be out June 27th via Merge Records.

Arcade Fire – Speaking in Tongues (feat. David Byrne) by MergeRecords

Arcade Fire – Culture War by MergeRecords