Ebony Bones returns to the states and wipes the floor with Lady Gaga’s face!

Okay everyone.
I understand it’s impossible to stay up on EVERYTHING happening in the music world. The vast amount of acts today is enough to make anyone loose their mind and I am usually somewhat forgiving of the majority of the universe missing out on some of the more interesting and exciting things happening nowadays. That said, there are some acts who have yet to win public acclaim that I think are so good that I get offended by their lack of buzz or  followings and Ebony Bones is maybe the key contender on that short list of mine.

I’ve been blogging about Ebony Bones for two summers now, but like a lot of the rest of the press I didn’t know if the world was ready for her yet; her music is aggressive and dancy which should make it an easy sell, but it comes with maybe the most campy and over the top live performance that I know of today.  She has a strong point of view in all of her songs and can often overwhelm those who come in looking for just another band.  Fever Ray looks timid and naval gazing next to Miss Bones and Lada Gaga comes off like her bad Hollywood remake, however, the attention that both of those acts have received over the past year  suggest to me that maybe the time is right for Ebony Bones’s act to finally start stirring up the attention it deserves.
She is a true original and one of the most engaging performers I’ve ever seen.  Get ready to fall in love…

Here are a few videos of her and her band driving their audiences into frenzies.

Oh fair minorprogression readers, I know you are not stupid.
Here are the dates,
Go, or forever retire from knowing how to have a good time.

Tour dates after the Jump!

I’ve got news for you honey, Tune-Yards are the best new band of 2009

2009 has proved to be a bad year for list making.  This is not only because tons of shit went down this year that we don’t really want to talk about but also due to the fact that most art worthy of public attention seems to have been announced too loudly for anyone to have missed it, proving little need for documentation.  2009 is without a doubt one of the least subtle years of recent memory.  What was good this year has had its praise shouted out by EVERYBODY and has been noted EVERYWHERE.  What was bad (or sad) this year has likewise been shoved down our throats till we’re made sick of it.  Even art that gained mixed responses this year has seemed to draw more from the left or the right than from those stuck in the middle of their feelings, with a plethora of equally bombastic responses from both lovers and haters flying at us all with hyper speed.  With everyone on their loud mouthed high horses this year, I’ve found myself playing devils advocate most of the time, positive that not everything is as black and white as this year, or rather, our responses to this year have suggested.  This perhaps explains a bit of my missing in action here at minorprogression; a bit of the existential blog blues at the end of a year that has had no room for those feeling indifferent or not knowing quite what to think.

The exhausting nature of this year was often due to the fact  that it was not a year for new artists. Almost all of the art I found myself being introduced to during this past twelve months was the work of people already on the radar. No where was this fact  more apparent than in the world of music “popular music”.  With the exception of very few titles, all of the really noteworthy albums that came out this year were the works of artists who have been honing their craft for at least an album or two, many of whom are already three or more albums into their careers.  Part of my feeling a bit lost in the hype explosion was the fact that many of these great albums I could see coming from many miles away. Though there were many massive achievements in music this year, it’s hard to be surprised by the fact that Animal Collective, The Dirty Projectors and Fever Ray put out some of this years best material.

These facts only amplify the already celebration worthy emergence of Tune-Yards on the music scene, a band who are without a doubt the most exciting new music makers that I’ve been turned on to lately, with force that stands up to the big boys of the year with ferocious ambition and charm to spare. Here’s a video of them playing one of my favorite songs of theirs,
News:

Fever Ray: Caught a Glimpse Now it Haunts Me

Like everyone else that is obsessed with “seeing” “knowing” “experiencing” the latest trends in music, I sheepishly went to the Fever Ray show at the Henry Fonda Theater in Los Angeles.  I became a fan of The Knife two years before they got big, I’m talking 2004 here, I was in my friends car and he put on Pass This On *I think* and blew my mother fucking mind.  Skip ahead a few years and I am in San Francisco watching The Knife masquerade onstage like they were pre-gaming before an Eyes Wide Shut party.

With all that in mind, and knowing I had class before heading straight to the Fever Ray show, I put together an outfit.  I decided on black Levi skinny jeans, a long sleeve black long sleeve t-shirt, a clashing navy blue jean Brittania jacket with bamboo pockets, black combat boots and the largest crystal necklace I own.  The crystal necklace I wore is great, it thumps against my chest in rhythm with my every move and heart beat.

Fever Ray “When I Grow Up”

I can’t stop watching Fever Ray‘s new video for “When I Grow Up.” Karin Derijer Andersson ( of The Knife fame ) seriously takes the cupcake for this one. The costume design is so perfect, it’s exactly how I like to imagine that crazy girl we all went to school with (you know, the one who would strike fear into your fifth grade math teachers heart with one under the breath murmur) spending her afternoons covered in furs, face paint and alphabet magnets conjuring up storms and monsters in her pool.