Good Weather For Airstrikes

NOTE: I was going to update this post anyway to address the fact that it turns out that “Sea Lion Woman” (or “Sea Lime Woman”) is actually a cover of a Nina Simone song, but then I log onto iTunes today and there’s a brand new “Mushaboom” remix done by everyone’s favorite band of all time [okay that’s an exaggeration, but seriously no one doesn’t like] The Postal Service! Anyway, refer to the second half of this update in the main body of this post below.Those of you who read my write-up of Feist’s recent show at UVA’s Satellite Ballroom may remember me mentioning that one of her new songs, credited on the setlist as “Sea Lion”, stood out among the rest, and that I requested an MP3 of it if anyone had one to offer. Fortunately informed reader Julian, had not one, but three good live versions for me, and I’m posting what I feel is the best recording of the bunch. The song, whose full title is apparently “Sea Lion Woman”, showcases the more raucous and louder side of Feist, just as “Mushaboom” did on Let It Die. “Sea Lion Woman” also displays Feist’s introduction of vocal looping into her songs, which she did frequently when performing songs from her upcoming (and still untitled) third album at the show. This recording is taken from Feist’s August 13, 2005 performance at Canada’s acoustically-flawless Rehearsal Hall, so it’s of very high quality.

UPDATE: It turns out that “Sea Lion Woman” is actually a cover of a Nina Simone song titled “Sea Lime Woman”. However, I’m still going to refer to it as “Sea Lion Woman”, because if you look at the setlist (follow the link to see a scan of it), you’ll see that it’s clearly referred to as “Sea Lion”. So go figure. BUT while that’s all fun and confusing and whatnot, in much more important news, Zack (from All Things Go) informed me of iTunes’ release of a brand new remix of Feist’s “Mushaboom” today, by none other than The Postal Service, who are responsible for one of my top five favorite albums of all time, Give Up.

The fact that Postal Service are doing Apple any favors by hooking them up with exclusive material is surprising, considering Ben Gibbard’s recent comments about his dismay at the fact that their “Such Great Heights” video was blatantly ripped off for Apple’s new Intel commercial, but I’m glad they did, as the remix is great. The remix removes Feist’s twangy, whimsical instrumentation in exchange for that typical Postal Service flare, isolating Feist’s soaring voice to sing over glitchy little booms and bips and a severe underlying synth line. However, the real highlight is the addition of Ben Gibbard’s cherubic (as usual) back-up vocals to the track. All in all this was the most pleasant surprise I could possibly imagine today and I [highly recommend] you grab this track for yourself. Also, feel free to check out Pitchfork’s review of the track also. Mushaboom:

MP3:
“Sea Lion Woman” - Feist
“Mushaboom” (Postal Service Remix) - Feist [highly recommended]

Also released today on iTunes was the full Gold Lion EP from the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, and while most of you have probably already heard both Diplo’s remix and the original version of “Gold Lion” (as well as b-side “Let Me Know”), the EP also features an additional remix courtesy of YYYs guitarist Nick Zinner, which might trump both the original and Diplo’s mix (though I haven’t decided yet). So, yeah, keep an eye out because I’ll be posting that, as well as another unreleased song from the new album and an exclusive remix (courtesy of The Faint… intrigued yet?), later tonight or tomorrow.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, February 21st, 2006 at 9:03 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.