Some Videos... ;-)

Some music clips I've enjoyed this year (Apart from ones already posted) to tide you over your holiday season:

Merry Christmas & a Happy New Year 2012!!!

Gruff Rhys - Hotel Shampoo (New Extension Edition)

Attention all Super Furry Animals / Gruff Rhys fans!

There'll be a new edition of Rhys' 3rd solo album 'Hotel Shampoo' with 4 b-sides and the 'Atheist Xmas EP' thrown in!

The release date is set for 19th Dec 2011 - Only problem being that the pre-order link on Gruffington Post brings you to Mr Rhys' Facebook page and vice versa.

Let's hope they have this fixed soon.

Shark Ridden Waters
Honey All Over
Sensations In The Dark
Vitamin K
Take A Sentence
Conservation Conversation
Sophie Softly
Christopher Columbus
Space Dust #2
At The Heart Of Love
Patterns Of Power
If We Were Words (We Would Rhyme)
Rubble Rubble
I Totally Understand
Xenodocheionology
Follow The Sunflower Trail (Theme Tune For a National Strike)
Whale Trail
Post Apocalypse Christmas
At The End Of The Line
Slashed Wrists This Christmas

Incidentally, ArtRocker magazine has also awarded 'Hotel Shampoo' Album of the Year 2011.

Congratulations!!!

The making of 'Sensations in the Dark':

 

The delightfully zany video clips:

The Hotel:

2011 Best Of (Roundup)

It's been a busy, busy year with it's fair share of ups and downs; but we're not here to talk about that... 
May this year saw the birth of this blog and by Sep/Oct, I'd encountered a writer's blog of sorts - What to include/exclude; self-doubt in the form of not being a fully-fledged journo; and taking it all way way too seriously!

(Deep Breath... here we go!)

MUSIC

1.  Destroyer - Kaputt
2.  Elbow - Build a Rocket Boys!
3.  Bon Iver - Bon Iver, Bon Iver
4.  My Morning Jacket - Circuital
5.  White Denim - D
6.  Tom Waits - Bad as Me
7.  Fleet Foxes - Helplessness Blues
8.  Radiohead - The King of Limbs
9.  Portugal. The Man - In the Mountain in the Cloud
10.  Ryan Adams - Ashes & Fire
11.  PJ Harvey - Let England Shake
12.  Wilco - The Whole Love
13.  Iron & Wine - Kiss Each Other Clean
14.  Bright Eyes - The People's Key
15.  Beirut - The Rip Tide
16.  Middle Brother - Middle Brother
17.  Atlas Sound - Parallax
18.  Feist - Metals
19.  Nicolas Jaar - Space Is Only Noise
20.  The Antlers - Burst Apart
21.  Girls - Father, Son, Holy Ghost
22.  Active Child - You Are All I See
23.  Bill Callahan - Apocalypse
24.  tUnE-yArDs - WHOKILL
25.  Black Lips - Arabia Mountain
26.  I'm from Barcelona - Forever Today
27.  Grace Jones - Hurricane / Dub
28.  The Horrors - Skying
29.  St. Vincent - Strange Mercy
30.  The Field - Looping State of Mind
31.  TV on the Radio - Nine Types of Light
32.  Gotye - Making Mirrors
33.  Stephin Merritt - Obscurities
34.  Yuck - Yuck
35.  Cass McCombs - Humor Risk
35.  Explosions in the Sky - Take Care, Take Care, Take Care
36.  Mogwai - Hardcore Will Never Die, But You Will
37.  Panda Bear - Tom Boy
38.  Gang Gang Dance - Eye Contact
39.  Lykke Li - Wounded Rhymes
40.  Gruff Rhys - Hotel Shampoo
41.  The Dears - Degeneration Street
42.  Okkervil River - I Am Very Far
43.  The Black Keys - El Camino
44.  R.E.M. - Collapse into Now
45.  Battles - Gloss Drop
46.  Kate Bush - 50 Words for Snow
47.  Modeselektor - Monkeytown
48.  Bonnie Prince Billy - Wolfroy Goes to Town
49.  The Wooden Birds - Two Matchsticks
50.  Woods - Sun and Shade

Special Mention:
Although The Flaming Lips hasn't offiicially released any LP this year, they have released many pricey and elaborately packaged EPs and a 6hr song followed by another that's 24 hours.  Details here (Updated).

Concerts Attended (Unreviewed) and Missed Concerts:
Attended both Okkervil River (A generally good night with later songs excelling) and Bright Eyes (A real dynamo onstage; with quieter performances commanding the audience' attention especially on Lua) and missed out on Explosions in the Sky's concert in Dec.

Ommissions:
So, no Drake (Rap's not my thang), James Blake (Just not gettig the hype), Adele (She's everywhere!), Lady Gaga (Not me), The Kills (The slow numbers are dreadful) or Susan Boyle.


MOVIE

Drive - Can't say enough about this movie!
Directed by Nicolas Winding Refn, it's a film noir drama bound to be a cult classic.
Genre defying, it has heart pounding action (Although not the bulk of the film as most would be led to believe); romance (Not your chick flick sort); humour (Not the LOL sort); bizzaro Lynchian moments; heavy character study; gritty violence and gore!!

More here.


TV

Just got onto "Sons of Anarchy" (Seasons 1 & 2 was only released in Australia this year), hence the frantic catching-up.  I find the series highly addictive as it has just the right blend of action/
tension/drama/comedy.  Great story line, well-scripted and acted, and the pace kept just right.
The lead character perfectly played by Charlie Hunnam, is part of a bikie gang.  He is conflicted between his deceased father's original vision for the club and it's law-breaking present.  To further complicate matters, he has just become a father himself and finds himself torn between duties.
All the characters are thankfully three dimensional, which is a nice departure from your usual 2D
TV personas.

Breaking Bad continues to confound, intrigue & entertain!

Looking forward to another year of top notch entertainment!

Wishing all my readers a great and safe holiday season,
Alex

Concert Preparation: Bright Eyes - Enmore 14/11/2011

In preparation for tomorrow night's concert, I thought I'd "Youtube" Bright Eyes and have their clips stream continuously on my oversized TV.  Little was I prepared for the numerous clips I had to sift through: Art Garfunkel's song for 1978's Watership Down movie and non-official fan clips replete with wobbly audio, boring stills or worse still, irrelevant montages which make no sense whatsoever.  What gives??

So, back to the computer!

Click here for the official Bright Eyes youtube channel.

Tomorrow's concert may be my first & last Bright Eyes concert if any of the rumours are to be believed:
1.  Conor Oberst told Rolling Stone he was planning to retire the Bright Eyes moniker
2.  Oberst to quit music and join UFC (?!?)

This generation's sharp-tongued and sardonic Dylan, he has built an impressive body of work since he was 13.  (He's now 31).
Discography

Watch this:

Can't wait!

Album Review: Wilco - The Whole Love (2011)

This article has taken a very long gestation...

Never underestimate the song order of an album.
Never is this more appropriate than on Wilco's 8th studio offering.

Deluxe Edition

Standard Edition

The first track "Art of Almost" is by far the strongest in the set.  It is also the most experimental, most Radiohead-baiting; and it casts a long shadow over the rest of the album - much the same way Yankee Hotel Foxtrot has over the albums since 2002.

That's not to say that the album's a dud, not by a long shot.

I have been following Wilco since their Uncle Tupelo days.
Many tracks here have close cousins - they sound like old songs re-jigged with new lyrics slapped on top.

What the band has done here is picked their fans' favourites, examined the elements which worked and built "new" songs around them, thereby playing to the band's strengths.
In a word, it's also wilco-by-numbers.

This is a shame considering what I know the band is capable of.
Even the (often) slap-happy lyrics seem to have taken a back seat -
Am I sadistic to think the best artists are the tortured ones???

And by contrast, the pared down live version:

8.2/10

Album Review: My Morning Jacket - Circuital

In the upcoming weeks I shall try to catch up on some of the more important releases prior to starting this blog in May.
Better late than never.

This is only the sixth studio outing for the band from Louisville, Kentucky. They have released many live LPs, rarities EPs and compilations along the way.

But my, has My Morning Jacket come a long way since their humble beginnings. They remain one of two heavier bands I like who don't sacrifice melody; the other being Queens of the Stone Age.



Circuital is a behemoth.


Victory Dance begins with a gong and vocal "clarion calls", as if some wakening call to action.
The lyrics sees a man at crossroads pondering over his lot.
The song is a slow-burner, but culminates in a maddening wig-out towards the end and is perhaps best experienced live at one of their gigs.
 

(There is a constant theme of reflection and self examination; of weighing things up and moving on -   biblical imagery abound throughout the album- My good work, someday come, meek inheriting the earth, the day is coming; without once coming over as preaching).

The title track, Circuital, has a cyclical guitar refrain which bobs and tiptoes until it takes off around the 2:15 mark. Some guitar solos, tinkling piano arpeggios making it the perfect driving song as it bops along.
 

Third track starts off distant and spacey, 'Ba-ba-ba-da-ba"s drawing closer.
The Day Is Coming is further rumination for one to take stock.
Yim Yames lends the track a soulful croon.
 

There is a real country heart in Yim's endearing vocals on Wonderful (The Way I Feel).
While mainly acoustic, it is embellished with synth strings.
An arrow straight to the heart.
The lyrics paint an escape to some magical nirvana.
 

Many a teenage boy's excuse can be summed up on Outta My System.
An indirect paean to testosterone.
On the other hand, the subject's also wiser now and is glad he got it all out of his system.
 


Holdin' on to Black Metal isn't metal at all; instead it is a soulful rock jam, resplendant horn stabs, with a gospellish shimmy-shake female backing choir.

First Light is a rollicking heavy-ish number. Here, "First Light" is loosely used as metaphors for birth, death, truth, strength, spiritual awakening and perhaps even in a re-incarnation cycle.
 

You Wanna Freak Out sways to a waltz-like rythm and sees the subject being calculative and "careful" and being invited to let loose and overcome her fears.
 

Slow Slow Tune appropriately continues on a plaintive tempo in this lovely story with the sentimental father recording this tune for his yet-to-be-born daughter and sadly having her outgrow it further down the line.
 


Moving Away is as much about moving on as it is about moving away.  Looking back, thankful with equal parts remorse and hope...
 


Mammoth.  9.1/10

The full album concert from npr:

Career Review: R.E.M. Remembered

If my last post about R.E.M.'s disbanding sounded flippant, it was purely reactionary.


Unlike most people, my "love affair" with R.E.M. began just after the height of their popularity in around 1996-7, the time when Bill Berry left the group due to health reasons.


Much had been documented about this and thought I'd better find out what I'd missed apropos their music, as most of my 80's and early 90's was swept up in Prince's funky Purple dance-pop.

In late 96, new management in the office I was working in had this "brilliant" (not) idea of shuffling people around and as a result, many staff found themselves in roles they had no skill-set or aptitude for.  Morale was at an all-time low. 

Then I came across this song from R.E.M.'s back catalog.
"World Leader Pretend" struck a chord deep within me and empowered me to take a gigantic leap of faith.
This one song means more to me than words could convey.

My favourite "era" is when they were a four-piece (1980-97). 
Although Stipe had famously said that a 3-legged dog is still a dog, the band's chemistry had irrevocably changed when Bill bode adieu. 
The combination of Stipe's enigmatic yet emotive vocals, indecipherable and at times decidedly cryptic lyrics; Peter Buck's inventive use of Rickenbacker guitars (He also made mandolins cool again); Mike Mills' memorable bass lines and vocal backing;  Bill Berry's never-excessive drumming and counter-vocals.  Together, the sum was definitely greater than the parts.

I'd never purport to do justice by this band's legacy/impact/import with this short article.
It'd never be possible - nor would it be fair.

Thanks for a spectacular journey.

Take a bow, boys.

Wilco Everywhere

Wilco's The Whole Love is set for release 27th Sep 2011 in US and was already the shops 22nd Sep in Oz (While I wait for my pre-order to arrive...).





The boys have been busy.




Jeff Tweedy's hilarious reading of The Black Eyed Peas' I Gotta Feeling:



...and then a greatest hits package on Letterman.  A Must Watch.
(21/09/2011, Ed Sullivan Theatre, New York.  Set is 63:35).

R.E.M. Calls It a Day / Michael Stipe's New Career

What's with The White Stripes, LCD Soundsystem and now R.E.M. calling it quits in 2011? 
At this rate, we'll be left with 2-bit talentless bands and little left to look forward to in music...

Read their full account here.


Michael Stipe's already hot on his next career as an internet flasher.  NSFW! 
Catch glimpses of this rock sausage here.



Oh well.  Sniff.

Discussion Time!: Super Duper Limited Edition Deluxe Collector's Box Sets

OK! Enough monologue - It's time to open up a forum! 

To quote Yello's 3rd album, You Gotta Say Yes to Another Excess!  Or, do you?

In these times of economic strife, it seems especially rich that record companies are flooding the market with mega box sets of your favourite albums lavishly packaged, flushed with gimmicky extras and all exorbitantly priced.

So much so, there's a site dedicated to just this.

Priceless treasures or non-degradable landfill?

You be the judge.  (Click on 0 comments to start...)

U2's Achtung Baby (20th Anniversary Über Deluxe Box Set)

Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon (Immersion Edition)

Björk's Biophilia (The Ultimate Edition Boxset)

The Smiths' Complete (Super Deluxe Collectors Box)

REM's Life's Rich Pageant (Expanded 25th Anniversary Edition)

Primal Scream's Screamadelica (20th Anniversary Limited Collector's Edition)

Derek and the Dominos' (Super Deluxe Box Set)

Nirvana's Nevermind (20th Anniversary Boxset)

You there, Santa?

Wilco Teaser: Almost, Part of The Whole Love

Get excited, People!

Already out, the very first release on their new label dBpm:
7"  I Might bw I Love My Label (Nick Lowe Cover)

Wilco - I Might b/w I Love My Label by The Line Of Best Fit

Watch: Radiohead - The King of Limbs Live from the Basement

Finally found this:

Radiohead - Live From the Basement 2011 by andybe29

Enjoy!

MusicIsOxygen is now Auralfood!

Tried Googling MusicIsOxygen and actually found there's others who beat me to the moniker!
So to avoid any confusion, mistaken identity or less likely litigation, MusicIsOxygen = Auralfood from now on...

Yours truly,
MusicGerbil

Album Review: Bon Iver, Bon Iver

Justin Vernon has been a busy, busy man.

Ever since For Emma, Forever Ago caught the public's affection and adulation in 2008 and achieved perfect scores 5/5 in both Uncut and Mojo mags, the frontman of Bon Iver (French pronunciation: [bɔn‿ivɛːʁ] meaning "good winter") has been involved in a myriad of cameos and production duties, working with the likes of Kanye West, Jay-Z, Aaron Dessner of The National, Volcano Choir, Gayngs, St. Vincent, Anaïs Mitchell and progressively confounding everyone along the way.

For Emma... was the birthchild of a self-imposed exile to his father's remote cabin in Northwestern Wisconsin while being bedridden with illness.
The album evolved from isolation and is essentially a solo effort of wafer-thin fragile love songs.

Everyone then pigeonholed him to be an indie folk singer.

Cover art by artist Gregory Euclide

Released on June 20, 2011, peaking at #2 and #4 in the US and UK respectively, it's comforting the band has achieved their due recognition instead of remaining indie also-rans.

Their second self-titled album, Bon Iver, has instead burst out and engaged the world with a rich pallette of hues and tones, and in Justin's own words "It's more colourful and inviting".

Sung mostly in an impossible helium register, Justin's vocals has a strangely melancholic and affecting quality-
At once earthy and otherworldly.
The songs (all named after places) rarely break a sweat, but possess a beauty overflowing from every intricate note.  A melange of instruments were deployed, with bass saxophonist Colin Stetson and pedal-steel guitarist Greg Leisz brought in to flesh out the sound.  The synth drum ambience on Beth / Rest recalls In the Air Tonight by Phil Collins.  There's richly detailed atmospherics befitting a Brian Eno production; some kept so low in the mix, it literally seeps into your subconscious.

This is definitely an album best experienced on a good set of cans (headphones) or on a really good hifi system.

Try following the lyrics and "wtf??" comes to mind, not just because of the difficult scribble on the the accompanying CD booklet, or the much improved version here; but because the obtuse words are chosen rather more for their phoenetic than their literal significance.


A thing of beauty.  9.2/10


Lead single, the haunting Calgary (Clip directed by Andre Durand and Dan Huiting):

Follow-up single, Holocene:

Bonus Track, a medley of Bonnie Raitt's I Can’t Make You Love Me / Nick of Time (Written by Mike Reid and Allen Shamblin / Bonnie Raitt):

Catching Up: Radiohead - The Remix Series

In an effort to prolong the life and extend sales of The King of Limbs, Radiohead has gone and done something radical,

for them at least.

They have sanctioned a series of remixes by various reputed dance artists.

Below are the results.

And they will all be summarised in the resultant 2CD set, TKOL RMX 1234567, set for release on 11/10/2011:

TRACKLIST:CD1
Caribou – “Little by Little Rmx”
Jacques Greene – “Lotus Flower Rmx”
Nathan Fake – “Morning Mr. Magpie Rmx”
Harmonic 313 – “Bloom Rmx”
Mark Pritchard – “Bloom Rmx”
Lone – “Feral Rmx”
Pearson Sound – “Morning Mr. Magpie Scavenger Rmx”
Four Tet “Separator Rmx”
CD2
Thriller – “Give Up the Ghost Houseghost Rmx”
Illum Sphere – “Codex Rmx”
Shed – “Little by Little Rmx”
Brokenchord – “Give Up the Ghost Rmx”
Altrice – “TKOL Rmx”
Blawan – “Bloom Rmx”
Modeselektor – “Good Evening Mrs. Magpie Rmx”
Objekt – “Bloom Rmx”
Jamie XX – “Bloom Rework”
Anstam – “Separator Rmx”
SBTRKT – “Lotus Flower Rmx”

Let's hope they change their mind and tour.

Album Review: Explosions in the Sky - Take Care, Take Care, Take Care

If panoramic instrumental epics is your "thing", then check out the Texan quartet's sixth & latest offering, Take Care, Take Care, Take Care.
(How's that for driving the message home?)

The first I got onto Explosions in the Sky's music was with 2003's critically received The Earth Is Not a Cold Dead Place and was then suitably impressed by how effectively their music translated and soundtracked the movie Friday Night Lights (2004) and the attendant TV series of the same name (2006)..

They have mined and mastered the expansive, soft-loud dynamics so popular in post-rock.

Most tracks here stretch into 8 minute plus mini-symphonies.

'Last Known Surroundings', which opens the album wastes little time with slow burn; instead jumps head first into a rousing widescreen ra-ra number. Appropriately-titled track two 'Human Qualities' slows the pace with a lilting guitar figure and tapping percussion, you are led along a beautiful journey which builds around the seven minute mark and culminates in cathartic crescendos.  The onslaught continues with rapidfire drumming and urgent vocal accompaniment that is 'Trembling Hands'...
By which point, all bombast subsides and elaborate guitar work takes centre stage which, you guessed it, builds again - This time into a gentle mid-paced sunshiny stroll... Ah...

By now you should have the equivalent of windswept hair which a wild rollercoaster ride brings...

More journey than destination.  7.8/10.

The deluxe packaging:

While never a big fan of music videos, you decide if this does their music justice:

Last Known Surroundings from Explosions in the Sky on Vimeo.

The killer track:

Trembling Hands by Explosions in the Sky

The criminally abbreviated live performance on Letterman: 

...and the way it's meant to be heard:

Album Review: Portugal. The Man - In the Mountain in the Cloud

Portugal. The Man was formed in 2004, Wasilla, Alaska from the ashes of defunct band Anatomy of a Ghost and then relocated to Portland, Oregon.

In the Mountain in the Cloud, their sixth album and in as many years as a recording band, sees them fully embrace the romanticism of 70's radio-friendly pop-rock.







Cue the opening chimes and acoustic strums, the melodicism and lyricism instantly recalls the best years of Elton John / Bernie Taupin partnership...

In fact, throw into that same blender Supertramp, Electric Light Orchestra, David Bowie, Marc Bolan, Bee Gees, Santana, Scissor Sisters circa 2006's Tah-Dah and MGMT circa 2008's Oracular Spectacular.

It's a formula destined for disaster in less adroit hands.

But John Gourley (lead vocals, guitar), Zachary Carothers (bass guitar, backing vocals), Ryan Neighbors (keyboards, synthesizers, backing vocals) and Jason Sechrist (drums) have collectively pulled in the big guns to help realise their vision this time around.

Enlisting Santogold’s John Hill as the producer-of-choice and masterfully mixed by Andy Wallace (Grammy award winner behind Nirvana’s Nevermind and Jeff Buckley’s Grace), this has ambition writ large all over it but successfully sidesteps selling out their indie cred whilst debuting on major label Atlantic Records.

The story-driven songs are chorus and anthem heavy, suggesting lighters aloft sing-alongs at concerts.
The electric Bolan boogie-stomp swaggers perfectly on Got It All, Head Is a Flame channels MGMT, horn and synth embellishments on Everything You See feels as though filtered through psychedelic prisms and the panoramic Sleep Forever informs their Beatles' influence.

Before you know it, it's time for another spin. ☺

Simply Brilliant.  8.9/10

Portugal. The Man - In The Mountain In The Cloud by ATL REC

Paste Magazine Interview


WARNING: 
This arthouse videoclip spans 13 minutes and contains a shocking element not for the faint of heart.
It starts with Sleep Forever, ends with Got It All.  Bravo.

Stephin Merritt / The Magnetic Fields - Strange Powers / Obscurities

Reclusive frontman, Stephin Merritt of The Magnetic Fields, The 6ths, Gothic Archies and Future Bible Heroes takes centrestage in a revealing documentary, Strange Powers.  Known as "the Cole Porter of his generation" for his lyrical wit, lovelorn melodies and dour-yet-humourous observations on affairs of the heart.

His inimitable style has captured the imagination and garnered praise from both music critics and peers alike.

The movie (Ten years in the making) was released in 2010 by Fix Films, and saw it's DVD release in May this year.

On August 23rd, Merge will be releasing "Obscurities", a collection of rare and unreleased songs which pre-dates his 1999's tome, 69 Love Songs.

Live Review: elbow @ The Enmore Theatre 29/07/2011

 

 

Possessed of one of the most beautiful singing voices, Guy Garvey, potential poet laureate, lead singer and frontman of elbow believes Sydney has beautiful fingers.
Don't ask, you had to be there.
Fact is, judging from the crowd's response, some of those fingers were Mancunian.

elbow is not your typical rock band.  Shorn of the typical rock star egos and posturing, they are instead humble to the point of having their name in lower case.  So humble, that Guy suggested one day they would like to support their opening act, Matt Corby.  That's perhaps s-t-r-e-t-c-h-i-n-g it.

Guy's humble demeanor makes an elbow concert feel like one in which you're amongst friends.  He often pointed and gestured to acknowledge almost every individual in the crowd and when he had us going, hands were either aloft and waving, clapping to the beat or punching in the air.

Audience particpation was high on the agenda tonight as he began teaching us a song line by line until it became too long to follow but also ended as a joke!  The whistling parts in Lippy Kids were turned into a call-and-response, but he was good humoured enough and acquiesced to the audience' cheeky out-of-tune whistling.  Further rapport was forged when Guy descended from stage to shake some hands.

At one point, yours truly was moved to tears by the sheer beauty of a song.

Celebrating 20 years in the business, but only ten with a recording contract and five stupendous albums to show, there was a round of drinks on stage as the crowd appropriately sang Happy Birthday to the band.

It's criminal that they remain largely a well kept secret despite winning the below accolades:

• The 2009 Brit Award for Best British Band
• Two Ivor Novello awards
• The South Bank Show Pop award
• The NME Outstanding Contribution to British Music award, and
• The Mojo Magazine Song of the Year 2009 for One Day Like This
• The Mercury Music Prize for 'The Seldom Seen Kid in 2008
• The Mercury Music Prize nomination for Build a Rocket Boys! in 2011

It's possible they're too British for an American audience, but I love them all the more for it.

When asked what he should sing, Ralphie (Sp?) from the audience suggested Hallelujah and for a moment there, we thought we were in for a treat.  In all likelihood, they're probably brushing up on the lyrics for their next live performance.

Perhaps they could play the Sydney Opera House next?

♥,
Syd.  8.9/10

PS.  Sorry that there are no accompanying photos - They were all lost after an iPod update!
        Modern technology, right?

Many thanks to Carina N, we now have the setlist:

(Could've sworn they also included
An Audience with the Pope)

This now concludes my week of exhaustive debauched concert-going and soul-feeding.

Catching Up: The Flaming Lips

Psychedelic Weirdness Alert

Earlier this year frontman Wayne Coyne threatened to release a new track every month and true to his word, has actually surpassed his quota.

In February, they released Two Blobs Fucking as 12 separate tracks on YouTube to be played in sync on mobile devices ala their 1997 Zareeka 4CD experiment.  All you need to do is gather up 11 other friends and all press play together.  Some spoil sport (Thank you!) has mixed all 12 vignettes into one video with audio tracks combined and here's the result:

In March, they collaborated with Neon Indian and released a 4-track EP:

in April, they released a 4-track USB stick lodged in what was purported to be marijuana flavoured gummy skulls:

Tracklst: 1. Drug Chart, 2. In Our Bodies, Out of Our Heads,
3. Walk with Me, 4. Hillary's Time Machine

In May, they released a live recording of The Soft Bulletin (Live La Fantastique de Institution):

Tracklist: 1. Race for the Prize, 2. A Spoonful Weighs a Ton, 3. The Spark That Bled,
4. The Spiderbite Song, 5. What is the Light? / The Observer, 6. Waitin' for a Superman,
7. Suddenly Everything Has Changed, 8. The Gash, 9. Feeling Yourself Disintegrate,
10. Sleeping on the Roof

In June, they released another collaborative 4-track EP, this time with Prefuse 73:

Tracklist:1. The Super Moon Made Me Wanna Pee!!!, 2. Heavy Star Moving...,
3. Be Like That...That...That..., 4. Guillermo's Bolero

In July, we have the 3-track Gummy Song Fetus (US spelling):

Tracklist: 1. Enthusiasm for Life Defeats Existential Fear Part 2,
2. Steven's Moonbow,3. Squishy Glass

In August, we have yet another collaboration with Lightning Bolt on 12" EP:

Tracklist: 1. I'm Working Aat NASA on Acid,
2. I Want to Get High But I Don't Want Brain Damage,
3. NASA's Final Acid Bath,
4. I Want to Get Damaged But I Won't Say Hi

...and The Lips sharing a stage with Weezer at PNC Bank Arts Center.
In September, The Strobo Trip Toy!:

Tracklist: 1. Butterfly, How Long It Takes to Die
2. I Found a Star on the Ground (6hr song)
3. Evil Minds

A breather in October, followed by 7 Skies H3 and the Harvest Festival (No sideshows) in November:

Tracklist: 1, 7 Skies H3 (24hr song)