Francis and the Lights

I find this strangely mezmerizing

http://amodernpromise.com/

(the video on that page)

Also this

Come on, someone say something interesting or snarky or something.

I'll give it one more bump -- no interest in this I swear other than being momentarily obsessed with it.

http://blog.francisandthelights.com/

mp3s are free now -- I really like "How Could You", "Night Watchman", and "A Modern Promise"

http://vimeo.com/4219451

Ok, first of all, :31
Second, :57

i LOVE this. dunno if it's because it's the first time i've been high in months, but it's pretty amazing.

the video was kinda annoying in a joaquin phoenix rapping kinda way, until the lights and it was @_@

it's kinda got a The Make Up thing going on if they listened to lots of prince and other 80s r'n'b instead of james brown

Yes. You are just the guy who I would want to also like this.

it reminds me of the first time i heard either the junior boys or sa-ra

i gotta say, the video for "the top" has kind of blown the mind

kinda wish the other songs weren't so ballady

wow he does the damn thing with that split huh

each song needs an accompanying video of the guy dancing

this guy is killin it

little bit of prince, little bit of peter gabriel, little bit of jr boys, whats not to like

grady just linked me to this guy, diggin it

i'm glad other people are finally coming around to this. i sent to grady and every day after he tweeted about these guys.

I don't really feel "Lime" as much -- contemplative/melancholy song about teh internets is a little :/. Oh well, batting average is more than solid otherwise. New one is supposed to be in the works.

feelin this

why wd gr80 not tell me :(

why wouldn't you listen when hurting and i tried to tell the world in this thread?

listening to this stuff now and it's pretty good! i probably ignored because the name made me think of noah and the whale or some similarly terrible british band.

i wasnt reading ilx often at the time & yeah the band has an unfortunate name

'lime' sounds great imo -- lyrics havent really sunk in yet

does anyone remember a mid 90s band Brad? it had Stone Gossard of Pearl Jam and was less grunge, more blue eyed soul/rock. i used to love the shit out of them. anyways, weirdly, the F&tL first album (the rockier one), and even parts of the new one remind me of them. similar voice, melodies and chord changes. kinda weird.

he's playing at Zebulon Monday but that place is tiny and it will probably be obnoxiously packed.

the "cant tell me nothing" cover is pretty awesome

will vouch for this

cept it changes "i'm on tv actin' like its just you and me" to "I'm actin like it's just you and me" not as great imo

shouldve been "im on vimeo actin like it's just you and me"

lol!

also what's great about it is that it picks the best verse

whoa boy the bit at the end of the top where well, I don't really wanna ruin it for anyone who hasn't seen it!

Music Hall of Williamsburg tonight goin

Great show. He's probably the highest level performer you can still see up close for $15. When I first got into him I was partly amused by the novelty of an indie-ish dude with some actual, honest showmanship, but now his showmanship is getting so strong that he almost doesn't deserve that category. Also Jake Rabinovitch is sick as fuck on guitar -- and his solos are, in a parallel sense, almost too good for indie.

There was a good-sized crowd but definitely not sold out. Still wonder when this dude is going to blow up -- seems like it will likely happen in the next year or so.

yeah wish it were possible that he would play dublin while he's still a minor concern but like so not gonna happen

truth be told a modern promise has been in constant rotation for the last 3 months but striking is i think just as good--little less prince, little more phil collins, but imo its just as good. al soto should get into this dude.

striking is uh less striking tho imo

nah its just not as immediately appealing, especially if ur not a 80s dadrock stan

yeah but less prince more phil sounds way more appealing tbh, giving it another go fwiw

"the top" video is on mtv right now

this revive reminded me that i actually wanted to buy a modern promise but it seems the store page doesn't work? guy's almost out of money.

Francis and the Lights
September 1st and 2nd at Zebulon
both shows at 9:30 sharp
no cover.

ALSO

September 8 at the Highline Ballroom
opening for the Roots
11:30pm
$10 (show is nearly sold out).

The Zebulon shows will be taped for a concert film.

whoa francis wants $10 to mail me two cd's. sry dude.

saw him at zebulon last night

played through "a modern promise" in the middle of the set--ILL guitar solo during 'strawberries'

swedish band o'spada is so great. tiny bit jamiroquai-ish, but i'll forgive em for it. kinda like a female version of these guys. amazing boogie synth and skittery drums.

http://www.thefader.com/2009/06/02/freeload-o-spada-time/
http://www.thefader.com/2009/11/11/ospada-ten-strikes-mp3/

Glad to see people other than me have started updating this thread. To date still have only made one show, but I'm a homebody like that. You'd think I didn't even live in a city by the tiny number of shows I go see.

all his music is up on his website for free right now for only a couple weeks

So is he maybe recording a new one in UK since all these dates in UK on his twitter but no UK shows?

if you've already downloaded his stuff in the past, redownload the zip file. there are alternate versions of the EPs. demos and stuff. pretty cool

yeah. and everything is 320kpbs

i like the ospada stuff jax but it kind of reminds me of like, uk house music more than francis

i dont much like the ospada stuff cuz i feel like ppl have been mining that exact vein for awhile now & its still fairly conservatively done

really? who else?

i mean it uses some zapp synths but it doesnt sound much like zapp to my ears

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TT5Ir1OKwpU

or, like, chromeo

"time" is def better than the new one, tho

This guy is good, I was gonna mention the Peter Gabriel feel to bits of it but I see max already did. Fine Young Cannibals wd be another reference in the clipped 80s funk stakes I guess. Liking "The Top" the best I think.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r6CQppNOfNQ

or, like, chromeo

― ice cr?m hand job (deej), Wednesday, December 2, 2009 3:30 PM (30 seconds ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

i cant listen to the video you posted lol work but this is what im saying--chromeo is doing zapp and lisa lisa--admittedly i havent heard all the ospada stuff but that genuinely sounds more like what i think uk funky sounds like than it does like "boogie." but it has the "boogie" keybs.

i mean, the reference points are slightly dif but its basically the same kind of revival-y 80s thing right? its not so much that this is a problem per se -- 'reckless with your love' has been like my most played track this year -- the thing is it feels like it requires so much more work to overcome such a familiar template, so while i dig 'time' i cant imagine these guys dropping an album packed w/ great music or something

xp hmm im relistening but im not so sure its as different from the 80s stuff? the vibe is sooo similar

ryan leslie imo

ehh im not really committed to my position. also i think ive only actually listened to ten strikes

just sent the video to a friend. he said: is like prince meets david byrne meets pee wee herman

lolz

He actually reminds me a lot of Vincent Gallo in that video.

meets pee wee herman

lolz

EXTREME VINCENt GALLO!!

plus like contort yourself uh huh. SO mesmerizing and i wld pay to watch him freak out in slow motion. or like consider it and then not go. good track tho. the singing is...

uh

i mean, arriving late and all, but shit

and, digging through other vids, much less of a novelty thing than "the top" suggests - pretty damn great

Waiting for the show to start. There are 15-25 middle age to senior citizens in the audience. Weird

That's the jewiest band I ever did saw.

It was like the cast of Seinfeld up there. With slocki on guitar.

Matching wool jump suits. Amazing performer.

yeah when i saw him it was a weird mix of like middle aged white dudes, mid 30s boho black chicks, young hipsters of many races

Hardy har har

Ask Jimmy. This was like the fieldtrip from Coocoon.

im saying... i believe you

http://cdn.nahright.com/news/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/away-from-home-tour-450x581.jpg

put strawberries on a mix for work a couple months ago (we all did this and agreed not to complain abt anybody else's choices) and now this is super popular. workmates thought it was pretty funny that this song we all sing all the time now is by a not very well known unsigned band from NY.

striking

francis is playing my city in a couple weeks, gonna try to go

strawberries is a jam and a half

http://itllbebetter.com/embed.html

Just started listening to it. Will report. Psyched.

I got these headphones from the library desk and I think they're kind of shit, so the production sounds too thin but I think it's probably just the headphones. Songs seem strong so far.

breakdown @ the end of 'for days' is straight outta peter g

first two songs are duds but it's picked up from there

further proof that i only like the guy when he's doing lite-funk

only like 3 of his songs count as lite-funk!

hurting u get tix to the bowery show?

prob my three favorites then

Can't go to the Bowery show - final the next morning.

ugh, that "it'll be better" sucked. i kinda liked 1 song. it was so schmaltzy

I enjoyed this more when I listened to it again with the lady. I had to get over the initial downer of it not having that freaky prince-like energy. I'm still a little disappointed but the songs are good.

striking was a grower so ill give this more time, but right now there are only a coupla moments that i really dig & everything else is ~~... i didnt like lime/wyn that much either...

Interesting interview that reads a bit like a therapy session:

http://music-mix.ew.com/2010/04/26/francis-farewell-starlite-interview-drake/

listened to this a couple more times--i think the songwriting is just as strong here as in the past. just not nearly as immediately gratifying as modern promise. much closer to striking.

Get In the Car is creepy as hell - pimp singing to prostitute? Child molester?

ha yeah--both the lyrics & the tune remind me of randy newman

yeah i was pretty underwhelmed by striking until u made a phil collins:prince striking:modern comp. now i prefer it.

he was a good friend is the kind of song you really have to hear a few times, unlike say, night watchman

night watchman is the most phil song on that album tho

or really its the most peter song

but yeah its definitely a grower

phil>peter>prince but that is just me i guess

i mean, i dont really know any prince tbh

This is growing on me A LOT

yes

Especially like Going Out, Knees to the Floor

video for 'darling, it's all right' https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=INcUV8ygIjo

haven't warmed up to the new record yet. all his previous stuff was simple and not as ornate as the new record. but that's how it usually goes when i hear something new that's on its way up.

i do dig his old school focus on the front man in his videos. would love to see him live.

new album is so amazing. best of 2010 so far. too short...

yeah shit is crazy. i cant believe jaxon doesnt like it.

only track i'm not into is the opener titular

"knees on the floor" is my favorite right now

knees to

doo doo doo doo doo doo (im singing the guitar part)

so many subtle shifts in the track.. when it gets all synth-y and gabriel at the end damn

Fuck yeah.

I love that muffled-sounding "You can try to talk me out of it/Use every trick in the book"

Also, this has been in my head: "They're only playin sad songs on my favorite show, but I don't mind/If you're gonna play a sad song on the radio make it the saddest song of all time"

Anyone see the NYC show?

kindof annoying i cant buy there new one off itunes, i mean im gonna rar it now and i wanted to pay for it

i did

amazing

see the nyc show i mean

they played almost every song from all three albums, i think

they were better than when i saw them at zebulon i think--a couple missed lighting cues, and one or two of the live arrangements was weird/off, but dude is a great showman and theyve got so much energy

also they have a drummer now which makes a big difference

you were there max?! i thought I saw you.

francis screwed up my favorite track (knees) but he was electrifying. so much fun.

they didn't do every song. no "tap the phone" :(

!!!! whole foods and now this?!

yeah i was surprised at the number of weird missteps for a guy who clearly puts a lot of thought into the show, but it never really mattered

i think maybe he was under the influence

hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

these dudes are about to BLOW UP.

coming to SF soon and playing the Warfield or some big venue like it. they were in some trashy bro-zone polk street bar when i saw them last fall with a bad guns n roses style cover band playing before them. packed the place, but still

opening for mgmt this fall

FATL FTW EAD MGMT

also they have a drummer now which makes a big difference

― max, Friday, May 14, 2010 9:13 AM Bookmark

Meaning set as opposed to percussionist? I think they've had one for a while but they don't play every show with full set - I saw youtube videos a while ago where they had a guy with a full kit.

i think opening for drake is prob a bigger deal than opening for mgmt

Especially since he went to school with them and has already done it before.

adore this album, been jamming it a lot in the ice cream shop!

drake wanted the francis album to come out on young money

the track he produced for drake:

http://francisandthelights.com/post/700971076

(under BLOG)

imo basically great until drake starts rapping

yep

useful thread

Second song in this vid is the one from the Drake album (Karaoke):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vqnyh3Ie96I

Ha, this is the thread where Jaxon mentions O'Spada? Cuz I love those singles and have been trying to find a copy of the album.

Like the music in this, not the rapping:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eqWl22Iugz8

nice

i think this might be my fav album of the year

KNEES TO THE FLOOR

THE DOG DAYS ARE OVER

So is nu-prince officially a genre now?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DlRl3-zUeuY&feature=related

uh, dude:

http://vimeo.com/16164448

Yeah I know, that's how I found them.

last night was terribly disappointing. saw him headline after Oh Land, whom i'd never heard of, but apparently everyone was there to see her. singing along, etc. mostly empty when she was done. he got rid of 2 of the jews and replaced them w/2 black guys. no more suits, now everyone was wearing tanktops. weirdly, as the band gets blacker, the music gets whiter. it was like bad 80s soundtrack music. lukewarm genesis or cars tracks. he still puts on a great show, but seems so distant and cold and, i dunno, angry. it was weird.

yeah the last show i saw was kind of a bust

the drake endorsement brings out a weird crowd too, the vibe was really off

I would have loved both halves of that show (glad to see Oh Land finally getting some traction, glad Francis is getting less "r&b").

http://www.mediafire.com/?5ki7jersh6atk

new songs with teen inc

Was just gonna post that. Like them so far -- raw in a good way. I'm feeling a bit of Dam Funk in the second one.

is this teen inc w/francis?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fo2gOjag8OQ

they're just inc. now and that's just inc. there

This looks like it was amazing
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5IeBPaO0aDc

the drake endorsement brings out a weird crowd too, the vibe was really off

― ban drake (the rapper) (max), Thursday, April 14, 2011 2:55 PM Bookmark

Can't help but feel like this was the wrong move for the guy. But OTOH it's hard to figure out who he'd be a good match with.

he still puts on a great show, but seems so distant and cold and, i dunno, angry. it was weird.

― jaxon, Thursday, April 14, 2011 2:49 PM Bookmark

Also this. It's a little like watching a guy practice in front of a mirror sometimes.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tf5nPcDLJLM&feature=player_embedded

Amazing in parts. Starts off a little shaky. Great new stuff in there. Continues with the weird, cold vibe too.

was wondering what he's been up to lately, turns out he scored a movie

(unclear whether its his music in this trailer)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q4y8YAMPFhk

so what's up with this dude

I stanned for him so hard. Don't let us down, francis.

well there's this anyway:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fSSzgYK4MnI

pretty cool. definitely feels like soundtrack music more than a song.

nm I guess the vocals come in late

i dont know what frankie is up to but the new inc. album is fantastic

i saw this movie but it was on an airplane so i could barely hear much of the score on my earbuds.

francis makes a cameo in a brief shot, as a musician performing at a fancy museum fundraiser.

definitely ramping something up

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=vT1dNTWvGqU

https://soundcloud.com/francisandthelights/etc

Love this track.

just heard this, nice

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=odP_d9NHfbY

robot & frank sdtk also up on spotify now

so the robot & frank score is pretty standard movie score fare, not really what I expected

i'm in to "ETC"-- is that the only new thing out there yet?

the "it'll be better" EP really disappointed me when it came out 3 years ago but I totally love it now

http://i.imgur.com/dHZ8LlP.jpg

YES

http://francisandthelights.com/

new track up, says EP Nov 25. The song is in that weird concert film he did.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yqhaMewA2K0#t=16

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yqhaMewA2K0&feature=c4-overview&list=UUYpEyPOoscdbbDp_cNVrOtA

don't know why that isn't embedding, but it's dope

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yqhaMewA2K0

the dude who does his videos has great concepts

i'm under the impression francis is kind of in charge of all the visual concepts even if he's collaborating w/ others

http://31.media.tumblr.com/d23c0d3da2360437eb6b1ee6ba5e163f/tumblr_mwgspqDcdl1qznkk6o1_500.gif

xp yeah that would make sense

don't get why this dude isn't famous by now, basically

"Like a Dream" is in my head 24/7 now.

new EP is up: https://soundcloud.com/francisandthelights/sets/like-a-dream-ep

xp no major label backing is my guess. He definitely has all his ducks in a row but my understanding is that he's gotten this far rather autonomously.

one of these days my mind will stop racing
and i'll get me some sleep
cause i'm ready for the big time
is it ready for me

drake loves him

"Like a Dream" is in my head 24/7 now.

― ᶓ͠סּᴥ͠סּᶔ ᶓͼ᷆ₓͼ᷇ᶔ (gr8080), Thursday, November 21, 2013 8:16 AM Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

lol, I woke up with it going through my head, and then I spent 10 minutes this morning trying to do the step from the video before I realized I was probably annoying the shit out of my downstairs neighbors

I was actually whistling it when the elevator opened and I think I creeped out this lady who thought I was whistling at her

apparently this is put out by something called Good Years Recordings.

one of these days my mind will stop racing
and i'll get me some sleep
cause i'm ready for the big time
is it ready for me

― ᶓ͠סּᴥ͠סּᶔ ᶓͼ᷆ₓͼ᷇ᶔ (gr8080), Thursday, November 21, 2013 8:52 AM Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

So dope the way he comes out of sillouette right on the beginning of the first chorus, then goes back into sillouette right on the beginning of the second verse

it's weird how the cmera man's shadow gets in the shot; I wonder if it's intentional

the EP is on spotify now

the whole thing is mildly anticlimactic because two of the songs have already been kicking around for a while, the third is dope but the fourth is forgettable. Hope there's something more in the works.

Wondering what's up with this guy now, probably free-associated to him bc of Prince's death.

???

something on his website about playing at Syracuse with Chance the Rapper last month, but otherwise not much sign of activity.

Well hey
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wScYn10D2vo&feature=youtu.be

yyyyessss

http://farewellstarlite.com/

so dope so far btw

yea i like this

Friends has ten mil plays on Spotify, guess the Bon Iver and Kanye connections help. In general the album seems to be getting more play than past ones.

May I Have This Dance gets a lot of radio play on WFUV (AAA station). Not my fav tune but glad for him to get some exposure anyway.

I kind of slept on Just For Us. Drags a little for me at times, but a couple of tracks are really standing out for me:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qg85km95Etc

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uruDvCDLod0

A lot of his songs feel like they really want to be hits but are produced a little too stiffly, like demos.