DEV B's "BABY" VIDEO

Our favorite smelly poet, folk troubadour, and all-around weird fucker Devendra Banhart released a new video today for his song "Baby", one of the catchier zips from his recent What Will We Be album.  Keeping with the recent indie hipster trend, Devendra invited some famous friends along for the video, including Fabrizio Moretti from The Strokes, Andrew from MGMT, and GZA the Genius.  The video, as you may have expected, finds Banhart and his cohorts riding a tampon-looking spaceship into a pair of galactic breasts.  Then Where The Wild Things Are  breaks up, and everyone dances happily except GZA, who sits on a thrown and uses up his Anytime Minutes.  The overall effect is delicious.  Enjoy the video below, and scope Dev B's new Bulimic Frank Zappa look.

Coolest Man on the Planet is...

Beck.  Yeah, that's the end of the sentence. There was never a voting process.  

It's hard to tell whether this project will be released or whether its just for shits and giggles, but what Mr. Beck Hansen has done the last few months is pretty uncanny.  His Record Club is surely to become the stuff of legend, with soldiers like Nigel Godrich, Devendra Banhart, Binki Shapiro (Little Joy), actor Giovanni Ribissi and others getting together to record tracks from Velvet Underground & Nico.  Members of MGMT have also been in the Club studio lately recording, which is downright frightening.  Now, Wilco, Feist, and Jamie Lidell have been recruited to record a new vision of Skip Spence's Oar. 

Hear "Little Hands" while you patiently wait for the rest.

Devendra Banhart: What Will We Be

I considered being Devendra Banhart for Halloween this year, but they didn't have enough weird shit at the store to pull it off, so I settled for his new album, What Will We Be, which was released today on Warner Bros.

After two full listens, I can say that as with most of Banhart's albums, this one might need to grow on you. It is a very calm album for the most part, miles away from the often chaotic Smokey Rolls Down Thunder Canyon.

What the album lacks conceptually is easily covered up with Dev B's positive charm and the cohesiveness of a steady band; long time collaborator Noah Georgeson on guitar, Greg Rogove on drums, Rodrigo Amarante on guitar, and Luckey Remington on bass. There is a fullness to the music this time around that's been lacking on past efforts. And there are moments of brilliance. The calm hum and gypsy swagger of "Goin Back" stands out. There is pop that borders on hypnosis ("Rats"), a carny-friendly waltz ("Chin Chin & Muck Muck") and even successful reggae ("Foolin"). Definitely worth the time for fans of American music's weirdest weirdo. It's no Cripple Crow, but good job Devendra. Now keep your dirty hands of my girlfriend, hippie.

Devendra Banhart tour dates here.