Daydream Station

Daydream Station Has Moved!

2010-05-10T14:13:00.000-07:00

Come check out our beautiful new digs at http://daydreamstationmusic.com !

New Music Monday and Amanda's latest from her Best of the Decade Countdown (tracks #60-51) are up over at the new site right now, alongside my own #60-51.

If you are a subscriber through an awesome, free, handy service like Google Reader, hop on over and update to the new RSS feed via the blue "follow" button on the right-hand side of the new site. If not, you should subscribe!

All new posts will be exclusively available through the new website. Hosting by Google comes with far too many complications and a distinct lack of customer service regarding the occasional use of a copyrighted file, hence the Google Blogocide of 2010. We are moving to avoid falling prey to the same set of issues and potentially losing our entire blog and archives, as well as to enjoy greater freedom in our site design. We hope you enjoy it, and feel free to give us any and all feedback!

Aaron's Best of the Decade: #60-51

2010-05-10T10:00:00.000-07:00

#60: Outkast - Hey Ya!
Album: Speakerboxx/The Love Below
Year: 2003
I don't think there is any reason for me to write about this song. It simply can't avoid a place on this list, being that it is the funkiest single track of the decade.

#59: Of Montreal - Cato As A Pun
Album: Hissing Fauna Are You The Destroyer
Year: 2007
From one of the all-time great break-up albums, a track that threatens to suck you into a black hole of despair at any second.
"Shave your head
Have a drink
And be left alone.
Is that too much to ask?"

#58: The New Pornographers - From Blown Speakers
Album: Electric Version
Year: 2003
From the early days of the power-pop juggernauts, one of their true moments of perfection. As indulgently catchy as the song is, it holds back the cathartic release of its titular line through multiple iterations of the chorus, finally unwinding that tight feeling in your chest after a pair of fake-outs at the 1:50 mark.

#57: Atmosphere - Love Life
Album: God Loves Ugly
Year: 2002
Yes, Slug's raps can certainly cross the line into emo, but when he is flowing with that self-deprecating charisma and spitting verbose observations, he is among the most engaging MCs in the game. Here he muses on the nature of love and humanity over a perfectly chosen beat.

#56: Lily Allen - Friday Night
Album: Alright, Still
Year: 2006
Lily Allen is one spunky girl. Several tracks from her MySpace success story debut album are worthy of note, most of all this ode to trashy girls at the clubs. If you're wondering how Lily feels about them, she's pretty straightforward about it in this wonderful song.

#55: The Knife - Heartbeats
Album: Deep Cuts
Year: 2003
The Knife have left a significant impact on the modern electro-pop scene with their eerie beats, but early notable track "Heartbeats" makes itself felt through a deep, sinuous synth line that is hard to take seriously but easy to love. I found this track annoying right up until the moment that I put it on every playlist I had.

#54: Junior Senior - Move Your Feet
Album: D-D-Don't Stop The Beat
Year: 2002
In memoriam of the deceased SAT Analogy section. At a party,

"Move Your Feet" : Disco Ball ::

(A) Hiroshima : Fireworks
(B) Gandalf : Dumbledore
(C) Salvador Dali : Etch-A-Sketch
(D) All of the above. Yes, I went there.

#53: Hot Chip - Ready For The Floor
Album: Made In The Dark
Year: 2008
This track is the bounce in your step, the slight nod of your head, the tap-tap-tapping of your foot. It hot-wires its way into your dance control center with Hot Chip trademark sensitive vocals, burbling synths, a jouncing bass line and quick-stepping percussion.

#52: Calexico - Black Heart
Album: Feast of Wire
Year: 2003
Calexico's Southwestern blend of indie rock blends quality songwriting and a touch of the exotic, from mariachi-style horns to heartbreaking sweeps of cello. On "Black Heart", they conjure image after rich image of the harsh desert, putting you through the gauntlet along with the illegal immigrants whose journey they chronicle. By the way, congratulations to Arizona for practically begging their police officers to racially profile. I don't see any way that could go wrong...

#51: Gorillaz - Feel Good Inc
Album: Demon Days
Year: 2005
A wildly successful party mega-jam with wistful, Beck-like interludes and idiosyncratic rap verses from Del Tha Funkee Homosapien. Coming from the brain and fingers of one of the pillars of Brit-pop, Blur's own Damon Albarn. Really? Good job, contemporary music scene. No one would have predicted it five years prior, but "Feel Good Inc" showed the potential in abandoning genre and just going for broke with equal parts artistic merit and relentless pop hook.

Your Cover's Blown!

2010-05-08T13:24:00.000-07:00

Most great artists write great songs. The majority also play great songs. Quite frequently, the one leads to the other, but not today. Today I am going to drop some covers on you...

From the A Bunch of Stuff EP a couple of years back, Franz Ferdinand cover one of 2007's best songs. It sounds very different with guitar (as opposed to some Springsteen-esque pounding piano) and cuts down on the long intro, but it's still a fun take on a true original.

Franz Ferdinand - All My Friends (LCD Soundsystem Cover)

LCD Soundsystem - All My Friends

I am not really a Peter Gabriel guy, but I am always entertained when someone is desperate to be relevant again. The former Genesis frontman recently released Scratch My Back, an album of covers spanning everyone from Radiohead to The Arcade Fire. He sounded confident those artists would return the favor, but so far only Bon Iver has stepped up. In an exclusive single for Record Store Day 2010, Justin Vernon takes the original's early-90s soft rock exoticism (the drums sound like they belong in an IMAX documentary about the Serengeti... or at least in "Africa" by Toto) and replaces it with strummed banjo. Sweet.

Bon Iver - Come Talk To Me (Peter Gabriel Cover)
Peter Gabriel - Come Talk To Me

Best known as Beyonce's younger sister, Solange Knowles deserves your notice if you are a fan of indie music. While she was recently dropped from Interscope and is still pondering her next move in a career she hopes to model after Bjork's (who doesn't), she is important because she can break down barriers. Last summer, when Grizzly Bear played the Jelly NYC Pool Parties, she showed up with Jay-Z and Beyonce in tow, and they were singing along. Now THAT's influence. In the meantime, check her cover of The Dirty Projectors' "Stillness Is The Move", a track that already owed a great debt to 90s R&B.

Solange Knowles - Stillness Is The Move (Dirty Projectors Cover)
The Dirty Projectors - Stillness Is The Move

Fucking brilliant. A.C. Newman is absolutely my favorite purveyor of pop goodness, my dealer in all drugs sweet and sugary. His New Pornographers tracks turn to gold and his solo work is inspired. This cover? A confection cooked up in heaven, judging by how sweet the strings are (who needs synths). If only someone would figure out a way to sync it up with the original, iconic music video.

A.C. Newman - Take On Me (a-ha Cover)
A-Ha - Take On Me

From 2009's War Child Presents Heroes, a Red Hot Charity Compilation, which produced several of my favorite covers of last year (here), Karen O has a blast being every bit as punk rock as Sheena.

Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Sheena Is A Punk Rocker (Ramones Cover)
The Ramones - Sheena Is A Punk Rocker

And as a bonus, my three favorite hip-hop v. indie rock mashups recently, from expert matchmakers The Hood Internet (featured in my post on Mash-Up).

The Hood Internet - Save Me Concubine (Beirut v. Ghostface Killah)
The Hood Internet - The XX Gon' Give It To Ya (DMX v. the xx)
The Hood Internet - Sun Chewed Up (Caribou v. Slug and Murs)

Remix Roundup

2010-05-05T10:00:00.000-07:00

Quite the grab bag this week: the following eight remixes hail from Los Angeles, Toronto via Baltimore , London, Chicago via Stockholm, New York via Missouri, Bristol via London and Stockholm via Gothenberg. Guess which is which!

Walls (Fontän Rework) - The Shout Out Louds

Psst! Remix blogger confession: I rarely like both the original song and the done up version I feature. 90% of the time I'm feeling someone's remix, I am totally let down by the original song. And more often than not a remix that catches my eye - because I've eagerly been awaiting some mixes of the awesome song I've been spinning nonstop for 6 weeks - hits with all the force and appeal of a dead eel. Not so with these folks (Swedes, obvs). The Shout Out Louds' original is taut, upbeat and forceful. The rework by electronic outfit Fontän divides and conquers, distorting guitar elements, performing brilliant surgery on the lyrics and in general adding a layer of resonance without interrupting the energy of the source material.

I am Not a Robot (Clock Opera Remix) - Marina and the Diamonds

Marina's gorgeous voice - Marina's annoying instrumentation + a Clock Opera facelift = a 100% great song.

Alejandro (Sound of Arrows Remix) - Lady Gaga

It's so rare to see singles by a pop monster of Gaga's caliber remixed by smaller artists in addition to the usual Jason Nevins fare. And I think everyone should know about Sweden's Sound of Arrows who are a great group in their own right, as well as having contributed some stellar remixes of tracks by the likes of Penguin Prison and, erm, Alphabeat. "Alejandro" is one of the better cuts off The Fame Monster. I don't feel like they fully harness Gaga's brassy divaness in this effort but they do succeed in translating the song out of its Abba-referencing, faux-Latin camp and into something lighter and sparkling.

You Wanted a Hit (Ryan Nexus Remix) - LCD Soundsystem

Missouri's Ryan Nexus seems to have misheard the lyrics to LCD Soundsystem's "You Wanted a Hit" ("I try and try/It ends up feeling kind of wrong") because here it is: a hit.

Bermuda (Active Child Remix) - Kisses

LA band (and boyfriend-girlfriend duo) Kisses are all kinds of cute and their album, which just dropped last week is only marginally less adorable than a basket of kittens. Their sound, with singer Jesse Kivel's crooning vocals overtop, is like Jens Lekman amongst the palm trees. Recent buzz-receiver and DS Featured Artist Active Child takes the single "Bermuda" on a revved up scooter ride through Candyland.

Ruins (Jokers of the Scene Remix) - O Children

I've written about O Children before but I just can't get over Tobi O'Kandi's terrifying baritone and the extra layer of creep it lends to a skillful remix. This one's got chunky beats, a savage electronic snarl and sweeping strings. When they fade out and he starts chanting like a
Gregorian nightmare I get goosebumps. Tightly wound and perfectly synchronized.

Stop the Music (DJ Downfall Remix) - Pipettes

Let's dance! It's a little silly, and sounds more like Sophie Ellis-Bextor than the Pipettes but hey, it's for clubbing.

Lewis Takes off His Shirt (Dan Deacon Remix) - Owen Pallett

Dan Deacon has a gift for creating music of stunning organic beauty using only electronic sounds. This one sounds like nothing quite so much as the organized chaos of an orchestra warming up. Pallett's voice is almost a percussive element here and the overall effect is like soap film and shooting stars. Seattleites, Owen Pallett is in town this weekend and playing the Crocodile on Saturday night . See you there?

Aaron's Best of the Decade: #70-61

2010-05-03T10:00:00.001-07:00

#70
Beirut - Postcards From Italy
Gulag Orkestar
2006
Zach Condon was only 19 years old when he put out Beirut's first full-length, the excellent Gulag Orkestar. "Postcards From Italy" was the instant highlight of the album's gorgeous, brassy Eastern European fetishism - total mixtape material for its accessibility, but worlds apart from any other contemporary artists.

#69
Aesop Rock - Daylight
Labor Days
2001
Aesop Rock numbers among the greatest pure MC's of his generation, and is one of many reasons to miss the legendary label Definitive Jux. "Daylight", from the seminal Labor Days, is a primer on the innovative underground MC. Far from the backpacker, golden-age vibe of Jurassic 5, he lays down complex rhyme schemes and alternates between total abstract flow and mind-blowing, topical wordplay. As a guide to depressing pragmatism, you can't beat imagery like 'This origami dream is beautiful, but man, those wings'll never leave the ground / without a feather and a lottery ticket, now settle down."

#68
Electric Six - Danger! High Voltage
Fire
2003
Just a balls-out ridiculous party anthem. I don't generally like instruments with reeds in rock music of any kind. It just winds up feeling annoying and indulgent, but here I barely notice the extended solos, thanks to a classic mid-aughts new-wave guitar lick, judicious use of distortion, and aggressively catchy vocals (backed up by a moonlighting Jack White!). This track is sure to put a little fire in your disco, and probably also your Taco Bell.

#67
Nada Surf - Blonde on Blonde
Let Go
2002
A leisurely, lovely exercise in nostalgia. Seattle's own KEXP repeated this song more than I've ever heard them repeat anything besides their call-sign. Nada Surf don't hurry to the hook and never fully crescendo, content to ride the 60's AM-pop vibe even as they name-drop Mr. Bob Dylan's classic game-changing LP.

#66
Eminem - Lose Yourself
8 Mile Soundtrack
2002
This is what hunger sounds like. When they say that someone sounds hungry, this is what they are talking about. Eminem had built an enormously successful career through singles where he was frankly fucking around ("My Name Is", "The Real Slim Shady") - here he cranks up the absurd wordplay he showed off on little-known debut Infinite in 1996 and grabs the mantle of illest MC by the throat. And then he eats it, because he is HUNGRY.

#65
Spoon - The Way We Get By
Kill The Moonlight
2002
One of Spoon's defining moments, fleshing out their usually restrained arrangements with a grooving keyboard riff and easily relatable lyrics. "The Way We Get By" is so irresistible that I overplayed it and barely listen to it anymore, but it opened the Spoon catalog for many and will continue to do so as long as people like good music.

#64
A.C. Newman - The Town Halo
The Slow Wonder
2004
Power-pop maestro Carl Newman released his first solo album in 2004, after a career with Zumpano and a pair of albums as the primary songwriter and a founding member of The New Pornographers. "The Town Halo" rides an electric cello riff (ohhh yeah) through an experience that most closely resembles going on a roller coaster while stuffing your face with cotton candy and your favorite song is playing and the girl you have a crush on is sitting next to you and you are totally overstimulated, but you wouldn't trade any of it for the world.

#63
Stars - Your Ex-Lover Is Dead
Set Yourself On Fire
2005
From my favorite Stars album (milking tears from intra-band divorce just never gets old), the opening track summarizes everything to love about their sound. I am generally a sucker for guy-girl harmonies, evocative, depressing lyrics and over-use of strings in the background as independent entities. When a band competently uses all three, I am putty in their hands.

#62
Sage Francis - Broken Wings
Personal Journals
2002
This song is too low on the list. Way too low. It's too late to do anything about it, but Sage Francis utterly breaks my heart every time I listen to "Broken Wings". Do yourself a favor and listen to it on headphones, or on nice speakers with no one in the room to distract you, and pull up the lyrics if it helps (it did for me). This is why language was created - to express something this eloquently, with this level of depth, structure and meaning. Fuck.

#61
The Futureheads - Hounds Of Love
The Futureheads
2004
The defining track of The Futureheads' career is from their debut album, and get this - it's not even their own song. Their cover of Kate Bush's "Hounds Of Love" is a thing of wonder, with a capella style harmonies mashing over brash post-punk guitars. It's got oodles of that first album 'we are so psyched just be here and making music' vibe that is utterly irresistible.

Amanda's Best of the Decade: #70-61

2010-05-03T10:00:00.000-07:00

#70

Superstar Tradesman - The View

Album: Hats off to the Buskers

Year: 2007

Sometimes a song comes along that just slaps you in the face with how awesome it is, and how much it makes you want to drive pretty fast on a sunny day. Not a complicated impulse, but not everything needs unpacking or intellectualizing. This song, from Scottish rockers The View, doesn't do anything fancy with the standard NME recipe for UK singles chart success, it's just way better at it than the rest of the crowd.

#69

Weak Become Heroes - The Streets

Album: Original Pirate Material

Year: 2002

I'm a little embarrassed that I forgot to namedrop Mike Skinner last week in talking about Jamie T. The latter is a direct musical descendant (well, more like a cousin, really) of the former, who clocks in today at the auspicious number of 69. They both access the same aspects of "contemporary England," and more specifically paint a compelling portrait of disaffected youth as the very foundation, rather than an unfortunate product of that scene. Both artists are by turns rebellious, ambivalent and insightful. "Weak Become Heroes" is a foray into all three. Cleverly framed like a Balearic, piano-loop downtempo piece, Skinner delivers vocals that are more monologue than lyric and rise far above their ostensible club kid cliché. In music, as in life, it's difficult to talk about a great night out in a way that makes it compelling information for someone who wasn't there but Skinner's clear passion about the scene lends his commentary a clear-eyed romanticism. There's beauty in this banality.

#68

Elevator Love Letter - Stars

Album: Heart

Year: 2003

Who would have thought, ten years ago, that divorcé rock would become a viable emotional genre. And yet here we are in 2010, not even surprised that two people with a wrenching emotional past and a history of bitter disagreement can make sweet music together, even after the legal fees have been paid. Not being a White Stripes fan, I'll hold Stars up as the best example of this phenomenon. While they've largely staked their musical careers on their divorce-centric numbers, this is my favorite offering from the Canadian band. Even depressed proto-hipsters sigh wistfully over this one. The instrumentation is dense, lush and deceptively uplifting, sweeping you up in a wave of bittersweet loss. The forlorn, duetted lyrics and a tangible pulse drive it home.

#67

Lucky You - The National

Album: Daytrotter Session

Year: 2007

I just acquired High Violet this weekend and my faith in the The National is reaffirmed! They don't make particularly challenging music; it's just really good music. So I'm psyched to be presenting you with, "Lucky You," my favorite National track from the last decade. Matt Beringer's deep ass voice is at its most swoon-inducing here and ties the song together over what is an almost plodding pace - it's so sparsely embellished you're almost unaware it's happening. Here we have the line, "what you break is what you get," one of life's great truths, sung so matter-of-factly we could be talking about the weather. For its well-crafted niche in the grey area of human existence, for it's humility, for it's romanticization of imperfection and its empty-handed devotion, this is the only kind of love song I want to listen to.

#66

Nite - Chromatics

Album: Nite 12"

Year: 2006

I never want to believe Chromatics are from Portland because their sound is, to me, so loaded with a disquieting malaise I just don't associate with the small, youthful, bike-happy city to the south. I know I'm being overly reductive about Portland but I find its lack of useful navigational points singularly annoying and so I get grouchy when I find it's cranked out yet another amazing band. "Nite" throbs with cosmopolitan apathy, a point driven home by Ruth Radelet's lazily articulated vocals, asking pointless questions and posing inane hypotheticals. It's deeply glamorous in its boredom and although it gathers, it never quite breaks. Never has half-assed been so ominous, or so good.

#65

Be Mine! (Ballad Version) - Robyn

Album: Rakamonie EP

Year: 2006

For reasons I don't quite understand, I prefer this sad bastard version of Robyn's "Be Mine!" to the higher-energy album version. Normally, I'd be a sucker for those urgent strings underscoring unrequited love. But I heard the piano version first and I get a twinge of heartbreak every time I see that pathetic little exclamation point in the title. By contrast, the noisy, angry original just seems like overkill. There's nothing trite about pop balladry when it's done this well, with such barefaced honesty. Robyn's Swedish pixie voice has trouble competing with the strength of the piano chords and the song is structured in such a stumbling fashion (see: awkwardly truncated spoken word breakdown) that it seems like she's trying to get angry and just can't quite summon the energy and when it finally breaks, its force just seems...sad. Le sigh.

#64

Ode to LA - The Raveonettes

Album: Pretty in Black

Year: 2005

Over the past nine years, Swedish duo The Raveonettes have released four albums, none of which is discernibly different from the others but which have all been solidly enjoyable. They walk a fine line between grungy and polished, and their brand of Scandinavian faux punk (which borrows heavily from "Wall of Sound" conventions) is, I've discovered, appropriate for all occasions. "Ode to LA" is huge, full of chimes, sixties rhythms and a naive escapism that hearkens back to another era. LA seems like an odd town to romanticize but the lyrics alight on just the right stepping stones of sunny idealism in the murky sea of freeways and seedy cultural overload. You know you're kind of kidding yourself but running away to California still seems like a great plan. Baby, let's go.

#63

White Winter Hymnal - Fleet Foxes

Album: Fleet Foxes

Year: 2008

True story: A few years back, my dad (dirty hipster that he is) went to go see the Fleet Foxes' show with the dad of my best friend from elementary school. At the venue, they ran into my dad's high school friend who, it turns out, is frontman Robin Pecknold's dad. So, do the Fleet Foxes make dad music? Absolutely. Is it also singularly lovely, and drenched in dreamlike not-quite-folklore? Yep. This one is unassuming and buoyant, with echoing, faraway vocals and a great tambourine moment.

#62

Fuck the Pain Away - Peaches

Album: The Teaches of Peaches

Year: 2000

Another little tidbit from the annals of Amanda's strange accumulated experience: I saw Peaches, aka Merrill Beth Nisker, former schoolteacher, touring in support of I Feel Cream this winter. At the culmination of the show, she expectorated a large quantity of fake blood over the audience, the lion's share of which landed on my face and neck and clothing. It was more than a little bit gross but strangely kind of cool. At least it wasn't real blood. I have a odd fondness for white girls doing crude, overtly sexual rap-like electronica (like this current obsession). Peaches is pretty much the poster girl for that art form in the Aughts and through a lot of trickle down performance opened the door for the trashy, Jack-swigging whores - I'm talking about you, Ke$ha - of today. In the best possible way, of course. Plus, this a great, stripped-down electro track: whipcrack beats and unembellished, unapologetic vocals.

#61

Armistice - Phoenix

Album: Wolfgang Amadeus Phoneix

Year: 2009

I've been listening to Phoenix for the better part of the decade and it is with great satisfaction that I (and the rest of the world) can announce that they've finally made their masterpiece in the form of 2009's Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix. Every song on the album is just that good and this is hands down my favorite of them. Don't get me wrong, I love singles "1901" and "Lisztomania" but this one combines the same punchy, clean production work with an urgency and sadness that is immeasurably enriching. "Armistice" is fantastic on its own but benefits tremendously from the framework of WAP, from which the poppy euphoria fades more elegantly with every cut. By the time you're through the instrumental diptych "Love Like A Sunset," the next four tracks trap you in a spiral of wistfulness and regret until you're murdered by the disillusioned perfection of "Armistice." Its final moments - Thomas Mars' imploring "keep your promises" - is pretty much the saddest thing I've ever heard. Because who even makes promises anymore? I feel urgent and depressed just writing about it, and I keep coming back for more.

New Music Monday!

2010-05-03T09:00:00.000-07:00

I have been sick all weekend. It has been miserable, and I have not enjoyed it. Stuffy nose? Check. Runny nose? You bet. Sore throat? Indubitably. Sinus headache? Do you have to ask so goddamn loud!? However, there is one perk to being sick - while remaining sedentary in an attempt to recover more quickly, I have had lots of time to listen to new music. Hence, the fruit of my congested labors: an excellent and diverse New Music Monday!

Ratatat's upcoming album, LP4 (due out June 8) has leaked. Their self-titled debut album blew my mind with its cool, original sound and endless melody. Their second, Classics, continued the fun. By LP3, I and many others tired of their sound. LP4? After a few listens, they tweak the formula enough to make it a pretty interesting listening experience. Yes, parts of it just sound like Ratatat, but there is a reason we liked them in the first place. Album opener "Bilar" definitely adds some new elements to the equation, while "Neckbrace" even includes a vocal sample (and not just an isolated clip of dialogue).

Ratatat - Bilar
Ratatat - Neckbrace

My roommate and I made it to the Yeasayer show at Neumo's in Seattle last week, in no small part because of opening act Sleigh Bells. While we'd love to see them de-mechanize more of the live performance, the high energy and volume were infectious. We heard chock-full-of-awesome track "Tell 'Em" for the first time at the live show, days before they released this official recording of the track from upcoming album Treats (due out May 11). Caution: Hearing damage likely.

Sleigh Bells - Tell 'Em

The Books return with their signature sonic pastiche intact - the advance track from upcoming release The Way Out (due in July) opens with soothing vocals manipulated to play backwards. As the song straightens itself out, you'll find yourself intrigued by its collage of musical elements.

The Books - Beautiful People

Kele is the lead singer of British rock stars Bloc Party. He is readying his solo album, The Boxer, for release digitally on May 18 and in physical form on June 8. Here is a low-quality rip of advance single "Tenderoni" for those interested, just be sure to crank up the volume or you'll forget it's playing.

Kele - Tenderoni (Radio Rip)

Precocious teens Avi Buffalo recently put out their debut self-titled album. It has some nice moments, and clearly their inspirations are some of the better bands of the last fifteen years. However, I am more optimistic for their future than I am inclined to spend much more time listening to this particular album. If you enjoyed The Shins' first two albums (and who didn't?) then "What's In It For?" will assure you that Avi Buffalo did too.

Avi Buffalo - What's In It For?

Critically acclaimed rockers Interpol have emerged with a new track from their upcoming album. No title or release date yet, but "Lights" is a moody, five-plus minute piece that you will either like or ignore based on your feelings about Interpol (I tend to fall into the latter camp).

Interpol - Lights

Inlets is the solo project of Sebastian Krueger, a Brooklynite by way of Wisconsin. He rolls with hip crowds, making a guest appearance on a recent My Brightest Diamond record and enlisting Zach Condon of Beirut and Angel Deradoorian of The Dirty Projectors for pieces of his debut album. He writes spare songs that each have their own flourishes, from "Bright Orange Air" and its uplifting chorus to "In Which, I, Robert" and its quick-jab piano rhythms. Regardless of the extra instruments, his songs always retain the feeling of naked connection produced by listening to a pure singer-songwriter.

Inlets - Bright Orange Air
Inlets - In Which, I, Robert

Team Ghost is the new project from Nicolas Fromageau, who was one half of electro-shoegaze duo M83 up through the release of classic 2003 album Dead Cities, Red Seas and Lost Ghosts. Since his departure, M83 has produced some nice music, but none with the sinister edge needed for true nighttime-driving music like "Unrecorded." Team Ghost resurrects the sound for new EP You Never Did Anything Wrong To Me. "A Glorious Time" and "Colors In Time" are the two standout tracks, but the entire seven song cycle blends together smoothly, a more cohesive statement than many full-length albums in this day and age.

Team Ghost - A Glorious Time
Team Ghost - Colors In Time

Featured Artist: Pretty Lights

2010-04-30T14:59:00.000-07:00

Pretty Lights is the work of Derek Vincent Smith, a producer out of Colorado. His reputation is spreading, but for now he is still relatively obscure and is giving his music away. His music all emanates one particular mood or sound, but if you click with it you will groove to this stuff constantly. It's instrumental hip-hop, with great beats, a liberal use of hip-hop and soul sampling, fantastic bass lines and excellent structure. It is structurally that he is so unique - though his aesthetic is classic hip-hop, his structure is pure electronica. None of this verse-chorus-verse stuff; Pretty Lights is all about the constantly evolving mood, with flourishes emerging into new memes mid-track and a constant dynamic interplay among a song's elements.

Suffice to say, Pretty Lights is really, really good at what he does. RJD2 and DJ Shadow may cross more boundaries (sometimes to terrible effect - RJD2, stop trying to be a singer-songwriter and DJ Shadow, you are not mainstream and never will be), but Pretty Lights has nailed a sound and there is no one better at it. You can download .zip files of his EPs and LPs to date at his website, completely free, or download my favorite tracks below to form your own opinion.

Pretty Lights - I Can See It In Your Face
Pretty Lights - Fly Away Another Day
Pretty Lights - Sunday School
Pretty Lights - Total Fascination
Pretty Lights - Let Em Know It's Time To Go

From The Vault: Sleater Kinney

2010-04-28T16:19:00.000-07:00

Sleater-Kinney were an all-girl group out of Olympia, WA. Perhaps the most widely known band of the Northwest-born Riot Grrrl movement (along with Bikini Kill and Bikini Kill founder Kathleen Hanna's later project, Le Tigre), Sleater-Kinney is the work of founding members Carrie Brownstein (Guitar) and Corin Tucker (Vocals, Backup Guitar) and a rotating cast of drummers.

Brownstein and Tucker were dating when the band formed in 1994, but their break-up several years later did not tear apart the band. Sleater-Kinney garnered critical acclaim for political agenda and harsh vocals but innovative guitar-work on mid to late-90's releases Sleater-Kinney, Call The Doctor, Dig Me Out, and The Hot Rock. Their third and fourth albums on label Kill Rock Stars, All Hands on the Bad One (2000), and One Beat (2002) were both immediately hailed among the best albums of the nascent decade. 2005's The Woods, with a more anthemic, classic-rock sound, would be the band's last hurrah. In 2006 they ended their thirteen-year run together, entering a period of "Indefinite Hiatus" (speculation centered around Tucker's desire to spend more time parenting). In March of this year, Brownstein announced that she would be pursuing a new project with Sleater-Kinney ex-drummer Janet Weiss and that fans could potentially see a full-lineup Sleater-Kinney release "sometime in the next five years." If only...

Sleater-Kinney peaked before indie had really crossed over into the mainstream, and they never had a breakthrough hit on The O.C. (it's doubtful they would have consented to, given their nuanced second-wave feminist agenda). As a result, many of today's discerning music listeners have only a passing familiarity with their wonderful sound. Corin Tucker's yelps are definitely 'love-it-or-hate-it' material, but they've got passion up the wazoo, and Carrie Brownstein's guitar work crossed over from inspired into impressive circa 2000. Check out a few highlights of their back catalog below.

The Original Sound
Sleater-Kinney - One More Hour (Dig Me Out, 1997)

The Moment of Perfection
Sleater-Kinney - One Beat (One Beat, 2002)

The Classic Rock Anthem
Sleater-Kinney - Rollercoaster (The Woods, 2005)

New Music Monday!

2010-04-26T18:25:00.000-07:00

Kopitar dekes, turns and fires... Stick save and a beaut! Luongo has just robbed Anze Kopitar of the go-ahead goal. These things don't happen just any day, but anything goes on New Music Monday!

Blitzen Trapper - Heaven and Earth

I acquired this track several weeks back, but it was cut, last-second, from that week's New Music Monday to make way for bigger-name artists (The Hold Steady, The National, The Black Keys, etc.). I tuned into KEXP on Friday and they reminded me that this was an oversight. Upon freshly experiencing it, the advance track from Blitzen Trapper's forthcoming Destroyers of the Void LP is easily as good as any of the above tracks (and is what I wished the new Band of Horses sounded more like). Pretty and atmospheric, it will echo back and forth in your head long after you've closed your iTunes.

Crystal Castles - Celestica

Crystal Castles are tough to read. Their first proper LP (self-titled) was generally interesting electronica, with moments ("Untrust Us") that allowed just enough accessibility to be really enjoyable. Their upcoming second album (also self-titled; assholes) was previewed by a fairly noisy, unpleasant track, but then comes first single "Celestica" to show off their pleasant side. I still don't know what to think of them, but this track is damn pretty.

B.O.B. - The Kids (f/Janelle Monae)

Piping-hot ATL rapper B.O.B. drops a new collab with Janelle Monae ('the female Andre 3000') in which they both improvise over the approximate tune and structure of Vampire Weekend's "The Kids Don't Stand A Chance." They muse on the unfortunate situation today's urban kids find themselves in, but the tune keeps it almost light-hearted. Still, I'm beginning to think a couple of people reading this should probably go do Teach for America.

M.I.A. - Born Free

New M.I.A. means yippee-ki-yay! Actually, this is a fairly low-quality rip (in my opinion) but the song is a classic old-school Maya Arulpragasm joint, packed with attitude. None of this "Paper Planes" pop shit (which I loved) or "There's Space For Ol Dat I See" slow-paced stuff (meh). If you need another reason to get excited, Google "M.I.A.+Blimp". Oh yeah.

The Black Keys - Unknown Brother

The Black Keys' new album has leaked and it is full of retro blues-rock goodness. To hold you over until you can buy it for yourself, here is one of my early favorites, the quasi-title track "Unknown Brother."

The New Pornographers - Moves

The New Pornographers' new album has also leaked. Listen to it streaming in full here at NPR, and catch album opener "Moves" to get another piece of the puzzle.

The xx - Do You Mind?

Not exactly new, but with an artist as hot as The xx, we'll take what we can get. "Do You Mind?" was one of the outtakes from their debut self-titled album from last fall, and fits with their hushed mood beautifully.

Robyn - Dancing On My Own

Robyn's first of three releases this year (supposedly), Body Talk Pt. 1, has another track revealed. "Dancing On My Own" continues her streak of electro-produced pop nuggets, this one with more than a tinge of sadness and bitterness.

Macklemore - The Town (Sabzi Remix)

New Seattle hip-hop anthem "The Town" gets a fun, synth-heavy remix treatment by Blue Scholars' DJ Sabzi. The added backdrop really makes it feel like more of a song than a manifesto - both are good. Read his take and almost-apology here at the Blue Scholars' blog.

Amanda's Best of the Decade: #80-71

2010-04-26T10:00:00.001-07:00

#80

Happy Birthday - Clem Snide

Album: Soft Spot

Year: 2003

A brass-laden, twangy, alt-country jewel. Eef Barzelay, the awesomely-named frontman of New York's Clem Snide, belts out a birthday toast that's sweeter and more genuine for it's rough-hewn sentiment. "I hope that your friends are true and funny and your girlfriends are sweet, and wear tight pants," he pronounces over a fanfare of trumpets and driving beat. What more can you ask for, really?

#79

So Lonely Was the Ballad - Jamie T

Album: Panic Prevention

Year: 2007

I first heard "So Lonely Was the Ballad," a few months after I returned from a post-college stint working in London. I ached to be back with every fiber of my being. And here was this snot-nosed, South London kid fusing punky, white guy bravado and Britain's unique hip hop stylings into impossibly catchy summer jams. It sounded like the London I'd come to know and I was enchanted. Stiff upper lip be damned, this guy is the new England Billy Bragg wasn't looking for.

#78

Mr. Brightside (Jacques Lu Cont's Thin White Duke Mix) - The Killers

Album: Mr. Brightside Single

Year: 2005

One of my eternal frustrations is the existence of The Killers not as a dance band. I dislike their tacky, Vegas-gothic aesthetic and the fact that they are always (seriously, every two minutes) cranking out singles I cannot tell apart. Every one of these crappy singles, however, is a perfect canvas upon which remixers can make magic. I feel like Brandon Flowers needs to put his guitar away, fire his band mates, hire a couple of Australian DJs and become the frontman of the world's catchiest dance band. I don't need to elaborate much on the music, we all know the song. This is just a long, better version of it: more compelling synth sounds, more swelling strings, more echoing vocals, a more danceable beat. And so was born my love of the remix.

#77

Hellhole Ratrace - Girls

Album: Album

Year: 2009

I expect great things from Girls, who released my second favorite album of 2009. Frontman Christopher Owens is a refreshing break from the last gasps of hipsterism, which is rather spectacularly eating itself these days. Owens' sad story informs his music with an angsty honesty that is rarely done so well. When it explodes at the halfway mark, I dare anyone with a soul not to explode, too. Crusty, lo-fi guitars wail and Owens' sincere, heartbreaking vocals - pirouetting on the edge of maudlin - soar over a treacherous featherbed of fuzz.

#76

Run - Air

Album: Talkie Walkie

Year: 2004

A creepily sexy bit of computer love from French electronica wizards Nicolas Godin and Jean-Benoît Dunckel. Equal parts androgynous attraction and nature film swelling sighs, this one shivers its way into your consciousness and sticks.

#75

I Cried Like a Silly Boy - Devotchka

Album: Curse Your Little Heart EP

Year: 2006

I acquired this album based on its Pitchfork review which was, simply put, the most delicious blurb I have ever seen dished out by the site. The EP contains mostly covers, of which this is one, the original version by relative unknown Ted Thacker. Devotchka's signature gypsy strum gives the song a perfect, tensely romantic motion. The aforementioned Pitchfork reviewer, one William Bowers refers to the track as "a swooner" and he could not be more spot on. There's something just out of reach about its beauty and even clocking in at 3:27, it's over far too soon.

#74

Rama Lama - Sons and Daughters

Album: The Repulsion Box

Year: 2005

I've always been a sucker for the eerie, sickening creep of a song you slowly realize is about somebody being dead. This one has the benefit of also being by a Scottish band, another thing I'm a sucker for. Scott Paterson's thickly accented vocals make for a visceral thrill over the steady beat, twangy guitars and Morricone-esque whistle.

#73

Let's Not Shit Ourselves - Bright Eyes

Album: Lifted or the Story is in the Soil, Keep Your Ear to the Ground

Year: 2002

By turns confessional, resigned, rollicking and angry, this ten minute festival of angst is Bright Eyes' Conor Oberst at his best. Surprisingly not overindulgent for such a long song, here his political, social and emotional disillusion intertwine and hammer away at the listener in a strangely triumphant iteration. Somebody get this guy a god damned timpani roll, already.

#72

There is No There - The Books

Album: The Lemon of Pink

Year: 2003

The Books of New York City specialize in what I've always referred to as "electro-folk" although almost any other moniker would do just as well. The term "aleatoric" is often bandied about in association with their sound, although this is largely erroneous - their sound incorporates chance elements only in the sense that many of their samples are thrifted rather than created. But according to frontman Nick Zammuto the rest of their creative process is highly controlled. There's nothing catchy about this song and it goes against almost everything I look for in music but it's mesmerizing, and the album it comes from is an unlikely grower - seamless in its assemblage. Though the concept is labored, the result is as difficult as sitting a front porch on a summer evening.

#71

We're Here - Guillemots

Album: Through the Windowpane

Year: 2006

Pure cinematic glory from the UK's small-time pop visionaries Guillemots. Lead singer and creative director Fyfe Dangerfield's knack for crafting the sensation of world-obliterating romance is well showcased here from the first warbling notes and quick dash of violins to its final, brilliant crescendo. I occasionally take issue with Dangerfield's taste level but he's right at home here where a sappy fondness for narrative meets clever instrumentation and untethered, imagination-capturing joy.

Aaron's Best of the Decade: #80-71

2010-04-26T10:00:00.000-07:00

#80
Dizzee Rascal - I Luv U
Album: Boy In Da Corner
Year: 2003
Grime's big break-through hit to date is a delicious-sounding piece of British hip-hop. The futuristic squelches of bass and the burbling synths encapsulate everything jarring and addicting about grime's sound, while Dizzee tears through the track, tossing off diatribes about (what else) girls.

#79
Raekwon - House of Flying Daggers (f/Inspectah Deck, Ghostface Killah, Method Man)

Album: Only Built 4 Cuban Linx, Pt. 2

Year: 2009

Raekwon the Chef had been hinting for years that the sequel to Only Built 4 Cuban Linx, a classic from the Golden Age of the Wu, was in the pipeline. Nobody could have guessed that anything from the album would be this fresh - while he brought the gritty sound of Staten Island throughout, "House of Flying Daggers" enlists the heavyweights of the W and turns into a posse cut on par with Wu-Tang's best.

#78
Cold War Kids - Hospital Beds

Album: Robbers and Cowards

Year: 2006

The Cold War Kids are not a great band. I am not particularly anticipating their next release, and I find some of their topical, Christian-influenced stuff boring. However, they came out firing on a trio of EP's back in 2006 that dropped a few memorable tracks, none better than "Hospital Beds." The song milks flawless guitar-keyboard interplay and fantastic vocal melodies to create a piece that threatens to break out into a full-blown anthem at any moment. It never does, which makes it even better...

#77
Florence + the Machine - You've Got The Love

Album: Lungs

Year: 2009

This song threatened to move up my list after I saw Florence + The Machine live at Seattle's Showbox at the Market last week. Since it only came out at the tail end of 2009, I'll leave it here and let posterity tell the true story. Pretty little Florence Welch lets her voice out of hiding and wails an absolute show-stopping soul-rock hybrid that can't help but tug on your heartstrings.

#76
Gnarls Barkley - Crazy

Album: St. Elsewhere

Year: 2006

Yes, it was heavily overplayed. I completely agree. I can't defend America's need to play it on rock, rap and pop stations ubiquitously for the better part of 2006-07. But some kernel of me remembers the winter-spring of 2006 when I heard that DJ Danger Mouse (a favorite of mine from The Grey Album) was teaming with Cee-Lo (a favorite from Goodie Mob and his underrated pair of solo albums) for a whole album, and the advance single had started making rounds in the clubs in England. When I first hunted it down via the power of the internet, all I could think was how original it sounded. Nobody was making pop or art music like this, and I just wanted to dance to it. Soon enough, everyone was dancing to it, and that's not such a bad thing.

#75
Phoenix - Lisztomania

Album: Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix

Year: 2009

Not a surprising entry, but a necessary one. Phoenix really did hit a home run with their re-tooled sound on Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix and "Lisztomania" is the track that sealed the deal for me. Persistent and catchy, it epitomizes the sound of 2009.

#74
Madvillain - Rhinestone Cowboy

Album: Madvillainy

Year: 2004

The name Madvillain is still whispered around hip hop blogs, always with the hope of a sequel. The combination of MF Doom's sick associative wordplay and Madlib's completely out-of-left-field beats left everyone wanting more. "Rhinestone Cowboy" barely sound like a song, more a performance over a backdrop like you've never heard in hip-hop, and the lyrics are indeed a work of art. You try thinking of a rhyme as sweet as "fine chrome alloy" with "rhinestone cowboy." Can't be done.

#73
Gym Class Heroes - Cupid's Chokehold

Album: The Papercut Chronicles

Year: 2005

Gym Class Heroes pull a sweet sample out of "Breakfast in America" by Supertramp and craft a neo-romantic ode to a special lady. Switching between absurdly modern quirks ("She even got her very own ringtone") and grade-A cheese ("If I had to choose between her and the sun, I'd be one nocturnal son of a gun"), these guys are just too adorable to resist.

#72
The Decemberists - Here I Dreamt I Was An Architect

Album: Castaways and Cutouts

Year: 2002

Way back, before The Decemberists had (inexplicably) become wildly popular for their obscure, verbose sea shanties, there was Castaways and Cutouts. Their debut album was scattered but thoroughly unique, and after sifting through the various styles they were trying on, I was hooked by the relaxed beauty of "Here I Dreamt I Was An Architect." It is achingly wistful, and I can't help but appreciate wistfulness expressed with an excellent vocabulary.

#71
Cut Copy - Lights and Music

Album: In Ghost Colours

Year: 2008

An album I expected to enjoy mostly as a guilty pleasure (and I thoroughly did) kept coming back to me. I'd make a new mix CD for my girlfriend's car, or put together a playlist for a party, or just want to chill out to some electronic music, and every time I would find myself including "Lights and Music." I still can't pinpoint why it stands above the legions of Euro-trash electronic artists sporting a near-identical aesthetic, but every piece of its composition just falls into place beautifully as the beat and bass chug along unerringly.

Featured Scene: Mash-Up

2010-04-23T15:00:00.000-07:00

The best DJs have never been limited by the songs the artists create. Upon finding a funky bassline or grooving instrumental, the first thing a DJ does is figure out how they're going to fit it into their mix, and I'm not talking about before or after another song. We live in the digital age, and with hard work, tempo-altering and pitch-shifting you can mix and match just about any songs you like.

The first legendary mash-up album was DJ Danger Mouse's The Grey Album, on which he matched Jay-Z's raps from The Black Album with chopped up goodness from The Beatles' The White Album. These still took the form of traditional songs, matching up one set of verses with guitar-work from one original Beatles track. Soon after, Greg Gillis, recording under the moniker Girl Talk, put out his third full-length mix, entitled Night Ripper. The scope and ambition present in those 40 minutes put everyone on notice; it was possible to create an entirely new listening experience out of no more than 10 or 20-second snippets of riffs, flows and beats (Greatest Moment in Mash-Up, so far: Night Ripper track "Smash Your Head" matches Elton John's "Tiny Dancer" with The Notorious B.I.G.'s "Juicy" and blows everyone's mind).

Since Girl Talk achieved popularity, it's been amateur hour all over the internet. New mashed-up tracks are sprouting right and left, and frankly most of them are crap. Of the dross clogging the blogosphere, a couple of names have continually resurfaced for their commitment to excellent work. The Hood Internet are the new legends, with inspired source material and an already-significant catalogue of quality mixes (and an ambitious six-minute continuous mash-up of the best of the decade). The White Panda are now on my "must-listen" list as well for a few smart, fun selections. Check out my Mash-Up essential listening playlist below, and realize, this stuff is REALLY good to have around for parties...

DJ Danger Mouse - What More Can I Say (Jay-Z v The Beatles)

Girl Talk - Smash Your Head

The Hood Internet - Two Weeks of Hip-Hop (Grizzly Bear v Dead Prez)

The White Panda - Praise Outkast (Fatboy Slim v Outkast)

The Hood Internet - The Decalogue (The Hood Internet v The 2000s)

Remix Roundup

2010-04-21T10:00:00.000-07:00

Bangers are temporarily making way for a wave of chilly, spaced-out (mostly) Scandinavians this week. I swear it's got nothing to do with Tuesday's date. We can all go back to dancing in two weeks but for now, sample the following music perfect for sad scenes in eighties B movies, druggy club Sundays, interplanetary travel and early morning swims in glacier-fed lakes.

"Holiday" - Montauk

Sweden's Montauk dropped their first single 'Holiday' a few weeks ago and it's ushered in with quite the remix fanfare. A fellow Swede, 22-year-old Jeremy Olander gives the piano heavy original the standard house treatment, engulfing the track in a pulsing, womblike environment. Great sonic textures here, with lots of surprisingly organic clicks and beats contrasting well with the highly manipulated vocals. By contrast the remix from Visitor takes the eighties-influenced electro route. Replete with synth strings and a soaring "guitar solo," it's screaming for a bad movie montage in the best possible way.

"Holiday (Jeremy Olander Remix)" - Montauk

"Holiday (Visitor Remix)" - Montauk

"Electric Counterpoint III. Fast (RYXP's Milde Salve)" - Steve Reich

Writing about Röyksopp (SPOILER ALERT) as part of my Best of the Decade list reminded me what beautiful music they make, despite their disappointing efforts on Junior. This remix, released by the Norwegian duo as part of their website's Track of the Month feature, is a throwback to the days of Melody A.M., when they were making the best downtempo around. Steve Reich, whose 1987 track provides the canvas for this mix, is a pioneer of American minimalism. This is hardly his first trip around the block with the club kids: "Electric Counterpoint"'s third movement was notably sampled first by The Orb in their 1990 release "Little Fluffy Clouds" and an entire album of remixes was released in 1990. Clocking in just over eight minutes, this gorgeous, spacey journey layers Pat Metheny's original guitars with lush waves of strings, restrained - almost timid - beats and a persistent echo. It's got the elemental quality of "A Higher Place" or "40 Years Back/Come" that has been sadly lacking in Röyksopp's more recent work.

"Electric Counterpoint III. Fast (RYXP's Milde Salve)" - Steve Reich

"Sun (Spirituals Remix)" - Caribou

Speaking of Röyksopp...anyone hear the echoes here? Pitchfork's pick of the remix contest entries for the new Caribou single "Sun," this one is a disrupted, clicking mess. And it's awesome. The cool undertones, liquid feel and jazzy percussive elements of the original mesh well with the faintly sinister quality of the remixed additions by Portland's Tyler Tadlock. It unsettles with all the beauty of horror film TV static.

"Sun (Spirituals Remix)" - Caribou

"First Class Riot (Touch of Jules et Jim)" - The Tough Alliance

Bookending with Swedes today, we've got jj, a current obsession of mine, remixing band-friends (and former label mates) The Tough Alliance, an off-and-on fling for me. The original is pure sixties surf pop, punchy and addictive. After jj get their hands on it, it's more like a faint light seen from the bottom of a very deep, mossy well, transformed by sumptuous vocals and leaky faucet beats. Plus, you've got to love Elin Kastlander's opulent, dream pop wailing "Remix, baby!" - a humorous reminder of jj's predilection for covering or reworking really, really, really hilariously bad music.

"First Class Riot (Touch of Jules et Jim)" - The Tough Alliance

R.I.P. Guru (of Gang Starr)

2010-04-20T18:39:00.000-07:00

Hip hop veteran Guru of seminal duo Gang Starr passed away today at age 43, following a heart attack in March. Guru and long-time Gang Starr partner DJ Premier had a falling out seven years ago and were no longer close, but the entire musical community mourns the passing of this legend. Here are a pair of classic tracks in honor of the fallen.

Gang Starr - Militia (Remix)
Gang Starr - Work

New Music Monday!

2010-04-19T13:22:00.000-07:00

Of all the gin joints in all the towns in the world, she walks into one with wi-fi, and visits my blog. And, of all the days in all the weeks of the year, she does it on New Music Monday!

The excellent new BSS album, Forgiveness Rock Record, has leaked, and you can listen to a free, high-quality, completely legal stream of it over at NPR. "Chase Scene", offering a look at their more dramatic side, is one of the highlights of the album's hyperactive first half.

Broken Social Scene - Chase Scene

I offer this track to give you the tip early - B.O.B. is in the process of releasing an album (release date moved UP to April 27 because of how hot he is currently) that is generating a lot of buzz. I don't think he is a particularly standout MC, but this single, featuring a chorus from the lead singer of Paramore (meh), is going to be everywhere soon, so you may as well listen to it now and form your opinion.

B.O.B. - Airplanes (f/Hayley Williams of Paramore)

Swedish troubador Kristian Matsson, recording under the moniker The Tallest Man on Earth, is sure to evoke Bob Dylan comparisons upon first listen. With repeat listens, it's clear that he is a worthy inhabitant of the weathered voice, nimble finger-picking and singer-songwriter genre that Dylan gave us, and "A Lion's Heart" offers all you could ask for in this vein.

The Tallest Man On Earth - A Lion's Heart

Chiddy Bang are a group of Philly college kids who just plain get hip-hop today. They're up to speed on quality, innovative electronic production and MC Chidera Anamege has an impressively polished flow. On the brand new Air Swell mixtape, they chop up beats and vocals from "Skeleton" by adorable Brit Kate Nash and "One Life Stand" by Hot Chip for this pair of party-starters.

Chiddy Bang - Breakfast (f/Kate Nash)
Chiddy Bang - Hey London (f/Hot Chip)

The next track dropped from the upcoming Band of Horses LP, Infinite Arms, I can't claim to be impressed by "Factory." It is pretty, yes, but only in a generic way that makes me think they sense a chance to follow in Death Cab for Cutie's footsteps and are making a quick cash grab using easily manipulated teenage hearts.

Band of Horses - Factory

The National drop another track from upcoming release High Violet, this time with ethereal back-up vocals from Sufjan Stevens. "Afraid of Everyone" is typically slow-building, with an understated brassy backing. Expect a very mature album (no surprise from these guys).

The National - Afraid of Everyone

Blur released their first song together in seven years (!) this past Saturday, as a Record Store Day exclusive. They only pressed 1000 vinyl 7-inch singles, but are offering it as a free download as well, so judge for yourself how Damon Albarn and company are holding up following detours into Gorillaz, Chinese opera, solo careers and seven years of life.

Blur - Fool's Day

Chicago DJ drops an advance track from his upcoming release, Dynasty, and wisely taps Dragonette vocalist Martina Sorbara to play siren over his beats. Love her delivery on the consonance-heavy line "I'm going rococo with sequins in the summer."

Kaskade - Fire In Your New Shoes (f/Dragonette)

Amanda's Best of the Decade: #90-81

2010-04-19T10:00:00.001-07:00

#90

Get Down - Nas

Album: God's Son

Year: 2002

I'll be the first to admit, I don't really know hip hop. I rarely seek it out, have trouble listening to it analytically and find 98% of it doesn't hold my attention. A lot of this has to do with the fact that I am just not a lyrics girl. I mean, I hear them and occasionally something really evocative will get me all choked up but I am not particularly impressed by the cadence or rhyming of words. (I'm not fond of poetry either, if you're wondering.) Usually, I listen to hip hop and just wonder, "Why is that man talking over those cool sounds? He is totally killing this for me." It's endlessly frustrating as I think the origins and trajectory of hip hop as a genre are conceptually more fascinating than any other. All this is just to say, I have no idea what I'm talking about or how this song fits into an intelligent discussion of the Decade in Hip Hop. But damn, I think it sounds really cool.

#89

Kate - Sambassadeur

Album: Coastal Affairs EP

Year: 2006

I have a totally crush on Sweden. It's got infectious indie pop, shockingly gory literature, and unnaturally good-looking citizens. So it's not surprise that I love Sambassadeur's "Kate," which manages to be both lush and fluffy, has great guitars, and two (undoubtedly gorgeous, probably well-dressed) Swedes breathily layering a sweet melody over the top of it all.

#88

The Upwards March - Belle Orchestre

Album: Recording a Tape the Colour of the Light

Year: 2005

A thickly layered, slowly building instrumental from a side project of several members of The Arcade Fire. It sounds pretty much exactly like you'd imagine a song by intellectual rockers making a conceptual instrumental song sounds. Killer drums, shivery strings and cinematic penchant for storytelling.

#87

Cry Me A River - Justin Timberlake (featuring Timbaland)

Album: Justified

Year: 2002

Justin Timberlake is about as arty as Top 40 got in the Aughts, which is cool with me. He (or rather, his producers, songwriters and choreographers) have a real knack for highlighting the more ragged spectrum of human emotion. This song exhibits some fairly ugly sentiments and a chilling lack of pity and it does so with huge beats and rich textures. Plus that video was a Cultural Event and a thing of beauty.

#86

Legs of Bees - The Fruit Bats

Album: Spelled in Bones

Year: 2005

The first time I heard this song, I could not believe (and sort of still can't) that Jon Brion was not involved in the making of it. Lead singer Eric D. Johnson sounds exactly like him and the song is rich in summery hand claps, piano pop, and a smart, retro punch that all scream, "This is off the I ♥ Huckabees soundtrack!" And yet it is not. It's just a great tune from Chicago's consistently impressive Fruit Bats.

#85

Ultimatum - The Long Winters

Album: Putting the Days to Bed

Year: 2006

John Roderick, the lead singer of the Long Winters, is - from what I can tell - a pretty awesome dude. For example, the local personality spent the better part of 2008-09 wandering around Seattle and playing gigs with a missing front tooth. He also once referred to my friends and I as "a bevy of supercute girls," which I don't think we have collectively ever quite gotten over. Their sun-steeped brand of infectious, insightful indie pop has had me hooked ever since I first saw them (with DS co-blogger Aaron!) at a rare underage show at the old Croc way back in 2003. "Ultimatum" has been kicking around in their repertoire for years, starring in both the Ultimatum EP and also featured on 2006's Putting the Days to Bed, which is to me its most perfect incarnation. With punched up drums, tight guitar licks and fantastic keyboards, it's pure pop joy. File under: Happy-Sounding Songs That Are Actually About Really Sad Stuff and play often.

#84

Overpowered - Róisín Murphy

Album: Overpowered

Year: 2007

Irish dance diva Róisín Murphy steps briefly away from the jangling nervous energy that got her noticed to deliver this drowned, artfully layered slow burner. Murphy's soulful, almost hoarse voice makes a great contrast with the chilly synths and lyrics littered with scientific and clinical terminology. In fact, this Overpowered cleverly showcases this kind of juxtaposition across the board. The album and its accompanying singles all feature cover art of Murphy clad in avant-garde costumes engaged in commonplace public activity--breakfast at the caf, strolling in a manicured park, waiting at a crosswalk. This performance, as well as the production on "Overpowered" show some serious Alison Goldfrapp channeling and the slower, synth-drenched turn make me all kinds of pysched. (Check out this article on Sleevage for more on the album design and singles artwork for Overpowered)

#83

(Untitled) How Does It Feel? - D'Angelo

Album: Voodoo

Year: 2000

Confession: this one made it on the countdown mostly because I had to include one sex jam, and Ginuwine's "So Anxious" was not eligible, being released just shy of the last decade in 1999. But also, D'Angelo's offering is gorgeous--pulling just the right amount of influence from old-school soul and fusing it with a decidedly contemporary sensibility. Starting off subtly sultry and building to a complex concoction of crooning harmonies and skillful instrumentation, this one's been sexy for ten years now. "So Anxious" - featuring more than one glaringly awkward reference to early mobile technology - can make no claims to such timelessness.

#82

Summersend - Misha

Album: Teardrop Sweetheart

Year: 2007

Love at first listen. A tale of long distance love rides swooning chord progressions and - holy fuck - that beautiful, insistent bassline into instant favorite status. The slight friction between the lines "Come on baby tell me what you miss about me"/"Come on baby tell me what you'd do about me" highlights the heartbreakingly subtle differences between poetics and the sad reality of two people not together.

#81

Run-Away- Super Furry Animals

Album: Hey Venus!

Year: 2007

I find myself wondering constantly why more artists do not employ key changes any more. Sure, they are kind of a cheap shot, but the emotional response they drag out is so satisfying . Especially in this in-your-face slab of pop deliciousness with Gruff Rhys' melancholy, Welsh-accented croon - "I still recall your banking details" - over a wall of guitars, chimes and sixties percussion.

Aaron's Best of the Decade: #90-81

2010-04-19T10:00:00.000-07:00

#90
Regina Spektor - On The Radio
Album: Begin To Hope
Year: 2006

"On The Radio" is the first song I heard by Regina Spektor, and still the best. I found her idiosyncratic style completely infectious and only slightly obnoxious (like an inverted version of Natalie Portman's character from Garden State). The song came back to me again and again for two reasons: her subtle wording change in the chorus from "it's a pretty song" to "it's a good refrain" and the fun of vocally imitating the "bum ba-dum ba-dum bum" sounds she and her instruments make throughout.

#89
Thom Yorke - And It Rained All Night

Album: The Eraser

Year: 2006

I used to play a computer game called Diablo II. To this day, I have never encountered a video game half as addictive or enjoyable (note: I have specifically avoided World of Warcraft, another game created by gaming juggernaut Blizzard with an even deadlier reputation). The Eraser, Thom Yorke's solo album, came out during a brief stretch when I was gaming heavily and it soundtracked many an epic Mephisto run. Something about the dark, grinding pitter-patter of "And It Rained All Night" still conjures up memories of fighting my way through Blunderbores and Ghoul Lords. I have confirmed reports of people who don't play Diablo II also liking this song, so if you weren't hip to the slang and jive-talk in this post, don't worry about it.

#88
Ted Leo and the Pharmacists - Biomusicology

Album: The Tyranny of Distance

Year: 2001

One of my all-time top ten sunny day songs. Ted Leo pulls out a simple, sparkling riff and uplifting vocals, layering in percussion as he continues to ~~smile~~ sing. Whatever, listen to him, he is clearly smiling at least as loud as he is singing. An interlude with peaceful strings in the middle feeds back into a Ted Leo vocal stretch with amped-up intensity, ending with elegant swirls of feedback and brief guitar fireworks.

#87
Santogold - L.E.S. Artistes

Album: Santogold

Year: 2008

Santogold (now Santigold) burst on to the scene with "L.E.S. Artistes" and the M.I.A. meets Yeah Yeah Yeahs comparisons began. The song is just plain catchy, packed with attitude and seeming remarkably straightforward until you notice the little touches - the handclaps at the end of each measure of the verse, the high-pitched sighs offering counterpoint to her chorus vocals, and the ballsy, instantaneous fade to nothing at the end.

#86
TV on the Radio - Family Tree

Album: Dear Science

Year: 2008

TV on the Radio may top my personal list of the most talented artists alive and recording (I certainly view them as having the highest potential to record the Next Great Album). Combining Tunde Ademipe's versatile baritone with Dave Sitek's brilliant arrangements for guitar and keyboard, they possess limitless permutations in terms of song form. The Brooklyn band's newest album, Dear Science, takes advantage of this, hopping all over the musical map. On "Family Tree" they marry a bed of strings reminiscent of Stars' orchestration with some of Tunde's most evocative lyrics and tender vocals.

#85
Exploding Hearts - Modern Kicks

Album: Guitar Romantic

Year: 2003

The Exploding Hearts are a sad story. The young Portland punk band was on tour for their first album, the incendiary Guitar Romantic, when their van crashed, prematurely ending the lives of all three primary members. Their legacy leaves us just one album of blissfully perfect punk (think Ramones and Buzzcocks, not Greenday and Offspring) and opening track "Modern Kicks" has earned a spot in the punk pantheon next to "I Wanna Be Sedated" and "Ever Fallen In Love."

#84
M83 - Kim and Jessie

Album: Saturdays=Youth

Year: 2008

The golden era of the shoegaze genre appears to be past us, with defining albums like My Bloody Valentine's Loveless, Ride's Nowhere, Slowdive's Souvlaki Space Station and virtually anything by the Jesus and Mary Chain emerging in the late 80's and early 90's. My interest in the gauzy sound was resuscitated by the wonderful Lost In Translation soundtrack, centered by Kevin Shields of MBV pedigree. The next great hope? Probably versatile electro-shoegaze peddlers M83, whose recent anthem "Kim and Jessie" should by all rights act as a gorgeous sign-post pointing the new generation back to these sleepy, overlooked gems.

#83
Gang Gang Dance - House Jam

Album: Saint Dymphna

Year: 2008

Gang Gang Dance are pretty weird. They are into some serious tribal shit, with crazy rhythms and wailing vocals. Extrapolating from their trippy live show, I am guessing they spend time reading Tarot cards on the tour bus and pretending that they are fundamentally different from all of the other hipsters in Brooklyn (I mean, those losers think clothing from the 80's is retro - try the Ottoman Empire). "House Jam" sticks out from their catalog despite fitting in perfectly, representing a perfect melding of dance-punk (via The Rapture) with psych-folk (by way of Yeasayer).

#82
The Dismemberment Plan - Time Bomb

Album: Change

Year: 2001

I've never liked Interpol. Lots of people do - I don't. This may seem like a random topic to discuss here, but I think I recently realized why, and it's because of The Dismemberment Plan. Songs like "Time Bomb" and "Gyroscope" utilize the same ultra-repetitive riff and disaffected lyrical style, but add in painfully sharp lyrics and a real sense of purpose (a lesson learned from Ian Curtis of Joy Division - if you're going to sing robotically, do it about matters of the heart).

#81
Delorean - Seasun

Album: Ayrton Senna EP

Year: 2009

I've written about this song before (here and here) so I'll be brief. This song embodies the Delorean Barcelona sound, and there is nothing quite like it for a relaxing time when the sun is shining. New album Subiza is fantastic, but I'm afraid these Spanish lads are destined to equal "Seasun" for the rest of their career, as besting the very template for their sound is out of the question.

From The Vault: The Delgados

2010-04-16T02:24:00.000-07:00

Let's turn the clock back to 2003. I've just gotten to Oberlin, a nice, moderately hipster liberal arts college, and everything about my persona and taste is acclimatizing. My clothes are still a little bit on the baggy, clueless side, and my hair is just trying to grow out at all costs. This music thing, however, I think I am starting to get the hang of. I read Pitchfork Media sometimes to try to find more cool bands to like, and occasionally I just start browsing through their archived reviews (sorted only by first letter), trying to happen across something obscure but worthwhile. One day, browsing through the letter D, I come across their review for an album called Hate by The Delgados. This happens to be my (one and only, at the time) ex-girlfriend's last name, so I arbitrarily click on it. As I read through the review, my intrigue only grows. An 8.1 is one of the highest ratings I'd seen on this particularly snobby website, and the writer pitches over and over again how epic and yet bleak the album was. I play a hunch and order Hate from Amazon, and a few days later it shows up.

At this point, I'm going to skip ahead. Over the remainder of my freshman year, Hate spent more time in my combo CD-player and tape deck stereo system than any other album, excepting OK Computer (only my favorite album of all time). I played it falling asleep, doing homework, on other people's laptops in dorm lounges and in the background of heart-to-heart talks about love, life and other deathly serious matters. When they came on tour through Cleveland, I went to a girl who had stolen my heart and slid the CD under her dorm room door with a sticky note telling her to listen to tracks 5, 8, 9 and 10. Two weeks later we rode into the city together and saw a kick-ass show at the Grog Shop. Disclaimer: Despite this excellent opportunity, I failed to capitalize and never got anywhere with said girl. In related news, I was still a pretty big dork with no moves to speak of. The Delgados, on the other hand, have a couple of really good moves. Notably, these include male-female vocals much like the modern-day phenoms The XX, swooning orchestration lifted from Brit-poppers such as The Verve, and a rhythm section that gallops along like a steel-shod war charger. For your listening pleasure, here are the aforementioned tracks 5, 8, 9 and 10...

The Delgados - Coming In From The Cold

The Delgados - All Rise

The Delgados - Never Look At The Sun

The Delgados - If This Is A Plan

Amanda's Best of the Decade: #100-91

2010-04-14T21:02:00.000-07:00

Wrangling my music collection and seven years of "Best of" playlists into a limited hierarchy has been an even greater challenge than I imagined. First off, it's important to distinguish between a "Best Songs of the Decade" list and one that represents my favorite songs from the same period. Ideally, there is at least 75% overlap between these two sets of selections. Also, I was fifteen when the decade began, so a lot of formative, taste-making shit went down in my Aughts. Most notably, I learned to love electronica and female vocalists. In the end, my toils produced these one hundred, unscientifically chosen tunes: a combination of perceived rate of iTunes skippage, autobiographical significance , cultural importance, and musical quality (oh yeah, that). So without further ado, ladies and gentlemen:

#100

The Fear - Lily Allen

Album: It's Not Me It's You

Year: 2009

I've never found Lily Allen to particularly subversive but she does have a gift for cultural commentary that's charmingly reminiscent of slightly mean jokes between friends. 'The Fear' is no exception, being both bitingly insightful about and symptomatic of contemporary values. The softcore pop intro prepares us for a throwaway love song on any chart-topper's album but becomes quickly plaintive, insistent and rife with existential angst. Allen's girlish, deadpan delivery pulls it off beautifully.

#99

Cannons at the Courthouse - Devin Davis

Album: Lonely People of the World, Unite!

Year: 2005

Some seriously rollicking power pop from the midsection of the US. Davis fuses brashes guitar sounds, clever, exuberant production, punchy drum work and imaginative lyrics in this metamorphic piece of brilliance. I never get over how he casts the insignificant backgrounds of grander dreamscapes with extras, edits and fill-ins.

#98

Come into My World - Kylie

Minogue

Album: Fever

Year: 2001

Our first page from the Amanda Dance Primer. I first heard this song at a college party and went into a sort of trance while dancing to it--a novel experience for a girl who cut her dance floor teeth on Top 40 rap and R&B. I prefer this song to its album counterpart, 'Can't Get You Out of My Head' for its sense of dreamy, hypnotic motion. By turns choppy and swooning, it's a masterful example of mainstream dance pop from the queen of the genre.

#97

Gray or Blue - Jaymay

Album: Autumn Fallin'

Year: 2008

The simple, sweet essence of frustrated affection set to island-style strumming, childlike xylophone and Jaymay's (New York's Jamie Seerman) empathetic vocals. Unrequited love songs by singer-songwriters are at their best when either completely steeped in, or completely divorced from the dramatic banality that creates them and this is of the latter variety.

#96

Midsummer Night Blues - Waldeck

Album: Ballroom Stories

Year: 2007

I love me some jazz clarinet, alright? Most people do not become copyright lawyers and then go on to make incredibly sexy, jazzy trip-hop albums but then, most people are not Austria's Klaus Waldeck. Tickled ivories, swooning clarinet, retro vocals, a 'Summertime' sample and a beat existing somewhere between funk, reggae and swingtime: this song is luscious.

#95

Time to Pretend - MGMT

Album:

Oracular Spectacular

Year: 2007

Discussing this song shortly after its release, I used the phrase "it's a bit too...self-consciously anthemic, don't you think?" to express my skepticism. I know, I'm an asshole. And though I still think it's too self-conscious but its throbbing, distorted bravado is thoroughly under my skin. Every time I hear it, I want to be tongue-in-cheek about my jaded, glamorous, rock star life.

#94

Monument (Anna Oxygen Remix) - Mirah

Album: Joyride: Remixes

Year: 2006

One of the hallmarks of good dance music has always been the way it toys with expectation and delivery. In order to get people dancing, you have to essentially pander to baser instincts and in order to keep people dancing, you have to find a way to suspend that energy, eventually not dropping the beat they've come to expect. While not strictly speaking a dance tune, this remix by Anna Oxygen includes the most fantastic bit of denied expectation I've ever come across. At exactly 00:34, just after the intro has turned edgy, we hear an inhale and the smallest catch of a throat, the sound of the thought of the first line being born. And then nothing. And then the beat drops.

#93

The Palm Sunday Tornado Hits Crystal Lake - Sufjan Stevens

Album: The Avalanche: Outtakes & Extras from the Illinois Album

Year: 2006

I have long had mixed feelings about the Sujan Stevens aesthetic. It's just always seemed gimmicky and superficial to me--too many carefully researched historical facts and anecdotes, too much orchestration and not enough soul. This little beauty of a throwaway track is the opposite of all that. It would have no place in a proper album but situated amongst the numerous outtakes from Illinois (can't imagine that Mr. Stevens is ever going to get through all 50 if he has this much to say about just one Midwestern state) it is a an oasis of simple, evocative perfection.

#92

The Drinker - The Phoenix Foundation

Album: Horsepower (US Release)

Year: 2004

Kiwi six-piece the Phoenix Foundation haven't gotten much attention this far above the equator aside from their contributions to the soundtrack for 2007 film Eagle vs. Shark, but this tremulous, sixties-steeped gem deserves more than a few listens. Trembling like any good Zombies track, 'The Drinker' evokes a garbled sense of longing and cowboy loneliness--think a deserted Western landscape miles under the ocean. The line "was the sort of night you feel like breakin out/or going out to vandalize the streets/but I stayed at this masquerade and had another drink" is the song's undeniable climax; it's surprising vehemence and tragic resignation get me every time.

#91

What's a Girl to Do? - Bat for Lashes

Album: Fur & Gold

Year: 2006

Natasha Khan makes a wicked Nancy Sinatra for our time, with a short layover at Stevie Nix. Digging those tribal "Be My Baby" drums. Love the spoken verses à la...every kitschy girl group of the 60's. Desperate, crying male romantic figure? Check. With its wailed chorus and theatrical portrayal of love gone off, 'What's a Girl to Do?" makes for a dark, mystical take on a set of already successful pop tropes.

Aaron's Best of the Decade: #100-91

2010-04-14T21:00:00.000-07:00

The aughts (2000-2009) were a decade of amazing musical development. I could wax poetic for pages about the convergences and divergences of genres, the rise of the internet as a tool for spreading music and the adoption of indie music by the mainstream, but I'd rather get straight to the good stuff. Amanda and I have distilled a decade with significant life importance for us (ages 15-25) into the 100 tracks each of us consider essential listening. We'll post ten tracks (each) at a time until we reach #50, at which point we'll slow down to five at a time to discuss each at further length, concluding with an individual track-by-track countdown of our five chart-toppers. Here goes:

Aaron

#100
Vampire Weekend - The Kids Don't Stand A Chance
Album: Vampire Weekend
Year: 2008

Vampire Weekend's self-titled debut album copped the Paul Simon Afro-pop sound something fierce and maintained a pleasant upbeat vibe throughout. After hearing it all hundreds of times, the standout track is the one that takes the road less traveled - "The Kids Don't Stand A Chance" is minimalist on an album that otherwise ignores the concept, tracing the spare elements of a gorgeous melody and topped by a surprisingly restrained Ezra Koenig.

#99
Rilo Kiley - Portions for Foxes
Album: More Adventurous
Year: 2004

Rilo Kiley's songwriting is always a good time, but their individual tracks only go as far as frontwoman Jenny Lewis takes them. On "Portions for Foxes" she spins a tale of sexual frustration, fraught with tension and regret. She makes it eminently clear that she is bad news, while the track is anything but...

#98
Simian Mobile Disco - I Believe
Album: Attack Decay Sustain Release
Year: 2007

Simian Mobile Disco aren't exactly the picture of consistency or class, but they attain their moment of perfection on "I Believe", melding the haunting synths of The Knife with the icy R&B of Junior Boys to devastating effect.

#97
Passion Pit - Moth's Wings
Album: Manners
Year: 2009

Passion Pit will always be divisive and intriguing because of his falsetto, and I was first drawn to the high-pitched histrionics of "Sleepyhead." After prodding and repeated plays by my roommate and my girlfriend, I've acquiesced - the melodramatic sparkle of "Moth's Wings" is the bee's knees.

#96
Radiohead - A Wolf At The Door
Album: Hail To The Thief
Year: 2003

Expectations were crushingly high for Radiohead in 2003 after the trio of OK Computer, Kid A and cast-offs album Amnesiac positioned them as simultaneously the most critically acclaimed rock band and electronic act on the planet. "A Wolf At The Door" called to mind their old-school cyclical guitar riffs paired with the eerie tone and pacing of their electronic masterpieces.

#95
The Long Winters - Cinnamon
Album: When I Pretend To Fall
Year: 2003

Seattle's own Long Winters write punchy, off-kilter pop with equal parts joy and regret. On "Cinammon", John Roderick distilled both into a tune that is so damn catchy they should have just sold out and mass-marketed themselves as pre-teen mixtape fodder.

#94
Kanye West - Diamonds From Sierra Leone (Remix f/Jay-Z)
Album: Late Registration
Year: 2005

Kanye and Jay-Z act out the essential conflict of hip-hop, with Kanye attempting a socially conscious narrative of his people in Africa and the exploitative diamond mines while Jay-Z pops up for a classic guest verse, rapping his way cleverly around the theme of diamonds without addressing any sort of meaning or responsibility. All that and a James Bond hook...

#93
Guided By Voices - Everywhere With Helicopter
Album: Universal Truths and Cycles
Year: 2002

Dayton, Ohio's own Guided by Voices rocked right through the 90's on Robert Pollard's lo-fi, short fuzz-pop gems, and entered the new decade eager to produce more of the same. "Everywhere with Helicopter" provides two and a half minutes of guitar aerobics with urgent vocals and a wonderful tension-ripping yelp at the 1:06 mark.

#92
Junior Boys - Teach Me How To Fight
Album: Last Exit

Year: 2004

Critically acclaimed from the get-go, Junior Boys' appeal slowly became apparent to me. "Teach Me How To Fight" hits none of the usual peppy benchmarks for an electronic piece and takes forever to get going, but the build from soft verses to emotional (but still soft) chorus somehow feels anthemic when given proper attention.

#91
Jim White - Static On The Radio
Album: Drill A Hole In That Substrate And Tell Me What You See

Year: 2004

"Static On The Radio" is an overlooked gem of the singer-songwriter genre. A wiggly little melody and wistful atmospherics provide the perfect envelope for Jim White's vividly poetic verses and Aimee Mann's sublime bridge and chorus.

Genealogy of a Remix: Blue Scholars - New People (Empire Remix)

2010-04-13T15:20:00.000-07:00

Inspired by a grooving new remix built from two excellent sources and a hot new solo track from a related artist, this post will take a page from Amanda's book and trace the genealogy of "New People (Empire Remix)" to its source material and a couple degrees beyond that, eventually linking it to "Circus Hounds (Superfly Gettin High)".

The remix that spawned this post, Seattle hip-hop frontrunners Blue Scholars take "New People" from their recent Oof! EP and mix the riff from the feel-good 2008 classic "Walking on a Dream" by Empire of the Sun into a funky backbone.

Blue Scholars - New People {Empire Remix}

One half of the remix, "Walking on a Dream" is an instant classic MGMT/Phoenix style electro-pop piece emerging from Australians Luke Steele and Nick Littlemore all the way back in summer 2008.

Empire of the Sun - Walking On A Dream

Taking it one more step back, Luke Steele of Empire of the Sun made his name fronting Down Under group The Sleepy Jackson in the earlier half of the decade. From the 2003 album Lovers, here is standout psych-pop track "Good Dancers" (given heavy airplay by Seattle indie radio station KEXP back in the day).

The Sleepy Jackson - Good Dancers

The other half of the featured remix, the Blue Scholars dropped these lyrics originally on this track from the Oof! Ep, recorded in MC Geologic's native Hawaii in 2009.

Blue Scholars - New People

Blue Scholars (composed of an MC, Geologic and a DJ, Sabzi) cemented their reputation as hip hop future stars on 2004 release Blue Scholars - check standout tracks "Blink" (the politically charged one) and "The Inkwell" (the pretty, Northwest-representing one).

Blue Scholars - Blink
Blue Scholars - The Inkwell

Common Market is another big name in contemporary Seattle hip hop, consisting of MC RA Scion paired with DJ Sabzi from the Blue Scholars. Here, Common Market remixes their track "Every Last One" with help on the mic from MC Geologic of Blue Scholars and fellow Seattle rapper Gabriel Teodros (of Abyssinian Creole). The three groups currently run the co-op Seattle label MASSLINE - stay tuned for future releases.

Common Market - Every Last One (Cornerstone Remix f/Geologic of Blue Scholars and Gabriel Teodros)

RA Scion (the MC from Common Market) has recorded an album with Everett-based beatmaker MTK that is just now making the rounds, named after RA Scion's alter ego Victor Shade. Check brand new track "Circus Hounds (Superfly Gettin High)" to hear their sound and the end point of today's arcing trajectory.

RA Scion - Circus Hounds (Superfly Gettin High)

New Music Monday!

2010-04-12T14:33:00.000-07:00

Liam Neeson turns slowly, dramatically, as the harsh light from the window behind the throne silhouettes him. His long, godly beard comes into view, pinned down to his armor (replete with CGI sparkles). His mouth moves, and from it the immortal syllables emerge: RELEASE THE NEW MUSIC (Monday)!

The beat is movin, just shuckin and jivin, with this unintelligible bass-y vocodered vocal sample, and here comes the melody line, all over the place in a good way, and OH MY GOD Big Boi is rapping over this beat and he is BACK y'all. Keep your ears to the streets for Sir Luscious Left Foot: The Son of Chico Dusty (currently due 7/6/2010) because this is a smokin hot dance jam with classic Outkast vocals and you can't help but cut a rug to this shutterbug. Play it loud and for the love of god with a subwoofer.

Big Boi - Shutterbug

LCD Soundsystem drop another song from the upcoming This Is Happening, more in line with previous work than party piece "Drunk Girls" and channeling a bit of Bowie if you ask me.

LCD Soundsystem - I Can Change

Canadians Stars (of the Broken Social Scene collective) nailed their soft, swooping sound two albums ago with Set Yourself On Fire but failed to suck me in with their last full-length (In Our Bedroom After The War). "Fixed" is the first advance track from the upcoming The Five Ghosts (due out 6/22), and while it's not a lighter-raising anthem, it promises that at the very least they will be doing some solid song-writing in their comfort zone.

Stars - Fixed

GROUP are young and under the radar, but very talented. "Colours" is the LA quintet's first song to see daylight and bodes well for them - cop this wonderful piece (with snatches of Isaac Brock-like vocals and soaring hooks and bridges) and be the first on your block to champion these future stars.

GROUP - Colors

I fear I'm somehow venturing into co-writer Amanda's territory here, as this music feels like it fits some of her check-boxes (low-profile, big hooks, 'ebullient' sound, British), but I can only speak for myself as far as opinions on Wolf Gang. He is good. Very good. The below pair of singles (released in second half 2009 and early 2010) are well-written, busy, and yes, ebullient, with an ear-candy sticky underside that demands repeat plays.

Wolf Gang - Pieces of You
Wolf Gang - The King and All His Men

Poet and American treasure Gil Scott-Heron (who we analyzed extensively in my Contemporary American Poetry class in undergrad) is back. He sounds weary and defeated here, and Nas joins him in a condemnation of New York's exhausting pace and lifestyle over a beat that clicks along snappily.

Gil Scott Heron - New York Is Killing Me (remix f/Nas)

The David Byrne (of Talking Heads) and Fatboy Slim collaborative album, Here Lies Love is out and it's... interesting. I'm not inclined to give it a particularly strong recommendation, but take a listen below to hear one of the more fun patches, featuring a personal favorite - trip-hop holdover vocalist Roisin Murphy.

David Byrne and Fatboy Slim - Don't You Agree (f/Roisin Murphy)

Oh Robyn. After lending your excellent vocals to Royksopp's "The Girl and the Robot" last year, it is so coldly, calculatingly logical of you to write song called "Fembot." On the plus side, it's a totally robo-funky party jam with slightly messy feminist undertones, boding well for her upcoming Body Talk Pt. 1.

Robyn - Fembot

THROWAWAY SYNTH-POP OF THE WEEK

I am fairly confident that Hey Champ read Daydream Station, discovered that I sometimes feature a Throwaway Synth-Pop act or song, and decided to form a band to write music for the express purpose of filling that slot. True or not, they certainly fit the bill - low-profile act drops a couple of free preview tracks to attempt to build blog hype, and this is round-peg-in-a-round-hole synth-pop. Catchy melodies, slightly icy synths, pretty but unremarkable vocals, completely lacking a sense of adventure in their songwriting. Wayyy too catchy for anyone's good, follow the links for free downloads.

Hey Champ - Cold Dust Girl
Hey Champ - Neverest

First Take: Jonsi - Go

2010-04-10T15:42:00.000-07:00

I've been hyping Jonsi since my very first blog post (Grand Opening). The frontman of critically acclaimed Icelandic prog maestros Sigur Ros, I was already convinced he would exhibit remarkable attention to detail throughout anything he saw fit to compose and release. As each of three advance tracks leaked, I became more and more intrigued - he literally filled each composition to the point of bursting with strings, bells, and virtually every other pleasant noisemaking device imaginable.

Go, the full LP, finally hit record store shelves this week. It follows through on the promise and tonal inclinations of the advance singles perfectly, resulting in a gorgeous (though excessively syrupy) listen. Jonsi has put together an album that is extremely rewarding on first listen and has plenty of detail waiting to reveal itself on the twentieth spin. I hesitate to say much more about the album itself, so I'll leave you with a few tracks and my strong encouragement to pick up a copy for yourself.

Jonsi is just embarking on his nationwide US tour, and I saw him perform at his second stop, the Showbox SoDo in Seattle, last night. He put on a wonderful show that you can't afford to miss, decked out in peacock-like garb and singing angelically. Photo courtesy of Lindsey Melvin, the birthday girl. Music download links at the bottom.

Tour Dates

Jonsi - Go Do
Jonsi - Tornado
Jonsi - Boy Lilikoi

Remix Roundup

2010-04-07T13:22:00.000-07:00

Kids, I confess I had big ambitions this week. I was envisioning a sort of "six degrees of remix roundup" post - everything was going to come full circle and transition beautifully. Until I got distracted by the ensuing awesome tracks and threw structure to the wind. Brits abound as usual. I'd apologize if they didn't deserve every word of praise I'm dishing out this week.

This one has been ALL OVER the blogosphere recently. And for good reason. Ted & Francis work magic on the tracks they remix. They call their particular brand of electropop "tropical pop" and unlike most self-assigned DJ genres, they're spot on, as this track demonstrates. The song fades in over crashing waves and breaks down over a sonic landscape that remind me of a beach volleyball game. Doesn't hurt that the original (get it here), by Irishmen Two Door Cinema Club - who you'd have to be living under a rock to escape from these days - is a catchy bit of delicious fluff, well turned out by these Aussies. Download now and play until summer's end.

Something Good Can Work (Ted & Francis Remix) - Two Door Cinema Club

A fantastic concoction of spooky, childlike vocal samples, tribal drums and Tobi O'Kandi's hammerlike, Krautrock-tinged vocals. Get out your Ouija boards and prepare to be creeped out like a giggling schoolgirl.

Dead Disco Dancer (The Golden Filter Remix) - O Children

Possessing enough slow motion cool for any cinematic glamour shot, this one comes to us from Scotland via London. The Aliens are comprised of several members of The Beta Band, which comes as no surprise if you've heard the psychedelic original. The remix is a stretched out cruise through rolling fields of golden wheat, and the 1970s. It's perfectly centered and justifies every second of its nearly ten minute playing time.

The Sunlamp Show (Disco Bloodbath Remix) - The Aliens

Your average Clock Opera song sounds like a perpetual joyous climax, so it's a delight to see him turn his talents to the darker flavor of the Golden Filter's single "Hide Me." This take is considerably more organic than its source material. There's a distinctly tactile quality to the twinkling backdrop (is that a hammered dulcimer I hear?) and the whole package creates a beautiful meld with Penelope Trappes' ethereal vocals.

Hide Me (Clock Opera Remix) - The Golden Filter

The Plastiscines: French kiddies (They were on Gossip Girl once: embarrassing). Les Petits Pilous: French grown-ups. This song: For all the times you just need a pants-shittingly loud banger.

Loser (Les Petits Pilous Remix) - The Plastiscines

Contrary to what it says below, This Post By Amanda.

New Music Monday!

2010-04-05T12:33:00.000-07:00

And on the eighth (first?) day, God said "Let There Be New Music Monday." Or something like that. I find it unlikely that God spoke English, but it seems probable that he endorsed the creation and promotion of interesting music. Children of Adam, take the words below as scripture and reap what I have sown...

Former Seattlites Band of Horses are readying the Infinite Arms LP for a May 18 release date. First available track "Compliments" sounds like you'd expect - they haven't shaken up their sound much, but it's not a bad start to what could be a very pleasant album.

Band of Horses - Compliments

Sage Francis is damn interesting, all of the time (a strong candidate for my favorite emcee). He writes with more intellect and emotion than you'd think possible while maintaining impressive rhyme schemes, and has penned essential screed after screed on love, life, politics and art. "Slow Man" is a bit of a change for him - not completely out of character, but it sounds to me like he is really channeling the blues here. He abandons some of his verbal acrobatics as a sing-songy tone enters his flow, pondering the pace of his life. When the album, Li(f)e, drops on May 11, you can bet I'll parse every lyric carefully, combing for bits of genius, and attend his Seattle show in early June.

Sage Francis - Slow Man

The blues-rock traditionalists drop another (get the first one here) track from their upcoming Brothers LP (due out May 18). "Next Girl" sports a hefty dose of reverb and, when the vocals kick in at 0:38, a Jimi Hendrix-mimicking vocal style that suits their guitar swagger.

The Black Keys - Next Girl

LCD Soundsystem wowed me with last release Sound of Silver, one of my favorite albums of 2007 peaking with one of my favorite tracks of all time (stay tuned for our Top 100 Tracks of the Decade countdown to find out which one). My hopes are high for This is Happening (due out May 18), but "Drunk Girls" sounds like a throwaway party song, certainly fun but not as gorgeous as when mastermind James Murphy slows it down and lets his songs build organically.

LCD Soundsystem - Drunk Girls

Another pair of tracks from Reflection Eternal, the all-star duo of Talib Kweli and DJ Hi-Tek. Revolutions Per Minute is currently projected to drop on May 11, and "Back Again" sports their playful old-school vibe while "Strangers" matches Talib against Bun B with both adopting a slurred yet quick-firing Southern flow. Get previously linked tracks here and here.

Reflection Eternal (Talib Kweli and Hi-Tek) - Back Again

Reflection Eternal (Talib Kweli and Hi-Tek) - Strangers (f/Bun B)

Unbeknownst to me, CocoRosie released three albums this decade as a pair of American sisters recording in Paris. For their newest, Grey Oceans (due out May 11), the girls have moved to iconic Northwest label Sub Pop Records, but maintain their (other)worldly sound. While not a direct comparison, the closest reference I can give you for the two tracks below is Bjork, due to the sisters' siren calls, simultaneously fragile and overpowering, and their slow-paced, rhythmically adventurous songwriting style.

CocoRosie - Smokey Taboo

CocoRosie - Lemonade

Tegan and Sara have put out a digital-only album consisting of 17 different artists remixing the same song, their very own track "Alligator." Other artists include Passion Pit, Four Tet, Dave Sitek (of TV on the Radio) and Ra Ra Riot (one half of Discovery). Toro y Moi treats it like one of his own tracks, giving it a glossy synth covering that comes and goes like clouds allowing you a peek at the sun and then storming back across the sky once again.

Tegan and Sara - Alligator (Toro y Moi Remix)

First Take: Goldfrapp - Head First

2010-03-31T14:01:00.000-07:00

Oh, what to do with this one? During their 10-year career together, Goldfrapp's inclination and - I would have heretofore argued - knack for reinvention has long been one of the act's strong suits. Their new album, Head First’s foray into the eighties has me questioning, however, if their many gear changes were the result of an invested dramatization of natural artistic drift or really just schtick.

Eighties synths have the distinction of being simultaneously majestic and fun, which is undoubtedly why their sound has been so often co-opted by the last few waves of electronic musicians seeking to make more than just diva dance hits for the floor. But Van She already made a delicate, by-turns-light-and-dark homage to the era in the form of 2008's V. And as far as eighties literalism goes, Neon Neon's Stainless Style was a far more ambitious effort, being also a concept album based on the life on John DeLorean. Hell, for that matter, Goldfrapp already made Supernature in 2005. Herein lies Head First's greatest frustration. In the musical climate of 2010 - where your Amanda Blanks, your Golden Filters and Bat for Lashes are prancing around on stage in feathers, embellished leotards and face paints, where fellow Englishwoman Little Boots is churning out mesmerizing dance pop for club kids and critics alike, and where above all you've got La Gaga, for whom every day is a reinvention - this album seems like it's just jumping on the bandwagon. When, in fact, Goldfrapp have been driving this bandwagon longer - and more elegantly - than any of the the above artists. Hey Lady Gaga, remember that peacock tail on the cover of Supernature?

Of course she does.

I'm not trying to suggest that it's surprising or even problematic that other performers have caught on to this formula. If the last two years are any indication, audiences are increasingly demanding this kind of spectacle on and off stage. But it is supremely unfortunate that Goldfrapp have decided to fall in line behind acts they had previously been influencing rather than break some new ground. Who wouldn't want to hear their take on Fleetwood Mac's golden years? Or the strains of early nineties R&B that are filtering in right now? I'd pay to see that show.

Within the vacuum, the album holds up better to criticism. The title track, my favorite of Head First's upbeat offerings, is - at base level - a catchy love song with plenty of grandiose chorus and swooning keyboards. "Hunt" starts off with a ticking disco beat and develops into the most typical Goldfrapp track on the album. The insistent chorus hearkens back to The Cars' crashing "Since You're Gone." The heavily manipulated vocal samples on "Voicething" work with its minimal bass line to evoke a sort of celestial jungle and its final swell of synth-cello is massive, epic, heroic. I wasn't wild about the first singe, "Rocket" but it's since grown on me. The blast-off effect at the beginning reminds me (probably not by accident) of the engine starting that kicks off Billy Ocean's "Get Out of My Dreams Get into My Car." Plus, I heard it in the club a few weeks ago and well, I was dancing and singing along just like everyone else. Let's, however, forget about "I Wanna Life" which has 2/3 of its title and 7/8 of its melody in common with a Phil Collins song on the Tarzan soundtrack.

Don't get me wrong, I like this album. I like most of the songs. I think they function well as a unit. I anxiously await the next crop of remixes. Just don't color me impressed. It didn't take Goldfrapp and Gregory to give us Head First.

Goldfrapp - Head First
Goldfrapp - Hunt
Goldfrapp - Voicething
Van She - Kelly
Neon Neon - I Told Her On Alderaan

Contrary to what it says below, this post written by Amanda.

New Music Monday!

2010-03-29T19:09:00.000-07:00

New Music Monday doesn't get much bigger than this - check out the bounty below and get excited for the upcoming music release season!

The sun-drenched Barcelona tunesmiths are back, with Subiza coming out in the US on June 8 (the damn Europeans are already grooving to it). Lead single and first track "Stay Close" exhibits everything I loved about last summer's Ayrton Senna EP and standout track "Seasun" - just sit back and let it wash you away.

Delorean - Stay Close

The official first single from upcoming release Together (due out May 4), "Crash Years" is catchy, Neko Case-powered pop in their usual tradition. It's not on par with first leaked track "Your Hands (Together)" (get it here), which reeks of pop virtuoso A.C. Newman, but few songs are.

The New Pornographers - Crash Years

Canadian indie star collective Broken Social Scene (home to Feist, Metric, Stars and more) is putting out their third studio album, Forgiveness Rock Record, on May 4. First leaked track "World Sick" (here) was long, epic and slow, but "All to All" and "Forced to Love" show their true fractured pop sensibility nicely.

Broken Social Scene - All to All

Broken Social Scene - Forced to Love

Dubstep bass behemoth Joker (previously discussed here) has dropped a couple of more tracks on us recently, prepping for (though he says they won't be included on) his first full-length studio album. Keep your fingers crossed that it hits record store shelves in 2010, as currently projected.

Joker - Tron

Joker - City Hopper

The Dead Weather are one of Jack White's side projects, debuting with a 2009 album and prepping another for 2010 release. In the meantime, check out this re-do of "Treat Me Like Your Mother" featuring vocals from borderline emo, socially conscious hip hop emcee Slug (from Atmosphere).

The Dead Weather - Treat Me Like Your Mother (Z-Trip Remix f/Slug of Atmosphere)

Electro-poppers Zero 7 are remixed by DJ Danger Mouse (of The Grey Album and Gnarls Barkley fame) with added vocals from masked mad rapper MF Doom. As indie rock re-worked by a DJ featuring new vocals from a hip hop emcee remixes go, this one beats out "Treat Me Like Your Mother" (above) by a decent margin.

Zero 7 - Somersault (Danger Mouse remix f/MF Doom)

First single from blues-rock throwbacks The Black Keys' upcoming release, Brothers (due out May 18). Their raw, rootsy sound is what it always is, so if you dig it, you'll feel right at home on this one.

The Black Keys - Tighten Up

Talib Kweli and DJ Hi-Tek are back together as Reflection Eternal for the upcoming Revolutions Per Minute album (due out May 11, if it's not pushed back again). "In This World" nicely previews Talib's classic vocal stylings and Hi-Tek's distinctly backpacker beats.

Talib Kweli and Hi-Tek - In This World

The Hold Steady, for those who haven't met them, worship at the altar of Bruce Springsteen, with literate bar-band spoken/yelled vocals and riff-tastic songs galore. For those who do know them, they've repeatedly promised that new album Heaven is Whenever will be a change of direction away from the big, anthemic sound they've been hammering away at for years. Lead single "Hurricane J" belies that statement badly, as big, catchy and rough sounding as anything they've produced to date.

The Hold Steady - Hurricane J

Brooklynites The National have garnered significant critical acclaim for the thoughtful, noisy records they've put out over most of the decade. Upcoming album High Violet promises more indie-prog goodness, as lead single "Blood Buzz Ohio" pulls no punches from their signature impressionistic, Dylanesque lyrics and rough-edged yet precise composition.

The National - Blood Buzz Ohio

An Exploration of Personal Branding and Pop Culture - The MTV Generation pt. 2

2010-03-28T12:09:00.000-07:00

Read Part 1 Here.

After finishing Part 1 with a pair of quotes from our generation's pop culture commentary on itself, I'll begin Part 2 with a fresh duo.

"Listen up, maggots. You are not special. You are not a beautiful or unique snowflake. You're the same decaying organic matter as everything else."
Tyler Durden, Fight Club

"If I'm going to marry someone, she has to be perfect... Well, it's not like I have a list... Attractive, college-educated. She wants two kids, a boy and a girl. She likes dogs, Otis Redding, does the crossword. She's into sports, but not so much so that her legs are, like, more muscular than mine. That weirds me out. And she plays bass guitar like Kim Deal from the Pixies. Or Kim Gordon from Sonic Youth. Any Kim from any cool band, really."
Ted Mosby, How I Met Your Mother

One complaint commonly levied at Generation Y is a sense of entitlement (often out of proportion to our actual efforts and achievements). We were raised with unconditional love, constant praise and a trophy for every kid on the team. This manifests itself constantly in our interaction with our workplaces, career decisions, finances, relationships with family and our search for love.

A note on our sense of entitlement as it pertains to both school and work: It often displays as either an inflated sense of our own talents and intelligence, or an inherent belief that we are deserving of our position regardless of the work ethic we display. Reading about these attributes that we exhibit triggered a round of self-examination, with mixed results. In the workplace, I consistently work my butt off. Extra hours? Fine. On call? You bet. If there is something undone, I willingly go out of my way to solve it personally and innovate within a system to proactively prevent the situation from recurring. In short, I do my best to display the traditional nose-to-the-grindstone work ethic in addition to the initiative and creativity that hallmark our generation's talents.

However, when examining my roller coaster experience doing undergraduate work at Oberlin College, I find significantly more red flags. Despite the hefty price tag ($40K a year is no joke) that my parents paid into and I took out significant loans to cover, I regarded my position there as a given, something that I was entitled to because of my intelligence and the diversity of interests and strengths that earned my initial admission. I took advantage of the resources at the institution to further explore my interests without placing significant value on simple academic discipline. When I survey my seven semesters at Oberlin, it is clear that I didn't waste them playing videogames and drinking. I earned a spot on the varsity tennis team, traveled to Big 10 tournaments with the table tennis club and captained the men's Ultimate frisbee team. I traveled to Guatemala and I expanded my cultural knowledge through literature and cinema coursework in my Hispanic Studies major. I wrote the syllabus for, applied to teach and successfully executed an accredited course on Calvin and Hobbes which continued onwards in the hands of some of my students. I helped organize a program to train and bring college students into every classroom in the Oberlin public elementary schools to teach Spanish twice per week, and volunteered to teach in three separate classrooms when we were short on instructors. However, I consistently brought back B's and C's and dropped a couple of classes when I fell too far behind, earning myself only three years of completed coursework before I left Oberlin.

The ability to accept basic, sometimes boring requirements and display dedication throughout is the very definition of discipline, and our generation lacks it. We bounce, free as ADD, from one source of stimulation to the next in search of the right pieces to construct our personal identity. We believe our jobs should be personally fulfilling, but overlook that we need to prove we deserve those positions. We want responsibility and creative control, but forget to pay our dues in the hierarchy. To be honest, more damning than any of these characteristics is how terrible we are at taking criticism. I have friends, exceptional ones, who generally avoided the above pitfalls and vices, but I am not sure I've met anyone from Generation Y who handles professional criticism well, and I wonder if this is because of how much our work is now a part of our identity. If I equate a significant part of my personal worth with my work, then criticism of my work is criticism of who I am. If my job in the non-profit industry brands me as someone who cares (Oberlin's old motto, the one that attracted me: "Think One Person Can Change The World? So Do We"), then criticism of the work I've produced suddenly equates to questioning how much I really do care.

The same concept can easily extend across to any other aspects I've included in my personal brand. I am a music blogger, so music is a part of my personal brand, one of the little arms of my unique snowflake. If someone hears me playing TV On The Radio and asks why I'm listening to music that sounds like it's made by stupid hipsters from Brooklyn, by the transitive property they are insulting me as well. Here is where we start to get into the search for love.

If we twenty-somethings are all unique little snowflakes floating towards the ground displaying our personally fulfilling careers, sophisticated taste in pop culture and cool hairstyles, most of us want to hit the ground in our mid-thirties right next to a similarly designed (or complementary) snowflake, preferably with a nice house and a kid or two. Getting from A to B will already be challenging enough given our desire to travel the world and be choosy about the jobs we accept. To complicate matters further, you have to actually find that person.

The two quotes at the end of Part 1 illustrate our debates over how much we need to have in common with another person to date them. I think we can all agree it's more fun to date someone who shares a lot of common interests - if you can go rock climbing together and then enjoy a microbrew while listening to the new LCD Soundsystem album, then your date doesn't involve making any sacrifices - you're doing exactly what you'd be doing with your friends anyway. This seems ideal from a Generation Y standpoint, as it essentially maintains what we feel we are entitled to (composing our life of the parts of our preferred personal brand) without requiring significant sacrifice. Sure, you eventually have to learn how to compromise to work through the inevitable rough spots, but we've all heard "relationships are hard work" enough times that we can accept the necessity. It still seems like dating someone who likes the same activities and brands themselves with the same pieces of pop culture as you is a win-win situation.

It is, however, very different from past generations. They paired off at younger ages and, depending on how far back we go, were lucky to have one or two major unifying factors. Often the primary shared interest very quickly became raising mutual children or managing finances, leaving obsolete the myriad factors we Gen Y-ers are using as our criteria. Sure, they succeeded at continuing the human race and advancing our society to where it is today, but isn't it a sign of progress that we are looking for real love?

Perhaps that depends on the criteria we are using. Sadly, that awesome Pavement album you both adore isn't going to be of much use when you're arguing over who gets up to feed the baby. Even your shared love of gardening will wither if the economic crisis dries up your nest egg and tough decisions have to be made. Lori Gottlieb took a lot of heat for her recent book Marry Him: The Case for Settling for Mr. Good Enough (and the title is indeed unnecessarily inflammatory), but she writes with remarkable poise about recognizing what qualities make up a successful partnership. It turns out that our fantasies about locking eyes across a crowded room and dancing all night don't exhibit significant statistical correlation with successful marriages. The feminist ideals of generations slightly older than us left them in the position to write regretfully about misplacing their priorities in search of Mr. Right, but their experiences pale compared to what we may be about to put ourselves through.

If it helps, I've got no useful answers. It seems smart to spend your twenties with someone who does overlap with your personal brand, to maximize your enjoyment of life while you are young and free. However, if we hit thirty without having invested in our love life the same discipline and recognition of paying dues that we're still finding in our careers, it may not be easy to transform overnight into someone who knows how to evaluate real compatibility. Best of luck to you, though...

Finally, here are the latter ten tracks I am branding myself with, pre-2000. Part 1 brought us up to 1992, so here is one more ingredient (1992-1999) of my personal brand.

Nirvana - Heart-Shaped Box (1993)
The conflicted poster boys of grunge had already overshot their expectations with Nevermind and Kurt went back to write a personal piece with "Heart-Shaped Box." Somehow his bitterness towards women (nice work, Courtney) comes off as raggedly gorgeous, laden with heavy riffs and vaginal imagery.

Built To Spill - Distopian Dream Girl (1994)
These indie elder statesmen etched out their part of the canon with an unreal run of brilliant records in the 90's (There's Nothing Wrong With Love, Perfect From Now On, Keep It Like A Secret). From the first of the above, Doug Martsch lets his guitar loose and nails the early 90's Pixies/Pavement catchy yet DIY sound as one of their contemporaries, no less.

The Notorious B.I.G. - Juicy (1994)
The first (but far from the last) hip hop song on this list, Biggie Smalls was a force of nature behind the mic. From his prophetic debut album Ready To Die, "Juicy" is still the gold standard, a rags to riches Bronx tale.

DJ Shadow - Building Steam With A Grain Of Salt (1996)
Nothing sounded like this in 1996. Nothing has sounded like it since, either, but not for lack of imitators. DJ Shadow's Endtroducing is still one of the most intense open-to-close listening experiences on record, and "Building Steam With A Grain Of Salt" really deserves to be listened to at night, driving somewhere in a car, definitely within sight of the ocean. Moon optional. Head-nodding required.

Bjork - Joga (1997)
Bjork is a very strange lady, but she's made her mark with fearless songwriting, abandoning traditional structure to an extent that leaves other artists uncomfortable and envious. "Joga" lays down swooning strings and echoing percussion for her adventurous lyricism, and the experience is unforgettable.

Radiohead - Paranoid Android (1997)
The highlight of the album that defined the 90's. OK Computer said "Fuck Brit-Pop" and went on a distorted Pink Floyd-esque trip down paranoia lane, peaking early as Thom promises "When I am king you will be first against the wall" accompanied by a pair of mind-wrecking guitar solos.

Wu-Tang Clan - Triumph (1997)
The essential Staten Island kung-fu rap collective blasted onto the scene early in the decade, but nothing displayed their lyrical muscle like the posse cut "Triumph." Five-plus minutes of eloquent threats and violent metaphor, completely eschewing a chorus or even a chance to catch your breath.

Aceyalone - The Guidelines (1998)
After honing his skills in the Freestyle Fellowship, Aceyalone went solo and took his wordplay with him. "The Guidelines" is a manual on internal rhyme, assonance and metaphor dripping all over a dusty, sighing beat.

Black Star - Respiration (1999)
Still my favorite hip-hop track of all time, Mos Def, Talib Kweli and Common brought beauty to the slums with this anthem to nighttime in the city. The lyrical content can take a thousand listens to parse properly, but it only takes one to realize that these three emcees truly are in sync with the heartbeat of the metropolis.

The Dismemberment Plan - Gyroscope (1999)
As the glory days of Pavement and The Pixies faded away with the decade, it was easy to notice just how terrible the crap on the radio was (Nickelback, Creed, Linkin Park) and give up on rock music (notice the previous three tracks were hip hop). But somewhere out there, someone had dreamed a dream of a type of music that was actually new. The Dismemberment Plan fucked with rhythm, chipped away at guitars and almost sung - and somehow all of these oddly aimed attempts at musicianship empowered them to write something I had never heard before. "Gyroscope" is truly groundbreaking two and a half minute paean to the moment of breaking up, and its poignant sting refuses to fade.

Remix Roundup

2010-03-24T09:00:00.000-07:00

Amanda is back with a fresh set of wildly original remakes. Grab these irresistible beats while you can and stay tuned for tri-weekly updates!

I mistakenly identified Fear of Tigers as a "bunch of London dudes" in my last post, when it is actually just the one London dude, a Mr. Benjamin Berry. "I Can Make the Pain Disappear" is the first track of his 2009 album Cossus Sufsigalonica. It's essentially a mainstream dance tune (You'd better believe that’s Robin Thicke on vocals). Monsieur Adi is an Italian DJ whose MySpace bio reads "sounds like dirty European aristocracy." I don't know much about that but I keep coming back to the way this mix sparkles, rises, trips, slows, ponderously picks itself up and finishes jumping and shouting. Sort of beautiful, really.

Fear of Tigers - I Can Make the Pain Disappear (Monsieur Adi Remix)

I haven’t been much into any of the reworkings by or of London’s The XX (I’ll even say that I just don’t think their Florence and the Machine “You’ve Got the Love” experiment is all that) but this is something else. Where the original is sweet, bordering on twee at times, Texan Matthew Dear gives us something kick ass. It’s like the song playing in the background of a really pretty alright house party in a movie while something nice and long-awaited is happening to a character everyone likes. The soft vocals meld with a layered set of funky kicks, claps and clicks building to a bashfully awesome, smile-inducing crescendo that really pays off. “VCR” in its inceptive incarnation is a terribly private, intimate song; the remix is a seamless translation of those sentiments, of that romance, into the world outside.

The XX - VCR (Matthew Dear Remix)

May68 are from Manchester and this here is their debut single, officially released last week, and remixed here by Parisian DJs Acid Washed, who are a nice contrast to the other textbook glam Frenchies featured this week. A pretty decent little banger, this is a must listen for its unwavering tension, rattling, empty-warehouse intensity and stark, echoing vocals.

May68 - My Ways (Acid Washed Remix)

Kavinsky, AKA France’s Vincent Belorgey, is back with a new EP out this Friday. The title track features Lovefoxxx of Brazil's CSS (remember them?) I couldn’t pick a favorite between these two mixes so I decided to share them both and let you decide. Breakbot is one of Ed Banger records’ darlings and has done remixes for "bloghouse" firstwavers Pnau and Ladyhawke. His take is decidedly French disco, sunny and upbeat without ever actually being uptempo—it’s subtly done and the song is the better for it. As a clever extra, Breakbot has replaced the original, titular night call--a lone wolf howl--with the ringing of a telephone. By contrast, German artist MMMatthias kicks up the beat and the meandering synths for a punchy zombie dance duet with a skillful fade-in/fade-out malignancy.

Kavinsky - Nightcall (f/Lovefoxxx) (Breakbot Remix)

Kavinsky - Nightcall (f/Lovefoxxx) (MMMathias Remix)

Contrary to what it says directly below this, this post brought to you by Amanda.

New Music Monday!

2010-03-22T13:28:00.000-07:00

Often referred to as "the worst-received idea since Kool-Aid's 1989 discontinuation of 'The Grapist,' a huge purple monster who sodomizes thirsty children," it's New Music Monday! (ripped off from The Onion, which apparently is fair game?).

The Brooklyn phenoms just dropped their second album, Fang Island, and they did not forget to bring the fun. The joyous "Life Coach" boasts funky stabs of instrumentation under eminently chant-able vocals, as immediately catchy as anything from MGMT's first album but with more crunch than slickness.

Fang Island - Life Coach

Genre-crossing always pulls me in for a second (and usually third) listen, and "Da Cali Anthem" is no exception. Dubstep bruiser Rusko takes Roger Troutman's severely auto-tuned vocal clips from Tupac Shakur's legendary "California Love" and strings them out across a bed of dubstep percussion and heavy synths, resulting in a (mildly repetitive) anthem that still may deserve a spot on your next sunny weather playlist.

Rusko - Da Cali Anthem

Straight-up classic rock. From the 70's, clearly. No? Brand new? Well, if people are still making this stuff, it'd better be good. Really? Pretty solid? Handclaps, a nice chorus and an interlude in the middle that doesn't devolve into guitar masturbation? How... original.

Free Energy - Hope Child

This really, really sounds like the music David Bowie should be making, right now. Can someone please get him involved with British producer Primary 1? A harmony of those two voices and sensibilities would be mind-boggling, but in the meantime Nina Persson of The Cardigans offers a nice counterpoint on this very restrained, deftly-woven piece that will assuredly be stuck in your head.

Primary 1 - The Blues (f/Nina Persson)

The Morning Benders' sophomore album has finally dropped (get the first two very catchy lead singles here) and "Wet Cement" is yet more proof that adding Grizzly Bear member Chris Taylor paid off, with a tune that sounds like classic Brit-Pop given a prog-rock twist by way of California.

The Morning Benders - Wet Cement

The DJ duo drop another one sporting Roisin's vocals (get the last one here) and it screams with immediacy. Flirty bass and frantic vocals suck you right in and won't let go - impressively good.

Crookers - Hold Up Your Hand (f/Roisin Murphy)

Goldfrapp's newest, Head First, has leaked and it is side-ponytail-level 80's. I'm not sure I'm impressed - Goldfrapp has got the talent to do more than this, but "Alive" does showcase a momentum-building sensibility that's hard to resist. Judge for yourself.

Goldfrapp - Alive

Flying Lotus is a rare breed, a cutting-edge Dubstep producer who calls America home. His debut album, Los Angeles, came screaming out of Warp Records last year to critical acclaim, and the follow-up promises to be similarly trippy. Warning: Distinct lack of traditional musical structure ahead...

Flying Lotus - Computer Face/Pure Being

A fun aside to prime you for the Jonsi full-lenth (it leaked, and it's unbelievable), this time Sigur Ros' frontman stops in at the BBC for an in-studio session and covers MGMT's "Time To Pretend" as a slow-building piano ballad. Get three lead tracks for the upcoming Go here, here and here, and stay tuned for a write-up of the full album.

Jonsi - Time To Pretend (MGMT Cover)

An Exploration of Personal Branding and Pop Culture - The MTV Generation pt. 1

2010-03-20T03:31:00.000-07:00

I find myself fascinated by the concept of personal branding, particularly in the way that the generations currently aged 15-30 use it in daily life. The term 'personal branding' entered the marketing lexicon a good 30 years ago, but has recently taken on significant clout in the dual worlds of celebrity personal branding and the use of social media networking and marketing as a form of personal branding. Many businesspeople do in fact build their brand online by positioning themselves as 'experts' in a field through carefully aimed personal and professional blogs, social media profiles, topical tweets and more. Their name becomes inseparable from their body of work, and any new project they launch has the power and momentum of their personal brand behind it.

Amanda and I are working through our top 100 songs of the past decade (2000-2009) at the moment, and will be sharing them with you in the near future. This will absolutely be an attempt to build the brand of our blog - through experiencing the songs we choose to brand ourselves with, you will both identify with us ("oh, yeah, I LOVE that song, they have really great taste") and learn to respect us as credible experts ("wow, that song is amazing, I can't believe I've never heard it before, they sure have great taste and I'm lucky they let me read about it"). Win-win, right? In all earnestness, these songs are chosen with the intent to share our favorite tunes with you, but they will also be incorporated into our brand, our image, and so by affiliating ourselves with these songs we can create certain associations and gain credibility. It's not as manipulative as it sounds. If anything, it's unavoidable because of the makeup of the generation to which we (and the majority of our readers) belong.

I believe that there is an unprecedented level of pop culture saturation surrounding persons aged 15-30, with some mild splash effect beyond that. The sheer amount of information and media at our fingertips is staggering, sometimes to the point of being intimidating. Like an actor in that new TV series? Look him up on IMDB, see a couple of films that he's in via Netflix, memorize that director that he loves to work with, and two weeks later you're casually dropping Chiwetel Ejiofor's awesome name in conversation at a party and mentioning his chemistry with director Spike Lee and writer Michael Genet, each of whom he's worked with on two projects (one overlapping), and how you've heard rumors that the three have a new project featuring Mia Wasikowski from Alice In Wonderland (not true... yet). With this amount of information easily available, there comes a burden to be knowledgeable in any area that is a significant part of your personal brand. If you loved Radiohead's The Bends and OK Computer albums, people will look at you askance when you share that you've never actually listened to Kid A or Amnesiac.

The breadth of information and media available also places a stigma on those who simply buy into an existing brand, especially if that brand is seen as sell-out or corporate. Your clothing style had better not just be off the rack from American Eagle and Abercrombie, or even 100% hipster-certified from Urban Outfitters. Vintage stores and boutiques are essential to creating your personal look, if fashion is one of the areas in which you brand yourself. Butt-ugly but ironic is revered over handsome and generic. This phenomenon stretches even farther when it comes to music. The Clear Channel radio conglomerate runs virtually all of the pop, rock and rap music stations in every major American media marketplace. If you fall into this age group and simply take your cues from what "the man" and his market researchers place on the radio, you're regarded as a mindless drone suckling at the teats of the corporate cash cow.

Opportunities to create and share your personal brand are everywhere. My Nalgene waterbottle (a brand I've now associated myself with) is covered with stickers. There is an ACLU Supporter badge, a Threadless tee-shirts sticker, Barack Obama's "Yes We Did" decal, a "Play Ultimate" design and more. These aren't all 'brands' that sell you products, but they do all have conceptual associations that are now part of the personal brand I am projecting. Social networking sites offer you the chance to brand yourself further, especially in regards to pop culture. When Facebook blew up, before the photo albums and events became indispensable and the 'news feed' cloned Twitter's format, it offered you one space to discuss your 'interests' as a general concept and an additional one space each for the three major media types: 'favorite books,' 'favorite movies,' and 'favorite music.' There was still a news feed back then, but this was before you even had a 'status' to update or links to post. The news feed was literally a catch-all of changes that your friends made to their personal profile. The cute guy in your Biology class just updated his favorite movies and he added Love Actually. *Swoon*. Your friend from high school went to a big state university that just now got Facebook, so she finally friended you and apparently she is also in love with that hot new Arcade Fire album, Funeral. Quick, post on her wall about it!

We literally spent time updating our profiles as a way of modifying the personal brand that we were projecting to our peers through our taste in pop culture consumption and our interests, and we read about it every time someone else did the same. That is what Facebook was focused on when it made it big among America's liberal elite college students and began its ascent past MySpace into internet superstardom. They tapped into our subconscious desire to project a 'cool' personal brand, even if we didn't know what exactly we were doing, and we in turn spent our time and energy using their network. I think it truly says something about the extent to which we use pop culture to brand ourselves that we responded better to Facebook (a simple profile form with the aforementioned 'favorite media' focus) than we did to MySpace, which arguably offered far more freedom in terms of personal design of your profile page. You could brand yourself more uniquely on MySpace, but apparently not in the ways we cared about. Disclaimer: I am oversimplifying the Facebook vs. MySpace battle by only discussing it in one category - obviously there were also design elements, elitist status and constantly adapting functions at play, among many other factors.

This train of thought will be continued (and expanded into the realm of interpersonal relationships) in the upcoming part two, but until then I will leave you with two things. First, a pair of dueling quotes selected out of two books/movies from the past decade that deal heavily in matters of pop culture, romance and personal branding. These will inform some of my investigations in the sequel to this post. Second, an attempt to brand myself through music. I won't share with you anything from or since the year 2000 in an effort to save that for our upcoming Top 100 feature. Instead, I've compiled the 20 songs I'd like to brand myself with (and share with you) that were recorded and released prior to the year 2000. This post will receive the first ten (chronologically - I will not attempt to rank these) and the sequel post will contain the latter ten. Enjoy.

"A while back, when Dick and Barry and I agreed that what really matters is what you like, not what you *are* like, Barry proposed the idea of a questionnaire for potential partners, a 2 or 3 page multiple-choice document that covered all the music/film/TV/book bases. It was intended: a) to dispense with awkward conversation, and b) to prevent a chap from leaping into bed with someone who might, at a later date, turn out to have every Julio Iglesias record ever made. It amused us at the time... But there was an important and essential truth contained in the idea, and the truth was that these things matter, and it's no good pretending that any relationship has a future if your record collections disagree violently, or if your favorite films wouldn't even speak to each other if they met at a party."

Rob Fleming (High Fidelity, by Nick Hornby)

"Just because she likes the same bizzaro crap you do doesn't mean she's your soul mate."
Rachel Hansen (500 Days of Summer)

Bob Dylan - Like A Rolling Stone (1965)
The song that re-defined everything about songwriting and inspired the youth of the era to create a wildly successful namesake magazine.

The Velvet Underground - Venus In Furs (1967)
The band whose sound likely had the most direct influence over the past decade of indie music recorded a clanging beauty with perfect pacing and delicious lyrics about sadomasochism.

The Rolling Stones - Gimme Shelter (1969)
The classic rock juggernauts wrote a perfectly timed war protest song that captures everything about the urgent and beautiful terror of the American psyche in the midst of the Vietnam War.

Pink Floyd - Brain Damage (1973)
I don't know how many psychedelic drugs it takes to see the dark side of the moon, but Pink Floyd captured some authentic moments of beauty in their eternal quest.

David Bowie - Rebel Rebel (1974)
The man who created every indie trope from the 70's aside from punk shows that he damn well could have written that book, too. He veered the opposite way (towards Brian Eno) later in the decade with standout album Low, but he followed his early-70's Ziggy Stardust persona with this pseudo-materialistic gem that milks an absurdly simple riff the Ramones and Buzzcocks spent years trying to replicate.

Iggy Pop - The Passenger (1977)
Bowie got his sticky fingers all over Iggy midway through the decade and, sequestering him away from the Stooges and his various drug issues, in a single year co-wrote and produced The Idiot and Lust for Life, a pair of career-defining albums. From the latter, "The Passenger" is a man's poetic view of a city through the glass, as well as an excellent metaphor for a drug trip.

The Clash - London Calling (1979)
The quintessential song of the British Punk revolution, The Clash's inclusion of reggae rhythms and riffs lent their take on punk a variability lacking in the straight-ahead cock-rock of the Ramones. Bitter, political lyrics topped off with a ridiculously combustible chorus.

Sonic Youth - Teen Age Riot (1988)
The opening track from Daydream Nation, this blog's quasi-namesake album, and the source for our tagline, "Looking for a ride to your secret location." After a minute and a half of build-up, the riffs take off and lead into an unflinchingly classic indie single, showing that you could use guitar distortion to sketch a fractured take on traditional beauty.

The Pixies - Here Comes Your Man (1989)
The single most influential "Alternative" band of all time, The Pixies wrote their perfect album with Doolittle and "Here Comes Your Man" was their proof that creating catchy music is practically effortless. The hook and bridge are as sticky as bubblegum-pop, giving an album of jaggedly perfect riffs and snarling vocals a sweet, grounded center.

My Bloody Valentine - Only Shallow (1992)
The band that defined shoegaze (sorry, Slowdive, my apologies, Ride) created an album of flawless ebb-and-flow out of evanescent, gauzy vocals over washed-out guitars. When you start Loveless, you can't do anything but let it play through, and you'd never think to start it anywhere but opener "Only Shallow," with an inviting squeal of urgency in its siren-like refrain.

To Be Continued...

March Madness

2010-03-17T09:00:00.000-07:00

It's March again, and NCAA Basketball is about to give us the three most vasectomy-filled weekends of the year. Sixty-five teams composed of "amateur" student-athletes (magically driving Hummers and Escalades) will make their way across the country and battle it out in four regions for the right to march into Indianapolis for the Final Four. The Washington Huskies, my local team, underachieved for most of the season but are on a hot streak lately, so I'll probably just bet my life savings on them. A few musical predictions:

Notorious B.I.G. - Mo Money Mo Problems

The media will neglect to mention that John Calipari, being paid $31.65 million over 8 years to coach #1 seed Kentucky, has previously guided TWO teams (UMass in 1995, Memphis in 2008) to the best records in school history and Final Four berths, only to promptly leave for greener pastures while entire seasons' worth of accomplishments and wins were stripped from each school and erased from the record books because of rules violations during his tenures. Dirtbags like this are all across college basketball, and yet somehow Calipari's dress shoes won't have a lick of mud on them come late March in Indianapolis.

Blackalicious - Passion

Players across the country will show their grit and determination, but none will display their passion as outwardly as #2 seed West Virginia coach Bob Huggins. Too bad he recruits bruising, physical players with troubled pasts and boasts some of the lowest graduation rates in NCAA history.

Spoon - The Underdog

Everyone loves the Cinderella story. Cornell will be the popular pick this year - after winning the Ivy League convincingly and shooting lights out from three point-range, their surprisingly low #12 seed almost begs you to pick them over #5 Temple. Watch out, though - the Big Red may walk right into the teeth of Temple's stingy defense and get chewed up.

Public Enemy - He Got Game

Kentucky's John Wall is the latest freshman sensation to hit college basketball, and this is your one season to see him before he goes #1 overall in next year's NBA draft. The kid is a big, speedy talented point guard with excellent court vision. If his three-point shot starts falling again, so will opposing teams.

Dent May and His Magnificent Ukulele - College Town Boy

Evan Turner of #2 seed Ohio State has spent three years in college, a true rarity for a player of his talents. The nation's most complete player, he can do it all, from flashy breakaway dunks to game-winning buzzer beaters, making Ohio State mandatory viewing. His stock is soaring right beneath John Wall's, and with NBA salaries beckoning, I'd be shocked if he stayed a college town boy in Columbus and became that rarest of things, a four-year college basketball star.

Brother Ali - Champion

Kansas, led by Sherron Collins and Cole Aldrich, is just too talented. From size to scoring depth, they will bring the whole package and win it all. Love Brother Ali's opening line here: "I'm chokin players like I'm Bob Knight." What a gentleman's game, indeed.

David Barrett - One Shining Moment

When the final buzzer has sounded and the nets are being cut down, CBS will play the schlocky anthem "One Shining Moment" over the winning team's highlight reel. It will suck and be boring and be a terrible song that should be replaced by anything, anything at all, even Coldplay. Unless you are a fan of the winning team, in which case it might be the single most enjoyable musical experience of your life. Bastard.

New Music Monday!

2010-03-16T14:45:00.000-07:00

Come one, come all to witness the strange, grotesque wonders contained herein. Birthed in a den of deformity and dark magic, it is the one and only New Music Monday!

Ariel Pink has been around for the better part of a decade, making a lot of the music that inspired the current Glo-Fi/Chillwave trend. Here, he finally cleans it up, putting together a wholly unique, well-produced song with a gorgeous throwback 70's AM-pop chorus. "Round and Round" takes a couple listens to come together as a whole, but it is flawless in each of its myriad small flourishes.

Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti - Round And Round

MGMT are back and are... weird? After laying down the recipe for the current synth-pop trend, they are in the mood to shake it up. A pair of advance tracks from the forthcoming Congratulations (due out April 13) show them cribbing from mega-ADD narrative popsters Fiery Furnaces on cracked-out lead single "Flash Delirium" and twee mainstays Belle and Sebastian on "Congratulations" (from 1:17 to 1:36 I couldn't believe I wasn't listening to Stuart Murdoch). Wild, weird stuff - definitely not boring.

MGMT - Flash Delirium
MGMT - Congratulations

Neon Indian have graduated from the Glo-Fi vanguard of last summer by releasing a fun new free single from Mountain Dew's Green Label Sound. "Sleep Paralysist" sports hyperactive synths and a moderately active vocal melody, yet characteristic of their sound, the mix buries the vocals within the layers of production, creating a surprisingly relaxing listening experience.

Neon Indian - Sleep Paralysist

Cults came out of nowhere to sweep across the blogosphere over the past couple of weeks - lo-fi production aside, "Go Outside" is infectious enough to see why everyone wants the duo to think of themselves as a real band (not a pair of film students) and focus on creating some more music.

Cults - Go Outside

Big Boi's debut solo album, Sir Luscious Left Foot, is finally reported to be heading towards retailers near you (reports of release dates still vary). In the meantime, he follows excellent singles "Royal Flush" (here) and "Shine Blockaz" (here) with a more mainstream-sounding jam, "Fo Yo Sorrows", accompanied by old-school freak Too $hort and P-Funk all-star George Clinton.

Big Boi - Fo Yo Sorrows (f/George Clinton and Too $hort)

Caribou raised hopes for his sophomore album with electro-funky lead single "Odessa" (here). Follow-up "Sun" moves away from traditional vocals and songwriting but creates a solid groove and exhibits tasteful production. I have no idea what to expect on this album anymore.

Caribou - Sun

Fresh material from a broader re-issue of Conor Oberst's collaboration with the low-profile Omaha roots-rock group. The Bright Eyes frontman revealed that their 2004 album together was his favorite project to record, and he went back into the studio with them to lay down four bonus tracks for this year's re-release. "Happy Accident" certainly sounds like they're having fun - you could be too!

Bright Eyes and Neva Dinova - Happy Accident

R.I.P. Mark Linkous

2010-03-12T19:48:00.000-08:00

I write today with sad news and sad, beautiful music. Mark Linkous, who put out several gorgeous, heartbroken albums under the Sparklehorse moniker, took his own life last weekend. Mark was in Knoxville, Tennessee working on his music when he shot himself in the heart.

Rather than dwell on his premature death, here is a bit about his life and art. He first recorded as Sparklehorse in 1995, releasing the album Vivadixiesubmarinetransmissionplot and jumping right into the fractured, slightly lo-fi indie guitar rock scene alongside Pavement and Guided By Voices. He followed it up by opening for Radiohead (who have spoken sadly of his passing) on their OK Computer tour. During the tour, he ingested a mix of Valium and antidepressants that left him legally dead for over three minutes, resulting in 14 hours of unconsciousness and a subsequent heart attack when medics attempted to straighten his legs. It required seven surgeries to repair his damaged limbs, and he never fully won his battle with depression and drug addiction. He went on to release three more solo albums, Good Morning Spider (1999), It's a Wonderful Life (2001) and Dreamt For Light Years In the Belly of the Mountain (2006).

After experiencing good chemistry with DJ Danger Mouse (of Grey Album and Gnarls Barkley fame) on a track for Dreamt, Mark went in for a full-album collaboration, wanting to focus on writing music while Danger Mouse handled production and a roster of indie all-stars came in to write and perform vocals. The project, Dark Night of the Soul, expanded into an audio-visual collaboration with auteur David Lynch (Twin Peaks, Mulholland Drive) supervising an accompanying book of photographs. Danger Mouse and the record label, EMI, ran into issues with the release and the full package will now be coming out in summer 2010. The music was leaked on to the internet in 2009, coinciding precisely with Danger Mouse's release of the accompanying book and a blank CD-R labeled "For Legal Reasons, enclosed CD-R contains no music. Use it as you will." Guest vocalists include Wayne Coyne (of The Flaming Lips), Jason Lytle (of Grandaddy), Julian Casablancas (of The Strokes), Black Francis (of The Pixies), Iggy Pop, and James Mercer (of The Shins).

His legacy lives on in his music - below is a brief sampler, showing the build from subdued psych-folk on "Sad and Beautiful World" to wistful psych-folk on "Gold Day" to hopeful psych-folk on "Don't Take My Sunshine Away" to resigned psych-folk on "Everytime I'm With You". Write what you know, indeed.

Sparklehorse - Sad and Beautiful World (from Vivadixiesubmarinetransmissionplot)

Sparklehorse - Gold Day (from It's a Wonderful Life)

Sparklehorse - Don't Take My Sunshine Away (from Dreamt For Light Years In the Belly of the Mountain)

Sparklehorse w/Danger Mouse and Jason Lytle - Everytime I'm With You (from Dark Night of the Soul)