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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.
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Monday, May 10, 2010
Aaron's Best of the Decade: #60-51
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.
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?"
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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...
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.
Saturday, May 8, 2010
Your Cover's Blown!
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)
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)
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)
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)
Wednesday, May 5, 2010
Remix Roundup
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?
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?
Monday, May 3, 2010
Aaron's Best of the Decade: #70-61
#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
#70
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
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.
#68Album: 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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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!
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
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
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