gracias a rosary

"Ta Douleur" by Camille
"Swedish Boy" by Obi Best

also check out some french christmas music

This is Terrible; I Love It

"Womanizer" by Lily Allen
(britney cover)

Also:

Y'all should check out the blogs linked over there on the right. They're much better at this than I am.

"Wish I Stayed" by Ellie Goulding ft. Frankmusik
(source: Neon Gold)

Remember this?

Breaks are good to reconnect with friends and family. Seeing Zeb reminded me of this song. Check it.

"Slipped Away" by G. Love and Special Sauce

How about 'away' as a theme for the next Monday Mixtape? Seems appropriate, with school getting out.

mmmmmm

vassar + yuengling + people i don't know YIELDS:

"Blackbirds" by Voices on the Verge

en français, s'il vous plaît

"Comme Des Enfants" by Cœur de Pirate

mmmmmm. bit of a regina spektor vibe.

Andres Pájaro

"Oh No" by Andrew Bird

New album Noble Beast out on the 29th of January. I'll be seeing him in Carnegie Hall the 28th.

official site

samples!

"Nel Cimitero Di Tucson" by Gianfranco Reverberi
Spaghetti Western theme which gave birth to "Crazy" by Gnarls Barkley.

"Oro Mo Bhaidin" by Mary O'Hara
Gaelic voice & harp tune which yielded the center of "Sleepyhead" by Passion Pit.
(source: Neon Gold)

"Hey Hey" by the First Moog Quartet
(couldn't find an mp3! I'll get it from Max, he has an LP)
Moog composition which RJD2's "The Horror" is built around.

I love this stuff.

still my favorite band of 2008

"Sleepyhead (Landau 'Wake Up' Remix)" by Passion Pit

Mark Ronson / Bob Dylan

Dylan, sexy-atized.

"Most Likely You Go Your Way (And I'll Go Mine)" by Bob Dylan
(Mark Ronson Re-Version)

oh, fine, i'll update

"Cold, Kind, and Lemon Eyes" by Margot & the Nuclear So and So's

It's strange that they've got a chick's name in the band name, seeing as the lead singer's a dude. Good melancholy song, though.

smokes like a chimney and drinks like a fish.

"It's a Big Old Goofy World" by John Prine
Listening to this sheds light on where Josh Ritter got his style.

"Las Cruces Jail" by Two Gallants
Powerful rock and roll from way out west.

"Farewell, Good Fellows" by Mischief Brew
A personal declaration of independence. I dig it.

feelin' a little country right now

Local band the Quiet Life and Cory Branan played at Connecticut College a couple nights ago. I brought my camera and discovered it actually gets pretty good audio recordings.

"Bitter Sweet and Sour Mash" by Cory Branan
"Leah" by the Quiet Life

And then this has been in my head recently
"One Chance" by Modest Mouse

Gameboy Nostalgia

"Zelda Theme" from The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past
"Battle Theme" from Pokemon Red and Blue
"Music A" from Tetris

Albums Released This Week

Jenny Lewis - Acid Tongue - "The Next Messiah"
tastes like: Josh Ritter circa Historical Conquests

Kings of Leon - Only By The Night - "Manhattan"
tastes like: 70s radio rock


TV on the Radio - Dear Science - "Dancing Choose"
tastes like: Death From Above 1979


Thievery Corporation - Radio Retribution - "La Femme Parallel"
tastes like: all their previous work


Cold War Kids - Loyalty to Loyalty - "I've Seen Enough"
tastes like: the intersection of Billy Joel and the Mars Volta

Mogwai - The Hawk is Howling - "Friend of the Night"
tastes like: Explosions in the Sky

Bet You Didn't See This Coming

"Electric Feel (MGMT Cover) by Katy Perry

I want to hear a mashup called "Time to Pretend to Kiss a Girl".


Big post tomorrow - it's a good week for new music.

Never noticed this before.

"Ghostwriter" by RJD2 samples "I Didn't Understand" by Elliott Smith.
At about 2:29 in Ghostwriter, sped up. Cool.

Season's Changing

"Season" by the Dodos

CT Pride

"CT Shit" by Apathy
"It Takes A Seven Nation Army To Hold Us Back (feat. Emilio Lopez)" by Apathy (amazing)

Today: I AM Festival

"See Emily Play" by Martha Wainwright
"Get Busy Pt. 1" by Kidz in the Hall
"DOA" by Jay Reatard

afterparty:
"Spinning Like A Wreck" by the Quiet Life

Cloud Cult

These are awesome. Listen.

Cloud Cult:
"May Your Hearts Stay Strong"
I love the way you touch me, it makes me feel like I have no skeleton

"Story of the Grandson of Jesus"

"When Water Comes To Life"

Now that's a groove right there

"Perverted Undertone" by Prefuse 73

opening for Girl Talk at Skidmore in a week and a half. woot!

Rain, Rain

"Cherry Tree" by the National
loose lips sink ships

"Strangest Land" by Tom McRae

"Hallelujah" by Jeff Buckley

Themes

"La Valse d'Amélie" by Yann Tiersen from Le Fabuleux Destin d'Amélie Poulain
"Emily's Theme" by Nathan Johnson from Brick
"Theme" by Jon Brion from Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind

Andrew Bird Remixes

"Plasticities - Remix" by Andrew Bird
"Imitosis (Four Tet Remix)" by Andrew Bird

I've Got To See These Guys

"Apartment Story" by the National (live)

(more)

Visualize Your Goal

This one's a two-stepper. First, download and unzip this iTunes visualizer (Mac only):
Magnetosphere
Install it by putting it in your iTunes plug-ins folder, which is under
<username> - Library - iTunes - iTunes Plug-Ins.

Then play either of these tracks, set it to full screen, and be entranced for a good long while. Mmmm.

"Compliments" by Bloc Party
"On Her Majesty's Secret Service" by James Bond The Propellerheads

dance to this.

"Blood On Our Hands (Justice Remix)" by Death From Above 1979
"The Power Is On!" by The Go! Team
"Dancing Choose" by TV On The Radio (new!)

Monday Mixtape: Gender Bender

Photoshop is broken so for now you get no album cover.


download zip ‡ box.net folder

featuring covers of:

Kylie Minogue
Bloc Party
Justin Timberlake
Lil Wayne
Gnarls Barkley
James Taylor
The Postal Service
Jackson Browne
The Kooks
Death Cab for Cutie
Radiohead

by:

Coldplay
KT Tunstall
Gabriella Climi
Madison
Nelly Furtado
Ben Gibbard
Dido
Jonna Lee
St. Vincent
Lily Allen
Amanda Palmer
Marissa Nadler



fun!

Covers are Fun

"Kids (MGMT Cover)" by the Kooks
"Hallelujah (Leonard Cohen Cover)" by Beirut

Do It Do It Do It Now

song:
"Ready for the Floor" by Hot Chip

version:
"Ready for the Floor (Stripped Down Live on WXPN)" by Hot Chip

remix:
"Ready for the Floor (Hot Chip V.I.P. Mix)" by Hot Chip

cover:
"Ready for the Floor" by Little Boots



bye jess!

Stirring, really

"Heart's A Mess" by Gotye

"La Ritournelle" by Sebastian Tellier

I keep getting carried away to far off lands. This blog might become a less frequent thing. For now, I'll do Tuesday-Thursday-Saturday, sound good?

2 in 1s

"Merry Happy" by Kate Nash (+ Little Red)

i can be alone, yeah
i can watch the sun set on my own

"Always Coming Back Home To You" by Atmosphere (+ Say Shh)

man can love an angel but he's got to take a chance

Mmm, bloggy.

I'm back online after thankfully non-fatal hard drive trouble. Here's some music.

"What Up Man" by the Cool Kids
"88" by the Cool Kids

"Fancy Footwork" by Chromeo

So old school it hurts.

Monday Mixtape: Count 'Em Up

download zip ‡ box.net folder

Good Night, Sweet Prince

Today, instead of music, I give you news. Derek of Good Weather For Airstrikes, one of the best music blogs around, has called it off... in order to start a record label. The first single to be released on Neon Gold records is none other than "Sleepyhead" by Passion Pit.

I think I'm gonna buy a turntable just for this record.

Seriously, though, check out the archives of GWFAS. Tons of good stuff. This guy introduced me to the Dodos, Metronomy, and tons of other amazing alt/electro artists.

Bonus:
Since there hasn't been enough Regina lately: "Hotel Song" by Tom Williams

This is Fun and I Think I Like It

"Shut Up and Let Me Go" by the Ting Tings
"That's Not My Name" by the Ting Tings
"Great DJ" by the Ting Tings

Mmmm, Regina.

"Ne Me Quitte Pas" by Regina Spektor

"Baby Jesus" by Regina Spektor

Beau Sia!

"Give Me A Job"
"8-Year-Old Reject"
"Love" from Def Poetry Jam

Monday Mixtape: Fire It Up

A little late, Block Island's to blame. Enjoy.


download zip ‡ box.net folder

"Light the Match" by Mirah
"Fire Island, AK" by the Long Winters
"Pistol of Fire" by Kings of Leon
"Backfire at the Disco" by the Wombats
"Paris is Burning" by St. Vincent
"Push Up Ya Lighter" by the Roots
"Thin Blue Flame" by Josh Ritter
"Wildfires" by Josh Ritter
"Prarie Fire that Wanders About by Sufjan Stevens
"Blue Flower/Blue Flame" by Destroyer

Bilingual!

"As Above, So Below" by the Klaxons
"As Above, So Below" by the Klaxons (french version)

Sleepy Head

Super slo-mo footage combined with Passion Pit's "Sleepy Head". Awesome.

More Passion Pit:

"Better Things"
"I've Got Your Number"
"Cuddle Fuddle"

Have you found where your place is?

"Everybody Here is a Cloud" by Cloud Cult
Fun.

Passion Pit post tomorrow, with video. Be advised.

For those Kanye fans among us

"Bittersweet" by Kanye West (feat. John Mayer)

Plus de la musique française!

"L'amour Ne Dure Pas Toujours" by Feist
"Droit Devant" by Dobacaracol - (video)
"C'est Bien Mieux Comme Ca" by Soha
"Belleville Rendezvous" by Ben Charest

UPDATE:
One more from Dobacaracol, because they are goddamned amazing:
"Baiser Salé"

The Long Winters

These guys are really talented. Somewhere between Ted Leo and the Pharmacists and the Hold Steady, with notes of Spoon and Death Cab.

The Long Winters

"Teaspoon"
"Cinnamon"
"Fire Island, AK"

Monday Mixtape: Over/Under

download zip ‡ box.net folder

"Get Over It" by the Guillemots
"Over and Over" by Hot Chip
"Not Over Yet" by Klaxons
"The Underdog" by Spoon
"Don't Trust Them New Niggas Over There" from the Boondocks
"Roll Over Beethoven" by the Beatles
"Let's Turn The Record Over" by Elliot Smith
"Almost Over" by Elliot Smith
"Overnight" by Josh Ritter
"I Just Don't Think I'll Ever Get Over You" by Colin Hay
"Looking Over My Shoulder" by A Big Yes... and a Small No
"It's All Understood" by Jack Johnson
"Under a Blanket of Blue" by Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong

How's that for eclectic?

Montreal, you're on my mind.

"Ti-Cul" pour Les Cowboys Fringants

Sultry and Seductive

"The City" by Klima
"O Solar de Catrina" by Aline de Lima

brought to my attention by the most excellent
aurgasm

New Hold Steady

Stay Positive was released recently. On first listen, it's not as polished and together and fun as Boys and Girls in America. Have a listen.

"Constructive Summer"
"Lord, I'm Discouraged"
"Both Crosses"

Huh. 'Weeds' has really good music.

"With Arms Outstretched" by Rilo Kiley
"All the Trees of the Field will Clap their Hands" by Sufjan Stevens
"Cotton" by the Mountain Goats

(more music)
(season 1 torrent)

Shit. Missed a few days.

Getting back on the horse after a most excellent vacation, here's some Santogold:

"Lights Out"
"L.E.S. Artistes"
"Get It Up (Radioclit Remix) feat. M.I.A. and Gorilla Zoe

I've Had Kisses That Make Judas Seem Sincere

"Citrus" by the Hold Steady

Apparently they have a new album. I'll check that out and get back to you.

Sorry for the lapse; Block Island was more important. I'll fix mixtape ID3 tags soon.

Passion Pit

Synths and sampling and crazy high vocals and a nice heavy beat and handclaps. Treble is the new bass.

"Sleepyhead" by Passion Pit

(source)

Monday Mixtape: Girls and Boys

download zip ‡ box.net folder

"Hipster Girl" by MC Lars
"Good Girl Bad Boy" by Junior Senior
"Bigger Boys and Stolen Sweethearts" by Arctic Monkeys
"Momma's Boy" by Elizabeth and the Catapult
"Shy Girl" by G. Love and Special Sauce
"California Girls" by the Beach Boys
"When I Was A Young Girl" by Feist (live at Park West)
"Girl in the War" by Josh Ritter (live at the Record Exchange)
"What's a Girl to Do?" by Bats for Lashes (video)
"Poor Little Rich Boy" by Regina Spektor
"Two Headed Boy" by Neutral Milk Hotel
"The Boy With The Thorn In His Side" by the Smiths
"The Only Living Boy in New York" by Simon and Garfunkel
"Cries a Girl" by Buck 65
"New York Girls" by Forebitter

N.E.R.D. + Santogold + Julian Casablancas + Chuck Taylor

... equals awesome.

"My Drive Thru" by N.E.R.D.
(video)

(source)

cell-OOOooo

"A Change is Gonna Come" by Ben Sollee
"How to See the Sun Rise" by Ben Sollee

(source)

Intrigue! Suprise!

"You Made It" by DJ Shadow feat. Chris James
from 2006's The Outsider

This came out of nowhere on Pandora. Kind of Coldplay-ish, which surprised me coming from DJ Shadow. All I know is "Organ Donor", and even that's just because it was in every Video Production project when I was in high school.

"Organ Donor" by DJ Shadow
and
"Building Steam with a Grain of Salt" by DJ Shadow

Endtroducing... came out when I was 8. Crazy.

Fuck Yes Foreign Languages

"Bulgarian Chicks" by Balkan Beat Box
"Senegal Fast Food" by Amadou and Mariam
featuring Manu Chao

No Two Ways About it

"Definition" by Black Star
"Re: Definition" by Black Star

"Daylight" by Aesop Rock
"Nightlight" by Aesop Rock

Sampling Makes Me Happy

"Mundo" by Sporto Kantes
"Sunday Seance" by Blockhead

Monday Mixtape: Good Weather

"Pachuca Sunrise" by Minus The Bear
"It's The Sun" by Polyphonic Spree
"Here Comes the Sun" by Nina Simone
"The Sun Whose Rays Are All Ablaze" by Nora Zehetner
"Sunny Road" by Emiliana Torrini
"Sunshine" by Atmosphere
"Don't Take My Sunshine Away" by Sparklehorse
"Ain't No Sunshine" by Bill Withers
"When The Sun Goes Down" by Arctic Monkeys (demo version)
"Sunset Beach" by the Teenagers
"Talking Shit About a Pretty Sunset" by Modest Mouse
"Sunset Soon Forgotten" by Iron and Wine
"Things Behind the Sun" by Nick Drake


A little eclectic, but there you have it. Expect a full mix every Monday. Maybe every other. Haven't decided.

also:
"Pachuca Sunrise (Alias Remix)" by Minus The Bear (from Interpretaciones del Oso)
"Things Behind the Sun" by Brad Mehldau (jazz piano)

Bowerbirds!

"Dark Horse" by the Bowerbirds

see also: 6/24/08

I Felt Your Shape

"I Felt Your Shape" by the Microphones
Nice contrasting motion in the vocals and guitar.

The Magnetic Fields

"Nothing Matters When We're Dancing" by the Magnetic Fields

Friday nights are meant for dancing. Happy 4th, y'all.

"Absolutely Cuckoo" by the Magnetic Fields

Songs that got me through NZ

Lost my iPod, started picking up CDs.

"Jurass Finish First" by Jurassic Five
Sick rhyme structure.

"Blue Would Still Be Blue" by the Guillemots
This album tortures me. It comes so close to greatness, but whiffs.


"Which Will" by Nick Drake
Timeless.

Mmmm, Beirut.

"The Penalty"
"Cliquot"
"Elephant Gun"

The Truth Explodes in your Head like a Hollow Tip

"Stand to the Side" by Talib Kweli
Spoken word style, on Def Poetry Jam. Holy shit.

John Darnielle Is My Hero

Of the Mountain Goats, of course. Nobody writes better songs. He's exactly the right mix of crazy and brilliant.

"The Best Ever Death Metal Band in Denton"
from All Hail West Texas

"Wild Sage"
from Get Lonely

"Dance Music"
from The Sunset Tree

"Sax Rohmer #1"
from Heretic Pride

Fun American Rock

Mid nineties garage stuff from a throwaway band called the Wrens. Great lyrics on this first one:

"I've Made Enough Friends" by the Wrens

These two are compelling and depressing. I like.

"Was There Ever"
"Happy"

Fun British Rock!

"Talk About It" by the Metros
Kooks-y.

LCD Soundsystem

Listen to the unstoppable build-up in these songs. It almost takes you by surprise. Also, the attention they give to production and recording is outstanding. Each instrument sounds exactly the way they want it to.

"Big Ideas"
off the 21 soundtrack

"New York, I Love You"
off Sound of Silver

"Tribulations (Shallow Version)"
off the Tribulations 7"

"Losing My Edge" and "Disco Infiltrator"
off LCD Soundsystem

But I'm losing my edge
To better-looking people
With better ideas and more talent
Who are actually really, really really nice

Summer in the City

by Styx
Awesome.

by Quincy Jones
Sampled in the Pharcyde's "Passing Me By".

by Incognito
Kinda weird.

by Regina Spektor
Completely different!

Also, comments are open!

One Two Three Four Five

"River Man" by Nick Drake

"When Your Mind's Made Up" by Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova
(Once soundtrack)

"15 Step" by Radiohead

"Take Five" by the Dave Brubeck Quartet

Songs from the School Year

"Le Bonheur" by Berry
N'ayez pas peur du bonheur
Il n'existe pas

"Ali in the Jungle" by the Hours
It's not about the things you've done,
it's what you're doing now

"Bullets" by Tunng
You whisper prayers into the dark
Up to a god in whom you've never believed

"In Our Talons" by Bowerbirds
And no, you're not alone
No, my cousins, you're not alone
You're in our talons now and we're never letting go

Funny

"Gay?" by Michael Ian Black

Can't Write a Chorus to Save His Life

Seriously. Slug's flow is ridiculous, but any time he says the same thing twice in a song it sounds terrible.

Off the new album, "When Life Gives You Lemons, You Paint That Shit Gold":
"In Her Music Box" by Atmosphere
"Yesterday" (not a cover)

Classic:

"Pour Me Another"
"One of a Kind"

"I'm different because I respect my audience, and I don't yell at them... and I'm special because I respect my audience."
"Yeah!"
"SHUT THE FUCK UP!"

Bands I Used to Swear were Terrible, Part 2

"Concerning the UFO Sighting Near Highland, Illinois" by Sufjan Stevens
"Til the End of Time" by Devotchka
"Cleanse Song" by Bright Eyes

and if life seems absurd,
what you need is some laughter,
and a season to sleep,
and a place to get clean, maybe
los angeles, somewhere no one's expecting


Coldplay will not be joining this list. Chris Martin's voice just irks me.

bonus: "UFO" by MC DJ

I Seriously Don't Know Where He Comes Up With This Shit

God damn. At around 2:30, Jimi Hendrix to Yael Naim behind Eminem doing the beginning of Shake That.

"No Pause" by Girl Talk

Lil Mama and some fucking ridiculous metal shit.

"Give Me A Beat" by Girl Talk

Sheeeeeeeeit. This guy makes music just to make me happy.

(full album download)

Accordions!

"Mount Wroclai (Idle Days)" by Beirut
"Light the Match" by Mirah
"Domingo" by the Gotan Project

Files up later tonight. Work work work.

UPDATE: MP3s are up. Enjoy!

'Creep'

(inspiration)

"Creep" by Damien Rice
"Creep" by Richard Cheese

Bands I Used to Swear were Terrible

"Party Pit" by the Hold Steady
"Shankill Butchers" by the Decemberists
"Pioneers" by Bloc Party

And I'm pretty sure we kissed is such an epic line.

Coldplay might be added to this list. I'll give the new album half a chance.

What I'm Looking Forward To This Summer

7/17: Spoon at Lupo's

"Small Stakes" by Spoon

7/19: The Dodos, Annuals, and Broken Social Scene at Siren Music Festival
"Men" by the Dodos
"Bleary Eyed" by Annuals
"7/4 (Shoreline)" by Broken Social Scene

8/4: The National in Central Park
"Lit Up (Remix)" by the National

More to come!

Jazz It Up A Notch

"Take On Me (With a Martini)" by Minimatic
"Plus Dur, Meilleur, Plus Rapide, Plus Fort" by the Brassens

Le travaille nous, jamais finis.

My Mind is Made Up, There's Going to be Trouble

"America / Closing Time" by Tom Waits and Allen Ginsberg

Some nights I listen to this and just think.

Haunting Covers of Overplayed Pop Songs

"Toxic" by Yael Naim
"Umbrella" by Mechanical Bride

Mmmm.

Pandora Chicks

Pandora showed me new music! Here's some ladies who can sing pretty good.

"Gray or Blue" by Jaymay
"Sunny Road" by Emiliana Torrini
"New Soul" by Yael Naim

This is good! Also, my friends made it.

"Hurt Legs Walking" by Shake the Baron
Wearing the clothes you bought me last summer
'Cause it seems they're falling away

(source)

It's Summer, Baby

"Calabria" by Enur feat. Natasha
Oh, it's that song! Turn up the volume.

(source)

A Band with Bad Haircuts

"Young Love" by the Mystery Jets
Is that you on the bus, is that you on the train?
You wrote your number on my hand but it came off in the rain

(video)
(source)

Let's Get This Sucker Rolling Again

"Absinthe Party at the Fly Honey Warehouse" by Minus the Bear
Hey, let's cross the sea, and get some culture.
Red wine with every meal, and absinthe after dinner.
We'd look good, side by side, walking back to the hotel.