Good people of the blogosphere, Carl's comin' at you today with an eclectic mix of some awesome new tracks and videos. Listen up bitches!
1. Wave Machines - "Keep the Lights On": Don't confuse these guys with "Wavves" who deal in lo-fi, scuzzy, static noise rock. Wave Machines are quite the contrary, they have a clean, finely produced groove to them. Their debut album Wave If You're Really There is well worth checking out.
2. Atlas Sound - "Walkabout (w/Panda Bear)": Bradford Cox (of Deerhunter) teams up with Noah Lennox aka Panda Bear on this hazy feel-good throwback. Calliope loops, la-la voices, and a bouncy beat - a summer classic in the making. . .
3. Florence & The Machine - "Cosmic Love": I've read the comparisons to Kate Bush, but I wonder why it is that whenever we hear a woman with a strong voice they're immediately compared to Kate Bush? She sounds more like Annie Lennox to me. Be that as it may, this song is big. Big and powerful. More where that came from on her Lungs album.
4. Pela - "Lost to the Lonesome": An older song that I rediscovered recently. Pela is an all-around solid indie rock band who don't stray too far from the tried and true formula of rhythmic electric guitars, drums, and a whiny self-loathing lead singer. But they do it well.
5. Major Lazer - "Keep it Goin' Louder": Guilty pleasure time. DJs Diplo and Switch teamed up to form Major Lazer, which is both a name for their "band" as well as a make-believe cartoon Jamaican Commando who graces the cover of their debut album Guns Don't Kill People...Lazers Do. For this album, Diplo and Switch have lined up a who's-who of Jamaican vocalists and use their beats and DJ-wizardry as a backdrop. I was skeptical, but it's actually an enjoyable, entertaining listen all the way through.
6. Mogwai - "Auto Rock": Another song unearthed from a few years back. As I said in my last post, Mogwai are the masters of the epic rock instrumental, this is just another example from Mr. Beast. Movie soundtrack producers take note - put this song to any slow-motion "underdog-miraculously-beats-the-odds" scene and you're gold.
7. Bibio - "Sugarette": Off the fantastic, and Carl-Approved Ambivalence Avenue, this track bobs and weaves over, under and around a single beat. It feels pre-meditated and impulsive at the same time. Bibio is a true artist and a damn good technician.
8. Cass McCombs - "You Saved My Life": One of the better songs off his recent Catacombs album which is full of melodic, sparsely arranged songs like this.
9. Delorean - "Seasun": I read about Delorean and saw that they're from Barcelona and thought "well shit, they must be cool if they're from Barcelona. . . " So I checked them out - not too bad. This is a great summertime jam - handclap rhythms, dreamy vocals on top of piano beats and synths. Yay.
10. Shit Robot - "Simple Things (Work it Out)": Shit Robot caught my eye because a) their name is awesome b) they're under the DFA label, and they rarely release crap. True to form, this is not crap. You can feel James Murphy's (LCD Soundsystem) influence in the production.
11. Robert Francis - "One by One": I came home drunk from the bar one night, and i know I was drunk because I started watching "Last Call with Carson Daly." Enough said. Anyway, he had a guest spot with Robert Francis, who I had never heard of, so I gave it a shot. He played this song and by the end of the performance I was singing along, but whether it was because I was shitfaced or because it was actually a good song was a mystery to me the next day. I listened again, and it is indeed a good song. His album, One By One is pretty damn good too. Thanks Carson Daly. I still hate you, though.
Windsurf - "Weird Energy"
I must say I have a soft spot for shitty 80's montage videos. This is one of the best I've come across. Glorious.
Passion Pit - "To Kingdom Come"
A good old fashioned stop-motion Victorian science laboratory dance party video.
Bark Bark Bark - "I'm Needy"
Prepare to be entertained and slightly confused.
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
Monday, July 6, 2009
Carl's Songs/Videos of the Week
Hope everyone had a great 4th full of fireworks, bbq and booze. All in the name of celebrating our wonderful country's birthday, of course. Apologies for the slight absence, but never fear, Carl is back. Enjoy.
1. Holy Ghost! - "I Will Come Back": More known for their remixes, Holy Ghost! is a new-ish band under the DFA (James Murphy aka LCD Soundsystem) umbrella. I like their sound - there's a pinch of Italo-disco, a dash of 80s dance, and a shitload of awesome. Their debut album is scheduled for early next year. Check out the video below too.
2. Temper Trap - "Love Lost": Ever since I heard, and subsequently became obsessed with their first single, "Sweet Disposition" I've been eagerly waiting to hear the entire album Conditions. It's still not out in the U.S. (only in Australia), but I must say, it's damn good and is hereby Carl-Approved. Light falsetto melodies and swirling guitars aplenty throughout the album. This is one of the highlights.
3. Temper Trap - "Fools": Another beautiful tune off Conditions. This one really showcases Dougy's unique vocals.
4. The Golden Filter - "Peter Bjorn & John - Lay it Down (remix)": The Golden Filter has some funky remixes, this is one of their better attempts.
5. Mogwai - "2 Rights Make 1 Wrong": The best song off their incredible Rock Action. Not a new song by any means, but it's one of the best epic instrumentals ever created. Plain and simple. Close your eyes and let it take you to Awesometown.
6. Metric - "Collect Call": Metric's new album Fantasies is a sneaky gem. Led by the baby-voiced Emily Haines, her voice weaves perfectly in and out of shimmering guitars and bouncy synths. The results are catchy as hell.
7. Metric - "Gimme Sympathy": See above.
8. Drake - "Best I Ever Had": A brief history of Drake via Pitchfork: "Relative unknown creates mixtape with a few friends and uploads it to the internet, and then, within a few months, he's maybe/possibly dating Rihanna and fielding seven-figure offers from broke major labels. Except in this case, the relative unknown in question was a star on the Canadian teeny-drama "Degrassi: The Next Generation", and the friends in question are Lil Wayne and Trey Songz and Chris Paul. Even weirder, the main overarching theme of Drake's So Far Gone seems to be the stresses and travails of fame, even if he recorded the damn thing when he wasn't famous in any meaningful way. And now the tape has made him good and famous for real." So Far Gone is the name of the mixtape and is worth checking out.
9. Drake - "Let's Call it Off (remix)": Another remix of a Peter Bjorn & John song. PB&J can't be happy that most of their songs are better as remixes than originals.
10. Miike Snow - "A Song for No One": Swedish producers step out from behind the curtain with their critically underappreciated album. . . Miike Snow.
11. Moby - "Study War": Moby's new release Wait For Me is a throwback to his Play and 18 heyday. This is good news. Save a couple songs, Hotel and Last Night were pure garbage. Though not executed as well as Play, Wait for me goes back to that "Moby Sound" - samples, minimalist beats and strings. I know the poor guy likes to think of himself as a singer, artist, performer, philosopher, techno genius, as well as a producer but unfortunately, he's really only good at producing. Let's hope he's finally realized this, because the sooner he does, the better off we'll all be.
On to the videos. . .
Holy Ghost! - "I Will Come Back"
Beirut - "Concubine"
Major Lazer - "Hold The Line"
Hastily Made Cleveland Tourism Video #1
I'm sure a lot of you have seen these, but they're worth watching, whether it's for the 1st or 776th time.
Hastily Made Cleveland Tourism Video #2
And the other one. . .
Until next time, enjoy this happy lizard in a chair. . .
1. Holy Ghost! - "I Will Come Back": More known for their remixes, Holy Ghost! is a new-ish band under the DFA (James Murphy aka LCD Soundsystem) umbrella. I like their sound - there's a pinch of Italo-disco, a dash of 80s dance, and a shitload of awesome. Their debut album is scheduled for early next year. Check out the video below too.
2. Temper Trap - "Love Lost": Ever since I heard, and subsequently became obsessed with their first single, "Sweet Disposition" I've been eagerly waiting to hear the entire album Conditions. It's still not out in the U.S. (only in Australia), but I must say, it's damn good and is hereby Carl-Approved. Light falsetto melodies and swirling guitars aplenty throughout the album. This is one of the highlights.
3. Temper Trap - "Fools": Another beautiful tune off Conditions. This one really showcases Dougy's unique vocals.
4. The Golden Filter - "Peter Bjorn & John - Lay it Down (remix)": The Golden Filter has some funky remixes, this is one of their better attempts.
5. Mogwai - "2 Rights Make 1 Wrong": The best song off their incredible Rock Action. Not a new song by any means, but it's one of the best epic instrumentals ever created. Plain and simple. Close your eyes and let it take you to Awesometown.
6. Metric - "Collect Call": Metric's new album Fantasies is a sneaky gem. Led by the baby-voiced Emily Haines, her voice weaves perfectly in and out of shimmering guitars and bouncy synths. The results are catchy as hell.
7. Metric - "Gimme Sympathy": See above.
8. Drake - "Best I Ever Had": A brief history of Drake via Pitchfork: "Relative unknown creates mixtape with a few friends and uploads it to the internet, and then, within a few months, he's maybe/possibly dating Rihanna and fielding seven-figure offers from broke major labels. Except in this case, the relative unknown in question was a star on the Canadian teeny-drama "Degrassi: The Next Generation", and the friends in question are Lil Wayne and Trey Songz and Chris Paul. Even weirder, the main overarching theme of Drake's So Far Gone seems to be the stresses and travails of fame, even if he recorded the damn thing when he wasn't famous in any meaningful way. And now the tape has made him good and famous for real." So Far Gone is the name of the mixtape and is worth checking out.
9. Drake - "Let's Call it Off (remix)": Another remix of a Peter Bjorn & John song. PB&J can't be happy that most of their songs are better as remixes than originals.
10. Miike Snow - "A Song for No One": Swedish producers step out from behind the curtain with their critically underappreciated album. . . Miike Snow.
11. Moby - "Study War": Moby's new release Wait For Me is a throwback to his Play and 18 heyday. This is good news. Save a couple songs, Hotel and Last Night were pure garbage. Though not executed as well as Play, Wait for me goes back to that "Moby Sound" - samples, minimalist beats and strings. I know the poor guy likes to think of himself as a singer, artist, performer, philosopher, techno genius, as well as a producer but unfortunately, he's really only good at producing. Let's hope he's finally realized this, because the sooner he does, the better off we'll all be.
On to the videos. . .
Holy Ghost! - "I Will Come Back"
Beirut - "Concubine"
Major Lazer - "Hold The Line"
Hastily Made Cleveland Tourism Video #1
I'm sure a lot of you have seen these, but they're worth watching, whether it's for the 1st or 776th time.
Hastily Made Cleveland Tourism Video #2
And the other one. . .
Until next time, enjoy this happy lizard in a chair. . .
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
