What Would Carl Do?

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.

Carl 07.22.09

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.

Listen To Your Carl (when he's calling for you)

Apologies for the brief hiatus, friends. Carl is back, sit back, open your ears and enjoy. . .

1. Kings of Convenience - "I Don't Know What I can Save You From (Royksopp Remix)": Some mellowness from the early '00s. I wonder what happened to these guys.

2. Phoenix - "Consolation Prizes": Yet another Phoenix track. I can't get enough of these guys. Great performance on SNL the other week too. By the way, since when did they become SNL material? No idea they were "big". Fuck it, good for them, they deserve it.

3. The Presets - "Talk Like That": You make me crazy when you talk talk talk talk talk like like like like like that that that that that that. Good song, but the lyrics could use some work. I have heard that they put on a show that's strong-to-quite strong, though I can't confirm.

4. Bullion - "God Only Knows": Another UK producer here. In the same way Dangermouse took The Beatles' White Album and mixed it with Jay-Z, this guy took the Beach Boys' classic Pet Sounds album and remixed it with J-Dilla. Results are mixed, but the album is definitely not to be missed.

5. Futurecop! - "N.A.S.A": I saw Futurecop! in Boston and it was a great show. Check him out if you can. Mostly instrumental with lot of 80's synths, 8-bit beats and general awesomeness.

6. CFCF - "D.A.N.C.E. (Justice)": Countless remixes have been made with this song, but there is something about this one I love. Maybe its the Peanuts-esque piano and simplicity - most remixes like to smash your face in with massive techno beats, completely masking the original song. This one strips it down.

7. Elbow - "Weather to Fly": Beautiful. I've posted thier stuff before but in case you didn't catch it the first time, Seldom Seen Kid is an incredible album.

8. Shout Out Louds - "Very Loud": I saw Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist the other day, the movie itself was mildly entertaining. Some may call it "cute", however, the soundtrack was solid, and this song stuck out.

9. The-Dream - "Take U Home 2 My Mama": How can the song not be awesome with a name like that. Another BLAZING HOT track from my favorite guilty pleasure The-Dream. Turn that shit up.

10. Hint - "Quite Spectacular": Hint's Portakabin Fever, released in the early '00s is quite possible one of my favorite albums. I fell in love with it instantly and still listen to it regularly. All the songs gorgeous intstumentals with colorful, airy melodies, and samples all backed by mid-tempo beats. A perfect soundtrack to anything, really. It's a shame that it's the only record he Hint did in this style.





Videos. . .

Minilogue - "Hitchiker's Choice"
I posted a nutso video from these guys last time. After some research i have come to the conclusion that the guy who creates these videos is a creative and talented individual.



Daedelus - "LA Nocturn"
Both song and video are nasty. Nasty x 2.



DJ Earworm - "United State of Pop 2008"
I posted this song last time. Here is the video. It kinda sucks actually, but fuck it. A few parts work, but I mean, come on. Just goes to show you mashing videos doesn't work the same way as music.



South Park - Kanye West - "Gay Fish"
A song from last week's episode in which Kanye discovers he's a gay fish.

Holy Carl, it's Friday!

Today we have a grabag of songs for you and, as usual, there is no theme, rhyme or reason to the playlist. Oh wait, there IS a theme - they're all BADASS!

And away we go. . . oh and sorry about the little ads that IMEEM sneaks in the playlists. I guess they have to make money somehow. That said, I'm currently considering other playlist providers.

1. DJ Earworm - "United State of Pop 2008": Earworm took the 25 top billboard singles and mashed them together over a backdrop of Vida La Vida. Pretty f*ckin' catchy I must say.

2. Empire of the Sun - "We are the People": The second single off these weirdos' Walking on a Dream LP. I can fault them for being strange (see video below), but not for creating delightful pop magic.

3. Phoenix - "Lisztomania": I've been posting a lot of songs from Phoenix lately, here is yet another off Wolfgang Amedeus Phoenix. Perhaps not as talented as Mozart in songwriting department, but a touch more fun.

4. Muscles - "Ice Cream": "Ice cream is gonna save the day again. I don't need a number, I just wanna dance with my shirt off." That kinda says it all here.

5. Casiokids - "Fot I Hose": Dudes from Norway deftly piece together glitchy synth sounds and a funky bass line and give us an instrumental of compelling, head-bobbing funk. I was also told that they are "nasty" in concert. This was verified by reviews of their performance at SXSW.

6. The-Dream - "Walkin' on the Moon": Call it a guilty pleasure, call it a man-crush, I don't care, i can't get enough of The-Dream. Love vs. Money is hit-tastic. I'm not a huge Pop-R&B fan and ususally quick to dismiss it, but my guard was broken down by The-Dream. And I'm glad it was. Let him into your life. . . don't be scared.

7. CFCF - "Invitation to Love": A soothing down-tempo jam. A great soundtrack to any daydream.

8. Casiotone for the Painfully Alone - "Lesley Gore on the T.A.M.I Show": Possibly the longest artist/title combo I have written. Simple, sweet and melodic. These guys have more where that came from. See their album Etiquette.

9. Wave Machines - "Punk Spirit": A band from Liverpool. Their first album is due in June. I for one, am pumped. From the songs I've heard, they sound the real deal.

10. Camp Lo - "Luchini": Remember these guys!?!?!? Whatever happened to them? One album then out the door? What gives? I used to dig them. Word on the street is the duo has formed a new group, Freebass 808, and the comeback album is titled MoonBass. . . Yikes. Hey, as an old fan I hope it's good, but let's be honest, this is not a great start.




Vids. . .

Minilogue - "Animals"
The world could use a few more colorful dancing monsters. Incredible video.



Empire of the Sun - "We are the People"
Chances are they're not taking themselves seriously. If they are, beware.



Department of Eagles - "No one Does it Better"
Quoting Pitchfork here: "It's a pretty involved production for this modest (and wonderful) band, filled with singing ghosts, pirouetting legionnaires, and expressionistic death scenes."