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.

---Carl 07.07.09

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. . .

May the Carl Be With You

Good day my friends. Carl's comin at you again with a fresh mix of songs and videos. So listen up if you know what's good for you. Oh yeah, and sign up for a Lala account so you can listen to the tunes - it takes 10 seconds and it's free.

1. Solid Gold - "Bible Thumper": Hailing from Minnesota, Solid Gold is one of the better new bands around. Check out their Bodies Of Water LP. Shit is hot. Get in the ground floor while you can, I think they'll be a force to be reckoned with for years to come.

2. Hockey - "Too Fake": Speaking of great new bands, here's another. Though they have not yet released their debut album (expected this summer at some point), the singles they've released are intriguing. They have a little Strokes-y feel to them, but a bit more beat-driven, a la LCD Soundsystem.

3. VEGA - "No Reason": Looking for a summer dance jam? Look no further. It's got the bouncy beach ball beat, the sun-shiny synths, and the wave-like vocal loops. Weather or not you like it (not even sure I do), it's gonna get stuck in your head, and you're gonna dance.

4. Matthew Dear - "When She Don't Need Me": I've been touting Causes 2 as a top-of-the-line compilation/benefit album - this song is just another example of why.

5. Das Racist - "Combination Pizza Hut & Taco Bell (Wallpaper Remix)": This "song" is simply ridiculous - but in the best way possible.

6. Boys Noize - "Shine Shine": A cosmic instrumental groove. A great song for your next roadtrip mix, even better if your making that trip in a spaceship, flying car, or even a hovercraft. And Oi Oi Oi is a solid album. As an added bonus, the cover art is a diamond-encrusted skull. Everybody wins.

7. Kleerup - "Chords": See above. I just gave you 2 perfect songs for your next spaceship/flying car/hovercraft roadtrip mix. You're welcome.

8. Harlem Shakes - "Sunlight": One of a few fun songs off Technicolor Health. They are touring with Passion Pit this summer.

9. Au Revoir Simone - "Fallen Snow (Teenagers Remix)": A great track off Reverse Migration, an album featuring various artists' remixes of select Au Revoir Simone's tunes. An enjoyable listen.

10. Rural Alberta Advantage - "Don't Haunt This Place": Another band to watch - RAA self-released their Carl-Approved Hometowns awhile back but were recently picked up by the Saddle Creek indie label, signaling big things for the trio from, yep, rural Alberta. These guys will be big one day, and deservedly so.

11. Peter Bjorn & John - "It Don't Move Me": Their new single off Living Thing. Posted the strange video below. Not that a strange video from PB&J is surprising. . .

12. Antony & The Johnsons - "Another World": I'm gonna slow it down here for the next two songs. Off the beautiful The Crying Light this song stands out as one of the more gorgeously haunting songs I've ever heard. The depth of despair and longing this song evokes is simply incredible. Warning: Don't listen to this if you're at work and a little mentally unstable. You will cry.

13. Charles Spearin - "Vanessa": This isn't your average song. It comes off of Charles Spearin's compelling The Happiness Project. By background, the Happiness Project is part spoken-word, part sociological experiment and part musical experiment, it is the result of Spearin's discussions with his neighbors in Toronto about their idea of happiness. He recorded the responses and then reformed them into music, using the pitch and cadences in peoples voices as the basis for his music. The result is a very thought/emotion provoking album not to be missed. This song in particular is extremely affecting in which a deaf woman (Vanessa) describes her experience hearing for the first time.

---Carl 06.09.09

MGMT - "Kids"
Cool video, but at what price here guys? Poor kid is gonna be f'ed up beyond belief.



Yeah Yeah Yeahs - "Heads Will Roll"



Peter Bjorn & John - "It Don't Move Me"
A creepy dad with OCD training his kid to dance like Michael Jackson? Not sure what's going on here. Your guess is as good as mine.



Spontaneous Dance Party
How to start a dance party 101.

Carl Approved Video

I saw this today and had to post. It's an original fan-made video (i.e. not commisioned by Kanye) by a guy named Mykola Dosenko, a graphic artist and lover the song as well as 80's video games. The influences from Mega Man, Double Dragon, etc. are obvious. When I first saw it, I thought it was an edit of an existing video game, but it is 100% original and 100% Awesome.

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.

Thank Carl It's Friday

Happy Friday homies. Tunes and vids galore below. But first, some exciting news. . .

It has been announced that Daft Punk will be creating an original score for the upcoming Tron sequel. Tentatively titled Tron 2.0, production is set for this spring with a release in 2011. If anything makes more sense than Daft Punk meets Tron, please let me know. Their most recent creations have let me down, but if anything can revive their glory days of Homework and Discovery, this might just be it. I'm having trouble computing how awesome this could be. To celebrate my excitement, the first song, and my favorite Daft Punk song of all time, Digital Love, is dedicated to Daft Punk in their heyday. Make me proud, boys.

More breaking news. U2's new album is garbage.

Without further ado, here are some songs. As always, the selected songs tend to jump all over the place in terms of genre, tone, etc. But thats the way it's going to be. Deal with it.

1. Daft Punk - "Digital Love": Classic DP.

2-3. Stars - "Undertow" and "Going, Going, Gone": Two beautiful songs off their new-ish Sad Robot EP. A very underrated album among critcs, mind you.

4. Friendly Fires - "Strobe": Off their self-titled album. These guys make some great head-bobbing music. The entire album recommended.

5. The Helio Sequence - "Broken Afternoon": As recommended before, their album Keep Your Eyes Ahead is great start to finish. This is one of thier slower-burners.

6. Polly Scattergood - "Nitrogen Pink": Yeah, that's her real name. Interesting song, a slow builder with some real emotion that digs in deeper and deeper as the song unfurls.

7. Miami Horror - "Bellevue": Featured them last week. If you're looking for 80's throwbacks, these are your guys. Their Bravado EP is rad. . . bitchin' even.

8. The Presets - "If I Know You": One of the Australian dance-punk duo's better songs.

9. Glasvegas - "Geraldine": One of my guiltier pleasures, this song has god-awful lyrics and a painfully simple melody, but i can't get that damn riff out of my head. Their self-titled album received a lot of great reviews, but don't be fooled. It's not good. I think of them as Scotland's wannabe Coldplay, with less talent. Segway alert!. . . .

10. Coldplay - "Stawberry Swing": Speaking of Coldplay, I'm not the biggest fan but when i first listened to Viva La Vida, this song stuck out as something special. If it wasn't for Chris Martin's distinct voice, I'd have no idea this was Coldplay. Is that why I like it? Not sure.

11. Yeah Yeah Yeahs - "Heads Will Roll": The second single off their highly anticipated new album It's Blitz! A catchy song with a good beat. I'd give the album a B on first listen.

12. The National - "Brainy": Have you ever fell in love with an album, listened to it over and over, left it alone for awhile and then rediscovered it later to find out you loved it even more than you thought you did? No? F- you then. Well thats what happened for me with Boxer by The National. This is just one of the many gems on the album.

13. Phoenix - "1901": The first relese off Phoenix's new album Wolfgang Amedaeus Pheonix. Not too shabby.





Mr. Oizo - "Flat Beat"
Amazing.



Deathcab for Cutie - "Grapevine Fires"
A boy on a bike experiencing an over-the-top version of what's happening in the lyrics. One of the better songs on their underwhelming Narrow Stairs album.



Sportsday Megaphone - "Meet Me in the Middle"
Wait till the end.



Devo - "Freedom of Choice"
Worst video ever? You decide. Some things are so bad they're funny. But this one is so bad it makes me angry.

Fun for Your Eyeballs and Earholes. . .

Some new, some old, all awesome. . .

MGMT - "Time to Pretend"
This is what happens when you blow your video budget on hallucinogens and bows & arrows. . .



Casiokids - "I Fot Hose"
This is the Norwegian electro-pop band's new video for one of their instrumental tunes. Cartoons of their own heads on thier own bodies and on the bodies of ceremonial tribal African dancers. Hooray.



Kanye - "Welcome to Heartbreak"
Here we have a bunch of colorful pixelated Kanyes in shitty 80's sweaters singing sadly to each other about the emptiness of money and fame. Boo fucking Hoo.



Tahiti Boy and the Palmtree Family - "1973"
Dancing trees, singing mushrooms, giant waterfowl. What else could you possibly want?. . . besides the heavy drugs these guys clearly scored.



Chromeo - "Fancy Footwork"
Title track and first video from their latest album. The video plays off the creepy bodyless-leg theme they have going on their album cover and live shows. Not a great video, but the song makes up for it.



Zander Bleck - "Beyond the Horizon"
Last but certainly not least, I saw this on Nialler9, another music blog I frequent. Artists often send mass marketing emails to blogs to get their name out. This Zander Bleck creep sent the following (completely serious) email and video to Nialler9. . .

"Leave it to a talent like Zander Bleck to use his entrepreneurial skills, model looks, and amazing vocals, to create innovative and inspirational tunes and music videos that are generating quite a stir worldwide. Zander Bleck has blended his powerful singing and songwriting talent with the top production of Adam Longlands to create a phenomenal mix of vintage rock, pop and electronic sounds. A fresh fusion of club dance beats, British pop, and timeless rock, Zander Bleck offers an unconventional and refreshing style of music for listeners of every age and musical preference. Zander’s vocal talent resonates with artists like Bono and Chris Martin, and his music is energetic, infectious and distinctly a sound of his own. We would love to be a part of your blog."

In a way, Zander and his "people" are getting their wish, but for all the wrong reasons. A gold mine of unintentional comedy. Enjoy, please.

Moving Picture Shows

Hello good people of the interweb. Here's a quick installment of some videos for your viewing pleasure. Let the procrastination commence. . .

N.A.S.A. feat. KRS-One, Fatlip, & Slim Kid Tre - "Hip Hop"
N.A.S.A. stands for "North America / South America," the duo is made up of LA-based producer Sam Speigel and his Brazilian counterpart DJ Zegon. They met at a hollywood party in 2003 and discovered they had a mutual love for 60's Brazilian music. Their debut album "The Spirit of Apollo" comes out Feb. 17th and is studded with an eclectic list of big-name collaborators such as: David Byrne, MIA, Tom Waits, Method Man, George Clinton, Ghostface, Lykke Li, Kanye to name a few. These guys will make a splash in 2009 a la the Neptunes a few years back. Although from what I've heard, N.A.S.A.'s sound is more diverse and unique than their brethren.


MGMT - "Electric Feel"
Nothing says MGMT like an improptu, acid-induced jungle dance party with the creepy animal-robot band from Chuck-E-Cheese.


Fol Chen - "No Wedding Cake"
This song is from the upcoming "Part I: John Shade, Your Fortune's Made" album by Fol Chen. The video features a fish with heavy lipstick, lions working as showgirls, an owl with a bleeding heart at the end of an arrow, and assorted other strange goings-on.


Fujiya & Miyagi - "Knickerbocker"
These guys have a great downtempo sound and some pretty creative videos. Including this one.


Hot Chip - "Colours"
One of their best tracks and videos off the older "The Warning" album. Both "The Warning" and their new album "Made in the Dark" are classics and should be owned by all. Just sayin.


Junior Senior - "Move Your Feet"
An oldie but goodie from Junior Senior. A classic.


Armi & Danni - "I Want To Love You Tender"
I think it goes without saying that Armi & Danni paved the way for every ground-breaking video made to date and that "I Want To Love You Tender" will forever stand as the benchmark for which we measure all music videos ever created. It is the pinnacle of music video mastery. Soak it in.


Christian Bale Rant Remix
. . . Just in case you missed it.

Songs of the Week: 1/14/09

Good day friendos. Today, if you don't mind, I'd like to post another array of random tunes and videos. I'll follow up later in the week with an Artist Spotlight on a kickass band you may or may not know about. Stay tuned for that. I have a lot to share, so I'll throw it all at you and see what sticks. . .




And some awesome videos I've seen recently. . .

I love this song and the video doesn't disappoint either. I think I speak for everyone when I say we could all do with a little less creepy mime-tiger facepaint, though. Regardless, get excited. . .

MGMT - "Kids"



One of my favorite songs of 2007. . .

LCD Soundsystem - "Someone Great"



This is an absolutely beautiful song along with acid-trip-esque video. Check out Portishead's album "Third" as well, one of the better albums of 2008. . .

Portishead - "The Rip"



Oh cute they're playing telephone. . . uhhhhh, wait hold on. . . what are they doing. . . did she just. . . hey, that's not how you play! (Great song too, btw)

Simian Mobile Disco - "Hustler"



I have a love/hate relationship with Kanye, but a love/love relationship with Muppet-ized Kanye. . .

Kanye - "Champion"

Happy Motherf-ing Monday: 12/8/08

. . . aaaaaaand we're back. Let's get to the tunes, shall we?

1. The Album Leaf - "Thule" These guys make some of the most beautiful music I've ever heard. Simple, clean, melodic and awesome.
2. Tigercity - "Are you Sensation" I saw Tigercity in Boston this weekend and they put on an amazing show. They only have an EP out right now "Pretend not to Love" - but they assured us an LP is in the works. More on these guys in an upcoming Artist Spotlight in a few days.
3. Q-Tip - "Won't Trade" A catchy song off Q-Tip's new album. This album reminds me of his Tribe Called Quest glory days.
4. Tennishero - "Alone" Makes me think of driving a thunderbird along an oceanside cliff in the summer. In the 80s. Why you ask? Not sure.
5. Au Revoir Simone - "Fallen Snow (Teenagers Remix)" A great song by Au Revoir Simone and one of the rare remixes that is better than the original.
6. The Killers - "This is your life" Probably the best song off their new album, "Day & Age".



And a few videos. . .

Fujiya & Miyagi have wireframe exoskeletons. And tanks. Sweet!

Fujiya & Miyagi - "Sore Thumb"


Evil Nine - "They Live"


Jay-Z - "Brooklyn Go Hard"

TV on the Radio - "Dancing Choose"


I can't get enough of these muppet videos. . .

Fraggle Rock - "Let Me Clear My Throat"

Hump Day Tunes: 11/19/08

Happy hump day peoples, as usual, I've posted some songs from an array of genres for your listening pleasure: A new song from Beirut, one of Okkervil River's best, a Feist Remix by Boys Noize, a collaboration between Snoop and 100 Suns (a member of Massive Attack) which is featured in the "In Prison my Whole Life" soundtrack, a grooooovy Hercules and Love Affair track, a new song by Ultraviolence, Little Joy's first single and finally, my favorite song off Q-Tip's most recent comeback album, "Renaissance".

Moving Picture Shows: 11/12/08

Hi Friends, it's been awhile but back today with some videos, some new some old, that are fun for both the eyes and the ears. Enjoy. Happy Hump Day.

Sigur Ros - "Við Spilum Endalaust"


Gnarles Barkley - "Mystery Man"


Radiohead - "House of Cards"


BPA (aka Fatboy Slim) feat. Emmy The Great - "Seattle"


BPA feat. David Byrne and Dizzie Rascal - "Toe Jam"


Kid Koala - "Floor Kids"


Octopus Project - "I Saw the Bright Shines"


Tobacco - "Truck Sweat" (NOT SAFE FOR WORK)