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."

Songs of the Week

Hello friends. It's been too long. My apologies, I've been on vacation for a week. Quick post today but there are some gems in here I assure you.

1. Theophilus London - "Hum Drum": Theophilus London is a DJ from London (surprise). His "This Charming Mixtape" has a couple highlights, this is one 'em.

2. Yeah Yeah Yeahs - "Skeletons": The more I listen to It's Blitz! the more i love it. This song is as beautiful as it is haunting.

3. Miami Horror - "Don't Be On With Her": Another bitchin' song from the 80's throwback sensations.

4. Helio Sequence - "Captive Mind": I've been posting a lot from these guys lately. Another solid tune off Keep Your Eyes Ahead.

5. Junior Boys - "Dull to Pause": A yet unreleased song off their yet unrealeased Begone Dull Care. I like what I hear.

6. David Sitek - "With a Girl Like You": Another great song off the Dark Was the Night AIDS benefit compilation which I wrote about breifly here. Gems galore on this thing.

7. Friendly Fires - "Skeleton Boy": Their self-titled album will make you dance. Get it.

8. Phoenix - "If I Ever Feel Better": Their 1901 single from their upcoming Wolfgang Amedaeus Phoenix got me fired up so I went back and listened to some of the classics. This is one of their best.

9. Starfucker - "Florida": I like Starfucker's chill-yet-upbeat sound. . . and their name. Posted a video from them below too.

10. Crystal Castles - "Courtship Dating": Their best song in my humble opinion.





Sigur Ros - "Vaka"
Oldie but goodie. I have always loved this song, but with the video it's even better. Gives me goosebumps everytime.



Starfucker - "Rawnald Gregory Erickson the Second"
Not sure why I like this so much. But i do.



Bert & Ernie - "Ante Up"
I coudn't resist. I promise this is the last Sesame Street remix. . . for at least a week.

Songs of the Week: 2/10/09

Hello friends. I told you I'd have some more tunes for you today and I'm a man of my word. So here you go. . .

1. Temper Trap - "Sweet Disposition": I posted this song a few weeks ago but need to repost because it's just that good. They are a new band from Australia with only an EP released so far. Eagerly waiting to hear more.

2. The Helio Sequence - "Hallelujah": Great song from the electro-indie duo from Oregon. I highly recommend their album Keep Your Eyes Ahead.

3. Animal Collective - "Summertime Clothes": Yet another incredible song off their recently-released Merriweather Post Pavilion album. If you missed my feelings on the album, they are here.

4. AmpLive - "VideoTapez": A great mashup of Radiohead vs. Del the Funky Homosapien.

5. The Hood Internet - "Light Falsetto Music": Another remix by Girl Talk rivals The Hood Internet, this one mixes The Dream with Cut Copy's "Lights and Music," which is a great song in it's own right.

6. Foals - "Big Big Love (Fig.2)": One of the best songs off the British punk-dance band's Antidotes - a solid album.

7. Jape - "Nothing Lasts Forever": Richie Egan aka Jape from Dublin is an interesting one man electro-folk band. Cool stuff.

8. Elbow - "Starlings": I can't get Peter Gabriel out of my head when I hear this guy sing, but that aside, the arangement and beauty of this song speaks for itself.

9. David Holmes - "I Heard Wonders": A song of of Irish DJ/Film Score-Composer David Holmes' The Holy Pictures.

10. Portishead - "Machine Gun": As I've mentioned before, these guys came back with vengance on thier Third album - this is just another example. Admittedly, it's not for everyone, but unique enough to be post-worthy.




Peter Bjorn & John - "Nothing to Worry About"
These guys seem to be pretty adept at creating what-the-fuck?-type videos (see "Lay it Down" in addition to the video below).

To quote Pitchfork's description of this video. . . "Tatted-up balding biker street-dancing dudes with giant coifs have "Nothing to Worry About" in the second clip from Writer's Block follow-up Living Thing. I think the technical term for a cinematic work like this is "quirky as fuck""



Fleet Foxes - "Mykonos"
This is a great song I featured a couple weeks ago from Seattle-based hippie rockers Fleet Foxes off their Sun Giant EP. I'm not surprised that they complimented it with an equally awesome video after seeing their video for "Winter White Hymnal" a couple months ago. These guys get it.



Royksopp - "Remind Me"
This video is a classic. You may recognize a different version of this song from a Geico commercial. Why a remixed version of the song was put to this video, I don't know, but awesome nevertheless.

Songs of the Week: 10/20/08

There's no rhyme, reason or theme to these songs. . . other than the fact that they all kick ass.



Scrounged up the video for Sebastien Tellier's "Divine" also. Quite enjoyable.

Sebastien Tellier - "Divine"

Songs of the Week: 10/6/08

This week I'm posting songs from artists who have held a spot in my music rotation for months. As much as I love looking for new music, I keep coming back to these bands who all have, and will always have, a special place in my ears.



On a related note, I had the privilege of seeing Ratatat and Chromeo here in Boston last week on back to back nights. If they come to a city near you and you don't go, that would be an extremely unwise decision. Here are a couple of videos from Chromeo and Ratatat for your viewing pleasure. . .

Chromeo - "Bonafide Lovin'"


Ratatat - "Mirando"