It's Been a While...

Hey all on Tumblr/Twitter/Blogspot/Buzznet,

  Woo! Vacation was fun (sorry I couldn’t take you all with me - it would’ve been funner-er). Anyway, I’ve got a little list of musical musicians that I’ve been feeling lately, and hopefully you’ll find one that you like for yourself:

1. B.B. King - the guy is a legend in blues. Plain and simple, if he’s playing this summer at London’s Royal Albert Hall for the equivalent of a $200 ticket, you’ve done something in music. The Greatest Hits route is best for an introduction.

2.Eliot Lipp - Ambient, electro-insert adjective music. Perfect compliment to Four Tet. 

3. Adele - no words necessary. Just the number 21.

4. PANTyRAID - a dubstep group I can’t get enough of, mostly for the hip-hop tinged backdrop. It’s got a mix of Ratatat with a lot less grain. If you’re gonna listen to PANTyRAID also hear Black Moth Super Rainbow. 

-Enjoy!

Vacation All I Ever Wanted...

Won't be posting this week. Going on vacation for a little R&R. 

Here's a little EP of what I'll be hearing:

1. Whatever songs apply to the term, "copa cabanna"

2. The Boy from Ipanema

3. Anything Van Morrison

4. Hopefully not Jimmy Buffet

5. Lots and lots and lots of reggae. 

Song of the Day

**3/2/11
Brand New - Soco Amaretto Lime
--------------A pause in the evening to do this post. This song is many things, many things that we don't think about unless the tempo is slowed and the guitar sounds like a heartbeat. Don't mean to sound cheesy here, but this is one of those songs that you just have to listen to to get the real feel for. The ending is particularly noteworthy, as it is abrupt and almost crude - probably the strongest message in the entire song. If you want to stay 18 forever, this is a perfect song off a near-perfect album, Your Favorite Weapon.



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3LE1Bd_wX1M

Album I Love - Adele 21

I know, I know - 21 has been out for a while. But I literally just got it this afternoon, and I adore it. The girl’s only a year older than I am but she’s singin’ like she’s seen it all and done it all - with class. Soulful is an understatement. There’s some earth-shattering, chills inducing resonance with her voice that no amount of words could ever do justice to describe.

  Adele yanks heartstrings in all directions of love - the resentful, the broken and the satisfied. “One and Only” puts a lump in the throats of the heartbroken while the very next track “Lovesong” is devotional. These are the paradoxes that make 21 all the more intriguing and likable. 

 ”Rolling in the Deep” is right up there with the tenacious power ballads like Duffy’s “Mercy” and Florence and the Machine’s “Dog Days Are Over.” If you’re new to Adele and need a good jumping-off point, “Rolling” is the way to go.

The album closes with “Someone Like You,” where Adele’s vulnerable honesty coupled with her determination to carry on makes for a complicated but optimistic ending. 

Song of the Day

**2/28/11
Washed Out - New Theory

Mixmaking is an artform - some people make jumbled together, out of order mixes that are as creative as a kindergarten’s fingerpainting project. But some are fine works, crafted meticulously and harmoniously to the ultimate listening experience. Washed Out was on one exceptional Pollock of playlists I received not too long ago. 

Washed Out, the stage name for Ernest Greene, is a part of what some call the “chillwave movement” that is happening in music. Washed Out follows the format of Caribou and LCD Soundsystem on a more minimal scale. The song “New Theory” has pop-techno elements that make for a festival favorite. Get it from the Life of Leisure EP. 

Song of the Day

**2/27/11
Foster the People - Pumped Up Kicks
--------------------Some people have New Year's resolutions, but this is my one-week resolution: I will post every day this week! I know, right? I mean, that's sort of what I should be doing anyways but I've been busy as a bee. Like that bee in the White Stripes video though, adorably lonely and such.

  Anyway, Foster the People make catchy pop-tinged haze rock that works well alongside Blur and the Gorillaz. The group from LA formed in 2009 and started some hype from a well-received performance at SXSW. They released a self-titled EP a month ago, and I'm looking forward to where they take their sound beyond the preview.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SLK7hrRijes&feature=player_embedded

Mix Time

1. Beach House - Wedding Bells

2. Fruit Bats - Primitive Man

3. Real Estate - Out of Tune

4. Four Tet - She Just Likes to Fight

5. South - Paint the Silence

6. The National - Conversation 16

7, Sonic Youth - Dirty Boots

8. Billy Bragg - The Busy Girl Buys Beauty

9. Jawbreaker - Want

10. Jonzetta - Paint & Picture

11. Nada Surf - Blonde on Blonde

12. Augustana - Coffee and Cigarettes

13. Norah Jones - Be My Somebody

14. Jason Mraz - Did I Fool Ya? (Live at Java Joe's)

15. The Mumlers - Tangled Up with You

16. Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros - Home

Song of the Day

**2/21/11

PJ Harvey - The Words that Maketh Murder

----------------I have to say that PJ Harvey have impressed me. I adore their lead singer, who makes "The Words that Maketh Murder" sound like a weather-beaten tale of impending doom from the days of pirates and rouges. But with a 2011 update, of course. The range of instruments and easy-flowing down beats are wonderful. Get it from the new release Let England Shake. 

http://pitchfork.com/reviews/tracks/12116-the-words-that-maketh-murder/

Song of the Day

**2/20/11
The Blakes - Don't Bother Me
-----------------An album ends and you need something to listen to - happens every day. I was asked what I wanted to hear next, I said "anything that sounds like the Beach Boys took too much acid, recorded some demo tracks during a punk phase and never released it." Wil pulled out a band called The Blakes, and he was pretty spot on with my description.

  The Blakes hail from Seattle, and have had a varied career independent of labels and within them. In 2009 they released Lights On EP and Souvenir LP. "Don't Bother Me" is from their 2006 self-titled album released on a local label Light in the Attic. It was their first commercially available album, and it's definitely a more pop driven sound.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RYUA8QXd99I

Song of the Day

**2/2/11
Shiny Toy Guns - Le Disko (remix)
--------One of the main contributions to my music library is tuning in to what’s playing in coffee shops, record stores and other music-oriented establishments. BeansTalk is my mainstay when it comes to a good hazelnut mocha chai (Mad Monk, if you ever come by in Boone, NC). Occasionally I’ll donate a mix or two to the store to shake things up, but usually I like the music.

Today, it’s Shiny Toy Guns, and I listened to “Le Disko” like I’d listen to a friend I hadn’t seen in a while. This one’s a remix that drew my attention. Enjoy!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7nliiohnseU