Can't Stop, though we wish we could!!

tUnE-yArDs- Powa

2011-07-10T20:13:00.003-07:00

the new tUnE-yArDs album is possibly the greatest album of the year.

below is a list of things that may have affected the above claim.
-I've been desperately needing a summer album
-I've taken a ukelele to the beach a couple times in the past months
-i really really like prince

Take a listen to the track below. Listen to how the simple chord progression builds over the 5 minutes song. From a sweet plea to a lover to a full-blown-Prince-Mariah-James-Brown-all-out-earful-of-awesome.

The rest of the album is great summer music and shows range. The other obvious stand out is the sond Bizness, click here to watch the video.

Lykke Li- Unrequited Love

2011-04-05T19:09:00.002-07:00

On the train home tonight I listened to this song about 6-7 times. It's a departure from the rest of the album which is pleasantly upbeat. But this track in the middle of the album sound fleet foxes meet she & him. It's very pretty and great.

I don't know who's still reading this blog but this song brought up some emotions i haven't dealt with from things last fall. It still hurts.

Running- Gil Scott-Heron/ Jamie XX

2011-03-05T14:22:00.002-07:00

This album came out a couple weeks ago. It's a remix of the Scott-Heron album done by Jamie Smith from the XX. It's great. it's minimalist and awesome. I'm obsessed with the fourth track. Running. It's spoken word and rad.

I'm starting to get my stuff together as I am moving to New York City in a few weeks and the subjet matter of this song is very fitting to the task at hand.

Enjoy!

Efterklang- Alike

2011-02-26T15:38:00.001-07:00

Eftkerlang playing a bit of the song Alike for the French website La Blogotheque

AN ISLAND - 3rd TEASER - Vincent Moon & Efterklang from Rumraket on Vimeo.

2010 Best List

2011-01-01T11:45:00.002-07:00

Das Racist- Sit Down, Man

If you've heard of Das Racist it's probably because of their one hit song, Combination Pizza Hut and Taco Bell. They are a duo from brooklyn. They love rap and their two mixtapes this year (Shut Up, Dude & Sit Down, Man) have been homages to rap. Kool A-D and Hims make smart, smirky rap that is laced with so many literary and social references that I just plain got tired of googleing the constant stream of things i probably should know.

The first mixtape is decent, but Sit Down, Man is much better. It has so many different producers and guest MCs that the flow is somewhat hurt. But overall it absolutely belongs on my Best of List.

Kanye West- My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy

It's his masterpiece. Nicki Manaj kills it on monster. It's fun to hear Bon Iver all over the album. Jay-Z decided he hates rapping and doesn't want to do it anymore (this is what i read into his verse on Monster). Kanye's 4-minute humming solo on Runway shows his awesomeness.

Vampire Weekend- Contra

I like Vampire Weekend. This CD came out early this year so i don't really remember why i like it. I do though.

LCD Soundsystem- This Is Happening

Favorite of the year. Please listen to it. Listen to I Can Change, then Dance Yrself Clean. There is no reason for you not to love this album.

Girl Talk- All Day

I am an amateur electrician, i like building clocks and lights, I play a couple instruments decently, I'm pretty good on the turntables, I can code in a couple different computer languages. Point being I have a little talent spread out in different areas. My ability isn't focused on one particular skill. But Greg Gillis is different. He was put on this earth of create the most head boppable concosions possible out of 30 years of pop music. I feel Gillis could be forgiven for all other personal shortcomings. I feel like he's a guy that gets lost easily, can't start a fire, and forgets people's names the minute after he meets them. All of which are forgivable because he's so so good at musical collages. His latest album On and On solidifies his place as master of whatever it is he does.

Halo- Major Lazer (feat. Elephant Man)

2010-12-28T13:01:00.002-07:00

Is my new favorite. For your reference Major Lazer is Diplo's dancehall alter ego.

JJ- KILL (new mixtape)

2010-12-27T12:23:00.002-07:00

If you love hip hop like I love hip hop then you should really love the new JJ mixtape.

Crystal Castles- Air War

2010-09-10T18:00:00.003-07:00

I've found a love for this electronica duo recently. My initial opinion of them hasn't changed much since I heard their second CD for the first time a few months ago. This track is from the first self titled CD. I really like the vaguely british voice sample of inaudible words. While I think the early 90's video game synths are great they aren't what draw me to this band. Listen to this song as it builds and, 20 seconds or so before the end, peaks in a very dreamy moment. It's that kind of craftsmanship that makes this band a great listen that will grow on you.

Local Natives- World News

2010-08-19T19:21:00.001-07:00

I really like Grizzly Bear. I really like Fleet Foxes. I really like Local Natives.

I really like LCD Soundsystem

2010-05-26T21:53:00.002-07:00

The new album is awesome. I might have more to say about it but for now it's rad. A real departure from previous albums.

For now his is my favorite track.

JJ- From Arica to Malada

2010-02-02T23:36:00.002-07:00

So there was a time when I was 17 and so heavily influenced by Lagwagon and other punk staples that I used to heckle yuppies on the subway and in other places around Hong Kong. I thought I had it all figured out. I saw them as incredibly lame with their suits, cell phones and presumably dull music.
Looks like things have come full circle. My closet is full of slacks and Brooks Brothers dress shirts. I have a phone that gets work email. And now I think I like world music.

JJ is a mysterious Swedish band that has put out an EP and full length with another promised this spring. It sounds a lot like Enya. But there is something very slippery about them. The song From Africa to Malaga sounds like it could be the score of a cruise ship commercial but on a deeper lyrics there is a darkness that could draw in the 17 yr old punk that is still hanging on inside of me. Yet on a surface level it's pleasant enough that I played it without hesitation while driving around an out-of-state upper management at work.

The third track is very hip-hop. Much like Discovery this band has a fascination with rap. Thankfully they don't actually try it. The song Ecstasy is about as urban you can get without actually spitting raps. It's an ambient cover of Lil' Wayne's Lollipop, sung about a drug fueled club night out in Miami. Before you write this off as trash please note that they pay homage to the ultra clean rapping Will Smith.

Enjoy it because it's great and don't care what the guys in your high school band would say if they knew you listened to world music.

My List of Superlatives

2009-12-17T18:51:00.003-07:00

Most Dangerously Catchy Album of the Year
Discovery LP
Because it’s catchy, because it has gender blending lyric voice arrangements because I used the line “I want to dress you in the morning in last night’s clothes” Because I love it Discovery’s LP is the most dangerously catchy album of the year.

Most Getable Album of the Year
The XX The XX
Much has been written about the stark qualities of this south London quartet’s debt album. I agree mostly with the deliberate use of every note, the heavily R&B influenced bass lines. But what makes this album so great is the personally intense lyrics. The vaguely sexual conversations sound like DTRs I have had in the early 2000s. I like this album in the way I like the girl across the aisle from me on the Milwaukee Denver flight I’m 1/3 into. It’s gettable.

Most Amazingly Unrelatable Album of the Year
Grizzly Bear Veackatimist

In complete contradiction to the previous album the avante garde beauty of Grizzly Bear’s third album Veckatimist is something you either buy into or do not. I have spoken a few times on this blog of my love or Kanye West. I buy into his persona and love when he acts out. In short I get him. Much on that vain is my love for this album. I fully agree with accusations that it is over the top and pretentious. But I think there is place for that in everyone’s life. For me this album’s place is the score to me cooking green chili hominy stew on a Sunday morning.

As an aside I was at an Art Brut show in October and got to hear the lead singer complain about how unrelateable the Bowie song “passenger” was, and explain that there was no way the normal person could relate to Bowie and Iggy Pop doing heroin in the back of a limo on the way to an awards show. Fair enough but I do not want to hear songs by rock stars that I can solely relate to, imagine how boring Lil Wayne would be if he were an Airline Revenue Management Analyst.

Most Disappointing Album of the Year
Avett Brothers I and Love and You

Dear Super Producer Rick Rueben,

Please leave things I love alone. I was very excited when the brother from Concord, NC were signed to Columbia. I was glad they got a break. I was excited for so many more people to experience the sloppy mess of emotion that is the Avett Brothers. As a banjo player myself I really need more people to appreciate it. Please take bluegrass out of the hands of pretty boy groups from new England like the insufferable “Old Crow Medicine Show.” So much was possible on the onset of this project.

Now Rick before you think I am nothing but a hater I want to say I have been a fan of yours for some time. In Jay-Z’s 99 problems I knew it was you who Hova gave a shout out to “You’re crazy for this one Rick.” I think it’s safe to say that was the track that allowed me to begin really getting into Jay-Z. For that I will be forever grateful. But sir what you did to the Avett’s is unforgivable. Instead of harnessing the rawness and angst that made them so great you mellowed it out. Got it ready for favorable reviews in Rolling Stones. You made it so boring. The title track to the album seems so disingenuous. ‘Brooklyn Brooklyn take me in?’ Like a ballad asking Williamsburg hipsters to accept them. Like it is a haven for all things artistic. These guys are country, they are suburbs, they are malls wearing sweats, they are borrowing parents minivans unapologetically. That’s the charm.

I don’t think I am being unfair in blaming you for the mediocre album. The ep “the second gleam” the boys released on their own months before this full length far surpassed “I and Love and You.” It’s sincere. You sir are not sincere. Again I petition stay away from things I love.

Paul

Most Stereotype Shattering Album of the Year
Phoenix Woflgang Amadeus Phoenix

Admittedly I don’t know many French people, just a handful really. Not enough to agree or disagree with general stereotypes of them. But I am familiar with the idea of a Frenchman snooty, unhelpful, and uncooperative. With that said Phoenix’s new album is everything their national stereotype is not. This foursome from Versae took American indie pop and perfected it. What Spoon and The National were so close to Phoenix arrived at. The two singles from the album 1901 and Liztomania are just fantastic. If this was only what all Frenchman are known for Parisian tourism would be such a delight. But sadly the album over promises as even the band are typical Frenchman in interviews I have heard. Just being difficult, for example refusing to acknowledge that fact that they are from the same town as other French indie pop heroes Air is even remotely interesting, but insisted on downplaying the fact by explaining that Air is a few years older than they are and so completely unrelated.

Best Indie Artist to Not be a Small Man
Bon Iver Blood Bank

After Justin Vernon’s earth changingly beautiful 2008 release For Emma I was curious what he would follow it up with. It couldn’t be something that matched the sadness and solidarity of his first album. First of all I don’t think that was possible and second I don’t know if I could take another album that heavy. But the album Blood Bank came out, so hopeful so fresh, quite a turn around from Emma. Still a very wintery album from the cover to talking of rubbing hands in cars to keep hands warm. Some bands flop on the sophomore album. I learned this from Talyor Bradford as we waited for the follow up album from Harvey Danger. This album is not a flop. Considering this, Veron’s side project Volcano Choir and the work he has done with high school jazz bands I hope to be hearing from J. Vernon for much longer than I had listened to Harvey Danger.

The XX- Shelter

2009-09-06T18:27:00.002-07:00

The last post was summer time jam. This is fall. I like techno but not enough. I think this is a good cross and it's very desperate and longing. Perfect for falling leaves.

This group of four twenty year old's need to be put in heavy rotation on you FLAC player (look it up, the next new thing).

Discovery- I wanna be your boyfriend

2009-09-06T18:25:00.001-07:00

It's been referred to as bedroom hip-hop. I'm into it. One guy from Ra Ra Riot and the another from Vampire Weekend, done. I hope you enjoy this. It's very poppy and robotic. It's been my summer jam. Sorry it's so late.

And not to mention it's the perfect soundtrack to for a crush.

Cymbals Eat Guitars

2009-05-03T08:58:00.002-07:00

Remember Back to the Future?

Remember when Michael J Fox was playing guitar at the under the sea dance?

Remember when he started playing Johny B Good?

Remember when the guitarist with the busted hand got on the phone and told his cousin that he found the sound he was looking for?

Well Cymbals Eat Guitars is that sound. It's like Built to Spill if Built to spill had youth or the ability to feel any emotion regarding girls.

(Sorry no video yet)

Son Lux

2009-04-15T18:09:00.001-07:00

If your sister is dating a guy and he is entered in your family's secret santa program and if you select his name and he isn't going to be at your family's Christmas celebration do you have to get his present to him on time? Well the answer to this rhetorical is no, no i didn't get Zach his present by Christmas. But the magnitiude of the greatness makes up for the timing. I gave him the Son Lux album At War With Walls And Mazes.

From some reason I've been into really haunted music recently (see upcoming Bonnie "Prince" Billy post). This is right up that alley but instead of being lo-fi like Beach House or Bon Iver this is a very polished album with walls of sound and empty halls stillness. The way lyrics are repeated while the score increases in intensity then drops to a whisper give the two lines incredible meaning. The classical themes hybrid with truly artist performance manipulations make this CD a must have (well please preview).

The album is great it's been in my player for 4 months.

The Streets-The Edge of a Cliff

2009-04-10T17:20:00.002-07:00

I think I've always liked the Streets, at least since his A Grand Don't Come for Free album. I'm not sure exactly why I like him so much. It could be the unpretentious introspection or the frankness. Either way if you aren't a fan of rap per se you need to spend a little time with Mike Skinner

Some notables-
Blinded by the Lights
Dry Your Eyes
and on a less serious tone
Fit but You Know It

The reason for the post is the leading track for a new album released a few days ago. The Edge of a Cliff may be abrasive at first but is very well crafted lyrically and shows growth from the english songsmith. Visually- well let's just say I'm jealous of the man's rapid beard growth.

Enjoy the streets, add him to your list of white rappers that aren't Aesop Rock.

Sky Larkin

2009-04-09T19:49:00.002-07:00

Dear Annie Cluff, Nicole DeSouza, Natasha Ploeger, Katherine Fiet & Lisa Hannigan,

Let me just say it's been a pleasure and you all have meant a lot to me throughout the years. As you probably know I have at some time in my life (and possible currently) had a crush on you. It had been very fulfilling for me and I whole heartily thank you for your unwitting service.

I would like to take this opportunity to introduce to you my newest crush. She's super sweet and I think you two would really get along. She does match the standard Paul crush criteria

Tall'ish
Wears flats
Has bangs
And is cute

Her name is Katie Harkin and she is the lead singer and guitarist in the english band Sky Larkin. I saw her Tuesday night at a show. Her band opened for Los Campesinos and she was charming and gracious and I think I'm in love.

G chat with sweetness and light

2008-12-30T22:06:00.001-07:00

me: and ps my new obsession http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jjy2P0MSVlo&NR=1

7:29 PM Katherine: it's like hipsters formed a barbershop quartet

7:30 PM me: it's silly i love that band and that song and haven't stopped since i found it at 2 am this morning

7:31 PM Katherine: oooooh 2 am

that's what christmas breaks are all about

You're just a spoiled LA girl

2008-12-03T22:27:00.002-07:00

Warning, if you don't sign on to the Kanye West Crazy Train you probably won't be into this new album. There is more auto-tune on this album then there is braces in an audience of the twilight movie. It would be easy to say Kanye is jumping on the robot voice band wagon after the success of T-Pain but you need to remember Kanye was a producer first and his producing was thick with vocal modulation, see through the wire.

I am a fan of Kanye and understand that his music is about the experience of being Kanye West. The past year West lost his mother to an early plastic surgery related death and broke up with his fiance, so if he makes an album that is super introspective and dark, then I'll allow him that. But for those who need club anthems, see Stronger, kanye has promised a new album by june. This will suffice until then. Listen to it more than once.

It's electro-pop, it's not rap, it's ocdelicious.

She wants a man who has got his game locked tight

2008-11-12T23:07:00.004-07:00

I first heard chromeo a few years back, the song mercury tears was on a snowboard video (don't get the wrong impression, i watch maybe one a year.) I had heard that Chromeo had a new album out and I kept pushing the first listen back, but I was home from work monday watching a Made marathon on MTV and they kept featuring spots for Chromeo. I downloaded the album and LOVE IT!!

Being 6 months late on this I share it with caution. Turns out Dan Whitmore has loved this whole album for months... and no note to me, what a rascal.

Love this song, Momma's Boy, enjoy it, I do.

I strolled in the club with hat down michael jack style

2008-10-13T22:30:00.002-07:00

I love rap music and I have some body issues.

Horse Feathers: House With No Home

2008-10-02T15:49:00.007-07:00

I'm in sort of a rut these days and I'm sure some of you can relate. This is my problem; I haven't been able to find anything really good to listen to lately. The bands I've researched in the past couple of weeks haven't sparked any intrigue (kinda sounds like the presidential candidates) and I've been left with nothing but wasted time. So, I just decided to go to the record store and pick up whatever looked interesting. After rummaging around for a while, (I'm sure the people there thought I was insane: picking up an album, walking five feet, then returning it to the shelf and repeating the process a couple more times) I finally settled on this album, and I'm glad I did. People new to folk music sometimes find it all to be the same. "Oh yeah, its got a banjo picking arpeggios, down-from-the-mountain vocals, a fiddle, and a tambourine in a song or two." The nice thing about Horse Feathers is that the minimalist structure of the songs give the artists much more room to be able to slowly reveal overpowering ideas through the placement of obscure musical statements. It might take a few listens to catch, but when you do hear it, listening becomes much more interesting and enjoyable. Its also nice to listen to truly talented string players. These guys are all well accomplished musicians. At last, something to listen to! And please, this blog isn't just for Paul and I to rant about crap we think we know about. If you have some bands you'd like us to recognize, let us know! I'm definitely interested in hearing it, because this week was rough, only being able to find one band to suffice my hunger. Horse Feathers was a lifesaver!

Okkervil River

2008-09-29T21:32:00.002-07:00

I can't stop listening to the new album "The Stand Ins." In an attempt to impress a girl I had marked their concert on my calendar. As the show came closer the girl changed but the objective remained the same: impress girl with depth of indie knowledge.

She said she was into going to the show. Then I realized the only exposure i had to Okkervil River was a streaming concert I had listened to months ago on NPR. So I downloaded the most recent album from the band. It's great. This falls into a category of bands and music that is yet to be named but is best described in quoting my brother when he was telling me about Pavement 6 years ago. "I think I like the music because it's music that i feel we could make. It's toe tapping, not head banging and sloppy." The writing is clever and fun.

In short Okkervil River is fun, smart and OCDELICIOUS.

Los Campesinos

2008-09-17T17:58:00.007-07:00

I origianlly got Los Campesinos' EP from my sister on a burned CD with half of Spoon's Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga album. Seeing as how I didn't have a CD player at the time I left the CD in my mom's car in another state. But everytime i went to visit it was almost a treat know what my mom would have this CD in her car next to Steely Dan's greatest hits and the new indigo girls. So when I heard the new album by Los Campesinos was out I got it digitally and have been able to give it a proper listen.

As you all expected, I love it. Can't stop listening to this wonderful ironic exciteable dark happy music. They are pitchfork and NPR's darlings right now and they should be yours too.

I need human heat

2008-09-17T17:58:00.004-07:00

(Originally written in July)

This week was my birthday and thank you NPR for a great present. Usually I'm not too impressed by Bob Boulin and NPR's All Songs Considered. Much like the rest of NPR arts and culure stories the ASC ends up taking themselves and artists they review a bit too seriously. But recently ASC had a poll on their website to find the best albums of 2008 so far. And the results were pretty interesting. The fist result was the new Panic at the Dicso. I know i know, Panic at the Disco was voted one of the top album by NPR listeners!! But as you most likely suspected Panic at the Disco had a link on their website asking people to vote for them. I'm imagining 17 year old youths with black hair and lip rings leaving the world of pittchforkmedia.com and hot topic to enter, if only for a strategic vote, the parellel universe of Nina Totenberg and Morning Edition. And what happens when dad walks in on that 17 year old son of whom he is so worried about because he doesn't get why he wears eyeliner and girls jeans, when that dad sees the familiar three color logo of NPR on the website? The dad goes through sock first then disbelief next comes a calming feeling of comfort, "he'll be alright, even though he may act oddly and be so aloof from the family Robert Seigel and Renee Montain will bring him back". But sorry dad you've got a few years until your 17 year old son comes around and realizes that

I had to cut myself off. the extended metaphor got away from me. But enjoy the Scottish goodness.

Bon Iver

2008-09-16T20:08:00.005-07:00

I know some of you are sick of me talking about this guy, but I honestly have been obsessing since June, and I really can't get over it. Bon Iver. What a man. For Emma, Forever Ago is the best album that has come out since Miles Davis' Kind of Blue. I know, its a lofty claim, but hey, no one reads this blog anymore so I could say "SHIT-FIRE DAMNATION" and no one would even yell blasphemy. Seriously though, I have a fever, and no, its not for more cowbell, its for more Bon Iver.

http://www.emusic.com/album/Bon-Iver-For-Emma-Forever-Ago-MP3-Download/11161152.html

So Much Chips you can have a bag if you a snacker!

2008-05-24T16:34:00.005-07:00

Alright. Some of you may know I work as a DJ. DJ Heartbroker (it's a bit ridiculous). I DJ parties with 200-1500 ppl usually. I'm not the biggest fan of Hip Hop but this work helped me get though college, really working weekend nights playing music to a bunch of sweaty 18- 20 somethings is better than washing dishes.

I was Dj'ing a party a few weeks ago and I got a text from a friend asking me to play lollipop by lil wayne. I had no idea what the song was and didn't play it... but turns out I love the song and have probably listened to it upwards of a hundred times in the past week. But not the original, the remix with Kanye. It's more polished and more clever... of course its more clever if Mr West is gracing us with his presence.

"I got so much chips man you can call me Hewlett_Packer, I got so much chips you can have a bag if you're a snacker"

Well done Lil Wayne, you're silly clever and I love you.
**Caution Un-EDITED**
Lil'" Wayne ft. KanYe West - Lollipop (Official Remix)

Hayden- Bass Song

2008-03-20T18:32:00.003-07:00

If there was one song in the world I had to listen to for the rest of my life, this song might be on the top 10, because every single time I listen to it, I'm surprised by something I hadn't heard the previous time. Just listen to the little placements of sounds during the transitions. The small trickle of the piano, the orchestra in the background rolling like thick swells in the ocean, the low shuffle of the percussion and piano, in some parts the bass imitates the hollow sound of a marimba, even the little noises in the background that let you know the song is human, that someone is there in the room with you. And listen to his voice; the small swells and releases in his musicality is astonishing. If you hear it one time without really listening, and then you listen to it again, really paying attention, its like listening to two completely different songs. And the song is so diverse too. Its a perfect study song, a perfect driving song, even a good running song, but its mostly a nothing song. This song is simply beautiful.

a link to the song will be up shortly.

Clap Your Hands Say Yeah!

2008-02-04T17:57:00.000-07:00

What can I say about Clap Your Hands Say Yeah that already hasn't been explained in the band's title? This refreshing group from Brooklyn recently celebrated the one year anniversary of their second album (which I bought and completely ate up)....but I still feel nostalgic about their first, self-titled album released in '05. It's probably one of the only albums I own where I completely love every single one of the songs...a true OCDelicious album. In a way they could be compared to Interpol and Arcade Fire, minus the grave themes and add fun-loving, shuffle-your-feet simplicity. Unlike others, however, Alec Ounsworth's voice (a voice my mom swears only a mother could love) rings refreshing tones in my ears, even at its whiniest. Their use of bells, chimes, accordion, harmonica and other toy-like sounds in a mature, melodic, and modern indie setting offers the world a new form of musical-bliss never experienced before. These two songs, Skin of My Yellow Country Teeth, and Is This Love? are quite enjoyable.

http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewProfile&friendID=8540231

Vampire Weekend- Debut Album

2008-01-30T14:10:00.001-07:00

When you live in a suburb of phx your exposure to breaking bands is severely limited. You don't hob nob with hipsters. There is no buzz at local hangouts. And all the local bands have perfected their Weezer covers and are working on some new stuff that will inevitably sound like a Jimmy Eat World song. So when the new album by Vampire Weekend was released last week I obviously missed it. But thanks to the powers that are the internet I can feel somewhat included in appreciating this new album.

The west african guitar parts in song like Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa sound something like mid-80's paul simon and the constant beat, steel drums and orchestral arrangements of Walcott give the album depth and personality. This album is warm clever and ocdelicious.

http://earbuds.popdose.com/taylor/Vampire%20Weekend%20-%20Cape%20Cod%20Kwassa%20Kwassa.mp3

http://www.mediamax.com/maxfife/Hosted/09%20Walcott.mp3

N.E.R.D. Everybody Nose

2008-01-30T09:56:00.000-07:00

I'm not one for Girl Anthems... usually. There was that stint in the late '90's but who didn't <3 the SPICE GIRLS. I'm not talking about just the music, the whole brand! movie and all. But with a recent focus on manliness, including weekly quotas of ESPN and discussion of "the game", my knowledge and appreciation of the pro-girl has been waining. Thank you N.E.R.D for creating such a catchy song. Bouncing in my cubicle while listening and catching myself singing along to the main tag line "all the girls standing in the line for the bathroom" has returned me to an emasculated state. But the song is so super catchy that is makes me very excited for the full length album from this Captain America group of hip-hop producers. This track is awesome, embarrassing and OCDelicious

https://poptartssucktoasted.sslpowered.com/LP1.21/everyone%20nose.mp3

Built to Spill- Car

2008-01-29T18:40:00.000-07:00

I have a strong emotional attachment to this song because it was on a mix cd my brother gave to me for Christmas when he came home from a long awaited visit from college. I was in 7th grade. Besides the radio and my parent's collection of vinyl they've had since the age of the dinosaurs, I knew virtually nothing of the outside world of music; and I was happily awakened to the indie world thanks to my brother's empty, college pockets. Car happens to be track one on the mix. I remember burning the candle til 2 in the morning as I listened quietly to Built to Spill over and over again. They became my meat and potatoes band, the one that started it all, the group that made me want to know what else was out there, which is exactly what this song is all about. " I want specifics on the general idea I wanna think what I should know Want you to do me what to show I wanna see movies of my dreams". Built to Spill happens to be everywhere. These old guys have been around for a while, and pretty much every indie-alt band out there has at least a speck of Built to Spill in them. Its like they created the "Essentials of Indie" manual and every aspiring musician just had to get their hands on it. Built to Spill has a vast range of formations from heart-exploding love songs to fun indie pop songs to 20 minute intricate ballads. No matter what mood your in, if you pop in one of their albums, you'll fill your ears with indie-loving charm.

http://idisk.mac.com/olneyce/Public/car.mp3

Blonde Redhead- Elephant Woman

2008-01-24T17:49:00.001-07:00

Although this no-wave group from New York is often compared with Sonic Youth, their two most recent albums 23 and Misery Is a Butterfly makes Blonde Redhead incomparable to any band that I have come across. And there are many, many elements that set them apart from everyone else. Their groves, jazz influenced syncopation and rhythm, and use of exotic instruments and eerie background sounds, place them in the avant-experimental genre. Unfortunately, when some artists enter this experimental and transcendental vortex...they simply produce detached and fuzzy garbage. Not in this case. Blonde Redhead perfectly combines the use of structural compositions with an abstract twist. Their progressive chord changes and dark, romantic themes mystify me. On top of this eeriness that takes you on a trip through the vastness, and sometimes lonely emptiness of the universe is an intensity that grips you, and a violent emotion that leaves you completely awestruck. The song, Elephant Woman, is so full of intensity and emotion its hard to describe how I feel about it....as it is hard to place Blonde Redhead in any classification or with any other artist.

Okay, I finally found a link to the song, but its a YouTube video. And if you don't like the lovely anime graphics, spend your blessed 99 cents and buy it off iTunes.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XRbahynwyEs&feature=related

Hot Chip will leave you breathless

2008-01-23T18:55:00.000-07:00

For the past two weeks I haven't been able to stop listening to this electronica band from London. The tight synth beats and ironic rhymes make it addictive. Who would have thought a group of twenty somethings would have such an affect on me. There new album will be coming out Feb 4th and leaks have been coming out on interweb for a minute and with each new track my expectations rise and rise.

Let's hope the new album isn't a disappointment because we all know that disappointment comes from unmet expectations... take my last gf for example.

Ready for the Floor
http://ricky.differentclass.org/uploads/hotchip.mp3

More Hot Chip songs soon if'n you like.

Wolf Parade- I'll Believe in Anything

2008-01-21T21:50:00.001-07:00

When the parents of Sunset Rubdown, Frog Eyes, Atlas Strategic, and Hot Hot Heat conceived, they gave birth to a beautiful baby named Wolf Parade. Wolf Parade grew up strong and fast, with a little help from his Godfather Isaac Brock, and showed us a thing or two he had learned, making the other little kiddies kind of jealous. His mumble/squawk voice combined with his thunder-crash drums, weights-on-his-fingers keyboard, raw/throbbing guitar, and intense electronica synthesizer makes Wolf Parade a new edition to the new-wave family of indie rock.
I'll Believe in Anything, is Indian tribal dance meets crude guitar/drums with an emphasis on a high pitched yet bubbly-brook synthesizer. This combination makes a perfect way to wear the hell out of your mp3 player. Anyway, this doesn't make a bit of darn sense, just listen, you'll get the idea.
Beware, its incredibly OCDelicious!
http://alina.bothsidesofthemouth.com/09%20I%27ll%20Believe%20In%20Anything.mp3

Kickin' it off with the dreamtastic iron and wine

2008-01-20T19:56:00.000-07:00

When I first encountered the sounds of Sam Beam's silky, yet ashen voice, and that twangy, melodious banjo that made my mind wander to a barefoot childhood full of sweet smelling summers and innocent mischief, I went through a good month or two of ultra OCDelicious obsession. Iron and Wine became one of those bands that saved me from the everyday robotics of life, transported my mind to thoughtful, thinly veiled dreams and made me wish I could grow a wicked beard (yes thats right) and drink cold lemonade on the front porch. His deep thoughts and lament for passing moments and forgotten lovers makes even the most nostalgic poets' work child's play.

This song in particular, Resurrection Fern, remains on repeat, even when my sisters beg for Baby Bash's, Cyclone...but that is for another day's topic. In the meantime, grab a seat in Grandma's rocking chair, press play, and dream of happy moments soon to come.

http://www.speedofdark-web.com/speedofdark/2007/Best-2007/Iron%20and%20Wine_08-Resurrection%20Fern.mp3

Xiu Xiu- I Do What I Want When I Want

2008-01-19T17:46:00.001-07:00

I have never been into experimental music always found it a bit too much. But Xiu Xiu may usher me into the Genre. All i had previously known about this San Francisco based group I had learned at a music festival in California last year. A bunch of 15 year old kids wore their t-shirts. So as far as I knew then it was a new skate brand with a chinese logo, like Zhong.

I stumbled on this song this week and the eeriness of it keeps it on repeat. There are enough melodic breaks to make it listenable but it drifts of into morose wanderings enough to make it interesting.

It's toe tapping and OCDelicious.
http://stereoscope.fm/melody/011408_XiuXiu.mp3

Why the BLOG

2008-01-19T17:38:00.000-07:00

I've had this problem ever since I was young. I would listen to one song over and over again. It would become an obsession. My family would make fun of it but I couldn't stop. I was ashamed of my OCD tendencies. Because the OCD was limited to Vanilla Ice raps and Niel Young jams I decided not to seek medical attention but instead suppressed the symptoms but was always afraid of any one seeing my top 25 played on iTunes because of the large disconnect on play count between the top of the list and the bottom.

It's time to come to grips with my condition. Hopefully this experiment will help me become more self actualized. I am going to blog about the songs that I habitually listen to. Please don't underestimate my sickness. Some times I'll listen to a song easily 40 times in one day!!

SO this is my treatment. OCDelicious!!!

Bon Appetit.