criteria "the coincidence"
why haven't you heard of criteria? you should have, i'll tell you that. but for some reason stephen pedersen (formerly of cursive and the white octave) didn't garner much buzz with this album, which just shocks me. i mean i KNOW there's an audience for this out there. the lyrics on criteria's debut album are pretty much what the kids are calling "emo" i won't deny that, but this album is just rock music. and oh the guitars! this record takes great steps in restoring my faith in guitars with that "modern rock" sound. pedersen layers hooks on top of hooks on top of more hooks. this song kills, and sets the perfect pace for one of the most underheard albums of 2003, en garde, which doesn't have a weak track on it.
--from en garde [2003] // official site // lyrics
criteria "rescue rescue"
while 9 of the 10 tracks on en garde sound like "the coincidence" (which is not to say they aren't great, they just maintain the pace and feel of it), this one is completely different. the drum machine hits like xiu xiu, the verses he croaks like robert smith on ether, and it all layers and layers until there's no more sound to fill. i'd go for a whole album that sounds like this too.
--from en garde [2003] // lyrics
kind of like spitting "outside of a small circle of friends [phil ochs cover]"
on one of his acoustic tours, ben barnett (along with help from, i believe david j from novi split) decided to do a bunch of phil ochs covers at his shows. this is my favorite of those. worth it for his intro, worth it for the lyrics, majorly worth it because although i love ochs songs, i can never really get into his recordings. ben's versions off these tour bootlegs are absolutely killer though. this is a sarcastic cultural protest song. smart, catchy, and it should be more widely heard. seek out this whole bootleg, it's incredible i promise.
--from live bootleg 2002.07.17 at the fireside bowl, chicago, illinois (recorded by mike from the great cloak and dagger media) // other kols cds can be found at barsuk or hush (i highly recommend them!) // lyrics
kind of like spitting "la familia [mirah cover]"
kind of like spitting is one of my favorite bands, maybe my favorite. i love his voice, i love his songs, i love his covers. maybe it's that i can listen to his music and without reservation think "wow, that dude is just like me." he unabashedly covers songs he likes all the time, and here's another. again slightly eclipsing the original in my esteem. mirah's beautiful lyrics put to ben's croaking voice and a quiet acoustic. the fact that i haven't seen ben play live acoustic yet is a huge thorn in my side. "so tell me if we sleep together will you be my friend forever?"
-- from live bootleg 2002, philidelphia, pa // not on cd but you could buy nothing makes sense without it, which is my favorite kols album, SUPER recommended // lyrics
elsewhere: fluxblog has a killer cover of "uptown top ranking" by scout niblett.
mr. gramophone over at my favorite mp3blog has a joyful crazy bluegrass radiohead medley. makes me smile.
the librarians "record store"
sean's posting of the killers ode to "indie rock and roll" reminded me of this glorious song. the librarians don't technically exist anymore, but their songs and two of their members are carrying on in the paranoids. apparently the paranoids rerecorded this track on their new e.p. which i'm going to have to pick up right quick. a shrill rock voice dances over bouncy guitars. oh man this song is so good. it's a delightful funny sarcastic ode to indie elitism, but there's some truth to it as well. it illustrates the line between the earnest joy of hipsterism, and the painfully obvious ridiculousness of the whole thing. "well notice i didn't ask you on a date, cause i don't like pretty anyway!" this song would make it on wit alone, but it's also a joy to listen to. makes you want to pump your fist right along with it. "cause we buy records that you've never heard of / we've got more of them than you can imagine / not a single fucking one of them's ever going platinum / and that makes us cooler than you." the paranoids/librarians are a band to watch. ted leo mixed with elvis costello and severely lacking in ritalin.
--from ??? (you can buy cds at their site) // official site // lyrics
maria mena "you're the only one"
this straightup pop song from this oh so beautiful 18 yr old norwegian girl has been a favorite lately. not only does she have dimples and a cute accent, but this her first stateside single packs singspeak lyrics into some really addicting verses. i love how she overloads the lines so it seems like she has to rush through words to finish in time. shakira as filtered through alanis morrisette. combine her disarming good looks and voice with some offbeat lyrics like "i hope you can forgive for that time when i put my hand between your legs and said it was small / cause it's really not at all" and you've got the makings of my favorite kind of pop star, one who i'd actually like to hang around with.
--from white turns blue [out in july 2004] or you can buy the single // official site // lyrics
novi split "i had you"
novi split is primarily david j, who plays with one of my favorites, kind of like spitting frequently. ben barnett (of kind of like spitting) also plays on novi split's album, which distinctly reminds me of what i imagine something i'd make might sound like. this song has a creepy laugh/moan sample repeating through it, which combined with a drum sample, gives it an urgent feel. my favorite part is when he sort of starts chuckling when he's singing some parts. really really great song and an album/band worth checking out. cloak and dagger media has a great feature on them (and the whole album up for download, as well as some bonus cover songs). do david a favor though and make sure to help him sell 300 copies.
--from keep moving [2004] // official site // lyrics
the elected "don't get your hopes up"
i like rilo kiley but i've never gotten much into them, blake sennett's side project though, really got me. i liked their cd anyways but this song especially grabbed me after i saw them live at a great show at wellseley college in cambridge (which also had azure ray and neva dinova). when the elected first came out, blake was sporting a gasmask, which from the jubilant folk that makes up the album, was really amusing. a microphone was hooked up to it and he stood posing atop his amp, whistling into his gasmask. ever since i've loved this song. it's modern emo folk as filtered through laptops gone ragtime. the cascading vocals in the chorus are addicting.
--from me first [2004] // official site // lyrics
elsewhere: stereogum has a new decemberists track. excellent!
TTIKTDA links to a glorious new eric idle (of monty python fame!) shout out to the FCC (and just about anything else right-wing related). "the ozone's a no-go zone now that arnold's here to say 'the nuclear winter games are going to take place in LA!'" genius!
marilyn manson "i put a spell on you [screamin' jay hawkins cover]"
i was a little too young for nirvana to have a profound effect on me when i discovered music was THE THING for me. by the time i was in 7th grade (and thus starting to think my own thoughts), nirvana was already all over the radio and mtv, they were big when i found them, and they were already being copied. this meant that unlike kids a few years older than me, i couldn't be affected by that "OH MAN WHAT'S THIS?" of people who'd never heard anything like that before. i did get that with marilyn manson however, and though i'm sure a lot of you are shaking your head right now, i'll defend his music, intelligence, and skill endlessly. antichrist superstar didn't leave my stereo for months, and is to this day one of my favorite albums by anyone, ever. i connected with its anger in a way i still never have with cobain or reznor or others that my friends did/have. or maybe i just connected with his voice, because i'm not that angry, never have and never will be. but before i laid in my room for hours listening to manson screaming "I WASN'T BORN WITH ENOUGH MIDDLE FINGERS," i saw his video for "sweet dreams (are made of this)", his eurythmics cover, on mtv. this hideous scarred up man in a shredded pink tutu, with a voice made for rock. it made me uncomfortable, but in that good way that still motivates my listening habits to this day. there was a dark theatrical quality to it, that he borrowed from alice cooper (among others). i loved it, and i immediately ran out and bought smells like children, which i didn't know what to make of since it's not really an album so much as a collection of random things they'd been messing with. but besides the famous song i already knew, the song that really struck me was "i put a spell on you".. see when i was growing up my dad was a huge screamin' jay hawkins fan, so i'd heard the song hundreds of times. and here it was again but it was something different, it was still lunacy but it was morbid rather than unrestrained. this was the depressive to hawkin's manic original. i listened to it again and again and again, but forgot about it eventually once i found "beautiful people" and the rest of antichrist superstar, but i later rediscovered it when trent reznor put it on the soundtrack to david lynch's.. uhh.. movie.. lost highway, which sports one of my favorite soundtracks. the drums dance and crunch, manson moans and shrieks, the guitar croaks and croons, and the whole song churns with lust. unrequited love? this song will requite you whether you like it or not, bitch.
--from lost highway OST [1997] // lyrics
incubus "still not a player"
i have no idea what to call this. a cover mashup? a mashup cover? i've had it forever, back in high school at school dances i was friends with the dj, so i'd get him to play this at every dance. i never liked the original, but this one scratches and screams along, with a perfect chorus from incubus and the (i'm pretty sure) original vocals from big pun. the scratching and "hah hah hah" in the chorus kills me. this version is just so so so funky. funny, interesting, listenable... everything it should be. more akin to earlier incubus albums that had more funk, but with the scratching and acrobatic vocals of their later fare. wherever this came from and whoever made it and why... i'm so so glad. "you nasty brock, I DON'T CARE!" a must hear.
--from ??? (if anyone knows, please help me out!)
update: it seems this came from v/a: loud rocks [2000], might have to pick it up to see if any of the rest of it reaches these heights.
the matches "december is for cynics"
sure this may be a holiday song, but it's good any time of the year i swear. it quickly became my favorite 12th month song ever. from the slashing guitars, to the rock swagger tone he adopts, to the very hilarious lyrics, to the little christmas caroly "la la la" touches thrown in. ANY song that namechecks snopes.com deserves your listen, i promise. i guess you could call this a novelty song, due to the topic, but it stands so well on its own merits, you should do yourself the favor. if when he kicks into voicecrack falsetto on "i brought you a bottle of wine full of flowers and this vinyl" you don't smile, i pity you! funniest song of 2003, i swear.
--from a santa cause: it's a punk rock christmas [2003] // official site // lyrics
motion city soundtrack "the future freaks me out"
this song does it's dancing for you. the keyboards bounce and his voice bounces and the guitars, you guessed it, they bounce too. "what's up with will and grace? i don't get drum and bass... the future freaks me out!" this doesn't care if you're having fun, because it'll have the fun for you if you're not careful. sounds like the all-american rejects on xanax, singing about a serious fear of growing up.
--from i am the movie [2003] // official site // lyrics
elsewhere: songmeanings is back up! the BEST BY FAR lyrics database on the net (no popups, clean site design, easy to add lyrics/artists, etc etc). granted the "purpose" is supposedly to post commentary on what the songs mean, but if you're like me you'll quickly start ignoring the idiotic user commentary and just focus on how nice their lyrics database is. plus, lyric searchability, no more using google to figure out what that damn song you heard on the radio was!
if you're not already on top of it, check out the tofu hut. he's probably the most proflific mp3blogger i know of, and it'll seem like he's posted 12 entries since the last time you checked, every time! always worth the read.
q and not u "end the washington monument (blinks) goodnight"
this song almost sounds industrial, even though genrewise it's dc dance punk. but the sounds, they're factory sounds. screeches and squeaks. it sounds like machinery falling apart. this is the first q and not u song i heard, and still my favorite.
--from no kill no beep beep [2000]
glassjaw "ape dos mil"
daryl palumbo's voice in this song is acrobatic and mesmerizing. when they slow it down and he belts it, they're incomparable. unfortunetly they have about an album and a half of other material that sounds nothing like the dizzying heights they reach here. the song is great, but it's all about his voice here for me. it starts with drum rolls and postrock guitars, very nice, but when his voice kicks in "yeah it's over, you can bet in mid-october, i will still be ranting 'bout most early may" that's when this song has me. great for redfaced singalongs!
--from worship & tribute [2002]
cake "friend is a four letter word"
cake is one of those bands that even if i didn't like them, i'd be happy about their existance because it shows that occasionally bands that sound basically nothing like what's on the radio, can make it there anyways. "the distance" was huge and "short skirt, long jacket" did well too. this comes off of fashion nugget which has no fewer than seven songs i could have stuck on here and been pleased to talk about (notably "frank sinatra" and their cover of "i will survive"). when i first heard this song i thought it was inferring was a swear, but after awhile i sussed out "love" to be the four letter word. the song's about being in love with his friend, and he needs the friendship to end to start something more. and oh the trumpet is so laidback and cool.
--from fashion nugget [1996]
say hi to your mom "let's talk about spaceships"
say hi to your mom named themselves after "midwestern dairy queen civility" and not "your mom" jokes. i just love these jaunty electronic indie pop songs. i love cute lyrics like "let's talk about spaceships or anything except you and me, okay?" i guess it's the indie version of easy listening, music like this, only without the negative connotation that carries. it just makes me think "could someone dislike this?" the whole album is a breath of fresh air, replicated in ones and zeroes.
--from numbers & mumbles [2004]
brand new "okay i believe you but my tommy gun don't"
"i hope this song starts a craze, the kinda song that ignites the airwaves." i loved brand new's first album, i really did, they nailed the poppunk thing the first time around. but their second outing, deja entendu is leaps and bounds over their first. hardly the same genre besides in their choruses, they stepped it up. jesse lacey's voice owns this song, which sounds almost like it was recorded in a silo. it builds on its bassline and breathy vocals. "deja entendu" means 'the feeling of having heard something before', but despite something about the album all sounding intentionally familiar, it simultaneously sounds like nothing else. i've kind of given up trying to make genre excuses for people who i think will go "oh brand new? isn't that some crappy poppunk band?" because if they're going to do that, nothing i say will change it. all i can say is listen to it and hope you do.
--from deja entendu [2003]
shout out louds "the comeback"
i may be wrong, but i'm pretty sure this song starts a sample from exciteabike. from there it ends up as a catchy-as-hell strokes-ish jaunt (sorry, i know comparing things to the most obvious "everyone's heard it" source is lame, but... i do it anyways!). i'm tired and late with my post, so just grab this song and wonder why you haven't heard it before!
--from howl howl gaff gaff [2003]
the blood brothers "every breath is a bomb"
"and she's shaking like a... REVOLUTION!" this whole song could just be that line and i'd love it. the blood brothers stepped it up with burn piano island, burn. they went from being a better-than-average hardcore/screamo band into ripping the genre's arms off and beating it to death with them. this album vomits all over the floor and then rolls around in it. and if you're thinking 'but i don't like hardcore. there's not enough going on musically!' then the blood brothers have you covered too! they will shriek and froth and just when you think they're about to break, or run out of ideas, they pull something else out. i really can't express how blown away i was/am by this album. completely unexpected. whatever you think this is going to be like, if you haven't heard it, i promise it's not that. i'm not sure if it's ross robinson, best known for producing mainstream metal acts like korn, that pulled this masterpiece out of their veins, or if they just decided to step it up. but if you're smart you'll run your little legs down to the store or click on this little link and buy burn piano island, burn asap. it's an album of dark postmodern poetry set to genre-ignoring music on fast forward. my only worry is that they might revert back to their old ways, and leave us only with this glorious glimpse of what hardcore could, or maybe should, be.
--from burn piano island, burn [2003]
mclusky "she will only bring you happiness"
i first heard mclusky's "to hell with good intentions" on one tree hill, a wb teen drama show, that site is the imaginery blog of one of the characters, and though the prose is pretty sickening, whoever's picking the music for her site is doing pretty well (modest mouse, smog, neutral milk hotel, etc etc). and though it might not be very hip to discovering music via the wb, it happens more often than you'd think. anyways, mclusky's first two albums i enjoy, but their newest, the difference between me and you is that i'm not on fire, not only has a great title, but is their best yet. this song reminds a bit like the strokes on some serious uppers or maybe pavement, anytime. great stuff.
--from the difference between me and you is that i'm not on fire [2004]
elsewhere largehearted boy links to an excellent excellent solo track from rob crow of pinback. give "helicopter" a listen!
malcolm middleton "the king of bring"
malcolm is the guitarist for the much better known arab strap. his solo album is one giant sigh. it's resignation set to acoustic guitars and keyboard swirls. like aidan moffat who sings (or more often, speaks) for arab strap, he's got a thick scottish accent, and if there's something wrong with his life, you're going to know about it. "i don't lock the door at night anymore / i've no one to keep safe / pancakes, gone / kissing, gone / along with the smile on my face." feeling down? i'm sure malcolm's feeling worse, so give this a try... i think you'll find he's mastered a sort of triumphant failure.
--from 5.14 fluoxytine seagull alcohol john nicotine [2002]
hutch and kathy "half these tears"
before hutch harris and kathy foster formed the thermals and put out two stellar records on subpop, they were 'hutch and kathy'. and they put out a just as stellar folk record that not so many people seem to have heard. calmer and clearer than their thermals output, but with the same solid songwriting base that makes all the songs work in the first place. definitely definitely underheard. one of my favorites.
--from hutch and kathy [2002]
sorry i missed yesterday! doublepost of mostlywhite hiphop today... lucky you! and while you're in a hiphop mood check out the great talib kweli track over at the alwaysawesome said the gramophone
mc frontalot "i heart fags"
purveyor and probably inventor of "nerdcore hiphop", mc frontalot flows about many things severely lacking in radio/mtv hiphop exposure. whilst he's probably blingless, frontalot will give you more than your fill of rhymes about cpus, star wars, spam mail, and in this case, fags! the production on this one, by baddd spellah, reminds me of a scott joplin themed disco party. "yo i promise if you visit you could meet some queers / and if you love even just one, hooray! / if you don't well i hope you enjoyed your stay / and i hope you go on your merry way / with the chorus of my song slowly turning you gay!" sure it won't make the next 'queer eye' soundtrack, but it SHOULD.
[plenty more mp3s free at his site, buy a tshirt!]
atmosphere "reflections"
i love slug's singsong flow. he sounds laid back and intense at the same time. "don't get me wrong / it would be my pleasure / to sing a song that could remove your shoes and your sweater." i could have posted any song from this cd seven's travels, i suggest you seek it out asap. i choose this one because i repeatedly find it popping into my head at random times. especially the "you look like you were built for me / you talk like you wanna steal my drink / you kiss like you already came / and that's a lifter puller line for those without any game" line. i sing it on the streets. on the subway in boston a few weeks ago i got the urge to burst out and shout "cause that face you make reminds me of my life now." this song seems to own a part of my brain.
[buy the album!]
mc paul barman "mtv get off the air (part 2) [feat. princess superstar]"
i can imagine people LOATHING mc paul barman. but i loveeeeee his stumbling flow. his ridiculously smart rhymes, the wonderful left field beats, the bizarre samples, and the vulgarity! oh the vulgarity! what george carlin would sound like if he had a hiphop obsession (he actually has a carlin sample earlier on this ep on "school anthem" which lyrically is like kanye west... way before kanye west). his flow is unlike anything i've ever heard. it's stumbling over the words, like he's constantly about to fall off beat, or like the words won't fit, but it works.. it definitely works. so if you hate this, i understand, i really do. but you SHOULD love it. oh you should love it. oh oh oh "can i chime in? / i'll still be rhymin when i'm in your hymen!" yes! "lade-ay one more complaint and i'll shove a rape whistle up the mrs. va-jay-jay!" yes! this faux-battle track between him and princess superstar is just genius. i could list every single smart vulgar rhyme here, but instead you should just hurray up and listen to this right quick! i hope you're like me and your mouth will be agape with joy. the joy of paul barman.
[buy the ep!]
mc frontalot "special delivery"
i couldn't resist another front track. this short one is tied for my favorite current protest song with the much more famous "makeshift patriot" by sage francis. it's short, smart, has simpsons samples! and it's right on the nose, "wasn't your christ unbeloved of empires? / one nailed his ass to a post, he expired! / a terrorist, as roman evidence showed / put down like a retard on the death row." hope you enjoy.
kinky "presidente"
what would !!! sound like if they were mexican? i'm guessing like this. this song makes you DANCE DANCE DANCE. even when you're sitting still, your gray brain wrinkles are grooving even if you refuse to. this song induces funky concussion. kinky are hosting a party and your brain stem is invited.
[buy the album!]
nelly furtado "one-trick pony"
i get the feeling that people don't really listen to pop music a lot of the time. i mean they hear it, the singles, on the radio. again and again and again. on mtv, and on vh1 since they have the same playlists anyways. and piping out of the stores at the malls, and in commercials. but somewhere along the way, the listening goes away. nevermind if it's not the eternal SINGLE. well, i never really listened to nelly furtado. "i'mmmm like a birddddd." okay sure it was pleasent, but i ignored it mostly. so my friend e, asks me to download some new nelly furtado for him to see if he likes it. he loves her, i mean really lovvvves her. in college his dorm room was bare except for a small picture of her on the wall. i certainly can't blame him, i mean wow. so anyways, i gave the first track on her new album folklore a try. and it's... great? yes. yes it is. worldly folkpop? fiddles? huge full sound. i'm glad i didn't hear this on the radio a hundred times, because then i might never have heard it at all.
[buy the album!]
doug cheatwood "ten tree stumps"
doug cheatwood sounds like a quiet folk name or maybe a good bit of alt country, but instead this song hits hard, confused, bewildered, and definitely from left field. it comes from a shortlived online contest site that was in a similar vein to songfight (where each person enters a song with a pre-decided title, and the best is chosen). the existance of this song makes the whole site worthwhile. it clicks and screeches and jerks and taps and bellows and doug sings in about 12 different voices. the song falls apart and then remakes itself. like ugly casanova hopped up on speed and helium. "oh woe is me / woe for all of us."
[you can find cds at doug's site]
bats and mice "worst comes to worst"
i don't know anything about this band. i barely listen to any of their other songs. and i guess i kind of like it that way, to have this mysterious band with this killer song! my friend put it on a mix cd a few years ago and it's just one of those songs. no one ever seems to have heard it before so it's one of those favorites i can always pull out and go, "oh you HAVE to hear this." it's the midground between pinback and yo la tengo. it sounds better with your eyes closed. it's the scene in the movie where the protagonist stumbles down the city street just before it rains. he's not crying, but maybe he ought to be. "i went through all i could / i promise i'll try / be sure when you see me / you don't say hi."
[buy the album!]
bright eyes "sing, sing, sing [live on craig kilborn]"
worth it for mr. conor oberst's intro alone (though unfortunetly it's a little distorted from the compression of the video i ripped it from). if you like bright eyes, you'll no doubt enjoy this one, if you don't, it probably won't be converting you. it's your standard folk-laced indie tune, mike mogis rocking the mandolin, and m. ward (yes!!!!!!) fingerpicking a solo in between oberst's usual clever metaphors. "while my mother waters plants / my father loads his gun / he says death will give us back to god / just like setting sun is returned to the lonesome ocean." if you're like me and you eat this stuff up, then enjoy enjoy enjoy!
[unreleased on cd so far.]
crooked fingers "new drink for the old drunk"
my friend fader recommended this song to me the other day and i've listened to it quite a few times since then. i seem to gravitate towards folk songs that can pull off a "crazy hoedown" feel whilst retaining their dignity. this song is just great to listen to. layers of instruments and a repetitive urgent feel. apparently i don't have much to say about it, but i highly recommend it all the same!
[buy the album!]
heatmiser "half right"
before elliott smith was elliott smith, err, before he recorded under the name, he was in heatmiser. while this album, mic city sons came out after his first few solo albums, it was pre-fame. this song surprisingly sounds more like post either-or elliott, and it certainly sounds more like a solo elliott song than much of heatmiser's stuff. not much more i can say about it, besides that he will be missed.
[buy the album!]
ted leo "(none)"
ted leo's first album with the pharmacists was pretty much universally trashed, and even i'll admit that his dub/noise experiments get to be a little much. they're especially frustrating since he excells at songwriting, singing, and playing guitar, so the last thing you'd expect him to do is skirt those with some noodling. well since then he got right to the point on the rest of his beloved albums, and the world is better for it. but! alas! the first album has this gem on it, it's got a little fuzz, and it's oddly recorded, but oh oh oh so good. it's a simple little guitar song, held together by some catchy phrases and ted's elastic vocals. excellently awesome. this one really grows on you.
[the album is out of print, seemingly]
shakkazombie "siroi yami no naka"
JAPANESE HARMONICA RAP........ let me let that sink in for a second..... yes... JAPANESE HARMONICA RAP. i found this track used in a fan video someone had made for the two anime shows cowboy bebop and trigun. it's the closest thing to what i'd call cowboy rap i've ever heard... only....... it's all in japanese. so what is it? it's that melding that seemingly could only happen in j-pop, where these disperate threads. two styles of american music are melded and aren't weighed down by the inevitible full take on our culture that we have. shakkazombie has taken these bitesized aspects of our culture and realized them in ways we probably never would. it makes for something odd, funny, and oh-so-incredibly-listenable.
laughs and beats "overflowing emotions"
this starts off as a rather straightforward annoying-voiced jpop song. expect eventually you notice that she's singing in english for most of it, really really tweaked phonetic english (i'm guessing the singer doesn't actually speak english). "you're not the baby of my heart / i'm not the mommy / do you know? / can't you see?" but when i really dig this song is when it kicks into it's faux-fastforward mode. it becomes this ridiculous jumbled japanese party jam for a minute, and then switches right back to that tweaked english chorus. is this all confusing you? well that's probably because this song virtually defies description. i can tell you that i'm not even sure of the bands name, that it might be "laugh and beats" "laughs and beats" "laugh and peace" or some other similar variation. the song however, comes from a bizarre japanese-only playstation came called vib ribbon (more ultrabizarre and great laughs and beats songs can be found at that page), in which you can put in any cd and an obstacle course is formed based on the music, your character is a dancing bouncing rabbit named vibri, and you use the buttons to avoid the obstacles... no, really, i'm totally not even making it up!
malcolm mclaren "about her"
i've yet to see kill bill vol. 2, but this song from it is riveting. trust tarentino to be on top of things, and slide a mashup into his movie. atmospheric and beautiful, i heard this track on college radio and immediately wanted to see the movie even more. the vocals are from the zombies, who i loved anyways. i'm not sure what the other samples are from, but stylistically it reminds me of moby.
[buy the album!]
[i've been informed that no frontin, just music previously posted this great song, so if you like this, you'll probably want to check out their mp3 blog. cheers!]
the rasmus "in the shadows"
this track is top 10 in england as far as i know, but i'd wager most of you haven't heard it yet. IT'S SO GOTH. IT'S SO CHEESY. the singer wears RAVEN FEATHERS IN HIS HAIR in the video. I LOVE IT. the track bounces along like the cruxshadows meets n'sync. and everytime the "oh-oh / oh-oh!" hits i just want to clutch my head and epileptically jam along. this song is the soundtrack to countless club scenes from vampire movies that haven't been made yet. it's to goth what the darkness is to metal. and just as it starts to get a bit long, it throughs you one more bouncy oh-oh refrain and YOU LOVE IT. paint on the black mascara boys and girls.
[buy the album!]
okay so three entries in and i've already decided to switch things up. thanks to various links i've gotten a pretty surprising amount of hits, but not that many downloads. but i've got the space so for the time being there'll be two songs daily. hurrah woo woo, etc. so thanks for coming, and i hope you find something you like.
elsewhere: mp3blogs are blowing up! scroll down to the bottom for an npr feature including commentary from sean (of said the gramophone) and matthew (of fluxblog) also thanks to moistworks for the linkage.
the good life "for the love of the song"
from the upcoming lovers need lawyers ep on saddle creek. tim kasher and his two bands, cursive and the good life, put everything to like and dislike about them right up front. it's easy to decide really, and i'd wager most people who like them, like them for the same reasons others wouldn't. well file me under the former. sure he's got 40 songs about songs. sure he's self conscious. sure sure sure... but i love it. this one is a lot more upbeat than his previous two albums as the good life. tim does an amazing job lyrically of cutting to the bone of what it's like being smart, but not really that smart. emotional, but not really that deep. maybe i just hear myself in his songs. but to me there's something honest about them. for people like us, "art is hard" because it starts feeling fake if we try to make it deeper and more meaningful than our lives really are. sometimes you just have to sing what you're really thinking.
[buy the album!]
dntel "(this is) the dream of evan and chan"
by now i'm hoping that all of you have heard the glory of postal service, but i have a feeling a lot of people may have missed the reason postal service exists. well, in 2001 jimmy tamborello recruited ben gibbard to work with him for a track on life is full of possibilities, this is that track, so essentially it was the first postal service song, and as good as anything on give up. layers of static and ringing reverb and ben's distinctive (in his own words) "puny girly voice." sometimes when songs use a lot of static and white noise they run the risk of losing some of the melody and beauty. the static only adds to the beauty here. like you're hearing it through a radio two rooms away. this song makes me close my eyes and smile.
[buy the album!]
pinback "penelope"
first off, "penelope" is a love song to a dead fish. i repeat, a dead fish. now that i've gotten that out of the way, i should mention it may be the most beautiful love song i've ever heard. pinback has a childlike quality them, and it's loopbased, like a lot of electronic/hiphop music, but it has little else in common with that genre. the loops are largely guitars, which makes them sound like, well... like pinback. handclaps and harmonies and hooks and and and constant slapping drumbeats. pinback is music to get hypnotized too.
[buy the album!]
howard hello "the parasite"
this song feels like it started without you. like this room full of beautiful girls has been imitating morse code for an hour and you just opened the door and your jaw dropped, you fell on the floor laughing, wondering what the hell is going on. but by the end, you've joined in. doot doo doo doo doo. doot doo doo doo doo. this song is murdering my mind, and i like it.
[buy the album!]
