New Music: Yeah Yeah Yeahs

Current Listens

Gotta do dat Ye Yo Dance

For No Mere Mortal Can Resist…..

don't scratch my nose baby tiger..

….the evil of Thriller!

how happy should all of us U.S. Americans be?  tremendously. it has been reported that michael jackson’s Thriller is going to be made into a broadway play!  not many details have been announced.  but, Jacko is going to be involved….allegedly.

more details below:

http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/article/news/148762-michael-jacksons-thriller-coming-to-broadway

pj says this song cements connor as one of our generation’s best writers.  i starting to believe.

performance below.

22 For You

i have been compiling a list of the best tracks of 2008 for a couple a weeks now.  SLH got the idea to make a top 40 list,  “casey kasem” style for my ipod.  it proved to be an effective tool for separating the great songs from the good.  here are my top 22 tracks:

22. Vampire Weekend-A Punk: i’m not sure if the title stems from the tom-tom drums and the ramone(ish) chant in the middle of the song, either way it is pure brilliance.

21. Lykke Li-Little Bit: i am so in love with this girl.

20. One Day As a Lion-Ocean View: the former front man for rage against the machine goes off! over a dirty, dirty guitar lick and amazing drums.  this is the best rage against the machine song in years.

19. Jenny Lewis-Acid Tongue: story telling at it’s best, coupled with great harmonies during the hook.  the second verse where she states “we were unlucky in love, but i’d do it all again,” resonates.

18. Beck-Chemtrails: i wanted beck’s entire album to sound like this song.  it did not.  however; the drums and danger mouse’s production make this a strange trip.

17. She & Him-Why Do You Let Me Stay Here: the AM radio cliche has been way overused to describe this country booty-shaker.  yet, things are cliche for a reason and this is pure gold.

16. Toyko Police Club-Your English is Good: i thought for sure this song would end up on a MTV U voting commercial.  it’s kinetic energy is enough to make me pogo with every listen.

15. Stars–A Thread Cut With a Carving Knife: a perfect mixture of shoe-gaze and post-rock,WITH ACTUAL LYRICS.  great lyrics and voices that make this the prettiest song of 2008.

14. Portishead–Machine Gun: i hated this album.  mostly because this was the first single and it encompasses everything i love about portishead.  bat-shit beats & music paired with haunting vocals.  the rest of the album did not deliver on this initial promise though.

13. Deerhunter-Never Stops: deerhunter makes great albums.  on their latest, they managed to make some great singles as well.  never stops mixes classic pop harmonies with enough droning guitars to satisfy all listeners.

12. Death Cab for Cutie-I Will Poesses Your Heart: i used to think ben gibbard was the biggest pansy in indie rock.  when DCFC joined a major,  this opinion doubled.  yet, opening an album on a major label with a song that is 8:26 seconds long and not singing until the four and a half mark, is pretty ballsy and indie rock.

11. Wolf Parade-Kissing the Beehive: *warning* i saw this song close wolf parade’s 18 song set at the slowdown and it melted my face.  hang in there with this one.  at the five minute mark it is amazing.  at the nine minute mark you’ll believe in anything.

10. N.E.R.D-Spaz: when these boys are on top of their game, my feet cannot stop moving. plus the “tea pot” rhyme is classic.

9. Hot Chip-Ready for the Floor: electro beats/blips mixed with a repetitive hook that makes you dance in the mirror. “you’re my number one guy.” “number, number one, one, number one guy.”

8. Bloc Party-Ares: if one mixed the drums from the chemical brothers’ setting sun with two of the most obtuse guitars you have ever heard, they might get close to this song’s greatness.  the falsetto breakdown seals the deal.

7. Connor Oberst-Souled Out!: this drunken country romp is the best “rock” song on connor’s solo disc.  the bluesy, distorted lead guitar that virtually plays through the whole song makes it stick.

6. Fleet of Foxes-Ragged Wood: beach boy harmonies, finger picking, and robin pecknold’s angel-like voice make the first two and half minutes of this song phenomenal.  the last two minutes filled with crosby, stills, and nash’s ghosts make it exceptional.

5. Neva Dinova-Supercomputer: perfect amounts of clean telecaster mixed with enchanting “ooohhs.”  jake bellow’s constant ramblings pay off when the band begins to complete his paranoid sentences and he states that his song will break our soul.  an absolutely perfect song.

4. Okkervil River-Lost Coastlines: google the lyrics to this song….yeah, it’s that good. la..la..la.la.la.la.laaaaa..la

3. The Walkmen-In The New Year: the slight tom rolls, the reverb drenched hollow body, the cascades of organ, and hamilton leithauser’s take on his past relationships not only make feel like everything is in it’s right place, i inherently know.

2. MGMT-Electric Feel: is the opening drum beat a waltz?  remember when beck tried to do the prince thing?  this is 50 times closer and better. this song will get stuck in your head for days.  FYI, that is a good thing.

1. Black Kids-I’m Not Going To Teach Your Boyfriend How To Dance With You: with it’s cure(ish) lead vocals, multi-gendered chants, insatiably chorus, and it’s absolutely brilliant premise, it is undeniable……i dare someone to not like this song.

Honorable Mentions:

1. The Hold Steady-Constructive Summer

2. Lil Wayne-Lolipop

3. Beyonce-Put a Ring up On It

4. Ra Ra Riot- Too Fast

5. Vampire Weekend-The Kids Don’t Stand a Chance

6. Use Somebody-Kings of Leon

best of 2008

as many of you know, i tried to only buy vinyl this year.  it was a pretty challenging task (insound.com was a godsend) and i broke down and downloaded or bought CDs many times throughout the year.  however; i put forth a valiant effort and these are the records/CDs/downloads i claim are the best of 2008.  

Top 20 Albums of 2008

 

20. MGMT - Oracular Spectacular

 

 

19. Bloc Party - Intimacy

 

18. Tokyo Police Club – Elephant Shell

 

17. Tapes n’ Tapes – Walk it Off

 

16. Q-Tip - Renaissance 

 

15. Manchester Orchestra - I’m Like a Virgin Losing a Child

 

14. Okkervil River – The Stand Ins

 

 

13. Wolf Parade - At Mount Zoomer 

 

 

12. N.E.R.D. – Seeing Sounds

11. Black Keys - Attack & Release

 

10. Fleet of Foxes – Fleet of Foxes

 

9. Kanye West – 808’s & Heartbreaks

 

8. Girl Talk – Feed the Animals

 

7. Ra Ra Riot – The Rhumb Line

 

6. Lil Wayne – The Carter III

 

5. The Hold Steady – Stay Positive

 

4. The Dodos – Visiter

 

 

3. Kings of Leon – Only by Night

 

 

2. Connor Oberst – Connor Oberst

 

1. The Walkmen- You & Me

 

 

Honorable Mentions:

• Beck - Modern Guilt
• Sun Kil Moon- April
• Vampire Weekend – Vampire Weekend
• Death Cab for Cutie - Narrow Stairs
• She & Him – Volume One
• Portishead - Third (oops, this album was terrible)

where it began

let’s pretend we’re not needy
let’s pretend our hearts still beat
let’s pretend we fall in love tonight
clumsy enough to fall for anything
we’ll stumble on our words
we’ll spill our guts on creaking bar stools
below the neon blue……

the above lyrics penned by cursive’s tim kasher on their 2001 EP release entitled Burst and Bloom were the catalyst of my addiction…an addiction of finding music with integrity and a vital option other than FM radio. my love of music did not begin with cursive, and it certainly will not end with them; however, they brought me out of the late 90’s radio haze. 

my friends and i send out multiple <no subject> emails per day.  most of these emails are links of music reviews, video clips, breaking tours, and bat-shit funny articles. i am creating this blog to archive and chronicle these electronic, yet essential, interactions between friends.  my hope is that everyone will log on and leave comments about posted lists, clips, and random pop culture. in turn, we can continue to debate all of this on the weekends, in our favorite haunts, while shouting over creaking bar stools.  enjoy!