singles
Help I’m Alive by Metric
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The melancholy of the title is matched only by the supremely danceable groove of this heavy electro pop. It definitely deserves a place on your Summer 2009 mix. For a duet Metric brings some danceable beats, noisy crescendos, and a great guitar-hero, crunching chorus. There’s a little something here for everyone - from the shoegazing, tight jean wearing indie hipsters to the J. Crew college girls. If you like this, try the album - it’s a pretty good collection of songs that could have been an excellent EP.
MORE: Download MP3 / Metric on MySpace
Product of the Game by Future
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I’m not usually one for club jams, but Future, a Nashville-based emcee/producer, dropped an infectious little number in my inbox. I can’t resist the big beats, backed up by 8-bit synths, the currently-inescapable autotune, and self-reflective rhymes. Too many emcees get stuck into repeating meter, or bad sing/rap vocals. Future brings creative lyrics, bouncing meter, and a tight delivery. Sure, he’s got a Deltron thing going with the sci-fi concept, but it’s a vibe I like. Looking forward to hearing more from this cat. Download the EP for free off his website.
Feeling Good by My Brightest Diamond
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This song is off an amazing compilation - Dark Was the Night - set up to raise money and awareness for projects fighting HIV and AIDS around the world. The list of artists is amazing. I’ll refrain from posting the long list of many of my favorites artists. Just click the link and take a look at all the great musicians pitching in for this.
And My Brightest Diamond is no exception. This track brings some serious soul. The chunky guitar languishes, struggling to get going, and then the horn section breaks in and lifts it off the floor to shower the song in Chicago rain. A lonely clarinet keeps things friendly. And band-leader Shara Worden’s powerfully antique vocals cannot be denied their due.
Airstream Driver by Gomez
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A college roommate introduced me to Gomez almost 10 years ago. Just thinking about that makes me feel old. They fell off my radar after their second album. But another friend recommended their latest. True to form, they bring a deep, thundering rhythm section that was somehow their trademark sound for me. This track highlights all my favorite elements from this band - huge drums, solid guitars, and a vocal/melody conglomeration that somehow bridges 90’s grunge and contemporary popular brit rock.
MORE: Gomez the Band / Download MP3
Two by The Antlers
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This is a band that I’ve been meaning to post for quite some time. A couple weeks ago I accidentally stumbled across their latest release “Hospice.” Internet hype and information overload usually short-circuit the simple pleasure of finding an unexpected, new album from a band you like, but I lucked out.
The Antlers really remind me of last year’s darlings Bon Iver and the Fleet Foxes. But, instead of peering into their remote log cabin, or old pastoral oil paintings, The Antlers stare out into the universe and somehow manage to bring the expanse of the universe to their small, personal, musical contemplations.
Enjoy this track.
MORE: The Antlers on Bandcamp / Download MP3
Beyond Here Lies Nothin’ by Bob Dylan
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New music from Bob Dylan. Will this guy ever quit? Not likely, I know. Apparently he went into the studio with the accordion player from Los Lobos to cut a single track, but ended up with an entire album. Leave it to Dylan to accidentally record an entire album. If the rest of this album is as good as this track, then Dylan is continuing his streak of “Time out of Mind”, “Love & Theft” and “Modern Times.”
Way back when I started this blog I mentioned that David Byrne managed to still make vital, exciting records at an age when most others had slipped into nostalgia, melodrama, or nostalgic melodrama. Well, you can’t stop Grandpa Dylan, either.
MORE: Bob Dylan’s Website / Download MP3
Submarines of Stockholm by A.C. Newman
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If I’m going to hype Neko Case, I’d better give her New Pornographers band-mate Carl Newman his due. Honestly I can’t say I’m a huge New Pornographers fan, but these two keep putting out albums that I really like. A.C. Newman has a raucous experimental pop vibe that reminds me of some strange hybrid of Spoon and The Shins. This track gives a good sense for what he’s about. His first album also doesn’t fail to please. Looking forward to seeing him live in a couple weeks.
MORE: A.C. Newman at Matador | Download MP3
People Got a Lotta Nerve by Neko Case
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The new Neko Case album is remarkable. I spent the last half an hour listening to song after song trying to decide which one to post. This track has a great hook, so I posted it. The title track has some beautiful lyrics (”Can’t scrap together quite enough, to ride the bus to the outskirts of the fact that I need love” — amazing). There’s a heart-breaking cover of the Harry Nilsson song “Don’t Forget Me.” And the whole thing ends with 30 minutes of crickets chirping, which sounds bizarre but is so nice at the end of the record. Do yourself a favor and get the whole thing.
MORE: Neko Case at MySpace / Download MP3 / Email to a Friend
Fistful of Love (Live) by Antony & the Johnsons
Fistful of Love (Live) by Antony & the Johnsons (MySpace)
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Here’s a track I pulled out of last week’s All Songs Considered podcast. This is a band I have disliked in the past. Mostly because I can’t get into Antony Hegarty’s falsetto vocals. But in this live track his voice seems to have much less affect. Without that obstacle in the way I finally got to hear a soulful, intimate performance that helped me see why so many love this band.
