Joyful joyful, we adore...me? I don’t want to assume that every time I post a mix, y’all bleed from the eyes in happiness...but don’t you? I mean, really, this is golden. I’m golden. My ears are receptors for what is GOOD. However, this mix is dubbed...
Something for everybody/Something for nobody
That’s what I’m writing on my CD, though I imagine you could write that about all of them so far. I burn all of these in hindsight, seeing how they flow (or don’t) and what songs I didn’t need to share. This one I’m listening to for pleasure, as I’m pretty sure it’ll flow from style and genre fairly well. Doesn’t mean it’ll be your style -- but trust me, it’s good.
THE LINK
http://www.filefactory.com/file/a0g5113/n/MIX_N_MATCH6_rar
Don’t forget to seek out the artists and support them if you enjoy the music as much as I do.
THE NOTES
1 Hockey - Learn To Lose
Funky disco rhythm, electro-garage feel. Totally awesome, and we’re starting off happy and fun, obviously.
2 fun. - All the Pretty Girls
Even happier! This is ELO. All the way. I’ve always liked ELO, so any band that’s giving a nod is alright with me. This is a joint between Nate Ruess from The Format and Jack Antonoff from Steel Train (also some guy from Anathallo). Bands you’ve likely not heard of, but who cares.
3 Discovery - I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend
Full on electro-fun now. Another joint product featuring members of Ra Ra Riot and Vampire Weekend, which are both great. This sounds nothing like either of their respective bands, but it’s so groovy.
4 Hot Leg - Cocktails
Hot Leg is showing up on another mix, mostly because I can’t get the song out of memory once I stumble on it again. This is The Darkness, obviously, and only this band could make a song with a chorus of "Cooooooock, CoOoOoOck - cock, cock, cocktails." Amazing. Justin Hawkins is fantastic, I don’t care what anyone thinks.
5 Dropping Daylight - Lucy
This band may be defunct now, as their album came out three years ago and I can’t find any current info. The singer/pianist Sebastian is really talented, and he ends up coming off like Ben Folds playing with a rock band. It’s better than I made that sound. His voice is a lot stronger than Ben’s, though not as unique. This is from their debut EP, as I think it’s a better recording than their album.
6 Lupe Fiasco - Fire
Okay, so the segway into hip-hop wasn’t so smooth, but this manages to rock too. I don’t know if anything is really memorable that Lupe is saying, but when the Hendrix beat is this strange and fantastic, who really cares? This isn’t a good single, but this is an absolute banger for the car. If there’s someone more pretentious and talented than Kanye West, it’s Lupe.
7 Drake - Forever (Feat Kanye West, Lil Wayne, and Eminem)
Now THIS is a GREAT single. Drake appears again, though this time he brought along some big heavyweights. Drake sounds awesome, Kanye’s verse is alright, Wayne’s is okay...but then Eminem comes along. This is a guy who doesn’t really do collabs on other peoples’ albums, but somehow it happened here, and it’s awesome. His flow is unique and against the beat, his rhymes are amazing, and one has to wonder where this stuff was on his OWN album. He turns the track up to another level entirely. Hear to believe.
8 T-Pain - Take Your Shirt Off
I don’t know if auto-tune is dead yet. There’s something about T-Pain, man. Dude’s grown on me, and I think it’s his sense of humor that’s started to win me over. When someone like Madonna uses auto-tune, I want to vomit into her mouth, but when Pain does it, it’s actually GOOD. It’s his style, not his crutch or his gimmick. Maybe he realized his influence on music became a gimmick, and decided to prove his talent by showing how much better he does it. Dude is talented, undeniably, even as a producer. Just listen.
9 Wale - Strings
Wale’s album is finally coming out after about two years of hype. There are a LOT of tracks out there, a bunch of great mixtapes. And the material I’m hearing from his album is, well, underwhelming. Maybe it’s because the guy devoted an entire mixtape to Seinfeld, but I’ve been dying to hear this thing for far too long. So, instead of one of those, I’ll give you one of my favorites from his early days.
10 Family Force 5 - Rip It Up
Maybe one of my favorite songs of the decade. It’s not much in the way of substance, but it’s a sound that I really connect with, and I think it’s amazingly produced. The group is – get this – a Christian crunkcore band. It’s taking pop and hip-hop music and...I dunno, singing and sometimes screaming? All with positive lyrics, too! I don’t really care if they’re a Christian band or not, they rock. This is a great segway into their tourmates...
11 Breathe Carolina - I Have To Go Return Some Videotapes
Wonderful title. Aside from that, the song’s pretty interesting too. More crunkcore! I’m not sure what to make of this, but I’m enjoying it for the time being.
12 Lovedrug - Fake Angels
We’re slowing it down here. Michael Shepard is one of my favorite singers today, however it’s from an album which feels inferior to their previous work. This song, however, is one of their finest. Go figure.
13 Manchester Orchestra - I’ve Got Friends
A buzz band at the moment, this song is good evidence. I’ve only skimmed the rest of their material thus far, but this song is alt-rock greatness. I’d assume they have to be good beyond this.
14 Psychostick - Scrotal Torment
Humorcore. Maybe the weirdest metal band I’ve heard. Their lyrics often involve having conversations between each other, occasionally they’ll just be a joke. Know what? They’re great musicians, too. They have two albums, both of which are hilarious. You’ve gotta be in the mood, though. They do a mean cover of The Hokey Pokey which you should track down. Hell, it’ll hit a mix soon.
15 Mudvayne - Beautiful and Strange
It’s not top quality, but I had to post it. They have a new album in December. I can’t understand why this band isn’t more popular than they are. They’ve got a following, but they’ve continually made good music, and each album sounds completely different. I don’t think anyone could hear the beginning of this track and not be impressed. Strange, beautiful. Heavy and melodic. Mudvayne.
16 White Lies - The Price of Love
Opening for Kings of Leon currently, and they really shook me playing live. Their album doesn’t quite hit the same magic, and it’s partially because of the production quality. Songs are great, though. I expect this UK band to progress greatly, and this song is my favorite on their debut album.
17 Mark Kozelek - Metropol 47
The lead singer for The Red House Painters (which I think is done) and Sun Kil Moon (which is great). Turn this up loud in your car. Let those acoustics surround you. Sink right on in. Best not when you’re sleepy.
18 The Temper Trap - Sweet Disposition
This Austrailian group’s single is featured prominently in (500) Days of Summer (on DVD December 22nd), a really great movie and probably the biggest indie success of the summer. It’s great film music. This song has been on the UK top 40 for a while now, and I think it’s about time it started doing the same here.
19 David Cook - Permanent
Not the most popular American Idol alumn, but this song is extremely strong material, and he's impressed me. Great lyrics, and really minimal in terms of arrangement. His voice is stellar, more so on things where it’s the forefront, like this.
20 Joseph-Gordon Levitt - Live On the Moon
You know him. That actor. From (500) Days of Summer (GET IT on DVD December 22nd). He doesn’t have the best voice, but I really love this cover of a Sesame Street favorite from my childhood. Surprisingly, the song still works really well, even when not sung by Jim Henson. Unsure where this came from.
21 Mrs. Miller - Strangers in the Night
Dooby-dooby-doo. If you haven’t heard of Mrs. Miller before, you’re totally missing out on one of the great entertainers of...well, some time. I don’t know who she is, I don’t know where she came from, but I DO know that her warble is infamous. Play her for someone. Their laughter and befuddlement is quite enjoyable.
Comment. Love me.
-M
0 comments:
Post a Comment