Monday, March 29, 2010
Sunday, March 28, 2010
Thursday, March 25, 2010
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
Sunday, March 07, 2010
Wednesday, March 03, 2010
Tuesday, March 02, 2010
Monday, March 01, 2010
Saturday, February 27, 2010
Thursday, February 25, 2010
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
Saturday, February 13, 2010
Sunday, February 07, 2010
Thursday, February 04, 2010
Tuesday, February 02, 2010
Thursday, January 28, 2010
Monday, January 25, 2010
Sunday, January 24, 2010
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
Monday, January 18, 2010
Mos Def - Supermagic
fantastic simple video - although there is more to it than meet the eyes... watch it in hd on youtube and pause randomly - say around 1:12.
These New Puritans - We Want War
absolutely gorgeous video. and tnp manage to sound more max richter, more hip hop and more laibach at the same time.
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
Thursday, January 07, 2010
Saturday, December 26, 2009
top twenty-one oh nine songs
11-21.
bronze - sunny day
it doesn't really get much simpler than this but somehow it works. 2010 will be the year of bronze, a band risen from the ashes of the detachment kit?
the raveonettes - bang!
now, i'll admit that my love for this song has a lot to do with getting the lyrics of the chorus wrong. but i also suspect that the band was not unaware of the possibility. sneaky danes.
gui boratto - no turning back
gui returned with an album that was a little bit user friendly than his previous and excellent chromophobia but takes perhaps a greater inspiration from post-punk. no turning back is probably the most irresistibly poppy track from the album. almost too much so but... oh, well.
health - die slow
strange one this one. draws inspiration from the wimpier (and far more horrible) side of shoegazing and mixes it with something horribly linkin park-ish. and somehow it works out alright. but we'll hate it in a couple of years time.
clark -absence
gorgeous and atypical track from the brilliant totems flare.
oh no ono - swim
more danes!? i don't really know what to say about this song. it's just pretty good.
white rabbits - percussion gun
a great song from a rather disappointing album. a great substitute forthe walkmen after they went all bob dylanesque and shitty on us.
nadja - needle in the hay
i don't really think covers should be allowed on lists like these but this is just too brilliant to ignore. elliott smith's Needle in the Hay is possibly the most beautiful song ever written. nadja turn the volume to 11 but yet manage to retain the spirit of the song. the idea sounds like a bad joke but it works because it isn't a joke.
wavves - so bored
thank god for bands like the wavves. it's sloppy, it's loud, and it's damn fun. sometimes you don't need anything other than a catchy melody.
royksopp - happy up here
pretty damn shamed of liking this so much. pure pop. forgive me.
bear in heaven - lovesick teenagers
probably the song on the list that will age the worst. but for now i like it.
10. polvo - beggar's bowl
the most anticipated and feared release of the year. beggar's bowl was a huge relief when it came out ahead of the album. sure, it didn't break any new ground like polvo's previous albums but this was pretty solid polvo only cleaned up a little bit, which wasn't a bad thing really. beggar's bowl is still in many ways a signature polvo tune and, frankly, these middle aged guys sound way cooler than their younger competitors.
9. clues - haarp
largely overlooked, clues, consisting of one half of the legendary unicorns, released an excellent album this year. haarp starts of slowly but picks up the pace and ends up sounding like a more serious version of, well, the unicorns. sort of the unicorns mixed with codeine. can't be that bad!
8. black moth super rainbow - don't you want to be in a cult?
the song where bmsr just get everything right. the essential 70s psychedelic horror movie soundtrack. and, no, i wouldn't want to watch the movie.
7. patrick watson - fireweed
know the romantic comedy where the girl keeps chasing guys until in the end that her best friend is the guy she was looking for all along? that guy is patrick watson. you don't really notice him until one day you just think 'hey, this guy is smoking hot!'
6. animal collective - my girls
oh, how i hate to admit this. animal collective is just the band i would love to hate but they make it very very hard for me. too damn catchy.
5. japandroids - heart sweats
yeah, far less inventive than no. 6 but, hey, they've got guitars that they are not afraid of.
4. tim exile - family galaxy
this left me gaping the first time i've heard it. starts out like a nice little boards of canada number but then changes shapes about sixty-seven times. while the surprise factor is pretty big, the song actually holds up to repeated listening. and there isn't really anything like it out there.
3. tom brosseau - you don't know my friends
a nice altcountry tune burried in heaps of fuzz, which makes sense for a song about alienation... or that is what i prefer to think. but it doesn't matter, this song would sound great even if it was played backwards
2. yo la tengo - here to fall
to be honest, i'm not that crazy about yo la tengo. or rather, once in a while they write some really fantastic songs but most of the time they are just sort of ok. but the goods songs make it worthwhile keeping track of them and this is one of their fantastic ones.
1. girls - lust for life
the most depressing happy song. or the most happy depressing song. either way, it's all about chasing dreams.
bronze - sunny day
it doesn't really get much simpler than this but somehow it works. 2010 will be the year of bronze, a band risen from the ashes of the detachment kit?
the raveonettes - bang!
now, i'll admit that my love for this song has a lot to do with getting the lyrics of the chorus wrong. but i also suspect that the band was not unaware of the possibility. sneaky danes.
gui boratto - no turning back
gui returned with an album that was a little bit user friendly than his previous and excellent chromophobia but takes perhaps a greater inspiration from post-punk. no turning back is probably the most irresistibly poppy track from the album. almost too much so but... oh, well.
health - die slow
strange one this one. draws inspiration from the wimpier (and far more horrible) side of shoegazing and mixes it with something horribly linkin park-ish. and somehow it works out alright. but we'll hate it in a couple of years time.
clark -absence
gorgeous and atypical track from the brilliant totems flare.
oh no ono - swim
more danes!? i don't really know what to say about this song. it's just pretty good.
white rabbits - percussion gun
a great song from a rather disappointing album. a great substitute forthe walkmen after they went all bob dylanesque and shitty on us.
nadja - needle in the hay
i don't really think covers should be allowed on lists like these but this is just too brilliant to ignore. elliott smith's Needle in the Hay is possibly the most beautiful song ever written. nadja turn the volume to 11 but yet manage to retain the spirit of the song. the idea sounds like a bad joke but it works because it isn't a joke.
wavves - so bored
thank god for bands like the wavves. it's sloppy, it's loud, and it's damn fun. sometimes you don't need anything other than a catchy melody.
royksopp - happy up here
pretty damn shamed of liking this so much. pure pop. forgive me.
bear in heaven - lovesick teenagers
probably the song on the list that will age the worst. but for now i like it.
10. polvo - beggar's bowl
the most anticipated and feared release of the year. beggar's bowl was a huge relief when it came out ahead of the album. sure, it didn't break any new ground like polvo's previous albums but this was pretty solid polvo only cleaned up a little bit, which wasn't a bad thing really. beggar's bowl is still in many ways a signature polvo tune and, frankly, these middle aged guys sound way cooler than their younger competitors.
9. clues - haarp
largely overlooked, clues, consisting of one half of the legendary unicorns, released an excellent album this year. haarp starts of slowly but picks up the pace and ends up sounding like a more serious version of, well, the unicorns. sort of the unicorns mixed with codeine. can't be that bad!
8. black moth super rainbow - don't you want to be in a cult?
the song where bmsr just get everything right. the essential 70s psychedelic horror movie soundtrack. and, no, i wouldn't want to watch the movie.
7. patrick watson - fireweed
know the romantic comedy where the girl keeps chasing guys until in the end that her best friend is the guy she was looking for all along? that guy is patrick watson. you don't really notice him until one day you just think 'hey, this guy is smoking hot!'
6. animal collective - my girls
oh, how i hate to admit this. animal collective is just the band i would love to hate but they make it very very hard for me. too damn catchy.
5. japandroids - heart sweats
yeah, far less inventive than no. 6 but, hey, they've got guitars that they are not afraid of.
4. tim exile - family galaxy
this left me gaping the first time i've heard it. starts out like a nice little boards of canada number but then changes shapes about sixty-seven times. while the surprise factor is pretty big, the song actually holds up to repeated listening. and there isn't really anything like it out there.
3. tom brosseau - you don't know my friends
a nice altcountry tune burried in heaps of fuzz, which makes sense for a song about alienation... or that is what i prefer to think. but it doesn't matter, this song would sound great even if it was played backwards
2. yo la tengo - here to fall
to be honest, i'm not that crazy about yo la tengo. or rather, once in a while they write some really fantastic songs but most of the time they are just sort of ok. but the goods songs make it worthwhile keeping track of them and this is one of their fantastic ones.
1. girls - lust for life
the most depressing happy song. or the most happy depressing song. either way, it's all about chasing dreams.
Friday, December 25, 2009
Sunday, December 20, 2009
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
Tuesday, December 08, 2009
Friday, November 27, 2009
Bright Eyes - First Day of My Life
I was listening to Blonde Redhead's The Dress and it struck me that the video for the song was pretty similar St. Vincent's video for Actor out of work. And also that Cursive' Big Bang and Bright Eyes' First day of my life also employ a similar 'stick a camera in their face' gimmick. I guess the latter two actually share more with Blonde Redhead's video and demonstrate that simple videos can be highly effective - although I think the Bright Eyes' one has a few too many cringe-worthy moments. The other videos are below.
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
Friday, November 20, 2009
Thursday, November 12, 2009
Sunday, November 08, 2009
Saturday, November 07, 2009
Saturday, October 31, 2009
Friday, October 30, 2009
Thursday, October 29, 2009
Saturday, October 24, 2009
Thursday, October 22, 2009
Sunday, October 18, 2009
Friday, October 16, 2009
Monday, October 12, 2009
Sunday, October 11, 2009
Thursday, October 08, 2009
Tuesday, October 06, 2009
Monday, October 05, 2009
Saturday, October 03, 2009
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