Favorites from 2009 (so far)

It took me a while but I finally got around to posting them all.  In no particular order, here are my favorites from 2009, so far…

Phoenix
MP3: “1901
MP3: “Lisztomania

Dan Auerbach
MP3: “When The Night Comes

Grizzly Bear
MP3: “Two Weeks

Wilco
MP3: “Solitaire
MP3: “One Wing
MP3: “I’ll Fight

Quantic and His Combo Barbaro
Amazon: “The Dreaming Mind

Andrew Bird
MP3: “Oh No

Franz Ferdinand
MP3: “No You Girls

Doves
MP3: “Jetstream
MP3: “Kingdom of Rust

Yeah Yeah Yeahs
MP3: “Hysteric

Black Crowes
MP3: “I Ain’t Hiding

White Rabbits
MP3: “Percussion Gun

K’naan
MP3: “Take A Minute

Manchester Orchestra
MP3: “I’ve Got Friends

Mocky
MP3: “Birds Of A Feather

Kutiman
http://thru-you.com/

Black Moth Super Rainbow
MP3: “Born On A Day The Sun Didn’t Rise
MP3: “Twin Of Myself
MP3: “Fields Are Breathing

Animal Collective
MP3: “My Girls

Matt and Kim
MP3: “Daylight

Silversun Pickups
MP3: “Panic Switch

Curumin
MP3: “Compacto
MP3: “Salto No Vacuo Con Joelhada

Emiliani Torrini
MP3: “Me and Armini

Zion I
MP3: “Coastin

Junior Boys
MP3: “Parallel Lines

General Elektriks

MP3: “You Don’t Listen

St Vincent
MP3: “Strangers

Coconut Records
MP3: “Any Fun

Matisyahu
“One Day”

Method Man and Redman
MP3: “A Yo

Tosca
MP3 Link: “Joe Si Ha
MP3: “Fondue

The BPA
MP3: “Toe Jam
MP3: “He’s Frank

Bishop Allen
MP3: “The Ancient Commonsense of Things

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Newer acts:

Band of Skulls
MP3 Link: “Death By Diamonds and Pearls
MP3: “I Know What I Am

Empire of the Sun
MP3: “Walking On A Dream

One eskimO
Link to listen: “Given Up
MP3: “Givin Up (Don Diablo remix)

Nickel Eye
MP3: “Brandy of the Damned featuring Wale (Mark Ronson remix)
MySpace link to listen: “Bonnie and Clyde

Mayer Hawthorne
MP3: “Just Ain’t Gonna Work Out

Zee Avi
MP3: “Bitter Heart
MP3: “The Story

Passion Pit
MP3: “Moth’s Wings
MP3 link: “The Reeling
MP3: “Little Secrets

Fight From Above
MP3: “Between The Curves

Vosotros Presents: The Years
MP3 link: “Lose My Number
MP3 link: “Heartbreaker

Daniel Merriweather
MP3: “Change” featuring Wale

The Big Pink
MP3: “Velvet

The Temper Trap
MP3: Sweet Disposition

Thenewno2
MP3 link: “Yomp
MP3 link: “Give You Love
MP3: “Crazy Tuesday

Asa
MP3: “Jailer
MP3: “Subway

The Very Best
MP3: “Warm Heart of Africa

St Motel
MP3: “Dear Dictator

Danny Chaimson
MySpace link to listen: “This Is Life

Hey Champ
MP3: “Cold Dust Girl

Jaydiohead by Minty Fresh Productions
MP3: “Wrong Prayer

Asher Roth feat. Busta Rhymes and New Kingdom
MP3: “Lion’s Roar” produced by Oren Yoel

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Mixtapes:

Wale & 9th Wonder - Back To The Feature

TiRonKetchup
Miguel featuring TiRon – “Go”

Weekly Dose (5/28/09)

It’s not really May 28th right now but that’s when I wanted to post these songs.  I went on vacation before I wrote anything for them but now I’m back…

Wilco’s new album, Wilco (The Album), is due on June 30th.  A blog my friend showed me a couple of weeks ago showed me a link (here) back on May 13th so I was able to listen to a copy.  I wasn’t immediately impressed as I was expecting, but the more I listened, the more I liked it.  Now I think it’s great.  These guys have something special and it really shines on this latest album.  I might like Sky Blue Sky a little more but we’ll see what I’m saying in another few weeks.  It really does seem like it gets better the more I listen though because I didn’t think it was that great when I first listened.  I did say that I might come around with Wilco and this album, and I definitely have.

MP3: Wilco  (The Song)

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Doves released their new album Kingdom of Rust in April 2009.  I would describe their music as new wave, electronic rock but I’m sure the fans who have been listening to them since the early 90’s would want to describe them a little differently.  Their song “Jetstream” is one of my favorite tracks of this year and the album is great.  Thanks go to Scott S who, aside from introducing them to me in the post he wrote a while back, also recommended the new album to me.

MP3: Doves – Jetstream

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Zion I’s debut album Mind Over Matter was released back in 2000 and I’ve been paying attention ever since.  On May 26th, Zion I released Don’t Lose Your Head – EP and The Takeover (Bonus Edition).  The EP is 5 tracks, 4 of those 5 are versions of “Don’t Lose Your Head” which was originally released in 2007 on a Too Short and Friends album.  The Takeover was released 5 months ago and now they’re rereleasing it with a music video of one of the songs added at the end.  Whatever the story behind these re-releases is, I still like Mind Over Matter, a lot.

MP3: Zion I featuring Brother Ali – Caged Bird

MP3: Zion I featuring Too Short – Don’t Lose Your Head

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From The Post Punk Archives

- Posted by Scott S -

Today it seems many of us are quick to catch on to anything with an old sound. This is the natural proclivity for nostalgia that the human ear contains and it’s great. But it seems like every other act that comes out is doing their best to sound like a 70’s postpunk band. It’s a trend and it will pass and the emulations will pointed in another direction, but while the current climate of rock music is on the subject, take a second and check out some of these actual post punk bands/songs. (for those who may not know, Post Punk was the era of music that came after Punk and just before New Wave, Post Punk embodies many traits from both genres)

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Venus by Television (Go here to play the song in it’s entirety - Click here to view album in iTunes)

Featured as the second cut off Television’s 1977 debut album Marquee Moon. Tom Verlaines wonderfully awkward vocal style is enough to make any hipster put down their Clap Your Hands Say Yeah CD and pickup Marquee Moon. Venus contains all the essential elements of post punk: Punk rock roots using driving guitars, but new wave pop sensibilities. Venus is simply one track off Marquee Moon worth hearing. The whole record is great.

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Shot By Both Sides by Magazine

Formed by ex-buzzcocks co-founder Howard Devoto, Magazine only existed for three years but put out some phenomenal material in this time. Appearing on Magazine’s 1978 debut album Real Life, Shot By Both Sides is a borderline surf rock tune. The guitar lines hark back to Dick Dale but the music is post punk at its finest.  As a manchester band, Magazine was perfectly in keeping with the scene. They can at times sound like Joy Division but slightly lighter. Magazine remain one of the best kept secrets of the Manchester movement (see the film 24 Hour Party People), however having been covered by the likes of Radiohead and Morrissey, Magazine’s fusion of avant garde pop, punk, and new wave has not gone unnoticed. 

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doves_somecities

Black and White Town by Doves

While not a traditional post punk band, Doves hails from the 80’s manchester scene which makes them good enough candidates. Formed in 1985 Doves started as a punkinfluenced, New Wave Dance band. However in 1995 they disbanded. Luckily 1998 saw Doves reborn as a new band. Maintaining the same lineup throughout their career, Doves released Some Cities in 2005 to widely praised critical acclaim. The first single was Black and White town. Mixing a driving 60’s piano hook with punk rock guitars, and a catchy melody, Doves melds all sorts of styles on Some Cities, and more than once brings punk and new wave together in the tradition of Post Punk. Most definitely a record worth checking out.

Audio Absinthe

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