Back on the wagon. Pinky swear.

I know. It’s been days since my last post. I feel terrible about it….really I do, but you know what they say…onward and upward.

SO today I am posting one of my absolute favorite new songs by literally my favorite artist. I have been getting some slack the past couple weeks for the lack of “new” music and I understand that you must give the people what they want. Ray LaMontagne is all I really ever want and his new album with the Pariah Dogs is breathtaking. Ray is talented beyond measure. The breadth of his talent continues to impress me. I think Trouble will probably always be my favorite album, but Ray’s new effort, God Willin’ & the Creek Don’t Rise, is pure poetry. Anyone who has heard LaMontagne’s croon shouldn’t really try and find a comparable. The texture of his soulful voice is smooth and the finish is gritty. It’s like a really good praline. I know, I know, enough with the food analogies, but it’s true, Ray LaMontagne’s voice is a sweet and salty caramel treat. This album, in particular, has a vast array of genres to choose from, take your pick – everything from a Robert Plant-ish country-bar-brawl juke to a soulfully sad acoustic hymn. Ray’s got it all. Duh. I am going to post my favorite from this album, Old Before Your Time. It features Ray’s voice more than anything else, which is always good for me, and because I have been just so bad with posting the past few days I am going to post my favorite song from Trouble, Hold You In My Arms. Enjoy!

LISTEN TO THEM!

Old Before Your Time, God Willin’ & the Creek Don’t Rise, Ray LaMontagne & The Pariah Dogs

Hold You In My Arms, Trouble, Ray LaMontagne

Two Step.

I might have missed the Chromeo concert in Dallas last night (I sometimes venture out of Austin, but generally speaking I don’t recommend or like to do it), but it doesn’t mean I am a fair-weather fan. I’ll just be honest. Let’s just speak plainly here…I love Chromeo. Some music is about experimentation but in my opinion Chromeo is all about recreation. It’s just the kind of music that begs you to throw an impromptu rave/dance party (complete with lasers and glow sticks of course). Whilst they have a bevy of perfect pop hits, I am posting my absolute favorite…Fancy Footwork. It’s a flock of seagulls meets phoenix and you’ll love it because I said so.

LISTEN TO IT!

A-team.

Today’s post is going to be short and sweet. This tune doesn’t need much introduction because it’s a dynamite mash/remix of Band of Horses’ The Funeral which I posted a couple weeks ago, by none other than Kid Cudi. This track goes by The Prayer and there’s no doubt that this one will be bouncing around your head for days. Just another way to get you through another hump day. Enjoy!

LISTEN TO IT!

Está fazendo um dia bonito

Rosie and Me is like really good gelato. How, you might ask, is this Brazilian trio like an Italian dessert, well, to me their music is the kind of music that’s perfectly sweet and leaves you ever so satisfied,  yet part of you knows that one more taste wouldn’t kill you, in fact that one taste might just complete you. Sure, Jack Johnson might have commercialized the acoustic, summery pop hit, but Rosie and Me’s delightful sound makes me forget about Taylor and Sexi Plexi…they were sloots anyway, right? This particular track, Bonfires, is just the right dash of that honeyed pop and lingering innocence…whom ever said the tambourine was for gypsies and partridges definitely never heard this ditty. So enjoy these Brazilian biking beauties and look out for more sightings of Rosie and Me.

LISTEN TO IT!

WATCH IT!

Let that freak kite fly.

This is one of those songs that I have been meaning to post for about two months, but better late than never…right? Geographer prides themselves on making “soul music from outer space” and while I don’t believe other worldly soul is a hugely competitive genre, Geographer are true musical pioneers. Their most recent creative endeavor, Animal Shapes, is a carefully woven tapestry of heavenly and extraterrestrial sounds and my absolute favorite song has to be “Kites”, this tune is both memorizing and adventurous and the boys from Geographer provide each listener with a musical circumnavigation fit for Magellan.

LISTEN TO IT!

Geographer, Kites, Animal Shapes

Preppy Mix Tape

The September issue of Vanity Fair features a tribute to the 30th year of The Officially Preppy Handbook with an excerpt from Lisa Birnback’s new book, True Prep, which is all about what it takes to be one of the chosen – tennis playing, sailboat owning, blue blazer wearing, ivy league learning- prep monsters. It’s obviously more of a satire than anything else, since no one who’s actually a prep monster would be caught dead reading True Prep (exception would be reading said book to show understanding of true irony – Oxford educated no doubt). All this aside, one of the best parts of this article happens to be a finely tuned Preppy Mix Tape. Featuring just the right amount of classic rock, disco, motown and “anything to remind those prep-sters of their junior year abroad,” this playlist will be on repeat for me through at least labor day. While I can’t share every song with you here, you’ll have to buy the mag for that, I promise to post the absolute highlights. So get out that seersucker suit, smoking pipe and try to picture yourself on martha’s vineyard at sunset, sipping on a g&t whilst enjoying these totally waspy wonders.

THE PREPPY MIX TAPE  (in short)

1. Brown Sugar, Rolling Stones

2. Superstition, Stevie Wonder

3. Black Coffee in Bed, Squeeze

4. Rich Girl, Hall and Oates

5. Love to Love you Baby, Donna Summer

6. How Soon is Now?, The Smiths

It’s that time again…

So it’s been like almost a full month without a Vampire Weekend posting, and well we just can’t have that. So on this fabulous Thursday, I am posting a downright dazzling Miike Snow/Vampire Weekend remix. Sure this track is a jam on its own, but Swedish pop powerhouse, Miike Snow’s flavor re-energizes VW’s The Kids Don’t Stand A Chance. At it’s core this remix keeps that breathy Brooklyn cool sound the Vamp kids have made a name for, but Snow’s talent and electric expertise turns up the voltage (weak metaphor…it’s the end of the week people, give me a break). Bad comparisons aside, this remix frames both Vampire Weekend and Miike Snow’s raw talent and that’s how you know it’s a gooooooood.

LISTEN TO IT!

Get it here!

Chem 101

I found this song whilst doing a little blog surfing and I am officially hooked. It’s a short little diddy, running just a smidgen over 2 minutes, but it is another one of those tunes that won’t get out of my head. Noah and The Whale is one of those British folk groups that has perfected the summery, their slightly pastoral pop sound has a clever arrangement and dry humor that packs quite the punch. “2 Atoms In A Molecule” was the single from their latest album – Peaceful, The World Lays Me Down (September 2008), and lyrically, it deals with lead singer, Charlie Fink’s break up…with his backup vocalist, Laura Marling…talk about awkward. BUT depressing breakups aside, so was born this cleverly conflicting tune, with its sweet sound and sardonic symbolism. So let’s grab our protons, electrons and neutrons and get started….

LISTEN TO IT!

Big Brass Bed.

If you don’t like Bob Dylan, I would be willing to guess it isn’t for lack of  a lyrical genius, but it probably has more to do with his some what “unconventional” voice. While, I am not one of those people (i <3 him), I know that they exist, and today’s track goes out to all those sort-of fans. It’s a beautifully sweet cover of Lay Lady Lay by Magnet and Gemma Hayes. Magnet, aka Even Johansen, has a soulful croon, as does the duets more sassy counterpart…that would be the cool and talented Hayes. The music on this version is bigger than on Dylan’s original, but to me it’s the magnetism that both singers bring to the table that really does this cover justice. The duo’s expressive rendition only emphasizes the perfect tenderness of these  lyrics and when it comes down to it, Dylan’s genius is still what makes this track’s wheels go round.

LISTEN TO IT!

Not armadilla. J. Dilla.

J. Dilla’s legacy continues to unfold in new and surprising ways….the most recent posthumous release is a six-track project titled, Donut Shop. For this project, Serato and Stones Throw teamed with the J Dilla Estate for the official in the release of this project, this past May. The J Dilla tracks consist of three previously unreleased instrumentals from the archives of this beats genius. This album also features three unreleased instrumental versions of Dilla’s production for Mos Def, Q-Tip and Busta Rhymes.

Safety Dance is one of the J. Dilla instrumentals on Donut Shop. Safety Dance is a tribute to J. Dilla creative brilliance, but the remastering by Elysian Masters give this track a heavy extra edge. So dance if you want to, and enjoy J. Dilla’s inspiring artistry.

LISTEN TO IT!