Wombats - Let's dance to Joy Division

I'm freakin addicted to this song right now. Great beat, English singer, chock full of head nodding fun. Go ahead, listen, you'll be addicted. I dare you. I have it on repeat. See for yourself here.














RIYL: Earlier Kings of Leon, M83 & MGMT

Iron & Wine - The Trapeze Swinger

I can remember the first time I encountered Iron & Wine, I saw the lead singer on T.V. and that huge beard, I really wasn't sure what to think. Unfortunately I couldn't hear the music because of it being a commercial for something else, however eventually I came across this track (I think I got a copy from a friend, or one of my legal free downloads). Anyhow, upon initial play I was immediately hooked on these guys. Just a very simple, mellow sound, but so good. I went on to discover other songs of theirs like "flightless bird, american mouth" among others. If you like great songwriting, and a mellow, steady beat, these guys could be for you. Definitely check them out.














RIYL: The National, The Decemberists

Sleepyhead - Passion Pit

So, I really thought this track was crazy weird when I first heard it (which I now realize was a palm pixie commercial), but now I kinda dig it. Anyone else out there listening to this track? It's a little crazy and all over the place, but in kind of a good way.

So, what are you listening to?

One of those things I feel like I get asked a lot: "so, what are toy listening to?". This made me think that I should institute a weekly review of my most covered tracks, but my most covered artists as well. All I can say is that I have recently taken to making dynamic playlists of entire artist catalogs and letting it play in the background most of the day. You can clearly see from both charts that this is the case with both Bruce Springsteen and The Killers. The only name on there which maybe isn't familiar to most of you would likely be Madeleine Peyroux. She has a distinctly French sound (to my ears anyway) and I've been enjoying her a bit.

Brett Dennen - Make You Crazy

I've been a really big fan of Brett Dennen since I got "Ain't no reason" off of iTunes discovery downloads some four years ago. I've continued to follow the guy and even went so far as to make Julie come to his show with me last year when he came through Milwaukee. I feel that this particular track represents probably his most radio friendly, effort, reflecting the collaboration with Femi Kuti and a significant impact of production in this instance. If you're looking for a way to get into this guy, or are interested in exploring a sort of California Rock ala upbeat Amos Lee & Jack Johnson with a bit more in regards to political minded geo-awareness, this would be the track for you. Think of it as a gateway song. I promise it's the kind of thing that will get stuck in your head and you'll find yourself singing before long.

RIYL: Upbeat Amos Lee, Upbeat Jack Johnson, California Rock

Did You Miss Me - Gift of Screws - Lindsey Buckingham

So this track is off of Lindsey's most recent effort, that is to say "Gift of Screws", which is apparently from a poem he really digs. This song represents (as I understand it) a collaboration between Lindsey and his wife, and I think possibly even one of his kids. The song itself was good enough to be a single which did get some radio airplay, which, if you know Lindsey and his work is a real change of pace. It has a really nice beat and melody, it's very easy to listen to, but really fits into that "adult contemporary" genre. Oddly enough, on one of my trips recently, I heard this song on the radio in a Chili's. Never thought I would see the day.

Incidentally, this song is IMHO vastly superior in Concert, so if you have the opportunity, do check him out. He's very impressive solo.

Human - The Killers

So the big controversy that I heard around this song anyhow was "denser vs. dancer". Meaning during the chorus is he singing "are we human, or are we denser?" vs. "are we human, or are we dancer?" mumbling vocals and that controversy aside, this song rocks in my estimation. Great beat, interesting build/arc throughout the song and just an interesting overall sound. Now the video was a littly funky, Brandon Flowers (lead vocals, head Mormon in the group) was wearing this crazy jacket with stuff coming off, going in all directions. Weird.

By far not the best song on the album, Human was the only single to my knowledge off of Day and Age and represents the bands third effort (unless you count sawdust), which I don't so much consider another album as a CD of all the leftover crap from their first two albums (One standout however was the track there with Lou Reed). If you happen to be living in the stone age, or just woke up from a Rip VanWinkle or something to that effect and haven't actually heard this song, go check it out. The whole album is well worth it in my humble opinion.

Dewey Music

So yesterday, this project was posted on BoingBoing and I clicked through to check out the link;

Holy Crap!

What an awesome site! I could spend hours in there just poking around and checking out all the free, public domain music. Seriously, go search for some stuff and you might just find some shows you want to hear. Not only can you listen to them right from the website, but you can also download them in a variety of formats, like it and share it (provided you're ok with signing in with facebook. Rock on Dewey People.

Zulu Spear - Back to the Bay

I know a lot of you are going to be like: WTF? Zulu Spear? Who the hell is that??!?!?!

Well, I can't vouch for the longevity of this band, but in the early 90's my brother came home with this CD which he had purchased in downtown Columbus, and I was floored. Granted, there are only about 2 listenable songs on the whole album; correction, there is only this track. Only back to the bay. The rest is shite.

Back to the bay is peppy and upbeat with random African poly-rhythmic beats throughout the song, making it kinda fun in a totally cheesy, nostalgic (at least for me) way. Everything else is hard to listen to. It has a kind of African tribesman harmony going on in nowhere near as cohesive a way as say...Graceland, or even the The Visitor [Audio CD] [Import]. But this one track it worth a listen.

Welcome To The USA

Oh Timbaland

So I've really dug the Nina Simone track that this song was based on since I heard it in the Thomas Crown affair, way back in the day, and I wish I could say I was a fan of hers before that, but it's just not the case. While I'm not a huge fan of Timbaland typically, the combination of a song I love (sinnerman) and the beats that he (Timbaland) injects in the remix really work for me. This is a fast paced song, and I will often use it to work out. It's number 45 on my list of 2009's highest played.

Spoon - You Got your cherry bomb

So one of the bands Mr. Millan introduced me to this past year was Spoon; wow, that guy has a great voice, and I think this song is a great showcase for it. Now I don't love every song on this album, but when it's on, it's on and this is a good example of it being on. There is something kind of vintagey about some of the qualities of his voice, but listen for yourself and judge! Great beat, great overall song.

The Republic Tigers - Buildings and Mountains

ok, I honestly cannot get enough of this track. Love it, love it, love it. I mean really, I should be picking up the whole album, but I just haven't done it yet. It has a slower beat than a standard rock song (IMO), and the whole vocal track seems like it's two guys singing in chorus, but for whatever reason, it really works on this. The guitar is there, but I don't feel like it's dominant in the song. GO GET IT! This track is so worth it.

Ting Tings = Eddie Money?

So, seriously, who would make this kind of comparison? Me. And I don't mean the whole song, just like the first 5 seconds of each song sounds eerily similar. I thought that the first time I heard it, and I still think that. But it's like they say, if you're going to rip someone off, rip off the greats, right?

Gran Ronde

Ok, so I do have this whole album, but only because of the first track I heard from the group made me think the whole endeavor might be awesome. I was wrong; I didn't hear anything else on the album that I really liked apart from the track "wisdom". That's just a guitar riff that gets in your head. Seriously, take a listen' it's awesome. That's why it ranks at #4 as my most listened to track of 2009 at 52 times.

On a side note, I was recently in Portland in a Native American hall on a university campus when I noticed the same name "Gran Ronde" on one of the nation flags in the back of the hall. Turns out the band is from the area, and while not named after the nation, they are named after a river in the area of the same name (more here).

Sweet Pea - Amos Lee - Supply and Demand

So this has to be one of my favorite tracks I discovered in 2009; Julie and I were at Amos Lee's concert in Milwaukee and he played this track. It is just phenomenal live, and I've heard it pop up in a commercial here and there since that point. I instantly knew this song would always hold a special sentiment for me and for us. We might even dance to it at our wedding ;-) you never know. It's just a very light and happy track and in my head it's really about what keeps two people together, which is a very happy thought. If you've never tried out Amos, now is the perfect time!

Personal best of 2009

So, I recently made a playlist in my iTunes of my most listened to tracks in 2009. For the next month or so I'm going to comb through them all and talk about what I find so appealing about them. Who knows, maybe you'll dig them too!

~BJG

Chill-Pill Mobile Speakers

Woah; so I admit I've never really looked into finding a set of mobile speakers to try out, since I don't really keep music on my laptop any longer, it just didn't seem necessary, but I received these little babies from my boss for the holidays and wow; I'm impressed; they would be considered ultra portable in my estimation.

About the size of a can of starbucks double shot espresso, these guys boast 6 hours of play time (chargable over USB). While they won't be winning the hearts of audiophiles anywhere, they are pretty loud, and consequently get the job done. Nice work Chill people. Genius design.

Tear Down the Opera House - Scotland Yard Choir

So...can I just say that I'm obsessed with this song? It just happened to come on my ipod the other day when I was shopping with Julie and holy crap. I think I listened to it like 6 times immediately. Just an awesome beat and now I really want to check out the rest of the album. Will post a review if I pick it up!