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2011, 31 days of good, music

(31) Days of Good: Day 15

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Short and sweet today (aka laziness).

Gorgeous, hypnotic new ethereal pop (that still manages to bump) from the amazing Grimes, taken from one of our most anticipated records of 2012, her forthcoming LP Visions. [source]

♪ Grimes – Oblivion (from Visions)

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The Alabama Shakes are going to have a HUGE 2012.  If you don’t believe me, listen to the track below and enjoy that feeling of “I told you so”.

♪ Alabama Shakes – You Aint Alone (from Alabama Shakes EP)

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This last Summer, Pepper Rabbit released their followup to 2010’s Beauregard.  The new LP was a big favorite of mine and on the cusp of being one of my top 10 favorites.  If you’re a fan of experimental dream pop, you definitely need to give Pepper Rabbit a proper listen.

♪ Pepper Rabbit – Rose Mary Stretch (from Red Velvet Snow Ball)

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2011, 31 days of good, music

(31) Days of Good: Day 14

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Until earlier this year, I never would have expected a Latin record would end up being favorite of mine, but then former Elefant frontman, Diego Garcia, released his debut LP, Laura.  The record is full of 70′s-inspired tracks, lush strings, Spanish guitars, some mighty fine cello (courtesy of Mr. Daniel Benson), which all comes together to form some good ol’ fashioned love songs.  The wifey and I both fell in love with this record, especially after we saw him perform live last Summer.  And speaking of seeing him live, I’d like to leave you with the brilliant advice Mr. Garcia left us at the show — “There are three things you can do for a woman: Love her.  Suffer for her.  Turn her into a pop song.”

♪ Diego Garcia – Roses and Wine (from Laura)

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Girls is one of my favorite indie rock/pop bands to surface in the last couple of years.  Hailing from San Francisco, California, the band is made up of two key members, Christopher Owens, main writer and lead singer, and Chet “JR” White who plays bass and produces.  Girls’ sound has been compared to Elvis Costello, Buddy Holly, and The Beach Boys.  I loved the first LP, Album, and loved the follow up, Father, Son, Holy Ghost, even more.  It includes a lot of my favorites and most listened to songs of the year (“Honey Bunny”, “Love Like A River”, “Alex”, to name a few), but since I can only choose one, it has to be “My Ma”.

♪ Girls – My Ma (from Father, Son, Holy Ghost)

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fun. is an indie pop trio based in NY that was formed by Nate Ruess (you may remember him from The Format).  Now I have to admit, this is one of those bands that’s been on my radar for awhile now, but i’ve never really given them a good, honest listen…but then I heard this track and the rest is history.  The track in question is “We Are Young”, is the first single off their upcoming sophomore album, Some Nights (out Feb. 21, 2012), and just happens to feature some vocals from the one and only Janelle Monáe.  Enjoy the track below and be sure to check out the acoustic version in the video.

♪ fun. – We Are Young (feat. Janelle Monáe) (from Some Nights)

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2011, 31 days of good, music

(31) Days of Good: Day 13

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M83’s epic 2-disc LP, Hurry Up, We’re Dreaming, was my most anticipated release of the year and it didn’t let me down one bit.  Anthony Gonzalez is an electronic virtuoso.  From the very start, Hurry Up, We’re Dreaming grabs you and holds you until the very end.  Zola Jesus’ guest vocals on “Intro” makes an already good track great.  The dreamy ballad “My Tears Are Becoming A Sea” gives me goosebumps every time I hear it.  The innocence and fun that swirls throughout “Raconte-Moi Une Histoire” makes me smile and wish I was a kid again.  But since I can only pick one, I have to go with “Midnight City”.  This track is a great representation of the album as a whole, the production is amazing, it makes you want to dance (even if you hate dancing), you can’t help but turning the volume up when this song plays, and it happens to be the year’s best use of saxophone.  I should also add that M83 was the best show I saw this year and “Midnight City” is incredibly good live.

♪ M83 – Midnight City (from Hurry Up, We’re Dreaming)

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Big Black Delta is the solo project of Mellowdrone vocalist/bassist Jonathan Bates.  I was introduced to Big Black Delta earlier this year and was lucky enough to catch one the residency shows at The Satellite in LA (big thanks to Stephanie at the Planetary Group btw).  The debut LP, BBDLP1, was a really cool record and I highly recommend it.  THE CULTURE OF ME puts it best, “Big Black Delta makes some of the noisiest and most fun pop music you’re likely to hear for a long time coming”.

♪ Big Black Delta – Huggin & Kissin (from BBDLP1)

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This last track is actually a combination of the first two.  Last year, Daft Punk put out one of the best (and most overlooked) movie scores in a long time.  This year, a remix album was released and featured a plethora of electronic artists (Moby, Paul Okenfold, Teddybears, The Crystal Method, Pretty Lights…to name a few) and TRON: Legacy R3CONFIGUR3D was born.  One track in particular caught my eye more than the others, as it featured one of my favorites, M83, and then unknown to me, Big Black Delta.

♪ Daft Punk – Fall (M83 vs. Big Black Delta Remix) (from TRON: Legacy R3CONFIGUR3D)

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2011, 31 days of good, music

(31) Days of Good: Day 12

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I’ve been a fan of Future Islands since I first heard ’em a couple of years ago.  This year, the synthpop trio from Baltimore released their third LP, On The Water, and it was an unexpected favorite of mine.  Now don’t get me wrong, I’m a fan and expected to like the album, but I didn’t expect to like it so much.  On The Water is a damn good album, one of the year’s best.  If you haven’t given Future Islands a chance yet, now is the time.  My favorite track is definitely “The Great Fire”, which features some excellent guest vocals from Wye Oak’s Jenn Wasner, and might just be my favorite song of the year.

♪ Future Islands – The Great Fire (from On The Water)

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I really like Telekinesis and was a big fan of their debut LP, Telekinesis!.  So needless to say, I was really looking forward to their follow up this year.  12 Desperate Straight Lines is a lot of fun, full of catchy, indie pop songs that you can’t help but to nod your head and tap your feet too.  At first listen, I was certain my favorite track was going to be “Car Crash”, and then I heard to “You Turn Clear In The Sun” and it was love at first listen.

♪ Telekinesis – You Turn Clear In The Sun (from 12 Desperate Straight Lines)

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Mister Heavenly is Nicholas Thorburn (Islands), Ryan Kattner (Man Man), Joe Plummer (The Shins), and some guy named Michael Cera was the tour bassist.  As far as i’m concerned, Mister Heavenly was the super group of 2011 and easily lived up to the hype surrounding the collaboration.  The debut LP, Out of Love, was not only a great fix until Islands releases A Sleep & A Forgetting next year, it was an awesome record.  The record has a sound that’s easiest described as 1950s doo-wop, with a pinch or two of early heavy metal, which “invokes some long-lost 1950s teen drama flick”.  Now I have a soft spot for doo-wop and background vocals, so it’s a bit surprising I didn’t pick “Mister Heavenly” or “Your Girl”, but there’s something about the “unrestrained violence” of “Bronx Sniper” that makes it my favorite — I can’t help but blast the volume when this song comes on. (p.s. you have to check out the video below, definitely one of the stranger videos this year)

♪ Mister Heavenly – Bronx Sniper (from Out of Love)

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2011, 31 days of good, music

(31) Days of Good: Day 11

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This was a big year in Hip Hop, with releases from some of the biggest names in the game. If you follow Hip Hop closely, you might have noticed the mixtape scene blowing up this last year also. Everyone from the backpack rappers to the big guns released mixtapes.  And speaking of big guns…

♪ Jay-Z and Kanye West – Ni**as in Paris (from Watch The Throne) [stream only]

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Probably my favorite rapper from the last couple years is Theophilus London. The Haitian born, Brooklyn raised artist has been quoted saying Morrissey is his biggest influence. London also has the coolest style out there. He has his own line of snapbacks and a collaboration with shoe company Cole Haan. The best part of his music, is that most of it is free — all of his mixtapes can be easily found online.

♪ Theophilus London – Why Even Try (feat. Sara Quin) (from Timez Are Weird These Days)

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One rapper/producer that made a name for himself this last year was a skinny skater kid from LA with some of the most disturbing lyrics in popular music since Eminem. Tyler, The Creator, and the Odd Future crew (aka OFWGKTA) were probably the most blogged about topic in music. Tyler’s debut album Goblin was released with much anticipation and was later signed to a major label deal that led him to work with Pharrell and Pusha T from Clipse.  Check out Odd Future’s tumblr if you want some free tunes and maybe some nightmares. They are a weird bunch of dudes.

♪ Pusha T – Trouble On My Mind (feat. Tyler, The Creator) (from Fear Of God II: Let Us Pray) [check out the video below]

 

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