I’ll freely admit that at first, when rhythm oriented video games such as Rock Band and Guitar Hero dropped, I was a openly skeptical.  Over the past few years I’ve changed my tune and occasionally you’ll find me at a party rocking out the mic or drums on everything from Weezer to System of a Down (I won’t go so far as to actually own the games, but I also won’t sit disapprovingly on the sidelines).

Well the latest iteration of said rhythm games comes in the form of DJ Hero and yet again I find myself a bit of a skeptic.  The game seems like a gimmick, the control scheme feels a bit elementary, and I’m not sure if it will catch on (note I’ve been wrong before).  Of one thing, though, I am certain.  Some of the tracks contained on this game are amazing.  Simply amazing.  Here’s my favorite.

mp3 : Marvin Gaye vs Gorillaz - I Heard It Through the Grapevine vs Feel Good Inc

It might not make you a DJ.  You might not even enjoy playing the game.  You will, however, enjoy the music.

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I think I’ve been dismissing the latest album by The Killers, 2008’s Day & Age (amazon) (itunes), largely because it’s not Hot Fuss 2.0.  In fact it’s not even close to Hot Fuss.  Granted there are tracks like Human and Spaceman which seem to align quite well with the oft revered first offering from these glamorous desert dwellers, but the album as a whole strays quite a bit from what many fans were hoping for.  I think if you give the album another try you’ll appreciate it for what it actually is.

I’m going to go ahead and compare this album to Neon Bible by Arcade Fire.  Neon Bible wasn’t exactly what a lot of fans and critics wanted to hear.  It’s not a direct continuum of their first album, Funeral, but it is (when looked at objectively) a solid effort from a great band.  Day & Age is just that; a solid album from a great band.  Unfortunately it feels as if it was largely passed over simply because it is different than a reworked version of Hot Fuss (Day & Age sold just over 700,000 copies while Hot Fuss cleared 3,000,000 in the US).

Well I’ve been listening to this album a lot over the past month or so (I accidentally damaged a bunch of the discs I normally have with me in my car) and it really has grown on me.  A track that I find particularly haunting is the slow burn of A Dustland Fairytale.  In this song Brandon is singing about the relationship his parents had, the struggle his father had between addiction and faith, and the battle with cancer that plagued his mother.

mp3 : The Killers - A Dustland Fairytale

lyrics

A Dustland Fairytale beginning
Just another white trash county kiss
In ‘61, long brown hair, foolish eyes

He looks just like you’d want him to
Some kind of slick chrome American Prince
A bluejean serenade, and moon river, what you do to me
I don’t believe you

Saw Cinderella in a party dress
But she was looking for a nightgown
I saw the devil wrapping up his hands
He’s getting ready for the showdown
I saw the minute that I turned away
I got my money on a pawn tonight

Change came in disguise of revelation, set his soul on fire
She says she always knew he’d come around
And the decades disappear like sinking ships
But we persevere, God gives us hope
But we still fear what we don’t know

The mind is poison
Castles in the sky sit stranded, vandalized
Drawbridges closing

Saw Cinderella in a party dress
But she was looking for a nightgown
I saw the devil wrapping up his hands
He’s getting ready for the showdown
I saw the ending where they turned the page
I took my money and I ran away
Straight to the valley of the great divide

Out where the dreams are high
Out here, the wind don’t blow
Out here, the good girls die
And the sky won’t snow
Out here, the birds don’t sing
Out here, the fields don’t grow
Out here, the bell don’t ring
Out here, the bell don’t ring

Out here, the good girls die

Now Cinderella, don’t you go to sleep
It’s such a bitter form of refuge
Oh don’t you know, the kingdom’s under siege
And everybody needs you
Is there still magic in the midnight sun
Or did you leave it back in 61?
In the cadence of a young man’s eyes
I wouldn’t dream so high

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Posting about Julian Casablancas the other day had me jonesing for some good old strokes.  I posted this track ages ago (around the time The Strokes offered it as a free download from their myspace page), but since then I have found a way to lose track of it entirely.  Fortunately through my clever use of the interwebs I have found a way to release it once again.  Enjoy.

mp3 : The Strokes - I’ll Try Anything Once (You Only Live Once Demo)

The song drips with everything I love about these New York boys.

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Julian Casablancas has succeeded in cultivating a certain persona for himself.  Something about him oozes likability and it’s hard to define simply why that is so.  Maybe it’s because he’s the front man of The Strokes, maybe it’s because his deadpan and washed out vocal delivery inspires everyone to sing along, or maybe there is some other magic behind his charm.  Whatever this intangible effect is it simply drips off of the latest track from Julian’s solo album Phrazes For The Young (amazon) (itunes).

mp3 : Julian Casablancas - Out of The Blue

Granted the starts with a rather awkward melody, and sounds quite a bit like his other band, but about twenty seconds into the track you don’t care about either of those thoughts because you’re caught up in simply liking what Julian is doing.  I hope that The Strokes stick it out (they’re recording now and planning another tour) because although Julian on his own is fun, it’s not quite the brilliance that you get when all the boys are playing together (ie Thom Yorke without the rest of Radiohead).

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I stumbled upon this little gem of a cover this morning while I was listening to music at work.  A friend sent me the link and I thought I would pay it forward.  The track is a fairly straightforward cover of the Fleet Foxes classic Tiger Mountain Peasant Song.  If you like what the ladies have done with it (somehow I think they make it even more haunting than the original) make sure you check out their myspace page from some more great songs.

mp3 : First Aid Kit - Tiger Mountain Peasant Song (Fleet Foxes Cover)

Or if you’d rather jump right into more music by First Aid Kit you can find this track on their album Drunken Trees (amazon) (itunes).

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I think this song is out to get me.  I remember vaguely watching this band play late one night on Letterman.  And although they seem to be a random collection of hippies and vagabonds there was something about the oft repeated refrain of “home is wherever I’m with you” that held my attention.  I mean basically, this track which hails from the 2009 album Up From Below (amazon) (itunes), is the epitome of the modern indie folk classic.  There are two singers, male and female, whom sing in a throwback call and response style of vocalization.  There’s more whistling than an Andrew Bird album.  There exists a musical break about ninety seconds into the track that would do the trumpet segments in Sufjan Stevens songs proud.  They even take a break in the middle of the song to talk over the musical background.  To be honest I’m not sure there’s a stereotype that they missed.

mp3 : Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros - Home

Now all they need to do is drop the “and the Magnetic Zeros” from their name and they might be a respectable group.

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This post is a little off the beaten path today.  The track hails from a 2006 EP called Information Chase and it contains no lyrics.  Although this isn’t the first time I’ve posted a purely instrumental track this does mark the first time I’ve posted an instrumental track that’s composed entirely of bits/bleeps.  Just think Nintendo era soundtracks with serious club credibility and you’re on the right track.

mp3 : Bit Shifter - Hexadecimal Genome

I enjoy this track, I hope you can enjoy it as well.  It’s not for everyone, but that’s ok.  If you’re really into it head over to 8bitpeoples for more.

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Whether or not you actually like Tiesto (or the copious amount of remixes, mixes, dance tracks, beats, etc., that he’s made) we can all agree on one thing.  The lead singer of Sigur Ros, oft called Jonsi, is brilliant at almost every single turn.  So when Tiesto teams up with Jonsi and asks him to sing over the title track to his new album you just know it’s going to be epic.  And trust me, epic it is.

mp3 : Tiesto - Kaleidoscope (feat Jonsi)

Honestly I’m not sure if there is anything I would change about this song.  Let’s see.  It’s over seven minutes.  It’s atmospheric.  It changes moods and builds to an ending that can only be described as euphoric.  It has Jonsi dripping his voice all over for good measure.  And the last two minutes are nothing sort of sublime.  Really, I mean really, is there anything even slightly disappointing about this song?

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Ah, the Pursuit of Happiness.  It is a foundational principle upon which the United States was built, a movie in which Will Smith cried a lot, and an action that probably gets boys, girls, husbands, wives, boyfriends, and girlfriends into more trouble than it’s ultimately worth.

Never you mind, death professor, Kid Cudi has taken all of those associations and thrown them out the window.  What is left is an elegant slice of modern hip hop that’s supplemented by MGMT and Ratatat.  What’s not to love?

mp3 : Kid Cudi - Pursuit of Happiness (feat MGMT and Ratatat)

Even the opening thirty seconds of gritty instrumentals is hypnotic.  And when the lyrics drop it’s obvious Kid Cudi is never, repeat never, going to slow his roll.  Never.  For those of you that care you can find this track on the album Man On The Moon: The End of Day (amazon) (itunes).  Enjoy.

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Agree with me or not (or feel guilty about it or not), but I think the latest single by The Veronicas is actually sorta kinda addicting.  And while I’m not ashamed to admit that I like the catchy string loop, the dance beat, or the Kelly Clarkson stylized delivery I still possess too much pride to actually research this track, post about the entire album, or generally admit anything other than I listened to the radio this past weekend, heard this track, and thought I should post it.

mp3 : The Veronicas - Untouched

Enjoy it or don’t.  It’s your call.  No one will think less of you.  (Ok, I can’t promise that last bit).

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I have found myself to be a bit on the obsessive side over the past month of my life.  I was again moved back to part time at work (which really means part time pay, which is just over sustainable) and alongside that came extra hours, even days, of leisure free time.  Now you might think that I would use this time to do what I love.  That I would use it to peruse music blogs, stream tracks from myspace to last.fm, attend shows, and download bootlegs.  But for some reason I haven’t done any of those things (although I did score some rare tickets to see Sufjan in Bloomington in a few weeks).

I guess I shouldn’t really say “some reason” like it’s this ambiguous metaphysical reason that’s leaning upon the edge of my subconscious.  I realized today exactly what the situation is.  When I have too much free time, without structure, without a framework that keeps me busy and organized I drift into a mode that is somewhat lazy, partially obsessive, and mostly bent on finding a path of least resistance.  And so I’ve been doing what every quarter aged person with too much time on their hands does in the United States (or really the entire world).  And that has been nothing.  Nothing at all.

Oh sure I’ve listened to music, I’ve played video games, and I’ve complained to my friends about my lack of adventure (and perversely my lack of will to seek said adventure), but mostly I’ve done nothing with my time.  Nothing at all (well nothing at all that I could show you and say “look what I have done.”)

And so that brings me to this post about The Weakerthans track entitled Night Windows.  I love this band, I love this track, and I love the album it hails from (Reunion Tour (amazon) (itunes).  In fact I love the album so much it has been the only album I’ve listened to in my car over the past three weeks.  I finally took it out after I realized just how obsessed I’ve become with the album; how stuck I’ve become in this routine of listening to one thing over and over again (I mean c’mon, I actually have memorized, word for word, 9 of the 11 tracks on the album).

mp3 : The Weakerthans - Night Windows

And all this rambling brings me to this track.  This track written about losing someone.  This track which I believe is the perfect commentary on the war the USA is currently fighting (in two countries no less).  This song is quietly desperate and melancholic.  It’s filled with honest emotions and genuine heartache.  And I know every word as if I wrote it myself.

It’s been said that John Samson (lead singer of The Weakerthans) wrote this song for a friend of his whom died in the war in Afghanistan.  It’s also known that the title is lifted from a painting by the artist Edward Hopper.  It’s a beautiful song and I feel that if I don’t share it with everyone it will be stuck in my head for ages and I won’t ever listen to another album.

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I do apologize for the lack of posts during this past week.  I really must apologize.  But I fear I was busy scoring tickets to see the upcoming Sufjan Stevens mini tour (yes, I’ll be there in Bloomington to see him play), galavanting about the countryside for an all to brief weekend, and listening continuously to the latest album by my new Scottish obsession We Were Promised Jetpacks.

I would have killed to see these boys play with their compatriots (my other favorite Scottish band Frightened Rabbit - who is absolutely insanely good in concert), but alas they did not come close enough to central Indiana on their tour.  Fortunately they have released These Four Walls (amazon) (itunes) and quite honestly, it is brilliant.  It’s the type of brilliant that lets you know that these boys, will, in fact be on the top ten list at the end of the year.  It’s the type of brilliant that blacks out all other albums for a solid week while you attempt to sate your addiction on these eleven songs.

mp3 : We Were Promised Jetpacks - It’s Thunder and It’s Lightning
mp3 : We Were Promised Jetpacks - Quite Little Voices

Not only are those two songs catchy, driving, Scottish rock, but there’s also a track on the album entitled Moving Clocks Run Slow.  If I’m a sucker for anything it’s allusions to principles of physics in song titles.  You got me good We Were Promised Jetpacks (wonderful band name by the way), you got me good.  Get the album, thank me later.

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Miles Benjamin Anthony Robinson is a singer/songwriter out of Brooklyn who released his self titled debut, Miles Benjamin Anthony Robinson (amazon) (itunes), in July of 2008.  If I had to pare down my review to as few words as possible I would say the following.  Miles sounds like an urban version of a one man band.  It’s as if Bon Iver holed up in a bustling New York borough instead of an isolated cabin.

mp3 : Miles Benjamin Anthony Robinson - Buriedfed
mp3 : Miles Benjamin Anthony Robinson - The Debtor

Overall it’s a great first album.  Granted there are some rough bits, possibly even some songs that you won’t absolutely love when you first meet, but overall this is a solid debut album and I’m looking forward to what he produces next.

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