Posts Tagged ‘Electronic’

About to drop the bomb on your weekend!!!  If you don’t find something on this mix you like…. oh well, too bad for you.

Ratatat :: 17 Years – Dope stuff from Ratatat.  Just getting warmed up… (btw… can’t wait for their new album.  May 18)

Gorillaz :: On Melancholy Hill – I am loving this new album.  Chill song for what’s about to come…

The XX :: VCR (Matthew Dear Remix) – Stepping up the energy slightly.  One of the best XX remixes I have heard yet… and there are tons out there.

Blue Scholars :: New People (Empire of the Sun Remix) – You can’t help but MC along after the 3rd time you hear this one.  Catchy stuff!!

Crown City Rockers :: Balance (feat. Scarub) – Straight outa Oakland.  Not Too$hort gangsta… but sick base line groove from the Bay.

ChocQuibTown :: El Bombo (Toquemen el Bombo) – Time for Maragaritas!!!

Wailing Souls :: Shark Attack – Is it 4:20 yet?  Now that’s a pool party!!!

Billy Ocean :: Caribbean Queen – Billy is still the Friar of Fresh.  I think of dark tanned bodies when I hear this song.  Love it!

Vampire Weekend :: Holiday – This song makes me want to order a Dos Equis from a beach bar that exists in my daydreams…. ice cold with a lime…mmmmmm!!!

Ra Ra Riot :: Can You Tell – Penny loafers and poped collars punk

Free Energy :: Free Energy – Listen to this one if you are lacking energy.  Free Energy has plenty to dish out.  Love the 70’s Camero guitar licks… think Cars.

Two Door Cinema Club :: Something Good Can Work (The Twelves Remix) – BOOM!!!!  Now we are shaking rumps… “Let’s get this started girl”

The Beach Boys :: Wouldn’t It Be Nice (The Girls Can Hear Us Remix) – Usually not a fan of retro remixes…but… this is a perfect summer party jam.

Crystal Castles :: Crimewave (Midnight Conspiracy Remix) – Pure remix 80’s new wave magic.  The Daft Punk beat at 1:36 is LEGIT!!!!!

wait what (the notorious b.i.g. vs. the xx) :: one more chance for a heart to skip a beat – This wait what mashup will make you say “wait… what?”  VERY EXPLICIT  (I warned you… but you still listened.  Don’t blame me.)

Animal Collective :: Daily Routine (Phaseone Remix) – Ending it all with a chill ass remix.  My fav Collective mix to date.

/////////////  Click to buy these songs on iTunes //////////////

There are some songs I hear and immediately a smile comes on my face and I think to myself…. “this is music for cool people”…. then I say…… “does that mean I’m ….?”………… well at least when I listen to it I am cool in my own mind for that moment.   I love that music can do that to you!!!!!  Songs like Kites make me love music.

Geographer was somehow lost in the mix of bands like Passion Pit, Yeasayer and xx who are all brilliant.  I say they belong in the mix.  Either way… I am thrilled I found the Animal Shapes – EP.

This weekend must do:  Put your Gucci sunglasses on, roll down your windows while you drive around in the Spring sunshine blasting Geographer – Kites!!!  Now you’re soooooo cooooool.

Notable Tracks:  Kites, Night Winds, Original Sin

Geographer :: Kites

Buy on iTunes ::  http://ow.ly/1Cqjb

Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros are sick and I have been so high on them for the last year. Here is a mellow electro-folk-vibe remix of my favorite song of 2009 – Home.

Home (RAC Mix) – Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros

The rise of electro-80’s-pop-indie-dance sounds seems to be a trend that is showing some staying power.  Its a sound that has roots back to the early 2000’s with Daft Punk.  Some notable early players in the genre include Royksopp, Basement Jaxx, Metro Area, Scissor Sisters and Kelley Polar.  More recently you have Hot Chip, Crystal Castles, The Whip, Friendly Fires and the most commercially prolific of the genre, Phoenix (to name a few).

As you know I obviously love finding music that is NOT exactly new… but sounds fresh… and makes an impact, which leads me to the subject of this post.  I have been into The Black Ghosts since early 2009 with their self titled album.  Full Moon is an amazing track off of a very good album and sounds something like a stoned version of Phoenix with an equal mix of Jamiroquai, MGMT and Gorillaz sprinkled on top.  I did not know however until very recently, The Black Ghosts put out a Mixtape in 2008 which totally crushes it.

The Mixtape features remixes by TBG’s among other great DJ’s.  If you are looking for some seriously infectious bass lines, grinding synths and 80’s electro pop beats in an album perfect for an hour long run get ready to be infected.  Of the standout tracks which are posted below The Black Ghosts remix of The One by Trabant is a BIG TIME track!  If your a fan of the genre discussed prior, get ready to clap your hands and peg your jeans.  How this track flew under the radar is amazing, not even a car commercial spot?  This mixtape has more hand claps than a high school cheerleading practice.

The Black Ghosts…. enjoy.

Listen: Trabant – The One (The Black Ghosts Remix)

Listen: The Black Ghosts – Full Moon

Listen: The Black Ghosts – I Want Nothing (Extended Mix)

Listen: The Black Ghosts – Something New

11. Ready, Able – Grizzly Bear, Veckatimest

12. The Reeling – Passion Pit, Manners

13. Hesitation Blues -Willie Nelson & Asleep At the Wheel, Willie and the Wheel

14. You’ve Got the Love (XX remix) – Florence + the Machine (XX Remix), Single

15. 40 Day Dream – Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros, Up from Below

16. Hell On Earth – Deer Tick, Born On Flag Day

17. It’s Nice to Know You Work Alone – Silversun Pickups, Swoon

18. Empire State of Mind (feat. Alicia Keys) – Jay-Z, The Blueprint 3

19. Silver Trembling Hands – The Flaming Lips, Embryonic

20. Southern Point – Grizzly Bear, Veckatimest

21. Party In the U.S.A. – Miley Cyrus, Party In the U.S.A. – Single

22. Thunderbird – The Golden Filter, Thunderbird – EP

23. Deadbeat Summer – Neon Indian, Psychic Chasms

24. They Done Wrong _ We Done Wrong – White Rabbits, It’s Frightening

25. One Life Stand – Hot Chip, One Life Stand – Single

26. Golden Phone – Micachu, Jewellery

27. The Rake’s Song – The Decemberists, The Hazards of Love

28. In The Hospital – Friendly Fires, Friendly Fires

29. We Share the Same Skies – The Cribs, Ignore the Ignorant

30. Carries On – Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros, Up from Below

This is the first of 4 posts with 10 songs each which will make up the “Top 40 Songs of 2009 – According to Coach” at cutbucket.com.  Picking 40 songs out of all of the great music that has come out in 2009 proved to be a tremendous challenge which is a testament to all of the new and wonderful sounds that filled my ears this year.

The thing to remember here is that these selections are my opinion based on many things including “my taste”.  The beauty of music is that we all have our own taste and style of sound we prefer.  2009 was an exceptional year regardless of your taste and my selections are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to all of the great music released this year.  Whatever your taste is, there are far more than 40 songs which can tell the story of music in 2009.  What an amazing musical time we are living in.  The maturity of the internet, while still far from perfect, has allowed so many more artists to find a channel in which to be heard over.  It’s a great time to be a fan of music.

The criteria that I considered were the following -

Number of Listens – How many times did I play each song (based on tracking within iTunes).  Of course, songs that came out later in the year were weighed against the available length of time listen to each song.

Sticky Factor - Did each song have the ability to “stick in my head” so to speak.? Was it recognizable again immediately after the first couple of listens?  Did I find myself humming the tune in my mind days after hearing it?

Overall Production Value – This speaks for itself…

Uniqueness – We don’t want no posers here.

Single Song Value – This was one of the hardest factors in my consideration.  Was the song strong enough to stand on it’s own without being part of an album.  In the day and age of single song downloads this is very important.   When picking the top “Songs” this has to be a factor.  If I were to pick the top “Albums” this would be a completely different mix of artists.

NOTE ::  As it relates to Single Song Value I had a very tough challenge placing the songs from Animal Collective’s release “Merriweather Post Pavilion”.  To truly appreciate the outstanding quality of their album I feel it needs to be judged as just that… AN ALBUM.  It is by far one of the top 3 of the year!!!  What is so special about Merriweather is it’s value as a work of art as a complete album in the day and age of the single song download.  That being said, none of the individual songs jumped into a natural spot within this list.  Therefore, I have included what I believe are the strongest singles from the album and put them at the bottom of the list.  This by no means represents the value of this album, I just didn’t know what else to do.  I highly suggest you listen to the entire album start to finish if you are going to listen to it at all. SORRY FOR THE LONG EXPLANATION.  I FELT IT WAS DUE.

NOW ON TO THE LIST….

31. About Face – Grizzly Bear, Veckatimest

32. Tell Me True – Sarah Jarosz, Song Up In Her Head

33. Soldier (Feat. Santigold) – N.E.R.D.

34. Walking On a Dream – Empire of the Sun, Walking On a Dream

35. What You Do to Me (feat. Billy Danze, Jim Jones & Nicole Wray) – Blakroc, Blakroc

36. Ghosts N Stuff – Deadmau5, Ghosts N Stuff – Single

37. Higher Than the Stars – The Pains of Being Pure at Heart, Higher Than the Stars

38. Things Will Never Be the Same Again – JJ, JJ N° 2

39. Summertime Clothes – Animal Collective, Merriweather Post Pavilion

40. Brother Sport – Animal Collective, Merriweather Post Pavilion

If there was ever a “charity compilation cover album” you NEEDED to buy this is it.  War Child – Heroes, Vol. 1

Here are 17 reasons why…

1.  Proceeds go to the humanitarian charity organization, War Child, who funds protection for children living in global war zones.

2. Beck covers Bob Dylan (Beck never ceases to amaze…)

3. The Kooks cover The Kinks

4. The Hold Steady covers Bruce Springsteen (Soooo Good!!!)

5. Hot Chip covers Joy Division (Hot!!!!)

6. Lily Allen covers The Clash

7. The Yeah Yeah Yeahs cover Ramones (Joey would be proud!! This from an all out Ramones Fanatic.  It does serious justice!!!)

8. Franz Ferdinand covers Blondie

9. Duffy covers Paul McCartney and Wings

10. Estelle covers Stevie Wonder (Wonder-ful Funk!!)

11. Rufus Wainwright covers Brian Wilson

12. Scissor Sisters covers Roxy Music (Somehow it becomes ABBA On Fire Disco Trash!!!!)

13. Peaches covers The Stooges (Peach Cobbler… I mean Peach “clobbers” The Stooges.  Amazing!!!)

14. Adam Cohen covers his father Leonard Cohen (In spanish no doubt.  Beautifully insane sick… and LIVE!!!)

15. Elbow covers U2 (Gorgeous!!)

16. The Like cover Elvis Costello

17. TV On the Radio covers David Bowie

Here are a couple of my favorites.  The whole album is absolutely amazing!!!  Well worth the $10 for a good cause.

Listen: Beck (Bob Dylan) – Leopard-Skin Pill-Box Hat

Listen: The Kooks (The Kinks) – Victoria

Listen: Hot Chip (Joy Division) -Transmission

Listen: Adam Cohen (Leonard Cohen) -Take This Waltz (Toma Este Waltz)

Listen: Elbow (U2) – Running to Stand Still

I always relate music to moments in time and what you do in those moments.  It is always cool for me to see how other people digest the same music and how their emotions connect the music to memories or moments in time.

The songs in this post have a very mellow vibe and fit just as nicely in a lounge while sipping martinis, driving on a lonely road with the radio at full volume or while chilling at home with your headphones on a cloudy winter day (which is what I am doing at the very moment).

Let me know how these songs connect to your moments in time…

Listen: Interpol – Public Pervert (Carlos D Remix)

Listen: Fever Ray – Triangle Walks (Tora Vinter)

Listen: Simian Mobile Disco – Bad Blood (feat. Alexis Taylor)

I will admit I am not a huge fan of Florence + the Machine.  I think the bucket is overflowing when it comes to euro indie pop females.  No disrespect, iPod commercials have finally ruined the genre for me.  I digress…

I am in love with The XX and their ability to create exciting electro sounds that hit hard while still being totally chill.  They took You’ve Got the Love by Florence + the Machine and created pure ear ecstasy.  TURN UP THE BASS and make sure your pictures are secured properly to the walls.

I have also included Basic Space by The XX.  Another excellently structured electro chill cut that is one X short of headphone p0rn.  Totally rad stuff by this London duo.  Hope you like!

Listen: Florence + the Machine – You’ve Got the Love (XX remix)

Listen: The XX – Basic Space