blocks of color.
So, I’ve been M.I.A.
I’m not too wonderful at blogging consistently.
I do have a mix. Which is a bit of a different compliation that I would usually be inclined to piece together. For one, there are absolutely no mandolins, acoustic guitars, raw, breathy, minimalistic live recordings. I have put aside my plaid shirt (one of the 8, as was pointed out to my recently) and taken up a nice neon american v-neck. Hey, it’s hot in philly these days and the long sleeves and flannel just aren’t cutting it (as the consistently drenched backside of my shirts can prove).
So here we go. Because I’m an avid supporter of free music, and accept most of what the internet has to offer with open arms (at least till it’s in my itunes) I have found myself stocking up on tunes that go heavy on the electronic manipulation, fuzzed vocals, and a number of looping backtracks. While you might say to yourself, ok, hm, sounds like most music these days, remember that I am usually rotating between the likes of J. Tillman, Dan Auerbach, and whatever Daytrotter throws at me.
So, this list has some of that…as well as some tracks that are just a true tribute to the wonder of raw distorted vocals.
Anyway, because I know I’m prone to talk to much, I’m just going to give you the list and a few extra details about certain tracks.
1 — Swing Tree — Discovery (wasn’t a huge fan of the entire album, but this song is absolute, spliced/cut up divinity. Yes, you can say I said so. And why oh why isn’t Rostam Batmanglij the lead in Vampire Weekend?)
2 — Watch the Waves — Taken by Trees
3 — January Twenty Something — WHY? (okay, this is kind of an outlier on the list. but the looping xylophone (?!) and gravelly vocals? wonderful.)
4 — Cool Jumper — Wavves (it should already be known how I feel about Wavves.)
5 — Seven Fell from the Firmament — Deastro (hey! if you haven’t downloaded Deastro’s Orange Swimmer Red Summer EP yet…you should.)
6 — Countdown (Sick For The Big Sun) — Phoenix
7 — Yalira — The Very Best
8 — Hold the Line (feat. Mr. Lex & Santigold) — Major Lazer (only Diplo and Swtich could make that surfer guitar riff sound so good).
9 — Blessa — Toro y Moi (south carolina’s own, but…hey, pretty incred nonetheless).
10 — Glacially — Asobi Seksu
11 — Fake/Real — First Aid Kit (radically different from their usual jam, but I’m still digging it.)
12 — What Does it Take? — Pillow Talk (throwback.)
13 — Edge of Our Lives — Holiday Shores
14 — Girl In Love — Smith Westerns
15 — Island, IS — Volcano Choir (even Justin Vernon (Bon Iver mastermind) is in on the looping/chopping action)
16 — Despicable Dogs — Small Black
17 — Quitters Rage — Gold Panda (this song needs to be longer than 1:57.)
