It’s December and I haven’t posted a mix in what seems like forever. Deadlines, midterms, work and finals have been beating in my head for the past few months and have limited what I’ve been able to post. So I’ve decided to post a mix anyway even though I should be working on something else.
The snow has hit the ground and we need some tunes to motivate us to carry out our daily routines through the ice and slush.
If you were looking for the jam of the summer, look no further. This “Warm Heart of Africa” remix by electro funk master Alan Wilkis featuring Ezra Koenig of Vampire Weekend transports all listeners instantly to a fantastic island themed party on the beech with all the bacardi and bikinis anyone could ever want. If only we could extend summer past September 22nd.
Erlend Oye and the rest of Whitest Boy Alive have returned this year with an album called “Rules” to follow up their excellent debut “Dreams”. The first single off of the new album is entitled “Island” and features some funky Rhodes keyboard, Erlend Oye’s gentle croon, and even some cowbell. Are you ready for the classiest dance party ever? I am.
Here is a collection of the Cambridge, Massachusetts band Passio Pit’s remixes that have been sent to me through various sources. Including Wallpaper’s remix, who won the Finger on the Pulse remix contest!
Passion Pit – Sleepyhead (Mr. Vega Remix)
Passion Pit – Sleepyhead (Skitsnygg Remix)
Passion Pit – Sleepyhead (Wallpaper Dio Remix)
Cheers Elephant is a band based out of the city of brotherly love, and whose sound has its roots in everything from 60′s psychedelia, alternative country, folk, and rock. The band is composed of lead vocalist and guitarist Derek Krzywicki, bassist Travelin’ Mat, lead guitarist Jordan del Rosario, and drummer Roberto Kingston. Their songs run through a gamut of melodic guitars, hazy swooning harmonies, phaser effects, and some irresistable classic rock stylings. Known for their fevered live shows and love of dark beer, if these cheerful elephants happen to be in your neck of the jungle, check them out. With bands like Ra Ra Riot and Vampire Weekend blowing up, these guys might soon be taking to larger venues as well. They are set to play an album release party January 17 at the North Star in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Cheers Elephant – Mr. Marvelous
Mason Proper’s own Jonathan Visger recently struck out on his own to channel the sound of Mason Proper through the big beats and breaks Hip Hop production. It was his intention to get under the skin of the hip hop approach to music and recreate some of those driving moments where the breakbeats drop and sound really, really good. The beats here definitely have some bite to them, but it’s the musical textures and Visger’s entertaining lyrics that demand all the attention.
A whimsical guitar melody kicks off opening track “Books About Nothing”, sounding a bit like Vampire Weekend before a harmonica drops in along with waves of reverb. On the song, Visger muses “I got a job at a meat shop, only thing they think I’m qualified for, I read a famous book about nothing, it was incredibly thick”, incisively describing the rut that many of us fall into, working a dead end job, looking for something more but coming up empty. But the lyrics “I want to read more books about nothing” toward the end of the song indicate that hope isn’t lost, and that the traction to get out of that rut could be one ridiculously long book away.
The following number, “Fish Eyes” opens with a glorious synth tone as Visger’s vocals chime through a low-fi microphone or some kind of megaphone going on about the primordial goo that we evolved from as well as landlords and tenants. This fever dream of a song makes excellent use of funky guitars, neat keyboard noodling, and features the most driving hip-hop beat on the album. A highlight for sure.
The next song “Give Blood, Save a Life” employs a beautiful bad day piano melody that perfectly echoes the lyrics “This has been a long day, this has been a long, long, horrible, horrible day”. The whistles and backwards guitar add some great flavor to the song. I couldn’t think of a better song to carry a grudge to, while walking on a downtown sidewalk with your scarf pulled up over your nose.
Finally, “The Stupidest Things” opens with the sparsest keyboard melody and drum beats on the album before building and building into a prehistoric interpretive dance break down.
The lyrical content of the EP makes me believe that this is a celebration of isolation and introspection. About speculating about the guy who lives next to you while reading text books about how the eyes of fish have evolved. Overall, Jonathan Visger’s whimsical melodies and half crazy ADD lyrics make his North South EP a joy to listen to.
Jonathan Visger – Fish Eyes
Secret Tunnel Group – Jonathan Visger (You can buy the album here for $3.00! What a deal!)
It’s kind of funny, during the entire summer I didn’t go to any concerts at all, save for The Faint in Philadelphia. Then when school starts (i.e. when all my free time disappears) I’m going to concerts almost every weekend. Why might this be? Well the number one reason is that I’m currently unemployed! So carting my jobless butt around the greater New York area has never been easier!
This past weekend I once again made the tumultuous trip to Rochester, NY to see Walter Meego and Ra Ra Riot at the Bug Jar. Whose owner, I must add, is a very kind gentleman. There was an opener who went by the name John Moses, who played acoustic guitar and harmonica, he was decent, but not the flavor I was looking for in Roc city. Such is the plight of the opening act.
Walter Meego soon took the stage, adorned with Mickey Mouse T-shirts. They launched into a noisy rendidition of “Wanna Be a Star” that was largely devoid of drum machine, so I feared that I was viewing a repeat of the White Williams show where the band would sound nothing like the CD. Not always a bad thing, but when the Band’s CD is amazing, it’s kind of a let down. Luckily as soon as the guitar reverb faded, Justin Sconza stepped out from behind a tower of Korg keyboards and stood behind a table that had what looked to be million little gadgets. He started gyrating behind the table, indicating that, yes ladies and gentlemen, the beats were about to drop. And they did, and it was good, amen.
The band unleashed some great songs from their debut album “Voyager”, including; “Lost”, their Heinekin hit “Forever”, “Girls”, my brooding favorite “Letting Go”, and the show highlight; the face-melting club destroyer “Keyhole”. Seriously, when I heard the break before the guitar solo, I turned to my girlfriend and said “Oh snap, it’s on!”. For real. The band ended with the slower song “Your Love”, which kind of surprised me considering that they are an electronic/dance/pop act, but their sound was fantastic, and I didn’t mind having my eardrums soothed with some sweet sweet synthesizers.
Ra Ra Riot the “Upstate New York Heroes” were next on the ticket and they literally came in the backdoor and brought their equipment with them. The drummer even had to push through the crowd to get to his kit. You’ve got to admire that kind of Pragmatism. Once all the equipment was on the stage, the band sound checked all of the instruments, allowing us to hear some of the violin and cello chops of the band’s lovely ladies.
The amicably charming Wesley Miles (Hey, nice name) took the stage and politely apologized for taking so long, and then the band roared into some energetic songs off of their new album, “The Rhumb Line”. Their songs seemed to cast a magic spell on the kids who had, oddly, stood still with their arms crossed occasionally pushing thier black square framed glasses up their noses during Walter Meego. The kids were now actually bobbing their heads. Very Strange. Highlights of the show included, a stirring version of “Ghosts Under Rocks”, Their new single “Dying is Fine” (To which a green shirted bearded man seemed to be testifying to with his hands in the air, reciting the song lyric for lyric), and my favorite song of their set, “Too Too Too Fast”, whose lyrics of frustration over love and eyes (What a great combo), a great violin riff, and of course ample use of John Hughes era keyboards. Despite some equipment malfuntions (Cello amp broke), Ra Ra Riot returned to play an encore of “Hounds of Love” originally by Kate Bush. They put on a fitting warm up show for their high profile hometown gig Sunday at Syracuse University’s Juice Jam opening for Bloc Party.
Walter Meego – Keyhole
Walter Meego – Through A Keyhole (Le Castle Vania Remix)
The Pharmacy is an indie band that will keep you guessing as to where they’re coming from, starting off with the usual catchy guitar chord progressions before erupting into a poly-symphonic cacophony. This might seem like hyperbole with bands like the Arcade Fire and The Shins seemingly promising you a new musical language, but The Pharmacy doesn’t seek to re-teach you a language, they instead endeavor to remind you about all the languages you thought you forgot about. The vocals remind me somewhat of
Bridges and Powerlines is a band whose members came from geographically divergent areas to coalesce in New York City. Their critically acclaimed raucous post-punk-pop is composed of heartfelt lyrics, driving guitars and a synth that will make your head explode. Well, maybe not explode, but it will make your head bob with the beat.
Bridges and Powerlines – Uncalibrated
Bridges and Powerlines Myspace
(Go here and listen to “Middle Child” It’s fantastic!)
From the opening island rhythms and retro string lines of “Mansard Roof”, Vampire Weekend rings with nonchalant academia. Like the cool kids in class decided it would be really awesome if they started getting A’s for no other reason than to get A’s. The band met and formed while attending
Their self titled debut album embodies the youthful vigor of attending a college without all of the pain and stress of deadlines, relationship issues, and of course immense debt. It’s the ideal soundtrack to riding your bicycle the long way around campus, having a picnic in the campus square with that cute girl from biology, or just reading a book under a tree on a glowing early fall day. The only ominous element present in any of the songs is that you might never see that cute girl from biology again, but all you need to do is hit the repeat button and she’ll appear again. The songs are catchy, concise, and heartfelt. After those obvious elements that have no doubt carried them to the success they experience currently, other things one notices about their music is the apparent simplicity of their song structures. Undoubtedly this adds to the breezy feel of many of their songs, which would also be great for sailing, but each member of the band adds something unique and spirited to the mix. The guitar and bass work adds bright eyed energy to every song they grace, particularly the song “A-Punk” which would be my pick for scenic bike riding song of the year. The drums rocket each song along with an eclectic blend of indie-pop beats and afro-rhythms particularly on the Rolling Stone #67 song of 2007 “Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa”. Most notably is the work of keyboardist Rostam Batmanglij whose playing is remarkably versatile, imitating organs, violins, and whatever auxiliary instrumentation might be needed to make the perfect companion to each song.
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