All I Want For Christmas Is You (New Grass Country Club)

Santa Claus and Smirnoff Ice....it's even more beautiful the more you think about it. This jolly looking Cooper was a product of my friends and I getting in that Christmas spirit with the help of Sun Hotel and New Grass Country Club. On Dec 10, these two bands supplied their friends with the quintessential Christmas celebration as seen below:



For the show, New Grass & Sun Hotel recorded a few holiday songs for our downloading pleasure. You can get them here at A Christmas EP and enter the code "XJ921H3". All bias aside, these tracks will surely put you in the spirit. Especially the New Grass track covering Mariah Carey.

O Come, O Come Emmanuel by sunhotelsounds

Blue Christmas by sunhotelsounds

All I Want For Christmas is You by sunhotelsounds


Since I'm back in Florida and finally back behind the wheel (since I don't have a car in New Orleans), I have been having some quality jam sessions. And this playlist has been the culprit. So here's my Xmas 2010 playlist all ready for you. Merry Christmas everyone!

I Do Not Care For The Winter Sun (Beach House)

Beach House released a new holiday song on their website a few days ago.
Download it here "I Do Not Care For The Winter Sun".

On my busiest night during finals week I listened to all three Beach House albums (Beach House, Devotion and Teen Dream) in order on repeat, not touching my computer once to change the song. It was rather enjoyable. Victoria Legrand's voice is from another planet, I'm convinced. Especially after seeing them live, my previous statement stands even more so. See for yourself:




Download their Daytrotter session here

Confined (Paul Botelho)

Reason #23568 why I love going to school at Loyola, my professors make sweet shit like this:

Florida (Diplo)

Finals blow. But this rules.




Download Diplo's Florida

Anthems For A Seventeen-Year-Old Girl (Broken Social Scene)

The other day my 16 year old brother (see photo right to get a visual of our relationship) asked me what two albums he should get his two girl friends for their birthday. Now, when graced with such a question one can only begin to reminisce back to their old 16/17 year old days. Times have changed, and my personal favorite albums when I was at that age probably won't have the same effect on 17 year old girls today. There are some exceptions though. After serious deliberation of what two albums these girls should hear, most likely two albums they've never heard of (especially coming from my hometown), but more importantly two albums that would change their lives for the better and hopefully open new doors of music for them, I concluded on:





RADIOHEAD | IN RAINBOWS

This album is without a doubt a love album. It's their most straight forward work yet. Thom Yorke says the lyrics are about "that anonymous fear thing, sitting in traffic, thinking...". Teenage girls love to drive, so why not give them that good ole contemplative soundtrack they desire but can't seem to find on pop radio stations. Instead of Taylor Swift, give a girl "All I Need" or "House of Cards". Instead of Miley Cyrus, show her "Reckoner". Let her hear how haunting a tambourine can be. If there's one productive thing Twilight has done to our world, it's put Radiohead on preteen girls' iPods ("15 Step" is played during the credits of the first Twilight and Thom Yorke's "Hearing Damage" is featured on the New Moon soundtrack). This album changed my life when I was 17, I know history can repeat itself.

BROKEN SOCIAL SCENE | YOU FORGOT IT IN PEOPLE

Now, I didn't know this album when I was 17, but it still hits home. Kota, my co dj, told me that when she was 17, she made a playlist about being 17 and discovered "Anthems For A Seventeen Year Old Girl". The lyrics are what do it. They somehow turned nostalgia into a song, leaving you absorbed in memories. From start to finish, this album is filled with emotions. There is nothing stagnant about this album. And that's why I love it.



After some serious pondering, I began to make a list of more albums for a seventeen year old's listening pleasure. With that being said, inspired by the Broken Social Scene song "Anthems for a Seventeen Year Old Girl", I give you

ALBUMS FOR A SEVENTEEN YEAR OLD GIRL
ANIMAL COLLECTIVE | MERRIWEATHER POST PAVILION
Only good things can come from listening to this album. You either get it, or you don't. If you do, your world expands. If you don't, you can't help but wonder what else is out there.





ARCADE FIRE | FUNERAL
People should know what's going on right above us. Canada has some pretty good things to offer. After "Where The Wild Things" came out, I saw Arcade Fire on just about every girl's iPod I looked through. People who hear Arcade Fire tend to enjoy it which is why more people should hear it. "Wake Up" would be my go to song for this album because it is just that good. But as far as build ups and hardcore jam sessions in cars go, "Une Annee Sans Lumiere" takes the cake.





500 DAYS OF SUMMER | VARIOUS ARTISTS
I'm not a fan of romantic comedies. Really not a fan. But this one I like. Maybe it's The Smiths, Wolfmother, Regina Spektor, The Temper Trap or a Pixies cover of "Here Comes Your Man" that does it. If there's one way to show a girl good music, put awesome bands in a romantic comedy soundtrack.





KINGS OF LEON | AHA SHAKE HEARTBREAK
Gosh I miss the cocaine days of Kings of Leon. This album was written about all types of girls: taper jean girls, girls who drink milk, girls who cause erectile dysfunction and even transvestites. It's common sense to give a girl this album. Trust me.





DR. DOG | FATE
Let a girl know there are adorable short men with suspenders who bounce around and sing about being in and out of love. She'll dig it. And then afterwards, she'll require Dr. Dog to be a prerequisite in a guy's library before he can ask her out.






THE DODOS | VISITER
It's folk pop. I think. Everything is straight forward on this album, but done rather exceptionally well. There needs to be more female drummers. Hopefully the crisp off-beat percussion on here will do some inspiration.






NICK DRAKE | PINK MOON
Hide all her Jack Johnson or John Mayer and give her Nick Drake. Tell her he was only 22 when he recorded this. Tell her this is from the 1970s. Tell her he was such an introvert he recorded his album while facing a wall. Tell her he was a rather attractive gentlemen. Tell her Heath Ledger was obsessed with him. Let her listen to his guitar picking. Let her hear his words of wisdom. If you do this, you'll see a change. She'll be outside more, appreciate life more, and maybe, just maybe...hide those Jack Johnson and John Mayer albums forever.





Here are some of my personal favorite albums back when I was 17:
THE YARDIBRDS | Rave Up
KINGS OF LEON | Youth & Young Manhood
LED ZEPPELIN | Physical Graffiti
THE SUBWAYS | Young For Eternity
THE VINES | Winning Days
PAOLO NUTINI | These Streets
BECK | Guero
MARIE ANTOINETTE SOUNDTRACK | Various Artists
DEATH PROOF SOUNDTRACK | Various Artists
ONCE SOUNDTRACK | Glen Hansard & Markéta Irglová
JUNO SOUNDTRACK | Various Artists
THICKER THAN WATER SOUNDTRACK | Various Artists
SCRUBS SOUNDTRACK | Various Artists
THE BLACK KEYS | Magic Potion
TV ON THE RADIO | Dear Science
THE VELVET UNDERGROUND | The Velvet Underground & Nico
T. REX | Electric Warrior
MODEST MOUSE | We Were Dead Before The Ship Even Sank
SUFJAN STEVENS | Greetings From Michigan: The Great Lakes State
WHITE STRIPES | Icky Thump
RADIOHEAD | In Rainbows
SONIC YOUTH | Rather Ripped
SPOON | Gimme Fiction
GIRL TALK | Feed The Animals

Helicopter (Deerhunter)

Last night I had the undeniable pleasure of seeing Deerhunter here in New Orleans. I saw them open up for Spoon back in March, but this time around things were different. Drastically damn good different. First difference, their new album. "Halcyon Digest", released in September 2010, is in my opinion the best Deerhunter album to date. It's yet another emotionally rich, sensitive, and atmospheric work from Bradford Cox (singer, guitarist and brain of Deerhunter). And as predictable as that may sound, after one listen to this album you realize that it's predictable and surprising in all the right places. "Halcyon Digest" might be an easy listen compared to past Deerhunter albums, but it takes more effort to digest. Cox has said "music always takes special forms when it's intertwined with nostalgia." This album reminisces his youth, and the past of others. Though the album in its entirety is superb, there are two songs that stick out for me: "Coronado" and "Helicopter".



"Coronado"
This song has saxophone. I repeat, this song has saxophone. Need I say anymore?



"Helicopter"
This is possibly the saddest song ever written. On the album, Bradford Cox explains the true story behind it.

"Dima (real name Dimitry Marakov) was born in 1986 in the town of Nalchik, Russia. From a young age, he dreamed of working in the fashion industry as a designer. Lacking the moral or financial support of his parents, he actively sought out contacts within the industry through the internet. At the age of 14, he became acquainted with a successful fashion photographer in St. Petersburg who invited the boy to come live with him and work as his assistant. Dima accepted the offer and moved in with the photographer. According to friends of Dima, he became the older man’s lover for approximately the next year. He eventually grew dissatisfied with the lack of benefits he had been promised would result from the arrangement. He left the photographer to become live-in lovers with a wealthy man who provided the financial backing for a conglomerate of pornographic gay websites. It was at this point that Dimitry adopted the stage name Dima and, with the help of false documents that corrected his age to the legal 18, began a successful career modeling naked and starring in hardcore sex videos on the gay websites financed by his lover.
Between the age of 15 and 18, Dima was a highly sought after pornographic model and performer. He saved the money he made from modeling to pay for the tuition at a leading college of fashion that he hoped to attend when he reached 18. At a certain point, Dima began supplementing his income by renting himself out as an escort within his lover’s circle of associates and acquaintances. According to friends of Dima, they included several leading figures in the entertainment industry as well as one of the most powerful men in Russia’s world of organized crime. Dima began to express concern to his friends that the organized crime figure had become obsessed with him, but he refused to accept their advice to stop seeing the man because of the large amount of money these dates were earning him. Sometime in 2005, Dima abruptly left his lover, gave up his modeling career, cut off all communication with his friends, and moved in with the organized crime figure. The last public Dima sighting was late that year when his friend Ignat Lebedev, who was also working as a male escort at the time, accompanied a client to a private sex club where he claims to have witnessed a very thin and confused looking Dima being forcibly sodomized by a group of perhaps ten to fifteen men. Lebedev claims his client identified one of the men as the organized crime figure and dissuaded him from speaking to Dima for his own protection.
Lebedev claims he described what he’d seen to Dima’s former lover and was told Dima had been killed the previous week and that he shouldn’t speak of this again. Lebedev reported both incidents to the police, but after interviewing the lover and being told Lebedev had made the story up, they declined to investigate the matter. In 2006, Lebedev persuaded a prominent Russian gay journalist to write an article on Dima’s disappearance, but during the course of investigating the story, the writer was abducted by unknown assailants, beaten, and told he would be murdered if he wrote the story. Dima has not been seen or reliably heard from in three years, although in early 2007 another organized crime figure, Evgeny Ershova, who was awaiting trial on an unrelated murder charge, claimed that in late 2005 he witnessed a young male prostitute matching Dima’s description be pushed out of a helicopter over a remote forest in the north of Russia. Before Dima’s ex-lover died of lung cancer in late 2007, he reportedly confessed to friends that Dima was sold as a sex slave to a man in the Ukraine in late 2005 and had lived until late 2006 when he’d committed suicide."

With that being said, please take a listen.



I have to thank Daytrotter for my discovery of Deerhunter. With that being said, here's the session that started it all for me: DEERHUNTER DAYTROTTER SESSSION!

Buffalo Girls (TV On The Radio)

Discovered a delicious treat, but this may be the most hipster blog post I ever write. However, it has good intentions. Yesterday, prior to our radio show, my co-dj Kota and I were expressing our love for TV On The Radio. It was in this conversation that Kota broke the news: TV On The Radio's debut self-released album called "OK Calculator". Yes, it is exactly what you think. Yes, it alludes to Radiohead's "OK Computer". Yes it was created in 2002, a whole year prior to their very first major release of "Young Liars EP". Yes, it may be primarily a capella. Yes, it is rare if not impossible to own on hard copy. Yes, thanks to modern day technology and mediafire you and I can now own it. Yes. Yes. and Yes. Not to be hipster, but you kind of have to already know TVOR to appreciate this. Of course, it’s not even remotely polished up, but can you really expect to have it any other way? "OK Calculator" scales pretty much every style they could later go onto incorporate. At times it isn’t shocking that this would be the same band that would create "Dear Science", and at other times it sounds so devoid of any real musical theme that it becomes hard to think of as the band's ‘roots'. Even if that’s not a bad thing, it’s disheartening to think they’ll never pull out these ideas again. Granted, at the same time, it’s a blessing. My friend Sarah suggested the following after Kota told her about this album, "Can we name our future band's first album 'OK Smartphone'?"




"We made this disc OK Calculator and left it in cafes and just different places. Just 24 tracks of four-track stuff. And that's on-line now. We sold a few of them on our first tour, a couple, but then the CD burner broke, etc. That's on-line and someone wrote about it as "the extremely rare but superb OK Calculator" and I’m sitting there going, "Are you kidding me?" Rare, yeah, rare because we're making them ourselves, and superb, that's not up to us, but it's not superb. (laughs) I’d be the first person to tell you. There's more hiss on some of those songs than there are songs. And it's fun, and I love it, but I wouldn't call it superb."
-- Tunde Adebimpe, in a 2004 Downhill Battle interview

Download and Enjoy :)

Little Faith (The National)

Here are some albums I've been getting down to pretty hard lately:
(Grooveshark has been giving me a rather hard time lately with exporting these playlists I make. So, I apologize for any technical difficulties.)


The National | High Violet

It's a pretty depressing album, but a good one at that. Play this for those long contemplative solo drives.


Beach House | Teen Dream

Had the pleasure of seeing Beach House live and fell immediately in love. This album doesn't even do her voice justice.


Modest Mouse | Everywhere and His Nasty Parlour Tricks EP

My friend Tyler played this in his car for me. I had never heard Modest Mouse like this. Thank goodness I do now.


Air | The Virgin Suicides Soundtrack

Favorite French band simply because of this soundtrack. Walking to this album in between classes slows down time just a bit.


Animal Collective | Strawberry Jam

"Peacebone" was the very first Animal Collective song my little ears had the pleasure of hearing. Sometimes you just need to go back to your roots.

The Pelican (Menomena)

Menomena - Portland, OR experimental indie rock wonders who need to be in your life if they aren't already. As far as my current favorite band, I'd have to say Menomena takes the cake. They supply all the musical needs one could want. In my opinion they are the coolest band out there today. They're a wall of sound, full of crazy fresh beats, soul-yanking lyrics and the occasional saxophone. What makes Menomena stand out from other indie bands is their recording method. The band uses a computer program called the "Digital Looping Recorder", or Deeler for short, in the song writing process. It was programmed by band member Brent Knopf. Drummer Danny Seim explains the process, “First, we set the tempo of the click, which is played through a pair of head phones. We then take turns passing a single mic around the room. One of us will hold the mic in front of an instrument, while another one of us will lay down a short improvised riff over the click track. We usually start with the drums. Once the drums begin looping, we throw on some bass, piano, guitar, bells, sax, or whatever other sort of noise maker happens to be in the room. Deeler keeps the process democratic, which is the only way we can operate”.

I AM THE FUN BLAME MONSTER!

"I Am The Fun Blame Monster!" is their first album released in 2003. The album art is brilliant, to say the least. It's elaborately packaged in an 80-page flip book that drummer Danny Seim designed and individually hand-assembled. The title "I Am The Fun Blame Monster!" is an anagram for "The First Menom­ena Album". What band does that? A cool band. That's who. I've said it before, and I'll say it again, nothing compares to a band's first album. This is my favorite Menomena album (though I adore the others). From the first beat in "Cough Coughing", you are hooked. And then Menomena do what they do best, sprinkle in some piano. Damn good piano I might add - not too much but definitely not too little. Everyone song from here on out is a winner. "Strongest Man In The World" was featured in the skater movie "Paranoid Park" (I have yet to see this movie, but sure as hell will now that I know Menomena is in the soundtrack). The last track "On The Monkey's Back" is my favorite from this album. I can't help but just sit back and let it play.

FRIEND AND FOE

"Friend and Foe" is Menomena's sophomore attempt released in 2007. The packaging once again is a site to see. It was designed by keyboardist Brent Knopf and features art work by graphic novelist/cartoonist Craig Thompson, consisting of die-cut shapes, decoder rings, and hidden messages. It was nominated for “Best Recording Package” at The Grammy Awards. The first track off the album "Muscle'n Flo" was the very first Menomena my ears had the pleasure of enjoying. What caught my attention was the drums, then I heard the piano. At around 1:45 into the song, the simple piano lick had me sold. Then the lyric "If Jesus could only wash my feet/Then I'd get up strong and muscle on". After that, I knew it was meant to be. Now, as far as albums consisting of an attention grabber first then kicking it up a notch go, I'd have to say this album portrays this concept to a tea. For most people, "The Pelican" is the first Menomena song they hear and rightfully so. The guitar. The freakin guitar. They just make the guitar ache in all the right spots. You cringe at the beat, but let it take you away. Every track is a treat, especially "Evil Bee". My friend Ryan just so happened to be in Portland in 2007 looking at the University of Oregon when he and his dad decided to see some live music. What did they stumble into? None other than Menomena's hometown CD Release show of this album. I try not be envious of situational discoveries like this, but it's just not fair. This video though will leave you in questions, as music videos should do.



MINES

The newest release from Menomena, "Mines" is a different approach for the band. There's a lot of new terrain being explored. "TAOS" epitomizes Menomena. It has everything in it that defines this band. The rest of the album contains some very arena-rockish vibes, but at times its almost a stab in the Animal Collective vein. I do enjoy this album. Some of these songs just ooze with sentiment and beauty, my favorite being Dirty Cartoons. I'm still getting used to the new sound. As long as Menomena continue to create complex layers of sound, I'm going to love it no matter what.

Heroin (Record Club)

Beck / Record Club gives us all another reason to appreciate the mind of Beck Hansen. In his latest project, Beck ropes in various musician friends to record an entire album in a day. For the purposes of scrappy immediacy, nobody will rehearse or arrange anything beforehand. Only to play music and document what happens. Musicians featured in these collaborations are Feist, Devendra Banhart, MGMT, Jamie Lidell, Wilco...(the list goes on). So far they've covered Velvet Underground, Yanni, INXS, Leonard Cohen, and Skip Spence. It's good. Real good.

Record Club: Velvet Underground & Nico "Heroin" (Alt. Version) from Beck Hansen on Vimeo.

Record Club: INXS "Never Tear Us Apart" from Beck Hansen on Vimeo.

1972 Bronze Medalist (The Bad Plus)

Here are the playlists from mine and Kota's past two radio shows. They've been beyond delicious. If you haven't been able to tune in, I strongly suggest you do so from now on. Saturdays 4-6pm Central Time. Listen at WTUL New Orleans or if you're sweet and a local, tune in at 91.5FM.

September 18th, 2010 Show - We had a big show with Big History and Big Rock Candy Mountain in the station for a rather entertaining interview.

Songs Played That Grooveshark Unfortunately Does Not Have In Their Library
"Bang Bang" - Big Rock Candy Mountain



September 25,2010 Show - This past Saturday we had one of my favorite local bands New Grass Country Club in the station for an interview and what not.

Songs Played That Grooveshark Unfortunately Does Not Have In Their Library
"Fire Song" - Big Rock Candy Mountain
"I Caught Dinner" - New Grass Country Club
"(Untitled)" - New Grass Country Club
"Every Bone" - Big History
"Broken Transit Broken Soil" - The Buttless Chaps
"Red Hail (of pomegranate seeds)" - Tigran Hamasyan

In honor of Jonsi coming to New Orleans for Voodoo, we played this:

Suburb (Sun Hotel)

If you live in New Orleans or Louisiana for that matter, I suggest you get your a$$ to this show.

You can buy Sun Hotel's new album "Coast" on iTunes now!!! Or you could come to the show and buy a cd or vinyl. Regardless, your day will not satisfied without these tunes on your musical device.




Caddywhompus



Once again, I cannot stress enough how much these two fellas continue to provide beyond exceptional eargasms every time I see them.



Remainder - Caddywhompus



The Eastern Sea



Amigos from Austin who will be gracing New Orleans with their presence tonight alongside Sun Hotel and Caddywhomnpus. Show some love, listen to their songs, and sing along tonight

Meet Me In the Basement (Broken Social Scene)

I feel like a complete idiot. I had no idea that Broken Social Scene came out with a new album (I should've guessed when I saw them on the lineups for most of the music festivals this summer). I sincerely apologize for not writing about this new album sooner. Hopefully after this album blows your brains out (if it hasn't already), it'll make up for my poor timing. From the first track "World Sick", BSS reminds me once again why I admire them oh so much. The super-group manages to blend, chop, and frappé all their instruments into only a few minutes of absolute sweetness. So far, "Meet Me In The Basement" is my favorite track (and it just so happens to be the only instrumental track off this album - go figure I'd like it the most). If you haven't noticed already, I'm not a fan of song-by-song reviews. People have their impressions of the albums so I try let you create your own. I'm just here to supply the musical goodies along with my small input. Anyways, I apologize again for this being so late. Listen and enjoy.

Palms (Sun Hotel)

IT'S FINALLY HERE!!!!!!!!
Sun Hotel have released their very first full length album titled "Coast" and no matter how many times I listen to this album, it still makes me weak at the knees. These five lads charm their fans with their devilishly handsome good looks and sweet melodious harmonies. Recorded at Loyola, "Coast" is an album not only technically brilliant, but lyrically and musically innovative. I'm good friends with all of them, but I'm not sure if they've caught on yet how much I'm obsessed with this album. What makes Sun Hotel stand out is 1) They are the epitome of a DIY band. They write, record, market, book, and manage everything they do. 2) The lyrics. Listen to them. They're not your typical words of wisdom. They're better. 3) Harmonies. Drums. Guitar. It's all good my friend. Damn good. Devin, the drummer, makes exceptional videos of all their tours and recording processes. Take a peak:



Their cd release show is this Friday September 24th @ One Eyed Jacks 9pm and they're playing with CADDYWHOMPUS!!!! First 50 people will get a free HIGH LIFE in a new Sun Hotel Koozie. I kid you not. I won't say anything more about the album so without further adieu, I give you "Coast"......

Cough Coughing (Menomena)

Back in the station and it feels good....real good. Saturdays 4-6pm central time is where you can hear my co-dj Kota and I hit the airwaves on 91.5FM (for da locals) or online at WTUL New Orleans. We had our first show this past Saturday and it was simply bodacious. I made a playlist of the songs we played in order. Some local bands that we played on the show don't have their songs uploaded on Grooveshark yet so it saddens me to not have them on this playlist. But maybe I'll try to upload them for everyone else's sake.




Jean-Eric


Do you like to dance? Party? Smile? Then I think you should most definitely lend your ears to New Orleans natives Jean-Eric. "Lounge Crunk" is what these lads categorize themselves as (a genre they created). Sometimes you need that music that makes you get the fuck up and dance. Their shows are entertaining, to say the least. And their aim seems to be deriving the fun out of any situation, infusing it with spirit and passing it out to everyone present. If that doesn't give you enough incentive to listen them, then watch this video of Jean-Eric paying WTUL a visit! Which means you lovely people finally get to see where I DJ!! At about 5:30 you see them running through the stacks of cds and vinyl at the station. I meant it when I say WTUL is a magical place.



Jean-Eric is playing in Shreveport, LA on Sept. 30th with two bodaciously delicious bands: The Octopus Project and Starfucker.

New Shoes (Paolo Nutini)

NEW POST. NEW RELEASES......NEW SHOES??
about a year ago today I had tickets to see Paolo here in New Orleans, but a series of unfortunate events prevented me from going. I'm still in mourning, hence the video below.




SUFJAN STEVENS
has announced his first album of new songs in five years.
here's a taste of what the record will sound like:


THE BAD PLUS
are going to release their first collection of all-original compositions on Sept 14.
the glorious people at npr are giving us an early preview and I'm diggin it hard.......



THE WALKMEN
last time I saw these guys, they were opening up for Kings of Leon a little over a year ago.
the lead singer was stuck in traffic so they played almost their entire set instrumental without the singer.
new album "Lisbon" is soon to be released.


WOMEN
new album by the Canadian post-punk men of Women
free download of the album can be yours and more here: Public Strain


WARPAINT
Warpaint team up with War Child for the new ‘We Were So Turned On’ David Bowie tribute album
Here's their take on his 1980's original "Ashes to Ashes":
Warpaint - Ashes to Ashes by morrisday



LOCAL NATIVES
words cannot express how excited I am to see these lads on Oct 11 at Tulane
I repeat, words cannot express......


CADDYWHOMPUS
get this album now. I mean it.




is awesome, to say the least. Over the past few months, NPR music combined what they believed to be The Decade's 50 Most Important Records. Not their favorites, but music that made an impact.


John Adams: On The Transmigration Of Souls
Animal Collective: Merriweather Post Pavilion
Arcade Fire: Funeral
The Bad Plus: These Are The Vistas
Beyonce: Dangerously In Love
Bon Iver: For Emma, Forever Ago
Bright Eyes: I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning
Burial: Untrue
Clap Your Hands Say Yeah: S/T
Kelly Clarkson: Breakaway
Coldplay: A Rush Of Blood To The Head
Danger Mouse: The Grey Album
Death Cab For Cutie: Transatlanticism
The Decemberists: The Crane Wife
Eminem: The Marshall Mathers LP
The Flaming Lips: Yoshimi Battles The Pink Robots
Osvaldo Golijov: La Pasion Segun San Marcos (Saint Mark's Passion)
Green Day: American Idiot
Iron And Wine: Our Endless Numbered Days
Jay-Z: The Blueprint
Norah Jones: Come Away With Me
Juanes: Fijate Bien
LCD Soundsystem: Sound Of Silver
Lil' Wayne: Tha Carter III
Little Brother: The Listening
Yo-Yo Ma: Silk Road Journeys: When Strangers Meet
Mastodon: Leviathan
M.I.A.: Kala
Jason Moran: Black Stars
OutKast: Stankonia
Brad Paisley: 5th Gear
Panda Bear: Person Pitch
Robert Plant & Alison Krauss: Raising Sand
The Postal Service: Give Up
Radiohead: In Rainbows
Radiohead: Kid A
Shakira: Fijacion Oral, Vol. 1
Sigur Ros: ( )
Britney Spears: In The Zone
Sufjan Stevens: Illinois
The Strokes: Is This It
The Swell Season: Once Soundtrack
Ali Farka Toure & Toumani Diabate: In The Heart of the Moon
TV On The Radio: Return To Cookie Mountain
Various: Garden State Soundtrack
Various: O Brother, Where Art Thou? Soundtrack
Kanye West: The College Dropout
The White Stripes: White Blood Cells
Wilco: Yankee Hotel Foxtrot
Amy Winehouse: Back To Black

What Up Man (The Cool Kids)

This summer I partook in the International Mix Tape Swap where you commit to make 60-80 minutes worth of music you love for someone who has been randomly assigned to you anywhere in the world. You had to design album art as well as write a letter enclosed with your mix. The mix I received came from a girl named Anna in Omaha, Nebraska (see photo left). And her mix was absolutely delectable. It was exactly what I needed: some new goodies, old goodies and goodies that just needed to be added to my library. As far as mixes go, this is easily one of the best I've received (the new Black Keys is on here, nuff said). But the real treat on this mix is the hip-hop selections. She didn't know my love for The Cool Kids or any indie/hip-hop mash up, but there they are...on this mix. Enjoy.







MUSIC NEWS

1.) The Tampa, Florida artist known as Shamantis took Justin Bieber's song "U Smile", and dropped it into a black hole slowing the process down by 800% with rather dramatic results.....beautiful dramatic results to be exact.
J. BIEBZ - U SMILE 800% SLOWER by Shamantis


2.)Ryan Adam's new sci-fi metal concept album "Orion".....(Just take a look at the track listing names):
1. Signal Fade
2. Imminent Galactic War
3. Disappyramid
4. Fire Away
5. Defenders Of The Galaxy
6. Fire And Ice
7. By Force
8. Ghorgon Master of War
9. Ariel
10. Electro Snake
11. Victims Of The Brigade
12. 2000 Ships
13. End Of Days
ORION . ELECTROSNAKE by ryanadams


3.) The Wilderness Downtown is Arcade Fire's new online interactive video for "We Use To Wait" featured on their new "Suburbs" album. Click the link above, do what it says and just watch. If this is the track music videos are going down, I can't wait to get my foot officially in the music industry door.



4.)Google came out with their latest upgrade to iTunes by collaborating with Twitter to create a social network for music (bout damn time). After hearing the news, I made an account and was quickly annoyed. Spam is flooding the boards, it restricts you to only iTunes downloads (which are once-in-a-blue-moon for me), and it's only limited to iTunes users. If you're going to have a social network, it needs to be open to everyone, even people who don't use Apple products. Apple loves to handcuff its customers and this program is just another example. Regardless, the idea is solid, but the execution has a lot to be desired.

I'm Waitng For The Man (Velvet Underground)

So I was watching the rock documentary "It Might Get Loud"....again and this time around I was drawn to the part where Jack White talks to his younger self. I began to wonder what I'd say to the younger Kayla knowing everything I know now. And then that got me to question what kind of person I was 4 years ago, which led to me revisit my old playlist I made back in the day. According to Playlist.com, this playlist hasn't been touched since October 27, 2008. Enjoy.

Big Fun (Caddywhompus)

Back in the city. Feels good. Been chillin rather hard lately, soaking up the last few weeks of summer. And with such hard chillin, comes some hard chill tunes. So many new releases/local music for my listening pleasure...here are a few that have tickled my fancy.

New (Tasty) Releases!

Suburbs Arcade Fire

(Spoon is going on tour with Arcade Fire......ponder that for a second then listen to this)



The Way Out The Books
(Words cannot describe this album)



Mines Menomena
(Layers of sound never felt so good)



Remainder Caddywhompus
(Fellow Loyola band with every song being slices of heaven)
download here, seriously.


Coast Sun Hotel
Great friends of mine who make music that is just too good for me to fully comprehend. Devin gave me a copy of it and this album is nothing short of delicious. However the official CD release of this album isn't until September. But if you don't live in Louisiana, I'll make sure it gets in your hands. Come out to one of their shows!
8/18 - Hammond, LA @ Cate St. Pub
8/19 - Lafayette, LA @ Grant St. Dancehall
8/20 - Baton Rouge, LA @ Chelsea's Cafe
8/21 - Jackson, MS @ Ole Tavern
8/22 - Tallahassee, Fl house party
8/23 - Tuscaloosa, AL @ Egan's Bar
8/24 - New Orleans, LA @ $$$Oz on Bourbon St.$$$



QUESTION
3 Musicians/Bands that have defined your summer of 2010?

1) Nick Drake
2) The Black Keys
3) Delta Spirit
*Bonus Track: "3rd Planet" - Modest Mouse