Awesome now hipster pop track! (Although there is one vocal line that sounds EXACTLY like Local Natives – World News) High Five!
Collab High Five!
Giving out high fives to awesome music.
Tagged with Rock …
Enfield – There is a Fountain
“Then in a nobler, sweeter song, I’ll sing thy power to save.” High Five!
Sweet Thing – Change of Seasons
Sweet Thing – Change Of Seasons by alienhits
Some pick-me-up-from-this-blue-monday alternative rock. High Five!
Codes In The Clouds – Washington
Codes In The Clouds – Washington by erasedtapes
Instrumental rock done oh so well. Has a pretty nice build-up in the middle. High Five!
Friday Party Mixtape 02
T.G.I.F., time to party. High Five!
Fedde Le Grand feat. Patric La Funk – Autosave (Original Mix) by Marios Muzik
House at it’s best. High Five!
Heiress Of Valentina (Alesso Remix) – Dune by Jonty Bekkers
A cool mesh of pop-trance-rock. High Five!
We Once Had An Empire (Jungle Fiction Remix) by Jungle Fiction
Electro-rock FTW. High Five!
The White Stripes – Seven Nation Army (The Glitch Mob Remix)
The White Stripes – Seven Nation Army (The Glitch Mob Remix) – Free DL by The Glitch Mob
This is a ridiculously gritty and oh-so-good remix of “Seven Nation Army”. Makes me think of baseball, because they always play it at the park. High Five!
Best Albums 2010: #1 Mumford and Sons – Sigh No More
Mumford and Sons debut is more than extraordinary, it’s legendary. They have thought-provoking lyrics, excellent musicianship, and genius composition work. They do all of this and sound so very original at the same time. It’s not popular to construct songs that have smart lyrics and play in a hymn-like structure. But, Mumford and Sons do it. And they do it so well.
There are so many reasons why Mumford and Sons just stands out from the crowd. You could talk about the fact that they use a double bass as opposed to a regular electric bass. Or you could talk about the extremely complex strumming rhythms that Mumford plays and the fact that he is able to sing excellently over it. Or you could talk about the profoundly deep, poetic, visually-striking lyrics they have:
For every kiss your beauty trumped my doubt
And my head told my heart let love grow
But my heart told my head, this time no
This time no
- Winter Winds
Look over your head and be still
The sky above shoots to kill
Rain down, rain dow
On me.I will hold on.
I will hold on.
I will hold on hold.
-Thistle & Weeds
You can also told about the wonderfully constructed builds that they employ in songs like “Thistle & Weeds”, “Little Lion Man”, “Dust Bowl Man”. The list goes on and on.
The point is that this is not just an album that tops my list in 2010, but also breaks into my list of top ten albums of all time. It is so very refreshing to hear an album that doesn’t treat you mindlessly with music, but challenges you and pushes you to think. To think about the lyrics they sing, to think about musically why they construct and progress the way they do, and to just quite-frankly enjoy the songs on so many levels.
I forsee this album to be on repeat for quite some time.
Favorite songs from the album
All of them, but will put some embedded links later.
Best Albums 2010: #3 Jónsi – Go
When I heard front-man Jónsi was going to release an album apart from Sigur Rós I was excited. I wondered what kind of sounds he would create. I remember first listening to the album in my car and not skipping a single track. I listened to the album straight through, which is not a typical thing for me to do. I like to identify the good songs on the album and then come back and listen to everything. Quite simply, all the songs are good on the album “Go”.
I remember being absolutely blown away by the opening track Go Do. It contains everything I like in music. Build-ups, big atmospheric sounds, acoustic instruments mixed with electric eclectic sounds. It’s not for everyone, but Jónsi’s falsetto-esque voice is something that suits his sound and music so well. He can also do more than just big crazy fun tracks; he shows us in songs like “Tornado” and “Kolniður” that he can do emotionally-driven ballad-type songs. What truely sets Jónsi apart is his use of instrumentation and lots of it. It’s like an orchestra is playing behind him at all times.
I was lucky to see him live this past November and I can say that he sounds just as good live as he does on recording. An amazing artist all-around.
Best Albums 2010: #4 Arcade Fire – The Suburbs
Here is an album that will grace the very top of many top 10 lists all over the web. With an 86% metacritic.com score and 3 grammy nominations for Album of the Year, Best Alternative Music Album, and Best Rock Performance, it’s easy to see why.
This album is unlike the bands past two albums. It has a feel of maturity to it and there is a stronger sound to it. The album flows naturally from one song to the next. According to the band, this album includes songs influenced from the suburbs of Chicago. Win, the lead singer from the band, says the album “is neither a love letter to, nor an indictment of the suburbs.” From the opening track, “The Suburbs” you are hit with a great piece of alternative rock music, which has a tad touch of classic rock to it. It feels old, yet it feels new at the same time. In fact, that’s how the whole album feels. It is bringing that classic rock sound up to the modern times, it immerses you in a feeling that you really are in the suburbs in the 80′s again. (Not that I really grew up in the burbs anyways).
The most enjoyable part of the album is how it flows so nicely from one song to the next. The song selection for this album is perfect. Even the fast and gritty “Month of May” doesn’t feel out of place at all. And the reprise of “The Suburbs” is an excellent closer to the album.
Favorite songs from the album
01 The Suburbs by Irene Rx
Best Albums 2010: #8 Local Natives – Gorilla Manor
Local Natives is probably one of my most exciting new band discoveries in the year 2010. The band consists of high school friends Taylor Rice, Kelcey Ayer, Ryan Hahn, Andy Hamm, and Matt Frazier. A couple things set Local Natives as a band apart from the rest of the bands out of there. First, the band composes and executes great harmonies in all of their tracks. Most of the time the harmonies are in three parts and it results in such an interesting sound. Second, the band’s drummer Matt Frazier is spaztastic to say the least. He has wild drum parts where it is least expected. The drum beats are complex and interesting — he provides way more tone to the drum than the usual band too. The drums almost sound like a choppy electronic experiment sometimes, but the drums are all real and live (at least thats what I think). Lastly, Local Natives has a great blend of genre/musical influences. Some tracks sound like a smooth, downbeat soul song with the rock/alternative touch. Others are an odd mix of Folk and Alternative. Whatever the case, it grabs my attention and I always enjoy the unexpected genre benders. Gorilla Manor is an amazing accomplishment of a debut album, and judging by critical reception, this band can expect big things.
Favorite songs from the album
World News by Local Natives