All Posts Labeled: ‘New Music’Minty Fresh Beats Releases Jaydiohead
Mashups as a whole annoy the hell out of me. But I’m somewhat impressed/intrigued by Minty Fresh Beats effort to combine Radiohead instrumentals with Jay-Z rhymes. For those Radiohead fans out there, don’t worry, it’s not just obvious samples - Minty Fresh gives some love to “Gagging Order,” a Kid A b-side. Download the Jaydiohead project. Check out Minty Fresh Beats’ myspace page. MP3:2009 Upcoming Album ReleasesAs 2008 comes to a close, we at Stranger Dance are starting to look forward to what 2009 holds. A number of our favorite artists (Andrew Bird, Bon Iver, Wilco, etc.) have confirmed upcoming albums and even more are flirting with the idea. A few things stuck out to us while compiling this this. First, Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy promises his “biggest and most ambitious album” to date. The New Pornographers crew have obviously been busy with a new release scheduled for the group as well as members A.C. Newman and Neko Case (no word on an upcoming Destroyer album). On the hip-hop front, Jay-Z is set to drop his third post-retirement album and we finally get to hear Detox and Relapse the long-awaited album from Dr. Dre and Eminem, respectively. Below is a list of confirmed albums with release dates and MP3 samples where available (sorry Animal Collective fans, but…). [Click on any column to re-sort]
In addition to the confirmed releases above, here’s a list of expected releases without release dates currently: December Mixtape: Merry Christmas Baby
I have a love/hate relationship with Christmas music. I genuinely love it, but there are rules. First, I’m a big Grinch about playing Christmas music early. I’m stricter than most people on this issue, but can’t we all agree that Thanksgiving is the absolute earliest date to break out the sleigh bells? There is also too much excellent Christmas music out there to accept listening to the same bad ’50s schmaltz every year. I understand that the holidays are all about tradition, but some traditions need to evolve. With those sentiments (and a little Christmas cheer) I offer up the following mix, which will hopefully provide an improved soundtrack to your holiday season. It’s got songs spanning six decades and many genres, with songs you hear every year, and some others that don’t get enough love. Enjoy. [Special thanks to Scooter for contributing songs from his extensive collection of Christmas tunes as well as his help with making this mix.] December Mixtape: Merry Christmas Baby
You can also download the whole mix as zip file: December Mixtape - Merry Christmas Baby. To import the songs as an ordered playlist, go to iTunes, click on File > Library > Import Playlist… and select the .txt file in the mix folder. ——– More: Check out our previous mixes Top 15 Albums of 2008
After screaming matches, insults and a fist fight or two, the dust has settled and the Stranger Dance staff stands before you united with our humble list of the Top 15 Albums of 2008. We’ve also listed our personal top ten lists below. As always, please let us know how foolish we were (both collectively and individually) for leaving your favorite band’s album off in favor of our dreck. For fun, you can also check out our favorite albums of 2007 and see how they hold up a year later. Without further ado, here are our final picks for the finest records of the year. (Drum roll, please…) Killing Time with KEXP’s Live Music Vault
If you have a few hours to kill and a hankering for good live music, I’d highly recommend heading over to KEXP’s Web site and checking out its live music archive. The Seattle-based independent radio station has been a Web pioneer since the early days of the Internet and does simply fantastic work, both in its radio broadcast and Web content. One of the hidden nuggets is the “Live Video of the Week” on KEXP’s blog, showcasing live performances from the station’s Seattle or New York studios. It’s really great stuff from a huge variety of bands, including Fujiya & Miyagi, Mates of State, Okkervil River, Nada Surf and tons more. One that caught my attention was a band from New Zealand called Bang Bang Eche! Bang Bang Eche! – “Four to the Floor”Dig a bit deeper into the KEXP archives, and there’s a virtual cornucopia of live podcasts and performances from the “Live at CMJ” series (including a stellar 2007 performance by Band of Horses) and the station’s live performance archives. It’s easy to get lost for a while. Weekly Staff Playlist [Potpourri Edition]
[This weekly feature is a snapshot of what the Stranger Dance staff can't get out of our collective head each week. On any given week, we might be digging a new local act, French electro remix, old jazz chestnut, the newest Japanese electro-folk or whatever else we've got on the turntable/iPod that week.] Our picks typically cover a good deal of ground each week, but there’s normally some overlap. But, try as I might, I can’t find any common bond this week. Not that that’s a bad thing. So, enjoy our mixed bag of goodies - we’ve got a remix from SD-favorites The Cool Kids, some indie-sugar from The Republic Tigers, Scottish post-rock from Mogwai and hypnotic bedroom weirdness of Grampall Jukabox. ——————————————————————————————————————————————————————— Vague Panther: Grampall Jookabox - “We Know We Might Be Fucked” Anyone’s Guess beat me to the punch a few days ago for this song (seriously I was about to post it too!), but I guess I’ll go ahead and post it anyways. Grampall Jookabox is the nom de plume of Indianapolis native David “Moose” Adamson. In case the name didn’t give it away, he enjoys occupying a space between serious and not-so-serious songwriting. OK, maybe it’s a little more to the not-so-serious side of things – some of his better song titles being “We Know We Might Be Fucked” and “The Girl Ain’t Preggers.” However, he’s definitely worth noting because of his bedroom production and experimentation. It’s really fun to listen to – some songs are clearly arranged, while others like “We Know We Might Be Fucked” are hypnotic repetitions. The only constant I can pick up on is the use of heavy bass line anchors, most of the time beating out the good ol’ six string as a feature. Fans of Coco Rosie have probably found a new American savior… In case you need further endorsement, Jello Biafra (of Dead Kennedys fame) had the following quote about GJ which sums them up nicely: “I have no idea what you’re trying to do, and that’s either really good or really bad, I’m not sure.” ——————————————————————————————————————————————————————— Uncle Corey: Mogwai - “The Sun Smells Too Loud” Mogwai is a great band that we woefully neglect here. I love instrumental music – and I’m definitely in the minority on this, I know – and Mogwai does it perfectly. “The Sun Smells Too Loud,” off their newest album The Hawk is Howling (which curiously has an eagle on the cover), is actually a departure from Mogwai’s typical dissonant, dark, thick sounds. It’s almost… happy. Not to worry, there’s plenty of songs like “I Love You, I’m Going To Blow Up Your School” on the album to get your grey cloud on with. This song is a cool little slice of melody though. ——————————————————————————————————————————————————————— Scooter: The Cool Kids - Delivery Man [9th Wonder Remix] The Cool Kids‘ debut album, When Fish Ride Bicycles, is slated to drop before the end of the year (according to their Myspace page). Here’s a little something to hold you over until then, courtesy of producer, 9th Wonder. (Also, if you’ve had enough of Kanye and his Auto-Tune, check out 9th Wonder’s contributions to the his mixtape, The Graduate.) ——————————————————————————————————————————————————————— The Stranger: The Republic Tigers - “Buildings & Mountains” I know this isn’t saying that much, but The Republic Tigers might be the best thing to come out of Missouri since… well, I can’t name anything else. (Surely there must be something I’m forgetting…) On another note, I’m not sure when it happened, but I’ve become totally at peace with pop-rock over the past few years, and this is just great indie-pop in the vein of Death Cab or The Shins. I’m not sure if I’ll be listening to this a year (or even a month) from now, but a little indie-pop seems just right for a Friday afternoon. ‘Chinese Democracy’ Available to StreamWe weren’t impressed by the first single, but Guns n’ Roses has made all of their new album, Chinese Democracy, available to stream from their MySpace page. Forgive me if I remain skeptical. New Animal Collective: “Brother Sport”
Stereogum dug up a studio recording of a new Animal Collective track called “Brother Sport” today, that’s the final track on Merriweather Post Pavilion, Animal Collective’s upcoming album. I mentioned a bit ago that I’ve been totally obsessed with this band lately, mainly with a live show from NPR’s “All Songs Considered” that was posted on an excellent fan site. Go download this show if you’re a fan – it’s wonderful. So is “Brother Sport.” If this is any indication of the tone of Merriweather Post Pavilion, that makes me giddy because I love this song. Here’s a full track listing. Have a listen to “Brother Sport”: [Update: Our friends, the copyright cops complained about the track being posted – we mean no harm! So instead of the studio track, please enjoy one of the many live Animal Collective songs hosted on YouTube.] Animal Collective - “Brother Sport” [Live Grrrnd Zero 2007]Panther Picks - New Wilco Material
I’d thought I’d take a little time for this edition of Panther Picks to get up to speed on all these Wilco rumors concerning new material for their seventh studio album. I did some digging and found five new songs - two untitled tracks played at the Bridge School Benefit, “One Wing,” “Sunny Feeling” and a video of another untitled song. If you have any others please throw them my way… MP3s:Wilco - Untitled New Song #1 [Live at 2008 Bridge School Benefit]Wilco - Untitled New Song #2 [Live at 2008 Bridge School Benefit] Wilco - “One Wing” Wilco - “Sunny Feeling” The Bay Bridged: Volume 2
Fellow San Francisco music ‘zine, The Bay Bridged, just released their second compilation featuring exclusive new tracks from Bay Area musicians such as Rogue Wave, Two Sheds and Okay. I particularly like “Lightning” by Birds & Batteries. Purchase it here. |
