Wednesday, March 4, 2009
welp
All my files were deleted and I can't upload anything else to hotlinkfiles. Balls. Gonna have to either use imeem or actually pay for a host, which means I'll be using imeem. balls balls balls balls balls balls balls balls balls balls balls
Monday, March 2, 2009
Broadway was waiting for me
Pilot Speed - Fairytale of New York (The Pogues)
Pilot Speed - Fairytale of New York (The Pogues)
Pilot Speed, previously known as Pilate (got sued by Pontius HAAAA) are a Canadian band that, as far as I can tell, doesn't have any female members. So I apologize for having absolutely no idea who the girl dueting with lead singer Todd Clark is. Especially because she's the best part of the song.
Fairytale of New York is, without a doubt, the greatest Christmas song you'll ever hear. I've heard a lot of covers, and most of them are completely boring. This one isn't. This one is fantastic, even though it doesn't really change the original formula much (if at all).
Everything's a bit slower, a bit more brooding--its sadness might fit the song's lyrical content better than the original (though I don't think that's necessarily a good thing). Clark and Mystery Girl's vocals drag every single word and I can't help but get dragged into it, if that makes sense. Their rendition of the chorus is what makes this version for me. They stretch "NYPD choir" into the most beautiful four seconds of nearly-dissonant harmony.
We never posted any Christmas music during Christmas so we're just gonna spread it out throughout the year, woooooo
Thursday, February 19, 2009
Pearl Future (i cannot stop listening to this song)
Pearl Future – Shop Song
Pearl Future – Shop Song
So I'm not sure why I know this song. I think it was Popjustice's song of the day a few weeks ago… apparently Pearl Future is one of the millions of pop singers who are trying to make it through Myspace, and they usually sing over generic pop songs made by a low-rate producer trying to create a marketable gimmick. Pearl Future has 15,000 Myspace friends, and I have no idea if that's good or bad, but she doesn't have a Wikipedia entry and it's impossible to find much info on her, so I'll assume her career hasn't really "taken off" yet.
The point is, I WANT IT TO. This is the first song I'm just gonna get 10000% behind, I'm gonna gush about it until it's a Top 40 hit. I think this is actually my favorite song of the year so far. It's so good, and it'll never be popular because it's a song about shopping and we're in a fucking depression. They're apparently angling it for a summer release, so I'm thinking there's a small chance this song was commissioned by Obama to help people do the right thing with their stimulus money. Also, this is like one of two places you can actually download this song in its entirety. Listen to it. Love it. I'm going to hype it up as much as all the movie blogs hyped up Slumdog and I am going to win this song an Oscar.
"Shop Song" by Pearl Future, ordered from best parts to worst parts:
1. Organ!!
2. Percussion! thump-CLAP thump-CLAP. Absolutely perfect.
3. Pearl's singing/vocals. She's really fantastic.
4. The dinkly little synth popping around in the back.
5. The lyrical content of the song.
…
…
…
…
…
252. The lyrical content of the song.
253. It's pitch-perfect timing. EVERYONE IS GOING TO HATE YOU
BONUS REDEPRESSION MUSIC
Stone Road – Fuck the Re-Depression
[via captain is dead]
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
Reposting dis
Blogger keeps kicking my butt about this entry, so I'm reposting it without the Veronicas song. I guess if you wanna hear it, just turn on your radio, or search hypey, or search youtube (don't search youtube), or search imeem, or any of the millions of other places you can hear it for free.
---------------------------------------------------------
So, every year around Christmastime, I go on a binge and read as many "best songs of the year" lists as I can. Honestly, this is where the majority of my musical discoveries come from in a given year. It's like waiting for Oscar season, right? Because of this, I find a lot of songs that I would've included in my own list, had I heard them a long time ago. Here are some of those songs.
Also, yes, we will spend the rest of 2k9 discussing the best songs of 2k8. 2k9 songs will come in 2k10.
The Veronicas – Untouched
mp3
It's kind of creepy that The Veronicas seem to be exclusively marketed to tweens as a teen band, even though they're like 24 and this song is about fucking.
It's SO GOOD THOUGH
Ignore the verses. Most of the verses. "I go ooh-ooh you go ah-ah" might perhaps be the nadir of Australian civilization… but, admittedly, I love the moments in which both the girls harmonize the speak-singing and use full syllables, almost too quickly for the beat.
The point though, is that guitar. That beautiful, slimy guitar in the chorus, which barely even sounds like a guitar and I'm not sure if it's actually changing chords or what. What a strangely ballsy move for a song like this. You can tell it's a song that's trying to pop-ify the Evanescence sound for a "wider" market, but with that guitar juxtaposed with the Veronicas' vocals, it ends up being much heavier than anything any nu-metal band can ever write ever.
The vocals are the second-greatest thing about this, particularly when Veronica #1 joins Veronica #2 in the repetition of the chorus, and her voice piques up into a yelp during "right NOW" and "someHOW." And then there's the Young Turks synth and the gump-ass grimy synth and whatever more synth that I just haven't heard yet. And then there's the strings. And a million other things that make this song so unbelievably worth it if you have it in you to get past that first verse.
The Mae Shi – Run to Your Grave
The Mae Shi – Run to Your Grave
The Mae Shi is an "experimental punk" band according to Wikipedia, and I'll use that definition because I like them too much to call them indie. "Noise" fits too, even though they aren't really noise. They wrote a "religious album" called HLLLYH which is pretty much the most typical name you can expect for a religious album by an LA noise band.
I actually spent a tediously long time trying to figure out what "religious album" meant. Is it gospel or anti-religion or is it just about religion? Which begs the question of religion's place in the alternative world, whether the idea of a god is accepted or rejected in that environment. The lyrics here are, on the surface, extreme gospel. But it's the fact that The Mae Shi have been so warmly accepted by the hipster/alt community that made me wonder if the band is generally interpreted as being ironic. And every review would pretty much begin and end with "religious album about religion."
But I guess that's just it. The quality of these lyrics, what makes them so damn intriguing is the fact that it's ambiguous, that it seems to be simultaneously wary and celebratory, praising the great and despairing over the bad.
This song confronts death with the most serious of tenors, and the whole thing is sung with such gleeful choir sensibilities. The vocalizations of the verses have such consistency, and the weight of the lyrics is never really expressed. To someone who tends to gloss over lyrical content, this song probably just sounds really, really happy.
And emotion is a simple test to the synapse
Don't let it fool you into thinking that you got brains
The more you feel the more you will take with you
So cut the flesh and let your blood flow to the drain
It's all in the delivery. This song is happy, it is celebrating these ideas because goddamn, you just can't deny such a genuine glee. But instead of irony, it's painted with an undertone of fear and uncertainty. And it's one of the most emotionally-engaging songs I've heard this year.
This song also has many instruments; in this entry I will
---------------------------------------------------------
So, every year around Christmastime, I go on a binge and read as many "best songs of the year" lists as I can. Honestly, this is where the majority of my musical discoveries come from in a given year. It's like waiting for Oscar season, right? Because of this, I find a lot of songs that I would've included in my own list, had I heard them a long time ago. Here are some of those songs.
Also, yes, we will spend the rest of 2k9 discussing the best songs of 2k8. 2k9 songs will come in 2k10.
The Veronicas – Untouched
It's kind of creepy that The Veronicas seem to be exclusively marketed to tweens as a teen band, even though they're like 24 and this song is about fucking.
It's SO GOOD THOUGH
Ignore the verses. Most of the verses. "I go ooh-ooh you go ah-ah" might perhaps be the nadir of Australian civilization… but, admittedly, I love the moments in which both the girls harmonize the speak-singing and use full syllables, almost too quickly for the beat.
The point though, is that guitar. That beautiful, slimy guitar in the chorus, which barely even sounds like a guitar and I'm not sure if it's actually changing chords or what. What a strangely ballsy move for a song like this. You can tell it's a song that's trying to pop-ify the Evanescence sound for a "wider" market, but with that guitar juxtaposed with the Veronicas' vocals, it ends up being much heavier than anything any nu-metal band can ever write ever.
The vocals are the second-greatest thing about this, particularly when Veronica #1 joins Veronica #2 in the repetition of the chorus, and her voice piques up into a yelp during "right NOW" and "someHOW." And then there's the Young Turks synth and the gump-ass grimy synth and whatever more synth that I just haven't heard yet. And then there's the strings. And a million other things that make this song so unbelievably worth it if you have it in you to get past that first verse.
The Mae Shi – Run to Your Grave
The Mae Shi – Run to Your Grave
The Mae Shi is an "experimental punk" band according to Wikipedia, and I'll use that definition because I like them too much to call them indie. "Noise" fits too, even though they aren't really noise. They wrote a "religious album" called HLLLYH which is pretty much the most typical name you can expect for a religious album by an LA noise band.
I actually spent a tediously long time trying to figure out what "religious album" meant. Is it gospel or anti-religion or is it just about religion? Which begs the question of religion's place in the alternative world, whether the idea of a god is accepted or rejected in that environment. The lyrics here are, on the surface, extreme gospel. But it's the fact that The Mae Shi have been so warmly accepted by the hipster/alt community that made me wonder if the band is generally interpreted as being ironic. And every review would pretty much begin and end with "religious album about religion."
But I guess that's just it. The quality of these lyrics, what makes them so damn intriguing is the fact that it's ambiguous, that it seems to be simultaneously wary and celebratory, praising the great and despairing over the bad.
This song confronts death with the most serious of tenors, and the whole thing is sung with such gleeful choir sensibilities. The vocalizations of the verses have such consistency, and the weight of the lyrics is never really expressed. To someone who tends to gloss over lyrical content, this song probably just sounds really, really happy.
And emotion is a simple test to the synapse
Don't let it fool you into thinking that you got brains
The more you feel the more you will take with you
So cut the flesh and let your blood flow to the drain
It's all in the delivery. This song is happy, it is celebrating these ideas because goddamn, you just can't deny such a genuine glee. But instead of irony, it's painted with an undertone of fear and uncertainty. And it's one of the most emotionally-engaging songs I've heard this year.
This song also has many instruments; in this entry I will
Monday, February 9, 2009
Monday, January 26, 2009
Darlene Love - All Alone on Christmas
This song/video is the combination of my two favorite things in the world (Bruce Springsteen and Home Alone 2):
Macaulay Culkin dancing on Clarence Clemons' shoulders. holy shit
But this song is seriously awesome. Darlene Love (who looked like a cross between the two Aunt Viv's) just belts this shit so beautifully. The song (written by Steven Van Zandt) is even parts Springsteen and Spector and Little Steven's lyrics do a great Bruce impression. Macaulay Culkin dancing on Clarence Clemons.
This has unironically become one of my favorite Xmas songs.
Macaulay Culkin dancing on Clarence Clemons' shoulders. holy shit
But this song is seriously awesome. Darlene Love (who looked like a cross between the two Aunt Viv's) just belts this shit so beautifully. The song (written by Steven Van Zandt) is even parts Springsteen and Spector and Little Steven's lyrics do a great Bruce impression. Macaulay Culkin dancing on Clarence Clemons.
This has unironically become one of my favorite Xmas songs.
Saturday, January 24, 2009
Still Great in 2008: Part VII
Part I
Part II
Part III
Part IV
Part V
Part VI
7. Portishead – Machine Gun
This is the one song that everyone (and I mean everyone) had on their Top 5 Songs of '08 list, so naturally, being the contrarian I am, I wanted this to suck. Of course, it didn’t. Sounding more like Low had they been produced by Trent Reznor than the trip-hoppy Portishead everyone (read: me) thinks of, Machine Gun is pretty much the definition of the word “tense.” Like really, when I hear this song, my muscles clench and I get cold shivers and stuff. It’s like that. This is the kind of song that you can’t listen to when it gets dark or else you won’t sleep for the rest of the night. Thank god the next song I’m reviewing is by TI or else I would probably be in a funk all day. Damn.
*** It should be noted that I went this entire paragraph without once mentioning the “industrial” “grime/dubstep” “machine gun” drum beat. H8 u p4k.
6. TI feat. Akon – Hero
LIGHT UP THOSE BLUNTS
AND GET READY TO INHALE THAT SOUTHERN SMOKE
I’ll be the first to admit it: I’m a sucker for TI. I think he’s great. I think he makes great songs. I think he produces great albums. I think he should be able to have as many machine guns as he wants. I think it kinda sucks that the first google result for his name is Texas Instruments. In a perfect world etc etc etc.
Anyway, I’ll also admit that “Hero” is not TI’s best song. His rapping seems a bit uninspired, and the lyrics are kind of ridiculous (“I’m the man it’s apparent/Even when I’m running errands/Got to beat a Mclaren on what I’m wearing/ Got ‘em starin’/Bitches I share ‘em/If they in my harem” etc.), amongst other complaints. Thankfully, though, where TI falters, Akon really steps up to the plate. The hook to this song is just sick - there’s no two ways about it. He really sells it. Akon can get a bit annoying at times, or be a downright dick at others, but for what it’s worth, he saves this song. I guess there’s hope for him after all?
5. Weezer – Pork and Beans
I DON’T GIVE A HOOT ABOUT WHAT YOU THINK
4. Young Jeezy feat. Kanye West – Put On
Reasons This Song Rules:
1. Jeezy’s intro. Hooooly shit. Hits you like a ton of bricks.
2. Food rap. (“Big wheels, big straps, you know I like it super sized/Passenger's a redbone, her weave look like some curly fries/Inside fish sticks, outside tartar sauce/Pocket full of celery, imagine what she tellin me/Blowin on asparagus, the realest shit I ever smoked”)
3. The theremin. Yeaaaaaaaaaah.
4. “Call me Jeezy Hamilton”
5. Kanye wearing that Palestinian scarf in the video
6. The heaviness of the beat. Seriously, this single probably weighs like 100 lbs.
7. The fact that Kanye feels that there are women out there that “owe him sex.” LOL take that feminists!
Part II
Part III
Part IV
Part V
Part VI
7. Portishead – Machine Gun
This is the one song that everyone (and I mean everyone) had on their Top 5 Songs of '08 list, so naturally, being the contrarian I am, I wanted this to suck. Of course, it didn’t. Sounding more like Low had they been produced by Trent Reznor than the trip-hoppy Portishead everyone (read: me) thinks of, Machine Gun is pretty much the definition of the word “tense.” Like really, when I hear this song, my muscles clench and I get cold shivers and stuff. It’s like that. This is the kind of song that you can’t listen to when it gets dark or else you won’t sleep for the rest of the night. Thank god the next song I’m reviewing is by TI or else I would probably be in a funk all day. Damn.
*** It should be noted that I went this entire paragraph without once mentioning the “industrial” “grime/dubstep” “machine gun” drum beat. H8 u p4k.
6. TI feat. Akon – Hero
LIGHT UP THOSE BLUNTS
AND GET READY TO INHALE THAT SOUTHERN SMOKE
I’ll be the first to admit it: I’m a sucker for TI. I think he’s great. I think he makes great songs. I think he produces great albums. I think he should be able to have as many machine guns as he wants. I think it kinda sucks that the first google result for his name is Texas Instruments. In a perfect world etc etc etc.
Anyway, I’ll also admit that “Hero” is not TI’s best song. His rapping seems a bit uninspired, and the lyrics are kind of ridiculous (“I’m the man it’s apparent/Even when I’m running errands/Got to beat a Mclaren on what I’m wearing/ Got ‘em starin’/Bitches I share ‘em/If they in my harem” etc.), amongst other complaints. Thankfully, though, where TI falters, Akon really steps up to the plate. The hook to this song is just sick - there’s no two ways about it. He really sells it. Akon can get a bit annoying at times, or be a downright dick at others, but for what it’s worth, he saves this song. I guess there’s hope for him after all?
5. Weezer – Pork and Beans
I DON’T GIVE A HOOT ABOUT WHAT YOU THINK
4. Young Jeezy feat. Kanye West – Put On
Reasons This Song Rules:
1. Jeezy’s intro. Hooooly shit. Hits you like a ton of bricks.
2. Food rap. (“Big wheels, big straps, you know I like it super sized/Passenger's a redbone, her weave look like some curly fries/Inside fish sticks, outside tartar sauce/Pocket full of celery, imagine what she tellin me/Blowin on asparagus, the realest shit I ever smoked”)
3. The theremin. Yeaaaaaaaaaah.
4. “Call me Jeezy Hamilton”
5. Kanye wearing that Palestinian scarf in the video
6. The heaviness of the beat. Seriously, this single probably weighs like 100 lbs.
7. The fact that Kanye feels that there are women out there that “owe him sex.” LOL take that feminists!
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