This mix tape (seems more like a short album to me) is some weird R&B that’s being made by two anonymous musicians. So far I’ve gleaned that they are (or were?) living in Toronto, and that Drake is a fan. My first impression was “This sounds like The-Dream got super depressed, developed a drinking problem and then made an album.” Which is to say, it sounds amazing. Best of all, it’s available for free on their website. Yet another rebuttal to anyone who says this isn’t the most amazing time for music in the last century.
Do you have a job that affords you plenty of time to read things on the internet? Well, @longreads is about to be your best friend. It’s basically a collection of long-ish articles that are available to read online, almost all of which are interesting. Articles are sourced from publications like The New Yorker, Esquire, GQ, and The New York Review Of Books, among others. If you’re not big on Twitter, you can also browse articles via their Tumblr. Essential stuff for the curious and/or bored.
@discographies
Broadcast: 1 "I had this hazy dream about the future:" 2-3 "I grasped at patterns that grew lovelier as they diffused. I never caught them."
For the music nerd, @discographies offers short, amusing summaries of artists’ entire careers in 140 characters or less. Obviously, you’re not getting any real insight from this one, but it’s always good for a funny or poignant moment. This one about Joy Division and New Order is probably my favorite (so far):
Joy Division/New Order: 1-2 "He left notes." 3 "The funeral was hard." 4-8 "We got high & danced. It helped." 9-10 "But he was still dead."
Instead of putting out a late February Chart, consider this an early March chart (comprised of things I listened to during February, as it happens). Starts off with some balearic italo stuff before getting into some dancier disco and house tunes that I’ve been into. Relish had a good month, with releases from both Hannulelauri and Headman appearing here.
February’s mix for Capital is a trip down memory lane, provided that you grew up listening to Alternative Rock radio like I did. I get a little nostalgic about 94.5 The Edge in the column and then I mixed together a few of my favorite tracks from the second half of the decade. I liked doing this one so much that I’m already considering a follow-up mix. Read the column and download the mix here.
I’ll admit that Beans is a weird name for a mixtape, and frankly I have no idea how it’s significant to/descriptive of the songs contained there-in, but that’s really all beside the point. The Magician is Stephen Fasano, and those of you who have been paying attention to the internet know that he was in Aeroplane with Vito DeLuca until last year. Anyways, this is a mix that he created for the Japanese art/fashion site Oki-Ni, and it’s chock-full of great italo disco songs, as well as contemporary disco tracks that have been influenced by that sub-genre. 80s nerds, like me, will dig this one a lot. Stream or download it below, and check the tracklist/commentary from Stephen here.
I had planned to write about a different album tonight but after I got home from work I put this song on and I haven’t been able to stop listening to it, several hours later. Helplessness Blues is an album I’ve been looking forward to for a long, long time and it’s apparent that Fleet Foxes have only improved during their time off after releasing and supporting 2008′s self-titled debut – the harmonies in the second half of the song are just stunning. You can stream and download the track from the nice looking player up top, and pre-order the album beginning tomorrow (Feb. 1) from their website.
Destroyer – Kaputt – Merge Records
DMX Crew – Disco Theme – Permanent Vacation
Lord Of The Isles – We Were There (Dancin’ Freestyle) – Solardisco
Oliver – All Night – Pulse Recordings
Danism – Love The Way (Crazy P Remix) – Defected
Evan Evans – Repitition – Instruments Of Rapture
Stubbs – Good Morning Good Day – Relish Recordings
Lykke Li – I Follow Rivers (The Magician Remix) – LL Recordings
Robyn – Indestructable (The Krays Remix) – Konichiwa
Cut Copy – I Need You Now – Modular
If you were into the Sacred Harp album that I posted earlier, then you’re gonna love this one. William Tyler lives in Nashville and plays in Lambchop (a familiar name for indie rock devotees), and has contributed to records by Silver Jews and Bonnie Prince Billy, among others. This is his solo debut, and it’s filled with some pretty wonderful open-tuning folk guitar instrumentals. I particularly love the small little details, like the crickets you hear at the beginning and end of “Missionary Ridge,” (also check the way he utilizes a music box in this video, where he performs that track live), or the sigh that closes the album following “Ponotic.” It’s stuff like this that makes me long for a cabin in the woods with a wood burning fire place and nothing but snow and trees as far as you can see.
Really, really in love with this Destroyer album lately. Kaputt is like some kind of amazing balearic rock dream that occurred in 1984, only to be recalled decades later. The title track is below (and you can view the songs bizarrely awesome video here). The whole album is wonderful, and will be available on January 25th.
Recently I teamed up with the website Capital to create a new mix series called Cut Time. The first mix was released this morning, and features pop songs that are both old and new, as well as a couple Christmas songs to make it seasonally appropriate. You can listen to the mix and read my thoughts on the tracklist by clicking here.
