nitetime rainbows

a sunny day in glasgow are still riding pretty on the wave of their beautiful 2009 release ashes grammar, which remains one of my favorite records in recent months.

the next single from the album will be "nitetime rainbows." i personally would have gone for "passionate introverts" but i like the former's blissful ambience just fine.



the EP will be out on march 2 via mis ojos discos and feature three new songs left off of grammar, as well as remixes from various label mates. should be fun.

another thing to note is that the band is really good live. for proof, catch them at one of the tour dates listed on their myspace, where you can also preview "rainbows" for yourself.

theres space for ol dat i see

the paper planes have ascended to the cosmos from the looks of things.

courtesy of ms. arulpragasam's twitter.

UPDATE: turns out my description wasn't so far off. the new track is called "space odyssey" and will be included on M.I.A.'s new album later this year. it's supposedly a protest song meant to serve as a continuation of her big "fuck you" to the new york times. awes.

pop that y-rocks 1.12.2010

though my blogging may have grown sporadic, one thing that has remained constant has been my weekly radio show, the circuit, on y-rock on xpn. after spending the final weeks of 2009 recapping the best of the decade in alternative and electronica, i'm back in full swing with new music from the knife, memory tapes, tanlines, surfer blood and much, much more!

read on for this week's playlist can tune-in online tonight from ten to midnight, or saturday from nine to eleven pm for the replay.



the very best - julia (joe goddard of hot chip remix)
active child - voice of an old friend (summer camp bedford falls remix)
washed out - belong
small black - despicable dogs (washed out remix)
cut copy - nobody lost, nobody found
memoryhouse - to the lighthouse
toro y moi - blessa
lindstrøm and christabelle - lovesick
the silent league - yours truly, 2095 (memory tapes version)
solid gold - matter of time (tanlines remix)
le tigre - deceptacon (dfa remix)
nite jewel - want you back
four tet - love cry (joy orbison remix)
animal collective - summertime clothes (dam-funk remix)
the avalanches - live at dominoes
miracles club - a new love
desire - dans mes reves
nosaj thing - light#2
OoOOo - nosummr4u
surfer blood - swim (alpaca remix by allen blickle of baroness)
white hinterland - icarus
the knife - colouring of pigeons
bullion - say goodbye to what
vampire weekend - diplomat's son

and because last week's playlist came out pretty awesome, here's that too:

lindstrøm and christabelle - looking for what (sally shapiro remix)
memory tapes - bicycle (what kind of breeze do you blow? e-mix)
la roux - fascination
monarchy - the phoenix alive
joanna newsom - bridges & balloons (pocket mix)
the longcut - repeated (toro y moi remix)
fleet foxes - white winter hymnal (the twelves remix)
jessica 6 - fun girl
hot chip - one life stand
the golden filter - the hardest button to button
lemonade - big weekend (delorean remix)
the xx - space bass (jamie xx's remix of the xx)
avner - bed for mig (kjj edit)
charlotte gainsbourg - heaven can wait (nosaj thing remix)
neon indian - mind, drips (mirror image remix)
bear in heaven - lovesick teenager
pixies - where is my mind? (bassnectar remix)
these new puritans - we want war (ghost hunter remix)
cfcf - half-dreaming
desire - if i can't hold you
kate bush - running up that hill (datassette remix)
joy orbison - hyph mngo

welcome back stylus! sort of...

throughout college, one of, if not my absolute, favorite online music sites was the late, great stylus magazine. i didn't always agree with their reviews or music tastes, but i did always respect and appreciate them for their variety and honesty. i discovered many of my current favorite albums and artists through them. their genuine wealth of journalistic craft and integrity made it all the the sadder when they shuttered at the end of 2007, coming off of what was arguably the best year for music of the last ten.


as i started reading and weighing the various best-of-the-decade lists back in the summer when they were cropping up, i often thought to myself how much i missed stylus and how awesome their list would be had they made one. wouldn't you know? several contributors to that site felt the same way, and decided to do something about it.

again, i don't necessarily agree with all of the decisions made here, but of all of the major lists i've read, this one is pretty damn good, and probably my favorite of the bunch. as always, their inclusions are varied and true to the spirit of stylus, including not only many of my own top 25, but also several albums that just missed it, namely peak efforts by cut copy, sleater-kinney and missy elliott off the top of my head.

head on over to the stylus decade (certainly a better, more appropriate name for the last ten years than the 'oughties) to check out the full lists of top songs and albums of the decade, each 100 long, as well as several very well-written retrospective essays on various issues of relevance.

for a brief, shining moment, my favorite website lives again.

no escape from memory tapes

you know dayve, if you spent less time remixing other people's stuff and more time prepping your live performances, you wouldn't have to cancel dates like your one at the barbary this past sunday that didn't happen. not that i'm bitter...



that said, your remixes remain undeniably slick and awesome, with this most recent redo of the silent league's "your's truly, 2095" cover being no exception, arguably trumping the league's last chillwave makeover by neon indian over the summer.

grab it over at p4k and get a jig going, then grab another new memory tapes remix (this one of gucci mane) over at his blog, along with every other remix he's done. just don't count on tour dates yet.

UPDATE: new memory tapes dates have been announced in the states, with a new stop in philly taking place on feb. 19. venue TBD.

Lisztomania: 2009 Edition

let's face it. 2009 was a wash for me on this blog. i kept trying to start up fresh, only to take on new projects and responsibilties at both my radio station and another music website that i'm trying to help back to health. then there was the whole starting a new relationship/having a life thing that kept getting in the way. all of it added up to less time to be spent on here, and will doubtless continue to.

that said, i still love my blog and miss coming on regularly to rant and rave about stuff i like/dislike in music and pop culture so i'm going to start coming on here on a semi-regular but much more leisurely pace. for reals this time. before letting those good times roll though, i wanted to wrap up what ended up being an exceptional year (not to mention a pretty rad decade) for music. rather than go into those pretentious, long-winded spiels that i've done in the past (those will return in due time), i'm just cutting my losses and dumping all of my major lists for the year below at once. i figure all of these albums are great enough that a few good listens each could explain it better than i would.

i tried to play fair and base my inclusions and rankings on both what i listened to the most and what i see myself continuing to listen to more of in the future.

click below to see what made the cut and let me know what i left out in the comments.



my favorite albums of 2009

20. fuck buttons - tarot sport
19. raekwon - only built 4 cuban linx part 2
18. bat for lashes - two suns
17. antlers - hospice
16. japandroids - post-nothing
15. dirty projectors - bitte orca
14. atlas sound - logos
13. a sunny day in glasgow - ashes grammar
12. washed out - life of leisure ep/high times
11. phoenix - wolfgang amadeus phoenix














my favorite songs of 2009

1. animal collective - my girls
2. washed out - feel it all around
3. jj - ecstasy
4. dirty projectors - stillness is the move
   
5. atlas sound - walkabout (feat. noah lennox)
6. the xx - crystalised
7. VEGA - no reasons
8. phoenix - lisztomania
9. memory tapes - plain material
10. girls - lust for life
11. st. vincent - laughing with a mouth of blood
12. fever ray - now's the only time i know
13. grizzly bear - ready, able
14. cold cave - love comes close
15. bat for lashes - daniel
16. the big pink - velvet
17. neon indian - mind, drips
18. the golden filter - solid gold
19. major lazer - keep it goin' louder
20. toro y moi - blessa
21. animal collective - what would i want? sky
22. a sunny day in glasgow - passionate introverts (dinosaurs)
23. washed out - you'll see it
24. HEALTH - die slow
25. fuck buttons - surf solar
26. yeah yeah yeahs - zero
27. annie - songs remind me of you
28. delorean - deli
29. desire - if i can't hold you
30. passion pit - moth's wings
31. atlas sound - quick canal (feat. laetitia sadier)
32. pictureplane - goth star
33. museum of bellas artes - who do you love?
34. raekwon - house of flying daggers (feat. inspectah deck, ghostface, and method man)
35. SALEM - frost
36. bear in heaven - lovesick teenager
37. girls - summertime
    
38. japandroids - i quit girls
39. antlers - two
40. neko case - this tornado loves you
    

my favorite remixes of 2009

florence and the machine - you've got the love (the xx remix)
animal collective - daily routine (phaseone remix)
fever ray - seven (the twelves remix)
au revoir simone - another likely story (aeroplane remix)
small black - despicable dogs (washed out remix)


my favorite albums from the rest of the decade

radiohead - kid a
the arcade fire - funeral
lcd soundsystem - sound of silver
panda bear - person pitch
the knife - silent shout
sigur rós - Ágætis Byrjun
sufjan stevens - illinoise
m.i.a. - kala
outkast - stankonia
the avalanches - since i left you
daft punk - discovery
interpol - turn on the bright lights
white stripes - white blood cells
animal collective - sung tongs
joanna newsom - ys
spoon - kill the moonlight
wilco - yankee hotel foxtrot
jay-z - the blueprint
burial - untrue
modest mouse - the moon & antarctica
the strokes - is this it?
the streets - original pirate material
deerhunter - microcastle
hot chip - the warning
broken social scene - you forgot it in people

happy 2010 all.

what the frak is a horchata?

really, vampire weekend? is this where we're at in our relationship? i mean you had a fun album last year and you managed to turn a lot of umbrella into smiles at all points wet this summer (too soon?) but now i'm expected to take valuable time out of my work day to sit by my computer and stare at some nebulous countdown for a tiny crumb from your new album? really???

ah, who am i kidding, the track's embedded after the jump. new album contra is out jan. 12. sounds like more of the same but "funner," i guess...

phoenix = this year's cut copy?

it may not be besting animal collective or grizzly bear on end of year lists come december, but damn if wolfgang amadeus phoenix still hasn't proven to be one of the more prolific releases of '09. like the aforementioned cut copy's excellent in ghost colours released one year prior, it's a sweetly seductive summer record for all seasons that has inspired remix after remix after remix, none of which have managed to fuck up the source material. yet.


phoenix is currently prepping a full album of nothing but remixes of their songs (shades of sally shapiro's remix romances). it's seeing a digital release on oct. 13 but they've been offering fans a steady stream of teasers via their blog, most being different takes on fabled next single "fences" (good choice btw). the takes by friendly fires and soft pack (which may as well just be a cover) are well and good, but my personal favorite of the bunch so far is animal collective's lovely spin on album instrumental "love like a sunset," which they've even enhanced with their own vocals.

check it out and find out your own favorites right now.

pop that y-rocks 9.22.09

my weekly circuit program airs tonight from 10-midnight and again saturday at the same time. this week, i'm rocking new music from the golden filter, the pains of being pure at heart, a place to bury strangers and more.

this wasn't the playlist i originally set out to run with this week. I actually did a complete overhaul of the first hour upon discovering newer stuff this week. overall, i'm happy with the changes and think everything flows a lot better than it did last week.

full playlist lies beyond...



the golden filter - thunderbird
hercules & love affair - i can't wait
the pains of being pure at heart - higher than the stars (saint etienne visits lord spank remix)
phoenix - fences (friendly fires remix)
lake heartbeat - mystery (ydre rymden dansskola remix)
the rapture - house of jealous lovers
toro y moi - left alone at night (pink skull remix)
ghosthustler - only me to trust
a place to bury strangers - in your heart (cereal spiller remix)
gang gang dance - bebey (dj/rupture and matt shadetek remix)
the very best - rain dance (feat. m.i.a.)
memory tapes - bicycle (horrors cosmic dub)
the xx - basic space (pariah remix)
animal collective vs. the beach boys - i'm waiting for my banshee
a sunny day in glasgow - passionate introverts
caribou - hendrix with ko
maps - i dream of crystal
the big pink - too young to love (delorean remix)
desire - under your spell
basement jaxx - feelings gone (feat. sam sparro)
the field - the more that i do (foals remix)

if you have any requests or recommendations for next week's playlist, don't be shy. shoot me an email or leave one in the comments below...

scoring life with the golden filter

another random daily activity, another oddly appropriate soundtrack, this time courtesy of two tracks, old and new, from one of my favorite up and coming blog artists of 2009, the golden filter...


my love affair with this group actually began not with their first single, the epic song-of-the-year contender "solid gold," but with a remix of one of my favorite singles of 2008, cut copy's "far away." the winning disco glide they gave to that track prompted me to check out their own stuff (or what little of it i could find) and from there, i was hooked.

with nary a roller rink in sight where i live, i often find myself shuffling to solid gold while doing the next best thing: walking. i walk to work. i walk home. i walk aimlessly throughout the city, and every time "solid gold" comes on my ipod, my walk hastens into a catwalk-worthy strut, regardless of who's watching. the simple yet insistent beats (both programmed and live), the razor-sharp synth jabs, even singer penelope's languily lilting vocals inspire blissfully linear momentum.

this past weekend, i found myself walking up the avenue of the arts to wxpn in the evening to do some prep work for my radio show (more details on that later) and guess what came on the shuffle? as the song reached its percolating crescendo, something almost magical happened. the lights that dress and caress the upper windows of the buildings on the block of broad street between walnut and locust street began to blink, changing colors in nearly perfect synch with the song's twinkling final chorus like some large-scale, metropolitan mirrorball. i kept waiting for the passers-by on the street to form a soul train.

needless to say, this fanciful occurrence re-piqued my interest in the filter (who've been more or less radio silent throughout the summer) going into the new week. i came into work to do my daily morning blog scroll and came across the most gloriously timed news, they have a new single coming out in november on dummy! it's called "thunderbird" and the label was oh so kind enough to release the track (along with a pretty sick dub version) this week for free download.

they recommended playing the track "somewhere very high just before dawn breaks, somewhere very cold and very bright, or at night anywhere the northern nights can be expected." i couldn't wait to find anywhere like that so i listened to it while walking through the city, just as the sun was setting. daybreak, twilight, this song is all about the sun. the percolating bass in the verse was personified by the dull glimmers of light bouncing off of the building surrounding me. and as the soaring chorus took flight, i passed the buildings and the sun literally blossumed out from behind, bathing and blinding me while penelope's donna summer wail (i dare you not to think of "i feel love" when hearing this) simply went higher and higher until it seemed to be swallowed into its own light. the feeling i was left with was downright ethereal.

i've re-listened to the track at least ten more times in the twenty four hour span since then. no such moment of equal euphoria has happened again yet. but i doubt that will stop me from trying at least another ten times by tomorrow.

get the song here and see if you have your own revelation.