Well here it finally is. The top 15 songs of last year. It’s what, March? Took me long enough – sorry. But this list just had to be finished, as it is still my go-to playlist on my iPod.
Look for some actual 2010 content coming soon (so many new albums to talk about!), and enjoy the excellent and long-awaited conclusion:
15. Owl City – “Fireflies”
Favorite radio song of the year
14. Discovery – “Orange Shirt” Ra Ra Riot + Vampire Weekend =
13. Julian Casablancas – “11th Dimension”
Makes me look forward to anything and everything by TheStrokes
12. Chiddy Bang – “The Opposite Of Adults (KIDS)”
Best sample of another song this year
11. Animal Collective – “My Girls”
An almost 6 minute sprawling epic. Like the Return of the King (of songs)
10. Owl City – “Hello Seattle” Postal Service ripoff? Maybe. Excellent song? Definitely
9. Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros – “Home”
Out of nowhere band/song that resonates with me for whatever reason and shot up the list
8. Swimming With Dolphins – “Everything’s A Miracle”
The type of song I would make if I had any talent
7. Kid Cudi – “Pursuit Of Happiness”
Best collaboration of the year with MGMT and Ratatat
6. Passion Pit – “Sleepyhead”
Song I’ve listened to the most this year…not surprising
5. Matt And Kim – “Daylight”
So infectious and catchy – even more so in person
4. Phoenix – “Lisztomania”
Best French import since the Statue of Liberty; Phoenix is legit
3. Grizzly Bear – “Two Weeks”
About as perfect a song as can be written
2. fun. – “At Least I’m Not As Sad (As I Used To Be)”
Best played live song I saw this year; fantastically sung by Nate
1. Passion Pit – “The Reeling”
Not the best song I’ve seen live or the best sung or the best from a purely musical standpoint. Feel like it has a little bit of everything making it stand out as my favorite song of the year
We all really want to finish this list out for a number of reasons (time to move on in earnest to 2010, several of you have told me need to find out what’s next, etc.), but I thought posting the final 55 songs all at once was too much. Look for the final posting later this week.
Enjoy the rest of the Top 115 list/playlist, and now you have more new stuff to listen to at work!
55. The Asteroids Galaxy Tour – “Around The Bend”
Best song used in an Apple commercial
54. Regina Spektor – “The Calculation”
Distinct voice makes for refreshingly good songs
53. Karen O And The Kids – “All Is Love”
Sweetest song of the year
52. Kid Cudi – “Dat New New (Viking Remix)”
Random song not on the album, but found it on Hypem.com
51. Swimming With Dolphins – “Sunset, 1989”
Synthesizer? Check. Autotune? Check. Still awesome.
50. The Very Best – “Warm Heart Of Africa”
Basically a Vampire Weekend song on someone else’s album
49. Thao And The Get Down Stay Down – “Cool Yourself”
High school friend continues blow up – great live show
48. Miley Cyrus – “Party In The USA”
Guilty pleasure of the year. Don’t hate.
47. Cobra Starship – “Good Girls Go Bad”
Soft spot for both Gabe and Leighton
46. Chiddy Bang – “Truth”
Anything featuring Passion Pit is bound to be catchy
45. La Roux – “Bulletproof (Redial Remix)”
Excellent beat somehow improved by the remix makes this a fun listen
44. Camera Obscura – “French Navy”
Late on the bandwagon, but recently shot up my list. Lead singer’s voice reminds me of Zooey D.
43. Discovery – “Osaka Loop Line”
Best duo side project song of the year
42. Flight Of The Conchords – “Hurt Feelings”
Funny, yet sad…hence, sad clown song of the year
41. The Lonely Island – “Motherlovers”
Could not get enough of this song – Justin and Andy need their own album.
40. The Hood Internet – “Good Ol Fashion Rump Shaker”
Favorite mashup of the year….and I like my mashups
39. Florence And The Machine – “Kiss With A Fist”
Shortest song on the list, but sure does pack a punch (haha…get it?)
38. Ingrid Michaelson – “Everybody”
With respect to Karen O, Regina, and others – Ingrid is my indie sweetheart of the year
37. Metric – “Sick Muse”
Sound a little like Stars. They more than hold their own, however.
36. Passion Pit – “Little Secrets”
Could have put the entire Manners album on here (and I almost do – keep reading)
35. Snob Scrilla – “Chasing Ghosts”
Sweet drums, good rapping in this random one
34. Weezer – “I Want You To”
While Weezer has gone downhill, they’re still catchy and I still like this song
33. Matt And Kim – “Good Ol Fashion Nightmare”
Biggest, Longest Continuous Smile Award goes to…Kim
32. fun. – “All The Pretty Girls”
Ex-Format member, Nate Ruess, excels with his new band
31. Vampire Weekend – “Horchata”
If the new songs are any indication their sophomore effort coming out in January that came out in January will live up to the large expectations
30. Passion Pit – “Moth’s Wings”
Hello again Passion Pit. Sit down, stay awhile.
29. Chromeo – “Night By Night”
More Canadians on the list make some electrofunk magic with this one
28. Kid Cudi – “Day N Nite”
My most played rap song this year
27. Empire Of The Sun – “Standing On The Shore (Dirty Disco Youth Remix)”
Favorite remix of the year – which is saying something
26. Animal Collective – “Summertime Clothes”
Second best song on the album still beats most everything else
25. Phoenix – “1901”
Ditto
24. Thao And The Get Down Stay Down – “Know Better Learn Faster”
Maybe I’m biased, but song is undeniably good. Expect big things.
23. The Lonely Island – “I’m On A Boat”
Funniest song of the year. Hands down. Previously never thought I would want to own a nautical themed pashmina afghan
So Tripp and I made our “Top 10 Albums of 2009″ lists (and a few others which will be posted eventually). Oh but that Galkin, he went one step further, and created his Top 100 – nay, Top 115 – songs of the year.
So I’m going to publish this list as a four-part piece over the next few weeks, and I’ll be putting every song on here for you to listen to. Great work Galkin, so everyone reading, enjoy:
Here are my top 115 songs of the year. Why 115 you ask? Well mainly because I just listened to way too much music this year and there were bands/songs that I felt deserved some recognition that I couldn’t bear to cut. So instead of cheating and having 15 ties to include them all, I just expanded the list.
There are a couple more things to keep in mind. First, I only included songs that appeared on albums that were released in 2009 or songs that were singles from upcoming albums being rereleased in 2010. As such, there are things you won’t see on the list even though they were prominent in 2009 (Kings of Leon for example; Only By The Night was released November 2008). Second this was really hard. Not so much to simply choose all the songs I liked from the year (although that took plenty of time itself), but more so to figure out some way to put them in any meaningful order. I did my best and finally settled on an order I can live with.
If I were to do it again in a week I’m sure I would go back and move things around.
115. Black Eyed Peas – “I Got A Feeling (Mr Vega Dirty NY And Chi-Town House Remix)”
I got a feeling the songs on the list will get much better – I promise…but heard it enough this year during fun times that it stuck.
114. Asher Roth – “I Love College”
Ok, I lied. Not a good song, but who didn’t find themselves singing it in the back of their heads?
113. The Swell Season – “In These Arms”
Real list starts now…Once stars started a band in real life too with positive results
112. The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart – “Young Adult Friction”
One of the best song titles of the year
111. Neko Case – “People Got A Lotta Nerve” New Pornographers singer knows how to do it solo too
110. Girls – “Lust For Life”
“Hell Hole Ratrace” got more end-of-year critical praise, but I enjoyed this one more
109. M. Ward – “Never Had Nobody Like You”
List had to have something with Zooey Deschanel in it. C’mon now, you know me better than that.
108. YACHT – “Psychic City”
Really long, really slow song with almost as much speaking as singing. Somehow it works.
107. Lady Gaga – “Bad Romance”
She just keeps on producing radio hits – pretty impressive
106. Boys Like Girls – “She’s Got A Boyfriend Now”
Pop punk is still very much in the repertoire
105. Dirty Projectors – “Stillness Is The Move”
Found the Dirty Projectors a little overhyped, but they do have a cool sound
104. Cartel – “Let’s Go”
This is the Cartel I’m used to. Let’s just forget the previous album ever existed.
103. Silversun Pickups – “Panic Switch”
Solid first single from their follow-up album – songs are too long though
102. Jay-Z – “Empire State Of Mind”
Got tired of it, but still a very good song…any and all knockoffs for other cities are lame
101. Dashboard Confessional – “Belle Of The Boulevard”
Chris Carraba – still plugging away with his Emo rock that knows how to cut to the core of me
100. Lily Allen – “The Fear”
Definitely keeps it real – that’s why I like her…and she’s cute
99. Just Jack – “Embers”
One of the many songs discovered through Gossip Girl
98. Jason Derulo – “Watcha Say”
Blatant use of another song, but at least he picked a good one
97. Bon Iver – “Blood Bank”
Looking forward to a new album next year
96. Imogen Heap – “First Train Home”
Not as catchy as “Hide and Seek” as featured on “Watcha Say”, but nice little song off the new album
95. Two Tongues – “Wowee Zowee”
Second best duo side project song of the year
94. Miley Vs Notorious – “Party And Bullshit (In The USA) (Hathbanger Mix)”
Opposite ends of the spectrum come together for pure delightfulness
93. Tommy Sparks – “She’s Got Me Dancing”
Second best song used in an Apple commercial
92. The XX – “Shelter (Them Jeans Drum Edit)”
Remix makes a good song better by making it a little faster
91. Tim And Jean – “Come Around” Passion Pit knockoff which means they’re the next big thing. And they’re only 15 and 18 yeas old, respectively.
90. 3OH!3 – “Don’t Trust Me”
Don’t trust a ho. Never trust a ho.
89. Franz Ferdinand – “No You Girls”
Familiar sound, but nothing wrong with that
88. John Mayer – “Heartbreak Warfare”
Nobody has more “heartbreak” songs for someone who gets so many girls
87. Cage The Elephant – “Ain’t No Rest For The Wicked”
Will be seeing them in 5 years on VH1′s One Hit Wonder show of the 2000s
86. White Lies – “Farewell To The Fairground”
Just a solid rock song – not much else to say about this one
That’s it for now. Enjoy these songs, and check back for more soon!
Between my vacation for the last 10 days, and the fact that we didn’t really get our shit together until the last week of December, I’m still playing catch up a bit. If you know me, or if you’ve been reading WJM for a bit, I’m sure this doesn’t surprise you.
Below is Tripp’s Top 10 Albums of 2009. We have some obvious overlap here, but there’s also some really great stuff here that I didn’t list…and he wrote a lot more than I did haha.
Note: I didn’t link to songs directly this time, but a quick search for any of these artists on hypem.com will lead you to what you’re looking for.
Enjoy:
10) jj – jj n° 2
Light, breezy, and intoxicatingly beautiful, jj have created an album that brings to mind a warm, sunlit spring day where the listener has no cares in the world. Yet throughout the nine short songs of Swedish band jj’s first full-length release, a feeling emerges that there is a weight, a gravity to this album that is not reflected by a quick glance or a brief snippet of vocals and instrumentation. Listening to the album in its entirety, focusing on the lyrics (especially in lead songs “things will never be the same again” and “from africa to malaga”) and the technical proficiency (with the Lil Wayne-inspired “ecstasy” leading the way) gives one the full view of an astonishingly complex, brilliant, and simply beautiful work of art.
9) Drummer – Feel Good Together
The most consistent album on this list also doubles as the album least likely to appear on most end-of-year lists. A collection of drummers from other bands (led by Patrick Carney from The Black Keys), Drummer was formed in early 2009 and put out this collection of rock songs which ironically focuses very little on the drums. Instead, guitar hooks and synth backing lead to a set of songs which powers through from start to finish, at no point holding back or letting up. “Mature Fantasy,” the best song on the album, showcases how the drummers-turned-band can change tempo, volume, and emotion on the fly without losing a beat, something they do on every song with remarkable skill.
8 ) Matt & Kim – Grand
The high energy. The slightly off-kilter drumming. The staccato pacing. While not the best album of the year, Grand stands out as the defining sound of 2009. The album that produced the song that produced the Bacardi ad that introduced the world to Matt & Kim goes down as one of the best albums of the year thanks to its recognizable yet entirely unique sound.
7) Dirty Projectors – Bitte Orca
The hipster band of the year put out the hipster song of the year (“Stillness is the Move”), and as a result I’ve never wanted to be a hipster more. The sound of this album is unlike anything I’ve heard before, and is fairly well indescribable for someone so new to the hipster scene, so I’ll just say that I love it and leave it at that.
6) fun. – Aim and Ignite
A sweeping, epic pop album that features two of the best songs of the year (“Barlights” and “At Least I’m Not As Sad (As I Used to Be)”). The first of four straight albums I saw performed live this year; this concert was the most fun of the four. Something about fun.’s music just makes the listener smile; the band’s music lives up to the band’s name.
5) Phoenix – Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix
Home to two of the most popular songs of the year (“1901” and “Lisztomania”), Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix may be the surprise hit album of the year. Perhaps more than any other indie album, this album crossed over into the popular consciousness and got the buzz it deserved among mainstream listeners and critics. Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix is full of powerful songs that, upon hearing them, won’t be leaving your head anytime soon.
4) Yeah Yeah Yeahs – It’s Blitz
Of all the albums on this list, It’s Blitz contains the most songs that could easily be seen as radio singles. Led by Karen O’s amazing voice (which, if you’ve seen her live, is but a part of her awesome stage presence), the Yeah Yeah Yeahs have crafted an album that, pure and simple, rocks from start to finish. While “Zero” was the lead single and has been named the Song of the Year by multiple sources, there are nine other songs which could be considered the album’s best (Hint: there are only nine other songs on the album).
3) Passion Pit – Manners
The most anticipated album of the year for the list-makers here at WJM, and it certainly did not disappoint. Just as good live as it is on your iPod (based on the two times I saw them this year, at least), Manners places the most tracks of any album in my Top 40 Song list with three (“Little Secrets”, “Moth’s Wings”, and “Sleepyhead,” which was accidentally left off the list submitted to WJ). It could easily have been more.
2) Sunset Rubdown – Dragonslayer Dragonslayer is an album not likely to be seen on many end-of-year lists, but this album was above all others for me this summer. Over a short 9-track playlist, haunting piano play combines with beautiful drumming and lyrics to make an absolutely astonishing album. There can be no doubt, though, that my love for this album is based mostly on my love of one song: “Dragon’s Lair”, the ten-plus minute long, somewhat-titular track that ends the album. While it’s not the most beautiful song of the year (“Stillness is the Move”) or the most impressive (“My Girls”), “Dragon’s Lair” is the song I most want to introduce to the public consciousness. It reads like a novel in the way it builds to a climax, and is a perfect capper to an album that tells an amazing story. Give the lyrics a listen and be inspired.
1) Animal Collective – Merriweather Post Pavilion
Obviously. On January 5th, less than a week into 2009, Stereogum asked if MPP was the best album of 2009. 51 weeks later, there can be no doubt that the answer is still yes. The most technically proficient, yet beautiful and moving album of the year, MPP redefined music and its possibilities in the future. The construct of “My Girls” is an absolutely amazing feat: a few basic lines, and a few basic hooks, layered on top of each other at different points in the song, shows exactly what music can and should be, from the lyrics to the instrumentation. MPP is clearly the album of the year.
Why don’t we start the new decade by recapping 09? Here are the Weird Jim Top 10 Albums of 2009. You’ll see some stuff that I have talked about previously, as well as some new stuff that is just now making its way onto the site.
Additionally, keep an eye out over the next few weeks for some more top 2009 (and 2010!) lists from Galkin and Tripp, as well as some increased activity in 2010 as they help me keep WJM a little more active! Now without further adieu:
10) White Lies – To Lose My Life
Heard about these guys in a 2009 albums to watch, and they are awesome. They talk about death and emo-y stuff like that a little too much for my taste, but they usually keep it upbeat and fun – so it’s acceptable, right?
White Lies – To Lose My Life
9) Miike Snow – Miike Snow
Heard “Burial,” loved the song. Heard “Animal,” convinced of his talent. Great album – can’t wait until he comes to DC.
Miike Snow – Animal
8 ) Harlem Shakes – Technicolor Health
The upbeat and uplifting song “Strictly Game” got me through some tough times (at work haha) earlier in the year, and I’m so glad I got to see them live before they broke up…
Harlem Shakes – Strictly Game
7) Dave Matthews Band – Big Whiskey and the GrooGrux King
One of his best albums ever (that’s right, I said it), although sometimes gets a bit heavy on the electronic guitar for me. I tend to love Dave for the jazziness of the group, especially his live stuff, but this album is still just really great.
Dave Matthews Band – Shake Me Like a Monkey
6) Matt and Kim – Grand
The most exciting music I’ve ever heard made by just two people on a keyboard and drum set. Amazing. Seeing them live from 10 feet away was one of the most fun concerts I’ve been too. Julie, if you’re reading this, I still need those damn pictures.
Matt and Kim – Good Ol’ Fashioned Nightmare
5) Phoenix – Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix
First album was good, second album is freaking great. Unfortunately missed seeing them when they came to DC, but apparently it was pretty awesome. I love this album, and I love how they’re on a Cadillac (I think that’s the right ad?) commercial now.
Phoenix – 1901
4) Discovery – LP
I routinely go to this album immediately upon turning on my iPod. Usually (as it’s an unfortunately-short 30 minutes long) I listen to the whole thing before finding something else. I especially love how their cover of Jackson 5 came out nearly-instantly after MJ died. Loved seeing this LP for sale at the Ra Ra Riot concert.
Discovery – Swing Tree
3) Passion Pit – Manners
If I don’t go to Discovery upon turning on my iPod, I usually end up on Passion Pit‘s Manners. Almost every song on this album is amazing, and like Harlem Shakes they got me through some tough times earlier this year. And some tough commutes nowadays! Love how they’re now on a Palm ad. And I know that I’m sounding like a broken record at this point, but seeing them in DC from 20 feet away was simply incredible. Tripp saw them at ACL, but I’m sure it just didn’t compare to The Black Cat.
Passion Pit – Little Secrets
2) Dirty Projectors – Bitte Orca
I’m not bitter that Tripp bailed on our seeing the Dirty Projectors in DC. No really, I’m not, I promise. Even though we had tickets to the sold out show and everything. The music on this album is just incredible. The girls’ singing is amazing, the songs are new and different, and I can’t get enough.
Dirty Projectors – Stillness Is The Move
1) Animal Collective – Merriweather Post Pavilion
This album came out a year ago (literally), and it was sort of the beginning of a musically-experimental trend for me. I listened to MPP, and I liked a couple of songs. After 5 or 10 more listens though, I was in love with this album. And that was in January 2009. Every time I put this on, I get giddy haha.
All that, and the amount of times I’ve listened to this…and I just noticed a few days ago that the album cover is an optical illusion. Fitting…I think every time I listen to this album I hear something new, and that’s why this is easily my album of the year.
Animal Collective – My Girls
Happy New Year everyone. Hopefully everyone had a great 2009, fun holidays, and here’s to a sweet 2010.
In the final throes of this Friday-posting-blitzkrieg, I’m just going to share a few songs/links/band updates/etc. that I found recently, but can’t really classify into the typical WJM format.
Additionally, I read at I Guess I’m Floating that fun. has a little concert/live webcast (starts around 2 min 30 sec) floating around. I listened to part of it, and it’s pretty good stuff, but the video’s not great and I got annoyed with it haha.
Finally, here are just a few random songs I found that needed to be shared.
The first one is a song I found on some blog somewhere, and I just love it. I tried some of The Very Best’s other stuff, and couldn’t get into it, but this one featuring Vampire Weekend’s Ezra Koenig is just fantastic:
The Very Best – Warm Heart of Africa (ft Ezra Koenig)
(Approachability: Very High)
I found this remix while reading about and listening to Yes Giantess. Bo Flex is the producer/studio of Passion Pit…or something like that. I don’t entirely understand the relationship, but Passion Pit, Yes Giantess, and Bo Flex are all very closely tied. Whatever, the song is awesome:
US Royalty – Keep it Cool (Bo Flex Remix)
(App: High)
Another random remix of Passion Pit that I found, and it certainly fits with the other stuff I’ve posted today. Kind of a clubbed-up version of The Reeling:
Passion Pit – The Reeling (Shuttles Super Club Mega Mix)
(App: Medium/Low)
And that’s all I’ve got from this week – phew! Hope you enjoyed all the different posts today, and have a great weekend.
Yes Giantess is a new electro-synth-dance-pop band from Boston, MA. They are following right in the footsteps of bands like Passion Pit, Discovery, Ratatat, etc. The band members are Jan Rosenfeld (vocals/ synth), Chase Nicholl (synth), Karl Hohn (synth) and Joey Sulkowski (drums). Kind of funny listing them out like that, since 3/4 of the group plays “synth” haha. Trust me, if you like Passion Pit (which you probably know by now – I do), you’re going to love Yes Giantess.
Produced by Passion Pit’s own Ayad Al-Adhamy at his Bo Flex Music studio, they’re unleashing some of the biggest pop jams you’ll hear all year. “Tuff ‘n Stuff” is their masterwork, leading you in with a deceptively plaintive intro before dropkicking you in the jaw with a metric ton of Ratatat-sized synths and huge pop choruses. “You Were Young” stuns on the AA-side, all spiraling synths, infectious hooks and a seriously ill bridge that sounds like Daft Punk on a sugar high. Yeah, they’re pretty much the sonic equivalent of flying down the yellow brick road while its raining ecstasy and skittles, and yeah, you’re gonna want to taste this rainbow.
As it says above, “Tuff ‘n Stuff” is their leading single, but I personally prefer “You Were Young.” I think “Tuff ‘n Stuff” gets really good about 1/2 way through, at the 2-minute mark, but I could listen to “You Were Young” forever. I think I’ve already listened to it 10 times today haha. You can make your own judgment:
Yes Giantess – You Were Young (Approachability: Medium/High) Yes Giantess – Tuff ‘n Stuff (App: Medium)
Finally, here’s a bonus unrelated song! I heard this cover of Bob Dylan’s “All Along The Watchtower” over the weekend, and it just blew me away. I’ve heard many versions of this oft-covered song, but this one definitely ranks up there. (If you’ve heard this before, just know: I will almost certainly plead the fifth if you ask me where I heard this song hahah) Enjoy:
BT4 – All Along The Watchtower (App: Very High)
-WJ
The band members are Jan Rosenfeld (vocals/ synth), Chase Nicholl (synth), Karl Hohn (synth) and Joey Sulkowski (drums).
Gotye (pronounced “gore-ti-yeah”) is an up and coming Australian electro-pop artist whose real name is Wally De Backer. Gotye is allovertheblogs right now, primarily with his fantastic song “Learnalilgivinanlovin’.” The song is actually from his 2006 album Like Drawing Blood, but I think a new remix from Passion Pit (and a new 7″ release of the original with the remix)is giving Gotye new life.
It’s pretty hard not to like this song to be honest. It reminds me of something you might hear at a wedding, and is actually wonderfully reminiscent of Ray LaMontagne‘s “You Are The Best Thing.” I have heard a couple of Gotye‘s other songs, and I’m not entirely sold yet, but I’ll give them another listen. I mean, let’s be honest, he had me at “Learn…”
I’m not sure why it was easier for me to post more frequently when I was more busy, but for some reason it was. There’s a ton to post about, so I’ll get right into it.
Discovery – LP
Approachability: High/Medium
So the Discovery (Ra Ra Riot’s Wed Miles and Vampire Weekend’s Rostam Batmanglij side project) album LP is finally about to come out (July 7th). More importantly, this means that it has finally been leaked to the interwebs.Although clocking in at a disappointingly-short 30 minutes, those 30 minutes are almost certainly going to be in my top 10 albums of 2009. It’s like an indie-r&b-electo-remix-fest. At times they sound like Daft Punk, other times almost like Lil’ Wayne. Definitely a top this year. I can only dream of a Discovery, Ra Ra Riot, Vampire Weekend tour…
After RP3′s die hard search for Dirty Projector’s new Bitte Orca album, turns out we found another winner. My personal favorite track is “Stillness Is The Move,” but there’s also a great acoustic tune called “Two Doves,” and a more upbeat jam called “Useful Chamber.” And of course the opening track, “Cannibal Resource,” rocks out more classically.Find all these jams on hypem.com, and obviously the album on iTunes.
Finally, they’re coming to The Black Cat in DC later this year. Get ready.
Pony Pony Run Run
Approachability: Medium
RP3 also ran into this band when he found their blow-you-away single “Hey You.” If you like your typical electo-pop-rock band, then you’ll love Pony Pony Run Run. Their song “First Date Mullet,” besides having a hilarious name, is quite good.Since hypem is almost entirely remixes of Hey You, go check them out on their space: http://www.myspace.com/ponyponyrunrun
Ronald Jenkees
Approachability: High
This guy is totally insane, but he’s also so fun to listen to. He plays various keyboards to a pre-made beat in the background, and mixes it up and has fun. I personally think that his stuff on youtube is way better than the album itself, but you may disagree. My favorite song is definitely “Throwing Fire,”but you can hear him do everything from Led Zepplin to Canon in D.You can find all his stuff live on youtube: http://www.youtube.com/user/ronaldjenkees?blend=1&ob=4
Passion Pit & Harlem Shakes Concert
Approachability: Medium
(Dance-ability: Super High)
RP3, Galkin, Julie, and I (among others) went to see Passion Pit last week at The Black Cat in DC. Wow what a show. Cale Parks opened it up – who we all decided would be the best drummer for a cool electro-pop-rock band ever. Pretty good, but kinda tough to watch alone. Amazing drummer though.Harlem Shakes (as you know, one of my favorites) was next in line, and were also great, as expected. They apparently had a bunch of gear stolen the night before in Richmond, so they had to improvise about half their set. I felt kinda bad for them, but they still put a great show – even though half of it was basically performed acoustic. And then finally: Passion Pit.
The audience was already pretty lively, and by the time they were 2 songs in the whole place was jumping. They played most of my favorites, even though the set was really only about 45 minutes long. My only issue with the whole thing was that the lead singer, Michael Angelakos’s mic was way too low. You could hardly hear most of his vocals. Otherwise, great show.
And Julie even showed us how to have a dance party when packed up against a bunch of hipsters. Turns out it’s not even that hard!
And finally, Ra Ra Riot has announced another tour, and they’re headlining at the 930 Club in DC on October 1. I guess I know where I’ll be on October 1st haha. http://www.absolutepunk.net/showthread.php?t=1127572
I’m still trying to figure out how to get back to posting the actual songs so you can download without Blogger pulling my posts off. I might switch to wordpress or something, we’ll see.
Sorry it’s been so long since I posted anything. Now that I’m in between projects I have tons of free time, but I no longer sit at my desk all day working and listening to new music on the interweb. I’ve spent lots of time getting caught up in life, but have been quite delinquint in posting. My bad.
There’s a lot to talk about, so I’m going to switch up the format a little bit this time.
Long ago, in my senior year of high school, my friend Thomas and I became semi-obsessed with the song Teardrops, by Lovestation. We heard it on a streaming radio station, and after weeks of hunting it down, finally found it and downloaded it. Great song. Then, in a hilarious coincidence, I was listening to music on the interweb a few weeks ago, and ran across The XX’s cover of Teardrops. The XX is a new band from London, and hearing Teardrops really brought me back – plus it’s a great song to boot!
As is the sound of the moment, The Vanish is another new stand-out electro-pop-rock duo. They came from Australia (like Cut Copy, Empire of the Sun, Van She, and many other greats) and now live in New York City pumping out some awesome stuff. Here’s a bio they wrote:
The Vanish was born in 2008 when two workmates decided to shun the grind of their New York City jobs, pack up their desks and disappear. Suddenly aware that life isn’t a rehearsal, they took a gamble on the music game.
It’s the creative extension of their days playing together in teenage punk bands growing up in Australia – and this early influence remains. They now deal with the issues of identity and conformity faced in their previous nine-to-five lives over a boiling fusion of post-punk, nu-wave and electro.
Both experienced DJs and seasoned instrumentalists, The Vanish combine these aspects through a tapestry of late-night electro, rocking verses and crunching guitar chords reminiscent of The Clash in the late ‘70s. Back in Brooklyn, their self-titled EP is a teaser for their full-length release that’ll drop later this year.
DJ sets and live shows – bringing in drummer Ben Yabsley – will span across Australia and the United States in 2009.
I know they aren’t a new band, but I was listening to them in the car the other day, and thought they needed to be re-mentioned. The Airborne Toxic Event is an indie/alt-rock band from LA with a somewhat similar sound to The Strokes. The lead singer’s voice is incredibly distinctive, and they’ve got some great stuff out there: Wishing Well Does This Mean You’re Moving On
You can now listen to the new Dave Matthews Band album Big Whiskey and the Groogrux King in its entirety online through Pandora now. Pretty sweet promotion, and the album sounds fantastic. http://www.pandora.com/davematthewsband
As RP3 mentioned below, we’re going to see Passion Pit and Harlem Shakes in a little over a week, on June 9th. Both of their albums are go-to’s on my iPod, and I couldn’t be more excited. If you haven’t checked them out yet, definitely do so immediately.
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Posted by Weird Jim 
