September 2012 Playlist

A collection of some of my favorite songs that I heard this month:

Levek "Black Mold Grow"

Beer in the Hand/Beer in the Face™: Grimes Concert Review

A beer in the hand for a job well done

A beer in the face for the ultimate punishment

Awwwyeahhh! Time for America's favorite game--Beer in the Hand or Beer in the Face™: Concert Edition.

Today's review: Grimes/Elite Gymnastics/Myths

Beer in the Hand to:  Claire. Oh, sorry, that's Grimes (we're on a first-name basis). Claire got it in--albeit for only about 40 minutes. The music sounded great live. I was into it.

Beer in the Hand to: Claire's hair--she's a brunette now!

Beer in the Face to: Elite Gymnastics. Ugh, it was painful to watch this dude on stage. He actually declared at one point that he was "really awkward", as if anyone in the crowd wasn't already aware. After pulling a girl on stage to do the Gangmam Style dance (for the sole purpose to get things really fucking awkward)...his laptop fucked up. After thirty seconds of dead air, he butchered the vocals on the ensuing song.
Step your game up, man.

Beer in the Hand to: Beer. I was really drunk during this show.

Beer in the Face to: The girl standing in front of me. How dare she start ice grillin' me like I want to bump into her. THIS PLACE IS PACKED. I'M JUST TRYIN' TO GET MY DANCE ON.

Beer in the Face to: The Paradise. I don't think I'm a fan of this venue. Despite the renovations, the views are too obstructed. Dapps to the people who book the shows--y'all get beers in the hands---but the structure...pfft Beer in the Face.

(As for Myths...I'm not sure. They were interesting-bordering-on cool as performers. I wasn't really feeling the music itself. Despite being as "edgy" as possible, I'm left feeling like they were pretty vanilla.)

Sera Cahoone "Deer Creek Canyon"

Deer Creek Canyon is where I'm from 

And it's where you are

Still 

Lana Del Rey "Ride" Produced by Rick Rubin

I'm tired of feeling like I'm fucking crazy 

James Franco Has a New Band, Makes a Good Song

James Franco keeps it movin' like a bus driven by Sandra Bullock. He acts, he writes, he learns and now-- he has a band to brag about.

The outfit is called Daddy.

How To Dress Well

I love How To Dress Well.

I love How To Dress Well so much that I not only own his first CD, but the 7"  EP he released...and I don't own a record player. 

I love How to Dress Well so much that I have resisted the urge to listen to any streams of the album because I wanted to wait for the real thing.

I love How To Dress Well so much I didn't watch the UK-Florida game this weekend so that I could take a 30 minute bus trip to buy his new album...only to find that the Newbury Comics in Braintree doesn't carry it.

That hurt. That cut deep.

I returned to my house, head in hands, and fired it up on Spotify.

dear...DEAR GOD!

IT IS AMAZING!

IT IS EVERYTHING I HOPED IT WOULD BE AND MORE!

GIVE IT A LISTEN IMMEDIATELY!

Paul Westerberg "My Road Now"

Paul Westerberg released a new song. Do you need any more convincing?

Download it for free here

Beats Antique "Beauty Beats"

Shit is aching for a freestyle.

Thought of the Day

The only thing people like more than getting in at the ground level of a movement is declaring it dead.

Sky Ferreira-Everything is Embarrassing

Coulda been my anything
but now everything is embarrassing

Sinjin Hawke-Crystal Dust

All trap music. All the time.

Waka Flocka Flame-Salute Me or Shoot Me 4

Yeah, I downloaded a Waka Flocka Flame mixtape today for the first time cuz, you know, if a random street fight breaks out you wanna have the appropriate soundtrack readily available.

Richard Harrow and Jimmy Darmody woulda blasted this at all times if they knew about it. Seriously.
Mute the Boardwalk video and play some Waka and tell me it doesn't make sense.

Why? Strawberries

I have always wanted to like Why? but I feel like every track I've listened to has left me underwhelmed. Until "Strawberries".

The D.O.T. "You Never Asked"

Y'all know I love me some Mike Skinner. So, when I read that he has a new project called The D.O.T. with Rob Harvey I went from 6 to midnight.

The first single from the album (dropping October 8) features Danny Brown and Clare Maguire and is titled "You Never Asked".

I'm glad to see you're still alive, Mike. You're lookin' like a saint. 

Pinback "His Phase"

inc. "The Place"

I feel like we've been here before
I feel like we've been here before

Wise Blood

Late to the party on this one, but fashionably late (as always). Wise Blood is the artist. His songs are crack. Check the bandcamp if you like what you hear.

A Few Words about the Mercury Prize

If Alt-J doesn't win it is a cryin' shame. 'Nuff respect to all the contestants, but this album is fucking outstanding.

I'm gonna post the album in its entirety once again, just for good measure:

Not Sure

Sometimes, I can't get a read on a song. In fact, this happens frequently. From now I'm I will file them all in one neat, tidy, intuitive category--Not Sure If.

Feel Free to weigh in--do you think this deserves a Beer in the Hand™ or a Beer in the Face™?

 For today's consideration, we have Geisty by Thin Gaze.
:

MOONS remix DIIV

This track made my jaw drop, thereby spilling Indian food all over my shirt.  Stories, right?
   

Captain Murphy "The Killing Joke"

For most rappers, cribbing your title from a seminal comic and using the same sample as Kanye in a cult-classic Jay-z track would be too much to overcome.Then again, no one has ever mistaken Captain Murphy for most rappers.

For Murph, the allusions are just setting the scene for a walk in the park--a park filled with demons and black magic and Batman references.

Teen Daze and Frankie Rose "Union"

Frankie Rose is responsible for one of my favorite releases of the year, and her voice is the perfect candidate to navigate this Teen Daze production that careens from caustic-electro to namaste-inducing chill.

How To Dress Well on Pitchfork Weekly

I love How To Dress Well. So much so that I haven't even listened to the advanced release of his album (I'm waiting 'till that shit is physically in my hands). I was hyped to see this segment of Tom Krell on Pitchfork Weekly. Can't wait for this LP to drop.

Girl Talk's Cat

This has been making the rounds because it is genius. Girl Talk's cat chiming in on some Collective Soul.

Beer in the Hand ™ to this cat and to Greg Gillis.

Jay-z's Blueprint Turns 11

Despite Jay-z's lack of understanding about the Occupy Movement, he remains the best rapper of all-time. Today marks the 11th anniversary of his classic The Blueprint. Happy bday.

Death Grips Interview

Rap punks Death Grips do an interview

Macklemore & Ryan Lewis "Thrift Shop" ft. Wanz

On-the-rise MC Macklemore and producer wunderkind Ryan Lewis made a really fuckin' fun hip-hop song with "Thrift Shop."

Kilo Kish "Creep Wave"

On that creep shit. Kilo Kish-- Beer in the Hand™  for this one.

Die Antwoord "Diz iz why im hot" (zef remix)

EVERYTHING ABOUT THIS IS GOLDEN!

DIIV "Doused" Video

I only got to see the last few songs of the DIIV set when they opened for Those Darlins and Best Coast a few months ago, which only adds to my excitement for the DIIV/Wild Nothing show taking place in a few weeks.

The shoegaze-y indie rockers recently released a video for their track "Doused", one of the many highlights from their Oshin LP, which you can view below.

Can't Stop, Won't Stop

I'm in the middle of reading Can't Stop, Won't Stop: A History of the Hip-Hop Generation  by Jeff Chang and I'm loving it. If you're looking for a good read, check it out.

And just for good measure, some songs and artists I've either discovered or learned a lot more about due to this book:

Divine Fits on Jimmy Fallon

I'm buying this album as soon as possible--great performance.(Via Consequence of Sound)

Eternal Summers "You Kill" Video

If you don't like rock and roll with a female lead vocalist, I don't know to to tell ya. Maybe this joint from the Eternal Summers can change your mind.


If you like it, buy the record over at Kanine Records, which is also home to Chairlift, Braids and Surfer Blood. Birds of a feather...

Wild Nothing "Disapper Always"

Its been a week since I bought the new Wild Nothing LP Nocturne and I strongly recommend anyone who is reading this to follow suit. This is my favorite track on the album so far:

Bob Dylan "Most of the Time"

This song has been in my head constantly recently, for whatever reason.

Ellie Goulding "Anything" (Blood Diamonds Remix)

Blood Diamonds and the current Top 40 it-girl  Ellie Goulding make some pop gold:

Teen Daze "New Life"

Just nod your head to the beat, and then check out the bandcamp if you haven't yet.

Pusha-T, Dominic Lords "Pierce" Remix

This one is straight fire. 'Nuff said.

Halls "White Chalk"

Today, like every day, is a perfect day for a stark piano ballad sung by a British man.

Halls' "White Chalk"  conjures up ominous imagery with tried-and-true elements of a haunting dirge (a Gregorian-eque backing chorus, sparse production, solemn lyrics) but never makes it feel like a paint-by-number. Check the video:

Party Trash

Party Trash dropped this mix over at Rose Quartz and it is what the kids these days would call "dope" or "tight". (Feel free to insert your favorite colloquialism when you describe it to your friends).

If you like what you hear, head over to the bandcamp and download it.

The tracklist is as such:

1. Intro 
2. Al Green - Tired of Being Alone 
3. Gene Chandler - Rainbow 
4. Otis Redding - Pain in My Heart 
5. The Temptations - Ain't too Proud to Beg 
6. Smokey Robinson - The Tracks of my Tears 
7. Jimmy Ruffin - What Becomes of the Broken Hearted 
8. Four Tops - Baby I Need Your Love 
9. BB King - The Thrill is Gone 
10. James and Bobby Purify - Im Your Puppet

Grantland XX Article

There is a really good write-up on the XX over at Grantland. Check it out if you have a minute.