Pantha du Prince - A Nomad’s Retreat (from “Black Noise”)
Loving this today and doing a little chair-dancing (you know what I mean). Still such a great album. One of my favourite tracks.
Nothing special about the video, just listen.
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Bonobo - Cirrus (from “The North Borders”)
Can I just say that I love this very very much! Awesome video here too (this is the radio edit version, the song is a little longer on the album).
The Javanese hammered gamelan instruments (or are they thumb pianos?) and bell sounds make this song for me. Meditative and groovy!
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Hey, girl…
Really digging this lady’s album Devotion lately. Not my usual thing, but damn. Such a great voice. I have a special place in my heart for Brit singers who do R&B really well. If you love Massive Attack, Annie Lennox, Sade or that new Rhye album this is something to check.
Check out this grooveshark Jessie Ware playlist for a taste. -
Sharon Van Etten / Shearwater - Stop Draggin’ My Heart Around
Best. Cover. Ever.
Sharon’s got that awesome Stevie rough edge in her singing too, magical! -
Daft Punk - Get Lucky (Soul Train mashup)
Yes yes yes. This is the best video for this song yet. -
Daft Punk - Random Access Memories - 8/10
The fact that Columbia Records greenlit a conceptual and massive release like this shows that there are still record industry people who recognize good talent when they hear it. I am not a fan of Pharell’s singing. He could be smoother but does an adequate job on “Get Lucky.” His real shining moment for me is “Lose Yourself To Dance.” Has there ever been a catchier roboto background vocal than the scaling “come on come on come on” on the same song? Overall I like that Daft Punk have reinvented themselves and shown that a few catchy house beats do not a career make. These guys have moved into a new musical realm with this one. I love the focus on 70s and 80s soft rock, funk and disco that they flirted with this time around (a touch of Nile Rodgers’ influence no doubt whose songs for Chic are still seminal dance tunes to this day). There’s almost a channeling of Earth, Wind and Fire at times too on this release which I really love. The one misstep for me seems to be Panda Bear (as if they were going for a Brian Wilson element that seems totally out of place with the electronics and mood of the album). However… I also love the vocoder. Although sounding undeniably retro, it’s wonderfully mastered here as a key ingredient of the song that has place, not some throwaway auto-tune gimmick to move units. The Paul Williams tune “Touch” is so great and out there as well, a wonderful space operatic! The closer “Contact” sounds like a great distorted cassette tape soundtrack for a 70s science show a la Jean-Michel Jarre (who seems to be a touchstone for his fellow Frenchmen on Random Access Memories as well). Gonna be a critic’s topper for 2013 I am sure.
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Still Corners - The Trip (from “Strange Pleasures”)
Love this new album!
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Yo La Tengo - Watch Out For Me Ronnie
Yes it’s the same band as my previous post! Now that’s #range
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Yo La Tengo - Daphnia
Yes. -
Bat For Lashes - All Your Gold (live at Coachella 2013)
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Bat For Lashes - A Wall
Been digging this song all day.
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“Apart from sexuality, the most effective form of communication is music.”
— Michael Haneke
And maybe more so.
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Low’s 10th full-length studio album was produced by Wilco’s Jeff Tweedy, who avoids any temptation to radically stretch the Minnesota band’s boundaries. But he wisely dials up the interplay between its two singers, while letting bits of piano and spare percussive rumbles provide a jolt of portent.
Yes! One of my faves!
