new tunes Tuesday. Round 25. welcome, winter

i discussed with two friends this week their thoughts on winter music. one from here in DC, reaching for the quiet, introspective, somber, snowy. the other soon heading home to Minnesota and longing for time away from the city for endless car rides on wintered prairies, and a simple singer-songwriter accompaniment.

i, too, have retired my summer beats for the similar. i've been leaning heavy on the simple, the chilly, and the pronounced male vocals set against (mostly) beautiful arrangements.

here you have, my winter playlist. (yahoo media player hopefully coming soon!)


1. funeral singers, califone

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-2. island IS, volcano choir

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-3. deep blue sea, grizzly bear


4. nantes, beirut
5. panthers, wilco
6. temazcal, monsters of folk
7. carolina, m. ward
8. honey and the moon, joseph arthur
9. blue ridge mountains, fleet foxes

new tunes Tuesday. Round 24. my boys

following my last post i've decided to give a little nod to (some of) my favorite boys of music.

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beck

{soldier jane, beck}

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dan boeckner, of wolf parade

{ghost pressure, wolf parade}
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jeff tweedy

{heavy metal drummer, jeff tweedy}

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and. AND i get to see tweedy live and solo

tonight at the lincoln theater

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SO excited

simply lovely

{my boys, taken by trees}

covering the trippy animal collective tune

enjoy.

new tunes Tuesday. Round 23. LCD Soundsystem... and another special treat

LCD soundsystem hit the music scene in 2002 with Losing My Edge, dabbled in other singles and minor releases the next several years, then came back in 2010 with This is Happening - potentially my favorite record of the year. so they are not so new but have been all over my playlists the past few weeks and kept me awake during some long car trips. new or old? i can't decide which i like better, but i know i love it all - the hooks, the drops, james murphy's affected vocals, even the cowbells. it comes together in totally addictive, beat heavy, dancey, epic songs. check it out:

{daft punk is playing at my house, lcd soundsystem}

{drunk girls, lcd soundsystem}

london dance-punkers also gaining spots on said playlist - New Young Pony Club. here's to colorful video tuesday!

{ice cream, new young pony club}

live beats

blogging from the beautiful mountains of pennsylvania!

my west virginia project is on hold for a little while, so i'm out getting some more wilderness time in southern PA. i spent all day today driving around the rolling hills, hiking through farms and finally seeing some real fall foliage. lovely.

currently battling shoddy internet in my hotel room, but a quick taste of my saturday night: saw one of my favorite local acts at the black cat, touring for their sophomore release, Everything Under the Sun. one of my favorite songs of the night was this cover of The Cure's Close to Me. they invited both of the opening bands on the stage for tambourine and shaker support, and had the whole audience singing along.

{close to me, jukebox the ghost}

the reeeeeeeeeemix

after last night's Classixx show at the U Street Music Hall (in search of perfect sound? GO HERE) - i was blown away by their simple vibe/super clean sound, the wednesday night dance party, and the remixes Classixx was spinning.

so this morning i started searching around for the just-out remixes i've been meaning to listen to. i found the Yeasayer mix on Florence's Dog Days are Over. love Florence, but Yeasayer? not so much. their first album, All Hour Cymbals, a solid beginner effort into weirdo, spacey psych-rock. but their second, electronic heavy release, Odd Blood, did not do it for me. AT ALL. it has a confused sound, unsteady beat and is plain unlistenable for me.

they MAY, though, have found their niche with remixes. released this tuesday, their beat is spot on here:

{the dog days are over (yeasayer remix), florence and the machine}

yeehaw!

shipping out on 18th, baby!

appalachia - HERE I COME

it will be my goal for the 2-week trip to procure this here hat

i'll be taking orders for the rest of the week

let me know how many you want!

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also, i got to see these guys last night

WHAT. A. SHOW

you'll get hooked

i have to share this recent release by exciting producer/artist Marc Ronson. Record Collection officially came out last week and this track is quite addicting:

{bang bang bang, marc ronson feat. MNDR and q-tip}

and i thought this killer song would be a good way to celebrate M Street Ballers

100th post!

what i want right now

::to be wrapped up in the coziest sweater::

::cuddled in bed::

::with a huge mug of hot cocoa::

::engrossed in the city paper::

::with nina nastasia playing in the background::

crappiest weather ever today!

i wish i could extend my busy weekend

with an extra day just for lounging

images via

1. sweater, elan

2. bed, escapade

3. cocoa, dashing dish

4. paper, alt weeklies

5. album, spotinews

the music to accompany a weekend of travels

how have i NOT listened to this 'til now....

{the strangers, st. vincent}

to kick off this monday

{heroes, tv on the radio}

impressed.

Here We Go Magic.
i went into this show not really knowing what to expect, but hoping that they brought some more energy, depth, excitement than their first album of mellow songs. their second album PIGEONS is good. very good. but nothing more. i had this feeling, though, that they would have some more power live. and if they could impress/play with the likes of Grizzly Bear - they're a band worth checking out.
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and it was definitely worth it. they had noise, energy, passion and a fun, dancey psych-folk feel. and the Luke Temple babe factor didn't hurt either.
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ALSO! my theory is reconfirmed! chick bassists? all of them are HOT. very HOT.
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okay, so check out one of their best numbers of the night. so far, no good live versions floating around out there, but this one is solid.
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{collector, here we go magic}

another goody

to bring you back down from all the punky chick beats - check out what my love Jose Gonzalez is up to. here he is with his band Junip, from their release this past may.
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{chickens, junip}

just because

it's summer. and it's hot. as hell. and you should listen to this fiiiine summery beat.
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{fruit, rafter}