First Snow

Here's a few songs that have been on repeat in my apartment lately!

Spooky Black - Without You

Balacade - Static King

Shuggy Otis - Aht Uh Mi Hed

William Onyeabor - Fantastic Man

They Want My Soul

Spoon are back with their eighth album, They Want My Soul.  Spoon aren't one of my favorite bands.  I've definitely loved at least one song on each Spoon album, but I never feel like the whole album leaves me wanting more.  However, lead singer Britt Daniel has one of my favorite male voices.  It's raspy, it gets good and screamy and he can sing nice and high too! So I'm always rooting for them.

When I heard that Spoon were coming out with a new album, I crossed my fingers that Daniels' recent work with The Divine Fits would be evident.  The Divine Fits are a three piece with singer and guitarist Dan Boeckner, one of my favorites.  Anything he touches turns to gold: Wolf Parade, Handsome Furs, Divine Fits and his new project, Operators.  (Listen below)  Daniels and Boeckner work so well together, just two guys, with two very distinctive mugs on 'em and two awesomely raspy voices. 



Spoons new album They Want My Soul is a little lackluster for me, even though it is on Pitchforks "Best New Music" list.  Maybe it will grow on me, but my first experience with it was listening to it on the bus after work one day, and I pretty much zoned out. Maybe it was because I was all sun sleepy but I'll keep trying.

Like I said, one song on the album always grabs me, and on this one it's "Inside Out."  Here's a live performance of this awesome awesome song on KCRW.

Breadwinner

I cannot stop listening to this song.  Nor can I find any other songs, or any information at all.  So mysterious, BEA.  Gimme more!

Last Night

One of my favorite things is hearing Frank Oceans voice in a song for the first time.  When it's happening I always feel like I'll remember where I was when I heard the song, what I was wearing and how I felt.  Maybe I'm exaggerating, but not by much!  The song below is Frank Ocean, Mick Jones and Paul Simonon from The Clash, Diplo, and a childrens choir.  Duh.  I'm sure you saw that collaboration coming a mile away.  This song is an easy listening summer song, but changes into a weird heavier bit halfway through. (for Frank Ocean anyway)  It get's real sweet when the childrens choir comes in.  Only downside to this song is that it is too short and I want MORE.

Want to watch the best video I've probably ever seen?  I knew it was going to be something I'd love as soon as I saw "SZA" and "Babylon" in white caps across a skyline and some jungly looking greens.  I don't know a whole lot about SZA except that she is on some of my favorite songs by Isaiah Rashads album, Cilvia Demo.  As she takes everything out of her pockets and some of her clothes off, you realize that she's the coolest.  And her hair is the biggest and best.  And that this song rules.  And that you want to hear more. You can do that here.

Words I Don't Remember

I'm really sleepy.  Too sleepy to write, but this song is so great, even for (especially for?) sleepy people.  And probably for "doin it" too.  And I love the title.  Go How To Dress Well!

I Never Learn

Lykke Li is coming out with a new album on May 5th!  Get excited girls and cool boys.

Champagne Coast

In an earlier post I wrote about my obsession with Blood Orange's Cupid Deluxe.  I am still obsessed, but am now also listening to his previous album, Coastal Grooves.  This album is summer time.  Oh, you thought summer time was eating watermelon triangles on your moms steps and having underwater hand stand competitions at the pool with your friends?  Sounds lovely, but sorry.  It's Coastal Grooves.  This album could be the soundtrack to a surf DVD.  Songs like "The Complete Knock" and "Forget It" are so fun, driving and surfy; and songs like "S' Cooled" and "Champagne Coast" make me think of slow motion, mesmerizing clips of surfers going over and under and through the waves.

"Champagne Coast" is my favorite song on the album.  It keeps with the West coast vibe but is different somehow.  More intimate.  Basically this is the most beautiful song I've ever heard.  My pupils morph from circles to hearts even if I'm alone and sometimes it makes me feel like I could have a little tear about it.  This song would probably be best enjoyed driving down the coast in California, but that's not going to happen any time soon so I will settle with late night living room dance as the next ideal scenario. 

This video of Devonte Hynes playing iton KCRW is so great.  WATCH IT.

Return of the Mac

(^I wonder how many times that headline will be used.^)

Mac Demarco is back with a new album, Salad Days on April 1st!  How exciting!  His last album, 2 was the perfect sleazy summer time album that I needed, and I'm hoping this one will sound just as good with jean shorts and stoop beers.  He released this new video of upcoming song, "Let My Baby Stay."  Lil Mac and his shitty hat are filmed at different locations around Portugal, and sounds like it's gonna be good, one of his sweeter songs, and of course the video gets a weird half way through!

Mac DeMarco | Let My Baby Stay [a short film recorded at 180 Creative Lab] from Canal180 on Vimeo.

Punanny Tsunami

Young Braised released this like 5 months ago, but I listened to it again this morning and remembered how great it is.  Those background Ooo00oo's?  Shit Jaymes.  And just thinking of what a punanny tsunami is?  Hilarious.

Young Braised - Murakami from STRAWBERRYJACUZZI on Vimeo.

Sing To Me

The bass and organ player of The Walkmen, Walter Martin is coming out with a solo album on May 13th, and I'm pretty excited! There's going to be lots of buddies helping out on We're All Young Together like The National, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, The Walkmen guys and Karen O who is in the song below!

Apparently Martin just had a baby and this song definitely reflects that.  "Sing to Me" sounds like an adorable lullaby, which is perfect for Karen O's voice, member how great she was on Where The Wild Things Are soundtrack???!

I've read that this album will be one that's appropriate for the whole family, but Walter Martin has such a great voice, there's great guests, and G-Rated cutie pie music is a nice break in between all the filthy rap I listen to.  Excited.

Leather n Ma Tims

In terms of freezing terrible weather, this winter fucking blows.  Other than that I'm having a pretty great time.  Winter works if I just hole up in my Princess Pad 'Partment, drink coffee, watch shows, listen to music, listen to music at night with Will and have long awesome talks about it or maybe even a little dance party after too many beers.  These are the jams I've been listening to this week.  Not all of them are new, but they're the ones making the shitty weather feel a bit better.

(Sorry about the video below, it gets super annoying but I'm too lazy to do better) 

Yumi Zouma

I love soft and dreamy lady pop vocals, and this band, Yumi Zouma are really good at pairing them with fun and easy little beats.  Their EP is coming out on February 11th and then hopefully I'll be able to hear a little more than the two songs they have on SoundCloud!  I wanna crank up the song below and drive somewhere.  But in a convertible.  And on a winding road.  Kay?

Cupid Deluxe

I am completely obsessed with Cupid Deluxe by Blood Orange.  I think that's the only way I could start out this blog post, plus I'm super rusty after neglecting my little baby blog for so long.  I got this album after hearing so much about it, and then forgot about it for a few weeks.  Which was definitely for the best, I started listening to it right when I needed to.  It's the type of album that I immediately need to put limitations on and tell myself, "Listen, Al.  You can listen to it in its entirety, twice, otherwise you're gonna wear it out."  However with this album its so easy for me just to keep looping it over and over that I would unintentionally break my rules, and end up listening to about four or five times in a row.  Who's a bad girl ;)

Devonte Hynes is the genius behind Blood Orange. This dude looks like he rolled right out of the early 90's with his shitty mock neck shirts, shitty hats and shitty high waisted pleated pants, and crrrrrazy slithery slippery dance moves!  Anyway, he plays the keyboards, guitar, bass and drums on Cupid Deluxe.  Of course.  Cause he's so great.  And he has tons of awesome guests singing with him too!  The lady singer from Chairlift, Caroline Polachek and his girlfriend Samantha Urbani sing on tons of songs.  The dude from Kindness, Clams Casino, bro from Dirty Projectors, a British rapper named Skepta, and another awesome rapper, Despot.  I also feel extremely overwhelmed trying to tackle writing about this album, cause its so good and weird and there's so much going on with it, so I figured I'd just do a lil bit on each song.

"Chamakay" starts off the album with Caroline Polachek singing with Hayes.  It's one of the more serious songs on the album and it has an incredible video that you should watch (below).  Devonte visits Georgetown, Guyana for the first time, which is where his mom is from, and you get to see the first time he meets his grandpa!

"You're Not Good Enough" has the most awesome and hilarious bass guitar I've heard since Seinfeld--it's hard to not air-bass along with this one. Its the albums' first intro to Samantha Urbani and Devonte Hayes singing together, which is pure magic, just like their super cool and stylin relationship is.  Devonte and Urbani (I know I should use his last name, but with a name like Devonte....) have such a romantic way of singing together, even if the lyrics aren't warm and fuzzy.  I have a hard time listening to lyrics, and it took me a minute to realize that this song is actually pretty cold: "I never was in love/you know that you were never good enough"...You'd never know it if you were just listening to the way they sing together though.

Uncle ACE was the first song that I would specifically put on and it has been my main shower song for weeks.  Its definitely the disco jam of the album.  With guitar so funky, saxophone so sassy, singing so cheesy, and bass so slappy, this song is just insanely good.  At 2:50 the keys come in and the song changes a bit.  Then, these horns come in, and you just try and tell me you can sit still during this ending bit.  Or at the very least try and tell me that your neck and shoulder area doesn't do something special.  Cause it does. 

The female vocals on Cupid Deluxe, done by his girlfriend Samantha Urbani of the band Friends, are so important to the album.  When she comes in on "No Right Thing" with Dirty Projectors dude, it just makes the song a little bit funny in the best way possible.  I remember us "Loling" at that part the first time hearing it.  This whole album, for me anyway, is super humorous but in an incredibly well done way.  Slap bass everywhere, 80's sounding guitar bits, cheesy vocals.  The 90's beat in most of these songs (Especially 'Time Will Tell') makes me think of those movies, y'know, where the white teacher is transferred to an inner-city school, with no student respecting them until eventually the teacher cracks the code on how to reach the hearts of the hard ass kids that don't give a fuck.

Urbani's vocals in "It Is What It Is" are some of my favorite of hers.  In the middle of the song, it all slows down and the steel drums take a little break.  There's some Twin Shadow-esque guitar playing and looping and then at 4:02 when the beat comes back in, it's just... Ugh.  Bah.  No words.  Just shoulder dancing and saucy looks at a cute boy or something.

"Chosen," is one of the prettiest songs on the album.  Sax heavy, sassy beat, funny little speaking bit at the beginning with an adorable French accent..  This song is so romantic to me, even though there's only two or three lines of actual lyrics.  Must be that sax.  My favorite part is when he repeats "Baby let me take you home."  OKAY.

"Clipped On" should be playing while two break dancers battle it out on a big ol piece of cardboard.  The beat and Despots rapping are so old school and amazing.  When trying to make people love Blood Orange as much as I do this is the song that I play first.  It's so lovable!

The beginning to "Always Let U Down" doesn't do it for me.  For some reason when the initial female vocals start out with "I can only disappoint you, cause I always let you down" it makes me feel like the songs gonna suck, but den dat beat comes in, the shoulders get going and Samantha Urbani's voice just is all beautiful and soulful and awesome and the song rules again!  Weird!

"On The Line" is probably my favorite song on this album.  But that's like picking a favorite out of Devonte Hynes' dance moves: I'm sure it will change in a few days.  Devontes singing on this song is so great, and there's a little Solange bit at the end, from her song "Some Things Never Seem To Fucking Work" that Hynes co-wrote, where they just repeat "So baby is that all you got, Baby are we on the line" over beautiful keys, and it's magical.  Look at them up there.  Jesus fuck they're cute.

Skepta is the UK rapper on "High Street."  Man, British rappers sound amazing.  And who else can say "Put Your Pinot Grigio high, This one's for my G's on the Norff Side" and sound that cool?  Now I wanna drink white wine all day.

Then comes the song ending it all, "Time Will Tell."  Y'know, the one with the extra amount "He taught them a thing about calculus, they taught him a thing about the street" piano.   This song also has one of my favorite lyrics on the album, "Come into my bedroom, come into my bedroom."  If you want to see a great example of Devonte Hynes' weird ass awesome dance moves, watch the video below.  It's great.

This album came out in November 2013 but I didn't give it a proper go until January, so this is absolutely gonna be the album that carries me through all of the shitty -50 weather and into spring.  And I'm excited for this album to have a whole different feeling to it when I'm sitting outside with a big ol glass of sangria and slutty shorts on!