I am deeply sorry you all weren't able to awaken to a blog post, I was more exhausted than I thought I was last night and just passed out before getting to post any music. It was in fact so 'Easy' to fall asleep without doing a blog post, that I felt I should pass on that ease to all my beloved followers!
This banger from Mat Zo & Porter Robinson stands out from most brainless EDM and has some really cool breakdowns and slow sections. The accompanying music video is nearly as cool as Porter Robinson's last one, 'Language', which was truly incredible! Check out the killer 'Language' music video here. 'Easy' has some beautiful anime-esque visuals, and does awesome things at 1:31 and even crazier things at 2:16. Enjoy!
In the same vein as the last post, here's a sparklingly unique and gorgeous original song, and then a more thumping remix of it! Last Lynx have developed such a cool sound, and almost all aspects are integrated into the extremely varied and interesting 'Killing Switch'. The first seven seconds make you step back and say, "damn", the first twenty have you hooked, and once the male vocals are joined by haunting female ones at 0:58, there's no going back! Playful but with a dark tinge of evil-rabbitness, this song is worth a thorough listen, for it is constantly unexpected and consistently awesome!
Good god. Throw everything out the window! (perhaps don't unless your on the first floor) Their live version is incredible! MUST SEE!
Almost seems forced after the tour de amazing that the above live version above is, but Sound Remedy still do manage to construct a pretty epic and vastly different yet respectful version of Last Lynx's aural gold. The drop on this is actually super dope! Enjoy!
One of my newest discoveries, Swiss Lips are a lovely and upbeat five-piece dance-electro-pop band from Manchester who are taking my iTunes by storm! Their single 'U Got The Power' is thrumming, danceable goodness, and the rest of their soundcloud page is a refreshing dip into a happy-electro ocean! Check out this quite epic music video and get stoked for their album on April 28th! Let's get these guys as big as indie breakouts Walk The Moon or Imagine Dragons! P.S. If anyone is able to replicate any of these off da' chain dance moves, PLEASE, PLEASE show me!
If the original isn't quite getting your feet moving (perhaps you have an ear infection, a leg infection, or a faulty pacemaker that inhibits strenuous and exuberant dancing) than here's Monsieur Adi's remix of the track, which is very well done and compliments the song nicely!
Love you all! U got the power to make the blog heard! Share, repost, like, listen, sing about it! Merry Wednesday!
It's been a minute since I've posted some good, old fashioned Electric Dance Music with an addictive build, feel good beats, and killer female vocals. Time to change that. I've been on an indie binge the last few days, and have lots of great stuff in store for you guys, but it'd be a 'Crime' not to share this one with you (good god, this blog lives off puns). Snag a free download here (don't worry, it's artist approved) and enjoy!
What an unlikely pairing! And what an uncannily wonderful result! So touching, beautiful, and thought-provoking regarding our generations propensity for phonelationships rather than relationships with people. How distant and disjointed have we become by becoming so interconnected?
A truly artful music video composed of many styles and visuals, which perfectly mirrors Heaps' spot-on and ethereal lyrics. Really worth watching! Tell the important and meaningful people in your life that you love them.
I've been saving my Vampire Weekend post for when the full album drops on none other than May 7th, but heck, who can sit still and be complacent with these guys!? Can we take a moment to appreciate the album title? Really though, 'Modern Vampires of the City'! Does it get more epic than that!?
Epicness indicators:
It's a Vampire Weekend album
The album title sounds like a fantasy book about vampires that doesn't suck
The album cover is stunning
The singles thus far indicate a new exciting direction for Ezra and the gang while staying Vampire Weekend-y and awesome
Did I mention it's a Vampire Weekend album and that I'll be seeing them live in 27 days?!
So what does this new Vampire Weekend sound like? Well it sounds pretty amazing if you ask me! While I'm still warming up to 'Diane Young'--their other released single--'Step' is an instant favorite! Classic charming lyrics (made all the more cryptic and thought-provoking by seeing them in the lyric video), some cool variations including vocal distortion, and a hook that is impeccable and forced me to be repeating this song again and again! For some inexplicable reason, there's something about when Ezra Koenig sings the line, "but actually Oakland and not Alameda" that floors me. Listen yourself and tell me that line's not special in some way!
Damn, 9 listens deep just in the last hour, this song is growing on me like Streptococcus Pneumonia (a type of fast-replicating ear bacteria which I hope none of us ever contracts). Without further ado, finish your weekend in vampire fashion with this legendary track! Enjoy!
I'd like to share a quote with you all. Before I do, I'd like one and all to acknowledge that I hold intellectual property rights dear to my heart and that I never want to infringe upon or not give due credit to anyone on the blog...that said, I found this quote on a rough draft blog post from months ago, and, alas: past Miles failed to cite his sources. Oh how the John Hanlon's of the world would shake their heads! Whoever did say this quote, you and I are kindred spirits, and I use your words here out of respect and an appreciation for your eloquent expression for your love of all things indie.
"Upon this day, I declare that Indie music is leaps and bounds more pure than anything else, and the term "Indie" means not that a band isn't mainstream, but that a band has been able to hold on to its roots, even through fame and fortune. While the wonderful thumps and womps of other genres get me grooving, it will always be the sui generis of Indie that guides me to the homeland. And for that -- I both thank it and applaud it -- for it has brought me great pleasure in the past and will so in the future."
Gorgeous words! Indie to me is so pure as well! There are no constraining limits, no bpm requirements, no wrong and no right. There is expression, and the rest is up to the listener. I find great joy, great solace, sadness, exultation, and everything in between in indie music and think much of it has defined a great deal of who I am. In short, Indie music is amazing!
In this same strain of indiedom, there is no human being more Indie than Leif Huot. I've already gone off on how epic he is in the last post inspired by his wonderful music discoveries (find it here), but Leif has really outdone himself this time. Leif showed me the incomparably indie Kishi Bashi ages ago in high school, but 'Manchester' has stayed with me ever since the fateful moment that Leif placed his headphones over my ears for my near-daily dive into the magical, mysterious, and unpredictable soundscape of Leif.
This song is something else, and really seems to act as a nice definition of indie for me. It starts off orchestral, with little flourishes abounding in the background. Bashi's lovely voice slowly and crooningly emerges and proceeds to build to a swelling outbreak of joyfulness. Disintegrating again, harmonies begin to swirl about, and a myriad of instruments paint a music meadow I want to get lost in. Bashis' lyrics swell once more and the line, "I haven't been this alive in a long time" gently guide the listener lovingly into a smooth landing from a flight that passed far too quickly. But heck, my description can't match the song, hear it for yourself! Indie at its finest!
Not to be outdone by Leif of Music Past, Leif of Music Present shared one of the most amazing (if not the coolest music video) I've ever seen. The work that went into this...really incredible. Thanks so much Leif, and I am more than eager for whatever Leif of Music Future has in store for us...and the world.
The name says it all. 'Just Jammin' is everything it claims to be and more and is so jammable and chill. Funky, sexy horns, and enough unbelievable vibe to be put on repeat for hours. Truly awesome. 6:29 is far too short!
Bondax makes some straight gold here, and Snakeships flies in on whatever rad spaceship (or should I say snakeship) they possess and does some crazy-ass experiments, only to return their abductee more wonderful and amazing than before! This song is pure feel good music! Forty seconds in, Bondax gets down with his bad self and you're left with a funky dance groove. Enjoy!
I rarely, rarely, rarely find too many mash-ups that I enjoy, especially when the remix artist just throws in an as many songs as possible and uses the same few popular hits as everyone else.
This...this is something else. So catchy and irresistible, it's one of those songs that passes in such a breathless whirl, you just have to press that replay button. Once the first snares come in, it's straight infectious until the 45 second mark where it brings things back a little bit for some guilty pleasures. While far from a favorite song, the energy of this track in unparalleled and its just fun! Enjoy!
Trinidad James is known for two things: his impeccable teeth and his propensity to pop a molly and procede to sweat. If you haven't heard his track 'All Gold Everything' well...I reluctantly encourage you to listen to it? The music video is pretty hardcore ignant gangsta', but there's a very cute puppy a little more than a minute in. Brace yourself and watch here.
The version I'm much more partial to brings a fun loving background into play, and makes for a much more summery and pleasant song. WARNING: There is still some language in this version, it just sounds less hard hitting and more tender. The song blows open with some "mmmmbops" at the two minute mark, and gets progressively more fun from there! Enjoy!
UPDATE: Just found a version I think I like even more. This is wonderful! Mixed with a chill song called 'Flower Dance'.
Is there a spot on Craigslist where you can purchase someone to sing sweet lullabies to you every night...in a not-creepy way? Because if there is, I'm hiring Dave Baxter in a second. The creator and frontman of the amazing Avalanche City, Baxter proves he's incredible solo as well. His voice has this saccharine quality that penetrates right to your soul and moves you. Really powerful and touching stuff, I love it. 'Whispers' is an emotion filled track and has an accompanying music video that just transports you. Enjoy!
A little more upbeat, 'White Cliffs' is my personal favorite off his free Let It Go EP. "I have lived a full and wandering life." So gorgeous. That voice though...
In precisely the same ancient ceremony as the dearly departed St. Patrick would have done in the days of old, the picture above depicts the timeless tradition of hoisting your iPhone towards the heavens and wearing ridiculous green costumes. Another ancient Irish tradition is listening to songs on blogs and sharing said blogs with all your fellow green-clad revelers...it's what St. Patrick would have wanted.
We'll start the Irish-fest off with the one I know best: 'Walk Awhile' by Fairport Convention, a ditty I heard often growing up. It's catchy, sweet, and so spot on about the power of walking!
Here's where my woefully meager knowledge of Irish songs ends, and Meghan Proulx's infinite musical knowledge steps in. This one's rowdy, raucous, and looks like a fun-filled live concert!
'Galway Girl' is a classic and it's "aye ay aye ay aye ay" chorus is irresistibly singable.
Flogging Molly's 'If I Ever Leave This World Behind' is tender, loving, and each bridge between the vocals is perfect and quite pleasant. Tis a tasty toe-tapper that culminates in a swelling finale!
And what Irish celebration (nay, what celebration of any sort) would be complete without the independent artist taking the entire music industry by storm and his heartfelt and wonderful 'Irish Celebration'? Macklemore kills it as usual! Happy St. Patricks day!
We're all waiting for it, so let's just get it out of the way. I dare you to listen to this song! This one is some catchy, simple EDM, and is sure to light the fuse on your weekend. The vocals by Bright Lights are really what make the song for me. Very memorable, and well complemented by Savoy's throbbing beats. I double dog dare you to listen to this one! Now you really can't back out, you've entered into a binding pact by continuing to read these words, and there is no turning back. Enjoy...(or else)!
Damn you Sound Remedy! *shakes fist towards heavens* Literally. How do you do it!? You select the most amazing songs and make them THE MOST AMAZING SONGS! I'm calling cosmic B.S., there's just no way you're doing this without divine intervention.
Daughter, if you've forgotten, is the amazing band that brought you the heartstring plucking--heck, heartstring power-chord destroying--song 'Youth' (refresh your memory here, it's well worth it!). After buying their album and loving the sweet sounds of Daughter, here I was thinking nothing could improve upon (or at least creatively take in a new direction) their masterpiece 'Medicine'.
Sound Remedy: 1 Miles: 0. Proving again their amazing remix prowess, this mix of 'Medicine' rocks my world, makes me feel like I'm flying, and is just gorgeous. B-b-b-b-b-last this one and hear every little resonant tidbit and morsel therein. Ah! Magnifique! It's like an artisan bread with fancy cheese! Gobble it up with your ears now!
Also, don't forget to keep spreading the blog around, like the facebook page with the handy 'Like' button up and to your right (or through this link), check out my instagram with the 'View on instagram button' also up and to your right (I take pictures of plants from different angles and somehow think that makes me super hipster and cool...it's a generational disease, I'm convinced), and to become more involved by commenting on posts here, or sending me messages on facebook about bands, songs, or philosophical ramblings you'd like to see on the blog. Thank you all for listening and have the loveliest of thursdays!
This evening I attended an inspirational talk by Jim Keady (the man who unveiled much of Nike's dire shortcomings when it comes to treatment of workers in their foreign sweatshops) and boy did he strike a powerful chord (get it? Musical still!) with me. He talked about basic human necessities and the only negligible dip in profits it would cause Nike (and basically every other company that makes ANYTHING we here in America consume) to make a profound change in their workers lives by offering a living wage, not a starving, denied-of-human-dignity wage. It was some powerful stuff, please check him out here or watch the video below, it's really worth your time, and makes us as consumers, athletes, and human beings be introspective. Like his Team Sweat facebook page here, and spread the word that Nike has NOT cleaned up their act and there is still great progress to be made.
Whenever awesome inspirational speakers get me amped, invoke some serious guilt (good god, having access to a college education is SUCH a blessing that I take for granted), and remind me of the responsibilities of my generation, I thank the lord that for every abhorrent injustice, there is an electronic indie pop band out there spreading joy!
Lemâitre is that band countering some of the darkness in our world with their light for today. Upbeat, inescapably catchy and with a wide array of influences, Lemâitre kills it! I bought 'Cut To Black' after literally the first 45 seconds of hearing it, that's how sure I was of its musical genius. Simple, uncluttered, and refreshing, I'm officially hooked on a band that I can't even begin to pronounce! Enjoy!
Once again, Here's 'Behind The Swoosh', a wonderful introduction to Jim Keady's continued battle with Nike over their inhumane practices. Literally just a taste of what he talked about!
RAC literally never misses a beat. They're unstoppable. Never, I repeat, never get sucked into their soundcloud page at any sort of late hour of the night, it's an alluring black-hole that even escape velocity can't help with. This particular remix freshens up the Kaiser Chiefs' original and instills it with newfound Frankenstein-esque life that our modern youth and their music-industrial-complex-fueled-need-for-thumping-beats can appreciate! Very respectful of the original, I think this is a stupendous rendition with a lot of soul! Enjoy!
If you're missing the old beats though...here's the original, complete with various gangs of children with headgear and masks rampaging through the streets, letting tempers escalate and culminating in...well, I'll let you find out for yourself! Enjoy!
You know those movie montages where hipsters are walking on train tracks and have their arms outstretched in poppy fields and are slow-mo laughing in coffee shops worldwide? Where kisses always happen at sunrises and sunsets and driving is always traffic free and down picaresque beach highways, top down? It's as if the future is unlimited and the present moments' joy is all that matters. Well that's kind of what this song makes me think of.
'Lightweight Eyes' is ethereal yet present enough to make you take note of all the cool things happening in it. Thanks 845,743 (nearly a million!) to Meghan Proulx for showing me Future Unlimited and countless other bands: your musical taste is impeccable and enviable! Enjoy this lovely electronically influenced indie bonanza of intensitude!
I don't want to get into all the buck-wild Daft Punk speculation about them and their activities this year...lets just say something is certainly coming and it's certainly going to be epic! Speaking now in absolutes: this song is absolutely wonderful! Blended together to distilled perfection, Adele and Daft Punk are a match made in French robot heaven. So beautiful. I'm going to stop talking and let this one sweep you away on its own. Enjoy and miraculously snag a free download of this gem!
And just in case the rumors are true and Daft Punk just happens to create fake profiles and inundate the entire internet with crazy rumors and half done songs of theirs and everything you read is true...then this is a totally legit Final Countdown remix by Daft Punk! Even if it's not them (which I think is the case) it's still quite pleasant and makes me excited for gettin' Daft! Merry weekend to all!
These pictures of Bon Iver were just too great! I couldn't only do one! Today's post is grimy, gorgeous, gnarly, and probably a lot of other words that start with the letter G...gangsterlicious anyone? The vocal made famous by Kanye West's 'Lost In The World' did indeed belong to Bon Iver before that hit, and that gorgeous original is what Zeds Dead transforms into a bass heavy, wonderment heavier track! This song deserves to be played loud, proud, loud, and umm...let me see...loud! So tastefully done, I can't get enough of this one! Thanks to A.J. Fazzio for exposing me to its reverberations! Get yourself up in some woods, get down in your mind, build a still, and let this slow down your mind. By the way that last sentence was a reference to the lyrics of the song, not a sign of me going crazy. Enjoy!
Also, since my brain is tiny and I thought Zeds Dead was the same as Zedd, here's a splendid--as always--mash up by the Jane Doze which uses such great samples ranging from Zedd to Youngblood Hawke and is perfect to blast this weekend.
Incredible band. 'Period', if you didn't catch that tiny dot wherein 7.5 trillion atoms were housed, I've now talked about it for who knows how many googolplex more atoms.
Anyway, Hey Marseilles have a distinct and marvelous sound whose beauty is unparalleled! Their new album Lines We Trace came out this tuesday, and my lovely sister was lucky enough to see them live last night! Apparently the frontman tragically lost his voice, but they're one of those bands possessed of such unmatched fervor and poignancy that even a purely instrumental set was a thing of magic...or so I hear! Two gorgeous albums now under their belts and the guarantee to only expand from here on out, Hey Marseilles is off da chain!
Within their cover of Daniel Johnston's 'True Love Will Find You In The End', Hey Marseilles finds a place of such...ahhh...I can't describe it! Hope and love and faith and joy and sadness and wowza! Great cover! And all live!? These guys blow me away! Enjoy!
One of the hot songs off their new album, 'Elegy' is so tender and lovely! The "nah nah nahhh...oho" in the background is DA BOMB! Check it!
If at this point your dubious and calling foul play, for how on earth could a band be this good, never fear, Hey Marseilles was kind enough to outline exactly how they created their new album in this charming, clever, and silly video! Really worth a watch to humanize and put a face (or a lot of faces) to these musical gods!
I don't know what it is, the spring doldrums (is that a thing?), an overload of EDM and poppy indie exuberance? Maybe it's the rouge gray hair I found last week... "dese ol' ears ain't what they used ta be sonny!" Whatever it is, slow, tranced out, images-of-space-conjuring music has been my jam the last few days! Mr. FijiWiji (golly the hip names these youngun whippersnappers think of dese days!) luckily has me set in the beautiful trance department! With an entire collection just of Deadmau5 remixes, he's got the goods.
FijiWiji's remix of 'Strobe' is just way too perfect. With headphones on and some peaceful quiet around you, this thing transports your soul. At 1:58, the bliss fades out and a brilliant Charlie Chaplin soundbite pops up and you're just like, "whoa! Dude, Charlie Chaplin flippin kills it!" After you've realized how silly and stoned you sounded saying that, the song bursts into full-bodied life once more, only to lovingly return to Chaplin in its final seconds. Unlike some of my EDM or chillstep stuff I put up and just kind of haphazardly glaze over, I really think this one's worth listening to! Enjoy!
Snag the entire Deadmau5 remix project here, for the low price of a facebook like! Have a glorious Wednesday (especially you Meghan!)
Such a wonderful backbeat...That right there would be plenty already, but then Blue Scholars come on and drop luscious lyrics and radical rhymes the whole song through! Soothing, laid-back, and lovely! Enjoy!
These guys flipping (or should I say Starfu%#in') know how to put on a show! From a wild light show to people in skeleton, panda, and vegetable costumes mobbing the stage and dancing their asses off amidst falling balloons, it was an experience! What I was expecting to be slow and hipster turned out to be raging, pulsating and full of energy that I honestly don't think I've seen paralleled! It was epic! If you're a longtime fan, listen to their songs with new ears knowing the live show is louder than hell, and if you're new to their greatness, engulf yourself within their unique sound!
First off, some old classics that they made sound so fresh!!!!!! This one live was sick!
'Bury Us Alive' was bumpin'!
One of my personal favorites, STRFKR's cover of Bruce Springsteen's 'Hungry Heart' is wonderful (besides the first 23 seconds...those are kind of painful, skip ahead and enjoy)!.
Cuts off their new album were equally awesome:
And one of the last songs they played to top it all off, is just so great. The crowd went wild.
And if you're REALLY dedicated, here are some videos I took at the show. Shaky at best, fuzzy, and far away, they barely come close to capturing the fun that was had, but you get an idea of the sheer electric energy of the place!
I'm on my way back from a spring break of unbelievable brevity and wanted to share a song as filled with life and fun as my break was! 'On My Way' is one of the coolest songs I've heard in quite some time, and keeps such a great balance between soft poignant sections, and crescendoing and swelling group singing. Really lovely stuff! Check it out (and pick up all of their new album Gossamer)!
P.S. Guess who gets to finish out their break with a STRFKR and Blackbird Blackbird concert tonight! This kid!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
King Midas may have had the Midas touch...but damn does MitiS have the MitiS touch! None of these songs will jump up and bite you in the ear with mind blowing stuff, but each one is consistently chill, melodic and soothing! They've really mastered a smooth fadeout that just transports you to a place like the picture above. Sit back, relax, and chillstep.
Some vocals and the same sweet melodies!
Note: Don't listen to these in a hurry. Wait until you can sit down, be relaxed and be doing something else while you listen, they're meant to float in the periphery, not to rage your face off in the foreground. Enjoy!
P.S. If you're digging the Chillstep, I journeyed deep into it today and found a ton of great stuff. If you've got the time check out Mr. FijiWiji's remix of Deadmau5 (It's actually the best of the bunch!)
