Emilie Simon – Space Oddity (David Bowie Cover).mp3
A spectacular Pandora find, Emilie Simon is a prominent electronica / trip-hop artist in France. After listening to a few of her songs I also found the recently popular Space Oddity cover which is amazing.
emiliesimon.artistes.universalmusic.fr – myspace – hypem – amazon
She & Him – Sentimental Heart.mp3
I have been a fan of this M. Ward project since the duo’s Volume One LP came out back in March. I also knew that the other half of the duo, Zooey Deschanel, was an actress and I recognized her voice, but it took until today for me to realize where I knew if from. ELF! The band page has good description of how the duo came into existance.
sheandhim.com – myspace – hypem – amazon
Kanye West & Radiohead – Reckoner Lockdown (DJ Earworm Remix).mp3
Kanye West – Love Lockdown : amazon
I was pleasantly surprised when I started listening to Love Lockdown remixes and came across this mashup. DJ Earworm subtly intertwines Radiohead’s guitar noodeling and Kanye’s auto-tuned voice. Thom makes a subtle cameo three quarters of the way through after the driving beat of Reckoner builds the climax. Great stuff. Love Lockdown is the first single off of Kanye’s anticipated 808s & Heartbreak which will be released in late November.
djearworm.com – kanyeuniversecity.com – hypem – amazon
School of Seven Bells – Face to Face on High Places.mp3
School of Seven Bells – For Kalaja Mari.mp3
Removed per request of copyright holder
School of Seven Bells – Half Asleep (streaming only)
School of Seven Bells – Chain.mp3
School of Seven Bells – Connjur.mp3
I first heard School of Seven Bells (SVIIB for short) back when Ghostly Swim came out. I was immediately impressed with the band make-up, featuring Benjamin Curtis of the Secret Machines and the Deheza twins of On! Air! Library!. Chain was the track that came with Ghostly Swim, a 7″/Digital single was released in the UK featuring tracks Caldo and Half Asleep, and Connjur is the most prominently promoted track from the forthcoming full length Alpinisms. All of the previous songs can be purchased / downloaded from the links below. I got my hands on an advanced release of Alpinisms and it is superb! I included two tracks that I think exemplify how well the band can operate comfortably in the electronic/beats as well as the dream-pop/shoegaze realms (removed per request). The full lengh is due out October 28th and is available on itunes now. Get this album!
schoolofsevenbells.com – myspace – hypem – amazon
Peter Broderick – Games Again.mp3
A little slowcore to fill a cold autumn room. Peter Broderick’s Home is out as of September 23rd, definitely worth picking up.
hushrecords.com/broderick – myspace – hypem – amazon
Glasvegas are the latest big thing across the pond. These guys pull of a sweet mix of Interpol and Band of Horses with some seriously solid hooks. The self titled digital release drops October 7th.
glasvegas.net – myspace – hypem – amazon
I wrote this yesterday…
Absurdity and Paradox Define Regularity
Sixth grade is an awkward time in adolescence. Old enough for public education to teach you sex. ed. but too young to be comfortable with it. I was 11 years old, the age when you know the Easter Bunny, Tooth Fairy, and Santa Clause aren’t real but you still look forward to being rewarded for believing in them. I grew up in a lower-middle class, 1950’s built, all-brick (not just the front) home in Central Pennsylvania suburbia. When I wasn’t learning how to tactically take over the world through Real Time Strategy video games, I methodologically explored and reinvented the street block sized “quarantine” my parent had created for me. “Guns,” Capture the Flag, or Hide-and-Go-Seek-Tag, were the usual pastimes, but on this particular day, when there were just enough fallen leaves to hinder a skateboard’s free roll on the newly paved streets, the game was “keep me out of the tree-fort.” The tree-fort was more of a miniature house than the traditional wood plank nailed a fork of tree limbs. The two neighborhood friends who you know always got their way when the wined enough to their self –centered parents, had maliciously boarded up the 3’ square windows with the waterlogged chairs that furnished the interior. I climbed from tree to tree searching for an entrance and resolved to try kick in the obstructions of the nearest window. I swung my body toward the chairs and landed a firm kick. Realizing then that the swinging thrust I had generated now pulled my hands from the sacred branches that connected me to the tree. I remembered what my dad had often said “Always keep one hand on the tree.” It all happened so quickly. And now, here I am, suspended above a world and a future that would soon take me.
