Speak From Your Heart!

Hey there folks! Welcome to 2012. I hope you're prepared to listen to some good music while you wait for the end of the world to roll around.

I promise I will try to be better about posting more good music more regularly this year.

Speaking of good music, Porcelain Raft is releasing a new album "Strange Weekend" on January 24th. Here is a single off the upcoming album that I thought was a great tune. I love the refrain,
"And I don't wanna listen/
Unless you speak from your heart."

GOOD SONG: Unless You Speak From Your Heart by Porcelain Raft

Who is Porcelain Raft, you might well ask. Well, it's one dude whose name is Mauro Remiddi. He was born in Rome (one of my top five places in the world). And that's about all I know about him, folks. Sorry.

Apparently he looks like this.

If you liked this song, you might also check out:

Washed Out

Toro Y Moi

The XX

Panda Bear

Beach House

Over and out,

Anna

Some cutesy fun

Still need a bit more help getting up in the morning?
Here's another remedy for ya:
GOOD SONG: Light Bulb (ANR Remix) by Rachel Goodrich

So THIS is the famed founder of Shake-a-billy.
Interesting.

Such a fun song! I recommend it as a purely fun, danceable ditty to brighten your day a bit. Don't think too much about the words. The remix is better than the original, which is too cutesy for my taste. However, the original song has a HILARIOUS video:
Check it out here: Lightbulb video
Rachel Goodrich is a Miami-based musician, who claims to be a "shake-a-billy" artist. Yeah, OK, whatever the heck that means. I hate all these new micro-genres that people make up. Anyway, though, her music is definitely fun and quirky (although I fear she might be a perfect living example of Problem #4 here) . She can play the guitar, ukulele, banjo, kazoo, autoharp, piano, and others (question: who *can't* play the kazoo?). Her first album, entitled "Tinker Toys" came out in 2008, and her new self-titled album came out this year.  If you like twee-pop, or retro-sounding/vaudevillian stuff, you will enjoy her un-remixed music.

If you liked this song/the original song, you might also like:
The Boy Least Likely To
Lykke Li
Jens Lekman
April Smith & the Great Picture Show

Over and out,
Anna

Doctor's Orders

Feeling washed out?

Take two of these, take a drive on the highway at night with the windows down, and don't call me in the morning.

Washed Out makes good music for days when
you take pictures like these. 

GOOD SONG #1: Far Away by Washed Out (be aware the album cover is a pretty sexual image)

GOOD SONG #2: Eyes Be Closed by Washed Out (" ") 

So who is Washed Out? It's Ernest Greene, from Georgia. He's a one-man-chillwave-band who just released his first full-length album entitled "Within and Without" from Sub Pop Records. He began just recording his music in his basement in his little hometown of Perry, Georgia, and has risen to (moderate) fame (in the chillwave world, which is pretty limited). People have busted a move trying to classify and describe his sound, with words like "gauzy," "ecstatic," "organic," "lingering," and others. His sound has definitely been inspired by 1980's synth-pop and contemporary hip-hop (listen to those beats!), but also house, and even other genres like folk (maybe). The songs I picked I love because they are fun to drive to at night, when it's warm, with the windows down. They are strangely beautiful and dream-like. 

The whole album is actually fantastic, and I definitely recommend giving it a listen.  

If you liked this, you might also check out:

Panda Bear

Loney, Dear

Animal Collective

Cut Copy

Toro Y Moi

Neon Indian

Over and out,

Anna 

(Belated) International Month Post #3: Lebanon + Egypt

OK, sorry guys. I know May is over and so technically, International Month should be over too. But you know what?

I was busy.

And it's my blog and I can do what I want.

So this post gets to be included in International Month's posts, since I *meant* to post it ages ago.

Next up? Got some great music goin on, from Lebanon and Egypt, two Arabic-music-producing powerhouses. 

The madonna link isn't so hard to see, I don't think...

First we have Y.A.S., this awesome electropop duo from Lebanon, made up of Yasmin Hamdan and Mirwais Ahmadzaï. Mirwais produced albums for Madonna, so he's got some pretty serious cred going on. Yasmin used to be part of Soap Kills, a Lebanese group that sang in Arabic  as opposed to English or French, and spurred many others to do the same. So she's also got some cred. 

GOOD SONG #1:  Get It Right, off their album "Arabology"

The song is really cool. It actually mixes English and Arabic. It's set in Egypt even though Y.A.S. is Lebanese, like I said. 

GOOD SONG #2 of theirs is Mahi, which you can listen to off their myspace. I love her voice on it, singing entirely in Arabic. It's got a nice groove to it. It's still electronica I guess, but not as Madonna-esque as Get It Right.

I'm gonna have to go ahead and say I think
she looks much classier than Yasmin.

Also from Lebanon, but in a totally other genre, we have Fairouz, who is arguably the most famous of all Lebanese singers. She is known as Fairouz (which means "turquoise" in Arabic, apparently) but her real name is Nouhad Wadi Haddad, and was born in Lebanon in 1935. She's a Christian (Catholic by birth, Greek Orthodox after her marriage) and is hugely popular in Lebanon and Syria. She started her singing career in the early '50's after attending a music conservatory and marrying into the Rahbani family, who worked at a radio station. She is still out and about performing at concerts around the world. Go her!

GOOD SONG #3: Beirut Hal Zarafat

Her voice is incredible-- with that sort of deep female huskiness to it that seems to be pretty common in Middle Eastern music. This recording is a live version, and is amazing. I wish I could understand what she was saying. Whatever it is, it sounds beautiful and moving. I think it's sort of an ode to the city of Beirut.

(BUY HER MUSIC HERE: Fairouz) 

On to Egypt!

So now I'm sharing with you a singer who, if you know anything about Egyptian/Middle Eastern/Mediterranean music (which I didn't until my boyfriend made me a few mixes), you will recognize. If you already are super-knowledgeable about all this, then you'll just have to forgive me for this post. Amr Diab is one of the most famous recording artists in Egypt now. He is credited with creating "Mediterranean music" which is a pretty awesome, if I do say so myself, blend of Egyptian music and Western rhythms and influences. He was born in Egypt in 1961, and is now the top selling artist in the Arab world. Not too shabby, Amr. 

I'm guessing about 10,000 Egyptian girls have this picture
posted to their wall.

GOOD SONG #4: Amarain

So this is the first Amr Diab song I heard (thanks to that previously mentioned mix). And I became obsessed with it. It's got a great slightly Spanish feel to it, plus some nice violin, and the lyrics in Arabic and Diab's distinctly Middle Eastern vocal style. So cool! His videos tend to just be lots of beautiful women making sexy faces at the camera and dancing like wild things around him. Although some babies are thrown into the mix, here, too. which is odd. Why the babies, Amr? It is pretty entertaining though, anyway. And the song is amazing. If this song doesn't make you want to dance, then I think you're dead.

GOOD SONG #5: Lealy Nahary

Just thought I'd throw this one into the mix, too. I find the cadence of the vocals interesting (I don't really know how else to describe it), and the hand-clappy sort of beat is lots of fun to dance to alone in your room. Or with others. Whatever you prefer. 

If you liked these songs, you might also check out:

Soap Kills

Nancy Ajram

Shereen

Alabina

Tamer Hosny

Elissa

Over and out,

Anna

What I Ask

Just the other day I was listening to a mix I made in high school, and I came across a song that I hadn't listened to in a while. I guess I must have forgotten about it for a while, which is insane and kind of shameful, since it's an amazing song and I used to listen to it all the time. Oh well. I have returned to it. Why don't you all give it a listen?

GOOD SONG: What I Ask by David Kitt

What I Ask is for you not to spit on my mic

I didn't know much about David Kitt before I decided to write this post, so I did a little research. He's an Irish musician (from Dublin) and has toured with such big names as Yo La Tengo, Tindersticks, The Magic Numbers, and Television. The guy ain't no joke. He's released six LP's so far, with his most popular one being "The Big Romance" (2001), which is the record that "What I Ask" is from.  His most recent one is "The Nightsaver" (2009).

This song is great in its lyrical simplicity; the refrain is simply:
"Love/ is what I ask/ no less."
 I like his rather warm, earthy voice (can I use that adjective?) combined with the almost entirely electronic musical elements; he makes it work. I love the guitar that kicks in right around the 4:10 mark. The song keeps getting bigger, more beautiful, and more earnest as it goes, but eventually fades into a rippling guitar chord and then silence.  It's a great song to listen to while driving at night. Trust me.

Buy his music here! David Kitt

If you liked this song, you might also like:

Joseph Arthur
The Rosebuds
Loney Dear
The Frames
Simple Kid
Sufjan Stevens
The Beta Band

Over and out,
Anna

Bet You'll Like The Beta Band

I originally got into The Beta Band (from Scotland) upon the release of their album Heroes to Zeros (2004), which I fell in love with at first listen. NOT at first sight, though, since the cover looks ridiculous.

Stupid cover

Unfortunately, Heroes to Zeros was their last album before they broke up. Thus, I was forced to search deeper into their past for "new" Beta Band music. But it's OK! There made plenty of awesome stuff! I discovered their album The Three EP's, which, no surprise here, is a compilation of three EP's they made.

So, here's an older GOOD SONG song for ya from The Three EP's: Dry The Rain by The Beta Band.

It has a great chorus to it, and I can't help but groove to it. The song is hard to define, like most of their music. While doing some research on them, I discovered that they were listed as part of the following genres (listed in order of increasing ridiculousness): Alternative, Experimental, Art Rock, Folktronica,  Neo- Psychadelic, Space Rock.
Right.

Ever seen the movie High Fidelity? He puts this song in this scene:  "I will now sell five copies of "The Three EP's" by the Beta Band"

Los amigos del beta bandidos!!

If you liked this song you might also check out:

Tame Impala
Thievery Corporation
Panda Bear
Gruff Rhys and the Super Furry Animals
Air
Caribou (also known as Manitoba)
The Flaming Lips

Over & out,
Anna

"No One Ever Does It Like That Anymore"

Despite the fact that Mark Ronson was born in London, I think of him as being a New Yorker. Considering that he went to Collegiate High School in NY, then New York University (my alma mater!) and began his career in my glorious hometown, I don't think that this is a stretch.  He is such an enormously talented DJ/turntabelist/producer, I want him to be a New Yorker. The way he combines different musical traditions/band/sounds in his songs is just plain genius. Granted, his work can be a little hit-or-miss (or mostly miss, if you don't like hip-hop that much), but the stuff of his that DOES work is great.

Ronson, hard at work. 

His new album "Record Collection" just dropped a little while ago, and is a ton of fun. Ronson features of some of the songs, but an insane number of people are involved too, as usual. The record is technically by "Mark Ronson & The International" so I guess "The International" includes all those other folks.
The two best songs on it, that both have amazing videos are:

GOOD SONG #1: Bang Bang Bang (odd mash-up of old commercials, weird Japanese TV-show, and 80's style "futuristic" fun... oh yeah, and Q-Tip!!!)

GOOD SONG #2: The Bike Song (feat. Spank Rock)

One thing that I find interesting about him, though, is that as much as I love a lot of his fun singles (like the ones above), some of my FAVORITE songs of his are his short little instrumental bits that come in between songs on his album, like "Missing Words"  and "Selector" (from this latest album) and "Inversion" and "Diversion" from his previous album "Version."  Inversion is competing with "Can't Hardly Wait" by Justin Townes Earle as my #1 played song.

Anyhoo, hope you enjoy.

If you like these songs, you might also like:

(Note: OK so, since Mark Ronson has no particular style, these rec's run the gamut)

Calvin Harris
A Tribe Called Quest
M.I.A.
Adele
Lily Allen
Duran Duran

BUY HIS MUSIC HERE: MR & the Int.

Over and out,
Anna

Your Video Game Soundtrack

So in my head I like to put together music videos for the music I'm listening to. Often times they include ridiculous, super-choreographed dance sequences that can only happen in my head. Lots of special effects. Engaging story lines. Beautiful people. You know, the works.

My imaginary music videos for the music of Ratatat are no exception. Cool (read: goofy) dances and the whole shabang. 

The one difference: All of my imaginary characters, set, moves, and costumes are stolen from Mario Bros. I freely admit it. Floating gold coins, overalls, and a princess are all extremely important in all my imaginary Ratatat music videos. I can't help it! I dare you to listen to Ratatat and NOT think of video game music. It's impossible. Their music (especially the songs on their earlier albums) is clearly influenced by the crunchy guitars and goofy sound effects you probably grew up hearing on your gameboy/nintendo/other outmoded and obsolete form of entertainment. 

Inspirational stuff.

Try imagining your very own video game music video with this GOOD SONG, from their album entitled "LP3": Shempi

Now, this isn't to say that Ratatat always sounds silly. Plenty of their music is surprisingly sophisticated, and actually moving (for some reason, this GOOD SONG always gets me, even sans lyrics: Breaking Away).  Ratatat is comprised of Mike Stroud (guitar) and Evan Mast (all that other stuff) , and they've got real talent. They met at Skidmore College and recorded their first album entitled, oddly enough, "Ratatat" in 2004. Excluding remix albums, they have four albums out to date: "Ratatat" (2004), "Classics" (2006), "LP3" (2008), and "LP4" (2010). Their first album betrayed their sense of humor, as pretty much all the vocals it included were only silly clips at the beginning and end of songs. The have kept this humor, which makes me like them a whole lot more. 

Serious music for serious people. Clearly.

Their most recent album, "LP4," came out just recently and has carried on their tradition of dance-able but unusual instrumental techno music.  Currently, I'm addicted to this GOOD SONG off the album:
Neckbrace.

You'll probably need a neck brace after bobbing around to that one as many times as I have.

BUY THEIR MUSIC HERE: Ratatat music!

If you liked these songs, you might also like:

LCD Soundsystem
Daft Punk
RJD2
Simian Mobile Disco
Justice

Over and out,
Anna

Talking Like a Jerk

OK, so because of a sweet hook-up from a friend of a friend, I got to go to Virgin Mobile Free Fest at Merriweather Post Pavilion in Columbia, MD, where a whole bunch of bands played outdoors on three different stages. The one I was most excited about (beating out even Yeasayer and Thievery Corporation) was LCD Soundsystem!


I was not disappointed. They played a FANTASTIC set. You can't listen to them and not move. There was one guy in front of me who looked like he had pogo sticks for legs. For a solid hour, which is impressive.


I am aware that LCD Soundsystem (aka James Murphy) is relatively well-known, so this post is not going to be about introducing you to a good song, per say, but rather more of a reminder that the song is good. 

The GOOD SONG for today is Dance Yourself Clean. This song is long, just a warning. But it rewards patient listeners. Halfway through, it REALLY ramps it up.

I suppose one could, potentially, "dance yourself clean"
in a bathtub. Good thinking, James.

What I found interesting was that in between sets concert-goers could text messages to be displayed on huge mega-screens by the stages. Most of the messages were silly or stupid, some were vulgar, some were nonsensical in-jokes, but a few were thought-provoking.  TWO of them touted LCD Soundsystem as the "voice of this generation." I honestly don't know how I feel about that. Or rather, I think I might believe it, but I'm not sure whether I like what our generation is saying. His lyrics are actually very interesting for an "electronica/dance" group, but there's also a real sense of jaded-ness (is that a word?) and disillusionment. Maybe that's a good thing. I don't know. 
But I have to admit I like the lyrics to Dance Yourself Clean, which includes this verse:


"Talking like a jerk,
Except that you're an actual jerk,
and living proof,
that sometimes friends are mean."


And also these words:


"Every night's a different story
It's a thirty-car pile-up with you
Everybody's getting younger
It's the end of an era, it's true."


Although perhaps his song Losing My Edge is the one that most speaks ABOUT this generation (although perhaps not from within said generation), which is particularly funny for those into music. The whole song is about how he is losing his edge, his "cool," his "hipsterness" to those in the younger generation, who idealize and idolize music from the years that they never even witnessed.
The whole lyrics are here, but these are a few choice lines that I like:


"I'm losing my edge. 
To all the kids in Tokyo and Berlin. 
I'm losing my edge to the art-school Brooklynites in little jackets and borrowed nostalgia for the unremembered eighties. 
But I'm losing my edge. 
I'm losing my edge, but I was there."

and

"I used to work in the record store. 

I had everything before anyone. 
I was there in the Paradise Garage DJ booth with Larry Levan. 
I was there in Jamaica during the great sound clashes. 
I woke up naked on the beach in Ibiza in 1988. 
But I'm losing my edge to better-looking people with better ideas and more talent. 
And they're actually really, really nice. "

Well anyway, I'm sorry to hear that Mr. Murphy feels that he is losing his edge, but he still makes darn good dance music.


But tell me, dear readers, who do *you* think is the voice of our generation?

BUY HIS MUSIC HERE: LCD Soundsystem

If you like this song, you might also like:

Daft Punk

Hot Chip

!!!

Lonely Dear

Broken Social Scene

Caribou (formerly Manitoba)

Over and out,

Anna

"Drifting, Through the Capitals of Tin..."

Ok, so I have been a huge U2 fan since I was about 12. I have also been a huge Johnny Cash fan for about the same length of time.
Bono once quipped that Johnny Cash had "the most male voice in Christendom."
Which is true, and everyone knows it.

My gosh! He's almost smiling!

What you might not know is that on the U2 album Zooropa (1993!), U2 recorded a song with JC himself (Johnny, not Jesus). Entitled "The Wanderer" it's pretty much the only Cash song I know of that has no guitar, no harmonica, no traditional country stylins. It has pretty much only a beat and a synthesized bass. It's awesome. Bono lends only a croony-sort-of-yowl towards the end (around 4:15 or so).

"Your hair is a bird, your yowl is invalid."

Anyhoo, so here is the link to today's GOOD SONG: The Wanderer.

The lyrics are interesting, sort of the Apocalyptic journeyings of a man carrying "a Bible and a gun," searching for something, someone. Lots of people I know hear parallels between the setting of this song and the world today. I think it depends on how pessimistic you are. My favorite bits:  

"I went out there
In search of experience
To taste and to touch
And to feel as much
As a man can
Before he repents."

and


"I stopped outside a church house
Where the citizens like to sit
They say they want the kingdom
But they don't want God in it."


The combination of his uber-distinctive voice with the chorus in the background at the end is nothing short of genius.


If you like this song, you might also like the rest of Zooropa ("Numb" is a great one-- also sans Bono vocals). I'm not even gonna bother trying to tell you what you should check out if you like Johnny Cash and U2. Their legacy is too huge.


And I'm hungry!


Over and out,
Anna


P.S. Download the song here!