Hold Your Head Up

Summer isn't over, folks! I thought I would post another GOOD (SUMMER) SONG while it was still the season.
I heard this song recently and knew I had to post it. It is a great, fun, super-catchy song that I have been humming since I first heard it a week or two ago. Give it a listen!!

Rockin out. Me likey.

GOOD (SUMMER) SONG: Beacon by Matt Duncan
Listen to those horns! The piano! And is that an accordion in the background? Amazing! I love the R&B vibes combined with the indie-pop sound. The whole EP is worth a listen, really. Matt Duncan, based in Kentucky, released his six-song EP entitled Beacon, winter of 2010. I can't find out too much about him, other than the facts I already mentioned (from Kentucky, male, young, makes music) but his music is happy-making.
I love the lyrics to the song, especially the first verse and chorus (I'm a sucker for songs that mention NY, for obvious reasons). It's funny, though, because I first thought that he was saying "Hold your head up, you're in Beacon"; Beacon is a artsy little town in upstate NY that I had *just* read an article about in the NY Times (read it here). But that's not what he is saying. Fortunately I like the real lyrics better than my imagined ones.

"I got friends in New York City
'Cause everyone I know left town
That's the place your day lit dreams go
Where you can't see the sun go down

Hold your head up, you're a beacon
You pull me northward in my car
You don't have to hit the big time, baby
We know who you are."

BUY HIS MUSIC HERE: Matt Duncan

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

Beirut

Jens Lekman

Elvis Costello

The Magnetic Fields

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 

A Summer Bouquet

I know it's summer and I should have a lot more free time, being a teacher and all, but it's actually been a bit crazy. I've been outta town for a while, and heck, I'm still outta town. Thus, my posts this month will probably be pretty short. Oh well.

Some summery dudes making some summery music.

Here's a GOOD (SUMMER) SONG for y'all:   Get Up by Jonquil

Jonquil is a group from Oxford, England (one of my favorite places in the world. You walk into that town and feel centuries of knowledge just seeping into your bones. It's pretty cool). A jonquil, by the way, is pretty much just another word for a daffodil. In case you were wondering. Anyway, this song has some great guitar opening it up and then the drums and vocals kick in, and it just gets more fun. I have no idea what the song is about or what the vocals are really, but it's OK. It's still a fun song.

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

Wolf Parade
Yeasayer
Vampire Weekend
Yellow Ostrich
Local Natives

Over and out,
Anna

When the (bon)fire is low...

So, remember that Shakira song "Waka Waka?" The one that they played all the time at the World Cup? Well, she recorded it with a group from South Africa called Freshlyground, and it turns out they are awesome!

Look at all those beautiful people of all shades

Here is a GOOD (SUMMER) SONG of theirs: Fire Is Low by Freshlyground

The members of Freshlyground hail from South Africa, Mozambique, and Zimbabwe, and are assorted ethnicities, and their diverse cultures and backgrounds make for some really cool music. They formed in 2002 in Cape Town. They released their first album, Jika Jika, in 2003, then followed it with another in  2004 and another in 2007. Fire Is Low comes from their most recent album, Radio Africa, from last year (2010). They are Afro-pop with a bit of jazz. Or maybe Indie with a bit of jazzy pop. Or maybe African with an indie-pop twist. However you describe their sound, they are a lot of fun. The lead singer, Solani Mahola, has a really beautiful, jazzy, smooth voice that is extremely smile-inducing. The other band members include Simon Atwell, Peter Cohen, Kyla Rose Smith, Julio "Gugs" Sigauque, Josh Hawks, and Seredeal "Shaggy" Scheepers. All those band mates means lots of instruments: flute, mbira, harmonica, drums, sax, violin, guitar, bass, keyboard, etc., etc. How can you not love it??

This song makes me want to dance around on a summer night when the bonfire gets low. It's impossible not to groove to that beat! Listen! The sax! The clapping!
I hope you enjoy this song, because I sure do.

If you did, indeed, like this song, you might also check out:
Paul Simon
Manu Chao
Arno Carstens
Belleruche
Laura Izibor

Over and out,
Anna

P.S. If you are in DC and free (I'm not. Oh well.) on July 2nd, you should totally go see their show at Black Cat!

Summer Time and the Livin' Is Easy...

WHOOOOOOOOOOOO HOOOOOOOO!

I had my last day of school on Friday! Students don't realize how much teachers look forward to the summer. Definitely more than the kids do. For real.
So, in honor of my first week of summer, I thought I'd start posting fun summer songs. How's that?
This first post on Manu Chao may not be big news for those of you who are close to me and have had mixes made by me. I am a bit obsessed with Manu Chao, and I play him all the time. But for those of you who are not well-acquainted with him, or who have forgotten about his awesomeness, read on!

Manu looking appropriately beachy. 

GOOD SONG: La vie á 2 by Manu Chao, from his album Clandestino (1998)
I have heard this entire album by Manu Chao approximately 300 million times. My sister used to play it *all* the time when we shared a room, and I have memories of going to sleep to it and waking up to it later in the night when she had gone to bed, but had forgotten to turn off the lights and the music. Because of this I know ALL the lyrics to his song Bongo Bong, which is one of my favorite songs on earth. Also definitely worth a listen. But yeah, the album isn't exactly recent. But it is a classic in my book. Manu Chao is a freaking genius. He sings in French, English, Spanish, Arabic, Portugese, Italian, Galician, Wolof, and I think more. He is super-popular in Europe, but hasn't made it quite as big here in the States. His popularity is growing, though. His music has about a million different influences in it, so it is hard to describe. It's a hell of a lot of fun, though. Manu Chao & his band Radio Bemba have released three albums to date: Clandestino, Proxima Estación: Esperanza (2001), and his most recent one La Radiolina (2007).

Buy his music here: Manu Chao!

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

Mano Negra (an earlier band of his)
Orishas
Gogol Bordello
Beirut
The Skatalites

More fun summer music of all types and tastes coming along soon! Keep your ears open!

Over and out,
Anna