CLICK TO DOWNLOAD: May 2011 // Comfortable Miracles 

This month I listened to two things: Long, blonde, skinny girls who have blown me away, and old mediocre stuff. Oh, and the new Beastie Boys. I also promise there’s no industrial noise. So here we go.

1. “Lose It” — Austra :: This is just the cusp of the awesome girl acts this month. It sounds kind of like a happier and less trippy Knife. I can hear the convergence (reference is too belittling a word) of many current trendz in music, but she does it very successfully and interestingly. I think it has more pop appeal too, than, say, Grimes or iamamiwhoami or even Fever Ray. 

2. “Make Some Noise” — Beastie Boys :: Their new album is so fulla hits I can’t stand it. It totally hooked me. And it sounds, you know, very Beastie Boys, but also very recognizably from 2011. There is a thirty minute music video for this song with fantastic cameos from all your favorite comedy actors and is completely justified in being thirty minutes long. Check it out. 

3. “The Real Me” — The Who ::  The Who were the first band I ever saw in concert and I totally didn’t get it. I still don’t, I feel. It’s that jaded thing that happens when you listen to a pivotal band from before your lifetime. But every time it comes on on shuffle I get really excited. They’re really a fantastic band! Great sound, great image, great writing. And Quadrophenia is magical. I desperately wish I was alive when this could have been relevant to my youth. 

4. “Devil Is A Lady” — The Chain Gang of 1974 :: Sometimes you go see a band play, perhaps a band you really like, and they just suck live. They stand there and chugchugchug on their guitars and look all hard and shit. Or it sounds like listening to the album, one dimensional and unchanged. Such a disappointment. I saw this band unintentionally and in a bad mood and had such a great time. They put on a Fucking Show. Fun lights, bizarre dudes, lots of jumping and cajoling and skin. Going to a show expecting to have to stand through a boring opener and then getting to see one of the most fun shows ever is probably one of the best surprises ever. 

5. “Y” — iamamiwhoami :: Quite simply, I am in love with her. Her voice, her songs, her video, her silly eyelash jewelry… I would worship her if someone started that religion. After Michael showed me all the videos, I could not get it out of my head. And I could ramble on about the comparisons between American sexuality and, uh, un-American, and gender and beauty, etc. that her videos spark for me, but… I won’t bore you. 

6. “I Hate You” — Monks :: This is pretty normative 60s garage rock but with an extra bit of fun. It’s so bare and so tongue-in-cheek… Like listening to a 60s Hives plus the Violent Femmes (maybe). And that organ? Fuck yeah!

7. “Going Wrong” — Planningtorock :: I think Planningtorock — and yes, that’s a girl — may eventually become more interesting to me than iamamiwhoami or Fever Ray. Same aesthetic, obviously, but there’s something very ‘heady’ about it, and so I sort of default to the prettier things. Regardless, it’s very impressive and I like it. 

8. “Land of Sunshine” — Faith No More :: Sometimes I hate music and will use the album shuffle feature on my iPod in hopes of rediscovering something I had forgotten. And it worked this month, with Angel Dust. Sometimes I feel like Mike Patton shines more in his other projects (Faith No More was the most prolific band), but listening to this album is just… It’s like listening to Mike Patton live conducting an orchestra or something. The more electronic stuff is fantastic, and I’m sure more satisfying to him (full creative control and limitless sounds), but Faith No More feels like Mike Patton Raw, naked, covered in blood, with an erection. Or something. Whatever. No one reads this shit anyway, who cares if that makes an iota of sense. 

9. “Marry The Night” — Lady Gaga :: (If this were an academic paper, this is where I would illustrate the differences in sexuality between America and Europe using Lady Gaga and iamamiwhoami as analogies. And I would also talk about post-modernism in here somewhere.) This not being an academic paper, I’ll just say this: This song makes me happy and hopeful and high. 

10. “Chan Chan” — Buena Vista Social Club :: This is one of those songs that makes me physically feel different and a thousand miles away. And if you know Spanish, it’s effing dirty. 

11. “I’m Gonna Be (500 Miles) — The Proclaimers :: And this is just fun and overlooked.

Best thing ever. I love her. 

CLICK TO DOWNLOAD: April 2011 // Three Times, ‘Coz Time Don’t Exist

1. “House of Balloons/Glass Table Girls” — The Weeknd :: (Before we begin, I have to give credit to Michael for 85% of the songs on the list this month. I was in an unadventurous mood this month and didn’t seek much out myself. Thanks Michael!)  For the first two weeks of April I listened to nothing but this album (available for free download, by the way, from the guy himself at www.the-weeknd.com). It’s sort of a really dark hip-hop album. Really spiteful, clever lyrics. And the music is sublime.

2. “Black Flags” — Atari Teenage Riot :: New album leaked this month!!!

3. “Memories of the Future” — Handsome Furs :: When I heard this I almost wept. It’s a really strong album, too; the kind where you don’t want to skip any songs. They all fit together perfectly. 

4. “Where to Now St. Peter” — Elton John :: I wish someone had instilled in me and obsession with Elton John when I was a kid. Every song is a complete and gripping story… They seem to be the most deliberate efforts and earnest emotions. 

5. “Vanessa” — Grimes :: I can only picture fairytale lands when I hear this. 

6. “Entire Empire” — Viernes :: This is all the good things of other mediocre atmospheric shoegazey bands and none of the boring. 

7. “Melting Down on Motor Angel” — The Flowerpot Men :: I can’t find anything about these guys at all. Michael downloaded it off a site that only has music no one has ever heard of and most of it is incredible. It sounds as viable as any post-punk act but for whatever reason never went further. Without the internets, no one may ever have known them. 

8. “Do You Believe? (Cardigans Cover)” — Deftones :: I know, what else can I say about the Deftones? But this cover is so fucking good. 

9. “Shimmerine” — Golden Gardens :: I’ve had the pleasure of seeing Golden Gardens twice this month. They’re beyond good and way fancy. 

10. “Flying Over Seas (feat. Devonté Hynes & Solange Knowles)” — Theophilus London :: Isn’t this crazy good? Thanks, Michael. 

11. “Acid Reign” — Violens :: 2/3s of Lansing-Drieden. Violens makes my brain do gymnastics. Sooo much going on. 

12. “Rip” — Gary Numan :: God, this is incredible. It sounds a lot like NIN and Marilyn Manson, but somehow I feel like it’s even more fucked up. 

CLICK TO DOWNLOAD: March 2011 // Our Temple, Your Tomb

1. “Do Ya Like” — Childish Gambino :: This is the same Donald Glover from that “Freaks and Geeks” video I posted down there. He’s into hipster girls and sounds like “Hovy with glasses, Weezy but geeky” — yeah. He’s the shit.

2. “Walk on Boy” — Doc Watson :: I shouldn’t have to explain myself; this sounds delightful. If you don’t like this stuff, you’re missing out on an entire sub-phenomenon within the larger phenomenon of racism. Great music, but clean cut white dudes like Doc Watson totally stole it from the black man. I’m just sayin’. 

3. “Don’t Let Her Go” — Mindspiders :: This is the lead guy from the Marked Men, one of my favorite garage punk bands. I’d  been anticipating this for a while now, and was SO surprised to even see it on the internets, much less Pitchfork (they gave it a pretty decent rating, too!). Anyway, it’s got a weird 50s feel to it and it’s pretty swell. 

4. “Moonshield” — In Flames :: Unfortunately, I heard In Flames for the first time on their album Soundtrack to Your Escape, which was very bad. And so I ignored them for years until my boyfriend was like, “Whatthefuck, they’re amazing. Listen to this,” (It’s so nice having that age difference) and it totally was. 

5. “Steamroller” — Pigface :: In some ways I regret having to put this song on this playlist; Pigface, an industrial supergroup, has quite a variety of sound (this one just happens to sound like terrible distortion and static, which is pleasing to me). But then, the other song in contention, “Chickasaw” sounds more like Sneaker Pimps or Siouxsie than anything, and frankly that’s tired as well on these playlists… so here you go. Distortion and static. Suck it, general populace. 

6. “Drive My Car” — The Beatles :: My dear reader Sarah E. was educating me on The Beatles this month. Apparently, my father (the man responsible for instilling Beatles love in me) had really only shown me the super progressive, weird, heady albums (Revolver, Rubber Soul, that one other one) and so when I tasted the likes of Help! and Yellow Submarine, I was just wholly disappointed. And alas, I still don’t exactly worship the Beatles, but I did download the Rubber Soul remaster and found that I still quite enjoy this song. I, however, don’t think I’ve ever loved anyone enough to let them drive my car. 

7. “Baby (El-P Death Mix)” — Justin Bieber & Paul McCartney :: Yes. Yes, this is “Baby” masterfully mashed with “Live and Let Die”. I’ve had it for a while now (thanks again, boyfriend) but during the Beatlemania this month it resurfaced and was declared GENIUS! by Sarah E. Frankly, she’s right. It’s a great song. No idea where that “BITCH!” sample comes from, though… 

8. “The Wolf” — Fever Ray :: Saw Red Riding Hood this month and this new Fever Ray song and Amanda Seyfried’s big blue eyes were the only decent part of the whole production. 

9. “Tormentor” — Skinny Puppy :: Being born ten years later than I was supposed to is such a pain. I grew up adoring this band and had managed to never hear the album Too Dark Park and thus this song was never known to me. 

10. “Grey Cell Green” — Ned’s Atomic Dustbin :: The only reason I know about NAD is because my uncle is inexplicably a mega-fan and because my dad had this CD in a case of four-hundred and I picked it up randomly. At the time, I thought it sounded like grunge but with a nice Verve-y feel and it was heavy on the bass, so I liked it. It remains a band of obscurity and curiosity for me and… yeah. That’s it. 

11. “Derezzed (The Glitch Mob Remix)” — Daft Punk :: The best thing about Tron truly is the complete remixed soundtrack. Each song is incredible and makes up for how shitty the movie was and how much Daft Punk let it slide this time. (Naturally, I had to pick the Glitch Mob remix.)

12. “On My Level (feat. Too Short)” — Wiz Khalifa :: I was exactly right. This album is the shit. Wiz Khalifa is better than Nas. 

Preview of coming attractions. If you haven’t heard this guy yet, you’re in for a treat. And this was shot all in one cut which is just… endlessly, endlessly impressive. 

Hello, (Small) Readership! 

I generally want to share music more than once a month, and more than just one song at a time. From now on I’m going to try to intermittently post ‘Starter Kits’ (introductions to artists, genres, labels, eras, etc.) and maybe full albums, too. If you have any requests or suggestions, please let me know! 

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD: February 2011 // Never Sick Enough to Die

1. “Blue Movie” — Sneaker Pimps :: Trip-hop usually fails to impress me, being too relaxed (I’m not really that type of girl) and devoid of opinion. Sneaker Pimps have this delicious, tragic edge that makes their trip-hop more than just background music. 

2. “Whole Lotta Love” — Led Zeppelin :: Holy Shit. The Song Remains the Same was on the telly earlier and I kind of fell in love with these guys all over again. They fucking put on a show. (Also, I had no idea Robert Plant, or anyone fromt the 70s, could be that sexy. I’m a child of the nineties…) 

3. “Note to Self: Don’t Die” — Ryan Adams :: I’ve loved this song for a while now (yes, it’s true, I’m a Ryan Adams fan) but always related to the “don’t change, just lie” part… This month I saw it in an entirely different light. Before I interpreted this as a celebration of irreverence and apathy; now it serves as a reminder that the only person you can expect to be there for you is yourself, so quit sacrificing your integrity or self-esteem for other people. /end sappy rant.

4. “Born This Way” — Lady Gaga :: Yes, it sounds like a gay club anthem, but it’s perfect that way. And, like many gay club anthems, it is embarrassingly moving.  

5. “The Thing That Should Not Be (Live)” — Metallica :: This is the first song I ever heard by Metallica way back when I was in middle school. For whatever reason, I’ve been listening to all the big thrash metal bands’ discographies and just got to Master of Puppets and found that it’s still my favorite Metallica song (but this version is backed by a full orchestra so it’s even more epic).

6. “I Need a Dollar” — Aloe Blacc :: This has been around for a minute or two now, but damn, is it a good song. 

7. “Drop Down” — Designer Drugs :: The name of this band and their album (Hardcore/Softcore) really got me excited because I thought it would sound, well, just like this. It’s been a minute since something silly like this came out… it sounds like VNV Nation and Combichrist gave birth to a gay clubber. 

8. “Hey Man Nice Shot” — Filter :: That Bulletstorm trailer is all over the place and I absolutely live to hear “C’MON, SWEET BABY!” and then  ”HEEEEEEEEY, MAAAAAAAN…” (And right now I’m blasting it and yelling along with the lyrics.)

9. “Moonskin” — Samael :: Samael has easily risen to my top metal bands. It’s like really progressive black metal with a lot of keyboards. It’s amazing. This song doesn’t do them justice at all. I don’t know what to say. Go get this. 

10. “I’ll Take Care of You” — Gil Scott-Heron & Jamie XX :: Yes, the guy from the XX remixed poet Gil Scott-Heron’s (a man with a voice this side of Morgan Freeman) spoken word album I’m New Here and it’s really cool. The original album was hypnotic, and rather than simply putting out a remix album, what Jamie XX and GSH released is a totally different take.

11. “If Only” — Queens of the Stone Age :: QOTSA is one of my favorite bands of all time that I repeatedly forget how much I adore. It can be kind of painful to listen to; like you’re on weak yet horrible acid and it’s making you paranoid. Everyone is staring and laughing while their faces drip onto the floor, and gingery Josh Homme is there and he’s sneering at you… and you can’t even dance to it. But anyway, I love them, and their self-titled debut album was remastered and leaked earlier this month (thanks Josh S.) and it’s been such a fun blast from my past. Anyway, I forgot that this song is practically the only song they ever wrote that sounds like it could be performed with fucking Nickelback or something. 

12. “Ain’t Nobody” — Clare Maguire :: I nearly wet myself when I heard this. She’s this Irish pop sensation (or will be, hopefully) and she sounds just like Stevie Nicks or Cher. Usually I download these international pop releases just “to see”, but I actually listened to the whole album, and then some. It’s fucking good. She’s got a set of pipes, and the music reminds me of Florence and the Machine. 

13. “Religion (Pussy Whipped Mix)” — Front 242 :: … and then let me ruin that bliss by playing this abortion of music that I happen to find delightful. 

14. “Bastard” — Tyler Bastard :: Michael’s friend gave him this like, a night and a half ago and I think it’s reaaaaaally fun and uncomfortable. I think him and Gonzales should do a duet. 

I’d like to apologize for the unabashed shittiness of January’s playlist. There’s far too much ironic pop music on that and, well, I’m sorry. :) I have wireless internet now/again, so there should be some new cuts next month. Yay! 

And here’s the cute kitten. 

CLICK TO DOWNLOAD: January 2011 // Say Three Hail Marys, Turn Around, Pray About It

1. “The Rain (Supa Dupa Fly) — Missy Elliott :: There’s a great disparity between the lyrical meaning of this song and how the music makes me feel. I love it. 

2. “Still” — jj :: So yeah, jj put out an album that more directly says, “Yeah, we’ve been referencing hip-hop this whole time,” and it’s very good. Way more creative than a mashup or mixtape. 

3. “Bass Down Low” — DEV (feat. The Cataracs) :: This girl is like the hipster version of Ke$ha, except she kind of has no personality (but a slut voice that kills). 

4. “Violent Dreams” — Crystal Castles :: All month it was like I rediscovered this album.

5. “Dark Allies” — Light Asylum :: This is honestly probably the only good song on this mix, and it’s REALLY good. Twin Shadow plus Active Child plus angst… Awesome. 

6. “Hold It Against Me” — Britney Spears :: The original slut voice has just made dubstep a mainstream sound. Prepare for dubstep to become massively unpopular in roughly half a year. 

6. “Descent” — Fear Factory :: Michael always raves about this album and it’s actually one of the better metal I’ve heard in a hot minute (yes, it’s old news). It sounds like guilty pleasure metal (90’s hard rock) but with actual musical interest. 

7. “Awesome (feat. The Cool Kids)” — The Bloody Beetroots :: This is old at this point but s-s-s-s-ssssssidechaincompression!

8. “Black & Yellow” — Wiz Khalifa :: JESUS CHRIST HAVE YOU HEARD THIS? Best song on the radio in like forever. Genuinely not horrible. 

9. “Joga” — Bjork :: I have loved this song before I knew who Bjork was. Every time I hear it it’s like I shatter. 

10. “Oh My God” — Ida Maria :: Michael bought Rock Band 3 this last weekend and it’s like all we’ve been doing. And this song! I’d never heard it. It’s really rather adorable and relatable and creative and marketable and it’s nice. 

CLICK TO DOWNLOAD: December 2010 // Ain’t No Day the Sun Don’t Crack

1. “Sick to Death” — Atari Teenage Riot :: ATR sounds like a futuristic car crash… for sport. Like some kind of sex/violence/hysterical laughter virus infects great metropolises and everyone just dies in machine gun sprays while fucking. 

2. “Don’t Burn the Witch” — Venom :: Long story short, I’ve been compulsively exploring the roots of black metal. This is great shit, actually. British. I can hear the rotten teeth. 

3. “Behind the Mirror” — Kreator :: …Venom influenced thrash metal from Germany which I also really think sounds fantastic. All this does something early American metal never did for me. And I can’t put my finger on why. 

4. “Foetus” — Ramrod :: I got through an eight-hour car ride solely with the aid of  Lorazepam, Dramamine, and this song playing on repeat. The gorgeous lush California landscape and Foetus. So relaxing. 

5. “Long Hard Road Out of Hell (feat. Sneaker Pimps)” — Marilyn Manson :: “Oh Mary, Mary — to be this young, I’m oh so scared. I wanna live, I wanna love! But it’s a long, hard road out of Hell.”

6. “Like a G6” — Far East Movement :: I think I like the slut voice best. 

7. “Sunshine” — Alice in Chains :: I love the weird, incomplete symbolism that all grunge bands seem to sing about. Totally rediscovered Alice in Chains these last few months and surprisingly it’s all stuck and I listen to it repeatedly. I think I like them almost as much as Nirvana (oh shit!). 

8. “Kush (feat. Snoop Dogg & Akon)” — Dr. Dre :: I AM SO EXCITED FOR THIS FUCKING ALBUM. (Even though, like, I’m kinda sick of hearing about who smokes out who more…)

9. “Ghosts of the Midwinter Fires” — Agalloch :: Black metal from Portland, OR. Great ambient and progressive feel, but still very like, “Oh shit is this from Norway? This has got to be from Norway.” 

December will either be delayed or lumped in with January… Sorry for the delay! December was mostly “Like a G6” and music that sounds like what it feels like for your internal organs to eat themselves (Foetus and Atari Teenage Riot). So we’ll see. 

As a disclaimer to anyone who gives a shit, I had a musical epiphany this month. Mostly involving The Birthday Party and Foetus, but also, as supplementary revelatory aides, Joy Division and Ke$ha. I discovered a whole new sound and aesthetic I didn’t know I loved. I haven’t been this in love since I was in my early teens. 

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD: November 2010 // Don’t Gotta Be Politically Correct

1. “Fuck You” — Cee-Lo Green :: I’m sure everyone’s heard this by now, but it really is just such a fun song, and seems oddly appropriate to play for young children. Like as a life lesson or something. 

2. “Love Harder” — Ali Love :: I guess I actually found this months ago, but when disco and Tesla Boy came up in the same conversation (thanks Molly), I remembered Ali Love, whom I had listened to with slight embarrassment (because he seems to take himself pretty seriously) months earlier. But you know what? It sounds great. Who cares about dignity.  

3. “Six Inch Gold Blade” — The Birthday Party :: This is where the unfolding began. I can’t even remember why I decided I should listen to The Birthday Party, but somehow I did. Music like this, in the past, I have always ‘liked’ but never enjoyed listening to — it was too disjointed, abrasive, and ugly without being at all beautiful, melodic, or danceable. 

4. “Power” — Kanye West :: This really needs no explanation, does it? The whole album is, in fact, incredible. 

5. “Pet” — A Perfect Circle :: This month I was lucky enough to see APC live three nights in a row (each night was a different album). Needless to say, for a fan like me, it was magical. HOWEVER, Maynard James Keenan and his fans are the world’s biggest assholes. I’ve had nacent knowledge of this phenomenon for some time now, but the APC show really solidified this fact. Now I understand why my intuition compelled me for years to explain myself humbly and extensively when answering “What is your favorite band?” inquiries. 

6. “Two Women, Knitting” — White Moth :: This is exactly what black metal should continue to morph into. 

7. “Zugg Island Convict” — John 5 :: John 5 is Marilyn Manson’s guitarist and is considered to be one of those “guitar virtuosos” (i.e. Joe Satriani, Buckethead, etc.). Something that repeatedly strikes me about such one-man musical powerhouses (particularly guitarists) is the fact that many, at some point, when left to their own devices, play around with bluegrass/country rhythms. And no one of their fans or critics ever says, “Damn, this is awesome stuff. Great job.” Everyone just thinks it’s some unfortunate ego/boredom-driven shit that should be forgotten. But bluegrass rhythms (and instruments like the fiddle and banjo) are some of the most difficult kinds of music to play, technically speaking. Anyway, there’s some food for thought. 

8. “Sin” — Nine Inch Nails :: Pretty Hate Machine REMASTERED came out this month. Fuck yes. 

9. “Mighty Whity” — Foetus :: Foetus is the second part of my musical revelation. What I love about Foetus: it’s shamelessly depraved (without being overtly sexual), aggressive, and most of all, there isn’t a shred of nostalgia or sentimentality. At all. Not even in one song. And it’s angry, not angsty. It’s punk rock and industrial and jazz all crammed into one sound and then made a thousand times better than either of those. I used to find this kind of music unlistenable, though I liked it in theory. With Foetus and The Birthday Party I absolutely crave it. 

10. “She’s Lost Control” — Joy Division :: I watched 24 Hour Party People with Michael this month and have a whole different understanding and appreciation of New Wave/Post-Punk now. What a fantastic movie. And obviously Joy Division is quite good too.

11. “Other People” — Prick :: This revelation should have actually started with Joy Division, then Prick, then Birthday Party, and then Foetus (it actually occurred in the order in which they appear in this playlist), but by the time I listened to Prick I was already jaded by the apex that is Foetus. Regardless, as far as industrial goes, this is really, really good. And not dumb. 

12. “Party at a Rich Dude’s House” — Ke$ha :: I had downloaded this when it leaked at the beginning of the month, but knew it would a) be fucking awful and b) piss me off. So I waited until I was nice and liquored up to play it. IT’S SO MUCH WORSE THAN I IMAGINED. Just listen to these lyrics… But it did make me think: I want a pop star that’s entirely gender-ambiguous. More specifically, I want a female pop star to have a really masculine image. Not masculine like this is trying to be — sexually lewd and emotionally unsentimental — but image-wise. I want the vocals, subject matter, and sound to be entirely ambiguous but erotic… So let me know if you want the job. 

13. “Diamond in the Back” — Curtis Mayfield :: SOUL THROWBACK Y’ALL. I love how smooth and laid-back this is. 

CLICK TO DOWNLOAD: October 2010 // Serenade Me With Rocks, Love

1. “Rumors” — Josh Ritter :: If I was allowed to form an arsenal of the best songwriters alive today, Josh Ritter would be high on the list. Fans of Ryan Adams would probably love him, as he’s got the same lyrical wit but with more of a jazz/country influence than rock and roll. 

2. “Quimey Neuquen (Chanca Via Circuito Remix)” — José Larralde :: Not too many songs inspire a clear image or narrative to come to mind immediately, but this song makes me pause and drift off into reverie every time… 

3. “Teenage Dream (Kasakade Remix) — Katy Perry :: I have to give her props. This is really fucking fun; I never expected another single, not to mention a decent album. And it sounds awesome. And I’ve realized something: An okay pop song always has the potential to be an amazing House hit. 

4. “Apply” — Glasser :: I’m so in love with Glasser right now. It has the same ethereal air to it that’s pretty popular right now (a la Twin Shadow, Fever Ray, Active Child, Zola Jesus), but what stands out to me is that it’s stormy, electric, but completely free of angst or heaviness. 

5. “DJ, Ease My Mind” — Niki & the Dove :: Any song in which the singer communicates with an omnipresent DJ is an automatic win for me. 

6. “All Tan Everything (feat. Jay-Z)” — Das Racist :: Will someone please shed some light on the particulars of the “booty droop” in the comments. 

7. “I Am Not a Human Being” — Lil’ Wayne :: The more I listen to Lil’ Wayne the more I become a fan. (And this song HELLA reminds me of Mos Def. That’s right: Hella.)

8. “PVC” — Suuns :: One of the best releases of the year, I think. If I had ever had a reason to wonder what the Violent Femmes would sound like with Krautrock sensibility in a world where Ian Curtis didn’t kill himself, this is it. 

9. “Cause=Time” — Broken Social Scene :: …was such a magical show! It kept getting better and better right up until closing. Seeing this song live made my month. 

10. “Voodoo-U” — Lords of Acid :: Acid house was a nice discovery as a brooding, Nine Inch Nails-fed adolescent; it made dance music acceptable for my discriminating goth-only palate. 

11. “The Primitives Talk” — Zach Hill :: This is from the newest solo album from the drummer of the noise/math band Hella. 

12. “Lost in Music” — Anita Lane :: Who is Anita Lane? She was the long-time girlfriend of Nick Cave (The Birthday Party, Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds, Grinderman) and occasionally helped out with the songwriting. She’s this gorgeous Australian sex-kitten with big lips and a really demure, soft sort of sex appeal. And she’s FILTHY.

13. “Young Men Dead” — The Black Angels :: Everyone has agreed that The Black Angels are the best psychedelic rock band in the world, ever. This is the first song on their first LP and by forty-three seconds in you will be tripping balls. 

“Oh My Kids (Usher vs. Sleigh Bells)” — ABX of The Hood Internet

Everyone should know where to get a good mashup when they need to: 

Bootie :: Home of A+D and the newest releases, plus monthly playlists with the top mashups. 

The Hood Internet :: Two guys mashing up indie hits with mainstream ones. (See this post, et al) Follow them on tumblr, too.

Plenty of others out there, too: DJ Schmolli (Bloc Party fans pay attention), The Kleptones, Party Ben, DJ Earworm and Mighty Mike to start. 

CLICK TO DOWNLOAD: September 2010 // Awake on My Airplane

1. “Take a Picture” – Filter :: I swear, if a song has repetitious lyrics, those lyrics eventually become a mantra that inevitably seems to hold waaaay more meaning than they actually do. Anyway, this is the first thing I heard on September 1st… and it was a good day.

2. “Trapdoor” – Salem :: Who knew that pitched down crunk and Garage Band effects could sound this good. But really, this is their first LP, “King Night” and it’s way better than just this track (and it doesn’t just sound like you’re listening to Gucci Mane on ketamine).

3. “Move It” — Balkan Beat Box :: Best accident of the year: Seeing Balkan Beat Box at Bumbershoot. Who knew?

4. “Boyfriend” – Best Coast :: Hopefully you’ve heard this single already. This kind of music, when it’s done just right, can put me in a completely happy and calm state of mind. Best Coast Win.

5. “Rock That Body” — The Black Eyed Peas :: I really do not like the Black Eyed Peas (though the way it’s produced is kind of magical), and I had just finished declaring that when this song came on, um, Comcast’s “Hit List” music channel (it’s a good education!) and I immediately loved it. When I went back to California to visit my family (which includes a 13 year-old girl) we all got this song stuck in our heads for the whole trip. 

6. “Castles in the Snow” – Twin Shadow :: I heard a remix of something by Twin Shadow once and then this LP came out of nowhere. It’s oozing with absinthe-infused honey and whimsy and a childish renditions of really heavy emotions… A thousand and two images fill my head when I hear it. I think of Nabokov, and I think of expensive crystal, warm beaches, ten decades of high fashion, black lace…

7.  “Paradise Circus” – Massive Attack :: This was on TRUE BLOOD. There, that got your attention. I know for certain that if this song was playing really loud, and suddenly it was Armageddon, I would be completely disaffected (and slightly aroused) as held my own entrails and bled out slowly while everything around me was destroyed.

8.  “Forgot About Dre (feat. Eminem) – Dr. Dre :: Long story short, I bought a pair of Dr. Dre’s line of headphones, Beats, and christened them with what else? The Chronic 2001. It sounds so damn good. I swear, I was in such a music funk until I got these headphones… They sound better than anything I’ve had before. It’s really, really fun to listen to crisp, well-produced hip-hop and pop especially. 

9. “I Am Europe” – Gonzales :: If you’ve ever listened to Feist (which of course you motherfuckers have), you’ve heard Gonzales, her pianist. He’s incredible, and incredibly funny. “Ivory Tower” is a kind of rock opera, the poppy piano pieces overlayed with phat beats and pranksta rap lyrics. What really compelled me to post this is the ridiculous feeling that piano gives me; I rarely seek it out, but when I hear rockin’ piano I get this feeling like, “Yeah, you can do it! Go get ‘em!” So check it out.

10. “Absence of Light” – Maximum Balloon :: There are two songs by TV on the Radio that I love, and the rest of it I desperately want to love, but it just rubs me the wrong way. Maximum Balloon is the solo project of Sitek of TV on the Radio and apparently he’s my favorite part of TV on the Radio. Apparently he’s also produced for Liars, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, and (my favorite) Foals (he co-produced “Antidotes”).   

11. “Half Sunk Into The Seats” — Woven Bones :: Everything I love about the Austin, TX sound and everything that I love about shoegaze and everything I love about punk rock all in one band. 

12. “MoneyGrabber” — Fitz & The Tantrums :: A few months ago Michael showed me a video of them and said, “They’re gonne be big.” And I nodded. 

13. “Diamond” — Scott Reeder :: A forgettable member of The Obsessed and Kyuss did this solo project. It’s got the stoney bass lines of the previous bands, but everything’s really airy and light and tumultous. And then he sings like he’s in the Foo Fighters… It’s very confusing to me, and I certainly don’t think it’s the best thing I’ve ever heard, but it… just… I like it.