The Monday Mixtape

Welcome to this week's edition of The Monday Mixtape, a weekly update of songs, both old and new, that have been on my own personal heavy rotation.



This week has a little bit of everything.

He Hit Me – Grizzly Bear
Fresh off last year’s Friend EP, “He Hit Me” is a cover of The Crystals' tune of the same name (orginially recorded by Phil Spector). The cover is haunting and the psychedelic-folk of Grizzly Bear makes the song sound eerily amazing.

IPT2 – Battles
Anyone who knows me personally has probably listened to my talk about Battles or heard me listening to Battles, or some variation of the sort. This band is just impressively amazing. Their sound consists primarily of live looping combined with analog drumming and most of the time, I’m baffled by the human/robot hybrid sounds they create in the studio. This is a short track off the B EP from 2004. An awesome, quick hit.

To Fix the Gash in Your Head – A Place to Bury Strangers
I got a chance to these guys live a few weeks ago, and it was an incredible show. The guitarist destroyed his guitar onstage while strobe lights were flashing at their highest speeds. I’d never seen anything like it before. Anyways, this is a highlight track off of their self-titled debut from last year. It’s part Jesus and Mary Chain, part Ministry, and sounds great at high volumes.

Crimewave – Crystal Castles
Okay, so here’s a remix of a HEALTH song of the same name. It’s a straightforward, catchy electronic tune, but the big kicker is how differently it sounds from the song it’s remixing. Apparently, Crystal Castles get their wicked keyboard sound from putting Atari soundchips into their keyboards. They don’t have a debut album yet, but they’ve remixed quite a few tunes. Their first record is due out March 18th, so keep an eye out.

Walk into the Mirror – Stephen Malkmus & The Jicks
A bonus track off the new Stephen Malkmus record (Real Emotional Trash - out tomorrow). It’s catchy as hell and it’s a new Stephen Malkmus track, so any fans of Pavement, be sure to give this one a listen. The actual record is quite good, much different than the basement tinkering of his previous effort, Face the Truth; It’s more of a band-centered album and I recommend checking it out.

34 Ghosts IV – Nine Inch Nails
For those who haven’t heard about it yet, Nine Inch Nails just released a new album on their website today. It’s called Ghosts I-IV and it’s comprised of 36 beautiful instrumental tracks. I’ve barely made a dent in the material, but this is one song that highlights just how good this new material is and what it sounds like. It’s $5.00 on Amazon.com for all 36 tracks for anyone that’s interested.

Shake a Fist – Hot Chip
This is the second track off of Hot Chip’s album that came out a month or so ago called Made in the Dark. The album is made up of solid Hot Chip material, but this song kills for me. If you’re not moving by the 1:43 mark, when the snare drum kicks in, then you’re unmoved by music. I recommend listening to this one over the weekend.

Holy Dances – Beach House
A track off of Beach House’s somber, recently released, second record, this song really captures their sound for me: sweet and relaxing. A definitive track off of a pretty damn good album.

Wild Sage – The Mountian Goats
The Mountain Goats just released an album a week or so ago, titled Heretic Pride, and it’s not bad by a long stretch and certainly worth a listen, it just left me longing for the personal songwriting of his Get Lonely and The Sunset Tree albums. So instead of posting one of their new tracks, I’m sticking with an older Mountain Goats tune.

I’m So Green – Can
A classic, groovy-jam from Can, what more can I say? In the spirit of full disclosure, I originally got into this band because they’re one of Radiohead’s favourite bands and serve as a big inspiration for them. However, after getting a large portion of their catalogue, the band is just truly spectacular and this is just one track that shows it.

13 Ghosts II – Nine Inch Nails
Another track off of Nine Inch Nails' new album, Ghosts I-IV. This is a much more soft, piano driven song, much like a lot of the material found on a previous Nine Inch Nails effort, Still. It has a beautiful melody and it’s the last song of this week’s mixtape. Enjoy.