Updates

A few quick things to note as I'm sitting at my computer in San Diego, waiting to take a shower...

The Past Few Weeks:

I got to see Ricky Gervais perform live at the Kodak Theater in Hollywood while (luckily) sitting front row center. Ricky was great, with his timing and anecdotes coming off than anything you can find in his YouTube clips. Let's also note that instead of sipping from a bottle or glass of water, like most comedians do during their sets, Ricky nursed a giant can of Foster's Beer. The show was hilarious.


Sometime after the Gervais performance, I scored tickets to a sold-out Ratatat show. The venue was very cool, cool being the crowd wasn't too hipster and the area wasn't too. They played a lot of stuff off their latest record, LP3, which is to be expect, but everything they played from 2006's Classics sounded great. And yes, they eventually played "Seventeen Years." It was the closing song from their encore and the vibrant track sounded even better live.

I didn't get any pictures, but during their perfromance, they projected a whole hunch of strange videos, like the Predator one I posted a few weeks ago. Here's the video backdrop for the song "Flynn." It's entertaining if, y'know, you're a fan of VH1 Classic or Chevy Chase.


This Week:

I'm in San Diego for Comic Con, which is why I haven't touched a computer recently. More updates on this ridiculous event when I get back to L.A. on Monday.

Fin

Listmaking

So here is something I found rather interesting that has been (or had been over 4th of July weekend) appearing on several blogs recently:

"List your favorite record from every year you’ve been alive.

You can do it based purely on hindsight, or you can do it by listing the answer you would’ve given in that year (assuming you were aware of pop music at the time)."

Wikipedia helps.

Of course, I decided to make my own list.

1987 - Dinosaur Jr., You're Living All Over Me
1988 - Sonic Youth, Daydream Nation
1989 - Pixies, Doolittle
1990 - Fugazi, Repeater
1991 - My Bloody Valentine, Loveless
1992 - Pavement, Slanted & Enchanted
1993 - Nirvana, In Utero
1994 - Weezer, "Blue Album"
1995 - Foo Fighters, Foo Fighters
1996 - Cake, Fashion Nugget
1997 - Built to Spill, Perfect from Now On
1998 - Neutral Milk Hotel, In the Aeroplane Over the Sea
1999 - The Flaming Lips, The Soft Bulletin
2000 - Radiohead, Kid A
2001 - Daft Punk, Discovery
2002 - Queens of the Stone Age, Songs for the Deaf
2003 – Sufjan Stevens, Greetings from Michigan
2004 - Eagles of Death Metal, Peace, Love, Death Metal
2005 – The National, Alligator
2006 – the Thermals The Body, The Blood, the Machine
2007 – Battles, Mirrored
2008 – Vampire Weekend, Vampire Weekend

Obviously, the list culminated in a listing of some of my favourite albums, but it was surprising to see which years garnered records I hold dearest to my heart and which years were lacking records I liked all that much.

1994 was hands down the hardest year for me. So many incredible albums came out that year, albums that are solidified in my personal all-time-favourite-canon, but I ultimately went with a record that influenced me greatly at the time I first received it. In contrast, 1991 and 1998 were quite easy for me to decide upon.

1995, 1997 & 2001 also proved difficult years. Instead of laundry listing the seriously talented or laughably poppy albums that came out in said years, scan Wikipedia. 2008 was pretty hard too, especially since the year is far from over, so I went with the record that's gotten the most spins from me as of today.

What does your list look like and what was the hardest year for you?

MP3 of the Day

As you may have noticed, I skipped a mixtape for this week. I've been busier than expect with work and this past weekend, but no worries, new content will be arriving shortly. Here's today's MP3.

It is what it is, a free, web-hosted MP3 of my choice awaiting your download. Click the link and enjoy.


MSTRKRFT - Vuvuvu
I posted a single of this tune's A-side in an April mixtape, but I found myself coming back to MSTRKRFT's "Vuvuvu" quite a bit recently.

The song itself is a pulsing electro-house jam that sounds self-generating and hypnotic, its prime listening location being someone's dank, oversexed basement. Though it's around two months old now, it still holds up to anything off the recently US released Hercules and Love Affair record or Justice's recent MGMT "Electric Feel" remix. Oh why not, I posted both songs below...

Hercules & Love Affair - Blind

Justice - Electric Feel (Remix)
Enjoy.

MP3 of the Day

It is what it is, a free, web-hosted MP3 of my choice awaiting your download. Click the link and enjoy. Today's a two-for-one.


Jay Reatard - Nightmares
An stellar example of Jay Reatard's lo-fi branded, punk influenced, guy next door garage rock, "Nightmares" is off his 2006 solo debut, Blood Visions. That being said, "Nightmares" is in the middle of the Reatard spectrum; his songs get harder and, at times, softer (see below).


Jay Reatard - I Know a Place
Whereas "Nightmares" was a demonstration of Reatard's straightforward punk rock, "I Know a Place" offers a more subtle listening experience. It's gentle and doesn't operate at a breakneck speed, differing greatly for Reatard's much more fervent material.

Jay Reatard's musical output is incredible. Since 1998, he's released nearly seventeen albums and thirty four 45s/EPs. He's definitely worth checking out.

YouTube Fridays

Here's your weekly update of videos I've flagged on YouTube. This week I've listed three clips: new, recent, and old.

First is the new Ratatat video for "Mirando." The song is pretty solid, but the video, which samples from one of my favourite John McTiernan films, is very cool. Thanks to Megan for the heads up.



Second is the "viral video" for the upcoming Tropic Thunder film, which aired during the most recent MTV Movie Awards. There's a chance you may have already seen this clip, however, its too entertaining not to mention.



Last is a 2006 a capella Grizzly Bear performance of "The Knife" on the streets of Paris direct from La Blogotheque. The clip is self-explanatory, but an interesting watch.



Don't forget to check out the Artist Spotlight on Pavement posted below.

Artist Spotlight

This feature exists for three reasons: to give my fingers a break, to give your ears some homework, and to expose you to fantastic bands that you may or may not have heard of.

Pavement
A band as heavily accoladed as Pavement requires almost no introduction. They're staple members of the indie rock community, being one of the first bands ever to obtain significant success sans a major record label. To put it plainly, the band is the first prominent "indie band."

Not only is Pavement one of my favourite bands, but it surprises me how few people I know listen to them. So, for your listening pleasure, I've selected 15 tracks that I feel make an excellent primer to the music that is Pavement's.



I did make some rules for myself when selecting the curated songs. First, no more than three songs from any given album; a crucial restriction seeing as how the band's first two albums, Slanted and Enchanted and Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain, are masterpieces. Second, include one song from each album; an obvious choice for a rounded listening experience. And finally, include more than one track outside of the band's LP discography.

Enjoy.

Shady Lane off Brighten the Corners
Trigger Cut off Slanted and Enchanted
Shoot the Singer (1 Sick Verse) off Watery Domestic EP
Stereo off Brighten the Corners
Zürich Is Stained off Slanted and Enchanted
Grave Architecture off Wowee Zowee
Silence Kit off Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain
I Love Perth off Pacific Trim EP
Strings of Nashville b-side off the Gold Soundz Single
Frontwards off Watery Domestic EP
In the Mouth a Desert off Slanted and Enchanted
Gold Soundz off Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain
At&T off Wowee Zowee
Grounded off Wowee Zowee
Spit on a Stranger off Terror Twilight

MP3 of the Day

In an effort to update the blog daily (or, at best, every other day), here's my newest feature - MP3 of the Day. It is what it is, a free, web-hosted MP3 of my choice awaiting your download. Click the link and enjoy.


Girl Talk - Play Your Part (Pt. 1)
The first track from Girl Talk's stellar new album, Feed the Animals. The record was made available June 19th on the Illegal Art website in a pay-what-you-want format, very similar to Radiohead's release of In Rainbows.

Although the LP is almost two weeks old now, my Californian travels didn't allow me to get my hands on a copy until earlier last week. That being said, "Play Your Part (Pt. 1)" is one of my favourite songs on the record and certainly one of the strongest. Everything from the opening salvo of "Gimme Some Lovin'" to the mash-up of Lil' Wanye with Sinead O'Connor's "Nothing Compares 2 U" at the 3:41 mark equals syrupy Girl Talk goodness.