Sunday, July 13, 2008

10 songs i'm into at the moment

yeah i know, i keep coming back to music more than, say, books or palpable news items or what have you and i recognize that it's a bit tired. to which i say bite me. it's my blog, not yours, bitchez. anyhoo, i realize i haven't updated this thing in half of forever lately, and well, i'd apologize but that's not my style. i embrace my laze. plus it's summer in the desert, and it's by far too hot to do anything remotely productive (ie: thinking of general post ideas). so instead i'm staying in my air conditioned cave (cave with windows, go figure) and listening to a lot of tunes and now i'm going to share some. if you want to take a listen, i've stitched these ten little ditties together into one 40-minute mini-mix of sorts, and you can download it here. because i love you and also, what's the point of loving music if not to share, yes? duh. anyway.

ten songs i'm listening to a lot lately, which is saying something bc you'd think i'd be boning up on the folks playing at lollapalooza in t-minus three weeks (admit it, you're jealous) but no, i'm listening to these instead. la di da.

1. just --mark ronson

jazz interpretation of a radiohead song? yes please. i heard this in chipotle of all places the other day, and fell in love with it over my chicken guac bowl. covers of radiohead are scattered about the interwebs like as many an easter egg, and while some fail, others are quite interesting at the very least (sia's cover of 'paranoid andrdoid' comes to mind). this is probably my favorite so far. dancing to radiohead? who'd have thunk it.

2. modern guilt --beck
in the words of a good friend of mine, 'hey, i hear beck's depressed again! but not country depressed.' which is to say, his new album is no sea change or mutations (arguably some of his best, mutations being my absolute favorite) but it definitely doesn't leave me cold like 'information'. i think the title track is a decent interpretation of the album as a whole- a bit of bounce, but a bit of melancholy too. and bloops and beeps. because it's beck, obvs.

3. morningside --sara bareilles
it's no secret i'm a sucker for a girl with a piano, so naturally sara bareilles will make a cameo. she's the girl behind that oh-so-earwormy 'love song', which i do adore. this song here is more of her bouncy, slightly cynical but still fun piano pop. good times.


4. fight with tools --flobots
another very good friend of mine says he predicts 'big things for the flobots.' i was hesitant to agree, but after actually listening to 'handlebars' when it came up on the radio (do yourself a favor and listen to it as well...it's rather a genius testament to how much power can corrupt), i had to fetch the album. i'm going to side with aforementioned good friend of mine and say the flobots are going to be amazing, given time. rock hybrid with hip hop featuring a girl on the viola? check. message? check. addictive album? double check. i threw the title track into this mix because i think it showcases everything about them that makes me love them, down to the phrase 'rich get ricocheted'. awesome.

5. black and gold --sam sparro
i really can't figure out if this is supposed to be a song about the love of your life, or god, or maybe even a cheeseburger. who knows. but it's rather well crafted and just a good slice of electronica.

6. fingerprints --katy perry
okay. i know people love to hate on katy perry, and yes, she's very standard pop. no boundaries being broken, but i don't care. sometimes music doesn't have to break new ground. sometimes it's just as much fun when someone finds their niche and fills it exquisitely. i love a fair few tracks on her album, but i chose this one because let's face it, we've all heard 'ur so gay' and 'i kissed a girl' ad nauseum and this track is just a good solid pop song about that classic quarter-life crisis.

7. chocolate --paranoid social club
this band is hilariously awesome. the best way i could describe them is a fusion of hip pop, skater rock, drinking anthems and stoner chill mixed with some waltzy melody and a wicked sense of humor. this song is an ode to wanting a 'chocolate-covered girlfriend', or rather, the age-old white boy lusts after black girl and black girl is all srsly dude plz and the guy's all cmon gimme a try and the girl's all whatev and then there's dancing. it's adorably crass and sweet at the same time, and the line 'white boy take your skateboard and go find something else to grind' amuses me every time. plus it's danceable. what more do you want dammit?

8. astronaut --priscilla ahn
oh, priscilla ahn. you are lovely. this girl makes sweet, gentle pop tunes full of comfort and guitar. her voice is plush and unassuming, and her music is just beautiful. her entire album, 'a good day' is pure sweet goodness, and this is one of my favorite atmospheric songs from it. i really can't help but wish this girl much, much success. she's not going to blow anybody's world away, but she just makes me smile. i could listen to her whole album on repeat for hours.

9. butterfly --jason mraz
okay. not gonna lie. i have a wicked soft spot for mr mraz, possibly because he's from my home state (go virginia, woo. yeah i know, nobody else is cheering, but i don't care), or possibly because his first album was so damn infectious. he's not yet recaptured the summery breeze that was 'waiting for my rocket to come', but his new album is pretty damn good. coming from that, this is a perfectly danceable jazzy tune about, well, a girl's 'butterfly.' naughty but not obscene. and good summer music so far as i'm concerned, and since i'm running this ship, i don't have to answer to anybody else do i? unless this is a ship on the water, then i'll have to answer to the sea. but it's not so i don't. or something. nevermind.

10. distant dreamer --duffy
i think it's been established by now that i'm a sucker for sweeping songs, lyrics about getting 'out of here' or 'away from here', or anything that involves orchestra. plus duffy is so freaking adorable. she's a little pint-sized 24-year old welsh (i think?) singer who's doing neo-soul some good after the trainwreck that is la winehouse has turned into a drunken spectacle of disease and not song. her voice is distinctive, light but strong, and really her whole album is amazing. this song is just spectacular in my opinion though. cheesy, sure, but who doesn't love cheese? hell i'm lactose intolerant and i still adore it. so there. *bangs gavel*

and that's that. if you somehow missed it, you can find all these little songs mushed together here, and hopefully kill 40 minutes with some new tunes. i'll probably do this again next week, because if i am prone to do anything, it's babble about songs. it's something to do in lieu of actually writing them. because i'm a major dork. but you knew that. okay. i'm ending this now.