Volume 50: The Limousines

The Limousines latest effort, Get Sharp, is an album that starts off with a soothing intro with just enough oomph behind it to let you know what you are in store for. And it never lets you go and certainly wont let you down.

The track that should catch everyone's eye immediately is Internet Killed the Video Star, mainly because of its title. It's kind of hard to determine which is better, the title to this song or the song itself. An obvious reference to the great Buggles song, Video Killed the Radio Star, The Limousines title is a reminder of how society and technology has changed. With a great beat and a lyric such as "the kids are disco dancing", it makes you move your feet, nod your head and just lose yourself in it. Don't be afraid to let loose and jam out once in awhile.

Volume 49: The Decemberists

As I've alluded to, 2011 is off to an incredible start new music wise. The Decemberists' latest effort The King Is Dead, is no diversion from the theory. On my first run through, Down By The Water was the song that stuck with me after. I intentionally went back and put it on repeat and let it play for about 40 or 50 minutes.

From the opening drum beat and the harmonic hymn of the harmonica, the song just really gets a great kick start. Then it moves along into the verse and chorus where it really finds its momentum and then plateaus. Some would say a song hitting a plateau is a bad thing, but is it necessarily bad if the plateau is higher than the most songs? I think not, in fact I think it's a great thing that this song can sustain it's momentum and high quality for so long.

The video below is from their Leno set a week ago and very comparable, if not better than the album version.

Hip Hop Wednesday: Volume 9: Lupe Fiasco

41 days from now, the hip hop game will once again change. If you don't know the significance of this date, you will on March 8th.

Without being any more vague about the subject, it is the release of Lupe Fiasco's next album, We Are Lasers. An album that had dashing hopes of ever seeing a store shelf (or a virtual one nowadays), was finally given the go ahead for release after a strong fan petition. He is at the top of the game, this could be conceived as an opinion but when it's such a widespread opinion it may as well be factual. It's not just the production level or the beats, it's the topics on which he chooses to speak about.

In the song I have selected make sure to pay attention the lyrics and don't mind the first 15 seconds of this video, the song starts right after that.

41 days from now, hope will be restored.

Volume 48: Tapes 'N Tapes

The music video seems to be a lost art form nowadays. On Tapes 'N Tapes first single, Freak Out, off the new album, Outside, they tell the story they intended to with the song's lyrics as opposed to other videos which is just some random filler for you to look at. You also have to appreciate the idea of the VHS and how the home films used to look off of them with the date on them and the use of "Rewind" and "Fast Forward" appearing on the screen.

A pretty random fact about this band (courtesy of their Wiki):

The band has four members, each of whom is named after a word in the band's name; two members of the band share the same word for their name. The band members are:

* Josh Grier (Tapes 1) - guitar, vocals
* Jeremy Hanson (Tapes 2) - drums
* Matt Kretzman ('n) - keyboards, multi-instruments
* Erik Appelwick ('n) - bass guitar

Can't say I've ever seen anything like that before.

Volume 47: Destroyer

Not even an entire month into the new calendar year and the music forecast is about as strong as I can remember. Tomorrow sees the release of Destroyer's latest effort, Kaputt. It may be overshadowed by Iron & Wine's Kiss Each Other Clean release on the same day, but Kaputt certainly deserves its own spotlight.

The title track has been on youtube for a couple weeks now, just enough time to let it soak in and give you a glimpse of what to expect in the new album. It isn't an overbearing loud synthesizer 80s track, but rather a soft dream-esque vibe. The title track also has some great use of horns throughout its six plus minute endeavor. Fortunately for Destroyer fans, the wait for this album is over in less than 24 hours and the full experience of Kaputt can almost be had.

Volume 46: Sean Carey

You may better know him as the drummer and back up vocals of Bon Iver, but Sean Carey released his solo effort, All We Grow, this past August. If you are a fan of Bon Iver, then this should be right up your alley.

The "official" video for In The Dirt was shown a week or so ago and the quotations are there because it was originally a fan video but Sean liked it so much he decided to use it as the official video for the song. Look out for his other songs or just go ahead and get the album because it doesn't disappoint.

"In The Dirt" - Official Music Video from S. Carey on Vimeo.

Volume 45: Family of the Year

Chugjug is one of those songs that within the first 15 seconds you know you are going to love it. It just has the right vibe, right piano melody, the right pitch of the voices, just the right everything. This version, the Wilcox Session, shows how natural they sound. Nothing about it sounds produced or artificially made. I'll put the studio version in the comments so you can see just how similar their live/raw sound is compared to a produced version. It's always refreshing to know that the two sound just as good as one another.

Volume 44: Passenger

I'm not much of a dancer, I guess you could say I usually need a little alcohol to loosen me up but that's not the case with Night Vision Binoculars. The beat and the sound of the song just give me a feeling of wanting to dance with someone. It's even more impressive that it makes me want to dance because it's not an electronic song.

If you aren't clapping your hands or snapping your fingers in the first verse, then I don't know what to tell you. I guess grab some alcohol and loosen up and enjoy the music.

Volume 43: Iron and Wine

There's not much to be said about Sam Beam that hasn't already been said, so I'll spare ya. The upcoming album, Kiss Each Other Clean, is set to hit shelves/e-stores on January 25th. There is a lot of buzz surrounding this album and with the history that Iron & Wine has, they deserve it.

Some songs have already come out and Sam has already done some live sessions for them. The one that standouts thus far is Tree By the River. Here is a live version of that and don't forget to pick up the new album on January 25th.

Volume 42: Andrew Bird

Andrew Bird is one of only a few artists I can think of who whistles on their album. When you first hear it, it catches you off guard and then you realize with how great of a whistler he is it just becomes another instrument. An instrument that he has perfected. Not to mention he is quite skilled on the violin as well.

The only way to do his whistle justice is to show a live performance of his. Off of his 2007 album Armchair Apocrypha, comes the song Plasticities. The whistling truly brings a different sound to music, and as one as pleasant as his whistle is, you'll be wanting more of it.

Volume 41: Stars

The latest effort from the Montreal sensation Stars, The Five Ghosts, may have the creepiest album cover I've seen in some time. It's like one of those "when you see it..." pictures, or even straight out of a horror movie. The kind that used to scare my generation on the great post-school show, Are You Afraid of the Dark?

On "Wasted Daylight", Amy Millan's vocals really shine through on the chorus. Just a soft, not over-sung melody that fits perfectly with the ambient keyboard in the background that really sets the tone of the song. The song is very nostalgic and knowing that the album was released less than a year ago makes the effort even more impressive.

Make sure to comment on whether or not you've A) heard of it or not B) liked it or not and C) whether you would listen to more of the artist.



And here's a bonus live version:

Volume 40: Dawes

I'm not sure if I've said this on here before or not, but there is some great music in commercials. It's kind of crazy how some smaller bands get a lot of publication in such mainstream company commercials.

Take for instance, one of Chevy's latest commercials. It features "When My Time Comes" by Dawes. Great band, great album, and a great great song. It's one of those songs where you feel like you've heard it somewhere before but just can't pinpoint it. Then the chorus hits and it just pulls you in and makes you want to stay with it for a night or a dozen. It has the feel of an ultimate driving song. Windows down, fresh air, and nothing around but the music forcing you to sing. Truly great music.

Don't be ashamed to play it again right after it's over, I know I have done it.

Make sure to comment on whether or not you've A) heard of it or not B) liked it or not and C) whether you would listen to more of the artist.