Monday, June 20, 2011

2001: A Rock Odyssey

Remember when the 'new' millennium arrived?
Besides a shift in our clocks, there was a garage rock revival that changed the face of alternative music forever. In 2001 I was thirteen years old, and I quickly fell in love with the White Stripes and the Strokes when they arrived on the scene. My affection for the genre only deepened with the arrival of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, the Hives, the Libertines, the Stills, and eventually the Arctic Monkeys and Bloc Party. Yeah, I love my indie pop now, but before that the speakers in my bedroom were flooded with louder, back-to-basics grooves. I still pop in the White Stripes' Elephant and zoom down the street in my car from time to time, yell-singing "I think I smell a rat!". In high school, my first concert was the Strokes in Boston, at age fourteen. I didn't get to see the White Stripes until age eighteen, but it was still worth it then. Currently, the White Stripes are broken up, who knows what happened to the Hives, and the Strokes are making a dismal attempt at becoming a band again. Even I can admit this, and I was obsessed with Julian Casablancas from the first time I heard "Last Nite". Ah, well. I don't know about you, but I'm ready for some talented new groups to arrive, to pick up where these guys left off in the middle of the last decade, keeping the original soul but injecting some new juice. Anybody wanna start a band?
This playlist is full of songs that I loved when I was in high school, that I think represent the mood and time well. I'm no expert on where genres end and begin, but I think this compilation is pretty awesome and worth the time-traveling. 

Friday, June 17, 2011

this is the remix!

You guys, seventeen year old me is really jealous of twenty three year old me. On Wednesday I went to a Belle & Sebastian music video launch, and tomorrow I'm going to a symposium on the Historical Thesaurus of the OED.

But never mind all of that.

because...

guess what time it is?

TIME FOR MORE THINGS HEATHER LIKES AW YEAH

(otherwise known as 'i have been writing and here are some things I have been listening to, perhaps unhealthily, on repeat')

1. Alpine Ski Champion
Alpine Ski Champion is one of the approximately six bands (this is only a slight exaggeration, though by the time you read this it might be accurate) that my friend Suse is in. ASC is her electro project with her bandmate-in-one-of-her-other-bands/friend Frazer Graham. Both Suse and Frazer are DJs as well, and brilliant ones at that, so needless to say the combination of all of that into an electronic project is pretty fucking fantastic. I recently saw Alpine Ski Champion play live, and they were most excellent. (SIDENOTE, electronic music performed live is much more interesting than i expected it to be.) You can check out all of their tracks on Soundcloud, but check out this remix of Gwen Stefani ft. Pharrel Williams' Ice Cream Island--
Ice Cream Island (Gwen Stefani & Pharrell yummy vocal edit) by AlpineSkiChampion
If this doesn't win you over, nothing will!

2. Bon Iver, Self-Titled
Confession time: I barely listened to For Emma, Forever Ago. (I am aware of the massive crime against humanity that this represents.) Something about this album gave me extraordinary bad luck. So when I heard that Bon Iver was coming out with a new album, I was ready to miss it again. And then I heard Calgary and everything - EVERYTHING - changed. Christ on a bicycle, you guys, this stuff is fantastic. Get the whole new album here. You are welcome.

*BONUS: to fit the theme of this post, here is Calgary, Remixed:
Bon Iver - Calgary (Thunderlust Remix) by Thunderlust

3. The Jackson Pit (the jackson 5 vs passion pit)
YOU GUYS THERE ARE NO WORDS FOR HOW PERFECT THIS IS.



4. This remix of Run This Town vs Fireflies.
Remember that time that Owl City was a thing? Also this comes off a mix called "Best of Bootie". Just saying.


5. http://historysaidwhat.tumblr.com/
This isn't music but this is pretty fantastic.

Sunday, June 12, 2011

Don't Sit Down Cause I've Moved Your Chair...

New Arctic Monkeys! Try out their new single, "Don't Sit Down 'Cause I've Moved Your Chair", off of Suck It And See, which was just released on June 7th. I'm getting an Iggy Pop vibe, but maybe that's just the vocals during the chorus. Anyway, it is a lot different than the more popular Arctic Monkeys songs of the past that people recognize, but I'm digging the new direction. The video for this song is great too, all psychadelic and colorful. What does everybody else think?

Friday, June 10, 2011

A new single from Beirut! "East Harlem" is off the upcoming album The Rip Tide, which will be released on August 30th. How long has it been? To be honest, I didn't even realize that he released an EP in 2009, and I haven't heard it yet. I was on the bandwagon with Gulag Orkestar, Lon Gisland EP, Elephant Gun EP, and dabbled in The Flying Club Cup. The song doesn't charge right out of the gate like some of his early work, but rather slides by. I've always been a big fan of his vocals, and here they are subtle yet precise. This new one is very summery, relaxed, and elegant, I definitely recommend it.


Thoughts?

Thursday, June 2, 2011

summer time and the living's easy

It is currently "summertime" in Glasgow (this is arguable). As a result, all the stores are having sales on their "winter" clothes. So, I have been spending a lot of time in H&M lately stocking up on sweaters that are on sale. (I should point out that i am still wearing said sweaters indoors. Yes it is June, thanks for asking.)

The other day while I was in there trolling the bargain racks for the third time (and picked up a fantastic woolen thing for £5), I decided to make my best H&M mixtape. Because, you know, whatever. I concede my hipsterdom to the point of admitting that half of these are songs I've actually recently heard at H&M.

AND it has a bit of a summery feel to it! So there, Glasgow. 55F and rain does not constitute "summer". Just saying.

01 wrong feels right - dum dum girls
02 we're happening - the vaccines
03 still (dr dre) - jj
04 baby says - the kills
05 southside (ft. gwen stefani) - moby
06 night jogger - those darlins
07 wild young hearts - noisettes
08 make time - cults
09 invisible light - scissor sisters
10 after dark - le tigre
11 if you wanna - the vaccines

as per usual, grab it here!