Rating: 7.5

Being one of the biggest bands in the world, TV On the Radio have little room for error.  If they release an inaccessible album they can quickly drop from the mainstream spotlight.  This might explain why singer/guitarist Kyp Malone decided to explore his earthier sounds with his side project Rain Machine, rather than forcing them upon his super group.  At first glimpse, Rain Machine sounds no different than TVOTR, but as the self-titled album unravels, it becomes quickly apparent that Kyp is the band’s George Harrison, willing to experiment with Middle-Eastern instrumentation and move toward more tribal horizons.

 Stripped down – this musical term, often over-used by music critics, fits perfectly in this case (call me a hack if you must). The drum machine has been stashed away in favor for tambourines, hand claps, and jingle bells.  The lack of a pulsing beat in the music helps make Kyp more down to earth, but at the same time, makes the music seem less significant and quaint.   It still features the signature TVOTR “double guitar lead” falsetto vocals, but the music is atmospheres away from Thin Lizzy’s stadium sound.  The album sounds like it could have been performed in your living room, although its trippy vibe may require a quick trip to Target for throw pillows and bean bags. 

Even the guitars, although often drenched in overdrive, seem to meander in a jumbled faze, fingers sliding up and down the fret board in search of a melody.  “Driftwood Heart” is the best example of the album as a whole, being a five minute mess of banjos, mandolins, and the soft “oohing” and “ahhing” of a ghostly choir. 

 On the first half of the album, Rain Machine balance the jangley with the more modern stylings beautifully, presenting a basic, soilly sound that works wonderfully. Unfortunately, songs like “Winter Song”, “Desperate Bitch”, and “Love Won’t Save You” take the sound too far. Each of them is over eight minutes of the band trying to find a melody that never takes shape.  By the time you reach the end of the album, you are tapping out. It’s just too much – too lost, too droning, too whiney.  While you’ve got to respect the band for following its muse, you wish that the album had more songs like “New Last Name” and “Give Blood” from start to finish.

 Despite all its flaws and extravagant rambling, Rain Machine has a simple charm to it.  It isn’t going to change the world.   The songs aren’t on worldly topics that TVOTR tackle.  No, Kyp doesn’t use Rain Machine to send any big messages. Instead, he sings borderline filthy lyrics like “I tried to change my name to Big Fag” or “You could have the fattest cock or the sweetest pussy.”  But in the end, maybe Kyp is making a bigger statement than I give him credit because amidst a recession, there is no better endowment to invest in than the one in your pants.

The appeal of Florence and the Machine is something of an anomaly to me because, though I think there’s something about the band’s recently released album, Lungs that is really irritating, I can’t stop listening to it. I guess, in the historic sense of the genre, that makes it an exemplary pop record.

There’s really nothing that’s all too new here but it’s infectious just the same. Florence and the Machine deals in genre tropes, seemingly written by folks with a music major’s knowledge of perfect pop song structure and aiming at creating tunes that just won’t leave your head [listen to Rabbit Heart (Raise It Up) for the most striking example of this effect]. Just the same, frontwoman, Florence Welch has a strong, captivating voice that is, at times, extremely reminiscent of The Cranberries’ Dolores O’Riordan, and her lyrics are probably the single most interesting aspect of the album. Essentially, Florence and the Machine bridges straightforward pastiche with a still novel approach that can’t easily be called derivative (does that make sense?). The group has created an interesting album but one that ultimately sounds like everything else but is still, for some reason, a lively and exciting experience. For example, moments like the bass drum heartbeat and false stop/start of Cosmic Love sure aren’t original, but they are pretty fun regardless.

Between Two Lungs brings a TV On the Radio inspired Feist to mind, combining handclap rhythms and a whimsical vocal performance that seems to keep the potential for advertisement placement firmly in mind. I’m Not Calling You a Liar is a hypnotic blend of harp plucking and multi-layered vocal tracks, using that old cardiac bass thumping yet again.  Blinding and it’s application of combined pizzicato and swelling string layers makes for a catchy song. The pounding toms and sparse piano chords of Howl give away to sugary-sweet synth strings and, ultimately, create one of the album’s most memorable tracks.

That’s about it. No superlatives or praise necessary. This isn’t that kind of album. Lungs simply serves its seemingly utilitarian purpose; playing through its tracks, entertaining listeners and not busying itself with inspiring any major emotional response.

I can’t recommend Florence and the Machine’s Lungs to everyone but I’m sure this album will emerge as the guilty pleasure of many a listener throughout the year (unless the group is still “indie enough” to make it acceptable listening). It’s worth a listen and is probably an album that will stand in posterity as a breakthrough success for a band with legs enough to carry a lengthy career.

— Reid

Isaac Yzaguirre - Austin

I don’t mention music often, but every day seems to have a song that’s put on replay, maddening everyone around me. Today’s musical juxtaposition consists of “Dirtywhirl” by TV on the Radio (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KWwwcSsSOvc) and of Tom Waits’ “Blue Valentines.” I’d shelved the two for several months, mainly to forget the events and people those songs represent, but listening to them today is like donning a stretched-out, cozy, and slightly moldy-smelling sweater. Nostalgic and mildly bittersweet. The lyrics to “Blue Valentines” are poetry in their own right, describing the regret-filled memories that dog me; “Dirtywhirl” recalls the girl I was only a year ago: shy, curious, young, naive, and slightly delusional.

Tom Waits
Blue Valentine (1978)
Blue Valentine

She sends me blue valentines
All the way from Philadelphia
To mark the anniversary
Of someone that I used to be
And it feels just like there’s
A warrant out for my arrest
Got me checkin in my rearview mirror
And I’m always on the run
That’s why I changed my name
And I didn’t think you’d ever find me here

To send me blue valentines
Like half forgotten dreams
Like a pebble in my shoe
As I walk these streets
And the ghost of your memory
Is the thistle in the kiss
And the burgler that can break a roses neck
It’s the tatooed broken promise
That I hide beneath my sleeve
And I see you every time I turn my back

She sends me blue valentines
Though I try to remain at large
They’re insisting that our love
Must have a eulogy
Why do I save all of this madness
In the nightstand drawer
There to haunt upon my shoulders
Baby I know
I’d be luckier to walk around everywhere I go
With a blind and broken heart
That sleeps beneath my lapel

She sends me my blue valentines
To remind me of my cardinal sin
I can never wash the guilt
Or get these bloodstains off my hands
And it takes a lot of whiskey
To take this nightmares go away
And I cut my bleedin heart out every nite
And I die a little more on each St. Valentines day
Remember that I promised I would
Write you…
These blue valentines
Blue valentines
Blue valentines

MC Rock - NYC

MC Rock - NYC

MC Rock - NYC

MC Rock - NYC

In light of music… Phoebe (with whom I just spent a week in Chicago) and I met at Interlochen Arts Camp the summer when we were twelve. I attended for piano performance and she for vocal performance, and we were placed in the same Michigan cabin. She later attended the boarding school (for writing) and when I asked about the experience, she recalled “teenagers having frigid sex in the practice rooms [in the woods]“. I clapped my hands delightedly and said, “That’s perfect! Because there were always chipmunks having sex in the pianos when I was there. I’d come in and just beat on the keys for a bit to scare the crap out of them.” Anyway, Phoebe has recently dusted off her fantastic voice and created a youtube channel. This is what she asked me to post, were I to write about her: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QtwReLj9hto . And… here’s the drunken Lady Gaga rendition she recorded while I was curled around my phone in her basement: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HMiANug0rRs . And an outtake, at which I’m heard loudly laughing: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ik-ITjUuu0o .

Yes, that’s what I did in Chicago. And I shot with Jeffrey David Cohn, which I’d been longing to do since I began to model. And I ate at a Ukrainian deli. And I finally spent time with girls.

I dare you not to love this video by Mixtape Club for Yeasayers’s 2007 song “Wait For The Summer.” I know, it’s from last year. But whatevs.com. It’s so 2009.

They’re the same dudes who did the video for “Me-I” by TV On The Radio. You know, that awesome ,weird, Johnston-esque song of their’s. No? Click the link then you dork.
- Christian BC

photo: Sebastian Mlynarski

Yeahhh it’s been 5 months since I’ve posted here. 5 months of lost music. So I’ll get back into this whole thing with some favourites from the past that I haven’t blogged about until now. Better late than never!

If you don’t know Holly Miranda yet I suggest you get your ass in gear and go listen to her Sleep On Fire EP.  She just recently signed with XL and released a new single “Forest Green Oh Forest Green” (Listen below). Her forthcoming 10-track album, The Magician’s Private Library was produced by Dave Sitek at Staygold Studio in Brooklyn, NY, and includes contributions from Sitek, Kyp Malone and Jaleel Bunton (TV On The Radio), Eric Biondo and Stuart Bogie (Antibalas), and Holly’s long-time violinist, Marques Toliver. It’s set for a February 23, 2010 release.

+ Holly Miranda – Forest Green Oh Forest Green [Buy]

Holly is currently on tour with The xx and Friendly Fires.

xx

A thing that I totally missed this year and don’t know how: TV on the Radio’s Guitarist Kyp Malone has a solo project. I discovered his song Give Blood which was released in July. It’s a wonderfully crazy song… so really something you would expect if you know TV on the Radio. I uploaded it for you but you should also check his myspace for more information.

mp3: Rain Machine – Give Blood

Enjoy

Thanks to everybody who commented on my last blog post! I really appreciate you sharing your playlists with everyone and introducing us to some great new music!

As I was responding to your comments, something hit me. You guys have shown us an incredible ammount of support over the last few years. You’ve called your local DJs to request our music. You’ve come to our shows and purchased our CDs. And your votes have caused us to win more contests and get onto more playlists than I could count. Each of you has helped make what we do possible.

Last week was really cool because we had twenty people contribute to our post! But, our anlaytics show that hundreds of people read it. Why is that? I’m not sure. But I feel that it is – at least in some part – due to the fact that so often the creation and delivery of art is a one way street. I want to change that; so I’d like to invite you to take a moment to do three things:

1. Visit atris.wordpress.com (This will be more fun if everyone goes to the same page.)
2. Scroll down to the comment box and introduce yourself. Write a few words about anything you’d like. How did you first hear our music? What city are you from? What are your favorite movies? Pretend we just met at a coffee shop. If you’d like share your blog address, Twitter ID or someplace where we and other people can learn more about you that would be great too!
3. Check the box that says Notify me of follow-up comments via email.

Please don’t do this for us, do this for yourself and for everyone. It takes a certain amount of bravery to put yourself out there; but it’s worth it. We love to get to know people with similar interests, ideas, and opinions. And it’s really cool when group discussions are started. If you have something in common with someone who posts, let him or her know! It makes me feel great to see people responding to my comments, and I love to chime back in to share my thoughts.

Looking forward to meeting you!

-Mason

The Skyline of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

I should first make it clear that I was born, raised, and still technically live in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. This is likely not the city you probably envision in your mind. I have heard many falsities about my hometown in my tenure here at Bates. Pittsburgh is not a suburb of Philadelphia. It is no longer dirty. Ihere is, in fact, an ‘H’ at the end of our name, and there is more to life than the Steelers, Penguins, and, of course, our lowly Pirates.

Chances are, if you are a student at Bates College, you have never been to Pittsburgh; if you have, maybe you passed through our airport once or twice, you might have a second aunt who lives in the area, or maybe you have just been content to steer clear of anything industrial your whole life.

One thing, of course, is usually looked over in discussions about my hometown is how much of a cultural hub it is for a fairly large amount of territory. In Pittsburgh reside some of the world’s finest museums, several epic concert spaces, great theater companies, and several major universities.

Pittsburgh is both an ethnic and geographic melting pot. It is as Northeastern as it is Midwestern and Southern. Residents of Western Pennsylvania come from a myriad of ethnic backgrounds, and that blending cultures have made for a unique and diverse artistic scene in the area. In case you didn’t know, it was Pittsburgh that brought you Andy Warhol, Girl Talk, Mr. Rogers, Jeff Goldblum, Tunde Adebimpe, George Romero, August Wilson, Chris Franz, and David McCollough.

Pittsburgh is, despite its reputation, one of the most intriguing cities right now for independent music. Sure, it’s not Brooklyn, London, or Athens, Georgia; there is a different sensibility in my hometown. The scene is less competitive; the sound is warmer, friendlier, and more inviting to the casual listener. On more than a few occasions, have I walked into a bar in Pittsburgh and seen an awesome concert and wondered why these guys have not hit the big time.

At present, I have been into a band called Good Night, States. It’s the kind of slow-paced semi-electronic indie-pop, which is great music for lovers of hyphens. I would also direct you to look into two more folksy bands called The Lost Sea and Chet Vincent and the Big Bend. I saw these two bands in one night, and what a night it was. Our local heroes, The Clarks, are always a sure bet, and for those of you keeping score, they have been together about as long as any of us have been alive. I’ve seen them a few times, if they ever get billed in your city, I encourage you to check them out. To expound our indie rock scenes are rising Hip Hop acts, such as Wiz Khalifa, and our, almost famous, Punk Rock scene which has spawned bands such as Anti Flag.

Yes, I grew up in a city that is a national punch line, but maybe it is time for people to take notice to what is happening in the City of Bridges. It’s a secret that is not worth keeping.

-Doug Ray

Doug Ray is the co-host of Saltimbocca & Escargot, Sundays at 8-10 PM Eastern Time on WRBC.

Wolf Like Me by TV on the Radio

Love this song, it was introduced to me by a new surfer friend, Graham, I guess we have been hanging out but I have no idea what his last name is. Back to the song, there’s just something so good about it, and the lyrics are good too. Biology prevails! And again here! Hahaha. The girl starring in the video is Neima from America’s Next Top Model.  

✌ Noche

Wolf Like Me by TV on the Radio

Say say my playmate,
won’t you lay hands on me?
Mirror my malady,
transfer my tragedy.

Got a curse I cannot lift,
shines when the sunset shifts;
when the moon is round and full
gotta bust that box, gotta gut that fish!

(My mind’s aflame)

We could jet in a stolen car,
but I bet we wouldn’t get too far
before the transformation takes
and bloodlust tanks and
crave gets slaked!

My mind has changed,
my body’s frame, but god I like it!
My hearts aflame,
my body’s strained, but god I like it!

My mind has changed,
my body’s frame, but god I like it!
My hearts aflame,
my body’s strained, but god I like it!

Charge me your day rate,
I’ll turn you out in kind;
when the moon is round and full,
gonna teach you tricks that’ll blow your
mongrel mind! 

Baby doll I recognize
you’re a hideous thing inside,
if ever there were a lucky kind it’s
you, you, you, you!

I know it’s strange, another way, to get to know you.
You’ll never know, unless we go, so let me show you.
I know its strange, another way, to get to know you.
We’ve got till noon, here comes the moon,
so let it show you.
Show you now.

Dream me, oh dreamer,
down to the floor;
open my hands and let them
weave onto yours.

Feel me, completer,
down to my core;
open my heart and let it
bleed onto yours.

Feeding on fever,
down on all fours;
show you what all that
howl is for.

Hey, hey, my playmate,
let me lay waste to thee;
burned down their hanging trees,
it’s hot, hot, hot, hot!

Got a curse we cannot lift,
shines when the sunset shifts.
There’s a cure comes with a kiss,
the bite that binds the gift that gives.

(We’re howling, forever)

Now that we got gone for good,
writhing under your riding hood,
tell your gra’ma and your mama too.
It’s true,
we’re howling, forever.

It’s hard being in one of the most critically-acclaimed bands of the decade. Kyp Malone (best known for being the singer of TV on the Radio that isn’t in “Rachel Getting Married”) put out his first solo album under the name “Rain Machine” earlier in 2009. Just like any superstar-gone-solo situation, there was a ton of buzz and skepticism surrounding the release (Pitchfork drew the comparison between the name “Rain Machine” and David Bowie’s failed solo project “Tin Machine”). However, I try to have faith in someone awesome enough to be in TV on the Radio to produce an album thats at least halfway decent.

Honestly, Rain Machine sounds like a more organic version of TV On The Radio. Malone uses a lot more acoustic sounds and instruments while busily satisfying the attention deficit of TVOTR fans. The catchiest track, “Give Blood” has the same maniacal rhythms and melodies that the band usually brings you. He stealthily jumps between chirping cowbells, pulsing bass lines, and dry, un-produced handclaps (all in awe-inspiring stereo).

“Smiling Black Faces” is slower, but no less intricate. The distant shaking of tambourines and sleigh bells create a fragile backbone as Malone’s trademark self-layered harmonies build from something slight and pleasant to something intense and gripping. After about five minutes of crescendo, he belts out “I can see smiling black faces” with a sea of sound (even more handclaps… I freaking love handclaps) and voices.

Hearing Malone’s organic and natural interpretation of the TV On The Radio sound really helped me to feel the passion behind his music. I think that I like the band even more after hearing Malone’s solo album. However, I would have liked to hear something a little bit different and adventurous. This is a lot like the Thom Yorke solo album to me (which sounded like Yorke making a Radiohead album by himself). I’ll give Malone an extra point for having one of the sweetest beards of anyone in the world of indie rock:

(7.5/10)

Grizzly Bear – “Ready, Able” – I really appreciate the thought and effort Grizzly Bear puts into their music videos. This one is a tripping balls kind of a video made with claymation.

White Denim – “I Start to Run” – Nice bass line on the first single from this Austin band’s latest album Fits. I predict big things for them in the future.

Rain Machine – “Give Blood” – Rain Machine is the side project of Kyp Malone of TV on the Radio. The self-titled debut is available now on Anti- Records. Not a bad song.

A new ace video for Rain Machine. Get the album if you can, its rather brilliant.

Discovering new music has been a somewhat laborious task for me the
past year. It’s safe to say 2009 did not wield many “holy s**t what
is this band!” experiences. I remember the first time I heard Jimi
Hendrix, “If 6 was 9″ changed my life forever! I was crazed… I
would stay up every night listening to Axis: Bold As Love through
headphones, in a trance, completely detached from reality. Music is
beautiful, it can offer an immediate personal connection, the type of
connection that can even thwart your addiction to Modern Warfare 2
(that’s saying a lot, it’s a pretty sick game!!).

Well, not all has been lost for me, I just discovered two bands that
have been making my xbox 360 collect dust….TV on the Radio and
Deerhunter. The former is a band I have known for some time, but have
not taken the time to check out. We even rehearse down the hall from
them! On a recent drive with a friend from Brooklyn to Boston, I was
introduced to both of these groups, thank you iPod shuffle and thank
you 2009 for not failing to disappoint!

For good listening check out TV on the Radio’s album Return To Cookie
Mountain and Deerhunter’s album Microcastle.

I haven’t spoken about Hip-Hop in a while.  I could use it, put my mind onto something else, might be good for my psyche.  Two of my most anticipated Hip-Hop albums of the year is a good place to start.  I just threw in Felt 3, and I like to listen to an album straight through before saying anything about it (see, there IS a reason why I never talk shit about U2’s “No Line on the Horizon”).  So I’ll start with one of my favorite new rapper’s debut LP…

I first heard of Wale via his “Mixtape About Nothing“.  I thought he was skilled, quick witted, funny as hell, and borderline experimental (at least in our current state of “mainstream” Hip-Hop).  I still do, but that isn’t necessarily who he is on his recently released debut studio album “Attention Deficit“.  Wale seems himself, and some tranquilized version of himself at the same time.  His wordplay is less funny, more serious throughout the album.  I don’t blame him for that, it’s his debut album and he doesn’t want to be seen as just a mixtape hooligan putting an album out, but it sucks when your favorite part about him is his humor and wit.  He’s still good, don’t get me wrong.  His flow is there.  And I guess his wordplay works in the context of the album.

When I read that David Sitek (of TV On The Radio) would be producing this record, I celebrated with party hats, blowers, and cake.  Well, not really.  But I was uber-excited about the whole thing.  The mastermind behind on of my favorite new bands working for my favorite new rapper??  Why wouldn’t I eat cake?  Unfortunately, this isn’t really the case.  Sitek’s only produces TWO tracks on the entire disc.  These tracks are probably my two favorites on the musical front.  Which is why this was so disappointing for me.  Sitek’s beats are not ABOVE the others, but they are the most ear-catching, unique, and perfectly layered.  Sure, Green Lantern and Mark Ronson make their mark with a catchy (if not a little slow) song with a repetitive hook.  Ronson’s first solo track is good too (with Bun’B).  Best Kept Secret, Cool and Dre, Ronson, The Neptunes, none of them suck.  And each makes a valid contribution to the disc, but when I listen to this album I always come back to the question: “Wouldn’t this be WAY better if it was a Sitek/Wale ONLY project?”

That’s the other problem, here.  Wale’s got too good a chops to be featuring someone else on nearly every single track.  When Raekwon (or an MC of that ilk) does it, it makes sense.  But Wale’s always been a solo entity.  He’s never with a crew in any of his photo ops, when he plays live it’s just him and his band, and his mixtapes (mixtapes are typically more guest-heavy than albums) feature only about 4 or 5 tracks with other artists.  On Attention Deficit it’s the opposite, only 4 tracks feature him ONLY.  That just ain’t right for him; again, it feels like he’s not being himself.  He might need Lady Gaga to help him sell records, but he sure as shit doesn’t need her to be a better artist or make a better track (in fact, I think it’s almost limiting).  Granted, this might not have been his choosing.  The album was originally put out by Allido Records, but Interscope has some stock in it.  I could see them putting pressure on a relatively unknown rapper like Wale to feature a lot of “guest appearances” as it helps with marketing and publicity.  But I honestly would’ve liked to have heard more lone Wale.

The album’s worth checking out if a) you’re a fan of Wale to begin with (or Ronson or Best Kept Secret), b) you’re tired of boring rappers sounding the same but independent Hip-Hop’s too weird for you, or c) you’re curious about David Sitek beats.  It’s not like it’s a waste.  In fact, it’s a pretty decent first step towards a discography that will take us well into 2020.  Yup, Wale will be around when we’re flying hover cars.

[Felt review to come]

-Sonny

Rain Machine - Rain Machine

With TV on the Radio taking a year-long break, what is the interwebs to talk about?  Kyp Malone decided to make the wait a little more bareable. Well, he breaks out with a solo album, under the moniker Rain Machine.

While there are definite parallels to TVOTR (especially the album standout, Give Blood), this is defintely Kyp’s show. What really strikes me after a few listens, though, is how the album meanders from song to song. Kyp definitely has something to say, but I must admit that it seems to miss the mark from time to time. Kyp had this to say about the album: “a nearly full spectrum of frequencies audible to the human ear, a reflection of a variety of emotions and situations real and imagined – some rhythm some rhyme.”

Um, ok…

So, dive in to Rain Machine, Give Blood video (can someone say Peter Gabriel?).

I’m not going to give 2008 the full play-by-play treatment I’ve been giving the other years of the aughties, simply because, well, it’s still pretty recent– and besides that, my list of fifteen favorites is still available here. I do want to make just a few comments, though, and shine the light on a few terrific recordings that are still very much deserving of praise.

But first, a confession. I have “officially” had two favorite albums of 2008: First, TV on the Radio’s Dear Science, and then, when I heard it in early 2009, Erykah Badu’s New Amerykah part 1: Fourth World War. And both are, to be sure, tremendous recordings, fully deserving of landmark status; indeed, both albums are quintessential snapshots of 2008, albums that perfectly summarize the spirit of the age in which they were made, either with uncommon hope (TVotR) or unfettered indignation (Badu). But I will admit now that, when it comes to the album I actually listened to the most and derived the most joy from in 2008– and on into 2009– the honor for my personal most cherished recording is Barry Adamson’s wonderfully soulful and deliciously seedy soundtrack-in-search-of-a-film, Back to the Cat.

That out of the way, I offer a few more reasons why 2008 was a year to remember:

• Two of the decade’s most accomplished and sophisticated singer/songwriters albums, by a pair of women who only seem to get better and better: Jenny Lewis‘ laid-back, classicist but idiosyncratic country-rock album Acid Tongue and Jolie Holland’s knotty jazz-and-rock knockout, The Living and the Dead.
• The decade’s most convincing claim to the “New Dylan” tag, The Tallest Man on Earth’s Shallow Grave.
• A dynamite continuation of Nick Cave’s latter-day winning streak, the frantically funny Dig, Lazarus! Dig!
• One of my favorite instrumental jazz albums of the decade, and perhaps my very favorite that’s made up of all-original songs– Brian Blade and the Fellowship Band’s Season of Changes.
• An album that didn’t make my original Top 15 list but probably should’ve: Sam Phillips’s electric and eclectic set Don’t Do Anything.
• An absolutely essential collection from Steinski, and a historic collection of Bob Dylan outtakes.
• And, the decade’s most pleasant surprise: A Coldplay album that was actually deserving of the hype.

That was 2008 for me; what were your landmark recordings?

See also: 2000; 2001; 2002; 2003; 2004; 2005; 2006; and 2007.

Kyp Malone, owner of the world’s greatest oversized beard/oversized glasses combo, and of TV On The Radio fame, made a corker.

Give Blood by Rain Machine

The time-honored tradition of the All Things Go Mixtape has returned, albeit in a new form. Instead of its themed predecessors, the new ATG mixtape will be released each month and will stay somewhat within a general motif or mood, but will not be constrained by a specific theme.

We kick the new monthly mixtape series off with the November mixtape, which features a cozy combo of memorable bands and warm, fuzzy newcomers. We start off with Little Red, a band I keep thinking I’ve posted about, but really never got around to it. “It’s Alright” sounds like it was birthed out of the early sixties pure, unadulterated soulful pop era. Next up is “Lust For Life” by new indie darlings, Girls, followed by The Dodos “Walking”, which is one of the band’s more perfectly crafted melodies. Justin Vernon delivers the fourth track, “Island, IS” with his new side project, Volcano Choir (which I discussed here). TV on the Radio’s “Crying” clocks in at number five, and was a song that I completely let slip through the cracks until very recently, and the same goes for all of Dear Science,. What a mistake that was.

The second half of the mixtape gets a bit more interesting, starting with Wave Machines’ bouncy “I Go I Go I Go” followed by quite possibly my favorite song on the mixtape, Faded Paper Figures’ “Logos”. I don’t know much about the group (other than that they sound quite a bit like Fujiya & Miyagi, Postal Service, and heaven), but I love what I’ve heard thus far. The National’s “Guest Room” is an absolute classic, and finds its way onto the mixtape as the eighth track. The last two tracks, “Half in Love with Elizabeth (Delorean Remix)” and “Two Weeks (Fred Falke Remix)” are a bit more synth-driven than the rest, but I wanted to share with you two of my favorite remixes in the whole wide internetz. As usual, you can grab the mix as a .zip or download each song individually.

.ZIP: All Things Go November Mixtape [mediafire]

MP3: 01: Little Red  – “It’s Alright”
MP3: 02: Girls – “Lust for Life”
MP3: 03: The Dodos – “Walking”
MP3: 04: Volcano Choir – “Island, IS”
MP3: 05: TV on the Radio – “Crying”
MP3: 06: Wave Machines – “I Go I Go I Go”
MP3: 07: Faded Paper Figures – “Logos”
MP3: 08: The National – “Guest Room”
MP3: 09: Mystery Jets – “Half in Love with Elizabeth (Delorean Remix)”
MP3: 10: Fred Falke – “Two Weeks (Fred Falke Remix)”

The All Things Go mixtape has returned.

Love,
Zack

Ma Mixtape est un nouveau type de billet qui va revenir régulièrement. L’idée est simple, si je devais faire une cassette pour mon walkman, qu’est-ce que je mettrais dessus ?
Voilà ma réponse du moment.

SIDE A.

The Dead Weather	Treat Me Like Your Mother
Elbow	Ground On Divorce
Them Crooked Vultures	Gunman
The Rodeo (feat. Olympia)	Amazing (Kanye West Cover)
Metric	Don’t Think Twice, It’s Alright (Bob Dylan Cover)

SIDE B.

Benjamin Biolay	Brandt Rhapsodie (duo avec Jeanne Cherhal)
Eiffel	Je m’obstine
Flight of The Conchords	Too Many Dicks on the Dancefloor
TV on The Radio	DLZ
Arctic Monkeys	Pretty Visitors