Sadly I wasn’t able to get tickets to the Bag Raiders, Classixx and RAC show a few weeks back. So I’ve picked up tickets to Fake Blood an Alex Metric as a consolation prize. And as consolation prizes go, it’s sure to be better than a red ribbon.
While last month’s featured DJs are known for dreamy remixes heavy on synth, Fake Blood builds bangers. Continue reading Fake Blood and Alex Metric
In a recent segment on The Daily Show Jon Stewart notes the contrast between hackers and potheads whom the DOJ targets and the big banks that continue to be prosecution proof. He leads into this with a segment that compares the Obama administration’s words to their action in their commitment to freedom of the press.
| The Daily Show with Jon Stewart | Mon – Thurs 11p / 10c | |||
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The LULz just keeping coming over a juxtaposition of news clips that no other news source would put together. You get news stories about: the prosecution of state-run marijuana shops, a man who faces twenty-five years for hacking a Taylor Swift article, and otherwise boring C-Span clips of the coverage of the DOJ’s attempts to find a bank they can prosecute. This isn’t news, it’s political commentary with jokes. What distinguishes political commentary from news is that it goes beyond stating facts, it combines facts to suggest new ideas.
The Daily Show on Hackers, Potheads, and Banks (not) “Too Big to Jail”
| The Daily Show with Jon Stewart | Mon – Thurs 11p / 10c | |||
| Priorities USA – Too Big to Jail | ||||
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Thirty years ago, Jon Stewart’s role would have been filled by a columnist, nestled below Doonsebury on the back of the Opinion section. But Jon Stewart doesn’t have to state his facts. With the power of video to show you, rather than tell you, the news-makers hang themselves with their own words.
Most of what he says are jokes; the commentary is in the juxtaposition itself. This is what The Daily Show does best. Where the newspaper columnist of yore would paint a picture with facts and statistics, they make a collage of news clips that, alone, would be the tripe of another news day but together emphasize the hypocrisy, folly, or failure of their target. He doesn’t have to say that the administration’s targeting of journalists and sources goes against their stated values, he can prove it by showing clips of Obama’s words contrasting with his actions. Likewise, by showing a bunch of clips wherein the DOJ passes out prison sentences to hackers and potheads while those who caused the bank crisis go free, he can let the condemnations go unsaid. The video clips say it all, leaving him to make a joke of the irony.
They don’t have to do this. Nothing about The Daily Show requires political analysis. When it began, it was little more than a half-hour competitor to Saturday Night Live’s “Weekend Update.” If you’re old enough to remember the show Not Necessarily the News you know that jokes can be thrown over a news show without giving analysis too. But it’s often the case that while Jon Stewart is making Jew jokes and funny faces, the clips his team puts together are making astute political arguments that can make you angry and make you laugh at the same time. Any given episode of The Daily Show inspires more pathos than an entire season of The Cosby Show. As it should, because you begin to think, hey I listened to CNN all morning and nothing hit me as hard as that four minute segment on The Daily Show.
Following this is an equally brilliant segment wherein Jason Jones interviews a conservative lobbyist who was a victim of the IRS’s recent political targeting. Then it’s a Physics chat with Morgan Freeman. Here’s the full episode: The Daily Show with Morgan Freeman 5-23-2013.
The unofficial tagline of this site is “It’s not Brittany, bitch.” But my hopes are that the days of such cornball kinderwhore are over. Why just you listen to these ten delicious pop songs from 2012 and you’ll find you’re beginning to feel much more optimistic about the future of pop music.
After drafting this list, I realized quite a few of these albums haven’t been released in the U.S. yet. Sorry for any aneurisms this inaccuracy causes in your tender, particular brains. But we gotta keep it up and coming around here.
1. We Were Evergreen – Baby Blue
“Baby Blue” was their only US single in 2012
“Baby Blue” is bliss, right from the little breaths that open the song. The slight echoes behind the harmonies and the one-up coin sound effect at 1:12 are nice touches but this would be an adorable song with just the pianos and playful harmonies. This is what sunshine sounds like.
2. Yes Nice – Empty Spaces (Oh No! Yoko Remix)
From their remix CD Yes Nice Remixed Feb 2012
This isn’t your standard remix. It begins with beautiful a capellas; next come the violins. The vocals are chopped in a way that somehow transcends the typical electronic song. It doesn’t have the structure of your typical remix either, which generally has a a minute long intro and outro and two or three climaxes. Instead, this starts out soft and lovely builds to a single gorgeous cacophony and ends swiftly. Empty Spaces is musically interesting from beginning to end, and when you’ve listened to it a few times the lyrics are fun to sink into.
There are some who would object to including a remix (or two) on this list because it takes credit from the original artist. But I see it as a way to give space for two acts. Oh No! Yoko makes some delightful songs of their own well worth checking out.
3. Blacklight Dinner Party – Older Together
From B.L.D.P. Oct. 2012
From the first second “Older Together” starts with a take-no-prisoners hook. The guitar and and throbbing synth compliment it perfectly. Instead of the standard motif of playing the hook with the chorus, that piano bit lets up for the vocals, so neither delight has to compete. Before you’re sick of the hook, the vocals come in. Before you can tire of the vocals, there’s that hook. His voice is unique but not quirky, and a subtle reverb gives it that extra little something. The second refrain takes it up a notch with a synth brass section.
It speaks to just how good this song is that I’ve been listening to it since the single was released last year and it still holds up to songs I’ve only been enjoying for a few months. It’s a sweet song with an irresistible melody. Fans of Peter Bjorn and John’s adorable ditty “Young Folks” will like this one. Shockingly, Amazon offers their whole album for under five bucks (right now Amazon is selling all five songs on that album for $2.99). Get it now before the cool kids catch on.
4. Gemini Club – By Surprise
From Here We Sit April 17,2012
This would be a catchy song with just the vocals, piano and drums. But there’s a lot of little touches that make it more polished. The synth trills. Before the refrain there’s a two measure vocal sample that hints at the vocal layers to come. The layered and sampled vocals that make up the bridge are delightfully surprising. The drummer does little effects, just enough to keep it interesting but not enough to get self-indulgent. I’m happy to report that every other song I’ve heard from Gemini Club is just as nice as “By Surprise.”
5. Alt J – Breezeblocks (Girls on Drugs remix)
Check out more GirlsOnDrugs remixes on BandCamp
Alt-J has put out one of my favorite albums of 2012, and it would be fair to put “Breezeblocks” on this list. But I want to be sure you hear this remix, which turned out to be one of my most-listened to songs of the year. Something about the vocal decay, like at the end of the phrase, “here I go,” just works. It reminds me of the way visual artists are working with distorted images, finding beauty in what’s broken. And the tremolo is subtle, but tickles the eardrums just the same.
Here they are at least, the Top Ten Indie Rock Songs of 2012.
While this is a list of songs, in some ways this is also the Top Albums of 2012. Most of these bands put out more than one great song this year. But if I included more than one song by each band there would have been less bands overall, and each of these bands deserves recognition. But I swore I would never do another Best Albums list so this is what you get: the best song by my top artists of the year. It is hard to rank songs this good, so as part of weighing them, I sometimes ranked a song higher if their album had many songs that were just as worthy of being on a Best Songs List.
As mentioned previously, I’ve used the phrase “indie rock” very loosely here. This blog is focused on underplayed gems, so you will find we keep it all indie here, whether it’s rock, pop, dance, hip-hop, or some genre that’s yet to be named. If you want to check out the top indie songs from other categories, they’re listed at the bottom of this post.
There’s a ton of bargains on this list; some of these full albums are selling on Amazon right now for less than four dollars.
As usual, to download the song, right-click on it and choose “Save as.”
What is this nonsense, you ask, posting yet another 11-20 list? How can I withold the Top Ten Indie Rock songs from you still? Relax, my pretties. You will find these indie pop gems just as satisfying as the coveted forthcoming indie rock songs. This year’s list has more pop and less electro. If that means anything to you, don’t worry, there’s plenty of electro too.
Van She – Idea of Happiness
From “Idea of Happiness” July, 2012
Hey, were you a fan of Duran Duran at one point? How about New Order? “Idea of Happiness” is an example of the way new wave has been invented as electro. Much of it isn’t the hard-edged new wave of Blondie or the quirky new wave of the Talking Heads. Some of it was addictive pop rock that sounded a lot like Van She.
Which is not to say that Van She is derivative. This electro album has a tropical theme, and not just because the album has songs called “Jamaica” and “Calypso.” Van She kept it electro, but seems to have found his sounds from the tropical instruments on his midi player.
“Jamaica” is another great song on this album, arguably better even than “Idea of Happiness”. But since I burned up “Jamaica” when it was a single in 2011, “Idea of Happiness” is what makes it on the 2012 list.
Get Idea of Happiness.
Die Antwoord – Baby’s On Fire
From the album Ten$ion, January 2012
This South African rap-rave group is way over the top and that’s part of their charm. They bring big beats and big bling with a wink and a nod. Are they being artful? Ironic? Sincere? Who gives flying ninja? Just dance. If you like this, check out “I Fink U Freeky” on the Top Ten Dance Songs of 2012 playlist.
Get Ten$ion.
Sam Sparro – The Shallow End
From the album Return to Paradise out Dec, 2012.
Frankly, most of Sam Sparro’s stuff is too diva house for my taste. It doesn’t bother me that the songs are gayer than a pink petticoat at the Pride parade (Mika, anyone?), it’s just a little too clean and pretty for my tastes. But “The Shallow End” has won me over.
This one is catchy enough to cross over to my Top Dance Songs of 2012 list, but I think when it is competing against a bunch of bangers it doesn’t get a chance to shine as much as it does here.
Have you ever been a part of a scene? A place where, if only there were clothes on the floor, you’d feel for certain you were tearing it up like you do in your room when no one’s watching? This infectious groove is a tribute to beautiful scenesters dressing up and looking pretty at the club. It has horns. It has woo-hoos. Not just team whoops but singular shouts and rising “Aaaahhhhs!” “The Shallow End” is a reminder of why disco is making a come-back.
Get Return to Paradise.
Future Screens – Don’t Stop
Alas, I don’t have this track to give you, but you can stream all four songs off their 2012 self-titled release, and pay any damn price you please. Three cheers for Bandcamp!
Get Future Screens.
AlunaGeorge – Your Drums, Your Drums, Your Love
Single released December, 2012
I like AlunaGeorge, but I love this song. Due to a remix competition there were tons of remixes of this in 2012, but none of them have the odd little pitch-shifted robotic sample, so I’m sticking with the original.
Lyrically, I also like the idea of the song. “You say that I’m going nowhere” she sings, and then “I’ve been trying to reach you for so long,” conflating the idea of moving towards your dreams with the idea of moving closer in a relationship. And so many can relate to the idea that it’s hard to move forward when the people you care about don’t believe in you. It’s a simple, poetic expression of a familiar feeling.
Get the remixes
Bago – Forget You
From Sunday’s Best mixtape, August 2012
Fans of Portishead, Hooverphonic, CocoRosie, and Lana Del Rey take note. I got your dark and sexy middle-of-the-night kiss off song right here. It’s good for fucking, and it’s good for “fuck you.”
Bajo doesn’t have a major label release; you can get more of her songs on her Soundcloud.
Noisettes – That Girl
From Contact, September 2012
If you find The Noisettes are only 17th on this list, it’s because I was disappointed that every song on their 2012 album Contact wasn’t an absolute classic, because that’s what I’ve come to expect after the release of Wild Young Hearts. Unfair, I know. Lots of keeper tracks here, but “That Girl” was the instant addiction.
Get Contact
Shindu – Just Go
From the May 2012 EP, Just Go
Shindu doesn’t have an album with a major label, but check out the remixes and mixtapes on her Soundcloud.
Alex Winston – Fire Ant
From King Con, April 2012
Almost as good as “Sister Wife,” Alex Winston’s single about the trials of being a Mormon wife. The single for that came out in 2012, but both are on her 2013 album King Con.
Get King Con.
Purity Ring – Fineshrine
From the July 2012 album, Shrines
Listening to this album reminds me of the crisp futuristic vibe from the first Ladytron album. Not that they sound similar, more that hearing it, I thought, these ladies know what the future sounds like. If you like this song, you will like the whole album. M83 fans, or anyone who likes slow electro with complex layers, will like this.
Get Shrines.
There’s still the Top Ten Best Indie Pop Songs of 2012 to come, as well as The Top Ten Indie Rock Songs of 2012 and there’s hip-hop coming too. For the harder dance sounds, check out the Top 20 Dance Songs of 2012 Part I and Part II. And the Top 20 Indie Rock list has been kicked off for those who like it a little more crunchy. Plenty of downloads for everyone!
These are not quite the top ten indie rock songs of 2012, but are still some of the best bands you shouldn’t miss out on hearing.
Note that I’ve used the phrase “indie rock” very loosely here. I’m only striving to make a distinction to break these up into the vaguest of genres. So you can look forward to a hip-hop list, a dance list, and an indie pop list. This mostly means rock, but they’re just as much defined by what they’re not: dance-y. These are the (second) best songs of 2012 with more grit than groove.
As usual, to download the song, right-click on it and choose “Save as.” Also, please note the music player at the bottom right of the screen that enables you to preview all the songs on this page as a playlist.
Hey, Little Jungles, what happened? Your Bandcamp said way back in January of 2012 that this song would be on the forthcoming album I Would Kill For Some Sunlight. And here it is January 2013 and that album appears to be still forthcoming. “Nothing Will Grow” indeed. Ah well get this song from Bandcamp, where you can name your price.
I wish Spencer Krug would pick a band and stick with it. He’s all over the place, sometimes in Sunset Rubdown, last seen in Wolf Parade and now he’s the primary voice behind Moonface. Every year I think the gent has produced nothing new, I come to find he’s in some other project. Fortunately he has a distinctive voice and amazing lyrics, so I tend to realize it’s a Spencer Krug song the first time I hear it. This one sticks out for the line “Teary eyes and bloody lips make you look like Stevie Knicks.” I think that makes you look more like Tina Turner, but I guess that wouldn’t rhyme.
Buy the Moonface album With Siinai: Heartbreaking Bravery
Continue reading Top Indie Songs 2012: Rock (Part I: 11-20)
I have three lists to get through here, the top dance songs, the top indie pop and the top rock songs, and I want to get those top tens to you as soon as possible. So no descriptions for most.
This is not a list of the best dance songs I discovered in 2012, I take care to determine that these songs actually first appeared in 2012. For remixes that can be tricky, so I’m giving credit to the first blog (as far as my research can show) to post the remix. It’s also a way for me to give a nod to the music blogs that helped make 2012 another fantastic year for music fans.
Want to put it in your pocket and take it home with you? Right-click on the song and select “save as” to download. But you knew that already, you crafty babies.
image via Freebx
First posted Feb 26th, 2012 on D Squared
“Yeah let’s fuckin’ RAGE!” Honestly I think this should have been in the top ten but I just found it last week and, erm, well the top ten list is already written. Your remix still rages, Hyper Crush.
First posted on Hilly Dilly Oct 21, 2012
For a while, I skipped this song, because it starts out all slow and pretty—not what is called for when getting your dance on. But this is just the sign of a finely crafted dance song. Dance music has a lead-in to make it easier for the DJ to mix, Sound Remedy just chose to do this with a lovely opening rather than the naked bass, as weaker DJs do.But the song doesn’t show why it’s one of the best dance songs of 2012 until 1:49, when it drops some retro 80s-esque bliss on your ears. At 4:20 you get a siren and a bit more flair, and the song explodes into a synth wet dream.
Posted ONLY on Aerial Noise April 13th, 2012
Treasure Fingers actually posted this on their site April 4th 2012. The first blog to post it was Panda Toes Mar 6th, 2012
First posted on White Folks Get Crunk March 2nd, 2012
This is my second-favorite remix of “Heartbeat”, the best remix of is the Justin Faust remix from 2011.
Ready for more of the best dance songs of the year?
XKCD, the greatest stick figure comic off all time, has today posted a ginormous one frame comic. You use your mouse to click and drag around the image…for what seems like forever. Not just left to right either: there’s a section that features the Super Mario Brothers, and if you go down the pipe it seems to go on forever yet again.
I saved some screenshots of the comic because I thought they would make nifty desktop backgrounds and I figured I’d share them with ya’ll. Remember, these are all just screenshots from one single frame comic. So nifty!
Not sure how hard it is to download images from this fancy newfangled gallery, but you can download all the XKCD screenshots as a zip file here.
Edit: This genius on Reddit posted a zoomable version of XKCD Click and Drag. Way to cheat it, hero. All the upvotes for you!
When I was a tween I went to my first R&B show (I believe it was EnVogue). I had been to oodles of shows so I knew the uniform: comfy jeans, comfy shoes, clever T, and discernible lack of hat. But there was a secret I didn't know about EnVogue fans: they dress up for a show like they are going to the prom. They get their hair styled, they wear suits and not dresses, but actual gowns. Gowns I tell you. They complete the look with the perfect prom accessory, a limousine. Not just one couple or ten, but droves of them. Three R&B shows later I discovered maybe it wasn't just EnVogue after all. Some people get dressed up for shows.
I'm not saying you need to follow a dress code by genre system. I may wear a tutu at any time, and I support your right to do the same. But some people do like to fit in, and might like knowing this stuff. I'm just saying if you are going to a kind of show you've never been to before, it might help to ask a knowledgeable type what people are likely to wear. Because if you show up dressed for the Prince show at the Gwar show you are going to stand out, and ruin your fancy shoes.
As a publishing industry professional, I’m often asked, “How do I get published?” Here’s my second post on what you can do now to help your chances of getting out of the slush pile and into the bookstores. This is focused on how to be published with traditional publishers, but these tips will help you with self-publishing too.
One way to convince a publisher to publish your book right now is to have solid data showing that there is an interest in buying it. The way most writers approach this is through tip #1, Establish Yourself As An Expert, but it’s not the only way. The way we’re looking at today is showing how similar books sold well.
Smart publishers will look at how well comps (industry term for competing titles in the same category) have done. A perfect pitch would mention one or two books on the same subject that have sold well. If the publisher can’t find comps that cover the same topic, they try to bring up several books that cover similar themes. In addition to comps with poor sales, a red flag is if there are fifty comps (too much competition) or if the big sellers have some exciting extra characteristic, like they’re written by a celebrity.
