Wednesday, November 30, 2005

side note - wow!

wow guys. thanks a ton - this was our first 10,000 hit month. makes me very proud. keep checking over the last month of the year - we'll have the top 30 tracks of 2005 along with some suprises for you.

you'll notice that some tracks were deleted - that's the plan now since the site's getting more attention - that tracks will be deleted more often, adhearing to the 48-hour-offer rule more strictly. i went through quite a bit of bandwith this month and while it's nice, i've got to be a little more careful.

if anyone has any suggestions, i'm looking for some unsigned bands to do some promotion on. drop a link in the comments and i'll cheque it out. maybe even derek will too.

posted by b, 11/30/2005 03:15:00 PM | link | |

#31 - hot hot heat: middle of nowhere

while the first two singles off the newest hot hot heat album ('goodnight goodnight' and 'you owe me an iou') were mediocre, the third single 'middle of nowhere' is less frenetic and paranoid than the first two - which were trying to copy the sound of 'bandages' and 'talk to me, dance with me', the band's first two big hits. middle of nowhere is a contrast - a regretful, honest track, that is frankly refreshing. the video for it is almost a mock of 'blow up', the michaelangelo antonioni classic.

the track shows the strength that hot hot heat has and that the first full-length album wasn't a fluke. here's hoping they can continue this trend.

posted by b, 11/30/2005 02:59:00 PM | link | |

Tuesday, November 29, 2005

Where's Waldo?

This picture has enslaved me for the past few hours. Basically the idea is that there are 72 bands suggested by this picture. For instance, the boys by the pet shop= Pet Shop Boys. I'm in the high 60's and I just can't get it finished. Here is the picture with better resolution, but it cuts out the sides a bit and you lose a band or two.
If someone can tell me what those three females holding hands are, I'd be most grateful and likely ashamed.

posted by db, 11/29/2005 03:43:00 PM | link | |

#32 - edan: fumbling over words that rhyme

edan's ode to all those who came before him breaks into the list at 32. edan's a boston-based mc whose album 'the beauty and the beat' was one of the best hip hop releases of the year. tracks like 'rock and roll' and 'fumbling over words that rhyme' show why hip hop is more than just an mc rapping over some produced beats - it takes some skill to put together topnotch beats, and this song has some of the sickest. there's no way you'd ever hear dr. dre put together shit like this (which is fine), because they're just so odd.

enjoy the track, folks - it's well worth putting onto your ipod and listening to on your ride on the subway.

posted by b, 11/29/2005 12:16:00 PM | link | |

Monday, November 28, 2005

#33 - the rapture vs mobb deep: got it twisted sister (by dopplebanger)

our first mashup on the list for 2005 - its the raptures' 'sister saviour' vs mobb deep's 'got it twisted' by the french dj, dopplebanger. the mobb deep track is basically as thug as it gets - lyrics like 'there'll be a manslaughter right in front of my kids / a little blood get on my daughter, that's nothing she'll live (just wipe it off)' - it's no suprise that 50 tapped them to work with (outside of the nyc connection). the disco beat by the rapture really plays well with the mobb deep vocals, producing what rarely happens in mashups - a mashup better than either of the originals.

posted by b, 11/28/2005 02:11:00 PM | link | |

Sunday, November 27, 2005

#34 - lcd soundsystem: daft punk is playing at my house

hoooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooiee!

god, i love this song. it's one of the best party songs of the year, and the video is just phenomenal if you can find it. one of the big reasons that it's such a great song in my mind is that it's so simple - the riff, the beats, and the construction. 'yeah' was awesome last year, but this one is better - james murphy proved that 'yeah' was not a lucky attempt to make party music - in fact the entire album is just ridiculous. the dfa label is only getting better.

posted by b, 11/27/2005 11:45:00 AM | link | |

Saturday, November 26, 2005

#35 - coldplay: til kingdom come

hey, its a hidden track! now, you might have asked why it was a hidden track. well, according to my friend who works at virgin, it's because in fact this song was written by chris martin for johnny cash to sing on his next album - but johnny passed away before he could record it. i guess chris felt that it wasn't really a 'coldplay' song, but still wanted to record it in johnny's honor, and so they put it at the end of the cd. i think that's fantastic. plus, it was the first dance song at my buddy charles' wedding, which was a great choice. i like it more than 'speed of sound' or 'fix you', because i think those two are almost too grandiose, as opposed to the quiet simplicity of 'til kingdom come'. enjoy.

posted by b, 11/26/2005 12:18:00 PM | link | |

Friday, November 25, 2005

#36 - queens of the stone age: little sister

from the opening 'knoc knoc knoc knoc', queens of the stone age fly through the three minutes with 'little sister'. however, what made this song truly one of the best of 2005 was their live performance of it on saturday night live with the return of cowbell specialist gene frenkle from the band blue oyster cult. so, while usually there is an mp3 for download, today there is a .rm file - the live performance thanks to the people at staticfiends.com - the live version of this with gene frenkle, which is really stunning. you can see gene's cowbell abilities have not waned in his autumn years and that he's still got 'it'. bruce dickinson himself would be proud. damned proud.

posted by b, 11/25/2005 05:52:00 PM | link | |

Thursday, November 24, 2005

#37 - hootie & the blowfish: state your peace

wait, what? hootie? and the blowfish? isn't darius rucker doing burger king ads or something? well, yeah, but he's also responsible for one of the better country/pop songs of the year. i thought it was going to take off a bit more, but it didn't. i'm suprised the adult alternative stations didn't touch it, but hey. 'state your peace' is exactly the same kind of sound that would have fit on 'cracked rear view'.

anyhow, enjoy. and have a great thanksgiving, people. i bet on the broncos, so go broncos!

posted by b, 11/24/2005 12:30:00 PM | link | |

Wednesday, November 23, 2005

#38 - the features: blow it out

one of the best 'whoo hoo' songs since 'song 2' by blur, the features' 'blow it out' is a symphony of 'whoo hoo's, guitars, synth, and drums. it's nearly perfect in that regard, as they have a terrificly odd singer taking the lead to accompany them. like '1 thing', it's got that feeling of happiness that takes over when you listen to it. one of the best elements of the song is the synth that takes over in the chorus - it's so well placed and not overdone, but it's really nice.

and, it's got a really cool video.

posted by b, 11/23/2005 04:21:00 PM | link | |

Tuesday, November 22, 2005

#39 - amerie: 1 thing

remember crazy in love? remember how much everyone loved it, and how its one of the best pop songs of the last 25 years? well, they tried it again. same structure, same sounds (really), same everything. and it's called '1 thing'. funny fact - did you know the label didn't want to release the song in the first place? then amerie and the producer just leaked it and the 'hitch' people heard about it and it just went from there.

the song has that same 'my-heart-is-going-to-burst-because-i-love-you-so-much' as crazy in love, which is the best part. she's practically begging at you, 'it's this 1 thing you did' - oh, she wants you.

to make this '1 thing'/'crazy in love' parallel complete, i'll point out that this version of the song actually has jay-z singing part of it. i mean, they couldn't have tried any hard to make the two songs the same, but that's okay - isn't imitation the highest form of flattery?

posted by b, 11/22/2005 04:39:00 PM | link | |

Monday, November 21, 2005

#40 - the white stripes: my doorbell

(let the great experiment begin!!)

the white stripes - my doorbell: i should be clear - the version for download is not the original version of 'my doorbell', mostly because you've all heard it about 500 times, and what's the point of exposing you to that (yeah, this will happen a few times. why should i have the album version of 'gold digger' available for download?) so, this is the mashup by dj riko of 'my doorbell' with ludacris' 'stand up'. i didnt think it would mash so well, but riko's done a nice job of it.

so why does this lead off the list at #40? because it's a really, really well done song and original song in a year that was, bascially, mediocre, when it came to good music. say what you will about jack white kind of going crazy, he's still making some of the best, most dynamic music out there.

posted by b, 11/21/2005 01:00:00 PM | link | |

Phil Spector Approved

Furthermore, I don't really like the White Stripes. Sure, that lego video was cool, and sure they look a lot like bored candy canes, but they just don't usually do it for me. Maybe because they were in that overrated Jim Jarmusch movie, where they rambled awkwardly about nothing. Maybe it's just because he grows terrible facial hair...and I still can't grow a moustache.
BUT, I don't hate this album! And I mean, I tried to write it off, but there are some cool songs on it- and this is one of them. I think one of the coolest things about this track is how great it sounds in my car. Kind of like when producers in the 60's would press test records just to make sure they sound great on crappy record players. When you drive a 1988 Corolla Wagon, and you can crank the radio up and have the song still sound awesome, I think it says something. I'm not sure what it says, but it's cool.

Also, my name is Derek and I had a stomach virus last night.

posted by db, 11/21/2005 12:59:00 PM | link | |

Sunday, November 20, 2005

wow now that was a hangover.

jesus wow.

the folk implosion - free to go: a long-time fan of the folk implosion here going back to their days on the kids soundtrack, and it's nice to hear some new good stuff from them thats as fun as this one is. it's laid-back and the perfect way to enjoy a sunday evening before the simpsons/family guy comes on.

m.i.a. - galang (serj tankian remix): pretty fun remix of the original. serj continues to impress with his non-soad endeavors.

posted by b, 11/20/2005 07:24:00 PM | link | |

Saturday, November 19, 2005

go johnny go

sorry about this folks!
i'm in toronto, eh, so i dont have my ftp available since i'm using a mac.

but i promise two songs on sunday evening and then on monday begins the top 40 of 2005..... shaaaaazam!

posted by b, 11/19/2005 01:19:00 PM | link | |

Thursday, November 17, 2005

i'm fucking tired

i'm tired and lazy and i've got a flight in 12 hours.

so i'm making this easy on you all.

coldplay - the world turned upside down: coldplay b-side from the 'fix you' single. it's decent enough, and 'new' coldplay is always interesting.

young black teenagers - tap the bottle: the best/worst rap song of all time.

posted by b, 11/17/2005 03:13:00 AM | link | |

Tuesday, November 15, 2005

doing drugs is cool man

that's what pete doherty would say, anyhow.

babyshambles - fuck forever: the super-addicted pete doherty's new band released this song in hopes of reigniting his career/make his world better after all the shit he's been through. as arguably britain's best songwriter of his generation, it's really sad about what he's put himself through. that said, fuck forever isn't near as good as his stuff with the libertines. maybe i'm just biased because i really like the libs, but this isn't as strong. it's still good, and the chorus/hook is a lot better than the rest of the song.

redman - that's what i am here: from the nba 2k6 soundtrack, it's awesome to hear redman come back. 'let's get dirty' is in my opinion, an all-time party song. this is definetly a throwback to that sort of sound and i can only hope that he's back for a good long time.

posted by b, 11/15/2005 06:33:00 PM | link | |

Sunday, November 13, 2005

more than just a coincidence

nerf herder - weezer/star wars theory: well here you go - it's a myspace rip, so the audio sucks, but nevertheless - the concept of the song is hilarious. nerf herder compares the history of weezer to the original star wars trilogy. and it makes sense. and it's kind of eerie considering the geek-link that the two share. and it's been sitting in the 'post' directory now for a week, so fuck it.

posted by b, 11/13/2005 10:29:00 AM | link | |

hey guys?

please don't direct-link to mp3s. it kills my bandwidth. i'm looking at you, xanga users.

meanwhile, mike jones (not that phone-number one) has a short interview with princess superstar. speaking as someone who has bought two of her albums, and considers 'new york city cunt' to be one of my favorite songs, this was kind of fun to read.

posted by b, 11/13/2005 10:20:00 AM | link | |

Saturday, November 12, 2005

top 40 preview

real quick before i go to work for 14 hours.

the following bands will be on the top 40 of 2005 (starting nov. 21):

bright eyes.
nas.
k-os.
collective soul.
hard-fi.

the following bands will not be on the top 40 of 2005:
sufjan stevens.
britney spears.
the bravery.
avril lavigne.
clap your hands and say yeah!.

'let the great experiment begin!!' (best tobias funke voice, please.)

posted by b, 11/12/2005 11:17:00 AM | link | |

i ain't a playa so i don't drink kris

beatles v. the black eyed peas v. ludacris - the black beatles: 'run for your life' by the beatles was definetly john's creepiest song - threatening to kill a woman who didn't stay with him i think qualifies that much. loo & placido mash these songs up perfectly, resulting in a song that actually sounds better than the original, in my opinion. it's so eerie, listening to john say that 'well I'd rather see you dead, little girl; than to be with another man ; you better keep your head, little girl; or I won't know where I am' over the 'let's get retarded' beat (which is, really, quite sick). add in the 'girl' lyrics by the beatles and a dash of kelis and ludacris and you've got quite the track.

j-kwon ft. andy milonakis - like dis: yeah, i don't get it either. i'm not really a fan of j-kwon or andy milonakis, but this track is enjoyable as a throwaway song. it's not nearly as bad as you'd think it would be.

posted by b, 11/12/2005 02:00:00 AM | link | |

Thursday, November 10, 2005

here comes the hotstepper (turn it up)

weezer - beverly hills (urbanix mix): it's okay, i guess. it changes the song a bit, which is good, and makes it more of a 'rock' song, but it kind of loses some of the kitchy, lame appeal of the original. for what it's worth, it's off the 'we are all on drugs' single as a b-side, so i guess that's pretty cool. sorry i couldn't come up with something better today, but there's been big changes at work, so i haven't had much time to get new music.

dizzee rascal vs. new order - blue rascal (blo_up mashup): i really love dizzee's music, so things like this make me happy. fantastic stuff. enjoy.

posted by b, 11/10/2005 09:52:00 AM | link | |

Tuesday, November 08, 2005

everyone move to the back of the buuuus

outkast - rats & roaches: i can't be the only one super excited to hear a new outkast track. they're arguably the best hip hop act on the planet - and tracks like this prove it. this isn't another 'the way you move' or 'hey ya', so don't come expecting it. this is old school, aquamini style of hip hop, going back to beats and rhymes, less emphasis on the electronica side of things. it is fantastic knowing that despite having some personal problems between andre and big boi, they can still put out stuff like this that screams low-key southern hip-hop which is such a contrast to the high-energy/crunk stuff that seems to be everywhere these days. enjoy.

posted by b, 11/08/2005 11:50:00 PM | link | |

Sunday, November 06, 2005

it's a rip off, but hey

a fucking stellar track (although it rips off rock and roll part 2 by gary glitter pretty obviously) by living things, the track is 'bom bom bom', and holy shit - it's fantastic. it's an old-school rock track that rocks hard from start to finish. steve albini (who did nirvana, the pixies, pij harvey) mixed the album, and you can hear how that's obvious. 'bom bom bom' is the first single, and it's already hitting the radio in some places. be excited - this is a terrific track.

posted by b, 11/06/2005 07:48:00 PM | link | |

Saturday, November 05, 2005

indie pop is pretty awesome, isn't it?

a while back i posted a song by this band, called soft. it was called droppin', and it was a little indie pop song that really caught my attention and stayed in my cd player all summer long. now, they've got a new single out, called 'higher'. from the start of the song, it's a tempest of great dips and dives of guitars, bass, and drums. the vocals are just terrific, and i'm really impressed with this song - their future's bright and should be - this reminds me of the gandharvas, marjorie fair, and softer-sounding bloc party like 'this modern love' or 'so here we are'.

posted by b, 11/05/2005 04:57:00 PM | link | |

Thursday, November 03, 2005

and i can't make it on my own.... because my heart is in idahooooo

i think it's a funny topic. go fuck yourself if you don't.

dropping daylight - take a photograph: you want some decent angry rock and roll? this is it. it's different than a lot of the other 'hawthorne heights' type of bands though. it's got a lot of different sounds going on in it - there's a piano for sure, there's definetly an influence by the police. it's got an incubus-meets-hawthorne heights-meets-the mooney suzuki kind of sound to it. big guitars, big drums, big bass, big everything, yet not overdone or overproduced.

posted by b, 11/03/2005 11:12:00 PM | link | |

Wednesday, November 02, 2005

good god i'm bored

sorry about the lack of an update, i've been very bored the last few days and despite that haven't really found anything interesting new to post.

but i do have some good news - we've got a new member here at work for it, derek burpee of 'khaki snack' fame. he'll be slow to get started but he'll be posting every once in a while and helping out with this year's top 40 of 2005 starting on november 22nd. should be a g-a-s, you know?

but for now, here's something to tide you over.

new london fire - i sing the body holographic: bloc party/the bravery meets the cure with a dancy beat. most definetly worth listening to. it's even got a touch of michael stipe to it. kind of hard to describe, but it really is good. (release in january 2006)

posted by b, 11/02/2005 09:34:00 PM | link | |