
green day - she (live): i miss this green day. remember when they sang songs about masturbation and being bored? now billie joe is playing bono's angry kid brother and they probably don't even think about mentioning jackin' it anymore. that's too bad, because songs like 'she' were just wonderful punk pop stuff in the same way that 'blitzkrieg bop' is. (off the album 'dookie' (duh); buy it here)
red sparowes - the soundless dawn came alive as cities began to mark the horizon: instrumental bliss, kids. i love the build on this song (heck, the album), and it's a tremendous concept that they've done. i dont really know how to explain this song except that you buy this album and go to bed every night listening to it. (from the album 'at the soundless dawn'; buy it here)

call me lazy, but whatever. these two tracks are on the new 'incorporated' disc that's coming out soon from 'the legion of doom', the italian (i said it) emo mashup guru. for one of them, he used the previously used 'hands down' by dashboard confessional along with sage francis' 'slow down gandhi', to make 'hands down gandhi'. it's a terrifically well-produced track, and should get some national attention, whether or not it deserves it. sadly, the rest of the album isn't nearly as good. there's a few highlights like the saves the day/funeral for a friend mashup, but i think the problem with his mashups on this album is that he's reached a point where they're almost industrial for a regular person. a lot of them are really good, but they're alienating to listen to. still, it's a good first 'official' effort by l.o.d. and as said, the production is really top-notch. it's very polished stuff. (off the album 'incorporated'; buy from antagonist records)
tonight when i djed, it was the 2nd time i've ever actually got someone thrown out for being a prick to me. ever. in 4 years. i'm incredibly patient, but this guy was a fucking moron. a fucking moron beyond words. in the same vein, i'm going to be involved in a new blog with some other djs.... details are coming soon, but it should be entertaining.
i'm being lazy right now. there's no question about this. these are songs i really like. you should too.
brand new - sic transit gloria (live)
ludacris vs. acdc - back standing up
midtown - suzanne
q-unit - crazy little pimp called love
snow patrol - chocolate (live)
the streets - don't mug yourself (donae'o remix)
about this site, since the 404 days i've been keeping track:
1 hit from a blackberry
1 hit from windows vista (interesting. this isn't out quite yet.)
1 hit from windows 3.1 (we should have a talk... upgrade to windows 95 at least)
1 hit from aol version 5
1 hit from cuba
1 hit from macao
1 hit from lao's people democratic republic
1 hit from kazakhstan
13 hits from "unknown" continents, which is odd, to say the least.
34 hits from 8-bit monitors (on what planet does someone have this still?)
49 hits from 640x480 resolutions
84,409 unique vistors (that's cool)
people in planes - talk too much: not much to say about this - really nicely done guitar-driven rock and roll. joaquin phoenix directed their first video, which came out beautifully. they're really a nice-sounding band that won't offend your senses. it's melodic and really nice to listen to. enjoy it. i don't have album art, or else i'd put it up. it's also 4:40 in the AM and i've got to get up in 5 hours to buy red sox tickets online and drink coffee.

aberdeen city - god is going to get sick of me: it's taken quite some time, but the city of boston (okay, somerville, or allston, or cambridge) which hasn't had a great rock band come out of it in what feels like since the bosstones, has finally produced one. 'aberdeen city' is a tremendous band, in the vein of the strokes with a touch of ian curtis. it's really a fantastic band, and their debut lp 'the freezing atlantic' is superb. it's original in a way that many bands can't even try to approach these days - despite the fact it sounds like many other bands out there, it's got an original side to it. 'god is going to get sick of me' is a wonderful song that really should have everyone you know bobbing their heads to the drum beats.
aberdeen city - sixty lives: i heard this and went 'wow'. it's fucking terrific. it's more upbeat and it's different. probably part of why i really like it.

hearts that hate - cry tonight: as i'm sure you're well aware of by this point, 'hearts that hate' isn't a real band, but in fact is the creation of mc lars, whose album, 'the graduate', drops in march. this is the b-side off the single 'signing emo' where lars skewers the emo genre as a whole, specfically (ahem), 'story of the year'. if you watch the video, you'll see what i mean. hell, listen to the song and you'll hear exactly what he's talking about. and here's the kicker - the song is really good (outside of the purposefully bad ending). it's an acoustic version of the song in the video, and well... i guess you should just hear it for yourself, because i bet you'll be pleasantly suprised. it sounds like something that you'd hear on a dashboard cd. but i think that was on purpose. (off the single for 'signing emo'; buy the upcoming album 'the graduate' when it comes out on march 21st; check out mc lars on his own site)
there's a pop-punk band from around 2000 that i liked called 'ips'. they had a song called 'you don't need me'. please tell me if have it. i love the song.

arctic monkeys vs. the killers - scumbody told me: it's part of the mashup project that gets released tomorrow over at arctic monkeys remixed. it should be pretty cool, i'm excited to hear what comes of this, if this song is indicative of what's going to come out of this project. it's really nicely done, especially when the killers kick into the song and it really picks up the pace. 'scummy' by the monkeys reminds me a whole lot of the structure of franz ferdinand's 'jacqueline', which is probably why i like it so much - putting together two songs that really hit their marks well always makes me happy.
arctic monkeys - i bet that you looks good on the dancefloor (live @ the astoria): it's not the best quality, but you can really tell how fucking into this band the audience is. i'm seeing them in march with the spinto band at the paradise in boston, and i'm fully expecting the night to be absolutely insane. it's going to be a fucking madhouse, what with all the dorky college kids who love this band. it should be really fun - is it lame that i don't enjoy mosh pits anymore at the age of 24? heh.

we are scientists - it's a hit: as far as i can tell, pretty much every blog in the blogosphere, including bill o'reilly's, has posted about them in the last month. so here you go - another we are scientists song. i think it's the next single, and in fact, it's another video that they put together themselves. i think it's funny that i saw them live with my buddy back in november and there were five people there that knew all the words. now they're on letterman. it's amazing what the virgin records hype machine can do for a band. (off the album 'with love and squalor'; buy here)
slackjawed local - fix up, look addicted: i have a strange obsession for 'addicted to love' by robert palmer. and i have a normal obsession with 'fix up, look sharp' by dizzee. the dj slackjawed local mashed the up and made this. it's fuckin brilliant. enjoy.
fall out boy - dance, dance (rjd2 remix): i'm 100% well aware that i got this from adamriff.com, but the song is so damned good that i have to post it myself because i'm afraid some of you don't go to adamriff, and that's a damn shame.

revenge of the jocks - sunday morning sombreros: revenge of the jocks is the labor of love of a guy who seems to love instrumental music. from the website: "inspired by everything from smelly highschool friends to first relationshipt o starting college to realizing what life is really about." it's really an interesting concept - he's got basically only casio-style sounds on the album, but that doesnt stop him (i say him because i don't know his name) from putting together a 12-track lp that is layered as it can get when it comes to this style of music. i don't know if we've got another james murphy on our hands here, but we've got something different and interesting, and it's well worth checking out the whole album if you can. (from the album 'instrumental music for the transcendental mind'; check out revenge of the jocks here)
thursday - a0001/understanding in a car crash: t0 this day, i've yet to find a better opener to another song on any album. considering how quiet 'a0001' is and how dynamic 'understanding in a car crash is', it's pretty amazing. i love 'understanding' (and as well so should you), but it's only made better by the simple :36 second opening of 'a0001'. (off the album 'full collapse'; buy here)
you say party! we say die! - he! she! you! me! they! us! ok!: whoa. i mean, i like 'you say party! we say die!' it's fun music. and i like this song, but it's kind of crazy to listen to. you'll see what i mean. (off the album 'hit the floor!'; buy here)

be your own pet - bicycle race: hee hee. be your own pet is so fucking funny. it's a bunch of awkward teenagers with braces. one of them is a girl and she's exponentially better looking than the three dudes in the band. now, that said, this cover isn't all the great. still, as much as they sound like a bunch of 16-year olds, it's because, well, they are. and that's half the fun of hearing them sing this song. let's put it this way, if i was as cool as them when i was 16, i probably wouldn't be blogging right now. i'd be knee-deep in women and cocaine. on the other hand, the link i provided to buy the album allows you to buy it WITH the constantine (from american idol) single. so i don't know how 'cool' any song can be if it's linked to constantine. (off the album 'killer queen: a tribute to queen'; buy here)
kanye west vs. george w. bush - heard em say (feat. mike myers): fun times. as it is, mlk jr. day, i thought i'd post two songs that i have something to do with the whole 'civil rights' thing, at least in some way or another (let me say - i'm not comparing kanye west to mlk jr. don't think that i am.) although, i guess the old chuck d line that 'rap music is cnn for black people' is probably more true than ever. this song is probably old hat at this point, but i really don't care. it's pretty well done as a mashup, and i liked it. so there. (unavailable for purchase; made by lox)
martin luther king jr. vs jimi hendrix - somewhere i dream: you know what's weird? when you load every song you have into your winamp and hit the 'j' button to search. and you type 'martin luther king' as a lark and this turns up. i have no idea when i got this. or how. but i did. it's pretty cute as a song, and kind of cheesy, but still. it's entertaining for a listen, and that's decent enough for me.
upcoming good shows in boston to see:
1-16 - hard-fi @ the middle east
1-17 - french toast & supersystem @ the middle east
1-19 - cake, tegan & sara, gogol bordello (START. WEARING. PURPLE.) @ the palladium
1-22 - the editors @ great scott
1-25 - the walkmen @ the middle east
1-27 - okgo @ the paradise
2-02 - the samples @ the paradise
2-03 - little brother @ avalon
2-04 - panic! at the disco @ avalon
2-06 - the bronx @ the middle east
2-07 - sigur ros @ the orpheum
2-10 - dj hannon @ the common ground (shamless plug)
2-14 - she wants revenge, rock kills kid, electric six @ the middle east (yes, i'll be spending my valentine's day doing this.

hot hot heat vs. david bowie - talk to me, dance with me vs. let's dance: sorry for the small logo, but it's all that partyben has. anyhoo, i'll let him explain the mashup as only PB can. "You know, the kids from Hot Hot Heat actually gave me a copy of the acapella from this song and I never made anything that great out of it. I think they might have been expecting some superstar David Morales-style megamix which I am unfortunately incapable of." dig! (produced by party ben; check out partyben.com for more info)
knapsack - the shape of the fear: WHAT a great song. it makes me sad to know that i missed out on these guys when the album came out back in 1998, because i was too busy listening to godsmack or system of a down or som other equally awful band getting airplay on waaf in boston (or, worcester, considering how brutally godawful their broadcast signal still remains to this despite their supposed 'move' to boston to improve their signal.... but i digress.) shazam!
spearmint - a week away: just wonderful indie pop in the same world as spoon and the new pornographers. it's another one of those 'sunday morning' songs that i mentioned before. go!

sarah slean - climbing up the walls (radiohead cover): i forgot how good sarah slean is now that i don't live in canada. her voice in this song is scarily close to thom yorke's -- not in the actual way, but in how she uses her voice as an instrument rather than as something you're forced to pay attention to. she's really got a wonderful voice and a fantastic style - and despite all of that, she's never broken into the american mainstream, which is too bad. i had a friend in university named jason who was absolutely in love with her - he actually storyboarded an entire video for one of her songs and sent her the storyboard as a proposal asking her if he could pay to make a video for her. i don't think she ever responded, but that's the kind of effect she and her voice could have one man - they're both beautiful. (off the album 'universe'; buy here)
dizzee rascal - fix up, look sharp (ratatat remix): wow. talk about a difference. this is night and day from the original. whereas the first time you've got heavy bass and heavy beats with the billy squire hook, this time you've got the exact opposite. and boy, is it good. i know it's over a year old, but i still can't get over how simple and fantastic this song is. it's an entirely different song from the original, which i love. (off the album 'remixes'; buy other ratatat stuff here)
alister doomington - lovin' the fix: i think if you look up 'rock and roll' and 'sexy' and 'fucking cool' in the dictionary, this song comes up. that's all i'll say. it's one of those songs that smacks you around makes you like it. just bear with me when i say stuff like that - it's 3:45 in the morning and i've been at work all night waiting to post this song. (off the album 'the sound of young new york & toronto; buy here)
halogen - in the summer: noranna posted this song basically a year ago on her old music/concert blog. she's got superb taste in music and this song proves it. it's an unbelievably good 2:42 of indie-pop that neko case would be envious of. they're a small band out of perth australia, but don't let that scare you off - they've got a sound that should by all rights make them known everywhere, but who knows what will happen. (check out halogenworld.com for more information)
just real quick.
copy, right? has a video of final fantasy covering my favorite song of 2005, 'this modern love' by bloc party. check it out.
i've been busy with work, but i had a chance to make a new banner and change the main page font to georgia.
so there's that!
the deadly snakes - 200 nautical miles: as new 'it' band of toronto, the deadly snakes have made quite a stir recently. they've got that strokes-sorta sound, and they're not exactly dance-punk or electro or anything like that. this song has some of the same elements of everyone's favorite violinist, 'final fantasy', but with less of a minimalist sound (ie - drums). it's really quite an interesting song, and while it's only 2:16, it's the perfect song for the 2nd track of this album, as it follows 'debt collection', a bluesy opener that sets the tone for a terrific album. (off the album 'porcella'; purchase here)
les savy fav - we'll make a lover out of you: one of the things i really like about les savy fav is that they've completely submitted to be a very 'ordinary' band for the kind of music they make. it's nothing really spectacular, but at the same time, it's incredibly reassuring to know that the album is exactly like you'd expect it to be. that's not a bad thing at all - if 95% of the bands on the planet could make as music as interesting as they do, we'd be in a lot better shape. all that aside, 'we'll make a lover out of you' is a tremendous song, although the climax of the song that i kept expecting never really happened. i mean, i guess the last fifty seconds are the climax, but it never really got to the place i wanted it to. maybe i'm just picky. (off the album 'inches'; purchase here)
the streets - same old thing (live): i was lucky enough to see the streets live back in june 2004, and then even luckier to be given a bootleg copy of a live show. it's of fantastic audio quality, and it's even more fun to listen to. i absolutely love the streets, and it's obvious that mike skinner has a lot of fun doing live shows. so, here's one of my favorite tracks, 'same old thing', off the live album i have. enjoy.
one came before the other, for what it's worth.
coldplay feat. richard ashcroft - bittersweet symphony (live @ live 8): what a wonderful song. i absolutely love the song 'bittersweet symphony' - it might be one of my three or four favorite sunday afternoon songs - it's just perfect for relaxing and enjoying a day off (well, i usually work sundays, but you understand my point.) (for what it's worth, my other favorites are spoon's 'everything hits at once', was not was' 'what up dog?' (the single not the album), and more recently kasabian's 'lsf'.) anyhow, i love this live version. i have posted this back when live 8 happened, but this song was just so super i wanted to share it all over again with you crazy kids. i love me some live music. now, that said....
snow patrol - run (live): here's another great live song. in one of the live songs i have by snow patrol they say that they don't know how it will all turn out considering they never play acoustic sets. well, as you can see for yourselves, it's quite good. quite damn good. 'run' is a really great song in the first part, but this version has something else special to it. i don't know what it is, but i think it's his voice. yes, that sounds horribly horribly lame, but whatever. judge me, go ahead.
check out this set list.... fun times last night.... we'll be doing it again in a few weeks.
buck 65 - wicked and weird
the information - a simple plan
nice & smooth - sometimes i rhyme quick
jurassic 5 - the influence
oasis - supersonic
bloc party - she's hearing voices
metric - succexy
the departure - all mapped out
dunproofin' - casbah wonder
interpol - evil
the dandy warhols - bohemian like you
the shout-out louds - the comeback
razorlight - (don't go) back to dalston
the coral - dreaming of you
stevie wonder - superstition
mark ronson - just (feat. alex greenwald)
lyrics born - callin' out
beatles vs. beastie boys - hold it together now
jackson 5 - want you back (z-trip remix)
phoenix - everything is everything
the roots - the seed 2.0
the cure - just like heaven
hot hot heat - bandages
the ratpure - out of the races and onto the tracks
franz ferdinand - do you want to?
le tigre - tko
bloc party - banquet
the kinks - you really got me
the streets vs. outkast - hey mug
the clash - train in vain
the arctic monkeys - i bet that you look good on the dance floor
stevie wonder - higher ground
party ben - walking with a ghost in paris
the arcade fire - rebellion (lies)
spoon - just to get by
folk implosion - natural one
annie - chewing gum
m.i.a. - galang
blackstar - redefintion
k-os - man i used to be
the lovemakers - shake that ass
slackjawedlocal - fix up, look addicted
franz ferdinand - dark of the matinee
lcd soundsystem - daft punk is playing at my house
michael jackson - billie jean
madonna - hung up
the lovemakers - prepare for the fight
the killers - under the gun
the gorillaz - feel good, inc.
radio 4 - dance to the underground
the killers - somebody told me
the sounds - dance with me
we are scientists - it's a hit
the strokes - juicebox
the spinto band - oh mandy
the verve vs. jay-z - brush ur bittersweet shoulders off
the velvet teen - radiapathy
aggro1 - since u been hard to find
death cab for cutie - earth angel

the faint - glass danse: so the faint are uber-goth dansey music that all the kids seem to love these days. they mash up the sounds of disco, pop, goth, and electro into a weird mix that comes out creamy as hell. if i was to run a disco of the end of the world, i get the feeling these guys would end up getting played quite a bit. one of the things i absolutely love about these guys are the drops that they put into their songs - they put them into just the right spots to catch you nodding your head so that when it hits the spot it only comes back stronger. does that even make sense? (off the album 'danse macabre'; purchase here)
controller.controller - watch: another one of these disco punk bands that have been everywhere in the last three years, controller.controller hails from toronto and, from what i can tell, are a favorite at queen's university. anyhow, 'watch' is a track off their album 'history' released in 2004, which really goes for the jugular from the start, with the hooky beat and simple sounds. (off the album 'history'; purchase here)
ho ho ho go those longhorns
thank you for the money, vince young, you made my day.
anyhow, here's some tracks from some mixtapes i've gotten.
dr. dre - numb encore (feat. jay-z, eminem, 50 cent & linkin park): there's been about 513419732 mixtapes out since dre made the idea of another album called 'detox' possible. this is off the 'look out for detox' mixtape, and it's the last track. someone (i'm guessing someone within dre's camp) mashed up 'numb encore' by jay-z/linkin park and'encore' by dre/emimem/50 cent, and made it something else. it's pretty hot, actually. well worth the download. (off the 'look out for detox' mixtape)
jay-z - it was all a dream: my favorite jay-z track ever is 'a dream'. on the 'hova reborn mixtape', comes this track, which samples 'dream on' by aerosmith, a fucking brilliant concept. it really mixes the two really nicely, and the choices that jay made were really nice. (bonus: 'died in your arms' - a sample of the cutting crew song provides the hook) (off of the 'hova reborn mixtape')
if you're in boston on friday and want to go to a fuckin' fun rockin' dance party in allston, come on down 85 harvard ave in allston (right around the corner from the kells and two blocks from the b-line t-stop).
as a tease, here are some of the bands i'll be playing:
kaiser chiefs
arctic monkeys
les savy fav
the lovemakers
lady sovereign
le tigre vs. missy elliott
m.i.a.
blur
the faint
q and not u
the cure
kasabian
metric
the rapture
ratatat
gang of four
kylie minogue
electric six
test icicles
the roots
you say party! we say die!
the kinks
it should be a good time. i don't believe there's a cover, so that's nice.
color me tired. i don't know why. maybe it's mono. although, i hope not. that would make earning money pretty hard for me. as a dj, my lifeblood is making out with random people for money on the side. er, what?
onward and upward.
mates of state make some of the best poppy rock this side of the new pornographers (whose mass romantic is still one of my favorite albums ever - and twin cinema ain't too shabby either). they've got a new album coming out this year called 'bring it back', and the first track on the album is called 'think long', which is a wonderfully simple song driven by a piano and a drum. their beautiful type of music has long been a favorite of mine and i can't wait for the release of this album. (album to be released 3-21-06; buy mates of state here)
just rewatched this movie the other day and i forgot about how much i dug the soundtrack, to the point that this was where i first heard the rapture's 'out of the races and on to the tracks' and was like 'what what what was that song!' and immediately googled the hell out of it, hoping to find some sort of answer to what this song was. anyhow, there's a artist on the album called tomandandy who make this weird electronica (including their version of 'carol of the bells' which going in reverse before going forward). anyhow, here's their song 'pre-saturday night party party', which actually feels like 5 songs in one, which is pretty cool. you'll see what i mean. (buy rules of attraction soundtrack here)
so tonight's episode of arrested development may have been the best ever.
it made the jump from 'best show on tv' to 'one of the best five shows in television history'. the actors and writers are really pouring it on now. my god. i mean, quite seriously, the best show.
as a result, here's two songs that are often used on the show.
david schwartz - you're here with me
john hiatt - cry love
fans of the show will recognize both pretty easily.
a bunch of the top 5 list songs have been taken down, but some of the more popular ones i've left up, for what it's worth. the rest will come down after midnight, so get em while you can.
so over the last few days i've been listening to the editors quite a bit. i really have grown to dig them quite a bit and i think that y'all would be best served to take a listen-hear (you know, like look-see). so i've included two tracks that are both very good and the first two on the on the cd, i guess sort of coincidentally. they've got an interpol meets lcd soundsystem kind of sound - some electronica to it, but it's pretty minimal. the interpol sound is quite obvious (although i guess it's really a new order sound, to be fair). so here's two tracks -- 'lights' and 'munich'.
just a reminder - after tomorrow, the top 5 list files will be taken down.
the streets - empty cans: i'm going to start 2006 off with one of the best 'turnaround' songs ever - hell, this is basically just two songs in one. it's 8 minutes long (yee-hah) but it goes by pretty fast, all things considered. one of the reasons that i really love the streets is that mike skinner is willing to completely give himself to a listener and just tell a fantastic story (see: dry your eyes; blinded by the lights). he's a great contrast - he's got songs like 'fit but you know it' and 'don't mug yourself' which are basically poppy fluff bits, but then he's got stuff like 'empty cans' and 'dry your eyes'.
happy new year, people. let's pray that the year of 2006 has better music than 2005.