:: work for it ::

Uh, so....

2011-12-16T03:28:00.001-05:00

Do you use Spotify?

This is my Spotify playlist. My favorite music, constantly updating. 1 song per artist. Enjoy.

Exciting news!

2011-07-12T00:16:00.001-04:00

Exciting news.

Starting soon, I will be writing again. But not here... over at Indie Shuffle, my favorite music blog on the whole tubeseries.

Would like to know more?

2010-04-09T15:25:00.000-04:00

Hiyo.

Go here.

Hugs,
Ben

Hey there!

2008-07-11T13:55:00.001-04:00

Hey kids.

Not a lot to say right now except that I am loving the ever-living shit out of Nas' new album. My goodness.

Holy Crap, It's My Mixtape!!

2008-05-14T22:46:00.003-04:00

Holy Crap folks!

Here we go!

FROM AC TO DC BY BC

01. Welcome to the Skans
02. Apologize, Funky Teenage Girl
03. Stay Hustlin'
04. Fat Bottomed Girlfriend
05. Run an Open Train
06. Le Journey de Baby O'Hulkster
07. Connect With Me
08. Pretty Low, Sis.
09. I Hate Soulja Boy
10. Lean Girl
11. Umbrellafold
12. Poppin' Pimpin' and Stuntin' Alone
13. Can't Throw Out a Hot Hero
14. Stronger Friends
15. Kiss My Lollipop

If you're interested, here are the samples:
1. g&r - welcome to the jungle (dlg remix)
2. klaxons - golden skans (switch remix)
3. nirvana v one republic v britney spears - apologizing girls smell more (dj ben c mashup)
4. daft punk - da funk
5. edwin collins - girl like you
6. rick ross - hustlin (acapella)
7. ludacris - roll out
8. peter bjorn & john - young folks
9. three six mafia - stay fly (acapella)
10. cajmere - percolator
11. eurhythmics - sweet dreams
12. avril lavigne - girlfriend (party time 2000 remix)
13. queen - phat bottom girl (dave nada remix)
14. eric prydz - call on me
15. quad city djs - c'mon 'n ride it (the train)
16. bloc party vs t-pain - open bar (dj ben c mashup)
17. the who - baba o'riley
18. rick derringer - i am a real american (hulk hogan theme)
19. daft punk - around the world
20. journey - don't stop believing
21. justin timberlake - sexyback (acapella)
22. rob base & dj ez rock - it takes two
23. belinda carlisle - heaven is a place on earth (acapella)
24. the btls - all the lonely people
25. elastica - connection
26. enur feat. natasja - calabria (acapella)
27. hot hot heat - talk to me, dance with me
28. gameboy/gamegirl - sweaty wet dirty damp (gloves remix)
29. flo rida - low (acapella)
30. the rapture - sister saviour
31. bob sinclar - world, hold on
32. kelis - milkshake (acapella)
33. soulja boy - crank dat (soulja boy) (acapella)
34. the hives - hate to say i told you so
35. le tigre - tko
36. young dro vs avril lavigne - shoulda lean vs. girlfriend (dj ben c mashup)
37. ace of base - all that she wants
38. rihanna - umbrella (acapella)
39. weezer - beverly hills
40. j. geils band - centerfold
41. 2 live crew - face down, ass up
42. audioslave - show me how to live
43. dr. dre - forgot about dre (acapella)
44. jay-z - big pimpin' (instrumental)
45. huey - pop, lock, and drop it (acapella)
46. alice deejay - better off alone
47. birdman & lil wayne - stuntin like my daddy (acapella)
48. jay-z - dirt off your shoulder (acapella)
49. coheed & cambria - welcome home
50. rich boy - throw some d's (acapella)
51. foo fighters - my hero
52. red hot chili peppers - can't stop
53. mims - this is why i'm hot (acapella)
54. janis joplin - mercedes benz (acapella)
55. cansei de ser sexy - lets make love and listen to death from above
56. kanye west - stronger (acapella)
57. 20 fingers - short dick man (acapella)
58. guns & roses - sweet child of mine
59. simian - we are your friends (acapella)
60. salt n pepa - push it (acapella)
61. daft punk - digital love
62. chris brown - kiss kiss (acapella)
63. lil wayne feat. static - lollipop (acapella)
64. justin timberlake - my love

Part 1

2008-05-14T22:40:00.000-04:00

Part 1

01. Welcome to the Skans
02. Apologize, Funky Teenage Girl
03. Stay Hustlin'
04. Fat Bottomed Girlfriend
05. Run an Open Train

Part 2

2008-05-14T22:39:00.000-04:00

06. Le Journey de Baby O'Hulkster
07. Connect With Me
08. Pretty Low, Sis.
09. I Hate Soulja Boy
10. Lean Girl

Part 3

2008-05-14T22:38:00.000-04:00

11. Umbrellafold
12. Poppin' Pimpin' and Stuntin' Alone
13. Can't Throw Out a Hot Hero
14. Stronger Friends
15. Kiss My Lollipop

Yo

2008-05-09T13:44:00.003-04:00

I um started a new blog about what I eat for lunch here in DC.

OH yeah, I moved to DC. That too. I'm DJing at a bunch of places, including Blue Gin, Lima, k street lounge, and a soon-to-be-opened spot at well.

Cool.

I'll also have a finished mixtape up soon.

Hugs,
Ben

22 mixed minutes

2008-02-27T21:25:00.004-05:00

So this is just a taste (and it's far from finished, so pardon me) of the mixtape I'm going to be releasing sometime soon.

Here is the track list (it's only 22:30 long so far, and it ends kind of abruptly). Please leave any comments you have -- I know it's not leveled right, and I know it's not perfect, but tell what parts you like, parts you don't like... etc.

1. g&r - welcome to the jungle (dlg remix)
2. klaxons - golden skans (switch remix)
3. nirvana v one republic v britney spears - apologizing girls smell more (dj ben c mashup)
4. daft punk - da funk
5. edwin collins - girl like you
6. rick ross - hustlin (acapella)
7. ludacris - roll out
8. peter bjorn & john - young folks
9. three six mafia - stay fly (acapella)
10. cajmere - percolator
11. eurhythmics - sweet dreams
12. avril lavigne - girlfriend (party time 2000 remix)
13. queen - phat bottom girl (dave nada remix)
14. eric prydz - call on me
15. quad city djs - c'mon 'n ride it (the train)
16. bloc party vs t-pain - open bar (dj ben c mashup)
17. the who - baba o'riley
18. rick derringer - i am a real american (hulk hogan theme)
19. daft punk - around the world
20. journey - don't stop believing
21. justin timberlake - sexyback (acapella)
22. rob base & dj ez rock - it takes two
23. belinda carlisle - heaven is a place on earth (acapella)
24. the btls - all the lonely people
25. elastica - connection
26. enur feat. natasja - calabria (acapella)
27. hot hot heat - talk to me, dance with me

DOWNLOAD HERE

Danceable shit

2008-02-24T22:07:00.002-05:00

This is the shit you can dance to.

The Black Ghosts - Any Way You Choose To Give It (Boy 8-Bit Dub)
Avril Lavigne - Girlfriend (Party Time 2000 Remix)
Small Sins - Drunk E-Mail
The Battle Royale - Racecar
Electrovamp - I Don't Like the Vibe in the VIP

DANCE BITCHES

Dearly Beloved

2008-02-24T21:30:00.003-05:00

Dearly Beloved is a four-piece group out of Toronto who seem to have this rock thing down pretty well. They've got a sort of Subways kind of sound, which is just fine in my book. That said, it's got an chorus that is catchy as hell, they have some decent guitar licks, and they generally play some pretty decent rock music. Their first EP, Repo, just came out last week to some glowing reviews, some of which laud their lead singer/songwriter, Rob Higgins, and justifiably so.

Buy it from iTunes here
Check their MySpace here

Dearly Beloved - Who Knows

Hot fuckin' fire!

2008-01-13T14:05:00.000-05:00

If you missed it, The Dream released his album Love Hate to little fanfare. You might even say that the album is a bit of a glamour project after his success as a co-writer for Rihanna's "Umbrella". However, his debut is far from just your typical producer/writer-cum-rapper fare. It's full of terrific R&B songs (including his first single "Shawty is a 10") and a few club bangers, including this one - "Ditch That...". Sporting a Dr. Dre type of beat, it's a sonic masterpiece.

Check it out.

The Dream - Ditch That...

#1: Justice - D.A.N.C.E.

2008-01-05T14:43:00.004-05:00

Here we are. #1. Could it have been anything else?

Justice's "D.A.N.C.E." is just a fucking party. That's all it is. From start to finish. I'm sure it's been said about 30000 times by 30000 people but it sounds like Michael Jackson's "Don't Stop Til You Get Enough" meets some electro, but modern. It could be played in 1975, it could be played in 2025. I get the feeling I'll be spinning this one until the record breaks, and then I'll just have to buy another one.

Welcome to 2008.

Justice - D.A.N.C.E.

#2: M.I.A. - Paper Planes

2008-01-05T14:43:00.003-05:00

Hello controversy!

If you didn't hear, apparently it's not cool to have gun shot sound effects on David Letterman's television show. This made M.I.A. pretty upset and as a result, she's... well, not. happy. But the song "Paper Planes" itself is really just terrific, good enough for #2 on my list. Let's put it this way - if Snoop did this song, it would have been the top song in America. The lyrics are just fucking gangster as hell, people. I mean, good God. Like, they're Johnny Cash-level of gangsterosity, which is terrific.

M.I.A. - Paper Planes

#3: Kanye West feat. Daft Punk - Stronger

2008-01-05T14:43:00.002-05:00

Kanye's second single off of Graduation was the song of the summer (IMHO), Stronger. The huge beats carefully lifted from Daft Punk's classic song "Harder Better Faster Stronger" are mixed into Kanye's bombastic lyrics and they form what is a pretty remarkable mix of hip hop and electro. Kanye has shown time and time again that when he's got a big beat behind him, he's nearly unstoppable (see: "Jesus Walks"), and he proves it again here. The song feels like a mission statement - a calling out.

Plus, DP makes an appearance in the video, so that's cool.

Kanye West feat. Daft Punk - Stronger

#4: Rihanna - Umbrella

2008-01-05T14:43:00.001-05:00

I will honestly admit I'm a bit sick of this song. And I'm pretty sick of the "ella ella ay ay"s that I hear whenever I play this. But no other song this year was so simple and yet so perfectly produced. It's a four minute tribute to devotion and love, and Rihanna fucking kills it. I would have liked to have seen what Britney or Mary J. Blige would have done with it, but I get the feeling that Rihanna really was the perfect person for this song.

Here's one of the eight-million covers done of "Umbrella", this time by the Italian pop-punk group Vanilla Sky.

Vanilla Sky - Umbrella (Rihanna Cover)

#5: UGK feat. Outkast - Int'l Players Antthem: I Choose You

2008-01-05T14:43:00.000-05:00

In some ways, Pimp C's death was a perfect time to go - as one half of UGK, he had just released a critically acclaimed album, loved by both hip-hop heads and indie geeks and with what some people think was the best song of the year in "Int'l Players Anthem: I Choose You". First, the sample choice is truly awesome. The opening of the song, where Andre explains his choice to marry is just perfect - you actually feel what he's saying - maybe settling down isn't a bad idea, even for a player. From there, when the beat drops, it's a three and a half minute celebration of manhood and a strange sort of fidelity.

UGK feat. International Players Anthem (I Choose You)

#6: Feist - 1, 2, 3, 4

2007-12-30T14:31:00.000-05:00

This was originally lower, but I have a funny story about this song that pushed it up a little bit.

A few months after I met my girlfriend, I met her family. She has a 2 1/2 year old niece who is a pretty perceptive little girl. Anyhow, as I feel that kids shouldn't just listen to the Wiggles and crap like that, I made a CD of "kid-friendly" music that she could listen to in the car. The CD included (among others) "Crabbuckit" by k-os, "Around the World" by Daft Punk, "Just Like Heaven" by the Cure, and"1, 2, 3, 4" by Feist.

A few weeks ago, I was having lunch at their house and she started singing "1, 2, 3, 4". She doesn't really know the words outside of "1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 9, and 10", and she just repeats this, but now we've encountered a new problem: when she counts to ten, she skips 7 and 8.

Feist: warping the concept of counting for young children since 2003!

Feist - 1, 2, 3, 4

#7: Buck 65 - Indestructible Sam

2007-12-30T14:21:00.000-05:00

I've always talked about how much I love Buck's music - and this is no different. Based on the true story of Samuel Dombey, Buck spins a quick 3-minute yarn about a man who just would not die. I really can't do the song justice, so just download it. It was on Buck's site available for download for free, and you really ought to just check out the entire EP he self-released.

Buck 65 - Indestructible Sam

#8: Vampire Weekend - Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa

2007-12-30T14:08:00.000-05:00

I will now list the buzzwords and phrases used to describe Vampire Weekend these days:

"Influenced by Paul Simon's Graceland."
"Oh my God they went to Columbia!"
"White-boy afro-pop? Who knew!"
"Did you know they've never even been to Cape Cod?"

Yeah, they're still pretty damn good.

Vampire Weekend - Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa

#9: Arcade Fire - Keep The Car Running

2007-12-30T13:50:00.000-05:00

So what if Neon Bible wasn't Funeral? Talk about having to live up to expectations. And it wasn't even as though NB wasn't great - it was. It's easily in my top 5 of 2007. It's just a growing process - nothing was going to replicate the lightning in a bottle that was Funeral. And in my opinion, the most impressive track on the album was the quirky "Keep The Car Running", the answer to Funeral's "Rebellion (Lies)".

That said, I have no idea what the song is actually about. Ideas?

Arcade Fire - Keep The Car Running

#10: LCD Soundsystem - All My Friends

2007-12-30T13:40:00.000-05:00

At this point, I don't think there is much left to say about "All My Friends". It's a really great track. One of James Murphy's best qualities as a producer is his unbelievable patience. He's more than willing to have a track grow over nine minutes. He's willing to let the first two or three minutes start slowly and to let it build into a beast, as he does with "All My Friends".

Just a great, great song.

LCD Soundsystem - All My Friends

#11: Klaxons - Golden Skans

2007-12-30T13:38:00.000-05:00

Strangely, I think this is the kind of the song that could have come out any time in the last forty years. It's got a timeless quality to it - the vocals aren't really something you can place, the strings and piano are unique, and there is a strange somberness to the song that really allows for you to view it as... special. Does that make sense?

Klaxons - Golden Skans

#12: Reverend & The Makers - Heavyweight Champion of the World

2007-12-30T13:28:00.000-05:00

This was one of my favorite discoveries of the year. I love the concept of the song, the production, the lyrics, and most of all - the video. It's definitely one of the more "fun" songs I've heard in some time, just considering the simplicity alone.

Reverend & The Makers - Heavyweight Champion of the World

#14: Amy Winehouse - Rehab

2007-12-27T13:30:00.000-05:00

blahblahblah soulful voice blahblahblah trouble with the law blahblahblah wandering streets looking like perry farrell blahblahblah bitch maybe really consider going to rehab blahblahblah okay, really great song.

Amy Winehouse feat. Jay-Z - Rehab

#15: M.I.A. - Boyz

2007-12-27T13:25:00.000-05:00

This isn't the last appearance on this list by M.I.A. Kala was arguably the best album of 2007, with 5 or 6 really strong songs. "Boyz" was her first single off it and while it wasn't her best, it was the one that really introduced more of the mainstream (I mean, you hear her songs in Juicy Couture stores now). I'm digging this acceptance.

M.I.A. - Boyz

#16: Kid Sister feat. Kanye West - Pro Nails

2007-12-27T13:20:00.000-05:00

My favorite hook of the year is in this song. "Got her toes done up, with her fingernails matchin'." Fuckin' awesome.

Here's the question - who's the coolest indie hip hop power couple: Kid Sister & A-Trak OR Diplo & M.I.A.? I don't have the answer, but this song makes it closer in my mind.

Kid Sister feat. Kanye West - Pro Nails

#17: Daft Punk - Harder Better Faster Stronger (Alive 2007 Remix)

2007-12-27T13:15:00.000-05:00

I only wish I sprung for tickets to see them play in Brooklyn back in the summer. I can't even imagine (except by judging footage from the DVD I saw) how fucking amazing the show must have been.

Daft Punk - Harder Better Faster Stronger (Alive 2007 Remix)

#18: Justin Timberlake - What Goes Around, Comes Around

2007-12-27T12:55:00.000-05:00

Hey, it's "Cry Me A River", version 2007! Okay, maybe this really was just a rip off of his own song, but that doesn't really matter. It's still a tremendously awesome song, one that from start-to-finish is really a great fuck-you to someone who he used to love.

Probably the best breakup song of the year.

Marilyn Manson - What Goes Around, Comes Around (Justin Timberlake cover)

#19: Kanye West feat. T-Pain - The Good Life

2007-12-27T00:35:00.000-05:00

Kanye's going to make a few more appearances on this list. I'm warning you now.

I could talk about how Kanye had a "if you can't beat 'em, join 'em" attitude regarding the choice to use the same directors as Justice did for "D.A.N.C.E.", but that's been beat into the ground. I could also talk about how this song was perfectly used at the end of an Entourage episode, where Kanye just magically appeared and whisked Vince and Eric and the boys off to Cannes to premiere their new film. And I could also talk about Kanye's mom, or how T-Pain annoys the crap out of me, or how this song samples MJ's P.Y.T., or whatever.

It's just a party in about 3 minutes... and that's good enough for me.

Kanye West feat. T-Pain - The Good Life

#20: Jay-Z - Roc Boys (and the winner is)

2007-12-25T13:00:00.000-05:00

The line "it's a celebration, bitches" really defines the song. Jay-Z's comeback after the mediocre Kingdom Come was the soundtrack to American Gangster. Despite the overarching influence of Diddy, the album came out terrific ("Blue Magic" also stands out). "Roc Boys" is one of those songs that not only sounds like a party, but feels like it. It's a blast from start to finish.

Jay-Z - Roc Boys

#21: Dude n Nem feat. Twista - Watch My Feet (Remix)

2007-12-25T00:35:00.003-05:00

What a bizarre song. I remember hearing just the chorus and going "what in blazes is this?"

It's so insipid and silly and fun - and the remix with Twista (who fits perfectly into the concept of the song considering it's really fast, and Twista can, um, spit hot fire).

Dude n Nem feat. Twista - Watch My Feet (Remix)

#22: Bangers & Cash - B.O.O.T.A.Y.

2007-12-25T00:35:00.001-05:00

Hahahaha. I fuckin' love it. Between the 2 Live Crew samples, the Baltimore house sound, and the absolutely filthy rhymes it's like nothing else in music today. Spank Rock and Benny Blanco combine to make the duo of B&C, and really, they just make bass-heavy music to have spastic sex to. Or, at least what I'd imagine spastic sex to be like. Probably really sweaty and fast and possibly something that could injure you.

Bangers & Cash - B.O.O.T.A.Y.

#23: Fall Out Boy - Thnks Fr Th Mmrs

2007-12-25T00:35:00.000-05:00

I've made my love of Fall Out Boy pretty clear on this site in the past, and I'm unashamed of it. They're stupidly fun pop punk and their new album really was pretty damn good. Thnks Fr Th Mmrs is the best track on the album - and they're a prime example of the crossover between hip-hop and pop punk these days. Jay-Z has long said how much he loves their music. Pete Wentz always talks about how he thinks Lil Wayne is the most emo act on the planet. Babyface produced a few songs on the album. Hell, check out the hip-hop remix of "Arms Race". Even going back to Under The Cork Tree, they had pretty solid 4/4 beats at dance-friendly BPM. I'm just saying.... it's something interesting.

Fall Out Boy - Thnks Fr Th Mmrs

#24: Lenlow - I Love New England

2007-12-23T13:16:00.000-05:00

Well, if you didn't know, The Boston Red Sox won the World Series for the Second Time in Four Years. Yes, it's true. During the playoffs, the awesome DJ Lenlow made this fantastic mashup (my favorite of 2007, actually). It features:

The Standells - Dirty Water
Jonathan Richman & the Modern Lovers - New England
Big D & the Kids Table - New England
Aerosmith - Walk This Way
Boston - More Than a Feeling
J Geils Band - Centerfold

Six songs -- and it works! Really, really, really, really, really well. It's pretty amazing, all things considered.

Lenlow - I Love New England

#25: My Chemical Romance - Teenagers

2007-12-23T13:15:00.000-05:00

I said at the end of my 2006 list that I regretted not putting this song on the list. It was one of my favorites of last year and I have no idea why it wasn't on the list. But thanks to the magic of radio airplay, "Teenagers" was a big hit this summer, so I'm putting it on this year's list.

I don't care that it sounds just like Ugly Kid Joe's "Everything About You", it's a fun song with a completely sing-a-long-able chorus.

My Chemical Romance - Teenagers

#26: Unk - Walk It Out (Remix)

2007-12-23T13:14:00.004-05:00

I really don't like Unk's music. "Walk It Out" isn't a great song. But... the remix with Andre 3000 features a set of lines so good that that alone gets it into the top 40.

I'm like jury duty
You're new to this part of town
Your white tee, well to me,
Looks like a a nightgown
Make ya mama proud
Take that thing two sizes down
Then you look like the man
That you are or what you could be

I mean, fuck. Hah. He's basically calling out everyone in the southern music scene for looking like a damn fool.

Unk feat. Andre 3000 & Jim Jones - Walk It Out (Remix)

#27: Shout Out Louds - Tonight I Have To Leave It

2007-12-23T13:14:00.001-05:00

In 2005, I was sent a copy of the Shout Out Louds debut album and loved it. So when their sophomore effort, Our Ill Wills came out, I was very exciting - and pleased. Their Irish influences are pretty apparent on this (I know, weird for a Swedish band to have Irish influences, but I'm convinced of this after listening to them for a few years), and it's a great thing to see develop. Considering they've gone two-for-two on great albums, I'm excited for what they have in store for their third album.

Shout Out Louds - Tonight I Have To Leave It

#28: Stars - Window Bird

2007-12-23T13:14:00.000-05:00

I have to admit, I really don't like Stars. I haven't for a long time. I don't know why - there are plenty of bands that sound like them that I like. This is probably the first song of theirs I really like a whole lot. "Window Bird" is a gorgeous song. Amy Milian's vocals are really terrific - some of her best I've heard yet. I also count a few chord changes, which I always fine fun (moreso than I should, probably).

Stars - Window Bird

#29: Spoon - The Underdog

2007-12-21T19:30:00.000-05:00

Hmmph.

I've long espoused the virtues of Spoon, dating back to my college days discussing how good Girls Can Tell is to a room of Risk players. I've always described them as "Sunday morning music", which is one of the best compliments I can give a band - music that I really enjoy on a sunny Sunday morning, reading the paper, drinking coffee, possibly shaking off a hangover. Their newest album, Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga is possibly their best work yet - even better than Kill the Moonlight. The first single off the album was "The Underdog", a pop song if there ever was one - and maybe their best singular song to date (outside of "Stay Don't Go").

Anyhow.

Spoon - The Underdog

#30: MGMT - Time To Pretend

2007-12-18T09:49:00.001-05:00

Hah.

Any time a band seems to utilize 8-bit noises (the horn/keys/whatever it is at the beginning), I love it. But MGMT's "Time To Pretend" goes beyond that fun bit - it's a beautiful song - lush in both sound and scope - it's the kind of song that you'd imagine hearing as the main character of a movie drives off into the distance as the sun rises.

It'll probably be a track I listen to a lot on New Year's Day. It seems like a nice way to start the new year. It's a song you can blow your speakers out to. And even though it technically came out in 2006, and the actual full-length album release with this on it doesn't arrive until 2008, we've reached the point where this is easily one of the best tracks in 2007. I feel like I'll regret placing this song so low in a few months.

MGMT - Time To Pretend

#31: Modest Mouse - Dashboard

2007-12-18T09:49:00.000-05:00

Off what was (in my eyes) a pretty disappointing album (We Were Dead Before The Ship Even Sank) came Modest Mouse's first single - and probably the only really worthwhile track on the album as a whole. But what a single - from the opening kicks and riffs to the crescendo around 3:41 or so into the song, it's a trip. If anything, Modest Mouse has been able to properly execute telling a story in their songs (even in their mega-hit "Float On"), and "Dashboard" is no different. Of course, it never hurts to have a truly great music video. Directed by Matthew Cullen and Grady Hall, it's full of little fun things you notice on the eighth viewing (the "radio"head, anyone?)

Modest Mouse - Dashboard

#32: LCD Soundsystem - North American Scum

2007-12-07T00:28:00.000-05:00

This is, in many ways, James Murphy's answer to the Arctic Monkey's "Fake Tales of San Francisco". There's something really refreshing to the song. And yes, while it's Murphy's take on Americans as "scum", and as assholes, which we are want to do sometimes, it's also interesting because it's kind of a retrospective on the last ten years of his life as an artist. He says "and for those of you who still they're from England, we're not, no" - he's established what this song is about. He's saying - guess what - whether you like it or not - you can't become British - you can't make yourself suddenly a European, and you can't change the fact that you are, in fact, an American. That doesn't mean that just because you're American that you're pro-war or pro-life or pro-gun or pro-death penalty or anything. What it means is that there's a whole bunch of us here living in this country and we are not the same.

LCD Soundsystem - North American Scum

Q & A with Girl Talk

2007-12-04T22:11:00.000-05:00

Girl Talk, a.k.a. Gregg Gillis has been a long time favorite in these parts. I went to his show last Friday night here in Atlantic City and did a phone Q&A with him today.

Ben: Thanks for taking the time to chat with me.

Gregg: I’m going over to Australia in a couple of weeks and they scheduled all these interviews back-to-back-to-back-to-back like in one day and that’s what just went down. And it ran a little late.

Ben: Sounds like a lot of fun.

Gregg: Yeah [Laughs].

Ben: I’ll try to make this as brief as possible for your sake. First of all I saw you last Friday at the show in AC. I gotta tell you it was awesome – it was really terrific – I work as a DJ and it was inspiring to watch you work and see the crowd go that crazy for you.

Gregg: Thank you very much.

Ben: I actually ditched out of work for 90 minutes to check the show.

Gregg: Where do you live at, Atlantic City?

Ben: I live in AC, but I’m from Boston, but I work for a sports bar down here that’s also a nightclub.

Gregg: Atlantic City’s crazy, man. I had a really fun time that night. The guys who opened up for me are friends of mine and AC’s so close to other major cities so I just had a bunch of buddies come in and we all got hotel rooms in the building, so we all went back to my room and partied and then gambled and ran into people from the show. We never really went out, but the party just remained. It was the easiest after-party scenario because there’s a casino and you gamble and drink all night.

Ben: I’ll tell you it gets a little dangerous living in a city where you can drink 24 hours a day.

Gregg: I know, man, I can’t imagine living there, but I had a blast when I was there.

Ben: So lemme just ask you a couple of questions… how did that whole ‘everyone get on stage’ thing get started?

Gregg: I’m not sure. I’ve been playing with a computer for the last seven years or so, and it’s only been in the last year where that’s become a standard. Back in the day I played a lot basements or galleries or independent show spaces, so often times I would play on the floor, and if I didn’t I would invite people to come up to me. Back then it was before I played dance clubs so it was me trying to loosen up a more rock sort of crowd, and I usually failed horribly, but it was always about trying to interact with the crowd as much as possible. I can’t pinpoint, but it was sometime last fall when more favorable reviews for Night Ripper were coming out and I would start getting into the crowd. It was kind of a YouTube phenomenon and people would see it and check out the show and they’d think “That’s what I want my show to be like” and from there it just snowballed, and now every show it’s like that, it’s great for me.

Ben: It’s a really cool, but I imagine it’s a little chaotic for you with people requesting 50 songs.

Gregg: Right, because literally every change in the music I have to trigger I’m clicking the mouse, so I’m clicking once every 15 seconds, that’s just how it goes. Every loop I play is isolated – every drum, every snare, every hand clap there’s all isolated that I have to queue up individually. During a show, I’m used to it now, but it’s a bit insane… when someone comes up and they request a song, it’s like I’d really like to talk to you dude, but I can’t right now.

Ben: Have you developed Carpal Tunnel from all this clicking?

Gregg: [Laughs] I’ve got a really strong right hand right now.

Ben: Your older releases like Secret Diary, are more glitch-pop. How did this change with the release of Night Ripper?

Gregg: Every stage of the game, I’ve always tried to recontextualize the music with making new songs out of old songs with the blatant sampling. I think when I started Girl Talk in 2000, I was influenced by Kid 606 – I think it was just I was really into experimental music at that time so the whole idea was to make experimental music out of pop music and over the years people have put a lot of weird underground glitchy music out, and I’ve zoned out of that a bit. I just started to play more house parties and playing more beat-oriented stuff became more natural, so over the years I’ve just played more and more recognizable samples to the point where all my sets were all recognizable mashed up sounds of things. It’s really just a gradual evolution from wanting to make experimental pop to making new pop out of old pop.

Ben: Are you influenced by Boards of Canada?

Gregg: A lot of people who jam my music these days don’t really don’t understand that world of Boards of Canada or Squarepusher, that’s definitely my background in terms of the aesthetic I try to put together. Very tightly-edited kinds of stuff. Yeah, I love Boards of Canada.

Ben: Do you have thoughts about the whole DRM thing – where now on iTunes you can buy an un-DRM’d track for $1.99?

Gregg: Yeah, I don’t really know much about that because I don’t buy music digitally – I just got my first iPod last month from my parents for my birthday. I haven’t opened it yet – I’m leaving for Europe on Thursday so I’m trying to load it up with some music for the trip. I love my music being spread on the internet; I love people getting it for free. I know that money will come back to the artist in certain ways. I know a handful of artists living off of being musicians right now that do pretty weird music in my opinion, good music, but weird, and I’m impressed with how far music can spread with the help of the internet. Any way tot get the music out there is beneficial, and while probably some people are losing some money – maybe the billionaires are now millionaires, but outside of that so many mid-level to underground artists are living off this and so many people are coming to the shows, this would not have been possible five years ago.

Ben: That’s a really refreshing viewpoint on these things. The more artists I talk the more it seems that kind of perspective is coming around. Where the MP3 is a promotional tool to go out to the show and buy the T-Shirt and support the artist on a local level.

Gregg: I think it’s insane that this is my job – off the top of my head, my friend Dan Deacon is living off of this and for guys like us, it really is about the Internet and the spread of the music and information to people that couldn’t get it a few years back.

Ben: What are some of your favorite recent releases?

Gregg: From the last year, probably the Bone Thugs and Harmony album. I love the production it sounds like it comes from the 90s or today it doesn’t sound forced retro, it just sounds great. I like the UGK double disc it’s really good. I actually like the 50 Cent record a bit. I really like the Dan Deacon album from the weird world, even though he’s a buddy of mine. White Williams also a buddy of mine, I really like the record. I actually really love the new Silverchair single that everyone I know hates.

Ben: That’s “Straight Lines”?

Gregg: I just bought the record, and I love that song, but I haven’t really heard the record yet. I’m pumped you knew that, most people gave up on Silverchair a long time ago. I really like the Gucci Mane record which I think came out in 2006 but the singles just came out this year. But I’d have to put Bone Thugs at the top of my record list. I really like a lot the new hip hop, but I really love sample based production. You have to be really lucky to hear a sample-based hip hop song on the radio, because it’s all original synthesizer kinds of stuff, which is fine, but man my favorite hip hop song of the year was the UGK “International Player’s Anthem” based on that soul sample which I thought was phenomenal.

Ben: How do you get all the acapellas and instrumentals?

Gregg: I try not to make them because I don’t want to play anything that I don’t feel 100% about the quality, and I hate when I can hear little artifacts in the acapellas I make. I’m kind of a perfectionist about things, so acapellas I don’t buy many records, but I’ll buy the record occasionally and get the track myself, but mostly I can just get them online. I’ve been looking for acapellas for the past seven or eight years pretty consistently, and compared to four years ago it is so easy to find acapellas online now. And I think it goes back to that viral marketing thing. People really look at acapellas existing and people being able to do their own remixes, DJs being able to spin acapellas, as a positive thing for the promotion of the album. But mostly I get them online or from a friend. Occasionally, I’ll get something through a weird source – recently someone kicked me a Nirvana multi-track. That blew my mind – it was for “Pennyroyal Tea” and “Radio Friendly Unit Shifter” off In Utero and there was one that was labeled “untitled” which ended up being the b-side “Moist Vagina”. It has the whole mix, with the instrumentals and acapellas. Sometimes that will happen, and that’s awesome because Nirvana acapellas really don’t exist.

Ben: I heard you sometimes a live version.

Gregg: Yeah, I do Scentless Apprentice sometimes. I almost did it in Atlantic City – I like it to feel like a rock show, and usually do it if the crowd isn’t crazy, because it’s a good excuse for me to get in the crowd and get crazy or if the crowd if overly crazy, and I get pushed back on the stage a bit it’s a good way for me to show my face a little bit.

Ben: You have a new album coming out; do you have a date for that yet?

Gregg: I don’t have a date yet. The label has a quick turnaround and my friend who has done the other album artwork is doing it again. I’m hoping early 2008. I’ve got so much material from all the live shows so I should be good to go. The album has always been a retrospective of the live shows. And Atlantic City for example was a lot of new material, so it’s a matter of going over that and deciding what’s my favorite material.

Ben: I got two more questions for you. Who uses better samples: Daft Punk or Diddy?

Gregg: Oh, man! [Laughs]. I love Daft Punk, but Diddy samples amazes things. Daft Punk are like the Michael Jackson of electronic music. But Diddy is like… Diddy. I’m going to have to go with Daft Punk on this because I heard Diddy got taken to court for recently for sample usage of a 10-second horn clip of Earth Wind and Fire or something and he backed down from the lawsuit rather than try to push the fair use issue, so that was a little disappointing.

Ben: One last question: you’re a big Steelers fan, right?

Gregg: Absolutely.

Ben: I’m a big Patriots fan – who’s winning on Sunday?

Gregg: Oh man, I love the Steelers, so I’ll give the Steelers by three. I mean, the Patriots almost lost to the Ravens. I thought the Patriots were dominant until last night’s game. I mean I have to hate the Patriots, there’s a bit of a rivalry, but I am also kind of pumped because any team dominating in the league is exciting to watch. But I think the Steelers are gonna deflate the tires this week.

#33: Queens of the Stone Age - Sick Sick Sick

2007-12-02T17:54:00.000-05:00

I really enjoyed the new QotSA album Era Vulgaris, as it was an improvement over their previous effort Lullabies to Paralyze. "Sick Sick Sick" is a straight-forward rock and roll jam that evokes early punk rock with the driving guitars and simplistic vocals. I like that Julian Casablancas is on the song and his backup vocals mix nicely with Homme's.

Not much else to say - just a good song. And as I've said in the past - any band with Josh Homme makes me want to party in a dirty and dark rock and roll bar. This song is no different.

Queens of the Stone Age - Sick Sick Sick

#34: Villains - Thrilla

2007-11-30T04:59:00.000-05:00

Thanks to Derek for this piece of electro-remix of Michael Jackson's "Thriller". Villains are a new remix team out of LA (which right now is the new remix Mecca, between them and LA Riots, not to mention a handful of others), and all of their releases thus far have been bangers ("Rock It" and also their new remix on their MySpace of Daft Punk's "Around the World").

Derek said it best - this isn't really a remix but rather a original work using old pieces - it's so drastically different from Jackson's classic that if you weren't told it was, you might not ever know.

Basically, they're the tits.

Villains - Thrilla

#35: The Weakerthans - Civil Twilight

2007-11-28T17:48:00.000-05:00

The Weakerthans are one of those bands that I've had a off-again/on-again (see how I switched on you there) relationship with. I was lucky enough to work the soundboard for them back in December 2002 when they played at Clark Hall Pub. They were really nice dudes, but I never really got into their music until later when I really sat and listened to their 2000 album, Left and Leaving.

The biggest change since that release is that they've been moving towards a sound like The New Pornographers meets experimental, and away from their folk punk roots. This is just fine with me - bands need to evolve, and no better song shows this off to me more than this one off their newest release, Reunion Tour and their lead single from it, "Civil Twilight". It's taken from the perspective of a Winnipeg bus driver - lyrically it's tremendous, as you can see in the opening lines of the song:

My confusion corner commuters are cursing the cold away
As December tries to dissemble the length of their working day
And they bite their mitts off to show me transfers, deposit change
and I can't stop finding your face in their faces, all rearranged
and angry like you never were

Enjoy.

The Weakerthans - Civil Twilight

#36: The White Stripes - You Don't Know What Love Is (You Just Do as You're Told)

2007-11-27T02:01:00.000-05:00

For the first time in years (and this includes the singles "Icky Thump", "The Denial Twist", "Blue Orchid", and "My Doorbell"), the White Stripes released a song that actually sounded like a real rock and roll song. And don't get me wrong - I liked Get Behind Me, Satan - but it wasn't the sound that made me really enjoy those pepperminty bastards.

What I love about YDKWLI(YJDAYT) is that it sounds like something the Stones could have released in 1972. It's such a classic sound that they've produced in this one - its a beautiful, simple song that shows off some of the finest work that the Stripes have put out there - as good as "The Hardest Button to Button" and "Hotel Yorba".

The White Stripes - You Don't Know What Love Is (You Just Do as You're Told)

#37: Bobby Valentino feat. Timbaland - Anonymous

2007-11-25T15:36:00.000-05:00

Whaaat?

I know it might be hard to process this, but this might actually be the best production that Timbaland did in 2007. It's similar to last year's breakout "My Love" in the simplicity, but in my opinion, it's a better song - Valentino's vocals are perfect for Tim's percussion, and I really buy Valentino's lyrics (tragedy always sells better than happiness).

Fun fact - the drums for this song actually sample Three Six Mafia's "Stay Fly", which I thought was pretty cool.

Bobby Valentino feat. Timbaland - Anonymous

#38: Muse - Supermassive Black Hole

2007-11-24T19:37:00.001-05:00

Once again... yeah yeah yeah. It came out in 2006. Beat it. But it was released stateside in April 2007, so I'm going with that date.

I'm sure we're all quite familiar this song by this time - it's a great song, a weird mix of disco, funk, punk, and electro. The bass in it is the awesome - it's powerful as hell and it's really fun to mix into other songs (such as.... Rihanna's "Don't Stop the Music". I do that one quite a bit live.)

Anyhow.

Muse - Supermassive Black Hole

#39: Dropkick Murphys - I'm Shipping Up To Boston

2007-11-23T21:34:00.000-05:00

Honestly, I don't care that this song came out in 2006 when the Departed came out. This song, in my mind, is no longer associated with that film, but rather the Boston Red Sox and more importantly, the insanity of Jonathan Papelbon.

Annnnnnnnnnnnyhow... the fun of this song is entirely in its simplicity -

I'm sailor peg
And I've lost my leg
A-climbing up the topsails
I've lost my leg

I'm shipping up to Boston
Shipping up to Boston
Shipping up to Boston
To find my wooden leg

Those are the lyrics. Really, it doesn't get any easier on the planet - but singing them at the top of your lungs is just waaaay too much fun.

Dropkick Murphys - I'm Shipping Up To Boston

#39 - comin!!

2007-11-23T02:01:00.000-05:00

It's coming. I just had a long day of drinking and eating.

I promise... it's coming.

#40: A-Trak - Stuntin' Like My Guitar

2007-11-21T10:43:00.000-05:00

Our kickoff track of the year is actually a remix by the peerless A-Trak. If you haven't heard of A-Trak, here's a quick rundown of his career:

Won the DMC World DJ Championship at 15 in 1997, youngest ever
Won the DMC Canadian DJ Championship as well, youngest ever
Currently is Kanye West's touring DJ

It makes me wish that I'd done more with my DJing, but god damn. Anyhow, last spring he released a remix CD called Dirty South Dance, which was basically fifty minutes of hip hop remixed into electro. The entire album is terrific, but the standout track (in my mind) is the Birdman & Lil Wayne remix of "Stuntin' Like My Daddy" (one of Weezy's 54941 tracks he released in 2007) called "Stuntin' Like My Guitar".

"Stuntin' Like My Guitar"'s appeal comes from the charisma of Wayne's lyrics and delivery and the fact that A-Trak completely rips the guts of the musical production out and makes it a ridiculously intense dance track - and while I love the original, this is just that much better. A-Trak's best trait is that he's able to take songs that are slow, crunk tracks and remix them into these whirlwinds of electro-hotness. I've taken these songs out to DJ with when I play and they always get a reaction - universally - whether someone doesn't like them because they're so radically different than the original that they're annoyed (and they "don't want to hear some stupid remix" (their words, not mine)), or they're impressed and want to know where it's from. But I've found that more often than not it's the latter - because the fact is that these tracks are just so good that most people can't help and get up to them.

I've included two tracks - "Stuntin' Like My Guitar", and the remix of Da Backwudz 2005 breakout single "I Don't Like The Look Of It".

Download:
A-Trak - Stuntin' Like My Guitar
A-Trak - I Don't Like To Turn Around

Whaaat? Did you think I'd forget?

2007-11-20T05:52:00.000-05:00

What's up, bitches?? (Said in best Mac from It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia voice)

You think I'd forget about you? You think I'd let you forget that it's time for the 4th annual "Top 40 of the Year" list? I mean, I know, I haven't really written for legit-like in a long, long time, and that's kind of shitty of me. I'm sorry.

I'm going to try my bestest to actually post every day for the next forty days, with the idea being that I'd actually get back into this wild thing called "blogging" once again.

Here's what I can promise you - for the next 41 days (because on the 2nd to last day, it's "list list bo bists" day), I'm going to give you at least one beautiful sounding song. Each one will be better than the last one, culminating with an awesome day on December 31st when I post, in my opinion, the best song of 2007, which, by the way, won't be anything with T-Pain. I mean, really, how the fuck has that voice-boxed asshole wormed his way to the top of the charts? It's pissing me off more than I can say.

Anyhow.

I mean it. This is it. I'm going to do it.

I like songs.

2007-07-17T01:49:00.000-04:00

Reverend and the Makers - Heavyweight Champion of the World
Toto vs. Rich Boy - AfriD'siac (Uh, by me.)
Shop Boyz vs. Everyone - Party Like A Rock Band (By me as well).

More in the future.

I ain't dead.

2007-05-15T05:40:00.000-04:00

Hiya.

I'm posting a little bit over on Jon and Rory's site -- but I'll be back. I'm getting that bug to post again.

For what it's worth, I really like these albums: Feist, LCD Soundsystem, Patrick Wolf, Rocky Vololato... and more. I went to this awesome store in Philly a few weeks ago called Repo Records on South St. where my girlfriend had to basically drag me out of -- they had some of the best shit I've seen. Plus, their vinyl selection was absolutely absurd.

I miss this shit. I promise I'll be back soon.

Hugs.

Young Love Interview

2007-03-21T18:23:00.000-04:00

Sorry this took so long to put up - I lost my recorder. I promise, I'm not gone forever.

Ben and Dan throwin' up the "Y-L"

Ben Loves Music:
So when was the last time you were in Philly?

Dan Keyes:
The last time I was here was with Lady Sovereign. That tour was amazing – it was a blast.

BLM:
What were your influences for this band? Because you went from a band like Recover, which was a little difference

DK:
Well, I mean, if you listen to Recover, it’s the same song writing, the same song construction, same lyricist.

BLM:
What was the process of going from that (Recover) to this (Young Love)?

DK:
I didn’t really make that decision, that decision kind of made me. I moved up to New York to kind of get away from music for a while. I had been on the road since I was 18, and I was in Austin, two weeks out of every three months. Then I took a long break, if you want to want to call six or seven months a long break. I was busing tables and working at American Apparel, and I ended up hanging with some DJs who started spinning my stuff, and gave some tracks to my friend Jeff Reed, who’s a DJ also. He passed them along to some of his friends, and labels started coming at me. I ended up signing with Island/Def Jam, which so far has been amazing, really good.

BLM:
Did he (Jeff) do the Young Love mixtape that was the Houston and Atlanta hip-hop mixed with your songs?

DK:
No, that was a different friend. It was before the record came out, and no one really knew what it was going to end up being like. That’s sort of been the point – to keep ‘em guessing. I don’t want anyone to be locked into a scene, or with certain bands. I want to start something, to put something out there. This is our first headlining tour, and it really has been its own scene so far, man. Every night has been fun; it’s been a dance party every night. I can’t think of one show on this tour that hasn’t been a blast. There’s always been a great energy in the room, and then tomorrow we end the tour in New York at the Bowery Ballroom.

BLM:
What music influenced you and this album? What have you been listening to?

DK:
I just bought a bunch of new records - The Knife, the Peter, Bjorn, and John record, the Charlotte Gainesbourg. Air did the music for it. And I bought the new Bloc Party, which I love. It doesn’t matter what they could have put out, I still would have loved it. I’ve been listening to a lot of French bands, like Air, Daft Punk, Phoenix, and m83 – it really influenced this album a lot with the electronic side of things. I recorded this album outside of London in this little town, Bath, with this really cool producer Steve Osbourne, who’s worked with U2, New Order, Thrice. And he really brought a cool Euro, pulsing sound to the record. I also did a few tracks with Dante Ross, who’s more of a hip-hop producer. He actually did the new single “Find A New Way”.

I love the Cars, Blondie, the Police. I’m psyched to try to go see the Police, but this tour ends, and then I have twelve days off, then we go play SXSW, and then over to Europe for a little while. I’m really excited to go to SXSW, because we were recording a record there last year. I recorded tracks in Austin, New York, London, and LA – and I wanted this so that the album would have a world feel to it. I’ve recorded so many lo-fi records, stuff that was recorded in my friend’s room-style. I wanted to record this all over the place, and make this have a broad feel, even from a songwriting standpoint, I wasn’t trying to write from an introverted perspective, I wanted it to be for everyone.

BLM:
How did you get hooked up with MTV for “Find A New Way”?

DK:
They came at me. I was told they wanted to use my song for a reality show, and at first, I was “Uh…. No…. no.” And then when I got more information, that it was a show about dancing, see I spent a few months out of every year of the last fifteen years at an arts school, so I’ve taken jazz and tap and ballet. And to have this be a song for a show about dancers, I was totally cool with.

BLM:
Thanks a ton for the interview, man.

DK:
Hey, it’s no problem. Enjoy the show.

Young Love's album Too Young To Fight It is out now on Island/Def Jam records. You can visit his MySpace here to check out his music, including a free download of the Lindbergh Palace remix of "Tragedy".

I met Lily Allen.

2007-02-14T06:23:00.000-05:00

Sorry for the image quality. I wish it wasn't so shaky.

Expect an interview with Young Love at the beginning of March.

I'm not dead. And I will be back. I promise.

So.... thank you.

2007-01-19T18:04:00.000-05:00

Hey.

So it's not that I have forgotten to post for the last two+ weeks. It's that I have nothing to say. And that's the truth.

The fact is this - I love this website, and it has been a labor of love since that first day way back in April 2004 when I started this site on http://bencohen.is.dreaming.org, and had the entire thing hosted (sneakily) on the Clark Hall Pub website. It grew leaps and bounds, faster than I thought. I mean, I literally grew it from nothing and the only advertising I did was in my MSN nickname. After a while, I started posting links and getting attention from others.

I'm not going to beat around the bush, though. For the time being, I am suspending this site. I certainly hope to come back to it at some point where I have a drive to blog again - as much as I love this site and as much as I love sharing my love of music with people, I just don't have the drive or desire to do it anymore. Maybe in the future, sure. And I am going to retain control of this domain and blogger address. Maybe every once in a while I'll post about a song that I absolutely love and I can't help but share.

There's a few people I want to thank - first, Tushar, for giving me free webspace and often ignoring the fact I regularly went over my bandwidth limits. Jon, for helping me get in contact with Tushar and for often criticizing my writing. Beau, Wendy, and everyone who has given me free music - I've been exposed to a lot of music thanks to you. All the other bloggers who have been helpful to me and have become friends of mine (people from the elbo.ws board, Derek, Jon (again), Aaron, and everyone else who has found their way into my life through the internet. Finally, I want to thank all of you - the readers. I've only done this for you - and I'm sorry I can't continue at this time. I hope you find music you love through other sources still - the Hype Machine and Elbo.ws are still your best aggregators out there for finding new music.

I hope to be back in the future, but for now, see you soon.

<3
Ben

PS - it wouldn't be a post by me without mentioning the following things: Lily Allen, Kanye West, Jay-Z, Mashups, and the Red Sox. Just had to get those in there for posterity.

Were you watching that game?

2007-01-02T01:18:00.000-05:00

Holy shit...
Boise State Football is basically the most fun thing ever.

Disagree with me, people?

They ran a hook-and-ladder play, a direct snap to the RB, and a statue of fucking liberty play on three plays that they only had one shot on (4th-and-18, 4th-and-2, and a 2-point conversion). I don't think we'll see Bill Belichick pulling that one anytime soon, but damned if Boise State isn't entertaining to watch play some goddamn football.

#1: T.I. - What You Know

2006-12-31T00:48:00.000-05:00

Here he is. The King.

Yes sir. While other songs were great, this was better. Other songs had great lyrics - this was better. Other rappers can boast, but T.I. brags. "What You Know" was the breakout hit from his tremendous King album that came out back in March and was immediately one of the best all-around hip-hop albums of the year.

So why is this song #1 on my list? I mean, when I first heard it, I didn't actually even like the song. It took a while for me to like it. And that's fine. Sometimes it takes a while for a song to become signficant to you. My buddy Hugh and I were sitting around watching MTV one day and this came on - and the only thing he said was that this song was "epic". The beat is "epic". And he's right. It's grandiose, majestic, and gorgeous - and at the same time, it's as gangster as they come.

I've included the Ross Hog Hard Times Remix because it's so fucking stellar in it's own right.

Have a great night people - get home safe from the bars, parties, clubs, and pubs.

Audio: T.I. - What You Know (Ross Hog Hard Times Remix)

Downloadapalooza 2006!

2006-12-30T00:48:00.000-05:00

So here you go. It's the "end of year wrap-up" special here at benlovesmusic.com. We've got a few fun things planned for today. So enjoy.

Other People's Lists!

(Who they are, Where they are, How I know them, What they do)
Bo Goldburne, Boston, Geeky Red Sox Love, High-Powered Music Executive:

Arctic Monkeys - A Certain Romance
These guys are so English, and that is what makes this track so much fun--the accent, the "trackie bottoms," the "coupla cans." Everyone knows the story of these guys, and while the album is full of great tunes, this is the one that I always come back to. This wouldn't work as a single in the US, but you can see how it's loved in the UK. It's also got a great intro, some cool cool changes, and fun lyrics. Next time you're at a bar with some friends, skip to the last track on the album and punch this into the juke. It seems to be meant for that.

Gran Bel Fisher - Crash and Burn
From his debut album Full Moon Cigarette, Gran Bel shows that he has a great ability to craft memorable songs with great hooks, and lyrics that stick with you. The whole album is proof that even if you're just a young kid from Ohio, if you have the talent and musicianship, people will sit up and take notice, and "Crash and Burn" is a great example of that. I saw him do a small acoustic showcase a few months ago, and it made me like and appreciate the songs even more. He's on the road all the time, so check it out if you want to see a great singer/songwriter and someone that is really working for it.

Pearl Jam - Come Back
What can I say, this is just a simple and touching song. Eddie Vedder delivers it with a sincerity that makes it work. Knowing his politics, I always come back to the thought that this song is influenced by the state of the world politically, but like other great songs, even if that is the case, there is a timeless quality to it as well. And as a bonus, if you watch Friday Night Lights it also reminds you of Minka Kelly in the rain. (Editor's note: Hand Party!)

Jay-Z - 30 Something
Picking up from the "I don't wear jerseys I'm thirty plus" theme from the The Black Album, Jay is back and full of swagger. This is the grown-up Hov. Taking giant leaps to separate himself from the rest of hip-hop world, while everyone else rolls blunts, Jay smokes Cubans; everyone else parties in South Beach, he's in St. Tropez. Jay is so full of cockiness and confidence on this track that I can't imagine anyone else pulling it off, but it works for him because he's telling the truth.

The Killers - Why Do I Keep Counting?
Most people I know either love or hate Sam's Town, and this track is a microcosm for many of the reasons why. Full of bravado, with sweeping choruses and soaring layers of instruments, the track is an in-your-face anthem that begs to be sung along with. The Killers 2.0 right? Brandon Flowers and his big ego? Maybe sonically, but below that is a level of self-doubt and fear that rivals Thom Yorke's obsession with cars. I wouldn't want to travel with either of them.

Derek Burpee, Nebraska, Drinking Buddy, 1/3rd Of Khaki Snack:
5.) Weird Al Yankovic - Trapped In The Drive Thru: Not because it’s particularly funny, but mostly because I wanted to include Trapped in the Closet but couldn’t because it was released in 2005. Luckily this song sounds just like it!

4.) Less Than Jake - Rest Of My Life: Sure, the album was disappointing and this song is a huge stinking pile of mediocrity. I still like it. I’m confident that if this song was by Green Day it would have been praised for being “mature”.

3.) Me First & the Gimme Gimmes - Goodbye Earl: Originally I was going to list their version of Desperado so I could humorously describe how Glen Fry personally told the band he hated their version and refused to let them do a video. But this song is kind of better.

2.) NOFX - 60%/60% (Reprise): Feel Good Lyrics of the Year. It also wins the award for most appropriate opening and closing songs on a half-assed CD.

1.) Moneen - Don’t Ever Tell Locke What He Can’t Do: This song is good, like LOST used to be.

Mike Lista, Kingston, ON., Fellow Player, Writer:
5.) Malajube - Montreal -40* C
At number five is Polaris Music Prize nominee Malajube, whose debut is dope. Fuck the Wolf Parade comparisons -- these guys are legit,and have eked out their own plot with "Montreal -40*C." It's the feel good hit of the winter. Plus it's in French. Dirty, dirty Quebecois French. Kick-ass!

4.) The Hold Steady - Stuck Between Stations
Number four belongs to The Hold Steady. I have to be honest -- the lyrics, though championed in the music press (read: Pitchfork) are butt-tingly at times. The Jack Kerouac comparisons are overwrought and just plain inaccurate. But can they ever stick a guitar lick to an organ line. And you can't help but smile at the lines "We drink and we dry up and now we crumble into dust/ We get wet and we corrode and now we're covered up in rust." They remind me of the Boss jamming with The New Pornographers, only dirtier. And drunker.

3.) Grizzly Bear - On a Neck, On a Spit
"On a Neck, On a Spit" is at number three and Grizzly Bear may very well be the band to watch this coming year. Their album Yellow House is aptly named; each of the songs on this record are immaculate structures erected from simple lyric and melodic frames. Each of their songs is usually made up of fewer than ten lines. This is by far the best song on the album -- a long, stream of consciousness jam that's deceptively well structured.

2.) Swan Lake - All Fires
1.) Sunset Rubdown - Stadiums and Shrines II
Yes, the top two spots belong to bands fronted by one Spencer Krug, the genius behind Wolf Parade's iconic "I'll Believe in Anything." From the looks of it, Krug's powers are not relenting; I think these two tracks are as begrudgingly holy as anything on Apologies to the Queen Mary. Krug looks more and more like a rising superpower. I'd argue that he's the most important songwriter under thirty today. Maybe the most important songwriter period. He's the dynamo of what looks to be a renaissance challenging the cynicism and irony that pervade contemporary culture. Plus his work trumps the criticism leveled against most of his 'indie rock' contemporaries -- that the arrangements and instrumentation of 'indie' songs are musically inept and soulless. His shit is as dense with ideology, heart, and virtuoso as anything out there.

Charles Van Dyke, New York, Friend From Back In "The Day", Information Technology:
Preface: I was informed that I wasn't allowed to have SexyBack in my list, since Ben's too cool for my man JT. Also, I tried to avoid duplicating bands that Ben had chosen, so my boys Malice, Pusha T, and Rick Ross got bumped. Here ya go, in reverse order:

5.) The Roots - Don't Feel Right (Featuring Maimouna Youssef) off the album Game Theory. Beautifully simple song construction, a head-nodding beat and killer vocal layering. It's not that hard, why is hip hop dying?

4.) Basement Jaxx - Run 4 Cover off the album Crazy Itch Radio. Any song that prominently features the word "minger" is an automatic A+ in my book. Freight train beats help. I love the Jaxx.

3.) Snow Patrol - Hands Open off the album Eyes Open. Outrageously catchy and it's even in a key I can sing, which is always a plus. I also like the Sufjan Stevens name check, not that I listen to that hippie crap.

2.) Olivia Ruiz - La Femme Chocolat off the album La Femme Chocolat. A delightfully quirky song about eating too much chocolate, turning into chocolate, and being eaten by a lover. I really enjoy the instrument selection (check out that mandolin). Why can't the American Idol finalists put out songs like this?

1.) Bob Sinclar - Love Generation off the album Western Dream. I didn't always love this song, but it was the (un?)official song of the World Cup, and there's nothing quite like having a stadium full of 70,000 rowdy fans singing the "Oh oh oh" chorus at the top of their lungs. This song makes me happier than a song should be able to every time I hear it.

My Top 13 Albums Of 2006 (in no order):
1.) Lupe Fiasco - Lupe Fiasco's Food & Liquor
2.) Nelly Furtado - Loose
3.) Justin Timberlake - FutureSex/LoveSounds
4.) The Sunshine Underground - Raise The Alarm
5.) Hot Chip - The Warning
6.) Brand New - The Devil and God Are Raging Inside Of Me
7.) Girl Talk - Night Ripper
8.) Aberdeen City - The Freezing Atlantic
9.) Ghostface - Fishscale
10.) Spank Rock - yoyoyoyoyo
11.) Arctic Monkeys - Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not
12.) T.I. - King
13.) Lily Allen - Alright, Still

Songs That Should Have Made My Top 40, But Alas...
Say Anything - Alive With The Glory Of Love
AFI - Miss Murder
My Chemical Romance - Teenagers
TV On The Radio - Wolf Like Me
IV Thieves - You Can't Love What You Don't Understand

The Worst Songs of 2006:
Much like last year, we had a few contenders. I mean, how can you ignore a song like Gwen Stefani's "Wind It Up"? Between the yodeling, the awkward strings, and the really awful choice of a sample, it's hard to say this wasn't the worst. But the problem, I guess, is that you've got a case where the the "original" version (which was included on the album) is a lot better. So I can't make it the worst when I know that it could have been better. (I don't care if that doesn't make sense.)

It's easy to point fingers at Nickelback and Theory of a Deadman - but at the very least, they've been around long enough for me to ignore. But they've been responsible for the musical atrocity that is Hinder. I mean - "Lips Of An Angel" is just.... wow. They're just wretched. I think what really frustrates me is that this is what passes for "deep-thinking music" to most of America. I mean, c'mon - we've all been there! Your girl's in, the next room, sometimes you wish it was someone else! (Ugh. I hate that I know that lyric.)

That really only leaves us with one option. It leaves us with the number one problem in hip-hop today - Jim Fucking Jones and his "We Fly High"

As you probably know, I'm a DJ. I play lots of really awful music. It's just how it is. I'm comfortable with that. I mean, I think you'd be shocked as to far I'm willing to bend over - I've played "SexyBack" three times in a night before (and I hate myself for it). What we have here, though, is a case where a song has all the elements to make it bad - a perfect storm of shitteratti, if you will. It has a fucking stupid hook. It's got a rapper on it who a) can't rap b) can't sing c) has no flow d) write godawful lyrics e) has a stupid dance move that even the white boy with the worst coordination can do f) has the 7-8 New York Giants dancing around on the field g) and is basically everything that is wrong with mainstream rap today. But do you know what really frosts me? What really pisses me off? The name of the song.

I can count the number of times that someone has come up to me and asked for this song by the proper name on one hand. It's never "We Fly High". No, no. It's "YOOO DUUUDE!!! CAN YOU PLAY BALLIN!!!!!!!"

I just hate it. I think it's a horrid song.

So Overall...
...this was a decent year for music.
It was. We saw the rise of many great new pop acts (Lily Allen, KT Tunstall), the return of others (Justin Timberlake, Nelly Furtado); we saw mash-ups become mainstream, between Girl Talk and the fact that every single DJ now mashes songs up when they play, far far far more than what was happening a year ago. Mainstream hip-hop still has some hope, what with Nas, Clipse, and The Roots all releasing albums - and then you've got T.I. and Rick Ross holding down the dirty south.

Something I noticed this year is the trend that I've personally followed in terms of what I seem to like. Case in point: this year, in my top 40, I had 17 hip-hop songs, 8 rock songs, 8 electronic/dance songs, 6 pop songs, and a mash-up. Last year I had 9 rock songs in my top 20 alone. I'm not sure what this says about me, or about music, or whatever. I think I'm changing and growing (which is to be expected) - and that's good. Maybe next year I'll be writing about how much I love some country music (unlikely). But that's how it goes. 2007 will be different than 2006, and that's good.

Enjoy the #1 song tomorrow. We'll all hug in 2007.

#2: Epic Man - More (Is Enough)

2006-12-29T00:48:00.000-05:00

Holy fuck.

With one of the most out-of-nowhere amazing songs of 2006, we have "Epic Man", which is the original beats of Phones (the remix maestro) and Plan B (of "Mama (Loves A Crackhead)" fame).

I remember the first time I heard this song, it actually didn't seem that good. Derek from GoodWeatherForAirStrikes.com had posted it and while he was overwhelmed by it, I wasn't. It took me a few weeks, and then one day, I was in my car, driving home from DJing, and I put it on in my car. It was almost like I had an epiphany - this song is transcendently good. The beats are epic. The lyrics are ridiculous. If you want real fucking hip-hop, this is it. If you want real fucking electro, this is it.

Plan B's vocals are so good - he's almost bragging through the whole song. What he's got isn't enough. He wants more gash. More violence. More fights. More of everything. He's greedy, he's fucking angry, he's fucking pleased. It's just that goddamn good.

But what is number one? What could it be... here's a hint: I think this song's beats are epic. But the #1 song of year is basically legendary.

Audio: Epic Man - More (Is Enough)

#3: Young Love - Discotech

2006-12-28T00:48:00.000-05:00

Hmmph. As if you didn't see THIS coming.

I still don't understand the hate for Young Love. Is it because he's currently on tour with Good Charlotte? Maybe. But he sounds absolutely nothing like Good Charlotte. It's kinda Panic!-at-the-Discoesque, but it's really, really faint. I don't really get it.

What I do get is that this was the best electro/pop/dance/rock song of the year. It's 3:54 of fun, dancey music that grabs you, shakes you up, and gets into your head and under your skin. I think what I really like about it is that his vocals are so honest and he's got such a great sense for production and timing. I dunno. I just love it.

Audio: Young Love - Discotech
Audio: Young Love - Discotech (Lindbergh Palace Remix)

#4: Dragonette - I Get Around

2006-12-27T00:48:00.000-05:00

Canadian electropop? Yes, please!

Dragonette is the love child of Martina Sorbara (of singer-songwriting fame) and Dan Kurtz (of The New Deal), an electro/pop/techno sound that is what you'd get if you combined candy and orgasms.

The song "I Get Around" is the tale that Martina tells of her late-night/early-morning adventures of leaving the apartments of her lovers. It's such an incredibly catchy and sexy song that I can't believe that it hasn't made the rounds in the pop world yet. Maybe it's because they're Canadian, maybe it's because it hasn't received a major-label push. But considering they spent the last few months opening for Duran Duran, I can only imagine that it's only a matter of time. Frankly, Nelly isn't this year's "Promiscuous Girl", it's Martina - and if you have heard this song you'd know why.

Audio: Dragonette - I Get Around
Audio: Dragonette - Shock Box
Video: (Live in London)

#5: Justin Timberlake - My Love

2006-12-26T00:48:00.000-05:00

You knew he was on the list somewhere.

So yeah. You knew he was coming. If was "SexyBack" the song of 2006, "My Love" was the jam of 2006 - if that makes sense. "SexyBack" was terrific - and still is. But "My Love" is exactly what made "Cry Me A River" great, but the opposite theme. Instead of completely and absolutely devastating Britney Spears, he's screaming to the heavens about how much he loves Cameron.

Which is frankly pretty cool. Because when you have become the self-proclaimed "bringer of sexy back", to then come out in your next single as the "super-in-love-monogamous guy" is a pretty big gap in terms of, uh, message.

I remember the first time I played this in a bar - I got on the mic and told everyone that this was Justin's new single. I don't think anyone danced. They just stood there. Now that it's December, they can't get enough of it. Ahh, yes. The power of MTV. And frankly, pairing the song with the intro from the album ("Let Me Talk To You") for the music video was just genius.

Nicely done, Justin.

Audio: Justin Timberlake vs. Nirvana - My Spirit (DJ Cyph)
Video:

edit because i'm a tardburglar.

#6: Sunshine Underground - Commercial Breakdown

2006-12-25T18:48:00.000-05:00

Sweeeeet.

Sometimes when you hear a song, it just sticks in your mind. It's one of those special songs that should have been one of the biggest songs of the year, stateside, but never made it. Who knows - maybe there's still a chance in the year 2007 for this song to make it.

This is what I wrote back in March:

"so here's what happened. i was shitfaced two months ago and bought a bunch of records (like vinyl) on an online british record store. i always have stuff shipped to my father's place because he's got a porch so i dont have to worry about it getting hurt by the elements if it's just dropped off and because he lives in a ridiculously crime-free neighborhood, so i don't have to worry about something being stolen, which is always a fear. so i picked up all the records yesterday and i had bought some 7" single by some band called "sunshine underground". i had no idea who they were but the record store said the song was fantastic, and i must have thought in my drunken state that, 'hey.... thisss sounds really g00d! i'll bai it!' or something like that.

boy, did i get lucky. not only is the song good, it's fantastic. i put it on and was hooked in IMMEDIATELY by the quality of production, sound, and talent. this sort of song is meant to be heard by everyone in the world - it's part of the new powerfunk sound that's emerged (see: hard-fi), but it's also got that rapture/radio4 sound that i love. while the single has only come out so far, once the album comes out.... watch out. this is going to be huge. and i'm not alone in this thinking; nme has said as well that it's one of the best songs of the year. just trust me when i say that you owe it to your ears to listen to this on repeat for a month."

And it's all true still.

Audio: The Sunshine Underground - Commercial Breakdown
Audio: The Sunshine Underground - Commercial Breakdown (Filthy Techno Breakdown)
Video:

Merry Christmas!

2006-12-25T12:06:00.000-05:00

Merry Christmas to all of you. I hope Santa brought you what you wanted.

Me?

I'm giving you all something. Kind of. You see, I've been really into mash-ups since 2000. If you hadn't noticed, I've never actually made a mash-up. I've only ever posted other people's work. Well, that's all about to change.

I made a mash-up.

It's not the most challenging one, I'll admit that. But I think it turned out pretty well. And I think you guys will like it.

So.... it's....

Eminem & 50 Cent - You Don't Know
Brand New - Sic Transit Gloria... Glory Fades

This makes for...

Eminem & 50 Cent vs. Brand New - Gloria Don't Know

Enjoy.

(also, here's a version that's without the "punk" ending, and just continues into the last two verses of "You Don't Know", called the "Full Urban Mix").

#7: Lily Allen - Smile

2006-12-24T00:49:00.000-05:00

Ah yes, my lover.

Sure, there was a bit of backlash against this pint-sized pop star from the British Isles, but I think it was all pretty misplaced. Her style, lyrics, voice, and class made her easily my favorite new artist of 2006. Her debut album, Alright, Still will be released in the US at the start of 2007, and if there's any justice, it will be a huge, huge thing.

Smile is one of those songs that will get in your head and never leave. I've put it onto semi-regular rotation at work, and I constantly have people asking me who it is - if that doesn't say what kind of pop power it has, that it can succeed in a sports bar, I don't know what does.

Audio: Lily Allen - Smile (Mark Ronson Revisit)
Audio: Lily Allen - Smile (Gutter Remix)
Video:

#8: Lupe Fiasco - I Gotcha

2006-12-23T00:49:00.000-05:00

It actually came out!

So it only took about fifty different mix tapes, eight release dates, and after what felt like forever, Lupe Fiasco released his Lupe Fiasco's Food & Liquor - one of the most exciting debuts in hip-hop this year. While I loved other tracks on this album ("The Instrumental", "Kick Push", "Daydreamin'"), "I Gotcha" stood out from the first time I heard it. Maybe it's Pharrell's beats. Maybe it's Lupe's vocals. But I think it's just that it's a positive and upbeat hip hop track, where Lupe speaks on how he doesn't buy into all the stereotypes in hip hop, saying that he's "Gotcha".

Audio: Lupe Fiasco - I Gotcha
Video:

#9: Three 6 Mafia - Stay Fly

2006-12-22T00:49:00.000-05:00

Fl-y-y-y-y-y-y-y-y-y-y.

Okay, yeah, so it came out in 2005. And yeah, even as a single, it was released in 2005. But you know what? This is my list. So suck it.

This was probably the most "fun" hip hop song I've heard in ages, intentional or not. From the start of the song to the last notes, to quote Dave Chappelle, "It's A Celebration, Bitches." You've got SIX MCs rapping in less than four minutes, all of which are showing off their best. I guess what I'm trying to say is that there are few and far between hip hop songs that are this much fun, this much of a party that is contained to four minutes. It's one of the only songs that when I DJ, I still can't get sick of, hard as I try.

Plus, the video is the tits.

Audio: Three 6 Mafia - Stay Fly
Video:

#10: Ghostface feat. Ne-Yo and Kanye West - Back Like That (Remix)

2006-12-21T00:49:00.000-05:00

The 'hot shit'.

In one of the most stunning developments of the year, I found a way to put a song with Kanye West on my top 10! I know, crazy, right?

One of my favorite releases of the year was Ghostface's "Fishscale" and "More Fish". Both releases were tremendous hip-hop albums, and truly solidified him as the best solo artist from the Wu-Tang Clan.

But, the best part of this entire remix is Kanye's absolutely blistering forty seconds of fire.

"We hit the spot to chill, where the food get grilled,
She order the Kobe beef like Shaquille O'Neal
Second I walked in the whole room got still
I don’t know how to put this but I’m kind of a big deal. "

Jeeeeesus. He's just awesome. He really is. And Ghostface is as good as ever on it. Ne-Yo's vocals are tremendous. It's such a mix of styles (Kanye's humor and playfulness, Ne-Yo's soulful sound, Ghost's hardcore rhymes) and it comes together so well.

Audio: Ghostface feat. Ne-Yo & Kanye West - Back Like That (Remix)
Video:

#11: Gnarls Barkley - Crazy

2006-12-20T00:49:00.000-05:00

...

I'm going to use the old Bill James method of reviewing something... and say "Pass". Cop out or not, there really isn't much left to say about "Crazy".

Audio: Gnarls Barkley ft. Joe Budden - Crazy (Remix)
Video:

#12: Rick Ross - Hustlin'

2006-12-19T23:49:00.000-05:00

I'm the fuckin' BAWS.

In easily the best "fuck you" beat of the year, Rick Ross exploded on the scene. His first single, "Hustlin'" was a clubbanger, a carbanger, and a humdinger all in one. Ross' voice is easily his number one asset - he not only talks like a gangster, he sounds like one. He's scary. When he says the line "I know Noreaga / The Real Noreaga / He Owe Me A Hundred Favors", it feels real. He's all about hustlin'; it's not a joke. In the video, there's a quick ad to get Rick Ross Ringtones. He wants to make cash any way he can. And that, my friends is Hustlin.

Today, I've given you two versions, one is the remix w/ Jay-Z. The other? The instrumental. Because the instrumental is my favorite instrumental of the year.

Audio: Rick Ross - Hustlin' (Instrumental)
Audio: Rick Ross feat. Young Jeezy & Jay-Z - Hustlin'
Video:
(Regular)

(Mashup vs. Simian Mobile Disco)

Nope, still funny.

2006-12-19T16:38:00.000-05:00

#13: Aberdeen City - God Is Going To Get Sick Of Me

2006-12-18T00:49:00.000-05:00

Boston, represent!

We're in the stretch run now. You're going to be reading about some songs I've definitely posted before. This is one of them.

Aberdeen City made their major-label debut this year with their jarring The Freezing Atlantic, showcasing their incredible musical and vocal talents. Their first single off the album "God Is Going To Get Sick Of Me" isn't just a reaction to life in general - it's a 3-minute apology for what lead singer Brad Parker has done, and for what he's going to do. And, it doesn't hurt that it translates so well live - the energy that this band puts out is phenomenal. So while they wear their influences on their sleeve, they aren't just honoring what they love to listen to, I'd say they improve upon it.

I've included the new version of this song, a slowed-down, almost dirge-like (and very Radioheadesque) version of this song. It's phe-fucking-nomenal. In fact, I'd say it really showcases Parker's voice better than the original - it shows how truly magnificent this song is.

Audio: Aberdeen City - God Is Going To Get Sick Of Me
Audio: Aberdeen City - God Is Going To Get Sick Of Me (Highway Version)
Audio: Aberdeen City - Just Like Christmas
Video:

#14: Fort Minor - Remember The Name

2006-12-17T00:49:00.000-05:00

Guilty pleasure, sure, but speaking of huge beats....

Okay, sure. It's the guy from Linkin Park. And they were responsible for one of the most overplayed songs of the year, "Where'd You Go?" But their debut album, The Rising Tied, was a terrific example of what great mainstream hip hop can be. Tracks like this one, "Believe Me", and "Petrified", were all standouts, with "Remember The Name" drawing CBS to overplay it in the NCAA March Madness tourney as their bed for many, many exciting moments. It's got a huge beat, a bunch of very talented MCs, and easily made it in my top 15.

Edit - I am wrong. It was TNT that used it to promote the NBA playoffs, not CBS and the NCAA March Madness.

Audio: Fort Minor - Remember The Name
Video:

#15: Hot Chip - Over and Over

2006-12-16T00:49:00.000-05:00

I can name only one electronic group inspired directly by Justin Timberlake.

Yes, you read that right. The guys in Hot Chip really became what they were after hearing some of the tracks on Justin Timberlake's Justified, which is really, really kind of funny. At least, that's what they said in an interview with MTV2.

Hot Chip's "Over and Over" is just one of those incredibly catchy and poppy electronica songs that gets in your head (over and over, if you will) and won't leave. The song itself is so simple, but it's just.... something special. When the breakdown happens and the guitars kick in, you realize that these guys are really rock stars playing electronica.

Audio: Hot Chip - Over and Over
Audio: Diplo - Shake It Over and Over
Video:

#16: Under The Influence of Giants - In The Clouds

2006-12-15T00:49:00.000-05:00

Huuuuuge beat.

One of my favorite discoveries of 2006 was the California disco-glam-funk-rock outfit known as "Under the Influence of Giants". While they had a release in 2005 (Bitch City), this was their breakthrough. As I wrote back in August, these guys have put together an ultra-hooky sound that really isn't found much elsewhere. While it's kind of like the Killers, it's far more.... disco. And they have no shame in this - it's apparent in songs like "Mama's Room" (which was grown on me, hugely) and this one, "In The Clouds", which is just one of those songs that I'm aching to play in a nightclub, if only it was available in video form.... real video, not some live crap that sucked ass.

Audio: Under the Influence of Giants - In The Clouds
Video: (Live in LA)

Honestly.....

2006-12-14T21:29:00.000-05:00

Do we really need a fifth American Pie movie? Does Eugene Levy really need the money? C'mon.

#17: Lady Sovereign - Love Me Or Hate Me

2006-12-14T00:56:00.000-05:00

I know some people who don't like this song.

While I do know that some people don't love Lady Sov, I have personally fallen for her music. I remember when I first heard her (back when I heard "Random") and thinking how much I liked it - very fresh stuff, really. But more than anything it, this release here was huge, considering it was the first female solo British act to top TRL, and the first British female anything to do it since the Spice Girls. While that's sort of damning with faint praise, it says that it's possible for an artist like Lady Sov can break through into the American mainstream. Plus, the instrumental for this song is absolutely sick.

Audio: Lady Sovereign - Love Me Or Hate Me
Audio: Lady Sovereign - FU2 (Dunproofin Remix)
Video:

#18: Nelly Furtado - Promiscuous

2006-12-13T00:56:00.000-05:00

Oh my.

Good luck on convincing me otherwise. Upon my first listen, I remember thinking "you know, if this doesn't catapult her back into the mainstream, nothing will." And, boy, did it. From the start, with Timbaland's opening salvo of "How ya doin' young lady", this song blazed its way for almost four minutes, and provided us with the hottest video of the year -- we got to see Nelly's ridiculously amazing stomach (something that everyone on the goddamn planet should have the right to see). It was out first introduction to the new trifecta of pop power of Nelly Furtado, Timbaland, and Justin Timberlake, and they aren't done - considering they're going to be releasing a track on Timbaland's new album that is absolutely destructive in the pop scene.

Audio: Nelly Furtado - Promiscuous (Not available due to it being the biggest fucking song of the year, save one.)
Audio: Nelly Furtado - Promiscuous (Electro Remix, a repost)
Video:

#19: Justice vs. Simian: We Are Your Friends

2006-12-12T00:56:00.000-05:00

WE! ARE! YOUR FRIENDS!

Talk about a breakthrough. While I don't know for sure, I have to imagine that this is Derek's favorite track of the year, judging by his ninety-eight posts he made about it. I'd be shocked if it wasn't.

This remix of the original Simian track "Never Be Alone" by Justice was one of the standout electronic-pop songs of the year. It is irresistibly dancey and transcends the norms of indie electronica - it can be played in a nightclub in the middle of a house set, can be sandwiched between Nelly Furtado and Justin Timberlake, or can be dropped in the hippest hipster joint this side of London. It's just one of those tremendously well-done songs - and it doesn't hurt to have a music video that is truly genius.

Audio: Justice vs. Simian - We Are Your Friends
Audio: Justice vs. Simian - We Are Your Friends (Lee Cabrera's "Lower East Side" Remix)
Video:

#20: The Pipettes - Pull Shapes

2006-12-11T00:56:00.000-05:00

Timeless!

I swear to God, you will have a tough time finding a more poppy musical group on the planet than the Pipettes. From start to end, this song sounds like something that came out 50 years ago, not last summer. Even songs like "Your Kisses Are Wasted On Me" are instant classics because the song comes from what seems to be an unidentifiable era of time. It's just how it is - my mother loves this album because it's so unbelievably retro.

Audio: The Pipettes - Pull Shapes
Video:

#21: k-os - Sunday Morning

2006-12-10T00:56:00.000-05:00

Every day is Saturday night...

In an interview with Canoe.ca, k-os said that "Sunday morning was always about church and food and family. Then I moved down to Toronto and Sunday morning became about Advil gelcaps... this song is about an individual who realizes how sacred Sunday morning used to be and he can't wait until Sunday morning is something that helps him out instead of a day of rest." God knows that's true. One genre of music that I've written extensively about on this site is that of "Sunday Morning Music". Music that goes well with the Sunday paper, getting up 11 (not hungover), and a bagel. This is music like Paul Simon, Spoon, Phoenix, The Velvet Underground, Jeff Buckley, Ryan Adams, Feist, and Beck. While these were my Sunday mornings as a kid (albeit, yeah, not so much Spoon or Phoenix, but you know what I mean), k-os' were spent at church; but the attitude about it remains in my mind. I miss that time where you weren't struggling to get out of bed, sometimes wearing last nights clothes, with McDonalds, Wawa, or a late night diner run still in your stomach. And, I know that in a few years (God willing), I won't be going through that as much. But, as he says - "every day is Saturday night; but I can't wait for Sunday Morning..."

Audio: k-os - Sunday Morning
Video:

#22: Men, Women & Children - Dance In My Blood

2006-12-09T00:56:00.000-05:00

Didn't I just write about this?

Yeah, so I just wrote about this? So what. It's still awesomeness. One of the really fun things about this song is that it really jumps between rock and dance quite quickly (see - the beginning vs. the middle of the song). I dunno what else to say, so I'll say this: it's a stupid, fun, punky, dance song.

Audio: Men, Women & Children - Dance In My Blood
Audio: Men, Women & Children - Dance In My Blood (Richard Fearless Remix)
Video: (regular video)

Video: (Live at Avalon Boston)

#23: The Streets - Never Went To Church

2006-12-08T00:56:00.000-05:00

I'd say this is Skinner's most revealing track.

In what must be considered Mike Skinner's most personal track (even moreso than the somber "Stay Positive" from Original Pirate Material), we get pretty intense insight into Skinner's rocky relationship with his deceased father. He brings up silent dinners with his family, and about the complete disconnect he feels with his father, how they were so unalike. He says that there was nothing left behind by his father, nothing that for Skinner to remember his father through. Through the song, though, he seems to come to realize that, "you left me behind to remind me of you", as he repeats it over and over near the end of the song. It's a really remarkable song, and the cover I am providing by Guillemots is, perhaps, better than the original.

Audio: The Streets - Never Went To Church
Audio: Guillemots - Never Went To Church
Video:

#24: Clipse feat. Slim Thug - Wamp Wamp (What It Do)

2006-12-07T00:56:00.000-05:00

Jesus!

This is an absolutely ridiculous song. I mean, from start to finish, it's ridiculous. The Clipse has come back, better than ever, with their new album, Hell Hath No Fury. It's amazing, because the Clipse is probably the most consistently underrated mainstream hip hop act on the planet. They're as hard as hell, and they know it. Frankly, it's just great music. They don't bullshit around, they aren't dissing other rappers. They're the fucking best, and they know it.

And this is Pharrell's best work in some time - it's like he saved up all his good beats (uh, Wind It Up? Yuck.) for the Clipse, and that's all fine and good with me.

Audio: Clipse feat. Slim Thug - Wamp Wamp (What It Do)

Video:

#25: Arctic Monkeys - I Bet That You Look Good On The Dancefloor

2006-12-06T00:56:00.000-05:00

"... don't believe the hype."

Fuck all the hype, all the hoopla about this band. Let's cut through the shit - they're a really fucking great rock band. It doesn't matter that they sold out venues on both sides of the Atlantic in minutes. It doesn't matter that they were being hailed as the "next band to save rock and roll". What matters is that they are exactly what they want to be - a great rock band that makes great rock music. And as Alex Turner says at the beginning of the video, "don't believe the hype...". And you shouldn't.

Also, enjoy the drum and bass remix.

Audio: Arctic Monkeys - I Bet That You Look Good On The Dancefloor
Audio: Frozen Monkeys - Gurning On The Dancefloor (DNB Remix)
Video:

#26: Brand New - Sowing Season

2006-12-05T00:56:00.000-05:00

Finally!

Besides having one of the creepiest album covers I've seen in some time (for example, why does the guy on the right have slippers on? Or are they just really oddly colored shoes? This worries me), the third full-length album by Brand New features a slew of fantastic songs, including this - the opener to the album, called "Sowing Season (Yeah)". While it starts slow, it kicks into high gear and absolutely rips by a few minutes in. It's a stellar song that is getting some radio airplay (thank God, because this band deserves it). I've found that the album The Devil and God Are Raging Inside Me has taken a bit of time to really grow on me, and that it's a "listener" to get into it, but there are at least four tracks on it that have immediately stuck out to me as super.

Audio: Brand New - Sowing Season (Yeah)
Audio: Jesse Lacey - Two-Headed Boy (Neutral Milk Hotel Cover)
Video: (for Sic Transit Gloria, off of Deja Entendu)

#27: Plan B - Mama (Loves A Crackhead)

2006-12-04T00:56:00.000-05:00

Don't call him a British Eminem.

One of the more stunning releases of the year was Plan B's debut, Who Needs Actions When You've Got Words. This song, "Mama (Loves A Crackhead)" was the standout track, telling the story of his mother being taken advantage of by a heavy drug user, and "his" dealing with it. I put his in quotes because Plan B (aka Ben Drew) has made it very clear in interviews that it is not him that he is rapping as, but as a character. It's something that he has had to make clear, mostly because of his problems after releasing "Kidz", a highly controversial track about the murder of a child.

Audio: Plan B - Mama (Loves A Crackhead)
Audio: Plan B - Who Needs (Hot Chip Remix)

Video:

#28: Girl Talk - That's My DJ

2006-12-03T00:56:00.000-05:00

Dirty pop, indeed.

As I wrote back in July, Gregg Gillis' breakthrough mash-up (although don't call it that to him - call it splice pop) album really was one of the most interesting and dynamic things I've heard in quite some time. It was a staple in my car's CD player all summer long and I've probably had ten different friends ask for copies of the album. More than just being original, Gillis (like other mash-up DJs, like Party Ben) has taken the mash-up to being an art form, creating original art from other people's work. This is one of those sort of things where it's not fair to just classify it as one genre. It's really incredible work, and it gets better with each listen.

Audio: Girl Talk - That's My DJ
Video: (Live in Pittsburgh)

#29: Hellogoodbye - Here (In Your Arms)

2006-12-02T00:56:00.000-05:00

And we're back!

Them boys in Hellogoodbye have really done a great job with this song. As I wrote back in September, this is a super-hooky, near-club type of song (and, in fact, I've included a Tommy Sunshine remix of the song today) that has a music video that will appeal to fans of the classic film Wet Hot American Summer, as it draws some hilarious parallels to the film. The song itself, though, is a fun, goofy love song that anyone with a sense of what makes music good will enjoy.

Audio: Hellogoodbye - Here (In Your Arms)
Audio: Hellogoodbye - Here (In Your Arms) (Tommy Sunshine Remix)
Video:

#30: Klaxons - The Bouncer (South Central Bootleg)

2006-12-01T00:56:00.000-05:00

Electrohousefuckyouintheassrock is the best!

Holy fucking shit! When I first heard this on headphone sex, I was blown away - now, it's become one of my favorite songs of the year - it's such an intense, insane, driving, powerful song that as it goes along, South Central will hook you, let you go, then drag you RIGHT back into the song... and it's just absurd. What blows my mind is that, apparently, Klaxons' label wasn't too happy with the remix, because this is one of the most energetic songs I've heard in a very, very long time. By the way, I hate the term "nu-rave".

Audio: Klaxons - The Bouncer (South Central Bootleg)
Audio: Klaxons - Magick
Video: (video is for Magick)

#31: Clearlake - I Hate It That I Got What I Wanted

2006-11-30T00:56:00.001-05:00

I do love the rock music.

I remember when I first heard this song on a sampler disc I got in the mail - I couldn't believe how strong this song was - I immediately went out and bought the album. I discovered this band, Clearlake, had been around for quite some time, which is always kind of stunning when you find out about a group that is a) really good and b) had completely escaped your window of knowledge. I didn't really write anything about this song back in March about this song. The other really cool part is that there's a video for the "addon" song for today, "It's Getting Light Outside", which was a terrific fucking ending for an album. You'll like it, I promise.

Audio: Clearlake - I Hate It That I Got What I Wanted
Audio: Clearlake - It's Getting Light Outside
Video:

#32: The Raconteurs - Steady, As She Goes

2006-11-29T00:56:00.000-05:00

See ya, Meg.

I don't know what's more amazing: that Jack White has found someone he can work with and doesn't end up punching the shit, or that this song wasn't even bigger. Arguably the rock and roll hit of the summer (although "Dani California" may have an argument), this song was adored by indie rock kids everywhere, mostly because of Brendan Benson's presence. Which leads me to my next point - the real great part of the song (and the chorus) isn't Jack White's part, but Benson's subdued "steady as she goes..." after Jack sings his bit. There's something really great about that part of the song, something understated.

Audio: The Raconteurs - Steady, As She Goes
Audio: The Raconteurs - Steady, As She Goes (Acoustic)
Video:

P.S. - this is what happens when I go to bed without hitting "Publish"

#33: Gym Class Heroes - The Queen & I

2006-11-28T00:56:00.000-05:00

Hip-hip with a live band outside of something using ?uestlove? Unheard of!

The Gym Class Heroes's "The Queen & I" (from the As Cruel As School Children album) didn't take off like I thought it would - I sort of was hoping it would break seriously into the mainstream, as it's got a bit of a latin feel to it, and it's really catchy. Still, it was popular enough and there was definitely some interest in it by the mouth-breathers who attend nightclubs (this I am sure of). Part of the reason that I like this song so much is that it's unlike much else that is out there in the mainstream music world, much like Rhymefest's "Fever" - it has a hip-hop edge but doesn't take itself as seriously as the Unks and Jim Jones' of the world (for the record, I think "We Fly High" is just an awful song, up there with the worst of the year. Jim Jones is easily one of the worst mainstream rappers in a long, long time, and he's acting like he's the heir apparent to Jay-Z - not so fast, my tattooed friend.)

And because they're on the Fueled By Ramen label, which also features such artists like Fall Out Boy... here's the track that was posted on AbsolutePunk.net by Fall Out Boy, called "Carpel Tunnel of Love". Yay for brand new Fall Out Boy! (That sounds as bad I think it did.)

Audio: Gym Class Heroes - The Queen & I
Audio: Fall Out Boy - Carpel Tunnel of Love
Video:

#34: The Radical Dudez - Tahiti Treat

2006-11-27T00:56:00.000-05:00

Three years running with the Dudez? Yessir!

Is this nepotism, picking a song by a band featuring guys that I'm friends with? Sure. But that's all that music is anyway. After 2004's "Ukulele" and 2005's "Blame", this year's "Tahiti Treat" might be their best song yet. Here's what I wrote back in the summer:

"So, I was told to post this because I was told that I would like this. turns out -- i love it. it's already the anthem of my summer. it's my good friends, The Radical Dudez, with their newest song, "Tahiti Treat". Folks, it's hard to explain this song - it's hand claps, finger snaps, a ukulele/guitar, and a mandolin. that's it. "Tahiti Treat" by The Radical Dudez is just one of those songs that you can't miss out on. It's Brian Wilsonesque in the harmonies and sound.... I mean.... the part where Adam goes "Ohh here comes the rain!"... man. it's just good."

I stand by my comments.

Audio: The Radical Dudez - Tahiti Treat

#35: Mark Ronson feat. Alex Greenwald - Just (Radiohead Cover)

2006-11-26T00:56:00.000-05:00

This is the only cover on the list, and it sure is a good one.

While the "Exit Music For Radio Heads" album wasn't exactly great, this track was. Ronson's production skills (as evidenced by his second appearance thus far on this list; Rhymefest's "Fever" being the other) have become enviable - he's working with artists like Ghostface, Christina Aguliera, and Lily Allen. This track, specifically, is a jazzed-up piece of work with the lead singer of Phantom Planet and is definitely one of the best songs of the year. (And yes, I'm aware it was on the Dreidel 2 The Grave compilation that I took part in last year - but it hadn't been released, officially, at the time. So there.)

Audio: Mark Ronson feat. Alex Greenwald - Just
Video: