I had so much fun making the 2008HDPP, I figured it was only fitting to follow up with my favorite hits from 2009. There were so many great albums to choose from, but as I discovered during this exercise, it is very hard to put together a cohesive mix as it seems my favs were quite an eclectic collection of styles. Since today is 12-12-2012, I really tried hard to reduce this list down to 12 songs... but 15 is as close as I could get (you can see what I left off the playlist here). While listening, I hope this mix evokes as much nostalgia for you as it does for me.
:: Hump Day Power Play (12-12-2012) :: 01 ::"Ephemeral Artery – Neon Indian 02 ::"1901" – Phoenix 03 ::"The Lady Vanishes" – White Rabbits 04 ::"Stroke Their Brains" – Spoon 05 ::"Apollo and the Buffalo and Anna Anna Anna Oh!" – Sunset Rubdown 06 ::"Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh" – Say Hi 07 ::"Two Weeks" – Grizzly Bear 08 ::"Officer Of Hearts" – Handsome Furs 09 ::"The Akara" – Beirut 10 ::"Skyscraper" – Julian Plenti 11 ::"Day By Day" – Taken By Trees 12 ::"Basic Space" – The xx 13 ::"Seven" – Fever Ray 14 ::"Beijing" – Patrick Watson 15 ::"Day Glo" – Brazos
December 5 marks the 340th day of the year (including Leap Day), and it happens to fall on a Wednesday. You know that means? Not really anything, but nevertheless, here's this week's HDPP for your listening pleasure.
:: Hump Day Power Play (12-5-2012) :: 01 ::"Fitzpleasure" – alt-J 02 ::"True Romance" – Citizens! 03 ::"Chained" – The xx 04 ::"Girl" – Oposssom 05 ::"Heavy On Me" – Zeus 06 ::"It's Too Late" – Wild Belle 07 ::"Waiting For" – Poor Moon 08 ::"Hand Of Man" – Django Django 09 ::"All Your Gold" – Bat For Lashes 10 ::"Default" – Atoms For Peace 11 ::"Total Life Forever" – Foals 12 ::"Why You Wanna" – Poolside 13 ::"Blue Meanies" – Oposssom 14 ::"Tides" – The xx
Something huge has happened in my personal life, and while I don't talk much about that here on Three Colours, I think a quick listen to this week's HDPP should give it away. If you thought 3C has been lacking posts in recent times, don't expect that to improve any time soon. I'll still try to publish my weekly playlist on time, but any more than that would be a bonus for now.
:: Hump Day Power Play (11-28-2012) :: 01 :: "Sweet Child O' Mine" – Guns N Roses 02 :: "About a Girl" – Nirvana 03 :: "Daughter" – Pearl Jam 04 :: "The Good Life" – Weezer 05 :: "Enjoy the Silence" – The Cure 06 :: "There, There" – Radiohead 07 :: "Don't Panic" – Coldplay 08 :: "Come as You Are" – Nirvana 09 :: "Speak To Me (Breathe)" – Pink Floyd 10 :: "Paranoid" – Black Sabbath 11 :: "Here Comes Your Man" – The Pixies 12 :: "Tonight, Tonight" – Smashing Pumpkins 13 :: "Soul to Squeeze" – Red Hot Chili Peppers 14 :: "This Lullaby" – Queens of the Stone Age
And for those who would prefer the non-lullaby mix, you can listen to that here as well. Enjoy!
I've been revisiting a lot of old Strokes songs, and it reflects on this week's HDPP. These guys can write such a catchy song... I'd forgotten how easily you can listen through their entire catalog.
:: Hump Day Power Play (11-21-2012) :: 01 :: "You Only Live Once" - The Strokes 02 :: "What Ever Happened? " - The Strokes 03 :: "Last Nite" - The Strokes 04 :: "Taken For A Fool" - The Strokes 05 :: "New York City Cops" - The Strokes 06 :: "Juicebox" - The Strokes 07 :: "When It Started" - The Strokes 08 :: "Reptilia" - The Strokes 09 :: "Gratisfaction" - The Strokes 10 :: "Take It Or Leave It" - The Strokes 11 :: "Heart In A Cage" - The Strokes 12 :: "Games" - The Strokes 13 :: "Barely Legal" - The Strokes 14 :: "I Can't Win" - The Strokes
For this week's HDPP, I tried compiling a list of foreboding songs that had a crisp, brisk feeling. Hopefully, it'll remind you that winter is only a few weeks away.
2008 was a fantastic year in music. So fantastic, in fact, that it inspired me to start blogging about the great acts and albums of that time. After years of anonymous music writing on Wikipedia (fighting with editors on which bands were truly "notable" and Wiki-eligible), I decided to take my own shot at promoting my favorite acts, and thus Three Colours was born. Feeling a hint of nostalgia this week, I put together an HDPP with some of my favorite songs from '08. Hard to believe that was nearly 5 years ago!
You can now pre-order your copy of the Foals' 3rd LP, Holy Fire, which is set to release on February 11. You can also check out the new music video for their first single, "Inhaler". Additionally, if you pre-order Holy Fire from iTunes, you'll receive a digital copy of "Inhaler" today! Based on the new track, it seems the band may be headed toward new waters.
This week's HDPP happens to fall on Halloween, so I thought if fitting to follow a ghostly theme. Of course, my all-time favorite Halloween-themed song is "Do They Know It's Hallowe'en?" by The North American Halloween Prevention Initiative (video below), but that's unfortunately not available on Spotify.
:: Hump Day Power Play (10-31-2012) :: 01 :: "Walking With A Ghost" – Tegan And Sara 02 :: "The Ghost Inside" – Broken Bells 03 :: "Ghost Pressure" – Wolf Parade 04 :: "The Ghost of You Lingers" – Spoon 05 :: "Anyone’s Ghost" – The National 06 :: "The Ghost On The Shore" – Lord Huron 07 :: "Little Ghost" – The White Stripes 08 :: "Tuff Ghost" – The Unicorns 09 :: "Is There A Ghost" – Band of Horses 10 :: "Banana Ghost" – Man Man 11 :: "I Saw a Ghost" – Black Lips 12 :: "Give Up The Ghost" – Radiohead 13 :: "Ghost To Me" – Youth Lagoon
Ever since uprooting from Seattle and relocating to SW Michigan, seeing good live shows has become a bit of a challenge. Not that Chicago or Indianapolis are extremely far away, but it requires a bit more planning when "must see" shows swing through the area. But when I learned that Divine Fits would be playing the Deluxe in Indy on a Friday night, purchasing tickets was a no-brainer.
It had been nearly 8 years since seeing a show in the Circle City. I was happy to experience one of Indy's newer venues: the Deluxe is a nice, intimate stage room which resides inside the Old National Centre (formerly the Murat Theatre). There was a decently-sized crowd in attendance, even with Sleigh Bells playing the Vogue on the same night. Cold Cave kicked off the night with a really great show. Their dark, new-wave sound paired well with the main act's synth-driven catalog.
Readers of this blog will know that my favorite bands tend to revolve around Brit Daniel (Spoon) and Dan Boeckner (Wolf Parade, Handsome Furs). When Spoon covered "Modern World" during their set at The Moore in 2010, I remember saying "It can't get any better than this!" Friday night's show, however, would make me eat those words.
Seeing both Daniel and Boeckner walk out on stage together nearly invoked Worlds Collide Theory. It was so weird... but the feeling was short-lived once the band launched into a very powerful "Neopolitans". The first thing that popped into my mind was that these dudes are professionals. Having only finished recording their debut album a mere 3 months earlier, you would have sworn these guys had been practicing these songs for years. In fact, this was only the band's 23rd live performance! Another surprise was how great drummer Sam Brown's performance was all night. This dude was mesmerizing to watch, and his metronomic mechanics were both meticulous and masterful. Keyboardist Alex Fischel (dubbed by Daniel as "this generation’s Ansel Adams") rounded out the lineup.
Divine Fits played an extremely tight set (setlist posted below), covering nearly every song off their debut album A Thing Called Divine Fits. A few surprise covers were thrown in there, too. Tom Petty's "You Got Lucky", Rolling Stones' "Sway", and the Wipers' "Doom Town" all took on new life as the band added their own elements. Highlights of the night (apart from Tron in attendance) included the Daniel-Boecker duets during "Baby Get Worse" and "The Salton Sea", as well as the one-two encore punch of "Flaggin A Ride" and "For Your Heart".
All in all, this was a damn good show and totally worth the drive. The band has a handful of shows left on the US-leg of their tour before conquering Singapore, New Zealand, and Australia at the beginning of 2013. Be sure to catch them if you can!
Setlist: Divine Fits @ Deluxe (10-26-2012)
Neopolitans
Baby Get Worse
What Gets You Alone
The Salton Sea
Civilian Stripes
My Love Is Real
Doom Town (Wipers)
You Got Lucky (Tom Petty)
Like Ice Cream
What That Not Be Nice
Sway (Rolling Stones)
Shivers (Rowland S. Howard) Encore:
Flaggin A Ride
For Your Heart
The first year I was out in Seattle, I vividly remember attending an Eels show at the Showbox. This was back in the summer of '06, but what really stood out though wasn't the weird performance by Mr. E and his kung fu dancing body guard (though that was quite weird). In fact, it was the opening band that really made the night memorable. That's because before any of the shows started, I felt like I was back in elementary school. I remember being completely surrounded by little kids and parent chaperones. At the time, I was quite confused, but when the opener Smoosh took the stage, which featured sisters Asy and Chloe (they were only 14 and 12 years old at the time, respectively), the tiny fans erupted in screams. This was probably the only concert that I've ever been to where I was "that tall person" where no one could see around.
So fast foward 6 years, and the Smoosh sisters have a new band called Chaos Chaos. Yesterday, they just released their debut EP entitled S, which you can get here. It's streaming on Spotify (and below), and it's definitely worth checking out. Pretty cool to hear how these two musicians have really grown, and it shows in their song structure and harmonies. Expect big things from these two indie pop prodigies!
For most bands, following up a masterpiece album results in disappointment. Some bands may continue using the same winning formula, creating a similar sound that lacks its predecessor's soul. Others will hit writer's block, crack under time pressures, and release an album that leaves much to be desired.
For the great bands like Radiohead, they will continue to evolve and completely redefine their sound. After OK Computer, Thom Yorke and company embarked on a transformative journey that would change the indie music landscape. Still today, Radiohead continues to push their sound to new areas, leaving inspired young bands in their wake. This week's HDPP is a collection of my favorite Thome Yorke tracks that embody the truly uniqueness that I've grown to love (sadly for this playlist, In Rainbows is not available in Spotify).
It was a struggle to get on top of the HDPP this week as I've been without internet for quite some time. Hopefully I haven't lost any listeners due to the delay. This week's list started from an oldie that I had forgotten about (Starlight Mints' "Buena Vista"), but upon hearing it last week, it sparked some really good memories. I just rode that wave to the 45 minute mark, and voila: this week's playlist!
:: Hump Day Power Play (10-10-2012) :: 01 :: "Buena Vista" – Starlight Mints 02 :: "The Town Halo" – A.C. Newman 03 :: "Coquet Coquette" – Of Montreal 04 :: "It All Began With A Burst" – Kishi Bashi 05 :: "Sundialing" – Caribou 06 :: "The Salton Sea" – Divine Fits 07 :: "Genesis" – Grimes 08 :: "Be With You" – Vacationer 09 :: "Claudia Lewis" – M83 10 :: "Pulleys" – Animal Collective 11 :: "I Think About You All The Time" – Keepaway 12 :: "Drowatown" – Starlight Mints
Upon request, this week's HDPP is a collection of my favorite songs from The Black Keys. It was hard to do, as the band still refuses to upload their newest album onto Spotify. Luckily, however, there are some singles from El Camino that are at least accessible. Again, like many playlists, there are simply too many great songs from these dudes to fit on one mix. In my opinion, my collection of hits just fit together quite nicely. I hope you think so, too.
:: Hump Day Power Play (10-3-2012) :: 01 :: "Set You Free" – The Black Keys 02 :: "Remember When" – The Black Keys 03 :: "Strange Desire" – The Black Keys 04 :: "Gold On The Ceiling" – The Black Keys 05 :: "Tighten Up" – The Black Keys 06 :: "Till I Get My Way" – The Black Keys 07 :: Lonely Boy" – The Black Keys 08 :: "Howlin' For You" – The Black Keys 09 :: "Nobody But You" – The Black Keys 10 :: "Yearnin'" – The Black Keys 11 :: "10 A.M. Automatic" – The Black Keys 12 :: "Your Touch" – The Black Keys 13 :: "Next Girl" – The Black Keys 14 :: "Strange Times" – The Black Keys 15 :: "All Hands Against His Own" – The Black Keys 16 :: "The Only One" – The Black Keys
Head over to NPR's First Listen to hear Lord Huron's debut album Lonesome Dreams in it's entirety!!! To date, the Michigan natives have released two amazing EPs, and I'm so excited to feast my ears on their first proper long player. Physical copies of the album drop in stores October 9 on IAMSOUND Records (pre-order).
The album's second track "Time To Run" should be included in everyone's road trip mix tape. Just listening to it makes me want to hop in the car and start driving toward the wild!
Back in January, I posted a collection of my favorite Dan Boeckner hits that were available on Spotify. It's been received quite well judging from the traffic to that post; however, now that Divine Fits has released its amazing debut album, that old list feels obsolete. For this week's HDPP, I wanted to update the existing list with some of his new "instant classics" that can be found on A Thing Called Divine Fits.
Fall is officially here this week, and what better way to welcome the brisk autumn breeze by listening to this airy compilation of HDPP jams? There simply isn't a better way. Period.
:: Hump Day Power Play (9-19-2012) :: 01 :: "Dead End" - The Whitest Boy Alive 02 :: "Tropical Birds" - Miniature Tigers 03 :: "Foreign Room" - Telekinesis 04 :: "Speak In Rounds" - Grizzly Bear 05 :: "Young Bride" - Midlake 06 :: "One More Time" - French Kicks 07 :: "Vaporize" - Broken Bells 08 :: "Waiting For A War" - The Morning Benders 09 :: "Blue As Your Blood" - The Walkmen 10 :: "When They Fight, They Fight" - Generationals 11 :: "Vapours" - Islands 12 :: "Heart it Races" - Dr Dog 13 :: "The Next Time Around" - Little Joy 14 :: "Click, Click, Click, Click" - Bishop Allen
Getting back to some hits, this week's HDPP is a collection of my favorite Arctic Monkeys tracks. It's crazy to think back to my first Monkeys concert experience in early '06. They played the "old" Crocodile in Seattle to a crowd of maybe 150 fans. I paid a mere $10 for my ticket months before the show (a friend in the UK told me I should), and by the time the day of the concert rolled around, Arctic Monkey fever had infected the States. Swarms of people were offering $100 for my ticket to the sold-out show at the door. I would have been a fool to sell it, as that night was simply magical. You could get a sense that these guys were destined for something bigger.
Interestingly, though, the band played everything off of Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not, and apparently ran out of material for an encore... Now fast forward to today; they have so much great material, I had much trouble trimming this playlist down. Hopefully my condensed version is to your enjoyment.
Summer is rapidly disappearing, and I'm left wondering where it went. Before it's officially over, make sure to do something summery so you don't regret wasting these precious days. Hopefully this week's HDPP can serve as your soundtrack while you're doing said summery thing.
This week's HDPP is a collection of my favorite Paul Banks hits. Most notably known for his work with Interpol, Banks has also released some great jams under his solo moniker Julian Plenti. While I've never been a fan of his sunglass choice, he does know how to write a great song. I hope you enjoy them, too.
Plants and Animals have silently made a solid catalog of music over their last 3 albums. Their best to date, in my opinion, is still their debut Parc Avenue, but that album's recording process spanned many years, which resulted in a very eclectic mix of amazing rock. P&A's next two albums focused more in the classic rock direction, and the results were interesting and enjoyable. For this week's HDPP, I hope to highlight band's very best songs, condensing the list down to 15 songs. Sure I left off some great jams, but these are the energizing hits that'll get you over the hump.
It looks like Britt Daniel has been keeping busy lately. Right on the heels of the Divine Fits announcement, Daniel revealed that he has been recording with yet another band called Spl:t S:ngle. According to other reports, Daniel's primary musical vehicle Spoon is still alive in the background as well!
As for Spl:t S:ngle, you can see from the picture above that Daniel is only contributing his bass skills (and not his pipes), something he hasn't done for quite some time (Alien Beats, perhaps?). You can check out some of their songs here. It's quite a departure from Daniel's other works, and that's because Spl:t S:ngle was conceived by Jason Narducy (Telekinesis, Verbow), who wrote/sang all 13 tracks that were recorded last month. Rounding out the lineup is drummer Jon Wurster (Superchunk, Mountain Goats). Should be most interesting to hear what Daniel brings to the table.
Daniel Rossen has one of the most distinct voices in the indie music community, and he's contributed his equally beautiful songwriting skills to Grizzly Bear, Department of Eagles, and even some solo work. This week's HDPP may lack some of the pizzazz that one usually needs to get through a slow day, but I think the power in these songs should do quite well regardless. Notably, Rossen didn't join Grizzly Bear until Yellow House, so I intentionally left off the band's earlier work. By the way, GB's newest album Shields is set to drop September 18!
:: Hump Day Power Play (8-15-2012) :: 01 :: "Yet Again" - Grizzly Bear 02 :: "No One Does It Like You" - Department of Eagles 03 :: "Two Weeks" - Grizzly Bear 04 :: "On A Neck, On A Spit" - Grizzly Bear 05 :: "While We're Young" - Daniel Rossen 06 :: "Romo-Goth" - Arcade Fire 07 :: "Knife" - Grizzly Bear 08 :: "Golden Mile" - Arcade Fire 09 :: "Shift (Alt Version)" - Grizzly Bear 10 :: "Little Brother" - Grizzly Bear 11 :: "While You Wait For The Others" - Grizzly Bear 12 :: "He Hit Me" - Grizzly Bear 13 :: "Ready, Able" - Grizzly Bear 14 :: "In Ear Park" - Department of Eagles 15 :: "Silent Song" - Daniel Rossen
Head over to NPR's First Listen to hear Divine Fits' debut album A Thing Called Divine Fits in it's entirety!!! If you've been living under a rock for the past couple months, Divine Fits is a new musical outfit consisting of Britt Daniel, Dan Boeckner, and Sam Brown.
The second track, "Flaggin A Ride", is sooo catchy. I still need to spin this album a few more times to truly form an opinion, but so far I'd say it's the excellent caliber of music that you'd expect from these very talented musicians.
Who doesn't like a little Arcade Fire to jump-start their Wednesday? This week's HDPP is sure to help you over the hump. As always, these are my favorite hits, though limiting a playlist to 15 songs does leave off a great number of excellent tracks. I hope you enjoy!
:: Hump Day Power Play (8-8-2012) :: 01 :: "We Used to Wait" - Arcade Fire 02 :: "Neighborhood #2 (Laika)" - Arcade Fire 03 :: "No Cars Go" - Arcade Fire 04 :: "Ready to Start" - Arcade Fire 05 :: "Neighborhood #3 (Power Out)" - Arcade Fire 06 :: "Keep the Car Running" - Arcade Fire 07 :: "Wake Up" - Arcade Fire 08 :: "The Suburbs" - Arcade Fire 09 :: "Rebellion (Lies)" - Arcade Fire 10 :: "Rococo" - Arcade Fire 11 :: "Speaking in Tongues" - Arcade Fire 12 :: "Modern Man" - Arcade Fire 13 :: "Neighborhood #1 (Tunnels)" - Arcade Fire 14 :: "Intervention" - Arcade Fire 15 :: "Sprawl II" - Arcade Fire
Last night, Divine Fits surprised Austin with a secret show, performing under the pseudonym The Hot Skulls at the Continental Club. To the lucky few who either knew about the ruse, or just so happened to be looking for new jams, they were in for a treat. Above you can watch the Britt Daniel-sung "Flaggin A Ride", and if you follow this link (via Stereogum), you can watch two other songs: "My Love Is Real" and the Tom Petty cover "You Got Lucky". Sounds pretty great, can't wait to hear the whole album!
Pre-Order :: Divine Fits ::A Thing Called Divine Fits::August 28
In a mood to get some serious work done this week? Hopefully this lyric-free HDPP will provide the necessary groove to tackle that ever-growing "to do" list. This work-inducing jam session is brought to you through the amazingly smooth jams of The Budos Band. This playlist is also great for entertaining guests, providing the perfect amount of sophisticated ambiance to your evening party. Try it out!
:: Hump Day Power Play (8-1-2012) :: 01 :: "Up From The South" - Budos Band 02 :: "Nobody's Bulletproof" - Budos Band 03 :: "Unbroken, Unshaven" - Budos Band 04 :: "Chicago Falcon" - Budos Band 05 :: "Rite of the Ancients" - Budos Band 06 :: "Aynotchesh Yererfu" - Budos Band 07 :: "Deep In The Sand" - Budos Band 08 :: "Budos Dirge" - Budos Band 09 :: "Ride Or Die" - Budos Band 10 :: "River Serpentine" - Budos Band 11 :: "Mas O Menos" - Budos Band 12 :: "The Volcano Song" - Budos Band 13 :: "His Girl" - Budos Band
Happy Wednesday everyone! I had some difficulty naming this week's HDPP, as it seems I may overuse the word "dreamy" to describe a lot of my playlists. How else can you characterize a group of songs that transport the listener to the nonphysical realm of existence in which the physical human body is said to have a counterpart? Perhaps I should use phantasmagoric? Seems to fit the bill.
:: Hump Day Power Play (7-25-2012) :: 01 :: "The Look" - Metronomy 02 :: "Myth" - Beach House 03 :: "Run My Heart" - Twin Shadow 04 :: "Heaven's On Fire" - The Radio Dept. 05 :: "I Remember" - Yeasayer 06 :: "Boyfriend" - Best Coast 07 :: "Shallow" - Beach Fossils 08 :: "All The King's Men" - Wild Beasts 09 :: "Bermuda Triangle" - Deep Time 10 :: "The Bay" - Metronomy 11 :: "Desire Lines" - Deerhunter 12 :: "Rinse Me Down" - Bombay Bicycle Club 13 :: "Conversation 16" - The National
Sort of an Old Man and the Sea-inspired HDPP this week. Seems like a lot of musicians have drawn their creativity from the epic force that is the ocean. Enjoy
:: Hump Day Power Play (7-18-2012) :: 01 :: "You're a Wolf" - Sea Wolf 02 :: "Fisherman's Son" - Port O'Brien 03 :: "House By The Sea" - Iron and Wine 04 :: "From a Sinking Boat" - Magnetic Fields 05 :: "Sea Lion Goth Blues" - The Growlers 06 :: "Over The Ocean" - Best Coast 07 :: "Sea Legs" - The Shins 08 :: "Ocean of Noise" - Arcade Fire 09 :: "From the Edge Of The Deep Green Sea" - The Cure 10 :: "The Fisherman" - Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr. 11 :: "You Are the Ocean" - Phantogram 12 :: "Turn This Boat Around" - Matt & Kim 13 :: "On the Sea" - Beach House 14 :: "All the Sand in all the Sea" - Devotchka
Lord Huron just released the teaser for the band's debut album, entitled Lonesome Dreams. According to the video below, the album is set to drop on October 9. Check out the snippet of the beautifully crafted "Time To Run", which scores the LP trailer. The band has also announced a handful of tour dates that start in late August, which are posted below.
Lord Huron tour dates:
Aug 24 :: The Geffen Contemporary :: Los Angeles, CA
Sep 21 :: Mojo's :: Columbia, MO
Sep 25 :: Magic Stick Lounge :: Detroit, MI
Sep 27 :: Midpoint Music Festival :: Cincinnati, OH
Sep 28 :: Pygmalion Music Festival :: Champaign, IL
Sep 29 :: The High Watt :: Nashville, TN
Sep 30 :: The Bottletree :: Birmingham, AL
Oct 02 :: Dan's Silverleaf :: Denton, TX
Oct 03 :: Stubb's BBQ (Indoor) :: Austin, TX
Oct 05 :: Drunken Unicorn :: Atlanta, GA
Oct 06 :: Local 506 :: Chapel Hill, NC
Oct 07 :: Black Cat Backstage :: Washington, DC
Oct 08 :: KungFu Necktie :: Philadelphia, PA
Oct 09 :: Mercury Lounge :: New York, NY
Oct 11 :: Great Scott :: Allston, MA
Oct 12 :: Glasslands Gallery :: Brooklyn, NY
Oct 13 :: Mohawk Place :: Buffalo, NY
Oct 15 :: Schubas :: Chicago, IL
Oct 16 :: 7th St. Entry :: Minneapolis, MN
Oct 18 :: Larimer Lounge :: Denver, CO
Oct 19 :: Kilby Court :: Salt Lake City, UT
Oct 20 :: Neurolux :: Boise, ID
Oct 21 :: Barboza :: Seattle, WA
Oct 22 :: Doug Fir Lounge :: Portland, OR
Oct 24 :: The Independent :: San Francisco, CA
Nov 01 :: Casbah :: San Diego, CA
:: Hump Day Power Play (7-11-2012) :: 01 :: "Gallop" - Jeremy Jay 02 :: "Spin The Bottle" - The King Khan & BBQ Show 03 :: "I'm Watching You" - Jay Reatard 04 :: "Baby Missiles" - The War On Drugs 05 :: "The Same Thing" - Cass McCombs 06 :: "Face It" - Beach Fossils 07 :: "Walkabout" - Atlas Sound 08 :: "The Magic" - Joan As Police Woman 09 :: "Come Closer" - Miles Kane 10 :: "Piledriver Waltz" - Alex Turner 11 :: "Cheerleader" - St. Vincent 12 :: "The Alter" - Wye Oak 13 :: "Undertow" - Warpaint
I'm excited to share the first ever reader-requested HDPP this week. It's always interesting to see if fans of the same band actually like the same songs. I guess I'll have to wait and find out. But anyway, I was asked what my "Beck Hits List" would look like. Below, you'll find my playlist, which is just under the one hour mark. I found it extremely difficult to mix the slower Sea Change songs with the sillier Midnite Vultures ones. Additionally, since this is for Hump Day, most of Sea Change was not used (I love the LP, however, I would like someone to honestly tell me that album pumps them up). Happy 4th everyone!
This week's HDPP started with Twin Shadow's awesome new single "Five Seconds", which refuses to leave your head once you've heard it. The rest of the list loosely fit my resulting mood. Speaking of Twin Shadow, his new LP Confess is out July 10. Check out the epic music video for "Five Seconds" above.
Divine Fits have just released the first single off their upcoming album, which features the vocals of Dan Boeckner over some synthesized beats and a static-laden drum machine. To be honest, it's definitely not the product I would have expected from the collaboration of Spoon's Britt Daniel and Wolf Parade/Handsome Furs Boeckner. At least from this song, you can really hear the Furs influence.
You can pre-order a 7" of "My Love Is Real" b/w "I Was Born In A Laundromat" (here), and you can stream the single below. Physical copies won't ship out until July 26, but purchasers of the pre-order will instantly receive a digital download of the songs.
This week's HDPP is sure to get you over the hump. Featuring a collection of the most accessible LCD Soundsystem songs (in my opinion), these hits will deliver a burst of energy to any willing listener. Sadly, James Murphy does not plan to make music under this moniker ever again. Fortunately for rabid LCD fans, though, one more opportunity still remains for "experiencing" the band. On July 18, a pseudo-documentary will debut, cataloging the last days of LCD Soundsystem before their disbandment. Showing in a city near you, be sure to catch Shut Up And Play The Hits, as it will be playing one night only. Watch the trailer above.
Stream the LCD-inspired HDPP below (or by clicking here).
:: Hump Day Power Play (6-20-2012) :: 01 :: "North American Scum" - LCD Soundsystem 02 :: "Daft Punk Is Playing At My House" - LCD Soundsystem 03 :: "I Can Change" - LCD Soundsystem 04 :: "Someone Great" - LCD Soundsystem 05 :: "You Wanted A Hit" - LCD Soundsystem 06 :: "Time To Get Away" - LCD Soundsystem 07 :: "Tribulations" - LCD Soundsystem 08 :: "All My Friends" - LCD Soundsystem 09 :: "Live Alone" - LCD Soundsystem 10 :: "Disco Infiltrator" - LCD Soundsystem 11 :: "Us V Them" - LCD Soundsystem 12 :: "Dance Yrself Clean" - LCD Soundsystem 13 :: "On Repeat" - LCD Soundsystem 14 :: "Home" - LCD Soundsystem 15 :: "Watch The Tapes" - LCD Soundsystem
Plants and Animals just released a beautifully animated video for the shortest song in their catalog. Created by Aimée Van Drimmelen, the video for "H.C." can be seen above. If you're hungry for more, I highly suggest watching the video for their title track "End Of That" below. It's quite amazingly hilarious. Check out their tour dates below, and try to see these guys and their awesome stage performance in a city near you.
Plants and Animals Tour Dates
06/15/12 || Toronto, ON || NXNE Music Festival
06/16/12 || Montréal, QC || Festival Folk sur le Canal
06/30/12 || Gagetown, BC || Folly Fest
07/04/12 || Sherbrooke, QC || Théâtre Granada (Sherblues)
07/05/12 || Ottawa, ON || Cisco Ottawa Bluesfest
07/06/12 || Orillia, ON || Mariposa Folk Festival
07/12/12 || Dour, BE || Dour Festival
07/15/12 || Nijmegen, NL || Festival De-Affaire
07/17/12 || Paris, FR || Nouveau Casino
07/20/12 || Saint-Gédéon, QC || St-Gédéon s'amuse
07/24/12 || Columbus, OH || Newport Music Hall*
07/25/12 || Detroit, MI || Magic Stick*
07/27/12 || Burlington, VT || Signal Kitchen
07/28/12 || Boston, MA || Royale*
07/30/12 || New York, NY || Webster Hall*
07/31/12 || Baltimore, MD || Ram's Head Live*
08/01/12 || Washington, DC || 9:30 Club*
08/04/12 || Montréal, QC || Osheaga Music and Art Festival
08/16/12 || Îles de la Madeleine, QC || Pas Perdus
08/17/12 || Îles de la Madeleine, QC || Pas Perdus
08/24/12 || Squamish, BC || Live at Squamish
08/28/12 || L'Assomption, QC || L'Ange Cornu
*with Bombay Bicycle Club
It's impossible to create a White Denim "hits mix" on Spotify without access to their amazingly awesome material from Exposion, Workout Holiday, or even their RCRD LBL EP; however, this week's HDPP features my favorite WD songs that are currently available. These dudes are some of favorite, genre-bending jammers making music today, and if you ever have a chance to see their impressive live show, do it!
Hear it by simply clicking here. Playlist is below.
:: Hump Day Power Play (6-13-2012) :: 01 :: "Let's Talk About It" - White Denim 02 :: "Mirrored And Reverse" - White Denim 03 :: "Drug" - White Denim 04 :: "Champ" - White Denim 05 :: "I Can Tell" - White Denim 06 :: "El Hard Attack DCWYW" - White Denim 07 :: "Shy Billy" - White Denim 08 :: "Darksided Computer Mouth" - White Denim 09 :: "I Start To Run" - White Denim 10 :: "Mess Your Hair Up" - White Denim 11 :: "Home Together" - White Denim 12 :: "At The Farm" - White Denim 13 :: "Incaviglia" - White Denim 14 :: "No Real Reason" - White Denim
"Faraway Lightning", the latest single off Moonface's Heartbreaking Bravery, has a new music video. Created by Marsha Balaeva, the stop motion-animated video is filled with Native American imagery and far-out visuals. It's perfect for the ominously-brooding track, which features the backing of Finnish post-rock outfit Siinai. Check it out!
This week's HDPP features songs that I'd classify somewhere between melodic shoegaze and otherworldly pop - music perfect for observing interplanetary events like the Venus transit. This mix has been on repeat since its conception, and it keeps getting better with each listen. Hopefully you enjoy it as much as I have.
Hear it by simply clicking here. Playlist is below.
:: Hump Day Power Play (6-6-2012) :: 01 :: "Alphabet Song" - Lower Dens 02 :: "Before the Bridge" - Future Islands 03 :: "Rock On" - Love Inks 04 :: "Be a Body" - Grimes 05 :: "Cannons" - Youth Lagoon 06 :: "Gila" - Beach House 07 :: "Give Out" - Sharon Van Etten 08 :: "Jesus Fever" - Kurt Vile 09 :: "Party Talk" - Craft Spells 10 :: "It's Real" - Real Estate 11 :: "Out in the Way" - Beach Fossils (w/ Wild Nothing) 12 :: "Mona Lisa" - Atlas Sound 13 :: "Used to Be" - Beach House 14 :: "Tin Man" - Future Islands 15 :: "Blackeye" - Love Inks
After a lot of speculation on my part, we now have our first glimpse at the new supergroup Divine Fits, who just released a little teaser video (above) that samples a small bit of their sound. Adding to the intrigue, there are no guitars to be heard - only piano, synth, and sparse drums. Not the punk-driven sound I was expecting, and it would seem that the trio is heading down paths that Spoon, Wolf Parade, and New Bomb Turks never ventured. I'm thoroughly captivated, to say the least.
As mentioned last week, the unthinkable happened when Britt Daniel and Dan Boeckner (along with Sam Brown) announced that they'd been making music together under the moniker Divine Fits. They apparently have a record slated to drop this year (via Merge), and as of yet, there's no word as to what they sound like. I'm guessing something totally different than Spoon, and possibly more like Atlas Strategic? I really have no idea. Nevertheless, I've put together some of my favorite songs from Daniel and Boeckner, which seemed fitting for this week's HDPP.
Hear it by simply clicking here. Playlist is below.
:: Hump Day Power Play (5-30-2012) :: 01 :: "Stoke Their Brains" - Spoon 02 :: "Modern World" - Wolf Parade 03 :: "Paper Tiger" - Spoon 04 :: "Dumb Animals" - Handsome Furs 05 :: "Stay Don't Go" - Spoon 06 :: "Lousy Pictures" - Wolf Parade 07 :: "Change My Life" - Spoon 08 :: "Shine A Light" - Wolf Parade 09 :: "I Saw The Light" - Spoon 10 :: "Evangeline " - Handsome Furs 11 :: "Metal Detektor" - Spoon 12 :: "It's A Curse" - Wolf Parade 13 :: "30 Gallon Tank" - Spoon 14 :: "Thy Will Be Done" - Handsome Furs 15 :: "Finer Feelings" - Spoon
Certain things are just better left buried, but luckily for us, someone else has done all the digging. A while back, it came to the knowledge of we Spencer Krug fans that he was once in a ska band. I didn't believe it at first, but more substantial evidence surfaced, thus confirming the rumors.
You most probably associate Krug with bands like Wolf Parade, Sunset Rubdown, Moonface, Frog Eyes, Swan Lake, or even Fifths of Seven. One that I'm guessing isn't on that list is the Two•Tonne Bowlers. Well, he had to start somewhere, and if you'd like to see some extremely rare live footage of Krug's high school band for yourself, check out the video above. Thank you YouTube!
"Thy Will Be Done"... such a fitting first song to this week's Hump Day Power Play, which is meant to pay homage to the Handsome Furs who abruptly announced their disbandment last week. It comes as a total shock, as both Dan Boeckner and Alexie Perry were not only bandmates, but also mates of matrimony. Still no news has surfaced as to whether this is a Wolf Parade-style "indefinite hiatus" or a Sunset Rubdown-style "done for good". Luckily, we already know that Boeckner's music making days are far from over, as he's currently a member of the supergroup Divine Fits, featuring Spoon's Britt Daniel and New Bomb Turks' Sam Brown. Sadly though, it's looking like the Handsome Furs are done for good. Still, we have three amazing LPs to remember them by, and below is my collection of the hits.
Hear it by simply clicking here. Playlist is below.
