[playlist] Hump Day Power Play (5-30-2012)

Divine Fits Mix

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

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[video] Two•Tonne Bowlers - "An Acquired Taste" (w/ Spencer Krug)

Spencer Krug at age 17

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!

[playlist] Hump Day Power Play (5-23-2012)

Handsome Furs Mix

"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.

:: Hump Day Power Play (5-23-2012) ::
01 :: "Thy Will Be Done" - Handsome Furs
02 :: "Dead + Rural" - Handsome Furs
03 :: "What About Us" - Handsome Furs
04 :: "Cannot Get, Started" - Handsome Furs
05 :: "Memories of the Future" - Handsome Furs
06 :: "Evangeline" - Handsome Furs
07 :: "What We Had" - Handsome Furs
08 :: "Repatriated" - Handsome Furs
09 :: "Legal Tender" - Handsome Furs
10 :: "Damage" - Handsome Furs
11 :: "Sing! Captain" - Handsome Furs
12 :: "Cheap Music" - Handsome Furs
13 :: "I'm Confused" - Handsome Furs
14 :: "Talking Hotel Arbat Blues" - Handsome Furs
15 :: "Dumb Animals" - Handsome Furs
16 :: "Nyet Spasiba" - Handsome Furs
17 :: "No Feelings" - Handsome Furs

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[news] Divine Fits - Britt Daniel + Dan Boeckner!!!

HOLY CRAP!

Could the stars have aligned any better? Is some divine power at work in an attempt to lift my spirits? Just when I was thinking how sad it was that Handsome Furs had dissolved (and it still is really sad), I couldn't possibly have believed that Dan Boeckner's new band (mentioned in this Times Colonist article) would involve joining forces with Britt Daniel (of Spoon) and Sam Brown (of New Bomb Turks). They apparently have a debut album in the works and are set to release it this year! The album was produced by Nick Launay (Arcade Fire, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds) and will drop via Merge.

Now this isn't the first time Daniel and Boeckner have shared the stage, however. Back in 2010, Boeckner joined Spoon at Radio City for a rendition of "Modern World" and "I Saw the Light". Daniel has also covered "Modern World" at numerous Spoon shows. While these were extremely exciting events, I can't imagine combining these two creative minds for an entire album. Can't wait to hear their sound!

Check out Divine Fits' website and twitter for future updates.

[news] The End of Handsome Furs

Sad news

According to the Handsome Furs site, the band has split... Posted last night, HF had this to say:

With a heavy heart the time has come to let all of you know that Handsome Furs are no more.

The most important thing that needs to be said right now is how extremely grateful we are to all the fans all over the world that showered us with love and support over the years. Thank you for everything! It's been an incredible 6 years and we owe it all to you.

xoxo
HF

At this point it's just speculation on the reasons behind the break up. Hopefully it has nothing to do with the recent health scare that led to the cancellation of their Euro tour. Equally important, I hope this is only a break in the band and not a break in their marriage.

Nonetheless, I wish Dan and Alexie the best, and feel grateful to have experienced their amazing 3 LPs and incredible live shows, as well as their touching CNN documentary IndieAsia.

First the end of Wolf Parade, and now the end of Handsome Furs... truly sad news.

[playlist] Hump Day Power Play (5-16-2012)

My Morning Jacket Mix

This week's Hump Day Power Play is a collection of my favorite My Morning Jacket songs. After experiencing a growth of appreciation for the band's newest LP Circuital, I've been attempting to force myself through Evil Urges. I'm still not getting through the album with solid enjoyment, and may just conclude that I don't necessarily like the album. There are some great songs on it, but as a whole, it's not my favorite MMJ release. Nevertheless, the experiment has gotten me revisiting a lot of my favorite tracks from the band, and I decided to share it.

Hear it by simply clicking here. Playlist is below.

:: Hump Day Power Play (5-16-2012) ::
01 :: "Anytime" - My Morning Jacket
02 :: "Victory Dance" - My Morning Jacket
03 :: "One Big Holiday" - My Morning Jacket
04 :: "Touch Me I'm Going To Scream, Pt. 1" - My Morning Jacket
05 :: "It Beats 4U" - My Morning Jacket
06 :: "Ran Thru" - My Morning Jacket
07 :: "Low Down" - My Morning Jacket
08 :: "Our World" - My Morning Jacket
09 :: "Circuital" - My Morning Jacket
10 :: "Heartbreakin Man" - My Morning Jacket
11 :: "Gideon" - My Morning Jacket
12 :: "Mahgeetah" - My Morning Jacket
13 :: "The Day Is Coming" - My Morning Jacket
14 :: "Touch Me I'm Going To Scream, Pt. 2" - My Morning Jacket

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[playlist] Hump Day Power Play (5-9-2012)

Spirit Animal Mix

One of my favorite questions to ask random strangers is, "What's your spirit animal, and why?" I'm more interested in the "why", since it's always interesting to see how one personifies their chosen animal. In almost all cases, their animal is somehow wise (e.g., elephant, owl, lion, eagle). If one were to image search "spirit animal" in Google, you'd find awesome pictures like the one above. If one were to ask me, I'd probably tell you the wolf is my spirit animal. Why? Well according to this quiz, it's because I'm loyal, devoted, and passionate... At any rate, it turns out I also happen to like a lot of bands named after animals, so I figured putting my favorite of those bands into this week's Hump Day Power Play was only fitting.

Hear it by simply clicking here. Playlist is below.

:: Hump Day Power Play (5-9-2012) ::
01 :: "Sea Ghost" - The Unicorns
02 :: "Modern World" - Wolf Parade
03 :: "What The Stars Have Eaten" - Deadboy & The Elephantmen
04 :: "No One Does It Like You" - Department of Eagles
05 :: "Revival" - Deerhunter
06 :: "Melody Day" - Caribou
07 :: "Sing It Softly in a Sigh" - Halcyonaire
08 :: "Little Brother" - Grizzly Bear
09 :: "Mykonos" - Fleet Foxes
10 :: "All Fires" - Swan Lake
11 :: "You're a Wolf" - Sea Wolf
12 :: "Revolving Doors" - Gorillaz
13 :: "Qui Dorm, Només Somia" - Deerhoof
14 :: "505" - Arctic Monkeys

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[playlist] Hump Day Power Play (5-2-2012)

Recovery Mix

I've been super sick lately, and the frequency of posting here has suffered. While sleeping off the headaches, I found myself listening to the Hula Dream Mix that I posted a few weeks ago. In an attempt to create a sequel mix, I ended up with something much different. I'm not really sure what to name the resulting Hump Day Power Play (but it did help in my recovery).

Hear it by simply clicking here. Playlist is below.

:: Hump Day Power Play (5-2-2012) ::
01 :: "Leave House" - Caribou
02 :: "Burning" - The Whitest Boy Alive
03 :: "Not The Same" - Tanlines
04 :: "Beat The Bright Out Of Me" - Kishi Bashi
05 :: "El Toro" - Bonobo
06 :: "Before the Dive" - St. Lucia
07 :: "Amor Fati" - Washed Out
08 :: "Odessa" - Caribou
09 :: "1976" - RJD2
10 :: "As Serious As Your Life" - Four Tet
11 :: "All Of Me" - Tanlines
12 :: "What You Were" - The Drums
13 :: "Vibrationz" - Javelin

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