[playlist] Hump Day Power Play (10-31-2012)

Ghost Mix

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. 

Enjoy the playlist, and Happy Halloween!

Stream the playlist below (or by clicking here).

:: 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

:: Get Spotify ::

[review] Divine Fits @ Deluxe (10-26-2012)

Divine Fits in Indy

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

[new music] Chaos Chaos - S

New music from Asy and Chloe Saavedra

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!

[playlist] Hump Day Power Play (10-17-2012)

Thom Yorke Mix

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).

Stream the playlist below (or by clicking here).

:: Hump Day Power Play (10-17-2012) ::
01 :: "Harrowdown Hill" – Thom Yorke
02 :: "Morning Mr Magpie" – Radiohead
03 :: "Morning Bell" – Radiohead
04 :: "Backdrifts" – Radiohead
05 :: "Idioteque" – Radiohead
06 :: "Electioneering" – Radiohead
07 :: "There, There" – Radiohead
08 :: "Black Swan" – Thom Yorke
09 :: "Packt Like Sardines In A Crushed Tin Box" – Radiohead
10 :: "Lotus Flower" – Radiohead
11 :: "Like Spinning Plates" – Radiohead
12 :: "Paranoid Android" – Radiohead
13 :: "Street Spirit (Fade Out)" – Radiohead
14 :: "Bodysnatchers" – Radiohead
15 :: "Myxomatosis" – Radiohead
16 :: "Karma Police" – Radiohead

:: Get Spotify ::

[playlist] Hump Day Power Play (10-10-2012)

Buena Vista Mix

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!

Stream the playlist below (or by clicking here).

:: 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

:: Get Spotify ::

[playlist] Hump Day Power Play (10-3-2012)

Black Keys Mix

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.

Stream the playlist below (or by clicking here).

:: 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

:: Get Spotify ::

[first listen] Lord Huron - Lonesome Dreams

Hear Lord Huron's new album right now!

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!

Click here to visit NPR.