[playlist] Hump Day Power Play (11-7-2012)

Now That's What I Call 2008!

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!

Stream the playlist below (or by clicking here).

:: Hump Day Power Play (11-7-2012) ::
01 :: "Gamma Ray" - Beck
02 :: "Mexican Dogs" - Cold War Kids
03 :: "Balloons" - Foals
04 :: "A-Punk" - Vampire Weekend
05 :: "No One Does It Like You" - Department Of Eagles
06 :: "Bang Your Drum" - Wolf Parade
07 :: "Shake Shake Shake" - White Denim
08 :: "Mercy" - Plants and Animals
09 :: "Psychotic Girl" - The Black Keys
10 :: "Kim & Jessie" - M83
11 :: "Can You Tell" - Ra Ra Riot
12 :: "For Emma" - Bon Iver
13 :: "Ragged Wood" - Fleet Foxes
14 :: "Boats" - The Aliens
15 :: "Wedding Bell" - Beach House

:: Get Spotify ::

Three Colours' Top 13 Albums of 2008

After getting a big "fuck you" from Blogger according to the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, I've had to re-write my top 13 albums of 2008. Rather than give the full rationale for each of my picks, I've now just submitted my list without explanation. I also did not post a sample song along with a link to purchase each album (which apparently got me in trouble to begin with). What angers me most is that the deleted post was nothing but praise for these albums, as well free exposure. I wasn't giving away entire albums, and the songs I posted were singles you'd hear on the radio. Lame...

So without further ado, I present Three Colours' Top 13 Albums of 2008 (once again), along with the most disappointing releases of the year.

13. Beck - Modern Guilt
12. Ra Ra Riot - The Rhumb Line
11. Department of Eagles - In Ear Park
10. Foals - Antidotes
09. The Black Keys - Attack & Release
08. Born Ruffians - Red, Yellow & Blue
07. Wolf Parade - At Mount Zoomer
06. Bon Iver - For Emma, Forever Ago

05. The Aliens - Luna
04. Beach House - Devotion

03. Plants and Animals - Parc Avenue

I tend to hate jam bands, so to pigeon-hole Plants and Animals as one would be a broad generalization and a huge disservice to the band. While Parc Avenue is at times "jam bandish", it also flirts with psychedelia, folk, and nearly any other sub-genre of classical rock. Yet another Montreal band that I've fallen in love with, this is a must-have album of 2008.

02. White Denim - Exposion

Definitely the most rocking album of 2008, White Denim's debut US LP showcases the range of styles these three dudes can cover. Exposion delivers eleven power-packed garage jams that span the entire rock & roll spectrum. Based on their versatility and range of sound, I'm expecting BIG things out of this Austin trio. Witnessing their live act this summer, the band broke out some new tunes that will make yet another solid release.

01. Fleet Foxes - Fleet Foxes

This timeless classic follows up their 2008 Sun Giant EP using the same working formula: simple three- and four-part block harmony, songs about friends and family, history, nature, and the things around the Pacific Northwest, unconventional song structures - sometimes putting two songs together as one, etc... Fleet Foxes, the band's self-titled debut album, is a wonderful collection of beautifully arranged folksy melodies. Lead singer Robin Pecknold's majestic cries, coupled with a lush composition of guitars, banjo, mandolin, and vocal harmonies equate to the number one album of 2008.

Honorable Mentions:
Ratatat - LP3
Black Mountain - In the Future
Vampire Weekend - Vampire Weekend

Cold War Kids - Loyalty to Loyalty
The Raggedy Anns - The Prospector Joe EP

Most Disappointing of 2008:

While these albums are not necessarily bad (well, the TnT album blows hard), I just had very high expections and was not happy with the initial reactions upon listening to these highly anticipated releases. After giving these albums ample listens, I still feel that they did not deliver the satisfaction I had predicted. Who knows, maybe one day my mood will change and these will end up in the "Most Underappreciated Albums of 2008"??? Not likely, but you never know.

Tapes 'n Tapes - Walk It Off
My Morning Jacket - Evil Urges
Matt Costa - Unfamiliar Faces

Ten Tracks - the Future of Music???

Ten Tracks offers great music at an even greater price.

Record labels these days are trying just about anything in order to stay afloat in the digitally pirated waters. The old ways are out (R.I.P. Tower Records), and some new ways have proven successful (ie Radiohead, NIN, etc.); however, it seems that having an established fan base and mainstream notoriety definitely allows for these aforementioned ventures the positive outcomes. What about the up-and-coming bands that no one has ever heard of? Where do they fit into this new label system? Sure, MySpace and the blogging community (see also RCRD LBL) do their part in getting the lesser known bands their due exposure, but what else is out there?

A label I recently discovered seems to be ditching a lot of rules that once were a part of the music industry's golden standard. Rather than raise the price of an album to recoup the loss in overall sales, online label Ten Tracks has come up with an idea that practically gives music away. For all the fine print, go here, but to just give you the short of it, here goes: each month Ten Tracks releases a digital album of ten songs (makes sense) from various artists (both known and unknown). Each song can be purchased individually for £0.30 each, or the whole album can be purchased for merely £1.00 (a £2.00 saving!). Currently, there three different types of albums each month (called "channels"). Every month each channel will release a new bundle of ten tracks. A description of each channel is posted below:

The Police Box - modern folk, electronica and songwriting
Optimo - world-renowned future-music variations
Open Ear - selection of italo-disco rarities and cutting-edge production flair

I've listened to the October and November Police Box discs - really good stuff on there. So far, many of the bands showcased have come from the Scotland area. Included in that bunch are King Biscuit Time, The Aliens, and Black Affair (all ex-Beta Banders). That's probably why I've enjoyed them so much. For a listen, help yourself:

MP3: King Biscuit Time - "I Let Her In"
MP3: The Aliens - "Pernickitty Jack"

The Aliens - Luna (I really miss the Beta Band)

ex-Beta Band trio, The Aliens, release Luna today!

After much disappointment with The Aliens' debut LP, Astronomy for Dogs, my expectations for their sophomore effort Luna were admittedly very low. I guess I should have seen this coming, too, since history does tend to repeat itself. Just look at post-Waters Pink Floyd: while it contained 75% of the original band, the abbreviated line-up inevitably ventured into an entirely new sound. Similarly with The Aliens, without their lead man Steve Mason, these ex-Beta Banders embraced the lighter/sillier side of pop rather than the psychedelia that originally turned me onto the guys in the first place.

Luckily for me, however, Mason was busy with King Biscuit Time and Black Affair, and my Beta Band withdrawal was treated with large doses of Black Gold and Pleasure Pressure Point (it's crystal clear what influence he had on the sound of Beta Band).

So as stated before, Astronomy of Dogs was quite forgettable (in my opinion), but for the sake of the band, I gave these dudes a second try. Released today on the band's own label, Pet Rock, I'll have to say, well played sirs! This is what I was hoping for all along. Opening with the trippy 10 minute-plus "Bobby's Song", it's clear that these guys aren't writing another radio friendly album. I need a few more listens before I can definitively give my assessment of these new tunes, but after my first listen, this is hands down a quality record. In the mean time, check out this sweet video for "Magic Man" (why do things in reverse look so cool?):

Check three of the tracks, "Everyone", "Magic Man", and "Bobby's Song" at their MySpace page.

Also, go pick up a copy of Luna for yourself, here.