The Saturday Mix #44

Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros - Home (RAC Remix)

Local Natives - Wide Eyes (Fool's Gold Remix)
Some R&B elements incorporated by tropical indie band Fool's Gold.

Sunday Girl - Four Floors
Ms Jade Williams Broxbourne, hereby also known as Sunday Girl is super gorgeous. And fittingly, she makes equally awesome music, so liquid and sensuous.

Sunday Girl - Four Floors (Diplo Remix)

Sunday Girl - Self Control

Sunday Girl - Self Control (Fenech-Soler Remix)

Tesla Boy - Electric Lady (Baxter Remix)

you're the piece of gold that flushes all my soul

But the iniquity of oblivion blindly scattereth her poppy, and deals with the memory of men without distinction to merit of perpetuity. Who can but pity the founder of the pyramids? Herostratus lives that burnt the temple of Diana, he is almost lost that built it. Time hath spared the epitaph of Adrian's horse, confounded that of himself. In vain we compute our felicities by the advantage of our good names, since bad have equal durations, and Thersites is like to live as long as Agamemnon without the favour of the everlasting register. Who knows whether the best of men be known, or whether there be not more remarkable persons forgot, than any that stand remembered in the known account of time? The first man had been as unknown as the last, and Methuselah's long life had been his only chronicle.

- Hydriotaphia by Sir Thomas Browne


Kidstreet - X (mp3)
Go to their myspace for a free download of new song X. Exciting and full of electrofunk, dotty synths twinkle off as vocodered vocals sing of "wanting you so bad". Midway, sensual vocals take over and mesmerise you. Further emphasis on "I want you so bad it's wrong" clearly shows it should take it's rightful place on the dance floor.

Air - Playground Love
You can trust the French to come up with such affecting music, and for a film adaptation of the splendid book "The Virgin Suicides". Gently stirring up an ambient mood, Thomas Mars' (of Phoenix) drawl and the slow pace combine fluidly to evoke a dreamy yet lustrous sheen to the song. Jazz samples punctuate the chorus, amplifying the underlying romantic theme of the song. Sensual at best, perfunctory at worst, this song is a definite treat for your senses.

Phoenix - Playground Love (Air Cover)
Check out the acoustic cover by Phoenix. It just serves to reinforce the stereotype that French are romantic and sentimental, and are capable of awesome music.

Air - Alone in Kyoto
No wonder I thought this song was familiar. It was part of the soundtrack for another fantabulous movie, Lost in Translation. And if anyone notices, both Lost in Translation and The Virgin Suicides were directed by Sofia Coppola. And she's in a relationship with Thomas Mars. Extremely soothing and calming, if not retrospectively caused by the title of the song, I could imagine walking through the bamboo groves in Kyoto, chancing upon a quaint shrine by a stream. Brilliant composition.

you know these dreams can never stay right

Him: Jade
Her: Alexander
Him: Do you remember that day you fell out of my window?
Her: I sure do, you came jumping out after me
Him: Well, you fell on the concrete, nearly broke your ass, you were bleeding all over the place and I rushed you out to the hospital, you remember that?
Her: Yes, I do
Him: Well, there's something I never told you about that night
Her: What didn't you tell me?
Him: While you were sitting in the backseat smoking a cigarette you thought was going to be your last, I was falling deep, deeply in love with you, and I never told you until just now

- Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros in Home


Villa Nah - Daylight
There's a plethora of bands out there such as Tesla Boy, The Polyamorous Affair to name some off the top of my head, influenced by the sounds of the 80s. I'm not too sure what it sounds like since I was the last of the 80s, but if it's anything to go by, I'm sure it must have been a rollin' good time. Probably trying to recapture the halcyon days and lost youth, the Finnish duo that is Juho Paalosmaa and Tomi Hyyppä employ retro disco beats reminiscent of OMD, Depeche Mode and New Order. You feel the longing amidst the effects-laden vocals and the twinkling synths provide warmth that you're more than glad to retreat in to. There's no hurrying to speak off, where instead, more precise composition reflects the thought they have put into it.

Villa Nah - Emerald Hills
They waste no time and open with 8 bit synths that are a throwback to the 80s yet again, before mellifluous synths take over seamlessly. Akin to a joyous journey of self-discovery, measured intonations are sparse yet provide a curious sense of reality amidst the zen like soundscape they portray. A brilliant ode to the past which ends all too quickly.

Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros - Home
This ragtag bunch almost seem like an American version of BSS. Alex Ebert and Jade Castrinos' vocals intertwine to good effect here; the entire entourage of musical instruments make this a work of unabashed joy, a mix of wonderful romanticism and perky fun. How can anyone not feel unlimited happiness with such whistling and the earnestness that flows free from their voices?

My vote to this video for best use of a song. Triple thumbs up.


On a side note, I would appreciate comments, both good and bad, on the new banner picture.

i would rather be wrong than live in the shadows of your song

Arcade Fire - We Used To Wait
Arcade Fire are releasing their third album in August. Entitled "The Suburbs", one might think it staid and prosaic, however, it's anything but. Take We Used To Wait for instance. Petulant and urgent, the song opens with a piano led intro that progresses into a similar anthemic style Arcade Fire are known for. Win Butler's vocals shine through in particular, as he intones about how they used to have to wait for letters from their loved ones and is liberal with his falsetto. Just as how the song starts, the song ends similarly in a staccato of piano played keys.

Arcade Fire - Ready To Start
In a similar vein, there's a rush of pounding drums and clanging guitars as he goes on about grappling with fame. Finely treading the line between pensiveness and all out ranting, Arcade Fire deal a good dose of smashing indie rock that is telling of how good this album could be.

oh, go and tell the king that the sky is falling in

In parallel with Jeff Buckley, Radiohead's Thom Yorke popularised the angst-laden falsetto, a thoughtful opposite to the chest-beating lad-rock personified by Oasis's Liam Gallagher. Sounding girly to a backdrop of churning guitars became a much-copied idea, however, one which eventually coalesced into an entire decade of sound.

Without this ... Coldplay would not exist, nor Keane, nor James Blunt.

- about Radiohead's "The Bends" as on Guardian


A while ago, I was into the whole ambient chill out music thing. I just ran them on loops, playing non stop and I was just looking for more and more of the same stuff. Then, all of a sudden, I revisited Radiohead and now I'm having this Radiohead renaissance. Their songs are just massive. Larger than life. At some point, you feel gripped by what they're trying to do and express with their music. It might be retrospective, after you hear what people have said, stripping down the album and analysing it's parts, but really, Radiohead is more than the sum of it's parts.

Here's two songs from each of their seven albums. Enjoy.

Pablo Honey
Radiohead - Creep
A Radiohead classic that is just plain alt rock, which belies what people often associate them with. Anyone knows the movie that this clip is from? Stars Johnny Depp quite clearly.
Radiohead - You

The Bends
Radiohead - Fake Plastic Trees
Radiohead - Black Star

OK Computer
Radiohead - The Tourist
Radiohead - No Surprises

Kid A
Radiohead - Idioteque
Radiohead - In Limbo

Amnesiac
Radiohead - Knives Out
Radiohead - Life in a Glasshouse

Hail to the Thief
Radiohead - 2+2=5
Radiohead - Scatterbrain

In Rainbows
Radiohead - House of Cards
Radiohead - Nude

something in you makes me want to try

Clare & the Reasons - Ooh You Hurt Me So
I love a jaunty song anytime. Expressive vocals by Clare Manchon is underlied by a subtle vulnerability which she seems more than happy to conceal from us. Melodious whistling and slow taps on the guitar complete this absolutely lovely song.

Fyfe Dangerfield - She's Always A Woman
Fyfe Dangerfield covers this original by Billy Joel so brilliantly. Such a woman seems more than a handful, yielding that emotional bedlam that Mr Dangerfield struggles to contain. Inevitably, it brings comparison to the legend that is Billy Joel. While his cover certainly cannot match the grandiosity of BJ, he evokes a certain rawness, that could largely be attributed by his scruffy look, and brings about a contemporary twist.

Fanfarlo - Ghosts
When you listen to their brand of chamber pop, you get a feeling of uniqueness they try to make their own as they marry pop sensibilities with grand orchestral proceedings. Effervescence spills through as a myriad of instruments used by this 5 man band strive to make themselves heard, and everything dovetails nicely as Bathalzar leads the way with mellow vocals that swoon and bears an uncanny resemblance to David Bryne.

pretty girls don't just park where they want to

When romance is great, fine yes, there is no say there is no masochism to it. But love, can be terribly sadistic if it doesn't work out right. It can be one of the worst things that you can go through. It can be some of the biggest pain you'll ever feel in your life. So I do think there's a correlation between the two - we don't live in this kind of tactile sanctuous culture anymore where we feel things. Everything is digitised, including our love lives, including how we hook up with people, how we listen to music, read books, get our information. We end up creating a society full of narcissists who then adapt to the culture of narcissism and it's no longer cultural narcissism. It becomes the norm.

- Bret Easton Ellis in a Guardian interview


Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin - Sink/Let It Sway

Discovery - Swing Tree

Pantha du Prince - The Splendour (mp3)

Crystal Fighters - Xtatic Truth