THIS MONTH: ALBUMS TO LOOK OUT FOR + TOP 10 SONGS OF THE MONTH

This month marked the marked (and significant) increase in number of cases of the H1N1 flu around the world. oh boy.

Recent notable people who passed away were Farah Fawcett, Billy Mays and of course, Michael Jackson. RIP to yous.

But most importantly, some albums of note that were released this month:

Dirty Projectors - Bitte Orca

Bibio - Ambivalence Avenue

God Help The Girl - God Help The Girl






Roundup of my Top 10 songs of the month:

1. School of Seven Bells - Half Asleep

2. Blind Pilot - Go On, Say It

3. Rachael Yamagata - Duet (feat. Ray LaMontagne)

4. Dan Deacon - Snookered

5. The Postal Service - Such Great Heights

6. Priscilla Ahn - Dream

7. Home Video - I Can Make You Feel It

8. Au Revoir Simone - Take Me As I Am

9. The Most Serene Republic - Heavens to Purgatory

10. Gregory & The Hawk - Grey Weather

Note that they are in no order. It's really hard to decide what should be in the list and what shouldn't but well, it came down to it and I had to do it.

save up all the days

save up all the days - I would save up all my sundays. alas, sunday is soon to be over. and i bring you Grizzly Bear, Deerhunter, Gregory & The Hawk and Amandine. Maybe I shouldn't have featured Amandine so that there will be something in common with the remaining 3 bands. Can you spot it?

Grizzly Bear - Two Weeks

Deerhunter - Nothing Ever Happened

Gregory & The Hawk - Grey Weather

Amandine - Faintest of Sparks
really nice semi-instrumental song. there's the violin and the accordion. sounds like a very autumn-ish song to me.

i've got a feeling that swedish, canadian and scottish bands are gonna take over the worlddddddd. whaaadduuupp!!

The Saturday Mix #5 - It's TIMEEEE

Sally Shapiro - Miracle

The Most Serene Republic - Heavens to Purgatory

Fever Ray - Triangle Walks

The Decemberists - The Wanting Comes In Waves

Animal Collective - My Girls
reminds me of the Home Video - I Can Make You Feel It video.

Dan Deacon - Snookered

The Knife - Neverland

i think Snookered is a fantastic song, and I think he's one to look out for. Incredibly talented and worth checking out. May feature him soon, look out for it.

Well, I guess most of you would have known by now, King of Pop, Michael Jackson has passed away. While I haven't listened to his songs much before while growing up, I do know how much he was an influence back in his heydays, especially during the 80s. I mean you don't get called King of Pop or get 13 Grammys' for nothing. Although he has been dogged by much scandal such as child sex allegations and dangling a(his?) baby over the balcony, he still remains the MJ that many idolise. And prior to his death, he already had a 50 date sell out comeback tour in London.

So, I've just picked out some of his more popular songs for you guys.

MJ - Thriller

MJ - Beat It

MJ - Billie Jean
he's got the moveeeeeeeess.

MJ - Man In The Mirror

The Jackson 5 - Never Say Goodbye

He's left behind a really huge legacy for the world of music. RIP Michael Jackson, you'll be remembered for who you were.

It's high time I plugged this really awesome band which hail from our very own shores of Singapore, named Sleep, The Weekend.

Sleep, The Weekend - Kids (MGMT Acoustic Cover)
This is a video of them playing outside Raffles City several weeks ago.

Sleep, The Weekend - Listen

Sleep, The Weekend - Baileys

Sleep, The Weekend - Queen


Credits to Sleep, The Weekend for their own picture, and the download links to their own songs.

Facebook Profile
Myspace
Support them at these pages of the band!

Ladytron - Ghosts

Hot Chip - Ready For The Floor

Woodhands - I Wasn't Made For Fighting

Silversun Pickups - Panic Switch

really tired today so i'll just leave you guys with several songs.

Albert Hammond Jr. - Hard To Live (In The City)

Anberlin - Inevitable

Bloc Party - Flux
this is the most rad, and funkiest music video ever. holy crikey. awesome song too.

The Saturday Mix #4

Today's mix will be slightly different. It will have a theme, and that being anything SLEEP-related. here goes!

Late Night Alumni - Seemingly Sleepy
A really 'chill-out' song. and indeed, it's a song I could leave on repeat on a slow ride on the streets late into the night, just looking at the remaining few lights left that dot the silent urban landscape and taking in the cool night air. Just hope I don't fall asleep at the wheel.

Something Corporate - As You Sleep
Vocalist Andrew McMahon has a side project, Jack's Mannequin, which he is currently chiefly pursuing as SC is on hiatus. So for those who wonder why the two bands could have sounded similar, here's why.

Meiko - Sleep
featured her before, enjoy. anyway, turn up the volume on the video, it's a tad too soft on normal volume.

The Postal Service - The District Sleeps Alone Tonight

Until June - Sleepless

The Postal Service - Sleeping In

School of Seven Bells - Half Asleep
first ever repost of a song. reason being that this is a very interesting video set to the song. very tastefully done.
what begins as an unguarded/train of thoughts slowly can become/an addiction to the slumber

Neko Case - Star Witness
I present to thee Neko Case, singer/songwriter who's also part of The New Pornographers. This is very very similar to Feist, who's also canadian, and also part of a very huge canadian band. well, the similarities do not end there, as both write really meaningful songs and have fine voices that allows them their turn as solo artistes.

The Knife - Marble House
sounds so tribal. but nonetheless, i am totally into it. i think it could be an acquired taste for some, but it's very interesting, the whole melody and tune behind the song. <3 plus this mousey video takes the cake. complements the quirkyness of the band.

Ladytron - Weekend
friday is the fever/and monday the destroyer/you are a permanent feature/perpetual weekend. sweeet. encapsulates what i feel every week. doesn't it for you guys too?

First, we had Glasvegas. next up, we have Frightened Rabbit. Well, what do they have in common? They're both Scottish bands!

Frightened Rabbit - Keep Yourself Warm
the lyrics are totally rad. lol. (it takes more than fucking someone/you don't know to keep warm/did you really think that a fuck at half speed/you'll find your love in a hole) these guys are a-rocking! sweet stuff. check out the rest of their awesome album as well.

The Dears - Lights Off

Kleerup (feat. Lykke Li) - Until We Bleed

Jimmy Eat World - 23
jimmy eat world. it's like how i had to feature 30stm. i love the 1 minute plus intro. it's uber. however, the video is totally homemade, but featuring the full length song. the vid is pretty cheesy, so you could either choose to listen to the song playing in the background or watch the video. that said, i hope you listen to the song in the background first, before watching the video and listening to the song.

Feist - 1234
she's such a wonderful singer. She denied Avril Lavigne every single award that AL was nominated in at the 2008 Juno Awards. it speaks volumes about how good she is.

Broken Social Scene - 7/4 (Shoreline)
of which Feist is a part of, providing the vocals obviously.

O+S - Permanent Scar
Part Orenda Fink of Azure Ray and part Cedric Lemoyne (bassist for Remy Zero) who's her long time friend. Curiously, she's married to Todd Fink of The Faint, who featured in this post.

With respect to last Saturday's The Saturday Mix, here's Au Revoir Simone's new album, "Still Night, Still Light". This is their third album, following "Verses of Comfort, Assurance & Salvation" and "The Bird of Music".

While this outing may seem like the superficial electro-pop one expects from an all girl band, it's all that and so much more. They are all 3 keyboards and drum machine at once, and yet their own individuality stands out behind all that fussy group harmony. Sounding disarmingly minimalist, with their plain yet dulcet voices which are so oddly appealing, you're drawn slowly into their world of fantasy. Their alarming naivete and disconcerting emotional bedlam cannot be taken at face value for there is sincerity, tenderness and grace as can be seen in Shadows, where they sing "I'm moving on/I hope you're coming with me/because I'm not strong without you". The piercing simplicity of Take Me As I Am, "We’ve talked a million hours to end up just where we began", svelte keyboards a deft contrast to the stark beats of the drum machine in Shadows.

This album is their best yet, brilliantly executed, intimate and personal, it combines its veneer of naivete with an almost contradictory fervour, choosing to retain its fragile beauty without ever breaking it.

Au Revoir Simone - Shadows

Au Revoir Simone - Take Me As I Am

Au Revoir Simone - All or Nothing

The Saturday Mix #3

Laura Marling - Ghosts

God or Julie - Say Your Last Goodbye

Elbow - One Day Like This

Cut Copy - Lights & Music

Late Night Alumni - Empty Streets

The Faint - The Geeks Were Right
i think the video sucks though.

White Lies has won "The MOJO Breakthrough Award" at the "MOJO Honours List 09". Mojo is a popular music magazine published by Bauer, monthly in the United Kingdom.

Having been dubbed as one to look out for this year by quite a number of mags and people, it seems they've gotten one step closer to awesomeness. to that, here are some songs from To Lose My Life, their debut album.

White Lies - From The Stars

White Lies - Unfinished Business

their songs have really dark lyrics, whatwith death, murder and funerals. but somehow, it doesn't seem all that sombre, with all those catchy beats and how real these songs actually can be.

Home Video - I Can Make You Feel It
papermag.com describes this song to a T. "a pulsating number characterised by solid drumbeats, killer keyboard, tambourine accents, haunting harmonies and an eerie electro current." totally true.
at the same time, you can grab their EP "It Will Be OK" here which includes the above song.

Uh Huh Her - Explode
yet another electro-pop group/band. of late, i've been listening to a lot of them, like Ladytron, Au Revoir Simone, Fever Ray and now Uh Huh Her. Part Leisha Hailey, who's acting in "The L Word", and Camila Grey, they got their name from an album released by PJ Harvey.

Priscilla Ahn - Astronaut
her. voice. is. very. good. and she sounds as good as in the studio version, if not better. really looking forward to her sophomore effort.

Priscilla Ahn - Dream
enough said. i think this is the first time that i'm featuring 2 songs by the same artist in one post. it brooked no further delay that i introduce this most wonderful singer and songwriter to my limited number of readers. lay your hands on her album "A Good Day", by hook or by crook.

Mayday Parade - Three Cheers for Five Years

Vampire Weekend - Campus

Shugo Tokumaru - Parachute
his myspace page. click on the song parachute. as much as i don't really understand most of the song, except for the words "parachute, parachute, parachute", the song sounds really happy to me. like really. interesting song and artist.

The Postal Service - Such Great Heights
a side project by Ben Gibbard of DCFC and Jimmy Tamborello (also known as Dntel). clearly, even though it's just a side project, this is still an awesome song, which is testament to their abilities.

School of Seven Bells - Half Asleep
very ethereal sounding song, with dreamy lyrics.
"train of thoughts slowly can become
an addiction to the slumber"

Fleet Foxes - Mykonos

Bon Iver - Blood Bank

Sufjan Stevens - Casimir Pulaski Day

M83 - Kim & Jessie

Hellogoodbye - Here (In Your Arms)
their music videos are uber random, and it's such a blast watching it. plus the song sounds kooky and lovey at the same time. one, two, three... awwwwww.



Asobi Seksu - Layers
lead vocals and keyboard provided by yuki chikudate(above) and james hanna who does the guitar and vocals. very interesting synths and layering here. this song has a very surreal effect and is done with much elan. pretty new band, and one to look out for.



The Whitest Boy Alive - Keep a Secret

The Saturday Mix #2

Meiko - Under My Bed

Priscilla Ahn - Red Cape

Azure Ray - Sleep

Imogen Heap - Goodnight and Go

Au Revoir Simone - The Lucky One

decided to do one featuring female artists.

i love meiko's songs, well written lyrics. i mean, most can actually identify with them. comparisons have been drawn between her and priscilla ahn (both have featured in Hotel Cafe in Hollywood). i think they're both really good singers and songwriters. the difference in that, is meiko's songs are more oriented towards love, and therefore sounds mellow. whereas priscilla ahn's songs are more "fluff-like" or rather light-hearted, be it singing about stuff like having a dream of flying from the highest tree, or having her red cape caught in the engine of a plane. but if you listen to it a bit more, there's prolly some deeper meaning to her songs. that said, i totally love them both.

will follow up with the new album by Au Revoir Simone sometime soon. how often does one find an indie pop band, all girls, with a touch of synth and electronic, and a damn fine one at that?

Radiohead - Reckoner
a song from one of the awesomest bands of all time, their latest album "In Rainbows"
obviously quite experimental on their part, but comes out well. it's thom yorke. doh!

Rachael Yamagata - Duet (feat. Ray LaMontagne)
Two damn good voices in one song. How's anyone not to like this?

Eulogies - The Fight (I've Come To Like)
their myspace link, and choose the abovementioned song.

Blind Pilot - Go On, Say It

Bloc Party - Signs

The Bravery - Believe
again, their myspace site, and choose the song.

Calhoun - The Earth Has Lost Its Hold
the link directs you to the artist page, so all you have to do is choose the abovementioned song and play it.
while i haven't figured the entire lyrics (can't seem to find them anywhere either), but so far it seems to be about the earth?
"ever doubt our fears, they disappear
and the earth, she's losing her hold"

Anberlin - The Unwinding Cable Car
at one point in time, anywhere i went, i had this song on repeat, JUST this song.

The Honorary Title - Stay Away

Mackintosh Braun - Here

well, decided to do something a little different.

Coldplay - Vida la Vida

Lady GaGa - Vida la Vida

the judgement is for all the readers out there on her take on coldplay's song, very obviously, some people didn't take too well her version of the song. but really, spot her changing a teeny bit of the lyrics.


Kanye West - Love Lockdown

White Lies - Love Lockdown
inspiration for this post came from an earlier post.


Kanye West - Heartless

The Fray - Heartless


Kings of Leon - Sex on Fire

James Morrison - Sex on Fire

Flickerstick - Beautiful
this was from their very first album, Welcome Home the Astronauts. pity they have stopped playing, having played their last concert in Feb 09. enjoy this song.

Thrice - Red Sky

Thrice - Red Sky (Acoustic Live)
have a listen to both versions and decide for yourself which is better. i like both. the actual version has a really good chorus which can get intense, just your typical rock song, the acoustic version has that raw edge, unpolished, yet when you listen to the lyrics, everything sounds right.
"can you see the sky turn red
as morning's light breaks over me"

30 Seconds To Mars - A Beautiful Lie
forgive me, but i just had to put this really awesome song from this popular band up. i've made many playlists on my ipod, and this song has found it's way into many of them. also, since they have more or less confirmed the release of their new album in Oct 09 barring anything, let's just say this is to celebrate it.