Best Remixes of 2008
My favourite remixes of 2008 (plus one live Justice track) combined into one playlist. Any feedback is appreciated, since this is my first electronic playlist, just leave a comment.
Thanks for the great picture Tim Walker.
Sleepyhead (Streetlab mix) /// Passion Pit
Kids (Soulwax Nite Version) /// MGMT
Mercury (CSS Remix) /// Bloc Party
We Are Your Friends (Disco Villains Remix) /// Justice vs. Simian
Jokin’ Jay z (Remixed by Don Rimini) /// Jay Z
Electric Feel (Justice Remix) /// MGMT
Dirty Harry (Disco Villains Remix) /// Gorillaz
D.A.N.C.E. (Live Version) /// Justice
My Christmas Playlist
Right now I see a lot of “Christmas” music posts. But is the music featured, really something you would want to play on Christmas day? Is The Flaming Lips really suitable for the festive period? I think not, so here is my Christmas playlist for when I see the rest of the family.
Thanks to Elyce Feliz for the picture.
I will be back soon, I just have felt a lack in passion on what to write about recently…
Is This Christmas // The Wombats
Frosty The Snowman // The Beach Boys
Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow! // Dean Martin
Christmas TV // Slow Club
Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer // Jack Johnson
Little Saint Nick // The Beach Boys
Rockin’ Around The Christmas Tree // Brenda Lee
Silver Bells // Bright Eyes
Winter Wonderland // Dean Martin
Fairytale Of New York // The Pogues Feat. Kirsty MacColl
Happy Christmas (War is Over) // The Polyphonic Spree
Merry Christmas!
Best Albums of 2008
These “best of the year” lists, should be done after the year has past. Unfortunately, Hype Machine has forced me to do it early and so I am stuck with a list, which is not finished and only contains nine albums. Do not worry, I will post the final one next year when I have finished making my mind up. Leave a comment if you disagree, or if I missed one out, so I can see if I want to include it in the final version. Enjoy!
Flight of the Conchords has been a bit of an addiction since I discovered their TV series. I basically downloaded anything I could find from their rather huge collection of music. Of course, I decided to buy their debut. It’s just a shame how it’s not very different from their TV show material. They are at their best when they perform live and since the album is mainly ripped straight from the TV show, I didn’t put it any higher on the list. Still, their material is both funny and musically interesting. Using styles ranging from David Bowie to Shaggie, Flight of the Conchords’ album is well worth listening to.
The Most Beautiful Girl (In The Room)
Peaceful, The World Lies Me Down, is an interesting take on folk music. It has both witty and clever lyrics, produced by a very unlikely kind of vocalist. It has the beautiful voice of Laura Marling and it has some really nice instrumental work, the violins are particularly memorable. Though, I did not enjoy the slow sections of the album, finding them slightly dull, it is the faster paced tracks, like 2 Atoms In A Molecule and Rocks And Daggers that make Noah and the Whale’s first album truly great.
MGMT don’t prove the formula ”quality of quantity”. With ten tracks on the album, only three proved to be amazingly epic (Time to Pretend, Electric Feel, Kids). The rest is just not very interesting. You can argue it’s all experimental, which is fine, but don’t put it on the album then. It’s a shame, because if they had kept up the standard of those three, MGMT’s debut would be the best album of the year.
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Tokyo Police Club produced a pretty amazing EP last year, and their debut was a bit more gritty, but did not disappoint. Their sound is very Strokes-esque, but with a less harsh (Candian) vocalist and distorted synthesisers, which produces a faster sound, something which might be heard on a dancefloor somewhere.
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The Blood Red Shoes’ album is short, but ferocious, simple, but still fascinating. With just a guitarist and a drummer, it seems like their music might be dull, but this is where you start listening to their impressive debut. Hard and fast drumming, relentless guitar strumming and the interesting interwoven vocals from Laura and Steven create a great rock record.
Dark and strange, Alex Turner’s side project, The Last Shadow Puppets, did not really spark my interest initially. But after a couple of months, I can really appreciate it. Age Of The Understatement sounds like an album made of Bond theme songs, but with a lot more depth It manages to keep all the grandness even with the slow, acoustic songs. I can’t wait to see what Alex Turner will do next.
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A flawed, but great album from Foals. It’s a real shame they missed out on Astronauts and All and Hummer, for Heavy Water and Big Big Love (fig. 2). The rest is perfect. In the last three months they have creeped into my Last.fm’s 8th most listened to artists. Battling guitars, addictive bass lines and unbelievable drum patterns make an album which everyone should try. Red Socks Pugie is definitely one of my favourite tracks ever. They also managed to prove themselves as the best band I have seen live.
Lightspeed Champion’s first album is stunning to listen to. With it’s incredibly beautiful melodies, violent and open lyrics, Dev Hynes has created an album where every song is a masterfully created sensation. Would have got my album of the year, if not for Salty Water. I don’t need to describe it anyway, because you should already be rushing to get this from the shops or be downloading it right now.
Just an incredibly well-rounded album. There are no flaws, it’s just a barrage of incredible songs. And with a completely different sound, to anything right now, they have a winning formula. From the opening bangs of Mansford Roof, to the simple melody of Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa, to the final clash of Walcott, Vampire Weekend’s debut, is a thrill to listen to. You’ve got it anyway, haven’t you?
10 Greatest Bands Of All Time
After seeing this little article, I decided I would make by own list;
- The Libertines
- Arctic Monkeys
- The Beatles
- The Strokes
- The Smiths
- Vampire Weekend
- Franz Ferdinand
- The Clash
- Oasis
- The Cribs
What’s Yours?
Best Albums Of 2008 – So Far
Here are the my favorite (so they must obviously be the best) albums of the year so far:
5) Flight Of The Conchords by Flight Of The Conchords – With fresh ears this might be number one, but most of the songs on the album I had already heard exact same versions of, from the TV show. And it doesn’t really capture their brilliance when they are live.
4) Oracular Spectacular by MGMT – Personally, I did not believe the whole album was fantastic (unlike most), but there were some really amazing tracks. Not perfect but good.
3) Antidotes by Foals – Foals have grown on me a little more since last time I wrote about them, however I still believe that the album was not “the best thing ever”. However, it is still a very well-rounded one and is still pretty enjoyable.
2) Falling Of The Lavender Bridge by Lightspeed Champion – Simply Beautiful, it is just a really likable album with a style that seems lost now days.
1) Vampire Weekend by Vampire Weekend – Brilliant, if you haven’t purchased this record, go out and get it now.
I tried to take in about 20 albums for this small list, so I did try to cover a spectrum of different albums that have come out in the last 6 months or so.
Think I’m wrong? Add your comment!
