Track of the Week: Feels Like The First Time by Corinne Bailey Rae
This week's track is Feels Like The First Time by Corinne Bailey Rae, off of her sophomore album The Sea. I'll admit, I'd heard of CBR for a while, but had never heard any of her music. This song came up on KCRW one morning and it absolutely stood out on the playlist, so I picked up the song and the album, and have loved it since. It starts with a discordant/minor (no idea if those are the right words, but it sure sounds like that) piano riff which disappears as the song enters a jazzy, upbeat melody and returns to the theme during the chorus. CBR's lyrics and delivery enchant through the whole track, moving from sticking right to the beat to sliding just behind in classic jazz vocalist style.
Track of the Week: Highschool Reunion by Pigeon John
This week's track of Highschool Reunion by Pigeon John, off of Pigeon John is Dating Your Sister. Originally a part of LA Symphony (the hip hop act, natch), Pigeon John's Pigeon John is Dating Your Sister is full of laid back early 2000s raps, casual lyrics over flowing beats, sounds that were before big time production was available to everybody. What I love about indie hip hop of this era (like early Jurassic 5, LA Symp, 4th Avenue Jones, and the like) was the lyrical quality. Each song tells a story, and thins song is exactly like that.
Track of the Week: Flip Flop Rock (f. Killer Mike & Jay-Z) by OutKast
This week's track is Flip Flop Rock (f. Killer Mike & Jay-Z) by OutKast, off of Speakerboxx/The Love Below. After seeing the Watch the Throne tour last week, I went through my entire music collection listening to every Jay-Z song I had, and this little gem turned up the Speakerboxx side of this album. The product is classic OutKast, turntables screeching, thumping synth-laden organic beats, and Big Boi's signature quick-clip flow. Jay-Z does the hook on the song, as well as the closing verse. I don't remember the song from when the album came out (I was always partial to GhettoMusik on Speakerboxx and My Favorite Things on The Love Below), but in relistening to the album it's a great track and Jay-Z's hook is fantastic.
Music Top 10 from 2011
Since 2006, I've been scrobbling all the music I listen to on last.fm. So this year, for the first time, I've gone back at the list of music I've scrobbed and pulled out the Top 10s -- songs, and artists. This isn't an explicit "my favorite music from 2011", but more of an implicit one as ranked by how I've listened across iTunes, iPhone/iPod, Hype Machine, and Spotify.
So, without further ado, the Top 10:
Top Artists
- Tinie Tempah - 210 listens
- Kanye West - 201 listens
- Pretty Lights - 173 listens
- Film School - 163 listens
- Lupe Fiasco - 151 listens
- The Temper Trap - 146 listens
- Blip Blip Beep - 143 listens
- Adele - 141 listens
- Two Door Cinema Club - 141 listens
- The Glitch Mob - 105 listens
- Tinie Tempah - Wonderman (f. Ellie Goulding) - 38 listens
- The Temper Trap - Sweet Disposition - 27 listens
- Mimosa - I Put A Spell On You - 27 listens
- Two Door Cinema Club - Undercover Martyn - 26 listens
- Skrillex - Scary Monsters And Nice Sprites - 25 listens
- Tinie Tempah - Miami 2 Ibiza (f Swedish House Mafia) - 25 listens
- Skream & Example - Shot Yourself In The Foot Again - 25 listens
- Deadmau5 - Raise Your Weapon (Switch Fusion remix) - 24 listens
- Theophilus London - I Stand Alone - 24 listens
- Blip Blip Beep - Freak You Out - 23 listens
Interesting observations:
- Three acts whose music I bought after seeing a live show without ever known the band prior: Film School, Blip Blip Beep, and The Glitch Mob
- Dubstep shows up a lot in the individual tracks, but not in my top artists
- Lupe shows up, which I was surprised about since he hasn't had a new album (a noteworthy album at least) in quite some time
Track of the Week: Overture 1928 by Dream Theater
This week's track is Overture 1928 by Dream Theater off of their 1999 concept album Scenes from a Memory. There was a period in the late 90s and early 2000s where I was a total progressive rock nerd and Dream Theater was at the center of my obsession. For a long while I bought every album of theirs, bootlegs, went to shows and the whole bit. Thankfully I've grown up a bit, but every once in a while one of their songs comes up on shuffle and takes me back to self-indulgent guitar riffs, 20 minute drum solos, and other prog rock goodies. Today's track is the overture from my second favorite Dream Theater album (first being Images and Words, natch). Listening to Mike Portnoy kill on the drums while John Petrucci shred on the guitar with crazy complex melodies is technical rock bliss. The best part of the song is it's an overture for the album, giving you a hint at all the sounds, melodies and rhythms the album will take you through.
Track of the Week: Whatever You Like by Anya Marina
This week's track is Whatever You Like by Anya Marina, off of the Whatever You Like digital 45 (whatever a "digital 45" means). And yes, this is a cover of TI's Whatever Your Like. And yes, it's a folk-y remix much like Dynamic Hack's cover of Boyz in the Hood. Now, after listening to a few other Anya Marina tracks she seems like a talented singer/songwriter in the indie-folk vein who I'm sure has oodles of musical talent of her own, but this cover was too good to pass up.
Track of the Week: Finally Moving by Pretty Lights
If you can believe, it's been about six weeks since the last Track of the Week. Let's see if we can make up for lost time with this week's track, Finally Moving by Pretty Lights, off of Taking Up Your Precious Time. Sampling Etta James' Something's Got a Hold on Me has become in vogue recently, with covers coming from the electronica camp by Avicii to the radio-hip-hop version by Flo Ria. This week's track is a bit older, from Pretty Light's debut album in 2006. It's a laid back track, unassuming and wraps Etta James' vocals on a classic hip-hop beat with a little bit of elecronica styling throwing in for good measure. It's a fun song, worth listening to on repeat.
Track of the Week: I Stand Alone by Theophilus London
This week's track is I Stand Alone by Theophilus London, off of Timez Are Weird These Days. I think Theophilus is generally classified as hip-hop, I found this track while listening to Live 105's Soundcheck show. I Stand Alone is half rock, half hip-hop, but more hip-hop in the Kid Cudi sense of the word. More soulful, and partly funky yet still rocking. Most of the Timez Are Weird These Days album is just so-so, but this track stands alone as the track of the album.
Track of the Week: Polish Girl by Neon Indian
This week's track is Polish Girl by Neon Indian off of Era Extraña. That's probably the most nonsensical combination of song, artist and album titles possible. That aside aside, Polish Girl opens up and wraps the listener up like a warm blanket, a familiar song and a familiar sound and a familiar story. It's incredibly catchy and lightly moves through lovesick lyrics over a synthpop melody. There are a good number of tracks queued up for track of the week and the moment, and this popped to the top with it's listenability.
Track of the Week: Nightcall by Kavinsky and Lovefoxxx
This week's track is Nightcall by Kavinsky and Lovefoxxx off of the Drive soundtrack. It's the opening track and the opening song in Drive and sets the mood for the movie right away. Opening with compressed vocals and a thumping and slow moving bass and synth line, it blossoms when Lovefoxxx' vocals hit on the hook. A quick bit of Googling also shows that apparently the song has been remixed about a million times, with some particularly good ones such as this Breakbot one.