as i previously mentioned, my friend brad and i have launched our mashup duo The Stereo Bomb.  as a part of this effort, we have decided to create and maintain a blog tied in with that site instead, aptly called The Stereo Blog. we’ll use it for Stereo Bomb purposes of course, but we also plan to each contribute miscellaneous articles we think might be of general interest.  just today, i wrote my reactions to the first weekend of the NCAA basketball tournament.  i’ll also be moving my playlist of the month series to this blog as well.

i’m very excited about the future of The Stereo Bomb, and i encourage every one to check out our blog (or album if you haven’t yet).  if you follow our twitter feed (@thestereobomb) i’ll tweet when new posts are made, as well as other little ditties.  you can also follow my personal twitter feed (@briankecskemety) if that’s more your style.

that’s it. it’s been real, and will continue to be…

1) “I Need A Dollar” – Aloe Blacc

this past month, the new show “how to make it in america” debuted on hbo, and since my roomates and i inexplicably pay time warner an extra $24 a month to get hbo and showtime, i’d feel guilty not at least checking out the new original programming.  four episodes into the show, i’ve become a follower.  the show follows two twenty-somethings living in new york as they… try to make it in america.  one of the main characters is played by victor rasuk, who also portrayed legendary skater tony alva in 2005′s “lords of dogtown,” (one of my favorite underated movies and also features an excellent performance from the late heath ledger).  most shows tend to romanticize the location in which it takes place, and “how to make it” is no exception.  that being said, i still think it’s more honest than a lot of shows out there.  we’ll see how the season shapes up.

hbo has always been known for its superb opening sequences (the wire and true blood come to mind) and this show’s lives up to the task.  you can watch it here.  soulful newcomer aloe blacc lends the theme song, which calls upon an older style but retains its relevance today.  perfect for listening to while walking around an urban area.  nearby construction also helps the ambiance…

2) “Sylvia” – The Antlers

i’m very late on the antlers bandwagon, but i really only checked them out because they will be opening for the national at radio city in june and i bought my ticket last month.  ambitious, courageous, and anthemic all come to mind with this standout track.

3) “I And Love And You” – The Avett Brothers

with seemingly all of my OU friends mentioning the avett brothers at least once in their facebook status last month (they played a show there or something) i of course had to check them out.  it’s pretty remarkable that music can transport you to a place or time in your past, even if you had never heard the music while you were there.  the avett brothers are a perfect example of that.  while i don’t know many in new york who would really dig their stripped-down generally-acoustic alt-country-but-not-really-country sound, this is totally the kind of thing i would’ve ate up in ohio.

the title track from their 2009 album best exemplifies their sound and songwriting prowess.  according to message boards, the song was inspired by the band’s first visit to new york, as it was “the furthest away from home we had been both literally and figuratively.”  the chorus years for forgiveness or at least acceptance and a chance to start anew.  beautiful stuff…

4) “Love Is All I Am” – Dawes

this past month i sat on my hands too long and didn’t buy tickets to dawes’ co-headlining show at the bowery ballroom and it sold out.  i regret this move.  nevertheless, i’m glad they’re getting bigger and hopefully they’ll be on the festival circuit soon.

5) “Love Cry” – Four Tet

recommended by my british ambassador of music wesley.  the whole album, (which just came out in january), is good, but this nine-minute electro-trip is one worth taking.

6) “Free Energy” – Free Energy

a great thing about living in the city is the free concerts that will randomly pop up.  while at my internship, i saw hot chip would be playing a “secret” show at the highline ballroom to commemorate their upcoming album “one life stand.”  i stopped by on my way home and it was definitely worth the two dollars for the coat check and two hours of my time.  what was more surprising was the opening act.  based out of philadelphia, james murphy aka LCD soundsystem-produced newcomers free energy played a remarkable set of refreshing pop-rock.  their stage presence could use a little work, their front man doesn’t play an insturment and looks a little clueless at times, but their debut ep is extremely polished. “free energy” marks the fouth artist-title-track in my itunes, (“wilco,” “buena vista social club,” and “one day as a lion” have the others).

7) “Stylo” – Gorillaz f/t Mos Def & Bobby Womack

it’s been five years since the gorillaz dropped their danger mouse-assisted disc “demon days” highlighted by the couldn’t-for-the-life-of-you-escape-it-but-you-didn’t-really-mind-because-it-was-really-good summer jam of ’05, “feel good, inc.” their follow-up entitled “plastic beach” doesn’t hit the street until next week, but you can stream it in its entirety through NPR.  this new album doesn’t have any answer to “feel good, inc.” but it is chock-full of groundbreaking gorillaz goodness that made the four cartoon characters household names.  “stylo” is their leadoff single.  mos def provides an effortless guest performance and bobby womack sings with all the passion and urgency you would expect. this song also has a great video featuring bruce willis, who, during his first shot gives the camera a priceless, “i bet you weren’t expected me in a gorillaz music video” look…

8 ) “One Life Stand” – Hot Chip

leadoff single and title track from hot chip’s outstanding new album.  already discussed the show above so i won’t go into more detail.

9) “C’mon” – The Soft Pack

these san diegans have been getting a lot of buzz lately, and for good reason.  the sun-addled sound of their first single and thousandth song ever to be titled “c’mon” is a refreashing departure from the predominantly east coast or british music to which i’ve been listening as of late. definitely worth the two minutes and thirteen seconds it takes to listen to.

10) “Photograph” – Weezer

this past month a few friends and i made a weekend trip to atlantic city.  (no, i didn’t win any money, but my buddy pat won $1,250 on a nickel slot machine. crazy…) on the bus ride there i had a weezer flashback and listened to highlights from their catalog.  i completely forgot this song existed, but finds rivers cuomo in his okay-we’re-back-let’s-do-this mode of pure pop song writing.  catchy as hell…

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that’s it for the playlist. see you next month…

before i reveal my picks for the month, a little self-promotion: last month, my friend brad and i released a mashup album called “Now Hear This” under the monkier The Stereo Bomb. we started working on this back in august, while he was in new york for a co-op through RIT.  we finished around thanksgiving and finally got the site together in early january.  we’re really excited about it, and we’ve gotten very positive responses so far.  you can hear the whole thing by streaming it from our official site thestereobomb.com.  you can also download it if you want, in either mp3 or full-quality wav (all for free, of course).  you can also become a fan on our official facebook page if you’re so inclined.  if you listen, you’ll probably like it. and if not, at least you’ll appreciate the way it was put together…

okay, now that that’s out of the way, i now present BK’s Playlist of the Month for January 2010

1) “Distant Lights” – Burial

i first got into burial when my british friend and sometimes-music-correspondent wesley gave his 2007 album “untrue.” this album became the definitive album of the genre known as dubstep, which emerged this past decade from south london.  the style has gained momentum over the last few years and has started to gain a foothold in new york.  dubstep is aptly named as it combines the dark grooves of dub music with syncopated drum machine samples and 808-style snares. this particular cut comes from a two-disc compilation album celebrating hyperdub’s (the label on which most dubstep artists are found) fifth anniversary, and serves as a great intro into dubstep for those unfamiliar.

2) “Bound Too Long” – The Crystal Method

my friend andy started a blog highlighting free (or near-free) concerts and events going on in nyc.  it is through this blog (myfreeconcert.blogspot.com) that i learned that the crystal method would be spinning at a night club in the east village, and the cover charge was only one dollar.  i jumped at the chance to see my favorite electronic music artists for the first time in a great setting.  as this was my first legitimate nyc club experience, i was pleasantly surprised that i didn’t feel as out of place as i thought i might.  the occasional guido aside, it ended up being a great night, and the dollar cover charge didn’t make me feel quite as bad about plunking down eight bucks for a weak rum and coke. the group went on at 1:30 and by the time i left at 3:15, (with their set still going on), i had definitely gotten my money’s worth.  this track was one of many sampled that night and comes from their wes borland-enhanced release (yes, the former guitarist of limp bizkit), “Legion of Boom.”

3) “United State of Pop 2009 (Blame it on the Pop)” – DJ Earworm

at the end of every year dj earworm compiles the top 25 tracks of the year according to billboard and makes a radio-friendly mashup. as i’ve already mentioned my venture into the world of mash-uping (or is it mashing-up?) i thought i’d highlight another example of this genre.  this particular mash is ripe with optimism for the new year, and the video has been viewed over 10 million times…

4) “Forever” – Drake f/t Kanye West, Lil’ Wayne, & Eminem

what? this song? really? let me eloaborate… i’m including this more for what it says on the state of hip hop rather than the record itself.  even if you’re not really a hip hop fan, it’s been impossible to ignore drake’s incendiary rise to stardom.  how is it that a rapper that doesn’t even have an album out yet gets top billing on a record also featuring kanye, wayne, and em? bizzare, to be sure, but it’s not to say the kid isn’t desrving.  i’ve really become a fan of his lyrical wordplay over the past few months, and it’s no surprise he’s closely mentored by the master of wordplay, lil’ wayne.

there’s a lot wrong with the record, however.  it’s six minutes long, (though doesn’t get shortened for radio purposes), and while they’re all done by hip hop all-stars, there are simply too many guest verses.  kanye and weezy both sound like they’re phoning their efforts in, and already are thinking about how they’re going to spend their guest appearance check.

the bright guest spot is eminem’s final verse. after he heartily dissapointed with last year’s misguided “relapse,” i felt he needed to come back strong with another solid effort.  here em channels his inner slim shady of yore and ditches the ridiculous accent that plagued most (okay, all) of “relapse.”  i haven’t heard em this focused since his 2002 victory-lap album “the eminem show.”  i hope he realises that this is the eminem that got him where he is and that we hear more from him soon.

were i the producer of this track, i would’ve ditched the kanye and wayne verse (we already know drake can rap with lil’ wayne anyway – they’re all over each others’ mixtapes) and given drake a second verse.  even after all the hype, we still don’t know if/how drake can hold it down on his own.  i’d still keep eminem’s verse at the end as it’s a solid closer.

5) “Who Wrote Holden Caulfield?” – Green Day

i included this song as a tribute to the late great JD salinger.  this track is from green day’s second full-length record (and last independent release) “Kerplunk.”  i had the fortune to see green day frontman billie joe armstrong perform this song live (which is very rarely done).  in august 2005 some friends (aaron, kirk, kyle) and i made the hour-and-a-half drive from rochester to buffalo to see green day play at the hsbc arena.  this was a particularly momentous occasion as it was the first time i was allowed to drive to travel to a concert without parental supervision.  we arrived super early and got pretty close to the stage.  right up front were two girls with a sign that read “we drove from nyc – play holden caulfield.”  the set went by without the song being played, but after billie joe’s solo encore of “good riddance (time of your life),” he looked at the girls and played the first verse and chorus of this song by himself on electric guitar.  i’ve never seen such a combination of confusion, elation, and “i-can’t-believe-this-is-fucking-happening”-tion as i did on those two girls’ faces that night. a great end to a great show.

6) “Sun Hands” – Local Natives

lately (and presently as i type this) i’ve been interning at The Orchard.  since there’s a good possibility you could browse their website for a few minutes and still not understand what exactly it is that they do, i’ll explain a bit.  the orchard serves as a digital partner to a vast array of record labels.  labels sometimes outsource the digital management of their records to third-party firms.  the orchard has the negotiating rights to about 1.5 million songs. particularly, i am working in the creative licensing department.  we will often field requests from filmakers (both major and independent) television networks and advertisers requesting to use are particular master in their work. i say “master” because we don’t generally work with the publishers who own the songwriting, only the labels who own the actual recordings of said songs.

i say all this because this is a band i came across while doing some marketing research.  they are a band we cover and one of my (more tedious) jobs is to write marketing blurbs for upcoming releases.  this band is out LA and is reminiscent of a lot of already-popular indie bands like fleet foxes, dr. dog, and band of horses, (their album is called “gorilla manor,” so they stay with the animal theme of the previously mentioned bands, too). this cut features a great building structure, gang vocals (which i’m always a fan of if executed properly), and is a good introduction to the band.  their record is only out in the UK right now, but will be available february 16 in the US.

7) “L.E.S. Artistes” – Santigold

this is the opener of santi’s self-titled debut.  this one might not be as well known as her others since it wasn’t featured in a bud light lime commercial.  i’ve always liked this song, and it serves as a great semi-sarcastic, quasi-condescending homage to the lower east side: new york’s hippest district (at least in manhattan)…

8 ) “Written in Reverse” – Spoon

spoon dropped their seventh LP this month, and unfortunately for the first time ever, britt daniel sounds like he has nothing left to prove (at least to anyone else).  nevertheless, it is at worst a decent album and its first single sounds closest to something that could’ve been on “Ga^5″, so it makes the cut…

9) “Swim” – Surfer Blood

another band i came across while working at the orchard.  there was a lot of buzz when their video appeared on pitchfork tv last week.  i highly recommend checking it out.  the video ends with the protagonist running into the williamsburg venue “the lovin’ cup.” i recognized it because of its unmistakable ceiling decor and the fact that i had actually been there the weekend before.  it’s always great to see landmarks you recognize getting some indie love.

this song is the first single off their also outstanding debut album “astro coast.”  after hearing the album on LaLa, i picked up the vinyl at Other Music on the way home from work the very next day.  it’s been a while since i’ve been motivated to do that.  the music is rich with reverb and west coast sounding guitars that are reminiscint of a california summer, (the band is actually from west palm beach, FL, but they surf there too i guess).  this album makes the single digit wind chills just a bit more bearable.

10) “World Tour” – Wale f/t Jazmine Sullivan

DC-area rapper Wale dropped his debut album “attention deficit” last november to just-moderate fanfare.  the album is touch-and-go, and shows a lot of maturing left to do but also tons of potential for wale (pronounced wah-lay).  this track is my favorite off the album.  it’s not a single yet, but i suspect it soon will be.  jazmine sullivan does work on the hook, and gives the record its flare of identity.

11) “Impossible Germany (Live at KeySpan Park – Brooklyn, NY – 07-13-09)” – Wilco

ok, i’m cheating a little bit with the live cut, but it’s for a good cause.  a lot of artists have responded in their own ways to the earthquake that devastated haiti last month.  wilco made two of their live shows available for download and asked that you donate $15 to doctors without borders or OXFOAM.  since i went to one of those shows (which i blogged about here) i obviously felt compelled to download and give.  this was one of the major highlights of the set, and features stunning guitar work by nels cline.

12) “Fuck da Bullshit” – Young Money

lil’ wayne’s posse “young money” released the “we are young money” mixtape in december and have even scored a hit with “BedRock” (unusual for a mixtape, but becoming increasingly more common).  this cut features verses from gudda gudda, lil’ wayne, and drake, but perhaps most impressive is queens-based newcomer Nicki Minaj who delivers with supreme confidence and power.  with lines like “got them writing love letters in their journal / keep ‘em on they toes like a midget at a urinal,” i’m excited to see what her future brings.  this mixtape has brought her a lot of buzz around the blogosphere, and it further emphasizes the point that to make it in the rap game, it’s good to be friends with weezy…

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wow okay. final thoughts:

i won $25 off a scratch-off lottery ticket the other day. my biggest win to date.

domino’s new pizza is actually really good. much better than their old stuff.

the grammys were last night. taylor swift took home album of the year. that would be like “avatar” winning a golden globe for best picture. waaaaiiiiittttt…

that’s it. keep your nose clean, and leave only your footprints…

“best” implies the greatest.  the term should be universally understood and transcend generations, economic classes, geographic locations, and other demographics.  far be it from me to assume that i am qualified to determine the “best” of anything.  the albums on this list are not necessarily the “best” albums of the decade, (that’s why “Kid A” and “The Blueprint” are nowhere to be found on this list), rather, the following list is merely my “favorite” albums of the decade:  the albums that most resonated with me and reminded (or in some cases taught) me the power of music.

so ladies and gentlemen, i give you…

Brian’s 50 Favorite Albums of the (whatever we end up calling this) Decade:

50.   Hot Chip – Made in the Dark

49.   Flogging Molly – Drunken Lullabies

48.   Spoon – Gimme Fiction

47.   Midtown – Living Well is the Best Revenge

46.   Saves the Day – Stay What You Are

45.   Green Day – Warning

44.   MGMT – Oracular Spectacular

43.   John Legend – Get Lifted

42.   Santigold – Santogold

41.   The Killers – Hot Fuss

40.   Eve 6 – Horrorscope

39.   Daft Punk – Discovery

38.   White Rabbits – Fort Nightly

37.   Blink 182 – Take Off Your Pants and Jacket

36.   Coldplay – A Rush of Blood to the Head

35.   Spoon – Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga

34.   Red Hot Chili Peppers – Stadium Arcadium

33.   The Black Keys – Attack & Release

32.   My Morning Jacket – Evil Urges

31.   Gorillaz – Demon Days

30.   Matisyahu – Live at Stubb’s

29.   Rise Against – Siren Song of the Counter Culture

28.   Dr. Dog – Fate

27.   Lil Wayne – Tha Carter III

26.   Kanye West – College Dropout

25.   Outkast – Stankonia

24.   Red Hot Chili Peppers – By the Way

23.   Girl Talk – Feed the Animals

22.   The Receiving End of Sirens – Between the Heart and the Synapse

21.   The National – Alligator

20.   The Streets – Original Pirate Material

19.   Coldplay – Viva La Vida or Death and All His Friends

18.   The White Stripes – White Blood Cells

17.   Coheed and Cambria – Good Apollo, I’m Burning Star IV, Volume 1: From Fear Through the Eyes of Madness

16.   Less Than Jake – Anthem

15.   Wilco – Yankee Hotel Foxtrot

14.   Eminem – The Marshall Mathers LP

13.   LCD Soundsystem – Sound of Silver

12.   Ben Folds – Rockin’ the Suburbs

11.   Bon Iver – For Emma, Forever Ago

10.   Radiohead – In Rainbows

9.   The White Stripes – Elephant

8.   Girl Talk – Night Ripper

7.   Kanye West – Late Registration

6.   M.I.A. – Kala

5.   Arcade Fire – Funeral

4.   Jay-Z – The Black Album

3.   Green Day – American Idiot

2.   The Streets – A Grand Don’t Come For Free

1.   The National – Boxer

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anyways, i would still like to use this blog vehicle to publish my monthly playlists.  this project on which i’ve been working has certainly skewed my music-listening patterns.  this list is shorter and more hip-hop oriented than previous lists, but such is life. so without further ado, i present to you BK’s Playlist of the Month for September 2009

1) “Do Your Thing” – Basement Jaxx

this came on my ipod on shuffle when i was riding the subway to china town. i was so engrossed with the carefree beat and vocals that i actually missed my stop. this has never happened to me before or since.  this song transforms wherever you are into a dancefloor that is both retro and perpetually futuristic. also the video’s pretty cool too…

2) “Emaline” – Ben Folds

i actually looked through all my old mixes dating back to 2004 and couldn’t believe i hadn’t put this song on one before.  ben folds is one of my favorite songwriters, and certainly one of the most talented of the ’95-present years.  this is one of his most beautiful.  there’s a studio recording somewhere, but you don’t need to bother.  his rendition off of “ben folds live” is really the definitive version.

3) “Hey Ma” – Cam’ron

okay so we’re in the hip hop realm now.  recently i’ve been thinking about a list of my favorite beats of all time.  this might crack the top ten.  i could listen to the instrumental on loop for a good fifteen minutes.  the commodores sample was brilliantly used.  and julez santana’s opening verse has as much swagger as anything weezy’s touched in his career.

4) “Hellhole Ratrace” – Girls

i’ve heard through a few music industry people i’ve met through NYU that four is the magic number to get a fan interested in an artist.  four meaning the number of impressions an individual has had from an artist. for me, girls ended up following this pattern exactly. this summer, i was at a party and was talking to a few people who had attended a show of theirs the previous night.  i thought their name was interesting but of course i didn’t look them up the next morning.  then my friend conor recommended them to me.  conor recommends a lot of stuff though so i still needed more to go on.  then i read the pitchfork review.  pitchfork gave their debut album a stellar 9.1 out of 10 review.  but was that enough? not really. pitchfork didn’t give jay-z or kid cudi’s new albums over a 5 (more on that later) so can they really be trusted? so that put me at three impressions.  the next day, my new issue of SPIN showed up in my mailbox, and low and behold, a three page write-up on girls. well, that was four, so i went out of my way to listen to the album (which is all-too-fittingly titled “album”).

the story of the band is both sad and fascinating, and if you don’t know it, read the first paragraph of this.  basically, the frontman was raised in a cult and not exposed to secular music until around 13 years of age.  the 8-12 years certainly formed my musical tastes, and i can’t imagine having such a songwriting gift without the influence of music during this time of one’s life.  it was at this time i started listening to oldies (especially the beach boys).  it’s therefore especially surprising that this album is the closest thing this generation will ever get to “pet sounds.” just listen and you’ll see what i mean…

5) – “empire state of mind” – jay-z f/t alicia keys

yeah, ok, this requires an explanation. i have been in new york city for three months now (consecutively, i might add).  as such, it’s difficult for me to gauge just how big jay-z is. “what” you say? well, when he dropped his retirement/victory lap-opus “the black album,” i was a sophomore in high school.  of course this record was inescapable.  “dirt off your shoulder” and “99 problems” were as ubiquitous as anything.  that album has certainly withstood the test of time (even if it’s only six years).  his first comeback attempt “kingdom come” fell short.  the loose narrative “american gangster” received much critical acclaim, but it’s safe to say you weren’t hearing any of it’s singles at clubs or parties, (and if you wouldn’t know that, trust me, they weren’t).  so this brings us to 2009.  even though jigga’s been loyally doting out records every two years, it still felt like this was his real statement record.

what’s difficult for me is how the release of “the blueprint 3″ was perceived outside of his friendly confines. sure he’s a regular trending topic on twitter, but that’s all been pretty much reduced to spam.  sure he had a banner outside of madison square garden that was as tall as the building to plug his live concert on fuse, but does anyone even get fuse/watch it? (i tried to get tickets but they sold out in seconds).  sure this song is currently #9 on the itunes singles chart (the album is at #8), but is that just because it’s jay-z or are people actually really feeling what he’s putting down?

anyway, for the purposes of this playlist it’s irrelevant because it’s all about how i perceive it.  the day i bought this album was simultaneously a new and nostalgic experience.  after work i took the train down to j&r (independently owned electronics store, also has a great music selection).  when i walked in the store, the cd was playing over the store’s speakers, and there was a whole rack full of bp3 copies.  i waited in line with at least five other people clutching only this album.  ready to tear it open and hear what nyc’s elder statesman has to say.  i say new experience because i actually felt part of an environment with local interest in a major record release, and i say nostalgic because i haven’t had an experience with such collective anticipation at a record store in a very long time.

this song is the perfect accompaniment to the “shit-i-just-left-college-now-i’m-living-in-one-of-the-biggest-cities-in-the-world-what-the-fuck”-ness that closely parallels my life.  one of the cooler parts of living in nyc is catching all the references in hip-hop lyrics that refer to places you’ve been/live and you might have missed otherwise.  this hook may be a bit cheesy, but it’s got alicia keys (who we haven’t heard from in far too long). and besides, that’s what makes the record anyway. “concrete jungle where dreams are made of/there’s nothing you can’t do…/these streets will make you feel brand new/big lights will inspire you.”  on paper it’s not much, but in verse, i couldn’t have said it better myself.

while i took the tram to work the next morning, i played this song as i looked over the east river.  i casually glanced to the ipod of the commuter next to me, and what else would he playing but “empire state of mind.” new york has it’s new anthem…

6) “on to the next one” – jay-z f/t swizz beatz

best song off the new album.  has the best beat.  swizz beatz kills it with the justice sample.  lame review i know…

7) “pursuit of happiness” – kid cudi f/t mgmt and ratatat

kid cudi’s debut album is strange but refreshing.  aside from drake, cudi has been the most inherited rapper of the past calendar year.  you can definitely hear that this is the same guy that co-wrote four songs off of kanye’s “808s & Heartbreak.”  “man on the moon: the end of day” is strange because cudi is emotional, fragile, and vulnerable, yet we are compelled to root for him, even if his tribulations are more manufactured than anything else.  “pursuit of happiness” might be a microcosm of this dichotomy.  the hook is memorable and catchy, but the lyrics “i’m in the pursuit of happiness and i know/everything that shine ain’t always gonna be gold/i’ll be fine once i get it/i’ll be good” can’t help but seem a little misguided. but this is what cudi does so well.  he let’s us reflect on our own lives by narrating his (or at least his alter-ego’s).  are we pursuing happiness as an end, without enjoying the journey? something to think about…

ratatat’s contributions are both prevalent and welcome.  the instant their signature guitar sound kicks in,  their presence is felt.  i’ll have to take the ID3 tag’s word for it that mgmt contributed something substantial, even though they’re not name-dropped like ratatat.

8 ) “ghetto superstar” – pras f/t ODB and mya

another one of those songs that i’m surprised hadn’t made an earlier mix.  memorable hook that still sounds as fresh as the day i first heard it eleven years ago.  i had no idea mya was the one singing it.  would you believe she’s only 29? what has she done since 2000? talk about hitting your peak too early.

9) “weak become heroes” – the streets

the streets have always been my go to act to bring up if i want to sound like i know about and listen to music that people have heard of but not really actually “heard.”  if i’m in a conversation about my desert island discs, “a grand don’t come for free” will invariably come up, and people will usually react to the effect of “oh yeah, they do that ‘fit but you know it song,’ i bet their other stuff is really good but i won’t bother to listen to it.”  (it’s not a “them” it’s just mike skinner). while inciting this reaction is a somewhat good thing if you want to gain credibility with your taste in music, in this case it is also genuine.

“weak become heroes” is a narrative/reflection/quasi-lament of an ex-raver recalling his past as a regular ecstasy-taking club-goer, but his lyrics are deeper than that. “they could settle wars with this/if only they will/imagine the world’s leaders on pills/and imagine the morning after…”  the rave scene provided skinner a sense of purpose and community, and although he’s left that life behind, he’s not afraid to quantify how it has impacted his person. “then the girl in the cafe taps me on the shoulder/i realize right then that five years went by and i’m older…” after years of listening to the streets, i’m ready to say it: “weak become heroes” is his best song.

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that’s it for now. come back next month, or unless facebook/twitter says otherwise…

as it is now officially september, i would like to continue my “playlist of the month series.” this one isn’t nearly as long as last month’s, but it does have some gems.  the rules about making these playlists, (which i promised i wouldn’t repeat), are here. so without further ado, here is BK’s Playlist of August 2009…

1) “Same Old Thing” – The Black Keys

behind pretty much every black keys song is a dirty, driving guitar riff.  this is no exception.  when i saw them at all points west, this song didn’t open the set, but it definitely set it off.  i would’ve liked to hear the jazz flute part live, but there’s something amazingly effective about a rock show with only two people on stage.  i’m amazed how much sound they get out of only two guys.

2) “A Whole Lot Better” – Brendan Benson

big on ATO’s plate this month was the release of “my old, familiar friend,” the new solo record from brendan benson (of raconteurs fame).  this song is the record’s first track and first single.  “a whole lot better” also opened his set at the bowery ballroom.  odd intro riff aside, this tune is lyrically smart, and musically catchy. the song chronicles the everchanging cycle of emotions in a relationship, but does it without sounding too serious or emotional.  this past friday i got to watch an early cut of the music video.  it was pretty good and suited the song well.  hopefully it’s finished soon and i can post it up here.

3) “Don’t Wanna Talk” – Brendan Benson

last ATO/brendan benson song, i promise.  when listening through the album, i was surprised this wasn’t chosen as the first single off the record, but i’m sure it will be soon.

4) “Yellow” – Coldplay

yeah… this has always been one of my lesser-favorite coldplay songs.  i blame it for me being late on the bandwagon, as it wasn’t really until “a rush of blood to the head” that i got into them.  however, this was definitely a standout song on their set at all points west.  before they played the song, chris martin told the crowd, “guys, it’s cool to sing along – even if you were dragged here by your girlfriend.”

5) “Smash Your Head” – Girl Talk

i’m breaking my own rule. this song has been on a playlist before, sometime early 2007 i believe. i didn’t actually listen to much girl talk at all this month, but i did see his incredible set at the pool parties in williamsburg two sundays ago.  after he stopped, gillis announced he would go one more minute before breaking out into the timeless B.I.G. “Juicy”/ Elton John “Tiny Dancer” mashup.  the crowd of 10,000 or so proceeded to go absolutely ape shit (that’s an awesome picture, but i can’t find myself, so matter how long i look).  i ask you, has any song ever been a better or more iconic representation of its genre.  any song in history? is there one quintessential rock song? country song? one indicative rap tune? even classical music can’t claim to have a greatest representation of its style.  the juicy/tiny dancer mashup at the end of “smash your head” off 2006′s “night ripper” is unparalleled by any mashup ever made. it is by far and away the best example of this art form.  i’d love to have a discussion with someone who thinks otherwise or challenges these ideas to see what other people think.

6) “Church On Sunday” – Green Day

earlier this month, my friend jill blogged about music as a gateway drug – the concept of a particular work of music turning  you onto the art form altogether.  this got me thinking about my musical gateway drug.  i decided that green day’s “warning,” while not their best album by any stretch, is what made me hear and look at music differently and more seriously.  this is the third track off that album, and the first one that really celebrates the three-chord rock that they so perfected.

7) “B.O.B.” – Outkast

earlier this month, pitchfork ranked the 500 greatest songs of the decade.  topping the list, was this hip-hop manifesto.  this song has a special place in my heart because it’s off the album “stankonia,” which is also the first hip-hop album i ever purchased.  andre 3000′s opening verse also has the distinction of being the first rap verse i ever fully committed to memory.  this song has so much energy, but it is beautifully harnessed.  i remember putting this song on at OU parties when the energy was just starting to build and after you heard andre whisper “1, 2, 1, 2, 3 – YEAH!” you knew the place had been set off.  i could go on longer, but pitchfork’s writeup of the song is so good, i’ll leave it to them.  check it out here (you’ll have to scroll down).

8 ) “Samson” – Regina Spektor

at this year’s Ohio University A Cappella Invitational, Title IX did a version of this song. (it might have been the Tempo Tantrums, but i’m 95% sure it was T9).  i don’t remember the name of the soloist, otherwise i’d give a shoutout, but it was beautifully done.  it’s rare that i hear a cover of a song having never heard the original, and am immediately compelled to hear the original.  while there are several interpretations of the meaning of this song, it comes across to me as very vulnerable, and vulnerability is an emotion that can connect everybody while still managing to be very personal.

9) “Sleep Deprivation” – Simian Mobile Disco

i caught their free set at the pool parties with brad a few weeks ago. absolutely brilliant. great euro-electronica.  plus, i haven’t been getting much sleep lately, so it works both ways.

10) “For Granted” – Soulive

soulive has always been one of those bands i really respect, (i’ve seen them live three times), but lately their studio recordings have been suspect at best.  they released their new album “up here” on a new label back in april and i finally got around to listening to it.  almost all of the complaints i’ve had about their old albums are completely erased.  soulive delivers nine outstanding funk/jazz tracks and don’t hold anything back.  my biggest gripe of their last two records was their over-dependence on a vocalist to flesh out arrangements.  their last album, “no place like soul,” had only two instrumental tracks, while by comparison, “up here” only has two tracks with vocals (and they’re both done appropriately and well).  this song reminds me of seeing them live outdoors at the rochester jazz fest a few years back… (note – the video is a live recording, but the actual album track includes artificial crowd noise, so it’s not too far off from the original)

11) “Free Fallin’” – Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers

amazingly this hasn’t been in one of my older playlists.  this month i dusted off my copy of their greatest hits compilation, and outstanding collection of great american rock tunes.  had to go with the greatest classic of them all though…

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final thought:

classes start next week

walk it out everybody…

half of our yet-to-be-listened-to demos...

first things first, when mailing your demo, DO NOT bother to pay for express, overnight, or any other expedited shipping option.  i see packages all the time that are sent overnight or priority with delivery confirmation.  it’s a waste of money.  demos are not necessarily listened to the day, week, or even month they are received.  it therefore makes NO difference when the label gets it.  save your pennies and next time you’re at the bar, spring for an import instead of a PBR.  the net gain will be much greater.

DO have good artwork!  ARTWORK MATTERS!  just because it’s a demo doesn’t give you an excuse to skimp on the packaging.   in the world of entertainment content isn’t always king, (sorry coop). sometimes attention counts just as much.  if i have a stack of demos, i’m going to be more inclined to listen to the one that put time and effort into packaging vs. a sharpie-labeled cd-r thrown into a slipcase with a business card.  it just makes sense.  i know money’s tight, so if you can’t afford to pay someone to design a album cover/layout, get one of your graphic designer friends to do it for free, (or at least at a discount).  if you don’t have any friends who are graphic designers, then you’re probably not the kind of person who’s a good enough musician to be submitting a demo in the first place…

which would you rather listen to?...

DO NOT list your influences in your press kit.  everyone listened to the beatles. they influenced everybody. nobody cares if you consider them, led zeppelin, or jimi hendrix an influence. nobody.

DO be creative! i got one demo that included a very professional looking comic book complete with characters and marketing strategies.  needless to say i checked them out.  their music ended up sucking, but at least they got me to listen…

if only they could write music as well as they could make comics...

DO include a CD.  this sounds stupid, but i’ve gotten a couple of “demos” that are just a press kit with a link to the group’s myspace.  i don’t think so…

DO NOT include more than one CD.  just the other day i opened a package with EIGHT CDs. EIGHT!  what the fuck am i supposed to do with eight CDs?  since i couldn’t decide between any of them, i chose none, and they went unlistened.  the CDs (obviously) spanned this particular  artists entire career and had post-it notes on each of them indicating the year they were (self-)released.  they went all the way back to 1998.  why should anyone give a fuck what kind of music you were making eleven years ago? if you honestly think something from the previous millennium represents your best work, you haven’t grown as an artist and you’re not worth considering.  nobody cares about 1998.  in this (or any business) it’s about 2009 and beyond…

it's supposed to be a demo, not a discography. these were all sent in the same package from the same artist...

sending a folder or binder or other documents is fine, but make sure you DO include all important information (myspace, website, contact info) within the CD’s actual package.  a flashy binder can look cool and might actually get you listened to (that’s the first step anyway), but since space in any office is usually valuable real estate, more often than not they’ll get the once over and then be tossed.  make sure whoever is reviewing your demo has everything he or she needs in the CD package (liner notes or on a cardboard slip) in case they want to look up more information.  nobody’s going digging through garbage.

DO know the label you’re submitting to! i can’t even begin to tell you how many rap or metal acts we get submitted to us.  if you’re an aspiring MC, you don’t want to be represented by the same people who handle my morning jacket and white rabbits. it doesn’t make sense.  even if (and that’s a big “if”) we liked what we heard, and even if (even bigger “if”) we wanted to sign you, we wouldn’t even be qualified to do so.  those genres aren’t niche, but they are a different breed and have different requirements and considerations than do rock bands.

DO NOT expect to be signed or even contacted simply from having a great demo.  your demo could be the next “sgt. peppers” (it’s not) and it still wouldn’t be enough.  if i or the other interns hear a demo we like, is our first step to call the artist or their representation requesting a face-to-face meeting? of course not.  we go to their myspace (or website if they have one. most artists don’t).  which leads me to my next point…

DO have a good looking myspace! i hate myspace.  as someone who’s job it is to maintain a myspace page, i think it’s ugly, outdated, and frustrating.  that doesn’t change the fact that it’s still (right now at least) the best way for someone who is interested in a band to learn more.  all myspaces are NOT created equally.  make yours look professional.  in addition to appearance, i look not necessarily for number of friends (although i suppose that’s somewhat important) but at your show dates. which leads me again to my next point…

DO play shows! play them as often as you can in as many different places as you can.  residencies are fine, but it’s more impressive to see someone tour to different cities and states.  if i see that an artist is touring, it shows to me that A) they’re good/organized enough to get booked at a variety of gigs and B) that they’re dedicated to their craft

after taking all of the above into account, the most important aspect of processing a demo is making sure it’s good music.  andy, the other intern, and i estimated probably one in twenty demos makes it to our coveted “Not-So-Terrible Demos” box.  of these, for only one have i actually gone out of my way to have other people in the office listen to it.  three songs into the listen, someone blurted out “turn this shit off!” and that was the end of that.

the ever elusive "not-so-terrible" demos box...

my final point is this: DO record a demo!  if you’ve read this far and you’re an artist, you may be asking yourself, “why should i even waste my time and money on recording a demo if it’s not going to do any good?”  the answer is, quite simply, because you have to.  the state of the music industry is this: the record is increasingly becoming a promotional tool to support the artists’ other revenue sources, (mainly live shows, but also merchandising, licensing, etc.).  in this, the artist has the advantage, not the record label.  your demo, or EP, or album, or whatever, is the best way for someone to hear about what you do or share what you do with other people.  if someone tells me about an artist to check out, (and i’m actually inclined to do so), the first thing i do is check out their myspace and (you guessed it) listen to their music. because at the end of the day, it’s all about the music…

hopefully that provided some perspective.  if you’re an artist, don’t be discouraged if you’ve submitted a demo to a hundred labels and have not heard back.  since i have started my internship, we have not contacted a single artist who has submitted a demo, and i don’t suspect we ever will.  a demo is just that, a demonstration.  it’s what someone asks for who already knows who the artist is or has already seen the artist live and wants to learn more, not the other way around.

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totally random addition.  someone at our label got sent this as a promotional item – it’s a motorized “car” that drives across the surface of a vinyl record at the regular 33 1/3 rpm.  the car has a needle attached to the bottom and plays through a speaker on top.  the sound is shit, but it’s pretty cool nonetheless. here’s a pic…

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final thoughts:

i had my first nyc taxi experience the other day. sadly, it was not the cash cab.

i have been here for a month-and-a-half and have yet to see a celebrity (outside of a place i would expect to see them, i.e. a concert). for this reason, i envy my friends in LA.

italian herbs & cheese is by far the most superior of the breads offered at subway (the restaurant, not public transportation system)

that’s it. i’ll try to do better next time. stay tuned for sportscenter. goodnight canada…

i’ll start with some pictures on and of the roosevelt island tramway…

shot of the tram on the manhattan side. queensboro bridge in the background...

shot of second avenue from on the tram, looking uptown...

shot of first avenue from the tram, looking uptown...

over the east river. manhattan on the left, roosevelt island on the right...

home...

statue of gandhi in union square park. he always was my favorite character in "clone high"...

manhattan from brooklyn...

every sunday, they play dodgeball on the riverfront in williamsburg, brooklyn...

grand central station...

i guess they keep this here year round. if you ever think you've gone back in time, just head over to times square. that way, you can avoid that always awkward "what year is it?" question...

they show musicals here. who knew?...

om nom...

never in my life have i seen a crowd surfing sousaphone player. never that is, until now. this was during simian mobile disco's dj set earlier today. note the wacky waving inflatable arm-flailing tubeman in the background...

this next one i made with this free software that came with my camera called “panorama maker.”  basically i stood in one spot, took a bunch of pictures and this program did the rest.  i know it looks a little fucked up and out of focus just to the left of the sailboat (the shoreline isn’t even consistent), but i thought it looked cool enough to put up here. also, i know it’s small. can’t really make it any bigger on here or it runs way off the edges, thereby negating the whole point of a panorama..

turns out the best way to see manhattan isn't from manhattan at all. this is taken from liberty state park in new jersey...

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no final thoughts this time. i promise my next post will be more interesting.

kecskemety. out…

the festival is in liberty state park, a great location for a festival, but it’s a bit small as they only have room for three stages.  there’s a great view of the city and the statue of liberty.  you actually have to take a ferry to get there from manhattan, (which wasn’t free. 20 bucks, in fact, for a round trip). between sets i wandered the muddy festival grounds (it had rained all day friday).  there were some pretty cool art exhibitions and of course, you can never go wrong with fair food.

Lady Liberty got back...

i got to see four bands: akron/family, mogwai, the black keys, and coldplay.  i had never seen the first two but they definitely rocked.  akron/family just looks like they have a lot of fun on the stage, and mogwai did a great job setting the mood with their ambient noise rock.

Akron/Family's wind section rocking out...

the black keys were the third band i caught.  i saw them with andy last year at lollapalooza and we agreed then that they were definitely a highlight of the weekend.  in the one year since that performance, they have grown even more in popularity and drew a larger, more energetic crowd.  it’s amazing that they can get all that sound out of only one guitarist and a drummer.  i debated leaving their set early to get over to coldplay, but they were just too good.

Akron, Ohio's finest...

immediately after the final chords of the keys’ closing song “i got mine,” i hurriedly waded through a quarter-mile of ankle-deep mud as “life in technicolor” softly rose over the hills from the south end of the field.  i situated myself by the time chris martin was singing through the first verse of “violet hill.”  coldplay has always been one of those bands that i’ve been intrigued to see live, but would never justify spending money to see.  that’s why this situation was perfect – i could enjoy their set without lamenting over the $50+ it would have taken to see them under normal circumstances.

after that night, i am absolutely sold on coldplay as a live band.  as a band some might describe as critic-proof, (meaning that they could release garbage and people would still buy it, [see nickleback]), they could probably get away with phoning in live performances, but they didn’t.  i got the sense that the band truly believes in the quality and power of his band’s music.  not once was i bored or did i think, “okay, when are they getting to the next song.”  as much as i love live music, i feel this way sometimes at concerts, (i think everyone does).  the crowd was really into it as well.  martin instructed the crowd that it was “cool to sing along, even you got dragged here by your girlfriend”…

the setting also helped to enhance the experience.  behind me was a gorgeous view of the manhattan skyline at night, to my left was the statue of liberty, and in front of me was the not-surprisingly intricate stageshow.  it even made me forget, (for a time), that i was standing in a pool of mud.  chris martin noted aloud that it was the “smelliest concert we’ve ever played.”

a few songs into their set, martin walked to the side of the stage to a different piano than the one he had been using and said, “this song is for absent friends.”  he then broke out into a solo piano rendition of the beastie boys classic “(you gotta) fight for your right (to party!)”  a pretty classy move, i thought, to honor the group that couldn’t be there. i debated getting a video of it,  but i reasoned that someone else in the crowd would get a better one and post it to youtube. i was right. you can watch it here.

later during the show, the band disappeared from the stage, only to reappear on an annex stage maybe 60 yards from the stage.  this was much closer to where i was standing so i got a better view.  there they played three unplugged (okay, not really, but acoustic is more like it) songs including a cover of “billie jean.”  other highlights of the set included “yellow,” (i never really liked this song before), “fix you,” and “lovers in japan.”  all in all, a great show, and i wouldn’t be surprised if i end up seeing them again as a result.

all points west was fun, but with only three stages, it’s hard to get that many bands in.  in total, 57 artists played (actually less because they opened doors late on sunday because of the weather and had to cancel some sets). lollapalooza, by comparison has eight stages and 143 artists (according to a quick count i did on their website).  apw is also more expensive, a three-day pass will run you $239 vs. $205 for lollapalooza (assuming you waited to the last minute in each instance).  but i suppose everything’s more expensive in new york, so why should music festivals be any different?  this is only apw’s second incarnation, and they show signs of being a strong festival for years to come, but they have a lot of work to do if they want to be in the major leagues with lollapalooza, bonnaroo and coachella…

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final thoughts:

remember my laundry fiasco that i wrote about last week? well i finally got to do it today. it took me five loads. i wish i were joking.

you can find good $5 lunches in nyc. you just have to look.

i won $2 on a “loose change” scratch off lottery ticket yesterday.

i’m done. live like a champion today…

there are a few guidelines i follow when making my mix of the month. (don’t worry, i won’t repeat these again).  they’re kind of tedious and if you don’t care, just skip to the next paragraph.  the rules are as follows:  the mix is titled with the preceding month since it was during that month that i listened to the music.  each song doesn’t necessarily need to be new, (or even from this millennium), it only has to be something to which i listened or tied a specific memory in the last month.  the playlists are always in alphabetical order by artist, (then by album title, then by track number), as i’m not  concerned with flow and order.  the playlist must fit onto a standard (80 minute) cd, since the point is to burn them and keep an archive.  no more than three songs per artist per playlist.  if i saw an artist live, (that i was actually intending to see), they get included in the playlist, (preferably with a song they performed at that gig).  the last rule, (one that i might begin to break), is that no song that’s been on a previous playlist can be put on a playlist again.

okay, that’s it. so without further ado, here is BK’s Playlist of the Month for July 2009…

1) “Rhymin & Stealin” – The Beastie Boys

the opening track to their debut album “license to ill.”  this song (and its led zeppelin sampled drums) perfectly sets the stage for what their career was to become.  were the beasties something to be taken seriously, or were they just three kids from new  york goofing around and having a good time? the answer was yes.  i wrote earlier about how anything by the beastie boys serves as perfect nyc commute music.  since it takes me roughly 40-45 minutes to get to work, i can usually knock out a whole album before breakfast.  many times it’s been by “the three bad brothers you know so well”…

2) “Definition” – Black Star

black star, as their album title suggests, is a collaboration between mos def and talib kweli.  before i left athens, my roommate craig burned me a hip-hop mix.  this song set the mix off like none other.  often times when A-list rappers come together, egos get in the way and you get the sense that MCs are just trying to outdo each other.  not the case here.  mos def and kweli are if full form, effortlessly spitting poetry, justifying their claim as the “best alliance in hip-hop.”  the song itself is a quasi-lamentation of the abundance of violence in hip-hop culture, a welcome respite from a genre accustomed to the glorification of thug life.

3) “Falling Hard” – The Crystal Method f/t Meiko

i’ve long been a fan of the crystal method.  their 1997 album “vegas” was groundbreaking in the realm of electronic music and proved to the world that it isn’t just europeans who are good at this stuff.  in may they dropped their new album “divided by night.”  the whole album is fantastic, but “falling hard,” the album’s closer, truly arrested my attention.  the track is much slower and chilled out than its album-mates, and features singer-songwriter meiko lending beautiful and haunting vocals.  her emotions of celebrated vulnerability come through crystal clear.  this is the perfect nightcap song for when you come home late at night and everyone else is already asleep.  i strongly recommend you check out this track if you’re unfamiliar.

4) “Combination Pizza Hut and Taco Bell (Wallpaper Remix)” – Das Racist

ridiculous? maybe. awesome? yes. the song goofily narrates two guys trying to meet up at the title restaurant and having trouble doing so.  you might want to hate this song, but it’s impossible.  i defy anyone to listen to this and tell me it didn’t at least put a smile on their face.  this track lives at the intersection of silly and quality.

an actual combination pizza hut and taco bell. this one's on 14th street. (the one in the song is on jamaica ave)...

...and the spread within...

5) “When My Time Comes” – Dawes

this is the first of the ATO artists i feature in the playlist.  i saw them live three times in a five day span, (one of which i blogged about here).  the record doesn’t capture all the energy they have when playing live, but it’s still pretty good.

6) “Treat Me Like Your Mother” – The Dead Weather

a few weeks ago i wrote about going to the third man record store.  this is the 7″ i picked up (b/w a cover of van morrison’s “you just can’t win”).  i’m not sure how i feel about the whole dead weather album just yet, but the song rocks.  alison mosshart (originally of the kills fame) kills it on the vocals (no pun intended).  the video is pretty sick too.

7) “Run This Town” – Jay-Z f/t Rihanna, Kanye West

in 2004, jay-z dropped “the black album” and announced that he would be retiring from the rap game.  i’m not sure if anyone actually believed him, (hindsight is always 20-20), but if he keeps coming out with stuff like this everyone will be glad he’s still around.  this is the first single off his upcoming album The Blueprint3 (to be released on 9/11, the eight-year anniversary of this).  rihanna does her thing on the chorus, and kanye is back in full-form on his verse.

8 ) “Knock You Down” – Keri Hilson f/t Ne-Yo, Kanye West

guilty pleasure? yes. pop record of the summer? also yes. to tell you the truth, i really have no idea why i like this song. it does so many things wrong. it’s too long (clocks in at 5:26), the chorus isn’t even terribly catchy, it’s overplayed, and keri hilson is completely overshadowed by her (more talented) guest artists.  nevertheless, i like it.  kanye’s verse is probably this record’s saving grace, and as this is my playlist’s second song featuring him on a verse, he’s proven (at least to me) that he’s over his “808s and heartbreak” phase and ready to be yeezy again.

9) “Summer Madness” – Kool & The Gang

the first song on the playlist to not be released in this decade. as its title suggests, “summer madness” is the perfect summer jam.  the bass line is seductive and the synths are smooth.  the record (clocking in at 4:15) is the exact length it takes to ride the tram across from roosevelt island to manhattan.  this is the perfect song to listen to while looking at downtown from 250 feet in the air on a hot july day.

10) “Return of the Mack” – Mark Morrison

steve turned me on to this song.  i had never heard of mark morrison, but this is a pretty seductive jam with a tight groove.  this playlist needed some r&b flavor.

11) “Thank You, Lord, For Sending Me the F Train” – Mike Doughty

another ATO artist.  this is off his project “Busking” (which i strangely enough can’t find any information about online).  he set up recording gear in the tunnel between the 3 and the F train at 14th street and recorded 12 of his tunes, complete with passing trains, pedestrians, and the clinking of coins into his guitar case.  the project is especially of interest to me since i use that tunnel quite a bit and the F train is the only train that stops at roosevelt island.  the song itself is only so-so, but in this case it’s about more than the song.  there’s no link to hear this, but you can hear some of doughty’s other stuff here.

12) “Juicy” – The Notorious B.I.G.

even 12 years after his death, biggie is still king.  this song still gets a ton of radio play in nyc, (during which they eerily silence out the line “time to get paid/blow up like the world trade”).  as far as hip-hop goes, he really is the city’s favorite son.  there was even a group of indian girls who burst out into this song on a tram ride late at night.  i’ve been listening to his debut album “ready to die” quite a bit lately, and this is definitely a standout track.  it sounds great even without sampling elton john’s “tiny dancer.”

13) “1901″ – Phoenix

this is such a feel good song. i don’t think it’s possible to be in a bad mood while listening. the whole album is pretty solid, but this single stands above the rest.  since this is probably the closest thing this summer will get to a response to last summer’s “Kids” by MGMT, i had to include it.

14) “Remember Me” – T.I. f/t Mary J. Blige

this single was released not long ago, just after t.i. was locked up for that gun charge.  mary j. blige absolutely kills it on the chorus.  rap is all about self-aggrandizement and reminding people that you’re on top of your game.  it must be unsettling (dare i say scary) for someone in his prime like T.I. to have to step away from the game for a while.  if he keeps dropping jams like “remember me,” we’ll have no trouble doing so… *note:* you need to be signed into Yahoo for the link to work

15) “Hello Operator” – The White Stripes

i was in a bar in the east village and this song came on sort of unexpectedly.  i had kind of forgotten about this song, but it rocks just as much as anything the white stripes have ever done.

16) “My Doorbell” – The White Stripes

this is the third song on the playlist to feature jack white, but for good reason.  at work i had created a pandora station starting with a wilco song and this came up.  also a stripes song i hadn’t heard in a long time.  jack white is at his best when he is singing about childhood, romance, or both, like he does here.  a great song off an otherwise forgettable album…

17) “You And I” – Wilco f/t Feist

i’ve written a ton about this song already on this blog so i won’t say much more.  since i saw them live i had to include it, (but i would have anyway).  you can watch their live performance of it at coney island here.

18) “Love You To” – Yim Yames

the final ATO artist (and final song) of the playlist.  yim yames is the solo stage moniker of my morning jacket’s frontman, jim james.  on august 4th, he is releasing an ep titled “tribute to,” which is a tribute to the late great george harrison.  james’s vocals are full of reverb and are especially haunting, as if harrison is using james as a medium to reach us.  the whole ep is great, but “love you to” was one of my favorite tracks off of “revlolver” so it makes the playlist.

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phew… ok. if you got through all that, congratulations. if not, i understand. normally i’d put some final thoughts up here, but since this is already my longest post by a great margin, i’ll save them for another time.

be fit, but don’t know it…