A blinding light more powerfull than 100 suns

Guess what? I'm back with more music. First off, I am back in Marin for the break where I came to the conclusion that Star Wars is really really cool. Cooler than pogs, pokemon, or magic cards. I figured this one out when I met Aaron (with a little help from Caitlin) and he burnt me a copy of DJ Z-Trip's Uneasy Listening after we played with his AT-AT. Once a gave the album a few spins it finally all made sense: Inside of every DJ/button pusher/knob turner there is a little kid who grew up playing with Ackbar and Dewbac action figures. Hip-hop is to Star Wars as Rap is to Scarface. Here are a few tracks to drive my point into your dome:
No Title - DJ Z-Trip
Axe Handlers Featuring Beyonder - 7L & Esoteric
Lurkers At the Threshold Featuring Truth Elemental - 7L & Esoteric
Star Wars - NaS

The Z-Trip album is really neat and am a little upset I didn't know about it earlier. I wont post the whole thing but here are two of my favorite tracks:
Only 1000 Copies - DJ Z-Trip
Not Our Standard Hip-Hop - DJ Z-Trip

I also got Rio Baile Funk - More Favela Booty Beats for my commute down to Santa Cruz after listening to Diplo's Baile stuff on Piracy Funds Terrorism and it is filled with earwigs. check these out:
Vascão 2000 - Dennis DJ
Jiu Jitsu - Isaac DJ
Dedinho Pro Alto - DJ Disconhecido
Calita - Roque Bolado

That's it for now. Enjoy.

Blood, boils and locusts Oh my!

It should be no secret that I am a huge fan of the apocalypse and of disease, due almost entirely to zombies and 28 Days Later. For this reason, I was super psyched when I saw that there's a new movie coming out where the 10 Biblical plagues actually happen. Omg. I know, right? (and bonus: science vs. religion=maaajor theme!) It looks even better than the "sequel" to 28 Days Later, which in my opinion has too many explosions and not enough flesh devouring. Soooo. Number one. I'm psyched on this new apocalyptic movie. Number two, it gives me an excuse to bring up the compilation CD "Plague Songs", which consists of one song for each of the 10 Biblical plagues from artists like Brian Eno, Imogen Heap and Rufus Wainright. It's pretty fun, especially if you're a little bit creepy and find the apocalypse fascinating.

The Reaping comes out April 4th. You know I'll be there. Dressed up like the grim reaper. mmmmm babyyy


Tracks:
Klashnekoff - Blood (highly recommended)
Stephin Merritt (of The Magnetic Fields) - The Meaning of Lice
King Creosote - Relate the Tale


In my opinion, zombies should be the 11th plague. Cuz that'd just be fun.

Dear faithful readers,

Dean and I offish started Spring Break on Thursday. We've been lazy neglectant bloggers since then. Don't give up hope, we will bring you mpluv in the near future.
Loves,
Caitlin & Deaner

Bunny Sex

Yacht is really, really cool. Not only is he the second half the awesome super rockstar group THE BLOW but he also walks around throwing down super chronlandic remixes of Architecture in Helsinki, Mirah, and even remixes of his own songs. He just released his new album "Our Friends In Hell" on State Rights Records and is going on tour with Architecture in June. Oh wait, he also has his own blog, so check out these tracks:
See A Penny (Premix) - Yacht
Do the Whirlwind (Yacht Remix) - Architecture in Helsinki

Also, Daniel sent me a few remixes from the Yay a couple of weeks ago and I never got around to posting them til now. DJ B. Cause is up in San Francisco working hard on producing SUPER DISCO HYPHY. If you are from the planet of the apes (home of the grapes) I think you might just get a laugh out of these tracks.
Hyphy (Disco Remix) - Federation
Getting Hot (Disco Remix) - The Team

Dogs like to eat things, cats, chickens.

While Dean is busy fucking the shit out of bears, here are some pictures of dogs with cats in their mouths. I really like them. It's like when you see something soops cute and you say "That ______ is so cute I just want to eat it up!" except taken to the field of for literallies (fer lits, if you will).






And for good measure...


And because this is a music blog and because a thousand mp3-hungry citizens will hate me if I don't do this, here's some obscure songs that are way good (and one's even relevant!)

The Airborne Toxic Event // Wishing Well
The Lovekins // Private Life of a Cat

PS: Yes, I stole some of those pictures from Cute Overload. Duh.

New Gameboy/Gamegirl

It should be known that I am starting to LOVE this band. They're funky, fun and a little wild. If you didn't download "Sweaty Wet/Dirty Damp" the first time, you're missing out on the best call back obsession of the year. Anyways, they've released their SECOND song. I know, it's dissappointing getting obsessed with someone so new, but it's also really fun. "Fruit Salad" won't leave you dissappointed, promise.

Gameboy/Gamegirl // Sweaty Wet/Dirty Damp
Gameboy/Gamegirl // Fruit Salad (Healthy Boys Delight)


Also in gameboy-inspired music, check out Crystal Castles who are just as good, with more Nintendo and more thrash.

Crystal Castles // Air War
Crystal Castles // Love & Caring

Happy St. Hamburger Patties

The Snodgrass and I are not big fans of today's boring-unless-you're-in-elementary-school-and-like-leprechauns and shitty-excuse-to-get-drunk-because-you-should-do-it-anyways holiday, but I am a fan of holiday socks. I will therefore, in a very rational conclusion, post a couple of holladaze vids to make the day a little more fun without wearing green, faking an Irish accent, or drinking copious amounts of beer.





"I won't kill you fucking softly, I will kill you like a ham"

New to me and old to you, Weekly Obsessions round 2.2

Lately, I have been way into a few sweet lovers, namely Mirah (2nd cutest girl on K Records), Final Fantasy (incredibly incredible stringed indie music that "oh my god are they really gonna team up with Beirut and send me into musical heaven??!"), and a few Sub Pop singles which belong to a collection that is exceptionally amazing. Also, if you're into new to you and not new to me: Mancino, who use cute Islands-esque whistles as their song opens up but don't shy away from using that scary ah-ah-ah sound that Animal Collective brought to us on Feels. Also, Mother Mother, who are kind of cute thanks to their girl-boy vocalists who sing about under the sea. The guy sounds like Of Montreal's Kevin Barns and the girl sounds like a mix between Joanna Newsom and Regina Spektor. Also known as really quirky nice. This song is much recomended.

Mirah // Person Person
Final Fantasy // This is the Dream of Win and Regine
Mountain Goats // Store
Mountain Goats // Jam Eater Blues
Bonnie "Prince" Billy // Let's Start a Family
Mother Mother // Polynesia
Mancino // L'amour (or Less)

I'd Dock Me

SO... Word on the street (according to Bryn) is that Zach Condon from Beirut will be helping out on the next Final fantasy album. I don't know about you but I honestly can't think of anything better ever. It totally tops the The Microphones "Don't Wake Me Up" poster I got the other day. It also tops the brand new Jeffery Brown comic I found at Atlantis Fantasyworld. Now I am just super pumped up on life. Anyways, with this news of super awesome music madness I figured you would like some tracks as well. Here is the new Beirut EP that I picked up a few weeks ago. I don't know how I feel about it just yet but the tracks were written before his full length so that might be a little bear trap in the road. Enjoy:

Fountains and Trainways - Beirut
Napoleon on the Bellerophon - Beirut

Bear on Bunny

There are a couple things which I'm thrilled to find to be totally in style right now, namely cuteness and awkwardness. It's possible that this is simply due to the nerdies growing up and finding that they still like what always made them nerdy. It could be that I only think these things are in style because I think they're really cool and because nerdiness is the key ingredient to cool for me. Thing is, I'm pretty sure maintstream humor has embraced the awkward, and mainstream style has embraced the cute and fuzzy. Well, now it's time for another band to cash in on this super cool wave of style (minus the technique): a little big band called The Awkward Stage. Let me just say that I have been trying to like this band since I saw their band name, their album name (Heaven is for Easy Girls), song names (including T-Rexia Nervosa and I Love You, Hipster Darling), and even their super awesome album artwork which features a collection of awkward pictures taken for a pretend awkward prom, complete with head gear and cute girl with large ears. The album on a whole leaves the ladies wanting, but that's not to say there aren't a few catchy cute gems.

track. Heaven is For Easy Girls
track. We're Going For a Ride
space. dock.

PS: Did you know that I have a penchant for surprises? Probs not. And you've probs been missing half the fun in some lucky older posts (boomshakalakah + Helen Keller = prime examples)

It's Hardly Yugoslavia at All

So, when I heard that Cocorosie was playing in Santa Cruz, I thought that it just might be a show to look into. Yesterday I went down to Streetlight to see how much tickets would be and thats when the tsunami of pure awesomeness hit me. Cocorosie is not only playing at the Rio (where I saw Joanna Newsom last year) but Busdriver is opening for them. I cant think of a more random/brilliant line up to play at the old Fox Theatre (I think it is a Fox Theatre). To top it all off, tickets were only 15 bucks. This means if you are neat, living in the Santa Cruz area, and have 15 dollars there is no way you can pass off this show. They are playing on April 30th and tickets are still around at Streetlight so check it out AND check this super neat song out:
Ohio - Cocorosie

In other news I was at Peter's surprise birthday party at 1019 (pictures coming soon) and everyone went apeshit over Flosstradamus. Supply and demand:
Act a Fool - Flosstradamus
Girlie Rock - Flosstradamus

At Your Grandma's Church I Held a Baby

(click to see full size)

The other day on the bus I saw my friend Izaak and his friend Chris with a sack of vinyl. Anyways, we got to talking about how I was going down to metamusic to by "The Glow Pt. 2" by the Microphones. Then, out of nowhere, Chris pulls out Mount Eerie's "Live in Copenhagen" 3 LP vinyl only release (I am pretty sure). So I bought it from him for 15 bucks and thats the only thing I have been listening to the past two days. I was able to Torrent the album this morning so I can share a slice of the goodness.
Solar System - Mount Eerie

p.s. Austin: click here.

The Humpty Dance is Your Chance to do the HUMP

This weekend was super neat. My friends Dyll and Cass Hersey from the Death Lair had a rockstar party on Saturday. I went as David Bowie (with a "I fucked Mick Jagger" I made that day), there was a Axel Rose, Cyndi Lauper, and everyone else was Bon Jovi. Hands down the best dance party of the year, it even topped Aaron Carter's party. So, as a follow up to a awesome dance party, I will post some awesome dance music that I have been listening to when I take the bus to work.


Girl Talk has two new tracks out off of his EP Bone Hard Zaggin'. Sounds much more like Unstoppable than Night Ripper. I think his older stuff has really grown on me so it is nice to hear more new songs like these:
Pure Magic - Girl Talk
LC and Lo - Girl Talk


I downloaded Hollertronix Never Scared a few months ago after doing some heavy listening to Diplo's M.I.A. remixes (i.e. Lady Killer). I just recently started to listen to this album, mostly on the bus, waiting at the bus stop, or walking to the bus and it has a few earwigs. Check out these two tracks:
Fall Back - Hollertronix
Thick Jawns - Hollertronix

Flosstradamus... Enough said. Anyone who can mix Twister with Sigur Ros doesn't need a description, their music speaks for itself.
Overnight Star - Flosstradamus

In other news Sheena is playing tonight at the Attic. I might/might not be there tonight but if you get a chance, you should check them out. Their live shows are super fun and it is a benefit show for some dog.

Monday night at The Porter Soundbox!

So this band, Skyscraper Frontier has a song called "I Just Need You" that is so so fantastically smooth and catchy that Jason & I couldn't be stopped from playing it every single week, even despite our dedication to playing fresh new things. It's spacey lounge for the lovers with David-Bowie-like vocals. Sooooo smooth and soooo groovy. It makes me want to be seduced on the set of CQ because it's just that smooth!

track. I Just Need You

Well thank (the music) God, tomorrow night (9pm) they'll be at the Porter Soundbox w/ Buckeye Knoll (locals) and King City Speed Trap. The Sound Box is downstairs from the Hungry Slug next to the dining hall patio and the show is totes free, which basically means that you have no excuse not to go.

In case you forgot,

Once upon a time, probably in the lost days of Danse Manatee, I wrote about this little band called Land of Talk, a group consisting of 2 boys who know how to please us indie-rock lovers and one girl who has a pretty and catchy voice with just enough roughness to tone down her inevitable feminine sweetness. I kind of forgot about the band, who only have one CD out (but one fantastic CD) until yesterday when I found their CD, Applause, Cheer, Boo, Hiss among the many stacks of new music at the station, causing me to be kind of re-excited about this band.

track.Speak to Me Bones
track.All My Friends
space.

----

Elsewhere in music I already covered but suddenly remembered how fantastic they are and am surprised that they still are not soops popular:
The Coral Sea is a band I saw play last summer in a tiny record store in the late afternoon, with sunlight creeping on our toasty skin as we all sat cross-legged around these lovers. They play lush pop music complete with incredible violins and cellos. The songs are perfectly constructed but so so beautiful and rich in sound. They'll make you feel as if you're sitting in front of one of those giant aquariums, minus the fish and minus any grime. Pure blue. They feel like pure blue oceans and blue skies except that it's refreshing and invigorating instead of overly ambient and dreamy. Anyways, news is that they recently got their song played on Grey's Anatomy! I'm overly joyed for them because I think their songs are so well done that they deserve some mainstream publicity. Anyways, take a listen and feel so so pretty.

track.Look at Her Face
track.Yesterday/Tomorrow
space.

I did gone steal you!

Back in high school I came up with this plan to kidnap some kid. Me and some friends would follow a small little freshman home in our car (like an old Buick or white van) and the second he suspects that someone is following him we would of pulled up and pulled him into the car. I think a black pillow case would do the job but we would all be wearing pantyhose and ski-masks just for fun. We would drive around for about 2 hours yelling at the kid and blasting music as loud as the stereo could pump. Then we would stop and drag him out of the car and when we take off his mask we would be at a Jamba Juice. As he is perplexed we would explain to him that we were trying to become better friends with the underclassmen at our school and buy him a Jamba juice. BUT after he orders we make him get a Fem. boost in his smoothie. Here is a mix of the music I would play if that were to go down:

1. "March of the Ciccone Robots" - Ciccone Youth
2. "Come With Us" - The Chemical Brothers
3. "Samurai Sword" - The Microphones
4. "Dead Bodies" - AIR
5. "Method Man" - Wu-Tang Clan
6. "Human After All (Justice Remix)" - Justice
7. "Hate Song" - Daniel Johnston
8. "Pipeline/Killtime" - Sonic Youth
9. "He Destroyed Her Image" - Charles Dodge

Weekly obsessions, round II

You know how it goes. Fantastic songs that I've recently fallen in love with. All worthy of a mix cd, all worthy of your love.



1. Gameboy/Gamegirl // Sweaty Wet/Dirty Damp
(dance) Ugh so funky, so good. The heavy electro bass is sure to get your body moving and the rapping in this song is so Fanny Pack that it's just super super cool. This is the 2007 answer to Fanny Pack's awesomeness, which I want to exploit the crap out of because they deserve some fame fame but I can't because, like, who talks about bands from the nineties anymore??? J/k you luvs it. You so do. And backtrack that Fanny Pack cuz its soooo soo fun.

2. Miami Horror // Don't Be On With Her
(dance) Funky beats and fatty treats. This song's got some more dancy fun for all you crazy legs out there. It's got a straight taken from Daft Punk transish around the 2min mark, keyboard synth totes stolen from my bestfriend Prince, 808 hand claps, and some SICK guitar shredding. And when I say that they took these parts from these musicians, I mean it in the best possible way. It's all instrumental, but it's sure to keep all you kids dancing, espeshs if youre a fan an 80s fan, which I know you are. Cuz, like, you know. I'm pretty sure we ALL are.

3. Justice // D.A.N.C.E
(dance) Yay for a new Justice song. A new Justice song that was smart enough to top it off with some cuteness. (I talked to their representatives and it turns out the main reason for this is to make it to LRMD fame. They're clever.) First off, the vocals have a child-like quality, which combined with the spelling out of words as in "stick to the B-E-A-T" plus "easy as A-B-C" makes for some fairly cute touches added to an otherwise perfectly produced dancy song complete with bloops and sharp strings. This song is a must.

4. The Brobecks // Jacqui
(indie rock) Ugh. Simply wonderful indie rock. Perfectly constructed with bridges and balloons. This falls short of cute and settles perfectly into that number one indie rock song that you haven't heard this year.

5. Gruff Rhys // Candylion
(indie rock) Let's just say that this song starts off with "A long time ago, in the kingdom of candy"... There's xylophone for cuteness and strings for pleasantry but there's room for cream. I mean cuteness. There's room for cuteness. Someone smart decided that the lyrics were already so cute that they should leave some cuteness out of the music so that if you were to see a kitten while listening to this song, you wouldn't explode. Cuteness overloads are dangerous sometimes, I should know. Anyways, this song is mainly just very, very pleasant. It's sort of like looking at a pop up book filled with lots of pretty pictures of rolling hills and round anatomically-incorrect animals. It feels good and it's relaxing, but it's not going to bring you to any epiphanies. Never the less, it's made it to "weekly obsessions", so I suggest you do a little clicky clicky and d/l d/l.

6. Antarctica Takes It! // I'm No Lover
(indie rock) Duh you guys. Just duh. Someone tell this band to start making music again because I'm offishs a fan.

Image via one of my favorite peoples evs: L.P.

She could of been cool but she let the system get to her

It's commonly accepted that Neutral Milk Hotel is pretty much amazing but when surfing on OiNK i found something that pushes the limit. The 1991 tape release of Invent Yourself a Shortcake is unbelievably spectacular in every aspect when comparing it to their later releases. I really dont want to talk about it anymore, just listen, so here it is:
1. Digestion Machine
2. Calypso Part One
3. My Dreamgirl Don't Exist
4. Calypso Part Two
5. Chocolate Coffin
6. Sinking Ship
7. Random Noise
8. Jaw Harp
9. A&E Melody
10. Prank Call
11. More Noise
12. Synthetic Flying Machine
13. Charlotte
14. Love You On A Tuesday
15. Spooky Sounds
16. Preacherman
Enjoy

Antarctica Takes It!

What is with cute bands using so many explanation points? I love it, because I love excitement and I love people getting excited. Antarctica Takes It! is another one of those bands thats been sitting in my iTunes, downloaded long long ago on some obscure blog, and waiting for me to give it an honest listen. Well, I finally found out that their song "I'm No Lover" is fantastic despite it's unimpressive length (1:37!). This band is much like Belle & Sebastian in the terms of cuteness/sweetness but they've got significantly less gloom. Aaannnd! It turns out this band is from Santa Cruz! If they weren't currently working on an album I'd be going to to all of their shows and pretending to be a cartoon with little hearts popping out of my ears as I listened. Because it's cute like that, you see.

track. I'm No Lover
track. Antarctica
space. Antarctica Takes It!

P.S.

Did you know that I (Caitlin) am the only one who comments on this fantastic blog? It's true. And I know for a fact that there are at least a few readers. Please comment, it is encouraging and it makes us love you.

Docking Formation

Dear music,
I'm doing my best to love you again, promise. Let's get together tonight for some CSS-style Hot Hot Sex.
Love,
Caitlin.

-----------


You know those bands that are so so fantastic, but only have, like, one album to their name? I usually don't listen to them tons because I am afraid to outwear the music. Case in point: the Go! Team. Fantastic album, but one that doesn't allow itself to be listened to all day everday. Well thank (the music) God for Dean downloading live Go! Team songs. Popular consensus* says that these versions are even more fantastic than the originals. The music is much more understandable for the ears. With all of the studio production stripped away, you're left with songs that shine with raw-beauty. Songs that are much more honest and personable than their wild counterparts. Don't get me wrong, these are definately the same songs, with the same sounds, but with a bit more realness infused into the mixture. And even better, you can understand the lyrics. Certain participants in aforementioned study noticed some or all of these effects:
-boosts of endorphins that feel like rays of sunshine
-contented smiles
-inspirational desire to pick flowers, do homework, look at dinosaurs, and go rollerskating
-tears

1. Huddle Formation
2. Junior Kickstart
3. Bottle Rocket
4. We Just Won't Be Defeated
5. Lady Flash
6. The Ice Storm
7. Huddle Formation (Kevin Shields remix)

Note: It is unacceptable to not download all of these songs, but I am unable to enforce this because I don't know how to zip up sweaters. I mean files.

*Study done by sci-sci-scientists and paleos Dean Snodgrass and Caitlin Hannah in dorm room labs

_-_-_-_

Dear Caitlin,
We miss you. Please come back.
Sincerely yours,
Music

Dromosaur

I have been listening to a lot of Ugly Casanova lately for reasons I can't put my finger on. Remembering way back when to the first semester of senior year Ugly Casanova filled the one percent of air in my bedroom that was not oxygen or nitrogen. Then, while making a mix the other day, I remembered that Jed gave me a copy of Holopaw's "Quit+/Or Fight" about a year ago and I really never gave it a listen. Well after a few listens I now have so much more respect for John Orth. Switching from Ugly Casanova to Holopaw was a complete 180 out of the blue and I still dont know which band I like more. Give it a listen and tell me what you think:

1. Losing Light
2. 3-shy cubs
3. Curious
4. Holiday
5. Velveteen (All is bright.)
6. Clearing
7. Little Shaver
8. Needle in the Sway
9. Found (Quit +/or Fight)
10. Ghosties
11. Shiver Me

Happy Birthday, Caitlin.

Okay, so my birthday's not for another month or two, but I am officially over excited for it. Why, you might ask? Because I'm turning the BIG, all-important 19? Because my parents might send me money and my sister might buy me a Threadless shirt? Nope, nope, all wrong. It's because Voxtrot, also known as one of my favorite indie groups, is going to be playing at The Great American Music Hall on my birthday! And just a few days earlier, they're going to release their first full-length! I'm sure whoever's reading this is already obsessed, but if by any chance these lovelies managed to pass you by, here are a few fantastic songs of theirs:

Track.The Start of Something
Track.Warmest Part of the Winter
Track.Trouble
site.Voxtrot