Once every three months I list the best of what I heard in albums/songs/remixes for the quarter. I do this to personally keep up with all the awesome music I hear, as it ultimately helps me at the end of the year when I do my overall listing for the previous twelve months. I also do it to introduce you cool cats to tunes you may have missed independently.
Today I conclude my series of posts showcasing my picks for the best tracks of 2009. And it only took half a year!
10. Grizzly Bear – Two Weeks
It sounds like nothing they’ve ever done before, so cheerful, so upbeat, so….piano pop. But it works just the same. It still feels like Grizzly Bear – the lush production, the layered harmonics. And the lightbulb-head music video is a fun watch as well.
Today I continue my ongoing feature showcasing my personal picks for the best songs of the past decade, posting ten songs at a time.
210. The Go! Team – Universal Speech
Cheerleader chanting, party-inducing raps, and cheeky melodies made the Go! Team an indie rock sensation right around the time I entered college in 2005. This rarely-referenced album track from the sophomore effort Proof of Youth is one of my personal favorites. I’m pretty sure it’s that infectious drum beat at the beginning and the way it glides along with that piano line. It’s a surefire way to get sampled in hip-hop in the future, that’s for sure.
Today I continue my ten-part series showcasing my personal picks for the best songs of last year.
40. Phoenix – Lisztomania
It’s been a long time coming, but thanks to Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix, the French quartet are now a festival circuit band and one of the biggest groups in the world. Their jazz-fused, stream-of-consciousness take on upbeat pop is clearly expressed through this track, featuring an unconventional chorus that, like so many things Phoenix, works perfectly, even if it’s a bit outside the boundaries of what we normally hear on CHR.
Today I continue my ten-part series showcasing my personal picks for the best songs of last year.
80. Nickel Eye – Brandy of the Damned
Seems like all last year, the Strokes were running around doing all kinds of different things unrelated to their core band. Julian and Albert pursued solo projects, while Fabrizio started Little Joy. The only one that sat around and counted money was Nick Valensi. Bassist Nikolai Fraiture started the Nickel Eye project, churning out a debut album in January of 2009. While I was mostly underwhelmed with the majority of the disc, “Brandy of the Damned” is the ultra-repetitive, ultra-catchy standout.
Today I begin a new feature at Culture Greyhound. Once every three months I will be listing the best of what I heard in albums/songs/remixes for the quarter. I do this to personally keep up with all the awesome music I hear, as it ultimately helps me at the end of the year when I do my overall listing for the previous twelve months. I also do it to introduce you cool cats to tunes you may have missed independently.
Yes, indeed. Spring is upon us, and with it comes spring break, usually the best week of the entire year. This year, for me, will be spent the same way I have spent every spring break for the past three years – at SXSW. Posting on the blog will probably be a little spotty, so in lieu of that, I have compiled a small compilation of mostly new, mostly upbeat tracks to get you into the best season of the year. Here’s to Spring Break 2010: may yours be as awesome as mine will be.
http://www.mediafire.com/?nwiilymz1wo
Tracklist after the jump.
