AWmusic

Sometimes words just can’t fully express the feelings that music brings with it. To be lost in a song to the point that all thoughts, issues, problems and pretty much the entire world around vanish and for those couple of minutes, you are able to experience something magical. If you’re like me, so encapsulated in the love of sound, you can’t listen to just anything that’s thrown at you. There needs to be that search involved with the discovery of something new… The excitement of listening to something and having it hit a spot deep within your heart. There also needs to be that emotion behind the song, (whether or not it’s the same emotion that was felt when the artist produced it) having it spark something inside that makes you feel truly alive.

Although put on a bit of a hiatus, the remix party is back! This time around we’re not focusing on any specific theme or artist, just a collection of 10 remixes of tracks that have found their way into that special place – the blend of emotionally charged feelings I find within myself. Maybe they’ll do the same for you.

Let the music do the talking.

Passion Pit – Sleepyhead (Neon Coyote Remix)
Santigold – Lights Out (Tepr Emo Remix)
Feist – 1234 (My!Gay!Husband! Get Up Kid Edit)
Adele – Hometown Glory (Chewy Chocolate Cookies Remix)
Das Racist – Combination Pizza Hut And Taco Bell (Wallpaper Remix)
Vampire Weekend – The Kids Don’t Stand A Chance (Chromeo Remix)
Peaches – Mommy Complex (Barletta and Ernold Sane Remix)
Estelle feat. Kanye West – American Boy (LAZRtag Remix)
Yeah Yeah Yeahs – Heads Will Roll (John Roman Remix)
M.I.A – Paper Planes (Atomic Hooligan Remix)

In a recent report from Entertainment Weekly, New York’s Vampire Weekend announced they have been hard at work in a Brooklyn recording studio working on their much anticipated sophomore LP. Although there has been no mention of a name or track listing yet, it is reported that they have pretty much completed the writing process and are working on the fine tuning of their studio sound.

This new album, which is set for a September release, will have some familiarity to the 2008 debut that shot them immediately into the spotlight. According to singer Ezra Koenig “It’s definitely going to be a recognizably Vampire Weekend sound, but there are going to be new sounds. We’re trying to challenge ourselves not to use the same bag of tricks that we used on the first album– different instruments, stuff like that.”

As with the debut, Vampire Weekend keyboardist Rostam Batmanglij will be producing this album.

On a side note… Ezra Koenig also stated some musical artists that he’s been following recently. One such artist is Toy Selectah, a DJ they were able to meet up with as they toured his home country of Mexico. “[Toy Selectah] just put out a free mixtape with cumbia and reggaeton mixes that he made of songs by people like Chromeo and Feist,” Koenig raves. “He’s really incredible.”

To download the Toy Selectah ‘Mex More LP’ for free, click here.

Listen to some Vampire Weekend and get a small taste of the ‘Mex More LP’:
Vampire Weekend – M79
Vampire Weekend – Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa
The Outfield – Your Love (Toy Selectah MexMore Remix)
Cafe Tacvba – Volver a Comenzar (Toy Selectah Mex-More Refix)

Numbers 1 through 25:
#1 Ready For The Floor by Hot Chip (myspace/video)
Best dance song of the year? Best song too.
#2 Crimewave – Crystal Castles vs Health (Crystal Castles’ myspace/Health’s Myspace/video)
This version is miles better then the original.
#3 Little Bit by Lykke Li (myspace/live)
I’m not only a little bit in love with this.
#4 L.E.S. Artists by Santogold (myspace/video)
Santogold’s least creative but most accessible track.
#5 Hearts On Fire by Cut Copy (myspace/video)
Cut Copy has a ton of great tracks.
#6 Head Rolls Off by Frightened Rabbit (myspace/video)
“Jesus is just a Spanish boy’s name”
#7 White Winter Hymnal by The Fleet Foxes (myspace/video)
#26 on my top songs of 2007 list.
#8 M79 by Vampire Weekend(myspace/live)
The better of the two new songs.
#9 Graveyard Girl by M83 (myspace/video)
Without the poem, this could very well be #1.
#10 Unforgettable Season by Cut Copy (live)
Not the most danceable but my favorite.
#11 You Me Dancing by Los Campesinos! (myspace/video -ep version)
It takes long to get started but worth the wait.
#12 Magic Spells by Crystal Castles
This song is their most artistic/creative venture.
#13 Kim & Jessie by M83 (video)
Another great track off Saturdays=Youth.
#14 Skeng by The Bug ft. Killa P and Flowdan(myspace/video)
Best track off the amazing London Zoo.
#15 Machine Gun by Portishead (homepage/video)
Even if the song is simple, Beth Gibbons does wonders.
#16 Oxford Comma by Vampire Weekend (video)
Number 4 of my 2007 list.
#17 These Few Presidents by Why? (myspace/live)
“Even if I haven’t seen you in years, yours is a funeral I’d fly to from anywhere” – had to break my rule for that line.
#18 Time To Pretend by MGMT (myspace/video)
It’ll be ironic if they have a coke habit.
#19 Kids by MGMT (video)
They do know how to make a decent pop song.
#20 The Twist by Frightened Rabbit (live)
Emotions of a simple dance, captured perfectly.
#21 Everyone I Know Is Listening To Crunk by Lightspeed Champion (myspace/live)
Everybody I know IS listening to crunk.
#22 Teenagers by Department of Eagles (myspace)
My favorite song off In Ear Park.
#23 Furr by Blitzen Trapper (myspace/live)
One of the better folk songs of the year.
#24 Lost Coastlines by Okkervil River (myspace/video)
Jonathan Meiburg vocals puts on the perfect touch.
#25 Street Flash by Animal Collective (myspace)
Anyone excited for Merriweather Post Pavilion? (We’ve heard the leaks)

Next in the series:
Part 4: #1-25
#26 Teen Creeps by No Age (myspace/live)
I’m feeling regretful of not including Nouns in my list.
#27 Eraser by No Age (video/live)
Can be #26 (tied), both are equally good.
#28 Feel The Love by Cut Copy (myspace/live)
“All the girls I’ve known are crying” Conceited but catchy.
#29 Bare Feet On Wet Grip Tape by Chad VanGaalen (myspace)
Soft Airplane’s most accessible song.
#30 God? By The Dodos (myspace)
“Oh God, where’d you go?” Agnosticism at its finest?
#31 Ottoman by Vampire Weekend (myspace)
At least we got this song from a shitty movie.
#32 Beat (Health, Life and Fire) by Thao Nguyen With The Get Down Stay Down (myspace/live)
Upon listening to this track, I’ve become a big fan.
#33 Heart of Chambers by Beach House (myspace/video)
My favorite song off Devotion.
#34 Dying Is Fine by Ra Ra Riot (myspace/video-ep version)
Sounds emo without reference to this poem.
#35 Hitten by Those Dancing Days (myspace/video)
All girl indie pop bands ftw.
#36 Let’s All Sleep Together by Team Genius (myspace)
Orgies ftw. (All girl orgies ftw?)
#37 For Emma by Bon Iver (myspace/live)
This song is simple but captures the atmosphere of loneliness.
#38 The Modern Leper by Frightened Rabbit (myspace/live)
“You must be a masochist, to love a modern leper”
#39 Rabid Bits of Time by Chad Van Gaalen
Beautifully sung.
#40 Winter ’05 by Ra Ra Riot
This song makes Winter depressing. Sad in general.
#41 Agoraphobia by Deerhunter (myspace)
“Cover me, comfort me” is stuck in my head.
#42 Skeleton Man by The Evangelicals (myspace/live)
“When someone loves you very much, you’re fucked”
#43 Why Do You You Let Me Stay Here? By She and Him (myspace/video)
Fuck you Ben Gibbard!…oh I meant congrats.
#44 Move by Cansei De Ser Sexy (myspace/video)
Another catchy CSS track.
#45 Another World by Antony and The Johnsons (myspace/video)
Antony apparently doesn’t think much of us. Still beautiful though.
#46 Uncalibrated by Bridges and Powerlines (myspace/video)
This song puts the power into powerpop.
#47 Shut Up And Let Me Go by The Ting Tings (myspace/video)
The Ting Tings are a guilty pleasure.
#48 Poison Dart by The Bug ft. Warrior Queen (myspace/video)
My introduction to The Bug. I was amazed.
#49 My Year in Lists by Los Campesinos (myspace/video)
“Send me stationery to make me horny” Mail-sex ftw?
#50 I Hate Dell by Oldfolks Home (myspace)
Dell pissed off the wrong guy.

Here is my overrated of 2008 list. I tried to be objective and included artists I like as artists you like can be overrated too.
#5 Vampire Weekend
Why are they so successful?
Early on when they passed around their Blue CD-R (I’ve got a copy), the production values were not of a band that was self-releasing their stuff –as it was a great album from an unknown band. They became blogger darlings for almost a full year while releasing EPs and mercifully releasing their self titled disc with just two new tracks. Pitchfork gave them an 8.8, played on SNL and had their popularity EXPLODE.
What makes them overrated?
They are really just a pop rock band. Granted a pretty good one, they just aren’t going to wow everyone with their brand of pop.
What are their chances of proving their worth?
75%. I think they proved with “Ottoman”, the Fleetwood Mac and Radiohead cover that they can achieve greatness beyond what they showed on their self titled release. I’m really high on Vampire Weekend and they personally haven’t really given any reason to doubt it. However, they do need to bigger and better things to have those naysayers silenced.
Ottoman by Vampire Weekend
#4 Fleet Foxes
Why are they so successful?
The Fleet Foxes had the best year in terms of critics praising their band. They had Pitchfork’s #1 album of the year and that website is huge…
What makes them overrated?
The album is good don’t get me wrong, but best band and album of 2008? It’s arguable but I think there’s just a bit too much hype. They’re all great singers but they didn’t amaze me or change my life like “Midnight Organ Fight” or “Random Spirit Lover”. There are definitely better choices for album of the year.
What are their chance of proving their worth?
I’d say 70%. They have big shoes to fill on whatever they release. There are countless examples of the “one album wonder” and the pedestal that the Foxes have been placed on make it unlikely their next album will come close.
Meadowlark by Fleet Foxes

#3 Lindstrom
Why is he so successful?
Critics love his album Wherever You Go I go Too. I don’t (I tried an experimental review HAH, betcha it wasn’t that good ). It is different and experimental which has critics getting their pants wet. Containing just 3 tracks on an hour long record, one song clocks in at close to a half hour..
What makes him so overrated?
Think about, 3 songs, one song is 30 minutes long the other two are 15 minutes long. I’m all for long songs that are really good and make you feel like it’s just 4 minutes but this 30 minute track made me feel like it’s really 2 and a half hours. I was urged to press the skip button but I realized that it did me no good. The music itself isn’t great, lots of looped sections, duplicates and ultimately it doesn’t end anywhere. I understand it’s different but it still doesn’t make it any good.
What are his chances proving his worth?
Incomplete. He may satisfy critics again but it’ll take some actual innovative music (e.g. not just slapping on a 30 minute track and multiple repeats that has more pretentiousness then most albums (who honestly believes they can pull off a 30 minute track?)
-No mp3 (files are too big)
#2 MGMT
Why are they so successful?
They have had an ability to stay relevant even after lukewarm reviews from critics. Some great marketing, some pretty good remixes and some great singles propelled them to internet Superstardom.
What makes them overrated?
While the psychedelic label is thrown on them quite a bit, they are merely dressed up pop with some simple but effective keyboard arrangements. They are hardly a band to change the landscape of music. While some songs are enjoyable, they really had an half of an album. The first album contained those popular singles, the second half kind of sucked though did show some promise. They haven’t released that much material to stay relevant, they just had other artists remix their work.
What are their chances of proving their worth?
50%. I think it can go either way. The masses ditch the popular as fast as they get into them and MGMT could very well go the way of the Killers and suck from here on out.
Time To Pretend by MGMT
#1 Girl Talk
Why is he so successful?
Good reviews and Feed The Animals took a lot of songs that was brilliantly mixed. It’s also using popular music, creating the perfect party mix for both casual fans and hardcore fans of music (I really like the album).
Why makes him overrated?
Over glorified DJ. Other then mixing, which a DJ can do, he’s really just taking 30 second samples and songs and putting it together (no other DJ likely has actually put this on record since it’s potentially illegal). In the big scale of things, he’s not really doing much. He also likes really shitty music. He mixes the music well but I’d rather drop dead then listen to some of the music he uses.
What are his chances of proving his worth?
10%. Girl Talk can’t do the same exact thing that he’s done in his past two albums. He’s ultimately reached the peak of popularity and will have to create rather then mix. It’s likely that he will have a lot of trouble whatever he does which is why the odds are so stacked against him.
Hands In The Air by Girl Talk

#9 Ra Ra Riot – The Rhumb Line
Original Rating: 5 out of 5
This album is a tribute to drummer John Pike who died tragically and has left his mark all over this album having helped pen songs (perhaps even hautingly) like Dying Is Fine and Ghost Under Rocks. While Ra Ra Riot takes a much different approach to death, unlike Arcade Fire whom is all about being gloomy and sad, Ra Ra Riot celebrates the life of John Pike. This may bother people but even without looking at this album on a emotional album, it’s still one of the better musical albums. Everything is classically influenced and Ra Ra Riot is able to pull off the big band aspect to perfection. I have no qualms about giving this album a perfect score because in some aspects from top to bottom it’s a great album. I guess it’s not higher on this list because it’s not too far of what’s already been done and it’s a tad little bit repetitive.
Too Too Too Fast by Ra Ra Riot
Dying Is Fine by Ra Ra Riot
#8 Los Campesinos! Hold On Now, Younster…
Original Rating: 5 out of 5 Another top 10 spot to a big band, I feel as if I like too many of these big bands, however nobody quite does it like Los Campesinos! While Gareth has unique but rough vocals that many point to being annoying, Aleks balances it perfectly with her soothing female touch. The best part of this record is the song writing but it doesn’t hurt to have a wide variety of instruments being used such as the violin,glockenspiel and a variety of others on this septet. I think why I and others rate this album so highly is the uniqueness, no band is like Los Campesinos! They can make a record fun, thought provoking, while capping it off with great music. I understand that this album is a bit hit or miss though so not everyone is going to like it.
You! Me! Dancing! by Los Campesinos!
My Year In Lists by Los Campesinos!

#7 Why? – Alopecia
Rating: 4.5 out of 5
Alopecia, the condition in where you are bald, in some cases without hair all over your body. In that sense being without hair is like being bare, and Yoni Wolf bares all on Alopecia. I actually had a problem listening to this album when writing this review. I found myself feeling depressed and that’s arguably what makes this album great. It passes on that emotion with ease and is my Rap album of the year (although I only check out a few records). Why? has moved onto more of a full band ensemble but at its core it’s a rap album with instrumental sections. No fancy beats or anything of that sort, just a high level of rap from start to finish and you’ll rarely find a rap record that is abstract and wide open as this. Yoni Wolf’s writing is downright brilliant and some of these songs are greater then words I could ever come up with. If you haven’t had a chance to listen to the record check out these tracks:
Fatalist Palmistry by Why?
These Few Presidents by Why?
#6 Vampire Weekend – Self Titled
Original Rating: 5 out of 5
2008 was a crappy year in general but not for Vampire Weekend. They’ve gone from blogger favorites to superstars. I remember listening to their Blue CD-R and thinking what a great band they were where the production values were absolutely flawless. With success comes criticism though and while I find their success may far exceed expectations, overrated is not a term I use to describe this album. Yes, somewhat African influenced, it doesn’t overdo and VW stays within what makes a great pop song while including classical influences where Rostam Batmanglij’s work is by far the most significant. Anyway while the actual official album was mercifully released with just two new tracks (albeit great ones) after almost a full year with the CD-R, it was still an album that went through extended longevity and that’s ultimately why I chose to give it a high score. It’s basically a pop album that has paved the way (or has other bands mirroring) for bands to use more African influenced music. It’s still a great pop album and Vampire Weekend themselves has showed that this album is no fluke. If you’ve heard their covers and some new tracks (like Ottoman) you’ll find that they maintain the high level that got them to the top while expanding their sound. (You can’t say that for a band like MGMT who just has people remixing their stuff).
M79 by Vampire Weekend
Oxford Comma by Vampire Weekend

#5 Fleet Foxes – Self Titled
Rating: 5 out of 5
I like to pat myself on the back as one of the first blogs to discover the Fleet Foxes outside of the Seattle area, who can honestly say they had White Winter Hymnal in their 2007 top songs list? Too bad it doesn’t mean anything when you have no readers. But I digress. The Fleet Foxes do have an folk/Americana style but their emphasis is on their tight vocals from all members. While at first I felt the #5 ranking was too high, going back to this album makes its undeniably difficult to do so. While this album is necessarily an album that fits together but song by song, each track seems to have countless effort in crafting the absolutely perfect vocals on each track.
White Winter Hymnal by Fleet Foxes
Ragged Wood by Fleet Foxes

#4 The Bug – London Zoo
Rating: 5 out of 5
I was really happy to pick up this record by producer Kevin Martin. It completely goes outside of the music I normally like even though this album is more or less genre-defying. It’s an electronic album using influences from dubstep and and a large group Reggae and Grime vocalists. It’s hard to find weaknesses in this album as Kevin Martin’s beats are as daring and bring to light to the angst and anger without shoving it done your throat. A track like Jah War uses trip hop elements and reminds me a lot of the Machine Gun intro but of course being more significant in a track that clearly expresses the artist’s point of view on war. This has to be a lock for the Mercrury prize or at least it better me.
Jah War featuring Flow Dan by The Bug
Skeng featuring Killa P and Flowdan by The Bug
#3 M83 – Saturdays=Youth
Original Rating: 5 out of 5
The album starts slowly with You, Appearing but picks up with Kim & Jessie and doesn’t turn its back. It’s a dream pop album by nature using a variety of electronic elements that make you wish you were young again. It gives off a cool 80s feel without being overly cheesy (arguable on Graveyard Girl when the poem hits). However there are no mistakes or misses on this album, where can I ultimately fault it? It has some of the best songs of the year but the more I look into it, might as well just include the whole album (each song has an argument). Another level where this album works that many do not, it’s actually themed toward about being youthful, while that can be slightly annoying for some, it works with the song writing and actually feels like an album, a collection songs put together like a story and ultimately feeling like they belong together.
Highway of Endless Dreams by M83
Graveyard Girl by M83

#2 Deerhunter – Microcastle
Rating: None, reviewed by Christian.
I was forced by writers to check this album out. I’ve always know how talented Bradford Cox was by the few tracks I did check out but I guess I should’ve taken it a bit more seriously. It’s a bit tough as I’m still familiarizing myself with this album but I definitely agree that it should be held up with high regard. The album starts with with Cover Me (Slowly) an instrumental and works itself in a simplistic track Agoraphobia. This album actually progresses with each song, slowly building up toward a climax. Some of these tracks are straight up pop songs but while it is actually simplistic, it just doesn’t feel that way when Lockett Pundt, is repeating “Come for me, comfort for me”. Their experimenting is obvious but subtle at the same time. This album is flawless and while calling an album a pop record may be taboo, it’s more or less brilliant pop. It shifts a little bit toward the end being less pop and more experimental. It does this at a perfect pace, not in a rush just to shift gears to a new style and sticking within it’s own sound.
Agoraphobia by Deerhunter
Never Stops by Deerhunter

And FINALLY….

#1 Frightened Rabbit – The Midnight Organ Fight
Original Rating: 5 out of 5
I don’t know how serious I was when I said that Frightened Rabbit’s Midnight Organ Fight might be on the best albums of the year. Little did I know, many other people were thinking that too but it has been by far the most listened record of the year for me and that alone merits putting it in the first spot. Being a folk rock album, the key is the songwriting and Scott Hutchinson discusses things such as the absurdity in religion, sex for pleasure, death being overrated and loneliness. A lot of detractors say that it’s typical sad sappy indie rock boy banter but I don’t think it’s fair to dismiss this album as just that. In a way while at times where Hutchinson seems lonely and depressed, he surprises you a track with Head Rolls Off, shrugging off his death as no big deal in some sort of hopeful manner. At times he’s more angry like in Keep Yourself Warm, criticizing those who have one night stands while other times he’s just showing how vulnerable he is like on The Twist or admitting weakness like in The Modern Leper. It’s basically a complete album on human nature and encompasses all the feelings one can honestly have. It’s not one particular emotion but all of them battling each other (hence the midnight organ fight) once, where no particular thought prevails but it’s a mind where each thought is muddled with the other. Sometimes cute, sometimes just being fed up, it’s ultimately an album that will be a favorite of mine for years to come.
Head Rolls Off by Frightened Rabbit
The Twist by Frightened Rabbit

First off is their cover of Fleetwood Mac’s Everywhere. I haven’t heard the original and I always hear the Rilo Kiley comparisons. The main thing to note is that Vampire Weekend is absolutely great at covers. They always add their spin to it and like covers should be, it either is better or different enough to check it out. It’s worth checking out their Radiohead cover of Exit Music (For A Film), that’s when I knew Vampire Weekend was going to be great.

The Everywhere cover features crisp vocals from Ezra Koenig (as always) but with a catchy little bass line. It just works well and they’ve made more news around the blogosphere with just a little cover then most bands.

Everywhere by Vampire Weekend

Now onto Ottoman, originally presented by Stereogum for the movie Nick & Norah’s infinite playlist. The movie in my opinion looks like a dud, it does include a TON of songs I dig but I still think the movie looks cheesy and Michael Cera plays the same character he’s been playing for…all his movies.

Anyway enough ranting, onto the track Ottoman. The track begins with some playful string arrangement that progresses with keyboarding and then using the violin in the same beat. One thing to note is the use of “It feels so unnatural/Peter Gabriel too”. Ezra seems to be in love with that line.

It’s an enjoyable song and hopefully their next album is great because I am eagerly awaiting new material.

Ottoman by Vampire Weekend

There are was some mild raining but nothing too worrisome. By the time we signed in and went inside the rain got a little bit worse and due to having just a cap on and being in a t-shirt we sought shelter in the Nokia DJ Tent. I didn’t mind checking out the music in the DJ tent in the first place but the real problem is that most of the people had their backs turned to them (when we were there) and the rain technically wasted the purpose of the tent though getting away from the rain was a major factor.

The first artist that I saw which hit the stage at 3PM was Dizzee Rascal a rap artist from the UK who was a winner of the Mercury Prize in 2003 and has been critically acclaimed for some time. The crowd was both familiar with his songs and screamed frantically with Dizzee would shout for some crowd noise backed him. It was generally the typical rap concert in my opinion with Dizzee’s support being kind of annoying. After every song, he would yell, “Make some fuckin’ noise”. I think after the 3rd time he said that I was pretty annoyed. Two other guys in front of me were commenting that maybe he should change it up a bit and get creative with trying to inspire the crowd to be even louder. The point being made though is that the crowd was already well into his performance so Dizzee’s support asking for some noise about 10 times was pointless and cliché.

I personally didn’t know Dizzee was so loved by the critics and I wasn’t wowed by his performance. He did work the crowd a bit and had some songs worth mentioning.

The next band, Vampire Weekend was clearly the reason I decided to go to Rogers Picnic in the first place. Ezra Koenig was in short-shorts, which he called a bathing suit, maybe, he was going to bathe in the rain? Anyway having caught Vampire Weekend at the Horseshoe, I was quite aware at hw good their live performance was already. They played a new song, which featured some fun singing from both Rostam and Chris. I have no idea what the title is but it was a fun song. They were great live and had a lot of fans singing and jumping around. Otherwise, it felt like a short set but were very good nonetheless.
MP3: One (Blake’s Got A New Face) by Vampire Weekend

The next band was Animal Collective and while I know about them, I’m not exactly their biggest fan. Their music is mainly weird and they seemed out of place at Roger’s Picnic. They definitely were more suited to Pitchfork’s Festival, which they played the day before. However, quite a few Animal Collective fans sang along. Animal Collective only came out with two of their members, with Noah Lennox aka Panda Bear and Avey Tare as the only members. The fans were generally quiet while Animal Collective played incredibly long tracks. The only track I knew beforehand was the song Comfy in Nautica. It was an alright performance but the crowd had blank stares for the most part. At the end of show, Animal Collective threw out T-shirts but Avey Tare didn’t have much of arm and could only throw them a few feet.
MP3:Comfy in Nautica by Panda Bear

The next band was Chromeo, from Montreal/New York, which had the crowd on fire. I may not be the biggest Chromeo fan but they had the type of performance that won people over. They kept things fun and a lot of the crowd was dancing. They occasionally threw drumsticks into the crowd, which kept everyone on their feet. They won over Kevin and in general, they were quite enjoyable which is important for a festival.
MP3: Fancy Footwork by Chromeo


Tokyo Police Club came out to one of the loudest cheers and has quite a few raucous fans. Overall, I was impressed with their guitarist, who played some awesome riffs occasionally. I had an issue with the guy behind me singing his lungs off lyric after lyric. In this case, this was bad for my impression of the band as lyrically it seemed weak and I could not judge how good the vocals were as Dave Monks singing was overshadowed by the overzealous fan (They haven’t seen this guide to not be a douchebag). They were alright, they didn’t change my opinion of the band though and it didn’t force me to like them at all.

Cat Power came out to a modest cheer but for the first 3 songs her performance seemed to lack an intimate feeling and it was something to just sit through. I absolutely had to leave early as my legs (specifically my ankles) gave out and I was forced to leave just as she was going to play Lost Someone. I wasn’t impressed with those 3 songs but I’m sure the show would have been much better had I stayed. Sorry Dallas Green.
MP3: Lost Someone by Cat Power

Out of all things from the festival, I was most impressed with the fans. The fans endured through the rough rain and still managed to provide much needed support. Crowd morale was generally quite high and an outdoor festival in the rain is something to be experienced once.

(more…)

I am going with the Celtics as they are the underdogs (bet on them +160 to take the series) and they have quite a few guys without championships while Bryant, Phil J and Co. have a few rings under the them so fuck ‘em.

Paul Pierce’s dramatic injury and being lifted off and then coming back so soon kind of ticked me off. It’s always like Paul Pierce goes down like he’s shot only to come back feelin’ fine. His entrance while the Celtics were on offense and the crowd cheering also messed up the offense. Funny.

Also, while basketball is always related to hip-hop…this playlist will just be rock because rock and basketball can go to together.

Anyway before I ramble about random, useless things, here’s a playlist:

1. There’s No Home For You Here by The White Stripes (series decided by home court adv.?)
2. Boston by Vampire Weekend
3. California by Facteur
4. Lovely Allen by Holy Fuck (because Ray’s shot is lovely)
5. Rape Me by Nirvana (to Kobe Bryant lol, he doesn’t have a nick name… how about “the Therapist”)
6. Sing Me Spanish Techno by The New Pornographers (for Pau Gasol, Spanish Techno would be an awesome nickname)
7. Altered Beast by We Are Scientists (Initials are lame for a nickname…everyone does it…how about the Genetically Altered Beast for KG?)
8. The Boy Who Blocked His Own Shot by Brand New
9. The Comeback by The Shout Out Louds (if you foresaw that the Celtics would be in the finals at the end of the season last year – I’d call you a genius)
10. Faker by Everybody Else (it’s arguable…the dramatics were cheesy, though people were saying that he was instructed not to walk…it seems a little odd nonetheless)
11. I Feel Better by Frightened Rabbit (he’ll be fine)

Here’s a random playlist that I hope seems somehow related: ( I gotta go out)
1. The Kids Don’t Stand A Chance by Vampire Weekend
2. Flyin by Regina Spektor
3. Harder Better Faster Stronger by Daft Punk
4. Ballad of A Comeback Kid by The New Pornographers
5. Inaction by We Are Scientists
6. Attack of the 60 ft Lesbian Octopus by Does It Offend You Yeah?
7. In Search of the Youth Crew by Cadence Weapon
8. Passing the Hat by Cold War Kids
9. Heart and Soul by Joy Division
10. Lucky Ones by Kevin Drew

Filler so I can adjust the below alignment!!!