It has recently come to my attention that not everyone has heard this song.
I thought that was impossible because it is so amazing.
This song is my favorite release of the year. So far it’s trumped new tunes from some of my all-time favorite bands, including even Interpol, who have been my favorite band since I was twelve years old. Baby I’m Yours is by Breakbot. He’s a French DJ who released his debut EP back in February on the always-fabulous Ed Banger Records. It’s the perfect blend of house, blues, and indie, and with it Breakbot singlehandedly reclaimed the French’s seat on the electronic music throne.
This song came on shuffle yesterday as I was driving in the car with my brother. After a minute he asked, “Who is this?? It’s realllly good.” I was floored. I couldn’t believe he hadn’t heard this. I still can’t believe it. The only reason I had never posted Baby I’m Yours on this blog is because I figured everyone already had it. Apparently I was wrong.
I hope you’ve heard this. But if you haven’t, please do me a favor: If you ever download anything from this little blog, please have it be this song.
Big things are coming for Loose Lips. A lot of things are going so terribly right in my life right now that it’s almost scary. One such thing is the opportunity for exposure that is coming my way for this little blog. Consequently, I’m planning a massive relaunch of this site in a month. New address, new formatting, new logo, new style, new writers, everything. Oh and I’m going to actually start advertising outside my group of friends. In the meantime, I’m not going to have time for too many new posts. I’m busy HTML formatting the new site! Let me tell you, it is not a fun process. Here’s a little something to keep you satiated though.
Tame Impala are a psychedelic rock outfit from Australia. They sound like a combination of the Beatles at the height of their acid area with just enough shoegaze to draw comparisons to the Verve. Their debut LP was released in late May to rave reviews, and deservedly so. I haven’t bought a full album in a long time (the internet and the availability of singles is definitely to blame for that, how hypocritical of me), but this is one that I made sure to purchase in its entirety. I’m so glad I did, because the entire album is a gem and works best when listened to from beginning to end. Though every song is excellent in its own right, Solitude is Bliss is the most obvious single. It’s warm, fuzzy, dreamy rock powered by a golden guitar hook around which all the song’s other elements serve as colorization. The best part is, it’s all about the joys of being alone. Listening to this song, I’m perfectly content with that.
My iTunes crashed today, and every single one of my playlists was deleted. I can’t even begin to tell you how many hours I devoted to making those stupid playlists. I am an o.c.d. freak when it comes to my iTunes library, and I had every song that I thought was worth listening to organized by genre/artist/remix artist/mood/blog….well…you get the picture. Needless to say, it’s infuriating. What’s been somewhat nice though is that in the process of re-organizing my library, I’ve gone through a ton of music that I haven’t listened to in awhile.
One such song I came upon was Moullinex's remix of Ben Mono'sJesus Was a B-Boy. Words cannot express how much I love this song. It might be my favorite electronic song ever; it’s definitely top 3. I’ve been meaning to post it since I first started this blog, and it's a good thing I’m finally getting to it because this song rocks. My mom even jams out in the car with me to it. Which is saying a LOT, as she normally won’t let me turn the volume up past 6. Seriously.
It’s about the lord Jesus envisioned as a b-boy (break dancer) and a Dogtown skateboarder at the height of that era in the late 70’s. The lyrics are fantastic, they’re tongue in cheek but remarkably clever. I don’t care if you think it’s religious blasphemy or not. Turn up your speakers, listen to the song, pay attention to the lyrics, wait for that dirty descending bassline that first makes an appearance at 1:43, and don’t try to tell me that it didn’t get you grooving.
I know summer is starting to come to a close, so I’m a little late on the uptake here, but I’ve got your perfect summer jam. It’s called Let’s Go Surfing (doesn’t that title just scream “SUMMER!”), and it’s by New York-based The Drums. It’s sunny twee-pop reminiscent of the Beach Boys circa 1965, when all that seemed to matter was the sun, the waves, and beautiful girls. There’s even whistling on the track. I don’t think I have ever disliked a song that has whistling in it.
Funny enough, this song actually has some political undertones. In the chorus, when Jonathan Pierce sings what sounds to be “Oh mama, I wanna go surfing,” he’s actually saying “Obama.” This song was written right after the 2008 presidential election, when all of us liberals were giddy at the idea of change and new beginnings. As The Drums stated in an interview with NME,
“Obama came through and it was just impossible not to kind of get swept up with the whole nation…so that’s when we wrote Let’s Go Surfing. It just felt like things might change; nothing really changed…but you know everything was really sensationalized and romanticized…so Let’s Go Surfing is really about [that] sort of unbridled freedom.”
Regardless of what your views are on the current political state of affairs, hope and a sense of unbridled freedom are unmistakable on the track, and that raw naiveté and youthful optimism are what sets it apart.
In celebration of finally learning the release date of the TRON Legacy soundtrack (November 23rd!) composed by none other than my absolute favorite electronic act, here’s a Daft Punk-related post.
First off, I can’t even tell you how excited I am for this soundtrack to come out. If you want to preview six of the tracks click here. I was overwhelmingly surprised by them—they don’t sound anything like Homework-era Daft, which is what I had been expecting. Instead of samples and electronic sounds, Daft Punk seems to have utilized a full orchestra. Wow. Here it is everyone: Infallible proof that electronica artists can be just as talented at songwriting and composition (sometimes even more so) as their ‘traditional instrument’-wielding counterparts.
Asking me to pick a favorite Daft Punk song is like asking me to pick a favorite child, but here are a few of what I consider to be all-time bests. These aren’t the most famous of Daft songs, and haven’t really gotten any radio play in the states, so hopefully these are new for some of you. Two fast-paced bangers and two slower, sexier pieces. Right-click to download.
Ok technically this isn’t Daft Punk. But, it’s Thomas Bangalter, who is one-half of Daft Punk. This song features some of the best scratching I’ve ever heard on a track. Incredible.
More guitar solos on this track, this time in a smooth-jazz style. A simple love song about that certain je ne sais quoi that makes you keep loving someone more and more, even if they don’t quite reciprocate
I promised myself I would never post a song right after having downloading it from one of my favorite music blogs. I think it’s kind of a cheap move, like taking credit for something you didn’t discover. But I just can’t help myself with this one, because I really want to share it with everyone I know. And I guess in the grand scheme, we don’t all follow the same music blogs; and some of you don’t follow music blogs at all unless I tell you to come on here and download something (Hi Emily). So here’s to hoping most of you don’t catch my faux pas. Thank you to Et Musique Pour Tous for introducing me to this artist, and here you go.
The following song, Mornin’ is by Star Slinger. He’s a relatively new producer out of the UK, and I’m loving his stuff. His music is ‘Hip-Hop’ in the same way that RJD2’s work can be called Hip-Hop. In other words, don’t expect rapping about big booty hos here. Instead, Star Slinger utilizes a vast catalogue of samples, both vocal and instrumental, ranging from every genre of music from reggae to 80’s rock. He ties it all together with shuffling rhythms involving lots of bongos, lazer sounds, and the occasional synth motif. While original instrumentation is normally the standard in terms of ‘musical integrity,’ people who can sample the shit out of a song are just as impressive in my book. It takes a great ear and a lot of creativity to successfully assemble an entirely new song out of a handful of pre-made parts. The way Star Slinger combines all these different elements is no easy feat, and the end result is chilled-out hip hop with a whole lot of mojo.
Mornin’ is a joyous, filtered, shuffling celebration of love in the early morning. Pre-Afternoon Delight if you will. The vocal sample is from The Staple Singers’Let’s Do it Again, which unabashedly proclaims,
“Let’s do it in the morning, sweet love in the summertime…No worries ‘bout nothing, just getting good love.”
First there’s überproducer Danger Mouse. He’s one-half of Gnarles Barkley and rose to fame after the release of his epic The Grey Album. Then there’s Mark Linkous. His critically-acclaimed Sparklehorse project was known for its somber subject matter. Sadly, he committed suicide in March of 2010. Finally we have David Lynch. Yes the David Lynch, who directed such classic films as The Elephant Man, Blue Velvet, and Mullholand Drive. What are these three doing collaborating on an album together?
Story has it that whilst Danger Mouse was working on producing Linkous’ 2006 album Dreamt for Light Years in the Belly of a Mountain, an idea formed for an even more in-depth collaboration. Apparently Linkous had a few original songs in his catalogue that he didn’t feel comfortable singing. Mouse suggested that he commission others to sing on the tracks, and the project was born. Mouse and Linkous employed a number of indie greats to contribute to the tracks, including Wayne Coyne of the Flaming Lips; Julian Casablancas of the Strokes; James Mercer of the Shins; and Scott Spillane of Neutral Milk Hotel, to name a few. Each artist was given a considerable amount of interpretive wiggle room, and their respective individual sounds are all present on the album. As no concept album is complete without corresponding artwork, Danger Mouse called up Lynch and asked if he would take a series of photographs that helped to visually convey the albums overarching themes of pain, loss, longing, and dreams. Lynch said yes, and contributed more than a hundred photos to the project. He also loaned his vocals to two different tracks on the album—the first time he’s ever recorded for commercial publication.
Speaking of commercial publication. The final product, an album/visual booklet compilation entitled Dark Night of the Soul, was supposed to be released in 2009, but due to a messy distribution dispute with EMI Records, it looked as though it might never see the light of day. In May 2009 the team released Lynch’s photography booklet for sale on their website, but the songs were still unavailable for purchase. Gradually they were released and distributed via peer-to-peer websites and music blogs, but it wasn’t until early 2010 that distribution dispute was settled, and the album was given the green light. Just a week ago, on July 13th 2010, it was finally released in full, complete with the visual booklet of Lynch’s photographs.
The following 3 songs are my favorite from the album. I’d say more about them, but this post is already way too long. I think it goes without saying, they’re all excellent. To reiterate, Dark Night of the Soul is a collaboration between David Lynch, Danger Mouse, (the late) Sparklehorse, and the reigning kings and queens of indie rock…So really, how couldn’t they be?
