In rotation: Soars + Thao & Mirah + Bon Iver + Hooray For Earth + She Keeps Bees + Led To Sea + Yarn Owl + Ennui

It's been a little while since my last In Rotation, and this batch of artists are rocking my world and speakers, while providing a perfect return to the series.

Worthy of your ears are Pennsylvania shoegazers Soars, Indie rock queens Thao + Mirah, the latest from Bon Iver, synthed-out rockers Hooray For Earth, gritty Brooklyn duo She Keeps Bees, folk dudes and fellow WSU alum Yarn Owl (GO COUGS!), Seattle classical/folkie Alex Guy's solo project Led To Sea and ambient pop group Ennui.

Soars: Self-titled

"Throw Yourself Apart"

Thao & Mirah: Self-titled

"Spaced Out Orbit"

Bon Iver: Self-titled

"Minnesota, WI"

Hooray For Earth: True Loves

"True Loves"

She Keeps Bees: SKB​-​005

"Make It Easy"

Yarn Owl: Montaña Y Caballo

"Go"

Led To Sea: Into the Darkening Sky

"Is This The Last Time"

Ennui: Formation Of Tides

"Coconino"

See what other artists found a permanent home in my iTunes library here.

Christmas inspiration: Mariah Carey

Mariah Carey proved why she's still one of my faves after all these years. Despite being prego, the singer went all out on her holiday special, "Merry Christmas To You," in support of her new Christmas album. 

And in a really cool moment, Ms. Carey teamed up with her opera-singer mother to conclude the show. That is a musically-gifted mother/daughter duo.

Glee does it again

I've never understood the fuss about Gwyneth Paltrow, but I enjoyed her performance last night on Glee. And as if I needed any more reason to love the show, they go ahead and blow my mind with an incredible mash up of "Umbrella" and "Singin' In The Rain." Oh, and did I mention Carol Burnett is guest starring next week?! Perfection.

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In rotation: Twin Sister

The chill sounds of Twin Sister have been floating out of my laptop speakers for the past few days, providing the perfect soundtrack for the shorter, cooler days in Phoenix. 

The dream pop group from Long Island generously provide free downloads of their two EPs, Color Your Life and Vampires With Dreaming Kids, and a slew of singles on their Web site. 

Happy early Christmas.

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In rotation: Frankie Rose And The Outs + The Hundred In The Hands + M83 + For Those About To Love + Real Estate + Women + Beach House

These albums have been blaring from my speakers during the past two weeks. Do your ears a favor and check out the musical goodness.

Frankie Rose And The Outs: Self-Titled

 

The Hundred In The Hands:Self-Titled

M83: Saturdays = Youth

For Those About To Love: Self-Titled

Real Estate: Self-Titled

Women: Public Strain

Beach House: Teen Dream

Mixtape fun

Carlee over at the fabulous Deliciously Organized asked readers to help her make a mix for an upcoming trek to Montreal, and I happily obliged. I used to craft road-trip playlists for the long journey from college in Pullman to my house in Spanaway. Five hours in a vehicle going from Eastern to Western Washington can seem like an eternity, and music definitely helped speed things up.

But I've gotten out of the practice of making mixes and her plea for suggestions made me remember how much fun it is. Posting random playlists on the blog may just become a regular occurrence.

What would you have recommended? What is on your ultimate mixtape? I limited myself to music I've listened to during the past few years because there's so many more tunes I could've added. Here's what I came up with for her:

• Jenny and Johnny's entire new album - I'm Having Fun Now
• No Age - Glitter
• Phantogram - Mouthful Of Diamonds
• Land Of Talk - Color Me Badd
• Arcade Fire - We Used To Wait
• Modest Mouse - Trailer Trash, Here It Comes, Broke, Cowboy Dan, Workin' On Leavin' The Livin', Custom Concern, 3rd Planet, Life Like Weeds, The World At Large
• Titus Andronicus - A More Perfect Union
• The Head And The Heart - Down In The Valley, Cats And Dogs, Sounds Like Hallelujah
• The Henry Clay People - Working Part Time
• Neutral Milk Hotel - In The Aeroplane Over The Sea
• Silversun Pickups - Three Seed
• Best Coast - Up All Night
• Clap Your Hands Say Yeah - Five Easy Pieces
• Sleigh Bells - Rill Rill
• Patsy Cline - She's Got You
• Toro y Moi - Blessa
• Ra Ra Riot - Can You Tell
• Death Cab For Cutie - Transatlanticism, Photobooth
• The Smiths - Please, Please, Please Let Me Get What I Want
• Simon & Garfunkel - America
• Animal Collective - My Girls, For Reverend Green, In The Flowers, Peacebone
• Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Skeletons, Maps
• Rilo Kiley - 85
• Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros - Home
• St. Vincent - Marrow
• Local Natives - Warning Sign
• Yeasayer - Ambling Alp
• J Dilla - So Far To Go

See what else I'm listening to via my Last.fm profile. Check out 8tracks, a site where you can make online mixes ... Think Muxtape pre-RIAA shutdown. Bastards.

Five for Friday

This weekend you can find the fiance and I confined to the city limits. But for good reason.

[Source]

1. Rock out: One of the top groups on my "bands-to-see-live" list will be checked off Saturday, hence the sticking around. I finally will experience the Silversun Pickups, one of my favorites, in concert at the Marquee Theatre in Tempe. 

I hope, hope, hope, hope they perform "Three Seed" ... their best song in my opinion.

2. Rest: I'm sure we'll need it after the consumption of fuzzed-out, hard-hitting tunes as noted above. Proving 28 is the new 68? We'll see.

3. Refresh: My resume, that is. I'm starting to get a better idea of what my next career move will be. And, sadly, it's probably not here.

4. Cover up: Curtains and bookcase shelf doors are two of the next purchases in the townhouse decorating adventure. A trip to Ikea may be in order Sunday.

5. Window seat > aisle seat: My mom is making an AZ appearance in August, so I need to book her trip, ASAP.

[Source]

In rotation: M.I.A. + Best Coast + Gun Outfit + Titus Andronicus + Small Black + OutKast

There has been no shortage of music this summer. Some my recent iPod additions, old and new, include ...

M.I.A.: "/\/\ /\ Y /\"

One of the most anticipated albums of the year leaked early, and blew me away from beginning to end. The UK-born Sri Lankan war child turned superstar's third release has received mixed reviews. Pitchfork destroyed it after hyping ish up like they always do, while Pop & Hiss, Paste, Spin and Rolling Stone loved it. Stereogum was on the fence.

Top tracks:

"XXXO"

"Tell Me Why"

"Steppin' Up"

"Lovealot"

"Born Free"

Best Coast: "Crazy For You"

I was completely amped for California lo-fi pop outfit Best Coast's debut full-length offering. So you can imagine my sheer delight when it leaked last week. Unfortunately, after a few listens, it has fallen well short of expectation. 

While still a fun record, the noticeable lack of fuzzed-out, doo-wop sound that shot Bethany Cosentino and Bobb Bruno up my list of favorite new artists was disappointing. Many of the songs blend together and the lack of variety in the songwriting gets boring. Detractors who thought Bethany only sounded good because of the layers of distortion were proven wrong. Her voice is reminiscent of a young Neko Case. I'll still keep playing "Crazy For You," but I can only hope Best Coast revisit their earlier sound later down the road.

Listen to the entire album here.

Top tracks:

"Boyfriend"

"Summer Mood"

"Our Deal"

"I Want To"

"Honey"

 

Gun Outfit: "Possession Sound"

Olympia, Washington has produced yet another solid group. These three-piece rockers' simple sound is carried by driving guitar riffs and slow-burning vocals.

Top tracks:  

"New Love Thunders" 

"Wide Awake" 

"Fantasy World"

Titus Andronicus: "The Monitor"

These punk-influenced indie rockers from New Jersey like their music loud, thrashing and heavy hitting. Couple that with a bit of a history lesson and you get their second release, a concept album loosely based on the Civil War.

The record swells to an hour playing time via 10 songs that reflect influences ranging from Conor Oberst to Bruce Springsteen to Flogging Molly.

Their energetic albums, hopefully, will translate to an amazing live show. I'll find out when they make an appearance in Phoenix on Sept. 3.

Top tracks:  

"A More Perfect Union"

"Richard II Or Extraordinary Popular Dimensions And The Madness Of Crowds (Responsible Hate Anthem)"

"A Pot In Which To Piss" 

"To Old Friends And New"

 Small Black: Small Black EP

Found via my recommendations by last.fm, Small Black is an emerging band from Brooklyn who desribe their music as "acousmatic, tape music, concrete and pop.” While we wait for their debut album to drop this fall, the chillwavers build off the crackly, fuzzy, electronic sound cultivated by Toro y Moi, Washed Out, Surfer Blood and Real Estate with their self-titled ep.

Top tracks:  

"Despicable Dogs" 

"Bad Lover"

"Lady In the Wires"

OutKast: Aquemini

Atlanta's premiere purveyors of "crunk music" have gone their separate ways ... for now. In the meantime, the Dirty South duo's 1998 release still stands the test of time 12 years later.

Andre 3000 and Big Boi talk about the making of "Aquemini" here.

Top tracks:  

"Da Art Of Storytellin' (Part 2)" 

"Rosa Parks" 

"SpottieOttieDopaliscious" 

"Skew It On The Bar-B"

An unexpected fabulous find

We met during my childhood. Performing her songs for my parents and their friends in our living room, red Sony tape player and microphone in hand, was a regular occurrence. Something about Patsy Cline struck me as a child and has stayed with me some 20 years later.

And last weekend, I was fortunate to combine two of my musical loves: vinyl and Ms. Cline. 

After failing to find Jericho season 2 at Best Buy, one of the sales associates directed us to Bookmans. The used media superstore, he said, was amazing. Except when we got there, it was pretty much what you'd except from a place that bills itself as an "entertainment exchange." Plenty of cheap, older items. No Jericho season 2. The disappointment started to set in. But I figured since we were already there, I'd check out what they had in the way of used records, CDs and books.
 
Appealing to readers, gamers, film fans, and music junkies looking for a deal, the sheer volume of items available for purchase is something to marvel at. I made my way over to the vinyl section with the hope I carry each time I step into a record store ... That someday I'll find an out-of-print Modest Mouse record fetching $200 on eBay for a steal. It still hasn't happened.

But thumbing through the vinyl, there she was. Patsy Cline's "Greatest Hits." For $4! That wasted trip to Best Buy turned into a reunion between a music fan and her favorite childhood singer.


The rest of my time at the store didn't prove as fruitful, but the sound of Patsy Cline's deep, emotional voice booming out of my record player sure made up for it.

Best Coast makes my summer dreams come true

[Source]

Break out those beach blankets because the West Coast's summer soundtrack arrives July 27. The California duo of Bethany Cosentino and Bobb Bruno, better known as Best Coast, are finally releasing their first full-length album. 

Boasting 12 unreleased songs, "Crazy For You" hopefully will build off the lush, fuzzed-out sound we've come to expect from the group's slew of EPs and singles released this past year.

[Source]

Track listing:

1. Boyfriend
2. Crazy for you
3. The End
4. Goodbye
5. Summer Mood
6. Our Deal
7. I Want To
8. When The Sun Don’t Shine
9. Bratty B

10. Honey
11. Happy
12. Each and Everyday
Bonus track: 
When I’m With You

Sounding like a love letter to California, their version of lo-fi takes a page from the Beach Boys' brand of surf rock with catchy hooks and doo-wop influence. Best Coast stays true to West Coast form, singing about boys, weed, love and sunny days. Perfect for a drive down the PCH or soaking up the atmosphere at Pismo.

Listen now: In My Room,  Up All Night,  So Gone, Sun Was High (So Was I), Our Deal

Stripped-down version of "Up All Night"

 

Even more good ish:

Best Coast on Last.fm

Best Coast on MySpace

SXSW 2010 set

Repeat button is stuck on ...

Perusing the Internets, I came across this piece of musical genius. A bearded white man covering one of my favorite Outkast songs. OK. This is worth a listen. 

Four minutes and 38 seconds later, I was blown away. The fact the singer, Mat Weddle, of the band Obadiah Parker managed to keep the integrity of the original song, yet make it his own, is incredible.

After a little more research, I found the band is actually from right down the road in Scottsdale. I hope they plan on doing some local shows this summer. Maybe they'll play their amazing cover of Radiohead's "Idioteque."
 
I think that beard deserves its own record deal.

And just because I love it so much ...

Cool like the ocean / Burned like a summer home / Fooled by the notion / That the sums don't add up at all ...

Hopefully, I will hear those lyrics on the night of Saturday, July 17. The music gods have smiled on me and brought the Silversun Pickups, one of my favorite bands, to Tempe. I pray they play that line of perfectly-crafted lo-fi goodness, which is from what I consider their best song, "Three Seed."

As a way to combat my insomnia Tuesday night, I perused Facebook on my phone. Imagine my delight when I saw "Pre-Sale for the Portland, OR and Tempe, AZ shows start tomorrow at 10 a.m." as a status update for the band's page illuminating the screen. I woke up at 9:20 a.m. barely able to contain my excitement at the thought of seeing them for the first time in concert.

Their quick return to the AZ is a bit unexpected considering they opened for Muse at the US Airways Center at the beginning of April. I looked into tickets, but they were about the cost of our power bill for the month. Their upcoming show at the Marquee Theatre, which I've never been to, is way more in my $$$ range. Against Me! and the Henry Clay People are slated to open.

I've followed the Los Angeles group from their early stages as indie rock darlings to full-fledged headliners. Their spin on shoegaze could be classified as mellow, dreamy, fuzzed-out alternative rock.

And I thought my live show luck had run out as evidenced by Modest Mouse's geographical taunting of me with their shows in New Mexico and Colorado that I'm unable to attend.

[source]

Top tracks: "Three Seed," "Ne Plus Ultra," "The Royal We," "Growing Old Is Getting Old"

Silversun Pickups on last.fm

"Panic Switch" music video 

Official Web site 

Bells worth ringin'

When I heard Sleigh Bells a few months ago, I was blown away. These electro-rockers who love filthy drums and beat machines as much as pop hooks come at you full force. I obtained their EP, which included six songs, and played the ish out of it. It seemed like an eternity for their full-length album, "Treats," to drop. Hey, a person can only listen to six tracks for so long. But yesterday was worth the wait. The production is much better while retaining the grit of the EP. Some may lump this duo in with the beach rock and DIY lo-fi groups out right now, but I hope their diversified sound keeps them around so I can enjoy more of their grimy tunes. Now, if Best Coast could get her act together and release her full-length ...

Top tracks: "Rill Rill," "Crown On The Ground," "Tell 'Em," "A/B Machines"

 [Image/NPR]

NPR First Listen: Sleigh Bells, "Treats" 
Sleigh Bells on last.fm