Special Features - You and Me (House)

Just another solid house track, comin atcha. Special Features is a London-based house and electro producer who has somewhat recently started pumping out tracks. I like this one in particular because I think that house tracks with a female-vocal lead are somewhat overdone, and this one replaces that standard, if it can be called such, with a groovy synth solo. You just can't go wrong with something this simple.



You can also download it here by giving him a like on Facebook

Star Wars: Main Theme - Dave Matthews (Funk/Soundtrack)

The funkiest hunk of junk in the galaxy, this track is seriously one of the coolest and funkiest things I've ever heard - and it isn't funky just because that's the genre, funk, but because it's also an extremely unique and odd rework of John Williams' Star Wars: Main Theme. It's almost an homage to Williams, demonstrating how strong of a backbeat he incorporated into the original classical version that only needed a little encouraging to reach this god-like funk level. In addition to just being mesmerizingly well done, it also has one of my favorite drummers, Steve Gadd, keeping time and just rocking out as well as keyboardist and arranger David Matthews (no, not Dave Matthews) who also worked with artists like Nina Simone and Ron Carter in the 70s. All around it's simply an all star team doing a lot of justice to one of my favorite soundtracks and I just had to share it.

Bela Bartok - 27 Two and Three Part Choruses, for Children's and Female Voices (Choral/Classical)

Bela Bartok is an extremely interesting Hungarian composer who is considered to be one of the most important composers of the 20th century. He was invested in folk music, which I think is very cool and beneficial in any musician, and although I know him more for his full Orchestral works, he actually also wrote a BUNCH of two and three part choruses for children and female vocals and they're pretty cool. I expected them to be somewhat atonal or harmonically unconventional, but surprisingly they have a sort of classical feel to them. Try listening to just one: Bolyongas, and if you like it you can find a pretty good recording of the rest here on Grooveshark.

Audio Bullys - We Don't Care (House/Electronic)

This one is a big blast from the past for me. Audio Bullys is an electronic music duo from London that began in 2003 with their debut album Ego War. They released another popular album in 2010 called Higher than Eiffel, and in 2012 announced that one of the two (Thomas Dinsdale) had left the group. Nonetheless, this particular track has that early 2000s, Fatboy Slim feel, and it was featured on the SSX 3 soundtrack (where I first heard it). It's a pretty good song, and the SSX games all had a pretty killer soundtrack if you feel like checking them out. Here's We Don't Care (there's a music video too, but embedding is disabled by request).

CHLLNGR - "Datter" Yalls Remix (Dub/R&B/Electronica))

CHLLNGR, Copenhagen based producer, has been rapidly rising through the ranks of producers with a slew of remixes and a debut EP entitled Haven released in May of 2011. He has a mellow and somewhat haunting sound and uses a lot of mournful samples and heavy synths layered on top of one another to produce a unique, murky feel. But to be honest, I'm posting this remix because of Yalls: I really like Yalls. Dan Casey comprises the whole of this funky, pop, ambient electronic band from Berkeley, California, and I recommend you peel open those heary things on the side of your head to both CHLLNGR and Yalls.

Armin Van Buuren ft. Ana Criado - Suddenly Summer (Heartbeat Remix) (Trance/Uplifting)

If you don't know who Armin Van Buuren is, you'll be surprised to learn that he's one of the most well known DJs in the entire world; he was #1 in DJ Magazine's top 100 in 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, and was second in 2011, and he hosts one of the most popular radio shows in the world A State of Trance with about 15 million weekly listeners. I was certainly surprised. Of course he's also Dutch because every mega famous DJ and their grandmother comes from Europe.

Anyways, he recently released a pretty solid track that I gave a listen. I always like these European super-DJs because they consistently produce really solid jams - there's no big cheesy hook, the songs dont revolve around some massive "uber-stinky" bass drop, and they're really designed just to rock out to for hours on end. If you listen too closely though you might become a little fed up with the female vocals - drop - plateau formula, but try not to listen to closely. Here's Suddenly Summer (Heartbreak Remix):

 

Rural Alberta Advantage (Canadian Indie Rock)

This is a very guilty post for me. I hadn't even heard of Alberta Rural Advantage until today, when I heard them on the radio, plebeian I know, and there was nothing unique from the average Canadian indie rock (sorry), but I was strangely attracted to it. That's what music is all about right? Enjoying yourself? Well I enjoyed this song.

The chord progression is simple, somewhat overused, but compelling nonetheless. The vocals are mostly lazy and soft, but sometimes bore that little Creed-esque edge that fills in some emotion to the track, and the lyrics are relatable but not overpoweringly present. Lay back and listen to In the Summertime, and be not ashamed.

Rural Alberta Advantage - In The Summertime

Little Women - Throat (Avant Garde/Contemporary)

So this album has a lot of people GOING CRAZY in the music world. Some people hate everything about it and ardently posit that anyone who listens to Throat is a pretentious fuck, and some people champion it's complete and smashing brilliance in all aspects and how it'll change your life after one listen: just take a look at this, or this.

Little Women, the men behind Throat, are a quartet from Brooklyn and are the self-proclaimed weirdest band in the world, but I am simply not moved one way or the other. Yes, this music is very weird, and it is also very cool as avant-garde goes, but at the same time it honestly sounds like it could have been completely improvised - you may be surprised what trained musicians can pull out of their butts when put on the spot. But apparently a LOT of people think this album is one of the greatest they've ever heard.

And history has seen a lot of this phenomenon: Anthony Burgess said he wrote a Clockwork Orange in only two weeks trying to pick up some extra cash, and it's hailed as one of the greatest books of all time. I'm not saying it's a bad book, I'm saying that just because it's weird and different doesn't mean it's genius. And if you've read Ayn Rand's The Fountainhead, you'll recognize this social pattern immediately. In the novel, the main villain takes control of a major media outlet to promote avant-garde writing and music, similar to Little Women,  as "only for the most advanced and infastidious citizen," and people completely buy into it, which drives the overall standard for art into the ground (the villain was a communist, by the way). I feel like that's happening here, people think they're really smart and advanced for liking this sort of music, and the more they praise it, the more people will respect them for their extraordinary musicality.

Personally, I don't buy into any of it. You can check out the album on Grooveshark, because I don't have it on my computer anymore.

Hope and Social - Sleep Sound (Indie/Alt Rock)

In perusing through the musical blogs of music that I peruse I noticed a little influx in new indie rock tracks; and I listened to all of them; and I decided they were all somewhat underwhelming. But they did all, however, remind me of this 4 year old, England-based band, Hope and Social, that I think deserves a little more publicity (not implying my blog counts as publicity).

To me, they are a breath of fresh air in the indie rock world as they generally stray away from the generic chord progressions you find in a lot of the radio-alternative anthems (I-V-vi-IV). In addition, they use a lot of different vocal styles, from full choruses to five part harmonies; they don't shy away from introducing new instruments to each track; and they infuse a healthy amount of that PunchBrothers/Mumford&Sons folk feel to create a relaxing new flavor. Check out their website hopeandsocial.com, and listen to my favorite song off of their first ever album Sleep Sound below:

Hope and Social - Sleep Sound

Joey BadA$$ ft. CJ Fly - Hardknock (Hip Hop)

Instead of trying to fit in the with electro-trap, hipster-hop trends popping up in new hip hop, Joey Badass takes us back to a more old school feel. Featuring production from big names like MF DOOM, Lewis Parker, and J. Dilla, Mr. BadA$$ maintains a 90s and early 2000s feel, and I really dig it. There's no yelling, no growling, no booties, just a beat that sits way back in the pocket and decent lyricism. If you like the song below try his mixtape 1999.


Joey BadA$$ ft. CJ Fly - Hardknock