Lo-fi rock is coming strong recently, how long will it hold its place as the spotlight in the young hearts of vinyl loving rockers? well with acts like these i’m hoping forever. My true and very fresh caring for music like this is definitely Ducktails, met him twice this weekend and he was such a nice guy he reminded me of people in the U.P. in Michigan like the U.S. backwoods version of UK’s Bibio but maybe spends alil more time in the garage playing with pedals. I didn’t get to see him perform as Ducktails but he does a good amount of the music in Real Estate who I saw perform at Insound’s 10 yr. anniversary at Brooklyn Bowl with The Drums. Landrunner is very loopy just the way I like it, so honest and uncorrupted by much that is going on right now in indie rock.
Beach FossilsDaydream gets me thinking about how much simpler live could be, the gentle hooky guitar work meets guys that seem to have have it easy. I picture it being made by guys that don’t have many problems and their youth summers we’re or still are filled with trips to cabins, a ton a waterskiing or tubing, and just relaxing in the tall grass by some sand dunes. It’s a nice visual to have when you live on a cement island, makes me want to plan vacations better.
Tallahassee’s Holiday Shores comes to me by Brooklyn’s Twosyllable Records, the label that also put out New Villager’s 7 inch vinyl earlier this year that I love. Holiday Shores has a bit more pep in its step compared to the other songs but still in same vein, alot of catchy vocals and the drumming in a few of their songs accompanied by keys has some real unique parts that make me keep coming back and listening.
Tom Croose our semi resident DJ here on the ISO50 blog turned me onto Real Estate, he told me he loved the “guitar noodling” and the lyrics “Budweiser Sprite, Do you feel alright?”, to me its laid back feel makes me want to bust out the Yo La Tengo’s Summer Sun LP but i’m too busy chillin’ in my kids pool filled with hose water that is being warmed by the sun and I have grass blades stuck all over me that i’m trying to pick off, so lets just keep the Real Estate CD in.
Track Listing: Flying Lotus – Massage Situation
Wax Stag – Folk Rock (Bibio Remix)
Jorge Ben – Cinco Minutos (5 Minutos)
St. Vincent – The Strangers
Todd Rundgren – I Saw the Light
Maria Helena Toledo & Luiz Bonfá – Whistle Samba
The Long Lost – Woebegone (Flying Lotus’ Luckiest Charm)
Isan – No. 1. (Lent Et Douloureux)
Peace Orchestra – Shining
Mount Kimbie – William
Metronomy – A Thing For Me (Breakbot Remix)
Superpitcher – Sad Boys
Bullion – That’s Not Dee
Césaria Évora – Angola (Get Down Dub By Pepe Bradock)
Ecstatic Sunshine – Duck
Born Ruffians – Litle Garçon
Cass McCombs – I Went To The Hospital
George Harrison – The Light That Has Lighted the World
Johnny Cash – Country Trash
Santo & Johnny – Sleepwalk
For some of you that don’t know Bleep is the digital retail store for the label Warp Records that carries specific labels and artists that they hand select. They just released a great compilation called “Showcase Vol. 1” and here’s the best part: its only 1£ or $2(USD) for all 11 songs! So I went ahead and picked 4 of the songs that i’d alone just pay a buck each for, don’t worry there isn’t ever going to be a pack rat issue in your iTunes so just pick it up.
When has Bibio ever wronged us on this blog? never has and never will, the man honestly makes some of the most gorgeous originals and remixes and this one is no different than the rest. Just think maybe we can get him to do a Tycho remix?!
I have a feeling i’ve already post this Bullion song but it was unmastered or ripped from vinyl and muffled. If you haven’t heard of Bullion then you should know that he kills it by mashing up Beach Boys and J Dilla.
Om Unit reminds me of the classic Aphex Twin track Didgeridoo but just a great edit in 2009, if you can get into this you’re definitely a friend in my book.
Kelpe does that sound that I still don’t how to make because I just feel too white, its that sound if I had to show you visually it would look like im playing with a Jacob’s Ladder toy and its getting stuck once in a while in its own ropes.
I know, it’s been way too long since we updated the Playlist, but the third installment is finally here. It’s sort of all over the place and I tried to add in a few extra tracks to make it worth the wait so there should be a little something for everyone. This will be the last one I personally compile for a little while, we’ve got some guest playlists lined up for the coming months and they should drop more punctually than this one (once a month or so). Also still working on the recall feature so you can go back and listen to past playlists, I’ll post on that when it’s ready. For now, sit back, relax, and click “Play” at the top of the center column (RSS readers must visit the site). Enjoy!
800BELOVED – GALAXIES
THE PAINS OF BEING PURE AT HEART – YOUNG ADULT FRICTION
GRIZZLY BEAR – CHEERLEADER
THE WHITEST BOY ALIVE – 1517
BIBIO – AMBIVALENCE AVENUE
DEERHUNTER – AGORAPHOBIA
EXPERIMENTAL AIRCRAFT – UPPER EAST SIDE
BULLION – LONG PROMISED – ORIGINAL MIX
J DILLA – GOBSTOPPER
MUX MOOL – NIGHT COURT
ELIOT LIPP – BEAMRIDER
MODERAT – A NEW ERROR
DEASTRO – LIGHT POWERED
MAX TUNDRA – WHICH SONG
NATHAN FAKE – SUPERPOSITIONS
ROYKSOPP – HAPPY UP HERE
DAMN ARMS – DESTINATION PT. I
EVERYWHERE FT. MARTINA TOPLEY-BIRD
FEVER RAY – WHEN I GROW UP (VERSION BY LISSVIK)
TIM HECKER – SEA OF PULSES
TYCHO – COASTAL BRAKE MANUAL REMIX
PANDA BEAR – I’M NOT
A SUNNY DAY IN GLASGOW – WATERY (DROWNING IS JUST ANOTHER WORD FOR BEING BURRIED ALIVE UNDER WATER)
AIRIEL – CINNAMON
SHIGETO/A SETTING SUN – POLAROID ROMANCE
ARIEL PINK’S HAUNTED GRAFFITI – FOR KATE I WAIT
CHRIST – PYLONESQUE
It’s been a few weeks since we launched the ISO50 Playlist and now a brand new set of tracks is loaded up for your listening pleasure. Just hit play — top of the page, center column (RSS readers must visit site to listen). I am working on the code to allow loading of older playlists which will be archived in the future. Enjoy!
1. SKALPEL – SCULPTURE
2. CLOUDLAND CANYON – DAMBALA
3. BIBIO – ABERRIW
4. JIM O’ROURKE – FUZZY SUN
5. M83 – YOU APPEARING (ADDLED EDIT)
6. GROUPER – HEAVY WATER/I’D RATHER BE SLEEPING
7. TSTEWART – WHAT’S THIS COLOR
8. AMERICA – AMERICA – TIN MAN
9. MICHNA – DO WHAT YOU WANT TO DO
10. RATATAT – MONTANITA
11. STUDIO – LIFE’S A BEACH!
12. PETER BJORN AND JOHN – ERIK’S FISHING TRIP
13. TOM TYLER – DAYLIGHT ROBBED HER
14. CLOSER MUSIK – 1,2,3, NO GRAVITY
15. FARBEN – AS LONG AS THERE’S LOVE AROUND – ORIGINAL MIX
16. PAUL KALKBRENNER – AARON
17. THE CHAP – AUTO WHERE TO
18. MILOSH – COULDN’T SLEEP
19. MOUNTAINS – BLOWN GLASS TYPEWRITER
20. ANIMAL COLLECTIVE – VISITING FRIENDS
Hit play on the player at the top of the page (center column) to start.
Track Listing: School Of Seven Bells – Half Asleep
Gang Gang Dance – Egowar
Mahogany – One Plus One Equals Three Or M
Empire Of The Sun – Walking On A Dream
The Whitest Boy Alive vs Mylo vs Cut Copy – Otto’s Golden Journey (Andy Webb’s Dreamy Blend)
Phoenix – 1901
Air France – No Excuses
College – The Energy Story
Christ. – Cordate
Flying Lotus – Auntie’s lock/Infinitum (featuring Laura Darlington)
Flying Lotus – Roberta Flack (Mike Slott’s Other Mix)
The Avalanches – Since I Left You (Cornelius Remix)
Super Furry Animals – Some Things Come from Nothing
Engineers – Let’s Just See
Sigur Rós – Gobbledigook
French Kicks – Abandon
Blind Man’s Colour – Brother Sport (Animal Collective Cover)
Beirut – The Concubine
The Kooks – Kids (MGMT Cover)
Benoit Pioulard – Ash in the Sky
Bibio – Bewley In Grey
Daedelus – Experience
Unless you’re an RSS subscriber (if you are, click here to view player), you’ve probably noticed the new audio player at the top of the page. I’ve been wanting to add a flash based player for a long time because while the small single track player we have been using (and will continue to use) for music posts is good, it’s not something you can just turn on and let it play while you work. This new player is based on the JW Player framework and supports XML playlists and all the good stuff. It was a total pain to develop though, the documentation was a little thin in the skinning department so it’s been a very protracted process to say the least. I ironed out the last kinks over the past week so here it is…finally: the ISO50 Playlist. We’ll be refreshing the playlist often, usually with 16 or so song mixes probably every couple weeks or so.
The initial mix I put in tonight is just a collection of some of my favorites from the blog over the past year or so, nothing too specific or themed. Every song in the player (now and in the future) will be songs that we’ve previously posted on, so if you’re looking for more information on the song or artist just type it in the search box below (also new…well the design at least) and the relevant post(s) should come up. This is definitely a beta so give me the heads up in the comments if you run into any issues with the player as only a few people have tested it so far. On a related note, I’ve added a “featured posts” column in the hopes that it will make older posts a little more discoverable. I’ll also be adding a “featured categories” section next week as well in which I’ll try to compile some nice groupings of related articles on various subjects. As the blog gets on in years and the posts pile up, most of these additions are aimed squarely at highlighting older content, music and otherwise.
All of these changes and additions may get you thinking about the redesign I had discussed a while back. I haven’t given up on that plan, but it’s definitely taken a back seat as the process of finishing up my next album has sort of consumed me. I decided to make some incremental upgrades (like those mentioned above) using the current theme and then treat the redesign as it’s own phase a little later. Still contemplating that light background…
The last thing I would do to you guys is post Peter Bjorn and John – “Young Folk’s”, let’s be honest it was one of the catchiest tunes around and my favorite track when it came out but I honestly don’t think I could sit through it right now all the way thru. Well, PBJ came back and didn’t disappoint at all with a vinyl and digital only release that I couldn’t just post only one track of. I love the direction of this record, at times it’s like a poppy Bibio album and touches that 70s-80s PBS background music style but in hi-fi. If you’re going to ever buy an LP this year and don’t have a record player this is the purchase to make because the LP comes with a digital download and you can give the LP to friend and they’ll love you for it.
The last thing I would do to you guys is post Peter Bjorn and John – “Young Folk’s”, let’s be honest it was one of the catchiest tunes around and my favorite track when it came out but I honestly don’t think I could sit through it right now all the way thru. Well, PBJ came back and didn’t disappoint at all with a