It’s hard to believe but it’s been over two years since HCK!’s first offering. We’ve come a long way, the growth is apparent, looking back at those first posts is a rad experience realizing just how tangible of a difference between then and now there is and how many people have helped to make this one of the best decisions I’ve ever made. This also marks the 100th post for HCK! making today’s mix all that more important for me to get right. Continue reading →
Before saying anything about this song, I fully realize that “Bandages” was not released in 2011. It was though new to me this year and the video they put out over the summer for it really impressed me. Sure there is another track that probably should have been on this list instead of this one but I could not bring myself to not have it on this list. Sorry for those of you who are offended. I feel the same way when seeing The Head And The Heart on the best album list from so many websites this year… everyone makes exceptions.
Hey Rosetta! are soulful-folk at its best.
“Bandages” remains subtle while simultaneously bringing a somewhat hurtful truth to the surface. The last minute and a half of this song is acoustic perfection which embodies the collective magic that Hey Rosetta! have the ability to create.
Lanterns On The Lake are a gorgeous embracing of spacious sadness whose sound is often at odds with their optimistic, or at the least forward facing, lyrics .
“Under Stars” drags the band’s Explosions In The Sky meets Mazzy Star influences right into the forefront and with complete confidence says “we can do it better”… who can argue with them?
I stumbled over Glowbugwhile sifting through new albums on bandcamp and it was the best random find I’ve made all year. EVERY song on Mr. Plastic is worthy of the Best Songs Of 2011 list.
I’m not much of an Idiot Pilot fan so Daniel Anderson really surprised me with this side-project.
Like a more artist Born Gold or a pop-sensibleAnimal Collective, if you are a fan of electronic music this should be your new favorite band.
.
.
36.Bon Iver – “Calgary”
For Emma, Forever Ago was one of the most haunting albums ever created but where could Bon Iver go from there? Wouldn’t the art he created in the future be a lesser form of brilliance?
This year I finally found the answer to all of the questions I’d had to what Justin Vernon‘s long-term place in indie would be… it was not even close to what I had been expecting.
With his self-titled album Bon Iver unearthed a level of instrumentation that even those who aren’t into the whole chill-acousticness couldn’t help but listen in awe of the conceptualized angelic crafting he has given us.
“Calgary” is one of those rare songs to be so passive and heartfelt that whenever it comes on the entire room settles and we’re flooded with the impression that for the space of a song time has stopped.
Bon Iver has proven he belongs in our future as much as the soundtrack to our past, we should be thankful to have such genius and honesty in our presence.
“Suicide Policeman” is hands-down my favorite Yuck song. It’s like finding a middle ground between the low-key phenomenal “Automatic” and their 90′s garage intensity of “The Wall.” For obvious reasons the lyrics are the staple to this songs infallibility but the way it’s laid out with such structure makes it a very stand alone track calling to be included on any mixtape, especially ones given to a friend whose going through difficult times when no words will suffice for what you need to tell them.
“[Letting Up Despite Great Faults] latest single “Teenage Tide” is electro-pop at its best, with hazy vocals and optimistic lyrics, with an underlying sense of nostalgia. It’s the type of music that acts as the perfect accompaniment to a lazy afternoon lying in the sun and helps to make long hot summer days that much more enjoyable & relaxing.” – Eclectically Challenged
“Teenage Tide” is the epitome of those songs that captured my heart in adolescence where the band eloquently expresses all of those mixed up and unsure feelings we have with our crushes and friends, lines that were so often intwined with each other.
If I were seventeen Letting Up Despite Great Faults would probably be my Dashboard Confessional.
“You know how you search something up on Wikipedia and then you click a link that leads you to another page and so on? Thanks to that concept and Youtube, I stumbled upon this wonderful track after starting with Said the Whale’s “Camilo” and going through several other bands’ videos. Can you imagine listening to music like this all year round? Even though I’m wrapped in blankets because of my cold room, this songs makes me feel like I’m sitting outside on a warm evening. I love how this song grabs you for a little over 3 minutes and takes you to the band’s hometown of Los Angeles. It’s a nice little break from the dark, cold and stormy weather we have been having.
‘It’s hard to measure time in a city without seasons.’ That one simple line really got me thinking. It never crossed my mind what it would be like to be in a city without the contrasting seasons. I just thought I would share this song as we head into our supposedly record breaking winter.” – Fistful Of Sound
Broken Social Scene are another band (like wilco) that I never have been able to fully get into, and believe my I have tried(hard) but I just can’t. There’s something that immediately turns me off about the majority of their songs (although Lovers Spit makes my top 100 of all time). It may be brilliant and leagues above everyone else, it might even be ground breaking and have opened doors for so many other (better) bands, but they just don’t connect with me the way I feel they are hyped up to.
This is why Young Buffalo impress me, not only do they have a sound that’s SO DAMN ADDICTING they somehow have found a way to take a song I didn’t already like and make me LOVE IT. How often do we get to hear a cover that’s better than the original?
This version will be getting played on my headphones for a long time to come. It even makes me appreciate BSS for once… who knows it may someday, by some miracle, make me end up being a fan of them. (Via)
I first heard of Alex Drumm through an Other Music sampler the label emailed to me last spring with this song on it, I’m now a full on Alex Drumm fan.
This expression of remembrance soaked in accepted longing has been a part of so many long nights I’ve had this year when my head was full of questions and a bitterness I desperately wanted to shed. Alex Drumm speaks to my heart, a blessing I’ll never forget.
He put out the fantastic Empty Roomsback in June, I truly hope all of you pick it up.
I love how this band are such a modern reincarnation of The Cure and The Smiths, something I’ve been waiting a very long time to find.
“Every day I’m waiting for the airport bars and the fading shores to clean my heart from all the rust that stayed when nothing ever change.” is my favorite opening line this year.
Being There‘s “Tomorrow” is everything I hope for from music.
Unpretentious nostalgic hope, “Tomorrow” is the ideal sound for a drive through the fall night air with a car full of friends and a pack of American Spirits (unless you’re pro anti-smoking then maybe you would prefer beef jerky or something lame like that).
Being there are out of London and have somehow managed to combine the sound of Yuck and Pavement and bring new life to an early nineties sound. They recently signed with Young And Lost Club and are about to head out on a fall tour with label mates Noah And The Whale. “Tomorrow” is one of three songs on their limited edition (100) album “Being There” which they gave us yesterday to begin promoting the single “The Radio,” which is the title track from there debut album due out on November 14th.
One listen through “The Radio” and it’s easy to see why they are wanting to promote the song. God it’s incredible! INCREDIBLE!
Being There seem aligned for big things. Remember how Best Coast surfaced just at the precise moment that lo-fi was beginning to catch fire which in turn blew our minds, Being There very well could be that for the nineties-shoegaze sound that is gaining momentum and wholeheartedly I believe they will be. – Listen Before You Buy
These Indiana natives are the most likely shining star to bring notice to an incredibly mind-blowing scene that has remained under the radar for far too long.
I first caught Dreamers Of The Ghetto when they opened for Maps And Atlases last January. At the time the only thing I could find from them were a couple of rough demos and a live show with lack-luster quality. In the year that has passed since I’ve followed their launch from obscurity cheering them on the entire way.
If there’s one band I guarantee will be doing big things in the next year it will be Dreamers Of The Ghetto. Each time I play one of their songs for a friend or throw a post up on either of the websites the response is a unified immediate love. “Tether” speaks for itself as to why.
If it hadn’t been for I Am Fuel/ You Are Friends including this song on her fall mix this song never would have made the list.
Sure I have gotten into James Vincent McMorrow before but somehow missed this song completely. “Hear The Noise That Moves So Soft And Low” is a perfect example of the importance of blogs in music today; Where labels only push one or two songs, those with a much better ear are promoting the ones that NEED to be heard.
My heart breaks when I hear those words “nothing breaks your stride like what’s become.”
“Boring Horror” is party music for the anti-mainstream masses… they can have LMFAO, I’ll take Born Gold any day.
These guys are one of the main bands I’m looking forward to catching when I’m calling Austin home, since they seem to skip Indy each time they come state-side, pull up a couple of live tracks if you have any questions as to why they make that list.
.
.
All songs are for promotional use only. If you or an artist you represent would like content removed email me at Heycoolkid@yahoo.com
If things even remotely go close to plan I’ll be out of the cold and out of this city by March 1st. Emotions are mixed as they always are when leaving one place behind to face something completely unknown but I’m a major advocate for change and more-so pro anti-regrets.
To everyone that’s made Broad Ripple truly feel like home I owe a huge thank you for helping the last six years be full of memories that will stay with me for the rest of my life, it’s time for a new beginning, it’s time to find myself.
The downside of Indiana has always been it’s admiration towards settling. It hurts me to see everyone so content without ever truly living there lives, perpetuating a consumer culture that sickens me, not even attempting to find themselves or understand who they are or the world they choose to take no part in. Although it’s hard leaving close friends and family behind it would be much harder to watch the rest of my life pass me by without experiencing those things I dream of when I’m awake and have held me with one foot out of the door for my entire life.
Since there’s never been a moment I haven’t felt the need to make a playlist for this obviously goes without exception. I’ll have another mixtape up for the drive out but these are the songs that came to mind immediately when I made the decision of fully committing to leaving the sorrowful midwest behind.
This one doesn’t exactly fit with the ethos of this weeks playlist but I mentioned this song the other night in conversation and said I’d put it up on my next post for them to check out.
.
.
.
All songs are for promotional purposes. If you or an artist you represent would like content removed email me at Heycoolkid@yahoo.com
For those of you who live in Indy, how great has the music been in this town over the last few weeks? I’m having issues with my camera’s memory card which, thanks to a little help from Amazon I think it should be resolved mid next week. I can’t believe the last time I posted pictures was from The Head And The Heart‘s first trip through town. I’ll save the details once I’ve got more evidence but here’s who I’ve recently seen play.
Yuck, Bear Hands, Pomegranates, Cymbals Eat Guitars, Washed Out, Caleb McCoach, Porcelain Raft, Thunderhawks, Ruby Radio Love, Hooray For Earth, Household Guns, and Vacation Club. Now that’s a good month! It deserves noting once again that Dodge and the My Old Kentuck Blog team have been the catalysts for what is actually becoming a substantial town for music so if you’re local make sure you follow what they are doing over there at MOKB and if you get a chance say thanks and buy the guys a beer, they definitely deserve it.
I have no idea what that opening is, probably ten seconds on google and I’d have all the details but I prefer to remain in the dark about it since it sets the song up so well, gives it a bit of an edge. I know Feed Me has been doing this for a long while and been heavy on the blog radar since last December but I’ve only been listening to John Gooch for a little over a week. Not sure how that happened but since I’ve been in dire need of some new dubstep Feed Me couldn’t have come along at a better time. Speaking of, I will probably have the new Skillex/Kaskade track up within a week, actually never mind I’ll go ahead and put it up.
.
.Kaskade + Skrillex – “Lick It”
The only reason I had for wanting to put this up next week is that I haven’t taken the effort to (uh) borrow it yet but why not just stream it like everyone else whose put it up yet. Usually I see eye to eye with Frank from Listen Before You Buy. Nearly every band he puts up I completely agree with his tastes. The only two exceptions are Radiohead and Skrillex. I think Sonny is one of the most interesting people in music, period, and what he’s done for bringing energy back into a genre that was losing steam is practically unbelievable. Just like his days with From First To Last some people just flat out despise the guy. So when it comes to Skrillex you can understand why Frank and I have come to an impasse’. I dig the song, as long as electronic music is your thing I think you will too.
The Australians continue creating instantly addictive songs. Architecture In Helsinki are like a less intense Starfucker. The key work Javelin has thrown in on this one makes “Contact High” a much more vibe-able song.
I feel like it’s been a while since I’ve listened to an instrumental and felt convicted enough to add it into the mix. “1” is more than worth going against the heycoolkid! status quo. This song’s been out for a while but as with Feed Me I very recently heard it for the first time. How gnarly is the breakdown at 2:15? When that bass line comes in is when things start getting real, it reminds me a lot of Impure Jazz.
If I’d been born maybe four years sooner I would probably be a bigger Strokes fan. I think they are solid but I have no real attachment to them since I only saw the hype and Ascension from a distance. Real Estate though is a band I’m completely gay for at the moment. So not being familiar with the original, “Barely Legal” sounds like indie perfection. I’d be interested to hear how Strokes fans feel about this version though.
Last week I had a chance to see Vacation Club, Pomegranates, and Bear Hands play at Radio Radio. Let’s talk about a great show! I went there for Pomegranates and left in love with Bear Hands. Before I get away from Pomegranates they deserve some recognition for melting the bars face during their set. I caught them at Locals Only last winter, maybe two years ago, which was a great show but the transition from a shoe-gazy live show to this ball of energy caught me completely off guard and I loved every second of it. If we’re being honest here then it needs to be said that my expectations for Bear Hands were not high, I truly thought there would be no way for them to follow Pomegranates without coming across as flat… I was wrong… really really wrong. They owned Radio Radio for forty-five minutes, it was incredible.
One of the greatest instrumentals ever is Radical Face‘s “Asleep On A Train“. Each time it comes up on a mix I instantly put myself at the beginning of Kerouc‘s “Lonesome Traveler” and completely disappear to better yet heavier time and place. I mean that song just weighs your heart down with that uneasy lack of clarity sort of feeling that comes with deep thoughts late at night when unsure of the future, it’s almost peaceful but not quite, it’s very self-involved. That being said I’m really surprised by how good “A Pound Of Flesh” is. I just hadn’t expected Ben Cooper to deliver on the lyrical/singing end of things the way he does with that instrumental, yet another reason preconceptions are often wrong and nearly as often it is a good thing.
If you have yet to see the Who Is Harry Nilsson (And Why Is Everyone Talking About Him) documentary I highly recommend clearing some time for the next week to do so. Before seeing it I was familiar with maybe two songs of his and wasn’t intrigued enough by them to explore deeper into the Nilsson catalog. That film definitely changed my interest completely. If you’ve wondered why Harry Nilsson covers have been popping up all over, that film is the major catalyst behind it. Netherfriends went all out this time around and instead of just doing one song Shawn Rosenblatt made an entire Nilsson covers album which is fantastic and free. I will say as a huge Netherfriends fan I’m not really behind his whole touring and doing only Nilsson covers but it is his career and his form of expression and he’s obviously got to do whatever it is he feels passionate about. I just find it strange to put all of that focus and energy into being a one man tribute band, especially when Rosenblatt is so damn good when he does Rosenblatt songs. (I also am not sure if he’s only doing a few shows of Nilsson songs which is kind of cool or actually touring as he had hinted at a few weeks ago on the Netherfriends facebook page)
I’m one hundred percent disappointed that “Radar Detector” comes on every night at the bar I work at. It’s reached the point where I’m having to make myself stay interested in Darwin Deez in general and remind myself that I too loved that song at one point in time, still want to really but can’t. This is a sweet little remix of “Up In The Clouds“. Shoes really put a nice touch to an already solid song.
The only negative I have about Black Coffee And Cherry Pie is how similar Albert Murienne’s music is to Ducktails. Not much of a negative is it? I’m fine with it.
I try as hard as possible to reference other great sites that have helped me find incredible music.I feel like once a month I’m referencing I Am Fuel, You Are Friends. As far my opinion goes, Heather Browne is the best of the best when it comes to steering us towards all things great in indie. I can’t even begin to count how many bands I’ve fallen in love with that I first heard through her site. Sorry about the tangent but I’ve been wanting to put a little thank you somewhere on Heycoolkid! for some time now and this is my first solid opportunity. She put this entire amazing (AMAZING!!!!) show up at the beginning of October. Last week I had three glorious days off in a row so I was able to sit down and finally relax and take the entire set in and I was blown away.
Ryan Adams, how much more impressed can I be by you? There has never been a live show that I’ve enjoyed listening to more than this one. It’s everything that is great about Adams right down to his random long winded ramblings that some find irritating but I find hilarious and enjoy. Click the link and download the entire thing, if you remotely like music you’re life will forever be better for having done so.
I originally planned on just putting up “Rescue Blues” and then adding another track from the set in the next week or two.While I was typing my itunes shifted to “New York, New York” which is my personal favorite from the set, I’m taking it as a sign or at least an abstract nudge to tell you how I really wasn’t a huge “New York, New York” fan before hearing this version, now I’m obsessed. These two songs are the epitomy of what aspect of his songs that a word like “Love” barely touches the surface on. My emotions/his songs they feel one and the same.
All songs are are for promotional purposes only. If you or an artist you represent would like some content removed send your hateful money grubbing emails over to Heycoolkid@yahoo.com and I’ll be more than happy to take the songs down and never reference you/the artist you represent in a positive light again. That’s the deal. It’s art it should be free! If it’s good people will still buy it.
