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 →
It goes without saying that the fall mixtape is my favorite of the year. I’ve spent the last two weeks narrowing this down to what hopefully will be as rad to hear on your end as it is each time I listen through it on mine.
Getting the closest friends, setting your destination for the middle of nowhere and pressing play, that’s the thought in mind of what kind of mix this should be, hopefully it lives up to all that a late-night hooded-sweatshirt drive calls for.
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.
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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.
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All songs are for promotional use only. If you or an artist you represent would like content removed email me at Heycoolkid@yahoo.com
There is an immense amount of music I want to share, hopefully I’ll be able to get it all out in the next week.
Did you ever watch that tv show where the girl could stop time by touching her fingers together? I thought it was mind blowing when I was like eight. If I could have one super power that would probably be it, the use I could put it to right now words can’t begin to express.
One of my favorite quotes is “sometimes you have to watch someone love something before you can love it yourself” -Donald Miller. Stevie nicks is a perfect example of this for me . I grew up watching my mom LOVE her some Fleetwood Mac and Stevie Nicks, when I was younger I hated it, the way kids hate things their parents do, but somehow in the past few years I’ve come to really appreciate that music and am beginning to grasp the greatness I once scoffed at. The fact that not only are Futurebirds covering a great song, somehow by sticking close to the original they have found a way to bring new life to “Wild Heart” and at the same time possibly introduce this music to a whole new audience that may have been missing out.
The fact that they cover (intentionally or not I’m not sure) the way she did it from her backstage clip where she cut out the majority of verses is what gives a whole new spirit to the song that had they done the song in it’s entirety would not be there.
Certain songs just hit home and this is a perfect example.Having the days pile up one on the other, the looking back and seeing where I thought I would be at this point in my life, remembering the friends and the hope, feeling that weight and stepping back from the moment and just saying there’s still a chance, there’s still possibilities, let’s live for tonight, let’s live for a change and forget about the past, I understand this, I connect with it. Hurricane Bells definitely did this one right.
I’m sneaking this one onto this weeks mix solely as a refresher. As I’m starting to shape the “Best Of” lists I realize that this little diamond of a band has not seen the light of day on Heycoolkid!, this was a very selfish decision on my part but I can’t keep this guy a secret any longer. Teenagers is Holy Mountain/Burn Baby Burn‘s Travis Keymer and if those credentials aren’t enough hopefully this song is and if still you are not impressed I guess I’ll have to be the one to break the news to you that you are in fact an idiot.
I’m not sure if there’s much more I can do to express how impressed I am by Glowbug.The only reason I have yet to put “Funeral Song” up is because every-time it comes on I think I’m hearing Gobble Gobble (sorry Born Gold) and I didn’t want the similarity of one song’s sound to affect your overall opinion of this incredible band. “Funeral Song” is still an amazing track even if it does feel oddly familiar.
I’m not sure why there are so many overlapping songs on this weeks mix that I’ve posted recently on LBYB. I apologize usually I’m not as threaded with the other stuff I’ve written but there’s just been quite a few songs that I thought were too good to neglect Heycoolkid! by not adding them this week. “Wilderness Tips” is flat out addicting. Check out the post I did on Tuesday here.
I really hope that the upcomingPhantogram album has a fresher feel than “Don’t Move.” Supposedly this is just meant to show that they can still make music like they did on the last album and work as some sort of bridge from “Eyelid Movies” to the next album. I sure hope so, not that on it’s own “Don’t Move” isn’t a good song it’s just that it sounds like they combined “Mouthful Of Diamonds” and “When I’m Small” and added nothing else to it which makes the song obviously appealing but it’s a far cry from creative. I hope the pressure of a follow up album isn’t getting to the duo too much although I’m taking this song as a sign of that being the case.
This is ideally what I hope the new James Vincent Mcmorrow album sounds like. A little less stripped down with a nice electronic build-up. I know that everyone is completely in love with the guy but I’m not fully on board yet, I just don’t think he’s come close to his potential yet but when he does all of our minds should be blown.
So I finally bought Death Proof this past week (one of the greatest films ever made) which means outside of the Kill Bill movies I now own all of Tarantino‘s work. I forgot how insane Death Proof is, there’s something about guys who intentionally make a b-rate movie just for the love of the style. Sure there are people who don’t care for Death Proof but then again there are people who think The Rolling Stones are better than The Beatles, oh the misguided souls. Anyways if you haven’t seen Death Proof you should know out of the gate that it has quite possibly the best soundtrack of all-time and two of the sexiest actresses alive in it,Vennessa Ferlito andMary Elizabeth Winstead.
(Warning this is a very graphic Clip from Death Proof)
This is the first decent Smashing Pumpkins cover I can remember having heard, should have figured RAC would have a hand in it not to mention Liz Anjos’ (The Pragmatic) vocals are perfect and perfectly fitting as always.
I’m not sure what it is about this song but I’ve found myself really getting into it. This is a really stripped down version of what was already low key but now takes a much more laid back angle than the original.
The way the three main elements of this song; the rhythm section, vocals, and the guitar all sound like three individual entities until two minutes and forty seconds in is impressive. The drums and vocals at least have some sort of cohesiveness feeling as if they are coming from separate corners in the same warehouse but the guitar has that lonesomely intense feeling that your alone in a room listening to it being played. That’s not the only strong aspect of “Floodlight” from two-forty on the song just evolves and evolves from one vibe to another. This is art worth looking at with it’s rare craft and subtle strength.
Last week I found myself listening/watching various Tom Waits Bukowsi readings (I do this from time to time) and then yesterday I ended up in a five minute unexpected but really enjoyable conversation with one of the local barista’s about his love for Tom Waits so I felt it fitting to add what very well may be my favorite Tom Waits cover.
If you haven’t seen the “Born Into This” Documentary I HIGHLY recommend it
“Dancer” makes me want to cry or get drunk or both. Getting to the bottom, down to the very soul of emotion, and breathing this magnetism into it that is romantically sad yet as the song progresses like a blanket in deepest of night with its subtle hint of calm.
It also reminds me of Caleb McCouch who is one of the best, not to mention virtually unknown, songwriters in the country who I’m going to see play in about three hours.
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All songs are promotional use only. If you or an artist you represent would like any content removed email me at heycoolkid@yahoo.com with the title “I/We care more about money than sharing our art” and I’ll make sure that it is removed immediately.
