As I was putting together this years Halloween mix I thought why not ask a more definitive source, so I sent a message out to the members of The Gory Details asking each of them to send over a list of their five favorite songs and what I got back was better than could have been hoped for… Continue reading
Download the entire Realizing The World Is Asleep zip file here.
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“Take It Easy On Me” is my favorite track from Gentleman Jesse And His Men‘s latest album Leaving Atlanta which slightly strips away the punk edge that originally attracted me to their sound back in 2008, leaving the spotlight on a strength of song structure and a nearly impossible sound not to sing along with.
“Take It Easy On Me” was meant for an 80′s montage or 2012 summer nights full of cheap beer and good friends, I’m stoked for the later.
Make friends with Gentleman Jesse And His Men – Facebook
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Two things should be stated up front; Father John Misty is in itself one awesome band name, the second being the fact that J. Tillman chose to use it as a moniker rather than riding his own name and its attachment with Fleet Foxes for further solo success is commendable to say the least.
Until recently I’ve felt that J. Tillman was just creative enough as a solo artist to justify leaving his former band as they were just beginning to make the unfortunate jump from scene to mainstream, all of that has changed completely with the birth of Father John Misty.
I’m not sure what caused it but something big has happened within Tillman, there is a new crystallization of creativity that has me more than stoked to jump on the FJM bandwagon. This is great music, for the first time I’m actually excited not only for what he has laid out in front of us but more-so for what absolute potential this new shift shines a light on.
Welcome to the spotlight J. Tillman you’ve sure as hell earned it.
Make friends with Father John Misty – Facebook | Tumblr
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Have you guys heard the 1,2,3 Mifits Cover album? If not, you should!
As both a fan of 1,2,3 and The Misfits this combination of the two still amazes me each time I press play.
I’m not sure why I dug up this release from last Halloween but it has been finding itself onto daily mixes these last few weeks. If you happen to be a die-hard Misfits fan and you don’t appreciate this more than likely it is from closed-minded biases rather than any real discrepancies with the sound, sure some of the piss and vinegar is lost in translation yet what we gain makes the loss justifiable.
The band has a kickstarter up to help get a new van due to how many shows they’ve had to cancel from their current van breaking down. These guys create incredible music and if you missed one of their many sets during this years SXSW you should definitely pencil them in at the top of your must-see live list, it wouldn’t hurt to throw down a few bucks to help make it happen.
Make friends with 1,2,3 – Facebook | Tumblr | Twitter | Kickstarter
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“Only Eyes” is the first release from Sin Fang‘s new EP Half Dreams which will be here in less than a month… just in time to soundtrack yet another summer with his upbeat electronic gems.
Make friends with Sin Fang – Website | Facebook
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I was a bit weary about how Paint It Golden would sound when it came out last fall. The thought of the band lacking Mindy White‘s perfectly fitting vocals and the chemistry they helped create within the band’s sound left me without an ounce of optimism for Lydia‘s future. So often in the past I’ve found myself wishing she sang more rather than typically working as an accompaniment, the few songs where she takes the lead were some of their best to date and the presence it brought to their albums was an absolute cornerstone to what made them great.
The dirt that all parties were throwing in each others direction didn’t help bare the loss much either. At the point of their hiatus things seemed bleak with enough drama to fill an MTV reality show, all members seemed to have something negative to say about the band as a collective . So now Mindy is out and the two founding members Leighton Antelman and Steve McGraw are all bro’d-up once again, I’m not sure what happened, I guess sometimes friendship trumps creative differences.
Enter Paint It Golden and the complete shock I had upon finally listening to it last week. This album is better than good, it could quite possibly be their best album yet. There is confidence, there is style, it’s a even a bit more grown-up (for a band I previously would have full-on labeled Emo this is important), and yet the engaging lyrics feel as personal and engaging as ever. All things considered I’m left wondering if White had stayed with the band and they continued on their previous course would I have liked it? Probably not, my sulking-in-emotion drowning-in-depression days are a ways behind me.
There’s a line in the sand between maturing and selling out and thank god Antelman and McGraw chose the side that allows me to continue cheering for them and having great music to coincide with my own life and the memories they have/will attach themselves too.
At this point the only thing I’m not thankful for when it comes to things Lydia related is the fact that they are still touring in support of crap bands like The Maine (I’m sure the guys are good people and all but I’ve seen them live and it sounds like an auto-tuned pre-mixed prime example of all that destroyed a thriving important scene I once held so close), grow some balls guys! Wouldn’t it be better to play shitty bars in dive towns than ride the Alternative Press pre-pubescent bandwagon? I’m not a supporter of business decisions rather than artistic ones and Lydia‘s current tour seems to follow the first route.
At the end of the day, with my judgements on touring decisions aside, I’m glad I hadn’t written these guys off, it definitely would have been my loss. My fingers are crossed they keep it together this time.
Make friends with Lydia - Facebook
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I was sitting up last night listening to the new Said The Whale album and this song came to mind. I can now say that Little Mountain has shifted from being an album I chose to hate for unimportant hopes that they would have gone a different direction with their sound to one of the main albums I’m listening consistently to. I’ll say this and move on; why do bands never strip things back? It’s always more production, more production, more production with each album until they are undeniably fitting into the clear-channel playlist void of complete sell-out garbage. That’s what bothers me about Little Mountain, sure it’s a great album but it’s a small step towards the dark side, just for once I want a band to get heavier or folkier or go from clean to lo-fi rather than the complete reverse, seriously if Springsteen sat down in his kitchen and recorded a new album by four-track as he did with Nebraska it would most likely be the greatest album he’s made in thirty years, I would much rather hear an artist with all their flaws than hear how well a producer can polish over them.
“Apples” is what I was hoping for when I download Little Mountain because it would have been a step forward in songwriting strength for the guys without losing that swing your mug backyard campfire vibe that made songs like “The Light As You” kick the door to my heart open. That’s enough of STW.
Alamo Race Track are a band who have been creating a homogenous sound of music for ten+ years. Their the perfect mixture of Bishop Allen and the aforementioned Said The Whale without losing their own distinct sound, standing out within all comparisons.
Make friends with Alamo Race Track – Website | Facebook | Soundcloud Twitter
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It is only April and I have included Old Gray on three mixtapes already. If “Ryan Mitchell Made Me Do It” wasn’t one of the best song I’ve heard since uncovering “Belly Of The Best” last December and before that “Wilderness Eyes” last summer I wouldn’t continue inundating you with their music, after all you can lead a horse to water or some shit.
This song comes from their Demo‘s EP (free through their bandcamp link below) and fully embodies, without missing a single aspect, each and every quality that makes me passionate for music and keeps me shuffling through band pages and blogs all night.
It’s like Fat Mike once said, “the record player spinning the best times I never had, so why do my old records make me sad? Cause they’re so bad and no one seems to understand the glory of guitar when out of tune, the off timing, the singers who can’t sing, the beauty of flaw.” Those few lines define what it is that makes me hold onto the music I LOVE with such closeness as to occasionally lose sight of the fact that a specific song and I as an individual are not one and the same when it feels for those few endless minutes that we are.
Sure I appreciate all types of music, I understand (or at least think I do) the indefinable characteristics that makes the difference between what is good and what is not, like how I can confidently say that Wilco are generic but Whiskeytown were great, but it’s the music that goes beyond labels and definitions that truly bonds with me and causes everything to fall into place, to clear away the chaos and confusion that has become my day to day life and for those brief moments help everything to just make sense. “Ryan Mitchell Made Me Do It” is one of those rare but important songs.
“We live in a dream and, when our lives are over, we’ll finally wake up and realize the world is asleep. We’ll empty our lungs and strum out our heartstrings; we’ll simply wake up and realize the beauty in life. One day we’ll scream and get rid of our demons- we’ll empty our souls, take the world off our backs. And as for me, well, I’ve been through some bad times, but I’ve kept my head up and imagined a place with just you and me. Some day the world will stop and so will our hearts. I love you so.“
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Bonus: NOFX – “Jaw Knee Music” – mp3
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It’s been a while since I’ve mentioned I Am Fuel, You Are Friends – what is probably the best website in the world for music. Heather Browne has an ear for music which I can merely strive for and an elegance to her writing I could never even attempt. It was awesome to see her venture out in a very organic way when she began Chapel Sessions last year, much of the phenomenal acoustic music in my library has come out of those sessions.
Bryan John Appleby‘s take on the lyrically-sound Paul Simon song “Duncan” is quite possibly my favorite that has come out of the Chapel Sessions. It’s odd how close to the original Appleby keeps his version yet there’s something about it that feels brand new with a deep underlying sadness. Sure that has been a staple of Simon’s songs but this is a fresh sadness, individualized rather than all-encompassing as with all of Simon’s work especially with Garfunkel. I would dare even say that somehow that somber nearly melancholy semblance is what Garfunkel brought to the music which people so often overlook. It’s easy to see Art as just standing there and singing along, and sure Paul Simon was able to go on to define what it means to be a singer-songwriter on his own but it’s those early tracks that stand out, not for the structure but for the spirit they embody, many nights I’ve spent trying to figure out why. What changed? For much of my life I thought it was maturity, taking his approach from passion to professional yet it was when I first heard JBA’s version that this new notion came to me. It’s early in development as a theory goes so I can’t quite expound upon it but the question now is, how is it that Bryan John Appleby accomplishes what Paul Simon never could quite do on his own?
I’m not saying that BJA could write a song of this caliber, that is yet to be seen (we’ve still got time), but he sure as hell can breathe a whole new life into “Duncan” and that is commendable in itself.
Check out the entire Fuel/Friends Chapel Session here.
Listen to the difference for yourself – Paul Simon – “Duncan” - mp3
Make friends with Bryan John Appleby – Website | Facebook | Bandcamp
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The best remixes, as with covers, are the ones that can take a great song and change it without losing any of the originals integrity. Copy‘s remix of this formerly chill Hosannas song moves “The People I Know” in more of the direction the original only hinted at in its development.
Nothing over the top is added or tweaked but “The People I Know” now has a drive to it which makes the experience feel more passionate. Marius Libman‘s eight-bit key addition is rather fantastic in itself though, I could listen to those ten second breaks sampled on repeat for an hour and never grow tired of it.
Make friends with Hosannas – Website | Facebook | Bandcamp | Twitter
Make friends with Copy – Myspace | Last.fm
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Let’s get back to something a little more visceral.
“Last Cab From Tunis” has a sound that I can only describe as a spot on mix of Real Estate and The Talking Heads, a combination I wouldn’t believe if I hadn’t heard for myself.
These guys are out of Austin, I’m yet to catch them live since moving here but I’m hoping that changes in the very near future. A new album is due out in the next month or so, I haven’t seen an official date for it yet, if it’s anywhere near as good as what they’ve put out so far go ahead and count on seeing more of them on Heycoolkid!.
Make friends with Hundred Visions – Website | Facebook | Bandcamp | Twitter
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There’s much that can be taken from what is being said in “Lays At Rest.” Since we are all at liberty to make our own interpretation, I can’t help but hear a statement being made throughout this song that embodies the mindset of all those twenty-somethings I consider my peers. The whole burn it all down to build it back up, self-evaluation vs. self-destruction, the standing-still disguised as forward progress and the reality that sometimes we have to defend our decisions after the fact even when we’re not sure ourselves what we are doing, all of that is possibly in “Lays At Rest“. Then again this could just be an indie-pop break-up song.
Make friends with The Orwells -Facebook | Tumblr
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“Piece Of Your Pie” - mp3
I’m feeling like I should end this week in a bit more upbeat fashion than usual.
Most SNOWMINE songs stand within their own unique psyche-pop sound so it’s more of a compliment than just an average reference when I mention how “Piece Of Your Pie” feels very similar to another of my Brooklyn favorite’s Bear Hands, only with more space and a little more swagger, yet the definitive difference lies within how this song is fueled by confidence and just enough experimentation to keep things original.
I really hope to catch these guys live this year. They keep sending me invites to shows in New York, it sure would be nice to have something more within biking distance, sure Lance Armstrong could make a trip out of it but for a half-pack-a-day smoker like myself it’s a little bit unrealistic.
I promise that next week’s post will have more new faces, I’ve been spending much of my time this year actually soaking in entire albums from bands rather than falling in line with A-typical hipsters who only know one or two songs from a band and pretends like they are a passionate fan. I felt somewhat like a fake when compiling my Best Albums of 2012 list when I was actually hearing a few of them in there entirety as I was typing up the post. There has to be a balance for continually finding new worthwhile music while at the same time getting to enjoy the incredible art which has already been found, I’ll let you know if I ever figure it out. SNOWMINE create great art, so it’s only a half-assed apology I offer up. I may be lowering my chances of new followers, it’s worth the loss, what’s more important, them or me… not all self-centered decisions are bad ones, right?
Make friends with SNOWMINE - Website | Facebook | Twitter
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All songs are for promotional purposes only. If you or an artist you represent would like some content removed email me at Heycoolkid@yahoo.com.
So here we are…. first post of 2012, celebrating the first full year for Heycoolkid!.
I’ve come a long way, still have a long way to go, am blessed to have seen such growth within myself in the last twelve months, I’m beginning to figure out who I really am, who I really want to be, accepting my weaknesses and developing my strengths, I’m alive and I feel it and that’s a nice change in itself.
Who knows where we’ll be in another year, a blink of an eye that lasts the length of a lifetime. Lord willing, 2013 will be here soon enough…. let’s enjoy this moment while we have it.
This weeks mix covers a little of everything, in a good way, hopefully it sets the tone for what’s to come.
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1. Tashaki Miyaki -”Somethin Is Better Than Nothin
You would think by this point that the whole one drummer/One guitar player duo would have lost it’s luster, it hasn’t though and for the most part it’s from the fact that every band who surfaces with that dynamic have a new sound compared to the others and as in the case of Tashaki Miyaki it’s still rather impressive.
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Looking for the most fitting soundtrack to packing up and finding oneself? Carousel‘s “Here Now” is all we could hope for.
Optimism meet chill.
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“Go Easy” is a complex song in a very unexpected sort of way. Layering itself continually, it does just about everything possible other than turn in a calculated direction. Sure things feel organic but not in any classical sense.
We Cut Corners may not be reinventing the wheel but still sound original without getting weird or uncomfortable. It’s not often I get to say that.
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4. Kisses – “Kisses (Lake Heartbeat Mix)”
I’m always in the mood for a solid remix… especially when it’s a remix of “Kisses” a stand alone track worthy of any playlist/situation.
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5. Donovan Woods – “Put On Cologne”
Sure there’s a hint of acoustic-pop to “Put On Cologne,” there’s also an airy focus hidden within a shell of confident songwriting. This is a very fitting song for colder weather and longing emotions.
Somewhere between The Weepies and Glen Hansard there has been sitting vacant a space for Donovan Woods to fill.
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6. Tyler Lyle – “The Golden Age And The Silver Girl”
I’ve had a few tracks from Tyler Lyle lying around but hadn’t given this guy out of Atlanta a real chance. That was until I heard Heather Brown (ie I Am Fuel, We Are Friends) on NPR last week. I haven’t been shy about my feelings for having complete respect for her taste in music. I can’t think of a single band she’s recommended I haven’t agreed with her on, so when she mentioned Tyler Lyle I made it a point to give the guy my undivided attention … once again she was absolutely right. This is an amazing title track from an album I wish I’d gotten on board with sooner.
Check out the entire The Golden Age & The Silver Girl album here.
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7. Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin – “Yellow Missing Signs”
Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin is one of the more underrated bands around. For the amount of time they’ve been giving us solid indie music I can’t believe they are not name dropped more often alongside bands like Freelance Whales and Tokyo Police Club when mentioning upbeat relevant music. SSLYBY is on my list of bands to see in 2012, from what I’ve heard they deliver, I’m ready to experience it first hand.
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8. Victor Florence – “Unravel”
“Unravel” makes me think of an intense and slightly cleaned up Kimya Dawson or less angsty Titus Andronicus… a very good thing if you ask me.
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Bonus: Victor Florence – “Winter”
As I was writing about “Unravel” I came across “Winter” . I thought I liked the guys sound before… now he’s got a chuck norris grip on my heart. Check out the review I just wrote for this song here.
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9. Under Electric Light – “Someone Somewhere”
One shift in the musical landscape last year was this unprecedented push towards an 80′s soundtrack sound in synth based songs. Under Electric Light seems to have a very conscious focus towards things of background importance. “Someone Somewhere” makes me feel like I’m doing something even when I’m not, kind of like a montage for my life.
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10. Karen Elson – “The Ghost Who Walks”
Despite the fact that Karen Elson‘s day job is something I have complete distaste for she sure as hell knows how to create some solid 60′s influenced rock music.
knowing how complex we are are as individuals it amazes me how much people want to act like each thing we do defines us. This is why I can listen to a song like “The Ghost Who Walks” and close my eyes and take nothing but enjoyment from the experience. Good art is good art even if in a round about way it was funded by Louis Vuitton and Chanel.
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11. Bowerbirds – “Tuck The Darkness In”
“Tuck The Darkness In” is a beautifully written song about the realization of time and the coming to grips with a truth we sometimes don’t see, holding onto all things good, and the appreciation for things as a whole which can only come as we mature along the paths we’ve taken to find ourselves.
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12. Little Silver – “Stolen Souvenir”
This is one of my favorite songs to fall asleep to. Steve Curtis and Erika Simonian’s vocals work so well when weaving with such subtle alignment, singing us to a peaceful place of understanding, what’s not to love?
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I’m realizing an underlying message to this weeks mix that before now I hadn’t noticed was there. That’s how things seem to work out though, certain ideals seem to come together when making a playlist and for the most part it’s unintentional. Seeing how things lay beside each other this week it’s still surprising to me that “Young” pretty much embodies the ethos for this weeks collective yet that’s exactly what it does.
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This husband wife duo is really only at the beginning of what’s shaping up to become a very promising future in our lives.
“Aviary” is only a sample from their incredible Save Your Season album which I highly recommend experiencing as a whole. For how solid it is I’m really surprised not seeing it on more Best album’s lists last month.
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I guess it’s a good thing he can’t see you in his dreams since through your absence we ended up with “Empty Bed.”
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16. The Bird Day – “More Movement”
I found this track through Winnie Cooper.
“More Movement” is a danceable bass driven song of artistic expression.
The Bird Day have a passive presence worth respecting… I can get down on songs like this all day.
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17. Monument Valley – “Dear John Letters”
“Dear John Letters” is my favorite song I’ve heard since “Howth.”
Sadness leaks in from every direction with each passing second of this song. It’s a shame it takes such deep loss to bring about a reflective monumental song that feels larger than the world around us and as individually enveloping as a song can be.
The weight within these words would be impossible to carry or move but beautiful enough to sing along and embrace, which is all we ask for from music that means the most to us. I hope that through this song Monument Valley comes to find some sort of peace that without it would not have been there, that’s what it did for me.
One of my best friends was killed at the hands of her husband when we were both twenty, something I rarely talk about but think of constantly…when “Dear John Letter’s” reaches those last few lines I was taken by surprise to have that situation clearly brought into focus. I may be in a different place, the stories may not be the same, yet for me this song kind of helped it all just settle for second, no other song has ever done that.
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All songs are for promotional purposes. If you or an artist you represent would like to have some content removed email me at heycoolkid@yahoo.com
