Curation

Crystal Castles just teamed up with legendary frontman for The Cure, Robert Smith, to redo Not In Love. The track is a cover of a Platinum Blonde song which CC had reworked and put on their most recent LP. But this time the cut melds the screaching goth electro with vocals from Smith, who sounds like he hasn't missed a beat since the 80's. Incredible. Check it out over on Stereogum or play it down below (that is for as long as the link stays up).

Crystal Castles - Not In Love (ft. Robert Smith)

The updated "Not in Love" is the A-side of a single due 12/6 via Fiction. The B-Sides are early acoustic demos of “Celestica” and "Suffocation".

Crystal Method

New video from the world's most hated band, Crystal Castles. Watch the vid for Baptism, off of their LP, Crystal Castles (II), which came out this summer.

Fly Low

Check these two new videos from Flying Lotus, L.A.'s sickest electronic hip-hop producer. First up is the video for the gorgeous astral tune MmmHmm [ft. Thundercat] off of FlyLo's new album Cosmogramma. And the newest vid is a colorfully illustrated polygonal presentation directed by Beeple for the drum and bass track, Kill Your Co-Workers, off Flying Lotus's new Pattern + Grid World EP. Shit is crazy.

Boyfriend

Video for Boyfriend by Best Coast. This vid finds Bethany playing at a Quinceañera for a young Latina girl.

Duder

Young cat out of Jacksonville, unouomedude (you-know-you-owe-me-dude), has been killing it lately on the Chillwave tip. Mixes, remixes, singles, early material and his debut EP, Marsh, are all available for free on his website, here. Or you can slide on over to Bandcamp, where you can stream the album or name your price to own the material and support Uno.

Jangly, watery sounds accompanied by cooing background vocals kick off the EP on Dream Home. On my favorite track, Island Summer, breezy, tropical sounds underlie the softly sung vocal melody which seems to convey sentimental longing for days past. Buildings is a more upbeat tune with some doo-wop-like backing vocals. Peep the video below.

  Dream Home by unouomedude  

  Island Summer by unouomedude

Against the Machine Like Rage

Kid Cudi has teamed up for a track with legendary emo rapper and frontman for The Weathermen, Cage. These cats are known for dark imagery and the song Maniac is no exception, sampling the haunting vocals of St. Vincent's somber pop track, The Strangers. 

The track is going to be on Cudder's upcoming album, Man on the Moon II: The Legend of Mr. Rager, due out in November, which will feature Ratatat, Cee-Lo, Kayne, and GLC just to name a few. Listen to an early, unfinished/unmastered version of the track below.

Kid Cudi - "Maniac" f/ Cage (St. Vincent Sampled) by Pretty Much Amazing

Suuns In My Eyes

Montreal minimalists, Suuns, just released their LP, Zeroes QC, on Secretly Canadian. The album's ominous, creeping, electro sound is no doubt indebted in part to The Besnard Lakes' Jace Lasek, a fellow Montréalais who helped to record the album and gain the attention of the Canadian label that is home to current sensations Yeasayer and Here We Go Magic. The only thing that stands out more than the dark, eerie melodies are Ben Shemie's bizarre and breathy vocals, which are best exemplified by Up Past the Nursery. Watch the video below.

Tennis Live

Check out my current obsession, the husband and wife duo Tennis, as they play Live on Pitchfork TV's Tunnelvision presented by Brooklyn videographer, Chocolate Bobka.


TENNIS - MARATHON from Chocolate Bobka on Vimeo.


TENNIS - WHEN I WALK INTO THE ROOM from Chocolate Bobka on Vimeo.

Bye Bye Blackbird

San Francisco dream pop producer, Mikey Sanders, is constantly releasing new material under the name Blackbird Blackbird. So far in 2010 Sanders has released several singles, four EP's, and most recently, his debut LP, Summer Heart. Check out the mesmerizing video for the single, Pure below. Like most tracks from Blackbird Blackbird it has an airy, dreamlike quality with chopped up sounds and vocals reverberating throughout. And while some of his work might come off as a little subdued, Happy High, is a short burst of sunshine.

Blackbird Blackbird – Pure (Official Music Video) from Isaac Bauman on Vimeo.

Ride The Pine

Alpine, a six piece band out of Melbourne, Australia, recently signed to Ivy League Records, ahead of the release of their first EP, Zurich, in November 2010. The standout track on the five song debut EP is Too Safe, an upbeat, colorful pop tune which you can download for free on Last.fm. And make sure to check out the obligatory Star Slinger remix of my favorite track off the EP, Icypoles, below or download it free here.

  Alpine - Icypoles (Star Slinger Dreamix) by Star Slinger

Hands On The Wheel

American Folk singer Lissie Maurus covers the Kid Cudi anthem, Pursuit of Happiness (Nightmare). As much as I love the Cudder, Lissie KILLS it. Peep the video below, from the Brighton Great Escape festival this May.

High Five

San Francisco's Nicholas Ng has been tearing up the blog scene all year with light and spacey pop singles that he produces under the moniker, Fiveng. He recently put out a single, Easy, on Beachtapes. The title track off the single has not one, but two videos produced by famous found-footage artist Jamie Harley. The Longest version (below), features official 1972 Olympic Games footage of distance runners, while the other version, The Strongest, features weight lifters. But my favorite thing associated with Fiveng so far is the Star Slinger remix of his first single, Jonah, which you can listen to below or download here for free.


Fiveng - "Easy" (The Longest video) from Jamie Harley on Vimeo.

  STAR SLINGER - FIVENG - JONAH (STAR SLINGER REMIX) by Star Slinger

Deer Season

Check out the video for "Helicopter", Deerhunter's second single off their new album Halcyon Digest. It's a slow, despondent track coupled with fuzzy black and white images of frontman Bradford Cox singing the beautiful tune. Also, check out the spacey Star Slinger remix.
 
Deerhunter - Helicopter (Star Slinger Remix).

EmAy is for the Children

Continuing on the hip-hop tip, this time from Canadian rapper/producer EmAy. Dude came on the scene last year with an extensive and ill remix album, A.D.D. (Altered Dynamic Dimensions), which you can download here, for free. In late 2009, he dropped a deep and emotional single, Child (Refugee), that really showed off his talent for writing.

Fast-forward to 2010 and Mubarik Adams AKA EmAy is releasing a flurry of diverse material. First up is If You're Breathing, a reflective and melancholy single that features Emay's signature laid back spit over soft piano notes. Perhaps my favorite work of his is the remix album, Emay, Karen O, and the Kids. Simply put, it's a reinterpretation of the soundtrack for Where The Wild Things Are by Karen O (of Yeah Yeah Yeahs fame), and it's incredible. My favorite track is Igloo, a bouncy joyride through the imagination of a child. Plus it samples Karen's beautiful voice so it's hard to go wrong there. Cop the album for free here and get your rumpus on.

Stellar

UK beatmaker, Star Slinger, is blowing up the bedroom hip hop set in 2010. Producer Darren Williams has released an LP, a remix EP and a ton of singles this year. You can download all of this material for free here or you can purchase it over on Bandcamp, and support the artist. Williams, who uses a lot of short, choppy, soulful samples, claims J Dilla as a big influence on his stylings. And like many tracks on Dilla's last album, Donuts, Star Slinger's beats have an impalpable, vaporous quality. His single, "May I Walk With You?", is a tranquil, rainy day electronic hip-hop track.

Williams was recently featured in Pitchfork: Rising and has announced a collab effort with Candian rapper Emay and San Francisco dream pop producer Blackbird Blackbird, called Seeing Suge (as in Suge Knight). Their first track, "Breaking", samples the dream pop group, Memoryhouse, and you can check it out below.

Seeing Suge "Breaking" (Collabo project with Emay / Blackbird Blackbird) by Star Slinger

Friends Forever

Despite it being October and increasingly cold I'm still on the beach tip. This gem is from our neighbors up north. Crystal Dorval, also known as My Friend Wallis, has been warming up the B.C. area with her summery, tropical brand of beach pop. Her first EP, When the Blue Turned Yellow, was released last summer. You can actually download the EP for free from Draculahorse. She is currently working on new stuff including this track, Hiding, which is a breezy tune reminiscent of Washed Out. Peep the video below. Ghostly sights and sounds abound.

Hiding - My Friend Wallis from Kyle Surovy on Vimeo.

Paper Tiger

Finnish Indie Pop group, Paperfangs, have two tracks and a video making the rounds on the blog circuit. "Oh I Wandered" is a soft and soothing, yet slightly upbeat track that reminds me a bit of Swedish-American Electro Pop act, Thieves Like Us. The other track, "Books", has a video, produced by fellow Finns at Riite Design. These guys were featured on BIRP! in the September 2010 Playlist, yet information on them and subsequently, appreciation of them is extremely scarce so far.

Scion Garage Fest - Lawrence, KS

I went. Last night. It was awesome.

Saw Cloud Nothings at the Granada. Not a lot of people but it was early and the band had tons of energy and played a great rendition of Didn't You.

Got ripped and went to Liberty Hall to see Best Coast. Bethany was hot. She played most of the good cuts from Crazy For You and she also played two of her popular, but definitely less poppy, singles that preceded the album, Sun Was High (So Was I) and Up All Night.

Went to The Bottleneck to see Thee Oh Sees and as it turns out they had switched time slots with another band and had already played. Pretty bummed because I heard they played the best show of the festival.

Took a few tabs to cheer up.

Headed back to Liberty Hall to get seats in the balcony.

The Greenhornes had just started their set. Never heard of them. They were incredible. Stripped down, pounding garage rock.

Sharin looked sexy as f@&#. Couldn't take my eyes off of her. The Raveonettes played a super mellow show for the most part. Moody and haunting. The stage was soaked in red light. Crazy celestial paintings covered the ceiling and walls. Every sight and sound was part of a dreamy, ethereal haze. I can die happy.

The Birds and The Bees

German Electro-Folk trio, A HOME. A HEART. WHATEVER., have a track floating around teh interwebz that I have a feeling is going to lead to some wider recognition. It was actually featured on BIRP! in the July 2010 Playlist but seems to have gone largely unnoticed. This lovely cut, bugs & bees, is a charming, mellow tune.