Best Anti-drug PSA ever.

Michael Cera freaks out on drugs with Islands, enjoy.



No You Don't - Islands

BOO! A Mystery Mix!

Here's your trick-or-treat, dear readers! A fresh mix tape by Yours Truly with some surprises. The following stats will give you some hints:

22 Tracks
1:19:41 (yep, fits on 1 regular audio CD!)
shortest track: 1:31
longest track: 6:31

3 covers
1.5 spoken word tracks
1 instrumental
1 live version
1 mash-up
1 old skool rap
1 song from VK's namesake artist
1 song for all you WRIMOS starting tomorrow (good luck!!)

oldest song: 1976
newest song: October 20, 2009
60% of songs from 1980-1999

I didn't make this song with any particular type of person in mind, but let's just say that those with an appreciation for 80's new wave, punk, and hipster irony... with a Jersey upbringing... will have the most possible appreciation for this mix. Or not.

1. Dashboard Confessional - El Scorcho (Weezer cover).mp3

2. Pixies - Wave of Mutilation.mp3

3. Gerry Rafferty - Baker Street.mp3

4. The White Stripes - It's True That We Love One Another.m4a

5. Beck - Last Night I Traded My Souls Innermost For Some Pickled Fish.mp3

6. Bright Eyes - Devil Town (Daniel Johnston cover).mp3

7. Ace Of Bace - Don't Turn Around.m4a

8. Elvis Costello - Every Day I Write The Book.m4a

9. Billy Joel - Vienna.mp3

10. Tor / Sufjan Stevens - I Like The Tallest Man (feat. Grad Puba).mp3

11. the Mountain Goats - Houseguest (live cover).mp3

12. Lyle Lovett - Here I Am.mp3

13. They Might Be Giants - Don't Let's Start.mp3

14. Islands - No You Don't.m4a

15. John Vanderslice - Promising Actress.mp3

16. Holcombe Waller - Anthem (Will I Forgive Myself If I Can't Help You Anymore).mp3

17. Skee-Lo - I Wish.mp3

18. Daniel Johnston - Etiquette.mp3

19. Crash Test Dummies - Keep a Lid on Things.mp3

20. Tom Waits - Bad Liver & a Broken Heart.mp3

21. Gunnar Madsen - This Must Be The Place (Native Melody) (Talking Heads cover).mp3

22. Tenacious D - Friendship Test.mp3

Time & Place: Islands' "Vapours" understood, or not

Editor's note: This was written a month go but is just being published today.

This is the first time I'm listening to this album. I have never heard any of these songs before.
It's just before 9 am on Saturday, September 26. I just woke up. I slept 16 hours after coming back from Sufjan's show in Cleveland, OH. I'm still high from it.

Consider this an experiment in the latest (or oldest) of album-reviewing technology: basically a live-blogged stream-of-consciousness thoughts of this album. Which, biases revealed, "Arm's Way" was taken out of its case the day I bought it and has resided in our car ever since. It is on our list of top-10 desert albums.

Switched On Yep, this CD is definitely on and playing. A bit of a shock to the system as gradual fade-ins seem to have been popular recently. Oh, and there's the singing. It seems to have a slightly Caribbean Beat. Chikka-Chikka-Wow!

No You Don't I can attest this first line is true. This is funky-tastic, like a disco version of a horror-carousel. But, because I'm a dork, I woudl put this on a mix right after the Mountain Goats' song "No, I Can't." Because that would be funny, right? I think I'm adopting "don't back down in your wedding gown" as a new personal mantra.

Vapours Title tack... Silly Canadians, U's are for Brits! I'm geting a sort of 70's groove on this one too. A lot simpler, though. Shiny brass with a growling sax.

Disarming the Car Bomb You know, I like this sound. It flows. That thrilling and soothing are not only not-mutually exclusive, but that they could blend. There's a lot of 80's-type feedback that's been popular lately, like they understudied with Cut/Copy for a week while Nick Diamonds was still arranging the bass parts.

Tender Torture I'm glad Islands is progressing they way they are. They ARE progressing and getting ever-more complex, as well they should, so you never feel like you're still listening to the Unicorns. But they're not by such radical leaps and bounds that each album is so different that it takes a while to "get it" and get into it. Not the case here for sure.

Shining Wait, did Radiohead's Amnesiac just come on? The lyrics are way creepy. Instead of seduction I'm getting visions of antisocial 40-something pedos with a handful of lollipops and a freshly refurbished windowless van. *shudder*

On Foreigner Oh boy, I hope this song is about Foreigner! haha, no. It has a lovely beginning though. "Don't drop the needle on the groove" is a great line. This has a vague middle-eastern kinda beat. I keep sayin' it: Woodblock is the new Cowbell. and I want More Woodblock!!

Heartbeat Despite my anticipation, It is not a cover of the Annie song. It Sure is rhythmic, though, plodding, regular, drum/beat-based. So, really, this is more like Kanye West singing distorted vocals over Sufjan Stevens' "Year of the Ox." ........nah.

The Drums Bad Boys! Bad Boys! Whatcha Gonna Do, Whatcha gonna do when Islands comes for you?! I swear, if you don't sing that to the instrumental intro, you've just lost all humor. It's kind of slow. Actually, even though we're getting into more "Amnesiac" territory by the end, it's kind of boring.

EOL Oh, ¾ time, my waltzing beau. Sweet. Simple. Nothing much to say.

Everything Is Under Control Well, this is no 11-minute, 3-movement extro, which, personally, I'm bummed about. But that can be overdone easily, and this soft, oceanic echo is a pretty sweet closing deal on Vapours. I AM IN CONTROL! Thanks, Islands!

...But you don't have to take my word for it...
Islands - No You Don't.mp3
Islands - Disarming the Car Bomb.mp3

Last line:
IT IS ADVISABLE YOU BUY THIS ALBUM.

Songs For a Snow Day

Elliott Smith - Angel in the Snow.mp3
Belle & Sebastian - Fox in the Snow.mp3
the Mountain Goats - Third Snow Song.mp3
Horse Feathers - Blood on the Snow.mp3
Shearwater - The Snow Leopard.mp3

EDIT: additions from June!
Islands - Abominable Snow.m4a
the Mountain Goats - Snow Crush Killing Song.mp3
Regina Spektor - 20 Years of Snow.m4a
Sufjan Stevens - Majesty Snowbird (live at Fox theatre).mp3
They Might Be Giants - When It Rains It Snows.m4a

and some other related songs for this snowy winter mood...
Tori Amos - Winter.m4a
Jens Lekman - The Cold Swedish Winter.m4a
Ruby Isle - White Winter Hymnal (Fleet Foxes cover).mp3
The White Stripes - In the Cold, Cold Night.m4a
Ra Ra Riot - Winter '05.mp3
The Blind Boys Of Alabama (feat. Chrissie Hynde & Richard Thompson) - In the Bleak Midwinter.mp3
the Mountain Goats - One Winter at Pint Alpha Private.mp3
Simon & Garfunkle - A Hazy Shade of Winter.m4a
Sufjan Stevens - Sister Winter.m4a

June's Top Songs of 2008, pt. I

My favorite songs released this year, in no order:

Cut Copy - So Haunted.m4a
buy In Ghost Colours
Addictive and hypnotizing.

Coldplay - Lost!.m4a
buy Viva La Vida
An enthusiastic backbone with power pop lyrics.

Reynaldo - Brothers Forever.mp3
The only good thing to ever come out of American Idol.

Lykke Li - Little Bit.mp3
buy Youth Novels
Swedish with a light voice, a lovely sweet song.

Vampire Weekend - Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa.m4a
buy Vampire Weekend
Why be "A-Punk" when you can lean into this floaty Caribbean beat instead?

Besnyo - No!.m4a
buy Worry
Another great exclamation-point song, from a fab band out of Buffalo NY.

The Hood Internet - The Year This Club Broke (My Heart) [Usher (feat. Young Jeezy) vs Los Campesinos!].mp3
The year's best mash-up.

Flight of the Conchords - Bret, You've Got It Goin' On.mp3
buy Flight of the Conchords
This isn't from the album, but the best song from the show.

Islands - Vertigo (If It's a Crime).m4a
buy Arm's Way
11 minutes of sheer epic awesomeness.

the Mountain Goats & Kaki King - Black Pear Tree.mp3
The Black Pear Tree EP is SOLD OUT so instead buy Heretic Pride
A wistful, sadder song.

Weezer - Pork & Beans.mp3
buy Weezer (The Red Album)
Too obviously catchy and lovable to not theme your summer.

Top 26 Songs of 2008 (Jess Edition, Part 1)

Here's my list of fave songs of the year. Stay tuned for the other gals' lists of songs. And then check back at the end of the month for our cumulative top albums list.

26. Mykonos – Fleet Foxes
This is the song that convinced that Fleet Foxes were waaaaay more then Grizzly Bear-lite. Swelling harmonies and tribal rhythms rarely sound this compelling.

25.Run (I'm a Natural Disaster) – Gnarls Barkley
It’s all in the little “woos” and “las”. Simultaneously menacing and dizzyingly fun.

24. Slapped Actress – The Hold Steady
With this song, The Hold Steady finally managed to become epic. Massive crescendos, lots of “woah woah woah-ing” and Craig Finn’s as-always urgent delivery work in perfect unison.

23. Pieces of You – Islands
Ultra-bouncy and deceptively intricate song that bubbles its way into full-fledged orchestral grandeur.

22. Another Day – Jamie Lidell
The sunniest single Motown never released (by a British white boy, no less).

21. Too Drunk to Dream – The Magnetic Fields
The title says it all –a bitingly witty (and boozy) ode to my two favorite verbs.

20. Chasing Pavements – Adele
While most of the British neo-soul songstress’ debut album errs a bit on the sleepy side for my taste, this song just explodes once it hits the chorus. Heartbreak rarely sounds as bombastic as it feels.

19. The Crook of My Good Arm –Pale Young Gentlemen
Theatrical crooning, a clanging bell and one of the catchiest choruses I’ve heard all year (RUN! RUN!) make for an awesomely frantic song - from a damn-underappreciated band at that.

18. Dying is Fine – Ra Ra Riot
e. e. cummings’ poetry and rocking cello make for an epic combination.

17. Heart of Chambers – Beach House
Victoria Legrand, oh my, your voice! Oh my, this song! Where does it come from? I’m thinking it’s gotta be from some otherworldly realm where Nico and woozy organ drones collided to form a black hole of exponential melancholy.

16. Two Weeks – Grizzly Bear (Live on Letterman)
It’s a bit more sprightly then their usual hazy-as-codeine sound. And by that I mean it has a lot of bouncy keyboards. Yet it still retains the haunting-as-fuck aesthetic of anything they’ve ever recorded. In other words, it’s the sound of a group howling at the moon while dancing in its light.

15. Raincoat Song – The Decemberists
Songs about rain and loneliness are by no means a rare thing and Colin Meloy manages to breathe a breath of fresh air into the fowl weather canon with a sparse acoustic melody and wistful lyricism. “You sleep like a spinster and you’re twenty-eight/ you’ve been thinking late, you couldn’t catch a cold” Sadly, some of can relate.

14. Id Engager – Of Montreal
Sure the album, was a bit choppy (and let’s face it, nothing’s gonna top last year’s Hissing Fauna) BUT we’re talking about songs here and as far as songs go, you don’t much more audaciously sexually playful then this (unless of course you’re Prince). Kevin Barnes coos out from a jungle of swooping synths and a self-proclaimed “phalocentric tyranny”. Baby, I’ll play with you any day!

Stay tuned for the final 13 songs later in the week...

Creepy Creeper

I know we've been pimping this album like whoa, but this video it so rad, especially the outer space part!


Islands -Creeper.mp3

Siren Fest Mix!

It's that time of year again. Woohoo, tomorrow's Siren Fest! Great, free music at Coney Island all day. Did I mention it's FREE? Get ready to endure the heat (forecast says it's gonna hit 94!) and the hipsters (I can spot those plastic, neon shades already) because it will be so totally worth it! Check out that line-up and our accompanying mix:

7/4 (Shoreline) - Broken Social Scene
Gardenia - Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks
Can't Say No - The Helio Sequence
Creeper - Islands
Heart of Chambers - Beach House
Dying is Fine - Ra Ra Riot
Bats Over the Pacific Ocean - Jaguar Love
Drop-Out - Times New Viking
Dry Clothes - Annuals
Red And Purple - The Dodos
Dear Me - Film School
Nowheres Nigh - Parts & Labor
Chipping Ice - These Are Powers
Get Off - Dragons of Zynth

Best albums for first half of 2008

In no particular order, a brief rundown at what's pulled at our heartstrings so far this year. Please click on the artist's name to buy these albums. We repeat: Buy! Buy! Buy!

the Mountain Goats - Heretic Pride: Superchunk's Jon Wurster is a welcome addition to the band.
San Bernadino.mp3


Frightened Rabbit - The Midnight Organ Fight: Driving, earnest songs that belie the band's meek moniker.
Keep Yourself Warm.mp3


Bon Iver - For Emma, Forever Ago: These delicate little songs have gently led me through many dark places this year.
Skinny Love.mp3


Islands - Arm's Way: Epic from start to finish. The strings are incredible!
Creeper.mp3


The Raconteurs - Consolers of the Lonely: An extremely cohesive album. A sweltering album that, in my opinion, surpasses the bands debut.
Salute Your Solution.mp3


Death Cab For Cutie - Narrow Stairs: A shift in sound for the band. I've heard a lot of bad things about this album, but I'm really enjoying it.
I Will Posses Your Heart.m4a


Cut Copy - In Ghost Colours: Dance, Dance, Dance like you're at an 80's prom, except with way hipper music!
Unforgettable Season.mp3


Silver Jews - Lookout Mountain, Lookout Sea: David Berman's wit and rasp at its best.
Candy Jail.m4a


She & Him - Volume 1: The pinnacle of adorableness, plus M. Ward's immaculate, sepia-tinged production.
Black Hole.m4a


Los Campesinos! - Hold On Now, Youngster...: Britain's cheekiest youngsters rock...with glockenspiel of course.
This Is How You Spell, "HAHAHA, We Destroyed the Hopes and Dreams of a Generation of Faux-Romantics".m4a


Vampire Weekend: Unironic pure joy, with a summertime-lounge-y feel.
Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa.mp3


Flight of the Conchords: Silliness without sappiness, spanning different genres.
Mutha'uckas.m4a


Sigur Rós - Með Suð í Eyrum Við Spilum Endalaust: Faux-languaged Icelandic group pulls together a sharp, fun, poppy record.
Inní Mér Syngur Vitleysingur.mp3

Instrumentals

Because sometimes there are just no words.

Tori Amos - Over It (B's Over the Pool mix).mp3 from the "Y Kant Tori Mix" Bootleg.
A soft, dreamy, ethereal a cappella which might be considered an early mash-up, if they weren't both Tori songs and didn't result in quite such a perfect blend. I listen to this much more than either of the two original songs the create it.
"The Pool" is originally found on the Winter EP and "Over It" is part of an instrumental piano suite found on the God single.

Estradasphere - Six Hands.mp3 from Palace Of Mirrors
All their songs are instrumental, and it's a good thing: The degree of brash, cacophonous complexity would only be burdened by the presence of any lyrics. This short punch of a song screams "CIRCUS!" with its calliope-like staccato piano that surely must only be played with six hands.

Sufjan Stevens - Redford (For Yia-Yia & Pappou).mp3 from Michigan
Yia-Yia & Pappou are code named for Dear Abby and her sister, Ann Landers, both Michigan natives as well. Deliberate and cerebral, this instrumental pause of heavenly vocalizations backing hesitant piano in an otherwise richly poetic album, serves as a moment of silence for reflection.

Mason Williams - Classical Gas.mp3 from The Mason Williams Phonograph Record
A favorite of mine since I was a kid. Hard to believe this song is 40 years old! His most well-known and one of his best pieces, this guitar-based classic builds to full orchestral blast in barely over three minutes.

Neutral Milk Hotel - Untitled.mp3 from In The Aeroplane Over The Sea
Not sure if I love it or hate it when there's a fucking amazing album with a single instrumental track in the middle of it. Bagpipes, and roaring trombone are the signatures in this admittedly very odd song.

Islands - Tsuxiit.mp3 from Return To The Sea
Very similar to the above: the single instrumental track dividing (uniting?) the halves of a 11-star (our of four stars) album. Featuring gongs, piano, fluttery synthesizer and of course strings, this Instrumental Intermission cleanses the palate in a cheery way.

Sunn O))) & Boris - N.L.T..mp3 from Altar
NOT a relaxing piece, and definitely not for grandma. If you've never heard Sunn O))), it's like drinking two bottles of Robitussin, then putting a Led Zeppelin or Black Sabbath vinyl on at 20 RPM, adjust the 100khz up to max, and putting the speakers on the floor.

Jeff Buckley - Peace Offering.mp3 from ??????
Sorry for the (lack-of) sound quality on this one; it's an ultra-rare/random/unreleased/b-side/whatever from back in the day. To give you a Jeff Buckley song without his gorgeous vocals seems like a crime, but this only showcases what talented songwriter and guitarist he was.
What? You don't own Grace? SHAME ON YOU. BUY IT.

Two Gallants - Instrumental Song.mp3 from Live at The Independent
This punchy rock piece holds more than a bit of southern flavor as it boldly twings and jangles through the night, driven by relentless drums and a walking baseline, occasionally pausing and delivering what can only seem like a musical punch line.
Buy their Self-Titled Album.

Aphex Twin - Avril 14th.mp3 from Drukqs
One of my favorite instrumental pieces of all time. This short, soft piano piece plucks along gently and makes good use of the residual instrument sounds, as if caught wandering and daydreaming.

Django Reinhardt - Limehouse Blues.mp3 from The Complete Django Reinhardt and Quintet of the Hot Club of France, Swing-HMV Sessions 1936-1948
If you've never heard Django play, then you've missed out on one of the greatest guitarists of our--or our parents' or grandparents'--time. His light, cheery strums bounce along jazz beats with incomprehensible complexity for such a feather-touch sound. Paired here with violin reminiscent of Andrew Bird's early works, this is a happy piece to lift any mood.

Hilmar Örn Hilmarsson & Sigur Rós - Pictures & Memory.mp3 from Angels of the Universe OST
Hot Icelandic-on-Icelandic action! Here the two artists team up for the floaty, gorgeous soundtrack to the 2004 documentary of aerial scenes of Iceland. The rich violin is backed by Sigur Rós' classic dreamy soundscape.

Philip Glass - Metamorphosis One.mp3 from Solo Piano
Think: Gershwin Plays Gershwin. The only other song that could be considered a "classical" selection here (I could have all-too-easily done an all-classical mix!) but is probably the best example of the all-explaining joke:

Knock, Knock.
Who's there?
Knock, Knock.
Who's there?
Knock, Knock.
Who's there?
Knock, Knock.
Who's there?

Philip Glass
Philip Glass
Philip Glass
Philip Glass

Top 6 songs of the moment

Guy Blackman & Jens Lekman - A Dark & Quiet Place.mp3 from Adult Baby
The most homoerotic song ever! Regardless of your gender or orientation, it'll make you want to take your pants off. Slow, sultry and tinkly... whimsical and yet serious all at once with gorgeous male-on-male vocal harmonies.

Van She - Kelly (Cut Copy mix).mp3 from the Kelly 12"
Like the first time I heard Cut Copy, I heard this Van She song and was convinced it was straight from 1985. The chorus, the synthesizers, the sound effects... This 7+ minute remix is just icing on the retro cake.

Damien Rice - Woman Like a Man.mp3 from B-Sides
Dark, hot, brooding, sweaty and powerful (and that's only the guitar!), this is a song for those of us who like it rough. For the heady feminists out there it produces a cultural conundrum: it is a degrading command or an observational compliment? Throw in some cello and ethereal female harmonies, and you will only say YES.

Islands - I Feel Evil (Creeping In).m4a from Arm's Way
I should have just uploaded the entire Islands album, because, really, that's almost all I've been listening to lately. Also, will someone PLEASE PLEASE get on the anticipated/inevitable Creeper remix or mash-up?? For reals, people. It's screaming for it.

Cold War Kids - Saint John.mp3 from Robbers & Cowards
I'd listened a bit to CWK some time ago but never really "got into" them until recently, with a revival of their true greatness courtesy of the recent Sasquatch festival. This song is a bit odd and off-tempo for them, like a jangly olde-tyme revival preacher. The schizophrenic cymbals and determined bass offset the choir-like vocals calling out for mercy from death row.

Flight of the Conchords - Bret You've Got It Goin' On.mp3
There's no reason or excuse for this, save for the fact that it's brilliantly written. It makes me want to be a guy so I can sing it to other guys. All I can do instead is Jam out with my...Clam out? (ooof, sorry for that one.)

Islands @ Webster Hall, NYC 5/24/08

In case you couldn't already tell, we really love the new Islands album around here. It's all in the strings, I swear. And seeing their two violinists go at it live in an all-out, rapid fire duel just solidified how truly epic the band's newfound sound really is. Holy crap, those guys handle their bows with a vigor and passion reserved for lovers.
Naturally the new material translated fantastic live, especially the 11 minute epic "Vertigo". But old faves like "Rough Gem" were also a blast. And hey, not one, but two encores.


Islands - Kids Don't Know Shit.m4a

Stay in Arm's Way

This new Islands album is sooooo good. Unlike the previous album of clanging percussion, brash vocals and potent lyrics, this new magnum opus is more instrumental. It's very rich, more polished, and with the joyful return of bass clarinet, we hear smooth strings and epic, orchestral layers. It takes a few listens to get through the meaning of the less-transparent lyrics, but so worth it. The final track is 11+ minutes of pure Awesome of Homeric proportions.

Islands - Vertigo (If It's a Crime).m4a

Arm's Way comes out next week, but you can should pre-order it now.

Max Mix Muxtape

In case you've not yet discovered it, http://muxtape.com/ is a fabuu new site where you can upload up to 12 mp3s and they'll stream on your own page. The greatest part, however, is browsing through the hundreds--if not thousands--of mixes created by other users in just the past few days since the site was launched.

I made one:
http://sezah.muxtape.com/

It's based off a mix I made for my parents, of all people. Here is the complete mix, with all the songs for you to download.

18 songs/1:18:02 total time
Side "A"
Aesop Rock - Coffee (ft. John Darnielle).mp3
the Mountain Goats - Lovecraft In Brooklyn.mp3
Örtz - We Don't Talk.mp3
Jens Lekman - Sipping On The Sweet Nectar.mp3
Justice - D.A.N.C.E..mp3
M.I.A. - Paper Planes.mp3
LCD Soundsystem - Someone Great.mp3
Beirut - Scenic World.m4a
Manu Chao - Me Gustas Tu.m4a

Side "B"
Rihanna - Umbrella (feat. Jay-Z).mp3
Oliver Future - The Big Sleep.mp3
The National - Ada.mp3
Estradasphere - A Corporate Merger.mp3
Islands - Where There's A Will There's A Whalebone.mp3
Radiohead - Reckoner.mp3
Deerhoof - Panda Panda Panda.mp3
The Unicorns - I Was Born (A Unicorn).mp3
Patrick Wolf - The Stars.mp3

I beg you, please draw no comparisons to Jess' and my favorite Mux mix yet:
http://catbird.muxtape.com/

Islands @ R Bar, NYC 10/19/07 CMJ

"Rocking" and "bass clarinet" normally do not belong in the same sentence together. Islands, however obliterated that rule. Playing for over an hour in the confines of New York's teeny-tiny R-Bar, hundreds of people scrunched together to catch a glimpse of the eclectic Canadian pop collective.It was all a part of Brooklyn Vegan's CMJ day party (one of three actual, plus an official CMJ showcase), which ran nearly seven and nine bands long, but more on those bands later. Lead Islander Nick Diamond pranced around the stage (or rather step in the back of the bar) and into the crowd, snatching hats and umbrellas from unexpected audience members. Meanwhile the violinists swung from poles (there were an inordinate amount of stripper-like poles for a non-strip club, ha), while simultaneously playing there instruments no less, making them by far the most acrobatically proficient musicians you're bound to ever see.


Word on the street (or rather from the band) has it that a new album will be out sometime in the Spring. They literally just finished mixing it three days ago. The tracks all sounded superb, bounding with energy, the as of yet titled album is looking to be one of the most anticipated releases of 2008.



Rough Gem - Islands
Don't Call Me Whitney, Bobby - Islands