Pains of Being Pure at Heart

Although maybe one of the most cringe-worthy band names I've ever encountered, I can't help but enjoy this album. It's poppy, trebly, and something I imagine skinny kids working in record stores in the 90s would be all over. Can't you imagine a scene in a movie like Empire Records or High Fidelity where one of the nerdy workers puts this on the store sound system and explains, while looking through his bangs at the ground that "Pains of Being Pure at Heart" changed his life?

I love it. Enjoy!

_Michael

Tops

2009 was a really great music year for me. Amidst recording a handful of DJ mixes, I discovered a lot of great new music representing all genres. I haven't been this in love with my headphones and great albums since high school bus trips on the soccer team where I spent a lot of long hours on school nights traveling with my Sony Discman.

I've compiled a synopsis of my favorite albums that were released this last year and hope that you'll take time to enjoy them as well. I love perusing people's "album-of-the-year" lists and discovering new music and am excited to sit with band such as Animal Collective, Bat For Lashes, DJ /rupture, Jason Lytle, Neko Case, The Pains of Being Pure at Heart, Raekwon, The Swell Season, Thieves Like Us, and Volcano Choir. All have released great albums in 2009 which I've either overlooked, need to give a second listen or are completely new to me.

Freelance Whales - Weathervanes

This band out of Queens has really excited me this last year. I was fortunate enough to get to see them live at the Rickshaw Stop and I'm so thankful. I don't know that I've ever seen a band so joyful, humble and thankful. At only ten bucks, I felt like I was almost stealing from them. Glad to report that they've just been signed with Frenchkiss/Mom & Pop Records.

Fanfarlo - Reservoir

I went to the ten buck concert to see the Freelance Whales and stumbled upon Fanfarlo! Really great surprise and I've been listening to their new album on repeat ever since. Although on the border of too "tortured, hipster" band, at least they're from London, so they dress different than the hipsters here.

Phoenix - Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix

2009 was the year of Phoenix for me. I got to catch them live at the Warfield, which although I was stuck in the rafters, was loud, flashy and full of aisle dancing. There new album is close to perfect and has also helped shoot this French band into the mainstream spotlight. Rock on, rock on.

Drake - So Far Gone

I've written in depth about Drake in the past and shared some of my excitement. I probably listened to this mixtape more than any other album this past year and am curious to see if he can capture that magic again in 2010 with his debut with Cash Money Records.

The Antlers - Hospice

I stumbled upon the Hospice album during my weekly NPR podcast listen and was haunted by it. This is a headphones album and I've enjoyed getting lost in this ode to the passing of a close friend. Downside: always come away a bit solemn.

Passion Pit - Manners

I've previously written about Passion Pit in my ode to painful vocalists. Manners ended up carrying through the months for me and It's a really comfortable blend of pop/rock/electronic that I tend to gravitate toward.

Great Lake Swimmers - Lost Channels

I thought no one had heard of the Great Lake Swimmers until I tried to go to a small show her in the city at a very low-key venue and got turned away by a sold out show. This album is beautiful in a spacey, folky sort of way. I wouldn't be surprised to see these guys show up at events like Hardly Strictly Bluegrass in coming years.

Wilco - Wilco (the album)

I've spent a lot of time with Yankee Hotel Foxtrot over the years, as have every college student, and this new album has got me re-excited about Wilco. Every time one of these songs plays I feel like Jeff Tweedy is sitting on my sofa singing, maybe even with his family as backup vocals.

Mistletones

The wait is over! Brittany and I (Beautiful Notions) officially release our sophmore album today, December 18th, 2009. We've spent the past two months slaving away to ruin your favorite holiday songs, and I feel we've surpassed our wildest expectations. Luckily, no one else really has much in the way of expectations for Beautiful Notions, so we don't have to live up to anything.

Honestly, it was a lot of fun (which is really the point), and I greatly enjoy the creative process and re-connecting with Brittany. Never a dull moment and an unbelievable amount of laughter. We're looking forward to hosting a small holiday party tonight to drink some wassail, perform a song or two, warm ourselves by the fireplace DVD and toast to good friends. If you'd like a CD, please let us know. If you're in Hawaii, Brittany will be there for the holidays to give you your copy. If you're in Kansas/Missouri, I will be there for you to distribute copies out of a car trunk.

Best wishes!

_Michael

Stocking Stuffers

Anyone who knows Brittany and I, knows about Beautiful Notions. Born out of an escape from the workload and frustrations of architecture school, we've been remaking/ruining perfectly good songs for four years now.

Now translated to the working architecture world about 1,700 miles away, we've rekindled our lo-fi hack-job approach to musical creation. Our next victims are of the holiday variety and we're excited to officially announce our latest project: the yet-to-be-title Christmas album. Keep your eyes open for a December "bad Christmas sweater CD release party" and enjoy this teaser:

_Michael

Lovely little morsels

It's been a bit of a hiatus from the blog world. Not so much that I've been uninspired or uninterested, just a little busy. Luckily, I still get a daily listen into the music world (while doing other work) whether through following about 20 blogs, getting acquainted with the weeks new releases on tuesdays, or reading up in magazines. I really love finding new artists, albums and sounds. Unfortunately, for every enjoyable song I hear, I probably sit through at least portions of twenty truly terrible ones. Lucky for you, you won't find in this blog post any of those musical equivalents of a class of third graders learning "hot cross buns" on the recorder.

Recently I've been fortunate to stumble upon three new bands that I'm excited to share. First up: Free Energy out of Philly. I think they had a song featured on IMEEM at some point and it really struck me. This is that music that just feels good to me. It's fairly simple and playful and has those shades of Weezer accessibility that I remember first introducing me to a serious love of music when I was a young lad in Kansas. They recently had a west coast tour fall through but said they'll probably be in Cali in early 2010. Should be a fun show.

Free Energy - Dream City


Free Energy - Free Energy

Oh man do I love this band this week. Even better is the fact that I have tickets to see them at the Rickshaw Stop on November 22 for a mere $10. Freelance Whales are out of Queens and put out a beautiful album, Weathervanes, recently. Chock full of songs influenced by the likes of Sufjan Stevens and The Postal Service and just a great listen.

Freelance Whales - Location


Freelance Whales - Generator ^ 2nd Floor

Quebec Antique released their debut album, The Abbey Tapes, and are relatively unknown out of Oregon, Texas. It's another really beautiful album, much sleepier and moody than the previous two, but check out the songs on their myspace page and I'm sure you'll really appreciate the build of their music and the swelling textures.

Quebec Antique - Right As Rain

_Michael

Folk-n-poke

I recently learned that there is a sulfur hot water springs near San Luis Obispo that college students there affectionately refer to as the "soak-n-poke". While pondering what words may rhyme with "folk", I've struggled to think of anything else. Thanks a lot hot springs. Not surprisingly though, these two words could not be more opposite. Where there is folking, there's a good chance there's not a lot of poking, as many of the best folk artists tend to look like so:

I watched the movie Sugar last night and midway through I recognized a Spanish version of the song "Hallelujah" by Leonard Cohen. I don't know much about the man or his music, but remembered enjoying that song when I've heard it (although uncomfortable and confused as it played during a sex scene in Watchmen). This, along with last week's Strictly Bluegrass festival here in the city, got me thinking about my secret love for the genre.

Undoubtebly due to my parents, I've carried a fondness for folk music throughout my life. Consider this an intro to several upcoming posts on songs that I associate with my family, childhood and Kansas existence. As an adult, I've enjoyed the storytelling and moodiness of Neil Young and Mary Gauthier. It'll be interesting to look at the artists that my parents listen to and ultimately led me to find my own preferences in the folk genre.

(Papa Townsend in the tie and me trying to hide in the background on the far left)

If you like the following songs, I highly recommend the full albums on which they're found.

Neil Young - The Painter (from the album Prairie Wind)

Mary Gauthier - Mercy Now (from the album Mercy Now)

_Michael

The Return

After a long hiatus, I've been hard at work on my latest mix, figuring I'd need something big to re-enter the blog scene with. A lot has transpired in the music world since my last post. Kanye managed to annoy Mr. Smooth himself, Obama, some killer albums have been released by major DJs and a whole slew of remixes and dance music have continued to fill up my Hype watchlist. The noticeable number of really great new songs with female vocals that I had begun to gather led me to focus on that theme, bringing you the best of lady-centric danceables mixed with some current electronic favorites including Deadmau5 and locals Thrill$ N Grillz.

Looking forward to co-hosting a big halloween party with the other half of DJBN, so mark your calendars. To get you revved up for the event, I give you the "GIRLS NIGHT OUT" Mix.

WARNING: EXPLICIT LYRICS

Download MP3

Setlist:

Everybody's Fancy - Mister Rogers

Duck N Cover (DJBN Vocal Edit) - Thrill$ N Grillz

Give It All You Got (ft. Kree) - Lil' Jon

Township Funk (Crazy P Remix)(DJBN Vocal Edit) - Mujava

I'm Not Your Toy (datA Remix) - La Roux

Shirley You Can't Be Serious? - Alex Metric

Right Hand Hi - Kid Sister

Poker Face (Paul Anthony & ZXX Remix)

Tick Tock - Kesha

Moar Ghosts N Whatever - Deadmau5

New In Town (A1 Bassline Remix) - Little Boots

Waking Up In Vegas (Calvin Harris Remix) - Katy Perry

Something Bigger, Something Better - Amanda Blank

Keep It Goin' Louder (ft. Nina Sky & Ricky Blaze) - Major Lazer

Shove It (ft. Spankrock) - Santogold

Bulletproof (Foamo Remix) - La Roux

_Michael