'Whiplash' - the Friday 6-pack March 28

This week's Friday 6-pack.

DOWNLOAD: Friday March 28 6-pack of Mp3 goodness
And one for the road: Magic Mirror - A Free Man (HT: Lindsay at emoto)

Featuring

Wintering in Brooklyn - The Last Town Chorus
Megan Hickey's got a voice on her, and a lap steel on her, uh, lap. Coupla weeks ago we gave you her cover of Modern Love. This week, it's her own original blend of melancholy. I'd say 'haunting' but that would imply that these ghosts were unwelcome guests in your household. But anything this lovely gets to wander your hallways welcome with an icy warmth. (The Last Town Chorus is on tour on the West Coast this May supporting Kathleen Edwards.)

I Woke Up Today - Port O'Brien
This just makes me giddy. The stomping beat, shouted multi-tracked vocals, the staccato guitar. It's fantastic. The first great 'driving with the top down' indie song of 2008.

Black Cat - Ladytron
As apropros of the night as Port O'Brien is of the sunshine. Menacing synths and drum machine - the tom toms are a particularly nice touch - drive everything deeper and spike your pulse. Then they come in singing Bulgarian. Bruckheimer could use this as the focal point of his next blockbuster - Berlin Vice.

Chick Habit - April March
Surf guitars and squeaky voice so obvious that even Quentin Tarantino is blushing somewhere.

Waltz #2 - Elliot Smith
Sticking with the schizophrenic up and down pacing of this Friday's 6-pack, here's the fantastic and classic Elliot Smith. The piano drives this sorrow. "I'm never going to know you now/But I'm gonna love you anyhow" might be one of the sadder declarations of love recorded. You're missed, Elliot.

Shakedown - De Novo Dahl
Whiplash! Back to some upbeat. Witty white kids in good get-ups, De Novo Dahl pleased with 'Shout's joyous yawp. Now here's a track from just released and aptly titled 'Move Every Muscle, Make Every Sound'. Glorious white-boy indie disco. If I ever buy rollerskates and hit the boardwalk, this is going in my iPod.

Humpday Music: Relax

Nouvelle Vague's cover of Frankie Goes to Hollywood!'s 'relax'.

Sorta comical. But sometimes isn't that what humpin's all 'bout?

made by xianjessen

made by xianjessen
Originally uploaded by boyshapedbox

I got nothing for this post right now.

Never have the engineering and music loving parts of my brain fired off so excitedly and simultaneously.

"Good" Friday 6-packmix

Off on a radio record today, so this is a quickie without too much thought, and probably no write-up right away.

DOWNLOAD: Good Friday 6-pack mix

"You Know That I'm No Good (live)" - Amy Winehouse
"Gone for Good" - The Shins
"Funky Good Time (live)" - James Brown
"The Good Times Are Killing People" - Modest Mouse
"It Was a Good Day (radio remix)" - Ice Cube
"Good Dancers" - The Sleepy Jackson

OPmP3 meets Humpday music: New Midnight Movies - "Nights In White Satin" (Stereogum Premiere) - MP3 - Stereogum

Wow. Head over to the 'gum and download this amazing cover of "Nights in White Satin."

So stunning it's getting a double post category, a first here. "Otha People's mP3 Property" and "Humpday Music". Bravo, Midnight Movies!

New Midnight Movies - "Nights In White Satin" (Stereogum Premiere) - MP3 - Stereogum: "New Midnight Movies - 'Nights In White Satin' (Stereogum Premiere)

Midnight Movies give the Moody Blues moody treatment in their fairly faithful cover of 'Nights In White Satin.' Faithful, except that it's sung by a woman, Gena Olivier."

Songs that should be in ads - De Novo Dahl - Shout

I'm excited as all get-out about these Nashville pop freaks. I mean that in the best way possible. They cop to being huge Flaming Lips fans, enjoy wearing splashy clothing and goddamn but as album titles go Move Every Muscle Make Every Sound delights.

Who's going to use this in an ad? Who cares! File under exuberant and joyous and go from there. (Let's just pray no one's remaking Animal House and redoing the toga scene...)

DOWNLOAD: De Novo Dahl - 'Shout'

I'm From Barcelona at the El Rey

The Handclap Army (the Swedish one, not the one in robes) is coming through town! Whooooooooooh! w(h)hc couldn't be more excited.

I'm From Barcelona
Monday Apr 28 - El Rey Los Angeles, California

Thank You For the Drumming

The drummer for Abba died yesterday. We're unabashed pop fans here and love the handclap which Abba deployed frequently and butt-wiggling effectively.

Ola Brunkert was 62.

Friday 6-pack

This week's Friday 6-pack gives a shout out to Mandy, Robin & Jenille for organizing happy hour for St. Patty's weekend. And a big, middle finger to the local McDonald's operators for not having Shamrock Shakes.

DOWNLOAD: Friday 6-pack March 14th

"Modern Love" (David Bowie cover) - Last Town Chorus
Last Town Chorus takes the original's new wave poppiness and deconstructs it into something haunting and sad. Where the original made you feel alive and glad of your freedom and rebellious, this takes 'But I try' and turns it into a luscious lament.

"Nobody Does It Better" (Carly Simon cover) - Radiohead
Wow. From way, way, way, way out of left field comes this Radiohead cover. Is this the sexiest Radiohead's ever sounded? Fuck. I might put this on my wedding mix someday.

"Coleen" - The Heavy (HT to Marcus)
Marcus came in one morning raving about this track. It's like Curtis Mayfield got the Big Beat/Chemical Brothers treatment and then pureed with a bit of mad random samples. Unstoppable. Look for their fantastically titled debut album ‘great vengeance & furious fire’ in the coming months.

"Handle Me (Bjorn remix)" - Robyn
Bjorn, of Peter, Bjorn & John fame, takes Robyn's Swedish pop genius and fuzzes it up a plenty. For some reason, this makes me think of taking the subway to the Village with the iPod on. Walking a couple blocks in time to the rhythm, smiling at a strange girl, feeling full of confidence and anticipation for a friend's fantastic loft party.

"Abandon" - French Kicks
It's not the guitars or the vocals that give French Kicks their epic widescreen anthemic sound, it's the drummer. I can see him growing up in love with dance music and U2's Bullet the Blue Sky.

"I'm not going to teach your boyfriend how to dance with you (The Twelves Mix)" - Black Kids
In which the kids get all discofied, not in the Studio 54 sense, but more like a 6th grade dance at your community center. Bouncy, burbly, and not at all black.
Play this and do the Carlton dance.

Humpday: Sex music

It's humpday. That means it's business time. Unless you're me. Then what you're doing is blogging and watching Project Runway. Hot.

But back to humpday. Here's a little number from Primal Scream off the second Summer of Love ecstacy fueled Screamadelica. So, you can be forgiven thinking that this was a song about unity and hugs. It's much... dirtier. And that's a good thing.

What kinda sex 'Come Together' would be good for: Definitely NOT some jackhammerin'. Maybe some slow-movin' girl on top kinda goodness. (Who you just met. At a rave. But have an amazing connection with. In 1992.)

Enjoy your humpday, download: Come Together - Primal Scream

Songs that should be in ads: Balloon on a Broken String

So, we're trying to inflict a posting regimen on ourselves. It helps to have a set program - it's why i do so well with 'after-school activities' in the real world. (There's an engineer lurking somewhere deep in my psyche.)

As such, we'll be posting new tracks that are or should or will be appearing in ads sometime soon. Feel free to use them if you like.

We're starting with blog faves The Boy Least Likely To. You may have heard them with the excellent 'Be Gentle With Me'. Yes, they're the definition of twee - note the triangle, glockenspiel and ukelele - but sometimes you have to get past the labels and admit you like a great pop song. Even if you can imagine that it might have you wearing kerchiefs around your neck and seriously considering a little eyeliner.

'Balloon on a Broken String' sounds happy and twee and kerchiefy, too, but lyrically kinda wallows in lonely self-pity. That's why a music editor somewhere will chop it down to 30 seconds. So, you could take the first :60 of the songs, especially with the di-do-do-dos in the background and the lyrics:

"I'm not a boy, i'm a big fat balloon flapping in the wind floating over the treetops on a broken string/i've never been tied down to anyone or anything cause I'm free. I can go where I want to go."

So, it's a natural for a wireless company of some kind. Maybe too obvious. I'm hoping it gets used in a little more creative capacity. Beverages? A car company? JC Penney?

Oregon Lottery, Ben?

Regardless, download this and put it on your iPod. Then when it's all over the airwaves you can dismiss the newcomers as trendies.

DOWNLOAD: The Boy Least Likely To - Balloon on a Broken String

OPmP3: Backseat Sandbar

Whose URL should not be misread as "Back seats and Bar." Nope.

Ok, enough semantics. While trying to find songs from a Tiny Mix Tapes mix, I stumbled upon this nicely done blog. Enjoyed this mix enough to download all the tracks that they posted. You might, too.

Alright, about Tiny Mix Tapes. It's mostly a very snarky indie music website with your typical reviews/news/interviews, etc.

What sets it apart for me is the Tiny Mix Tape "Automatic Mixtape Generator". You submit a title or theme for a mix tape, and they create a tracklisting for you. (sample: Music to read PostSecret to) They've never chosen any of my mix titles (sample: "I'm unemployed and need music to get me off the couch and stop watching Law & Order reruns).

You can find the general site at TinyMixTapes.com and the automatic mix generator at
http://www.tinymixtapes.com/index.php?rubrique6.

And here's my special limited time offer to the 3 of you who read this without me slamming out a spam-mix to your inbox: Come up with a theme for a mix and either email me or leave it in the comments section, and I'll post an up to 10 song mix within a week for you, and for the community at large. If you don't want your name associated with the mix, please note that in your email or comment as well.

In the immortal words of John Hodgman, "That is all."

Valentine’s Mix � Backseat Sandbar: "Here’s a little mix of some songs that are really sweet and nice and just make for good love songs to listen to while riding in the car with your girl, or sharing earbuds on the iPod, or simply lying in bed. Note the B&S song has a violent title, but it’s ironic because it’s one of the sweetest songs I’ve ever heard."

Friday 6-pack

The Friday 6-pack, zipped up for your convenience.

DOWNLOAD: Friday 6-pack

The Tracks:

1, 2, 3, 4 - Feist with Indie Superstars on Conan O'Brien
Yes, I've played the original to death, but thanks to vidtomp3.com, we now have the ability (superpower?) to rip mp3s of YouTube clips. The great thing about this version is that you can hear the fun that the backing band is having. Kinda like hearing 'the smile' over the phone when you're talking to a customer service agent. Except, y'know,the person behind the smile isn't leading a miserable everyday normal existence.


Umbrella - Rihanna & the Klaxons at the Brit Awards
In which our young Bahamian friend (and what she know of umbrellas then? parasols?) gets the Rave backing from Coachella 07 faves The Klaxons. Anybody know if E is still popular with the hip-hop crowd, today-ay-ay-ay-ay-ay?

Amour Du Soul - Yelle
Simple pop melodies with god knows what French lyrics. Synths so pure that a sugar headache is sure to come, unless you can whistle it away. And trust me, you will be whistling this melody later today.

2080 (Brenner mix) - Yeasayer
Can we write about this without using the word 'swirling'? Um, no. It sounds like some long lost Talking Heads vocal track remixed and rehashed behind a, um, spiraling synth and bassline. I have no idea if you could actually dance to this, or want to. This would sound great driving through the desert southwest way too fucking fast as you watch the sun disappear behind a rock escarpment.

Shake It Over & Over(diplo mix) - Hot Chip vs. Jay-Z
This, you can and will and should and better dance to. Diplo(the man behind MIA), as always can take something as tired as the mash-up and make it relevant and exciting and new. The following is a test! Deejay!

Look Out Young Son - Grand Ole Party
Saw these guys open for... The Go! Team at the Echoplex a while back. Was really impressed with them. I think the singer was also the drummer. Yes, she sounds a bit like Karen O of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, but I'm willing to give her the benefit of the doubt for now. A glorious yawp.

The Polyphonic Spree @ Canes, 7/20/2007

The Polyphonic Spree @ Canes, 7/20/2007
Originally uploaded by kudoskid0511

Me & Tim having a moment at the Spree show in San Diego last year.

Lazy Blogger Friday: Raveonettes

via Doug from AllYourOptions who says, "How’s things...have not seen you since Bocce Ball 2 years ago...check this out...cool stuff

This incredible work was created by BL:ND....a new viral campaign called the SOUND OF COLOR- a music Video – sponsored by THE GAP. It’s all the BUZZ!
Press link now to see visual excellence in animation."

Me again. It was a pleasant surprise to find a rep not overhyping something. This is really, really cool. Unless you hate black&white. But then you're an elitist hue-hating mofo and we don't want you here.

Otherwise, enjoy.