date,artist,title,link,caption,plays,lovers,comments
2015-08-12,"Black Francis","Bad News",http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2LymzfVHpYE,"This is a song from a soundtrack, kind of (you can look up the history of the Black Francis / Golem project on your own, I hope), but since its release, it's always popped into my head when things are falling apart. (It actually kicks off the film: the Golem is created to fend off disaster, but turns out to be the disaster that the stars predicted.) Its looping chords and off-kilter structure always remind me that this has happened before, and it'll happen again. So, as I work through some of my own bad news, I read that This Is My Jam is shutting down - a bummer, for sure, but not the end of the world. Their hard work and amazing community will be an inspiration long after they lock the doors. (And they're doing a great job of respectfully archiving everything - there's a lot to learn from their example.)",3,AttackingToms,
2015-08-05,"Angelo Badalamenti","Fats Revisited",http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dF6orAhZ-GU,"I just heard this song for the second time (listening to the soundtrack of Lost Highway) and this stuck out as an evocative, creepy little tune. Lost Highway deconstructs noir, and is set up in a lot of ways like a really old-fashioned movie. Then, of course, it goes all crazy.",6,"corinmcewan, trailers, class",
2015-07-22,"Tame Impala","Let It Happen",http://hypem.com/item/2a1mf,"I haven't been sure what to post on here lately, but when I popped this on today, my first thought was ""nobody else should be allowed to make eight-minute songs"". It drives me crazy when a track would rather explore ""the groove"" than  just make a point and get out. It's like listening to someone absentmindedly tell a joke, or watching a presenter give a talk where they're not sure what the point is. Not Tame Impala, though: somehow, ""Let It Happen"" evolves, transforms, winds around and folds in on itself, and at the end of seven-and-whatever, still seems to be in the middle of revealing another good idea.",1,,
2015-07-14,"Alessia Cara",Here,http://hypem.com/item/2b98y,"The first thing that caught my attention was the Portishead sample (which, like a lot of things, actually comes from Isaac Hayes), but the more time I spend with the song's lyrics and performance, the more special I think it is. It's from the perspective of someone unhappy at a party, and not because the party's bad; just because they're not feeling particularly party-ready at the moment. I can't think of a lot of songs about that, but I especially like her ideal alternative: listening to more thoughtful music with a smaller group of friends, and discussing the future. Works for me.",2,,
2015-07-07,Minutemen,"History Lesson - Part II",http://soundcloud.com/martin-carlos/minutemen-history-lesson-pt-2,"I originally thought that the opening line referred to a Grateful Dead-esque devotion, in a self-aggrandizing manner, but it's clear from their recent documentary (and the rest of the song, actually) that they're really just riffing on equality. That they're on a stage, but they're just like the people they play for, and that true musicianship and artistic expression includes everyone, and doesn't try to draw a line between performers and audience. They felt lucky to make music, and when you combine that sentiment with the oddball songwriting and delivery of D. Boon, you get magic.",2,"mrquick, AttackingToms, stareitcold",
2015-06-30,"Death Grips","I've Seen Footage",http://vimeo.com/40612564,"(Long story short, I saw Death Grips live last week, they played my favorite song, and it ruled.) Sonically, this song is a tone-setting masterpiece, and actually, you can hear it by clicking on the link, so I'm not going to bother to describe its hilariously diseased riff on Salt N' Pepa. Instead, let's focus on the lyrics, which describe the mindstate of someone who's let themselves fall into fear and paranoia after watching (probably a lot of) shocking videos. While the Internet has brought us tools for justice and empathy, it's also made it infinitely easier to poke into the darkest part of humanity, letting us rewind and re-experience our disgust and revulsion over and over.",1,"cook, AttackingToms, mrquick",
2015-06-23,Morrissey,"First of the Gang to Die",http://hypem.com/item/726q,"Woke up with this in my head, which is weird because it's pretty typical late-era Morrissey. There are a couple cute things about this song: one, it seems to be about an actual violent gang (songs about ""the gang"" never are!), and two, it's a nice, warm portrait of someone who isn't at all warm or nice. If I wrote songs I would love to write sideways jokes like ""and the not very rich and the very poor"" but I am not Morrissey.",2,"stareitcold, smok75, stevefawcett, AaronStewart",
2015-06-16,PVRIS,"St. Patrick",http://soundcloud.com/blakeharnageproduction/pvris-st-patrick-p-e-m,"I found these guys on BBC Radio 1, which is odd because they're from Massachusetts, and just starting out. This is dance rock, I suppose, fronted by a female, so that'll will invite (unfair) comparisons to other bands. Don't let that stop you from checking out this song, which was stuck in my head over a 48-hour (mostly) silent retreat this past weekend. Her vocal performance is pretty intense, but I just want to point out that extra gear she uses on the chorus.",5,kayleigh_g,
2015-06-10,Tink,Million,http://hypem.com/item/2bdn1,"While I'm thinking of about 20 summers ago, here's a spiritual descendant of Aaliyah's. There's nothing wrong with trying to capture what Aaliyah made look effortless, and Timbaland has to do something with his free time. One thing lacking from (duller) pop these days is drama: the sense of really inhabiting a character and expressing a range of emotions. For the first I'm hearing from Tink, she seems to have an innate understanding of that act.",0,,
2015-06-04,Puppy,"The Great Beyond",http://hypem.com/item/2a62e,"I'm listening to a weird, programmatically generated Spotify playlist that uses sudden spikes in playcounts to predict underground hits. (Search for ""The Needle"" - there are many.) Mostly it's been mostly misses, but I was kinda charmed by Puppy, who has a 90's rock style and a really solid understanding of melody. I literally don't know anything else about them, and that's kind of fun.",2,mrquick,
2015-05-26,"Frank Black","Whatever Happened to Pong?",http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m-1vRCzZYGY,"In the span of about a week, I turned 18, finished high school, got my first car, and picked up the newly released Teenager of the Year. If you said that I have projected my memories of that summer onto the opening strains of track 1, ""Whatever Happened to Pong?"", just because that is what happened to be playing as I was pulling out of my driveway all those days and nights, well, I'd be hard-pressed to disagree with you. Frank Black's 1994 album is scattered (next to other rock offerings of the year) and frustratingly pop-headed (compared to his Pixies work), but like very few albums, it's never stopped hitting the spot for me. Frank never came back to this (or any) formula, and traces of the soaring reach of TOTY have been tougher to find in his post-2000 work, but we'll always have Coon Rapids. Er, I mean, we'll always have Teenager of the Year.",0,"stareitcold, phantomstar",
2015-05-19,"Mini Mansions","Death Is A Girl",http:///dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/25546/02-mini_mansions-death_is_a_girl.mp3,"When they started playing this on Wednesday at First Avenue, I thought they were going to use their drum machine to riff on vintage Prince. (Doesn't it sound like that?) But ""Death is a Girl"" is actually a dark, funny, psychedelic dance rock track that I'm completely consumed by. I think these guys are on their way to greatness.",6,,
2015-05-11,Weezer,"Buddy Holly",http://vimeo.com/51165402,"I've always liked this song and performance, whether or not Weezer does anything for me in any particular season. (I have a troubled past with Weezer: they do stuff that should be right up my alley, but I never seem to enjoy them as much as I'd hoped, and some of their most popular work has struck me as their most cloying.) But ""Buddy Holly"" twists through satisfying chords, winking (jokey?) lyrics, a soaring (cloying?) melody, and the best guitar crunch that mid-90's indie production values could provide. I should add a note that the topic of the song never made much sense to me, but I'm pretty oblivious about these things (plus I try not to wiki a song / meaning before I write these). On the surface, it seems like a guy who has an idealized / romantic picture of his girlfriend situation, and is coming under criticism from his friends, which he's also overdramatizing. (Is that it?)",2,"AttackingToms, SeanLockley, mpgabster, stareitcold",
2015-05-04,"Bay City Rollers","I Only Wanna Be With You",http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CGD27WgtKhI,"(I didn't want to write about any song that Spotify suggested, but this one especially. Who cares about the Bay City Rollers?)

Who cares about the Bay City Rollers? This song was made eternal by Dusty Springfield, and this version (recorded 12 years later - are we rerecording songs from 2003?) really doesn't add that much to it, but was apparently much more successful. 

I would have imagined that this song was written by Lieber and Stoller or something, but it's actually two relatively unknown songwriters - both with only a handful of credits to their name, but I guess one of them is the dad of one of the Cocteau Twins. 

Regardless, this a fantastic melody with awesome runs up and down the scale. I like how bright and positive it is. Am I being weird, or does it kind of come from a place of self-doubt, like the singer is confirming something he's not exactly sure of? Timeless, either way.",1,mrquick,
2015-04-27,"Jeff Buckley","Corpus Christi Carol (Live 1995)",http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P5NfrRKBEiE,"I didn't know anything about Jeff Buckley before he died. I don't think I'd ever been exposed to his work. (MTV sure covered his mysterious death, but they hadn't seemed to play any of his videos. Then again, I was in the middle of college, so maybe I missed it.) I asked a friend if he knew Buckley's music: he replied that he had sold ever CD he had ever owned (in ill-advised fits of underemployment and chain smoking) except for Buckley's ""Grace"". I spent the rest of that summer enchanted by his performances, his story, his skills as a vocalist and his contrary attitude about stardom. (This was only three years after Cobain died, so it seemed we were losing our generation's talent left and right.) But I suppose songs like this one emphasize the timelessness of his songs, which seem impeccably, impossibly arranged. I actually don't know that much about what he wrote or who arranged what, but the songs on this record transcend any analysis I could offer. So I won't.",6,"stareitcold, roydesmet, strakss",
2015-03-30,"Big Boi","Tangerine (Feat. T.I. & Khujo)",http://hypem.com/item/1fmsc,"(I feel like I should warn my usual readers that this is a strip club song - parental guidance is strongly advised.) But it's hilarious, with seven or eight A-grade punchlines all piled up on top of each other. T.I. comes close to stealing the show (with verses that are, I feel like I have to warn you again, even more anatomically graphic). The rumbly, smoky guitar, pads, and piano (and synth harmonica? is that what that is?) are a little unusual for the genre. And speaking of unusual for the genre: I don't want to make too big a deal out of this (it's a STRIP CLUB SONG) but the women involved seem to have their own motivations, and a female voice is actually heard (twice). That's not exactly Sandra Day O'Connor being named to the Supreme Court, but still.",10,"dreamsburndown, Axol, mrquick, stareitcold, AttackingToms","stareitcold: ""This song is so underrated"""
2015-03-23,Tuxedo,"Do It",http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q-gcfQhR_9c,"Mayer Hawthorne joyfully played with the building blocks of 60's R&B on his first two records. His last one went in a pretty original direction, but it wouldn't be wrong to compare aspects of it to dirty (but joyful!) 70's funk. Nobody, then, should really be surprised to see him move towards smooth (but very, very fun) 80's jams like Hall and Oates. Tuxedo is a project with producer Jake One (new to me), so I don't know exactly who's responsible for what, but this record is amazing. (I don't mean to reduce this to ""lazy 80's revivalism"", but if that's what moves you, it'd be a shame to miss out on it.)",1,mrquick,
2015-03-16,"Naked Eyes","Promises, Promises",http://vimeo.com/68457529,"I've been listening to a lot of early 80's trash these days, as you can maybe tell. Anyway, it struck me that ""Promises, Promises"" sort of sounds exactly like Sugarhill Gang, a connection I hadn't considered. But then it turns out that this song actually copies from Captain Sensible's ""Wot"" (new to me, but they have a UK producer in common), and ""Wot"" borrows mercilessly from Chic's ""Good Times"", which I'd forgotten was sampled for ""Rapper's Delight"". So you know what that means: there's still basically three songs in the world, and Nile Rodgers wrote or performed the original version of all three. Stay lucky, I guess.",5,"mrquick, stevekrohn, AttackingToms","AttackingToms: ""I listen to so much 80's trash, it's a significant guilty pleasure for me."""
2015-03-10,Cake,"Frank Sinatra (live)",http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xK1SBzalu3o,"I'm posting this because I told myself I would write about whatever song showed up next out of my library when I hit ""shuffle"". I basically broke up with Cake right after this record, as their slacker beat-poet shtick was starting to age well before that of contemporaries like Beck and Soul Coughing. (And this stuff has not come back into fashion.) While they eventually bugged me into disinterest in their career, it's not impossible that they're actually kind of good. At the height of my fandom, I was drawn to their sparse approach to performances, the small stories they spun into songs, and their brainy (exhausting? overbaked?) writing. There's nothing in ""Frank Sinatra"" that reminds me of the worst of Cake, and there are some likeable aspects: the melody is pretty (and very familiar - but maybe just classically structured), and there are some nice quiet spots, rare for this kind of band in this era.",3,mrquick,
2015-03-03,"Pointer Sisters",Automatic,http://vimeo.com/37863925,"Wouldn't have thought that this was The Pointer Sisters, or any sisters at all. (I'm having a hard time thinking of a pop female vocal that's anywhere near this low-registered.) I like the boop-beep-a-boop-beep part, and the goofy horns. And I like that the song is ostensibly about how exciting or overwhelming something (someone) is, and yet the chorus is about just being resigned to a powerlessness and lack of control.",5,"stevefawcett, brianberrington, mrquick, stareitcold",
2015-02-04,"Brian Dewan","Sick Day",http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B8e9E6mj66k,"I'm hugely impressed by the way Brian Dewan can take any ol' topic and put together a tight, funny lyric around it. His style is without peer, which is maybe one reason he seems so disconnected from trend and modern sensibilities. ""Sick Day"" is an excellent example of his captivating work, and this performance is extraordinary for being ordinary - the context isn't completely explained, but he says something briefly before he starts playing in a living room, and a woman opens the fridge for some milk.",2,,
2015-01-25,"Azealia Banks Ft. Lazy Jay",212,http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i3Jv9fNPjgk,"I heard this song for the first time when it came out - it must have been on a Pitchfork year-end list or something. My immediate thoughts, at the time: 1.) that girl has a filthy mouth. 2.) that's impressive, but let's see if she has anything to back it up. If you follow independent hip-hop, you know that she's been through three record labels in that time, fought fiercely to even get her album out in 2014, started a mess of Twitter drama with other hip-hop celebrities (including the other Azalea), and is hitting a number of top-10 lists here three years later. So here's what I like: the impossibly complex rhyme scheme. The fearlessness. The apples-to-apples superiority of the craftsmanship and performance in the three years since. The danger. The fact that it predicts trends, or was simply copied, and still sounds fresh today. The fact that she was 20 when this came out, and at 23, she still has an infinity of artistry and potential in front of her. Give the whole album a shot.",2,,
2015-01-18,"Michael Penn",Coal,http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WtZ1KpOdrEA,"This was playing in the elevator lobby at work, and I was like, I know that song! Not the catchiest thing on Michael Penn's second album, I still really like it. This record was (maybe?) the first CD I ever bought, and I imagine I fell for the surreal animated video for ""Long Way Down (Look What the Cat Drug In)"" which was directed by the Brothers Quay. Of course, nothing on here tops ""No Myth"", which is one of everyone's favorite songs ever, but that's asking a lot. The rest of his career was (is?) really rewarding listening, so if you're not familiar, jump in.",0,,
2015-01-09,"Swami John Reis and The Blind Shake","Brown Room",http://vimeo.com/111686418,"My all-time favorite band is Rocket From the Crypt, and their leader, John Reis, is one of my favorite people. As a singer, songwriter, and guitar player, I think he's criminally underappreciated. That's to say nothing about his career as a DJ / curator, or the record label he runs, or the job he did on children's TV as a musical director / master of ceremonies.  EVERYTHING he does gets my careful attention, so imagine my surprise when he revealed that he was doing an album of surf rock with Minneapolis band The Blind Shake. It comes out in a couple of weeks, but this first taste exceeds even my heightened expectations. It's bananas. It's completely true to the things you expect in surf rock, but there's sort of a crazy complexity to it. And I don't generally talk about the ""feel"" of a record here, but it's this sort of sad and hopeful and reminiscent? (I also think it's a little scary and exciting, but that's probably just the video.) I'm so excited for this record.",1,,
2015-01-02,"Billy Squier","My Kinda Lover",http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zrYmmPkox_Q,"Is music more subtle these days? Or am I just unaware of our generation's Billy Squier? (Andrew W.K.? Josh Homme?) There's such dynamic range and contrast from the first drum hits, this production has held up really well. (Sorry for linking you to the live version, y'know, YouTube.) I like how the guitar riffs kinda swaggers around without really going anywhere. People probably don't think of Billy Squier as a big keyboard guy, but there's tons of impossible sounds on this record. And, like other Squier songs, the bridge is totally on another planet.",2,"cheezgiz, beornborg",
2014-12-18,Donovan,"There Is a Mountain",http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=37r07eg867Y,"A lot about your musical self-understanding can be sussed out by examining your relationship with Donovan. You think Donovan is an effeminate bore? Congratulations, you are able to parse 19th-century archetypes and signifiers in the most basic manner possible. You see Donovan as a milder, less authentic version of Bob Dylan? Engaging him solely through comparison to others is useful, but also lazy. You've avoided him because you don't want your friends to think less of you? Maslow touched on this in ""A Theory of Human Motivation"" (1943). Donovan's work is yes, tender, and yes, silly, but don't be fooled by his skill as a tunesmith: this only sounds simple. His balancing act is complete and perfect. Its depth will reward you if you let it.",4,"DellDracula, stareitcold, stumbelina",
2014-12-12,"The Preatures","Better Than It Ever Could Be",http://hypem.com/item/223jy,"(Finding a lot of different track names for this on the web, and it seems that Spotify's metadata is wrong. Weird.) Regardless, this is fun and high-energy alternative pop-rock, something like you'd hope INXS might be capable of in a different universe's 2014, or what you might have gotten from the Soup Dragons or Morningwood more recently. (I have to take a rest after typing that sentence.) I hope you enjoy it.",1,,
2014-12-05,"Kathryn Calder","Castor and Pollux",http://soundcloud.com/fileundermusic/kathryn-calder-are-you-my-2,"The eye-opening thing about seeing the New Pornographers is how much of a workhorse Kathryn Calder is. I'd always assumed that Calder (who joined in 2005) was more of a pinch-hitter or stunt-double for Neko Case, but an astounding amount of the stuff where I thought I heard Case is actually Calder's work. So, as I pursue her independent career, I'm happy to find that Calder's solo work (which actually postdates her NP debut - stay with me here) is brilliant all on its own. This is an early standout for me - a defiant, joyful, energetic romp that fits in neatly with the best NP stuff.",1,,
2014-11-24,"Electric Six","The Afterlife",http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wql5w95qhZk,"I am almost certainly not going to sell you on Electric Six. They are not for all tastes: probably best suited to people with poor taste or no taste. But I love them. They're really good, and this track's been under my skin lately, so you get to spend some time with it. Compositionally, this could not be more square, but there is a nice chord there in the fourth bar. I like that chord. I like the concept of ""audiophiles listening with their eyes"". I like that the writer draws up a cliche, only to bungle it (I believe people who lay down with dogs get fleas, but he takes that and turns it). I like that this song, ostensibly about the afterlife, keeps getting distracted by a dog metaphor. And I like this video that someone made, making the fairly idiotic point that several famous people have died.",3,,
2014-11-01,"Busta Rhymes","Gimme Some More",http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eHHT7dTmw8U,"Busta Rhymes is one of my favorite rappers of all time. His earliest output featured some of the most inventive hip-hop beats in the mainstream, including this extremely unlikely track which features a sample of Bernard Herrmann's score for Psycho (assembled, it seems, by frequent Busta collaborator DJ Scratch). Busta's performance here is frenetic, hilarious, breathless, and absolutely peerless, though it was certainly brought to mind the first time I heard Eminem. I'm not one of those guys who memorizes entire tracks (Daniel Radcliffe) but I could probably write this one out off the top of my head.",1,Matan,
2014-10-24,Helium,"Pat's Trick",http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VY3HuDsHyK8,"You might remember this from Beavis and Butthead. (I only sort of do; if I recall correctly, they thought that this girl was pretty chill, and would probably like to hang out with them.) The girl is Mary Timony, and I didn't exactly follow her as she went solo, played with other bands (including the amazing Wild Flag) and formed a new band, Ex Hex, who I'll be seeing tonight with Speedy Ortiz. I'm starting to go back on my opinion that ""90's is not a genre"" because it turns out to be a pretty concise way to describe this stuff.",4,Matan,
2014-10-17,"Pusha T & Kanye West","New God Flow",http://hypem.com/item/1n973,"I am super late to this (I never got into that Cruel Summer mixtape / leak parade / viral marketing strategy -- I simply didn't understand what it was), but this is exactly up my alley. I love Funky President, I love Ghostface (particularly Supreme Clientele, which doesn't seem nearly old enough to be sampled as inspiration), I love Kanye, and I love Pusha T. Maybe I was sort of avoiding it out of fear of disappointment, but this delivers. (It's been showing up in workout mixes, so thanks, #spotify.) Nothing here is brand new, really: Kanye's still talking about Kanye stuff, and Pusha's showing characteristic focus on his topics of interest, but the literally last-minute appearance by Ghost is surprising without being, y'know, organized.",0,,
2014-10-08,Berlin,"Take My Breath Away",http://hypem.com/item/25qbh,"(This song came up on random, so there's no reason to worry about me.) 

When I was a kid, you couldn't give me enough synths. I was also inclined towards really drippy emotional stuff. So, of course, this would be my second favorite song on the Top Gun soundtrack (after Danger Zone). Did someone let Berlin know that it was okay to attempt a follow-up? Because there could have been far more of this in the 80's. I dig it, far more than I enjoyed watching Top Gun.",3,"monsterpaperbag, clareall",
2014-09-22,"Aaron Freeman","More Than The World",http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T_vWMMh7dsA,"I'll be appearing soon on the Wayne Gale Variety Hour, and we were discussing band breakups and reunions. Aaron Freeman, ex-Ween, has a new record out, and some tracks go into the anger and sadness around that breakup. Some don't, reveling in the weirdness and excitement of Freeman's old band. This is neither, pretty much: a straight, slow, 6/8 love song with no weird chords, no razor blade solos, and no ponies who need a doctor.",0,,
2014-09-16,"DJ Shadow","This Time (I'm Gonna Try It My Way)",http://vimeo.com/1484609,"If you think I felt let down by Radiohead, listen to me talk about DJ Shadow. A lot of us would have been perfectly happy if he'd continued to make his first record over and over, but he had other ideas. Having read the 33 1/3 book about Endtroducing, it was clear this was the plan all along. While some of the mid-tempo, gloomy stuff on these later records can be challenging, you should give ""This Time"" one more chance. (I'm still not clear on the source material or means of composition, here, but I'm starting to let go of that idea. What's being done here is being done mysteriously, and without precedent; that's the point.)",5,bignonioides,
2014-09-05,Radiohead,"In Limbo (Live @ Pinkpop 2001)",http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gGrafPJ4egA,"Kid A was pretty infuriating when it came out. I remember being completely lost in it, between the alienating themes (which were totally present in earlier Radiohead), odd time signatures (which are my thing), the lack of choruses (which I've grown okay with), and long passages where it seems like nothing's happening. Over time, I've gotten more familiar with these songs, but I'd never say they are familiar favorites. ""In Limbo"", anyway, make a game out of the time changes, and seems to be intentionally challenging - I could be misreading it. It seems like a song only for people that other people can't figure out, and only for weather that's warm but rainy. I felt like that this week.",3,"stareitcold, substandard",
2014-08-11,"Handsome Boy Modeling School","Look at This Face (Oh My God They're Gorgeous)",http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dxvDlDSiRLM,"Why isn't this a whole genre of music? (The rest of Handsome Boy Modeling School's output is great, but this is singular.) You've got samples from an episode of Chris Elliott's ""Get a Life"", you've got Bach, you've got a hip-hop beat... it's just perfect.",4,"marduk, stareitcold",
2014-07-07,Handsome,Needles,http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vc-MTRAAcfw,"Handsome is another excellent forgotten 90's alt-rock band. (They were ahead of their time, particularly on the impossible-to-Google-band-name front.) There's some 90's hardcore-supergroup-nepotism going on here (I forget who comes from which band) but I know that lead singer Jeremy Chatelain toured as the bass player of Helmet a few years back. If you think you might be a hardcore fan, but hardcore has always been too screamy for you, Handsome is a perfect place to start.",0,,
2014-06-23,"The Amps",Hoverin',http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_hs0HvEsIig,"We've talked about the Breeders here before. The story of the Amps is complicated and not terribly interesting, but you would do well to check them out as long as you've got the entire body of recorded music at your fingertips for $9.99. This song is somehow more sparse than a typical Breeders composition, with only a couple of dots to connect before it's over. And of course Kim Deal infuses those dots with tons of charm and personality, but still, this is pretty minimal.",0,,
2014-06-17,"Urge Overkill","The Valiant",http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6jLBB3C36MM,"No idea why this song's been bugging me the past couple days. It's not a terribly complicated song, and it's from the second half of Urge Overkill's 2011 record, which is fine, but certainly not must-have. I sort of like the way the song gets sinister in the chorus, sort of despite itself, or how the chorus melody sort of looks sideways at the rest of the notes and just kind of does its own thing. I'm also a fan of silences, however brief, in a pop song, and this has a nice full stop before that oddball hook kicks in.",0,stareitcold,
2014-06-02,Ween,"Birthday Boy",http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vYTpU80KYpU,"This is one of my favorite songs of all time. It's hopeful, but not without some regret. The melody is very square and sing-song, but the chords are all over the place. The vocals are as clean as anything on the record, but the guitar is under T.Rex levels of distortion. It's confident and polished, but still unfinished. Most remarkable: this record came out when these guys were 19 years old.",3,"stareitcold, Nickita",
2014-05-06,"The Wrens","Joneses Rule of Sport",http://soundcloud.com/theendofradio/the-wrens-joneses-rule-of-sport,"Did you hear? The Wrens are done (or ""done"") with their fourth album. The story of the Wrens is so amazing, so unlikely, and so personal, I hate to elaborate on it here. Their songwriting and craft speak for themselves, though. This track, from their second record (almost 20 years ago) is a driving pop number that never really found an audience. (Can you think of any similarly loud, talented, and smirking contemporaries? I'm drawing a blank.) I'm really looking forward to their next record, whenever we get it.",1,stareitcold,
2014-04-30,"J Dilla","Anti-American Graffiti",http://vimeo.com/25612087,"There's a blog post going around that tries to reconstruct a J Dilla beat from its source. (Spoiler: it's very hard.) The creation of hip-hop beats is pretty misunderstood, as a lot of fans hear a sample and assume that you just lay a heavier beat over it and you're done. And some of the laziest sampling over the past 20 years hasn't really helped that -- there's a wide spectrum of quality and craftsmanship with any group of music makers. But J Dilla is one of the most amazing craftsmen ever in hip-hop. Look this up on WhoSampled -- you'll be amazed.",4,stareitcold,
2014-04-22,"Shintaro Sakamoto","In a Phantom Mood",http://soundcloud.com/other-music-recording-co/in-a-phantom-mood,"Record Store Day was on Saturday. I was really only looking for one thing: Mayer Hawthorne's performance (and English translation) of ""In a Phantom Mood"", backed by Shintaro Sakamoto's performance (and Japanese translation) of ""Wine Glass Woman"". Both are excellent (though it seems like they both us the instrumental tracks, so they're less cover versions than super-hip karaoke). This song's now stuck in my head. So this is my jam.",0,,
2014-04-14,"Hüsker Dü","Pink Turns to Blue",http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kTjfl0yhyRk,"This one shreds, but the melody is just gorgeous. Another good example of high-tension: you get a little break around the choruses but man, something seriously bad is going to happen. (And it does!)",0,,
2014-04-08,"Paul McCartney & Wings","Jet (Live in 1976)",http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GFOAkCscBKE,"Obviously this song starts out with a fake little reggae thing and a big horn section, perhaps explaining why I think those two things belong in all great rock songs. But this just goes to eight or nine different places, through tempo, melody, chords, velocity... the whole thing is a lesson in dynamic. 

I have no idea what the lyrics are about, but I like this better than pretty much any Beatles song. Come at me.",0,,
2014-04-02,"Franz Ferdinand","Right Action",http://vimeo.com/80467584,"It's the 13th year of Franz Ferdinand. Weird if you think about it. This song jams, the lyrics are funny, and I thought the video was well-executed.",1,strakss,
2014-03-26,"Rocket From the Crypt",Boychucker,http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EeGIXdSydBc,"Is this bluesy? I'm not sure. No expert on the blues. Blues songs just kind of sit there; four minutes later you're in the same space. Not this song. This is a rocket-ship ride, a fist-fight complete with an intermission, a battle to stay upright in a drunken mosh pit. This era of Rocket (the early era) is marked by a pretty limited melodic palette (there are, what, four notes in this song?) but also lots of chromatics. (That's notes that don't fit in the scale. So, mistakes. But they sound great.)",1,,
2014-03-20,"Mac DeMarco","Passing Out Pieces",http://soundcloud.com/capturedtracks/passing-out-pieces,"Don't know much about this track yet; Mac's last record was one of my favorites of last year, with a summery, up-all-night vibe, but also an intellectual weirdness that I found really charming. (Others might hate it.) First impression: I'm going to love the new single. Too soon to be sure.",1,,
2014-03-10,"David Bowie","Speed of Life",http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wVW8JDNi8lM,"I'm in a big ""Low"" phase right now, and this instrumental opener really sets the mood for me. (When I hear it, I imagine mysterious, alien grooves, and otherworldly isolation. Seeing this live version, with very earthly head-bobbing and dudes in t-shirts, kinda ruins it.)",5,"bignonioides, tpjdavies, mifan86, etudor6","mifan86: ""In the same phase too!"""
2014-03-04,"Pharrell Williams (ft. Daft Punk)","Gust of Wind",http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OWc-JblxUqg,"I can't figure out if Pharrell is pandering to his audience, or if he's just so good at what he does that it feels unearned. His compositions are getting slighter and smaller - easier to understand, I guess? - and his lyrics remain some of the silliest in the industry. I get if you never liked him, or if you're sick of him, but my sense is that this will only pull in more fans. Another summer of Pharrell.",2,strakss,
2014-02-25,"The Natural History","Watch This House",http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xq_AEIuBWr0,"The Natural History, probably most famous for writing Spoon's ""Don't You Evah"",  are a great band in their own right. Chords and chords and chords.",1,,
2014-02-20,"Mayer Hawthorne","Back Seat Lover",http://hypem.com/item/1xz3s,"If R&B is filled with lyrics navigating the complex terrain of relationships and emotions, let Mayer Hawthorne simplify things for you: he is comfortable making love in a car. Hawthorne's not as liberated from genre as his marketing would have you believe, but he's clearly not intimidated by the limits of genre, whatever those might be. His show last week in Minneapolis was charming, fresh, and original; he's turning his world of potential into a really entertaining career.",3,,
2014-02-13,"Queens of the Stone Age","How to Handle a Rope",http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K1EvGc1AtGA,"Queens of the Stone Age could have stopped right here at ""How to Handle a Rope"". 16 years of this would have ruled. Instead, they kept trying new ideas, and their batting average on those new ideas is amazingly high.",2,"strakss, mathjohnson",
2014-02-03,Nas,Ether,http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tub7EoRBwO0,"Just came across this again the other day. If you'll remember, Jay said some things about Nas, then Nas wrote this, and shortly thereafter, there were hugs and forgiveness. Think about that. Hugs. Forgiveness. Over this, which is not only lyrically stunning, but also as unpleasant as anything you might want to imagine. Shakespearean.",10,elithius,
2014-01-21,"The Fratellis","Chelsea Dagger",http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LBaxde247Mw,"This song has only been with us since 2006. It is classic in that it seems like it is 30 years older than that. Part of that is the economy and simplicity of the main chant / chorus: not a lot of bands work in that space, or with such complete conviction. (Do you know how smart you have to be to pull off something that sounds so dumb?)",1,"lackofpetrol, strakss, friederike",
2014-01-15,"Kanye West","I am a God",http://hypem.com/item/21erj,"This has more going on than it seems. The first verse is what I've been focused on lately: he actually does a reasonable job of summarizing why he's misunderstood and doesn't get credit for what he's done. And then it shifts into acknowledging how ridiculous that sounds, given how overexposed he is -- it's literally a joke. Then, at the end, just noises of running and screaming. The joke's over.",3,"strakss, CallumPetch",
2014-01-08,"Missy Elliott","Gossip Folks (Fatboy Slim remix)",http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gU2U0W_tIBU,"I always thought Missy was hilarious, and this is maybe the funniest thing she ever put together. And it's not the punch-liney double-meanings that are in vogue now, just insane, absurd, outrageous personality.",2,,
2014-01-02,"Elvis Costello","Episode of Blonde (Live)",http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=241sXirabkQ,"Latin piano, a full horn section, and a lyrical delivery descendent of ""Positively 4th Street"". Underappreciated (late-era) Elvis Costello.",3,"florencevibert, andypritchard",
2013-12-29,"Coco O.","Where the Wind Blows",http://soundcloud.com/the-great-gatsby-album/where-the-wind-blows-performed,"Still kind of charmed by this soundtrack.",2,,
2013-12-23,"...And You Will Know Us By the Trail of Dead",Baudelaire,http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b12dZ8bMCYc,"I suppose the hook here is the opening guitar riff, which is nothing really that special, but it sets up a kind of manic, desperate, and exhausted vibe that Trail's very good with.",5,,
2013-12-19,Sweet,"Fox On the Run",http://hypem.com/item/ws14,"SWEET are pretty excellent.  Just picked up this album and I think this is the first four-star song that of-course-I-know from years of listening but maybe I never knew who it was.",1,,
2013-12-18,"The National","Don't Swallow the Cap",http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bFnA-8H-5lo,"Just sorta had this in my head for the past week, PROBABLY because of Episode 2.",2,,
2013-12-12,"Vince Guaraldi Trio","Linus and Lucy",http://hypem.com/item/xsyw,"The inclusion of this on TV when I was four probably explains my fascination with weird chords and time changes.  Can you imagine a crazy jazz instrumental being thrown into a kids' movie / show today?",8,"shitsterbauer, ElmoBerry",
2013-12-11,"Guns N' Roses","Mr. Brownstone",http://vimeo.com/6012622,"Back in my day, bands were credibly dangerous, sleazy, and cool.  We were terrified of them and we liked it that way.",0,,