I’ve been listening to some internet radio lately and I’ve one again stumbled upon this gem of a track that was first released in the glorious 1989. Yes, my friends, this track was released a full twenty years ago. But it’s still great. The story and advice still ring with truth and the chorus, well, the chorus is brilliant and requires everyone in the vicinity to sing along. To sing along loud.
mp3 : Biz Markie - Just a Friend
The track hails from Biz’s second album, The Biz Never Sleeps (amazon). It’s also the one song that Biz apparently is still in love with as he performed it every night while opening for Chris Rock in 2007 and 2008.
+ Biz Markie @ twf hype elbows site myspace amazonmp3 itunes
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I havent’ had a chance to really fall in love with We Are Scientists but this cover they did just might work at changing my mind {and heart}. According to my sources this track hails back a long ways, but seeing as how I just discovered it this week I thought the least I could do was throw it up for everyone to enjoy. It’s not quite as, well, impressive as the original, but it just might be the best cover of a Sigur Ros song to date. Actually, and this is a direct challenge, has anyone actually heard any other band cover Sigur Ros? Ever?
mp3 : We Are Scientists - Hoppipolla (Sigur Ros Cover)
It’s a simple acoustic rendition of an amazing song. And while it never quite reaches the heights of a true Sigur Ros masterpiece it’s nice to hear a band really give it a go.
+ We Are Scientists @ twf hype elbows site myspace amazonmp3 itunes
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My relationship with The Mountain Goats is in direct parallel to the type of images I upload onto my blog here. You see my procedure for processing these images which accompany every post seems to go in streaks. For a month or so at a time I’ll run the same set of tweaking the levels, increasing contrast, and essentially over saturating the colors. Then I’ll look at a new picture and realize I hate that process and instead I switch to desaturating and washing out all the colors for the following month or so before I completely reverse my position and go back to my old method. And that’s how I feel about The Mountain Goats. For awhile they’re great, then I hate them, then I love them again.
Recently I’ve been in love with one song of theirs in particular. This Year is the perfect anthem for, well, this year which we are all currently toiling through. With the repeated line “I am gonna make it / through this year / if it kills me” it just seems to fit this melancholic mood the world has settled into.
mp3 : The Mountain Goats - This Year
mp3 : The Mountain Goats - This Year (Live)
For those that care about the integrity of full albums, the intent of the artist to create a moving piece of art that drifts from track to track, or whatever other excuse you use when your friends urge you to only play the best singles on an album {a request I’m sure you vehemently deny} the original track appears on the album The Sunset Tree (amazon) (itunes). We will make it through this year; even if it kills us.
+ The Mountain Goats @ twf hype elbows site myspace amazonmp3 itunes
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I have long been a fan of Zach Williams and the sleepy indie folk music he creates. I know that I first discovered his music while traipsing through the ether of myspace over three full years ago. For awhile I was obsessed with putting tracks by Zach (he was then playing with a backup band called The Ramparts) on every mix album I put together. No matter what mood I was in the music of Zach Williams seemed to be a soothing constant, a gentle way to ease myself into another day.
Well I started writing posts about Zach and eventually, somehow, he noticed. I’m not quite sure how it all began, but somewhere along the way we crossed over from a simple blogger musician relationship to something more akin to friends whom have yet to meet in person. I kept on bragging about him to all my friends, writing posts about him here on TWF, and buying his albums from cd baby for unsuspecting friends and siblings on their birthdays. Zach meanwhile moved to New York, started a family, and began playing intimate shows (which I’ve heard from some old friends, whom have had the pleasure of seeing Zach live, are quite brilliant).
Emails have been exchanged, facebook friendship was born, and through it all I’ve felt like in some way I’ve been let into his world. And to be honest I feel lucky to have been included along the way.
mp3 : Zach Williams - Fears
The album art you see today, here on The World Forgot, is for Zach’s upcoming proper debut entitled Story Time. According to Zach this is the first time the public has gotten a glimpse of the album cover. And as if that wasn’t brilliant enough he also thought to drop the track Fears as a preliminary exclusive mp3 available only from this blog. Fortunately for us all it’s a characteristic Zach Williams song filled with character and a dash of longing.
To everyone who hasn’t heard of Zach Williams before I urge you to explore his music or make it to his album launch show on June 9th at the Mercury Lounge. And to Zach I must say that I am glad you’re still making music and I feel honored to be able to spread your talent around.
+ Zach Williams @ twf hype elbows site myspace amazonmp3 itunes cdbaby
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If you’ve been a regular around here for the past two plus years you’ve no doubt that I have a deep love for the kids who make up Cloud Cult. I also believe they’re one of the most under appreciated bands of all time. I mean honestly, their last two albums were out of this world brilliant, they care about the environment, drive a bio-diesel bus, genuinely love their fans, and do some amazing paintings on stage during every live show. So it’s great today when I opened my inbox to see that Man is Doomed decided to remix their track Take Your Medicine. I hope you enjoy it as much as I have.
mp3 : Cloud Cult - Take Your Medicine (Man is Doomed Remix)
For those of you whom are curious the original track can be found on their 2007 album The Meaning of 8 (amazon) (itunes).
+ Cloud Cult @ twf hype elbows site myspace amazonmp3 itunes
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I first wrote about The Joy Formidable about 14 full months ago and back then I had nothing but words of praise for their clever indie rock sound. And although my words of praise haven’t change, at all, I would like to change the bands I think they sound like. At fist I thought they were a bit like The Dodos mashed up with Yeah Yeah Yeahs, but now I must drop those parallels and say that their full length debut reminds me a lot of a now defunct band The Anniversary. And that is a good thing.
mp3 : The Joy Formidable - While The Flies
mp3 : The Joy Formidable - Whirring
There’s not much else for me to say other than that the entire album is solid from start to finish. I’ve been so addicted to it that I’ve probably listened to A Balloon Called Moaning at least fifteen times all the way through in the last week alone. Give em a listen, and if you’re in the Kilburn area of London then make sure you hit up the nightclub that they operate called Club Joie De Vivre.
+ The Joy Formidable @ twf hype elbows site myspace amazonmp3 itunes
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The other day my brother passed along a link to a youtube video in which Weezer plays a live cover song of both Kids by MGMT and Pokerface by Lady Gaga. I’m not entirely sure how the two songs fit together {both ideologically and musically}, but in some way Weezer makes it work. And through some clever use of the internet {thanks google} I ripped the video, extracted the audio, and now you’re presented with a delicious mp3 for your consumption.
mp3 : Weezer - Kids and Pokerface (MGMT and Lady Gaga Cover)
Enjoy the track and have a good week.
+ Weezer @ twf hype elbows site myspace amazonmp3 itunes
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Well I received this track in my inbox this morning and I’m not entirely sure what I think of it. On one hand I really liked the Kanye original because at points during the song his voice would break down like he was literally reliving the heartbreak. On the other hand I didn’t really love the Kanye original because of the fact that, at least in my mind, Kanye should stick to what he does best, that being gallivanting around as a rap master, and leave the singing to the pretty boys. And speaking of pretty boys, here we have The Fray, a band that actually made their name by singing, covering Heartless. I wanted really badly for this to be a superb cover. I wanted it to drip with emotion and have a rough and heartbroken feel. The only problem is that it doesn’t.
mp3 : The Fray - Heartless (Kanye West Cover)
What you will find here is smooth vocals, instrumentation, and generally a good cover song. What you will not find here, at all, is any reason to think that this is better than the original.
+ The Fray @ twf hype elbows site myspace amazonmp3 itunes
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I’m not quite sure where I first heard Gareth’s cover of the now classic MGMT track Time To Pretend, but I stumbled upon it yet again today and I thought I would share it with anyone out there that has yet to hear it. The first time through the song I kept waiting for a voice to start singing, I almost needed to hear the lyrics. A strange thing happened to me though, the more I’ve heard this song since then the more I think it sounds just right without any lyrics whatsoever.
mp3 : Gareth Pearson - Time To Pretend (MGMT Cover)
This is easily one of the most soothing tracks I’ve heard in a long time. And I think we might all need that once in awhile.
+ Gareth Pearson @ twf hype elbows site myspace amazonmp3 itunes
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Regina Spektor has a new album, entitled Far (amazon), that is set to be released in a few weeks on June 23. Leading up to that date Regina has gone on a small publicity push that has included dropping the first single, the haunting and somewhat melancholic Laughing With, onto her myspace page. I personally enjoy this track a lot. It’s lyrically clever, the melody is haunting and fits Regina’s voice perfectly, and overall the song is slightly depressing. Basically Regina has taken the matrix by which I measure a track and applied it to her entire song. I for one am hoping the remainder of the album is as good as Laughing With.
mp3 : Regina Spektor - Laughing With
In other news, does anyone who is not a musician still use myspace?
+ Regina Spektor @ twf hype elbows site myspace amazonmp3 itunes
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We Plants Are Happy Plants has deemed us worthy of a new track from a forthcoming album entitled Twilight of The Dawn. The track is entitled Apollo. Now whether or not he is referencing the Greek god, the Apollo series of space flights taken by NASA, or Battlestar Galactica is up for interpretation. Regardless of actual reference the common thread between those three possibilities and the track itself is this; they are all out of this world. Literally.
mp3 : We Plants Are Happy Plants - Apollo
The opening dialogue in the track is from the cult movie The Man From Earth which seems slightly ironic considering the word Apollo and almost all possible references of that name are opposite both the title and theme of that movie {it’s basically a film about a man who was born a cave man but is still alive in modern times}. All indie movie and Greek god references aside this track is simple brilliance, yet again, from We Plants Are Happy Plants. And to be honest I expect nothing less from Peter Bergmann.
+ We Plants Are Happy Plants @ twf hype elbows myspace
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I’m not entirely sure about his choice of press photos {is that a wink? is there something in his eye? is it really dusty in Sweden? does blue plastic wrap prevent communicable diseases like swine flu?}, but his choice in making music is top notch. Magnus Sätterstrom, also known as Little Big Adventure, will be releasing his debut EP on May 13th but I thought this song was good enough to pass along before the street date.
mp3 : Little Big Adventure - Happiest Times
Magnus has found his publishing home with Labrador Records and it seems to be a perfect fit for his blend of pop, synth, and and oddly comforting monotone style of vocalization. I’ve run out of words to accurately describe how great I think Little Big Adventure so just go ahead and download the track above and hear it for yourself.
+ Little Big Adventure @ twf hype elbows site myspace amazonmp3 itunes
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So a few weeks after I wrote a rambling letter imploring Sufjan Stevens to return to his fans and release a new album he has sorta, kinda, maybe responded by teasing us a little bit. On his blog {which is really just a slice of his label’s website, Asthmatic Kitty}, he occaisionally drops a stream of consciousness post about his past. On August 24th he talked about his name, how he tried to change it when he was young, and how as an undergrad at university he wrote an entire album about names. Apparently the other day he stumbled upon some old recordings and he graciously decided to allow us to hear a track he penned about Sofia Coppola. Although it’s not technically new music from Sufjan it is new to all of us. Enjoy.
mp3 : Sufjan Stevens - Sofia’s Song
And who knows, maybe if I keep writing open letters on the internet we might see a new album before 2012. Which would be good, because that’s when the world ends.
+ Sufjan Stevens @ twf hype elbows site asthmatic kitty amazonmp3 itunes
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Michael Grubbs sat down and recorded a five song EP, The War Sweater, which will be released on May 18th of this year. It’s a solid five songs and he has some talented individuals backing him up with instrumental sections that really fill up this piano mans sound {most notably Kelly Pratt, Maxim Moston, and Julia Kent}. Here’s a sample of what you can expect on the EP when it officially hits stores in a few weeks.
mp3 : Wakey!Wakey! - LGA - link removed - listen here
mp3 : Wakey!Wakey! - Brooklyn - link removed - listen here
Michael Grubbs is one of the up and coming talented folks to live in and around NYC as of late and both of these tracks are absolutely brilliant. I’ve been a fan of his ever since I heard his brilliant album full of covers a year ago. If you can get out to see him play I highly recommend it. Here’s his upcoming shows.
April 30 - Mercury Lounge EP Release - New York, New York
May 2 - One Big Table - New York, New York
May 9 - TT the Bear’s - Cambridge, Massachusetts
May 26 - Radio Bean - Burlington, Vermont
June 1 - The Evening Muse - Charlotte, North Carolina
June 2 - The Basement - Nashville, Tennessee
August 8 - Roosevelt Live Festival - New York, New York
+ Wakey!Wakey! @ twf hype elbows site myspace itunes
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Yes, I am just that fortunate. A few weeks ago, when I was down in Indy to catch a brilliant set played by White Lies, I also was able to enjoy a set by indie dance rock darlings Friendly Fires. And let me say this; if all you’ve ever done is hear the studio album by these three gents then you have yet to scratch the surface of Friendly Fires’ entertainment value. Seriously, these kids know how to have a good time in a live venue. Their energy was contagious.
mp3 : Friendly Fires - Paris
mp3 : Friendly Fires - Skeleton Boy
Both of these songs were played that night in Indy and both of them hail from the album Friendly Fires (amazon) (itunes). It’s a very fun little dance rock album and it translates, in case you haven’t picked up on this yet, extremely well to a live setting. If you will you can think of them as a less edgy version of !!! (but just as fun live).
+ Friendly Fires @ twf hype elbows site myspace amazonmp3 itunes
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A little over a week ago I had the good fortune of catching the international tour of a great band out of the UK. White Lies played a strong set at a gem of a venue in Indy called Radio Radio. The tickets were cheap, the booze was way overpriced, and the music was pretty much amazing. White Lies was the second band to take the stage and to sum up their performance in as glib a way as possible I would say that they sound like the Killers mashed up with Muse with The Strokes sprinkled over top of a couple of tracks.
mp3 : White Lies - From The Stars
mp3 : White Lies - The Price of Love
Both of these tracks hail from their debut album, To Lose My Life (amazon) (itunes), and I think my reference to the Killers is fairly obvious on both of these tracks {and I guess by saying the Killers I really mean New Order}. Long story short the performance was brilliant, and the songwriting and craftsmanship apparent on this album is something to be heard by all.
+ White Lies @ twf hype elbows site myspace amazonmp3 itunes
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My posts will be hit or miss the next few weeks here on TWF. This is partially because I’m busy, but more importantly my 8 year old laptop struggles mightily to run the programs that allow me to post. Hopefully by the end of June or early July I will have a new laptop in hand that can handle all that i need to continue making TWF a place to discover new music.
And just for those who are interested I currently use a Sony Vaio laptop that was bought in 2001. Yes, that’s right, 2001. Which means the laptop and the technology inside of it are almost a decade old. As I type this reply i have to pause after every two or three words because it takes that long for each letter to appear on screen after I’ve hit a key. {Just launching Firefox on this laptop takes around 52 seconds on average… trust me, when it takes that long, you have nothing better to do than time it and find the average}. It’s rocking a Pentium 700Mhz processor {which is roughly 1/5 as powerful as present day mobile phone processors} and I’ve maxed it out with a glorious 512MB of RAM. Oh, I also have only about 1GB free of hard drive space to spare which makes it almost impossible to download new music, rip CDs to mp3, or do anything else that facilitates listening to new artists or new albums.
Basically my current computer setup {flavored slightly by the amount of free time i have} has made it not enjoyable to post about music here. In fact it’s quite literally a pain.
For awhile I was using an extra computer at work to post {this accounted for the quick flurry of posts in April and May}, but this opportunity is now not available {yes, I am still employed, but now I’ve become busier than ever with work and I’ve taken over the website here and, well, life in general seems to be moving fast}.
Long story short I’ll post as much as I can when I can. Thanks for being patient with me…