Happy Friday

 

Here's just a couple feel good tunes to remind us all to not take ourselves too seriously.
Have a good weekend everyone!

1. Tanlines - Reinfo
   I couldn't wait until summer to post this.  A fan just sent this video to the band and they turned it into their official video.  Sound like nice guys.
2. Tourist - Placid Lake
   What a great kickstart to a weekend.  You're feeling a little tired, a little beaten down from the work week and then BAM you remember how fun weekends can be.
   
3. Faith Evans - Love Like This Before (B+S Edit)
   I don't find something like this too often.  It has some real rhythmic attitude, but gels perfectly with dance vocals.  This is more than an choppyy edit.  This is a whole new song. Nice work.
4. Todd Terje - Inspector Norse
   A clever use of the bounce.
5. Talking Heads - Once in a Lifetime (Moplen Remix)
   
   Just for fun.
 

image: sezio

Like Riding a Bike

 

For those of us who like a good bicycle ride.

Originally made for my brother's morning commute,

this has equal parts motivation, fun and patience.

1. Karl Denson's Tiny Universe - Shake It Out
   Throw some gear in your backpack or basket and let's go...
2. Amadou & Mariam - Dougou Badia (ft. Santigold)
   Best played loud.
3. Gang of Four - Natural's Not In It
4. Buddy Holly - Slipping and Sliding (Jacques Renault Remix)
   The part of urban biking that gets me is the feeling of gracefully sliding in between the immobile skyscrapers and slow pedestrians.  It's like you've discovered a better way to travel and everyone else is still asleep.  It's fun to cruise around, look up at the buildings and see how the daylight changes from street to street.  These next three songs go well with that feeling of awe.
5. Air Waves - Knockout
6. Flume - Sleepless (feat. Anthony for Cleopatra)
   At first this will sound like just another instrumental hip hop track, but the tension and build up lead to an all-encompassing outro where vocal samples are coming from all angles.  Great stuff.
7. Red Hot Chili Peppers - Dance, Dance, Dance
   Yeah that's right, I put a Chili Peppers song on this playlist.  I wouldn't normally put this much bubblegum on the blog, but I happen to put this on when I was biking home from Mt. Tabor at sunset and it just FIT.  Best going downhill so you can feel the wind on your face.
8. SBTRKT - Pharaohs
   Somehow London's Aaron Jerome managed to squeeze two of the most fun tracks of 2011 on his selftitled album.  I almost didn't put it on here, because I didn't want anyone dancing so hard they don't notice that truck heading right for them.  You're on your own.
9. High Contrast - Racing Green
   Now you're not going to want to listen to this when it starts, but give it time and you'll soon be cutting off taxis running red lights.  The genius of High Contrast is that he hooks you with emotion rather than aggression like most Drum 'n Bass artists. He almost tricks you into becoming a DnB fan.
10. The Winstons - Amen, Brother
    When you get hired as a bike messenger they give you a Walkman
    with Amen, Brother and Sea Groove on it.
11. Big Boss Man - Sea Groove
12. Youth Lagoon - Daydream
    How can you have a bad day and listen to this song?  Man I feel like I just had a picnic with my sweetheart and now we're biking home in tweed on a Saturday in June.  Sheesh.
13. LCD Soundsystem - All I Want
    For those long rides alone.

 
Links
------------
Interview with Brendt Barbur, Founder of the Bicycle Film Fest
NYC to get largest bike-share effort in the country
Copenhagenize (pre-eminent bike blog)
Support NYC Bike Efforts
Reasons to bike to work
Bowery Lane Bicycles
Extraordinary Paths
NYC Bike Maps

Friends can message me for a download.

image: Design Sponge and Regular Basis

The Long Journey Home

Saying goodbye to the Doug Firs and hello to the people.

As it turns out, America is beautiful.  We all just need to get outside more.
I just got back from a coast-to-coast trek across this great country with my Dad.  We visited too many microbreweries to count, built campfires under the stars and generally got on each others' nerves. 

These are the songs that make a roadtrip worthwhile
and will always remind me of those 4,632 miles.

1. John Prine - Flashback Blues
   Thanks to Johnny for turning me on to The Singing Mailman Delivers.
2. Tom Vek - A Chore
   All packed up...
   
3. Waylon Jennings - Are You Sure Hank Done It This Way
   Cruise control
4. George Harrison - Wah-Wah
5. Dawes - My Girl To Me
   Dawes albums are the closest I'll get to books on tape.
   
6. The Wood Brothers - When I Was Young
7. Jerry Douglas, Russ Barenberg, Edgar Meyer - Big Bug Shuffle
   I used to drink coffee. Now I listen to Big Bug Shuffle.
8. The Middle East - Hunger Song
   No action is boring or overlooked when you listen to The Middle East.  Every day has destiny attached to it.  Checking the GPS becomes an epic discussion of charts and routes to the Motherland. 
   
9. The Jimi Hendrix Experience - The Wind Cries Mary
   We were fortunate enough to visit Marin County, California where Jimi serenaded The Monterey Pop festival-goers in 1967.  With his aggressive, loud style it was refreshing to return to Mary - an unflinching poem with utterly beautiful guitar-work.  I can't imagine something this intimate, head-strong and powerful being created today.  I couldn't find an mp3 version from Monterey, but I encourage you to listen to a live version instead of the studio.
   
10. LCD Soundsystem - Home
    Any long journey that ends in New York needs an LCD track.  Home is the song from This is Happening that stuck around for me.
    
11. College - The Energy Story
12. The War on Drugs - Come To The City
    I must have listened to TWOD's Slave Ambient upwards of 10 times on this trip.  It flows like a good book and begs close listening.  Fall roads and late-night trips really bring out the album's core.  Highly recommended.
13. The Arcade Fire - Une Annee Sans Lumiere
    End it at a sprint.
    
    
    
    Image: Noel

Heathered Pearls Mix

Heres a mix to thrown on the next time you put the Millennium Falcon on autopilot and smoke a jay with your co-pilot.  It's a daytime disco breakdown to help you space out and tune up. 
I've also found it to be great for late night biking.

via Jakub/Heathered Pearls from ISO50

Tracklist

Boards Of Canada – Ithcus Sound
Ikons – Honey (Coyote rmx)
Woolfy vs. Projections – Isabella
Tornado Wallace – Swimmin’
Worst Friends – Ski Hive
Clashing Egos – Aminjig Nebere (Joakim’s afrobot mix)
Motor City Drum Ensemble – Raw Cuts #6
Studio – Life’s A Beach (Todd Terje beach house mix)
Sourya – Anatomy Domine (Prince Language mix)
Blackjoy – Moustache (Prins Thomas diskomiks)
Tiger & Woods – Deflowered
Spoon – Don’t You Evah (Matthew Dear mix)
Seth Troxler – Aphrika
John Selway – Shake The Snow
18 Carat Affair – I Wanna Love You

 
You can download this mix by clicking the arrow on the right.

image: io9.com

MFNW Preview

 

All my new-playlist-digging time has been devoted to biking around to different shows at Music Fest Northwest this week.  (Think Austin's SXSW, but smaller and with more moustaches.)  Now I don't see this blog as a music journalism site, but when an expertly curated music festival happens to occur in your city and you find yourself blogging about music, then well, I guess you should at least mention the highlights. 

All that and more is still to come, because the Fest is only getting started (it began on Wednesday), but in the meantime here are some well-crafted songs that I have come across while sifting through the largely underground lineup.

 Celilo - Baroque Blues myspace

 Blind Pilot - The Story I Heard

Typhoon - The Sickness Unto Death/The Honest Truth (first video)

The Heligoats - Goodness Gracious 
and Glass of Water (second video)
 

p.s. If you have time look at the Willamette Week's write-up on each artist.  They manage to capture each act's essence, history and hook in a few sentences.  Excellent reporting. 

Summer Afternoon Mix

Here are some tunes to throw on while you tidy up the apartment, wash the car and have a
summer seasonal.  It's full of acoustic guitars, choir-like harmonies and carefree sentiments.

Enjoy

1. Beach House – Zebra (Teen Dream , 2010)
2. Dolphins – Galaxy Train (Galaxy Train EP, 2011)
   Australian surf rock. Nice!
3. Jacuzzi Boys – Bricks or Coconuts  (Bricks or Coconuts 7”, 2010)
   I jumped the gun and put this on a mix for friends during the winter, but it didn't really go well with the below 40 temperatures.
4. M. Ward – Get to the Table On Time (The Transfiguration of Vincent, 2003)
5. Vetiver - Everyday (Tight Knight, 2009)
   Tight Knit is one of my favorite albums ever.  It reminds me of driving to different surf spots at the Jersey Shore in our '83 Mercedes wagon.
6. De La Soul – Eye Know (Three Feet and Rising, 1989)
   Sampling Steely Dan, Sly & The Family Stone and Otis Redding in one song is ok with me.
7. Oregon Bike Trails – High School Lover (High School Lover, 2011)
   Keeping my eye on this kid.  Buy it for a buck here.
8. Vetiver - Can't You Tell (Errant Charm, 2011)
   Released last week.
9. James Yorkston - Someplace Simple (Someplace Simple EP, 2003)
10. Washed Out – Eyes Be Closed (Within and Without, 2011)
    I don't hold my breath for follow up efforts from acts like Washed Out because their first albums tend to be their most genuine but his new album is seriously impressive.  Perfect for driving at sunset. Free download (via SubPop)
11. Subskrpt – We’ll Be Fine (Throwing Stones EP, 2010)
12. The O'Jay's - Use To Be My Girl (The Essential O'Jay's , 2005)
    And now for a completely different type of feel good dance music... If this doesn't get you to move then you might not have a soul.
13. The Sea & Cake – Everyday (Oui, 2000)
    Proper acknowledgement goes to the Lost Art of the Mixtape for some recommendations.

image: hasisi park

The National Park Project

"In 1911 Parks Canada was founded, becoming the first National Park Service in the world.  On the eve of it's centennial Canada's finest artists embarked on a historic expedition to capture the majesty of the landscape in music and film."

The National Parks Project is a collaboration between 39 of Canada's best musicians, 13 of it's finest filmmakers and 13 National Parks.  The artists traveled to their chosen park and recorded the score on location.
   The result is a great EP about the "magic, menace and meaning of the Canadian landscape."  Tony Dekker of Great Lake Swimmers would be my favorite musician in the lineup but there are others: Old Man Luedecke, Daniela Gesundheit (Snowblink), Sebastien Grainger, Jennifer Castle & Dan Werb (Woodhands).  You can "tour" each park and stream the EP on NPP's beautiful website.  Planet Earth fans rejoice.  All of the profits go to the Nature Conservancy of Canada that works to preserve Canada's diverse landscapes.