i don’t know what to sing, she reminds me of the future

♫ Oh No Ono – Helplessly Young

The song’s title pretty much nails it as this jam by Copenhagen’s Oh No Ono is tailor made for teenage drives in your parents car: windows down, volume up, and the speedometer getting no attention as you sing your heart out. Did I mention drumming on the steering wheel? That’s essential. This bass-line is impossible not to physically react to. Oh No Ono’s debut album, Eggs, is out now and although I haven’t heard the whole thing, I can recommend the eerie narrative video for the decidedly more melancholy track “Swim.”

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trying to beat it you never win, trying to shake up everything

♫ Lo-Fi-Fnk – Marchin’ In

Lo-Fi-Fnk are another Swedish gem that has just landed in my iTunes. “Marchin’ In” has been taking me on a tropical canoe ride through rainbow colored hot springs and I can’t help but dream that the title refers to Spring which is taking it’s bloody time. This song is the first taste off of the duo’s follow up to their 2006 success Boylife. Yet another album from a recently discovered Swedish group that I haven’t heard. If I don’t stop doing so much research I am going to be spending more time playing catch-up then listening to new stuff. Although, that’s hardly a complaint when I’ve got music of this caliber to keep me company.

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♫ Mock & Toof – Day Ken Died

2 hours ago I walked outside to meet a buddy at a bar and was instantly met the eeriest feeling on the street. The street was empty, the streetlight swayed a bit in the wind, a plastic takeaway container scratched a noise across he pavement,  and my senses braced themselves for something out of the ordinary. In situations like that it’s hard not to laugh a little at the absurdity of the moment. Mock & Toof’s “Day Ken Died” captures a bit of that walk-down-an-eerie-street vibe but also maintains a level of playfulness that let’s you know it’s not going to pull anything crazy on you.  OK, at this point I am officially talking complete bullshit but I think you might get the picture. You also might recognize Mock & Toof’s names from numerous remixes they have done for the likes of Hot Chip, Friendly Fires, Ladyhawke, Sia and others. Solo work is a more recent endeavor but judging by the quality of the mood set here I am going to have to track down some of those remixes.

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♫ Montauk – Holiday

It’s Saturday and time to take a much needed holiday, holiday, holiday, holiday, holiday, holiday, holiday, holiday, holiday, holiday, holiday, holiday, holiday, holiday, holiday, holiday, holiday, holiday, holiday, holiday, holiday, holiday, holiday, holiday, holiday, holiday, holiday, holiday,holiday, holiday, holiday, holiday, holiday, holiday, holiday, holiday, holiday, holiday, holiday, holiday, holiday, holiday, holiday, holiday, holiday, holiday, holiday from the stresses of the week. This moonlight-soaked piano number should do the trick.

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we were fighting for the sake of it, i really think we might be killing it

♫ The Bang Bang Club – Chemistry

Leave your anti-goodtimes baggage at the door ’cause this party is strictly for those with an official “Sing Along And Dance Out Loud” pass. I can’t write too much about them ’cause I’m kinda busy pulling the sweetest dance moves you will never see so I’ll let their press release take over:

The Bang Bang Club are a male synth-pop due who genuinely don’t sound like any of their much-hyped contemporaries. John and David were in the now-defunct band Protocol, until a few years ago they finally resisted repeated attempts to be aligned with The Killers and started to write the pop music they’d always wanted to.

Information is for suckers! Who cares what two biblically named dudes used to do, I care that they are sending me into this Friday night on one of the most severe sugar-pop highs I have had in a while!

WTF!? They only have a website!!!

gonna use you up and get out, like the cans I crush.

♫ Har Mar Superstar – Tall Boy

If you have never heard of Har Mar Superstar before then keep your hands and arms inside the vechicle because shit is about to get hectic… First of all, are you listening? I hope you are listening. If you are listening then you are probably smiling. I know I am. Now imagine how much less you would be smiling if Britney Spears was singing this song. Well that almost happened because American 32-year-old Sean Tillmann, also known as the indie R&B sensation Har Mar Superstar, also writes pop songs for the likes of The Cheetah Girls, Jennifer Lopez, and Kelly Osbourne. “Tall Boy” was rejected by Britney’s team and now we get his chubby jew-froed ass crooning too us about sweet lovemaking/oversized beers. It doesn’t get much better, kids. Seriously. Har Mar’s 4th album came out last year and apparently he is big in the UK. I wish I knew more about this guy so I could drop mad knowledge on you but I’m new to Har Mar’s flavor and in desperate need of an education.

Bury your face in MySpace /// eMusic too

what are you waiting for, say goodbye to my heart tonight

♫ Neon Trees – Animal

Seriously guys, can we title our jams something other than “Animal”? This is like the 5th TBE jam with that name (or it’s plural). Anyway, Neon Trees are from Provo, Utah and sound like The Killers younger, goofier, and less angsty little brother. I realize that this is a sugary sweet radio jam but I can’t help but love it and have been singing along to with those “Oh Oh”s since my first listen. Let me save you a potentially enthusiasm-altering experience and warn you against watching either versions of the music video. Neon Trees has an awesome chick drummer and engage in various silliness in the name of rocking our asses but that lead singer and his unfortunate haircut get a bit much seeing as he over-does his front-man shtick a bit. Anyway, enough negativity. This is my jam and I stand by it, tedious lead singer or not. Their debut LP Habits comes out next week and I have a feeling that we will all be hearing more from these guys and gal.

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NOTE: One of my favorite bands that hasn’t done much lately, Lola Ray, have Neon Trees’ in their top friends on MySpace, and vice-versa. Anyone know of a formal connection? That’s a tour I’d get stoked for. Lola Ray kill it live.

i don’t wanna get a job, i don’t wanna be a man

♫ Emanuel and The Fear – Jimme’s Song (Full Band Version)

Emanuel and The Fear had one of 2009’s most uplifting and vibrant rock jams with “The Rain Becomes The Clouds” (TBE post). Judging by that song’s epic quality you might expect the band’s debut album to be equally hinge-busting. And judging from the way I phrased that last sentence you might expect me to tell you that it isn’t. Well, it isn’t. At 19 tracks, 15 of them full songs, Listen is a bit sprawling. Frank, over at Audio Muffin, says it best when he talks about his own surprise at the album’s “rock opera”-ness but goes on to say:

Not to say that there aren’t a ton of solid tracks, and if you like musicals and indie music, this is going to be right up your alley. But I think I was looking for something a bit more… mind-blowing.

Amen. Frank pretty much nails my feelings about Listen on the head so I’ll let you read his full post for more on the album. I’m here to talk about “Jimmie’s Song,” that track up top that is luckily long enough to have sound-tracked you reading all the way down to here. Decidedly mellower (and then heavier) than “The Rain Becomes The Clouds” it shone on their EP but at 8 minutes it prevented itself from becoming a listening staple. Luckily the album version has been pared down to 5:24 which leaves me reaching for repeat rather than next as Emanuel’s ~10 piece band brilliantly props up his great vocals with the song’s intense slow build. Emanuel and Co have a few Listen tracks up on their MySpace so if you are liking these jams so far then I recommend a visit to check ‘em out. Unfortunately my other album faves “Ariel and The River” and “The Finale” aren’t among them but they are a good start to decide for yourself about Emanuel’s vibe.

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in the heat of the act is a crack in the ice

♫ Shearwater – Black Eyes

How is it possible that we are now 3 days after the Oscars and I have no idea who won anything, not even best picture? I know it says more about my multi-tiered seclusion from Hollyworld than anything else but I would have guessed that a pop-up ad or a stray email fwd: would have dropped some knowledge on me. Anyway, I was thinking about The Oscars because I was thinking about Braveheart and I was thinking about Braveheart because I was listening to this epicness from Shearwater that makes me want to lurk through a forest on my way to conquer a distant land. I have been really digging “Black Eyes”‘ soaring grandiosity and utilizing it to soundtrack the more mundane events of my day. That piano is chillingly excellent and at a perfect teeth brushing tempo! I don’t know much of Shearwater’s music but they have  been around for a while and are fronted by a guy who until recently was also in Okkervil River, another band I don’t know. The vastness of my ignorance is overwhelming at the moment so I’m avoiding delving deeper into Shearwater’s latest, The Golden Archipelago. If I hear that all the tracks are this great I might have a lot of catching up to do.

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you got them long nails, i’m dreamin’ of your goddamn long nails

♫ Bear Hands – What A Drag

Bear Hands are from Brooklyn and both their location and vibe will probably get them shit from people who value being negative more than having fun. That’s unfortunate because this little jam flutters and bounces like it’s just waiting for you to start singing along with that chorus. The single is out soon and hopefully more after that! Grab an older and slower Bear Hands jam over at RCRD-LBL and get pumped for more goodness from these guys.

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Time is tight and I’m late for a date with with the sandman so I’m gonna forgo my usual ramblings for an edited version. I’ve arranged these in a loose order of great to merely relevant so use that as a guide. Or just cherry pick. Whatevs.  If enough people miss my personal notes then I can bring ‘em back but if not then frankly I could use the extra time. Word.

♫ The Hood Internet vs The 90s – Decalogue / The hood Internet take an epic 6 minute trip through the 2000s. A must listen for anyone who has been alive for the past 10 years and enjoys good times and great memories. For realz. Crank this and bust your moves all up on memory lane.

♫ SAFE – Twenty Years On (Rewards Remix) / The beauty of this song gets slowed down and turned up.

♫ Gorillaz – Stylo (Alex Metric Remix) / Metric makes “Stylo” sound how it should have in the first place: funky and dancey.

♫ Erik Hassle – Hurtful (Penguin Prison remix) / I still can’t tell if Penguin Prison actually changed anything on this remix but what is a guy really supposed to do to a “perfect pop song”?

♫ Florence and The Machine – Drumming Song (Boy 8-Bit Remix)

♫ Miike Snow – Silvia (Sinden Remix)

♫ The Temper Trap – Sweet Disposition (Yes Giantess’ Return Of The King Mix) / Why aren’t there more decent remixes of this jam? Or did I just miss them all?

♫ Wolf Gang – The King and All His Men (Joe Goddard Remix)

♫ Vampire Weekend – Ottoman (Bass Ill Euro Remix)

♫ The Silent League – Yours Truly, 2095 (Memory Tapes Version)

♫ I Blame Coco – Caesar ft. Robyn (Miike Snow Remix) / Miike Snow’s weakest remix to date which is a shame on such a great original.

Mediafire: Remix Roundup Vol. 18 – 3.8.10.zip

the more i want the less i feel it, the more i get the less i need it

♫ Good Shoes – Under Control

Good Shoes are hit and miss. I have heard a few of their older tracks and been non-plussed. “Under Control” is a jam in my book and has been feeding my inner spazz for a few weeks now. Lukewarm reviews of their recent LP No Hope, No Future make me hesitant to move past “Under Control” to perhaps less green/rocking pastures. Anyone have any thoughts on the album? Do they maintain bass-lines as fun as this for all10 tracks or is it as exciting as that swimming pool looks? Their MySpace has a link to another free track for those of you feeling adventurous.

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everyday we try harder, everyday we get tougher, until we’re heartless

♫ King Britt – Now (feat. Astrid Suryanto)

King Britt has been making music since before many of you were born. He started out in the Philly house music scene and has since evolved his bad self all over the place. Or so I hear. My personal knowledge of the guy is limited to what I have read in the past 5 minutes but that’s all the better because I’d rather let this beautifully melancholy music tell me his story. Frankly, I think he would agree. The equally enigmatic Astrid Suryanto, however, sings for herself as one of the many guest vocalists on his latest album The Intricate Beauty. Well said, KB, well said. Pull your lover close and dim the lights for this one. You got 8 minutes.

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what i gots gonna help me get what’s mine

♫ Moneybrother – Born Under A Bad Sign

Moneybrother is the solo project of Swede (surprise!) Anders Wendin and 2009’s Real Control is his 5th solo album. I haven’t dove into his back catalog yet but that’s only cause I have been too busy listening to Real Control. The bouncy piano-rock sing-along “Born Under A Bad Sign” turned me on to the album and luckily for us the whole thing is a great collection of jams. Moneybrother’s music is so immediately catchy and, for lack of a better word, big, that it’s hard to believe he hasn’t caught on outside of Europe. Mixing some of the better parts of rock legends like Elvis, The Clash, and Bruce Springsteen he seems tailor made for American classics like jukeboxes, convertibles, and optimism. If you like rock n’ roll and good times then I strongly recommend this albums because the fun doesn’t stop with these two gems. I also hear his live gigs are legendary so anyone in NYC on the 20th should catch him with Rhett Miller. Any Moneybrother fans wanna comment on his awesomeness and a favorite album of his?

♫ Money Brother – Here Comes The Vain Again

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you need this truth to over-think, i hate myself ’cause you over-drink

♫ Dutch Uncles – Takeover

Ok, so there is a dutch oven and “going dutch” but these young Brits with that fantastic artwork over there are Dutch Uncles and until recently I’d never heard the term nor the band. They are young, talented, enthusiastic, and come from the same area as TBE up-n-comers Airship. Manchester is clearly cooking these days and Dutch Uncles are definitely fueling that fire. They recently toured with other TBE faves, Bombay Bicycle Club and The Drums, and word is that they slayed it. No surprise there as “Takeover” is a rollicking good time with all it’s pieces bouncing at just the right pace and Duncan Wallis’ vocals jabbing through his myriad thoughts. And then there are the “ooh ooh ooh”s. I like the “ooh ooh ooh”s. So far so good and if I can get my paws on their debut album it looks like these guys are just the right band to rock my ass until the next Jukebox The Ghost album. Now that would be a line-up.

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