#13: Jónsi, “Go Do”

I’ve been a fan of Sigur Rós since my days in Boston. Their sound has always been difficult to describe. Soaring. Glacial. Cinematic. And add in that, when they are not singing in their native Icelandic, it’s in an entirely fictional tongue they call Hopelandic.

So when word came that Sigur Rós was invoking the worst phrase in music history - indefinite hiatus - the worst was assumed. But lead singer, Jónsi Birgisson, clearly felt no need for a rest. Four months after the announced break, he released his debut album, Go.

From the frontman of a band known for its dense sound, “Go Do” continues the natural weirdness of Sigur Rós, but comes off as alternatively fluttering and driving. The benefit of lyrics in English shows how incredibly positive Jónsi can be. And sometimes you just need someone to remind you that the beauty is in the basics.

“Go sing, too loud.”

“Go drum, too proud.”

“Go do, you’ll know how to.”

“Go do!”

Carpe diem!

Go to the Hype Machine! http://hypem.com/#!/search/go%20do/1/.

Go watch the video.

#14: Broken Bells, "The High Road"

Scene – the Roskilde Festival in Denmark, 2004.

A man sits alone, enjoying a Carlsberg lager. He is listening not to the music of the festival, but a recently released album called The Grey Album, a mashup consisting of vocals from Jay-Z’s The Black Album and music from the Beatles self-titled album, better known as The White Album. The album has quickly risen to prominence, in part because of record label EMI’s attempt to halt its distribution and in part because it is the creation of an unknown artist known only as Danger Mouse.

Enters a young songwriter and producer named Brian Burton. He recognizes the man sitting alone.

Burton: “Excuse me, sorry to interrupt, but you’re James Mercer, right?”

Mercer: “Indeed, I am.”

Burton: “I just wanted to say that I’m a fan of your band, The Shins. Big fan.”

Mercer: “That’s nice of you to say.”

Burton: “I see you’re listening to The Grey Album.”

Mercer: “Have you heard it? I wish I knew who this Danger Mouse guy is.”

Burton: “You’re not signed to EMI, are you?”

Mercer: “No. Why?”

Burton: “Because that’s me.”

End scene.

The relationship between James Mercer and Danger Mouse, the duo that compromise Broken Bells, probably didn’t start exactly in that manner, but let’s just assume it’s not that far off. It took another five years before Mercer and Burton would turn their mutual respect into music, but that is what they did.

The combination of the introverted Mercer and the mad man Burton makes little sense at first blush. And even less on second thought. But the duo works because both men are pop-science nerds capable of finding the middle ground, willing to experiment outside of their own comfort levels until they find something common within each other, because “they know, and so do I/The high road is hard to find.”

The State of the Hype Machine Union: http://hypem.com/#!/search/the%20high%20road/1/.

Video won’t let you down, but it’s still down there.

#15: Titus Andronicus, "Four Score and Seven"

When you're a punk rock band from New Jersey named after Shakespeare's most gruesome drama and you named your first album after a Seinfeld reference, you probably have some pretty big ambitions. That's likely why you decided to make your second album, The Monitor, a relationship concept album styled entirely as a Civil War pastiche, with not a single song coming in within the typical three to five minutes in length.

“Four Score and Seven” is really a two-parter, starting off as a no-win situation and ending somehow worse off. Its themes make more sense within the greater jock vs. nerd aesthetic of The Monitor, but it's pretty clear that Titus Andronicus is not on the side of the Alpha Betas (see Revenge of the Nerds for any necessary clarification). The closing chant of “It's still us against them” leaves “them” open to your own person target of ire, but, for Titus, it seems directed right at the frat boys and quarterbacks who are most likely shouting along.

Hype Machine, ain't nothing wrong with that: http://hypem.com/#!/search/four%20score%20and%20seven/1/.

A little video never hurt nobody.

Bonus fact on how my brain works: Yes, the aliases I have given my adoption birth parents, Sam and Diane, is partially because there is a track on The Monitor called “The Theme from 'Cheers.'”

#16: Deer Tick, "Twenty Miles"

I told you that the list was going to get more country before it was over, and so it does. Of course, given my aversion to Nashville, my brand of country comes from Providence, Rhode Island. And was the first featured artist on Brian Williams’ indie music show, “BriTunes.” (Yes, by Brian Williams I mean the anchor of NBC Nightly News. And that is, apparently, the best name they could come up with.)

Deer Tick’s third album, The Black Dirt Sessions, was actually recorded at the same time as their 2009 effort, Born on Flag Day. Yet, while Flag Day was a playful, alt-country rocker, Black Dirt comes off as far more mature, far more dark and dirty, making the album title seem to be more coincidental than it is (the album was simply completed at Black Dirt Studios).

“Twenty Miles” is a straight forward lover’s lament, but it has the best line yet heard on the list – “Well you are the things that make up my dreams/And I’ve spent every dime that jingles my jeans.” But it’s the cello - the simple, heartbeat-esque, ba-dum, ba-dum – that wins me over and leaves me humming every time.

The Hype Machine won’t steer you wrong: http://hypem.com/#!/search/Twenty%20Miles/1/.

Video is for viewing.

#17: Broken Social Scene, "Texico Bitches"

Broken Social Scene are more a concept than a band, so it shouldn’t be surprising that their music sounds the way it does. Consisting of anywhere between six and nineteen members, BSS are a collection of Canadians that occasionally get together and see what happens. Artists and groups that have one time played as part of BSS include Metric, Stars, the Weakerthans, and Feist (of “1 2 3 4” iPod commercial fame).

Their fourth album, Forgiveness Rock Record, has been nominated for the Polaris Music Prize, given to the best full-length Canadian album (bonus trivia: the first winner of the Polaris was Final Fantasy’s He Poos Clouds). As you would expect from band with so many members, their sound can get pretty dense; “Texico Bitches” is actually quite slimmed down for a BSS production.

Lyrically, the song is all kinds of odd, though it clearly has an anti-oil agenda. That interpretation is only heightened by the equally-odd video, which starts off as a petroleum-soaked fight cheered on by a crowd of face-painted war mongers and turns into something decidedly, shall we say, intimate.

The Hype Machine is the thing: http://hypem.com/#!/search/texico%20bitches/1/.

Video of note be below.

#18: The Tallest Man on Earth, "King of Spain"

Swedish folk. That’s right, Swedish folk.

Anyone who has ever said “I just can’t get past Bob Dylan’s voice” can forego the remainder of this entry. Kristian Matsson, the self-proclaimed and decidedly-not tallest man on earth, has a very distinct, very raw voice. It’s his pure enthusiasm that catches you. His ability with guitar and poetic lyrics keep you around.

The “King of Spain” is seemingly about the transformative powers of love. That’s certainly not new lyrical terrain, but the song twists the formula as the singer fights to stay within his illusion while the object of his desire, the very reason he is having such delusions of grandeur, continually tries to snap him out of it. In the end, it’s the dream of becoming something new, something great, that proves stronger than the love that inspired the thought in the first place.

What’s all the Hype Machine about: http://hypem.com/#!/search/king%20of%20spain/1/.

Video is down there somewhere.

#19: Band of Horses, "Laredo"

“What kind of music do you typically have here?,” asks Elwood upon entering Bob’s Country Bunker. “Oh, we get both kinds. Country and Western,” answers the waitress.

The list hasn’t been particularly diverse up to now. I assure you that will change as straight rock, R&B, and, yes, rap are in the offing. But neither country nor western will be making an appearance. The last country song I remember actually liking was Garth Brooks, “I’ve Got Friends In Low Places.” I’ve heard of but have never heard Taylor Swift. I’m pretty sure the Oak Ridge Boys are no longer around. And I completely missed when Gwyneth Paltrow became “Country Strong.”

Band of Horses are the second-closest I’m going to get to country and/or western on this list (await #16 for the answer to the question not asked). Their album, Infinite Arms, was an international hit, reaching the Top Ten in Denmark, Greece, Norway, and Sweden. However, the Germans never took it higher than #88. (True Fact: the top selling single in Germany for 2010 was a cover of “Over the Rainbow” by Hawaiian Israel Kamakawiwo’ole. Ah, Germans.)

To the Hype Machine! To the Hype Machine: http://hypem.com/#!/search/laredo/1/ which also gives you a taste of Willie Nelson if you keep listening.  

Or go all audio-visual with the video player below.

#20: Phantogram, "When I'm Small"

This list continues to evolve even as it’s created. This slot had been destined for the Local Natives until continued listens (listenings?, what’s the right word there) left me doubting myself. Thankfully, Saratoga Springs, NY, duo Phantogram were warming up in the bullpen ready to step in.

Having opened for at least one band that will appear later on the list (I’ll leave you guessing) and one (the xx) who would have scored highly had I done this last year (thought for future post: retrospective Top 24 for 2009), Phantogram are another electro-groove band. But this isn’t the get up and move vibe of a Fat Boy Slim or a deadmau5; this is nighttime dance in your chair music similar to Portishead.

The lyrics leave me completely guessing to what the song is about, but it doesn’t sound like good news for Lucy. That holds the song back for me. But, with some songs, I’m willing to treat the vocals as if they were just another instrument. “When I’m Small” fits that bill.

Get ye to the Hype Machine: http://hypem.com/#!/search/phantogram/1/.

And the video feed makes its return from a triumphant tour of Europe, Asia, and the subcontinent.

#21: Elizabeth and the Catapult, "Go Away My Lover"

Elizabeth Ziman has a healthy Leonard Cohen obsession. That’s rarely a bad thing. Cohen rivals Tom Waits for the title of Most Absolutely Incredible Lyricist You’ve Never Heard Of Because He Can’t Sing Worth a Damn. Over 2,000 versions of his songs have been done by other artists, most notably Jeff Buckley’s beautiful rendition of “Hallelujah” which just gave me an idea for a future post on Jeff Buckley’s beautiful rendition of “Hallelujah.” There are no Cohen covers on Elizabeth and the Catapult’s second album, The Other Side of Zero, but the entire collection, down to its title, is inspired by him.

How to fail with grace is something most of us could use some practice at. It was the inspiration of Cohen’s collection of poetry that inspired the album (that’s some Double Dog Inspiration right there) and clearly is a vein running through “Go Away My Lover.” From the balancing and mirroring of the two vocalists, to the blunt lyrics (the title does lack a certain subtlety), to the nonchalant whistling that suggests that even this utter failure of a relationship ain’t no big thing, the song reminds me of a mantra of personal preference – Don’t sweat the small shit. And it’s all small shit.

Decided it was better to stop coping other people’s bandwidth. So you can now listen at Hype Machine (http://hypem.com/#!/search/go%20away%20my%20lover/1/).  Just click on the play button. If you want to download, click on “Posted Last Week” to go visit yet another blog. One that pays for its server.

No video on this one either. Boy, I got lazy quickly.

#22: Buke and Gass, "Your Face Left Before You"

Brooklyn duo Buke and Gass decided that they didn’t want to just make music. They also wanted to make their own instruments. Singer Arone Dyer plays a modified baritone-ukulele (hence “buke”) that’s run through a plethora of effects. Band mate Aron Sanchez uses a guitar-bass hybrid (and hence “gass”) that’s run through two separate amps. As if that were not enough, they both simultaneously play a variety of foot pedals, making them really annoying to all aspiring musicians who never could master the recorder (possibly an autobiographical statement).

Yet, what could prove to be a novelty group with homemade instruments and over-reliance on effects is, in effect, a powerful band that makes more noise than two people should be capable of producing. And this doesn’t even take into account Dyer’s vocals, which don’t shy away from matching the band’s sound. 

“Your Face Left Before You,” from their debut, Riposte, is a good example of their sound – jazz, power punk, like the Dirty Projectors as interpreted by two new-age hippies who love to play with their self-made toys.

Download is from the always reliable Stereogum: http://stereogum.com/477022/buke-gass-your-face-left-before-you-stereogum-premiere/mp3s/.

No video stream for this one.

#23: Everything Everything, "Photoshop Handsome"

One of my favorite out-of-nowhere musical finds from the mid-90s was Chavez, a guitar-heavy, math rock (yes, math rock is a thing; see: Pink Floyd) band whose album, Ride the Fader, still gets play in my iPod. In fact, if I’m taking a run to the dump in my truck (purchase price: two bottles of wine), it’s Chavez that accompanies me for reasons I can not explain but always prove appropriate.

Everything Everything is a Brit math rock band that comes off far less angry about life than Chavez ever did, but the music shares the same atypical rhythm and dissonance typical of the genre. The lyrics are baffling, leaving me with no sense about what this song might actually be about, thereby keeping it low on the list. But, as with deadmau5, “Photoshop Handsome” gets the blood aflowing, and isn’t that half of the point of music?

If you want it, download it here: http://www.billysuede.com/2010/11/11/how-to-be-handsome-without-the-use-of-photoshop/.

Or just watch the video below. Or don’t and simply imagine what it might sound like.

#24: deadmau5 ft. Neon Hitch, "I Can't Behave Myself"

As far as stage names go, deadmau5 (pronounced “dead mouse”) is pretty good work for a Canadian born Joel Zimmerman given that “Brian Adams” was already taken. This track, featuring UK singer Neon Hitch, isn’t particularly indicative of his latest release, 4X4=12, or anything he’s done before, but it’s damn poppy and gets you moving. Dance tracks don’t usually get very far with me, but this has enough going on to start off the list.

Downloadable from here: http://www.aerialnoise.com/2010/12/19/deadmau5-collection/

Or just listen to it below in the video player.