Beirut - Nantes

Beirut, "Nantes" (YSI link)

I had a seriously shitty, emotional night last night and this was the only song I wanted to hear. I've listened to it close to 50 times on the L ride over and back and walking around and whatnot tonight and I needed to post this up late night to clear out of some of the bad vibes for sleep. It's Beirut's "Nantes" and I consider it to be the best song of the last 25 years, in the non-Dylan, non-dance category. It makes me want to cry, it makes me feel like I have cried, it makes me want to be in love and care for someone, it makes me be all of the things that I can't do in real life. The gorgeous strings, the clattering drums, the trombone deep down. Most of all, it's Condon's mournful vocals and lyrics, singing of lost loves returning or is it a love passing on into the past?

Well it's been a long time, long time now
since I've seen you smile.
And I'll gamble away my fright.
And I'll gamble away my time.
And in a year, a year or so
this will slip into the sea
Well, it's been a long time, long time now
since I've seen you smile
Nobody raise their voices
Just another night in Nantes
Nobody raise their voices
Just another night in Nantes

It's perfect.

Go out and buy the LP, Flying Club Cup, as it deserves your money simply for putting this song into the world. Oh, and do you know how rad we are? Even sad, we still keep the French theme going, as this is Condon's homage to France and its music. Yeah!

Caribou - She's The One

Caribou, "She's The One (Hot Chip remix)" (YSI link)

Caribou, "She's The One (Kelley Polar's Hughes Wilson Prom Night In Hell version" (YSI link)

Not sure why, but I feel a little melancholy today. Blame it on the weather, the unread emails from an ex or just being me. I'm not sure if Dan Snaith's music as Caribou is good for me right now or if it just makes me a little bluer, but when the music is this beautiful and essential, I just need to get over myself.

"She's The One" is the first single off of the 2007 Andorra album and one of the best songs of the past year. It combines that psychedelic pop sound perfectly with lyrics about love and that one girl. It's just the type of song I love, a dark love song about heartbreak and love lost and moving on. "Every night there's a new name on her mind that I don't think I recognize/
and it's never strange just how long she stays away, I guess I'll have to compromise." Not surprisingly, this one was co-written by Jeremy Greenspan of Pound for Pound favorite Junior Boys, who do this sort of music perfectly. Anyway, if you have not bought the LP, do not hesitate in buying your copy today.

The label came up with two interesting choices for remixers, Hot Chip and Environ's Kelley Polar. Hot Chip have added a beat to the mix, stretched it out by double and added two almost-euphoric breakdowns. The first is slower and more deliberate, the second is a little more of freak-out to close things out. Definitely somthing different from the guys, not my favorite. While everyone is probably going to gravitate towards the Hot Chip remix, the real treat is the one by Kelley Polar. This one has to be heard, as Polar has turned the original into a spoken word experimental disco track. There's amazing soaring harmonies, sweeping strings, claps and off-key chords, it sounds like nothing you've heard in quite a while. The best guidepost I can say is to think back to the late 70s, early 80s when guys like Arthur Russell brought the avant-garde to the dancefloor. I'm really liking this one,

I highly recommend grabbing one of the copies of the 12" before they are gone, as you won't want to miss a chance to have the original and the additional new track, "Niobe." You won't be disappointed.

Will Eastman! Remixes! Le Freak! Washington D.C.!

Codebreaker, "Riviera On The Moon (Will Eastman blisspop remix)" (YSI link)

Air, "Once Upon A Time (Will Eastman blisspop remix)" (YSI link)

The Hourly Radio, "Crime Does Pay (Will Eastman blisspop remix)" (YSI link)

Oh, did I mention the Pound for Pound reference on the Washington Post online site? That's right, friends, this humble blog got mentioned by one of the biggest sites in the world. Can't stop, won't stop until Tom Friedman uses me as an example of the world flattening in another of his awful columns. Get at me paper of record, the takeover has begun. Seriously though, congrats to Will Eastman on this great write-up, good to see the local press catching up to what we've been saying for a minute about this dude's talent. This is a good chance to re-up this post and the songs, don't sleep if you missed this one before.

It's been a shitty week, but I'm so super psyched to post up these remixes from DJ Will Eastman, a DJ that I hope will get much more attention and hype ASAP. For longtime readers, I'm sure that you've caught many references to Will and his various parties in Washington D.C., he's been one of the bright spots in a city not know for its raging. He got started in 1998, spinning indie, britpop, dance, disco and just about anything good at various spots. He started the Bliss monthly party at The Black Cat in September 2000 and this one's still going strong all of these years later. All of this is to say that this dude deserves far more attention than he gets; he's a talented DJ who mixes all kinds of music from the past, present and future with an eye to the dancefloor, who has been on the grind, making a scene where one might not naturally exist. Like I've said before, there's nothing that makes me happier than shining the spotlight on all of those people who hustle and make a city what iut is and hopefully help them get to a bigger audience.

I hope that these remixes above are just the ticket to get the word out, as they have been the soundtrack to my week. I'm honored to be given the exclusive first shot at his remix of Codebreaker's "Riviera On The Moon." This is like looking into a blog crystal ball and seeing two names that will be hyped from Brooklyn to Budapest, as Codebreaker is a super rad electro-funk band from Madison, Wisconsin. Eastman turns the original and makes it even more dance floor friendly with a huge bass, some vocal fuckery and driving drums. The chika-chika guitars find there place perfectly in this version, especially love how he takes everything else out and leaves the vocals over that guitar work, very nice. This is just really great stuff, sitting right on that pop/dance fence where so much of the best stuff coming out falls.

I've also upped two other remixes, the Air remix is as beautiful as you'd expect, blisspop indeed. However, it's The Hourly Radio remix that you need, an official remix for the single (Shiny Toy Radio contributed another one). Eastman's taken a really great song and turned it into something awesome, turning a indie song into a dance track with that (signature?) warm bass, hi-hats and cool 80s scratching synths.

If you lie in D.C. you really should just take a second, jot down my dude's schedule and pencil those parties into your day planner or Blackberry. His monthly Bliss party goes down again soon, February 8th, the perfect way to warm up this winter or to forget about the inexplicable fact that Obama won't put mandates on his health care plan. Even better, Will has his Friday night weekly called Le Freak at the Napoleon Lounge (1847 Columbia Rd.) in Adams Morgan going full steam ahead. If you haven't made it through, tonight's your chance to find your new weekly stop. No cover, doors at 10 pm, half-priced champagne (!!!) from 9-11, Will with special guests playing all of the music you want to hear - booty bass, disco, electro, classic house, pop, rap

For the rest of the country, check out Will's myspace page or the Bliss party one, bring him to your city. I know that he was just in Minneapolis for the Too Much Love jawn with Soviet Panda, I'd love to see some of my Pound for Pound party people and promoters and DJs help him destroy some other cities. Finally, for everyone else, download those songs, check out the Bliss website for new info and songs, be friends on said social networking site above, keep reading Pound for Pound, as we will hopefully have much more from Mr. Eastman. Yeah! Blisspop!

Grizzly Bear - Friends EP

Grizzly Bear, "Little Brother (electric)" (YSI link)

Grizzly Bear, "Knife (covered by CSS)" (YSI link)

Here's something a little different than our normal fare, the psychedelic folk music of Grizzly Bear. However, when you check out the mix that's coming up next, this one'll make a lot more sense. Anyway, I actually reviewed and liked their debut LP, Yellow House, so when I saw that they were releasing an EP of remixes and B-sides called Friends, my heart when a-flutter, as I love a good remix album.While it isn't quite what I thought it was going to be, as these aren't remixes in the dance music sense, the path they chose is probably better for everyone. Most of the EP is the band reworking their own songs or doing covers, along with 3 covers of Grizzly Bear songs by their friends - CSS, Band Of Horses and Atlas Sound.

For me, it's the first half of the album, the reworking of their originals, that makes this one worth the money. Honestly, the first three songs are a tremendous peak that they don't equal again on the record, although all of the Grizzly Bear stuff is worth a listen. The thing that struck me most was how much I liked the vocals, something that is really important to me when I listen to rock music and that seems to be lacking on a lot of this experimental folk stuff imo. Their cover of the The Crystals/Phil Spector classic "He Hit Me (And It Felt Like A Kiss)" shows this best, with a tender, almost fragile voice leading the way. "Little Brother" goes electric here and it's a doozy, with similar scratchy falsetto vocals to draw me in. From there, the tracks ebbs and flows, until the final blowout in the last minute and a half. Check for the great guitars on this one, love that sound. Check out this nice review at Pitchfork by Ryan Schreiber, which gives a nice recap of how these songs are different than the originals.

I included the CSS cover of "Knife," to give you a sense of how one of the band's songs was covered. CSS has turned the song into a cool and relaxed electro rock number, not bad, not amazing. Band of Horses do a kinda bizarre, kinda awful bluegrass-y version of "Plans," while Atlas Sound has much more of the space-y, reverbed sound that seems more in line with GB's music and probably works best.

I definitely recommend picking this one up, feel like it might be a touch more accessible than the LP. Grizzly Bear definitely seem to be doing interesting things, taking chances and just generally not acting like every other indie rock band out there.

Iron and Wine - The Shepherd's Dog

Iron and Wine, "House By The Sea" (YSI link)

Iron and Wine, "Flightless Bird, American Mouth" (YSI link)

Let me start by commending Bagelsmith for being open today and saving my hungry ass with a nice onion bagel with cream cheese and MTV for showing a marathon of The Hills and saving my bored ass. We'll have more to say about this season soon, but if you have a problem with a man being into this show, join the club. I know it's wrong, but I can't help myself. Yeah!

It's been a tough time lately health-wise, a lousy year is coming to an end, a new one lies ahead; a little introspection and acoustic guitar seem like the order of the day, as good as time as any to take a look at the recent Iron and Wine album, The Shepherd's Dog. While Sam Beam may always be associated with a stripped down and acoustic sound, this one should confirm that he has put that behind him. While I kinda feel like the lo-fi beginnings were perfect for the man's music (memories of listening to "Naked As We Came" late at night on a bed somewhere are dancing through my head tonight), a few listens to this one and this new junkyard indie sound may be even more perfect and fitting for his haunting lyrics and voice. Take "Pagan Angel and a Borrowed Car," the album's opener, which features

More than anything though, it's Beam's voice that draws me in. Readers know that I am not a big indie rock fan, but when I am, it is usually the voice that sells me more than anything. Beam's has this ethereal quality, a soft, whispery voice that sort floats on top of the ruckus going on below. It's so nice that I occasionally forget that it's singing actual lyrics, especially on the album closer, the gorgeous "Flightless Bird, American Mouth." On that one, he sings the refrain at the uppermost range, the falsetto sounds so perfect to my ears I kinda wanna cry and listen to this on repeat and have a nice hot cup of cocoa.

All of this is to say that I recommend checking this album out. Much like The National's album, it took me more than a few listens to come to this album. Besides maybe the opening track, there's nothing on here that is a unforgettable single, which always presents me from giving it a top score. But, repeated listens (or maybe just one listen for real indie fans) will reward you with a great, roots rock album that strains at the edges of that genre, a gorgeous and haunting album that will undoubtedly make many best of the year lists. Buy your copy here and see what you think.

Battles - Tonto +

Battles, "Tonto (The Field remix)" (YSI link)

Battles, "Tonto (Four Tet remix)" (YSI link)

The end of the year is nearly upon us and I have a feeling that the Battles LP, Mirrored, will make on a few end of the year releases. Perhaps to keep them in the mind of the blogosphere's voters, they recently released the Tonto + EP with some remixes, live songs and a DVD.

Not surprisingly, the band chose interesting remixers for their song "Tonto," eschewing the typical new-electro guys like MSTRKRFT for two artists that seem more comfortable with the experimental side of things. The Field is another of 2007's biggest names, responsible for one of the biggest techno LPs of the year on Kompakt. Here, he delivers a glitchy remix of the original, taking out the guitar picking, adding a bass drum and stuttering, noisy, swirling synths. The repetitive sound actually slowly moves, great stuff. The Four Tet remix sticks a lot closer to the original (the guitars and weird vocals are back!) Four Tet, a.k.a. Kieran Hebden, adds a rumbling bass to the mix, some bubbling, space-y effects and a generally more consistent sound and pacing. I feel like this one is a good way into Battles music for those coming from the electronic/dance side of things.

Grab a copy of this EP/DVD at Turntable Lab, but I'd recommend buying the LP first and digging into the band's post-rock/jam band-y music, as it's well-worth the time and money. Will it end on the Pound for Pound end-of-year list? Actually, that's a really great question, imaginary reader. I have no idea what that list is gonna look like.

Okkervil River - The Stage Names Expanded

Okkervil River, "Plus Ones (demo)" (YSI link)

Okkervil River, "A Girl In Port (demo)" (YSI link)

Not sure if anyone guessed, but clearly I was alluding to Okkervil River when I referenced the only contemporary artist whose music has a similar impact on me. Recently, Jagjaguwar issued a limited edition version of this year's The Stage Names with a bonus disc, featuring the demos for all of the album's songs. What you get is Will Sheff on acoustic guitar singing the tracks from the album, stripped down and bare-bones. I normally find these sorts of kitchen sink approaches to an album overkill, as there's a reason that demos and outtakes didn't make it on an album. However, since I'm about as big a fan as Okkervil River has, I actually found these sketches wonderful, a chance to hear Sheff's lyrics and voice clearly and a further reminder of just how talented this dude is. This is probably more for fans, but I hope that everyone will give them a listen as I think they'll be surprised at how captivating Sheff can be with just a guitar and a microphone.

Honestly, this was really just a chance to mention The Stage Names again and implore you to buy this CD. End of year lists are coming up and this is one of the few that has come immediately to mind. This one gets my highest recommendation, read my earlier review if you'd like to see what I initially said and a more fleshed out take on the music.

P.S. Beware, the acid is going to melt your face off tomorrow. I'm not sure everyone's ready, but there's only one way to find out, right? It's aciiiiiiieeeeeeeeddddddd!