1. Pete And The Pirates – Motorbike
2. Cults – Never Saw The Point
3. The Features – Rambo
4. Glossies – Skydiver
5. Arctic Monkeys – Piledriver Waltz
6. Mrs. Magician – Tabloids
7. Those Darlins – Screws Get Loose
8. The Like – Catch Me If You Can
9. Unknown Mortal Orchestra – Jello And Juggernauts
10. Twin Shadow – Slow
11. Starfucker – Millions
12. Does It Offend You, Yeah? – The Knife
13. Computer Magic – Teenage Ballad (High School)
14. The Phoenix Foundation – Flock Of Hearts
15. Mogwai – Death Rays
I’ve been anxiously awaiting the release of a bunch of music so this mix could happen … it’s finally here … a great selection of music that I think you’ll thoroughly enjoy … this is most likely my last offering of a web mix under the Future Phased Design banner … I’m planning a rebrand and web identity change up … This batch of songs is a real treat to the ears … It’s one of my favorite web mixes yet … I hope you like it! …
1. The Pets – Treasures
2. Unknown Mortal Orchestra – Nerve Damage!
3. Mrs. Magician – The Spells
4. Telekinesis – Palm Of Your Hand
5. Pete & The Pirates – Come To The Bar
6. Deerhoof – Behold A Marvel In The Darkness
7. Jamaica – She’s Gonna
8. Starfucker – Mystery Cloud
9. Cut Copy – Alisa
10. The Get Up Kids – Automatic
11. Mother Mother – Simply Simple
12. The Rural Alberta Advantage – Barne’s Yard
13. The Dears – Yesteryears
14. White Lies – Street Lights
15. The Wombats – Jump Into The Fog
This is my first mix of 2011 and it’s got a bunch of brand new, soon to be released, and currently creating the soundtrack to my life songs on it … I’m very excited to share songs from these bands that have really created some amazing music that I’m sure you’ll enjoy at some capacity … It’s a little more experimental on my part to create a fluid listening experience from beginning to end … I hope this latest offering inspires, and rivets you as much as it has to me … just a glimpse of the future …
1. Hellogoodbye – Getting Old
2. Arcade Fire – We Used To Wait
3. Mini Mansions – The Room Outside
4. My Chemical Romance – S/C/A/R/E/C/R/O/W
5. Stars – We Don’t Want Your Body
6. Ty Segall – Imaginary Person
7. The Morning Benders – Excuses
8. Yeasayer – Madder Red
9. Belle & Sebastian – I Want The World To Stop
10. Anamanaguchi – Another Winter
11. Admiral Radley – I Heart California
12. Winter Gloves – Glow In The Dark
13. Hot Hot Heat – Goddess Of The Prairie
14. OK Go – Needing/Getting
15. Beach House – Zebra
A lot of albums came out this year that didn’t make my top ten albums of 2010 list … some were extremely close to being in there … I couldn’t let this year pass without mentioning them in some capacity … so I decided to make a mix with 15 songs from artists I felt released albums this year that are worthy of praise and continuous listening … I’ve selected my favorite track from each album … The list is in chronological order … enjoy my last mix of 2010 … I’m extremely excited about what lies ahead musically for 2011 …
Being a huge film fan, and studying film in school, I tend to watch an incredible amount of films each year … Sitting in a theater, and watching a film is one of my favorite things to do in life … Occasionally, I see several films that really stand out above the rest … These five films I’m about to discuss were incredible viewing experiences for me and I hope that one day I have the skillset to affect people with my film work as these films have had on me … You should definitely see these films at one point in your life … I guarantee you’ll have a wonderful viewing experience … enjoi!
#5 Never Let Me Go
I haven’t read the book that this film is based off of, but it’s incredibly well written … The acting is superb and the story itself is heartbreaking … I loved everything about it … such wonderful casting … the innocence of the characters and their acceptance of their fate touches on some very deep thought about your own existence … at least, that’s what I walked away with after viewing it …
#4 127 Hours
Danny Boyle continues to deliver very intense films that portray the human condition at it’s most vulnerable situation … James Franco’s performance is amazing and possibly his best to date … I walked away from a viewing of this film in awe of Aron Ralston’s will to overcome the odds, and escape almost certain death … Such an amazing story to adapt to film …
#3 Black Swan
I wasn’t sure what to expect when I went to see Black Swan … I love Darren Aronofsky’s films … my skepticism quickly went away when the film opened with a familiar, yet captivating score … Natalie Portman’s performance is impeccable, she is completely immersed in the role, and brings you along on this incredible transformation her character goes through … There are some moments in the film that are so intense, and the build up is incredible … Repeated viewings are recommended …
#2 Scott Pilgrim VS. The World
The amount of talented people involved in this film, and the graphic novels alone made this film my most anticipated film of the year … I absolutely loved the books … The film blew me away … It translated to film so well … Edgar Wright’s style was perfectly matched with the humor, and visualization of an amazing series of graphic novels … I love the amount of detail involved in making this film as close to the graphic novels as possible … everything was so well done … especially the perfect casting for each and every character in the film … I’ve watched this film several times, and I find something new about it that relates to the books with every viewing … I highly recommend this film to anyone who is a fan of graphic novels and video games … two amazing things that are amazing on their own, or even together …
#1 Inception
I love everything about Christopher Nolan’s films … the intellectualism involved is on a whole different spectrum that most films that are being made today … For a film that he’s been developing for over 10 years … It truly is a masterpiece … This film made me think a lot about how I perceived the world, and how amazing the mind truly is … I often think that dreams are often underestimated, and are integral to our lives, but often aren’t taken seriously … The imagination is a powerful thing … I feel Christopher Nolan is showing people the way to some serious enlightenment … his films are some incredible stimuli and I can’t wait to see what he comes up with next … If you haven’t seen this film … please take the time to do so … I think you’ll walk away with a profound viewing experience …
Music videos aren’t necessarily something I pay attention to a lot … but this year there were some pretty bad ass visuals to accompany some excellent music … I found myself viewing a lot more video content on the web this year … most of the videos I watched had been live performances … these five videos I’m about to discuss really inspired me visually and aesthetically … I hope you also see that in them as well …
#5 The Morning Benders – Promises
This is a beautifully shot music video for a wonderfully composed song … I really enjoyed the adolescent innocence of the characters … The Morning Benders put out a really solid album this year and I’m glad this song in particular had an official video … one of my favorites of theirs …
#4 Woodhands – CP24
I love this band … Their take on the CP24 news bulletins shown in Toronto are bang on to the actual thing … Dan Werb’s frenetic energy oozes all over the record, and the video displays his intensity so well … again another well shot music video that made me laugh …
#3 OK Go – This Too Shall Pass
These guys never fail to impress with their music videos … this one had to be a pain in the ass to shoot and get the timing right … This is my favorite song from their album … I really love the ingenuity of their videos … I can’t wait to see what they do next …
#2 MGMT – Congratulations
If it weren’t for the number one video being so damn amazing I’d almost tie this as my favorite music video in a long while … such an endearing, and epic music video that is so beautiful, and surreal … not to mention an amazing song … I could watch this forever … All of the videos from the album were great … this one just had a little something special … an alien!
#1 Mini Mansions – Kiddie Hypnogogia
Wow … I was totally blown away by this video when I saw it … it had all the right dark elements to make it my favorite this year … I love the buildup, the way it’s shot, and the entire concept … the petri dish splashes and mixtures of color really sold it for me … it was really dark, and ominous to me … The album is great from start to finish … this really cemented me as a fan of Mini Mansions …
Another year of amazing music that I’ve had to the privilege to listen to this year … so many great records … I had a hard time dwindling down to my favorite, and most listened to albums … the criteria for this list was the albums I thought were the most inspiring, and well executed in any format … they transcend the boundaries of casual listening, and became more than just a listening choice but an admired work of art … Per usual the list starts from bottom to top … I had to save the best for last … enjoi!
I love when you can listen to a vinyl from beginning to end and not even notice that you’ve been continuously listening to one album over and over … It was very hard to dwindle down my collection to the top five 12 inch releases that I’ve constantly listened to this year … So many great vinyl versions of albums are out there … I managed to pull it together and I feel I’ve got five gems for you … again, I’ve also included an MP3 to each selection so you can get a chance to listen to my favorite track from these releases …
#5 Deerhunter – Halcyon Digest
Deerhunter have released one of my favorite albums of the year … from beginning to end this record blew me away … I really liked their last album, but Halcyon Digest is just more dynamic, and full sounding all the way through … I’ve had this on constant rotation since I purchased it … I can’t say enough good things about this record … it also came on white vinyl … the song “Revival” is my favorite on the record … it’s really short but it sounds amazing on vinyl …
Arcade Fire have yet to disappoint me with any of their albums … The Suburbs is another feather in their cap … amazing artwork for this release … from beginning to the end of this record they grab hold of your listening sensibilities, and change how you perceive music … well that’s how it feels to me … The opening title track of the album “The Suburbs” really sets up the incredible dynamics of this album, and leads the way to another impressive release …
Woodhands have really come into their own with their impressive live shows over the past few years … this album came out really early in the year, and continues to grow on me … I’m a sucker for electronic synth music … this album really takes the cake with even more intricate arrangements … the song that really impressed me the most was “Dissembler” … an amazing duet that has been complimenting a lot of my mixes this year … this vinyl has an amazing limited edition screen printed cover courtesy Paper Bag Records (My favorite record label right now) …
Action! are the kindest band I’ve ever had the privilege to listen to … this limited edition vinyl came in the mail courtesy the band themselves … Needless to say, I am incredibly grateful for such a surprising, and wonderful gift … I absolutely love the artwork … the ambience of this recording is very endearing … I could listen to this record forever … the song “In The Basement Corner” is my favorite on the album and is so catchy that I find myself singing it all the time …
Failure released this album back in 1996 but it never had a vinyl pressing until this year … Fantastic Planet is up there with my favorite records of all time … This vinyl took me back to why I love listening to music in the first place … this album is a true masterpiece of space rock … it may not be for everyone but it sure has shaped my listening habits over the years … the double vinyl is gorgeous with brilliant artwork … I saw the music video for “Stuck On You” several years ago and I was hooked on this band for life … although the album is epic from beginning to end, “Smoking Umbrellas” has always been one of my favorite Failure songs … This was such a pleasant surprise for me this year … and yes, it really does sound better on vinyl, especially when the artist goes back into the studio to remaster the entire album for optimal listening experience …
