weekenditty : "Car Song" - Spank Rock ft. Santigold

It seems that I have been expanding my blog recently, post-wise, and (instead of just posting monday through Thursday (Remix Monday, Essential Tuesday, Fresh Wednesday, 3-Track (random) Thursday), I have been throwing in a lot of Friday entries... so we might as well call these (often fun and carefree tracks) weekend songs... So, here's your inaugural (official) Weekenditty:

This song is a must have for your Autumn song collection. It has been in my 10 or so song loop in the last couple weeks, and I now deem it quality enough to share with you bitches and hoes out there. Y'all will dig this track- I swear. It is by Spank Rock, an artist often seen playing second fiddle in a lot of indie/hip-hop tracks, but now is front-and-center for us to enjoy. His good friend, and super-talented girl, Santigold adds her unique flavor (goddamn, I love her vocals) to the track. This is just fun and lite without being watered down and boring. Enjoy!

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3 track thursday: new Feist, Fanfarlo, & The Rapture

The Bad in Each Other - Feist

Here are three tracks to which I have been jamming this week. First, we have the lovely Feist, one of the queens of indie folk, and a brief crossover (into pop) artist. She reverts to a slower (very Let It Die) version of herself.

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Replicate - Fanfarlo

Secondly, we have the awesome Fanfarlo, one of my favorite indie bands of the last few years. Their last album, Reservoir, was one of the best of 2009. The London-based band's newest track, Replicate, shows a band (with the talent to do so) moving in a really creative direction comparable to Arcade Fire. I'm a fan. Can't wait to hear the new record.

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Come Back To Me - The Rapture

Lastly, we have perhaps my favorite new track from The Rapture's new record (In The Grace Of His Love) titled Come Back To Me. They've been apparently playing this one a lot live, and I look forward to hearing it this week when I see them in Phoenix!

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fresh: new Wolfgang Gartner

Wolfgang Gartner is an interesting (and super talented) producer/dj. He really works to produce unique sounds that are his and only his, and it shows in his products. The diligence he has toward making music is admirable, and I am so happy to see him becoming more and more popular. This track has been stuck on repeat in my iPhone all week and I can't wait to play it live. It's exactly what I like in dance: aggression, deliberate danceability, and electro-heaviness. A must-have in your workout mix, for sure. Also, check out the entire album that just dropped this week, titled Weekend In America. The first track Get Em, featuring the return of the amazing rap queen Eve, is also stellar.

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essential: "All My Friends" - Franz Ferdinand (LCD Soundsystem cover)

There are songs in my life that mean so much that describing why would only leave more ambiguity than clarity. "All My Friends" is a song written so frankly and beautifully, while musically solid, that it embodies everything I love in a song. It is in my top 10 songs ever, and the Franz Ferdinand version is closer to the top 5 of that.

There is nothing to take away from the original version. It is amazing. One blogger once wrote, quite perfectly, that "The Franz Ferdinand version is constructed more solidly and they get a chance to show off their musical ability, while the LCD Soundsystem original has depth and honesty." I have to agree. Well, mostly. The former doesn't lack honesty, it just adds intensity.

In the moments of reflection, in my life, that this song emits... the moments when we think about what we're actually doing amid all the static; where everything seems to be moving in a slow motion accident around us; where we reflect on our 'actual' humanity and personal connections/intimacy in a life so fleeting...

...In those moments, I am not in a thoughtful state of inner rumination (like the LCD track)... I am in a barely simmering state of volcanic, passionate, deliberate dancing while crying tears of melancholy joy and screaming out at the top of my lungs "WHERE ARE YOUR FRIENDS TONIGHT?!" as my head swims in a whirlpool of the bitter and the sweet, as emotions soar up and down with the chords of a song that embodies the pure insanity that is the lucidity that is the life we live, and in which we must revel.

This song is that for me.

OK, I guess I described it.

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Where are your friends tonight?

remix monday: "Brand New Bitch (Laidback Luke remix) - Anjulie

Check out this new remix of the always lovely Anjulie, by Laidback Luke. This is a brand new track from the Canadian electro-pop vixen that is definitely worth the listen.

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Expect to hear this out at clubs soon:

Brand New Bitch (Laidback Luke remix) - Anjulie

Not too shabby, y'all. I heart Anjulie. She possesses such wonderful sass. Also, the video (and original track) are below. I would also, if you dig her, check out an older track "Boom," which is my favorite track of hers. Additionally, Bimbo Jones did a great remix of said track. Trackety-track-track-track.

NEW: 'Scab and Plaster' - Marina & The Diamonds

NEW

MARINA AND THE DIAMONDS

!!!!

That is all. Thank you.

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(PS: this is so much fucking better than Radioactive. It is so RIPE for a remix. She is going to bitchslap pop music like a high-end hooker at the Russia House.)

J-Lo defies aging & Ms. Cleo in "Papi" vidja

This is by far my favorite song to play by Jennifer Lopez. And, I'm glad they were smart enough to make it a single. Is that synth line slightly reminiscent of GaGa's The Fame album - well, that's because the song was produced by RedOne, and it has his dirty little Moroccan fingerprints all over it.

For those of you obsessed with making lists like I am, here are the major songs for which RedOne is responsible (in chronological order):

• "Just Dance" - Lady GaGa
• "Poker Face" - Lady GaGa
• "LoveGame" - Lady GaGa
• "Bad Romance" - Lady GaGa
• "Alejandro" - Lady GaGa
• "About a Girl" - Sugababes
• "Kick Ass" - Mika
• "Poison" - Nicole Scherzinger
• "More" - Usher
• "I Like It" - Enrique Iglesias
• "On The Floor" - Jennifer Lopez
• "Judas" - Lady GaGa

I gotta shout out to my buddy Michael Hoffman for his unending love of J-Lo. Without him, I doubt I'd have given this album the time of day, and I'm glad I did! If you don't have it, definitely download "Papi" (below), "Hypnotico", "On The Floor", "Invading My Mind" and "Villain". Here's the new "Papi" video:

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new Rihanna (prod. by Calvin Harris)

Gotta be honest... I LOVE IT.

This song has the interwebs' collective vagina all in a joyful twist. So, get this song before I get killed for posting it. (Remember that time I posted Only Girl [In The World] before everyone else...)... Anyway, I like this (because I love Calvin Harris), and I really dig that Rihanna is throwing her hat into the GaGa/Britney ring saying "MOVE OVER WHITE BITCHES!"

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"No Cars Go (Christian Strobe remix)" - Arcade Fire

ATTN: All douchenozzles who idolize Arcade Fire as a strictly guitar-heavy indie rock band- shut your face and listen up... this is quality shit. Christian Strobe turns this amazing original song into an amusingly danceable track. All you purists can suck my synth-loving sack.

Arcade Fire - No Cars Go (Christian Strobe Remix)

After all, I definitely want to go dancing after I cut myself listening to an Arcade Fire album. Balance is key, y'all. This is perhaps my 2nd favorite song by the heralded band (behind "Wake Up," of course), and I really dig how creative this remix is. Get on it... you'll be glad you did.

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fresh: new Clap Your Hands... album

One of the most interesting indie rock bands on the planet (and a fantastic act live), Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, returned this week with a new LP, Hysterical. This is a more mature take on the 5-piece Brooklyn-based band's sound that is both unsettling and sorta welcome, depending on your view.

Here's the first single titled Same Mistake, below, as well as a link to go buy (and support) this awesome band that built itself by giving the good ol' fuck you to record companies (they self-release basically everything and have been selling out shows since 2005). They're such a fun, solidly talented (and well written) band with their collective heart in the right place.

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GET THE ALBUM (iTunes)