get closer

Twin Shadow's music video for single "Get Closer."

johnny & jonnie music video

Twin Shadow's new video for rollicking little ditty "Johnny and Jonnie" provides so lovely vibes. Twin Shadow also directed the clip.

johnny & jonnie

Here lies a super listenable bop from Twin Shadow, "Johnny & Jonnie"!

saturdays

So happy to have Twin Shadow back (with HAIM) on breezy track "Saturdays."

tu(n)esday!

top 10 singles of 2013

10.

Phosphorescent - "Song for Zula"

Padded with atmospheric strings and a stuttering light drumbeat, Matthew Houck refigures Johnny Cash in this aching track.

9.

Twin Shadow - "Old Love / New Love"

Twin Shadow keeps killing it for me.  This one begins in a dirge then kicks up unexpectedly with a catchy piano riff, percussive stabs and lyrics in alternating states of emotion.

8.

Miley Cyrus - "Wrecking Ball"

I tried to ignore the annoying phenomenon of this year's made-over Miley but this power ballad was undeniable. Well-crafted and performed--a stirring mix of vulnerability and defiance. 

7.

Drake - "Hold On We're Going Home"

Drake said he wanted to channel the Michael Jackson / Quincy Jones era on this warm, laid-back, and alluring single (produced by Majid Johnson).

6.

Kanye West - "Black Skinhead" / "Bound 2"

Two diametrical songs from Kanye's record: "Black Skinhead" is barky (literally), ferocious and desperate with its Marilyn Manson-esque dirty industrial processing and beats.  Not being able to tell what West is doing is earnestly serious or purposefully absurd (with his lyrics and music videos) might be part of his mystique. I think "Bound 2" is a great, oddball track (it marries Brenda Lee's "Sweet Nothin's" and Ponderosa Twins Plus One's "Bound") that ended up with a mystifying clip (which like Miley's, lended itself well to parody) and was a strong, strikingly abrupt closer to his album.

5.

Du Tonc - "Darkness"

I listened to this a lot this year and never tired of it.  Perhaps it's the irresistible dance beat and the coolly detached vocal which builds and builds to a strong climax ("All I need is the road I'm walking").

4.

Disclosure - "White Noise" / "When A Fire Starts to Burn"

Some of the best singles came early this year as is the case with Disclosure & AlunaGeorge's giddy house jam "White Noise."  

Blending UK Garage and gospel is nothing new but Disclosure did it so well and so irresistibly in their stomp house hit "When A Fire Starts to Burn."

3. 

Robin Thicke featuring Pharrell Williams & T.I. - "Blurred Lines"

It's too bad that because of a barren mainstream pop landscape, radio and overexposure can systematically murder a great song (as it kind of did with my #1) but this meticulous trio of Robin Thicke, Pharrell and T.I. is distinct and searing R&B elation.

2.

Pet Shop Boys - "Love is a Bourgeois Concept"

I wish Stuart Price would make music this good for Madonna. With bits of snarky, knowing pretentiousness, regret and full-on lament all set to grand, kingly Village People disco, the Pet Shop Boys really hit an elegant stride here.

1.

Daft Punk - "Get Lucky"

Intimate and incredible--sounding as if it's being performed to you in your living room, Pharrell's charmingly slightly off-key vocal, Nile Rodgers mesmerizing Chic throwback bass licks, and Daft Punk's computerized and organic pitching created by far the best single of the year. 

My Spotify playlist of the best music of 2013.

elizabeth mcgraw

Elizabeth McGraw by Jdbrecords on Mixcloud

Tracklist:

Hold On We're Going Home: Holy Ghost!

Let It Go: Luba

Do What U Want (Feat. R. Kelly): Lady Gaga

Doin' It Right (Wolf Saga Remix): Daft Punk f/Panda Bear

Here Comes the Night Time: Arcade Fire

Know Til Now (Pixelated Remix): Jim James

Arpegiator: Jean Michel Jarre

Old Love / New Love: Twin Shadow

When It Breaks (Jordan F Remix): Tokyo Denmark Sweden

Always (Classixx Remix): Panama

Bread and Butter: Devo

Runnin' (Bit Funk Remix): The Pharcyde

Runnin' (Instrumental): The Pharcyde

This City Never Sleeps: Eurythmics

Always With Me: Wolf Saga

old love / new love

Featuring driving synths and piano lines, "Old Love / New Love" is the latest track from Twin Shadow (one of my favorite artists).  The song is featured in the video game Grand Theft Auto V.

top 10 albums of 2012

Hi people.  Here are my Top 10 Albums of 2012.

What albums from the year did you dig?

And here's a look back at '11.

10. WhoMadeWho - Brighter

A haunting disco-rock album from the Danish band.

9. Tame Impala - Lonerism

Groovy, psych-pop album.

8. Twin Shadow - Confess

Twin Shadow's 80s electropop throwback is a nice blend of tunes including my pick for single of the year, "Five Seconds."  Check out my review of the album on Frontier Psychiatrist.

7. Grizzly Bear - Shields

Another stellar record from the band--a little rougher-edged than past efforts but not without some gorgeous tracks.

6. Beach House - Bloom

Not innovative or anything but still a luxurious, dreamy listen to get lost in.

5. Jack White - Blunderbuss

White's album is a great solo outing of punchy, prickly heartache.

4. Jessie Ware - Devotion

With shades of Sade Adu, English singer Ware offers up a smooth, sophisticated debut.

3. The 2 Bears - Be Strong

So many irrelevant and cheeky house tunes.

2. Fiona Apple - The Idler Wheel Is Wiser Than the Driver of the Screw and Whipping Cords Will Serve You More Than Ropes Will Ever Do

Fresh and frustrated and raw, The Idler Wheel... is another dynamic album from Apple both lyrically and musically.

1. Frank Ocean - channel ORANGE

I wonder if Ocean is a bit mystified about his success.  His mixtape (Nostalgia, Ultra) was an interesting mesh of tunes, but his latest is much more sophisticated: sorrowful and deep, sometimes humorously L.A.-tinged, featuring Ocean's strong songwriting skills and sultry vocals.

the one

New clip of Twin Shadow's acoustic version of "The One."

top 10 singles of 2012

It's that end-list time of year again!

Here are the tunes that helped me endure '12.  What songs did you love?




10.
Alabama Shakes - "Hold On"

Fronted by Brittany Howard's gravelly voice, somehow they made the sentiment of the cliched song title fresh and emotionally resonant.




9.
Breakbot - "1 Out of 2"
A mix of French nu-disco and the Doobie Brothers "What A Fool Believes."




8.
Danny Brown - "Grown Up"
Whistful rap about getting old.




7.
Bruce Springsteen - "We Take Care of Our Own"
Another moving anthem from The Boss that became a memorable campaign song for Obama's reelection.




6.
Solange - "Losing You"
With a lush mix of "Twin Peaks" synths and snappy percussion, Solange proves she's not her sister's beat biter.




5.
M.I.A. - "Bad Girls"
The singer / rapper infuses worldbeat and her savvy lyrics into another relentlessly addictive track.




4.
Jack White - "Love Interruption"
Mixing woodwinds (bass clarinets yo) with an agonized, desperate vocal (Ruby Amanfu did the backups), White created a song that seethes within its minimalist design.




3.
Grizzly Bear - "Yet Again"
A rambling tune of relationship woes and glimmering guitars.






2.

Frank Ocean - "Pyramids" & "Thinkin Bout You"
Ocean's "Pyramids" is a 9 minute epic that mixes story, soul and mesmerizing electro.  "Thinkin Bout You" is definitely the prettiest, most aching single of the year.  When he hits those falsettos... lord.





1.
Twin Shadow - "Five Seconds"
I played this track out: new wavy and relentless.

My Spotify playlist of the best music of 2012.

julytunes

Here's what's on my playlist. What tunes are y'all feeling this month?

channel ORANGE - Frank Ocean - the whole fucking album



"Laura" - Bat for Lashes (she's back!)



"I Don't Care" - Twin Shadow (mellow goodness)



"Lots" - Dan Deacon (noisy electro craziness)



"Nathan" - Azealia Banks (pretty much all of her mixtape Fantasea and EP 1991)



"Angels" - The xx



"Warm & Easy" - The 2 Bears (I have fond roller rink memories of "Wishing Well")



"Anything We Want" - Fiona Apple - I love this whole album too.  Glad she's back.



"Sail" - AIM (featuring Kate Rogers) (Just heard this again recently and brought me back to 1999 / 2000)

i confess!

Check out my review of Twin Shadow's new LP Confess on Frontier Psychiatrist!




Video for "Five Seconds"


and "Patient"

junetunes

Hello readers.  Here are some tunes I'm feelin' that are enhancing my summer.  Peace.

Beach House - "Lazuli"



Twin Shadows - "Five Seconds"
 

The 2 Bears - the whole album, including "Church"
 

Carly Rae Jepsen - "Call Me Maybe"
 

Hot Chip - "Flutes"
 

Eight and a Half - "Go Ego"
 

St. Etienne - "Tonight"
 

Azealia Banks - "Jumanji"
 

five seconds!

I can't wait until Twin Shadow's record drops.  I love the new single "Five Seconds."

twin shadow

Frontier Psychiatrist, an awesome new music site everyone should add to their reading list, just posted my review of one of my favorite albums of the year, Twin Shadow's Forget.

forget

Twin Shadow's Forget. Loving this album!