There’s a little indie game coming out later this year called Grand Theft Auto 5. Yeah, you probably haven’t heard of it, it’s pretty underground. Anyway, in its initial trailer, this song was used. Somehow, it’s sleazy, psychedelic and majestic all at the same time. Praise be for the 60s! If you ever need a tune to accompany you while walking down the street and give you an elevated sense of bad-assery, then your search is well and truly over.
Who’d have thought that I’d be all over hip-hop? Well, not really all over, but sort of just a toe in the waters. I mean sure, there’s a bunch of hoes in the lyrics, but this is undeniably smooth with traces of downtempo in its composition. Mmm-bop, smoooooth. It’s clear I know nothing about hip-hop (or anything, for that matter), but I certainly like this!
This weekend past, I played Guitar Hero until my arms fell off. As such, I’m currently typing this with my nose. Having not played it in a long while, I was pleasantly reminded of the large collection of classic rock tunes housed within the third instalment, including this song by the Who.
This doesn’t seem like the kind of song that’s about to be commandeered by CSI: Whatever City Has Crime anytime soon, but it is still unequivocally the Who: what with those delightful harmonies and jangly guitar hooks, it is just a colossal bit of classic rock.
I’ve mentioned the quality of Wes Anderson soundtracks before, so I figured it was high time to play a song that I first heard from one of them. Despite growing up listening to The Rolling Stones, they evidently have a lot of songs (who knew?) and my dad couldn’t be reasonably expected to make me listen to all of them. So, thanks to Wes Anderson for this gem that I’d have never heard otherwise. Just remember that playing with fire is dangerous, so always keep a bucket of water handy!
Saturday, baby! It’s party time, provided you’re in a region that isn’t crazy cold at the moment. Regardless, here’s a tune to get your legs a’twitchin’ in rhythmic spasms. That’s pretty much what dancing is, right???
Noisettes are a British indie outfit, and this tune is quite the corker. It’s a gloriously wild bit of rock: a bit punkish, a bit surfy and altogether amazing.
Do we have a bit of a Hobbit week happening here? Not even slightly. But seeing as how the Lord of the Rings and the Hobbit popped up in a conversation today, why not honour some more of Howard Shore’s fine work?
I could, perhaps, bemoan the lack of iconic themes in a lot of big ticket films these days. Gone are the days of mesmerising, memorable scores from John Williams and Danny Elfman that you could hum from the day you first heard it to the day you die. Most action films tend to just slap in generic symphonic action music and call it a day. Not the Lord of the Rings! Opening this piece is one of the most iconic motifs I’ve heard in years, followed by an extended period of ominous gloom. And then a sad bit! If you’ve not seen Fellowship of the Ring, basically this piece is used when things aren’t going terribly well.
If AJ is allowed to write about Sex Bob-Omb, certainly I am allowed to write about another fake band – The Clash… at… DEEEEEEEMONHEAD! While the song’s a Metric cover, the only difference is the singer, and I like Brie Larson’s take on it much more. I can’t listen to the original without going “pfft, this isn’t the Clash at Demonhead”! The sex appeal in this video melts my brain… in a good way! I’m completely in lesbians with this song.
Pedro the Lion kind of sounds like a mix between The Decemberists, Ween and Quasi. It is a hodgepodge of indie-flavoured goodness. At least, this cover of a Randy Newman song does, anyway. As nice as Newman’s version is, there is a bit of a droll bite to this version (somehow, that makes sense), and it also doesn’t remind me of You’ve Got a Friend in Me, which is all I think about when I hear a Randy Newman song. Sadly, Pedro the Lion are no more, but head honcho David Bazan is currently doing his own thing under his own name.
Britain had a baby! Hooray! As a fellow member of the Commonwealth, I feel it is my civic duty to reign in this momentous occasion with some hot strong, hot strong, good strong, hot warming, but not hotting, good fresh fresh, good fresh British music, courtesy of The Clash. Consider this important musical education my gift to you, as yet unnamed future King of England.
Boards of Canada have a new album out now, so I promptly went and… listened to an old one. Their output tends to be a bit hit and miss for me, but this is certainly one of my favourites by them: a haunting, downtempo tune. Turns out this week is the week of ethereal tunes! It has a bit of a slow burn intro, but keep with it because when that beat kicks in… mmm, heavenly.
