"Crime" by Real Estate

Song: Crime
Artist: Real Estate
Album: Atlas
Commentary: Real Estate are pretty consistently awesome. All of Atlas is lovely.

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"On the Regular" by Shamir

Song: On the Regular
Artist: Shamir
Commentary: I'm writing my dissertation, so posts are rare this year, sorry, all. But still hearing some fresh music, some of it cool. Proof:

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"Harvey" by Alex G

Song: Harvey
Artist: Alex G
Album: DSU
Also try:  Elliott Smith, Built to Spill, Youth Lagoon, Perfume Genius, Modest Mouse
Commentary: On DSU, Alex G manages to evoke echoes of some 90s music that I quite like. Sometimes, he sounds like Elliott Smith; sometimes, the guitar shows Alex G to be a disciple of Built to Spill; and, sometimes, songs will sound like those early song scraps released by Isaac Brock as Modest Mouse. And sometimes, the Alex G take on this 90s amalgamation makes me excited to see what else they’ve got.

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"Chemirocha III" and "Chirombo Noye Nditerere"

Sorry, gang, about the absence. Summer break is now over.

Songs: Chemirocha III
Artists: Unidentified Kipsigis Performers
Albums: I heard Chemirocha song on the compilation Yeti 4
Also try:  other Yeti series, the Excavated Shellac blog, or compilations that included this song including Kenyan Songs and Strings
Commentary: Chemirocha, named for Jimmie Rodgers (half-man, half-antelope) has a good story, read it here: http://excavatedshellac.com/2012/04/04/excavated-shellac-fifth-year-anniversary/.
I've also included another recorded by Hugh Tracey because it's just. so. darn. good. Chirombo Noye Nditerere apparently means "Spirit Listen to Me."

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"Johnny and Mary" by Todd Terje

Song: Johnny and Mary feat. Bryan Ferry
Artist: Todd Terje
Album: It's Album Time
Commentary: This is the stand-out track on a decent album. It’s the best and it’s pretty different than the rest of the disco tracks. Not sure what kind of radio station would play the “radio edit” though, ha.

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"In the Beginning" by Daughn Gibson

Song: In the Beginning
Artist: Daughn Gibson
Album: All Hell
Also try:  Calvin Johnson, Headphones (with David Bazan), Bill Callahan, Kurt Vile
Commentary: I don't know what to say about this one; made my 2012 album list. This song is nice: some electronic sounds, folk influences, deep male voice crooning over pop melodies... Very late 2000s/early 2010s.

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"Hi-Five" by Angel Olsen

Song: Hi-Five
Artist: Angel Olsen
Album: Burn Your Fire For No Witness
Also try:  PJ Harvey, Joni Mitchell, Liz Phair, Julie Doiron, Hank Williams, Bonnie 'Prince' Billy
Commentary: I decided that Angel Olsen sounds alternately like PJ Harvey, Joni Mitchell, an extra in the Carter Family, Liz Phair, what’s-her-name in Portishead…, and Julie Doiron. In the spectac opener to the album, she does all this marvelous stuff with her voice and I definitely intend to practice singing like her. Her first album's great too. Hoping for more great stuff from Angel Olsen. Her Will Oldham collab is encouraging.

Also, great album title, no?

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"track 2" by Dean Blunt

Song: track 2 (feat. Inga Copeland)
Artist: Dean Blunt
Album: The Narcissist II
Commentary: Real easy to just nod your head and chill with this song. Every piece seems carefully placed and not overdone.

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"Jesus was a Crossmaker" by Frida Hyvönen

Song: "Jesus was a Crossmaker" (Judee Sill cover)
Artist: Frida Hyvönen
Album: Crayon Angel: A Tribute to the Music of Judee Sill
Commentary: The original by Judee Sill is also pretty good; she seems like a fairly interesting musician. Frida Hyvönen does a good job with it and is pretty cool herself.

Frida Hyvönen cover Version:


original Judee Sill version:

"Chidori no kyoku" by Yoshida and Kyoko Seifu

Song: 千鳥の曲 (Chidori's songs)
Artist: 吉田 晴風 and Kyoko
Commentary: I thought I had posted a song from my old Japanese song collection. This is one of my favorites. To me, they sound very... non-Western. I get the feeling it's from a different musical tradition, at least (it is). See this site on koto music for details about this recording and other nice koto and gagaku 78s.

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"Dlp 1.1" by William Basinski

Song: Disintegration Loop 1.1
Artist: William Basinski
Album: The Disintegration Loops
Also try:  Brian Eno, John Cage, Steve Reich
Commentary: This is substantially longer than anything I've posted here, but it's necessary. It takes the hour to unfold (unwind, disintegrate). But if you don't like it in the first few minutes, you won't like it any more later. I think it's beautiful, although it helps to know the story (myth?) of how he was digitizing old loops of his as the metal peeled off with each turn. It's a milestone in ambient music, but I'll let you read up on the mythos of this music and Basinski's reflection on how it associates with 9/11.

PS I've also posted this as part of the playlist so you can just let it roll on into the other disintegration loops. Wonderful.

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"Strong Hand" by Chvrches

Song: Strong Hand
Artist: Chvrches
Album: The Bones of What You Believe (bonus track)
Commentary: The choreography of this fitness show is impeccable. The whole music video is just pretty spot on. Plus Chvrches deserve some love here, even if they didn't make my year-end list.
Why don't our fans ever do anything this great for Esteban songs? Just because we don't have any originals?? Or even releases?

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CHVRCHES - Strong Hand (Unofficial Video) from Secret Powers on Vimeo.

"Cherish the Day" by Sade

Song: Cherish the Day
Artist: Sade
Album: Love Deluxe
Commentary: Shuttle driver was groovin' to Sade (shah-DAY) at 5AM. I was drawn in despite the early hour. Nice harmonies, voice. Chill.

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"Life Round Here (remix)" by James Blake

Song: Life Round Here ft Chance the Rapper
Artist: James Blake
Commentary: James Blake is cool, Chance the Rapper is cool. This version of "Life Round Here" is pretty cool. And they have a decent music video for it.

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"Insurance" by Lil B

Song: Insurance
Artist: Lil B
Album: 05 Fuck Em
Commentary: I like to quote David Berman (Silver Jews) and say, "All my favorite singers couldn't sing." I thought I felt differently about rap, you know, I only wanted to hear good rappers. Lil B is pretty much amazing though. Insurance epitomizes why I love Lil B's rapping, so if you only like good rappers, you will probably hate it. If you've got any more tips for rappers who can't rap, leave them in the comments. Please.

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"Wicked Games" by the Weeknd

Song: Wicked Games
Artist: the Weeknd
Album: House of Balloons
Also try:  Rhye, Frank Ocean
Commentary: Abel Tesfaye rocked 2011 with 3 good albums. Nice falsetto, cohesive image, and excellent production made the Weeknd's trifecta.

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"Easy" by Son Lux

Song: "Easy (Switch Screens)" feat. Lorde
Artist: Son Lux
Album: Lanterns
Also try:  S/S/S, Sufjan Stevens
Commentary: Nice musician combo, playing to strengths of both.

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"Queen Anne's Lace" by Beggars

Song: Queen Anne's Lace
Artist: Beggars
Album: Beggars
Also try:  Maquiladora, Holy Modal Rounders
Commentary: I don't know a lot about Beggars, just saw a review from Piero Scaruffi and like some clips. I like the deliberate, avant-garde, alt-country feel of the songs. The album was in my top 10 of the year. This song is representative.

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"Love Crimes (cover)" by the Afghan Whigs

Song: Love Crimes (Frank Ocean cover)
Artist: Afghan Whigs
Also try:  Frank Ocean, earlier Afghan Whigs stuff, the Twilight Singers, the Gutter Twins
Commentary: Fellow Cincinnatians the Afghan Whigs aren't really my thing. I was trying to get into their 90s music videos (they're really 90s), but couldn't do it. This cover is nice, though. The idea of fusing soul with punk rock is appealing. Maybe I'll like their new stuff.

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"Black, but Comely" by Baby Dee

Song: Black, but Comely
Artist: Baby Dee
Album: A Book of Songs for Anne Marie
Also try:  Joanna Newsom, Anohni & the Johnsons, Current 93
Commentary: I think I've mentioned that Drag City is my favorite label. I continue to discover wonders through it. Somehow I missed the other harpist/pianist (besides Joanna Newsom, who I also adore). Some of Baby Dee's tunes might sound ... uninteresting in some ways, but I find her voice and lyrics entrancing. Her Youtube presence includes a lot of grainy, staticky phone vids and this is one of them. Watching her play the harp and hearing her live vocal maneuvers seem worth it. I'm still trying to decide if I like her newer, jazzier stuff, though.

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"Holding On" by Classixx

Song: Holding On
Artist: Classixx
Album: Hanging Gardens
Also try:  Hercules & Love Affair
Commentary: My buddy, Steve, just released his 2013 list and this was toward the end, so that's a good sign that it'll get even better as I work my way up. Anohni's appearance on Hercules & Love Affair was my first (and only other, to date) exposure to "nu-disco." Pretty groovy.

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"Come Out" by Steve Reich

Song: Come Out
Artist: Steve Reich
Also try:  Philip Glass, Terry Riley, LaMonte Young
Commentary: Make sure to read the backstory on Wikipedia. This song is an early example (1966) of the minimalist strain of experimental music. It's an interesting history lesson, but I think it's an interesting listen too...

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"Blue Crystal Fire" by Robbie Basho

Song: Blue Crystal Fire
Artist: Robbie Basho
Album:
Visions of the Country Also try:  Daniel Higgs, Sandy Bull, John Fahey, Hamza el Din
Commentary: Not to be confused with Matsuo Bashō, 17th century poet whence Robbie took his name. Robbie Basho is a cool player of weird guitar tunes. I've been digging Western music inspired by classical Indian ragas, lately (see Daniel Higgs and Sandy Bull). And the beautiful vibrato of the voice here. Also, good mustache pics of Robbie Basho out there, just sayin'.

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"You're Not Good Enough" by Blood Orange

Song: You're Not Good Enough
Artist: Blood Orange
Album: Cupid Deluxe
Also try:  Daft Punk, Disclosure, Nicolas Jaar
Commentary: I kept wanting to like Cupid Deluxe because it's the best album cover of the year. It took me 3 full-album listens though to get into it. "You're Not Good Enough" is kind of a no-brainer, though. That and Daft Punk's "Get Lucky" are stuck in my head this week, if that places it for you.

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"Erie Canal" by Alasdair Roberts

So I guess I missed about a month here, whoops!

Song: Erie Canal
Artist: Alasdair Roberts
Album: Weary Engine Blues: Crossroads
Also try:  Jason Molina, Amalgamated Sons of Rest, Damien Jurado
Commentary: Great compilation of great Jason Molina songs (although I can't find record of the original of this one). This song does a lot in a short span. Also, Alasdair Roberts' voice is right up my alley.
PS - I'm still a sucker for that lo-fi sound.

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"On a Clear Day" by the Peddlers

Song: On a Clear Day
Artist: the Peddlers
Also try:  the other cook scenes in Breaking Bad
Commentary: I really enjoyed the whole (meth) cook scene along with this song. I thought for sure, with that beat, that the song was new with "retro" vocals. Wrong! Just good, old-fashioned BritPop.

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"They Don't Know" by Rich Homie Quan

Song: They Don't Know
Artist: Rich Homie Quan
Album: Still Goin In Reloaded
Commentary: Don't have a lot to say about this song. It stuck at out as I'm listening to mixtapes for my year end list. Rich Homie Quan's mixtape is good. "Type of Way" is the big song of it, but I liked this one too.

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"Cowboy" by Sarah June

Song: Cowboy
Artist: Sarah June
Album: In Black Robes
Also try:  Ani DiFranco, Leonard Cohen, Joanna Newsom, Bradford Cox
Commentary: This song reminds me of Ani and it's awesome (the others on this album, less Ani). I dig her (fey?) voice and she makes some nice music with the guitar. I particularly love how she sings the line: "I took up smoking, 'cause I wanna be a cowboy." Totally believable.

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Gnawa song by Moroccan artist

Also try: 
Commentary: I'm a fan of a Gnawa music page on Facebook, and it's probably the best thing in my news feed. Fusing African and Islamic music traditions (yeah, I know, that's not very specific), Gnawa has some cool rhythmic repetition that I like, with some vocal style influence from Islamic chants. This guy killing it on a banjo (!) makes me weak. There's some cool stuff on the Gnawa Wikipedia page about banjos and Gnawa music.

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