2009 May | dailybeatz

Posts published during May, 2009

05/22/2009

lykke li – little bit

today, were going to slow things down a little bit with some of the musical stylings of the ambiguously pronouncable lykke li. i originally thought it was pronounced “likely”, but now after hearing a few others say it, im pretty sure its more like “licky lee”, but i digress. besides loving her tunes, shes also kind of smokin hot. without knowing anything about her and conducting a quick image search, her semi-mod style might lead you to believe that she was a late 1960s femme fatale (does she remind anyone else a tiny bit of nico or is it just me?) but this swedish songstress is only in her early 20s. which means that theres still a chance for me, which rocks. i havent caught her live yet but will be seeing her at lollapalooza this year, hopefully from the front row, hopefully somehow tricking her into pulling me up on stage and making out with me in front of everyone. so far ive only figured out how to be in the front row, still working on the rest. if anyones done this before, id appreciate any suggestions. from what i hear, shes got a hip sway that rivals the best of them. her debut album was, i think, cowritten with bjorn yttling of peter bjorn and john, and im pretty sure that the little kids singing along on her song “breaking it up” are the exact same children singing along in pbjs “nothing to worry about”. if its not the same kids in both songs, they are at the very least second cousins.

how would i describe this song using only s words (ill take swords for $500, alex)? sultry, soulful, seductive, swedish, sexy. in fact, this song may be the sexiest song of 2008. i have to admit, most of the time im the kind of person who hears and pays attention to the music in songs first and foremost. its probably why i dont know the words to most songs, even the ones that everyone in the world ever knows the words to when they all sing along at the bar. but its pretty tough to listen to this song without getting all hot and bothered by the lyrics. she manages to seem completely naive and vulnerable, but in reality shes the one thats completely in control. not wanting to make the first move, but throwing herself at you. when she sings “and for you i keep my legs apart and forget about my tainted heart” in that soft swedish voice, its pretty tough not to be a little bit in love with her. if you still arent enamored, just check out any of her music videos.

lykke li – little bit

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05/21/2009

badly drawn boy – once around the block

as i was driving home today, i had this post completely planned out. i was going to talk about a swedish gal and her sultry soulful sounds. then i heard “a journey from a to b” by badly drawn boy on the radio, which reminded me of one of my former favorite songs that i completely forgot about. then i remembered seeing him (born damon gough) live at the majestic a few years back. his new album had just been released in the few months before, and the material was so new that he had lyric sheets all around him when playing most of the new songs. on one song, he even commented that the piano melody he was playing was complicated enough that he couldnt sing the words and play the song at the same time. and the best part was, he had no qualms about it.

this song, arguably his most famous (except maybe “silent sigh”), instantly became one of my favorites. im pretty sure it was the first song of his that id heard, or that i remember hearing at least. the opening wah wah guitar pedal grabs your attention and the remainder of the song makes sure not to lose it. shortly after, the clean guitar comes in and sets up the main melody, which ive only been able to describe as european sounding (french perhaps?). this guitar melody is later mimicked with a vocal scat jam full of beedops and boo-ops and badabada-dahs. while this song is certainly the catchiest of the bunch, you would be doing yourself a disservice not to check out some more of his catalogue. warning: may listen to track more than once.

badly drawn boy – once around the block

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05/20/2009

m.i.a. – boyz (the twelves remix)

ahhh remixes. you and i have a very strange relationship. most of the time, i think youre a stinking bag of poo, merely a once great song thrown over a terrible dance beat without any regards to preserving anything that was once holy. however, every once in a while a great remix comes along and really strikes my fancy. in my opinion, the best remixes are the ones that keep the original integrity of the song but still manage to make it something completely different. one of the best examples of this is the stars remix album entitled do you trust your friends.

in this case, brazilian djs the twelves take a song that most of us know and love, and that was completely danceable to begin with, and turn it into a sound so unique that the great original track sounds almost primitive, all without adding that annoying techno beat that turns me away from most remixes. just ask my cohort jon what this track can do to a 3am dance party — better yet, try that one out on your own. im not a clubber, but i do hope that this track makes it around the club circuit if it hasnt already.

m.i.a. – boyz (twelves remix)

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05/19/2009

empire of the sun – walking on a dream

i thought id start out with this tune because its my summer song of the moment. my summer song of the moment changes 10-15 times each summer, but this is it right now. i thought something sounded vaguely familiar about empire of the sun, and then i found out that one of the members is luke steele of the sleepy jackson. in my own twisted head, id also like to fool myself into believing that this song sort of describes my life — always pushing up the hill searching for the thrill of it — but i know that im inside typing a music blog on one of the most beautiful days of the year, so that cant really be completely true. to be fair, i did just ride my bike almost 8 miles though ….true story.

as my friend hani described it, this song is exactly the kind of music i like on a nice summer drive. laid back, but pushing forward. another strong point is how this albums art reminds me of a low budget mid 90s medieval cartoon. without further ado, i present to you the first of many awesome songs in many genres that you will experience over the next several lifetimes……

empire of the sun – walking on a dream

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