2010 March | dailybeatz

Posts published during March, 2010

03/26/2010

yeasayer – madder red (doctor rosen rosen rx)

I think we all know that I love remixes that pretty much completely rework a song. And based on some of the remixes I’ve posted most recently, I am also a huge fan of when a song is completely reworked and brought down a notch to be a little more chill. And such is the case in this remix of Yeasayer’s Madder Red, what I believe is one of the standout tracks from their most recent album “Odd Blood”. The remix is by Doctor Rosen Rosen, but I’m pretty sure he’s not a real doctor. But if he was, he would probably be one of the coolest doctors in town. But I digress. This remix is definitely a bit darker than the original, removing lots of the lush/beautiful/driving music but it works out pretty well in the end. Make sure to check out the doc’s website for a bunch of his other remixes as well, if you dare. I wouldn’t exactly qualify the original song as a dance-y track, but if it was it definitely is not anymore. Makes me want to play the piano again.

Yeasayer – Madder Red (Doctor Rosen Rosen Rx)

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gorillaz – glitter freeze

I’ve had the latest Gorillaz album for a little while now, but it wasn’t until a few days ago that I finally sat down and gave it the listen it deserved. And of course I was instantly regretful that I hadn’t listened to it earlier, because it was pretty much everything I hoped it would be. There are tons of standout tracks on this one, but it’s hard to deny that the biggest standout (at least in terms of getting your attention right off the bat) is “Glitter Freeze”.

What I love so much about the Gorillaz is their diversity. They are sometimes dance, sometimes hip-hop, sometimes electronic, and sometimes even a little bit pop (see “Superfast Jellyfish” for example). “Glitter Freeze” is just a 4 minute synthtastic adventure that is sure to elicit some movement. I’m so so curious to see what their live show will be like at Coachella, and more importantly what they play, and hopefully this one makes the setlist because I think it’ll be a real crowd pleaser on a warm California evening. Aren’t you all wondering what I’m going to talk about when Coachella is done? I know I am.

Gorillaz – Glitter Freeze

buy it on or amazon

2 comments

03/25/2010

cocorosie – by your side

I think that CocoRosie is another one of those polarizing groups that you either love or you hate. I was at first a little bit on the fence, but my opinion of them was sealed once I looked up sisters Sierra and Bianca Casady and was so fascinated by these two ladies. From the way they were raised, moving all over the place all the time, to their schooling, neither of them finishing because their mother believed art was more important than education, to the way they lost touch with each other for a few years, ending with one sister surprising the other by showing up at her doorstep in France, you can just tell that these kids have experienced life and I think it really shows in their music. Their debut album “La maison de mon rêve” was written and (I think?) recorded immediately after this reunion in the bathroom of said apartment and was later picked up by Touch and Go Records. Just a pretty cool story.

I think I first heard of them from my friend Nadia who sent me a few songs and “By Your Side” came on while shuffling my tunes, and it was sort of great. I think I’ve before referenced the completely legitimate and non-annoying use of speeding up vocals to create that chipmunk effect and it just adds such a sincere and beautiful element to this tale of a woman presumably blinded by love, willing to do whatever it takes to be the perfect wife without complaining, no matter what. And those electronically altered vocals, along with the scratchy slightly out of tune piano, along with the bluesy vocals of the sisters, along with the R&B beat is a wicked combination.

I’ll wear your black eyes
Bake you apple pies

Oh, and don’t forget to check out the….interesting…album art for their upcoming album “Grey Oceans” dropping on May 11.

CocoRosie – By Your Side

buy it on or amazon

1 comments

03/24/2010

blitzen trapper – heaven and earth

In case you haven’t noticed, I’ve taken some time in cleaning things up around here and making the site a bit more user friendly, in my opinion. That sidebar before, a total disaster. Makes me cringe thinking about it. BUT, the biggest and what I hope is best change is that instead of that annoying “click here to read more and hear the song”, you can now just see all the words and hear all the notes from the main homepage. It suddenly became clear to me how annoying that must have been before. All this on top of bringing you more of the tunes you love (or that I think you love). Although I wish someone would have told me how annoying it was before. But I forgive you. Every one of you.

On that note, a brand new track from an old favorite, Blitzen Trapper. This was one of my favorite bands in the 2008-2009 era bands (still is, but I just haven’t really listened to anyone lately that hasn’t put out a new album…I know that’s lame but I just can’t even keep up), but this was the first time I heard (or remembered hearing) a new album. The album is out June 8 and is called “Destroyer of the Void”. And though a slew of tour dates was announced, none of them happen to take place in Detroit. But all is well because I managed to catch them twice last year. See them live if you can. They are good live.

I was hoping for something a little more upbeat, but I can dig this. I think I sort of expected it to grow more than it did, which, yes, happens to be what she said. But it’s still pretty nice. You can DL this track fo’ free from their website above as well.

Blitzen Trapper – Heaven and Earth

You can download it direct from the Blitzen Trapper website as well.

2 comments

the teenagers – love no (delorean remix)

You know what I like a lot? When one group I am digging (in this case, The Teenagers who you may remember from this classic track that I posted a few months back) gets remixed by another group I am digging (in this case, it’s Delorean, whose Ayrton Senna EP we loved so much last summer). Got all that? It’s pretty fantastic the way that Delorean was able to completely transform this tune from a sort of poppy rock song to a sonically blissful dance track. A great combination of the French rock of The Teenagers and the Spanish electro of Delorean. A real European union.

I think what I like most about Delorean is their ability to consistently create some of the happiest sounds in town. With the weather slowly changing for the better, it is clear that spring and summer are almost upon us, and one of my favorite parts of summer is driving around, windows down, blasting happy and upbeat summer tunes. I am fairly sure that this one is a strong contender to start out this year’s summer playlist, even if the track is a few years old.

The Teenagers – Love No (Delorean Remix)

buy the original tune on or amazon

2 comments

03/22/2010

the sandwitches – grey wizard

Like so many others, my first taste of San Fran’s The Sandwitches was the 60′s inspired “Back to the Sea”. My initial thoughts were that it was pretty interesting, but a little too much for me. I felt like it sort of bordered on kitsch a little bit. Luckily, I’ve heard a few other tracks since then, and while they still have that old school feel about them, these ones feel a whole lot more up my alley.

Their (I think) debut album “How to Make Ambient Sadcake” was released (I think) last year, and is an especially interesting title because the couple of songs I’ve heard from the album are anything but ambient. But this track “Grey Wizard” is a part of a recently released compilation “In a Cloud: New Sounds from San Francisco” released by Secret Seven Records. I’m really digging the track, and it gives me much hope that I can dig a new group that I previously wrote off for probably bad reasons anyway. You dig?

The Sandwitches – Grey Wizard

You can also download the track from the website

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mgmt – someone’s missing

The new highly anticipated MGMT album “Congratulations” was leaked this weekend. This got me thinking. Is it even possible to release an album these days without it leaking weeks, if not months, before the release date? And sure, sometimes it’s done intentionally, but it’s just interesting that it always happens, and I wonder if records/labels think that this will be the one that doesn’t get out early, or if they just expect it now. In this case, MGMT addressed the leak and quickly posted a free stream of the album on their website, stating that they wanted to offer it as a free download but that they are “the only ones who thought it was a good idea.” So what are my thoughts on the album?

Well, to be perfectly fair, I must state that I’ve only given it one good listen. And I definitely did not have that feeling of “I must listen to this album immediately and frequently” like I did after the first time I listed to “Oracular Spectacular”. But I’m still going to give it it’s fair chance, as I do with all albums, because so many albums I didn’t think I liked snuck up on me after repeated listens. There was, however, only one song that sort of jumped out at me and was clearly different than the rest. It’s the third track, “Someone’s Missing”. While the song only clocks in at 2:30, there’s still plenty of time for it to start out slowly and quietly and gradually build up. At about the 1:45 mark, we hit the peak, and suddenly find ourselves in the middle of what sounds like a straight up motown song (well, aside from the heavy vocal reverb). I only with that this one carried on a little longer. So my early favorite has been established, but I’ve got a lot more listening to do before forming any formal opinions.

~~MGMT – Someone’s Missing~~

UPDATE: Track has been removed at the request of the label, but you can still stream the song (and the whole album) at the official MGMT website

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