1/12th of this year has nearly passed?!

I declare January worldwide Brand New appreciation month! As was established at the beginning of this blog, my favorite band is Brand New*. Over the years I have purchased studio albums as well as downloaded multiple live recordings of Brand New in different settings and venues. My mix this month encapsulates my collection (for the most part) of cover songs that Brand New, Jesse Lacey or any other closely related artists have performed and/or recorded. At the bottom of this post you will find a link to download my mix, although the tracks might be a bit out of order. As always let me know if you would like any of the full live recordings and I'll be sure to send links via E-mail or facebook (links for both at the bottom).

Comment if you have any questions as to where the recordings are from.

*For all intensive purposes, Jesse Lacey is Brand New.

Enjoy.

1. Car – Jesse Lacey (Built To Spill)

2. Say It Ain’t So – Kevin Devine, Jesse Lacey, and Andy Hull (Weezer)

3. Two-Headed Boy – Jesse Lacey (Neutral Milk Hotel)

4. El Scorcho – Brand New (Weezer)

5. Accident Prone – Jesse Lacey (Jawbreaker)

6. Soco Amaretto Lime – Brand New (The Moleman remix)

7. Holland 1945 – Kevin Devine, Jesse Lacey, and Andy Hull (Neutral Milk Hotel)

8. “Jesus” – Brand New (Vocals by Kevin Devine)

9. Oh Holy Night – Brand New (John Sullivan Dwight)

10. Am I Wrong – Brand New (Love Spit Love)

11. Oh Comely – Brand New (Neutral Milk Hotel)

http://www.mediafire.com/?leuik8prhi4bcfb

jakerand@gmail.com
facebook.com/jrand

Jake Rand.

Get Psyched Mix

How I Met Your Mother is one of my favorite shows. There's a New Year's Eve episode where Barney Stinson (Neil Patrick Harris) talked about his get psyched mix, which was all rise, no fall. This inspired me to make a mix of all the songs I instinctively turn up as I tap my feet and/or sing along. These songs were selected from a playlist of 151 songs that will probably be the most motivational work out mix, ever.

1. Violent Femmes- Blister in the Sun
2. The Von Bondies- C'mon C'mon
3. The National- Mr. November
4. The Beatles- Helter Skelter
5. Arcade Fire- Rebellion (Lies)
6. Black Kids- I'm Not Gonna Teach Your Boyfriend How to Dance With You
7. Yeasayer- O.N.E.
8. Passion Pit- The Reeling
9. Cursive- Art is Hard
10. Sleigh Bells- Infinity Guitars
11. The Hood Internet- Lose my Waters of Naza(b)reath (Destiny's Child vs. Justice)
12. The Ting Tings- Shut up and Let me go
13. of Montreal- Wraith Pinned to the Mist and Other Games
14. MGMT- Kids
15. Yeah Yeah Yeahs- Heads Will Roll

The Better Year by Smashley

It's a brand new year and the fourth month of this Multitracking experiment. I'm pretty excited with the way things have gone and excited to see what 2011 holds for our humble blog. 

I thought of this idea in December, but with all the hubbub of coming up with a Top 10 of 2010 list, I decided to hold this off until the start of 2011. But, my esteemed fellow blogger David McT beat me to it last month. However, I was so excited about it so I decided to do mine anyway, making sure not to cross over with his selections. Sorry DMcT, but full credit goes to you for getting there first. :)

Below are a handful of songs taken way too literally because of their titles, and a few honorable mentions (since I could only choose one.) Happy New Year, internet.

1) January Friend - Goo Goo Dolls
From Dizzy Up the Girl
Real talk: In spite of years of falling in love with Johnny Rzeznik's voice thanks to alternative radio and rom-coms, my two favorite songs on Dizzy Up the Girl are this and "Amigone". There's something equally familiar about Robby Tackac's voice, and frankly, he totally ups the rock level.
  



2) February - Austin Gibbs
From EP
When I  included Austin in my Old Desert Soul Mix in October, I said he was my top pick for the next big thing out of Arizona. I still stand by that . . . it's impossible to deny this song. 


Honorarable mentions: Foo Fighters "February Stars"





3) March Into the Sea - Modest Mouse
From We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank
I took some liberties with the name here, because it is a verb, not a month. But at least it's a great song?





4) April Skies - The Jesus and Mary Chain
From Darklands
Have you ever read an interview with Jim or William Reid? Dudes are brilliant. Nuts, but brilliant.

Honorarable mentions: Try Me Bicycle "April Sky" | Court Yard Hounds "April Love"

http://aprilskies.amniisia.com/fun/classic_quotes.php


5) Month of May - Arcade Fire
From The Suburbs
Any song that requires a bull horn is good in my book.  Also, this song houses one of my favorite (although not so timeless) lyrics "2009, 2010, wanna make a record about how I felt then." At a mere 4:00 minutes (short in Arcade Fire world) this is as punk rock as this band can be. (which is a good thing)





6) In June - French Quarter
From French Quarter
While I tote Austin as Arizona's "most likely to succeed", Stephen Steinbrink, in his many incarnations, is hands down one of the most talented songwriters in that entire state, and highly under appreciated. 

Honorarable mentions: Horse Feathers "Belly of June" | Bright Eyes "June on the West Coast" | Fielding "June 5" | Coheed and Cambria "Junesong Provision"

7) July, July - The Decemberists
From Castaways and Cutouts
It's easy to get distracted by all the fancy language and thematic concept albums, but sometimes, The Decemberists just write some super fun songs. This is one of them. 


Honorarable mentions: What Laura Says "July 23"


Also, please note the dude-bro ROCKING in the crowd in the front.



8) August March - Grizzly Bear
From Sorry for the Delay
Consider this your "end of summer" nap time. This was long before Grizzly Bear became so polished. Snoozefest, but the only "August" song I had.





9) September Grass - James Taylor
From October Road 
(this album also has a song called "On the 4th of July". It's like he knew I'd use him for this mix)


My Dad loves James Taylor, so this song will always remind me of my Dad. 


Honorarable mentions: Green Day "Wake Me Up When September Ends"





10) October Nights - Yellowcard
From One for the Kids
I had several options for this month, but I had to go with this one. God, I loved this band in high school. I distinctly remember hearing this song on my brother's Napster (whoaaa early 00's!) and then accidentally seeing them perform while I was eating dinner at Warped Tour 2004. And hey, they're reuniting this Spring . . . so that's weird. 


Honorarable mentions: Broken Bells "October" | Rocky Votolato "October" | Of Montreal "October is Eternal"





11) November Was White, December Was Grey - Say Hi
From Oohs and Aahs
I had heard of this band quite a bit before, but only got into them after I listened to this song on a Barsuk sampler. But seriously, although long, "Say Hi to Your Mom" is an infinitely better band name, dudes. 





12) A Long December - Counting Crows 
From Recovering the Satellites 
How could I choose anything else? Also brilliant - the live recording featuring Ben Folds. Unreal. 


Honorable mentions: Taylor Swift "Back to December" | Matt Costa "A Cold December" | Something Corporate "Forget December" | Mew "Savoiurs of the Jazz Ballet (Fear Me December)" | Lydia "December"| A good portion of Christmas songs.





BONUS TRACK: 


13) The Via Maris "The Better Year" 
From The Bicentennial 
An amazing band I have the privilege of managing a few years back, and a song with some incredible lyrics to kick off the year. Cheers.


"The better dreams are by your side. The better road is not so high. The better year is by your side. The better year is by your side." 



The Better Year 6/21/08

The Via Maris | Myspace Video

January: Songs about Winter

In this overly-snowy and frigid New York winter, I found it only fitting to devote this month's mixtape to songs about winter. Some explore the cold season lyrically; others try to evoke the feeling of snow, fogged windows, warm beverages, and icy gusts compositionally. Enjoy.

1.) "Hazy Shades of Winter" - Simon & Garfunkel

2.) "The Warmest Part of the Winter" - Voxtrot

3.) "Wait for the Wintertime" - Yeasayer

4.) "Winter Wooskie" - Belle and Sebastian

5.) "Faded From the Winter" - Iron & Wine

6.) "Winter Song" - Love in Stockholm

7.) "It Snowed Last Night" - Beast Make Bomb

8.) "Snowy Atlas Mountains" - Fionn Regan

9.) "Five Feet of Snow" - The Dirty Secrets

10.) "20 Years of Snow" - Regina Spektor

11.) "Out in the Cold" - Carole King

12.) "Ice Monster" - Minus the Bear

My December Post... sorry folks.

I've been commissioned by my dear eldest sister to create the play list for her wedding reception in September of 2011. So, instead of doing the Top 10 of 2010, I decided to look into the future and think about the music from our past that will continue to influence our future, whether we like it or not.

I am sharing a mix of songs that I would like played at my... er... an important event in my life. If I were thirteen and jewish these songs would be played at my Bat Mitzvah, if I was fifteen and Spanish these songs would make an appearance at my La Quinceanera, or if I was forty and crying because my fiance hit his peak and died off already, I'd hope these were played at his funeral (that's a joke). Right. Here it is:

1. Ray LaMontagne- You are the Best Thing
2. Madonna- Crazy For You
3. Ottis Redding- These Arms Are Mine
4. Karen-O- L-O-V-E
5. The Black Keys- Tighten Up
6. Band of Horses- Marry Song
7. Grizzly Bear- Knife
8. Neil Young- Harvest Moon
9. Peter, Bjorn, and John- Young Folks
10. Broken Social Scene- Lover's Spit
11. Simon & Garfunkel-Bridge Over Troubled Waters
12. Mazzy Star- Fade Into You

Obviously a 12-song mix isn't long enough to entertain a full reception, Bat Mitzvah, LaQuinceanera, or funeral so, you guessed it, there will be version 2.0 very shortly. It's the least I can do for being late on December's post (don't hate me, Ashley).

Caiti

Best of 2010 by ade.

EPs:

Well, I realized it was virtually impossible to compile all my favorite records into one Top Ten list, so I figured the best alternative would be to split them up. These records are up here not really because they got great ratings on music blogs/websites (although virtually all of them did), but primarily because I love them. I’ve formed a personal attachment to them, and they’ve become a reflection of who I am. So without further ado;

10. James Blake - CMYK + Klavierwerke

9. Dom - Sun Bronzed Greek Gods

8. Delta Spirit - The Waits Room

7. Evenings - North Dorm

6. Teen Daze - Four More Years

5. Twin Sister - Color Your Life

4. The Tallest Man on Earth - Sometimes The Blues Is Just A Passing Bird

3. Tennis - Tennis (Cassette)

2. Girls - Broken Dreams Club

1. Memoryhouse - The Years




Albums:

I had little blurbs written about all these records, but then I realized, it’s not really important, I just enjoyed all of them, a lot. So here you go:

10. Ariel Pink’s Haunted Graffiti - Round and Round

9. Candy Claws - Hidden Lands

8. Delorean - Subiza

7. Tame Impala - Innerspeaker

6. Deerhunter - Halcyon Digest

5. Beach House - Teen Dream

4. The Fresh & Onlys - Play It Strange

3. The Radio Dept. - Clinging To A Scheme

2. Kanye West - My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy

1. The Tallest Man On Earth - The Wild Hunt

Bombay by ade

My December mix is pretty late, I'm sorry. These are some of the tunes I really feel in love with last year.

The Radio Dept. - Pet Grief
Kanye West - Hell of A Life
Panda Bear - Tomboy
Band of Horses - Dilly
Memoryhouse - The Waves
Teen Daze - For Paulina
The Fresh & Onlys - Waterfall
Girls - Heartbreaker
Hollerado - Juliette
How To Dress Well - Ready For The World
James Blake - Don't You Think I Do
The Tallest Man on Earth - King of Spain

That's it! Happy Holidays darlings.