White Denim - Fashionable Rock

 Combine amazing dueling guitar licks with psychedelia, a bassist that looks 15, and a prog-rock influenced drummer and you have White Denim. Out of Austin, TX, they've been wowing audiences locally and at South by Southwest for a few years. I like their old stuff, but with the welcome addition of a second guitarist their newest release, D, is one of the best rock albums, song for song, I've heard in some time.

Also, they put on a great live show. Saw them at the Rock and Roll Hotel with a bunch of hipsters who wouldn't move because they were too cool, but I was rocking out because I'm way too old to care about being hip.

Honestly, I can't even pick my favorites b/c they're all filled with great hooks. Though there's some nice variety over the course of the album, their sound is pretty consistent, so if you don't like one song, you probably won't like the rest. I'd recommend listening to the whole album a few times through. It will invade your headspace.

You can see how good they are live in this video for, It's Him. The guitar lick around 1:15 in reminds me of St. Stephen by the Grateful Dead in such a good way.

Enjoy.

Bag Raiders Video Shows Some Hot Monkey Love

I'm rededicating myself to posting more often. I've got three months of stuff to post about, so I'll try to make it short and sweet in the interest of getting more stuff up here more often. I know it will somewhat be ignored, but once in a while someone stumbles on the blog and they like it.

Bag Raiders are fun and have two songs I like a lot. They're Passion Pit-esque. Full of synths and a good dance beat with high pitched man vocals. The video for Sunlight features a chimp gone bad, which is always a bonus.



I also like Not Over. This video features a time traveling caveman.

Rolling in the Deep

Adele's new album, 21, is pretty damn good. Right after it came out, John Legend covered Rolling in the Deep, but then it was quickly remixed, and it's just off the hook. All three versions are great, but the remix version... mwah... perfecto.

Parlor Mob - Can't Keep No Good Band Down

Parlor Mob rocks like it never went out of style. This is 70s arena rock filtered through the grunge of the early 90s. Their songs feature dueling acoustic guitars, scratchy blues-influenced hooks, and power vocals. Clearly there's a Led Zeppelin thing going on, but they also remind me of Blind Melon (remember the bee girl from the No Rain video?) and they have a little bit of a Queens of the Stone Age sound as well. These three tracks will definitely have you singing along in your highest registers.

Can't Keep No Good Boy Down - YouTube won't let me embed the video, but here's the link.

Everything You're Breathing For


When I Was An Orphan - Live from the Stone Pony in Asbury Park, NJ

Pinback - Sweet Rock

Pinback isn't new, but you may not have heard about them, so I'm posting to illuminate you. Pinback makes a melodic brand of rock. It's a distinctive sound that soothes and provokes at the same time. The band they most evoke for me is Lou Barlow (of Sebadoh)'s group, The Folk Implosion (and the New Folk Implosion). If you like these tunes, also check out Pinback singer/guitarist Rob Crow's solo stuff, in particular Living Well.

Simian Mobile Disco, Cee-Lo, and Telephoned

Dance and funk numbers from last month's playlist.

Telephoned is an awesome combo of DJ Sammy Bananas and vocalist/party maven Maggie Horn. They remake and rework common pop tracks that stand on their own as dancefloor anthems.

Their eponymous EP could be played as a mixtape at your next party, but I particularly enjoy Rockin That Thing and Dancin' On Me. Though they are technically remixes, they might as well be completely different songs. I'd almost rather call them homages. Whatever you call, them they will make you want to move!





My next recommendation is a smooth, funky dance track. It's a fun tune, and it's free! Dance impresarios Simian Mobile Disco team up with diva Beth Ditto, of Gossip fame, for this one.

Simian Mobile Disco - Cruel Intentions (feat. Beth Ditto) (Heartbreak's Slow Action Remix)

Finally, everyone loves and is familiar with Cee-Lo's 100% pure hit, Fuck You, but the 2nd best song off the album is Love Gun. Check it out.

Mark Ronson - God of Awesome

For his latest album, Record Collection, London Superproducer Mark Ronson goes for a more 80s synth-pop feel. No matter that he's made his reputation on funk and soul hip-hop numbers, whatever he does works. Apparently, Ronson wanted to be so authentic to the 80s sound that he went out and procured the actual synths that Duran Duran used. Even the album cover (above) has an 80s theme, deftly mixing the themes of 80s album artwork together.

Bang Bang Bang is eminently danceable and features one of the all-time great MCs, Q-Tip the Abstract. The Bike Song is good fun and Someone To Love Me features Boy George. Though the original for Someone To Love Me is good, the remixes are even better.