Almost summer time yall!

This is who I'm going to hang out with/make out with all summer at summer camp. 

Yesterday on the way to work while listening to a dissonant jazz version of Heart's Barracuda (thanks, NPR) trying to think about anything BUT the song playing because, OH MAN, does Barracuda get stuck in my head after I hear it, I realized IT'S ALMOST SUMMER!  I mean, not REALLY.  Because it's still April, and that's definitely not summer and also, today it's around 45 degrees out which, in my opinion, is the opposite of summer.  But for a lot of people school is nearly out (!!! weird, right?) and supposedly it's going to be in the mid-80s by the end of the week, so ask me on Friday and I'll tell you it's so definitely summer.  Anyway, all of this thought obviously begs the Very Important question: What's going to be this year's super-summer-fun-best-song(s)-ever-2k9?  

I am on the edge of my seat.  Who's going to put out the new D.A.N.C.E./Lipgloss/another good one that I can't think of right now??? 

But really, it's getting sunny more often lately so I'm in the perpetual mood to drive with my windows down blasting hits that I'll most definitely be tired of by mid-July.  To be honest, I am more than happy to keep my super-summer-fun-2k9 contained by only listening to the new Dirty Projector's album Bitte Orca. On repeat.  For 5 months straight (I AM ON THE RIGHT TRACK ALREADY).  The album officially comes out in June and that, along with it being awesome, makes it perfect summer fun material but that just might get boring after awhile and will most definitely get annoying for anyone else I am around.  

The best thing about super-summer-fun-best-ever-songs are that they can cross a few more genres of music than I usually surround myself with.  During the summer I allow myself to branch out (even more than I already do) into the realm of pop music and sometimes, JUST sometimes, I think it's okay to listen to top 40 pop hit radio and find the songs appealing.  

I think this year of hope/Obama (ha) might invite a lot more bands that feature women in the lead for some of the super-summer-fun-songs.  Maybe The Joy Formidable, The Pains of Being Pure at Heart, etc. Do any of you have some picks for the songs that will soundtrack our summer?       

   

The MGMTs (aka the least time relevant post ever)

photo via HRO

I'm not an MGMT fan. Don't worry, that's not a confession. I mean, it's kind of obvious, right? All of their songs sound pretty similar and are about 2X too slow. Borrrrring. But, I have to admit, I think that the song Time to Pretend is a pretty good single for a band that is overplayed and overhyped. Actually, the only reason I can even stand the song, probably, is because I moved to Columbus in the end of August instead of the beginning of 2008. The reason is the local alternative radio station, CD101. The station way overplays its popular songs. I don't blame CD101, I blame the people calling/texting/emailing their requests for the same couple of songs every day. I mean, c'mon, don't people get tired of hearing Pork and Beans after a few days?

CD101 puts out a top 101 songs of each year and the number one requested/played song of 2008 was MGMT's Time to Pretend. Honestly, I didn't even realize the song was a big single on the alt radio circuit, probably because I hadn't listened to anything but NPR until I moved to a city that has a station that plays music that's on the top 40 Alt Music List instead of the top 40 rock/country/pop lists. I would have hated Time to Pretend if I was living in Columbus, listening to CD101, even occasionally, because it would have been played so often. I was lucky enough to move in right as MGMT's Electric Feel got super super popular so that's what I got to hear constantly (now it's Fleet Foxes' White Winter Hymnal. and I hate it).

You're probably wondering why Time to Pretend is, for me, better than any of the other songs MGMT put out. I mean, it's a valid question. They're all by a long haired, shirtless white dude, trying to connect with his inner wolf. There's nothing redeeming about that. I guess it has a lot to do with that hook. You know what I'm talking about. I'm a sucker for a good hook (the Best Example here). The only other reason, and the one that needs to be capitalized on a lot more than it already has, is how meaningful it is. I mean it in the best/worst way possible.



The first time I really recognized that Time to Pretend was a "good" song was after I watched this preview for The Unidentified, a movie that a friend of mine did the sound on. And then it really clicked as the actors ran through the screen changing their perspective on life; this song takes the place of Death Cab's Passenger Seat (/every other song?) as the most meaningful song to ride in a car at night/change the world to. Actually, I think MGMT is the new Death Cab. It is the best band to connect with your mainstream friends over at the moment. I'm proud to be a part of the movement.

Girl Talk 1.0 or Something

A few days ago Al pointed out that Mariah Carey's song Fantasy (hate it when embedding is disabled) samples Tom Tom Club's Genius of Love in the background. Turns out, she even sings some of Tom Tom Club's lyrics near the end of the song (I'm a little disappointed she doesn't say James Brown a few times). Maybe I'm a little dense for not noticing it before but I probably never noticed because I was 10 when Fantasy came out (I listened to the Beatles and Bach back then, didn't really know anything else existed). Looking through the comments under the Fantasy video I linked to, I'm not the only one who just recently realized this either. The sample definitely makes that song/Mariah Carey better though, it's a sweet beat to steal for a pop tune. I think Stephen mentioned once that Genius of Love is the most annoying song ever, but I don't think so. I look at it as way ahead of its time in terms of what it's doing musically. Like, it totally could have come out in 2006 and been a hit. Anyway, are there a lot more pop songs from the 90s that sample good beats via the 70s/80s that I don't know about?

Year End Album List 2007

20. Okkervil River, The Stage Names

19. Black Moth Super Rainbow, Dandelion Gum

18. Kevin Drew, Spirit If...

17. M83, Digital Shades Vol. 1

16. Thurston Moore, Trees Outside the Academy

15. Chikita Volenta, The Stars & Suns Sessions

14. Amiina, Kurr

13. Beirut, The Flying Club Cup

12. The Bad Plus, Prog

11. Jens Lekman, Night Falls Over Kortedala

10. Arcade Fire, Neon Bible
I wish there was a fun phrase for the overexposure of Arcade Fire like the Shin’s Brafflash. But alas, there’s not. The reason this album is even in my top albums of the year is really just because spring quarter when I would go running regularly this is what I’d listen to. I’d like to bring back those happy, healthier, simpler times and if putting this in my top ten will make that happen, then I’m going to do it.

http://www.myspace.com/celebrationcelebration

9. Celebration, The Modern Tribe
If nothing else, “Evergreen” is one of the best tracks of the year.

http://www.myspace.com/marniestern1

8. Marnie Stern, In Advance of the Broken Arm
A girl? That shreds? Hard? SWEEEEEEEET.

http://www.myspace.com/thenewpornographers

7. The New Pornographers, Challengers
I think most people ignored this album because it admittedly isn’t as good as some of The New Pornographer’s previous work. I was going to too until I realized how often I actually listened to Challengers this year. So, I gave it another listen a few days ago and realized that it really is a solid album. Although it might be an unconventional pick for a top ten, I think this album (especially the tracks featuring Neko Case and Destroyer’s Dan Bejar) is actually pretty good.

http://www.myspace.com/battlestheband

6. Battles, Mirrored
Math rock is not for girls, but I think that is why Battles is so good. I’m a girl, and I like it.

http://www.myspace.com/mia

5. M.I.A., Kala
Maya Arulpragasam moved from hipster dance party goddess with her 2005 album Arular to 2007 with an album that actually kind of says something in a dynamic way. I like it when artists can grow in their music, especially when they’re already 5 years ahead of the game like M.I.A. will always be.

http://www.myspace.com/lcdsoundsystem

4. LCD Soundsystem, Sound of Silver
You know an album is good when bloggers and critics are fighting over which of three different songs from this album should be in the top spot for their 2007 Best Songs list (although I still don’t understand putting “North American Scum” in any top ten). Yet, I am nearly positive that I’m the only one in the entirety of the blogging world who actually likes the closing song, “New York I Love You”. Maybe it’s the slow fragility in James Murphy’s voice that makes me melt.

http://www.myspace.com/rippityrippity

3. Panda Bear, Person Pitch
I’d pick Panda Bear over Animal Collective any day. Plus, Person Pitch is innovative and psychedelic in the good way! One can’t ask for much more.

http://www.myspace.com/stvincent

2. St. Vincent, Marry Me
I can hardly believe I put this at number two either, trust me. More than once I have, for an unknown reason, become hopelessly devoted (eerily similar to the song from the musical Grease) to female singer/songwriters. Then, after months of constant play and profession of flawlessness I realize how boring or top 40 or disgustingly adult contemporary rock it really is. I hope I don’t regret this number two position in the future, but as of now, I truly believe Marry Me is the turning point in female singer/songwriter music. It’s better, it’s definitely not flawless, but it rocks a little harder and it uses a little more imagination than your typical female solo artist.

http://www.myspace.com/dirtyprojectors

1. Dirty Projectors, Rise Above
I heard this album several times, not by choice, soon after it came out this year. I was not impressed by the seemingly random guitar noise and scattered, sometimes wailing voices. Then, instead of just hearing, I listened and immediately realized how remarkably musical something could be under the mask of pure noise. Before knowing anything about the “gimmick” of this album I listened a few more times particularly confused by the harsh lyrics against the backdrop of female singers (!!) and the occasional classical instrumentation. Complete oblivion to the story behind bands that I profess to enjoy is a personal vice so I asked a friend to explain the Dirty Proj (as I like to call them) to me. I Learned that Dave Longstreth is a Christ Figure in addition to the fact that this album is a reimagination of the Black Flag album Damaged. These facts added several more layers to my amazement and intense adoration to this conceptualization of music Longstreth has created. He’s no doubt paved a path for understanding and creating new out of old for the future of something that we thought was only repeating itself over and over again.