Archive for December, 2010
Best of 2010 the Vander Wey: The Result
Posted by musicthevanderwey in Alternative, Best 10 of Twenty Ten, Indie Rock on December 31, 2010
You might remember my Top 10 list from a couple of weeks ago. After careful deliberation over this past holiday week, I have narrowed down the list to my favorite album of 2010. I couldn’t get through this post without giving some love to two albums though, so I have included a runner-up.
I might be in love…
Posted by T. William Gooch in Alternative, Dubstep, Hip-Hop on December 30, 2010
It doesn’t happen often but when it does you know it and you can’t put it into words. Ok so I’m not REALLY in love, but I knew after hearing a couple of K.Flay’s tracks that anything else she did would be worth checking out.
I ran across K.Flay over on bandcamp.com when I heard her mixtape MASHed Potatoes (you can get the whole tape for free I highly recommend you get it). I was impressed with the choice beats and smart lyrics. As it happens I forgot about the tape and didn’t check up on her until this week.
To my surprise it seems she had given me a Christmas present and I didn’t even know it. K.Flay released a cover of Liz Phair‘s “Fuck & Run” for the holidays and made it available as a free download. No a bad gift if I don’t say so myself.
Feelin’ Mad Rad
Posted by T. William Gooch in Alternative, Electronic, Hip-Hop on December 28, 2010
I have to admit that over the last couple weeks I have started to run on empty, especially with finding new music. I tried all the usual remedies, listening to Pandora & Slacker, sifting through the Hype Machine, and browsing through music label websites. All sources led me down dead ends and I was forced back to square one.
It was only when I was reading through some of my older posts did I realize that I had forgotten about one very important source, KEXP 90.3 FM Seattle.
Now Presenting: The Cribs
Posted by musicthevanderwey in Alternative, Indie Rock, The Cribs on December 27, 2010
“I think the world is a mobile phone, and the future is a strip mall” is how The Cribs open up their latest single, which came out back in August, “Housewife”.
If you’re not familiar with the band here is a little background information. The Cribs are a British rock band from Wakefield Yorkshire. I find their sound utterly intoxicating. It’s a mix of post modern rock and post punk. The Cribs‘ first two albums were produced to sound like 60′s quadraphonic low-fi, which is a comment on classic rock and how aspects of British society are still stuck in that era. Their latest two albums are polished up to today’s standards but a lot of the song writing is about being a modern person and retrospect on the 50′s and 60′s.
Diamond Messages
Posted by T. William Gooch in Electronic on December 25, 2010
Do you need a tune to drowned out the holiday cheer that has overwhelmed you the last couple days? It it now time for all the cheerful feelings to fade away and the reality of a long winter awaits us here in the mountains. I give you Diamond Messages, they have a haunting sound that I imagine you would hear when you’re lost in a snow storm.
I know it isn’t much but the holidays have taken up a lot of my time.
See you next week.
Diamond Messages – Liquid Summer
Brandon Flowers: Flamingo
Posted by musicthevanderwey in Alternative, Guilty Pleasures, Indie Rock, The Killers on December 21, 2010
Brandon Flowers
I spent a large part of my summer giddy with excitement over the prospects of Brandon Flowers new solo album. Flamingo was released back in September. My childish excitement was based around the prospect of the voice of The Killers in a new album!
Flamingo is, of course, a tribute to the famous Las Vegas landmark hotel, but in many ways Flamingo is the theme album of Vegas itself. It’s glamorous, fake, and has a little bit of western charm. I loved the opening song which brings some of the more enchanting images I have of Vegas to mind, but it also talks about “waking up in a burned out old Deville”. The entire album shows the discourse that is Las Vegas, which is precisely why I love this album. It’s a fun and doesn’t take itself seriously.
Something Behind the Scenes
Posted by T. William Gooch in Freestyle, Hip-Hop, Live on December 21, 2010
After doing some snooping around some other blogs I found there was a recording of an appearance of Black Thought and Questlove on DJ Whoo Kid‘s radio show. It was a while ago, so most of the links that I had found were inactive. This only made me more determined to find it and my persistence payed off this week.
It isn’t much but I love hearing live freestyling, especially when it comes from a talented lyricist. The clip is a freestyle by Black Thought and Questlove gives him a beat on the table. Eventually Questlove drops a “Whoooooooooo Kid” in the background and Black Thought busts out. In order to salvage the set Whoo Kid gives Black Thought a beat and he brings it home.
Liz Janes: A Soothing Voice
Posted by T. William Gooch in Guilty Pleasures, Vocalists on December 20, 2010
I have gone back and listened to our last week’s worth of posts and I must say that we have put up some great stuff. There has been something missing though. I couldn’t really put my figure on what it could be, until I heard the piece I am going to share with you today.
In my opinion there has been a lack of attention given to vocalists here On the Couch, this includes my posts as well. Remixes, Indie Pop, and Hip-Hop all do a great job of raising our spirits but how often can they touch us the same way as a voice hitting a perfect note?
Marry X-Mas from On the Couch
Posted by T. William Gooch in Dubstep, Hip-Hop, Mixtapes on December 18, 2010
We are feeling the holiday spirit here On the Couch and thought we could give our listeners a gift. Sure, you can come and listen to tunes here on the blog, but what do you do when you’re not on internet? In order to keep you jamming when you’re away we’re giving you the gift of a mixtape.
If you haven’t heard of Sam Adams yet, you will soon. Boston’s Boy is gaining steam across the country with his dubstep hip-hop style. He dropped Party Records with DJ Whoo Kid and DJ J. Cash back on September, needless to say the tape is hot as fire now-a-days.
Magnetic Man (or in this case Men)
Posted by Mike Hockenberry in Dubstep, Electronic, Magnetic Man, Remix on December 18, 2010
I realize not everyone listens to electronic music, but it’s my belief that you should. At least on some level.
Part of my goal here at On The Couch is to take some of the lesser known names from different variations of electronic music and make them more accessible to the average listener. We can’t all be David Guetta… In a genre where the remix is out before the original, the original is not always “original”, and million dollar careers are made and broken on the floor of some club you’ve never heard of….good things often get lost in the shuffle. Sometimes its necessary to revisit and almost always necessary to pause and take notice of an artist who’s creating something amazing. That being said, let me introduce you to Magnetic Man.
Magnetic Man is a dub-step super group composed of already well known producers Benga, Skream and Artwork. While their first self titled album Magnetic Man was released on October 11, 2010, this was just the beginning. As is usual in the electronic world, remixes have been popping up left and right. The funny thing about this trio’s creations: it seems as if nobodys able to do it better.
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