So you get the whole idea of a Top Ten of the year right? You don't need me to explain it to you do I? Click on the read more and see how my list differs from Ste and Robs
10. Elbow - The Seldom Seen Kid
Mercury Music prize winning and all that malarkey this was the year that Elbow finally took over and while doing so brought out one of the best rock songs of the last year, the last 5 years and perhaps ever, in "Grounds for Divorce". Check it out below if you don't believe me.
Elbow - Grounds for Divorce
9. Crayonsmith - White Wonder
Proof that listening to Ste can pay off and while it took me a little time to actually bother checking out the first (but not the last) Irish act on this list it was good that I finally did. Lovers of electro type stuff in general will find a lot to dig in this little piece.
Crayonsmith - All the Elders
8. Get Well Soon - Rest Now, Weary Head! You Will Get Well Soon
German one man virtuoso Konstantin Groppe brings his own brand of Nick Cave flavoured miserablism to the world and in the process makes one of the most unsettlingly creepy albums of quite a while. For evidence of this check out the track below "If This Hat Is Missing I Have Gone Hunting" with the creepiest female voices used in a rock song since The Ohio Players "Love Rollercoaster" (go here for more on that)
Get Well Soon - If This Hat Is Missing I Have Gone Hunting
7. Death Cab for Cutie - Narrow Stairs
So finally despite about ten years and numerous albums Death Cab for Cutie finally make something that inspires me to sit up and take notice. There's a good chance that this is largely down to the amazing video for opening single "I Will Possess Your Heart" which also happens to be a great song but whatever, Number 7 with a bullet. Although why it needs a bullet I don't know.
Death Cab for Cutie - No Sunlight
6. Ham Sandwich - Carry the Meek
Second Irish act on the list but (spoiler alert) not the last. Ham Sandwich's first album mixes perfectly the female vocals of surprise preggers Niamh Farrell and fucking mentaller Podge McNamee to make some great pop-rock tunes. Great stuff all round
Ham Sandwich - Click...Click...Boom!!!
5. Nine Inch Nails - The Slip
Trent Reznor takes another step towards proving that he's the greatest musical innovator that ever existed by literally GIVING us The Slip (still not sure if that pun was intentional or not). For his SECOND release THIS YEAR and his FOURTH release in EIGHTEEN MONTHS Trent literally gave away for free the entire album. What was even more surprising is that it retained the same quality that all previous releases had delivered. Plus did I mention it was free??? When it came out for a physical release 4 months later it still sold by the bucket-load. Top man.
Nine Inch Nails - Echoplex
4. The Dandy Warhols - Earth to the Dandy Warhols
A band that will unfortunately always remain as a novelty band in peoples minds thanks to that fucking Vodafone ad of 2001 and a damn shame it is too as the Dandy Warhols prove once again that they write some seriously catchy pop/rock/psychedlic ditties.
The Dandy Warhols - MisAmigos
3. Fight Like Apes - Fight Like Apes and the Mystery of the Golden Medallion
Love em or hate em they write a fucking catchy song and they're damn good live despite being hairy bastards the lot of them. Irelands bright new shining hopes finally deliver their long awaited debut album and with a running time of roughly 30-35 minutes it does what its meant to. Comes in. Beats the shit out of you and leaves you wanting more.
Fight Like Apes - Digifucker
2. Does it offend you yeah? - You Have No Idea What You're Getting Yourself Into
Having a silly name (a David Brent quote from the Office) didn't help endear these guys to a lot of people (Rob) and some wouldn't listen to them as a result (Rob). Foolishly seeing as they proved with this album that they're this years Daft Punk/Justice Electo-Funk types and still have a savage cool live show which anybody who saw their mid-afternoon set at Oxegen can attest to.
Does it Offend you yeah? - We are Rockstars
1. Jape - Ritual
I hate having to put the same number 1 down as Rob but he's right. This album is fucking brilliant. Go and get it now.
Jape - I Was a man
Almost made it:
Breaks my heart to not include these albums as they are savage but Pivot - O Soundtrack my Heart; Sigur Rós - Með suð í eyrum við spilum endalaus; Why? - Alopecia; MGMT - Oracular Spectacular.
Better luck next time chaps
Albums of the Year 2008 (Evil Bob)
Pick 'n' Remix 2
Another month, another mixed bag to satisfy your passing curiosity for remixes.
Check out the elaborate remixy journey in the readmore...
As this is Pick 'n' Remix mark 2, I'm gonna play around with the number two and throw em out in pairs.
(Although don't expect volume three to have some similar coherance, I'm way too lazy for that, and three is far more complicated)
Chapter 1: An Essential Inclusion on Any Remix Collection
Two Justice-related Remixes
01. Justice- Genesis (Chewie Chocolate Cookies remix)
Pretty cool take on Justice's album opener, turning things one notch further towards dancey.
02. Stevie Wonder- Superstition (Justice JNSTY remix)
One of the greatest songs of all time given the Justice treatment. This is more of an interesting curio than anything else, but goddamn, I can't get enough of that bass sound.
-
Chapter 2: Because Tito Never Used a Drum Machine
Two Classic Track Remixes
03. Jackson 5- I Want You Back (Rogerseventytwo remix)
Really great remix which takes a very different approach to the song... often a good move when tinkering with timeless classics.
04. Rolling Stones- You Can't Always Get What You Want (Soulwax remix)
Another departure from the style of the original, Soulwax can always be relied upon. This is probably my favorite Stones song, and there are some pretty sweet ideas in this remix.
-
Chapter 3: And While I'm Playing the New Album To Death...
Two Faint Remixes
05. The Faint- The Geeks Were Right (Does it Offend You, Yeah? remix)
Sweet remix of the Faint's bitchin new single by up-and-coming indie dancesters. Very different to the dancier Boys Noise take, and both are excellent in their own right.
06. The Faint- Worked Up So Sexual (Death Cab for Cutie remix)
An older track from The Faint, from the amazing Black-Wave Arcade album, this remix is done by Death Cab's guitarist/producer Chris Walla.
-
Chapter 4: A Prelude to 'Intimicy'
Two Bloc Party Remixes
07. Bloc Party- Mercury (CSS remix)
A suitably bright and chirpy take on Bloc Party's awesome new tune. It still packs a punch, but I guess just does it with a smile.
08. Bloc Party- I Still Remember (SebastiAn remix)
From a remix promo of this Weekend in the City single, SebestiAn's version is dirty & gritty. In a good way.
-
Chapter 5: Crowdpleasing Finale
Two 'Superstar Dj' Remixes
09. Eric Prydz Vs Pink Floyd- Proper Education
Another Brick in the Wall was never the kind of song you could get away with playing on a dancefloor, but Eric Prydz has done just enough to the original to make it so. Nothing drastic, just a little push.
10. The Ting Tings- Great DJ (Calvin Harris remix)
Predictibly, there's a load of Ting Tings remixes floating around at the moment. This one is, in my opinion, far and away the best, and is sure to be making some appearances at parties in the near future.
Death Cab For Cutie irish dates
Death Cab For Cutie will be playing two Irish dates in November to coincide with releasing 'No Sunlight' as a single on November 17 (physical; digital November 10).
November
12 Belfast St Georges Market
13 Dublin Ambassador
Death cab for cutie - No Sunlight
Choke soundtrack
the full tracklisting and comments on each song by Gregg are in the read more.
Ben Kweller - "The Rules"
Ben Kweller kicks ass. These lyrics feel like Victor Mancini's rowdy, pissed-off subtext. I love that it starts off the soundtrack with some slamming indie rock and that it comes in during the colonial village while we're looking at all the puffy shirts and bonnets.
The Natural History - "Don't You Ever" (rare)
I only found this band recently, but I listened to them all through post. Max Tepper's vocals are superb. I actually prefer this version to the one by Spoon and I'm a huge Spoon fan. The band broke up a few years ago. I'm going to picket their houses until they get back together.
Fiery Furnaces - "Navy Nurse"
This groove just takes your breath away.
Radiohead - "Reckoner"
Like most people, I am a huge Radiohead fan. The adaptation took me years to write so I wrote it first to Kid A, then Amnesiac and then Hail to the Thief. Later, I learned from Chuck Palahniuk that he had written the novel while listening to their song, "Creep." In Rainbows came out while we were editing and I used almost every track in my early temp cuts of the movie. They all fit really well, but I particularly loved "Reckoner." The tension between Thom Yorke's keening vocals and Phil Selway's brilliant, driving drum track fit so perfectly that it worked almost like score. I was truly dreading the day when we'd have to take it out. Somehow ATO Pictures producer, Johnathan Dorfman persuaded their manager to show the band some footage and to our shock they were generous enough to let us use the song. It's a monumental addition to the movie.
Alap Momin - "Sin Terror"
I love this jam. We needed music for the strip-club scenes and music supervisors Lyle Hysen and Ken Weinstein knew Alap Momin from the band Dälek and he was kind enough to cook this up just for the movie. He even tailored the tracks to the scenes. The driving discordant build they layered into this piece feels like it's feeding the tension between Denny and Victor.
Clap Your Hands Say Yeah - "Satan Said Dance"
I loved their first album and we needed something dark but not too heavy for Victor's sudden rollercoaster ride back to the dark side. Hysen and Weinstein pitched this song and when we saw it over the scene it was just right.
Buzzcocks - "Orgasm Addict" (rare)
This is the anthem. I sort of grew up loving The Buzzcocks, moshing my way through their songs in the East Village. I must have played it every day I was writing "Choke." I always thought we'd open the movie with it, but it didn't work out. In any case here is a cool alternate version with a more deadpan feel and at least it made it on to our soundtrack.
Death Cab For Cutie - "No Sunlight"
What can you say, they're just really, really good.
Blitzen Trapper - "Wicked" (unreleased)
We listened to a lot of Blitzen Trapper during the crazed five-week summer shoot. It just seemed to fit with spending your 18-hour days in a sweltering mental hospital. They've got some excellent chaos going on.
Ms. Tyree Sugar Jones - "If You Feel It"
This plays in another tricky scene where everything we tried felt wrong. And then I got turned on to the soulful sexy stylings of Ms. Tyree "Sugar" Jones. You put this on and you know some clothes are coming off.
My Morning Jacket - "Touch Me I'm Going To Scream Pt 1"
We're all big Jacket fans. Listened to them constantly during the shoot. Very proud to have them on here.
Shout Out Louds - "Bicycle" (rare)
Nothing like a little kick ass Swedish indie rock. They're like The Shins' attitudinal Scandinavian cousins.
Twilight Singers - "There's Been An Accident"
One of the producers, Contrafilm's Beau Flynn, and I have been Greg Dulli fans for years. I listened to The Twilight Singers a lot when I was writing the script. The song is really moving in a haunting, portentous way that really works for the movie.
Nicole Atkins - "Crystal Ship" (unreleased)
Brilliant. She's got a great torchy, Peggy Lee sound with just enough tongue in cheek to feel like a perfect citizen of the Palahniuk world.
Death Cab Meet The Smiths
I'm a sycophant for covers and crossovers (which can quite frequently be guilty pleasures) so it's nice when it all works out. Here's an example of such a case- Death Cab For Cutie delivering an acoustic version of The Smiths' There is a light that never goes out:
Click for mp3
New Death Cab For Cutie video
New video for the new single from their upcoming album NARROW STAIRS
Death Cab For Cutie "I Will Possess Your Heart"
Video has a bit of a Lost In Translation feel to it , loving the extended intro
