Well well well. It looks as though a celebration may be in order. The humble little weekly column strewn together by Jeremy Larson and myself each week has just reached its one month anniversary! Due to loyal readership, compelling suggestions (keep ‘em coming), and an unremitting urge to hunt down the week’s best mp3s and arrange them in an orderly fashion, we’re moving on up. As long as you’ll listen (and probably longer), we’ll be here to sift through the bad and bring only the good into the respective spheres of each and every one of you, because, at the end of the day, why waste your time on filler when you’ve got 10 sure things waiting for you every Friday on CoS? That’d be absurd. This week’s lineup is an almost 50/50 split between some of the biggest names in music (Björk, Wilco, T.I.), to some relative unknowns (Class Actress, Doomtree’s forthcoming Wugazi), the variation of which I feel is a good microcosm of the music scene on the whole. Of course the little guys can (and will) win your hearts, but the veterans never relent. These songs ought to help you usher in the month of July in booming fashion. -Winston Robbins
Björk – “Crystalline”
True to form, Björk croons eerily all up and down this chiming barn-burner. Her spacey lyrics (this time focused on internal nebulas, claustrophobia, and demons) are only surpassed by her ability to sell her spacey self unabashedly to the general population, most of whom have deemed her quirkiness acceptable. If the rest of her forthcoming album Biophilia is even half as good as the last minute of this track, we may very well have another Post on our hands.
T.I. (feat. B.o.B.) – “We Don’t Get Down Like Ya’ll”
No matter how old or cynical I get, releasing songs while locked behind bars will never not be one of the most badass things rappers can do. The latest track to see release from inside a prison cell is T.I.’s B.o.B.-featuring “We Don’t Get Down Like Ya’ll”, which is as southern sounding as southern hip hop comes. Both ATL rappers give you a dose of their southern hospitality cut with some of T.I.’s most impressive drawling raps in recent years.
Bassnectar – “Upside Down”
Santa Cruz DJ Lorin Ashton is a touring monster. The man is in a club or at a festival every night. It’s a wonder he ever gets anything else done, let alone recording and releasing new material. He’s done it again, quite impressively so, on “Upside Down”, a genre-defying drum and bass/dubstep cut that’s sure to get your eardrums rattling. Divergent Spectrum‘s not set for release until August 2nd, but in the meantime, enjoy this single and catch him live anytime and anywhere you can get the chance.
Since we haven’t set specific parameters on what the “Top Ten”‘s stance is on cover songs, this one’s made the cut. As the header reads, this is a cover of a Brenda Lee song, one that was originally recorded in 1964 – with Jimmy Page guesting on guitar, no less. Tennis’ version is, of course, cutesy as can be, but packs a serious punch. The song’s been a staple in the Denver duo’s live set for a while now, but a proper studio release sees the light of day, and it’s almost as if this song was written for Alaina Moore’s specific set of vocal pipes. Perfect for summer lovin’ everywhere.
Wilco – “I Might”
All right, all right, we know we told you all the songs we included in our weekly top 10 would be available for download from our website, but we couldn’t not put this one in. It’s too good to go without mention. A good chunk of Wilco’s forthcoming The Whole Love has been shown off live, but “I Might” is the first track showcasing what Jeff Tweedy and co. have been up to in the studio, and I must say, it’s glorious. Wilco (particularly Jeff Tweedy’s sweet, yet somehow rugged voice) is like a fine wine: better with age. They’ve still got it!
Wugazi – “Sleep Rules Everything Around Me”
This had to have started with the pun. The Wu-Tang Clan and Fugazi portmanteau is just too good to let these two bands go un-mashed-up. The even more perfectly named 13 Chambers, which melds Fugazi’s 13 Songs and The Wu’s Enter The Wu-Tang (36 Chambers), drops July 13th presumably on the mysterious group’s website. What is summer if it ain’t got a mashup? Maybe next year we’ll get the long overdue It Takes A Daydream Nation Of Millions To Hold Us Back.
A forgotten glug from Mastodon’s flagon of metal was premiered on the Adult Swim Singles Program this week. “Deathbound” a previously unreleased track, simply slays. It also comes with a video that will make you think of Mr. Rodgers’ Neighborhood… if it were a war-torn hell-scape full of killer monsters and robots. If all this doesn’t make you want to buy a seven-string, I don’t know what will.
While this track may have absolutely nothing to do with the famous Caryl Churchill play of the same name, its trip hop by way tomorrow feel makes for welcome companion if you find yourself alone on a rainy night. A pinched drum track and suspended synths are trance-like, but there’s enough change-ups to warrant repeated listens. Plus, the more you listen, the more you learn how to love things, I think.
A good sister piece to Zola Jesus’ track, another cocksure songstress who’s coming up with her first LP Rapprocher. “Keep You”, the first taste from the the album dream pop with a more aggressive edge, and has a bit of that mid 90′s radio single vibe, too. That’s a good thing.
What do you get when cross Twin Peaks composer Angelo Badalamenti with the growl and eccentricity of Tom Waits? Reductively, that’s Future Islands. But they seem to be moving in a different kind of direction here than their previous work. As I pointed out at their live show, new songs like this have a stronger mold and are smoother around the edges; contained or not, Sam Herring’s pathos is well-earned on this track.
