Nate Ruess Likes This: The Long Winters

So, looking through some old copies of Rolling Stone (not that old – just a month or so), Nate Ruess put together a little playlist of his current favorite songs, including tracks by Tame Impala, Wilco, and A$AP Rocky. This one, by The Long Winters, caught me by surprise. It’s pretty sweet. According to the fun. frontman, the group was put together by the keyboardist from Harvey Danger (see “Flagpole Sitta”). Very poppy. Check it out.

Oh, and here’s that Harvey Danger track.

Happy listening!

-zach

Another New JT Song!

Well, here’s another one. I think it’s my favorite so far, even though it lends so so so heavily from “My Love,” with the beatboxing and whatnot we got with that earlier gem. Let’s revisit it:

I still like “My Love” better, just because it’s so damn sexy and really can’t be topped by anything new that JT could put out (sorry, it’s true). It’s clear that this is a more mature, “I wanna settle down” JT. Very reflective. Too many words. Check it out. It’ll probably be on the radio soon so tell everyone you heard it here first.

-zach

That Guy from the Grammys: Mikky Ekko

Alright, so those of you who (like me) spent that Sunday night a few weeks ago expecting to see something awesome at the Grammys and felt a little cheated other than that Taylor Swift performance that was absolutely bonkers might have caught this dude singing along with Rihanna on her one touchy, slow, emotional song she’s probably ever done. That kid was Mikky Ekko, and he’s pretty awesome. Other than that collab with Rihanna, he’s put out quite a few EPs over the past few years. Here are my two faves:

Happy Listening!

-zach

CTFO: Emancipator & Bonobo

The first day back to work/school/whatevs after a long weekend can always be a hard one, and that’s why we’re going to spend the evening CTFOing, as M.I.A. tells us to do:

So, for that, we turn to Emancipator and Bonobo. Maybe some bonus Tycho. First is Emancipator. I had the tremendous luck to be introduced to him by some great friends of mine (the same that turned me on to Macklemore almost two years ago) and have been able to catch him in concert twice. You can turn it on and pay attention, or turn it on and forget about it. It’s brilliant either way. And lucky for you, he just put out a new album.

Bonobo is next. I suppose I should have mentioned him first since Emancipator actually played his first live show opening for Bonobo, but whatevs. Also very downtempo, Bonobo puts out some great stuff.

Last, here’s Tycho. Saw him open up for Emancipator the first time. Chill-ass dude, and he pairs his music with some nice visuals that he also spends a lot of time on.

Happy listening!

-zach

Baauer & TNGHT: A Lesson in Trap

Most, if not all of you are familiar with Baauer’s “Harlem Shake” and the hundreds of 30-second videos it has spawned on YouTube. However, you may not exactly know what it is. It’s kinda hip-hop, kinda dubstep, all kinds of cool. This, my friends, is called Trap. It’s a sub-genre, and it’s coming up in a big way in the music scene whether you’ve realized it or not.

Below is a great little EP put together by TNGHT (Hudson Mohawke x Lunice) that I think is a great introduction to the sub-genre. Must-hits are probably “Goooo” and “Bugg’n”

Also, just as an excuse to get some Diplo in this post, here’s a trap remix of Major Lazer’s “Original Don” done by Flosstradamus. It’s insanely amazing and you can get it for free on Flosstradamus’ Soundcloud – extra bonus!

Happy Listening!

-zach

Some Subtle Skrillex

Okay, so for my first post after this “re-boot,” I thought I’d bring you a little of what seems to be everyone’s favorite dubstep (or bro-step) artists, Skrillex. Our first, a collab between Skrillex and Damian Marley, came to me while I was playing Farcry 3. Great game, but that’s beside the point. It is heavily influenced by reggae (duh, Damian Marley…) which I like just because it reflects the true roots of dubstep.

Next, we have Skrillex and A$AP Rocky teaming up on a track from A$AP’s album Long.Live.A$AP, also featuring rapper Birdy Nam Nam (I seriously do not have any idea where they get these names from). It’s a chill little track that would be nice to drive to.

The main reason I like these tracks is because Skrillex takes a step back from the main stage and becomes more of a producer. A lot of his other tracks feel like they’re attacking you and gettin’ all up in yo’ biz. That’s nice too, but I’m enjoying this side of Skrillex. I’m hoping it sticks around for a while.

-zach

Not So Salty: A Delicious Re-Boot

Alright, so it’s been over a year since I’ve posted on this blog, and honestly, it’s kinda killing me. I love sharing music and getting the “good word” out there in the world, but it got to the point where it felt like I had to do a whole lot of extra work in order to do that, and it wasn’t so much fun anymore. I didn’t have a whole lot of time, and for the most part I still don’t have a lot of time. However, my desire to share awesome music with the people far outweighs that.

So, I’m going to start posting again here, but it won’t be nearly as involved as it was in the past. Now, it’s primarily going to be me just posting links to great music on Spotify. Maybe I’ll give some background on the song and the artist and why I like it, or maybe I won’t. We’ll see.

Hopefully, you’ve got Spotify. If not, you should probably get it or just not read my blog. But, without Spotify, I don’t think you’ll really like the blog.

Oh, and if you don’t have Spotify, you can get it here.

Now I’d like to collect my money for all that Spotify plugging.

-zach

LISTEN: The Asteroids Galaxy Tour – Heart Attack

From the band that brought you “Around the Bend” and “The Golden Age” from Apple iPod and Heineken commercials, respectively, we get this organ-filled jam, “Heart Attack.” From their new album Out of Frequency, dropping January 31st, the track is just as catchy and dance-able as their previous hits, and I wouldn’t be surprised if it found itself on a commercial for Honda or Nissan. They do a great job of  bringing in older sounds like the organ (also see “The Golden Age”) and make them sound so good. Check out the track below!

REVIEW: Grouplove – Never Trust A Happy Song

Indie newcomers Grouplove hit “feel-good rock” gold with their single “Colours” and an iPod commercial slot with “Tongue-Tied.” While everything seems to be going their way, debut album Never Trust A Happy Song fits a niche really well, and doesn’t do much else.

DOWNLOAD: Star Slinger – Dumbin’ (Feat. Reggie B) (Diplo Remix)

Absolute brilliance right here. It’s equal parts chill and uptempto, with glitchy scratches to give it some texture. The original is decent, but Diplo‘s magic hands get the job done. Download below!