Blog: Mixtape Muse

The Roots - How I Got Over MMMMM The Roots have released nine, count 'em nine, full-length studio albums. They've also released two EPs and two live albums. Before I was ever a fan, they were playing house gigs at poetry slams, forging relationships with the likes of Jill Scott, Erykah Badu, Mos Def, Talib Kweli, Common, and more. On top of that, legendary Roots crew percussion man ?uestlove was the lynchpin for all the [...]

Thanks for stopping by, San Francisco. Stripmall Architecture, project of Ryan and Rebecca Coseboom, are helping me convince myself that I love covers. Do I? We shall see. No but really: In anticipation and support of the fan-funded (according to press materials) Feathersongs for Factory Girls (Part One), this dance-rock outfit brings us a rather timely cover of a record that is sure to top "Best Of" lists come next November. This is Happening is already one of the most talked about albums of the year. So cheers to [...]

MP3: Maps & Atlases - "Solid Ground" Rhythm can sometimes be everything when it comes to a song. The way everything works together to form the overall rhythm is dependent on the individual rhythms of each instrument -- and that's what makes the music so interesting. Guitars cut in and out while woodblocks click and clack, back and forth. Layered percussion snares you in, pulling you inside until you're surrounded by panning vocals and rolling drums. If there was ever a song to epitomize layered arrangements, it's this one. [...]

• Maps & Atlases - Solid Ground

It's the first of the month, and that means it's time for another edition of "What's Your Muse?" The concept is simple: We ask a band/artist to choose a song that means a lot/the most to them. Then, they record and send us a video of themselves describing why they chose the song. Think of it like a collaborative video mixtape project. In this edition, we hear from Postelles frontman Daniel Balk. [...]

Dylan Gilbert is an indie rock musician from North Carolina. But it's not that simple. His musical talent reaches far beyond the confines of the indie rock genre, and it becomes apparent within the first few seconds of his new album, entitled Pangaea . Gilbert has a penchant for experimentation, often implementing unconventional sounds into his music. But he never strays too far from the goal: Making fantastic rock songs. Gilbert may only be 22 years old, but Pangaea is his third full-length album, and after scanning his performance history , my [...]

One of the side effects of being obsessed with Pitchfork Media is that I analyze music way too much. It has become, on occasion, super hard to take music at face value. Maybe it's for that very reason that Mujeres’ self titled debut, out now via Rough Trade, has been playing on repeat, both in my head and on my speakers…there ain’t much to think about! The Barcelona-based garage rockers have certainly taken quite a few pages out of the Black Lips’ playbook (hopefully excluding inclinations to urinate on each other) with very, very positive results. Standout tracks “Blood Meridian” [...]

It's always nice when great musicians come together not just to make something beautiful, but to also help raise money for a good cause. Today marks the release of the Dirty Projectors' collaboration with Björk entitled Mount Wittenberg Orca . The music for the 7-track, 21-minute collection was first conceived to be performed unamplified in a small Manhattan bookstore. The direction of the material was guided by a conversation between band mastermind David Longstreth and Björk about the small theaters in Italy where opera was born in the 1500s. Mount Wittenberg Orca was rehearsed [...]

The Thermals - "I Don't Believe You" Download over at Pitchfork I first heard this song a few months ago when The Thermals were in town, touring with Past Lives and The Coathangers. On record, it sounds even more fast-paced than I remember it. The song continues the band's tradition of producing infectious indie (pop) rock that's bursting with energy. "I Don't Believe You" is the first single from the band's forthcoming Chris Walla-produced album, Personal Life , their second release for Kill Rock Stars and [...]

Thanks to Paste Magazine for the help on this video, posted 3 months ago on YouTube. I know we talked about Wilco covers yesterday, but this is sort of a role reversal. Jeff, ever the crowd-pleasing performer with his playful jokes, ditches yet another classic from Yankee Hotel Foxtrot in favor of Ms. Knowles' monstrous radio/club/everywhere hit. So it's Wilco covering someone, not Someone covering Wilco. See, we vary our content, geez.

M4A: The Broken Inn - "All In Your Head" M4A: The Broken Inn - "I Don't Know Why" Summer's spent in garages and at backyard parties. Everyone knows everyone. You see the same people and grow into the comfort of familiarity. A few of the guys from the group are in a band, and they play these backyard parties every so often -- and these are always the best parties. We have the best time when Dan, Nick, and Colby jam. We just sit back with [...]

SWEET. From subpop BUY: EXPO 86 is out today on Sub Pop. Pick it up here .

As previously reported , Dead Confederate will be releasing their second full-length entitled Sugar on August 24th through TAO Recordings/Old Flame. Of the album, guitarist/lead singer Hardy Morris says, "We're a loud, big-sounding band, and wanted the album to be fun and creative - instead of just recording the songs. It's not like we decided we couldn't have anything grungy or heavy; that's just not all that we're interested in. You can listen to the record a bunch of different ways. What we were doing felt right." Check out a new song [...]

Syracuse quintet Ra Ra Riot are set to release their sophomore album, The Orchard , on August 24th through Barsuk. The album is the follow-up to the band's critically-acclaimed debut LP, The Rhumb Line . The title of the new recod was inspired by where the band recorded. Learn more about The Orchard below. (Directed by Taryn Gould and Emily Kowalczyk) The Orchard was produced by the band and Andrew Maury and was mixed by Chris Walla (with [...]

Max turned me on to this cover awhile ago. A little Googling will turn up some info on this Chicago soul band, and a rather pretentious writing voice . But let's not get judgmental about tone, because JC & The Uptown Sound really have something going here. This a different cover, but I like that. For some reason people just haven't been able to sack up when they cover Wilco (read: Norah Jones covering "Jesus, Etc. "). This a great treatment of the song. Sometimes when Max and I have sat around jamming on this track, [...]

(Photo: Pam Settler) I think what's most difficult about songwriting is the process of arranging. Songs can be straightforward and still effective -- just "three chords and the truth" as they say. And then there are songs that can be rife with twist and turns, making the music infinitely interesting. With respect to the latter, music takes on this completely captivating quality, not just because of its inherent eclectic nature, but because of its ability to evolve. These songs sound like a cross between Pinback [...]

the band in Heaven - "a Tunnel into Your Dreams" a Tunnel into Your Dreams (demo) by the band in Heaven the band in Heaven - "Summer Bummer (rough)" Summer Bummer (rough) by the band in Heaven There is an echo in my head that keeps repeating. It's incessant and it never goes away. Just as I can never escape certain feelings, I cannot escape this sound. It is a distortion-laden, droning, yet beautiful [...]

The strength of Geographer is their ability to write songs that sound like they could be just as effective on an acoustic guitar with sparse instrumentation as they are in their electronic setting. By bringing the songs into the electronic world of synth blips, beeps, and beats, the band provides the music with a level of sheen that adds a certain amount of innocent appeal to their uniquely heartfelt and warm songs. Instead of getting stagnant and burying the emotion of their songs under the weight of electronic instrumentation, Geographer manages to keep things human through the incorporation of natural [...]

Are you one of those people who think they have every album available from your favorite band? Have you snagged all the LPs, the vinyl editions, and downloaded web-only covers? I fancied myself a Spoon fan. Not a diehard by any means, but certainly someone who kept up on band-happenings. I'd seen them twice live and am still sifting my way through the deeper parts of their library. Still, for some reason, unless it gets rave reviews, EPs hardly ever come to mind as legitimate parts of a discography. (Call me ignorant [...]

Graham Czach - "Windows" "Windows" is tight and yet ever so fluid. It starts subtly enough, but eventually kicks into something incredibly powerful and uplifting. Czach cites Jeff Buckley as an influence, and it's certainly evident here -- especially when he hits those insanely high notes vocally. Czach works in tension and release and can deal quite a kick going effortlessly from the soft to the quick and loud. He's an incredibly skilled musician, but is also sensitive to how a gripping melody can be just as effective as an impressive guitar solo. [...]

OK Go staring contest. Zach Galifianakis cameo. Awesome.