Music Monday 67: Bumper Edition.

Jay Electronica - Act 2 Blink 182 - After Midnight Florence And The Machine - Shake It Out J Cole (ft Jay-Z) - Mr Nice Watch Lana Del Ray - Blue Jeans Futures - Say My Name Bon Iver - Beth/Rest (Piano version)

Music Monday 65.

I'm very excited about this week's post, a couple of superb colloborations and a couple of highly anticipated comebacks.

Bon Iver and James Blake - Fall Creek Choir Boys



Wow. There was a huge amount of excitement when this was announced. Two of the most critically acclaimed artists of the last two years join forces, and wow. It is the perfect about of Bon Iver and the perfect amount of James Blake. I don't think anyone expected anything less.

Lady Gaga - You And I (Wild Beasts remix)



Now as far as expected colloborations goes, I don't think this can be put down as one of those. Wild Beasts, again, were one of the most critially acclaimed artists this year with the fantastic Smother album, and Gaga, is well, Gaga. This remix works perfectly. It is dark and haunting, and you get lost in the track, well done Wild Beasts (yes, I'm giving them most of the credit).

Florence And The Machine - What The Water Gave Me



Remember Florence? You know the one that played every festival and had her music on every advert and montage possible? All from her debut album? The debut album was fantastic and deserved the success it got, however, it is definitely nice to hear something new. And with almost a million and a half views in just a few days, I'm not the only one to hear something new. I can't say it is dramatically different from the first album, but if it ain't broke.

Ben Folds Five - House

http://www.nbc.com/sing-off/about/benfolds.shtml

Ok, I can't find a version of the song that I can embedd anywhere, so the link will do. But it's Ben Folds Five's first song in over a decade. Yep, a decade. If you don't know Ben Folds, he's covered Dr Dre with an orchestra and has had Chatroulette on a projector during a gig. Yeah, he's cool. And very talented, go listen.

Music Monday 31.

Here weeeeeee goooooooooooooo!!!!

Marty - Break Free



I stumbled across New Jersey MC Marty this week, and I'm very good I did. Break Free, his first real video (and a lovely shot video, if I may add), sees Marty rhyming over RJD2's amazing Smoke and Mirrors. Marty appears to be one of those effortlessly talented performers. His raps at first appear laidback and almost lazy, but you quickly learn to appreciate the speed and accuracy of his rapping. Love it.

Marty - Flawless



Yeah it's Marty again. SO WHAT? I couldn't decide between these songs, both totally different, both totally amazing. Another track off the debut, yes debut, mixtape "The 25th Hour: Hut One".

The Maccabees - Walking In The Air



With a lot of my recent listening turning towards hip hop and rap, mainly thanks to Kanye, Jay Z, Cudi etc, it's nice to go back to one of my favourite indie bands. This cover, put together by Seat of all people, is genius. Orlando's somewhat haunting voice takes over Aled Jones' track to produce a epicly eerie version of Walking In The Air. Now this would be a lovely Christmas number one, just saying.

Theophilus London - Oops



Want to get the world's attention Theophilus London? Well get Linsday Lohan to shot a drugged up porno, cover Tweet & Missy Elliot and stick it on Youtube. BOOM!

The XX - You've Got The Love (Theophilus London Remix)



Oh hey Theo again, what do you want to do now? Get The XX's cover of Florence and The Machine's You Got The Love and then remix? Ok. Wow, look how well that turned out. His input makes this song sound even more fresh and relevant than it already did.

Music Monday 21. BUMPER EDITION.

Right, there's so many songs in this week's update. Don't ask me why, don't complain. I'm not. No words, just music.

Brother - Darling Buds Of May




The Vaccines - If You Wanna



DJ Shadow - I've Been Trying



Unicorn Kid - Wild Life (Nu Remix)



Chromeo ft Ezra Koening- I Could Be Wrong



Florence And The Machine Vs Yeasayer - Dog Days Are Over



Sleight Bells - Infinity Guitars



Architects - Day In Day Out (CLIP)




Mark Ronson Ft Boy George, Business International and Miike Snow - Somebody To Love Me





And breathe.

Albums of 2009

Yes, I know, albums of the year, sorry. There is a million of these coming out at this time of year, and by no way is mine meant to compete with them, but I thought that I would just share it.
In no particular order:
Alexisonfire - Young cardinals/Old crows

For me, this was probably my most highly anticipated album of the year. And yes I know I should have grown out of this screaming shit, but I havn't and I don't care. One of my favourite bands ever and having seem them recently live for the first time, my affections towards the Canadians continue. Like any great band, the album is a clear progression from the old but with Alexisonfire still scribbled all over it. Starting the album screaming "We are not the kids we used to be" they burst into what they do best, ever so slightly maturing this time. I never want this band to stop.

Jay-Z - The Blueprint 3

Probably one of the most anticipated albums of the year full stop. And with anticipation comes hype and expectation. And yes of course Jay-Z lives upto it. I'm not claiming I love every single song on here, but others more than make up for it. Empire State of Mind has dominated the latter part of 2009, with Run This Town also having huge success. Many of the songs have collaborations, some big names, Kayne, Rihanna and Alicia, some are new on the scene; Drake and J Cole. But you know if Jay Z has picked them, they are some thing special. Something to watch out for. Blueprint 3 sees the Jigga Man boasts his albums success slamming Elvis and The Stones, some may see this as arrogance and disrespectful, but boy can he back up his claims.

Bombay Bicycle Club - I Had The Blue But Shook Them Loose

BBC fully exploded onto the scene in 2009, mainly due to a big helping shove from BBC R1 introducing. Having only just left school, these guys produced an unbelievable album of clever riffs and equally lyrics. Songs such as Magnet and Always Like This will never grow tired to me. There surely has to be even greater things to come from this band, and going on this album, that is very exciting.

Miike Snow - Animal

As soon as I heard 'Animal' it had something special and different about it. There was a lot of mystery surrounding the two-eyed Miike Snow initally, however their credentials soon appeared. The Swedish pair have produced songs for Madonna, Kylie and even Britney's Toxic. However do not let this put you off. The indie/electro/pop group pack in a mixture of tunes, giving a good variety, not something that you get from most albums. It produces some huge tunes such as Animal and Black & Blue.

Mumford & Sons - Sigh No More

Again when I first heard the single of this stunning album, "Little Lion Man" I instantly wanted to hear more. Accompied by the autumn months, this acoustic folk produced some of the most beautiful music I have heard this year. The array of instruments offered something different from the other indie and acoustics acts around, and in this case different was definitely better. Beautiful playing matched with an amazing rusty voice is perfection.

Phoenix - Wolfgang Amadeus

This insanely happy French electro indie pop act are going to be big very soon. Already featured in big advertising campaigns, this catchy album is simply a pleasure to listen. It will make you smile, nod your head and ears happy.

Florence and The Machine - Two Lungs

Like many of the artists here, Florence and The Machine suddenly burst onto the scene and possibly Florence more than any other, dominating 2009. With fiery red hair, an amazing voice and individual style, Florence and her Machine produced an amazing debut album. Many of the songs have been played to death on radio and TV, forcing me to tire of the album. But listening to it just the other day reminded me of just how damn good it is.

Passion Pit - Manners

After hearing the song "Sleephead", that has turned out to be one of my singles of year, I quickly got my hands on Chunk of Change. This EP was written for the lead singer's girlfriend for Valentine's Day. Soon followed was the album, Manners. The electro pop act is something pretty new and fresh to me. With a strangely good voice, and family of synths this is a very, very good album.

The Maccabees - Wall of Arms

There a so many great, great songs on this album, No Kind Words, Love You Better and Can You Give It? to name but a few. This is a fantastic piece of mature indie pop, with great riffs and uniquely beautiful voice, it all comes together very nicely.

Biffy Clyro - Only Revolutions

I will be the first to admit that I jumped on the Biffy bandwagon along with everyone else this year. I've got friends that liked them when I was in year 9, but I shamefully did not give them a listen until this year. Puzzle is a fantastic album, I loved every single song. Is Only Revolutions better? No, not in my opinion. But its very close. There are some massive songs on there, Bubbles, Captain and of course, Golden Rule. Puzzle set a very high standard for me and Only Revolutions is almost up there, which is no way a bad thing.


So there you are. My top 10 albums. I think. Its difficult to remember albums from the first half of the year, and I strongly relied on my Last.fm. I don't claim this is a definitive list or a fantastic review, but I'd like to hear what you think. If you havn't heard any of these albums, I obviously strongly suggest you do, and if there's any you think I've missed, I'd love to know.