Michael Jackson - "Thriller"

This is the seventh single off of the album of the same name...the best selling album OF ALL TIME. It reached #3 on Canadian Singles Chart, and #4 on the Billboard Hot 100. This oft imitated video has been mimicked by Phillipino prisoners, at weddings , with lizards featuring Naomi Campbell, by Lord Vader, and by Bollywood.

This is because the original is so iconic. Thriller was the first "movie" video I can remember. It was an Event, when it was shown on the video shows for the first time. The video is directed by John Landis (American Werewolf in London, Animal House, Blues Brothers, etc. etc) for a budget of $500,000. The voiceover at the end is by horror film legend Vincent Price. It also drew criticism by busy bodies that it promoted occult imagery, leading to MJ's disclaimer at the beginning of the video. In 2009 it was added to the National Film Registry by the Library of Congress, the first music video ever selected.



Enjoy it again for the first time! Happy Halloween!

Phantogram - "Mouthful of Diamonds"

Phantogram are a two piece band from upstate NY, who started recording together in 2007. They've opened for a bunch of fantastic bands (Metric, Caribou, The xx) and played some big festies (Bumbershoot, Coachella, Sasquatch). They're debut album 'Eyelid Movies' came out in 2010, and this track was the first single.


They have a new EP being released on Nov 1 on Seattle's Barsuk Records.

Change Leopardon - Canvas Shoes

Off of Summer Cuts 11, this track rocks my late night rockedness tonight.

  

Broken Social Scene - "Hotel" (Page Turner/Childish Gambino Remix)

Childish Gambino (formerly known as Page Turner) is the musical pseudonym of Donald Glover the actor & comedian best known for his role on NBC's Community. He is releasing his debut album in November, but this remix of Broken Social Scene's 'Hotel' was something he put together a few years ago.

Hotel (Page turner Remix) - Broken Social Scene by Childish Gambino

Great Lake Swimmers - The Chorus In The Underground

Some things just reek of Canadiana: Neil Young, The Guess Who, Rush, The Tragically Hip, Sloan, Arcade Fire, and the Great Lake Swimmers.

AlunaGeorge - "You Know You Like It"

AlunaGeorge are an up-and-coming UK duo featuring the talents of a sexy soul vocalist (Aluna?) and a house oriented beatsmith (George?). They've got a radio-friendly pop sound on this number, which I can just imagine being played on BBC Radio One.

SEPALOT - "Rainbows"

SEPALOT is a German DJ who hosts a radio program out of Munich. He also produces, and has recently released his album "Chasing Clouds". Sepalot deconstructs classic records into samples, and reconstructs themreating fantastic & classic sounding tunes. This one has a great vibe to it.



I typically don't feature a video if I don't feel it adds to the song, but I've got a soft spot for a vintage Mercedes. Sepalot is the driver.

'Please Return it' - The Posies

'You Avoid Parties' - The Posies

If I was ever a 'groupie' of a band, these guys were the ones. Somewhat local boys, from Bellingham, Washington, this band probably had as big an influence on my own music style as anyone. Melodic, sickly sweet harmonies that got stuck in my brain. Maybe they will get stuck in yours too.

'You Avoid Parties' -

Bjork

Continuing in the Icelandic vein...the First Lady of Icelandic pop Bjork. She recorded her first album in 1977 at the age of 12! She played in punk bands through her teens with interesting names like 'Spit and Snot', 'Exodus', Jam-80, and Tappi Tíkarrass (which means "Cork the Bitch’s Ass" in Icelandic). She got together with the soon to be members of The Sugarcubes to form KUKL ('Sorcery' in Icelandic) in 1986, and soon the band changed their name.

The Sugarcubes released their debut album, Life's Too Good, in 1988, to critical acclaim in both the UK and the US. They first came to notice in the UK when radio DJ John Peel played "Birthday". It became an indie hit in Britain, later voted single of the year, and a college radio hit in America. The Sugarcubes released two more albums before an amicable break up in 1992. Here's "Birthday":



Bjork has released seven albums post-Sugarcubes each with a unique and varied sound, or a particular theme. My all-time favorite Bjork tune is from her second album 'Post', an electronic album, released in 1995 and featuring production from Tricky, Howie B, and Graham Massey of 808 State. This is "Hyperballad":



Bjork's latest album 'Biophilia' was released last week. Each track has an iPad app, and Biophilia will be the world's "first app album" in collaboration with Apple. Björk has described the project as a multimedia collection "encompassing music, apps, internet, installations, and live shows". Other instruments used on the album and in Bjork's live performances harness lightning to create sound. Her lead single is 'Crystalline. The song was composed using one of several specialized instruments custom built for the project.



These last videos are by frequent collaborator Michel Gondry (Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, The Science of Sleep, The Green Hornet).

Feldberg - "Dreaming"

Feldberg is an Icelandic duo formed by Eberg (Einar Tönsberg) and Rósa Birgitta Ísfeld from Reykjavik. This sweet slice of pop was featured on the Kitsune 9 compilation.

Star Slinger - Remix of "Rollerskaters - Sleep Tight"

When I first heard Star Slinger, I didn't think much of them. In fact, I found them kind of annoying. But, as it is with many new sounds, they grew on me. And – while I still prefer Rollerskaters original version of this song on Summer Guide 11 – Star Slinger has managed to find a regular spot on my at-home playlists that I shuffle through the day.

Enjoy.

Elena Leaves (2011) ~ An Autumn Indie Mix

Every autumn I release an "_____ Leaves" mix, where the blank is filled in with something relevant to my life at the time. This year Elena, who's become like a member of our family, is going back to England. Tomorrow, actually. We will miss her dearly.

Links are at the bottom of this post. I have prepared a torrent and an iTunes playlist for those of you who would like to purchase straight from iTunes and support the amazing artists/bands whose tracks make up this great list.

Enjoy! 

Elena Leaves (2011) Tracklist

1. Got It All (This Can't Be Living Now) / Portugal The Man
2. Beautiful Trash / Lanu
3. You'll Be Mine / The Pierces
4. Our Hearts Are Wrong / Jessica Lea Mayfield
5. Almost There [feat. Lauren Hillman] / Opus Orange
6. Charlie Parker / I'm From Barcelona
7. Shotgun Smile / The Monday Mornings
8. Tigers / Stephen Malkmus & The Jicks
9. Whole Love / Wilco
10. Matador / Maria Taylor
11. Culture War / Arcade Fire
12. White Hill / A Little Nothing
13. Blackeye / Love Inks
14. My Mistakes / Eleanor Friedberger
15. Red Alert / CSS
16. Chinatown / Destroyer
17. An Old Photo Of Your New Lover / The One AM Radio
18. Options / Gomez
19. Stay, Please Stay / Oh Mercy
20. Into The Wilderness / Burning Hearts
21. East Harlem / Beirut
22. Look At Me Now / The Elected
23. I Think I'll Call You Mine / Parlours

Purchase "Elena Leaves (2011)" from iTunes (your $$ go to artists)
Download "Elena Leaves (2011)" as Torrent from Demonoid

Feist - Caught A Long Wind

I can't say things have been exactly conducive to upbeat music for me lately, and I've been listening to lots of traditional Chinese music (go figure) in the pentatonic scale, the same scale the blues are based in, while I work. This track of Feist's latest album totally fuses all of the sounds that have been resonating with me in one, super mellow, and slightly melancholic, song. Enjoy.

 

Chico Mann - "Ya Yo Se"

Chico Mann fuses latin rhythms, afro-beats, and electro into a funky fusion. This tune is from his debut album 'Analog Drift' out on Wax Poetic records.

The Strokes - "Life is Simple in the Moonlight"

Ahh The Strokes. When their debut album 'This is It' dropped in 2001 it was like the second coming of rock and roll for me. I had just started grad school, was living in Vancouver, away from my significant other, and was enjoying/lamenting a second bachelorhood. I was deeply immersed in electronic music at that point, and The Strokes brought a vibrancy that was missing for me in rock at that time. They were the soundtrack to many many a good night.

In one guys bathroom near the computer lab was engraved the names of lots of rock bands, The Beatles, Led Zeppelin, Kyuss, Deep Purple, etc. I'm proud to say I added The Strokes on there. That's the magnitude of their importance for me at that time.

This track from their 4th studio album 'Angles' and is a return to form for them. Their 3rd album 'First Impressions of Earth' was an attempt for mainstream radio appeal, and was a bit of a flop. While nothing will capture the magic of that first album, (although their second album 'Room on Fire' came hot on the heels of the first and was pretty damn close), this tune is one of my favorites from the new album.

B.T. Express - "Happiness"

The B.T. Express were a funk group from Brooklyn, who pioneered some of the dance oriented funk that evolved into disco. This song from their 1975 album 'Non-Stop' is one of my favorites.

FUN - 'We are Young' - feat. Janelle Monae

Yelle feat. Crookers - "Cooler Couleur"

This French electro-pop band released their second album "Safari Disco Club" this year. They remind me a bit of Stereo Total, a band Regan was pretty infatuated with a few years back.

The Boom Chucka Boys - "Hockey Hockey Hockey"

Saw these guys this summer at the Central Alberta Music Fest back in August. A local band with a rockabilly vibe. This ode to hockey was inspiring tonight.

All hail the greatest game in the world!