EPISODE 1: Meanwhile..in a control room in
the back of the theatre...
Song: Fly That Knot
Artist: Talib Kweli ft. MF DOOM
Album: Right About Now (2005) / Unexpected Guests(2009)
Label: Koch / Gold Dust
Heard this by way of Doom’s excellent ‘Unexpected Guests’ compilation of guest spots and collabs. Something right smack in the vein of “Old Skool” – their collab on the Dangermouse produced “DangerDoom” record. Though I’m more a Daniel Dumille devotee – this is a tight team effort we thought would only be appropriate as our inaugural tone-setter for the cast. Welcome to it.
Song: Little Secrets
Artist: Passion Pit
Album: Manners (2009)
Label: Frenchkiss
This song (and album for that matter) contains some of the catchiest hooks for a feel good electro-pop disc that will have you bouncing. The vocals have a more or less love-it or hate-it vibe to them with high falsettos, but definitely add to the stand-apart factor these guys bring, setting them ahead of others in a genre quickly becoming saturated with autotune and synth beats.
Song: Daylight
Artist: Matt and Kim
Album: Grand (2009)
Label: Fader
I don’t know what it is about the way matt sings “Oh-shunnn” – that give-a-flip sex pistols reinterpretation typical of the way the best music lately reinterprets its influences with more love than care – but I like it a lot. I’m not the first person to write that besides the spunk of their suburban funk – this band charms you defenseless with the obvious in-band love story. Watch any video (I recommend Lessons Learned) or peep any press or live photo and you’ll see what I mean. Imagine that a yelpy synth dork met a punky drum chick and they’re still that much into each other after all this music! Inspiring.
Song: Dawn of the Dead
Artist: Does it Offend You, Yeah?
Album: You Have No Idea What You're Getting Yourself Into (2008)
Label: Virgin
For a debut album from this Reading, England based band they definitely came out swinging, but with a name like Does It Offend You, Yeah? you can imagine that these are probably some pretty creative guys in their own right. This song in particular is a more radio-friendly jam, but still gives a good indication as to what you can expect from the rest of the disc. A very electro-rocking album that's worth checking out.
Song: Goodbye
Artist: P.O.S.
Album: Never Better (2009)
Label: Rhymesayers
This album has been referred to as 'skateboard rap & punk-inspired', but what I find the coolest is that Stefan (P.O.S) grew up listening to hardcore bands (i.e At The Drive-In, Refused) and is a founding member of rap label Doomtree. Because of this, P.O.S's 3rd album 'Never Better' has garnered quite a bit of attention from the punk/hardcore community, and for good reason. This disc isn't a typical hip-hop album about 'what i have & who i know' but more so pointing out the absurdities of pop-culture, and rapping with a message, all over original punk-inspired beats and bumping basslines.
Song: Pa-Pa-Power
Artist: Dead Man's Bones
Album: Dead Man's Bones (2009)
Label: Anti
For those who don’t know already… this band is comprised of (besides the Silverlake Children’s Conservatory Choir) one Zach Shields (featured singing on this cut) and friend Ryan Gosling. Yes – that Ryan Gosling. Ryan Gosling has a band, and it is BRILLIANT. The whole idea was originally supposed to be a low budget musical based on the sort of nostalgic kitch of childhood hallowe’en costume monster-mashiness meets a folk gothic sundown western drifter Kung-Fu the legend aesthetic. The youtube videos for “In the room where you sleep” and “Name in Stone” will sell it better than I ever could. I’ll add that I drove to Montreal to see them perform – kids choir in ghost costumes and all – and it was one of the best things I’ve ever seen. The whole album is worth a serious look… (and maybe check out “Lars and the Real Girl” while you’re at it. ;)
Song: Admit It!!
Artist: Say Anything
Album: ...Is A Real Boy (2004)
Label: Doghouse
Say Anything's first major album is one of those discs that can be put on and played entirely through without any weak songs. Max Bemis, the mastermind behind it all, writes some of the most quirky punk/pop songs that one could imagine. This song in particular takes a shot at all the hipster elitists and shows just how ridiculous they look the majority of the time. If you enjoy the sarcastic, satirical, quirkiness of this song, you'll definitely enjoy the whole album. A must have, in my books.
Song: Hour 1
Artist: Decomposure
Album: Vertical Lines A (2007)
Label: Blank Squirrel Musics
Canadian Caleb Mueller is a Graphic Designer by day. I love that story. Something about music being a mode of expression that doesn’t require a career commitment means that amazing records can come from the voices of people who see music composition differently than a typical musician might. The point of this record was something along the lines of Mueller documenting every hour of one particular day with a 60 minute cassette tape, and then turning the bumps and clicks of every hour into a song along the lines of what you hear here. (Fans might also check out fellow Canadian ‘Woodhands’ for similarly liberating tubey distorted vocal range expressiveness on less broken beats.)
Song: Kiss Of Life
Artist: Friendly Fires
Album: Self Titled (Bonus Track Re-release) (2009)
Label: XL
Believe that you will be hearing more of Friendly Fires on the snobcast. Excellent representatives of the UK “New-Rave” blip that caught our attention, and helped inspire the original “Music Snob Nights” back in the Med, this bonus track is, for me, an outstanding sonic concept. Those breakthrough harmonies, and arpeggiating “ooh-ooh” melodies in the chorus are like something out of a vintage sunbleached acid rockin’ 70’s biker flick – that AND the best seseme street funk! (You KNOW what I mean!)
Song: Montage Artist: TMDP
Album: Self Titled (2009)
Label: YYZ
A bit of pastel pastiche of 80’s movie / TV soundtracks to brighten the snobcast. You might want to take this opportunity to train for the big race, coach a team of kids to softball greatness, or clean your parents’ house up from the ‘big party’ last night, before they get back from their business trip. For those others of you whose first favorite obsessable song was the theme from Beverly Hills Cop. Out on their own Toronto based YYZ records.
Song: Growls Garden
Artist: Clark
Album: Totems Flare (2009)
Label: Warp
Choice cut from a dark and always brilliant if sometimes difficult record (way less so than the sort of thing Warp used to be known for, mind you – been so much enjoying the reign of Grizzly Bear, Prefuse 73 and Jamie Lidell, thanks!) The way this song baits you into hearing the track as one sonic size, and then switches it up to pummel you with dirty electro is qualification enough – but dang! How are they pulling off that “Vocal”? Layered part growled, part robotic, part (gorgeously harmonized) sung and part whispered, I haven’t been so compelled by something so crushing in a long time. Hope you made it through!
Song: My Girls
Artist: Animal Collective
Album: Merriweather Post Pavillion (2009)
Label: Domino
Merriweather Post Pavillion has been hailed as THE release of 2009 and has even made it on 'Best Albums Of The Decade' lists from hipsters and mainstream critics alike, across the globe. The album is one of the most original releases in quite sometime, and has been called a 'summation of everything Animal Collective has done before' (this being their 8th studio album) A must have for everyone.
