my recent picks, november 2011

Hip-Hop: Childish Gambino. It would take me 5 years to write lyrics this referentially dense.



Rock: The Raconteurs. I am astounded that music this good exists in modern tymes.



Pop Punk: Four Year Strong. New album out is not as mean as their previous releases, but strong nonetheless. More melodic. The production is bombastic and awesome as always. I would buy these albums for the outrageous production value, even if I hated the music.



Soul: Mayer Hawthorne. You can't f*ck with Mayer Hawthorne. He's cooler than cool, and he's bringing it back. And yes, that first video is as badass as it looks. Hot chick gunfight.








You know you like my style

mixtape 2011

I made a mixtape with my favorite songs of 2011.

It's 40 songs, about 3 hours.


It is available here.

Unzip the folder, then use the AAA.m3u playlist file included in the folder to load the songs into your music player. The playlist file is important because it will put the songs in order, and as you know, song order is important on a mixtape.

-Hunter


Not all songs are from 2011 - they are just the songs of my 2011.

thile / daves "man in the middle"

brad paisley - this is country music

dispatch ep

old fashion ladies

This is a band that I found out about through a guitar-nerd forum (shout out to the SDUGF). They are a French rock band caught me way off guard with how awesome they are.

Sounds like Foo Fighters, Rage Against The Machine, Guns & Roses, Muse, Porcupine Tree, Radiohead, Our Lady Peace.

Kind of puzzling to nail down a style, because each song seems like it's by a different band. My guess is that the players in this band are all highly musical in their own right.

Example? Here's their guitar player doing a particularly badass Britney Spears "Toxic" cover.



Anyways, their EP came out on Tuesday, and it kicks ass. you can stream it in full here.

-Hunter

new beastie boys coming 3 may 2011

-Hunter

foo fighters - wasting light

This album is BAD-ASSED. With a D.

Recorded entirely on analog tape in Dave Grohl's garage or something, this album sounds like what made me like the Foo Fighters so much when I was in the 5th grade. Not that I had great taste in music back then, but hey, maybe I did.

When I was 10, I was not influenced by the ridiculousness of genre and what the bloggers are blogging about and who is on what label.

I didn't do any thinking about music - I just heard stuff and thought either "THAT WAS BAD-ASSED!" or "NOT GNARLY." Those were the only two types of music.

Well the Foo Fighters have really BRUNG THE THUNDAH with this one. In so many ways.

How about less words and more rocking? Listen to this.



-Hunter

what I've been listening to recently

Here are some of my recent music purchases. I am putting them out there this way (ugly formatting, no tactful descriptions) because I don't have much time to write like I used to. I still like sharing music, though, even if I can't pack my descriptions and reviews with metaphors and lulz. I didn't take the time to embed the YouTube videos(I barely took the time to write this disclaimer), but don't be a lazy ass - just scroll-wheel-click them. Especially Bernhoft.

Jarle Bernhoft's "1: Man, 2:Band" 2 disc set (one solo, one with a band)

He is a Norwegian soul singer, who has an amazing voice. Actually amazing. He is a badass acoustic guitar player and loop artist as well - he does the whole one-man-band thing really well, without the gimmicky feel of some other loop-heavy solo acts.

Watch this video first: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GjEsAEsYCw4
Watch this video second: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GAnC7RTAMok

 


Sam & Dave's "The Best of Sam & Dave"

Timeless classic stuff. Makes me feel good. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PeL8EPBZN6M
 








Peter Frampton's "Frampton Comes Alive"

Turns out that his stuff is awesome, beyond the talkbox lesson that is "Do You Feel Like I Do." http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aKmVFB3bcZM

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Fitz & The Tantrums's "Pickin Up The Pieces"

New soul --- motown vibe, with more modern subject matter. Cool New York swagger. I hate that word, but I'm trying to take its power away by using it properly.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bb6cBKE3WzQ

 







Further Seems Forever's "Hope This Finds You Well"

Remember the time that Dashboard Confessional frontman Chris Carabba had a badass alt-rock band with one of the best drummers ever? Then he left and the new singer was even better than he was? This band is long defunct, but for some reason, I wanted to listen to them recently so I grabbed their greatest hits, which, thankfully, exists. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jOHi4x1po0s

 







Warren Zevon's "The Best of Warren Zevon"
Jimmy Buffett thought Warren Zevon was a badass. Jimmy Buffett's always right. Zevon wrote "Werewolves of London" but has a lot of other great songs. Cynicism and macabre all the way, but dressed up in breezy, plucky summer strummers. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=opXCOUgjOOY

 







Foo Fighters's "Foo Fighters"
The original debut album - recorded entirely by Dave Grohl in his garage almost 20 years ago. So pumped for their new album - it sounds like this old album. This is very 5th grade nostalgic for me. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gfXIR9lOlXQ

 







Bright Eyes's "People's Key"

This band just keeps getting better and better. That never happens. You either love or hate 'em. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yLAMg6o5w2s










Woo, that felt good to get out. Sorry I don't write (very frequently) any more.

-Hunter

circa survive - dyed in the wool