#38: BED HANGERS

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I've been watching a lot of Lord of the Rings recently. Like, a lot. An unhealthy amount. I also happened to be listening to quite a bit of metal. Fantasy and metal should never be too far apart. Why wouldn't you combine the most epic stories with the most epic music?

There really isn't much to say about most of these bands. If you already listen to this type of music, you've probably heard most of them. The playlist spans a few different sub-genres, but it's all pretty bad ass. And some of it is about orcs. So that's cool. Also, the last song is added in as a joke because it's hilariously stadium-rockish. Enjoy.

1. Rainbow in the Dark - Dio
2. Bloodangel - Axxis
3. Flight of Icarus - Iron Maiden
4. Danger On the Track -  Europe
5. Into the Storm - Gamma Ray
6. Black Dragon - Luca Turilli
7. Destroy the Orcs - 3 Inches of Blood
8. Ride the Lightning - Metallica
9. Run With the Wolf - Rainbow
10. You're the Voice - John Farnham

#37: NIGHT LADIES

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Well, look what the cat dragged in from the frozen dead winter. It's me, ya dummies!

Nobody asked for it. Nobody demanded it. There were no eager crowds clamoring for new music outside my apartment window. There were no threats of violence or self immolation in protest of my absence. AND YET I chose to come back and bug the shit out of you with my obnoxious persistence. My persistence to prove to all of you lovely people that there is a shit load of music out there that needs to be heard. You're welcome? Or rather, thank you for putting up with this elaborate vanity project. You're all my sweethearts. All 12 of you.

Today I bring you some nice little jammy jams that I've picked up over the past few weeks. I'm preparing my trip to SxSW this year so a number of these bands are in that massive line-up. Listen for the influence of The Knife in Kate Boy's track, they're the millionth super talented band to come out of Sweden recently. That Sun City track has been blasting through my stereo non-stop recently. Foxygen not only have one of the coolest band names to date, but they have a new album that came out this week that I have been enjoying thoroughly. Born Ruffians are an old favorite from my Canada obsessed days, and guess what they're back/never left! Lots of other fun stuff to check out, this baby is part dancy, part just-jammin. Take that however you will! Enjoy.

1. Northern Lights - Kate Boy
2. Half of It - YesYou
3. Walking With Giants - Blondfire
4. The Follower - Sun City
5. Little Numbers - BOY
6. FFunny FFriends - Unknown Mortal Orchestra
7. Shuggie - Foxygen
8. Nova-Leigh - Born Ruffians
9. Thunder Clatter - Wild Club
10. Hurricane - MS MR
11. Sol. - Mausi

BONUS: HAVE A DREAM THEY SAID

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As promised, here is a less self-serving/therapeutic post. In order to get yourself in the right state of mind for this one, go on a little daydream adventure with me. Imagine you're 17. You're sitting on a dilapidated couch in your friend's garage on a hot summer day watching your other friend's band play. Their instruments are loud, their vocals and abrasive, but they're having tons of fun. Everybody is. You've got a room-temperature Coors Lite in your hand that you've been nursing for the past hour. Two of your friends just got in an impromptu wrestling match on the garage floor while two girls look on and laugh. The girl you've had a crush on all summer sits next to you on the couch and your knees touch each other. Neither of you say anything, you just sit there watching the band fall all over themselves, spilling bear and blaring out guitar solos. Knees still touching. A completely pure garage rock moment.

Alright, you're ready. Things to look for in this playlist: SF bay area bands! Hunx and His Punx, Twin Steps, Terry Malts, Shannon and the Clams, Sonny and the Sunsets. All with their own unique energy and sound. Hunx you may know from his previous band Gravy Train!!!!, the bay area based crazy electro group. I've mentioned Twin Steps and Sonny on here before, they're still amazing, I'm still a big fan. Shannon and the Clams is a new discovery for me and I'm looking forward to seeing them locally as soon a possible. Happy Birthday and King Tuff (both Kyle Thomas projects) make an appearance, kicking you in the face with thrashing pop sensibilities. FIDLAR is a band that sounds like they would beat you up, but you'd be totally ok with it, because they'd be wasted and so would you and you're still cool with each other. Shit happens. On the softer side, Donnie & Joe Emerson present the perfect ballad "Baby". This album was originally recorded in 1979, when the boys were 17 and 19 respectively, and was finally reissued this past summer thanks to the label Light In The Attic. It's haunting and amazing. Enjoy the rest as well!

1. No Waves - FIDLAR
2. Private Room - Hunx
3. Perverted Girl - Happy Birthday
4. Hypnotic Mind - Jeff the Brotherhood
5. For the Last Time - Turf War
6. Baby - Donnie & Joe Emerson
7. Wave of My Emotion - Twin Steps
8. Gremlins Crawl - Shannon and The Clams
9. Something About You - Terry Malts
10. Wild Desire - King Tuff
11. Too Young To Burn - Sonny & The Sunsets

#36: SUICIDAL PRIDE

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This just got personal. The Moutain Goats. So much to be said, and so much time to say it in. I first heard TMG in the beginning of my senior year of high school. It was perfect timing. I was immediately drawn in by the lyrical complexity and beauty of frontman John Darnielle's writing. He has the ability to weave novel-like stories seamlessly into song and paint such vivid pictures with the fewest words. Usually when I tell people that my favorite band is the Mountain Goats (closely tied with The Smiths/Morrissey), I'm met with blank stares. Then I try to play them a few of my favorite tracks or a few of their most popular songs ("No Children", "This Year", etc) and people usually tell me that I like sad music or that I must be a sad person. Maybe that's true (it's definitely true), but in this case I think there is something to be said for the artistry of song writing. Telling a story, whether it's literal, figurative or just a series of emotional stimuli, is never an easy task and becomes even more complex when set to music. John Darnielle is a sniper-like raconteur with his sights set firmly on the soft spot of my heart. No matter what type of emotion is your default setting, sadness, anger, joy, lust, fear, elation, there is a Mountain Goats song for you.

This playlist is a selection of some of my favorite Mountain Goats songs. They are not in order of preference or chronology but arranged in a way to create a panoramic view of an artists career, which spans the past 20 years. Ranging from the earliest recordings done by John on his boombox, to the blaring horn arrangements of their newest album Transcendental Youth. Instead of artists names, which would get redundant, I'll just put what album each track is from. Please, enjoy.

1. Going to Georgia - Zopilote Machine
2. Cry for Judas - Transcendental Youth
3. Palmcorder Yajna - We Shall All Be Healed
4. Hast Thou Considered the Tetrapod - The Sunset Tree
5. If You See Light - Get Lonely
6. Alpha Omega - Protein Source of the Future...Now!
7. Game Shows Touch Out Lives - Tallahassee
8. Damn These Vampires - All Eternals Deck
9. Dinu Lipatti's Bones - The Sunset Tree
10. Isaiah 45:23 - The Life Of The World To Come
11. Steal Smoked Fish - "Steal Smoked Fish" (Single)
12. Love Cuts the Strings - Protein Source of the Future...Now!
13. Transcendental Youth - Transcendental Youth

MASQUER - BILLS, BILLS, BILLS (DESTINY'S CHILD COVER)

Hahaaaaa oh man guys, this is a great one. Really takes you back to your rolling backpack days. Masquer, the post-punk duo from Sweden, broke through the musical ether last year with their single "Happiness." And just this past week they released their Covers EP for listeners on Spotify. The first track off the album, a trippy, heavy beat take on the Destiny's Child hit "Bills, Bills, Bills." It's dope. The whole EP is great. Please go check it out.

#35: AU FRANCAIS

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I like French things. I like the sound of the language. I enjoy French new-wave cinema. I like French food (which as far as I know is anything fresh with a lot of butter). I like their culture's long history of appreciating jazz. I like the cliche fashion that is associated with France. I even like the Parisian stand-offishness or rudeness. I guess it's enticing because I'm a social masochist. Oh, and I also enjoy French music. A lot.

Here is a little taste of stuff I like. Some names are immediately recognizable: Serge Gainsbourg, Brigitte Bardot, Edith Piaf, and Francoise Hardy (who was prominently featured in the soundtrack to the most recent Wes Anderson movie). Some others you won't know but they each bring something a little special. Henri Salvador brings a little bossa nova flavor to the classic french style. Charles Aznavour is like a french Tony Bennett, it's weird, but good. Jacques DuTronc brings in a '60's rock sound that is reminiscent of the Animals or Love. He has some really catchy but really playful stuff. Jaques Brel and Gilbert Becaud are both fantastically poetic lyricists. They bring such interesting cadences and nuances to their songs. Perhaps they're less accessible but I really like it. I like all this stuff! Enjoy it!

1. Putain De Toi - Georges Brassens
2. La Dame Patronesse - Jaques Brel
3. Je T'Aime Moi Non Plus - Serge Gainsbourg, Jane Birkin
4. Nathalie - Gilbert Becaud
5. Une Chanson Douce - Henri Salvador
6. Fanny Ardant et Moi - Vincent Delerm
7. Suzanne - Francoise Hardy
8. L Hymne A l'Amour - Edith Piaf
9. For Me Formidable - Charles Aznavour
10. Dequis Que Tu M'As Quittee - Brigitte Bardot
11. Et Moi, Et Moi, Et Moi - Jacques Dutronc

P.s. y'all, I don't speak french. If you do, I hope that doesn't impede your enjoyment of this music.

#34: GOOD DAY

The following is an experiment in three parts.

I've spent the past few days in southern California, primarily Los Angeles. LA is a place I've had a tumultuous relationship with in the past. I was born and raised in northern California and trained from birth to hate anything south of Fresno (not that Fresno is anything to write home about, it's more of a Mason-Dixon line than anything else). I dislike the freeways here, the massive cars filled with massive people who all drive like selfish idiots, the fact that everything is so spread out, the fact that it takes 2 hours to drive 10 miles, the fact that intellectualism is frowned upon, the industry the city is built around which functions solely on the false idea that anyone can make it big, the fact that there are so many scientologists and equally dangerous pyramid schemes, lest we forget the Dodgers. So many things to dislike. And yet, I also have a love for this place. A love a bury deep down inside and tell no one about. Some of my favorite music comes from this city. The comedy scene that I'm most fascinated with and passionate about was formed here. I have a love for classic Hollywood and even the allure of the current movie/TV business. I constantly find myself in a bipolar state of anger and comfort. It's like taking a really shitty nap. Anyways, this weeks playlist is my attempt to paint a musical picture of a day in LA.

First, we have the morning. The bright sunlight breaks across the hills and valleys. St Lucia's driving synth bass pushes along like Helios' chariot. The final refrain repeats over and over as you stretch out of bed. It's a bright morning, and your music reflects as much. Snappy beats, bright synths, sing-a-longs in the car.
Next, we have the afternoon. The afternoon is light and airy as the Allah-las wavy beach guitar twangs into your eardrums. Maybe you'll head to the beach, maybe you'll meet up with a friend for lunch in Silver Lake, or maybe you'll just drive up and down Sunset trying to kill time. Afternoons in LA are raw and poisonous. They're rock and roll.
Finally, we have the night time. The sun sets but the city is just waking up. Alt-j slaps you in the face and tells you what you're about to experience. Suddenly, it seems like everything is made of lights and moving all around you. The cars and people weave together like a choreographed dance of demonic pleasure. There are too many things to do, too many chances for happiness and danger. As you start to fade, Icona Pop shakes your soul for one last time, letting you know the city will be there tomorrow to ruin you and rebuild you all over again. Somebody take me home.

1. September - St. Lucia
2. Bright Whites - Kishi Bashi
3. Cast Away - Strange Talk
4. Fog of War - Young Dreams

5. Sandy - Allah-Las
6. Hollywood Forever Cemetery Sings - Father John Misty
7. It's Too Late - Wild Belle
8. Triangular Daisies - Rubblebucket

9. Fitzpleasure - alt-J
10. Runaway - Mr Little Jeans
11. Regalia - Savoir Adore
12. Sun Goes Down - Icona Pop (ft. The Knocks & St. Lucia)