For the uninitiated, "Don't Tell a Soul" is my ongoing, semi-regular awesome* mix tape series.This is just the latest installment.
As always, to encourage the consumption of music (that doesn't suck), I have provided -- wherever available -- links to free, artist-sanctioned MP3s of the songs.**
*No joke.
**At least they were free and artist-sanctioned at the time of this here blog's posting.
Enjoy!
Matt
(Questions or comments? E-mail mperrine@duluthbudgeteer.com.)
1. Josh Harty - "Trouble"
Josh Harty is a former North Dakotan and a very nice man -- and "Trouble" is the folk rock equivalent of Marilyn Manson's "The Beautiful People."
p.s. If you missed his show at Beaner's Central last weekend opening up for labelmates Tom Feldmann & the Get-Rites (and something tells me you did...), you should be kicking yourself.
Hard.
2. All Smiles - "Summer Stay"
Believe you me, I said enough for the both of us right here. Either/or, a strong contender for single of the year and album of the year (for its "parent album," mind you).
3. The Format - "The Compromise" (acoustic)
Speaking of meaningless lists, this song's studio version probably would've been last year's single of the year had its parent album not been a member of ... you know, "The Best Albums of 2006." (Remember the rules, boy, the rules....)
So -- you got through all that already? -- what's stopping its acoustic version from getting some "DTAS" lovin'?
4. Brendan Benson - "Get it Together"
R.I.Y.K.O.S.O.H. the Raconteurs.***
5. Dizzee Rascal - "Stand Up Tall"
R.I.Y.L. the Surfactants but wish they were a little less electro-hybrid straight outta the Land of 10,000 Lakes (whatever the hell that means...) and a lot more U.K. grime.
6. Tim Armstrong - "Oh No"
R.I.Y.L. Rancid's "sunnier" sides -- like "I Wanna Riot," the group's collaboration with the Stubborn All-Stars on the "Beavis and Butt-head Do America" soundtrack.
7. Arcade Fire - "Neighborhood #1 (Tunnels)"
I once thought "Funeral" was an overrated album. What a fool! This is easily one of the most beautiful songs of all time (right up there with its "sequel," "Intervention").
The harmonies are simply haunting, like something off a stellastarr* or Pixies album.
8. My Diet Pill - "Cockroach Blues"
For me (and you too, hopefully), My Diet Pill is France's pre-eminent musical export/gift to the world (sorry, Air!) -- and I only came across them by accident.
Remember the good ol' days of Audiogalaxy, when every f*cking song was labeled wrong? Well, for the longest time I was under the impression that a live version of My Diet Pill's "Sandy's Bathroom" was a long-lost Pixies gem. So, determined to (obsessed with, really) finding out the track's true author(s), I somehow stumbled upon the right group.
Fast-forward half a decade later (that was another one of those UMD freshman episodes...) and singer Vlad is sending me a secret link to the group's forthcoming EP.
And let me tell you, my friends, it is four songs of compacted pure imagination; this sh*t will blow you away when it drops. It's like the group kind of just took off after albums one and two (samples available here), kicking their collective songwriting skills into interstellar overdrive.
9. Tiger Army - "Afterworld"
Imagine a world where J Church, the Smoking Popes and the Reverend Horton Heat shared the stage, and then you might understand what this song sounds like through words.
No?
Not even close?
I tried.
Kind of....
10. Charlie Parr - "You Can't Win"
I don't want to say too much about this hot new track from the prolific Parr's next masterpiece, "Jubilee," since I'll be ... using all the clever phrases I can muster next week in the Budgeteer when I review it. (Want to hear it yourself? "Jubilee" and Parr's Porter will be both be unveiled June 6 at his weekly Midweek Bracer at Fitger's Brewhouse. Click here or here for more information.)
11. Tom Feldmann & the Get-Rites - "One of These Days"
Hopefully Feldmann's "Jesus is magic" vibe doesn't turn you off, because this guy (and his Get-Rites ... I'd never forget the Get-Rites!) has talent -- and his spot-on show at Beaner's last Saturday night was proof positive. (Although "One of These Days" isn't available for sampling on his Web site, others are.)
12. Beulah - "If We Can Land a Man on the Moon, Surely I Can Win Your Heart"
"Beulah Saves." That's what my favorite T-shirt says, and I'm stickin' to it. (I'll get around to linking to my interview with Miles Kurosky someday, I swear.)
p.s. Best song title ever, no?
13. Peter Walker - "Talk to You"
FYI: Peter Walker is the co-founder of Dangerbird Records (thanks for putting out Jim Fairchild's All Smiles debut!) and a couple of his tracks are available on his personal Web site.
14. The Old Soul - "River of Daughters"
The Old Soul breaks the mold; this is some of the most original music to come out since Tim DeLaughter unveiled his sun cult ... err, the jubilant Polyphonic Spree.
15. Band of Horses - "The Funeral"
This is common awesome mix tape fodder, I admit, but it's been in my head lately.
16. Stephen Malkmus - "Leisurely Poison"
As has this glorious track from the Pavement renegade master.
17. Oasis - "Don't Look Back in Anger"
This is for my co-worker "Suoj' Bomb," since he never shuts up about these blokes.
Pleasant tune though, I must admit.
18. Locksley - "Why Not Me?"
Unlike Oasis, this nameless, faceless Britpop group could actually benefit from a little sibling rivalry-splashed-all-over-the-news action.
Ha! I just checked to make sure Locksley was actually British, and they're from freakin' Mad Town ... they're fellow Cheeseheads!
19. Busdriver - "Less Yes's, More No's"
R.I.Y.L. Grayskul's collaboration with Aesop Rock, "Voltronic Instructional Espionage," or P.O.S. -- when he actually sings.
20. The Draft - "New Eyes Open"
This is like a generic, pop punk Roy, but, still, it's not like Roy's put out anything this year.
21. The Hush Sound - "Crawling Towards the Sun"
Yes, this group's latest album features production work from Fall Out Boy vocalist Patrick Stump, but don't hold that against them; this is like a succulent (ha!) fusion of Let Go and the Apples in Stereo. Pretty decent, indeed. (Plus, I know this shouldn't matter -- at all -- but vocalist and keyboardist/pianist Greta Salpeter is a stone cold fox! As Wayne Campbell and Garth Algar would say/motion....)
22. Northern Room - "We're on Fire"
Like fellow Cheeseheads Locksley, the lads in Northern Room definitely play up a certain amount of U.K. influences on this track. (Think positive, like the Doves.)
23. Storyhill - "Loose Summer Clothes"
You can never go wrong with the pride and joy of Bozeman and/or Montana's answer to the Jayhawks.
Never.
***Hey, if you can figure out that acronym, you're either A) "Small Wonder" Wendy Jo or ... is there a B) outside of me?
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