Jape - Floating

This is possibly my favourite song of all time.  I don't know if I can say that, can I?  That's probably too big a claim, but I really can't think of a way this track could improve.  Irish electro-rock - what's not to love?  Just listen:

Rosi Golan (feat. William Fitzsimmons) - Hazy

This song was shown to me by my girlfriend before we went out, and it's grown on me. I just have a real love for Rosi Golan's voice, probably because before I listened to her my favourite female vocalists came from London, and so I liked the variety. The album, The Drifter and The Gypsy (her debut), isn't the best by far, but this is a stand out track from it:

It's a nice wee love song, with a lovely vocal and some loose harmonies, but if you want a more consistently enjoyable female vocalist I would recommend Emmy The Great, especially The Easter Parade from her debut album.

The Jim Jones Revue - Shoot First

So this is a track my friend Hat put me on to.  I can't say I was especially interested (though she insisted that I buy tickets to the upcoming show), but I must admit this song's grown on me.  There haven't been so many riff-heavy songs recently, and the guitars have a real dirty, swampy, sleazy tone to them.  I feel like it should be used in a Digital Kitchen title sequence.  Enjoy:

Since I did mention Digital Kitchen, you should check out Bad Things by Jace Everett.  You may even recognise it.

Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds - Do You Love Me (Part 2)

Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds are one of the most unique and interesting bands I think I've ever heard. Their album, Let Love In (released in 1994) is, for me, the highest point in Cave's successful career. His work with The Bad Seeds is fairly varied, but this is the ensemble at it's best. As a song, this is truly chilling. The vocals hold a very warm feel, while the piano screeches through to pierce your eardrums. Not to mention the terrifying lyrics. This is the official video from Youtube:

Obviously you can't mention Let Love In without including it's center-piece, Red Right Hand. This must be Nick Cave at his best.

Nouvelle Vague - Too Drunk to Fuck

I got onto Nouvelle Vague through an Optimo mixtape I have, How to Kill the DJ, Part 2.  This track comes from a fantastic album full of covers of classic songs done in a Bossa Nova style.  Apparently, when recording the album, Marc Collin and Olivier Libaux deliberately chose female vocalists who didn't know the source material well so that the tunes could be reinterpreted in a more interesting way.  This track is a Dead Kennedys cover, and I do love my punk, so it's an obvious favourite.

It's nearly impossible to choose any more music from the album because each and every track is worth a listen.  Keeping with the punk theme, however, I must draw your attention to Making Plans for Nigel and Guns of Brixton.

Million Dead - Achilles Lung

A musical obsession of mine is the singer-songwriter Frank Turner, but when it came to introducing him to this blog, I decided to put in a song from his old hardcore-punk days in Million Dead. I was turned onto this particular song by my brother, and loved pretty much everything about it. It was released in 2005, on the Harmony No Harmony album, after which the band went their separate ways. The lyrics are well thought out and plain comical at points, but what makes this song incredible, for me, is the vocal line sung by Frank. It goes like this:

 

A similarly brilliant song from Million Dead would be After The Rush Hour, but the entire album these songs come from does have a good few treats within it.

Portishead - The Rip

This track is a lovely, chilled piece of music which builds perfectly.  From the Third album, which is a must-have as I'm sure you know, according to Wikipedia the track was previously called Mystic.  This is certainly my favourite track from the album, but is enhanced by watching the official video, which is worth a look all by itself:

Also worthy of note for any Radiohead fans is the video of Thom Yorke and Jonny Greenwood playing a cover of the track backstage at a show in St Louis.  For a more polished live version, check out Portishead playing Live on Jools Holland here.

Townes van Zandt - Waiting Around To Die

Upon recently receiving Heartworn Highways for my birthday, I thought it'd be fitting for my first post to be the centerpiece of the film. Waiting Around To Die is a song from Van Zandt's album, For The Sake Of Song, originally released in 1968. It's one of my personal favourite American country-folk songs. Here's a  video clip of the song from the film:

If that's something you'd like to hear more of, check out Dead Flowers, one of his lesser known songs.

Foals - Blue Blood

This song is pretty recent, pretty well known, but it really does deserve a mention here.  I was never a huge fan of Foals in their Mathletics days - I liked what they were doing but it was a little bit sparse and I wouldn't really choose to put in on the stereo.  With this new album, however, they've discovered reverb.  The result is a wonderfully big, lush sound with lots and lots of space.  The opening track, Blue Blood, is the perfect example of this:

You may also want to check out Spanish Sahara, which was the first single released from Total Life Forever.

The Clash - Train in Vain

I guess I haven't really set out any kind of mission statement here, so this song might be a bit of a departure from my earlier posts.  The lack of formal structure is for this very reason, so that I can throw anything into the mix if it appeals.  In other words, I haven't really worked out exactly what I'm doing here yet.

This track is not only a classic, it's absolutely fantastic for fitting into playlists and mixtapes (which is what this is really all about!).  It's simple, catchy and The Clash at their very best.

I don't need to tell you that the album is a must-have for anyone with a pulse, but for any die-hard punks out there who haven't heard it, I'll point you in the direction of The Gaslight Anthem's I'da Called You Woody, Joe - which is one of many songs you could find written about Joe Strummer, but certainly one of my favourites.

Arcade Fire - Half Light II (No Celebration)

There's almost nothing harder than picking a favourite track from a complete album.  Well, I'm doing just that with this choice - though I really would recommend that you listen to the whole album as one complete piece of music.  This track, however, does stand out.  It's instantly catchy and a sprawling mess of a song, much like the subject matter.  Arcade Fire do this perfectly and this song is nearly perfect.

Tegan and Sara - Arrow

This is the first track from Tegan and Sara's latest album, Sainthood.  I've really enjoyed this album and this track in particular has been on my iPod a lot recently.  I really think that they've nailed that indie-you-can-dance-to vibe that so many other bands and outfits are trying to do right now. 

From the same album, I'd definitely recommend you check out On Directing and the punk-rockier Northshore if you have the time.

Elliott Smith - Say Yes

So I woke up singing this song this morning, it seemed appropriate to put it up.  I don't listen to as much Elliott Smith as I once did, but this song always makes me smile.  I especially love the line, Crooked spin won't come to rest/ I'm damaged bad at best.  It's a short song, but one that I hope you'll enjoy as much as I do.

While we're on the subject, if you're not already aware of it, you may want to check out The Biggest Lie by the same artist -  the video on YouTube by Nickolas Rossi is quite emotional.

Massive Attack - Blue Lines - Hymn Of The Big Wheel

This is a track I've known for a long time as an amazing ending to a great album, however, it's recently become something of a fixture in my morning routine (unfortunately for my colleagues, this means singing snatches all day under my breath).  It's just a lovely way to start the morning, especially since I've had a few early starts recently.  This really helps the transition from asleep to awake, night to day. 

The vocal on the track is from Horace Andy, who also sang on Angel.  If you don't have it already, buy the album.  If you just want the track, get it here.

Kevin Tuffy - Oh Dearest Daughter (ft. Laura Marling)

This song's a few years old now, another Myspace discovery from a time just after Laura Marling's debut album came out and everything she touched was gold.  For a long time the only place you could find this was Kevin's Myspace page.  There's something so great about this track, I think it's something to do with the lyrics and the delivery.  The harmonies come in at exactly the right times to lift the storyline.  Check it out:

Another Laura Marling collaboration from the same time was 5 Years Time by Noah and the Whale.  It can be found here.

The King Blues - Mr. Musicman

I'm in a good mood today, and I can't help but smile every time I listen to this song.  It was a friend's Myspace profile song and that's how I discovered The King Blues.  They're a little bit more mainstream and a little more polished these days since signing with Universal, but you should definitely check out album Save the World, Get the Girl and, like me, look forward to the follow-up they'll be releasing sometime this year.  I hope this song makes you smile too:

Another great track from the same debut album is Come Fi Di Youth, which has a more raw, punk edge.

Death from Above 1979 - Black History Month (Josh Homme Remix)

This is a track I discovered a few years ago on Youtube, but the video was then removed and I honestly began to believe I'd imagined it.  I searched and searched and all that I could find was a brief mention on Discogs, which is user generated.  Suddenly, a few months ago, I had another look and very quickly found the track and a cheap download.  It's even on the remix album.  I love the original song, but something about this remix just completely does it for me.  The tones are abrasive at times, the screams distort, but it works.  I think so anyway.

You can check out the original track here.  While we're on the subject of Death from Above remixes, I might as well draw your attention to the better-known and equally enjoyable Justice remix of Blood on our Hands.

μ-Ziq - Hasty Boom Alert

This is a beautiful piece of music by μ-Ziq, from the album Lunatic Harness.  I know it's not a very popular term, but I'd consider this to be a great little piece of IDM.  I find this quite a soothing, chilled track despite the glitchy drums.  You may agree or disagree, check it out for yourself:

If you like this, perhaps you might also like British Idm Present Fanfare (The Hawaiian Hockey Song) by Venetian Snares.

Joseph Arthur - In The Sun

This song may be familiar to any fans of Scrubs, but it was rewatching Saved! with a friend recently which reminded me of it.  My hangover hasn't yet abated, so I'm still in a very self-indulgent mode and this song's another perfect example.

If you're into this, you may also want to check out Colin Hay, who was featured in a Scrubs episode.  Check out the clip here.

The Indelicates - If Jeff Buckley Had Lived

Nursing a life-threatening hangover this morning, I'm not in much mood to listen to anything particularly challenging.  This track's a nice little ditty from The Indelicates, who seem to be a pretty interesting outfit.  I confess though, that I've not had the chance to listen to much of their stuff.  This song's pretty straight forward and really appeals to me on a number of levels, from the simplicity of the music to the slightly tongue-in-cheek subject matter.  I think the chorus has a nice, uplifting quality to it without being overbearing, which is exactly what I need until this headache subsides.

If you like this, you may want to check out New Art for the People by the same band.

Pete Rock & C. L. Smooth - They Reminisce Over You (T.R.O.Y)

Remember this?  I was listening to the Back to Mine mix by Krafty Kuts, where this song makes an appearence.  You should definitely check that mix out.  According to Wikipedia the sample is "a saxophone and bass sample of Tom Scott's cover of Today by Jefferson Airplane".  This is just one of these song that you can't help but groove to when that sax refrain comes in.

Check out the instrumental version for a more chilled, lazy Sunday vibe.

James Yorkston - Woozy with Cider

This is a song my friend Lewis turned me on to a few years ago and it's always stayed with me.  I think it's pretty appropriate for my first post, for what I'm trying to do here.  This is an excellent example of a strange little piece of music which I've shared with many friends since being made aware of it.  It really is a true stroke of genius, appended to an otherwise uninspiring indie/folk album.  The video - I'm not sure if it's official or just one of these YouTube fan-made efforts - only serves to compliment the music perfectly.  I think you'll enjoy this.

You can buy this track on various websites and iTunes as far as I'm aware.  You can certainly get it here.  You can see the artist's own website here and, for good measure, here's the Wikipedia article too.