Little Dragon - Seconds

Man on man, I've been bad lately. But I've been really good in other, professional aspects. I'm not sure if anyone even really cares on this side of the pond anymore. I find myself constricted on where to focus my attention a lot of the time. And still, I find myself singing those great lyrics: "But honestly, and be honest with yourself, how much time do you waste? How much time do you blow every day?" It's pretty honest stuff really.

I'm here writing about my end of year lists for various outfits and I'm thinking about the blog in the back of my head. December has been a mostly good month I would say and it certainly hasn't dragged on - it's moved like a fast, steady roller coaster actually. Anyways, I'm writing about how I love that M83 album, the Burst Apart is the best, Feist's voice (reminders reminders) and actually making a list and compiling a major one for a print magazine and I got this song, "Seconds," in my head.

I'm spinning all kinds of music and listening to all kinds of stuff, while writing about an assortment of different albums and I got this song in my head. Her voice is spectacular for starters, the steady beat is sweet and as an album closer, it's remarkable. I've got to say that this is an awesome band that I really enjoy, this album is firmly in my top 20 of 2011 with a feel every now and then to sneak in the top 10. it's so good. Here's to this song being engraved in my musical memory for a bit before I jam out to Undun again - amazingly special album, too, btw.

Anyways, the lyrics too. They are very sweet. This album kills. I hope to write more. - Bryan

New Music & 2010 Songs, Pt. 2

On that same night, Lets’s Wrestle was touring with Titus Andronicus and although the latter could have been the night’s own headlining act, they played second with their exceptional musical ability. Before the show, a few of the member sat around some of the couches at their merchandise table and humored me as I hovered over all of their music. They had both of their albums – including their latest triumph, The Monitor – available, as well as a few 7” and one special, tour-only 12”. Amy Klein would sit on one of the couches and cutely smile when someone approached her and asked about an album but even though I was there to hear everyone, lead singer Patrick Stickles showed up to deliver wonderful comedy interspersed between asking for a drink, speaking to fans or even, checking out Let’s Wrestle.

If you go to their site, you can read Stickles’ entire thoughts on the first phase of their tour and you can read about how much he loved Nice Nice (more on that later) but as for his band’s own show, let’s just say that they owned it. Musicianship is always a top priority for me and this band has multitudes of it. It was amazing hearing their studio songs come to life underneath the band’s rolling energy. And everything is done with such emotion and passion that even just as a member of the audience you feel the need to jump in. Highlight of the show: singing, “You will always be a loser” about forty times straight, as loud as possible, with the band. Below is the opening song to that aforementioned album, there’s a reason why they’re one of Rolling Stone’s “Top 10 Bands of 2010.”



And here is a taste of what Gorillaz conquered with their newest album, Plastic Beach. One of the best songs of 2010 is their song “Empire Ants” that features Little Dragon. Starting off tranquil but with a cloud of foreshadowing, Damon Albarn softly sings before leading into an explosion of synths. It manifests into a towering electronic display of tremendous strength with Yukimi Nagano’s fantastic voice riding on top of everything. - Bryan