Raging Contagion
Music so good it will make you sick!
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Strange Talk – Eskimo Boy
September 26, 2012
— 2 Comments
Similar to: Yeasayer, Passion Pit, Phoenix, Cut Copy
**UPDATE: The demo version has been removed for “some” reason. For this we apologize**
cheerlubber here, bringing you Eskimo Boy from Strange Talk, an electropop band originating from Melbourne, Australia. This particular version is actually the pre-EP-release version that Whuzzerface nabbed when they first appeared on her radar a few years ago. They released their EP last year and changed some of their songs a bit, I think because they added more actual band members to the group. On the EP they re-recorded it…I’m not sure exactly of what all they did differently, but honestly, I prefer the pre-EP version of Eskimo Boy. And when I say “prefer” I mean “love.” There was a time when I was absolutely obsessed with this song. It’s just so great. Before I reset my media player’s settings a few months back, Eskimo Boy was one of my top most-played songs. I especially love the instrumental part at around 3:08. It’s present in the rest of the song too but for some reason it sounds especially epic when the vocals cut out for a time, like it’s gearing you up again. I couldn’t tell you what the song means by “Eskimo Boy,” but one doesn’t need to understand the lyrics or its title to feel the awesomeness of the song. I don’t think this version is available anywhere online anymore (but you know someone who has it -nudgenudge-) but you can still check out the rest of their official EP below:
Antonio Bazzini – La Ronde des lutins
September 23, 2012
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cheerlubber here and yes, I’m posting on a Sunday! I know I haven’t done a Sunday classical post in a long time–I always want to, but sometimes taking a Sunday nap sounds nicer than writing a Sunday post. Today, though, it shall be done!
This rendition of this lively number composed by 19th-century Italian Antonio Bazzini is by none other than master virtuoso, Itzhak Perlman. After we went to his concert years ago, we bought a 2-disk CD of a lot of short, violin/piano arrangements and I love listening to every single track, multiple times. This song is track number 1 on the second CD and is a great way to start the CD off. It’s fast, exciting, and the little, quick pizzicato notes (plucking of the string), which Perlman seamlessly plays in-between bow strokes, add a little spice to the song. Just something light and whimsical for an enjoyable Sunday afternoon. Hope you enjoy listening to it as much as I do!
Ke$ha – Supernatural (The Hair Kid Bootleg Remix)
September 12, 2012
cheerlubber here! Yowza, I disappeared for a few weeks there…coincidentally, school also started back up again a few weeks ago. All I can say is I’m glad I only have one more year of paying tuition. Y’know, school’s really only just getting started back up again but I’m already feeling drained. Oh dear. I’ll keep this short then. Better something than nothing, right?
Now, don’t let the title of this post frighten you. You won’t have to worry about any drunk sing-talking here. But there is a rap. Known as The Hair Kid (which is fitting when you look at the picture), this young fellow is a fledgling DJ/remixer on YouTube, and although I can’t exactly tell, I certainly hope his name is getting around more. He’s pretty under-the-radar from what I can tell but I think he’s great and he’s only getting better. C-bisquit (our other sister–hope you’re keeping track) discovered him a while back when he was doing mostly remixes of Korean or Japanese songs, but he’s since been expanding.
His character amuses me; here’s this kid with long, grungy hair that looks like he’d rather be into death metal and the like, and yet he does funky remixes of pop songs and inserts raps into his remixes that he writes and performs himself. This remix was created from a bootleg sample of a Ke$ha song, posted by (I’m assuming) the producer. I haven’t checked yet to see if the full version of the actual song is out yet because I honestly have no interest in Ke$ha, but I can definitely get down and groovy with this remix. Give it a listen and check out The Hair Kid’s other great remixes as well!
(PS, the picture makes me laugh every time. Even better, the top comment on YouTube says, “which one is ke$ha”)
Annie – I Don’t Like Your Band
August 20, 2012
— 1 Comment
This song is rated: 1 Pill – entry-level for music novices
cheerlubber back again. I really wish we could figure out how to add authors to posts on this layout…I’m tired of trying to come up with different ways of introducing myself. >:c
Today I bring you guys a song that has been a bit of an anthem for us ever since we discovered it. Norwegian singer-songwriter and DJ Annie comes in with guns blazing in this synthpop/electropop number filled with energy and blunt honesty. We love this song because it describes our feelings so well so much of the time. Whether someone has band dreams of their own or if it’s just their taste in music, we often find ourselves shaking our heads in pity at how boring and unimaginative it is. Don’t take this personally though–just as Annie says at the end of the chorus, “It’s not you, it’s the tunes.” If this song offends you, well then just go make some Taylor Swift-inspired song yourself about how you don’t like our music.
Does this make us music snobs? Probably, yeah. Do we care? No. Other people are snobs about different things too–lyrics, for example. Like they have to be deep and thoughtful. Or they have to be in all English. Or there just has to be some, period. While I’m never opposed to good songs with good lyrics, I place far less importance on the lyrics than the music itself, because that’s what it’s all about anyway–the music. Can you listen to a song with great lyrics but terrible music? Barely, if at all. Can you listen to a song with a great tune but flimsy lyrics? Absolutely! At least you can dance to it! Want good words? Just go read some poetry. People complain about needing something to sing along to but how much can you actually hear and understand lyrics–even in English–the first few times around anyway? Why do you need words to shout while listening to a song? If you must at all, just sing along with the music itself.
I’ll stop my rant about lyric snobs for now–let’s just get back to the music. If you’re ever being forced to listen to a song you don’t like, this is a great tune to start singing in your head instead. Take a listen below!
Little Boots – Remedy
August 17, 2012
Similar Artists: Madonna, Kylie Minogue
cheerlubber here. Uhh…did I do that right…? -shrug- As you can already tell, I won’t be putting much thought into this “Similar Artists” thing ’cause I’m lazy (if I ever do it at all, heh heh). And why should it matter–you guys should just listen to everything we post anyway. :P
I feel like I’ve been picking some songs on a whim lately. There’s just so many good things that it’s hard to pick one for a certain day–that and I’m still being tame with my music choices, ah hah. When should I introduce you guys to more electro and more international songs…? Hm, gotta ease you into it…Well today we have British electropop songstress Little Boots. She’s been in the music biz for a while but only achieved mainstream success with the release of her Hands album in 2008. Even though I got the music from Whuzzerface somehow she tells me she’s not very familiar with Little Boots. Hah. Tells you how much music we have if we still don’t know how some of it sounds.
Little Boots has got a great 80s and 90s vibe in some of her other songs on the album (I was originally thinking of highlighting Hearts Collide) but then I realized it’s Friday! Let’s get something dance-y up in here! So I present you with Remedy. It starts off sounding dark and moody but when it hits the chorus things pick up and it’s hard to not dance. I love the main line of the chorus and the song, “Dancing is my remedy,” because it’s true! Having a bad day? Lay down some good beats and dance it off! All too often I turn to music to drown out worries in life, and no better day to let it all out than on Friday. Looked it up and turns out there’s a music video for it; a little boring for the song, imo, but that’s all that matters anyway, isn’t it–the music! Take a listen to Remedy and turn on your Friday dance mode!
Little Boots – Hands on Amazon
Kraak and Smaak – Squeeze Me Tight ft. Ben Westbeech
August 8, 2012
This song is rated: 1 Pill – entry-level for music novices
cheerlubber here with a bit of funk for you today.
I bring you Squeeze Me Tight from a trio of Dutch producers known as Kraak and Smaak, featuring smooth vocals from Ben Westbeech. Aside from getting a kick out of their name, I honestly don’t know much about them. I came across this song by accident somewhere years ago and loved the groovy funk. I haven’t looked into any of their other stuff yet though I really ought to because Squeeze Me Tight is such an enjoyable listen, and the music video is creative as well. I wish I could make delicious triple-stacked sandwiches from a flip book! It’s got a great, head-bobbin’ beat that b-boys would love (for those of you who don’t know, b-boys [and girls] are break dancers), and it’s just such a great tune to boogey down to. I wanted to post something quick, fun, and easy-to-get-into today and this was one of the first songs that jumped to my head. Check it out below!
Kraak and Smaak Official Website
Kraak and Smaak Official Facebook
Kavinsky – Nightcall (Robotaki Remix)
July 31, 2012
This song is rated: 1 Pill – entry-level for music novices
cheerlubber here.
Today I present you with a remix of Kavinsky’s Nightcall by one of my favorite remixers, Robotaki. I first discovered Robotaki about 2 years ago when he was doing a lot of remixes of Korean pop songs (and all those remixes are excellent as well). Gradually, as his skills improved, he started expanding to other genres of music and has been steadily gaining more and more recognition. Two remixes he did (of Chilly Gonzales’ You Can Dance and Shinichi Osawa’s Love Will Guide You) actually were selected by the artists and put onto their official remixed albums. Although there’s not much up-to-date info on Robotaki, last I knew he was attending school somewhere in Montreal for music. He’s Korean and he’s only about 20 or 21. This kid has a lot of talent and I love his style. I had a hard time deciding which of his remixes to do.
I listened to the original Nightcall just the other day and it was so different. Robotaki speeds up the tempo about 100% and I think makes the song much more interesting. What I like about Robotaki is the retro, funky sound he has. His remixes are always fun and exciting. He uses fun, light synths and a variety of percussion. In this track, I particularly love the whistles he adds in (I love to whistle). Take a listen below, and be sure to check out his other tracks too! He’s one you’ll definitely not want to miss out on!
Robotaki’s Official Soundcloud
Little Dragon – Feather
July 24, 2012
— 1 Comment
This song is rated: 2 Pills – intermediate musicologist level
cheerlubber here.
Today we bring you the sounds of Swedish electronic band Little Dragon and their song Feather from their Machine Dreams EP. This was the first song we heard of Little Dragon and it’s still our favorite. Again, it features some simple 80s synths and a–what we like to call–‘chillwave’ sound, a sort of modern take on the new wave genre that arose in the 80s. Listen to Feather and I’m sure you’ll figure out why it’s called chillwave. Its slow progression and subtle sounds create a relaxing, dreamy feel. Not really sure what the lyrics mean (fyi, the singer is Japanese-Swedish), but they add to the surreal-ness; you don’t really understand what’s going on but something magical is happening. Take a trip through dreamland and listen to Feather below!
Little Dragon Official Website
Little Dragon Machine Dreams EP on Amazon
Dragonette – Big Sunglasses
July 17, 2012
This song is rated: 1 Pill – entry-level for music novices
Yes, it is I, cheerlubber!
Don’t worry, I’m still very much a part of this blog, whether you want me to be or not. I was away all last week camping with my family so Whuzzerface thought we should do an in-your-face-and-back-from-vacay song for today, so who better than Dragonette? Dragonette has been on our radar for a while, but their 2009 album Fixin to Thrill is what fully converted us to fans. It’s very rare for me to find an album in any medium where I enjoy listening to every single track, and there’s not one I would rather skip to get to a more exciting one. Fixin to Thrill is one of those albums. Even the songs that slow down the tempo a bit are fantastic. The whole album is just great, aka, after you listen to this selection, you should buy the rest of the album and enjoy it just as we did.
Although Martina is the one singing all the time, Dragonette is indeed a band of three members from Canada with an electro-influenced rock sound with a lot of throwbacks to the 80s (I told you we dig that era). Martina has since done a few collabos with French producer Martin Solvieg, which have all been excellent as well and there’s a high chance you’ve heard them once or twice already. I do believe the band is preparing to release a new full album sometime soon, however, and we are all totally stoked for it. Without any further ado, enjoy rocking out and feeling cool to Dragonette’s song Big Sunglasses.
Arvo Pärt – Fratres for Cello and Piano
June 24, 2012
This song is rated: 2 Pills – intermediate musicologist level
cheerlubber again!
Posting three days in a row! Sick of me yet? I want to get back on track with our Sunday Classical posts again, even though I’m probably the only one who cares about it. Today I feature Arvo Pärt with his piece titled Fratres for Cello and Piano. This will be the first classical song I mark as a two pill! :0 Yes, even some instrumental music can be for certain ears only. I did this because Fratres is a more modern composition; from about the turn of the century on, composers became more and more experimental and these works also became more accepted, because of course each new generation tries to do something different from the last. Arvo Pärt is actually an Estonian composer. Now I know Estonia Week is officially over, but I found this when I was looking for a classical post last week and liked it so much that I knew I wanted to share it. I listened to some of Arvo Pärt’s other works and I’ll be honest, they didn’t tickle my fancy all too much. He is known for being a minimalist composer, and while some of his works had their little magical moments, most of them didn’t really hold my attention all too well. Fratres is a lot of variation on the same few notes, but I think it’s very melancholy and beautiful. I like the exchanges between the piano and the cello, and when the cello plays the high notes (known as “harmonics”), I think it creates a very ethereal, otherworldly feel. In fact–bet you didn’t know–the cello has the largest range out of all string instruments. It can hit low notes and sound like a bass or it can hit high notes and sound like a violin. Whuzzerface says: “The cello is like the all-star of string instruments, and I’m not just saying that because I used to be a cellist.” Oh reeeally…
You know what this song reminds me of? The music in The Village (composed by James Newton Howard). It’s got the frantic feel at the beginning, then soothes out, glides along, and hits those high harmonics. This is also the longest song I’ve posted thus far, but don’t let the 10 minutes in length scare you. Press play and let it go in the background as you do your thing. I think you’ll find it’ll give a great atmosphere to whatever you’re doing. Enjoy below!
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