Francis and the Lights: "The Top", "My Goals"

The music of Francis and the Lights may border on such guilty pleasures as Prince, Peter Gabriel, or Michael Jackson, but I am not sure of it yet. What is certain is that I am captivated by two tracks by this band - "The Top" and "My Goals." Their catchy beats mixed with the high falsetto vocals of their lead singer, Francis Farewell Starlite, has got me hooked. Plus the video for "the Top" is just captivating.

Francis and the Lights - "The Top"

Francis and the Lights - "My Goals"

Portishead: "The Rip"

Ok, here is one I have been meaning to post on for a while now. This English band is from a town close to Bristol and actually made it all they way to #2 on the UK charts last year. You may find it surprising that it made it up to #7 on the Billboard top 200 list - but there it is none the less - and I believe it deserves to be there. I hope you like it. Its pretty trippy. Let it take you somewhere else. It is very thought provoking to me. I don't know if the song if referring to ripping emotions out of you or not, but that is what it does for me. It just rips them out of me.

Portishead - "The Rip"

Radiohead: From the Basement - "Bodysnatchers" & "Bangers 'n' Mash"

For all of you Radiohead fans out there here is one of a series pf amazing videos they released recently, entitled - From the Basement. I remember seeing them around 2004 at Hi-Fi Buys amphitheater - which was awesome, but this is a lot better in some ways. For one I can actually see them. At Hi-Fi Buys I could hardly make them out through all the pot smoke out on the lawn., but this is different, this is crystal clear (especially if you purchase they real thing of iTunes), this my friends, - this - is awesome. The concert was awesome to, just frustrating being so far away and all of that. It is also a lot cheaper. Here are two of my favorites.


By the way "Bodysnatchers" is a heck of a lot of fun to play! Just in case you were wondering.

Radiohead -"Bodysnatchers"

Radiohead - "Bangers 'n' Mash"

M83: "Don't Save Us From the Flames" & "We Own the Sky"

I heard this band few years ago and had since almost forgotten them. Recently I was once again reminded of them and I since been listening to them almost everyday. What is really cool about M83 is that their music feels like come straight out of the 80's and I mean that in a good way, not cheese 80's pop like Paula Abdul, but the good stuff. They have carried on the torch of 80's dream pop. This French band has been around since around 2001 and have produced a number of great songs since their conception. Here are a few of my favorites from one of their older albums, Before the Dawn Heals Us, and then their most recent one, Saturday = Youth. Instantly wicked.

M83 - "Don't Save Us From the Flames"
from the Album "Before the Dawn Heals Us"

M83 - "We Own the Sky" from the Album "Saterday = Youth"

Animal Collective: "My Girls"

I recently came across the band Animal Collective at friends house and absolutely loved their sound. It's one of those bands whose name I have heard thrown around over the years but I think this was the first time I ever actually listened to them. I really like this song because it is a hybrid of some of my favorites styles - the minimalist classical music style of Steve Reich and the killer melodies and harmonies of bands like the Beach Boys. This track entitled "My Girls" from their new album Merriweather Post Pavilion and it's a really cool track. Let it grow on you.

Animal Collective - "My Girls"

Guess who is a rapper now?

Still guessing? Yep, that is our new "home boy" Joaquin Phoenix, who recently announced that he was leaving the movie business for good and focusing on his music - which happens to be rap. Check out the look P. Diddy is giving Joaquin, who's looking a tad bit on the "I'm going to kill you" side of things.

Now I don't know if this is a publicity stunt or whether Joaquin just needs a little help from his friends - or even if that is exactly the problem, but what I do know is that I am a little scared and concerned for the dude. I am betting it's a stunt.

Check out this video.

A comment on a comment

Recently someone posted a quote on a blog post of mine from back in October, which you can find here. I thought it worth sharing.

"If I should ever die, God forbid, let this be my epitaph: The only proof he needed for the existence of God was music." -Kurt Vonnegut

Beautiful. Thanks for the comment Cate.