Connan Mockasin – It’s Choade My Dear – MP3 (2010)

Like falling down the rabbit hole to find Nirvana and MGMT jamming with the cheshire cat on vocals.

Download: Connan Mockasin – It’s Choade  My Dear – MP3 (Track)
Buy: Connan Mockasin – Please Turn Me Into The Snat (Album)

Also on repeat: Faking Jazz Together, Megumi The Milky Way Above
Found where? Five recommendations of Kiwi artists from The Phoenix Foundation

Round and Round – PS22 x Ariel Pink – Video (2011)

A chorus of fifth graders from PS22 (Public School 22) in Staten Island (New York) cover Ariel Pink’s ‘Round and Round’, proving beyond a shadow why it appeared on so many of 2010′s best-of lists.

Broadcast – Come On Let’s Go – MP3 (2000)

As though Air travelled back in time to collaborate with Petula Clark on the soundtrack to a 60s sci-fi  film.

Singer, Trish Keenan, died earlier this month from pneumonia complications. RIP Trish, I’m so sorry I never discovered you til now.

Download: Broadcast – Come On Let’s Go (Track) – MP3
Buy: Broadcast – The Noise Made By People (Album)

Also on repeat: You Can Fall, Echo’s Answer, Look Outside

Found where? 17 Dots

Villagers – Becoming a Jackal – MP3 (2010)

Like the best work of fellow alt-folk faeries Sufjan and Joanna Newsom, Villager’s fantasy/confessional invades your personal space, winding in through your pores and exiting in a puff of magic dust.

Also on repeat: That Day, Set The Tigers Free – the whole shebang.

Download: Villagers – Becoming a Jackal ( Track) – MP3 (2010)
Buy: Villagers – Becoming a Jackal ( Track) – MP3 (2010)

Found where? NPR

Future Islands – Tin Man – MP3 (2010)

Sounds a bit like Tom Waits doing vocals on a Wolf Parade track. Tastes like something totally new – not chicken.

Download: Future Islands – Tin Man – MP3
Buy: Future Islands – In Evening Air (Album)

Found where? Seewhatyouhear on Twitter

Songs I *should* have blogged about in 2010

This entire blog is dedicated to big-upping what I consider to be the best songs I stumble across, so there’s not much point in putting out a best-of list. There is, however, a whole heap of songs I should have blogged about in 2010 but didn’t. In my defence I moved countries, got married, started a new intense job, blah blah – excuses!

Anyway, the music. Ninety nine percent of ‘best of lists’ are out by now and it appears my list is related (cousinly rather than brotherly) to Pitchfork’s, Stereogum’s, NPR’s etc, but with a pronounced chillout/electronic/pop/disco (ahem – party?) bent. This is listening for sunny days, not rainy nights. Ironic considering my hometown of Brisbane is breaking rainfall records right now!

So please enjoy the songs I should have shared with you months ago – the songs I loved, flogged! in 2010. I promise to get them to you sooner in 2011. As usual, the mix is seasoned with a handful of oldies ( pre-2010 releases – waaay!), including the song I walked down the aisle to (the last one).  Feliz navidad.

Note: Rather than the usual single file download, I’ve packaged all 50 songs into 5 .rar files after the song list. Enjoy!

1. HEALTH – In Heat (Javelin Remix) – MP3
   

2. Deerhunter – Revival
   

3. Tame Impala – Alter Ego
   

4. The Morning Benders – All Day Day Light
   

5. Matthew Dear – Little People (Black City)
   

6. Jeff Buckley – So Real (oldie)
   

7. Ariel Pink’s Haunted Graffiti – Bright Lit Blue Skies
   

8. Charanga 76 – Music Trance (oldie)
   

9. Arcade Fire – Modern Man
   

10. Atlas Sound – Doctor (Five Discs Cover) (oldie)
    

11. Datarock – Ganguro Girl (oldie)
    

12. CocoRosie – Lemonade
    

13. The Last Dinosaurs – Honolulu
    

14. Beach House – Walk In The Park
    

15. Harlem – Friendly Ghost
    

16. Department of Eagles – While We Were Young
    

17. Gorillaz – Stylo
    

18. Groove Armada – Just For Tonight
    

19. Sufjan Stevens – I Walked
    

20. Bonobo – We Could Forever
    

21. Japandroids – Art Czars
    

22. Dimlite – Diana Won’t
    

23. Bear In Heaven – Lovesick Teenagers (oldie)
    

24. Young Veins – Take a Vacation
    

25. Twin Sister – All Around And Away We Go
    

26. Interpol – Barricades
    

27. Kings Go Forth – One Day
    

28. Local Natives – World News
    

29. Philadelphia Grand Jury – The Good News
    

30. Lower Dens – Truss Me
    

31. Primary 1 feat. Nina Persson – The Blues
    

32. The Radio Department – Heaven’s On Fire
    

33. The Smiths – Bigmouth Strikes Again (oldie)
    

34. Tanlines – Real Life (Memory Tapes Remix)
    

35. Here We Go Magic – F.F.A.P.
    

36. Kelley Polar – Here In The Night (oldie)
    

37. AM – Jorge Ben
    

38. Caribou – Odessa
    

39. Women – Eyesore
    

40. Javelin –Tell Me What Will It Be
    

41. Hope Sandoval and the Warm Inventions – For The Rest Of Your Life
    

42. Bullion – Say Goodbye To What
    

43. The Love Language – Pedals
    

44. Gladys Knight – Better Than A Good Time (Walter Gibbons Remix) (oldie)
    

45. Real Estate – Out Of Tune
    

46. Hard Mix – Memories
    

47. Wild Nothing – Chinatown
    

48. Tim Buckley – Morning Glory (oldie) – The live version is best but I can’t find it on MP3 – anyone?
    

49. Cloud Control – There’s Nothing In The Water We Can’t Fight
    

50. Aphex Twin – Avril 14th (oldie)
    

Part 1 – Download songs 1-12 – RAR
Part 2 – Download songs 11-24 – RAR
Part 3 – Download songs 25-37 – RAR
Part 4 – Download songs 38-48 – RAR
Part 5 – Download songs 49-50 – RAR

Girls – Alright – MP3 (2010)

If you’re finding all that lo-fi fuzz a bit too lo and fuzzy, let Alright’s crystal chords, up-front riffs and layers of swirling free jazz pep you up.

Download: Girls – Alright (Track) – MP3
Buy: Girls – Broken Dream Club (EP)

Also on repeat: Heartbreaker

Found where? Pitchfork

The Black Keys – Never Give You Up – MP3 (2010)

An old-school tune best stumbled upon in an old-school setting – playing live in a smoky club or on vinyl in an outta-the-way cafe. Third-best option, hear it here.

Download: The Black Keys – Never Give You Up (Track) – MP3
Buy: The Black Keys – Brother (Album)

Also on repeat: Unknown Brother

Found where? Trash-mag Who

Janelle Monáe – Tightrope (featuring Big Boi) – MP3 (2010)

Presenting your left-of-centre house-party-floor-filler. Follow it up with an OutKast classic.

Download: Janelle Monáe – Tightrope (featuring Big Boi) (Track) – MP3
Buy: Janelle Monáe – The ArchAndroid (Album)

Found where? Pitchfork

James Blake – CMYK (Track) – MP3 (2010)

Soul futurism, post-dubstep – call it what you want. Blake’s jerky red-coat refrain is contagious and the world’s forward-thinking musical slicers and dicers should be working it into their mixes right now. Bullion?

Download: James Blake – CMYK (Track) – MP3
Buy: James Blake – CMYK (Album)

Found where? emusic