My 4-year-old son is obsessed with marine life of all kinds, to the point where a recent visit to the London Aquarium nearly resulted in a restraining order. It seems he couldn’t keep his hands out of the manta ray tank (to be fair, it was marked as a “petting” exhibit). He also recently informed me that he wants a pet octopus. My subsequent research led to this surprise discovery: some killer deadpan glitch funk from Texas — at a fraction the cost of a real octopus!
The Fatáles
Vaguely detached, vaguely nostalgic, vaguely wonderful space pop. It’s really hard to believe these guys are unsigned…maybe they’re not in it for the money, just on a personal crusade to promote use of the accent aigu (á). Either way, I’m in.
The Changes
Continuing in my tour of OPLs (Other People’s Lists), I found this gem — amidst Blockhead, Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings, and Comets on Fire — on Scissorkick‘s eclectic hit parade of 2004. (Convenient comparison alert!) The Changes are modern-day Chicago’s answer to Haircut 100: bouncy, dreamy pop that makes you want to smile at complete strangers or maybe, just maybe, swing from a vine in a Hawaiian shirt. However, unlike Haircut 100, these guys appear to have a longer career in them.
mclusky
Given all the nominating going on, I offer mclusky’s The Difference Between Me and You Is That I’m Not on Fire as Album Title of the Year. The album’s music ain’t bad either. Producer Steve Albini’s influence continues to rub off on these talented lads in the form of increasingly noisy, sometimes sneering, and always witty rock to the roll. “Without MSG…” is but one flavor — the surprisingly thoughtful “She Will Only Bring You Happiness” being quite another — so check the album for the full menu.
The Green and Yellow TV
Thanks to 3hive regular Kieran for dropping this suggestion in the box. His email sent me rummaging through some old MP3s on my backup drive, because I was sure I’d heard of these guys before. Lo, there they were: three tracks which I’d apparently downloaded off the pre-Vivendi MP3.com back in March 2001. Those three tracks aren’t available on the band’s site, but these four are — which sufficiently illustrate The Green and Yellow TV’s euphoric, timeless pop with a keen ear for hooks, lines, and melodies. I dare you to not air drum/strum/sing along.
Hinkley
I love this time of year, and not just because I can lounge around all day in my jammies eating leftovers and candy. I love it because this is when I start cherry picking the best-of-the-year lists for artists I somehow missed or slept on. Today’s find comes from Mystery & Misery’s Best of 2004. They caught my eye because my grandmother’s maiden name is Hinckley, which turns out to be a happy coincidence. Their ragged, folksy pop would make them at home in the Elephant 6 stable but for now they’re unsigned and living in Rochester, NY. Thanks, Jason!
Giant Robot
Not to be confused with the Japanese pop culture ‘zine of the same name, Giant Robot are members of Nuspirit Helsinki and they run the gamut like Jesse freakin’ Owens. From cozy EBTG-ish ballads (“Best Match”) to lanky, dub-hop (“Konevitsa”). And then you’ve got the remixes, if you’re ready for even more curveballs. Best of all, Giant Robot’s site has a mile-long MP3 page with all of their commercially unavailable tracks, which includes their entire debut album and tons of said remixes. Set aside some download time.
Archetype
If you listen to the critics (and who doesn’t?), this is Kanye West’s year. If Archetype have it their way, all eyes will be on their native Lawrence, Kansas, not Chicago’s South Side, in 2005. They’re starting their takeover by offering better than half of their music for download, so take advantage while the getting’s good. Nezbeat’s refreshingly ecclectic mix of samples (from opera to gospel) and tempos (from old school breaks to drum ‘n’ bass) along with I.D.’s unflinching flow won’t keep them on the fringe for long.
Note: This isn’t the metal band of the same name that you’ll see if you search on Amazon or Insound (so, just this once, ignore those links and go to the artists’ site for purchase information).
Treeball
I have a soft spot for subversive pop music. The kind that’s equally cynical and sentimental. The kind where you’ll be driving your mom somewhere and she’ll say, “Well, this sure is a nice song.” The kind where you say, “Yeah, it’s about scoring blow in Bolivia.” The kind with monkey love metaphors (or maybe they’re not metaphors, either way…). The kind that stays with you long after you stop thinking about the lyrics. The kind with beautiful boy/girl vocals and a Finnish mailing address.
DJ Riko
Our friend Jacob sent my wife a link with the following note: “Heard this tonight on KCRW and immediately thought that Sam would dig it…” I’m not sure if he thought I’d dig it because it comes from an album called Latter Day Taints (a knowing nod to my Mormon peeps) or because I’m a closet whistler. Either way, he’s right, I dig it real good. DJ Riko is a plundering masher-upper cat from Columbus, Ohio who either doesn’t have a day job or doesn’t sleep ’cause he’s mad prolific. For “Whistler’s Delight” he pulls a crateful of whistled “riffs” from various songs, beginning with Peter Gabriel’s “Games Without Frontiers,” and takes us on a spotter’s field trip. By the way, if you can name all 22 songs used herein by year’s end, email Riko and he might award you with one of his fancy bootleg CDs. See his site for more details, and many more downloads — including a nice 55MB holiday mix.