What's Wrong With The Mainstream June '09 Playist

I thought I'd start this month off a bit back to front with the cover at the start of the playlist. I asked you to vote on what cover you wanted this month and you've been voting in tens. So the winner, getting 40% of the votes is Born Slippy, originally performed by Underworld but performed today, for your pleasure by Get Well Soon. You may remember them from a previous post here (I have re-posted the song for those of you who missed out).

MP3: Born Slippy - Get Well Soon

For next month you have the choice of the following:

Bonkers (originally by Dizzee Rascal) by The King Blues

Careless Whisper (originally by Wham) by Ben Folds featuring Rufus Wainwright

Hoppipolla (originally by Sigur Ros) by We Are Scientists

Voting on the right hand side...

Disenchanted - Gas Club

With a vocals sounding like Serj Tankian of System of a Down you may expect this track to get heavier but it never arrives. In fact it has elements of The Last Shadow Puppets bass and the vocals don't stress to the heights of Serj's but that's no bad thing. It makes the song more somber despite moving along at a fair lick.

MP3: Disenchanted - Gas Club

This Year - The Mountain Goats

The World Forgot introduced me to this band, commenting on how this track fitted with everyone's mentality at the moment. People struggling with money, losing jobs "I'm gonna make it through this year if it kills me". Let's hope it doesn't take many.

TWF is an awesome blog by the way, I found it through hype machine, time after time returning to it as it was talking about music I loved. The dude's laptop is so old he's no longer posting as regularly, please, someone, just buy him a new laptop.

MP3: This Year - The Mountain Goats

Multiplex - Fat Truckers

Quite a few more Sheffield bands this month as I work through more of the compilations available at Sheffield Music Scene's blog. This track talks about Meadowhall (known hilariously as Meadowhell to my family) and Crystal Peaks, two malls in Sheffield. I'd love for some of our American readers to see Crystal Peaks, it was one of the first malls near us and has a supermarket, a multiplex and about five small shops. That's it. Still I remember my Mum driving me and my date plus her two friends to the cinema there so it's got fond memories for me.

MP3: Multiplex - Fat Truckers

You Sound Like You're Drunk - Seven Hills

Sheffield is like Rome. There I've said it. Everyone knows it. Certainly people starting at Sheffield Hallam University. Let me explain.

I went to Sheffield Hallam Uni and with my home town only 7 miles away I was interested to find out what the introductory tour of Sheffield would reveal. The first thing the volunteer guide said was "Sheffield is like Rome, it's built on seven hills." Brilliant, the tour was downhill from there...

I don't know about you but when someone accuses me of being drunk, I deny it and feel offended, even if I'm REALLY drunk. What's that all about? Why do I take it as an insult. It's the same in the morning "you were wasted last night", "I wasn't that bad" I'd retort, despite not being able to remember half of the night before. Maybe that's why I like the verses more than the corus in this song.

MP3: You Sound Like You're Drunk - Seven Hills

Cold Blood - Stoney/Chambers

Another track from Sheffield and this one sounds like a mix between James, JJ72 and Placebo. It's a collaboration between Stoney (Mark to his Mum) and Guy Chambers who's penned a few tracks in his time. It's all gone quiet on the Stoney front since 2007 but he says on his blog he will be back with new material soon. Head over to his web site for three free downloads.

MP3: Cold Blood - Stoney Chambers

Transliterator - Devotchka

Sadly I haven't got any other tracks to post of Devotchka but I wanted to make sure you didn't miss out on this tip. Visit their well designed web site, listen to How It Ends and if you like it buy it. Simple as that.

MP3: Transliterator - Devotchka

Lowiza - The Lovely Feathers

I started writing about this band earlier in the month but never got chance to finish it. At the time I just posted what I had done but I thought I'd give you a bit more of a run down on them now. With a thumping drum beat and chants about Jimmy it's a great track, my kind of indie music.

They've been going since 2005 and having shared the billing with bands such as Spinto Band, Metric and The Cribs during their formative years they have had some good company along the way. This five piece have been more renowned for their pop tunes and yet have been compared to Pavement and Vampire Weekend. The second comparison I certainly don't hear in this track.

Mp3: Lowiza - The Lovely Feathers

Walk On Water (Auspicious Beginnings) - The Rest

Starting off like a track from many other Canadian bands I instantly think "I like this" but then it goes all Beach Boys on us at the end and I don't know what to think any more. Do I like this, does it work with this extra part put on the end. After hearing it quite a few more times the parts merge, I no longer hear a change of direction after two minutes. Was it my ears deceiving me or am I just used to it. Either way I now longer see it as two separate parts, just as one quality track.

MP3: Walk On Water (Auspicious Beginnings) - The Rest

Sun Hands - Local Natives

If you've been reading this blog over the last few months you'll be no stranger to Local Natives, having read other blogs I am assured that the album will be as good as the tracks we've heard so far. This is their latest offering.

MP3: Sun Hands - Local Natives

Turn To Sand - Deleted Scenes

Awesomely this band are giving away five tracks on their web site from their album Birdseed Shirt and everyone knows five is a magic number, "each pentagon has five sides, each car has five wheels, no more no less, five, is a magic number"."man and a woman had triplets, yes they did, and there was five in the family and that's a magic number".

Anyway enough about numbers and songs you already know. Deleted Scenes make music that you expect to turn up in independent American films (movies to you guys over the pond). They've got a quirkiness that doesn't detract from their music but adds to it. If you're going to head to their web site and download some other tracks, I recommend Fake IDs.

MP3: Turn To Sand - Deleted Scenes

Simple Thing - Days

Go back to the early nighties, the baggy scene in Manchester and think of James, The Charlatans and a small little band called The Stone Roses. Days capture this time perfectly and according to mp3hugger.com Days are massive fans of The Smiths. Reviewing this track back in 2007 the blog described this track as "a well-rounded ode to what the Moz could ring off in his sleep". I found the track recently on a sampler given away free by their music label Shelflife.

MP3: Simple Thing - Days

Flowers - The Ruling Class

See my post on Days for notes on this track and band. Seriously. Same influences, this time they're from the UK not Sweden, but they're on the same Shelflife sampler. Great to have two songs that fit so well together on the same playlist. See them in Leicester, Manchester, London, Barcelona and Hainault in the coming few months.

MP3: Flowers - The Ruling Class

Robots - Dan Mangan

Robots need love too. Any songsmith who can get that phrase going around my head has a talent. I heard this track on a compilation called Oh Canada! put together by UK blog The Line Of Best Fit.

MP3: Robots - Dan Mangan

Pieces of You - Wolf Gang

When listening to music promoted by different record labels you start to notice a trend in the music labels tastes. Sometimes this is done on purpose by the label, wanting to be known for a certain genre other labels just go out there to get quality artists no matter what genre they fall in. Neon Gold seem to be concentrating on the later but you can certainly hear the tastes of the labels owners coming through. That's no bad thing, I certainly know it'll be quality before I even listen to it. Enjoy this track which they are currently getting behind.

Mp3: Pieces of You - Wolf Gang

Speak To Me Softly - Sam Bennett and the Sharp Knees

I wrote earlier this month about Sam and feel his song is good enough to grace our end of month playlist. I think the track has real commercial potential, I can imagine hearing it played on mainstream radio, let's hope he makes it.

MP3: Speak To Me Softly - Sam Bennett and the Sharp Knees

Strictly Rule - Vetiver

This song draws you in with its soft riff going over in the background, first quiet then increasing in volume but only to the stag where you no longer think there is a problem with your speakers. As you listen to the track you just relax, float as the song coasts along. Imagine listening to this lying by a pool, sun baking down on you, just relaxing. They are touring the UK in September if you fancy going to a chilled out gig.

MP3: Strictly Rule - Vetiver

Periodically Double Or Triple - Yo La Tengo

Yo La Tengo translates to I've Got It but you all knew that. Yo La Tengo have been around since the '80s and this track sounds like it should be in a Quentin Tarantino film or the second room at The Leadmill.

MP3: Periodically Double Or Triple - Yo La Tengo

Damski - Kalenko

I'm really excited to bring you this track from unsigned band Kalenko. Some of you may remember me mentioning this song when I was describing them as sounding like Interpol. I don't think any of you can deny that when you hear this track. Perhaps Killer, the first song they ever recorded, that I posted before sounded more like Idlewild but this is certainly a step forward.

Usually when you try to create a sound already out there you fall short, it's not quite as good as the originally creator. Not the case with this track, I think you could easily see this sitting on one of Interpol's albums, it certainly wouldn't be looked down upon by the other songs. Whether Kalenko sound too similar to get signed is another question. I certainly wouldn't mind buying one of their records. With some studio time booked in July and then a new EP being recorded in October, that moment might not be far away.

As usual comments always welcome...

MP3: Damski - Kalenko