A quick playlist for the holidays

In order for me to attempt to get some use out of my (increasingly) neglected iPod, I tend to put short playlists together of tracks that I'm currently listening to, so that I can turn the radio off on the way to work and enjoy some cool tunes without the banal chat you tend to get in the morning. My commute is less than an hour, so between 10 and 20 tracks does it perfectly.

So that I can keep up my promise of at least one post per week, I've decided to post this playlist to keep your appetites whetted before I share with you best single and best album of 2011 (due to be posted between Christmas and New Year).

Anyway, this is the playlist that will be on repeat when Mrs Schönberg and I take the Schönberinos down to see Jal and Co for Christmas. It is made up in the main of tracks introduced to me by the great man himself.

Let me (and Jal) know if any take your fancy. Enjoy!

Blue Cassette - Friendly Fires
True Romance - Citizens!
Think Tank - Coastal Cities
The Dark - Peace
Origins - Tennis
Death by Diamonds and Pearls - Band of Skulls
Lonely Boy - Black Keys
Raw Meat - Black Lips (with thanks to Fuck Yeah! Go Team!)

(I Keep Thinking About) A New Thing by Field Music
If you hurry, you can download this fantastic track for free from the band's website here.

The Maccabees - Pelican (Official Audio) by leonardalbert

All I want for Christmas...

I've made my first iTunes purchase with my recently-redeemed voucher that I told you about earlier this month. I made my purchase after dreaming about the song last night. I say dream, what I mean is it was the song going round my head at 3am whilst sat up listening to my young boy babbling to himself.

Lonely Boy is the first single from the seventh album released by The Black Keys earlier this month. I would have bought the whole album, but you can't go doing rash things like that this close to Christmas, can you? If you've never heard The Black Keys then seven albums is a bit daunting to wade through, so I would have a listen to their latest stuff and, if you like, check out their 2004 album 'Rubber Factory' to get a good synopsis.

Anyway, I'm off to give my earworm a spin...

The Black Keys - Lonely Boy by MMMusic

Friends to the rescue!

A few weeks ago I was feeling pretty bored with some of the music around at the moment, so sent out an appeal to some friends (including JAL) to recommend me some albums. Following a mini-shopping spree on Amazon, I thought I'd share three of the best with you:

XX- The XX

What's that about not judging a book by the cover? When I heard the band's name and saw the black cover, I presumed some kind of My Chemical Romance spawn, but couldn't have been more wrong. The Mercury Prize nominated three-piece from London have produced a stunning début album, with the easy 'Intro' being followed up by 'VCR' and 'Crystalised', the stand-out tracks. If I had to compare them to another group, they're soft vocals and steady beats would edge me towards Massive Attack...

Hombre Lobo - Eels

From the first few beats of this 'concept' album, you know you're back listening to Eels. The rough voice of E echoes throughout 'Prizefighter', transporting you to a car with the roof down, road-tripping across America. 'In My Dreams' follows shortly after, (with a familiar nod to to 'Mr E's Beautiful Blues), before the drum-led 'Tremendous Dynamite' claims it's crown as the lead album track.

MP3: Tremendous Dynamite - Hombre Lobo

Brothers - The Black Keys

Several albums in, and The Black Keys have broken away from being the band that makes songs for TV and Film. This is an album that gets your toes moving, as 'Everlasting Light' kicks in and instantly engages. The Bluesy two-piece are often compared to the White Stripes, but if you want a hint of The Jimi Hendrix Experience thrown in for good measure, 'She's Long Gone' will be the track for you.