DJ Earworm's United State of Pop 2009

Mashup of a bunch of top pop tracks of last year... listen to this and watch the video then try and tell me that mashups can't be an art form. This is pretty brilliant:

Another song I should have been paying attention to this year

Washed Out - "Feel It All Around"

On repeat

This one's heavy... Richard Swift with Lady Luck:



Found this one on Pop Matters' Top Singles of the Year. Not sure if I dig the video though... Kind of a new twist on Robert Palmer's Addicted to Love. Killer song though. I love when the bass comes back in at 3:33.

iTunes top stuff of the year

iTunes has put up their year end list. Worth checking out, there might be some stuff you missed. As I did. Off to Hype Machine!

This could be album of the year

So good. "Summertime Clothes" by Animal Collective.

Carl Sagan auto-tune pt 2!

Not as good as the first video, but still fun.

From Gizmodo

Single of the year?

Maybe...



From the Blueprint 3... unfairly tarnished by Pfork, loved and adored by the Dean himself. The album is at least worth a listen.

Auto-tune: Alive and well in the Cosmos

This one's been posted a couple times already, but it's too good not to pass on once more... Carl Sagan remixed with auto-tune. Well worth it. Mp3 available too.



A Glorious Dawn [Audio Cookbook]

Why it must be more fun on the west coast

Polaris Prize short list!

My friend Adam tipped me off about the 2009 Polaris Prize Short list. Junior Boys, Wolf Parade, and Japandroids have clearly been robbed, while the mediocre Metric gets a nod. I guess corporate sponsors have their way!

My vote from the bunch goes to Joel, by far, so far. Most of the discs are available at the Toronto Public Library, except for Elliot Brood. Blast.

Song of the year?

Must listen edition

Double Night Time

Recommended by my friend Matt, this is an excellent electronica album featuring Jeremy Greenspan of Junior Boys. Every cut is solid, but my favs are "Most of All", and "Ruthless City". Awesome.

Also: Junior Boys in Toronto March 28-29 at the Mod Club. Get your tickets now! Can't wait for that new album.

Mark your calendar

According to popular online music magazine Pitch-fork, the Junior Boys are releasing a new album March 24! Yay!

Here's the Oscar Peterson-scored video the title, Begone Dull Care, refers to:

Norman McLaren 1949 "Begone Dull care"
by moklaomax

Great one. I saw this on the Movie Network a couple times without knowing what it was. It drives me nuts that the cable guide info shows the movies but not the shorts that usually run in-between.

Last year I took out a VHS (yeah, VHS) copy of Norman McLaren's works from the Toronto Public Library. I highly recommend checking that out. It's a real piece of artistry and "Neighbours" is classic Canadian film. Of course, you'll have to scrap the Blu-ray and dig up the archaic tape technology, but hey, it'll be worth it.

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Here's a non-album Junior Boys track which is basically a mash of their tunes "So This Is Goodbye" and "Under the Sun". Hopefully the forthcoming album will be as inventive and full of creative energy as the album's namesake, rather than a strong recapitulation of their previous moods and motifs. Not that I won't be buying it the day it comes out or anything.

My prayers: Answered

Music Driven Video Games Appear to Have Peaked

Finally! The less the world has of this, the better. Unless it's a Music Mogul game from Maxis... that would be awesome. But then I would tell an agent or a band manager and they'd say "It's nothing like the real thing."... and I would have to shut my mouth.