Popping the Drop: A Timeline of How EDM’s Bubble Burst

Great read at the Pitch. I love this track too:

How ‘Hotline Bling’ Saved a 70s Soul Singer’s Career

Nice piece about the guy Drake sampled for "Hotline Bling"

Creedence Clearwater Revival - "I Heard It Through The Grapevine"

Been digging this great cover of the Motown classic lately:

Axel F

I keep going back and forth as to whether this should be three or four stars. Thoughts?

Jessy Lanza / Majid Jordan

I completely missed this Jessy Lanza record last year. Co-written with the Junior Boys' Jeremy Greenspan, it's a great addition to the Canadian electro-R&B boom we're currently experiencing:

Production duo Majid Jordan have also caught my attention... They co-produced that hot Drake track and now have an EP of their own. Also recommended.

Cut Copy - Free Your Mind

Finally got around to listening to the newest Cut Copy album... I guess I really have been busy if I haven't had time to catch the latest from one of my fav bands.

First few listens, it's not immediately blowing me away like previous efforts. Definitely feels like a grower. I love the Madchester throwback sound though.

Autre Ne Veut - Play by Play

Been playing this a lot:

The Daily Swarm - Ghostwriting Examples That Will Make You Question Everything You Know...

The Daily Swarm - Ghostwriting Examples That Will Make You Question Everything You Know...

Fav songs 2013 - Queens of the Stone Age - "Kalopsia"

Song of the year from the album of the year.

In a year where the music world continued the trend of the "power of the single", Queens released their magnum opus in album form. An instant classic rock album (small c small r) that does everything it sets out to do.

This track embodies everything about the band's way of making music - "heavy enough for the boys and sweet enough for the girls" with killer riffs and luscious harmonies.

And of course this track features Trent Reznor on vocals and percussion.

Fav songs 2013 - Junip - "Walking Lightly"

I came by this track through the finale trailer for Breaking Bad, which drew me to the album. Great vibe, love the seamless mix of electronic and acoustic on this album. The year's most underrated album.

Fav Songs 2013 - Thundercat - "Heartaches + Setbacks"

An album I missed out on when it dropped, and I caught up on when listomania hit earlier this month, I've had literally had this track on repeat at times.

Great vocal, insane bass chops, and a sonic texture that transports you an cosmic alternate reality 1970s.

Prince - Breakfast Can Wait

New Prince tune that has nothing to do with Dave Chappelle.

Avicii - Wake Me Up

This one is going straight to #1 on the Billboard chart for sure. Catchy as hell, your kids will love it.

The Weeknd - "Wanderlust"

Despite all the middling reviews, I actually dig the new Weeknd record. Here's one of my favs:

Arcade Fire - Reflektor

This is awesome. How am I supposed to wait til October 29 for this to drop?

The James Murphy production works really well.

Mazzy Star - Fade Into You

Another good late night tune.

Kavinsky - Nightcall

All night. Great 'driving' song, if you know what I mean.

Saigon Sunday - Talk Talk - "Talk Talk"

This track helped us win 2nd place last Tuesday night at trivia.

The theme was song titles that contain the artist name. Other artists featured: Big Country, Queen, Jimmie Ray, Body Count, the Monkees, etc.

It's also a great song to type into a search engine. YouTube handled it well.

Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross - What If We Could

NIN dropped this one into their live set at Lollapalooza, which was a bit of a surprise. An ersatz 'solo' song dropped into a Nails set is unusual.

Worked pretty well into the set, gave it some breathing room as Reznor likes to do in the middle to 2/3 way of a NIN set.

Beck - I Won't Be Long

Beck just keeps coming with great songs, and the production is fantastic too. That low end! And the mix is so punchy.