Day 299: M.O.P.E. by Ambassadeurs

Hey guys!

I’m a big twitter fan, if you don’t know already (if you want to hear the random ramblings of my crazy mind, you can follow me: @margasaur). I follow a variety of different people from comedians to photographers, from publications to websites, from well-known musicians to totally unknown musicians. It’s like my passion to discover these people.

Well, this morning, I woke up and checked my twitter only to find this awesome DJ following me and linking me to his music for free. Going by the name “Ambassadeurs,” Mark Dobson is a DJ from Brighton, UK! He is a DJ “who’s eclectic sound draws influence from Electronic, EDM, Hip-Hop, Dub, Field Recordings, Ambient and many other forms of music and continues to try and push the boundaries when it comes to production.”

His free song is pretty much amazing, so I wanted to feature it here! The song is called “M.O.P.E.” and it is super catchy! If you like this, go check out his other music on his facebook or you can follow him on twitter @AmbassadeursDJ! But for now enjoy “M.O.P.E.”!

Also, if you’re a twitter connoisseur like myself, follow these people: @PasteMagazine, @chopchopmusic, @johnroderick, @mshowalter, @robhuebel, @fleetfoxes, @Gibbstack, @mrdavehill, @michaelianblack, and of course @UOCulturalForum!

Day 298: Light To Follow by The Polyphonic Spree

Hey everyone! Sorry for not updating in a week! Between the music fest, being sick, and trying to maintain a healthy, college-life I’ve been a bit crazy busy.

Luckily, I have a really great song to post for you guys today!

A few months back I discussed one of my all time favorite bands The Polyphonic Spree (check out the previous blog post for my reasoning on why I think they are one of the most important bands of our generation). Their music is geared towards optimism, and it’s just such a great experience to listen to their powerful tunes of hope and happiness!

Today’s song is one that I think got kind of lost in the grand scheme of The Fragile Army (aka my favorite of their albums). It follows a really great song on the album, but it’s electronic/orchestral sound is a little off from what they normally do. However, when it came up on my iPod this last week, I was mesmerized by how amazing this song is. “Light To Follow” starts off small and simple with a beautiful chorus of Tim DeLaughter’s voice mixed with the female back up singers… but as the song goes on it builds up higher and higher leading to a dramatic exit. I adore the way this song sounds and, much like all of their other music, it’s just a really positive song to take in (especially if you’re having a rough day).

So, I hope you enjoy “Light To Follow” by the Polyphonic Spree and take the lyrics into your heart: “Everyone needs their own light they can follow…”

Also, check out The Fragile Army if you haven’t already. It is incredible.

Day 296: Slow-motion Jello + yet even more Washed Out

Here’s a super short blog post for you guys tonight, mainly because my allergies are really messing with my brain right now.

A friend of mine posted “Slow-motion Jello” on Facebook earlier, and it blew my mind. Seriously. It’s unbelievable.

Isn’t that freaking awesome? I can’t even… I don’t even know what to think!!

In addition to that craziness, I wanted to include the new Washed Out song that also blows my mind. The song is called “Eyes Be Closed” (off of his upcoming album Within And Without, available in July), and it is beautiful. The chillwave beat and the powerful melody works together in a wonderful symphony. At least it does in my head!

Enjoy “Eyes Be Closed”

Day 294: The Rest Of Your Life by Holly Golightly & The Brokeoffs

Hey guys!

Sorry I haven’t posted in a couple of days… it’s been a crazy weekend! I’ve been partying, “The Room”-ing it, chilling with Seattle peeps, and seeing concerts, so I haven’t had much time to update!

Unfortunately, I’ll have to keep this short tonight, mainly because I have to pass out soon, but I wanted to share a really neat song off of Holly Golightly & The Brokeoff’s new CD No Help Coming.

While I was in Portland yesterday, I got to preview this CD for a little while, and I was totally digging it. It’s folky, bluesy, and all sorts of awesome!

I hope you enjoy “The Rest Of Your Life”, and check out their CD out now! (also, I’ll be posting longer tomorrow!)

Day 292: Windowsill by Arcade Fire

I wanted to feature this song today because it literally encompassed my feelings in song-form. Sort of.

You see, today was one of those strange bipolar weather days, where the sun would peek out for a good ten minutes before hail rained down. Rain to sun to hail to rain to clouds to sun to rain. All day long.

And as I was walking through campus, doing whatever I normally do on Thursdays, I had the undeniable urge to find a CD that could compliment the strange weather pattern… making it more realistic, I guess.

I try to turn to bands that I’ve trusted with this task before, so it only took me a few seconds to realize that Arcade Fire’s whole Neon Bible album is incredibly effective for this type of day. But what really convinced me was the presence of the song “Windowsill.”

The song is incredibly somber, but it’s grandiose and beautiful while still remaining terribly melancholy. With Win Butler’s graceful voice moving through the difficult lyrics, and the background instruments (specifically that string part towards the middle), I can’t help but feel like this song is an escape for not only me but for the band itself (see the lyrics “I don’t wanna live in my father’s house no more…”). It expands and increases it’s intensity while still remaining full of plea.

With the weather changes that just mess with the population of our little city, “Windowsill” is not only an escape, but it falls with the rain, just in a different way. I feel like I can imagine looking through the window of a hectic world onto like a green pasture, so free from all this craziness. I guess I’m just strange like that.

But regardless, it perfectly encapsulated a moment in time today, and I couldn’t help but feel a little empowered by this song. The world just sort of melted away around me, and all that was left was me and the rain/hail/clouds/sun. It was a beautiful feeling.

I hope you can enjoy this song the same way. Here’s “Windowsill” by Arcade Fire

Day 291: Gideon by My Morning Jacket

I just recently got into My Morning Jacket (probably a little late, but better late than never!), and of all the songs I’ve heard so far, this is my favorite.

“Gideon” not only displays the gorgeous voice of Jim James, but it’s so uplifting and wonderful. I love the intro guitar part, which is sort of reminiscent of U2 or another band of that caliber, but his voice just reverberates in my brain. It’s a lovely feeling.

Enjoy “Gideon” (and this awesome video for it) by My Morning Jacket.

On a totally random note, I used to hate the show American Dad, but when I watched this episode premier a while back, I had total respect for the show and My Morning Jacket (that was my first real exposure). Here’s how I felt the other day when I played the band on my poster route:

Day 289: New Theory by Washed Out

I know I featured Washed Out a couple of weeks ago (with the theme song to Portlandia), but I really wanted to post this song because it’s been on the front of my mind for a while.

I got the song as a free download in some random iTunes playlist, and I never really heard it until a few days ago. And while yeah, a lot of people would label it “hipster,” it’s really great to just jam out to. I’m a big fan of the chillwave movement (what with Ducktails, Panda Bear, and of course Washed Out)… makes riding around in the warm weather with a pair of ray-bans feel so fine.

So hopefully you’ll enjoy “New Theory” by Washed Out. Go enjoy some sunshine!

Day 287: Montezuma/He Doesn’t Know Why Live by Fleet Foxes

The other night, Fleet Foxes performed their first live show in two years. It was a small, secret charity concert in Seattle for an intimate crowd, but someone got some amazing footage and (of course) stuck it on YouTube.

The song I want to feature today is a new song called “Montezuma,” which is off their new album Helplessness Blues (coming out May 3rd), and it is gorgeous. Pecknold’s voice carries across this small audience, and his relaxed posture almost adds to the whole experience. While I’m sad I missed this concert (being in Eugene, after all, sort of hurts my ability to go see concerts in Seattle these days), this video has gotten me super stoked to see them in Portland on May 1st!

I included the live video (which also features the song “He Doesn’t Know Why” off of their debut, self-titled album), but below the video is a copy of the actual, studio-made song… which is still absolutely wonderful!

Enjoy “Montezuma” and “He Doesn’t Know Why” live by Fleet Foxes!

Montezuma, studio edition:

He Doesn’t Know Why, studio edition:

Day 286: [BELATED] Dig A Little Deeper by Peter Bjorn and John

This song is so optimistic! I adore it so much!

Peter Bjorn and John, who are most well known for their song “Young Folks” (aka the whistle song), released a new CD called Gimme Some back in March. But what’s so great about it is the optimism that it reeks. This band’s music is normally so down that something like “Dig A Little Deeper” just makes you so happy on the inside!

It reminds me of a Swedish version of a Vampire Weekend song, and it’s playful tune makes me sort of dance every chance I get to hear it. I hope it puts you in a good mood, like it does with me!

Enjoy “Dig A Little Deeper” by Peter Bjorn and John!

Day 284: Sabotaaaaaaaaaage (by the Beastie Boys)

Hey everyone!

I woke up this morning, and declared it a Beastie Boys day.

And this video rocks.

I’ll have a longer post for you guys tomorrow, but until then it’s “SABOTAAAAAAAAAAAGE”