SYP Says

Best Songs of 2010 Week of Sep 5: Our Deal by Best Coast

Our Deal by Best Coast

Summer is coming to a close (crazy, I know!). This lo-fi fuzzy blanket beach pop from Bethany Cosentino, inspired by her homesickness for LA while in NY, is the perfect wistful music for celebrating the end of the season in style--big retro shades, surf, barefoot, sunset, fruity drink. Ahhhh... gotta go! Have a fab Labor Day weekend.

Best Songs of 2010 Week of May 30: Short Change Hero by The Heavy

"Short Change Hero" by The Heavy

"Short Change Hero" is actually from last year, but I wanted to share this Spaghetti Western-influenced song from English band The Heavy, one of my new favorites. Their genre-hopping sophomore album, The House That Dirt Built, is dirty and raunchy funk and blues with a smattering of punk and fuzzy garage rock influences--totally eclectic, with each song a different style. They're just a blast to listen to. Besides, you've got to give props to a band that started with the two founders purportedly becoming friends while bonding over Jim Jarmusch films. (This makes up for the fact that their song "How You Like Me Now?" is in a Kia commercial.)

The Heavy is opening for funk & soul heavy-hitters, Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings on their U.S. tour this Summer. I'm as excited to see The Heavy next month, as I am Sharon Jones (shhh, don't tell).

I'll be blasting The Heavy at my Memorial Day Weekend BBQ in honor of Memorial Day and the lives of soldiers lost. Don't ask me to turn it down.

Best Songs of 2010 Week of May 23: Tighten Up by The Black Keys

"Tighten Up" by The Black Keys

I am totally smitten. After last year's awesome Blakroc, a collaboration of The Black Keys and several hip-hop and rap heavyweights, including Ludacris, RZA, and Mos Def, my favorite Ohio duo is back to its regularly scheduled program with Brothers--more rootsy, funky, soulful, garage rock. I own all of The Black Keys albums--they're moving a little away from the hardcore blues rock of their earlier years to a funkier, maybe even slicker, sound. Not a bad thing though. It's still just two guys in a basement making great music.

This addictive single off their latest album was produced by Danger Mouse who produced The Black Keys' last album, Attack & Release.

Just bought tix to see them at the Hollywood Palladium in Sep. So psyched. Get yours before they sell out!

Best Songs of 2010 Week of May 16: Schoolin' by Everything Everything

"Schoolin" by Everything Everything

This band from Manchester is already getting a ton of buzz about the first single off their debut album, "Schoolin'," which isn't even out for another month (single's due June 13th to be exact and the album is released in August). Their sound is a complex, time-signature-changing, melodic dance pop that is inspired by (in their words) everyone from "The Beatles, R. Kelly, Michael Jackson, Steve Reich, Ezra Pound, The Smiths." The Guardian calls Everything Everything both "art pop" and "prog rock". All I know is I can't stop listening. Believe you me, they will be one of the hottest new bands this year. 

Until June 13th, you can just keep listening to the tune via video here:

Best Songs of 2010 Week of April 18: Unbearable Why by Dr Dog

"Unbearable Why" by Dr. Dog

This rock band from Philly has an old-school, American '60s psychedelic sound, and that is exactly why I like them so much. They're no frills.

No video yet for "Unbearable Why," so here's "Stranger" another standout track from their latest album, Shame, Shame.

Best Songs of 2010 Week of April 11: Mongrel Heart by Broken Bells

"Mongrel Heart" by Broken Bells

I spent the first few months of 2010 relatively uninspired by the latest music releases. Between work and living, I don't know...I just wasn't raring to post. Broken Bells changed all that. I am totally addicted to this new collaboration by James Mercer of The Shins and mega-producer-extraordinaire, Danger Mouse. It's dreamy and atmospheric without being a snooze. It's got great hooks without being too poppy. I'm especially enamored of this week's pick because about halfway in, the song shifts into this kind of spaghetti western-influenced vibe. It's kind of hard to explain, so listen to it and let me know what you think.

Upcoming Winter 2010 Music Releases

Happy 2010! Thanks to Pitchfork for the word on Q1 music releases in the new year. New CDs from Spoon, Interpol, Gorillaz, Hot Chip, Frightened Rabbit, Yeasayer, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, and even Natalie Merchant (remember her?)--woohoo!

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http://pitchfork.com/news/37446-the-pitchfork-guide-to-upcoming-releases-winter-2010/

Subject to change, of course...

January

01-05

Joker: "City Hopper" b/w "Output 1-2" [Tectonic]
Kanye West: Storytellers [CD/DVD]

01-12

Ben Kweller: "Sawdust Man" b/w "Send Me Down the Road" [Bloodshot]
Owen Pallett: Heartland [Domino]
Jason Boesel: Hustler's Son [Team Love]
Jukebox the Ghost: Let Live and Let Ghosts [Rebel Group]
Kría Brekkan: Uterus Water 7" [Paw Tracks]
Laura Veirs: July Flame [Raven Marching Band]
OK Go: Of the Blue Colour of the Sky [Capitol]
Omarion: Ollusion [Starworld Entertainment/EMI]
Polysics: Absolute Polysics [Myspace]
Ringo Starr: Y Not [Hip-O]
Vampire Weekend: Contra [XL]
Woodpigeon: Die Stadt Muzikanten [Boompa]

01-18

Blockhead: The Music Scene [Ninja Tune] [physical release, out now digitally]
Fyfe Dangerfield: Fly Yellow Moon [Geffen] [UK Release]
Spoon: Transference [Anti-] [UK release]
These New Puritans: Hidden [Angular/Domino] [UK Release]
Various Artists: Pop Ambient 2010 [Kompakt]

01-19

Cold War Kids: Behave Yourself EP [Downtown]
Dinowalrus: % [Kanine]
Editors: In this Light and On This Evening [Fader] [U.S. release]
Eels: End Times [Vagrant]
The Hot Rats: Turn Ons [Fat Possum]
Josephine Foster: Graphic as a Star [Fire] [U.S. release]
Lindstrøm & Christabelle: Real Life Is No Cool [Smalltown Supersound]
Major Stars: Return to Form [Drag City]
Red Krayola with Art & Language: Five American Portraits [Drag City]
RJD2: The Colossus [RJ's Electrical Connections]
Scout Niblett: The Calcination of Scout Niblett [Drag City]
Spoon: Transference [Merge] [U.S. release]
Surfer Blood: Astro Coast [Kanine]
Susu: R and R and R [self-released]
Virulence: If This Isn't a Dream... 1985-1989 [Southern Lord]
Wetdog: Frauhaus! [Captured Tracks] [U.S. release]

01-25

The Shining: Blackjazz [Indie Recordings]
Yeti Lane: Yeti Lane [Sonic Cathedral]

01-26

AFCGT: AFCGT [Sub Pop]
Animal Collective: Campfire Songs [Paw Tracks] [reissue]
Basia Bulat: Heart of My Own [Rough Trade]
Beach House: Teen Dream [Sub Pop]
Bei Bei & Shawn Lee: Into the Wind [Ubiquity]
Citay: Dream Get Together [Dead Oceans]
Clipd Beaks: To Realize [Lovepump United]
David Bowie: A Reality Tour [ISO/Columbia/Legacy]
Four Tet: There Is Love in You [Domino]
Fredrik: Trilogi [The Kora]
Fucked Up: Couple Tracks: Singles 2002-2008 [Matador]
Charlotte Gainsbourg: IRM [Because Music/Atlantic]
Gigi: Maintenant [Tomlab]
Harvey Milk: Harvey Milk [Hydra Head]
Home: Seventeen [Jagjaguwar]
Infinite Body: Carve Out the Face of My God [Post Present Medium]
Interference: Viva La Interference [The Social Registry]
J Tillman: "Wild Honey" b/w "Black Barge" 7" [Western Vinyl]
Jaga Jazzist: One-Armed Bandit [Ninja Tune]
Jailbreak: The Rocker [Family Vineyard]
John Vanderslice: D.I.A.L.O. 7" [Dead Oceans]
Kevin Barker: You and Me [Gnomonsong]
KRS-One: Playlist: The Very Best of KRS-One [Jive/Legacy]
Locksley: Be in Love [Wicked Cool]
Loren Connors & Darin Gray: The Lost Mariner reissue [Family Vineyard]
Los Campesinos!: Romance Is Boring [Arts & Crafts]
The Magnetic Fields: Realism [Nonesuch]
Max Richter: Memoryhouse reissue [FatCat]
Moonface: Dreamland EP: Marimba and Shit-Drums [Jagjaguwar] [physical release, out now digitally]
My Brightest Diamond: Shark Remixes [Asthmatic Kitty]
Patty Griffin: Downtown Church [Credential]
Pit Er Pat: The Flexible Entertainer [Thrill Jockey]
Quail Lungs: Dumb DaDaDum 7" [Post Present Medium]
Retribution Gospel Choir: 2 [Sub Pop]
Robert A. A. Lowe & Rose Lazar: Eclipses [Thrill Jockey]
The Silent League: ...but you've always been the caretaker [Something in Construction]
Slow Six: Tomorrow Becomes You [Western Vinyl]
Small Black / Washed Out: Split 7" [Lovepump United]
Tape & Bill Wells: Fugue [Immune]
Thavius Beck: Dialogue [Mush]
Three 6 Mafia: Laws of Power [Hypnotize Minds/Columbia]
Various Artists: Casual Victim Pile: Austin 2010 [Matador]
Various Artists: Good God! Born Again Funk [Numero Group]
Various Artists: The Minimal Wave Tapes [Stones Throw]

February

02-02

The Album Leaf: A Chorus of Storytellers [Sub Pop]
Alexander Tucker: Grey Onion [Latitudes]
Blind Man's Colour: Wooden Blankets [Kanine]
The Brunettes: Paper Dolls [Lil' Chief]
FM Belfast: How to Make Friends [Kimi]
Malakai: Ugly Side of Love [Domino]
Midlake: The Courage of Others [Bella Union]
Mount Eerie: Black Wooden [Latitudes]
Pierced Arrows: Descending Shadows [Vice]
Priestess: Prior to the Fire [Tee Pee]
Skullflower: Strange Keys to Untune Gods [Neurot]
The Smith Westerns/Magic Kids: Split 7" [Fat Possum]
The Soft Pack: The Soft Pack [Kemado]
Toro Y Moi: Causers of This [Carpark]
U.S. Girls: Go Grey [Siltbreeze]
Various Artists: Bob Blank: The Blank Generation: Blank Tapes 1975-1985 [Strut]
We Are Wolves: Invisible Violence [Dare to Care]

02-09

Angelo Spencer: Et Les Hauts Sommets [K Records]
Ben+Vesper: LuvInIdleness [Sounds Familyre]
The Besnard Lakes: "Albatross" b/w "Four Long Lines" 12" [Jagjaguwar]
Best Coast: "Something in the Way" 7" [Post Present Medium]
David Bowie: David Bowie: Deluxe Edition [Decca/Universal]
Galactic: Ya-Ka-May [Anti-]
Georgia Anne Muldrow: King's Ballad [Ubiquity]
Hanoi Janes: Summer of Panic [Captured Tracks
Hot Chip: One Life Stand [Astralwerks]
Hunx and His Punx: Gay Singles [True Panther]
Kath Bloom: Thin Thin Line [Caldo Verde]
Laura Gibson & Ethan Rose: Bridge Carols [Holocene Music]
Massive Attack: Heligoland [Virgin]
Pantha du Prince: Black Noise [Rough Trade]
Phantogram: Eyelid Movies [Barsuk]
Redman: Reggie Noble 9 1/2 [Def Jam]
Title Tracks: It Was Easy [Ernest Jenning]
The Watson Twins: Talking to You, Talking to Me [Vanguard]
Yeasayer: Odd Blood [Secretly Canadian]

02-15

Errors: Come Down With Me [Rock Action]
Ewan Pearson: We Are Proud of Our Choices [Kompakt]
Peter Gabriel: Scratch My Back [Virgin]

02-16

Adam Green: Minor Love [Fat Possum]
Ben Sollee and Daniel Martin Moore: Dear Companion [Sub Pop]
Dum Dum Girls: "Jail La La" 7" [Sub Pop]
Everybody Was in the French Resistance...Now!: Fixin' the Charts, Volume One [Cooking Vinyl]
Excepter: Presidence [Paw Tracks]
Field Music: Measure [Memphis Industries]
Freeway & Jake One: The Stimulus Package [Rhymesayers]
The Game: The R.E.D. Album [Interscope]
Gentle Friendly: Ride Slow [Upset! The Rhythm]
Jason Falkner: I'm OK, You're OK [Cobraside]
Juliana Hatfield: Peace and Love [Ye Olde Records]
Lightspeed Champion: Life is Sweet! Nice to Meet You [Domino]
Local Natives: Gorilla Manor [Frenchkiss] [U.S. release]
Moon Duo: Escape [Woodsist]
Preservation Hall Jazz Band: Preservation [RED]
Robert Pollard: We All Got Out of the Army [GVB Inc]
Thee Silver Mt. Zion Memorial Orchestra: Kollaps Tradixionales [Constellation]
Tindersticks: Falling Down a Mountain [Constellation]

02-22

Lonelady: Nerve Up [Warp]
Various Artists: Cold Waves and Minimal Electronics Vol. 1 [Angular]

02-23

Airbourne: No Guts, No Glory [Roadrunner]
Balmorhea: Constellations [Western Vinyl]
Clem Snide: The Meat of Life [429]
Daniel Merriweather: Love & War [J/Allido]
David Byrne & Fatboy Slim: Here Lies Love [Todomundo/Nonesuch]
Dignan Porch: Tendrils [Captured Tracks]
Efterklang: Magic Chairs [4AD]
Eluvium: Similes [Temporary Residence, Ltd.]
Erykah Badu: New Amerykah, Part II: Return of the Ankh [Universal Motown]
Free Energy: Stuck on Nothing [DFA/Astralwerks]
Fyfe Dangerfield: Fly Yellow Moon [Geffen] [US Release]
Groove Armada: Black Light [Cooking Vinyl]
High on Fire: Snakes for the Divine [E1 Music]
Holly Miranda: The Magician's Private Library [XL]
Martyn: Fabric 50 [Fabric]
Past Lives: Tapestry of Webs [Suicide Squeeze]
Quasi: American Gong [Kill Rock Stars]
Rocky Votolato: True Devotion [Barsuk]
Shearwater: The Golden Archipelago [Matador]
Shout Out Louds: Work [Merge]
The Strange Boys: Be Brave [In the Red]
Various Artists: Stroke: Songs for Chris Knox [Merge] [U.S. physical release]
White Hills: White Hills [Thrill Jockey]
Wolf People: Tidings [Jagjaguwar]
Xasthur: 2005 Demo [Hydra Head]
Xiu Xiu: Dear God, I Hate Myself [Kill Rock Stars]
Zeus: Say Us [Arts & Crafts]

Other February releases

Lil Wayne: Rebirth [Cash Money/Young Money Entertainment/Universal]
Various Artists: Mavis [!K7]

March

03-01

cliffordandcalix: lost foundling [Aperture]
New Young Pony Club: The Optimist [The Numbers]
Sam Amidon: I See the Sign [Bedroom Community]
Tunng: And Then We Saw Land [Full Time Hobby]

03-02

Golden Triangle: Double Jointer [Hardly Art]
Groove Armada: Black Light [Om]
Jaguar Love: TBD [Fat Possum]
Natalie Merchant: Leave Your Sleep [Nonesuch]
Rogue Wave: Permalight [Brushfire]
The Ruby Suns: Fight Softly [Sub Pop]
Shy Child: Liquid Love [Wall of Sound]
Usher: Raymond v. Raymond [Jive]
These New Puritans: Hidden [Domino] [U.S. Release]
The Whigs: In the Dark [ATO]

03-09

Alberta Cross: Broken Side of Time [Ark Recordings/ATO]
Aloha: Home Acres [Polyvinyl]
The Besnard Lakes: The Besnard Lakes Are the Roaring Night [Jagjaguwar]
Black Rebel Motorcycle Club: Beat the Devil's Tattoo [Abstract Dragon/Vagrant]
Broken Bells: Broken Bells [Columbia]
The Bundles: The Bundles [K]
Frightened Rabbit: The Winter of Mixed Drinks [Fat Cat]
Jason Collett: Rat a Tat Tat [Arts & Crafts]
jj: jj no 3 [Sincerely Yours/Secretly Canadian]
Liars: Sisterworld [Mute]
Miles Kurosky: The Desert of Shallow Effects [Majordomo/Shout! Factory]
Morning Benders: Big Echo [Rough Trade]
Ted Leo and the Pharmacists: The Brutalist Bricks [Matador]
Titus Andronicus: The Monitor [XL]

03-16

Chamillionaire: Venom [Chamilitary/ Universal Republic]
Drive-By Truckers: The Big To-Do [ATO]
Freelance Whales: Weathervanes [Frenchkiss/Mom + Pop]
Gin Wigmore and the Cardinals: Holy Smoke [Universal Motown]
Happy Birthday: Happy Birthday [Sub Pop]
Seasick Steve: Man From Another Time [Ryko]
White Stripes: Under Great White Northern Lights CD/DVD [Third Man]

03-22

Black Tambourine: Complete Recordings - Deluxe Edition [Slumberland] [reissue]
Galaxie 500: On Fire/Peel Sessions [Domino] [reissue] [UK release]
Galaxie 500: Today/Uncollected [Domino] [reissue] [UK release]
Galaxie 500: This Is Our Music/Copenhagen [Domino] [reissue] [UK release]

03-23

Bettie Serveert: Pharmacy of Love [Second Motion]
Dillinger Escape Plan: Option Paralysis [Party Smasher Inc/Season of Mist]
Goldfrapp: Head First [Mute]
Jónsi Birgisson: Go [XL]
Serena-Maneesh: S-M 2: Abyss in B Minor [4AD]
She & Him: Volume Two [Merge]
Various Artists: The T.A.M.I. Show: Collector's Edition [DVD] [Shout! Factory]

03-30

Dum Dum Girls: I Will Be [Sub Pop]
The Living Sisters: Love to Live [Vanguard]
Sweet Apple: Love and Desperation [Tee Pee]

April

04-05

Black Francis: Nonstoperotik [TBA]

04-06

Harlem: Hippies [Matador]
Monster Movie: Everyone Is a Ghost [Graveface]

04-20

Flying Lotus: Cosmogramma [Warp]

Other April releases

Blunt Mechanic: World Record [Barsuk]
Jóhann Jóhansson: And in the Endless Pause There Came the Sound of Bees [Type]
Disappears: Lux [Kranky]

Other releases expected in the first quarter of 2010

Battles: TBA [Warp]
!!!: TBA [Warp]
The Drums: TBA [TBA]
Gorillaz: Plastic Beach [Virgin]
Here We Go Magic: TBA [Secretly Canadian]
Interpol: TBA [Capitol]
Jaill: TBA [Sub Pop]
Javelin: TBA [Luaka Bop]
Josiah Wolf: Jet Lag [Anticon]
LCD Soundsystem: TBA [DFA]
MGMT: Congratulations [Columbia]
Sally Seltmann: Heart That's Pounding [Arts&Crafts]

http://pitchfork.com/news/37446-the-pitchfork-guide-to-upcoming-releases-winter-2010/