Song of the day

Burial - Loner The new Burial Double EP - Kindred, is out. The...

Mon, 19 Mar 2012 12:11:00 +0530

Burial - Loner

The new Burial Double EP - Kindred, is out. The second track Loner is more house than Burial has ever been — you can dance to it. It still keeps it’s ominous and haunting Burial feel. Minimal and simplistic, the bass line builds through the course of the track and keeps you hooked.

Give it a listen.

Loyal Divide - Otto Loyal Divide is a Chicago based band,...

Tue, 31 Jan 2012 12:49:00 +0530

Loyal Divide - Otto

Loyal Divide is a Chicago based band, originally from Columbus, Ohio. They are masters of layering electronica, base, groove and punk to create a completely new youthful sound. Their full-length debut album, ‘Bodice Ripper’ deserves better treatment than a mere mention and I shall cover it shortly.

The song of the day is Otto, a single they’ve made in collaboration with Rachel Sarah Thomas of Chicago band Automata. Otto is fragile and is more ambient than they’ve ever been. Rachel’s vocals and guitars make the song melancholic and Loyal Divide’s heavy beats and loops come in and take the song somewhere completely different.

Enjoy your introduction to Loyal Divide.

Ren Toudu - Forest Hideout Forest Hideout appears on the...

Mon, 30 Jan 2012 14:46:00 +0530

Ren Toudu - Forest Hideout

Forest Hideout appears on the compilation done by Ovnimoon titled, Paz. Paz is a great ambient compilation and has some really great songs. Forest Hideout stands out as one of the best on the record.

Paz grows very well and visits various minimal and ambient spaces and not even once appears to be a compilation of songs, but, a work which belongs together, kudos to Ovnimoon for putting this together.

Global Communication - 14:31 I have a great love for the...

Mon, 23 Jan 2012 19:34:00 +0530

Global Communication - 14:31

I have a great love for the electronica and ambient that came out in the 90s.Global communication is no different, I love the music they created and I love this album.

These guys are pioneers, the ones who dared, the ones who stepped out of the crowd and in doing that they paved way for a whole new genre of music and a whole new generation of musicians.

Their debut album 76:14 is a timeless masterpiece. It’s 76 minutes and 14 seconds of pure bliss. It starts slowly and builds and builds, but is never overwhelming. Although it was released in 1994, it never feels even slightly dated. We played the entire album twice over during the road trip I took this weekend and it made the drive a pleasure.

It is quite simply a sensational album. Have fun.

Nine Inch Nails - The great destroyer The great destroyer is my...

Fri, 20 Jan 2012 15:08:29 +0530

Nine Inch Nails - The great destroyer

The great destroyer is my favorite song on the Year Zero album. It starts off with a relatively simple glitchy drum roll and continues to evolve into a ballad that defies categorization.

Trent Reznor sings in his soothing voice, telling you all “they” do to you, over a massive war of background which goes on to plunder the realms of electronica, industrial and glitch. A seemingly unrelated and diverse sounds are layered into a musical collage that continues to evolve as you listen to it.

Metallica : The Outlaw Torn The Outlaw Torn by Metallica on Grooveshark This is the last...

Thu, 05 Jan 2012 19:04:09 +0530

Metallica : The Outlaw Torn

The Outlaw Torn by Metallica on Grooveshark

This is the last song of their album Load Released in 96 , a come back after the groovy/crunchy/ heavy (22 million copy selling) Black Album that came out in 91. Ah but then 91 was the year when Nevermind (Nirvana) changed the map of how guitar music would be made (said with fanboy tone).

Quite possible that Metallica found themselves in strange times to catch up with and chopped their hair along with their music, or may be realized that playing fast does not equal heavy. Either way, here is one of my top 3 grunge albums. Muddy blues heroine guitar tone with impeccable production (Bob Rock). There are very few albums can hear the rides and the choke clearly. One thing no one ever mentioned was James Hetfiled sang really really well, especially this one. Try to pay attentions listen to how this song ends.

Hatebreed - I Will Be HeardAfter being spat on my face, around...

Thu, 20 Oct 2011 12:53:00 +0530

Hatebreed - I Will Be Heard

After being spat on my face, around 2002, I was negotiating a sharp and bad turn in life, one of those “that that doesn’t kill you” moments. I guess that’s when I had upgraded from hard rock to the ‘*the Real-Deal Heavy Metal’.

I’ve heard this one on television (which was strange for all the overdose of Enrique happening those days) and instantly I met the song that defined the moment , the way it felt.

This song is my crutches for all the crap people and life has to throw at me. The voice hits like a slab of concrete, the guitars mean business, no ‘melodic’ or ‘see I’m so technical’ or ‘suddenly I will show my soft side’ parts . This is anger.

This time I don’t want to get into the trivia of sub-genres and release dates, this one is above all that. Many times I think of this one as the soundtrack of my life.

\m/ HateBreed

* Real-Deal Heavy metal to me is Straight-Edge metal without no B.S (e.g Pantera)

Nirvana - Love Buzz Love Buzz is a song that’s sex-appeal...

Thu, 13 Oct 2011 15:11:15 +0530

Nirvana - Love Buzz

Love Buzz is a song that’s sex-appeal personified. A relentless two-chord beat which makes way for that enormous guitar to howl over it. Cobain’s signature strained vocals and the power chord machine combo initiate a mosh pit frenzy.

Spitzer - Odessa (Spring Version) Spitzer is a duo of brothers...

Wed, 12 Oct 2011 12:05:14 +0530

Spitzer - Odessa (Spring Version)

Spitzer is a duo of brothers from Lyon, France, they have no pretense, no showing off, just pure beautiful minimal sound. Their music is catchy and a little reminiscent of 80s techno which has gone through a lot of refinement.

A bit of background, they used to have a powerful 90s electric guitar, indie rock sound and long hair , which give way to cold subversive techno that makes your palms sweaty and heart pound. No we’re not complaining here.

Sharp production and high subtle changes to the background makes this an instant favorite. Enjoy.

Day Din - Lost In TranslationHello my lovlies! I’m sorry...

Tue, 11 Oct 2011 14:43:30 +0530

Day Din - Lost In Translation

Hello my lovlies! I’m sorry for the lack of activity these past few days, you see I was on a vacation :P … now that I’m back I’d be trying to actually live up to song of the *day*.

Here it is then, Day Din’s lost in translation, the beats are lovely, it feels as if the whole thing was made out of samples, I may not be right. The song comes out on top with the slick beats and the ambiance it creates.

Day Din is a Psy artist from hamburg, Germany and although I’m not very familiar with his other stuff, this got me completely hooked. If you like this, check out his songcloud page: http://soundcloud.com/daydin

Camera Obscura - Eighties Fan Camera Obscura has a list of good...

Tue, 04 Oct 2011 13:16:00 +0530

Camera Obscura - Eighties Fan

Camera Obscura has a list of good songs and to pick one was quite difficult. “Eighties Fan” has a sweet and subtle drum opening. And, is probably the best known of their early tracks.

There are a quite a few songs on Biggest Bluest Hi-Fi that are just as good. Very few of them, however, capture the band’s little secret, their exceptional songwriting strength. You can think of them as poets who sing.

Camera Obscura plays a modern lyrical game with their songs, which are arranged as if they were soft ballads from the 60s - charmingly understated. They twist hopeless romanticism with hopelessness and downright pessimism. These converse characteristics create their blue and beautiful songs. Combined with Campbell’s soft voice and a stiff upper lip it doesn’t leave much more to be desired.

Young folks - Peter Bjorn and John Yeah! I know what...

Mon, 03 Oct 2011 12:48:00 +0530

Young folks - Peter Bjorn and John

Yeah! I know what you’re thinking. I’ve gone emo. Me and pop do not really mix well together, but, this song, this song just makes me incredibly jumpy. It has the nice Indy music wibe and the girl+boy vocalist thing going for it.

Do you sometimes not see yourself as the old man? Who cannot figure out how to use the universal remote? Watching nostalgic tv shows? reminiscing about the good old days of 2011? ‘Young Folks’ floats and drifts like a wonderful memory. It’s accessible and beautiful.

The drums - beautiful pop beat, tender vocals, whistling :) and the banjo. What more do you want?

Beirut - Postcards from italy Postcards from italy is one of...

Tue, 27 Sep 2011 11:34:00 +0530

Beirut - Postcards from italy

Postcards from italy is one of those songs that instantly puts a smile on my face. It’s so playful, joyous and lovely. It’s like the missing link between the music that my grandparents used to listen to and the music I listen too today. This song reminds me of my granny and the time we used to play boardgames in her courtyard, it’s one of the happiest memories I have. I’d play this song for her if she were alive.

It starts with a funny little folky strumming that becomes the backbone of the song. The vocals and the trumpet recreate a time gone by. And the cresendo is pure Love.

“And I will love to see that day
That day is mine
When she will marry me outside with the willow trees
And play the songs we made
They made me so
And I would love to see that day
Her day was mine”

Rolling Stones - Paint it black This song makes me incredibly...

Mon, 26 Sep 2011 11:52:00 +0530

Rolling Stones - Paint it black

This song makes me incredibly happy. Whenever I am feeling down - I put up rolling stones and their music just lifts me up. How they’ve been doing this for 50 years I don’t know but, I love em. A very beautiful and wise woman once told me that in the 60s all the cool kids were listening to rolling stones and all the dumbos listened to the Beatles. I think it’s true in the twenty-first century as well. So eat this up all you Beatles dumbos.

Hear this song and jump up and down. The sitar gives it the weird fun energy. The drums are funky and the lyrics. I chose to play the 40 licks version and not the original from Aftermath, as the remastered version sounds much better.

NIN - We’re in this together The Fragile, Trent...

Fri, 23 Sep 2011 14:50:00 +0530

NIN - We’re in this together

The Fragile, Trent Reznor’s magnum opus released in 1999, in the wake of the industrial scene. I got this album this very same day 12 years ago. I had found Tool not too long ago and had barely gotten used to the Toolish melancholy and self loathing — I was listening to lot of music like that. But, nothing could have prepared me for what Reznor was secretly planning for 5 years.

This album is an absolute masterpiece. Two CDs of absolute genius. In the course of the album Reznor drifted away from his earlier self a bit and he was done with industrial. I realized that he was moving away from that person he was. Ghosts I - IV is proof of where he wanted to be.

The sound of this album is like the sound of noise in someone’s head. It is deeply disturbing, but, you want to keep listening to it, like watching a snuff movie unfold. We’re in this together is the third song on the first disc and establishes where it is going, The song starts off with the most disturbing and scary intro I’ve ever heard. Reznor screams on top his lungs the cries of a psychopath. The snare. The screaming guitars. Absolutely Yummy.

If you’ve not heard this album. Do it now.

Fun Lovin’ Criminals - Run Daddy RunSometime in the early 90s Pulp met Italian Mafia in a Black...

Thu, 22 Sep 2011 14:03:00 +0530

Fun Lovin’ Criminals - Run Daddy Run

Sometime in the early 90s Pulp met Italian Mafia in a Black neighborhood, shook hands and rolled a joint. Fun Lovin’ Criminals (FLC) was a fresh breeze that blew across your face and ruffled your hair a bit and went away without moving that newspaper in your hand. This would be what we call trip-hop now. One thing about 90s is that it was a time for change and experiment. While most experimental stuff would be loud and in your face, FLC mixed Blues, Jazz, Rock, Hip-Hop (and a lot of other things that I don’t know much about) and chilled out while at it.

FLC are a couple of guys who decided to play together in a club when the band that was supposed to play failed to show up. Huey Moran sang, rapped and played the guitar and Brian Leiser (Fast) who come up with the groovy baselines (uses an Upright Bass) and all the other instruments like the Drums,Trumpets, Keyboards, Harmonicas,Turntables etc.

Run Daddy Run is from their most successful album - Loco (2001). It’s telling you a relaxed narration of life on the street. The beat is phat and baseline is insane.

Note: Please lower the Volume on the computer or your speakers, the player has no volume control and I guess its too loud.

Pantha Du Prince - Saturn Strobe - The Bliss The idea of going...

Wed, 21 Sep 2011 11:47:00 +0530

Pantha Du Prince - Saturn Strobe - The Bliss

The idea of going about putting a track together by introducing subtle elemental sounds at different intervals while have it float seamlessly on a tricked out bass line, might not sound all to - emm, well Brilliant, but, what Pantha does is just beyond mere Brilliance.

He has an uncanny ability to put together unusual sounds and introduce some more, in a very impetuous manner of sorts and yet have them work together perfectly. “Saturn Strobe” is a great example of that musical brilliance.

“The Bliss” is a brilliant chilled out, minimal techno album. What you need is an excellent pair of audio device for the experience. Happy Listening.

The Orb feat. David Gilmour - Metallic side Downtempo meets Pink...

Tue, 20 Sep 2011 11:16:35 +0530

The Orb feat. David Gilmour - Metallic side

Downtempo meets Pink Floyd meets instrumental rock. Metallic Spheres is The Orb’s 10th studio album and it features David Gilmour on the guitars. Metallic Spheres is a seemingly natural collaboration, anyone who’s heard both The Orb and Pink Floyd would get it.

The album however is a tad disappointing for me. A fan of Gilmour’s work with Pink Floyd and someone who listens to a lot of ambient music. I think think that Gilmour’s guitar overweights the entire album and it’s not really ambient. That said, listening to Metallic Spheres is still an exceedingly rich and trippy experience.

It may not be the best game of either artists, but, it’s certainly is a great tea to sip as you relax and drift along.

Alice in chains - Them bones I don’t think any grunge...

Sun, 18 Sep 2011 13:49:00 +0530

Alice in chains - Them bones

I don’t think any grunge week would be complete without mentioning Alice in Chains. I will be honest and say that I really don’t get Alice in Chains. I love chains, but, I don’t understand or relate with the emotion as much as I do with NIN or Tool. But, I can see the greatness.

Let’s face it, Layne Staley had one of the greatest voices ever. Matched equally by a killer and classic riff and you get one of the finest grunge songs. Them bones is perfection. The odd time signature and the vocal intensity go perfectly with the great guitars.

Pixies - Gigantic Although, you can’t really call Pixies...

Fri, 16 Sep 2011 11:21:00 +0530

Pixies - Gigantic

Although, you can’t really call Pixies grunge, Pixies are none the less an important part of it. Pixies may have inspired many grunge musicians and the elements of their music are visible in Grunge and Alternative music. Kurt Cobain was a big Pixies fan and Nirvana’s Smells like Teen Spirit, pays homage to Pixies U Mass.

I love the pixies. Whenever I feel down I put on the pixies and it makes everything alright. Pixies are here to have fun.

The love of pixies is in the experience of listening to it, the sound transports you to a school band room. The hilarious lyrics, the random screaming and the raw guitars all work to help Pixies take the rawest parts of rock and stitch it together to something new.