Nouvelle Vague

Ohhhh shit. Get ready everyone. These guys, they're just too good. Take all of those eighties songs you love to play either to help you clear your head or to clear a room, and imagine a band that does lounge and bossa nova renditions of them. Yes, it's awesome. They're called Nouvelle Vague. I am quite partial to their self titled album, but Bande A Part is acceptable as well. So, if you feel like pretending to sit on a veranda of some apartment on the coast of some place new, while still thinking about how great the eighties were, check these guys out. Here are a few videos:

http://youtu.be/-uZlvKXnYU4

http://youtu.be/HDR-uVGovtI

Echo and The Bunnymen

"Been too long since the last time..."

Creepy. Easily one of the creepiest lines from one of the creepiest made for TV movies of all time. But, in all seriousness, it has been ages. Eons. Epochs. Whatever.

Today, I'm going to talk about a great song. This song is called "Killing Moon". Heard of it? Great, me too, we have so much in common.  Wait, how did you hear about this song? Donnie Darko? It was in Donnie Darko? Lets talk about something else, shall we?

Donnie Darko aside, I enjoy this song for some reason. Why? Because it's sort of poppy, with jangling guitars and a surf rock vibe. It also has strings, and everyone knows strings are great, whether it's string cheese or string theory. But I digress.  Maybe it more or less has to do with the fact that I've been into proto and post punk for a while.

As for what the song is about. I don't know. death? "Fate, up against your will, through the thick and thin, he will wait until, you give yourself to him". Yeah, that's death. Death is always standing right outside your door, is what I gather from it. But I could be waaay off. And I'm pretty morbid, so who knows.

If you want to hear the song, just look it up on youtube. This site has changed so god damn much since I was last here, I have no idea what's going on. Kind of like this review/rant.

Next time, I think I'll talk about either The Cramps, The Melvins or The Sisters of Mercy. hmmmmm....

Check out "Mia Pharaoh" by Miniature Tigers

So it was only a matter of time until something would catch my fancy from the new indie-o-sphere. Wow, what a horrible term I've just come up with. But if you have no idea what I'm talking about, I am either doing a horrible job communicating, or you have not been hanging out in all the cool little coffee clubs where the heater never works, and that cute barista always adds way too much cinnamon in your mocha. For those who have no idea what I'm talking about, let me try to give you a quick history lesson.

 After the great fall of OC and the SoCal music scene that kind of popped it's turtle head into pop culture, indie music went through a couple of different transformation until we've come to the point of using 80s synth sounds combined with well singing to create atmospheric nonsense.

That is the short of it. And now here is Miniature Tiger!

Sadly this offer will only be up for a couple more days until their album comes out so... Make the most of it!

Most of the stuff I've heard in the recent months, have not really piqued my interest so, but I think this is one is something special maybe. The lyrical prose is Who-esque, and you get a story with your ten cent coffee as well as a little picture book. Well, awesome pictures which you can get from their web site.

The atmosphere has been made, and the musicianship here is a conglomerate of sound that sets you in a mood of some kind of easy listening. I'm not sure how much I love it, but it is one of the few things I have felt more love towards in a while, especially from this genre.

If you like XX and the kind of thing they did, and if you like the Who and the stories they told, then this might be right up your alley. It's a weird alley, but a nicer one than the other roads around it.

Thanks to Some Kind of Awesome for the share, and go to the Miniature Tigers site and support something good, God dammit!

And for all of you wonderful folks who use Spotify and want to hear more, here you go!

Listen to Hospitality

So, as I promised from my high little stooper from last night, I don't think that's how you spell stooper by the way, I am continuing with the great music machine known as Tastes Bad. I got all excited last night cause I was telling myself I would get on the Tumblr and the Twitter, oh the cacophony of sound there would be from this place. But seeing as how there is only me and my lonesome now, I can do nothing but write articles for new wonderful things I find, and hope somebody will join along in a while.

Yes it is true my readers, I am utterly alone. Gone is the rocking old man, Sammy the Sham Man, and gone is the rockabilly loving heehaw that was Roadkill, and gone are some other people that I promised you a while back but then they never did anything, so why bother with them right? I should probably change the roster up and what not.

Well, anyway, enough of the baying like wolves, lets talk about music.

Today I learned about a band, and boy are they pretty swell. Isn't it grand when you come back to music and your favorite archaic dead piece of genre is actually producing new artists? Yay for Indied pop!

No, no, no, no need to run away just yet. Give them a chance.



 Aren't they dreamy? Apparently they are one of those bands that are going to be at SXSW, if I went, I would watch them. Wouldn't you?

I'm a big sucker for pop, especially the alternative kind, but many of you don't, because you don't have the ears of an 80 year old. But that's okay as well. As you further delve into the album you get more ... um... other stuff. You can't really call it rock, but it's not completely the pop that we're all so familiar calling. I would say it is about as soft as Camera Oscura but with the odd rock-ities of Land of Talk or Delgados. Let's just say the singles on Youtube don't do enough justice to the breadth of their style.




Overall I don't find anything incredibly special about them as much as I love finding more things that fit into my love niche of quirky pop stuff that will never grow old. It's not a fast kind of love like rock and roll where the excitement is clearly there, but more like a casual relationship one might have with a piece of scenery on a bike ride... If you're a fine wine connoisseur... or something.



If you liked The Delgados or what the Cardigans used to do early on in their career, or you grew up in the early 90's listening to a lot of Belle and Sebastian and Elephant Six, this might be oddly reminiscent.

And here's the link to them on Spotify so that you can enjoy the album there too.

And thanks to KCRW for the news on this great new band.

Damien Rice - Delicate

Whi~

So of all the things I could have started my return with, why this song?

Well let me tell you good folks. Everyone, and I mean everyone now, needs a revolving cam shot song. I mean everyone. You never know when you'll be in the goddest dammest romantic moment in your life, and when that fancy looking lady/gentleman comes to give you that kiss, you need a revolving cam shot song. Just as everyone needs the "Practice Montage for Revenge against a Friend's Death" song or a drinking song.

This one, is taken. Mine.

Let me take you back to a time when I was in middle school and I dated a girl. Oh it was sweet, it was romantic, and it was the cutest thing in the world. Let's, uh, for safety's sake call this girl Felicity, and let's say that Felicity and I had a song. Sadly, you don't get a choice on the matter of what that song is. Our song was that Aerosmith song from that Bruce Willis action movie with Ban Afflek.

So maybe now whenever I'm at a cheap bar and that song comes on, maybe I cry a little inside, and hate myself for having a shit song, but at least my revolving cam shot song is freaking awesome.

Well, maybe awesome isn't the best words the describe it. Some might find it almost legally offensive. "Why is a man making love in front of a mic?" some redneck might ask. "Is that there man ejaculcrying into my ear?" another would chime in. And I would have to guffaw like heehaw and nod my head back and forth all clumpity good like.

"Why gursh durn, I guess I am a faggot" I would reckon and we rednecks would all go down to the nearest watering holes and clean each other's urethra. Perhaps romance would burst, I dunno, but when that kiss came, you'd be sure to hear this song one more time.

Okay, so voice is a choosy thing. Some people like Damien's voice and some don't. I'm a sucker for cry singing indie hipsters, girl or guy, so I can't complain. But let's say the voice wasn't there. Let's say Mr. Cash came around and he sang it for us. Would it be anyless loved? Is that a loaded question? I'm not entirely sure.

If Mr. Cash sang it, or if Paul Simon did, or if even your Creed or Aerosmith guy sang it, good to bad, bad to worse, whatever, this song would still be a great song. Rising crescendos, lilting melodies, a freaking cello in the background, come on, that's class.

What we have here is a clearly well written ditty, that's been very well produced and orchestrated, with a indie hipster irish busker singer added on top. Is that wrong? No. That is how I like my coffee and revolving cam shot songs, all full of buskery goodness and some shamming. Maybe a Sham wow. I dunno...

LINK!

I'm coming out~

If it hasn't been a while it wouldn't be worth the wait.

I'm back from a very long time gone, and I have to say I'm in the best of spirits to start of our brand new day. Because, yes it is, ladies and gentlemen, as you can see, it is a brand new day, and a day well worth celebrating.

I hate to use intros over and over again, beating them like a dead horse and all that, but as you can see, this is another great place to start with an "as you can see" and so we will start by saying-

As you can see, I am back and a bit off the rocker today. But that's okay folks because changes are coming to this site. Indeed, big changes are coming, and the question that will be on your mind is, will I be one of the chose few to have been here before the hordes came and destroyed our place of musical bliss.

What's that you say? I'm speaking crazy? There's nobody here? Is that anyway to treat a respectable member of congress?!

The whole new system here is a bit sterile, and it's going to take me a bit of time to get things to used to, and I'm not even sure what I mean by that. This here is just a post to say my hellers and tellyall good folk that I'm a coming back into town, and as much as I want to say things will be much more exciting from now on here at the Tastes Bad site, I don't gosh darn know if that's true.

So let me just stop here, and find a good song to share with you all to say hello again.

-Also, I have to say, I think I need to change the site up a little. It's looking a little ... indie.

"The Bedroom Demos" LP by The Stars

Stars - Take Me to the Riot
Stars - Midnight Coward
Stars - Bitches in Tokyo(Fuck U I love You)

Oh man, I am so sorry its taken me so long to write a review, but I'm sure that's not what you actually came here for, so lets just get on with the review eh? In fact, to make up for the loss of time, I thought I would do something truly epic to get the fun started all over again.

Thanks to Pandora, I've been getting a earful of new Stars, or so I thought it was. You see, the first "new" song by them I heard on Pandora was "Personal", which I loved. A couple of weeks later "Midnight Coward" came on and boy did I love that one too.

Flash forward a good three weeks when I'm playing around with Spotify and trying to make the most awesome playlist ever, so I search for "Midnight Coward" once more, and I come upon the copy from "The Bedroom Demos". At first I don't even take notice that the LP came out in 2011, too excited by the fact that "Personal" seems to be on it as well.

"But wait!" many of you are saying "Both those songs actually come from the LP "In the Bedroom after the war". And if you did shout that, then yes, you would be right.

So what's so special about this new album which apparently has all the exact same songs as the band's favorite self made album? Well, I can't do justice in trying to thematically disassemble it, but here's a quote from the site that might help you out a bit.

"In the spring of 2011, much had changed for the band. Parents had been lost and made, homes left behind and built anew. On a break from touring their new record, 'The Five Ghosts' the band reached back and remembered an affinity with the Breakglass sessions – 'Barricade' recorded with one microphone, an epic solo on 'My Favourite Book'. Jace found the tapes, wine lined the windowsill for a weekend, and the demos finally found their way out of the studio.

Here they are, please enjoy." - http://www.thebedroomdemos.com/

The first difference you'll notice when you take a back to back listen of each song is the highly remastered quality of the 2007 album. The clarity in the distinction between voices and instruments as well as the distinction between all the instruments is very noticeable. Of course, that is something you would notice if you recorded the previous album in an actual bedroom with less capital and equipment.

When we consider the core structure and stylistic themes, most songs are very similar to their counterparts, but with the quality changes, the band feels completely different. The band that you hear in "Bedroom Demos" is much more fragile, even with songs like "Bitches in Tokyo" with it's glorious power still intact and perhaps even rawer, you feel a distinct difference and a subtle weakness of humanity that's missing in the 2007 LP.

When someone listen to The Stars, even as a first time listener, the first two things that one can appreciate are the amount of effort put into the mastering and production as well as the beautifully crafted songs. This new album forces the listener to focus very much on the second part.

A second difference comes into play in the stylistic themes that they decided to take between some songs. The things that they are trying to focus on, or even sometimes the mood is radically different. For instance, try listening to the 2007 version of "Personal" and then the "Bedroom Demo" version. In the beginning you won't notice that many differences, but as the song progresses, one decides to take a poly-rhythmic back beat while the other maintains with the steady fading.

Or check out the headlining song "In Our Bedroom after the war" from both albums. One focuses much more on mood set by the instruments while the other puts more effort into the voice, changing the songs completely.

If you like what you hear here, you should definitely check out either of the two albums. If you're more into Ben Folds than Metric, then check out "Bedroom Demo" first, but if you're more interested in the production and orchestration "In the Bedroom After the War" is probably more for your tastes.

Welcome Back.

Watch "The Sun" by The Naked and Famous, but not at work

Seriously, not something you should watch at work. Just letting you know.

The Naked And Famous - The Sun from The Naked And Famous on Vimeo.

As appropriate it is for artists to release videos for new albums, it must be a pain having to choose which song you want to release as your first video. I think their choice, however, was spot on. An incredibly moody song with a good deal of soft bass drum, it might be hard to consider when you would ever want to hear this, but in response I would argue "When would you not want to listen to this?"

Some songs are appropriate for certain moods, and some songs are plausible for any activity you are doing, and oddly enough, as moody and atmospheric as this song is, I believe it fits in a lot more situations than you'd think. Or Maybe I'm going crazy. Yeah, its actually me going crazy.

Hope you enjoy the video, and the song, and check out their new album on their website. And thanks to One Thirty BPM for the video.

Watch "Breathe Deep" by Echo Lake

Echo Lake - Breathe Deep

Earlier today I shared "Hazel" by Weekend and may have talked about my disinterest in 80s revival as well as a slight uncaring view for the lo-fi scene.

But thankfully there will always be music to put me in my place and prove me completely wrong. Well, the 80s revival thing, maybe not so much, but the lo-fi sound on this premier track by Echo Lake is incredibly full in sound and heavily atmospheric.

I would warn against watching the video too closely or you might trip out a little bit. If you enjoyed this song as much as I did, I would recommend getting their 7 inch at No Pain Pop.

And check out Gorilla vs Bear for more information about the band as well as the shoot for the video.

Watch "Circles" by Digitalism

Forget about his voice, forget about the 80s clap trap in the background, and just listen to the beat and think about all the awesome remixes that will come out of this.

But honestly, the beats incredibly heavy on this one, and I just love it so much, it reminds me of how much I love electro-rock. It may not be as melodically catchy as their other songs like "Pogo" or "Blitz" but just like my previous post about what Weekend is doing, I feel like Digitalism is trying to go back a decade or two and trying to go for a much more 80s revival vibe.

The video itself is nothing really that special. Pretty similar to Blitz, actually, people dancing, some strange images, and then, oh, what's this? more people dancing at their concerts.

I strongly recommend you check out their older songs, but I guess now is not the time for that. Now is the time of buying their new LP if you are big fans of Digitalism.

And thanks to Some Kind of Awesome for the music video.

Listen to "Hazel" by Weekend

Weekend - Hazel by Slumberland Records

Since their LP release "Sports", Weekend has slowly be gaining a larger fanbase, and expectations for this lo-fi band has been quite high since then. Not a big shoe gaze guy myself, "Sports" has never really clicked quite for me. I mean, there were a lot of good songs that I enjoyed, but in total treatment of atmosphere or anything else, its always seemed a bit boring.

Not this time however. Where as "Sports" had a more modern feel to it, this song is all from the 80s, and the clarity, which was lacking from their earlier lo-fi days, is much more prominent. Like many of the Slumberland bands, these guys retain a lot of the attributes that make the style, such as the rapid jangly guitars, as well as the soft repetitive drums, and the whale noises hidden everywhere.

This track is definitely worth a listen if you're into the softer pop-ier side of lo-fi, and highly recommended for fans of the older british indie stuff. Thanks to One Thirty BPM for the share.

Watch "Moshpit" by Ninjasonik and Free Album

Music videos come and go, and if there is one more thing to put on my list of "Things I do not understand", the music video industry would be another one. But surely you can see why this music video is awesome. The play off of The Warriors is hilarious but also makes me want to watch it once more.

The beat is pretty simple, with it's head bobbing one-two-one-two style, but that doesn't mean it's bad. Because its so easy to "get", everybody can enjoy the drop right after the intro. And like the beat, everything else is pretty much what you'd expect from such a song, but its still a lot of fun, and a damn good song.

Thanks to Some Kind of Awesome for the share.

"ADHD Generation Vol 2" by Upgaze

Upgaze - ADHD Generation Vol 2

Oh crap, its Monday already. If you're wondering where your weekend went, I'm in the same boat.

Sad to say, but our electronica robot is still very much broken, and God knows when it will ever be fixed, so in it's stead I will be doing another electronica review today, and awesomely its from my friend Upgaze with the ADHD mix Vol 2. If you haven't listened to Volume 1, you should go take a listen, and enjoy the eclectic sampling choices.

This week's mix is a bit less eclectic but all of the samples are truly unique; not something that you will easily just glaze over. The tingling in your ear and spine is the sound of something beautiful. The mix is done smoothly, and we go from slow to fast, with some Drum and bass in there, and some slight wubbing, but with a lot of softer keyboard in there too. Even with the IDM-esque ticks everywhere, and the brutal pounding at the end, this is still, comparably, a lot more mellow than volume 1. Which is pretty much what he told me when he sent me the mix: "This mix essentially focuses on heavy bass and goes from slow to fast rather than fast to spacey like the previous mix."

If you enjoyed the mix, the download link is after the track list. And a huge thanks to Upgaze for his contributions. If you like his stuff, check out his soundcloud and tumblr for more of it.

Mount Kimbie - Flux
Shigeto - Beat it up
DZA - Sea Monstr (Digi G'alessio Remix)
Guardian - London Taxi
Tom & Jerry - Yamming Snacks Like Shaggy (Juke Edit)
Roni Size - New Forms (Juke Edit)
Machine Code - Corridor VIP
Limewax - Changing Crisis

Mediafire: Upgaze - ADHD Generation Vol 2

In which I gush about Mando Diao

I’ve been pretty remiss in writing posts. So! I am going to tell you about one of my favorite bands, Mando Diao. They aren’t new or anything, but they’re Swedish and apparently don’t have much of a following in the U.S., so perhaps they will be new to you. They play a 1960s sort of rock and roll with a twist of punk rock, are very good looking (I think that is just a Swedish thing?), and their band’s name came from a dream the lead singer had in which a man came up behind him and shouted “Mando Diao!” (For some reason, I picture this man having a horse’s head and wearing a suit). What more do you need? Okay, maybe you need more.

I would characterize Mando Diao as sounding something like Sweden’s version of the early/mid-2000s garage rock revival scene, which I suppose is in fact what it is. I’m especially fond of the albums Ode to Ochrasy, Bring ‘Em In, and Give Me Fire. My favorites of their tracks combine insanely catchy guitar riffs with a fast tempo and alternately soulful and punky vocals. Without further ado (Is that word ever used in another context? “I’d like to start with some ado…”), here are some of my favorite tracks of Mando Diao.

Mando Diao- "Down in the Past"
First is my absolute favorite, the song I listen to over and over during the summer: “Down in the Past.” If you don’t like this song from the very second it begins playing, I’m not sure we can be friends. I eat that guitar up like candy, I swear. This song features the more soulful of the two lead singers, and it demonstrates just what I love about the vocals; he goes from a smooth, 1950s kind of almost-croon, and slides without hesitation into a great, raw intensity. Also, it is fucking ROCKING. Admit it, your ears are telling your feet to dance right now.

Mando Diao- "High Heels"
Damn, trying to decide which tracks to feature is like pulling teeth. All of it! I want all of it! Okay, how about a little sexiness? Who am I kidding, it’s all sexy, this one’s just turning the sultry up to eleven. “High Heels” has a slow, smokin’ beat, some soulful horns, a little taste of slide guitar, and the singer (believe it’s the punkier of this two, this time) croons like the words are on fire. This is the song you put on to seduce somebody, preferably while smoking a cigarette between blood-red lips and twirling pearls around your finger. If you’re a burlesque dancer and you’re reading this, please please please set a routine to it. And put up videos.

Mando Diao- "Motown Blood"
Alright, here’s one that’s heavy on the garage and the punk. “Motown Blood,” while an absolutely excellent song, isn’t necessarily one of my favs from Mando Diao, but I’m trying to showcase the band’s variety a little bit. This track plays up the Detroit sound, as the title and lyrics acknowledge, and it makes for a really fun, energetic song.

Mando Diao- "Long Before Rock 'n' Roll"
Probably there is a limit to the number of songs I should share, huh? Okay, last one, then. Let’s go with another catchy-as-fuck, fun-as-hell song, “Long Before Rock ‘n’ Roll.” This one gives you a taste of the two vocalists singing together; I really love how their voices complement each other. Also, it includes a round of "La la la"s, which I think I've mentioned I'm a proponent of. This tune makes me want to stomp, and dance, and generally shake my tail feather, or maybe just lean against the brick wall of the cornerstore soda fountain, snapping my fingers to the beat and peering over the tops of my shades. If you took a couple of 70s punk kids and dropped them in the 50s, they’d write this song. That’s my take, anyway. It won't let me embed the video, but look it up if you want to see Mando Diao’s energy, and also, ogle some cute Swedes.

Thanks for putting up with my ado. Basically, Mando Diao is the bomb, more people should listen to them, you should listen to them, and go listen to them. Also rock.

"How come you never go there" by Feist

If you missed the information on Feist's new album, then you should definitely check out our news post from a few days back where we had gathered all of her tiny trailers she had created for the release of said album. Today, we have something better than teasers: an actual song!

The overall feeling is still similar from her previous albums, and this song runs in the same veins with the other R&B-esque songs she usually splatters between all the more folk-pop that she does oh so well.

Will this be my favorite song on the album? Most likely not, but judging by the trailers, there will be a wide variety on this album, and hopefully even with, what seems to be, a darker tone for this release, I'm hoping for some show stoppers as well. (Is that a thing? That's a thing right?)

Enjoy the sweet sounds of Feist, and thanks to Stereogum for the news.

"Put us back together right" by The Headlights

Headlights - Put us back together right

I think it could be because of my brain growing old, but I find an increasing frequency in the number of bands that I like, and then forget, and then find later again. Sometimes the bands I forget about aren't even really worth a second mention, but I'm happy to say this isn't one of those bands.

The Headlights have always been one of those staples in my musical diet that seem to pop in and out with a friendly frequency. If you've never heard their song "Cherry Tulips" from their 2008 album "Some Racing, some stopping" I would strongly give it a listen to.

For a band that has been so prodigious in their 7 years as a band, its funny how little most people have heard about them, but perhaps that comes from their focus that is utterly devoted to their distinct style of music, that, perhaps isn't so distinct.

If you had to create a check list of musical requirements for all the songs I have put on the site so far, this song would hit all the marks with flying colors: the pulsing one-two beat, the jangly guitar that kind of picks repetitively in a lull in the background, the female and male vocals, the piano in the beginning; they all show signs of all the other indie pop that I share on a daily basis.

But who can't use more upbeat songs? The more things to get you through the day, the better right? If you enjoy this song, I highly recommend the album, and possibly the previous album I have mentioned as well, "Some racing, some stopping" although it deals less in tones of atmosphere and ambient sound.

(Warning, do not watch the video at work. Its not like its that weird, but your coworkers might wonder about you.)



Happy Friday everyone.

The Red Plastic Buddha "Sunflower Sessions"

The Red Plastic Buddha-Forget me Not
The Red Plastic Buddha-Clouds
The Red Plastic Buddha-Kerosene
The Red Plastic Buddha-Gingerbread Pornography

Alright god damn it, I've been gone a while, so its time for me to do...something.
So to get this site back in order, I'm going to let you in on a little secret. It's this band from Chicago, and they're known as The Red Plastic Buddha. Their first album, called "Sunflower Sessions", was released in 2007. It's a short one, but don't let that discourage you.
The first song on the album, "Forget Me Not", has a classic psychedelic feel to it, very reminiscent of Brian Jonestown Massacre, Acid Mothers Temple or Spacemen 3. The drums are steady, the guitar is jangly, the synth is trippy and the bass moves everything along. The next song, "Rollercoaster" happens to be a Spacemen 3 cover, and lord knows I love me my Spacemen 3. They didn't butcher the original, either. So many kudos to The Red Plastic Buddha for taking an excellent song and not...well, ruining it. Up next is "Clouds" and it starts out with a simple guitar riff and drum beat and then goes in to harmonizing vocals. This song sort of reminds me of driving around the country during twilight, watching the final rays of the sun fade away as they engulfed be the creeping darkness. The song eventually heads towards some interesting effects that go hand in hand with a guitar solo that is neither boring nor over the top, just hitting the right spot. The next song, "Kerosene", starts out with something that sounds like someone is playing the hand saw (you know, when they use a bow and that crazy shit). Maybe its just a guitar effect, but its pleasant to the ears. The song carries on with keyboards, tambourine and a mellow guitar riff. Later on there's a decent chord progression. The following song is "Over and Over", and it's another mellow one with more vocal harmonies during the chorus. Eventually there's a pretty straightforward guitar solo. All in all, its a great slow song, something to slowly sway or nod your head to. The final song is a live song called "Gingerbread Pornography". This one is a little livelier, with more of a rock oriented riff than the previous psych/space based songs. The song still has trippy lyrics, keyboards and harmonies, so it doesn't stray too far from the bands formula. Oh, and there's a keyboard solo, and its awesome.

So there you have it. I have given you a solid album from a solid band. If you feel like picking up a copy, head over to allthatisheavy.com ; they have this album and their latest one as well.

Watch "Cry Baby" by Cee Lo Green

Do you stay up nights wondering what ever happened to Steve Urkel? Yeah, so do I. Well now we know. Apparently he's been hanging out with Cee Lo, and Cee Lo was like "Dude, you gotta be in my next music video, yo" (I actually don't think Cee Lo talks like that, but this is my dream, so whatever.) and Steve Urkel was like "Of course my dear sir" (Cause he's Steve Urkel.)

Anyway, here is Cee Lo's new music video for "Cry Baby" from his album The Lady Killer, which is going on strong since it's first release last year. Honestly, I miss Cee Lo in the video, but Jaleel is a great throw back in his stead.

The song is great, with a lot of happy beats, horns, and that soothing voice of his, and to top it off, there are people dancing in the streets again. The biggest thing that popped into my mind was the orchestration more than anything though. The whole atmosphere created by the sound is just so wholesome sounding, it definitely feels like a summer hit.

Thanks to Some Kind of Awesome for the share.

"Billie Holiday" by Warpaint

There has been a lot of changes going in the popular indie music scene for quite a while now. Some of the metamorphosis has come from the hybridization of the simpler folk rock with the jangly electro senses of the 80s, and in response there has also been a movement towards purists, but much less so than before.

But it is very rare for an artist to find the "just right" sort of balance between keeping the feelings of the Appalachians while still adding a surreal sound from the machines. This song, awesomely enough, fits right into that corner, and is, without a doubt, one of the cooler mixes of sounds I have heard in a while.

If you enjoyed their stuff here, you should go to their site and look around and perhaps contemplate on buying their album from 2010: The Fool.

And interestingly enough, this song is a redo with the atmosphere added in. Check out One thirty BPM to hear the original as well.

"Exile, Vilify" by The National

What are some of the best things in life? Ice cream cakes, camping out by the beach, and musicians that don't take themselves too seriously.

For such a sad song, "recently" released for the vidja game Portal 2, "Exile and Vilify" has one of the cutest videos to go along with it. The video was chosen, actually, from a contest where fans were asked to make an appropriate video. I can only imagine how many horribly sad art films they had to go through.

If you like wheepy indie tunes, and mumbling singers, then The National is right up your alley. You could even probably mix some Coldplay in there, and some Aqualung and really go all the way into the crying. Try giving your mix to girl, I'm sure she'll think it's real deep.

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