Happy Fiscal New Year! My Favorite Tracks of the 2011 Fiscal Year

So one of the ways that I've come to realize that I'm a total work drone is the fact that the fiscal new year has become more significant to me than the calendar new year.  July 1st marks the new fiscal year (at the company that i work for).

these are my favorite tracks that got me through the fiscal year (released July 2010-July 2011).  they aren't in any  particular order, because ranking the tracks you love is fucking stupid as hell.

(some of them will be linked to videos or soundclouds or some shit, others i've covered in previous entries. the rest find yourself, you lazy fuck. you can google anything).

1. Salem – King Night (alright, possibly the coolest song i've ever seen/heard live.  as soon as the drum machine kicks in, you're flooded with light and smoke)

2. Salem – Trapdoor (my anthem for the year and what got me through the tougher parts of it.  nah, i ain't tryin' to look back, nah nah)

3. Salem – Stay Away (Remix of Charli XCX)

4. Salem – Try it On (Remix of Interpol)

5. Salem – Outsydanite

6. Gatekeeper – Serpent

7. White Ring – We Rot (such a sick beatttttttttttt)  

8. White Ring – IxC999

9. Cults – You Know What I Mean

10. Gvcci Hvcci – Queen of Darkness

11. Gvcci Hvcci – Superlow

12. Gvcci Hvcci – Cut the Rope

13. Vivian Girls – Heard You Say

14. John Maus – Believer

15. Purity Ring – Lofticries

16. Purity Ring – Ungirthed

17. La Sera – Never Come Around

18. Games – Planet Party

19. Girl Unit – Wut

20. Girls – Thee Oh So Protective One (oh little girl you just don't know)

21. Why? – Good Friday (ok, this one came out back in 08, but it was totally major for me back in Jewly)

22. The Weeknd – The Morning

23. The Weeknd – The Party and the After Party

24. Panda Bear – Slow Motion

25. Panda Bear – Tomboy

26. Warpaint – Elephants (stumbled onto this band (literally) at FYF. became obsessed. check out the video, it's mesmerizing)

27. Wavves – Baseball Cards (time...takes it's toll.  where do i go? i don't know)

28. Best Coast – Our Deal

29. Com Truise – Polyhurt

30. Pregnancy Pact – 777 (ft. Thieves)

31. Teams – Based Love

32. Mater Suspiria Vision – Holy Beast of Bethlehem

33. Silver Strain – Sadicos Infernal (rivals Salem when it comes to drum machine work)

34. Washed Out – Feel it All Around

35. Cold Cave – Youth and Lust

36. Destroyer – Kaputt

37. Wild Nothing – Bored Games

38. Wild Nothing - Chinatown (we're not happy till we're running away)

39. Glasser – Mirrorage

40. HEALTH – DISCO2 (whole fucking album)

41. oOoOO – Burnout Eyes

42. Radiohead – Lotus Flower

43. Tearist – Headless

44. Tearist – End Flux

45. Tearist – Civilization

46. Twin Shadow – Slow (i don't wanna...be...believe in...love)

47. Twin Shadow – Castles in the Snow

48. †‡† (Ritualz) – Ghetto Ass Witch (ft. Gvcci Hvcci)

49. Crystal Castles – Empathy

50. Crystal Castles – Baptism

51. Lapalux – Kelly Brook

52. Lapalux – There Are Monsters In This Bed

53. Teams vs Star Slinger – Punch Drunk Love

54. Pictureplane – Post Physical (i can feel your mind. you can feel my mind too. we are all post physical)

Teams VS Star Slinger - Punch Drunk Love

Two amazing and emerging producers team up on Mexican Summer to bring forth a siiiiiiiiiick (sic6sic6sic6) collaboration album, Say Please.

check out Punch Drunk Love.  it's a perfect blend of two different skill sets coming together to create something exquisite.  you can hear it in the track: Team's spacey chopped up sampling (for another example: read my post on Teams - Based Love) of Barbara Mason's vocals from the song "Yes, I'm Ready" mixed with Star Slinger's superior drum machine composition.  it's a two headed dragon that fucking spits fire into your ears.

Lapalux - Kelly Brook

what a mind fuck, seriously. i don't even know what to call this.

about every 30 seconds, you feel like you know where the song is going and then it turns into something completely different.  to many, it may just sound like noise, but give it a few listens.  there's a lot of beauty in this mess.

check out this track and video from Essex (UK) producer Lapalux.  at least appreciate the first 1:30 of the video, it's dope as hell man.  

Teams - Based Love

Yes, it's another post about an artist from Disaro.  it's not my fault that he signs so many amazing musicians.  i don't know shit about Teams except that he or she or they make great dance music.

i missed a chance to see Teams at Show Cave because my friends were being bitches and didn't want to venture from Silver Lake to Eagle Rock (also missed Reporter, god damn it).  i get my next shot on July 2nd at the Magic Stick (Detroit) when i'm visiting the Musky Mitten. 

check out this sick track and video.  Based Love has a great blend of both space and breaks, which creates a nice push and pull effect.  you just want the track to take off, and it does, but only in certain moments and bursts, making it even more satisfying to listen to.

       

Cults - You Know What I Mean

In the last two days, i have listened to this song around 60 times. i'm listening to it as i write this.

Cults is composed of singer Madeline Follin and singer/guitarist/synths/percussionist Brian Oblivion.  the music is very well crafted and they've got a great 60's bubble-gum pop sound.  

You Know What I Mean is my favorite song from Cults.  the bass, guitar, and percussion (complete with nice echoed finger snaps) are super chill and bring to mind old school slow dance jams.  Follin's sugary voice is a perfect juxtaposition.  how can a voice so sweet, go so well with such mellow music and forlorn lyrics?  i dunno, but it fucking does.      

give it a listen, cuz i am afraid of the light yeah, you know what i mean.

Cults - You Know What I Mean by cultscultscults

Pictureplane - Real is a Feeling

Pictureplane is a project by Denver's Travis Egedy.  I first heard about him through HEALTH's second remix album, Disco2 (great album, also the way I found SALEM).

Real is a Feeling dropped about a month ago and i've been playing it daily since.  it's pretty accessible, this being realized by the fact that my coworkers are able to stand it when i drive the company van (most of them don't have an ear for the shit i like).  it's really dancy with a great beat, heavy on the drum machine.  the song starts with a fade-in, but it quickly builds to all guns blazing within seconds.

it doesn't let up.

check out the video for the track cuz real is a feeling, and we're feeling so real.

video: http://www.vimeo.com/23620233

 

Pregnancy Pact - 777 feat. THIEVES

i automatically love Pregnancy Pact because they were the opening act (2nd: Raw Moans | 3rd: Nike7Up) for White Ring at Show Cave.  it was one of the best shows i've been to all year. right behind the Light Asylum, Gatekeeper, and SALEM show at the echoplex (i mean, come on).

Pregnancy Pact is an LA witch house act consisting of two girls, Kat and Maggie (according to facebook).  most their tracks sound a bit green but they were a lot of fun to see live.

this track is fucking ridiculous.

the beat is pretty much perfect and the warped vocals and guitar provide a nice ambiance.  i've got a thing for these kinds of songs.  the ones that are melancholy but pretty, backed by a head nodding beat.  what's not to fucking love? and if you don't love it, then...that's too bad.

777 feat. THIEVES by PREGNANCY PACT

o F F - Be Around U

Totally haunting song coming from German (or French based in Germany? fuck, I dunno) artist o F F.  o F F is on Disaro records (where else would he be?) and just dropped an EP called S E C R E T.  he's got a great sound, witch house production and warped R & B vocals provided by himself.

very simple yet heavy and haunting melody combined with computer pitched vocals. the result is a very pretty but melancholy sound that's very addictive.  the song's got like 4 lines of lyrics total: "i know you can't. give me what i want. but i want to be around you. i want to be around you. it hurts to be around you."

his singing is a perfect compliment to the melody, comprised of a simple piano part, what sounds like a howling digital wind, and an echoed out snare that gets booming toward the end of the song.  turn off the lights, close your eyes, and give it a listen.  and if you don't, then fuck it. you're probably too busy choking down a shit sandwich.

check out the song on o F F's soundcloud:     BE AROUND U by o F F