20. Campus – Vampire Weekend

From the self titled album Vampire Weekend, released in 2008.

19. No one does it like you – Department of Eagles

From the 2008 album In Ear Park.

18. Home – Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros

From the 2009 album Up From Below.

17. Long Way Home – Tom Waits

Off the 2006 triple album Orphans: Brawlers, Bawlers & Bastards.

16. Electric Feel – MGMT

Off the 2008 album Oracular Spectacular .

15. Sing – Travis

From the 2001 album The Invisible Band.

14. Do You Realize – The Flaming Lips

Off the 2002 album Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots.

13. Love of my life… – Erykah Badu & Common

Erykah Badu & Common collaborated on this soulful tune for the soundtrack of Brown Sugar in 2002. The film barely made an impression, while this stand out track will likely last for many decades to come.

12. All These things that I’ve Done – The Killers

From the 2004 album Hot Fuss.

11. Crazy – Gnarls Barkley

From the 2006 album St. Elsewhere.

Nowhere Boy (2009)

John Lennon’s early years, including the formation of The Beatles, is chronicled in a the debut feature film by , Nowhere Boy premierd yesterday at the London Film Festival. Check out the trailer:

I’m excited for this film to hop the pond, and make its way to a theater near me. Until then, I’m enjoying these John Lennon covers:

Nobody Told Me – The Flaming Lips

Imagine – Eva Cassidy

Jealous Guy – Elliot Smith

Happy Christmas (War is Over) – The Polyphonic Spree

Do You Realize?? – The Flaming Lips

The Flaming Lips have been honoured by their home state of Oklahoma during the 2008 legislative session. Tulsa World reports that The Flaming Lips’ single Do You Realize?? has been voted as the official song of the state. The modern classic tune is from The Lips’ 10th studio album Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots released in 2002. I have long loved this tune, and often take a moment when it comes on to say to myself: “Holy crap… we are floating through space!”

Because it’s a great remix, I thought it best to include the Scott Hardkiss Floating in Space Vocal Remix of Do You Realize (mp3) from the Fight Test EP. Enjoy!

I am all cozied up with an eggnog latte, feeling the holiday spirit. I’m officially on vacation, and Santa Clause will be coming to town in no time… I just hope that he’ll be able to find me this year… I’m heading to Lima, Peru tomorrow! I’m not worried though, he’s pretty smart, and I bet he has the best GPS technology available.

Hallelujah – Jeff Buckley

From Jeff Buckley’s critically acclaimed album Grace, found new popularity when the song was featured on the The O.C. Mix 3 Have A Very Merry Chrismukkah soundtrack. The song isn’t truly a Christmas song, though it has a very Christmas feel, despite the lyrics have very faith challenging connotations. The word Hallelujah comes from the Hebrew word for praise, and carries great meaning in both the Christian and Jewish faiths. Originally written by Leonard Cohen, the lyrics contain multiple biblical references contrasted with sexual overtone, which I find to be very intriguing, particularly when pondering the connection between love, sex and faith.

Just Like Chrismas – Low

Just Like Christmas is delightful Christmas tune with warm female vocals, jingle bells and an uplifting rhythm with occasional deep bass drum, which has that potential to join the classics on the annual Christmas play list. From Low’s 1999 mini Christmas album that brought them notoriety when their version of Little Drummer Boy was featured in a Gap commercial. The EP is an unique addition to the holiday shelf, a must own for fans of Low. If you don’t know the works of Low, they are worth checking out, particularly if you are a fan of The Jesus and Mary Chain, or Mazzy Star.

Little Drummer Boy – The Flaming Lips

From The Flaming Lips’ gem of an EP Due to High Expectations…The Flaming Lips Are Providing Needles for Your Balloons, the Lips’ impromptu live version of The Little Drummer Boy starts off with Wayne’s preface “we won’t worry about it if we forget the words”, setting the tone for a very playful rendition of the classic carol. I highly recommend picking up a copy of this limited edition EP if you find it in your local used CD store, it has some of my favourtie Lips’ tracks that are quickly becoming hard to find.

Christmas – Rogue Wave

Christmas (Please Come Home) – Death Cab For Cutie

The two above tracks are great holiday songs done completely in the style of the artists. If you’re looking for holiday tracks that won’t be grating on the ears by the time the turkey hits the table, and you are a fan of the smooth sounds of Rogue Wave and Death Cab for Cutie, give these tracks a try.

Silver Bells – Jenn Grant

Jenn Grant’s offered three special holiday songs through her myspace at Christmas time last year. I love just about everything she puts out, so I had to include her playful rendition of Silver Bells, even though I know almost nothing about it.

Merry Christmas… from Lima, Peru!!

Feliz Navidad!!

Note: I’m settling in to start my Halloween post. How very fitting that my hit count just hit 6,666. Yikes… that’s freaky!!

The trick to the quality Halloween post is to find those diamonds in the catacombs the are hidden under the all the dust and grime. Those tunes that haven’t been brought up every every year like some sort of obligatory carol; Monster Mash comes to mind. It’s difficult to mix quality music with Halloween.

I’ve got to give props to David Williams, every year he blasts Tom Waits over the ghetto blaster as the young ones cautiously tread up his walkway for the promise of a treat, in hopes that he will create a new generation of Tom Waits fans. This courageous soul breaks convention for the sake of bringing quality music to Halloween. With blatant disreguard for the looks he must receive from the young mothers taking their batman and princess dressed younguns out on their first Trick or Treat tour, Mr. Williams plays Waits’ darkest and scariest album. Bones and chains rattle as Tom’s gristly voice rambles on about apocalyptic horrors, murdering drifters and vultures circling families who get decimated in the pits of the Colosseum. Bone Machine has been one of my most loved albums for nearly one and a half decades. Good luck to you this year David Williams, your quest is noble!

In efforts to bring Halloween and quality music together, here are 4 tracks that are both good, and belong on your Halloween mixtape:

Halloween on the Barbary Coast – The Flaming Lips

Hit to Death in the Future Head (1992)

The Barbary Coast refers to the Northwestern coasts of Africa that were ripe with pirates and slave traders during the 16th to 19th centuries. Rumour has it that the Lips wrote this song after getting kicked out of one hotel, then getting heckled at the next: The Barbary Coast Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas. I prefer to assume that the Lips hold a high standard of cleanliness, but this story does shed light on the perplexing lyrics.

Zombie Zoo – Tom Petty

Full Moon Fever (1989)

One of the lesser known tracks from Tom Petty’s classic 1989 album Full Moon Fever has a fear inspiring opening that conjures the image of the living dead, but the song itself is not about the zombies of All Hallows Eve. Dancing at the Zombie Zoo is referring to clubbing at the late night spots with the hardcores. Living a vampiric lifestyle while still being human. Playing the part of a zombie can take it’s toll, leading to head shaving that makes one look like Boris Karloff.

Season of the Witch – Donovan

From the1966 album Sunshine Superman, this classic track has stood the test of time, remaining one of the greatest tracks from the hippie era with lyrics containing several idioms of the time:

When I look over my shoulder,
What do you think I see ?
Some other cat looking over
His shoulder at me

And he’s strange, sure he’s strange.
You’ve got to pick up every stitch,
You’ve got to pick up every stitch,
Beatniks are out to make it rich,
Oh no, must be the season of the witch

I’m particularly fond of the Beatniks out to make it rich, but have no idea what the line “You’ve got to pick up every stitch” mean… any ideas? The best answer I found was that is means nothing because Donovan was likely stoned when he wrote it. I’m terribly dissatisfied with that answer! But, this can’t change the fact that this tune is a must play today.

Thriller (Richard Grey Remix) – MJ

Thriller

Since it’s the 25th anniversary of the track, and Thrill the World succeeded in on breaking the Guinness record with 4,177 simultaneous Thriller dancers… and because really, Thriller is a really good tune, I’ll include this banging remix. The regular Pacha DJ maintains the class and theatrics of the original, while bringing it up to date with beats worthy of today’s hottest dance floors. Check out his newest offering: a down tempo remix of Bob Marley at mySpace.

Happy Halloween!!!

Both The Flaming Lips and The Chemical Brothers have been favourite artists of mine for many years. When I first heard of their pending collaboration a few years back I was a little taken aback… what an odd pair! But I was excited nonetheless, to hear what the unlikely pairing might result in.

The Golden Path – The Flaming Lips & Chemical Brothers Singles 93-03 (2003) I rushed out to get The Chemical Brothers’ compilation disc, Singles 93-03, the day it came out in excitement for this one song. I already owned most of the discs put out by The Chemical Brothers, I certainly didn’t need this compilations cd. To tell the truth, I was a little put off by The Golden Path at first listen, thinking it odd and not good for dancing. But I didn’t give up on it, how could so much talent put together not result in a great tune? My patience paid off. The song quickly grew on me. The quirky vocals of Wayne Coyne tells a bizarre tale of a journey into the unknown, encountering both specters and demons. When he is confronted with the devil himself, he calls out: Help me lord! I found myself in some kind of Hell! But I did not believe in a heaven and hell, world in opposites, kind of reality. And I gained control of myself, and I decided to press on. Can you imagine being face to face with Lucifer, then denying his apparent existence because you don’t believe in such simple dichotomies? How absurdly beautiful! The track itself is lined with The Chemical Brothers’ unique style of impeccably timed electronic sounds that perfectly highlight Coyne’s vocals. This track was definitely worth the purchase. I encourage you to give it a listen, and please, be patient!

The Sunshine Underground – The Chemical Brothers Surrender (1999) The Chemical Brothers are known for epic electronic tunes. The Sunshine Underground certainly adds to this image. One the best examples of a song that slowly, and expertly builds to a massive climax, bringing in multiple layers and elements at every turn. If you don`t have the patience to listen to the 5 minute build up you will miss the sonic beauty that the duo from the UK skillfully craft at the pinnacle of this masterpiece. This under-celebrated track is from Surrender, the 3rd of 6 full length releases by The Chemical Brothers. The pair remain very active in the industry as they released We are the Night last summer, and continue to do shows through Europe and the UK, though any stops in North America are unlikely.

Do You Realize – The Flaming Lips Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots (2002) The Flaming Lips have long been one of my favourites because of their wacky and fun style! This humble offering from the boys from Oklahoma is in typical Flaming Lips fashion, but it illustrates a new level of musical maturity and skill than their previous singles. Being from the 10th of 11 full length releases, The Flaming Lips’ experience shines through the soaring guitars, chiming bells and the unobtrusive but engaging percussions. The lyrics and vocals accentuates the child-like wonder of this track in a way that only Wayne Coyne can offer. Simple, yet poignant, the lyrics remind the listener to realize that our time here is finite, and shouldn’t be wasted. Watch for The Flaming Lips on the festival circuit this summer!