Monday, August 23, 2010
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
Friday, August 13, 2010
Friday, May 28, 2010
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Tuesday, May 18, 2010
Friday, May 14, 2010
Thursday, May 13, 2010
Monday, May 03, 2010
Thursday, April 29, 2010
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
Friday, April 23, 2010
Friday, April 16, 2010
Thursday, April 15, 2010
Friday, March 19, 2010
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
Friday, March 12, 2010
Tuesday, March 09, 2010
Wednesday, March 03, 2010
Tuesday, March 02, 2010
Monday, March 01, 2010
ONCE February 2010 Mixtape
ONCE – One Note Changes Everything
"February is a suitable month for dying. Everything around is dead, the trees black and frozen so
that the appearance of green shoots two months hence seems preposterous, the ground hard and
cold, the snow dirty, the winter hateful, hanging on too long."
Anna Quindlen - One True Thing
I procrastinated on this mix and barely made the month! It happens and I have learned to live with it. I just hope you can forgive me for being so tardy on this one. This has been a fun month because I was also able to put out a very special Valentine mix. So two mixes in one month, even if one of them is only a day away from being too late! So enjoy!
COMPLETE ALBUM LISTING http://treyminator.com/albumindex.htm
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Track #1
Broken Bells
Broken Bells
“The Ghost Inside”
This band is a awesome collaboration between artist and producer Danger Mouse (Gorillaz, Beck, Gnarls Barkley) and James Mercer (The Shins). The album is full of lush beats and driving guitar rhythms. The album jump starts with “The High Road” the first single off the album. A sound that is mixed between Oasis and the Arctic Monkeys. Danger Mouse’s drum sequencing pushes each song into new territory while Mercer gives the album its organic feel.
Featured Lyrics : “Just like a whiskey bottle drained on the floor, She got no future, just a love to endure, This gives some matter to shaking her hide, 'Too late to leave him' are the songs in her car.”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gWBG1j_flrg – Official video for “The High Road”
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Track #2
Eels
End Times
“Line In the Dirt, A”
I have featured the Eels before. Back in June 2009 I previewed a track off of his excellent “Hombre Lobo”. But then he got a divorce. This forced him into a few months of isolation to break down what exactly had happened. Luckily his guitar and a 8 track recorder joined him on his quest for answers. And with that End Times was born as a 14 song album chronicling the break down of his marriage. The songs are mostly introspective, blaming himself for the various failures. At the beginning of the album is a broken man frustrated by his own inabilities to make it work. But by the last track you get the sense that he is going to be alright. “In My Younger Days” has him trying to find the source of his communication problems. The title track is a comparison toward the end of his marriage the end of the world as he knows it. “Nowadays” features a gorgeous but lonely harmonica and a look at his current state of mental health. And again on “Little Bird” he sits in his backyard and watches life moving just as it had before the divorce. But the stand out is “Line In the Dirt, A” where we find him relieving himself in the backyard because his soon to be ex has locked herself in the bathroom claiming she doesn’t want to be alone, but she feels that he does. All the songs are presented in a very stripped down intimate fashion that really lets the heartbreak bleed through.
Featured Lyrics : “She locked herself in the bathroom again, So I've been shutting down the lights, And I don't know if I'll ever go back again, I'm drivin' straight into the night.”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oca-0wH9SyU - Official Video for “Little Bird”
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Track #3
Los Campesinos!
Romance Is Boring
“There Are Listed Buildings”
I have already featured this band two times in the last year and a half. But this is their third album in that amount of time. You would think such a rigorous output of music would be detrimental to their creativeness. It couldn’t be further from the truth. This band has an amazing ability to wear their heart on their sleeve with results that are no less than perfection. They are a seven piece band out of Wales. They combine quirky melodies full of even quirkier lyrics along with shout along sections that really comes across as genuine emotions. The members often trade vocal lines. Combine that with lush strings and crashing drums and you have a band that sounds nothing like any other band around right now. It is no secret I am a huge fan having seen this band in the very beginning of the career. They played for about 300 people and you would have thought it was 30000 people. Do not miss this album or any of their other albums. They are one of the most unique bands out there right now.
Featured Lyrics : “I remember being naked to my waist though not in which direction. ‘And oh, I am a glutton for love, can you give me some romance? I'm a glutton for sin’. We are but two atheists in lust, you know, we gotta make our own luck.”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6dbs9nzErz4 - Official video
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Track #4
Local Natives
Gorilla Manor
“Who Knows Who Cares”
This LA based indie band burst onto the scene with last years SWSX music festival in Austin. Suddenly everyone was talking about them. A few short months later we had their debut album in our hands. They have been compared to bands like Fleet Foxes but with more pop sensibilities. Which basically means not as much folk influence. “Cards and Quarters” is a great example of their ability to craft a catchy song using simple harmonies and clean guitars. Most the songs build into something bigger than their birth. “Shape Shifter” is a great example of this. It begins with a yearning lyric spun by front man Taylor Rice. But then quickly the drums turn the song into a driving inspirational. I suspect that with their second album they will fully discover their potential. This album is a great start.
Featured Lyrics – “so we took a van down to Colorado, where we ran into the dead, I took you by the hand, know that even with your doubts, it's ok, take into account that it's not about to change
who knows, who cares.”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8pZkZguPAPs – Official video for “Airplanes”
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Track #5
Motion City Soundtrack
My Dinosaur Life
“Her Words Destroyed My Planet”
This band is making their major label debut with their 4th album. The boys from Minnesota have really come together and made it happen with this one. The album retains its punk roots of their first two albums while pulling in the slickness of their third album. Makes for a great album of witty songs dealing with relationships, haters, dealing with record labels and trying to reconcile the kid in you with the adult you are.
Featured Lyrics : “Maybe you were right after all, Maybe I'm just bad news, I've been drowning in memories, Call it residual booze, I fell asleep watching Veronica Mars again”.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RC_HwM5nSYU – Official Video
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Track #6
Owen Pallett
Heartland
“Lewis Takes Action”
Two years ago Final Fantasy (AKA Owen Pallett) released the unfortunate titled album He Poos Clouds. Luckily the album was one of the best of the year filled with lush string arrangements and engaging lyrics. Forced into a name change due to a lawsuit from a video game company, he now defers to his real name. The album is a concept piece involving a farmer in a “Warcraft” type world. Faced with some unsavory landlords he decides to force change into his small part of the kingdom. Lewis, the central character, takes us from song to song developing the slow build up of tensions that leads to an eventual uprising. In making the album, Pallett enlisted the help of the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra. He got his money worths, because the albums contains giant string arrangements that threaten to swallow the music whole. But it never quite does, instead it helps tell the story in dizzying and swooping moments. If you enjoy classical, and you enjoy indie music, this album combines both for a real explosive number. You will not be disapointed! You will be doing “air violin” before you know it.
Featured Lyrics : “I took No-Face by the beak, and broke his jaw, he'll never speak again”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qIUAiXqH_ns – Live studio video of him performing the song
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Track #7
Mudvayne
Mudvayne
“All Talk”
Mudvayne just put out an album at the in the summer of 2009. It was not well received due to its very radio friendly format and an almost unforgiving approach to traditional song writing. But they are known for their metal crafted around arrangements crafted using math equations. So with this album they got back to work and took their sound as close as they could to their original sound. The result is an awesome head against the wall explosion of metal. The rhythms bark back and forth while singer Chad Gray weaves his dark lyrics throughout. The album is one of the most solid metal albums of the year, with each song standing on its own. The only setback would maybe be to mention they did add quite a bit of sound affects to bolster the dark mood of the album. That means listening to 2 minutes of factory noises before the song takes off and blows you away. But this is a little pain to take for such a great rock album.
Featured Lyrics : “could try to teach a lesson but I doubt it penetrates, I can give you all excuses till I'm blue in my face, I can talk about serenity, but it doesn't mean a thing, I can talk about problems, I can talk about sin, I can talk about trial, but what do we really win?”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7q2bNqe0Xyk – Official Video for “Scream With Me”
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Track #8
The Bravery
Stir the Blood
“The Spectator"
London based band The Bravery have come out with their third album. In a way they are still trying to top their only hit single from 4 years ago. But that being said, this album is a adventurous departure from their previous efforts. Sometimes it accomplishes the goal, and sometimes it fails at it. But it can be appreciated for the changes they did make. This album features a more darker sound and incorporates a electronic edge that includes drum beats and synthesizers. They kept the album relatively short and crunched in as much British angst as they could. The good outweighs the bad though. They are a tight band with lots of ambitions. You just keep hoping that with the next album they will fully realize themselves. Well this album will do nicely until they get around to the next one.
Featured Lyrics : “Hey all you people, All you slobs, All you killers, All you dogs, All you rats, All you punks, Hey all you devils, All you worms, All you liars, All you germs, All you trash, All you drunks. Just Do Your Thing.”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fX_1_ugJuxg – Official video for “Sugar Pill”
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Track #9
Mumford & Sons
Sigh No More
"Little Lion Man"
Ok if you buy just one of the albums on this mix, make this the one. This awesome band out of England has tapped into Americana folk and then added a bit of their spices to make this a real crowd pleaser. Every song has its sweet spot. The songs themselves frequently tell a story whether it be about the dustbowl years or the end of the world. They frequently employ the banjos and horns with delirious results. Once the band puts its all together and lays their sweet harmonies down, you are left with an album full of singles.
Featured Lyrics – “weep for yourself, my man, you'll never be what is in your heart weep little lion man, you're not as brave as you were at the start rate yourself and rape yourself, take all the courage you have left wasted on fixing all the problems that you made in your own head but it...”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lLJf9qJHR3E - Official video
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Track #10
La Roux
La Roux
“Bulletproof”
This singer\producer duo out of London have combined their respective talents to put together an album of underground London dance music. It is a album that is full of influences from David Bowie to Prince and many other synthpop acts. But the difference is you can see it fitting right in with the rave scene. But what keeps this music from becoming to clubish is the ability of singer Elly Jackson to turn into a real song with structure. Songs like “Quicksand” and “In For the Kill” are simply great written pop songs.
Featured Lyrics : “Burning bridges shore to shore, I'll break away from something more, I'm not to not to love, until it's cheap..”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EUsbpmQ9-mc – Official video
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Track #11
Vampire Weekend
Contra
“Taxi Cab”
This Ivy League band is back for the second go around with Contra. Their unique brand of Afro-Pop has inspired many other bands in the last three years since they hit the scene. The album is full of highs like the falsetto chorus of “White Sky” or the unique take on the auto-tune movement in “California English”. And very few lows. The songs make you want to stoke a campfire in the African safari and listen to the tales these boys bring. It is like a strange Paul Simon for 2010.
Featured Lyrics : “In the shadow of the first attack, I was questioning and looking back, You said, “Baby, we don’t speak of that”, Like a real aristocrat.”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bccKotFwzoY – Official video for “Giving Up the Gun”
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Track #12
Yeasayer
Odd Blood
“O.N.E.”
This band out of Brooklyn was featured on the ONCE mix back in February of 2008. This last month we saw their second album drop. The lingering deliberateness of their first album has given way to a more structured song format. This forced them to reign their ideas and formulate a better attack plan on your ears. It is just an awesome album of real winners. “Ambling Alp” is full echoing drum loops that make you want to dance. “Madder Red” and “I Remember” are two of the stronger songs on the album with some real feeling behind them. If you get a chance to see these guys live, I have heard they put on a heck of a show.
Featured Lyrics : “You don't move me anymore, And I'm glad that you don't, 'cause I can't have you anymore, But I thought you should know, You don't move me anymore, And I'm glad that you don't,
Because I can't take it anymore.”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p4msowO5-h8 - Official video for “Ambling Alp”
“To me, making a tape is like writing a letter — there's a lot of erasing and rethinking and starting again. A good compilation tape, like breaking up, is hard to do. You've got to kick off with a corker, to hold the attention (I started with "Got to Get You Off My Mind", but then realized that she might not get any further than track one, side one if I delivered what she wanted straightaway, so I buried it in the middle of side two), and then you've got to up it a notch, or cool it a notch, and you can't have white music and black music together, unless the white music sounds like black music, and you can't have two tracks by the same artist side y side, unless you've done the whole thing in pairs and...oh, there are loads of rules.”
-Nick Hornsby
NOTE
**All mp3's contained in this mix are posted for a short time and are for promotional purposes only. This is music I love and think you will too, so if you hear something you like, please support the artists. Buy their albums and go see them in concert. If you represent an artist featured on this mix and would like your songs removed, please contact me via email.**
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Trey Dunn
ONCE Mixtapes
Cell : (210) 602-8995
email : jdunn1974@gmail.com
Webpage - http://Treyminator.com
Facebook – http://facebook.com/treycephus
Music Blog - http://treyminator.blogspot.com
Dunn Family Blog - http://thedunn-family.blogspot.com
