Select Sundays: Amanaemonesia

I've covered Chairlift before, a few years ago when Something first came out in 2012. Hitting shuffle on my iPod, I stumbled upon another gem of theirs that fueled my late night drive. Give it another spin and revel in its vowel-ness.

Amanaemonesia - Chairlift (right click to save as)
Chairlift

Select Sundays: Fantasy

This is the perfect moody stuff to listen to when you feel a little dark--but not too dark. One of MS MR's songs soundtracked Game of Thrones' Season Three trailer but it's their other stuff I like better. Every time I've put them on the stereo, someone in the room has asked, "Who is that?!" Miz Mister!

Fantasy - MS MR (right click to save as)
MS MR

Select Sundays: Fool to Cry

So I'm sitting around on a lazy Sunday, blitzing through Season 2 of Girls and this song comes on. "Who is this!" A quick Shazam and it reveals itself as a Rolling Stone cover by Tegan & Sara...commissioned personally by Lena Dunham. And produced by RAC. Don't you love it when so many great elements come together as one?

Fool to Cry (Rolling Stones cover) - Tegan & Sara (right click to save as)
Tegan & Sara

Select Sundays: Clair De Lune

Hailing from Australia, Hugo Gruzman and Jimmy Lyell have made that most elusive of songs: a song that stretches over seven minutes yet manages to be worth the time. "Clair De Lune" is the type of track that makes me want to make a short film featuring it. Heck, it's practically a short film just by itself. Settle in and enjoy the progression.

Clair De Lune - Flight Facilities (right click to save as)
Flight Facilities

Select Sundays: Don't Save Me

Influenced by Fleetwood Mac, signed by Jay-Z's management group, and comprised of three sisters from Los Angeles, Haim has an album coming out in the fall that I'm extremely excited about. AMR covered them last year. Their sound is described as "nu-folk meets nineties RnB" and if that's not enough to pique your interest then I don't know what will. "Don't Save Me" sounds like the perfect song to blast while driving through K-Town late at night, as neon signs go flashing by.

Don't Save Me - Haim (right click to save as)
Haim

Select Sundays: Horse

Who knew that the best soul is coming out of Denmark right now? I mean, besides possibly everybody else but me. Quadron appeared in 2009 without me knowing it but now that I'm caught up, I've had their second album, Avalanche, on repeat. This track is from their debut, but it's my favorite of theirs. Classic new soul sound, delicious! Also, check out their cover of Lauryn Hill's "Ex-Factor."

Horse- Quadron (right click to save as)
Quadron

Select Sundays: Don't Give Up

I've featured Whitest Boy Alive before, and it seems like a lot of the time when I hear a great soothing track in this indie mellow style, it's Erlend Øye yet again! So here's another gem that I can't help sharing with everyone to cruise to, or just to smooth out and enjoy the ride.

Don't Give Up - The Whitest Boy Alive (right click to save as)
The Whitest Boy Alive

Select Sundays: Rebel

Look, I understand that the appeal of this song is the sample from The Crystals "He's a Rebel." I don't care, it's still super catchy. And after watching the very recommended documentary 20 Feet From Stardom, I learned that Darlene Love and her backing group, The Blossoms, actually sang this song, not The Crystals. Woowhee! Also, it seems like ripping from Sixties songs is G-Eazy's thing -- see "Runaround Sue" -- but it's pretty hit or miss. This one though, I can't get enough of it.

Rebel - G-Eazy (right click to save as)
G-Eazy

Select Sundays: Aperture

Similar to xxyyxx, Photay seems to be a young musical prodigy. I mean, I can't tell because I can't find much biographical information about Evan Shornstein except that he's still in college. This track is just, well, it's just beautiful modern background music. Perfect for a little nuevo camping right?

Aperture - Photay (right click to save as)
Photay

Select Sundays: Never Forget You

We've featured The Pipettes before, so you'll understand if I did a brief double take when I first heard this song. Did The Pipettes bring on a new singer? (As they're prone to do.) No, the Noisettes are another U.K. group with similar Motown influences. This track is from their 2009 album, Wild Young Hearts, and they have a new album I'm excited to check out. Basically any name with "-ette" at the end has to be good right?

Never Forget You - Noisettes (right click to save as)
Noisettes

Select Sundays: 17

Sometimes you just need that melancholy in your life you know? Trevor Powers is in his young twenties and I'm sure his music has been used in some indie romcoms, perhaps starring whoever has taken the mantel away from Zach Braff. With this track, Powers captures exactly what heartbreak sounds like.

17 - Youth Lagoon (right click to save as)
Youth Lagoon

Select Sundays: Soft Kiss

Back in the day, we were huge fans of Lemonade Stand, the game where you take your little corner shop to citywide dominancen. If you remember the magic formula for lemons, sugar, and ice cubes, you're a star. In my mind, this San Francisco - Brooklyn band is paying homage to the classic game with their name. Right? Right?

Soft Kiss - Lemonade (right click to save as)
Lemonade

Select Sundays: Earth Angel

Now I'm not overly fond of posting covers but this one is a gem. I've been long obsessed with La Bamba the movie and subsequently, Ritchie Valens. Everyone knows this song of course, and the original is fantastic, as well as the New Edition version, but this is a contemporary version I can one hundred percent get behind. Death Cab put out this track for a video game, Stubbs the Zombie in Rebel Without a Pulse. What? Yes, exactly.

Earth Angel - Death Cab For Cutie (right click to save as)
Death Cab For Cutie

Select Sundays: To Build a Home

This is that movie trailer song you really liked but forgot to Shazam to figure out what it was. This is that song you heard on So You Think You Can Dance. This is that song backgrounding your favorite television dramas, as someone cries and cries. This is that song you'll listen to again and again.

To Build a Home - The Cinematic Orchestra (right click to save as)
The Cinematic Orchestra

Select Sundays: Obedear

You've probably been all over the Purity Ring album already, I mean, we covered them back in July. This song has soaked itself back into my subconsciousness though. I think it may be the Grimes-like feel of the track. Whatever it is, I'm digging the atmosphere this song sets as I put it on massive repeat.

Obedear - Purity Ring (right click to save as)
Purity Ring

Select Sundays: Never Never

Aaron Jerome, aka SBTRKT ("subtract"), likes to remain semi-anonymous because then his music can speak for itself. Along with that, he tends to wear masks, which is kind of cool. Until you realize they are all modern interpretations of native cultures. Cultural misappropriation? Who knows. Either way, this track, featuring Sampha, quite caught my attention. Enjoy.

Never Never - SBTRKT (right click to save as)
SBTRKT

Select Sundays: Money

This track is just classic neo-soul. Nicole Wray and Terri Walker don't even have an album yet, but I'm super excited for their partnership. You can call this a throwback. But it's really a throw down. Forget Beyonce's "Independent Women" and Ne-Yo's "Miss Independent," this is the empowerment jam.

Money - Lady (right click to save as)
Lady

Select Sundays: On the Way

The way this track builds is how I'd like my 2013 to go: slow and gentle until it ramps up and you find yourself needing to dance. The question is: how do you move to this?

On the Way - Short Stories (right click to save as)
Short Stories

Select Sundays: Yo Adrian!

Last time I hit you with the Tatanka playlist, now it's time for another. I'm making a short jaunt to Philadelphia this weekend so thought I'd take the opportunity to throw a few Philly related tracks together. Read the whole post over at jonyang.org or stay right here and download the whole playlist and get moving!

Yo Adrian!
Track list - Zip file
Disc One: Cheesesteak
18 songs, 1 hr 12 mins, 95.0 MB

Disc Two: Hoagies
16 songs, 1 hr 06 mins, 86.4 MB

Select Sundays: Fade Into Darkness

Now, house music is hardly my thing but for our pre-NYE New Year's Eve, we went out to a local club and this was the featured artist. Well, Andreas Moe, the Bieber hair-a-like who sings the hook, was the featured artist. Here's an acoustic version he did, which I think I like better, but it's less dancey. And we know how important dancing is on pre-NYE New Year's Eve, right?

Fade Into Darkness - Avicii (right click to save as)
Avicii