This week my meetings have been low and interruptions at a minimum, so I’ve been spending a good amount of time working and listening to music. Several months ago my brother sent me another mix of songs for me to listen to and I haven’t really been giving them much attention until recently. They’re all great and it’s hard to nail down which ones to share, but here are a few tracks that stood out to me:

Flunk – “On My Balcony”

Flunk – “Six Seven Times”

Frou Frou – “Hear Me Out”

Lali Puna – “Bi-Pet”

Thievery Corporation – “The Mirror Conspiracy”

Red House Painters – “Void”

I can’t wait to watch this DVD. To have been at that concert in Hyde Park would have been absolutely incredible! This article on Pitchfork shows the set list from the show, which looks just fantastic.

The other day Joshua Blankenship tweeted a link to Jamie Cullum’s cover of Rihanna’s “Don’t Stop The Music”. He was impressed by the cover. I had never heard of Jamie Cullum and I’m somewhat familiar with Rihanna’s catalogue (”Under my umbrella…ella…ella…eh…eh…eh), but I do enjoy cover songs when they’re done by an artist who’s music is substantially different from that of the original.

Watching Jamie’s version got me thinking about other cover songs I’ve heard that were equally impressive, especially for their creative interpretation. Here’s Jamie’s video for “Don’t Stop The Music” plus 3 others that I enjoy. I’d also love to hear of any that you enjoy, so leave me a comment.

“Don’t Stop The Music” – Jamie Cullum (original by Rihanna)
After hearing this song I’m inclined to check out more of Jamie’s stuff. I hear his style is jazzy, which is alright by me. Plus he’s British, so double bonus!

“Hey Ya” – Obadiah Parker (original by Outcast)
I love the fact that this is acoustic and sung by a guy who looks about as far removed from Andre 3000 as you could get. Obadiah (if that’s his name) sings this song with such heartfelt conviction that it truly feels like he’s the one who wrote this song to begin with.

“All is Full of Love ” – Death Cab for Cutie (Original by Björk)
This video is a fan-made video. There is a video of Death Cab performing this song live in 2001 (back when I saw them perform it in a total dive of a venue) but the quality is poor and I prefer this album version. Let it be know that I still prefer Björk’s original, but Death Cab’s cover is great, especially the drumbeat.

“Mad World” – Gary Jules (Original by Tears for Fears)
I became familiar with this song when I heard it used in Joseph Kosinski’s (who I’ve written about before) brilliantly directed video for Gears of War. It’s mood is melancholic, but paired with a beautiful video directed by Michel Gondry. When I first heard this song I didn’t know it was a cover, but recently found out that Tears for Fears wrote it in the 80’s. Their version is nowhere near as emotional and in my opinion total crap.

This is a great video of Jónsi & Alex talking about how they recorded their album “Riceboy Sleeps“, which is easily one of the top albums I’ve heard all year. The song that comes in around the 5:37 mark, “Boy 1904″, is such a beautiful track from the album.

A video of Thom Yorke with Flea from the Red Hot Chili Peppers, producer Nigel Godrich, Joey Waronker, and Mauro Refosco playing “Harrowdown Hill” from Yorke’s album “The Eraser”. The audio is a little sketchy, but still a good capture of what must have been an awesome show. “Harrowdown Hill” has to be my favorite track from that album.

While Pitchfork is one of the best sites to visit to discover great new indie music, it’s also one of those sites that drives me nuts when I read reviews, mostly due to their extremely picky and highly opinionated staff. It’s both a blessing and a curse though as you definitely get an honest look at an album that’s less than desirable, but it’s not fun when they’re tearing apart an album you enjoy piece by piece. But, c’est la vie.

So when I saw that their staff has been counting down their top 200 albums of the 2000s I was both intrigued and nervous. I’ve been waiting to see which album won the top honor and was pleasantly surprised when it turned out to be one of my favorites of all time. Score one for alignment!

When I first heard Kid A I was in love. It was a serious departure from their previous album and highly experimental, but still quintessential Radiohead. The first few notes of “Everything in it’s Right Place” pluck you out from where you are and transport you to an otherworldly audio landscape that feels seemingly inescapable until you work your way through all 10 tracks. And let me say, while that’s not a huge number of tracks, they are each so richly composed that you feel like you’ve been on just as long of a journey as you would had you gone through the 24 on Sufjan Steven’s “Come On Feel the Illinoise” (which is interestingly enough #16 on Pitchfork’s list).

I love songs like “The National Anthem” with it’s buzzing bassline and the swirling flow of “How to Disappear Completely”, but it’s track 8 “Idioteque” that is the stand out one for me. Radiohead took a sample from 1970s electronic composer Paul Lansky’s “Mild und Leise” and laced that through their chirping, punchy, electronic beats of their own. Idioteque is easily a crowd favorite at Radiohead’s live shows and is surprisingly a track that translates well into the live arena. Following Idioteque is my favorite rendition of “Morning Bell” (the alternate on “Amnesiac” is noteworthy, but just not as good), with one of the most catchy drum-lines I know by Mr. Phil Selway.

Of course had Pitchfork’s list encompassed the 1990’s I’d dare say that OK Computer would have given Kid A a serious run for it’s money. I’m continually on the fence between those two albums as to which one is Radiohead’s best. While Kid A is brilliant, OK Computer is a powerhouse of an album and the one that skyrocketed Radiohead out of their initial dissatisfactory mainstream successes and into the fan and critic darlings they are today. And speaking of Selway’s drum-lines, the one from “Airbag” is gorgeous isn’t it?!

Last Friday I went with a friend to see Scott Hansen (aka Tycho) play at The Parish. I missed the chance to see him play last time he came through Austin and being that he’s one of my favorite designers I had to make every effort to see him this time around. DJ Gobot opened up and played a solid set, really warmed up the crowd. Also the venue was a very cool spot and good fit for the night.

This was my first time to a show featuring DJs/Electronic/Ambient music and so I based most of expectations on past shows of a different genre. I know that no show ever starts on time, so I wasn’t surprised when DJ Gobot went on almost an hour after the “start time”, but I didn’t expect his set to last as long as it did. Most of the opening acts at the shows I go to play 30-45 mins max each and DJ Gobot played for at least an hour if not longer. Not a huge deal if this is the norm for these kinds of shows, but it did cause me to have to skip out very early because I needed to get home. Still, the music was great and seeing what I did of Scott’s set was worth it. Also hanging out with a friend I hadn’t seen in a few months was a highlight.

Here’s a video of roughly a min of the show that I shot on my phone. The sound quality is terrible, especially when the bass hits (very reminiscent of the trunk rattle sound from an old hoopty rolling through Wal-Mart), but it still gives you an idea of what his set is like and the visuals that accompany this music.