Alwaysmovinginstereo

"I never had the chance to write about the rooftop in Brooklyn. It was perfect in that after a whole day of sufficiently getting wasted, John's rooftop seemed like the best place to be of all time. This was the New York I'd been imagining for eons; with the M train's hum echoing along its elevated tracks and the Manhattan skyline hanging brightly in the western sky. I called my sister and left a drunkenly laughable, yet sincere voicemail. I had fallen in love, I said - with these people, with this place. With my youth. 

I hung up and stood quietly - the moment was wholly mine. I'm nostalgic for that night more than any other in my entire life." 

Top Tracks of 2010

How appropriate that I'm kicking off my ALL NEW music blog with a highly subjective year-end top tracks list? My favorite kind of list! I'm keeping it short and sweet, until I regain my writing bearings. It's been awhile folks. 

10. Robyn -"Dancing On My Own" This song is so far up my alley I can't stand it. And because it elicits such a response it sits snugly at #10. Ugh.

9. Sleigh Bells - "Infinity Guitars" Crunchy guitars, thundering sub-worthy beats, and girl group chants. Do I really want anything more from the music I enjoy? Plus, the track's accompanying video is my favorite of the year. I can't stress enough what pretty girls with wayfarers and baseball bats (along with burning guitars) can do for a song's cause.

8. Zola Jesus - "I Can't Stand" This 21-year-old opened for the XX and Warpaint at Oakland's Fox Theater in September, and arguably had the best vocals of the night. Another beat-heavy, moody trip that doesn't sound too far off from anything on The Cure's "Disintegration."

7. The Black Keys - "Everlasting Light" Dudes, this rock 'n' roll grooves. It's soulful as hell, making you wish for summer's sunshine, with the windows down. In fact it feels a bit like a southern summer, and it's a bit sticky in this car. But alas, this track kicks off their album Brothers with a sweetness and fuzzy warmth that'll last you through the winter.

6. Gold Panda - "You" That beat drops at the ten second mark and the chirps come in and next thing you know, you're taking a trip around the world, stopping off in London and New Dehli, and you're back again in three minutes. p.s. Gold Panda's 2010 benchmark is a wonderfully perfect bike ride jam if there was one.

5. Deerhunter - "Desire Lines" I heard this track two weeks ago. You could confuse them with Deerhoof, another band I know close to nothing about (i know! I should do my research). But immediately, I wondered WHERE HAVE I BEEN? In the dark listening to dubstep, my good friend Frankie Burton reminds me. Oh yeah.

4. Florence + the Machine - "Howl" Florence killed it this past year. I was fortunate to see her perform in the somewhat quaint Mezzanine in April, and knew then this English songstress was too powerful of a singer, so striking in her style, to stay unknown for long. Next thing you know, she's doing the VMAs, being nominated for a Grammy, and "Dog Days..." is on Glee. I'm sorry, I totally called it.

3. Lady Gaga ft. Beyonce - "Telephone" I love pop songs. The really effing good ones too. The ones that give the hooks easily and plentifully. "Telephone" was a floor filler dance pop gift that keeps giving. Gaga has on point production, with songwriters behind her writing straight pop GOLD. Someone was a genius for telephoning Beyonce in for the best two-for-one in years. (Madonna and Janet never happened, mind you).

2. Class Actress - "Journal of Ardency" I don't know what this journal of ardency is. No matter. This song by Brooklyn trio, led by lady singer Elizabeth Harper is sexy, regardless of it's pretentious title. The beat, and that wholesale, yet killer synth line is where the goods are, and let me tell you, it's good. This track definitely should have a rightful place on any proper horizontal dance mix.

1. Arcade Fire - "Ready to Start" So glorious and right and earnest in it's goodness. These brilliant Canadians channel a little Tom Petty and a bit of their own "Rebellion(Lies)", taking their album The Suburbs where you so desperately want it to go. "Sprawl II(Mountains Beyond Mountains)" has been the favorite on other year-end lists, but "Ready to Start" does it for me. When Win simply states, "my mind is open wide, and now I'm ready to start," I can't not be moved. Now i'm ready.

2010 was also a fine year for remixes, and I will dispense of them now. You can thank me (and Aiden, king of all remixes) later.

Small Black "Despicable Dogs(Washed Out Mix)" Just lovely. Bought a split 7-inch on a whim from these chummy chillwavers at their show at the Rickshaw in March, and this was the b-side to the track I initially wanted (Small Black's mix of Washed Out's "You'll See It"). Absolutely my favorite discovery of the year.

The XX "Infinity(Flufftronix Dubstep Bootleg)" Oh dubstep. This now official remix of The XX sold me on the genre, on all the wah-wah-wah-wahs and zoops and blips and breaks and UGHHHHHHs.

Oh Land "Son of a Gun(Yuksek Mix)" One listen to the original and one realizes just how much a retake can elevate a track into the proverbial stratosphere. Sunday Girl "Four Floors(Diplo Remix)" The BEST remix of the year. Diplo takes this harmless pop track and makes it all dubby and grimy and completely satisfying. This track alone will make you go buy better speakers. 2010. Word. I'm out for now. Always, here's to good tunes and great times in '11. P.S. Props to Girl Talk for Rihanna over Fugazi, that ultra special Toadies moment, Skee-Lo and T'Pau, Weezy over New Order, and U2 with Twista. Props to Enrique Iglesias. I like that damn song. Ugh.

last song.

Giving credit where credit it due: this particular heartbreak is one of the greatest heartbreaks of all time. 

The thing about it was I always knew. I knew exactly what I was getting into. 

I was me - being sweet to the most beautiful, challenging, and ultimately infuriating person I have ever met.

If I had the choice, I'd probably do it all over again.

Fucking silly, really. 

The Frontier Restaurant in Albuquerque, NM.  My first stop on every visit.

I moved. I like the scenery. While settling in, I stumbled upon this appropriate gem: RAC's mix of Washed Out's "New Theory." 

Stick around folks and read my old blogspot entries below, gloriously unformatted.

You can expect more style and less substance from here on out!

Star cluster NGC 6193 and Nebula NGC 6188

js

Some things are just between you and me.

Hey, I noticed that you were excited about The Sounds show! Check out some videos I was able to snag! :Dhttp://what-else-is-there.tumblr.com/post/4438261710/the-sounds-perform-living-in-america-athttp://what-else-is-there.tumblr.com/post/4438322588/the-sounds-perform-painted-by-numbers-atI hope you had fun! I know I did.

Rad! We were the girls on the table stage left bout 10 yards back. So sweaty. So fun. Great video!

While I wait for The Sounds show tomorrow, I look ahead to next weekend, when I'll be seeing Brookyln-ites Holy Ghost! open for Aussie synth dance-rock favorite Cut Copy at the Regency Ballroom in SF. Now, this track "Wait & See" seeps with homages to the 80s, completely unapologetically. But instead of ripping the stalwarts like Joy Division and The Smiths, they're taking cues from Information Society and Wang Chung.

Oh my god, I love it, unapologetically. 

M83's anticipated double-album Hurry Up, We're Dreaming finally and officially dropped on Tuesday. I must admit, I've been apprehensive. How could the self-proclaimed youth and nostalgia-obsessed Frenchman and mastermind Anthony Gonzales live up to the hype(machine)? I mean, everyone loves that sax solo in lead single "Midnight City"! And Urban fuckin' Outfitters had rights to the first complete stream of the album!

Still, I believe true mainstream success will elude M83. Unless within the year he sells out the Fox Theater(I call it) and every track is licensed to movies, tv, and commercials ala Moby's Play. 

Regardless, I will continue to listen to standout track "Steve McQueen" with my fist in the air.