beaumont's lovable picks volume three - august two thousand and nine


1. the knife - we share our mother's health

sounding like bjork's cyborg cousin signing over carribean electro, the knife's karen drejer is electrifying. and creepy. what the hell is she actually singing about? who knows. but it sure adds to the overall charm and scariness.

2. dennis wilson - thoughts of you

i never expected one of the 'other beach boys' to be this impressive. one of the most emotive pop songs i've ever heard. dennis was the one who hung out with charles manson and drowned at 39. he also wrote some dark and powerful ballads like this one. epic and beautiful.

3. the passion pit - the reeling

i probably came a little late to the party on this one but i wanted to share it because it's a really joyous and well produced slice of pop. kind of a homage to french house, but wrapped up in an indie-pop aesthetic. great chorus, and the stuttered drums during the break are pretty hot.

4. grizzly bear - two weeks

another one i've fallen for after the hype has subsided. really beautifully recorded piano-pop. reminds me a little of early ben folds five merged with dexy's midgnight runners. heh. also, the fred falke mix of this is really great too. transforms it into epic 80s soundtrack music.

5. lamont dozier - sight for sore eyes

i can't take credit for finding this. my brother nick, has some seriously good musical taste and he put me onto this guy. apparently one of motown's primary hitmakers, mr dozier was unceremoniously muscled out by the labels owers when they realised how much power he had. go figure. solid fucking gold. this kind of richly produced motown-style music has no equal in my books. makes me feel like a million bucks.


6. mercury rev - senses on fire

psychadelic and epic. like a constant crescendo. i'm not huge on mercury rev but this is really good. especially the warm analogue synths that run throughout the intro.

7. justice - d.a.n.c.e. (jackson and his computer band remix)

before you go "ive heard this song a million times - next!", this is worth checking out. jackson forgeau is one of the more progressive house producers out there, producing deeply textured and comlex music while excercising enough restraint to stay reasonably 'poppy' and accessible. this 10 min collage of justice's music is centered around the central motif of the 'd.a.n.c.e.' vocals, but is so much more than the combined parts. awesome.

8. hey champ - cold dust girl (original mix)

'indie dance pop' is a genre that won't go away at the moment. this is one of the best examples of the scene. these frenchman have nailed it with great guitars, a solid house beat, and some typically indie vocal stylings in the vein of phoenix - those other frenchies. great stuff.

9. aphex twin - avril 14th

this is a really haunting piece of piano music. from his album 'drukqs'. has no beats whatsoever and you can even hear the peddle going...

10. vega - no reasons

this is pure cheese. i can't describe why i love it, but anyone who knows me will get it. the 'pumping' sound, like its all constantly surging forward, is a great production technique called side-chain compression, which i often attempt in my own music. the vocals are a bit flat but i can overlook this because it makes me dream of beach parties in some sort of alien paradise haha.

11. n.a.s.a - strange enough (mr oizo remix)

like a four-on-the-floor house beat, slowed down for a hip-hop track. features the undead talents of ol' dirty bastard (RIP) and the forward thinking production of the crazy as hell frenchman oizo. makes me smile very big.

12. van dyke parks - the four mills brothers

13. van dyke parks - jack palance

14. van dyke parks - donovan's colours

15. van dykes - riverboat

this guy has really captured my attention, and his tracks are really short, so he gets four. totally off his rocker and an utter genius in my opinion. check his album 'song cycle'. a sprawling mess of madness.