1. Hot Chip – She Wolf (Shakira cover)
2. Vampire Weekend – Diplomat’s Son
3. The Morning Benders – Promises
4. The Clash – Clampdown
5. The Specials – Little Bitch
6. Vampire Weekend – California English
7. The Very Best – Warm Heart of Africa (feat. Ezra Koenig)
8. Sleigh Bells – Ring Ring
Been in a ska mood, apparently. Unexpected covers, such as Hot Chip’s recent rendition of “She Wolf,” never get old.
Having picked up on the Morning Benders on their post-SXSW wave of attention, I’ve been listening to their recent release Big Echo quite a bit recently. I like opening track “Excuses” as much as the next person, and the song certainly deserves all of the praise it has been receiving. It’s lushly orchestrated and densely layered, yet airy-sounding; the vocals are delivered with that particular combination of youth and advanced wisdom that I often find myself favoring. It’s also more than five minutes long. The fourth song on Big Echo, “Cold War (Nice Clean Fight),” is just as striking, if in a different way. It clocks in at a mere one minute and 44 seconds. However, it manages to accomplish more in this short span than other songs do in double or triple the amount of time. “Cold War (Nice Clean Fight)” is a compact slice of sunny, jangly, 60s-inspired acoustic pop, with nothing particularly frenetic or rushed about it. It is a fully self-contained package, perfect for an ADD generation that finds it difficult to sit through a four minute-long YouTube video. (Apologies for the poor sound quality of the above.)
There is something to be said for short songs, particularly ones that are catchy and easily digestible. As cliché as the comparison is, those sorts of songs are like candy, instantly gratifying and often consumed in large quantities. Out of the top ten most-played tracks in my music library, eight are under four minutes long. Out of those, four are less than three minutes. Looking at these songs, I must give “Kids” by MGMT exceptional credit for making the list in spite of being a whopping 5:02. (One of their other hits, the 3:49 “Electric Feel,” is my most-played track.) In addition to being brief, these top played songs are generally immediately accessible, not emotionally demanding, and have catchy choruses that demand triumphant fist-pumping–who hasn’t leapt around to M.I.A.’s “Paper Planes” while doing stupid gun hand gestures? They are the qualities that made me want to listen to them so much in the first place, and I can’t deny them.
I used to be able to listen to “Blue Monday” by New Order (7:29) on repeat. I’m not sure what happened to that ability.
Posted in music, Song of the Moment
Tagged M.I.A., MGMT, music, Song of the Moment, The Morning Benders
It’s that time of year again, where the weather’s getting warmer, the sun actually comes out, and happy couples seem a little more sickly sweet. Here’s a playlist for lazy late afternoons lying in the grass and wishing your allergies weren’t so awful.
1. Mates Of State – Laura (Girls cover)
2. Friendly Fires – I’m Good I’m Gone (Lykke Li cover)
3. The Morning Benders – Dreams (Fleetwood Mac cover)
4. Jónsi – Time To Pretend (MGMT cover)
5. Her Space Holiday – I’ll Believe In Anything (Wolf Parade cover)
6. M. Ward – Let’s Dance (David Bowie cover)
7. The National – Clampdown (The Clash cover)
8. Vampire Weekend – Ruby Soho (Rancid cover)
Listen here @ 8tracks.
Read more about Mates Of State’s latest covers venture here @ TheMusic.fm.
