SIMPLENVRMT » Music

Local Natives

Matt — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 07:13:28 +0000

So I’ve been following these guys for a while, and I have developed a true admiration for their music. These Silver Lake natives may have a somewhat redundant name, but there music is anything but. Seriously, I couldn’t be happier with where music is headed right now. If you haven’t realized yet, we are living in one of the greatest times for independent music, and bands like this do nothing but make that point. Their full length LP titled ‘Gorilla Manor’ was finally released a couple of days ago..or yesterday..whatever, it was just released, and I strongly recommend you give them a shot…did someone say Grizzly Bear…just saying.

Check out the video below for their single ‘Airplanes’ for a tasty sample.

Matt

Airplanes by Local Natives from Infectious Music on Vimeo.

Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros

Matt — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 06:57:49 +0000

Whatever happened to rock operas? I mean sure some people would make the argument that most albums now-a-days tell stories (at least the good ones), but the days of The Who’s ‘Tommy’ or David Bowie’s ‘The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars’ are long gone…or so I thought. By complete accident, I stumbled upon this little gem. Bless you Edward Sharpe for bringing back musical prowess in all its glory.

Be sure to give the video below a peak, it’s quite the gem.

Matt

Warpaint- Stars

Matt — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 18:51:20 +0000

I seriously love this band. So when I heard that they had a video that they had just put out, I had pretty high expectations. I wasn’t disappointed. The colors, the ambience, the perfect level of surrealism, all of it enhances the music, and takes you to a foreign place for six amazing minutes. That’s what a good video is suppose to do in my opinion, not make you want to get in a Ferrari and pour Champaign all over your ‘hoes’. Just my opinion though.

Matt

SIMPLENVRMT Mix#2

Matt — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 07:34:42 +0000

DOWNLOAD HERE

Give the people what they want. Someone really important said that. So…that’s just what I’ll do. Be sure to click the link above to download the second in my semi-monthly series of free mixes. Enjoy.

Side note- I’ve decided that I’m going to take requests for the next one. So if there’s some music you really, really want to listen to (released or not) leave a comment and I’ll do my best to make it happen.

Matt

Track List

1: I Blame Coco- Caesar (Diplo Remix)

2: Seabear- Cold Summer

3: Surfer Blood- Harmonix

4: Charlotte Gainsbourg (ft. Beck)- Heaven Can Wait

5: jj- My Life

6: Shout Out Louds- Show Me Something New

7: Errors- The Black Tent

8: Soap&Skin- The Sun

9: Hot Chip- We Have Love

10: Emy Reynolds- Tonight

-All music is for demo purposes only. Please support the artist by PURCHASING their album. Thanks.

Charlotte Gainsbourg ft. Beck

Matt — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 03:38:04 +0000

Let’s just face the facts here for a second…Beck’s the man, and Charlotte Gainsbourg is a total bombshell. When you put both of them together, planets are made or something. Seriously though, this duet is pretty close to perfect, and the video is quite interesting as well. Give it a look.

Matt

MUSIC VIDEO MONDAY: Washed Out- Belong

Matt — Mon, 18 Jan 2010 07:00:15 +0000

I hate going to the gym. You have to lift heavy stuff, run, and just feel awkward overall for the entire duration of your stay. In a perfect world, going to the gym would be like this video. Just a whole bunch of careless fun, with a lot awesome dance moves thrown into the mix. A man can dream.

Matt

SIMPLENVRMT Mix#1

Matt — Wed, 13 Jan 2010 00:31:14 +0000

As promised, this is the first in a monthly collection of mixes I’ll be releasing. The idea behind this project is to compile the top 10 songs of the month. This playlists acts as a representation of my current mood, the season, how bored I am, whether I’m hungry or not, and a bunch of other really important factors. Some of these songs are brand spankin’ new, and others are oldies but goodies. Enjoy.

-Matt

DOWNLOAD HERE

Track List

1: Let’s Go Sailing- All I Want From You Is Love

2: Little Dragon- Blinking Pigs

3: Kings Of Convenience- The Eternal

4: Danger Mouse and Sparklehorse- Everytime I’m With You (feat. Jason Lytle)

5: Broken Bells- The High Road

6: The Antlers- Kettering

7: Beach House- Norway

8: Interpol- Song 7 (Participate EP)

9: Harlem Shakes- Strictly Game

10: Vampire Weekend- White Sky

Side Note-
All music is for demo and trial purposes only. If you enjoy a particular artist or song, please support them by buying the track. Thank you.

SE Presents: TOP 25 TRACKS of 2009

Matt — Thu, 24 Dec 2009 16:00:15 +0000

2009 was an amazing year for music. It had it’s highs and lows, but greatness triumphed. Below are the Top 25 tracks of the year according to us. We sincerely hope you enjoyed all of the content we brought you this year, and hope you are looking forward to another great year of material.

-Matt

Click HERE to download all of the tracks featured below. Our gift to you. Enjoy.

25. Yeasayer- ONE

-’2080′ was probably my favorite song for a good 3 years, so when I heard Yeasayer was coming out with a new album, I was pretty excited. It’s different, but it doesn’t disappoint with tracks like this.

24. Blitzen Trapper- Black River Killer

-A good song should tell a story, and to be honest, not too many now-a-days still do. Blitzen Trapper successfully writes a book with this one track. Not only does this song make moonshine cool, but it also successfully combines synth with country tones. Good job.

23. Cymbals Eat Guitar- And The Hazy Sea

-The are more shifts in tempo on every track on this album than Miley Cyrus is old, and I love it. This song constantly keeps the listener on their toes. I really hate when songs follow formulas. Formulas are for scientists, and Top Ramen…not music.

22. The Maccabees- No Kind Words

-An argument encompassed within a track may seem a bit cliche, but The Maccabees pull it off. This track can be located on the greatest album of ‘09 to never be released in U.S.

21. Julian Plenty- Only If You Run

-Interpol’s front man gives himself a new name, but keeps his old sound. I love Interpol, and this entire album is pretty much like an Interpol experiment that was never meant to be released…but it was. The beginning of the song has you feeling good, then your stomach drops and your toes start tapping while your head starts bobbing.

20. MuteMath- Goodbye

-I love music that makes it really, really hard for you to sit still. Mutemath has managed to take the subtitles of any good love song, and and increase the bpm 3x over, leaving us with one great dance track.

19. Peter Bjorn and John- It Don’t Move Me

-No whistling = a solid track. Honestly though, every other song on this album is kind of a bust.

18. Kings of Leon- Closer

-It was really hard to miss virtually every song-turned-single on the Kings of Leons third and most popular album ‘Only By The Night’. These dudes had an epic year (’Record of the Year’ Grammy nom), and it was well deserved. Hate them or love them, almost every song on this album is catchy as hell. ‘Closer’ is creepy and moving, yet relatable…who knows how they pulled that combo off.

17. Bon Iver- Blood Bank

-Justin Vernon is a genius in my book. I have soft spot in my heart for and folk-style songwriting act. I was enthralled with Bon Iver’s first album, and captured by their sophomore release. This track embodies every shitty moment I’ve ever had, and that’s why it made on this list.

16. Sea Wolf- Turn The Dirt Over

-The world needs more music like this. Alex Church managed to take everything that he left out in his first LP ‘Leaves In The River’ and jam into 50 min of musical genius. This song is eclectic, beautiful, and light-hearted.

15. Phoenix- 1901

-You probably hear this song on a daily basis (Cadillac commercial). Now that’s not necessarily a bad thing. Even though Pheonix have been around for like 10 years, they were yet to strike gold…that is unitl now. From their Take Away Show, to just about every song on their latest album, it’s safe to say these dudes have made it. ‘1901′ is the catchiest thing to come out of France since Peppy Le Pew’s STDs.

14. Friendly Fires- Kiss of Life

-I literally almost got in a car accident once while listening to this track. Having a dance party in your car isn’t as good of an idea as you would think.

13. Grizzly Bear- While You Wait For The Others

-Jay-Z likes Grizzly Bear I guess. He also likes pretending to retire every 5 minutes, so I don’t care what he likes. Grizzly Bear is awesome however. They have managed to become possibly the most acclaimed indie band of the year. This track does everything a good song should, and it’s guaranteed to put you in a good mood.

12. Silversun Pickups- The Royal We

-I was waiting for this album the minute I finished playing the hell out of their last one. I can easily say that Silversun Pickups are on my list of top 5 bands, and this song solidifies their position on that imaginary roster. Dramatic, poetic, and perfect.

11. Empire of the Sun- We Are The People

-Good thing someone decided to finish what MGMT started. The only real difference is that Empire of the Sun look the part. From discreet release, to free iTunes track of the week, to mainstream airplay via the HBO show Entourage. ‘We Are The People’ is what music should have sounded like in 80’s…instead we got Paula Abdul.

10. Papercuts- Future Primative

-Why hasn’t anyone heard of these guys? This song is like make-up…less is more. Dancing bass lines, and low key vocals lead to musical prowess.

9. Animal Collective – I Think I Can

-I usually don’t really understand Animals Collective’s music, but that all changed this year. With the release of a pretty great LP, and season appropriate EP, things are looking good for them. This track solidifies their place in my book as one of the best bands out there right now.

8. The Flaming Lips- Silver Trembling Hands

-There has been quite a bit of praise for this album thus far this year, but not for this track. What gives?! Let’s be honest here, the album was good, but this song stands out by a mile.

7. Bat For Lashes- Daniel

-Natasha Khan is hot. Now that I got that out of my system, we can focus on the music. I use to think this song was about the karate kid or something but after watching the AMAZING video that accompanied the track, I really don’t know anymore. Who cares, this song is awesome.

6. Little Dragon- Never Never

- Lo-fi synth progression at it’s best.

5. Local Natives- Wide Eyes

-Let’s forget about the fact that these Silverlake ‘natives’ have a somewhat redundant name, and take a look at a very Grizzly Bear-esque album. Being the first track on the album, ‘Wide Eyes’ is a taste of some musical art at its finest, while hinting at a truly great first release.

4. Yeah Yeah Yeahs- Heads Will Roll

-With a Grammy nom under their belt, 2009 has been kind to the YYY’s. This track is amazing, and the remixes that followed were nothing short of perfect.

3. Phantogram- Mouthful Of Diamonds

-This is the future of music in my opinion. An eclectic mix of hip-hop/synth/guitar/amazing vocals. With an LP out next year, this isn’t the last you’ve heard of Phantogram. Trust me.

2. Grizzly Bear- Ready, Able

-The only artist on the list to get posted twice, and for good reason. 2009 was the year of Grizzly Bear.

1. The xx- Crystalized

-Finally. The first time I listened to this album, I got chills. This album is PERFECT all the way through. The whole album acts as a type of musical dialog of a hidden love between two people, and that is what makes it amazing. I have never heard any piece of musical material that says so much with so little. ‘Crystalized’ acts as a catalyst for what can only be described as one giant romance novel. From day one I knew that this band was something special, and mark my words, they are here to stay.

NASA- Spacious Thoughts

Matt — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 19:41:03 +0000

To be honest, I’m kind of a closet Rap fan. I mean, if you’ve ever seen me, you would know that I’m pretty much the farthest away you can get from appearing to be so. When your pissed at the world, Rap has a magical way of just making sense to you, or at least me. Now I’ve been a fan of NASA for a while now, and this videos is pretty epic. It’s so aesthetically pleasing. Why can’t videos like this get mainstream airplay?! The other day I was flipping channels and happen to stop on Vh1, when I saw Miley-whoeverthehell was singing about a party in the U.S.A. or something, I don’t know, all I know is that I wanted nothing to do with that party.

Matt

Chormeo- Night By Night

Matt — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 16:00:53 +0000

So Chromeo is pretty cool I guess. I mean, I suppose these dudes are doing their thing. This video for their new single “Night By Night is actually pretty awesome. Well let me rephrase. This video is ok. I mean I guess it’s cool because it reminds me of Swayze, and that guy rocked. But it kinda sucks, because it reminds of Travolta. I hate Travolta.
Watch the video and see what you think.

Matt