Futurecop! – My Summer Girl Mixtape

I’ve never featured a mixtape, but this one was just way to good.

Put together by 80s enthusiast Futurecop! it’s the perfect blend of old and new going back for generations of kids trying to breathe in their entire summer.

“It was Summer of …., you were in love, everything was perfect ( you take a deep breath with a feeling of happiness and heartache at the same time, remembering those friends, that girl, the adventure) = “My Summer Girl” (a Mixtape By Futurecop!)” from Futurecop!’s Soundcloud page.

Mine was the summer of 2003, and my summer soundtrack consisted pretty primarily of Postal Service as I not only began to fall in love with electronic music, but also with my future wife. As soon as I got to “The District Sleeps Alone Tonight” with this mixtape I was transported back in time.

You need to immediately download this, burn it on a cd, and go drive around wherever you live!

A Trip Through My iTunes Library

I’m not really sure at what point my iTunes library became the memoirs of my life.  For as far back as I can remember I’ve loved music, and specifically collecting music.  It all began when my parents bought me a CD player when I was in fifth grade, along with my first CD (Billy Joel’s Storm Front).  As I grew older my musical tastes changed, as did the common media for music.  I went from tapes, to CDs, to burning my own mixtapes via my dad’s CD burner, and finally digital media.  By that point my collection exploded and I was hopelessly hooked to collecting music.

Each album in my iTunes library tells a story.  Whether it be a CD found while scouring my local Hastings on my weekly visit, or an album I downloaded on the recommendation by a friend.  They all remind me of specific times in my life.  Some bad, but mostly good.  Music though has been the foundation that has held it all together, and simply hearing a song while scrolling through my library can take me back to whatever exactly moment and emotion that I have related to it.

I recently have been going back through my library as I moved all my music and subsequently lost a good majority of my album artwork.  My musical OCD will not allow me to put the music on my iPod without having artwork, so I’ve been hard at working going through all 24,756 songs.  This has led to me being reminded of some gems that have been hidden on my iPod for years, so here they are…

Ecovillage – “Before We Knew The Cross”

I came across a new band today called Ecovillage.  They are two from Sweden, and are really making some interesting music.  Filled with some shoegaze and chillwave elements mixed with a little bit of Animal Collective their track “Before We Knew The Cross” really has a lot going on.   The chorus really has some beautiful elements to it, making me come back to it over and over again.  I don’t know if it’s that little bit of a sad element to it with the lyrics,or the guitar chords swirling around in the background.  Regardless these guys are worth checking out.

Mmoths – “Thnx”

The last few weeks I have been giving the Mmoths self-titled EP some heavy listening.  There is just something about the EP that keeps me coming back, especially the track titled “Thnx.”  It doesn’t matter if it’s in my car (as long as my son isn’t riding with me, all he wants to listen to is the Wreck It Ralph soundtrack.  This is an upgrade from the Barney CD he was jamming previous), or with my headphones as I’m getting stuff done at work.

Currently my wife and I are anxiously waiting the arrival of our second child.  With the due date fast approaching on the 30th, not knowing the gender of the baby, chasing down my 3 year old son, and wondering how the new baby is going to affect our family dynamics has kept things moving crazy fast in my life.  This has left me desperate for just a few quiet moments that have been enhanced by listening to “Thnx.”  There is nothing like some ethereal electronic music to give your head the space it needs, and help slow things down.  Even if it’s only for a few minutes.

School Of Seven Bells – “Windstorm”

The last week or so I’ve been thinking about tweaking the feel of the blog.  While I will continue sharing all of the music that I love, I thought I would make it a little more autobiographical.  Sharing not only what I’ve been listening to, but also the events in my life that happen to be corresponding with the music.  Kind of an intersection of music, faith, and my life.  I just feel like I need to take the blog a new direction, and maybe sharing a bit about my life and who I am might be more interesting/helpful/I’m not really sure what to whoever is reading what I’m writing.  There are plenty of other blogs that sharing music (Check out http://indieshuffle.com, a website I happen to write for) at a much more consistent rate that I just can’t keep up with.

With that, I was doing my daily rounds through Soundcloud when I came across a new track that Teen Daze had put together.  Now I’m not sure if he’s coming out with a new album, or what, but it was to raise awareness for Benjamin Curtis.  Benjamin Curtis is part of the band School of Seven Bells, and was just diagnosed with cancer.  You can check out/help him out on this page right here.  I’m praying for a full recovery for Benjamin as he fights cancer.

It’s always crazy seeing someone young have to fight something like cancer, making you think about your mortality and the world around us.  No matter how deep I get in my walk, I wonder why stuff like this happens.  I’m sure God’s got a bigger and better plan, but it doesn’t make it any less confusing here on earth.

Here’s a track by Benjamin’s band, and here’s to some strength for him as he goes through this “Windstorm.”

Postal Service – “A Tattered Line of String”

As promised, there will be two new songs on the reissue of Postal Service’s classic album Give Up.  One of those tracks was released today via SubPop’s Youtube channel.  Check it out below.

My Bloody Valentine – “Soon (Christian Strobe Remix)

With all the twitter and web clatter of the brilliant new My Bloody Valentine release m b v, I thought I’d share a little remix I found of the track “Soon,” off of the iconic album Loveless.  It’s from German producer Christian Strobe, and it takes the original shoegaze track and puts a little dance into it.

You can definitely still hear the bones of the original track, but fleshed out with some dance synths and kick drum.  I especially like the lead out at the very end.  Not a bad way to celebrate the return of one of indie rocks most influential bands.

Friendzone – “Change”

This track from the bay area production duo Friendzone has been on heavy repeat on my iPod the last few weeks.  Every time I lesson to “Change” it just get’s better and better.

Filled with some difficult to understand, yet beautiful vocal production, and hip-hop beats,  “Change” is the perfect representation of change.  Anytime I listen to it, it just makes me go with the flow.  Slowly taking my through a trip down memory lane where my life has been filled with plenty of change that has lead to amazing things.  Whether it be meeting my wife, the birth of my son,  or giving my life to Christ.  Thankfully my life has been filled with lot’s of beautiful, unexpected change.

Take a listen and be reminded of all the good things that have happened in your life.

Daft Punk – Emphazed (Krono Remix)

I know it’s been a long time since I’ve posted, so I thought today I thought I’d share something that had been sitting in my inbox for a while.

It’s a remix of Daft Punk’s “Emphazed,” or should I say alleged remix of Daft Punk.  Since we aren’t really sure it the original was a legitimate Daft Punk track.  Regardless of all that stuff, Krono, from Paris, does a great job remixing the track.  Not really deviating too much from the original, but that’s a good thing.  It still kind of makes me feel like I’m in the Tron universe.

New Years Playlist

I can’t believe another year is done.  It seems like the older I get, the faster the time flies.  So today for a New Years Eve playlist I thought I would reflect on some songs from the past, and throw in some new ones for 2013 and the year to come.

This is more of  a kind of kick back and reflect on the year that was, and prepare for all that a new year offers.  New opportunities, new challenges, and new chances to better the world around us.

Happy New Years, and I hope the new year offers you grace, love, and courage.