Formerly known as Opanoni and The Raindrops, Circle have been described as many things, including ‘Australia’s answer to the Flaming Lips’, as well as ‘Cat Stevens at 15 walking through a candy store’.
Bill Callahan / Eid Ma Clack Shaw What? What the fuck did he just say? Huh? Wah? Yeah, well only Billy boy could get away with a song like this and come out the other side even cooler. He’s a storyteller better than most, and his world view is drenched in empathy, love, hate, colour, dark and light. I didn’t stop laughing the first couple of times I heard this song, and although the subject matter is clearly a heavy one, it still makes me smile. Listen out for the horse connections.
The Marches debut album, 4 a.m. is the new midnight, is a blend of electro and Motown, with heavy doses of indie dance thrown in for good measure. The band are in the studio right now working on their second album but will be performing a live full set on a Nov 24th podcast for Radio Hotbodies.
The Beatles / You Know My Name Look Up the Number Preempting the next sentence, I know what is about to be stated will sound ridiculous because hip-hop has sampled from even pre-60s eras. But the first six seconds of this song is possibly the first hip-hop beat. It is the first time a beat actually sounds like a sampled hip-hop beat before the concept existed. And I hate to give the Beatles anymore credit, because they have so much already. If I’m not wrong, you heard it from me first.
Depending on your background, the term “power trio” may bring to mind the ’60s sonic depth-charges launched by the Jimi Hendrix Experience and Cream; the twisty prog-rock styles of mid-70s King Crimson and Rush. Or the post-grunge bash of Seether and Wolfmother. In the case of Civil Twilight, as evidenced on their self-titled debut album, the term means all of that. And much more.
Grizzly Bear / Two Weeks I love this whole album. In fact, our whole band has been getting into it and really enjoying it. It’s a super creative and fun album that seems to transport one to a magical world of sounds and pictures, melodies, rhythms and harmonies that the Beach Boys would be proud of.
Dragonette recently released their debut single, Fixin To Thrill, from the album of the same name and it’s already been championed by Radio 1’s Pete Tong on his Essential Selection. This is the kind of music Britney wishes she wrote, internet bloggers hyperbolize over, and people lose their minds over. They do. File next to Robyn and Yeah Yeah Yeahs, but turn the lights down real low, and smear on the sleazy sexy vibe.
Grizzly Bear / Two Weeks I loved this tune when I first heard it. And loved it even more when I saw the video! It sounds like a more haunting Pet Sounds.
In early 2009, Blind Man’s Colour suddenly found themselves the subject of tastemakers attention. Grizzly Bear’s Ed Droste said, ‘You guys must hear these guys, love it!’, via Twitter. Kanye West blogged about the band in an entry entitled ‘Some Dope Shit For My Apartment’. And so, too, Kanine Records (Chairlift, Grizzly Bear) found, fell in love with, and set to release Blind Man’s Colour debut album, Season Dreaming, on August 18, 2009.
Lotus Plaza / What Grows? What Grows? from Lockett’s solo album, The Floodlight Collective, is so warm and nostalgic. The melodies and the production couldn’t sound more childish. Like an early 90s Sunday sunset.
Land of Talk feature Elizabeth Powell, a former punk who got her start playing her own anti-rock anthems on the local scene of Guelph, Ontario, during her mid-teens. Upon her college years, with stints playing with the Aaron Riches Nuclear Family Band and the Valentines behind her, Powell set her sights on a solo career in the late ’90s. Gigs in and around Ontario and Quebec eventually led to the formation of Land of Talk in 2005 with Bucky Wheaton and Chris McCarron.
Bon Iver / Re:Stacks This song changed my course, emotionally. I can’t tell you how, but it levelled me. Everyone I have played it for, or who has heard it, has had same to similar reactions. This is a song I will listen to well into my twilight years.
Brooklyn-based collective, Team Genius, are just that: a team of genius’. Musical, of course. They create text-book pop, all hooks and precision, with just the faintest whisper of soulfulness underlining the triumphant pop melodies. True to form they compiled their Secret Playlist as a collective. Ain’t cohesion a grand thang.
Queen / Don’t Stop Me Now [Drew] It’s just a great pop tune, fearlessly corny with pure honesty. It captures that amazing vibe that Queen had that no other group ever figured out: really intelligent sense of humor, great songwriting chops and a grandiose energy. It’s impossible not to enjoy this song on some level.
My Secret Playlist is a music discovery website and weekly email publication. We invite our favourite bands and musicians to give us the rundown on their eight favourite songs right now. These are their words on the music that inspires them.
