Once again, 2009 was a major transitional year for me with far too much movement and emotional turmoil to really settle into a solid selection of albums that grabbed my attention. I suppose I just didn’t find the time that year to get absorbed into a lot of selections, hence my fairly obvious choices here.
For me, 2009 was much more about single song discoveries that I found myself obsessed with, but that’s not to take anything away from these selections. They’re all wonderful albums, full of incredible music. These were certainly the albums that stood out above the rest at the time, but in hindsight, I can see that I overlooked several choices that certainly were not properly absorbed until the following year.
All that being said, seeing these albums listed together does bring back a slew of memories from various points in that year that were often filled with grief and pain, but also some tremendous moments of self-discovery. Grizzly Bear and some of the tracks found on “Dark Was the Night” still carry reminders of a blossoming relationship that was building (perhaps too fast) in the early months. Phoenix was certainly the soundtrack to some of the more happy and successful moments of 2009 (the summer months), while The XX provided a mood for the later months as things started to turn dark on all aspects of my life.
It’s strange how you can let music be an escape as well as a tomb to lock yourself away and feed your depressions. Sometimes it feels like the right song can save your life or put a bullet in your head. Luckily, the singles from that year did more saving - or perhaps “distracting” is a better word.
Untitled New Song by Bat for Lashes // Performed Live @ The Sydney Opera House
Pitchfork posted up a video of the lovely Natasha Khan performing a new Bat for Lashes song at the Vivid Live Festival from this past weekend. It’s a familiar sound for her (meaning that it’s pretty fucking great) but that is a very Yeasayer-eqsue backbeat, which makes sense considering their collaborations in the past. No word on if this will be part of any new album, but fingers crossed that one is in the works because there’s never enough of her or her music in the world.
Here is the previously mentioned covers compilation featuring the music of The Cure. Lots of lesser known artists mixed in this time around because quite frankly, they were the best. Also, I wasn’t about to include 40 different versions of “Lovesong”, so the only duplicate tracks included are two very different takes on “Boys Don’t Cry”. Are there some covers that I missed - sure. Most of those were instances of choosing who I felt covered a particular track the best.
So without further ado, here are classic songs by The Cure as re-interpreted by artists over the years.
Playlist (click the band name for more info on the band):
Please support the artists that you find and enjoy. Buy their music, merchandise and tickets to see their shows. Supporting them is the only purpose in doing this blog. Contrary to the opinions of some, music blogs are a great way to discover new music, but there will only be so much new music to go around if these artists can’t afford to support themselves through their art and commerce. Only use these mixtapes as a guide to find something to throw your (financial and emotional) support behind.
This is exactly what you’d expect from a Bat For Lashes cover of a Depeche Mode song. Dark and sexy and loaded with all sorts of atmosphere. That being said, I kind of wish she was covering something from “Violator”, “Ultra” or “Songs of Faith and Devotion” (the darker shit), but i digress. Natasha Khan is pretty much excellent at all times, so this is a win-win for me.
I know that i’m probably far more excited about this then any of you are, but here I am anyway. It’s nearing the big weekend and you’re probably going to need some spooky or campy or seasonal music to light your way, so I’ve compiled another twenty or so tracks (these ones, truly all over the fucking place) to add to the collection.
Thanks for listening. Please don’t be afraid to reblog and spread the goodness. It is only 8 days away. Spread the ghoulish love. Or turn someone onto the other volumes, HERE.
As always, click the title to get individual track downloads, or get the whole mix HERE.
An older video, but something to kick up the halloween vibe around here for the next couple of weeks. I know I have the other site for that, but this close to the big day? I will certainly be mixing my favorite drinks.
How about a spooky, costumed bike ride through the forest with a pretty girl?
Fuck it. Let’s do two from the always beautiful and incredibly talented Natasha and her Bat for Lashes.
BTW. Did anyone else happen to catch Jon Hamm on Comedy Death Ray a month or so back call her out as his ideal girlfriend if he was a 25 year old lesbian?There’s nothing not to love about him. Or her for that matter.
If you haven’t been downloading the weekly series of Halloween Mixtapes leading up to the big day - where have you been? They can all be found HERE. Catch up and be happy.
Another week of spooky party music to add to the Halloween party playlist. Lots of fun synthy rock tracks this week. Hope you like. As always, if you have any recommendations or if i’m overlooking something obvious, drop me a message.
And please, if you like, give it a reblog. Let’s get people in the Halloween spirit around here. Thanks for all the support.
As always, click the title to get individual track downloads, or get the whole mix HERE.
Like always, I’ll put up some listenable posts later on in the event you’d like clicking PLAY more than DOWNLOAD. During these posts I will try and explain my reasons for some of these choices as a number of them are very personal. Enjoy.
since it did kill at the box office, i figured lets have a Twilight post. I saw the movie, and it was better than the other two (despite my deep personal hatred for David Slade), but it is still by no means a good movie.
