Saskatchewan - The Morning (The Weeknd Cover)

“The Morning” by Saskatchewan // Originally by The Weeknd

Hearing Saskatchewan’s spin on The Weeknd’s “The Morning” is an interesting ride. It’s got a dark, jazzy, 80’s vibe that creates sort of a hypnotic, late night chillout. Here’s what they had to say about the creation:

ssktchwn:

A little more than a week ago a friend of mine suggested that we do a cover of The Weeknd. The idea was definitely a stretch for me but I figured it would be an interesting challenge. The end result of our version of The Weeknd’s “The Morning” is like a forensics TV show soundtrack mets sleezy lounge jazz mets saskatchewan. I hope you enjoy.

Pretty damn accurate. I’m into it. I’m loving the bedroom pop/ r&b / dream pop crossover sounds. Definitely worth hearing for fans of How to Dress Well, Active Child, and Top Girls.

High For This (Weeknd cover)

“High for This” by Top Girls // Originally by The Weeknd

With a few small releases, Top Girls have proven themselves one of my most eagerly watched new acts. Combining the lo-fi r&b soundscapes that you might hear on a How to Dress Well record, with the more overt beats and atmospheres that you might find on a Burial or James Blake record, they create something really special and exciting. Here with a cover of The Weeknd’s “High For This”, they bring that sound alive in dark, haunting, and sexy glory. Highly recommended. 

Radio Slow Riot - Faves of 2011 pt2

P|M|W’s FAVORITE SONGS OF 2011 /// PT. 2 (#20-1)

Finally, the collection is complete. After a run in with a dying voicebox and multiple microphone issues, here are the final 20 songs in my favorite songs of 2011 collection (previous tracks 40-21 HERE). Once again, i’d like to reiterate that this is simply my favorite songs. I’m not putting my foot down and declaring them “the best”. I’m open to others choices, these are just the songs that grabbed me and held on the hardest. 

I’m leaving the explanations for why, I chose what,  inside the podcast. I won’t bother wasting your time by putting it here as well, so if something strikes you as particularly strange, feel free to listen. I might explain myself. As usual, you can stream or download the podcast. Please feel free to reblog and share if you like what you here or shoot me a message if you have concerns that i’ve lost my mind. Now, without further ado, here are my top 20 favorite songs of 2011. 

THE LIST /// FAVORITE SONGS OF THE YEAR #20 - 1 (the top twenty)

• 20. “Moon Killer” by Small Black
• 19. “Pulse” by I Break Horses
• 18. “Island Answer Anywhere” by Pulseprogramming
• 17. “Give Us the Wind” by Future Islands
• 16. “Green Aisles” by Real Estate
• 15. “Into the Wilderness” by Burning Hearts
• 14. “Stutter” by Yuck
• 13. “Give Up the Ghost” by Radiohead
• 12. “Wicked Games” by The Weeknd
• 11. “The Last Line” by Tammar
• 10. “Mermaid” by Okkervil River
• 9. “Escape” by Richard Buckner
• 8. “Suicide Dream 3 (Orchestral Version)” by How to Dress Well
• 7. “Civilian” by Wye Oak
• 6. “Sara” by Chad Vangaalen
• 5. “Holocen” by Bon Iver
• 4. “Pure Affection (Beach Fossils Remix)” by Eternal Summers
• 3. “Never Mine” by Big Troubles
• 2. “Midnight City” by M83
• 1. “Black Trees” by Hooray For Earth

(download) P|M|W’s Favorite Songs of 2011 Part 2 (#20-1) Podcast

(stream) P|M|W’s Favorite Songs Part 2 (#20-1) (via Soundcloud)

That is that. The last of my favorite jams of 2011. I hope you enjoyed them even a fraction as much as I have this year. Hopefully, you discovered something that’s new and interesting, or hopefully you just enjoyed the countdown. Thanks for listening. I hope to keep things up for another year. If so, I hope you stick around as well. Take care and happy listening. 

The Weeknd - Initiation

“Initiation” by The Weeknd // Initiation (2011)

New sexiness from The Weeknd is always a welcome addition to any evening. This new track might be an energetic, beat-heavy taste of the forthcoming mixtape “Echoes of Silence” or it might just be a free taster for a future sound, but whatever the case, it’s a solid jam worth your time. Not as dark, and ominous as the sex and drug fueled tales found on “House of Balloons”, but something closer to what was found on “Thursday”, but even a little more energetic still. Hit play. Get initiated (hardy har har). 

“The Birds (Part 1)” by The Weeknd // possibly from the new mixtape, Thursdays

That marching band beat is pretty hard to top. The Weeknd continues to release excellent free jams for the world to listen to as they get fucked up on all things sex and drugs. This might be from the previously promised new mixtape, Thursdays, or it might just be a free jam that was offered up on his Twitter page. At any rate, you can download it for free at OneThirtyBPM.

(via danceyrselfclean)