The Play List Series #1: Songs of the Moment

As I posted yesterday, I will kick off my so-called Play List Series today. In these series, I will strive to give you an idea of what my music collection looks like and what I listen to. If there is anything you want to see in the series, just leave your request in the comments below and I’ll see if I can turn it into a post! I don’t know yet how often I’ll do this. I’m aiming for a 2-weekly or possibly a monthly post right now.

The first part of the series will feature a list of 30 songs that I have been listening to a lot over the past couple of weeks. It also consists of songs that I have been playing for some time but that I keep coming back to ever since discovering them. Also, I would like to note that this is NOT the most recent stuff I have. It’s just that I never know straight off the bat whether certain songs are actually as good as I think they are. Most songs need to grow on me. Therefore, I will now only post songs from my ‘new’ songs folder that I know.

Please note that most of the songs below are ‘indie’ and some are even fairly hard to find. I have provided youtube links where possible, but there are also links to other sources and links to other songs by the same artist. Below the list of songs you will find a specific description of the songs as well as all the links so you can listen to the songs. NOTE OF WARNING: THIS IS A LONG POST!

The list:

1. Admiral Radley – I Heart California
2. Baths – Animals
3. Best Coast – Boyfriend
4. Boemklatsch ft. De Jeugd van Tegenwoordig – Kutmuziek
5. Bombay Bicycle Club – How Can You Swallow So Much Sleep
6. Bushido – Alles Verloren
7. Death in Plains – Whirlwind
8. Django Django – WOR
9. Double Me – The Way of the World
10. Fantasia – I’m Doin’ Me
11. Foals – Blue Blood
12. Forest City Lovers – Light You Up
13. Good Old War – My Own Sinking Ship
14. Jeremy Messersmitch – Franklin Avenue
15. Johnny Flynn ft. Laura Marling – The Water
16. Justin Nozuka – Love
17. Kesha – Take it Off
18. Laura Marling – Hope in the Air
19. Olney Clark – Tea and Thunderstorms
20. Patrick Watson – The Great Escape
21. Shiny Toy Guns – Ghost Town
22. Sleigh Bells – Tell ‘Em
23. Stars – We Don’t Want Your Body
24. Sun Kil Moon – Ocean Breathes Salty
25. Tame Impala – Solitude is Bliss
26. The Audition – Dance Halls Turn to Ghost Towns
27. The Crystal Method ft. The Heavy – Play for Real
28. The Kills – Black Balloon
29. Tift Merritt – Mixtape
30. UNKLE ft. The Black Angels – With You in my Head

Admiral Radley – I Heart California

This collaboration between Grandaddy and Earlimart has come not only to a brilliant single about the shallowness and absurdity of The Sunshine State, but also the album of the same title is definitely worth a listen. And I cannot forget to mention the awesome karaoke style music video.

Baths – Animals

Experimental beats, complex rhythms and chanting children. Not for the music rookies among you.

Best Coast – Boyfriend

Noise pop with a hint of  surf influences anyone?

Boemklatsch ft. De Jeugd van Tegenwoordig – Kutmuziek

Dutch elektro team from Utrecht teams up with Faberyayo & Willie Wartaal of Dutch rap group De Jeugd van Tegenwoordig to make this raw thumping and incredibly catchy tune. The title pretty much means ‘bad’ or ‘sucky’ music, only the Dutch word used is slightly more vulgar. Let’s just say it contains a word that I don’t want to write down on this blog myself. Taken from the album: Spontaneous Combustion.

Bombay Bicycle Club – How Can You Swallow So Much Sleep

I’ve been digging BBC for a while now. Their songs Evening/Morning & Magnet have been on my random shortlist for a while now. This song is taken from the Eclipse Soundtrack. It’s a Bonus Track on the Itunes Deluxe Edition of the soundtrack. They just recently released a new album called Flaws, which is a lot more acoustic than the previous one, but still with very pretty songs.

Bushido – Alles Verloren

German rap that I just happened to have come across and like. Not a new song, as I just found out it’s from 2007, but it’s new to me.

Death in Plains – Whirlwind

Elektro fused with a hint of Rock with a hint of the 80s.

Django Django – WOR

They’ve played BBC’s introducing and their music is just raw Rock music with a foothold in the 70s, yet it sounds completely new & fresh.

Double Me – The Way of the World

The upbeat atmosphere of the music arrangement might throw you of, make you think this is a happy song. However, this indie pop song’s lyrics are about death (‘it will probably kill you’) and anything but cheerful. Yet, I love these kind of ambiguous songs.

Fantasia – I’m Doin’ Me

This lady is my personal fave of the R&B divas out there right now. That may seem like not such a big deal, but I am not big on R&B. It’s a rare exception that I like these type of songs. And all credit is the result of just this song. Nice vocals, good beat, great lyrics.

Foals – Blue Blood

If I’m not mistaken, Foals opened up for Snow Patrol at the show I went to in June earlier this year. I loved their set and love this song.

Forest City Lovers – Light You Up

Canadian band. I encountered this song on an indieplaylist. It starts simple and picks up in the middle. Lighthearted just like the title suggests.

Good Old War – My Own Sinking Ship

Simple folksy song with nice harmonies.

Jeremy Messersmitch – Franklin Avenue

Again a not so new song. It’s from 2008. Singer/songwriter and just a pretty pretty song.

Johnny Flynn ft. Laura Marling – The Water

Folk music is all the rage in Britain these days. Think success stories like Mumford & Sons and Noah and the Whale. Johnny Flynn & Laura Marling are from the same London folk music scene. This song is taken from Johnny Flynn’s album Been Listening, but the song has been performed live for a longer time. Unfortunately, I cannot find an album version of this song anywhere it seems.

Justin Nozuka – Love

From Justin’s new album: You I Wind Land and Sea. With simple, acoustic guitar songs and amazing lyrics, Justin Nozuka came on the scene a few years ago with his album Holly. His new album is slightly overproduced and there are more studio tricks added which sometimes are a distraction and lead away from the songs. This song however, is still true to the amazingness that was the first album.

Kesha – Take it Off

You can love it, you can hate it, but this song is the ultimate I-wish-it-was-summer-still party song.

Laura Marling – Hope in the Air

A name already on this list, but this time solo. Taken from her second CD I Speak Because I Can. Pretty song, with amazing lyrics plus she’s as cute as a button. If you want to buy her album, make sure you get the Deluxe edition as it features free downloads to songs by other artists with similar types of music.

Olney Clark – Tea and Thunderstorms

I love the strings at the beginning of the song. Yes, it can sometimes be that simple.

Patrick Watson – The Great Escape

Singer/songwriter with a song as fragile as broken glass. He sings with raw emotion. Americans may recognize this song from a juice commercial.

Shiny Toy Guns – Ghost Town

Indie Rock band with catchy tunes. Ricochet is also worth a listen.

Sleigh Bells – Tell ‘Em

Hailed by Pitchfork as ‘undeniable breakouts’ in 2009, this dancepop group from Brooklyn are now getting some more exposure.

Stars – We Don’t Want Your Body

This song is a little late to pick up, but it is one of those songs that grew on me after a few times. This indiepop song is definitely catchy.

Sun Kil Moon – Ocean Breathes Salty

I came across this on NPR. Just another pretty song by a great singer/songwriter.

Tame Impala – Solitude is Bliss

With their record gaining more attention lately, Tame Impala is definitely a name to keep in mind.

The Audition – Dance Halls Turn to Ghost Towns

Not a new song by any means, but definitely a catchy Rock tune. Me likies :-).

The Crystal Method ft. The Heavy – Play for Real

I came across this in the opening of an episode of CSI: Las Vegas in season 10. I happen to love The Heavy and I think this combination between them and The Crystal Method just works. Raw, thumping alternative dancy kind of track.

The Kills – Black Balloon

Again, not a super new song, but I just ‘rediscovered’ it again. It’s been in my playlist for a few months now and I just came across it again the other day and remembered why I loved it. Simple song and just amazing overall. Music video includes a Vampire theme.

Tift Merritt – Mixtape

Who still remembers cassette tapes? Tift Merritt surely does. Sweet song, with a creative little video.

UNKLE ft. The Black Angels – With You in my Head

Any Twilight fans remember the fight practice scene in Eclipse? This is the song that plays. For the non-Twilight fans: great song, with a nice repetitive drone, dark undertones and the amazing line: ‘Collecting all the people you love to sing you a song even if they stick to humming’. This song has been stuck on repeat for the past week or so, so that definitely couldn’t be left out.