Friday, December 23, 2011

#34: 2011 Wrap-Up

So, here we go with another end-of-the-year. I'll be honest, I don't like years ending. I don't like anything ending. But, hell, might as well make the best of it and have a bit of fun. So I'm posting my twenty favourite songs from 2011, with the following rules:
  • The songs must have been imported into my library in 2011.
  • The songs must not have been imported in any other form before 2011. Including remixes.
  • The songs must have Gem Lines in them. (This does NOT mean I am awarding these songs Gem Line awards. Yet.)
See how un-strict I am? The songs need not be produced in 2011 either. Bizarrely, that does limit my library a bit. But, I've rustled up twenty songs, in no particular order:
  • ANYTHING NEW - BIBIO
    Almost too catchy, but still with some very well-written lyrics. I enjoyed this song as soon as I heard it. That doesn't happen often.
    Gem Line: "I saw you dropped a note to self, I picked it up and it read 'I can't learn anything new'"
  • EYES BE CLOSED - WASHED OUT
    I don't think there is anything to dislike about this song. Bordering on ambient, with a very epic (remember: "epic" means "heroic" in CJ-land) climax at about 3'33".
    Gem Line: "See the world clearly now"
  • AMANÆMONESIA - CHAIRLIFT
    You are infinitely invited. I seem to be attracted to bizarre songs, and nothing can get more bizarre than the video of a woman looking like she's C'thulhu.
    Gem Line: "Mistaken for magic"
  • STREET - JAMIE WOON
    Deliciously minimalistic. Also paints a perfect picture of a city street, specifically La Trobe Street (for me, that is). Or Bourke Street near Southern Cross Ln. Either way, beautiful song.
    Gem Line: "I'm wishing you were here with me, walking on a city street"
  • FEATHER - LITTLE DRAGON
    A more recent find. I was attracted mostly by the key, and the lyric "you've got silver rays". Possibly the best-sung line of the song, because it stands out.
    Gem Line: "Will it ever float? Will it ever soar alone?"
  • SUTPHIN BOULEVARD - BLOOD ORANGE
    I love blood oranges. And this song, though set (most likely) in New York City, belongs squarely in Melbourne. Don't ask me where.
    Gem Line: "Funny how it only seems to work at night"
  • MIDNIGHT CITY - M83
    Again, a bizarre enough song to attract me immediately, and keep me absolutely hooked. Mostly because of the title. I love midnight and I love the city.
    Gem Line: "Looking at the mutating skyline"
  • I WROTE THE BOOK - SIMIAN MOBILE DISCO & BETH DITTO
    Almost deliciously snarky song. I do like these kinds of songs, and especially any song where Simian Mobile Disco is involved.
    Gem Line: "Paradise is full of lies"
  • SKY & SAND - PAUL KALKBRENNER
    Yep. An older song. Nope, I haven't seen Berlin Calling. I do intend to. It also resonates within me, for some reason.
    Gem Line: "In the night time, when the world is at its rest, you will find me in the place I know the best"
  • FOREIGN LANGUAGE - FLIGHT FACILITIES ft. JESS HIGGS
    A pretty sweet follow-up to Crave You, and though nothing can beat the original I do like the direction Flight Facilities headed in this time. Disco for the win.
    Gem Line: "I can't let you go if you won't let me know"
  • EMBODY - SEBASTIAN
    There's definitely something about me and bizarre or unintelligible songs. Hell, look how much of a Presets fan I am.
    Gem Line: OK, I can't tell, but it's a good enough song.
  • A.I.M. FIRE! - ART VS. SCIENCE
    Much more my style of music than its predecessor, Parlez-Vous Francais?. Also takes a remix very well, as shown by the Immigrant remix.
    Gem Line: "I like a journey way into the night"
  • ZIMBABWE - NEW NAVY
    A fun, boppy song that falls short of being catchy in the same way as We No Speak Americano was. Also embodies the ideals of every human being. Well, almost.
    Gem Line: "Leave the city for the open highway"
  • AIN'T WAITING - TALIB KWELI ft. OUTASIGHT
    I still say this sits squarely in my collection, rather than standing out. The thing about hip hop is that it does fit in with mostly any other genre, apart from (say) classical.
    Gem Line: "I don't want to spend the night trying to figure out how to spend my time"
  • TREEHOUSE - GOLD FIELDS
    Straight out of Victoria. Winning. I like its cheeky, playful nature as well as the niceness of the lyrics, as well as the fact that they are Victorian. ...OK, that was lame.
    Gem Line: "Do you know how far we are from the moon? Do you know how fast we are?"
  • BOOM - LO-FI-FNK
    Another reasonably recent find. I like the fact that the band name starts with "lo-fi". Better than the pretentious wankery of "hi-fi" these days.
    Gem Line: "Those crazy summer nights"
  • NEED YOU NOW - CUT COPY
    I am in love with the Architecture In Helsinki version. Absolutely in love. One of the best songs from Cut Copy, by a long shot.
    Gem Line: "Run for the last train, one of them will get you home"
  • GABRIEL - JOE GODDARD ft. VALENTINA
    No idea whether this song is about an actual person or not, but that's irrelevant. Bizarre song, again, with some very different lyrical structure. Which is probably why I enjoy it.
    Gem Line: "He was stronger than I was, but it's strength you can't sustain"
  • JONA VARK - GYPSY & THE CAT
    Not a huge obsession, but well worth a mention by a long way. Bordering on epic, and with some stirring words, along with an uncharacteristically nice remix by Tommy Trash.
    Gem Line: "She walks on the street, alone in the dark"
  • AN ARGUMENT WITH MYSELF - JENS LEKMAN
    MELBOURNE. Well and truly iconically Melbourne, from the perspective of a Scandinavian. Love it to bits.
    Gem Line: "So rich on summer and so sweet"
Of course, this list doesn't include other jewels in my collection that I unfortunately had to cull, such as:
  • Start Again - The Aston Shuffle ft. Lovers Electric
  • The Call - Raized By Wolves ft. Tom Smith
  • The Phoenix Alive - Monarchy
  • Destroy Everything You Touch - Ladytron
  • Hits Me Like A Rock - CSS
  • Your Love - The Aston Shuffle
  • The Island - Pendulum (parts 1 and 2)
  • Look Inside (Izmabad rmx) - 4Hero ft. FACE
  • Swoon (Boys Noize rmx) - The Chemical Brothers
  • Niton [The Reason] - Eric Prydz
This list of 30 has been shortened from a list of 54, which has been shortened further from 214. Painfully hard, I can guarantee it. But, that's 2011 in CJ Curry's music collection. Have fun!

Wednesday, December 14, 2011

#33: An Index Of Corporate Art - Bronnt Industries Kapital

Are you reading this, Fenella?

Right. This is the most brilliant index of corporate art I have ever seen. Not that I've seen many. It's a piece of music essentially in three parts: one that reminds me quite thoroughly of a music box that is normally associated with kids. It's got that certain, uh, something to it that brings you back to childhood. Not quite ambient, because it's a bit fast-paced, but I like it anyway. Memories of when I was three years old and not quite grown out of the eating-sheep-shit stage. Though it also brings to mind a sunset over Melbourne. That part ends at ~2'48" and brings us into the most mellow piece of music I've heard outside the soundlab in 2011, which immediately brings to mind Melbourne's skyline at night. Loving it, and loving it hugely. To be honest, though, I'd prefer it without the electric guitar whine in the left speaker. In fact, I routinely listen to it with just one speaker for this reason. Then at ~4'16" we jump into the grittier bit, that feels more like a person's mindset while walking through Melbourne's streets at night. Spot the pattern, anyone? Yes, the pattern is that the parts of the tune are proportional to phases of night.

In all seriousness, this song is perfect for a warm - say, 22 degrees - night, taking a stroll through Melbourne. There are those who disagree and say it's a winter song. I say, this song is way too cool for them (seewhatIdidthere?) and brush them off so I can listen to this song with awesomeness. Seriously. Much the fun.

Saturday, December 3, 2011

#32: Look Inside - 4Hero ft. FACE

Alright guys, I said I'd feature it last post. Here it is: 4Hero's deep house track Look Inside, in three flavours: original, Izmabad, and Nu:Tone.
Honest opinion: in comparison to the others, the Plain version is what it says on the box. A bit bland. But this wasn't the first version I heard. This was:
The Izmabad remix. And a hell of a win it was too. As I said last post, I blame Nando's Bundoora. I heard it, noted the lyrics "searching every pot of gold, running out of rainbows". And here is the result of an extensive Internet search afterwards:
So what is it about this liquid music that attracts me, again and again, like a motherfucking magnet? Apart from the fact that it's liquid music? I'd say the memories associated with the songs. Each and every one makes me think of summer (tick), Melbourne (tick), spicy chicken (tick) and being happy (HUGE TICK). Simply because I was happy in a Melbourne summer, eating spicy chicken when I first heard this. And kept hearing it all throughout summer '10-'11. Winning harder than Charlie Sheen (which isn't hard. But still).

I love Melbourne. I have an entire playlist, 150 songs long, devoted to it. I have also mixed two 1h20' sets based on thirty-nine songs from that playlist. I also love summer. Same deal, except no mixes and a playlist that is 100 songs long. The fact that both are miniscule compared to the size of my library (nearly 9,000 songs) is offset by the sheer amount of times I have played those songs. And hell, those playlists are totally incomplete. One thing's for sure: this song is in them all.

Finally, I mentioned the lyrics before: "searching every pot of gold, running out of rainbows". This gets a Gem Line award. Just like that. And I'm retroactively awarding one to Feather by Little Dragon, for the line "You are airborne, you've got silver rays". Enjoy.