I previously posted a track from Tilly and the Wall some time ago which I still listen to this day and get the same feeling that I did the first time I heard it. Realising this fact makes me content because it hopefully reaffirms the notion that the songs I post on this blog will live on long after I end up no longer updating it. Well here’s another that I hope to see have the same longevity as “Rainbows in the Dark“. It has a beat thats hot enough to grace any dance or hip hop dance floor. It’s positively hot. Check it out.

Been sitting on this track for a while now when I first heard it on the “500 Days of Summer” trailer. Now that the film is being released and I’ve started hearing it about here and there I figured I better share it. The track definitely has that hazy summer feel and is gleaming with positivity. It provides you with a carefree, emancipated mood, one that is sure to lift you.

Here’s a song that I discovered on Spotify. Just a quick word about it, if your in the UK (and a few other places in Western Europe) you can enjoy Spotify for free. It’s a great completely legal service that allows you to stream a huge library of music for free as many times as you wish, and due to it’s underlying technology the stream starts instantly with virtually no buffering time at all. The catch is you apparently have to listen to an advert every now and then but I have been using the service on and off for a while now and the only ads I’ve come across are simple banner ones which aren’t intrusive at all. I’m thinking that this program would be perfect for parties where people can do quick search and collaboratively create playlists.

Anywho, enough of that plug. This track is called Run To Your Grave (video above) which I found on Pitchfork’s Best 100 Tracks of 2008 playlist (click the link to open the playlist in Spotify once installed). I don’t know anything about the artist as I haven’t had the chance to check them out further but this track is positively brimming with joy and elation. It has a catchy melody and the shrill vocals sung by several of the band members give an airy, organic sound to the delivery. Be sure to check it out for some summery goodness now that the season is almost upon us.

I heard this track on my own recommended station on Last.fm which I recommend highly because if you like the music that you’ve heard on this blog then you’ll definately like the tracks they play there. To this day, no matter how many times I am bored with my own collection of music and decide to pop on that station, I end up finding so much great music that leads me to new artists so I recommend you check it out. As I’ve said, this is a track I heard on that very station and it lead me to seek out the album of this artist which I’ve found to be of similar quality but none were quite as catchy, as seemily organic and as joyus as this song. It starts off with a gentle and honest tone but picks up halfway through with a bouncy acoustic guitar rhythm that hits you where it matters and resonates through your body like every good new track you hear should. Check it out.

Recently I went to a gig to see Joshua Radin, an artist who I discovered on an emmy-winning episode of Scrubs with his song “Winter”. It’s a great song, similar in mood with the song I am going to share now by an artist called Maria Taylor, who was the opening act for this gig. The problem was I turned up late, missing her act which really sucks now that I have got hold of some of her albums and realised how good they are, arguably stronger then that of the main act I paid to see. This track is taken from her second album, and is one that I’ve had on repeat for some time now. It’s one that has a mellow, sombre feel to it and the lyrics are made all the more poignant for me due to the fact that I’ve experienced two deaths in the family recently. While this may give the impression that the track is depressing and miserable,the track takes solace in a kind of beautiful sadness, one that seems comforting and has a positive outlook by the finish.

It’s always a strange thing when you discover music that you think is awesome only to find that when you go away to check on what the artist is up to at the moment, you discover their death that happened several years before, as is the case for the  lead singer of this band. This track comes from the bands self-titled post-homously released album which is full of feel-good tracks with a funky, sun-drenched sound. This particular track is my favourite from the album and shares similar traits to Griffith Project’s track  “First Train Stop” which I posted about here.  It has a great reggae, laid-back groove fitting for the sound of a late summer afternoon. Clocking in at just over 3 minutes long, this is something to quickly get you out of the winter blues I’m experiencing in the UK right now. Enjoy.

I randomly came across this artist when trawling through a torrent site and was intrigued when I found that this one track featured three artists I’ve already done posts about on this blog (Jack Johnson, Missy Higgins and Wyclef Jean of the Fugees) mashed up into a single, surprisingly cohesive song. The artist, who is a bedroom-producer currently still studying for a career in music production, definitely shows flair and promise in these mash-up tracks he’s created. He’s released 3 albums (this taken from the most recent and brilliantly titled “Appetite for Reconstruction”) and can all be downloaded from his multiply site account here. This particular track I’m sharing is my favourite, featuring the songs “‘Taylor”, “Scar” and “No Woman No Cry” (with Men at Work’s “Down Under” thrown in at the end for good measure). The mix isn’t completely polished but I feel that this only adds to the tracks charm. It carries an upbeat and good natured feeling, particularly of Missy Higgin’s “Scar”, right through to the end.

At the moment I still can’t seem to get enough of Colbie Caillat, an artist who I’ve mentioned several times on this blog. I went to see her perform in London a few months back and I’m eagerly waiting for a new release from her to come. What draws me to her music became even more apparent recently when she described in a recent interview that the two biggest influences of her music were John Mayer and Bob Marley (both of which whose music I share a particular passion for).

I went on the hunt for a bunch of tracks that she has been featured in that wasn’t on her endlessly replayable album “Coco” and came across this track. It’s from an album which I know nothing about aside from the fact that Colbie featured on one of the tracks on it, done on the project Schiller by German artist Christopher von Deylen who’s background is in electronia. It’s definitely a departure from her usual sound – much darker with a heavier overtone then anything shes done before, which displays a versatility I hope carries through to her next release. The track has an atmospheric, almost enigmatic feel and draws you in immediately.

Alright, alright. Here’s my update. Sorry about the delay, I’ve started doing a Masters so time isn’t as ample as it was. I’ve decided to add an extra page to my site to let you know about the site status and when to expect new posts etc.

A friend of mine shared me these two feel-good remixes of tracks that were good in the initial form but the remakes definitely add something new and inventive as opposed to 99% of the usual remixes that aren’t worth bothering with. The first is a track I heard in it’s original form on the radio often and had a sort of “meh” response to it although did think it had an insanely catchy chorus – but this remix takes the track to a new height. It gives the song a new funky, electro vibe and it’s just incredibly upbeat.  I’ve played this in the presence of others and it definitely has a universal appeal. So that should include you.

The second is a remix of a song that was already pretty awesome to begin with, but comes with added production from the Neptunes (who sounds like that they’ve used the same drum machine  from the track “Lapdance” to create their funky beat). With the extra touches that don’t overpower the melodic sound of the original, the track packs a new punch that takes it over the edge.

I recently got my hands on some pre-”In Between Dreams” releases from Jack Johnson as I heard the track “Posters” being played on the rather awesome Radio Paradise which I recommend if you fancy some alternative laid-back tunes. The album “In Between Dreams” along with Frank Turner’s first LP “Sleep is For the Week” were the soundtracks that featured heavily on my hungover mornings at uni which I played in constant rotation annoying anyone within the immediate, and non-immediate, vicinity of my room with my incessant… well I was going to call it singing but it sounded more like a drunken lout shouting at the top of his voice in an effort to drown out the pain of a throbbing headache. One track that was missing from my version of “In Between Dreams” that featured as a bonus track on the UK release is this: a live recording of “Mudfootball”, who’s original (as well as “Posters”) featured on his previous album “Brushfire Fairytales”. I came across it in the most random of places – whilst on hold to the company Bizzenergy when having to call them at work. Now being on hold is always frustrating, made even more so by the sorry excuse for music they choose to play to you while you wait, but hats off to Bizzenergy for playing music that I actually wanted to stay on the phone to listen to and for allowing me to discover the missing gem from my version of “In Between Dreams”. It took me a while to track it down but I’ve managed to get my hands on it to share to you, my luscious readers. It’s an upbeat, fun sounding live recording featuring a bouncing harmonica, a great sounding live guitar that hits around the minute-and-a-half mark, and a sense of spontaneous and effortless riffing that’s played at ease – something you can only capture in live sessions.