Good Weather For Airstrikes

Despite the fact that Silent Alarm was release almost 8 months ago, my appreciation and love for Bloc Party is still increasing on a daily basis. The most recent catalyst for this was the video for “So Here We Are”, which I discovered when I made the Bloc Party mega-post last month, but didn’t have a high-resolution version of until now. This video stirs up all kinds of emotion in me, I’m not sure why, but I think it has something to do with the fact that it combines my two favorite things: Bloc Party and walking-through-London-whilst-listening-to-Bloc-Party. But anyway, it’s an awesome video, and I highly recommend that everyone download (or at least watch) it below.

MP3s:
“So Here We Are” - Bloc Party
“So Here We Are” (Four Tet Remix) - Bloc Party

Video:
“So Here We Are” - Bloc Party [highly recommended]

Yeah, I watch The OC. And maybe I even have viewing parties for it. What of it? (Excuse me while I pick up the shreds of any indie cred I ever had from the floor). It’s an overwhelmingly enjoyable show and it not only features great music, but often stuff I’ve never even heard, and there have been multiple occasions when The OC has turned me on to new artists I had to that point not heard of (i.e. Jose Gonzalez, Imogen Heap, The Album Leaf, to name a few from last season). As a result, I will be posting the notable songs from the previous night’s OC episode from this point on, once The OC resumes November 3rd, and I will be posting the best of the first three episodes here in the meantime.

Anyway, this is all relevant because the tracklisting for Music From The OC: Mix 5 was announced today, and it appears to be pretty good. I won’t lie and say I’ve heard all of the songs, but assuming you haven’t already heard most of them this will be a great pick-up when it’s released on November 8th. Tracks include two flawless ballads from Stars and Imogen Heap “Your Ex-Lover Is Dead” (originally featured on M3 Volume 1 last February) and “Hide and Seek” (featured on M3 Volume 4) (respectively). Also included is Youth Group’s cover of Alphaville’s “Forever Young”, which was most recently heard in Napoleon Dynamite. The tracklisting, as well as some songs to download from it, are available below. I was initially pleasantly surprised to see The Subways on the soundtrack (the new british invasion is happening sooner than you think), but my surprise turned to disappointment when I saw that they would be contributing “Rock & Roll Queen”, possibly my least favorite song by them. Also unfortunate is the inclusion of new-wave bandwagoners, Kasabian and Kaiser Chiefs, both of whom I don’t particularly care for. Peep the tracklist and download some of the highlights of Mix 5 below, and look to the post above for the notable songs from Season 3, Episode 1.

Tracklisting/MP3s:
1. “Rock & Roll Queen” - The Subways
2. “Reason Is Treason” - Kasabian
3. “Wish I Was Dead Pt. 2″ - Shout Out Louds
4. “Daft Punk Is Playing at My House” - LCD Soundsystem
5. “Publish My Love” - Rogue Wave
6. “Forever Young” - Youth Group
7. “Requiem for O.M.M.” - Of Montreal
8. “Kids With Guns” - Gorillaz
9. “Na Na Na Na Naaa” - Kaiser Chiefs
10. “Your Ex-Lover Is Dead” - Stars
11. “California 2005 (Whistling)” - Phantom Planet
12. “Hide and Seek” - Imogen Heap

Apparently Stephen King likes Spoon. Ha (chortle). Thanks to Zack Friendly for the story. In return, Zack asked me to post “Galang” by MIA. He’s just crazy like that.

Random MP3:
“Galang” - M.I.A.

So below you can download M3 Dance Dance… Dance Edition, in all its danceable glory. But beware, this is not for everyone. If you do not enjoy: fun, parties, friends, joy, good times, jubilant atmospheres, dancing (optional), or lust, I do not recommend this mix for you. But otherwise, download away. Also included is a bonus downloadable music video for “Honest Mistake”, courtesy of The Bravery (another one of the year’s best). WARNING: Is not suitable for those over the age of 60 or those with heart conditions. Should not be experienced by pregnant women, doing so may result in overly-awesome children. Friends don’t let friends listen to Dave Matthews Band. Keep out of reach of children.

M3 Dance Dance… Dance Edition MP3s:
1. “The Fallen” - Franz Ferdinand
2. “From The Ritz To The Rubble” - Arctic Monkeys
3. “Twin Cinema” - The New Pornographers
4. “Bottle Rocket” - The Go! Team
5. “Rapture Rapes The Muses” - Of Montreal
6. “Deceptacon” - Le Tigre
7. “Smile Around The Face” - Four Tet
8. “Move Your Feet” - Junior Senior
9. “Eple” - Royksopp
10. “Feel Good Inc.” - Gorillaz
11. “Everything Is Everything” - Phoenix
12. “Danger! High Voltage” - Electric Six ft. Jack White
13. “Robot Rock” - Daft Punk
14. “Honest Mistake” - The Bravery
15. “Glass Danse” - The Faint

Video: (watch with Windows Media Player)
“Honest Mistake” - The Bravery

Previous Installments:
M3 Dance Dance Edition
M3 Volume Five

So after the wild success and critical acclaim (read: some people liked it) that met the release of M3 Dance Dance Edition last March, I’m doing the logical thing and releasing a sequel. Behold, M3 Dance Dance… Dance Edition. The sequel contains 15 more bangin’ tracks of danceable hotness, from indie dance-rock to block-rockin’ electronic beats. M3 Dance Dance veterans Franz Ferdinand get the party started with “The Fallen” off their sophomore album, followed by British newcomers (and Franz’s Domino Records labelmates) Arctic Monkeys, with their immaculate take on the UK club scene, “From The Ritz To The Rubble”. The New Pornographers make their second consecutive M3 appearance with “Twin Cinema”, and the always danceable Go! Team chip in with their newest single, “Bottle Rocket”, followed closely by Of Montreal’s synth-tastic “Rapture Rapes The Muses”. Junior Senior and Gorillaz both contribute anthemic dance floor staples in “Move Your Feet” and “Feel Good Inc.”, and dance/techno pioneers Daft Punk show they still have it (despite the disaster that was the rest of Human After All) with “Robot Rock”. Other highlights include (but are not limited to), Royksopp’s ethereal “Eple”, the banging “Everything is Everything” from Phoenix, and Electric Six and Le Tigre’s novelty jams, “Danger! High Voltage” and “Deceptacon” (respectively). Below is the tracklisting (click image to enlarge).

Like M3 Volume Five, M3 Dance Dance Edition has an extra five tracks, and as a result it is liable to overheat your CD/MP3 Player/Computer. Bringing you the finest dance rock/electronica from all over the globe, M3 Dance Dance Edition warmed up the cold DC March when it was originally released earlier this year. Now the re-issue includes the same tracklisting, but comes with a bonus music video for LCD Soundsystem’s “Tribulations”, which happens to be one of the year’s best/coolest videos. Anyway, M3 Dance Dance Edition is hotter than the oven door, and highlights include Head Automatica’s “Beating Heart Baby”, Daft Punk’s dance floor classic “Aerodynamic”, and Ratatat’s flawless/impeccable/best-song-of-2004 “Seventeen
Years”.

UPDATE: These were all previously M4A files, but in the spirit of becoming an equal-opportunity blog, I have converted them all to MP3 files so everyone, even iTunes-less Linux users, can enjoy.

M3 Dance Dance Edition MP3s:
1. “Like Eating Glass” - Bloc Party
2. “Helicopter” - Bloc Party
3. “Banquet” - Bloc Party
4. “This Fffire” - Franz Ferdinand
5. “Island of the Honest Man” - Hot Hot Heat
6. “Jerk It Out” - Caesars
7. “Beating Heart Baby” - Head Automatica
8. “Don’t Tell Me Your Name” - Euromotion
9. “Aerodynamic” - Daft Punk
10. “Tribulations” - LCD Soundsystem
11. “Worked Up So Sexual” - The Faint
12. “Seventeen Years” - Ratatat
13. “Huddle Formation” - The Go! Team
14. “What Are You Waiting For” - Gwen Stefani
15. “Last Call” - Outkast

Video:
“Helicopter” - Bloc Party [highly recommended]
“Banquet” - Bloc Party [highly recommended]
“Jerk It Out” - Caesars
“Tribulations” - LCD Soundsystem [highly recommended]

So in anticipation of the sequel to last March’s M3 Dance Dance Edition, which will be available next week and will be titled M3 Dance Dance… Dance Edition, I am posting the original M3 Dance Dance here on the site. Y’know, to generate hype and buzz and whatnot. Here’s the tracklist (click the image to enlarge… or else), the actual downloads will be available momentarily.

So continuing with the “New British Invasion”, Maximo Park is a band I referred to as one of the pioneers of this new wave of brit-pop/rock (along with Bloc Party and The Futureheads), but then realized I had never really featured on M3 or on this site, so here they are now. Fronted by quirky lead singer Paul Smith, and named after a park in Havana, Cuba (?), Maximo Park brings to the stage and your speakers a dangerously catchy breed of new wave post-punk along the lines of Hot Hot Heat and The Futureheads. Despite being definite latecomers to the new wave bandwagon, they have received surprising success and critical acclaim both in the UK and abroad (even Pitchfork, in a shocking turn of events, gave their debut album, A Certain Trigger, an 8.4 in their review).

Their near-flawless first single from A Certain Trigger, “Apply Some Pressure” is a frantic test of endurance, featuring a central guitar riff that’s catchier than anything you’ll hear all year. “Pressure” stands out as one of my favorite singles of the year, and second single “Graffiti” and standout track “Postcard of a Painting” make the album a brilliant debut. Download these aforementioned tracks below, and watch the band’s incredible video for “Apply Some Pressure”, which stands out as one of, if not the, coolest videos of the year, if you can overlook the random and lame nosebleed Smith gets at the end (is that supposed to be like a reference to “apply some pressure” to stop a nosebleed, or changes in pressure cause nosebleeds?… lame). Also, available to watch is their classy video for “Graffiti”, but a primer: it’s nowhere near as awesome as the “Apply Some Pressure” clip.

MP3s:
“Apply Some Pressure” - Maximo Park [highly recommended]
“Graffiti” - Maximo Park
“Postcard of a Painting” - Maximo Park

Video: (stream or download)
“Apply Some Pressure” - Maximo Park [highly highly recommended]
“Graffiti” - Maximo Park

Alright, so I know a lot of you (especially Mac users) were having a good amount of trouble downloading the files I was hosting. While I’m not exactly sure what the problem was, I know Rapidshare (the service I was using before) can be tricky with Macs, so I’ve now switched all of my hosting to EZ-Share Archives which should hopefully work better, as it apparently is more compatible with Macs. So this should make things better, if not, I’ll probably just throw myself out the window. Anyway, because people were having trouble with the downloads, I’ve re-hosted the best tracks that we’re available before, so it’s sort of like a best of Good Weather For Airstrikes kind of thing, as well as M3 Volume 5, so you can now download whichever tracks you weren’t able to before.

Also, I am now sponsoring Defunker, which is a t-shirt company featuring awesome and clever t-shirts that Molly Wilkof will probably enjoy. If you’re interested in buying the t-shirts, please make sure you access their website via the link or picture in the left sidebar of this site. I get a commission for every t-shirt someone buys when accessing Defunker from my site, which will help to cover the hosting/service charges for the site, so I can keep bringing you the freshest jams on a daily basis. But yeah, it’s a cool company, so check it out.

Anyway, “Best of Good Weather For Airstrikes” available below. If you don’t have any of these already or the download didn’t work before, I highly recommend you download them now. Hopefully this will work.

MP3s: [all highly recommended]
“Hero” - Bloc Party
“Oh Yeah” - The Subways
“On The Bus Mall” - The Decemberists
“Legionnaire’s Lament” - The Decemberists
“Chicago” (Acoustic) - Sufjan Stevens
“Bottle Rocket” (Single Version) - The Go! Team
“Mouths To Feed” - The Epochs
“Portions For Foxes” (Single Version) - Rilo Kiley

So just a quick update regarding the Decemberists concert I attended last Sunday. I now have the setlist (click to enlarge), courtesy of indie godess Ellen Malinowski, so anyone seeing The Decemberists at future dates can take a gander to get a vague idea of what the setlist will be like, though it changes every night apparently (it’s also signed by stand-up bassist Nate Query). They typically play the hits from Picaresque and then sprinkle in random chart-toppers from their previous album, Castaways and Cutouts and Her Majesty. While their setlist was more or less perfect, it unfortunately excluded “Legionnaire’s Lament” (see post a couple below for download), so it’s more or less luck of the draw. Apparently they don’t always play the “Mr. Blue Sky” ELO cover in the encore, so say a little prayer the night before that they do, because it’s perfection. Speaking of the cover, I also have a live video of The Decemberists’ performance of “Mr. Blue Sky” from their show on September 2nd in San Francisco, that You Ain’t No Picasso hosted (but is no longer hosting) a while ago.

WMV:
“Mr. Blue Sky” (ELO Cover) (Live in San Fran, 9.12.05) - The Decemberists