Titus Andronicus and other mp3s

It's been a while since I posted some mp3s, so here are a few from Beggars Group artists I've been listening to lately.

I had a chance to catch Titus Andonicus at a recent in-store appearance and they sounded great. That performance compelled me to listen to their full album The Monitor. I would never expect a concept album about the Civil War to be entertaining, but it is. Catch the band at the Pitchfork Music Festival this summer.

MP3: Titus Andronicus - A More Perfect Union (from The Monitor)
MP3: Vampire Weekend - Horchata (from Contra)
MP3: The xx - Basic Space (from xx)
MP3: Basia Bulat - Go On (from Heart of My Own)
MP3: Peaches - Talk To Me (from I Feel Cream)

Random Monday music

Quick post today with some new stuff... a track from the upcoming solo record of the New Pornographers' AC Newman; a new Jay-Z song which is supposedly an Obama tribute, though I hear nothing in the lyrics that makes me believe it was written for that purpose; a beautiful Antony & the Johnsons track; and one from a band who were supposed to be the next Radiohead (or was it the next Coldplay?), Travis.

MP3: AC Newman - There are Maybe Ten or Twelve
MP3: Jay-Z - History
MP3: Antony & the Johnsons - Another World
MP3: Travis - J. Smith

Tunes, and such

The Streets

A quick handful of MP3s that are worth checking out... chances are you've seen these elsewhere but if not, grab them now...

MP3: Okkervil River - Lost Coastlines (from The Stand-Ins)
MP3: Lykke Li - Let it Fall (from Youth Novels)
MP3: The Streets - Everything is Borrowed (from Everything is Borrowed)
MP3: TV On the Radio - Golden Age (from Dear Science)
MP3: Ben Folds & Regina Spektor - You Don't Know Me (from Way to Normal)

How's about some Christmas tunes

Three quick thoughts on Christmas music:

1. My favorite Christmas song is probably David Bowie & Bing Crosby doing "Little Drummer Boy", followed by Bruce Springsteen's classic "Santa Claus is Coming to Town".

2. The worst Christmas song of all-time is Paul McCartney's "Simply Having a Wonderful Christmas Time". This song, like most of McCartney's solo shit, is terrible, with awful keyboards and lyrics that are happy to be the point of being stupid.

3. I still can't believe the lyric in Band Aid's "Do They Know It's Christmas?" where Bono sings, "Well tonight thank God it's them, instead of you." Yay! Let's celebrate! People in the world are suffering and dying! And it's not us! Woohoo!

And now, some mp3s... (yes, I'm being ironic with most of these selections...)

MP3: New Kids on the Block - Funky, Funky Xmas
MP3: Wham! - Last Christmas
MP3: Weird Al Yankovic - Christmas at Ground Zero
MP3: Alvin & the Chipmunks - The 12 Days of Christmas
MP3: Johnny Cash - Silent Night
MP3: David Bowie & Bing Crosby - Little Drummer Boy
MP3: Run DMC - Christmas in Hollis

And holy crap, look what I just unearthed... a live performance of "Funky, Funky Xmas" from the Arsenio Hall show!