The Citizen Insane

Some new tunes, some old tunes, all good tunes, some...

Thu, 23 May 2013 18:54:03 -0400

Some new tunes, some old tunes, all good tunes, some days…

Somebody knows who I am / Somebody sees me and wants to be my friend
And I know, know / This is all that I want, want

Right-Click + Save Link As:

Lee Bannon - Rellahmatic
Travis Scott - Hell of a Night
My Brightest Diamond - Golden Star
The Pixies - Monkey Gone to Heaven
Cold Eyes - Lagoon (Golden Feeling)
Majical Cloudz - This Is Magic
Mount Kimbie - Meter, Pale, Tone (feat. King Krule)
Queens of the Stone Age - The Vampyre of Time and Memory
Juicy J - One of Those Nights (feat. The Weeknd)
King Felix - Spring 01

Some new tunes, some old tunes, all good tunes, some...

Thu, 16 May 2013 15:20:00 -0400

Some new tunes, some old tunes, all good tunes, some days…

I don’t know what this kush do / But I think of you when I get high

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Miguel - Do You… (Cashmere Cat Remix)
Songs: Ohia - Farewell Transmission
Lil B - Life’s Zombies
Way Yes - Money Field
Drake - Do It All
Michna - Do What You Want to Do
Dead Ghosts - Roky Said
Rainbow Bridge - Big Wave Rider
Beacon - Drive
Rockie Fresh - Kush Do
Elliott Smith - Biggest Lie
Mark Templeton - Buffalo Coulee

MP3: Clams Casino - Bookfiend (feat. DOOM)

Thu, 09 May 2013 18:11:00 -0400

It’s safe to say most kids love peanut butter and jelly. I did not. Globby, purple and red preserves never appealed to me, which is why—in one of those inspired parenthood moves—mom always added honey to transform my simple bread and spread sandwiches into a “PB&H.” I still make them when I’m feeling homesick.

For me, Clams Casino and DOOM go together like peanut butter and honey. I’ve been enamored with the molasses @ClammyClams aesthetic since Lil B’s “Motivation” rang out of my tinny Macbook speakers what feels like forever ago, but was actually just 2011.

Clams’ production sounds something like heavy smoke slow-dancing on a secluded body of water. It’s foggy, thick, almost incantational. His warped echoes and melting bass hardly mirror the pastiche, crate-digging production of DOOM-collaborator Madlib or even DOOM himself, but this pairing succeeds specifically because of it.

With Clams at the helm, DOOM’s dulcet baritone fades into the beat like a fresco, laying down fertile ground for the cult MC’s blood-rusted-knife of a lyrical mind:

How you know octagon?
Or much less tetragrammaton?
To get the good stuff
You need to get out to the Amazon

With any luck, you might
Could score locally
Shhh, keep it on the hush
When you’re speaking on it vocally

Then you got to be on the in
A known member
I think I still own a little something
Since November, whatever

For anyone not familiar with DOOM, that pursuit of knowledge is better left for forums like Wikipedia and BitTorrent. I will say he’s been more hit-and-miss than legendary as of late. Maybe CLAMSVILLAINY is the answer to jump-starting DOOM’s stoned, sarcophagus’d creativity. Maybe I’ll listen to it when I’m feeling homesick…

Right-Click + Save Link As:

Clams Casino - Bookfiend (feat. DOOM)

2012 may have ended on a down-note, but the past four months...

Fri, 03 May 2013 17:33:00 -0400

2012 may have ended on a down-note, but the past four months have been a deluge of traveling, partying, working… And compiling this mix* to optimize your early-summer evenings.

And so, The Mixtape, Vol. II would like to thank Mardi Gras, Detroit, Spring Breakers, old friends, new tattoos, Montreal, new jobs, RiFF RaFF, Camo Christ, Orlando, paraphernalia, new friends, Austin, Pavel Datsyuk, White Castle, Transformers, boat shoes and Oberon for inspiring all the sounds you hear above.

* Best enjoyed whilst inebriated.

Tracklist:

01. Hucci - Swerve
02. Rustie - Slasherr
03. Riff Raff - Goin’ Hamilton
04. Salva - Drop That B
05. Gucci Mane - Frowny Face (Emynd Remix)
06. Hudson Mohawke - Cbat
07. Bwana - Baby Let Me Finish
08. Drake - Started from the Bottom
09. ETC!ETC! & Brillz - New Jack Swoop
10. A$AP Rocky - Pretty Flacko
11. Mister Lies - Hounded
12. Kendrick Lamar - Bitch, Don’t Kill My Vibe (Remix) [feat. Jay-Z]
13. Cashmere Cat - Aurora
14. Daft Punk - Get Lucky (feat. Pharrell Williams)
15. Drake - Over (dJ eSenTRiK Remix)
16. Shlohmo - Bo Peep (Do U Right) [feat. Jeremih]
17. Walter Ego - Baby Benz
18. Jacques Greene - Another Girl
19. Shlohmo - Later

[Alternate Download Link]

Some new tunes, some old tunes, all good tunes, most...

Sun, 21 Apr 2013 19:08:00 -0400

Some new tunes, some old tunes, all good tunes, most Mondays…

Sometimes you’re quiet and sometimes I’m quiet / Hallelujah! / Sometimes I’m talkative and sometimes you’re not talkative / I knowww

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TNGHT – Acrylics
IO Echo – When the Lillies Die
Grizzly Bear – Sleeping Ute (Nicolas Jaar Remix)
Elliott Smith – Ballad of Big Nothing (Alternate Vocal)
The xx – Reconsider (Jamie xx Edit)
World’s Fair – ‘96 Knicks
Merchandise – Anxiety’s Door
Clipse – Grindin’
Thee Oh Sees - Maze Francier
Animal Collective – The Purple Bottle (Stevie Wonder Mix)
White Fence – Chairs in the Dark
Vondelpark – Dracula
The Cryin’ Shames – Please Stay
Sepalcure – Make You

Some old tunes, some new tunes, all good tunes, most...

Mon, 11 Mar 2013 18:47:24 -0400

Some old tunes, some new tunes, all good tunes, most Mondays…

There’s so much more / Left to do / Well I’m not young / But I’m not through

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The Subjects - The Hounds of War
Autre Ne Veut - Play by Play
Menomena - Muscle’n Flo
Justin Timberlake - Suit & Tie (Four Tet Remix)
James Blake - Retrograde
Tangerine Dream - Love on a Real Train
Allah-Las - Don’t You Forget It
Abe Vigoda - Sequins
Ducktails - Letter of Intent (Mark McGuire Road Chief Remix)
Drake - 5 AM in Toronto
The Dodos - Walking
Buzzcocks - What Do I Get
Megafaun - Kill the Horns
Jamie xx - Far Nearer
Girls - Life in San Francisco

Watch: Shabazz Palaces - Black Up (Album Short Film)

Mon, 11 Mar 2013 18:06:06 -0400

What a beautiful way to sift through Shabazz Palaces’ stellar Black Up…

Some old tunes, some new tunes, all good tunes, most...

Mon, 28 Jan 2013 15:17:24 -0500

Some old tunes, some new tunes, all good tunes, most Mondays…

She broke down and let me in / Made me see where I’ve been / Been down one time, been down two times / I’m never going back, again

Right-Click + Save Link As:

Anathallo - Hanasakajijii (Four: A Great Wind, More Ash)
Beacon - It Won’t Be Long
How to Dress Well - & It Was U (Elite Gymnastics Remix)
Blue Hawaii - Try to Be
White Denim - Don’t Look That Way at It
Mister Lies - Cleam
Ducktails - Timothy Shy
Robust Worlds - Heavy Moon
Minks - Cemetary Rain
Machinedrum - Lay Me Down
Widowspeak - Ballad of the Golden Hour
Fleetwood Mac - Never Going Back Again

Today's Best Song Ever - "A Tender History in Rust" by Do Make Say Think

Mon, 28 Jan 2013 14:39:00 -0500

Digging up rare, awesome or obscure tracks…

It’s takes a minute and a half of patience to hear why “A Tender History in Rust” is such a beautiful piece of music, but those early seconds of ephemeral noise give way to the most harmonic, delicate guitar playing; a melody that lingers and lingers and lingers… Très magnifique.

“Rust” closes out the a-side of You, You’re a History in Rust (2007) from Toronto’s almost-all-instrumental band, Do Make Say Think.

Right-Click + Save Link As:

Do Make Say Think - A Tender History in Rust

Some old tunes, some new tunes, all good tunes, most...

Mon, 21 Jan 2013 16:22:35 -0500

Some old tunes, some new tunes, all good tunes, most Mondays…

Who fucking loves New York? / Who is the biggest fan? / Who is a fiery cheerleader / Caught in some un-New York foreign land?

Right-Click + Save Link As:

Toro y Moi - Say That
Unknown Mortal Orchestra - So Good at Being in Trouble
Local Natives - Ceilings
Kanye West - Mercy (Salva & RL Grime Remix)
Tapes ‘n Tapes - Omaha
Ryan Power - I Don’t Want to Die
Casa del Mirto - Deep in Your Mind (Welcome Back Sailors Remix)
Chip tha Ripper - Feel Good (Gold Panda Unofficial Version)
Dominic Lord - Pierce (Remix) [feat. Pusha T & Grimes]
Joy Orbison - BRKLN CLLN (Michna’s Brooklyn Bridge Remix)
Culture Reject - Inside the Cinema
XXYYXX - Set It Off

Stream: Just Blaze x Baauer - "HIGHER"

Fri, 18 Jan 2013 21:10:00 -0500

TNGHT’s self-titled EP was one highlight of last year’s ever-growing genre of Frankenstein, dance-floor, trap music: Gamera-sized beats that make you want to drink, smoke, freestyle and grind like you’re in Sodom or Gomorrah, not Williamsburg.

Baauer had a killer single and a few remixes in 2012 that explempified this to a tee, so it’s no shock producer-extrodinaire Just Blaze tapped him for an upcoming tour. Apparently, this is the first fruit of their collaboration… Here’s hoping it gets even better.

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Baauer - Harlem Shake
Baauer - Yaow!
Ryan Hemsworth - Slurring (Baauer Remix)

Today’s Best Song Ever - "Sailing" by The Sutherland Brothers

Fri, 18 Jan 2013 14:08:00 -0500

Digging up rare, awesome or obscure tracks…

Today it’s marching, stripped-down folk from of the Sutherland Brothers, an early ’70s British folk/rock duo. Rod Stewart recorded a cover of the track in 1975 and though it ended up being his biggest-selling single in the UK, the original is so, so, so much better.

Right-Click + Save Link As:

Sutherland Brothers - Sailing

Note: Originally published in April, 2011

Download: Jessie Ware - If You're Never Gonna Move EP

Fri, 18 Jan 2013 10:34:00 -0500

Though I didn’t advertise it here, Jessie Ware’s Devotion was one of my favourite releases of last year, an album knotted with pop-diva, neo-R&B and London-dubstep allusions, pulled taut by one hell of a voice.

Ware released her If You’re Never Gonna Move EP earlier this week and—convenient for me—it’s a pure victory lap, packaging a slight rework of Devotion’s “110%” with two other album highlights, a Bobby Caldwell cover and a simmering Two Inch Punch remix…

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Jessie Ware - If You’re Never Gonna Move (Two Inch Punch Remix)
Jessie Ware - If You’re Never Gonna Move
Jessie Ware - Sweet Talk
Jessie Ware - Devotion
Jessie Ware - What You Won’t Do for Love

MP3: Wampire - "The Hearse"

Thu, 17 Jan 2013 19:23:00 -0500

“Brandon Flower’s preacher’s-warble meets bootleg instrumentals off Rod Stewart’s Blondes Have More Fun, with a dash of Danzig and the Cryptkeeper.”

That’s how I’d best describe “The Hearse,” the a-side of Wampire’s debut 45. Their band name’s incredulous, but the song’s pretty catchy. And kitschy. I dig it.

Can these wampires make it work for an entire album? We find out come May when they drop their debut, Curiosity. In the meantime, they’re touring with Unknown Mortal Orchestra and Foxygen, two bands who’ve already released pretty good records this year…

Right-Click + Save Link As:

Wampire - The Hearse

Lisztomania: The Best of 2012

Wed, 16 Jan 2013 16:48:00 -0500

How was your December? Mine was shit. Which helps explain why I’m as late as Pazz & Jop in posting my Top 50 Albums of 2012.

However overdue, this list is guaranteed to blow all the other lists you ever read about the year 2012 in music away…

— Citizen Insane’s Top 50 Albums of 2012 —

50. Nude Beach - II
49. Purity Ring - Shrines
48. Supreme Cuts - Whispers in the Dark
47. Sleepies - Weird Wild World
46. Tanlines - Mixed Emotions
45. Lemonade - Diver
44. METZ - METZ
43. Four Tet - Pink
42. Japandroids - Celebration Rock
41. Sigur Rós - Valtari
40. Halls - Ark
39. YYU - TIMETIMETIME&TIME
38. Caspian - Waking Season
37. Actress - R.I.P.
36. Allah-Las - Allah-Las
35. Ryan Power - I Don’t Want to Die
34. Shlohmo - Vacation EP
33. King Tuff - King Tuff
32. Perfume Genius - Put Your Back N 2 It
31. Baroness - Yellow / Green
30. Holy Other - Held
29. Mac Demarco - 2
28. Machinedrum - SXLND EP
27. Flying Lotus - Until the Quiet Comes
26. TNGHT - TNGHT EP

*whew*

25. El-P - Cancer for Cure
24. Ty Segall - Twins / Hair / Slaughterhouse
23. Mount Eerie - Clear Moon / Ocean Roar
22. Daphni - Jiaolong
21. Beach House - Bloom
20. Liars - WIXIW
19. Godspeed You! Black Emperor - ‘Allelujah! Don’t Bend! Ascend!
18. Grimes - Visions
17. Dirty Projectors - Swing Lo Magellan
16. Crystal Castles - (III)
15. Grizzly Bear - Shields
14. Jessie Ware - Devotion
13. The Men - Open Your Heart
12. Burial - Kindred EP
11. Frank Ocean - Channel Orange

Drumroll…

10. Pallbearer - Sorrow and Extinction
09. Tame Impala - Lonerism
08. How to Dress Well - Total Loss
07. Laurel Halo - Quarantine
06. DIIV - Oshin
05. Andy Stott - Luxury Problems
04. Death Grips - The Money Store
03. Fiona Apple - The Idler Wheel…
02. Chromatics - Kill for Love
01. Kendrick Lamar - good kid, m.A.A.d city

MP3: Junip - "Line of Fire"

Tue, 15 Jan 2013 15:16:43 -0500

I’ve had Junip’s latest on my hard-drive for all of half an hour and I’ve spun it through four times already—José González, you and your band make some solid freak folk.

“Line of Fire” is off the group’s forthcoming sophomore LP (self-titled, natch). As long as they pick up where Fields left off, I’m on board…

Right-Click + Save Link As:

Junip - Line of Fire
Junip - In Every Direction

MP3: David Bowie - "Where Are We Now?"

Tue, 15 Jan 2013 13:25:00 -0500

I’m not sure what any lowly, young writer can ad to the music criticism of David fucking Bowie, so… I won’t try.

I will say I’ve been playing this Lynchian epic since the Duke dropped it on iTunes a week ago and I still can’t wrap my ears around a 66-year-old, lounge-singing Bowie. Then, two and a half minutes in, everything clicks and I need to hit play again.

Also, that album art? Brilliant.

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David Bowie - Where Are We Now?

Some old tunes, some new tunes, all good tunes, most...

Mon, 14 Jan 2013 14:25:00 -0500

Some old tunes, some new tunes, all good tunes, most Mondays…

After a monthly mix loaded with electronic jams, this one’s a little more ‘indie-rock’ heavy, whatever that means to you.

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The Kamikaze Hearts - Beverly Hills
Sawaaba Soundz - Owuo
Rhye - The Fall
Parquet Courts - Stoned and Starving
Polaris - Hey Sandy (Edit)
Chew Lips - Hurricane (XXXY Remix)
Skrillex - Leaving
Foxygen - No Destruction
Coasting - Starts and Stays
Beach Fossils - Clash the Truth
Trust - Sulk
Twin Sister - The Other Side of Your Face

Death to 2012, long live A$AP… Like John McClane, this...

Fri, 11 Jan 2013 13:01:00 -0500

Death to 2012, long live A$AP…

Like John McClane, this blog just won’t die. And so, I decided to start the new year off right by crafting the best mixtape you’ve heard in 2013; I swear.

My resolutions are to blog more and learn French—I’d say this is a good start to one.

Tracklist:

01. Chrome Sparks — Send the Pain On
02. Chrome Sparks — Marijuana
03. SWV — I’m So Into You
04. Ruddyp — Maybe
05. The Weeknd — The Party & The After Party (Kastle Remix)
06. Nicolas Jaar — Don’t Break My Love
07. Jacques Greene — Motivation
08. Crystal Castles — Pale Flesh
09. A$AP Rocky — LVL
10. Shlohmo — Rained the Whole Time
11. Rustie — After Light
12. Drake — Dreams Money Can Buy
13. TNGHT — Higher Ground
14. Ryan Hemsworth — Charly Wingate
15. TNGHT — Goooo

[Alternate Download Link]

Stream: Ducktails - "The Flower Lane"

Wed, 10 Oct 2012 16:40:00 -0400

So Real Estate guitarist Matthew Mondanile has the fourth album of his Ducktails project due out early, early next year. Til now, the band’s been a solo, bedroom act, nothing but seams-showing, shambling, lo-fi, psychedelic-pop. The Flower Lane, however, is Mondanile’s first album proper, recorded in an actual studio, with actual musicians, which might help explain that keyboard-heavy AOR sound.

It’s not quite The Doldrums-lite, but there’s definitely some Ariel Pink coming thru the cracks…