Double Rule Breaker

This sucker breaks two of the unspoken Last Choice rules: no mashups and no popular goodies. It's a mashup of 5 seconds of every #1 song ever. It's...entertaining.

Five Seconds Of Every #1 Pop Single Part 1 by mjs538

Five Seconds Of Every #1 Pop Single Part 2 by mjs538

And Some of Us Did Not

PJ Harvey's new album "Let England Shake" is her own high-register take on WWI's effect on her native land. The ever-disturbing, gravel-voiced siren never fails to shock us out of complacency, and the backdrop of the Great War only exacerbates this. I'm especially in love with the track "In the Dark Places."

Staying away from bland, uninspired “world music remixed” releases

The one rule of Perfect Losers remixes entitles this post. Check out http://www.akwaabamusic.com/#/ and the perfect loosers website, which I did not make up: http://www.badwinners.com/. Updates on the SxSW party coming soon, but until then listen to this and try not to dance.




Perfect Loosers present Akwaaba Remixed - Megamix! by Akwaaba Music

Dance Pimp

With all this talk about a Last Choice Unofficial SxSW House Party (yes folks, you heard it here first), I've been searching the Sandra Bullock (The Net) for awesome dancing music just in case a PeterParkour DJ set is in order. The truth is that my Iphone's dance list feels to me like a tired old hooker that has seen way too many things in life — so like the awesome pimp that I am, I'm considering just beating its ass, leaving it by the side of the road, and getting myself a brand new young thing that will melt your minds away from so much dancing... at least until Bob Jovi's set comes on and blows mine out of the water.

Felix Cartal is a young dude from Vancouver that's been making his own music and remixing since 2007. He got a bit of notoriety last year when he put out his first full length called "Popular Music" in February. His first single was this dancing gem right here called Volcano:



Here's his brand new video for his song World Class Driver, which reminds me of what our parties might be like in 50 years if we keep hanging out with the gaybors:



Photo courtesy of music website http://schitzpopinov.com

Hipstercats Hoooooooo

Ok, let's just get over the fact that these guys could be featured in every single photo of "Look at this fucking hipster"...

Jeff the Brotherhood is Jake and Jamin Orrel, brothers from Tennessee. Their music is infectious, and I've heard they have one of the best live shows out there if you don't mind being surrounded by cute tiny girls with headbands and waist skirts and tiny boys with teal short-shorts and ironic mustaches (hey, no making fun of my ironic mustache... that was a phase).

They've got a couple of 7" and released their full length "Heavy Days" a while ago. They'll be here for Southby. This is "Bone Jam."



Photo courtesy of www.BrooklynVegan.com

Maybe Florida's not all bad.

Radical Face is a chilled out Floridian who makes nice epic orchestral sorts of music. This is off of his new-ish EP, touch the sky. The video, which consists of a bunch of his nieces and nephews running around a park, is charming if not amazing. And the making of it caused more than one five year old to vomit from heat exhaustion, so there is that.




And this is an older fave from 2007's Ghost.

Radical Face - Welcome Home

Denton, TX

Denton first gave us the excellent Midlake, with their haunting, beautiful melodies and voice. More recently it has also given us Sarah Jaffe, who since a couple of years ago has become a Texas darling and an Austin favorite. I'm sure most of you are already fans, but if you're not then this might get you to change your minds.

She'll be playing Southby, including a showcase show at Momo's on Friday, which I'm sure none of us will go to... but maybe we'll catch her on a free show somewhere.

"Clementine" Official Video:


"Stay with me" live at a church in Denton:

We are not the world.

A cold-weather pop pick me up combining two of my favorite things, a string section and Sweden. It is the single off Forest and Crispian's recent debut EP.

via hitsinthecar

Sound on The Sound (Snow Day!)

In my never ending quest to stay current with Blue Scholars I stumbled upon a blog showcasing music from the Pacific NW. They have a whole range of stuff, including hip hop and stuff you guys might like better. This post is namesaked for the blog: http://www.soundonthesound.com/ Below are three songs I found through them and one I found via a Blue Scholars Tweet (Tweet Hop?).

This is from Macklemore, who's a rising star in the Seattle Hip Hop scene. I picked this video as my final exhibit in our baseball vs. cricket argument from yesternight.



New stuff from an old dude. It's his first ever release.




This is a colloboration between Logics and Geo (Scholars) and will be on Logic's album out later this month. Download free and legal here: http://www.2dopeboyz.com/2011/02/01/logics-focused-f-geo-of-blue-scholars/




Jazz Hop also from Seattle.

Canadians for the cold

When Montreal (via Calgary) band Braids get to town on Saturday they at least won't be shocked by the chill, which is just as well because they are playing outside at the Mohawk. I don't know a ton about them except that a bunch of folks are getting all hot and bothered about their first album, Native Speaker, and that they play a sort of minimalist dreamy pop that makes me feel the same way.

Come see them on Saturday (yes, at the same time as Murder by Death but they are the opener so I think doubling up is highly possible), or at sxsw.

Braids - Lemonade

Nose rings are so 90s

Jessica Lea Mayfield started touring with a bluegrass band when she was 8. Now she's old enough to have a nose ring, to have had her heart broken, to have contributed to a Black Keys Album and to be touring the country with Justin Townes Earle.

She's got a new album coming out in February, and she'll be promoting it during Southby.

Here's "Grown Man:"



Here's the single of her new album "Our hearts are wrong:"

Diamond Rings

I can't remember if Diamond Rings has cropped up on here before, but I sure do like this Canadian glam one man band. He makes magic with a guitar, a laptop, and a boatload of eye makeup. Heartbreakingly, he is playing a show here while I'll be gone, with Swedish 90's pop princess Robyn, on February 17. I think it will be awesome.
http://acl-live.com/calendar/2011/2/robyn

At least I should be able to catch him at sxsw!




I picked this video in particular to demonstrate both Diamond Rings' awesomeness and Peter Parkour's next haircut.

Green means go

The Go! Team are back! Their new release is out via Memphis Industries (where Cymbals Eat Guitars, Tokyo Police Club, Le Loup, Black Moth Super Rainbow, and Dungen live). Satomi Matsuzaki (Deerhoof) and Bethany Constantino (Best Coast) join in the fun.