Spotlight on... Sally Shapiro

Sally Shapiro Feat. Electric Youth - Starman

Sally Shapiro is the stage name of an anonymous Swedish vocalist and producer & writer Johan Agebjörn. Their pride and joy is that they hold true to their unique "Italo Disco" sound. Italo Disco was an early predecessor to modern electronic music and came out of Italy in the late 1970's. It blends electronic techniques with elements of disco. The duo manages to balance the two nicely and create a consistent tone that carries over each album, through each song. Their sound most resembles French band Yelle, to me, although some other artists include: Little Boots (who also has some great stuff out this year, check it out), Annie and Marsheaux. Sally Shapiro has also had some collaborations with other great artists like Electric Youth ("Starman", above), Anoraak ("Don't Be Afraid") and Le Prix ("Architectured Love"). All three can be heard on their Somewhere Else album that was released in February 2013.


Sally Shapiro has an excellent discography and a great collection of remixes. Check out some on their Soundcloud!

Unknown

Best of 2013... Brandon's choices for 2013

Major Lazer was a huge suprise. I didn't realize I would have
that much fun with their music this year. So good.
Favorite Tracks of 2013:
Favorite Albums of 2013:

This is such an amazing song. It resonates in the soul. Fantastic and completely surprising considering 
the other material from Major Lazer. 


An Old Album I Rediscovered This Year: Smashing Pumpkins "Mellon Collie & The Infinite Sadness"
Can't forget where I came from.


Musical Highlights: The Live Music!
Actually getting a severe cold due to the harsh weather this year at Treasure Island Music Festival. I had a great time. However, it was freezing. The wind and sprinkles showed up with teeth on Sunday and cut the festival goers right down to the soul. The crowd was amazing and the show was spectacular. It was all worth the suffering. From the beginning it was an experience. Giraffage, Palma Violets. Adult., James Blake, Major Lazer, Disclosure, Little Dragon, Atoms for Peace! Holy god it was amazing! That was just the first day! Surprisingly enough Beck was a huge disappointment on day 2 but STRFKR kept the spirits running high. Seeing Wayne Coyne do his Carrie shtick during the Tame Impala/Flaming Lips Halloween show in San Francisco. Packing into a tiny bar in the Mission district to see Deerhoof tear the building down!

Musical Lowlights: I can't really think of many... maybe DJ Khalid proposing to Nicki Minaj. That was a disaster. I still shake my head at the thought of it.  

SteveMcQueen36

Best of 2013... Courtney's Choices for 2013

Looking back on 2013 has been great. I am fond of a lot of music released this year and my annual "Best of" playlist accumulated over 300 tracks before I slimmed it to the top 100. Here is a short list of my personal favorite tracks and albums, among other favorites from this year. Enjoy!
Favorite Tracks of 2013:
  1. Matthew Dear - "Fighting Is Futile (Laid Back Remix)"
  2. Emancipator - "Valhalla"
  3. Jamaican Queens - "Water" 
  4. Earl Sweatshirt & Tyler, the Creator - "Whoa"
  5. Eskmo - "Buffalo"
  6. Pascal Pinon - "Ekki Vanmeta"
  7. Simian Ghost - "Be My Wife"
  8. Cayucas - "High School Lover
  9. Blue Hawaii - "Try To Be"
  10. Dutch Uncles - "Flexxin"
Favorite Albums of 2013:
  1. Emancipator - Dusk to Dawn
  2. James Blake - Overgrown
  3. ADULT. - The Way Things Fall
  4. Jagwar Ma - Howlin
  5. STRFKR - Miracle Mile
  6. MillionYoung - Variable
  7. San Cisco - San Cisco
  8. Ducktails - The Flower Lane
  9. Ejecta - Dominae
  10. Toro Y Moi - Anything In Return
Most played song of 2013

Emancipator - "Dusk to Dawn" 
I can't say I'm totally surprised. As of this posting, last.fm has the play count for the Dusk to Dawn  album at an even 200! I managed to snag a free download back in January and have loved to play it all the way through each time I hear any of the songs. Through and through it is a journey that flows like a lazy river... with some minor rapids when appropriate! Even though the album was released early in 2013, nothing  else released this year seemed to be able to keep my interest with such consistency and strength.

An old album I rediscovered this year: 
Lemon Jelly - Lost Horizons (2002) 
Holy sheeeiiiitttt I love this album! Pardon my language, but each song is a home run in my book. The spoken word lyrics he uses are tantalizing and poignant... mostly ("Nice Weather for Ducks" comes to mind!). The music is stunning and never ceases to keep my interest. I'll never get enough!

Musical Highlight: Treasure Island Music Festival
Treasure Island Music Festival will probably take the cake every year. It's become a bit of a tradition of ours as you get a massive amount of quality acts for an arguably cheap price. The 2-day event includes various genres including indie, folk, electronic, rap, prog-rock... there's no limit, really, and with no overlapping sets, you can see them all! With such a wide range of tastes between Brandon and I we bounce between the two stages--one wisely utilizing the gorgeous SF skyline as a backdrop, and the other (main stage) that features a more impressive light fixture and can support artists' specific stage props. 
This year's lineup didn't really have me impressed until I started seeing each act live. Wow did a lot of my impressions of artists change! IO Echo did nothing but boost my already considerable admiration of their music. Seeing Adult. perform "New Frustration" live was my highlight of day 1. Not to be shown up, Disclosure and Major Lazer both rocked the main stage later that day. On day 2, it is tough to say what the best part was. IO Echo as I mentioned was a killer show, but I didn't have to wait long to be wow'd by Cayucas, STRFKR, Real Estate, James Blake and Sleigh Bells. Whew! Like I said, tons of great artists!

Musical Highlight Honorable Mention: LXMP at Bottom of the Hill
Even though I had never heard of them before that November night, they instantly piqued my interest. I have a love-hate relationship with really experimental music sometimes, but LXMP's charisma and chemistry between the duo, and then with the crowd was something to behold. Now, I should tell you guys: you really have to see them live to understand why they are great. Really. Their recorded stuff is tough to get through simply because a lot of the best parts of LXMP can only be experienced live. Their set up includes a base guitar, two MS-20 synthesizers, and a drumset, and they are constantly toying with the crowd and each other, laughing when there have sudden stops or drops. They manage to synchronize with such precision it is really quite startling. Kudos, LXMP. 

Musical Lowlight of 2013: Miley Cyrus
Yeah, yeah, yeah... I'm jumping on that bandwagon. I can't help it. Although I didn't witness her foam hand fondling live, I certainly certainly saw the media storm it caused. It's become perfectly clear that she doesn't give a damn about her public image and just wants to live her fantasy life. It's sad to see a child actor so lost because of not really having an identity growing up. From what I can recall, she was primarily in her "Hannah Montana" persona during her Disney phase. In any case, the sooner she falls into the background or stops making overproduced, horribly tone-deaf music (see: "Wrecking Ball"), the better.

Unknown

New Music... MillionYoung - Lovin



MillionYoung is Mike Diaz's solo musical act. His sound reminds me of something like a cross between Pet Shop Boys, Toro Y Moi, and Washed Out. Diaz's dreamy vocals layer perfectly with his chill beats. His newest album, Variable (2013), is an amazing display of how distinct his musings have become--despite the name! I love the dramatic guitars in "Grow" off of Variable and "Swish" is definitely my favorites off of the album. Unfortunately, I was only able to find an official video for "Lovin", but a link to an unofficial "Swish" will be down below. Thank you to MillionYoung himself for clarifying that the video below for "Swish" is indeed official!


MillionYoung - Lovin (2013) Don't mind the smooth jazz opening...


He has been around since his self-released EP titled Sunndreamm in 2009, and has released either an EP or a studio album at a rate of 1 per year since. I like the consistency of his releases not only in the way of regularity of release, but also in the quality of content. Can ya dig? 

As promised:
   
MillionYoung - Swish (2013)

Want a million more? Well, he doesn't have a million songs, but why not help give him a million listeners on his last.fm? http://www.last.fm/music/MillionYoung

Unknown

Upcoming.... Tycho - Awake - One of the best of the year!


Beautiful sounds, as always, coming from Tycho. We had the opportunity to catch this artist live and it was life affirming to say the least. Tycho can take sounds then twist them and turn them until they become these beautifully chill pieces of art. Great music to play at anytime in any situation. Tycho is the right medicine for any cold. This maybe one of the most anticipated releases of next year if not the chillest. 

SteveMcQueen36

Best of 2013... NME names Vampire Weekend's 'Modern Vampires of the City' as Album of the Year!

NME has been an authority in music for some years now. They have always been a go to site for me with music news and updates. I am featuring their top twenty list for Albums of the year. I am adding spotify links for your listening pleasure.

=20. Bill Callahan - 'Dream River' (34 points)
=20. Janelle Monae - 'The Electric Lady' (34 points)
19. Deafheaven - 'Sunbather' (37 points)
18. Foals - 'Holy Fire' (41 points)
17. Chvrches - 'The Bones Of What You Believe' (43 points)
16. Jon Hopkins - 'Immunity' (44 points)
15. Queens of the Stone Age - '…Like Clockwork' (46 points)
14. Kurt Vile - 'Wakin On A Pretty Daze' (47 points)
13. John Grant - 'Pale Green Ghosts' (57 points)
=11. Savages - 'Silence Yourself' (60 points)
=11. Disclosure - 'Settle' (60 points)
10. The National - 'Trouble Will Find Me' (61 points)
9. Arcade Fire - 'Reflektor' (65 points)
8. My Bloody Valentine - 'mbv' (68 points)
7. Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds - 'Push The Sky Away' (77 points)
6. Arctic Monkeys - 'AM' (81 points)
5. Haim - 'Days Are Gone' (83 points)
4. David Bowie - 'The Next Day' (100 points)
3. Daft Punk - 'Random Access Memories' (121 points)
2. Kanye West - 'Yeezus' (130 points)
1. Vampire Weekend - 'Modern Vampires Of The City' (162 points)

SteveMcQueen36

Best of 2013... Ghost B.C. kept Metal in the game in 2013.

Metal 2013


GhostB.C.
Ghost did just what the title says. It kept Metal alive in 2013. Without it I wouldn't have kept up on some amazing releases. Ghost is a strange band that has the Mysterio complex. The members play under assumed identities hiding their features under makeup and costume. Their heavy and complex sound keeps them relevant as the interest level with metal seems to peter out quickly. This band has been touting about on facebook for their placement as number 1 metal act of 2013. 

I don't find them to be that particularly. They are good but they need more heat and a bigger sound. They aren't the best Metal band of 2013. However, they are one heavy band with the most potential. If they can play the mystery right then they might reach Slipknot levels of theatrical metal. 

SteveMcQueen36

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