With 2009 more than half over, indie best albums of the year lists are starting to appear. And there are common songs from said albums that are favored by fans and music critics alike. Earlier this week, IRC published the first summer 2009 mix featuring some of the best indie songs of 2009. This second volume includes more popular indie songs of the year so far from Neko Case, Phoenix, Franz Ferdinand, Wilco, St. Vincent, Japandroids, Rainbow Arabia, Camera Obscura and The Maccabees.

"This Tornado Loves You" - Neko Case from Middle Cyclone (2009)

"Lisztomania" - Phoenix from Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix (2009)

"No You Girls" - Franz Ferdinand from Tonight (2009)

"My Girls" - Animal Collective from Merriweather Post Pavilion (2009)

"One Wing" - Wilco from Wilco, The Album (2009)

"Paper Lace" - Sunset Rubdown from Dragonslayer (2009)

"French Navy" - Camera Obscura from My Maudlin Career (2009)

"The Strangers" - St. Vincent from Actor (2009)

"Harlem Sunrise" - Rainbow Arabia from Kabukimono (2009)

"Young Hearts Spark Fire" - Japandriods from Post-Nothing (2009)

"Love You Better" - The Maccabees from Wall Of Arms (2009)


The first summer mix featuring the best indie rock songs of 2009 includes new tracks from The Dodos, Foreign Born, Why?, Starlight Mints, Fun, Deastro, Passion Pit, Pains of Being Pure At Heart, Throw Me The Statue and Akron/Family.

Labels: 2009 Indie Songs, Indie Summer Mix Playlist

New York indie band Vampire Weekend have had quite a wild ride since their 2007 song "Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa" first won over music fans in the U.S. and U.K. Now, nearly two years since they appeared on the proverbial indie rock radar, the band has become one of the biggest buzz bands of the past 18 months, gracing the cover of Spin magazine, appearing on Saturday Night Live, and touring extensively to sold out crowds on three continents.

Vampire Weekend's unique blend of catchy indie pop with upbeat African influences - the band prefers to call it 'Upper West Side Soweto' - has made them extremely popular. But some other music fans dismiss the 'Vampire Weekend hype' arguing the band has only put out one album (their follow-up album is due out this fall).

While taking a break from Vampire Weekend, two of the band members have been working on other music projects. Keyboardist Rostam Batmanglij teamed up with Ra Ra Riot leader singer and friend Wes Miles - who began recording together back in 2005 - under the moniker Discovery. Their spectacular debut album, simply titled LP, was released earlier this month. LP oozes with electro pop and hi-fi sonic sounds, sounding at times like Kayne West meets Animal Collective meets Vampire Weekend.

So it is no surprise that Vampire Weekend vocalist Erza Koenig leads vocals on one of the album's best tracks, "Carby." Other highlight tracks include "Orange Shirt", "Osaka Loop Line" and "I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend."

Labels: Discovery LP, Erza Koenig, New Releases, Rostam Batmanglij, Vampire Weekend, West Miles

A nationwide commercial from Johnsonville Sausage that has been running for the past month or so has left plenty of people asking where they can get the song. So we did some digging and found the song is called "Roll On By" by OpusOrange, a music project by L.A. composer Paul Bessenbacher.

In an IRC exclusive, Bessenbacher has made the unreleased song available for the first time. "Roll On By" is a catchy summer pop song that had some people guessing it was a new song from Vampire Weekend. Even though the song may not qualify as 'indie' (it is used in an advertisement), it has that unforgettable pop song charm - like a one-hit wonder.

Labels: Bands to Watch 2009, Paul Bassenbacher, Songs in Commercials

Summer is at full throttle. Long, warm days. Barbecues with family and friends. Kicking back on weekends that end way too soon. Hanging out on the porch on a sultry summer night gazing at a brilliant full moon. And of course music. What would summer be without music?

Almost everyone has at least one song that in some special way defines summer time for them. It could be an obvious summer song - I don't know, like "Summer In The City" by The Lovin Spoonful - or a more obscure, personal song that connects to fond and precious memories.

The music blog I Guess I'm Floating described one of three criteria for a "perfect summer jam" as a way to "look back with a proud, fuzzy nostalgia of memories that have been elegantly reduced to a warm translucent haze of images and sounds that you can't...quite...put your finger on." Indeed.

For this summer mix, the focus is on new and upcoming 2009 indie songs, featuring mostly well-known indie and alternative bands including The Dodos, Foreign Born, Why?, Starlight Mints, Fun, Deastro, Passion Pit, Pains of Being Pure At Heart, Throw Me The Statue and Akron/Family.

Included in this mix is the new single from the band Fun, the new moniker of ex-Format (personally, I was bummed they broke up) frontman Nate Ruess who teamed up with band members from Anathallo, Steel Train and former Jellyfish keyboardist Joseph Manning, Jr. to record the album Aim and Ignite, slated for release in October. Enjoy.

"Fables" - The Dodos from Time To Die (2009)

"Vacationing People" - Foreign Born from Person To Person (2009)

"This Blackest Purse" - Why? from Eskimo Snow (2009)

"Paralyzed" - Starlight Mints from Change Remains (2009)

"Be Calm" - Fun from Aim and Ignite (Aug. 2009)

"Parallelogram" - Deastro from Moondagger (2009)

"Moth's Wings" - Passion Pit from Manners (2009)

"Everything With You" - Pains of Being Pure At Heart from s/t debut (2009)

"Mirrored and Reversed" - White Demin from Fits (2009)

"Sun Will Shine" - Akron/Family from Set 'Em Wild, Set 'Em Free (2009)

"Hi Fi Goon" - Throw Me The Statue from Creaturesque (2009)

"I Found The Bend" - Kid Bombardos from I Round The Bend EP (2009)

"Always The Same" - The Legends from Over and Over (2009)

"Cloud Hustle" - Blind Man's Colour from Season Dreaming (2009)

For more songs not necessarily released this year, but all about summer, check out a summer mix IRC published last year (all songs still work) with songs from Beck, The Hold Steady, Queens of the Stone Age, Blonde Redhead, Pavement, Phoenix, Kings of Convenience, Grandaddy, The Kinks, Jens Lekman, The Flaming Lips and more.

Labels: 2009 Indie Songs, Indie Summer Mix Playlist, MP3s

Seems like one of the most anticipated albums of the year is the upcoming release of the Arctic Monkey's "Humbug" coming out in August on Domino Records. The band will also plan their first gig in two years at the All Points West Festival next month.

In addition to Arctic Monkeys, here is a 12-pack of great, new free MP3s from a variety of indie artists and bands including Dinosaur Jr., Yo La Tengo, The Got To Get Got, Birds of Avalon, Friendly Fires, Yo La Tengo, Sabrosa Purr, Rural Alberta Advantage, Edward Sharpe and The Magnetic Zeros, Other Girls and more. Enjoy.

"I Want You To Know" - Dinosaur Jr from Farm (2009)

"Here To Fall" - Yo La Tengo from Popular Songs (2009)

"Gettin' Dirty in the Afterlife" - The Got To Get Got from Sahalee (2009)

"One Weak Moment" - Sabrosa Purr from Volaras (2009)

"Your Downtime Is Up" - Birds of Avalon from Uncanny Valley (2009)

"Skeleton Boy" - Friendly Fires from Friendly Fires (2009)



"Day Dream" - Edward Sharpe and The Magnetic Zeros from Up From Below (2009)

"Surprise Hotel" - Fool's Gold from Fool's Gold (2009)

"Frank AB" - The Rural Alberta Advantage from Hometowns (2009)

"The Moth" - Other Girls from Perfect Cities (2009)

"Pink Sabbath" - Dananananaykroyd from Pink Sabbath (2009)

"Mind Games" - Butterflies from Nothing's Personal (2009)

Labels: 2009 Indie Songs

Scotland alternative pop band We Were Promised Jetpacks appeared on the indie music radar last year when the band went on tour with indie rock band Frightened Rabbit. Now the buzz around We Were Promised Jetpacks is getting louder thanks to their new debut album These Four Walls. The album features a mixture of alternative rock, post punk and indie pop music, at times reminiscent of the Editors, The Strokes.

No good explanation can be found online for the origin of the band's name, but it does, and yet also does not, seem to fit. Prefix Magazine put it nicely: "Their name, though quite clever, indicates that they might traffic in the nerd rock of They Might Be Giants or the hipster pop of Phantom Planet. When the earnest voice of Adam Thompson first cuts through the thin veneer of dissonance that blankets nearly every song on These Four Walls, it is almost disorienting."

In addition to Thompson, band members include Michael Palmer (guitar), Sean Smith (bass) and Darren Lackie (drums). The Glasgow band was 'discovered' when folks at Fat Cat Records - label of Sigur Rós, Múm, Animal Collective, The Twilight Sad - had heard some of We Were Promised Jetpacks music on MySpace while browsing the friends section for Frightened Rabbit (who, by the way, are also signed with Fat Cat).

As one of the best debut albums so far this year, These Four Walls, demonstrates that We Were Promised Jetpacks are a band to watch.

"Quiet Little Voices" - We Were Promised Jetpacks from These Four Walls (2009)

"Conductor" - We Were Promised Jetpacks from These Four Walls (2009)

Labels: Bands to Watch 2009, Scottish Bands, We Were Promised Jetpacks

The flow of popular new indie and alternative rock albums and songs in recent months has made it all the harder to keep pace. So, it's come down to having to just pump out the music you probably should hear - and doing a bit less on more extensive reviews. The bands in this mix are more 'mainstream indie' so many of you will already known them. The music speaks for itself. To hear more great music, check out various pages from the posts menu and navigation menu.

Every page on this site you view can be streamed all the way through thanks to the awesome built-in Yahoo! Media Player - the most popular built-in, no frills streaming MP3 player used by the biggest music blogs on the web. It's sort of like listening to indie radio while you do other things. Simply click on a song to start the player and it will automatically stream all the songs on any page. Enjoy.

"Easy" - Deer Tick from Born On Flag Day (2009)

"Paper Lace" - Deer Tick from Born On Flag Day (2009)

"Apollo & the Buffalo and Anna Anna Anna Oh!" - Sunset Rubdown from Drayonslayer (2009)

"Idiot Heart" - Sunset Rubdown from Drayonslayer (2009)

Labels: 2009 Indie Songs, Double Shots of Indie Rock

Durham, North Carolina indie folk pop band Bombadil first got my attention last year with their stunning full-length debut A Buzz, A Buzz - making it one of my favorite indie albums of 2008. Bombadil's latest release, Tarpits and Canyonlands, is an impressive follow-up, full of rich pop heavy songs on Ramseur Records.

Formed March 2005 when guitarist Bryan Rahija and bassist Daniel Michalak were studying abroad in Bolivia. Drummer James Phillips joined Bombadil in 2007. The band described their latest album as "a joyful document that celebrates all the flaws and sorrows of the human condition while capturing the whimsy, spirit, and charm that has enabled the band to win over fan after fan on a relentless four-year tour."

Bombadil has open for bands like The Avett Brothers and Langhorne Slim and performed at Bonnaroo in addition to being featured in Paste Magazine, The Washington Post and New York Magazine.

"Honeymoon" - Bombadil from Tarpits and Canyonlands (2009)

"Kuala Lumpur" - Bombadil from Tarpits and Canyonlands (2009)

More About Bombadil

Biggest musical influences: Velvet Underground, Manu Chao, The Kinks, Elliott Smith.

Favorite albums: Led Zeppelin - III; James Brown - Live at the Apollo; Architecture in Helsinki - In Case We Die

Favorite songs ever: "Bring it On Home to Me" - Sam Cooke

Official website: www.bombadilmusic.com
MySpace: www.myspace.com/bombadil

Chicago indie band Shadows On A River originally played together as college students at Milkin University in Decatur as The Infinity Room, and once opened for Pedro The Lion. Following graduation, the band split up but recently regrouped to record their new debut self-titled album featuring strange and earnest art rock.

Lead singer/songwriter and guitarist David Henson lists "self doubt" as his main musical influence and compares the band's sound to Elliott Smith, Radiohead and Mt Eerie. Henson's favorite song is "Unravel" by Bjork and his favorite albums are The Glow pt 2 by the Microphones and Kid A by Radiohead.

"In The Water" - Shadows On A River from s/t debut (2009)
"Hurricanes" - Shadows On A River from s/t debut (2009)

Labels: In Dee Mail, Indie Artist/Group Profiles

The Top 10 Indie Rock Songs is a new feature that highlights the songs people are listening to and downloading the most on IRC. The Twilight Sad's much anticipated album is out today, July 21.

This playlist mix will be an ongoing series highlighting weekly and monthly 'most played' - top 10; sometimes top 20 - songs. This playlist focuses on the most popular songs during the past week from bands like The Clientele, Twilight Sad, The Kissaway Trail, Jay Reatard, Patrick Watson, Starlight Mints and more.

"Wonder Who We Are" - The Clientele from Bonfires On The Heath (2009)
"Reflection Of The Television" - Twilight Sad from Forget The Night Ahead (2009; out today)
"Smother=Evil + Hurt" - The Kissaway Trail from The Kissaway Trail (2007)
"Wounded" - Jay Reatard from Watch Me Fall (2009)
"Tracy Waters" - Patrick Watson from Wooden Arms (2009)
"Paralyzed" - Starlight Mints from Change Remains (2009)
"Changes Is" - Wheat from White Ink, Black Ink (2009)
"Now I'm In The City" - Creaky Boards from Brooklyn Is Love (2008)
"Octavio" - Viva Voce from Rose City (2009)
"Percussion Gun" - White Rabbits from It's Frightening (2009)

Labels: New Releases, Top 10 Indie Rock Songs

Some time has passed since the second installment of The Great Unknowns, a popular playlist series that highlights great songs, and albums, by relatively obscure indie and alternative musicians and bands.

Kicking off this playlist mix is the rarely heard song "Smother + Evil=Hurt" from the Danish band The Kissaway Trail. "Smother + Evil=Hurt" is a catchy pop rock tune with some stellar lyrics. Not sure why this band isn't a bigger blip on the proverbial 'indie music radar,' but then again, based on the cascading tide of independent music being released all of the time, there are many talented indie artists and bands that even the so-called indie blogs miss.

The second song in this mix is the title track from Brooklyn indie band Creaky Boards' debut album released last year - one which somehow bypassed a lot of people, including the standout track "Now I'm In The City" - a song that sounds much like The Beach Boys repackaged for city life, rather than the beach.

Western States Motel is the moniker of singer and songwriter Carl Jordan, a one-man band from Los Angeles who's 2000 debut received little attention in comparison to it's larger-than-life brilliance. Jordan was also one of the first featured artists when Indie Rock Cafe launched in 2006.

Next up is AM/FM and the song "A Best Man" from their 2001 album Mutilate Us. AM/FM are a Philadelphia post punk duo featuring musician Brian Sokel - who played with the band Franklin - and former Of Science's Michael Parsell. There are many good songs on the album and one of the most memorable is "Best Man (Put My Girlfriend On Fire)".

Hexes and Ohs is a Montreal duo of former high school sweethearts Edmund Lam and Heidi Donnelly. After transitioning from a pop quartet called Jolly Bean to an electronic band A Vertical Mosaic, Lam and Donnelly ultimately formed Hexes and Ohs in 2004, morphing the sounds of each former band into their own style of '80s electro-pop. The track featured in this mix is "Alive Until Saturday Night" from their 2008 album Upstairs Recordings.

Paper Route is an alternative rock band that released an album last year "Are We All Forgotten" that won critical acclaim in the so-called indie blosophere. The song featured here is the title track from the album.

Earlier this year IRC featured indie band The Lonely Forest who's debut album released back in February was a delightful surprise. From the first listen, it was crystal clear just what an achievement the album is, and over time, it can grow on you, with each listen verifying The Lonely Forest status as a great unknown band.

Arlington, Virginia band Barcelona's 200X album Simon Basic was one of the most under rated independent releases of the year - full of brilliant post punk influenced indie pop songs. The album's was named after Simons' BASIC programming language, developed for the Commodore 64. Featured in this mix is the memorable track, "Why Do You Have So Much Fun Without Me?" was chosen for this mix. The band's music is often called geeky; and no wonder with songs like "The Downside of Computer Camp", "I Have the Password to Your Shell Account", and "Paging System Operator".

Canadian indie pop band Two Hours Traffic have been compared to 80's pop band Big Star, but THT band members prefer to pick Nick Lowe as their primary. For this playlist mix, I chose the song "Stuck For The Summer". Enjoy.

"Smother + Evil=Hurt" - The Kissaway Trail from The Kissaway Trail (2007)

"Now I'm In The City" - Creaky Boards from Brooklyn Is Love (2008)

"Oh World" - Western States Motel from Painted Birds Flying in the Orange Mirror Sun (2008)

"A Best Man" - AM/FM from Mutilate Us (2001)

"Alive Until Saturday Night" - Hexes and Ohs from Upstairs (2008)

"Are We All Forgotten" - Paper Route from Are We All Forgotten (2008)

"We Sing In Time" - The Lonely Forest from We Sing The Body Electric! (2009)

"Why Do You Have So Much Fun Without Me?" - Barcelona from Simon Basic (2006)

"Stuck For The Summer" - Two Hours Traffic from Little Jabs (2007)

Labels: Indie Playlists, Indie Rock Songs, The Great Unknowns

The third annual Treasure Island Music Festival line-up has been officially announced and folks, if you live anywhere near San Francisco, you might not want to miss this major music event. The line-up is a stunner - out-doing a number of bigger named festivals - featuring some of the most talented and popular indie, electronic, dance and alternative artists and bands, including The Flaming Lips, The Decemberists, Beirut, MGMT, Girl Talk, Passion Pit, Grizzly Bear, The Streets, Dan Deacon, Yo La Tengo, The Walkmen and others.

Located in the San Francisco Bay between Alcatraz and the Bay Bridge, Treasure Island is an ideal location for a music festival offering spectacular views of San Francisco and surrounding sights.

Keeping with tradition, organizers will offer an electronic and dance-centric lineup
on Saturday, October 17th, and an indie rock lineup on Sunday, October 18th. Moreover, there will be only two stages with no overlapping sets - guaranteeing festival goers they will hear every note of every band they want to see play. Tickets are on sale now and expected to sell out fast.

In addition to the tunes, there will be a 60-foot tall Ferris wheel, an interactive art tent, a vendor village showcasing local designers and an array of healthy and affordable food and beverages. Check out the full festival schedule below, including articles and songs from featured lineup artists and bands. The set times have not been released yet.

Saturday, October 17, 2009

MGMT - "Kids" from Oracular Spectacular (2008)
Passion Pit - "Moth's Wings" from Manners (2009)
MSTRKRFT - "Street Justice" from Street Justice (2007)
Girl Talk - "Hold Up" from Night Rippers (2007)
The Streets
Brazilian Girls
LTJ Bukem feat. MC Conrad
DJ Krush
Federico Aubele
Dan Deacon
Murs
Crown City Rockers
The Limousines

Sunday, October 18, 2009

The Flaming Lips - "Fight Test" from Yoshimi Battles The Pink Robots (2007)
The Decemberists - "Engine Driver" from Picaresque (2005)
Beirut - "Scenic World" from Gulag Orkestar (2007)
Grizzly Bear - "On A Neck, On A Spit" from Yellow House (2006)
Yo La Tengo - "Beanbag Chair" from I'm Not Afraid Of You And I'll Kick Your Ass (2006)
The Walkmen - "In The New Year" from You & Me (2008)
Bob Mould
Thao with The Get Down Stay Down
Vetiver
Spiral Stairs
Sleepy Sun
Tommy Guerrero
Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros

“We couldn’t be more thrilled with this year’s line-up,” Noise Pop organizer Jordan Kurland said.
“It’s a well-balanced cross section of established veterans of the independent and electronic music communities alongside some of the most celebrated breakout artists of the last couple years."

Labels: Festivals, Treasure Island Music Festival

The intoxicating indie pop release Wooden Arms, by Canadian band Patrick Watson will likely be a contender for one of the best releases of 2009. The band's 2006 release, Close To Paradise, was awarded the 2007 Polaris Music Prize (Canada's Mercury Prize) and the band was nominated for Juno Award in 2007 for Best New Artist.

Sculpting songs that range from carnival-sounding track "Traveling Salesman" to the haunting transitions of "Where The Wild Things Are", Patrick Watson demonstrate a sophistication in musical arrangements that give their sound a deeper, almost seductive sound as demonstrated on the title track "Wooden Arms" and the opening song "Fireweed". The band also create songs that appeal to a larger, pop tune-loving audience. To that end, catchy songs such as "Man Like You" and "Big Bird In A Small Cage" fit the bill perfectly. Band members in addition to Watson include guitarist Simon Angell, bassist Mishka Stein and percussionist Robbie Kuster.

"Tracy Waters" - Patrick Watson from Wooden Arms (2009)
"Fireweed" - Patrick Watson from Wooden Arms (2009)
"Man Like You" - Patrick Watson from Wooden Arms (2009)

Portland's Viva Voce's newest album, Rose City, reportedly written and recorded in less than a month, is a welcome departure from 2006's applauded Get Yr Blood Sucked Out. On Rose City, original band members and husband-and-wife team Kevin and Anita Robinson recruited new members to provide a fuller, more engaging sound. And it worked - very well.

Besides Viva Voce being one of the best underrated female vocalist bands in recent years, Rose City is, for the most part, one of 2009's overlooked album jems - surprising because it is a wonderful record featuring an array of well-crafted dark tracks like the alt rock of "Devotion", the pleasant harmonies of "Octavio" or the spacey and lovely melodies of "Midnight Sun".

"Octavio" - Viva Voce from Rose City (2009)
"Devotion" - Viva Voce from Rose City (2009)

Other popular indie husband-and-wife bands include Low, Yo La Tengo, Mates of State, White Stripes and Quasi.

White Rabbits 2009 release It's Frightening is anything but scary; instead, the album is full of catchy, melodic songs wrapped in a rich array of instruments, including piano, tambourine, percussion, mandolin and guitars. While It's Frightening could be forgotten once the best indie albums of the year lists come out in a few months, there are definitely some stand-out tracks worth checking out, such as "Percussion Gun", "Right Where They Left", "Company I Keep" and "They Done Wrong/ We Done Wrong".

"Percussion Gun" - White Rabbits from It's Frightening (2009)
"Right Where They Left" - White Rabbits from It's Frightening (2009)

Labels: Best Indie Rock Songs, Indie Artist/Group Profiles, Patrick Watson

A number of great new indie songs have come out in the past week, including tracks from current and upcoming releases by The Clientele, The Twilight Sad, Jay Reatard, Starlight Mints and Wheat. Hope you all enjoy this mix. Check back often as IRC will be publishing more new songs in coming weeks, including a new summer playlist and a bunch of music from our In Dee Mail playlist series.

"Wonder Who We Are" - The Clientele from Bonfires On The Heath (October 6)

"Reflection of the Television" - The Twilight Sad from Forget The Night Ahead (out now)

"Wounded" - Jay Reatard from Watch Me Fall (out August 18)

"Paralyzed" - Starlight Mints from Change Remains (out July 21)

"Changes Is" - Wheat from White Ink, Black Ink (out July 21)

Labels: 2009 Indie Songs, MP3s, The Clientele, The Twilight Sad

No other city in the world has been the host of - or the inspiration for - so much popular music worldwide over the years than New York City. However, I was a surprised, after extensive searching, that a comprehensive and accessible playlist mix of great and diverse songs about New York City was nowhere to be found.

Therefore, it wasn't difficult to figure out what needed to be done. The deeper I dug looking for songs about New York - other than the more obvious songs - the more it became apparent that a number of playlist mixes would be required to produce a good representation of New York songs.

Hopefully, New Yorkers and others will find this playlist mix series does the city justice; if you missed the first playlist NYC song mix in this series, it features songs from Lou Reed, Conor Oberst, Belle and Sebastian, LCD Soundsystem, Jay Z and others.

"Positively 4th Street" - Bob Dylan from Bob Dylan's Greatest Hits (1967)

"The Long Island Sound" - Beirut from Lon Gisland EP (2007)

"Walk On The Wild Side" (Lou Reed Live Cover) - The Strokes from unreleased (2006)

"The Only Living Boy In New York" - Simon and Garfunkel from Bridge Over Troubled Water (1967)

"Coney Island Cyclone" (Alternative Version) - Mercury Rev from Lego My Ego (2007)

"Downtown Train" - Tom Waits from Smoke (1985)

"Lovecraft In Brooklyn" - The Mountain Goats from Heretic Pride (2008)

"New York City" - John Lennon from Lennon (1990)

"Marching Bands Of Manhattan" - Death Cab for Cutie from Plans (2005)

"Superman" - The Kinks from Low Budget (1979)

"Empire State" - Guster from Ganging Up On The Sun (2006)

"Brooklyn" - Mos Def from Black On Both Sides (2002)

"53rd & 3rd" - The Ramones from We're Outta Here (1976)

"One Day You'll Dance For Me, New York City" - Thomas Dybdahl from One Day You'll Dance For Me, New York City (2006)

"Bulls In Brooklyn" - The Academy Is from Santi (2007)

"Boy From New York City" - The Ad-Libs from The Boy From New York City (1965)

"Living For The City" - Stevie Wonder from Legends: Do It Again (1973)

The following video cover by YouTuber Chunnyman of "The Only Living Boy in New York" (Simon & Garfunkel) is very nicely done.

Labels: Indie Rock Playlists, Songs About New York

Carlos Pesina is a complex and colorful experimental remix artist and musician from Guadalahara, Mexico. He produces and remixes music under various monikers - Los Amparito, Pepepe and Pesina Siller - on multiple indie labels, which makes it difficult to write about his work.

Nevertheless, his electronic, micro-sampling remixes brim with cheerful, eccentric, esoteric, sublime, even dreamy sounds. In and around Guadalahara, Pesina is best known as Pepepe. The latter is the chosen moniker for his latest album, and second release for indie record label The Poni Republic, Roba Orgón De Plantas Y Animales (available as a free download; see link below).

Recently, Pesina produced a remix of "Little Secrets" for a Passion Pit remix contest to promote the band's new album Manners. In addition, he created a remix of "Bros" - a standout track from the classic 2008 indie solo release Person Pitch by Animal Collective's Noah Lennox (aka, Panda Bear), plus a remix of the Animal Collective track "Brothersport" from this year's most brilliant psyche pop release, Merriweather Post Pavilion.

"Little Secrets" (Passion Pit Remix) - Carlos Pesina, unreleased (2009)

"Stacey You Are A Monster" (Unsexy Nerd Ponies Remix) - Pepepe from Remixes (2008)

"Mirar A Los Ojos Es De Mal Gusto" - Pepepe from Roba Orgón De Plantas Y Animales (2009)

"Jacinto Cenobio" - Pepepe featuring Cyane from Roba Orgón De Plantas Y Animales (2009)

"Bros" (Panda Bear Remix) - Los Amparito

"Brothersport" (Hermano Sport Mix) - Los Amparito

Free Download: Roba Orgón De Plantas Y Animales

Pepepe on MySpace

Watch some of Pesina's self-produced videos on Vimeo.

Among his musical influences, Pesina lists Stereolab, Bjork, The Kinks, Mouse on Mars and many others.

Labels: 2009 Indie Songs, Animal Collective, Passion Pit, Remixes

New York City has been a mecca for popular music going all the way back to Harlem's Cotton Club and greats like Duke Ellington and Miles Davis, Elvis on The Ed Sullivan Show, the rise in popularity of rhythm and blues, the folk rock movement of the early 1960s, spurred largely by Bob Dylan, followed by The British Invasion (The Beatles, Rolling Stones, The Kinks) and Fillmore East and psychedelic rock, the advent of funk and soul, disco and Studio 54, and successive waves of the punk, pop, rock, rap, hip hop, indie and the list goes on and on. Whatever music genre you're looking for - from acid jazz to shoe gaze, Mississippi blues to garage rock, city-slicked bluegrass to Broadway musicals, New York, the world's music capital, has it all.

From The Velvet Underground to The Ramones, Billie Holiday to Simon and Garfunkel, The Strokes to Animal Collective the list of iconic New York musicians and bands is mind-boggling, but not more so then the sheer number of songs recorded in the past nearly 100 years that reference New York in some way, either in the track title or song lyrics.

In this first installment of three special playlist mixes, IRC features some of our favorite songs about NYC. This mix is an extension of the popular State of Music playlist mixes, an on-going series that has focused mostly on songs that are about the 50 states. In time, there will be more mixes of songs about cities around the U.S. and the world. But right now it's New York time.

"NYC, Gone, Gone" - Conor Oberst from Conor Oberst (2008)

"Walk On The Wild Side" - Lou Reed from Transformer (1972)

"New York State Of Mind" - Billy Joel from Turnstiles (1976)

"Hello Brooklyn" - Jay Z and Lil Wayne from American Gangster (2007)

"New York City Heat" - Dead Heart Bloom from Chelsea Diaries (2007)

"The Last Tango In Brooklyn" - Frightened Rabbit from TLB4 CD2 (2009)

"Piazza, New York Catcher" - Belle & Sebastian from Dear Catastrophe Waitress (2003)

"Fairy Tale Of New York" (Pogues Cover) - Stars from Your Ex-Lover Is Dead (2005)

"Brooklyn" - Creaky Boards from Brooklyn is Love (2008)

"New York, New York" - Cat Power from Jukebox (2008)

"New York City" - They Might Be Giants from Factory Showdown (1996)

"Harlem Sunrise" - Rainbow Arabia from Kabukimono (2009)

"Chelsea Hotel" - Leonard Cohen from So Long, Marianne (1999)

"New York, I Love You But You're Bringing Me Down" - LCD Soundsystem from Sound of Silver (2007)

"Brooklyn" - Blue Train from No Free Lunch (2002)

See Songs About New York, Mix II

Labels: Indie Playlists, Songs About New York