Friday Mixtape Volume 52
Jamie Kohns on December 29th, 2006
2006 is on it's way out, and everyone is surely looking forward to starting the new year. I thought I'd make the last mixtape of 2006 in that spirit by taking a look a few things that we can expect in the coming year:
First, a couple singles from 2007 albums that are already out: Norah Jones and Fall Out Boy. While I'm sure the entirety of the indie-music-blog-elite are rolling their eyes at these, I think they're both kind of catchy, and entirely listenable. Personally, Im still waiting for noise-pop-punk Norah to release her El Madmo album on us, but this will do in the meantime.
Next, the highly aniticipated Bloc Party album, due out February 6, that leaked in early November and got some crap reviews, and now maybe the leak was an unfinished version? I don't know if that's true, but the official single Prayer is pretty freakin' terrific, and while they're not quite Silent Alarm some of the other tracks I've heard are good too. The awesome Barsuk label will release the follow-up to 2004's I Am the Fun Blame Monster! on January 23, and I've already included the first single on an earlier SFFM.
Say "Chick Chick Chick" with a jawbreaker in your mouth…that's how we're told to pronounce !!! (often given as chk chk chk). Either way, !!! is an amalgm of influences made coherent in the seven member outfit from Brooklyn, NY. A New Name is a great example, mixing electro, punk and funk into one track. Office is another great belnding of sounds- this time, hailing from the great city of Chicago, IL. Their album Q&A is due out soon on Newline Records. Wound Up made the SFFMv46, and this new track shows lots of promise for the new release.
I've already said that I like the new Shins stuff better than any other I've heard from them, and I'm sure their January 23rd release, Wincing The Night Away, will be a huge seller. Here's another preview of that album for you- a track that I think is pretty divergent from their previous work, but that might not be what fans want? An underratted pop nugget from the past year, Annie's debut Anniemal was a wonderful gem of pop music. She's already working on a new album, which is expected sometimw in the new year. She recently released the single The Crush, which could be a taste of the new album.
The Black Ghosts are another act who have already made an appearance on the Friday Mixtape, but haven't yet released an album. Their first single, Something New has been succesful in the UK, where I expect their album will do well when it drops. I snagged this gem of a song off the Black Ghosts' myspace page, and think it make a great contrast in sound to the single. Just Jack has also been getting a lot of attention across the pond, and has already made it onto two mixtapes, and is in the top 50…but his album isn't due out until next year. RJD2 is set to drop The Third Hand in March- and the first peek at it came from Stereogum a couple weeks ago, called Beyond The Beyond.
Finally, an album that has been highly anticipated by this blogger all year is supposed see light of day in April. Mark Ronson's Version is a stellar collection of cover songs. Everything from Britney Spears to Coldplay gets taken apart and re-assembled with horns and guess vocalists- all under the careful control of DJ/producer Mark Ronson. Lily Allen sings Kaiser Cheifs' Oh My God, Domino sings Queens of the Stone Age's No One Knows, Alex Greenwald (Phantom Planet) does that sick cover of Radiohead's Just, and there's an instrumental version of Coldplay's God Put A Smile Upon Your Face. Little bits and pieces get leaked, or bootlegged from Ronson's weekly show on East Village Radio, but the collection as a whole should be pretty tight. For now, listen to one of those bootlegs, and enjoy!
Download it HERE while you can!
Tracklisting:
Norah Jones - Thinking About You
Fall Out Boy - This Aint A Scene It's An Arms Race
Bloc Party - Song For Clay (Disappear Here)
Menomena - Sister Social
!!! (Chk Chk Chk) - A New Name
Office - Oh My
The Shins - Sea Legs Annie - The Crush
Black Ghosts - Full Moon
Just Jack - I Talk Too Much
RJD2 - Beyond The Beyond
Mark Ronson - No One Knows
