Mike James & DJ Kriegs

I had put "Bear" by The Antlers on a CD about a month ago and listened to it extensively this past Thanksgiving endlessly as I drove, roaming the back roads of Georgia. It's the perfect winter song, full of cold joy and ambiance. It was a free download from Last.fm when I got it, but when I went back this past weekend to find the link to share "Bear" on the tried and trusted Mike James & DJ Kriegs blog, it was no longer there! Shock and surprise! Horror and sweating! The reason is, probably, that The Antlers Hospice, released this past summer, has gather a lot of attention, positive attention, which is good for band but means the rest of us will have to cough up a bit of cash for songs like "Bear."

I did dig around on MySpace, however, and found some free EPs available from The Antlers page. New York Hospitals has what sounds like an early version of "Bear" called "Sylvia." So check it out and savor the sad prettiness. Also listen to "Bear," the song one Last.fm user called the 'happiest song about abortion ever."

Download New York Hospitals here: http://www.antlersmusic.com/newyorkhospitals.zip.
Listen to "Bear" right here:

PopMatters gave this cover a nod a couple of weeks ago, and I thought it was worth at least one more nod. The song is a smooth R&B version of the Dirty Projectors' "Stillness Is the Move" by Solange, little sister to Beyonce Knowles. The cover is a little light for me, well, comparatively, considering the sharp, idiosyncratic source material, but Solange injects a little retro-class into the song, and even makes the, at times, spartan-sounding Brooklyn six-some seem a little sexy. It's a cover that reminds you why you liked the original. Not because it's terrible, but because the original Dirty Projectors composition was so versatile to begin with. It's hard to imagine that this song or the album it's from, Bitte Orca, won't make it on to some best-of list, in some publication, in the coming month.

Listen to Solange's cover of "Stillness Is the Move" right here:

And compare it to the original "Stillness Is the Move" by the Dirty Projectors:

When we make our weekly radio shows we invariably have to cut some tracks... Mostly because of the excessive digressions. On November 10th's show, this little track by Thao with The Get Down Stay Down unfortunately got the ax as we were running short on time by the end. It's a shame because "Know Better Learn Faster" is a great, light number, easy on the folksy violin and whistling (courtesy of Andrew Bird, or so I've read around the web), heavy on the railroad redolence. And, what's more, it's a free download from Last.fm. So even though it didn't make the broadcast, the magic of blogland can still give you a heads up.

Download "Know Better Learn Faster" from Last.fm: http://freedownloads.last.fm/download/335832420/Know%2BBetter%2BLearn%2BFaster.mp3
Or listen right here right now:

Dear old Jamie Cullum -- the lovable 5'2'' precious little british boy -- who attempted to grow facial hair this one time but quickly realized it's not for everyone ;-) Yes, it's true, I've loved him for a pretty long time, if you've never seen him live, you're definitely missing out! His live shows are always high-energy and just plain fun. I hate to admit it, but for a good couple years (I know, my b.) I had sorta, maybe, just a little, kind of forgotten about him and then one day, randomly started listening to his old albums again (twentysomething and pointless nostalgic) and how quickly I remembered my love for him. BUT that led me to check up on him to find out he's ALREADY released a new album! But only in the UK for now (so I'm kinda off the hook, right?) and will be hitting stores in early March here! Thankfully, the viral youtube has already jumped ALL over that stuff, and we can listen there in the meanwhile!

Listen to "Don't Stop The Music" right here:

Or check out the video here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S0z1Mo7O6dE&feature=channel

"Don't Stop the Music" - that's right, this song title DOES sound familiar because it is indeed a cover of Rihanna.

And p.s. -- a piano DEFINITELY blows up in the end of this video, ballin' right?

Thanks to Katie for tuning me into this dude: Jax Panik is from South Africa and creates riotous electro-pop tunes, well, at least "Talking To Myself" is such a tune. I wanted to find somewhere I could stream the song directly on The Official Mike James & DJ Kriegs Show Blog, but it was damn tricky to to track the song down--I tried for a least 7 minutes--which is to be expected considering it only got 4 plays this last week on Last.fm. But I have the next best thing. iLike is currently featuring "Talking To Myself" (and a couple of other songs) and you can stream them directly from ol' Jax's Facebook fan page. Let's give this song some traffic.

Listen to "Talking To Myself" on the Jax Panik Facebook fan page.

Every now and again I like to check the .mp3 of the day emails I get from RCRD LBL just to see if I've missed anything of interest. Usually I haven't. But today I waded through the seemingly endless, so-out-there industrial remixes usually offered by the website a found a few gems.


The first is Baltimore dream-pop duo Beach House. "Norway" took it's time to work its magic on me--the slightly off-tune guitars running through the verses were a little irksome. But after listening to it a few times further, I began to appreciate the subtlety of the electronic drone in the background, the uplifting chorus, and the dramatic build right up until the end of the song.

Download "Norway" for free here: http://rcrdlbl.com/artists/Beach_House/track/Norway.
Or listen to "Norway" right now:



The second, from the band that brought you the catchy, sing-a-long hit "Believe"--that's right, The Bravery--comes a song from their forthcoming album Stir the Blood. The album is set to be released on December 1st 2009, and if this dark, rock-electro hybrid tune is anything to go by, it should be a fine release indeed.

Download "The Spectator" for free here: http://rcrdlbl.com/artists/The_Bravery/track/The_Spectator.
Or listen to "The Spectator" right now:

Air France has been a band that I've always wanted to play on the show but have never been able to find a place for them. I heard of the Swedish duo last year after listening to their EP No Way Down (definitely check out the tracks "June Evenings" and the title track, "No Way Down", if you're even remotely interested). They've teamed up with Saint Etienne for a remix of "Spring" which proves to be, in true Air France style, chill-out music without the bore that electro-ambiance often evokes.



Play "Spring" (Air France Remix) - Saint Etienne:

Play the video above to listen to all of The Mike James & DJ Kriegs Show November 17 2009 broadcast again.

Or download the podcast here:
http://www.mediafire.com/?mz5mznngj35

Play the video above to play the 5 Second Music Quiz from November 17 2009 again.

1. "Generator ^ First Floor" - Freelance Whales
2. "Low Rising" - The Swell Season
3. "Mowgli's Road" - Marina & The Diamonds
4. "Cut Me Out" - Nakatomi Towers
5. "Rawnald Gregory Erickson the Second" - Star****er
6. "My Boys" (Animal Collective Cover) - Taken By Trees
7. "You, Me, and The Bourgeoisie" - The Submarines
8. "Your Face" - Run Toto Run
   

Play the video above to listen to all of The Mike James & DJ Kriegs Show November 10 2009 broadcast again.

Or download the podcast here:
http://www.mediafire.com/?czz4xkzdr42

Play the video above to play the 5 Second Music Quiz from November 10 2009 again.

1. "The Live!" (Breakbot Remix) - Evil Nine
2. "Red Light" - The Strokes
3. "Citizen of Tomorrow" - Tokyo Police Club
4. "Death" - White Lies
5. "Gimme Sympathy" - Metric
6. "Bulletproof" - La Roux
7. "The Con" - Tegan and Sara
8. "New Soul" - Yael Naim
9. "Body Movin'" (Fatboy Slim Remix) - Beastie Boys
10. "Half Asleep" - School of Seven Bells