I was excited to find out that remastered classic episodes of American Top 40 with Casey Kasem are being run each week on XM Satellite Radio (which I can pick up through DirecTV). Episodes from the '80s are run on XM's The '80s channel (aka '80s on 8), Thursdays at 10 p.m. and Sundays at noon; The '70s channel (7) runs '70s episodes Wednesdays at 10 p.m. and Saturdays at noon. All times Eastern.
One year after getting an iPod (shhh... don't tell Microsoft or they'll force a Zune on me), I still haven't "ripped" (scare quotes) all the American Top 40s I own. There's still a good full day of ripping left to get them all in the system. It's hard to find people to trade episodes with, so these AT40 "Flashbacks" are the next best thing.
Meanwhile, we're coming up on one year in Seatown, which surely has some of the best radio stations on the planet. KEXP gets a lot of love for hitting me with a ridiculous amount of great indie rock, and C89.5, while repetitive and run by high-school kids, easily fulfills my required "beats per minute" quotient. I went to the trouble of making an "iMix" on "iTunes" of certain Seattle songs I really "iLiked," but then they removed my #1 choice from the store, so I'm forced to tell you, in Furdell.com-standardized top-5 form, what "my favorite musical acts what I learned about in Seattle"... are.
These aren't acts that necessarily debuted in 2006... in fact, chances are I was late to the party. In all cases. But I'll still always think about my first crazy year in Seattle when I hear these songs. (That's the best thing about music... its power over memory, and its ability to draw you back in time to the first time you heard a certain song.)
In honor of Casey Kasem, I'll include the Wikipedia link for each musical act, which will tell you more than you knew you wanted to know about each one... just like Casey did back in the day.
5. M.I.A.
It's the 2000s, and while we don't have flying cars yet (so disappointing), we do finally have Music of the Future: lots of electronic squeals and a robotic-sounding drum machine, fronted by a female rapper of Sri Lankan descent. Sometimes, that's as annoying as it sounds, but it also works to produce some awesome beats every so often.
Favorite songs: "Galang" is the best example of what M.I.A. is about; Andrew and Julia are partial to "10 Dollar", which is definitely her most dance-friendly song (and has the most hilarious fan-made YouTube video of anything on this list).
4. Mylo
Mylo's album Destroy Rock & Roll accomplishes its stated task quite nicely. I guess this is what happens when you force your kids to listen to '70s Gold throughout their childhood; they turn into '00s-era mash-up artists who use "Bette Davis Eyes" by Kim Carnes, and "Waiting For A Star To Fall" by Boy Meets Girl as their palette.
Favorite songs: Said mash-up "In My Arms" is classic, but best of all is Doctor Pressure, a mix of Mylo's own "Drop the Pressure" with Miami Sound Machine's "Doctor Beat." Sheer lunacy.
3. The Knife
Holy crap, The Knife is weird. It's a Swedish brother-sister duo that puts out strange-sounding, heavily electronic songs. The sister does most of the singing in high-pitched English, with a heavy Swedish accent. But once you get past the weirdness, the melodies really take over your brain and don't let go. I guess they're kind of like Bjork, but good.
Favorite songs: Their newest album is Silent Shout, but so far I prefer Deep Cuts, which I've only been able to find via iTunes. "Heartbeats" is a great song that kicks off that album, and "You Take My Breath Away" is my favorite track of all.
2. Neko Case
Oh, Neko Case... your music is so very sad. It's Veronica Mars-breakup sad, that's how sad it is.
"In the end I was the mean girl, or somebody's in-between girl. Now it's the devil I love; and that's as funny as real love."
Seriously... super-sad.
Neko's stuff has sometimes been labeled as alt-country; her songs have amazing depth, with lush storyscapes. And they might make you want to take a bottle of valium. So be careful.
Favorite songs: "Maybe Sparrow" and "Hold On, Hold On." I need a hug...
"Blue Scholars in the place to be; we've got one DJ, and one MC. And that's it. (That's it.) That's it. (That's it.) C'mon, put your hands up if you're feelin' this shit."
My musical tastes tend to change every few years, and I think they could easily be skewed toward indie hip-hop, with Seattle's Blue Scholars as a touchstone. They're the antidote for mainstream rap; instead of focusing on wealth/booty/crime/look-how-awesome-I-am, Blue Scholars celebrates life, liberty and the proletariat; MC Geologic's raps are heavily political without being accusatory, and DJ Sabzi's samples are amazing.
And Seattle's not the most... um... urban-feeling city ever. In fact, it's pretty white, especially considering my last two cities were Atlanta and D.C. Seattle is downright Scandinavian in comparison. But when I'm walking around downtown with Geologic rapping on my headphones, I can't help but feel at least a little bit street.
Favorite songs: "The Ave" from their self-titled debut artfully name-checks all the streets off University Way in the U District, instantly recalling what it's like to be a college student; and "Southside Revival" from The Long March focuses on local racial boundaries and politics, with Geologic flawlessly rapping the intelligent and tounge-twisty lyrics ("I've heard a few heads say that hip-hop is dead; not it's not, it's just malnourished and underfed"). You'll have to check out their shit on MySpace to hear that one.
Until next time: Keep your feet on the ground, and keep reaching for the booze.
I am utterly addicted to (and proselytizing to my friends) Minnesota Public Radio's Music station 89.3 The Current. I have it on wherever I can get an internet connection supporting streaming mp3. I have even taken to recording the stream and burning it to Cd so I can have it in the car.
I mention this only because the most recent CD set contains all of these artists (usually your top song choice) except #1. They play a mix of the sad indie songs that the lack of heat or sunlight really encourage, a lot of electronica and chill to represent the Norwegian heritage of the area, canadian pop bands by proximity, and a number of local bands which inexplicably means really good artists. Tapes n' Tapes and Atmosphere being my current favorites. Also, the DJs actually add to the theme and presentation, which is so empirically impossible I wonder if it's not the start of a universe explosion. Mary Lucia plays a bunch of the old crooners and standards singers that I love; Jill Riley has a lot of College stuff; Bill DeVille is very good at putting together thematic threads with old songs I never heard before (Till and the Wall to "Sink the bismark?" Touché sir.); Steve Seel was actually the classical/jazz host in Tampa I grew up listening to, but that does not seem to be your cup o noodles; Mark Wheat brings that awesome british accent and all of the chirpy dance/house/whateverelse music the kingdom loves along for the ride.
You forgot a defining Seattle band, Band of Horses. I mean the band was formed from members of another fantastic Seattle band, Carissa's Wierd. Horses had a great album out last year, Everything All The Time. Where's the love james? But seriously if you haven't heard this album, do so immediately.
Thanks for the suggestions guys. Yay, I know something about music!