Nope, it's not Tommy Lee vs. Neil Peart. It's not John Bonham vs Keith Moon. It's Buddy Rich vs. Animal. That's right. Animal. Elmo's whacked out black sheep uncle.


Buddy Rich is the obvious winner here. He's the greatest Jazz drummer who ever lived, able to bang out monster beats at a speed and precision that would tax even the most exacting of robot drummers from a creepy musical future. That being said and all things being equal (as equal as can be when one opponent is a Muppet), Animal gives it his best shot. Watch the video here.

Rebel DJ's, DJ Adrian and The Mysterious D have released what they call "Best of Bootie 2006", a full mixed contiguous mashup that cuts razor slices through the best of 30 years of music, then bakes them until crisp and golden brown.

Get it while it's hot, I can't imagine it will be available long. Mashups include highlights like "Crazy Logic", combining Supertramp's "Logical Song", Gnarls Barkley's "Crazy" and Rockwell's "Somebody's Watching Me" into what can only be called a feast of paranoid delight. Also a gem, DJ Topcat's, "Dec. 4th, Oh What A Night" which digs deep to hook up Jay-Z with Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons.

[via Boing Boing]

I stumbled across this gem of a thread on SomethingAwful in which a bunch of hipsters are collecting links to 90's music videos on YouTube.

It's a veritable cornucopia of awesomeness to waste away your afternoon. Great stuff like Pixies, Cranberries, Dee Lite and The Reverend Horton Heat. Guilty pleasures like 4 Non-Blondes (if you can resist rocking out to "What's Up" after 4 or 5 beer, you are superhuman). Plus, total cheese like Ace of Base, Goo Goo Dolls and Reel Big Fish.

The whole list is enough to push a weak man to heart palpitations. You've been warned.

Robots are at it again. Those crafty automatons have been working hard to put together a CD of infinite indie wisdom, packed full of bands on the edge of hotness.

"Us robots scoured the world for amazing music, from the hallowed halls of our nation's capital, to the rain-soaked streets of Glasgow. We traveled as far afield as Sweden and the UK, as well as Chicago, LA, Minneapolis, and New York City. In between we found a cohesive, flowing album that defines our tastes while highlighting the diversity of music for robots."

Available direct from Music For Robots or from a select few online retailers and regional music stores, it's a veritable treasure trove of indie goodness for $10 American. How can you go wrong?

Take the jump for a track and artist listing.

I have so much fun finding new bands to be in love with, and when I do stumble across something that makes me go all squiggly inside, it's like the first warm day of spring. Guillemots aren't exactly new, they've hit the meaty part of the UK chart's twice however, the band hasn't made a significant leap to this side of the pond, yet.

Energetic and innovative avant-garde indie rock, reminiscent of Flaming Lips, or maybe even Broken Social Scene.

Take the jump to watch Guillemots perform Made Up Lovesong #43 from an episode of Top of The Pops(RIP).

(Thanks DoCophenhagen!)

In late 2004, the Creative Commons foundation launched a remix contest that allowed you (in that overused, Time Magazine Person of The Year sense) to mix, mash and sample popular artists such as Chuck D, David Byrne, and Le Tigre. The contest was a great success, increasing awareness of the Commons and ultimately giving hundreds of little known mixers and producers to be heard by a wide audience.

The newly launched CC Hungary tried the same idea, only with well known Hungarian musicians. How often do you get to hear Hungarian break-beat? The resulting album has quite a few high points, even if you don't speak Magyar. Listen to or download the whole album here.

[via Creative Commons]

YouTube has reaffirmed my faith in the belief that, if you produce enough content, some of it will be amazing. Enter Zack Kim, a guitarist from Seoul, South Korea currently living in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Remember Eddie Van Halen and his crazy hammer-on solos in the 80's? Zack Kim makes Van Halen look like an underachiever.


Playing two guitars at once with an amazing amount of precision, what Zack does is about one-half guitar and one-half piano. It's enough to make you question whether your own fingers should be declared defective by comparison.

There's much more of this at Zack's blog. Christmas tunes, classical, and even a bit of top 40 techno, all reworked into two headed guitar masterpieces.

Watch Zack play the Super Mario Brothers theme in a way that attempts to defy the laws of physics.

January will play host to some rather well anticipated album releases, including new music from The Shins, Of Montreal, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah and an iTunes exclusive EP from Yo La Tengo. We'll let Puddlegum give you the full list, but we're here to hit the high points.

You may remember The Shins new album Wincing The Night Away being passed around like a doobie at a Pink Floyd show just a few months ago, much to the shagrin of their label, SubPop. The first single, "Phantom Limb" is now up for grabs with the approval of the label. It's good, frankly not great, and I find it to be lacking a lot of the raw quality that I really love about The Shins. I've been a good boy, refraining from downloading the advance copy which is circulating so, I'll save the remainder of my they-got-big-and-sold-out disdain for release day, which happens to be the 23rd.

Also floating around in the ether are two tracks from the upcoming Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, and Of Montreal's difficult to pronounce single "Heimdalsgate Like a Promethean Curse." The new Of Montreal is bouncy and catchy with lots of synth piano, and plenty of mood swings.

Also releasing a new album and deserving of quite a bit more attention are Ohio's Six Parts Seven. The Washington Post says about Six Parts Seven "Their tunes are sweetly folkish in mood but rather than verse – chorus – verse song structure that might make the absence of a vocalist noticeable the music gently swells towards peaks keeping the focus on the guitar interplay." We just call them, "Gooder than some other bands," and, "Kinda like Beulah." Snag a copy of their song, "Stolen Moments" while it's hot.

The beginning of a new year (and the last six weeks of the old one) is a heady time filled with toplists and predictions for the future. We've linked to them, we've discussed them, and we thought the whole "best of" thing for 2006 was put to bed. "Didn't we all have such funny haircuts in 2006?", we've thought. "Can you believe how much younger I looked?" we've remarked. "Can't someone put together an arbitrary list of their favorite videos from 2006, in a downloadable format and provide me with a torrent link?" we've pondered.

These guys did. A top 56 list in a world of nice round numbers. It's edgy, it's different, it doesn't need your attention to feel validated. It's the cool kid list containing every single video on the list in a downloadable format, and its available via Bittorrent.

There's some great stuff on this list, even if there's a bit of crossover (although, not much) to the DoCopenhagen list we blogged about last month. Zero 7, Emily Haines Thom Yorke, Bob Dylan, Scissor Sisters, The Raconteurs and more. Get it while it's hot.

I've often mentioned Magantune as an example of an upstart company doing things the right way. This is another great example. A six minute video explaining how Magnatune works (non-exclusive contracts, 50/50 split with artists, etc) and showcasing just a few artists from Magnatune's stable.



Featuring interview segments with Artemis, DJ Markitos, Mija and Jan Hanford of Human Response, the six minute video touches on the differences between Magnatune and the majors, the diversity of music at Magnatune, and the fan to artist interaction that comes with a growing net-centric label.

Ever wanted a weekly hit chart of free downloads? I'm not sure when Last.Fm launched this gem but, I'm certainly glad they did.

The Last.fm weekly chart of "Most Popular Free Downloads" is a can't miss tool for finding what's "in" this week. The current chart features free downloads from scores of popular favorites like Alexisonfire, Nouvelle Vague, and Grandaddy as well as lesser known up and comers like Gay Against You, Suburban Kids With Biblical Names and Avacadoclub.

It's an eclectic chart, so you're almost guaranteed to find something you like in the list. Add the word "Free" to that and, I'm starting to wonder why more people haven't discovered this fantastic resource.

Sensational. That's the only word I can come up with to describe Andy McKee's amazing guitar mastery. I was a big fan of Michael Hedges before he passed away, and since his passing I've not found a player to fill his void. McKee just may be the putty to fill that hole.

Don Ross says of McKee, "Andy is the most innovative and exciting fingerstyle guitarist to emerge in years. Still in his 20's, Andy has developed a mastery of the 6-string guitar and the harp guitar that leaves me speechless. I find myself listening to his tunes over and over again, discovering new nuances every time. He is the most textural player of the instrument since Michael Hedges, and he creates sonic architecture worthy of the great modern composers for any instrument."

Download DRM free mp3's of Andy McKee's album "Art of Motion" for only $9.99 from his label, Candyrat Records.

"Stormy Weather", we've all heard it. Originally performed at the Cotton Club in 1933, Stormy Weather is a staple of the jazz standards and, recognizing that a creative WFMU blogger/programmer from "Beware of The Blog" did some digging and put together this amazing download.

72 versions of Stormy Weather, which should put some sun back in your sky. All the angst, all the misery and 72 times the metaphor, mapping the weather to your melancholy mood.

[photo: Cloud Appreciation Society]

Indie band "The Golden Sounds" are trying something completely different this year.. touring to nowhere and playing for audiences that could be described as nano-sized.

"As I travel, I intend to set up and play small shows at hotel rooms, bathrooms,rest stops, old country roads, pretty much anywhere i end up alone. Then I will video and document it and put it up online. That will be the only way you can see the tour, since no one will know where i will be performing....and if they do find out, well i'll just keep my hotel room locked and they can sit in the hall. It's just me and the internet audience...so i guess you could say i'm not going for the highest grossing tour of 2007."

We'll try and check in with The Golden Sounds as they take on this totally unconventional tour. Meanwhile, download "Elizabeth" by The Golden Sounds.

[via Digg]

I'm constantly amazed at the quality of music being generated in my town. This treat, may be one of the single most visually entertaining music videos of all time. Halifax's own Jimmy Swift Band's song "Turnaround" is a driving, electronicly inspired rock anthem that shouldn't be missed.

The band's bio says, "Half of JSB's repertoire consists of organic instrumental material with influences ranging from Daft Punk to St. Germain, while the other half displays mature songwriting, powerful vocals and memorable melodies within the framework of concise arrangements. Although both elements of the band's sound are starkly different, they combine the two effortlessly to bring the audience on an unforgettable journey with each live show."

Turnaround is a part of the latter, with strong vocals and a powerful melody. Watch the video here.

Download live Jimmy Swift Band performances from Archive.org

[via A Quiet Revolution]