Boracay Please Not Bora!

I finally set-foot on the powdery white sand of Boracay and fell in love with it. Here are my photos posted real-time from my tumblr

MUST LISTEN: Boy From School (Hot Chip Cover) by Grizzly Bear

It's fascinating how Grizzly Bear transformed the high-fashion vibe of Hot Chip to a haunting yet soulful rendition of Boy From School. This was taken from Grizzly Bear's acoustic session in Australia's Triple J Radio studios.

MUST LISTEN: Terminally Chill by Neon Indian

If Daft Punk was making music in the 80's, this would probably how they sound. Neon Indian perfected the sound of lost nostalgia where you tend to assume that you are in the era of shoulder pads and hair-raising spray nets thus you're still stuck on the pre-extinction stage of  the earth.

Alan Palomo captures that feel in this track. Terminally Chill suits the title as it hypnotize you to a psychedelic nothingness where you can dance shyly in a hot summer sun.

MUST LISTEN: Islands by The XX

Modern influences of R&B is evident in a lot of songs that we listen to. It may be obviously heard in pop songs or surprisingly in some indie faves that only those with keen ears can distinguish. Pitchfork describe The XX's sound as "Strongly influenced by modern R&B." I am no expert and I thank blogs like Pitchfork for informing those stupid people, like moi, with this kind of stuff. coz by just plainly listening to the songs of The XX in their debut CD xx, I wouldn't consider R&B as one of their influences. But hey, it's Pitchfork. Who am i to argue, right?

But going back to my real intent in posting this song, I just want to share the love I give with this new band from London. The XX was one of the best bands who came out last year and they are ready to take over 2010. Islands is my favorite track from their album xx. The sugary vocals of singer/guitarist Romy Madley Croft fitly blends with bassist Oliver Sim bland voice which is a perfect combination for this simple pop song about contentment. Maybe that's the reason why I fell in love with this song, sometimes you don't need technical reasons to appreciate good music, it's the big impact no matter how simple the song is.

BACKTRAX: I'm Shakin' by Rooney

One of the simplest things in life that i truly appreciate is how my iPod can change my moods with just playing songs in random manner. Usually, the problem with iPod users, we tend to upload thousands of songs but we never really listen to most of it.

So one Monday morning, on my way to work, I accidentally put my iPod into 'Shuffle Song' mode and this song immediately played. This forgotten song sounds familiar as i listen to its intro. And when the beats started to reverberate in my eardrums so as my head started banging like i was in a gig or something. ROONEY it was!

'I'm Shakin'  was title of the song. I first heard it from the only episode of O.C. that I saw. And from then on, I fell in love with the song. Its upbeat tempo and sunny californiaesque feel turned my Monday morning into a summer holiday ready for the beach.

Take a listen


The vocalist(Robert Schwartzman) may look familiar to you. He has a movie stint before forming Rooney. Remember Anne Hathaway's highschool love interest in her first movie, The Princess Diaries?

MUST LISTEN: Washed Out

SynthPop, DeamWave, DarkWave, DreamPop, ElectroWave, ChillOut, ChillPop and the list goes on when people are trying to categorize the music of Washed Out. I really don't understand the confusion when in fact, it's pretty much evident that this one-piece band creates music that is soothing with electric feel to it. Yes, with all the influences weaving into each others sounds, Washed Out is a one-piece band and Ernest Greene is the master mind. The appropriately titled debut High Times, which was originally released only in cassettes, is a perfect soundtrack during the days when you just want to get high and washed out. Hmm.. this guy knows how describe his music through world play. I like!

Check out the video below and get washed out by it... good vibes!

Vampire Weekend Stripped-Down on MTV

Another thing to be excited with Vampire Weekend, beside their second CD Contra being released next week, is their acoustic set on MTV Unplugged. Ok, so I liked VW because of the electronic influence in their music and it really excites me how they would pull off their songs in stripped-down versions. Just plain EXCITING!

Here's a clip of Vampire Weekend playing A-Punk on MTV Unplugged

Vampire Weekend - New Music - More Music Videos

Blogs Kill the Book

...but nothing beats the smell of an old book. : )