The Weekly Dose 04-09-14 (Coachella 2014 edition featuring Future Islands)

So, The Weekly Dose has recently been bi-weekly, at least for this last month, but I’m still trying to do it weekly if possible.  I have a lot of other things going on that come before this blog, but I do like sharing some good music as often as I can.  I usually put this plug at the bottom of each week’s post, but I don’t know if everybody makes it down that far, so if you’re enjoying the playlists that I post here, please let me know what you think in the comments, on Twitter, or on our Facebook page.  I’d like to know what you liked, what you didn’t, and what songs you’d like to hear in the future!  Also, thanks to those who have actually subscribed to this playlist on Spotify. We’ve been gaining a few every week.

The big event for this week, at least for me and thousands of others, is that Coachella starts this coming weekend. I’ll be at weekend two this year, and will be my 10th time attending the festival.  It really is always my favorite time of the year.  Even though I wasn’t initially as excited as I usually would be for the 2014 lineup, there are still dozens of acts that I’ll be seeing, some I’ve seen before (Beck, Arcade Fire), some I’ve been wanting to see for awhile (Little Dragon, Pet Shop Boys), and I’ve made some new discoveries this year as well.

The Weekly Dose 02-24-14

Welcome to the second edition of The Weekly Dose, the Spotify playlist that is updated every week with about an hour’s worth of great music, both new and old.  Thanks to everybody who checked us out in week one.  The idea for this playlist comes from the fact that if I’m not listening to a specific album, I’m usually just shuffling the “favorites” folder on my iPod or Spotify, featuring thousands of my all-time favorite songs.  Because those songs span the decades from the 60’s (or earlier) through today, it’s always an eclectic mix of music.

If you follow The Weekly Dose ON Spotify itself, you’ll notice that the songs will change every week.  There’s currently no need to subscribe to more than the one playlist, although that could change in the future.  A second playlist will debut here soon, and will be an archive featuring all songs from previous weeks for your listening pleasure.  That’s enough explanation for now, let’s get on to this week’s Dose.

Featured Artist of the Week: Courtney Barnett

I’ll admit, I didn’t know much about Courtney Barnett until just recently when I started hearing her songs played on Sirius radio’s station XMU.  Courtney is an Australian singer-songwriter from Melbourne.  She has two EP’s so far, and those two have been combined together into one “double EP” here in the United States.  In addition to getting some radio airplay, she’s also one of just a couple of additions to this year’s Coachella festival since the initial lineup was announced in January.

In addition to two Courtney Barnett songs, this week’s Dose includes a few “flashback” artists spanning the 80’s (Orange Juice), 90’s (Pulp, Jennifer Trynin, Grandaddy) and newer acts like Father John Misty (who had my favorite album of 2012) and last week’s Artist You Should Know: Temples… Give it a listen and let me know what you think in the comments, or on our Facebook page.

The Weekly Dose 02-24-14

1. Courtney Barnett – Avant Gardener
2. of Montreal – Famine Affair
3. Tune-Yards – My Country
4. Grandaddy – The Group Who Couldn’t Say
5. MC Honky – What A Bringdown
6. Miike Snow – Song For No One
7. Orange Juice – Rip It Up
8. Courtney Barnett – History Eraser
9. Father John Misty – Funtimes In Babylon
10. Shout Out Louds – The Comeback
11. Puscifer – Dear Brother
12. Pulp – Help The Aged
13. Jennifer Trynin – Better Than Nothing
14. Temples – The Guesser
15. Air Traffic – Just Abuse Me

 

Artist You Should Know : Temples

Temples, out of Kettering, London, is one of the latest bands of the emerging psychedelia scene.  Their music is a throwback to the 60’s rock sound. Being compared to such bands as The Byrds, Buffalo Springfield and Small Faces, their debut album Sun Structures definitely reflects this. It’s a strong album throughout with strong lyrics and phenomenal production; this album won’t disappoint.

“The Guesser”, an ear tantalizer, is a strong stand out track with a Guess Who influence. If you’re going to Coachella this year be sure to check them out . Noel Gallagher of Beady Eye (formerly of Oasis) is quoted as saying, “it’s cosmic space music – it should be played on an empty Death Star.”

I think this will be one of the standout performances that people will be talking about afterwards, so don’t miss out.

Temples – “The Guesser”