It really is only Wednesday people. Truly sorry to admit this. So maybe this mega mash-up featuring J.Lo, Jessie J, The Wanted, Example, Katy B and JLS, to name a few, will get you through the Hump.
Posts Tagged Example
I haven’t posted the new single from Example that hit the interwebs a few weeks ago yet only because I knew there would be a video coming out today and wanted to wait for what would clearly be another well done video from one of the most talented performers in music right now.
Thankfully Example didn’t let me down, the video for ‘Changed the Way You Kiss Me’ builds anticipation for the monster musical climax and keeps hitting all the way through the song. The single is a perfect follow up to his album Won’t Go Quietly, which hands down was one of the best albums of 2010.
The single is out June 2nd and can be pre-ordered on iTunes now.
Best Songs of 2010
Dec 31
It is that time of year again. The “Best Of” season, the best singles, best album and best artists of the year. The lists are all over the internet, magazines and TV shows. I am sure that everyone of these lists use very scientific calculations and means to decide their rankings, and the list below is no exception. I used various facts, figures and statistics to compile my list of top 25 songs of 2010. (Who am I kidding, this is all opinion based somewhat on my musical whim, fancies and other highly unscientific reasons.)
You may ask why 25? Well first Josh and I tried to create our top ten lists, and well this was an utter failure on all accounts. It was impossible to whittle down our favorites to just ten. And twenty, too easy, lets add five more into the whole mess and together you will get the top 50 songs as seen by C&B.
After the Top Ten, number order really loses nearly all meaning, just an FYI.
1. Alphabeat – DJ (I Could be Dancing)
This is hands the best song of 2010. ‘DJ’ is what Pop music should be, infectiously fun, campy, and really doesn’t take it self too seriously. With a perfect tip to 90′s Euro dance-pop and something all their own, Alphabeat is something special in the world of Pop music. ‘DJ’ has done more to make me smile this year alone than maybe any other song.
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2. Robyn – Hang With Me
Robyn truly one of music’s most masterful writers, my good friend DJ MAJR sums it up the best, “[Robyn] is catchy without being vapid.” Honest, sincere and beautiful, Robyn is able to tell a story like very few in music can.
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3. HURTS – Better Than Love
From Theo’s enthralling voice, to rich full synths that ebb and flow creating a whirlwind of sound, to brooding lyrics that cut straight through it all, ‘Better Than Love’ is a song that stands out from everything else in Pop.
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4. Example – Kickstarts
Completely new and unique is the way to describe ‘Kickstarts’ and anything Example creates. ‘Kickstarts’ really is an endearingly sweet love song about the highs and lows of every relationship; expertly paired with explosive beats and high energy synths that are the perfect embodiment of all the excitement love brings. Plan and simple its quite brilliant!
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5. Kylie Minogue – Get Outta My Way
Her want to live to the fullest and her lust for life is contagious and passed through her music to everyone who listens to it. ‘Get Outta My Way’ is no exception, full of spunk and sass with that ever present exuberant joy.
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6. Japayork – Teenagers
For me there is a visceral reaction/connection to this song that I feel every time the chorus hits. The urge to escape; to leave the problems, pain and strife of the world behind and enjoy the now. Revel the moment you are in, to love life and the people you are sharing it with.
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7. Penguin Prison – The Worse It Gets
Penguin Prison has created the perfect musical embodiment of the yearning I get to leave the noise of the world behind and get away from it all.
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8. Chew Lips – Slick
Cool synth beats paired with piano chords and deep bass that build excitement through the whole song. Tig’s voice perfectly floats over the beats telling the story of memories and life gone by.
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9. Goldfrapp – Alive
Disco is alive! Glam and glitter. I would say more but it would only cheapen it.
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10. Bright Light Bright Light – Love, Pt 2.
‘Love Pt. 2′ overwhelms you with the carefree exuberance that comes with realizing you are able to feel love’s faint flutter in your heart again.
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11. Florence and The Machine – Dog Days Are Over
12. Joe McElderry – Real Late Starter
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13. Cassette Kids – Spin
14. Delphic – Doubt
15. Moneypenny – Destroy
16. Gorillaz – Doncamatic
17. Aeroplane – Without Lies (ft. Sky Ferreira)
18. Sia – I’m In Here
19. Katy Perry – Teenage Dream
20. Frankmusik & Computer Club – Losing Streak
21. The Ting Tings – Hands
22. Kaskade – Fire In Your New Shows (ft. Dragonette)
23. Ellie Goulding – Lights
24. Lights – My Boots
25. Hyper Crush – Keep Up
Work! – Fall Gym Mix Tape
Nov 21
We at C&B take the health and well-being of our readers very seriously. As the holidays approach so do those dreaded holiday pounds. To help keep off those pesky pounds during holiday frivolity we are happy to offer Work!, our first Fall Mixtape. Thirty tracks sure to motivate you to put down that turkey leg and head to the gym (Or at least get up and dance). Enjoy!
01. Kaskade – Fire In Your New Shoes (Feat. Dragonette)
02. The Ting Tings – Hands
03. Girls Aloud – Something Kinda Ooooh
04. Robyn – Stars 4-Ever
05. BG5 (The BeachGirl5) – Scratch
06. Example – Girl Can’t Dance (Radio Edit)
07. The Saturdays – Karma
08. Hyper Crush – Kick Us Out
09. Kylie Minogue – Aphrodite
10. Moneypenny – Cool & The Gang
11. Sneaky Sound System – I Want Everything
12. Florrie – You Wanna Start Something
13. Sugababes (with Keisha Buchanan) – Thank You For The Heartbreak
14. Katy Perry – E.T.
15. Blake McGrath – Relax
16. Rihanna – Only Girl (In The World)
17. Japayork – Teenagers
18. Just Jack – Doctor Doctor
19. Starsmith – Give Me A Break
20. Christian TV – When She Turns 18 (LA Riots Remix)
21. Far East Movement – Like a G6 (Feat. Cataracs & Dev)
22. Martin Solveig – Hello (Feat. Martina of Dragonette)
23. Rihanna – S&M
24. Cheryl Cole – Promise This
25. Don Diablo – Animale (Feat. Dragonette)
26. Jessie J – Do It Like A Dude
27. Ke$ha – We R Who We R
28. Sky Ferreira – Obsession
29. Kylie Minogue – Put Your Hands Up (If You Feel Love)
30. Ocelot – Beating Hearts
Download it Here (Link is fixed! ENJOY)
Example – Two Lives (Video)
Oct 16
There are sometimes songs that so encapsulate a place, time and emotional state in your life that it’s truly scary. ‘Two Lives’ has been that song for me over the past few months, big life decisions have come and gone since first hearing this song, and it still sticks (sometimes stings) with me. Again Example hits you with his beautiful, simple and stirring lyrics; the kid has a way with words.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AFNowUUvXGs&feature=player_embedded
BBC Live Lounge gave Example a little room to play, and he did one hell of a cover of the current Katy Perry hit single ‘Teenage Dream’. Can he really do no wrong? I believe so.
Courtesy of TrythisforExample
Well it is a day chock full of Example! Really this is all helping me get through a gray Tuesday here in D.C. The new video for ‘Last Ones Standing’ hit the interwebs today. It is an homage to 80′s detective films with just the right amount of campy goodness, not to mention gratuitous flipping.
Example is set to release his 4th single, ‘Last Ones Standing’ from his hit album Won’t Go Quietly on September 13th. This song is one of my favorite on the album, though to be honest the album is so good nearly all the songs fall into that category. Example himself released on his personal blog today a cover by Ed Sheeran of the latest single, and it’s quite amazing. For me the lyrics were already poignant, subtle in the memories it can universally evoke about best friends and the times you share with them. This new cover completely changes the tone of the song, from light and fun to something much more personal and touching. All in all a beautiful cover of a fantastic song.
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Won’t Go Quietly is the first album I can remember being THIS excited for in quite a long time. With past albums I have been excited for I scour the web and find nearly all the tracks before the release, know exactly what I’m getting before I buy it. Not with Won’t Go Quietly, I wanted to wait, to really enjoy that moment when all the anticipation pays off. Buy it, have it in hand (direct to my iPhone counts!) and listen to it straight through in proper order, take in the album as it is meant to be. Now, sadly sometimes albums aren’t everything you hope for, the hype and excitement are actually better than the album, but that is definitely not the case with this album. It is everything I wanted, even if it is not what I expected.
Example has done no small feat, he has made a convert of me when it comes to Dubstep. This is mostly do to the tracks ‘Dirty Face’, ‘Sick Note’ and ‘See the Sea’. My friend Eph from over at PandaToes, and I have been having a spirited musical debate for months now about Dubstep. I appreciate it, but most of what I hear is just interesting noise at best. Where Eph loves dubstep and, at every chance he gets, tries his best to help me see it how great it is. For me to make it something great you need to include, heaven forbid, a melody! Something that will draw people to it, and help them to connect to it. In other words, breathe musical life into it. Won’t Go Quietly equally proves both sides of our argument. Dubstep is great and will be a dynamic influence on music, but the only way it can be really great is to accentuate equally great music to get to its full potential
Blurring the line between what genres are and what they should sound like. It is an album that is equal parts hip-hop, electro, pop, dubstep and rock. And I wanted to give it a proper track-by-track dissection, but there are 16 tracks, and what lovely tracks they are, which may be a bit much. So here are a few stand out tracks in addition to the previous four tracks we have talked about on C&B.
‘Time Machine’ – This is what Timbaland should sound like, if he were to make anything new sounding since Future Sex/Love Sounds. This song has a strut and sexy vibe all its own. Calvin Harris helped to create a fantastic disco tinged dance track that works perfectly with Examples voice and styling.
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‘Last One Standing’ – Has all the fun and exuberance of the late 80’s dance pop, I have to be honest in reminds me of Whitney Houston’s dance tracks from that time period. This is a VERY good thing. Perfect follow up as the 4th single. It is all about going out with your favorite partner in crime and seeing just how much trouble you can get away with.
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‘Two Lives’ – A big, expressive rock anthem that is all about balancing the halves of who Example is. The person we all see, and the person he is in private. Even for those of us who aren’t public figures, it is an idea I know I think about quite a bit. How to balance who I am and who others want and expect me to be.
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‘Sick Note’ – Stay out later than you should on a school night? We have all been there. Infectious, dancey and something different from your normal electro dance out there with Dubstep seeping in over the edges to make something very unique.
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‘Girl Can’t Dance’ – Slick and sexy rock infused dance. It’s the lyrics for me on this one. “It’s such a pity/Girl you can’t dance/Yes you’re really gorgeous/ Very nearly flawless/But why didn’t you ma teach you to dance?”
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My rating is a perfect 10/10. It is really a brilliant album that has pushed my musical tastes and boundaries. One of the best albums of 2010, which is why it’s currently charting at #2 on the UK chart. And I do really want everyone to support him, so if you are in UK head over iTunes or the local HMV and buy it. If you are stateside, head over to Amazon.com, it is worth the cost to have it imported.
As a treat to loyal readers I am going to share the entire album for just 24 hours, because I do really want everyone support Example and go buy the album and get excited about a fantastic musician and his even better music.
Memorial Day Mixtape
May 25
C&B is delighted to bring you a playlist for the start of your summer. While putting together this mix, I wanted something that could be played anywhere. You can blast it at the pool, on the beach, or at your 3am afterparty. You’ll find some new songs as well as some tracks that will take you back to summer’s past. Hopefully it will be the perfect accessory to hours of endless dancing and sun soaked rays. Enjoy!
02. Adam Lambert – Whataya Want From Me (Fronzerelli Radio Edit)
03. Example – Won’t Go Quietly (Radio Edit)
04. BAKER – Echo
05. Alphabeat – DJ
06. Frankmusik & Computer Club – Losing Streak
07. Glee – Safety Dance
08. Har Mar Superstar – Tall Boy (Manny Heatherly Remix)
09. Tim Deluxe – It Just Won’t Do
10. Hyper Crush – Keep It Up
11. Richard Vission & Static Revenger (feat. Luciana) – I Like That (Radio Edit)
12. Kid Sister – Right Hand Hi
13. Christina Aguilera – Not Myself Tonight
14. Robyn – Fembots
15. Mark Ronson (feat. Amy Winehouse) – Valerie
16. Hanson – Thinking ‘Bout Somethin’
17. Michael Franti & Spearhead – Say Hey (I Love You)
18. Sam Sparro – Cut Me Loose
19. Mika – Touches You
20. Vampire Weekend – Giving Up the Gun
21. Robyn – Dancing On My Own
22. The Ting Tings – Great DJ (IDC Re-rub)
23. Empress – Dancefloor
24. Wynter Gordon – Dirty Talk
25. Kelis – 4th Of July (Fireworks)
26. Scissor Sisters – Invisible Light
27. Goldfrapp – Rocket (Tiesto Radio Edit)
28. Mariah Carey feat. Old Dirty Bastard – Fantasy (Bad Boy Remix)
