Disco Volante - Brother Sport

MP3: Disco Volante – Brother Sport (Right-Click-Save-As)

The best live show I saw last summer, hands down, was Animal Collective at Prospect Park in Brooklyn. It was a steamy, tropical affair, a strange confluence of perfect weather and set design as late afternoon showers subsided just as the band took to a stage decorated like the Hawaiian Tiki stage of Super Mario Bros., complete with candy colored Easter Island heads, swaying cardboard cut-out waves and even a giant cartoon shark that leaped from the “water” and dove back in over and again like a star Sea World performer. As the sun set, we noticed tiny pink paper lanterns glowing on wires above our heads. I smoked a joint with some hippie kids.

The irresistible Brother Sport (fantastic video!), this week's title track, was arguably the highlight of the show, with its childlike faux-tribal chanting and hypnotizing electric bounce that had us bobbing up and down like idiots. Here's hoping this summer brings similar delights!

1. Animal Collective - Brother Sport (5:59)2. Broken Social Scene - All to All (4:49)3. Talking Heads - Making Flippy Floppy (4:40)4. Audio Two - I Don't Care (3:54)5. Wagon Christ - Thick Stew (7:47)6. The Amorphous Androgynous - David Holmes - What R We Stealing (3:12)7. Devo - Mongoloid (3:43)8. Liars - Tumbling Wall Buried Me In The Debris With Esg (4:05)9. The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion - T.A.T.B. (For The Saints And Sinners Remix) (7:29)10. The Jesus Lizard - Nub (2:58)11. The Fall - Hit The North Part 1 (4:00)12. Komeda - A Simple Formality (5:28)

Disco Volante - Oh, MJ!

MP3: Disco Volante - Oh, MJ! (Right-Click-Save-As)

The Little Ones are a great little band. With a charmingly naive sound just North of twee, this Los Angeles indie pop-quintet are a whole lot of fun, both on their 2006 EP Sing Song, and their 2008 full length debut Morning Tide. Their sound is a little bit Zombies, a little bit Cibo Matto, a little bit Yo-Gaba-Gaba-Hey, but never, in my opinion, too cute for its own good.

I'm not sure if "Oh MJ!" is about Michael Jackson (I sorta think so for some reason,) but it sure is infectious. This particular version of the song comes from the excellent Daytrotter Studio Sessions, who record many of your favorite pop bands to tremendous effect. Check 'em out!

1. The Little Ones - Oh, MJ! (Daytrotter Sessions) (5:17)2. +/- - Bow To The Middle (The Rosebuds) (2:47)3. Little Dragon - Never Never (3:37)4. White Hinterland - Moon Jam (4:19)5. DOOM - Absolutely (2:43)6. Shafiq Husayn - Dust & Kisses Ft. Noni Limar (4:10)7. The Bird And The Bee - One On One (3:40)8. Dr Buzzard's Original Savannah Band - Sunshower ['Check The Rhime'] (4:08)9. Brazilian Girls - Corner Store (4:13)10. Dorothy Ashby - By The Time I Get To Phoenix (3:31)11. Beauty Pill - Goodnight For Real (4:49)12. The Smiths - Some Girls Are Bigger Than Others (3:14)13. Grandaddy - Where I'm Anymore (6:05)14. Microdisney - Hello Rascals (2:46)15. Maureen Owen - When You're Down and Under (1:03)

DISCO VOLANTE - Lover Of Mine

MP3: Disco Volante - Lover of Mine (Right-Click-Save-As)

Whenever I see Beach House vocalist/keyboardist Victoria Legrand perform , I just can't get over the contrast between her well-scrubbed, babyfaced looks and the smokey, bourbon-soaked vocals that spill out of her. It's a nice surprise. Togetho\er with bandmate, Alex Scally, this Baltimore duo form the core of Beach House, a band whose moody, etheric sound evokes both 1970's AM-Gold and today's cutting edge psychedelia. 'Lover of Mine', a track off their fantastic new record Teen Dream, has a timeless, dream-like quality, as soothing as it is challenging, and it's the first song on today's playlist...

1. Beach House - Lover Of Mine (5:06) 2. Dam-Funk - Mirrors (3:19) 3. The Last Electro-Acoustic Space Jazz & Percussion Ensemble - Mystic Voyage (For Roy Ayers) (4:25) 4. Vicki Anderson - Home Is Where the Hatred Is (5:31) 5. The Association - Along Comes Mary (2:48) 6. Paul Weller - All The Pictures On The Wall (3:57) 7. Broken Social Scene - Looks Just Like The Sun (4:23) 8. Stereolab - Allures (3:29) 9. Special Ed - Ya Wish Ya Could (3:48) 10. Rza - daily routine (4:23) 11. Public Image Ltd. - Careering (4:32) 12. The Slits - I Heard it Through the Grapevine (4:00) 13. Talking Heads - The Book I Read (demo) (2:55)