Polvo - Beggars Bowl

» Download MP3

This September, yet another '90s indie rock band will make its triumphant return. Polvo are one of the early pioneers of what could be considered "math rock", except that no one wants to use those words anymore. Merge Records is gearing up to release In Prism, their first album in 12 years, and they've given us a sample track from the album that kicks all kinds of ass.

"Beggars Bowl" features crunchy yet angular guitars, and plenty of stops and starts... I didn't know how badly I missed this until I heard it again.

Weird Al Yankovic - Craigslist (Video)

If you were expecting Weird Al to write a song about Twitter, well guess what... he's one step behind you! Instead he's given us "Craigslist"... a timely topic mixed with a dated parody/tribute to The Doors. Kinda strange, and not all that funny either, but the video is directed by Liam Lynch (Sarah Silverman: Jesus Is Magic, Tenacious D in The Pick of Destiny) so I thought a few people might be interested.

Animal Collective - Summertime Clothes (Video)

A trippy video for a trippy song, featuring melting ice sculptures and members of the FLEX dance crew (who also appeared with Animal Collective on Letterman). Taken from their latest album Merriweather Post Pavilion; the single hits stores on July 7th.

» Buy it on Amazon

Coconut Records - Microphone (Video)

The first video from Jason Schwartzman's second solo album Davy is a pretty low-budget affair, but quirky and charming nonetheless. Shot essentially on the fly by Johannes Gamble at his house, it all takes place within the surreal dreams of a snoring dog. How adorable!

» Buy it on Amazon

MGMT - Kids (Video)

"Kids" was released as a single by MGMT back in October I believe, but apparently they just recently got around to making an official video for it. I suppose we can forgive them since the video also happens to star Joanna Newsom. Don't watch before bed though... it might give you nightmares!

Fischerspooner - We Are Electric (Video)

Now this is a music video! I want that crazy hat. Fischerspooner's third album Entertainment is in stores now.

» Buy it on Amazon

Tortoise - Prepare Your Coffin (Video)

From their upcoming album Beacons of Ancestorship, out on June 23rd via Thrill Jockey.

» Pre-order it on Amazon

Mixel Pixel - Monster Manual (Video)

Cool animated tribute to the D&D Monster Manual... if you're not a nerd, you won't know what that is. Directed by Dan Meth through the $99 Music Video Program!

» Mixel Pixel on MySpace

Dinosaur Jr. - I Want You To Know

» Download MP3

Back in 2007, Dinosaur Jr. re-united and recorded the album Beyond, which to my ears was a refreshing and welcome resurgence of early '90s rock (not unlike The Lemonheads comeback from the year before). It was like they had picked up pretty much where they left off and transported me back to my high school days. Still, apparently Lou Barlow wasn't completely happy with the album, and wanted to fully reclaim their roots. Now that their new album Farm is finished, he is describing it as "totally old school", and a lot more in line with their first three records (you know, before they signed to a major label). If this first track is any indication, I'd say he's right on the money. Farm will be released on Jagjaguwar Records on June 23rd.

» Pre-order it on Amazon

Phoenix - Lisztomania (Video)

I first heard Phoenix on the soundtrack for Sofia Coppola's Lost in Translation, which has gone on to become one of my favourite soundtracks of all time. They are a French band that formed in the late '90s with close ties to electronic bands Air and Daft Punk. Although they aren't an electronic band themselves, they do use synthesizers liberally in their dreamy pop/funk/rock blend. Their fourth album Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix is almost upon us, and as seen in the video for "Lisztomania" it is at least partially themed around classical composers. The video was directed by Antoine Wagner. Look for the album in stores on May 26th.

The Boy Least Likely To - When Life Gives Me Lemons I Make Lemonade (Video)

UK indie pop outfit The Boy Least Likely To just released their sophomore album The Law of the Playground in the U.S. a couple weeks ago, but they've already made three (count 'em three!) videos from the album including this one for "When Life Gives Me Lemons I Make Lemonade". Directed by Jayne Vidheecharoen, it's hot off the presses and features the knitted bird from the cover of the album in an animated wonderland of sorts. (Interesting bit of trivia: The Office/Parks and Recreation star Rashida Jones appears in the video for their most well-known song "Be Gentle With Me".) Be sure to follow The Boy Himself on Twitter!

Passion Pit - The Reeling (Video)

I've been hearing the name Passion Pit for a while now, so with their first full-length album about to be released on French Kiss Records, I thought it was finally time to look them up. They're an electronic band out of Cambridge, MA, and if you ask me they have every chance of capturing the same audience as bands like Cut Copy and MGMT. The song "The Reeling" has an infectious danceability and the video takes the cut and paste aesthetic to cool new places. (Also don't miss their video for "Sleepyhead" off their debut EP Chunk of Change.) Manners hits stores on May 26th.

M83 - We Own the Sky (Video)

You may have seen a lot of fan-made videos floating around out there for M83's "We Own the Sky" lately. This is because they were holding a video contest, and the winner has finally been selected as of last week. The above video was created by a design group called Young Replicant, and it is now the official video for "We Own the Sky". Anthony Gonzalez (aka M83) had this to say: "I like the atmosphere of it cause it fits perfectly to the music and the lyrics. It's exactly what I had in mind when I wrote the song." If you still haven't heard the album Saturdays=Youth, well what are you waiting for? Definitely among the best of 2008.

Muzak for Cybernetics on Blip.FM

In my haphazard quest to find new avenues to share music online, I've recently joined Blip.FM, a service that is really taking off thanks to its ease of integration with Twitter. The basic idea is that you select songs from their extensive music database, and post them with a short message or description. You can build up a network of DJs and custom playlists of songs that you like.

I've embedded a widget in the sidebar so you can see my latest Blips, but the formatting is a little bit awkward. It's probably easier if you just look me up at blip.fm/muzak4cybernetics. If you're already on Blip.FM or if you're planning on joining in the near future, make sure you send me a message or add me as a favourite. Catch you on the BLIPside... err, nevermind.

The Breeders - Fate to Fatal (Video)

The Breeders are back this week with a new EP called Fate to Fatal, and a music video that features an all-female roller derby team! Very timely considering that Drew Barrymore has a movie coming out later this year about rollergirls. It sounds like your standard Breeders tune, although the EP does have a cover of a Bob Marley song on it apparently. The EP will be released digitally via iTunes and Amazon and on limited edition vinyl in indie record stores this Tuesday.

Yea Big + Kid Static - BOTS (Video)

I know it's all too predictable that a lot the hip-hop acts I seem to be most interested in are the ones that rap about robots and video games rather than guns and hoes, but well... that's just how it is. I'm still not even quite sure what the term "nerdcore" means, but I am guessing Yea Big + Kid Static would probably fit the bill. This new video is about as nerdy as it gets. The Future's Looking Grim is out now on Jib Door Records, and I can't wait to hear the rest of the tracks on this album.

Polysics - Shout Aloud! (Video)

Hey folks... after taking a bit of a hiatus to rethink what's going on with this site, I've decided I'm going to start posting music videos on here a lot more frequently. They are easier to post and -- ahem -- a lot more legal too. I'm not giving up on MP3s entirely but it seems like MP3 blogs in general are a dying breed, and I'm going to keep looking for new ways to share music that excites me. Anyway, in the meantime, enjoy the latest single from Tokyo's Polysics... a band who are even better with the visuals to accompany the music!

Muzak For Cybernetics Mixtape: 8 Tracks

I know it's been a long time since we've done a proper Muzak For Cybernetics Mixtape, but I recently found out about 8Tracks.com and I thought I'd take it for a test drive by making a sample mixtape. I don't know how they are going to be able to avoid legal trouble since it's a pretty similar idea to Muxtape, but who am I to question? Either way, if this turns out to be convenient maybe I'll post a new mix every couple of weeks. Enjoy.



Playlist:
Johnny Foreigner - Salt, Pepper and Spinderella
Rivers Cuomo - Don't Worry Baby
The Futureheads - I Wouldn't Be Like This If You Were Here
The Week That Was - The Good Life
Hot Chip & Peter Gabriel - Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa (Vampire Weekend Cover)
Panda Riot - Paper Planes (M.I.A. Cover)
N.A.S.A. - Gifted feat. Kanye West, Santogold and Lykke Li
Flight of the Conchords - Too Many Dicks

Our Favourite Albums of 2008

It's been a few months since we've posted anything on this blog, and to be honest, I was about ready to pull the plug on the whole thing. Film Junk has kind of become the focus of our blogging efforts, and it seems like MP3 blogs in general are kind of a dying breed since even a lot of the indie bands are now actively blocking sites from sharing their music (which they are obviously well within their rights to do).

That said, we were looking for a place to post our Top 10 Albums of 2008 and this just seemed like the logical place. I will include links to legal MP3s and album streams where possible. Zak may also add his own list to this post at some point. Stay tuned for more info about the future of this site and our Muzak for Cybernetics Mixtape podcasts.

P.S. I realize we're like a month late on this, but hey, it won't be February until tomorrow, so technically I think we're still allowed to blog about 2008 for at least a few more hours.

Sean

10. The Dodos - Visiter
» MP3: Jodi

9. Sigur Ros - Með suð í eyrum við spilum endalaust
» MP3: Gobbledigook

8. Apes and Androids - Blood Moon
» MP3: Nights of the Week

7. The School of Language - Sea From Shore
» MP3: Rockist Part 1

6. PAS/CAL - I Was Raised on Matthew, Mark, Luke and Laura
» MP3: Glorious Ballad of the Ignored

5. Welcome Wagon - Welcome To The Welcome Wagon
» MP3: Sold! To The Nice Rich Man

4. Girl Talk - Feed The Animals
» MP3: Shut The Club Down

3. Vampire Weekend - s/t
» MP3: Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa

2. TV On The Radio - Dear Science
» Album Stream: MySpace

1. Ratatat - LP3
» MP3: Mirando

Jay

10. Midnight Juggernauts - Dystopia
» YouTube: Shadows

9. Wilderness - (K)no(w)here
» MP3: Strand the Test of Time

8. M83 - Saturdays=Youth
» YouTube: Graveyard Girl

7. MGMT - Oracular Spectacular
» MP3: Time to Pretend

6. Love is All - A Hundred Things Keep Me Up At Night
» MP3: Wishing Well

5. Marnie Stern - This Is It & I Am It & You Are It & So Is That & He Is It & She Is It & It Is It & That Is That
» MP3: Transformer

4. David Byrne and Brian Eno - Everything that Happens Will Happen Today
» MP3: Strange Overtones

3. Lykke Li - Youth Novels
» MP3: Dance Dance Dance

2. Vampire Weekend - Vampire Weekend
» MP3: Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa

1. TV on the Radio - Dear Science
» Album Stream: MySpace



Honourable Mentions:

No Age - Nouns
Cut Copy - In Ghost Colours
Deerhoof - Offend Maggie
The Walkmen - You & me
The Mae Shi - Hlllyh
Coconot - Cosa Astral
Destroyer - Trouble in Dreams
El Guincho - Alegranza
King Khan & The Shrines - The Supreme Genius Of
New Order Catalogue Re-issues

Greg

We here at Film Junk love lists. All kinds of lists. Top Ten Films of the Year lists, Top Ten Viral Videos of the Year lists, grocery lists, Schindler’s List, Franz Liszt…whatever list you want…we will do. During the year end 200^th episode bash there were some requests made to me to put out a list of the best music of 2008. Yeah, I have 10 plus years of experience in the music industry, but who the fuck am I to tell you what the ‘best’ albums of 2008 were? I’m nowhere near that arrogant or pretentious. So, this is a list of my 10 favourite albums of 2008. It’s what I liked the most. Everyone has their own idea of which music is good, so I would encourage you to share albums that you think are good, instead of telling me that my choices are lame. Any idiot can do that. I’m more than willing to have my eyes opened to new music.

So, here we go.

10: AC/DC – Black Ice. It’s an AC/DC album. What do you expect? After 20 years they still know how to make a fun record of bluesy rock songs. » YouTube: Rock n Roll Train

9: Slipknot – All Hope is Gone. Two great singles; "Psychosocial" and "All Hope is Gone" hit the radio before the album even dropped and those songs had me hooked. Oddly enough, there are even Slipknot ballads which sound more like Stone Sour songs. You can't blame their desire to round themselves out a bit because they include gut busting songs like "Butcher’s Hook". This is the kind of song that mass murderers use to psych themselves up for some bloodshed.

» MP3: All Hope is Gone

8: Beck – Modern Guilt. Beck has been hit or miss with me for the last few years, but this latest record brings me back to the days of Odelay. His 10^th album has a distinct '60s feel to it with some great harmonies and heavy guitar.

» YouTube: Gamma Ray

7: Sam Roberts – Love at the End of the World. This could very well be Sam's best album. The first single "Them Kids Don’t Know How To Dance to Rock & Roll" speaks to the decrepit old man that lives inside of me. Great live band too. If I didn’t include this I’m sure Lindsay would kill me.

» YouTube: Detroit '67

6: Kings of Leon – Only By the Light. I had only listened to the Kings of Leon a few times over the last few years and I'm not ashamed to admit that I took notice along with the rest of the world when I was given a copy of their new disc. Great vocals and killer guitar.

» Album Stream: Last.FM

5: Arkells – Jackson Square. A new band out of the Hamilton area, I believe. I first heard them in Toronto back in September and they blew me away with their live show. A great rock record for a first album. Sounds like early Bruce Springsteen with a little Big Sugar thrown in.

» Music Stream: MySpace

4: Offspring – Rise & Fall, Rage & Grace. Offspring gets a pretty bad rap from almost every other person alive. I may be one of the two people that still likes them, but I'm cool with that. Other than Pink's "So What", their two singles "Hammerhead" and "You’re Gonna Go Far, Kid" may have been the two most fun songs I heard this year. Can I take a moment and tell you how much I enjoyed that Pink song? Friggin' awesome.

» YouTube: Hammerhead

3: Sloan – Parallel Play. This album was a little more toned down that the 30 track 2007 release Never Hear the End of It. Only 13 tracks this time. The first single and album opener "Believe" is a classic Sloan song if I ever heard one. Very familiar guitar riffs, but that’s what makes Sloan the band that they are. Could very well be the most unmistakable Canadian rock band out there. Next to say…Rush.

» MP3: I'm Not A Kid Anymore

2: The Trews – No Time For Later. I don’t think anybody thought I’d put this at number two instead of number one. It’s not my favourite of the Trews’ albums but it is the best one musically. The bitchin' first single "Hold Me in Your Arms" deserves a spot in Guitar Hero and the addition of a keyboard player to the band brings out a little more to songs like "Paranoid Freak", "I Can’t Stop Laughing", and "Man of Two Minds". The best song on the album is "Burning Wheels" and it was basically written to end off every live show. The Trews refer to it as their "Toys in the Attic".

» YouTube: Paranoid Freak

1: Raconteurs – Consolers of the Lonely. My favourite album of the year was only accentuated by their live performance at Toronto’s Kool Haus on June 2^nd. The mix of Jack White’s seering guitar and screeching vocals and Brenden Benson bringing a polar opposite made for some bad ass rock tunes. From "Hold Up" the song that sounds like a speeding train down the rails, to the softer "Rich Kid Blues", Consolers of the Lonely is a sweet combo of rock and rhythm and an awesome CD for a road trip.

» Music Stream: MySpace

Honourable mentions: REM – Accelerate, Rise Against – Appeal to Reason, Disturbed – Indestructable and Britney Spears – Circus. Fuck yeah I liked her album.

Minotaur Shock - Accelerated Footage

» Download MP3

I was a little late to the game when it comes to discovering Minotaur Shock (aka U.K.-based electronic musician David Edwards). I remember hearing a couple of remixes that he did and thinking they were cool, but I didn't stumble across his album Maritime until a year or two after it had been released. I'm definitely glad I did though. For the most part he produces fairly chilled out instrumental tracks, often mixing in horns, violins and other instrumentation. I could see this being too close to techno for some people, and too aimlessly ambient for others, but somehow it hits the right sweet spot for me. Each song has just enough of a hook to keep me coming back for more. You can download the new album Amateur Dramatics over on the official site for about $12 U.S., or you can pay for individual songs based on complex criteria such as technical difficulty, additional musicians and replay value! How's that for putting a price tag on art?

» Bonus Track: BATS
» Buy it online

Polysics - Digital Coffee

» Download MP3

Every time I turn around, there's a wacky new album from Tokyo's Polysics out there, waiting to be discovered -- the only problem is tracking down an actual copy of it. Although they've had a few brief brushes with North American success, for the most part they are just content to pump out new releases over in Japan where they have a pretty big following (their label, Ki/oon Records, is owned by Sony). Their last two albums, Karate House, and now We Ate The Machine, have both been released on MySpace Records here in North America, but I don't think many people have had a chance to hear them. We Ate The Machine is their 8th full length album, and they certainly aren't showing any signs of mellowing out (the track "Digital Coffee" is about as appropriately titled as you can get). I'm pretty stoked to be seeing these guys in Toronto next month to ring in my 30th birthday!

» Bonus Track: Blue Noise
» Bonus Track: Pretty Good
» Buy it on Amazon

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