Heavy Rotation – January 2010 | Sparrow Hall - Transmedia Author & Brand Developer

Heavy Rotation – January 2010

The French Kicks

Keep Your Teeth Sharp / Mr. Fogg
Love In The Ruins / The French Kicks
A-Punk / Vampire Weekend
We Are The People (Terrestrial Super Receiver Remix) / Empire of the Sun
Monkey / George Michael
Symphonies (Passion Pit Remix) / Dan Black
Seein Red / Unwritten Law
I Miss You / Blink 182
My Number / Tegan & Sara
Let The Drummer Kick / Citizen Cope

Apparently I’ve been getting in touch with my inner twenty-three-year-old with all this early 2000′s emo/screamo I’ve been listening to. Case in point:

I just like that he dances in it.

And then, of course, there’s my Blink 182 guilty pleasure. I only wish more of their music was like this. And yes, I like Tom DeLonge‘s vocals on it.

On the 2010 side of things, I just discovered an electro artist out of the UK that I’m liking a lot – both for his music and branding campaign. Meet Mr. Fogg.

What better way to launch an album, than to create a store? (Manned, of course, by stylish Japanese girls)

Seems like I showed up a bit late to the party on the French Kicks. I randomly picked up their album Swimming, based on the cover alone – and the fact that I’d heard somewhere that I should check them out.

The album is incredible, from cover to cover – consistent, lush, idiosyncratic. Like a more sophisticated Vampire Weekend. If you like the French Kicks track featured in this month’s playlist, chances are high that you’ll like the entire album. (I recently listened to it 5 times in a row on a bitter cold train from Toronto)

On a final note, I’d like to leave you with one of my favorite videos of all time. I remember being too young to know what the word “sexy” meant – or that I was allowed to connect it with a man writhing around in suspenders. But here he is, in all his glory. I don’t know anyone else who could pull off this hat quite like George.