So I am driving to work this morning and my 1st gen iPhone is now my “car stereo” and while on some form of random and I start to get a bit of a beat.  I sit there in traffic dumbfounded and wondering what has happened?  Has some DJ hacked my home network and placed music that is over 60bpm into my iTunes library?  Even worse, did somebody say “mash up”?  I immediately decided to beef up my encryption of my wireless network key at home….

Okay, so all jest aside, it was some Justice remix that came on and I didn’t press forward.  I know what you are saying here “…but Sandy, where is the acoustic guitar and an ‘in the gutter’ Texan troubadour?”.  Well friends, those folks are nowhere in sight today – its Monday and I need a pick me up.

The pick me up is from TOR who you may remember from his Sufjan Stevens mix-tape adventure (see my post here).  This time it is only a single track and it is Final Fantasy vs. Q-tip, and I am not afraid to say that it really works and I have been listening to it a lot since receiving it a few weeks back.  All I can say is take a listen and enjoy your Monday!

“The CN Tower can work it out (Final Fantasy f. Q-Tip)” – TOR

Visit TOR on his website here for more samples of his mix mastery – HERE.

~Smansmith

So in thinking to myself the other day, I started to put too much weight behind thinking I was an “indie” music blogger.  I was thinking about the fact that I do consider myself an “indie” blogger more or less, if in fact that term is still relevant this day (for example, when is “indie rock”, just going to be “rock”?).  What I mean is the fine line between simply being indie and enjoying it and being indie with an elitism edge.  I have found myself discovering that I might be an indie elitist.  Being an indie style band isn’t enough, you have to be ultra indie – as in very few people even know of your band at all in order to be independent.  Am I contributing to worthy bands not getting their fair due?

What I am getting at, is that I find myself staying away from artists that become mainstream indie.  Bands that (in blogger circles) might be an “it” band.  “What is all the fuss?” I say, “Why is everyone posting that same song?” I am found uttering to myself.  I think I might on purpose ignore a band that is getting too much blog press in some bastardized version of thinking it is now mainstream, and hence I can’t like it.  There is much talk on this topic over many a forum board, but I think the fact that I am even thinking it, simply makes me guilty.  Oh well, guilty I am – I am an Indie Elitist.  Not that it makes a difference coming from some dude in Canada on his mellow singer songwriter blog…

“Make it up to the bands I don’t cover” Mixtape

“Zero” – Yeah Yeah Yeahs
“Pillar of Salt” – The Thermals
“Meddle” – Little Boots
“Get On Your Boots (Justice Mix) – U2
“Cheerleader” – Grizzly Bear
“1901″ – Phoenix
“Daniel” – Bat For Lashes
“Miss It So Much” – Royksopp

*I just couldn’t bring myself to put Kanye on…I mean I don’t mind a bit of Kanye once and a while, but I just couldn’t do it.

So I am having this be my on the road playlist for my weekend (to and from only, not at destination) – and you never know, I just might like most of it – and try not to ignore bands just because of the blog hype.  Honestly I don’t mind the Bat For Lashes and Grizzly Bear already.  The rest can be an okay listen, but maybe just not Slowcoustic enough for this blogger…but can’t I electro-rock out once and a while?

In the end, promoting or discussing music on it’s merits alone is what I am here for right?  …Oh, wait, that and talking about unknown bands that actually need the hype…maybe next week for them.

~Smansmith

So nothing in depth, no interviews, no insight, no commentary.
Thursday Mash, hits the spot.

Frontier Ruckus – “You, What You Are (demo)”
The Decemberists – “Here I Dreamt I Was An Architecht”
Polly Scattergood – “Nitrogen Pink”
Shearwater – “White Waves”
Amiina – “Lori”
Neko Case – “Hold On, Hold On”

~Smansmith