Nicklist #2

Hey there blog readers.  I’m a little short on time today, so I apologize if this seems a tad bit rushed.  I’m going to 1.) watch the Lakers vs. Bucks game with a friend and then 2.) go see a midnight showing of True Grit (which hopefully I will review tomorrow).  Once again I fulfill my promise of doing a weekly post.  I think the blog has gotten a lot more active the last few weeks, and honestly I’m loving it.  There is a feeling of obligation, I guess, but Nicklists and Records of the Week are so easy to do that there’s still that element of fun.

By the way this is something I’ve discussed before – if you have anything at all to say, please leave a comment.  It’s always fun to read them, and it’d also be cool to have some interaction involved with these posts.  Also, remember to like my blog on facebook (link in the sidebar).

1.) “Example” – Curren$y (from 2010′s Pilot Talk)

This is probably one of the most enjoyable rap beats I’ve heard this year.  Lyrically it’s not the most amazing song, but anyone could rap over this beat and make it sound good, even a nerdy white guy like me (ok, probably not).  The layed distorted guitar totally invokes 70s rock music, and it’s a really cool angle for a rap song.  Just when you get used to that  great sound, the guitar drops out and some soft synth comes in.  I’m a huge fan of variations in rap beats, and this song really does that well.  On the radio there’s just too much rapping over repetitive beats, and it’s refreshing to hear something like this.

2.) “A Minor Place” – Bonnie “Prince” Billy (from 1999′s I See A Darkness)

I first checked out this album when I saw it on “Pitchfork’s Top 100 Albums of the 1990s” list.  It was one of two albums (along with The Flaming Lips’ The Soft Bulliten which I have since heard) that I hadn’t heard before, so I had to check it out.  It’s a deceptively simple song, but try singing along to the chorus – which has a bunch of harmonies that kind of blend in and out of eachother – and it’s easy to realize how well-written the song is.  I was looking up lyrics to this song and I read an interpretation that it’s glorifying the depressive state people sometimes get into – because that “minor place” is just a reminder that there is happiness in the world.  I think I like that a lot.

3.) “Undertow” – Warpaint (from 2010′s The Fool)

This is probably my favorite single released all year.  It’s really crazy to see how much Warpaint has changed and grown as artists, and how well known they’ve gotten on an international level.  I first heard about them in 2007-2008 as a local LA band.  They’ve always been really great at blending their voices together, and combine that with the reverb on this song and it really sounds like a choir, rather than just three girls, singing.  The song is really laid back and atmospheric as well – “shoegazy” I guess you could say, which I like.

4.) “All I Want For Christmas Is You” – Mariah Carey (from 1994′s Merry Christmas)

This song is without a doubt in my top three Christmas songs, and since Christmas is in four days I figured I’d continue the trend of including holiday songs in my NickLists (at least until the hoildays are over).  What really makes me love this song is the arrangement.  It just works so well with Carey’s vocals.  And the subject matter is something I think a lot of people can relate with, including me.  No matter how many awesome gifts you get, how much does it really mean if that special person isn’t there on Christmas with you?  (Yes I am getting analytical up in this bitch.  But it’s a huge reason why I enjoy the song.)  It’s the kind of song that I can listen to three or four times in a row during the holiday season – that’s how much I dig it.

5.) Tragic Girl – Weezer (from 2010′s Pinkerton Deluxe)

“Tragic Girl” is pretty much a microcosm of the entire Pinkerton era of Weezer.  This unreleased, forgotten track was released on the deluxe version of the album that came out this year (the original came out in 1996).  It has a lot of elements of Pinkerton – even some similar melodies and chord progressions – and pretty much sounds like classic Weezer.  It’s also one of their most interestingly structured songs.