tsururadio.

TSURURADIO Presents… MIXTAPES WEEK: [ ...Living, Breathing, Dying... ] by nelso!!!

April 9, 2010

Illustration by Mike

Oh my, what a week we’ve had so far, eh? Honestly, I didn’t know if I’d be able to keep MIXTAPES WEEK going all week! So many hyperlinks… so little time! But alas, here we are, Friday, and we’ve got yet another amazing mixtape to share with you. Also, waiting in the wings for my Crane Buddy to receive her Crane’s Day gift is the mixtape I made for her! It’s a doozy that I plan on sharing with you ASAP, but she gets dibs on listening first, sorry — wouldn’t be all that special if I let you go before her, right?

Right.

Okay, as much as I hate to keep this short, it’s looking to be a nutty day today, it’s chilly outside, Baby’s sick, and dammit, I’m going to get a little lunchtime ride in to spin some ache out of my legs before a big (maybe 100 miler) ride tomorrow! So, let’s get to the good stuff, eh? And by good stuff, of course I’m talking about [...Living, Breathing, Dying...] by nelso!

“Ahh life is all about balance, this mix has balance, in tempo, up and down, its living, its breathing, and eventually dying…” says nelso, so true, about life, about this mixtape, about damn near everything. I will also add that life is about lines, it’s just one line after another sometimes, isn’t? Line up at the stop light, line up in the lane on the interstate, line up at the exit, line up to park, line up for some coffee, line up to pay, line up to even leave! Ugh.

Sorry, I digressed there, I really hate lines.

Fortunately, this mixtape is NOT about lines. It’s at times whimsical, then fun, then slow & introspective, sometimes a interesting mix of all of the above, like “Whale In The Night” by Firs. As nelso said, it ebbs, it flows, it’s up & down, as is all things, and it’s quite brilliant. A wonderful conclusion to a rather ebb & flow kinda week if you ask me! Thank you so much nelso! So what say you? Shall we get ‘er on? Yeah, I think so too.

TSURURADIO Presents… MIXTAPES WEEK!

[ ...Living, Breathing, Dying... ] by nelso!!!

1. Annuals – Springtime
2. Mesita – Living/breathing
3. Shout Out Louds – Very Loud
4. Nurses – Technicolor
5. French Kicks – She Said So
6. Rosie and Me – Bonfires
7. Bedroom Eyes – Dancing Under Influence
8. Firs – Whale In The Night
9. Beach House – Lover of Mine
10. Ramona Falls – Russia
11. Mimicking Birds – Burning Stars
12. Peasant – The End
13. The Spinto Band – Jackhammer (slim version)
14. All Get Out – Wasting All My Breath
15. Local Natives – Cards and Quarters
16. Wye Oak – My Creator
17. She & Him – Riding In My Car (NRBQ)
18. Fanfarlo – Comets
19. The Farewell Circuit – The Inexorable March of Time
20. Bon Iver – Come Talk to Me

Thanks again, so so so much, nelso!!! Wonderful, wonderful mixtape, as always!!! No promises (like I said, I may be riding 100 miles tomorrow for the 38th annual Woodstock COP ride), but I’ll try to get at least one more up before we start a-new on Monday!!!

Cheers & may all your tubes full of air!

Tsuru

Thanks NPR for She & Him, but now it’s time for Shady Retreat by Peasant

March 16, 2010

By Tsuru

Photography by rinoatimber

I was going to try something a little different today. After yesterday’s She & Him love fest, I saw on the twitters someone comment on how after Merge kept She & Him to themselves to protect the possible leak, they let NPR stream it thereby creating the leak! Pretty funny.

So, I headed over to NPR to see what other potential leaks are there. There was Gorillaz, Joanna Newsom, & Frightened Rabbits, all already leaked out and about and on various iPods throughout the world. Thanks NPR! But there was a new one up from the band Archie Bronson Outfit called Coconuts.

I loaded it up, ready to do some sort of live review either here on on twitter, but two songs in I’m just too annoyed to bother. I think we’ll wait until a more “anticipated leak” shows up and we’ll do it then. Dear god, need to turn this off now. One sec.

There…. that’s better. That was rough.

But anyways, thanks again NPR for leaking out She & Him for us. Baby & I love it and it’s been on repeat since we woke up yesterday morning. I think my ice cream comparisons still hold! But alas it’s time to move on and maybe it’s the sun shining outside and Spring back on my mind, but I feel like keeping the sweet pop goodness going and Shady Retreat by Peasant is filling the bill perfectly!

Once again, just like She & Him yesterday, Shady Retreat — it’s sad, but I keep typing “Shady Retweet”, instead of Shady Retreat, DAMN YOU INTERNET!!!!! — will not “challenge your notions of what defines pop music” or whatever, this is simple folk/indie/pop, light, fun, and lovely. Sweet vocals (reminiscent to Loney Dear) and smart & light acoustic-based melodies & harmonies float up and into yer brain like (you ready for this) the rising sun (yeah, I went there). But yeah, seriously, this is sunrise/sunset music for a lovely Spring day and that’s exactly where my heart & head are at.

It’s funny, I see on the boards and twitters and facebooks and (insert social network here) some people question the need & room for another indie-folk-pop band, not against Peasant specifically, but in the “indie-as-genre” in general and to those people I say, “dude, what the fuck, man? why you trying to “harsh my vibe” as the kids say?” Look, good music is good music and there is no such thing as too much good music. That’s like saying there’s such a thing as too much sweet lovins!!! Does all sweet lovin-times have to be a progression into something challenging and abstract? People who complain about having too many indie-folk-pop bands are people who ain’t getting laid enough. The end.

Sorry for the distraction, that’s my brain. So, load up this gem, grab yer sweetie, get nekkid, & let the Spring sun peer into the windows of your bedroom and…. Enjoy!

1. Thinking
2. The Distance
3. Well Alright
4. The End
5. Pry
6. Prescriptions
7. Into The Woods
8. Tough
9. Hard Times
10. Slow Down?

Some Peasant love: Myspace | Label

Cheers,

Tsuru