The legendary Bettie Page - RIP beautiful lady
INDIE BANDS!!! I remember when this meant 4 guys in a garage jamming away. Not bad, but these days it can mean anything. This month is heavy on some of my faves in the indie band/artist category. Great for summer cookouts or just wine on the dock. Hopefully some of these artists will be touring over the summer! Click HERE to listen on Spotify!
1. Fools Gold (Fitz & the Tantrums) - I'm pretty sure Jill was the one who turned me on to this awesome band! They are back and still rocking their late 60's/early 70's vibe, but now with a more contemporary edge than their previous album.
2. Say So (Allen Stone) - Self described "hippie with soul" seems to be channeling Stevie Wonder on this upbeat R&B tune.
3. I Second That Emotion (Japan) - I'd have bet the farm that this was Bryan Ferry and Roxy Music. Not too far off, though. I had them on my Feb 2012 playlist, and now they're back again covering Smoky Robinson & the Miracles. Not a new band, but still a great band.
4. Dream Machine (Tesla Boy) - Newest jam from a band Gary turned me on to. Feels like you're soaring thru outer space! If you are on Spotify and dig EDM (electronic dance music), subscribe to his Heavy Rotation playlist. It's great.
5. Asteroids (Wussy) - Did someone mention outer space? Watch out for those asteroids!!! Wussy is one of my personal fave Indie bands, from the 'Nati. Love the trippy 60's sounds.
6. Love Me Two Times (The Doors) - Okay, this is feeling very stream of conscious - but speaking of trippy 60's sounds (!) we lost Ray Manzarek last month. The Doors would not have been The Doors without his incredible keyboards. RIP.
7. Mother (Natalie Maines) - Dixie Chick warbles Pink Floyd! It's interesting when women cover this tune - not a very flattering representation of their gender. This is my favorite cover of this song since Sinead O'Connor did it back in 1990 for "The Wall Live in Berlin" concert.
8. Weight (Mikal Cronin) - Perky old-school garage rock from American Singer/Songwriter.
9. No Destruction (Foxygen) - I'm not gonna lie. They had me at Foxygen. But I was also happy to listen to their marijuana hazy, Dylan-esque music. Totally reminds me of college.
10. Girls Like You (The Naked & Famous) - Indie synth-pop from New Zealand with a delicious blend of Aaron Short & Alisa Xyalith's vocals.
11. Gasoline (Alpine) - Groovy Australian electronica with sexy female vocals.
12. We Belong Together/It Ain't Over til It's Over (S.I.R. Remix) - (Mariah Carey vs. Lenny Kravitz) - Awesome mash-up of two classic R&B songs. Free download HERE.
13. All Kinds of Guns (Tilly & the Wall) - Another fave Indie band. Love their 60's wall-of-sound stylings. Their earlier stuff actually used a tap dancer (yes, you read that right) as their percussionist - but I guess that was starting to feel gimmicky so they've moved into more traditional means of keeping the beat.
14. Make It Out This Town (Eve feat. Gabe Saporta) - Eve is back to Blow Ya Mind for a second time - this time with an assist from Cobra Starship lead singer Gabe Saporta.
15. Stay Out (Nina Nesbitt) - Scottish Singer/Songwriter delivers some folk pop from across the pond.
16. Easy Is Hard (Friska Viljor) - Indie Rock from Sweden!!! Awfully sunny tune from a country that I imagine is fairly chilly.
17. Say Say (Youngblood Hawke) - Upbeat Indie Pop from California band with soaring chorale refrains.
18. Can't Pretend (Tom Odell) - This guy sounds way too mature and world-weary to only be 22 years old!!! Winner of the BRITS Critics' Choice Awards earlier this year.
19. I Hope You're the End of My Story (Pistol Annies) - I love me some Miranda Lambert!!! When she's not singing her own stuff or teaming up with John Fogerty on his Creedence Clearwater Revival revival, she's joining her friends to make more great music. Here she's with Angaleena Presley and Ashley Monroe (who just sang with Train on "Bruises", see March 2013 playlist) creating gorgeous harmonies on this simple acoustic ballad.
So that's June! Hope everyone's summer is off to a great start and we'll see you next month!
