The Mixtape 3/27/09

The big news this week is the return of Silversun Pickups. They come flying back from a two-year absence with "Panic Switch," the first single off Swoon which drops April 14. The song, which flies up from #30-#8 in its second week, recalls the SP sound from their last album Carnavas, which in turn recalls another SP - Smashing Pumpkins. But while Billy Corgan clings to the legacy of his band, it crumbles around him. Drummer Jimmy Chamberlin recently quit, leaving only mad scientist Corgan as the remaining original member. Pumpkin fans need not fear, just listen to Silversun Pickups and your appetite for walls of guitar and loud/soft/loud dynamics will be satiated. The single is destined to move up the Mixtape in the weeks to come and having heard the new record recently, it's a safe bet that other Swoon tracks will follow.

Also making a dramatic leap into the top ten is Great Northern's "Houses." GN cracked the 'Tape last year but only managed to hit 39 with "Telling Lies." "Houses" destroys that mark as it moves from 29-10 in its third week on the chart.

Other than those two giant jumps, the Mixtape doesn't see too much action. Phoenix moves respectably to #21 from last week's #28 and could find a spot in the top ten soon. That's the top ten where the #1-#6 have been occupied by the same songs for the past month. But what goes up always comes down here and Glasvegas (#12's "Go Square Go") seems to be the only likely threat in the near future for reaching single digit status.

Five new entries land in the 35-40 range this week; all first time Mixtape appearances. On the horizon for next week are Dan Deacon's "Of The Mountain" and Mt. St. Helens Vietnam Band's "Who's Asking?" And of course, those Silversun Pickup songs off Swoon. See you next week.

1. Zero / Yeah Yeah Yeahs (2 weeks @ #1) iTunes MySpace
2. Now I'm a Fool / Eagles of Death Metal iTunes MySpace
3. Ghetto Love / Spinnerette iTunes MySpace
4. The Rake's Song / The Decemberists iTunes MySpace
5. Seaside / Kestrels iTunes MySpace
6. Now We Can See / The Thermals iTunes MySpace
7. Night Lights / Golden Bear iTunes MySpace
8. Panic Switch / Silversun Pickups iTunes MySpace
   
9. Providence, RI / Nickel Eye iTunes MySpace
10. Houses / Great Northern iTunes MySpace
11. My Maudlin Career / Camera Obscura iTunes MySpace
12. Go Square Go / Glasvegas iTunes MySpace
13. Perfect Games / The Broken West iTunes MySpace
14. Come Saturday / The Pains of Being Pure at Heart iTunes MySpace
15. My Girls / Animal Collective iTunes MySpace
16. Starting Over / Black Lips iTunes MySpace
17. My Last Mistake / Dan Auerbach iTunes MySpace
18. Sleepyhead / Passion Pit iTunes MySpace
19. Brother Sport / Animal Collective iTunes Myspace
20. Wire to Wire / Razorlight iTunes MySpace
21. 1901 / Phoenix iTunes MySpace
22. Search and Destroy / Peaches iTunes MySpace
23. One Week of Danger / The Virgins iTunes MySpace
24. Hang You From the Heavens / The Dead Weather iTunes Official Site
25. Wrong / Depeche Mode iTunes MySpace
26. Nothing to Worry About / Peter, Bjorn, and John iTunes MySpace
27. Airport Surroundings / loney, dear iTunes MySpace
28. Sleeping Sickness / City and Colour iTunes MySpace
29. Drugs In My Body / Thieves Like Us iTunes MySpace
30. No You Girls / Franz Ferdinand iTunes MySpace
31. Buddy / Iran iTunes MySpace
32. I'm Outta Time / Oasis iTunes MySpace
33. Kite Fight/ Hotels iTunes MySpace
34. Statues / Clap Your Hands Say Yeah iTunes MySpace
35. Rain On/ Woods iTunes MySpace
36. Cheerleader / Grizzly Bear iTunes MySpace
37. The Ancient Common Sense of Things / Bishop Allen iTunes MySpace
38. Cemetery Songs / The Archibalds iTunes MySpace
39. Just Impolite / Plushgun iTunes MySpace
40. Pulling On a Line / Great Lake Swimmers iTunes MySpace

The Mixtape 3/17/09 - Chicks in Charge, Eagles Redux, and Jack's Back!

As was projected a couple weeks ago, the ladies are still in charge of The Mixtape, but they are getting some company from the usual suspects. Brody Dalle's new project, Spinnerette, remains on top for a third week while the Yeah Yeah Yeahs are hanging in for a third week at number two. Dalle's husband, Queens of the Stone Age's all-around main dude Josh Homme, is threatening to knock his wife from the top with his side project, Eagles of Death Metal.

The top three this week evoke thoughts of the seventies. Yeah-cubed lead singer Karen O's vocal style and attitude brings to the mind post-punk female singer archetype Debbie Harry, who broke through with Blondie in 1979, the same year that Spinnerette's Dalle was born. Eagles of Death Metal, a joke description of what Homme wanted the bound to sound like, actually sounds more like the Eagles than he probably would have imagined on "Now I'm a Fool." Perched at number three this week, the song's laid-back acoustic vibe is reminiscent of The Eagles', "Take It Easy," while the lyrics crib from the Eagles unofficial mission statement: California is a beast that will chew you up and spit you out if you let it.

Jack "Busiest damn man in music" White returns with his third band, the newly formed The Dead Weather. The Kills lead singer, Alison Mosshart, handles the vocals while Jack pulls a Meg and mans the drumkit for a change. Is there anything this guy can't do? The band's first single, "Hang You From the Heavens," mines similar fuzzed-out blues/rock territory as White's other musical enterprises - White Stripes and Raconteurs - while Mosshart's vocals have the same immediacy as Mr. White's often do. It enters at #27 and should go nowhere but up from here. Also new on the 'Tape this week: new singles from Franz Ferdinand, Glasvegas, Super Furry Animals, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, and Great Northern.

Happy St. Patrick's Day everyone. It's the only day when random pinching, drinking green beer, and eating corned beef and cabbage are simultaneously in vogue.

1. Ghetto Love / Spinnerette (3 weeks at #1) iTunes MySpace
2. Zero / Yeah Yeah Yeahs iTunes MySpace
3. Now I'm a Fool / Eagles of Death Metal iTunes MySpace
4. The Rake's Song / The Decemberists iTunes MySpace
5. Seaside / Kestrels iTunes MySpace
6. Now We Can See / The Thermals iTunes MySpace
7. Night Lights / Golden Bear iTunes MySpace
8. My Girls / Animal Collective iTunes MySpace
9. Providence, RI / Nickel Eye iTunes MySpace
10. Sleepyhead / Passion Pit iTunes MySpace
11. My Maudlin Career / Camera Obscura iTunes MySpace
12. Nothing to Worry About / Peter, Bjorn, and John iTunes MySpace
13. Perfect Games / The Broken West iTunes MySpace
14. Airport Surroundings / loney, dear iTunes MySpace
15. Come Saturday / The Pains of Being Pure at Heart iTunes MySpace
16. Starting Over / Black Lips iTunes MySpace
17. Brother Sport / Animal Collective iTunes Myspace
18. I'm Outta Time / Oasis iTunes MySpace
19. Drugs In My Body / Thieves Like Us iTunes MySpace
20. That Beep / Architecture in Helsinki iTunes MySpace
21. One Week of Danger / The Virgins iTunes MySpace
22. Wire to Wire / Razorlight iTunes MySpace
23. Sleeping Sickness / City and Colour iTunes MySpace
24. Search and Destroy / Peaches iTunes MySpace
25. My Last Mistake / Dan Auerbach iTunes MySpace
26. Go Square Go / Glasvegas iTunes MySpace
27. Hang You From the Heavens / The Dead Weather iTunes Official Site
    
28. Dead and Gone / TI (w/ Justin Timberlake) iTunes MySpace
29. That's Not My Name / The Ting Tings iTunes MySpace
30. Wrong / Depeche Mode iTunes MySpace
31. 1901 / Phoenix iTunes MySpace
32. Daylight / Matt & Kim iTunes MySpace
33. Houses / Great Northern iTunes MySpace
34. No You Girls / Franz Ferdinand iTunes MySpace
35. White Noise Melody / The Whore Moans iTunes MySpace
36. Lakeside / BLK JKS iTunes MySpace
    
37. Statues / Clap Your Hands Say Yeah iTunes MySpace
38. Kite Fight/ Hotels iTunes MySpace
39. Buddy / Iran iTunes MySpace
40. Inaugural Trams/ Super Furry Animals iTunes MySpace
    

The Mixtape 3/4/09 - This One's For the Ladies

Female vocalists seemingly rule the worlds of mainstream hip-hop and pop music. This very moment, Billboard is populated with songs by Beyonce, Britney, Kelly Clarkson, Rihanna, Pink, Katy Perry, and let's not forget the Pussycat Dolls. Scratch that. Totally forget the Dolls. The point is women currently dominate popular music. Country too. Taylor Swift and Carrie Underwood are two of the biggest selling artists of any musical genre right now. And barring any kind of Britney-esque meltdown, they have many years of big sales ahead.

This isn't a new phenomenon by any means. Sisters have been doing it for themselves for years. Diana Ross and Aretha Franklin are synonymous with 60's soul. Carole King, Donna Summer, and Barbara Streisand all took different musical paths in the 70s, yet all met with career-defining and record-breaking success. When Madonna wasn't dominating the 80's, she shared the spotlight with Whitney Houston and Janet Jackson. Mariah Carey, Shania Twain, and Alanis Morissette sold enough combined records in the 90s to equal the GNP of some countries.

Women equal big business in the music industry. Things are a bit different in The Mixtape's world though. The ladies of indie-rock are a different breed than present-day pop queens. Their numbers may not be as great as they are this week, but acts like MIA, Santigold, and Rilo Kiley have been making their presence felt the last year. This week, women take over. Spinnerette, essentially former Distillers frontwoman Brody Dalle's Whitesnake, and the Karen O-led Yeah Yeah Yeahs both debuted in the top five last week. That's amazing in itself, but even more so considering that the last time two female acts were in the top five together was, well, it's been a reallllly long time. This week, both bands occupy the top two slots on the 'Tape and shouldn't have trouble setting up shop there for the immediate future. The Yeah Yeah Yeahs' new album drops next week and will no doubt be part of many critics' album of the year discussion. The Mixtape's too. Spinnerette may hold the top spot this week, but the YYYs are the biggest, and maybe only, threat to "Ghetto Love's" reign.

Ladies are all over this week's Mixtape. Katie White and the Ting Tings are on the way down after reaching #3 a few weeks back. Architecture In Helsinki's Kellie Sutherland sings about "That Beep" as the song slowly ascends the chart. Tracyanne Campbell's vocals are the heart and soul of Camera Obscura, who is approaching the top ten for the second time with their latest, "My Maudlin Career." The Heartless Bastards, led by the ragged soul of Erika Wennerstrom, see their first action on the 'Tape as does Peaches who debuts at 40 this week with a cover of The Stooges' "Search and Destroy," taken from the recently released War Child Heroes benefit compilation.

1. Ghetto Love / Spinnerette (1 week at #1) iTunes MySpace
2. Zero / Yeah Yeah Yeahs iTunes MySpace
3. The Rake's Song / The Decemberists iTunes MySpace
4. Now We Can See / The Thermals iTunes MySpace
5. My Girls / Animal Collective iTunes MySpace
6. Now I'm a Fool / Eagles of Death Metal iTunes MySpace
7. Sleepyhead / Passion Pit iTunes MySpace
8. Nothing to Worry About / Peter, Bjorn, and John iTunes MySpace
9. Dead and Gone / TI (w/ Justin Timberlake) iTunes MySpace
10. I'm Outta Time / Oasis iTunes MySpace
11. Providence, RI / Nickel Eye iTunes MySpace
12. My Maudlin Career / Camera Obscura iTunes MySpace
13. Perfect Games / The Broken West iTunes MySpace
14. Drugs In My Body / Thieves Like Us iTunes MySpace
15. Language City / Wolf Parade iTunes MySpace
16. Daylight / Matt & Kim iTunes MySpace
17. Airport Surroundings / loney, dear iTunes MySpace
18. That's Not My Name / The Ting Tings iTunes MySpace
19. White Noise Melody / The Whore Moans iTunes MySpace
20. Night Lights / Golden Bear iTunes MySpace
21. Sleeping Sickness / City and Colour iTunes MySpace
22. Seaside / Kestrels iTunes MySpace
23. That Beep / Architecture in Helsinki iTunes MySpace
24. Come Saturday / The Pains of Being Pure at Heart iTunes MySpace
25. Jetstream / Doves iTunes MySpace
26. Stolen Shoes & a Rifle / Blitzen Trapper iTunes MySpace
27. Starting Over / Black Lips iTunes MySpace
28. Wire to Wire / Razorlight iTunes MySpace
29. One Week of Danger / The Virgins iTunes MySpace
30. You've Got Your Friends... / In Endeavors iTunes MySpace
31. Sunlight / Harlem Shakes iTunes MySpace
32. The Mountain / Heartless Bastards iTunes MySpace
33. Nothing Ever Happened / Deerhunter iTunes MySpace
34. Wind Phoenix / Cymbals Eat Guitars iTunes MySpace
35. Now You're Gone / Secret Machines iTunes MySpace
36. Never Trust My Heart / The Points iTunes MySpace
37. Lover's Day / TV on the Radio iTunes MySpace
38. Brother Sport / Animal Collective iTunes Myspace
39. Wrong / Depeche Mode iTunes MySpace
40. Search and Destroy / Peaches iTunes MySpace