10 song catchup: vampire weekend, fleet foxes, duffy, adele, coldplay, noah and the whale, the chemical brothers, bloc party, mates of state, css

it's been a wonderfully strange busy summer for me careerwise and in the process, i am the first to admit that wongie's music blog has suffered along the way (ok, we basically stopped posting for two months). hopefully with fall coming, i'll be able to deal with some much needed time management and have this site back up and running regularly. if you've missed me, then here's a quickie treat of some gems that i've been in love with the past few months. more of these big postings to come this weekend, so come back again will ya!


vampire weekend - cape cod kwassa kwassa
[can you believe that we're already on single #4 off their self titled album? currently wowing them across the pond on the festival circuit, i can't wait to hear new material (fans post on youtube please!). want more vampire weekend, check out the awesome blog pretty much amazing for a lovely cover of fleetwood mac's classic song "everywhere"]


fleet foxes - white winter hymnal
[i can honestly listen to this song on a continuous loop for a good 5-6 times a day. call me choir nerd or just plain dorky, but this multi part vocal tune is just sweetly mesmerizing (still have no clue what they're singing about), much like the rest of their self titled album.]


duffy - stepping stone
[by the summer, i kind of put duffy's rockferry album aside (since i practically went to sleep with it every night throughout the spring), but all it takes is a simple moody video that brings her back in my good books. love loVE LOVE this song!]


adele - hometown glory
[the song is easily a year old, but a moving performance on so you think you can dance and the fact that the song got re-released in the uk just brought this tune back on my radar. if you haven't picked up adele's debut album 19 by now, then you really should drop everything and buy it now. i'm just saying...


coldplay - viva la vida
[the band kind of bum me out, but you can't deny just how amazing this single is. taken off the album viva la vida.]


noah and the whale - 5 years time
[the most 'fun fun fun' tune of the summer don't you think? this track might sound familiar to you stateside as the whistles playing alongside the current run of saturn car commercials. but for the rest of the world, appreciate the fact that you get to hear this daily on your top 40 radio. taken off the equally cute debut album peaceful the world lays me down.]


the chemical brothers - midnight madness
[taken off their upcoming 2cd collection brotherhood (you can also buy the solo singles only album which DOESN'T feature the full electronic battle weapon series, in which this track is taken off of) the chems celebrate their amazing career with all the hits that have rocked your speakers for the past 13 years. brilliant really.]


bloc party - mercury
[after announcing they were going to release a new album for the fall, bloc party jumped their own gun and put out intimacy as a digital release a few days later. oh the wacky world of music these days! if the fabulous current single is an indicator of what to expect, then go and get the album now!]


mates of state - my only offer
[cute cute cute song by the husband and wife team! taken off their equally sweet album re-arrange us]


css - left behind
[oh the freaky avant garde world of cansei de ser sexy, can you just imagine what an everyday conversation with this 5 piece must be like? hm... my head implodes just thinking of it. taken off their new album donkey (which rocks!!!)]

songs we like: the cribs - men's needs (original AND css remix)

i have to admit that sometimes even I'M overwhelmed by the amount of one name bands that the UK seems to throw at us every week. since hype is their middle name (especially on that NME), many of these acts kind of blend together in the end, crossing each other out.

such was the case with the cribs, a group consisting of brothers gary, ryan (twins!) and ross. already on their 3rd album men's needs, women's needs, whatever (you see, that's how far off my radar they were!), the alex kapranos (franz ferdinand) produced collection is a wonderfully catchy release that finally broke through my barrier. better late than never, check out their awesome 1st single below:

the cribs - men's needs [link 2]

hopefully now that you're a fan, you should DEFINITELY check out this kicking remix by Cansei de Ser Sexy!

the cribs - men's needs (css remix) [link 2]
[thanks to discobelle and forkcast for the introductory tip!]

new video wednesday: lcd soundsystem, bobby valentino, css

lcd soundsystem - all my friends (franz ferdinand cover)
[is it me, or does james murphy look more and more like peter gabriel? so weird!]


bobby valentino feat timbaland - anonymous
[the whole timbaland sound is starting to get tired, but dammit is this song catchy! argh!]


CSS - alcohol
[love the photos taken when these puppets are drunk! hilarious!]