WONGIE SONG OF THE WEEK: peter bjorn and john - breaker, breaker

peter bjorn and john - breaker, breaker
[this is 1'38" of pure joy by one of my favorite bands! it's as simple as that! if you like it as much as i do, go and grab the mp3 for free on their website!]

peter bjorn and john - it don't move me

peter bjorn and john - it don't move me

miss peter bjorn and john? here's a remedy! on the radar: peter moren - social competence (live at sxsw)

peter moren - social competence [link 2]
[even though peter bjorn and john pretty much contributed to the soundtrack of 2007, lead singer peter moran always had an inkling to record a side project of stripped down acoustic music that reminded him of the days playing with just his guitar in small random venues. called the last tycoon, this low key collection is not only sweet and gentle but also continues to showcase the wonderful songwriting abilities of the peter we grew to love last year.]

wongie top songs of 2007: #2 peter bjorn and john feat victoria bergsman - young folks

peter bjorn and john feat victoria bergsman - young folks [link 2]
[the whistle that was heard around the world, 'young folks' was yet another end of 2006 song that played like crazy in 2007 (it was definitely the soundtrack of spring playing in every bar/club/clothing store i walked into). definitely a close contender for my #1 song of the year.]

virgin music festival 2007: day 1 (aug 4)

concert day! my posse and i have been psyched about going to the virgin music festival for awhile, but something about getting up at 5am to drive to baltimore kind of put a grouchy damper on the days excitement (it didn't help that i was up until 3am watching the summer finale of degrassi high ... oh yes, i go there!).

but once we got to the venue all fatigue was forgotten as our group of 8 music lovers split up to check out bands and dj's throughout the three spaces.
first up for me were the fratellis. the scottish trio played at the 2nd stage to a relatively enthusiastic, but small crowd, of about 200-300 fans (it was also 1:30pm). what surprised me were the amount of young (like 14/15 young) kids who knew the lyrics to the band. i'm so used to seeing people my age at nyc's venues that checking out kids who rock is just weird.
the band zipped through their hits before playing a few new tracks that showcased a rockier sound, but with all their trademarked sweet harmonies thrown in.

the fratellis - flathead [link 2]
the fratellis - chelsea dagger [link 2]

amy winehouse was next, but things were getting increasingly hot that afternoon, so the group met up at the vip lounge (where drinks were plentiful and massive cooling fans were placed on the viewing decks). yeah, we wimped out by watching the wine-ster from afar. it wasn't the best performance cause amy sings through her album with pure nonchalance. imagine what she would sound like if she actually put some effort into it!
amy winehouse - rehab [link 2]
after stocking up on liquids, i braved the 102F weather and headed out to the dance tent to check out felix da housecat.

now it's been awhile since i've gone clubbing, but i completely forgot how these guys play to the masses at these large venues. repetitive beats were plentiful and vocals were left to a minimum. luckily felix started his set with some good ol classics to get the room going. i haven't heard this in awhile so it was worth the sweat!
the prodigy - smack my bitch up [link 2]
oh look, richard branson!
peter bjorn and john were already a few songs deep into their set before i made my way back to live music. since i already saw these boys at the beginning of summer, i kind of stayed back and just bopped my head to everything. looking around, i quickly gathered that most of the people watching hadn't had the spring of 'young folks' like i did. some girls started to do some freaky hippy dancing and i knew that it was my cue to go back to the vip lounge for more drinks.
peter bjorn & john - young folks [link 2]

oh the wacky people of music festivals!
on the way back to the lounge, i stopped through the dance tent once again to see the 'legendary' danny tenaglia.

now i'm totally dating myself, but back in my day danny was an AMAZING dj that worked the room into a tribal frenzy. house was his sound at the time, and i was hoping for something other than the techno i was hearing so far.

but what i got was worse. danny circa 2007 has become a friggin minstrel of a dj. standing in front the crowd making cheesy faces and dance moves, it was completely embarassing to see a legend boiled down to this monkey of a level. after two songs, i had to walk out.

looking at my watch, i realised that i didn't have enough time to go back to the lounge, so i rushed back to the 2nd stage to get as close to the front of the lcd soundsystem performance as possible.

lucky i did that cause i bumped into a friend en route who told me he had an extra pass to watch the whole concert from the stage!

walking behind the stage to go to the vip side, i passed by the completely unassuming and adorably stocky james murphy (aka the lead singer of the band) and gave him this big smile that was half 'oh my god, there he is' and 'oh yeah, i've been around celebrities before'. i think i just looked constipated as a result.

minutes later james went on stage and rocked easily gave the best performance of the day with his band of multi-instrumentalists. i've never been able to catch lcd in new york, so this performance exceeded all my expections. energetic, raw and darn funky, i basically got my dance on throughout the 50 minute set. amazing!

lcd soundsystem - time to get away [link 2]
lcd soundsystem - yeah [link 2]


finally got my wish to go back to the lounge for a rest, but the area was completely packed with other people who had the same idea.

with no place to chill, i went back out and caught some tv on the radio before it got too hot for me to handle (visual proof i was there for one song).

tv on the radio - wolf like me [link 2]

ducked into the dance tent to see old schoolers sasha and digweed do their thing (i use that term loosely since i'm probably only 7 or 8 years younger than they are).
i have to admit the grooves were addictive, but the heat was really getting me (and the fact that i hadn't found any place to rest was putting a strain on me). i just bopped slowly as the rest of the energetic (and probably chemically enhanced) kids went apeshit around me.
here's one of the tracks they played during the set:
the chemical brothers - do it again (oliver huntemann mix) [link 2]

nightfall offered no reprise as the heat and the increasing sandy dust just made it unbearable. which is a total shame because by the time the police came on, i had turned into a crabby tired evil festival go-er.
i do have to say that sting sounded pretty amazing but dammit, i was ready to go.
the police - roxanne [link 2]

end of day one!

best of 2007: fave acts so far (1/2 year report)

this has been an amazing music year so far with new stuff coming at me daily (much that i've shared back to you). but amoung the batch, a few acts have filtered through and kept on returning to my personal playlists.

since it feels like such a slow week, i figured now is probably the best time to re-introduce some of the artist highlights of 2007 from january to june (in no particular order):

[for friends and fans of wongie, you probably know the class of 2007 (so far) pretty well. but for the rest of you, hopefully you can discover some gems from the list below. also you may have noticed that wongie faves mika, amy winehouse, gossip and lily allen aren't here (since they were loved in 06, i kind of took them out of the lineup just cause i'm a stickler like that!)]

tracey thorn - raise the roof
siobhan donaghy - ghosts
just jack - i talk to much
loney, dear - saturday waits
peter bjorn & john - young folks
feist - my moon my man (boys noize remix)
rufus wainwright - sansoucci
rihanna - rehab
glen hansard & marketa irglova (ONCE the soundtrack) - falling slowly
lil mama - lip gloss (absorb the lip gloss mash up remix)
kate nash - foundations
mia - boyz
cherry ghost - 4am
sara bareilles - love song
a fine frenzy - almost lover
roisin murphy - overpowered

remix baby: peter bjorn and john - youngest folks (diplo best version)

cutie patootie dj/remixer/producer diplo must just sit around and remix peter bjork & john just to relax. i've already heard two versions in the past month of 'young folks' and this is the latest one that i got. geez...can anyone say obsessive?

peter bjorn & john - youngest folks (diplo best version) [link 2]

new (indie) video tuesday: nathan, sea wolf, peter bjorn and john, great lake swimmers

nathan - trans am
[hailing from Winnipeg, canada, this juno award winning band return from a long break with yet another collection of sweet folk inspired songs. their lovely album key principles deserves to be discovered by music loving folk like you!]


seawolf - you're a wolf (legal mp3 yo!)
[basically the creation of one man band alex church, sea wolf has been doing the rounds touring live for the past year before signing with dangerbird records in december. releasing the EP get to the river before it runs too low this week, looks like buzz momentum is finally happening with mtvu on board. thanks to ifmv for the tip.]


peter bjorn & john - up against the wall (unofficial video)
[a video installation tribute to the artist martin arnold, don't say we're not cultural here on wongie's music world!]


great lake swimmers - backstage with the modern dancers
[i have to admit that prior to watching this video, i've never heard of this canadian band. but after listening to a few tracks from their album ongiara i have to say that i'm very intrigued by them. ironically diehard fans of great lake swimmers have stated that this is actually their least favorite album (which means their previous releases must have been amazing!) gimme some time to discover this band and i'll report back to you soon.]

songs we like: peter bjorn and john - objects of my affection

peter bjorn and john - objects of my affection
[more awesome music from my favorite swedes of the moment. the album writer's block is only 9.97 on amazon at the moment, so you really have no excuse!]

songs we like: peter bjorn and john - young folk

peter bjorn and john - young folk (cousin cole re-edit)[thanks to discobelle for the subtle remix]
[this swedish band was all the blog rage last year, but i can't help but love this chirpy tune at the moment. in my ipod on serious repeat, if you haven't heard my current fave band, then nows a good time to get acquainted. press play and whistle along!]

the gift of free music

apologies for being MIA these days, but i've been preoccupied with a few personal things and haven't really had the chance to upload new stuff. so for that reason, may i offer up some lovely legitimate freebies just for you!

from filter mag
kate havnevik - new day
[totally hoping to cash in before the real bjork returns, this is a nice lite-substitute]

from insound
peter bjorn and john - let's call it off
[i came in late with this band, but my current enjoyment makes the tardiness worth the wait. love these guys!]

loney dear - i am john
[i'm actually checking them out later tonight and can't wait!!!!]

i'm from barcelona feat loney, dear - this boy
[sweet song from an equally sweet band. gosh, indie music really is awesome these days]

from forkcast
patrick wolf - the magic position
[a crapload of blogs went haywire for this guy, but i'm still kind of 'eh' about him. cute song though.]

the mary onettes - lost
[can't wait for the full length from these guys. one of fave finds of last year]

from wongie's music world
groove armada - get down
[they're back!!!! i've been walking around town thinking i'm such the sh*t with this song blasting away. it's a sad sight really]

basement jaxx - make me sweat
[HOT!!! if i knew how to pop and lock, this would be the track that i'd show off to. unfortunately i look preposterous in a track suit]

joss stone feat common - tell me what you wanna do
[a surprisingly solid sophomore album by joss stone features some nice collaborations (including one with lauryn hill). i'm leaning toward this track as one of my favorites.]

freebies: pitchfork launches new webpage forkcast

hipster music site pitchfork has officially launched their free mp3 download friendly site forkcast. featuring legal mp3's submitted by artists and their labels, the two day old site already features downloads for ted leo and the pharmacists, rjd2, peter bjorn & john and even samuel l jackson.

besides my blog, i think you have another place to get daily goodies!