The Tallest Man.

Kristian Mattson - under the moniker "The Tallest Man On Earth" has been my favorite musician for almost 2 years now. Wow. Time has flown. Every song still gets to me as if it is the first time I am hearing it, and they all get better with every listen. I have never been disappointed in anything I have heard by him, and now I am so enthralled that I doubt that it would even be possible for me to be let down by his music.

He releases new music pretty frequently, and each new song has, at the very least, one jaw dropping aspect. I honestly couldn't even begin to tell you how many times I have said "holy shit!" aloud in my car while listening to this man. His lyrics are shockingly deep and next to impossible to mimic. His guitar is somehow bright even through the deepest moments of darkness. Then there is his voice. Sweet Lord, his voice. What more could I say? With each listen, it becomes the only voice you'd ever want to hear again, if you had to choose.

One of my favorite things about The Tallest Man, is that I always manage to stumble across old songs or fantastic covers that I have never heard before. Today I came across some of his first songs and demos that aren't on any of his albums. As expected, I was blown away. Here you can hear some of the earliest versions of "The Blizzard's Never Seen The Desert Sands", and "Honey Won't You Let Me In". And New songs: "Like a Ribbon In a Hurricane", and "The Other Side".

I honestly cannot say enough about this man. He has changed my life.

"The Blizzard's Never Seen the Desert Sands"

"Honey Won't You Let Me In"

"Like a Ribbon In a Hurricane"

"The Other Side"

Song and Video of the Day

Emil & Friends - "Short Order Cooks"

To sum it up: Emil & Friends is incredible. The band consists of only one man: Emil. Who apparently is a regular wizard at producing. The vocals are reminiscent of Dom, while the beat is like something Baths would produce. To put it like Ron Burgundy would: "That's the sound of of baby making music, that's what that is!"

Song of the Day (possibly the year)

IT'S HAPPENING. My most anticipated of the year, and my life actually - "Angles", is almost here. This is the first song released off of it, and it is amazing. The Strokes are my favorite band of all time, hands down, forever and ever. amen.

The Strokes - Under Cover Of Darkness

Julian Casablancas is my favorite vocalist of the decade, and he STILL continues to wow me. The guitars showcase a poppy-er version of The Strokes that I have never seen before. They even threw in some harmonies, which is completely foreign to their sound. I cannot wait for "Angles".

Also: you can download "Under Cover Of Darkness" for free on the band's website for the next 48 hours.

Song of the Day

James Vincent McMorrow

James Vincent McMorrow - If I Had A Boat

James Vincent McMorrow is a brand new find for me and I must say, I feel cheated. I truly wish that I had known of him sooner. The first thing that came to my mind was that he is a -- Bon Iver, meets Brett Dennen, meets City and Colour, hybrid. Which is true... but I almost feel dirty comparing him to other musicians, because his music is so emotionally charged and stunningly powerful. Please enjoy as I am.

Song of the Day

Today's song comes from Foster The People, who have had TWO songs of the day now (the other being "Pumped Up Kicks"). Keep em' coming guys.

This song, "Houdini", is the best techno-pop song I have heard in a long time. Also, Their EP is incredigreat. You can pick it up on Itunes, or Amazon MP3.

Foster The People - Houdini

New Fleet Foxes

It's been over 2 years since Fleet Foxes amazing self titled debut album. They're back, and

on May 3rd they will be releasing a brand new, 12 song LP, titled "Helplessness Blues" via Sub Pop. The title track is available for download here. Enjoy.

Fleet Foxes - Helplessness Blues via subpop

Song of the Day

Diamond Rings - All Yr Songs

Diamond Rings is an acquired taste. But out of all of his music I would say "All Yr Songs" is the most universally friendly. It's been stuck in my head all morning. Enjoy.

Foster The People - Pumped Up Kicks

Foster The People - Pumped Up Kicks

Tennis - Marathon

\We didn't realize, that we had arrived\At high tide, high tide, barely made it out alive.\

Tennis is a husband and wife duo, which is awesome. Alaina Moore has a unique voice, which is even more awesome. They recorded their album while sailing on their sailboat around the ocean, which is the most awesome thing I have ever heard of.

The song feels good, and is a great summer anthem. The vocals are obscured to the point where you can't recognize lyrics, but it doesn't bother you. The song just works. The woah's and oh's touch your brain and release endorphins, and we all know what that means.

The "Marathon" 7-inch drops 7/31 via Underwater Peoples

How To Dress Well - Ready For the World

How To Dress Well

If you liked the post about Washed Out, then you should love HTDW. This song flows naturally and gracefully, and makes you feel a wide range of emotions.

I can't think of a single scenario that this wouldn't be a great soundtrack for. Walking down the hall at school, at a funeral, winning the championship, making top ramen, it all works. And coupled with this song, it all has a little bit more emotion behind it. Entitled 'Ready For the World' it could be one of the most appropriate song names I've ever heard.

Keegan DeWitt - Say La La

Keegan DeWitt




I am in awe of this song. I don't even know what to say about it. I know firsthand that it is incredibly easy to bob your head to it. That's about all I can think of. I am sort of at a loss for words right now. This is amazing.

Well done, Keegan. Well done.

Bill Callahan - Jim Cain

A Young Bill Callahan


\I started telling the story\Without knowing the end.\

When I first heard this I loved the music -- but I wasn't too keen on Bill Callahan's voice.
Now I see the error of my ways.

This song is so hypnotically beautiful and pure, it's absurd. Lyrically it's magnificent, musically it's genius, and vocally it's gorgeous. Bill's voice is simple and perfect for the song. I find myself wanting to sing along every time I hear it.

Yu(c)k - Automatic

\I was always an automatic\Don't assume I'm in control\.

I find Yuck's music to be incredibly beautiful. Which is incredibly ironic. But I'm guessing that's what they were going for?

Their upcoming EP - Weakend is on cassette (!) with a limited edition of 100, and is already sold out. It drops August 2nd. The band's blog can be found here.

ARMS and Gayngs

ARMS

The Harlem Shakes -- a band that I LOVE -- broke up last September.
Which blows because they never got the recognition they deserved.

BUT, I recently stumbled across a band called ARMS.
I found them to be incredibly intriguing.
Only today did I find out that ARMS is the Harlem Shakes guitarist's Todd Goldstein's band.

AND, His new self titled EP (it dropped in March) is completely free on the bands website.

So I have decided I will be doing a review of it. It should be up in the next couple of days.

For now you can nibble on this.

Gayngs - The Gaudy Side of Town



Gayngs is a supergroup featuring members of Solid Gold, Bon Iver, The Rosebuds and many many more.

I swear I am not trying to follow all of Justin Vernon's work. The guy is just all over the place.

The Shouting Matches - Death Letter (Son House Cover)

the quality on this isn't great -- but it blew my mind anyway.

I have a completely new level of respect for Justin Vernon.

It's hard to comprehend that this is the same man
who sings Skinny Love.

Volcano Choir - Island, IS

Justin Vernon is ridiculous.

Washed Out (Ft. Caroline Polachek) - You and I

Its been awhile since I've heard a song that me feel this much inside.
Without even really understanding the words,

I feel pain, I feel love, I feel alone, I feel remorse, I feel joy.

Thank you Washed Out

Elkland - "Apart"

Jonathan Pierce - Vocals/Best Dancer Ever
Adam Kessler - Guitarist

This is an old song. The aforementioned half of the band is now "The Drums", who were recently declared "New York City's coolest band" by NME Magazine.

Also, I'm pretty sure Jonathan was in Karate Kid.