I think my friend Zac said, and I agree, “I know there are a lot of people who dislike Drake. But I like him, and I like this song.” I had the opportunity to meet Drake & his crew when I worked on the documentary ‘Better Than Good Enough’ for MTV last spring & personally, I found him to be an amazing person. His interview was honest & he carries himself like someone who really does look around with gratitude for his life and career. Whether you like him or you don’t, it’s hard to deny him the respect he has earned through a lot of hard work, a success which he keeps constantly working at proving to the world he deserves and I’m looking forward to hearing the full-length on 22 October. Welcome to Draketober and OvOxOctober.

[Pre-Order 'Take Care' from Amazon]

Carpenters – Rainy Days and Mondays (Acapella)

[ The Carpenters - Singles 1969-1981 from Amazon (MP3 Album) ]

Indestructible (Edit) by robyn

[ Body Talk, Pt. 2 - Robyn ]

The Hundred In The Hands – Pigeons (Foals XIII Remix) by thehundredinthehands

The Hundred In The Hands – The Hundred In The Hands by Warp Records

Charlotte Gainsbourg – Heaven Can Wait from Charlotte Gainsbourg on Vimeo.

The new video from Charlotte Gainsbourg, “Heaven Can Wait”, is ostensibly the first single from her Beck-produced album IRM, due for release in very early 2010. Enjoy.

I’m still on the fence about this, but the video, which leaked today, is pretty good IMO. But uh… Lady Gaga though? I have tried so hard to “get” Lady Gaga. I guess it comes down to this: I have to see her live to “get her”. Meh, dance y’all. If you came searching for insightful commentary or review on this song, it will never exist in this post. Sometimes, I post things purely out of intrigue. This seems to me a standard Beyonce pop song. It’s aiight.

I don’t know anything at all about O’Spada, but I intend to find out more. The Stockholm act’s soulful funk, reminiscent of Prince, Rick James’ production style or the Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis grooves of the 80′s, is getting some heavy attention and rotation. Apparently their last single “Time” got out in the world and received some praise and attention from THE FADER, Monocle, BBC Radio One’s DJ Annie Mac, and they’ve been Band of the Day in The Guardian.

Check out this new track, “Ten Strikes”. We’re digging its distinctly 80′s retro-electro feel, and it’s purposeful similarity to Teena Marie, Lisa Lisa & Cult Jam and Janet Jackson is off the hook. Get this, do it now.

O’Spada – Ten Strikes (Radio Edit)

[Myspace : Website : Twitter]

You tell me what you think for a change. As the title suggests, I’m posting this without listening to it.

The Bravery – “The Spectator” (right click to download)

The new album by The Bravery, Stir The Blood, comes out on December 1. With the album’s first single “Slow Poison” being played on radio stations throughout the land, the song “The Spectator,” which will be on Stir The Blood, will also be released tomorrow on The Vampire Diaries soundtrack.

I know that I haven’t updated this blog in months. Without taking time to get into a lengthy explanation as to why, the death of Michael Jackson has given me a reason to update. While I don’t know what the future of Loudersoft is right now, it was important to me to share this with you now.

It has taken me days to sit down and write these thoughts to share with you, and I still don’t even know where to begin. I expect any number of you who read this to simply not understand where my mind is. He meant something different to nearly everyone, no matter what part or parts of his life you’ve been affected by or how.

I have laid awake nights thinking to myself how beautiful heaven must be today now that Michael’s pain is at an end. Those of us here on Earth, we are left to consider the many gifts Michael bestowed upon the world, and, in spite of his eccentric and at times inexplicable behavior, how insensitively the media treated him throughout the last years of his life.

Michael Jackson lived in a world that combined fantasy and reality, a world that was filled with spectacle and, at times, a horror. In spite of the terrible things I’ve heard time and again, there is no part of me that has ever been more fascinated by what people said than the good things which he actually did. How can this be, you might say? There was always something about Michael to me that defied description, some quality about Michael Jackson which I believe makes each of us want to look for and find something pure, to seek out the goodness in ourselves and in our own hearts.

This world did not deserve you, Michael. It was never meant for one as beautiful as you. They did not, and do not, understand you. I believe deep down in my soul that you were driven by and filled with a goodness that was far too often mistaken for something sinister. But no matter what they say about you, no matter how they characterize you, this world cannot hurt you anymore.

Michael’s inspiration to me has been nothing if not profound, not only his music and his performances but in the admirable examples he exhibited in his extensive philanthropy. His tremendous generosity juxtaposed against the loneliness he clearly lived in was something which I relate to on a very personal level. He entertained me, he educated me, and he constantly raised the bar of excellence even in the face of adversity, self-actualized or otherwise.

He was a magician, a man who struggled tirelessly at his craft, tortured by his desire to perfect himself and to make a difference in the lives of those around him. He was a consummate performer who approached each challenge with a kind of dignity that goes mostly unseen in today’s performers, taking on complicated works and making their creation seem effortless. In his death, I am haunted by these qualities, finding myself constantly comparing his brilliance to the lackluster celebrity and acceptable mediocrity by which we seem surrounded today.

I will always be struck by the irony that Michael gave up his childhood that he might bring joy to so many of us in our own childhood, that we could have the opportunity to revel in his talents. I think of the thousands of people whom his charitable work has helped, from his efforts at famine relief in Africa to those suffering from AIDS to scholarships which allowed those who might not otherwise be able to attend college. It staggers my mind and numbs my senses when I have to think that this man, this good man with a heart bigger than any could know, is gone.

To his family and close friends, I mourn with you, empowered by a feeling that you and I may share an unseen bond in our understanding of what drove Michael to at once reach unfathomable heights and breach the precipice of confounding emptiness and sorrows.

May the society and culture which spawned the celebrity of and ultimately destroyed this man take a long, hard look at itself, learning to accept its cloak of shame through the celebration of his life. And Michael, may you rest in peace. God bless you, and thank you for making some of the best days of my life so much better through your works.

I suddenly felt small.

So deadlines for the “best of 2007″ rolled around, and I was in a tailspin, dogged by the massive amount of music I had encountered. I kept reflecting on these words of Billy Corgan that I’d read years ago. Billy had once quipped to, I think, Rolling Stone, that, “Not every year can be a great, or even good, year in music.” This thought just stirred in my head and fed into some neurosis. The thought actually fucked with me; maybe 2007 wasn’t that great? Or was it? So I slacked until it was way too late to really do it with any fervor.

Newsflash: Shit aint happening like that this year. I’m past all that, and this year’s going to be different.

I don’t know if my opinion is necessarily better or worse than anyone else’s when it comes to music. I’m a long-time deep music fan who combs the trenches for something new and different, someone who’s been doing that for years. I have an opinion about music which is informed by all that, but I don’t pretend to know what is or isn’t “good” or “the best”. If you love hip-hop, you’re going to think a different album is the #1 album of the year than I am (even though I love hip-hop). If you love indie rock, same thing.

If I sat down and tried to pinpoint the one unifying factor in the music that I listen to and enjoy, it would have to be “music with a soul”. It doesn’t have to preach an ideology or start a movement, it doesn’t have to be anthemic or angelic. It simply has to get me to stop what I’m doing and go, “What in the hell is this?” When I become awestruck, the music will stay with me.

This list represents the songs released in 2008 (to the best of my knowledge) which caught me in my tracks, got me to stand up and take notice, gave me a reason to write and feel good at the end of the day that I was telling everyone a new secret or spreading the good news. I hope you’ll enjoy these as much as I have enjoyed hearing them.

1 – Voxpop – “The Boomerang Generation” (unsigned)

When this London four-piece popped this song into my inbox, I had no idea what I was getting. They sent a sweet and humble letter along with it asking me to please share with my readers. The song is dynamic in a string of ways: it’s a pop song, it’s a protest song, and it’s filled with the kind of energy I love to hear. Far and away, this is my favorite song of 2008. Let’s hope that 2009 will bring us a Voxpop album to hear & enjoy.

2 – Lil’ Wayne (produced by Bangladesh) – “A Milli”

The song is inescapable. You couldn’t get away from it most of this entire year & it took some folks a minute to get with the program. But love or hate Lil’ Wayne, this song was a cornerstone of 2008 stereos, parties, clubs, remixes, and just about everything else. Respect.

3 – MGMT – “Time to Pretend”

I am extremely proud of MGMT and happy for them — what started as an experiment in their dorm room at Wesleyan has blossomed into an anthemic world-wide phenomenon. This song was on the tips of every tongue that knew its words and could relate. This song is great because, plainly, it paints a portrait of a certain truth (to which you’re either hip or you’re not). The song’s intent, along the group themselves, seem to lack the pretension that the press wants to heap on them. I, for one, can’t wait to hear what their work with The Chemical Brothers is going to sound like.

4 – Santogold – “L.E.S. Artistes”

Santi White is an operator of the highest order: she’s the real deal, wearing every helmet she comes across with dignity and sheer style. Performer, songwriter, executive — she can do it all and do it all well. In the song “L.E.S. Artistes”, Santogold has both capitalized on and captured a portrait of a time in music and arts that has seemed fairly desperate. If ever an anthemic line was needed by those on their way to whatever success, “I can say I hope it will be worth what I give up” should be the mantra to which they adhere.

5 – Estelle (feat. kanYe West) – “American Boy”

It took me a long time to get into this record, but once it stuck with me I was sold. The maturity of Estelle’s progress as a performer and singer is impressive, her vocal prowess unmistakable. The marriage of her style with kanYe’s flows make the song as world-class as it purports to be.

6 – Lord T & Eloise (feat. 8 Ball) – “Back From the Business Trip”

If you’re from down in my neck of the woods, you know that Lord T & Eloise were everywhere this year, selling out (and overselling) venues everywhere. Word of mouth has been kind to them with good reason. Not just because I told you so (and I did tell you so), but because they gave 300% to every packed out venue they set foot in and ripped every microphone they touched. “The Industry” still haven’t figured out how to classify LT&E, but they need to stop thinking about it and just blast their jams. Aristocrunk is on the move.

7 – Aimee Mann – “Looking for Nothing”

As Aimee Mann carries on her journey as a songwriter and performer, she continues to craft elegant pop song structures around stories that evoke the wistfulness of a by-gone era with distinction. Fully modern in their presentation and execution, her 2008 release was a peerless collection of satisfying, soul-wrenching odes, perfecting a sound she has long been masterful in shaping and humbled by creating. “Looking for Nothing” represents her finest material, and one of the most perfectly-penned songs of the year.

8 – Meg Hutchinson – “Home”

From time to time, it seems to me that the least liked (or known) songs are often the most loved. Folk singer-songwriter Meg Hutchinson has, perhaps, suffered from a curse of virtual anonymity this year, but by no fault of her music. Some songs cannot be reviewed effectively; they can only take on meaning to the listener through time and circumstance. It is my great hope that others will come to find the deep-ceded affection that I have found for this song, an ode to appreciation for the things we all take for granted far too often.

9 – Erykah Badu – “Honey”

Erykah Badu….man man man. A soul diva and performer of the highest order, she just continues to release albums (and songs) that turn my knobs, nahh mean? Seems like on every record she releases, it’s the “bonus track” that really contains an actual bonus to it. New Amerykah Part One (4th World War) will likely be in my year’s best, and this song represents to the fullest what Ms. Badu is laying down.

10 – Portishead – “We Carry On”

I didn’t know what I was going to do when I heard a new Portishead album was on the way. With so much time gone between records, I couldn’t have imagined them being in bed with their old sound. I remember my shock as darker and moodier sounds came from my stereo; it was everything that I could have hoped for. This song was my #1 favorite from Third, an album I continue to love and be fascinated by.

The Rest Of The Best (Click Individual Songs in the Playlist to Play, or play for continuous stream in order)

11 Bon Iver – Skinny Love
12 TV on the Radio – Halfway Home
13 Raphael Saadiq – Love That Girl
14 Blitzen Trapper – Sleepytime In The Western World
15 Grace Jones – Williams Blood
16 Teenagers – Starlett Johannson
17 Al Green – You’ve Got The Love I Need (feat. Anthony Hamilton)
18 Adele – Chasing Pavements
19 Q-Tip – Manwomanboogie (feat. Amanda Diva)
20 Oasis – The Turning
21 Treasure Fingers – Cross The Dancefloor
22 Kutiman – Music Is Ruling My World
23 Smoking Popes – If You Don’t Care
24 Chad VanGaalen – Bare Feet on Wet Griptape
25 Benji Hughes – So Well
26 Friendly Fires – Paris
27 Brazilian Girls – Good Time
28 John Elliott – The Ballad of Wallace Green and his Dog
29 Bob Dylan – Dreamin’ of You
30 Department of Eagles – No One Does It Like You
31 Ssion – Street Jizz
32 The Roots – 75 Bars (Black’s Reconstruction)
33 Charles Hamilton – Brooklyn Girls
34 Sigur Ros – Gobbledygook
35 Jamie Lidell – Another Day
36 Gossip – Listen Up (Punks Jump Up Remix)
37 Of Montreal – Gallery Piece
38 Fujiya & Miyagi – Knickerbocker
39 Anthem In – Down
40 Blood Red Shoes – You Bring Me Down
41 Graham Weber – Italian Lullaby
42 Oh Snap!! – Bill Cosby Sweater (Hostage Remix)
43 Beck – Chemtrails
44 Thunderheist – Jerk It
45 T.I. – Swagga Like Us (feat. kanYe West, Jay-Z & Lil’ Wayne)
46 Coldplay – Death and all His Friends
47 Ivan Colon – Gabriel
48 Cut Copy – Far Away
49 Monsters are Waiting – Don’t Lie
50 Beach House – Gila

Brian Wilson — you know, The Beach Boys? SMiLE? musical genius Brian Wilson? — has a brand, spanking new album out entitled That Lucky Old Sun. There’s no lack of brilliant pop songwriting genius to this new collection & we’re thrilled to offer you a chance at owning your very own, limited edition copy on 180 Gram archive-quality vinyl — a $30.00 retail value! Runners up can receive a copy of his single, “Midnight’s Another Day”, on 7″ vinyl. For details on how you can win, join us after the jump!

– Send an email to contest at loudersoft dot com & include “Brian Wilson Vinyl Giveaway” in the subject line. Be sure to include in the email all your contact info — and don’t worry, we’re not giving your email address to anyone under any circumstances.

– In the email, I want you to pick and write about a Brian Wilson or Beach Boys song lyric that has a significant meaning for you. Tell me the name of the song and (in 250 words or less) why the lyric(s) you selected is (are) so significant to you —

eg. “The first time my husband and I ever kissed, we were listening to Brian Wilson’s ‘SMiLE’ and the song “Vegetables” came on right as he was making his move. Mid-kiss we started laughing and he said, “I’ll never put down my vegetables”. As a vegan, I knew I’d found the one.”

The contest is open to everyone except employees of Capitol Records & its subsidiaries, employees of FADER Magazine or Cornerstone Promotion. By entering the contest, you agree to have your entry reproduced, in part or in whole, on Loudersoft. Entries must be received no later than 10am EST on Friday, September 26th, 2008. Entries received after this will not be considered. Winners will be announced next week. You may link or repaste these contests details anywhere.

Good luck to everyone & I’ll see you next week!!