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Favorite tracks chosen by the index worldwide team of music editors |
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White
Magic
Winds
MP3
Dark Stars-EP 2007
Drag City
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Now
on their second EP Dark Stars, we still find front woman Mira Billotte
unwavering in what she does best - divining truths through sing-chant conjurations
of shamanistic trance, accompanied by gently striking piano chords, lowly
growling drums, and a jaunty triangle. She'll read your future and tell
you about your past in one go. Where does such a sound come from? White
Magic, of course!
- Ling Ma |
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Jana
Hunter
Vultures MP3
There's No Home 2007
Gnomonsong |
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This
Texas folk singer has a voice, and it is a scary, shaky thing.
Sometimes it sounds like it's crawled out from the bottom of a well just
to put on a show. The first artist signed to Devendra Banhart's label Gnomonsong,
Jana's songs run weird and dark among the grizzled plainsongs of alt-country.
There's something neanderthal and otherworldly about a song like "Vultures,"
about a man with a noose around his neck.
- Ling Ma |
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| Photographer Ryan McGinley became known in 1998 with his photo book of NYC youth. More from that, plus index book of fashion interviews. |
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Japancakes
When
You Sleep MP3
Loveless 2007
Darla |
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Japancakes
has done more than just produced a cover of a My Bloody Valentine song.
They've lovingly rinsed the original of some of its sonic yolk and distortion
debris, all the while slowing down the pacing for contemplative ease. While
the classic version of "When You Sleep" might sound excitingly
lush and frenetic, this cover makes for something that's possible to listen
to morning, noon, and night.
- Ling Ma |
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Find out about the people who worked on the magazine, and what they're up to now here. |
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The
Race
Odessa
MP3
Ice Station 2007
Flameshovel Records
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On
their fourth LP Ice Station, The Race has created a deliciously
cinematic, gothic sound - minus the creaking staircase soundtrack. The songs
were dreamed up by singer Craig Klein while reading about Siberia and Russia
during his day job at the public library. The resulting sound pits strong
basslines and clean cut hooks against Klein's sometimes gutteral croons.
In "Odessa," Klein's craggy voice beckons like a handsomely upholstered
armchair in a haunted house.
- Ling Ma |
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Unagi
If You Wanna MP3
It Came From Beneath the SFC 2006
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Unheralded San Francisco hip-hop producer Unagi has reinvented cheesy baby-making music. “If You Wanna” is on a funky gangsta-love vibe that reminds me of Tupac's moments of sweet serenade (think "Thug Passion").
- Bob Hammond |
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Rich Boy
Throw Some Ds MP3
Unreleased 2006
Interscope
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Alabama rapper Rich Boy lucked out in copping this gem of a beat from hip-hop producer Polow da Don (Jim Crow, Ludacris, Nelly Furtado). He doesn't waste the opportunity, creating the best Southern rap single since T.I.’s “What You Know.” The vocal harmony break shakes up the typical verse-hook song structure, heightening the elation of his theme -- buying a new Cadillac.
- Bob Hammond |
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Gaskets
Hold Steady Hot Weather MP3
Loose Change 2006
Aquarium Records
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I’ve been rapaciously listening to this album these last few weeks. Gaskets are the soundtrack to my weekends, a party that refuses to die. At times their music reminds me of the year 1989, and I’m not quite sure why (you’ll have to hear the other tracks). Perhaps it’s the undeniable influence of infectious 80s dance music that you are too embarrassed to go nuts for, but secretly really want to. This song is fun, and the very end makes me want to freak out.
- Jerry Yeti (of Yeti Don't Dance) |
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Ekkehard Ehlers
Strange Things MP3
A Life Without Fear 2006
Staubgold
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Using the blues as material for laptop manipulation in his latest album, A Life Without Fear, German artist Ekkehard Ehlers strikes a quiet balance between artifact and innovation. In this sparse and haunted track, distorted guitars hum in and out of audibility over a crackling vocal borrowed from Charles Haffer Jr., the little-known American early electric blues musician.
- Bob Hammond |
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Los Fabulosos Festivals
El Mensaje MP3
Panama! Latin, Funk and Calypso on the Isthmus 1965-1975
Soundways
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Panama has always been home to a stew of strong and varied cultures. In a new compilation of Panamanian music from the 60's and 70's, Soundways serves up some of the meatiest chunks. This standout track is a cover of "The Message" by the legendary funk band Cymande. Los Fabulosos Festivals’ loose rendition hits home with its Latin horn riff and is rounded off with a psych-funk guitar solo.
- Bob Hammond |
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Copyright © 2006 index Magazine and index Worldwide. All rights reserved. Site Design: Teddy Blanks. All photos by index photographers: Leeta Harding, Richard Kern, David Ortega, Ryan McGinley, Terry Richardson, and Juergen Teller.
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