Father John Misty - Hollywood Forever Cemetery Sings

Gotta love the summer. This isn't necessarily a Summer song, but I just really felt like starting out with a banal platitude (I'm so sorry Mrs. Johnson, you taught us better). 

This track by Father John Misty is definitely making it on the roadtrip playlist, somewhere in the middle, once everyone has settled in for the ride and there are longer lulls in conversation. I see this coming on while driving down a wooded highway somewhere. I was traveling around Delaware this weekend and I'll say this, Route 9 between Dover and Middletown is a beautiful stretch of road. 

If you've got wheels, go for a long drive. Living in the city has made me really appreciate that privilege. 

MØ - "Waste of Time" and "Pilgrim"

MØ of this. Talented female singer + competent electronic backing = dope song. Obviously this is a simplification, but I guarantee if Diplo started remixing Taylor Swift it would be an absolute banger.

Until that happens, check out these tracks from the Danish Karen Marie Ørsted a.k.a. MØ

Woodkid Ft. Angel Haze - I Love You

My roommate has been raving about Angel Haze for a while, and I can see why. The girl has a edgy, rapid-fire flow and can apparently sing too.

I'm going to have to look into Woodkid some more after this too. Hes got a velvety voice that acts as the perfect contrast to Angel's rap verse. 

Zeds Dead - By Your Side

I like to make up movie scenes for songs. This track by Zeds Dead definitely belongs with some sort of violence, with all sound muted--and a heavy sense of fate/inevitability that someone is going to die. 

I see a man walking through some ghetto motel, with flashback cuts of the murder of his friends/family playing out as he passes between each swath of light. He has no intention of this being a fair fight. 

The Neighborhood - Say My Name / Cry Me A River (Live Cover)

I love a good cover, and The Neighbourhood has come through with a beauty. Smooth, understated bass and pleading vocals set the perfect mood. They just released their first album this year and after flipping through it I can say with confidence--these guys can definitely do more than cover songs.

They're like a rocker version of The Weeknd. I suggest you check them out. 

Matt Corby - Resolution

Adding another Aussie to this list. Check out these two tracks by 22 year old Matt Corby. The Lancelot remix of "Brother" is also excellent and is available on his soundcloud account. 

HELP WANTED: Macklemore X Ryan Lewis Need a Choir

Macklemore and his DJ/producer/bestie Ryan Lewis are in desperate need of a choir to tour with...or at least a female vocalist. 

I was at the Roots Picnic in Philly over the weekend and got to see the ever-entertaining Macklemore borrow some girl's fur vest and tell the crowd it smelled like a grandma with a four blunt a day habit, who has a taste for malt liquor and who blacks out frequently--hell of a nose. He even managed to walk across the crowd during one of the breaks in "Can't Hold Us." (check out the video below) Macklemore puts on a damn good show, and Ryan Lewis knows how to make bombastic beats that make good use of Owuor Arunga, the man jumping around stage one-handing his trumpet. 

That said, after seeing them perform twice in the past two months I can say with certainty that they need a female singer or a whole damn choir to be on stage with them for some songs. At the show on Saturday, Ray Dalton was belting out his parts of Can't Hold Us and sounded incredible--adding accents and improvisations to the familiar beat. That song definitely would have fallen flat without Dalton, which is why I cant understand why they would do "Same Love" without Mary Lambert--or at least another talented lady on the mic. 

Macklemore came out, gave his speech about being in the midst of the greatest civil rights movement of our generation--the same speech he gave when I saw him at Columbia in April--and then proceeded to croon out another rendition of Same Love with only a recorded version of Ms. Lambert's beautiful chorus. I was disappointed and I started to realize that a number of his songs would benefit from some live vocal support. 

Same Love

Victory Lap (skip to 2:45)

Wings 
White Walls

All of these would sound incredible live if they had some singers on stage. Macklemore knows how to put on a show and definitely seems like he would enjoy the spectacle of having a choir to direct. I only hope that as their meteoric rise continues, this entertaining duo makes it happen.