Young MANIAC All Around

Haven't done one of these since the beginning of the new year, so it's about time we got some fresh musaac rolling in here.

#3 Washed Out - "Feel It All Around"

If you're not friends with me on Facebook, you haven't seen me raving about IFC's new sketch comedy show, Portlandia. Starring Saturday Night Live cast member Fred Armisen and Carrie Brownstein, a member of the now-defunct band Portland indie rock band Sleater-Kinney, Portlandia takes stereotypes of the city and pushes them to the extreme. Armisen and Brownstein play a wide range of characters. Sometimes Armisen will play a woman and sometimes Brownstein will play a guy. Think Little Britain, but with a man and a woman instead of two men, and centered around one city instead of a sovereign state. It's my cup o' tea because Portland is one of my favorite U.S. cities and the writing is very humorous. Anyway, the opening credits are beautiful. It's a washed out (Hey, that's the name of the music artist!) mix of shots from around lovely downtown Portland. The song fits so perfectly with the mood one can have walking around the city. That song is "Feel It All Around" by Washed Out, who is just a guy that produces music in his bedroom. His style has been identified with the chillwave movement. It's a fantastic song that one can listen to while studying, walking around a big city, or simply typing a blog at their desk. *stops and looks around*

#2 Kid CuDi feat. Cage and St. Vincent - "MANIAC"

KiD CuDi's latest album, Man on the Moon II: The Legend of Mr. Rager made it to #7 on my Top Ten Albums of 2010 list. One of the reasons is for this awesome song featuring underground rapper Cage and The Polyphonic Spree and Sufjan Stevens' touring band member, St. Vincent (a.k.a. Annie Clark). The biggest reason I like this song so much, other than Cage's lyrics, is because of the bass. It's heavy and repetitive. Really makes my car shake. I typically don't like live rap performances, but the three of them got together on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon and put on a pretty sweet performance. Watch it here.

#1 The Naked and Famous - "Young Blood"

I just so happened to hear "Young Blood" playing on the radio the other day driving home from work and was so glad to have YouTube on my phone. I quickly searched for this song and played it over and over again the rest of my way back home. The Naked and Famous are a New Zealand band consisting of five band members. "Young Blood" debuted on the New Zealand chart at number one in 2010 — the first New Zealand artist in three years to do so. The BBC announced that the band had been nominated for the BBC's Sound of 2011 poll, but I don't think they placed. They sound like a mix between MGMT, The Temper Trap, and Passion Pit. I plan on downloading their album very soon and will obviously let you know if any of their other songs are just as good.

What have you been listening to lately?