Kanye West featuring ….Bon Iver???

So, the rumors of a Kanye West/Bon Iver (Jay-Z, Rick Ross, Nicki Minaj) collaboration are, in fact, TRUE. Yeah. They’re true. For those of you expecting to hear Vernon spitting rhymes, you might be a little disappointed. The track (one of TEN, apparently) opens with Vernon, and ends with Vernon. I find the song to be more on the obnoxious side and listening to it brings me flashbacks of the opening scene in Michael Jackson’s ‘Thriller’ video (no idea why) but his beautiful howler’s croon shines, as it always does and as weird as it sounds over a hip hop medium, I’m happy for the guy! Let’s just hope he makes it to the studio soon, to stop collaborating and to start recording a new record. (PLEASE.)

YO BON I’M REALLY HAPPY FOR YOU AND I’MA LET YOU FINISH BUT — alright, I’m not even going to take it there.

Download Kanye West’s ‘Monster’ featuring Bon Iver and company here!

And I know we keep saying that we’ll be back, and we have something in store, but we will and it’s true – we’re just fighting time, we’re always just fighting time – and sleep, (yeah, sleep) – The Sheep has been sleep-grazing through time for the last 2+ months, while I’ve been hunting the Earth for a cure. Let’s just say that my hunting skills are a bit lack-luster compared to the power of the Sheep’s *big* hoof hitting the SNOOZE button. We miss you though, and we hope you feel the same. 😦

Goma – Still I Wake Up In The Morning Thinking Of You;

Goma.

Have you heard of Goma? Same here. However, you should take this opportunity to hear Goma, now that it has been presented to you. Still I Wake Up In The Morning Thinking Of You is a beautiful, heartfelt, piano ballad with a title that explains it all. The straightforward lyrics are accompanied by a melody which (call me crazy) could either be mistaken for melancholy or, if the mood is right – almost kind of light hearted. Either way, this is a song which should be heard and this is a platform where we try to help do just that – so, if you’re reading this be sure to give it a listen and maybe even a spot on your iPod.

I have lost everything completely
Still, I wake up in the morning thinking of you

Download Still I Wake Up In The Morning Thinking Of You here.

As far as Goma – the man or maybe even the band – is concerned, that is all still a mystery to me. But you don’t really need to understand the artist to be touched by a song, now do you? It’s actually kind of nice to know nothing about where the music came from, for a change. There is something kind of refreshing about it.

Goma’s Myspace

WATS Presents: Lit Up With Proof (The sexiest mix you’ll ever listen to!)

If you haven’t already heard (listen up!) we are wholeheartedly fond of selectively choosing songs for our joint-effort mixes.

After tireless months (slight exaggeration, oops) of contemplating what the next topic for a WATS mix should be, the Sheepish One (inspired by one of the tunes on this very collection of songs, actually) suggested a ‘sexy theme’ mix. I, for one, was immediately appalled and disgusted thought that this was a great idea! Scurrying away, into the depths of our Itunes, in search of the perfect blend of songs to create what unintentionally turned out to be a pretty serene, soft and sensual group of songs, that we are very proud of.

As you could imagine, the criteria for the selection of each song was incredibly tedious. Okay, maybe it wasn’t that tedious but there were times where we found ourselves actually engaging in these types of conversations:

Sheep: I don’t know if Tautou is sexy enough to stay on this playlist
Wolf: I think the sexiest part of Tautou is that you can basically hear JTL’s tongue sticking to the top of his mouth and coming down again.

And so, Tautou stayed and we continued to gather and dispose until we ended up with 13 songs that fit just right. Only the best for you guys.

WATS Presents: Lit Up With Proof (The Sexy Mix of 2010)
WATS Presents: Lit Up With Proof (The Sexy Mix of 2010)
WATS Presents: Lit Up With Proof (The Sexy Mix of 2010)
WATS Presents: Lit Up With Proof (The Sexy Mix of 2010)
WATS Presents: Lit Up With Proof (The Sexy Mix of 2010)

So, as Mother Nature has already provided the sounds of the heat that the Summer brings (the wind, the rain, the chirping, the chatter) it is with great pleasure that we present you with a compilation of sounds to accompany that other kind of heat (crossing lines jumping right over the lines, at this point).

Enjoy!

Oh, and just incase you missed it:
WATS Presents: Lit Up With Proof (The Sexy Mix of 2010)

😉

(photo credit)

The Tallest Man on Earth – The Wild Hunt;

I will be honest here and admit that my first experience with a Tallest Man on Earth song did not leave the two of us floating off together into musical adoration. It took me a few listens of Shallow Grave to get used to and fully appreciate Sweden’s own, Kristian Matsson’s vocal approach to his music. At some point in the last two years, however, Shallow Grave and my iTunes Library have parted ways and The Tallest Man on Earth became nothing but a tall memory. Until recently, when Matsson’s name started popping up among the fields of the internet while looking for music to harvest so, I went ahead and cultivated his latest, The Wild Hunt.

The Wild Hunt is a refreshing descent into the land of modern day folk music. The album as a whole brings forth an interesting balance between the strumming and plucking of a sweet acoustic guitar (at times, even a banjo or a piano!) and Matsson’s one of a kind, twangy vocals. One of Matsson’s greatest talents, is his ability to intertwine such immense detail in smart, frank lyrics. The Wild Hunt is an album of layers, waiting to be dissected but it also stands as an album to enjoy – especially on a beautiful day – for, it carries itself through the speakers like a gentle, calming breeze.

And I will sleep out in the glade just by the giant tree
Just to be closer when my spirit’s pulled away
I left a nervous little boy out on the trail today
He’s just a mortal to the shoutin’ cavalcade
I left my heart to the wild hunt a-comin
I live until the call
And I plan to be forgotten when I’m gone
Yes I’ll be leavin in the fall

The Wild Hunt

And now spikes will keep on falling from the heavens to the floor
The future was our skin and now we don’t dream anymore
No, we don’t dream anymore
Like a house made from spider webs and the clouds rolling in
I bet this mighty river’s both my savior and my sin
Oh, my savior and my sin

Love Is All

Also, take a moment to check out this minimally, delightful video of Matsson performing one of the best covers of Jackson Browne’s These Days for the fabulous La Blogotheque. Watching him in this video shows how effortlessly music escapes this man and just how much he enjoys the process of it all.

Download Matsson’s cover of ‘These Days’ here.

The Tallest Man On Earth’s Myspace
Blogotheque’s feature of The Tallest Man on Earth

That’s the way, Jimmy Page;

“If I ever really felt depressed, I would just start putting on all my old records that I played as a kid, because the whole thing that really lifted me then still lifted me during those other times. It was good medicine for me, and it still does that for me when I put something on. Isn’t it wonderful that we’ve got all that good medicine? I think it’s got to be all part of our DNA, this mass communication through music. That’s what it is. It’s got to be, hasn’t it? Music is the one thing that has been consistently there for me. It hasn’t let me down.”

Oh, hey there Sheepy…

The National is Red Hot + Official Bloodbuzz Ohio Video;

On the evening of Saturday, May 15, 2010 at around the hour of 8 o’clock, The National will perform High Violet in its entirety at a concert benefitting Red Hot, which is an organization dedicated to fighting AIDS by way of raising awareness through music. The concert is going to take place in Brooklyn, New York at Brooklyn’s Academy of Music. For those of you fortunate enough to have gotten tickets before they sold out (within milliseconds, I’m sure), we wish you a fantastic and beautiful evening! For the rest of you (myself included), worry not because – guess what? – the entire performance is going to be streaming, STREAMING, streaming, STREAMing LIVE on Youtube! So, cancel your plans (come on, it’s alright – you’ll live), eliminate all distraction from within 5,001 miles of you and tune in to what I am positively sure will be an amazing performance!

Whoa, but wait – there’s more! Can it really be a two part post? Is it even a post at all? This is all an illusion – isn’t it? NO! It’s not. Please continue scrolling. Thank you!

And here we have it, the official music video for the first single off of High Violet, Bloodbuzz Ohio! Damn. The simplicity of this video takes nothing away from its intimacy. Alone, in a world of black and white, Matt Berninger – with his blazer, shirt, tie and vest in tow- graces our screens with his intense, yet comforting presence and offhanded silly while at the same time charming dance moves. The intensity of his stare and the smooth baritone sound escaping his mouth, holds our focus like a vacuum. Whether on a stroll through the park, laying in the grass, feeding the ducks, – offering an image very reminiscent of old photographs of James Dean – or left on a bar stool, or even against the backdrop of a curtain as nothing but a man, with a glass of wine Berninger never seems to lose track of the debts that he owes and the haunting weight that plagues him while realizing that the land that raised him, was never really his home.

Personally, I adore this video. I see it as honest and simple, never losing sight of the reflective atmosphere of the song itself and the feelings that it garners. Plus, staring at Berninger, as if he is singing to me and only me, for 4 minutes and 36 seconds is definitely a plus – I definitely wouldn’t mind being stuck in a swarm of bees with him for a while. So, before I cross another line – I’d just like to end this post by saying: Well done, The National!

Oh, and this is not the end of our swooning, stay tuned for a review of High Violet (maybe) which was released this week, May 11th and is currently in stores EVERYWHERE! You really have no excuse but to go out there and pick it up!

The National’s Official Website

Ingrid Michaelson covers ‘Skinny Love’

Oh, how I love the internet sometimes.

My squeaky clean paws just stumbled upon Ingrid Michaelson’s delightful little cover of Skinny Love, originally by Bon Iver. (Yes, I know you know that – but I’m sure that there’s someone out there who doesn’t, though – so, stop giving me that look!) Ms. Michaelson does a very nice job of capturing the delicacy of the song, which seems like it might be a difficult thing to do when incapable of howling like the great alpha wolf himself, Justin Vernon. Regardless of the missing howl and the fact that this was recorded in her living room (aw, that’s cute though!) and not a cabin somewhere in the woods with a lot of snow on the roof, melting steadily from the direct stream of the burning hot sun – I really enjoyed this cover and I think you guys will too.

For our visual learners, take a look at the Youtube video below – everyone else, be sure to download an mp3 version of the song (with much better sound quality) before you leave! Okay, visual learners – you can download the mp3 too, stop with the pouting.

Download Ingrid Michaelson’s cover of Skinny Love here!

Ingrid Michaelson’s Myspace

P.S. If you could all take a moment to please shoot the sheep (easy – I’m not finished) an Email and let her know that her split ends are the one thing standing between us and being in a PeTA ad, I would really appreciate it. The ends are actually split and there is two of every hair – the size of her wool has actually doubled. Scientists have mistaken her for a fallen cloud twice already. How embarrassing.

The National – High Violet

Woah woah woah woah woah! Listen to The National’s new album High Violet. This new masterpiece is going to drop in stores on May 11th.

Listen to the whole album HERE!
Listen to the whole album HERE!
Listen to the whole album HERE!
Listen to the whole album HERE!
Listen to the whole album HERE!

Let us know what you think!

The National’s Myspace
The National’s Website

CONTEST; Win A Copy of MiniBoone’s ‘Big Changes’!!!

Hello Everyone! So, even though we’re been terrible bloggers lately, we are proud to bring you the first ever contest here at WATS! Leave a comment on this post for your chance to win one of three copies of MiniBoone’s Big Changes. Be sure to fill our your email field! Three winners will be randomly drawn on April 13/2010! Good luck!

Tracklist:

1. Summer Jam (click to listen!)

2. Cool Kids Cut Out of the Heart Itself

3. Devil In Your Eyes (click to listen!)

4. Rosalina Must Dance Alone

5. I Need

6. Funny Money

– The Wolf & The Sheep

Be sure to also:

Add them on myspace!
Add them on twitter!
Add them on facebook!

CONTEST IS NOW CLOSED! THANKS EVERYONE! WINNERS WILL BE ANNOUNCED!

Band of Horses – Compliments;

If you haven’t heard (c’mon you’ve heard, right?) Band of Horses is set to release its third full length studio album on May 18, 2010. Are you excited for it? It’s okay, you can admit it – come on, it’s alright to be excited about something, don’t be shy. Well, we are and we are also excited (so much excitement) to bring you the first track off of the much anticipated Infinite Arms titled ‘Compliments.’

So, now that you’ve been reminded (you totally knew before reading this), be sure to bold the calendar box for the 18th of May, trace its four sides with your favorite colored glitter pen and inside of the box paste a picture of a cute little horse head (Godfather imagery not included) and then wait, patiently – crossing off the days one by one with your favorite pastel colored gel pen.

Until then though, be sure to listen to ‘Compliments’ as much as you’d like by taking advantage of the download link below, which will help hold you over.

Download Band of Horses – Compliments MP3 here.

Oh, yeah and what do you think? I think it’s great and if the rest of the CD is this good, it will definitely be one of my most played of the summer. However, I’m not sure what the Sheep thinks yet because she is on a double date with Dorian Gray and destiny and to be honest, that’s not really something I feel comfortable interrupting – sheep are very passionate beasts, you know.

Band of Horses – Compliments lyrics
(I think)

I’m fixing a drink in the morning
With the way things are, you may have stayed too long
It’s splitting a part at the seams from the hospital call
You’ve known him so long
If there’s a God up in the air
Someone looking over everyone
At least you’ve got something to fall back on
And deep in the heart of the country
Was a house I built from logs
A raven and a lady call
I’m quiet and calm through the day
See the sun burn through the hall
Approaching was a yellow dog
If there’s a God up in the air
Someone looking over everyone
At least you’ve got something to fall back on
And what are people really for?
Does anybody even care?
I bet you get a lot of compliments down there
If there’s a God up in the air
Someone looking over everyone
At least you’ve got something to fall back on
And do you got something to say?
Is it something coming over you?
And do you got important things left to do?

The track listing for Infinite Arms goes a little something like this:

01. Factory
02. Compliments
03. Laredo
04. Blue Beard
05. On My Way Back Home
06. Infinite Arms
07. Dilly
08. Evening Kitchen
09. Older
10. For Annabelle
11. NW Apt.
12. Neighbor

Band of Horses Myspace
Pre-order ‘Infinite Arms’ here.