Song of the Day for August 17th, 2010: "Acid Reign" by Violens

And the song is....Acid Reign, by American alternative-rock  band Violens. Violens is another band from NYC, they formed back in 2007 and include members Iddo Arad (synths, vocals), Ben Brantley (bass), Jorge Elbrecht (lead vocals, guitar), and Kris King (drums). Acid Reign comes off of their upcoming release album titled Amoral, and if you like this song enough, it is available as a free mp3 download at their myspace page found here.

The Song of the Day is....

...Beyond All, by Australian indie-latin-rock-ska-jazz-eclectic band The Cat Empire. Now I have personally seen this band live twice and would recommend it. The Cat Empire is a hard band to classify as a genre as they mish-mash so many different musical styles and so many of their songs are different sounding from others, but not to worry, wikipedia just classifies them as "eclectic," so there is even a genre for "no classifiable genre." Directly quoted from wikipedia "Currently, the Cat Empire is composed of Felix Riebl (percussion and vocals), Harry James Angus (trumpet and vocals), Ollie McGill, Ryan Monro (bass and backing vocals), Will Hull-Brown (drums) and Jamshid "Jumps" Khadiwhala (decks, percussion). They are also commonly backed by the Empire Horns, a brass duo, and have recurring guest musicians, (keyboard and backing vocals)." They formed back in 1999 and have released 5 studio albums, and 3 live albums. Beyond All comes off of their June 25th, 2010 new album release titled Cinema. Enjoy!

And the Song of the Day is....

...The Suburbs, by Canadian indie rock band Arcade Fire. Arcade Fire come out of Montreal, Quebec and are fronted by husband and wife duo Win Butler and Régine Chassagne, amongst other band members not mentioned here. They've won awards and have been a fairly well known act in the new-rock world for a few years now. The Suburbs is the title track and earliest debut release off of their brand-spanking new album, to be officially released in early August of 2010 titled The Suburbs. Enjoy!

And the "Hot Song of the Day" is....

...Saturn, by Aussie rock band Last Dinosaurs. The Last Dinosaurs are a trio with a unique sound that come out of Brisbane Australia (aka Brissie or Bris-vegas). The band consists of Sean Caskey (vocals/guitar) Lach Caskey (guitar) Danjuro Koyama (drums) and Sam Gethin-Jones (bass). This song comes off of their EP called Back From the Dead, which was released in March 2010. I am looking forward to their full length album release for sure. Unfortunately youtube doesn't quite have this song, so you have to go to following link to listen to it: SATURN by LAST DINOSAURS. Back From The Dead

And the "Hot Song of the Day" is....

...Living in America, by American indie-pop group DOM (previously known as FUR). This DOM is a 3 piece band from Worcester, Maine, and the reason I said "this DOM" is because there are about 8 other bands around the globe by the name of DOM, so its not too original to say the least. Living in America comes off of their Sun Bronzed Greek Gods EP released in April of 2010. They have an interesting sound and it is an eclectic mix for sure. Check out their myspace page here.

And the "Hot New Music" song of the day is....

...Skeleton Boy, by English dance-punk band Friendly Fires. Friendly Fires was formed in 2006 in St Albans, Hertfordshire, UK and they have released 3 EP's and 1 studio album. Skeleton Boy was released in March 2009. In 2009 the band was nominated for Best Breakthrough Award at The South Bank Show Awards and for ‘Best Dancefloor Filler’ at the NME Awards, as well as for the Mercury Music Prize. Their self-titled studio album reached #21 on the UK albums chart. Enjoy!

And the "Hot New Music" song of the day is....

...Tighten Up, by American blues-rock group the Black Keys. The Black Keys have been around for awhile now, they formed in Akron, Ohio back in 2001 and have released 8 studio albums a 2 EP's in that time. That is including the collaboration album they did just recently with several R&B and hip hop artists titled Blakroc, which I would highly recommend checking out if you haven't already. Also, the Black Keys are a duo consisting of vocalist/guitarist Dan Auerbach and drummer/producer Patrick Carney. Tighten Up comes off of their latest album release Brothers, which hit the scene in May 2010, so is still fairly fresh and new. *Note, I am going to start using all wikimedia images for the bands I post as I am certain they are considered public domain, so there, and enjoy the song.

And the "Hot New Music" song of the day is....

...ATX, by New York based rock group Alberta Cross. Alberta Cross was formed by Petter Ericson Stakee (vocals, guitar) & Terry Wolfers (bass), both artists are originally from UK, but now based in America. ATX comes off of their Broken Side of Time album, released in January 2010. The first time I heard this song, I thought it was Oasis, or someone who sounded a bit like them. Check wikipedia or allmusic for more info.

VJ Samsonite's "Hot New Music" song of the day is....

...Say Please, by American "supergroup" Monsters of Folk. Monsters of Folk is made up of Jim James from My Morning Jacket, Conor Oberst and Mike Mogis from Bright Eyes and M. Ward. The band was formed in 2004 and started playing together whilst on tour with their individual bands and groups. Their first album was finally released in 2009 and hit # 15 on the Billboard Top 200. According to wikipedia it also "reached #3 on Top Independent Albums, #8 on Top Rock Albums, #7 on Top Digital Albums, and #6 on Top Alternative Albums." I don't know about you but I am looking forward to checking out more of their stuff, and without further ado, her is Say Please ala youtube:

VJ Samsonite's "Hot New Music" song of the day is....

...Heartbreaker, by Canadian electronica group MSTRKRFT (pronounced Mastercraft). MSTRKRFT comes out of Toronto and formed in 2005. The group consists of two members, Jesse F. Keeler and Al-P. Heartbreaker comes off of their Fist of God album (released in March 2009), which was their second studio album. Heartbreaker reached #5 on the UK Dance Charts, whilst Fist of God was ranked #14 Top Electronic Albums. MSTRKRFT are known for their various remixes of songs by other artists as well. Snap!

VJ Samsonite's "Hot New Music" song of the day is....

...Repulsion, by US indie-rock band Quasi. Quasi come at us out of ever-green Portland, Oregon, regional home of the Trailblazers, great micro-brews, me, and much much more. Quasi formed in 1993, consisting of an ex-husband and wife duo, Sam Coomes (vocals, guitar, rocksichord, and keyboards) and Janet Weiss on vocals and drums, to later on add bassist Joanna Bolme (in 2007). Quasi have been fairly prolific as they have released 10 studio albums. Repulsion, comes off of their latest album titled American Gong, which was released in February of 2010. I heard this band on the radio, an internet radio station and liked it, plus they are from my hometown. The radio personality was saying that they reckoned that Quasi are lost in the 90's, which I suppose I can see as they have some guitar riffs shades of Smashing Pumpkins, and vocals a bit reminiscent of 80's band The Replacements; but all in all that is all completely subjective, and they are indie-rock, so that's enough for me. Blah!

VJ Samsonite's "Hot New Music" song of the day is....

...Dog Days Are Over,  by UK indie-pop artist Florence and the Machine. Florence and the Machine comes out of London, and consists of Florence Welch, along with a variety of other artists that play backgrounds and other parts for her songs, but Florence is the lead. They are a young band, and released their first album in December 2008. They have a sort of indie-folk-pop sound, which alternates a bit during this song. I don't have too much more to say about this band as I really don't know much, but alas, this is the song of da day!

VJ Samsonite's "Hot New Music" song of the day is....

...Orange X, by Aussie alternative indie rock band The Seabellies. The Seabellies come at us out of Sydney, yes you heard correctly, another good rock band from the Sunny Down-unda,' fackin' oath maite! Wikipedia states that they are also based out beautiful Newcastle, and New South Wales in general, so I guess they claim the whole state as their home-base, fair enough. The Seabellies formed in 2006, and released a 6-track EP in 2007. Orange X is a single just released in 2010. The band consists of 6 members and as you can hear they incorporate some electronica/electro into their sound (as many of the bands of the moment do). I personally haven't heard their other tracks, but I dig this one, so here it is. Big ups yoself!

VJ Samsonite's "Hot New Music" song of the day is....

...Little Secrets, by US electronica band Passion Pit. Passion Pit come at us out of Cambridge, Massachusetts and formed in 2007. The group consists of Michael Angelakos (lead vocals/keyboards), Ian Hultquist (keyboards/guitar), Ayad Al Adhamy (synth), Jeff Apruzzese (bass) and Nate Donmoyer (on da drums). According to wikipedia, the name is derived from slang that was used to describe drive-in movie theaters as "passion pits," due to teenage hancky-pancky that tends to go on there. Passion Pit have released an EP and one full-length studio album. Little Secrets comes off of their album titled Manners (released in May 2009). Passion Pit definitely have a unique sound and electronic style to their music that makes them stand out a bit in that realm where so many bands tend to sound, how does one say "same same, but different." There are also such a ridiculous number of remixes by so many other dj's and groups out there that it can be a chore just to sort through it all to find the original mixes. Bloody volcanoes!

VJ Samsonite's "Hot New Music" song of the day is....

...Help I'm Alive, by Canadian indie rock band Metric. Metric comes out of Toronto originally, and have moved base-locale a few times to London, Montreal, New York, and Los Angeles. The band consists of vocalist Emily Haines (who also plays the synthesizer and guitar), guitarist James Shaw (who also plays the theremin), bassist Josh Winstead and drummer Joules Scott-Key. Metric has won a couple of Juno Awards for past albums, as well as a 2006 Polaris Music Prize for Canadian album of the year. Help I'm Alive is the first song off of their Fantasies album (released in April 2009). Now Metric is actually a band that has received some airplay here on the mainstream radio stations and I've actually heard another good song of theirs off of the Fantasies album titled Gold Guns Girls played on the radio a few times, which surprised me, in a good way. I was pondering making a tribute with this song, but I don't really like the movie that comes to mind to mix it to, so we will see if I make it or not. Big ups yoself!

VJ Samsonite's "Hot New Music" song of the day is....

...Wayside, by Canvas Kites. Canvas Kites are an Aussie guitar band coming out of Sydney Australia. The group formed in April 2009 & consists of Thom Moore on lead vocals and electric guitar, Alex Knight on drums, and Brett Adrien on bass guitar. And that's about all I could find on the band. Naturally they have a myspace page here, and a brief intro at last fm.Thom Moore also features in a band called Mercy Arms. Wayside (released in July of 2009) is the bands first release and will most likely star on their EP, when it is released, but there doesn't seem to be any info on when the EP-release will be :-( Check it out!Mercy Arms

VJ Samsonite's "Hot New Music" song of the day is....

...Always More, by London-based electro duo Autokratz. Autokratz are a relatively young duo, and had their original debut just 2 years ago in 2008. They are signed to a French electronic label called Kitsuné Music. The Autokratz have a definitive heavy electronic sound with dark undertones, in that it is not upbeat eletronica, but lends something more towards a robotic-industrial-techno-esque sound (thus the name Autokratz), but it is one of those things that is difficult to desribe, and in the end you just have to listen to it yourself. Always More has some definite post-apocalyptic energy to it as well, and it was released originally as a single in 2009, later to be added onto their studio album release entitled Animal. Well, enjoy the song and try to get a bit supasonic, or something like that...Ahghh!

VJ Samsonite's "Hot New Music" song of the day is....

...Honolulu, by Aussie indie rock band Last Dinosaurs. The Last Dinosaurs come at us out of sunny Queensland, from the city of Brisbane (aka Brissie!), which is not far from the sunshine coast there in Australia. The band consists of Sean Caskey (vocals/guitar) Lach Caskey (guitar) Danjuro Koyama (drums) and Sam Gethin-Jones (bass). This song comes off of their EP called Back From the Dead, which was released in March 2010. This band has it! They have a pretty basic indie-rock sound, nothing too fancy, but there is something else to their stuff that makes it..oh I don't know.. "delightful" and "upbeat." Anyways, there is not much info about them, but naturally they have a myspace page HERE, and if you sign up to their mailing list you get a free mp3 download, so don't miss that! The video is just a picture, but the song is decent quality, all I could find on good old youtube, Woot!Back From The Dead

VJ Samsonite's "Hot New Music" song of the day is....

...Memories (feat. Kid CuDi), by French DJ/House Producer David Guetta. Kid CuDi (whom I have made previous new music posts about) is a U.S. rapper coming out of Chicago. David Guetta is actually the first French artist that I have posted on here (and don't discount the French, they brought us the trail-blazing group Daft Punk, and for that I will ever be grateful to the French music industry). David Guetta originally was a big-time DJ in 80's and 90's, has since co-founded label Gum Productions and has since released many albums, collaborating with heaps of big name artists, including his recent release featuring Senegalese-American rapper Akon called Sexy Bitch, which became a top 5 hit in the US, and is played literally every 5 minutes on the mainstream radio stations. Kid CuDi is a very talented young electro-rap artist, and I encourage everyone to check out the previous posts I've made of his work (and there will be future ones as well no doubt!). What it is!!

VJ Samsonite's "Hot New Music" song of the day is....

...Sometimes, by Aussie electro-pop group Miami Horror. Miami Horror hails at us out of Melbourne, Australia (an amazing city with heaps of amazing new artists I might add). This band does an excellent job of sticking to the groovy synth-blips and beats (so characteristic of the electro-genre) along with occasional vocals, although many of their songs don't include much in the vocal department. Miami Horror has an LP coming out this year (TBA), and have released an EP in 2008 called Bravado. Sometimes is a single which was released in 2009. They have collaborated with another Melbourne electro-pop group called Gameboy/Gamegirl and have produced a collaborative EP with them as well called Golden Ghetto Sex. Without further ado, da song...o