The 10 Best Things I Heard This Year

#10 The 2 Bears - Bear Hug



#9 Fuck Buttons during the opening ceremony; a genuinely gob-smacking moment.

#8 Night Works - I Tried So Hard



#7 Kiki Gyan - Disco Train



Can someone explain to me how this wasn't a massive hit way back when?

#6 Romy - Home [mp3]



#5 Slow Club - Two Cousins



#4 Julio Bashmore - Au Seve



#3 Todd Terje - Inspector Norse



#2 Breakbot - By Your Side Pt1 + 2



Well worth knocking iTunes off shuffle and letting them flow together.

#1 James Pants Boiler Room Mix



I may have heard this first at the arse end of 2011, but I can only really remember it from this autumn and it has been on heavy rotation at work ever since. Bonkers and brilliant.

Related Shiznit: The 10 Best Things I Heard This Year (2011), Top 10 Tracks Of 2010, The 10 Best Things I Heard This Year (2009) 

Slugabed Didn't Ruin It

I talked in a previous post about how a few tracks fell by the wayside when putting together Xmas Mix 2012, but one track that was a very late addition was Slugabed's deconstruction of Wham's Last Christmas. And I don't think I'll regret it when I incessantly post about it in roughly 11 months time (though I already wish I extended the Busta Rhymes sample).

I picked up on the Wham remix after FACT ambiguously posted about it yet a quick watch of this sweet video shows he's worth investigating further.



P.S. That "Swag" sample is from this Dr Buckles' favourite, no?

Getting Pumped On Boxing Day

Basically, Chilly Gonzales strips back Daft Punk's Rollin' & Scratchin', covers it in some of his twinkly piano magic and plops a Rocky sample on top of it (the big speech to the son from the last movie).

I think we know by now that I would post things based solely on a pun... it's Boxing Day FFS... but I'm also posting this because I'll be using it tomorrow; yeah I still use music to get pumped up before 5-a-side and I'll need it even more tomorrow as it's an 11-a-side game. I may die.


[Right-click and "Download Document" for an mp3 of Chilly Gonzales's Piano Rework of Daft Punk's Rollin' & Scratchin']

Twin Peaks @ Christmas

I don't know what Christmas traditions you have but Plus One Loo has Christmas Eve presents and my family do tree presents (titchy tat that is put on the tree and is to be opened around dinner time).

I got Loo a LMFAO tote bag (she is literally shuffling everyday) for the tree but for Christmas Eve it was the soundtrack of David Lynch's epic TV murder mystery, Twin Peaks.


If you haven't seen it then I recommend you fire up Netflix, because I can't do it justice in a mere paragraph or two. For those who are already fans here's an mp3 of the full Twin Peaks theme music. That's right, I've already nabbed and ripped it. What a great boyfriend, huh?


[Right-click and "Download Document" for an mp3 of Angelo Badalamenti's Twin Peaks Theme]

Oh and as a little Twin Peaks Christmas bonus...

Xmas Mix 2012: The Offcuts

Despite the appearance of it being randomly thrown together and seeing what sticks, I went through a lot of tracks for my Xmas Mix 2012. They were all pretty good (naturally) but just didn't seem to fit in with the hip-hop/weird shit flow, but I feel that I should post some of them anyway... though I'll be holding a few back for next year's mix.

In my first rough mix, these two were wedged in early but Plus One Loo rightly said they didn't sit right. With a long spoken word intro and being slightly less than bangin' when it kicks in, The Walkmen's Christmas Party is still a great track and worthy of a quick listen...



The other track to fall at the last hurdle was The Sonics' Don't Believe In Christmas. This is nothing to do with the track itself; it would've slotted nicely alongside Julian Casablancas' I Wish It Was Christmas Today, but the mp3 I had of it was too quiet and despite playing around with compression and whatnot, I couldn't get it to sound right. Next year then, maybe.



Haim's The Chanukah Song was nowhere near being in the mix, as it's, well, not really about Christmas but it is seasonal I suppose.



Unlike Gucci Mane's North Pole but that almost made it in... maybe I'm secretly anti-Semitic?



Nah, I love the Jews. And on that note, Merry Christmas everybody and if you haven't heard it already, please give my Christmas mix a spin; if anyone wants the mp3 of it, gimme a shout in the comments.

Related Shiznit: Xmas Mix 2012, Xmas Mix 2011, Xmas 2010

Xmas Mix 2012

Same idea as last year and the year before that...

Xmas Mix 2012 by Sammyfax on Mixcloud

Tracklist:

1. Crass - Merry Crassmas (Excerpt)
2. Esquivel - Jingle Bells
3. Wham! - Last Christmas (Slugabed Ruined It )
4. Julian Casablancas - I Wish It Was Christmas Today
5. Snoop Doggy Dogg (Ft. Daz Dillinger, Nate Dogg, Tray Deee, Bad Azz) - Santa Claus Goes Straight To The Ghetto
6. Brother Nature - Merry Little Christmas
7. T.Rex - Super Funk Christmas
8. Run DMC - Christmas Is
9. Ludacris - Ludachristmas
10. Dirty Boyz - All I Want For Christmas Is To Get It Crunk
11. Crass - Merry Crassmas (Excerpt)

Related Shiznit: Xmas Mix 2011, Xmas Mix 2010

Bit.Trip Beats

I got Bit.Trip Complete in the post yesterday and actually gasped when a free soundtrack CD fell out of it. Music plays an important part in the six-game Bit.Trip series and it goes hand-in-hand with the graphics and gameplay; Arcade, 8-bit and day-glo. Its retro-futurism is done with heart, class and style.

I've played demos of Bit.Trip Fate and Bit.Trip Beat (the most musically integrated title) but I'm currently hammering Bit.Trip Void:



Triumph comes from the infuriating Bit.Trip Runner but I think it's worth a listen even if you have no experience of the game.



[Right-click and "Download Document" for mp3 of Triumph from Bit.Trip Runner]

It may have started with the Zeldastep but this is definitely a crossing the Rubicon moment for me when it comes to video game soundtracks as legitimate sources of bangers (ten years late, right?)

I've also learned that you can swear on the free Amazon gift notes, good to know...

Rustie's Essential Mix

Gorilla Vs Bear recently posted its mixes of 2012 and what with me being famous for living on the very cutting-edge of the electrosphere, I hadn't heard any of them.

At number #4 in their list is this stunning mix by Rustie. Pitchfork can tell you why it's good or you could just use your ears...


Tracklist:

The Friends of Distinction - Impressions (Dialogue)
Rustie - Gilded Jewel Case
Dreams - Bloodsport
The Blessings - Whoopi
Hudson Mohawke - Gooo
Rick Ross - MMG The World is Ours
Rustie - All Nite (Demo Version)
Clams Casino - Im God
Juicy J - Geeked Up Off Them Bars
Obey City - Work Move
Love Shy - That First Kiss
Xcuse - All Right (Shiftee Remix)
Asap Twelvy - Our World
Rustie - Eyezz
S-Type - Billboard
Surkin - Gold Island - (Bok Bok & L-vis 1990 Remix)
Kavsrave - No More (Slow Jams)
Lunice - Cant Wait To
Nightwave - Night Bird
Rustie - City Star (vip)
Baauer - Harlam Shake
Hudson Mohawke - Push
My Dry Wet Mess - When We Were Wrong
Skeletone 3
Rustie - Reflector
Lone - Dream Ache
Rustie - Love Frequency
Surkin - White Knight (Jackson & His Computer Band Remix)
Fox Gut Daata - Throb Black Map
Rustie - Crakk Squirrel
Rustie - Prizm
Cashmere Cat - Mirror Maru
Destinys Child - Get on the Bus
Rustie - Shifft
Lucky Beard - Shake Your Nipples
Krystal Klear - Pistol Chauffeur
Obey City - Fallin
Cid Rim - JazzJazzJazz (Dorian Concept Remix)
Big Sean - Marvin & Chardonay
Manix! - Feel Reel Good
Heezy Baby - Logobi Heezy International
Cassie - King of Hearts (Kanye West Remix)
Rustie - Hover Traps
Wiz Khalifa - Guilty Conscience
Rustie - Mint Lotus
Rustie - Gold Likk
Danny Brown - Witit
Rustie - Frazzle
Rustie - Ooompa
Rustie - Cat Nip
Rustie - Sawdust
Drake - Lord Knows
Tnght - R U Ready
Baauer - Dumdum
Nicki Minaj - I Am Your Leader
Eprom - Regis Chillbin (Machinedrum Remix)
Dorian Concept - Toothbrush
Rustie - Teen Souls Burning
Rustie - 444Sure
The Friends of Distinction - Impressions (Dialogue)

Christmas Crunk

Smashed my first mince pie yesterday and Plus One Loo is watching Miracle On 34th Street. It's Christmas motherhugger and so the hunt starts for tracks for this year's Xmas Mix...



This is so on it. "Dashin' through the snow in a stolen Chevrolet..."

Related Shiznit: Xmas Mix 2011 + Xmas Mix 2010