Telekinesis Makes MAGNET A Mix Tape

The young man behind Telekinesis has already been hoisted upon the shoulders of Carrie Brownstein (the Sleater-Kinney guitarist wrote a glowing review of debut album Telekinesis!) and Chris Walla (the Death Cab guitarist produced the record). Meet Michael Benjamin Lerner, the Seattle musican who can’t move objects with his mind but does have special powers in the indie-pop realm. The well-schooled Lerner—a former student at Sir Paul McCartney’s Liverpool Institute of Performing Arts—let MAGNET have a peek at his perfect mix tape. Telekinesis! (Merge) is out now, and Lerner and Co. are currently on tour.

“Coast Of Carolina” (download):

“I Saw Lightning” (download):

ANNIE “Heartbeat”
With it being summer, and weather getting a little warmer, this record always seems to make its way back into my stereo. It’s Norwegian pop music, and it’s catchy as heck. I always feel bad for liking this, but I can never stop listening to it.

M83 “Kim & Jessie”
This is one of the best songs I’ve heard in a long time. Killer production, super French vocals, totally epic chorus complete with creepy bird sounds. Hooray, M83.

PEARL JAM “Spin The Black Circle”
Guitars!

THE RADIO DEPT. “Where Damage Isn’t Already Done”
Distorted, fuzzy and absolutely lovely. Lesser Matters is an incredibly overlooked record that deserves your attention. Proof once again that a good song overcomes, regardless of the production.

SPANK ROCK “Backyard Betty”
Baltimore’s own; super dirty beats with even more dirty rhymes. It’s definitely hip hop for indie hipster kids, and I think it’s pretty incredible.

WELCOME “All Set”
Spazzy rock from Seattle, Wash. Think Deerhoof. This song references my old neighborhood in Seattle, the Pike/Pine/Union neighborhood. An amazing record.

WILD BEASTS “Devils Crayon”
Mega British, Smiths-y pop music from the Lake District, in Northern England. One of my favorite songs of 2008, hands down.

JARVIS COCKER “Fat Children”
What can you say of Jarvis Cocker? This is a wonderfully upbeat number about getting mugged and killed by fat children on the sketchy streets of London. Jarvis is genius.

AN HORSE “Camp Out”
Wonderful, wonderful pop song made by wonderful, wonderful people.

FIGURINES “The Wonder”
It’s the Danish answer to Built To Spill!