MIX TAPE

What hasn’t Craig Wedren done? His resume is a long list of musical endeavors: frontman of D.C.’s Shudder To Think, founder of disco/punk group Baby, composer for an extensive catalog of movies and TV shows, contributor to a variety of other bands and solo artist. He’s even victoriously battled Hodgkin’s lymphoma. And he shows no sign of slowing down, with a new Shudder To Think album out last fall (Live From Home on Team Love), plus his recently released sophomore solo album, The Spanish Amnesian (Nerveland), which was originally recorded in 1995. Here’s a mix tape Wedren made for MAGNET (”Craig Wedren Hellajawns For The 010,” he calls it), which includes several of his own projects. Can you blame him?

“Baby Don’t Smile” (download):

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Wild Beasts “We Still Got The Taste Dancin’ On Our Tongues”
If I were starting a band now, I would want this song to sort of be all of our songs. Mixed with Brahms and maybe a little Prince. Video

Deradoorian
Girl, yes. Check out the videos for “Weed Jam” and “High Road.”

Fever Ray
Live in 2009, they restored my faith in lasers and rock shows. Theater, religion, spectacle, spooky pop tingle and visual black-metal signifiers colliding with ritualized pelt-covered witch craft all set to their awesome songs, which slink hard live. Video

Glass Candy
2001/2002 CD-R demos. Spread the love. Ida No is one of my favorite singers. While I like the Italo version of Glass Candy, which has garnered them some long-overdue attention, for me, nothing compares to the first CD-R demo I got in 2002, which at the time struck me like Mötley Crüe’s debut fingering early PiL (or Killing Joke) with Maria Callas, Diamanda Gallas and Iggy Pop all vying for throat-torture primacy. Check out “Love Love Love”

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Lennon Olam Wedren (Dancing To Kanye At 14 Months Old)
We were at a hotel in N.Y., and m’boy popped the clock radio and tuned in to Hot 97. Video.

Micachu And The Shapes
Just, like, a real cool record. Check out “Vulture.” Video

Prefab Sprout
Re-obsession. When I moved to D.C. in the 11th grade (1985), I listened to Steve McQueen (or Two Wheels Good or whatever you call it) on headphones over and over for a few months until I’d made a few friends, joined a band and had something else to do at night other than cry. Steve McQueen and Prefab’s first record, Swoon, have remained favorites ever since. After reading a Mojo interview last year with the reclusive and elusive Paddy McAloon (who essentially is Prefab Sprout at this point), I went on a spree and bought their entire catalogue, including all of the records I wrongly dismissed post-Steve McQueen. Their worst records are intriguingly good, and their best are truly classic, up there with Wilson, Gibb, Costello, Bacharch, you name it, in the idiosyncratic pop-genius department. My wife, however, 100 percent disagrees: can’t stand ‘em. Check out the videos for “Cue Fanfare,” “When Love Breaks Down,” “Looking For Atlantis” and “Pearly Gates” for the full, glorious spectrum.

Thomas Mapfumo “Dindingwe”
The whole Thomas Mapfumo And The Acid Band’s Hokoyo! record is real good. Something called “Chimurenga music.” African, groovy, but with unexpected time signatures and a constant 1/16-note high-hat locking everything down and keeping it all floaty at the same time. Check it out.

Life Without Buildings Live At The Annandale Hotel
Technically ‘08, I think (at least that’s when I got it), but I wanna keep spreading the word until everybody possesses a copy. The whole record is great. Check out “Juno” for a taste. Sue Tompkins’ spirit comes through every second of the recording: fragmental ebullience.

Vampire Weekend “Run,”  ”I Think Ur A Contra”
Why the haters, folks? If half the bands making records and wowing the trend rags ‘n’ blogs these days made songs half this solid, the noise garbage that swamps our heads online and in-car would be golden, clean-burning fuel for our dreams and kisses. Check out the videos for “Run” and “I Think Ur A Contra.”

Berlin Philharmonic “Selig Sind, Die Da Leid Tragen”
From A German Requiem by Brahms. The director Alexander Payne turned me on to this when we were working on Hung together, although I think he meant a different piece of music. Nonetheless, minds were blown, and I think this here piece does in 10 minutes what I may spend the rest of my life striving to achieve.

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Adriano Celentano “Raffaella Carrà”
Shudder brother Nato Nathan Larson sent me this sick link a few weeks ago. He got it from Tom Verlaine, so there. It’s all other/old-worldly perfection, from a Fellini-ish time and place where probably government-subsidized Italian variety-show budgets would cover the cocaine, the cosmic sex dancers and top-notch dream-funk sung in Italo-gibberish to beat the everlovin’ band. Esp. peep the Rocky Horror/Magenta-meets-Nico diva at 1:19. Wowzer. Wow, sir. Video

Nina Simone “Feelings”
Live in 1976. Another one courtesy of Nathan. There is nothing better than this that I know of. Thank you, Nina. And thank you, Nate! Video

Anton Batagov The Wheel Of The Law
This is from a few years back, but I want you to know about this Russian composer’s stunning, trance-inducing, eerie bell compositions. Check out “Dus-Kyi Khor-Lo.”

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OK Go “WTF?”
Beautiful candy-smear of a video, this is. Pop. Awesome song, too. In fact, the whole record’s excellent. Seems like along with Vampire Weekend, OK Go are helping to wipe some of the boring out of the top 10. Gents, let’s. Also, the director, Tim Nackashi, and I are working together on a movie version of my upcoming record, WAND. Video

The Dead Science Featuring Craig Wedren ”Make Mine Marvel (Craig Dub Plate)”
This is a remix I did for my brilliant (and woefully underappreciated) friends in the Dead Science. This band is friggin’ amazing, and the remix tape they made of their last record (Villainaire = original record; School Of Villainy = remix tape) is genius. Here’s a video I made for the holidays last year with “MMM” as the soundtrack. My wife thought it was too scary to give to the in-laws, so I changed the music for gift-giving purposes.

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Pocket Featuring Craig Wedren “Someone To Run Away From”
Did this song with my friend Richard (a.k.a. Pocket), and I love it so.

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Shudder To Think Live From Home
If you weren’t at the shows, get the record. If you were, then you know. So you hopefully already have it. Listen to “Lies About The Sky” live. From home.

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If you’re like us here at MAGNET, you’ve spent a great deal of time contemplating what artists you would put together to form your ultimate dream band. And apparently, so has San Francisco’s Citay, which used the concept in choosing the name for its recently released fourth album, Dream Get Together (Dead Oceans). This inspired the band to ask its musician friends to create their own supergroups, which are regularly being posted on Citay’s website. Frontman Ezra Feinberg made MAGNET his own “dream get together” of songs on this mix tape, which he claims are “the most epic of all epic jams” and verifies, “The Oxford English Dictionary’s definition of the word epic: ‘noting or pertaining to a long poetic composition, usually centered upon a hero, in which a series of great achievements or events is narrated in elevated style.’ The following are my favorite rock epics. (This mix would require several cassette tapes.)”

“Careful With That Hat” (download):

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“Mirror Kisses” (download):

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Led Zeppelin “In The Light”
Led Zeppelin probably has the most epic jams per album, so it’s hard to say which is the most epic. Of course “Stairway” is the rock-epic standard, but I believe “In The Light” is the most epic of all epic Zeppelin. Jimmy Page once said he believed Zeppelin’s music consisted of shades of light and dark, and droning intro, heavy-dirge verse and the bright, chiming clavinets of the chorus. Every time I listen to it all the way through, I feel as though I myself have gone through the hero’s journey. Video

Pink Floyd “Shine On You Crazy Diamond Parts 1-5″
Pink Floyd also have many epics, and again, the most classic is not this one but rather “Echoes.” And while “Echoes” is a true feat and an undeniably beautiful epic, “Shine On You Crazy Diamond, Parts 1-5″ certifies the Floyd as masters of the epic. It also begins with a long drone, but this one has David Gilmour’s elegant, lyrical soloing easing us into the mysterious world of this song. Synth and sax solos proceed over a sinister groove, all of it leading into the the soul jam that ensues once the vocals arrive. Given that the vocals don’t even come before the nine-minute mark, I believe this song is an exploration of the possibilities of the long introduction. Video

Mike Oldfield “Hergest Ridge Part 1″
Most people know him for “Tubular Bells,” but I believe “Hergest Ridge” is his most epic achievement. Comprised of two side-long pastoral instrumentals, it’s remarkable to imagine a time when something this epic topped the charts, but it did, reaching number one in the U.K. in 1974. Video

Television “Marquee Moon”
The words “epic” and “punk” are rarely seen in the same sentence, but this is a punk classic and it’s 10 minutes long. Historians say Television started punk and that punk ended overly indulgent (read: epic) prog rock, but Television were punk and epic—and “Marquee Moon” is a revelation. Video

The Allman Brothers “Whipping Post”
When I was 15, I was obsessed with how intense this song sounded. I learned it on the guitar, note for note, and when my band at the time did a cover of it, I was very psyched. It was my first hands-on experience of epicness. The build at the end still kills me. Video

Metallica “The Call Of Ktulu”
There are so many Metallica epics, it is impossible to say which is best, but “The Call Of Ktulu” is an instrumental (instrumetal?) that grows slowly. The song has so many peaks and valleys; it paints a landscape of heaviness in all its textures. By the end, I’m often exhausted from air drumming. Video

Brian Eno And Robert Fripp “The Heavenly Music Corporation”
No Pussyfootin‘ outlined a new kind of epic at the time: soaring, spaced-out guitars treated through Frippertronics glowing through Eno’s budding ambient textures in two side-long tracks. It’s not about the progression of composed sections leading the listener from one part to the next. This is epic on a sonic plane, for the long drives of the mind. Video

Iron Maiden “The Rime Of The Ancient Mariner”
Maiden have a way of beginning at the peak and taking you higher and higher. This song is like five Maiden jams in one, which makes sense since it’s their interpretation of Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s 18th-century epic. Video

Harvey Milk “Death Goes To The Winner”
All of these examples of epicness are from long ago except this song, from 2008. This is the most emotive, searing, intense guitar solo I’ve heard in recent years, and when the song goes on to quote both the Beatles and the Velvet Underground at the end, in a genius, non-mocking, non-stupid, totally smart and genuinely strange way, I was put over the top. I don’t want to give away this one too much in case you haven’t heard it. Video

No, this has nothing to do with that USA For Africa charity single or its unfortunate remake. We Are The World is a Los Angeles quartet comprised of a film composer, a choreographer, a designer and a CIA agent turned burlesque dancer (seriously). With their very diverse forces combined, they create madcap electronica and have gained notoriety for visceral, choreographed live performances. The band’s debut album, Clay Stones, is out April 6 via Manimal Vinyl. Here’s the Mix Tape that primary songwriter Robbie Williamson made for MAGNET.

“Clay Stones” (download):

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Jonny Greenwood “Proven Lands”
This is definitely a standout track on There Will Be Blood. Stomping through the prairie for five minutes with no dialogue. Video

La La La Human Steps “Human Sex”
Just watch it. Video

Wildbirds & Peacedrums “There Is Know Light”
One of my favorite tracks of the last few years. Minimal, raw and delightful. Video

Fever Ray “If I Had A Heart (Fuck Buttons Remix)”
Fuck Buttons add a hard touch that still makes you feel like you’re going to float away. Video

Alex Kid “Nightshade”
Play this at any dance party and you will find that things will get very, very nice. Video

The Jesus Lizard “Then Comes Dudley”
Heaviest track of the ’90s. Everything about the song is perfect. Video

Trentemoller “African People”
Kind of an unknown Trenemoller track. You find yourself wondering why Trentmoller is not the ruler of the universe, here to take us through galactic walls. Audio

Jimmy Edgar “LBLB Detroit”
Pure R&B sex done so tastefully. Video

Konrad Black “Medusa Smile”
One of the sickest minimal-techno tracks ever made. Video

Damian Lazarus “Moment”
Just a beautiful song that has everything. Lazarus is a master. Video

Clipd Beaks just released its sophomore album, To Realize (Lovepump United). The 11-track LP mixes psychedelic rock with chaotic noise, drone-y post-punk and sonic experimentation. When the Oakland trio submitted its mix tape to us, the boys included this note: “We had a great time putting this together and appreciate the opportunity. We picked out songs that are close to our hearts and share similar themes as the ones we’ve presented on our new record. Enjoy.” We’re sure you will as much as we do.

“Blood” (download):

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Royal Trux “Follow The Winner”
Royal Trux have got that “we’re in our own world and don’t give a fuck” attitude that we also ascribe to. This one’s about winning.

Johnny Thunder “I’m Alive”
Ever since we first heard this track, it has been our go-to song for feeling awesome/loving life. Johnny’s performance on this just cuts through all the bullshit and kills you. You are reborn. Video

Primal Scream “Don’t Fight It, Feel It”
Clipd Beaks love Primal Scream! They just might be the first band we bonded over when we first started playing together; it was more or less our anthem! “Don’t Fight It” is one of many favorites of ours by this band. Video

Mu “Let’s Get Sick”
We have no idea what she is saying. There are sirens, a great beat with great energy and an amazing R&B breakdown. This is the 2000s at its best. Video

High On Fire “Rumors Of War”
Gotta love how the lyrics can be taken at face value, as a protest of war and evil in the world, yet they are vague enough so that they might actually be about a personal war/struggle with evil. Either way, Matt Pike is the real deal. Video

P.M. Dawn “Paper Doll”
We have, at times, claimed to be the P.M. Dawn of noise rock. (Thanks, Greg.) We get a lot of shit for liking P.M. Damn. But they were wearing muumuus and rapping about existentialism in 1991. Who else was doing this? Maybe there were some others, but I doubt they were wearing muumuus. The vocals alone just sound heavenly. Video

David Bowie “Lady Grinning Soul”
Amazing love song. Very descriptive and the all-around color is warm. It’s pretty grandiose, and the melodies are lush. Video

John Lennon “Mother”
This is sincerity at it’s best. This is rock. Video

Pink Floyd “Fearless”
Peaceful defiance. “And I’ll climb that hill in my on way, just wait around for the right day.” Video

Nirvana “Sappy”
“And if you save yourself, you will make him happy.” Video

John Frusciante “Wind Up Space”
One of Nick’s guitar heros. Here’s a track from John’s To Record Only Water For Ten Days album, a really powerful introspective record that you should check out if you are unfamiliar. Video

The Beatles “In My Life”
This is one of the most poignant songs about reflection ever written. Don’t forget where and who it came from!! Video

Smashing Pumpkins “Suffer”
This band’s early output pretty much sealed our fate as rockers. “All that you suffer is all that you are.” Video

The KLF “Build A Fire”
Party boys chill out. We’re gunna build a fire. The KLF and all their various incarnations have been a huge influence on us. They literally built a fire and burned all their money in it. For real. Video

Basement Jaxx “Breakaway”
Taking every day lament and making it sound celebratory and making it sound like Flyte Time productions is transcendental. Video

Depeche Mode “Clean”
The overall sound of this song is quite dark, but lyrically it’s empowering. Video

Beck “Blackhole”
Let’s end this with a song that tells you that everything is going to be OK as it envelopes you in giant slow-motion waves of blackness. Video

Around the MAGNET office, “prog” is not a dirty word. We also love classic rock, sophisticated pop and psychedelic folk. So it’s no wonder we are fans of Aloha, which effortlessly mixes all that and more on new album Home Acres, due out March 9 on Polyvinyl. We asked vocalist/guitarist Tony Cavallario to make us a mix tape, and he came up with this killer one.

“Moonless March” (audio):

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Felt “The World Is Soft As Lace”
This is the song I listen to before I sit down to work on music or whenever I need to clear my head. It’s really inviting yet strange and distant. Accompanies a space heater warming up a cold room. Video

The Lotus Easters “Out On Your Own”
Perfect song from No Sense Of Sin. Singer Peter Coyle seems very concerned about his subject here, almost to the point of creepiness. Video

Gentle Giant “Give It Back”
A lot of prog people draw the line at Gentle Giant, but here they are just getting into some funky odd rhythms and complaining about not being as famous as their contemporaries. Kind of Eno-ish. Video

Aphrodite’s Child “It’s Five O’Clock”
Classical-influenced pop in the style of Procol Harum or the Zombies. Powerfully belted vocals that you would never hear in rock today. Vangelis was in the band, and things got weird after this. Video

Magic Plants “I Know She’s Waiting There”
I don’t own this record, but I found this on YouTube on a Left Banke-related binge. LB’s Tom Finn was in this band when he was, like, 16. Half my age. Video

Anthony Phillips “God If I Saw Her Now”
This is the guy who quit Genesis after Trespass. His gorgeous The Geese And The Ghost is in my top three Genesis solo albums, and that’s saying a lot! Phil Collins and Viv McAuliffe duet. Video

Ph.D. “I Won’t Let You Down”
Personally, I’m glad to have grown up in the ’80s when a lot of baby boomers hit their 30s and started making smooth grown-up music. This is one of my favorite examples. Like a crossbreed of Matthew Wilder and Simply Red but way more vulnerable. Video

OMD “Genetic Engineering”
Dazzle Ships is such a good record, and this is its single. All the OMD records that came before are classics, but this one still sounds like the future. Video

Zounds “Demystification”
Ominous but catchy anarcho-post-punk from Crass buds. Makes you want to start a band. Video

Blue Öyster Cult “Veterans Of The Psychic Wars”
The beginning of this song is one of the best things ever. I brought this home from the dollar bin and was sure I found the next “Reaper” until the metal vocals came in. Then you might want to move on, but I’m OK with them.  Also it’s from the animated film Heavy Metal, which is not for kids. Video

Art Garfunkel “Scissor’s Cut”
If you listen through the hazy soft-rock production you will here one of Jimmy Webb’s best tunes. I had been listening to a lot of Webb’s songs for Richard Harris when I first heard this. After Harris’ tuneless warble, Garfunkel’s clarity was a revelation. Video

Mark Fry “Song For Wilde”
It seems like we’re never gonna run out of killer old folk/psych to discover. Stunning song. Vocal effect strangely makes it more timeless. Video

Beach Boys “Good Timin’”
We need good timin’ to end this mix. We’re all going places. Video

Screen Vinyl Image calls its music a mixture of shoegaze, electronica and psychedelia, and that’s as good a description as anything that we would have come up with. The Virginia duo’s latest album is Interceptors (Custom Made Music), and if you are into bands like My Bloody Valentine, Spacemen 3, the Jesus And Mary Chain and Suicide, you should seek it out. MAGNET asked Jake and Kim Reid to make us a mix tape.

“Lost In Repeat” (download):

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Curve “Horror Head”
We think this is one of the coolest songs ever written—both when we first heard it years ago before we ever met and now. Video

John Carpenter “Assault On Precinct 13″
We list John Carpenter as one of our big influences, and this track is a good example why. Minimal beats and a massive bass line with creepy synth lines that build up make for an amazingly powerful soundtrack to a very cool film. We really like how simple his ideas were for his movies in terms of soundtrack, yet we don’t think many people will argue that those minimal melodies and synths not only play a major part in a Carpenter film but also just happened to be a big influence to the Italy’s Italo Disco scene in the ’80s. See also: The Fog, Escape From New York and, of course, Halloween. Video

Cabaret Voltaire “Nag Nag Nag”
This sounds like a surf song gone horribly awry. It’s kind of along the lines of another fave band of ours, the Jesus And Mary Chain, but this is way more sinister. Video

Rude 66 “The 1000 Year Storm”
This song has all the right amazing elements to it. A really catchy synth line, a heavy electronic beat, atmospheric synths floating around and, of course, a very surreal breakdown. Just one of the many cool songs off of Rude’s amazing 2009 release, Sadistic Tendencies. Video

Ceremony “Don’t Leave Me Behind”
This song explodes in and doesn’t really give you a chance to breathe until it’s over. We just did a tour in Tokyo with them, and we go back a long way with these guys when our old bands (Skywave and Alcian Blue) used to tour together all the time. This video was edited by one of the band members, John Fedowitz, who also has done lots of live video for us as well as guesting with us live on bass and guitar. You can find the track on the split 12-inch we released with them last year. Video

Suicide “Touch Me”
There isn’t much we can say about Suicide that hasn’t already been said. The quality of this video is extremely lo-fi; you get 6:39 of a rare look at Suicide in their element (NYC) and doing what they do best. Video

Public Enemy “Shut ‘Em Down”
There isn’t one thing about Public Enemy that can’t be classified as “epic.” It is literally an all-out assault of sound, and this is one of our favorite tracks by the group. The beat and bass seek to destroy any speaker system you have, the samples exist in a realm of being both super tight and chaotic at the same time, and Chuck D’s message holds just as much power and truth as it did when this track was released. Video

Sonic Youth “Mote”
We recently stayed at our label owner’s house, and he has all these tiny TVs stacked up against a wall and they are all hooked up to one VCR. He put on the Goo videos after a gig, and the experience was cool as shit. This is just one of our many favorite Youth songs. Video

New Order “Confusion”
This is from the Pumped Full Of Drugs Factory release; since we just got back from Shinjuku, it seemed appropriate to list this. It’s also New Order when they had tons and tons of analog synths and gear onstage. Four people controlling all this stuff, no programmed anything or laptops, and it sounds tight as hell. Video

Patrick Cowley “Tech-No-Logical World”
This song is off of Patrick’s last album, Mind Warp. It sounds like a science-fiction film put to a dance beat and is just one of the many awesome and innovative songs he has created. Patrick was a very important pioneer of electronic dance music, and like many folks in the ’80s, he left the world far too young. Video

Former Rex and Pullman multi-instrumentalist Curtis Harvey released his solo debut last month. Box Of Stones (FatCat) was recorded in Harvey’s basement, and most vocal tracks were done in just one take. For the percussion, Harvey says he used “whatever happened to be [around] at the time: bottles, pencils, pots and pans, an old snare and bass drum.” As a result, Box Of Stones calls to mind the revered work of John Fahey, though the sonic flourishes are undeniably all Harvey. He embarks on an eight-date U.S. tour on Saturday, with plans for a more extensive jaunt in the spring.

“Oldertoo” (download):

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Calexico “Over Your Shoulder”
Thought I would start with this gem. It’s great when an instrumental can tell a story, and this one does it well. When that pedal steel comes in and then a lone trumpet—you’re gone … some south-of-the-border adventure that may not turn out so well. Video

Chris Bathgate “We Die”
Despair accompanied by mandolin. Beautiful lullaby for the end.

Gillian Welch “I’m Not Afraid To Die”
A good follow up to Chris’ hopelessness, Gillian tackles the same with sweet indifference to the inevitable. Video

Ted Hawkins “The Good And The Bad”
Ted brings it back home on this track from his last tour. When he gets to the chorus, you believe it. Farewell, Ted.

Hayden “Damn This Feeling”
A very melancholy little piano song to bring you back down. Wouldn’t be out of place on After The Gold Rush. Video

Red Red Meat “Gauze”
I’m not sure what this one is about, but it’s one of my favorites. The hesitation of the band behind the verse … and the killer line to sink you: “Kissed your mouth to shut you up,” Nice work. Video

The Felice Brothers “Ballad Of Lou The Welterweight”
Ian Felice tells the cautionary tale of Lou, who, being spent after making love before his bout, gets the crap kicked out of him. Dylan used to write good tales like this. Now the Felice Brothers do. Video

Doc Watson “Your Long Journey”
I once saw Doc do this live. It messed me up for a while. What can you do when your love is taken before you but sing your sad lament?

Band Of Horses “The Funeral”
A mournful tale: good words, quiet verse, wall-of-sound chorus, loads of reverb. What else do you need? I thought this was a good way to end the mix. Video

Montreal’s Chromeo, an ’80s-leaning electro-funk duo, is readying a new album for next year. As a teaser, Dave 1 and P-Thugg just released the LP’s first single, “Night By Night” (Green Label Sound), which you can download below. MAGNET asked Dave 1 to make us a mix tape, and he did so, with this disclaimer: “So a couple of weeks ago, I did a best-of-2009 playlist for Flavorwire, and I’ve been losing sleep ever since. I mean, it’s pretty on point, but then I can’t believe I forgot some key, essential, emblematic songs. Like Jeremih’s ‘Birthday Sex.’ So I have to do it over, constitutional-amendment style. They had the privilege of getting my freshly off-the-cuff first draft; MAGNET gets the well-thought-out and marinated version. Here are the best songs of 2009. When there’s a * next to a title, it means it’s a personal favorite. When it’s without a *, then it’s a perfectly objective selection—and if you don’t agree, sorry to break it to ya, but you have bad taste.”

“Night By Night” (download):

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1. Drake “Best I Ever Had”
What happens when you combine a true-school hip-hop beat, impeccable wordplay, catchy crooning and you give the song away for free, without any label push whatsoever? The biggest radio hit in the country, of course. Then Universal puts it out on iTunes and still sells hundreds of thousands of said free song … really? Musically, this the perfect combination of high-brow verbal virtuosity and hooky pop appeal. But perhaps more importantly, it’s a lesson in head-scratching for the music industry in 2009. Video

2. Jeremih “Birthday Sex”
Girl you know I-I-I-I-I. Nuff said. Sheer genius. Video

3. Phoenix “Lisztomania”
Flaunting abstruse lyrics over a Strokes-y groove and ever-so-sophisticated arrangements, the Frenchies did the unthinkable. Not only did they achieve the status of “only legit rock band where the drummer is an extra,” the also conquered America. Video

4. Boys Noize “Jeffer” *
When Eminem said that nobody listens to techno, he was right. In 2009, people listen to dubstep. Except that this is a techno song that I can bump on repeat for an hour. I did so this morning, in fact. You’ve got ’90s-house key stabs, jumpy drums and a bunch of weird bleeps and buzzes all over the place. Yep, it’s techno. But—cue echo-y vocal effect here—it’s funky. Video

5. Keri Hilson (feat. Kanye West and Ne-Yo) “Knock You Down”
A beautifully uplifting pop masterpiece. The test is easy: If you don’t like this, then you have the confirmation that you are, indeed, a racist. Video

6. Duck Sauce “aNYway” *
Yeah yeah, I put a star next to this one because it’s my little brother and all. He teamed up with the inventor of ’90s house to resurrect ’90s house. Creative, eh? Hey, it’s a huge it in the U.K. Video

7. Birdman (feat. Lil Wayne) “Always Strapped”
This has to be the hardest rap joint of the year. That beat? Bumpin! I also like the fact that every time Wezzy raps alongside his father, he purposefully dumbs down his style and still comes off brilliant. (Remember “straight up out the water with my Marc Jacobs goggles”?) Video

8. Tiga “Love Don’t Dance Here Anymore” *
This is a 10-minute disco jam produced by Soulwax with funny lyrics written by Gonzales. You’ve never heard it, and it’s a shame, because it’s splendid. Video

9. The-Dream “Fancy” *
While we’re on the topic of longer songs, who would expect a seven-minute autotune rambling session from the radio killah, and moreover, who would expect it to be brilliant? This year’s sophomore effort by The-Dream wasn’t nearly as good as “Love/Hate,” but it did feature this delicately crafted oddity, which I deem a must-hear. Video

10. Alicia Keys “Try Sleeping With A Broken Heart”
I apologize for the R&B overload; Gucci Mane aside, it wasn’t a great year for rap. I also apologize for even charting Alicia Keys; I was never a fan. But this joint just came out and it’s just too good. Pure Kate Bush meets Pat Benatar meets New Power Generation mid-tempo ’80s ballad. (But she just had to sneak in her cheesy piano at the end.) Nevertheless, see how there’s no little start on this one? Objectively speaking, this is the 10th best song of the year. Video

Hyperstory is the current project of Los Angeles-based multi-instrumentalist C. Scott Blevins. Hyperstory’s self-titled debut album, featuring musicians who have played with the likes of Miles Davis, Beck and Jane’s Addiction, will be released November 10 on the Pureland label. The album is a mixture of live instrumentation and programming, and it seamlessly blends genres as diverse as funk, post-rock and jazz. Blevins made MAGNET a mix tape, and you can definitely hear the influence these artists have had on Hyperstory’s music.

“A Happening” (download):

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“Ascension” (download):

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John Coltrane “A Love Supreme Part 1″
Coltrane’s playing is multidimensional, surreal and seems to exist outside of time. Listening to him find his way musically when he improvises is transformative. He creates a unique world that takes you to an alternate plane. Video

Massive Attack “Teardrop”
This track astounds me. It’s a very haunting song. The production couldn’t be more perfect: dirty, dark and enveloping. The vocal is the centerpiece, delivering a really unique and perfectly suited performance. A classic album with multiple great tracks. Video

Jeff Buckley “Lover, You Should’ve Come Over”
Jeff Buckley had a sublime voice, and this track is emotive and brilliant from beginning to end. I think this song is a good representative of the classic record it appears on. Video

Roberta Flack “The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face”
I fall in love every time I hear this song. It’s achingly beautiful. The track is so simple, yet so moving; it is a testament to the power of a great song and a great performance. It doesn’t need to be complex, it just needs to be what it is: perfect. Video

Miles Davis “All Blues”
A timeless track on what is one of the greatest records of all time. If I were blasted off into space on a 30-year mission and I could only take one record with me, this might very well be the one. No matter how many times I listen to it, it just does not get old; it just seems to get better over time. It’s hard to believe that it was recorded nearly 50 years ago, because it’s probably more relevant now than ever. It’s a masterpiece of the highest order. Video

The Good, The Bad & The Queen “Herculean”
This song creates a ominous sonic world and transports me to the underbelly of some far-away urban cityscape at night—maybe London. Good stuff. Video

The Cinematic Orchestra “Durian”
Brilliant blend of classic jazz elements with electronica production sensibilities. A unique work and highly listenable. Great to chill to late at night, when the world is asleep. Like I’m doing right now as I write this. Video

Stevie Ray Vaughan “Life Without You”
This song expresses the way I feel about SRV and his leaving this world too early. For my money, he was maybe the most expressive and naturally skilled guitarist ever. Video

Ben Folds Five “Don’t Change Your Plans”
This one reminds me of a time of personal transition and brings me back when I hear it. It’s reflective and a little sad, yet it has a sense of conviction at the same time. It feels like a complex-yet-familiar emotion to me. Video

Brian Wilson/Beach Boys “Our Prayer”
What can you say about this? It’s bewitching. Reverent, mysterious and somber. Perhaps a direct glimpse into the the musical soul of Brian Wilson. And just when you think it’s going to end a little too sad, he sticks in a classic, warm and sunny California chord at the end. Video

—photo by Headhunter

With needle-in-the-red electronics and unbridled orchestration, Dada Bandits—the new album (on Fullsteam) from Finnish four-piece Rubik—steals from no one but evokes our favorite pop-art masters: the Flaming Lips, New Pornographers and Jackson Pollock, to name a few. Dada Bandits might be the brightest bit of indie rock to come out of Finland yet, a bombastic album that mothballs the reindeer sweaters in favor of some space-age Sgt. Pepper duds. Rubik singer Artturi Taira made MAGNET a mix tape of cosmic-rock standbys and local favorites.

“Wasteland” (download):

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The Flaming Lips “Silver Trembling Hands”
They played this one live in Helsinki this summer with Wayne Coyne sitting on the shoulders of a guy dressed as a bear. It stuck in my head pretty badly, and when they put the EP out this fall, I was ready. Sounds like a soundtrack for a heavily sedated car chase before breaking into this Tortoise-esque chorus. Fantastic. Really looking forward to their new album.

Cockpits “The New Gospel”
Great sludge from these Finnish guys. Their main songwriter/singer/guitarist Lauri actually played with us for a few years. But I think this suits him way better.

David Bowie “Station To Station”
A great trip provided by a true master. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with this song. My favorite part is probably the hectic ending, the “It’s too late” part. The way the song evolves before getting there is just marvelous. And talking about album openers; you can tell you’re on your way to a very special place from the very first lines.

Talk Talk “Ascension Day”
Could’ve been any track off Laughing Stock, though. One of those albums that successfully creates its own universe and you can just try swimming along. Such a superb soundtrack for autumn nights.

The Beatles “Being For The Benefit Of Mr. Kite!”
This one’s a bit underrated, isn’t it? Easily one of my favorite Beatles tracks ever. I think the song sums up everything that is so magical about this band: great melodies, superb arrangements, Lennon’s fantastic voice. And more. This can never sound outdated, ever. I rest my case.

Caribou “Melody Day”
We listened to Caribou a lot while crossing the Rocky Mountains recently, and it fit just perfectly. Beautiful and haunting at the same time.

Wolf Parade “Kissing The Beehive”
This one reminds me of the band Television and in a good way, indeed. A great, epic song, it just keeps crumbling on and on. One of those songs that could go on forever and still stay cohesive and interesting. Lasts 10 minutes but feels like three. Could make a great single in an ideal world.

dEUS “Theme From Turnpike”
A Belgian band you really should listen to. On this one, they actually capture every good aspect there is about sampling, basing the whole song on a Mingus sample. And it works out just brilliantly. The chaos in the ending has a great never-ending feel. The way Tom Barman cranks “No more loud music!!” gives me the creeps every time I hear it.

John Coltrane “Meditations” (the whole suite)
The choice between the quartet version and the one made with his enlarged ensemble depends on the day’s mood. Both are pure, transcendental pieces of music, very emotional, very moving. Going through these is a very purifying experience, the spirituality is so present in his music.

Ceebrolistics “Uuvus/Luata”
Nightly electro/dub/rap/whatever from Finland. The whole Ö EP is so fantastic. These guys have yet to release a “proper” album (OK, Ö is referred to as EP, though its about 45 minutes). I think they have been working on it since … I don’t know, 2006? But no matter how long it may take, I have confidence it will be worth waiting for.

You could say that New Hampshire quartet Wild Light is well-connected; members of the band go way back with Arcade Fire’s Win Butler, and its ‘09 debut Adult Nights (StarTime International) was produced by Rob Schnapf (Elliott Smith, Beck). But what really counts is that the guys in Wild Light are connected to each other: Vocalist/multi-instrumentalist Seth Pitman and drummer Seth Kasper have been friends since fourth grade, while multi-instrumentalist Tim Kyle and singer/guitarist Jordan Alexander joined forces in high school. It takes old friends to carry the sizeable hooks found on Adult Nights, an unapologetically wide-open American rock album. Wild Light made MAGNET a mix tape while embarking on the last leg of its U.S. tour.

“California On My Mind” (download):

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The Stills-Young Band “Long May You Run” (unplugged is better, though original is still fantastic)
Jordan: You can see the sunset over the plantations. You can feel the chilly evening breeze as it climbs on you and whispers as it goes by. If you’ve ever driven far and far, to the widest and deepest and highest parts of the Americas, you taste it. And you hear Neil Young talking to someone gone. “With your chrome heart shining in the sun … ” And then you find out he’s singing to his car. His car that played the Beach Boys back in 1962 as it gave its last pull somewhere south of Winnipeg. “Gettin’ to the surf on time … ”

The Clash “Sean Flynn”
Seth: To me, this is the highest expression of the Clash’s whole Armageddon/jungle war motif, and one of my favorites by them. It really blows me away—a free-jazz song set in the heart of Vietnam. The instrumentation is so thorough that the silence is like the counterpoint to everything else. And Joe Strummer’s voice is so powerful, so bluesy. When he sings the last line, “Each man knows what he’s looking for,” you know we’re all fucked. Combat Rock is one of the weirdest and coolest records ever.

Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds “Jesus Of The Moon”
Timothy: I’ve been fixating on this song lately, from Nick & The Seeds’ most recent record. I’m a sucker for anything that talks poetically about God and desire, which is about all Nick Cave does, and to rich, mysterious effect in this one, comparing an inaccessible lover to a “Jesus of the moon, a Jesus of the planets and the stars.” Took me some work to get into Nick Cave. There’s something about certain post-punk-descended music in which there’s no trace of Beatles-y melodic influence that makes a lot of this music feel like another language to me. But Cave kept beckoning me, and I finally started to find him.

Dion And The Belmonts “Little Diane”
Jordan: Dark lyrics with a great melody. This song is self-explanatory.

Chuck Berry “Sweet Little Sixteen”
Seth: As everyone knows, Mr. Berry is the alpha and omega of rock ‘n’ roll. When I finally had that realization, it was very freeing, and no one sings about freedom like he does. He did it in a language that everyone could understand and be moved by. The way, for instance, he insinuates himself into the mind of a 16-year-old girl in this song is amazing (though I imagine he did lots of field studies in that area). It’s also the only song I know of that makes me think of Boston as a cool town.

Silver Jews “What Is Not But Could Be If”
Timothy: This song is profound and true, and says what it says plainly and simply. It’s kinda like “The Times They Are A-Changin” in that way.  It’s just sort of undeniable. It could only be written by somebody who’s been around a while, seen the ups and downs, and figured something out about where they come from, found some basic axis of things. We were on tour early this year, and it was a chilly, overcast day in San Francisco when we heard that David Berman was ending the Silver Jews. I was so fucking bummed, walking around dirty Haight/Ashbury. I had just figured the Joos would always be there, tilling their patch of soil, abiding, like The Dude. Hope Berman comes back to music someday.

Deerhunter “Neither Of Us, Uncertainly”
Seth: I just heard this song the other day and I really like it. It’s a cool pop song, has a great feel, and does a trick where it majors a chord that should be a minor to a really satisfying effect. I’m not hugely into these guys like everyone else is, but I get it. I think. This is my buzz bin choice.

The Pagans “Nowhere To Run”
Jordan: Early punk rock from Cleveland. That’s where the Dead Boys came from, only these fuckers were never smart enough to move somewhere relevant circa 1980. Found this in a used bin in the mid-’90s as I searched for any obscure punk-rock band I could find not readily available in high-class New Hampshire.

Paul McCartney “Ram On”
Timothy: Rob Schnapf, who produced our record, turned us on to McCartney’s Ram record while we were recording. It was like finding a long-lost Beatles record, from around Abbey Road time. This song is just a great little ukelele riff, Wurlitzer, handclaps and foot taps, and classic Paul melodies. Everytime I listen to it, it makes me want to make a record. Or get stoned. Or both. I saw McCartney at Fenway Park last month. Still looks like he’s 22 onstage. All-time memory: Seeing “Band On The Run” while standing next to the green monster.

Michael Jackson “Wanna Be Startin’ Somethin’”
Seth: Every good mix tape ends in style. I wish it were 13 minutes long instead of six and a half.

“I like to make up mix tapes for sitting in the back of the van, looking out the window, to pass the time of watching motorways, hills, mountains, water and service stations going past for hours on end,” says Andy MacFarlane, guitarist for Scottish outfit the Twilight Sad. “I normally make up playlists of classic rock or songs from the Trojan Records box sets or things we grew up listening to annoy the rest of the van with, which doesn’t go down too well sometimes. Here’s a list of some krautrock songs I like that makes good travelling music. There’s was a bit of in-breeding of bands in krautrock (or collaborations, as some people call it). I’ve pointed out a few examples.”

The Twilight Sad is about to tour the U.S. and will release its second album, Forget The Night Ahead (FatCat), September 22. Download or stream one of the band’s own cosmic rock jams below.

“Reflection Of The Television” (download):

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Kraftwerk “Trans-Europa Express” and “Ohm Sweet Ohm”
Kraftwerk was started by Florian Schneider and Ralf Hutter. Conny Plank produced the early Kraftwerk records.

Neu! “Negativland” and “Isi”
Klaus Dinger and Michael Rother, who formed Neu!, were both in Kraftwerk in the early ’70s. Plank produced all the Neu! records.

La Düsseldorf “Silver Cloud”
After Neu! split up, Dinger started La Düsseldorf, which also featured Neu! collaborators Thomas Dinger (Klaus’ brother) and Hans Lampe. “Dinger” means “things.”

Cluster “Hollywood” and “Sowiesoso”
Cluster was formed by Dieter Moebius and Hans-Joachim Roedelius. Plank was a member for the first album and the producer/engineer until ‘78. They collaborated with a number of people like Holger Czukay (Can), Asmus Tietchens, Peter Baumann (Tangerine Dream) and Brian Eno.

Hamonia “Sehr Kosmisch” and “Hausmusik”
Harmonia was Rother from Neu! and Moebius and Roedelius from Cluster. Mani Neumeier (Guru Guru) and Eno also joined for a short time.

Can “Mushroom,” Faust “Krautrock” and Amon Düül II “Pale Gallery”
Three more bands that also had a big influence on the early development of krautrock that need to be heard on a traveling mix tape.

There’s true faith behind tracks such as Charlatans UK/Beach Boys conglomeration “Action Reaction” and the bare, ruined orchestral pop of “Next Summer” (download or stream below), both selections from This Is For The White In Your Eyes, the stateside debut from Copenhagen’s Choir Of Young Believers. Primary choir member Jannis Noya Makrigiannis made MAGNET a mix tape that’s got heartbreak to the high heavens.

“Action Reaction” (download)

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“Next Summer” (download):

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The Ramones “I Don’t Care”
I’m a huge Ramones fan, and I love all the songs off the first four records. It’s so simple and so powerful at the same time, and I love how the deadpan lyrics seem so wise. (Or maybe I’m just a deadpan.)

Chris Bell “You And Your Sister”
I’m a big fan of heartbreaky love songs that make you feel all teeny and fragile. This one is a killer.

Deradoorian “You Carry The Deed”
My girlfriend really likes Deradoorian a lot. At first, I didn’t get the whole R&B thing she is doing with her vocals, but now I like it a lot and think it is kind of special—kind of a R&B/folk thing.

The Byrds “You Ain’t Going Nowhere”
The Byrds playing Bob Dylan and heavily influenced by Gram Parsons. I’m a big fan of all three, so this song is, of course, a big hit with me. Lately, I have had a bit of a weak spot for ’60s country rock/pop, which also explains the next song

Glen Campbell “Wichita Lineman”
Yyyiiihhhaaaa!!

I Got You On Tape “Spinning For The Cause”
This is a new song from this Danish act. Jacob Bellens, who sings, has an amazing voice and writes really good lyrics.

First Floor Power “Eat The Rich”
One of my all-time favorite bands. They are Swedish and have done three albums, and this song is from second album Nerves and has some very good lyrics like “Eat the rich, but be sure to cook them first/And drink a bottle of water so you don’t die of thirst.” The guy who sings this song is called Karl-Jonas, and he also has a solo project called Blood Music, which is fantastic as well.

Wildbirds & Peacedrums “The Way Things Go”
I think I saw this band live 10 times last year, and they blew my mind every time. It’s just a drummer and a singer, and although they do this crazy mix of soul, punk, pop, avant garde, jazz and a whole lot more, it just seems like the most natural thing. It is very primal music.

White Magic “Plain Gold Ring”
Hardcore heartaches—and out of this world!

Traening “In My Arms”
Long-gone Danish indie band. They have that heartbreaky love-song thing going as well and I can’t get enough of it!

Bob Hund “Mer Än Så Kan Ingen Bli”
One of the best rock bands ever!

We’ve name-dropped the Byrds, Polvo and Spirit when describing psychedelic-leaning Raleigh, N.C., quintet Birds Of Avalon, but listen for yourself below and come up with your own references. The band members—vocalist/keyboardist Craig Tilley, guitarists Paul Siler and Cheetie Kumar, bassist David Mueller and drummer Scott Nurkin—not only recently released their sophomore LP, Uncanny Valley, they also made MAGNET a mix tape. It included this note: ”It probably wouldn’t quite fill up a 60-minute cassette, but you could always just tack on ‘Miles Runs The Voodoo Down’ from Bitches Brew to fill up the rest of side two!”

“Your Downtime Is Up” (download):

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Mulatu Astatke With The Heliocentrics “Addis Black Widow”
David: The legendary Ethiopian pianist teams up with the London psyche jazz collective. It’s amazing what a little slap-back echo can do. It’s even more amazing what a lot of slap-back echo can do. This will probably show up as a Madlib sample by the time you finish reading this, if it hasn’t already.

Sun City Girls “Space Prophet Dogon”
Cheetie: The Harmattan transports desert vibes across the planet from Mali to Arizona. Guitar and voice in unison evoke a haze under the sheltering sky.

Pere Ubu “Navvy”
Craig: This 1979 release has already covered every ’90s guitar riff in the opening two seconds, then goes straight to crazy with a scary rhythm section and the schizophrenic singing of Dave Thomas on top, making you feel a little seasick. It’s a little uncomfortable and alluring at the same time, but the chorus lets you know everything probably going to be OK.

The Hollies “Clown”
Scott: Pretty sure this is Graham Nash’s ode to Bozo’s alcoholism.

Joni Mitchell “Free Man In Paris”
Paul: The obvious choice from the mighty fine Court And Spark. There’s something so L.A. summery about this. Cheech and Chong were part of this session, which puts it over the top! I’m always daydreaming about being at these tiki-torch parties circa ‘70-’74 with Harry Dean Stanton, Peter Fonda, Joni—though I would probably wouldn’t like any of these people if I really had to be around them!

Minutemen “Jesus And Tequila”
Paul: While we’re in a summery SoCal mood … If this were playing, I would probably enjoy the people at this tiki-torch party a little more. Maybe John Belushi would show up!

The Sir Douglas Quintet “Song Of Everything”
David: Doug Sahm’s moody tribute to Big Sur. Swirling saxophones and a mind-bending flute solo (yes, really) twist against fuzz guitar and Sahm’s plaintive moan. A Texas tornado cutting through the redwoods.

Wire “Another The Letter”
Cheetie: A simple guitar line, synth loop and an insistent beat—and you have the perfect pop song clocking in at 1:07.

Simply Saucer “Instant Pleasure”
Craig: This minute-and-a-half piece of punk/synth/psych/pop squeezes the charm of early Syd Barrett with Hawkwind’s gift of making your mind take a solo for a few minutes while the band plays on.

Amon Düül II “Eye-Shaking King”
Cheetie: From the amazing Yeti. A thunderous regal stomp with some insane vocal effects!

Steely Dan “Any Major Dude Will Tell You”
Craig: This, like 99 percent of the Dan’s music, has the unique ability to make you want to listen to the rest of the album—right that fucking moment.

Phil Upchurch “Black Gold”
Scott: From the 1968 Upchurch record. He’s got a killer band including Donny Hathaway on piano and Morris Jennings on drums. This is the album opener replete with a full orchestra and choir backing.

Zapp “Doo Wa Ditty (Blow That Thing)”
David: It’s pretty much impossible to be in a bad mood when this song is playing. Five minutes of harmonica, talk box and bass synths. Pure aural joy.

A name such as the Lovely Feathers may carry connotations of soft and downy pop, but the Montreal band trades in surprisingly agile post-punk guitar chime on Fantasy Of The Lot, due out next month. Singer/guitarist Mark Kupfert offers a glimpse into his musical psyche and sharp stylistic turns with his MAGNET mix, throwing in everyone from Biggie to Bowie to Blur.

“Lowiza” (download):

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Frank Sinatra “My Way”
When I was about nine, my parents came back from some out-of-town wedding with a tape of my dad singing “My Way” and “Blueberry Hill.” The party had a karaoke booth, where you’d sing and take home a recorded version of your performance. I had to listen to my father serenade himself for a full year.

Notorious B.I.G. Featuring Bone Thugs-N-Harmony “Notorious Thugs”
It was the summer of 1997. I was 15 and discovering pot’s beauty in curbing the utter boredom of life within a Canadian suburb. Most nights would usually end at my buddy’s basement, where we’d satisfy our munchies listening to Biggie chant, “Armed and dangerous/Ain’t too many can bang with us/Straight-up weed no angel dust.” Wonderful, wonderful stuff.

Chad VanGaalen “City Of Electric Light”
I was driving to New York City in a rented U-Haul. It was snowing heavily, and the truck didn’t seem to have much traction. This tune came on, and I felt like I was in some apocalypse/oblivion world. Love his vocal texture over the edgy-yet-warm arrangement.

My Bloody Valentine “Loomer”
I had a lover for one summer. I didn’t know her well. She didn’t know me. Every time we made love, we’d listen to My Bloody Valentine. I still can’t listen to this stuff without getting aroused.

Metronomy “My Heart Rate Rapid”
Some songs instantly cure my mid-range depression.

Blur “Girls And Boys”
I went to see Blur in 2003. In the middle of playing this song, Damon Albarn stopped the band, saying the song sounded like shit. A weird hush fell over the crowd. Blur moved on to other tunes, as if nothing happened. Then in the encore, Albarn said, “Let’s try that fuckin’ song again.” The baseline of “Girls And Boys” kicked in, and the crowd went apeshit.

David Bowie “Suffragette City”
I remember the first time I heard the full album of The Rise And Fall Of Ziggy Stardust. I was in college, probably about. My buddy told me, “Listen to this—you’re going to love every song.” I listened to the whole album every day for two weeks straight. I can still easily listen to the album front to back. The record is ageless.

Grizzly Bear “Foreground”
Just a beautiful song. A little more bear than the other tunes. Awfully elegant.

Man Man “Engwish Bwudd”
We did a mini-tour with Man Man in the summer of 2006. I still remember the look on vocalist Ryan’s face when a crazy fan came up to him showing his tattooed arm. The tattoo was a calligraphy version of the lyrics to “Engwish Bwudd.”

Malajube “Montréal -40°C”
In this ode to my hometown, I always get the willies when I hear the lyric “une ourse polaire dans l’autobus.” I actually don’t know why, because the band is basically saying, “Montreal, you’re like a polar bear in a street bus.” Somehow, it totally does it for me. It’s fuckin’ freezing here.

It’s difficult to argue about the truth behind the title Technicolor Dreamer, the long-overdue debut album by Brooklyn-based DJ and studio savant Scott Hardkiss. Out next month on Hardkiss’ own God Within label, Technicolor Dreamer is a surreal tapestry of under-the-sea funk fantasias and electronic pop with disco-era studio trim. Hardkiss has remixed everyone from Elton John to the Flaming Lips, and a rainbow-colored spaceship full of contributors and vocalists appear on the album, including Britta Phillips (Dean & Britta, Luna) and musicians who’ve worked with David Bowie, Bruce Springsteen, George Clinton, Justin Timberlake, the Blues Brothers and Sting. Hardkiss’ MAGNET mix journeys from psychedelic rock to neo-soul.

“You’re The Star” (download):

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The Beatles “I Am The Walrus”
I was a latch-key kid, and I’d come home after school and sit alone for hours listening to my father’s abandoned record collection. I would play this song over and over, and it absolutely scared the shit out of me. But I couldn’t stop playing it and looking at all the surrealist images in the booklet. Up until then, music was all just “pop” to me; I just couldn’t understand why someone would purposely make music that was so weird and disturbing. There were electronic instruments and effects mixed in, too, as well as a full classical orchestra. It was the first time I understood that music was art, too.

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Scott Hardkiss “The Underwater Ball”
Your average surrealist electro-funk myth. An old sailor’s reminiscing about when he was a youth at sea. He gets seduced by a mermaid, and she takes him down to a nightclub at the bottom of the sea where she’s a VIP and all the sea creatures are partying. I won’t spoil the end. I used old-school vari-speed reel to reel tape effects to get the funny high and low voices on this and “Star Power.” I guess I’m hoping to blow the mind of some other latch-key kid out there. Only this sounds more funky and cartoony, like Vanity 6 on acid.

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Erykah Badu “The Healer (Hip Hop)”
This is from last year’s New Amerykah Part One (4th World War). It’s so eclectic and, like, “out there” and “in there” at the same time. It’s so beautiful when you hear artists start to radically reinvent themselves and develop at light speed. Folks who didn’t dig her older, so-called “neo-soul” stuff should definitely give her a second listen now; it’s like listening to Sgt. Pepper vs. Meet The Beatles.

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The Rolling Stones “Emotional Rescue”
My favorite disco song the Stones cut is “Miss You”; I’ve got the rare hot-pink vinyl promo. But this one’s cool, too. These were all done around the time that disco got so big that rock groups started doing it, sort of like how now all the rock and hip-hop groups are taking from techno and electronic music. But I dig it. A lot of times these attempts produce some fantastic songs. And blending genres is something I’ve always been into. The Stones did it right; man, they actually had Larry Levan, the DJ from The Paradise Garage, working on some of their mixes.

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Scott Hardkiss “Star Power”
Another trippy, cartoon-funk song, written after working closely with several movie stars, composing the musical scores for a series of short films by first-time directors who are also very famous actresses. Some of them were unbelievably cool, collaborative and hard-working, and some … weren’t. One of them may or may not have inspired this satire of the modern celebrity culture and people whose job is pretty much to be famous. Musically, it’s just funky, hip house with a vari-speed midget spewing “party like a mock star” rap and a talk-box chorus, live guitars, bass and trumpet. You know, the usual shit.

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Aceyalone (Featuring Treasure Davis) “Can’t Hold Back”
The album this song is taken from, Aceyalone & The Lonely Ones, is absolutely amazing; you should go buy it immediately. He totally reinvented himself, putting together a live band and recording a crazy fusion of hip hop with Motown, Stax and ’60s girl-group stuff. It’s so dope, this amazing blend created by a true artist looking backward and forward at the same time. It’s what I like to call “retro-futuristic.”

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Kelis (Featuring Andre 3000) “Millionaire”
Outkast is brilliant, Andre 3000 in particular. When I first heard “Hey Ya,” I felt like someone had finally come along to, as George Clinton put it, “rescue dance music from the blahs.” He’s in that place similar to Prince back in the day, where he’s making too many great songs to put out himself, so he’ll give them out as a “producer.” This one he did for Kelis. It’s this avant-garde pop masterpiece that’s pretty much drum ‘n’ bass mixed with R&B and bittersweet lyrics about finally becoming a millionaire, but still feeling lonesome and broke inside.

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Dam-Funk “Hood Pass Intact”
A dude who’s doing this new sound that I’m really into: inspired by the ’80s, but the black electronic ’80s. For me, the stuff that was really amazing back then was the black futurist stuff: Roger & Zapp, Mantronix, Bambaataa & Soul Sonic Force, Jonzun Crew, etc. I was really into the drum-machine-and-synth NYC electro, hip hop, freestyle and disco stuff that was funky but modern, and I also dug Chicago acid house and Detroit techno. This has that original electro-funk vibe, but with an ill modern flavor. There’s a few artists who are doing this. They’re like the next generation of the “afronaut” or “black spaceman,” but with more of a techy, 21st-century vibe.

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Kathy Diamond “All Woman”
Kathy is a British singer who put out a stunning debut album far too few people have heard. She’s got a really sweet, soulful voice and sings these utopian dance-floor lyrics over tripped-out dubby house and techno mixed with disco, funk and soul. She’s doing some newer stuff with this talented crew called Soft Rocks. They just did a far-out dub remix of “Underwater Ball.”

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Massive Attack & Mad Professor “Radiation Ruling The Nation (Protection)”
I always had a thing for dub and roots reggae—it was always so earthy and soulful, but spaced-out and futuristic at the same time. And it just vibrates. Like Gandhi, it’s this unstoppable revolutionary force that conquers in peace. A potent blend. When Massive Attack made their masterpiece Protection, they gave it to Mad Professor to produce a dub version of the entire album. And it’s fucking mind-blowing, one of the best remix albums of all time. He uses these old analog auto-pan units. Just listen to it on headphones and you’ll feel the force.

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Dean & Britta “I’ll Keep It With Mine (Scott Hardkiss Remix)”
The Warhol Museum has a show called 13 Most Beautiful, which takes 13 of the more than 500 silent, black-and-white “screen tests” Andy Warhol shot of everyone who walked into the Factory from ‘64 to ‘66 and sets them to music by Dean & Britta, the fantastic electro-folk duo. Britta’s doing vocals all over my album: singing and rhyming, even spoken word, and I’m remixing this for them. It’s the song they recorded for Nico’s screen test, allegedly written by Bob Dylan for Nico during an affair they had. This remix is new for me—it’s not centered on the beats and synths but more of a dubby, Velvet Underground vibe with Dean’s majestic guitar and a slightly robotic effect on Britta’s voice. It kills me when she sings, “Everybody will help you discover what you set out to find.”

Yeah Yeah Yeahs “Skeletons (Acoustic Version)”
Some people aren’t into this record because it’s not just retro garage rock or whatever they were doing before: They’re using synths and classical string orchestrations, and it’s so musical and melodic, but it’s a masterpiece. For me, it’s the opposite: It’s the first album by this group that I really love. And the acoustic versions are the best! That voice, the soundscapes—it’s just stunning. People are funny; they get really upset when artists change, but any artist who doesn’t change isn’t really much of an artist at all.

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The Phenomenal Handclap Band (Featuring Rodrigo Ursaia) “Baby”
Another new album that’s drawing on classic funk and soul, but more on the psychedelic tip. The singer on this sounds a little like Eddie Kendricks, my favorite Temptation of all time, and the song sounds a little bit like his “Girl, You Need A Change Of Mind.” The Temps had an incredible psychedelic-soul phase themselves, masterminded by genius producer Norman Whitfield. If you like this, check it out. This Handclap Band is very happening.

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Scott Hardkiss “Come On, Come On”
Lisa Shaw, who’s all over my new record, sings the lead on this, and her performance is so beautiful and real. I kept arguing with the engineer because he wanted to put more reverb on her voice and lower it, like most vocals are mixed. And I just wanted it to be so loud and dry, like she was less than an inch in front of your face singing really deep lyrics directly into you. People who say that electronic or dance music has no soul don’t know what the fuck they’re talking about.

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Jimi Hendrix “1983… (A Merman I Should Turn To Be)”
I’ll end this with the the greatest “black spaceman” of all, and it’s also a nice leitmotif, since Jimi’s talking about turning into a merman. A 13-minute-plus epic production he did for his final album—and it’s just magic. There are these incredibly intense builds where he’s got bizarre crying sounds soaring across while he wails how people said “it’s impossible for a man to live and breathe underwater” and that it’s “beyond the will of God,” and then those parts burst into these long, peaceful floating psych sections that are just so heartbreakingly beautiful that it feels like the clouds have parted and you have this clear vision of a possible perfect world where all is full of love.

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Toronto’s the Cliks are a transgender, trans-genre rock outfit whose third album, Dirty King (Tommy Boy), is due June 23. Cliks frontman Lucas Silveira recently made MAGNET a mix tape loosely based on pop music’s most universal theme: heartbreak. Silveira earns extra credit for including a song by Jellyfish, whose relative obscurity is, well, heartbreaking.

“Career Suicide” (download):

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RADIOHEAD “Fake Plastic Trees” (1995)
This is the perfect little pop song that digs at your soul so much that you can’t believe it’s a commercial hit. I had my first understanding of the scope that Radiohead would play in influencing me as a songwriter and lover of music with this song. This song made me realize that I was not in love with someone. I understood and I accepted, and then I did the breaking up. Amazing what connecting to another person’s experience though music can do.

ARCADE FIRE “Crown Of Love” (2004)
My heart was beaten and shattered the first time I heard this song. Crawling away from a relationship that I thought was going to last forever. I felt like this song was me in that moment. I later made love for the first time to this record, and when this song came on, I felt that broken part of me repairing. Songs that can do that need no explanation as to why they are good. They just are.

THE BEATLES “Eleanor Rigby” (1966)
When I was five years old, my sister had a Best Of The Beatles tape, and I would listen to it back to front on repeat for hours. I found all the music would make me see things in my head and feel things in my heart that I had never felt. I was obsessed with it. This song in particular brought me my first experience with the feeling of darkness. I thought it was such a creepy song, but I still couldn’t stop listening to it. As an adult, when I listen, it takes me back and helps me to realize how it was this song that inspired so much of how I write today. It is an unbelievable piece of work.

JELLYFISH “Glutton Of Sympathy” (1993)
This is such a beautiful song that trying to describe what it does to me is difficult. The melody is beyond gorgeous, and it is so befitting of the lyrics that go with it. And don’t even get me started on how amazing the harmonies are. Faultless. It’s sad to me that this band never really got its due in mainstream music. I’ve said it a million times, but I truly think Jellyfish is one of the most underrated bands of our time.

JEFF BUCKLEY “Lover, You Should’ve Come Over” (1994)
There is something about Jeff Buckley’s voice that just oozes sexuality at its most passionate. In this particular song, it oozes longing for a lover as though his emotion was the only existing in the universe. If I had been the subject of this longing, I would be his love slave forever, not that I’m gay, but every boy has a weakness. Jeff finds a way to divulge his vulnerability and ache to be with his lover with such intensity that you can feel the raw sexuality dripping from his voice. It’s a brilliantly written song, and the performance is nothing less than epic.

DAVID BOWIE “Rock ‘N’ Roll Suicide” (1972)
This is probably the perfect rock song. The closeness of the vocal, the natural sound of the acoustic guitar in the intro—it’s like you’re in a living room listening to Bowie play in front of you. Songs aren’t recorded like this anymore, and it’s a sad situation. I love the way this song takes you from the calm to the intense, and you don’t know what’s happening but you know you have to follow. It makes you feel like you’re slowly, introspectively walking to the bridge over the highway and that the closer you get, the crazier you feel. This song is the lending hand that makes you glide away from the jump. Unreal.

NINE INCH NAILS “Hurt” (1994)
The first time I heard this song, I cried. In fact, I sobbed. Both versions of the song bring you to the core of what it feels like for every human being on the planet when loneliness and dispare consume you. Whether it’s being sung by Trent Reznor or Johnny Cash, the song is what penetrates you. I find it difficult to this day to listen to because it brings me to a place in myself that I can’t deal with all the time. It’s a true work of art.

JONI MITCHELL “A Case Of You” (1971)
I just found it in myself to start listening to this song again after having it be one of those songs that I related to the worst case of a broken heart I have ever had. You ever had one of those? If anyone in the world can remind you of heartache, it’s Joni Mitchell. This song will forever be timeless. It is one of the most beautiful melodies I can think of ever hearing. That kind of melody that can make you feel the hurt of love. Hurts so good.

LEONARD COHEN “Famous Blue Raincoat” (1971)
Leonard is a poet. That’s the first thing you need to note about this song. These lyrics are the epitome of great lyric writing. This song is the most beautiful painting that was ever painted. I can’t say much about it, because it feels that anything I would say would diminish its perfection.

NEIL YOUNG “It’s A Dream” (2005)
I know he has hundreds of songs that some may think top this song, as it’s one of his most recent, but to me, it’s one of his best. I heard it the first time when he performed on Saturday Night Live. With tears running down my face, all I could think was the history that was held in this one person’s psyche. The world of music and memories that he carried in his soul and how moved I was by hearing one song of hundreds or thousands that he wrote and how I felt the world of music he would one day leave behind had been captured in one. I am in love with this song.