SummaJamz Part Two

Last week, I got an email with a subject line containing simply: "F You."

From Cee-Lo Green.

Normally I'd be offended, but after clicking through to the song included in the email, I found a diamond in the rough, if the rough is email spam and the diamond is this super sweet summer dancey jam groove by Green himself, who already won me over a few months ago with "Georgia."
This is even better. I was sold when I heard "Bein' in love with your ass ain't cheap, I pity the fool that falls in love with you." (And later: "Ooh, I really hate your ass right now.") Cee-Lo is on fire here, with old-school brass horns and a hooky chorus consisting of "Fuck you, fuck you," giving some snarky undeserving girl and her new boyfriend the BOOT.

Anyway, here's a much-needed roundup of some other summer jams, continuing from Part One earlier this summer. Check out the playlist below and let us know what your favorites are, and what we left off!

1. Robyn - Cry When You Get Older
Guess we missed this the first time around, because this song has been out for a while. Still it makes for an arching, beat-heavy, ass-kicking song. And she's got some lyrical prowess too: "Back in suburbia kids get high and make out on the train / and this incomprehensible boredom takes a hold again."

2. Nelly - Just a Dream
I realize not everyone is as mindblowingly excited for Nelly's upcoming release as I am (and this single is no Dilemma or Country Grammar, believe me). But that doesn't stop the inevitability of this song dominating Top 40 radio this fall. It's kind of sad, though, thematically! But whatever, as soon as the bass drops about 21 seconds in, you'll be too busy dancing to care. Definitely a capital-J Jam.

3. Andre 3000 - I Do (leaked)
Remember when Andre's verses were the strongest unreleased cuts off the Big Boi record? And how he drops these absolutely killer verses like they mean nothing to him, all the time? He's smart and it shows here: "And maybe 2030 our baby she'll be nerdy, make the whole club swoon."

4. Best Coast, Kid Cudi, Rostam Batmanglij - All Summer
This also came out a while ago, before Best Coast blew up, and it's a great lineup of voices: Cudi sounds super laid back and carries the track, while Best Coast's clean melody on the chorus makes this hook, line, and sinker a full-on lovable song perfect for summer.

5. Arcade Fire - Sprawl II (Mountains Beyond Mountains)
Though we've given this album a lot of credit already here, this track is exuberant enough to separate from the rest of the concept-album and cross over to keep company among the four songs listed already - an impressive feat for an indie band, but not a surprising one for a band that sells out arena tours and performs on the Daily Show.

Mystery Train: Requiem For A King

Today marks the anniversary of the death of Elvis Presley. It’s been 33 years since he died rather famously, the stuff of legend, at age 42.

I have met people that have never listened to Elvis. This astonishes me, though perhaps it shouldn’t; his music can seem dated today, his story told and re-told so many times it’s now less like a legend of rock ‘n’ roll than a tired old movie plot rehashed again and again. It becomes one of those snoozefest tales your dad tells you while he’s driving somewhere and you’re literally subject to his will and his memory, trapped as you are in the front passenger seat by a seatbelt and the car’s velocity.

But more than that, I have met people that have listened to Elvis and still never really heard him, never truly given his music that concerted listening it deserves. They admit his story and his influence, but for them his music moves no bones, stirs no heart. I get it. I feel the same about, say, Frank Sinatra. And it’s not that it is somehow wrong to have a deep love for rock ‘n’ roll music, or even the blues, without giving Elvis records a second listen; it’s just something you might want to consider, is all. He has a remarkable talent for saying beautifully simple things in an incredibly truthful way. I didn’t get it until I saw footage of Elvis live, namely his seminal 1973 performance in Hawaii. See below:

It’s easy to write him off as a stage presence only, a white-suited caricature of a pop star swallowed alive by his own fame. But watch closely -- he is a presence, but that’s entirely part of why he was, and is, so captivating live. Swinging hips, the gospel choir, and his classic snarl are essential here, but it’s also clear how much he means every word he sings. Nobody has vocal pitch that perfect while fighting addiction and inner demons and a crushing fame and performing live in front of a mammoth audience, unless they mean every word they’re singing. This is real gospel.

Play What? Play This Playlist: An Ode To The Dog Days of Summer

The dog days of summer are, quite literally, a drag, and they have officially Arrived. If July was the joyful carefree summer of your youth, then August is a half-life of bided time and listless suspension, caught apathetically between enjoying the last few weeks of summer sun and ushering it along to something new and possibly better and ultimately not really giving a damn either way whether time slows down or speeds up, because if the augustine humidity indicates one thing it is that nothing moves, nothing changes, nothing rushes or sweats or jumps or feels anything, really, for about the last three weeks of the month. It's that feeling cued up quite perfectly by Jessica Lea Mayfield's disinterested bargain in "Kiss Me Again," the same one that accompanies the fade towards the end of a relationship: "You got me where you want me, but I ain't all there." And again, later: "You can touch me if you want to, I don't really care."

Yet something is sort of dark and mean about these dog days of summer, because despite their existence as almost a non-entity they can kind of weigh you down. It's the limbo of it, I guess, that has you thinking a little too deeply and a little too vaguely. Josh Ritter says it best: "I know the dog days of the summer / Have you ten to one outnumbered / Seems like everybody up and left and they're not coming back."

You might get nostalgic at the time that's passing, and accept it a la the Avett Brothers ("Tear down the house that I lived in, I'll never be the same again") or take it more as a Do-Not-Go-Gentle-Into-That-Goodnight warning, soundtracked by the ever-having-your-back Japandroids ("Give me that time you were already in bed, said fuck it and got up to drink with me instead.") It begs for both company and escape ("Into the Mystic"). It encourages your willing derision ("You are beautiful, but you don't mean a thing to me.") It demands that you shelve and restrain all questions and concerns regardless of what you want, because you don't know what you want ("Misunderstood").

So you need some consolation ("Queen Jane," the Spokesman's best offer of everything-is-gonna-be-alright) and some resilience (to kindly tell the Shine Blockas to step off, with a growl.) And of course, some surround-sound cocoon comfort, courtesy of Mojave 3's pensive "Love Songs on the Radio," which takes, roughly, the melody of Leonard Cohen's "Suzanne" and threads it through nine hundred layers of dream-fuzz warmth. And lastly, The Beach Boys' "Don't Worry Baby," which includes all of the above traits and is the best August song ever written.

Play What? Play This Playlist: O Beautiful For Spacious Skies

Who doesn't like the Fourth of July? It's a middle-of-the-summer marker, right smack dab in the middle of hot and hotter weather, an easygoing, laid-back holiday all about relaxing with friends and family and celebrating the nation's history. Fireworks, cookouts, red-white-and-blue decor, patriotic songs that would be cheesy on any other day (unless you're me, and dig that shit all the time.) Plus, it's a long weekend!

Oh, America. The land of hope and dreams, the home of the brave, a place of golden opportunity, the subject of thousands of songs and books and essays and fairweather fans' attentions during this summer of American sport domination - it is only fitting that on this Independence Day weekend we honor you with a playlist, including The Hold Steady's take on Take Me Out to the Ballgame. Check it out below, loyal WGTB readers, along with possibly my favorite rendition of a national song, and enjoy the holiday weekend!

And my favorite:

	The Beach Boys - Battle Hymn Of The Republic
	Found at skreemr.org

Play What? Play This Playlist: An Open Letter to Greg Monroe, 7th NBA Draft Pick for Detroit Pistons and Former Hoya Baller

Dear Greg,

When we heard the news last night that you were chosen to join the Detroit Pistons in big-time Detroit Rock City, home of the Temptations and Smokey Robinson and a pretty good NBA team, we have to admit we were happy for you. Even though in the spring, your initial decision to go pro left us feeling Heartbroken and Jaded, our campus Hero leaving us in the lurch, destined for bigger and better things while your classmates and friends watch from far away-- well, Hey, that's No Way To Say Goodbye.

We get it: you're a Superstar now, and we hope your Dope Boy Magic skills will carry you far in Detroit as they carried you far at Georgetown. Best wishes in your future endeavors. We'll Miss You! (Especially Miley). Don't get too big for your britches, make good choices, and give us a call from time to time.

Oh, and we made you a mixtape. Welcome to Detroit City.

xoxo,
WGTB

Play What? Play This Playlist: Memorial Day Weekend

While your Music Directors-turned-Blog Directors may disagree on the worth of celebrating holidays indiscriminately (for the record, Caroline's in favor of personally celebrating all holidays from Cinco de Mayo to Mardi Gras to St. Patrick's Day, while Igor has some self-restraint), there's one type of "holiday" that's almost universally loved: the long weekend. Memorial Day is a perfect example, kicking off lazy summer days and putting an end to the awkward purgatory in between the end of the semester and the real start of summer. Weekends are great-- in the words of Dr. Dog, it's time to pick yourself up off the floor-- and nothing's like falling asleep Sunday night to the sweet realization that you have another entire day off. Below, some of this summer's recent quintessential jams, designed specifically to replace the mind-numbing chant of Gaga's inane "Alejandro," ever-present on the airwaves. (Not that I feel strongly about it).

1. Villagers: The summery, harmony-heavy chorus and Shins-like phrasing leave this song on repeat for me.
2. The Franks: Noisy power chords, garage band riffs and puppy love.
3. SSLYBY: A new one complete with handclaps from the kings of simple indie-pop feel-good music. Groovy, pleasant, and so so hooky. Why aren't they more famous yet?! Pretty girls don't just park where they want to, they gotta go round in circles like we all do.
4 .Taio Cruz & Luda: Oh come on. This is the best.
5. The Donkeys: A recommendation from our biz director Jared. Stones-esque, with a chorus that kills: I know I'm handsome, but I get lonely too.
6. Outkast: So glad this is making a resurgence. Real guys go for real down to Mars girls!
7. Miike Snow (DJ Medhi remix): Well damn, if this isn't the most pleasant yet captivating jam since The Girls Can Tell remixed the Beach Boys.
8. Dead Gaze: Nothing spells summer like some lo-fi surf pop, but this is even better, straight outta Mississippi (not exactly the surf pop capital of the world) with a children's chorus opening and sleigh bells (no, not those Sleigh Bells). And no, not that Simple Man.

Play What? Play This Playlist: Finals Edition

Finals week brings a rollercoaster of emotion. Ok, that's a bit dramatic, but between the elation at classes ending and sweet summer almost at our fingertips, and the stress of exams and end-of-the-year goodbyes, it's easy to get lost in the shuffle, let alone get your work done efficiently, let alone get a decent place to study-- I've seen people sitting on the floors of Lauinger because there aren't enough spaces near plugs, with desks, etc. It's a bit ridiculous.

Luckily, I have spent plenty of time avoiding writing my papers and instead opting to craft this tried-and-true homework-ready playlist to aid you in your studies. Sometimes homework music is hard to find-- if its too catchy or too familiar, you'll get distracted, but if its completely foreign it can be jarring as well. "But Caroline," you might think, "this is just a bunch of your favorite songs." Not true! Below are 40 songs that strike the perfect balance between pleasant but not too rowdy, upbeat enough that you won't fall asleep, familiar but not something you'll get sick of, ideal for background music but not elevator music. From Seu Jorge to The Animals, Slick Rick to Wilco, Led Zeppelin to Randy Newman and Beirut, there's something here for every one, money back guarantee.*

Let me know what you think your best study songs are in the comments, and enjoy the tunes during this next week of exams!

*It's free.

Play What? Play This Playlist: Georgetown Day

Forget FratMusic.com; we've assembled this playlist for you, carefully comprised of the MOST feel-good sunny-day songs ever, plus some recent releases we just wanted to include. Blast this playlist on the lawn on Georgetown Day, if you can manage to even hear your own music over the DJs and bands playing. Enjoy the weekend, and remember to keep up with all of the great things going on with WGTB-- our concerts, our events, our coming-website and current blog, and of COURSE our programming which is about to wrap up for the semester, so listen in while you still can.

Your favorite college radio station,
We Got The Beat

Play What? Play This! Playlist.

Play What? Play This! Playlist

This week: Heartbreakers

Relationships end. It’s a painful processes envied by none. Yet perhaps it begs the age-old, albeit trite, question: is better to have loved and lost than to have never loved at all? Sure, that question may have faint whiffs (if not a pungent odor) of death, but I think we can extend it into the land of break-ups as well. Whatever your answer, the emotions felt at the end of a liaison are powerful and rough. So then why, you may ask, would you fill a playlist entirely of songs that will illicit such emotions, songs that actively try to break your heart? Is it not amazing that a song can even do that – can stir up such powerful feelings, change your entire mood? These songs may not be ideal for every day, but on rainy afternoons (such as today) are often a fitting time for ruminations and contemplations.

Play What? Play This Playlist: Get Away Songs

by Christian Morrissey

Host, "Notes from the Underground," Wednesdays 4-6 pm on WGTB

I have amassed quite a collection of playlists – I prefer to spend my free time creating playlists instead of watching TV, reading, or… well… doing homework. As such, I have amassed quite a collection. In a weekly column, I will share with you all some of my oddest lists.

Get Away Songs: This collection highlights the most ideal songs to blast as you hop into your get-away car after pulling a heist. Yes, it is a soundtrack for bank robberies – more specifically, the immediate moment post-heist. Check out the playlist below, and the full story behind the tracks after the jump!