GOOD LISTENER

Five reasons to keep your iPod by your side this weekend.

Beach House – “Norway”
Here’s the thing about beaches: Just because you equate them with summer doesn’t mean they cease to exist when the weather gets cold. Instead, the water gets murky, the breezy gets chilly, and the sun sets well before you’ve finished reading that trashy novel. Which is another way to describe how this new track from Beach House will make you feel, what with its shimmering notes, cooing vocals, and off-kilter synths.

Theophilus London – “Humdrum Town”
You could take a Chairlift track, have Prince rap vocals over their synths, and then giive it to A-Trak to have him remix it. Or,you could just listen to a Theophilus London song. The New York City-based electro-rapper talks about rainy days and lonely roads on his latest track for Green Label Sound.

Beck – “Henry Partch”
Indie rock feuds are funny. The latest altercation started when the Fiery Furnaces’ Matthew Friedberger bad-mouthed Radiohead for a song he thought was about experimental composer Harry Partch. It was actually about Harry Patch, the oldest surviving soldier from World War I who past away this summer. When he apologized, Friedberger said he should have trashed Beck. And what would you know, this week Beck posted a new song called “Harry Partch” on his website. Coincidence? We think not.

VHS or Beta – “Feel It When You Know It”
Louisville, Kentucky just might be the most Francophile city in the US. Besides being named after King Louis XVI (also known as Louis the Last), it’s home to VHS or Beta, who have consistently put out some of the most French house-inspired music this side of the Seine. To celebrate the launch of their own label, Chromosome Records, the band’s releasing “Feel It When You Know”. Now you can start the party this weekend.

Santigold – “Shove It”
The bad news: Santigold has been touring for two years straight, which means that she hasn’t even started on her new album. The good news: Between now and February, she’s finally taking a break and working on some new stuff. While you wait, go back to the archive and listen to the songs that made you a fan in the first place. We were reminded of this earlier in the week at the Diesel:U:Music show—she killed it in gold sunglasses, coordinated dance moves, and a handful of tunes that already sound like classics.
REBECCA WILLA DAVIS



This story was published on November 20, 2009.