Son Lux & Lorde - Easy (Switch Screens)

Son Lux has teamed up with Lorde for an updated version of "Easy", from last year's Lanterns record.  It's appropriately haunting and this re-worked version, titled "Easy (Switch Screens)", adds some heavier percussion to the mix.  The track is part of Alternate Worlds, Son Lux's new EP which "reimagines" four songs from Lanterns.  You can listen to "Easy (Switch Screens)" below and purchase of copy of the EP on colored vinyl here.

Lorde & Beyoncé Win The Grammys

 

Last night's Grammy festivities seemed even longer than usual.  There were so many random performances that involved two or more artists colliding in ways that no one ever asked for.  I sat through Robin Thicke and Chicago performing a medley of songs ending with "Blurred Lines" because sometimes life isn't fair, but that's a post for another day.  Even though Daft Punk won Album Of The Year, the real winners were Queen Bee and Queen B.

Lorde performed a strange slowed down version of "Royals" and won two major awards, Pop Solo Performance and Song Of The Year.  She looked especially hipster goth chic, but sported a slightly more tame mass of hair compared to her usual mane.  I think it's safe to say that Lorde's reign won't let up anytime soon and she deserves the recognition so much.

But let's just talk about Beyoncé and Jay-Z opening the show with "Drunk In Love".  She did that weird music video dance.  She had the wet beach hair.  She even added more surfborts to the song!  From the lighting to the camera direction, the production was fantastic.  The only flaw was some lazy censorship by CBS, which resulted in a few full lines being muted.  This is how you perform at the Grammys.

The Soundtrack Of My Life's Top 25 Albums Of 2013

Oh, what a wonderful time 2013 has been!  As another year comes to an end, we look back and realize just how many fantastic albums were released.  Along with the arrival of a new year comes the treacherously amusing task of creating a "best of" list.  This year I've even included clickable album titles, so you can grab each one if you feel the urge.  So without further delay, here are The Soundtrack Of My Life's top twenty-five albums of 2013.

25. Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds - Push The Sky Away

24. Hunx And His Punx - Street Punk
23. Bastille - Bad Blood
22. Sky Ferreira - Night Time, My Time
21. Devendra Banhart - Mala
20. Arctic Monkeys - AM
19. Autre Ne Veut - Anxiety
18. Ra Ra Riot - Beta Love
17. Tegan And Sara - Heartthrob
16. Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Mosquito
15. Sleigh Bells - Bitter Rivals
14. Small Black - Limits Of Desire
13. Pet Shop Boys - Electric
12. Icona Pop - This Is...
11. CHVRCHES - The Bones Of What You Believe

10. Vampire Weekend - Modern Vampires Of The City

9. Haim - Days Are Gone

8. M.I.A. - Matangi

7. Savages - Silence Yourself

6. Lorde - Pure Heroine

5. Kate Nash - Girl Talk

4. Doldrums - Lesser Evil

3. Goldfrapp - Tales Of Us

2. James Blake - Overgrown

1. David Bowie - The Next Day

Friday I'm In Love - 4/10/13

Friday I'm In Love is a weekly feature.

It highlights what I loved over the past week.

Week = Friday to Friday.

May include things of a non-musical variety.

Lorde - Team

Lorde's debut album is due later this month, but there's just enough time for one more single before that day arrives.  "Team" is the follow-up single to "Tennis Court", or perhaps "Royals" according to current radio trends.  This track shares numerous qualities with "Tennis Court", most prominently a low buzzing synth during the chorus that drives the entire song.  It's in the same vein of sound as Lorde's previous body of work, both lyrically and musically, but that's not to imply she's anything repetitive or stale.  It's actually quite an exciting taste of the already anticipated record, which just keeps building momentum as each day passes.

The full album, Pure Heroine, is out in the US on September 30 and in other regions a day or so earlier.  You can pre-order a copy here and then stream "Team" below.

Lorde - The Love Club / Tennis Court

Last week, I finally sat down and searched "Lorde" on Youtube.  Prior to this search, I had no knowledge of who or what Lorde was.  It was simply a name that had been floating around my Twitter stream at an above average rate.  The first results that I watched were the music video for "Royals", followed by the "Tennis Court" video.  A few days have gone by since I watched those videos and now I can't stop listening to Lorde.

It turns out that Lorde is the stage name of Ella Yelich-O'Connor.  She's from New Zealand and happens to be sixteen years old.  I have to say it was pretty shocking to discover that she's so young.  Age aside, her first release was an EP called The Love Club.  It was posted online last year and saw an official release just a few months ago.  The lead single "Royals" went to number one in New Zealand and her next single "Tennis Court" followed the same pattern.

I find it amazing that, as a new artist, she's managed to find such a distinct sound.  Lorde is creating music with a mature production style while still capturing something youthful.  She might be sixteen, but the songs sound like someone who takes their art seriously.  You know what I mean?

To wrap things up, Lorde is a stunning discovery and I'm so glad that I took the time to check out her music.  You should definitely give her a listen and maybe even download an album or two, if you feel like it.  Just don't be surprised when Lorde becomes the next big thing to take over the US.