Tuesday is another brick in the changing landscape of digital communication. Cult Classics, LLC. launches it’s “Cult of Sincerity” film and releases the entire thing…. yes the whole thing to YouTube.com (Check it out here) Continue Reading

After much thought and deliberation the offices of The Drop have moved. This is especially exciting since I don’t have to drive at least 1.5 hours to see a national tour. Continue Reading

Having remixed for the likes of Coldplay, Imogen Heap & Leigh Nash (to name a few), Morgan steps from behind the boards of producer and into the shoes of  an “artist”.  His Nettwerk debut “Elevate” is due in March & first single “Longest Road (Ft. Lissie)”  is already causing quiet a buzz.  With electronic music that is emotional in texture (think BT), Page is someone to watch.  Check out his remixing skills at their best with Regina Spektor’s “Fidelity” (in the download section).

About a week ago while in Los Angeles I got a chance to check out DJ Shadow and Cut Chemist for their digital cut collaboration (Thanks Tim!)- The Hard Sell. It was nothing short of amazing!! Continue Reading

Because we’re more like a dysfunctional family than just a music site with readers, I’d like to propose a “family meeting”. The opportunity has come for THE DROP to move the base of operations to the L.A. underground (where we may or may not be hooking up with the A-Team) I’d like to get your thoughts on that. Continue Reading

Dub Heads, New Wavers and Hipsters alike - I present to you the new and improved M.I.A. - Santogold Continue Reading

I stumbled upon greatness this week. Grand, melancholy melodies sung by the love child of Bjork and James Taylor - an heir to the kingdom of folk - where the rules have been erased and rewritten. I can see it now - your curious - your fingers anxious to search the net for this collision. Cortney Tidwell may not be the love child of such a pairing but she is a find of epic proportion . Her debut full-length album, “Don’t Let the Stars Keep Us Tangled Up”, was released in February of 2007 via the UK label Ever Records. After the success of Ewan Pearson’s 2006 remix of the title track, “DLTSKUTU”, young Tidwell found an audience far from home. She began touring Europe before the stateside release of the record and more recently grabbed a spot on Pitchfork’s Top 100 songs of 2007.Cortney, a Nashville native, has been tagged with a multitude of genre-blending descriptions - most of which are completely without merit. Boxed and plainly described as “country” or “goth”, Tidwell is much more than any genre can confine. Her pixie-like voice glides from one arrangement to the next, weaving in and out of the organic and electronic landscapes. Washed in spacious reverb, each track engages the ear from start to finish. Strong opener, “Eyes Are at the Billions” is a brilliant depiction of what’s to come - combining the gentle and beautifully profane. By track three (Missing Link) Cortney is in full bloom. The mild rocker is quite possibly the popiest endeavor on the album. Pulsing from an electro-driven verse into the alt rock perfect chorus - this is as good as it gets. The record brims with everything from electronica to folk - and enough soundtrack worthy fodder for any shoe gazer out there. My point? DO NOT SLEEP ON THIS RECORD. Stop what you’re doing, pull up your itunes and become a fan. Remember those day - when we bought records - not just singles or our favorite cuts but we purchased an entire album because there was a belief in greatness. This is that record. I know I’m early and technically in breach of calendar terms but this record is destined for my end of year, top 10 - It truly is exquisite. Favorite cuts include “Don’t Let the Stars Keep Us Tangle Up”, “Our Time” & “The Tide”.

My latest musical crush is on Inara George’s latest incarnation - The Bird and The Bee. Once I heard the organ in “Again & Again” I was hooked (think Rosie Thomas meets Bjork). Since then I’ve grabbed both of her albums and so should you. This week iTunes revealed that The Bird and The Bee’s version of Carol of the Bells was the free single of the week. as the time for Chrstmas mix Cd’s are being put together by you and me, this is a great addition. Check it out.

Get the Download here from iTunes

And then check out the video to Again & Again -

I knew I liked this guy for a reason. Consistently pushing the envelope of interacting with his fan base, Sufjan Stevens has called for the masses to trade Christmas Songs with him. Starting today, write and record a song and send it to Asthmatic Kitty and they’ll be choosing the best submission as the winner and whoever wins get the legal rights to a brand new Sufjan Stevens song. Of course in the trade the songwriter gives the writes to there song to asthmatic Kitty… but tell me where that’s a bad thing?

From the website:

Here’s how it works: write an original Christmas song, record it, and email the song to us. Asthmatic Kitty will pick a winner, and that person will trade rights to their song for rights to Sufjan’s song.

Just like a gift exchange, Sufjan’s song becomes your song. You can hoard it for yourself, sell it to a major soft drink corporation, use it in your daughter’s first Christmas video, or share it for free on your website. No one except Sufjan and you will hear his song, unless you decide otherwise. You get the song and all legal rights to it. We get the same rights to your song.

Go to Asthmatic Kitty for the all the details

Also of note.. the Christmas box set that Sufjan came out with is now streaming for free from now till Christmas or you can pick it up for under $20.

Track listing:

Tracklist For Vol.1 Noel:
01. Silent Night
02. O Come, O Come Emmanuel
03. We’re Going To The Country
04. Lo, How A Rose E’er Blooming
05. It’s Christmas! Let’s Be Glad
06. Holy, Holy, Etc.
07. Amazing Grace

Tracklist For Vol.2 Hark:
01. Angels We Have Heard On High
02. Put The Lights On The Tree
03. Come Thou Fount Of Every Blessing
04. I Saw Three Ships
05. Only At Christmas Time
06. Once In David’s Royal City
07. Hark The Herald Angels Sing!
08. What Child Is This Anyway?
09. Bring A Torch, Jeanette, Isabella

Tracklist For Vol.3 Ding Dong:
01. O Come, O Come Emmanuel
02. Come On! Lets Boogey To The Elf Dance
03. We Three Kings Of Orient Are
04. O Holy Night
05. That Was The Worst Christmas Ever!
06. All The King’s Horns
07. Ding! Dong!
08. The Friendly Beasts

Tracklist For Vol.4 Joy:
01. Little Drummer Boy
02. Away In A Manger
03. Hey Guys! It’s Christmas Time!
04. The First Noel
05. Did I Make You Cry On Christmas Day?
06. The Incarnation
07. Joy To The World

Tracklist For Vol.5 Peace:
01. Once In Royal David’s City
02. Get Behind Me, Santa!
03. Jingle Bells
04. Christmas In July
05. Lo! How A Rose E’er Blooming
06. Jupiter Winter
07. Sister Winter
08. O Come O Come Emmanuel
09. Star Of Wonder
10. Holy, Holy, Holy
11. The Winter Solstice

Go Stream it now!

I came across this video trailer for the upcoming release from The British Expeditionary Force. Based on the trailer I’m looking forward to the December release of the album. Wanna hear it all now? Click hear to hear some samples at the all NEW Erased Tapes Store. I think this press release gives a pretty vivid picture of what the band is about.

As the band of which he was a founding member, yourcodenameis:milo, go into indefinite hiatus, producer/songwriter Justin Lockey returns with his new project The British Expeditionary Force released through cinematic music lovers Erased Tapes Records.

After four critically acclaimed albums with Milo and a host of other production duties ranging from Get Cape. Wear Cape. Fly. to Enter Shikari, Lockey is emerging as the pre-eminent young British producer. Lockey’s music is supplemented on BEF by the vocal talents of Aid Burrows. The creative partnership between the two was forged despite geographical difficulties: using a process not to dissimilar to Benjamin Gibbard and Jimmy Tamborello’s Postal Service, Lockey constructed the music in isolation in Newcastle upon Tyne and then, via the magic of the internet, sent it on to the Warrington based Burrows who supplied lyrics and vocals before sending the music back to Lockey for mixing and Erased Tapes founder Robert Raths for co-production and mastering. The result is an inspired collection of songs that are representative of the return of progressive, genre-defying music to the British Isles.

The British Expeditionary Force sees Lockey liberated from the format of writing songs within a band and reveals him as a singular musician of enormous ability allied to limitless imagination. From ‘Throwing Little Stones’ evocation of pebbles dropping into calm waters courtesy of fragile piano chords to the machine-gun beats of ‘A Long Way From Home’ the album is an impressively focused study in seemingly diametrically opposed musical forms merging together. The British Expeditionary Force sees Lockey and Burrows combine ethereal soundscapes, sonorous guitars, beautifully fragile vocal and vocoder work, Lockey’s now trademark sensitivity to drum sounds and Burrows’ inclement lyrics together to form something akin to My Bloody Valentine filtered through the best of Brian Eno with a smattering of the Iceland inspired sonic vistas of Sigur Rós. It is a snapshot of late night urban life, the eerie sense that something wicked this way comes on a long walk home amongst deserted streets that betray both the residual menace and drink fuelled revelry of only a few hours previous. It is the sound of 21st Century northern England. It heralds the arrival of two major talents. It is The British Expeditionary Force.

Check out The British Expeditionary Force on Myspace