last saturday was one of my favorite days of the year. the annual holiday tapas party. 5.2 of my favorite people in the world, welcoming in the christmas season a la española: in a warm kitchen, surrounded by copious amounts of chorizo, queso manchego, olive oil and rioja. (we did add a little a lo americano to the evening. but it’s not really a christmas party without a flying polar plunge from the top of a garage into a 47 degree pool, is it?). since that night, everything feels different. it’s christmas. or hypothermia. probably a bit of both. either way, the christmas music came out in full force this morning. starting with this. -d

from the ‘personal jesus 2011’ remix EP due out next week. full 3 disc album of depeche mode remixes due out june 7. you can’t wait. -d

to commemorate opening night of blip festival 2011, my favorite 8bit remix of all time. -d

*blip festival is an all 8bit new york city music festival. if, like me, you’re stuck on the west coast this weekend, dailymotion is streaming a good chunk of the performances. as always, i’d recommend checking out animaniguchi.

so rumor has it these guys made the longlist for the BBC’s Sound of 2011 lineup. they also appear to have won another big UK poll, MTV-UK’s Brand New for 2011. so they signed with Island Records and their debut is set to drop in May - but only in the UK. all pretty strange for a band based out of Nashville. and one that, honestly, isn’t that great. (they sound like kings of leon but with even less spine, if that’s possible.) and quite frankly, mr. sitek isn’t having any of it. he uses the remix to yank them out from behind their edgy indie rock facade and present them, on a stage of synths and skips, for the dopey dance popsters they really are. the result is head and shoulders above the original. take the hint, gents. -d

i have been mildly digging on this lord huron ep for a bit now, but i have to say: i think i like the remix better. -d

*it’s a free download from RCRDLBL.com

it’s yesterday, LA marathon, somewhere in west hollywood, about mile 16 or so. with each passing minute, it somehow manages to rain harder than it did the minute before. we’re all soaked to the skin, muscles cold and cramping, and there’s a long way to go yet. the spectators are trying their best to cheer us up, but orange slices, peanut butter pretzels and vague, disintegrating signs only go so far. then, from a apartment window high above santa monica blvd, this song begins to play. well, not the remix, the original. we all look up, then at one another, and for a second everybody is smiling. it wasn’t much, but in a race as demoralizing as the monsoon marathon was at times, it was a weird moment of grace, endowed by the circumstances with all sorts of power and importance. and just one in a string of connected, utterly essential moments that carried us from mark to mark til we got where we were going. it’s stupid, but i think fewer people would have crossed the finish line without it. music. -d

it’s weird. i didn’t actually like the two door cinema club album that came out last year. but i have loved almost every remix i’ve heard them do of other people’s songs, and i’ve loved almost every remix i’ve heard other people do of their songs. especially this one. also, i’m thinking i should probably dedicate an entire week to these kitsune compilations. i think this is my 4th kitsune post or something… -d

i really like it when bands i really like take songs i sort of like by bands i sort of like and remix them into songs i really like. like this. on a side note, the new cold war kids album that just came out yesterday is just ok. it’s a little more straightforward, a little more radio ready than their previous stuff, which works to their advantage on some tracks but leaves the album as a whole sort of floundering with 100 other bands in the middling alt-rock mire. -d (via RCRDLBL)

i know this is old, but it’s still one of the most clever and well done remixes i’ve ever heard. besides, if there’s one point i’ve tried to make with this blog, it’s that timeliness ranks very low on my list of priorities. -d

say what you want about Kanye’s ego or lack of a social filter, but as dewey finn said, ‘he’s got it. i don’t even know what it is. but he’s got it.’ -d

oh man, this is a lake song if ever there was one. loud, brash and happy, it’s that classic trying-to-barefoot-but-ending-up-skipping-across-the-water-on-your-back-with-your-shorts-around-your-ankles kind of music that we can all relate to and you can’t help but groove to. drink it in. -d

on the always sound advice of the launderetters, bought some rad orchestra tix today to see phoenix in san diego in september. can’t risk a repeat of last year’s h.bowl heartbreak. -d

the gooniest awesome song of last summer made an unexpected but welcome reappearance this past weekend as the backing track for a ridiculous music video me and my cousins shot in downtown gilbert, AZ (go hawks!). video to come. maybe. but probably not. nobody should ever wear corduroys that tight. least of all me. -d