Festive Fifty 2014 (Part 2)

Here is Part 2 of the Contrast Podcast Festive Fifty for 2014! It just gets weirder and weirder and I couldn't be happier! :)



Festive Fifty 2014 (Part 2)

33. Withered Hand - Horseshoe (Tricia)
32. Bastard Mountain - Drone Armatrading (Rory from Bastard Mountain)
31. Jenny Lewis - Late Bloomer (Marc)
30. Panda Bear - Mr. Noah (Kristen)
29. Hookworms - On Leaving (Eiron)
28. Jonnie Common - Shark (Jonnie Common)
27. Mary Lambert - Dear One (Victoria)
26. Real Estate - Talking Backwards (Jeremy)
25. Joan as Police Woman - Holy City (Brendan)
24. Caribou - Can't Do Without You (Shaun)
23. Caribou - Silver (Linda)
22. Elbow - Color Fields (Brendan)
21. Spoon - Knock Knock Knock (Jason)
20. Sharon van Etten - Every Time the Sun Comes Up (Jeremy)
19. Death Vessel - Mercury Dime (Linda)
18. Pharrell Williams - Happy (EJ)

Festive Fifty 2013 Top Ten

And this catches us up to last year! You can look at similar posts from the previous Festive Fifties, or listen to the new episodes for this year as they come out by clicking the Festive Fifty tag at the bottom of the page!

10. Josh Ritter - Joy to You Baby
9. The National - I Should Live in Salt
8. MS MR - Hurricane
7. Arcade Fire - Reflektor
6. Bastille - Pompeii
5. James Blake - Retrograde

4. Dessa - Skeleton Key

3. Dessa - Fighting Fish

2. Daft Punk featuring Pharrell Williams - Get Lucky

 
1. Lorde - Royals

Top Ten Tuesday: Pharrell WIlliams "Happy"

This is such a fun video with lots of great cameos. My favorite cameo is probably the couple of shots of the Odd Future guys (Earl Sweatshirt, Tyler the Creator, and one other guy) because they look like they are having fun but you also get the feeling like they were having fun walking the line between having a good time just dancing and having a good time goofing around and looking silly. And that's my favorite side of those guys. The silly side.

This is a simple, catchy song and I'm glad it's in the Top Ten!

Throwback Thursday: 2003

This is the year that my wife and I started dating!

10. Black Eyed Peas - Where is the Love?
9. Ludacris featuring Shawnna - Stand Up
8. Fabolous featuring Tamia - Into You (techinically this is featuring Tamia or Ashanti, because the former did vocals on the single and the latter did vocals on the album version. I decided to refer to the single)
7. 50 Cent - P.I.M.P.
6. YoungBloodZ featuring Lil Jon - Damn!
5. Pharrell featuring Jay-Z - Frontin'

This is the kind of song that I would hear on the radio or on the TV at one of the food establishments on campus and it almost seemed like, "That can't be a REAL song" because it was so different from everything else that was going on with music at the time. Retro and at the same time forward thinking. Love it.

4. Chingy - Right Thurr
3. Lil Jon & the East Side Boyz featuring Ying Yang Twins - Get Low
2. Nelly, P. Diddy, and Murphy Lee - Shake Ya Tailfeather
1. Beyonce featuring Sean Paul - Baby Boy

Top Ten Tuesday: Robin Thicke featuring T.I. and Pharrell Williams "Blurred Lines"

This TTT is going to feature more videos than usual (I was going to put an exact number, but, frankly, I haven't quite decided what all I'm including) because this has been a big controversial song this summer!

It has been the #1 song basically all summer and, at 11 weeks, has been #1 for twice as long as any other song this year. It's a big deal.

So first, the SFW (safe for work) version of the video:

And now, the NSFW (not safe for work) version (topless girls) which you have to imagine is most likely the "Way the Video Was Intended" version

And then, pretty much immediately, a "gender reversed" version was made, intended to show how exploitative the video is and how ridiculous it would be if the men were replaced with women and vice versa. But I like both versions.

Ok, so I'm not going to get into all of the hullabaloo that is happening with the Marvin Gaye lawsuit stuff. In fact, I think that we all need to sit back, relax, pick up our maracas and play along with this much less incendiary version.

New Countdown: James's Bonus Song Emporium!

Imagine Dragons

If you were looking for the nonsensical, seemingly random ravings of a madman, you're in the wrong place, bub! But if you want a podcast where sometimes we have more than 2 bonus songs, then step right in, my friend, have I got the podcast for you!!!

The weather is becoming increasingly fall-like and we're going to have to start to accept the fact that our summer anthem this year was a song about needing to put on a sweater because the weather is too chilly.....which I think we can all do. I'm really excited for some fall weather, actually.

Countdown #162

***Featuring***
Atlas Genius
Capital Cities
Daft Punk featuring Pharrell Williams
Fitz and the Tantrums
Grouplove
Imagine Dragons
Lorde
The Neighbourhood
New Politics
Radiohead

New Countdown, or, a Descent into Madness

Fitz and the Tantrums

Here's another episode where you hear me in various states of consciousness/fatigue. Which can either be a fun ride or a descent into madness....no, not the Muse song. :)

I'm really loving the songs on the countdowns of late. I hope you are too!

Countdown #161

***Featuring***
Atlas Genius
Capital Cities
Daft Punk featuring Pharrell Williams
Fitz and the Tantrums
Grouplove
Imagine Dragons
Lorde
The Neighbourhood
New Politics
Radiohead

Top Ten Tuesday: Daft Punk featuring Pharrell Williams "Get Lucky"

Well, this is a song we know and love from the countdown, so it shouldn't be breaking any new ground in terms of what the song sounds like. I am almost positive that it was on the top ten of the Hot 100 before it was on the top ten of the Alternative Songs, so that's interesting. I don't think we need to go into another discussion about why this song is on the Alternative Songs chart. It's just one of life's unsolved mysteries.

OH! You will notice that this video is 2 minutes shorter than the version we've been hearing on the countdown. I wonder what effect that will have on your enjoyment of the song.

NEW COUNTDOWN: Looks Like We Made It!

The Neighbourhood

This show has everything: volume problems (and volume solutions), dance lyrics that don't translate to spoken word very well, pop-unders. Just everything! But I promise you it all works out in the end! :)

Oh I also have a very special co-host for the first half. He's the strong, silent type.

Countdown #160

***Featuring***
Atlas Genius
Beck
Capital Cities
Daft Punk featuring Pharrell Williams
Dessa
Fitz & the Tantrums
Imagine Dragons
Lorde
The Neighbourhood
New Politics
Nine Inch Nails

New Countdown: Last Countdown as a Dad of 1!

Daft Punk and Pharrell Williams

Well, this is it. 3 days after this is published, I will become a father to a little baby boy. And I will have to begin training him to take over the podcast when I'm gone (his sister will no doubt be appearing on his shows with her band. Maybe he can have her on as a guest! There IS a tradition of sisters as guests on this podcast)

So here it is, chock full of bonus songs. And I hope you enjoy it! I'll be back with another new countdown on Sunday 7/28. And next week we'll have a special bonus episode: The Ten Lowest Charting Songs (2010-2012). It's a good one, so come on back!

Countdown #159

***Featuring***
Beck
Capital Cities
Daft Punk featuring Pharrell Williams
Dessa
Fall Out Boy
Fitz and the Tantrums
Imagine Dragons
The Neighbourhood
New Politics
Nine Inch Nails
Thirty Seconds to Mars

New Countdown: Ahead of the Game (for once)

Daft Punk and Pharrell Williams (and Nigel Rodgers)

Well, it is 9:37 on Saturday night. I finished this podcast on Thursday night and I'm halfway through the recording of an upcoming bonus episode. So I'm feeling pretty good about the scheduling of it all.

This is a good episode. We're getting into the heat of the summer. These are the episodes we'll look back on come December and be like, "Oh yeah....remember that?" or at least I like to think we will. Does anyone else ever get pre-emptively nostalgic? Is there a term for that kind of nostalgia?

Countdown #158

***Featuring***
alt-J
Beck
Capital Cities
Daft Punk featuring Pharrell Williams
Fall Out Boy
Imagine Dragons
Muse
The Neighbourhood
New Politics
Thirty Seconds to Mars

New Countdown: All the right sides of all the right records

Thirty Seconds to Mars

This is one of those countdowns that was recorded all around the globe......or in two places in the same state....but it's pretty close, right?

Hopefully this week, I can record the next normal episode and the two pre-records that I want to do before my kid is born in the middle of the month.....Wish me luck!

Countdown #157

***Featuring***
alt-J
Beastie Boys
Capital Cities
Daft Punk featuring Pharrell Williams
Fall Out Boy
Imagine Dragons
Muse
The Neighbourhood
New Politics
Thirty Seconds to Mars