holiday gift guide: Home Design Ideas and Alternative rocks out

music is the only thing that keeps me sane (well, that and reality tv) and thank god, i'm lucky enough to live in a neighborhood filled with the good kind. since i used to be a dj and even worked my tail off for an independent brooklyn label, i figured, what the hell, not every day has to be about product and furniture design, so why not do a brooklyn music gift guide? so here it is: Home Design Ideas and Alternative's guide to brooklyn music (and a few beyond....). check them out on itunes and enjoy! (ps: don't forget that some of this album art alone should be commended for it's amazing design. most notably: the helio sequence. gorgeous)

the tippity top of my brooklyn music gift guide would be the boys of ratatat. the aforementioned politico (my dear ac) found them and told me i should check them out. these guys have some of the coolest electro beat stuff out there. definitely worth the click and listen.

next in line are the french kicks, palomar and interpol (just kidding! a band full of tools, i tell you! trust me- they were my neighbors at nyu). dreamy and dying to be checked out, the frenck kicks and palomar are right across the bridge from most of you and for those of you outside of the tri-state area, they're just a click away at itunes.com (bonus points to palomar for naming their third album "palomar III: revenge of palomar" love it!).

let us not forget the walkmen, despite the fact that they've sold their souls to the devil that is the OC (why do they steal all the cool music!!). aw hell, i'd sell my soul to the OC too, if it meant i got to get in a good ol' punch at that swizzle stick of a lead actress, mischa barton. sell-outs or not, the walkmen would make anyone a great stocking stuffer this year.

for those of you who fear i fancy the williamsburg set a bit too much, i give you louque (although i fear he's just moved there). the louisiana crooner is a groovy side trip from the indie crew above. i first ran into him back in my record label days and was blown away. mixing cajun style vocals and close-to-urban beats, louque is really something to be experienced. you can visit louquemusic.com for show dates. and ladies, he's pretty easy on the eyes....

closing out the best of brooklyn list is the hold steady. wait. just kidding. these guys frickin blow! seriously, if you're ever forced (and it better be at gun point or you have NO excuse) to see them bring some ear plugs. and a rain poncho- their lead singer is some sort of insane spitting savant. buncha weirdos.

since i can't very well pretend all good things come from brooklyn (even though i have a hunch they do...), i thought i'd throw in a few more artists whose music (and album cover art) deserves a mention on your holiday credit card bill...

ah, quruli, bestill my heart. the japanese rock and roll gods were first introduced to me through a japanese exchange student i dated in college (nihongo taka!). while they're nearly impossible to track down online (i'm waiting to hear from their japanese label) you can enjoy some free tracks here. if you like them i can burn you some tracks too. seriously, it's worth it. they're meat and potatoes rock and roll at it's best. amazing.

if you've ever read my site for more than two days straight you've probably noticed the obsessive ac newman references. thank you thank you thank you ac for turning me on to the genius of carl newman. frontman for the canadian indie group the new pornographers, newman is quite simply a genius. buy his solo album for your best friend and sit back and wait. you'll be hearing nothing but thank you's for days on end. heck, weeks, even months on end! and if you like him try the new pornographers- lead singer neko case's voice is out of this world.

ok i'm gonna list the last ones all fast like, since my hands are tired. check out the helio sequence: gorgeous drone-y music with phenomenal cover art to match. dresden dolls: three words: brechtian punk cabaret. really, give it a try. they're crazy. rogue wave (california dreamy pop), the go-team (crazy crazy british super-saturated saturday morning cartoon theme music), the futureheads (scottish brilliance), the duo (drum and guitar, nuff said, they're ridiculously cool), cornelius (like quruli, only easier to find!), then there's ac's newest suggestion, mates of state (california husband and wife duo- always an interesting prospect...) and heath brandon (just kidding- this jerk went on a date with me just to try and snag a record deal with my label. ass!).

so, i hope this keeps the music lovers on your holiday lists happy. if not, well, sue me. it's just a blog.

happy holidays!

Home Design Ideas and Alternative