This summer, when you and your friends are living out the montage of wearing aviators, chuckling in slow motion at a bar at 3pm, drinking Orange Lazaruses, catching the eye of the cute girl across the way, I’d play this Sleigh Bells song on that boom box you remembered to bring.

Sleigh bells – Ring Ring

Keeping in the theme of cough syrup-infused beats, here’s a slow-cruiser remix from Salem. Gucci’s voice and spooky beats go together like peanut butter and chocolate – two great tastes that taste great together. This track is off of Diplo and Benzi’s Free Gucci mixtape, which is full of gems.

Gucci Mane – My Shadow (Salem Remix)

It’s been almost three months since I posted about Toro y Moi’s track Talamak. In that time I’ve managed to become completely obsessed with almost every track off his new LP “Causers of This”. I really had to restrain myself from posting all of them on here. Pitchfork actually slammed “You Hid” as one of the weakest tracks on the album— but I call bullshit. This one is smooth like a warm glass of cough syrup.

Toro y Moi – You Hid

Last year, producer Grahm Zilla teamed up online with MC Isis to bring us a single album filled with pleasantly nasty electropop. Slow Roll is a minimalistic ghettotech beast that shows off Thunderheist’s talent both on the mic and behind the laptop. Hey, I guess MySpace is still good for something.

Thunderheist – Slow Roll

Have you ever thought people who make good electronic music probably also made very thoughtful collages in art class?

Pictureplane – Transparent Now (Thin Veil)

Of all the headline losses in our recent year, Mark Linkous’s suicide will resonate the most with me. Sparklehorse songs have a great way of resting on melodies that both break your heart and mend it back. Nothing quipy here, I’m just sad to know he won’t be writing any new songs.

Sparklehorse – Sunshine

“Lisztomania”, was coined by the German romantic literary figure Heinrich Heine to describe the massive public response to Franz Liszt’s virtuosic piano performances. There were allegedly screaming women at these performances, and the audience was sometimes limited to standing room only

Heard this track at a club on Friday night. Needless to say, Lisztomania was prevalent right around the 35 second mark …

Phoenix – Lisztomania (Alex Metric Remix)

A throwback to 1997. In ‘97 I was 12 years old and I think the most important things to me at that time were Baseball and Final Fantasy VII. This track always provided a nice soundtrack to level up to. With FF XII about to come out in a few days I can honestly say that not much has changed in 13 years …

The Prodigy – Funky Shit

This Tony Castles song is the perfect track three on that mixtape you’re making for that long summer trip on a Twainian raft, going down a river with a bag of apples and nothing to think about.

Tony Castles – Pirates

From their upcoming album “The Brutalist Bricks”, out March 9th, Ted Leo & The Pharmacists made one heck of a fist-pumper. Also, tight use of a flange pedal.

Ted Leo & The Pharmacists – Woke Up Near Chelsea

I’m Turning Into – I’m Going

Javelin makes me wish that a lot more of the thugs and punks from the Streets of Rage series would quit drugs and petty thievery, pick up drum pads, and make awesome lo-fi dance gems.

Javelin – Radio

I know what you’re thinking – Fergie? Seriously? Hold up… my man Treasure Fingers has remixed the original to make it not only listenable— but also really, really slick. Trust me on this one.

Treasure Fingers – Glamorous (Treasure Fingers remix)

Ruby Suns, what a dumb name for such a great song.

Ruby Suns – Kenya Dig It

Boston’s Bad Rabbits are blowing up right now. They sound like they should have been on TMNT 2: The Secret of the Ooze’s soundtrack – in a good way. Their new-jack swing and punk inspired sound makes me feel like I should be doing some side-to-side dance in a sportcoat that’s way too big for me.

Bad Rabbits – Neverland

Before you know it, it will be over and you will have nodded along to chapter after chapter of this Twin Sister song, wondering when the droning vocal line ended and the twinkling shoegazey beat picked up. And you’ll really want that house built of old wood.

Twin Sister – I Want a House

Lone (aka Matt Cutler) is a producer out of Nottingham, known primarily for his warm and woozy hip-hop beats– falling somewhere between Boards of Canada and Flying Lotus. With its laid back airy vibe, Karen Loves Kate sounds like a something you’d hear at J-Dilla’s pool party.

Lone – Karen Loves Kate

Dizzyingly haunting. Heavy to help you remember the crash.

Apparat – Limelight

Here’s my jam. One of the better Skream remixes out— second only to that La Roux mix that everyone and their mother loves. I never thought I’d hear Chromeo dropped over a grimey dubstep beat, but it sure as hell works. Skream is the busiest 18-year old I know.

Chromeo – Night by Night (Skream’s SexStep Remix)

The only thing that is ever interesting is juxtaposition. Like the dream sequence vocals and chamber music played against the chainsaw drumming that start this song. Or a man that nests sparrows in his beard making the music Venetian robots will play on a gondola in the near future.

Pattern Is Movement – Light of the World

While morning rain on a Tuesday can prevent all creativity, it can also make a single song strum in that cavernous “on-the-way-to-work” head of mine. I discovered Cotton Jones some months ago, and this song is perfect for waking to ugly rainfall or peachy sunshine, and nothing in between.

Cotton Jones – Blood Red Sentimental Blues

When this girl in high school played me Belle and Sebastian for first time, she said to listen and pretend like I’m in a movie scene riding a bike. Small Black may never be monuments like the former band, but i think some 16 year old should tell another the same about this song.

Small Black – Despicable Dogs

Can’t say I’m too familiar with Jneiro Jarel’s work. However, heard this track playing in a coffee shop this morning and was fortunate my blackberry was able to pick up the artist (Thanks Shazam!). A nice laid back tune to kick back to on a Sunday.

Dr. Who Dat – Pharoah’s Dream

Somewhere, an assistant manager put this on in his shoe store just now, and all the patrons are so happy not to have to hear that tick tock song again.

French Horn Rebellion – Beaches and Friends (Twelve Radio Edit)

I figured with my first contribution to the new site I should go with a double whammy of awesomeness. Timbaland drops a crazy beat, Fabolous kills it, and some kid in 2006 decides to cut up some anime show clips to match the lyrics [edit: There used to be a funny anime video dubbed with this song but it has since been removed, sadly]. Enjoy.

Fabolous – Right Now Later On

It’s been a while since I was completely obsessed with the Swedish electronic duo Air France’s No Way Down EP, which is amazing and got some serious play. This is a remix of the 1991 track “Spring” by Saint Etienne and it’s nothing short of ‘the shit’.

Saint Etienne – Spring (Air France Remix)

A little throwback jam right here. I never realized just how nasty this beat was back in the day (wow, can’t believe ‘98 is already ‘back in the day’).

Lo Fidelity Allstars – Battleflag

This track is making my morning right now. I came across this after following a video my man Jason Bergman posted in his blog on http://togetherboston.com. Great stuff.

Tim Hecker – I’m Transmitting Tonight

Uplifting minimal techno for work or reflection.  Title track from Gregor Tresher’s album The Life Wire

Gregor Tresher – The Life Wire

From the Wu-Tang Clan Meets The Indie Culture Vol.2 (Enter The Dubstep) album. Smooth lovin.

Wu-Tang Clan – Street Corners (Feat. Bronze Nazareth, Solomon Childs & Byata) [Scuba Scythe Remix]

André Walter has a serious understanding of the dark minimal techno scene. The Keys of Henoch EP explores the cornerstones the genre today.

André Walter – Malphas

Two solid tracks from Washed Out (aka Ernest Greene). This guy’s been making beats from his bedroom for a while, but just recently started cranking out these dreamy, blunted synthpop tracks. His Life of Leisure EP has been in heavy rotation the past couple weeks.

Washed Out – Feel It All Around
Washed Out – New Theory

Legit mix from Toro Y Moi (aka Chaz Bundick). Stumbled across this one after hearing his remix of Washed Out’s Feel it All Around.

Toro y Moi – Talamak