Yes, I really am posting at 1:23 am. I was just so excited to bring you my third song of the year, hot off the presses or whatever it is you create music entities with! As I had mentioned, my lack of hearing in one ear makes it a bit tough to sing, so this week I bring you the very first remix I’ve ever made! (Okay, so maybe the reason I’m up late is that I’m using the demo version of Ableton Live which wouldn’t let me save my work, so I had to do this all in one shot and hope my computer didn’t die.)

Anyway, I bring you an original Josh Mock remix of Interpol’s Pioneer to the Falls. Mmm Interpol.

I actually started out working with the instrumental track from M.I.A.’s Paper Planes, but then when deciding what to mash it up with, I realized it was better for samples anyway. So I sampled out some of the beats and gunshot sounds and MIDIed my way to a decent beat. Then I added some glitchy sounds to the Interpol track, and there you have it.

I know it doesn’t seem like much, but you would be surprised how long that took me. If it sounds awesome (riiiight) you can only imagine what a full version of Ableton, some accompanying hardware and a little practice could do for me. Guys! I have potential to be a remix master! Sponsor me or something!

I’m going to bed.

Ryan Adams wins this month. Between my realization that Heartbreaker is an amazing album and the release of his new one, Easy Tiger, he pretty much dominated my listening for the month. I’m actually listening to Love Is Hell while I write this, completely by coincidence. It’s no surprise, then, that he’s broken into the top ten of my all-time most played artists.

Oh, and a new “feature” for you: Often times the tracks I put in my monthly playlist are available for stream and/or download by the artist in some capacity, in which case I’ll provide a link.

1. Clipse - “Mr. Me Too” (Hell Hath No Fury)
2. Ryan Adams - “Halloweenhead” (Easy Tiger)
3. T.I. - “What You Know” (King)
4. Amy Winehouse - “Rehab” (Back To Black)
5. Mew - “Chinaberry Tree” (And The Glass Handed Kites)
6. Ryan Adams - “Two” (Easy Tiger)
7. Interpol - “Pioneer To The Falls” (Our Love To Admire)
8. Ryan Adams - “To Be Young (is to be sad, is to be high)” (Heartbreaker)
9. The American Dollar - “DEA” (The Technicolour Sleep)
10. Justice - “Genesis” (†)
11. Los Campesinos! - “You! Me! Dancing!” (Sticking Fingers Into Sockets)
12. Maps - “To The Sky” (We Can Create)
13. Mono - “halcyon (beautiful days)” (Walking cloud and deep red sky, Flag fluttered and the sun shined)
14. Iron & Wine - “Boy With A Coin” (The Shepherd’s Dog)

Sorry for the posting hiatus. The music world tends to hibernate for the few weeks surrounding Christmas and New Years, but things are finally starting to pick up again (new Shins, Six Parts Seven, Deerhoof, Clinic, Of Montreal, Fujiya & Miyagi releases next week! Woo!).

The only thing I have to really discuss is the upcoming RPM Challenge 2007, where musicians all over the world unite with the common goal of recording an album during the 28 days of February. It’s a fun and supportive community. I’ve joined with my solo project, Saviors, which is/will be my instrumental post rock alter ego. We’ll see how that goes. I’m blogging my progress over there. It should be fun.

Oh, and one more fun little link: check out a couple Jimi Hendrix remixes. The Jimi/Jay-Z mashup Voodoo Problems is especially awesome.

Occasionally it’s nice to go through my music collection and highlight the new stuff I’ve discovered that I can’t stop listening to:

• Jeremy Enigk
  Enigk is best known as the front man for Sunny Day Real Estate, but his solo releases, especially his newest, World Waits, are phenomenal. I think I’ve listened to the track Been Here Before a thousand times in the last few weeks (you can download it here).
• …And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead
  They’re not a new name to most, but their new album goes above and beyond all their previous work, in my opinion. This is probably why I’ll never work for Pitchfork, considering the somewhat negative review they gave So Divided. Check out Wasted State Of Mind on their PureVolume page.
• Dragonforce
  It’s embarrassing to admit how good these guys are, because they are definitely marketing on the irony of being serious about a long-deserted genre of wankeriffic metal rife with dual guitar solos (think The Darkness, but five years later). But those solos… they’re so good…
• Malajube
  This is one band I’m proud to admit I discovered before they were a twinkle in Pitchfork’s eye, thanks to a friend in Canada who gave me a heads-up. It’s almost syrupy sweet at times, and I can’t understand a word of French so I have no clue what they’re singing about, but they’re inexplicably irresistible.
• Mew
  They’re definitely a buzz band right now, but for good reason. Beautiful falsetto vocals with a satisfyingly complex rhythm section. And The Glass Handed Kites is one of my most-played albums of the last few months.
• Tom Waits
  I’ve just recently realized the value of his work. I picked up a copy of Nighthawks At The Diner at Amoeba Music a while back, which has been great for putting me in a happy and relaxed mood. His newest release, Orphans, is impressive, even in its excessive length.
• The Knife
  Dark, dramatic electronica with haunting vocals. I would almost say it borders on goth, but it’s not quite as pessimistic. Apparently their live show is a theatrical jaw-dropper.
• Oh, Sleeper
  I had to throw in some hardcore somewhere, right? The Armored March is a solid Norma Jean-esque metalcore release, and something about the overall sound keeps it from getting boring like so many bands in their genre.
• Ray LaMontagne
  If you like Damien Rice, LaMontagne will be your best friend. ‘Nuff said.
• Sparrows Swarm and Sing
  Mostly instrumental post rock in the vein of Godspeed You! Black Emperor. I actually just heard them for the first time today, but they’re definitely worth a mention.

And here’s a few older favorites that are still topping the charts:

• Explosions In The Sky
• This Will Destroy You
• Godspeed You! Black Emperor
• mewithoutYou
• Cloud Cult
• Sherwood
• P.O.S.
• Damien Rice

This has to be the best version of O Holy Night I’ve ever heard.

In case you haven’t been on the Internet in the last year, mashups are the hot new thing. A mashup is pretty much what it sounds like: a mashing-up of tracks by different artists to make a new song that contains characteristics of each included track. There are a few mashpus that you really need to listen to:

The first sample I would be showing you is Dean Gray’s “American Edit.” Unfortunately, their record label decided that remixes are a copyright infringement and a cease and desist order was made. Either way, check out AmericanEdit.org for the latest news on what’s happening with that. Who knows, you might even be able to find a rogue link to a place where you can still get it.

Second up, we have Q-Unit. Queen + 50 Cent = Q-Unit. They’ve probably been targeted with cease and desist orders too, but I’m too lazy to find out for sure. The important part is that you can still download the songs.

Last we have a great mix called Best of Bootie 2005. It mixes everything from M.I.A. to Gwen Stefani to The Ramones to Coldplay to Nirvana to LCD Soundsystem. I’m listening to it right now, and it’s absolutely amazing.

Enjoy mashups. Find more mashups. Make your own mashups. What a great way to stick it to the man.