Recently in List Addicts Fridays Category

Here's a little bit of trivia for you readers out there: did you know that the first List Addicts was posted way back in 2008 as a New Year's songs list? Bet you didn't know that - and rightly so, since this is practically useless trivia. Putting the year into perspective though, I can't believe that this site has been chugging away that long and is still alive today (considering that it's basically held together by duct tape and craft glue). With probably one of the roughest years I've ever had, I consider it an internet miracle :)

Since I'm not really good at compiling the best of the year albums - which might probably be the reason why this site isn't high on the popularity rankings, our List Addicts End of the Year edition gives you five of my of favorite artists that I've featured or mentioned on the site within the past year:

1. Scary Mansion

The feature for Scary Mansion came at the time I was struggling to keep up with artist interviews that I actually stopped it altogether. I would say, that one was especially significant as it might have been the last full artist interview that I'll ever have on the site. Scary Mansion was also a band that anyone's ever contacted me about to have their song featured on a primetime TV show. Blame it on an outdated PR contact at their site - the musical supervisor of Hellcats shot me an email asking how to reach the band. Long story short, their song made an appearance in one of the TV show's episodes which had everybody asking - 'Who sang that song?'. My mission in life is now complete.

Here's their cover of Girls Just Wanna Have Fun - the other Cyndi Lauper song that hasn't been remade to death, and this link to the video of it being used in Hellcats.

To keep with the holiday theme (as well as get the Christmas countdown going), it's time for List Addicts - The Christmas Edition. This week, we not only have a list of holiday tunes from your favorite up-and-coming indie bands - but we also have some mellowed out tunes to bring variety to your Christmas playlist and get some introspective thinking going on. So bring out the scotch and sit in your comfy thinking chair (clear out any sleeping pills or sharp objects though, you don't want to be thinking too hard at this time of the year). Here are five tunes you can listen to, if you want to celebrate in a more sombre fashion this holiday season - 

1. Santa Fucking Claus by Johnny Foreigner

Johnny Foreigner released this nice little Christmas tune as a suprise gift to their fans. As a backgrounder, the band writes:  We had a bum end of to the year with a few shows being snowed off, and instead of (as well as) sitting round listlessly catching up on misfits and walking dead, we made a christmas hit single. I can certainly relate - but instead of making a Christmas hit single, I sat around listlessly and caught up on Misfits. All I can say is: Damn, that show is getting really good! They totally set the bar up with shagging gorillas and homicidal dairy charmers. But you know what, although watching Misfits was entertaining, it  wasn't the one that made me feel a little bit better with my holiday blues - it was this song. So thank you Johnny Foreigner, I hope you guys have a great Christmas ahead ;)

They say good things come in small packages – for others, good things come in short bursts -- like songs done in two minutes or less. I’ve always had a thing for songs that go over that the five minute mark (without you feeling that it’s going for longer than expected). It’s sort of  like the artists playing can’t get enough that they infect you with the same kind of feeling through their song. Ditties, on the other hand, are sweet. They’re like those little collectible items that people just like to keep, or unexpected rare treats that leave you wanting for more. Today’s list is my own collection of less than two minute songs that have, at one point or another, satiated my sweet tooth for little musical treats –

Holiday by wonder for all (0:58)

This song rings true to anyone who's ever needed a break, and wanted to express their feelings of fondness to someone -- with a ukelele accompaniment.

Seeing the title, you might think - when did this site transform into Seventeen magazine?

For lack of any other ideas for topics for the Friday's list that's coming on a Tuesday, and seeing as to how I always think guys in the indie music  scene are underrepresented when hotness polls come up, I've compiled a short list of who I think are the hotties of today. My gauge for hotness is based on a guy's ability of producing or singing a song that could make my heart melt - and that's not accounting for physique and looks (aka a hot bod and a cute face).

SUFJAN STEVENS

This one is probably an obvious choice. Anyone who's ever been familiar with Sufjan Steven's music knows that he has the talent (and man, does he have talent!) as well as the look. If you haven't heard of Sufjan, take a listen to his Illinoise album and you'll definitely know what everyone's been raving about. His songs combine lyrical talent, beautiful instrumentation and a soothing voice that can make any girl (or in some cases, any guy) swoon. Forget about the gay rumors. Many think a lot of his songs have gay undertones - but to be fair though, To Be Alone With You doesn't really count, right - since it's about Jesus? Either way, he's still a major hottie. Isn't ambiguity in sexual preference the 'in' thing these days?

Check out Cute!Sufjan in the video after the jump, and this song from his upcoming electro-album(?) called Too Much. It deviates from his previous work, but the electro-girl in me is digging it.

Too Much

It's List Addicts Friday time - and today's topic is high school crushes and unrequited love. Why? Just because I'm in the mood for it and these two always go together.

High school has always been a memorable time for me - not because of the nice memories I've shared with my high school friends, but because of all the heartache, heartbreak and the tramautic experiences I've had dealing with members of the opposite sex. Despite the good intentions of the strict nuns at my high school, and my loving, yet overprotective father, I wasn't prepared to deal the enigma that were boys - high school boys at that . Despite this, I was able to go through high school  with my sanity intact. But then, to anyone who's ever had to deal with high school crushes and unrequited love, I don't think you'll ever leave unscarred.

1. Hello Saferide - Highschool Stalker

When you talk about unrequited love, there always an element of stalking involved.  In Highschool Stalker, Hello Saferide gives us the inside scoop of what it is to be a high school stalker. And because she dates herself by using Yahoo! and AltaVista to search, it would be circa mid-1990s (I myself used HotBot and Infoseek). I never did go as far as breaking into the dentist's office like she did in the song. However, does doing voodoo magic to make your crush notice you count as psycho stalker-ish? It did work though.

This isn't an EBTG post, sorry to disappoint, though it was that song that inspired me to make up this week's list. As an alumni of the Long Distance Relationships club, I have compiled many-a-song to my list of tunes to soothe the weary heart. A particular song that was on heavy play was Everything But the Girl's 'Missing' (also because, prior to the LDR club, I was a recovering pining-for-a-lost-love addict). I haven't added a song since, as it's been that long since I've needed one for my longing heart, but with my natural pre-disposition to sappiness and me being left alone while my bedside companion's away for three week vacation, it kind of got me to reminiscing. It got me to thinking about those type of songs that conveyed that feeling of yearning and missing. They may not be as dancey as EBTG, but in their own indie way, it'll be like how the deserts miss the rain all over again.

1. Coconut Records - West Coast

Yes, it's Max Fischer, only instead of directing, he's singing now. This song  reminds me of The O.C. - just because it's called West Coast and  it's Jason Schwartzman that's singing (who, by the way, was the drummer of Phantom Planet). Speaking of The O.C., I actually kind of miss it. It was a pretty good show. Also, you don't get a lot of Seth Cohen characters on TV nowadays. Honestly, I think we need more proponents of the geeky is sexy movement - the freaks are taking over with their sparkling pale complexion and and fanged teeth.

It's been a while, so I thought I shouldn't put this off any further. Yes, it's List Addicts Fridays once again, and today's theme is 'covers'. In the history of List Addicts, I have never made a covers post before, mainly because a lot of other blogs do. They even have weekly posts about it. Heck, some even dedicate a whole blog to covers. But hey, since mine's not a regular thing, this week's list is special - my own take of favorite covers from indie bands that have perked up my ears at one point or another. The idea actually came from watching Glee this week - a TV show that's based its success in witty writing and wonderfully executed song covers. One of their earliest hits was their rendition of Journey's Don't Stop Believin' which at first listen, I thought they were covering Petra Haden's cover of the Journey song. And with this, my list begins...

1. Petra Haden - Don't Stop Believin'

This one comes from the excellent 2007 all-covers album Guilt By Association . I came upon it checking out The Concretes cover of Take That's Back for Good, but found loving this track a whole lot more. A purely a cappella version, it brings a nice creative twist to the song (especially with that bit of Wilson Phillips inserted at the end).

They held a music video contest for songs in the album, and the video entry for this song was my favorite. The equally quirky music video told a love story between a sunny side up egg and a calculator, with tinkerbell in drag lip synching to the song. The video didn't win the main prize, but it made the song all the more unforgettable - undeniably a notch up from the Glee version if you ask me.

I don't know why it took me seven years to fully appreciate the allure of Canadian music. Probably because there's this underlying country music and folk influence in a lot of Canadian music that I can't seem to wrap my ears around. If you asked me a few years ago, if there were two kinds of music that I really can't stand, I would say that it's gangster rap and country music. Although, in the last few years I have slowly warmed up to folk - since it has this nice, simple, earthy kind of quality to it that I find so interestingly calming. There is that danger there, when you go on to liking folk, because there's a thin line delineating folk and country. Now somehow, I've gotten myself to appreciating a bit of country influenced songs as of late. I guess I'm just getting old, and being parent has mellowed me out. But hey, there's just something about the mixture of banjos, acoustic guitars and road trip inspired lyrics that warms up the soul. I still won't admit that I like country though - well, not the hillbilly type, I'd much prefer the sophisticated type of folk that Canadian musicians are really good at ;)

1. The New Pornographers - Challengers

The New Pornographers aren't a folk band, and most of the songs that they make are more of the pop and rock kind. Yet they made this song, and it's beautiful. Despite the hint of country with the use banjos, the allure Neko Case's vocals and the lovely melody makes 'Challengers' the type of song that would make anyone cross over to liking folk if they haven't done so.

 Back in the mid 80’s there used to be show called Video Hit Parade in one of those Marcos owned TV stations. It was during those times that I first saw Aha’s Take On Me, Rick Astley’s weird yet strangely appealing hair dance and the heyday of the New Wave movement. I was hooked! After that it was MTV, this was during the early 90’s and cable television was in its infancy. We all wanted to become Danny McGill and have Nonie as our girlfriend/sex slave. We loathed Mike Casem and his freakish younger sister. Alternative music ruled MTV and filled our consciousness. Aeon Flux was so amazingly fucked up, Charlize Theron made a live-action version of it and tanked! It was during the mid 90’s that we had an influx of Filipino made music videos, albeit proletarian paved the way for budding directors such as Marie Jamora (big fan of the E-heads), Quark Henares and Pancho Esguerra. These are some of our local music videos  that have earned my utmost respect…and I have impeccable taste in music and a bloated ego. Check out my list below…

We take a break from the usual List Addicts Fridays to make way for some amazing stuff from Buffetlibre.

If you haven't heard the news yet - Buffetlibre and Amnesty International Catalunya has teamed up to form the first music atlas on the web. Called PEACE - it's a project that unites artists from all over the globe in support for Amnesty International. The site offers a compilation of over 180 unreleased songs from your favorite artists from different parts of the globe. As a sampler, we've got a couple of songs posted here from the compilation from The Antlers, Patrick Wolf, Crocodiles, Plushgun and our own favorite, Ra Ra Riot.

The 180 song compilation can be downloaded after making a donation to Amnesty International Catalunya and the collected money will be used for Amnesty International’s investigation and action campaigns aimed at preventing cases of Human Rights abuses around the world. Starting from 5 euros, you can get the full compilation, info sheets about the artists (for all the music geeks like me out there), as well as a chance to win tickets to some of the major music festivals around the globe. I've included a full list of artists right after the jump, and you can also go straight to the PEACE site to know more about it.