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your sunshine

24 Feb

A heat wave has washed over the Bay Area for the past few days, and being trapt indoors during 70 degree weather in February is torture. A sun soaked untz and Friday to the rescue…  and a long lunch in the park.

Today’s Indie: Call Your Boyfriend / Noah and the Whale (Robyn cover)

‘don’t you tell him how I give you something that you never even knew you missed / don’t you even try and explain how it’s so different when we kiss’

A playful little twist on Robyn’s Call Your Girlfriend, English indie popsters Noah and the Whale flip the table and tell us how to politely call our boyfriends and let them know they have been traded in for new flames. While this sounds like the nicest way to go about such a conversation, the whole uptempo spin on NATW’s cover has a smug little grin behind it that Robyn’s original version doesn’t have — she sincerely sounds a little sad and sorry for the chick, like she’s been there too (ahem Be Mine). I guess boys will be boys… but I like it. #indie

Today’s Untz: Sunshine / Picture Book (Justin Faust remix)

‘I feel like the summer inside’

Here is a can’t help but smile electro popsicle of a track, aptly titled Sunshine and perfect for melting you into the weekend. Syrupy sweet in lyrics and sound, it might be advisable to consume in moderation to avoid a tummy ache, but I had it on repeat all Thursday afternoon. Picture Book is comprised of two brothers who were born stateside but grew up in the UK, and Sunshine is the first release of their first official EP, At Last, out in January. German DJ/producer Justin Faust washes a dreamy wave over the single in his remix, and it is in a word, nom. #untz

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flashguns & robots

24 Oct

Saturday’s Bridge School Benefit Concert was my favorite yet. Last year’s miserable deluge was traded in for sun, I found myself rocking out to Carlos Santana (blame the whiskey?), Beck pleased the crowd with a string of tracks off of Sea Change and Mumford and Sons were on everyone’s lips by the end of the evening. I love the feeling live music can evoke in me of being removed from everything and completely centered at the same time.

Today’s Emo: Heat & Fire / Flashguns

‘if I give myself away / will you buy a piece of me everyday’

Coming across a music blog that you really like is like when you meet a new friend and totally hit it off; there is a thrill of the potential that lies ahead between the two of you. Perhaps I feel this way because I found the blog I am currently smitten over via my friend Asanka setting me and its author, Venya, up via a facebook intro. I am so thankful that he did, because it is rare that I find a blog that I enjoy both listening to and reading to so much…  beatrixtapes is filled with layers of awesome chillwave dance and indie, with thoughtful musings and reviews nestled amidst the tracks.

One of my favorite discoveries so far is Flashguns, a British indie rock trio who released their debut full length album, Passions of a Different Kind, this month. I am just starting to wrap my head around the album and their sound, but an initial take has me getting a The Kooks meet Cold War Kids meet Fleet Foxes kind of vibe. Yes please. Heat & Fire is one of my favorite tracks thus far, edgy but easy on the ears, steady but with surprises. #emo

Today’s Untz: The Girl and the Robot / Royksopp ft. Robyn 

‘you never seem to know when to stop / I never know when you’ll return / I’m in love with a robot’ 

While I was busy chilling at Bridge School, my best friend Nicole spent the weekend in LA dancing her face off to Royksopp, my favorite Norwegian two headed monster of untz, and the one and only Robyn. I know I can’t have it all, but still find myself beyond jealous to miss out on such a killer combo live. Nicole said they teared it up and played their two collaborations together — None of Dem and today’s untz about a relationship with serious work/life balance problems. If I close my eyes with the speakers up, I can almost imagine it going down. #untz

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call calgary

17 May

A brief disruption from my usual Monday/Wednesday/Friday untz and emo delivery schedule due to far too much fun this weekend and a sleepy, slightly uninspired Monday. Thank you to the few loyal listeners who reached out to make sure I was still alive after my failure to post. To make up for my tardiness I present two magical tracks. Enjoy.

Today’s Emo: Calgary / Bon Iver


‘who goes in and then stays inside / oh the demons come, they can subside’

The Bon is back, delivering Calgary off his upcoming self titled LP as the perfect umbrella for these folds of San Francisco rain and gusty bay winds. I listened for the first time this morning with bated breath and the highest of expectations, bracing myself for potential disappointment. Expectations were all exceeded.

The gentle rolling drums, that haunting voice, the sigh inducing lyrics, the layers of folky goodness laced in at the end… this is everything I expect from the man who locked himself into the isolation of a Wisconsin cabin in the woods for three months to emerge with For Emma, Forever Ago far too long ago. I cannot wait for the rest of his new album, but until then will be curling up into this on repeat. #emo

Today’s Untz: Call Your Girlfriend / Robyn (Feed Me remix)


‘don’t you tell her how I give you something that you never even knew you missed / don’t you even try and explain how it’s so different when we kiss’

OK, so it is never a great idea to promote being “that girl,” wrecking a home and the instigation of someone elses heartbreak. Accordingly, Robyn’s Call Your Girlfriend is pretty mean, and definitely infringes on girl code. To her defense, the girl has been screwed over enough times in her other songs, whether she is dancing in the corner on her own watching you kiss someone else, missing her ex with every heartbeat, or never having him at all… so I suppose she can be a bit nasty and fight for what she really wants, just this once. Especially when Feed Me tosses in serious untz and makes her home-wrecking sound so wicked fun. Just watch your back.  #untz

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indestructible jet planes

31 Jan

I had a very untz and emo intensive weekend. Think underground dance party  til 4 a.m. on Friday and then a beautiful couple of days in the rolling hills of Napa with the new Cold War Kids album on repeat. Life is good. So are these songs.

Today’s Emo: Big Jet Plane / Angus and Julia Stone

‘she smelled of daisies / she drive me crazy’

Brother/sister acts weird me out a little bit in the same way the dads do on the e! reality television show ‘Toddlers in Tiaras.’  Something just feels a bit off. This hasn’t stopped me from loving Australian sibling duo Angus and Julia Stone ever since I heard sigh inducing Just a Boy a couple years ago. I like that this song keeps it simple. Gentle guitar rifts, calming vocals, subtle strings, and the idea of a sweet escape make Big Jet Plane the perfect sleepy Monday morning song. #emo

Today’s Untz: Indestructible (A-Trak Remix) / Robyn

‘and I never was smart with love / I let the bad ones in and the good ones go’

A-Trak borrows the violins from Robyn’s acoustic version of Indestructible and injects them into her dance track, and the result is untz genius. The strings remind me of a mixture between the shower scene of Psycho and the part of Romeo and Juliet where Leo is following Claire Danes through the costume party when they first meet, and they look at each other through the fish tank. Sharp urgency, just like Robyn’s lyrics. The remix kicks an already fantastic song up a notch, and just when things start to feel a little emo, A-Trak tosses in some crazy electro for the final minute.  This is hard core. #untz

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