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star shadow

14 Nov

And the beat goes on.

Today’s Emo: Dark Star / Polica

‘ain’t no man in this world who could pull me down from my dark star’

Gayngs may have taken themselves off the streets for the time being, but two of their talent, producer Ryan Olson and singer Channy Casselle have joined forces to craft Polica in the supergroup’s wake. Dark Star features lot of smooth brass rolling throughout, met with plenty of sass come from Channy. The sultry sound has me thinking of a singer in a smokey old club, and conveys the kind of subtle urgency that makes you want to pull someone into a dark corner.

Excited to see Casselle join the leading ladies of the fall alongside the likes of Lana del Rey and Class Actress. Her echoed, slightly sinister vocals have me reminiscent of a favorite songstress of my middle school days, Fiona Apple. Sway your way through Monday. #emo

Today’s Untz: Scale it Back / DJ Shadow ft. Little Dragon (Party Ben remix)

‘and when you reach up, the sky – I stay…’

When sifting through potential Monday morning untz I tend to sway towards the softer stuff. Epic tracks without any build can feel jarring to take with your Monday morning alarm, and it’s best not to get too riled up so early in the week when Friday feels far from reach. Thus this steady track from DJ Shadow, featuring the cool and collected vocals of Little Dragon’s Yukimi Nagano, remixed by Party Ben. You can almost hear a hint of Donna’s Last Chance in the beat. #untz

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go to the lagoon

26 Oct

It is the Wednesday before Halloween, and I find myself without a costume. I would be one of the kids from the Dubstep Xpertz videos, but people would just think I was a Mission hipster/pre-gaming for the Deadmau5 show instead of actually being out for the night as someone else. San Francisco problems.

Today’s Emo: Montana / Youth Lagoon

‘there’s a spirit in Montana and in your chest, a soul / oh what a soul’

I am late on the Youth Lagoon parade but so happy to finally be sharing a track. I have never met someone from Montana I didn’t like (or love) so I was drawn in by song title alone, but stolen away by the song’s pull of piano and whispery, calming vocals. This is the type of music that causes me to slow down for a moment… it makes me feel a lot of things that I can’t quite separate out into pieces, in a good way.

Youth Lagoon is the project of Boise’s Trevor Powers, and Montana is off his recent release, The Year of Hibernation. The 22-year old is playing the Bottom of the Hill on Tuesday, November 1st, a perfect way to cut the work week with some gentle lo-fi bedroom pop musical rumblings. #emo

Today’s Untz: Let Me Go / Kaskade ft. Marcus Bently

I had to run to dinner last night post gushy emo write up and ended up out entirely too late for further considerate listening or pondering, but Nicole (dining and subsequent wine bar mate/best friend) has listened to Kaskade’s new album and assures me that it is amazing, and that this is the best part. #untz

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reeling home

15 Jul

I am packing into a minivan with six chicks after work this afternoon and making the three hour drive over to Yosemite where we will set up camp, hike, eat gourmet camp food (happen to have a chef amongst us) and lose ourselves in the dirt and pines for a couple of days. Work has been crazy the past few weeks, and I cannot think of a better way to retreat… even if I will be tugging along the laptop and mifi card. Bears beware, kittehs are in the woods.

Today’s Emo: Home (untitled) / Mumford & Sons

‘you went left and I went right / as the moon hung proud and white / you would of loved it here tonight’

A new sigh inducing melody from the crafters of Sigh No More, Mumford and Sons have me pining for home with this recording off their sophomore album due out late this year. I had the pleasure of seeing the English folk quartet at Coachella in April and was floored by their poise, presence and talent, feeling warm, fuzzy and inspired as they played out track after track during nightfall of the second day.

From the opening strums of banjo to Marcus Mumford’s aching vocals, the song quietly unfolds a tale of longing and regret. Delightfully tragic, beautifully nostalgic – a few listens and I find myself wanting to hop onto Kayak to find the next flight home to Oregon to curl up with my parents and my dog. Alas, the real world… a phone call will have to suffice for now. I’ll be home in a little while. #emo

Today’s Untz: The Reeling / Passion Pit (Calvin Harris remix)

‘now I pray that somebody will quickly come and kidnap me’

I have heard this song a million times, but never like this. Calvin Harris provides the perfect Friday mix to unravel for the weekend and get lost in the woods with. PP is in studio, gearing to release a new album early next year to follow Manners. About time! #untz

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coyote spring

20 May

My mom flies into SFO this afternoon, and I am looking forward to a weekend filled with good food, time at the park, afternoon tea and Nordstroms. She sometimes reads TUATE from my Facebook links (where she likes to also leave wallposts like ‘Dear Tory, I miss you! Love, Mom’), which is great except when my posts reference musical attributes like bedroom pop and songs best intended for behind closed doors.

Anyway, she adored the post I wrote on my dad and his Neil Young obsession, although temporarily freaked out that I had shared our home internet password with the entire worldwide web, and contacted my father in a panic, who promptly assured her things would be OK. She then foolishly admitted all of this to me over the phone for fodder, thanks mom!

Today’s Emo: Always Spring / I’m From Barcelona


‘somewhere it’s summer / somewhere it’s always spring’

Whiny but tasty on the ears, I’m From Barcelona is the type of band that both the younger, naive emo-lustful me, and current, more musically developed me could both enjoy. Always Spring, off of the group’s recent album Forever Today, offers pleasant trickles of horn, clap along beats, and earnest, concerned vocals emitting convincing though somewhat mindless lyrics.

The group is comprised of nearly half of Sweden, with the band boasting a whooping 29 members at its peak, and I find myself curious what some members are up to in this track that sounds like it was produced by a fine tuned quartet. Group size and hide and seek aside, I appreciate a dose of carefree music to help make it to the weekend. #emo

Today’s Untz: Starchaser / Coyote Kisses


During college I spent a magical semester studying abroad in Chile and my favorite bar in Valparaiso was called Coyote Quemado (flaming coyote), making Coyote Kisses an alluring find before I even listened to their songs. Sarchaser definitely lives up to the idea of flames over besos, and this track stretches my threshold of untz to its limits, but I like it. Playful, poppy beats on beats, hard sounds without being harsh, and like most good electro, some surprises interwoven throughout. Fiyah! #untz

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heart list

29 Apr

The scene: Wednesday night at the Bottom of the Hill, my best friend, Blue Moons, and my favorite band. I showed up at doors, chilled for an hour, impatiently listened to the openers, and then lost myself for a couple hours in a mind blowingly amazing show. It was the first time The Head and the Heart has headlined in SF, and due to our strategic early arrival, I was pressed up front right, so close to the speakers that my legs shook with the bass, watching hands slide on strings and socked feet hop about on the stage while occasionally convincing myself I had locked eyes with the lead singers. The show sold out weeks ago, and they showed us why.

Before starting the last song Jon belted out that he was dying for a cigarette, so after last croon I booked it for the patio area, met the band, expressed my undying devotion, got snapshots, and found out that Charity is nice and shy and not in the least bit indie bitchy like I thought she might be. Then I bought too much merch, cabbed it home and went to sleep with a goofy grin, nestling into bed at one with guitar rifts still ringing in my ears. It is Wednesdays like these and the people I share them with that I will never forget when I am old and boring and thinking back when. These are the places I will always go.

Today’s Emo: Josh McBride / The Head and the Heart


‘darling this is when I met you / for the third time not the last / not the the last time we are learning / who we are and what we were’

This is a new song and it is meant for a campfire. Josh McBride (also known as Seat Beside Me) was one of several unreleased tracks performed, and it was really something – smooth harmonies, trickles on keys, steady strumming and heartfelt vocals. Most of the audience hadn’t heard it yet because they don’t stalk THATH the way I do, and there was that “oh wow” moment of hush when it ended, like people had just experienced something great for the first time and were soaking it in. And then epic applause.

The chorus of ‘you are in the seat beside me‘ makes me think of Death Cab’s Passenger Seat, and while it is unique in its own right, this song evokes similar sentiment– that peaceful comfort of companionship and conviction in who you have next to you at the end of the day. Or the want for that space to be filled. #emo

Today’s Untz: Lisztomania (Phoenix cover) / Edwin Van Cleef ft. Jane Hanely


‘these days it comes, it comes, it comes, it comes, it comes and goes’

I have been hungry for new Phoenix for some time now and thus forced to temporarily satiate myself with remixes. Luckily there is no lack of options. Classixx has a standout take on Lisztomania, and now UK DJ/producer Edwin Van Cleef has made a great go at it, twisting in female vocals from Jane Hanely to give one of the most remixed songs of the past few years new life.

This is the first I have heard of Mr. Cleef, and while I suggest he get a new stage name I will have to keep him on my radar because I want to dance to this. And dance and dance and dance. #untz

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skinny kicks

13 Apr

Pardon my brevity, but I have an epic adventure to prepare for. It has been a fairly emo past week or so for me, and I am looking forward to heading south, seeing my Grandpa in Palm Springs for a night and then losing myself in the desert at a campsite marked by a giant Deadmau5 head and never ending music.

Signing out until I get back. Stay tuned!

Today’s Emo: Skinny Love (Bon Iver c0ver) / Birdy

‘come on skinny love just last the year / pour a little salt we were never here’

A beautiful take on a Bon Iver classic, this cover sets in chills just like the original. I love this striped down, piano driven version of Skinny Love just like I love Sky Ferriera’s take on Animal… there is something simple and ethereal embedded in here. I always thought of this song as romantic, but Birdy’s take conveys some sort of subtle despair, and I listened to it on repeat at work all Tuesday (emo).

The awe inspiring part about this whole bit is that the girl is barely a teenager… Jasmine Van Den Bogaerde is a whopping fourteen years old. Floored. #emo

Today’s Untz: Pumped Up Kicks (the Knocks Remix) / Foster the People

‘he’s got a rolled cigarette hanging out his mouth / he’s a cowboy kid’

The Knocks slice something speedy into a favorite Foster the People song, and the result is indie untz bliss. The original version of Pumped Up Kicks is agreeable but lacks an edge… The Knock’s version deserves speakers up, windows down. Happiness. #untz

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