Misun - Harlot

Misun is a D.C. area band who, if I'm not MISUNderstanding things, are named after their vocalist, Misun Wojcik (it's actually pronounced 'me-sun').  She is supported by producers William DeVon and Nacey.  They started putting out music as a trio this past year, and 'Harlot' is their first release of 2013.  It's catchy.  I'm a sucker for those choppy guitar strokes, but what is most impressive about this group is their musical versatility.  Their other tracks range from dance music to pop to indie, all with hints of music from decades past.  Misun deftly varies her vocal stylings accordingly, sounding like an R&B crooner on one track and then an alt rocker on the next.

I'm hoping they continue to keep their sounds fresh and different.  I'd hate to see them settle into one musical niche when they have such a talent for variety.

Listen/Download:

I also highly recommend checking out their Soundcloud page for the rest of their free releases and their debut EP, The Sea.  It's a fitting name for their self dubbed 'aquawave' music genre.

Bestfriends - Just Goodbye

Hey guys, what's up?  Soundcloud recently changed their setup and I'm not sure I like it better.  First off, they changed the Download button to a downward facing arrow next to the Share button, which makes it harder for me to CTRL+F my way through an artist's page for the free downloads.  It adds like two seconds, ugh.  In addition, they added a feature in the individual pages of songs; instead of playing the song once through and stopping, Soundcloud now continues to play another song that it thinks is similar.  I was unsure if I liked this addition since I often open a page to hear one song and then I'd like to get back to whatever I was playing in my library.  Now, I have to close or go back to that tab to stop the continuous play.  Again, that's like multiple seconds of work.  Anyways I've decided that I'll learn to deal with it because that's exactly how I discovered this gem.  I had some other random song playing, and then Soundcloud played this next.  It was totally unrelated, but I've had it on repeat for a while now.

Bestfriends is comprised of Nick Scalise and Gregory Shanahan, two acquaintances who are presumably very close.  They're based out of Chicago and have only been playing together as Bestfriends for a little over a year by this time.  Of the few articles I did find which mentioned them, nearly all of them referred to how 'sexy' their music is.  I can't say that was the first thought in my head, but I can see the fun, free spirited appeal of their songs, so that may be a turn on.  Regardless, it's worth a listen because you'll be head nodding and vibing out immediately, and reaching for repeat once it's over.

Download 'Just Goodbye' from their Soundcloud and maybe let it keep playing and see what you discover.

24

24 from pushupyalighter on 8tracks Radio.

It's a new year, and today, I'm another year older.  I hope you enjoyed my year end recap of favorites.  I've got a new collection of songs to share with you.  This list began by me lumping together all the great songs I forgot about from 2012; there were several really strong tracks that I either overlooked for my favorites list, or I wasn't sure what to say about.  That's the thing with music, sometimes it moves you in ways that are beyond words to describe.  In the end, I filled out the list with some older favorites, and some songs that came out toward the end of the year that simply hadn't had a chance to impress upon me until now.  In a way, this playlist serves as a teaser tape because I'm planning to write full posts for some of the artists that I haven't featured before.  I've also included old PUYL favorites such as Frank and Kendrick and RAC and Star Slinger because their music is so good.

My approach to creating this mix was very similar to my view on this birthday.  I excitedly gathered forgotten favorites and then matched them with newer sounds that also excite me.  I'm at an age where I'm not as eager to add one more candle to my cake.  It's much more meaningful now for me to look back and remember where I've been and what I've had.  Those experiences along with the anticipation of the future combine to give me a more complete appreciation for this milestone in my life.

As a side note, I want to make a point of sharing cool music on a consistent basis.  My policy for this blog is that I only post free downloads and give some background as to why you should be interested.  That rule doesn't have to apply to Twitter, however.  It's a known fact that there are no rules on Twitter.  So give me a follow, and I'll make an effort to post videos, news, and streams that I find during my daily music browsing.

Stream the playlist by clicking the picture, get the download link below, and continue reading for the full tracklist.

Download: 24