GROOVER CLEVELAND

Al Scorch and the Country Ensemble! A great way to spend a...

Sun, 17 Feb 2013 15:38:42 -0500

Al Scorch and the Country Ensemble! A great way to spend a Sunday afternoon with @jawright2 @abarlich and @scottymay (at Empty Bottle)

I reviewed Toro Y Moi's 'Anything in Return' for Earmilk. Check it out.

Fri, 01 Feb 2013 12:00:26 -0500

I’m now contributing to one of my favorite music sites, Earmilk. Heres’s my first feature: http://www.earmilk.com/2013/02/01/toro-y-moi-anything-in-return-album-review/

It’s a killer record. Check it out.

MY 25 FAVORITE ALBUMS OF 2012

Thu, 27 Dec 2012 13:57:00 -0500

As I’ve stated before, each year seems to have more and more great music to listen to as the ease of recording and distributing art is increasing exponentially. The industry as a whole is hurting, but listeners have a pretty sweet deal going. This year is no exception whatsoever. The amount of fantastic new releases was almost overwhelming.

These are my favorite albums of the year. This is not a list of the best albums, as, in the words of Jeff Ament, “An award for art is ridiculous.”

You’ll also find honorable mentions, my favorite EPs from this year, and what I’m looking forward to next year at the bottom of this post.

As per usual, I do not include descriptions or reviews with my year-end lists. One reason is that I think when looking back on a list like this, it’s best to let the music speak for itself and encourage unbiased listening. Another is that it would simply be a daunting task to do so.

Enjoy and Happy New Year!

25. P.O.S. - We Don’t Even Live Here

24. Passion Pit - Gossamer

23. The Shins - Port of Morrow

22. Breakbot - By Your Side

21. The Men - Open Your Heart

20. Macklemore - The Heist

19. First Aid Kit - The Lion’s Roar

18. Big Boi - Vicious Lies & Dangerous Rumors

17. Wild Nothing - Nocturne

16. Chairlift - Amanaemonesia

15. Chad Valley - Young Hunger

14. Jessie Ware - Devotion

13. DIIV - Oshin

12. California Wives - Art History

11. Purity Ring - Shrines

10. Niki & The Dove - Instinct

9. Michael Kiwanuka - Home Again

8. fun. - Some Nights

7. Cloud Nothings - Attack on Memory

6. School of Seven Bells - Ghostory

5. Hot Chip - In Our Heads

4. Union - Analogtronics

3. Frank Ocean - Channel ORANGE

2. Tame Impala - Lonerism

1. Japandroids - Celebration Rock

Honorable Mentions

Beach House - Bloom

Poolside - Pacific Standard Time

Two Door Cinema Club - Beacon

Kendrick Lamar - Good Kid, M.A.A.D. City

Sigur Ros - Valtari

Cody ChesnuTT - Landing on a Hundred

Jack White - Blunderbuss

Santigold - Master of My Make-Believe

Birthmark - Antibodies

Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs - Trouble

My Favorite EPs of 2012

The Antlers - Undersea

St. Lucia - St. Lucia

The Neighbourhood - I’m Sorry…

Wildlife Control - Spin

School of Seven Bells - Put Your Sad Down

Most Anticipated Albums for 2013

Foals, Free Energy, Ra Ra Riot, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Local Natives, Sound City Soundtrack (Dave Grohl & Friends), Sun Kil Moon+The Album Leaf

Come on…we all knew Phantogram was basically begging to...

Fri, 09 Nov 2012 17:47:47 -0500

Come on…we all knew Phantogram was basically begging to produce hip hop music. This is a monumental track.

I'm DJing the 24th Annual Rock For Kids Rock & Roll Auction Next Friday!

Wed, 07 Nov 2012 13:10:00 -0500

Plain and simple: this event and cause are awesome. You need to be there. I’ll be providing the jams.

-GC

Cocaine Mortgage takeover coming soon. Brace yourselves.

Tue, 16 Oct 2012 16:53:03 -0400

Cocaine Mortgage takeover coming soon. Brace yourselves.

Virgin Magnetic Material = Nostalgia Heaven

Mon, 08 Oct 2012 11:56:13 -0400

If you’re familiar at all with my music taste and approach to DJing, you know that I seek a perfect balance of new trends and nostalgic classics. My favorite remixes and edits are tastefully updated classics - all the old songs we love but retrofitted for modern consumption. Enter Virgin Magnetic Material, my newest favorite DJ collective, out of Tel Aviv, Israel. A quick scan of their repertoire is like digging through my personal iTunes collection. This brilliant Living Colour remix is the supreme example. They don’t simply turn every song into a hacky electro-house jam, they capture a completely new feel for each song. These mixes are tasteful and classy takes on nostalgic jams.

You will definitely be hearing these jams in my live sets. Enjoy and stay cool.

-GC

1625 Mixtape by B-Deck of RSC

Tue, 04 Sep 2012 20:57:00 -0400

Friend-of-a-friend and frequent dude-I-talk-music-with Ben Decker of mash-up kings Ridgewood Social Club out of NYC and Tel Aviv just released a killer new mixtape for Concrete Jungle. Their current efforts are to bring back How To Make it in America. In tandem with this mission, they are raising awareness for The Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship, an organization who helps show disadvantaged kids that they should stay in school and that there are career options and opportunities for them. Concrete Jungle created a T-Shirt representing these efforts, and 100% of the proceeds go to NFTE. Check it out here.

In Ben’s own words:

“To help celebrate the launch of this campaign, I’m releasing the first in a series of many monthly mixes with Concrete Jungle, to honor the New Yorkers, who, with unrelenting and contagious passion, rise above, no matter how competitive their environment may be. As an homage to the city that never sleeps, we’re calling this one ‘1625’, the year our great city was established.”

Listen. Support. Spread the word.

-GC

CELEBRATE.

Thu, 30 Aug 2012 17:40:18 -0400

The homies The Knocks have gone and mashed themselves with Kool & the Gang, and it RULES. Play it all weekend as you celebrate not engaging in labor.

-GC

Taken with Instagram

Fri, 17 Aug 2012 23:10:09 -0400

Taken with Instagram

The Kind You'd Find in a Second-Hand Store...

Thu, 09 Aug 2012 13:00:18 -0400

This is my all-time favorite Prince song, and this is the best edit/remix/bootleg etc. I’ve heard of it.

"Get Up, Get Down" by Sam Padrul

Wed, 08 Aug 2012 14:38:34 -0400

"Get Up, Get Down" by Sam Padrul

St. Lucia Leaps into the Passion Pit and Rises

Mon, 06 Aug 2012 16:52:30 -0400

Anyone with whom I have discussed the new Passion Pit record (which is splendid, by the way) knows that my favorite track is the smooth ’90s R&B-laden “Constant Conversations.” Many also know that St. Lucia’s music makes me feel like I can fly. Jean-Phillip must have been reading my mind, because he remixed this slow jam and left it dripping in sunny, warm synths and flourishing percussion. See for yourself.

MOON BOOTS BRING THE DISCO

Fri, 27 Jul 2012 15:13:19 -0400

As house and nu-disco grow longer legs in the mainstream, it leaves more room for perfection. That’s exactly what Moon Boots is doing. This track is a JAM and will be played in tonight’s set at Jack & Ginger’s in Chicago.

Stay cool.

-GC

Listen closely to “B-Boy Bouillabaisse,” and you can hear hip-hop evolving.

Tue, 10 Jul 2012 13:30:44 -0400

Listen closely to “B-Boy Bouillabaisse,” and you can hear hip-hop evolving.

The Hood Internet Does It Again! (Penguin Prison x Notorious B.I.G., Ma$e, and Puff Daddy)

Fri, 01 Jun 2012 16:37:49 -0400

Mashup perfection. The Hood Internet does it right.

California Wives - "Marianne"

Wed, 23 May 2012 18:00:51 -0400

I love this local Chicago band. Dance-inducing new-wave revival. Go!

Say Hello vs. Because / The Beatles X Jay-Z

Fri, 18 May 2012 10:37:04 -0400

This is one of the best mashups I’ve heard in a long time. Absolutely perfect. I know Jay-Z and The Beatles have been mashed countless times, but this one is different.

Photo

Fri, 04 May 2012 13:21:32 -0400

RAC Releases First Single - "Hollywood (featuring Penguin Prison)"

Thu, 03 May 2012 17:32:00 -0400

What’s that? My favorite DJ collective RAC is releasing an original album? Oh, and the new single is out? Cool. Oh, you’re saying something else? One of my favorite new singers, Penguin Prison, is the vocal? Ok you have my attention tenfold.