WILLIAMHAUN

I was headed off a trip to Central America and this was my playlist for the airplane ride. It starts off pretty upbeat (to get me excited about the trip) and then slows down in the second half (to put me asleep on the flight). Enjoy!

You can listen to the individual tracks below, or download the zip of them all by clicking the green arrow to the left.

Crystal Castles – “Untrust Us”
From their debut album
http://www.myspace.com/crystalcastles
My brother-in-law Kenny Jensen introduced me to this Canadian duo’s incredibly intense and chaotic music that is full of samples and distorted vocals. This track is the opener off the album and is definitely my favorite.

El Ten Eleven – “Jumping Frenchmen of Maine”
from their 3rd album These Promises are Being Videotaped
http://www.elteneleven.com/
I have the site Pandora to thank for discovering these rock instrumentalists. I had built a station for Yo La Tengo and they showed up in the queue. Another track off the album has been featured in the trailer for Gary Hustwit’s new documentary Objectified.

Passion Pit – “Little Secrets”
from their 2009 album “Manners”
http://www.myspace.com/passionpitjams
This album by Passion Pit has been one of the most anticipated of the year (by me especially) and it really delivered! Their upbeat tunes with catchy chorus lines and poppy synths just make me really, really happy.

Yeah Yeah Yeahs – “Heads Will Roll”
from their 2009 album It’s Blitz
http://www.yeahyeahyeahs.com/
I had never been much of a Yeah Yeah Yeahs fan (other than loving their video that Spike Jonze directed). This new album, however, is being played a lot on my iPod. You also have to check out their new video for this track which involves a dancing werewolf and lots and lots of confetti blood.

Amadou & Mariam – “Batoma”
from their ridiculously good 2009 album Welcome to Mali
http://www.amadou-mariam.com/
This Malian duo really got popular after their last album “Dimanche a Bamako.” They’ve been making music together for years and used to record in Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire where I lived. This latest album is a great variety of music styles and even features a guest spot by up-and-coming Somalian hip-hop artist K’naan.

Grizzly Bear – “Two Weeks”
from their 2009 album Veckatimest
http://grizzly-bear.net/
I’m really loving this new trend of pop & rock bands that actually focus on have great vocals and harmonies. This song uses harmonies to establish a bit of a creepy vibe. Watch the accompanying music video to really see that effect played out.

Justin Vernon and Aaron Dessner – “Big Red Machine”
from the 2009 compilation Dark was the Night
http://www.boniver.org/
http://www.americanmary.com/
http://www.darkwasthenight.com/
Aaron Dessner from the band “The National” produced and curated Dark was the Night one of the best compilations I’ve heard in a long, long time. He managed to create a tracklist that is basically a who’s who in indie music. This is one of my favorite songs from the 2-disc set and is performed by Dessner and Justin Vernon of “Bon Iver.”

Múm – “Dancing Behind My Eyelids”
from their 2007 album Go Go Smear the Poison Ivy
http://www.myspace.com/mumtheband
Icelandic musical group Múm seemed disappear for a couple years after a disappointing 2004 album and having several of its band members quit. They came back together in late 2007 and released Go Go Smear the Poison Ivy which was a great comeback album. The collective is know for their soft vocals and their use of all sorts of trinkets and tools as instruments.

Explosions in the Sky – “Your Hand In Mine”
from the Friday Night Lights soundtrack
http://www.explosionsinthesky.com/
The soundtrack to a football movie is one of the last things I thought I’d be listening to but when Explosions in the Sky are the instrumentalists, I’m there. This Texas band is know for their long, cinematic instrumental tracks and for this film soundtrack project they took the core melodies from several of their 8-12 minute songs and condensed them into 3-4 minute tracks. This song is one of my favorites from the album and I plan to use it soon in a video project.

Beirut (Realpeople) – “No Dice”
from the double-disc album March of the Zapotec/Holland
http://www.beirutband.com
Realpeople is an electronic side project of Zach Condon’s. These electronic and ambient tracks were an odd pairing on his 2009 release that featured a disc full of songs backed by a 19-piece Mexican marching band.

Phoenix – “Love Like A Sunset”
from the 2009 album Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix
http://www.myspace.com/wearephoenix
Phoenix’s 2007 album was one of the best pop albums of that year – now they’re doing it again with a release that I can’t stop listening to. There isn’t a bad track on the album. This one is the longest one and is mostly instrumental. I highly recommend you check out their MySpace page to hear some of their other great tunes.

If you are a copyright owner of one of these tracks and wish to have it removed, please contact me and it will be promptly removed. These tracks are not posted for profit, but to promote the artists and their labels.