New York DJ

DJ NYC Indie Pop & Rock Song Favorites of 2009 to Enliven All Kinds of Events

These days, if you’re not that familiar with indie pop and rock, and only see and hear the bands or singers at the more popular end of the indie spectrum, it’s easy to think all this kind of music falls into one of two types: either, 1) quiet, mopey acoustic folk sung by skinny white guys with thick beards, or, 2) spastic, nervy pop songs sung by skinny white guys (or girls) wearing tight jeans. 

That may be a little simplistic, but judging from the covers of Spin or Rolling Stone for the past couple years, that conclusion doesn’t seem complete hyperbole because these are the two type of indie music that tend to be most hyped. Many who don’t know indie music much might think then that indie is either only for private listening, since the quiet folksy stuff is too sad to play at the mellower parts of an event like dinner or cocktail time, and the dancier pop stuff is just too obscure for all but a few to know.

But as a dj in nyc who is exposed to so much new music of all genres each year both new and old, both obscure and mainstream, trust me – the world of indie pop and rock is much more wide-ranging than simply the sounds of what grabs the most media attention. (If you're looking for a general and expansive list of all kinds of indie songs from the '60s until now, check out our indie playlists on iTunes by typing in "iMix", then searching "djnyc", as well as looking at the indie categories on this blog and at the dj nyc news & music blog located here.) In our list below, and playable on iTunes here there’s a huge diversity of sound and level of media visibility in terms of the artists: There’s fun, upbeat indie music great for cocktail time that looks back to the sounds of early Prince (Empire of the Sun’s “Walking On a Dream”, MGMT’s very recognizable “Electric Feel”) or the pop soul of 1960s era girl groups (The School’s “I Want You Back”, Camera Obscura’s “Honey in the Sun”); there’s melodic dance grooves that look to the future by creating fresh, lush electronic soundscapes (Annie’s “Bad Times”); there’s lovely, sentimental songs of a folksy-country mood (Laura Cantrell’s cover of New Order’s “Love Vigilantes”, The Avett Brothers’ "I & Love & You”) that will probably be the talk of your dinner party for a bit. 

In fact, the “indie” label that has become so popular and rather thoughtlessly thrown around in the past decade or so has become such a catch-all that it’s almost without meaning in terms of defining a specific sound; to many people it means a lot of different sounds. About the only thing the term is useful for is alerting you to the likely presence of a certain sensibility – being somehow new and fresh and adventurous, and going against the grain of the mainstream in a variety of ways, even if at times that newness is a retro sound that’s been off the map for awhile.

And don't think indie music can only be used here and there as an occasional filler; it often can be showcased. There’s some indie songs on our list we played this year for important signature moments, like wedding first dances: The Yeah Yeah Yeah’s “Hysteric (acoustic version)”, a strikingly simple and tender song about love enduring after difficult experiences that features a beautifully crisp female vocal, and the quite close-to-mainstream Ray LaMontagne, with “You Are the Best Thing”, a bouncy, smoky tune that echoes ‘70s Rod Stewart, from that time long ago when his music had a gritty, rough-edged sexiness to it.

And remember, the indie music you choose to play today at your event could give you some "cool points" tomorrow for being seen to be the first to break out a song that later becomes popular and loved. Not so long ago bands like the Yeah Yeah Yeahs and singers like Ray LaMontagne were considered obscure, and now they’re on Saturday Night Live.

1. Electric Feel - MGMT
2. Bruises - Chairlift
3. First Train Home - Imogen Heap
4. Walking On a Dream - Empire of the Sun
5. The’59 Sound - The Gaslight Anthem
6. Honey in the Sun - Camera Obscura
7. Lisztomania - Phoenix
8. Vanished - Crystal Castles
9. Love Vigilantes - Laura Cantrell
10. Sleepyhead - Passion Pit
11. I & Love & You - The Avett Brothers
12. Hysteric (acoustic version) - Yeah Yeah Yeahs
13. My Girls - Animal Collective
14. Dominos - The Big Pink
15. This Tornado Loves You - Neko Case
16. You Are the Best Thing - Ray LaMontagne
17. I Want You Back - The School
18. Bad Times - Annie

Off the Beaten Track First Dance Songs: The Waterlillies, “Sunshine Like You”

In the early '90s, several bands with female vocalists and ethereal, dreamy sounds achieved a bit of success in the mainstream pop world, most notably groups like Mazzy Star ("Fade into You"), Sixpence None the Richer ("Kiss Me"), and The Sundays ("Here's Where the Story Ends"). For followers of this sound, names of other, less-known bands like Cranes, Cocteau Twins, and Slowdive might also come to mind, all of which had their own memorable take on this swirling atmospheric mood, and had a bit of exposure on MTV’s alternative music videos show 120 Minutes or on indie radio stations of the time.

This near "movement" of languorous pop resulted in some great music, a sliver of which still at times pops up on mainstream radio. But because most of the songs from this era - though shimmering and pretty - tended to be slow and downbeat, they're not the kind of music that’s thought of for a first dance at a wedding, even by those looking for a song that's a bit more unconventional.

"Sunshine Like You," a song by a band with this ethereal sound called The Waterlillies, is a rare exception, however. The tune manages to sound both ethereal and happily upbeat at the same time. Featured on the 1992 album Envoluptuosity (cover pictured), the song is quite a deep obscurity - it never charted, never was a single, never had its own video, and likely had hardly any radio airplay when released. (I was listening to a lot of this music at the time, and I never heard it until long after the album hit the bargain bin at record stores.)

Surprisingly for a non-single and such an obscure song, two versions of "Sunshine Like You" were recorded (both you can hear below). The first, the album version, has a light, shuffling, dance club-ready backbeat throughout. The second version, called the "Limbless Mix," was included as a track on the CD and 12" single "Tired of You," another song from Envoluptuosity. This alternate version of "Sunshine" strips away the backbeat and adds in some acoustic guitar, and may even be a more powerful version of the song. But they're close; each version is worth hearing. (Neither version of this song is available on iTunes, though the album and single EP can usually be found on Amazon or eBay for only a few bucks each.)

It's a shame "Sunshine Like You" went nowhere, because it's the kind of song that probably could've done quite well, especially at the time. It's accessible and bright, sweet but not too sweet, has a lovely melody, makes great use of a warm-sounding slide guitar, and has striking operatic vocals. The song takes the template of the aforementioned more successful dream-pop bands and turns it in a unique direction - yes, the song is quite lullaby-ish, but at the same time, it feels much more dramatic and sweeping than many other songs of this kind. What's more, while the song has a dash of Gothic intensity, it never feels doomy or too icy. In making things sound at once familiar and different, and in being able to sidestep too much of one influence and instead balance many, for the approximately four minutes of this song this utterly forgotten group create a truly unique and enchanting mood.

While once or twice the lyrics concerning the singer's desire for her object of affection veer into the overwrought territory of a 14-year-old girl’s diary entry, because the lyrics are often lushly overlayed with others - and because the song creates such an authority with its mood - this doesn’t break the spell of the song. Even the chorus, which in a different combination of musical ingredients might sound treacly, manages to make its sweetness work more than it should: "In my sky / of yellow and blue / though heaven's the weather / there's no sunshine like you / A sun worshipper / what more can I do / I'd climb Everest / 'cause there's no sunshine like you." Toward the end of the tune, the vocalist even manages to deliver the rather unwieldy lyrics, "You're the center / around which / my world turns," with ease and elegance. And, after this, she then repeats the words "you're the center" twice at the end of the song to perfectly distill her emotion - and I'd say the spirit of a first dance as well - to its essence.

Ultimately, though, "Sunshine Like You" works best at portraying a feeling - the epic, intense, myopic, overcome-by-romantic-love rush almost all of us have had for someone at some time. We might know these feelings are a bit overdramatic when they calm, but when they burn bright, this sweet little dreamscape of a song is one that captures them perfectly.

The Waterlillies - Sunshine Like You

The Waterlillies - Sunshine Like You (Limbless Mix)

Great Obscure Indie Music for Event Atmosphere: The Mary Onettes

While a large part of a DJ’s job is to please the crowd with a song they love or a beat that grooves, another element altogether – usually when it’s time for arrivals, cocktail hour or dinner – is to provide a proper atmosphere. This is where song recognition, or a great dance song, aren’t as important, and an overall feel is. Often these times are a great place to spin songs that a crowd may have never heard of before, but that perfectly fits the mood.

Many clients that hire us really like that we know the obscure gems in a wide range of genres of music. But more and more, we’ve noticed that in the past few years clients are wanting their cocktail hours or dinners to feature indie music, which we loosely define as pop or rock outside the mainstream in that it’s often on a small record label, not as polished-sounding, or tends to offers a more offbeat or unfamiliar perspective. Some can only listen to indie music, while others may think it’s trying too hard to be different. Regardless, it’s a genre that seems to have grown at such an astounding pace over the past 25 years from when it was known as "college" or "alternative" rock that we’re not surprised more clients are wanting some kind of indie music at their events.

Since just after the turn of the millennium, a lot of indie bands began to bring back the lush guitars and synthesizer riffs, soaring choruses, and often angsty vocals of the ‘80s, as evident in the sound of now well-known bands like The Arcade Fire and The Killers. If you like this sound, as well as lesser-known bands using it, such as Interpol and M83, you’ll love the Swedish band The Mary Onettes.

Theiur album came out about a year ago, and I don't know exactly why they never got more of a buzz. Maybe there’s too many of these angsty bands around now, or maybe the band's record label has been crowded out by bigger indie labels, but whatever the case, forgive the "punny" name of the group. This band nails the majestic, moody, ‘80s sound as popularized by Echo & the Bunnymen, The Church, Modern English, the Jesus and Mary Chain and the like to such a exact degree that you could pass the album off to an indiepop geek as a long-unheralded album from England recorded around 1980 that influenced all the other bands from the time. All the elements are there: Slightly Gothic vocals? Check. Icily pretty synth riffs? Yep. Dirgy basslines? Uh-huh. Bittersweet melodies? Of course. This album is so influenced by this '80s mood that it even extends to its packaging - a stylishly austere Joy Division-like album cover.

But somehow, it all sounds quite fresh. It really shouldn’t, but because the last few years of hearing Coldplay, The Killers and Arcade Fire have made this old sound seem more like the sound of now then maybe it was then, to me the "flashback" associations aren't as powerful. But more so, I think the album is good simply because it's well-crafted and energetic: While the lyrics are a bit generic at times, most of the melodies are quite beautiful; each of many generation-old influences are added in just the right quantities, at just the right times; and the band plays with such focus in forging their rainy-day melancholy that this mood quickly establishes an authority over you.

Listen to samples of "Lost" and "Explosions," and see what you think.

The Mary Onettes - Explosions

The Mary Onettes - Lost

djnyc's Totally Awesome Underplayed ‘80s Songs

In a recent post introducing the Monroes' song "What Do All the People Know," I mentioned that due to about a decade-and-a-half of '80s nights at dance clubs, as well as "flashback lunch" radio programs being commonplace now for about ten years, it seems harder and harder to hear a song from the '80s that you loved to dance to but truly forgot about since.

Well, we've dug around on iTunes and put together a mix of 25 songs from the '80s that we'll bet many of you haven't heard since you owned the song's 12" or cassingle (now there's a word for those of you who remember the late '80s!). And even if you have heard some of these since their heyday, we'll bet that you'll think they're still fresh, and that you haven’t heard many of these songs on the radio during your lunch break, or even at the typical ‘80s club night.

Included here are mostly underplayed mainstream songs from the decade, with a nod to freestyle (Noel's "Silent Morning"), hi-energy (Company B's "Fascinated") and R & B (Oran Juice Jones' "The Rain," Ready for the World's "Oh Sheila"). Mixes of underplayed songs from other '80s genres, like rap/hip-hop, hard rock/heavy metal, and alternative/underground pop, may be forthcoming but here we concentrated on mostly radio hits and dance club pop.

Some standout tunes on this iMix include the bright, faux-jazzy charm of "Breakout" by Swing Out Sister (the single's cover is pictured); the sublime Motown-esque groove of "Town Called Malice" by The Jam; and, doing their best New Order imitation, Kon Kan with "I Beg Your Pardon" – a song that will surely give you that exhilarating shot of first-time nostalgia for it, as it was huge on the dance floors at the end of the '80s, yet it has been undeservedly all but forgotten since.

Go here to listen to the mix.

Totally Awesome Underplayed ‘80s Songs: The Monroes, “What Do All the People Know”

One of the best things about being a DJ is being able to spin an obscure, underplayed song that people used to love years ago, but forgot how much they did since the song is rarely heard anymore. At many events with a more mainstream crowd present - such as weddings or corporate parties - song recognition is key, however, so here a DJ can’t get to crazy with these moments that often. But if a genre remains popular long enough, these crowds, too, like fresh additions to the usual selections.

This is what seems to be happening now to the retro ‘80s music genre. After almost fifteen years of ’80s-themed nights at dance clubs, a decade of “Flashback Lunch”-type programs on major radio stations, and countless CD compilations, we’ve noticed that among many crowds the novelty and charm of one-hit wonders like Soft Cell (“Tainted Love”) or the popular songs of "several-hit wonders" like the Go-Go’s is wearing off. That’s where a fresh batch of retro comes in. Lately we’ve been getting a great reaction on the dancefloor to less-predictable '80s songs, like “The Promise” by When in Rome (go here for a blog entry on this song), or even the slightly corny “Your Love” by The Outfield. But a song I barely remember from the time it was released not only evokes that great, all-too-elusive “Wow, I haven’t heard this in a long-ass time!” moment, but also has aged well - I guess since so much current indie pop and rock sounds like it was made in 1982.

The song, “What Do All the People Know” by The Monroes, isn't really recognizable by the name of the band, or even the title. But if you hear the tune, you'll probably remember it and have a surprised and pleasant reaction like, "Oh, this song! Yeah. Nice!" Released in the early '80s from the band’s debut EP (way too serious cover pictured), the one-hit wonder Monroes had modest success on the charts with the catchy song. While to new-waver ears back then it probably sounded like a mix of the Cars, Rick Springfield, and even Cheap Trick, to today's hipster ears it likely and impressively will remind many of indie bands Arcade Fire or MGMT - which should give the tune some props among any self-respecting indie music snob.

Have a listen, and see if you agree that the song features one of the best uses of handclaps in pop music.

Cut Copy, "Lights & Music"

During early parts of many types of events, we always like to spin a few mellower indie songs, and lately tunes from Phoenix, Camera Obscura and Death Cab for Cutie have been making it into our sets. But this new single from the Australian band Cut Copy might soon be added, as its light dance groove and catchy chorus stuck pleasantly in my head the first time I listened to it. I think once we start playing it, people will be coming up and interestedly asking, “Who is this?”

I think this partly because the song has such an inviting and catchy chorus, but also because the band sounds slightly like about 17 other bands from the ‘80s and ‘90s, both popular and obscure: The debonair-sounding vocals of the verses recall the male singer from the band Human League; the dirgy guitars seem like the Cure’s; a backing vocal that seems piped in from a monestary is reminiscent of The Ocean Blue; the electronic instrumental break that leads up to the first chorus channels Daft Punk; the chorus, with its airy vocals and vague lyrics about a broken relationship, evokes the blissful melancholy of classic New Order; and the synthesizer fills during the chorus sound like those from a Sugarhill Gang single. Others may see different bands from the same era of music in this song, or even more artists than I’ve mentioned, but you get the idea.

The great thing about the song, though, is that out of all these spare parts from (mostly) bands past their prime, Cut Copy creates something that sounds much fresher than it should. I think it’s simply because if you take enough different past sounds, put them together in the right way, and produce them with the right energy, you’re bound to get something that sounds not just like the sum of its parts, but like something quite original.

That said, if you miss the sound of some of these aforementioned bands, you’ll really like this song.

A Great '80s One-Hit Wonder, Rescued from Obscurity

Often at events involving dancing where song recognition is key -- like a wedding or a corporate event -- I'll be spinning in a particular genre and I'll want to play a more obscure song that would go great with the song I'm playing at the moment. Sometimes, when you have a big, generous crowd, you can slip in one of these lesser-known tunes. But mostly, crowds at weddings or corporate events aren't like those at underground dance clubs -- they don't want an auteur DJ spinning obscure tunes during the night, whatever the genre.

One relatively obscure song that I've loved almost since it was released in 1989 is "The Promise" by the group When in Rome. The song sounds at times like Depeche Mode, at times like ABC, and at times like Information Society. Okay, I guess it sounds like about every synthpop group that was big then, since for a few years there in the late '80s these bands all seemed to have the same drum machines, synths, and moody vocals. I never thought the sound of the song was that original. But the melody was very catchy, the chorus pleasantly stuck in my head, the beat was as danceable as any good Depeche Mode or New Order song, and the lyrics, about a guy intensely pledging to his girl that he'd always be there for her, were sweet and romantic -- in a high school prom sort of way, yes, but as far as nailing those teenagey feelings, "The Promise" is Shakespeare. While the tune was a relatively big hit shortly after it was released in '88, it didn't have staying power, and was soon largely forgotten, often not even making it onto the average '80s one-hit wonder compilation.

When DJ-ing, I knew the song was a risk on the dancefloor, so I would always have to resist my urge to pull it out. But then, a few years ago, it was featured at the end of the film Napoleon Dynamite. Now, over the past several months, I've been playing "The Promise" and surprisingly find that many more people at events really know the song and dance to it. Even if many people still don't know its name, and refer to it, as one guest did at a recent wedding I spun at in November, as "that one song from Napoleon Dynamite."

Hey, I'll take it.