The Monday Mixtape - What I Listened to This Weekend

Some old tunes, some new tunes, all good tunes, most Mondays...
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The Hood Internet - Slow John (Lil Wayne x Com Truise)
Joy Orbison - BRKLN CLLN (Michna's Brooklyn Bridge Remix)
Fair Ohs - Everything Is Dancing
Washed Out - Wicked Game (Chris Issak Cover)
The Hood Internet - Bodhi Shawty Weekend (The-Dream x Kevin Drew)
The Weeknd - The Morning
White Denim - Regina Holding Hands
Major Lazer - Jump Up (Thom Yorke Remix)
The Strokes - The Modern Age
INXS - Don't Change

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Lisztomania - The Top 15 Records of 2011 (So Far)

Because everybody loves lists...
As you've probably read elsewhere, we've reached that just-about halfway mark in the year (and the official start of summer, whoo) so it's time for every music publication to rattle off their favourite records of the the past six months. As is my due blogging diligence, I'm throwing my hat in the ring, keeping my list to a stout 15.

An exercise like this can be a weird one though. A Stereogum commenter put it well when he wrote, "These lists are snapshots in time, snapshots take time to develop. We’ll see what more exposure brings come winter time."

It's hard to accurately rank albums I've spent so little time with and who knows where or if they'll show up on my year-end list--plus, there's that looming issue of albums I haven't even heard yet. Regardless, here are the LPs I've been spinning nonstop since I first got my ears on them...

- 2011's Top 15 Albums (So Far) -
15. Woods - Sun & Shade
14. Fleet Foxes - Helplessness Blues
13. SBTRKT - SBTRKT
12. Julian Lynch - Terra
11. Ducktails - Arcade Dynamics

10. Bill Callahan - Apocalypse
09. White Denim - D
08. Julianna Barwick - The Magic Place
07. Zomby - Dedication
06. Wild Beasts - Smother

05. The Weeknd - House of Balloons
04. Tim Hecker - Ravedeath, 1972
03. Bon Iver - Bon Iver, Bon Iver*
02. Pure X - Pleasure
01. James Blake - James Blake

*Includes the album's three bonus tracks.

Like the list? Click on each album title for its respective download link.

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Mixtape Download - House of Balloons by The Weeknd

Earlier this month, I showcased the neo-R&B of Canadian exports, The Weeknd. I've been playing the MP3s ad nauseam since then, but on Sunday my playlist took an uptick when the project self-released a mixtape.

Download it by clicking here.

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The Weeknd - Loft Music

The Weeknd - What You Need

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Learn From My Mistake, Don't Sleep on The Weeknd...

When I saw The Weeknd's "What You Need" get BNM'd on Pitchfork on Friday, I wrote it off -- Pitchfork rarely demands immediate listening and "The Playlist" is full of songs I already have or get around to snapping up later.

Well, turns out I'm an idiot. I know absolutely nothing about the project (though I love that P4K's Larry Fitzmaurice admits the same... #journalism?), but The Weeknd are not to be slept on. The collective have only released four tracks so far, but in those 16 minutes, they've demonstrated prowess in post-dubstep production, traditional sampling (of Beach House, natch) and the kind of R&B being repurposed by The-Dream and Drake.

But while The-Dream's making bangers for Kim Kardashian (?), these guys are putting out efforts that rival their contemporaries in style, substance, and sex appeal. Damn.

"He's what you want / He's what you want / He's what you want / I'm what you need"

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The Weeknd - What You Need

The Weeknd - Loft Music

The Weeknd - Wicked Games

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