This Week at theskyreport.com (week of May 7)

-Thieves Like Us give us a taste of their forthcoming sophomore LP with the free track "Forget Me Not". Download here!

-Los Angeles cinematic orchestral band debut new video for lush track "A Beautiful Day". Watch the video and get the free mp3 HERE!

-New Ratatat mp3 - "Party With Children". Download here!

-Primary 1 debuts new video for "Princess". Watch here!

-New track from Austin's Pure Ecstasy - "Dream Over" Download here!

-New Tame Impala video - "Solitude is Bliss". Watch here!

-The Sky Report Radio will undergo a new transformation on June 1st. In the meantime, listen while you can here.

The Sky Report has moved to theskyreport.com Please update your bookmarks and feeds!

Best of 2008 - Album of the Year

At long last, here is The Sky Report's favorite 50 albums of 2008. Sorry this is so late, but the holidays really swept me up. Better late than never!

In general, I felt 2008 was not the strongest year for solid, original albums. But after much agony, I've mustered up the Top 50. And if you wonder how acts like MGMT and The Raveonettes didn’t make the list, see the Best of 2007. Bands like Coldplay, The Raconteurs, Gnarls Barkley, Death Cab For Cutie, and Vampire Weekend really overshot my radar and I really can’t stand hearing them anymore, so while their albums may have been worthy, I didn’t care to investigate them very closely. And can I just get this off my chest? Fuck Metallica, Guns ‘N’ Roses, Oasis and AC/DC. I just don’t care anymore. Sorry if that sounds negative - I'm actually in a great mood lately.

On the contrary, I was pleasantly surprised by the resurrections of The B-52’s and Grace Jones. Their return albums were both admirable and I found myself giving them many repeat listens.

Top 50 Albums of 2008

50. GRACE JONES - Hurricane
49. BLUE SKY BLACK DEATH - Slow Burning Lights
48. FUJIYA & MIYAGI - Lightbulbs
47. RATATAT - LP3
46. THE DUKE SPIRIT - Neptune
45. BLACK MOUNTAIN - In the Future
44. SIGUR ROS - Med Sud I Eyrum Vid Spilum Endalaust
43. GANG GANG DANCE - Saint Dymphna
42. DIPLO & SANTOGOLD - Top Ranking
41. PONYTAIL- Ice Cream Spiritual

40. CRYSTAL CASTLES - s/t
39. HIGH PLACES - s/t
38. OF MONTREAL - Skeletal Lamping
37. CUT COPY - In Ghost Colours
36. HEADLIGHTS - Some Racing, Some Stopping
35. VIVIAN GIRLS - s/t
34. RA RA RIOT - The Rhumb Diary
33. QUIET VILLAGE - Silent Movie
32. M83 - Saturdays = Youth
31. CRYSTAL STILTS - Alight of Night

30. DAVID BYRNE & BRIAN ENO - Everything That Happens...
29. MENAHAN STREET BAND - Make the Road By Walking
28. GROUPER - Dragging A Dead Deer Up a Hill
27. THE DODOS - Visiter
26. THE MAGNETIC FIELDS - Distortion
25. LYKKE LI - Youth Novels
24. LOVE IS ALL - A Hundred Things Keep Me Up At Night
23. THE B-52'S - Funplex
22. LITTLE JOY - s/t
21. HOT CHIP - Made in the Dark

20. DJ/RUPTURE - Uproot
19. NO AGE - Nouns
18. THE DEPARTMENT OF EAGLES - In Ear Park
17. WHITE DENIM - Workout Holiday
16. GOLDFRAPP - Seventh Tree
15. FLEET FOXES - s/t
14. BEACH HOUSE - Devotion
13. ERYKAH BADU - New Amerykah Part One (4th world War)
12. GIRL TALK - Feed the Animals
11. HERCULES & LOVE AFFAIR - s/t

10. EL GUINCHO - Alegranza!


9. TOBACCO - Fucked Up Friends


8. FUCK BUTTONS - Street Horrrsing


7. LIL WAYNE - Tha Carter III


6. THEE OH SEES - The Master's Bedroom...


5. DEERHUNTER - Microcastle/Weird Era Cont.


4. PORTISHEAD - Third


3. TV ON THE RADIO - Dear Science


2. ATLAS SOUND - Let the Blind Lead Those Who Can See But Cannot Feel


1. SANTOGOLD - self-titled

TOBACCO - Fucked Up Friends

Tobacco is the totally f***ed up side project from Tom Fec of Black Moth Super Rainbow fame. The debut album, Fucked Up Friends is one of the freshest albums I've heard all year. Clocking in at under 40 minutes, the psychedelic electronic jams here have an infectious undercurrent that really sticks with you. Take Ratatat, with a dash of Jefferson Airplane and a double dose of, well...and slow it down - you've got Tobacco. Good, good stuff.

Black Moth Super Rainbow released the excellent Dandelion Gum last year. Get Tobacco's Fucked Up Friends at Insound.



NSFW...

New RATATAT Video - 'Shempi'

You have never seen ABBA quite like this before. Leave it to blip duo Ratatat to twist the eternal joy of Abba inside out, making the "Mamma Mia" pioneers seem absolutely terrifying. I love how Ratatat have been consistently warping silly pop culture artifacts into mind-altering new music videos. Their latest album LP3 ain't half bad either.

Ratatat - Shempi (music video)

It's a SANTOGOLD Summer!

Santogold is everywhere this summer! First, Santi does a free show with Diplo and A-Trak this Sunday at Central Park Summerstage. Show starts at 3:00 pm so get there early! Then, Miss Gold joins Coldplay for their North American arena tour, kicking off July 22 in Chicago. Also, there is a new CD out called Top Ranking, which is a Santogold/Diplo "mixtape". See the full tracklist at the bottom of this post. You can buy the CD here. And an exclusive new track from the mix...

Santogold & Diplo - Guns of Brooklyn (Doc and Jon Hill dub) (The Clash cover)

New videos for "Creator" and "My Drive Thru" (w/ Julian Casablancas & N.E.R.D.)...

• MTV
• Music Videos
• MTV Shows
• Entertainment News

Santogold, Julian Casablancas, N.E.R.D. - My Drive Thru (music video)



MIXTAPE TRACKLIST

1. Dub Selection Intro
2. 3-6 Mafia - Late Night (Unstoppable Mix)
3. Santogold - Shuv It (Disco D Blend) [EXCLUSIVE]
4. Santogold - I'm A Lady (Diplo Mix Ft Amanda Blank) [EXCLUSIVE]
5. Sir Mixalot - Posse On Broadway
6. Santogold - Lights Out (Diplo's Panda Bear Mix) [EXCLUSIVE]
7. Aretha Franklin - Save Me
8. Devo - Be Stiff
9. B52's - Mesopotamia
10. Gerri And The Holograms - Gerri And The Holograms
11. Santogold - Anne (Switch Mix) [EXCLUSIVE]
12. Santogold - LES Artistes (XXXchange Mix Ft Movado)
13. Cutty Ranks - Dutty Six Pack [EXCLUSIVE]
14. Santogold - Find A Way (Graeme & Switch Mix Ft Kid Cudi)/ Lunar Camel [EXCLUSIVE]
15. Richie Spice x Ratatat - Marijuana
16. Desmond Dekker - Shanty Town
17. Santogold - Guns Of Brooklyn [EXCLUSIVE]
18. Dixie Cups - Iko Iko
19. Tony Matterhorn - Big Belly Guns [EXCLUSIVE]
20. Santogold - Get It Up (Radioclit mix Ft MIA & Gorilla Zoe) [EXCLUSIVE]
21. Mark Ronson In Studio
22. Trouble Andrew - Run - Hide
23. Sister Nancy - Pigeon Rock
24. Nora Dean - Barbwire
25. Shinehead - Know How Fe Chat
26. Clash - Ghetto Defendant
27. Warrior Queen - Check It
28. Santogold x Benga - Unstoppable / Night Dub [EXCLUSIVE]
29. Shawty Lo x Skream - They Know / Stagger
30. Santogold - Creator (Mumdance Mix ft Jammer, Badness, Chronik Rage, Slikman & Tempz) [EXCLUSIVE]
31. Xray / Turbulence Duplate (Starstruck Diplo Mix) [EXCLUSIVE]
32. Barrington Levy - Send A Moses
33. Prince Jazzbo - Ital Corner
34. Santogold - Icarus [EXCLUSIVE]
35. Santogold x Diplo - Right Brigade (hidden track) [EXCLUSIVE]

Get this mix here.

New RATATAT Video - 'Flynn'

Ratatat have a new video for the track "Flynn", taken from the brand new album LP3. The clip features distorted fragments of Paul Simon's classic 80's video "You Can Call Me Al" video, which featured Chevy Chase. The effect is just trippy and bizarre, but kind of suits the track perfectly. Anyone got any peyote?

LP3 was released last week on XL Recording.

Ratatat - Flynn (music video)

New RATATAT Video - 'Mirando'

Ratatat are prepping LP3 for release on July 8th via XL Recordings. You can preorder the disc here, plus you will receive a free digital copy of the Shiller EP as an added bonus. The brand new video for "Mirando" is below.

More about Ratatat at RatatatMusic.com

Ratatat - Mirando (music video)

La Grève Générale – Rave or Die live mix

That Brit DJ duo La Grève Générale are at it again! Their latest mix RAVE OR DIE was performed live recently at the Rocklands Party in London. And now we have it all right here for you to download so you can pretend you're the greatest DJ on Earth at your next house party. The mix is just insane, drawing upon genres that would never rub shoulders without a full-scale riot ensuing, though here they blend together perfectly as if lines had never been drawn in the first place. Does that make any sense at all? Exactly.

DOWNLOAD (Z-Share) La Grève Générale – Rave or Die live mix

*Track list*
Dead Prez – It's bigger than hip hop
Godspeed you! Black Emperor – Lift your skinny fists like antennas to heaven
Klaxons – Atlantis to interzone
Immortal Technique ft. Mos Def – "Bin Laden"
The Bloody Beetroots – Harvest time
Mr Oizo – Nurse Bob
Justice – Let there be light
Pharrell Ft. Gwen Stefani – Can I have it like that
Miami Horror – Don't be on with her
Kid Sister – Damn girl
Daft Punk - Face to face
The White Stripes – Seven nation army
datA – Master level
Guns'n'Bombs – Nothing is getting us anywhere (Acid Girls mix)
Nas – Hip hop is dead
Prodigy – Smack my bitch up
Dead Prez – Hip hop
Knifehandchop – Going back to Scarborough
Modest Mouse – Float on
Ying Yang Twins - Shake
The Strokes – Last nite
Ying Yang Twins – Badd
Daft Punk – Voyager
Jay Z and Beanie Sigel – Glock nines (Ratatat remix)
Mos Def – Miss Fat Booty
50 Cent – In the club (Tigerstyle remix)
Timbaland – Give it to me
Hieroglyphics – Powers that be
Armand Van Helden ft Fat Joe – Touch your toes
Spank Rock – Put that pussy on me (Joe Console Adjusters remix)
Duke Dumont – Duke's fanfare
Mos Def – Ms Fat Booty (Bird Peterson Isn't Dead remix)
Wu Tang Clan – Ain't nuthin to fuck with (Bird Peterson Isn't Dead remix)
Missy Elliot – We run this (Duke Dumont remix)
Kelis – Milkshake
The Sounds – Tony the beat (Rex The Dog remix)
Thyne Eyes – Skinny girlz (La Greve Generale Lionel Richie edit)
Spektrum – Kinda new (Dirty South remix)
Klaxons – Gravity's rainbow (Van She Tech remix)
Lillica Libertine – Loose lips sink ships
Who Made Who vs Wildchild – Out the door (Superdiscounted Renegade LGG edit)
Riot In Belgium – La musique
Klaxons – Golden Skans to Interzone (So me remix)
Metric – Monster hospital (MSTKRFT remix La Greve Generale re-edit)

Countdown to Coachella part 5 - 6 Days...

Sorry no post yesterday...my hangover got the best of me...


JUNIOR BOYS
From what I've been told countless times, these guys are quite the experience live. I could see Junior Boys playing at sunset, as their smooth electronic sound matches the beauty of the Coachella twilight.

DOWNLOAD Junior Boys - Count souvenirs

*****


RATATAT
Another great electronic duo to check out. Should be a bit more energetic than Junior Boys, with hypnotic guitars and loops, not to mention the occasional animal growls to keep you awake and alert in the desert terrain.

DOWNLOAD Ratatat - Wildcat

*****


CSS
Cansei de Ser Sexy bring the party from Brazil and trust, it's not a party to be missed. Parts punk, parts dance-electro, all parts the party band of now. When I saw CSS play with Bonde do Role and Diplo last year, the show was off the hook hook hook! I'll assume this one will get packed, so get there early, drink water, and sweat your ass off!

DOWNLOAD CSS - Odio Odio Odio Sorry C

*****


GRIZZLY BEAR
For those who want to lie back on the grass, catch some rays, and be swept away by gorgeous atmospheric rock music - Grizzly Bear are the perfect choice.

DOWNLOAD Grizzly Bear - Knife

FUJIYA & MIYAGI - Transparent Things

Finally!

FUJIYA & MIYAGI's fantastic album 'Transparent Things' will be released in the U.S. on Tuesday, January 23 on Deaf Dumb & Blind. If you are a fan of artists like THIEVERY CORPORATION, HOT CHIP, RATATAT or AIR, this album will have you hooked at the start.

Not exactly a duo like their name suggests, FUJIYA & MIYAGI are actually three guys. And though they would like you to think they are from Japan, they actually come out of Brighton. Those crazy electro geeks...

Fujiya & Miyagi official site

U.S. Tour Dates

03-10 Seattle, WA - Chop Suey
03-11 Portland, OR - Doug Fir Lounge
03-13 San Francisco, CA - Mint
03-14 Los Angeles, CA - Spaceland
03-18 New York, NY - Mercury Lounge