Reddit mentions: The best pop music

Hello! I'm a former indiepop scenester, and I used to play twee/indiepop on college radio. I always loved it when it became December because I got to pull out and play...

INDIEPOP HOLIDAY ALBUMS!

The two most legendary indiepop holiday albums are probably the first two Kindercore Christmas records. The first one is very rare, and I've never encountered an actual copy of it, and it doesn't seem to be available for streaming anywhere. The second one is very ubiquitous though, so if you really want to possess it, you could easily find a copy. Don't take that to mean that the first comp is great and the second is bargain bin rubbish. THE SECOND ALBUM IS AMAZING AND POSSIBLY MY FAVORITE CHRISTMAS ALBUM OF ALL TIME! (Sorry for yelling, it's really that good, though.)

There was a third Kindercore Christmas comp, but I never got into it for some reason. Actually, listening to it a little bit right now, there are some good indiepop songs on it. I should give it another try.

Another great comp was Cwistmas Twee. I remember when it first came out and how it reminded me of the Kindercore comps. It appears that it's very rare now. (It's weird that something that was released in 2004 on CD could be rare, but here were are...) It actually has the one song that I most associate with winter, which is "Sub Zero" by Snoozer (hey, look! a page with a download of it). I'm not sure if you wanted respondents to avoid holiday songs or not, but "Sub Zero" is not a holiday song, it's about the struggle of winter.

I can link you to a couple other highlights of that album, too. There's another great non-holiday song from Cwistmas Twee called "Snowman" by The Icicles. Also, there's an absolutely adorable Christmas song for cats by the super-dreamy Colin Clary.

Finally, there's a label in the UK called Cherryade that releases a comp called A Very Cherry Christmas every year (except they didn't release one last year). This year, they're up to A Very Cherry Christmas 11. (Spotify only seems to have numbers 5 and 6 available for streaming, by the way.) It's not all twee/indiepop, but there is a significant amount of it on those comps. They had "Let Me Be the Fairy on Your Christmas Tree Tonight" by The School, which has been one of my favorite bands in recent years. It's where I first heard the gorgeous "Space Christmas" by Allo Darlin'.

Speaking of Allo Darlin', they had a great Christmas EP. Aside from the aforementioned "Space Christmas", they also had the most adorable New Year's song ever. [Aside: This is my second favorite New Year's song ever.] Plus, a version of "Baby It's Cold Outside" with only the female part being sung.

BUT WAIT! You've been talking about Christmas this entire time, /u/factoryofsadness... WHAT ABOUT HANUKKAH, YOU CULTURALLY INSENSITIVE JERK?!

I'm glad you asked! Admittedly, there's not as much in this area, but I can point you to a couple of different things.

First, remember that Cwistmas Twee comp that I mentioned a while ago? There's a song on there called "Good Migrations" by The Smittens, in which they wonder out loud why Hanukkah has to be during such a cold month of the year.

Also, someone actually released an indiepop Hanukkah compilation once! It's called I Made It Out of Clay. My personal favorite song from it is "Eight Great Days" by Oval-Teen.

I'm going to stop there. Don't take that as a complete survey of twee/indiepop holiday albums, because there are some that I'm forgetting, and others that I just haven't encountered yet. Those are just the most important ones to me; the ones that I go back to every year. Apologies if you didn't want the holidays mentioned, though.

Oh, one more thing. Another band besides Allo Darlin' also wrote and recorded a song called "Space Christmas" and I love to listen to that a lot this time of year, too.

Hola Pika2! Here goes!

a. My username is WindWhisked! :D

b. My item is an MP3, but an MP3 of my favorite song Rebel Beat!

c. It costs $1.29

d. I am a proud Hufflepuff!

e. My favorite Pokemon is Eevee. :D

f. My favorite doctor is David Tennant, the 10th Doctor Who.

g. I've never seen My Little Pony I'm afraid!

h. My favorite movies are The Princess Bride, The Prestige, and Love Actually. My favorite tv shows are
Masterchef, Dr. Who, and Psych.

i. My favorite book is Ender's Game. Pride and Prejudice and The Princess Bride round out my top 3.

j. I love anime because my sister gets so excited about it. :) We have watched Inuyasha together so that's probably my favorite.

k. I have a regular cell phone because I firmly believe cell phones should just give you a portable way to talk. :D And also I am afraid to lose a fancy schmancy phone!

l. My favorite animal is a turtle, and I have a turtle collection! :D

.....

z. I am doing much better than yesterday, thanks for asking! :D

I'm blue daba de daba da. :D Haha, I like that song!

Oh wow, thanks for the response 0ctopus!

I'm sorry you and your father have been having a meager relationship. I hope things get better between you two.

Grad school - ah.. Did you graduate? What did you study? I got a MBA back in 1994. But I went to a crappy school, and I've been fortunate to work for a string of crappy bosses since then so that's been fun. I've been a web application developer since then.

Oh, just real quick about my Reddit nickname, it's a play on the nasty expressions being thrown at then president Obama. I'm sure you remember, the tea party was basically a group of cranky racists. And one of the things they called him was a "godless communist" because of their (sarcasm warning) strong attachment to reality and deep understanding of political schools of thought.

Like I said, I don't get onto Reddit that often any more. It's always had a good section for programming & computer stuff, but the invasion of people from Digg and especially 4chan & stormfront was a complete turn-off.

One movie that William Shatner was in that I'd recommend is "Get a Life." ( http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2016901/?ref_=nv_sr_3 ) The first half is a bit cringe-inducing because well... Trekkers. But midway through you see a really beautiful aspect to some of the fans. Sure, the Star Trek conventions bring in a little bit of money, but I was astonished at how very generous the Star Trek (from all of the franchise) actors are with their time. I mean, it's perfectly within their right to simply ensconce themselves in a mini-castle up in Malibu somewhere and enjoy their own private lives. The more I know about fame, the more it seems like a curse. So hat's off to them for their generosity.

Oh, heh, I just discovered that Has Been came out in 2004, so I'm a little late to the party ( https://www.amazon.com/William-Shatner-Has-Been/dp/B00J534GS0/ ). I'll check it out. Thanks!

| | |
|-:|:-|
|name|Laurie Anderson|
|about artist|Laurie Anderson is an American experimental performance artist, visual artist and musician. Regardless of the medium, a common characteristic of all her work seems to be the act of storytelling. Laura Phillips Anderson was born June 5, 1947, in Glen Ellyn, Illinois, United States. She attended Mills College in California, and eventually graduated from Barnard College magna cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa, studying art history. In 1972, she obtained an MFA in sculpture from Columbia University. ([more on last.fm](http://www.last.fm/music/Laurie Anderson))|
|album|Talk Normal: The Laurie Anderson Anthology (disc 1), released Apr 1982|
|track|O Superman (for Massenet)|
|about track|One line summary: It's a classic, though many disagree! This track uses very simple music yet succeeds to convey emotion. The metronomic "Ha" vocalisation is too fast to represent a heartbeat, but the theme does seem to suggest that it could be just that - or the heartbeat of a nation dazzled by comic book heroes. The lyrics are interesting too, but you could be forgiven for not keeping track as they're delivered quite slowly.... They seem to tell the story of a naive/wide-eyed populace, swept along by consumerism - not noticing that their tax dollars are being used to create a monster designed to rule the rest of the world. A loving, giving country on the one hand - giving its inhabitants comfort and hope, yet on the other, a mighty war machine which is set to devour freedom. Some say that this is an amazing piece of pop art which has deep philosophical and political meaning. Some say it's eight and a half minutes of beeps and attention seeking. What do you think?|
|images|album image, artist image|
|links|lyrics, wikipedia, allmusic, discogs, imdb, official homepage, myspace, track on amazon, album on amazon|
|tags|experimental, femalevocalists, spokenword, laurieanderson, thissong, thebluntnot, duringthe, blunt|
|similar|Meredith Monk, Diamanda Galás, Yoko Ono, Hector Zazou, David Sylvian, HEAVEN OR LAS VEGAS, David Byrne|
|found in|r/WoahTunes, r/postpunk, r/listentothis|
|metrics|lastfm listeners: 133,252, lastfm plays: 2,288,537, youtube plays: 972,051, radd.it score: 7.5|


Please downvote this comment if this data is incorrect!
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Down by the Water by PJ Harvey (only a live lyric video, I'm sorry!). Basically pop but not really and it is really moody. If you like that, you'd probably dig Limp by Fiona Apple.

I'm going off your love for Britney and Katy here (two rad girls). Maybe try out some Bjork? Big Time Sensuality is one of my favorites from her. Fri-End? by Kate Nash (my girl crush since forever) is a great tune to dance to and she's a wonderful performer.

As for Daft Punk, try out something with the same kind of attitude but with a bit less electronic elements that can get kinda tiring (couldn't listen to all of RAM in one sitting). I always got a similar energy from the lovely men in Franz Ferdinand.

I see you dig Rush (a band that took me forever to appreciate). Try Styx. Their song Renegade has always been a favorite of mine, and I'm not ashamed to own most of their discography on vinyl.

Amazon links to each song:

Down by the Water

Big Time Sensuality

Fri-end?

Take Me Out

Renegade

And also, shameless plug for my boyfriend's band The Informal Gentlemen who make some pretty rad music you may enjoy. Their first album, Orange Lights (found on the side of the screen when you scroll down), is something you may enjoy. A bit more on the poppy side (lots of Fall Out Boy comparisons apparently).

Hope you dig!

I think I might be able to help you out here. The track "Red Velvet" is a slow, pretty jazzy track, and so I think I'd begin by recommending Beegie Adair, whose albums are all jazzy easy listening tunes. I'm afraid I can't point you to any specific album though; I only have one of them, Parisian Cafe, and that doesn't seem to fit the mood and theme that "Velvet" has. In the same vein, I think you could definitely find something you like by looking at the easy listening genre in general. The L.A. Noire soundtrack might have a few things for you, like the tracks Minor 9th, Redemption Pt. 3, and Noire Clarinet. Also look into a Frank Sinatra album, In the Wee Small Hours, which has lots of tracks with a similar pacing, but with a gloomier mood than "Velvet."

For specific songs with vaguely similar and mood, the three I can think of are all songs from the brony fandom, which you may or may not like, I dunno. They are Luna (Nightlife Jazz Mode), Winter Jazz Up, and Becoming Jazzular. "Jazzular" and "Jazz Up" are quite a bit faster tempo than "Velvet," but I feel they're similar enough anyways to be worth mentioning (and yes, I dislike the puns just as much as you do).


For songs that are similarly relaxed in mood, but with a faster pace, I think you might want to look at songs like "No Hay Problema" from Pink Martini's album Sympathique. Also think about Milt Buckner's "The Beast", which is quite a bit different from "Velvet," but might be something you like.

For songs that are...um, kinda similar, consider songs like Leonard Cohen's "Dance Me to the End of Love". I think "Dance" has got a more dreamy, floating feel to it than "Velvet" has, but you might like it, who knows.


Here's a brief summary of the artists, songs, and albums I mentioned:

Beege Adair

Minor 9th, Redemption Pt. 3, Noire Clarinet

[In the Wee Small Hours](http://www.amazon.com/In-The-Wee-Small-Hours/dp/B000SXJMSK/ref=tmm_other_meta_binding_title_0?ie=UTF8&qid=1373410854&sr=8-1)

Luna (Nightlife Jazz Mode),
Winter Jazz Up,
Becoming Jazzular

No Hay Problema

The Beast

Dance Me to the End of Love


If none of the tracks I mentioned really interested you, feel free to mention another song you like, so I can give you different recommendations. You should do this especially if you liked tracks from Katawa Shoujo's OST like "Wiona." I fancy myself quite the fan in quietly emotional piano solos from soundtracks, and I can talk your ear off with recommendations. Finally, be warned that while I directed to Amazon's album listings, you can frequently find better prices at a site called eMusic (though their selection is quite a bit more limited).

But, but the song is getting amazing reviews on Amazon:

• "Hard to find good quality music like this. A steal at any price. My only complaint is that the lyrics were a bit hard to follow at times."
  
  
• "It has been 223 years since one of the finest musicians ever to grace society died. Whilst Mozart's music may not be a series of timeless masterpieces for all, "Summertime Is Great" is set to define countless generations of musical precedence through sheer talent, complex harmony, and intricate structure. The young girl's mixture of sultry tones and fuller figure are complimented by her brothers youthful complexion, quiet and tuneful voice, and father's guitar and motorcycle prowess."
  
  
• "I was rendered speechless by "Summertime is Great". I just sat there, eyes bulging, mouth agape, a trickle of drool pooling on the desktop in front of me. Although I knew I was witnessing a truly rare and special event in human history, I was paralysed."
  
  
• "Michael Jackson move over!"
  

Good luck on the interview... as someone who hires people for our office (typically, students just out of school); the best advice I can give you is:

• Dress professionally and cover up anything you wouldn't show a priest
  
• Do your research - know about their current successes, challenges, competition and have something insightful to say about it
  
• Ask questions (that are not related to benefits or salary)
  
• Ask why they are hiring for this position and what success in that position will look like to them
  
• KNOW YOUR RESUME WITHOUT LOOKING AT and have things to say about how each position/internship shaped you (good or bad)
  
• If they ask about strengths/weaknesses be honest and follow up any weaknesses with how you're actively, daily, working to improve them. Also, don't say "care too much", "workaholic" or something like that... it's annoying and even if it's true sounds like bullsh!t
  
• Be early. They will likely have paperwork for you so get there 15-20 minutes early so you can fill that out and still be ready when your interviewer is.
  
• Be calm, be yourself. If they offer you water, take it. You may get parched and will be glad you have it.
  
• Don't just blurt out the first thing that comes to mind; it's okay to think about your answers for a minute. Also, stop talking when you've made your point; a little silence is okay.
  
  
  This song, Rebel Beat the item is neat.

Ooooh, so awesome! A TON of good choices on there, but for me it has to be On And On by Jack Johnson. I adore his music, he's perfect for dancing to or relaxing to or singing along to. The lyrics are wonderful and easy to understand, and especially for me who is a horrible singer it's good to sing along to since the vocal range isn't too much. Music is always a commentary on society.

Well, Tsuki is one of five areas of Kendo, the Japanese way of the sword. Another one is Hidari (actually Hidari Kote, but that seems too long)! So, they're both related to Kendo!

Jolteon, I chose you!

or in case you meant choose,

Jolteon, I choose you!

Thanks for the contest!:) (If I win, I'd like this song please)

If you're in need of a happy new song, this is free right now :)

I just heard it on a commercial and went to add it to my WL. Figured I'd share it, in case anyone else needs a pick me up :)

Woo! Dance Party! :D

This song would be awesome!

Thanks for the contest!

Sweater Weather! Thanks for the contest! It helps if you read the rules lol. My favorite genre is rock because there's so many offsets of it, punk, progressive, alternative. Can't go wrong with rock!


/u/TPW25 you should enter this contest!

I would love this song!

I also have a PS4 on my wishlist, if you're feeling generous. =D

Here's my lovely mug.. No seriously, I have that and it's wonderful!

Though I'm sure that's not what you meant! Congrats on your promotion! (also, if this is witty enough for an MP3, I'd really enjoy Blurred Lines )

Music is always a commentary on society.

I would love the Jack Johnson album!

Thank you kindly for the contest sir Matronix.

If you really like it, he has an album that he's part of that's pretty good

Amazon link

I'd love this digital song :) On my music wl!

Welcome! It definitely counts!

80s music ftw

Did you know that when whales poop, they get a temporary 25% boost in swimming speed?

This is on my mp3 list.

Thanks for the contest!

IDK why, but [this] (http://www.amazon.com/Hall-of-Fame/dp/B009EANFQ8/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_nS_nC?ie=UTF8&colid=1IO60MITGB6FH&coliid=I3TNSUIWT3GKKU) is a great sing in the car song.

Count Chocula

Vacation time needs to hurry! And Come & Get It please :)

The best part of this song is the customer reviews on amazon.

hitRECord, a project by Joseph Gordon-Levitt, works this way to some degree. The community contributes content and some of it gets turned into albums, books, movies, etc. Anyone that contributes to one of those projects gets an equal share of all profits.

Chuckle fucks. It's on my music WL. Thanks for the contest!!

http://www.amazon.com/Rebel-Beat/dp/B00D3YOU92/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1372638648&s=dmusic&sr=1-1

how will i get it though?

And thanks for doing this.

I chose Matchbox Twenty simply because this specific album brings back memories of my childhood friend. We spent a lot of time listening to this and memorizing the words.

Music is always a commentary on society.

Holy fucking lol, read the amazon and itunes reviews.

Blurred Lines I'M BORED TOO PRETTY RASTA!

my fave...
http://www.amazon.com/Sweater-Weather/dp/B00CBXKGO4/ref=sr_1_1?s=dmusic&ie=UTF8&qid=1381326560&sr=1-1&keywords=sweater+weather

HAPPY FLIPPIN' BIRTHDAY!

robin thicke- blurred lines
I'm game!