Music To Bikini Watch By.

So I'm leaving on a trip to the Caribbean tomorrow for about a week, and as I type this I'm loading the iPod with some stuff that I think I'll need to make the transition from "scrambled guy from Jersey trying to make it through the cold weather doldrums" to "resting guy in St. Martin on a lounge chair under an umbrella drinking blue-colored cocktails and thinking about ordering a grouper sandwich".

Here's what I'm loading for the trip:

The Lovely Feathers - Hind Hind Legs:
These are guys from Arcade Fire and Wolf Parade, and it's poppy jazzy punky hypno rock. More goodness from the seemingly endless river of delicious noise flowing from Montreal. Here's their MySpace. It's out on 18 April.

The Lovely Feathers - "In The Valley" mp3

Tom Tom Club - Tom Tom Club:
Is there a more essential album for beach chillin' than this one? The beauty of this CD is at the end, with bonus remixes of "Lorelei", "Wordy Rappinghood", and one of my top-five singles of all time, "Genius Of Love". Who needs to think when your feet just go?

Tom Tom Club - "Genius Of Love" (long version) mp3 buy

Gil Mantera's Party Dream - Bloodsongs:
What do you get when you mix synth-pop, Foghat chug, top-40 hooks, Nugent licks, Kraftwerk precision, lots of beer, and an appreciation for Fleetwood Mac's Rumours LP? You get an amazingly original sounding and super fun album. These two guys from Youngstown, Ohio put on an incredible live show, and are opening for Art Brut at The Bowery on 5 April. It's one of those shows where you keep saying to yourself, "I think somebody's gonna get hurt...".

Gil Mantera's Party Dream - "Elmo's Wish" mp3 video buy



Ursula 1000 - Here Comes Tomorrow
An amazingly entertaining dancetastic dozen tunes designed to keep everyone within earshot booty-shakin'. Full of break-beats, soul, and '80's-ish funk, NYC studio wizard Alex Gimeno has created something special to go into the warm weather with. This music is so much fun it should be a crime to listen to it in an iPod, because it needs to be shared...preferably with a room full of good looking people and an open bar.

Here's the best Prince song not written or performed by Prince:
Ursula 1000 - "Electrik Boogie" mp3 buy

and Envelopes - Demon:
More Scandi sweetness...slickly produced Indie-pop jangle with more hooks than the bass player of New Order's family reunion. The girly vocals make it all even sexier. I intend to mix this one with a small glass of duty-free absinthe while surfside over the weekend.

Envelopes - "Sister In Love" mp3 buy

See you in a week or so. I'll be the guy with the Irish skin burn/tan.