Tag Archives: The Donkeys

Editor Picks Top 10 Gems (Albums and Tracks) of 2011 and Final Wrap

31 Dec

Editor's Gems of 2011 - Top 10 Tracks and Albums

Editors Picks Top 10 Gems Albums and Tracks of 2011

So that’s it. One more year down the drain. Good, I love moving forward. This has been one of those odd years where the new bands were good, the sophomore albums were unusually FANTASTIC. Really, I had a hard time clearing our albums from Girls, Toro Y Moi, Cults, White Denim, etc. These albums are so great that I truly believe we are at a water shed moment in the music industry. Where the social connected world has created ARTIST, who can create and share. We listen, we judge, they create more and boom, we have great records. I hope the Apple created .99 cent song world is over and that we’re headed back to an age of records. Oh well. We’re not there yet, so I’ll share my final lists for 2011. It was a great year for the Muse, Turk and me. We have new little Hummingbirds fluttering around our homes, even more inspiration to weed out the Top 40 drivel and put on some quality music for our little ones to dance to.

EDITORS PICKS Top 10 Albums of 2011
10. CultsCults
9. White DenimD
8. Young GalaxyShapeshifting
7. The VaccinesWhat Did You Expect From The Vaccines?
6. EMA Past Life Martyred Saints
5. YuckYuck
4. James Vincent McMorrowEarly In The Morning
3. DonkeysBorn With Stripes
2. Other LivesTamer Animals
1. GirlsFather, Son, Holy Ghost
If want to grab these and our Hummingbird winners on vinyl just grab them here

EDITORS PICKS Top 10 TRACKS of 2011

10. Nurses – “Fever Dreams”

9. Kurt Vile – “Jesus Fever”

8. Sun Airway – “Waiting on You”

7. Dirty Beaches – “True Blue”

6. Cults – “Oh My God”

5. Yuck – “Georgia”

4. James Vincent McMorrow – “If I Had A Boat”

3. Girls – “VomitGirls – Vomit

2. Other Lives – “Tamer Animals”

1. White Denim – “Street Joy”

HEAR THE ENTIRE LIST ON SPOTIFY RIGHT NOW

PLEASE SUPPORT THESE BANDS. I read a post from the lead singer of Pepper Rabbit last night and he stated “It’s very hard to be an “indie band” these days. You spend 100% of your time trying to get the band to another level, 75% of the time on tour losing money, and the rest of your time in either complete elation, or complete doubt.” So support them, love them, show them how much you care. Share them in this new socially connected world and claim them as yours. Claim them like a lover because they work their asses off to do it for you. I love new bands and I will spend every hour of my life finding something new for you.

Follow our favorites — all the Hummingbirds

Signing off
RE NBD

Best of 2011…SO FAR — The List

24 Jun

Battery about to die and it's at :11 minutes for the 11 best of 2011...eerie.


I can’t wait until next week. I’m anxious and excited and I just want to get it over with…you understand, the anticipation to tell someone some good news. So I’m all alone in a dark hotel room, I think the electricity just crapped out on me, so it means I have :11 minutes on my Mac to make this shizzle fo real. SO here it is, 11 Bands for 2011 in all it’s glory… THE BEST OF 2011…SO FAR

11. Other Lives – This is the band that won’t leave my playlists for 2011. I love them hard.
“Tamer Animals”

10. Suuns – 2010 year end dandies have captured our hearts in 2011.
“Arena”

9. Code Pie – The BSS of 2011. Canadian love children with layered sounds.
“Love Meets Rage”

8. Widowspeak – We were there in the beginning. We’ve heard from the fans and we’ve watched them skyrocket up our PAGEVIEW list. Wow. They have more traffic then all of the 2011 bands combined. Just listen.
“Harsh Realm”

7. Sun Airway – Found them to be the most delightful band of 2011. I think they’ll move up the charts by year end.
“Waiting On You”

6. The Vaccines – They are the ROCK darlings of 2011 and if you haven’t heard their singles then you’re trapped in a Chilean coal mine.
“Blow it Up”

5. The Antlers – One word “FINALLY” they’ve hit the hipster mainstage. We love them.
“Rolled Together”

4. The Donkeys – The Turk found these San Diego stoney garage boys.
“I Like the Way You Walk”

3. Seapony – The Trio from Seattle is our Tennis of 2011. So Spectory good.
“Always” – A little early Cure guitar riff.

2. James Vincent McMorrow – Do you know me? Really have you been reading us for awhile? Then you know we love Singer/Songwriters and JVM is better than them all this year.
“If I Had A Boat” – Try not to tear up.

1. Star Slinger – Dude has been a DJ for less than a year and his stuff is otherworldly.
“Mornin'”

GIVING YOU THE BIRD…THE WHOLE 2011…SO FAR PLAYLIST —>

Band of the Day (5.16.11) The Donkeys…are RAWSOME!

16 May

San Diego is not a whale's vagina it's home to The Donkeys


Band of the Day (5.16.11) The Donkeys

The Turk was on fire last week, sending me some true gems. He’s a sucker for being the guy that finds the Gem of the year. He almost did in 2010, but The Radio Dept. was my find. Haha, all said and done, he’s a master of the dig and finds some amazing bands. The next several weeks will be peppered with his new favorites. Check out The Donkeys today. These boys from San Diego, Timothy DeNardo, Anthony Lukens, and Sam Sprague first played together as teenagers, and Jessie Gulati joined later in a band named the Moon and Sixpence soon after graduation. They have three albums under their belts, full of tunes sparkled with “Dad listened to this when he was in college” sound. It’s raga mixed with garage guitars and a Doors keyboard underpinning that makes me wonder whether these guys are 24 or 64. Born With Stripes which is a marvelous collection of tunes or an album of psych-rocking Sixties style geared most for the Indian in the desert exploration. Buy it on LP here. There is a track on this record that is probably my favorite of 2011, and the record is skyrocketing up our list at the NBD office. Listen to “I Like The Way You Walk” and tell me you love it! Hell they actually are self described as “Rad and Awesome had a baby.” or as we call them RAWSOME. Love the San Diego vibe and the psych-rock groove. 1111 Facebook fans so the band is gaining traction.

Vitals:
Hometown: San Diego, CA
Members: Timothy DeNardo, Anthony Lukens, Sam Sprague and Jessie Gulati
Sonic Soulmates: Pavement, Wilco, The Thrills
Trackables:
“I Like The Way You Walk” – Might be my favorite track of the year. DOWNLOAD IT HERE

“Born With Stripes” – Retro-psych rock —- Title track.

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