THE SPIN MIX

Songs You Need to Download Now!

Go to SPIN.com for samples and links to these tunes, vid clips, and more

1 Teenage Bottlerocket “IN THE BASEMENT” Buzzy pop punk with no taint of “emo voice”!

These Wyoming boys’ latest roars, but their classic statement remains early scorcher “Bloodbath at Burger King.”

^{2 Grand Archives} “^{MINIATURE BIRDS}” ^{Band of Horses cofounder Mat Brooke reemerges with his} oothing new combo, and it’s clear who was partial to the lighter, blithely whistling side of folky ’70s pop.

3M _g3idnight Juggernauts “INTO THE GALAX Y” This Aussie trio opened for Justice last year, but they’re lam-pop showboats by comparison, with goopy synth crescendos galore, like Talk Talk at a drag-queen ball.

4

Missy Elliott “CHING-A-LING” Newcomers Arkiteks & Lamb, doing Timbaland better than Tim, produce Missy’s latest polyrhythmic free-for-all (in the “Get Ur Freak On,” “Work It,” “Lose Control” tradition).

^{5 Gang$ta Rap} “^{IN MY HOUSE SHOES}” ^{From the film spoof Gang$ta Rap: The Glockumentary, this gut-} bustin’ version of the Jungle Brothers’ “I’ll House You” explains why “you never see the OG in the hard soles.”

6 Why? “CLOSE TO ME” Yoni Wolf’s abstract indie crew takes the Cure’s perkiest ’80s pop confection and _{brilliantly exhumes its core of fuzzily regretful, tense, 4 A.M. soul-searching.}

^{7 Neon Neon} “^{I TOLD HER ON ALDERAAN}” ^{Super Furry Animals’ Gruff Rhys joins up with experimental} hip-hop producer Boom Bip and unveils a lovely, warped electro-pop anthem evoking Star Wars romance.

^{8 Glasvegas} “^{FLOWERS AND FOOTBALL TOPS}” ^{Wide-eyed shoegaze doo-wop Britpop with enough echo} to make the Ronettes dizzy. Alan McGee calls ’em the “best Scottish band since the Mary Chain,” and he’s close.

9T _a9he Dodos “FOOLS” With furious acoustic strumming and minimal percussion clicks, plus some sawing tmospherics and trombone blurts, this San Francisco duo create a heady swirl of emotional who-knows-what.

10

Wolfkin “THESE ARE ALL ILLUSIONS” Two dapper Danish indie poppers, who seem to have done their time at the hipster license-plate factory, masterfully mingle Kraftwerk and the Beatles as if it’s a weekend lark.

^{11 Fink} “^{BLUEBERRY PANCAKES}” ^{Like a Proust madeleine, the thought of an ex’s flapjacks sets off this} U.K. trip-hopper turned singer/songwriter. Before long, he’s crying in his Stella and poring over old love letters.

12

F--k Buttons “BRIGHT TOMORROW” Conjure a pensive, disorienting mood. Obliterate it with obscene waves of noise that scream for either earplugs or drugs. Wait for crowd to say, Fuuuuck!

13^1P _ve3rodigy “M Y WORLD IS EMP TY WITHOUT YOU” Prison-bound and wracked by sickle cell, the Long Island t raps his own pissed history lesson over the Supremes’ wail: “Fuck the Vatican, the pyramids is older.”

14

Shipwreck “RABBIT IN THE KI TCHEN” With a searing guitar riff, rhythmic finesse, and assured vocal yearn that most indie types can’t approach, these Illinois rockers are almost mesmerizingly sophisticated.

15

Jeans Team “BABY 3” The Berlin techno-funk quartet have been geeking around since the mid-’90s, and the experience shows: This thumping beepfest is taut as a (real) drum, with scads of infectious melodic bits.

Goldfrapp “A&E”

It would seem logical to set this glimmering electronic ballad against a sunlit autumnal forest inhabited by a beautiful nymph—until, that is, you remember that this is a Goldfrapp video. The subtle irony of leaf men emerging from the “natural” surroundings to dance around singer Alison Goldfrapp keeps the whole thing grounded, without diminishing the admittedly lovely visual effect.

Ice Cube
“Gangsta Rap Made
Me Do It”
Though the simple thesis and
somewhat stale flow make
the track easy to disregard,
the video’s visual name-
checking of the past decade’s
major media events proves
surprisingly effective. Cube’s
tough-as-nails demeanor as
he smokes his stogie and
“spits lava” proves once again
that the man can intimidate
the pants off of us without
bling, booty, or a Bentley.

Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds “Dig, Lazarus, Dig!!!” Cave struts, preens, and pontificates before black-and-white rear-projection, narrating the story of a man who travels from New York to California and back, growing “increasingly neurotic and obscene.” He may be putting us on with his preacher-like gestures and insistence that there’s “something going on upstairs,” but damned if we aren’t watching.

The Kills
“URA Fever”

The first single from Midnight Boom gets a split-screen treatment as Jamie and Alison frolic solo in the same locations, seemingly thwarted in their attempts to connect (a few playful pokes and tussles notwithstanding). Given the track’s heavy beat, raunchy guitar, and trademark sultry delivery, this may be a good thing: If the smoldering pair ever did hook up, the whole place might catch fire.

FROM TOP: COURTESY MAGNUM PR: ELIZABETH WEINBERG; MICHAEL SCOT T JONES