I NEED SUGAR

The HaiHaiTO benefit was Feb 11, 2010 at the Courthouse in Toronto. The evening contributed to over $22,000 being raised in support of ongoing Haiti relief and rebuilding. I played for an hour, including some Haitian music and hip hop. Here's the entirety of the more uptempo vibes from yesterday's live recording.

Download HaiHaiTO Miniset by Nathan Lee

Track list:
U2 - Magnificent (Fred Falke Full Edit Remix) 2009
Pnau - With You Forever 2007
La Roux - In For The Kill (Lifelike Remix) 2009
The Knife - You Take My Breath Away featuring Jenny Wilson (Manhattan Clique Remix) 2005
Kläder & Vapen - What Have I Done featuring Anna Ternheim (Extended Mix) 2009
The Black Ghosts - Any Way You Choose To Give It (Extended Version) 2007
The Sounds - Tony The Beat 2006

Continuing the decade review, tracks 26 through 30.

Naughties.30 Interpol - Obstacle 1 Just two years after the Strokes, along came Interpol, a little more polished, a little more tension. Good times.

Naughties.29 Revl9n - Someone Like You Dirty sexy Swedish dance rock. A 2001/2002 song that didn't see wide release until 2006 and has been in heavy sugar rotation since.

Naughties.28 Radiohead - There There (The Boney King of Nowhere) Radiohead returned to their rock roots for the majority of Hail to the Thief, with perhaps more sonic depth than previous rock pursuits.

Naughties.27 Fever Ray - When I Grow Up (D Lissvik Remix) This D Lissvik remix of When I Grow Up adds layers of joy to the original. A great vibe from '09.

Naughties.26 Memory Tapes - Bicycle A great story of adolescent dreams. Vivid lyrics. Beautiful melody. It really does get better with every listen.

Continuing the decade review, tracks 31 through 35.

Naughties.35 Santogold - Shove It This is one of those tracks that so completely transcends mainstream Hip Hop I just don't get how anybody can enjoy that overproduced pap.

Naughties.34 The Strokes - Last Night Oh 2000, we remember you for your garage rock revival, all that talk about yellow, and that pre-9/11 bubble.

Naughties.33 Golden Boy with Miss Kittin - 1234 The best pop song from a top album of the decade. Maybe you can convince me Rippin Kittin is better, but this is a lot more fun. From 2002.

Naughties.32 The Streets - Weak Become Heroes (Röyksopp's Memory Lane Mix) While the original has a decent UK garage vibe, Röyksopp's remix is a perfect early 2000's summer fresh progressive vibe. "All of life's problems, I just shake off." From 2002.

Naughties.31 CSS - Fuck Off Is Not The Only Thing You Have To Show Cansei De Ser Sexy's debut was a revelation. And Fuck Off Is Not The Only Thing You Have To Show epitomizes their dance rock team dream. From 2005.

Dance Baby Dance recorded Feb 1, 2010. Booty shaking good vibes.

Download: Dance Baby Dance by Nathan Lee

Tracklist:
01 Abonné - Voodoo Child (Art Bleeks Sunny Redub) 2008
02 Sade - By Your Side (Ben Watt Lazy Dog Remix) 2001
03 Manuel De La Mare - Born Slippy (MDLM Mix) 2008
04 Deep Dish - Dreams featuring Stevie Nicks (Extended Club Mix) 2006
05 Oxia - Whole Life (Part 1) 2009
06 Kaiserdisco - Chordalia 2010
07 Oxia - Whole Life (Part 2) 2009
08 Jay Bliss - Diffuse 2009
09 Ray Okpara - Brainows featuring Nikki 2010
10 Trentemøller - Charge 2005
11 Kasper Bjørke - Alcatraz (Kenton Slash Demon Remix) 2010
12 The Clover - Love In Da Wood 2009
13 And.Id - First Talk 2009
14 Hatiras - Your Love 2009
15 Massimo Di Lena - Delirious 2009
16 Rusty James - Stop Lying 2010
17 David West & Inkfish - Ghetto Feel 2010
18 Rondenion - Sun Glare 2009

Continuing the decade review, tracks 36 through 40.

Naughties.40 The Postal Service - Such Great Heights (John Tejada Remix) John Tejada was prolific throughout the decade, but nothing compares to his remix of Such Great Heights. So subtle, it draws you right in. The original sounds like happy hardcore after hearing this version. From 2003.

Naughties.39 The Kooks - Sofa Song The punchiest, danciest, singalongiest acoustic song of the decade. Just plain fun. From 2005.

Naughties.38 Silversun Pickups - Lazy Eye (Curtis Vodka Edit) Curtis Vodka tossed out a whole whack of bootleg mixes on his MySpace page back in the day, this was the best of the lot. The added kick and percussion ups the intensity of the original and makes for great dance floor fodder. From 2007.

Naughties.37 Deep Dish - Dreams featuring Stevie Nicks Kindly reviving one of the great tracks of the 70's and having Stevie Nicks sing on it, no less. (There's a great story behind that, too.) This song was great even before 2006's Montreal club excursion, but hearing this on a big room system at 4:00a. Epic!

Naughties.36 Underworld - Dinosaur Adventure 3D (Funk D'Void Vocal Remix) Funk D'Void's remix warms up Underworld's banging techno track, opting to focus on synths over the heavy bass line of the original. A top progressive vibe. From 2002.

Continuing the decade review, tracks 41 through 45.

Naughties.45 Pearl Jam - Sad Every once in a while Pearl Jam remember what it is to rock with conviction. From 2000, their best song about lost love since Black.

Naughties.44 Miike Snow - Animal Can't say enough about Miike Snow's Animal. Rhythm, melody and melancholy. Simple but precious pop song. From 2009.

Naughties.43 Bent - Waiting For You featuring Simon Lord (Danny Howells Remix) Simon Lord followed 2006's massive Simian success by collaborating with Groove Armada and Bent in '07. Danny Howell's epic remix of Bent's Waiting for You was a nice precursor to the Black Ghosts and, along with Groove Armada's The Things That We Could Share, really cemented Simon Lord as the king of earnest dance rock vocals.

Naughties.42 Ida Maria - Going to Hell Singing along to damnation never felt so right. Inexplicably not included on her album release, Ida Maria's chant friendly Going to Hell. From 2007.

Naughties.41 Babak Shayan - Flowers Warm and soulful with a light vocal mid-track pause. Good late night vibe and great loud. Deep house at it's finest. From 2004.

The first decade of the new millennium was a great decade for music, as noted in this article on my personal blog which was inspired by Street Boner's 90s lament." So, what better way to celebrate this much improved decade than by counting down I Need Sugar's best.

Starting with number 50 and working our way up. Here we go!

50. Underworld - Trim "Sugar. Sugar. Clear your mind. Leave it all behind." Nice vocal synth pop off Underworld's underrated 2002 release.

49. Ada - Maps (Michael Mayer & Tobias Thomas Mix) Before my '06/07 infatuation with Yeah Yeah Yeahs there was Michael Myer's remix of Ada's Maps cover. Glorious DJ track from 2005.

48. Cut Copy - Future Marks the early 2000's punchy crossover tracks and a sign of things to come from Australia. Sounds even better sped up. From 2004.

47. The Organ - I Am Not Surprised The Organ's stoic live shows came to an end following their Drake underground European sendoff. They'll be missed.

The challenge: Go to iTunes DJ, delete all the songs, change the source to your entire music library, turn off the setting "Play higher rated music more often", hit Refresh. Grab about an hour worth of music, in sequence, and mix the tracks. You can change the order, but you have to use all the songs.

The fun: up until just a few hours ago I hadn't heard 13 of these tracks. Some of them are great. And then there's the podcast about God.

Here's the full track list:
01 Tom Waits - Medley: Jack & Neal - California, Here I Come 1977
02 Stereo MC's - Gringo (Ragged & Ruthless) 2008
03 Edan - Rapperfection 2002
04 Massive Attack - Teardrop featuring Elizabeth Fraser 1998
05 Sonic Youth - Crème Brûlée 1992
06 Bruno Pronsato/Anonymous - The Make Up The Break Up Part 1 2009 / God The Sequel Podcast
07 The Legendary Pink Dots - Small Anthem 1997
08 Herb Alpert & The Tijuana Brass - Tangerine 1965
09 Mali Music - Le Relax 2002
10 Cesaria Evora - Paraiso Di Atlantico 1999
11 Badmarsh & Shri - Get up 2001
12 Client - In It For The Money (Radio Session) 2006
13 The Spinto Band - Needlepoint 2008
14 The Spongetones - She Goes Out With Everybody 1994
15 Big Sugar - AAA Aardvark Hotel 1993
16 Funk La Planet All-Stars - Summertime (DJ Fudge Dub) 2007
17 Simulator - Progression 2002

And here's the download link. Enjoy!

Here's a run down of two other top 2009 music lists. Pitchfork, who seem to be keenly interested in reviving the Beach Boys, and Resident Advisor, who love it when people mumble "house music" over a muffled beat. I took a listen to both sets to see what was what in the world of internet music lovers and have gathered my rankings below in fancy image format. Of course, the last image in the set is the trusty I Need Sugar list, which I hope is a much more varied collection of stellar tracks.

Pitchfork's Top 50 Tracks of 2009

Resident Advisor's Top 50 Tracks of 2009

I Need Sugar's Top 50 Tracks of 2009

Hear the top 10 I Need Sugar tracks at blip.fm.

This 126bpm melancholy mix was prepared with lots of love. It's breaking my heart a little but I'll get over it.

Tracklist:
01 Underworld - Headset 2002
02 The Black Ghosts - Full Moon (Appleblim & Komonazmuk Remix) 2009
03 Cut Copy - Future 2004
04 Memory Tapes - Bicycle 2009
05 Ascii Disko - Seven Angels 2008
06 Agoria - Les Violons Ivres 2006
07 Superpitcher - Tomorrow (Kaito Mix) 2004
08 Daso - Daybreak 2005
09 Partial Arts - Trauermusik 2007
10 Alex Smoke - Telemetry 2005
11 Anna - Green 2007
12 Vector Lovers - Genevieve 2007
13 M.A.N.D.Y. - Tonite 2003
14 Closer Musik - One, Two, Three--No Gravity (Ewan Pearson's 2004 Remix) 2004
15 Radiohead - Nude (Ripperton Edit) 2008
16 Guy J - I See You Next Time 2008
17 Lucky Misu - Puzzled 2007
18 Booka Shade vs Plastic Operator - Night Falls Won't Back Down (A-Side Remix) 2007
19 Perfume Uniform - Out Alone Tonight (Lucky Misu Mix) 2007
20 Ebb - I'm All Made of Music (Jori Hulkkonen Remix) 2006
21 The Postal Service - Such Great Heights (Remix by John Tejada) 2003
22 The Raveonettes - Lust (Trentemøller Remix) 2008
23 Apparat - Useless Information 2007
24 Cortney Tidwell - Don't Let Stars Keep Us Tangled Up (Ewan Pearson's Objects In Space Remix) 2007
25 Gui Boratto - Beautiful Life featuring Luciana Villanova 2007
26 The Chap - President At Last (Zilla's Premier Remix) 2007

Download here. Or listen online with People Downtown.

I've been working so much until this weekend I hadn't touched the mixer since PIBday. A sad state of affairs indeed. Back at it now, I'm going to see if I can kick out a variety of jams before the new year.

I've also compiled my best of 2009 tracks which are being shared daily at blip.fm. But now it's time for a mix. 

When I played the Indian Electronica festival in the summer it was a more uptempo evening with, for my set, a focus on minimal vibes. At the time, however, I started gathering some more downtempo Indian vibes. So, without further ado, here's the Indian Electronica Chill Mix. Enjoy!

Tracklist:
01 Nassim Maalouf - Tarab (Rast) 1998
02 Özgür Sakar aka Misda Oz vs Mercan Dede - Ab-? Beka 2007
03 Don Cherry & Latif Khan - Air Mail 1982
04 Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan - Mustt Mustt (Remixed By Massive Attack With Jonny Dollar And Booga Bear) 1990
05 Thievery Corporation - Shiva (Govinda Remix) 2006
06 Dead Can Dance - The Snake And The Moon 1996
07 Gaudi + Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan - Dil Da Rob Muka Ja Mahi 2008
08 Mulatu Astatke / The Heliocentrics - Masengo 2009
09 Leeroy Kesiah - Bounce Floor 2006
10 Thievery Corporation - The Supreme Illusion ? Gunjan 2005
11 The Beatles - Within You, Without You [2009 Mono Mix] 1967
12 Peace Orchestra - Marakesh 1999
13 Tabla Beat Science - Devotional 2000
14 St Etienne - Only Love Can Break Your Heart (A Mix Of Two Halves) 1990
15 Natacha Atlas - Yalla Chant (Transglobal Underground Remix) 2000
16 Sheharzad - Yalla Yalla (Henrik Schwarz Remix) 2009
17 Banco de Gaia - Mafich Arabi 1995
18 Adham Shaikh - Ohm (Transfix Mix) 2006
19 Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan - Piya Re Piya Re (Remix) 1999
20 The Flashbulb - Delhi Ill 2003

Download the mix here.

It's such a treat to read an article like this where we see a dying industry model and the players within it reacting in away that brings more money to the creatives that drive the industry.

Specifically, the Times UK is showing that, while record label's massive revenues are down, we're seeing an uptick in artist profits.

I'm fairly certain I buy primarily non-major-label music (though with distribution agreements, etc, it's sometimes hard to tell) and sometimes I purchase directly from artists, circumventing labels and distribution altogether. And these numbers lead me to believe this is a growing trend, which is a great thing. It helps keep everyone honest, from the label, to the distributor, to the retail outlet. 

There needs to be perceived value all the way down the line if artists have direct access to distribution, marketing and, by extension, their fans. Particularly with the increasing incentives artists are offering directly to their fans, whether through custom packages, recording and touring support, limited editions, or other unique and targeted methods of distribution. And the more exploration artists do in these areas, the better off they'll be, with more control over not just their music, but in all ways they reach their fans. 

Bands have never been more connected to their fans, or had a better opportunity to reach new fans. Now more than ever is the time to get creative and not fight through the machinations of a dying industry model like the one the record labels are trying to ram down our throats by treating fans like criminals.

And with the adoption of Twitter and other online communication tools, now you've got both a constant between release connection to your fans plus hyper local contact, making it all the more easy to request support, mobilize around a tour, or just keep people engaged in your and your art.

So, here's to music and the innovation that comes when a lazy industry gets rocked out of their complacency.