Farewell Brooklyn

3 / August 2010 / Joe Choi

Finally an outlet for my countless hours of listening to music.  Thanks to John and Noah for this!

I’m saying goodbye to Brooklyn after 3 years here.  New York of course, but Brooklyn in particular, has been an amazing scene for music and just creative people in general.  Coming from New England and being an engineer, having the chance to mingle with so many actors, artists, and others who tend to use the right side of their brains has made my time here really memorable.  Prospect Park has been the ultimate blessing - providing a place for regular runs, somewhere to get away from the city and an incredible summer venue for free music.  Hope you guys enjoy a few of my subway ride favorites.

  1. YACHT / Psychic City

    Hooah!

    More Info from Last.FM

    YACHT is a musical moniker created by electronic musician and multimedia artist Jonathan Warren Bechtolt (A.K.A. Jona Bechtolt, born December 2, 1980). YACHT has since 2009 included musician, writer and media artist Claire Evans whose vocals had been featured on previous YACHT recordings (I Believe In You. Your Magic Is Real). YACHT is based in Portland, Oregon, United States. Bechtolt was born in Astoria, Oregon and began playing music as a teenager, dropping out of high school to play drums in his brother's touring punk band. Read more on Last.fm more...

  2. Gorillaz / Some Kind Of Nature

    Two songs from them. I couldn't pick, so I put them both on.

    More Info from Last.FM

    Gorillaz are a British virtual band created in 1998 by musician Damon Albarn and artist Jamie Hewlett. Canonically speaking, Murdoc Niccals formed the band. The band currently consists of four animated members: 2-D (lead vocals, keyboards), Noodle (guitar, vocals), Murdoc Niccals (bass guitar), and Russel Hobbs (drums and percussion). Their fictional universe is explored through animated music videos, interviews, and animated shorts. In reality, Albarn is the only permanent musical contributor, and often collaborates with other musicians. Read more on Last.fm more...

  3. Bear In Heaven / Lovesick Teenagers

    Knew these guys were from Brooklyn before I looked them up.

    More Info from Last.FM

    Bear in Heaven is a Brooklyn-based rock band formed by Jon Philpot. The sound of the band incorporates influences from psychedelic music, electronic music and krautrock Jon Philpot has previously released music as part of the duo Presocratics, in collaboration with guitarist and composer Need Thomas Windham. Presocratics released two albums on the record label Table of the Elements in 2001; both were produced by Philpot. The first Bear in Heaven release (Tunes Nextdoor to Songs Read more on Last.fm more...

  4. The New Pornographers / Crash Years

    Had to include a song with Neko Case in it.

    More Info from Last.FM

    The New Pornographers are a Canadian indie rock group formed in 1997 in Vancouver, British Columbia. Their sound is influenced by that of such power pop bands as The Cars and Cheap Trick, but they use much more sophisticated rhythms and chord changes. Although it was widely reported that the New Pornographers got their name from a pamphlet put out by televangelist Jimmy Swaggart condemning rock ‘n’ roll as “the new pornography,” Carl Newman Read more on Last.fm more...

  5. Built To Spill / Hindsight

    A solid album from these indie veterans.

    More Info from Last.FM

    Built to Spill is an indie rock band based in Boise, Idaho, United States. The band is best known for its catchy guitar hooks and the unique voice of frontman Doug Martsch. Former Treepeople frontman Doug Martsch formed Built to Spill in 1992 with Brett Netson and Ralf Youtz as the band's original members. In an interview with Spin magazine, Martsch stated that he intended to change the band's lineup for every album, with Martsch being the only permanent member. Read more on Last.fm more...

  6. Mew / Introducing Palace Players

    Putting this beat/riff up against Noah's Black Keys pick.

    More Info from Last.FM

    Mew is an alternative rock band which formed in Hellerup, Denmark in 1995. The band consists of Jonas Bjerre (vocals), Bo Madsen (guitar), and Silas Utke Graae Jørgensen (drums). When on tour, Mew is supported by Dr. Nick Watts (Headswim) on keyboard, and Bastian Juel on bass (original bassist Johan Wohlert left in 2006, but returned to the band in 2014). The band's music can be described as experimental pop or as singer Jonas Bjerre mentioned in Read more on Last.fm more...

  7. Charlotte Gainsbourg / Le Chat Du Cafe Des Artistes

    A shame, ten years of french class - can barely make out a sentence.

    More Info from Last.FM

    Charlotte Lucy Gainsbourg (born 21 July 1971) is an Anglo-French actress and singer. After releasing an album with her father at the age of fifteen, more than twenty years passed before she released three albums as an adult (5:55, IRM and Stage Whisper) to commercial and critical success. Gainsbourg has also appeared in many films, including several directed by Lars von Trier, and has received both a César Award and the Cannes Film Festival Best Actress Award. Read more on Last.fm more...

  8. Julian Casablancas / 11th Dimension

    A nice change from the front man of the Strokes.

    More Info from Last.FM

    Julian Casablancas (born August 23, 1978 in New York City, New York) is the lead singer and songwriter of the American rock band The Strokes Julian Casablancas is half American and half Danish and the son of John Casablancas and Jeanette Christiansen. His parents divorced when he was young. He attended kindergarten with future bandmate Nikolai Fraiture. Early in his teens, Julian's father sent him to the Institut Le Rosey in Switzerland. This was where Julian first met Albert Hammond Jr., one of few other American students on campus. Read more on Last.fm more...

  9. Gogol Bordello / My Companjera

    Crazy gypsies!

    More Info from Last.FM

    Combining elements of punk, gypsy music, and Brechtian cabaret, Gogol Bordello tells the story of New York's immigrant diaspora through debauchery, humor, and surreal costumes. Leader and singer Eugene Hütz's taste in music was spun out of black-market tapes of the The Birthday Party and Einstürzende Neubauten in his native Ukraine. After being evacuated to Western Ukraine in 1986 following the Chernobyl disaster, Hütz became enamored of the mystical, outsider qualities of gypsy music. Read more on Last.fm more...

  10. The xx / Islands

    A great voice.

    More Info from Last.FM

    The xx are a Mercury Prize-winning trio formed in 2005 in London, United Kingdom and signed to Young Turks. The band members are Romy Madley Croft (vocals, lead guitar), Oliver Sim (vocals, bass guitar), and Jamie Smith, known as Jamie xx (drums, keyboards, synthesizer, MPC sampler). Second guitarist and keyboardist Baria Qureshi was dropped from the band mid-tour in 2009. The reasons behind her ousting remain unclear. On 17 August 2009, the group released their debut album xx on Young Turks label. Read more on Last.fm more...

  11. Mika / Good Gone Girl

    One for my wife - the only artist from my music collection that she likes - super PoP.

    More Info from Last.FM

    There are multiple bands/artists under the name Mika. 1) Mika (born Michael Holbrook Penniman in 1983) is a Lebanese-born British singer. He first appeared on BBC Radio 1 in September 2006. He has a background in classical songwriting. His long awaited first album Life In Cartoon Motion was commercially released on 5th February 2007. It has a coming of age theme, and deals with the transition from childhood to his current position in life. His debut single was Relax Read more on Last.fm more...

  12. Sunset Rubdown / Silver Moons

    This song and album really grew on me. Repeatedly gave it a chance because he's from Wolf Parade.

    More Info from Last.FM

    Sunset Rubdown is an indie rock band that formed in Montreal, Quebec, Canada in 2005. The band consists of Spencer Krug (vocals, guitar, keyboards), Camilla Wynne Ingr (percussion, keyboards, vocals), Michael Doerksen (bass, guitar, drums), Marc Nicol (bass, kimbala) and Jordan Robson-Cramer (drums, guitar) It began as a solo project of Spencer Krug, of Wolf Parade fame in 2005. He released the debut album Snake's Got a Leg in July 2005. The group soon expanded to include Michael Doerksen Read more on Last.fm more...

  13. Emily Haines & The Soft Skeleton / Doctor Blind

    I guess you guys will recognize the voice.

    More Info from Last.FM

    Emily Haines & The Soft Skeleton is an indie rock solo project of Emily Haines (born January 1974 in New Delhi, India). She is the vocalist, keyboardist and co-songwriter of the Canadian band Metric and a member of the group Broken Social Scene. The music released as Emily Haines & The Soft Skeleton could be described as intimate and mellow, featuring piano-driven tracks with string and horn arrangements. On 26 September 2006, Haines released the album Knives Don't Have Your Back on Last Gang Records. Read more on Last.fm more...

  14. Los Campesinos! / This Flag. There Is No Wind.

    My fav from an up and down album.

    More Info from Last.FM

    Los Campesinos! are an indie rock band which formed in Cardiff, Wales, United Kingdom in 2006. The band's current lineup consists of Gareth Campesinos! (vocals, glockenspiel, keyboards), Kim Campesinos! (vocals, keyboards), Tom Campesinos! (guitar, vocals, keyboards), Neil Campesinos! (guitar), Rob Campesinos! (vocals, guitar, keyboards, glockenspiel, percussion), Matt Campesinos! (bass) and Jason Campesinos! (drums). The band has released six albums since their formation: "Hold On Now, Youngster. Read more on Last.fm more...

  15. Alec Ounsworth / South Philadelphia (Drug Days)

    A really good album from the front man from one of my favorite bands.

    More Info from Last.FM

    The Philadelphia native, who earned acclaim with his band Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, recently recorded his debut solo record in the music-steeped metropolis of New Orleans at the famed Piety St. recording studio. For Mo Beauty, Ounsworth was backed by George Porter, Jr. on bass, Stanton Moore on drums, Robert Walter on keys, and Matt Sutton on baritone and pedal-steel guitars, with additional help from some members of the diversely talented New Orleans community such as Mark Mullins Read more on Last.fm more...

  16. Sloan / Cheap Champaign

    The band who sang Stove/Smother off of my favorite high school compilation, DGC Rarities - they sound so different.

    More Info from Last.FM

    Sloan is an alternative rock/power pop band that was formed in 1991 in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. Currently based in Toronto, Ontario, the band has consisted since its formation of members Jay Ferguson (vocals, guitar), Patrick Pentland (guitar, vocals), Chris Murphy (vocals, bass) and Andrew Scott (drums, vocals). The band has released twelve studio albums since their formation and earned international critical acclaim; appropriately, Sloan's most recent work is '12', which came out on April 6, 2018. Read more on Last.fm more...

  17. Caribou / Odessa

    Usually too far out there for me, but this one stuck with me.

    More Info from Last.FM

    Caribou is Canadian Dan Snaith (b. 1978), who formerly recorded under the moniker Manitoba. Known for altering his sound with each subsequent release, he incorporates electronic psychedelia, krautrock rhythms, and breakbeat drums and creates a swirling, lush, musical panorama. Snaith also creates more club-oriented dance music under the name Daphni. Snaith grew up in Dundas, Ontario, Canada, which gave its name to a song from his debut album Start Breaking My Heart. Read more on Last.fm more...

  18. Yeasayer / Ambling Alp

    My new favorite. Another band from Brooklyn.

    More Info from Last.FM

    Yeasayer was a band based in Brooklyn, New York. The band was formed in 2006 and consists of three core members, Chris Keating, Ira Wolf Tuton, and Anand Wilder. They first came to attention after appearing at the SXSW festival in early 2007. Their debut album All Hour Cymbals was released in October 2007. Yeasayer described their music as "Middle Eastern-psych-snap-gospel". Live performances often include psychedelic visuals. Yeasayer released their second studio album Read more on Last.fm more...

  19. Dinosaur Jr. / See You

    I think I saw him in his driveway in Amherst - Lincoln Ave between Amity Street and Route 9.

    More Info from Last.FM

    Dinosaur Jr. is a rock band which formed in 1983 in Amherst, Massachusetts. The band was formed by J Mascis (guitar and vocals) and his high school classmate Lou Barlow (bass guitar), following the break-up of their hardcore punk band Deep Wound. Shortly afterwards, Murph (Emmett Patrick Murphy, drums) joined them. The band was originally called "Dinosaur", but changed its name following the release of its debut album Dinosaur in 1985, after a band called Dinosaurs Read more on Last.fm more...

  20. Gorillaz / On Melancholy Hill

    Thought it'd be the perfect final song.

    More Info from Last.FM

    Gorillaz are a British virtual band created in 1998 by musician Damon Albarn and artist Jamie Hewlett. Canonically speaking, Murdoc Niccals formed the band. The band currently consists of four animated members: 2-D (lead vocals, keyboards), Noodle (guitar, vocals), Murdoc Niccals (bass guitar), and Russel Hobbs (drums and percussion). Their fictional universe is explored through animated music videos, interviews, and animated shorts. In reality, Albarn is the only permanent musical contributor, and often collaborates with other musicians. Read more on Last.fm more...

Past Mixes