.

The Lincoln MKS (left) the acclaimed Von Von Von (right)

In case you think I’ve lost my mind, here’s the blurb - “The Ford Motor Company and their Lincoln division have chosen Nemo’s Dave Allen as a ‘digital influencer’ and handed him the keys to a fancy red Lincoln MKS for a few days. Dave was tracked down by Ford through his highly trafficked music blog, Pampelmoose, that he runs for Nemo. Dave will be in full Top Gear mode for the next three days as he runs around Portland. Yesterday Dave used the car to pick up the acclaimed Belgian New Wave electronic artist, Von Von Von, from Portland International Airport and we will shortly be posting a video of that trip. Stay tuned for all the pics and video and a final overview of the driving experience from Dave.”

There you have it - we plan on taking the car “dancing” down at the Dandy Warhols Odditorium warehouse and we’ll be testing the Sirius audio system with DJ Joelskool….

Here we are at the end of another year, in fact almost the end of a new decade, and the musicians of the world continue to turn out amazing work. The CD industry continues to slump and digital sales are not filling the gap, yet amazingly I am able to play on average 26 new songs over 2 hours on my twice weekly radio show here in Portland. It’s an honor to be able to expose brand new music from artists old and newly discovered to both my blog readers and my listening audience too.

Esau Mwamwaya & Radioclit Are The Very Best

So how does one come up with a smart list of hot bands? Who is deserving, and why? Well its never easy..I just went back through all the music submissions for just one week and extrapolated the numbers out over a year - in 2008 so far I have been sent, on average, 6,134 MP3s and 1,304 CDs. That’s a lot of music, [especially as I'm the main writer for Pampelmoose,] and creates lots of decision making every day as I try and filter the good stuff on behalf you the reader or the radio listener.

In a nutshell, I came up with this list based simply on which artist’s work stirred me the most as I listened to it as dispassionately as possible. To some it won’t make sense, to others it will because they understand the eclectic nature of my blog and radio show. Others still will be outraged that I didn’t include their favorite band and others will decry me as a self-serving-know-nothing music snob [this has happened in the past, sort of makes me proud] but its all water off a duck’s back at this point.

The Very Best represent to me all that is possible in music. Back in October when I first received the mixtape I was thrilled. I was equally thrilled to find today that Scott Plagenhoef at Pitchfork gave the mixtape a great review and how he shares my findings of their music ….”Mwamwaya and Radioclit are open here to everything from South Africa’s marabi and kwaito music to Hans Zimmer scores to French and American hip-hop to Michael Jackson– and in most cases, it’s the tracks that lean furthest away from the familiar that work best. The regal “Sister Betina”, BLK JKS collaboration “Salota”, and Radioclit productions “Funa Funa” and “Kada Manja” are as immediately likable as the rest of the mix.”
And in a moment of headiness created by listening to the mixes I wrote of how this mashing of cultures even beyond music may engender a more peaceful global society - Fighting Terror via Art, Supper, Double Club and Sapeurs.

Here’s the top ten winners, in order this year:

01. The Very Best - Esau Mwamwaya & Radioclit Are The Very Best [Mixtape]
Available for free here.
02. Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds - Dig Lazarus Dig!!!
Buy Dig, Lazarus, Dig!!! here
03. Nightmares On Wax - Thought So…
Buy Thought So.. here
04. Susanna - Flower of Evil
Buy Flower of Evil here
05. Dead Confederate - Wrecking Ball
Buy Wrecking Ball here
06. Brightblack Morning Light - Motion To Rejoin
Buy Motion To Rejoin here
07. Ryan Adams & The Cardinals - Cardinology
Buy Cardinology here
08. Booka Shade - The Sun & The Neon Light
Buy The Sun & The Neon Light here
09. Ume - Sunshower EP
Buy Sunshower EP here
10. The Happy Hollows - Imaginary EP
Buy Imaginary EP here

Check out a track from each artist here:

The Very Best - Kamphopo
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds - Dig, Lazarus, Dig!!!
Nightmares On Wax - 195lbs
Susanna - Jailbreak
Dead Confederate - Goner
Brightblack Morning Light - Hologram Buffalo
Ryan Adams & The Cardinals - Magick
Booka Shade - Dusty Boots
Ume - The Conductor
The Happy Hollows - Tambourine

Photo ⓒ Nilina Mason-Campbell

As my friend Minh rather accurately stated: the M83 show on Thanksgiving night was more like M8zzzz. Once you’ve seen Of Montreal, there’s no looking back. The bar has officially been raised and unfortunately M83’s brand of party - more slumber than dance - just wasn’t engaging. That doesn’t mean the evening was a total waste though. Far from it as I luckily caught openers School of Seven Bells.

Have I been waiting for an act to prove the Semisonic lyric “every new beginning comes from some other beginning’s end” true? Well, regardless, School of Seven Bells has. The trio claimed my curiosity beforehand not on the basis of its tracks, but because its existence was made possible by guitarist Benjamin Curtis’ departure from The Secret Machines and stunning twins Alejandra and Claudia Deheza’s exit from On! Air! Library!. The results are marvelous I might add. I hadn’t listened to School of Seven Bells before the show, but was completely swallowed up by its lush rhythmic sound and its ability to transport you into a sort of dreamland where everything is within grasp and infinitely possible. Their single “Connjur” was easily the standout of the night when performed live. Listen to and download Connjur When School of Seven Bells’ 45 minute set was up it was bittersweet to let them go as their departure from the stage marked the return to a less ethereal reality, but with the aid of iTunes I’ve been able to journey back.

White Fang

More new music on the second hour of this week’s Pampelmoose edition of the New Music Hour on Portland’s 94.7FM. This show is devoted in its entirety to Portland bands. Just a handful of the hundreds of amazing bands in this city. Portland take a bow. I’m on 94.7FM with resident DJ Squid every Tuesday and Thursday at 8PM. This is the show from Thursday November 6th. For more local and Northwest music you can also tune in to 94.7 Too either on your HD radio or on the web. 94.7 Too only plays local and Northwest music, nothing else.

Super XX Man - Medication [Podington Bear Remix]
Bark, Hide & Horn - Change It
Twenty Slivers
The Wherewithals - The Point
Boy Eats Drum Machine - Planets + Stars
Hockey - Curse This City
Dolorean - Sleeperhold
Climber - Snakes
Blow - Babay [Eat a Critter, Feel Its Wrath]
Siren’s Echo - All My
White Fang - Tall Shadow
Red Fang - Bird On Fire

Stream or download all the previous Pampelmoose 94.7FM shows here.