Track of the Weekend #46: Arctic Monkeys - “Do I Wanna Know?"
The month of June is almost to a close, and the rapid development of Whyd is taking place under a grey sky that continues to pulse small amounts of drizzle like a dick that you think is done peeing but nope, nope, it’s not quite done yet.
So it fits well that this week’s Track of the Weekend is the trudging beat and raspy vocals of the indie band Arctic Monkeys. "Do I Wanna Know" crawls up and down until it lodges itself firmly in the back of your head, like the final breathes of a deer hit by a car, whose ribcage rises erratically as it waits to pass to the other side. Heavy.
Thanks Julien for bringing us all down with this delightfully depressing tune.
Track of the Weekend #45: Gesaffelstein - “Pursuit"
It’s the summer solstice, the longest day of the year and the beginning of what is supposed to be two nice months here in Northern Europe. It is also, according to French tradition, La Fête De La Musique, which sees concerts, performances, and epic partying across every city in the country.
In Paris, the afternoon streets are stuffed with partiers dancing along to pulsating beats blasting from apartment windows, storefronts, and impromptu gatherings. After 20hr00 things start to get a little sloppy, stumblers start to fall, garbage bags are already overflowing with the remains of the day. The occasional flying beer bottle must be dodged. Then, after midnight, if you find yourself without a party, venturing down the street can be a perilous adventure, with the wild packs of drunken suburban Parisians brainlessly trashing their self-acclaimed “most beautiful city in the world."
The Track of the Weekend this week is the soundtrack to that moment, as you try to just get home, drunk yourself but saner than the collective insobriety allows, thinking simultaneously “what could be better than a fête de musique?" yet also “what could be worse than this fête de musique?" "Pursuit" by Gesaffelstein has awakened the runner in us all. Thanks to Aline for bringing it to our attention!
Track of the Weekend #44: Disclosure - “You & Me" (Flume Remix)
We’re going to do something that we’ve never done before, and before you purists out there start spouting off about how it’s not the weekend yet please read this first:
We are posting the sacred Track of the Weekend on a Thursday this week for a number of reasons:
1. It’s dark in Paris, rain falling incessantly, cold like autumn and just fucking disgusting out, so it helps to think about the weekend.
2. Tomorrow we will be announcing the awesome new playlist contest organized by Do You Like That Song?
3. It’s after noon on Thursday, and for me mentally that means it’s the weekend.
4. But most importantly, this track of the weekend this week is the most popular song on Whyd since Daft Punk’s “Get Lucky" took over the world.
Flume’s remix of “You & Me" by Disclosure creates a mental impression similar to the semi-haunting Disclosure faces with the white lines. It is epic enough to be played during the series finale of Game of Thrones. At times it feels like a heart fighting back against a coming heart attack. Yet it is so satisfying and freeing that it cannot be listened to just once. It will be a big surprise if it relinquishes its place atop the hot tracks before the end of next week, or even the week after that. Thanks Steven for getting it to our ears!!
Track of the Weekend #43: Robin Schulz - “Cheating" (Bootleg)
Summertime is definitely here, you can feel it in the way the music grooves these days. And there is nothing brighter right now on Whyd than this shiny groove unearthed by Radar! The Track of the Weekend "Cheating" by Robin Schulz is everything that summer should be: smokey like a rose vine BBQ, hoppy like an ice cold IPA, and smooth as the clear blue sky.
See you in the sun!
Track of the Weekend #42: Stromae - “Formidable"
Something very unusual happened this week, and we still have not been able to find a satisfactory explanation. The new profiles went live, and people have been adding some excellent style to their music identities, but that was expected. It rained all week in Paris in a depressing delay of summer, but that was no surprise. No, we witnessed something that has never happened before, and it’s making us all feel uncomfortable.
Our co-founder Gilles — better known for his denim shirts, wild beard, and French underwear (or slip)— added a song to Whyd. He didn’t re-add it. No, he added it all by himself. And that particular track launched to the top of the Hot Tracks and stayed there almost the entire week.
“Formidable" by Stromae, a Belgian hip hop and electro artist whose verlan name comes from ‘Maestro,’ sounds like a call from the Paris suburbs, a cry to the progress of the world and the sorrow of remembrance. With its rising chorus and dirty beat it’s easy to see why the song became so hot, but what we might never know is how it was Gilles that found it…
Track of the Weekend #41: Faul - “Changes" feat. Wad Ad
The winter has still not left Paris, even as we tick away the final days before June. This morning it was 2 degrees Celsius at the sun rose. I think we speak for everyone when we say: we need something that feels a little warmer than this.
Cue this week’s Track of the Weekend — added by both AlixCLM and Caroline Btrx — which burned atop the Hot Tracks for most of the week. "Changes" by Faul and featuring Wad Ad is a classical, jazzy, sweet electric track that effortlessly combines addictive lyrics and a rip roaring saxophone part that is creative enough to break the chains of a lingering winter. We certainly hope so!
Track of the Weekend #40: MØ - Waste of Time (MS MR Remix)
This week’s Track of the Weekend has been lighting up across the world, having risen on the popular charts like Hype Machine. It’s Danish singer MØ who just dropped her new single "Waste of Time." Like Lana Del Rey’s unforgettable voice, the song penetrates deep into the psyche and leaves it as quiet as it was when it was found, though forever changed. Big thanks to music gold diggers Music Like Dirt for sharing this tune with the Whyd community! Make sure you follow MØ on Twitter and MLD on Whyd!
Track of the Weekend #39: Man Is Not A Bird - “Sounds of Spring"
Daft Punk’s new single "Get Lucky" has been so popular on Whyd that for the last three weeks different versions of the song, and various covers, have dominated the Hot Tracks. But there is another release rustling in the bushes, flapping its wings, and starting to soar. French epic rock group Man Is Not A Bird — instantly recognizable to the Whyd community because our always-rational programmer moonlights as their banging drummer — dropped their new single "Sounds of Spring" last week, and held a concert on Wednesday in Paris to celebrate the release of a new joint album with the dark rock group Puzzle. “Sounds of Spring" is perfectly timed, and the catchiest song without vocals you’ll ever hear. Recently covered by Soundsearch, it is the culmination of a musical adventure, that builds on such MINAB classics as "Bringer of Rain and Seed." It destroys expectations, stereotypes, and pre-conceived notions like the first bud of a flower on a still-leafless tree. It is complete, harmonious, and an absolute pleasure to listen to. Get ready to fly.
Track of the Weekend #38: Daughter - “Get Lucky" (Daft Punk Cover)
When Daft Punk’s new track "Get Lucky" dropped a few weeks ago, it lit up Whyd like an errant cigarette butt in the southern Californian wilderness. Its popularity made Facebook feeds look like Whyd streams, as the whole world shared it, pushing it to heights never before seen for a single track (at least in our recent and not-scientific memories). Therefore it is no surprise that fellow musicians would riff on the French duo’s new anthem, and various covers of “Get Lucky" started to pop up. The most popular one actually managed to dethrone the original version to take the top spot for the majority of the week on the Hot Tracks: created by the English Indie group Daughter led by the haunting vocals of Elena Tonra, their cover of "Get Lucky" takes the spot as the Track of the Weekend, thanks to the extremely nice and rather tall Julien Pelletier. Enjoy!
Track of the Weekend #37: Daft Punk - “Get Lucky"
It’s been 8 long years since Daft Punk’s “Digital Love" consumed the entire world, and now the planetary icons have finally released a new single. What has transpired since then is like nothing that we’ve seen on Whyd ever before. Since the moment is was online it rocketed to #1 on the Hot Tracks and has stayed there, and as copies started popping up online, different versions popped up in the Hot Tracks too, with at one point various versions of the exact same song taking up 7 of the top 20 places in the hot tracks! There is clearly demand for the robot-masked French duo, and it is of couse the increasingly influential Alan Henry to thank for dropping "Get Lucky" on Whyd first.