We’ve kicked around having a page on the blog where we rate the albums that have come out over the course of the year, but it’s yet to come to fruition.  In some sense, it might not be entirely fair; my feelings about albums ebb and flow somewhat; what I hate today might sound better to me after some time has passed.

With that said, I am not to the point where I’m enjoying the new Cold War Kids album.  I was vocal about my dislike for Mine Is Yours when people would ask my opinion.  I read something where the band said that they were trying something new on this album, which I didn’t understand at all.  This album seemed far more centrist than their previous efforts, and the things that make Cold War Kids great – a certain ramshackle ambiance – was lost.

With the release of the album, different bands are trying their hands at remixing the title track; we talked about the Passion Pit remix of it not too long ago.  And then a few days ago The Fader released this remix of it from Yeasayer.  It pares the song down by a minute or so, adds the signature Yeasayer synth sound and leaves it at that. And I’ll leave it at that too.

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Cold War Kids // Mine is Yours (Yeasayer Remix) [mp3]

Here’s my first entry for our new In Brief series. I don’t have a lot to say about this track but I figured I would briefly mention the latest Cold War Kids release. Andy didn’t seem to think much of Mine Is Yours. While it’s certainly not as good as their own Robbers & Cowards, I think I may prefer it at this point to Loyalty to Loyalty. Then again I’ve only listened to it once. This remix has seen its way across the interweb and back, finding itself here at Tympanogram for those who may have missed it during its many travels.

Artist(s): Cold War Kids/Passion Pit
Track: Mine Is Yours (Passion Pit Remix)
File Under: Remixed Pop/Rock

[mp3] Cold War Kids // Mine Is Yours (Passion Pit Remix)

Cold War Kids have always toed the line between sacred and secular; while they don’t do it on every song, the band has never been afraid to employ lyrics containing references to Christianity.  While I certainly am more sensitive to it than most might be because of my background, they’ve never seemed to me to be particularly forceful about their personal beliefs.

“Royal Blue,” the first track from their forthcoming third album Mine Is Yours, doesn’t change that lyrical formula.  Cold War Kids haven’t started preaching hell, fire and brimstone to their listeners.  But there’s a certain liberation on display here – evidenced not just in the lyrics, but in the gospel feel of the music.  It’s a refreshing topical reboot from a band that has focused primarily on the underbelly of faith in the past.

Mine Is Yours is due out on January 24, 2011.  Before then, the band is heading out on a couple of brief tours – the first of which is solely in California, with the second focusing more on the East Coast.

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Cold War Kids – Royal Blue (mp3) from the forthcoming Mine Is Yours

It’s been 3 weeks exactly since I did an installment of this, so if you’re unfamiliar with my personal list, go here to check the whole thing out.  If you’re caught up, read on:

97. Blitzen Trapper – Furr (mp3) from Furr (4:08) [Time Remaining: 546:34]

Dave and I started this blog about 14 months ago now (if you couldn’t tell by all our references to it over the past month while talking up our birthday show) – and didn’t really have any idea about what the reception to it would be.  Early on – about 3 weeks after the blog went live, Blitzen Trapper came to Rochester, and we decided to see about getting an interview with anyone in the band.  The band’s manager Matt was nice enough to allow us some time – and the band was nice enough to comply – and make us feel like we weren’t wasting our time or theirs – even if it was painfully obvious that we might have been.  And for that, I’ll always be thankful.

Beyond that support from the band, their track “Furr” is a constant favorite of mine.  It lives in my girlfriend’s car on mix CDs I made her from 2008, and it comes on every so often when we’re driving, and I sing along heartily.  There’s not much else that anyone could ask for, really.  As a bonus, I’m putting up the version of “Furr” that they played that night we saw them because it sounds fantastic, albeit a little quiet.  Turn it up and sing along yourselves.

BONUS: Blitzen Trapper – Furr (Live at the Bug Jar, Rochester NY) (mp3)

98. Cold War Kids – Rubidoux (mp3) from Robbers & Cowards (4:16) [Time Remaining: 542:18]

This is my second and final track from Robbers & Cowards.  It’s probably not the most popular one, but I’ve always found it one of the more intense tracks on the album, and that’s why it finds itself here.  It’s a nervous, jumpy road-tripping track that makes me listen 2 or 3 times whenever I hear it.

I know there are many diverging opinions concerning Cold War Kids, not unlike those pertaining to Vampire Weekend. Put simply, I am a fan (of both really). Cold War Kids’ ‘Hospital Beds’ has been, is, and forever will be, one of my favorite songs and justly found its way into my 1000 Minutes. That said, I did not enjoy Loyalty to Loyalty. Something about the album was just off to me; a feeling lost from their first release. Upon listening to this EP I received a similar feeling as I did from Robbers and Cowards, and it pleased me. If I had to guess where LtL went wrong, I think it would be that I felt it to be an angrier record. The intonation of the lyrics and musical tone were a bit edgier. I think this EP finds the band in a calmer place, and it works better for me.

Cold War Kids – Santa Ana Winds from Behave Yourself EP

This is another good week for new music.  I’m most excited about the new Spoon album, but I’m also going to get the Eels album and the Surfer Blood album as well.  The new EP from Cold War Kids finally sees physical release as well, but if you don’t care about holding the music in your hands, you probably have had it since December.

Either way, we hope that there’s something out there that you’ll enjoy, even if you don’t agree with us.  And, if you’ve got an extra $330 laying around, we recommend the Miles Davis Columbia collection.  A couple of tracks are after the list, in case you forgot what Cold War Kids sound like or something.  Have a great week everyone.

2010 Grammy Nominees
Alice Soundtrack
Aziz Ansari – Intimate Moments For a Sensual Evening
Cold War Kids – Behave Yourself [EP]
Crazy Heart Soundtrack
Eels – End Times
Gretchen Wilson – Greatest Hits
Lindstrom & Christabelle – Real Life Is No Cool
Miles Davis – The Complete Columbia Album Collection
Motion City Soundtrack – My Dinosaur Life
RJD2 – The Colossus
South Memphis String Band – Home Sweet Home
Spoon – Transference
Surfer Blood – Astro Coast
The Hotrats – Turn Ons
The Len Price 3 – Pictures

Cold War Kids – Audience (mp3) from Behave Yourself EP

Spoon – Got Nuffin (mp3) from Transference

If you’re at all interested, I share my thoughts with the world at my personal Twitter page.  (Feel free to follow me, but be aware that you have to ask me first.  I’m generally pretty lax with who I let in on my constant stream of idiocy, though.)

Anyway, I was letting my iPod shuffle through yesterday because a) I was bored and b) because my iPod was so spectacular the day prior.  While listening yesterday, Cold War Kids’ “Against Privacy” came up, reminding me again of just how much I love it.

With that in mind, here’s a live version of the song from the 4-track EP they put out for this year’s Record Store Day entitled At Fingerprints.  There’s a bit more anguish/immediacy in this one than the version that ended up on the predictably underrated Loyalty to Loyalty.

Cold War Kids – Against Privacy (Live at Fingerprints) (mp3) from At Fingerprints

Today’s installment of my 1000 Minutes project – in addition to netting me marriage proposals via e-mail – is brought to you by the letter ‘C.’

35. Cold War Kids – Hair Down (mp3) from Robbers & Cowards (3:41) [Time Remaining: 800:38]

I can only imagine that, when this exercise has run it’s course, I’ll have relatively few songs on it which can’t be attributed some kind of memory to explain why it’s on my list. “Hair Down” is one of those relative few. I’ve loved this song on my headphones, in my car, whenever it finds me – but never because of an explicit recollection on my part.

Love – especially of the young variety – is a difficult emotion to explain. It’s often fleeting, more often misdirected, generally unreciprocated, and frequently an ultimately unpleasant experience. “Hair Down” is a melancholy remembrance of time spent with a past love – someone who brightened you in a very specific and memorable way. It’s regretful, wistful about the experience – a gentle reminder of the simplicity of how we all used to love when we were first learning how. And besides that, the song is downright fucking incredible.

36. Counting Crows – Round Here (Live) (mp3) from Across a Wire: Live in New York City (10:00) [Time Remaining: 790:38]

I’ve always been a fan of the way Adam Duritz sings his songs. He has an uncanny ability to communicate – at least to me – his feelings through his vocal inflection. In this particular version of “Round Here,” he sounds alternately overwhelmed, inconsolably weary and angry as hell.

I’d wax poetic about the song – how much it meant to me when I was 15 and looking desperately to balance myself out – to walk the line between the way I was being raised and the need to figure out what I personally thought. But really, everyone has that particular song; this one was just mine. And it’s still as heart-wrenching today as it was 15 years ago.

There’s a part of this version – a little more than halfway through, after he quiets the crowd down – where there’s some piano, and he starts singing again, where it really feels like he’s just telling me the story. I love that.

A couple things we’ve seen today that warrant a post.

- Have you seen the interactive video for Cold War Kids‘ “I’ve Seen Enough?”  No?  Well go and watch it at MTVMusic.  (Which is a redundant title for the website, if you ask me.)  You can switch the parts each band member plays, or shut them up altogether.

- Irish band Ash is releasing 26 songs over the course of the year, starting in September.  In anticipation, they’ve put a song up at their website for free – as long as you give them a valid e-mail address.  The song’s entitled “Return of White Rabbit,” and you can get it through the band’s official website.  I wonder if the songs for their singles project are already written, or if they’re restricting themselves to writing one song per two weeks.  That would seem to be a difficult task.

Ash – Sometimes (mp3) from Free All Angels

- The full length effort from Vampire Weekend/Ra Ra Riot electronic hybrid Discovery is set for release on July 7, NME is reporting.  Get some.

Discovery – Orange Shirt (mp3)

I’ve got some catching up to do so I’ll move straight into the music. That and I need to further digest the Lost season finale.

23. Cold War Kids – Hospital Beds (mp3) from Robbers & Cowards (4:39) [Time Remaining: 904:23]

I don’t have much to say about this song other than I’m a sucker for it. I love the repetitiveness of the pianos and I love the lyrics. I love the slow build and I don’t care how anyone else feels about this song.

24. Great Lake Swimmers – Your Rocky Spine (mp3) from Ongiara (3:36) [Time Remaining: 900:47]

Apparently all I wanted today was to write about two bands that have three-word names. But regarding the song, I’ve already waxed poetic about how beautiful it is(on two sites actually). If you want to read further concerning my feelings about this song, which I seriously doubt anyone will nor even cares about, you can search it in that little box on the upper right hand side of this page.

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