Tunes Tuesday, "Party Kids," Sallie Ford & The Sound Outside

I mentioned that Sallie Ford & The Sound Outside opened for Thao & The Get Down Stay Down last week (that's a lot of ampersands). I've been obsessed with Sallie Ford's  single "Party Kids" since then. Fans of Alabama Shakes will definitely want to press play.

Sallie Ford & The Sound Outside will release their second album, "Untamed Beast," on Feb. 19, 2013 on Partisan Records. "Party Kids" offers a preview of the album, recorded at Jackpot! Studios in the band's hometown of Portland, OR.

​Photo via Sallieford.com

Sallie's voice will knock you over, but even though she's singing about not giving a shit and knowing where the party's at, she still sounds more Portland cute than badass to me. Maybe it's because I saw her in person with her adorable retro glasses. Maybe it's because the lyrics mention "dancing in the living room, drinking white wine." Whatever it is, this song is rootsy fun.

Thao & The Get Down, Stay Down at Black Cat

This is embarrassing: I was totally focused on working on my R29 Thao Nguyen story, yet I neglected to buy tickets to her show at the Black Cat and it sold out! But there's a happy ending. My friend Carolyn was my indie rock fairy godmother and her boyfriend Alex graciously gave his ticket to me. So I got to see the show after all!

​They sounded so great, and played nearly all the songs on the new record. Thao really gave it her all. Plus, she busted out a Ludacris rap ("What's Your Fantasy"), and talked about her summer gigs pre-fame, like playing Potbelly restaurants all around NoVa and working as a bouncer at Guitar Center. The show ended with a rendition of The Ronettes' "Be My Baby" sung by both Thao and Sallie Ford, who opened the show with her band The Sound Outside. Really good vibes! 

Tunes Tuesday, "Kindness Be Conceived,"

​Thao Nguyen's music is always a must-listen for me, so it was thrilling to get to interview her for Refinery29! She's a NOVA native, a talented musician, an activist, and has a cool sense of humor to boot. Check out my interview with Thao at Refinery29, and if you wanna see Thao & The Get Down Stay Down on March 20 at the Black Cat, you better loiter outside looking for a ticket, because it's sold out now.

"Kindness Be Conceived" (featuring Joanna Newsom) is from the new Thao & The Get Down Stay Down album 'We The Common' out February 05, 2013 in North America and February 04, 2013 in rest of the world.

​In a collab dreamed up in indie music heaven, here's Thao and my fav Joanna Newsom singing on "Kindness Be Conceived," a track off Thao & The Get Down Stay Down's new album, We the Common. This song is lilting and California granola crunchy, and so pretty. But there's some rocking out on We the Common too. That's what I love about the album — all the songs sound so different, yet Thao's style is unmistakable.

Tunes Tuesday, "Drove Me Wild," Tegan and Sara

​Even though Tegan and Sara's new sound is synth-ier this time around for their new, seventh album Hearthrob, they're still singing about heart-wrenching breakups. 

Artist: Tegan and Sara Album: Heartthrob (2013) Download: http://www.filepup.net/files/NSMHXEP1359413665.html Tracklist: 01 -- Closer 02 -- Goodbye, Goodbye 03 -- I Was a Fool 04 -- I'm Not Your Hero 05 -- Drove Me Wild 06 -- How Come You Don't Want Me 07 -- I Couldn't Be Your Friend 08 -- Love They Say 09 -- Now I'm All Messed Up 10 -- Shock to Your System For promotional purposes only, if you like the album support the artist and buy it!

Seven albums...man, time flies. That's a lot of heartbreak. Who are all these mean girls? It's good for fans of Tegan & Sara's music I suppose. I love the fizziness of this new album, and although Closer is my favorite song, I'm picking "Drove Me Wild" as a close second. These are the sunniest tracks, lyrically. Just check out the song titles of some of the others: "I Couldn't Be Your Friend," "How Come You Don't Want Me," and "Now I'm All Messed Up." It's really a fun pop album though, I swear!

Tunes Tuesday, "New Beat," Toro y Moi

I love Spotify but I don't understand what's going on with it sometimes. I managed to disable the Facebook feature that adds every song you listen to the newsfeed — at least I think, and hope and pray. I don't want all my Facebook friends to know that I routinely listen to the same song 10 times in a row. And that sometimes it is a Taylor Swift song.

But beyond that, I haven't investigated the social media settings aside from occasionally checking my inbox. And this week, I clicked on this song, sent via my friend Serena's hip kid sister. I don't know how I came in possession of this, but here it is:

Second single from the Toro Y Moi full length "Underneath The Pine" out February 22nd on Carpark Records. www.toroymoi.com www.carparkrecords.com p + c 2011 Carpark Records

Toro y Moi just put out a new album, but after hearing this song, I was curious enough to download 2011's "Underneath the Pine" and I'm stuck with this one for now. I think "New Beat" should immediately be your new theme song. It has a confident strut, like the dude who knows he's the hottest person in the room. Don't you think? 

Tunes Tuesday, "You've Got Friends (Valentine's Day Mix Tape)," DJ Lani Love & Major Taylor

Yesterday, R29 ran a Best-of Valentine's Day guide I wrote that featured fun things to do this week for everyone, not just people who are coupled-up. Writing that got me genuinely excited about the holiday, which I haven't always been. Now I'm all about heart-shaped everything (as seen in my Eater DC article today).

Unfortunately, I think Valentine's Day can often be about comparing yourself to others, whether it's not being in a relationship and wanting to be in one, or stacking your relationship and V-Day gifts against other people's experiences. But why not have a day to celebrate love? This is sappy, yes, but I like the idea of appreciating what you have and the good friends who love you.

Brought to you by DJ Lani Love & Major Taylor Follow Major Taylor at djmajortaylor.com TRACKLIST 1. "Friends", Whodini 2. "We're Going to Be Friends", The White Stripes 3. "Just a Friend", Biz Markie 4. "Just Friends", Amy Winehouse 5. "With a Little Help from My Friends", The Beatles 6.

My Chicago friend DJ Lani Love's Valentine's Day mix celebrates not romantic love but friendship in all its forms. Fittingly, she collaborated with her friend, Major Taylor, to create this ode to friends who always have each other's back. I love the selections from LCD Soundsytem, Justice vs. Simian, White Stripes and Friends (the band). And I never remembered the "My Buddy" jingle being so operatic. Happy early Valentine's Day, and to quote Golden Girls, thank you for being a friend.