MP3: Unknown Mortal Orchestra – Swim and Sleep (Like А Shark)

Well, I’m off again this weekend to Champaign/Urbana, IL for the 8th annual Pygmalion Music Festival and this year promises to be the best yet, with performances from Grizzly Bear, Dirty Projectors, Dinosaur Jr., HUM, Best Coast and many more. One of my most anticipated acts is Unknown Mortal Orchestra who played a incendiary set at the festival just last year (so good enough they’ve asked them back for more). The Portland-via-New Zealand band just released the excllent first single from their upcoming LP and it’s an infectious psych-pop tune that sees the band moving towards a more polished, jangly sound.

MP3 Unknown Mortal Orchestra – Swim and Sleep (Like А Shark)

The iPhone 5 Ringtones Mix

As you may know, today is the official iPhone 5 release day and yes, I’m one of those dorks that got up in the middle of the night and waited in line to get my hands on the phone early, deal with it. In honor of the new device (which I’m completely loving, by the way, iOS6 Maps aside), I’ve made a mix of 18 tracks that make great ringtones, which you can download below for your own shiny new iPhone 5 (or your old, outdated iPhone 4S).

What makes a great ringtone track you say? Well, usually I gravitate towards upbeat songs with an ultra-catchy intro (although sometimes I prefer to use another part of the song, as I’ve noted below). To make it super-easy for you, I’ve included a tutorial on how to turn MP3s into Ringtones using just iTunes. Download the mix below and see the tutorial after the jump.

MP3 Phoenix – Consolation Prizes (intro)
MP3 M83 – Midnight City (intro)
MP3 Frank Ocean – Pyramids (begin at 1:12 when the electro synths come in)
MP3 New Order – Age of Consent (intro)
MP3 Jens Lekman – A Sweet Summer’s Night On Hammer Hill (intro)
MP3 Cut Copy – Feel The Love (intro)
MP3 Feist – Mushaboom (begin at chorus)
MP3 Cat Stevens – Here Comes By Baby (intro)
MP3 Kanye West – All Of The Lights (intro)
MP3 Curtis Mayfield – Move On Up (intro)
MP3 Beach House – Lazuli (begin at the “oh ohs” at :34)
MP3 Hot Chip – Boy From School (intro)
MP3 David Bowie – Sound and Vision (intro)
MP3 The Knife – Heartbeats (begin at drum fill at :42)
MP3 The Cure – In Between Days (intro)
MP3 M.I.A. – Bad Girls (intro or “chain hits my chest”)
MP3 Iggy & The Stooges – Search and Destroy (intro)
MP3 Daft Punk – Digital Love (begin at keyboard solo at 3:32)

Leave your favorite ringtone songs in the comments!

MP3: Bat For Lashes – Marilyn

After Grizzly Bear’s new album drops tomorrow, perhaps the most anticipated release of the year (at least round here) is Bat for Lashes third album, The Haunted Man. We’ve already heard the amazing “Laura” and now Natasha Khan has released another wonderful track which also takes its title from a girls first name and reflects on fame and stardom, “Marilyn”. It’s less somber tune then the lamentful, piano-led “Laura”, but no less emotionally charged with immense drums and bursting synths providing a vast canvas for Khan’s soaring, dramatic vocals. Download below.

MP3 Bat for Lashes – Marilyn

The Haunted Man is out 10/23 on Capitol.

Autumn (Or What It Feels Like To Fall) Vol. 3

After the record-breaking hot and humid summer we just had, Autumn and the cooler temperatures that come with it, is a most welcome change. Who doesn’t love pulling out their sweaters and scarfs, admiring the lovely shades of reds and yellows, and the smell of the bonfires and apple cider in the air? With the changing trees and temperatures, the music I most associate with the season is different too, focusing on the wistful, laid-back and mostly acoustic songs that wrap around you like a warm sweater. As we always do at Music For Ants, we’re proving a new mix of songs for you put on while you’re walking across the quad with leaves crunching under your feet or drinking your hot Pumpkin Spice Latte on the way to work in the morning. Download below or listen at Spotify. Enjoy!

MP3 A.C. Newman – I’m Not Talking
MP3 The Tallest Man On Earth – Little Brother
MP3 Memoryhouse – Heirloom
MP3 Father John Misty – Only Son Of The Ladies Man
MP3 The National – Exile Villify
MP3 Air Review – America’s Son
MP3 DIIV – Earthboy
MP3 Sharon Van Etten – Leonard
MP3 The Helio Sequence – October
MP3 Grizzly Bear – Gun-Shy
MP3 Wild Nothing – Through The Grass
MP3 Andrew Bird – Lusitania
MP3 Evans The Death – Letter Of Complaint
MP3 Sun Kil Moon – Among The Leaves
MP3 Bowerbirds – In The Yard
MP3 Band of Horses – Slow Cruel Hands Of Time
MP3 TW Walsh – Natural Causes
MP3 First Aid Kit – King of the World
MP3 The Walkmen – Song For Leigh
MP3 M. Ward – There’s A Key
MP3 Sarah Mary Chadwick – Fools Like Me
MP3 Farewell J.R. – A Thought, A Mind
MP3 Wilco – Rising Red Lung
MP3 The Mynabirds – Greatest Revenge

Download the full mix here: AutumnMix-Vol3.zip (177.99 MB)
Spotify Playlist: Autumn (Or What It Feels Like To Fall) Vol. 3

MP3: Peace – California Daze

As we’re quickly approaching autumn, Birmingham, UK quartet Peace delivers the perfect last hurrah for the summer season with”California Daze”. The track has a wistful, nostalgic vibe and not just because it sounds quite a bit like another English foursome. It’s just solid songwriting and a back-to-basics approach with fantastic guitar lines, vocal hooks and lovely harmonies. Check it out below.

MP3 Peace – California Daze

Top Music Videos of August ’12 (via SeenYourVideo.com)

Each month at our sister blog, Seen Your Video, we watch a ton of music videos and share the best ones with you. These are my five favorites for the month of August. Topping the list are compiled student drawings, gorgeous desert landscapes, bizarre birthday parties, trippy mirror effects, and some truly astonishing workplace etiquette. Watch the videos below!

5. Michael Andrews “Bubbles in Space” (dir. Josh Hassin)

4. Cave Painting “So Calm” (dir. Jimmy Ahlander & Robin Antiga)

3. 2 Chainz “Birthday Song” ft. Kanye West (dir. Andreas Nilsson)

2. JJ DOOM – Guv’nor (dir. Ninian Doff)

1. Antony and the Johnsons “Cut The World” (dir. Nabil)

HM:

Two Door Cinema Club “Sleep Alone” (dir. AB/CD/CD)
Japandroids “The House That Heaven Built” (dir. Jim Larson)
Benga “Pour Your Love” (dir. Guillaume Panariello)

Don’t forget to check out Seen Your Video for many more cool music videos.