Holy shit! New Strokes songs! Well two of them…to me at least. These demo surfaced after being buried for years in the interwebs. “Rhythm Song” seems to be a demo pre Is This It? Which explains it’s fucking AWESOME rawness, which the Strokes built their reputation around. Julian’s powerful vocals, Nik’s ridiculous riffs, getting lost in Nikolai’s basslines, Fabio’s perfect drumming, and Albert keeping it all together. Old rockin’ Strokes. Not that I’m hating on the new Strokes. It’s all just different.
The Strokes – Rhythm Song

“Hawaii Aloha” sounds like something that would be life changing live. When I first saw them at Outside Lands ’10, the crowd was pushing and shoving each other all over the place. No rules. No one cared. Singing at the top of their longs. It was the Strokes first time back in California in almost 5 years. This song reminds me of that.
The Strokes – Hawaii Aloha

“I’ll Try Anything Once” is a slower, serious, more intimate version of “You Only Live Once,” the track that got me into the lifestyle and procured the creation of YOLO. Very beautiful track that defies the Strokes we’re used to getting. I love these guys…
The Strokes – I’ll Try Anything Once

Click for the Full album

Finally got to meet the kids behind the bar after all these years, and these guys did work! Rocked Control Avalon like they were the headlining act. Didn’t hold back and threw down a hard electro set for a venue packed with disco house loving Treasure Fingers fans. They didn’t miss a beat and had the personalities to match. Here’s how it went:

First off…get at this video I got to get a taste of what their set was.

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We always make it a point to go to as many shows as possible, documenting for ourselves and everyone interested. The pictures started piling in in full force upon the addition of Philip Mendoza to the team, and I couldn’t be more happy about it! I love looking at event pictures and to have someone with us who shoots at the level he does is a dream. As the library of pictures and videos has been building the past year, it’s time to look back at the most epic of them all! Definitely going to make a point to shoot more rock shows in 2012. Check ’em out after the jump…

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12FV

Looking back on everything that came out last year made it that much more apparent that 2011 will solidify itself as one of the best years for music in the past decade. Electronic artists finally putting out full albums made this list an all around keeper. Takes me back to 2007 when Justice, Soulwax, Boys Noize and others set the bar for solid electronic albums. Here are the picks for best of 2011. Happy new year everyone!

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12FV

EPs (extended play) were in steady flow this year. They’ve been more common for DJs trying to find their niche in different subgenres, but that didn’t keep indie/rock artists teasing us with little samplers before releasing an album. Given the success of these EPs, it’s safe to say we can expect bigger things from these cats in 2012:

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left to right: witler, chronic mncher, skinny genes, phil mendoza, +Jangbar
French Horn Rebellion – Beaches and Friends (The Twelves Radio Edit)

We haven’t done a contest in awhile, and it’s a time of giving, so we figured it would be a good time for us to appreciate our readers. If you’ve been following us at all, you know how much we love good music, going to shows, and meeting like-minded people. This contest is going to satisfy all of that! Kinda sucks that this is probably going to be limited to our OC/LA/SD readers, because we wish we could fly you in from wherever. In a perfect world, we totally would…Onto the goods after the jump.

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12FV

Merry Christmas to all of y’all who celebrate it! I love those days where people just by default let go of all worries and just appreciate being alive and with their friends and family, this being one of those days. I wish it would happen more often, but it makes it that much more special when it does. But yes! On to the music! Saw Treasure Fingers and interviewed Kids at the Bar Friday AND bought a ticket to UMF off impulse…but I can explain. Our year end lists are coming soon too, so check back to see what’s good. Excited for the future! Enjoy #75:

YOLO75

^click for whole list

Kisses – Kisses (Indie/Pop)
Kisses – Bermuda (Indie/Pop)
The Killers – Smile Like You Mean It (Madeon Remix) (Dance)
Nero – Reaching Out (Fred Falke Remix) (Disco House)
Skrillex – The Devil’s Den (ft. Wolfgang Gartner) (Electro House/Dubstep)
Skrillex – Breathe ft. Krewella (Vocal Edit) (Dubstep)
Madeon – For You (Dance)
Star Slinger – We Found Love (Star Slinger Refix) (Alternative)
Jonwayne – Andrew (Hip Hop/Dub)

**Oh also really quick thing about that Jonwayne track: the guy took sounds and samples from Super Mario and used them to make the whole album titled Bowser. He calls it “Bowserstep” haha which is pretty chill! Mario is the shit.