Hey Saybrook,

My name is R.J. Rico (’12) and I’m gonna be writing a weekly music post on this site. Maybe I’ll come up with a witty, ironic title, but for now, let’s just call it R.J.’s Picks. With these posts I have two goals:

1. To expose you to great (and oftentimes new) indie, dance, and rap tracks. There will be songs from new bands most people haven’t heard of, and cool remixes/mashups of standard party songs for your next suite party. You don’t have to be a hipster just to read this!

2. To keep you updated with the local concert calendar. Believe it or not, there are other places to go besides Toad’s. Every week, there are awesome concerts in NYC, which is only an hour and a half away by train. I made 5 trips there last year and right now, already have plans for 3 this semester. It’s a great way to take a break with friends and just get out of New Haven for the night (until you return dead tired around 2 am).

So before I give you this week’s four picks, here’s a little bit about my tastes in music. My favorite genre is definitely British indie, which ranges from Bloc Party (by far my favorite band) to The Libertines to Franz Ferdinand. Besides that, I love dance music: MSTRKRFT, Justice, Daft Punk, The Hood Internet, etc. My favorite rappers are Lupe Fiasco and Wale. And being from LA, I’ve grown up on the “chill” alternative scene: Red Hot Chili Peppers, Foo Fighters, Jack Johnson, and Death Cab for Cutie. Okay, enough about what I like…here’s some stuff I’ll hope you’ll like. (Note: you can download the songs by clicking on the link and following a few steps, but I encourage you to legally download the rest of these artists’ works if you are looking for more.)

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1. The xx: “Crystalised”

This band is the hottest thing on the blogosphere right now. With a female vocalist, a male backup singer, and some minimalist guitars, this British (note the spelling of this song’s title) band has created a unique and dark, yet catchy atmosphere. Their album just launched this past week and mine’s already in the mail. Hopefully, yours will be to after listening to this tune.

2. Tiesto: “Knock You Out” feat. Emily Haynes

Here’s a taste of the newest album from Europe’s biggest DJ, Tiesto. It gives you the feeling that you’re in Ibiza or some other random Mediterranean city, with nothing to do but to go to a 100,000 person music festival.

3. Blue Scholars: “HI-808″

Although Blue Scholars may not make the catchy, loud hip-hop that we hear during the weekends, they make some great, smooth beats that are good for any time of day. 808 is Honolulu’s area code and this song is a tribute to Hawaii, “the best damn place in the world [besides Saybrook, of course] to wake up,” as the Scholars say. Here’s a look at their new EP.

4. The Hood Internet: “Cult Logic Forever” (Drake vs. Miike Snow)

This DJ duo injects a dose of hyper danceability into Drake’s hit “Forever.” Who doesn’t love a song that has a guy saying “last name ever, first name greatest”? Hopefully, you had a chance to catch the Hood Internet in Commons last winter for what was almost the best concert of the year (its tough to beat Spring Fling).

The Local Concert Calendar

Each week, I’ll update you on notable shows that have been announced so you can get tickets in time. There are too many to list, but this site has a great calendar: http://www.bowerypresents.com/fullcalendar.

Notable mentions (all of the following still have tickets available):

Peter Bjorn and John (Nov 9 and 10)
Deadmau5 (Nov 25)
Friendly Fires and The xx (Dec. 5)…two great upstart British bands.
Arctic Monkeys (Dec. 10 and 11)
Passion Pit (Jan. 8, 9, 10)…right before the 2nd semester starts!
Cold War Kids (Jan. 29)

One final note: please give me feedback! Love a certain song? Hate another one? Want to hear recommendations of similar artists? Want to suggest a name for my blog posts?

Have a great week.

R.J.