You’d think that for my February mix I’d be going for romantic love songs (not that there aren’t any in this) as the main focus of this mix, but I’ve had this in the works a lot longer than I’ve been thinking about Valentine’s Day.

On Boys and Monsters is the first semi-themed mix I’ve made in a while: The theme is basically the struggle of boys becoming men (or never becoming men) and what being a man entails. Along the way, the boys will either meet monsters or become them. Not all monsters are beasts (but some are) and confronting the human monsters may be even more perilous.

Unfortunately not all of the tracks on the mix fit the theme, but a good number do. Please keep in mind that it is primarily a mix of tracks I’ve been enjoying a lot lately. I’ve posted some of these songs before, but I think that you might enjoy them more in context of this mix I’ve concocted. 

So without further ado, On Boys and Monsters: 

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1. O…Saya – A.R. Rahman featuring M.I.A.
    The way Rahman melds Indian and Western styles of music to create this track makes not only a great piece of music for a film like Slumdog Millionaire, but a track that can be enjoyed by any fan of electronic music or M.I.A. The few lyrics of the song sung by M.I.A. are youthful in hope for something better. I imagine that since she wrote the lyrics for the film that it is from the perspective of (Slumdog’s main character) Jamal as a little boy hoping for future stardom and success. 
    
2. Big Boy (SSION’s Bang Bang Remix) - Jeppe
   Let’s make one thing clear: I really don’t know what this song is about. I don’t get what Jeppe means by “big boy” and why he wanted “you” to feel like he does. It might be about stardom, it might be about being cool, and it might just be about the size of a guy’s – well – junk. What I do know is that this remix is fantastically put together; it elevates “Big Boy” from a post 80s electropop track to a full-fledged dance-pop masterpiece. Maybe that’s why when you search for this song on the internet you’ll find the remix more than the original. The second of silence before the final chorus of the song is genius. Jeppe is a Danish singer who was formerly one half of the pop duo, Junior Senior. Don’t forget to check out his new single, “Lucky Boy” on iTunes.
    
3. Dont Trust Me - 3OH!3 
    Here’s an excerpt from my post about this track: “When I first heard “Don’t Trust Me” by 3OH!3 I thought it was a Metro Station track (I know), but after a while I realized that it couldn’t be: it had a sense of humor. [Evidence:"Tell your boyfriend, if he says he's got beef, that I'm a vegetarian and I'm not fucking scared of him!" + the chorus.]  ’Cause as much as I enjoy the insipid electropop of Metro Station, it really is very serious when it shouldn’t be. But this “hip-hop” duo from Boulder, Colorado gets it. Obviously. The song is really catchy.It totally meets the electro revival in pop, without taking itself too seriously.” In terms of the mix, I think this song would fall under the boys who never grow up (in maturity, not some sort of supernatural thing) category. Boys sometimes just stay boys (see: the Helen Keller bit). 
    
    
4. Meddle - Little Boots
   This song shows exactly why Little Boots is Britain’s next sensation. “Meddle” has an unforgettable driving beat that is nicely complimented by her seductive vocals. It also contains a male choir that further illuminates the ominous lyrics and sounds incredibly unique. This song fits into the monster category of the mix. But take a closer listen. Who is the monster: the insensitive boy or the girl with a secret? When the song begins one assumes that the singer/narrator is warning the boy to stay away for the emotional protection of the girl, but as the song progresses one wonders if she is warning him of some threat the girl may pose. “You don’t know what she hides,” she croons. The sonic construction of the track is interesting, but what makes it exceptional is the subject matter.
     
    
5. Nothing To Worry About - Peter Bjorn & John
   This is the PB&J song that was debuted on KANYE WEST’S BLOG and made almost every music blog burst with praise. And I’m here to jump on the bandwagon. This track proves that Peter Bjorn & John aren’t a one-trick pony; that the brilliance of their infamous “whistling song” (“Young Folks”) isn’t luck. The track is laden with a chant choir made of children with a heavy (and surprisingly unbelievable) beat and familiar beautifully atonal vocals. Since I haven’t found a correct version of the lyrics in the vast internet, I’ll take a cue from the guys and not worry too much about it. What I do know is that they are telling someone off with this track. I assume it is either someone on a position of power that subscribes to trouble or a woman who’s scorned them; this is most apparent in the second verse: “you must have something in you that turns boys to men and then back again. This fits in with the mix as an instance where the boy overcomes a monster by creating his own, albeit potentially flawed, set of values. I’d wager to say that this is a step toward being a man, but not the ultimate revolution.
        

    

6. Help I’m Alive - Metric
   Here’s some of my original post about this song: ” ‘Help, I’m Alive’ is the first single off of Metric’s new album, Fantasies. This song reminds me of a great alternative track from the 90s (not a bad thing, people). Let’s just say this band knows how to build toward a chorus: frantic guitar and drums surge into a clean electric guitar that drives the chorus. And how catchy is the “beating like a hammer” bit?” The line “they’re gonna eat me alive” makes me think that this song seems to be about anxiety about making some sort of proclamation or performance.  I’m not sure how this song fits in to the mix. I could say that doing something like this could be a formative part in the development of a boy into a man, but that’d be a mighty stretch. I just love this song.    

    

7. No You Girls - Franz Ferdinand
    Yet another gem from Franz Ferdinand’s newest album, Tonight. I can’t decide if I like this or “Ulysses” more, but I’m just glad that they’ve made the shift to a more dance-rock oriented style. [Like for any existing band who takes a new direction - I've read a lot of reviews saying that they've "sold-out". (Thank the 80s for that amazing catchfrase.) Hogwash, I say. If you have a band that makes the same album over and over it only shows that they're pretty talentless and not creative enough to challenge themselves to take musical risks.] This song is fantastically catchy and fits perfectly into this mix; in fact, this is one of the songs that made me decide the title of this mix. Like 3OH!3’s track, it’s about a boy who won’t grow up. It’s an interesting track because it’s basically the anthem for hooking up. I love that the chorus changes from “No, you girls never know how you make a boy feel” to “No, you dirty boys never care about how the girl feels” after the bridge. Because as much as some guys like to pretend they’re men, a lot are just going to be “dirty boys” forever.     

   
   

8. Sugar - The Orion Experience
   The Orion Experience isn’t your typical indie pop rock group. While “Sugar“, a sublime cut off their 2008 Heartbreaker EP, has everything that a charming indie pop song should have – a great melody, handclaps, and layered interplay between female and male vocals – it contains something the others don’t: bite. Listen to the track again and you’ll find guitar licks that could have been lifted from an early 90s rock band (and that’s not an insult), not to mention the brilliance of the drumwork. The track is basically and extended metaphor where the girl that the singer is involved with is sugar – sweet and delicious, but equally unhealthy and dangerous. This song doesn’t really fit in to the mix completely, but I think most everyone experiences a relationship like this, more about satisfying an urge than anything else.     

   
   

9. Kalifornia - The Subways
    It’s refreshing to hear a straight pop-rock track without any gimmicks. It’s just a band playing a great pop song featuring heavy electric guitars. This song is fantastic portrayal of the ugly underbelly of California – a place typically pegged as a paradise. Leave it to a British band to write a song about it.     

   
   

10. Daddy’s Gone - Glasvegas
    I’ve been obsessed with this track since I first heard it. The construction of it is gorgeous: I don’t think I’ve ever heard a tambourine work with an electric guitar better than it does here. What really enamored me with the song is James Allan’s vocals. The thick Scottish accent coupled with his perfect modern rock delivery made me love this cut and, in turn, this band. I think this song is essential to the mix. Sometimes a boy’s hero – his father – can be the greatest monster he’ll ever have to face, or (in this case) never truly face. The choice between overcoming or dwelling on/repeating the example of abandonment by his father is what would make this boy either a man or a perpetual child.     

    
    

11. The Rake’s Song - The Decemberists
     The Decemberists show a bit more of a rock edge on this track employing pulsing drums and a simple-yet-effective electric guitar. “The Rake’s Song” continues The Decemberists masterful style of storytelling through music. Here we meet an absolute monster through the “humble narrator” of the song. A man person so afraid of responsibilities and commitment that he opts to rid himself of them in the vilest way possible. Here’s the thing, though: a boy has “nothing to worry about” – no responsibilities, nothing to care for save his toy collection. Does this mean that if man makes a conscious decision to return to a lack of responsibilities doesn’t make him a boy again, but a monster? Sometimes.    

    
    

12. Never Had Nobody Like You (Featuring Zooey Deschanel) - M. Ward
    Sometimes what helps a boy become a man is a good woman. M.Ward channels this sentiment in his first single from Hold Time with additional vocals by his She and Him bandmate, Zooey Deschanel. He doesn’t shy away from saying that before he’d met his lady, he was a crazy boy and although he has good stories to tell, he’s just happy having her. Sometimes our love life can destroy all what we’ve worked to become and sometimes we grow with the ones we’re with. I’m glad people still write about the latter. I really enjoy the classic rock style that M.Ward dons -it still has twinges of Blues. Astounding.    

     

13. Time to Pretend (MGMT Cover) - Knatterjak
     I found this track through Pretty Much Amazing and I’m very glad I did. Knatterjak strips down the famous MGMT song to create an introspective version that shows exactly how cynical it really is. (I forget sometimes because of the original’s peppy melody and driving beat.) In terms of the mix, the song tells the tale of a boy who decides to be a rock star and remain a boy to avoid suburban hell/”the morning commute”. The decision “to live fast and die young” is irresponsible, but it hardly creates a monster. Maybe the jump from boy to monster is a conscious decision. However, deciding to be a perpetual boy doesn’t end well either. I think the point that the guys from MGMT are trying to say that though the life of a rock star seems glamorous to a boy who doesn’t grow up, it forces them to stunt their growth forever. They’re “fated to pretend” that they’ll always be careless boys – worshippers of Pan – Peter Pan, that is.
    
    
14. Move You - Anya Marina
    When I started listening to this song I thought “oh great, another Nora Jones wannabe” but I was pleasantly surprised when the song picked up after the first chorus. Although it’s not the catchiest track in the world, it’s a solid single that’s very enjoyable. I like the flat beat she’s used, it’s uncommon cause it doesn’t sound like a processed beat. As for it’s place in the mix: I think this goes with the M.Ward track about how a good woman can make a boy a man. In this case by “moving” him around.     

     

15. Train Song - Feist and Ben Gibbard
    I heard the original Vashti Bunyan track after I had heard this and I must say that Bunyan’s version has a more haunting quality that isn’t exactly missing here – but it’s different. However, if anyone was to cover this track I’m glad it was these two; because a) I thought a collaboration between them would be fantastic and b) Feist is one of  the few modern female vocalists that has a commanding yet ethereal quality like Bunyan’s. The song is hopeful and eerily affecting I think it’s the brilliant melody.    

     

16. Furr - Blitzen Trapper
    This is the song that gave birth to the idea of the mix. “Furr” is a poignant folk tale of a boy turned monster and then turned man through love. Here’s the catch though: the monster he turns into is not a human one, but a beast – a wolf. I’ve never heard of werewolves handled like this. Usually this theme is in a big “epic” rock track by some Eastern European goth-chick group like HIM. (Not that I don’t like that band, but they’re pretty campy. This isn’t.)
          

17. Curs In the Weeds - Horse Feathers
    I thought this would be a great follow-up to the last song. (Look at the title). Here’s an exerpt from my post about it: “This track has a gorgeous string arrangement that, like the rest of the song, has a simple elegance. Horse Feathers creates a simple and warm folk sound that would make Bon Iver jealous. Justin Ringle’s crisp yet soft vocals entrances the listener while making him feel at ease. (Not many voices can do that. I think only  Sufjan Stevens’ voice  that has the same capacity.)”     

    
    

18. What The Thunder Said - Grace Gabriel
    This song entrances me every time I listen to it. The closing track off of Gabriel’s Striking the Match EP, ”What The Thunder Said” is a slow burning track that has one of the most simultaneously gorgeous and melancholy melodies I’ve heard. An obvious reference to the final section of T.S. Eliot’s brilliant poem, “The Waste Land”, “Thunder” holds other allusions to the poem. The song deals with seasons changing like the opening lines of the first part poem, “The Burial of the Dead”. The chorus and closing bits with the guitar are incredibly powerful. I hope you think so too.    

     

19. Woods - Bon Iver
    Woods” took me by surprise. I didn’t expect Bon Iver to fall into the autotune effect and use it so well. It’s like Kanye West meets Imogen Heap and channeled through Bon Iver. It’s a great experiment – not many songs can get away with repeating the same few lines over and over without any music without being annoying. This track only makes me like Bon Iver more because it shows Justin Vernon isn’t afraid to take risks – and taking musical risks is the mark of a true artist.      

    [Download the entire mix by clicking here or the link above!]

    Enjoy!

    Did you enjoy On Boys and Monsters? Please leave me a comment with your reactions about your favorite tracks and how well you think the theme worked. Thanks!