This week’s track is I Put a Spell on You by Nina Simone, mixed by MiM0SA. There’s so much to say, yet so little. I think the best way to approach this song is historically. Originally recording by Screamin’ Jay Hawkin in 1956, then covered by various people over the years in various styles. From Nina Simone in 1965, to  CCR in 1968, to the first dance versions by Sonique in 2000. This week’s track is a 2010 remix of Nina Simone’s take, mixing Simone’s classic vocals and haunting intro with banging dubstep breaks. It’s worth taking a run through all the covers of the song, they’re all so different and specific.

This week’s track is The Bay by Metronomy off of English Rivera. Surprisingly, this is Metronomy’s first appearance on TOTW. I’d originally come across them with a free iTunes download of Heartbreak from their Nights Out EP. Half lo-fi, half electronica, they have a very unique and original sound that is hugely different from album to album. The Bay may not where you want to be right now as it’s the middle of May and it’s raining, but hopefully this little track will help get you through the day. As seems to be the tradition on track of the week, The Bay is the most upbeat and high tempo track from the album. I’m not entirely sure what the song is about, but it’s totally possible it’s about the San Francisco Bay Area since the lyrics are quite clear what it’s not.

This week’s track is Meet Around 10 by Film School off of Fission. A local SF band, I first heard Film School at Cafe du Nord tagging along for a 40 in 52 show about a month ago (back in the long forgotten days of when I wasn’t a work robot). They rocked the set with confetti, a laser light show as well as glow sticks (felt very 2000). Meet Around 10 was the last song before their encore and it’s interesting to hear the recorded version versus the live version. I think the YouTube of the live version is taken off the soundboard so you don’t get the environmental rock-out-feel that the band has live. The track is super fun and the album is a bit lo-fi, a bit rock, with a healthy dose of production.

This week’s track is Raise Your Weapon (Switch Fusion Remix), by Deadmau5. Track of the week has had a dearth of trance and house, so in an attempt to go back to some of track of the week’s roots, this week’s track is a great little melodic garage/grime song. The original Deadmau5 track is much more house-y and progressive and moves idly through the lyrics over a set of synths and pianos (with some breaks, too). The Switch Fusion remix pumps up the BPM, throws on a bunch of dubstep love, and shortens the track up. Something to get you moving on an otherwise hum-drum Tuesday.

This week’s track is Rolling In The Deep by Adele off of 21. I’m a bit late to the Adele game and this is her sophomore album and this song has been tracking in the charts for a while. The entire album is worth a listen, but I picked Rolling In The Deep as it’s the lead single and it’s a quick way to ease yourself in to Adele’s sound. Adele’s delivery harks of another generation, something very soulful, almost leathery yet fresh. British in its style, but younger and less self loathing than Amy Winehouse. There’s something fantastic happening in the British female singer-songwriter universe right now, Ellie Goulding and now Adele, they’re getting something right over there.

This week’s track goes back in time to visit Through The Wire by Kanye West off of The College Dropout. Through The Wire was Kanye’s breakout single, launching him from celebrated producer to what would become one of the biggest names in rap. The story of the track is fairly infamous, recorded two weeks after a nearly fatal car accident with his jaw wired shut. You can hear his voice muffled talking through inflamed cheeks. The first few Kanye albums, starting with The College Dropout were all classics, with him moving more and more mainstream. I still recall Kanye as a producer, producing Common’s Be and Finding Forever, production on Talib Kweli’s In The Mood, vocals and production on Dilated People’s This Way (a fantastic track) and of course all the work on various Jay Z’s albums. A seriously talented guy.

This week’s track is This Is Why We Fight by The Decemberists off of The King Is Dead. I first heard this song on Live 105 which surprised me given their typically repetitive playlist. The song is really quite unlike any of the other songs on The King is Dead. The albums has most of a country/folk sound to it and isn’t really that poppy. The album is good and it’s without a doubt worth a listen, but This Is Why We Fight is probably the most accessible song off of the album.

This week’s track is a bit of a choose your own adventure. You can pick from My Life by The Game, off of LAX, or My Life as covered by jj off of jj no 3. As simple as that, you have a choice: do you want the hardscrabble, mean-streets, the-world-is-f’ed-but-The-Game-made it version or do you a Swedish duo singing in a dream-pop and drifty way that “They say you ain’t grindin’ until you die”. The track as originally recorded by The Game for the album LAX, and was recently covered by jj on their jj no 3 album. Both versions of the song keep the same lyrics but take a radically different way of delivering them. jj did this before on jj no 2 and it’s a fun trick. You don’t often hear hard-core rap covered by dream-pop bands, and it’s something I think we need to see more of.