It’s been a long year–exacerbated by a miserable economy, more war, the heightened threat of global warming—so take your mind off it all with the good that happened. Like, for instance, a year full of great music we posted!

Oh No Ono – Internet Warrior is one of those bands that manages to combine the hip sounds of disco and the new wave sounds of yore with a variety of different musical synth-dance melodies, infectious as they are danceable.

Russian Circles – Malko -  it’s also exciting to see what a band like Russian Circles is doing to bend the laws of musical physics, and always a mystery as to what’s going to happen on the way out.

Warpaint – Billy Holiday - Give in to reverb-heavy arpeggios draped overtop the dewy, luscious voices of Emily Kokal and Theresa Wayman. It’s easy to get lost in the stereo world of Warpaint’s sound.

Jogger -Gorilla Meat - one of those bands that proves hard to describe through praiseful adjectives. You’re sort of lost on an ocean of schizophrenic sound, where swells of jazz and blues and electronica intertwine with the indefinable, the somber and ethereal emotions of life.

State Radio -State of Georgia (Live Acoustic) – Their radio-friendly image will please many and perhaps drive away many others, but one need only listen to their new LP Let It Go to get a sense of the band’s diverse musical territory.

The Slits – Ask Ma – Around the time that The Runaways were proving girls could handle the big leagues of hard rock, The Slits went even further by embracing a more schizoid musical palette that extended far beyond the punk rock realm.

Revolting Cocks – I’m Not Gay - On their latest, Sex-O Olympic-O, Revolting Cocks re-establish themselves as pioneers of a genre all their own, while adapting, kind of, to that modern trend of re-hashing the sounds of industrial days past.

The Mary Onettes – Puzzles – Imagine a Swedish equivalent of The National on a diet of speed, Planet Earth DVDs, and 80’s guitar pop singles and you’ll have a vague idea of how amazing this is.

The Darlings – Teenage Girl – t’s rare that a band manages to masterfully merge the catchy hooks of yore with that je ne se qua indie sensibility and a bit of proto-punk abrasiveness (remember The MC5?)– but it proves to be a conglomeration of endearing traits which have already helped NYC’s own Darlings garner notoriety outside the city that never sleeps.

Bobby Evans and Freakazoid Robots – Them Jeans Remix – With a smash hit single, Freakazoid Robots, DJ Bobby Evans has created something modern, danceable, yet defiantly retro.

Peudo Slang – Bedouin – is the collaborative effort of Emcee Sick of Xtracts of Slang and producer Tone Atlas of Pseudo Intellectuals. Based in Buffalo and Chicago respectively, PS have been closely followed for almost a decade, garnering international praise and acclamation for creating music that steps outside the standard boundaries of contemporary rap.

Battlehooch – The Special Place – For any other band, it’d be unreasonable to say you want to be the first band to play on the moon, but for Battlehooch, it only seems natural.

The Jaguar Club – Beautiful House – The band has released 2 EP’s of danceable pop tunes and played shows up and down the Eastern seaboard from Maine to Florida. At home they have been thrilled to play with some very fine bands including: The Duke Spirit, The Cinematics, Scissors For Lefty and many more.

Ancient Astronauts – I Came Running – Their very name, “Ancient Astronauts,” implies a mash-up of the distant past and the far future; traits exemplified in their melding of old school hip hop, funk, and dub reggae with forward-thinking flair and production technique.

Thunderheist – Nothing 2 Step 2 – if you’re in the front row, expect to get wet. Thunderheist sweats Belvedere and Red Bull, and sprays more hooks than a heavyweight championship bout.

Balkan Beat Box – Nu-Made - blends electronic music with hard-edged folk music from North Africa, the Middle East, the Balkans and Eastern Europe…the natural reaction of passionate musicians that demand the erasure of political and geographical divisions in music.

These Arms are Snakes – Red Line Season – After seeing These Arms are Snakes at Red Eyed Fly in Austin, I now know why everyone I talked to said “I HAD TO SEE THEIR LIVE SHOW.” They were NOT lying. These Arms are Snakes have been touring for a long time, and it shows – they’re live show is ruckus, rowdy and tight.

Late of the Pier – Space and the Woods – Jack Paradise would like you to know that 2009 will have birthed the third coming of the “Summer of Love” and he personally would like to wish you “Happy Hunting.”

The Lords of Altamont – Named for the infamous speedway immortalized in the Rolling Stones concert film, Gimme Shelter, the Lords of Altamont evoke the feeling of psychedelic influenced, 60’s, biker culture. Their attitudes and attire are more reminiscent of the Steve McQueens of the motorcycle movie world, than say, the Peter Fondas.

Fitz and the Tantrums – They aren’t what you expect. Their melodic retro Motown/Soul infused rhythms keep the crowd guessing. Think Amy Winehouse on Orange Juice.

The Shackeltons – Your Movement – This band calls to the forefront an energy that has all but dissapeared in contemporary music in decades and somehow, bafflingly, they infuse pop into the cocktail without polluting this sweet and volatile mix.

CONTEST HAS ENDED. CONGRATULATIONS TO RONNIE CRUZ OF DURHAM NC FOR WINNING THE GRAND PRIZE. THANKS TO ALL THE PEOPLE WHO PLAYED!

ChinaShop in conjunction with Ninja Tune and Cinemin Swivel is hosting a contest where YOU can win cool shit all in the service of good fun. Thunderheist, a killer concoction of Hip-Hop and Dance Music have let loose on America and will be spending the next month converting naysayers up and down the west coast.

To launch this spectacular spectacular we are hosting a contest to give away the following good stuff:

• A Pair of Tickets for Each of the following shows:
  • Los Angeles (Friday Nov 13th – that’s right….tonight!)
  • Portland (Tuesday Nov 17th)
  • Seattle (Thursday Nov 19th)
• 5 Prize Packs that include Thunderheist CD, poster, buttons and more.
• And the GRAND PRIZE of a Cinemin Swivel USB Projector, a ridiculously cool mini accessory.

Here’s what you need to do to be a winner (for maybe the first time ever….come on son….you can do it!) Respond to us via email: info@chinashopmag.com the answers to the following 4 questions – all of which can be found somewhere on ChinaShop.

1. Tell us which PHOTO GALLERY on ChinaShop this image came from:

2. Tell us the NAME of the BAND that plays this song:

3. Tell us the TITLE of the movie that won the Cinevegas Grand Jury Prize in 2009.

4. Tell us the NAMES of all members of Thunderheist.

The FIRST person from Los Angeles, Portland and Seattle to each get the above 4 questions correct get 2 tickets to see Thunderheist play live in your city. The following 5 people (from anywhere in the continental US) who answer the 4 questions correctly get the prize packs. And everyone who enters by sending me the answers via email before 12 noon PST on Monday Nov 16th will be included in a drawing for the Grand Prize of the very trick Cinemin Swivel USB Projector. All winners to be announced Monday afternoon. Please make sure to include your full name and addresses in the answer emails for prize deliveries. Ticket winners will have tickets left at will-call at the venues in each city.

So come on! Its easy! Its fun! Start looking around the site and see what you find! And in the meantime here’s a little music to get you in the mood:

Thunderheist – Alias Remix of Little Booty Girl

The Red Bull Music Academy site has this very cool Radio station pop out player. You can listen to something like 1737 shows, all free! That is a lot of good stuff in one place. While perusing the lineup I noticed that the newest edition was with a band that ChinaShop has some love for, Thunderheist. Their smooth beats and fluid raps bring together two genres that generally mix like rain on some new suede shoes. However, the storm is coming! Listen to Thunderheist play Main Stage….Live at Melt! 2009.

thun/der/heist (thəndərhīst): The act of stealing someone’s thunder, to trump another with something far superior

Tag team Thunderheist – front woman Isis and soundsmith Grahm Zilla – drop from the top rope and hit the stage, over and over again. Sinuous swagger seeps from Zilla’s ominous basslines, while digi-horns blast the senses like homecoming marching bands and Moroder bears witness. Clutching the mic like a sceptre, African daughter Isis laces joints with lyrical angel dust, rich vocal foreplay brimming with braggadocio forte. You could be among thousands in a stadium, or intimate at your local bar… either way, if you’re in the front row, expect to get wet. Thunderheist sweats Belvedere and Red Bull, and sprays more hooks than a heavyweight championship bout.

Thunderheist – Nothing 2 Step 2

Who knew that an accidental MP3 upload would have birthed a phenomenon. Never having met in person, but electronically connected through common musical friends, Grahm and Isis began Thunderheist as a project to throw a wrench into static hip hop conventions and explore their love for the dancefloor. The results have become their narrative of contemporary music, doubtlessly drawing on established musical codes, but also venturing into uncharted waters. Thunderheist are far more than an electrorap act grounded in rap, bass, and electro, but are also entrenched in disco, funk and R&B, altogether crafting a new definition of future pop music.

A frequent flyer of the blogosphere with a rabid fanbase and increasing press steam, Thunderheist is gaining worldwide viral popularity. The band has toured regularly since their Eurythmics-inspired ‘Suenos Dulces’ hit the blogs in early 2007 and catapulted them into the underground club music limelight. Thunderheist have shared stages with Crystal Castles, The Black Ghosts, Plastic Little, Boy 8 Bit, XXXchange, and more, headlining three VICE tours (Sweden, US and Germany), playing major music festivals in Canada & US (SXSW, CMJ 07, VFest, Pop Montreal, Hillside) and performing regularly across Europe. The epic ballad, “Jerk It” came to life in a ‘cocktease’ of a top quality video directed by Seattle-based ThatGo, winners of a fan-video contest that’s garnered attention from dozens of blogs, tons of press mentions, NME.com coining them ‘Toronto’s shit-hot electro duo” and Pitchfork & Spin.com picks in Top Music Videos of 2008 lists. With the debut album ready to drop on Big Dada in Spring 09, it’s going to get even more hectic. Thunderheist is gaining speed and bandwidth, one byte / second, and heading straight for terra status. Get ready for it.

Thunderheist – Nothing 2 Step 2 (Idiotproof remix)