"Man, If Life Was a Bicycle I'd Say That I'm Tryin' To Get My Pedal On"

This whole meshing of Indie and Hip Hop is a great thing. To me, Indie music is basically like saying an artist's style is original and different than all the other music that gets keyholed into genres. To be Indie, you almost have to have at least a mix of two different types of music or be nothing like anything you'd hear on the radio. Confusing enough of an explanation? Hopefully you get where I'm going with this as I try to set up a track originally done by @coldwarkids of their newest single Mine is Yours (obligatory iTunes link). I'd characterize it as a soft rock track where Cold War Kids lead singer Nathan Willett manages to croon you into a trance vocally over a soft piano laden backdrop. Real easy listening...

Cold War Kids - Mine is Yours (original version)

Seems like a whole lotta people seemed to feel the same way as other notable Indie acts like @PASSIONPIT and @OddBlood both took swings at the mellow out track. Not sure which I like better, but I'm leaning toward Yeasayer's synthesizers over Passion Pit's 80's sounding mix. You be the judge, both are 180s from the original and I don't think either fully did the original justice...

Cold War Kids - Mine is Yours (Passion Pit Remix)

Cold War Kids - Mine is Yours (Yeasayer Remix)

If you were wondering, I am saving the best for last because the Blended Babies mix of the original (without question) pulled off the best mix. Adding in some deep bass, a few well executed verses by @sirmichaelrocks, but still keeping the original hook was a great decision. When it comes to alternative Hip Hop, it's hard to do much better than the final product below, it's fresh on so many levels.

Cold War Kids feat Mikey Rocks - Mine is Yours (Blended Babies Remix)

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Buzz Track: Gilbere Forte - Dog Days Are Over (Yeasayer Remix)

Always cool when Hip Hop mixes with Indie and this is yet another reason why. Gilbere Forte, who recently jumped on remix of international hit Alors on Dance with Kanye, is an artist based out of Philly who is starting to make some noise with some of the material he's putting out. This time he borrows a sample of the huge hit Dog Days Are Over by Florence and the Machine. You may remember her extremely well executed performance at the VMAs that had everyone in awe of her beautiful song. See the video of their original song below...

Kinda cool too that Indie champions, Yeasayer were behind the creation of this remix, providing the Indie bridge needed to pull together the two different styles. The "leave all your lovin' your lovin' behind" sample that is featured on the remix fits perfectly with the beat and @gilbereforte does his thing with upbeat, well thought out and methodically delivered verses.If I were to compare his delivery to another artist, it would probably Travie McCoy who has a really clear delivery and coherent lyrics.

Give it a listen, it's got radio appeal, but it comes from artists you wouldn't necessarily know. Expand your musical tastes, it's good music that blends different sounds and furthers the reach of Hip Hop. You know I'm all about that, do it for me then...

Gilbere Forte - Dog Days Are Over (Yeasayer remix)
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Mikey-Mike's Indie Music Corner: Head Low, But You've Gotta Let it Sway...

A good friend of mine once told me that I only like songs about girls and crushes. I laughed, but he might have been right. This would go a long way towards explaining why I like Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin so much. They often sing about falling in and out of love and that wonderful rush that you get when you meet someone new.

Their first big break came in 2006, when the producers of The O.C. included their song Oregon Girl in one of the episodes. While I didn't often watch the show, I generally respected the music chosen. After all, I, like many, fell in love with the theme song upon first listen.

Their second break came when Chris Walla, famed producer and guitarist for indie-band Death Cab for Cutie, caught wind of the previously mentioned Oregon Girl. Legend has it that it soon became him and his girlfriends song, leading the Seattle native to reach out to the boys from Missouri, and they soon became pen pals.

Sidebar: To those of you familiar with Death Cab, the only song the band performs that wasn't written by lead singer Ben Gibbard is called Brothers on a Hotel Bed, and it was written by @JUMEX. It's hauntingly beautiful, right down to the title, exploring the idea of growing old with a companion, and fearing that you might not have what it takes to maintain the burning desire that you had when it began. Listen to it below...

Deathcab For Cutie - Brothers on a Hotel Bed
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Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin's debut record, Broom, was self-produced and released in 2005 . Very low-fi and full of potential, it was well received in the indie community. The previously mentioned Oregon Girl might have been the most popular song on the album, but it was I am Warm + Powerful that stood out the most. It's a song about relying too much on alcohol to foster your social life. A downer I know, (no pun intended), but its melodies and chorus showcase their ability to craft catchy pop songs, regardless of topic.

Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin - I am Warm & Powerful
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Their second record, Pershing, also self-produced, blew me away. I couldn't believe that a band so young could create such a strong record from start to finish, Oceanographer aside.

I gave the record an A-, as song after song kept me wanting more. Think I Wanna Die would have to be my favorite, as it combines a Van Morrison reference, dreams about sex with tigers, and the use of the word twee to emphasize an unrequited love, and none of it seems out of place. And Glue Girls, Heers, and Dead Right are all equally fantastic.

The guys just released their third record in August, titled Let it Sway, this time produced by Chris Walla, and I'm still trying to digest it. Their first single, titled Sink/Let it Sway, showed a ton of promise leading into the album. The lyrics keep in line with my boys Yeasayer with the positive message, stating, "head low, but you've gotta let it sway, no miracle is gonna happen when you feel that way." I love it, and I try my best to live it. Bad things are gonna happen to you; you can't control that, but you have complete control as to how you respond.

While the record didn't quite live up to expectations, Sink is fantastic, Made to Last and Bended both make it worth my while. I still have great hopes for these boys, and I firmly believe they could become a household name. That is, if their band name wasn't so damn hard to say...

Mikey-Mike's Indie Music Corner Debut: Yeasayer

Welcome, Ladies and Gentleman, to Mikey-Mike's Indie Music Corner! I'm here to get you up-to-date on all things Indie; I take the best of what's out there, and bring it to you in an easy to use, easy to access format. Think Sparknotes for hipster-trends!

I'm starting out with a bang folks, so I hope you like it!

Yeasayer is a band from Brooklyn, and they've been doing big things ever since their debut album, All Hour Cymbals, was released in 2007.

Here's a couple reasons why you might have heard of them:

First off, they opened on tour for MGMT, who as we all know, blew the f*** up.

Also, their song Sunrise was featured during the end-credits of an episode of Entourage. (The one where Vince's house gets broken into, and the guys freak out, getting guns and Ari's international security team to protect them.)

I'll admit, I wasn't always sold on Yeasayer, and sometimes I still have my doubts, but one thing's for sure, these guys make hits!

The first time I really took note of them was on the Dark Was The Night charity album. Designed to raise funds for HIV and AIDS, this double disk release featured a who's-who in indie pop; Sufjan Stevens, Bon Iver, The Dirty Projectors and Grizzly Bear all lent tracks, as did Ben Gibbard, Iron & Wine, and Feist.

Needless to say, this album was a big deal. But there was one song that I kept going back to, and it was Yeasayer's song Tightrope. It's incredibly catchy, and with empowering lyrics like "Wishing never solved a problem. If you want to get it big time / go ahead and get it, get it big time!", I was most definitely smitten. Give it a listen...

Yeasayer - Tightrope
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Cover Art for Odd Blood Album

Tightrope built quite the buzz leading up to their second album release, Odd Blood, and they didn't disappoint. The first single, Ambling Alp, showed that these guys were for real. Not only did Yeasayer make another indie hit, but they did so while telling the inspirational story of 1930's boxer Joe Louis, who became a political icon, in part, because of his defeat of Max Schmeling, the pride of Nazi Germany. Track below...

Yeasayer - Ambling Alp
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And last, but most definitely not least, is the song ONE. This song leaves me chanting the chorus every time. "No / You don't move me anymore. And I'm glad that you don't / 'cause I can't have you anymore." It seems to be about fighting an addiction, whether it be a former lover or a substance, I'm not sure, but I love it nonetheless.

Yeasayer - ONE
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In the end, I hope you give these BK boys a chance. They sing of standing up for what you believe in, and fighting to make your dreams come true, and as musicians, they've done exactly that.