If It's Too Loud...

Photo by Olga Blackbird An artist is going to grab my attention any time they list Sonic Youth, The Velvet Underground, The Cure, and Cat Power as influences. The latest from Berlin based artist Kitty Solaris sounds like all and none of those influences. "James Bond" definitely has a little bit of the retro cool of The Velvet Underground and the dark New Wave of The Cure, but the Sonic Youth and Cat Power sound is a little bit harder to make out. It never quite hits that full out chaotic noise burst you associate with Sonic Youth, but it shares the guitar work of some of their quieter releases. "James Bond" shows off Kitty Solaris' ability to combine indie rock and alt-pop in a way that sounds unlike anyone but her. You can watch the video for "James Bond" below. James Bond , the album, is due out July 19 on Solaris Empire. For more on Kitty Solaris, check out the artist on  Instagram and Facebook .

With Sceptre out in the United States today (hooray!), I thought it might be fun to revisit this little piece of nostalgia from 1997, David Arnold's Bond theme cover project, Shaken and Stirred . Remember, 1997 was the height of the electronica boom, and David Arnold had scored a number of films in the past and was a big Bond fan. So he reworked some of the Bond themes and songs electronically, added some interesting vocalists to the mix, and released this compilation. The album itself became a hit, especially in the United Kingdom, and led to David Arnold being tapped to score a number of Bond movies following this release. This wasn't on Spotify back when Skyfall came out, so I'm glad that it's finally been posted . The whole thing might feel a tad bit dated nearly 20 years later, but I'll say this much: Aimee Mann's take on "Nobody Does it Better" rivals the original, Leftfield's contribution to "Space March" still holds up t...

I am super excited about the new James Bond movie coming out on Friday. I've been a fan of the series for as long as I can remember, Daniel Craig is probably my favorite Bond at this point, and Sceptre is basically something I am heavily looking forward to seeing as soon as I can. What else is great about the Bond movies are the theme songs. Yeah, some are pretty rough, but others are actually really solid. So what better way to present an often-rare Monday Mix than via a completely subjective ranking of the Bond themes. The countdown, as well as the Spotify playlist, is worst to first. Enjoy! 23) Gladys Knight - " License to Kill ": One of the few Bond themes not on Spotify (thus the tribute in the playlist and the YouTube link here), the fault of this one is how uninspired it sounds as well as how poorly it holds up over time. Gladys Knight deserved better. 22) Madonna - "Die Another Day": I typically look fondly upon Madonna's full dive into...