By far, my favourite musical release of the summer has been The Great Gatsby soundtrack. I went to the theatre with a fair bit of trepidation. I’d gotten my hopes up that the film was going to be outstanding. The casting seemed phenomenal and the costumes looked amazing. But, having loved the book dearly for a long time, I feared it might not live up to my expectations. Luckily, I worried for not.

The film was great, but the soundtrack, oh the soundtrack! I’ve been listening to it on repeat all summer, so I’m a little sheepish that I haven’t written about it already.

(You can listen track by track; there are links in the comments of the video).

Jay-Z is the album’s executive producer and while it surprises lots of people, I love Jay-Z. The soundtrack is an amazing pastiche of 1920s music with an infusion of funk, dance, & hip hop. Throughout the whole film I couldn’t help but be my amazed by how many big names are on it, from Lana del Ray to Nero, and will.i.am to the xx. I think there’s probably at least one track for everyone. It’s truly a rhapsodic mashup that enhances the larger-than-life spectacle of the film.

Some of my favourite tracks are Crazy in Love, Bang Bang, & A Little Party Never Killed Nobody.

Do you love the Gatsby soundtrack as much as I do? What’s been your favourite musical release this summer?

Bebop & hip hop,

There’s hardly any Monday left & I’m about to tuck myself into bed so I don’t have much to say but I didn’t want to miss another week of sharing fab tunes with you.

I should really just have my friend Meagan writing this column since my new music usually comes at her suggestion and Javelin is no exception.

Pitchfork described Javelin as “an expanding pack of artists whose idea of composition more closely resembled a ransom note cut-and-pasted together from an old stack of XXL, Tiger Beat, and Wire magazines.” As someone who’s big on collaging and mixed media art, I think that’s pretty beautiful …and apt.

Their newest album, Hi Beams, is poppy and dancey without being boring or trashy – perfect for shaking your hips to on hot summer nights.

You can listen to the whole album by clicking below, but I have a feeling you’ll want to get your hands on a copy to add to your mp3 player.

What’s on repeat on your iPod these days? I’d love to hear!

Gosh, don’t I feel like a jerk! I got so excited about my new outfit post challenge (and thank you for your sweet comments on my first one) that I forgot to share my Music Monday pick with you (and it’s such a good one!) So, even though I’m a few days late, I figured I’d push publish now instead of making you wait until next week.

I only recently discovered Wild Belle while listening to the Songza Blogged 50 playlist. They’re an American indie rock band composed of brother/sister duo Elliott and Natalie Bergman. They started receiving a lot of hype after appearing on Conan last November and they released their debut album, Isles, in March.

I’m completely hooked on Natalie’s ethereal voice combined with the band’s psychedelic, funk-infused rhythms.

Here’s one of my favourite tracks from the album, but seriously, if you like it even a little bit, you need to listen to the whole thing. ;)

What do you think; are you a new Wild Belle fan? What’s your favourite new music discovery?

Wild beats & silly dance moves,