silence is a rhythm too
Friday 5/30
It's been a slow week for any kind of rock 'n' roll news (unless you care about Sir Paul McCartney's wife being pregnant -woo hoo, big story!), and it was just as slow for new releases. One of the records I did pick up this week is Canadian indie super group The NEW PORNOGRAPHERS' Electric Version. I've been reading about this record everywhere I go on-line for the last two months. Last week a co-worker of mine put it on at work and I was sold. Big guitars, several vocalists (including Neko Case) and a whole bunch of killer tunes add up to one insanely catchy pop rock album. This is a great summertime album that reminds a lot of the Apples In Stereo -altho' it's a lot less twee! Look for an mp3 this weekend...
Wednesday 5/28
ZONGAMIN is S.I.Mukai, a one man band from Japan. His self titled album is a blast, starting with some surf-rock, and going straight into some squelchy disco. From there it encompasses electro, more disco, hardcore thrash, experimental downtempo, IDM and a bit of ambient. Very quirky, very unique and a lot of fun. He also appears (as a remixer of Playgroup) on a fantastically hip collection called Channel 2, an Output Recordings compilation. This is Playgroup main man Trevor Jackson's label, and it's also the UK label home to The DFA, so you get a bunch of funky retro-electro/punk funk styled tunes from The Rapture, LCD Soundsystem, Playgroup, Blackstrobe, Volga Select, and a bunch more of the up and comers on the scene. Very chic dahling, and deservedly so!
Sunday 5/25
A couple of items...SPOON are releasing an EP in Europe called The Way We Get By, featuring the title track (from their great LP Kill The Moonlight) and 6 unreleased songs performed on various radio shows. Apparently no US release for it tho' ...
I found out this week that the most excellent Cinematic Orchestra are coming to Minneapolis next month for a gig. I love theses guys, and it could be a very interesting show. They recently composed a soundtrack to a Soviet avant garde film The Man With A Movie Camera, and toured with it, playing live along with the film. No word yet on whether this is going to be one of those shows or not, but it will be a swanky, jazzy affair anyway.
I put up a whole mess of tunes for you to sample this weekend, with faves from Elefant, Goldfrapp, Yeah Yeah Yeahs & The Soundtrack Of Our Lives. Enjoy!!
Friday 5/23
The big triple bill last night was pretty entertaining. MANITOBA played first, and in my opinion were the highlight of the evening. A 3 piece live act, featuring 2 drum kits, a couple of guitars and a bunch of keyboards, they made a tremendous amount of noise. They came on stage in some spooky animal masks -discarded about a third of the way through the set- and proceeded to play a bunch of tunes from the new LP.
They went from the pretty, melodic IDM stuff to the raging My Bloody Valentine-esque noise jams with ease, and having 2 drum kits meant that the beats were thunderously huge at times. A big thumbs up for the synched-up visuals too, which were both whimsical and creepy too. These guys were ace.
Four Tet was just Kieran Hebden and his 2 laptops and some effects. He played mostly stuff from the Rounds album, and recreated the tracks pretty well. At one point his laptop's computer voice chimed in over the phat beats to inform him that his battery was charged, and that got him to crack a smile. He also had visuals, mostly still shots of the pictures adorning the record sleeve. Nice tunes, not much to look at.
Headliner Prefuse 73 was mainman Scott Herren on laptops and other things, along with a DJ working 2 decks, and a couple of tracks featured a live drummer. They also did a good job of recreating the record's phat glitch-hop sound. I have to admit that these laptoppers make some cool music, but the live thing can get a little tedious. I like a good rock show -you know, drama, action, creepy masks, lights & visuals- and so in the end Manitoba were the best of the night because they brought all of that and a little more.
Thursday 5/22
Tonight is the BIG PREFUSE 73 show, and I'm hyped up about it because the openers are MANITOBA and FOUR TET. I believe Manitoba is DJ'ing and the other two are playing their own material, but I'm not positive. Phat beats all up in my face is what it's going to be all about, with some psychedelic glitch thrown in for fun. I'll be sure to report on it all....
Wednesday 5/21
And the winner is....Ruben Studdard, American Idol 2003. He would have gotten my vote, as I found his voice warmer and less polished than Clay Aiken. I watched the first couple of episodes and got sucked back in to the last couple, and Ruben reminded me a lot of Luther Vandross, all honey sweet and soulful. Let's see if he can make something out of this...
I think I might have found my fave new band of the moment, and their name is ELEFANT. The record is called Sunlight Makes Me Paranoid. A NYC quartet, they are another one of those bands doing '80's styled New Wave Brit rock...the blurb I read that stuck in my head was something along the lines of "the band most likely to steal Interpol's girlfriends", and there's a bit of truth to that, altho' these guys are a lot poppier sounding than Interpol.
Wednesday 5/21
According to The NME a new album is forthcoming from Spiritualized. Recorded in just a few weeks and clocking in at 40 minutes, it sounds like it's supposed to be a hard rocking, stripped down affair that will be released sometime in the not too distant future.
Monday 5/19
Budding musicians and whoever else might be interested take note....
Ninjatune Records has a pretty fab website to go with their groovy roster, and on it is a forum which is also pretty active. Over the last couple of years the users there have held a few remix competitions -you know, here's my tune, remix it. Well, it's evolved into a movement that has turned semi-official, with it's own website, the Funkungforum. The latest remix competition is a chance to remix a Telefon Tel Aviv track,put up by Hefty Records. I've downloaded the samples and it should be fun to see what I come up with - if anything!
Monday 5/19
A few music news items...
BLUR have announced the first few dates of their upcoming US tour, with no Minneapolis gig in sight. Oh well, maybe they'll make it on the second leg. Check the link for other dates.
One of my many musical "guilty pleasures" is the Stone Temple Pilots, so it was interesting to hear today that Scott Weiland has been busted again for drug posession. Way to trash a career... Dude needs to figure out how to score and not get caught! Billboard today also revealed that soul icon Barry White has suffered a stroke that has left him speech impaired and in poor condition. What a drag. And there is still little-to-no news on the condition of Luther Vandross, who suffered a bad stroke in April, and has apparently still not woken up. I love Luther - I haven't bought an album of his in more than 10 years, but I still listen to Never Too Much and Give Me The Reason today. The world will be sorely lacking if we lose these two crooners...
Sunday 5/18
This weekend it's been all '80's all the time. The first song out of the stack of 18 CDr's I got to get played was THE hit for early '80's one hit wonders The Korgis. The song is entitled Everybody's Got To Learn Sometime, and is a lush, beautiful synth-pop ballad. I was living in the UK when this was a hit, and as a teen remember loving the tune. I don't know why I never bought the 45, but I've thought about the tune a lot over the years, and I was glad to see that even now, as a crusty 39 year old, I still get goose bumps listening to it. Right after that I had to listen to Scritti Politti's debut album Songs To Remember. I own all of the singles from this album (and they are most of the album) but for some reason never bought the LP, and have never come across a copy of it used or new. IMO it's the best thing they ever did. Then it was John Foxx's The Golden Section, and then it was 400 Blows and then it was 23 Skidoo etc.. etc... etc...you get the picture! What a great weekend!
Friday 5/16
So I was streaming that Dandy Warhols album as I was writing the little blip below about it this morning - the fat DSL connection at my place of work kicks my puny 56k-at-home butt- and I have to say that I like what I heard. It still sounded like them, but it was also very synthy pop-tastic too.
My "ain't the web grand" story for the day... I've made a friend in Portugal via this great big web world. I'm a music geek archiver, so am involved in a couple of on-line discography sites. Jaime in Portugal is too. He and I have parallel music collections, and he has many items on my want-list. Out of the goodness in his music loving heart he took it upon himself to burn me up 18 much coveted albums and singles -pretty much all early '80's stuff -see the Hitlist. I AM SO PSYCHED. Thank you, from one music freak to another.
Friday 5/16
DANDY WARHOLS are about to return to the scene with a new album Welcome To The Monkeyhouse. Produced by Tony Visconti, and featuring guest appearances from Simon Le Bon, Nick Rhodes & Nile Rodgers, it's apparently a different approach from the band -people who have heard it have compared it to Duran Duran and The Cars! Anyway, it's out in Europe any day now, while we in the US have to wait until August -stupid record company crap! If you can't wait to hear it, HERE is a link to it streaming online...
Thursday 5/15
One of my favourite producers ever is Trevor Horn. He's responsible for some seriously classic '80's moments...shiny pop-tart duo Dollar, ABC's Lexicon Of Love, The Art Of Noise, Frankie Goes To Hollywood and The Buggles and Yes' Owner Of A Lonely Heart to name a few. I recently had heard a rumor that he was going to work on the new Belle And Sebastian album, which made me chuckle. Now I'm not a big fan of theirs, but I know their sound, and it's so not Trevor Horn. Anyway, it's true, and here is a link to the story.
I've rediscovered a freebie compilation I got a few weeks back shoved into the latest copy of Jockey Slut magazine. Entitled Way Out North, it's a collection of Norwegian electronica that ranges from dubby downtempo to disco and even a little glitchy stuff. Fabulous stuff indeed, and featuring several acts to watch out for in the future. I think perhaps I'll put a few songs from it up this week-end...
Tuesday 5/13
I've been listening to the new GOLDFRAPP album Black Cherry a lot lately. Three years in the making, it's caused a stir among the band's fans due to it not sounding like a carbon copy of their stellar debut Felt Mountain. That album was deep with rich soundscapes, filled with strings and spy movie soundtrack stylings, and was a big hit. The new record has some of those elements on it, but also features a much harder edged electronic sound. Alison Goldfrapp sang on an older Add N To (X) release -they also share labels- and musically this record reminds me a lot of the last Add N To (X) album Loud Like Nature. Personally I'm glad to hear something new in the music, and the fact that it reminds me of that other band is OK too, especailly since Loud Like Nature was one of my fave electro records of last year. The woman can flat out sing, and there are some pretty catchy numbers on it. Going against the grain, I give it a big thumbs up!
I've also been listening a lot to the YO LA TENGO album Summer Sun, and it has turned out to be a huge grower for me. I'm over the fact that it doesn't really rock, and instead have embraced the spacy, jazzy drift of it all. Truly a downtempo (not a term I'd usually associate with this band!) gem, and guranteed to be at the top (or close) of my best of '03 list.
Sunday 5/11
I've been on a bit of a Duran Duran binge this last week. The original line-up is back together in the studio, and a new record is due on Arista sometime later this year (as is a box set of CD singles replicating the 7" releases from '80-'85) . I lived in the UK from '79-'85 when they first emerged, and have been a fan of DD from their first 7" Planet Earth, up until the early '90's when I lost interest (along with everyone else except my brother). This week as a bonus download I've decided to share their cover of Lou Reed's Perfect Day. Lou himself has called it the best cover of one of his own songs he's ever heard, and he's got a point. A lovely rendition for you to enjoy. (This week's other tracks are from Blur, Bob Sinclar and Stan Getz & Joao Gilberto.)
Friday 5/9
Ask and ye shall receive... thanks to The RUB who kindly informed me that the mystery Blur track is called Me White Noise (aka My White Noise).
Friday 5/9
One more item of interest regarding the Blur album Think Tank... there is a bonus track on it, hidden at the beginning of the CD, before the first song. It's a funky electronic track - can anyone out there give me a title for it? Pop it in and press rewind!
I've got to give a BIG shout-out to Mumpot in Indiana...don't worry, you'll be getting the bill for my computer any day now! ;-) Enjoy the Hot Hot (and in) Heat...
Wednesday 5/7
Now we're talking! I got my iMac back and I'm a happy camper. Of course, I had to spend the big bucks to replace the logic board (ouch!), but I also upgraded the ram from 128 to 576 mb's and installed OSX -welcome to the modern world! As much as I hate my computer sometimes I cannot live without it, and now it's smooth like butta. Sweet! Look for new mp3s this weekend.
Wednesday 5/7
My friend Jackie sent me a link to this story in the Guardian (UK). George Dubya's speeches during the war are proving to be rich sampling material for a whole bunch of British dance music scenesters. Next up on the club scene is the Iraqi Information Minister...
Q gave the new Blur album a good review -one I agree with too. In the print version of the magazine they always have a "if you like this try these" feature tacked on at the end of the review. With this one they listed Talkingheads' Remain In Light & The Clash's Combat Rock, and that's a pretty accurate assessment of Blur's record; experimental, dancier, with multi-culti rhythms and sounds. I personally think it's too early to say whether it's actually worthy of being compared to those 2 albums, but having said that I'm really digging it!
Tuesday 5/6
As I update today I'm listening to BLUR's new album Think Tank, which is a shift in direction for the band, and has annoyed some fans. On first listen I have to admit that I really like it. It's funky, loose, atmospheric, and yes, in a couple of places it rocks. More on this one later. Next up in the stack (and what a stack it is!) is Goldfrapp....delicious!
Monday 5/5
Warren Cucurullo has had a long & interesting career. In the late '70's he was in Frank Zappa's band, and in the '80's he played in Missing Persons. The '90's saw him as part of the slimmed-down, 3 piece version of Duran Duran (who will be back with the original 5 man line-up and an album sometime this year). Now he's added porn star to the list. He's posed nude in a Brazilian gay mag, and you can buy clips of him in action from his website. To top that off you can purchase your very own dildo replica of his manhood...too damn funny! Frank Zappa could have turned this story into a funny album. And then last night I was surfing on cable and came across The Anna Nicole show. She's an aspiring painter, and was having a gallery show of her work, and who was in the crowd but Warren Cucurullo, who went on to buy one of her paintings.
Tomorrow's a big day for new music, with long awaited new albums from Blur, Goldfrapp and Wire (!!), as well as welcome re-issues from Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark & MC 900 Ft Jesus. As always, happy shopping!
Saturday 5/3
SPACEK are a Brtish trio led by vocalist Steve Spacek. They released their debut Curvatia a couple of years ago to great critical acclaim ('the Radiohead of soul') and are back with Vintage Hi-Tech. Imagine a sweet soulful voice -Marvin Gaye with a Brit accent- over seriously deep click house and glitch hoppy r'n'b tracks, Herbert meets The Neptunes on Warp Records. Spacek's voice is pretty distinctive, and some people might not dig it, but click the link and listen for yourself. Pretty cool.
Lately I haven't been able to pick up a magazine without coming across an article about the YEAH YEAH YEAHS, so I bought into the hype and picked up their debut Fever To Tell. Another one of those bass-free bands that seem to be cropping up all over the place, they create a whole mess of noise. The music is gritty punk and garage rock, mixed by Alan Moulder into a party rocking package. Karen O's voice reminds me a lot of Siouxsie Sioux, and has the full on range of abilities -from loud and shrieking to soft and quiet. Fun stuff, and it was cheap too!
No new mp3's this week due to not having my computer back yet...next week-end we'll be back in business!
Thursday 5/1
British radio listeners were polled to find the Top 20 songs of the last decade. Oasis' Wonderwall gets the #1 spot on a very Brit-centric list.
I finally broke down and bought the remastered re-issue of T. REX's Electric Warrior. It's a classic of the '70's, produced by Bowie co-hort Tony Visconti and featuring the hit Bang A Gong (Get It On). It's a great tune, but there are even better ones to be found. The first three tracks are huge, full of funky rhythms and hippy lyrics. Cosmic Dancer leads into my personal fave Jeepster - a song that never fails to get my head bobbing. The packaging is deluxe, gatefold sleeve with a poster, and there are 6 bonus tracks and an interview with Marc Bolan tacked on. Essential listening.