silence is a rhythm too
Thursday 7/31
Life on the home front has been a giant mess of stress this week due to the fact that my 3 1/2 year old has been severly constipated - poop has never had such a prominent role in my house before! The parenting abilities of me and the wife have been severly tested, as has our patience. Suffice it to say that drastic measures were taken last night to solve the problem, so life (and music updates) should return to normal now.
One of the new records I picked up this week is the KENNA album New Sacred Cow. This dude is an Ethiopia to Virginia transplant, where he hooked up with Chad Hugo from The Neptunes. Now, I've only listened to it twice so far this week, but I'm impressed. It's a pretty unique blend of synth-pop & New Wave & some of that new soul & r'n'b mixed with a healthy helping of that fabulous Neptunes crunk. I will be putting up an mp3 this week so you can hear for yourself (or check out some audio clips HERE). Suffice it to say that I think I'm really going to be liking the album a lot.
RIP Sam Phillips, the man who brought you Elvis...
Tuesday 7/29
So my DJ gig went pretty well. I started my set with the brilliant Broken Social Scene track Pacific Theme, an instrumental that sounds like the love child of Yo La Tengo, New Order and Burt Bacharach. From there on it was a free for all, playing a little bit of this and a little bit of that. I played a few requests - Prince's 1999 and Michael Jackson's Rock With You. I got asked for ABBA, but I didn't have it with me, which is funny because I almost brought the greatest hits disc but thought folks might not be feeling it. Next time....
In rock news, the band Guided By Voices is pulling a Willy Wonka with it's new album. 25 copies of their new LP Earthquake Glue will contain a special "golden ticket" that will entitle the winner to an advance copy of the box-set Hardcore UFOs, a 6 disc set that will be released to the general public on November 4th. I know a couple of guys who are going to be droolling over this!
New releases today are on the remaster tip, with classics from Marvin Gaye (I Want You), Black Uhuru (3 different albums) and Diana Ross all getting the remastered reissue treatment. Diana is the big story, being a 2 disc set with the second disc being remixes by Chic that are previously unreleased. "Inside out, boy you turn me..." Bring it on!
Sunday 7/27
Tonight is the big debut of the "An evening with silence is a rhythm too".
From 9:00 to 1:00 your host will be spinning a selection of tunes straight off the pages of this website, plus a few oldies and some other stuff thrown in. I'm a little nervous, which is natural, but I'm looking forward to it anyway. Nothing fancy, just me and you and the tunes - and your beverage of choice, of course! The location is the Chatterbox Pub at the corner of 35th St. and 23rd Ave. in south Minneapolis. Hope to see you there!
Saturday 7/26
A HUGE item from Astralwerks Records this week; apparently The Human League are touring the US through the month of August. The closest they play to me is Chicago, August 10 at the Market Days Festival. What a drag, because I'd dearly love to see the old geezers live! The label is issuing a Bad Brains greatest hits compilation next week called Banned In D.C. Bad Brains' Greatest Riffs , as well as the hotly anticipated album from Down-Under sensations The Sleepy Jackson. It's cool to see the label diversify, and they certainly have moved beyond the realm of just dance music. As a last little Astralwerks treat, HERE is a link to a new track from The Chemical Brothers that features the Flaming Lips. The sound quality is definitely not high, but it's still an interesting listen.
Friday 7/25
Merle Haggard song criticizes the Gulf War - has to be one of the craziest and coolest stories of the day!
Goofy music thread of the day
I was extremely excited to see this week that GOLDFRAPP have announced a US tour and are coming here on Friday September 26th. Woo-freaking-hoo! It's about time they made it through here, and I expect big things from them live. In other "it's about time" news, I was also very glad to see an item in The NME about the return of the band SHACK, who's 1999 album HMS Fable still gets played. Their new album Here's Tom With The Weather gets a UK release on August 11, with no US date yet.
After a few listens to Super Furry Animals' album Phantom Power I'd have to say that it is big. I love the way these guys can cram 2 or 3 styles into one song and it doesn't sound sloppy. Current favorite? The last song on the record (Slow Life) is a huge electronic flavored track that channels the spirit of Orbital, and I love it. I don't think this band is capable of making a bad record.
The new mp3s...Moving Units features a huge disco bassline & beats, and reminds me a lot of classic PIL. The Fever track flat out rocks. Some more nuggets of tasty post-punk deliciousness. The Colder track is from the Channel 2 compilation, and is also on the post punk tip, but from the dance (New Order) angle instead of rocking out...this Frenchman's LP is out now in Europe and has been getting pretty good reviews. Finally, this week I picked up the album Do You Party? by The Soft Pink Truth. This is the side project of Drew Daniel who is best known as one half of the experimental electronic act Matmos. This record is a total party record, with a healthy dose of humor. Stylistically it takes the '80's electro sound that's so hip right now and mixes it with the glitchtastic herky jerkiness of Herbert and Plaid, with a big splash of Miami booty bass and some hip hop beats too. Try Promofunk, a shiny electro workout. Mmmmm, tasty!
Thursday 7/24
And the nominees are.... MTV's VMA nominees, that is.
Tuesday 7/22
The finalists for the prestigious UK music award The Mercury Prize for album of the year were announced today. Radiohead are on the list, and it's a mystery to me. The group of people I know who are fans of the band are all in agreement that it's an OK record, but definitely not the album of the year. If you're looking for a dose of angst laden music that has memorable tunes that you can sing along to (which the Radiohead does not) I'd like to suggest the latest Grandaddy album. It deserves to be on this list instead. Also making it are Coldplay and Lemonjelly, and Martina Topley-Bird, who used to be Tricky's girlfriend and who sang on his early records. I didn't even know that she had a solo record out (Quixotic), and I love her voice, so I'll be keeping my eyes peeled, especially since the record features contributions from Queens Of The Stone Age, David Holmes & David Arnold.
Monday 7/21
Tomorrow sees the release of the new Super Furry Animals album Phantom Power. Early reviews have been decent, so I'm psyched to hear it - I'm always ready for some wacky Welsh psychedelic electro power pop! Also of note tomorrow is the first new Jane's Addiction album in 13 years, called Strays. Advance word on it is also good, and Target's got it cheap, so I'll be getting that too. As always, happy shopping.
Check out Stealworks, John Yates' website featuring cool art, from political stuff like a Howard Zinn cover to album covers.
Sunday 7/20
Ahhh, camping. It was great until it decided to rain this morning, which got us moving to pack up and leave pretty quickly. Floating down the St. Croix river in a canoe is the ideal way to spend a day. If you ever find yourself in Minnesota, looking to get in touch with some nature, rent a canoe in Taylors Falls and gently drift downstream...
In the ongoing debate over internet file sharing of music and movies comes THIS item, where 2 US House Representatives have sponsored a bill to put swappers in jail for up to five years by making the offense a felony instead of a misdemeanor. Look out, they're coming for you...
Friday 7/18
Two big news items to pass along....
Astralwerks Records annunced today that they've signed RADIO 4, and new music is forthcoming. In the "can it be true?" department is THIS item from Billboard that has three of the original members of My Bloody Valentine in the studio working on tracks for a box set or something. I'll be happy to listen to it...if it ever actually happens!
Tour news today...SUPER FURRY ANIMALS & GRANDADDY tour the US together this fall . Now is that the coolest double bill or what? Of course they're not coming to Minneapolis together, so I'm going to go and see Grandaddy in a couple of weeks instead, and hope that the Furries will come through here on another leg of the tour.
It's going to be quiet around here this weekend as me and the family are going camping. This will be my daughter's first time in a canoe or a tent so it should be fun. Anyway,no updates until maybe Sunday...
This weekend's mp3s...Panjabi MC's Jogi is a track from his new LP Beware, and is a fab blend of trad Indian vocals and some slamming hip hop beats. I wasn't sure what to expect with this record, and have to admit that I'm really digging it. The other 3 are tracks from the New York Noise compilation, so it's more classic post punk disco stuff. The Contortions track is a killer funky groove with some fantastically ear splitting screams -Jon Spencer eat your heart out! The other tracks come from The Bush Tetras and The Dance and both are variations on the scratchy funk theme. Classic stuff, so enjoy!
Wednesday 7/16
Big news in the "things I've always wanted to do" department today. I'm your classic bedroom DJ, spinning records for my own enjoyment, making mixes for the car, occasionally dabbling in a little music creating - you know the type. Well, today I accepted an offer to DJ to an audience. My brother has had a gig (Thursday nights) for a while at a local pub called The Chatterbox, a comfy spot that used to be your classic old school neighborhood 3.2 bar. Over the last few years things have changed - like you can get real beer now - and it's developed into quite a little hipster place to hang out... comfy sofas, Atari games, an '80's music night. Anyway, their Sunday night slot opened up, and my bro suggested alternating weeks. After much inner debate - OK, mostly concerns about being up so late on a Sunday and having to work early the next morning - and Monday being one of the busiest days of the week for me - I decided that if I didn't at least try it I'd be a big loser. So, starting in a couple of weeks The Rezidence | silence is a rhythm too takes it to the streets of south Minneapolis to lay some music on the masses and get them to shake their asses - or something like that. Expect to hear the music I enthuse about here and a lot more, and hopefully I won't suck at it!!
Today's "Song Of The Day" is Now That I Miss Her, courtesy of still-favorite band ELEFANT. A drivng uptempo track that makes me want to dance like Belinda Carlisle, it's about lost love and it just grabs me. There's some wicked icy cool guitar riffing, and the words hit all the right buttons for me - what clinches it is when Diego yells "and all I can do is just write a song about her" over climaxing guitars. It gets me every time. At this halfway point of 2003 I think it's safe to say that it's going to be my favorite album of the year.
Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha !!!
Tuesday 7/15
A few weeks ago I was at my favorite record shop, and they were playing the Pink On Pink EP by THE FEVER. I'd never heard of them, and it sounded like something I'd dig, but for some reason or another I didn't pick it up that day. I then promptly forgot about it until last week, when I was back at the shop trawling the racks. I remembered the cover (a really bad '80's design with a mannequin in furs and lots of pink), saw it and so I picked it up. It freaking rocks my world. It's more of that '80's influenced post punk thing, but a lot grimier and louder, and with lots of organ. I decide I need to know more so I go to the website. Oh my God, it's another New York City band. Not only that, they just finished touring with Hot Hot Heat & Moving Units! I bust a gut laughing at that happy coincidence, and wish I could have seen that ultimately killer triple bill. Go download Bridge & Tunnel from their website and feel the love. Oh yeah, they do a pretty entertaining version of Sheila E's Glamorous Life too.
Monday 7/14
Last night's gig was a keeper. Openers MOVING UNITS tore the joint up, playing their entire set with almost no breaks. Funky basslines, disco beats and scratchy guitar is their thing, all live and loud. Points of reference? Joy Division / New Order / PIL / early Cure etc... I enjoyed their set a lot.
BLUR were amazing. Every time I've seen them they've been good, and since I think that Think Tank is one of the records of the year, I was hyped up to see them. Former Verve guitarist Simon Tong filled in for the departed Coxon, and did a great job. They also had a keyboardist, percussionist and 3 back up vocalists -2 women and a man. They played most of the new album, giving the songs a little bit more of a rock edge, but still keeping the loose, funky groove. The oldies were great, and they played stuff from way back (Pop Song, Holding On For Tomorrow), the crowd pleasers (Song 2, Girls And Boys) and some lovely mellower stuff - Tender was amazing, with the vocalists adding a very gospel feel to it. There were no fancy sets or back-drops, just the band and a few lights. The crowd was into it from the get go, and Damon commented on how appreciative he was of it. I attended with my brother, another fan of the band, and he was just as pumped up about it as I was. As a huge fan I'm obviously a little biased, but I would recommend seeing them, and prepare to sing along all night - I know me and my bro did!!
Sunday 7/13
In about six hours I will be singing along to all of my fave BLUR songs. Last time I saw them was 6 years ago, and the crowd was about 1/3 Brit ex-pats, so I expect to see and hear a few tonight. It should be a blast, making me feel like I'm back in England (where I lived from '79-'85). Anyway, I'm psyched, and you'll be hearing more about it, I'm sure!
People looking for The Hitlist, please note that it has moved over to your left and down a bit. The consolidation continues...
Saturday 7/12
I made it to the record store today and scored the Moving Units EP, which is a four tracker, and it's pretty rockin'. My BIG score was the Soul Jazz Records compilation New York Noise. A stellar collection of stuff from the NYC dance underground of the late '70s and early '80s, it features acts like Material, Glenn Branca, Liquid Liquid, The Contortions and The Bush Tetras. Funkier than poop on a stick.
This week's mp3s...the Colourbox is a cover of an old dub tune, and it's huge, all spaced out echo beats and a monster bass riff. One of my fave reggae tunes ever, and considering that it's about 20 years old, it holds up remarkably well. The Bowie song is just a great tune, and is best known as a hit for Mott The Hoople. The Postal Service track is their cover of the Flaming Lips song from The Soft Bulletin...very nice! Finally, the Duran Duran song is a radically different version from the one most people would know. It's a much faster, disco-fied version, with absolutely huge strings. All of these rock bands today that are trying to sound funky could learn a lesson or two from these old timers. FYI, the Colourbox and Duran mp3s are pretty large due to them being the 12" versions.
Friday 7/11
The BIG rumour that has music geeks all over the web wetting their pants is the admission by Frank Black that The Pixies may actually reform. The NME has this item on it. Apparently all of the original members have been getting together and jamming, so it would appear that any differences have been put aside. I had plenty of opportunities to see 'em back in the day, but never made it, so I'd jump at the chance to see them now!
Thursday 7/10
Anybody who stops here knows I'm going to see BLUR on Sunday night. The opening act for this leg of the tour is MOVING UNITS. I've heard their name a couple of times, so today I did a little investigation. They are another one of these '80's post punk new wave bands, from LA instead of New York. I downloaded this mp3, called I Am This, and I dig it - it's only 2.4 megs, so it's worth checking out. Now I'm thinking that I need to go early enough to see them do their live thing, and will be scouring my record shop for some of their records...
Wednesday 7/9
Lyrics of the day, courtesy of MINK LUNGS
"They're kinda knitty / Kind of tight-fitting / Isn't it a pity / that we can't all be / men in belted sweaters" ( Men In Belted Sweaters from I'll Take It)
I crack up every time I hear it, and the song rocks too, with it's huge guitar riff and sing along chorus.What a great album.
Slim pickings for new releases this week, so I picked up a couple of The Police's remastered reissues, Outlandos d'Amour and Regatta de Blanc. I have the box set but hate how it's sequenced, so I got the two that mean the most to me (tho' I'm sure the rest will follow soomer or later). These records have some of the punkier, harder edged material on them, and the remastering has really improved the sound. The only drawback here is that it just means more money in Sting's pocket...
Monday 7/7
Today's "5 Disc Shuffle" at work, a decidedly Brit-centric affair...
1. Stereolab - Dots And Loops
2. Elbow - Asleep In The Back
3. Elastica - Elastica
4. Blur - The Best Of
5. Bonobo - Dial "M" For Monkey
The Stereolab is my personal favorite of theirs, and is such a blissful album - reminds me a lot of Steely Dan in it's precision and it's horn charts. The Elbow is a proggy delight, a mix of Radiohead, Peter Gabriel, Super Furry Animals and DJ Shadow. Look for a new album from them this fall. Elastica is just a kick ass album, end of story. My wife and I went to see them when this came out, and it was pure sex and energy pouring out of Justine -my wife said even she thought she was sexy! The Blur is pretty obvious...I'm seeing 'em next week and needed a refresher. The Best Of is a great collection, every song's a winner. Finally, the Bonobo was in, but due to an odd quirk of fate (or it could just be the crusty, worn out old CD player) with the "random shuffle" mode, it was skipped entirely. Oh, well, we'll try it again tomorrow.
KRAFTWERK release their Tour de France 03 single tomorrow, with the album Tour de France Soundtracks to follow on August 5. I'm geeked up to hear it, so I hope my local has it!
Sunday 7/6
Hey! A whole new look, cobbled together from all kinds of bits and pieces of stolen code...hee-hee-hee. A much needed makeover in an attempt to streamline this place, you'll find direct links to the mp3s over to your left, as well as a bunch of other links over there too. This is still a work in progress and things may continue to change so please bear with me!
This week's music...ESG's It's Alright is old school NYC no-wave disco from one of the orginators. The Soulwax remix of DJ Shadow is a banging mash-up built around The B-52's' 52 Girls. The Thorns' Blue is a Jayhawks cover, and a song my wife and I wooed each other to -aawww....Finally The Simple Minds track is a BIG instrumental track, one of my faves. Enjoy!
Saturday 7/5
Moscow Rock Fest suicide bombers. Jeez, what a fucking trip.
A Tribe Called Quest are back together and in the studio. Sweet music to my ears, as their unique "flava" is sorely missing from the hip hop scene.
RIP the king of boudoir soul Barry White. The man was a genius with the arrangements, a presence with both his size and his deep powerful voice. I've been spinning the greatest hits disc all morning, and the songs are so big. He'll be missed...
Friday 7/4
Happy 4th of July...woo-hoo, it's a three day weekend!
HERE is the tracklisting for my latest car mixtape that I was able to finish this week...no less than 3 Elefant songs made it. I get a huge kick from hearing my 3 and a half year old daughter singing along to these tapes. She's got a great ear for tunes, and there's nothing like hearing her in the back singing along to Interpol, The Strokes, Playgroup and the Flaming Lips. As one co-worker put it, she's one of the hippest 3 & 1/2 year olds around!
Thursday 7/3
I've has little to no time for the internet this week, so this place has suffered a drought in the updates department. Besides that it's been a slow week for tunes, both news-wise and new release wise. I did pick up the new DJ Shadow import single Mashin' On The Motorway, mostly because it has an absolutely bitchin' remix of Six Days by SOULWAX. It's a mash-up of the Colonel Bagshot vocal sample over The B-52's 52 Girls, and it works amazingly well. Now if only those Soulwax boys would get around to finishing a record of their own (it's been 4 years since their stellar debut Much Against Everyone's Advice).
Another record I'd like to plug is the single from disco punk scensters !!!, entitled Me & Giuliani Down By The Schoolyard. The band's name is meant to be a triple repetition of any sound -doot doot doot, sploot sploot sploot, you get the idea- although the press has latched onto Chk Chk Chk as the way to pronounce it. The single has two songs clocking in at 9 minutes a piece, and they are sheer booty shaking insanity, all monster bass grooves, funky disco beats, edgy riffing of guitars, horns and a call to get the "ties2tight dudes" to shake their inhibitions and just dance. This song is like this year's House Of Jealous Lovers, except I think it's even better. Just wait to you hear that guitar breakdown about 3 minutes in...HUGE!!!.
Some random fun linkage....Bush & Blair Gay Bar is pretty damn funny, and if you've got some time to kill, try out Love Katie...