May 2004

Monday 5/31

After a rather quiet start (sound man, turn it up!) The Stills finally got the crowd into the show and played a nice set of tunes from their debut album. They jammed out on a few of the songs, and the addition of a keyboard player helped fill out their sound. Good stuff. The real treat of the night tho' were METRIC. They absolutely rocked the joint. I got there just as they were opening with IOU. James Shaw promptly broke a string on his guitar, so for the next seven or eight minutes Emily Haines talked to the crowd and her other band mates, ribbing everyone about anything. She is a fantastic front & center presence with a huge amount of energy - running around the stage, dancing, pounding on her synths. They were super tight, and the crowd ate it up. The sales of merchandise at their booth was swift after their set, and the crowd thinned out a bit for The Stills, so it was really Metric's night. I thought they were so good I bought one of their bitchin' band shirts. What a fun gig - I can't wait to see them again!

New mp3s today...
It's all about techno today - Kraftwerk's Aerodynamik is my favorite track from their Tour de France Soundtracks record, and this is the remix by NYC legend Francois K who strips the track down and gives it a bit more of an old school feel. Orbital's You Lot is from their farewell LP The Blue Album. It is classic Orbital - a big, pounding beat, huge bass riffs and the trademark synth melodies, and quirky vocal samples. I will miss new records from the Hartnoll brothers. Jane Birkin has recorded an album of duets entitled Rendez-Vous with a pretty cool selection of singers - Manu Chao, Beth Gibbons, Francoise Hardy, Brian Molko, and on Roxy Music's In Every Dream Home A Heartache she duets with fromer bandleader Bryan Ferry. It's a nice and dark rendition of the old Roxy tune, and the rest of the album is pretty good too. This week's flashback track is from The Flying Lizards - Her Story rides a killer funky bass groove and a huge drum loop - funky post punk from a band that needs to get the reissue treatment!

Sunday 5/30

I am psyched - I'm going to see The Stills tonight. I love their record a lot, have played it to death, and am looking forward to hearing the tunes live. The best part of it is that Metric are the opening act. I only discovered last year's Old World Underground... LP this year, and if I had heard it last year it easily would have been one of my top 5 albums of '03. I can't wait to hear these songs live - if they are half as good live as the record is I shall be happy. Also opening is another NYC band, Sea Ray. I nabbed the mp3s on their site and judging by their bio and the list of bands they've toured with they sound very compatible with my tastes. Now I just need to dig out my new wave clothes from 20 years ago (you know - skinny tie, black jacket with the sleeves rolled up) and I'll be good to go. And tomorrow I don't have to get up and go to work - woo-hoo!

Friday 5/28

Do any of you people who stop by here check out the mp3s that I put up? I was just wondering, because nobody ever comments on 'em. It would be nice to hear from you if you like or hate something...

OK kids, mark your calendars...July 27th finally sees the US release of the Scissor Sisters album. I have to admit that after a couple of months their record has actually grown on me. It's surprising because I thought the cheese factor would eventually overwhelm me. In fact, the record's humor has made a big impression, and there's no denying the power of some of the more serious stuff on it. Also out the same day is the long awaited sophomore effort from Kings Of Convenience, called Riot In An Empty Street. A lot of people know Erlend Oye due to his splendid solo record last year, and for the vocals he did on the Royksopp album a while back. The first Kings record was a mellow, folky acoustic affair, and the same can be expected from it's follow up. I wonder if they'll do a remix version too?

Thursday 5/27

So far I've only heard 3 songs from the new Two Lone Swordsmen LP From The Double Gone Chapel and they are all good - and so different from each other. One is fairly typical TLS fare - Sick When We Kiss is a bangin' electro tune. The Lurch is a very cool bass-riff driven post punk-y instrumental with icy '80's synths - fabulous. Taste Of Our Flames is a very murky downtempo track with female vocals - reminds me a lot of early Tricky, probably due to Nina Walsh's "quite a bit like Matrina Topley Bird" delivery. On the basis of these tracks I've added it to my "got to get it list".

I'd also like to recommennd a couple of other things. The Vestals are yet another Twin Cities act that I've stumbled across. They play guitar driven rock - a mix of the Elephant Six style (I hear a bit of Apples In Stereo...) and some of the Canadian stuff like New Pornographers, with a dash of XTC and The Beatles. Very well produced, super hummable songs, and they rock. Get thee to their website and stream / download the songs! Also rocking the stereo is the new Graham Coxon LP Happiness In Magazines. He's reunited with producer Stephen Street, and manages to out-Blur his old band with solidly catchy songs. I love Blur's last LP Think Tank a lot, but I love the old Blur a lot too - I miss the spazzy rock riffing - so this record is doing a top notch job of filling those old shoes. Lansing-Dreiden are freaks. From their website bio - "Lansing-Dreiden is a company that sees no distinction between art and commerce - or anything else. Hence, the output of the organization may manifest itself in various forms, from video to music to product design to the construction of narratives. All Lansing-Dreiden projects are fragmentary, mere stones in a path whose end lies in a space where the very definition of “path” paths.". Whatever. Their record The Incomplete Triangle rocks my face off. It is heavily indebted to the sounds of the '80's, especially New Order, so you get a mix of seriously synthetic pop and raging guitar tracks. One of them, The Eternal Lie even rocks an almost Iron Maiden like riff - I told you they were freaks. The record hits all the right spots for me - arty, party, rock and pop. Click on the link, then hit their MMIII link and you can find a few mp3s to check out.

Monday 5/24

New mp3s today...
The Unicorns are back with a new single, and 2014 is a fab little slice of synth pop. These guys are all over the place so it's no surprise to hear the quirky '80s keyboard sounds - then right at the end it kicks into rockin' mode. Cool little tune. I've already raved about the RJD2 album - Clean Living is a low key funk jam, with a seriously poppin' good bass line, wah-wah guitars, and some choice mellow vocal samples. Depeche Mode's Painkiller gets the DJ Shadow remix treatment. I just picked up this CD single and never knew that Shadow had done a remix for them, so I was psyched to hear it. It goes from skittery electro beats to breakbeats and back, all washed in sinister synths. This week's flashback is from 1993 - Hater was a side project of Ben Shepherd and Matt Cameron, the mighty rhythm section from Soundgarden. Who Do I Kill? rides a killer riff, a mix of The Kinks, Velvet Underground and The Pixies. 2 minutes 37 seconds of rock 'n' roll heaven.

This year's Lollapalooza festival is now a two day affair, and judging from the line-ups, a serious effort to recapture the hipster crowds of the first few. Morrissey, Sonic Youth, TV On The Radio, Polyphonic Spree, Le Tigre, Broken Social Scene, Basement Jaxx, Flaming Lips - the list goes on and on. Damn, these shows sound better than some of the old ones I went to! Minneapolis is short an outdoor venue, so it won't come through here. Sounds like a fun couple of days.

Sunday 5/23

There were a few interesting news items this last week that I never got around to posting so here goes...
A bunch of my fave bands are soundtracking a new British flick called Nine Songs. Directed by Michael Winterbottom (24 Hour Party People), it features songs from Franz Ferdinand, BRMC, Dandy Warhols, and Super Furry Animals and a lot of very explicit sex scenes. It debuted this last week at Cannes, where yesterday Michael Moore was awarded the Palme d'Or for his contoversial new movie Fahrenheit 9/11. You've probably already heard about it in the news due to Disney pulling the plug on it's US distribution (due to the fact that it slams G.W. Bush) - maybe this award will help get it out here!
Also interesting is the BBC's hiring of Radiohead's Johnny Greenwood as it's "Composer In Residence". He will compose several pieces and have full access to the Beeb's orchestra. Pretty cool gig if you can get it...

Asobi Seksu are a 4 piece NYC band who my buddy T-Money said I might like. He told me to check out their website and nab the mp3s they've got up. I'm impressed. Led by Japanese vocalist Yuki, their sound is a mix of My Bloody Valentine/Lush wall-of-sound guitar assault - yes, shoegazing again - with the kind of electro-rock that Buffalo Daughter and Stereolab do. Their self titled 2002 debut has been reissued this month in the US on Friendly Fire Records. I will be searching out my own copy as soon as possible...

Saturday 5/22

Swoooooosh....is the sound of the tumbleweeds rolling through this place lately. Life has been pretty sucky this week, but it's the weekend, so get over it, right?

These Are A Few Of My Favorite Things
RJD2's Since We Last Spoke is a breathtaking leap forward or sideways or whatever from the hip hop stylings of his debut. He steps away from the DJ Shadow comparisons into his own,and here he meshes '70's guitar riffs, funk and soul, latin flavor, squiggly gangsta synth lines and indie rock crooning over IDM beats. There are some sweet hip hop tracks, just no raps. The first few listens had my head spinning - it's so different from what I expected. Some reviews have commented on it being disjointed due to all of the stylistic differences, but I find it makes for fantastic listening. The man himself even sings on Making Days Longer and it works - plaintive and touching. I'm sure this record will have a lot of haters, but screw 'em. Brilliant.

Los Lobos' The Ride sees the venreable ones continue to shine, and this time they've brought along a bunch of their famous friends and admirers to help them out. The first track is a collabo with Cafe Tacuba, and blends the rootsiness of Los Lobos with the indie art rock of Tacuba. Bobby Womack sings on a great medley of Wicked Rain and his own Across 110th Street. You also get Mavis Staples, Richard Thompson, Ruben Blades, Tom Waits and a beautiful rendition of Matter Of Time with Elvis Costello on vocals. After the last couple of so-so records it's good to hear them sound vital again.

The Ambulance LTD album has been getting played every day this week - a gorgeous rock album of shimmering chiming guitars with a great cover of Lou Reed's The Ocean. Also on the NYC tip is the Red Bedroom album from The Fever. The sound is very '80s post punk - a lot of chunky Stranglers bass and keyboard riffs, some very catchy songs, and a lot more variety that I had expected. Guaranteed to rock the party. Once again a Twin Cities band has made a big impression on me - Mel Gibson & The Pants are another rock-rap combo along the lines of Automato. Instead of the hip DFA post punk electro vibe, these guys go for a more indie flavored rock vibe, throw in cool leftfield psychedelic electronics and a dash of Dirty South flavor - one of the rappers flows a lot like Andre 3000 from Outkast, and this album is full of the same kind of energetic experimentalism. Except that it rocks a lot harder than Outkast ever will. Highly recommended stuff - go and check out the mp3s at the band's website for a little taste.

Tuesday 5/18

Some select new releases today...
RJD2's rockin' (as in guitar rockin') Since We Last Spoke, The Fever's Red Bedroom, Athlete's Vehicles & Animals, Morrissey's You Are The Quarry, Gomez' Split The Difference, Sixtoo's Chewing On Glass & Other Miracle Cures. Also of interest is the new LP by Paco, This Is Where We Live - this is Andy Chase and Dominique from Ivy on the "side project" tip. Happy shopping!

Monday 5/17

New mp3s today...
Ambulance LTD are yet another NYC band making waves with their guitar lovin' self titled debut album. They do catchy, atmospheric rock, and it doesn't follow the skinny tie new wave style that's so popular with all the kids. Swim rides a very tasty My Bloody Valentine riff, and the tune is big and swoony. Good stuff, and the album is good too. Dykehouse's Chain Smoking is a track from his new LP Midrange and marks a big shift in style for the man. His last record Dynamic Obsolescence was an leftfield IDM treat, and this one goes in a whole new direction - rocking out. I hate to mention them twice in the same paragraph, but once again the influence of My Bloody Valentine rears it's head on this track (and the rest of the LP) - buzzing guitars and bass all over the place. Very cool. Van Hunt is a a new face on the neo-soul scene, and his self titled debut is a blend of funk, soul and rock. Out of The Sky is a super sweet groove that reminds me of classic Sly & The Family Stone - the beat is pure Family Affair. Catholic Day by Adam & The Ants is this week's flashback track. From their first LP Dirk Wears White Sox, it's a nice bit of post punk riffing - about the death of JFK. They went on to conquer the charts of the world with the follow up Kings Of The Wild Frontier.

Sunday 5/16

Some very cool news courtesy of Astralwerks Records - on June 1st they will reissue the first four Brian Eno albums, Here Come The Warm Jets, Taking Tiger Mountain By Strategy, Another Green World and Before And After Science. They will be digitally remastered from the original tapes and come in deluxe packaging. The man is a influence on so many people, and has been involved with so many influential bands and records - Roxy Music, Talking Heads, the seminal collaboration with David Byrne, My Life In The Bush Of Ghosts, U2's The Unforgettable Fire - I could go on all day. These reissues are fantastic and long overdue. Now when are we going to get that deluxe reissue of My Life In The Bush Of Ghosts?

Friday 5/14

It's the end of an era this week in Twin Cities music history - Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis are moving to L.A., and have shut the doors and hung a "For Sale" sign on the door of their Flyte Tyme Studios in the Minneapolis suburb of Edina. When I first moved here in the mid '80's the Cities were getting national attention for bands like The Replacements, Hüsker Dü, Soul Asylum and of course Prince. Jam & Lewis had come out of The Time, and had already started to have some success as song writers and producers with acts like The S.O.S. Band when they had Janet Jackson come to town to record Control. The rest is well documented - they're probably the most succesful production team in modern music history. All of those other bands have come and gone, and Jam & Lewis have kept on making the hits. They will open a new Flyte Tyme in L.A. Tonight Jam will be courtside at Target Center watching his beloved Timberwolves play the Kings in game 5 of the playoff series - the only real reason he's stayed in Minnesota as long as he has is his love of the team. They will be greatly missed by the local scene, one they were instrumental in creating and nurturing.

Thursday 5/13

Pitchfork has this item about the "new and improved" Two Lone Swordsmen. Apparently they have gone from IDM glitchery to being a live band, a sound that will be explored on their forthcoming LP From The Double Gone Chapel, out June 1st in the US. I love what these guys do, and am keen to hear something a little different from them.

Do you care about a new Nine Inch Nails record at this point? I used to love 'em back in the day, and when I saw them at the first Lollapalooza they blew me away with their performance - but that was already a decade ago, and I'm a lot less angst-y now. This item is largely notable for the psuedo tracklist that the writer came up with - especially amusing is track 17 - I'm Deep Down In A Dark Hole With Nothing But My Pain And Hate And Blood To Sup On (Hitler Fist). That about sums it up for me!

Wednesday 5/12

About the mp3s... Ratatat are a duo - guitarist Mike Stroud (Ben Kweller / Dashboard Confessional) and laptop producer Evan Mast. They make a blend of hip hop and electronica instrumentals with a hefty dose of rock guitars over the top. Seventeen Years is a IDM-like hip hop beat track with anthem rock guitar riffing over it. Crazy. London 4 piece Spektrum's Interference (Radio) is a fun track - think post punk vocals (like The Slits) droning over a crunk electro track - punk funk slowed down. From their album Enter The...Spekrtrum. DJ Mehdi's remix of Wayne Shorter's Footprints is all about the clanking shuffle of the beat - jazzy buzzing over an avant house beat. This week's flashback comes from Throbbing Gristle. They were capable of not only making a horrendous feedbacky noise, but also of crafting lovely synth tracks like Distance Dreams - Part Two - a lovely melody, chime-y keys, and a track that still sounds pretty good today despite being twentysomething years old.

The Cure are launching a big US tour festival in support of their new LP and they've chosen some very cool opening acts to join them - Interpol, Mogwai, The Rapture, Cursive, and Muse are among the bands involved. Lots of gloomy riffing to be had here - goths of the world come out of your basements and into the light!

Monday 5/10

New mp3s today...
New music from Ratatat, Spektrum, Wayne Shorter and a flashback from Throbbing Gristle. I don't have time to do a write up on them right now - will try and do it later today!

Saturday 5/8

It's been very hectic at work this week and too nice outside to stay in once I get home so updates have been few. I am happy to share a bit of good music news today - the release in June or July of the fantastic new Phoenix album Alphabetical on Astralwerks. I've been listening to this record for about a month now and I am completely sold on it. I have their previous record, and I liked a few of the songs on it but it didn't blow me away. There was just something too cheesy about it. Well, the cheese is still there but somehow this record transcends it. It's pop music made by a bunch of French dudes who on their debut sounded very "Steely Dan" and '70's , but have gone for the blue eyed soul of the early '80s this time around. The tunes are catchy and well crafted, and the record goes from breezy opener Everything Is Everything to funky irony in I'm An Actor to Hall & Oates styled r'n'b (You Can't Blame It On Anybody). The slickness was offputting at first but the songs are so damn good that I couldn't resist. The perfect summer pop record.

Have any of y'all checked out that AUTOMATO record yet? I cannot stop playing it - I read a review that described it as rap rock, but that's going to give people the wrong idea. It rocks, but not like that nü metal crap- instead think of NYC's post-punk/electro scene, only with hip hop beats and a rapper, and that ultra tight DFA production. I can't believe there isn't more hype to this record, and I know I wrote about it before, but I really like it and want more people to hear it. Oh yeah - they're touring this month with RJD2 and Diverse. Now that's a lineup the word "phat" was invented for.

Thursday 5/6

Finally comes word on the yet to be released LCD Soundsystem album. According to the article there is no release date yet - sometime this fall is as close as they get. I've heard a few of the songs listed in the tracklisting and they are fantastic.

DJ Shadow is putting out a CD/DVD called In Tune And On Time which documents a live gig at London's Brixton Academy in 2002. Lots of good stuff on this release - live cuts, interviews and a sampler battle between Shadow, Cut Chemist and DJ Nu-Mark.

Tuesday 5/4

New releases today...
The Beta Band release their excellent new album Heroes To Zeroes today. Also out is the new Los Lobos album Ride which features guest shots from Tom Waits, Elvis Costello and more. Dykehouse is back with Midrange on Ghostly International, The French Kicks release Trial Of The Century and Magnetic Fields release i. Also out - Komeda's Kokomemedada, Mission Of Burma's Onoffon, Pixies' Wave Of Mutilation (Best Of), and Throbbing Gristles' Taste Of TG - A Beginners Guide. Lots of new stuff - woo-hoo!

Time For Basketball
I'm not a fanatic when it comes to basketball and the NBA - I watch the playoffs usually until the Tiberwolves are knocked out in the first round. Not this year. The Woofies made it out of the first round by beating rookie phenom Carmelo Anthony and the Denver Nuggets, and they move on to play the Sacramento Kings next - a much tougher challenge. What's even cooler is the NBA finally acknowledging Kevin Garnett - he was named MVP of the league this year. KG is the man, and now that he has Spree and Sam Cassell to help him out I look forward to a heated series with the Kings. Go Woofies!

Monday 5/3

R.I.P. Lizzie Mercier Descloux. She died of cancer on April 20th. She recorded 2 classic albums for Ze Records in the late '70's and early '80's, both of which have been reissued in the last couple of years.

Both Billboard and The NME have reports on last weekend's Coachella festival.