Last Night of Lights

Chanukkah is ending tonight, and with it the excuse to gorge myself on latkes and applesauce. The end of Chanukkah also means continued subjection to the hundreds of awful Christmas songs that pervade the airwaves this time of year. One of the nice things about Judaism: no proselytizing and no great cultural imperialism make it very unintrusive. The canon of Chanukkah songs appears to be growing, though. Or, rather, replicating. Because Adam Sandler's song about Jewish celebrities wasn't quite good enough to stand on its own, we now have a glammed up cover version by none other than Neil Diamond. I let it speak for itself.


The holiday season seems to do strange things to people, and not just Neil Diamond. This year we've already had a Jew, Bob Dylan (a.k.a. Robert Zimmerman), come out with an album of Christmas songs, and then, not to be outdone, Senator Orrin Hatch, a Mormon, decided to pen a Chanukkah carol. Now I'm holding out for 'Willie Nelson and John McCain's Kwanzaa Bonanza!' to be released.

I'm not much of a big proponent of all the hoopla around this time of year, since so much of it is just about rampant consumerism, but I'll post a little Chrismachanukwanzakah music anyways.

Matisyahu - Candle [divshare] (off of 'Shake Off the Dust...Arise')
Gil Mantera's Party Dream - Brave New Christmas [divshare] (off of 'Bloodsongs')
Gil Scott-Heron - Winter in America [divshare] (title track of the album)

Only the good do Young

I've been a Jimmy Fallon hater for a while now. He was always the weaker half of the 'Weekend Update' duo on SNL when he was opposite Tina Fey and his acting career after leaving the show has been uniformly terrible. However, I'll give credit where credit is due and say that his Neil Young impression is spot on, and the choice of 'Fresh Prince of Bel-Air' is inspired. New computer should be arriving in the next couple days so I can get back to more music, but until then, enjoy this.

Royksopp Forever!

After a long weekend full of food, booze, football, and most of all friends for the Harvard-Yale game, on Monday night I went into New York City. Fortuitously I was flying out on Tuesday morning, Royksopp was playing at Webster Hall on Monday and Tuesday nights, and two separate groups of friends were going to the show. I've loved Royksopp ever since I first started listening to them four and a half years ago, but had never had the chance to see them live before, so I was beyond excited for the show. I'd asked a bouncer beforehand what he thought the timeline was going to be, and he said the opener would go on at 9 and Royksopp at 10. Having been to plenty of shows at Webster that started well late, I doubted him, but the man knew his stuff and Royksopp went on right at 10. (The openers, Nite Jewel, by the way, were inoffensive, but unimpressive.)

Royksopp came on to huge applause and immediately began killing it. They were playing with a live bassist, which was a nice touch, and had Anneli Drecker along to give guest vocals filling in for Karin Dreijer, Lykke Li, and Robyn. The set ranged widely from newer, more danceable tracks like 'Happy Up Here' to slower pieces like 'Triumphant' and orchestral jams like 'Royksopp Forever.' For me the highlight by far was 'What Else Is There,' which has always been my favorite track. Drecker did a good approximation of Dreijer's vocals and had a suitably crazy, creepy costume. The group also played not one, but two encores, and still had the crowd begging for more. Definitely one of the best shows I've ever seen, and anyone who has the chance to catch them absolutely should, and I also highly recommend buying any or all of their albums, Melody A.M., The Understanding, and the most recent, Junior.

Royksopp - What Else Is There [divshare]
Royksopp - Royksopp Forever [divshare]
Royksopp - Only This Moment (Alan Braxe and Fred Falke remix) [divshare]
Coldplay - Clocks (Royksopp's Trembling Heart remix) [divshare]

Life and Death (of the blog and my computer respectively)

My computer has been in the process of dying lately, so I haven't been able to access my music very often or even do simple things like writing documents without dealing with constant crashes, so the blog has been taking a little break, and posting will be sporadic, if at all, until the beginning of December when I get a new computer.

Here are a few good tracks I've gotten lately, though:

Hot Chip are coming out with a follow-up to the excellent 'Made in the Dark' and have released the first song off the upcoming album, which will be titled 'One Life Stand' and is due out in February. The track, 'Take It In' starts off dark and brooding, but then picks up and turns more cheerful, all the while maintaining Hot Chip's usual earnestness. If this is any indication, 'One Life Stand' will be a must-buy.

Hot Chip - Take It In [divshare]

For something that stays dark and murky, with a good dose of industrial, check out this track from the Joy Division-esque Project:KOMAKINO, which has been remixed by Tom Furse, the keyboardist for The Horrors.

Project:KOMAKINO - Syndrome (Tom Furse remix) [divshare]

The band's original material is very solid too, with the sort of withdrawn, melancholic vibe you'd expect from a reimagining of late '70s post-punk. More can be found on the group's album, The Struggle for Utopia.

And they look the part, too

Project:KOMAKINO - Civility [divshare]

Desperately Seeking Simian

Heading into New York tonight to see Simian Mobile Disco at Webster Hall. Definitely looking forward to seeing them perform and hearing some of the new tracks from Temporary Pleasure live. In the interests of getting myself amped up, here are some remixes of SMD by Allez Allez, Shit Robot, and The Lowbrows. I am prepared to see so many dancing circles tonight.

Simian Mobile Disco - Audacity of Huge (Allez Allez remix) [divshare]
Simian Mobile Disco - It's the Beat (Shit Robot remix) [divshare]
Simian Mobile Disco - Synthesize (The Lowbrows remix) [divshare]

The Onset of Autumn

Adjusting back to life in the States hasn't been too difficult, and quite enjoyable overall, though it still feels a little surreal, especially since I'm only planning on being around for a few months. After the first weekend of October was so warm I went to the beach in Rhode Island and went bodyboarding, now New England fall is in full swing, with cold grey skies and a lack of motivation to head out of the apartment. I made it into New York last weekend and then out to Long Island for a few days, and despite life generally being good and enjoyable, I found myself listening to more and more downbeat, melancholy music. As The Zombies said, it's the time of the season (well, 'for loving' in their case, calm music in mine). I decided to drive back from Long Island all the way, rather than taking the ferry, and wound up listening to The Whitest Boy Alive and Kings of Convenience the whole way. A little Erlend Oye is definitely soothing when you're dealing with insane New York drivers, with some extra help here from Morgan Geist of Metro Area.
The Whitest Boy Alive - 1517 (Morgan Geist remix) [divshare]

I've also received a number of mood-appropriate songs lately, so here's a sampling.

JAEGER is the electronic music project of classically-trained pianist Hil Jaeger, who does all her own production, instrumentation and vocals, creating some beautiful, haunting soundscapes.
JAEGER - No Echo [divshare]
Radiohead - Reckoner (JAEGER Re Re Reckoner remix) [divshare]

I used to listen to a lot of Spanish and Latin American music, thanks mainly to my brother, but it's fallen by the wayside in my library the past couple years. So I was pleasantly surprised to get some tracks from Sevillano group Blacanova, whose dark, distant, hypnotic music sucks you in with its slow drumbeats and plaintive guitar chords.
Blacanova - Linea Nigra [divshare]

Toronto DJ and producer Kenny Glasgow has just put out a new single and the boys at My Favorite Robot Records got their hands on it to provide some remix action. Label bosses My Favorite Robot take it slow and deep with their mix, while Andrew Vandermeer has some more classic house bounce.
Kenny Glasgow - Jump Up in the Air (My Favorite Robot remix) [divshare]
Kenny Glasgow - Jump Up in the Air (Vandermeer remix) [divshare]

And finally, for something a little lighter, check out Zach Galifianakis's interview with 'the most indie artist ever.'


BONUS: For another take on 'Reckoner,' here's a cover by my friend Bartlebeats from Meat Children.
Bartlebeats - Reckoner (Radiohead cover) [divshare]

Laseeeers

I've moved back down to New Haven for a bit, though describing myself as moved still feels a bit weird, considering I'm crashing on friends' couches for now. Work has started up in earnest, which is certainly good for the wallet, though it's already starting to impinge on my concert-going schedule. What is it that I was hoping to go to? New York DJ duo (Pretty) Girls and Lasers are starting up a monthly residency tonight at Arlo & Esme in the East Village. These boys throw down slick mixes of the latest indie and electro tunes, with production designed to get you on the dancefloor. They're also going to begin remixing soon, so keep your eyes peeled for future fantasticness. In the meantime, hit their show if you're in NYC, and check out these minimixes, as well as more on their website.

(Pretty) Girls and Lasers - A Taste of Lasers 2 [divshare]
(Pretty) Girls and Lasers - A Taste of Lasers 3 [divshare]

And for more laser-themed goodness, here's LA producer LAzrtag's take on 'Lollipop,' as well as a track from Bonde do Role's album 'With Lasers.'

Lil Wayne - Lollipop (LAzrtag remix) [divshare]
Bonde do Role - Danca do Zumbi [divshare]

Standing on American Soil

After over four months away, I am back in the U.S. While it didn't feel like it, that was the longest I've ever been out of America at a time. My second summer spent in Lisbon was good. There was a lot of work, but I was happy with my productivity; there were a lot of visitors, but I was happy to share the city with them; there weren't nearly enough concerts, but I will remedy that soon.

From the 9th of September I was traveling around Europe and had an amazing time. Started off in Berlin where I had to be at a conference and really enjoyed the city. I was staying in East Berlin, and the neighborhoods all had a great feel there...lots to do, and very nice people, especially in Friedrichshain, which has a beautiful park. Next up was Prague, which is beautiful, but overly touristed, though I managed to get myself out to some less trafficked areas which were more pleasant. Vienna was not so much my cup of tea. The buildings there are truly impressive, but they become imposing. I felt a need to escape to the outskirts of the city, and wound up walking almost 20 kilometers all over the north side of the city. Next up was Bratislava, the illustrious capital of Slovakia. Literally three sights to see there, but there was extremely cheap beer and the highest concentration of extremely beautiful girls I have ever seen.

Then Krakow to meet up with my brother, which was a very nice city. Great buildings in the Old Town area, and surprisingly bumping nightlife. Poles ne fuckabout pas when it comes to dancing, and people were already getting in the clubs by 9:30 PM. I was also pleasantly surprised by the quality of the DJs. They were playing mainly top 40 stuff, but they were mixing and mashing it very skilfully. Warsaw was my favorite stop of the trip by far. The city is fascinating to me. It was almost completely destroyed during World War II, then rebuilt, but under a Communist regime, but today it is flourishing. There's a great art and music scene, tons of cool clubs in old factories and warehouses, and it's all damn cheap. Poland also has great food, such as the zapiekanka, a sort of ciabatta/half baguette smothered in cheese, whatever savory toppings you might want, and topped off with ketchup or garlic sauce. Delicious.

The zapiekanka was practically large enough to eat me.

The next Berlin for travellers. Finally I headed to Amsterdam to see a roommate from last summer in Lisbon. I managed to get used to biking in a city and was able to get to some parts of town I hadn't seen before, like Jordaan, which is an awesome neighborhood. We also went to a killer electro dance party at Studio 80. It was a gay friendly night, and there were some pretty amazing drag queens there. It's hard to be convincing as a woman when you're already 6'4" before putting heels on. Had a quick stop in Paris after to see my brother, and then back to Lisbon, and now back in Maine for a few days before I move back to New Haven for the fall.

It's always nice coming back to the States after some time away. Of course, whenever I'm here for too long, I start jonesing for some travel, but while I'm away, I begin to miss certain things (many of them food related...oh burritos, how I have longed for you!). I miss the Maine coast a lot when I am away, even if I'm in a place on the water like Lisbon. There's just something intangible about it that sits deep in my mind. I miss being able to discuss silly things, like lines from the latest American movies or American sports. I miss American beer a ton. While I still maintain that Belgian beer is the best in the world, American microbreweries produce more exciting beers, and there's a ton of variety. And the one that eats at me the most is that even though it is definitely easier to keep in touch with friends in the U.S. while abroad than it was in the past, but even with email, Facebook, and Skype, I still feel that I am in contact with people more when I'm home (though home is a bit in limbo, since New Haven began to feel more like home than Maine at times during college).

But now I am back and have a bit of time before I feel ready to leave America behind again. I'm looking forward to getting back to New Haven and also having easy access to NYC, so it should be a very fun autumn (and hopefully I'll get some work done too). In celebration of getting back to the US of A, here's a tune from a French band, Jupiter.

Jupiter - I Love America [divshare]

And here are a few more sweet tracks that have come my way recently (with apologies to artists who were sending me songs while I was extremely busy this summer and also while traveling; unfortunately I can't get to everything while still keeping my day job, but keep the music coming, as I will be blogging more regularly now).

Simian Mobile Disco - Audacity of Huge (Dada Life Guerrilla Fart #10) [divshare]
Cassius - Youth, Speed, Trouble, Cigarettes (Don Diablo remix) [divshare]
Pretty Good Dance Moves - Leave Me Alone (ft. Bjorn Yttling of Peter, Bjorn & John) [divshare]
Cut Copy - Hearts on Fire (Viking remix) [divshare]

And in a final celebration of America, how can I not include Dennis Madalone's classic 'America We Stand As One.'