Heart is in the right place, brain is in the dirt

It was another busy week last week, finishing up grant applications and trying to get all my work done before spring break. One of my best friends from home got into grad school last week, so I went up to Wesleyan University to visit him and to celebrate. Downtown Middletown was much nicer than I expected (which is often people's response to New Haven, as well), and I liked the neighborhoods around campus. The social scene there wasn't too different, although people head out a bit later than my usual routine. Surprisingly diverse campus, too, for a small liberal arts school.
As you would expect from the bands who've come out of Wesleyan recently (MGMT, Boy Crisis, Francis & The Lights, etc.), there's a good-sized hipster population there. I'm generally a proponent of people doing their own thing, but one trend that needs to f-ing stop is people wearing kaffiyehs (a.k.a. "those checkered Palestinian scarf thingies"). They used to be worn as a form of protest against Israeli occupation of the West Bank and Gaza, but now they've just become fashion items of people trying to look like they're hip and "with it." Stop it. Now. This whole rant was sparked by the presence of one particularly annoying kaffiyeh-sporter at one of the parties I was at. In any case, here's some music he would probably masturbate to.

MGMT - Indie Rokkers [divshare]
One of my favorite MGMT songs, by far. Such a good teenage love chronicle.
"i found blood and i saw stars
all in the backseat of your car
and i told you it was love
but you don't wanna know the truth
i was young and in my prime
with my heart still filled with fear
and it goes on bleedin'"

My friend Alex, who's living in Portugal now, also went to Wesleyan and has been in a number of bands since then. Here's a music video from his band Three and A Quarter, kind of a slow, surf-ska vibe, like Sublime.


Minnesotan producer Dom Terrace has turned out another tune that he insists you take at face value. Entitled simply 'House Music,' Dom says "This is NOT a banger, this is house music, it has piano, it has a melody, it has NO distortion, it has a little slop left in it, it is about 124 bpm." Enjoy it!

Dom Terrace - House Music [divshare]

If, however, you want a banger that will slay on the dance floor, LA's Guns 'n Bombs are always a good place to turn. Daze of Thunder have remixed their track 'Riddle of Steel,' and it hits you hard. You can pick up 'Riddle of Steel' on Beatport.

Guns 'n Bombs - Riddle of Steel (Daze of Thunder Bootleg remix) [divshare]

One of my favorite up-and-coming British electropop groups, Heads We Dance, has just come out with a remix of fellow Brits Red Blooded Women. The song is a cover of Depeche Mode's 'Enjoy the Silence,' which I think is one of their best songs. I hadn't listened to it for a long time, and then it came on during a bus ride in Ecuador last winter. I was in the middle of getting back together with my girlfriend after a two and a half month breakup, and the song fit my mood at the time perfectly.

Red Blooded Women - Enjoy the Silence (Heads We Dance remix) [divshare]

Toronto native and current New York house diva, Lisa Shaw has a beautfiul voice, and she absolutely soars over the disco-house production on her track "Can You See Him?" I love this track! You can stream her whole album here (it's coming out on March 10th, so be sure to pick it up). Soulful, jazzy, funk, and overall delicious.

Lisa Shaw - Can You See Him? [divshare]

Producing a swirling collage of electronic and organic sounds, Helicopters are a combination of all things good in popular music. The Chicago pop band's album Sizing Up The Distance is full of great tracks, but here are a couple of my favorites, with soaring vocals reminiscent of Glasvegas.

Helicopters - Getting Out of Town [divshare]
Helicopters - Scraps of Bread [divshare]

Two more days of classes and then off to Paris for the start of spring break, then Turkey for 10 days or so, before one more weekend in Paris. So pumped. Hopefully I can make it do a good show or club night in Paris.