One Day, I'm Going To Fly To Paris

It's been another insane week and a half of work. I've only been sleeping about 4 hours per night, and it feels like for about 16 of the other 20, I'm working. But, thankfully, I was able to get out a bit this past weekend, with my main motivation for non-productivity being the US soccer team's run to the finals on the Confederations Cup. Blowing a 2-0 lead against Brazil in the final was painful, but they were clearly the better team, especially in the second half, as it should be, when futebol is the national religion. In honor of the Brazilian victory, here are a couple remixes by always-brilliant Brazilian producers The Twelves.

First, they take Metric's running-scared album opener off of 'Fantasies' and turn it into a French Touch dance tune, one which that genre's Golden God, Fred Falke, would have been proud of.

Metric - Help I'm Alive (The Twelves remix) [divshare]

And now, one that's risen to the top among the seeming millions of M.I.A. remixes out there (thanks, 'Paper Planes'). Practically perfect.

M.I.A. - Boyz (The Twelves remix) [divshare]

But now that work is done, and order has been restored to the footballing world, I'm taking off tomorrow for Paris to see my brother for a few days, and experience the 4th of July, a la mode Parisien. Hey, the French helped America become independent in the first place, so I'll toast to that. The American Embassy is having a barbecue on Thursday, which should be interesting; my first experience with the diplomatic scene. However, Thursdays are also apparently when this happens in Paris:



I've been saying for a while now that if kids are going to be annoying and play loud music in public on their cell phones, they should at least get some style and get a real boombox. I'm glad these ladies are leading the charge on this issue.

Now for some new music:

Carmine P. Filthy continues to send along some great tunes, this time coming from the city where the heat is on, all night on the beach 'til the break of dawn. That's right--Miami. With a name that first had me unfortunately confusing them with OneRepublic, Awesome New Republic is the product of two UMiami music grads. The pair have been working for the past three years on a massive project that will culminate in the release of their three-volume album 'Rational Geographic' over the course of the summer. Clear, plaintive vocals ring out over strumming guitar and background electronics, until you get to the halfway point of the song and a funky bass kicks in, and then the song soars up to its climax. It's really hard to describe the sound. The beginning and end could be American versions of Empire of the Sun, while the middle is more reminiscent of an American version of The Phantom Band. And being the Anything version of either of those bands is nothing to sniff about.

Awesome New Republic - Digital World [divshare]

From the other side of the US, and partially the other side of the Atlantic, LA band Divisible combines the vocals and guitar of Ghanaian-American Shola with the percussive stylings of drummer Albert Sadia to create a unique and moody, yet driving sound. The band's LP 'Less Than a Lion' was produced by Tommy Walter from Eels, and will be out at the end of the summer, so get a sneak peek now.

Divisible - Love is the Cost [divshare]
Divisible - Exit Music (For a Film) [Radiohead cover] [divshare]