Diagonal Limes

Last Night of Lights

2009-12-18T18:48:00.005-05:00

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

2009-12-08T22:44:00.003-05:00

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!

2009-11-25T22:29:00.004-05:00

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]

Desperately Seeking Simian

2009-10-30T08:52:00.004-04:00

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

2009-10-17T14:30:00.003-04:00

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

2009-10-07T09:39:00.004-04:00

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

2009-09-30T16:05:00.005-04:00

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.'

Off We Go

2009-09-08T20:25:00.004-04:00

Image from scrapetv

I'm taking off in the morning for Berlin for a conference and then a couple weeks of traveling around through the Czech Republic, Austria, Slovakia, Poland, Amsterdam, and Paris, so I most likely won't be posting for a while. Or, who knows, maybe I'll get inspired. But hopefully I'll be too busy soaking in the local cultures and sucking down the local brews. Here are a couple tracks I've been digging lately before I hit the road. Just going to be quick with this so I can get some sleep.

California kid Jason Sundstrom is relatively new to the game, but he's already turning out some high quality material and this original mix absolutely kills it.

Jason Sundstrom -Dead Calm [divshare]

Dom Terrace is back with a new track, switching things up from his usual style. The slowed down, distorted vocals take a little getting used to, but I really dig the instrumentals.

Dom Terrace - Wires in My Head [divshare]

And the cherry on top of this post is a fresh remix of one of my favorite tracks to come out last year, 'Shooting Stars' by the Bag Raiders. This disco mix comes to us courtesy of Kris Menace, who's right up at the top of the French Touch game right now with Fred Falke and Lifelike, and if it hasn't sold out, 'Shooting Stars' should be available now on 12" from Modular.

Bag Raiders - Shooting Stars (Kris Menace remix) [divshare]

Take care out there, and keep on dancing!

Many Happy Returns

2009-09-03T19:46:00.005-04:00

So that's where Sam Sparro went. After his self-titled debut album last year, there hadn't really been anything heard from him. My hope had been that he is working on a follow up album that will fulfill his true potential, matching up his impressive voice with some better songwriting. Turns out, he's been hanging around with Beni, formerly of Riot in Belgium, and working on his best Prince impression. The video also contains the hands-down winner for "cutest kid in a music video in 2009," being the kid in the far-too-old-for-him collared shirt and sweater ensemble, breaking it down in the grocery store. Awesomeness. Also check out the slightly more clubby remix from Jori Hulkkonen.

BENI - Maximus
by MaisonKitsune

Beni ft. Sam Sparro - Maximus (Jori Hulkkonen remix) [removed by request]

And for a little more Sam Sparro, here's his part as a sort of David Bowie space-man in a ridiculous puppet musical amongst the stars (um, yeah, can't think of how else to describe it), courtesy of Basement Jaxx. And also retro maestro Russ Chimes's mix of Sparro's hit from last summer, 'Black and Gold.'

Sam Sparro - Black and Gold (Russ Chimes remix) [removed by request]

Loving Linus and the Devilish Don

2009-08-26T18:02:00.006-04:00

Linus Loves has been a favorite producer of mine for a while now. Sure he does some stuff that I don't really approve of at times (Britney Spears remix, anyone?), but overall, his production is always amazingly smooth and they feel well-composed, rather than some tracks today where it seems like the producer just got on the a laptop and midi controller and started throwing things together like an episode of 'Will it Blend?'

Linus is dropping a new single, 'Prom Night' (out now on Beatport and iTunes), and remixes from Don Diablo and Linus's label-mate BURNS have been, well, burning up the web the past few weeks. But I haven't discussed them yet, and this is my blog, so goddammit I'm going to do it! The original mix by Linus Loves is flat-out awesome. It starts off much choppier than many of his earlier songs, like 'Rock Chk,' but the sound becomes fuller as the song progresses, with the Simian Mobile Disco-style blips and beeps backed by strings. The buildup and break after the 3 minute mark ensure that 'Prom Night' can rock it on the dancefloor, too. It also has a great video, made of cut and spliced clips from the 1976 prom night horror/sci-fi movie 'Carrie.' Look for a very young John Travolta.

linus loves - prom night from Thomas Bachellier on Vimeo.

Don Diablo's mix focuses on the bass guitar, dropping some funk in place of the more electronic elements of Linus Loves' production and filling your need for MORE COWBELL, turning the song into a rollicking piece of bass-heavy disco. It's my favorite mix yet from Diablo, who has blown up this past year through his prolific production (which is accompanied by mass emails to blogs for every track). He didn't really do much for me at first, but now as his work evolves, Diablo seems to be getting smoother and more sophisticated, moving away from more distorted, banger-ish sounds. Get more of his tracks on Beatport here.

Linus Loves - Prom Night (Don Diablo remix) [divshare]

Also check out Diablo's new track 'I Am Not From France.' While James Murphy states very early on in LCD Soundsystem's 'North American Scum,' "And for those of you who still think we're from England, we're not," Don Diablo just puts his disavowal of his alleged nationality right in the title of his single. The song gets a remix from Louis LaRoche, who, in spite of the song title, adds a little French Touch with his synth work, layered over another heavy Larry Graham-esque bassline.

Don Diablo - I Am Not From France (Louis La Roche remix) [divshare]

For a little more from Linus Loves, check out his great glitchy remix of British one-man band The Energies and for another Louis La Roche mix, here's his take on one of the early songs by Heads We Dance.

The Energies - Born Again Runner (Linus Loves remix) [divshare]
Heads We Dance - My Heart is Set on You (Louis La Roche remix) [divshare]

Bonus: While I wasn't a huge fan of BURNS' remix of 'Prom Night,' I do love the video for his 'Turbo,' which is made up of clips from the seminal '80s movie 'Breakin'.' So many great and absurd dance moves here.

burns - turbo from Thomas Bachellier on Vimeo.

A Song for the End of Summer

2009-08-25T17:02:00.003-04:00

While riding on the train back from Setubal earlier today, it struck me that the summer is about to end. This doesn't have the same meaning as it used to, though. I'm not returning to university next week, I'm not moving in or out of anywhere just yet, and I can keep going to the beach for as long as it's nice out. So not that much actually changes, but it still feels definitively like fall is arriving. I suppose that's just a product of having been in the American educational system for 16 years: its calendar and the one in my mind are still the same.

But I'm glad that autumn will be arriving. My work is going well, I've got almost three weeks of traveling approaching, and then a return to the U.S. to look forward to. As much as I love Lisbon, I feel ready for a change again. Maybe after traveling I'll feel differently, but I've only left myself two days here at the end of September, so there won't be too much time for reflection (just enough to visit some of my favorite places, many of them involving food, of course).

I suppose this will be filed away mentally as just another epoch of my life now. "My Two Summers in Lisboa," with its attendant friends, events, and work focus. Soon I will hit the road across Central Europe, but in another sense it is moving forward on the road of life. Right now I'm very happy with the path that's ahead of me and also that which is behind me. I'm not one to dwell on my accomplishments, but looking back over the past three months and even more so beyond them to the past few years, there are many things I have done that I am proud of, most especially the friends I have made and the relationships I've forged with them.

Of course, there are also things about which I am ashamed, unhappy, or just disappointed. I must live with those less fortunate incidents or decisions, and learn from them. "Learn from your mistakes is a cliche, but it's one that actually has value beyond being an over-used phrase. For now, though, I think those negative aspects of my past have made me a better person in the present and hopefully in the future as well. So onward I ride. As Tom Vek says in this song, with a little remix action from Phones a.k.a. Paul Epworth, "There's nothing but green lights from here." Thanks to my friend Andre for this one. You can buy Vek's 2005 debut album 'We Have Sound' here.

Tom Vek - Nothing But Green Lights (Phones remix) [divshare]

Back on Track

2009-08-20T19:52:00.007-04:00

In spite of my best intentions, this blog has fallen a bit by the wayside this past month. Okay, a lot by the wayside. Thing is, I've had friends and family visiting pretty much nonstop since late July, and that hasn't left much time for anything else, be it work, listening to new music, or writing. And when friends weren't keeping me busy, I've been frequently trying to entertain and placate my overly energetic cat. But, I can't complain. Guests are always fun, and it was a blast getting to show folks places I love in Lisbon and helping them understand why I think living in this city is so amazing.

But, I've been finally catching up on work and also on music today, so I've got some good stuff. One of my best friends from high school, Clark Smith, a saxophonist by trade and training, is now playing in a number of groups out in Denver and one of them, Bokonon, just dropped their first EP, which Clark produced, and has some really great jazz grooves. The EP is available for free download and if you dig jazz, or stuff a little more funky like Galactic, check it out.
Bokonon - Polar Bear Tranqs [divshare]

One of the artists Clark has been working with out in Colorado is Dominic Lalli, an extremely accomplished jazz sax player, who's started moving into electronic music. His electro project, Big Gigantic, has been making some waves lately, and he's able to seamlessly blend many genres of electronic music on a great full-length debut, 'Fire it Up', which is free for download from his official site. At times it sounds like Ratatat, at other times like more classic house or lounge music, at others trance...all over the board, but always good.

Big Gigantic - Fire It Up [divshare]
Big Gigantic - Wish I Knew [divshare]

And finally, to head up north, I got sent some tracks from Montreal-based My Favorite Robot, which has quickly moved onto repeat on my computer. The group, who've just started a label, have a dark, minimal techno sound, similar to a lot of what you'd hear on a Kompakt sampler, but very unique. The atmospheric strings on 'While My Guitar Gently Creeps' build a sense of foreboding behind the beeping electronic sounds and handclaps, while the guitar riff makes the song sound like it would belong on the soundtrack of a futuristic Western film (a serious one, not like 'Wild Wild West'!). My favorite My Favorite Robot song, though, is 'Modest Goddess,' with dark vocals to match its industrial house backing track. If I only had a car right now, I think it would be excellent night time driving music. Check out their label on Beatport and show some support.
My Favorite Robot - While My Guitar Gently Creeps (Original Mix) [divshare]
My Favorite Robot - Modest Goddess (Original Mix) [divshare]

A Return to Form

2009-07-12T18:26:00.009-04:00

Damn, been a very long time since I last posted. I would keep saying that "life is busy," but this is really just a permanent condition and part of the post-college, "responsibility" thing that I am discovering. Been back in Lisbon for a week now. Paris was a wonderful break while I was there, filled mainly with trips to and from various food landmarks that my brother has discovered there. This included one of the best meals I have ever had, although those of us who ate there swore a death oath not to spread the word. Don't want the NY Times telling the whole world about it. There was also mojito ice cream, lavender-apricot cake, and the best pastrami sandwich I've ever had (at a Polish deli). We were denied entrance to a barbecue at the American ambassador's residence after carrying a watermelon 45 minutes across Paris, and then proceeded to carry the melon around the rest of the night to various bars (we named it Fred). Fred was eaten over the next two days, and was exceedingly delicious. We drank more, ate more, danced more, and then did it all over again. And while it wasn't quite as good as last year, and at the risk of sounding unpatriotic, I had one of my best, most fun 4th of July's just hanging out at a friend's apartment and then dancing the night away in a club with the great mash-ups of Swinging Monkeys Crew keeping us going until it was late in the early morning and my shirt was saturated with sweat.
Here in Lisbon again, it's been more work, although I've been trying to relax a little more, too. Why not? I was able to get to the beach twice this weekend and went out a few nights in Bairro Alto and last night made it over to Lux for my first time this summer. Before heading out to the club last night, though, I stopped in with a few friends at a free show in Bairro Alto by the Brazilian duo Nativix. The pair mixes catchy-as-hell trance and house beats with live instrumentation and vocals, creating a blend of electronica, reggae/hip hop (think a Brazilian version of Matisyahu?), and flute. That's right, flute. Unfortunately, the sound quality of the bar last night wasn't great for vocals, so the gig mostly turned into a DJ set for Andrea Mochel (including a very solid Digitalism mix), the more electronically-inclined half of the group. However, it was still very enjoyable, and you should definitely check out Nativix's tunes, which is made easy and economical, since their album is available for free streaming and download here.

Nativix - Jah Eh [divshare]
Nativix - Amanheceu [divshare]
Nativix - Dance sem Parar [divshare]

One song that I've been listening to a lot lately, after months of having it in my iTunes, is 'Where Were You Last Night' by San Francisco group Photons, off their . The band's multi-layered, Polyphonic Spree-esque sound, with a good dash of The Shortwave Set thrown in, continues to impress me, and the strained lead vocals work perfectly with the song's message as they cry out over vocal harmonies.

Photons - Where Were You Last Night [divshare]

And since I've been out of posting mode for a while, here are some music-related videos and such that I've been enjoying.

Japanese band Sour put together a very cool video made up of coordinated webcam submissions by selected fans. Really amazing how well this came together.

And very possibly, the funniest music-related thing I've seen in a long time (okay, it came out about a month ago, but I still have had it saved in Firefox the whole time because I like it so much) is this visual representation by artist Andrew Kuo of a Cam'ron concert and the rapper's new album, 'Crime Pays,' which is definitely the funniest thing I have ever seen in the New York Times. Enjoy (click the image or the earlier link to enlarge).

And I end up with a massive remix of DJ Mehdi's 'Pocket Piano' that Zombie Nation was dropping at a festival here in Lisbon this weekend. My friend Filipe, who saw the show, said they were amazing, and it's thanks to him that I found this vid.

One Day, I'm Going To Fly To Paris

2009-06-30T21:43:00.008-04:00

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]

Bananas for Simian

2009-06-22T20:54:00.004-04:00

My song obsession of the past week has been the song that Simian Mobile Disco has announced as the first single off their forthcoming sophomore album, 'Temporary Pleasure.' It's called 'Audacity of Huge' and features vocals from Chris Keating of Yeasayer.

I never used to like SMD. It took me a while to come around. I liked the original Simian, although I'll be the first to admit that I never listened to them at all before Justice made themselves famous remixing 'Never Be Alone' into 'We Are Your Friends.' Then I started in, and discovered that 'Never Be Alone' wasn't even really a good song in the Simian scheme of things. They could turn out some absolutely brilliant pop songs.

But alas, the band broke up. Simon Lord has gone on to become part of The Black Ghosts, whose self-titled album was one of my favorites of last year. Meanwhile, I was always a bit turned off by the blipping and beeping of SMD. Now, though, I find myself fully a convert, eagerly anticipating the upcoming album.

'Audacity of Huge' is a commentary on conspicuous consumption, rehashing the Beatles' adage that "Money can't buy me love." The song and it's accompanying brightly colored and beautifully shot video are both hilarious for the incongruity and absurdity of the "luxury items" presented as part of the narrator's resume of goods. Outdated technology, celebrities, a honey-covered tennis player...who wouldn't want to get with this guy? The song is addicting, though. Check out the great video and also a remix from Naum Gabo. The single doesn't come out for a bit, but you can listen to the original and get more details from Too Many Sebastians.

Simian Mobile Disco - Audacity of Huge (Naum Gabo remix) [divshare]

Bonus: Here's some just plain Simian, off their album 'We Are Your Friends,' which, as a friend, I highly recommend.

Simian - Sunshine [divshare]

Album Review: E-603's 'Torn Up'

2009-06-20T11:36:00.004-04:00

After a yearlong wait, song-masher supreme E-603 has finally dropped his new album 'Torn Up,' which is available in 'In Rainbows' or 'Feed the Animals' pay-as-you-please style on his website. The kid from New Hampshire had the audacity last year to put out his first record, the fantastic 'Something for Everyone' (free download) right as Girl Talk's 'Feed the Animals' was getting loads of hype before its release. I listened to 'Something for Everyone' first, on repeat for a while, and in my opinion, it kicked Girl Talk's ass. The song combinations worked out great, there was a wide variety of background samples, and the transitions were incredibly smooth.

'Torn Up' actually stumbles a little out of the gates. The first track, 'Smash That' is pretty weak. Opening the album with a vocal from Eminem, and newer Eminem at that, is a bad idea. If it was Em circa 1999, that would be sweet, but he's been slipping for a while now. However, after this initial misstep, E-603 gets back to what he's good at. The second track, 'Lights Out' is very solid, and from there, the mixing continues, with E being unafraid to slow things down, using soul and older R&B instrumentals, and then switch back over seamlessly to having Ratatat backing up DMX on the transition from 'The Right Kind' to 'If You Wanna.' The songs on 'Torn Up' are longer than on 'Something for Everyone,' and the whole album runs much longer, but the tracks still all are mixed so that you can listen to the entire album straight through and it will sound like a single track. The one problem with the added length, is that you feel like E-603 is digging further and further into his digital "record bin," and also has to let samples play out longer than they maybe deserve, like the sample of City High at the end of 'If You Wanna' or my unfortunately being reminded of the existence of Limp Bizkit by their inclusion in 'Push 'em Up.' Other standout tracks are 'Dirtbag Baby,' 'Hey Shorty,' and 'Keep it Cool' (love the New Order at the end). Overall, the album is another great effort, and one in which E-603 showcases his skills more, chopping samples, and also dropping in very subtle samples in the background (listen for Crazy Town's 'Butterfly' at the beginning of 'Shake Your Rump'). I think it will be hard for E-603 to ever match Girl Talk in terms of showmanship or fan base, but musically, he continues to surpass him.

E-603 - Lights Out [divshare]

E-603 - Dirtbag Baby [divshare]

E-603 - Keep It Cool [divshare]

Summer Living (While Taking Care of Business)

2009-06-17T18:54:00.007-04:00

Life continues to be very busy. I keep meaning to write posts, and then getting caught up in something completely different. I'm working every day of the week, combing through hundreds of pages of documents in a not unpleasant, but not overwhelmingly awesome archive building, and then coming home at night and doing more research and reading. I'm trying to get ahead with my work, so I'll be ready for travel and visitors in July.
It hasn't been all work and no play, though. Last Friday was the Festa de São Antonio, Lisbon's biggest party of the year. After dinner at a friend's house, we headed downtown and into the madness (one friend, by the way, was wearing a kilt to fulfill a bet he'd made), drinking wine from the bottle on the metro and in the streets. There were tens of thousands of people walking around everywhere, always seeming to be moving. We drifted from place to place, before finally growing tired of the crush of people and heading to a club for a little. I don't have my full party stamina back, though, and by 4am I had to crash.
Not sure what this weekend holds in store. I was hoping to go see Gui Boratto tomorrow night at Lux as he tours in support of his new record 'Take My Breath Away,' but I now have meetings scheduled on Friday morning, so that might not be such a good idea. We'll see, though.

While the weather here was beautiful today, it hasn't been that great lately, and I'm always cooped up inside at work anyways, so I need to listen to sunny music to keep me going/sane. When I was in middle school and high school, I listened to a lot of reggae. Still do on occasion, because it always cheers me up and I love the lyrics, especially in classic stuff like Abyssinians. Of course, tastes do change, though, and I've been on much more of an electronic/dance bent for the past few years.
Well, DJ Spooky, a.k.a. Paul D. Miller a.ka. That Subliminal Kid, provides the perfect intersection. I saw Spooky in New Haven in the spring giving a showing of his film "remix" 'ReBirth of a Nation,' his mixing and editing of classic early American film 'Birth of a Nation,' which celebrated the founding of the Ku Klux Klan. While he was doing a screening of the DVD, in live performances, Spooky will physically remix the movie, changing the cuts, transitions, and music, to make a unique show. His reinterpretation was very powerful, and well-made, and he's a brilliant speaker.
So, having seen what he could do remixing film, I decided to check out some of his musical remixes, having only heard his original material before. The man's got skills. Legendary reggae label Trojan Records [official site] let Spooky into their vaults and let him have his pick of their tunes, resulting in his albums 'Creation Rebel-Trojan Re-Mixed, Re-Visioned, Re-Versioned' and 'In Fine Style: 50,000 Volts of Trojan Records.' These are both amazing albums. If you like reggae, like turntablists, or like dance music, this should work for you. Here are a couple of my favorite songs off of 'Creation Rebel.' Bob Marley, everyone knows, but Wayne Smith was one of the originators of the Sleng Teng. (Just click the link, Wikipedia can explain it better than I can. It sounds good, that's all I know.)

Bob Marley - Soul Rebel (DJ Spooky remix) [divshare]
Wayne Smith - Under Mi Sleng Teng (DJ Spooky remix) [divshare]

And for a more updated bit of sunny music (no, not going to subject you to R.E.M.'s 'Shiny Happy People'), with the power of three groups combined, I give you...'Beaches and Friends.' Frequently-crunchier Brazilian producers Database re-edited the remix of Brooklyn-based synth band French Horn Rebellion (playing in Bangor, Maine on the 4th of July; go figure) by Chicago's finest electro-pop outlet, Hey Champ (currently touring the West Coast; catch them if you can). The result: a breezy, fun, and laid-back tune for summer.

Database vs. French Horn Rebellion (Hey Champ remix) [divshare]

That's all for now, but get excited, because more good music's on the way from my inbox back to the internet, and also, E-603's new album is dropping very soon, which should be awesome. The Animal Show already has advance tracks and reviews.

Bonus: When I was looking for a Youtube video of 'Shiny Happy People' I found this, REM and the Muppets performing 'Furry Happy Monsters.' So good. Life is great sometimes.

Nu the Ravin', Ever More

2009-06-09T20:52:00.005-04:00

Germany's bad boy Fukkk Offf has branched out from his Hamburg roots to storm onto the world's dancefloors, slapping anyone who ignores his presence. Seamlessly melding thrashing electro and gangsta rap style, Fukkk Offf has bridged genres and positioned himself to reap the benefits, making himself not only more than friends with his audience, but more than a club DJ.

Fukkk Offf - Love Me, Hate Me, Kiss Me, Kill Me [divshare]
Fukkk Offf - More Than Friends [divshare]

Fukkk Offf's new album is out on Coco Machete records and is available from Beatport now. If you want to dance and dance hard, this is what you need.

Being a Portugueezer Again

2009-06-08T19:29:00.005-04:00

For a second summer, now, I'm living in Lisboa (Lisbon for all the Anglophonists out there) in Portugal, doing research at the national archives. It feels damn good to be back here, although my scene has changed a lot. The majority of my friends from last summer have moved on to elsewhere in Europe or back to the States, with only a couple exceptions. While this is sad in many ways, it will also force me to be more active in finding a new group of friends, which I'm excited for. Got into an apartment in Principe Real, at the top of Bairro Alto, the main going-out area, and I'm in between two parks, so it's a great location and very cheap, by Portuguese or American standards, which means for Europe it's amazing. Also, my landlady, who's also one of my roommates, is an Italian chef who cooks dinner for the apartment most nights, which means lots of great food.
I've been taking it easy so far and trying to get over jetlag, but tomorrow and Wednesday I'll begin research in earnest, since absolutely nothing is going to get done this weekend. It's the Festa de Sao Antonio starting on Thursday, a celebration of Lisbon's adopted patron saint, with tons of food and partying throughout the streets of the city's older neighborhoods. I missed out last year because of a trip to Paris to see friends, so I'm excited this time around. Sleep will not be high on the list of priorities this weekend.
I went to an outdoor concert on the Miradouro de São Pedro de Alcântara, right near my apartment, a couple nights ago to see a local band and then also a Spanish rumba band, but I'm getting pumped to see more shows as the summer rolls on.

I've been very neglectful of my inbox lately, having had tons of time taken up by graduation, packing, unpacking, re-packing, traveling, and unpacking once again, so I'm finally getting the chance to listen to some of the tracks I've been getting.

Hitting with heavy synths and thrashing hard, Arizona duo Ghouliez have started to make some waves on the electro scene with their stellar, long-form original work and remixes. Thankfully, they avoid the overly distorted sounds that ruin so many remixes these days, and take the smoother route. Definitely a group to keep an eye on and shake your ass to.

Ghouliez - Blackest Sky [divshare]
Digitalism - Taken Away (Ghouliez remix) [divshare]

Back on the hip hop side of things, Boston-based rapper and producer Father Abraham is being crazy productive. While he may not be the Father Abraham who spawned Judaism, Christianity, and Islam way back when, today he's churning out songs nonstop with samples and his own synths backing the tracks, creating a sound with a healthy dose of MF Doom, or as he's apparently calling himself now, just plain DOOM. Abe just came out with a new album, which you can download here.

Father Abraham - Spacemarch [divshare]

He's also currently working on a project to produce one song every week during 2009, the ambitious and aptly titled 52 Pickup (check it out). My favorite song so far is 'Jacques Cousteau,' if only because deep-sea exploration and rap seem so incongruous. The story of the song is here.

Father Abraham - Jacques Cousteau [divshare]

Just one final note: I had always kind of wondered where Belgian/Portuguese producer Moulinex had gotten his name. Thought perhaps it had something to do with Belgium and their famous moules (mussels). I was surprised yesterday morning to see the brand of the coffeemaker at my hostel: Moulinex.

The Real Dan Black Stands Up

2009-06-01T22:33:00.003-04:00

I first started listening to Dan Black's work last summer when the late great blog Good Weather for Airstrikes posted a couple covers he did. Now he's starting to pump out his own original tunes, and the results are great. Black has just come out with a new video for his song 'Symphonies.' The video pays tribute to classic films and is generally fantastic, but the entire time I listen to the song, I'm a little distracted. This is because the instrumentals backing it are the same that Black used last year for his cover of Biggie's 'Hypnotize.' I watch the 'Symphonies' video and keep waiting for Black to talk about twisting cabbage and people winding up in a Brooklyn basement. 'Symphonies' stands well on its own, though, and I'm looking forward to hearing more Dan Black tunes. [Note: I'm naturally inclined to find Dan Black songs a little funny anyways, since a friend from home since pretty much birth is also named Dan Black.]

Here's Dan's cover of Notorious B.I.G.'s 'Hypnotize,' released in 1997 off of 'Life After Death.'

Dan Black - HYPNTZ [divshare]

And here's a remix of Dan's new track 'Symphonies' by current darlings of the blogs and electronic music scene, Passion Pit, whose new album 'Manners' you can now pick up.

Dan Black - Symphonies (Passion Pit remix) [divshare]

Bonus: Dan Black also did his own cover/remix of The Rolling Stones' classic track 'Jumping Jack Flash,' which, while not quite as arresting as 'HYPNTZ,' is still damn cool. Definitely check it out. Try to pick out the samples in the backing music.

Dan Black - JMPNG JCK FLSH [divshare]

Today's The Day I Go Up in Flames

2009-06-01T22:29:00.002-04:00

[This was originally posted almost a week ago, but Blogger in all its wisdom managed to delete the post at some point this week. Sweet.]

Mega post. There's been a whole lot going on lately.

This past Monday, I finally graduated from college and received my
university diploma. The four years leading up to it seem both very
long and incredibly short at the same time. All the ceremonies were
generally good. Christopher Buckley, author of Thank
You for Smoking was the Class Day speaker and gave a
hilarious, touching, and overall awesome speech, which you
can see the text of here. Many times we graduates were told that
the weekend wasn't really for us, but instead for the parents,
grandparents, and other friends and relatives who had helped us reach
this point in our lives.

I would disagree. Graduation is about the graduates. It is about being
able to look back on the four years you have spent at a university and
being able to see how you have progressed during that time, something
far more suitable to self-examination than to outside observation. It
is about being able to recognize the fact that you are unlikely ever
to be able to live in such immediacy with your closest group of
friends for the rest of your life, but appreciating and mourning this
fact at the same time.

I am not a fan of the cliche sentiment "Don't cry because it's over;
smile because it happened." Bullshit. I much prefer the Big Lebowski's
(albeit insincere) admonition that "Strong men also cry." I've come to
terms over the past few years with the fact that crying is a natural
part of life. It's idiotic to try to be macho and deny or hide your
emotions. Emotions are what make us human; they are what elicit
sympathy from others and what drive us as people, much as we may try
to control them in an effort to present ourselves as "rational,"
whatever the hell that is. So yes, cry because it's over. Yes, we
should be hopeful and glad for that which lies ahead, but if something
that has ended was truly valuable, than it is only sensible, and it is
only human, to mourn its passing.

What I will miss most about college is my proximity to my friends. I
have come to terms over the past four years with distance from my high
school friends, but somehow with college it feels different. Maybe it
is actually living together. Maybe it is sharing so many more
experiences because every single one of your peers inhabits the same
small area and walks the exact same streets every day, even on
weekends. I know that I will stay in touch with my friends, especially
those with whom I became particularly close in just the past year and
a half and we will always be able to reflect on the crazy, wonderful,
hilarious, sad, wild, angry, joyous, frustrating, etc. times we have
had together, and hopefully will continue to have whenever we meet up.
However, it is time to begin making new memories that we can share
with each other and with which we may continue to enrich each other's
lives through our unique experiences.

I have posted this song by LCD Soundsystem
before, but it continues to resonate for me. Listen to it and reflect
on a time when you had to leave behind a group of people with whom you
felt an incredibly close connection, one that you knew would still
exist, but just never be as close within reach again. When I left
Lisbon last summer, this song was playing in a club and it was all I
could do to fight back the tears. Try to do the same.

LCD Soundsystem - All My Friends [divshare] off of 'Sound of Silver'
Franz Ferdinand - All My Friends (LCD Soundsystem cover) [divshare]

The worst part of the whole graduation/moving out/leaving experience
is saying goodbye to people and honestly not knowing when I will see
them again. I have faith that I will see my close friends again within
the next year, but it is still difficult. I leave for Portugal in a
week for the summer, for which I am incredibly excited, but I do not
know what exactly I will be doing after I come back in either August
or September. Or I may not come back and will head off to Africa
instead. It's daunting, thrilling, scary, and sad at the same time.
For those people about whom I care very deeply, I think the lyrics of
this song sum things up very well. Lifelike has taken Does It Offend You,
Yeah?'s 'Epic Last Song' and made it even more epic and, in my
opinion, more enjoyable. It was one of the staples of my listening
during my last week in New Haven, and graduation day was, to
paraphrase the song, the day my life there went up in flames.

Does It Offend You, Yeah? - Epic Last Song (Lifelike remix) [divshare] original off of 'You Have No Idea What'

Now I am back in Maine for a week, unpacking and packing my life once
again. I've been catching up with friends, trying to do job searching,
trying to keep up with friends from school, trying to prepare for my
travels, and trying to do a million other things. I feel very uprooted
now. I love Maine and I always enjoy coming back here, but today more
than any other time that I have been back here, I felt disconnected. I
was in Portland and wasn't sure what to do, where to go, which streets
were one way or not. Having lived in New Haven for four years and in
the same apartment for two, I felt comfortable there and began to feel
like it was home. Now that is gone, and Maine doesn't feel as much
like home anymore. I will always love spending time in Maine and may
come back here more permanently some day, but for now I think I need
to wander.

Okkervil River - Maine Island Lovers [divshare] off of 'Down The River of Golden Dreams'

Fine Wine and Weather

2009-05-19T21:33:00.005-04:00

Life has been pretty great the past few days. Senior festivities are in full swing leading up to graduation. My trip to South Carolina was a lot of fun, and it was nice to spend time with all my friends somewhere other than New Haven. The drive down was interesting, as I left with three other friends at 11 pm and drove through the night. I barely slept and then had the morning shift from 6 to 9 am, driving through Virginia and North Carolina. By the end we were all completely loopy. We listened multiple times to a couple mix CDs I had made. One of my favorite tracks that I haven't posted before is from Diagonal Limes' favorite Digitalfoxglove. Can't wait until he turns out some new work.

Digitalfoxglove - Brassionata [divshare]

Then there have been parties, a scotch tasting, and today a tour of the Jonathan Edwards Winery in northern Connecticut to tour the vineyard and winery and sample the vintages (the petite sirah and zinfandel were the best). It was an absolutely glorious day.

Keeping it European, I got in a great track from Englishman Thomas Balmforth. 'Promote Pistols' is really a beautiful composition, with chimes at times giving off an Asian vibe, but always keeping the spirit of the track moving. It's not a dancefloor tune, but it's just a joy to listen to. You can check out his other tracks and pick them up on his web site.

Thomas Balmforth - Promote Pistols [divshare]

Another English group, Leeds-based Heads We Dance is going to be coming out with their debut album 'Love Technology' soon, and their hype machine is swinging into high gear. The album will be the first to be available for pre-release streaming via an iPhone app and remixes keep coming out. The album should be a great one. Here's the big sound boy from Barcelona, Sidechains', take on one of the album tracks.

Heads We Dance - The Human Touch (Sidechains remix) [divshare]

And finally, here's a track that's been rivalling Royksopp's 'Happy Up Here' for primacy on my playlists recently. Berlin producer Siriusmo is coming out with a new album soon and he's going to have a winner if his track 'High Together' is any indication. The song is uplifting, fun, and interesting all the way through. The sound is beachy at first, but then the beat drops and it gets much more dancey. Also, for something a little more funky, check out his remix of David Rubato's song 'Circuit.' You can buy Siriusmo's work on Beatport.
Siriusmo - High Together [divshare]
David Rubato - Circuit (Siriusmo remix) [divshare]

Back in the Saddle Again

2009-05-12T19:23:00.003-04:00

It's been a very long absence. (Apologies to artists who've sent me tracks lately, I will get around to them.) Since I last posted, I've had a hell of a lot of work, but that's all in the past now, and barring any unforeseen failures, I am finished with college. I've taken off with friends for the week to Myrtle Beach, SC to relax and catch some sun before heading back to New Haven for another week of celebrations and events with other seniors, culminating in the big graduation day. It feels weird, it feels good, but most of all, it does now feel like it's time.

I'm not going to take too much time away from my friends right now to post, but here are a few of the songs that I've been jamming to the past few weeks and which got me through my 60 or so pages of papers at the end of the semester.

First off, I finally listened to Royksopp's new album 'Junior' all the way through, and I absolutely love it. My favorite track remains, though, the opener, 'Happy Up Here.' Here's the video for it. The Norwegians have turned out another brilliant album.

Next up is another great video. I've started to like The Golden Filter's remix work, and began listening to a few of their original songs, too. The song 'Solid Gold' has a great beat and the video is awesome, when colored smoke starts flowing out of the singer. The masks on the singer and the male star of the video look like they were stolen out of Bjork or Lovefoxx's costume closet.

And finally, the song that I have been obsessed with for weeks now. Passion Pit is getting amped up for the release of their debut full-length album 'Manners,' which should be great and comes out in one week! A little while ago, they turned out a remix of Ra Ra Riot's song 'Ghost Under Rocks' off of their album 'The Rhumb Line.' This. Song. Is. Incredible. Enjoy it, but not too much, or you might need to change your pants afterward. Hopefully Passion Pit will stick around in the remix game, because they've done a damn good job here.

Ra Ra Riot - Ghost Under Rocks (Passion Pit remix) [divshare]

Particles of Light and Sound

2009-04-21T14:41:00.004-04:00

Just got in a new track from San Francisco octet Photons from their much-anticipated upcoming sophomore EP. The band has in the past drawn comparisons to Arcade Fire and The Decemberists, but their new single, 'Where Were You Last Night,' is much more reminiscent to me of The Polyphonic Spree with its multi-layered instrumentals and vocal harmonies. The new 'Glory! EP' will be available exclusively from Insound starting on May 12, prior to its full national release on June 23. The band's 2008 self-titled debut CD has already sold out, so this will be your best chance to hear the fresh, lush sounds of this rising group. Prepare to be intrigued and enveloped.

Photons - Where Were You Last Night [divshare] Off the Glory! EP
Photons - This Must Be Love [divshare] Off the Photons EP

Bonus: The Polyphonic Spree - Lithium (Nirvana) [divshare]

Of Montreal, Monae, and Bowie

2009-04-20T15:26:00.005-04:00

Last night, after two days of long sleep to recover from The Juan Maclean's show on Friday in New York, I went to see Of Montreal performing at Toad's Place here in New Haven (shoutouts to Molly and Mimi who I saw there). Had to get a lot of work done, so I missed the beginning of Janelle Monae, who was opening. When I arrived, she was in the middle of a song, while also finger painting on a canvas onstage. Her band was rocking hard, cranking out funky space-soul. While I'm generally loathe to make comparisons like "So and so is like the female ______," Monae really is like a female cross between Prince and Cee-Lo, and I don't think that's a comparison she'd be offended by. Some really cool tunes I hadn't heard before, and she can crowd surf like a pro.

I was expecting Of Montreal's show to be outlandish and trippy, but I wasn't quite prepared for the opening, as their stage crew, dressed in alien/gas masks, came onstage around a Christmas tree. Everyone got a gift box, containing a mask, except the last one, whose box contained poison gas. That goes down as Exhibit A in my case against doing any hard drugs if you're going to see Of Montreal. That would freak me out something major. The crowd went wild for the band, and they didn't disappoint. Playing hard and loud, with lots of crunching guitars and rippling bass. Kevin Barnes was his usual charismatic self, wearing an outfit that looked like it was stolen from the costume room on the set of Purple Rain.

'Gronlandic Edit' was by far the best-received song of the night, and the most fun. Such an awesome groove. 'She's A Rejector' was also very solid. The night was closed out with a two-song encore, the second of which brought Janelle Monae back out onstage for a duet with Barnes. Fittingly, given the two artists' influences, the song they chose to sing together was David Bowie's 'Moonage Daydream,' off the best Bowie album by far (in my opinion), 'The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders of Mars.' With two psychedelic, future-funk acts on the night, it helped show just how much artists like Bowie, Prince, and Parliament Funkadelic have give to music, and how their crazy spirit is still alive.

Of Montreal - Gallery Piece (Minitel Rose remix) [divshare]
Of Montreal - Jimmy (MIA cover) [divshare]

You can get Of Montreal's latest album, 'Skeletal Lamping,' here and you can snag Janelle Monae's album 'Metropolis' here.

Bonus: The incomparable David Bowie performing 'Moonage Daydream' in 1973

And Janelle Monae performing 'Sincerely Jane'

Happy Juan

2009-04-20T13:44:00.004-04:00

Photo from myspace.com/thejuanmaclean

Friday night I headed into New York to see The Juan Maclean play a live show. Beforehand was a happy hour I was running, the highlight of which was Stranahan's Colorado Whiskey, which is the best American whiskey I've ever had, something that's hard for me to say given my love of Maker's Mark. Another excellent discovery was Vermont Gold Vodka, which is distilled from maple sap, and retains a bit of its maple sweetness and flavor, going down very smooth. So, I was in a good mood on the train down. My friend Nate and I arrived a little early, so we stopped in for some food at New York Hot Dog and Coffee Company, one of the stranger restaurants I've ever been to. It's a hot dog and coffee shop, but it's Korean, and also serves Belgian waffles. Craziness. So we sampled the bulgogi kimchi hot dog, which turned out to be amazing. Chalk that up as another taste combination I never imagined working, but does.

Alright, alright, so we finally went into Le Poisson Rouge on Bleecker St. where the show was. I hadn't been before, but it's a nice venue, with a very open dancefloor, sort of like a smaller version of Studio B over in Brooklyn. When we arrived, Holy Ghost! were rocking through their DJ set, spinning lots of good disco to get the crowd slowly moving, including dropping their edit of Michael Jackson's 'Get on the Floor.' Next up was the live opener, a newer DFA act called Black Meteoric Star, the live alias of Gavin Russom. I was less than impressed. Coming onstage in a black, Druid-priest style robe, with his long hair surrounding his face, Russom looked a little clownish, but I was willing to give him a shot. However, his set wound up being completely uninspiring. He rode his pre-programmed grooves and backbeats for far too long, not doing nearly enough live work on the synths, with the result being that the set often felt more like a trance concert than the usual DFA-style disco.

But all that disappointment was dispelled when The Juan Maclean came onstage. Amazingly, John (a.k.a. Juan) and Nancy Whang, the lead singer, were doing their own setup for the show, along with other members of the band. How often do you see that? The show was incredible. The group amped up their studio sound, playing around with new riffs and extending many songs. One of the best parts for me was when John started playing the theremin live onstage. I hadn't even notice that it was part of his setup until the distinctive eerie sounds started washing out over the crowd. 'Give Me Every Little Thing' was rocking, as they brought up Nick from Holy Ghost! to sing along. The undisputable pinnacle of the night, though, was 'Happy House.' The sound was fattened up, even more dancey, and the crowd was going nuts. One of the best single songs I've seen in a live performance ever. So good. A great night overall, which wasn't even diminished by the early morning train ride back to New Haven. If you ever get to see The Juan Maclean live, even if you're not that into electronic music, do it. It's worth your while.

The Juan Maclean - Happy House (Lee Douglas remix) [divshare] Buy here!
MGMT - Of Birds, Moons, and Monsters (Holy Ghost! remix) [divshare] Buy here!

DFAntastic

2009-04-17T14:15:00.006-04:00

It's been a very long week, but now the weekend is set up to be amazing. The weather is beautiful, I've got a soccer game later and am running a happy hour tasting of delicious New England microbrews, and then, the highlight of it all, going into New York to see The Juan Maclean!!! John and Nancy are going to be playing live at Le Poisson Rouge and there will also be a DJ set by Holy Ghost! Then on Sunday I'm going to be seeing Of Montreal back here in New Haven at Toad's Place.

And here's a track from another DFA Records artist, Woolfy. It's remixed by NYC remix duo WhateverWhatever, which is made up of Justin Strauss and Bryan Mette, who've been honing their craft on mixes for mainstream and underground artists alike. Thanks to Carmine P. Filthy for the tip.

Woolfy - Oh Missy (WhateverWhatever remix) [divshare]

You can buy the remix from iTunes here.

Free Beirut!

2009-04-10T11:44:00.005-04:00

Photo by Kristianna Smith

I hadn't listened to Beirut at all before last summer, but now their glorious mix of folk, indie, Balkan gyspsy, and a dash of carnival organ grinder music has me hooked. Zach Condon has assembled a great band around himself, and the new album 'March of the Zapotec/Holland EP' has more of the great sound that has been winning the band fans around the world (apparently they've become popular in Brazil, thanks to 'Elephant Gun' being used as the theme song to a TV show). The second part of the album, the Holland EP, is actually under the name 'Realpeople,' which Condon uses for electronic music. Right now, you can download 'My Night With The Prostitute from Marseille' for free on Amazon, and if you like it, I'd highly encourage you to buy the whole album! Thanks to the 8BitKid for this tip via facebook.

Beirut - My Night With The Prostitute From Marseille [divshare]

Speaking of Condon and electronic music, he helped Brandon Bethancourt get Alaska in Winteroff the ground a few years ago, and Alaska in Winter continues to turn out great, fast-paced, but mildly melancholy music. Bethancourt is living in Berlin now, and I recently found out that I will be presenting a paper at a conference in Potsdam, Germany in September, so I'm hoping to get a chance to visit Berlin and check out the city's music and art scene, which is, from all accounts, incredible. Check out Alaska in Winter's fantastic albums 'Dance Party in the Balkans' and 'Holiday.' Bethancourt also looks pretty sweet rocking the keytar.

Alaska in Winter - Berlin [divshare]

Learning The Ropes

2009-04-07T08:09:00.004-04:00

Photo by Bo Streeter

New York-based band The Ropes don't pull any punches. From the opening lines of 'I Don't Like to Get Dirty,' we learn that "You can all go fuck yourselves/You can all go burn in hell," which is not the best way to get someone to continue listening, but then, like the slogan for Sour Patch Kids (nasty stuff), we find out that first The Ropes are sour, then they're sweet: "If there's anything you need at all I would help you out." Composed of vocalist/bassist Sharon Shy and multi-instrumentalist Toppy, the band has a very diverse sound, shifting easily between rock, pop, and more electronic sounds. You can pick up their album 'What They Do For Fun' on Amazon and they've also just put out a new EP for their song 'Be My Gun,' which is my favorite track.

The Ropes - Be My Gun [divshare]
The Ropes - I Don't Like to Get Dirty [divshare]

Southern Fried and Super Sexy

2009-04-07T08:03:00.004-04:00

Last Thursday was one of the best concerts I've been to in a long time. Courtesy of Volume Magazine and their massive endowment, with a chip in from WYBC, there was a free concert by The Whip and Late of the Pier here in New Haven as part of their American tour. Pretty ridiculous to get two of the best new electro rock bands of last year (or two of the best new bands, period, depending on your perspective) to come play a free show for a college.

The Whip had an amazing show. They didn't diverge too far from their studio sound, but I love their album X Marks Destination so much that I didn't need anything more. Lil Fee is a fantastic drummer live (and certainly not bad to look at), and Bruce Carter is a very charismatic singer. Seeing him sing 'Trash' and 'Blackout' live was awesome. I also love that Trash Menagerie had them listed as performing at the Afro-American Cultural Center here. If you haven't picked up their album yet, do so. It's great dance-rock, and will make you move your ass, and say "I wanna, I wanna, I wanna, I wanna be trash!"

Here's their set list that my friend snagged off the floor:

Late of the Pier was also excellent. They opened up with 'Space and the Woods,' which is one of my favorite songs off of 'Fantasy Black Channel,' and never stopped firing. A lot of friends asked me to describe their music, and the closest I could come up to based on their studio sound was "An electro version of Queen on crack." However, playing live they displayed their garage rock chops much more and their instrumental skills were much more on display. Some tracks that just aren't as good on the album were similarly shabby live (e.g. 'Whitesnake'), but overall it was a great show, and their energy was contagious.

I would very happily shell out to see either of these groups again, and would highly recommend them to anyone else. Friends of mine who are into jam bands, or classic rock, or hip hop all were into the show, because the music was undeniably good and the energy was infectious. Afterward there were DJ sets by Richard Galling, a.ka. The Kelly Green from The Glamour, who's here getting an art degree, and two other Yale DJs. A sweet night overall.

The Whip - Trash
Late of the Pier - Space and the Woods
Tracks removed by request.

And just for the hell of it, for one more Southern Fried Records artist, here's Shinichi Osawa's great song 'Push,' featuring Ania Chorabik. The Pompidou is my favorite museum in the world, so the whole time I was in Paris last month, I was trying to remember what song had the lyrics "Pump it up in Pompidou." And now I've found it again.

Life Is Sunny

2009-03-31T12:00:00.007-04:00

It's a beautiful day here in New Haven, hopefully the true beginning of spring, and not just April Fool's Day coming a day early. Life has been relaxing and hectic at the same time, as I've tended to neglect actual work for the sake of getting out and enjoying myself. Got to be irresponsible while I still can. I found out around the middle of last week that I got funding to go back to Lisbon this summer for archival research, and I am beyond excited. It will be awesome to get back to my friends there, my old haunts, the beaches, and of course the excellent music scene. Should be a blast once again.

The first artist I saw in Lisbon last summer was Michael Mayer playing at the city's best club, Lux. Appropriately for the weather, here's a track by Supermayer, his collaboration with Superpitcher, off their album 'Save The World.'

Supermayer - Please Sunshine [divshare]

Chicago band Helicopters are releasing a new single off their album 'Sizing Up The Distance,' which should be out soon. Check out their track for a slice of indie electro-rock goodness.

Helicopters - White Lily, No Soul [divshare]

Finally, for something a little heavier, let's turn to Montreal-based electro and grime act NROTB. Check out the EP for their song 'Take Me Upp' on Beatport and also check their channel on Jango.com. Fans of Boys Noize and MSTRKRFT should dig it.

NROTB - Take Me Upp (Dro & Lodzy remix) [divshare]

Keep on rockin' in the free world!

The Odyssey

2009-03-24T08:43:00.001-04:00

Wooo! Back in Paris now after about 10 days of traveling through Turkey. The trip was a great time. The weather managed to be shit for most of it, but we got a few beautiful days at key points. Wandered around Istanbul at the beginning and got to see the Aya Sofya (Hagia Sophia), which I've always wanted to do. It's truly an incredible building, and something everyone should see. The mosaics and frescoes inside are beautiful, and the structure itself is crazy. I can't imagine how a dome so high was built almost 1500 years ago. The Blue Mosque, right across from it, is beautiful, too. The highlight of Istanbul, though, was Chora Church, almost a millenium old and full of the most amazing mosaics I have ever seen. Breathtaking stuff. The food in Istanbul was also great, and fresh-squeezed pomegranate juice in the morning is hard to beat.

Then it was on to Cappadocia to see the crazy rock formations there. They're called 'fairy chimneys,' but you make your own judgements as to what they look like. The cool thing, though, is that people have been carving out churches and homes in them for hundreds of years now. Many of the churches have frescoes that are still surviving to this day, which was very cool to see. We also toured an underground city, which people there used to shelter themselves from invaders. There are tens of the cities, and many were actually connected by tunnels kilometers long.

After, we headed to the Aegean coast (on a night bus through an Anatolian snowstorm, nonetheless) to see the Greek and Roman ruins at Ephesus (Efes), which is the most complete Greek city that survives. Up next, though, was Troy in the north. The sense of history you feel being there is insane. I mean, the city is responsible for three of the greatest literary works/epics ever--The Iliad, The Aeneid, and The Odyssey. I mean, damn... The site itself isn't that impressive, but it's powerful.

Overall, a great time. Really good food and surprisingly good wine almost everywhere. Also, it helps that, unlike in Latin America, the national beer, Efes, is actually a good pilsener, instead of shit. It actually manages to come close to Pilsener Urquell in taste and quality. And the Turks really know how to do leisure. You go into a cafe, order some tea, sit and smoke a hookah for a while, then maybe later you go sip some raki (basically anise-flavored grappa). Not too shabby.

So now Paris for a couple more days before returning to New Haven on Saturday night to kick off to final couple months of university. Scary, but exciting. Lots of work to do, lots of things to figure out, but lots of fun to be had too. But for now, I'll just listen to music, eat baguettes and cheese, drink fine wine, and maybe play some petanque, too.

So, the obligatory Paris-themed tune for today comes to us from Ladyhawke, appropriately with a remix by Frenchman Alex Gopher. The original track is off Ladyhawke's self-titled debut (buy it here) and you can check out more of Alex Gopher's work on his Beatport page.

Ladyhawke - Paris is Burning (Alex Gopher remix) [divshare]

I just got in an awesome new track from my favorite German producer Digitalfoxglove called 'Remedy.' It'll cure what ails you. He continues to carve out his own niche with a mix of retro and progressive sounds. I love this song! It's his last unofficial track, as his talents have been recognized and Digitalfoxglove is now signed to On The Fruit Records, the label that also has Junior Bondage and Note Found, hopefully meaning an EP will be in the works. Keep on the lookout.

Digitalfoxglove - Remedy [divshare]

Also, another sweet song courtesy of Dom Terrace. This time he mixes things up a bit, using two different beats and alternating between them. Unorthodox, but I think it works out well.

Dom Terrace - Makin' It Happen [divshare]

More new tunes to come soon.

BONUS: Ladyhawke - Paris is Burning (Cut Copy remix) [divshare]

This one's off the 'Paris is Burning' EP, which you can cop here.

Voyaging

2009-03-08T11:22:00.003-04:00

I'm not going to be posting for a bit, as I'm currently traveling. I was in Paris up until yesterday, hanging out with my brother and his friends. We had a big party on Friday night, some of whose playlist I'll post after the trip, but then yesterday morning we left for Turkey. Having a great time so far here in Istanbul, where we'll be for a couple more days, and then off to Cappadocia on Wednesday. We'll head back out to the Mediterranean coast after, back up to Istanbul, and then a couple more days in Paris before I leave for the States again. Should be a blast.

Apropos of having been in Paris and my brother's continued inhabitance there, it's only proper to post my perennial favorites, Friendly Fires with 'Paris.'

FRIENDLY FIRES_PARIS from _del on Vimeo.

Sounds Like Success

2009-03-02T04:07:00.004-05:00

If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, then taking styles proven to be successful and not quite imitating them, but putting your own spin on them and creating a new sound is a step away from flattery in the direction of being recognized for greatness in your own right.

Rambling, majestic Nordic bands are a known commodity, especially with the amazing success that Sigur Ros has had the past few years. With lush strings and hauntingly beautiful female vocals, Pooma builds on this style, adding their own Finnish twist to the sound. Their record label shut down, so their album 'Persuader' is currently only available in Finland, but look for it to be coming out abroad in the near future. Also, their web site is amazing, check it out!

Pooma - If May Starts Tomorrow [divshare]
Pooma - Persuader [divshare]

Coming from my side of the Atlantic, Kingsbury are another band that has drawn comparisons to Sigur Ros, although Radiohead strikes me as a more apt counterpart. Wandering, echoing songs without pretension that are melancholy, yet relaxing. Kingsbury prove that Florida isn't just about retirement communities and Disney World, and that good music can come from Orlando, not just Miami. You can download their EP 'Lie to Me' for free on their website. If you like the sound, be sure to check out their other, older EPs, available for purchase.

Kingsbury - Back in the Orange Grove [divshare]
Kingsbury - Ocarina Mountaintop [divshare]

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

2009-03-01T16:35:00.007-05:00

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.

Get Down With The Sickness

2009-02-23T01:48:00.006-05:00

After having a discussion over the weekend about how I had miraculously not been sick so far this school year, I woke up yesterday with a chest cold sitting deep in my chest, providing the pleasant sensation of constantly having a boot pressing outward from inside my ribs. I am appealing to the gods of health/generic 'Tussin' cough syrup to save me from the sickness.

Luckily the lack of wellness didn't hit until Sunday morning, because the rest of the weekend was pretty great. I got a fair bit of work done, saw lots of friends, and generally enjoyed myself. On Friday, Rumpus, the magazine I write for and used to edit came out with its annual 50 Most Beautiful issue, which is always fun. As always, I have my quibbles with some of the people who were chosen, but it turned out well overall, and I was happy with the articles I wrote. Interviewing nice people always makes it easier. After a variety of events that night, I had to be up early Saturday morning for a trip into New York. I'd won a lottery from my college to have a lunch and then go see the New York City Ballet at Lincoln Center. Lunch was at Bar Boulud, and was excellent. Chestnut pudding with cassis sorbet for dessert was a definite highlight. The ballet was very enjoyable (though I have to admit that I slept through most of the first dance). I'd never seen ballet live before, and I was very impressed. My favorite work was definitely the last one, Philip Glass's 'Pieces of Glass.' Absolutely fantastic. (Oh snap, Philip Glass has a MySpace, too!)

Glass Pieces from New York City Ballet on Vimeo.

Then it was back to New Haven for another night out, and then more work and illness the past two days. In keeping with that, here's some sickness-themed music. I've got lots more new stuff in my inbox, so hopefully I'll be able to get to that early in the week.

Kid Koala's album 'Some of My Best Friends Are DJs' was one of the first electronic music albums I ever bought. It was playing in the Bull Moose store in Portland and they always have the current album that's in rotation up at the front counter so you can see what it is. I dug the jazzy looping and experimental rambling, so I decided to get it. 'Flu Season' is a really short track, but I love the concept of it, both musically and as a linguistic joke.
Kid Koala - Flu Season [divshare]

And how could I pass up the opportunity to post M.I.A.'s 'Bird Flu' off her debut album Kala?

M.I.A. - bird flu - M.I.A

Stay healthy out there.

Direct Links out of Bandwidth

2009-02-16T21:21:00.001-05:00

My Boxstr account has exceeded it's bandwidth for the day, so until at least midnight Eastern Time, just use the Divshare links. Cheers!

Sleep Deprivation

2009-02-16T07:55:00.003-05:00

Wooo! My first all-nighter of this semester last night. Not one that necessarily needed to happen, but I have class at 9:30 on Mondays and was still working at 4:30, so I decided to just keep pushing through with work. Managed to get a fellowship app written, do some job hunting, and read a few articles, so a pretty solid and productive early morning. Not a sustainable lifestyle, but that's okay. I actually managed to have a fairly calm weekend (compared to previous ones since January), so I don't feel too terrible.

Simian Mobile Disco - Sleep Deprivation [divshare]. Off of 'Attack, Decay, Sustain, Release.'

Time for another inbox cleaning, full of hot tunes.

Young Texan rockers The Steps have just come out with a new video for their song 'Dagger' off their self-titled debut. The more I listen to these guys, the more they impress me. They're going to be playing at SXSW next month, so expect them to get a lot bigger after that.

Dagger from The Steps on Vimeo.

The Steps - Dagger [divshare]

Amsterdam madman Don Diablo continues to churn out originals and remixes at an astonishing rate. Now he's taken on one of my favorite American electro bands, Walter Meego, and tech-ed out their single 'Girls' off their album 'Voyager.' Much more of a clubby feel to it now.

Walter Meego - Girls (Don Diablo remix) [divshare]

And finally, the great British indie band Duels have gone the route of many other groups these days and have decided to give away their album 'The Barbarians Move In' as a free digital download on their official site. There's also a great remix by fellow Leeds resident and one-man band Napoleon III, who's dropping a mini-album today. Totally rocking and transforms the sound of Duels into his own. Hopefully he'll start getting more appreciation on this side of the pond.

Duels - Sleeping Giants [divshare]
Duels - Sleeping Giants (Napoleon III remix) [divshare]

I'm On A Boat, Motherfuckaz!

2009-02-11T02:46:00.003-05:00

More brilliance from The Lonely Island/SNL. Remind anyone of Jay-Z's 'Big Pimpin' video? At least it shows that T-Pain has a sense of humor, despite how much I think his vocoder, featured-on-every-single-pop-song thing sucks. He and Akon are like the lame-ass new versions of Nate Dogg. Remember when everything was featuring Nate Dogg, but he never had an original hit of his own? I loved that. Anyways, you can't stop me because I'm on a boat!

Procrastination Station

2009-02-09T16:47:00.005-05:00

I've managed to be relatively productive yesterday and today so far, so I'm deciding (foolishly) to put up some music I've had kicking around my inbox for a while, despite the fact that I should be working on papers and all that jazz.

One of the few good things I know of to come out of New Jersey (the others being my roommate and a few friends), Thing-One crank out fun, dancey rock, with really catchy and creative, if at times bizarre, lyrics. A couple of their songs have been in heavy rotation for me lately. 'Move It' is, as the title suggests, intended to get people shaking on the dancefloor, and it does its job. My favorite track, though, is 'Mop Yards.' The drumming, the synths, the vocal harmonies, THE CHORUS! So f-ing good. You can pick up their EP 'You'll Be Fine' on iTunes, and believe me, it's worth it. Plus, the cover art is super sweet.

Thing-One - Move It [divshare]
Thing-One - Mop Yards [divshare]

On the more electronic side of things, while it's a little heavier than I often like, I've been digging the remix by Japanese producer Hoshina Anniversary of The Kills. He definitely kicks the song into high drum-and-bass gear. I think my brother would disagree with The Kills, though, that you can't just live on ice cream.

The Kills - Cheap and Cheerful (Hoshina Anniversary remix) [divshar e]

I had never heard of Glaswegian sextet The Phantom Band before getting their tracks sent to me, but I really like the dark, brooding, and wandering sound of their tunes. Fans of their citymates Glasvega s will get into the song 'Left Hand Wave' for sure. Check these dudes out. You've got to love a band whose member says "The Phantom Band are the most self-destructive, directionless, negative collection of argumentative individuals I know, who go out of their way to mess up anything that might be working in their favour. As Walt Disney once said, 'we have met the enemy and he is us.'" concurs Andy. Their debut album, 'Checkmate Savage' is out now on Chemikal Underground Records.

The Phantom Band - Burial Sounds [divshare]
The Phantom Band - Left Hand Wave [divshare]

Coming from the ever-awesome Valerie collective, Pegase has just begun putting out his own tracks, in addition to his work with Minitel Rose. The songs feel a bit different from the rest of Valerie's retro sound, but in a very good change-of-pace-way. His track 'Dream Awake' has beautiful synth and vox and a nice quick beat to get feet moving. I'll definitely be looking forward to all his future releases. Maybe it's just the word dream in the title, but it reminds me a lot of one of the best singles of last year, Empire of the Sun's 'Walking on a Dream.' If that's not a favorable comparison, I don't know what is. Oh wait, Pegase has actually amazingly remixed 'Walking on a Dream,' too!

Pegase - Dream Awake [divshare]
Empire of the Sun - Walking on a Dream (Pegase remix) [divshare]

And now for a couple videos.
Filthy Dukes are filthy good producers/DJs/a band based in London, who've been knocking it out of the park with their originals and remixes lately. Their debut album, 'Nonsense in the Dark' will be out on March 16. In the meantime, enjoy the creepy and tantalizing video for their song 'This Rhythm.'

And finally, a video that I can't believe hasn't yet been addressed by Hipster Runoff, since it contains so many of Carles' favorite things: masked DJs, Steve Aoki, vodka being poured into fans mouths, party pic photographers, Uffie, and the list goes on... Watch and enjoy as The Bloody Beetroots unleash destruction with 'Cornelius.'

Protein Kids

2009-02-09T02:30:00.004-05:00

It has been a long and crazy weekend once again. I definitely feel like I'm living too fast, but I've been having a great time this semester. Not necessarily as far along as I'd like to be on things like work and job applications, but those don't really matter, right? (I say this, of course, after my first full day of doing school work in at least week.)
One of the highlights of the weekend was definitely Friday night. After a wine and cheese tasting here in New Haven (I keep it classy...sometimes), I hopped on a train into New York with three friends. My bottle of Belgian beer that I'd brought turned out to have a cork, so I instead turned to my friend Rachelle's stash of brandy. I love that you're able to freely drink on Metro North trains. A little slice of Europe here in the Northeast. And it definitely makes the train ride go faster. Once in the City, we went to our friend Saad's apartment (where I was finally able to open my beer) and then I convinced everyone to come along with me and we headed downtown to Fontana's on the Lower East Side to see my friend Thomas's show for his electro duo Meat Children. It took a little while for them to go on, which meant we got to hang out and drink $3 Rolling Rock cans and the weird "sparkling vodka" who was sponsoring the show.
Here's a photo of one of their past shows from Resident Advisor. You can see the whole album here.

Once the show started, it was a hell of a lot of fun, with Tom, a.k.a. Bartlebeats, and his co-conspirator Jake, a.k.a. Mr. Good Gnar, dropping beats and dancing around on stage. It was definitely a wild time, with a whole lot of dancing, and also Rachelle and myself playing a drum that happened to be on the stage. Once the show ended, a new DJ came on, and we kept dancing, until eventually heading upstairs and heading out (after one of my friends fell asleep on a couch and the bouncer demanded she leave). Really glad I went in, especially since I haven't seen any of my high school friends play a show in four years.
Time to kick off another week and keep on rocking away the end of college (though maybe with a little more work this week). I've got a presentation to give on Tuesday on a lot of my research from the past two years, so there will be a lot of prep for that, plus tomorrow night is my team's biggest hockey game of the season, playing the only other undefeated team, so hopefully we come out on top (and I can resist the urge to celebrate and do reading instead afterwards). I've been getting lots of good stuff in my inbox, so hopefully I'll get a chance to post some of it here this week. Peace and love.

The songs are low qual MySpace rips, but they'll give you an idea of Meat Children's sound and mad skillzzz. Hopefully the boys will throw together an EP or something soon.

Meat Children - Pop Song of My Dreams [divshare]
Meat Children - Little Yellow Different [divshare]

Space and Time

2009-02-03T11:04:00.005-05:00

Been a while since my last post. Life has been extremely crazy since then, filled with far too much work (too little of which has actually been accomplished), and a most likely excessive amount of partying. The highlight of last week music-wise was going into New York to see Lindstrøm at Studio B in Brooklyn. I hadn't been to Studio B before and it's a really great space. The one problem was that my friend Nate and I arrived fairly early and didn't realize there was no readmittance, so one were inside, we were stuck in the club (and I was stuck with a hefty bar tab for the night). But such is the price you pay for entertainment. The opening DJs were decent, although I got a little annoyed at one point when one of them played two Aeroplane remixes in a row. It just seems to me that if you're playing a DJ set, you shouldn't play two songs or remixes by the same artist right in a row, unless you've somehow blended them to create what is essentially a new piece. Oh well.

Lindstrøm came on a bit after 1 AM and began rocking people out with his own brand of electro-disco. He mixed up songs from his albums and blew everyone away when he dropped the lengthy songs from 'Where You Go I Go Too,' with the title track topping out at nearly half an hour. 'WYGIGT' is definitely moving in a more electro direction from his previous album, 'It's a Feedelity Affair,' which contained more classic disco sounds--funky bass hooks, bongos, cowbell, etc. But it's Lindstrøm, and so it's still an absolute masterpiece. A great show, a great man.

Since the songs off the new album are so long, I'm only postilng the shortest one. This song is less than a fifth of the album, so if you like it, most definitely buy the whole album. Great investment. It will blow your mind.

Lindstrom - Grand Ideas [divshare] [SF]

Should be another busy week, and then back into New York on Friday to see my friend Thomas play at Fontana's with his electro duo Meat Children. Check it out on Facebook and there will be more details to follow.

Skeleton Boy Video

2009-01-28T15:35:00.003-05:00

I've previously posted about my love for Friendly Fires, and especially the song 'Skeleton Boy,' and now I've just gotten around to watching the video for said song. It kicks ass. Watch it.

Friendly Fires 'Skeleton Boy' by Clemens Habicht from Nexus Productions on Vimeo.

A Very Valerie Evening

2009-01-28T02:45:00.010-05:00

This past Friday was one of the crazier nights of my life. After doing up the weekly happy hour my friend Rachelle and I run (Southern theme this week, so a whole lot of bourbon), I met up with friends to try to see a free show that The Hood Internet was putting on here at Yale. Unfortunately, they hadn't actually started yet and there was no one around in the hall, so we just snagged some of the hors d'oeuvres, and then decided to split. At this point, it was 9:50. The next trains into New York were at either 10:08 or 11:38, so we decided to rush and try to make the 10:08. We went back to my friend Nate's room, grabbed a bunch of beers and a bottle of espresso vodka leftover from the fall, and called a cab to meet us at the corner. Once outside, though, we realized that the tickets we had for the Valerie show at Webster Hall were still back in the room. After I sprinted back to grab them, we got in the cab, told the driver to punch it, and made it to the train station and onto the train with about a minute to spare.

Following a train ride that consisted of various stupid drinking games we made up, we got into Grand Central, and, foolishly, decided to take a cab instead of the subway to get to Webster Hall. Once we arrived, the bouncers were being rather dickish and made us go to the complete back of the line, even though we already had tickets, a situation that was none too pleasing. My friend Gabe managed to get in somehow, while Nate and I were left outside. I managed to get up to the front of the line finally, but when I gave my ID to the bouncer, he started giving me shit. Yes, Maine ID's are cheap looking; yes, my picture is from five years ago and doesn't look too much like me now. But, the fact that he still didn't believe me when I pulled out my student ID just pissed me off. I started busting out everything I had: "Here's my debit card; here's my health insurance card; here's my goddamn Maine Educational Association dental insurance card." Finally I got in, and got my bracelet, and I just charged on in to the show, where I found Gabe.

Somewhere in this we lost Nate, and weren't able to figure out what exactly had happened, which really sucked. The concert, though, was amazing. Lovelock kicked things off, followed up by Russ Chimes, Anoraak, and College. All of them threw down incredible sets of retro electro that got the entire crowd dancing. I was rocking out the entire time off to the side and then up front, loving all the music and the energy of the crowd. College was especially impressive, since I'd heard more of the other artists before, but it was really all just fantastic. Gabe and I stayed until about 4:30, when the show finally finished off, and there were only about 15 people left in the audience. The artists started handing out their extra Heinekens from backstage, and we got to talk to Anoraak and College, who were extremely nice. It was a hell of a night, and I would highly recommend catching any of these guys whenever you can (LA and San Fran are up next for College and Anoraak). My only regrets were that Nate wasn't able to get in, and that we missed out on 33Hz.

It was a long-ass night, followed the next day by not much sleep and then The SOBs' annual Gay Sweater Party, which was a ton of fun. The weeks are going by extremely quickly right now. Thursday night I'm back into the City to see Lindstrom, followed by a trip up to Boston for a job interview the next day, then back down to New Haven, so it's going to be another insane weekend. Life is hard, but I have to say I'm loving it right now.

College feat. Anoraak - Fantasy Park (Moulinex remix) [divshare] [SF]

Anoraak - Talking in Your Sleep (The Romantics cover) [divshare] [SF] (This track absolutely killed when he played it live)

Russ Chimes - Mulsanne [divshare] [SF]

Italolicious

2009-01-24T13:26:00.004-05:00

Smooth and hard grooving, Italian dance/disco duo Fare Soldi, composed of Santana Pasta and Luke Carnifull have just hit us with some remixes of their song 'Survivor' off of their recent album 'Sappiamo dove abiti,' which means "We know where you live" in Italian. The song was reworked by Hamburg's prolific mixers Saint Pauli and L.A.'s hottest retro electro producer, Keenhouse. Saint Pauli add a little more crunch to the song, while Keenhouse takes it to a cool, spacey retro beach. The original Fare Soldi album is packed with great tunes, so you should definitely check it out and you can buy it here from their label, Riotmaker.

Fare Soldi - Survivor (Saint Pauli remix) [divshare] [SF]
Fare Soldi - Survivor (Keenhouse remix) [divshare] [SF]
Fare Soldi - Puff Dandy [divshare] [SF]

The Steps

2009-01-23T01:27:00.004-05:00

The Steps are a Texan band that doesn't reinvent the wheel, but they create a great indie rock sound that kicks you in the head and gets you going. Sounding like the bastard child of later Bob Dylan and Tom Petty (sorry Jakob, the Wallflowers weren't that great), The Steps will transport you on a refreshing sonic journey to a time before irony and extreme self-awareness. The dudes are just there to rock you.
These kids are young, but they are ready to melt your face off at www.wearethesteps.com. Jump on it while you still can.

The Steps - Outlaw [divshar e ] [SF]
The Steps - Cold Floors [divshare] [SF]

Ting Tings and Diablos

2009-01-20T00:33:00.006-05:00

Today I had a conversation with a new secretary here at school, introduced myself, and found out that her son is named Kai as well. We discussed how she and my parents had each arrived at the name, and also how I didn't really like it much when I was little, because people would always mispronounce it as "Kay." So...segue time! 'That's Not My Name' by The Ting Tings was definitely one of the catchiest songs of last year and I still enjoy it (especially the end of the song) every time I hear it, which given the band's astronomical rise, is still pretty frequently. There have been quite a few remixes of it, and now Dutch producer and Sony BMG label-mate Don Diablo has mashed up 'That's Not My Name' with a track from his soon-to-be released album. It's ravey techno in Don Diablo's usual vein, and turns 'TNMN' into a dark club song. Not necessarily my thing, but I'm sure I'd still dance to it if I was drunk. My favorite remix, though, remain's Tom Neville's take, which pumps even more energy into the original and could get a cranky geriatric dancing. (At least in my imagination. They'd probably just grumble about "Kids these days and their stupid electronic noise crap.")

Don Diablo vs The Ting Tings - That's Not My Rave [divshare] [SF]
The Ting Tings - That's Not My Name (Tom Neville remix) [divshare] [SF]

Bonus: Don Diablo's been taking on lots of rockers lately. Here's the video for a track he made with British indie act Viva City, featuring Don on a destruction rampage.

Viva City vs Don Diablo - Audio Endlessly (video) from selloutsessions on Vimeo.
Viva City vs Don Diablo - Audio Endlessly (Extended Mix) [divshare] [SF]

Fresh, Mysterious Murder

2009-01-18T12:32:00.004-05:00

Coming out of hibernation after their 2008 debut 'Are You Ready for the Heartache Cause Here it Comes,' Murder Mystery have finally released a new single. A down-tempo pop tune, 'The World' reminds me instrumentally of The Beach Boys, with simple, catchy riffs and a guitar-dominated bridge that maintains the song's understated tone. The plaintive, quiet vocals fit perfectly. I feel like this song is meant to be on a movie soundtrack, playing as someone is riding in a car or train, resting his head against the window and looking out at the world as it flies by, contemplating some recent event or memory. Murder mystery has also put up another new track, 'Lost' on their MySpace, so check it out, and you can see them in New York on Leap Year's eve for a benefit show for local kids, complete with PBR for everyone's favorite price: free! Support a good cause, hear some great music, and get your buzz on with the only American-owned macrobrew left. And hopefully by that point, Murder Mystery will have some more new material to grace our ears with.

Murder Mystery - The World [divshare] [SF]

Space Boxing

2009-01-16T09:41:00.004-05:00

With swirling synths and cycling guitars, Austin-based The Boxing Lesson are turning out solid psychedelic indie rock. The three piece outfit diversify their sound with samples and playing around with synthesizer features, hitting you with a wall of sound that reminds me a lot of Brian Jonestown Massacre, which is a very good thing. The band's latest album, Wild Streaks & Windy Days is very polished, and draws a lot on classic psych-rock influences like Pink Floyd and The Cure. They're headed out on tour throughout the Midwest starting in February (check their MySpace for dates) in support of the album, and I'm hoping they'll make it eastward at some point. Here are a couple of my favorite songs off WS&WT:

The Boxing Lesson - Dark Side of the Moog [divshare] [SF]
Though the song overall is more guitar-centered than the title would suggest, I love the intro, and this track gets the album started off by enveloping you in sonic waves.

The Boxing Lesson - Muerta [divshare] [SF]
The most Floyd-like out of the songs, 'Muerta' has a low, droning synth running below high, spacey vocals, and makes good use of a harpsichord-like synth to chime away above the guitars.

Rockin' Around the Remix Tree

2009-01-15T17:00:00.004-05:00

Remixes can be great, remaking a song and adding new elements and feelings to it. Remixes can be kind of pointless, turned into instrumental pieces that sound pretty much nothing like the original. Remixes can also be absolutely awful, churned out with a bunch of shitty, distorted bass and maybe some handclaps. Everything is getting remixed these days, though, and tons of people are trying their hand at it, flooding the web.
All that said, a few remixes have blown me away this year and been at the top of my playlists (they may or may not have actually been put out in 2008, but who cares?). Here goes:

Das Pop - Fool for Love (Aeroplane remix)
Friendly Fires - Paris (Aeroplane remix ft. Au Revoir Simone)
Aeroplane is my favorite remixer of the year. They have the Midas touch with songs, including their own original material. It's absolutely blissful disco listening, and I can't get enough of it. Hopefully they'll get their own full-length out soon.

The Cardigans - Erase/Rewind (Kleerup remix)
Despite being considered a one-hit wonder by many people, I really like The Cardigans. The dark, but catchy 'My Favorite Game' is one of my favorite songs, including its crazy video. The Kleerup remix isn't too complex, and let's Nina Persson's beautiful voice do most of the work, but for some reason, the song just really gets me.

Primary 1 - Hold Me Down (The Shoes remix)
I posted on this track a while back, and I still love it. It never fails to cheer me up. Primary 1's original track was good, but The Shoes made it amazing.

The Presets - Talk Like That (Miami Horror remix)
Another track I put up months ago, that was my obsession for a couple weeks. Miami Horror takes The Presets' brooding track and, with a guitar riff and loads of retro synths, he cranks it into a dancefloor killer.

Cagedbaby -Hello There (The Presets remix)
Sticking with The Presets for the moment, their remix of freakily named Brit Cagedbaby isn't uptempo at all, but for some reason it still seems uplifting compared what you'd expect from The Presets. The story of the trials and travails of love has great lyrics, too: "You came and spoke to me and put me through the test/Oh don't you realize that I'm better than the rest?" and my personal favorite, "Give me a reason to stop playing in the rain." Look at the photos of Cagedbaby on his MySpace. Now imagine him playing in the rain. Also, a baby in a cage probably wouldn't want to play at all, no?

Digitalism - Taken Away (Digitalfoxglove remix)
Even though it didn't get done in time for Digitalism's massive remix contest for 'Taken Away,' fellow German Digitalfoxglove came up with my favorite version of the song by far.

Ladyhawke - Back of the Van (DJ Lapse remix)
In a similar sonic vein to the previous mix, South African DJ Lapse's reworking of Ladyhawke just works for me, and it helps that I already preferred the original track to most Ladyhawke songs.

M83 - Kim and Jessie (DatA remix)
DatA's track 'Rapture' is one of the best original tracks of the year, in my opinion, and I'm still in love with his remix of M83, which is similarly awesome.

Midnight Juggernauts - Road to Recovery (Miami Horror remix)
Miami Horror makes his second appearance on the list with his remix of fellow Aussies Midnight Juggernauts. It's hard to believe how big Midnight Juggs have gotten since I first saw them open for Justice over a year ago. This hard driving mix puts you on the road to the dancefloor.

Heads We Dance - You Are Never Alone with Model 21 (Harris Robotis 1981 remix)
An homage to/advertisement for a robot lover, this song by Leeds outfit Heads We Dance has been (fittingly) taken by Harris Robotis and turned into a shimmering, chiming disco track.

Moby - I Love to Move in Here (Holy Ghost! remix)
New Yorkers Holy Ghost! keep the DFA disco sound going strong with their remix of Moby.

Photonz - Our Fable (Mickey Moonlight remix)
It seems that Mickey Moonlight is Ed Banger Records' response to the rising popularity of disco house. And he does a damn good job with this remix of Portuguese funksters Photonz.

Cut Copy - Lights and Music (Moulinex remix)
Staying in Portugal, my home from last summer, we find Moulinex and his remix of Cut Copy. I heard this mix before I heard the Boys Noize version, and I still much prefer it.

DJ Mehdi - Signatune (Thomas Bangalter's More Kick edit)
Another product of Ed Banger, DJ Mehdi always provides a little change of pace from the rest of their lineup. Here he gets reworked by Thomas Bangalter from Daft Punk and, do you really need to ask? It's repetitive, but I somehow don't get tired of it.

MGMT - Kids (Pet Shop Boys Synthpop remix)
Finally we come to the darlings of 2008, MGMT. I keep waiting to get absolutely sick of them, having heard 'Time to Pretend,' 'Electric Feel,' and now 'Kids' all get the shit played out of them. The other night 'Time to Pretend' was playing on the electronic jukebox in a grungy Mexican restaurant/dive bar and I almost left. But whenever I feel like I'm reaching overload, I'll listen to a different song off 'Oracular Spectacular' that I haven't heard in a while, or, in this case a new remix, and order is restored. Coming to us straight from the 1980s, the Pet Shop Boys throw their signature synths into 'Kids,' and create a gem (thanks to Ohh! Crapp... for this one).

Our final tally of remixers by country from this list: UK - 4, Australia - 4, France - 3, Belgium - 1 (well, two songs remixed by Aeroplane were on here), Sweden - 1, Germany - 1, South Africa - 1, Portugal - 1, USA - 1

That's the roundup. Happy holidays!

UPDATE: I've taken the song links off this post because its previous incarnation from back in December was killed by Blogger today due to a copyright complaint. No label or artist directly contacted me, and I don't know what song the complaint was about, so I've just taken down all the links. I'm just going to go ahead and blame a major label, so Moby or the Cardigans, this is all your fault!

I hate the DMCA

2009-01-15T16:57:00.002-05:00

Blah. Got my second DMCA Takedown for my favorite remixes of 2008 post. Hate that no one contacted me to ask me to take down material. Hate that they don't tell you which song was the problem. Oh well. Fuck it. I'm going to put the post back up, but I'll remove the song links this time, so you can try to find the songs on other blogs and look to buy them on Beatport.

Download Issues

2009-01-14T12:57:00.003-05:00

Apparently I've run out of bandwidth on boxstr right now, so use DivShare or SaveFile links instead. I'm going to be cleaning out some old tracks, so if you find something you can't access and want to listen to it, send me an email. I'll also be designing a new banner at some point soon and maybe making some other layout changes, once I get through some job and fellowship apps that are hanging over my head. Keep on rockin'.

UPDATE (6:00pm): The bandwidth usage has gone back down, so direct links should be working again.

Straight Outta Copenhagen!

2009-01-14T00:35:00.005-05:00

By www.rasmuswengkarlsen.dk

With some of the silliest lyrics around and solid garage-pop guitar lines, The Floor is Made of Lava are just plain fun. The Danish group that "tastes like toast in a jumpsuit" has themselves a big gig coming up, supporting Oasis in their hometown of Copenhagen on the 24th. Their music makes me really want to see someone wearing sugar-coated doughnuts for glasses (for context, listen to the first song, a remix by Hamburg's hottest banger-bringers, Saint Pauli). The songs are a bit old, and it had been a long time since I'd listened to them, but sometimes the right songs just hit you in the right mood. The originals are from their 2007 album 'All Juice, No Fruit.'

The Floor is Made of Lava - Vice (Saint Pauli remix) [divshare] [SF]
The Floor is Made of Lava - IKEA Did a Job on You [divshare] [SF]

I Don't Want to Die, I Just Wanna Love

2009-01-13T09:48:00.003-05:00

Still from Film Reference

I tend to go through phases where one song will become my absolute obsession/theme song for at least a week, during which I'll listen to it at least twenty times. Currents filling this role is the remix by The Juan Maclean of MUNK's 'Live Fast, Die Old.' The Juan Maclean already was responsible for without question one of the best tracks of last year, the spacey 'Happy House,' and they continue to work their disco magic on Munk's song. Mathias Modica, a.k.a. MUNK, the man behind the Gomma label, has been churning out great nu-disco tunes lately, both competing and collaborating with DFA.
'Live Fast, Die Old' is not an exceptional song musically, and it is a bit repetitive, but I absolutely love the lyrics, sung by Asia Argento. "Live fast, die old/I don't want to die/I just wanna love." Makes me think about all the dangerous situations I've put myself through, but that I wouldn't trade the life I've had because of them. There are the obvious chemical situations, but then there are also many times during my travels through Morocco that, looking back, were far from safe--wandering around the desert on my own, climbing up North Africa's highest mountain in the middle of a freezing rainstorm with inadequate clothing, sleeping at the houses of complete strangers (because it was free!). At this point, I have a need for adventure in my life, so living fast is the way to go. Now I just need to eat my fruits and vegetables and hope I die old.

MUNK - Live Fast, Die Old (The Juan Maclean remix) [divshare] [SF]
The Juan Maclean - Happy House [divshare] [SF]

Get MUNK's music on Amazon, and check out the video for the original version of 'Live Fast, Die Old.'
MUNK with Asia Argento "Live Fast Die Old"

Digitalfox(g)Love

2009-01-11T11:36:00.007-05:00

Germany's Digitalfoxglove became one of my favorite remixers during the last few months of 2008. He's been working a lot through remix contests lately and has been doing a hell of a job. His remix for Digitalism's 'Taken Away' absolutely killed, and now he's turned his skilled attention to a remix for Finger on the Pulse's contest for Moulinex and Xinobi's 'D.I.S.C.O.Texas Theme' in preparation for their U.S. debut on January 23 in New York. I saw the two of them play together as 'BMX' at a D.I.S.C.O.Texas release party in Lisbon over the summer, and they put on a great show. My roommate Carly also became friends with Xinobi, and he's apparently an extremely nice, fun guy. So, if you're in the City, definitely check that out. That night, there's also what should be an awesome show by the Valerie collective at Webster Hall, with Russ Chimes, Anoraak, College, and Lovelock. However, I am planning on missing both of these to go see my friend Thomas play in his duo Meat Children, location still unknown to me, but more details to come on that. After those digressions, here's Moulinex, Xinobi, and Digitalfoxglove, in all their sonic glory.

Moulinex and Xinobi - D.I.S.C.O.Texas Theme (Digitalfoxglove remix) [divshare] [SF]

Bonus: GRUM - Woah (Digitalfoxglove remix) [divshare] [SF]

Rambling Around Florida

2009-01-09T21:06:00.005-05:00

America's Collective Phallic or Phallangic Appendage

I've been down in Florida this whole week visiting my grandparents in West Palm Beach, and generally lazing about. The warmth has been nice, and I also made it up to Stuart for a hell of a party at my friend JT's house there. I always feel strange in Florida, like it's not a real place. Even after visiting JT and meeting all his friends, who are great kids, I still have a hard time thinking of him and my other Floridian friends at school as being from here. It's a little like when I visited Los Angeles last spring, went to a party at UCLA, and had one of the most surreal experiences of my life. The whole time I kept thinking, "This can't be real. This is what goes on on television and in movies, not in real life." Another friend I told this to, who'd been out at school at USC, described it as Hollywood versions of "real life" reflecting how a subset of people in Los Angeles live, and vice versa, in a big, silicone and cocaine-filled cycle.

Starfucker - Florida [divshare] [SF] off their self-titled album.

Well, that was really a rant about nothing, but I'll be happy to get back to New Haven (got some new tunes to share once I'm back) and get started on my last semester. I hadn't been able to listen to the Friendly Fires album in full until the last couple weeks and I've been absolutely loving it. It's just damn good pop music, with solid hooks and musicianship. I'd love to see them live. My favorite song off the album by far is 'Skeleton Boy.' It's catchy as hell and has quickly jumped to the top of my most-played list on iTunes. 'Photobooth' comes in second. The album version of 'Paris' is alright, but it gets blown out of the water by the Aeroplane remix that made my top remixes of the year. Definitely pick up the album, it is well worth it.

Friendly Fires - Skeleton Boy [divshare] [SF]
Friendly Fires - Photobooth [divshare] [SF]

Fire in My Hometown

2009-01-03T01:24:00.003-05:00

I was driving out to pick up a friend and then head into the bars in Portland to catch up with some other folks since tonight's my last night in Maine, but saw that Route 1 in Yarmouth was blocked off after the Rowe School exit, and there was tons of smoke billowing up beyond. Coming back over four hours later, there's still tons of smoke and fire trucks from all over. Here's a news report of what's going on:

For other video, check out WGME (worst on-scene reporter ever) and WMTW. Good luck to all the folks whose businesses have been destroyed. I arrived back home at the start of this break right after a huge ice storm, and I'm leaving after a massive fire. Guess I'm bad luck.

Happy New Year's!

2008-12-31T15:58:00.003-05:00

Happy New Year's to everyone, and I hope folks are having/will have a great time tonight.
Here's New Year's Eve in Times Square back in 1984/5 with Lily Tomlin hosting.

The Knife -New Year's Eve [divshare] [SF]
This song is off the original soundtrack that The Knife did for the movie Hannah Med H.

Holy Birthday, Batman!

2008-12-25T00:08:00.002-05:00

So, this is the awkward time of year, where my birthday is lumped in with Chanukkah, Christmas, Kwanzaa, Boxing Day, Christmas Eve, Russian Orthodox Christmas, probably some saints' days, and, most likely, a national holiday in Swaziland or somewhere like that. I've been back in Maine for over a week now, and really enjoying it. There's been a lot of snow, which has meant skiing, snowshoeing, and (unfortunately) shoveling. But I've even managed to miss shoveling while down at school.

Yesterday, or more accurately two days ago, was my 21st birthday, so finally, after years of drinking illegally, I'm allowed to imbibe without fear of legal repercussions. Really, I don't feel that different, since I've been buying booze and going to bars for about five years now, but it takes a little bit of stress away, although some of the adventure is gone too. In any case, it was a good excuse to see friends, many of whom I haven't seen in a couple years, since I've been abroad during the summers and many school vacations. So, in celebration of the occasion, and my other friends who've had birthday's recently, here's the track that Royksopp just dropped recently for free in their return from an all-too-long hiatus.

Royksopp - Happy Birthday [divshare]

I've also got a holiday gift from Minnesota mixmaster Dom Terrace that he's put out as Asphalteater, which, in my opinion, is a pretty sweet name. It's a hilarious remix of the song from Subway's "Five Dollar Footlong" commercials. Also, check out Dom's track 'Simple,' which is by far one of my favorite songs of 2008. You can get all his tracks on his website, and I definitely recommend all of them. Happy holidays, and keep on rocking!

Asphalteater - Five Dollar Footlong [divshare]
Dom Terrace - Simple [divshare]

SNL Has Rocked My Socks

2008-12-17T02:44:00.003-05:00

Seriously, if you have not yet seen this, watch it. I've watched it about 5 times in the last two days. So juvenile, so funny. The Timbaland impression toward the end is spot on and too hilarious.

Cassius Classicus

2008-12-15T15:11:00.003-05:00

Photo from Al Gore Please Save Us

I'm back in Maine once again (luckily after the worst effects of the weekend's ice storm have worn off) after a month of almost non-stop work, trying to finish up my thesis and other papers. Almost don't know what to do with myself now that I have a free month. Well, I should be working on job stuff/preparations for next year, but that wouldn't be much fun. I'll get my ass in gear with that later this week.
But, in the meantime, it's a chance for some glorious inactivity and catching up with my family and friends up here. I got in some used CD hunting at Cutler's down in New Haven a few weeks ago, and am just starting to explore more of what I've got my hands on. I've always had a few Cassius tracks kicking around my computer from a phase when I downloaded a bunch of French Touch, '90s dance music (like those robot-suit dudes from that Kanye video), but Id never gotten a full album. Now I've got two of them (click links to see/buy), '1999' and '15 Again.' They're both full of great tracks, and the jazzy edge to them is a refreshing break from the pounding bass and distortion of bangers or and the synths that, much as I love them, are in every goddamn song these days.
One song that I find myself listening to over and over is 'Toop Toop' off of '15 Again.' The lyrics don't make a hell of a lot of sense, but hey, Cassius is two French guys, so that's certainly forgivable, and the track itself is just ridiculously catchy. I've also got two remixes, one by The Anarchitects, who I can't find much on, and the other by Brooklyn-based Streetlab, who have loads of remixes available for free on their MySpace. Also, check out Cassius's MySpace, especially the first track in the player, 'Keep on Running.'

Cassius - Toop Toop [divshare]

This one has a little more of a garage sound, with the snare that gets it going at the beginning.
Cassius - Toop Toop (The Anarchitects remix) [divshare]

Cassius - Toop Toop (Streetlab remix) [divshare]

James Murphy and Kermit the Frog Do New York

2008-12-05T12:06:00.003-05:00

This is absolutely awesome. James Murphy/LCD Soundsystem decided to do a music video for 'New York I Love You But You're Bringing Me Down,' off of Sound of Silver and brought on board everyone's favorite melancholy Muppet, Kermit the Frog. There are lots of good city shots and Kermit is perfect for the part, based on his previous works, 'The Rainbow Connection' and 'It's Not Easy Being Green,' which I can only guess was why he was chosen in the first place.

LCD Soundsystem - New York I Love You But You're Bringing Me Down [divshare]

The Rainbow Connection

It's Not Easy Being Green

Putting in Work

2008-12-02T06:06:00.003-05:00

While I'll never be quite as efficient as I'd like with my time, today/yesterday was another productive one, and I'm feeling really good about my senior thesis at this point. The work isn't going to stop really for the next two weeks, then it will be a magical month of vacation. But, there are three other papers between me and that freedom, so it's time to put in my work and get shit done.

Speaking of putting in work, Gang Starr and Big L knew something about that (it's sad and kind of funny thatBig L has been dead since 1999, but he still has a Myspace page). I haven't posted much hip hop/rap on here yet, but this is one of my all-time favorite songs. Support Big L's estate by picking up one of his albums here.

Gang Starr and Big L - Work [divshare]

One of my favorite rappers of this past year has been Washington DC's Wale, who came out with his killer '100 Miles and Running' mixtape, which you can download for free thanks to the links put up here by Get Right Music.

Wale - Work [divshare]

Thanksgiving Hangover

2008-11-30T22:52:00.002-05:00

The past week has been one of the most productive for me in a long time, but also not a hell of a lot of fun. After heading back home following the Yale-Harvard game last weekend (painful-ass loss, but a damn good party), I got one good night's sleep, and then launched into work which has been almost unceasing since then as I'm trying to finish my thesis and also write three other papers. Right now, I need a break, though. I'm getting burned out. Thankfully, my thesis and one paper need to be done by Friday, so I'll be able to enjoy the weekend, but I can't wait to get done with the semester. Everywhere I look, there are stacks of books, my computer is full of articles, I'm constantly thinking about work--it's oppressive. So, to hell with it all, I'm done for the night.

Since I didn't post anything specifically about Thanksgiving, here's the only song I know of in my iTunes that contains the word "Turkey," brought to us not by Americans, but by London's We Have Band.

We Have Band - You Came Out [divshare]

Bonus: The music video from their song 'Oh.'

Kings of Convenience Remixed

2008-11-20T15:12:00.006-05:00

Norwegian acoustic strummers Kings of Convenience have been in heavy rotation in my iTunes since this summer (although I missed them at the jazz festival in Cascais in July due to the exorbitant ticket price). Their music always helps me relax, and it's excellent for doing work, because it can fade into the background, but their songs have beautiful, personal lyrics as well. Lately I've been listening a lot to one remix of their "I Don't Know What I Can Save You From" by Mojib. He comes at most things from a more hip-hoppy, RJD2 or Flying Lotus style, and he kicks up the drums, but the song retains its beauty. The other remix is by Four Tet. The originals of both songs are on the album 'Quiet is the New Loud' which you can pick up here.

Kings of Convenience - I Don't Know What I Can Save You From (Mojib remix) [divshare]
Kings of Convenience - The Weight of My Words (Four Tet remix) [divshare]

Off to Cambridge this afternoon for my last Yale-Harvard game of college. It's going to be a lot of fun, but sad, too. Then off to Maine for a few days and Thanksgiving before coming back down to New Haven to buckle down and get some writing done.

Bringing Back Some Justice

2008-11-13T17:09:00.004-05:00

It's been a while since I listened to Justice's Cross album all the way through, which I've just done while cooking, and I kind of forgot how good it is. My favorite rediscovery, though, is how much I like "DVNO." Like so many good dance anthems, it's repetitive, but not in a bad way, and I think a lot of people overlooked it since songs like "D.A.N.C.E." and "Phantom" got all the attention. The beat just pounds you all the way to 1:40 or so, when it drops out and you get the short a cappella. And I love the thumping, funky bass that comes in toward the end.
To go along with it, here's my favorite of the myriad remixes of "D.A.N.C.E" floating around out there. I feel like it stays very true to Justice's sound and it's really kicking. The remixers, Your Dirty Habit, are rocking out of North Carolina and just put out an EP of their remixes that you can pick up on Beatport, and you can check out other remixes of Justice there, too.

Justice - DVNO
Justice - D.A.N.C.E. (Your Dirty Habit remix)

Sad Songs

2008-11-10T17:03:00.002-05:00

In an echo of this summer, my schoolwork has been getting me down some lately. This is to be expected, I guess, when I'm essentially taking three classes on genocide and writing a thesis about war in Angola and Mozambique, but something has been cutting deeper lately. Having already watched movies about genocide in Darfur, Yugoslavia, and Rwanda already this semester, I wound up taking a break from working last night and watched The Constant Gardener with some friends. It's alright as a movie--it has a good message and ideas, but not necessarily the best execution. What I took away from it in the end, though, is that life in Africa (and the underdeveloped world more generally) is cheap. Human lives wind up being just pawns on a chessboard, or, more accurately, numbers on a spreadsheet. Globalization is supposed to bring us together, but when it's filtered through cold-hearted capitalism, it can dehumanize people instead.

Sometimes I want to listen to happy music to cheer me up, but other times I'd rather have something that matches my mood, which these songs do. The first is a remix of Brooklyn-based Au Revoir Simone by Pacific! and then a remix of Fredo Viola by the amazing Prins Thomas.

Au Revoir Simone - Sad Song (Pacific! remix) [divshare]
Fredo Viola - The Sad Song (Prins Thomas remix) [divshare]

Au Revoir Simone on Amazon
Fredo Viola's official site (awesome design)

A Change Has Come

2008-11-06T01:45:00.003-05:00

Like over half of America and much of the world, I've been rejoicing in the election results and Obama's victory. It wound up being not nearly as close as I had expected, and it made me happy to see states like Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Florida turning blue on all the TV channels' maps relatively early in the night. McCain's concession speech was generally gracious, and I was pleased with how he dealt with the booers in the audience. He dwelt on race too much, in my opinion, but I think in the end he struck the right tone to begin the process of healing the divisiveness this election has caused. Obama's speech and the sight of the crowd in Chicago were very moving, and he has made me truly excited for the next four years, and the changes that are possible, despite the extremely difficult situation he will inherit. This really was a special moment, and even in arguing with conservative friends who supported McCain, I felt we were growing closer, more so than in past elections.

Now it is time to see what happens. To see if Obama will be able to carry out what he has promised and if a relatively inexperienced 47-year-old senator will be able to win the cooperation and respect of Congress and those Americans who voted against him. Among the people at McCain and Palin rallies who were shouting that Obama should be killed, I don't expect any change of heart. But for people who thought he was a Muslim and a terrorist, that he would 'betray' Israel, that he is a dangerous radical Communist--I hope that these people will be educated, that they will give him a chance and take the time to learn who Barack Obama is and what his presidency means, rather than allowing ignorance and hatred continue to cloud their vision.

This is a chance for America to return to respectability, because John Bolton may not give a damn what the rest of the world thinks, but I certainly do, and the past eight years have dragged America's reputation through the mud abroad. My brother is in Rwanda at a UN conference right now, and he wrote:
"The world shares in our celebration, and our hope for the future. A Madagascan, a Sri Lankan, a German, a Briton, a French woman, a Canadian, an Ivorian, a Costa Rican, a South African, a Kenyan, a Ghanaian, and of course Rwandans, have all expressed to me today and over the last several days how this election has changed their perceptions of America, and how America has set an example for the world, and they are uplifted by the prospect for a remaking of the global order, with America restored to the center of international cooperation."

I feel very strongly that this is a victory for America as a whole and I hope that we have truly turned a corner and that the politics of fear, of racism, and of exploitation have been kicked to the curb. They're not going to vanish overnight, of course, but maybe the defeat of McCain-Palin has shown that this is not a sound strategy and will backfire. Despite all the talk of the Bradley effect and how Americans are closet racists, the biracial son of a Kenyan immigrant is now the president-elect, and I hope that the doors have opened and that in the future blacks, Asians, Hispanics, Native Americans, Arabs, Pacific Islanders, women, gays, Muslims---anyone, really---will be able to run for office and be judged on personal merit and policies, rather than on social identity.

Sam Cooke wrote and recorded "A Change is Gonna Come" in 1963, not long before his death, as the civil rights movement was getting into full swing, and it was released by RCA just after he died. It is one of the most beautiful songs ever, by my favorite singer ever.

A change has come in America. Let's embrace it.

Sam Cooke - A Change is Gonna Come (divshare)

Seriously, if you don't have a Sam Cooke album, go buy one right now on Bull Moose, Amazon, or wherever.

New Russ Chimes

2008-11-03T13:52:00.003-05:00

Russ Chimes has a golden touch. Pretty much every one of his original tracks and remixes is smooth-as-hell with a new retro edge. Now he's lent his skills to The Outrunners from the label that's bringing the 80s back, one synth at a time, Valerie. Russ has turned out another absolute stunner. He really can do no wrong. Get ready to dance, do a funny walk, or just generally rock out. Check out Russ, The Outrunners, and the rest of the Valerie gang on iTunes.

Russ Chimes - Afterburner [divshare]
The Outrunners - These Girls are Dressed to Kill (Russ Chimes remix) [divshare]
The Millioners - Body Into Use (Russ Chimes remix) [divshare]

Freaky Finn for Halloween

2008-10-28T20:06:00.004-04:00

For music videos that make The Knife look normal, turn to Eleanoora Rosenholm, coming to us from Finland. Her haunting music is accompanied by equally haunting videos. I have no idea what the lyrics mean, but I'm sure they're something brooding/creepy/would probably freak me out. Love the tunes, though. You can get her EP from Fonal Records.

Eleanoora Rosenholm - Tammen Varjosa (divshare)

Maailmanloppu

Weird Tapes gets spooky

2008-10-22T02:07:00.003-04:00

Just in time for Halloween, Weird Tapes, the ever-productive side project/offshoot of Hail Social, (Hail Social's myspace description is "RIP," so this is probably the future) has come out with a new track, entitled 'The Talking Dead.' It's not actually too dark or spooky, just more of the same awesome, sample-based smooth music. Take a listen here and pick it up for free on the crew's blog .

Weird Tapes - The Talking Dead

Straight Out of Chi-Town: Hey Champ

2008-10-20T00:10:00.004-04:00

Well, so much for doing work. I managed to read through a dissertation tonight while watching the Red Sox lose in painful fashion to the Devil Rays (not going to just call them 'the Rays;' shame on them for bowing to pressure from uptight religious groups/not completely changing the name). So, the Devil Rays are now champs, which segues nicely into the band I've been listening to nonstop for the past two days, Chicago's own Hey Champ. They make extreeemely catchy synth pop and just got signed to Lupe Fiasco's 1st and 15th label, so hopefully they'll put out a full-length album soon. When they're not rocking out, the band also mixes as Hey Champ DJs and have a nice remix of Yeasayer as well as an original track.

Hey Champ - Cold Dust Girl (divshare)
Hey Champ - Face Control (divshare)
Hey Champ DJs - In the White City (divshare)

They've also come out with a music video for 'Cold Dust Girl' which is full of slow motion nightclub action. Is it every all-male band's dream to have two girls making out in a music video just because they have the power of "artistic direction" and a budget on their side to make it happen? This is a sociology/psychology study in the making.

Matt & Kim & more

2008-10-17T19:49:00.003-04:00

I've been obsessed for the past week with Matt & Kim's new song, 'Daylight.' Last spring, I'd heard 'Yeah Yeah' before, but never got very into Matt & Kim until I visited Max out in LA and he was playing their first, self-titled album in his car. Now they're one of my favorite bands. And what can really be cuter than a band that's a couple? They're coming out with a new album, titled 'Grand' soon and in the lead up have released two songs, the aforementioned 'Daylight' and 'Good Ol' Fashioned Nightmare,' both of which totally rock. Matt's playing piano instead of keyboard or synth on both of them and it works out really well.

Matt and Kim - Daylight (divshare)
Matt and Kim - Good Ol' Fashioned Nightmare (divshare)

Also, for another band Max introduced me to, Eugene Hutz from Gogol Bordello is starring in a new movie directed by Madonna.

Gogol Bordello - Start Wearing Purple (divshare)

ZShare issues

2008-10-17T16:40:00.001-04:00

Zshare is down right now, so if there are any songs previously posted that you'd like to be able to hear, just shoot me an email. Hopefully they'll be back up soon, but otherwise I'll switch over to DivShare along with the Boxstr links.

The Tempting, The Tantalizing, The 80's

2008-10-15T21:01:00.003-04:00

I've been a fan of New Order ever since the first time I heard 'Crystal' way back in middle school. At that point, I knew absolutely nothing about the band or its origins in Joy Division, I just really liked the music. So, I was excited earlier today when I found the tracks from 1982's 'Temptation' single posted on Art Decade. I'd heard other versions, but never the original, so it's a real treat. Listening to 'Temptation,' it sounds like it belongs in a movie in some montage about unrequited love, and it was, in fact, on the Trainspotting soundtrack. As the name would suggest, 'Hurt' is darker, more brooding, and, in my opinion, more stereotypically '80s. But, I love them both. Enjoy...

New Order - Temptation (zshare)
New Order - Hurt (zshare)

P.S. In case some people have had trouble with zShare links in the past (they've also managed to disappear at times), I'm now posting songs both on zShare and Boxstr, so at least one of the two should work, and neither one requires you to download a song to listen to it.

Last Friday's Playlist and more

2008-10-08T16:14:00.004-04:00

So, I'm way late on this, but last Friday I played a short DJ set at Dave Rudnick's weekly Modern Love party. The basement was absolutely packed there, and it seemed like people were having a great time. Dave put down a really great set, including a mashup of his own making of Boys Noize vs. Justice vs. Simian vs. probably someone else. It was sick. The overall theme of the night was 'Kids in America,' so I tried to stick with the theme, although a few songs wound up being foreign groups talking about youth. So, here's the setlist:

Baby's Gang - America
Jupiter - I Love America
Walter Meego - Girls
Black Kids - I'm Not Gonna Teach Your Boyfriend How to Dance (Twelves remix)
Sneaky Sound System - When We Were Young (Dept. remix)
Hexes & Ohs - H-H-High School
Shitdisco - 72 Virgins (Calling in Sick remix)
True Pseudo - Freaking Me Out
LCD Soundsystem - North American Scum
Hercules & Love Affair - Blind
Vampire Weekend - Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa (The Teenagers remix)

True Pseudo - Freaking Me Out (zshare)
Walter Meego - Girls (zshare)

It was a lot of fun playing there, so I hope I'll be able to do it again soon. Following the America theme, I got to see Bill Clinton speak on Saturday. He's an absolutely amazing speaker, really charismatic. I'm pretty sure that if he could run again for president, he'd be elected in a heartbeat. It goes to show that you can still be a successful and beloved politician after cheating on your wife and lying about it, just so long as you don't cheat with a hooker. (Oh, hey Elliott Spitzer!)

I'm back up in Maine this weekend for some doctor's appointments, so I'll try to pick up some more Portland music and maybe catch a show.

Telephony

2008-09-30T04:02:00.006-04:00

This afternoon I was treated to a tip by my friend Charlie about Mobile1 7, a site that lets you create your own ringtones for free from your music. You upload a song and tell the site when you want your tone to start and how long you want it to be. All you have to pay for is the normal texting or data fees you might have for your cell phone, though if you decide not to pay a small amount, you have to wait a while for the tone to get loaded and sent. But, I've got plenty of time. (Why else would I be writing at 4 in the morning? Oh, wait, insomnia. Hey there.) So, after an aborted attempt to upload a snippet of 'Spectacle Wins' by Only Fools and Horses, which wound up being too large a file, I decided to use a segment of 'The Heavens' by Weird Tapes. It's spacey, cool electro full of samples. You can get their EP's for free in zip files, as well as those from similar Hail Social family member Memory Cassette right heeerrree.

Weird Tapes-The Heavens (mp3)

And in this second song, I love the sample from Ice Cube's 'It Was A Good Day.' So sweet.
Weird Tapes-Party Trash (mp3)

Bonus: Ice Cube's a pimp

The Job is an Elusive Animal

2008-09-29T00:56:00.003-04:00

I just found out that I got rejected from a job I'd made it to the second round for. Now, another of my posts from here has disappeared, the one I wrote on Tuesday after seeing Cut Copy and the Presets on Monday night. Shit sucks, but at least music doesn't. Time for more work, more job applications, and less sleep. Hooray!

Of Montreal-The Past is a Grotesque Animal

Empire of the Sun

2008-09-22T13:49:00.005-04:00

For the past week or so I've had 'Walking on a Dream' by Empire of the Sun stuck in my head. Empire of the Sun is a side project of Nick Littlemore from Pnau and Luke Steele of The Sleepy Jackson, presumably named after the 1987 movie starring a wee little Christian Bale. The falsetto in the chorus is fantastic, and overall it's just a killer song. There are a bunch of remixes out right now, but my favorite is the one by Nick's older brother, Sam Littlemore, who put it out under his alias, Sam La More. The video, filmed in Shanghai is all kinds of trippy, ridiculous awesomeness. Check it out. Going to see Cut Copy and The Presets tonight in New York, so I'll try to post about that tomorrow or the next day.

Empire of the Sun-Walking on a Dream
Empire of the Sun-Walking on a Dream (Sam La More 12 Remix)

Empire Of The Sun - Walking On A Dream

Missing posts and songs

2008-09-18T10:09:00.004-04:00

Hmm, some of my posts have been disappearing lately. Is Blogger caving to industry pressure and automatically removing posts if a label complains to them? Are record labels ignoring the courtesy of contacting blog writers first to remove tracks? Let's see what happens if I the tracks from the missing posts back up. The posts were about spending time with friends at a lake in Maine and then about looking for jobs in Africa, so the songs are on those topics.

M83-On A White Lake Near A Green Mountain
Muscles-The Lake
Toto-Africa

Of Shirts, Muscles, and Ice Cream

2008-09-09T07:33:00.003-04:00

In the vein of Stephen Colbert, today's Word is 'Muscles.' Lately, it's been pretty hot here in New Haven, which means that parties are disgustingly hot. Last night, while partaking in the venerable tradition that is Tequila Monday in Silliman (a tradition the administration tried to kill), the room was unbearably sweltering. Thankfully, there was a nearby telecom room, full of servers for the entire college, which was blissfully air conditioned. However, this also meant leaving the party, so it was only acceptable in small doses. This made me wish something else was more acceptable: dancing with your shirt off. One of my favorite nights of the summer was the summer closing party for Incognito, an awesome small club in Lisboa. I showed up with a pretty big group of friends and we wound up eventually splitting up, but my friend Andre and I decided to stay until close at 6 am and just dance our asses off. At one point, it was so stiflingly hot, that we decided, 'To hell with it, let's just take our shirts off.' This started a wave of people de-shirting, including the DJ, and made the night much more fun, especially because neither of us was doing it for the asshole reason of impressing girls. Taking off your shirt shows off your muscles, but it is also one of the themes of a song by the Aussie electro musician Muscles, who brings us the excellent lyric, "I don't need a number, I just want to dance with my shirt off." And that is today's Word.

Muscles-Ice Cream (zshare)

Hey Little Gothic Girl, Watch Out, You Might Get A Suntan

2008-09-05T20:44:00.005-04:00

I've never really understood goth culture. Everyone hates the world sometimes, but why should one wallow in misery and darkness and shitty, incomprehensible songs about blood and death. Also, I like makeup little enough already on girls, so a guy wearing it doesn't really do it for me either. I saw a very pale goth girl on Cross Campus earlier today and was reminded of the awesome and hilarious 'Gothic Girl' by German group International Pony (big props to my friend Fabian for introducing me to them). Here's the original, plus a remix by the intriguingly-named Paluka's 808 Love Theorem which chills it out and adds in lots of great instrumental samples. The music video is all kinds of awesome (it's a little small on here, so for best viewing, check it on Youtube).

International Pony-Gothic Girl
International Pony-Gothic Girl (Paluka's 808 Love Theorem remix)

Primarily Amazing

2008-09-03T01:17:00.002-04:00

I thought it would take much longer for Miami Horror's remix of The Presets to be surpassed as my musical obsession of the moment, but then along came Primary 1 and The Shoes to blow me away with what is now one of my all-time favorite remixes. The original Primary 1 song is like a better Calvin Harris (and Primary 1 also draws comics that he posts on his blog, which Calvin doesn't do), but the remix is absolutely mesmerizing. The track's been around for a bit, but if you haven't heard it yet, do yourself a favor and click the link, pronto. The number of times I've listened to it in the past couple days is probably unhealthy.

Primary 1-Hold Me Down
Primary 1-Hold Me Down (The Shoes remix)

Top of the Pops

2008-08-29T11:17:00.003-04:00

I'm back in New Haven now, trying to adjust to my college lifestyle once again and the small radius in which I live here. My brother was in town for a couple days, so we had to hit up all the usual haunts--Rudy's, Ivy Noodle, Pepe's Pizza, etc. I haven't had too much time lately to find new music, so I'll post a few of my favorite tracks I've been listening to a lot lately. Not necessarily new, but necessarily awesome (in my opinion). One of my favorite albums lately has been 'Reveries' by Pacific!. I really love the track 'Break Your Social System' for the very nerdy reason that in my academic work I try to challenge the existing social order (I should just shut up about that now), but beyond that it's just a damn good electro song. Not fast enough to be dancey, but perfect for relaxing and having a beer. Next up is definitely my favorite song of the summer, which is the Miami Horror remix of The Presets' 'Talk Like That' (found courtesy of Palms Out). Miami Horror always brings the retro heat and this is my favorite mix of his by far. He takes a fairly dark original and makes it into a dancefloor killer. And finally a track from a good Maine band, Satellite Lot (presumably named after airport parking near the Portland jetport). They have a lot of different sounds, but the one that comes out most in this song is a New Wave influence.

Pacific!-Break Your Social System
The Presets-Talk Like That
The Presets-Talk Like That (Miami Horror remix)
Satellite Lot-We've Already Tracked You Down

Almamy

2008-08-26T21:30:00.004-04:00

I'm heading back to school tomorrow, where, I expect I'll be writing more, even though I should be having less free time. Funny how that works. I spent this past weekend at a pig roast up at a friend's cottage in Boothbay Harbor, doing pig roast-y things, like drinking and eating pig. After a very tired and somewhat sickly-feeling car ride home, I wound up with a surprise in my inbox: a couple tracks from Almamy, an electronic musician from New York. I'd heard of him before (Senegalese origin, dancer turned musician), but never listened to anything, so I was excited to hear the sound. The first track, 'French Kiss' is off his new double single 'Don't Ask Me/French Kiss.' The second time I listened to it, I liked it better, but it's still not my style. I'm fine with instrumentals, but when the vocals don't grab me, I don't see so much of a point. What I liked better was the bonus track he sent, an En Masse remix of his song 'Like You Do.' Very sweet. The distorted vocals work well here and the beat is killer. I'll be interested to check out some more of Almamy's stuff to see which song is more representative of his overall catalog. En Masse continues to impress me, though, and hopefully they'll put out some more songs soon.

Almamy-French Kiss
Almamy-Like You Do (En Masse Like We Do remix)

Where are your friends tonight?

2008-08-04T03:37:00.004-04:00

I'm traveling with my family now after two amazing months in Lisbon. It's very nice, but it also makes me miss my friends a lot. I'm not going to have much internet until getting back to the States on August 11th, but in the meantime, here's an LCD Soundsystem song for all my friends from Maine, Yale, Lisbon, and elsewhere.

LCD Soundsystem-All My Friends

What I Did on My Summer Vacation-The Concert Series

2008-07-26T09:47:00.005-04:00

Two nights ago was what was probably my last concert of the summer here in Lisbon. I went with friends to see Bonde do Role at Lux. I didn't know quite what to expect out of it, having only listened to parts of With Lasers and hearing from my Brazilian friends that they recently added two new MCs, one of whom was a pro, and the other who won an American Idol style contest. I wound up being blown away. When performing, Gorky (the big dude) would start up a backing track on the turntables, then all four members would jump around like crazy, rapping, dancing, throwing glitter on the crowd and each other. It was the most charismatic performance I've ever seen, and the first time I've been to a show where it looked like the artists were having more fun than the audience. Everyone was dancing hard and I woke up the next morning exhausted with sore legs.
At the beginning of the summer, I saw Michael Mayer from the Kompakt label in Germany playing at Lux. This was the first time I'd listened to much of his music, and really loved it. The night ended with him playing his remix of Rufus Wainwright's "Tiergarten," which is now one of my favorite songs of all time, and was done as part of his Supermayer work with Superpitcher (seriously, wait until the synths kick in at about 2:45 and prepare to be taken for an incredible, beautiful ride). A few days later I went to the Rock in Rio Lisboa festival out at Parque da Bela Vista and saw Orishas, Kaiser Chiefs, Muse, and Sasha and Digweed. Orishas were the best in my opinion, even though the crowd wasn't too into it, and I'm looking forward to their new album a lot. Muse also put on a great show and I enjoyed it a lot, despite having only listened to a few songs of theirs before.
And finally, prior to the Bonde do Role show, I went with my roommates to see The Field, another Kompakt artist, also at Lux. He had a live bassist and drummer playing with him, which was interesting and on a few tracks amazing, but didn't quite work out on some other songs. After he was finished and other DJs came on, I walked over to my friend Tyler who was standing around with a random blond, mustachioed guy. It had been a long night already, so I was slightly confused when Tyler introduced me and said "Kai, this is Axel." I looked back puzzled and he responded, "Axel is The Field." My reaction was to throw my arm over his shoulder and thank him for "such an amazing show." He struck me as somewhat awkward, but that was probably a normal reaction, given my state. Then, prior to Bonde do Role, there was also a release party for the Discotexas label here in Portugal, featuring rocking sets from Bandidos, Moulinex, and Xinobi
So that's my concert rundown. It's kind of sad, but I think that's more shows than I've seen over the past two years. Check out some songs, enjoy, and if you don't get the chance to see these acts, live vicariously through me.

Bonde do Role-Solta o Frango
Rufus Wainwright-Tiergarten (Supermayer Lost in Tiergarten)
Kaiser Chiefs-Love's Not a Competition, But I'm Winning (Nelsen Grover remix)
Muse-Starlight
The Field-Over The Ice (this track absolutely blew my mind at the show)
Moulinex-Come on Closer (Pineapples Cover)

Eu Adoro Lisboa

2008-07-24T12:01:00.007-04:00

After getting absolutely no sleep last night following a big night out (went with my friend Joe who's visiting and two of his friends to a restaurant where for 10 euros you get a meal and all the sangria and/or beer you can drink, followed by the hostel bar my roommates work at, then heading to the bars in Bairro Alto), I spent this morning up until now walking around the city. I headed over to Alfama, one of the older parts of the city and went to two of my favorite places here--one is a terrace bar with sofas, cold beer, and the best views in the city, in my opinion, followed by a sandwich at Pois, Cafe, which has an American coffeehouse feel. It's not authentic Lisbon, but it's such a nice atmosphere. Walking around, I realized just how much I love it here and how much I'll miss the city. But music and memories can travel (along with scandalous photos), so here are a couple of my favorite Portuguese songs of late.
First up is a song from Loto, a band from Alcobaca, a bit north of here. They sing both in English and Portuguese, and it's good, fun, synthy pop. Second is Xinobi, one of the biggest DJs here, who also happens to be friends with my roommate Carly. We went to his album release show at Lux a couple weeks ago, which was damn good fun. I'm planning to do a post on all the shows I've seen since being here in Lisbon, but I'll save it for another day, since I may be going to see Bonde do Role tonight, so there may be some more Xinobi soon.

Loto-Back to Discos
Xinobi-Sonda

Sickness from home

2008-07-23T09:56:00.005-04:00

I've been living in Lisbon, Portugal since the end of May, and while there are some distinct things that I miss about home, either in Maine or at school in Connecticut, life here has been amazing. However, one event that I'm extremely bummed out about missing was the release party for my favorite Portland band, Phantom Buffalo. They've been around for a while, and used to be called The Ponys, until they got booked for a festival and discovered there was a band from Chicago also called The Ponys playing there. The release party was on July 19 and I'm looking forward to picking up their new album, 'Take to the Trees' when I get home. But I'm also missing a free show on August 8. Damnitalltohell. The sound is really beautiful. They describe themselves on myspace as shoegaze, and at times there are Brian Jonestown Massacre-like elements.
Opening up for them at the release party was Honey Clouds, a newish group with former members of Harpswell Sound. It took me a little bit to get into their songs, but now they're near the top of my playlists a lot. Like Phantom Buffalo, the singer has a very distinctive voice, so you know it's them any time a song comes on.
And finally, here's another Portland guy, Computer At Sea, making weird electronic noise music, although this is his most accessible track.

Phantom Buffalo-A Hilly Town
Phantom Buffalo-Five Charming Animals
Phantom Buffalo-Be The Boss
Honey Clouds-Ribbon
Computer At Sea-Sullen Lamplighters
Harpswell Sound-Tankful of Gas

Genesis

2008-07-23T09:38:00.006-04:00

In the beginning, there was this post. I am entering the world of blogs, and more particularly music blogs, a place littered with Coldplay, Radiohead, and hipsters. I've been reading a shit ton of blogs lately to find new music, but I wanted a place of my own to spread the word about artists I like, hopefully some of whom will be new for people and so get them more attention. So this blog will serve as a space for music I enjoy and want to share with others, and for some musings on my life, the lives of my friends, and the lives of people I don't know. I'm going to be playing around with layout and learning on the fly, so the page could get messy at times, but that's the fun of it.
The name of the blog has no real significance. It was a name I suggested for the currently nameless band of a friend here. But, just for the hell of it, we'll make the first few song posts ones to do with limes. First is the classic Harry Nilsson song "Coconut" (wrong fruit in the title, but it's in the song), a techno number from En Masse, and a house track from Drop the Lime.

Harry Nilsson-Coconut
En Masse-Lime
Drop the Lime-I Love NY