I forgot I had a blog...OK I didn't really but I've been so busy having extrememly enjoyable holiday times that I haven't sat down and put my thoughts into digital type/music form!
This guy Bram is really onto something. He has one album (as far as I can find out), and its pretty great. Check him out. And buy the album B.R.A.M. here.
Boston's own Jonathan Richman @ TROUBADOUR tonight! Places he plays should have to change their name to The Troubadour when he plays there. Always. Hes the true and consumate troub, and always repping New England hard! I wish I could go!
Last night was a great night of friends. And FOOD. Wow food. Thanks all. We had a blast.
I've been living, on the weekends mostly, in an amazing, quirky, weird, awesome house in the Hollywood hills that my girl has been housesitting, and last night was a bit of a farewell. Tonight will be our last night and I'm a bit sad about it! There's no cell reception up here, and until Friday we had to deal w/ some VERY weird cats, but I've come to feel comfy here, and its a pretty great spot. I will miss the courtyard for sure. Thanks Molly & John. I've never met you, but I can tell you are rad peeps.
I would really still love it if you all checked out and voted for my remix of Metric's track
'Gold Guns Girls', which is part of an Indaba Music contest...
Right now I'm 12th out of 247. Psyched just on that I guess. BUT...I NEED YOUR VOTES!!! If you dig my track...PLEASE VOTE FOR ME!! And tell your friends!
There's a widget on the right there that you can do it very easily from as well....
Today I finally got the guy's album, and since the names are similar (Special Affections, and Splash), Jeremy Jay's most recent played after his finished. They seemed, well, perfect for each other. I began day dreaming of a DR/JJ collabo! Suddenly, I decided I needed to remember to discuss it with my girlfriend later. This was both to self confirm my hetero-ness after listening to these terrific albums back to back, and also just cuz I like to talk about music...ok it was mostly the first one.
SPOILER ALERT: This first video is NSFW. You should probably watch it at work anyway though.
Wowsers.
New promo video for Klaxons' second single, 'Twin Flames', directed by Saam Farahmand, goes above and beyond...
Klaxons are a curious bunch. But it seems like that's only the case over here in the U.S. SO much hype back in '07. I was instantly obsessively playing 'Golden Skans'. Then a big Justice remix, and a couple great videos. They were crowned the kings of 'nu-rave'. But the first album was really a semi-exciting/semi-lackluster album, and....then nothing for like 3 years (if you didn't live in the UK that is). The follow up album talks started shortly after (late '07) and were finally fulfilled earlier this year. The album is Surfing The Void, and has a couple catchy songs, but is still a bit out there (the original submission was rejected by Polydor for being 'too expeirmental'). More attention comes with the drop of this video. I've always been oddly intrigued by the band, there is enough mystery to keep me there. I continue to assume its some UK/Euro stuff going on I have no idea about. There is plenty that fits that category.
This is another quick and surrealistic vision from a talented director/creator in Farahmand (he has done all of Klaxons videos besides 'Atlantis to Interzone', as well as videos for The Xx, These New Puritians, New Young Pony Club and others), who is skilled in the visual transportation to a semi-static like space where nicely stimulating images flow freely. Saam. So hot right now.
His previous collaboration w/ the lads of Klax (video for 'Golden Skans', see below) almost gives me an Empire of the Sun vibe. EotS were maybe only a PNAU daydream at that point, but its reminiscent for me, and gives me thoughts of a Brit vs. Aussie battle for the best dreamy-electro-rock band with hints of, I dunno, emperorish sexuality, and gratuitous unknown 'symbolism' involved? I'd have to give the nod to Australia. Whatever the fuck I am talking about.
ANYWAY, eere's a track from the newer album, and my fave from the first, as well as that Justice remix I spoke of.
Check out the Long Islander dude Hoodie Allen. His name has been kicking around my headspace/internet space for a while now ('Tighten Up' has been heard by my ears on a number of occasions), and now his newish September release mixtape Pep Rally, is free for download....HERE. His sounds are courtesy of longtime friend & collaborator RJF.
He was asked in August by The Nosebleed Section to "describe (his) sound in three words,"
Hoodie:tasty jams son.
So there you go. Its really more original remixes on a mixtape/'album' (a-la Chiddy Bang & others)...not that jackin for beats is a new thing as far as mixtapes go, but I'm feeling the trend of the popular indie/electro tracks re-fitted w/ lyrics for some crossover banguhs.
This is not some rando bro-bra spitting some randomness over some eclecticness. This is a dope MC rocking some hard beats. And if it wasn't, well, would it be here? Nah sunnnn.
Anyway, here are a couple of my faves from the collect.
Gat damn that food was good. The turkey, the gravy, the stuffing. Jeez.
And the pies! Oh man the pies.
Round 2 at about 11 pm was the shit too.
How's about a little random selection of re-charge music!? ... Cause its seriously beautiful outside ... and ... I have another dinner to go to tonight!
Oh...and by all means...look out for those loony shoppers!!! We were driving home round 12:30 am last night, and from the 5 I saw a load of people in a parking lot. 'What are they doing?' I thought. 'Oh shit! No way! @ Target even!?' hahah. Yeah, they were out there already. Good luck getting that $350 50' TV!
The Space Boys have released their debut album, Diamonds on Neptune. Hailing from Seoul, South Korea, by way of a flight in their wooden indian spaceship straight from Skowhegan, Maine, Jesus Jones, Village & Boat Music are my hometown homies...
Fueled by rocket fuel beats by a plethora of 207 artists including my wunderkind brother Entricut, (his MySpace, label, Purplebird Music & former group, Natural Ingredients) his sometime collaborator and deadly producer Danksta, the elusive duo of Mixed Digits & R. Brown, Jams Frrever (yours truly), and probangers.com, the trio has blasted the fuck off.
My homie DJ Soso has just dropped a SUPER HOT mix. This one is called The After Hours (WMG) Mixtape V.3. and its all about banging out the the wee hours when there's no time to worry about shit! Get the fluck down.
Been way into 8 bit music. Mostly since Duck Tales (get it!), but I frequently get surges. They're the sounds of forever trying to beat something you could never beat. A worn out greasy controller. Aching thumbs. I wasn't even very good, my brother is way better with the 'Nintendo paddle'. He can whoop my ass in mostly whatever game you want. Besides sports probably. The music was the shit though.
Plenty of 8 bit bands and music users out there for sure. I remember checking out speak & spells on ebay was a pass time of mine once in a while, but I never really got into actually circut bending or making the stuff myself. A friend of mine who goes by Computer at Sea is quite an amazing circut bender/lo-fi musician. Confusatron was one of the first ever LIVE performances I saw where a band/musician was using a actual Nintendo/controller/power glove. Seems like they've switched it up a bit.
Anamanaguchi came into my musical ether a number of years ago, and I a few weeks ago I both got the Scott Pilgrim Videogame Soundtrack) (which they did), and played, the Scott Pilgrim video game (its great). All of a sudden I wanted an 8 bit, well, renaissance? To dramatic?
There was the OG 8-bit Weapon, a number of Chip-Hopartists, and nowdays there's the a fore mentioned Anamanaguchi who seem to be at the head of the once mostly undergound charge from NYC, along with Sabrepulse, & Bubblyfish. There's Computer Jay out here in L.A., Ninja Moped (formerly Rymdreglage), Slagsmalsklubben & Hayzee over seas, & others like Boy 8-Bit using hybrids of 8-bit and lots of much higher bit rate synth, producing & remixing all over the place.
There are also plenty of 8 bit covers; from Weezer to Miles Davis, if you want it, you can probably find it.
btw -- I've never embedded tracks from MySpace, but I'm attempting it now, and the thing is completely f'ed. --- only one song works, not to mention it looks ridic, but I want the 8-BITches track up here!