Only one thing could make forget that I had a bunch of crap due today for school. What is that one thing you might ask? Is it girls? or maybe bikes? no? How about money? The answer is none of those, oh no. However if you guessed hard hitting eurotrash dirty enough to give you a handful diseases only the seediest of the seedy in downtown L.A. possess. You'd be right. Not only is this stuff dirty, its filthy. Like Mylo only finer tuned, these guys spruce up the all too often repetitive dreary dance landscape with little treats all throughout. Do I smell humor? "Hotdog" for example probably has the most ridiculous lyrics I have ever heard:
"Lets get the rhythm of the hands, lets get the rhythm of the beat, down down baby, down down baby down, put em together and what do you get? Hotdog!" The album opens with "Sleep Deprivation" which is a perfect title because its the kind of track you would hear in a club full of fog and smoke and neon green lazers in Berlin at 2:45 when you are about to go home but this comes on so you throw back your 13th beer and hit the dance floor with your drunken moves like a boxer. The video for Hustler (another awesome track) is... amazing... youtube it, but ask your parents first because its only for ... boys and lesbians.
Simian Mobile Disco's Myspace
Tuesday, May 29, 2007
Simian Mobile Disco - Attack Decay Sustain Release
Kanye & Lupe: Indie Rockers?
Stumbled upon a couple of bangers tonight featuring some unexpected samples. 
First one comes from Chicago super-producer/pseudo-rapper Kanye West. West must have been geeking on Pitchfork and other hipster taste-makers lately, as he samples Peter, Bjorn and John's undeniably catchy "Young Folks." It's not so much a sample as it is just adding some playful vocals to a loop of the original hook. I'm not complaining though, it's a refreshing exercise in lightheartedness from the man who did this. You can download it here:Young Folks
Second one comes from Kanye cohort Lupe Fiasco. Thom Yorke's "The Eraser" is sampled here to questionable effect. While the MC's (Fiasco, Kanye, and Pharrell) keep pace with the unorthodox hip hop tempo, I can't help but feel a little put off. It just doesn't feel right. Moreover, how'd they get Yorke to consent to the sample? Radiohead and Co. are notoriously stingy with their music and licensing. Anyhow give it a listen here: US Placers
Saturday, May 26, 2007
summertime
yay! i got tickets to mirah and laura veirs on consecutive nights (june 8&9) at the aladdin! is anyone else going / want to go with me? concert-wise, june is shaping up to be a real dandy. some of the highlights:
june 1st - au revoir simone w/ voxtrot @ the doug fir (get yr fakes, kids)
june 2nd - horse feathers @ the doug fir
june 8th - mirah w/ lovers & mecca normal @ the aladdin
june 9th - laura veirs w/ lake @ the aladdin
june 10th - mice parade @ someday lounge
june 11th - hot chip @ wonder ballroom (dance!)
june 14th - blue scholars @ music millenium (free! hip hop!)
june 15th - architecture in helsinki w/ yacht @ wonder ballroom (dance dance)
june 21st - marnie stern @ holocene
june 22nd - sage francis w/ buck 65 @ roseland
june 24th - great lake swimmers @ holocene
june 25th - feist w/ grizzly bear @ crystal ballroom
goodness gracious.
and, as always, be sure to check the boy gorilla website for all your favorite artists show dates.
Friday, May 25, 2007
Final Pitchfork Festival Line-up Posted
Pitchfork Music Festival
Well, the people over at pitchfork certainly know what's up. Chicago just got that much cooler. And tickets are stupidly cheap. Some highlights:
Sonic Youth
Menomena
GZA
Junior Boys
Iron & Wine
Grizzly Bear
De La Soul
etc.
advanced emo kids
this man is dangerous.
"Emo" is no longer just a silly term to throw around, it's now a serious medical affliction. Apparently, emo is a strikingly new and dangerous concept to those in the Utah news media. While some of the subject matter (cutting, suicide, etc) is not entirely laughable, just about everything else in the video is.
Thursday, May 24, 2007
thirsty thursday
I'm going to really try to stay on top of this blogging business this summer since I don't have anything else to do. So, everyone who reads audiosurface on a regular basis (i know there are a lot of you out there), be prepared for more than 2 updates a month. Without further ado, here are some newish mp3's that I like to listen to:
This is from the Warm and Scratchy compilation by the folks at Adult Swim . Available for free download on their website, the album also features TV on the Radio, Asobi Seksu, and 120 Days (those nutty Europeans who opened for Ratatat that one time).
Broken Social Scene Canada Vs. America
WOOO. From the new album Split Lips, Winning Hips, A Shiner
Shapes and Sizes - Alone/Alive
All you computer savvy kids out there probably already have this one, but here it is anyway:
The Go! Team - Grip Like a Vice
I HIGHLY reccomend the new Electrelane album No Shouts, No Calls. I had a hard time picking just one track to put up.
Electrelane - To the East
Alela Diane - Pieces of String
this here's Alela Diane's "Pieces of String" off her latest album The Pirate's Gospel. I haven't really heard much about her, but apparently she lives in Portland and is on the Holocene record label. This is a great song, with a fitting video.
Saturday, May 12, 2007
Track Review - Ratatat remixes vol. II "Glock Nines (Jay-Z & Beanie Sigel)
Holy mackeral. So not only are most these remixes are "Dope as Fuck", I can't stop listening to a few of them. One of the first things that occured to me while listening to this was, why did they waste their time with classics, yeah its good, but its no s/t they should stick to what they are good at: remixes. Horns+strings+ ratatat drums n geetars n shit + Jay-Z n Beanie? Gawdamn! Do whatever you need to get your slimey hands on this. pronto.
Sunday, May 06, 2007
heartbreaker
this disappoints me.
i didn't even realize there was a comment on this until right now. blogger should have sent me an email or something. is this kate aka katie aka kathleen? that was a pretty vague post on my part, so i shall elaborate. about 2 years ago, i giddily bought this cd/dvd combo with [potentially] unrealistic expectations. the cd is actually really good (18 minutes of willie deadwilder!!), but the dvd is what disappoints me. what could have been amazing was ultimately diluted with incredibly poor sound quality. i realize it's set in nature and it's supposed to sound accordingly so, but sometimes the grasshoppers, crickets, birds, and other fauna are louder than chan. basically, turn up the music and turn down the ambient noise.
Thursday, May 03, 2007
Feist - The Reminder
Let me preface this by saying I found Feist's debut Let it Die enjoyable, but by no means impressive. What was impressive was seeing her live. Dressed in all white she sang like a goddess and firmly put to sleep any doubts as to whether her talents were a fluke or accident. On The Reminder she has achieved something truly special, something to be cherished. The ghosts of many greats (and not so greats, (but still great in their own way)) float in and out of this record making their presence known only to slip away and take on some other form. On "Brandy Alexander" which starts out with reverby kick and some snaps slowly takes on more instruments piano and strings whose placement Van Morrison would certainly deem great. Feist's lyrics fit so well it hurts sometimes when she sings "It goes down easy," pretty much effortlessly.
If there is something wrong with this record it's that it feels like shes still hiding something, like she is telling the truth but leaving out the part that might get her into trouble. On "I Feel It All" Tom Petty shines through but never enough to be considered a rip-off. This song's feeling of vastness exemplifies the same feeling that can be found throughout the entire album. What at first seems to stick out like a sore thumb "My Moon My Man" containing a typical ABBA chorus "Take it slow, take it easy on me" floats effortlessly into flourishes of some kind of wind instrument only to be to quickly stripped down again to the bare bones drums and bass of the song which are so infectiously headnod inducing one might just start dancing in public.
The album floats between pop and folk always maintaining an expansive sound, and just like it will make you dance, songs like the "The Park" better damn well make you at least shed one little tear for this beautiful songbird. The title of this album hits the nail on the head The Reminder is just that, a reminder of moments good and bad in the past but also that they will come again in the future.
