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.
Sunday, April 22, 2007
Sunday, April 15, 2007
Live Review - Shaky Hands@the artistery
If facial hair is an accurate way to measure talent/indieishness of a band these guys would get an 11. Lets just say they are hairy. Either way these guys are good which is actually saying a lot. The whole two guitarists, one bassist, one drummer setup has severe consequences for most bands: simply that, they sound like most bands. However these guys manage to do what should be nearly impossible these days, and that is to take that line-up and come up with something sprite likes to refer to as "cool, crisp, and refreshing" (just wait until I actually get paid to write, hoh boy). Anyway, to make short story even shorter, the up-tempo half-the-time-happy-in-a-flaming-lips-sort-of-way band can rock and make you smile and jiggle around which is usually a good recipe for success.
Friday, April 13, 2007
Sunday, April 08, 2007
Laura Veirs - Saltbreakers
While Laura Veirs has yet to explode onto the scene like Regina Spektor or Joanna Newsom, she’s quickly become one of the finest singer-songwriters of the last few years. Saltbreakers, her third full-length on Nonesuch, is full of warm, honest songs fluctuating between barebones folk and full-on rock mode. Veirs’ vocals are at once accessible and memorable and her enthusiasm is palpable. The album features a fantastic reworking of the song “Cast a Hook in Me” originally released on a 2006 Kill Rock Stars compilation. I like this album, you’ll like this album, old folks will like this album, errbody will.
Modest Mouse - We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank
This is a bit of an exaggeration of distaste. I wrote it for the "Reeks" half of a Rocks Vs. Reeks column. Enjoy.
Modest Mouse aren’t so modestly mousy anymore, with a number one album and expensive music videos to boot. Its just a shame that one of their worst albums is already their most popular. The band, still floating on the success of their last album, Good News for People Who Love Bad News, released the single “Dashboard” weeks before the new album dropped. Teeny boppers tuned into their local top 40 station to hear a toe-tapping dance track with (the self-mutilating?!) Isaac Brock doing his usual mumbling and shouting. I’ll be honest, I like the song. All you Moon and Antarctica stalwarts need to lighten up and shake your asses. As for the rest of the album, I’ve nothing but criticisms. The first track, “March into the Sea”, is reminiscent of a Unicorns b-side. And the vocals sound like a surly boozehound being hauled off to the drunk tank. I can only assume the song “Fire it Up” is tongue in cheek, as the band crafts one of the most boring songs of the year. On “Missed the Boat” (ooh, the album has a nautical theme!!), the boys appear desperate in their attempts in incite a feel-good sing-along. There are a handful of moments on the album that hint at the now-latent greatness Modest Mouse is capable of, but these moments are few and far between. With all the hype, money, Johnny Marr, and James Mercer being stirred into the pot, I assumed the result would be something tastier than this. I was wrong.
Sunday, April 01, 2007
"How you gon be broke and your last name Price?/Thats like, sweatin bullets and your nickname ice."
Sean Price aka "The Grimey Boot Man" aka "The Brokest Rapper You Know" has a new video on myspace for "Mess You Made" probably one P's most sincere, accessible and sadly funny songs to date. check it out.
Wednesday, March 28, 2007
Do What You Do
A couple of titillating news items:
- Talib Kweli goes gangsta-beefin Weird Al' all over Mims' "This is Why I'm Hot" with his version entitled "Niggas Lie A Lot". It would seem that Kweli is attacking easy prey in the hyper-boastful Mims, but he makes it clear that he's not interested in bullying, but policing. Protecting and serving the public from wack mc's making inflated claims of their "hotness" and "flyness".
Kweli and Mims aside -- this beat is SO filthy. PEEP IT
- Remixes are everywhere these days, but a quick roundup of the latest and greatest:
Bone Thugs N' Harmony - Ecstasy (Copy Remix)
The Bird and the Bee - Fucking Boyfriend (Peaches Remix)
Feist - My Moon My Man (Boys Noize Remix)
Clipse - Mr Me Too (Z.A.K. Remix)
Notorious B.I.G. - Party and Bullshit (Ratatat Remix)
- New Timbaland album means good things - one of which is the track "Oh, Timbaland" which samples Nina Simone's classic "Sinnerman". Tim isn't much of a rapper, but boy oh boy his production is butter. Also, I think Talib Kweli sampled "Sinnerman" in his song "Get By" a few years back. Aaaand we've come full circle.
**Be on the lookout for a Ratatat show review from both Dylan and myself sometime in the near future. **
Wednesday, March 21, 2007
LCD Soundsystem - Sound of Silver
Remember the first time you heard "Daft Punk is Playing at my House"?
Remember how good that felt? Remember how it was on repeat for maybe a little too long?
Well, needless to say, the ante hath been upped with LCD Soundsystem's second full length album. What if I told you that you could now get an album of near perfect dance-rock proportions? Sound of Silver comes from a world where synths, guitars, drum machines, samples, vocals and many more live in perfect harmony with eachother swaying back and forth in the breeze but still to the beat. I would write more, but guess what?
I have to go dance, by myself. yeah. whoa. cya.
Cadillac Escapades
[NEWS FLASH]: Just a minute ago, I was sitting here surfing the internets and, as always, the constant hum of the television provided a comforting blanket of white noise in the background. This time, the banality was broken by a gem from The Album Leaf. Unsurprisingly, I was surprised and went to investigate. Turns out, the song was being used for a Cadillac commercial to adorn their claims of low APR's and dismal MPG's. I'm not going to rant about selling out or any of that biznezz, as the accusation has been previously oft cast, and the bands have already received many malignant and disparaging criticisms. I'm not mad, I'm just disappointed.
On a related note, I also recently heard an Animal Collective song on a Crayola commercial.
See Album Leaf?
There's a right way and a wrong way to do this sort of thing.
Tuesday, March 13, 2007
PDX POP!
Yeah, it's that time of year again, time to get off your fixie, put down your vegan sandwhich and go to PDX POP's website and request your favorite rose city bands.
Last years bands included:
Copy
Strength
Small Sails
Were From Japan!
...Worms
Horse Feathers
Thanksgiving
Yacht
Wet Confetti
Nice Nice
whew!
