Smoking Panda

cross-posted at phukk.blogspot.com

2007-09-23T14:34:00.001-07:00

Timbaland produced Duran Duran track featuring Justin Timberlake. And I SHIT YOU NOT Nelly Furtado is recording a track on their new album recently renamed Red Carpet Massacre. What the fuck is up with the triplets of fucking pop these days? Jeez. I don't know, I'm actually uncertain as to whether or not Furtado was available to do the song but Simon LeBon seemed very confident that she'd be included. Shit. Justin, Tim, and Nelly have each other on speed-dial - they're practically a package deal.

Anyway, things have shifted a lot since Duran Duran announced that they were working with Justin Timberlake and Timbaland as producers for a few songs on their new album - thirteenth studio release, sheesh. Nate Hills, Timbaland's "protege," produced most of the album proving that it's not what you know, it's who. From the get-go it was announced that Jay Tee would be singing on a track entitled, "Nite Runner," and the album's previous incarnation Nite Runner was to come out this summer. Due to Andy Taylor's second departure from Dee Dee {creative differences again, this time less about genres and more about management and perhaps in part because of the band's decision to include Timberlake in songwriting and maybe something to do with Epic Records}, half of the formerly eponymous album had to be scrapped.

Red Carpet Massacre "drops" October 30th. It also includes a song called "Skin Diver"?! Also, though "Nite Runner" is their lead single, Entertainment Weekly was given another Timberlake-written song, "Falling Down" as their single {streaming here}. Epic Records seems to like fucking up left and right.

It's okay, I guess: Nite Runner

Also, Simon Le Bon has the best life ever. He's married to Yasmin Parvaneh.

2007-08-12T18:08:00.000-07:00

Sweet taste saccharine, hokay?

Anneclaire - Want It (Club Remix)

Take your crabby ass home

2007-08-06T22:16:00.000-07:00

Anything 2 Live Crew hates I hate too.

2 Live Crew - Fuck a Gang

Fuck a gang, join Kids Club instead.

2 Live Crew - Fuck Martinez

Fuck Martinez, that rat bastard. If it weren't for my obvious bitch-madeness I would shove my shoe so far up his ass that my shoelaces would come out of his nose and make it look like he has a ridiculous mustache.

sh-sh-shake sh-sh-shake

2007-08-05T11:20:00.000-07:00

here's a little mash up i did for a Kids Club DJ set on friday night.

Justice vs. M.I.A. - Phantom Done Gun (Kids Club Edit)

first line is a killer:

the glamour feat. jon james and john swan - shake that

Machine <3 Man

2007-07-26T10:07:00.000-07:00

This kind of stuff makes me want to cry.

2007-07-19T19:09:00.001-07:00

to those of you who have tickets to daft punk in berkeley, it's going to be awesome and i'll see you there. to those of you who waited because you weren't sure whether daft punk was worth the money, sorry bitches i think you might have made the biggest mistake of your life.

klaxons - gravity's rainbow (kavinsky remix)

the rapture - get myself into it (sebastiAn remix)

sebastiAn, kavinsky and the rapture are all opening for daft punk next friday.

Meandering As Fuck

2007-07-14T13:48:00.000-07:00

I'm going to take you on a little journey, to show you how fucked it is to be inside my head. At least, concerning music and the internet. So brace yourself, please.

See I'm up all night and I'm delirious by morning and I find myself at The House I Grew Up In. I'm watching something on HBO {we don't have HBO at my house, nor do we have a goddamn 42" plasma tv} so I leave my ipod to charge on the Bose Sounddock in the kitchen. It's charging away and all of a sudden I have to watch every episode of John From Cincinnati. As the house wakes up and I start to drift off, my mother's ipod can be heard, blaring strains of Death Cab for Cutie, Earth Wind and Fire, and The Spice Girls. I veto her choices, mainly to be contrary, and as she and my father gear up to scooter around town Ferraby Lionheart comes on. My little brother Calvin and I are eating food in the kitchen, enjoying this fucker immensely when I realize that I never did the legwork on finding out who this charming musician/songwriter was.

{Top, Ferraby Lionheart; Bottom the far right, Calvin Rudy}

Ferraby Lionheart makes music that allows you to smile at heartbreaking things, ruminate on some ridiculous shit, and generally reminds you that music is what separates us from the animals. Jon Brion gave him the seal of approval, his band was great while it lasted, and he's got a pretty good attitude. Here is the song that stood shoulder to shoulder with me, smirking as I appreciated the weather and the company and raucous group laughter. I know I'm late on posting it, as his EP has been kicking ass since '06 and his soon-to-be released album Catch The Brass Ring has been getting whispered and slurred about all around the internet.Swear, it's hellof good.

Arright so here comes the ridiculous part of the post, where I just tell you to buckle your seatbelt or put on your helmet or maybe just clutch a pillow or something. Shit will now commence being meandering and nonsensical.

The Beast's Brain + A Slow Computer:

Site One, Ferraby Lionheart
Cruising through the tricky flash, reading his hipster approximation of an "About Me."
Hipster though he may be, dude still manages to be fairly charming. Aww fuck, he name-dropped Jon Brion, it's going to be really hard not to like him. Hey fuck this little arrow up and down scrolling bullshit, utilize a whole page. Arright, let's see your upcoming shows. Hell yes! Cafe Du Nord, August 3rd. Store that away in the memory bank. Man, who the fuck is his record company? Nettwerk? Hmm. Click.

Site Two, Nettwerk
Annoying pop-up window "radio" playing Sarah MacLaughlin or however the fuck you spell her name.
Fuck THAT, Nettwerk. You have pretty much lost all credibility, before I've even seen your main site. Dammit. It's a little bit pretty. Wait, what the FUCK? Chantal Kreviazuk, Datarock, Kinky...what the hell is this place? The Format, Sara McLachlan? This place is a black hole. I can't stay too long. I'm so confused. NO, fuck this. I'll explore this later, I'm just here for Mr. Lionheart. Well, I didn't need to visit for this. Nice shirts though. I wish I wasn't broke. Wait, what the hell is this little link at the bottom that says "Chulo Pony"? OH NO, it's a fucking clothing site. Back arrow, quick! Jesus Christ I feel like Indiana fucking Jones after that. Dodged a fucking poison dart. Oh. They're Canadian. I get it now.

Site Three, Cafe Du Nord
Yeah yeah, secret Spoon Rogue Wave concert. Blah blah blah. Let me get at that calendar page.
St. Vincent and Death Vessel before Lionheart? From what I remember, all Death Vessel really has is a gimmick and some clever song titles. Damn, what the hell? I mean, St. Vincent can get top billing sure. That girl was being murmured about for a second. Polyphonic Spree and something else. Hmm. Click.

Site Four, St. Vincent's Myspace
Let's hear "Marry Me."
If I was really into these slow girl singers with lilting voices, she'd probably hit the spot or something. Pretty songs, but I'm not really in the mood. I'll be she's really great in concert, all concentration and endearingly coy breathy speaking voice and self-deprecating giggles that lead into half-explanations for songs. Ew. Fucking Sufjan. Ha. She's got her own little blog she doesn't update too much. What label is she on? Click.

Site Five, Beggars Banquet
Current artists page.
Nice. I'll file this one away in the mental bank to check out later when I give a shit. Ooh, you know what I want to hear? Mother. I guess Mother Mother, thanks to copyright bullshit.

Site Six, Mother Mother
Weird updated site. Let's see your bio.
Ha! Redekopp. I remember reading something about that in the last bio, but this site used to be so much worse than it is now. Which isn't saying too much. Man, I wish I wasn't saving my money, I'd totally support these guys by buying a t-shirt. Arright, take me to your myspace, I want some music.

Site Seven, Mother Mother's Myspace
Yeah man, I haven't heard "Touch Up" yet. Click.
Excellent. These guys are still great. It's a shame their closest date is Portland, and it's today. I'm surprised I like these singers together. This is a good song. I need to get this album. Later, when I'm okay with spending money. Uh oh, I'm getting restless. Oh, man. Last Gang Records. Duh I'm going to click on you.

Site Eight, Last Gang Records Myspace
Don't mind me, I'm just here to click on your legitimate website. Excuse me, can I just squeeze on through here? Thanks.

Site Nine, Last Gang Records
Jeez. Inundated with information and visuals and all sorts of shit. Where do I even start?
Man, this happens every time I get on this site. It's a little bit too much stylized interesting information for me to deal with all at once. I'll get stoned and deal with this site later {Psh. How many times have I made that mental note?}. Oooh, I forgot to check on Sonic Living for this Ferraby Lionheart show. Click.

Site Ten, Sonic Living
Oh. New friend request. Great. Now I've got, like, seven friends. {Hint: get on this site, be my friend}
Swell. Thanks to the internet, seven people might know that I'll maybe attend this concert.

Best mix ever?

2007-07-04T18:31:00.000-07:00

The Audioporno boys have outdone themselves again with their fourth and supposedly final installment of the 'Top of the Pops' mixes. You're going to have to listen for yourself, but this is one hellof a mix. It's seriously a 38 minute eargasm.

Have a good 4th, don't get too faded.

Audioporno 'Top of the Pops 4'

Here's the tracklisting:
20 Fingers - Short Dick Man (Shino rmx)
Twista ft. Pharrell - Give It Up
Bonde Do Role - Marina Do Bairro
The Glamour - Get Into It
Terry Lynn - Kingstonlogic
Stink Mitt - Pimp It
M.I.A. - Boyz
Shy Child - NWS (Buraka Som Sistema rmx)
Pase Rock - Sexy MF (E-Marces “fuckin’ in the shower“ overnoise edit)
Pharoahe Monch - Body Baby (Count Of Monte Cristal & Sinden rmx)
Bonde Do Role - Office Boy (Shir Kahn rmx)
Bobmo - To The Bobmobile
Puzique - Thomas
Sinden - Haterzzzzzz
Sebastien Tellier - Chivers As A Female
Spektrum - Kinda New (Dirty South 07 rmx)
Van Rivers - Kill The Disco (Meaty minimal dub mix)
Philipe De Boyar - Future Now
DatA - Aerius Light

Check out Bobmo's 'To the Bobmobile' with the 'Gasolina' bass and the 'Office Boy' vocals, AHHHHH so good!

For all you playa playas

2007-07-01T12:53:00.000-07:00

I actually think R. Kelly might have been exposed to high levels of mercury as a child and suffered serious brain damage. Some of his lines are just too fucked up and mindless to have come from a sane person. In his latest track, 'Sex Planet' ,R. Kelly describes a sexually explicit space odyssey that he goes on with a girl. Kells says something about putting his rocket ship in a black hole. Everyone knows that sticking your pecker in a black hole would probably not be that comfortable and would most likely lead to some serious genital disfigurement.

Without further ado I present to you 'Sex Planet'. Sorry for having back to back posts containing R. Kelly, but it would have been a shame to not post this song.

R. Kelly - Sex Planet

Oooooooh Baby

2007-07-01T11:50:00.001-07:00

Whether or not you know who Alan Braxe is by name, you've most likely heard at least one song that he has had some part in creating. Beginning in the 90's with his release of 'Vertigo', Braxe has been crafting soulful club ballads with an emphasis on the filter house sound. Braxe is the instrumental genius behind tracks like Stardust's 1998 smash hit "Music Sounds Better With You", (reaching #1 on US dance charts), "Intro", and "Rubicon" (featured on Erlend Oye - DJ Kicks). Even today with French electro far removed from it's roots, Braxe continues to make second millenium friendly French house.

Here are a couple of must-have Alan Braxe tracks. Some of them were produced with the help of his longtime friend Fred Falke, Daft Punk's Thomas Bangalter, and French vocalist Benjamin Diamond.

The Paradise - In Love With You

Alan Braxe and Fred Falke - Intro (the Running)

Stardust - Music Sounds Better With You

Note: 'Intro' is not actually an intro track. No idea why it's named that way.

make it rain

2007-06-30T23:46:00.001-07:00

i dont really have the patience to hunt down the uncensored version of this music video, so here it is in it's stunted glory.

now, the remix for make it rain is great but i stumbled across an old school friend's acoustic cover of r. kelly and lil wayne's verses of the remix. this kid is about to float off to college, and with pop culture deftness like this, he's not going to need another gimmick for the next year at least. here's rowan spencer's cover. he's also got a myspace with a cover of "get low" that's pretty charming.

rowan spencer - "make it rain"

upper management - get to work

2007-06-26T15:39:00.001-07:00

i hate to regurgitate something from a youtube comment, but wakouva and i are on the same wavelength {ha!} here:

That would be so cool if you put the coil in a huge dance club and the coil was the music.-lol.

thom? mikhail? get to work. and now, brace yourself for...

Pop Culture Nth Degrees!

tesla coil invented by --> nikola tesla played by --> david bowie wrote a song called --> young americans also the title of a wb show starring --> kate bosworth currently the new --> lois lane once played by --> teri hatcher in the upcoming movie --> resurrecting the champ also starring --> alan alda starred in --> the moonshine war commissioned a song by --> five man electrical band wrote a song called --> signs covered by --> tesla the band

also there is an electric car concept {reality?} called the tesla roadster. totally electric, totally looks like a tool-mobile.

double yes!

2007-06-18T20:02:00.000-07:00

August first, The Independent, $12, 21+

ditty

2007-06-13T15:14:00.000-07:00

me: thom
thom: Yeah mayne.
me: do you happen to have paperboy's ditty? because somehow i heard zapp's computer love and remembered the do wah ditty song that pales to ditty, which sampled it.
thom: I do not. I have Doo Wah Ditty, but I don't have Ditty.
me: aw. it's a super good summer driving song.
thom: Shit, if it's better than Doo Wah Ditty.
me: i mean, it's a bit droning. but it's so good to drive in the summer sun with ditty blasting. paperboy just doesn't sound like he gives a fuck about any superficial shit like bitches and hoes and diamonds and junk. he just wants your ears to trick your endorphins into thinking his music is chocolate.
thom: Ha! Well, I mean, that sounds like a lot of fun.

the music video audio doesn't do it justice, but the video is awesome. he could only have been born in oakland.

3rd floor is the study floor.

2007-06-12T09:49:00.000-07:00

I am supposed to go over 8 chapters (~210 pages) in my biology textbook today for my final tomorrow. Fuck me. Since I can hardly read, let alone write, I decided to hold off on music and post a couple movies.

JUSTICE - ?
Uploaded by BECAUSE_MUSIC

Very epic.

TTC - Travailler
Uploaded by v2music

This is the DJ Orgasmic version of TTC's Travailler. He added more speed, more chorus and much more slap. Be sure to check out Tido Berman at the end with that amazing suit of his.

GO DJ!

2007-06-05T19:32:00.001-07:00

Justice Live 30min ILoveTechno2006
Uploaded by hepooh

This video is a little old but it's cool to see the Justice boys doing half of what they do best.

Turntable Lab is offering '† ' for a limited time with your choice of either a copy of the 'Alor Les Filles...' mixtape (mixed by DJ Orgasmic of Institubes), a 2006 Justice US Tour T-shirt, or a white label 12" of D.A.N.C.E. You can find that here.

2007-06-01T21:58:00.000-07:00

The first time I heard datA 's 'Minuit Jacuzzi' remix I got all hot. It felt like someone connected electrodes to my penis (a la Abu Ghraib) and sent a very sensational electric pulse straight up my body. datA's take on Terry Poison's 'Ballroom' evoked the same feeling, except this time the electrodes were connected to my lips and i ended up throwing up on the floor.

Terry Poison - Ballroom (datA Remix)

marry me?

Haiducii vs. O-Zone vs. SebastiAn

2007-05-28T15:19:00.000-07:00

You know you've got a prime Romanian yodel when Europe's hottest artists are all in on that. O-Zone? Haiducii? FUCK YEAH! Lucky for me I was in Germany during Summer 2004 when the only song(s) that people listened to were the two versions of 'Dragostea Din Tei'. I really have no idea why, but people went nuts over them/it/whatever. Strangely, it wasn't until about half way through my trip that I realized there were two versions. I distinctly remember waking up in the middle of the night to some German music channel and seeing a somewhat pretty woman singing what seemed to be 'Dragostea Din Tei' while she was washing her face or something. At the time I thought that I had gone completely crazy. Shit was really odd.

I find the dual artist/same song thing very troubling. It forces me to pick favorites when all I really want to do is have a good time and sing really ridiculous yodels. You wouldn't think so, but it's really hard deciding whether or not to play O-Zone's out-of-the-closet cut or Haiducii's more soulful Toni-Braxton-esque-manly-ballad version. You should decide for yourself:

Anyone else think its strange that those O-Zone guys left the cockpit to go dance on the top of that plane, kinda irresponsible if you ask me.

Shit, even SebastiAn dabbled in that:

O-Zone - Dragostea Din Tei (SebastiAn remix)

The remix is only 50 seconds but I think that's because SebastiAn realized the song was too much of a piece of crap for even him to save.

Today is Thursday, the work week is more than half way over, here's mo' SebastiAn. This one was a little hard for me to find, but it was well worth it. I love how he managed to preserve the vocals while maintaining the signature SebastiAn sound. This has become one of my favorites:

The Editors - Camera (SebastiAn remix)

for some reason, everyone has started to rep the saints

2007-05-24T14:38:00.000-07:00

from their first single, "(I'm) Stranded." They started out at the same time as The Ramones, only in Australia. The Saints only stayed in that specific genre for an album, before they started to branch out into combinations that were pretty ahead of their time. Their next album, Eternally Yours had a single entitled "Know Your Product" that included a bizarre horn section backing that really couldn't leave them classified as "punk." Blah blah blah, different direction for the next album, blah blah blah schisms between band members, blah blah blah blah line-up changes, blah blah blah.

The Saints' members have a long and complicated history that involved dragging the band's name through the mud with several line-up changes and poor musical style shifts, and the whole affair wouldn't be complete without the reconciliation between lead singer Chris Bailey and guitarist Ed Kuepper - on stage naturally. The one funny part about their Wikipedia entry {accurate, I'm sure}, is that Kuepper's reaction to Bailey's decision to keep his reincarnations of the band called The Saints was to call his band The Aints. Clever little Australians. Anyway, here is the video that, for some reason, has decided to become internet-popular:

Bob Geldof once said, "Rock music in the Seventies was changed by three bands - the Sex Pistols, the Ramones and The Saints." This is to be taken with the grain of salt, as this was the guy who thought it would be a great idea to marry Paula Yates, and name their children Fifi Trixibelle Geldof, Peaches Honeyblossom Michelle Charlotte Angel Vanessa Geldof, and Little Pixie Geldof. He also adopted Yates and Michael Hutchence's orphaned child Heavenly Hiraani Tiger Lily Hutchence. Lead singer Hutchence hung himself with his belt in 1997 on the last leg of the INXS world tour and professional whore Yates overdosed on heroin, so Geldof had to step up and do his Live Aid thing for his daughters' half sister. Pixie did help name Tiger, after all.

Hutchence was a pretty deep guy, and pretty deeply psychotic after a blow to the head from a taxi driver in Denmark. He was a lady's man, dating Kylie Minogue {back when she was young} and Helena Christensen. He was also a man's man, apparently, as famous transexual model April Ashley detailed her affair with Mr. INXS in her memoirs. Ashley's story is actually pretty ridiculous, like, movie-fodder ridiculous. So much so that there was a rumor going around that Catherine Zeta-Jones was in talks to play the transexual fashion model born George Jamieson.

Speaking of weird movie rumors that probably won't come to fruition, even though it'd be perfect if they wound up true: Harry Potter/Daniel Radcliff/Full Frontal has been reported as saying that he would love to play Pete Doherty in a rumored Libertines biopic, but has said, "if we start talking specifics about doing Pete’s life, it makes him sound like he’s dead – and he’s not dead yet.” For some reason, this strikes me as perfect. And to bring this circle of love just a little bit tighter, Pete Doherty blamed his poor performance at 2005's Live 8 concert on Peaches Honeyblossom Michelle Charlotte Angel Vanessa Geldof, claiming the then sixteen year old made a suggestive comment to him right before his set.

And THAT is your free-association pop culture jam inspired by an internet-relevant article.

séparé à la naissance, réunie pour la vengeance

2007-05-22T10:33:00.000-07:00

This is from an Australian music program called Beat TV. I've never watched the show before but from what I can tell from the clip, Beat TV looks kind of whack.

Check out around 5 minutes for an interview with Justice. It's nice to finally see an interview with the Justice boys that's in English.

Fatboy Slim - Don't Let The Man (Justice Remix)

Organic Chemistry

2007-05-17T00:52:00.000-07:00

Organic chemistry is one of the most useless things I have ever learned (it's up there with calculus and whacking off with my left hand). It's monotonous and I've yet to find a time when I was able to use organic chemistry to solve some school-related problem. The only time that I've come close to using o-chem is the time I synthesized some "love potion" in my bathroom sink and gave it to a girl I liked. She ended up getting an ulcer and had to admit herself to the hospital. Oh well.
My hatred of organic chemistry stems from it's pointlessness. Once you finish a problem set, you have another one waiting for you. From what I can tell, organic chemistry is pretty much the same shit over and over again: useless-ass reactions and useless-ass results. I hate nitriles, I hate amines, I hate ketones, I hate esters, I hate benzenes, I hate aryl compounds, I hate alkyl halides, I HATE all that crap. I know a girl who says she likes organic chemistry more than boys. I think she's gay.

For all you non-science/non-raver folk, the picture I posted is of MDMA - ecstacy to ravers, thizz to bay boys and 3,4-methlenedioxymethamphetamine to squares.

Rave dance moves:

If even half of all people who go to raves are like "Stamp" from the video, I don't really feel like I'm missing out on much. I imagine a whole bunch of sweaty raver kids wearing candy jewelry and hideous clothing reaching for the flashing lights and pulsing speakers and acting like total asses.

Klaxons - Two Recievers
Klaxons - Isle of Her

RAVE ON!

Sorry if I seem like I'm bitter. It's been a long week.

2007-05-14T22:53:00.000-07:00

j-trainproductions.blogspot.com
Gwyneth Paltrow did an excellent job in 'Shakespeare in Anus'. I was bawling like a bitch by the end.

j-trainproductions.blogspot.com
Adult Arcade along the 5 does a great job of supplying the lower Pacific Northwest with porno for the budget conscious consumer. With over 25,000 discounted titles, your best buys are always at Adult Arcade.

j-trainproductions.blogspot.com
Bought this gem on ebay last week as a Mother's Day present.

Surkin turns gold to gold, platinum and diamond rings with his live rendition of DJ Delicious and Til West's track 'Same Man'. Play this in the car with a fly honey.

DJ Delicious and Til West - Same Man (Surkin Live Edit) (Zshare)

With two solid European releases and numerous big name remixes, Surkin is primed to take Europe by storm and for such a young face he has already made quite a splash. The French dance label Institubes picked Surkin up in 2005 and put out his first release 'Radio Fireworks' soon after.

Armed with only a MIDI mixer and his laptop, Surkin has toured extensively in Europe (and a show in NY) with DJs and producers from the Institubes Crew.I found this video of Surkin and Teki Latex at Rex Club in Paris doing a little mash of DMX and Daft Punk. I dig it.

Surkin has branched off from the typical French sample-based club music and made a style of music that's all his own. He's able to combine hard hitting drums compressed drums, quick laser-synths and julienned samples into really fun tracks. Some may find his style repetitive and lacking substance but only a guy like Surkin can make a five minute club banger from a five second sample. Be sure to check out Surkin's latest release 'Fireworks Refired' (can be purchased on Beatport) which features new remixes by Tacteel, Riot in Belgium and DJ Slugo. Keep an eye on Surkin.

Surkin - Ghetto Obsession 2006 (Zshare)
Surkin - Radio Fireworks (Zshare)

Coach Class to Coachella

2007-05-03T12:21:00.000-07:00

I've been writing for the University of Oregon's independent student newspaper, the Oregon Daily Emerald, for a few weeks now. Last weekend I went to the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival, and my editor at the paper was kind enough to let me write about it for this week's issue of our entertainment section, Pulse. You can find the story here

this is what i call pure style

2007-05-01T18:17:00.000-07:00

JUSTICE - D.A.N.C.E.
Uploaded by edbangerrecords

turns out synchronicity is a real word. thanks police

2007-04-24T10:14:00.000-07:00

For historical synchronicity, I couldn't afford to miss tonight's show at Slim's. The lineup is Club of the Sons, The Cinematics, Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin, and Mute Math. Normally I could go either way on SSLYBY and Mute Math. I don't know much about The Cinematics, and I hadn't heard of Club of the Sons before the concert announcement on SonicLiving. The thing is that the first president of the Russian Federation died yesterday, eliciting the comment, "he wasn't dead already?" from most uncouth Americans.

I doubt it'll be a show epic enough for me to tell my grandkids about, but the timing might make it so, regardless of mediocrity.

And I like the Toothpaste for Dinner drawing, but I like this Gaping Void one just a little more:

Dangerous Like Godzilla

2007-04-18T14:24:00.000-07:00

SebastiAn has been pleasing my eardrums for the past year or so, since I first heard his remix of “Human After All.” Lucky for me, then, that the man behind the bossiest remix of “Bossy,” the brightest remix of “Golden Skans,” and arguably the most robotic remix of “Human After All,” has dropped a couple more bangers in the past month or so.

“Greel” is probably my favorite track of the year so far. I know I’m late to write about it, but I only recently found the words to describe why I love it so. I knew I loved the darkness the sparse, heavily distorted instrumental conjures up in my brain. I love it for being loud. And I love the way the drum track implies, so much so that it’s near impossible to listen to “Greel” standing still.

“Greel” reminds me of an enormous, robotic dragon rampaging through the streets, in an area downtown Oakland. This dragon has rusted, his wings no longer function, and he’s having a little difficulty directing the fire shooting from his snout. But honestly, he’s a robotic dragon; he can make do. The city’s days are numbered.

SebastiAn - Greel

This second number is a new interpretation of the freshest track on “Ross Ross Ross.” “Walkman” was a banger to begin with, the rework sees it further realize its potential as a dance track. The ending is unbelievable.

SebastiAn - Walkman (re-edit)

SUP SLC

2007-04-12T15:58:00.000-07:00

so today is a nice, sunny ice cream cone and cigarette day in oakland california. wish you were here, so we could play some nice prematurely summer music together. if you came over here thanks to Hello Radio, thank you for checking us out. i love technology sometimes.

It ain't my birthday but I got my name on that cake

2007-04-03T15:41:00.000-07:00

'cause I just don't give a fuck

'cause I think everyone needs to see this at least once. Also, that dance battle at the end is probably one of the tighter things I have ever seen.

SPRING BREAK!!!! CANCUN!!!!!!

2007-03-31T20:48:00.000-07:00

GODDAMN, what a fucking behemoth.

It's over. It's alllllll over. But honestly, this was the best spring break I've ever had. Seeing as how I'm usually 100+ miles away from those dearest to me, whenever I do get the chance to see them it's sure to be fun. And as sad as it is to go back to school I had a really good time this last week. I'm going to miss urryone.

The Ed Rec crew came to town and Smoking Panda was fo sho (fo sho) there. We got in a little late and missed the opening DJs (Sleazemore, Omar) but we are able to catch the tail end of Shawn Slaughter. DJ Mehdi spun the first song for Ed Rec and the rest just rotated continuously throughout the night. They kept things funky and dropped huge bangers (even played B.E.A.T). It was a great night and a great way to start my break. Someone threw together this movie from that night:

No idea what's up with sticker titty.

I am really bad at explaining why I like songs so I'll just post it. It's good, I promise. Top notch remix from a top notch group. Soulwax is thaa shit. Check their myspace for their North American tour dates.

Klaxons - Gravity's Rainbow (Soulwax Remix)

Sorry about all the hyperlinks, I just need to give props where props are due.

If I Fuck, We ALL gonna fuck...

2007-03-02T09:31:00.000-08:00

I apoligize. Seriously.

Justice - Phantom (CA$HMERE Mix)

ETA 2 weeks

I Dream of Divas

2007-02-26T17:47:00.000-08:00

When I was younger I rarely appreciated pop divas. I saw Madonna’s “Like a Virgin” video rerun on MTV when it still played music videos and changed the channel. I’d hear Whitney Houston on the radio and groan. Somewhere along the way I bought the Brandy and Monica single “The Boy is Mine,” but it never managed to displace “Big Willie Style” as the CD of the moment. The era of the Backstreet Boys and Britney Spears came, and if I couldn’t ignore Britney’s looks when I was in the sixth grade, I could surely avoid her music. Pop divas were never my thing, and I was comfortable with that.

But things change. All of a sudden I find myself giving directions like “to the left, to the left,” when telling someone where to find the Ritz crackers, and wishing I had as much soul, class, and style as the subject of Christina Aguilera’s “Ain’t No Other Man.” It’s an affliction, but one I’d rather not help.

There are two main causes of my newfound adoration of divas, the first being an abundance of dance floor ready remixes. Portland area DJ Copy put his “Diva Mixtape Vol. 1” out in early 2006, and began my diva revival. The CD contains six remixes, including TLC’s “No Scrubs,” Mariah Carey’s “Emotions,” and Mary J. Blige’s “Family Affair.” Since releasing “Diva Mixtape Vol. 1,” Copy has been immersing himself in danceable diva tunes, starting Do n’ Dudes (DnD), a diva-focused cover band. They have released one CD so far, “DJ Copy Presents: Diva Mixtape Vol. 2,” which you can cop at both Copy and DnD live shows. Copy’s second LP, “Hair Guitar,” will be released on Audio Dregs on March 2.

TLC - No Scrubs (Copy Remix)

My diva habit was further nurtured by Kingston, Ontario DJ Sta, who recently released a refreshingly electronic remix of Beyoncé’s acoustic guitar driven “Irreplaceable.” Sta is relatively new to remixing, but after hearing this and his take on Timbaland’s “Give it to Me” he’s a name to look for when it comes to top 40 radio remixes.

Beyoncé - Irreplaceable (Sta Remix)

The final factor suggesting divas are going to become a permanent fixture in my musical landscape is that they’re gaining talented producers’ support and putting out singles that are solid before the remix. With Timbaland producing Nelly Furtado and DJ Premier in the credits for Christina Aguilera’s “Back to Basics” there’s no need to hope for exceptional lyrics or even great vocal skill (which Aguilera provides anyway). Divas are putting out dance floor fillers, and I couldn’t be happier.

Divas may have once been a bane, but with production like this, and DJs eager to play up the dancey bits, I’m happy to welcome them to the party.

A Winner from Wimbledon

2007-02-24T12:40:00.000-08:00

In tennis, the term 'love' is used for scoring zero points in a game. Before a few hours ago, I had no clue about tennis' scoring terminology, nor did I know much about the history of the game in general. Thanks to hours of free time and a decent internet connection, I know a few more useless facts. We'll get to Jamie T in a second, so read on.

Now the history of 'love' is a flimsy one, but that might be why I like it. Apparently, it's all thanks to ridiculous Frenchmen {and women, I guess, even though I don't think it was legal for them to have opinions at the time} and what Freud called 'psychodynamic theory.' For all of you who don't want to Wikipedia it, 'psychodynamic theory' is a fancy way of saying free association.

See, 0 {zero} looks like an egg. "L'oeuf" is egg en Francais and it is pronounced "leuf." Say it aloud and you'll notice that "leuf" sounds like an apathetic cartoon dog saying "love." And THAT is the history of "love" in tennis. Sounds like a bad game of telephone, but that's how the French roll, I suppose. Hell, Simone de Beauvoir got her life-long nickname of Castor because her last name sounds like "beaver" and castor means beaver in French. And also probably because she was half-gay.

Nothing in the three paragraphs previous is relevant to Jamie T, save for his hometown of Wimbledon. They're almost complete opposites. I couldn't care less about tennis and Wimbledon, and Jamie T gets me through the week feeling a little lighter. Mr. T {ha} is a twenty year old bruiser who has been called a "one man Arctic Monkey" and is forever being called "cheeky." He's got a really heartbreaking music video I watch every week or so {thanks YouTube}, and his full-length debut release Panic Prevention is asymmetrically potent. Though it's release was only in the United Kingdom, it's pretty easy to acquire Jamie's music. Three of the tracks have already been released as singles {"If You've Got the Money", "Sheila", and "Calm Down Dearest"}, and they're fucking bold. I've been pimping him out to my friends since this summer, and he's great summer driving music. There's an inescapable sing-a-long quality to his songs, and this live version of "If You've Got the Money" is sure to suck you in.

Jamie T - If You've Got the Money {live}

Also, in the studio version of the track, this guy samples Inner Circle's "Sweat {A la la la la long}", one of my favorite songs. It's got some of the best lines in music history:

Girl I want to make you sweat
Sweat till you can't sweat no more
And if you cry out
I'm gonna push it some, more, more

post-script: He's only got two US dates. If you're near Los Angeles on March 19th, congratulations, he's an opening act at a free show at Spaceland. If you're near Manhattan on March 21st, swoop some tickets now and thank me later.

AWWWWWWWWW

2007-02-11T11:15:00.000-08:00

Herman Dune is Raffi for grown-ups. The song's heartwarming and the video has a bunch of cute little kids goofing around.

Anyone else think that his talking voice is a little Borat-ish?

Sucker for cornrows and manicured toes.

2007-02-10T01:55:00.001-08:00

This is a kind of older remix, but who cares? Justice remixes are always great, especially if you've played out Justice's songs and you're eagerly anticipating their next release (ETA one month). Anyway, enjoy.

Justice - Let There Be Light (breakbot Remix)

Breakbot is the fucking man (or robot? hmm). Bot's 'Let There Be Light' remix was on the Japanese Waters of Nazareth EP but, to the best of my knowledge, has gotten relatively little play in the western world. This one is especially good because it sounds a lot different than the original. It's funky in a non-Justice robot way. And breakbot keeps it a remix by utilizing those glitchy, flatulent synths that Justice is so well known for. Check out breakbot while you're at it.

Rebel YELLE!

2007-02-08T19:44:00.000-08:00

I don't speak French but I sure love Yelle. She's really fly.

Yelle has only released two official tracks which were both on her debut EP Je Veux Te Voir (produced by Grand Marnier) released by Source Records. Let's hope for some mo'.

Enough about her, peep this fresh remix:

Yelle - Short Dick Cuizi (TEPR Remix)

Slick In A Box

2007-02-04T14:13:00.000-08:00

Me: i have a problem.
Brekke: Oh no. What?
Me: i have this thing where i stay in my bed, with my favorite three books and a few notebooks and my cellphone and my laptop.
Brekke: Sounds like lots of company.
Me: because ive got my laptop on my normal-sized bed, i dont have it plugged into my external hard drive. so ive been listening to futuresex/lovesounds because i spent some of my christmas itunes gift certificates on that album, and it's one of the only things directly on my computer.
Brekke: And why is this a problem? Shit's off tha chain.
Me: the problem is it's off the chain. i am, unambiguously, on his hype.
Brekke: Smoking Pandafy it.

Now, I was simplifying it a bit, because speaking in hyperbole is just such teenage fun but the littlest Mousketeer has something with FutureSex/LoveSounds. Justin Timberlake irks me for a few reasons but none of them have anything to do with his latest album. Futuresex/Lovesounds has been a heavily discussed album by music critics professional and amateur, drunk kids high school and college-aged, and when I went to Chevron to pick up some Marlboro 27s the guy from the 7-11 across the street was discussing it with the gas station attendant.

When I first heard "SexyBack", something about it reminded me of my high school days, recording in garages with ripped software and stolen equipment. The way Timberlake's voice scratched and buzzed was a throwback to intentionally roughing up the sound, taking a few more home-brew steps to producing the track while recording it. Though some bands plug their instruments straight into mixers and tack on effects digitally, expensive and/or illegally procured software can only take that sound so far. A condenser microphone optimally positioned to pick up the sound from an amp with tone and distortion set has a rich and authentic tone to it that is familiarly analog to the ears, irrespective of whether or not it can be identified. Justin Timberlake's vocals for "SexyBack" were, in fact, his voice recorded through a guitar amp and subsequently produced. Psh. Who says nostalgia is useless?

Good ole JayTee {it's not just the pronunciation of his initials, it's also his record company} has described the first single off of FS/LS {"SexyBack"} as "hip-hop on acid," with obvious pride. The Neptunes didn't have a hand in this latest album, but Pharrell and Chad's influence on Timberlake is undeniable, though luckily not pervasive. The highly synthesized melody and the tight, overtly-produced drum samples are well-paired with Timbaland's signature simplicity and ad-libbed interjections.

"SexyBack" is not my favorite track off this album by a long shot, but it was a smart lead single. FutureSex/LoveSounds is a fairly frivolous play all the way through, cleverly disguised by it's highly stylized concept. Timberlake must have wanted a record that could be described as "space-aged babymaking music", because basically that's the title paraphrased. This album is recycled and monotonous and clean enough for mass appeal, so it's obvious that Rick Rubin had a say in its production, but he couldn't break the momentum of the Timbs {erlake and aland}. "What Goes Around" is a catchy and bitter little anthem, "I Think She Knows" could be decent background music for a quiet heartbreak movie scene, and "(Another Song) All Over Again" is a forgettable enough ballad that ambiguously pulls at the right heartstrings. I'm not going to get into all the reasons I roll my eyes at Justin Timberlake, but the success of his latest album and the fact that he's tossing a coin between Scarlett Johanssen and Jessica Biel is enough to make me respect the guy for a while.

While we're still talking about J. Randall Timberlake, here's something that was just too weird to pass up: he and Timbaland are two of the producers listed on Duran Duran's May 2007 release, and he will be singing on a track titled "Night Runner". Wow.

post-script: if anyone out there knows how to cut an entry with a permanent link to the rest of the post, please holler at a player in the comments section.

2007-02-04T13:25:00.000-08:00

This track has been up on datA's MySpace for a little while, but today fluo kids have a full-length copy. Check it out:

datA - J'aime pas l'art (RMX)

It's a pretty fresh track, even if it is a remix of his previous work, and a welcome sign that he's been working since the Trop Laser EP came out. This, alongside the "Minuit Jacuzzi" remix and the brief glimpse of "Aerius Light" on the recently released Guns 'N' Bombs Mixtape #2, has my foot tapping, both to the beat and out of impatience, for datA's next release.