I'll be honest. I thought Mos Def was starting to lose his magic back in 2004 when he released the lackluster Black on Both Sides follow-up The New Danger. Then two years later True Magic essentially confirmed my suspicion. Of course, now that he is free from his deal with Geffen Records (which would never have happened without the demise of Rawkus) he returns from the dead with The Ecstatic (subtle enough?), his most inspired music in ten years.
While almost every song is solid, "Auditorium" is without a doubt the standout track. Using an absolutely devastating beat from Madlib's Beat Konducta in India as his foundation, Mos lays down some of his best rhymes in a decade, boasting with urgency "My presence speak volumes before I say a word/I'm everywhere/Penthouse, pavement, and curb" before eventually giving way to Slick Rick. Mr. Rick proceeds to do what no other MC has ever done better, tell a story. In this case, about an Iraqi soldier who's losing patience with the American occupation. Mixed together it makes for a lethal combination that should make the doubters take notice.
Mos Def (feat. Slick Rick) - "Auditorium" (from The Ecstatic)
Don't let anyone try to tell you that music labels are dying. It's simply not true. The correct declaration should be that dumb (i.e. large) music labels are dying, but smart ones are thriving. Just because the business model changed doesn't mean it's impossible to succeed. The smart labels, like Merge and Stones Throw, are the ones who keep growing, steadily adding high quality music to their artist rosters. Perhaps the best of the crop is London-based Warp Records.
Already home to legends like Aphex Twin, Autechre, Boards of Canada, and LFO, Warp has more recently given us Grizzly Bear, Gang Gang Dance, Flying Lotus, and Jamie Lidell. One of the lesser known of the bunch is England's Bibio (aka Stephen Wilkinson), whose forth album is one of the best I've heard this year.
To say Ambivalence Avenue is 'atmospheric' (it is) would be an inadequate description on so many levels. Yes, the music tends to borrow from elements in nature, but those are used merely as a canvas for Bibo to splatter his more complex and detailed colors. Sometimes the result is along the lines of post-modern space Hip Hop, such as the the J. Dilla-esque "Fire Ant", or the plodding hypnosis of "Sugarette". Still, at other time it takes the form of Summertime pop (the title track, "All the Flowers") and Electro-Folk ("The Palm of Your Wave", "Haikuesque").
There's layers and layers of live instruments, samples, sequencers, programming, and studio trickery found in every song, yet none of it ever sounds indulgent. Every little bleep, scratch, strum, beat, and echo has it's purpose and the result is usually more than the sum of its parts. This album demands you immerse yourself inside it's fantasy world in order to respect the intricacy of how it was created. Two minutes into the title track, I was giddy in my eagerness to oblige.
Bibio - "Jealous of Roses" (from Ambivalence Avenue)
I usually don't like it when bands cover classic songs for any kind of commercial release. It's understandable that a band/artist would perform a cover during a concert, paying homage to your influences is only natural, but releasing said cover for sale is almost like admitting that your version is better than the original. I know that isn't normally the intent, but artists have to know once the song has the chance to penetrate the masses comparisons are sure to follow.
Of course, there are some exceptions. For example, charity benefit compilations always get a pass. If the purpose of an album release is to generate maximum sales for a good cause, then filling it with 15 covers from some of the most recognizable indie artists is a good way to accomplish that goal. I mean, who wouldn't be interesting in hearing what Franz Ferdinand's take on Blondie's "Call Me" sounds like?. The folks behind the War Child organization piqued my interest with nuggets like that by releasing Heroes, their latest compilation aimed at benefiting child refugees of war.
Artists like Beck, Duffy, TV on the Radio, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, and the Hold Steady pepper this record with personal cover selections from their musical heroes, such as Bob Dylan, Paul McCartney, David Bowie, The Ramones, and Bruce Springsteen. While many of the tracks are good (for example, Elbow's cover of the U2's "Running to Stand Still), nothing on the album comes close to the awesomeness that is Hot Chip's cover of the Joy Division classic "Transmission".
Rather than attempting to match the emotion and ferocity of the original (which would've been a train wreck, btw), Hot Chip decided to turn the song on its head and strip it down to a simple bass line, steel drums and keyboards. Toss in Alexis Taylor's playful sound vocal and the song becomes transformed to an electro dream-pop gem. But without that killer bass line this song would be nothing. In any event, it's one of the better covers I've heard from any band in a long wile.
It's very easy to dismiss a band just because their name sounds stupid. Often times it's easy to infer many things about a band based solely on their name. For example, if you came across a CD-R with the name Napalm Death written on the front in Sharpie pen it's safe to assume the music found within said CD would be very dark, aggressive and loud (with an ample amount of grunting). . .and you'd be right. Rage Against the Machine is another name that tells you right away what to expect. You get the idea.
If I were to apply this logic to Brooklyn trio The Pains of Being Pure at Heart then my expectation would be a steady dose of contrived sad bastard Emo pop...or possibly some paint-by-numbers Goth rip-off music. Thankfully, the band sound nothing like either of those things. In fact, their debut self-titled album sounds pretty fantastic.
Those of you who read this blog (whenever I actually post something) know that I have a soft spot for well executed Shoegaze music. My adoration for My Bloody Valentine, The Pale Saints, The Jesus and Mary Chain, and Ride (among others) makes it easier to appreciate newer incarnations/variations of the genre like Deerhunter, Serena Maneesh, and Asobi Seksu. So, it shouldn't be a surprised that I loved The Pains of Being Pure at Heart from the very first listen.
It's fair to say these guys aren't very original at all, but originality way too subjective of a term with which to base all my musical choices. What does make TPOBPAH great is how seemingly effortlessly the drift between melodic dream pop ("Young Adult Friction", "Stay Alive"), noise drone ("Hey Paul", "Gentle Sons"), and even Brit-pop ("A Teenager In Love"). Throughout this album the music is very precise and focused, never lasting longer than it needs to.
This sounds easy, but I assure you it isn't. The mark of good pop music (and yes, this is a pop record at it's core) is the ability to convey a feeling clearly and concisely. In other words, get right to the point, make me feel good, and then move on to the next song in under four minutes. Fortunately, TPOBPAH are able to pull this off over and over again.
The Pains of Being Pure at Heart - "This Love is Fucking Right" (from The Pains of Being Pure at Heart)
The Pains of Being Pure at Heart - "Stay Alive" (from The Pains of Being Pure at Heart")
The Pains of Being Pure at Heart - "A Teenager In Love" (from The Pains of Being Pure at Heart")
Sorry for yet another extended absence. This presidential election has dominated so much of my time that I have neglected reading my usual rotation of music blogs and magazines in favor of obsessively reading the Huffington Post and Talking Points Memo. As a result, I am embarrassingly out of the loop with almost any new music that's come out in the last two months. Luckily, this election is over and I can cancel those relocation plans to Sweden (hooray socialism!) because BARACK OBAMA IS THE PRESIDENT ELECT!!!
It's been a strange crazy journey to get here, but for the first time in over eight years I feel hopeful for the future of our country. I guess all we needed was Chicago's favorite son to wake up the silent masses and convince us that all hope wasn't lost. In celebration of that wonderful moment, here's a track by two of Chicago's best hip hop artists, Mikey Rocks and Chuck Inglish (otherwise known as The Cool Kids) with an assist from producer extraordinaire 9th Wonder.
If you're a fan of the Kids' lazy flow, but always wanted to hear it matched with some next level beats then this is the jam for you. "The Delivery Man" has absolutely noting to do with Obama other than both are symbols of the best that Chicago has to offer. One is doing its part to change the rap game while the other is doing his thing to redefine the political game. So far, I like what I see from both.
I have really neglected this blog lately. It seems that in the last two weeks I haven't been able to come up with anything interesting to write about. Lately I've been listening to mostly old David Bowie, Lou Reed, The Smiths, and early Rolling Stones, and since millions of words have been written about all of those artists, it's not really my place to add anything to that criticism. Being out of the loop on newer music (at least in the last two weeks) is often the cause of all my bouts with writer's block. Luckily, a new release from The Clash came around to bring me out of my funk.
Live at Shea Stadium marks an important moment in The Clash's legendary history. They were finally becoming a household name in the States after the release of Combat Rock, yet the band was internally falling apart. Just prior to being invited to open for The Who in 1982 the band ousted longtime drummer Topper Headon due to his heroin abuse and replaced him with original drummer Terry Chimes, who was not as highly regarded by most of their fans. Only one year later singer-guitarist Mick Jones would leave the band and The Clash would essentially be dead forever.
But just before they broke up for good The Clash was at their apex on this cold and rainy night in New York City. Often bootlegged during the past 25 years, this excellent sounding official release displays the band doing their best to win over the crowd of mostly ambivalent fans who came to see The Who. As a result, the setlist was heavy on the hits, as Joe Strummer artfully directed the band's breakneck pace for over 47 minutes.
My favorite moment of their set was this little medley of "The Magnificent Seven" and Willie William's "Armagideon Time," which probably didn't go over as well as "Should I Stay or Should I Go?" or "Train in Vain", but to me sounded like the epitome of what The Clash were all about.
For one, "The Magnificent Seven" is my favorite song in their catalog, so I am a little biased to begin with. It's easily one of the funkiest rock songs of the 80's and it so perfectly captures how vast and varied the band's creative influences were. If most of the crowd hadn't heard much funk or rap music before, you can bet Joe Strummer wasn't going to let such a golden opportunity to spread the word go by. And for good measure he manages to squeeze in some reggae music by announcing to the crowd that he's going to "take you to Jamaica."
Right as the spotlight was brightest Strummer and his band mates chose to focus some of it on black music in front of a mostly white crowd. Before the segue into "Armagideon Time" Strummer announces to the crowd that they "stole" the "black New York rhythm" to "The Magnificent Seven", as if to imply there's plenty of great music to be found throughout the streets of NYC if you just open your ears.
If you know anything about Joe Strummer, such a move shouldn't come as a surprise. He always used his notoriety to shine a light on music and political issues that never made it to the mainstream. Sure, most of the crowd probably had no idea what he was talking about, nor did they care, but undoubtedly at least handful of attendees that night understood what Joe was trying to say, which was all he needed to bring his point across.
So, I was watching the Presidential Debate on Friday and I couldn't get Fela Kuti out of my head. It actually started about an hour before showtime, when I raced out of the office to get some dinner and a six pack of Red Stripe at the grocery store before the debate began and "Sorrow, Tears, and Blood" spontaneous starting playing in my mind. It is one of my favorite Fela songs ever and its political message surely played a part in getting it stuck in my head to begin with.
While it is certainly somewhat analogous to the current draconian presidential administration, it would be quite a stretch to draw too close of a comparison between the oppressive military dictatorship of Fela's Nigeria to the George W. Bush era, but the song did get me thinking about Fela's message of unity and how it parallels to Barack Obama. Basically, Fela Kuti found an audience by connecting with people traditionally on the margins of society who felt the power establishment would never listen to their voice. When you look at the millions of young, first time and historically apathetic voters who form the backbone of the Obama phenomenon, it's easy to draw comparisons.
Anyway, as I watched John McCain do his best to represent the interests of the elite classes (yes, his wife is worth $100 million and he's been part of a "broken" Washington government for 26 years) while cloaked in this absurd notion that he's a "reformer", I realized that power establishments never fall until public sentiment reaches a breaking point. In a dictatorship the will of the public usually manifests itself in the form of revolution, but in America the revolutions come at the ballot box. As America stands on the verge of becoming a majority minority country, a realignment of political power is almost a certainty. It may not happen on November 4th, but a change is coming and usually it requires a transcendent figure to lead the change.
Which brings me to "Gentleman." While the Fela catalog is peppered with songs about political unity, struggle and revolt, many of them are either too sad ("Sorrow, Tears and Blood", for one) or too dramatic ("Coffin for Head of State" comes to mind) to make the Obama connection, so I decided to go with one that is kind of light and upbeat (for Fela, that is). "Gentleman" achieves this by describing how one needs to act in order to stand up in the face of corrupt power. Throughout the song he declares "I no be gentleman at all/I be Africa, man/original", as if to say the traditional means of attaining political change no longer apply. In fact, he goes on to assert that real change won't come until "somebody come bring original trouble."
Now, Obama may be more of gentleman than Fela would've liked, but he is African and certainly an original. You could also make the argument that his movement has brought its share of "original trouble" in that it shook up the electoral process by awakening a silent majority of people who were waiting for someone to come along and give voice to their political frustrations. In barely over a month we should find out if that formerly sleeping giant is enough to knock down the traditional power monopoly, or if it needs a little more time to grow.
Today's song came to me as a result of a friend's recommendation. My buddy Rob called me and told me I should check out Budos Band because he thought I would really like them and that I should post something about them. Now, normally I never promise anything because I take the business of writing this blog very seriously, so I told him I would check out their MySpace, but ultimately I would only post something if I liked what I heard. It basically took about 30 seconds for me to decide that I liked these guys.
According to their MySpace page Budos Band is comprised of 12 members and their musical style can be described as "Instrumental Staten Island Afro-Soul" (their words). What does that mean exactly? Basically it means they lay the funk down with the best of them. By mixing Afrobeat percussion (Tony Allen would be proud), funk-inspired bass lines, and soulful horn melodies, Budos Band creates a hodgepodge of beats and rhythms that can get any party started.
"Chicago Falcon" is the lead track off their generically titled sophomore album Budos Band II and it showcases this winning formula quite well. Waves of jazzy bass, funk guitar, conga/bongo drums, and a piercing organ prop up a brass fanfare that pronounces the coming of some severely funky times ahead. It's a great way to kick off a record and lure in the listener for the long haul. Luckily, the rest of it is so good that keeping your interest shouldn't be much of a concern.
OK boys and girls, now that August (and Summer) is behind us it's time to take a look back at the tracks that kept me interested the last 31 days. Enjoy!
Over the weekend Bradford Cox left a generous gift on the official Deerhunter/Atlas Sound/Lotus Plaza blog, new Atlas Sound songs! While the download link originally led one web savvy fan to discover backdoor access to Cox's personal MediaFire storage account (which promptly resulted in an unmastered Deerhunter EP and the yet-to-be-finished new Altas Sound full length Logos being leaked on the At Ease Web message board), spurring a much-publicized hullabaloo on the Cox's blog, I chose to only post what Cox originally intended to share. He is nice enough to share new music for free with fans on a regular basis, so I won't tempt karma by posting stolen music not ready for the public on this blog.
Anyway, the new songs are pretty much in line with what you would expect from Atlas Sound. That is, they are fucking awesome and they will leave you wanting more. Hopefully the wait won't be long before Cox gives us another taste, so long as we show our appreciation and refrain from hacking into his personal files.
Broken Social Scene are so damn likable that they actually influence my opinion of Canada as a whole. Nobody has as much fun making music and very few bands work as hard as they do. Between recording excellent proper BSS albums, the 19 members that comprise the collective spend their time recording and collaborating with many different bands like Do Make Say Think, Apostle of Hustle, Metric, Feist, Raising The Fawn, Stars, Junior Blue, Emily Haines and the Soft Skeleton, and many more. Basically, there's never a time when at least 3-4 of those bands have a new album out, which makes the members of Broken Social Scene the hardest working Canadians in show business (my apologies to Alex Trebeck ).
In recent times the Broken Social Scene brand has branched out into solo projects. Last year they released the first of these projects, titled (appropriately) Broken Social Scene Presents: Kevin Drew, Spirit If. . ., and it ended up being one of the more enjoyable releases of the year. This time around BSS is back to support the first 'solo' effort from founding member Brendan Canning. Something For All Of Us is a befitting title, as there are many faces to the moods found on this collection of songs. As one would expect from any BSS-affiliated effort, there are moments of beautiful chaotic energy ("Hit the Wall", "Possible Grenade") tempered by more deliberate snippets of melodic balladry ("Snowballs and Icicles", "Been At It So Long"). While at other times Brendan drives the ship towards more groovy pastures ("Love Is New").
Whatever the vibe being showcased, the real star is always the carefree rhythmic dynamic of the Broken Social Scene sound. I can't overstate how refreshing it is to hear a group of musicians who obviously relish playing with each other. Their enthusiasm for making music for music's sake is both entertaining and admirable. I can't wait to see how that spirit manifests itself next weekend when they headline the Sunset Junction Street Fair.
Update: The audio player links work for me in Safari and Opera, but not in Firefox or Internet Explorer. I have no idea if this is a problem only for me, or if it relates to the browser. Please leave a comment if you are having problems listening to the songs.
Broken Social Scene Presents: Brendan Canning - "Hit The Wall" (from Something For All Of Us)
Broken Social Scene Presents: Brendan Canning - "Love Is New" (from Something For All Of Us)
Broken Social Scene Presents: Brendan Canning - "Snowballs and Icicles" (from Something For All Of Us)
Primal Scream is one of those bands that I haven't really thought about in years, yet whenever I pick up one of their albums I'm almost surprised by how good it sounds. Not because I expect not to like it, but rather, I forget how good this band can be.
I have no idea why that is, considering they gave us three of the best albums to come out of the UK rock scene in the last 20 years. Screamadelica was simply a masterpiece of electronic ecstasy, every bit as important as any album produced by the "Madchester" scene of the early 90's. While 1997's Vanishing Point explored the darker underside of dance music better than most by leaning heavily on dub and trip hop influences. Then in 2000 they hooked up with Kevin Shields to create one of the heaviest albums I've ever heard. XTRMNTR was a mash-up of industrial noise and anti-establishment political fury that tested the limits of my speakers (and eardrums) while I was in college more than almost anything else I listened to.
Yes, there's been a few clunkers in-between (1994's Give Out But Don't Give Up, and 2002's Evil Heat), but at least you could never accuse Primal Scream of complacency. As they released their ninth studio album, Beautiful Future, last month I was reminded once again how good these guys can sound when they stay focused on their strengths.
On "Can't Go Back" all of them are on display in spades. In short, it's a high-octane mix of punk guitar sonics, dance grooves and pop rhythms that sounds like a (slightly) less intense version of "Accelerator." It bears similarities to the "Nu-Rave" (I hate that term, BTW) sound of Klaxons, which makes sense considering they wouldn't exist if it weren't for the strong influence of Primal Scream's earlier work, but it's refreshing to hear someone who helped originate this sound recapturing the glory (even for a moment) without even trying (seemingly).
Now that July is finally behind us, it's time to look back on all my favorite discoveries from the last 31 days. Enjoy! >>>Continue reading "July Mixwit"
In the age of digital music it's becoming harder and harder to establish the monetary value of the CD. Sales are in a free fall and distribution options are so cheap and abundant (MySpace, Amazon, iTunes, Last.fm, iLike, etc.) that people expect music to be given away, or, at the very least, extremely cheap. So, what's a band to do if they want to release an album out into the wild, but don't want a bunch of freeloaders downloading it for nothing? Donate all the proceeds to charity, of course.
That's exactly what The Walkmen did earlier this week when they made their fourth studio album (I don't count Pussy Cats, since it was a cover album) You & Me available for download (DRM-free, naturally) so long as fans were willing to pony up a $5 donation to benefit the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center. Considering not one cent of the donation goes to the band, you could still say this album was given away for "free". At least that's how I choose to view it.
So, donating money towards cancer research is a nice gesture, but what about the music? I'm a tad biased since I love the Walkmen and think all their albums are great, so my opinion is generally inclined to giving them the benefit of the doubt right off the bat. Upon first listen, I'm literally through nine of the fourteen songs as I write this, it seems a bit more focused than their last effort (which I still liked). More of a mix between the shimmering melancholic guitar drone of Everyone Who Pretended to Like Me is Gone and the Americana rhythmic sound of A Hundred Miles Off. Not a leap forward, but definitely a noticeable refinement of the band's signature sound, which I think is more indicative of how they come off in a live setting (which is a treat to see, BTW).
I will give you a taste below, but that's all you're gonna get because cancer patients are depending on you, dammit. Seriously though, it's only a measly $5 donation. Don't be a cheapskate and buy the damn thing if you actually like it.
I haven't posted a Song of the Day in a while, so today I decided to give you a little treat by posting two, so I will keep the words short.
The only things that need to be said about these songs is they kick ass. Say what you want about contemporary U2 (I think they are still a great band, and I make no apologies for thinking that), but it's hard to deny how great their early work was and finally their first three albums, Boy, October and War, have been re-worked and remastered to breathe new life into them. Today's selections come courtesy of the War Deluxe Edition, and they are perfectly indicative of two of U2's greatest (yet under reported) influences.
I always felt that "Two Hearts Beat as One" was one of the most underrated songs in U2's catalog. I have no idea why because the backbeat is fierce, thanks to the lethal combination of Adam Clayton's deep clanging bass and Larry Mullen's rapid fire high hat mastery. And The Edge does what he does best, which is pepper the song with intermittent thunder strikes of sweet guitar noise. Bono's lyrics are big on imagery (as usual), but small on grandiose themes, which makes the song a perfect fit on the pop charts (which, of course, it never was).
Regardless, this song is the closest thing you will ever hear U2 sounding to Gang of Four. The Club Version is basically a longer version of the original that emphasizes the dance aspects of the song even more. Which is to say, it is the Larry and Adam Show. Put this on at a party along side some Gang of Four, The Rapture and LCD Soundsystem and you would be surprised how well it fits.
"Treasure" is another gem found on the second disc of the War Deluxe Edition that finds U2 paying homage to another hero of theirs, Joy Division. Seriously, listen to to the first 20 seconds of this song and tell me it doesn't sound like an outtake from Unknown Pleasures or Closer. Bono's voice is obviously nowhere near as melancholy as Ian Curtis (to be fair, whose really is?), but it certainly isn't out of place. Oddly enough, "Treasure" answers the question of how Joy Division would sound if they had a less depressing vocalist even better than listening to New Order does.
U2 - "Two Hearts Beat One (Club Version)" (from War (Deluxe Edition))
Anyone who has ever spent a significant amount of time in Los Angeles knows their experience is party shaped by their proximity to the activities they like to do (good shopping, parks, bars/restaurants, etc.). Driving the freeways can be a bitch and public transit isn't exactly the badge of honor it should be for the nation's second largest city, which means if you don't live close to places you like to go to, then you wind up wasting too much time merely getting to those places and usually end up staying home (ask anyone who lives in Santa Monica to go East of the 405 during the weekend to see this theory in action). It is for this reason that I relish being living in Silver Lake and, by the same token, why it is a genuinely exciting time to be a music fan in Los Angeles.
Plain and simple, there's quite a roster of quality bands who have shaped the music scene in this part of town to one of the most dynamic in America. Peruse the blogosphere, the music festival circuit, MySpace, music mags, and indie radio and you're bound to run into at least one person raving about any number of LA-based bands like No Age, Lavender Diamond, Health, Mika Miko, or The Airborne Toxic Event. Another mainstay of the Eastside LA scene (not to be confused with East LA, which is someplace completely different) who undoubtedly deserves inclusion on that list is Abe Vigoda.
Originally from Chino (where the band met in high school), they relocated to LA a couple of years ago and quickly made a name for themselves within The Smell scene, named after the namesake downtown LA club where No Age, Health and Mika Miko also cut their teeth. While that scene isn't particularly big, the people who frequent the The Smell are exactly the type of loyal and feverishly enthusiastic fans that always seem to get the notoriety ball rolling for indie bands. Throw in the tastemaking influence of KXLU, MySpace and local publications and all of a sudden Abe Vigoda finds themselves touring across the nation with the likes of their BFF No Age and also with the equally buzzworthy High Places.
Comprised of vocalist/guitarist Michael Vidal, guitarist Juan Velasquez, bassist David Reichardt, and drummer Reggie Guerrero, many people describe Abe Vigoda's music as "tropical punk", whatever the hell that means. I think that characterization is meant to underscore how, rhythmically, their sharp guitars sound an awful lot like somebody frantically pounding away at the steel drums. The breakneck pace of their songs, with layers of throbbing bass and drumline-esque percussion (especially on the snare and cowbell) give their music a bigger and deeper sound than you'd expect from a band who typically wraps things up in 1-3 minutes.
But their style is such that nothing seems rushed or hastily planed. There's a method to this madness and often times that method results in me getting the urge to dance. I don't exactly know how I would look dancing to something like this, but I imagine whatever it is it involves a bunch of shaking and flailing of my arms. I have the feeling I would probably fit right in with 90% of Abe Vigoda's target audience, not to mention the band themselves.
Wire is one of those bands who could never be accused of complacency. Nor would anyone be foolish enough to confuse them for nostalgists. Even though they've been around for over 30 years and continue to influence newer legions of musical followers, they always seem to be looking forward.
"One of Us" is no exception, as it sounds different from any of Wire's previous output. It's pop sensibilities bear some resemblance to their mid-80's work (A Bell Is A Cup Until It Is Struck, The Ideal Copy), yet the driving mechanical bass rhythm is indicative of their more recent Read and Burn and Send era. What's more, this song finds the notoriously serious band sounding somewhat playful as they wax pseudo-philosophical on the chorus ("One of us will live to rue the day we met each other").
After three plus decades of setting the standard of excellence for art-punk, post punk, experimental noise and seemingly everything in between, Wire sounds as if they're ready to embrace toe-tapping pop rhythms with open arms. Considering how most of their career has been characterized by pushing the envelope, perhaps it's time to pull some of it back in?
I love Krautrock. Ever since I was introduced to the genre a couple of years ago I've been a sponge for anything new (to me) that came from that era. For my money, you'd be hard pressed to find a period of music history more rife with experimentation than whatever craziness was going on throughout Germany in the late 60's and early 70's. Bands like Can, Neu!, Kraftwerk, and Faust incorporated electronics and noise into rock music to create sounds that nobody had ever heard before. As someone who has a soft spot for noise, analog synths and sequencers, it's really no surprise this music resonates with me so easily.
Fujiya and Miyagi, who are actually a trio from Brighton, England, must share my enthusiasm because every time I listen to them I think to myself "man, these guys really sound a lot like a pop version of Neu!" Their debut album Electro Karaoke in the Negative Style and the superb follow-up Transparent Things reinforced this opinion many times over as many of the tracks borrow elements from Neu!'s first three records (driving bass lines, mechanized drums) and syth-heavy contemporaries like Cluster and Harmonia.
That isn't to say that Fujiya and Miyagi are copycats, because if they were then their music would be quite a bit more difficult to listen to. As much as I like many of the legendary Krautrock bands, I will be the first to admit their music can at time be cacophonous (try listening to the 4th and 5th songs on Tago Mago and you'll know exactly what I mean). Luckily, Fujiya and Miyagi speed up the pace with syncopated beats and lighthearted lyrics to give their music an upbeat feel. In this respect they share many qualities with mid and late 90's electronica than the experimental noise of 30+ years ago.
So, you can imagine my excitement when I heard Fujiya and Miyagi are due to release their new album Lightbulbs on September 16th. The first single off the album, "Knickerbocker", is just starting to make the rounds across the blogosphere and it's possibly the most Neu!-like of anything they've ever done. Think "Hallogallo" with a pulsating bass and nonsensical lyrics about vanilla, strawberries, and the ghost of Lena Zavaroni. I have no idea what the lyrics mean, but the song is a toe-tapper and that's all I really care about. Hopefully the rest of the album manages to live up to this nugget of Kraut-dance.
Nobody in the world of music, except Lil Wayne (and maybe Miley Cyrus), has more heat than Barack Obama. Dude's Rolodex is filled with more names in the music biz than Sophia Coppola and Timbaland combined. Everyday that draws closer to our historic presidential election it seems as if a new artistic tribute is released praising his message of change and unity.
The latest one comes courtesy of Cody ChesnuTT, who many of you know from his collaboration with The Roots a few years back. After laying low for the past couple of years Cody is back with "Afrobama: The Unified Party Anthem" a double homage to two larger than life Africans (remember, Obama's dad is Kenyan).
Now, the title of the song makes the identity of the first African obvious, but some of you might not know who the second is. If you've ever listened to Afrobeat music then it's easy to understand who ChesnuTT is honoring, the legendary father of Afrobeat, Fela Anikulapo Kuti.
By creating an homage to Obama in the style of Fela's signature sound, ChesnuTT is comparing two men with transcendent messages of change. Fela used his art as a platform to rail against government corruption and oppression in his native Nigeria (where he survived torture and assassination attempts) by spreading the gospel of Pan-Africanism. While not nearly as revolutionary (after all, Kuti was a socialist in the mold of Kwame Nkrumah and Che Guevara, while Obama is a quasi-liberal more in line with the legacy of RFK), Obama's message could be described as Pan-Americanism, in that the central theme of his candidacy is his desire to unite America across political and ideological lines. In Obama's world, we are all Americans first and foremost, much like Fela believed in identifying oneself as an African above national or tribal affiliations.
Hopefully Obama's story ends happier than that of Fela Kuti, who ended up dying of AIDS in 1997 amid a continuing cycle of dictatorial military rule that continues to plague Nigeria (and many parts of Africa) to this day. What is certain is that his pleas of unity have spawned new generations of Africans (or, African-Americans) to feel a sense of pride and optimism about the future that people across the African continent felt over 30 years before.
Cody ChesnuTT - "Afrobama: The Unified Party Anthem"
It's really an amazing thing to see how different the music industry is today than five or ten years ago. No longer is the CD the medium of choice when it comes to marketing and distributing music. Today, digital downloads, social media (think iLike, imeem, Last.fm, MySpace, and Pandora), blogs, TV commercials, and video games provide more exposure for artists than ever before.
The newest installment of the enormously popular Grand Theft Auto video game franchise illustrates this concept wonderfully. In it you can control the music playing on the car stereo by switching between 18 different radio stations. Not only did Rockstar Games include a diverse roster of artists for the game's soundtrack (including Thin Lizzy, The Who, Fela Kuti, Philip Glass, Justice, Kanye West, Aphex Twin and John Coltrane, among many others), but they also give gameplayers the ability to purchase MP3's of the songs they hear directly within the game. No need to hop on your computer and look around, simply text Amazon from the in-game cell phone and you can have that Liquid Liquid track on your iPod in minutes. Now this is what I call innovation!
Considering Grand Theft Auto IV sold 3.5 million copies ON THE FIRST DAY of its release, it's safe to say that many of the artists included on the soundtrack have never sold anywhere near that many albums/singles before, so why not jump on the bandwagon if you are given the chance? The Rapture followed through on this no-brainer by contributing this previously unreleased track to GTA IV.
Produced by Timbaland, who also performs beatboxing duties, "No Sex for Ben" sounds exactly like what you'd expect from The Rapture. That is, it's catchy and fun and doesn't stray from the formula that yielded the band's last two excellent albums. It's not their best song, but it's far from their worst and it's the first new track I've heard from them in nearly two years. That alone is enough to warrant the Song of the Day honor in my book. Besides, if you own a video game console then chances are you've heard it already.
The Rapture - "No Sex for Ben" (from Grand Theft Auto IV Soundtrack)
I'll be honest. I thought Mos Def was starting to lose his magic back in 2004 when he released the lackluster Black on Both Sides follow-up The New Danger. Then two years later True Magic essentially confirmed my suspicion. Of course, now that he is free from his deal with Geffen Records (which would never have happened without the demise of Rawkus) he returns from the dead with The Ecstatic (subtle enough?), his most inspired music in ten years.
