Stone the Crows
I'm sure you're all well acquainted with 'Never be Alone' - the Justice vs Simian track that's been slaying dancefloors for 18 months solid.
Well I gave another listen to the original the other day, and remembered that it's rather good itself. If you're over familiar with the remix, I think you'll find this a refreshing change. I actually prefer this now.....
SIMIAN - NEVER BE ALONE
'Never be Alone' was taken from the band's second album, 'We Are Your Friends' - which was quite a shift in sound from the pastoral folkiness of their debut.
This is the opening track from that first album ('Chemistry is What We Are'), which has plenty of hints of The Beta Band, whilst the funereal chanting in the second half of the song is somewhat reminiscent of Arcade Fire...
SIMIAN - DROP AND ROLL
Although it sounds quite different to 'Never be Alone' I still keep expecting it to break out into '...because we. are. your friends!'
The band have sort of split up (literally) after being dropped by their label. Half the band are in a new outfit called 'Garden', while the other two are now rocking dancefloors worldwide as 'Simian Mobile Disco'. I've heard a couple of their mixes as MP3s, and if I was booking a disco right now they'd be top of my list.
The mobile disco arm also contributed a fantastic track to the last but one compilation on (where else) Kitsune. I'm having to resist posting that track (The Count) with all my might, as otherwise i'm going to end up posting every track from both 'X' and 'Maison'. Just buy them both instead! You must know by now that they are quality records.
I have to point out that my next mix is going to be a bit delayed... my decks are currently powerless while we do a bit of rewiring work.
That's also the reason for the lack of effort that's gone into this post!
I'm probably making this up
Another trip into town last night to check out We Are Scientists at King's College.
Just before arriving, I realised with delight that Test Icicles were the support act, making it an excellent night for fans of good band names. And also a good night for unexpectedly catching a band I wanted to see. After all, they are the fifth best band in the UK (or something). And have also recently scored a top twenty hit.
Well seriously folks.. what the fuck? WHAT THE FUCK?
They are TERRIBLE.
They certainly polarised opinion in the venue - with audience reaction running the entire spectrum from fucking god-awful all the way through to worse than my most vivid, most horrific nightmares.
My mate Steve told me beforehand that all they do is fuck around on stage and don't even have their instruments plugged in. And for some reason i didn't believe him. But yeah, all they do is fall into the crowd a couple of times while a backing track plays. Now I enjoy a tuneless racket as much as the next guy, especially if the perpetuators are willing to degrade themselves for my pleasure in the name of rock 'n' roll - but I'm afraid I just spent the entire performance bored stupid. It was like a bad sixth form art project. With even one decent song I could have forgiven them, but they are basically three twats shouting incoherently over a drum machine. Great.
Even the youthful crowd, mostly free of the cynicisms of age, were not impressed. The band left the stage to silence, save for two people frantically cheering (art students, clearly) and a far larger number of boos.
A joke without a punchline. Anyone who tells you they are anything but awful is lying.
We Are Scientists on the other hand were excellent. I get the feeling they have two fantastic singles ('Great Escape', 'Nobody Moves'), a couple of other tracks that don't quite hit the same heights, and the rest of their material is slightly 'album tracky'. The good stuff is great though, and it was a hugely enjoyable show. Even disregarding the music they've got enough charisma and jokes on stage to own any crowd. I won't attempt to repeat any of their banter... just believe me that they were / are very funny. 
Having barely made it through a very heavy weekend I couldn't muster the energy to join the sweaty nubile teenage students down the front, but by the end of the gig I had a spring in my step. And when I left, the frozen London air felt a good ten degrees warmer.
If the Scientists are experimenting in a town near you, do poke your head in and say hello...
If you managed to get tickets to the NME tour in February (I did!) you'll be able to see them then.
The Moog Groove
A post on Kev's site a couple of weeks ago (Best Foot Forward) brought back some memories, and led me to dig out a corking record i'd all but forgotten about.
It's a collaboration between Stereolab and Nurse With Wound, on the groop's own Duophonic label. And it's just amazing in so many ways. Not least because it's one of the most beautifully packaged records I own - a great photo imprinted onto a stunning sealed foil wrapper. It's almost too sexy to open (this picture really doesn't do it justice).
The record itself is built around a fairly simple groove, however there are so many elements drifting in and out of the mix that the 10 minute duration fairly flies by. I could say this about 90% of the tracks I post here, but I really can't recommend this highly enough!
'Scuttle'
STEREOLAB & NURSE WITH WOUND - SIMPLE HEADPHONE MIND
To get the full benefit of this record, you should really listen to the B-Side (Trippin' With The Birds) as well, which follows on from side A to form a 30-minute groove. But you'll probably need to go spending money on ebay to do that.
Stereolab of course have been churning out their brand of analog krautrock on albums and limited 7 inch singles for nearly 15 years now. I did have a phase of being massively into the band, however after buying five or six albums, and a good couple of inches worth of 7 inchers I realised that I really didn't need any more Stereolab in my life. I may be wrong of course, and if you feel that any of the last few albums will enrich my life then please let me know in the comments!
If you're looking to buy a couple of Stereolab albums, i'd recommend 'Transient Random Noise Bursts With Announcements' - which contains the awesome 'Jenny Ondioline' - and 'Refried Ectoplasm (Switched on Vol. 2)' - a compilation of early rare singles, and probably their best album.
I've not talked about Nurse With Wound much, but that's because I know next to nothing about him except for his two collaborations with Stereolab.
However thanks to teh interweb, I now also know that
1: He's released an awful lot of records
2: He looks like that fella from the Bonzo Dog Do Dah Band
3: He's got through more band members than Mark E Smith (click on the 'people' tab)
Anything else I need to know?
Top of the Hots
Mike at Take Your Medicine has compiled a list of the 40 'hottest' acts in the UK. Some bloggers clearly have confused ideas of 'hotness', and voted Tangerine Pop Machine 'Girls Aloud' in at #1 - the list is worth a look though, if only as a reminder of some bands I keep meaning to check out : Patrick Wolf, HAL,¡Forward, Russia! and Jeremy Warmsley.
I did vote, but I was a bit confused about the question.
10 – Paul Epworth
9 – Gorillaz
8 – Aphex Twin
7 – Super Furry Animals
6 – Basement Jaxx
5 – Maximo Park
4 – Joy Division
3 – Arctic Monkeys
2 - Boards of Canada
1 – Radiohead
I guess if it shows anything, it's that the UK music scene is in rude health. I'd take our 40 over the American one any day...
Fly me to the Moon
According to today's Guardian, this is how to make the 'Ultimate Paper Plane'.
Now i've just spent 5 minutes creating this bad boy.. deep in concentration.. pulling some extreme origami moves.
And it's crap.
If you want a paper plane that flies up vertically then dive bombs straight back to earth it is indeed the Ultimate. Otherwise my testing has proved a standard ten-second bodge job to be vastly superior on every level. (except the 'floating up vertically before crashing to the ground' level)
Let me know if you fare any better....
Wide Eyed and Open Mouthed
I ended up going to see Clor at Cargo on Friday night, rather than braving the subterranean funk of OurDisco. In hindsight I think this was a good choice, since Clor were excellent, and Delia & Gavin were apparently not at all excellent.
I haven't totally fallen in love with Clor's album as yet. Although most of it is extremely good, just when I start falling under its spell a track pops up that screams 'filler' and sends me reaching for the 'skip track' button. But in the confines of a half hour set they were just about perfect, and showed they have more good songs than I first credited them with. 'Good Stuff', 'Outlines', 'Lost & Found' and 'Danger Zone' were all great, and would have graced any stage. The band were tight as a clingfilm jumper, and pretty good to watch as well. The only downside for me was the couple standing next to me exuberantly snogging throughout the entire set in a 'look at us, we're good looking and we're gonna have sex later' kind of way. It wouldn't normally bother me, but I was getting a bit too involved in their elbows and hair for my liking.
Highlight for me was 'Making You All Mine', which I think they played second if that sort of thing is of interest to you. 'Danger Zone' was also excellent, and is a gem i'd overlooked on the album. It does suffer in comparison to the Kenny Loggins classic though!
CLOR - MAKING YOU ALL MINE
As we're on an electro pop tip, i've recently heard some new tracks from Hot Chip (YAY!) which I have to share with y'all, as they're rather amazing.
I was and still am head over heels in love with last year's debut album, 'Coming on Strong', but i've found most of the stuff i've heard since then - particularly their contributions to the Kitsune 'X' and 'Maison' albums - a bit underwhelming. The three tracks i've heard from the new record sound awesome though.
'Over and Over' has been around for a while on some 2 Many DJs mixes - and doesn't disappoint at all in its full length version. If there was a Brit award for 'Best Kazoo Solo' it would certainly be walking off with the prize next year. You can still pick it up on the very limited 'Barbarian EP' - which is still just about available from Juno. For some reason I've not bought it yet (well - for one good reason - i'm skint) however my credit cards are beginning to display the warning signs of an upcoming large order. I also must get the Poni Hoax 12", the DFA Gorillaz mix, all the Ed Banger records I can find... and well, there's plenty more on the list.
I think 'Over and Over' is being re-released soon on DFA Records with a DFA mix included. That's something I can't wait to hear!
But back to the new songs... 'The Warning' is just that. Alexis and Joe threaten that 'Hot Chip will break your legs. Snap off your head' like a couple of very polite gangstas. You almost want them to do it.
The track i'm going to post up is also awesome, and is pretty much Hot Chip in a nutshell. A bit lo-fi, a bit funky, loads of nice harmonies, loads of lyrical snippets that stick in your head and an addictive groove. Superb. One of my biggest regrets these last couple of years is that despite numerous attempts I am still yet to see these guys play live.
HOT CHIP - AND I WAS A BOY FROM SCHOOL
I don't know what the album's called, or when it's coming out... but I reckon it's going to be great.
___________________________________________
Lastly I was a bit surprised to see this:
2,777 downloads? Crickey! Did someone post the link up somewhere else? I can't believe it would have got that many downloads from here... I was anticipating more like 50!
I guess I ought to start thinking about doing another one soon...
EDIT: Just found some info on the Hot Chip / DFA collaboration. It's out next week.
Hot Chip
Over and Over PRE-ORDER
THIS ITEM IS A PRE-ORDER AND WILL SHIP ON OR NEAR THE NOVEMBER 29TH RELEASE DATE.
LIMITED EDITION. ONLY 1,000 COPIES! This heavily sought after two track release from Hot Chip delivers some amazing music. London's self styled R'N Bedroom electro team has created a music style and scene for all fans and are a great addition to the DFA/ Astralwerks discography. This release is limited to only 1,000 copies and includes the track 'Over and Over' and 'Just Like We (Breakdown)' (DFA Remix) which gives you a taste of the future Hot Chip album and an exploding remix by the DFA camp. The track 'Over and Over' bounces you into gear with grooving percussion, thunderous bass line and winding guitars. 'Over and Over' will also be the first single off the sophomore album out in spring of 2006. The second track is 'Just Like We (Breakdown)' (DFA Remix) and is a prime example of why DFA and Hot Chip are working together.
(Young) Guns of Brixton
Next spring's NME 'Brats' tour is rumoured to be featuring:
Arctic Monkeys
Maximo Park
We Are Scientists
Mystery Jets
Tickets are rumoured to be going on sale today.
I guess here is the best place to check for news...
Re-Re-Rewind
I wouldn't normally go back to things i've posted before, principally because no-one has ever asked for anything to be reposted! There is ONE EXCEPTION though... I've now been asked for 'Geek Love' by Bang Bang Machine 7 times in total - including three times in the last two days!
The latest plea came from a desperate gentleman who needs it for his wedding....
"...I'm now getting married in 2 weeks to the girl I met at University back in '91. Geek Love was our anthem. We're running the disco at the reception and I've been looking everywhere for a copy to add to the wedding playlist with absolutely no luck.
The daft thing is, my old flatmate is now my bestman and although I've asked to borrow the record on a few occassions, he keeps forgetting to bring it over. Frankly, even if he did my old Audiolab amp has died and my Dual turntable is now buried in the loft so I don't know how I'd rip it anyway.
So, I'm wondering if there's any chance you might be able to send me the mp3 so that I can play it at our wedding?"
How could I refuse...
So by popular request:
BANG BANG MACHINE - GEEK LOVE
BANG BANG MACHINE - GEEK LOVE (7 Inch Edit)
(in case the 10 minute original is a bit long for the disco!)
I hope you have a long and geeky life together. If you're listening to records like this, i'm sure you will.
original post
I had the misfortunate this evening, despite my better judgement, to sit through the first episode of the new series of 'Little Britain'. What a load of old toss.
The merits, or otherwise, of the series were debated in The Times today.
Caitlin Moran led the prosecution.
She seems to miss the point though, claiming that the show isn't any good because their portrayal of women is degrading. Eh? Listen 'love' (see what i did there?) , I don't give a flying fuck who they 'offend'. Most good comedy does offend someone. They're not there to provide a balanced view, or to portray as many awful male characters as female. They don't have any social responsibilities. They're there to make me laugh, and it's this that they fail at dismally. Their sketches are, frankly, desperately unfunny - relying entirely on a funny costume or premise rather than actually bothering to write a decent script. It's pre-school comedy. I could excuse this if the duo weren't so horrifically overexposed, however each time I switch on my TV or radio the irritating pair (well, Walliams in particular - see, even his name is annoying) are invariably there being fawned upon by some halfwit 'host' with his tongue a fair distance up their rectums.
So what do the braindead freaks who enjoy this show see in it? Well Tim Teeman (?) was clearly the only person they could find to defend it. Although by the end of that article you sense even he's given up trying to pretend he finds it funny. Apparently it 'takes on British foibles and stereotypes and colours them in with a highlighter'. Oh yeah, like that famous British stereotype of old ladies pissing all over the floor of Tescos. Or transvestites with beards. Oh how funny that was. The first 15 times.
It's the comedy of repetition, so that braindead viewers don't have to think. As soon as the sketch has been set up, everyone watching knows exactly what's going to happen... and what's going to be said. And of course they can join in by chanting the shit catchphrase at the TV. Like the Fast Show and Harry Enfied I sit there wondering quite what the joke is when you already know the punchline.
The sad thing is that this is held up as the best in British comedy. And the sadder thing is that at the moment it probably is. I am tuning into America for my kicks now... 'Arrested Development' and 'Curb Your Enthusiasm' are the two funniest programs EVER. And having not watched it for years, I have recently discovered that South Park has become, well, hilarious. I've been availing myself of the Torrents available here. And I do love myself a bit of Futurama. Yes, I never thought I would say it, but you guys actually seem to be a hell of a lot funnier than us. So you may at last have something to gloat about other than the quality of your dentistry!
Speaking of Arrested Development, can someone in America let me know once and for all if this third series is ever going to get finished? I keep hearing contrasting reports. Mostly of the bad kind unfortunately :-(
And also - how are you guys finding this 'Little Britain' thing they've got going on? (not THAT Little Britain...) Personally I found the joke a bit tired after half an episode, and six episodes in it shows no sign of going away. I don't mind laughing at us Brits.. let's face it most of us are fuckin' idiots. I'm just finding the whole set up a bit clumsy, which is very unusual in a program where every single line and every single shot is as sharp as they come.
You mean something to someone somewhere
This is something a bit special..
Although I got this track on a CD given away at the Camden Crawl way back in the spring, I never actually made it through to the end of the CD 'til last week, when driving home from work in the dark it sounded like just about the most beautiful thing i'd ever heard.
Although the band are signed to Warp - home of all that is great and good - Gravenhurst's acoustic torch songs are about as far from Autechre as you can get. Once again an unusal signing for Warp, Gravenhurst are indicative of the label's new found love of actual songs with choruses and verses and guitars and things.
This song is from the band's second album, 'Fires in Distant Buildings', which came out a few short weeks ago. I don't want to ruin it for you by clumsily attempting to describe it. Just make sure you give it a listen - it's without doubt one of the best things i've heard this year.
GRAVENHURST - ANIMALS
Once you've been blown away by that, you will probably want to watch the video for new single 'The Velvet Cell'. Luckily you can do so here. (Although on my PC it took ages to download)
And here's a standout track from last year's debut album, 'Flashlight Seasons', which came to my attention after unexpectedly lighting up the breathtaking (125 track!!!) mix CD that came with the Warp DVD.
GRAVENHURST - BLUEBEARD
The band are on tour now to promote the new album... worth checking out if they're in your area i'd say...
30 Nov Leuven, Stuk
1st Dec Paris, Tryptique
3rd Dec Amsterdam, Melkweg
4th Dec Koln, Gebaude 9
5th Dec Munich, Ampere
6th Dec Zurich, G5 Club
7th Dec Milan, La Casa
9th Dec London, Bar Academy TISCALI SHOWCASE info
10th Dec Nottingham, Social
11th Dec Glasgow, Nice N Sleazy
- Thanks to Alex for pointing me in the direction of a new Carl Craig mix available to download on Beats In Space
- My email is a mess... which is probably why, if you've mailed me before, i've not replied. In attempt to get more organised, in future please send submissions etc. to: james at headphonesex.co.uk
Watch it, he's a prestidigitator...
It's getting cold outside, but I've heard some cracking songs this week, and have three days of super hotness for you. Well, if I manage to write the posts that is.
Ebay is often a good way of spotting the bands that are about to take off... and judging by how much the debut single by Guillemots is currently going for, you may be wise to keep an eye on them next year.
This is the lead track from that debut single, and is a glorious slice of 80's style guitar pop. I don't really remember Aztec Camera much, but I can somehow see them performing this on Top of the Pops surrounded by loads of balloons and badly dancing girls with bad perms.
That may be a mangled combination of disparate memories, but this does take me back to the 80's, and not in a bleepy synthesised way. I could see this playing over the closing credits of a John Hughes teen movie, maybe while watching Molly Ringwald disappear into the distance.
I really love this, despite the band apparently being once described (according to their website) as 'a stupefyingly bad mix of Keane and Kenny G'!!
GUILLEMOTS - WHO LEFT THE LIGHTS OFF BABY
There's a new single coming out at the beginning of December... you can watch an exerpt from the video and download a selection of tracks here.
I reckon i'm going to head back to OurDisco this weekend, where there is a DFA night with Delia & Gavin playing live. The main reason I mention this is that if you look on the top 10 chart on the frontpage, you'll see at number one a Justice remix of Franz Ferdinand. Needless to say i'm quite keen to hear this, so if anyone manages to get a copy please feel free to send an mp3 in this direction ,-)
EDIT: THANKS COMMENT DUDES / CHICKS - that was some fast service! Here is da JUSTICE
They've cut Franz and the Ferdinands beyond all recognition... it's a badass growling electro-glitch-hop monster. Sounds a bit like Wildchild's 'Renegade Master' to me.
How I love Justice.
Same as it ever was
Fabric was a bit of a let down on Saturday night. Apart from the fact that the venue has gone a bit Leicester Square - a it seems to be more of a tourist destination than anything else - I don't think it helped that Carl Craig wasn't on 'till 4am, and I wasn't feeling particularly enthused by the music up til then. I did hear a few quality tunes drifting out of the Gigolo room - such as Digitalisms 'Zdarlight' (which you've heard here), and... hmmm... (sorry, memory failure)... but on the whole until Carl Craig hit the decks it was loads of tracky tech-house which does nothing for me except wipe a collective smile from the dancefloor.
And I didn't feel CC was in top form either... certainly compared to other DJ sets of his i've heard. He didn't seem to be working the decks too much. He dropped plenty of old skool Detroit classics though, which always get me going. I think his last three tracks were Moodymann's incredible 'Shades of Jae', 'Knights of the Jaguar' and 'The Climax'. Which to be fair is about as good as it gets. I like to think he finished with 'The Climax' especially for me, as I asked him at the start of his set if he was going to play it!
And yes, I am such a fanboy that I took my camera with me.
DJs aren't the most exciting subjects for photographs are they.
This is one of the tracks I meant to post last week... a re-edit of Talking Heads' classic 'Once in a Lifetime' released last year on the Moxie label. It's not the best thing CC has ever produced, but it's pretty hard to get hold of so I thought it might be a good thing to post up here.
He basically loops & stretches the intro out to about 4 minutes and drops a few hoover noises in.
C2 C4 - SPECIMEN 2
Actually i've listened to this a lot over the last week and it's rather growing on me.
And finally here's a true Carl Craig classic for you. Back in the early 90's he released three 12"s as '69', all of which are absolutely essential listening (and partially compiled on the 'Sound of Music' CD). This version of 'My Machines' is off the last of these records - 'Lite Music' - however it was originally on the first and best of the series, '4 Jazz Funk Classics'.
The newer version basically adds a strange analog intro to the original, but then you're in familiar territory. Beginning with some percussive latino drumming, married with a synth line that sounds like it's trying to escape the containment of the machines, the real genius is the two minute disco break you get in the middle of the track, before bringing the whole lot back together again.Marvellous.
69 - MY MACHINES
...from outer space
Check this great video by Plan B - a fantastic bit of sledgehammer-style stop motion from a guy called Daniel Levi - who judging by his other clips could well be due a 'directors' DVD retrospective soon. I love the Chris Cunnigham-ish clip for LFO's marvellous 'Freak'. Ooh, that's another record I must dust down!
There's quite a few other videos to watch on that site.
Bloggers Talk Bollocks
It's Official
'Too low-pro, Sleek Louch has lately lax-murdered the odd mixtape freestyle, and famously thug lullaby'd "La da daa, La da daa" in that ever-spiralling war between alphabet fans for primacy of certain consonants ...'
WTF??!!!!And I still don't seem to be getting the credit for single-handedly breaking Arctic Monkeys! ,-)
Perhaps I need to start writing in Pitchfork-ese.
My God. What have I done?
I can't wait for the weekend... Carl Craig is playing at Fabric on Saturday night, meaning I will finally see one of my biggest musical heroes in the flesh. I think he's just doing a DJ set without any live embelishments, however since he's one of the best DJs in the world as well as one of the best producers I think I can live with that.
Carl's one of the artists I keep intending to devote a week's worship to (see also: Drexciya, Global Communication / Tom Middleton), so I don't want to blow my load now - but with nearly 3GB of Carl Craig & Planet E material on my hard-drive I reckon I can spare a tune or two!
Well having said that, for now I may only have one track for you. I uploaded 3 songs to my server last night, but having just listened to them they're playing back really glitchy again. Very strange. And very annoying. I may have to try a different FTP program. Fortunately I had the best of those tracks on my computer here at work, so i've been able to salvage that at least.
This is one of Carl Craig's finest remixes (and there's some serious competition) - a reworking of 'Out of The Storm' by briefly popular Acid Jazz types Incognito. It's one of CC's more downtempo moments, but superbly showcases how much soul these Detroit cats manage to wring from their machines. Every chord, every note & every sound oozes funk. Give your speaker cones a wipe down after this, as this song will make 'em cry.
This IS Headphone Sex.
INCOGNITO - OUT OF THE STORM (C'S PLANET E SPECIAL MIX)
I'll try again with those other two tracks this evening...
It's Dare
It's now been longer awaited than a decent Julia Roberts film, but if anyone still cares I think you might be able to download my mix now.
I've tried another upload site called turboupload, and it seems to have all come down in one piece on the two computers i've tried it on. The only side effect is that a load of pop-up ads appear when you click to download it... just make sure you close 'em all down and don't get tempted to check your PC for spyware or whatever it claims needs doing.
Do let me know if you can't download this one either.
My cough is just about still lingering on, so the title is just about still relevant!
HEADPHONESEX - THE COUGH MIXTURE
Tracklisting:
1 Arpanet - NTT DoMoCo
2 Moodymann - Just Anotha Black Sunday Morning With Grandma
3 Ramiro Mendes - Angola (Carl Craig Mix)
4 Telex - Moscow Disco (Carl Craig Mix)
5 Global Communication - The Way (Secret Ingredients Mix)
6 DBX - Losing Control
7 Betty Botox - Can Can
8 Mocky - Micky Mouse Motherfuckers (Tiefschwarz Mix)
9 Marco Dos Santos - Not on the Guestlist
10 Franz Ferdinand - Matinee (Headman Rave Vocal)
11 Franz Ferdinand - Do You Want To (Erol Alkan's Glam Racket)
12 The Rapture - House of Jealous Lovers (Cosmos Remix)
13 Justice - Carpates
There are still a few dodgy mixes in there, but it ain't too bad for a first effort.... the tunes are all certified F.I.N.E.
Who Are We?
Damn and blast. This is my third attempt at writing this post. First time blogger crashed on me, and now Firefox has just given up the ghost. Believe me my first draft was a Hemmingway-esque masterpiece. The wit of Wilde and the wordplay of Rushdie. And now forever lost into a pitch black cyberdungeon. My second attempt was solid but unspectacular. A John Grisham if you will. Now on draft #3 it's back to the usual. Roger Hargreaves?
A couple of bands for you today with an identity crisis.
Despite having very few lupine features, these three blokes from Montreal decided to call themselves 'We Are Wolves'
Must be the hairy palms.
So this song is from their debut album, and I like the cut of its jib.
Once again I can't help but think it sounds like 'My Sharona'. Perhaps I have tinitus, and I've now aquired that riff as a permanent feature in my brain? They sound a bit like DFA 1979 and Whitey, and like those two bands have decided to do away with that poncey breed of preening nonces that call themselves guitarists.
The revenge of the rhythm section.
WE ARE WOLVES - LITTLE BIRDS
Here's another strange optical illusion... if you move away from the screen the two swap places.
Source
I have watched these videos by 'We Are Scientists' more than any other videos ever. That's not saying a great deal, as for some reason music videos seem to live off my radar. It's also because I don't have any of their Mp3s. But it's mainly because the videos are fun and so are the songs. They're poppy enough to have you singing along by the second chorus, and strange enough that you want to hear the third chorus.
As you can see from this picture, these boys come from the mean streets of New York. You can tell this because they wear skinny suits and converse. They are distinguished from other bands of their ilk by sporting interesting facial hair, and by having quite a sense of humour. Take a look at their website.
Alternatively watch these videos:
WE ARE SCIENTISTS - NOBODY MOVE, NOBODY GETS HURT
WE ARE SCIENTISTS - GREAT ESCAPE
I'm going to see the band at King's College in a few weeks. Should be a good 'un i'd say...
I'd suggest getting a ticket but it's sold out. Maybe you could buy their album instead?
You like my boobs?
I guess everyone's seen this as it was in the b3ta newsletter last week, but if not it's pretty freaky.
Just stare at the cross in the centre for a few seconds....
Source
Otherwise, if you have a million quid to spare (and who doesn't), why not buy some of Vincent Gallo's spunk? (surname not included)
It's strange, because despite being available most weekends for a pint and a bag of pork scratchings, there doesn't seemt to be a great deal of demand for mine. But then again how can I hope to match up to Mr Gallo's considerable talents:
'aside from being multi talented in all creative fields, he was also multi talented as an athlete, winning several awards for performing in the games of baseball, football and hockey and making it to the professional level of grand prix motorcycle racing. Mr. Gallo is 5'11" and has blue eyes. There are no known genetic deformities in his ancestry (no cripples) and no history of congenital diseases. If you have seen The Brown Bunny, you know the potential size of the genitals if it's a boy. (8 inches if he's like his father.) I don't know exactly how a well hung father can enhance the physical makeup of a female baby, but it can't hurt. Mr. Gallo also presently maintains a distinctively full head of hair and at the age of 43 has surprisingly few gray hairs. Though his features are sharp and extreme, they would probably blend well with a softer, more subtly featured female.'
But hey, you come here for music rather than to hear about celebrity spunk.
This may be a short post though, since I know very little about the two artists involved. Despite this being the third track by Digitalism i've posted in the last fortnight I still have no idea who they are. I've also, in the 30 seconds i've been looking, not been able to find out much about Munk... except that they release records on Gomma, and that their previous single 'Kick Out The Chairs' is the best record LCD Soundsytem ever recorded.
This Digitalism remix is off Munk's new 12" - and I nearly overlooked it after listening to the annoying 'you're all alone in the disco' vocal at the beginning. Stick with it though, as the vocal finishes after a minute and you can concentrate on rocking hard.
MUNK - DISCO CLOWN (DIGITALISM REMIX)
I wasn't going to post this as most of you have probably heard it. However, under the pretence of it being a slightly different mix ... kick out the chairs motherfuckers!
MUNK (with James Murphy & Nancy Whang) - KICK OUT THE CHAIRS (TOMBOY REMIX)
What a tune.
Off to OurDisco tonight - hopefully to listen to songs similar to those two. Then tomorrow it's a massive FA Cup tie for my local team - as Burnham take on the mighty Aldershot Town. This could be history in the making... come on you Blues!! A round two tie against Wycombe would be glorious.
Lastly... i'm having to give up on the mix for now. I just cannot get the damn thing downloading properly no matter what I do. I've tried yousendit, rapidshare, savefile.. and of course my server. I've also tried re-encoding it. The download buggers up no matter what I do. It'll be back at some point but don't hold your breath!
Mashed Potatoes? Why do you hate Mashed Potatoes?
I can't let the week go by without mentioning the release of Aphex Twin's 'Hangable Auto Bulb' CD.
This is the first time these classic tracks have been released on CD - to mark the 10 year anniversary of their original (and very limited) release on two 12"s. Although this re-release will probably mean that my pristine vinyl copies will now only be able to keep me in a champagne lifestyle for a night rather than a fortnight, it's great that more people will be able to hear these superb tracks.
For anyone with any interest in Aphex Twin, or in electronic music full stop, these records were a landmark release. Previously, although the sounds he used were (and still are) like nothing else we'd ever heard, Aphex worked his magic pretty much exclusively around the framework of a 4-4 beat. It was startling to listen to these records the first time, and hear the cut-up jungle rhythms that have been synonymous with most of his work since.
It could easily be argued that despite being so revolutionary, these records also marked the zenith of electronic music. Before this, Warp's still timeless 'Artificial Intelligence' series showed the possibilities of machine soul. Since HAB-day, rather than coaxing beautiful danceable sounds out of their machines, most producers have seemingly been trying to out-do each other in attempting to come up with the most complex drum programming possible. With a few notable exceptions (Boards of Canada; the first releases on Skam; Ulrich Schnauss, Global Goon, Cylob - in fact most Rephlex releases) the electronic scene has been in the creative doldrums.
It is remarkable how spoiled we were in those halcyon times. In my university days from '92 to '95, classic releases from the likes of B12, Black Dog, Likemind, Stasis, A.R.T., Clear and Autechre seemed to appear on a weekly basis - a fact that contributed a great deal to my enormous overdraft! Music may be the food of love, but it doesn't stop you going hungry when you've spent all your money on Autechre 12"s.
It was also the time when every Aphex release was a landmark event, unfailingly knocking the competition aside with sounds and rhythms (created by home-made synths) no-one else could even dream of. The Polygon Window album still sounds like it was made by aliens. It does seem after the overblown 'Drukqs' and the unfocused (or over-focused?) 'Analord' series that he has lost the plot a bit in recent years... however I still have complete faith. It may not be next time, but when you're least expecting it - and when he can be bothered - he'll pull another 'Windowlicker', 'Girl/Boy' or 'Polynomial-C' out of thin air.
AFX - EVERY DAY
From the second Hangable Auto Bulb 12" - and of course included on the CD.
APHEX TWIN - ICCT HEDRAL (PHILIP GLASS ORCHESTRATION)
From 1995's 'Donkey Rhubarb' EP, composer Philip Glass reworks this track into an atmospheric classical masterpiece.
The CD is available from Warpmart for £7.99. Get in there!
