So tomorrow Chris and I move into our apartment in Brighton MA. Exciting. There's a lot to get done before we're all settled though. I'm looking forward to getting back into a routine soon.
Reel 2 Reel - I Like to Move It
July 31, 2008
Moving Day
July 30, 2008
Put on your PJs
I feel like it's rare, in these days of our lives, for a band to jump right from obscurity to having a full LP on repeat in my iTunes. Artists are hyped up beyond belief before even releasing more than a couple official tunes (see: Santogold, A-Trak, Bloc Party, Yeasayer) so that by the time the first full length drops, it's old hat and they're a household name. At least...well...a hipsterapartmenthold name. Regardless, that's why Project Jenny, Project Jan took my ears by storm.
PJPJ is a self-described Electro-Karaoke duo act. One dude - who we'll call Sammy Rubin - fiddles knobs, presses the enter key, clicks mouse buttons, and does all those crazy things that a 2k8 DJ-type does when making music. Another dude - who we'll call Jeremy Haines (but sometimes we'll slip and call him Warren Haines) - sings loud, borderline obnoxious, insanely catchy melodies over the top. They're from Brooklyn, 'nuff said.
I first heard these guys playing at the Big Green Bus party at BG (thebiggreenbus.org, bitches), and they immediately caught my attention. Much dancing was had. Frantic and frenetic, this music gets me hyped up for anything - driving, running, dancing, writing, you name it. It's just edgy enough to keep my attention while not pissing me off because it's too out there. Maybe a little too much for some, it's perfect for me.
Here are a couple bomb tracks from the clunkily titled debut LP "XOXOXOXOXO". "Brooklyn" is so catchy it gets stuck in it's own head, "Zoobar" has an excellent southern/middle-eastern twang to it (fer rill), and "Marsupial" is just bounce-off-the-walls crazy. Peep this shit, it's hot.
Project Jenny, Project Jan - "Brooklyn"
Project Jenny, Project Jan - "Zoobar"
Project Jenny, Project Jan - "Marsupial"
July 28, 2008
Hipster Love Songs
So I visited Dartmouth this past weekend for Mike's Hat and I ended up running into a lot of people I realize that I had begun to really miss. I've come to peace with leaving, but I will always like going back and I have renewed faith that I will keep those friends. Also I got to see Nick Weir play ultimate for the first time. A spectacle to say the least.
The Black Angels - Its Your Touch
So while I'm reminiscing here are some smooth hipster ballads for when you're wooing, remembering, feeling blue or just straight chillin.
Sebastien Tellier - La Ritournelle (metronomy mix)
General Electrics - Tu M'Intrigues
Oh yeah and Sebastien Tellier's new album has a boob on the cover. He's a debonair fellow.
July 24, 2008
So
I pooped like 5 times today. I'm pretty sure that means I'm dying. So it's been nice knowing you.
It also makes me say "Whoa". Much like the bass on this A-Trak, um, trak. It's his first "single" from his "LP" which is the continuous Nike Run thing that's like 43 minutes. It's great. Really solid. Better than Aesop Rock's or LCD Soundsystem's, which is saying something because both of those are pretty effin' good. So check it out.
A-Trak - Say Whoa
Also, if you go back and listen to LCD Soundsystem's 45:33, you'll recognize a good like 12 minute run of what then became "Someone Great" - my personal fav-o-rite off of the overrated Sound of Silver (Hi Mike Lynch!). Oh, and here's a mash-up of it too. Just 'cause...ya know...mash-ups.
LCD Soundsystem - Someone Great
DJ STV SLV - Great! There It Is
July 23, 2008
Be Mine!
I'm not gonna ramble. Just wanted to posted these two vastly different but incredible variations on Robyn's "Be Mine!"
Robyn - "Be Mine [Ballad Version]"
Robyn - "Be Mine [Ocelot Mthrfckrs Remix]"
Enjoy!
Why so Serious?
Hello everyone. I hope you all have seen the Dark Knight by now, preferably in IMAX if possible. I loved the audible gasps, cheering and clapping in the theater. It brought me back to my childhood when people still used to clap during the credits of movies. I sure did. For me the greatness of the Dark Knight comes from its ability to keep a viewer emotionally engaged for a full two and a half hours. I was tense, nervous and really felt lonely sometimes just like good ole' Batman. I have no idea how Nolan's going to follow this one up, but part of me just wants him to walk away and leave this masterpiece as the finale. But.. thats not going to happen. I have faith though that the next one will still be good. Frank Miller's Return of the Dark Knight anyone? I was up in Maine this past weekend and whenever I found my mind wandering it was always back to the Dark Knight. I seriously can't get it out of my head and that is why it is a great film. Not the best ever you IMDB weirdos, but a great film nonetheless. I really can't stop thinking about it. Well, here's some songs that fit with it in my head.
Take a break. Listen to some tunes. Why so serious?
Daedelus - Sundown
Daedelus - Clockwork Springs
I also saw WallE last week, which was also a great movie. I laughed, I cried, I hurled. How do they make robots so cute? I don't get it. It has to be the huge eyes. I'm sure those guys at Pixar have some magic formula to make any character extremely cute. It works. Also, so many great 2001 A Space Odyssey references and genuine humor too. What a great movie. Its definitely geared towards an older audience though. Kids are not going to get all the references and subtle social critiques.
Icy Demons - Spywatchers
And lastly I'm really digging the new Wolf Parade album. The last track Kissing the Beehive is awesome. It picks you up and throws you around in a 12 minute shopping cart ride through a parking lot filled with burning cars. Again it reminds me of Batman... sort of. I mainly just wanted to post it.
Wolf Parade - Kissing the Beehive
Also, Chris and I are moving into our new apartment next week and housewarming gifts are appreciated and encouraged. Until next time. I'll be practicing my disappearing pencil trick.
July 20, 2008
Stu Reid Under The Covers
Music and pictures that I'm pretty psyched about, revolving around the theme of Covers, one of my personal faves.
I've been stewing on these tracks for a week or so now and think they're worth posting, since they've stayed on the top of my itunes recently played for a bit. A great combination of really great ideas and really horrible ideas.
The first comes from the boy in the corner, everyone's favorite captain, Dizzee Rascal. I loves me some Dizz, and this track is no different. A cover of The Ting Tings' "That's Not My Name" that flips it on its side with some racial themes to give it a little more weight. Some terrible off-key singing here that surprisingly doesn't kill the track. And best of all, a shout out from Dizzee to the Ting Tings. Picture Dizzee Rascal rocking out to the Ting Tings. Ahh, awesome. Here's both versions:
The Ting Tings - That's Not My Name
Dizzee Rascal - That's Not My Name
Up next is my favorite of the A Milli covers I've heard. Not technically a cover, I guess, since it comes from Chamillionaire's mixtape and just features the same beat, but I make the rules in this post, so I say it counts. Also, I didn't make a joke about "A Milli"ion covers, so I should get some slack. Regardless, some great criticism here of a boring rap industry, delays from Dre and Eminem, and a cute little Soulja boy shout-out. The Soulja boy call doesn't work as well the second time around, there are some plain stupid and empty lines, and a poorly executed breakbeat brings it down a couple notches. Worth a listen anyway, here are both versions:
Lil Wayne - A Milli
Chamillionaire - A Milli
Finally, a pretty dope cover of Katy Perry's "I Kissed A Girl". I have my issues with the original here - it plays on pretty cliche teenage boy fantasies and is pretty heteronormative (hi Lambda 10!). But it's so damn catchy! Here's a guilt-free cover by a classically trained pianist, Max Vernon. Takes a little time to get going, but one the synth kicks in, it's money in the bank. Just the cover here, turn on a radio for the original.
Max Vernon - I Kissed A Girl
Instrumentals
So instead of studying for my Monday midterm, I'm posting on the good ole blog. It turns out I'm really bad at writing about music in a timely manner, and I've therefore decided to have Ben Gordon run MP3 Intensity this summer. I did write six pretentiously hipster reviews for seeding round, and for what's it's worth, I'm pretty damn proud of my ability to sound like I know more about music than I actually do.
Anyway, here are a bunch of songs with no words. These more or less fall under the genre of post-rock. Honorable mention to Mogwai, El Ten Eleven, and Godspeed You! Black Emperor.
Explosions In The Sky is easily my favorite band from this genre, although their most recent album didn't thrill me. I found out about these guys the way I suspect most people found out about them: Friday Night Lights, a great movie made better by a unique and exceptional soundtrack. The theme from that flick, "Your Hand In Mine," is definitely an incredible song, but it's become pretty well-known and I suspect most of you already have it. And while "Your Hand" made for some great background music when "parking" with my gf in high school, I actually think, "The Only Moment We Were Alone" is their best song, mainly because it's so damn dynamic (how's that for alliteration?) and just fucking blows you away in the last minute. Instrumental tracks often employ on what I like to call the quiet-build-climax-repeat pattern, relying on a series of crescendos and decrescendos to make lyricless and usually lengthy tracks worth paying attention to. EITS does this so well here.
Explosions In The Sky - "The Only Moment We Were Alone"
Yndi Halda is a relatively unheard of post-rock band as far as I know. But damn, their shit's good. They have a very similar style to Explosions In The Sky and again do a great job with the quiet-build-climax-repeat thing. In fact, their 12-19 minute pieces are basically divided into multiple movements with recurring themes. Very cool. But to get to the point, they have one album consisting of a mere four tracks (each 12+ minutes). If you like Godspeed You! Black Emperor or Explosions or anything like that, I'd highly recommend pirating Enjoy Eternal Bliss off of waffles.fm or what.cd (ps, let me know if any of you guys want/need an invite). I'm very impressed by the last 2 minutes of this song, but you need the first 14 to really appreciate it.
Yndi Halda - "Dash And Blast"
Here's one that Dorner actually blitzed me way back in the fall upon my request for some quiet "piano songs" to study to. Although this song makes for horrible study music, it does have piano, which I'm always a sucker for. Jesse Victor, this one's for you.
65daysofstatic - "Radio Protector"
I only own one album by Do Make Say Think and have really only listened to this one song. But it's money. Pretty chill vibe in the beginning with the melodic sound effects, the entrance of a cool string instrument (could it really just be a guitar?) and what I'm pretty sure is a French horn (I fucking love French horns!). Halfway through it jumps into something a little more upbeat, electronically-fused with shit tons of sounds. One word description: groovy.
Do Make Say Think - "Hooray! Hooray! Hooray!"
July 18, 2008
Fuck You, Apollo Mission
I'm blogging and listening to Metro Station (Shake-Shake-Shake-Shake-Shake-It!) while riding on a bus at 60 mph.
Man truly has achieved his pinnacle.
July 17, 2008
Once You Go Black...
The title of this post really has nothing to do with what I’m about to write about, but I think it’s appropriate for my first written sermon on The Sally Ride Experience.
So, this summer, the entire world was finally allowed to illegally download the most highly awaited rap album of the past 2 years, Tha Carter 3. I’m not going to lie, I was extremely excited. I have all 139 songs Weezy released last year on mixtapes and liked about 130 of them. And I swear by The Carter 2 – it’s what made every ignorant music fan start calling him “The Best Rapper Alive” (more on that madness later). Anyway, Tha Carter 3 came out, and I listened to about 8 times straight. I’m not here to discuss how good the album is, I personally was very entertained by it and still listen to “A Milli” very frequently. What I want to discuss is the phrase that he did not invent by any means, but helped to popularize.
“No Homo”
Right after the thunder rolls through the beginning of the song “Lollipop”, Mr. Carter utters the phrase “No Homo” right as that syrupy-ass, I’m about to freak 9 girls on the dance floor of a beat comes in. Basically, in case you didn’t get it, Lil Wayne wants the world to know that he is not gay, and because he said “no homo” before 4 minutes of talking about lollipops, all is well.
Well, what I want the world to know is that this phrase is ruining my life.
Not only is it just inherently dumb and pretty derogatory, I have heard this phrase used on the streets of New York in some of the most ridiculous ways. These were the two worst (or best, depending on how you look at it)
Alphabet City – 2 weeks ago
I’m walking behind two boys, they looked about 12. I had my headphones on, not listening to Lil Wayne (“Maneater” by Hall & Oates on repeat, in case you were wondering, no homo). These kids were talking really loud, so I took off my headphones to listen to them and they were just talking back and forth, but every sentence contained a certain phrase… you guessed it… “no homo”. And the sentences were ones like,
“Yo, I gotta go pick up groceries for my moms, no homo”
“Well, call me when you get done with that, no homo”
“Okay man, see you soon, no homo”
It was the saddest moment in my life. It’s the moment I knew I can’t have kids that grow up in this, the “no-homo” generation. Basically, if you show any affection towards someone, that’s a little too gay, but if you end it with “no homo”, you’re in the clear to say anything. This is bad. Very bad.
The 1 Train, yesterday evening
The train is relatively empty, and there are two really dumb sounding 18ish looking girls sitting on the other side of the train from me. They are having a conversation, but every now and then, one of them will say something, they’ll look at each other, say “no homo” in unison, and then bust out laughing. Here’s an example:
Dumb Girl 1: OMG did you see Katie’s dress today?
Dumb Girl 2: Yes, it was so ugly. All I wanted to do was take it off of her and give her my clothes…
(dumb girl pause)
(dumb girl pause)
Dumb Girl 1 and 2: NO HOMO
(laughter)
(end scene).
I looked at both of them and had I not been raised so well and reared in the gentlemanly ways of the world, I would have 3-hit combo’d both of them from across the train (Dhalsim circa 1991)
So, Lil Wayne, even though you did give an amazing concert on MTV a week or so ago (It’s actually awesome), just know you are ruining my life on the regular and I’m almost reaching my breaking point. If I hear you use it one more time, I will not put any more of your quotes on my facebook wall. This is your final warning.
And yes, Andre 3000 is the best rapper alive. Anyone with 2 of the 5 senses knows that. That's the point of this article. Support Andre 3000.
I promise from now on, I'll follow the rules, post really awesome music that I love and such, but I had to get this out of my system. I apologize.
-Boo Radley
Duos
This post is about the duo of xxxchange and Pase Rock, both of whom have worked with Spank Rock in production etc. and are contributors to the musical collaborations of Fully Fitted. xxxchange has created some great remixes in the past months like this one of a new Daedelus track that really ups the tempo and brings forward the beat. Additionally, xxxchange lists peeing as one of his influences. Very commendable in my opinion.
Daedelus - Make it So (xxxchange remix)
Pase Rock raps in the vein of Spank Rock and in this track uses an infectous horn sample to really drive the track. Check them out at their blog along with fellow talented DJs Mr. Devlin and Darko here.
Pase Rock - Get Money Kids
July 16, 2008
Commercial Music
I bet all those hipsters who read this blog stopped reading when they saw my title. Good riddance, Mike Lynch. Nah, who am I kidding, I'm the whitest kid I know. I rode a decades old ladies bicycle to a bar trivia night last night. I volunteer for Barack Obama. Lather, rinse, repeat.
So, what I actually wanted to write about is this new trend I seem to be noticing - good music in commercials. I have absolutely no evidence to back this up, but I feel like it might have started with the early iPod commercials. Apple is still a big example of this - ask Yael Naim or Feist. But the trend of using fairly unknown, but fairly respected artists to back up your products does seem to be taking off. Off the top of my head, here are a few examples.
Walter Meego for Heineken.
Silversun Pickups for the All Star Game. (I really like this one.)
Citizen Cope for Acura.
Band of Horses for some type of voice activation tool.
Hem for Liberty Mutual.
There are literally thousands of even better examples. But these are the ones I've thought of recently. Besides the spread of fairly good music, I like hearing 30 seconds of a song at a time when I'm not really expecting it. Like a little kick of entertainment to keep you going.
BEEBOP OUT
July 13, 2008
Get Strung: From Dorkestra to the Illharmonic
Look. We'd all be lying if we said we weren't dorks in middle school or high school. All of us had stupid hair cuts, thick glasses, terrible style, and awful taste in music. In 8th grade I was really into Limp Bizkit, ferchrissakes. But that's not to say that old-school dorkitude can't someday transform into a higher appreciation for dope-itude.
For me, most recently, this has come to light through the unearthing of some bad-ass hip hop albums featuring prominent strings. I grew up spending every Saturday of my high school life driving into Philadelphia and playing the cello for 3 hours with the Philadelphia Sinfonia Youth Orchestra. I was a grade A Dork. I also learned to love me some Dvorak, thrive on Bach's 6 Cello Suites, and tell some good viola jokes. What do a viola and a lawsuit have in common?
Everyone is happy when the case is closed.
I am happy that the case is open on these glorious tracks, however. They combine some kick-ass violins playing either classical greats (the Miri Ben-Ari track features Dvorak's New World Symphony and Black Violin's "Brandenburg" is um...Brandenburg) or some new tunes morphed to rock a hip hop beat. I've been spinning these three artists for the past couple weeks non-stop, and can't get enough, especially of the Black Violin album.
String players should do this more often. Real rappers should use strings more seriously. I should quit my job and become the first hip-hop cellist. Bakes, you wanna rap?
P.S. I'm posting a bunch of tunes since Lamar soiled and can't figure out how to use the interwebs. Philly reprazent.
Black Violin - Brandenburg
Black Violin - Sleepin'
Black Violin - Dirty Orchestra
Nuttin' But Stringz - Broken Sorrow
Miri Ben-Ari - New World Symphony (f. Pharoahe Monch and Kanye West)
I Technically Work Here Too
Jesus you guys are prolific. And despite Scotty Bakes' attempts to teach me, I still don't know much about "embedding" these "mp3" files that you guys "listen to." (Look at that - I'm a text-only Chris Farley). So I'll just report that music still exists in Philadelphia. I lost one of those black things that cover iPod earbuds, so now my commute is extremely uncomfortable, as far as my left ear is concerned. But I'm pretty sure there are still, you know, pleasing sounds and tones to be found in the city.
I'll go look for some over the next few weeks.
BEEBOP OUT.
July 10, 2008
Summer Haze
Summer is upon us and here in Boston we're stuck in that unending cycle of humidity and afternoon thunderstorms. As Friday rolls around everyone flees the city and head north to New Hampshire or Maine. I am very typical in this respect, along with my sports loyalties and as such my posts are not as frequent as I would like.
Flying Lotus is perfect for summer driving. Sounding like a twisted mixture of personal favorites Burial and Madvillain with a little Four Tet sprinkled in for seasoning, Flying Lotus creates unique experimental hip hop that transcends electronic, dub step and hip hop altogether.
Flying Lotus - Comet Course
Here we get Flying Lotus uses vocals from Lil Wayne in this little number that combines the soaring bells of Four Tet and the lazy, grainy beats of Madvillain to great effect. Flying Lotus's new album Los Angeles is out now.
Flying Lotus - Robo Tussin
An added bonus: A Flying Lotus remix of Madvillain's Shadows of Tomorrow ---- Ballin!
Madvillain - Shadows of Tomorrow (Flying Lotus Remix)
July 4, 2008
Today We Celebrate Our Independence Day
All of us here at TSRE wish you an enjoyable and hopefully alien-free 4th of July American holiday.
Broken Social Scene - KC Accidental
Here are some tracks to get you through the day whatever you're doing.
Cool Kids - 88
Lupe Fiasco - Gold Watch
July 1, 2008
Another view of MGMT
Yeah so I like Mgmt, but that's not a huge surprise. There are a lot of things to like about Mgmt. They are a couple of guys from Wesleyan, a small New England liberal arts college, who make fun anthemic electro-synth jams that everyone from the blogosphere hipster to middle aged guys can bob their head to. A number of contributors to this blog and I saw Mgmt and Yeasayer in Boston this past winter and in all honesty I was not overly impressed with the show. Yeasayer was by far the more experienced showmen and they characterized the young guns of Mgmt as the cute guys on tour. When Mgmt took the stage the cute description was acutely visible in the host of cool hipster accessories and hairstyles of the band. Mgmt had some great moments, but really strayed towards trying to emulate the anthemic rock greats and not their snyth pop energy. Instead of actually playing Kids they simply held a singalong from a recording during the encore. Despite my lukewarm reception, I still enjoy Mgmt. Here are a couple of lesser known nuggets from their earlier Time to Pretend EP that I like just as much, if not more than anything from their full length.
Mgmt - Indie Rokkers
Indie Rokkers has a subtlety and quiet drive that is lacking on the full length. While the EP version of Kids also has that simplicity and intimacy that just gets blown away on the more mastered version.
Mgmt - Kids (from the EP)
In more current news, Justice (those crafty French and their beats) has recently remixed Electric Feel to great effect. Already one of my favorite tracks from Oracular Spectacular, the Justice remix disrupts the flow of the song, but also adds some heavy beat breakdowns that serve to emphasize the song's strong beat. The synth pop of Mgmt is transformed by Justice into heavy chords of techno destruction that make Mgmt from cute little hipster kids into mature club bangers. Somewhere in Mgmt's oeuvre from the EP, to the LP and the remixes there is a sound I love, but as of now its a little scattered.
Mgmt - Electric Feel (Justice Remix)
