Maybe you’re the one who’ll complete me

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Bloc Party has a new album out called Intimacy. I think it’s fantastic, but I have liked everything this band has put out. It speaks to many parts of me. I love rock. I am a DJ. I like diversity. I like indie bands, too. Bloc Party is probably one of the most popular bands in the indie genre.

Despite their popularity, this new album seems to be getting negative feedback: sounding overproduced to sounding messy and utilizing too many effects.

“Were you hoping for a miracle?”

From a previous version of their website:

“Bloc Party is an autonomous unit of un-extraordinary kids reared on pop culture between the years of 1976 and the present day …”

Wipe those dirty hands on me… Check out Halo:


[Download Halo]
Is Intimacy cutting edge? Not for Bloc Party. But it is different from their previous albums, Silent Alarm and Weekend in the City, in many ways. Half of this album is dreamy and subtle, with the other half showcasing grinding guitars laced with electronica. No real difference there, until you break down some more subtle elements: It is different from past work in the perspective of songwriting. Okereke had never really written songs about his life and relationships before this album, but as I have said before…heartache makes for amazing songs. 

Intimacy, aptly named, is about Okereke’s year long relationship with…well, I couldn’t find out. I couldn’t find out if it was a male or a female. Much of his life is vague and mysterious. He has compared himself to famous bisexuals (David Bowie and Morrissey) and has discussed the homoerotic story behind the song “I Still Remember” as semi-autobiographical. It doesn’t matter. A broken heart is very often the spark that ignites a great piece of work.

And to satisfy the DJ in me, I present you with a remixed version of Mercury:

[Download Mercury (CSS remix)]

Like a relationship, this piece of work is both confident and unsure.
Graceful and clumsy. 

With that, I ask you to gracefully drive to your local music store on October 28th, and confidently pick up this CD.

I’ve seen this band live, and was very impressed, so if you get the opportunity to see them in your city, make it happen.

"Sometimes", the fans of James swear they can see your soul!

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This is going to be a very short and sweet post. I saw quite possibly the best show out of the probably one hundred or so I’ve seen in my short lifetime this Monday. Now, you folks probably will go, “Who’s James?” I’ve heard that a lot. They’re the guys who sang the song “Laid”. You know it. Trust me. The lyrics start off with the following:

“This bed is on fire with passionate love/
The neighbors complain about the noises above/
but she only cums when she’s on top.”


So that song aside, they have an astounding body of work that most people just don’t really realize. The album Laid is a Brian Eno masterpiece. The album starts off with two of my favorite James songs – “Out To Get You” and “Sometimes (Lester Piggott)”. Below is the latter.

So, the band finished off their setlist with this song before coming back for their encore. Let me tell you, it was one of the most amazing things I’ve ever been a part of! I recorded the video of the song being performed, but the crowd there stole the show. You’ll need to watch the video to understand what I mean.

Now, if that wasn’t the best thing ever, they did something else later on that I’ve never seen a band do. Especially one that’s as well-known as James. The finished with their song “Come Home”, and invited a young man by the name of Jonah on stage to play guitar with them. I found Jonah had posted on the fan page of James’ on facebook, so I messaged him to ask how that came about. Here’s what he wrote (he’s in the middle of the photo posted below!):

At Sunday’s show, I held up a sign asking Tim if I could come up and play “Come Home” with them. I figured the chances of it happening were pretty much nil, but I also figured there was no harm in asking. Tim read the sign and told me, “Sorry, it isn’t on the set list tonight. Will you be here tomorrow? Maybe we can do it then.” I figured he was kidding, but then I ran into him on the street after the show and asked him if he was seriously considering letting me come on stage with them. He asked if I could actually play, if I am any good. I told him that yes, I can play. He said, “Okay, I’ll talk to the band about it.” I still figured the chances of it actually happening were about 1%, and I figured that if I did end up on stage that they would give me an acoustic and maybe not even put a mic on it, just to minimize the chances of me ruining the song if it turned out that I was some imposter who really did not know how to play or I got stage fright. So, when Saul took off his own guitar, handed it to me, and told me to go to it, I was blown away!

So if you all don’t know about this band yet? Go buy their albums! They are not a band that disappoints!

I know you’re not ready to live

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How many band requests do you get on MySpace? Do you pay attention? You should. In my never-to-be-humble opinion, it’s one of the most worthwhile reasons to have the social utility. Discovering new music, and keeping tabs on your favorite bands. Well, if you live and breathe music, like I do.

Scanners recently added me as a friend, and within a moment after checking out their page, speaking of breathing music, my lungs rejoiced. It was like hearing the voice that’s been inside me all my life. I love it. It’s Siouxsie or Aimee or Michelle… I definitely hear Chrissy and even the Pretenders in some of these tracks, and the influence of Tori and her piano makes an appearance as well. I can’t help but compare this gorgeous voice belonging to lead singer Sarah Daly to the soulful singers I grew up with.

I’m in love with my digital toy
My joy machine always there to enjoy

“Lowlife” is a song that should be played on the radio… Should be number one with a bullet… The opening chords make me so happy, the angry but clean voice that challenges the actions of a lover… It’s brilliance. I love it. Check it out:

When I listen to this album, I imagine I am back in time, I am Chrissy Hynde setting off for London to discover herself within the emerging punk scene. It’s a beautiful thing.

Remix EPs for some of these teriffic tracks are available, and they’ve now recorded a second album, so stay tuned!

Meet me after school and I’ll beat you like gorilla

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FUCK!

/giggle

I always wanted to start a post with that word. It’s a beautiful word! There is a lady at the inALLcaps.com HQ that hates when I say that word! As soon as the word fuck comes out of my mouth she says, “Fudge.”

No. It’s fuck. It’s a great word. Embrace it.

Ok. Let’s move on.

I am desperate to get something good to you. But I got nothing. Well I do. I have some super writing in my head for you. But it’s not gonna happen today. I need to let it incubate a little longer. Instead I have a quick story that ties in to a song you can download. We are gonna do this fast so I can get back to the game show “Hole in the Wall”. It’s a hilarious show. But it will never last more than one season. Catch it while you can!

Ok…c’mon…let’s get to this already.

I just got an iPhone. I get shitty reception. Which sucks, because it is a phone after all. But other than that it’s one of the coolest devices I have ever laid my greedy hands on. Not only is it an iPod but it’s a handheld computing device! The applications for this thing are incredible! Most of them you can download and install for free! One such amazingly free application is called Shazam!

Why is it great? I’ll explain:

You got a hot blonde in the car. You throw a mix tape in the ole stereo. The first track is some funky number. You both start shaking your asses in the car seat! Life is good!

Then your worst nightmare! She says, “Who is this?”

Oh oh.

You forgot. How lame. But you were smart enough to install Shazam on your phone! You just have the app listen to the song and the application tells you what the artist and song is!

What was the song?

Bonde do Rolê – Office Boy (Architecture in Helsinki remix)

[Download Track Office Boy (Architecture in Helsinki remix)]

Cover me!

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Here’s something interesting I just heard over the weekend. It was a really cool cover of Bruce Springsteen’s “Dancing In The Dark”. If you’ve somehow never heard the song, don’t worry, I’ll help fill you in. Most of you, however, probably have heard this song. At this point, most people born the year it came out would be approaching their mid-20’s. Which doesn’t really make me feel that much better. Hell, my girlfriend was born just two years before this came out. Yes, Father Time is a bastard. If I could pistol whip him, I would. And hard.

Well, that’s beside the point. What I found was a very cool cover done by an artist that goes by the name Paper Fist. You can view his MySpace page here. Here’s better when you check out the page. He also covers “Venus In Furs”! Don’t know that one, either? Then we need to work on this innerweb friendship, pally. I thought I knew you. All kidding aside, anyone that can pull off pretty good covers of both The Boss and the Velvet Underground is quite alright in my book.

So just for a ‘blast from the past’ sort of moment where we can be embarrassed how white people danced, I give you Springsteen’s original. Actually, white people still dance terribly. Myself included. Just endure the pain, though, because you have to admit the song is actually still really fucking good. And does anyone else wonder if the Carlton Banks dance from Fresh Prince of Bel Air was inspired by this video?

Go here for the video. Unfortunately, Bruce won’t allow us to embed these.

And below, you’ll find the cover of the song done by Paper Fist.

And as always, please support the artists!

I’m not scared, But this is happening

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Aaron Gillespie is a pretty impressive individual. He has been drumming for the band Underoath since he was fourteen years old, and remains the only member of the band to be featured on every recording. In 2006, he recorded nearly all the instruments for “Southern Weather”, the debut album for his side project, The Almost. Many compare Aaron to Dave Grohl, because of the drummer-turned-frontman career path. But Gillespie’s achievements to date, nevermind what he will achieve in the future, are on a much different scale.

(Yes, that was a pun. Was it a bad one?)

As a member of Underoath, Gillespie began singing harmonic vocals on 2004’s “They’re Only Chasing Safety.” This was the first album I heard of theirs, and I remember saying they needed to take a lesson in Screamo. I couldn’t stand the way it seemed like every lyric was screamed, because I really prefer to hear the growling and screaming in bridges and choruses. Well, I need to get used to it because Underoath isn’t Screamo. They’ve been referred to most often as Deathcore, or Metalcore. And as abrasive and messy as deathcore can sound, Underoath has steadily and handily delivered a cleaner, more precise sound while staying true to their roots all these years.

“Safety”, the band’s fourth album, was written after the breakup of a very serious relationship for Gillespie, referring to it as if he had ruined someone’s life. He felt like he couldn’t move on and get married before releasing these feelings, so the album was a matter of great importance to him.

Stop saying that we’re invincible
You’re uninviting, unrewarding
And I’m misinforming you

From the followup album, “Define the Great Line”, the video for “You’re Ever So Inviting” won one of MTV’s Battle of the Videos in 2007.

“Define” was written from the band’s core, was a favorite of all members, and was going to be a very hard act to follow.

On September 2, 2008, Underoath released “Lost in the Sound of Separation”. They used two producers, three tracking rooms, four drumkits, and five amps over forty-two days of recording. Technically, it’s a masterpiece. And individually, each member contributes an amazing amount of talent to the sound. But I still go back to Aaron and the drums. It’s a thing to behold. And I’m curious to know whether he will go back to using the deep kickdrums (“They look cool live, but they don’t sound awesome”), rather than the 14- and 16-inch drums he was convinced to use for much of the record (“Cuz that’s how they sound good!”) , when the band goes on tour this fall with Saosin.

One of my favorite tracks from “Lost” is a bit of a departure from most of their songs, and does remind me of a The Almost product. Regardless, please enjoy “Too Bright To See Too Loud To Hear”:

I find it necessary to properly represent the band and the album, however, so for you: Track 3: A Fault Line, A Fault of Mine. (Should have been Track 4. I think it’s the best on the disc.)

Are you ready to give some Deathcore a try?

Everybody’s deranged…

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…and I wonder what happened the day that I fell from the sky.

I am lying on a tiny bed in a small hotel room that I am sharing with my brother in London. I’m reading Anthony Bourdain’s book, Kitchen Confidential, when my brother rips out his iPod headphones to exclaim, “The new Faint album is amazing!”

At this point my head is all messed up from jet lag and I just want some peace and quiet, but for all my brother doesn’t know… Music is one thing he does know.

It’s in his blood. Well, okay, that is stretching it. There are no musicians in our family. But from the moment he could crawl, I was pushing music all over him; giving him tapes and vinyl to hear. Discussing music when he was able to speak intelligently (some would argue he still doesn’t speak intelligently…) When I got the job in the music store, and was taking home every free demo from the record labels I could get my hands on, I did my part and shared it all with my lil’ bro.

We share many similar tastes in music, obviously. But I will point out that he was on the cutting edge of the emo/screamo movement, so he has shown me a few new things over the years. In fact, since he was the first person to ever say the word screamo, I thought for sure he had invented the name for this genre.

So when he is passionate about some music…I know this is the real deal. It’s like an air-raid siren going off!

Granted: I already knew about the Faint. He introduced me to Danse Macabre some time in 2001, and I remember thinking…he’s slipping! Well, let me explain…

I have been DJing for about a decade now. The Faint are a dance-punk/new wave/electro band. I was on the cutting edge of electronic music and playing electro style records since the mid 90s, and I mean the original electro was popular in the early 80s, so I felt like this was nothing THAT new or amazing. I already had some records in that same vein that would truly blow his mind.

But Danse Macabre was good! I would listen to it a lot, epecially impressed with the track Glass Danse. It wasn’t until maybe a few months ago that I realized there was a remix album for Danse Macabre! Here I found some of my favorite DJs getting in on the remixing! Junior Sanchez, This White Duke, Photek, Tommie Sunshine!

Back to London.

“There is a new album?” I say, eyes peering over my book to the bed on the other side of the room.

“Yeah…August 8th, it’s awesome. I can’t stop listening to it. I listened to it the whole way here non stop.” That was a 9 hour plane ride…and this kid doesn’t exaggerate. He continues, “I’ll let you borrow my iPod later so you can check it out. But right now I haven’t gotten enough of it.” He then puts back in his earbuds, and I don’t hear a peep from him until he is snoring loudly 2 hours later.

Apparently he never got enough of it. It wasn’t until I got back to the States that I even got to listen to the The Faint’s new album Fasciinatiion.

And I loved it instantly! It’s so damn good. It blows my mind that some kids from Nebraska could come up with something like this! They even broke off from their label and produced this independantly! DIY ethos!

No official remix album in the works yet, but hypem.com is filled with unofficial remixes of just about everyone’s favorite track: The Geeks Were Right. But for you, the original:

[Download The Faint – The Geeks Were Right]

…and my favorite remix so far of this single:

[Download The Faint – The Geeks Were Right (DIOY,Y? Remix)]

so now all you have left to do is buy the album…and you get to sleep well knowing that your money is going to the band and not some bullshit label executive.

Give Me Every Juan Maclean!

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Yes, it’s a bit late this Wednesday, but I had to wait for YouTube to upload a video I took at the Juan Maclean show this past Monday. Since I have a PC, and PCs blow more than the winds in Chicago, I lost the video for “Happy House”. Thing is, my new camera stops recording at 10 minutes, and it wouldn’t fit on one video! A wonderful thing, however. All wasn’t lost, though. I got the following video. It’s of their track “Give Me Every Little Thing”. After the video, I have a little more in the way of goodness to give to you all from this very underrated and underappreciated DFA band.

I absolutely love that song, but I have to admit something. Cajmere – aka Green Velvet – made an absolutely ridiculous remix of this. DJs all over just beat that tune to death, and rightfully so. So here you go, boys and girls.

[Download The Juan Maclean – Give Me Every Little Thing (Cajmere Mix)]


Pretty cool, huh? Yeah, I think so, also. They have a lot of cool stuff floating around, so I’d be lame to not tell you folks to go out and check them out. They have a rather recent single out that kicks just as much ass. It’s the aforementioned “Happy House”, and as a former DJ, I have to say I could squeeze this into a set and drop Full Intention’s “(I Love) America” pretty easily right behind that. It’s very reminiscent of the days of house when it was coming back up here in the US. You can judge for yourself!

And just to whet your appetite for some more music? Here’s that Full Intention cut I just mentioned. An unbelievable and timeless track!

As always, if you enjoy what you hear, please buy it to support the artists!

Tired of Being Sexy

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They’re not new to the scene… And they’re not new to music bloggers… But chances are, they’re new to you. Don’t punish yourself for not running to look up the artist whose song played in that cool iPod Touch commercial. Here’s your chance to discover CSS.


This video was actually made for fun by a British kid, not unlike any other youtube video, but found by Apple’s ad agency and launched in their campaign, with barely any tweaking done at all. Amazing, huh!

CSS is a crazy, fun-loving, post-riot-grrrrl band (plus one dude) from Brazil. The name is short for Cansei de Ser Sexy, which is Portuguese for Tired of Being Sexy. I love the gung-ho manner in which this group embraces, worships, and sometimes caricaturizes American pop culture in their music, lyrics, stage presence, and not least of all in the selection of the band name (a Beyonce quote.)


The music is very electro, very synth, very 80’s. Yet, watch them live and you get to enjoy the hard-rocking guitar-strumming L7 style female hair band fun that everyone seems to have forgotten about. They are crazy. They are nuts. So are their fans. And they are having the time of their lives. In fact, while forming the band, they really just asked themselves who they wanted to hang out with and who they had the most fun drinking with. Playing music you love and getting away with singing some of the most “naughty” lyrics in a foreign tongue, living up to that “just have fun playing crappy [good] music” ideal that Sonic Youth embodied… What could be better than that?

This track, by the way, is not an example of those impish-sounding naughty lyrics, but rather has been pointed out by lead singer Lovefoxxx as one of her favorite songs to perform live. Enjoy Air Painter:

[Download CSS – Air Painter]

CSS is not going to put out a concept album any time soon. In fact, they never intended to be touring the nation and giving interviews. They set out to play, rock, sing, drink, and have fun. And now we all get to experience it. So lighten the heart and put on a stupid outfit and buy one of the CSS albums. And catch them if they hit a festival near you!

The best soundtrack EVAR!

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I needed to do that dumb intentional misspelling. Just to be oddly poignant. Because let’s be honest, spelling words “EVAR” of “TEH FUNNAY” could be one of the dumbest things ever. If you do it? You should be locked up in a room with Robert Downey, Jr., and have a bag of coke thrown on you. Good luck surviving that.

But that’s a total sidetrack. Here I just wanted to discuss the best soundtrack ever. No, it doesn’t feature anything by Bette Midler. I know you’re disappointed. In all honesty, if you’re a fan of Bette Midler, I’d have to question your overall character. Hey, to each their own, I guess. Sorry. The sarcasm is flowing like PBR off tap into my mouth today.


So for the honors of best soundtrack? No offense to Trainspotting‘s wonderful soundtrack, but this flick holds it down. Which movie? Why, it’s one of the more underrated ones, in my opinion. Judgment Night features Denis Leary and his band of merry thugsters. They chase Emilio Estevez, Cuba Gooding, Jr., and Jeremy Piven through the rough streets of a full on ghetto and it makes for a pretty good flick.

The best part is the soundtrack. It features hip-hop artists – circa 1993 – with alt-rock and metal bands. The listing of tracks is as follows:

1. Just Another Victim – Helmet/House Of Pain
2. Fallin’ – Teenage Fanclub/ De La Soul
3. Me, Myself & My Microphone – Living Colour/Run D.M.C.
4. Judgment Night – Biohazard/Onyx
5. Disorder – Slayer/Ice-T
6. Another Body Murdered – Faith No More/Boo-Yaa T.R.I.B.E.
7. I Love You Mary Jane – Sonic Youth/Cypress Hill
8. Freak Momma – Mudhoney/Sir Mix-A-Lot
9. Missing Link – Dinoasur Jr./Del Tha Funky Homosapien
10. Come And Die – Therapy?/Fatal
11. Real Thing – Pearl Jam/Cypress Hill

So now I guess I should give you the best part – the music! So here are two tracks from the movie. “Disorder” – by Ice-T and Slayer – is one incredibly angry tune! But if this doesn’t make you get fired up and breaking stuff, then you need a therapist. Because all of that pent up anger inside just does you no good. For real. The other one I’ve chosen is on the other side of the emotional spectrum. Del Tha Funkee Homosapien is part of the Hieroglyphics crew. It consists of other hip-hop artists from the Bay Area such as Souls of Mischief and Casual. He’s teamed up here with Lou Barlow’s Dinosaur, Jr. for a really mellow jam called “Missing Link”. Well, in comparison to “Disorder”, that is.

And again, please buy it if you like it! In this case, either the movie or soundtrack will do. They’re both worth it!