Jerk Chicken.

Thunderheist - Jerk it.

thunderheist - jerk it from thatgo on Vimeo.

Thunderheist was one of my favorites of last year for sure. Strong beats and a killer electro funk sound. This video is just the bestest.

Keep it moving.

Time to start updating this little blog again. It's summer and there are so many good songs to talk about.

Crystal Castles. Courtship Dating


It seems that the Castles are finally starting to get some mainstream love with this song off their full length. Personally, I prefer the thrash boom beat of 'Love and Caring' over this track, but it has a certain sly appeal to it. I need to nip on down to the shop and buy this on vinyl already.

Black Ghosts. Anyway You Choose to Give it


I'm surprised that the Black Ghosts haven't gotten bigger faster. It's like a lighter version of digitalism with less post-punk and more soul. Very light and fun but still powerful. The keyboards in the chorus are lovely.

Pilooski. 3 Songs.


This is such a beautiful song. The bass is great of course, not to mention the really great clap sound to build up the rather quick beat. The star is Valli's voice. It's so pleading and strong and really makes the song jump up to another level. Pilooski makes it shine with this edit. Northern Soul never sounded so good. Very Mark Ronson.

Frankie Valli - Begging (Pilooski Re-edit)

Pilooski also worked his magic on this Pointers sister track.

The Pointer Sisters - Send Him Back (Pilooski Edit)

The Mystery Jets are a 4 piece from the UK who make power punk pop. Very cheesy and 80's with the suits to back it up.

The Mystery Jets - Two Doors Down (Pilooski Remix)

Here's the original:




Venetian Snares. Gentleman


I remember buying my first Venetian snares CD about 7 years ago. Making Orange Things was pretty wild stuff at the time. He's always tried to make jungle/drum and bass powerful and unexpected. Something it should always be. I feel most drum and bass in America is much too static and boring with the same amen beat and boring commercial sound. VS keeps it razor with his new album, and you should go buy it!


JT and Casino Inc. My Love


Casino Inc. More good shit from Paris.

Justin Timberlake - My Love (Casino Inc. Disco Remix)


Civil Terror. Surrounded by Assholes.

Again, all the good punk rawk and core is in europe! Civil terror is how hardcore should be. Influenced by Infest, fast, and full of searing piss takes. Girls, Girls, Girls is one of my favorite. I also love that they look like normal guys... no sketchy awful tattoos and plugs, just sweet straight forward hardcore tunes. This is the whole album for you to digest and enjoy. Or beat a small child with.

Civil Terror - Surrounded by Assholes.


Martriden.


If you like a bit of Emperor with your death metal this group is for you. Dynamic and crisp and heavy and thick. Check them out on the space and enjoy the Calling.

Raaaaaaaaah!
The album art is bloody awful though.

Dance, Not Dance.

And that is the question. This place is getting dusty...

KID CUDI


This young fella has some serious potential, and anybody who plays with a JT track has my attention. His new single is out and it's a great piece with lots of beeps and space.

We all love crookers
Kid Cudi - Day n Nite (CrookersRemix)

Check out the original.

And his Lovestoned freestyle. Love this track.

CRYSTAL CASTLES


CC has finally released their full length. Good times is the new single. It's a bit more upbeat than most of their stuff and reminds me of something...

Crystal Castles - Good times (Fitforuse Edit)

PARALLELS



The live drummer for Crystal Castles has made some excellent robo80sElectro. I can't stop listening to it. Minimal yet driving. Go to myspace to download more.

Parallels - Magnetics

BANGERS AND CASH


NSFW Ironic scenester sexism. What more is there to say?
Sadly the girl's flow is pretty weak...


DANCE, NOT DANCE


Fuck it. I'm doing my own dance night.

Amazing cover.

Does it seem strange to you?
The confetti, the balloons, the mile-wide grins?
The victory dance to welcome in the heir
To a state of disrepair?
Cause it sure seems strange to me
They're acting like they won the lottery
But shouldn't they feel terror at the task that lies ahead?
Of feeding, housing people the system's left for dead?
Could I have hit the nail much harder on the head?
It's profits before lives; they are motivated by greed:
First they taught us to depend
On their nation-states to mend
Our tired minds, our broken bones, our failing limbs,
And now they've sold off all the splints and contracted out
the tourniquets
And if we jump through hoops, then we might just survive.
Is this what we deserve?
To scrub the palace floors?
To fight amongst ourselves?
As we scramble for the crumbs they spit out
Frothing at the mouth about the
Scapegoats that they've chosen for us
With every racist pointing finger
I hear the goose-steps getting closer
They no longer represent us.
Is it not our obligation to confront this tyranny?

Back to Black.

The December Sound.


I can't stop listening to this band. Top notch psych music from Boston. It reminds me of Trail of the Dead in the sonic capacity of the guitar but with much better songs underneath. Great melody, almost haunting, but very powerful rock. Must have.

The December Sound - No Heaven like Hell.

The Whitsundays.

These fellows from california should be on a nuggets comp. Poppy garage with some very airy production value. The vocals are really fab and smooth over the crispy drums. Everything is well played and sticks in your head.

The Whitsundays -- It must be me.

Propagandhi.

Always a big favorite of mine.

"I guess life is just a popularity contest
Success, the ability to perform within a framework of obedience
Just ask the candy-coated Joy-Cam rock-bands
selling shoes for venture-capitalists,
silencing competing messages,
Rounding off the jagged edges"

Wed already.

The Depreciation Guild.



If you enjoyed Slowdive but wish they had some smart drums, or remember how great Medicine was, this band will make you happy. The aptly titled Depreciation Guild is Shoegaze with programmed drums. Sounds great. Not only that but you can download the entire album for free.

/thedepreciationguild/


The Cinematics.


I Really love this track. It has a bit of an 80's big pop sound in the production. The Cinematics have had an album out for almost a year, but that doesn't mean you can't jump in and love them too. If you like the editors and want something less Joy Division.

The Flirtations.


Such a great song. Three girls from South Carolina belting out the soul in England.
The way her voice drops during "he's got me all won, Can I get him?" gets me every time.

Step Back.

Talk Taxis.


Somebody is channeling Stiff little fingers. Or is it Gang of Four? With a bit of The Wedding Present? Smashing good stuff anyway. Talk Taxis is from london and doesn't have anything out yet, so go lurk their myspace page.

Talk Taxis - Liverless.

And some video fun:


I May never. That has to be Jake Burns singing there doesn't it?

The Numbers.


Psych Rock with a bit of a twist. Mostly it's just really good pop songs with some fuzzy guitar/organ and nicely produced drums. I think I like Fantasy Life the best because the vocals are so clear, but I want to Believe has a really nice build to it. Also, worst name in the world if you're trying to find them on tha internets.

The Numbers - I want to Believe.
The Numbers - Fantasy Life.

Xiu XIu.


Xiu Xiu actually pulled off a cover of under pressure where the bass isn't the focal point. Pretty nifty trick. This is off the new one Women as Lovers.

Xiu Xiu - Under Pressure.

The Gossip.

I'm not a huge fan of the gossip. I feel like they need a good remix to bring out their full potential as a band. More over the top Disco please.

The Gossip - Yr Mangled Heart (Guns N Bombs Trashbags Remix)

Robyn.


Go! Go! Ocelot! Decent video, just give it a second.

Monday night.

Prinzhorn Dance School.


This is all about sparse clean bass and not much else. The vocals sell it with warm rich tones and guitar high points here and there. It kind of reminds me a bit of a very stripped down Huggy Bear trying to sound like the white stripes. Very minimal and repetitive pop. Maybe it's just the accent though. They have a nice page too. No myspace slacking for these two.

Prinzhorn Dance School - Worker.
Prinzhorn Dance School - Eat, Sleep.

The Harlem Shakes.


"Think Housemartins meet the Shins with Beach Boys harmonies and a dash of Eno-style weirdness. "

That's what their website say.
I couldn't be bothered to think up my own and I'm not a huge shins fan (Sorry.), but I dig this.

The Harlem Shakes - Sicko!

Malsain.



Norway still has some fine black metal. I really like all the new strains and expansions that the genre is taking. Malsain is very mid-tempo and creepy, but with just enough power and force to make it fun. Also, the singer is named Skumring. Also, check out that bald fella.... is he not disturbing? Dig around on their website and I promise you'll find a great picture of him.

Malsain - Cement Forest.

Dark at 5:30.

Centurions Ghost.


Entombed beating up conversion while Celtic Frost watches and detunes their guitars. Fun stuff from England. The vocals take time to grow on me, but the music is highly enjoyable. Thick and heavy with plenty of twists.

Centurions Ghost - Black Hearts Will Break.


Heads we Dance.




A poppy britsh magnetic fields. Very pet shop boys. Not much else to say but a great track sing along with. The production is very top 40 80's.

Heads we Dance - Heart is Set on you.



The Raveonettes.


Danish pop with fuzzy guitars and a nice beat. The video is pretty creepy.......until that guy starts dancing.
I could really do without that.


Phil Ochs.





This is a strange clip with some very serious looking kids in the background. One of the best anti-war songs ever written. I'd take Phil Ochs over bob Dylan any day. His collection of political folk is stark, powerful, and even a bit funny sometimes.

How great were they?

I remember the first time I heard poptones on the radio. Maybe 2 am on this "alternative" late night radio show. Of course, I love bass and the bass was amazing, it was pretty much the entire song. Then with lydon doing his thing but in a much more minimalist impersonal sort of way. The ultimate minimal band.

Poptones: The actual song goes on for a good 8 Minutes, but its cut down here in a nice way.




Flowers really took the openness to a new level with almost nothing but drums and sporadic noises coming in and out.



Public Image Limited is an amazing track and not bad for dancing if you have to. The bass is so singular and heavy but poppy at the same time. Perfect. I've always been obsessed with the ability of the British to write simple and effortless pop music. It's not as easy as it looks.




Covered comes from the early 90s and isn't nearly as powerful in the music department. I liked it mainly because it was annoying and saying "I Give" over and over sounds like, "Fuck you." It's a fun song more because it's classic Lydon than anything else.



A fun mashing of MSTRKRFT and This is not a Love Song.



And an interview that shows that Lydon never stopped pissing people off.