Tribulations (Lindstrom Mix) - LCD Soundsystem - DFA - 2005

Tribulations has been a staple of my running mix for quite some time (like I could last 45:33) but I'd never heard Lindstrom's excellent B-side edit until yesterday. The remix is great itself, but Lindstrom is deftly aware of DFA's particular sound making this one sound like Murphy & Goldsworthy stretched it out themselves.

Listen to Tribulations (Lindstrom Mix) (zshare) by LCD Soundsystem.

Friday Jams

A couple of tunes to get you in the Friday night spear-it. Today's tunes are Bell & James Livin It Up (Friday Night) and Peter Brown's Dance With Me, both straight from 1978.

Listen to Livin' It Up (Friday Night) 12" mix by Bell & James.
Listen to Dance With Me by Peter Brown.

Two Albums Just In Time To Hibernate To

It’s finally gotten cold enough to see yourself exhale smog here in L.A., and New York has been kind enough to get the earmuffs ready and blanket the early cool nights with some fire-side pop.
The Department of Eagles are Grizzly Bear’s Daniel Rossen and Fred Nicolaus, two friends who met in an NYU dorm (natch.) It took The Department of Eagles four years to build In Ear Park, an album title that references a childhood L.A. destination of Rossen’s who dedicated the album to his late father. The duo channels the acoustic-bent tenderness of McCartney during, Golden Slumbers or Blackbird at its best and sounds like, well, Grizzly Bear at it its worst. The pace of the LP is often tectonic, but ultimately rewarding, giving Rossen’s ghostly double-tracked voice to take hold over sweeping tactically placed movements. Take Phantom Other which treads along quietly for three minutes before giving way to a 90-second cantor to the tape. The Department doesn’t quite have the same knack for singles the way McCartney did, but In Ear Park is a satisfying, hearty listen that’s worth repeating.
In contrast, the School of Seven Bell’s debut Ghostly release, Alpinisms, leads off with iamundernodisguise which has already proven its cache as a single after getting edit treatment from Prefuse 73 in last year's Class of 73 Bells. The School has been aptly named, because Alpinisms is a record that hums with the glow of Alejandra and Claudia Dehaza’s siren-calm vocals and Benjamin Curtis’ shoegaze drone. Imagine what would happen if the Brazilian Girls and Talkie Walkie Air got together and smoked opium in Kashmir (not precluding that that hasn’t happened yet) and you’re approaching the School’s frequency. They'll also draw some comparisons to Department of Eagles label-mate Blonde Redhead; School of Seven Bells and Blonde Redhead toured together in the fall of last year.

Listen to Department of Eagles, School of Seven Bells, and the other bands I name-checked below.

Listen to Phantom Other (zshare) by Department of Eagles.
Listen to iamundernodisguise (zshare) by School of Seven Bells.
Listen to The Class of 73 Bells (zshare) by Prefuse 73

Other links:
School of Seven Bells Myspace
Department of Eagles Official Website
4ad Official Website
Ghostly International Official Website

Guitar World Tour feat. Kobe & the American Idol Rejects

I think I'll still prefer Rock Band, but this is pretty wild. Keep a close eye on Michael Phelps channeling Mr. Magoo. Crazy to think that this commercial features probably the best baseball player, basketball player and swimmer in the world as well as a guy that made skateboarding big.

Laughing Lights of Plenty - Whatever We Want - 2008

I've been loving the new release from Whatever We Want records, the label that boasts Map of Africa and Quiet Village on their roster. Their latest is the debut 12" single for Laughing Lights of Plenty who are Thomas Bullock (Rub n Tug, Map of Africa) and Eddie Ruscha.

Check it out at their Myspace page.

cd - T2 - Early 70's Psyche & Prog

T2 were an early British psychedelic prog-rock band that really would have benefitted from the internet. The story goes that T2 opened for EVERYONE between 1969-1970 and was destined to be the next Cream, or at the very least the next Deep Purple. But, alas, there was a problem printing the album and it wasn't released on wax until six months after it's schedule release date. The moment had passed for T2 and nobody paid attention to their eponymous effort.

It's too bad, because T2 is great psyche album that sounds like what would have happened if all the good parts of the Moody Blues went and got baked with Traffic and Cream. I don't name-check these bands lightly. They pull off every trick in the psyche book, from a mix so atrocious it must have been deliberate to unintelligible high-chanting vocals that trail into the guitar's tremelo.

I first heard T2 on a CD... here is the track cd from T2.

Listen to cd (zshare) by T2.

Kids - MGMT (Soulwax Remix) - 2008

Soulwax remixes MGMT in an incredibly generic effort. It's a shame because I enjoyed the Soulwax remixes of both Gossip and Gorillaz. I wish there was more to say about this one, but I think once you listen to the track you'll understand why I could take it or leave it.

Listen to Kids (zshare) by MGMT (Soulwax Remix.)

Restiform Bodies - TV Loves You Back - Anticon - 2008

Finally got to the new Restiform Bodies full-length TV Loves You Back and I'm pleasantly surprised to enjoy it. To borrow a baseball term, Tv Loves You Back is effectively wild: all over the place, but still close enough to the strike zone to draw some wild cuts. It's breakcore & grime, chopped and stewed with pop hooks and a barrage of hip-hop. There's a ton of tracks I'd like to post off the album, but I'll just post a couple that are already available on the web.

A Pimp-like God has college radio anthem written all over it, straddling deliberate verse with the most danceable refrain on the album. It's followed up with Consumer Culture Wave a jam that answers the question of what Hot Chip would sound like if they were glitched up in dub. I highly reccommend the rest of this album... if you like it, buy it!

Listen to A Pimp-Like God (zshare) by Restiform Bodies.
Listen to Consumer Culture Wave (zshare) by Restiform Bodies.

Also:
Anticon Records
Restiform Bodies on Myspace

House Jam - Gang Gang Dance - The Social Registry - 2008

Whoa. If you have any psychedelics lying around, go ahead and take them now. This is a track Syd Barret would be proud of, replete with steel drums, glitched-up synths, and, of course, the creepy Gang Gang lady screaming something about revolution. I was a huge fan of Gang Gang Dance's last EP, Rawwar, and can't wait for what's next.

Listen to House Jam (Single Version) (zshare) by Gang Gang Dance
Listen to Oxygen Demo Riddum (zshare; from Rawwar) by Gang Gang Dance

Disco Symphony - Bohannon - 1977 - Mercury

Just a quick post today...

This is one of my favorite 12" records since it's universally badass.

I always thought a great comedy sketch would be Tracy Morgan as Hamilton Bohannon since their mutual resemblance is pretty uncanny. Basically the sketch would be Morgan dressed in a ridiculous tux with a conductor's baton repeating "I'm Hamilton Bohannon!" while some other dude made ridiculous sounds with his bass. I don't know, that's funny to me.

No MP3, just an embedded YouTube link...



Hamilton Bohannon on Wikipedia
Hamilton Bohannon on Discogs

Bauch Amp - Larytta - Creaked Records - 2008

The Swiss duo Larytta have finally washed ashore in the U.S. with their debut LP Difficult Fun. Sonically, Larytta (Guy Meldem and Christian Pahud) are tough to quantify with sounds and beats ranging from Afro-beat (on Voodoo Things) to tinny electro (Spoiled Kids) and even bubblegum (Love Love Oddysey.)

Check out the harmonies and the six-string in Bauch Amp, there's a lot going on here. It's one of those rare tracks that doesn't need to push the tempo to get your head nodding.

Listen to Bauch Amp (zshare) by Larytta.

Was That Kings of Leon On SNL?

I watched SNL last night for the first time in a long time, and was completely non-plussed. No, not by the lack of Andy Samberg, but by musical guest Kings of Leon, four guys from Tennessee who went from being a relatively interesting rock act to homogeneous alt-rock in the span of three albums.

Kings of Leon has never been my favorite band, but I gave their second album, Aha Shake Heartbreak, a few listens when it came out in 2004. Most of the tracks followed the same formula: Caleb Followill's distinct vocals over a bluesy guitar riff for just long enough to fill a 7" single. It wasn't revolutionary, but it wasn't so bad to listen to, and at least it was unique.

It was also after this record that Kings of Leon landed a fashion spread in Rolling Stone, their marketability hinging upon southern mystique, their ostensible devotion to whiskey (the only explanation for Followill's voice, I contend,) and a sound not completely unlike The Strokes'.

Fast forward to last night. James Franco giggled his way through an advertisement for Columbia University, the cast went esoteric on America with a drawn out Steinbeck sketch, and Kings of Leon played two boring, generic, and over-produced tunes. What happened to these guys being a little rough around the edges? They sounded more mimosa than Maker's Mark.

The songs appear on Only By the Night which drops Tuesday on RCA. I can't blame the band for signing to a major label, landing major press or playing a big tour. I won't hate on a band for being successful. I will, however, freely hate on a band that goes from making their bones by sounding at least a little bit different and then abandons that sound to make bland and uncontroversial music.

Two songs about fire by Kings of Leon:

Listen to Pistol of Fire (zshare) by Kings of Leon from Aha Shake Heartbreak (2004)
Listen to Sex on Fire (zshare) by Kings of Leon from Only By the Night (2008)

Why Is Everyone Sleeping On Elitechnique?

That's what it seems like to me, at least. A search on Hype Machine yields three hits, and another on Elbows digs up 20. And it's not like these Dutchmen haven't had any high-profile releases; with remixes of both Sally Shapiro and Black Devil Disco Club, it seems there would be a little more buzz about them. The Black Devil remix really hits the mark for me, and can be heard on their Myspace, which I have linked below.

Elitechnique, who are Florentijn Boddendijk and Remco, have definitely listened to a fair share of Giorgio Moroder in their day (like any good nu-disco act should.) They've released their music primarily on Clone, but have also appeared on Lo. Give it a listen.

Here's a repost of Elektric Evening from last week's mix, as well as another Elitechnique track, We Shall Control.

Please visit their Myspace to listen to more and support the artist.

Listen to Elektric Evening (zshare) by Elitechnique
Listen to We Shall Control (zshare) by Elitechnique

See also: Elitechnique on Discogs

"It's kinda like No Wave, but Not."

I've been addicted to the Rong/DFA compilation Not Wave for the last week or so and now I bring it to you. Don't worry, the first hit is free.

Rong has the following comment:

"Rong music has compiled a (somewhat) new take on the early 80's underground of New York City's No Wave sound. We've even coined our own name for the new sub genre - "Not Wave." For those of you asking, what the hell does that mean? Well, have a listen and hear for yourself! But, if ever cornered by some vinyl maniac at the local disco, our knee jerk response will be, "It's kinda like No Wave, but Not." I guess you could say our thoughts on the matter for making any type of compilation are, "every-thing's been done already, so why not start off with something old and work towards a mutated version of itself." Make sense everybody? Nahh... were just foolin with that last uptight quote, what a bunch of horse *bleep* huh? Sounds like something you'd read in a magazine." Rong Music

Behind the tongue-in-cheekery, genuine highlights include Welcome Stranger (nom de plume of Rub N Tug's Thomas Bullock) bleeding bass all over Smoke Machine and Freshro's update (or is it backdate?) of Spoon's I Turn My Camera On. James Chance again proves he is relevant thirty years later, earning a spot on his second major comp in a year after appearing as James White and the Blacks on the third installment of the excellent Disco Not Disco. But Chance and the Contortions stop the dance and drop the go-go bells of Contort Yourself, to instead cook up a nasty blues line that mainlines somewhere between Jimi Hendrix and Robbie Krieger on King Heroin.

Notwave is a great first offering from Rong/DFA, and with the talent in both of those stables, it certainly will not be the last.

Listen to Smoke Machine (zshare) by Welcome Stranger

Listen to I Turn My Camera On (zshare) by Freshro

Listen to I Turn My Camera On (zshare) by Spoon

Listen to King Heroin (zshare) by James Chance & the Contortions

Review: Arabian Prince – “Innovative Life, 1984-1989” - Stones Throw

A compilation by former NWA member and electronic pioneer Arabian Prince AKA Professor X
http://www.stonesthrow.com/arabianprince

Innovative Life is the perfect comp to spin at a grimy summer after-party where nobody seems like they’re up to any good. It’s distinctly 80’s, darkly delivering punch to keep the bass-heads stepping and the base-heads nodding. Arabian Prince (born Mik Lezan) does not suffer from a lack of versatility, moods and beats equally crucial to the formation of 90’s dance music, techno and gangster rap. Admittedly, Lezan’s sound is not without a tinge of old-school camp on the precipice of its second generation, but the rich production remains relevant when nasty synth riffs and programmed drums are still often the backbone of electronic music. There’s no doubt that a compilation that fits a contemporary niche plays stronger than one mired in pastiche or ironic retrospect. Twenty years later, the Prince is still current, still slightly cerebral and slyly carnal, and still holding court.
Lezan’s work draws the label of electro-rap, and ‘electro’ correctly precedes ‘rap’ in the genre description. Despite contributing greatly in rap’s nascence, Lezan never intends for his work on the mic to carry a track, instead letting his monotone delivery of predominantly simple lyrics serve as a clear reminder to dance first and ask questions later. This sentiment is no more evident than in Let’s Hit the Beach, a deep start/stop blend of Martin Luther church organ and Martin Denny exotica. Additional vocalists include an outstanding un-credited female backing vocalist and Dr. Dre (on the NWA track Panic Zone) to fill in the gaps where Lezan’s rasp just wouldn’t be servicable.
There are plenty of other gems here too, including climax Professor X (Saga), a track that manages to be both catchy and edgy. The saga is electrically percussive enough to fall into a lock-step trance, Prince loudly boasting over slick and parsimonious production. My main criticism of the collection is that it does get a little repetitive, and frankly it is a little difficult to differentiate a couple of songs from each other. There are, however, enough beats here to come back for, and at an hour long you can let this one burn in the background.
If this recommendation wasn’t enough to persuade you, Arabian Prince also produced J.J. Fad’s smash Supersonic—you know, the track Fergie ripped off in Fergalicious.

Shake your humps like a Bactrian camel to Arabian Prince:
Listen to Let's Hit the Beach (zshare)
Listen to Professor X (Saga)
Listen to Panic Zone (zshare) by NWA ft. Dr. Dre
Listen to Supersonic (zshare) by JJ Fad

Arpeggiators R Us - September Mix

"(Ba de ya) Say do you remember
(Ba de ya) Dancing in september
(Ba de ya) Never was a cloudy day."

The weather has been gorgeous here in the Valley, and that just makes me feel like dancing. This month's mix is a steady dose, with plenty of synth to go around. The tracklisting is below with individual MP3 links to the zShare file.

JayRocking 9/11 Edition - 59:52

Hotdog - Sesame Street - CTW
Hotdog - Simian Mobile Disco (Cosmo Vitelli rmx) - Wichita - 2008
Bostich - Yello - Do It Records - 1981
Situation - Yazoo - Sire - 1982
Willie & the Handjive - Rinder & Lewis - AVI Records - 1979
Signal Failure - Padded Cell - D.C. Recordings - 2005
Willie & the Handjive - Rinder & Lewis
Elektric Evening - Elitechnique - Clone - 2008
Every Sunday - Crazy Gang - Flexx (re-issue) - 2006
Give Me A Break - Vivien Vee - Unidisc - 1980
Stop - BWH - House of Music - 1983
Light A Light - Peppermint - RJM - 1987
Yip Yip Radio - Sesame Street

Ride the Mighty High - The Mighty Clouds of Joy - ABC Records - 1975

Maybe I should save this cross-over gospel hit for Sunday, but there's no guarantee I'll be coherent tomorrow since I plan on getting pretty ripe during today's Miami/UF game. GO CANES!

Ride the Mighty High was the only mainstream success from The Mighty Clouds of Joy, but they made the most of it, becoming the only gospel act to appear on Soul Train and opening for Marvin Gaye and the Rolling Stones, among others. The build takes a second, but if you're not grooving by the end your soul really does need saving.

Take a load off your mind and listen to Ride the Mighty High (zshare) by the Mighty Clouds of Joy.

Links:
AllMusic
Wikipedia

Walking In LA - Missing Persons - Capitol Records - 1982

My buddies Will and Paul were mixing it up in Hollywood when they heard this gem from Los Angeles 80's band Missing Persons. When I saw them a few hours later they couldn't stop telling me about it. Turns out they were right, Walking In LA is a solid little new-wave toe-tapper.

Singer/Playboy bunny Dale Bozzio and drummer Terry Bozzio met and married while playing with Frank Zappa. They would go on to form Missing Persons with Warren Cuccurullo who shared Bozzio's attitude about clothing would also play with Duran Duran members along with Terry Bozzio. Missing Persons are probably best known for their songs Words and Destination Unknown.

Oh, and if you were wondering, it's true, there's nobody walking in LA.

Listen to Walking In LA (zshare) by Missing Persons.

Cat People (Putting Out Fire) - Giorgio Moroder ft. David Bowie - MCA - 1982

For the second straight day we pick a song from a disco luminary who generated some of his best work for cinema. Giorgio Moroder produced and mixed the soundtrack to 1982's Cat People, which is, naturally "An Erotic Fantasy About The Animal In Us All." Let IMDB.com fill in the blanks with some plot keywords including "Male-Female Relationship," "Strong Sexual Content," "Sex," "Bondage" and "Zookeeper."

Moroder was also behind the soundtracks to both Scarface and American Gigolo, but today's track bears little resemblance to "Vamos A Bailar" or "Call Me." David Bowie stretches the bounds of androgony into the rest of the animal kingdom and meanwhile nails the vocals. I've had two people ask me if it's Johnny Cash singing the first couple of minutes but, while that's not a bad guess, the build to the finish is vintage Bowie.

Listen to Cat People (Putting Out Fire) (zshare) by Giorgio Moroder featuring David Bowie vocals.

Every Sunday – Crazy Gang – Bubble – 1983

Today’s track is the Claudio Simonetti arrangement “Every Sunday” performed by Crazy Gang. It’s a fine example of Italo-disco from Crazy Gang’s lone LP release entitled “We Are the Crazy Gang” replete with the haunting synth-work you’d expect from the keyboardist from Goblin. “Every Sunday” arpeggiates, modulates and intoxicates for eight wild minutes of dark disco debauchery.

You’d better have incredible luck or deep pockets to find the original release, (any takers?) but thankfully Flexx Records has re-released the 12” single version of this strangely addicting cut.

Thanks to Urlaubhits for originally posting this.
Listen to Every Sunday - Crazy Gang (zshare)

See also: http://www.claudiosimonetti.com/

Wednesday Six Pack - July 9th, 2008

Every once in a while I plan on posting six songs from a particular artist, label, or producer.

This week it's Larry Levan. Levan certainly had a distinct sound that is evident through all six songs.

They are, in order:
At Midnight – T-Connection (Larry Levan rmx)
BodyShine – Instant Funk (Larry Levan mix)
Padlock – Gwen Guthrie (Lary Levan mix)
Week End – Phreek (Larry Levan mix)
Let’s Go Dancing – Sparque (Francois Kevorkian & Larry Levan mix)
SkyyZoo – Skyy (Larry Levan rmx)

Listen and download here.

Enjoy, and please feel free to leave comments.

July 4th, 2008 Mix

This is the first of a weekly installment of mixes from yours truly.

A little funk, a little disco, mostly down-tempo.

Let me know what you think.

http://www.zshare.net/audio/14671853caadab9a/