Go vote in the Plug Awards if you havent already.

My picks:
Can't be fussed with Album/ Artist of the year. Don't like the selections.
Best new artist/ best female artist: Lady Sov
Jamie Lidell for male artist of the year
Hip hop album- Ohmega Watts - The Find
Dance album- Isolee
Americana? Jose Gonzalez
DJ mix- James Friedman (honorable mention- Ewan Pearson
Avant- Delia Gonzalez and Gavin Russum- The Days of Mars
Label- Warp (Far and away)
Live act- Lidell
Festival- All Tomorrow's Parties
Producer- Phones
Magazine- XLR8R
Internet radio station- East Village Radio
Record store- Dusty Groove

Plastikman- Psyk

Its kinda weird to see Detroit Techno legends on Myspace. Speaking of which, say hi.

Peter Grummich- Arcona

Some nice archived mixes from the Wighnomy Brothers over here at their site. Check their new remix album, as well.

Spacemen 3- Come Down Easy (demo)
Unkle- In a State- (DFA mix)
i don't think many people have heard this mix, aside from die-hard mo'wax completionists/ unkle heads. there's also a circlesquare remix of the same track, i'll see if i can arrange a posting in the future.

Some re-posts, for those of you who missed these the first time around:

Fennesz- Rivers of Sand
Adolf Noize-Baume Strahlen Stress Aus

Aaliyah feat. Timberland - If your girl only knew

Hot Chip- Just Like We (Breakdown) (DFA Remix)

Some excellent videos here, including one with Tom Vek on rollerskates. (?!)

Plastikman-Ping Pong

POP MUSIK

Product 01- Heart Ov Glass (Justus Köhnke CD-Edit Remix)

(From the stellar Compost 200 CD that you need to own)

Uffie- Pop the Glock

Nitrous huffing, fun dip dosing, cherry flavored robo-tripping

R&B.

Yes.

SUNDAY DIG

I opened a large box sitting in a closet thats been sealed for just over a year. Inside were hundreds of promos which I hastily threw in during the course of a move. Now, on a Sunday afternoon with no super pressing engagements, its quite nice to dig though and have a listen. Here are some of the things I'm enjoying the most:

Ricardo Villalobos- Thé Au Harem D'Archimède
Fabrice Lig- My 4 Stars
Gudrun Gut presents the Ocean Club
Hand on the Plow- Lies (CDR)
Spiritualized- The Complete Works Volume 2
Ellen Allien- My Parade
Murcof- Utopia (remixed)

Here's a stunning track from the Murcof remix CD:
Murcof- Ulysses (Fax mix)

Also, keep your eyes out for my review of Judith Juillerat's Soliloquy in the next installment of Earplug.

In other news, I'm incredibly impressed with Current TV (Gore's new network). In the course of the past hour, I've i just watched a great documentary on FARC in Colombia, a feature on Futura 2000, and a series of short features from contributors called pods. Well worth checking out asap...

A nice chap named Richard Carnes has tipped me off on some mixes he's done recently that feature several artists I've mentioned on here before. Check 'em out below. Here's a bit about a night he does in Bristol, which I'm certainly going to check next time I'm in town.

"Tape is a night that we started over a year ago in Bristol where we play a broad mix of electro, techno, disco, acid, italo, and punk-funk. From that, we got offered a chance to take part in a new weekly electronic night showcasing the best in local talent with regular guests from around the world."

If you are indeed in Bristol, here are some upcoming dates:
Fri 13th Jan - Tape DJs - Babushka
Wed 25th Jan - Matt Tolfrey (Crosstown rebels up-and-comer) @ System - Native
Fri 27th Jan - Tape - The Elbow Room

Tape Me Out - Part 1
------------------------------------------------------------
1. Cass & Mangan - I Gotta Thang (Uh Huh)
2. Lex - Fourteen Days
3. Who Made Who - Hello, Empty Room
4. Kelley Polar - Here In The Night
5. Todd Terje - Eurodans
6. Hot Chip - Just Like We (Breakdown) (DFA Remix)
7. Francisco - Disco Way
8. Robert Babicz - Organic Boogie
9. Elektrochemie - Big One
10. Royksopp - What Else Is There? (Trentemoller Remix)
11. Fischerspooner - A Kick In The Teeth (Tiefschwarz Remix)
12. Brazilian Girls - Don't Stop (Riton Re-Rub)
13. Ame - Rej
14. Carl Craig - Sandstorms
15. Konrad Black - Medusa Smile (Don't Look Back) (Rockets Revamp)
16. Sono - A New Cage (Digitalism Remix)
17. Closer Musik - One Two Three No Gravity (Ewan Pearson Acid Remix)


Tape Me Out (Part 2)
----------------------------------------------------
1. Chardronnet vs Afrilounge - Phonix
2. Drama Society - Crying Hero
3. Trentemoller - Rykketid
4. Riton vs Howdi - Closer
5. Justus Kohncke - Krieg
6. Instant Noodles - Electro Hip
7. DJ T - Funk On You
8. Serge Santiago - Adventures in Failure (Dub Version)
9. Franz Ferdinand - Do You Want To (Erol Alkan's Glam Racket Remix)
10. Soulwax - Another Excuse (DFA Remix)
11. Tomas Andersson - Washing Up (Tiga's Na Na Na Na Na Remix)
12. Egoexpress - Hot Wire My Heart
13. Solid Groove - This is Sick
14. Kraftwerk - It's More Fun to Compute
15. Run Jeremy - Windowlicker (X-Rated Lick)
16. Justice - Waters of Nazareth
17. The MFA - The Difference it Makes (Superpitcher Remix)
18. Radiohead - Everything in its Right Place (Unklesounds Edit)

Me: "I'm really into this band, The Big Sleep."
Geo: "They sound exciting."

Oh, but they are...

Photos from their Knitting Factory gig over at Brooklyn Vegan. The band's website is here.

John Ashcroft- Let the Eagle Soar.

Those of you that saw the video of this on the daily show know what I'm talking about. Yipes.

This is the leadoff cut on Compost's Soul Searching: The Compost Radioshow CD. I think it speaks for itself:

Danielsongs- I Could Save You I Could Hold You Tight

Also, for you itunes converts that miss flipping through records and cds, check this out.

In other news, I'll be writing a house music column for XLR8R, which will necessitate keeping my ear to the ground quite a bit. I know this blog has some very savvy readers, so please get in touch by whatever means and let me know what you are feeling. Also, my friend Roy Dank will be writing a column on oddball disco, punk/funk, etc (the stuff that makes up the Pop Your Funk Night) which promises to be a must-read. Stay tuned!

Also, check out the new issue of RE:UP magazine for a my interview with Gilles Peterson. I think it turned out quite well.

This just in: Konrad Black has remixed Booka Shade's Mandarine Girl. Tip!

Here's a link to a short feature I did on The Pop Manifesto in this week's Flavorpill. Check it.

Whoa. That last post was intense. I'm not sure what came over me.

Here's some balance:

Freiland/frei - Hot Love

WILMAS RAINBOW

Another reason that I feel alienated for most that passes for rock music today. I listened to these bands when I was growing up. Nothing lately kicks me in the stomach like this:

Refused- The Shape of Punk To Come
(Itunes album purchase link)

Refused- New Noise
(Mp3)
More about the band here.

Helmet- Betty
(Itunes album purchase link)

Helmet- Milktoast
(Mp3)

However, Vitalic does. If you live in NYC Come see him perform at Don Hill's on Friday. Here's my little writeup to run in Tuesday's Flavorpill.net.
Dont sleep on this!

The DFA certainly spring to mind when discussing dance/rock crossover appeal, but in 2005, Vitalic certainly made a bold case for genre diplomacy. His debut, the now-classic Poney EP, including "La Rock," found early favor from the likes of Andrew Weatherall and later, 2 Many DJs, who caned it in their sets and recorded mixes. Support from the latter started piquing the rock kids' interest, as well as the fact that Vitalic's synthesizers swagger like a rock band's guitars. Witness this stomping, anthemic electro tonight, as he performs tracks from OK Cowboy live. (CJN)

The mystery of the short cappuccino revealed.

Thanks to my brother for scoping this ridiculously good song out:

Heiko Voss- Running Free

He was listening to the Superpitcher Beats in Space mix on repeat, and said that he was addicted to the last song. I had a listen, and I thought it was some sort of catchy obscurity-- a dusty record shop find, to be sure. Alas, its Heiko Voss, also responsible for this cut, which is high up there on my personal favorites:

Heiko Voss- I Think About You (Original Mix)

Here's a little writeup on his LP from the nice people at Forced Exposure:

This is Cologne-based Heiko Voss' debut album whose childhood influences include: the Elmi-Radio-Show, die Ärzte, Falco, punk rock, Iron Maiden, Prince, Michael Jackson and the Pixies. Including a lot of techno, Heiko's musical perception can be seen as a walk-in wardrobe with many drawers, all of them half open and ready to be of service to him. Two Sides starts with talking a lot of crap and with that, he paves the way for the following 19 tracks to break through these borders while pushing everyday clichés regardless of morals or scruples. Heiko Voss harkens back to a time when FM Gold ruled the airwaves. When easy-going melodies slouched through your radio, skulking to a loose beat and singing with aplomb. While updated with digital detail, Two Sides could well be an update of Steely Dan's Aja or an album's worth of Boz Scaggs reworks. It's right there in that swinging backbeat and that mellow gold bassline. Except instead of the cocaine-dusted studio decks of 1970s L.A., we have the vegan-clean laptops of 2005's Köln. It's all super-cool and done with sang-froid, so lean that seat back and dial into the new sound of strut, because Mr. Voss is in the booth.

Pick it up here, or at the Kompakt Mp3 shop.

Strobe lights and blown speakers.

Aphex Twin- Rhubarb
Bonnie "Prince" Billy- I See a Darkness
Radiohead-How to Disappear Completely

Red Astaire- Marvin's Groove
One of the remixes that impressed me the most from 2005. Very tastefully done, indeed.

A giant jellyfish drifting in the waters off Echizen in in the Sea of Japan (Asahi Shimbun/Tetsuji Asano/AP)

Great animated video for "Occupy Polar" by Fotel Folyamat on Traum.