KARL ROVE HAS A POSSE

..not surprisingly, its the WSJ Opinion Journal massif!

COSMIC CARS

Three pretty heady, headphone tracks for you tonight. One is I.A. Bericoher's Uno, on the M-nus Minimize to Maximize compilation, the other is from Thomas Fehlman's new record, Lowflow, which is worth picking up if you haven't yet heard it. Finally, a Aphex Twin Classic that Michael Goodstein dropped for the drunks at Misshapes a few weeks ago (and subsequently made me flip on the dancefloor, as it was slighly unexpected).

I.A. Bericoher- Uno
Thomas Fehlman- Hana
Aphex Twin-Windowlicker

Also, almost forgot to mention- be sure to check out Mr. Fehlman's Ocean Club radio show here.

Aie, sorry guys- couldn't resist some DJ Screw:
R. Kelly- Feelin on your Booty (Screwed & Chopped)

TWO BEFORE SLEEP

Two quick tracks for you. The first isa slice of brooding, dub techno (like a jilted female Deadbeat?) from Monika's great 4 women no cry compilation (check out more info here), and the second is a classic that likely needs no introduction. Enjoy.

Catarina Pratter-Stronger Than Before
Jay Dee - Plastic Dreams (Original Mix)

Strongbad email: Techno

Superpitcher Preview
July 26th, Cielo
A version to appear in Time Out New York

Though he may have gained stateside notoriety for embracing the glam rock inspired schaffel sound, Superpitcher stands at one the brightest feathers in the Kompakt cap for more than just odd time signatures. In addition to his debut LP, Here Comes Love, and a series of 12’ releases, the remix discography looks like a who’s who of minimal techno and beyond. His latest mix CD, Today, showcases his nuanced DJing style, which avoids any big-room barnstormer clichés, focusing instead on sequence, cerebral micro house textures, and tension. The mix mirrors the warm, emotive pads and swollen strings – as well as the melancholic theatrics – that Superpitcher embraces in his sets, proving that sunshine and Goths can co-exist, after all.

SWEAT ON THE BROW

...and a shot across the bow.

From this morning's White House Press Corps gaggle ...

Question: Do you want to retract your statement that Rove -- Karl Rove was not involved in the Valerie Plame expose? -- involved?

McClellan: This is -- no, I appreciate the question. This is an ongoing investigation at this point. The President directed the White House to cooperate fully with the investigation, and as part of cooperating fully with the investigation, that means we're not going to be commenting on it while it is ongoing.

Question: But Rove has apparently commented, through his lawyer, that he was definitely involved.

McClellan: You're asking me to comment on an ongoing investigation.

Question: I'm saying, why did you stand there and say he was not involved?

McClellan: Again, while there is an ongoing investigation, I'm not going to be commenting on it, nor is --

McClellanN: -- any remorse?

McClellan: -- nor is the White House, because the President wanted us to cooperate fully with the investigation, and that's what we're doing.

Question: That's not an answer.

Question: It's not an answer. And you were perfectly willing to comment from that podium while the investigation was going on, and try to clear Karl Rove. Why the double standard? Why were you willing to say Karl Rove was not involved when -- and talk at length about it, when the investigation was going on, and now that he's been caught red-handed, all of a sudden you've got a new line?

McClellan: No, I don't think it is the way you characterize it, as new, because I have said for quite some time that this is an ongoing investigation, and we're not going to get into discussing it while it's an ongoing investigation. I've really said all I'm going to say on it.

Question: But you did -- you did discuss it while it was an ongoing investigation. You stood there and told the American people Karl Rove wasn't involved.

McClellan: I've said all I'm going to say on it. Go ahead, April.

AS LONG AS I CAN DANCE TO IT

My friend Dave played the full-length version of Justus Kohncke's Timecode out on Friday, and I must stay its stellar (literally, brah!). I couldn't help but think of how nice to drop the vocals from Lipps' Inc. How Long? over this version. Maybe a little edit is in order?

Also, for those of you in the NYC, be sure to check the Robert Smithson exhibit at the Whitney Museum. He's best known for his Spiral Jetty work, but also worked with several other materials/styles/ as well. I went today, and was surprised at the wide range of mediums and sheer volume of work for someone who was only 35 when he died. Bottom line: If the Boards of Canada had an official artist, I think Smithson would be it.

According to Gothamist:

On two weekends this fall (Sept 17 - 18 and Sept 24- 25), a man-made "island," consisting of a tug boat pulling a large barge loaded with earth and planted with various trees and shrubs according to Smithson's specifications, will travel around Manhattan's harbor. The project will be visible from various points along the city shorelines.

Justus Kohncke- Timecode (Edit)

THE SKY WAS PINK

Nathan Fake- The Sky Was Pink (Icelandic Version)

The weekend of Lindstrom/ Prins Thomas continues! Saw them play at APT on Thursday night for Pop Your Funk, which was fantastic. They're playing at PS1 at the moment, and I'm going to pop into the Tribeca Grand to see them play again tonight.

I'll post a tune of theirs tomorrow.

OH BRIT

James Wolcott on Brit Hume's reaction to the London bombings:

Always looking for the silver lining in a choking cloud of smoke, that great humanitarian Brit Hume, reflecting on the financial ramfications of the attacks, said on Fox News that when he woke up and saw how steep the stock futures had dropped, he thought, "Hmm, time to buy."*

And yes, he actually said, "Hmm," as if he had been thoughtfully stroking his chin as he watched those numbers drop. As bodies were being borne into ambulances, Brit was considering what a keen opportunity this was to place a buy order.

Leaving aside what this says about his cold-fish character, it's not even an intelligent investment response. It's one of those contrarian go-against-the-crowd moves that's so obvious that the crowd itself figures it out and nullifies any contrarian advantage. It's like when someone gets the bright idea, "Since everyone is going to be leaving town for the long weekend on Friday morning, I'll leave late Thursday night to get a jump on traffic." Only to find out that a couple hundred thousand commuters had the same bright idea and there you are stuck on the Van Wyck at 2 AM.

spiral jetty 2 

spiral jetty 

stung 

SOME READS

The new issue of Boldtype is out, curated by the RZA, no less.
Read an interview my friend (and Boldtype editor) Toby Warner did with him here.

Also, be sure to check out the new Earplug today. We cover Saint Etienne, Frank Martiniq, the new Ghostly comp, as well as my review of Soul Jazz' excellent new acid comp. As usual, there's the latest in news, rumors, commentary, streaming mixes, and charts from the best in the biz. Check it out, and as always, let me know if there is anything you'd like to see us cover.

DAPPER DAPPER

Is it just me, or does Ryan Elliot's press photo look like a Banana Republic ad? In any case, he's a cracking good DJ (Matt Dear's partner in crime), and he's mixed Disc two of the new Spectral comp on Ghostly. Check the tracklisting here.

Speaking of Ghostly, Michael Segal is an in-house artist there, and I really dig his stuff. Lots of his artwork on the Look Group website, here. I want to buy all of those postcards.

JERK CHICKEN JERK FISH

Ok, Ok, I think I'm a little late in getting the Tom Vek memo (har har), but his stuff is fantastic. Watch for some appearances stateside-- this guy is to be watched.

Also, if you are in London on the 15th of July, please check out Our Disco. I haven't been to London in entirely too long, but I remember Plastic People as being a super cool space. Plus, I respect Rory's taste in music immensely. Check some of the mixes from their site here.

Tom Vek- C-C (You Set The Fire In Me)
buy his record here

Durrty Goodz-Gimme Dat

Yet to hear the entire International Pony album, but word on the street is it's a corker. Good thing, as DJ Koze's new one is snoresville. Pains me to say it, but its true. Stick to gems like Brutalgar Square, Spiecher 11 or one of his live sets. When Ewan Pearson calls you the best DJ in Germany at the moment, you're doing something right.

Oh, you need to own the Le Dust Sucker album.
A mp3 sample of "Mean Boy" from juno.co.uk here.

International Pony- My Mouth (Jackmate Dust Mix)
Ada- Cool My Fire (Erland Oye and Band remix)

And, for everyone who didn't grab this the first time, the closing track of of Superpitcher's superb mix Today

Sebastian Tellier- La Ritournelle

YOU SET THE FIRE IN ME

If you live in the NYC, One louder is an essential read. Check their reviews, commentary, best-of lists, as well as a cool selection of mp3s including a Michael Mayer Peel session!

SOMETHING OLD, SOMETHING NEW

An old favorite, and a track I've just discovered, off of Alex Smoke's new LP, Incommunicado, which is one of the more exciting releases I've heard this year.

Boards of Canada- Roy G Biv
Alex Smoke- No Consequence

The best photo of my roommates ever taken.

HAVE LOVE WILL TRAVEL

A few weeks ago, I posted the Rex the Dog minimix up here. Now, courtesy of boomselection, check dj yoda's.

DJ Yoda- Annie Mac Minimix

FROG MARCHED

It looks like this story on the identity of who leaked Valerie Plame's day job is going to reach its crescendo very soon, although I'm not sure how its taken two years to break.

Back on August 21, 2003, Joe Wilson had this to say:

"It's of keen interest to me to see whether or not we can get Karl Rove frog-marched out of the White House in handcuffs. And trust me, when I use that name, I measure my words."(emphasis added)

On Friday's taping of the McLaughlin Group, Lawrence O'Donnell mentioned that he knew for sure that the leaker was Rove.

According to Isikoff's story in Newsweek,

"The e-mails surrendered by Time Inc., which are largely between Cooper and his editors, show that one of Cooper's sources was White House deputy chief of staff Karl Rove, according to two lawyers who asked not to be identified because they are representing witnesses sympathetic to the White House."

Three things
1. The ever important news cycle- America tends to be focusing on the Sandra Day O'Connor resignation, as well as the still unresolved Arruba story.
2. The long weekend allows the White House PR machine to be working overtime while the rest of the country is paying attention to their hamburgers and Rodger Federer's service at Wimbledon.
3. Karl Rove is about as slippery as they can get. However, if there is email evidence and/or some sort of paper trail (substantiated by Judith Miller's notes?) then it would be quite difficult to get out of this one, even for him.

Lately, it seems that every thing I listen to eventually leads back to the new Isolee LP, We Are Monster.

Buy it from your friends at Neptune Records here. You won't regret it, as this will end up on many a best-of 2005 lists. I guarantee it.

Not convinced yet? Check out Michael F. Gill's review on Stylus. He's one of my favorite electronic music writers at the moment.

Isolee- Enrico

The beginning of the end.

LAY BACK IN THE SUN

Wow. Just rediscovered this in an old cd wallet. Four Tet's first record ever, 36:25. One of my favorite pieces of music to write to. Rumor has this that a young Kieran Hebden put this together using free, downloadable sequencing programs. This was first released on Trevor Jackson's Output Recordings label.

Four Tet- 36:25

SOMEONE HIRE NATE AS AN A&R NOW.

Kid's got stellar taste, and the most encyclopedic knowledge of anyone I know.

From: colin nagy
To: Nate Cunningham
Sent: Fri, 1 Jul 2005 12:57:40 -0400
Subject:

Nate:

Really into the 13th floor elevators right now. What can you recommend in terms of drum heavy psych rock. I know a bit of the electric prunes (just cos they've been sampled by fuckin everyone) but I'd like to explore a bit more.

From: Nate Cunningham
Subject: Re:
Date: July 1, 2005 4:16:55 PM EDT
To: colin nagy

drum heavy, or even just heavy, psych rock isn't really my thing. EVERYONE talks about flower travellin' band, though, especially the album satori--krauty japanese psych from the early 70s. i think the self-titled morgen album is pretty great, new york 1968. i'll dropload a couple tracks from that and you can decide. les rallizes denudes, what i've heard has been incredible, more japanese stuff, probably a bit rawer than the flower travellin' band, but just great rhythmic, melted shit. i think the cdr i have is called enter the mirror or something like that, but i have no idea what's supposed to be the best. i assume you're more than familiar with can, but if you don't know their first record monster movie, you should check out the remaster of that. there's also soundtracks, which is mostly more chilled out but mother sky is fifteen minutes of skeletal hard-psych bliss. psychedelic underground opens with a fifteen minute track that to me is as good as anything, but some find the simple riffs and just the whole communal chanting business tedious. in general, this record is pretty percussive--but it's hippies with bongos rather than some wizard on a kit--nothing anyone would sample. amon duul ii is a proper band though and yeti and wolf city are both basically perfect albums--i guess they're prog, but i'm sort of afraid of prog and these records do not meander around too much or lose their momentum.

nate

p.s. i should have in a couple weeks the first few albums of this band cymande, which is like a mix of reggae and funk. maybe that sounds awful, but on one track i've heard they get into a minimal groove that you'd swear is like liquid liquid or some other james murphy fetish--complete with cowbell--in like 1970! i'll pass it along when it comes

En route to NC for the long weekend. Should be quite nice. Brought my laptop with me, so stay tuned for some more music. The new Kid 606 is quite good, as is Felix Laband - Dark Days Exit on compost. Just listened to Jan Jelinak's Loop Finding Jazz Records on the way down on the plane. Its exactly what I've been looking for in music lately.

Also, this is one of the funniest things I've seen on ILM for some time.

PARTY SHUFFLE

An alias of Gomma's Munk, this track has a sleazed-out, addictive groover of a bass line, as well as vocals from French girls getting drunk in the bathroom on cheap red wine. Its not exactly stated, but you can tell from their demeanor/ drawl thats what it is. hah.

Leroy Hanghofer-Bathroom Boogie

Then, an unbelievably good mashup from Philip Sherburne (who needs to update his sodding blog!) of Tori Alamaze's excellent Don 'cha, over a James Holden track. Finally, my homeboy Rex the Dog with a b-side of one of his 12's, Frequency.
Philip Sherburne- A Break in the Maze
Rex the Dog- I Look into Mid Air

RED STORM RISING

"Whatever the case, New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft is out one championship ring, and President Vladimir Putin of Russia has scooped up some very flashy bling."

That's my Putin!

RED ALERT

In my review of the Soul Jazz Acid House comp Can you Jack? for Earplug, I said this track sounded like an "assembly line malfunction at the techno factory, with pumping kick drums sounding a mechanical cadence while spurts of white noise and increasingly urgent tones pan upwards in pitch."

Have a listen and tell me what you hear.

Lil' Louis- Video Clash

Speaking to my brother today about the L train robots, he reminded me of quite possibly my favorite SNL skit ever. Thanks to the wonders of the internet, you can watch it here, right now.

Cassette DJing. Oh my goodness. (Link via Kontent)

SADDAM HATES FROOT LOOPS

I know I don't give you guys a lot of background with tracks sometimes, but if I post here I'm really feeling it. Today, I have a Solvent track which can be best described as dark, vocoded electro pop. It's on my Itunes most frequently played, and I figured that's a probably a good sign. Also, my friend Lauren Flax sent me all of the Aphex Twin Analord tracks (which are vinyl only) in mp3 format, allowing for a much more convenient listen on the train. You can bring your handytrax everywhere, ya know. Sadly, I don't have a track name, so it will remain a mystery for now. Drop me a line if you know it.

Solvent- Think Like Us (Solvent vs. Lowfish mix)
Aphex Twin- Analord track 09

and lest you think all I listen to is electronic music, here's a lovely acoustic guitar tune:

John Fahey- Wine and Roses

I have to clean out my Idisk soon, so if you want to take a look at everything I've posted for the past few weeks click here.What's that? You've created a Devil in the Details playlist on your Ipod? Thats sweet of you.

TWISTED NERVES

Come out to see Andy Votel DJ at APT. tonight. Here's a little interview with him courtesy of the excellent BBC collective.

WANTED

A collaboration with Super_Collider's Christian Vogel and Jamie Lidell and a UK Grime MC, preferably Kano. Snap Snap! Make it happen, people. Time is money!

NO, NO, YES

Today, its the L train.
Tomorrow, its your job.
Vote no on robots.

Unless, of course, its Music For Robots. Then by all means.

IF YVE GOT A 70 OHM IMPEDANCE PUT YR HANDS UP

I'm evangelical about good headphones. Thus far, I've made quite a few of my good friends abandon their ipod buds and enter the realm of listening enlightenment. It never ceases to amaze me how people will put up with listening to music on rubbish laptop speakers, let alone the earbuds that came with your walkman seven years ago.

I've been happy with my Technics pair. They're about as durable as it comes, and play really loud. Downside is they do tend to sap the battery on an ipod.

The step up from here are the Sennheiser HD25's which are absolutely unreal. I listened to My Bloody Valentine's Loveless on them once, and it was like hearing that album for the first time...which was almost too much to deal with. A mind full of pink static.
For the geeks in the house:

Frequency response: 16 - 22,000 Hz
Nominal impedance: 70 ohms
Characteristic SPL: 120 dB
THD: < 0.3 %
Weight: approx. 140 g
Connection cable: detachable 1.5 m single-sided steel cable
Connector: 1/8 in. plug with 1/4 in. adapter

But, it seems there is a compromise for those who want something smaller, with equal sound reproduction. These Shure e3's are fantastic. They're the size of normal earbud phones, but completely cancel out all outside sound and the sound is unreal. You can hear if a floor tom is slightly out of tune, and the bass reproduction is incredible. The only setback is they will cost you around 170 bones. However, for people that truly love music, its well worth it.

As a sidenote, I think that if more people would use great phones, more people would understand how much of today's electronic music blows my mind.

Take this track: Your Body is My Body- Ellen Allien

To quote my pal and occasional DJ partner Blair from music for robots,

"I like the way this song unfolds, starting with a squeaky rhythm, adding layers of synths to the mix, then around the 1:10 mark a great polyrhythm thing starts up and rolls its way through the rest of the song. The synths and beat have a really great crunch to them that I really like - every track on the album has something about it that is purely Allien-esq, as she really works the palate of sounds in ways that others working in the genre don't."

Well put. Listen to the tune, plug in (with good phones)and you'll hear what he's saying straightaway.

MORE GREEN PLS

I'm behind this idea 100 percent, especially as I find myself spending more and more time at the lovely new west side park/ promendade:

"The master plan for an East River esplanade, which was unveiled last month by Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, is a welcome reprieve from that New York cliché. Covering a two-mile stretch of waterfront from Battery Park to East River Park in Lower Manhattan, the project will transform a series of abandoned piers and derelict corners beneath the Franklin D. Roosevelt Drive into a vibrant urban panorama without sacrificing the rough edges."

New York needs more green space, period. It's what I miss the most about London. The Brits take their parks quite seriously. Ever stroll through Regents' park on a Sunday afternoon? If so, I'm sure you get my point.

DJ Shadow's Endtroducing is one of my favorite albums ever. Period. They've just re-released it, with bonus tracks, singles, etc. Read the pitchfork review here. Also, check the just-posted interview with Dizzee Rascal.

At one point, before Boy in Da Corner came out, I had an early promo (after having listened to the exclusive streaming tracks on the Radio 1 website over and over). My girlfriend at the time and I were listing to it, waiting for a delivery (fresh direct?) to arrive. When the deliveryman came, he was like
"what the hell is this?"
"Erm, Dizzee Rascal, this guy from East London"
"I'm not gonna fib man, I've been standing outside your door for a few minutes listening to this. its dope."
I proceeded to scribble the name down for him, slightly sketched that he was just standing outside the door for a period of time, but equally stoked that he was into the sound.

So there you have it. An early indication as to the crossover appeal of Dizzee, however I don't think he's gotten as big in the US as many thought he would. Probably just takes a big-name collaboration to propell him into mainstream hip-hop and R&B radio. I'm not sure.

I'm curious as to who is checking this blog often...drop me a comment and say hello?

MONOPOTASSIUM PHOSPHATE

Been revisiting some of my favorite tracks (both by Klimek) in Kompakt's stellar Pop Ambient series. Check 'em

Klimek- Milk & Honey
Klimek-Standing on the Beach (gun in my hand mix)

Also, some sand
Fennesz-Rivers of Sand
and some Krush
Dj Krush- Still Island (feat. Shuuzan Morita)

QUOTE OF WEEK

My friend just told me my clothing vibe today is the cardio instructor at a retirement home for gothic people, and then simulated arm lifts to the tune of "Personal Jesus."

awesome.

ARG

Karl Rove's recent comments:

"Liberals saw the savagery of the 9/11 attacks and wanted to prepare indictments and offer therapy and understanding for our attackers." Conservatives, he said, "saw the savagery of 9/11 and the attacks and prepared for war."

Then, the predictable Democrat call for apology.

Then, Dan Bartlett being wheeled out on the morning shows:

"I think Karl was very specific, very accurate, in who he was pointing out," communications director Dan Bartlett said. "It's touched a chord with these Democrats. I'm not sure why."

Best summed up here:
colinjnagy: the democrats are like a stupid tiger
colinjnagy: that finds a tempting piece of meat
colinjnagy: in the jungle
colinjnagy: it senses a trap, it knows its a trap
colinjnagy: but it still goes after it
[name redacted]: and then apologizes for going after it
colinjnagy: exactly

Let's compare this to the Democratic response, which was far from unified, regarding Howard Dean's comments that the Republicans are "pretty much a white, Christian party" while also noting that he, too, is a white christian. The point being conveyed was that the Democratic party is certainly more diverse. Now, this statement probably contains more truth than Rove's comments, but Dean was rebutted on both sides of the aisle-- by Ken Mehlman on one, and by Joe Biden and New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson on the other, who said that "Dean is doing a good job, but is not the party's spokesman."

We all know that the Republican party is excellent at message control, and presenting a unified front in most cases. This is yet another example of why we are losing.

In addition, I'm also quite sick of the every single email I get from 527's, the DNC, DNC chair Howard Dean, John Edwards, John Kerry, etc. They all share a similar tone of what they intend to be outrage, but it comes off as childish whining. I'm not sure when they're going to realize that the electorate has demonstrated it doesn't like such bellyaching, but rather the alpha male mentality, akin to a stubborn father who refuses to ever apologize, or like the arrogrant high school quarterback who goes home and does the prom queen. Flight suit anyone?

Update!
Sure enough, I just received this mass email from none other than Sen. Kerry. An excerpt:

This isn't the first time that Karl Rove and other White House officials have sought to divide America in ways that make it harder to keep our country safe and our democracy strong. But, it should be the last. That's why I ended my speech with a call on President Bush to fire Karl Rove. It is the only way the President can make it clear that he rejects Rove's effort to distort one of the most unified and patriotic moments in American history into a cheap, divisive, political applause line.

That, of course, is what is most outrageous about Karl Rove's claim that President Bush's political opponents offered "therapy and understanding for our attackers." It isn't true. In the days after 9/11, there were no Democrats, no Republicans. We were all Americans, standing together. President Bush acknowledged that unity in a clear and compelling way at the time.

Now, Karl Rove is purposely twisting those days of unity in order to divide us for political gain. I hope you will act right now to join a growing chorus of Americans calling on the President to fire Karl Rove.

Yes, that's right. Senator Kerry is calling on the President to fire his leading political adviser and trusted confidant. What are the chances of this happening? Absolutely Outrageous! Karl Rove could be caught redhanded fingering a Girl Scout in a west wing broom closet by the entire White House press corps and he still wouldn't be pushed to resign.

VOLTAGE SELECTOR

Two new tracks for you this evening. The first comes from Brooks' acclaimed LP, Red Tape, which made many best-of 2004 lists. It came out late in October 2004, and I'm just now getting around to it. First listens have indeed proven quite enjoyable. The second track is from the forthcoming Portable LP on one of my favorite labels, ~scape, based in Berlin. I just started listening to this today, and this track stood out to me. More thoughts forthcoming. Stay tuned, and enjoy.

Brooks- Do the Math
Portable- All EjectN

GET EXCITED

Ewan Pearson's posted his top picks for the month. Check them out here. Goldfrapp - Ooh La La (Tiefschwarz remix) sounds particularly interesting, especially when Mr. Pearson mentions it in the same breath as their remix of Red Dress...

circlesquare 

THIS IS A REASON

check circlesquare.ca for a few full mp3s. non-revival alarm is on some sort of post-apocalyptic folk and seratonin sapped burnt downtempo tip, with near-whispered vocals and pitch bent guitars that sound like they were stolen from Chris Issac's "Wicked Game" (DMT remix). Also, "Fight Sounds" on Output's channel 3 comp is oh so dark and sexed out. amazing. apologies for the lack of coherent writing ability, im tired and want to go sleep but i cant.

This Arthur Russell story by S/FJ stands as one of my favorite pieces of music journalism.

Fight Club redux!

IN HASTE

You know when you find a piece of music that perfectly captures the vibe of a given moment? Last time I heard a track that made me fall of my chair, it was Marz' The River (on headphones in a hotel room overlooking NYC) at new years. It still remains one of the most calming, pure, things I've heard. Now, my friend Nate Cunningham sent me over a band called Nudge on Kranky records. Perfect for 11:36 pm on a Sunday night, following a hectic weekend. I'll post more details about these guys when I get it, but in the meantime, enjoy.

Nudge- Classic Mode

BLUE MEMORY

I'm not sure how it is that Zoot Woman haven't caught on much stateside...but I'm certainly going to try and remedy this fact. The band is a project from Stuart Price (also known as a Mr. Jacques Lucont) and brothers Johnny (guitar, vocals) and Adam Blake.

This tune is about as perfect as pop gets. I cannot stop playing it...Listen to that hook! aieee

Zoot Woman- Grey Day

I'm also crazy for Tom Middleton's remix of their track- Its Automatic, which was featured on Jacques' Fabric Mix.

WHERE'S YOUR HEAD AT?

Put together a rough draft in itunes of where my head's at right now...want to try to get this properly mixed soon. In the interim, drop me a line and I'll send you a CDR copy of the unmixed version. I want to try to work in Wighnomy Bros.-Wurz + Blosse in here somewhere, as its one of my fav tunes at the moment.

Deadbeat- Slow Rot From Rhetoric
Markus Guentner- Jellyfish
Closer Musik- Maria
Marc LeClair- 236th jour
Jonas Bering- Mustang 1966
Peter Schumann-Ric
Isolee-Face b
Frank Martiniq-Walking Bass (Little Fluffy Krauts Mix)
A Number of Names-Shari Vari
Konrad Black-Separation Anxiety (feat. march21)
John Tejada-And Many More
Richard Davis-Bring Me Closer
Ada- Maps
Squarepusher- Love Will Tear Us Apart (Joy Division)

I can't stop listening to Isolee's We Are Monster, or the new Marc LeClair record, Musique Pour 3 Femmes Enceintes.

Here's a tune for you:

This track came out on Shur i Kan's Waypoints EP. First thing I've heard from Mr. Fingers in a long time, and it doesnt disappoint.

Shur I Kan-Searching (Mr. Fingers Remix)

Matt Perpetua over at Fluxblog has posted a new Ewan Pearson/ Usher remix of Feist. It rules. Check it here.

TECHNOTANZEN

Word on the street is Broker/ Dealer are playing a loft party in the NYC tonight. Drop me a line and I'll forward you on the details.

Here's one of my favorite tracks they've done, taken from the Triple R Friends mix on Kompakt (and also on Doc Martin's Fabric 10 mix). Wow. listen to that solitary synth line about 2:25 in, so beautiful.

Broker/ Dealer- Boots and Pants

I love how gelatanous the tones are, as if the kick drum and bass line were submerged in that pink fluid from the movie the abyss.

TOO HOT

Mr Fingers- Beyond the Clouds
(from the aforementioned Soul Jazz Acid comp)

The Black Dice- Skeleton
I think people that had the patience with this record were richly rewarded for it. The guitar tones in this are heavenly, once you wade through the intro parts, which are quite abstract.

CAN YOU JACK?

Run to your local record store and pick up the new Soul Jazz Acid House compilation, Can You Jack. Just got it today, and can confirm that it is absolutely on-point in its documentation of one of the most interesting movements in electronic music. The included booklet also contains some great interviews from the likes of Green Velvet/ Cajmere, Roy Davis Jr. and Marshall Jefferson.

In other news, I tracked down the Triple R selection 1 mix, as well as Jan Jelenek's Loop Finding Jazz Records (which I've never heard!). Very excited about both of these, as well as a Minus compliation. These, coupled with loads of great promos to sort through this weekend will keep me happily busy.

(left to right): steven colbert, my brother's boss, my brother, devin 

we are the robots. 

POPPA OW MOW MOW

20 Jazz Funk Greats with some tasty morsels today for your consumption:

Krafwerk- Home Computer (Live in Warsaw)? Check!
Joy Division- Love will tear us apart (live in Paris)? Check!

Here's the link.

The other, other white meat. mmm.

Two things that rule:

An MP3 of the DFA remix of NIN Hand that Feeds. I've been looking for this forever, and couldn't coax it out of the Sweeney. Click here for the download site. Not sure when this comes out on vinyl, but hopefully v. soon. As always, if you download the mp3, buy the freaking record ok?

A Rex the Dog top 10 in Dusted magazine (which is well worth a regular read)

A great, older interview with Colin Greenwood from Radiohead.

YEAH, WELL, SORT OF

Checked the LCD Soundsystem gig last Friday, and while I must say that they are an entertaining band live, the performance left a bit to be desired. Nancy, the keyboardist, looked like she was stuck at a boring piano recital, and someone drunkenly played the intro to Yeah in the wrong key. This was my third time seeing the band, the first being at All Tomorrow's Parties in England. At that point, it was before the record came out, and they seemed to have quite a bit more vitality then they did at Webster Hall. It was still an energetic show, but as one that looks for on stage presence/banter, etc, it left something to be desired (aside from James yelling for Whiskey and Champagne, which I found amusing). Oh well, I still dig their 12's and DFA productions in general, but I don't think im going to check them out live again anytime soon.

The opening band, The Juan McLean, were underwhelming. I absolutely love their new LP, but they might as well have brought a laptop out and hit play. I would have given up my firstborn to hear "Give Me Every Little Thing" which I consider to be one of the best things DFA have ever done, but alas, no. Not hating, but slightly disappointed, as they have live potential dripping out of their pores. I just hope they realize it eventually.

Last night, I checked Grand National, who I knew from "The Difference" released on Output recordings, as well as an vinyl-only EP they released on UK label Sunday Best. This was their live US debut, and I must say it was an excellent show in every respect. One qualm though: My brother wanted to buy a CD/ shirt to support the band and there was no merch table to be seen. You play these initial gigs to increase your stateside exposure, and it seems counterproductive not to sell your music. Annoying.

Tonight, I'm checking Mouse On Mars at the Knitting Factory. Everyone I know that's seen their live performance has been blown away, so I'm extremely excited to check them out.

GLITZ AND GLAMOUR

Though I can't profess to have too much interest in the inner workings of Hollywood, I found this article on Tom Cruise's former PR woman quite interesting. Evidently, she managed to keep his nutso Scientology beliefs out of the media by leveraging her considerable influence.

"With the bat of an eyelash, she'd withdraw the cooperation of her agency's other stars, refuse to cooperate on other stories or ban a publication from getting another star interview. (It took Premiere magazine several years to work itself back into her good graces after one tough "Mission: Impossible 2" story.)"

Now that she's gone, and Tom's sister is his spokeswoman, its funny to sit back and watch the Scientology stories rush forward. Its only a matter of time before a confirmed gay story actually comes out that they can't contain or threaten to sue into the stone age.

Whats more, the whole Katie Holmes PR stunt is just about the most outrageous thing I've seen in a long time, esp. Tom Cruise hopping up and down on Oprah's couch proclaiming how he loves the way women smell. Arg.

DONE, DIRTY, CHEAP

Some tracks for you:

Boards of Canada- Buckie High
Its likely that most BOC fans haven't heard this...my friend nate scored a dv-r with hundreds of their unreleased tunes. More to come when I get 'em.

Susumu Yakota- Saku
Section 25- Je veux ton amour
Kano- Mic Fight

REX THE DOG HAS A POSSE.

...and a website. here.

this page from the site is the first thing i genuinely smiled at all day, i think. techno-dance to the lazers!!!

be sure to check the rex minimix here.

i posted the rex the dog remix of the knife earlier. its one of the best tunes i've heard in long while. be sure to check the mix of soulwax's e talking, as well as the 12' prototype. you can buy mp3s at the kompakt store, which is right here.

RADIO JOLLY MUSIC SOUND

You know those DJ mixes you keep finding yourself coming back to over and over? This is one of them. Paul Mogg from the Psychonauts in the studio for Beats In Space. A really dark electro set with a dollop of pop (read: bis' cover of shack up, etc), all mixed by one of the most talented chaps in the business. Check their full-length LP if you havent.

Paul Mogg: Beats in Space mix. (right click to dl)

also, check Pop Your Funk's Roy Dank in the mix as well. Be sure to listen for the still unreleased Brennan Green track at the end (I think its called Little Ease?). He's on the Henrik Schwarz tip there, and its an absolutely amazing piece of music. Word on the street is a release is finally in the works, along with a high profile remix that I'm not sure if I should mention yet. Stay tuned.

Roy Dank- Beats In Space Mix

Update! According to Roy Dank, the track is coming out on Brennan's Chinatown label, with remixes from Lindstrom & Prins Thomas. If you aren't familiar with their work, check out the feedelity recordings site and buy I Feel Space because it rules.

Jon Pareles swilling the haterade over the new Coldplay record. And rightfully so, in my opinion.

I'm personally quite sick of Chris Martin's "shareholders are the world's greatest evil" sentiment, while people are shelling out 180 dollars for a pair of tickets to see the band in an monsterous arena. Based on the success of A Rush of Blood alone, I'm sure he has the resources to circumvent the evil capitalists and release the record on his own...

Such hypocricy. And don't even get me started on his Make trade fair ramblings...

Update: My friend Matt mentioned to me that evidently, the logo on the front of their new record is some cryptic code which, when deciphered, says "Fair Trade." Hm, doesn't this bring to mind the code on the side of the New Order Blue Monday 12'? Not only in concept, but it appears to be the exact same style and everything.

Here's an excerpt from the niagara site:
Q: What are those strange colours on the sleeve?
A: It's a colour code Peter Saville same up with, see Power, Corruption and Lies for decoding information (scroll down a bit)

When you get a spare second, check my piece on US border restrictions and the implications for underground music on earplug.

Also, drop me a line and let us know how were are doing with the publication in general. I feel its getting better and better with every issue, but certainly welcome any comments or insights as to what you'd like to see.

FINALLY

Some quick thoughts on Mutek:

Unfortunatly, I wasn't able to get up to Montreal earlier than Friday night. My flight ended up being delayed, and didn't arrive until one or so. Initial impression of Montreal was their spanking new airport, which is about as sleek and pared down as the minimal techno that the city is increasingly becoming known for. I set down the bags and ventured out to find the main venue, which was a three floor multi-use space. Upon my arrival, I managed to get lost in the venue for a bit, checking out some glitched-out laptoppery, which didn't do much to propel me out of my slightly weary state.

After guzzling a few Red Bulls, I finally stumbled onto the feature level, right for the beginning of Apparat's set. This was my first Mutek experience (after having cancelled last-minute due to work last year). I was pleasantly surprised to find that every artist was playing live, rather than turning up with a crate of records. Apparat played what can be best described as a improv techno set, eschewing a lot of the more nuanced production in favor of aggressive basslines and balls-out barnstormers. He was followed by Pan/Tone (aka Sid Le Rock) whos recorded for various labels including Sender, Kompakt and Sub Rosa. He carried on the vibe where Apparat left off, but not having any sort of a notebook at the time, specific tracks are eluding me at the moment.

I spent most of Sunday wondering around Montreal, absorbing the glorious post-winter hibernation cafe and revelry vibe. One thing that stuck out was the fact that you could walk down a main street like St. Laurent and feel like you were in North America, and then walk down the French St. Denis, and feel like you had instantly made a transatlantic jump onto a European high street. I enjoyed my time exploring, met up with a few friends for a coffee, and generally enjoyed the summer atmosphere. Everyone in the entire city seemed to be in a great mood, and coupled with my anticipation for the evening ahead, this made for quite nice time.

During the course of the day, one of the press officers for Mutek, Paulina Borda, mentioned that Ricardo Villalobos, due to play in tandem with Luciano as Sense Club, "missed his flight"/ "lost his passport." The fact that this is the third time Mr. Villalobos has pulled this on Mutek tells you all you need to know about the professionalism involved here. Lesson learned: Passports are hard to find when you are in the K Hole. To the credit of the festival organizers, everyone involved bounced back from this in a professional manner. Monolake opened with a fairly minimal, subdued vibe, and then Canada's Matthew Jonson picked things up with a stellar set, re-arranging his back catalogue through the use of a laptop and what I gathered to be running Ableton live and a Midi controller. Luciano made the best of what he could out of the situation, and performed a mindblowing set of his subtle, textured polyrhythms and delving progressively deeper into it.

Atom Heart and the Original Hamster filled Villalobos' void with an interesting set consisting of the sort of beat you hear emmanating out of every car as you walk around in southside williamsburg. It was an odd amalgamation of reggaeton, acid and techno (complete with filthy spanish acapellas) that varied the sound of the night nicely, and certainly kept me on the balls of my feet for the duration of their set. What's more, they cobbled their live set together with borrowed drum machines and equipment that they managed to assemble just a few hours before.

Galoppierende Zuversicht headlined the evening (they're playing in New York soon!), and managed to endear themselves to an up-for-it crowd. While many people had no idea who these guys were at the beginning of the evening, the tongue-twister name was deciphered and surely scrawlled down into a few notebooks as ones to watch.

The personal highlight of the entire festival for me was my final day. The organizers put together a picnic on a lovely island right on the water in Montreal. Luciano and Serafin played back to back for a crowd of bathing suit clad techno revellers, followed by Montreal's own Steven Beaupre and Pier and Andres Bucci-- who are certainly ones that I'm going to keep and eye on.

All in all, an amazing city, and an absolutely fantastic festival that I'm going to do my best to make it to in all its locales from now on.

WORTHLESS I TELL YOU

I know, I've been absolutely worthless for about a week or so on this blog. Rest assured, a boatload of really nice music coming v. soon, along with some thoughts on Mutek.

In the interim, check Philip's pitchfork column on the festival here

An excerpt: "An air of dismay hung over Saturday night's keystone event when it was discovered that Ricardo Villalobos, one half of the headlining duo Sense Club, had "missed" his flight and/or "lost" his passport (perhaps the Libertines are looking for a backup laptop player?)"

Hah!

Also, check Geeta's Montreal snaps 'n thoughts here.

back from montreal for mutek. wow.
A recap, as well as related tracks to come tonight. stay tuned!

Andreas Gursky
Rhine II
1999

 

TRACK'S SO HOT IT COULD BE A RINGTONE

I'm headed up to Montreal tonight to check out Mutek. Should be an amazing time, and I'm particularly interested in checking Matthew Jonson and Sense Club (Villalobos and Luciano b2b). I've been pretty bad at posting music over the past week, but be assured I will be back to it when I return.

The wheels are coming off the wagon.

squiggle! 

GO ON! POP YOUR FUNK!
Come out to this tonight. T'will be great as it always is.
Thurs, June 2
Resident freakazoids Brennan Green and Roy Dank all night long.
FREE!
10pm
$5 drink specials
Pop Your Funk happens on the 1st Thurs of each month at
APT, 419 West 13th Street btwn 9th Ave & Washington

Phil Sherburne brings 25 minutes of moody, slowed-down minimal goodness here.

MORE COWBELL? NO, MORE BURBLEY 303

A BBC collective feature on the Chicago acid sound.

Death knell for the EU constitution
Dive Euro dive! bwahahaha.

KONICHIWA BITCHES

Whoa. Robyn's shit is off the chainz. Check Flux for more.

Andreas Gursky "San Francisco" (1998) 

creepers! 

Slate on the unmasking of deep throat.

James Wolcott's got a great idea for Gitmo.

ITS A COLD NIGHT FOR ALLIGATORS

Thanks to everyone that came out to see Blair and I DJ at Misshapes. A good time was had by all, especially those who were still standing for the final tune, Bone Thugz and Harmony- "Tha Crossroads." It was brought to my attention that we should've dropped their tune feat. Phil Collins, but there's always next time.

In other news, I can't stop listening to this track:

Richie Havens- Going Back to My Roots (Twitch edit)

or this one- the kick drum tone alone is enough for me, let alone the hook!

Out Hud- It's For You

or, a classic:

Cajmere- It's Time for the Percolator

Mocky- Mickey Mouse Motherfuckers (Tiefschwarz remix)
Mocky feat. Jamie Lidell- How Will I know you

DANCETERIA

More tunes coming tonight. In the meantime, check out Twitch's new Beats in Space mix here.

A reminder:
Come out to Misshapes tonight, to see myself and Blair from Music for Robots playing records.

Details here.

John Tejada DJ set in Budapest, May 2005, courtesy of Nick Parish.

Download here, and be sure to listen for "sweat on the walls" about 1:05 in.

ENTHUSIASM

One of the music highlights of every month for me is reading what gems Ewan Pearson has unearthed. He's a fantastic writer, and I want to snatch up literally every record on this page. Check it out here.

A teaser:

7. John Starlight - John's Addiction [UKW]

Mr Oizo on DMT.

Make sure to check Tom Middleton's new essential mix on the BBC Radio site.

GIRLS ROCK YOUR BOYS

My friend Emma reminded me of the Radioboy album -- one of Matthew Herbert's earlier projects. Its available for complete download here at the Tigersushi site.

SO HUNGRY, SO ANGRY

Tim Sweeney's mix at Our Disco in London in up here. Check it, the kid's on fire. Highlights? He starts with the DFA remix of NIN, which is quite the interpretation of the original, and towards the end, plays Carl Craig's The Climax into Westbam's Old School, Baby feat. Nina. What a tune. I never, ever get tired of it. In fact, I flip my shit whenever its played out.

STAY AT HOME

Or, come dancing you sissies.

My friend Blair from Music for Robots and I will be playing
some records this Saturday night at Misshapes. Its a really fun
party, and one of the only ones I've been to in NYC where kids
keep dancing until 5 am rain or shine. Expect rock and roll,
electro, twisted disco and whatever kids shake their hips to
these days.

We're going on at 2:30 am or so, but come by earlier for some
free drinkage from 10-12. I trust I can rely on your attendance
(and your vote).

Details:
misshapes
Music for robots

My friend Toby Warner tipped me off on one of the coolest mixtape sites I've seen in some time. The Nice & Slo mix from Mastermix is amazing-- 46 tracks in 11 minutes. Just as the Psychonauts encapsulated the mid-nineties Mo'Wax sound with their Time Machine mix, this mix documents mid-eighties electro, funk, breaks and hip-hop. Direct download from here.

I wish every night out at a club ended on this note:

Sebastian Tellier-La Ritournelle

He also did a beautiful song for the lost in translation soundtrack, which I'm just revisiting now. The Kevin Shields tracks are great.

Sebastian Tellier- Fantino

Wow. Just finished my first listen to Richard Davis' new LP, Details. Emotive minimal techno of the highest order, similar in vibe to a lot of Superpitcher's stuff, with strings, really crisp production and excellent vocals. I'm going to put some more coherent thoughts together on this for earplug, but for now, I want you to listen to this:

Richard Davis- The Truth

Be sure to check the Luciano remix of M83, which Matthew Perpetua has kindly posted here.

MUSIC SOUNDS BETTER WITH YOU

The Smashing Pumpkins covering Joy Div under their Starchildren pseudonym. Really, really good. Despite my being a die-hard a Pumpkins fan back in the day, this tune has eluded me til now.

Starchildren- Isolation

Mexico city was an experience, though I can't say that I managed to see that much of it over the course of two days. My friend Philipp just mentioned that its like LA in 10 years or so, and I'd say thats right on the mark. 20 million people, and a thick haze of pollution blanketing the city. My initial experience with how huge it actually is was only reinforced when were were coming in to land... almost otherworldly in density.

In terms of culture and such, I was able to check out the Museum of Modern art, as well as the Anthropological Museum, both of which were absolutely fantastic. Other than that, I pretty much just wondered the streets, checking out different cafes and such. Though I was a bit disconcerted by the number of people checking into the hotel with bodyguards (the bellhop mentioned its due to the high level of kidnappings, etc), I felt relatively safe wandering around by myself in chapultepac. Really wanted to see Leon Trotsky's house, but it wasn't in the cards. Next time.

Ok. Good to be back, and trying to catch up on emails and such. Here's some music for you (to be uploaded tomorrow morning 3/24- check back then)

Sleater Kinney- Entertain
Neu!- E-Muzik
Isolee- Face B
Maurice Fulton- Feel the Same
Rex the Dog- Frequency

I mentioned this re-edit a bit earlier on the blog. The Kieran Hebden edit of the good ones by the Kills. Amazing stuff

The Kills- The Good Ones (Kieran Hebden mix)

¿¿¿¿¿¿

Caught a ridiculously cheap flight and now find myself in Mexico City.

Initial impression: its like drinking from a firehose...and this is on a sunday. I'm off to explore the museum of modern art, but more thoughts (and tunes!) forthcoming. Ive got a lot of stuff you need to hear.