10.26.2007

A Taste of Techno

Just as an aside, I prefer to say "electronica." I feel like "techno" has a negative connotation and doesn't convey the extreme diversity of this genre. But I couldn't resist the alliteration. (Or is it assonance?)

Speaking of diversity, hey! You won't find any here! My taste in electronica so far extends to pretty much just "mainstream" type stuff. So this post isn't for all you technokids, this post is for those of you who may still be mystified by synthesizers. Even though I try to point my blog posts toward the obscure, most of the artists here are already pretty well-represented in the public consciousness. I just want to give you a little taste of some easy-to-swallow electronica, so that if you like what you hear here (homophones omg!), you could discover a whole new world of music.

"Days Go By" - Dirty Vegas. I think this song was really popular in a car commercial several years ago. I actually saw this band open for Moby around that same time; they were far better than any of the other opening acts. I also have an acoustic version of this song which is pretty nice. A pretty simple, catchy club song.

"Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger" - Daft Punk. You've probably heard this song sampled in Kanye West's latest single, "Stronger." I actually like what Kanye did with it, but the original is pretty snazzy too. Daft Punk may be reaching new heights of popularity; this is about their third song to become well-known in the past few years (the others being "One More Time" and "Technologic").

"I Am the Cheese" - Safety Scissors. Okay, I don't know anything about this artist. I got this track as an iTunes freebie. It apparently has explicit lyrics, which I only mention because I hardly even noticed there was a vocal part at all when I first heard it, so the explicitness may be more insidious--if that kind of thing concerns you. It's a low-key track.

"Kidnap the Sandy Claws" - She Wants Revenge. Yeah, pretty much every post I make has to have a cover song, apparently. This is a version of a song from Tim Burton's classic movie, A Nightmare Before Christmas. It was done for the soundtrack of the new 3D version of the film. I believe She Wants Revenge have a new record out.

"On A Friday" - Blaqk Audio. I already talked about Blaqk Audio a few posts down. Here's another track off their album CexCells. I like that the lyrics of the song mimic scenes from a movie.

"Pop the Glock" - Uffie. Uffie mixes hip-hop and techno for in-your-face catchiness. I've heard she's not so great live, however.

"Shanti Ashtangi" - Madonna. A track from Madonna's "techno album," Ray of Light. This song is kind of strange, I guess, because it mixes an ancient language (Sanskrit) with synthesized sounds. But I think it comes off very well.

"Strict Machine" - Goldfrapp. This song was also on a commercial, I think for a cell phone. Goldfrapp are very good at creating lush, ambient songs.

"Such Great Heights" - The Postal Service. The Postal Service features Ben Gibbard from Death Cab for Cutie and Dntel, an electronic artist. They combine clever lyrics with subtle beat mixtures. I believe this song has also been covered by about 5000 other artists.

"Weapon of Choice" - Fatboy Slim. Fatboy Slim is another artist who just makes great dancing songs. This song also had an awesome video featuring Christopher Walken doing some sweet ninja dance moves.

10.15.2007

Ojos de Brujo

Another short post, because frankly I don't have a lot to say about this band. Ojos de Brujo are a group from Barcelona, and Wikipedia tells me they have a certain degree of popularity in Europe. I, frankly, had never heard of them until I discovered them from another music blog. I'll be honest, I've really only listened to these three songs, but each song quickly worked its way into my brain, particularly "Todo Tiende." You can hear more songs on their official website and on the band's myspace. Every song I hear from them sounds good in my ears. :) They make a catchy blend of flamenco, tropical and hip-hop.



Ojos de Brujo:
[official website]
[myspace]
[wikipedia]

Ojos de Brujo

10.01.2007

Silly Cover Songs, Vol. 2

I'm a day late, oh well! Here's the second half of my compilation.

1. Mr. Tambourine Man (Bob Dylan) - William Shatner.
2. I Walk the Line (Johnny Cash) - Leonard Nimoy.

I have an entire album, Spaced Out, of songs by Shatner and Nimoy. Why? Well, who could resist?!

3. I've Got You, Babe (Sonny & Cher) - R.E.M.
4. I Will Survive (Gloria Gaynor) - R.E.M.
5. King of the Road (Roger Miller) - R.E.M.

R.E.M. love to bust out the impromptu, alcohol-fueled cover song. I believe in every single one of these covers, Michael Stipe forgets the words and starts to make up his own.

6. Milkshake (Kelis) - Richard Cheese. Richard Cheese is a character who covers songs in a lounge-lizard style. It's a shtick and it's hilarious. It was so hard to choose just one.

7. I Am the Walrus (The Beatles) - Jim Carrey. The lyrics are weird enough on their own, but Jim Carrey adds a whole other level of demented to this classic.

8. Independent Women (Destiny's Child) - Elbow. I almost didn't choose this one because it's largely instrumental, but it's just so campy and silly-sounding.

9. Start Me Up (The Rolling Stones) - The Folksmen. Someone else has discovered the ridiculousness of bluegrass and cover songs! And it's Christopher Guest!

10. Faith (George Michael) - The Boy Least Likely To. This is another of those songs that just doesn't work.



Enjoy, who knows when I may update again!

9.29.2007

Silly Cover Songs, Vol. 1

I'm not so good with the updating thing, lately. But! Tonight I have finished all my work and I don't have any movies from Netflix that need watching. I have delicious Japanese fruit candies and I am ready to deliver.

Tonight is for laughs. These are cover songs. And they are ridiculous, sometimes intentionally, sometimes not. Because of the sheer number of these I've selected, I won't get too in-depth about them. Just listen. Original artists are in parentheses.

1. My Humps (Fergie) - Alanis Morissette. Alanis exposes the inanity of Fergie's lyrics by removing the catchy pop music and singing in a mock-serious manner.

2. Bitches Ain't Shit (DMX) - Ben Folds. Ben Folds does the same for DMX.

3. Under Pressure (Queen) - Blood Brothers. I think this one may not have been intentional. Queen just wasn't meant for the screamo treatment.

4. Christmas is All Around (The Troggs) - Billy Mack. This song is from the movie Love Actually and is skewered within. Billy Mack is played by the hilarious Bill Nighy.

5. Superfreak (Rick James) - Bruce Hornsby & Ricky Skaggs. What is it about bluegrass and its ability to produce hilarious covers?

6. Losing My Religion (R.E.M.) - Graveworm. When you think of R.E.M., do you think of death metal? When you think of death metal, do you think of R.E.M.? No? Thanks, Graveworm.

7. Don't Touch That (MC Hammer) - Group X - Arabian Rap Sensations. I don't know if I can even begin to describe Group X, except to say that they are a comedy/satire group that pretends to be Arab and unable to speak English.

8. Coming Clean (Green Day) - Honeywagon. This is from the album that I mentioned in my original covers post. Bluegrass does it again. This one is pretty funny on its own, but gut-bustingly hilarious if you're familiar with the original.

9. Hot in Herre (Nelly) - Jenny Owens Young. This one is in the vein of the first two on this list.

10. Toxic (Britney Spears) - Nickel Creek. This one mixes the lyrics strategy with bluegrass. Genius!



So that's Volume 1! Hopefully I'll be able to get Volume 2 up tomorrow.

8.25.2007

"Semiotic Love" - Blaqk Audio


Whoa, apparently I took a summer break from my blog without meaning to! But school is starting again shortly and I'm getting back into the swing of productivity.

I've decided that along with the longer-type posts that I've been doing, I'll make some shorter posts just focusing on a single song or two--maybe this way I can update more frequently. We'll see.

If you've ever taken a peek at my last.fm info, you've probably noticed that I'm a pretty big AFI fan. You've probably also heard of Blaqk Audio, the new electronica duo that is formed by AFI songwriters Davey Havok and Jade Puget. Admittedly, Blaqk Audio mostly sounds like AFI On Techno Juice. Nonetheless, the duo's album CexCells has some pretty good songs. My absolute favorite is "Semiotic Love," a dancy and melodic track that is uber-catchy.



[Blaqk Audio @ MySpace]
[Blaqk Audio @ Wikipedia]

4.17.2007

The Guggenheim Grotto


If you weren't already aware, the iTunes Store offers certain freebies every week. This week I was really excited to see that the Single of the Week was by a band that's been lurking in my library for a while now. The band I'm speaking of is The Guggenheim Grotto [official site], a folk band from Dublin.

I'm not certain I can pinpoint what, exactly, is so good about this band. They definitely sound good in my ears. Maybe it's their delicate acoustic sound or their resonant harmonies. Even though they seem to be labeled as folk, I would say that their sound is something closer to bluegrass (though I think this distinction is probably just splitting hairs).

So today I present to you five songs which I believe comprise their EP entitled A Lifetime in Heat. [I apologize, but I think the first track is actually incomplete.] This EP is available for free download from the band's official website. My favorite tracks are "One for Sorrow" and "Cold Truth."

Click the iTunes link below the widget to get the free download of a new song called "Philosophia." You can hear even more tracks from the band's album ...Waltzing Alone at their myspace.




The Guggenheim Grotto - Philosophia - Single of the Week - Philosophia
"Philosophia" - The Guggenheim Grotto

The Guggenheim Grotto
The Guggenheim Grotto @ iTunes

[The Guggenheim Grotto @ Wikipedia]
[The Guggenheim Grotto @ Myspace]

3.24.2007

Instrumentals

Hello everyone. I wanted to update my blog sooner but unfortunately the internet on our campus died. Actually I’m writing this in Word and planning to post it whenever our connection returns. Anyway, I apologize if you were eagerly awaiting a new post all weekend long.

Also, on Friday night before the death of the internet, I managed to stick a little last.fm box in my sidebar. It lists my top artists for the week, so you can check out which artists I like to listen to that aren’t likely to be featured on this blog. (If you don’t know, last.fm keeps track of the music you play and then you can check out all your statistics.)

Right. Let’s talk about music. My theme today is instrumentals. It takes a lot to make a good instrumental song. An instrumental version of a song that normally has lyrics is not what I’m talking about here. I’m talking about songs that manage to evoke feelings or atmospheres without words. A successful instrumental not only achieves this but also is attention-grabbing and interesting to hear. With that in mind, here are four songs that I think fit these criteria.


Get your own Box.net widget and share anywhere!

Fire Walk With Me (Twin Peaks Theme) – Angelo Badalamenti. I guess I should say that I think this track is pretty much The Best Instrumental of All Time, Ever. It is simultaneously lush and minimal, intimate and epic, subtle and powerful. I’m not sure what else I can say—just listen to it. [amazon]

18 – Moby. Moby has a keen sense of instrumentation that is evident in all the music he makes. He often samples vocals from other records—meaning he takes them out of their original context and wraps them up in totally new instrumentation. Thus he has a strong sense of exactly what role instrumentation plays in a song. This track is from his album 18, which includes a couple of other great instrumentals, “Fireworks” and “Look Back In.” [amazon]

Espionage – Green Day. You may notice that all the other songs in this list are slow, evocative tracks. When you think of Green Day, are “slow” or “evocative” words that come to mind? Of course not. Especially not a track from an album called Shenanigans. This song is perhaps a bit less profound than the others, but infinitely more fun. It is Green Day’s tribute to James Bond-ism, spies, and the 60s. Green Day actually have another instrumental that very nearly made this list, “Last Ride In” which is found on their album nimrod. [amazon - Shenanigans][amazon – nimrod]

New Orleans Instrumental No. 1 – R.E.M. R.E.M. are known for having moody instrumentation in their early career, mostly because no one could comprehend Michael Stipe’s infamous mumbles. The man himself has, in the past, mysteriously claimed that R.E.M.’s early records had no words, only phonetic sounds. This track is from their most celebrated album, Automatic for the People. In a record about life and death, this song expresses the hazy middle space between the two under the guise of a city that itself seems to walk the line. (If you were curious, there is indeed a New Orleans Instrumental No. 2.) [amazon]

I hope you enjoyed the songs. As an aside, does anyone out there reading know how to make links to the iTunes store? Leave me a comment or email.

User's Guide, Round 2

I'm going to be doing things a bit differently from now on. Don't worry--it's nothing major! Your carefully ordered world will remain much the same. But box.net (where I host the music files for this blog) has recently introduced the ability to make an embeddable widget from a folder of one's files. For example, here's a widget I've made of all the music that has been previously featured on my blog.


Get your own Box.net widget and share anywhere!

To play a song, simply click on it! A smaller box will pop up that allows you to adjust the volume and pause the song if you like. Use the little up and down arrows to scroll through the list. It's that easy! So future posts will feature a widget instead of those messy links. Hopefully everyone's computer can handle the widget; I think it's just a little piece of Java but I'm not certain. Leave me a comment if you're having trouble.

3.19.2007

Damone

Sorry for the delay on new posts--I was on spring break, and while myself and my iPod (named arachnopod, if you were curious) were back home, my actual iTunes library remained in my dorm back in Atlanta. So I didn't have access to my library. But I'm back and ready to serve you once again!

Before I get to the meat of this post, I'd just like to mention a couple of up-and-coming artists. I was actually going to do posts dedicated to these two artists, but I happened to see both of them mentioned in the latest issue of Blender, so I figured they didn't need any extra publicity from my little blog. :) Anyway, with no further ado, they are The Fratellis and Uffie. The Fratellis are a rock band from Scotland, and Rolling Stone recently said of their album Costello Music, "It makes you elated in the moment and sorry when it's over." I agree. Uffie makes a different type of music: a blend of dance, techno and rap with a minimalist twist. You can hear it on her MySpace.

Finally, on to the real point of this post! Today I'm highlighting a band from Boston named Damone [Official Site]. They are a rock-pop band with a classic catchy sound. Perhaps the lyrics seem a bit plain, and you might notice a distinct lack of artsy experimental sounds. No matter! Damone just want to give you a good time, and give it they will. Power chords are the name of the game and they play it with catchy hooks. Here are a couple of tracks I've picked to highlight Damone's sound.

(1) Feel Bad Vibe. This is a track off Damone's first album, From the Attic. With this song Damone illustrate that songs about bad feelings need not be angsty acoustic numbers. The lead vocalist, Noelle, sings of the discovery that one's ex-lover has moved on, and the ensuing emotion: "Who's that in your chevelle? / Feel it come."

(2) Stabbed in the Heart. This track is from Damone's latest album, Out Here All Night. Once again, Damone's lyrics may be lacking a certain poeticism, but they get straight to the point: "Well I must not be too smart, / If I can't fix what I let fall apart. / But standin' there listenin' was like bein' stabbed in the heart." This song is a bit less upbeat, but still features lots of distortion and a guitar solo.

You can check out more tracks by Damone at their MySpace. "What We Came Here For" is a real winner, and will have you dancing around your home like Twisted Sister.

[amazon - Out Here All Night][amazon - From the Attic][Wikipedia]

3.03.2007

User's Guide

I just thought I'd throw up some quick notes about how to use the media in this blog. There are two ways you can hear the songs.

(1) Download. Click the song link and you will be taken to my box.net account. Click "download" to download the song to your computer. Then open the file using the media player of your choice. The files I provide should be in either mp3 or m4a format. iTunes will play both of these; I'm not certain if Windows Media Player will play m4a.

If you choose to download songs, remember that most of the songs offered should be deleted after 24 hours. However, some artists choose to allow certain songs or albums to be downloaded for free with no legal restriction. I've helpfully marked these with the tag [freebie].

(2) Stream. Click the song link and you will be taken to my box.net account. Click "play" to stream the song in a mini-player. If you have a slower connection, you may want to let the song completely load before playing it. The progress of loading is shown in the box that displays the file name: a pale orange-ish bar will "fill up" the window as the song loads.

I think that should cover all the business of "using" this blog. If you have any questions, leave me a comment!