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.

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]

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!