I forgot to add some more faves to the previous post. I figure a whole new post would be easier than constantly adding stuff to an already posted thing. I'll either keep adding things to the end here or make a new post.
Part 1 is HERE
Fever Ray: "When I Grow Up"
When I Grow Up from Fever Ray on Vimeo.
One-half of The Knife, Karin Dreijer Andersson, broke out to be Fever Ray. The beautiful and pretty weird and synthy sounds with processed vocals are still there, but becoming more creepy and intense. Awesome! It was hard to pick out a Fever Ray track for this, but i let the line "When I grow up, I want to be a forester / Run through the moss on high heels" guide me. This track is relatively playful with lyrics indicating a mind growing restless with being in a house alone that's taken a life of its own in her mind. I highly recommend checking out her other videos from the Vimeo link above. The videos run from weird to creepy to scary. So good!
Neko Case: "This Tornado Loves You"
Neko has an amazing voice, which is never in doubt. The lyrics with their metaphor is spot-on. It makes me okay to end this brief description by saying: Neko Case is a force of nature. duh.
The xx: "You Got the Love" (Florence + The Machine cover/remix)
The song has a long history, sung originally by Candi Staton and THE SOURCE, winding its way through different versions and remixes since the 1970s. Wikipedia and Pitchfork can shed some light on it. I was introduced to the Now Voyager version of the song through the finale of the Sex and the City HBO series (yeah, i admit it, and it kinda made me tear up. dammit). It is an effective dancefloor filler because while the lyrics have religious overtones, they are easily transferable to reflections on strained relationships leading to dancefloor catharsis. Florence + The Machine covered this last year, staying pretty faithful to the sentiment and drama of the original. The video portraying her as a diva in Studio 54 testifying to her flock. The xx remix and cover this using their "sexy, smooth, understated" vocal style and minimal 2-step garage beats. I'm also a bit amused at what could be conceived as their lampooning of Florence's rather self-important vocals and music video.
Memory Tapes: "Bicycle"
(You can go to their MySpace page and listen to it straight up. There is no official video for the song, the only thing that comes close is this dance routine I found).
The guy behind Memory Tapes definitely knows which buttons to push to make joyful dance music. You can hear everything from David Byrne to New Order as the track builds up and coasts into a mesmerizing sunset.
Fuck Buttons: "Surf Solar"
(this is a 3:45 minute edit of the full 10+ minute experience).
What a great title. The slow burn of the synths pushing the samples along makes you feel like you're surfing the electromagnetic field of the sun which you are able to feel while buffeted with distorted radio signals from Earth. Which your translate into sound. A great marriage of noise with house rhythms.
jj: "Ecstasy"
Swedish act jj's A great reworking of Lil Wayne's "Lollipop" as a tribute to taking ecstasy. Bienvenido a Miamiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii.............
Joy Orbison: "Hyph Mngo"
Was one of my favorite dance tracks (apparently it's dubstep. i would not have been able to pick that out). Just like "Surf Solar" above, this track was amazing how you can feel like the whole of the track through its splintered and stuttering parts. The beats and a Janet Jackson(?) sample keep the heart of the track beating.
While the video for their track "BRKLN CLLN" (DOLDRUMS)" was one of my favorite videos. I have memories of these parades from when I was 4-5 years old. Freak the hell out of me. I might as well have been tripping.
Basement Jaxx: "Raindrops" (possibly NSFW)
Yay! Welcome back, guys.
Smith Westerns: "Be My Girl"
Lo-Fi, but not putting their levels in the red. You have to turn up the volume. It kind of annoyed me. Still, they take advantage of the fidelity by making the song sound like a 50's rock orchestral masterpiece covered by T.Rex. that you have to pick through the fuzz.
and for some pop trash that I can't really justify but was an effective earworm:
Cascada: "Evacuate the Dancefloor"
It's really the chorus that ingrains itself. The Germanic insistence of the slightly nonsensical lyrics. Featuring MC Carlprit (get it? Carlprit). Europop continuing its never ending insistence on inserting a German rapper who sounds funny rapping in English, whether by accent or lyric. "Yo lady! yo baby!"
Thursday, January 28, 2010
Saturday, December 05, 2009
Most Elevato-nous Tracks of 2009
Elevato 2009 was very quiet. Anxiety over the future has been overwhelming. The majority of my internet output has been in 140 characters or less (see upper-left side of this blog).
So, I thought I'd bring it back to old bloggy and make some comments in an area that I am not qualified to speak on with any authority. Music. Then again, who needs authority when I can just say here's my favorite music of 2009! Warning: it's very poppy.
Also, I know people can't be bothered to read these things so I'll start at the top. After that, it's not really in any order. Enjoy!
1. Dirty Projectors: "Stillness is the Move"
I started using Twitter this year and I was advised to follow Grizzly Bear's Ed Droste. During SXSW he started going crazy about the new Dirty Projectors songs he was hearing, in particular this track. Through fuzzy youtube uploads, I was able to gleam what he was going on about. It just made perfect sense, melding minimal repetitive guitar noodling, sounding vaguely like an African mbira thumb piano, and the fact that people around my age grew up listening to folks like Mariah Carey and other R&B jams since we were kids. The simple lyrics play up the latter angle, making it a sweet indie rock r&b slow jam that is not as obnoxious-sounding as this sentence sounds.
Also worth checking out is this excellent cover version by Solange Knowles (Beyonce's sister) check out sources and pitchfork review here.
Yeah Yeah Yeahs: "Heads Will Roll"
Yeah Yeah Yeahs: "Zero"
The Yeah Yeah Yeahs never do what I think they'll do, but whatever they do, they manage to make it sound like the Yeah Yeah Yeahs. Always fun, slightly abrasive and affirming. Karen O mesmerizing.
Lady Gaga: "Bad Romance"
In my circles, Lady Gaga is one of those folks that immediately got a raised eyebrow because she's mixed in with the regular pop trash that get immediate eyebrow raises once they get popular enough that non-teenagers hear about them. However, that eyebrow was eventually beat down by this song. People joke nervously over the weird opening "roma ma"s but then start to realize that this is going to be one particularly strange roller coaster of a song. It runs perfectly with swelling synths which become subdued (in a way that reminds me of Depeche Mode) when reaching the bridge ("you know that I want you"), all to explode in the hook of the chorus. There are some by-now-familiar sensationalist Lady Gaga bait lines in the lyrics (the "vertigo stick" "I'm a freak bitch, baby"), but rather than sounding like someone without a grasp of writing skills, it sounds like a commitment to her embrace of pop trash culture.
The video highlights this with pop cues suggesting everything from Christina Aguilera to anime girls to Britney Spears to Amy Winehouse. In general, she goes out of her way to give the appearance of Sunset Boulevard's Norma Desmond. It's pretty obvious she loves the stuff and is not unaware of what she's referencing. Of course this has caused your average mainstream fuckface to speculate whether she's a man. So in a sense, mission accomplished for accurately portraying the "fame monster" she's going for. But any idiot who just dismisses her because of these tangents is missing out and missing the point.
Camera Obscura: "French Navy"
I feel like at this point Camera Obscura can just turn on their Motown/Bacharach pop hooks like a switch. "French Navy" sounds effortless with big hooks and swelling strings.
Lily Allen: "Not Fair" (official video)
One of my favorite clips of the year was her performance at V Festival.
Lily Allen: "The Fear"
The Lily Allen single of the year has been universally "The Fear". It's a somber affair about succumbing to the trappings of celebrity and fame told with mock sincerity. The music doesn't really convey the "mock", but is still quite listenable due to its subtle hooks and grandeur. My favorite thing about the song that is not talked about in other reviews that I've seen is her line "I'll look at the sun and I'll look at the mirror / I'm on the right track, yeah I'm on to a winner" which are definitely a reference to two London trash tabloids: The Sun and The Daily Mirror (hard to catch when yr not British). Two tabloids from which you should definitely not be getting life advice from. Kudos, Lily.
My favorite track of hers this year is "Not Fair". I'm actually surprised that it didn't seem to make as much of a dent in the music sphere. It's a pretty biting critique of her bedroom-challenged boyfriend with excellent lyrics peppered throughout. I thought it was a lot of fun, extremely listenable, and full of the Lily wit. What was the problem? For some, the country music was a bit of a novelty. Maybe it was the fact that if she was serious about solving her problem, she should've talked to the dude instead of skewering him in song. That's probably why the dude had a problem in the first place.
The above performance from V Festival 2009 was amazing with an outro added on that sounds like it was enhanced by "What is Love?". And Lily looked amazing. Just saying.
Royksopp ft Robyn: "The Girl and the Robot"
Synthpop perfection.
Alphabeat: "The Spell"
I wasn't really sure whether this belongs on this year's list. It's the first single of the pop-tastic Alphabeat's new album due for release next year. Their previous album provided excellent singles for 2008 with an 80s sheen (see my list for last year). Now it would seem that we're getting to early 90s dance: Snap!, C&C Music Factory, Deee-lite. Acts that made me optimistic for a dance-filled future full of idealism. "The Spell" definitely conjures up Deee-lite for me with Stine B taking the role of Lady Miss Kier. As reductive as that sounds, it totally isn't. The song shines, only stumbling when Anders SG sings his part to provide his half of the slight story of the lyrics. He's weaving magic, she's falling for it. An ancient and slight pop convention, but it works for this song.
An aside: One thing that I find hilarious in songs like this are lyrics like "Your magic / Has got me where I want to be". It's fixing a lyrical convention of the past where one person (usually the man) is working the magic that puts the other (usually the woman) under a spell that makes her do what he wants. But now we ensure that the thing that magician wants is helping the other person do something that they already want to do. Very beneficial for both parties.
Crookers: "Il Cattivo PLUS THUNDER"
What was already a great house track is enhanced by AC/DC's "Thunderstruck". "I WAS SHAKIN' SHAKIN' SHAKIN' SHAKIN' SHAKIN'!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
Future of the Left: "Arming Eritrea"
I miss McLusky. But I was heartened to hear this screed against Rick. Fuck Rick.
Best Coast: "When I'm With You"
(unofficial video)
A great garage pop track. Lyrically it stays simple until the haunting end. It's haunting to me because I don't know if it calls the lyrics of the first portion of the song into question. Also: KEXP's review.
Shakira: "She Wolf"
I love this track, I love the "awoo"s. You go, loba.
Phoenix: "1901"
Phoenix: "Lisztomania"
Dizzee Rascal wanted to party. I was totally with him.
The critical community was not.
Dizzee Rascal: "Bonkers" featuring Armand Van Helden
I thought "Bonkers" was perfect. It's insane and catchy. It just didn't showcase his lyrical skills. Still, so much fun! This V Festival crowd agrees.
Dizzee Rascal: "Holiday" feat. Chrome
Dizzee Rascal: "Dance Wiv Me"
Lonely Island was upliftingly hilarious
Lonely Island: "I'm on a Boat"
I can sing this entire song. Before the song came out, and I heard they were putting out a song called "I'm on a Boat", I had a feeling the song would be like this, but it was so much more.
Lonely Island: "Like a Boss"
Anytime someone wants to skewer a self-congratulating concept like Slim Thug's "Like a Boss", I'm on board.
Pardon for the poor editing. I'm too tired to deal with it.
So, I thought I'd bring it back to old bloggy and make some comments in an area that I am not qualified to speak on with any authority. Music. Then again, who needs authority when I can just say here's my favorite music of 2009! Warning: it's very poppy.
Also, I know people can't be bothered to read these things so I'll start at the top. After that, it's not really in any order. Enjoy!
1. Dirty Projectors: "Stillness is the Move"
I started using Twitter this year and I was advised to follow Grizzly Bear's Ed Droste. During SXSW he started going crazy about the new Dirty Projectors songs he was hearing, in particular this track. Through fuzzy youtube uploads, I was able to gleam what he was going on about. It just made perfect sense, melding minimal repetitive guitar noodling, sounding vaguely like an African mbira thumb piano, and the fact that people around my age grew up listening to folks like Mariah Carey and other R&B jams since we were kids. The simple lyrics play up the latter angle, making it a sweet indie rock r&b slow jam that is not as obnoxious-sounding as this sentence sounds.
Also worth checking out is this excellent cover version by Solange Knowles (Beyonce's sister) check out sources and pitchfork review here.
Yeah Yeah Yeahs: "Heads Will Roll"
Yeah Yeah Yeahs: "Zero"
The Yeah Yeah Yeahs never do what I think they'll do, but whatever they do, they manage to make it sound like the Yeah Yeah Yeahs. Always fun, slightly abrasive and affirming. Karen O mesmerizing.
Lady Gaga: "Bad Romance"
In my circles, Lady Gaga is one of those folks that immediately got a raised eyebrow because she's mixed in with the regular pop trash that get immediate eyebrow raises once they get popular enough that non-teenagers hear about them. However, that eyebrow was eventually beat down by this song. People joke nervously over the weird opening "roma ma"s but then start to realize that this is going to be one particularly strange roller coaster of a song. It runs perfectly with swelling synths which become subdued (in a way that reminds me of Depeche Mode) when reaching the bridge ("you know that I want you"), all to explode in the hook of the chorus. There are some by-now-familiar sensationalist Lady Gaga bait lines in the lyrics (the "vertigo stick" "I'm a freak bitch, baby"), but rather than sounding like someone without a grasp of writing skills, it sounds like a commitment to her embrace of pop trash culture.
The video highlights this with pop cues suggesting everything from Christina Aguilera to anime girls to Britney Spears to Amy Winehouse. In general, she goes out of her way to give the appearance of Sunset Boulevard's Norma Desmond. It's pretty obvious she loves the stuff and is not unaware of what she's referencing. Of course this has caused your average mainstream fuckface to speculate whether she's a man. So in a sense, mission accomplished for accurately portraying the "fame monster" she's going for. But any idiot who just dismisses her because of these tangents is missing out and missing the point.
Camera Obscura: "French Navy"
I feel like at this point Camera Obscura can just turn on their Motown/Bacharach pop hooks like a switch. "French Navy" sounds effortless with big hooks and swelling strings.
Lily Allen: "Not Fair" (official video)
One of my favorite clips of the year was her performance at V Festival.
Lily Allen: "The Fear"
The Lily Allen single of the year has been universally "The Fear". It's a somber affair about succumbing to the trappings of celebrity and fame told with mock sincerity. The music doesn't really convey the "mock", but is still quite listenable due to its subtle hooks and grandeur. My favorite thing about the song that is not talked about in other reviews that I've seen is her line "I'll look at the sun and I'll look at the mirror / I'm on the right track, yeah I'm on to a winner" which are definitely a reference to two London trash tabloids: The Sun and The Daily Mirror (hard to catch when yr not British). Two tabloids from which you should definitely not be getting life advice from. Kudos, Lily.
My favorite track of hers this year is "Not Fair". I'm actually surprised that it didn't seem to make as much of a dent in the music sphere. It's a pretty biting critique of her bedroom-challenged boyfriend with excellent lyrics peppered throughout. I thought it was a lot of fun, extremely listenable, and full of the Lily wit. What was the problem? For some, the country music was a bit of a novelty. Maybe it was the fact that if she was serious about solving her problem, she should've talked to the dude instead of skewering him in song. That's probably why the dude had a problem in the first place.
The above performance from V Festival 2009 was amazing with an outro added on that sounds like it was enhanced by "What is Love?". And Lily looked amazing. Just saying.
Royksopp ft Robyn: "The Girl and the Robot"
Röyksopp - The Girl And The Robot from moho on Vimeo.
Synthpop perfection.
Alphabeat: "The Spell"
I wasn't really sure whether this belongs on this year's list. It's the first single of the pop-tastic Alphabeat's new album due for release next year. Their previous album provided excellent singles for 2008 with an 80s sheen (see my list for last year). Now it would seem that we're getting to early 90s dance: Snap!, C&C Music Factory, Deee-lite. Acts that made me optimistic for a dance-filled future full of idealism. "The Spell" definitely conjures up Deee-lite for me with Stine B taking the role of Lady Miss Kier. As reductive as that sounds, it totally isn't. The song shines, only stumbling when Anders SG sings his part to provide his half of the slight story of the lyrics. He's weaving magic, she's falling for it. An ancient and slight pop convention, but it works for this song.
An aside: One thing that I find hilarious in songs like this are lyrics like "Your magic / Has got me where I want to be". It's fixing a lyrical convention of the past where one person (usually the man) is working the magic that puts the other (usually the woman) under a spell that makes her do what he wants. But now we ensure that the thing that magician wants is helping the other person do something that they already want to do. Very beneficial for both parties.
Crookers: "Il Cattivo PLUS THUNDER"
What was already a great house track is enhanced by AC/DC's "Thunderstruck". "I WAS SHAKIN' SHAKIN' SHAKIN' SHAKIN' SHAKIN'!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
Future of the Left: "Arming Eritrea"
I miss McLusky. But I was heartened to hear this screed against Rick. Fuck Rick.
Best Coast: "When I'm With You"
(unofficial video)
A great garage pop track. Lyrically it stays simple until the haunting end. It's haunting to me because I don't know if it calls the lyrics of the first portion of the song into question. Also: KEXP's review.
Shakira: "She Wolf"
I love this track, I love the "awoo"s. You go, loba.
Phoenix: "1901"
Phoenix: "Lisztomania"
Dizzee Rascal wanted to party. I was totally with him.
The critical community was not.
Dizzee Rascal: "Bonkers" featuring Armand Van Helden
I thought "Bonkers" was perfect. It's insane and catchy. It just didn't showcase his lyrical skills. Still, so much fun! This V Festival crowd agrees.
Dizzee Rascal: "Holiday" feat. Chrome
Dizzee Rascal: "Dance Wiv Me"
Lonely Island was upliftingly hilarious
Lonely Island: "I'm on a Boat"
I can sing this entire song. Before the song came out, and I heard they were putting out a song called "I'm on a Boat", I had a feeling the song would be like this, but it was so much more.
Lonely Island: "Like a Boss"
Anytime someone wants to skewer a self-congratulating concept like Slim Thug's "Like a Boss", I'm on board.
Pardon for the poor editing. I'm too tired to deal with it.
Thursday, September 17, 2009
Aziz Ansari is RAAAAAAAANDY
Comedian Aziz Ansari played RAAAAAAAANDY (with eight 'A's) in the movie Funny People. It was a great movie, but somehow I missed the fact that Aziz was playing that character. There was a lot going on in the movie. In any case, Ria had me look at Aziz's tumblr page to see his debut of Jay-Z's BP3 track "Hate" presented in mixtape DJ form with obnoxious yelling. The difference being it was him commenting on things like how he's making a turkey sandwich in mixtape DJ style. Hilarious.
Then I saw some clips called RAAAAAAAANDY on the side and was intrigued. They were promoting Funny People and had Aziz playing the character in short clips, MTV style, and doing live standup at clubs. It was so stupid, it was hilarious. He also had a DJ bolstering his punchlines with air horns and "RAAAAAAAANDY!" samples.
Watch! Though, it's not really safe for work. But it's worth the wait.
I'm only putting the first two. The third is ok.
As a debriefing, here is a clip of Aziz on Kimmel. He talks about RAAAAAAAANDY, Kanye, pudgy Indian kids. There's a great bit about him getting asked about being excited about the success of Slumdog Millionaire. Even though he's not in it, but there's Indian people in it. Which means that white people must be excited about the critical success of productions starring white people all the time. Hilarity. His impressions of his little cousins somewhat confirm what I immediately thought about the RAAAAAAAANDY character; that it reminds me a lot of young male cousins that I have. Not incredibly deep.
RAAAAAAAANDY!
PS: Also, Parks and Recreation starring Aziz got picked up for another season (which I know is not news considering the season starts tonight) which is awesome. It felt like kismet when I am about to finish grad school in urban policy/planning and a show starring talented funny people comes out about it.
Update: Apparently I'm just pop culture-deficient. He described the character several times as Soulja Boy pursuing a comedy career. After finally hearing Soulja Boy, it makes perfect sense. Likely the lovechild of Dane Cook and Soulja Boy.
Then I saw some clips called RAAAAAAAANDY on the side and was intrigued. They were promoting Funny People and had Aziz playing the character in short clips, MTV style, and doing live standup at clubs. It was so stupid, it was hilarious. He also had a DJ bolstering his punchlines with air horns and "RAAAAAAAANDY!" samples.
Watch! Though, it's not really safe for work. But it's worth the wait.
I'm only putting the first two. The third is ok.
As a debriefing, here is a clip of Aziz on Kimmel. He talks about RAAAAAAAANDY, Kanye, pudgy Indian kids. There's a great bit about him getting asked about being excited about the success of Slumdog Millionaire. Even though he's not in it, but there's Indian people in it. Which means that white people must be excited about the critical success of productions starring white people all the time. Hilarity. His impressions of his little cousins somewhat confirm what I immediately thought about the RAAAAAAAANDY character; that it reminds me a lot of young male cousins that I have. Not incredibly deep.
RAAAAAAAANDY!
PS: Also, Parks and Recreation starring Aziz got picked up for another season (which I know is not news considering the season starts tonight) which is awesome. It felt like kismet when I am about to finish grad school in urban policy/planning and a show starring talented funny people comes out about it.
Update: Apparently I'm just pop culture-deficient. He described the character several times as Soulja Boy pursuing a comedy career. After finally hearing Soulja Boy, it makes perfect sense. Likely the lovechild of Dane Cook and Soulja Boy.
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