devil gonna find me, wherever I go

I'm pretty sure blues rock is the best genre of American music. Nothing has more heart than a soulful voice and real acoustics. Fuck electronica, this is the real deal right here.

2.5 months and counting til my cross-country trip. cannot. wait.

soul, girl

Yeah yeah, I'm late on posting this. Whatever man, I've had WORK and STUFF, ok?

I just figured it should be up in case people live in a hole or something.

review: Girl Talk, 'All Day'

Nothing like a little Black Sabbath and a rousing, “Move, Bitch” to really get things moving eh? So begins the nonstop 70-minute flow of All Day, the latest musical epic by Girl Talk, alias of mash-up artist Gregg Gillis. This heavy intro heralds the seamless, fluid mix that will surely provide soundtrack for every iPod-controlled party for the next several months, years if one measures it equal to his previous endeavor Feed the Animals in popularity; a very real possibility given the hype of All Day’s release and the many overridden servers it caused.

Of course, that hype was based on the exceptional work of Feed the Animals and many (myself included) wondered how another album could measure up given the repetitive nature of mash-up style. It has to be said that Feed the Animals was no doubt influential, bringing mash-ups to the masses. Amongst the many none are quite as comprehensive or smooth as Girl Talk, whose work flows seamlessly so no matter how polarizing adjacent samples may be all meld perfectly for an entirely new track. And it has serious power in recognition. Take the soundtrack from a party where someone grabbed the iPod and played old favs that got everyone screaming off-key and play that over something spun by a pitch-perfect DJ. It’s no wonder Feed the Animals kept up momentum for so long.

It’s in the energy where All Day steps away from Feed the Animals’ shadow. This new endeavor is a bit slower but overall better developed. Primary vocal samples take the spotlight, backed by the melodies from both obscure and well-known songs which are layered themselves, with one taking precedence and the tempos of the other samples/ voice tracks altered to fit. The method isn’t new but it’s matured; All Day has more depth and variety: more heavily-sampled periods, some obscure instrumental accompaniments. There’s an onion skin element that is undoubtedly complex but appears completely fluid. Take a section of the opening track, Oh No: there is a final heavy Black Sabbath chord when ‘Teach Me How to Dougie’ rings out; Sabbath fades and Jane’s Addiction’s ‘Jane Says’ eases in to replace it; meanwhile, in between the pause in words 'Dougie' has been sped up to meet the pace of ‘Jane Says’. It all lasts about 26 seconds and the older melody folds out, a third eases in and a new vocal track begins. Many times a third instrumental has been barely audible the whole time and fills space in between sets of ‘bigger’ samples, often changing the track’s mood entirely. It’s with that that Gillis has made a slower album, one less conducive to ragers but one that displays much more skill and attention to detail.

Of course, there are a few clutch sections that demand revelry. Let It Out is an excepcional track, especially the ‘Twerk’ midsection and the ‘Rude Boy’ ending with a heavy beat that’s reminiscent of the ‘Lip Gloss’ sample on Feed the Animals. Jump on Stage emerged an early favorite too, including a fantastic Skee-Lo (‘I Wish’) throwback and a pounding ending that combines Gaga’s LoveGame and Beastie Boy’s ‘Hey Ladies’ over instantly recognizable ‘Lust for Life’. Another all-around winner, Steady Shock, samples three oldies – the first 50 seconds combine Nicki Minaj over Blue Oyster Cult and then fades to Bruce’s ‘Dancing in the Dark’ topped by Soulja Boy (an admitted favorite of Gillis); later on there’s a little Drake on top of a tweaked Flock of Seagulls.

It’s likely the general population will listen to this album primarily while inebriated and thus find it identical to Feed the Animals, which is a pity. The depth and attention to detail are truly impressive, like hearing "Wiz Khalifa’s ‘Black and Yellow’ while recognizing the Stones 'Paint it Black' in the background – those with attentive ears will appreciate Gillis’ progress on All Day. He has, in fact, done it again.

arcade fire will rule the world

I'm sorry, I know this has been on hiatus but it's difficult to keep up in summer when the beach is calling my name far louder than the Internet does.That said... if there is one thing that can spark a revival, it's the new Arcade Fire album, the Suburbs. A friend secured the leak for me a few days before it's August 3rd debut and ever since it's been on repeat in my car, my iPod, my house... I can't get enough. Apparently, neither can the rest of the world; it hit #1 on the Billboard charts this week. Normally this might cause some uneasiness - nothing ruins a really great band quite like mainstream approval. However, if there's one band that can maintain their voice and style through popularity, it is definitely Arcade Fire.The Suburbs had considerable build-up for several reasons: one, the obvious excitement a new Arcade Fire album brings; their previous endeavors, Funeral especially, remain some of the greatest indie albums of our time. This leads to the second reason for pre-release hype: many questioned how a band that became successful for epic songs of mixed composition and unusual form could continue to be different when this would be third album in the same vein; that is, if their unusual production was what made them unique and this album was done in the same style, would it lose some of that uniqueness and become stale? But then, if they changed things up in an effort to be 'edgy', or rather, continue to be relevant, would they still be Arcade Fire? The mind, it baffles!

The circular logic was dizzying and, in the end, pointless. The Suburbs foray into lost childhood is poetic and poignant but never sappy or cliche. It twinges nostalgia with gentle, unobtrusive chords that progress into those stylistic Arcade Fire song-endings where the cymbals crash and the harmony swells and there is one final lyric and you feel it; it's that house you grew up in, uninhabited and holding nothing but memories of youthful optimism, now dampened by adult reality. Win Butler likes the word 'kids' (if there is any criticism of this album, it's the overuse of that word. and the word 'suburbs'.), and while Funeral was the youth's trumpet of setting forth into the world, The Suburbs is the wake-up call to their hibernating consciousness. The kids are all grown up, and they've figured out that things really aren't what they thought they'd be; shown with lyrics like "I feel I've been living in/ a city with no children in it/ a garden left for ruin by a billionaire inside of a private prison" from City With No Children or "strange how the half light/ can make a place new/ you can't recognize me/ and I can't recognize you" on Half Light I.
This leaves a depressing image, and if they had mirrored the music to match then the album would be almost unbearably sad. Yet it isn't; those swelling chord progressions and tapering, single-note outro/intros keep an optimistic energy flowing. Again, the wake-up call; all is not lost. There is realization of reality's emptiness on Modern Man and Rococo, a track that targets the naivete of intellectually condescending hipsters, and a thread of escapism from said empty life snakes it's way through the album via car imagery and the repeated line "in the suburbs I, I learned to drive/ and you told me we'd never survive/ grab your mothers keys we're leaving", which first appears in the opening song The Suburbs and then follows later in Suburban War. It's hopeful, and the generally uplifting beat keeps that alive.
Thus, despite the (supposed) potential for stagnation, the Arcade Fire delivered another epic album definitely worthy of the #1 standing. I would love to lavish more praise on it, but it is far better to just listen and understand. For streaming: www.myspace.com/arcadefireofficial

Obsessed with this song, thanks to my good friend over at Enjoy Music

Momma's Boy by Chromeo

A few gentle orchestral notes, a smattering of applause… and a pushy violin breaks the still air, a gong sounds. Operatic chants begins, tinkling reminiscent of computer-speak in old sci-fi movies resonates. 30 seconds in and Janelle Monae’s The ArchAndroid is heralding itself with the oddest amalgamation this side of the Y2K scare.

In pre-release interviews Monae has cited Hitchcock, bad robot invasion movies, and famous hair styles (Princess Leia’s buns?) as influences, as well as verifying the album’s namesake: “I think androids are sexy”. But whether or not you’re a fan of mechanical humans, you can and should be a fan of her. Delving deep into the archives of deep South jazz and soul, her music infuses these with technologic – not electronica, as this bares no resemblance to house or pop music – jingles and warbles. Her debut EP, Metropolis: The Chase and an accompanying tour with the doyennes of all weird shit, of Montreal (who also add vocals to a track on ArchAndroid), helped put her on the map, but it was her unbelievably strong vocals belting from a pint-sized tuxedoed frame that garnered her acclaim. Considering the small number of songs released prior to this album, the hype over The ArchAndroid was substantial. And it’s definitely been met – the album is not only a fearless blend of genres and styles that resonates loudly and smoothly throughout but also a very welcome new voice and style that isn’t like anything currently being produced.

The mix is more than odd: it’s ultimately soul with parts jazz, R&B, and classical, but the overriding theme is futurism: the android’s voice is a wavering lazer, his laugh an electric xylophone, and he is not to be overshadowed by this mere human. This first track is purely instrumental but the second, ‘Dance or Die’ ft. Saul Williams, is a tango of snares and computed riffs where she asserts what is to come: “Baby can you understand the clock will never rewind”. There is no pause into the next, appropriately named Faster. The drums are incessant and are actually the frontrunner to the gently accompanying electric guitar. The repetitious chorus of “Faster and faster I should run” combines with that incessant beat to assert that this album will be anything but langorous. Time moves fast, the future is now. “I’m a weirdo” she interjects. Perhaps. But that’s the appeal; in this age of the cyclical female pop star (Lily Allen, Katy Perry, Amy Winehouse, Ke$ha) a ‘new’ voice is barely deserving of that adjective as it usually sounds the same as last year’s chart-topper.

This first half of the album, Suite II, does not center on a shattered or budding romance, unless you’d like to stretch out an analogy to humanity’s love for technology. She makes statements on the reality of living in today’s world, saying “in this life you spend time running from depravity/ This is a cold war/ you better know what you’re fighting for” in ‘Cold War’ and “so much hurt/ in this Earth” in ‘Oh, Maker’. Suite III is a bit slower, the emphatic drums taking, if not a back seat at least a middle, to purer trumpets in ‘Neon Valley Street’, unaltered guitar chords in ‘57821’, and a generally more prevalent keyboard and xylophone. Her wails descend to croons but do not lose the heart for a minute. Here we feel her step away from the futurism for a moment, touching upon tender togetherness in ‘Say You’ll Go’. It’s a more classically based second half, which poses a beautiful contrast to the punches and gyrations of the first. If Suite II was Monae’s iconic dance moves – combinations of the twist, Michael Jackson’s toe-stands and Elvis’s hips, all struck by lightenting – Suite III is the crisp cleanliness of her white tuxedo and wide, long-lashed eyes.

The combination is her social commentary, saying in an interview: “People think, ‘Oh god, robots are going to kill us!’ I don't want us to think that because I want my music to unite as many different species and humans and everything as possible. I don't want my future kids living in fear of anything”. She’s taken her Southern and Midwestern roots and made them modern, literally: technology is the future. She’s banishing stereotypes and breaking the female singer/songwriter mold all in one. Expect (even) big(er) things from Monae in the future.

Things and Stuff

Let's just jump right in, shall we?

It's Friday, get some ants in your pants.



Janelle Monae's Tightrope ft. Big Boi, her latest single from the almost-released album The ArchAndroids (which I have already and will post a review of later), is absolutely fantastic. This video is ultimate Monae, the hair, the hip gyrations, the off-beat tux; she's a pint-size Elvis on speed. It's one of those videos that make imitation - subsequent white kids dancing to soul - almost acceptable.
But for serious, check this. And all you neophytes who have yet to grab the download...make sure to mark May 18th when the album debuts for real.