Katy Perry - I Kissed A Girl
vs.
DeLorean - Push It (Instrumental)
Ida Engberg - Disco Volante
vs.
Bimbo Jones - Harlem One Stop
Lady Sovereign - Love Me or Hate Me
vs.
Valera feat. Aria - Girl, I Told Ya
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
Sunday, January 11, 2009
Creepy Post
Wow.
On an unrelated note, spinning for a crowd that doesn't respond to your music really sucks.
Thursday, January 8, 2009
New Music Post!
A little bit of history for those of you unacquainted with my yearly mix: it comes with rules. While the entire list will be published for those who wish to see it, the important one here is the "No music purchased after November 30th counts for this year's mix". This is to help me avoid trying to cram as much new music in during December as possible, and so far, it's worked.
This also gives me a chance to really digest what I purchase in December and January. And can I say that I have gotten a LOT of really good shit so far this year? So here we go.
1. Lovers Electric
These two simply rock. Fusing rock, pop, 80's, glam, and electronica into a kickass album, the duo Lovers Electric are set to tread highly on the blazed trail the Veronicas set from Australia to the US. Here's the video for their debut single from the album Whatever You Want, "Honey".
2. Kevin Rudolf
Having made a surprising splash with his hit song "Let It Rock", I really didn't have high hopes for Rudolf. He really delivers with his debut album In the City, though, showing immense chops in both songwriting and producing. He even nabbed Lil Wayne, Nas, and Pete Ross to rap for him. Good job! "Let It Rock" plays below.
3. Elsiane
I'm a very big fan of the middle years of Bjork's career, after she shied away from the beginnings of a string of house music albums, and before she became fucked, mentally. Elsiane mirrors the gentle and eclectic sounds of "Bachelorette", "I Miss You", and "Possibly Maybe" with a distinctive vocalist and a great sense for chilled beats and involved lyrics. Here's the video for "Vaporous", from their album Hybrid.
4. Does It Offend You, Yeah?
My best friend turned me onto this group after I pointedly avoided them due to their name. I tend to shy away from "cleverness" in music after Fallout Boy, which is a band I cannot stand. But I was pleasantly very wrong about DIOYY. Their style of rock and electronica makes for a compelling listen. The album is appropriately titled You Have No Idea What You're Getting Yourself Into. "Epic Last Song" has a weird video. Check it out:
5. Ladyhawke
Wow, this chick rocks. Another artist I tuned into a bit late. She channels everything that was right about Blondie, The Pretenders, Missing Persons, etc. I'll let her music speak for itself. Here is the third single from her self-titled album, "Paris Is Burning".
6. My Dear Disco
This fantastic group's members are named the following: Record, Play, Stop, Rewind, Fast-Forward, Pause, and Eject. And they make fun, light hearted modern disco. Can one go wrong? Here's a Dancethink LP teaser.
7. The Whip
Grunge was one of my favorite musical genres, and it's fantastic to see that morose and angsty attitude carry on to my new favorite genre: dance. Their debut song "Trash", off of the album X Marks Destination, isn't too lyrically complicated, but the band sure does look like it's enjoying playing the song!
8. Plushgun
Following in the footsteps of the Postal Service, Plushgun deliver soft male vocals over a lush pile of unassuming electronic sounds and gentle beats. Still, this is highly engaging stuff. Here's a cool video for "Just Impolite" from Pins & Panzers:
While I may be currently compiling the music mix for 2009, the mix for 2010 is shaping up nicely with offerings from these fantastic artists. See you guys soon!
This also gives me a chance to really digest what I purchase in December and January. And can I say that I have gotten a LOT of really good shit so far this year? So here we go.
1. Lovers Electric
These two simply rock. Fusing rock, pop, 80's, glam, and electronica into a kickass album, the duo Lovers Electric are set to tread highly on the blazed trail the Veronicas set from Australia to the US. Here's the video for their debut single from the album Whatever You Want, "Honey".
2. Kevin Rudolf
Having made a surprising splash with his hit song "Let It Rock", I really didn't have high hopes for Rudolf. He really delivers with his debut album In the City, though, showing immense chops in both songwriting and producing. He even nabbed Lil Wayne, Nas, and Pete Ross to rap for him. Good job! "Let It Rock" plays below.
3. Elsiane
I'm a very big fan of the middle years of Bjork's career, after she shied away from the beginnings of a string of house music albums, and before she became fucked, mentally. Elsiane mirrors the gentle and eclectic sounds of "Bachelorette", "I Miss You", and "Possibly Maybe" with a distinctive vocalist and a great sense for chilled beats and involved lyrics. Here's the video for "Vaporous", from their album Hybrid.
4. Does It Offend You, Yeah?
My best friend turned me onto this group after I pointedly avoided them due to their name. I tend to shy away from "cleverness" in music after Fallout Boy, which is a band I cannot stand. But I was pleasantly very wrong about DIOYY. Their style of rock and electronica makes for a compelling listen. The album is appropriately titled You Have No Idea What You're Getting Yourself Into. "Epic Last Song" has a weird video. Check it out:
5. Ladyhawke
Wow, this chick rocks. Another artist I tuned into a bit late. She channels everything that was right about Blondie, The Pretenders, Missing Persons, etc. I'll let her music speak for itself. Here is the third single from her self-titled album, "Paris Is Burning".
6. My Dear Disco
This fantastic group's members are named the following: Record, Play, Stop, Rewind, Fast-Forward, Pause, and Eject. And they make fun, light hearted modern disco. Can one go wrong? Here's a Dancethink LP teaser.
7. The Whip
Grunge was one of my favorite musical genres, and it's fantastic to see that morose and angsty attitude carry on to my new favorite genre: dance. Their debut song "Trash", off of the album X Marks Destination, isn't too lyrically complicated, but the band sure does look like it's enjoying playing the song!
8. Plushgun
Following in the footsteps of the Postal Service, Plushgun deliver soft male vocals over a lush pile of unassuming electronic sounds and gentle beats. Still, this is highly engaging stuff. Here's a cool video for "Just Impolite" from Pins & Panzers:
While I may be currently compiling the music mix for 2009, the mix for 2010 is shaping up nicely with offerings from these fantastic artists. See you guys soon!
Monday, January 5, 2009
Bimbo Jones Post!
Music is and always will be about passion, I believe. There is a need to express, to identify, to overcome, to make ends’ meet, etc. There is a passion and a drive that pushes everyone involved in the process, before recording and after, both performer and listener.
Until recently, I was a casual, perhaps even a dedicated listener. My involvement in the music industry didn’t go further than purchasing music. But through a series of unrelated events, I find myself not only expressing my opinion about music in a very public forum, but also playing music in upstanding establishments as a DJ. It definitely brings a whole new perspective, and I hear and react to music on a whole new level.
The opportunities are endless.
One such opportunity led to me swapping words with the wonderful members of the band Bimbo Jones. Marc JB and Lee Dagger make up the remixing team that has brought us countless #1 club and radio hits across continents. Katherine Ellis, a vocalist of supreme talent, rounds out the performing group, winning over Europe with their funky track “Harlem 1 Stop” and stomping through American clubs with the disco-fantastic “And I Try”.
Marc and Lee, what are your roles in the studio, both for remixing and songwriting? And how does Katherine fit in for original productions?
Marc JB - Originally I was from a music based studio background playing different instruments and songwriting and Lee was from a club DJ background, in the studio Lee will play lots of reference tunes and then I will play it and rehash it to be original. Songwriting anything goes, it may start from a great Lyrical idea or a synth sound. Songwriting with Katherine is also quite varied, mostly we will write a banging track and she will come up with the top line but also we write together on acoustic guitar or sitting around the table with a few cups of tea!
What is your favorite track off of the album?
Katherine Ellis – I really don’t have a favorite, it depends on what mood I’m in, they are all so different…
JB – They are all in my opinion great and something to be proud of, but I really like the dirty vibes of “Don’t Want You No More”.
Lee Dagger – I would say "Don’t Know Why” or “And I Try”
Katherine, what makes recording a studio album as the voice of a remixing team different from being a featured vocalist on a track? How much control do you have in one situation over the other?
KE – It’s no different, I have a lot of control in all my projects. I guess this only differs in that I have done so much with Marc and Lee which has been a lot of fun.
What is your favorite Bimbo Jones remix to date?
LD – Natasha Bedingfield “These Words” and Pink “So What”
KE – “Thunder In My Heart”
JB – Ahh, there’s too many to choose from! I really like Ciara – “Oh” (Dub), it’s funky and sums up a great sunny spring in London.
What are some of the big projects lined up for Bimbo Jones so far in 2009? Both as a remixing team and a performing group.
KE – London album launch at Shinky Shonky at the Ku Klub, Lisle street, China Town, we are playing selected songs live from the album between 10 and 10.30pm, admission free! (Ben - For any Londoners looking to catch Bimbo Jones, the party begins 9:00pm GMT, onstage by 10!)
LD – It’s a new year so hopefully it will be a big one for us now that we have our debut album out. Lets hope we can do Miami, Glastonbury and various festivals again. Remixing is fun and sometimes a good challenge but what I am really looking forward to is writing the next installment of the Bimbo Jones album.
JB – Who knows what 2009 will throw at us, we are looking forward to finding out!!!
What about you, Katherine? Any big solo projects in the new year?
KE – I’m performing at the opening of Ministry of Sound in NYC on Jan 30th and I’m going to Australia in March with the Freemasons to perform several club Pas and do some writing for the next album with them. I do have lots lined up but you’ll have to wait to hear that!
Are there plans for a follow-up to Harlem 1 Stop?
LD – Oh Yes
KE – YES
JB – We have something in mind released with Tommy Boy, we are currently looking at remixes, it’s gonna be a dance floor filler!!
What made you all decide to record a studio album, and what was the biggest hurdle in releasing it?
JB – We have been so busy with remixes that we had a surplus of ideas we needed to realize, when Katherine the “Chosen One” came along, finally we had a way of expressing ourselves in a way we never could have imagined!!!
KE – We decided to make an album because we like working together, the biggest hurdle was getting out of our first deal which was a frustrating, time wasting disappointment to us, but hey we all get let down, you just have to carry on…
What has been the biggest reward to date for doing what you do?
LD – Seeing the clubbers have fun, singing and loving the music and then thanking us in return.
KE – Just being able to do what I love for a living year after year, it is a dream come true and I absolutely love it!
JB – Yes I agree with Katherine, I never take it for granted and remember the hard work getting here and always think where the next stop on the Bimbo Jones express is!
Finally, what do you feel are the best and worst things to happen to dance music in the last 10 years?
KE – Best is that there is more of it, I love dance music! The worst is the piracy and theft of our work as in every genre, it affects our income and causes a lot of problems.
JB – Yeah there has been such an amazing expansion in the array of media types for dance music like mp3 and youtube, its such a shame that the serious money is not there to develop stunning new talent and pay for a Bimbo Jones boat with helicopter pad! On the other hand it’s great that everyone on their home computer has the ability to produce great tracks and be successful.
Well it is easy to see why Bimbo Jones put out such an amazing album. With a trio of highly talented people who are dedicated to their work, it seems anything is possible. Hopefully 2009 shows everyone just how much momentum the Bimbo Jones express has! Good luck guys, keep doing what you’re doing and I cannot wait for the next single and future album!
Until recently, I was a casual, perhaps even a dedicated listener. My involvement in the music industry didn’t go further than purchasing music. But through a series of unrelated events, I find myself not only expressing my opinion about music in a very public forum, but also playing music in upstanding establishments as a DJ. It definitely brings a whole new perspective, and I hear and react to music on a whole new level.
The opportunities are endless.
One such opportunity led to me swapping words with the wonderful members of the band Bimbo Jones. Marc JB and Lee Dagger make up the remixing team that has brought us countless #1 club and radio hits across continents. Katherine Ellis, a vocalist of supreme talent, rounds out the performing group, winning over Europe with their funky track “Harlem 1 Stop” and stomping through American clubs with the disco-fantastic “And I Try”.Marc and Lee, what are your roles in the studio, both for remixing and songwriting? And how does Katherine fit in for original productions?
Marc JB - Originally I was from a music based studio background playing different instruments and songwriting and Lee was from a club DJ background, in the studio Lee will play lots of reference tunes and then I will play it and rehash it to be original. Songwriting anything goes, it may start from a great Lyrical idea or a synth sound. Songwriting with Katherine is also quite varied, mostly we will write a banging track and she will come up with the top line but also we write together on acoustic guitar or sitting around the table with a few cups of tea!
What is your favorite track off of the album?
Katherine Ellis – I really don’t have a favorite, it depends on what mood I’m in, they are all so different…
JB – They are all in my opinion great and something to be proud of, but I really like the dirty vibes of “Don’t Want You No More”.
Lee Dagger – I would say "Don’t Know Why” or “And I Try”
Katherine, what makes recording a studio album as the voice of a remixing team different from being a featured vocalist on a track? How much control do you have in one situation over the other?
KE – It’s no different, I have a lot of control in all my projects. I guess this only differs in that I have done so much with Marc and Lee which has been a lot of fun.
What is your favorite Bimbo Jones remix to date?
LD – Natasha Bedingfield “These Words” and Pink “So What”
KE – “Thunder In My Heart”
JB – Ahh, there’s too many to choose from! I really like Ciara – “Oh” (Dub), it’s funky and sums up a great sunny spring in London.
What are some of the big projects lined up for Bimbo Jones so far in 2009? Both as a remixing team and a performing group.
KE – London album launch at Shinky Shonky at the Ku Klub, Lisle street, China Town, we are playing selected songs live from the album between 10 and 10.30pm, admission free! (Ben - For any Londoners looking to catch Bimbo Jones, the party begins 9:00pm GMT, onstage by 10!)
LD – It’s a new year so hopefully it will be a big one for us now that we have our debut album out. Lets hope we can do Miami, Glastonbury and various festivals again. Remixing is fun and sometimes a good challenge but what I am really looking forward to is writing the next installment of the Bimbo Jones album.
JB – Who knows what 2009 will throw at us, we are looking forward to finding out!!!
What about you, Katherine? Any big solo projects in the new year?
KE – I’m performing at the opening of Ministry of Sound in NYC on Jan 30th and I’m going to Australia in March with the Freemasons to perform several club Pas and do some writing for the next album with them. I do have lots lined up but you’ll have to wait to hear that!
Are there plans for a follow-up to Harlem 1 Stop?
LD – Oh Yes
KE – YES
JB – We have something in mind released with Tommy Boy, we are currently looking at remixes, it’s gonna be a dance floor filler!!
What made you all decide to record a studio album, and what was the biggest hurdle in releasing it?
JB – We have been so busy with remixes that we had a surplus of ideas we needed to realize, when Katherine the “Chosen One” came along, finally we had a way of expressing ourselves in a way we never could have imagined!!!
KE – We decided to make an album because we like working together, the biggest hurdle was getting out of our first deal which was a frustrating, time wasting disappointment to us, but hey we all get let down, you just have to carry on…
What has been the biggest reward to date for doing what you do?
LD – Seeing the clubbers have fun, singing and loving the music and then thanking us in return.
KE – Just being able to do what I love for a living year after year, it is a dream come true and I absolutely love it!
JB – Yes I agree with Katherine, I never take it for granted and remember the hard work getting here and always think where the next stop on the Bimbo Jones express is!
Finally, what do you feel are the best and worst things to happen to dance music in the last 10 years?
KE – Best is that there is more of it, I love dance music! The worst is the piracy and theft of our work as in every genre, it affects our income and causes a lot of problems.
JB – Yeah there has been such an amazing expansion in the array of media types for dance music like mp3 and youtube, its such a shame that the serious money is not there to develop stunning new talent and pay for a Bimbo Jones boat with helicopter pad! On the other hand it’s great that everyone on their home computer has the ability to produce great tracks and be successful.
Well it is easy to see why Bimbo Jones put out such an amazing album. With a trio of highly talented people who are dedicated to their work, it seems anything is possible. Hopefully 2009 shows everyone just how much momentum the Bimbo Jones express has! Good luck guys, keep doing what you’re doing and I cannot wait for the next single and future album!
Sunday, January 4, 2009
Nice Boys (?)
Ain't dat da truf
Edit 01/05/09: Embedded music player decided it didn't want to work. So here you are. A crappy video version. Enjoy!
Saturday, January 3, 2009
The Front Row Is Not For The Fragile!
****
Ok, so this isn't the exact album version of T.Raumschmiere's odd-yet-beautiful rock anthem, but it's the best I could find.
This will be the opening track of my Music Mix 2009. The uncommon time signature of the chorus and how effortlessly the vocals and guitars carry over, along with the gutsy percussion makes this a shoe in and one of the best songs of the year.
****
The front row is the most intimate area of any concert. It is a full-on religious experience. If you're IN the front row, you either paid a sum to get there (and didn't mind paying it at all), or pushed and shoved your way there. Regardless of HOW you got to the front row, you got there. The how isn't important anyway, the why is. If you're seeing your favorite band live, the best seat in the house is the one right up front, where the action is visceral and real. You can see the sweat, the emotion, everything pouring right off the performers. You show your love by belting out every word to every song, putting as much of yourself into their music as they do. You feel it. In concerts for heavier styles of music, the front row also becomes one of the most dangerous places to be. The ebb and flow of the crowd can crush a person. The crowd surfers, the mosh pitters. It's also the furthest from the door in the event of a fire. So when T.Raumschmiere's front man sings "The front row is not for the fragile, baby!", it's with an air of absolute truth. You don't go there if you can't handle it.
I feel this idea also applies to people. Being in the front row of someone's life, being close enough to see their face and the whites of their eyes, knowing enough about them that you can feel what they feel, that's not a place for a fragile soul. But unlike a concert, it's hard to buy your way up, or push and shove your way in. The front row is invite only, and forcing your way is the best way to get forced away. It's hard for me to remember that. I need those mental boundaries, the ropes and the guards that keep the crowd from mobbing the performers. I can't be in the front row for everyone I know. Sometimes I can't even make the show. But if someone lets me, I'm going to consider it an honor and give them someone worthy of their front row. Someone who ain't afraid to get a little rough and dirty. I ain't fragile.
Friday, January 2, 2009
I Want to Hold Your Handle Me
Well! It's been a couple of years, hasn't it? Long enough that reading my first post left me baffled as to whom I was referring to, and caused me to return to the helpful song to possibly recapture a little of the melancholy essence that could assist me in recalling the subject!
Today I want to talk about music and memories. Are you one of those types that can easily associate a song to a person? And when things go sour with that person (as they inevitably do), that song represents that person, thus bringing all the hurt and the heartache to the forefront, thereby forever ruining that song? I don't operate that way, but I find it curious that others do. Music is such a healing and driving force that I cannot consciously allow songs to sour as a result of a single person. If pictures can speak a thousand words, music is like a thousand pictures to me. Each song it's own vivid collection of images, emotions, and ideas, culminating in an aural masterpiece. I often get lost in these lush soundscapes, finding myself carried away to the point where I am walking down a lonely and dark road in Southeast DC (a bad, bad place) belting out to Robyn's "Handle Me", which is blaring in my headphones. It just so happens that this particular lack of inhibitions was noticed and acted upon by a pair of youths who felt that my stuff was better off being their stuff. They enforced this with a crack to my jaw. I didn't notice I had been hit until I was spitting out the remnants of the tooth and staggering back to my feet.
"Handle Me" forever will be associated with this simple act. Someone hurt me to take my things. But unlike the type of person I described earlier, this did not negatively impact my opinion of the song. On the contrary, I fell in love with the song moreover, it becoming a mini-anthem to my ability to survive and cope with a terrible situation. They could knock me down, steal my things, and make me feel small and weak, but they didn't end me. I got up, I got home, and I got my life back together. And this song is the soundtrack to my new strength. A second mugging almost happened in a similar circumstance, when I had fallen for a song and listened to it repeatedly the entire day (much the same with "Handle Me"), ended up taking the bus home from a late night at a second job, and was followed by four separate youths who again decided they wanted my stuff to be their stuff. The kindness of a stranger with a very large black SUV and quick thinking on my part most likely saved my life that night.
So I suppose what I am saying is that, while it is easy to let something spoil due to a negative connotation, associating a positive idea or emotion to instead is a great way to salvage it. Plus, good music is hard to find, no reason to make things more difficult on yourself, right?
Keep an eye out, folks, for posts about my upcoming Music Mix 2009. I'll be asking opinions and sharing songs, so check in frequently!
Today I want to talk about music and memories. Are you one of those types that can easily associate a song to a person? And when things go sour with that person (as they inevitably do), that song represents that person, thus bringing all the hurt and the heartache to the forefront, thereby forever ruining that song? I don't operate that way, but I find it curious that others do. Music is such a healing and driving force that I cannot consciously allow songs to sour as a result of a single person. If pictures can speak a thousand words, music is like a thousand pictures to me. Each song it's own vivid collection of images, emotions, and ideas, culminating in an aural masterpiece. I often get lost in these lush soundscapes, finding myself carried away to the point where I am walking down a lonely and dark road in Southeast DC (a bad, bad place) belting out to Robyn's "Handle Me", which is blaring in my headphones. It just so happens that this particular lack of inhibitions was noticed and acted upon by a pair of youths who felt that my stuff was better off being their stuff. They enforced this with a crack to my jaw. I didn't notice I had been hit until I was spitting out the remnants of the tooth and staggering back to my feet.
"Handle Me" forever will be associated with this simple act. Someone hurt me to take my things. But unlike the type of person I described earlier, this did not negatively impact my opinion of the song. On the contrary, I fell in love with the song moreover, it becoming a mini-anthem to my ability to survive and cope with a terrible situation. They could knock me down, steal my things, and make me feel small and weak, but they didn't end me. I got up, I got home, and I got my life back together. And this song is the soundtrack to my new strength. A second mugging almost happened in a similar circumstance, when I had fallen for a song and listened to it repeatedly the entire day (much the same with "Handle Me"), ended up taking the bus home from a late night at a second job, and was followed by four separate youths who again decided they wanted my stuff to be their stuff. The kindness of a stranger with a very large black SUV and quick thinking on my part most likely saved my life that night.
So I suppose what I am saying is that, while it is easy to let something spoil due to a negative connotation, associating a positive idea or emotion to instead is a great way to salvage it. Plus, good music is hard to find, no reason to make things more difficult on yourself, right?
Keep an eye out, folks, for posts about my upcoming Music Mix 2009. I'll be asking opinions and sharing songs, so check in frequently!
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