Youtube Friday...YES!

Well, its another friday and nobody has died because of this blog.
Wow.
Basically, this week I've got some happier (and artsy-er) videos for you and all of your friends to enjoy.
Hooray!

First we have the intriguing video for the new Go! Team single "Grip Like A Vice" (see post below).
Obviously, it's a song about women's liberation, which I have nothing against, but it still is kinda funny to see Ninja all done up in a "serious" outfit.




The other video that struck my fancy this week is the beautiful yet haunting video for Sigur Ros' song "Glosoli".
You cant help but feel sorry for the poor kid who cant fly.
Its one of the most awe inspiring music video's I've ever seen.
The camera work and lighting, combined with the sheer power of the song are almost overwhelming.






so anyway,
that does it for this edition of youtube friday.


love and peace.

The Only Band (and remix) that Matters....

....is Justice. And MSTRKRFT follows close upon their tails.

So logic follows that MSTRKRFT would do a remix of D.A.N.C.E, cos everbody else in the world with a laptop has. And they certainly have worn it out.

BUT.....behold, it cometh.

People, this is THE definitive remix of D.A.N.C.E.
All you prancey little DJ's with your laptops and fancy programs need to STOP and give up because MSTRKRFT has blown your "awesome" remix away.

It basically destroys all the other remixes I've heard. MSTRKRFT once again proves that they can remix the hell out of anything that has audible frequencies.

If only Death From Above 1979 would get back together, it would be a perfect circle of awesomeness. Why can't we have MSTRKRFT and DFA 1979? WHY!?!?!?!

D.A.N.C.E (MSTRKRFT Remix)- Justice

http://www.zshare.net/audio/2486817738373d/

love and peace.

THE GO! TEAM.....IS BACK!!!

Well la-die-frikin-da.

The Go! Team got game.

The new song from the as yet to be titled album (out on 9/11....how bout that)

is called "Grip Like A Vice".

IT SOUNDS EXACTLY LIKE EVERYTHING ON THUNDER, LIGHTINING, STRIKE...

so that means its good.

"Grip Like A Vice" - The Go! Team

http://www.zshare.net/audio/2477486a53d86f/

love and peace.

YOUtube friday!

Well, well, well.
We've made it to another friday.
Amazing.
This week I'm going to focus on a couple of the leaders of the new rave movement: Klaxons, and the aforementioned Hadouken!

First, we have the hard tripping video for the Klaxons' song "Magik".
The song itself isnt one of their best, but this video is downright awesome.
If satan raved, this is what it would be like.
Scary. Cool. Blacklights!





Secondly, we have the Hadouken! video for their new single, "Liquid Lives"(see post). Personally, I love this video not merely for the blacklighted graffitied colors, but for the fact that we get to see Hadouken! in action. Their concerts are already becoming legendary, and those who see them say that they are forever fans.
Well, take a look for yourself.





Notice that each video starts out with shots of blacklighted graffiti on a wall. Coincidence?
I think not.


Well Im off to Mexico, so there wont be any posts for a a week and a half.
But as a going away present, here's Kanye West's new song, "Stronger".
It samples "Harder Better Faster Stronger" by Daft Punk. That should tell you right off the bat, Kanye's back. Now its on.
Oh My God, The rappers have discovered Daft Punk. What's next in Daft Punk's take over of society? Its only a matter of time before Godsmack starts sampling "One More Time".
And its freakin awesome.



Kanye West: Stronger (from the new Album, Graduation)

http://www.zshare.net/audio/228707871fbc1b/





love and peace

Hadouken!

If you haven't heard of Hadouken!, you most likely dont care to. But, if you like catchy white english rap mixed with intense new wave rave, then i garauntee you like this.

These young lads (and one lass) from England have caught on to the eighties rave craze and have updated it to the new mellinium's standards. Heck, they take their name from a special move in Street Fighter. How cool is that?

They are not merely "electronic" music, but make a concerted effort to have "acoustic" elements in their sound. But after all, it is intented to make you dance. The reputed English News publication NME pronounced their internet phonomenon hit "That Boy That Girl" to be a "A savage, snarling work of genius". High praise indeed. They have a new single,"Liquid Lives", that promises to be another hit. Look for them to be on the up and up soon. They've even impressed the new crown princes of English electro, Does it Offend You, Yeah? enough to land an opener spot on DIOYY's new tour.

The music is self-explanatory, so I wont pontificate on its complexity and brilliance and other such nonsense. Just take a listen.

I like it. I like it alot.

Hadouken! :

Liquid Lives

http://www.zshare.net/audio/2245472448a1b2/

That Boy That Girl ((highly recommended))

http://www.zshare.net/audio/2245520e86ae55/

love and peace

Finally....Things Happening in Iceland (no, not Bjork)

I hate Bjork.
Just thought you should know.
Now for a little on the best band in Iceland (and maybe the world)....

While their female string section tours the US, the boys of Iceland's brilliant Sigur Ros sure have been keeping busy in their homeland.

The quartet has a slew of projects on the way, including two live DVDs, an EP, an all-acoustic full-length album, and a film score to a 2002 Icelandic documentary. Those projects, all set for release in the next 10 months, come on the heels of the band's last full-length album, 2005's triumphant Takk.

First up on the schedule is is the release of the film Hlemmur, a 2002 documentary about a group of destitute men in the Icelandic capital Reykjavik. Sigur Ros composed the score for the film, and the CD soundtrack will accompany the DVD release in July.
One month later, the band will release a new EP, a three-song set that will also include a live video. Song titles are: "Salka," "Lagio I gær," and "Rokklagio."

In October, Sigur Ros will release an as-yet-untitled live DVD from the band's 2006 tour in support of Takk.
That same month, the band will release an all-acoustic, full-length album. And January will see a DVD and CD combo of the band's complete orchestral piece orchestral Odin's Raven Magic--an Edda poem composed circa 1500 A.D.

Lastly, quarterly music pub Artist in Residenceis publishing In a Frozen Sea: A Year With Sigur Ros, a 32-page book created by longtime fan Jeff Anderson, who collected observations, interviews, and photos of the band. The book comes packaged in a 12-inch vinyl jacket and will be available from the mag's Web site.

I have a live version of the song "Rokklagio" from way back in 1999. The tune has been in circulation in the live shows for awhile, and just hasnt made it to a recording studio yet. Hopefully the studio version will be able to capture the power of this song, whose title in Icelandic means "The Rock Song".

For good measure, I'll throw in the stunning live preformance of "Ny Batteri" which was on the Icelandic music film Popp i Reykjavik. Considered to be a masterpiece of music cinema, Sigur Ros' preformance of this of the whole song is the high point ovie, and drives it conclusion home. If you can find a copy of it, I would suggest immedeate purchase.

Sigur Ros:

Rokklagio (The Rock Song):

http://www.zshare.net/audio/2219527c3e09e6/

Ny Batteri (Popp i Reykjavik version):

http://www.zshare.net/audio/22195774a04453/

Im so happy their getting their rears in gear.

love and peace.

New Chemical Brothers....With Midlake on the Side!

Well hello again.

The Kings of Electronica, aka the Chemical Brothers, are managing to create another album which will probably blow away the boundries of Electronica music. I dont think you can even really call them electronica anymore, they've become so ecclectic and diverse. On Every album, from Exit Planet Dust to Push The Button, Tom Rowlands and Ed Simons have done what everyone considered to be impossible: get better. And now we have a new album "We Are The Night" descending to us on July 2. The anticipation is killing me.

But the wait has been made just a tad bit better with the release of the single, "Do it Again" and the brilliant tune I have for you here, featuring the vocal and musical talents of the Denton, Texas band Midlake, "The Pills Wont Help You Know".

The song is a trip. Featuring a slow jungle rythm, not unatural for the Chems, and a dizzying array of synth sounds and beeps and blips, the elements come together to create an ethereal feel. Tim Smith's trademark mumble singsong voice adds to the soundscape, and sometimes I almost mistook it for a bonified Midlake tune. You will find yourself singing along and wanting to love everybody a little bit more after a listen or two. I think even non-electonica fans will find this song accesible, and it certainly has the signature Chemical Brothers' spiritual power (a la "The Private Psychadelic Reel"). But it also signals a departure from the straitforward danceable Big Beat of Push The Button, and it certainly is no "Galvanize". The Chems have done it again.

They've gottten better.

Take a listen.

The Chemical Brothers: "The Pills Wont Help You Know (Feat. Midlake)"

from forthcoming album We Are The Night

http://www.zshare.net/audio/22068437c6eb89/

Love and peace.

YOUTUBE Friday!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Every friday I'm going to try and put up two videos which deserve a little exposure and/or just strike my fancy that week.
First up, we have the video for the brilliant new White Stripes tune, "Icky Thump". If you dont get the political comentary being made by Jack, you are an idiot.

Watch: Youtube-http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1OjTspCqvk8

Secondly, I have recently been obsessed with the song by Bob Dylan, "Masters of War". It has quickly shot up my favorite song list. Bob always messes with his live version of it, and I'm never happy with any version he has on youtube. But Eddie Vedder's voice is powerful enough to capture the original spirit of the song.

Watch: Youtube-http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=svHentyELXo

And heres a second live one in 1992, much better.

Watch: Youtube-http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q2kk-v7NLr4


love and peace

Does It Offend You, Yeah?

Once again, a electronic project comes along and blows us away. As Justice is taking over the electro world with their album "Cross", two Brits are slowly taking it back. Does it Offend You, Yeah? is calculated to offend. Their myspace background is a loop of a child bursting out of a mother stomach and features pictures of burning London Tower Guards and spiders. But the music is anything but offensive.

At once danceable enough for the casual electro listener, but also smart and technically brilliant enough for the hardcore beatmasters, the now Virgin-signed duo (both of whom have not revealed their names to the public) have managed to create a perfect balance. As they describe themselves, "We sound a bit like an arcade machine thrown into a lake, A ZX Spectrum in a prison shower block". Whatever it is, its dern good.

The track which is being circulated around from their forthcoming album is the wonderful tune, "Weird Science". When I first heard it, I must say i was not that impressed. But the tune grew on me, and now its constantly in my mixes. The sound is one that recalls Justice, but suddenly in the middle of the song, it breaks into a Daft Punk like tune, complete with a vocorder vocal. You cant help but tap your foot with it. Then its back to the dirty shitdisco of the original sequence...and now your all kinds of hot and bothered. D.A.N.C.E indeed. Look for Does it Offend You, Yeah? to make some serious media splashes this summer.

Myspace: http://www.myspace.com/doesitoffendyou

It has their now legendary XFM radio remix show for free download.
(If you are easily offened, DO NOT go to their website.)

DOES IT OFFEND YOU, YEAH?: Weird Science ((((HIGHLY RECOMMENDED))))

http://www.zshare.net/audio/218266145e57b3/

Strange Days: The Doors After 40 Years

The Doors.

The band that transcended definite musical catagorization, defied a dying America and looked forward to the creation of a new one, and produced one of the greatest bodies of cohesive music to date. It included America's foremost rock genius and poet laureate, Jim Morrison, who defined what it meant to be an artistic superstar, tortured as he was. Their music still endures today, 40 years after their first album The Doors was first released. Songs like "Break on Through" and "Riders on the Storm" still echo in our heads, repeating like some lovely symbol of a time where music was made simply for its own sake.

They were the perfect band. Ray Manzarek, with his revolutionary and always brillant vox-organ playing re-defined what "keyboardist" meant in the modern band. Guitarist Robby Krieger was the ultimate rythm guitarist (maybe with the exception of Pete Townshend of The Who), who never drowned out the band or Morrison while playing the riffs which have been copied and mimicked ever since. John Densmore seemed to always have a perfect beat to follow Robby's leads, and though he was no Neil Peart or Keith Moon, he consitently kept the band tight and fast.

And Morrison. Jim Morrison. What can I say that hasn't already been said? Maybe he could put it best..............

“I see myself as a huge fiery comet, a shooting star. Everyone stops, points up and gasps "Oh look at that!" Then- whoosh, and I'm gone...and they'll never see anything like it ever again... and they won't be able to forget me- ever.”

And we haven't. The Doors seem to get increasingly popular as each generation rediscovers the world that was The Doors music, and in recent years, their popularity has even outstripped their fame when Morrison was alive.

Over the years, many critics have claimed that The Doors were simply media hype, driven my a maniacal lead singer who tripped on his own ego. But bands that are media hype fade away, and though their albums may be great at one time or another, do not have lasting effects on culture and music. This was not The Doors. Morrison may have been crazy and disturbed, but the music The Doors produced was unlike anything that came before or anything after. I think the genius that was Morrison could be summed up in "Riders on The Storm": "The world on you depends, this life will never end."

This was the Doors.

My Personal Top Ten Doors Songs:

1. Riders On the Storm

2. L.A. Woman

3. Five To One

4. The Crystal Ship

5. Roadhouse Blues

6. Love Her Madly

7. The End

8. Light My Fire

9. Waiting For the Sun

10. Break On Through (To the Other Side)

Love and Peace.

Precious Generation

It is hard to imagine a nicer place than America. Honestly, where else can a stupid white celebrity get sent to jail for shitting herself? When you really look at it, I would bet your life is pretty peachy compared to the craphole that is Eastern Europe. The money flows at a fairly constant rate, and as far as your and my comfort is concerned, the economy does quite well for itself. I mean, screw the poor, right? The reason they are poor is because they don’t work hard. As long as mommy and daddy make enough money to give us our allowance and not have to put us to work on labor gangs to feed ourselves, I'd say we should be in a state of ecstatic contentment.



But we aren’t. Why? Why do I feel like crap sometimes and want to end it all? It cant possibly be because life is too overwhelming. Nope. It can’t possibly be because somebody said something that "hurt my feelings". I can find new friends if it’s that bad. So why? What is intrinsically wrong in our feeble young minds that we think our lives are worth close to nothing, or at least, not much? Why aren’t we happy? We can’t reconcile the fact that we SHOULD be happy, with the fact that we ARENT happy.



We feel as if we are being cheated. Bamboozled. Thrown out on the street of life with money as our only back up plan. I know. The only argument your parents seem to have for you going to college is that "you need to get a good job, so you can work hard and make money for your family". Well wow. I don’t have a family yet, and when I get one, I'll get back to ya.



We are generation of hopeful hopeless people.

We want it all, but don’t give enough of a rat’s ass to try.

We want to change the world, but don’t know how.

Nobody will tell us.

Nobody cares.

Nobody.



Now that I've waxed poetic...We see that life has boundless possibilities, but actually don’t explore any of them. That would take the work which we despise so much. It's America! We can make money whenever we want, however we want. Who are we most attracted to? The people that make more money than they know what to do with: Musicians, Sports Stars, Movie Stars, Gangstas and Thugs, Pimps and Prostitutes. This is exactly because we want the life that Hollywood sells us that they live. We want to have enough money to be absolutely lazy. Then we can change the world when we feel like it.



Call me morbid, call me pale…but this is the truth. I know all of you know this to be true. Now you don’t get upset. I’ve got one last thing to say. All of our generation is dying. We might be already dead. But I believe there is still hope. Your life means something. Your anger is a gift. Fight that which holds you down. If it’s your obsession with movie stars and music personalities, throw away your magazines, and turn off your TV and radio. You don’t have to deal with them. They won’t help you. If you smoke grass or whatever you freaky kids do, stop. Or, not. Go ahead; destroy your brain and body, the only things you really got in this life. But you were not meant for mediocrity.



Like the greek titans of old...ARISE AGAINST THE “GODS” THAT BE!!!!!!!!





Don’t become a vegetable of a government that wants you dead by 62 so you can’t collect your social security. Don’t become another one of the crowd content with the O.C and Chick-Fil-A and a dose of James Blunt every morning. Go to hell and back. Your government doesn’t care. Your parents don’t care (they might say they do, but they don’t give a darn. They just don’t want you to embarrass them). Your friends don’t care. Make them care. Make yourself care that you are being relegated to nobodies before you even get a chance to take on the world. Screw the democrats, screw the republicans, and screw the gays and the abortionists. Make something of yourself. Be adored by generations to come. Peace is a cop-out. You might fail. You might not do what you set out to. But glorious failure is better than ignoble idleness. Stand up. Fight.Fight until Our schools get All the money they need, And the Air Force has to hold a bake sale to buy a bomber.That would be the correct balance.



suggested listening:

1. Tom Vek: C-C (You Set the Fire In Me)
2. Rage Against the Machine: Take The Power Back
3. Rage Against the Machine: Know Your Enemy
4. VAST: Free
5. Public Enemy: Rebel Without A Pause
6. Beduin Soundclash: When The Night Feels My Song
7. The Blood Brothers: Teen Heat
8. Death From Above 1979: Blood On Our Hands
9. The Doors: Five To One
10. Pearl Jam: Not For You






love and peace

Vampire Weekend!

Well, this be the first post of this blog. My name is John and I'll be the one spouting my ridiculous views on music and culture.
Today we have a brand new band from new york:
VAMPIRE WEEKEND!
They are lo-fi cheeky indie pop, and the single of their self titled EP, "Oxford Comma" is a great toe tapper sing along. Seriously, who would of thought you would hear "Little John always tells the truth" in a indie song?
here it is (zshare)
Vampire Weekend: "Oxford Comma" ((highly recommended))
http://www.zshare.net/audio/2168802676a62e/

love and peace