Clocks & Daggers

Bibio - "Mind Bokeh" (Album Sampler)

2011-01-13T13:42:00.002-05:00

Bibio is releasing a new record! This sampler is obviously a schizophrenic mash-up of sound bites from his new record, but it sounds like he is attempting a more "accessible" approach. Countdown is on; 2011 is shaping up nicely for electronic music.

Tim Hecker

2010-12-27T23:41:00.010-05:00

This is huge: new Tim Hecker record (!!) out February 14, 2011 (two days before my birthday!). I am so entirely excited, and slightly embarrassed that I found out about this announcement so late (and have taken so long to post on here), but alas, the internet just gets away from you. It's also fitting that the friend who first introduced me to Tim Hecker tipped me off to this (tks Chuck! -ed.).

***Update: Stream "Hatred Of Music I" on Kranky's SoundCloud

album details:

RAVEDEATH, 1972 (2011)

CD and 2xLP released by Kranky (U.S.)

The Piano Drop
In the Fog: I-III
No Drums
Hatred of Music: I-II
Analog Paralysis, 1978
Studio Suicide, 1980
In the Air: I-III

Morgan Packard - Dusted Review

2010-11-23T14:50:00.005-05:00

Forgot to post this: I wrote a review on Morgan Packard's newest record, Moment Again Elsewhere, and it's been in high rotation ever since. It will surely make my year-end list for electronic music. Check it out.

Flying Lotus video

2010-10-19T18:11:00.007-04:00

New video for "Kill Your Co-Workers," one of the highlights from his newest EP Pattern + Grid World. As ever, its trippy bent is congruent with Fly Lo's other stoner clips, and it's refreshing to hear him working in these fast tempo's, on the grid. The whole off-beat, soporific druggy beat thing seems to be dying off, and that's fine-- how much further could unquantized beats be taken, anyway?

new Lone

2010-10-06T22:13:00.010-04:00

Nottingham's Lone seemingly dropped the ball with his last record Ecstasy & Friends, but he always seems to come through with great 12" singles-- this is no exception. Much like Zomby's Where Were You In '92, "Pineapple Crush" is an updated, left-field nu-beat take on dance music from the 1990s. (I've dubbed this movement "Nu-Beat" since, well, "wonky" sounds just ridiculous and because "Nu" spells-out '90s, to describe this non-ironic, backwards-glancing sound.) Werk Discs put this out back in August (so late to the game!), as a 10" single, and re-released it with (decent) remixes soon thereafter. Somehow, with all of the dated samples and rave-y sonics, Lone's signature sound remains intact. This is just plain fun. Recommended.

Apparat DJ Kicks

2010-09-20T01:01:00.003-04:00

I'm not a big Apparat fan, but wow. Check the tracklist:

Artist: Apparat
Album: DJ-Kicks
Release Date: October 26
Label: K7

Tracklist
01. Apparat - Circles
02. 69 - Rushed
03. Telefon Tel Aviv - Lengthening Shadows
04. Apparat - Interlude
05. Luke Abbott - More Room
06. Oval - Legendary
07. Patrice Baumel - Sub
08. Martyn - Miniluv
09. Ripperton - Echocity
10. Cosmin TRG - Tower Block
11. Scorn - Falling (Autechre "FR 13" Remix)
12. Born Ruffians - I Need A Life (Four Tet Remix)
13. Pantha Du Prince - Welt Am Draht
14. Phon.o - Intervall
15. Burial + Four Tet - Moth
16. Vincent Markowski - The Madness Of Moths
17. Ramadanman - Tempest
18. Thom Yorke - Harrowdown Hill
19. Spherix - Lesser People
20. Oval - TV Power
21. Joy Orbison - The Shrew Would Have Cushioned The Blow
22. Apparat - Sayulita (DJ-KiCKS)
23. T++ - Worn Down
24. Tim Hecker - Borderlands

Oval - Ah!

2010-09-07T10:32:00.004-04:00

This new video for "Ah" from Oval's new disc O is pretty neat (shouldn't all song and album titles be monosyllabic?!). Watch in HD if you're brave!

I'm pretty late-to-the-game with Oval; I only recently became acquainted with his work, first hearing 94 Diskont earlier this year. (Still working through his discog.) It's interesting to see how his narcotized tone shreds and glitchy pastiche have given way to a more "user-friendly," less experimental approach. I wonder if his creative process is still somewhat aleatoric? In any event, bust out the headphones!

Tim Hecker

2010-06-24T21:36:00.007-04:00

So there's a new Tim Hecker single out: "APONDALIFA," issued by Aussie label Room40. I'm not going to post the 8-minute long mp3 here-- just buy the limited 7" like I did and you will get a free accompanying download! I'm really sad that I missed him in Montreal earlier this month for the city's Mutek festival. Sigh. But this single is holding me over until he (hopefully) drops another epic LP of earth-shattering "tectonic colour plates."

Dimlite

2010-06-21T10:56:00.004-04:00

Lukid - Chord

2010-05-27T21:55:00.006-04:00

Artwork for Chord - the new upcoming Lukid record (debut on Werk Discs). In the meantime, I recommend his UStream radio show on Monday evenings (UK time).

Click for detail: (I like the clean, minimalist approach)

Happy Weekend!

2010-03-12T12:46:00.004-05:00

Here is a new track from Luke Blair, aka Lukid. He's dropping a new one on Werks soonish, and I'm pretty excited (his Foma LP from last year made my Top 15 [see below...way down] and his productions are rather slept-on). With "Hair Of The Dog," it looks like Lukid is making better dubstep than most of the current dubstep producers in the UK; and he isn't even considered one.

SxSW 2010

2010-03-05T14:33:00.004-05:00

So I'll be headed to Austin in a few weeks for SxSW and I'm pretty excited! I've never been to Texas, but I was in New Orleans (pre-Katrina) and enjoyed the Southern friendliness, and I feel that Austin might be the closest thing to New Orleans? It should be a welcome respite from the shitty weather here (it's currently 34F/2C with 40mph/70kmph winds and overcast-- always overcast). I'll be blogging a bit, and plan on seeing lots and lots of shows and drinking lots and lots of beer. In the meantime, here are some recent Dusted reviews I have written, have a look: LoneLady, James Pants. Currently writing a review for Gonjasufi's new one out on Warp next Tuesday, and it's a positive review; definitely enjoying it. Have fun ya'll.

The Best of 2009 - Top 15

2009-12-20T20:07:00.115-05:00

Pretty late in the game with this one, but I still wanted to do a year-end list as a way of parsing the innumerable releases, scattered between my hard drives, CD stacks, and vinyl crates. The focus of this list is electronic-based music, as is the focus of Clocks & Daggers as a web log, with a few exceptions. In terms of highlights for 2009, seeing Animal Collective live was pretty much it, for me. Also, I started writing for Dusted Magazine in December -- they're an ad-free site for music criticism, based out of Brooklyn -- and I'm excited to be a contributor. Watch for my reviews! 2009 was a good year in music; let's see what I liked best...

1)

Dirty Projectors - Bitte Orca (Domino)

I ignored this album for the longest time, like I did with The xx, for no real reason other than an aversion to all the hype. Then I heard that Dave Longstreth from Ambulence Ltd. was a founding member of Dirty Projectors, and had it recommended to me by a friend with great taste -- this piqued my interest. One of the best records of '09 was hyped for good reason and deserves all of the blog love, "Best New Music," et cetra. Bitte Orca has everything: inventive vocal lines, memorable hooks, strong melodies, complex arrangements and reference points ranging from late 90s r&b (Timbaland) to Nico to Zeppelin. Somehow, this record is soulful and cerebral, from moment to moment, demonstrative of the great care and detail given to each of the rich compositions. What's most interesting is that it never seems heavy-handed--yes, it does require a proportionate amount of attention to its idiosyncrasies, but the payoff is always matched by instrumental or vocal bliss. Longstreth's singing takes some adjusting on the first lap around the pool, but the dual female vocal performances of Amber Coffman and Angel Deradoorian are not only complimentary, but noteworthy in themselves. Then there's the strings, staccato keyboard and guitar punctuation, acrobatic drumming...everything is executed so well--it's like the perfect album, or a music nerd's paramour. Go grab this album now. I could write some more about it, and still not feel like a blow hard--it's that good, kids.

2)

Tim Hecker - An Imaginary Country (Kranky)

I became a devote fan of Tim Hecker after discovering his music last year--with the recommendation from a friend whose musical taste I entirely trust--and have been actively buying up his entire discography since. It's hard for me to think of any "new" artist in the last 5 years who has made such an impression on me, so it goes without saying that this is biased. Still, An Imaginary Country is an extraordinarily accomplished piece of music with redeeming traits ad infinitum, unique and paradoxical in its demand/ease. In this music there is: violence, resolve, restraint, focus, caprice, widescreen gaze, black and white, color, death, life, loss and ultimately rebirth. I guess some Hecker nerds were upset with this record, deciding that it failed to live up to expectations (the bar was set pretty high, though, with his 2006 opus Harmony In Ultraviolet), but they can fuck a duck. The Montreal ambient demigod has arguably mastered a craft that he created himself, peerless, (other than the tireless comparisons to Fennesz) and has a signature sound that is quite unmistakable. An Imagainary Country was the best ambient release of 2009.

Bibio - Ambivalence Avenue (Warp)

I already blogged about Bibio earlier this summer, and pretty much knew that this record would live up to the expectations I had. Ambivalence Avenue exceeded them, in fact, and was one of the first CDs I bought that got consistent burn this summer. The first thing I noticed was his range, and how brave he was to work under different and unique musical guises, from track-to-track, here. This record is a paradigmatic jump from pre-Warp Bibio, leaving behind many of the degraded tape-loop experiments but retaining that sense of wide-eyed melancholy and obsessive detail. When I play this CD in my car for friends, they will assume it is a mix by a dozen different recording artists--outlining his stylistic sprawl, akin to RJD2's accomplished 2005 Since We Last Spoke LP. Finally, being that he was discovered by Boards Of Canada, it is fitting that the last track is essentially an homage to those Scottish IDM recluses. My only gripe is with some of the lyrics, but I fully co-sign anything Bibio puts out these days.

4)

J Dilla - Jay Stays Paid (Nature Sounds)

DO NOT JUDGE THIS RECORD BY ITS COVER. If this was some minimal, charcoal gray matte, printed on recycled cardboard, Helvetica type faced sleeve you would probably give it more than a once-over. Yeah, I saw you! But honestly, this is probably the best instrumental hip-hop ever made. Yes. There are only a few "traditional" rap songs on it, with guest MCs, but the spotlight is all Dilla. Notice the black MPC 3000 drum machine tucked under his arm? Well he did stuff with it 10 YEARS AGO that nerdy white kids like me, and producers alike, are still trying to figure out. NYC Hip-Hop stalwart Pete Rock curates this "mix," serving as the host alongside DJ Premiere and Dilla's own mother. (Busta Rhymes or Q-Tip's participation in this project would have been fitting, and I could certainly do without MOP stinking the place up, but I digress.) It is a sweet tribute, and another solid posthumous Dilla release. BUY THIS CD NOW. DILLA FOR EVER. JAY STAYS PAID, MOTH'FUCK'AS.

5)

Fever Ray - Fever Ray (Mute)

Colder than a polar bear's toe nail, this is a no-brainer for Knife fans, and may be the next best thing to a full-length from Sweden's creepy bro/sis duo. Fever Ray is, and was, a total winter record; released last March its canted icy lens was transfixed onto the seasonally gray scenery. Despite The Knife's penchant for steel pan and other "summery" implements, Karin Dreijer Andersson keeps it monochromatic and deadpan this time around. The textures impress: nuanced percussion (blocks, blips, marimbas, flourished cymbals, hand claps and aggressive-attack synth plucks), pitched-down androgynous vocal tones, and expansive 80s keyboard lines all meld nicely. Listening to a record like this front-to-back is a weighty experience but, like most of the best LPs in your collection, is unjust heard at piecemeal. By the time you come out at the other end you're more the dizzy, calm, scared and exhilarated--though equally rewarded. Check my older post on Karin's creepy accompanying music vids. Viva Sweden!

6)

Mos Def - The Ecstatic (Downtown)

Mos' debut Black On Both Sides is a canonical NYC rap classic, as far as I'm concerned. When it came out in 1999, "conscious rap" was hard to grasp: I remember seeing Mos and Talib Kweli on BET hanging out in a bookstore in Harlem, talking about their favorite books, (most of which were about Black consciousness and social awareness) and I didn't understand where intellectualism could fit into the rap world, beyond KRS-ONE or Chuck D? But now "backpack rap" and Malcolm X-inflected rhymes seem passé-- a minor footnote in the hip-hop evolution. Here, Mos somehow manages to fly the same pre-millennial trajectory and never comes off stale, hackneyed, or worse-- preachy. In fact, instead of coming down to earth, he ascends into the stratosphere, riding the jet stream of Madlib and Oh No's blunted soundtracks, pushing himself hard. Slick Rick and Talib put in solid verses, and the beats are "forget about it": Preservation, the aforementioned stoned Stones Throw maestros, Mr. Flash and of course Dilla (see: "History") all contribute to Mos' triumphant return to legitimacy and artistic achievement.

7)

St. Vincent - Actor (4AD)

I read somewhere that Annie Clark (goes by St. Vincent when holding an axe) composed all of these songs in her NY apartment on a laptop, since she could not play instruments without disturbing neighbors, writing the arrangements with "Garage Band" software. Besides being a respectful tenant, she proves to be a solid millennial composer: Clark sings and plays guitar, bass and keys on Actor, while woodwind, violin, french horn, sarongi, percussion and rhythm section is handled by a litany of talented session players, including Hideaki Aomori (Sufjan Stevens) and Alex Sopp (Bjork, Phillip Glass). I have a few small issues with Actor's sequencing: side two's unevenness could have used another pass of the iron, and I would omit one track to trim the fat. Apparently Clark was inspired by watching her favorite films while penning these tracks, and they often unravel like the creative process of an actor getting into, or shedding out of, their respective characters. Her art rock, like the rousing More Songs About Buildings And Food-inspired "Marrow," is really fun and a nice change from the more "heavy" shit in my rotation. Watch her play "Marrow" on Austin City Limits.

Prefuse 73 - Everything She Touched Turned Ampexian (Warp)

This record follows a few of the beat trends of late: CD-R "beat tape" shorts or tossed-off interludes, that may or may not have been conceived as such, and psychedelia punctuated by THC-laced drum-programming. The drugged-out vibe recalls Donuts, the Beatkonducta Series, Koushik's Tell Me What You See, Samiyam's Rap Beats Vol. 1, et alia. Ampexian received mixed reviews initially, but as a fan from the get-go, I got behind it with little hesitation. There are some very interesting ideas here, (and some bad ones) but in the end it's a decent long player from Warp's glitch-hop pioneer. As it goes, Scott Herren recorded the tracks for Ampexian on Ampex tape, lending the beats an analogue depth where the reverb and tape echo thrive. But if you were hoping for another One Word Extinguisher--this isn't it--he has moved on. Give the album a chance though, and the sweltering weed-stank of Prefuse's MPC pads will no doubt enter your blood/brain barrier.

Animal Collective - Merriweather Post Pavillion (Domino)

Yes, I do feel guilty for being 27, 000th person blogging about Animal Collective, or to have mentioned them in a "year end" list, such as the one you're reading. But the fact that I can still listen to this record a year later, and appreciate its place in modern music, helps me sleep at night. I received a promo copy of this CD in the mail from Domino last year when I was the Music Editor of my old University's newspaper. I reviewed it and spouted off a few platitudes, but most of what I said, 370 odd days later, I still stand by. Merriweather is undeniably good and embodies the spirit, of say, The Beatles, for our "iPod generation," if you will. To that end, I bought the remastered White Album recently, and while playing it in front of my parents, they asked me, "So, what bands are like the Beatles, today?"; implying that there's nothing in Western music, now or since 1970, that is on the level of the fab four. True, and I can't point to any anachronistic psychedelic pop that proves them wrong, but I can nudge them in the direction of the Animal Collective oeuvre, if only to show them that yes, there has been some progress, but they ain't changing anything like Revolver did. And samplers, guitars, drugs, mp3s, blogs, Rolling Stone, Pitchfork, pop art, BBC et alia, plus a 30 year gap, make this an apple/orange situation.

10)

Lukid - Foma (Werk Discs)

England's Luke Blair, aka Lukid, is one of the dozens of rising UK producers working in the post-Dilla, "wonky" left-field hip-hop cadre. His second release, Foma, is a very cohesive record from front to back, and goes down best in the early AM, after a long night of getting shitty with friends. Lukid is a perfectionist and you can tell by how well he manipulates the sounds in his palette, keeping it all neatly organized; the drums lock step in subordination to the push and pull of woozy rhythms, lulling your booze-soaked head to the pillow, only to jolt you back to wakefulness with blips and anxious synth sweeps. The percussion and samples are top shelf and he even touches on Dubstep, with nods to Dabrye, Dilla, and the Low End Theory scene in LA as well. Foma is hypnotic and was my favorite post-bar coming-down record last year. Recommended on headphones. Dig it.

11)

Grizzly Bear - Vecatimest (Warp)

I was really excited about this record last year, mainly because I am a huge fan of Daniel Rossen and his Department Of Eagles band. I also had Grizzly's Friends EP in high rotation upon its 2008 release, wearing out its grooves and my roommates' patience in the process. Then there was the band's late night television appearances on Dave Letterman and Conan; both jaw droppers, both signaling to the big labels that Brooklyn is a potential cashcow (if they hadn't cottoned to the fact that it has been for sometime) and that these guys could write impressive songs. Jay-Z and Beyonce showing up at their Williamsburg show this summer? Believe it. Pop culture aside, their four-part harmonies, delicate arrangements and doo-wop conceit gave listeners a mannered, well-executed (and well recorded) record to bite into. Re-listens reveal more nuances you may have missed the first time around--tacitly demonstrating the record's staying power. It can drag a little at the mid-way point, but Veckatimest deserves all of the hype.

12)

Brock Van Wey - White Clouds Drift On And On (Echospace)

Dutch ambient producer Brock Van Wey came out of nowhere, at least on my radar (I don't think White Clouds... was highly promoted or publicized other than in Boomkat circles), with this double album of well-crafted ruminative workouts. Most of these tracks stretch out nicely at 1o minute-plus run times where, toward the 14 minute mark, you forget about the space/time continuum, lost in analogue washes of endless synth loops. Unlike Tim Hecker, or Fennesz, Brock prefers enveloping consonance over jarring distortion and digital sandpaper, using very little processed guitar, and mainly dilating keyboard chords and sweeping strings. Perfect music for starring out of an airplane window, I imagine. White Clouds solidifies Brock's place in the Boomkat set as a promising ambient composer.

13)

Tortoise - Beacons of Ancestorship (Thrill Jockey)

I had high hopes for this record, but ultimately, it fell short. I thought Beacons would be bigger than the footnote from 2009 that it was, and feel that it got overlooked by many critics. What we have here, instead of an brain-melter, is a very well-made record with a few highlights, tons of great ideas, and nothing immediately mind-blowing in that, "I need to hear this song played back again 15 times" way. I remember Tortoise from skateboarding videos I had in my teenage years, as this composed, mature band with jazzy tendencies. And they still are as I remember them, and as I re-discovered them in my 20s, existing today. The whole thing sounds bland, but I can assure you Tortoise are incredible in their own right, defying genre allegiance, with the visionary John McEntire at the helm. But I guess bands don't have to always "blow your mind" to be worthy of space on your bookshelf.

14)

Mi Ami - Watersports (Quarterstick)

I heard Mi Ami's "African Rhythms" 12" this past summer and thought it was cool. Then I heard their remix of Telepathe's "Devil's Trident," and Watersports in the same time period, and was sold. Often, it seems that people describe a band's sound as "like nothing else out there," when in reality it's just as derivative as everyone else. Mi Ami are truly doing some unique things though, punctuated by their many influences: elements of hardcore punk, (two members used to be in DC hardcore outfit Black Eyes) disco, dub, Nigerian highlife, acid house, free jazz/fusion, and Terry Riley (!). Fuck me! Watersports is permeated with a sense of spontaneity and anxiousness-- whether it's an Avey Tare-esque yelp, divergent drum pattern (the drumming on this record is incredible) or free-associative lyric sheet ran through the shredder. There may be some other records out in the world that sound like this, but you or I will probably never hear them, so why not try this?

15)

Madlib - Beatkonducta Vol. 5-6 (Stones Throw)

Madlib is extremely prolific--and with that comes the possibility of some mediocrity, statistically speaking. But in terms of his Beatkonducta project, Vol. 5-6 does not suffer from any mediocre elements, and is one of his best instrumental collections to date. This album serves as an elegy to friend and collaborator, the late great J Dilla (I know, I am obsessed with Dilla and have mentioned him quite a bit on this blog). During the last three years of Dilla's life, before Lupus took over, he and Madlib worked together extensively and in doing so, informed each other's styles. Dilla started to sound like Madlib, Madlib started to sound (slightly) like Dilla, as it were. People considered them birds of a feather: both "in-the-cut" dudes, shy and quite, always in the studio, championing left-of-center productions, and always blunted. Here, Madlib drops a dizzying collection of beat shorts, all with reference points aimed at the late James Yancey and his legacy. There is some lazy chopping as you'd expect, but on the whole this is a solid effort by Madlib, and a sweet gesture from a mourning friend.

Los Honorable Mentiones:

Lone - Ecstacy & Friends
This record seemingly slipped of the face of the earth when it was released last November, unfortunately. I really enjoyed Lone's 2008 Lemurian -- it was my introduction to the UK "wonky" scene and I still play it today. But Ecstacy & Friends, even on my 5th and 6th listen through, fails to be as compelling, or memorable. There are still some great songs here and his production is fully realized, grandiose even.
Telefon Tel Aviv - Immolate Yourself
I probably only listened to 60% of this album, and while I enjoyed it, I need to give it another chance with more attentiveness. As a side, it's pretty wild that Charlie Cooper (allegedly) killed himself the day after it was released, and while he didn't suffer from self-immolation, it's still fucked up.
William Basinski - 92982
I also gave this a once-over and was not immediately impressed. I know he is one of the modern, post-Eno ambient mainstays, but he's a bit pretentious, I find. I think his records get burn at Yoga classes! A re-visit is in order.
Sunset Rubdown - Dragonslayer
With the D&D-inspired album name, pause, this album seemed to have disappear down the pipe minutes after its release. It was very ambitious, and Spencer's creative writing foundation always provides for interesting lyrics. Great but not amazing, much like the last Wolf Parade record.
Sin Fang Bous - Clangour
Clangour drew some comparisons, on the surface, to Panda Bear and Animal Collective's more cacophonous outings. It typifies Nordic sensibilities, but is less experimental than some of the Fonal releases from Finland. A solid album and I'm looking forward the next one.
Jim O'Rourke - The Visiter
I need more time with this record as it was a late discovery. I'm thinking it would be in my top 15, easily, had I spent more time with it, since Jim is a very good musician/producer and I have heard nothing but good things.
Here We Go Magic - S/t
I'm going to rehash what every other critic has said: the long, meandering ambient interludes are utterly awful -- leave that to Deerhunter and No Age, who do them properly, as a counterpoint, or calibrated interlude which neither detracts from, nor distends the record as a whole. The mix of this record is very muddy, and not in a purposefully lo-fi way, but in a lazily engineered way. If you forget these complaints for a moment, there are hints of brilliance here-- some very interesting ideas that make Here We Go Magic pretty frustrating in the end.

Down Time

2009-10-18T21:49:00.007-04:00

After a recent hiatus, I think I will recommence web log activities here. During the summer I lost a great deal of momentum, and in turn, stopped blogging about experimental loop-based electronic music that I like so much. I feel there is enough decent new and old music surfacing, worthwhile of my chronicling, posting, sharing and so fourth, to continue. I don't have enough free time to break new artists, like say, Joy Orbison, and will probably post songs by hot-shit producers like that months after the Pitchfork phenomenon has attenuated. In essence, this is just a journal of what gets burn on my iPod slash turntable slash cd player.

Weekend Playlist: Blog House

2009-07-04T17:52:00.000-04:00

Photo: Robert Adams; Colorado Springs, Colarado 1968

I don't really follow Blog House happenings because I find a lot of the music to be very disposable or vapid. Music that is called "Blog House" now was interesting 7 years ago when DJs like Diplo (he used to go by Diplodocus) were doing "mash-ups" at parties in Ukrainian community halls in Philly, Baltimore and NYC, before mp3 blogs and Girl Talk became household speak. But really, how far can remixes of remixes, spawned in bedrooms on laptops with pirated software, be taken? All the same, you sometimes do come across some noteworthy tracks amid the flavour-of-the-week stuff.

1. Throbbing Gristle - Hot On The Heels Of Love (Ratcliffe Remix) [NovaMute]
2. Thriller/Unknown - Genie [thought to be Actress of the Werks label]
3. Thriller/Unknown - Freak For You [" "]
4. Floating Points - Love Me Like This (Nonsense Dub) [R2 Records]
5. Animal Collective - Daily Routine (Phaseone remix)
6. Arthur Russel - In The Light (Alan Abrahams Edit) [Scape]
7. Grizzly Bear - Owner Of A Lonely Heart (Yes cover)
8. Bottin - No Static [Italians Do It Better]
9. Le Loup - We Are Gods! We Are Wolves! [Hardly Art]
10. Daniel Rossen (Of Grizzly Bear/Dept. Of Eagles) - Waterfall [Warp/4AD]

Happy Weekend

2009-07-03T22:05:00.006-04:00

If you're in the States, you're probably about to get really drunk and blow things up. Have fun with that.
So I redesigned the web log a bit and have added a bunch of links consisting of independent labels, independent online retailers, review sites, recommended reading, and music magazines, as well as some other web logs and friends which I believe to be somewhat aligned with Clocks & Daggers, or, at the very least, those with great design and content. I'm still new to this, but with a more focused direction I plan to cover music, both old and new, that I think deserves attention; culled from an ADD assortment of genres, but always attached by umbilical cord to experimental, avant-garde, electronic assortments.
In the meantime, enjoy this:

Warp 20 Boxset + Fly Lo EP

2009-07-02T19:42:00.010-04:00

Newest installment of Flying Lotus' LA EP series, LA EP 3x3, has been pushed back to an August 18th release date, now including a bonus digital cut. I really enjoyed the 1x3 and 2x3 EPs, so I'm very much looking forward to the new material.
A friend of mine who introduced me to Flying Lotus two years ago, calls his music "cerebral hip-hop," and it certainly is an apt description for the uninitiated (but funny in that Fly Lo and the whole LA beat scene is pretty much synonymous with a hazy hue of blue blunt smoke).

Tracklisting:

01 - Infinitum (Dimlite’s Re-finitum)
02 - Comet - MatthewDavid
03 - Endless White
04 - Parisian Goldfish (Take Remix)
05 - Spin Cycles
06 - Testament (Breakage’s Bill’s Suit Mix)
07 - Auntie’s Harp (Rebekah Raff Remix)

Digital Bonus Track - Riot (Take Rmx)

***********

Also, IDM/Experimental Electronic nerds rejoice: the Warp 20 Box Set comes out on September 25th. It will definitely slake the indulgences of hardcore fans, but also serve as a great, albeit pervasive introduction to those curious about the last 20 years of the pioneering label.

Includes:

Warp20 (1989-2009) The Complete Catalogue: 192 page book
10” square, 192 page full-colour, perfect-bound book. The complete-ist’s dream – a catalogue of artwork of every Warp release from its inception in 1989 to August 2009.

Warp20 (Chosen): Double CD album
The definitive best of Warp on 2 x CDs. Ten songs chosen by you (Warp20.net), ten songs chosen by Warp co-founder Steve Beckett. Packaged in deluxe case-bound 10” folder, exclusive to this box set.

Warp20 (Unheard): Triple 10” Vinyl
Secret treasures newly rediscovered from the Warp vaults. Unheard and rare tracks by Boards of Canada, Autechre, Broadcast, Elecktroids and others cut to 3 x 10” vinyl.

...and more.

Old Music: Black Devil (1978)

2009-07-01T23:48:00.017-04:00

Download: [MP3] Black Devil - "Follow Me"

(download the entire album here since it's best heard end to end)

If you like weirdness, Italo disco, and stuff that is, or was, "ahead of its time," then you may enjoy the highly addictive oddball grooves of Black Devil. All the usual disco tropes are here: open-hi's, 120 BPM tempos, hand percussion, meandering synths and affected singing. But this record is so fucking great because it is actually good, and, er, "cool." It avoids the camp aesthetic of past disco hounds who would have gotten lots of radio/club burn, sacrificing appeal for artistic freedom, and losing nothing in the process. Apparently it was recorded in a Paris suburb by Bernard Fevre using a synthesizer, tape loops, and a live drummer. Disco Club stands up against any of the best underground New York disco you've heard, and fetches upwards of $500 for the original LP.

Bernard Fevre, of Black Devil:

Bibio Video(s)

2009-06-29T12:45:00.005-04:00

MPC chopping

A tribute to Madlib

Found the above videos on one of Bibio's defunct MySpace pages, in particular, from his hip-hop side project as "Duckular." These clips provide insight into the creative process, and are pretty mind-blowing in that he is able to emulate Dilla and Madlib so well. That the artist is apparently new to left field hip-hop, crafting near-perfect beatscapes, is entirely impressive. His academic background in music seems to engender the artist with an informed (and experimentally-inclined) pool of ideas to draw from.

"Fire Ant," below, from Ambivalence Avenue, is some of the best chopping I have ever heard in a hip-hop context--and I've been listening to hip-hop heavily, for almost 15 years.

Ambivalence Avenue made Pitchfork's "Best New Music," scoring an impressive 8.3/10, something I predicted despite the album's stylistic sprawl. I urge everyone to check it out because it's a great summer record, with or without Pitchfork's arbitrary endorsement.

R.I.P. MJ (1958 - 2009)

2009-06-27T16:39:00.009-04:00

Most mainstream media seems to ignore the fact that Quincy Jones, irrefutably, played a critical role in Michael Jackson's success as a pop artist. Jones helped bring the shy kid, from an obscure place like Indiana, out of his shell; inadvertently plotting the trajectory of the most influential individual in the history of popular music. Too bad so much fucked up stuff happened between then, and this past Thursday. Still, his personal life, as fucked up as it was, won't overshadow the stalwart canon of pop music left behind, totally ubiquitous.

For a very cheap laugh:

On The Radar: Artists To Watch

2009-06-22T22:49:00.013-04:00

This week: Teebs

Former skateboarder turned beatmaker, Teebs is featured this week. Based out of LA, aka the epicenter of contemporary left-field hip-hop (with respect to the peripheral UK scene), his beats are emotive, mercurial, and yet at times underdeveloped. However, he was only recently picked up by LA beat-scene harbinger Flying Lotus, prepping to release an EP on his BrainFeeder imprint. Who knows, perhaps Flying Lotus will take him under his wing (chortle!). In the meantime, check out the woozy guitar strums of "Bern Rhythm Codeine Version," as the perfect summer backdrop to porch-sitting and iced tea sipping.

Teebs - "Bern Rhythm Codeine Version"

Teebs is also a visual artist and painter. His artwork (below) draws immediate comparisons to Agnes Montgomery, who did the artwork for Panda Bear's last few releases, employing a similar cut/paste collage aesthetic.

Mary Anne Hobbs mix

http://myspace.com/teeeb

http://www.myspace.com/brainfeeder

iPod Generation: "What are those?"

2009-06-20T16:16:00.014-04:00

Cassette tapes are great. I've picked up some thrift store bin winners such as Paul's Boutique (classic end-to-end), Rio (fun to throw on once a year, whilst imagining coked-up cocktail parties where it inevitably soundtracked), Dance Mix '93 (irony + childhood memories) and Ella Fitzgerald best-of (it was $1). These are pretty rad (click for detail), from this dude on Flickr:

Happy Weekend

2009-06-19T18:31:00.004-04:00

Mantronix! I'm thinking about shifting the focus of my web log to electronic-based music, instead of riding the brain wavelengths of my ADD mind through genre and epoch, without regard. The last grip of posts have been electronic-y, so I guess it won't be much of a stretch. We shall see. Have a safe weekend!

Prefuse 73 Post-MoMA Mix

2009-06-18T01:45:00.006-04:00

Found a decent new mix by Prefuse that he recorded for the occasion of his participation in some MoMA night back in May, via Flavorpill (read about it here). I blogged about Mi Ami a while ago, who appear early in the mix, and lately I'm drowning in the incredible sounds of Tim Hecker, who makes for the all-too-brief intro. Broadcast, Dilla, Doom and Madlib get lots of burn in my iPod too. The eclectic bent of the mix is something I can appreciate, all the same, it does get a bit murky so throw it on late in the PM.

Stream mix here.

Tracklist: (sorry, no song titles)

1. Tim Hecker
2. MadVillain
3. Mi Ami
4. Hudson Mohawke
5. LebLaze (Epstein slow crack remix)
6. Broadcast
7. Prefuse 73 Live Meditation
8. Beat Konducta Medley
9. Wu Tang
10. Unreleased Broadcast Security Screenings re-do.
11. EGG
12. We Are Not Together
13. FREAK BEAT MEDLEY(B MUSIC THROWBACKS,etc.)
14. MadVillain
15. RISIL
13. Boredoms
14. Broadcast (illest beat ever)
15. The Predicate: BRINGS “SLOW DEATH” TO: PREFUSE 73 (remix09)
16. SunnO)) German rhythm interlude.
17. eeiioo
18. Christopher Willits
19. Dilla
20. Push Button Objects feat. Mr.Lif+Del (Prefuse73 early 90s remix)
21. Bumps
22. Christopher Willits

Happy Weekend

2009-06-12T22:54:00.003-04:00

Sometimes I just want to listen to music that affirms how I feel about the world, and how the world, unanimously, feels about me. Thankfully I found this gem by accident, and it couldn't come at a better time; what with 3 days of forecasted rain and fogginess. Enjoy.

"Hands off the merchandise."

On The Radar: Artists To Watch

2009-06-11T14:46:00.024-04:00

This week: Bibio

A recent discovery for me, that he may be, this laptop-folk practitioner has been around since '04, having recorded an LP that was championed early on by Boards Of Canada. In fact, he was signed to Mush Records on the strength of BOC's word, and now, the artist has just signed to the forward-thinking electronic label Warp. His style will draw obvious comparisons to BOC, however, he samples a lot of his own compositions through lo-fi cassette recorders, even singing occasionally with an English folk sensibility. His Warp debut Ambivalence Avenue drops on June 22, and the lead-off limited 7" vinyl single looks promising.

Bibio - "Ambivalence Avenue" (side A)

As a producer he is able to showcase drastic variation in style from song to song, with side B's "Fire Ant" as evidence; chopping the "Impeach The President" drum break (leaning more towards a left-field hip-hop bent, recalling J Dilla et all), but "Ambivalence Avenue," in its erstwhile psych-folk stasis, is entirely stunning. The melody and 3/4 rhythm is curious, perhaps appropriated from somewhere on the Balkan peninsula, sung in haunting tones equally as retrograded as the guitar loops themselves. Recommended.

Pre-order the LP from Bleep
or
buy older Bibio releases from Mush

***

http://myspace.com/mrbibio

Check out one of his YouTube videos that he directed himself.

Next level Boombox

2009-06-08T17:58:00.006-04:00

Want one! Also, that is the intro playing to Illmatic, which is perfect for summertime rotation (with blunts, bitches, and beers -- in a park, of course).

New Music: J Dilla (!)

2009-06-04T16:36:00.013-04:00

My all-time favorite hip-hop producer, J Dilla, continues the slew of posthumous releases since his passing in '06, with Jay Stays Paid. I shamefully grabbed J$P online, heedless to the financial implications on Dilla's family. I urge any fan to purchase this album (which I will be doing tomorrow), to help ease the burden of "Ma Dukes" (Dilla's mother, and the executive producer of this record) having to foot the innumerable medical bills from Dilla's Lupus treatments.

One thing Pitchfork reviewer Nate Patrin (who is usually somewhat tolerable) failed to address in his exhaustive review is the fact that many of these beats have not been "unearthed" as he claims so. Some have been taken off of (and out of context) beat CD's (read: CD-R's with on average 30 short beat snippets--used to shop around to rappers) circa '03-'05, pre-Donuts. Stylistically, the lead up to Donuts is demonstrative here, and yet somehow, the album is nicely rounded-out despite having tracks from the artist's other more strait-forward beat crafting periods as well. Dilla, like close friend/collaborator Madlib, always had a knack for choosing off-beat samples to work with, but the incipient works pre-Donuts found the artist experimenting, soon unafraid to break convention entirely (see the tempo change of "Time: The Donut Of The Heart" on Donuts, for example) . This new LP is important for the canon of indie hip-hop in that Dilla himself, single-handedly inspired new movements in Avant-garde hip-hop, that resonate internationally.

"10,000 Watts"

"Coming Back"

http://myspace.com/thegiantpeach
http://myspace.com/jdilla

New Music: Prefuse 73

2009-06-02T23:54:00.025-04:00

"Relief Choir" from The Forest Of Oversensitivity

I web logged in the winter about Prefuse when he dropped his latest LP, here. And now he has just released an EP of two remixes from that full length, b/w three new compositions. The Forest Of Oversensitivity EP is a succession of the same ideas and motifs that, despite being well-executed, require multiple listens to soak into the brain juices. "Relief Choir" finds Prefuse chopping the B.T. Express "Do It ('Til You're Satisfied)" break, slowed down, slotted between a slinky octave-jumping bassline, flourished cymbals, and echoed snare rolls. A "choir" of voices sing amid the signature glitchy acoustic guitar plucks, and somehow it all melds into a cohesive whole. Like a lot of Prefuse tracks, the conceit here is smart and morose--and like his best work, this is just as disarming. He apparently recorded Everything She Touched Turned Ampexian to Ampex tape, and one would assume the same applies to this EP (the circumambient reverb certainly sounds tape-ish). Prefuse is becoming Madlib-esque in his prolificity it seems, and as a long time fan, I'm not complaining. Go grab this EP asap!

On Repeat: "Foolish Fool" - Dee Dee Warwick

2009-06-02T00:00:00.021-04:00

Dee Dee Warwick, the younger sister of Dionne Warwick, made a career out of singing backup for the likes of Aretha Franklin and Nina Simone. Beginning with gospel roots, her trajectory took her from session singing to an underdeveloped solo stint, to finally backing up sister Dionne, before her untimely death last October.

Her vocal stylings and musical accompaniment contrasted drastically against the polished, classy lounge outings of the more famous Dionne who, ultimately served as Bacharach's muse. In retrospect, Dee Dee represented an authentic pillar of late 60's soul that was seemingly ambivalent towards pop charts. However, songs like "Foolish Fool," with its tasteful string arrangements, jangly funk guitar and hardknock drumming, were able to galvanize pop audiences--on the strength of the singing alone. At times registering in the red, her powerful voice is decidedly the song's centerpiece, with boisterous range and strong emotive resonance. When Dee Dee sings, "She's a fool to think that she can take you from me," listeners can easily imagine the "other woman" on her way to a deserved black eye. Highly recommended.

"Foolish Fool" - from her S/t LP (1969; Mercury)

On The Radar: Artists To Watch

2009-06-01T00:48:00.010-04:00

As you know with Clocks & Daggers, there is no emphasis on one particular genre, and such is the case with this post. Instead of a Weekend Playlist I wanted to web log about artists to watch. This week:

Mi Ami
myspace.com/miamiamiami

Based out of San Fransisco, this three-piece "drum punk" outfit straddles more than a few genres, with an honed post-disco, No Wave, Afro-rhythmic bent. The lead singer squeals over angular guitar splashes, along side (never over or under) a formidable rhythm section of jazz-funk bass and four-on-the-floor drums, recalling bands like Liquid Liquid. They have a history in hardcore, with two members from DC's Black Eyes, and are signed to Touch & Go subsidiary imprint Quartersticks.

Paradoxically managing restraint amid cacophony on their debut Watersports LP, Mi Ami remix "Devil's Trident" by Brooklyn's Telepathe to more minimal effect, shown here:

Telepathe - Devil's Trident (Mi Ami Remix) from Daniel Nixon on Vimeo.

Earbuds are your friend

2009-05-28T02:32:00.011-04:00

If you use earbuds like myself and find yourself constantly losing those small silicone attachments that fit into your ear, this is a life-saver. Instead of dropping $70 on another pair of earbuds, I saw these at the Sony store for $10:

The set includes different sizes for the perfect fit. Since I had lost all of the spares from my current Sony set, I had a mis-matched pair from a JVC set with sticky putty on one to hold it together, it was a ghetto setup! These make all the difference; I noticed myself turning the volume down significantly since they blocked outside noise so well. Also, they *might* fit non-Sony models too. Happy listening.

Weekend Playlist: Animal Collective, et alia.

2009-05-23T16:15:00.012-04:00

Photo: Glen Erler

Haven't web logged in a while. Spent the entire day sitting on a rock by the ocean (I'm in Halifax now) reading this and got really fucking sun burnt. So far it's a great read and I recommend the whole series. Speaking on the Pink Flag book itself, though, I am learning that Colin Newman is (and was) rather pretentious--but what do you expect from art school punks who have always been on every critic's dick? Back to the playlist: I just saw Animal Collective and they were amazing, so here's some AC + AC-inspired/aligned peeps:

Animal Collective - "#1" (2007; Strawberry Jam)
Animal Collective - "Bees" (2005; Feels)
Animal Collective - "Infant Dressing Table" (2003; Here Comes The Indian)
Animal Collective - "Who Could Win A Rabbit" (2004; Sung Tongs)
Panada Bear - "Bonfire of the Vanities" (2007; Take Pills 7" single)
Sin Fang Bous - "Catch The Light" (2009; Clangour)
Animal Collective - "People" (2006; People EP)
El Guincho - "Kalise" (2007; Alegranza!)
Animal Collective - "Did You See The Words?" (2005; Feels)
Grouper - "Invisible" (2008; Dragging a Dead Deer Up A Hill)

New Music: Sunset Rubdown

2009-04-30T02:20:00.012-04:00

Being that I am based out of Montreal, I feel I should try to include more music from local artists. And since I am already entirely a fan of Sunset Rubdown, I thought I'd post their newest single (which you've probably already heard since it's old news in the blogosphere).

Spencer Krug is an indie rock creative juggernaut; no one else seems this prolific, nor with an equally impressive body of work. His other band Swan Lake just released their Enemy Mine LP, and yet with their 7" picture disc collaboration with artist David Horvitz due out any day now (which includes two non-album singles), plus their upcoming June-release of Dragonslayer, Krug continues to fatten up his catalogue.

Sunset Rubdown - "Idiot Heart"

"Idiot Heart" follows a similar trajectory to most SR songs by building on a melange of ideas, aiming to meld them into a thematic climax. Sometimes Krug tries to squeeze too many ideas into his formidable creations, though, evident in a 5 minute average song-length on most SR albums. However, the listener's attention span is rarely stretched thin since most tracks include his signature prosaic lyrics, at times unpredictable song structuring, and flourished instrumentation.

"Idiot Heart" begins with some simple rhythm guitar lines and glockenspiel, building towards a catchy chorus, frantic drumming alongside peaking synth splashes. Krug sings: "And you've got a heart," sarcastically while the crash symbols are knocked about, and the 6 minute song is over before it has a chance to gain any footing. Multiple listens are recommended, and even still, one begins to think that something is missing. Perhaps the dubious afterthoughts are from a lack of context? The ideas that come before and after "Idiot Heart" on the album are probably key. I actually saw the band play in the fall and they were incredible. Krug and company played a grip of new songs that night, and in the live setting, I thoroughly enjoyed them. Hopefully the same can be said for Dragonslayer when it drops.

Weekend Playlist: Drone, Ambient, Minimalism, Experimental

2009-04-25T15:37:00.011-04:00

Photo: Aaron McElroy

It's really nice outside--summer seems to have arrived early. BBQ's, drinking beer in parks, t-shirts!, all that stuff. Here's a playlist to help you ruminate and examine the possibilities:

Tim Hecker - "Her Black Horizon" (2009; An Imaginary Country)
Stars Of The Lid - "December Hunting For Vegetarian Fuckface" (2007; And Their Refinement of The Decline)
Steve Reich - "Phase Patterns" (1970/2000; Four Organs/Phase Patterns)
Dreamsploitation - "Monochrome" (2008; The Soft Focus Sound Of Today)
Fennesz - "Perfume For Winter" (2008; Black Sea)
Brian Eno - "Another Green World" (1975; Another Green World)
Tim Hecker - "Harmony In Blue IV" (2006; Hamony In Ultraviolet)
Karlheinz Stockhausen - " Stockhausen, Karlheinz Teil 1" (1960/1997; Kontakte)
David Rosenboom - "Four Lines" (1974; Brainwave Music)
Luc Ferrari - "Cellule 75" (1998; Cellule 75)

Not recommended while behind the wheel, or when friends are over. I listen to Stars Of The Lid before I go to sleep sometimes, if that's any indication. Please visit my friend Chuck's (Dreamsploitation) MySpace page: www.myspace.com/dreamsploitation

On Repeat: "Syllable Practice" - Edan

2009-04-23T16:01:00.008-04:00

So I was hanging out and digging through some hip-hop record bins at local record shop yesterday (while downing beers with the owner) and found a dusty Edan EP lodged between a grip of random 12"s. I nerded-out for a minute, and wondered why I had totally forgotten about my favorite nasally nerd rapper (after MF Doom, of course) from Boston. (The last time I heard from him was the summer of '06 with his appearance on Cut Chemist's The Audience's Listening.) I think dudes like this are so refreshing with the DIY recorded-in-my-dorm approach, and it's not easy to meld "out-there" psych rock, rare groove, loop-friendly jazz riffs and early 80s rap samples together nicely. Some may criticize his over-aestheticizing or constant referencing, but his music is underpinned by a marked originality that forces listeners to see past this. I highly suggest you check out his entire catalogue for some serious summer boombox bumps.

"Syllable Practice (12" version)" - from his first LP Primitive Plus (2002; Lewis)

"The trilogy of talk: tongues, lungs and diaphragms / pentriloquist with venomous Venn diagrams."

Imagine any other rapper rapping about Venn diagrams?

www.myspace.com/eeddaann

Weekend Playlist: 1977

2009-04-17T20:51:00.008-04:00

Photo: Klaus Kinski, from "Fitzcarraldo" - Herzog,'82

Is Clocks & Daggers turning into a cross-genre YouTube music video blog of obscurity? I really hope not. I want to post the video of "Here Comes The Summer" by The Undertones since it was a nice spring day today, but I won't, cause that'd continue the (lame) cycle. This blog is really just for myself, so I don't give a shit what anyone thinks, or if anyone reads it. But I can't call it a blog if I'm not blogging and just throwing up cool vids--which is essentially what a YouTube channel is for, right?

Here's a weekend playlist. DO IT!

Wire - "Obvious" [1977; Pink Flag]
Iggy Pop - "Dum Dum Boys" [1977; The Idiot]
Suicide - "Girl" [1977; s/t]
Brian Eno - "King's Lead Hat" [1977; Before And After Science]
Richard Hell & The Voidoids - "I'm Your Man" [1977; Blank Generation]
RAMP - "Daylight" [1977; Come Into Knowledge]
Talking Heads - "No Compassion" [1977; Talking Heads: 77]
Kraftwerk - "Showroom Dummies" [1977; Trans-Europe Express]
Giorgio Moroder - "From Here To Eternity" [1977; From Here To Eternity]
Björk - Álfur út úr hó (Beatles "The Fool On The Hill" cover) [1977; s/t]

In Toronto for CMW

2009-03-14T14:09:00.004-04:00

I am in Toronto cover Canada Music Week, but I have limited internet access and no PDA. This is the first time in my life that I actually would like to have one of those Blackberry things, or an iPhone, or the GOOGLE PHONE!!! Anyways, I will write all about it shortly, so enjoy this in the meantime. It feels summer-y (well, at least warm, with the Cuban theme) cause spring is coming kids! This is from RJD2's second album, Since We Last Spoke, from 2004.

Happy Weekend!

2009-03-07T12:25:00.003-05:00

Fuck, I'm so hungover right now. I'm so hungover, I had to actually "get it together" when I was standing in the lineup at the corner store. Anyways, I try to post "fun" videos every weekend, and The Monks came to mind. They're a fun band. Enjoy, and drink some Gatorade if you're also suffering like me.

New Music: Grizzly Bear

2009-03-03T07:03:00.007-05:00

So, Veckatimest leaked, as reported here: La Cinta, and on Ed Droste's twitter. I grabbed a transcode rip of the album that is floating around, and it actually doesn't sound that bad (transcodes are usually awful-sounding mp3s). I know it's a bit ridiculous to get excited for Animal Collective and Grizzly Bear LPs, but, sometimes I feel as though their artistry transcends trends and over-popularization. I think most people who are into indie music on some level are excited about this record, from Starbucks employees to bloggers to brainwashed P4K readers. Who doesn't like four-part vocal harmonies?

Listening to it on shitty laptop speakers with a "questionable" mp3 version, makes me excited to buy the vinyl LP when it comes out in May. Also, I'm a huge fan of Daniel Rossen and his band Department of Eagles. I feel as though Grizzly Bear has a Lennon/McCartney thing going on with the song-writing duties shared between Rossen and Ed Droste--both of whom show promising talent, and was glad the album opens with Rossen (it closes with a sappy Droste tune...). Here is the opening track, which sounds very Department of Eagles-esque:

"Southern Point"

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

**Also, I'm on Twitter, and sometimes update it to inform of Clocks & Daggers updates. Follow me: twitter.com/clocksdaggers

**I'm having some audio issues lately, so if you can't stream/download, check back this week and I should have it fixed.

New Music: Prefuse 73

2009-02-28T03:16:00.011-05:00

Wow, my blog posts are becoming few and far between--what can I say--the winter makes me lazy. So here's some new Prefuse to check out, from his new disc Everything She Touched Turned Ampexian (huh?) on Warp, due out April 14. If you're into forward-thinking electronic music (does that sound pretentious?) you're probably up on most of the Warp roster, and hopefully Prefuse, too. This new record is leaps and bounds ahead of his last three releases, and I'd say it's amoung his best work--next to 2003's One Word Extinguisher. It sounds like he's been hanging around Gaslamp Killer,(who has a cut named after him on the album)maybe listening to his psych breaks and "out there" mixes, turning up the reverb for the first time. This record is a very entertaining listen, at 29 tracks deep, it covers a lot of territory. Go out and buy the vinyl LP when it drops!

Prefuse 73 - Fountains Of Spring

Check out the Roger Dean style cover art:

Happy Weekend!

2009-02-20T19:24:00.005-05:00

You know how John Peel said "Teenage Kicks" was his all-time favorite song? Well, I'd say that this is my all-time favorite indie-pop song. There, I said it.
I guess my last post got me thinking about indie-pop, where what was once a refreshing reaction to the otherwise shitty fodder of the 80s, is now seemingly at an impasse.
I remember buying this Breeders album when I was 11 years old! I got my mom to lend me the cash and dropped $25 on it. This is indie-pop perfection, and it still stands up 16 years later. Enjoy!

New Music: Camera Obscura (Scotland)

2009-02-18T04:19:00.013-05:00

Camera Obscura - "My Maudlin Career"

Their new album (also called My Maudlin Career) is due out April 21(US), on their new label 4AD.

Normally I don't get too excited for indie pop these days. That I didn't even bother to check out the Belle & Sebastien BBC Sessions disc from this fall, speaks to my overall boredom with imported twee melodies and overcast-covered lovelorn lyricism. But, this Scottish sextet has me revisiting "Electric Renaissance" and some Shop Assistants shyte, laddie. "My Maudlin Career" is lush and congruent with the Phil Spector/Jesus & Mary Chain sonic assaults of the 60s/80s, but remarkably, the vocals are never buried too deep in the mix to hide the Scottish accent of Tracyanne Campbell's earnest voice. Har voice ayse foackin' gre-ate! (I haven't read Irvine Welsh...is this how he writes??) This is the perfect winter song for those shitty grey, dark-by-five-o'clock days.

www.myspace.com/cameraobscuraband

Happy Weekend!

2009-02-13T20:35:00.005-05:00

Pin Ups is pretty shit-tastic, but I can mess with this, for sure. "I Wish You Would" is a song by Billy Boy Arnold, covered here by Bowie, after of course, being covered by The Yardbirds. The YB's version is much cooler, but I like Bowie's greasy glam sheen and coke residue-covered cover too. The "slideshow" is a little hard to watch, so just close your eyes and think of SALAD BOWLS of coke in every fucking room of his house. What a guy. Enjoy!

Dilla's Birthday is today!

2009-02-07T05:42:00.013-05:00

The "greatest," "genius," "your favorite producer's favorite producer," J Dilla. Today, February 7th, is his birthday. So help your iTunes navigate to some Detroit realness, in memoriam. I listed a few songs you can download, if your iTunes is lacking in James Yancey beats.

"In The Streets" (from the Jay Love Japan LP, 2008; Operation Unknown). Like a lot of Dilla's stuff, this was released posthumously. It's a highlight from Jay Love Japan; a dark and slow instrumental track. Listen to how he chops the samples: the faint funk-guitar plucks, the fucked up angular vocals and off-beat shaker, tied-together with a highly compressed rim-shot.

"Intro - Alt (instrumental)" (from the Ruff Draft LP, 2003/2007; Mummy/Stones Throw). This brief track slowly crawls along, dressed in a haunting, tremulous sample and teeming drums.

"Anti-American Graffiti" / "Waves" / "Stepson Of The Clapper" (from his masterpiece, Donuts, 2006; Stones Throw). There's really nothing I can really say about Donuts that hasn't already been said. I'd never heard anyone chop samples the way he did on this record--it still fucks with my head after hearing it hundreds of times. It's just an album that I never get tired of.

"Fuck The Police" (from a S/T 12" vinyl single, 2002; Up Above). Subversive! This is a great song about power-abusing Men-in-Blue, aka pigs. The flute sample is neat, and I really like the drum break Dilla chose. He actually could rap, even though most people didn't understand why his delivery was often off-beat.

Finally, this great tribute to Dilla, by the talented and often-compared Flying Lotus. "Fall In Love" (I don't think this ever had an official release, but it's from '06 or '07). Same lush sample that Dilla used for Slum Village. It's a nice tribute.

Dilla could sing too:

New Music: Samiyam (USA) & Lone (UK)

2009-02-02T06:37:00.018-05:00

So I have re-discovered new and interesting sounds in hip-hop again, now able to justify standing at a show, watching kids with New Era hats stare at laptop screens while tweaking nobs and bobbing their heads.

There's this huge influx of J Dilla impersonators all flocking to LA, some getting signed to local indies, some to incredible labels like Warp. And across the Atlantic, Glasgow (off all "twee" places) is home to some interesting producers as well (Hudson Mohawke, Rustie). These beatmakers all share the similar Dilla/Madlib-inspired, quantize-neglected, off-beat shuffle of instrumental hip-hop (and they probably smoke a lot of weed, rarely seeing natural light too).

A lot of these sounds fall under the umbrella of Dubstep, but are also IDM, hip-hop and downtempo-ish. Some people have came up with the name "Wonky," to describe this emerging genre--undoubtedly started by some nerdy Brit--I mean, who else would call a genre "wonky?"

I'm really feeling this guy, from LA:

Samiyam.

He has a certain melancholy laced into his beats, and a lot of them are really fucking weird--but he pulls it off well. If you buy his Rap Beats Vol. 1 CD off of his MySpace, apparently he sends them out with random magazine cut-outs for cover art, and hand-draws on them (ed. note: the sushi one is hilarious, see bellow). I guess this proves that beatmakers, although inherently nerdy, are kinda cool. He also has a side project with Flying Lotus called FLYamSAM.

"Return" (from the Return EP, 2008; Hyperdub)

Also, really enjoying the sounds of this dude from the UK:

Lone.

He sounds like what listening to Boards of Canada and Madlib would be like, after popping some Klonopin on a tropical island beach. The drums slide around with the signature off-beatness that is defining this new "wonky" sound, while he picks great melodies to arrange/rearrange. The samples on his Lemurian LP have that indelible "nostalgia" that many people describe BOC with, although Lone is definitely of a hip-hop pedigree.

"Phthlao Blue"(from the Lemurian LP, 2008; Dealmaker)

http://www.myspace.com/lonemusic

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I know this stuff is totally a trend, but it has me less cynical about hip-hop, generally speaking. And it's cool to see the new generation of kids being inspired by the late, great J Dilla.

Labels to watch: Warp, Hyperdub, Werk.
Artists to watch: Burial, Rustie, Flying Lotus, Samiyam, Lone, Lukid, Ras-G, Hudson Mohawke, Zomby.

Happy Weekend!

2009-01-18T17:46:00.004-05:00

New Video: Fever Ray - "If I Had A Heart"

2009-01-09T15:40:00.008-05:00

I know I have already mentioned Fever Ray's new single, "If I Had A Heart," in a previous post, so it's evident that I'm a pretty big fan of The Knife and Karin Andersson. Here is the new video for the single, directed by Andreas Nilsson. Nilsson has worked with The Knife before, directing the videos "Like A Pen" and "Silent Shout," as well as a video for the cacophonous ensemble I'm From Barcelona (who are also fellow Swedes). I posted The Knife's older "Like A Pen" video as well, for good measure. Both videos are (creepy) the perfect combination of visual arts and forward-thinking electronica. Enjoy and happy weekend yallz!

"If I Had A Heart" (Directed by Andreas Nilsson):

"Like A Pen" (Directed by Andreas Nilsson):

Clocks & Daggers is BACK!!

2009-01-06T19:44:00.019-05:00

After an extended break, Clocks & Daggers is back! You needn't worry anymore: your one-stop for music coolness of all shapes and sizes is here to hold you close and near. Let's hug...wait, you smell bad. Anyways, what's up? What's new? Whatcha listening to? Oh yah? Rly? Me? No, I hate that band. But I'm pretty excited for THIS:

If you don't recognize this picture of a street corner in the L.E.S.; you're probably a misanthropic old douche and hate the notion of having fun (or you're this guy!). If you're fun-loving, but under 20 years old, I'll give you a pass on this one. I myself wasn't poopin' in my huggies when the Beastie Boys dropped this funky fresh 1989 classic, but I wasn't exactly old enough to give out moustache rides either(although they were!). Twenty years later Paul's Boutique may not be iconic in pop-culture, or known to your teenage cousins—except a certain song about "Ladies." That doesn't mean your cousins are lame though, it just means that this album should get more attention that it deserves. And just in time, the B-Boys have decided to re-issue it with 24-bit remastering, keeping the original artwork (this time in an eco-friendly digi-pack), and adding track-by-track commentary from each member—similar to DVD bonus features of directors wax self-indulging over their films. Mark your calenders: the 20th anniversary reissue of Paul's Boutique is out on January 27.

"Fuck that!! This is the record, with no fucking single!... Fuck "Brass Monkey!" None of that fast-rapping commercial shit!"
—MCA, 1988

So I have been revisiting the album lately. Granted, the Beasties' lighthearted rhymes are certainly endearing, but the appeal to me is the production behind the punchlines. Paul's Boutique was a watershed in hip-hop. It changed the perception of sampling as an art form within electronic music, transcending genre and canonical aesthetic. Before Girl Talk et al, and the ubiquitous (shitty)mash-up, pop-culture had the perfect platform to exit an otherwise shit-tastic decade. Produced entirely by The Dust Brothers, Paul's Boutique was that very platform: a sound-art-collage of hundreds of samples, borrowing from funk, soul, disco, old school hip-hop, and 50s, 60s, 70s pop records. At the time of its release, there was little control on the publishing side of music over what you could and couldn't appropriate, interpolate, sample, re-edit or blatantly use in your music. When sound-tech companies made samplers, they largely failed to understand the implications of making music with other people's music. But The Dust Brothers fully understood the capabilities of their machines coupled with a good collection of wax, and paid little attention to possible lawsuits from the artists they were "ripping off." Twenty years later, their innovative hip-hop pastiche still remains influential amoung electronic artists and producers (read: Hollertronix, Cut Chemist, DJ Shadow, The Avalanches, The Go! Team, Girl Talk, A-Trak etc).

New Music: Animal Collective & Onra

2008-12-31T05:08:00.028-05:00

A NYE quickie: check out the freshness of Paris-based Onra. This guy is great. It's not technically "new music," new to me, though. His last record, Chinoiseries (2007; Favorite), is a fun listen: instrumental hip-hop inspired by J Dilla, made from samples of obscure Vietnamese records. I know, sounds a bit lame! But it's actually a very interesting record, and it reminds me of the globalization heard on El Guincho's steller Alegranza (2008; Discoteca Océano). It follows conventional beat-tape tendencies of a high volume of short songs--most clock in at around 1 to 2 minutes--playing like a Madlib Beat Konducta release.

Relax In Mui Ne (2:14)

http://myspace.com/onra

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Onto, Animal Collective. "Daily Routine," from the anticipated January release of their ninth album, Merriweather Post Pavilion (2009; Domino), sounds like they have refined their sound. Lot's of Panda Bear singing on "Daily Routine," and more sincere lyrics: "Just a sec more in my bed / Hope my machine's working right / When it's just precisely tuned / That's how it comes out so nice." He continues: "Make sure my kid's got a jacket /Keys and coat and shoes and hat / Strap a stroller to my back / Bouncing along every crack." Wow, being in your 30s and married with kids has never sounded cooler! If you can get past the lyrics, there's some incredible ideas packed into the song. Panda Bear's penchant for sun-drenched melodies is distinct on "Daily Routine," and they stretch out during the song's second half in beautiful refrain. Happy New Year! Stay safe!

Daily Routine (5:46)

http://myspace.com/animalcollectivetheband

R.I.P. Freddie Hubbard (1938 - 2008)

2008-12-30T16:06:00.005-05:00

From Indianapolis, collaborated with legends like Coltrane, Monk, and Davis in New York, won a Grammy while recording for one of my favorite jazz labels, CTI. Passed away in LA, yesterday.

Little known fact: Every cool person you know secretly appreciates jazz.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freddie_Hubbard

Happy Holidays Yallz

2008-12-24T11:51:00.012-05:00

Happy Holidays. Hope everyone enjoys the eggnog & rum (maybe too much), family functions, not having to work with all your co-workers whom you despise, wool-knit sweaters, good books and lounging in housecoats all day. Oh yeah, go to Church to talk with Jeebus & Co., and for god sake, hold the door for old ladies when you're out cruising for sales during these difficult economic times.

Here is some Paul McCartney magic. A couple years ago, when I was DJing more often, I found a great Baltimore breaks remix of this song...by Scottie B or...I dunno, anyways, if you know what I'm talking about please drop me a line.

Lastly, besides my absolute holiday favorite:

check out the Soul Santa mix podcast:

This is great to cleanse the palette after having to endure all the shitty Christmas music when you're out shopping. It was done by DJ JBX of Big City Records on 12th st, in NYC. Great record store, and a great holiday mix:

Here's the tracklisting:

1. Jing Jing A Ling ~ Honey and the Bees (Chess)

2. Merry Christmas, Baby ~ Otis Redding (Atco)

3. This Christmas ~ Donny Hathaway (Atco)

4. Stevie Wonder Drop (Motown)

5. Snowflakes ~ Betty Lloyd (Thomas)

6. What Do The Lonely Do At Christmas? ~ The Emotions (Volt)

7. The Gift of Giving ~ Bill Withers (Sussex)

8. Eddie Kendricks drop (Motown)

9. Soul Santa ~ Funk Machine (Creative Funk)

10. Silent Night Chant ~ Rotary Connection (Cadet Concept)

11. Christmas in Vietnam ~ Private Charles Bowen (Rojac)

12. Let’s Make This Christmas mean Something This Year ~ James Brown (King)

13. Without The One You Love ~ The O’Jays (Neptune)

14. Gwendolyn Berry (The Sisters Love) Drop

15. Let’s Get It Together This Christmas ~ Harvey Averne Band (Fania)

16. Gee Whiz, It’s Christmas ~ Carla Thomas (Atlantic)

17. Back Door Santa ~ Clarence Carter (Atlantic)

18. I Wanna Spend Christmas With You ~ Lowell Fulsom (Kent)

19. Mr. Santa Claus (Bring Me My Baby) ~ Nathaniel Mayer (Munster)

20. It’s That Time of the Year ~ The Manhattans (Starfire)

21. Santa’s Got A Bag of Soul ~ The Soul Saints Orch. (Jazzman)

22. Pull My Sled ~ Raindeer Runners (Soul Fire)

23. Merry Christmas Baby ~ Charles Brown & Johnny Moore’s 3 Blazers (Hollywood)

24. Smokey Robinson Drop

Enjoy! And drink responsibly!

Coffee & David Axelrod & Hip-Hop

2008-12-20T14:20:00.019-05:00

I've been getting up earlier and earlier since the semester finished; which is odd since I should be taking advantage of the open days and sleeping-in. Today I went to the newsstand down the street, bought the paper, came home, and made coffee with my French press--for that extra "umph." If you don't own a French press, do yourself a favour and pick one up. I recommend the Bodum variation, which I own myself:

It's hard to get good coffee living downtown--my old neighbourhood was a lot better on the coffee tip. Also, remember to get medium grind and not fine grind--fine grind will clog up the filter and shoot hot scalding coffee out of the spout--which would be a shitty start to anyone's day.

So I heard the new Royce The 5'9 song today, called "Shake This," produced by Preemo. That makes 2008 the second time a high-profile rapper has used a David Axelrod sample. (Okay, Royce isn't "high profile" per se, but he isn't really doing the indie circuit anymore--a middle ground rapper I guess.) This summer Lil' Wayne recorded an interesting concept/b-side curiosity, "Dr. Carter," off of The Carter III. Produced by Swizz Beatz, the song sampled Axelrod's "Holy Thursday," from his incredible 1968 Songs Of Innocence LP. That particular LP has been a favorite of mine since the late 90s, when vinyl re-issues of deep funk, soul, and rare b-movie soundtracks began filling record store bins; shedding light on once rare and sought-after sample sources.

The new Royce track has Preemo chopping Axelrod up in the MPC 60, keeping most of the triumphant strings intact while beefing-up the drums. And yeah, Royce's verses are a little cheese-ball at times, but it's still cool to hear David Axelrod getting burn in '08, and to have another collaboration between the Detroit emcee and seminal New York producer. Also, did you know that David Axelrod is a top advisor to President Obama? Only this Axelrod wasn't signed to Capital records in the late-60s.

Here is the new Royce video. It somehow manages to avoid the usual bent of contemporary rap videos, although it's still take-it-or-leave-it:

Here is the original sample:

These last two songs feature Axelrod's "Holy Thursday" sample, from the same Songs Of Innocence LP. I'm not going to post it. Go find it yourself, jerks.

Weezy rapping over Axelrod on "Dr. Carter," produced by Swizz Beatz. I like how he sheds some light on the craft of emceeing--to which 90% of Lil' Wayne fans don't give a fuck about:

Finally, my favorite rap song that uses Axelrod: Artifact's 1994 "C'mon Wit Da Git Down (Remix)" ft. Busta Ryhmes, produced by Buckwild. Can't deny the freshness. I love Buckwild, he's defintely in my top 5 NY producers. This shit makes me want to thrown on an old Jansport and go tagging! Check it:

The Best of 2008

2008-12-12T09:06:00.023-05:00

2008 was a pretty decent year for music.

A lot of trends (Crystal Castles, Crystal Antlers, Crystals Stilts = the "crystal effect"), a lot of festivals (SXSW, Coachella, etc.), outdoor shows (The Feelies opening for Sonic Youth at Central Park back in the summer!), tours, re-issues (Dennis Wilson's 1977 - Pacific Ocean Blue), and of course--new recorded albums.

Here are my top 10 records of 2008:

1. Portishead, Third (Island Records)

Portishead used to be every reason why your older sister was so cool when you were a young and impressionable adolescent. Then they disappeared off the map, your sister got engaged, replaced Portishead with something cheesy like The Verve, and life went on. But for most diehard fans, waiting 10 years for the seminal Bristol 3-piece gloomsters to release something was almost asking too much; until Third was announced in the press.

Watching Beth Gibbons shake her head, as if in disbelief at what she is singing, in between the opening lines of "Roads" from their 1998 Roseland NYC Live DVD, is how I feel about Third. It sums up what Third means as a music experience: decadence. Stanza after stanza of lyrical astuteness (“I can’t deny what I’ve become, I’m just emotionally undone”—Gibbons warbles on “Magic Doors”), was accompanied by a new musical backing—both scanty and ominous, like 1970s Krautrock marrying English post-punk despair.

Their catharsis was hard-boiled with a softness at its core, spread out over the 11 harrowing tracks. Third was entirely pragmatic and new—a withdrawal from their old sound—this time using synthesizer patches and esoteric grooves that lame Brooklyn bands like Gang Gang Dance would crap in their pants over. Third is the best album of 2008.

2. Shugo Tokumaru, Exit (Almost Gold)

The opening guitar plucks of Exit's first album cut, "Parachute," signal a dense musical offering from a staggeringly gifted little Japanese man. Unbelievably talented, he apparently plays over 100 instruments alone in his cramped Tokyo apartment. The complexities of his arrangements are smart yet accessible - this is incredible stuff.

3. Flying Lotus, Los Angeles (Warp)

When Warp records heard the music of Flying Lotus featured on Adult Swim, the label signed him immediately. Music runs in his family—he is the nephew of the legendary Alice Coltrane—and it's evident in his brain-melting futuristic instrumental hip-hop. With cues from J Dilla, Los Angeles is both unpredictable and refreshing.

4. TV On The Radio, Dear Science (4AD/Interscope)

Every critic was ogling over this record when it came out in October as a late edition to 2008. Some even went as far as calling it the new OK Computer. Nonetheless, Dear Science was magnificent from start-to-finish.

5. Paavoharju, Laulu Laakson Kukista (Fonal)

Finnish independent imprint Fonal is a label to watch in 2009, with many talented groups like Paavoharju. This album is filled with sparse, electro-folk soundscapes; evoking cold pastoral imagery(...of vodka!). A challenging listen, but one that can be rewarding. Plus the song titles are fun to try to pronounce!

6. James Pants, Welcome (Stones Throw)

Welcome is a strong argument for why contemporary electronic music remains interesting. This is like Cameo on acid, with way too many vintage synthesizers; retro-boogie-sounding electro-space funk from the future; originating, of all places in Spokane, WA. One hopes Stones Throw founder Peanut Butter Wolf further grooms the young artist to his full potential.

7. Koushik, Out My Window (Stones Throw)

Koushik is based out of Vermont, and I like to imagine him making Out My Window hunched over a sampler in some cabin, surrounded by thousands of obscure records from the 1960s, while looking out at the rolling green scenery. Signed to arguably the best indie hip-hop imprint, Stones Throw, his entire aesthetic of shoe-gaze vocals meshed with crispy boom-bap drums works wonders.

8. Department Of Eagles, In Ear Park (4AD)

Until Grizzly Bear releases their highly anticipated new LP, this will have to hold us over. And it does quite well. Grizzly Bear co-songwriter Daniel Rossen has unleashed 11 songs of alarming effectiveness that reveal more and more after each listen. At 26-years-old, he writes endearing lyrics beyond his years.

9. El Guincho, Alegranza (Discoteca Océano)

With comparisons to Panda Bear, Manu Chao and Os Mutantes!, it's hard to imagine Alegranza not being a fun listen. The loops he uses recall the melancholy of Portuguese fado, the immediacy of West African rhythms (move aside Vampire Weak-end!), and the overall appeal of World music. This record is relentless.

10. Cut Copy, In Ghost Colors (Modular)

Having free-reign at DFA headquarters in New York to use innumerable vintage synths, disco-era percussive implements, and choice samples, Cut Copy knocked-it out-of-the-park with In Ghost Colors. It reaffirms producer Tim Goldsworthy's genius, and that Australia is a hot-bed for catchy new-disco and effortless indie-pop.

Top 5 Ladies of The Moment

2008-12-06T12:41:00.024-05:00

I would say 90% of the music in my iTunes right now is by dudes. So I found some ladies who have been getting some burn lately:

1) Francoise Hardy, particularly Et Si Je M'en Vais Avant Toi (1972; Virgin France). Great record, but not her best. It was her French-stylized, Americana-inspired appropriation of 1960s/70s pastoral-rockabilly and folk-country. (Contextually, it kinda reminds me of a 'Cowboys & Indians'-themed restaurant I went to in France that was sooo not politically correct.) I do the dishes to this shit! (Plus it helps me practice my French.) Speaking of Frenchies, the Serge Gainsbourg bio-pic is supposedly being made now, as I read here on Tiny Mixtapes.

2) Aretha, damn. Even though Rolling Stone is for people who like Will Smith movies, they listed her as the #1 singer in their Greatest Singers Of All Time list; which is kinda arbitrary, but she still has a great set of pipes nonetheless. Pretty much exclusively playing "Baby I Love You," from Aretha Arrives (1967; Rhino) but also "Good To Me As I Am To You," from Lady Soul (1968; Atlantic). She looks like she does not fuck around at the buffet for one second.

3) The Breeders. Does this count? Overwhelming majority of women. Kim's voice is great. I was prompted to re-visit them (1990's Pod) recently after going through Kurt Cobain's top 50 records list that he documented in one of his 'tormented artist journals'. As much as I like Pod, I can never get tired of their 1993 follow-up, The Last Splash. Who would think that 15 years later, The Breeders would still be making new records? They were totally over-shadowed by the Pixies. Also, can anyone confirm if Dayton, Ohio (hometown of The Breeders) is in fact the anus of America? Or is it just the chode?

4) Alice. Consistently fucking blows me away. I know that Journey in Satchidananda (1970; Impulse! Records) isn't really that deep of a free-jazz record, but it's still quite incredible. It sort of expands and contracts, pushes and pulls, lulling you into a hypnosis. Hipsters beware: this record only got like a 3 or 4 on Pitchfork, so you know, it's not really that cool.

5) ESG. Even though this looks like a "surprise" moment, behind-the-scenes at a janitorial staff meeting for an all-girls prison, these girls (ESG: 1st woman on the left, and last 2 on the right) used to be cool. When I was younger I listened to them on really nerdy DJ mixtapes (actual cassette tapes!) from Minneapolis and New York, before I knew that they had been sampled in a ton of old hip-hop records. I really liked when Dilla flipped "UFO" on 2006's Donuts, even though that sample is undoubtedly played-out. ESG's energetic disco-punk is the epitome of why late 70s melting-pot NYC was such a perennial time for music/culture.

Monica vs. Monica

2008-12-05T23:27:00.009-05:00

Say 'ahhh'.

Tortoise ; "Monica" [6:30] (Standards; 2001)

Tortoise's song "Monica" is a six-and-a-half minute long instrumental, chugging along at around 82 beats-per-minute. A dense piece, "Monica" features great use of vocoder, lush synths and lazy guitars. It's really laid back--the band rides the same groove for the first half, repeating the melody every 4 bars, before mutating into an abstract of itself on the second half. The percussive nuances are tasteful and interesting; with different snare-tunings and sampled drums staggered and stacked against one another. Not pop-y at all, Tortoise's recording is a great piece of post-rock.

The Kinks ; "Monica" [2:15] (The Kinks Are The Village Green Preservation Society; 1968)

The Kinks' song "Monica" is totally different from the Tortoise song of the same name. No synthesizers or modern instruments obviously--it is organic and has a nice mix of acoustic guitars, electric guitar, hand-percussion and simple melodies. I was listening to Village Green Preservation Society quite a bit lately, and noticed Davies' pining lyrics sometimes juxtaposed against the outwardly sarcastic. "Monica" stood out as one of the more pop-sounding songs. It is simple in composition, and sounds very loose--like they laid it down in only a few takes. It's too bad that this record was not well-received upon initial release.

I can't decide which "Monica" I like better, since I like both apples and oranges (chortle!). All music nerdery aside, Monica is a terrible name for a girl. I don't think I even know a Monica, or have ever known one. And if you name your child Monica, she will undoubtedly grow up to be a whore.