You got to listen to Casiotone for the Painfully Alone

If you're a fan of heavy synth-related music, then you'll enjoy Casiotone For the Painfully Alone.

The name says it all. It's a guy with a casiotone (a series of small keyboards ranging in sound and distortion made by Casio) who pours his heart out over Daniel Johnston inspired music. His last album was released in 2006, but I just heard about him the other day.

The lyrics are simplistic and in a storytelling method, but they're still very powerful. You wouldn't guess that all of this beauty would derive from one brain. Casiotone for the Painfully Alone is not exactly about the pain of being jilted by love, but something about his Conor Oberst-esque voice gives a sense of hopelessness in a world filled with nothing but the stuff.

Although I did just make a judgment call about Owen Ashworth and Conor Oberst, they are nothing alike. If anything, they are on the furthest parts of the musical spectrum. Where Conor Oberst dwells in a pile of political driven country music, Owen Ashworth creates a fusion of pain and lack of self-worth on a keyboard designed for children. Sadly, I don't think children are dealing with the types of adult pain that Ashworth describes.

It's almost a corruption of children's toys. You take something so innocent with pre-recorded tracks like "When You Wish Upon A Star," and play a few minor tunes. Soon enough you're waving to a crowd of hundreds who want to hug you out of sympathy. It's brilliant. Instead of destroying all those toys from your childhood, you can make it into a musical sensation. I mean, look at Cocorosie.

You can listen to songs from Casiotone for the Painfully Alone on his myspace.

No, wait... one more... The Muggabears!

Alright, so I know I said there would be no more posts tonight but I absolutely need to talk about this band I just found out about. You know, sometimes you go through a period where no music is really hitting you in the way you want to be hit, and then all of a sudden you hear a song and BANG! it knocks you in the gut. "The Goth Tarts" did this for me! The drums pound, and the bass drones and the guitar plays something closer to black holes than it does chords and notes. This song is the sound you hear a subway train make as it passes over your head as you lay down on the tracks - it is wild and yet somehow controlled into a wonderful little MP3. The Muggabears are the shit.

Here is their Myspace link.

And here is the link to their website, where you can listen to "The Goth Tarts" and other tracks off of their new EP Night Choreography.

I learned about that song from another wonderful blog called Fine Fine Music, which you should all go to because clearly the people who run it have got a fantastic ear for whats new and whats good.

Anyway, The Muggabears are going to be playing in NYC soon, and I will be doing my best to attend. If it is sold out then I will be pissed because then I'll have to stand outside waiting for the possibility of extra tickets. Oh well.

Go listen. Go. Now.

One last note for the evening.

Itunes has started selling higher resolution songs for $1.29 as a part of their new Itunes Plus. I haven't tried it and I don't think that I will try it any time soon. It's too much money. I liked 99 cents. That was easy. How about DRM-free music for 99 cents, Apple?

How the hell am I supposed to figure out if buying the new White Stripes single AND a Cat Power album is going to over-charge my debit card account if the songs are all $1.29? I can't do that kind of math in my head! Geez.

Looks like they've won for now. And yes, of course I was lying about not spending that kind of money. I want the high quality tracks because they're better, don't I?

Don't I?

Ugh.

One historic moment in pop music.

I like looking at footage of pop musicians in the studio because it reminds me that they are normal people and they don't just write their brilliant hits in one shot. You see them in this state that can almost be described as "vulnerable."

I came across the following video on Youtube while mindlessly searching through for musicians I like in the studio. The description of the video doesn't give justice to what actually happens in it. In fact, the very moment when Jay-Z first hears the beat you're sure to recognize is one of the coolest things I've seen. It's almost as if you can see the music slap him in the face and when he recovers a brief second later, you then witness see his brain working at top creative speed. I won't ruin the surprise, but if you like Jay-Z then you're going to appreciate this video:



See? It's like magic.

God, I love that song.

Oh my god.

It's sad to say that I'm just getting into The White Stripes. By "getting into" I mean, of course, that I've been head over heels obsessed with them. I could go into a long post about the reasons why - and I was going to do this. But then I came across a video on youtube that made me orgasm about thirteen times. It explains why I like this band and why I want so badly to be Jack White so that I can be that cool and also claim to have shared a bed with the unbelievably sexy Meg White and also why I am so excited for their new album. Ah, that was a mouthful. Just watch the video, goddamnit.



Then go to their Myspace and listen to the new single, "Icky Thump" - which sounds exactly the way its name does. Ah, they're so GOOD.

Let Me Introduce You To: Lavender Diamond

With only one EP and one album, Lavender Diamond hits the stage and other areas to promote their new album Imagine Our Love

The album is not for the strong of heart. Actually, it's for those weaklings that can't get a break in love or a break in anything. Lavender Diamond's sound ranges in the sweet and the cuddly. Honestly, you will want to hug a teddy bear and write love notes to your boyfriend/girlfriend across the classroom.

That would be if you had a boyfriend/girlfriend to speak of after listening to the album. Although they have a cute sound, they promote the downside of love. That's breaking up and destroying the very life force of the one you love then stomping on their heart in steel-toe boots and mercilessly setting it on fire.

If I could put them into a category of my own creation, it would have to be something to do with "puppy love." The upbeat vocals of Rebecca Stark brings good tidings to a tragic world. With a byline like "Peace On Earth Forever," they are alluding to an imaginary place where Snow White always wins over the evil witch and she has 7 little people (trying to be PC) answering to her every want and need.

Let's watch the music video to understand what I'm saying. This is from their new album and it's called Open Your Heart



What I don't understand is the irony between singing so upbeat the destruction of love. However, I think this is the quirky thing about them. I have read some reviews and their accused of sounding too kitschy and will disappear in a few years. Yes, that can be true, but who wants to live in the future?

Lavender Diamond's new album has been released May 8th and I encourage you to listen to them in order to understand how they plan to bring world peace.

Paprika: She Will Travel Through Your Dreams

I mentioned in March a new movie about to appear in America. It's called Paprika and it seriously a film lost in the imagination of a child stuck in the walls of an adult's mind.

The story is based around a young woman named Chiba Atsuko and her alter-ego Paprika. She is a dream analyst who explores the dreams of her patients to cure different mental symptoms. However, the device called DC Mini (which helps people connect through dreams) is stolen and used to merge reality and dream together. Chiba and Paprika must work together in order to fight against the terrorist and save the world from their own dreams.

I went and saw this movie with a friend. I absolutely loved it and the only reason why is because it's something I never encounter in American cinema (animated or not). Dreams are the only place within a human mind to be completely free of the world's ability to bicker and bitch about everything. It is the sacred spot no one can ever encounter, but when that place is threatened by a crippled old man with only the goal of power in mind, you get a little scared. That's the entire premise of the film and that's something no American will probably never cover.

Most reviewers who see the movie say it's a step up from the trash that Americans make lately. I have to agree with these reviewers. Paprika explores not only the concept of dreams while you're dreaming, but the dreams you aspire. It's not suitable for kids because kids are still dreamers. It's adults who struggle to get through the 9-5 and stay stuck in their high school/college glory. That and the combination of colors and animation makes Satoshi Kon's film a must-see.

Sadly, you can't see this film everywhere. For those New Yorkers, it's playing at the Angelika and the AMC 25 in Times Square. For those New York Tourists: check it out the next time you're in town.


And to add a little music to it: Susumu Hirasawa's soundtrack is the same song repeated and remixed throughout the film. Luckily, it transforms the film from reality to a complete dream.

The Greatest Gig To Have Sex To.

I have been a long time believer that Portishead's music is a natural aphrodisiac. You put on Dummy right before getting it on with your special someone and I guarantee you that your sexual experience will not only be enhanced, but you'll feel as if you're starring in the absolute hottest sex scene Hollywood has ever produced.

Oh, and did I mention that the album is incredible all around? Yeah, it's a classic and everyone ought to listen to it - especially on dark, rainy nights.

I got super excited when I found out that the group is going to be performing again for the first time in years. They will be curating All Tomorrow's Parties later in the year, which you can see on the event's website.

There will be many a baby made the night of this show, I can assure you.

Unfortunately, it won't be happening anywhere near me. But if this is an indication that they might touring, or at least performing other shows again - then it's a mighty good thing. So go listen to Dummy if you haven't, become obsessed with it like I have and I will try to keep you updated on more Portishead show information.

Let Me Introduce You To: Dirty Projectors

The other night, I enjoyed an evening with one of my favorite bands Deerhoof. However, this isn't a post about how awesome they are playing awesome music (including a windmill flashing the glorious colors of the rainbow). it's a post about their opener, Dirty Projectors.

There was something about their performance that led me to downloading their music. Maybe it was the superb harmonies made by frontman Dave Longstreth, guitarist Amber Coffman, and bassist Angel Deradoorian. The combination of voices makes a soothing sound like a synth machine instead of using the revolutionary instrument.

Or perhaps it's the guitar playing by both Dave Longstreth and Amber Coffman combined that harmonizes a sound of math rock. This four-piece group is capable of creating a grainy pixelated sound without using the fancy equipment and wiring. I mean, that wiring is pretty tough to untangle.

Or could it be the faint sounds of their ex-group THE Dirty Projectors rather than the new and improved Dirty Projectors. The former band used bits of classical orchestra with the richness of electric guitar and the strained voice of Longstreth. It sounds like a musical acid trip to Wonderland.

Either way, they bedazzled me. The group was brought on the tour with Deerhoof after Deerhoof suggested them playing the opening. If Deerhoof is suggesting opening bands for their own shows, you know they'll only choose the best.

You can't listen to any music on their website. Mainly, it only consists of a few show listings, a band photo, a message from a local newspaper and some funny shots made possible through MS Paint. To listen to some of their music without being tempted to illegally download it, go to their Myspace.

Give It Up, Billy, The Nineties Are Over

According to NME.com, The Smashing Pumpkins will be playing their first comeback show since 2000 in Paris.

I remember there being a lot of hype about the final curtain call for The Smashing Pumpkins. I think I even wanted to go to one of their farewell shows, but alas my youth was too...youthful? In other words, I was too young to go. However, I knew people back then who actually attempted to go to the final performance of one of the 90's most influential grunge bands. Let's just say it included a lot of flowers and a lot of drugs.

Well, seven years later, The Smashing Pumpkins have returned with a new album called Zeitgeist which I have problems pronouncing. I wonder, though. How well is this album going to do? Yeah of course, the hardcore Pumpkins fans will shave their heads and call themselves Corganites once they hear this album, but what about those disappointed fans who threw flowers at the band at the end of their farewell show?

They now can dish out the $20 (that's right) to go see the Pumpkins in all their old regalia. Maybe they'll spare a few plaid shirts here and there for those "underdressed" fans. I don't think those fans will ever get over the painful realization that the Smashing Pumpkins broke up. However, I don't think these fans realize that Kurt Cobain is dead.

You're trying to reattach broken hearts, Smashing Pumpkins! I ought to wham you one in the jaw!

It must be "Let's Get Arrested" Week for the music industry.

First we have ex-Creed front man Scott Stapp. According to a Spin.com article, Stapp was arrested for aggravated assault, with intent to commit a felony after getting into a domestic dispute with his wife. The judge apparently reduced the sentence, as the article reports:

Today, the charge was reduced to a misdemeanor by Judge Cory J. Ciklin "because the allegation is that Stapp threw a bottle of Orangina at his wife, at her head, and missed and the bottle broke," sheriff's spokesman Paul Miller told Billboard.com. "Based on the circumstances, the defense attorney argued that was not a deadly weapon." Stapp, currently behind bars, is scheduled to go free today on supervised conditions, which includes random drug and alcohol testing.

So I wanted to look at the ingredient list for Orangina so that we here at Supercoolawesomeradyeah can decide if the bottled beverage really could be considered a deadly weapon. Here is what I found after Googling it:

carbonated water, high fructose corn syrup and/or sugar, orange and other citrus juice concentrate, citrus fruit pulp ,citric acid, phosphoric acid, guarana extract, natural flavor, caffeine, artificial color (fd&c red #40)

I don't know how I feel about the high fructose corn syrup/and or sugar. Are they just not sure? Is it the syrup on Monday but sugar on Thursday? Uncertainty equals danger in my book. And aritificial coloring is just awful! When the ingredients in your food are numbered, then so are your days!

So I think that solves it. This is in fact, a dangerous weapon:Stapp is a lucky man because if I had been the judge I would have locked his ass away for this domestic dispute and then thrown away the key for making me deal with car ride after car ride of "With Arms Wide Open." Unfortunately, right now the only victims of the rage that caused are my mom and dad.

So I vote to have his sentence reduction taken away. Let's end my parents' suffering!

Ah, but who's going to listen to me anyway?

In other news:

Method Man was arrested for carrying about an ounce of weed on him, among other illegal items . He will probably be hit with a harder, longer lasting sentence than Scott "Wife Beater" Stapp will. You can use your imagination as to why that might be.

Now, I don't want to sound like a giant pothead marijuana advocate, because I could honestly care less whether the thing is legal or not - but I am quite certain that this is not a weapon:Hm. Till next time. Oh, and stay out of jail, Okay?

Free music courtesy of Adult Swim.

So I went to see the Aqua Teen Hunger Force movie in the theaters and left thinking only one thing: Why the hell didn't I smoke my brains out before walking into that theater? I knew that I should expect nonsense and a non-plot from the movie but seriously, I probably would have found Jesus had I blazed. Oh well, I thought. Money well spent, I thought. If only I had spent a little more before hand, I thought.

The brilliant folks at Adult Swim have something new out and this time I don't have to spend any money at all. Nor will I have to smoke up to enjoy it. It's a brand new compilation they put together with some of the coolest groups around today. Here is the song list:

Warm & Scratchy:

1. "Me-I" - TV on the Radio
2. "Dead Sound" - The Raveonettes
3. "The Equestrian" - Les Savy Fav
4. "Crimson Red" - The Rapture
5. "Justine" - 120 Days
6. "Canada vs. America" - Broken Social Scene
7. "Color of the Love You Have" - SOUND Team
8. "The Bunting Song" (Acoustic Version) - The Good, the Bad and the Queen
9. "Half Century" - The Brother Kite
10. "Silver "(Original Beats) - Jesu
11. "Back to Flash" - Amusement Parks on Fire
12. "Stay Awake" - Asobi Seksu
13. "Winter" - Fennesz
14. "Sunset Rodeo" - Liars

What a line up! I'm downloading the tracks as I write this and I can't wait to check it out. I'm especially excited by the opportunity to finally check out Fennesz. And a new Liars track is a very good thing.

Anyway, you can download it all here: Adult Swim presents Warm and Scratchy.

Go get it and then leave a comment here and let me know what you think of it.

When Monarchs Make An Exit.

And now I will call your attention to this great band I've discovered recently. They are called The King Left. I was lucky enough to see them perform at Piano's a few weeks ago.

I was also under the impression that they were this touring act just arriving from their travels with -insert gigantic band- in Europe or some other distant land. They're actually a local band from my homeland of Brooklyn, NY.

This is both:

A. Refreshing - It's kind of amazing to know that right here where I live, bands this exciting are waiting in the wings for their big shot, and working their asses off. It's not like I didn't know this, but the King Left got me really excited about it again.

B. Disappointing - why the hell are they not opening for huge bands yet? They need to be!

The thing that indicates to me that a band is special is when each song I hear them play sounds like an event all on its own. If I can leave the venue remembering what they did on stage during this song, or how the guitar did this particular thing in this song, or how the singer looked absolutely cool when he sang this song then the band is special.

I never thought you could mix the fury of Nine Inch Nails with the ironic, yet jerky guitars of Blur but here it is in the song "A Dead Ringer." And how many bands can successfully deliver a line like "Who taught you how to fuck?!" and make you feel the absolute rage behind it? Not a lot of locals bands, that's for damn sure. But there it is in "The Storm in a Teacup." So The King Left is special.

This is what I felt after checking them out at Piano's in lower Manhattan and what I feel right now as I listen to the tracks on their Myspace over and over. I think everyone ought to check this band out, especially if you like the kind of music we've been plugging in this blog.

And it probably helped that singer Corey Oliver got my attention a couple songs into the set by adding the lyrics to one of my favorite unreleased Radiohead songs ("Lift") to the intro of one of his songs - It prompted me to shout out something unintelligible, but positive. I later learned from him that the affirmation made his night.

Well thanks, Corey. Your band made mine.

My Hatred for Dave Matthews

I'm not the type of person who will judge another person from their musical tastes. That being said, every time I meet someone new, the first question that always comes to mind to ask is, "What kind of music do you listen to?"

Now, I know that question is a bit on the broad side, but you can find out a lot about a person by just finding out what they listen to. Usually, they fit into a social hierarchy of music. I only call it this because the faces and the groans that I have gotten in my lifetime for liking one band or another made me begin to adapt this sort of barbaric understanding.

It all started when I was in the Eigth grade. It was a time for beginnings and understanding a view of music that one would probably adapt for the rest of their lives. I, on the other hand, was on the range between everclear and The Backstreet Boys. Don't get me wrong, those were the bands of choice back in 1997 (10 years ago. Doesn't that date me). I was covering one side of the spectrum to the other when it came to pop music. However, there was one side that I refuse to participate in and that side was called Dave Matthews Band.

Usually, you will see me calling Dave Matthews Band the music of the devil. That is because I have always hated this stupid guy. It's not like I have given them a chance. I've probably heard Crash and that Ants Marching song a billion times. I just never really got into them. I had my ways, I was 14 for crying out loud. I didn't like Dave and I was pretty sure that I would never like Dave. That was until all my friends mocked me for not liking Dave.

"How can you not like Dave Matthews Band? Everyone loves Dave Matthews Band.

Guess what, kiddies? I didn't. And from 8th grade onto my senior year of high school, I couldn't get enough of my ridicule. Maybe it was from my suburban upbringing that I had to endure the number of stoner kids who would wear Birkenstocks in their developement homes and listen to jam bands like Phish or Jerry Garcia. It was Dave Matthews and that stupid Holden Caufield from Catcher in the Rye that basically ruled over my changing tastes in music.

I became so avid of my hatred for Dave Matthews that I began asking "Do you like Dave Matthews?" rather than "What kind of music do you listen to?" My concept of social hierarchy went from "punk,""hipster,""ghetto fabulous rap guy," to "Dave Matthews lover," and "Dave Matthews Hater." I, of course, was a hater.

Now at a budding age of 22, I still hate Dave Matthews band and anyone who does is left in my own social category. Let's just say that if this was India, you wouldn't dare talk let alone breathe near a Dave Matthews fan. Way to go! Keep on wearing your tie-dyed shirts and pookah shell beads. Don't forget your ipods filled with the sweet melodies of Dave Matthews Band.

Ew. I'm sorry if I offended you, but you offended me first.

Secondhand Serenade/Dashboard Confessional: Oh Yeah He's That Guy From That Band. Right?

I don't usually watch MTV. When I do watch, I'm usually watching the music videos in the morning (or Beauty and the Geek reruns. Don't ask). Anyway, I had the good fortune to watch some music videos this morning. It was the regular crew of videos. Neyo's "Because of You," Bow Wow's "Outta My System," followed by Ciara's "Like A Toy." Suddenly, there was a break from the mudane black and white videos about love vendettas. There was what I thought another hit by the lovely Carrie Underwood. But I was completely mistaken. Instead, I saw the heavily tattooed arms of a man that I thought was Chris Carrabba of Dashboard Confessional. I was mistaken again to realize it was some dude called Secondhand Serenade.

I didn't really listen to the song because I was too busy trying to figure out where I've heard his voice before. "It's that dude from Dashboard Confessional," just kept on running through my mind. "Or maybe it's the lead singer from that band The Get-Up Kids."

However, I was wrong yet again. I decided that it would kill me all day if I didn't figure out exactly where I heard his voice from. So, I went on his myspace page. This is the quote directly from the horse's mouth.

When it came time to chose a name [it said chose, not choose.], he decided to go with Secondhand Serenade in an attempt to stay away from the typical singer/songwriter image.

He's not from any bands that were famous. He's just some dude who claims to write all his songs about his wife. If all of his songs are about his wife, then he's got some issues because his latest song Vulnerable makes me question whether or not he likes being the bitch in the relationship.



I think the best part of the video is when his wife and him play mirror tricks and whoosh! She's vanished. Or maybe the part when his shoebox of photos (cliched) turns into a group of blue butterflies. I don't which one is gayer. Either way, the song has some nice lyrics with an overly heard voice from the dude. He's also got too many tattoos to be a romantic singer? Well, I'm trying my best not to compare him to Dashboard Confessional.

Speaking of the tattooed man, Dashboard Confessional came out with a new single in the early parts of the year. Unfortunately, I haven't heard the song until now. Haha. Wait a go, Simone. Great journalistic skills. Anyway, I thought I should share the song Stolen with you all because of two things: 1) Dashboard Confessional has a way of making me fall in love with my boyfriend all over again. 2) It doesn't hurt that Chris Carrabba is a hottie. Enjoy.

Fields: Do You Love Them or Hate Them?

While our good friend Keith discovered the harshness of band crowds and the beauty of Blonde Redhead, I thought I should bring up the opening band, Fields.

They're pretty new so I'm surprised when I heard the large amount of ambiguity over the band. If you haven't heard Fields then I suggest you listen to them right now. They are currently one of those feature bands on myspace. Although the music isn't as passionate as it is in performance, I think they have a huge journey of fans who will scream at them for their talent and then there will be the ones who will boo them off stage.

While I was enjoying their songs on stage, I heard a man from behind me scream you suck which could be indication of my previous hypothesis. The album is good otherwise.

They have a cuteness about them. A cuteness with a bit of an edge. Kind of like listening to Tilly and the Wall without the tap shoes and then add some Blonde Redhead influence and you get a monster of sound with a touch of sweetness in the voice of singer Thorunn Antonia's voice. Surely this sound has been done a few dozen times over and over again, but I like how there's a separation of the acoustic and the electric guitar. I like how banging on a tambourine is classified as an act of violence.

It's album you have to hear. I doubt that I can tell you if they're good or bad, but they are something to listen to them. I think.

Rihanna: Um-brella...eh eh eh eh eh eh eh (ad infinitum)

I told you I have a thing for pop music. However, I have to give it to Rihanna for being so innocently "Lolita". Although she is outside the age range that Nabokov speaks of, she's definitely got some nymphet-like qualities. Take for instance her new video for her song Umbrella. I love the song and the production is really good, but this video is a little bit over the edge.

Besides the fact that she's wearing the skimpiest of outfits in a over-used idea of CGI graphics, the video doesn't go with my perception of what I would think her video would look like. If you listen to that song, you don't expect a barely legal girl to create something where she is completely silver. I mean, I thought it would be her just mellowed out and there would be rain and...umbrellas. This production, I think, just exploits the little girl as a sex symbol.

However, her new album is called Good Girl Gone Bad which could give some exhibit of her change in face.

An apology to Blonde Redhead.

On Tuesday, May 8 2007 I went to go see one of my favorite bands Blonde Redhead perform at Webster Hall in NYC. While I don't want to go into a review of the show (which was sexy and awesome), I simply want to call your attention to one slightly disturbing event that occurred while I was there.

During one of the band's newer songs off of 23, the drummer Simone Pace triggered a sub bass sample with his midi drum pad that was, as I affectionately refer to it, the "shit-your-pants" note. It was so deep and so hard that it made your entire body shake, get stuck to the floor, and then shake again as the wave finished passing through you. In short, it was fucking loud and I loved it.

Unfortunately, too many people in the audience did not. At the end of the song, a sad group of human beings directly in front of Kazu called her attention and began yelling about how something was too loud.

The singer spoke her first words of the evening: "What? Too loud? Something is too lou- The bass? The bass is too loud?"

After looking around the stage for a moment, and listening to about 50 voices scream out "Bass drum!" or "Floor tom!" or "Bass!" Kazu finally shrugged her shoulders and declared that "You might be the most conservative people I've ever..."

She was cut off by Singer/Guitarist Amadeo Pace, who picked up his head from tuning his guitar to deadpan, "We don't have a bass player."

Those of us in the audience who were quickly growing tired with the whining bastards up front had to laugh at this bit of humor. And then we all laughed when the drummer finally pointed a finger up in the air, as if to say "Oh, I know what you mean!" and then slammed down on the midi trigger one more time to send that enormous deep wave at us again. With a smile on, of course.

So the sound man probably turned down the sub woofers at this point to appease the few people in the audience who seem to have forgotten who it was they came to see. Maybe this group of people had never listened to a Blonde Redhead record before Misery is a Butterfly. If they had, they'd realize that this was a band rooted in abrasive music - music that is loud and hard and makes your soul hurt a little bit because that feels good some times. I can understand why the band couldn't simply say "Fuck you" to their adoring fans who payed to see them, but I'd also put money on the fact that they left that stage wondering if the future of rock fans was going to be a dark one.
So on behalf of the Blonde Redhead fans at that Webster Hall show, I apologize to the band for the few who were so fucking lame.

Marilyn Manson Gets on the Love Train

Marilyn Manson has just released the first video off of his sixth album Eat Me, Drink Me.

Um...that's all I can say without giving away the video so here it is:



The first thing that comes to mind when watching this first part of the video is...are they really having sex? I mean, Evan Rachel Wood is not the best actress out there and neither is Marilyn Manson so I'm guessing that all that thrusting and heaving and bosom touching is real. Basically, I'm watching porn.

The second thing that comes to mind is how old is Evan Rachel Wood? The last time I checked I thought she was like 17 or 16 or somewhere in that range. If so, then Marilyn Manson is definitely taking on some serious legal problems.

I have to hand it to the fella, this song is pretty kick ass. It's really different from the other things he's written. It might be the fact that he's writing a love song...if you can call that love? Maybe it's only acceptable in the goth world, but I think it's going to wreak some havoc to those die-hard Manson fans. Oh well, find some other Satan worshiper to love.

Borat to love fat-bottomed girls too.

Smells like a rumor but I just read on Spin.com that Sasha Baron Cohen is going to be playing Queen front-man Freddie Mercury.

I'm not entirely sure how I feel about this, but my reaction isn't negative. Movies about rock stars are usually a bad idea and the story is always the same, but in this case it's more interesting. Mr. Mercury was flamboyant as all hell, and probably the greatest performer and vocalist of the "Classic Rock" label given to anything that came out yesterday.

But Mr. Borat as more than proven himself as an actor, I think. The question seems to be can he do serious, dramatic acting? Comedy is tougher to do, and he pulls that off so well that I needed stitches after watching Borat's movie-film. So the tragedy of Freddie Mercury's rock and rock career doesn't seem like it ought to present much of a problem. But I wonder, can Baron Cohen do this:

Review: Battles "Mirrored"

On their myspace page, Battles refers to the sound of their album as, “beep, boop, boop, crash, beep, loop, fwount, bang, beep, boop, loop, sing, sing, beep, boop, thanks you've been a wonderful audience.” That’s basically the best way to describe their sound. The first full-length album from the collaborative works of Don Caballero, Lynx, and Helmet is more than the “math rock” determined label. Mirrored, if anything, is a show of miscellaneous noises one hears after listening to an album too many times.

Don’t know what I’m talking about? Ok. Perhaps you are listening to your favorite album of all time (hard to pinpoint, I know) and all of a sudden, you realize there’s a back-up singer in the third track or maybe a high E that you never heard before in the final guitar solo. If you were to put together all those random sounds and add a steady drumbeat, you could probably mimic the sound of Battles.

Of course, vocals are completely new on this album. Battles’ previous EPs do not include any lead singer-like qualities. However, I doubt that vocals mean understandable lyrics. While listening to tracks like “Ddiamondd” or even on their single “Atlas,” there seems to be no discernable understanding of what vocalist Tyondai Braxton is saying. His choice of words rather blends within the music than stand out from it.

But that is precisely the point of the entire album. Instead of highlighting the best sounds like a guitar solo or a leading vocal, Mirrored defies the idea of band elitism and basically gives everyone (Dave Konopka, Ian Williams, Tyondai Braxton, and John Stanier) a chance. The eleven-tracked album is the remnants of Phil Spector’s “wall of sound” theory. Instead of putting a few violinists, guitarists, and drummers in the same room together, Battles can add layer upon layer of sound without infringing on the sounds of other sounds. Like I said before, it’s those miscellaneous noises you hear off an album you never notice the first hundred times. Except now when you listen to it, there’s always something new.


PS: If you want their new album, it comes out in May 2007. Battles Myspace page has some of their stuff for you to listen. You can also check my sourcing there if you want, you crazy copyright nazis.

It's only electronic music, but I like it.

I recently had to put together an annotated compilation CD as a final assignment for one of my classes (yes, that's right. For school). We had to take any of one of the themes discussed in the class and work with that. I decided to choose the issue of the authenticity of emotional expression in electronic music. A lot of people don't seem to think that drum sequencers and synthesizers can have the same emotional impact that guitars can. They think that music performed by a human drummer is somehow more "real" than one performed by a machine.

That is bullshit. The ends justify the means, my friend. I don't care how anybody comes up with a piece of music - if it makes me feel something good then I like it.

So here is a list of electronic music that I really like. It's not all instrumentals, either. I tried to include tracks that I blur the line between human and machine. And some that I just really like. Here is the list. Go download this stuff, because it's all good.

1. Air - Sexy Boy

I'm going to begin with this Air song because I happen to know a lot of people's whose introduction to electronic music was this group, and specifically this song. It might sound like a band, but it most certainly is not. The driving rhythm of the programmed drum samples and keyboards carry the ethereal floating vocals, which are only a couple of sets of lyrics. Is that a human being singing the chorus of the song? Of course it is! The vocalist is being put through a device called a vocoder, giving his voice a cool effect that makes "Sexy Boy" sound like the work song of a bunch of robots in a futuristic factory that builds, well, sexy boys I guess.

2. Jonny Greenwood - Moon Mall

A couple of years ago, lead guitarist and renaissance man of Radiohead, Jonny Greenwood composed the soundtrack to the film "Bodysong." The director wanted an avante garde mix of classical music styles and electronic music. This particular track is entirely keyboards made to sound like strummed guitars. At leas that would be my guess. Dancing around the main keyboard figure are glitches and little sped up samples that create a percussive tickle. I think it's really interesting how he managed to pull in this chord progression that could have easily sounded great on conventional string instruments, but filtered it through a non-conventional instrument. These sounds can't be made by a human being through any other means but synthesizers and drum sequences and yet when I listen to this it puts me in a whole other world, just like Radiohead's music does.

3. Boards of Canada - Telephasic Workshop

The moment that we read in class that electronic musicians liked to take the human voice and turn it into a percussive instrument, my mind instantly thought of a couple of tracks. The first one was this one by Boards of Canada. When the song starts, the beat is very minimal and there are no people present yet. But slowly the cut up voices get added on, morphing the beat into this amazing mind-fuck and after a joint or two you'd swear that the pieces of words are forming sentences of their own. This is headphone music at it's finest. But is it de-humanizing performance? Hell no. If we're going to go ahead and say that the human voice in an instrument then there is no reason to limit it to being a melodic one.

4. Daft Punk - Harder Better Faster Stronger

Another vocoder song by the vocoder masters. This is a great song to put on when you want to get people jumping at a party - not quite the peak of your dance party, but a good starting point. I really love the way they have gone in and cut up the overall rhythm track to highlight the vocals. A band could have done that but when its a case of pro-tools editing it gives it this really cool abrupt feeling that in a dance room environment works so well. Though many of the instruments are real samples, they've manipulated them in such a way that would be impossible to replicate the actual tones and sounds with real musicians. At least, if you tried it, I think it'd be difficult. I'd like to hear it though.

5. Underworld - Pearl's Girl

I absolutely had to include an Underworld track on this compilation because I think they're one of the coolest "bands" I've ever heard, not to mention that they’re a techno group. This is from their live album "Everything, Everything." You might be wondering why a house/techno group would ever need to put out a live album. Well if you listen to these tracks on their original recording and then compare them to the awesome intensity found on the live versions you'll see why. This song is incredible because the vocal sample gets turned into this hypnotic mantra that forces the audience at the club to go, as the vocalist puts it, "Crazy." And when the drone comes in later on and you hear everyone flipping out, things only get better. I wish that I had been old enough to appreciate this stuff back in the 90s because I would like to have been at these gigs.

6. Radiohead - Idioteque

So technically this group is getting represented twice but I think that it is necessary. I think they pioneered the way for a lot of rock bands with this track. They basically showed people that it was possible for cold, hard electronic music to become warm and accessible through rock conventions. If you ever saw them perform this on SNL, then your first reaction was probably a lot like mine: "What the hell!?" Witnessing Thom Yorke flailing his arms around while drummer Phil Selway pounded out a beat along with the drum machines was a huge moment for me, personally. You could get the same kind of emotion out of analogue synthesizers and a live band as you could with guitars and amps. There are a lot of people who don't necessarily agree with this, but perhaps they've never heard this song blasted in a club and just let go. And they certainly can't have witnessed the band perform it live, or else they'd realize just how powerful it really is.

7. Cina Saffary - Young Leaves

This is not a track by a major label artist. I found it on a message board for electronic artists that I am a member of. This is an amateur, but he’s great! What is interesting about it is the use of old Nintendo and Atari sounds. This is a big trend in electronic music, as artists are beginning to use Nintendo chiptunes and soundfonts to create music. The melodies on here are very pretty, even though I can't shake the image of Mega man jumping around my TV screen from my mind as I listen to it. Oh, to be a child of the 90s again.

8. DJ Shadow - The Number Song

And now for some DJ Shadow. Here we've got some of the genre called Trip Hop, but it's really just straight up Djing sampling. Shadow uses some great drum breaks from songs and twists them up with vocal samples from all over the place. The result is a harkening back to old school hip hop on top of a heavy droning beat that is 100% DJ Shadow. I love this track because it makes me feel like break dancing. I don't know how to break dance so I won't do it, or else it might be more like break-my-neck-dancing.

9. The Streets - Blinded By The Lights

Here's a little more hip-hop but of another variety. White British rappers might sound like a novelty but I think that The Streets are really something special. I chose this particular song not only because it's my favorite by the artist but also because it mixes a few elements together we've talked about in class. You've got the fantastic beat and then over that a staccato techno club melody supporting the lyric, which is about taking drugs at a techno club. Brilliant! And the female vocalist? That's just one sample repeated over and over in a call-and-response with Mike Skinner's rapping. The song lyric actually ties into the overall story found on the "A Grand Don't Come For Free" record. But taken on it's own, I'd say it's a pretty accurate representation of getting stuck at a club on your own. And that backing track is just so good!

10. Four Tet - As Serious as Your Life

I included this song mostly because of the method behind the artist's mayhem. He jams with real musicians, records it, and then takes those files and chops them up into completely new compositions. So you can hear how this one is taken from what sounds like a cool drum and bass funk jam, but it gets turned into this hip-hop beat. And then it gets manipulated - pushed and pulled - repeated and cut up every which way. It just proves how laptops and studios really have become their own instruments. Real human performance gets transformed into this music that sounds like people actually COULD reproduce it. The ultimate remix.

11. Aphex Twin - Xtal

So I feel like you can't have a compilation about electronic music without including something by Richard D. James on it. And while I could have taught you something by including one of his more alienating, hard-to-listen-to tracks (you'd see how elitist some of this electronica can get), I'm instead going to give you my favorite track by Aphex Twin. This is probably one of the straightforward dance tracks in the repertoire and also one of the prettiest. It shifts back and forth from a lo-fi techno beat to drum lines that could probably be reproduced by a person, but even though it’s machines I still feel like there is some strong emotion in it. I love Aphex Twin because even when he's being difficult, I feel like he's always real and organic. This is electronic music you can feel and touch and taste, etc. Enjoy.

Drew and the Medicinal Pen: Dose #3

It took me a few weeks to get this interview with Drew and it pretty much was done over emails and a vigorous run through the Facebook messaging system. So here are my favorite questions for a diamond in the rough streets of New York.

1. What is you favorite type of tea?
Black Coffee
2. What are you currently listening to/what can't you wait to come out?
I've been listening a lot to this band I made friends with last year called Endless Mike and the Beagle Club. They're great, check them out. I can't wait for my friend Sean Lee's EP to come out.
3. Do you believe there is life after death?
Something like it.
4. What's your biggest pet peeve of New York City?
Advertisements and oversized sunglasses.
5. Where do you see yourself in 13 years (year 2020)?
Playing Thunderstruck with a robotic hand so fast that the guitar starts smoking to a bunch of robots from a hovering stage with glow sticks and lasers everywhere.



*all photos provided by Drew except for the button. I took that one.

Drew and the Medicinal Pen: Dose #2

Besides writing and recording his own EP, Drew has also taken on making his own music videos and designing the artwork for his album. You can say he's a renaissance man. If anyone could be as active as Drew, then they could be trying to break into the music scene too. You see; Drew is an artist, a musician, a road tripper, and his own benefactor (if you could be your own benefactor). “I spent just under two grand on this project, which came out of my own pocket. It was money I had been saving for years from working odd jobs, playing in the subway, etc.” With the little help and large funding he put into this album, I feel kind of bad getting a press copy for free.

By keeping his personal budget small, Drew is able to work on a project that he is so passionate about. "I’ve been silk-screening T-shirts in the bathroom of my apartment and selling them consignment through some stores and at shows. It can definitely be tough, but I think one thing that makes it easier, for me at least, is that I have no interest in buying other 'things.' I only spend my money on stuff I need, never stuff that you’re kinda made to believe you want or desire. That keeps me on point. But there’s this amazing satisfaction that comes with Doing It Yourself. I get tired, but it’s always worth it, I never feel like I’m wasting my time, never crosses my mind."

When asked about the writing process, Drew says, "A lot of times I’ll start writing a song in that half-awake state when you’re first getting up in the morning, or as you’re first drifting off, so maybe that explains that. When I’m writing them, I think about what they’re about. When I’m playing them on stage, I think about absolutely nothing. It feels amazing." His influences range from musicians like Elliott Smith to Neutral Milk Hotel and the Velvet Underground not because of their entire musical careers, but because of the certain sound they portray in some of Drew's favorite albums.

In all honestly, I feel that Drew has potential in this small EP. He is working hard to promote it and become something more than the kid who is always sick. Perhaps his pen really is medicinal not only for him but also for those who listen to him. It's music for the baby boomer kids. I, being one of them, feel that it penetrates to a level of "where do I go from here?" When you spend your formative years trying to pass high school, graduate from college, and start a career, it is also time to think about where you're going and who you want to be. It's a journey of the mind, I suppose. All those years of teenage angst seem to dissipate with the hairline of our forefathers. Luckily, Drew is able to give to this tiny society of MTV Generation kids something more to listen. "Dream, Dream, Fail, Repeat," is basically the mathematical formula for everyone between the ages of 18 and 25. We find ourselves trying to live up to an image our parents have created, but at the same time mark out the map of our own future.

Drew and the Medicinal Pen: Dose #1

“Sometimes it’s just nice to have some trees around you and not step in puddles of human piss.” –Drew on the difference between New York and Philadelphia.

Let me introduce you to Drew Henkels. He’s 22 and he’s originally from Philadelphia, PA. He goes to Fordham University at Lincoln Center in New York as a film major. He’s got a lot of quirky things about him that you will find endearing. One of his favorite things is to make music. Therefore, let me introduce you to Drew and the Medicinal Pen. When I first heard about him, I thought to myself, “why a medicinal pen?" and surely enough I got my answer. “When I was a kid I had all kinds of health problems, chronic fatigue, stomach issues, a brief cancer scare, Lyme disease, all kinds of lousy stuff. I was depressed, and I think a lot of my health issues were psychologically based.” Thankfully, none of these diseases have killed Drew. Instead it has helped to fuel the creation of his first recording.

About a month ago, Drew released his first EP called “Dream, Dream, Fail, Repeat.” It is a journey of sorts. Instead of exploring the exquisite array of countryside from New York’s dirty Chinatown through New Jersey’s fields of chemical laboratories to finally the place he calls home, Drew brings his own experiences and travels into this small six-song EP. "These 6 songs were kitschy, rough around the edges, so it just made sense to record them entirely analog, on reel-to-reel machines, actual spring reverb and the whole bit."

From songs like “Hole in my Sail” to “Merry-go-Round,” Drew keeps a consistent sound throughout the record while maintaining a rollercoaster of events that any twenty-something-year-old would undertake. "They’re about frustration, being young with a broken heart, sorting through old lies with a shell of optimism. Kind of about figuring out that you own your own life, and then asking 'Now what?'"