Monday, March 30, 2009

The Laughing Heart


your life is your life
don’t let it be clubbed into dank submission.
be on the watch.
there are ways out.
there is a light somewhere.
it may not be much light but
it beats the darkness.
be on the watch.
the gods will offer you chances.
know them.
take them.
you can’t beat death but
you can beat death in life, sometimes.
and the more often you learn to do it,
the more light there will be.
your life is your life.
know it while you have it.
you are marvelous
the gods wait to delight
in you.
Charles Bukowski (1996)

Mad Decent Partners With Downtown Records



I don't know how to feel about this. Could it be one big metaphor, like Diplo moves from North of Chinatown to Rittenhouse? Discuss.
I guess it's all about the money pie.

Read the Billboard article here.

Here We Go Magic



I enjoy fresh air. Take this in.

Wednesday, March 25, 2009

The Soft Pack


Today's band of the day is The Soft Pack, a tight knit San Diego California based four piece. Their music is familiar and fun, just the kind of thing you'd want to hear while having a cheap drink at a bar. They just finished their rounds at SXSW, are looking forward to playing a slew of festivals this summer from ATP to Primavera, and make it seem like they're going as fans more than performers. "I mean we get to see My Bloody Valentine, Neil Young, and Spiritualized, plus I hear we all stay in the same hotel and they take really good care of you", says bassist Dave Lantzman.
We played a round of Madlibs which is what the interview was really all about, but that'll come later on the 215mag website.
What a nice bunch of dudes.

Tuesday, March 24, 2009

Don't forget about The Dodos

I had a great roommate this year for about two weeks. He was tall and awkward with teeth so big he could hardly keep them in his mouth. His uniform was an old t-shirt, jeans, and a Phillies hat I could have sworn he slept in. He fit right in with Molly and I, except he ate white rice when brown is clearly tastier. I digress. He had fantastic taste in music. In fact, I'd go out on a limb and say it rivaled my own. Earlier in the year I received a copy of The Dodos Visiter to review, but never did it (in true Rachel fashion). Anyway, this character came into my room one night drunk as hell, high too. We were talking about music, and he saw that I had The Dodos record, which I had really never listened to. He demanded that I play the first track "Walking", and he said "this is my absolute favorite beginning to any song ever!!" (all high and drunk like). He must have made me play it 15 times over and over, and I can't listen to those first 5 seconds without thinking of him. Needless to say, he's long gone (existential crisis called him home to Albany). Either way, I'd like to thank him for introducing me to that song and many others on the album. So, I'm sorry I didn't get around to enjoying their music sooner, but Dodos, you guys are somethin' else. 


The Dodos

MSTRKRFT Interview for two.one.five Magazine

Shit talking, chain smoking, binge drinking Djs, there’s something we’ve never seen before! MSTRKRFT play their cards just right when it comes to making it in this genre. Heavy bass lines and sampled vocal tracks, whatever it takes to get the kids dancing these days. Not to mention their quasi-mystique quality based around the gold masks they wear occasionally (oh, what’s up Daft Punk?) and Jesse Keeler’s ex-rock and roll history as a member of Death from About 1979. On their latest LP Fist of God MSTRKRFT has taken their mishmash sound just a bit farther, incorporating live vocals from the likes of John Legend and Ghostface Killah embodying a more hip-hop or R&B style. I still think the best part of the album is its cover, which is a fist, comprised of ladies legs and asses, but that’s just me.

two.one.five: What can you tell me about the Fist of God LP you’ve got coming out?

Al-P: For this record we had a big idea to do collaborations with vocalists, I think only two tracks out of ten are instrumentals, which is different for us. Also, the artists we worked with are in the hip-hop and R&B realm so it’s a real mix of genres.

two.one.five: Who are the vocalists?

Al-P: NORE, John Legend, Ghostface Killah, Lil Mo. We also grabbed from our local talent pool up here in Toronto.

two.one.five: Do you feel like you played the role of producer on Fist of God more so than musician?

Al-P
: I’ve always wanted to be a producer, and we just kind of got roped into being artists. Jesse has his history from his rock band days but I’ve always fancied myself as a producer.

two.one.five: What kind of equipment do you use in your studio?

Al-P: We’re in the process of updating our A to D converters, we used to use Apogee but now we’re going with Universal Audio 2192s. Our recording consul is a 1971 Neve 8016, which was partly used on Fleetwood Macs Rumors. We’re trying to get more of a dedicated mix room so we’re downsizing physically but upgrading technically. We used to have live rooms and vocal booths because when we first started MSTRKRFT we started with the intention of being producers.

two.one.five: What about a song makes you want to remix it?

Al-P: The first thing we look for is something we like, that’s a combination of lyrics and melody as well as the delivery.

two.one.five: Does MSTRKRFT reflect the type of musically you normally listen to?

Al-P: The kind of music we make and play is really dependent on environment, you can’t really sit at home on a Sunday afternoon having a coffee and smoking a cigarette and listen to massive electro club tracks. For me personally, it doesn’t really do me any good to listen to the kind of music we make and play.

two.one.five: So what are you listening to?

Al-P: The music I listen to at home for pleasure is disco, its one of my favorite genres of music. I’ve also been going through a musical study from more of an academic point of view with bossa nova and samba music. I’ve been listening to lots of Rush and Devo. When I go into the studio I always find I’m pulling ideas, directions, or concepts from all kinds of music I listen to for pleasure and recontextualizing them for productions in the genre of club music.

two.one.five: Why do you think that DJs are so popular right now?

Al-P: DJs never went away, they’ve just been subjugated to subculture until recently. I think a lot of it is that rock and roll is tired; nobody is testing any limits with rock and roll. It’ll be back at some point but right now it’s on a down string and nobody is doing anything about it. Also, the way that consumers are listening to music lends itself to club music and to DJs. Like, you can have songs on your Ipod, go to your friend’s house and play them at a house party. The kind of music that people want to listen to at a party is something danceable and exciting. They don’t want to go to a house party and listen to Coldplay, or something like that.

two.one.five: Does your music have a message?

Al-P: Having a good time all the time. Extreme satiation.

two.one.five: What happens if you’re having a really bad day and you have to play for a ton of horny drunk kids?

Al-P: When you DJ it’s not about you putting on a performance. I’m kind of bummed out when people view us like that. We’re just there to make an amazing party. When we finish playing we want people to leaving thinking “Wow that was an amazing party!” not “Wow that was an amazing performance.” We’re in there in the trenches with these kids getting wasted, having the best time that we can, and providing a soundtrack that will facilitate that. As long as you give people a certain amount of what they expect it affords you a freedom to do something they don’t expect. Which has been our philosophy since we started.

two.one.five: Why should someone go see MSTRKRFT DJ instead of a DJ Djing your music?

Al-P: We’ve played parties where the DJ before us played ten of our songs that we were going to play as well and we get pissed off at them. But, we know that when we go up and play those same songs the way that we play them is so different in the approach and in the layovers that it doesn’t really matter. We’ll kill it with our own tracks even though the crowd just heard the DJ play them right before us.

two.one.five: Any advice for novice DJs and producers?

Al-P: I always tell people to take chances. Nobody is ever going to remember you or recognize what you’re doing unless it’s something different. You got to have some sort of signature, and in order to do that you have to do something a little bit different.


two.one.five: What is MSTRKRFT’s signature?

Al-P: Our signature is taking things are far as we can take them and still getting away with it. It’s how big we can get something to sound. In our DJ sets it’s how many sick layovers can we cram into an hour and half. While we’re playing it’s how many bottles of whiskey can we drink, how many cigarettes can we smoke, and how many people can we fit in the club. We’re a real couple of gluttons; we want everything all at once.


Zero (MSTRKRFT Remix) - Yeah Yeah Yeahs

Monday, March 23, 2009

Found Sound Mix


I discovered this mix about two years ago and now whenever I sit in the library until 2 or 3 in the morning I find myself listening to it. It's the perfect zoning out tool from the freshmen sluts sitting across from me right now who won't shut their cum filled traps.
Found Sound Mix

Bonne 'Prince' Billy Talks About Records


Drawing by Abigail Bruley


Here is a list of ten clean records that SOUND like they are specifically presented and direct. They sound like they minimize the world on the other side of the recording. It’s impossible for me to think of these records existing anywhere but coming out the
speakers and into this life from there.

Read about them here

Also, he'll be at the Trocadero on May 22, 2009.

Sunday, March 22, 2009

Raquel's "I Fucked Up" Mix


This one is entitled the "I fucked up" mixtape.
Enjoy

before it gets better

Thursday, March 12, 2009

N.A.S.A comes to Philadelphia


Add this one to your weekend itin.
N.A.S.A at The Barbary 951 N Frankford Ave.
8:30-11:00pm $10

Handsome Furs


Is it just me or does it seem like Wolf Parade has more side projects than one human can keep up with? Either way, here's the latest from Handsome Furs, who is husband Dan Boeckoner and wife Alexei Perry. Their second release Face Control came out yesterday on Sub Pop. Not too shabby.

(via Aziz is bored)

Handsome Furs

Tuesday, March 3, 2009

A Trip to AKA Records



I stopped by AKA Records this Saturday sometime around 3pm after a few hours of sleep. Molly and I listened to some corny old hip-hop LPs with neon zigzags across the covers. I thought about buying some records and was saddened by how poor I am. I spoke to AKA owner Mike, who seemed preoccupied with unraveling rolls of quarters and eyeing the customers as they walked in. I was preoccupied by his shiny gold tooth.
I did learn from Mike that the Black Lips album is selling very well, that he's been working in record stores for a long time and could not imagine doing anything else, and an album no person should live without is The Rolling Stones Exile On Main St.
Otherwise the man was pretty light lipped and really just wanted me to shut up.

This one's for you Mike

Exile On Main St.

BORN LIKE THIS



The ever evolving mask-wearing hip-hop pioneer DOOM unveiled his new album BORN LIKE THIS, due out on March 24.
Maybe it's his Bukowski references, his stream of consciousness style rap, or his continual collaborations with Ghostface Killah that make me love the mystery that is DOOM. The man continues to produce relevant and satiating tracks. (Don't call him MF DOOM on this album, just DOOM)
His mystique is almost as compelling and complex as his music, and before I go completely overboard with my praises, I think they're well deserved.

DOOM'S track Cellz backs this poem with dystopian explosions and diabolical sampling.


DOOM

Sunday, March 1, 2009



I'm sick of writing about new artists so I'm going to write a little bit about this record, which for the moment is perfect. It has just begun to snow, it's a Sunday night, and I am alone.
Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere has not one misplaced, unimportant, off-sounding track. Beginning with the high energy Cinnamon Woman, Neil Young's lyrics are biting and visual. Round and Round provides a glimmer of promise through its acoustic affirmation, and The Losing End is a country inspired lament. With its vicissitudes of emotion, Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere takes you high and low without missing a beat.


Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere - Neil Young