robyn played a free in-store performance at amoeba in san francisco last weekend before the first of her two shows with kelis at mezzanine. the place was packed (mostly by the gays), and robyn was in fine form. for a crowded, noisy store with not-so-great acoustics, her voice really soared, and the audience was feeling every tune. she did 6 songs, five of which are featured below. her best was a slowed-down version of "show me love," which, unfortunately, isn't included here. i'm sorry i didn't get to see her at mezzanine, but the next time she's here, i'm there. word. (thanks to my friend, jon, for sharing these!)
been meaning to post this for a while. shiny, summery super electropop from new york-based liptease. for all the electropop out there, it helps when someone picks up on the trend and does it well. liptease is able to take on a very common sound and make it their own. "ohh ai" is a fidgety, falsetto-laced, feverish track that demands repeat listens.
swoon! i'm as giddy as a crackwhore who just robbed a trick to score some rock. one of my favorite singer, jens lekman, debuted a new song on his site yesterday. take a listen, and read his story below:
It was the day before the american election 2008 and I was filled with a hopelessness that only a McCain supporter could have shared with me at the time. I was in Washington DC to perform for swedish TV, sitting in the couch with a profesional smile on my face, joking with the hosts and discussing the lobster with the TV chef. I saw the clips online sometime ago, it's amazing what an actor I can be if I really make an effort.
I lived in America back then, up in New York. At the time I felt like everything I touched was turning to shit and I had decided to put everything on one card. Subconsciously I knew I needed to hit the bottom so I could work my way up again. I needed confirmation, I needed someone to tell me it wasn't going to work out, not this way. Yes, there was a girl involved in this. I was very much in love with her.
Some things you just go through. You don't write about it, you don't turn it into art because it can't be turned into art. I didn't write any songs that year because you can't pour manure into an espresso machine and expect a cappucino to come out. When they announced the results and the streets filled up with people celebrating I felt happy to be part of something bigger than myself. It was a feeling that lasted me until the very last days of December 2008 when I finally sat down in my old teenage room at my parents house and I wrote this song. Then the year ended.
It's a song of hope. When love turns it's back on you it's nice to know there's a world out there that doesn't give a shit about your problems. That forces you to keep your head held high and move on. A world that is fragile and beautiful. Maybe it can sound cold to some of you, but let me make it clear that I believe in love, I just get so wrapped up in it sometimes that I need to put it into proportion. It's something you have to do a lot when you're Jens Lekman.
for what's it worth, i've created a facebook fan page for the pop sucker. hot. anyone who "likes" the page will be automatically entered to win a copy of lady gaga's upcoming album "the remix." the contest is open to anyone with a facebook account, so spread the word, spread the love. all the kids are doing it, and you'd be really popular if you did it too. i'll choose one winner at random on tuesday, august 10 (which also happens to be my birthday.) here is the track list, and you can scoop one of these snazzy remixes below. but before you do that, go be a free bitch and enter the contest!
when i was a kid, i had both the original nintendo entertainment system and sega genesis. (mighty bomb jack was my favorite nes game for those who care.) as far as sega went, i loved me some sonic the hedgehog, and part 2 was my fave. one of the reasons was the music. loves it, loves it, loves it! i longed for a soundtrack. this was long before the internet exploded so the only way to listen to it was to play the game. just thinking about it makes me feel like a kid again. my favorite level was the "aquatic ruin zone," and i can still hum it to this day. [i don't know why i didn't think to look it up before, but there a 9 minute extended version (!) on youtube. thank you internet gods!]
when i first heard muchuu's song "somebody tell me," it reminded me of video game music. the best kind of video game music, a la sonic the hedgehog part 2. it's catchy, cool (as in icy), and cute. the word "muchuu" (pronounced MOO-chew) is japanese and means to be in an ecstatic, delirious trance or dream. and that just about sums up their musical stylings as well. (to add to the cute factor, the duo is actually brother and sister.)
jamie scott is resting at home in the u.k. waiting for my call. he's tired, and it's no wonder. scott is the lead singer of graffiti6, a duo who -- in a very short time -- has generated some of the most exciting buzz all year. on the early july day i spoke with him, the band had just done the first show of their tour in london. "it was really wicked," says jamie. "the crowd was buzzed. we're mastering the album tomorrow. i'm psyched." between the first leg of a u.k. tour, the release of their new single "annie you save me," and their debut album colours, 2010 is set to be the year of graffiti6.
it's quite an auspicious beginning for a band still in its infancy. it was only 18 months ago, in early 2009, that scott met producer/writer/dj tommyd, an established name in the music biz, having previously worked with such heavyweights as jay-z and kanye and producing the early '90s #1 hit "i'm too sexy" by right said fred.
"tommy was introduced to me to write with, and experiment with a bit left of center," jamie says. (scott was previously signed to universal, which released an acoustic/folk album that got some play on bbc's radio 1.) "in that first session we got 'stare into the sun,' and we thought, 'we got something pretty cool here.'" that song, a psychedelic soul-infused pop number, was quickly picked up by the british newspaper the sun as its theme to a promotional tv campaign last summer. but the duo had no intention to rush out and find a label. they wanted to adopt a "let's see what happens" attitude, and discover the unique sounds that were birthed from their writing process.
"it's weird when you just click with another musician that you write really well with," jamie says. "the sound we got is just the two of us playing together ... we just jammed." scott, who grew up listening to crosby, stills, nash and young, joni mitchell, and tim buckley, says his melodies point to folk. tommy, he says, is the "fun rock guy" who likes hendrix, but also dj'ed house music for many years. those individual influences, along with an in-common appreciation of soul and r&b, are fused together in an amalgamation that becomes the graffiti6 sound. and their feel-good music is a nice change-of-pace for scott.
"i wrote a lot of harsh stuff [for my solo work]," jamie says. "i'm really loving graffiti6. it makes me feel happy as a person. it's pure energy." (scott's solo work is on the back burner right now, he says. "graffiti6 is definitely rocking my world.")
so despite initial reluctance, they're riding the wave of their newfound fame and praise. earlier this year, they released a 4-track ep, stone in my heart, and their single "annie you saved me" premiered yesterday. (read the pop sucker's original post and watch the video for "annie" here.) with their debut album scheduled to come out later this year or early next year, the stage has been set for what could be this century's british invasion -- with graffiti6 leading the way.
"i'm happy and glad it worked out [this] way," jamie says. "because of the internet, we have a good chance of more people hearing our music. the more people to hear it, the better. [and] we were number one on the hype machine! the fact that people in america are hearing our music makes me and tom feel so wicked."
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purchase the new single "annie you save me" featuring the so called scumbags remix and three other mixes here.
paul kelly, aka the martial arts, recorded his new tune "empty out here" in his kitchen by himself. then he called upon some friends to add some finishing touches: some handclaps, the cello, remastering. the result is a rollicking, sing-songy, feel-good melody. perfect for summertime. (unless you live in san francisco, that is. where winter coats are still needed.) kelly said he had "spector-like ambitions" with this song. mission accomplished.
you can also download the martial arts' album your sinclair for free here.
allmovie.com calls the wild angels "perhaps the definitive 1960s biker flick." this is the one peter fonda made just before easy rider. if you're looking for a so-hip-it-hurts, brainless action-packed film that you can get wasted to and still follow the plot, this is for you. in fact, it's probably better appreciated drunk and stoned. and you can tap into your inner hell's angel in the process. as an extra special bonus, it features a killer soundtrack courtesy of davie allan & the arrows. (you can take a listen to the ultra-hip fuzz rock masterpiece "blues' theme" below.)
this movie was huge when i came out in 1966. (its violence was considered shocking in its day.) it opened the venice film festival that year. and although it was panned by critics, it became aip's biggest hit and the twelfth highest-grossing film of the year. plus, you had king of the b-movies roger corman at the helm; a strong cast: fonda, nancy sinatra (wheee!), bruce dern and diane ladd (real-life husband and wife), and michael j. pollard, plus real members of the hell's angels; and enough counterculture movement and '60s lingo in it to make your head spin.
a follow-up to my post on the dirty disco's excellent track "white room." they have released the official video for the tune. it's maddeningly brilliant. this group is going to be BIG.
with the amount of songs i download on a monthly basis, there's bound to be a handful that go unheard. then one day, a song will come on my iPod and i'll immediately stop whatever i'm doing (which, if you're a fire eater like i am, can be extremely hazardous), and i'll say "what the hell is this?" once the fire has been extinguished, i'll go spelunking in the cattacombs that are my vicodin-soaked memories. how did i find this artist? who is it? when did i download this song? basically, those are all rhetorical questions to distract me from the fact that my eyebrows have been singed and i have third-degree burns on my face. because in the end, it doesn't really matter when the song is good, like the one we have for you today. (i can tell from my iTunes library that i downloaded the song in early april. not that that means anything, but there you have it.)
chris glover is penguin prison, a native new yorker (cue odyssey) who's been blowing up the blogosphere the past year with his solo tracks and exceptional remixes. his fan base continues to grow, and it's easy to understand why. just take a listen to "the worse it gets." it's a cocktail with equal parts pop, funk, new wave, electronic, and a jigger of early-'80s abba (circa "under attack) mixed together, served straight up in a frosty glass. the perfect beverage to take you out of the workweek and into the weekend. i'll have another round! care to join me?
as that great philosopher carrie bradshaw once said, "after a break-up, certain streets, places, even times of day are off limits. the city becomes a deserted battlefield loaded with emotional landmines." clearly the pipettes are well versed in the tao of SATC. (in this case it would be from volume 2, chapter 1, entitled "take me out to the ballgame.")
now let's discuss the pipettes for a moment. they rocketed out of the u.k. in 2006 with their bright, punchy '50s girl-group throwback tunes. their debut album, we are the pipettes, was one of my favorites of the year; it was rife with beautifully layered harmonies and catchy melodies. not to mention a tongue-in-cheek attitude in the lyrics. then they pulled a destiny's child and the line-up has been a revolving door of certains. now the trio is a duo -- sisters gwenno and ani saunders -- and they're about to unleash their second album, earth vs. the pipettes.
"stop the music" is the second of three singles pulled before the album's release. as mentioned above, it's about a break-up. their sound is less '50s girl-group and sounds more like a leftover spice girls track. and that's not a bad thing. luckily, the harmonies are still in tact, and the arrangement is lovely. heartbreak never sounded so good.
there are a handful of musical artists whose stature as an iconoclastic figure and contributions to the art i respect and admire greatly, but whose body of work, however vast or varied, does absolutely nothing for me. elvis is one. elton john is another. frank sinatra. there are others, three or four. prince is among them. i can't think of one song prince has recorded that i like. (i never want to hear "1999" ever again, for as long as i live.) but that's not to say i hate all of prince's music. he wrote "manic monday." brilliant song. and some of his pet projects have produced memorable songs as well. let's look at two of them, shall we?
vanity 6 went through a few name changes before settling on their moniker. prince originally called them "the hookers." when he made denise matthews the front woman, he suggested that she take the stage name "vagina" (pronounced va-GEE-na). i highly doubt the trio would have received any airplay if they called themselves "vagina 6." denise took the name "vanity" and prince christened them vanity 6 (the six representing the total number of breasts.)
they only produced one album, and they're really known for only one song: the ultra-raunchy, pop-funk masterpiece "nasty girl." let's face it, they're not the best singers, but the song isn't about stellar vocals. it's about the beat, the hook, and the raw carnality of the lyrics. (there isn't much that's left to the imagination here.) vanity moans and coos well enough, but her speaking parts during the bridge, while supposed to be sexy, are more awkward and forced than anything. at the end of the day, it doesn't matter. the song is as sticky as two sweaty, post-coital bodies splayed across messy bed.
taja sevelle was offered a deal from prince in the early '90s. she didn't make too huge of an impact on the charts. her biggest hit was a ditty called "love is contagious." in 1997, she released the album toys of vanity. (i don't know if it was an homage to vanity, the singer.) it, too, was lost in the masses, but her single, "i & i," was a standout. an eerie pop-r&b number with an appropriately creepy video. i remember hearing the song on boston's top 40 station very early in the morning. (they often played the best stuff during the time when few people listened, which always baffled me.) i was immediately struck by its unique quality. from the sparse drum machine, scratchy vinyl effects, guitar and bass to sevelle's wild-animal-mating-call-meets-xena-warrior-princess-battle-cry vocals. luckily, this was during the days when record companies still produced cd singles, and i ran out and scooped one up (which i still have).
but here's a bigger question: does anyone else remember this song besides me?!
next week marks my sixth anniversary in san francisco. it's incomprehensible to believe that in the summer of 2004, with no job, no apartment, and no friends (save for my college buddy, michael, and his boyfriend, ryan), i packed up my shit and headed west from boston. when i got here, i quickly found a retail job. it wasn't a satisfying job, but i knew i wouldn't be there forever, and i was much more concerned with being able to afford my absurdly expensive rent in the one-bedroom apartment the three of us shared. the job, however, served a much more important role in my status as a san francisco stranger. it provided me the opportunity to meet a lot of people my own age (young 20-somethings) and make a lot of new acquaintances, and even make a few really good friends (hi, hiwa!).
the cast of characters that paraded through my year-and-a-half tenure at this store was bizarre, to say the least. but this is san francisco. one that stood out from the pack was an assistant manager we'll call renaissance. (it's a strange name to call her, i know, but there is a tale behind that as well. i'll save that for a future post.) ren fancied herself a model. she believed she was angelina jolie's twin, yet on more than one ocassion i was witness to complete strangers mistaking her for drag queen. she would paint her eyebrows on everyday with what i'm sure was a magenta crayola crayon. strange part was that for the many people who thought she was really a man, really good-looking men were taken with her. maybe they could smell how easy she was.
her only claim to fame at that point was being the winner on a dating reality show, although i'm sure she's soared to even greater heights by now. or maybe not. we lost touch over the years. one of the last times i saw her, she came to work wearing an eye patch. (imagine a drag queen dressed as angelina jolie, with no eyebrows, and a big black eye patch like daryl hannah in kill bill.) when i asked her what happened she said sheepishly, "before i went to bed last night i was clipping my toe nails." (now picture a drag queen dressed as angelina jolie, with no eyebrows, and a big black eye patch trimming her talons in bed.) "i finished and went to bed. but when i woke up, i couldn't see out of this eye!" turns out one of the clipped toe nails was lurking under the covers. in the dead of night, that pesky nail burrowed its way in her eye and caused her severe pain and temporary blindness. i made sure to stand to the side where she couldn't see when i laughed. that was the last time i saw renaissance, although it sure beats having the last thing you see be a clipped toe nail cushioned by your cornea.
what does this story have to do with the excellent psychic stunts song below? i'll let you deduce your own meaning. (hint: it's nothing.)
the pop sucker caught up with megane quashie, one half of the electro-rock duo black cherry, who told us about the band's special brand of beats and melodies -- like those featured on their ep the preface -- and their quest for world domination. plus, check out a hot new track below.
1. tell me a little bit about your background, and how you two hooked up.
i was working on a solo project and i needed a good producer to work the tracks with me someone re-introduce to "g the genius," the beautiful french boy on my arm taking black cherry closer to the neon lights of stardom. the musical chemistry was electric; we had meet before and were friends but i never knew he produced, so this is how it all started.
my musical background started at the around of age of 8 with my big brother hooking up his bike lights to his stereo speakers to created that disco effect, while he dj'ed beats and [i] sang along on the microphone.
2. what's your song writing process like?
the writing process normally starts with an idea -- maybe a vocal melody or riff. we will play it to each other and develop the idea into a song. the writing team is gui and myself but rob, our guitarist, also used to write with us before he passed away. he wrote this album with us and it is his guitars on the preface.
3. tell me a bit about your ep the preface.
the preface is our first physical release with colin emmanuel (beta band), on ISM records. this is all for rob moore who passed away on september 22, 2009. the preface features the two tracks as a band that all three of us where very proud of making, so it seems only fair to make these part of tribute that is for our lost friend.
fake blood and modern lover [are] part of the bigger picture, which is our LP white gold.
4. what are your musical influences?
love, life, death, [and] laughter.
5. what's next for black cherry?
we are planning to release more singles throughout the year, play more shows/gigs. world domination using some very up-tempo beats and catchy melodies… keep on checkin' in on us… things are just about to get very exciting.
you said it, audiodax. the perfect summer song. top down. off to the beach. sunshine. sunburn. where's the spf 90? oh, wait. who cares? it's summer, bitches!
it's rare that i'll do two posts in a day, but for cut copy i'll do anything. their third album is set to be released later this year and to tempt and tease us, they've released a new song called "where i'm going." where they're going is clearly a new direction, musically. but they are so freakin' good (and put on an amazing live show), i'll probably love everything they do. what do you think? better/worse than stuff from in ghost colours or bright light neon love?
in late 2007, i fell in love with "hitten," a track from swedish quintent those dancing days. it was straight-up twee pop, but there was something so inherently sad about the song that i couldn't stop listening. maybe it was the organ. maybe it was lead singer linnea jönsson mournful vocals. whatever it was, it was a staple on my portable cd player for all of 2008. (yes, that's correct, i didn't get my first iPod until november 2008. hot.) those dancing days released their full-length debut in october 2008, but somehow i missed it. the title track, "space hero suits," captures the same kind of melancholia that "hitten" did. and it's been on repeat non-stop. (and don't worry, i'll be bringing back the summer jams tomorrow, kids.)
if the dirty disco were an actual club, i'd be there every weekend. the place would be sleazy, extravagant, intense, and glamorous. i'd have a lifetime pass, and i'd never leave. alas, there's no such place. but there is a u.k. electropop band with the same name, and those adjectives are a pretty accurate description of their sound. synthy and sexy, it rockets through you like that first snort of coke at the start of a 6-day binge. and you never want it to end.
elliott gleave, aka example, describes his music as "dysfuctional electro-pop," but he started as a rapper. i suppose there are some rap elements in his super hot summer jam "kickstarts," and there's definitely some light rapping in the song featured below, "all over again," his ode to being a rabble-rouser. if this doesn't get your toe a-tappin', i don't know what will.
so much music, so little time. that's certainly how i've been feeling the last couple of weeks. it's the summertime, people. who wants to work? not i. i'd rather spend my days enjoying the sunshine -- this is all hypothetical since sunshine in san francisco during july is pretty much non-existant -- and relaxing while listening to great music. but life gets in the way, so i haven't been able to post some of the great songs that have passed through my inbox. such is the case with atlanta-based electropop outfit arnhao. their label, denmark records, is releasing their first record denmark one in september. it features arnhao's dark, moody, and soulful track "oh?! (intangible fantasy)" as well as a track from holygrailers, plus additional songs, remixes and the video for "oh?!" you can pre-order it here. and take a listen to the song below.
where would this great country of ours be without disposable pop music? hell, where would the world be without it? seriously. you can love it, hate it, love to hate it, and hate to love it. it reaches the depths of the human psyche. plus, there's so much of it out there, the supply will never dry up. i give you exhibit a: "automatik" by livvi franc. now, franc's first single, "now i'm that bitch," was a big dance hit last year. this is the second single off her soon-to-be-released debut album. she's actually surrounded herself with strong people: the song was co-written by cathy dennis (she wrote britney's "toxic") and evan bogart (wrote "sos" by rihanna and beyonce's "halo"); it was produced by redone ("just dance"). so take a listen, soak it up, and wait for it to be replaced by the next candy-coated pop music fluff.
the other day i was looking for a photo to accompany my "zombie" post, so naturally, i googled "gay zombie" and came across these recurring images of a very sexy, very dead hipster boy. turns out they were stills from the 2008 film otto; or, up with dead people by canadian filmmaker bruce labruce. where have i been these two years that i did not know there was a film about a gay zombie?! my friend, daniel, had seen it before, but we moved the film to the top of our list for our weekly movie night.
if you haven't seen the film, let me spare you 90 min. unless you're into seeing naked pretty boys in bad zombie makeup engage in quasi-necrophilic and intestine-devouring sex games, this film probably isn't for you. (if only the film was called otter; or, up with skinny hairy dudes.) but trust me, you haven't lived till you've seen one zombie fuck his zombie lover's open chest wound. bareback. you can't get that on xtube, folks! (trust me, i've looked.)
the upside? the soundtrack was pretty gosh darn good. one song that stood out was the homophones' "everyone's dead," a folksy, hand-clapping, feel-good tune. the exact kind of song you'd associate with a film about a gay zombie.
simon curtis will blow up. it's only a matter of when. anyone who takes the time and care to put together such a cohesive, exciting debut concept album, and give it away for free, is destined to hit the big time. and that's just what he's done with 8bit heart, a wholly satisfying slice of synthpop that takes a page from blake lewis's excellent heartbreak on vinyl and janelle monae's concept strategy of the archandroid. it's hard to pull it off, especially since his sound isn't new. it's been rehashed ad nauseum. but curtis has actually managed to make it sound fresh and compelling with his distinctive falsetto, big hooks, beats and clever sampling. this is glossy pop at its ultimate, blinding finest.
