Music for panting, sweating and a shower after

So I've been running lately (what...you thought something else?)

And running, of course, requires tunes. Up in the headphones, if you will. Because when you're just starting to exercise after an academic year of red wine, beer and whiskey you're not doing it right unless you're in pain. Now, pain tends to be somewhat distracting, so good exercise music requires that little attention be required - subtlety is your enemy here.

So I've been listening to Clipse. Now, yes, Clipse may be as gangsta as gangsta comes, but when your lungs are on fire all that cartoon-like aggression actually starts to sound every-so-slightly reasonable. (Do note that there are naughty words included in the following).

Clipse - "Numb It Down"



Ah, but then there's Flying Lotus and the new album Los Angeles, which has the pleasant quality of sounding good on many levels - ie, in pain, and not in pain. In general, it's got a nice solid beat through it as well as not requiring much attention - rewarding, yes, but not requiring. You can hear both ambient and hip hop influences, but this works for running quite well because the basic beat tends to keep a solid, not-too-fast pace - maybe one day I'll be running to drum & bass, but not anytime soon...

Flying Lotus - "Camel"



And then, if I'm in a particularly spaced out mood, there's Lindstrom (the "o" has a little / through it but I don't have a keyboard that does that, so...) and his three song album Where you go I go too - you get your money's worth because the three tracks are 28, 10 and 15 minutes long. The subtlety works in the other way here - it actually sounds much less cheesy with a lil' agony thrown in to keep your mind occupied. I usually don't get much past the first track, but here's an edit of the last one because it's what I could find (admitted, I didn't look too hard...)

Lindstrom - "The Voyage Home - Prins Thomas Edit"



Finally, just due to its sheer awesomeness, is this mashup of M.I.A.'s "Paper Planes" and Bon Jovi doing "Dead or Alive":

DJ Schmolli - "M.I.A. Wanted Dead or Alive"



Bon appetit!

you herd it here first

i went on a 4-day jeep trip to the Uyuni salt flats when i was in Bolivia. I was grouped with a British couple and an Australian girl.

during these trips, there'a a hell of a lot of driving, all day basically. i killed time being the designated DJ. the Australian, Ellie, was impressed with my eclectic tastes in music. at some point, i was curious to hear what she had in her ipod. she played a lot of hip-hop and i realized that i had very little knowledge of Australian music. to my surprise, the songs were politically inclined and i realized something else: i know nothing about australian politics. at the end of our trip, we exchanged names of a few bands from our respective homes. here's one i particularly enjoy: The Herd.



stat!

don't cry for me, Kanye

hey! has Kanye gone soft?
i've been reading a lot of blogs lately. i have a friend who's blogging today about how totally confused he is about the new Kanye West album, 808s and Heartbreak. He says that he's heard two singles and that there isn't any rap and it's all about heartbreak, boo-hooing, etc.
i went to listen to the singles and i have to say i like this new Kanye, but please back old Kanye soon. let's not let him flood in heartbreak tears. i love to hate in-your-face Kanye...don't you?
no question, though, that this will be heard relentlessly (and to loud) in youngsters' cars across america.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WYpiQTOaw1U

stat!

Old School Salsa Edition

Salsa came out of the New York Puerto Rican/latin community of the 1970's. My mother is Puerto Rican and I kind of grew up with this music in the background, this sampling is by no means exhaustive. And, no I never quite learned to dance as well as I really should have, but I figure there's still time, no?

El Gran Combo de Puerto Rico is among the most respected groups in salsa history, though they have had changes in personnel over the years. Still going strong, too.

El Gran Combo - "Un Verano En NY"


Ruben Blades and Willie Colon released one of the classic salsa albums of all time, Siembra, back in '78 - Ruben has written some of the most classic tracks in the salsa canon, including "Pedro Navaja" from the same album. They both later got into politics (Sr. Blades ran for president of Panama, and Sr. Colon is involved in New York politics) - this video is from their younger days. The only song with a vocal guitar solo because "the guitarist didn't come today" - done here with the piano too.

Ruben Blades & Willie Colon - "Buscando Guayaba"


Hector Lavoe is, sadly, among the few of salsa's founding fathers no longer with us today. Marc Anthony (excellent salsa singer in his own right) and J-Lo (Puerto Rican, but otherwise...well...everybody knows J-Lo) made a movie about his life. Which I haven't seen, and so can't really say much about. What I can say is that almost anything he sang sounds pretty good to this day, and a lot of it is downright fabulous.

Hector Lavoe - "Periodico de Ayer"


Oscar D'Leon is also fairly old school, starting out in Colombia back in the early 70's. This is a song he wrote himself and one of my favorites. Still touring to this day!

Oscar D'Leon - "Lloraras"


Buen provecho!

Classic Mashup Edition

After looking at the last few posts, I said to myself, "My, these posts are far longer than they need to be, and they aren't all that frequent".

I'll be trying to fix that.

Anyway:

DJ Zebra is from France, and some of his mashes have introduced me to an assortment of French music I had never heard of before. There are a hell of a lot of Beatles mashups out there and this one is my favorite. Be aware that this does include the explicit chorus of "Closer". In case you're at work and/or somebody cares.

DJ Zebra - "Come Closer Together"


Among the better mashups I'm aware of, credit to DJ Mei-Lwun (San Fran based, don't know much more about him than that). I remember the first time I heard this track was at Bootie (ah...Bootie...). I no longer remember how the music to "Country Grammar" goes.

DJ Mei-Lwun - "Sweet Home Country Grammar"


Another classic mash, called "Jay-Zeezer", this seems like it was a bonus track on a remixing of Jay-Z's Black Album with Weezer's Blue Album to create (you guessed it) the Black & Blue Album. Kind of like with DJ Danger Mouse and The Gray Album.

Jay-Zeezer - "99 Luft Problems"


Bon appetit!

Nostalgia, 2004 Edition

So there's an old friend of mine who recently got back in touch and made me all nostalgic for 2004, specifically for:

Sodastream

Australian two-man band (cello and guitar, if I recall correctly) in the same vein as Belle & Sebastian but...well, better. And by better I mean, less just-sitting-there-being-pretty and more meaningful storytelling about things that Really Matter without cramming it down your throat that they are Telling You About Things That Really Matter.

Sodastream - "Fitzroy Strongman"



Rasputina

I saw Rasputina live in San Francisco before delving into their collected works much, largely on the strength of this song - I had bought an EP with this track on it. Good times are associated with it, very good times indeed. For the rest of y'all, other excellent tracks include a version of "Wish You Were Here" and the inimitable "Signs of the Zodiac".

Rasputina - "Rusty the Skatemaker"



Nick Drake

Nick Drake's music reminds me of that line from American Pie, where the dude looks at a plastic bag and says something along the lines of "Sometimes I think there's so much beauty in the world, I can hardly stand it."

Nick Drake - "River Man"



Elliott Smith

Yeah, this song has been in more than one soundtrack and you might have heard it a lot on college radio. The measure of a good song is that it can remain a song in spite of being in more than one soundtrack and overplayed on college radio.

Elliott Smith - "Waltz #2"



Gerling

Lest we get too downtempo and downright down, here we have a shimmering, sparkling track from our Australian friends. Not sure this remix had been released in '04. Not sure I really care.

Gerling - "Hot Computer (Summa Laptop Mix)"



Ella Fitzgerald

Respect.

Ella Fitzgerald - "One Note Samba". Live 1969.



Bon appetit!

Apple Muffins

Back when I lived in DC I went through a phase where I would bake cupcakes and muffins, and one of my favorite breakfasty things was a muffin that was mostly apple and just had a bit of batter to hold it together.

This is going to be mostly a bunch of embedded videos with some text thrown in to hold it together - yummies!

The Shocking Pinks

You know you've been an English teacher for too long when you see The Shocking Pinks as the name for a band and instead of flashes from the 80's you start wondering whether "Shocking" modifies "Pink" or "The Pinks" - ie, whether they are The Pinks, who happen to be Shocking, or whether they are named after more than one instance of Shocking Pink.

They also happen to be fairly good. Still a bit new in the ear, haven't gotten to the point where I can distinguish tracks from each other but it's been a very pleasant couple of subway rides - I remember thinking of The Velvet Underground and The Pixies and a bit of Sonic Youth. Plus English grammar.

I really need to stop thinking so much about English grammar.

The Shocking Pinks - "End of the World"




Vivian Girls

What I like about the Vivian Girls is that they really don't sound like they're trying to sound like anything in particular - there's really no message, no story, no information about how this is supposed to make you feel, it's just good, solid, drone-y sounds.

Though the video is a little confusing.

Vivian Girls - "Where Do You Run To"



The Dresden Dolls

The self-proclaimed "punk cabaret" - I like punk and I like cabaret and I like this, though I'm not entirely sure the label fits.

I've been listening to the new/old album No, Virginia, being outtakes and other things that didn't make it into Yes, Virginia. This track is from Yes, and I have to be honest: I like the video, I like the track, but I don't think they play together particularly well.

Incidentally, the mystique associated with California is kind of amusing if you've actually lived there.

Dresden Dolls - "Shores of California"



Air France

This is one of those tracks where you try not
to listen to the words, because the horns are so excellent and all the ambient frills and textures roll around so deliciously that the words are bound to disappoint, which tends to detract from the experience if you care about words.

I like words, and it would be a shame to spoil the sonic equivalent of a late 70's summer vacation in the south of France.

Air France - "June Evenings"



Bishop Allen

Happy music for happy times - those chimes are almost pre-schoolish while the guitar provides a gentle reminder of that time when you ended up in the country bar, with a lot of country music, but for some reason it didn't seem that bad that particular night, what with all the bourbon and beer and singing and whatnot, though the next day you felt a little silly about the whole thing.

So probably that was just me, but I'm sure everybody has had something similar happen at some point.

Bishop Allen - "Click, Click, Click, Click"



El Guincho

More happy music! More good times at tropical beaches! In Spanish, this time! Real Spanish-from-Spain-Spanish! Cos if you've got soul and good times, you don't really need to worry about pitch, or vocal control, or any of those technical details - not if you've got backing vocals and a DJ into tropicalia.

I like this music. It's makes me happy music.

El Guincho - "Palmitos Park"



Vampire Weekend

Slightly-less-happy-but-still-rather-upbeat music! The guitar is the most obvious part, but listen to the way the bass manages to keep time while being all over the place.

Doesn't the video make you want to watch Risky Business or Dirty Dancing or The Breakfast Club- something ridiculous and 80s?

Vampire Weekend - "Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa"



Bon appetit.

Good fer whatever ails ya!

It's been a while. Every so often I would be listening to something, saying to myself, "My, this is good stuff, I should post something about this" and then get distracted and not.

Will try to stop doing that.

Anyway, diablodeazucar has been digging the following in '08:

Invincible

The best female rapper since...well, since Lauryn Hill was a rapper. And definitely the best white rapper since Princess Superstar...(ah, Princess Superstar...) This track wins Best Hip-Hop Track Featuring a Flute 2008, one of the few tracks that would be well worth a listen either for the vocals or the instrumentals. Rest of the album is pretty good walking-down-the-street-head-bopping music too.

Invincible - "Sledgehammer!"



We Are Wolves

Damned if the sound doesn't have a wolf-like savagery to it at least. Apparently they're from Montreal - who knew? Just about as loud and noisy as you can get with a very tight groove, also on the borderline between "serious" and "just kidding". Great walking-down-the-street-liquored-up-and-looking-for-trouble music.

We Are Wolves - "Musique"



Stars of the Lid

On the other end of the spectrum - very ambient-y without getting to the point where you say "You know what? This is pretty ambient-y. I wish it were less so." Excellent falling-to-sleep music.



The National

Yeah, I think I might have posted on them before but I'm too lazy to check it out and this video will do you good anyway...

The National - "Apartment Story"



The Hot Toddies

I like the Hot Toddies. Never actually got to see them live even though they're from effing Oakland, something always came up. But they're good not-so-clean fun. Not their best performance, I imagine.

The Hot Toddies - "Seattle"



The Gza

They're actually kind of like a real old-school Shaw Brothers kung fu movie - kind of silly, but still good stuff, nothing to be ashamed of, but not really anything to be proud of either...

The Gza - "Alphabets"

learning cat power

i've been taking piano lessons for about a month now and i feel really good about it. my teacher is young, kinda cute, but mostly very, very nice. he's actually in a local band called torngat. i've never seen them live, but have heard nothing but positive things about them in the past. mathieu lent me an ep and an lp that they have recorded and it's all very good. i'm kinda proud that he's my teacher now. so i've had 4 lessons and already we've been passing each other cds back and forth. he really likes this one musician, gonzales (who also produced feist's first lp). and most importantly, he made me discover tom waits. no, i didn't know tom waits. shame on me. and then two days ago i brought a cat power cd and he made me learn the first 4 keys (which are basically repeated throughout the song, if only for a bridge in the middle). it makes me feel good to be able to play cat power. that's all. give me news.

stat!

wof wof!

i always thought wolf parade's greatest success was that their sound showed such urgency and energy. so, imagine my disappointment as i listened to the two songs off their upcoming record, released on myspace. it's almost romantic and slow. there are a lot more keyboards. it's almost sweet. i say: please don't. wolf parade is grr, arrg. i shouldn't be thinking of a sunny day with pretty little birds when listening to wolf parade. i guess they're all in love now. must be love.stat!

i see stars shining bright

went to see stars of the lid tuesday. the show organizer had decided to set the show in a massonic temple. well thought. this was a show unlike anything i had seen, but it reminded me of this one time in college where we had an electroacoustics 101 class. we sat in this huge amphitheatre and were asked to close our eyes and listen to every sound around us. they had speakers in all corners of the room and the teacher would swivel sounds from one direction to another. it was pretty cool.
the opening band were these two girls who could barely be seen, the lights were dimmed so low. but they had incredible voices. they both played keyboards, very low and ambient keys. everyone was quiet and the keys resounded through the room. it gave me goosebumps. they could have sacrificed a sheep for all i know and it wouldn't have been out of place. (not that i'm for the sacrifice of sheep, no sir). anyway, think of it as like au revoir simone, but slower, and the voices reaching incredible heights. it felt a bit religious, like the lady who sings behind the priest at funerals.
next was a really talented fellow by the name of christopher willits. he's alone on stage with laptop in front of him, electric guitar in hand, and plugged-in headphones. he sets his tunes to an electro beat, none too annoying or loud, and then he grooves to it and plays oh-so-subtly one key at a time on his guitar. keys that he stretches for ten seconds or so. i sat a bit far from the stage and honestly, at first there, i couldn't even tell he was playing guitar. all i saw was this dude groving. but then i looked closer and could see was he was doing. it was brilliant, this guy knows how to create sound and play with it.
ironically enough, and i hope i'm not mistaken about this, but i'm pretty sure willits turned out to be stars of the lid's sound guy. i was right beside him as he grooved to their set. it was cool to have him there because he made me realize that there is so much more to one key than one usually perceives.
stars have three ladies on strings and two guys on guitars/keyboards. there were countless moments where the strings would play a key together and stop for a sec and then play another. in those moments of pause, the sound guy would hear it resonate in his ears and shook his head along with it. it was wild. it made me appreciate the show a lot more, i think. to witness someone so enraveled in the smallest and most subtle of sounds.
i don't know what you think of ambient music, but it's a very spiritual experience for me.

stat!

man, oh man

merde!
let's get this blog rolling again. i've been telling myself i've been too busy, but maybe i'm just too lazy...

i went to see a show the other day that's worth talking about. the headliners were a 5-piece band called man man. frankly thuough, i much preferred the opening band: yeasayer, from brooklyn. they reminded me of sunset rubdown, but a bit more restrained. without the intense cosmic outbursts of spencer krug...
man man, i knew very little of. i went because it was recommended by a blogger i like. although, now that i think about it, maybe she recommended it because it was the only decent show on this sunday night. anyways, they're all guys jamming in front of the stage in a circle, hitting on whatever it is they have around. the lead guy (moustache and never-nude white shorts) hits the keyboards like a madman, regardless if he's hitting the right keys or not. like when you're mad at your computer and you hit it as if it's going to change something? get me?
they had a good drummer and a good bass player who mostly stuck to their instruments, but poor dude with the guitar, we couldn't hear him amongst the brutality of the other sounds. i thought i liked it until i really grew tired of the lead guy's performance. i know it's something that'll get the fans cheering, but just stick to playing. quit jumping around like a fucking monkey.
aaaaaaannd, release!

stat!

...are foverer

i'm sure i've talked to you about islands before. i've seen them twice already in concert. last time however, was a while ago in september 06. this was shortly after their first full-lenght had come out. the press gave it great reviews as far as i remember. anyway, they hadn't toured in a long long time and they were saying a new album was on its way. a few weeks ago they posted a number of shows in europe. but last week, to my great surprise, walking by a venue, there i saw a poster announcing islands on saturday. the show was meant to give its fans a preview of the new record.

the opening act were the two asian members of islands. i think they used to call themselves the super chow brothers but now have no actual band name to speak of. they are not in fact, brothers, but they do share the same name. anyway, i'm sure you would have liked their set. they are both talented violonists and played 3 classical songs from a composer i sadly am unaware of. the crowd was cheerful enough, but clearly this was unexpected for an indie-rock show.

when islands took the stage, we noticed frontman nick diamonds had painted his face white. my boyfriend says he looked like a mime. he is very thin and his face is strong-boned, so he had a weird ghostly vibe going, too.

islands are 6 guys. other than the two asian fellows, nick, and the black bassist, one of them i used to recognize as the saxophone guy. both times i saw islands, he always exhumed so much energy on stage. he takes heavy steps forward when he plays and his teeth seem to be clinching onto his sax as if he was dangling from a cliff.

it seems now that sax guy (to be noted that he's also in local band sister suvi) is playing guitar more than sax. it looks like there won't be as much sax on the new album, because the only times he played it, was for older songs from their first lp. and that's not such a bad thing. nick diamonds and him have a great chemistry when they play together and along with the low bass, it makes for some really great stuff. they have a new song up on myspace if you want to have a listen. (on a new label, btw).

overall, it was yet another different islands experience. i discovered them 3 years ago at a big venue opening for metric. i knew none of their songs. the second time i saw them was during the osheaga music festival. i, one fan who could now sing along, amongst a mass of indie kids. this time, i knew the older songs. they played the new songs with such conviction that it got me convinced that i was witnessing an incredibly talented band. i admire nick for putting on such a great performance.

stat!

Dipping a toe into the Buenos Aires indie scene. And then, tango.

Been having problems with Google-related web-based services (that is gmail and blogger), where you try to log in and then nothing happens. It's off and on, and I would have posted yesterday or the day before but I couldn't get into the web site.

Anyway.

On Friday we finally managed to go to an honest-to-goodness indie inspired music type show thing here in Buenos Aires, a very small one at a cafe. I get the feeling it was just the people who didn't go on holiday figuring out something to do with themselves - it really is like the Paris of South America in that the entire city empties out for summer. There were three acts, the first one who seemed to have a different guest star come up for each track, and it was all OK but seemed a little uninspired - kind of like a translation, if you know what I mean



Next was a guy by the name of Rubin, and he did a lot of covers of English stuff (including a Magnetic Fields song that I'd never heard of) and he was Veronica's favorite. He seemed a bit disillusioned and not having much fun, though. Maybe he was having a bad day?



The third group was a kid by the name of Ale Lago who is now fronting a band by the name of Impermeables, one of whose distinguishing characteristics is a lack of any youtube videos with decent sound. But their references seemed to be a bit more recent - Foo Fighters and Weezer instead of The Beatles, Elvis Costello et al. - and doing what sounded best to him.



Also, last night we went to an open-air amphitheater type thing to see an old-school tango guy perform on the accordion along with a pianist and someone on upright bass. We got cold in the end and left before it was over, but it was pretty good music.



Will hopefully have a report on a jazz bar that looks pretty good as well, sometime next week, if I can log in!

mtl beats

yet another montreal edition, this time a more hip-hop oriented set.

my boyfriend and i were going to go see donzelle perform friday night at this place called zoobizarre, but the show was sold-out. it's rather unfortunate that we couldn't get in despite him knowing her (went to school with her). but it made me think about this whole hip-hop montreal crew that we have here. such "artists" (more like beatmakers) create undeniably voracious beats along with lyrics that are a semi-tease. their performances are riffing on the seriousness of the hip-hop scene, yet they are themselves growing into it. numéro#, as i've heard, also started out as this big joke, but they're very successful at it. i'm not sure how long the joke will last. anyway, here are some of mtl's best beatmakers (starting with those who are serious about it):

socalled - you are never alone

dishwasher - come home

gatineau - pow pow t'es mort

giselle numba one - the swedish and the haitians

donzelle - bébé ok

sexyboy - hotter than my schedule

numéro # feat. omnikrom - chewing-gum fraise

sharp à l'os - fait attention remix

jeune chilly chill - sur le régulier

nul si découvert - gary cooper

atach tatuq - chips

stat!

life as a dj

my friend,
in short the dj gig went well. it's actually fairly easy to do, the soundboard easy to handle. i guess it just takes time and practice to familiarize oneself with it and become a better dj.
the show was scheduled for 10pm and already at 9 i could see young groups of girls outside, checking the place out. my boyfriend and i arrived early for soundchecks and then the soundman explained how the dj booth worked out in about a minute. i was nervous but also very excited. i played around with the sound before people walked in and the evening went super well for me. as for the show, well, the opening band--hollowtip hearts, also an-all-girl indie-rock band--were great and the crowd was generous. but with the ponies it was a little more complicated. it got me worried.
let me recap: when we got there, we noticed that lisa was not. turns out the bassist player had gotten herself a back injury playing ball hockey (oh, us silly canadians!). then, about 30 minutes before the show started, the ladies come back--toujours sans lisa. i can see from my dj booth that there is a serious discussion going on with them and kevin (boyfriend), who organized the show for his birthday. then, i'm told that lisa is not coming at all, she's in pain. long story short: the ladies decided that they still would play a set. they went to practice some songs in a backroom and ended up playing 6 songs. it turned out more acoustic, more mellow, totally intimate. kevin was still pleased because this turned out to be a totally unique pony up show. it's unlikely something like this will ever happen again. the girls joked on stage that they were now starting a new band without lisa called goose down!
i played music for about 75 minutes before hollowtip hearts and about 25 minutes before pony up. after that, as more of my friends had arrived, i played music until 1. i was glad that people stayed afterwards. because the place was packed during pony up's set, there were about 100 people who stayed for another half-hour and then people left gradually from 12:30 on. i could see some guys and girls moving their heads to the music, which made me feel super. when no more than 15 were left in the bar, i treated myself to some spice girls. my reason? they had just played a show here last week, and "stop", after all, is a landmark (granted, horrible) song of my youth. it was hilarious. i remembered the moves to the chorus even if i hadn't done them in years (swear it!), and then the hightlight of my evening: a girl walks onto the stage and actually dances to the song. when she gets off she says in laughter "you're fucking crazy", which i take was directed at me. and the fairytale ends with me becoming facebook friends with sarah from pony up.

stat!

shhhhhhh...

Playlist #1

Jim noir-key of C
Simon & garfunkel-hazy shade of winter
Beatles- lady madonna
k-os- born to run
Barbara Morgenstern-the operator
Gogol bordello-dogs were barking
Ariane moffatt- farine five roses
Pawa up first-j'garde ça réal
The bicycles-gotta get out
Hot springs-pink money
Black rebel motorcycle club- ain't no easy way
Fujiya & miyaji- in one ear
Loretta lynn-this old house
The kinks-she’s got everything
Nortec collective—don loope
The smiths-this charming man
The rakes – work work work
Handsome boy- holy calamity
Sebastien grainger-when you go out
Death From Above 1979 remix by justice

Playlist #2

Tokyo Police Club-remix
Feist (vanshe remix) – 1234
Telefauna – under the underground water
Death From Above 1979 remix by Girl on Girl ft. Final Fantasy

Playlist #3

Datarock – princess
Le tigre – nanny nanny
LCD soundsystem – daft punk is playing at my house
George Clinton – atomic dog
The rapture – whoo, alright
Tiga – good as gold
Lady sovereign – random
Princess superstar – bad babysitter
Beck – hell yes
Call me poupée – rumba
The kinks – everybody’s gonna be happy
Figurines – the wonder
DFA 1979 -sexy results
The blow – hock it (YACHT remix)
N.E.R.D. – baby doll
Dj danger mouse – allure
Gwen stefani – what you waiting for?
Dead disco – you’re out
Love is all – busy
Loverboy – working
Killing joe - eighties
Madonna – your honesty
MIA/Diplo – fire fire
Chromeo- remix
Mates of state – fraud in the 80s
Junior senior – rhythm bandits
Electric six – danger! high voltage
Junior boys – in the morning
Gnarls barkley – smiley faces
REM – dragging the line
Earth, wind & fire – shining star
Ladytron – Abercrombie
?Buck 65 – wicked and weird
?Laurie Anderson – from the air

under the water

i finally got the chance to see telefauna live last week. there was a great showcase of local bands at the city's best venue (la sala rossa). the price? pay-what-you-can. i was in heaven. opening as we arrived was a three-piece band called sister suvi. i'd seen part of their set during the pop montréal festival back in october and wondered when they'd be playing again. it sounds very grungy with a tinge of folk (one member plays a mandolin). it's pretty good and they were in great shape last week. before telefauna took the stage, i wanted to make sure to grab their ep, which i was never able find even in independent record stores. 5$, and to my utter surprise, it dates back to 2005. i'm not sure exactly what they are waiting for to record an album. i overheard the guitarist say that they were just waiting the right offer/opportunity, but common, 3 years?!
anyways, their set was fabulous and when they announced that they were playing one more song and went on to play "under the underground water" i swooned and shook my hips and was all the more convinced that it should be played on my dj set.

stat!

the exclamation point (!) special

in an effort to create a perfect playlist for my dj set, i have selected about 200 songs off of everything i have. and this is just the preliminary work... i'll have to deselect more and more as we go, to my utter heartbreak. i wish i could play everything. oh well.

but for right now, this morning, my focus is on this blog.

i bought 2 cds the other day and the cashier guy pulled out his favorite of the year as i was about to pay. he said "aaahh, these are good choices but you're missing out on the best of the year", proceeding on handing me this:
against me! - new wave
(for the record, i don't find it that great)

and i thought of continuing on with the exclamation points:
pacific! - hot lips
you say party! we say die! - monster
oh no! oh my! - reeks and seeks (live)
frente! - bizarre love triangle

stat!

and here it is:

i'll try to get my big sister to tape the event so that you get to see some of what went on.

I'm related to 1/5 of Wild Moccasins

My cousin is in a band by the name of Wild Moccasins, and I like them, even taking into account the inevitable bias.

In other news, I've been perusing the cokemachineglow top 50 albums of 2007 and been finding some interesting things on the streaming samples and samples - ever heard of Les Savy Fav? From what the review said, it seems they were more famous before and came back, or something. Also been looking into the Buenos Aires indie scene, found a web site to begin with, I'm sure one thing will lead to another.

How are the preparations for the first DJ Valouchka going? You must tell me how that goes!

Motion towards

January 6, 2008, 7 AM to 1 PM

My last shift at the hostel front desk!

Bach Brandenberg Concertos
Antony & The Johnsons - I Am a Bird Now
Four Tet - Rounds
The Congos - Heart of the Congos
Fania All Stars - 30th Anniversary Concert, "Live"
Clipse - Hell Hath No Fury
The Pixies - Surfer Rosa
Iggy Pop - Lust For Life

Hopefully I can find music-related things to talk about now that I don't have the crutch of my 6 hour playlist at the desk - there are vague plans to maybe catch a show in Houston with my brother, or maybe go to a karaoke bar, will relate what ends up happening.