the oh so quiet show

Ow.

Moderat (Modeselektor + Apparat) isn’t recent, but my interest in them is. I only just got their self-titled album (the deluxe version is a CD + DVD despite amazon.com’s lack of any mention of the CD) after randomly coming across the video for “Rusty Nails” off a random blog. That’s how I surf the Internet: randomly, without memory of how I get from one place to the next. The discovery of music I like only happens once in every other blue moon, which would explain the lack of updates on this blog.

People + wind + lots of gray toned fabric + slow motion + geometric symbols + this awesome song = this awesome video. (My brain doesn’t feel like thinking of better words than “awesome.” I think you can deal with that.) I wish I had seen it earlier, but better late than never.

And here’s another good song to play while working on a blog entry, or attempting to sleep on the subway, or just when you want something wooshy and electronic and pleasant in your head:

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Moderat – Les Grand Marches

ENJOY. Now I must go update another one of my neglected blogs.

Aphex Twin Mashups by 100 dbsThose work pretty well, I think.

I’ve been listening to the live version of Daft Punk’s Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger too much lately. Mixing it with Aphex Twin’s I’m Self Employed mellows it out a bit.

Corpulent rhubarb babies…

DANCE FOR ME!

Animation by Overture, song by Múm.

[Thanks to John for amusing me this rainy Wednesday morning.]

Although it’s unnecessary to say something is a note to myself, this is a note to myself: Taken by Trees (Victoria Bergsman‘s solo project)

While bleeping around:

I’m quite surprised I like the above album. It’s…dancey. And I recently had a conversation with friends about my undance-itude. There is visual evidence of me dancing, but it’s more like me being dragged around by other people in a dance-like fashion.

I actually have that Phonem album…on vinyl. Which is completely pointless when you don’t have a good record player. Which I don’t.

I’m tired. Thus ends this insubstantial entry.

Soundscapes

Last week I visited Toronto and did a strange repeat of my music store jaunt in Phoenix. My friend I randomly passed by Soundscapes and I ended up buying another Console and Colleen CD. They would’ve been cheaper online (how weird is it that the Canadian dollar and the US dollar are almost worth the same now?) but…WHATEVER, impulsive buying isn’t the end of the world.

I’d share some tracks with you but my Dell laptop stopped reading CDs after I got back from my vacation. Which is pretty bad. This might be a sign that I’m supposed to get a new iMac since lack of a CD drive is very inconvenient. And it’s a two-year-old Dell. So here’s a random song by The Softlightes that I particularly like:

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Softlightes – The Ballad Of Theo & June

Say No! to Being Cool. Say Yes to Being Happy

Actually, I like all the songs on their album, Say No! to Being Cool. Say Yes to Being Happy. I’ve had this album for months (it came out in February) and wanted to write about it earlier, but…instead I just kept listening to it and ignoring this blog. SO NOW I AM WRITING ABOUT IT.

The title fits the album. It’s…happy. And it is cool, but it’s primarily happy. And then cool because it’s happy. Yeah? Maybe? There’s a song called “If The World Had Cookies” for god’s sake. Cookies are possibly the only thing that’s right with the world. There’s also a song about microwaves and robots. Everything is quite poppy and happy in that “fat clouds and rainbows and teddy bears” (there is such a music genre, I swear) kind of way. Here’s another example for you to listen to:

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Softlightes – A Town Named Blue

I’m gonna go back to bed now since I keep hacking up phlegm and feeling like my blood is boiling. Too much info, I know.

Soundscapes
572 College Street
Toronto, ON M6G 1B3, Canada

Can someone tell me what song is playing on this site? (Warning: …um, it plays sound.) It’s making little blips and things appear in my brain. The kitty is also hypnotizing. Now I wish I had that synth AND that I were able to travel through the Milky Way, or whatever it is in the background.

Hhehe…this song…funny…oh jesus I’m losing it. When will the nice men wrap me up in a straight jacket and take me away from this cruel world? Eeeuuhh [rocks back and forth while muttering to self]…

It’s Yongfook’s fault.

Last week I became semi-obsessed with the music video for The Magic Position by Patrick Wolf:

Happy colors! Dancing! Smiles! Craziness! Basically the opposite of my world, which is full of earth tones, sitting, frowning, and normality! Or something! I love the continual movement of the camera in all the non-dancing scenes and every little step and pause taken by Patrick and all the twirls and claps in between. Is that weird? Choreographed walking? Strolling? I don’t know. I really like the pause at the 1:15 mark, but I have no idea why.

I thought that I wouldn’t like any of his other songs—I’ve listened to bits of his older albums before and never got into them—but then a friend kindly donated the album to “Robyn’s iTunes” and it turns out that I like it. A lot. At least until I get sick of it. It’s a weird mix of…stuff. Hell, I’m not writing an album review; there are no standards here. WEIRD MIX OF STUFF, THAT’S WHAT IT IS. Stuff that expands in your brain and fills in every squishy crevice with beeps and thumps and pianos and horns and maybe the screechings of soaring fireworks.

He’s playing at Bowery Ballroom on May 9th. Which I only just realized is the day before my (second) graduation ceremony. Crap. Stupid graduation. I’ll just be very tired that day.

As the title says.

Bichi

I first listened to Bichi by randomly looking through Hobby Industries’ website. Yeah, it’s a common pastime; I am weird. Bichi makes the kind of fluttery glitchy plinky electronic repetitive music that I enjoy for some reason that I don’t know. Maybe my brainwaves are messed up (okay, not maybe so much as “yes, definitely”) and the pinks and pops line up with them. [shrugs]

Melodium

I also like Melodium (myspace), whose latest album is out on audio dregs, a label that is notable for providing me with happy music for the past four years. Melodium sounds quite happy to me. At least, I hear xylophones, and those things make me happy. And acoustic guitars. And pianos. And pings. And tinkles.

…I’m easily soothed. Especially when I don’t have to pay attention to lyrics. I’m too lazy for that stuff. Like right now. Can you tell. From my disjointed sentences. And lack of question marks. Okay.

We Will Build

After letting We Will Build seep into my brain for just a few seconds (through I Guess I’m Floating), I knew that I liked them. Don’t you love it when things just click like that?

I would try to describe the awesomeness my brain felt when I listened to them, but someone else already wrote a great description. I will steal quote from Big Static for your benefit (and so I can go to sleep more quickly):

Have you ever felt the intense desire to listen to something friendly? Not perky or hyper or courteous but just friendly? It might sound like a dull concept but We Will Build are anything but. With a nice blend of influences such as Air and Ratatat, these two Canadians are the musical equivalent of a nice tender hug and frankly, as much as it makes me sound like a wuss, I like little else in the world more than hugs, musical or physical

I totally agree. Nothing really compares to hugs. Not even chocolate. But what do you do when you’re alone? So very alone? …With a source of music? You listen to the music that hugs you back. Kinda. Not really. It doesn’t have arms.

Their myspace page lists their style as “powerpop/electronica”. Simple and true. Their songs range from lullabye-ish to something that would make a good soundtrack to “jumping on the bed under the influence of too much sugar”. As for what that means, you should just download all their songs to see for yourself. ALL OF THEM. Take advantage of their generousity.

Even though a part of me thinks myspace is a virtual bucket of ugly crap, I turn to it as the easiest way to listen to music that I otherwise can’t find. “Huuh, their official website doesn’t have any media, but surely they have a myspace with songs.” This works out most of the time…as long as myspace is working (which happens every now and then). Here are some bands with short descriptions:

Port Largo

Port Largo (myspace): Danish, synth-rock-pop, kinda reminds me of Mew/Sigur Ros…because of somewhat unintelligible high-pitched singing. You know the type. Favorite song: “Another State of Mind”

The Ballet

The Ballet (myspace): New York, indie-pop/”Belle & Sebastian after too much cotton candy” (–Logo), bleepy keyboard and clappy drum machine lines, lovingly handcrafted album (sold out). Favorite song: “In My Head”

Kunek

Kunek (myspace): Oklahoma, atmospoheric, sad, delicate, kinda-reminds-me-of-Coldplay (hope that’s alright). Favorite song: “A Sign of Life”

One Trick Pony

One Trick Pony (myspace): Los Angeles, kinda reminds of Sondre Lerche, but I don’t know why. Is it the croon-y voice? Sorry, that wasn’t much of a description, I’m too lazy. Favorite song: “Box Song”

Hooray for Earth

Hooray for Earth (myspace): Boston, synth-y pop rock, and their name is HOORAY FOR EARTH, which might be the main reason I’m mentioning them because this isn’t exactly my kind of leisure listening music. Favorite song: “Take Care”

…either sounds jarringly tinkly or resembles the erratic beepings of an electronic toy from the dollar store.

But I still love them. Among the many defects I was born with, one happened to be a penchant for really annoying sounds, like those spurted forth from ice cream trucks.

this ice cream truck is in chinese!

Among the many ice cream truck jingles posted by WFMU, my favorite is easily the Ghetto Ice Cream Truck song. Mr. Softee is good too. Listening to any of these songs excessively in a short time period may result in brain hemmorhaging, but a little shouldn’t be any worse for you than staring directly at the sun’s burning core for a few seconds. (Um. Don’t do that.)

…So, where do these sounds come from? Music Thing gives a little bit of history and tells you where you can get your own annoying metal box of youth-enticing jingles (you should get an ice cream truck to go with it).

My parents never discouraged me from going to ice cream trucks when I was little (these parents told liiiies!), but there weren’t many where I lived. Then I came to NYC and found out that in the summer they pop out like bunnies. Rapidly reproducing truck-sized bunnies with freezer bellies. Not much in an ice cream truck appeals to me, but if I had the chance I wouldn’t mind checking out Ice Cream Man.

I’ll end with one of my favorite posts from Overheard in New York:

An ice cream truck is going up the street.

Little girl in wagon: Daddy, that truck song is annoying.
Hipster dad: Yes, the commodification of your desires is annoying, isn’t it?

–Bedford & N 10th

Pandatone sounds like what you think an artist called Pandatone would sound like.

…Okay, that wasn’t helpful. Here’s Boomkat’s description:

bq. Eclectic-acoustic sound collages, glitched laptop shenanigans, inexplicably strange and yet curiously warm feeling – here’s an album that dispenses with rules and formulas, instead delivering blissed out charm and diversity on a musical whim that gloriously fits in with the sound of the moment.

…Yup, that sounds about right. I’m as bad (or worse) at describing music as I am at describing food, so I’ll say that if you are drawn to things on Morr Music, you’ll probably like Pandatone. Songs from his debut album Lemon & Limes made me think of Electric President, Marianas, a gajillion other things that sound clicky, layered, disjointed, happy, random and calculated at the same time, etc. Here’s an mp3:

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Pandatone – Summerfill

There are more mp3s on the official site/blog and myspace.

Mike’s sampler
Originally uploaded by ranjit

Mister Resistor is product of a circuit bending class at Parsons School of Design. Is that the most awesome class ever? MAYBE. They’re playing this Saturday at 8pm at Flux Factory for free. Check out Ranjit’s rehearsal photos.

“moving patterns 2006, electronic music and beyond”:http://www.acfny.org/s151.aspx?CSIT=2 is taking place this year from April 26-29 at the “Austrian Cultural Forum”:http://www.acfny.org. “The four-evening program is packed with concerts and DJ parties and will present artists from various disciplines – electronic music, avant-garde, rock, and pop.” More info:

This year, Austria is celebrating important birthdays of two personalities who had a major impact on history. While Wolfgang Amadeus is being remembered at full volume around the globe, the commemoration of Sigmund Freud, one of Vienna’s greatest contributors to the world’s intellectual history, is rather restrained.

moving patterns builds a bridge, or several bridges, to Mozart and Freud. Taking place in two parts, one in April and one in November, the festival’s slogan is ‘It’s never too late to have a happy childhood.’ On some level, it refers to an element swept under the rug in all the jubilation over Mozart’s genius: the torment of the wunderkind driven by an overambitious father and the emotional musical moments it engendered. The title of Part 1 of the festival, Lost in Transference, points to the theoretical analysis that took place perhaps a hundred years later of the underlying mechanism that may have been at play here.

Poised somewhere between bitter seriousness and lighthearted irony, the program will bring electronica from Austria, and above all from Vienna, to New York.

Uh huh! I’m sure it’s cool. Full schedule is at acfny.org. The event is totally free and the building is pretty cool if you like minimal architecture…stuff. I only went once in 2002 to see B. Fleischmann, but since I actually live in NYC now I have less reason to sit on my butt forever when there’s possibly some hott Austrian music in my midst. (When I went before, my mum had to come with me and it was probably awkward. Not many teenagers. Lots and lots of people speaking German. Dudes playing music on laptops. My mum didn’t complain…what a trooper.)

For whatever reason I’ve had to listen to “Copy”:http://www.mobiusbeard.com/ over and over again. WHYYY?

…Oh, I like his songs. Okay. Good reason. “Audio Dregs”:http://audiodregs.com describes his music like so: “Copy busts out the gate with an essential sound somewhere between Ratatat’s upbeat triumphant numbers, Dabrye’s deceptively simple melodics, and YMO’s orchestral 8-bit.” I have to admit, that only 50% made sense to me. But maybe that helps you. (I never got into Ratatat for some reason. Or I got into them 50%.)

My description: Blippy, bleepy, spastic,and twitchy. Hey, that almost rhymed. But not. If I weren’t so uncoordinated, I might even dance to this stuff. Here is the song “A Slight but Delicious Warble” from his latest album, “Mobius Beard”:http://audiodregs.com/releases/adr061/index.html.

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And another one called “Afro Oven”:

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(And more at that “myspace thing”:http://www.myspace.com/copy.)

And…that’s all I’ve heard from this album, but I’d think the rest is good too. Buy from “Audio Dregs”:http://www.audiodregs.com/order/, who also has a special Dim Dim discounted cd-pack thinger!…which probably doesn’t interest you, but I wanted Bounce anyway so I may as well buy that.

Is it sad that I don’t remember the last time I bought a CD in an actual store?

Right now I should either be doing homework or washing my laundry. But since I’d rather do anything else than write a craptastic paper or churn my dirty clothes in a vat of water, I’ll update this blog.

Lineland is one dude named Malcolm Felder who makes pseudo-video-gamey soft blippy music. Yeah, that’s my favorite genre too! His album Pavillion came out back in 2003 on the “I really heart them” Audio Dregs label, which means I’ve been listening to it since then…and it’s still good. Don’t you tired of some music after a while? A week, perhaps? (The latest Coldplay album did that to me–oh well.) For some reason, I never get tired of this kind of music. Take a listen:

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Lineland – Rock I, Rock II

He’s also got some mp3s up on his website:

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If you like those songs, the whole album is pretty much like that. Bloopify your life! And do your laundry!

I know I talked about Electric President before, but that was before I got their album. Now I have their album; all is good with the world. Blissful electronic soft poppy goodness straight outta Florida, courtesy of Ben Cooper and Alex Kane.

I haven’t heard much about this duo, but I figured I’d get something if I technorati-ed them. The results included a high proportion of…livejournals? Not that there’s anything wrong with LJ (I have one; I call it my “brain dump”). Then I came across electricpresident.com (not the official site, but made by a prudent fan who “thought someone should register this site before some domain squatter put a thousand popups on here” and found that their song was on the OC. I don’t know if that explains the LJ posts considering that the episode was on weeks ago, but…I DUNNO! (I still have yet to watch The OC. If it’s addictive, it’s better that I never watch it.)

Anyhoo, the song featured on the show, Insomnia, is awesome. Take a listen:

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Electric President – Insomnia

This is definitely one of the album’s stand-out tracks. Also, the lyrics are awesome. I don’t usually pay attention to lyrics unless I think they’re especially good or craptastic; this is a good one. Download some more songs from m3 online or Electric President’s official site (also download the tracks from their EP, “You Have the Right to Remain Awesome”). Pitchfork gave the album a 6.7, but Tuning Fork provides a second opinion.

Sometimes a number rating, in this case a so-so 6.7 just doesn’t seem human enough. A 6.7 doesn’t tell the reader that this is the kind of record that can rescue a bad day and I am willing to give that kind of life preserver an 8. It isn’t easy to make electronic music sound like real live thinking feeling humans made it but with the addition of wailing and wild guitars powered by what I can only imagine is an ebow, live drums, acoustic guitars, a piano, and a human voice that stylistically bridges Why? to Postal Service yet Electric President have done it.

Yup. I don’t like numbers. I mean, they’re definitely useful, but it’s better for things like…measuring earthquakes. It’s hard to put a number on how something will make you feel. Electric President > 6.7. Another blockquote, because I can’t describe things:

If you listen carefully enough there are hundreds of hidden treasures on this record, black cloud lyrics I imagine slow dancing with Notwist, giggles, whispers, drop outs, mysterious buried sounds that hover gently over the entire record like ghosts…all things which celebrate just how personalized a home recording can be.

Yep. [nod nod]

—

The aspect of a personal recording does make a big difference to me. Have you heard Beck’s super old stuff? Before his voice changed? The quality sucks, but it’s still awesome for some reason. I’d rather listen to some of that stuff than Guero.

The more I listen to Even Johansen’s (mm, this is your daily Magnet reference) Quiet & Still, the more apparent it becomes that it is my favorite album. Ever. Not just today, but over the few decades that I’ve been alive. It kinda bothers me that I’m unable to explain it; maybe you just have a gut feeling about a certain album you inexplicably love. Even may not have recorded it in his bedroom, but since he recorded and produced it by himself I think it feels more personal than On Your Side or The Tourniquet. I still don’t understand how “Quiet & Still” came to be so overlooked. It probably doesn’t help that since it’s under his real name, many people don’t know it exists. Rawr.

Anyhoo, Pitchfork gave The Tourniquet a 4.1. I’m not really surprised; I figured they wouldn’t like it. I’m surprised they mispelled his name though. And I’m surprised by all the references to other artists that I don’t particularly fancy, but are in the same realm as Magnet, according to the gazillion reviews I’ve read. NO MORE COLDPLAY REFERENCES, PLEASE? THANKS.

Musicbeet gives a neural review. I kind of like it, except I wonder if not being a fan of David Gray, John Mayer, Josh Kelley or Howie Day is a problem.

Magnet in Boston

Check out Matt’s live Magnet review in Boston (with photos). It’s so nice to read a “Magnet”:http://escapingwords.com/ review that is actually 1) written by a fan and 2) isn’t in Norwegian.

You know how sometimes you fall in love with someone’s voice and then you hear them live and you’re a little disappointed..? Yeah. That is the exact opposite of what happened with Magnet. That motherfucker can CROON. He sounded better live than he did on his CD’s, in my opinion.

I agree. …For the most part. Every time I’ve seen him, he’s sounded better than on his albums, but I’ve heard some of his live recordings that sound worse. Maybe the US gets lucky.

He’s playing this Saturday at Webster Hall, opening for Stars. It’s sold out, but there are probably tickets somewhere if you need one. I think “Janet”:http://escapingwords.com/ has an extra. Magnet isn’t everyone’s cup of tea, but he’s my gigantic cup of tea (or since I’m not a bit tea fan, my gigantic bucket of “City Bakery hot chocolate”:http://flickr.com/photos/roboppy/102882718/).

The Tourniquet

Magnet’s 3rd album, The Tourniquet, came out last Tuesday. I’ve already mentioned that I don’t like it as much as his previous albums, but that doesn’t mean it’s not good. It’s just…different. I LISTENED TO IT A GAZILLION TIMES; I TRIED. Here are some recent reviews:

* “Transform Online”:http://www.transformonline.com/music/reviews/003820.php
* “PopMatters”:http://www.popmatters.com/pm/music/reviews/magnet_the_tourniquet/
* “Eastern Echo”:http://www.easternecho.com/cgi-bin/story.cgi?7497
* “Spacelab”:http://www.thespacelab.tv/spaceLAB/2006/02February/MusicReview08-Magnet.htm
* “SouthCoast247″:http://www.southcoast247.com/music/stories/magnet.shtml

A “Hold On EP” will be available at his shows. Tracklisting:

# Hold On (radio edit)
# The Mute
# Good Mourning
# Grinder
# Hold On (Metronomy Remix)
# Hold On (Lindstrom Remix)

I gotta say…I dislike/hate most Magnet remixes. But the b-sides are nice.

Out of every source of information I could have, “Drew”:http://toothpastefordinner.com/ was the one to remind me/every “toothpaste for dinner” addict that “Electric President’s debut album”:http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000CCZQHI just came out. Yesterday. I mentioned them before but I’ll do it again to BEAT IT INTO YOUR SKULL:

Electric President – Good Morning, Hypocrite

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There are more songs in not-so-convenient flash form at “Morr Music’s record player”:http://morrmusic.com/recordplayer.html. LISTEN TO THEM! They’re good.

…So, I just realized that I should probably describe the music before making you listen to mp3s. But how helpful is that? It’s like describing food; perhaps I could capture the foodie essence somewhat alright with words, but it won’t be anything like actually eating the food. While I can’t feed you food, I can easily give you a link to a song that you can download in a few seconds, unless your internet connection runs at the speed of beans (slow beans).

I’m also lazy.

If anyone’s wondering, I’d describe the music like so: comforting, messy, neat, light, poppy, glitchy, sweet, mellow, airy…or not. Maybe I’m describing a new limited editon Pocky variety. BUT MAYBE NOT! What kind of music do you expect from “two guys with bags-for-heads”:http://radicalface.com/mediac/400_0/media/scarecorws~5.jpg? _Only the best!_

This is more for my reference than yours, but you’re welcome to peek into the junkpile that is the heavy, rotund thing on my neck.

Manyfingers on Boomkat, which is the only place I’ve found for soundclips. This music, I like. It’s. Um. Pretty, soft, delicate, instrumental stuff. Interview at The Milk Factory and another interview…here. He released an album this year but it doesn’t seem to actually be…anywhere. Hm. That bothers me.