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”