EPISODE 15 - Those Gloves Don't Touch My Skin
Song: Violet Stars Happy Hunting! (feat. The Skunks)
Artist: Janelle Monae
Album: Metropolis - The Chase Suite
Label: Atlantic (2008)
Janelle Monae - Sci-Fi R'n'B heroine, Of Montreal collaborator and tour-mate, Bad Boy Records signee, Idlewild co-star, Wondaland Arts Society founder, and vocal style Gwen Stefani's been imitating all this time, even if she didn't know it! This ep is the first of 4 suites based on a retelling of Fritz Lang's outstanding silent era sci-fi masterpiece of the same name. Suites 2 and 3 are out this year (we'll get to those in a minute) but do NOT overlook the 'Chase Suite'. Excellent music with more than a hint of Outkast flavouring... a little like rib sauce...
Song: I Told Her on Alderaan
Artist: Neon Neon
Album: Stainless Style
Label: Lex (2008)
Super Furry Animals heart and soul Gruff Rhys and bip-hop namesake Boom Bip got together to sing about car design superstar and coke slinger John DeLorean (about damn time) via a collab project originally called 'DeLorean' (the photo opportunities alone), and later renamed Neon Neon (as was en vogue at the time). Spacey hair-rock influenced riffs glide on electro beats, as Gruff sings about Star Wars locations, Michael Douglas' Sunglasses and other early 80s touchstones. A lot of fun, and some of the best stuff we've had from either member's dayjob bands in recent history.
Song: Breakdance Hunx (Market Value Mix)
Artist: Kids on TV
Album: Mixing Business with Pleasure
Label: Chicks on Speed (2007)
Love this song. Love this band. Incredible and predictably overlooked debut from what I am pretty certain is the cheekiest band on my ipod. These guys KNOW what rock is all about, but often isn't so much about. How much fun would this song be to perform live? It's like a kids' song in some sense - you've got call and answer, a whisper verse, a screaming verse, and a shout along chorus (eventually). Some serious business and pleasure here. Great stuff from beginning to end like nothing else that's ever come out of Canada, or anywhere else for that matter.
Song: When the World Comes to an End
Artist: Dirty Projectors + Bjork
Album: Mount Wittenberg Orca
Label: Domino (2010)
The story is that Amber (of the projectors) was thinkin' about her life, overlooking the ocean atop California's Mount Wittenberg, when she happened to see a family of orca whales swimming offshore. This apparently had a profound influence on her day, and after telling lead songsmith / Projectors head eunuch Dave about it, he set to work writing a mini album on the theme. During the 21 minute ep, all vocalists play particular characters - the girls play the baby whales, Dave plays Amber (stay with me), and the mother whale is played by Bjork! Absolutely essential DP, and even some decent Bjork (any fans still out there?). The theme has a nice sweetness and innocence to it, but gets a little weightier and introspective toward the end. The album'll cost you a $7 donation to an orca protection charity. So, yeah - I guess we just saved some whales.
Song: Honkey Donkey
Artist: Solex
Album: The Laughing Stock of Indie Rock
Label: Arena Rock (2004)
Holland! Yeah - first time I heard of Solex, it was from a poster advertising a small club date with "The Dutch Beck". Sort of 1999's way of saying that the music was indie-pop with a beat. Turns out she was a long time record store owner who made music using the odder stuff from her collection - sound effects records, Hawaiian 78s, that sort of thing. Great show with lots of inscrutable but distinctly 3rd person self-referential exclamations between songs, and no more than 50 people in the crowd. This album's the favorite. I especially love the odd choice of the dirty, dirty bluesman's vocal spread throughout. Great, great title, too.
Song: Doin' it Again
Artist: The Roots
Album: How I Got Over
Label: Def Jam (2010)
The Roots are back. I'm not talking about 'back from Late Night' or 'back in the studio' I mean 'back from whatever happened after "Things Fall Apart"'... presumably things falling apart or something... Anyway - there's something very rich, very essential about this album. The key players have never made worthier contributions, and electronics are barely evident and by no means relied upon (not including Guest appearance/samples from John Legend (this track), Joanna Newsom and Monsters of Folk). It's The Roots back in control of their unmistakable breakthrough sound, doing what they do best, again. Essential have.
Song: Kind of Guy
Artist: Yawn
Album: Yawn EP
Label: Guided Missile (2010)
Look, we can't find ANYTHING on these guys, besides that they're from Chicago, they have a not necessarily ironic interest in druid culture, and as noted on their FB page, "Panda Bear sounds like a YAWN b-side!" I don't even remember how I heard about them in the first place - but it's a great summer record, it's already been followed by a remix ep, and both are FREE from their site. Definitely close to Panda Bear / AC, but we're into it.
Song: Solid Gold
Artist: International Pony
Album: Mit Dir Sind Wir Vier
Label: Mule Electronic (2007)
When will these guys do another album? It's Kompakt's DJ Koze and Fischmob's Dan Sommner dressing in leotards and using what they call (roughly translated from German) "comedy vocals" to bring us fun, cheeky stuff with legitimate beats and a dark faux-glam tone walking that line between naked sincerity and a total piss-take. Doesn't really matter which side - it's all about the line. From one bio: their sense of ludicrousness appeared to be the catalyst for a music by turns exhilarating and peculiarly touching." Great stuff. Need more.
Song: Dance or Die (feat. Saul Williams)
Artist: Janelle Monae
Album: The Archandroid (Suites II & III)
Label: Atlantic (2010)
This double play is the first proper cut from the 2nd of the 3 currently released suites (The Archandroid is a 2 disc set - suites 2 and 3 of 4 in the series.) For all of you guiltily pining for a radio-friendly(ish) r&b dance record this summer - this is without question the right choice. Her voice, persona, and the scope of the supporting arrangements, narrative and production are like nothing else out there. Stunning in places, (though maybe over all a little too radio-familiar for me in others - still - we fully endorse this artist!) this thing should be heard and enjoyed. Guest appearances from Big Boi (in the super-Outkast-reminiscent super-catchy single 'Tightrope') and our hero Kevin Barnes from Of Montreal ('Make the Bus' - basically a compilation of every electrofunk era Of Montreal hook in 3 minutes). The plan is apparently to make a short video of every song on these discs.
Song: Nice 'N' Clean
Artist: Chromeo
Album: Yo Gabba Gabba! Music is... Awesome!
Label: Filter US (2009)
Have you seen this show??? If I had kids right now, I'm telling you this show would be in heavy rotation. Guest appearances from The Roots, Of Montreal, MGMT, The Ting Tings, The Shins, Elijah Wood, Rachel Dratch, Andy Samberg, Biz Markee (a regular contributor) and CHROMEO! Most of which are on this particular compilation, though the show has released others as well. Please check some of the videos out on youtube. Incrediblous!
Song: Shoes
Artist: Tiga
Album: Ciao!
Label: Last Gang (2009)
Wow, so I guess a little bit of what's happening on the cast this week is sort of a Canada Day Cast cutting room floor set, highlighting some of our electro-flavoured talent left out from last episode's indie rock bent. Kids on TV, Chromeo, and now their Italdisco via Montreal compatriot Tiga. We've been trying to play something from this album since the cast began. Absolutely one of last summer's best (if not the best) dance records - and this track in particular - so perfectly 'mutant dancefloor' - how could we resist?
Song: Let's Go Out Tonight
Artist: Desire
Album: II
Label: Italians Do It Better (2009)
Now for some straight-up Ital-Disco from superlabel Italians Do It Better's supergroup 'Desire'... k wait... No apparently they're also from Montreal.... and Portland... Damn. Ok, but they ARE still on Italians Do It Better, and one of the members is Johnny Jewel (from the label's flagships Chromatics and Glass Candy). The album's an especially what we've been calling 'John Hughesy' affair, especially standout synth drum ballad "Under Your Spell". Real good tapey, analog synthy, moddy stuff.
Song: Before Tigers (Blindfoldfreak Rmx)
Artist: Health
Album: Disco2
Label: Lovepump United (2010)
Something very cool is happening with the the HEALTH franchise. They'll put out a noise record and soon after source it out to the latest electro up and comers for dancefloor treatment. The first such cycle was how the world discovered Crystal Castles, and it works really, really well. There's something about the vocals that are so gentle and expressive when dug out from all of that noise. The second noise record Get Color showed that the band might start taking cues from the success of the first remix record and we got episode-6-featured industrial-beat track 'Die Slow'. Now, with the new 2nd remix record, we get a brand new original single 'USA Boys' - apparently the first Health track to be written with the dancefloor in mind. The featured remixes (and choice of remixers) are pretty great, too. Tobacco's got a nice take on Die Slow, and Javelin does an incredibly CFCF-like rendition of In Heat (while CFCF themselves give Before Tigers a try). Be warned, you'll likely have to sort through to find the gold, but it's worth the work. We're playing the Blindfoldfreaks remix of Before Tigers, in hopes that it might serve as a blueprint for what might be possible in the 3rd LP. A little less punishment, a lot more reward.
