On a recent trip to Amoeba Records, in addition to the records I wanted, I picked up a few $.50 singles sitting on the ground in the clearance bins to see what I’d get. The first of those singles is this horrible remix of Destinys Child’s “Say My Name”. As you can see, this record’s label only had the song’s title printed, and the sleeve it came in was plain and white.
Because I grew up with top 40 radio in the 90s, I knew the song, but I had no idea there was so many remixes and edits of it (one of which features Kobe Bryant rapping.) Because the label only says “Say My Name,” I tried listening to every remix of the song I could get my hands on to find the remixer but to no avail. Here it is for your listening horror: Destinys Child – Say My Name (Unknown Remix)
a less crappy remix of Kelis' "Trick Me" by Basement Jaxx
Kelis – Trick Me (Jaxxbackclash Rerub)
I also picked up this single of a Basement Jaxx remix of Kelis’ “Trick Me.”As you can see, whoever owned this record before me wanted to make sure that no one ever played this single as a 33 (which I did) and kindly wrote “45” on the label.
The original song is a highlight of its album, but I feel that this remix doesn’t do Kelis or Basement Jaxx justice. If it had been done some no-name DJ, I might say it’s an acceptable remix clearly just meant to make the original playable on the dancefloor, but this is Basement Jaxx we’re talking about here. The single came out fairly soon after Kish Kash, so I’ll brush this off as the Jaxx having used all their creativity at the time on their own album: Kelis – Trick Me (Jaxxbackclash Rerub)
Willner’s productions are as minimal techno as early-’90s Field precursors Seefeel were minimal rock; they’re not the least bit minimal, at least not sonically, and his approach to techno continues to sound like that of a dream pop/shoegaze freak
four man band, bass/drums, really only needed two people though
about five songs, more from new album (two old, three new)
when the song I love kicks in, it’s amazing, rave-like (ie. over the ice)
people need to calm down when listening to it, you can dance, but please stop spazzing out
played a good mix of new and old songs (I’ll admit I haven’t listened to the new album that much)
great groove “happy house” stretched to about twenty minutes long (from it’s typical twelve), rises and falls, tempo changes, as good of pacing as Daft Punk’s live show, really put the show over-the-top
Last Friday I went to see the Kills opened by the Horrors and Magic Wands at the Music Box at the Fonda Theater in LA. I didn’t care too much for Magic Wands (but they aren’t bad by any means), so here are my thoughts on the Horrors and the Kills (both of whom I’m enamored with).
The Horrors' lead singer Faris Badwan in LA at the Music Box
The Horrors
What do you do after you are one of the most hyped bands of 2006 with the world on your fingertips? If you are the Horrors, you lay low for two years after touring and in the meantime record an album that is incredible but sounds nothing like your debut.
I was hooked after my first listen to the Horrors’ debut album Strange House three years ago. I loved that while there was something familiar in their songs, they sounded like nothing else I was listening to. Quite a bit has changed in the musical landscape since 2006, but the Horrors’ new sophomore album Primary Colors somehow instills the same feeling as Strange House.
The five piece put on a great show for being an opening band. Ferris, their lead singer, has a great presence on stage. After going from nothing to the cover of NME, he still seems pleased that people are interested in the music his band makes. Luckily, the Horrors are impeccable live and have no trouble recreating the dense punk sound that Primary Colors contains. There wasn’t much banter in between songs, they played pretty straight through their set.
As for the songs they played on this tour, you wouldn’t know that they ever had a debut album if you just saw the setlist. They essentially play Primary Colors start to finish save for two songs. It’s perfect – if you love Primary Colors; songs from Strange House are nowhere to be found.
Alison "VV" Mosshart, one half of The Kills
The Kills
My new obsession. In the weeks leading up to Coachella 2009, I listened to their most recent album Midnight Boom start to finish and remembered how much I liked a few songs on their previous album No Wow. Since seeing the later half of their Coachella performance (and being completely mesmerized throughout), I’ve been watching/listening/reading everything I can get my hands on relating to the Kills.
The duo often gets compared to the White Stripes, but Meg White hasn’t got a single thing on Alison “VV” Mosshart. And since the White Stripes haven’t done much of anything lately, I’ll take the Kills without complaining.
Hotel and VV might be the most compelling people I’ve ever seen on stage. It might be VV’s long black hair as its own performace, or it maybe its the “chemistry” they have with each other while playing, or most likely, it’s just the fact that the two exude coolness. It’s not hipster snobbery; it’s a feeling of not giving a fuck, but having everything line up perfectly that reels everyone in.
Now that they have three LPs out, finding solid material to play isn’t much of an issue. Well over half of the songs on the setlist are hits with simple lyrics that can be sung along to. It was a great show all around (save for the tall ass with wiry blond hair who did nothing but instigate fights all night long). The last song of the encore was especially great as they invited the Horrors back out to do their 8+ minute version of Screamin’ Jay Hawkins’ “I Put A Spell On You.” The song involved every wire on stage getting tangled around VV and the Horror’s guitar player as they lay on the floor rolling around. It was great.
All in all, the show proved to me that the Horrors aren’t going anywhere, the Kills are even cooler live than on record, and that I absolutely hate LA audiences.
“They tried to make me do the Oscars, I said ‘No, No, No’.” Of all the banter M.I.A. threw into her hour-long set on the Main Stage at this year’s Coachella, this was probably the most pointed. When Amy Winehouse dropped off the lineup because she couldn’t get a Visa to the United States (surprise, surprise), M.I.A. was quickly announced to be her replacement. In my mind, there could be no better choice. I’ve missed the chance to see M.I.A. twice now, and I made sure not to pass her up again.
I’ve been an M.I.A. fan since Arular came out, and likeeveryoneelse, Kala was one of my favorite albums of 2007. I know all the words to all her songs (well, at lease those that are audibly decipherable). You can imagine my disappointment when I found out that there aren’t as many people like me as I thought. Apparently, tons people are willing to stand around for an hour to hear one song. I really hope that the masses can get over “Paper Planes” and realize the true genius in all of M.I.A.’s songs.
Aside from that, the show was one of my favorite all weekend. Six neon glow-in-the-dark dancers started things off and led right into M.I.A.’s entrance at a podium rapping “World Town.” The party went on from there as she flew threw Rye Rye’s new song “Bang”, “$20”, “Boyz”, “Bingo”, “Sunshowers”, “Pull Up the People”, and “Galang”. A perfect set list.
M.I.A. at the end of her show coming out into the crowd
Also included in her set was “Bird Flu”. Last year, M.I.A. only got through six songs in the Mojave tent because she wanted people to get up on stage, but the security guards thought otherwise. This year, she would get people up if it was the last thing she did. She called out, “I’ve already been banned from Coachella once, let do it. Hey hey, let ’em up! Let ’em up!” And something clicked in my brain.
In short, I jumped over the center barrier, ran as fast as I could towards the stage, got body checked into another barrier by a 300 lb. security guard, ran so as to not get thrown out, and jumped over another barrier back into the crowd. I didn’t make it onstage, but I did make it to the front row of the show. To those people who did make it onstage, good on ya; I hope you enjoyed yourself. I know I enjoyed my fleeting moment of excitement.
After “Bird Flu” came “Paper Planes.” And of course the crowd went wild for the one song they’d heard on TV and on the radio. While I’m still bitter that M.I.A. hasn’t received the mainstream success she deserves, I’m appreciative that anyone knows her music at all. It’s not everyday that a Sri Lankan girl with paternal ties to the Tamil Tigers makes it onto American radio waves.
I had a great time during M.I.A.’s third Coachella performance, and in the end, that’s what counts. That being said, if you ever go to one of her future shows, please listen to some songs that aren’t “Paper Planes” before heading out.
One of the things I love most is when technology and music are combined to make something incredible. The iPhone, Last.fm, MIDI controllers, and DaftPunk’spyramid are all perfect examples of this. Lala.com has been added to that list.
Lala.com in a nutshell
Here’s the process that Lala presents for consuming music. First, you can listen to any song in it’s massive online database for free. The catch? You can once listen to each song once. Now you can either download a DRM-free MP3 for about a buck, or you can purchase the web-version of a song for 10 cents. This web version of the song is now free of the one-play restriction and is added to your library.
Now to the second aspect of Lala. Using a small standalone app, Lala will scan your music folder and unlock the web versions of every song you have. If Lala doesn’t find a match in its database, it will upload your song to the cloud. Every song you have on your computer is now available for you to stream for free unlimited times.
Your music in the cloud
If you aren’t familiar with “the cloud”, just think of websites like Gmail or Google Docs where all of your information is stored on some remote servers (the cloud) instead of your local machine. With Lala, its of your music that is in the cloud.
This currently means that you can access all of your music for free on any computer with an internet connection. While this is the main feature Lala boasts right now, the potential of this reaches much further. Lala could integrate the subscription model of services like Real Network’s Rhapsody and Microsoft’s Zune Marketplace and quickly overtake them. Lala’s current monetisation scheme seems to be working pretty well for them ($.10 or $1), but there are so many other directions they can take in the future.
iPhone app
Engadget just posted an article showing a very early build of the iPhone app Lala has in the works. Right now, mobile devices like the iPhone are limited by their data storage capacities. Because of mobile phones’ small sizes, storage is limited to around 16GBs right now. If Lala can get past the legal hurdles that the record companies present and get the web versions of songs to play on mobile apps, this storage restriction will be lifted.
I’m hooked
Lala has the potential to do everything that I want a media player to do. iTunes works well right now, but the reason I love it is because it syncs so well with my iPhone, not because of its ability to play music (and I’ve never bought music from the iTunes Store).
I believe agility will be one of Lala’s key strengths. If the company can continue to innovate the online music marketplace as it has, I see no reason why media desktop apps won’t be a thing of the past.
update: I’ve fallen in love with Lala’s “Mix it up” feature. It’s basically a playlist generator (ie. iTunes Genius), and it works great!
the official cover art for the prodigy's - invaders must die
The Prodigy – Invaders Must Die
Unfortunately, Invaders Must Die isn’t the return to hardcore techno greatness that Fat of the Land begun… But don’t let that get you down, because there are some damn good bangers in there. Invaders Must Die is a vast improvement compared to their/his (Liam Flint was the only member to contribute) album, Always Outnumbered Never Outgunned (AONO).
As the first Prodigy album with all three members in 15 years, it’s nice to hear Maxim & Keith’s voices on many of the tracks. I think Liam went overboard with the guest vocalists last time around (Juliette Lewis, Liam and Noel Gallagher, Kool Keith, and The Magnificent Ping Pong Bitches), but it’s clear he’s reeled himself back in with IMD.
Starting with my favorite track on the album, Take Me To The Hospital knocks it out of the park. The traces of rave are clear in the synth stabs from the get-go, and the hard beat is brought in right after a short intro. What separates this track from the rest is that it doesn’t sound like an attempt to recapture some lost glory, it takes what the Prodigy is known for (knock-out beats & rave synths) and pushes it forward.
Immediately after Take Me To The Hospital comes Warrior’s Dance which is probably my #2 song on IMD. Instead of having ravy synths, it’s the vocal sample that gives the listener the hints. The bass line in this song is one that makes you wish you had a wall of subs because it would shake you to your core. It has a nice breakdown about 2/3 of the way through, and as expected, the buildup and climax are spot-on.
Jumping down four tracks, Piranha has the best groove on the album. I seriously can’t stop dancing to this one; it gives me the same feeling as Hot Chip’s Out At The Pictures (I just wanna dance). I could do without the lyrics though… “Teeth, grip, razor sharp / Bites hi-power, tear you apart.”
When I was listening to IMD for the first time, I was getting very worried before I hit Take Me To The Hospital and Warrior’s Dance (they are #5 and #6 respectively). Why? Because the first song Invaders Must Die is good, but all I can think about when I listen to it is how much it sounds like The Prodigy trying to be Pendulum. Not a great first impression. Next is Omen, which is OK and doesn’t sound like Pendulum but just doesn’t sit right.
Then came Thunder, which shouldn’t have any vocals at all. The beats are sick, but I can’t stand Maxim on the track. I also feel that they could have made much more with the synths; they don’t fit with the rest of the song at all. Finally comes Colours, which I thought what going to be the redeemer when it started (sound like Hotride at first), then came in the worst synth line on the album. I hate the synths.
Now that you know the songs I loved and hated, the rest sort of fall into the middle. Run With the Wolves is an excuse to have live drums on a hardcore techno track, World’s On Fire is forgettable (but brings the rave back again), Stand Up confused the hell out of me, and Omen Reprise is just a +1 to the total track count (completely unnecessary).
Look before for a simple breakdown of what I rate each track and what my average would be. I enjoyed this album, and there is no doubt in my mind that I’ll be buying tickets when the Prodigy next comes around to LA.
Song Ratings
Here is a simple breakdown of what I’d rate each track on a 5 point scale. The average/mean (when converted to a Pitchfork scale) comes to 7.8, which I’d say is pretty respectable (even though I was praying it’d be a perfect 10). But I’m pretty sure that when the Pitchfork review comes out, it’ll be quite a bit lower than what I gave it (update: they gave it a 5.8).
The New York Times has become my go-to source for US news of any kind. I find their writers to be intelligent and able to convey their ideas through words with little apparent effort. I also love the fact that the outlet hasn’t held back in any way/shape/form to adopt the internet as a perfect vehicle to communicate information with speed and creativity.
Moving away from the New York Times… Andrew Kuo is an artist who (to the best of my knowledge) is best known for the info-graphics that he creates for the New York Times. The illustrations each have some theme relating to music and his quantification of various quasi-quantifiable data. I love them all, and here are 5 of my favorites.
6 songs of bjork @ madison square garden
My admiration for Bjork will always go understated simply because I don’t have enough words to summarize her genius. The experimentation and exploration that she accomplished through her albums is reflected in her live shows. If you ever have the chance (and a full bank account), make sure to see her when she comes you way.
summary of 1992 lollapalooza
As I started going to concerts and music festivals about 5 years ago, I unfortunately missed the Lallapalooza of 1992. Look at that lineup! Chili Peppers, Ministry, JAMC, Rage, STP. Damn. I mean, Coachella is amazing too, but Lolla ’92 looks like it was a “best-of” compilation of the past few Coachellas.
the longevity of 2007s hit radio
While most of Kuo’s info-graphics have a level of comedy, I find this tops them all. I think that the humor of his pieces comes from the viewers ability completely/partially agree/disagree with the data that is represented. Opinionated data…
second-by-second rundown of kanye west - love lockdown
Two best “variables”:
Insanely lazy… a song with a half-cooked hook and Auto-Tune!? C’mon Kanye- it’s 2008. (T-Pain is rolling over in his grave.)
This is curiously catchy and at least is doesn’t have a Daft Punk or M.I.A. sample in it… bye, hater!
review of hot chip live @ terminal 5
After having seen Hot Chip 5 times (yes, five), I believe that it’s safe to say that I love their live show. I think I included this graphic in my top 5 just because it’s about Hot Chip. Who cares if that makes me biased? That’s what all of these illustrations are about!
Note: This is the second half of my Nine Inch Nails – Lights In The Sky 2008 Tour. The first half (from Seattle) can be found here.
I love Nine Inch Nails. I love Nine Inch Nails so much that when their Lights Over North America Tour was announced, I went twice. Seattle was amazing because I had no idea what to expect save for a great light show; LA was amazing because I knew exactly what to expect. Maybe that makes some sense, just read on if it doesn’t (and if it does…)
the amazing deerhunter (w/ the awkward Bradford Cox)
Deerhunter
+10 points for being LA when Deerhunter came around. Crystal Castles sort of bombed in Seattle because no one knew who they were. Admittedly, while they are getting pretty big in the indie world, I can’t really expect a bunch of metal-heads to be too interested with the 8-bit/electro/indie scene. I love both Crystal Castles and Deerhunter, and so do people in LA.
Bradford Cox is one freaking looking dude. The rest of Deerhunter looks fairly normal for an indie noise/ambient/rock group, but Cox stands out like a sore thumb. Luckily for us all, the music that roars out of the speaker towers makes you quickly forget any oddity that Deerhunter embodies. Their set was about 30 minutes long, just long enough for them to find a nice balance between their noise material and their more rocky/beat-driven songs. It went smoothly, and I think everyone enjoyed the set.
trent behind one of three massive walls of light
Nine Inch Nails
When I say that I fully knew what to expect the night of the concert, I honestly mean it. I wasn’t expecting anything new to come up. Maybe they’d tightened things up on the corners (not to say that the Seattle show was sloppy), but the show is so massive that it seems nearly impossible to change anything at all. Turns out I was fairly wrong.
Aside from the different set list (which I’ll discuss later), the light show had changed, and the performances were out of this world. In the Seattle post, I mention that this lineup is the best that NIN has ever had, but I said that because of how good they sounded. At the LA show, I realized that every member of the band brings something unique to the table besides their musical expertise. Whether being menacing, aggressive, staid, precise, or one of the many other things that each are on stage, NIN has captured what an over-the-top live show is.
One change to the light show from Seattle was the inclusion of a face morphing graphic during The Hand That Feeds. I don’t recall what was going on at that time in Seattle, but there certainly wasn’t a massive George W. Bush being shown. That night in Inglewood, the only graphic shown was Bush who seemed to be getting progressively older as the song went on. I thought it was weird, until I realized that Bush wasn’t getting older. He was morphing into John McCain. I say this with all honesty, I really thought he was just getting older at first…
The songs that were played throughout the night (+2 from the Seattle show) differed slightly from other tour dates. Unfortunately for me, The Great Destroyer was left out, so the insane spastic strobes and static that the song encompasses was greatly missed. God Given was played however, which almost makes up for the missed Destroyer. That song has a solid tech/glitch beat to it that makes me smile every time I hear it. The best part of the song though wasn’t the music at all, it was Finck. When the chourus dies, this creepy whispered line some in
i would never tell you anything that wasn’t absolutely true that hadn’t come right from his mouth and he wants me to tell you
and the song starts right up when the whisper ends. Finck was the guy who did the whispering live. Talk about something that comes straight from your nightmares. They had the light shining on his face like he was telling a horror story (and he might as well have been). Of course, they closed with Hurt & In This Twilight. It was a night that, when paired with Seattle’s date, makes up one of the best live shows I’ve ever seen.
Now I just have to seen them in a festival setting…
Last night at the Key Arena in Seattle, WA, I witnessed a legendary rock band at it’s finest. While I haven’t been listening to Nine Inch Nails (NIN) from its Pretty Hate Machine days (come on, I was 3 months old), I have been listening for quite some time now. After I went through my industrial phase a few years ago, NIN was one of the few bands I kept with me. Trent Reznor has been one of the outspoken artists when it comes to digital rights management, and to still be relevant twenty years after releasing a 5-star album is incredible.
This is the first of a two part post/review on NIN’s starting and ending dates (Seattle & L.A.) on their Lights In The Sky Over North America 2008 tour.
a fairly glamorous photo of crystal castles
Crystal Castles
I’ll admit that I’m into indie music, but not THAT into indie music. I still enjoy some pop music, hip hop isn’t all bad, and I can appreciate classical and jazz music. That being said, Seattle’s NIN fans made me look like the most hipster of all hipsters when Crystal Castles came on stage. How does no one in this city know who the biggest name in rising indie/electro/8-bit/screaming music is?
As you might be able to tell, I love Crystal Castles. I saw them for the first time about a year ago at the Neighborhood Festival, and I loved what they brought to the table. Since then, they have released their self-titled LP and have been touring around like crazy.
Obviously, I loved them at this show. Though their set was pretty short at about 25 minutes, they are just an opening band, and they fit in all the greats. For me, the standout song was Crimewave. I know it’s not an entirely original song and that Alice sings the same chorus over and over, but when the opening synths start up, nothing else really matters. Of course, I also loved Courtship Dating, but I wish that she had actually sung the song instead of screaming and whispering it all (it kind of goes back and forth).
nine inch nails front man: trent reznor
Nine Inch Nails
I’ll admit that I looked at the setlist from the NIN show the night before the Seattle show, but it was just so that I could prepare myself for the amazingness that I knew I’d be in front of. I didn’t watch any videos, and didn’t try to find any bootlegs. I don’t think that knowing the setlist beforehand is cheating, and I didn’t really want to spoil what I knew would be come insane visual effects.
To say that I wasn’t let down would be a grave understatement.
This show was what I consider to be the epitome of what a electronically infused rock show should be. First you have the music. NIN has been around for almost twenty years and has seven LPs worth of music to pick and choose from as a result. This set is nothing short of a best hits compilation fused with the key parts of NIN’s more recent releases; songs from each and every album were present. But while the songs played are important, they are nothing if they don’t sound good.
Trent Reznor has consistently written songs that fit his voice. He doesn’t stretch it in the studio to hit those high notes that everyone know could only be hit once. As a result, his live vocals are always on point. In addition, this NIN lineup is arguably the best in history. It consists of Trent Reznor, Alessandro Cortini, Robin Finck, Josh Freese, and Justin Meldal-Johnsen. Aside from Trent, the standout here is Robin Finck, who has been playing with Guns ‘n Roses as Slash’s sporadic replacement for the past twelve years. It’s great to have him back, and his dred-hawk is pretty damn sick. Every musician is spot on, and the only hiccups all night where technical ones, not musical mistakes.
So the music was great, what about these visuals that everyone has been buzzing about? I read an interview with Reznor from the New York Times that reads:
“What I’m trying to do is use the stage as an interactive instrument,” Mr. Reznor said. “I’m in the world of science fiction now.”
Trust me, NIN delivers, and here’s what I gathered from the Seattle show. There are three massive dot screens (the ones made up of tons of tiny round lights that work like a TV screen). They are all at different depths of the stage, so they can all be layered on top of one another. There is one wall of 112 lights that rotate around and change color. There are a ton of hanging fluorescent lights that flash on and off during a portion of the show. Finally, the massive dot screens have some sort of light/heat sensor to tell when the musicians step up to them and dynamically change what they show depending on where the musician is. So how is this an instrument? For the Echoplex encore, one screen is used as a drum machine. Yes, a drum machine. It is one of those scream-out-loud-because-this-is-so-amazing moments. This is why I payed for presale tickets to get on the floor.
So if you can’t tell, I loved this concert. NIN was able to combine stunning musicianship with brand new high-tech visuals to create one of the best rock shows I’ve ever been to. Remember, this is only part one of two. Don’t expect part two to be this long, but I’ll be back to mention if the show gets any better on the last North American tour date (L.A.).
Here’s a rundown of the 28 (!!!) song setlist:
999,999
1,000,000
Letting You
Discipline
March of The Pigs
Head Down
The Frail
Closer
Gave Up
The Warning
The Great Destroyer
1 Ghosts I
25 Ghosts I
19 Ghosts III
Piggy
Wish
Terrible Lie
Survivalism
The Big Come Down
31 Ghosts IV
Only
The Hand That Feeds
Head Like A Hole
Echoplex
The Beginning of the End
The Good Soldier
Hurt
In This Twilight
Also, that sick picture of Trent is from laura musselman‘s flickr account.
