On being a geek and the possibility of knowledge
I'm pissed off at people who brag about being geeks, cause geeks are "cool" now for a while, and they use it to leverage and capitalize on other people's true awkward coolness. This is nothing new, as this is precisely how fashion works, but it's kind of sadder: geeks are indeed a bit obsessively miserable. They've been socially ridiculed for centuries, and most importantly: they've actually *achieved* their status. No one chooses to be a geek, and you won't see any real geeks bragging about it. I think I'm a geek because I get excited when I see clean code, because I literally spent 2/3 of my waking hours playing video games, because when I first heard "Losing My Edge" (think it was 2003) I checked every Google search result (and there were some) to see what people said about it. I could go on, but it would be embarrassing for the both of us.
If you're not a geek, don't steal someone's genuine misery. It's personality theft of the worse kind. The digital commodities age has led us to believe everyone wins when information is replicated. This is why downloading music makes sense to everyone. Does it really matter if both of us have the same data? In the digital age, there's no single physical "source" that one can claim. This falsely creates a collective épistémè (possibility of knowledge), in which it is believed everyone can (or needs) to know everything, to *be* everything. In other words: when everything's a copy, "everything" becomes cheaply accessible. But thievery is still a double-edged sword. When you steal something, even if you merely create a mirror of it - a copy - something still gets stolen FROM someone. When you call yourself a geek, you're actually stealing the possibility of someone else's own geekness.
[This is inspired by a real stupid video someone did, that gathered a bunch of Web 2.0 heads who celebrated their faux-geekness, and by the excellent post Marco Arment wrote that followed it.]
If you're not a geek, don't steal someone's genuine misery. It's personality theft of the worse kind. The digital commodities age has led us to believe everyone wins when information is replicated. This is why downloading music makes sense to everyone. Does it really matter if both of us have the same data? In the digital age, there's no single physical "source" that one can claim. This falsely creates a collective épistémè (possibility of knowledge), in which it is believed everyone can (or needs) to know everything, to *be* everything. In other words: when everything's a copy, "everything" becomes cheaply accessible. But thievery is still a double-edged sword. When you steal something, even if you merely create a mirror of it - a copy - something still gets stolen FROM someone. When you call yourself a geek, you're actually stealing the possibility of someone else's own geekness.
[This is inspired by a real stupid video someone did, that gathered a bunch of Web 2.0 heads who celebrated their faux-geekness, and by the excellent post Marco Arment wrote that followed it.]
Hello
These days, I mostly tweet here (follow me.) I have plans to go back to longer form writing in one way or another, but I just wanted to share some musical findings.
Okay, so, some of the stuff I really like right now:
Tony Lionni -- Some newcomer who has that spiffy futuristic Detroit Techno vibe, sounds a bit like Omar-S, Keith Worthy, etc.
The OOFT crew -- The Revenge, 6th Borough Project, etc. Bunch of re-edits that are so good it almost sounds like a whole movement, like the new electroclash or something, but in a disco way. I think too much of that sound, as its kinda idiosyncratic, can get old, but moderated right it's really amazing and uplifting.
Jack Penate -- Yeah, that "Tonight's Today" track is great of course, albeit bit stale in a way. The remixes are great though.
Leo Zero -- The guy from A Mountain of One, anything he touches becomes gold.
Bottin "No Static" -- Great new Italo, immediate classic, Bottin is gonna do well.
Originals compiled by Mark 7 -- Another great comp in the Originals series done by Mudd, lots of unclassics and obscurities from this amazing DJ.
Shit Robot "Simpe Things" -- The robot is back, and the new track has its signature sound plastered all over it, but he did this old school house thing, it's pretty lovely.
Fern Kinney "Tonight (Channel 83 edit)" -- Huge classic with a little delicate and elegant edit, the tune is amazing.
Okay, so, some of the stuff I really like right now:
Tony Lionni -- Some newcomer who has that spiffy futuristic Detroit Techno vibe, sounds a bit like Omar-S, Keith Worthy, etc.
The OOFT crew -- The Revenge, 6th Borough Project, etc. Bunch of re-edits that are so good it almost sounds like a whole movement, like the new electroclash or something, but in a disco way. I think too much of that sound, as its kinda idiosyncratic, can get old, but moderated right it's really amazing and uplifting.
Jack Penate -- Yeah, that "Tonight's Today" track is great of course, albeit bit stale in a way. The remixes are great though.
Leo Zero -- The guy from A Mountain of One, anything he touches becomes gold.
Bottin "No Static" -- Great new Italo, immediate classic, Bottin is gonna do well.
Originals compiled by Mark 7 -- Another great comp in the Originals series done by Mudd, lots of unclassics and obscurities from this amazing DJ.
Shit Robot "Simpe Things" -- The robot is back, and the new track has its signature sound plastered all over it, but he did this old school house thing, it's pretty lovely.
Fern Kinney "Tonight (Channel 83 edit)" -- Huge classic with a little delicate and elegant edit, the tune is amazing.
Some things:
1. I like Hipster Runoff. Visually, it resembles the ridiculous "blog house" type blogs, but thematically, it's a brilliant parody on the medium, that type of blogs, and life itself. A while ago, its tag (it changes frequently, being "I am the meme economy" now-- all too clever for simpleton bloghouse-esque) used to be "So random, but authentic in a post-meaningful kind of way". That kind of sums it up: it IS random (addresses everything from memes, to tech, to fashion, to MGMT remixes, to whatever), but everything together conjures something SORT OF meaningful, but not really (which is the most you can get nowadays). Talking about hipsters or hipster lifestyle (the saddest anti-movement of this post-authentic era) is basically essential if you want to talk about today's world, and Hipster Runoff does it well by satirizing them. It's not a blog in the traditional sense, it's more of a sadistic art show-- there are no posts-- instead you get self-referencing meta-posts in the nature of "Should I post more about... ?". Saying more would damage the context I'm trying to create here, as it's all too self-referential to talk about seriously in a paragraph. Just head over there, give it a chance and enjoy the great somber-but-honest comedy. Also: the design is just hilariously fantastic.
2. I like Rososo.com. Rososo is labeled the "peaceful newsreader". Rososo comes from RSS, which is the 'push' technology geeks (hi Dave Winer) thought was a good idea, but instead - as usually happens when geeks create technology - became a horrible burden on people. Basically, RSS makes sure you will know of all new posts on your favorite websites and such. In reality, it creates a terrible mass of information, creating what the Rososo homepage calls "accumulation of obligation and guilt". I almost couldn't describe the problem with RSS readers today better-- and I've actually had the same idea (with a couple of different features), but I really like it. It's well-executed, simple, the design is kind of silly but makes its point, and most importantly - it gets the job done. Basically, it hides all the bad information (number of posts you haven't read, and other stuff), and gives a nice list of fresh websites, with no specific links to posts. All you have to do is click. That's why if you're an RSS whore, if you read too many blogs for your own good, this humane technology is what you need. Give it a chance as well.
So, now I'd say the next step in technology in the western world is for technology itself to take the role of parents-- educate us, take care of our (mental) health. This anti-technology is about CONCEALING, rather than EXPOSING (you have 142 unread blog posts! good luck!). It's about education and support, instead of letting us succumb to our overtaking caprices. Why is this necessary? This is the world today, and this is exactly what it needs. We're not evolutionary prepared for the tech we surrounded us with, and this is the essential step towards a peaceful - yes, indeed, peaceful - world.
3. I like BuzzFeed.com. The internet is a weird place. There are so many ideas, so many thoughts, so many cultures, that you're really sadly left with none. BuzzFeed tries to fix that mess, by addressing all of that as "memes", giving it that sort of context, etc. That type of editorial mindset is almost all you really need to have a great product (that's what Hipster Runoff does, too) -- choose your subject intersection right: anything goes, but in a good way.
4. I really like Krautrock. And Holger Czukay (here's "Persian Love", Movies 88'). I know, everyone likes Krautrock. Everyone can tell you how amazing Can is. But what I'd like to bring to the table is this: There's something about this sound, and Can in particular, that's very relevant to today. First, they understood space (minimal techno, anyone? etc) so well. I can see that their use of space in rhythms and melodies reflects very well in modern design, the 'less is more' approach, etc. But that's pretty trivial-- take a broader perspective on their unique sound-- the way they approached music, from almost a simultaneously listener-musician outlook, i.e from the ears outwards, or something of that nature-- is that kind of awareness everyone tries to reproduce these days (which, again, Hipster Runoff tends to refer to a lot). It's no coincidence that their astounding drummer, and one of Can's founders Jaki Liebezeit is known to be described as "one of the few drummers to convincingly meld the funky and the cerebral". Need I really mention James Murphy here?
5. I love DJ Harvey. Watch this:
That's House of House, BTW. Saheer Umar & Oliver Spencer (of Still Going fame). Out soon on Whatever We Want Records. Great-great tune, but that's not the issue. In an obsessive diggers-collectors-eBayers-Internet-seekers world, mega-stoner DJ Harvey seems like the gems FIND him. The highly obscure, unsung, sought-after pieces of forgotten, unclassical, super-rare music gold just finds its way to his sexy bearded vinyl case. The title 'crate digger' implies hard labour. Effort. Sweat. Harvey? He simply has an epic taste. It's all his, he's the music he's playing-- not just the DJ. As a pioneer of disco re-edits, he could laugh in the faces of hopeless "Nu Disco" (bleh) kids today. But he doesn't. Harvey is indeed amazing, but I warn you now: do not listen to anything by him. Not until you've established yourself. You're gonna be scared of DJing for a long time, and try to cluelessly imitate his style. Bad idea.
6. I still like Twitter. The world is having a constant and steady panic attack. "Where's everyone?", we ask ourselves an insane number of times during the day. "Has everyone disappeared? What's everyone doing?". Twitter does exactly that: much like the peaceful Rososo, it validates your existence an infinite number of times. That so-called ambient intimacy relaxes and calms your panic attack down a bit, in tiny doses everytime. It's essentially that anti-technology that's there to make you peaceful. What's Tal doing? Oh, he's having dinner. I feel better now.
7. And I like Tumblr. A lot. Why? Because it's just so cool.
8. Finally, I also like Lexx's mixtapes. Scattered over the web. Look for them.
1. I like Hipster Runoff. Visually, it resembles the ridiculous "blog house" type blogs, but thematically, it's a brilliant parody on the medium, that type of blogs, and life itself. A while ago, its tag (it changes frequently, being "I am the meme economy" now-- all too clever for simpleton bloghouse-esque) used to be "So random, but authentic in a post-meaningful kind of way". That kind of sums it up: it IS random (addresses everything from memes, to tech, to fashion, to MGMT remixes, to whatever), but everything together conjures something SORT OF meaningful, but not really (which is the most you can get nowadays). Talking about hipsters or hipster lifestyle (the saddest anti-movement of this post-authentic era) is basically essential if you want to talk about today's world, and Hipster Runoff does it well by satirizing them. It's not a blog in the traditional sense, it's more of a sadistic art show-- there are no posts-- instead you get self-referencing meta-posts in the nature of "Should I post more about... ?". Saying more would damage the context I'm trying to create here, as it's all too self-referential to talk about seriously in a paragraph. Just head over there, give it a chance and enjoy the great somber-but-honest comedy. Also: the design is just hilariously fantastic.
2. I like Rososo.com. Rososo is labeled the "peaceful newsreader". Rososo comes from RSS, which is the 'push' technology geeks (hi Dave Winer) thought was a good idea, but instead - as usually happens when geeks create technology - became a horrible burden on people. Basically, RSS makes sure you will know of all new posts on your favorite websites and such. In reality, it creates a terrible mass of information, creating what the Rososo homepage calls "accumulation of obligation and guilt". I almost couldn't describe the problem with RSS readers today better-- and I've actually had the same idea (with a couple of different features), but I really like it. It's well-executed, simple, the design is kind of silly but makes its point, and most importantly - it gets the job done. Basically, it hides all the bad information (number of posts you haven't read, and other stuff), and gives a nice list of fresh websites, with no specific links to posts. All you have to do is click. That's why if you're an RSS whore, if you read too many blogs for your own good, this humane technology is what you need. Give it a chance as well.
So, now I'd say the next step in technology in the western world is for technology itself to take the role of parents-- educate us, take care of our (mental) health. This anti-technology is about CONCEALING, rather than EXPOSING (you have 142 unread blog posts! good luck!). It's about education and support, instead of letting us succumb to our overtaking caprices. Why is this necessary? This is the world today, and this is exactly what it needs. We're not evolutionary prepared for the tech we surrounded us with, and this is the essential step towards a peaceful - yes, indeed, peaceful - world.
3. I like BuzzFeed.com. The internet is a weird place. There are so many ideas, so many thoughts, so many cultures, that you're really sadly left with none. BuzzFeed tries to fix that mess, by addressing all of that as "memes", giving it that sort of context, etc. That type of editorial mindset is almost all you really need to have a great product (that's what Hipster Runoff does, too) -- choose your subject intersection right: anything goes, but in a good way.
4. I really like Krautrock. And Holger Czukay (here's "Persian Love", Movies 88'). I know, everyone likes Krautrock. Everyone can tell you how amazing Can is. But what I'd like to bring to the table is this: There's something about this sound, and Can in particular, that's very relevant to today. First, they understood space (minimal techno, anyone? etc) so well. I can see that their use of space in rhythms and melodies reflects very well in modern design, the 'less is more' approach, etc. But that's pretty trivial-- take a broader perspective on their unique sound-- the way they approached music, from almost a simultaneously listener-musician outlook, i.e from the ears outwards, or something of that nature-- is that kind of awareness everyone tries to reproduce these days (which, again, Hipster Runoff tends to refer to a lot). It's no coincidence that their astounding drummer, and one of Can's founders Jaki Liebezeit is known to be described as "one of the few drummers to convincingly meld the funky and the cerebral". Need I really mention James Murphy here?
5. I love DJ Harvey. Watch this:
That's House of House, BTW. Saheer Umar & Oliver Spencer (of Still Going fame). Out soon on Whatever We Want Records. Great-great tune, but that's not the issue. In an obsessive diggers-collectors-eBayers-Internet-seekers world, mega-stoner DJ Harvey seems like the gems FIND him. The highly obscure, unsung, sought-after pieces of forgotten, unclassical, super-rare music gold just finds its way to his sexy bearded vinyl case. The title 'crate digger' implies hard labour. Effort. Sweat. Harvey? He simply has an epic taste. It's all his, he's the music he's playing-- not just the DJ. As a pioneer of disco re-edits, he could laugh in the faces of hopeless "Nu Disco" (bleh) kids today. But he doesn't. Harvey is indeed amazing, but I warn you now: do not listen to anything by him. Not until you've established yourself. You're gonna be scared of DJing for a long time, and try to cluelessly imitate his style. Bad idea.
6. I still like Twitter. The world is having a constant and steady panic attack. "Where's everyone?", we ask ourselves an insane number of times during the day. "Has everyone disappeared? What's everyone doing?". Twitter does exactly that: much like the peaceful Rososo, it validates your existence an infinite number of times. That so-called ambient intimacy relaxes and calms your panic attack down a bit, in tiny doses everytime. It's essentially that anti-technology that's there to make you peaceful. What's Tal doing? Oh, he's having dinner. I feel better now.
7. And I like Tumblr. A lot. Why? Because it's just so cool.
8. Finally, I also like Lexx's mixtapes. Scattered over the web. Look for them.
Podcast! Music! Radio! Hebrew!
Fellow Israeli readers, I have a new podcast show that features some Hebrew babble and great music, check it out here: http://ourpodcast.tumblr.com/
Hope you enjoy it! Feedback is welcome.
-T
Hope you enjoy it! Feedback is welcome.
-T
Unrelated
This is quite irrelevant to the nature of this blog, but I still gotta try. I'm looking for people who are interested in cyberpunk culture and were active participants in one way or another in it. That's web 1.0 type of stuff, IRC and Phrack magazine. Looking for people who think there might be a connection between post-cyberpunk and post-modernism, between Creative Commons, Richard Stallman, Napster, Wikipedia, Kalle Lasn & culture jamming, mudge (from MIT) and buffer overflow exploits, Hackers the movie, Derrida, Lacan. And even: sw_r, h4g1s, u4ea, Solar Designer, The Mentor, b4b0. I believe we need to chat for a bit about something important. Please contact me ASAP.
And for the people just looking for some great music:
Wild Rumpus - Purple Somersault // Bitches Brew
Pretty perfect beach jam...
And for the people just looking for some great music:
Wild Rumpus - Purple Somersault // Bitches Brew
Pretty perfect beach jam...
Sounds of the summer #1
Parlour
Talking about the 'Amor' song/re-edit/track/cosmicthingy, right?
This summer is going to be great. I feel it.
Talking about the 'Amor' song/re-edit/track/cosmicthingy, right?
This summer is going to be great. I feel it.
Personal statistics
This is mainly for personal use, actually. Anyway, some numbers:
1. Special forums I visit a lot during the day: 2
2. Music blogs in my Google Reader: 70
3. Music blogs I go over that are not in my Google Reader stream: 90
4. Other blogs I check everyday, a couple of times a day: 7 (among them: Valleywag, Fimoculous, Waxy, Laughing Squid, Polls Boutique and Lifehacker)
5. Tumblrs I check: about 40
6. Other blogs I visit once a day: 12
7. Social networks I'm addicted to: 1 (Twitter. Facebook too, a lot less though)
8. Big music magazines I check: 3
9. Personal online activities: this blog, a Tumblr & Twitter
10. Games I play: 1 (Quake 3)
11. Games I plan on playing: 2 (once I finally get to installing CoD4 and Warcraft 3)
12. Internet TV/video podcasts I watch: 5 (among them: 1938 Media, Blank White Cards, Pop17, Jake And Amir)
13. Record stores: 2 (Juno's RSS for disco records and Phonica)
14. Local magazines & blogs: 15
15. People I follow on Twitter: 211 (among them: Mike Arrrington, Jason Calacanis, Yermam, Loren Feldman, Biz Stone, Mat Honan, Charles Forman, Alex Albrecht)
16. Blogs that I bookmarked to check out later: 37 (roughly)
17. Tabs on my Firefox right now (saved sessions as well): 103
18. 'Refresh' per day: 32842839
Oh well.
1. Special forums I visit a lot during the day: 2
2. Music blogs in my Google Reader: 70
3. Music blogs I go over that are not in my Google Reader stream: 90
4. Other blogs I check everyday, a couple of times a day: 7 (among them: Valleywag, Fimoculous, Waxy, Laughing Squid, Polls Boutique and Lifehacker)
5. Tumblrs I check: about 40
6. Other blogs I visit once a day: 12
7. Social networks I'm addicted to: 1 (Twitter. Facebook too, a lot less though)
8. Big music magazines I check: 3
9. Personal online activities: this blog, a Tumblr & Twitter
10. Games I play: 1 (Quake 3)
11. Games I plan on playing: 2 (once I finally get to installing CoD4 and Warcraft 3)
12. Internet TV/video podcasts I watch: 5 (among them: 1938 Media, Blank White Cards, Pop17, Jake And Amir)
13. Record stores: 2 (Juno's RSS for disco records and Phonica)
14. Local magazines & blogs: 15
15. People I follow on Twitter: 211 (among them: Mike Arrrington, Jason Calacanis, Yermam, Loren Feldman, Biz Stone, Mat Honan, Charles Forman, Alex Albrecht)
16. Blogs that I bookmarked to check out later: 37 (roughly)
17. Tabs on my Firefox right now (saved sessions as well): 103
18. 'Refresh' per day: 32842839
Oh well.
Twitter alert #2
So, are you on Twitter yet? If you aren't - sign up and follow me! Lately I've been talking about the magnificent Aeroplane remix of The Shortwave Set, the debut Toby Tobias album on Rekids, Chemical Brothers "Electronic Battle Weapon 10", "Space Oddities" compilation on Permanent Vacation, Mudd's mixes, Muxtape, Ewan Pearson's blog, 40 Thieves and more!
More music
I find these posts most fun to do!
- Mudd's Tea & Biscuit mix and Mystery Mix
- "Space Oddities" on Permanent Vacation (truly & by far highly excited about this)
- Death Before Distemper 2 comp on DC Recordings
- new Peter Visti on Eskimo
- Todd Terje as Wade Nichols on RVNG
- Dixon edit of Ann Brun "Headphone Silence" the Henrik Schwarz remix
- Glossy mix from the Versatile blog
- Lindstrom "The Long Way Home" the Prins Thomas edit
- Girl Talk "Feed the Animals" LP
- Grand Popo Football Club "My Territory" remixes
- new Recloose album on Sonar Kollektiv
- Toby Tobias "The Feeling" and other fresh cuts
- 40 Thieves mix over at Beats in Space
- Idjuts edit of Janet Jackson "R&B Junkie"
- Greg Wilson's new 2020 Vision mix
- The Time and Space Machine stuff
And more things haven't got the time to sort through...
- Mudd's Tea & Biscuit mix and Mystery Mix
- "Space Oddities" on Permanent Vacation (truly & by far highly excited about this)
- Death Before Distemper 2 comp on DC Recordings
- new Peter Visti on Eskimo
- Todd Terje as Wade Nichols on RVNG
- Dixon edit of Ann Brun "Headphone Silence" the Henrik Schwarz remix
- Glossy mix from the Versatile blog
- Lindstrom "The Long Way Home" the Prins Thomas edit
- Girl Talk "Feed the Animals" LP
- Grand Popo Football Club "My Territory" remixes
- new Recloose album on Sonar Kollektiv
- Toby Tobias "The Feeling" and other fresh cuts
- 40 Thieves mix over at Beats in Space
- Idjuts edit of Janet Jackson "R&B Junkie"
- Greg Wilson's new 2020 Vision mix
- The Time and Space Machine stuff
And more things haven't got the time to sort through...
June Chart
The Dissident Records compilation // Dissident
Morten Sorensen - Start Something // Tirk
Kasper Bjorke - Doesn't Matter (The Juan Maclean Remix) // CDR
The new Bill Brewster edits // CDR
Discodromo - Cosmorama (Ace!!!) // Internasjonal
Toby Tobias - The Feeling // Rekids
Studio - Yearbook 2 // Information
Padded Cell - Word of Mouth // DC Recordings
Mike Dunn - Phreaky MF // Robsoul
Phantom Slasher - Nicoteen // Noid
Soft Rocks - Disco Power Play //
Waltz - Folkesta (Prins Thomas El Skumlo Miks) // Loose Joints
In Flagranti - Firmly Planted Memories // Codek
Phil Collins - Im Not Moving (Idjuts Edit) // CDR
David Byrne - Make Believe (Acid Mambo Edit) // CDR
David Rubato - Circuit (Aeroplane Remix) // CDR
Kool DJ Dust - The Quest //
Bot'Ox - Babylon By Car (Richard Sen Remix) // I'm A Cliche
Mystery Jets - Two Doors Down (Pilooski Remix) // 679
Rubies - I Feel Electric (Tiedye Remix) // Italians Do It Better
Oh, and one incredibly special mix I'd love to say more about later.
I'm off to Sonar festival in Barcelona for a couple of days, hopefully come back with brilliant music for this hot summer.
Morten Sorensen - Start Something // Tirk
Kasper Bjorke - Doesn't Matter (The Juan Maclean Remix) // CDR
The new Bill Brewster edits // CDR
Discodromo - Cosmorama (Ace!!!) // Internasjonal
Toby Tobias - The Feeling // Rekids
Studio - Yearbook 2 // Information
Padded Cell - Word of Mouth // DC Recordings
Mike Dunn - Phreaky MF // Robsoul
Phantom Slasher - Nicoteen // Noid
Soft Rocks - Disco Power Play //
Waltz - Folkesta (Prins Thomas El Skumlo Miks) // Loose Joints
In Flagranti - Firmly Planted Memories // Codek
Phil Collins - Im Not Moving (Idjuts Edit) // CDR
David Byrne - Make Believe (Acid Mambo Edit) // CDR
David Rubato - Circuit (Aeroplane Remix) // CDR
Kool DJ Dust - The Quest //
Bot'Ox - Babylon By Car (Richard Sen Remix) // I'm A Cliche
Mystery Jets - Two Doors Down (Pilooski Remix) // 679
Rubies - I Feel Electric (Tiedye Remix) // Italians Do It Better
Oh, and one incredibly special mix I'd love to say more about later.
I'm off to Sonar festival in Barcelona for a couple of days, hopefully come back with brilliant music for this hot summer.
Epic Fu
Since Twitter killed the blogger in me, I'll stick to linking around to fun places on the web for this post:
1. John Daly, John Daly, John Daly. The guy is on fire. After I fell in love with his works (the Santana one in particular) that he half-seldom features on his re-edits blog, and "Move" (via the wonderful Keytars & Violins blog), which is a real destroyer, I really can't wait for his LP. Here you can listen to "Solitaire", alongside other great gems (new Mark E, Casinoboy, 40 Thieves, etc). Great radio show/record store, by the way.
2. 2nd part of the latest Beats in Space show is full of new stuff: new T&T remixes (Sweeney + Goldsworthy, which means Goldsworthy has 3 remixing aliases now), Invisible Conga People, 40 Thieves remix, Discodeine, and more.
3. By the way, what do you think of the new BIS T-Shirt? Didn't like it that much, I personally prefer the Simian Mobile Disco one much more.
4. Stickydisc! Is it going to be Eric B's year? Babytalk is blowing my mind right now, with an emphasis on that Hercules & Love Affair remix of 'Chance'. By the way, have you noticed the same pattern in Andy's remixes as well? The vocal sample looping he did in 'Whispers', 'A&E', and here too (oh, and as a layout for his own mad 'Classique #2' 12"). Not that it's a bad thing, I suppose an artist's fingerprint is something you mostly see today in the likes of Carl Craig (via Daughters of Invention).
5. The forgotten Smylonylon mixtapes are probably among the best tapes in the world (via Dalston Oxfam Shop).
6. Juju & Jordash are two ex-Israelies with an epic taste (which is almost an oxymoron round these parts), their latest mix effort for Trackwerk is really good, and the site also features an ace a-la Cosmic mix done by none other than Andy Weatherall (via Trackwerk).
7. Yura Yura Teikoku are brilliant.
8. The Virgins:
9. Are the Holy Ghost! remixes what the old DFA ones used to be? RCRDLBL, which is becoming a rather cool digital label sort of thing, is streaming the epic (!) remix of Moby's 'I Love To Move In Here' (via RCRDLBL).
10. PERFECT SUMMER JAM: Steel An' Skin's 'Afro Punk Reggae Dub'.
11. Wrapping up with ultra-classic Italo action in the form of Barry De Vorzon's 'Baseball Furies Chase', which - excuse my ignorance - sounds like a wonderful parody on John Carpenter's behalf (via Perfect Love Affair).
1. John Daly, John Daly, John Daly. The guy is on fire. After I fell in love with his works (the Santana one in particular) that he half-seldom features on his re-edits blog, and "Move" (via the wonderful Keytars & Violins blog), which is a real destroyer, I really can't wait for his LP. Here you can listen to "Solitaire", alongside other great gems (new Mark E, Casinoboy, 40 Thieves, etc). Great radio show/record store, by the way.
2. 2nd part of the latest Beats in Space show is full of new stuff: new T&T remixes (Sweeney + Goldsworthy, which means Goldsworthy has 3 remixing aliases now), Invisible Conga People, 40 Thieves remix, Discodeine, and more.
3. By the way, what do you think of the new BIS T-Shirt? Didn't like it that much, I personally prefer the Simian Mobile Disco one much more.
4. Stickydisc! Is it going to be Eric B's year? Babytalk is blowing my mind right now, with an emphasis on that Hercules & Love Affair remix of 'Chance'. By the way, have you noticed the same pattern in Andy's remixes as well? The vocal sample looping he did in 'Whispers', 'A&E', and here too (oh, and as a layout for his own mad 'Classique #2' 12"). Not that it's a bad thing, I suppose an artist's fingerprint is something you mostly see today in the likes of Carl Craig (via Daughters of Invention).
5. The forgotten Smylonylon mixtapes are probably among the best tapes in the world (via Dalston Oxfam Shop).
6. Juju & Jordash are two ex-Israelies with an epic taste (which is almost an oxymoron round these parts), their latest mix effort for Trackwerk is really good, and the site also features an ace a-la Cosmic mix done by none other than Andy Weatherall (via Trackwerk).
7. Yura Yura Teikoku are brilliant.
8. The Virgins:
9. Are the Holy Ghost! remixes what the old DFA ones used to be? RCRDLBL, which is becoming a rather cool digital label sort of thing, is streaming the epic (!) remix of Moby's 'I Love To Move In Here' (via RCRDLBL).
10. PERFECT SUMMER JAM: Steel An' Skin's 'Afro Punk Reggae Dub'.
11. Wrapping up with ultra-classic Italo action in the form of Barry De Vorzon's 'Baseball Furies Chase', which - excuse my ignorance - sounds like a wonderful parody on John Carpenter's behalf (via Perfect Love Affair).
<3
Imagination "Lights & Music"
Moby "I Love To Move In Here (Holy Ghost! Remix)"
Discodeine "Joystick (Tomboy Remix)"
Fontän "Early Morning"
Led Zeppelin "Trampled Underfoot (John Daly Edit)"
Simian Mobile Disco "It's The Beat (Shit Robot Remix)"
Babytalk "Chance (Hercules & Love Affair Remix)"
King Crimson "Elephant Talk (Mix)"
The Zombies "Time Of The Season"
Invisible Conga People "Cable Dazed"
Moby "I Love To Move In Here (Holy Ghost! Remix)"
Discodeine "Joystick (Tomboy Remix)"
Fontän "Early Morning"
Led Zeppelin "Trampled Underfoot (John Daly Edit)"
Simian Mobile Disco "It's The Beat (Shit Robot Remix)"
Babytalk "Chance (Hercules & Love Affair Remix)"
King Crimson "Elephant Talk (Mix)"
The Zombies "Time Of The Season"
Invisible Conga People "Cable Dazed"
The medium is the message in less than 140 chars
Three quick things:
1. Follow me on Twitter, especially if you're a blogger or into really good music - we can start our blogger's thing there and push all the tech geeks away a bit. It's a really nice platform for exchanging tips and thoughts about music. Also, I suggest you sign up so I can follow you as well. I wouldn't want an army of passive stalkers.
2. For those of you who don't see why Twitter is the most interesting and exciting idea online in the past 5-6 years (yep, even more than Facebook in a lot of ways), this little flash-based website concept can do a better job than a long and tedious (albeit quite thorough) post of mine. Um, which will definitely arrive later.
3. This week I'm gonna be listening to: the Discodeine mix of Photonz (thanks d-i-r-t-y!), the fabulous Syclops album on DFA, Andy Weatherall's new "Watch The Ride" mix (amusing to see that even he has gone the "rock band playing disco" path, so to speak), Low Motion Disco remixes, the new Jona on Planet E, the new Mark E (the dude rocks), Booka Shade remixes, Osborne's album, new Quarion 12", John Daly edits, Diskjokke's edit of Harry's Gym, Hercules & Love Affair remix of Yazoo, Munk LP, Brennan Green remix of Professor Genius, and much more.
1. Follow me on Twitter, especially if you're a blogger or into really good music - we can start our blogger's thing there and push all the tech geeks away a bit. It's a really nice platform for exchanging tips and thoughts about music. Also, I suggest you sign up so I can follow you as well. I wouldn't want an army of passive stalkers.
2. For those of you who don't see why Twitter is the most interesting and exciting idea online in the past 5-6 years (yep, even more than Facebook in a lot of ways), this little flash-based website concept can do a better job than a long and tedious (albeit quite thorough) post of mine. Um, which will definitely arrive later.
3. This week I'm gonna be listening to: the Discodeine mix of Photonz (thanks d-i-r-t-y!), the fabulous Syclops album on DFA, Andy Weatherall's new "Watch The Ride" mix (amusing to see that even he has gone the "rock band playing disco" path, so to speak), Low Motion Disco remixes, the new Jona on Planet E, the new Mark E (the dude rocks), Booka Shade remixes, Osborne's album, new Quarion 12", John Daly edits, Diskjokke's edit of Harry's Gym, Hercules & Love Affair remix of Yazoo, Munk LP, Brennan Green remix of Professor Genius, and much more.
Slagsmalsklubben, basically
Whoa, this shit has the most exploding energies I've seen in a long time.
Happiness
Those Norwegians! Again!
My listening routine for these days:
Lullabies in the Dark - Song For Marie & Elise (Aeroplane Remix) // Eskimo As the new Aeroplane remix, I think everyone realized by now that those two Belgians ('the new Glimmers') have a fetish for predictable, delicious, multi-layered a-la space melodies. It's actually fine as long as we still want to get on their aeroplane. I'd add here that the Belgians seem to like formulaic sounds: The Glimmers' tendency is for over-produced "disco" ('Nu-Disco') and Soulwax is, well, known for their very own pop-saturated over-produced formula. Over-produce. Over-produce! Ok, that was the last time.
Quiet Village Project - Can't Be Beat // !K7 The album of film editor Joel Martin and UK's brightest techno talent in ages Radio Slave is finally out, and it's a really great record. One of those early released you're gonna hear lots about in 2008. Though most of the songs were previously releases on Whatever We Want Records, it's still fun listening to it all in a complete album format. It actually makes the most sense for a record like this. I think the thing about this record is that it was made by people who are music listeners more than they are musicians. In a weird modern twist, this sounds better than most self-proclaimed musicians sound today. Something about the combination of the gifted Berlin School producer Matt Edwards and movie buff editor Joel Martin create the right atmosphere for something that otherwise would be viewed as filthy Chill Out music. There's of course lots more to say here that I hope to say later.
Noze - Danse Avec Moi // Get Physical Creatively titled "Songs on the Rocks" album is out on Get Physical too, and it's a great - complete - piece. They're French, they aren't afraid to steal hooks from "Strings of Life" and they have the most joy of life and shiny eyes in a second of a song that I've heard in a very long period of time. The LP's crispy as hell, I'd call it "drunk electro" but it sounds like it was played by the most expensive lo-fi orchestra ever. "Ethiopo", one of the closing tracks, is one cleverly composed epic that reminds me of classics llike "Throw" with its smart arrangements.
Jose Gonzales - Killing For Love (Todd Terje Mix) // CDR Terje is on fire. As seen in the video embedded above, he's the stand-out star of the Norwegian scene right now. This mix endorses some of the most tried and tested ideas by colleagues Prins Thomas, Lindstrom, Rune Lindbaek, Mungolian Jet Set and more. None of them really have Terje's charm, the one that's going to make him a worldwide name. I know that in some places he's ironically called "The Todd", but I definitely see why. If Villalobos is the poster producer hippie for the minimal crowds, Terje is giving us great disco.
Luke Solomon - Demons (Brennan Green Remix) // CDR Uplifting, emotional and amazingly good track from Luke Solomon & Brennan Green. This kind of perfection in music can make me shed a tear. Jeez, excellent stuff.
Kawabata - Persuasion // Drumpoet Community Well, I like Lexx (aka Kawabata). He's a cool guy - does both creative disco edit production, and contemporary house. Sadly, I find most of the things happening in dance music right now rather boring - techno isn't vital as before, house is pretty much dead for a long time, and "electro"/"blog house" aren't very worth mentioning. It's sad but true - Headman, Kitsune, even Fluo Kids (!) aren't at the top of their game. So yeah, I think you should sample some Kawabata.
Goldfrapp - Happiness (Beyond The Wizards Sleeve Remix) // CDR When all fails, we're always left with Erol Alkan. Good old Erol, and mate Richard Norris, steadily produce new vitalized dance content. I feel they're just getting better, just like their previous effort - the Late of the Pier remix - this is big. The piano chords sound amazing, the psychedelic atmosphere is still dominant, and Erol is proving again he understands the art of "club" from extremely many different and exciting points of view. He's constantly pumping life into dance, connecting all the right dots for us. Erol is a dance rockstar, and intellectual. He has the theory complete with the practice. Really happy he's playing Sonar this year, and I hope to hear him there. Happiness.
ELSEWHERE: I really like muxtape - great design and funny idea. Also, the lovely Stephane has got a mix I made for his blog up there. Check it.
My listening routine for these days:
Lullabies in the Dark - Song For Marie & Elise (Aeroplane Remix) // Eskimo As the new Aeroplane remix, I think everyone realized by now that those two Belgians ('the new Glimmers') have a fetish for predictable, delicious, multi-layered a-la space melodies. It's actually fine as long as we still want to get on their aeroplane. I'd add here that the Belgians seem to like formulaic sounds: The Glimmers' tendency is for over-produced "disco" ('Nu-Disco') and Soulwax is, well, known for their very own pop-saturated over-produced formula. Over-produce. Over-produce! Ok, that was the last time.
Quiet Village Project - Can't Be Beat // !K7 The album of film editor Joel Martin and UK's brightest techno talent in ages Radio Slave is finally out, and it's a really great record. One of those early released you're gonna hear lots about in 2008. Though most of the songs were previously releases on Whatever We Want Records, it's still fun listening to it all in a complete album format. It actually makes the most sense for a record like this. I think the thing about this record is that it was made by people who are music listeners more than they are musicians. In a weird modern twist, this sounds better than most self-proclaimed musicians sound today. Something about the combination of the gifted Berlin School producer Matt Edwards and movie buff editor Joel Martin create the right atmosphere for something that otherwise would be viewed as filthy Chill Out music. There's of course lots more to say here that I hope to say later.
Noze - Danse Avec Moi // Get Physical Creatively titled "Songs on the Rocks" album is out on Get Physical too, and it's a great - complete - piece. They're French, they aren't afraid to steal hooks from "Strings of Life" and they have the most joy of life and shiny eyes in a second of a song that I've heard in a very long period of time. The LP's crispy as hell, I'd call it "drunk electro" but it sounds like it was played by the most expensive lo-fi orchestra ever. "Ethiopo", one of the closing tracks, is one cleverly composed epic that reminds me of classics llike "Throw" with its smart arrangements.
Jose Gonzales - Killing For Love (Todd Terje Mix) // CDR Terje is on fire. As seen in the video embedded above, he's the stand-out star of the Norwegian scene right now. This mix endorses some of the most tried and tested ideas by colleagues Prins Thomas, Lindstrom, Rune Lindbaek, Mungolian Jet Set and more. None of them really have Terje's charm, the one that's going to make him a worldwide name. I know that in some places he's ironically called "The Todd", but I definitely see why. If Villalobos is the poster producer hippie for the minimal crowds, Terje is giving us great disco.
Luke Solomon - Demons (Brennan Green Remix) // CDR Uplifting, emotional and amazingly good track from Luke Solomon & Brennan Green. This kind of perfection in music can make me shed a tear. Jeez, excellent stuff.
Kawabata - Persuasion // Drumpoet Community Well, I like Lexx (aka Kawabata). He's a cool guy - does both creative disco edit production, and contemporary house. Sadly, I find most of the things happening in dance music right now rather boring - techno isn't vital as before, house is pretty much dead for a long time, and "electro"/"blog house" aren't very worth mentioning. It's sad but true - Headman, Kitsune, even Fluo Kids (!) aren't at the top of their game. So yeah, I think you should sample some Kawabata.
Goldfrapp - Happiness (Beyond The Wizards Sleeve Remix) // CDR When all fails, we're always left with Erol Alkan. Good old Erol, and mate Richard Norris, steadily produce new vitalized dance content. I feel they're just getting better, just like their previous effort - the Late of the Pier remix - this is big. The piano chords sound amazing, the psychedelic atmosphere is still dominant, and Erol is proving again he understands the art of "club" from extremely many different and exciting points of view. He's constantly pumping life into dance, connecting all the right dots for us. Erol is a dance rockstar, and intellectual. He has the theory complete with the practice. Really happy he's playing Sonar this year, and I hope to hear him there. Happiness.
ELSEWHERE: I really like muxtape - great design and funny idea. Also, the lovely Stephane has got a mix I made for his blog up there. Check it.
Someone sent this mix in
Ah, yes. Some random fellow named 'Celery Moon' sent me this mix, and it's pretty nice. The guy's doing some stuff for NYC hipster stable Misshapes. There's not so much to say (I cut off the promotional links too) except check it out (also: of course we all love Fujiya & Miyagi, Juan Maclean/Prince Language, etc). Later - even more posts.
Good Morning Stardust II Mix
01 The Black Dog - Floods V3.1 (Bass Soldier Remix)
02 Fujiya & Miyagi - One Trick Pony
03 The Embassy - New Plans
04 Scott Sunn - Emergence (Let's Go Outside Remix)
05 Orbital - Sad But True
06 Sasha Dive - Annihilating Rhythm
07 Deadmau5 - The Reward Is Cheese
08 Toddy Terry - Get Down (Kenny Dope Remix)
09 D1 - I'm Loving
10 Future Sound Of London - Hardhead
11 Feadz - Brand New Car Instrumental
12 Quando Quango - Love Tempo
13 Alphabeat - Fascination (Linus Loves Edit)
14 Celery Moon - Drugs v. 1
15 The Juan Maclean - Happy House (Prince Language Dub)
16 Pest - Pat Pong (Solid Groove Remix)
17 Martin Landsky - Man High
18 The Rapture - The Sound (Max Pask Mix)
19 Charles Schillings - Spin It Right
20 Infamous Upstarts - Everything In It's Wrong Place
21 Eric Prydz - Sweet Genesis
22 Kylie Minogue - Wow (Death Metal Disco Scene Remix)
23 Buy Now - Bodycrash
24 Hercules And Love Affair - Athene
25 Let's Get Invisible - Spices Of Love Chesty (C.M. Quick Edit)
26 The Teenagers - Sunset Beach (CFCF Remix)
27 Yannick Labbe - Gallieni (Skwerl Remix)
28 Midnight Juggernauts - Nine Lives
29 Autechre - Altibzz
Good Morning Stardust II Mix
01 The Black Dog - Floods V3.1 (Bass Soldier Remix)
02 Fujiya & Miyagi - One Trick Pony
03 The Embassy - New Plans
04 Scott Sunn - Emergence (Let's Go Outside Remix)
05 Orbital - Sad But True
06 Sasha Dive - Annihilating Rhythm
07 Deadmau5 - The Reward Is Cheese
08 Toddy Terry - Get Down (Kenny Dope Remix)
09 D1 - I'm Loving
10 Future Sound Of London - Hardhead
11 Feadz - Brand New Car Instrumental
12 Quando Quango - Love Tempo
13 Alphabeat - Fascination (Linus Loves Edit)
14 Celery Moon - Drugs v. 1
15 The Juan Maclean - Happy House (Prince Language Dub)
16 Pest - Pat Pong (Solid Groove Remix)
17 Martin Landsky - Man High
18 The Rapture - The Sound (Max Pask Mix)
19 Charles Schillings - Spin It Right
20 Infamous Upstarts - Everything In It's Wrong Place
21 Eric Prydz - Sweet Genesis
22 Kylie Minogue - Wow (Death Metal Disco Scene Remix)
23 Buy Now - Bodycrash
24 Hercules And Love Affair - Athene
25 Let's Get Invisible - Spices Of Love Chesty (C.M. Quick Edit)
26 The Teenagers - Sunset Beach (CFCF Remix)
27 Yannick Labbe - Gallieni (Skwerl Remix)
28 Midnight Juggernauts - Nine Lives
29 Autechre - Altibzz
Wonky is a state of mind
Justus Kohncke - Parage // Kompakt Some people say: fuck re-edits. Justus, a pretty underrated character, makes great disco - new, fresh, original - with all the familiar mannerism, while keeping everything so easy going. This track is fun, meaningless, and has a very clean and soft production. It's wonky, but not in a way that gives you caries. The next track I'm posting is a bit wonkier, with a fat layer of cheese on top, which can possibly jam up your veins. Being wonky is a double edged sword: it's a good way to get the listener's attention, but if done incorrectly - it makes you look ridiculous. Don't wanna be rude, but that's what happens on some (well, most) of the stuff The Glimmers do on their own (not talking about remixes/edits), and - alas - some of the Reverso 68 stuff, and I suppose you could put Partial Arts' 'Telescope' on that list too. Although I do want to point out LSB's stuff (Pete Herbert and Baby G) is really really good, and they manage to take the predictability factor out of the equation, and assemble disco grooves that sound about 99.9% complete (see their 'Original Highway Delight', based on Michael Heart's 'Some Girls' for reference).
Mugwump - Boutade // Misericord Both of the tracks I'm posting today have great names - Parage and Boutade. That's cool. This song, as I said earlier, is much wonkier. But I think I'm in a real wonky mood right now as I've been basically listening to these two most of the time lately. I guess this state puts you in a certain mood which is relaxing and fun, and that's what I probably need. It's coming out on Ewan Pearson's (of the aforementioned Partial Arts fame with Al Usher) new label Misericord. It's quite effective, big chords, violins, everything. I suppose this track could dance nicely with the walls of a club. I expect more cool stuff on this label, and I'll definitely be keeping an eye on it.
The Juan Maclean - Happy House // DFA Obviously I can't share this one (don't want neither pesky EMI lawyers nor the beloved J. Murphy on my back), but you've all probably heard it, whether it was on Sweeney's show or Juan's podcast for RA (look them up), or someplace else - this track is irresistible. Could possibly be the fact my girlfriend has been talking about it ever since she heard it - but it's certainly one of the biggest hypes of 2008 (alongside Hercules & Love Affair and the next Soulja Boy single... or something). It's out on Monday (pre-order it at juno or anywhere. Now!). Meanwhile, I've found some very interesting interviews with the likes of James Murphy, Morgan Geist, Mike Simonetti, DJ Harvey, Thomas Bullock of Rub&Tug and more for you to read. I might write about them too, as they address rather fascinating issues about the relations between disco and punk (and dance/rock in general). The links are over the great Daughters of Invention blog here.
Mugwump - Boutade // Misericord Both of the tracks I'm posting today have great names - Parage and Boutade. That's cool. This song, as I said earlier, is much wonkier. But I think I'm in a real wonky mood right now as I've been basically listening to these two most of the time lately. I guess this state puts you in a certain mood which is relaxing and fun, and that's what I probably need. It's coming out on Ewan Pearson's (of the aforementioned Partial Arts fame with Al Usher) new label Misericord. It's quite effective, big chords, violins, everything. I suppose this track could dance nicely with the walls of a club. I expect more cool stuff on this label, and I'll definitely be keeping an eye on it.
The Juan Maclean - Happy House // DFA Obviously I can't share this one (don't want neither pesky EMI lawyers nor the beloved J. Murphy on my back), but you've all probably heard it, whether it was on Sweeney's show or Juan's podcast for RA (look them up), or someplace else - this track is irresistible. Could possibly be the fact my girlfriend has been talking about it ever since she heard it - but it's certainly one of the biggest hypes of 2008 (alongside Hercules & Love Affair and the next Soulja Boy single... or something). It's out on Monday (pre-order it at juno or anywhere. Now!). Meanwhile, I've found some very interesting interviews with the likes of James Murphy, Morgan Geist, Mike Simonetti, DJ Harvey, Thomas Bullock of Rub&Tug and more for you to read. I might write about them too, as they address rather fascinating issues about the relations between disco and punk (and dance/rock in general). The links are over the great Daughters of Invention blog here.
A MacBook update
Nothing serious, I just wanted to let you all know I bought a new MacBook. That means better, Macier posts from now on, which I'll probably be typing in Safari. Or FireFox. Haven't decided my web browser of choice yet. More updates later.
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