Club Killers

Back and forth, back and forth.


I could make justifications about music for getting down or just get down to business, so why don't I cut you some slack, huh?


I first wrote about Beachland back at the end of July. I was fresh off my honeymoon and in love with the world. Mostly just my better half, but also feeling that universal buzz of feeling all is right with the universe. Now, as Fall settles in and most Minnesotans get ready for The Dreaded Winter, the two of us are feeling the approaching malice of Old Man Winter. We want nothing to do with it, but have to live our lives in spite of it. We may not be able to do much more than crank up the thermostat and imbibe a bit to fight off the impending chill, but we can also toast the dear departed and celebrate with our friends and family in the face of shorter days and yawning nights. Its's appropriately timed with Halloween that I bring to you Horror Club!

Horror Club is a playlist by Nate LC that mixes the best of inescapably dance-able tracks with a hint of brooding, foreboding unease, a sense of the macabre and the morbid. It's a mix that kicks off in high gear, with Salem blasting out the mega-sized 'King Night', setting the tone for the rest of the mix. Flying Lotus tweak the ear just a bit, to keep you off kilter. Chromeo's 'I'm Not Contagious' adds to the dance flair with another added layer of dark, 'Thriller'-esque malice. It's a phenomenal track. Kanye's massive 'Monster' makes an appearance with guest spots by Jay-Z, Bon Iver and Nicki Minaj, of all odd pairings. It fits, but contributes more in bounce than it does in vibe. MGMT's 'Brian Eno' flips the equation on its head, throwing in tons of weird atmosphere with less fun and bounce, but a rocking and ultra-modern song none the less. The Black Keys do their damnedest with 'Too Afraid To Love You', an appropriately haunting tune. Skrillex does his best to melt our collective faces with the evil, funky 'Kill Everybody', almost doing so with the cut beats and snapped and twisted samples. It's one of the few times I feel acceptably old listening to club tracks. HEALTH make even the stiffest, whitest city kids feel hip and loose with 'USA BOYS', a stuttering, staccato track that opens up at just the right times . Sleep Over & Grillgrill ease us out of the madness, singing us to sleep with soothing, more ambient numbers that encourage coming down from the crazy dance sounds.

Look, I could go on and on for the rest of the night making fervent endorsements for this insane playlist of Spooky Month Music. Instead of doing that, I will just hit the integral facts - A) it's free B) it's spooky C) it jams. Straight up. This mix is insane and twisted and full of music you can download right now to get whatever business you claim to instigate on a Friday night going. I've already got it and enjoy the living end out of it. Do yourself a favor and download Horror Club now, before Nate LC pulls it. He's got great mixes for every season, so flip through his tumblr and see what's there. I'll sell you on more of his mixes when the season changes.

Clock Towers

Happy Weekend, kids!


How about something fun for the weekend? Something a little left of center to amuse you? You guys ever heard of Overclocked Remix? I love this site, both for the content and the concept. My neighbor in college told me about it, telling me if I had any love for video games at all, I simply had to check it out. At that point the site was already seven or eight years old. What I found there blew my mind.

Overclocked ReMix is ostensibly a place where artists take music from video games both new and old and reinterpret, remix and reconstitute it into amazing new works. The results are astounding. Name a game and its probably there. There are the heavy hitters of the video game world, like Final Fantasy VI or VII, which boast hundreds of respective remixes, or Earthbound, Chrono Trigger, anything Mega Man, Mario or Sonic related. There are thousands of high quality, mind blowingly original re-contextualizations of memorable music that will really make you step back and reevaluate the idea of music in gaming. The sheer volume of content hosted on the site is staggering - over 2,000 mixes by over 500 artists, all organized in searchable databases or listed by gaming platform.

This is something that you really owe it to yourself to check out, regardless of your stance on videogames - you may not care for them, but how can you deny that the music produced here is gorgeous? Not only does the source material vary widely, from pre-8 bit to modern symphonics, but so do the results - everything from techno and trance to thrash metal to jazz arrangements and classical compilations. Furthermore there are conceptual groupings and albums done by individual artists and the community as a whole. Entire soundtracks get re-worked and released for free as declarations of love for the games that spawned them. There's even a Youtube channel to flip through selections if you don't want to download anything.

Not only have the artists and members of the community received praise in print and across the web, they've received accolades and kudos from the originating artists themselves. The OC community always credits the source material and doesn't profit from the endeavor - this is all about love of the games. In the ultimate stamp of approval, the community was tasked with creating the official soundtrack for Street Fighter II HD Remix, a modern update of the classic fighting game, by the developers themselves. In fact the music for the game was one of the best received elements of the new game.


I adore this site. In the years since being turned on to it I've been consistently amazed at the work produced. It's made me really appreciate the music in games I love and better understand how the composers affect my experience. Old games I've loved have had new life breathed into them. Friends have loved music I've played for them, having no idea the songs originated from a 16 bit game. Normally they'd scoff and think me a geek. Instead they ask for a copy of it. I just want the world at large to know about this amazing community of artists and the crazy work they do. Give 'em  a look and see if your old favorites are there.

Reassembly

I'm typing this during a rainstorm while wearing gigantic headphones.


Not because I mind the sound of the rain, I should clarify, but because I'm trying to pay rapt attention to the music. After yesterday's long winded autopsy on Nine Inch Nails and the stretched-to-the-max The Fragile, I wanted to go back in for one last peak at the body. What I found surprised me.


As I tried to convey yesterday, there's an undercurrent of decay and collapse running through The Fragile. From lyrical references to song titles to the cover art suggesting entombing, the album has a pervasive sense of death and decomposition. The coda to the album, the incredibly divisive and derided Things Falling Apart, addresses this theme in a rather meta-contextual manner.

Released in freshly on the heels of The Fragile in 2000, I picked up the remix/manipulation compilation almost on a whim, as I had really enjoyed the source material. There were a few tunes that stuck out as interesting but they were surrounded by a relentless army of remixes of 'Starf*ckers, Inc.', an already abrasive track whose problems were only exasperated in their re-working. These others, though...something was trying to get through. 


I should clarify that I am aware of the reputation Nine Inch Nails have for theatrics and heavy handed emoting. I get it. I do. I see the overwrought nature of the posing and hit-you-on-the-head subtlety of some of the themes and analogies Reznor has employed. Despite these obvious quirks and flaws, I am still a fan of the band, if not for the unconventional sounds, then for the groundbreaking distribution methods and innovations they conjure. So hopefully that stops any internal monologues about "well what does this guy know?" because, hey - it fits with the rest of my obsession with spooky nighttime music.


Moving on.


The point I was making earlier in the post was that if The Fragile represented Reznor accepting the death and decay of a relationship and the loss of life we all accept as people (subtle stuff, right?) then Things Falling Apart would be the process of replacing the failing parts with mechanical workings, swapping out decayed tissue for metal plates. Strings and guitars get swapped for thumps and clicks, whirs and hums. While critics bagged on this release for it's lack of new sounds, save for a Gary Numan cover appropriately titled 'Metal', I loved the re-working of the sounds from The Fragile.

Hearing Reznor take 'Into The Void' and transmogrify it into a slippery, robotic chant where the only vocals are Reznor insisting "I keep slipping away..." is a strange and evocative thing when you love the source material. 'The Wretched' becomes a swarm of angry robotics, clicking and buzzing instead of churning over a piano beat. 'The Frail' becomes an uncanny hybrid of machine sounds and violins, illustrating the dichotomy at hand in gorgeous fashion. 'Where Is Everybody?' sees Reznor's vocals completely hacked into new sounds and phrases, creating the feeling of machines imploring the question in the title. 'The Great Collapse' is a new track but in keeping with the concept, it is a wholly metallic and synthetic tune, reminiscent of material from the Pretty Hate Machine era.

I can go all apologist with this material, but I still unabashedly adore what Reznor can do with simple ideas. The Fragile is both great and flawed for it's simple concepts stretched to long form. Here we see the same ideas flipped and turned inside out, only now it does sound more fresh than at the end of The Fragile. While I love the corpse of The Fragile, the cyborg/reanimated monster of Things Falling Apart is just as fascinating.

Get It While It's Good

Alright, kids. Gather round and listen.


I've written about Toussaint Morrison before, but you need to hustle up and get on his momentum while you still have a chance. His new mixtape dropped yesterday and it's even better than the last.


Hot on the heels of his last outing with Dr. Wylie, last spring's Toussaint Morrison Is Not My Homeboy, this week saw the Middle West rapper let loose his best outing yet. Titled Makin' Mistakes & Feelin' Great, the mixtape is full of the perfect little idiosyncrasies that make Toussaint so unique and fantastic. I hate to fawn but there are times, listening to it, that it feels eerily like it was tailor made to suit my tastes, only with more laser-like precision this time around.

 Lighting right up with an assist by local charmer and songbird K. Raydio, 'Jon Bones Jones' sets up the soundscape deftly. While Morrison whips through his verses like it's a steeple chases, his hooks get a touch of lightness and snap from K. Raydio's melodies. Showcasing the energetic mad-scientist work ethic of Dr. Wylie, 'Veronica Hotel' kicks in with a manic beat that practically knocks your ear off kilter intentionally. When it switches gears about 45 seconds in, Toussaint slips effortlessly into the pocket and you get the best of both worlds - heavy hip hop with insanely catchy dance track synths. Some new-wave-esgue stuff that gets you moving, no matter the office. Toussaint makes cracks about his critics still bringing their ipods to the office but at least I get to bob my head on the bus.


There are fresh new sounds on this mixtape, too. 'N.O.A.' has a fresh feel due to it's throw-back roots - it has an air of soul music and Al Green channeled through modern day thinking man's lyricism. 'F*uck School', a super fun rager with Jus Rhyme, shows that Morrison knows how to write a hook, making you want to shout out the title whenever it comes up. Despite the fact I've not set foot in a college in five years, it still feels fresh and rebellious. 'Favorite Game', featuring vocals by local legend Lucy Michelle, is a classic example of Toussaint at his most introspective while spinning yarns and name checking heavy hitters on the Minneapolis scene. The tone of the keys is so smooth and slick, it's a great track. 'Freedom Cobra', featuring Mayda, makes great use of a sample from The Strokes, while 'Mutant After All' has a hooky bit from Natalie Fine, adding to both track's dance-ability. From the construction and production of the track 'Ashley', there are times it feels like marketing execs wrote it just to appeal to every divergent taste in my brain.

My favorite track hands down, though, has to be 'Uppercut', with a guest spot by my favorite underground rapper, Homeless. Homeless, as you may or may not know, granted the first ever interview for this site. His back and forth volley with Morrison on this track is fantastic, their distinct but complimentary voices playing well off each other. I love the references they both drop, from Minneapolis landmarks to special moves in Street Fighter. 


It's easy to see why this mixtape is great. If you were lucky like I was, you were able to catch a download while they were available. If not, you can still stream it, but your best bet may be catching the man live, in action. Follow his twitter feed to see what's up and when he has a show coming. You'd do well to keep your ear on the ground.

Beached Wail

You guys!

I once again come bearing the joy that is free and fantastic music!

After a hard couple of days of emotional and deeply introspective posts about neglect, let's look on the brighter side of things, both literally and figuratively. To be perfectly honest I was quite content to keep the subject of today's piece as private as possible, but it's hardly private at this point. Hell, I read about it on the Nerdist blog, which is hardly an obscure place these days, what with their awesome-sauce podcast and newly-minted TV show. Anyway, the site tipped me off to something I love, in concept and execution - the good ol' mixtape. Although I suppose at this point, technologically, such a thing is extinct. It's more of a playlist. But that just doesn't have the same ring, now, does it?

I digress.

The mix is titled Beachland. Put together by Nate LC and hosted on his tumblr Mixbox, the playlist (which I remind you IS FREE) is designed to be a phenomenal and utterly enjoyable summer mix. After making good use of it since I was tipped off back in...what, May?...wow...I can say with certainty that it is a great mix. The dude knows how to string tunes together, which on the surface sounds easy but is, in fact, quite an art. Described in a manner which I won't crib here, the mix is the perfect thing for your summer and I wanted to make sure anyone reading this got a fair shake at it before the season is gone (sorry Aussies and Kiwis, try back in a few months). 

Full of legitimately great tracks by a variety of artists, there's something for everyone here. Kicking off (and wrapping up) with some beach sounds, the mix rolls from one chilled-yet-sunny track to the next with a deft touch of talented mixing. 'Surfers Hymn' by Panda Bear is a superb choice to open the mix with its joyous, open structure. 1234 Jericho by Jamaica is one of the sunniest, clearly summer songs I've ever heard. That it's followed by the super-fun 'Houdini' by Foster The People only sweetens the deal. I know it's total teeny-bopper stuff but I can't get enough of Eliza Doolittle singing 'Pack Up' - it's become a summer standard in and of its own right. I'm constantly hearing 'Radio' by Raphael Saadiq on the Current these days, highlighting its relevance. There's even some Lonely Island for levity and thump, as well as a great, cheery rap number from my seckrit favorite Childish Gambino.

I love this mix for a whole slew of reasons. It's incredibly well constructed and one of many Nate LC has done. I have yet to spin through the Halloween mix, which I am forcing myself to wait for October to play, even if it kills me to do so. Head on over and get it while you can and while the sun still shines - it's great for whatever you've got going, I promise.

Double Down

Sound the alarms! Double post!


I had to throw up a quick note to alert as many people as possible. Plus I figure after two weeks off I can throw the occasional double post to make up some ground, right? Anyway - you want to hear this. It's been all over the music world in the last week, but in case you haven't heard - do yourself a favor and head over to Wugazi to hear some amazing stuff.

The title says it all. Wugazi is simply the best of both worlds - the inspired, cacophonous delta that forms when Doomtree member Cecil Otter and producer Swiss Andy set about laying the vocals of the legendary Wu Tang Clan over the similarly (but more overlooked) Fugazi. It's one of those things that shouldn't be able to exist, yet it works so well. If you've read some of the other articles on this site about mashups and the manner in which our culture re-purposes pre-existing material, you might have an inkling of how mind-blowing I find this to be. Hell, Cecil Otter's solo albums are heady affairs, worthy of their own dissection. But to take some of the most unusual, groundbreaking hip hop of the last 20 years and throw it over some of the most curiously intelligent hardcore - that's some sublime, inspired genius. There was simply no chance for a middle ground here - either be un-listenable or undeniable. To the universe's credit, we go the latter. 

I was lucky enough to snag it before the site crashed, but it may be back up as of now. The free (FREE!) album of remixes/mashups is available now, so if you have absolutely any interest in A - essential hip hop B - high quality post punk C - post-modern music or D - insane jams for the summer...go to Wugazi.com NOW and download it. Before someone's lawyers smell blood in the water. 

Home Alone

Kids!


Good evening.


I've spent my share of time writing about the heavy weights of Minneapolis music. To refocus the aim I want to spread the good word about my favorite underground cat, Homeless. Born and bred in Minnesota, Homeless has been grinding away in the underground, making a name for himself battle by battle, track after track, show after show and killing it every time.

I knew Homeless back when he was getting started with the Slam Poetry scene and quickly standing out in a crowd of verbose and dynamic kids. When he combined his powers, Voltron-style, with Just Riley they started playing shows under the name Mnemosyne. Having seen them grow from the smallest venues as openers to seeing them become headliners it's been a blast to have seen the growth first hand. Naturally I was thrilled to learn the duo would be releasing their own mixtapes, Just Riley's Kids Eat Free and Patience Makes Lighter from Homeless. The way these two play off each other's style is nothing short of perfect, their voices and inflections filling the gaps and hitting the pockets they leave with a deft delivery. 

Countless videos have been documenting the process Homeless is taking with his craft, whether its shutting down his peers in Grindtimenow battles, dropping new verse after new verse over whatever he can or even taking one-trick-pony Asher Roth down a peg. To watch Homeless in action is a strange thing - he's a man with ideas and lines that are so grand in design they almost seem to escape him, only for the mc to wrap it up in a finish so harsh and well constructed you think back to how he got there and you marvel to yourself. His passion and venom for the perils of society keep him on the brink of teetering out of control, yet he never loses his cool and always speaks from the heart. Take the response to Asher Roth - Homeless was frustrated with the vapidity and mental indifference of the one-hit wonder. The track he released about it speaks volumes for his devotion to hip hop and how seriously he takes every opportunity. The battles he takes part in almost feel like they're too one-sided as he picks apart his competitors piece by piece. 

This is not to say he's your typical angry-at-the-world, thinking man's rapper. There's a positive air and optimism you rarely find in his line of work. Take for example his video, directed by Drew Carlson, for the Man Manits-produced 'Rest In Peace'. It has the old-time sunshine of Motown hits combined with Homeless' insightful, introspective rapping. How many rappers do you know that can start off a hook with the words "Pardon me..." and still feel like they're speaking a raw, honest truth? There's a line in the track that speaks volumes about his style and mindset - "The line between a sigh and a deep breath is patience". It not only reminds me of times I've lost my cool, but adds another layer to the title of his mixtape. The patience can make us lighter if we want our to ease our burdens.


I can't say enough good things about Homeless and his endearingly weary optimism. Check out his twitter feed for the occasional burst of encouragement or a reminder not to be hollow. Stay tuned for my first ever Q&A with Homeless, which will be posted tomorrow. You check out his vids and listen to Patience Makes Lighter and come back tomorrow - get to know the rapper in depth.

Backspin

Week ends.


It's an heartbreakingly gorgeous day here in MPLS for once. It seems like the entire spring has been a cold, rainy affair but as soon as June rolled over we've had warmer weather. It's almost as if May was the month for the weather to get the water out of its system before it got hot. Anyway, it's too nice to sit inside writing about music, so I'll just tell you about something I love and get on my way. 

If you're like me, you probably love folkster extraordinaire Sufjan Stevens. Fantastic music that bobs and weaves, floating in and out of your ears. In particular, the album Come On, Feel The Illinoise. Great, unusual music that is not quite unlike Andrew Bird. As wonderful as it is, I do, in fact, prefer a secret remix of the album. Done by Donald Glover under his DJ alter ego mcdj, the album Ill-inoise! serves as a complete reworking of the Sufjan Stevens masterpiece. The resulting remixes are absolutely gorgeous. It's as if Glover took these beautiful but grounded balloons and just undid the tethers that grounded them. All of the tracks have a lightness to them, partly from the raised pitch of the original samples, but also stemming from the fact that there are some deftly crafted drum loops and atmospheric touches. Glover's sense of space and style show an intrinsic love of his craft and a deep understanding of the source material.

I find it quite fascinating that our culture has taken such flight with the idea of reworking pre-existing works of art - I struggle to think of other generations where there has been such a movement that is so meta-contextual and almost self referential. I've written about the circular nature of our mashup culture; I've also heard grumblings from older generations about the shallow nature to the culture as a result. Some would say it certainly seems a mixed blessing at best. I don't think that's the case - after all, listen to how gorgeous this album turned out when mixed by a second artist. What are the odds that he would have created a similar work in his own right if the source material hadn't existed? That's your homework assignment - download this album and make notes. Test is Monday. 


I'll leave it at that and let the remixes speak for themselves. Go find mcdj and his music here - it's serene music for a barbecue or pool party scene like today. I'll see you tomorrow.

Multiple Incarnations

Ladies and gentlemen, it's the weekend.


It's also cold and rainy, but given our spring this year that's no surprise.


What is a surprise is Toussaint Morrison. This local rapper/musician is stunningly talented and ready for big things. 


I had been attending shows by some friends of mine (relevant post pending) who were repeatedly splitting the bill with Morrison, who would perform under alternating incarnations - either with his backing band The Blend or as a member of Lazlo Supreme. Either way, it was impressive stuff, the kind of music where you sit up and take notice. It's saying something when you are going somewhere to see your friends and another act starts to really draw your attention, and Toussaint Morrison has done just that. 

Harnessing the energy of his splintered personalities, Morrison handles the mic with a deftness and dexterity few emcees possess. His wordplay is complex and free flowing, working with the music rather than against it. Unlike a lot of the rappers who only wish they could, Morrison can carry a tune as well, so his hooks and performances have a greater range than your average hip hop show. His energy and professional craftsmanship are of the caliber that when you find yourself greeting friends and reconnecting, one of his songs will start and everyone stops what they were doing to watch the stage. When the beats start to bang your head starts to nod, instinctively. I had seen Toussaint Morrison perform a handful of times when, during one of his sets, I turned to a friend and realized aloud "Damn, he's really good, isn't he?" I got a knowing nod and grin in response. Imagine my excitement, then, when Morrison started tweeting about the release of his excellently overwhelming mixtape Toussaint Morrison Is Not My Homeboy.


Spanning 12 tracks and running a breathless, relentless 45 minutes, the mixtape is a series of genius samples and intricately worded lyrics, courtesy of Morrison and partner in crime Dr. Wylie. In the first track alone I caught references to subjects close to my heart like Left 4 Dead, Suicide Booths, Streets of Rage, Hand Over Fist, Zelda and Hyrule, all followed by a chip-tuned outro to the song. I have to admit, I'd heard the track live and it bangs, no doubt. But to hear the words so clear as to realize all the references he'd been making, it made my head explode at his wit and pop-cultural name-checks. An entire track devoted to exploring the themes of Marvel's Civil War? Done. A come-and-get-it confrontational about Street Fighter? Yup. Nerd love aside, the guy writes lyrics that are heartfelt and honest, as well, like on the sentimental 'Lady & The Vamp' which makes great use of a Passion Pit sampling. Other tracks use great source material as well, like Modest Mouse and Franz Ferdinand. Seriously, trying to unpack this dense mixtape is like playing spot-the-reference, not just in lyric but music as well.

Check out Toussaint Morrison's free mixtape here, and peep the video for the excellent 'Walk Thru The Wall' here. The artist also keeps a blog of his thoughts and writings here. If you have a chance to see the man live, do yourself a favor and go! His live shows hooked me, they'll get you too.

Pakt Tite

Evening, one and all.

After having a good feeling yesterday from writing about how fantastic G-Stone Records' artist repertoire is, I thought I would take a similar route for today's (only tangentially) related post.

You see, sometimes the best way to discover something is to just branch out. It also helps to have nothing to lose, as well. Relevant to both of these conditions is the fact that last summer (or maybe it was two summers ago...can that be right? Have I been running that long?) the kind people at Apple decided to not only offer their typical Single of the Week and Discovery Download, they also had a free sampler available from German electronik label Kompakt. Being a sucker for both music of both the free and electronic types, I immediately downloaded the 2009 Family Label Sampler. I have to admit I had very low expectations for the thing, assuming there would be a lot of heavy-handed four-on-the-floor techno music of the tritest variety, perhaps one or two decent songs in the collection.

To my surprise and delight I was completely wrong.

It turns out that the artists at Kompakt not only make fantastic music but do so with perspective and nuance I had frankly never encountered in electronic music before! Instead of mindless, stupid rave music I found myself zoning out to surreal, quiet little numbers that lasted longer than I could even hope. That's one of the secret bonuses to not working in conventional song structure - you don't have to limit yourself to three and a half minutes. There was a great deal of minimalist, barely expressed tones - from the churning and beeping of 'Kenton' by Mikkel Metal to the ambient atmospherics of 'America' by Dusty Kid. This was music with a refreshingly unique perspective. While I had been growing bored with my usual fare of indie rap and guilty pleasure pop songs, here was a collection of intelligent, subtly expressed electronic/techno music that came completely out of left field. On top of that it was free! What more could a guy ask for? Let me explain a little more accurately by quoting Grooves magazine: 


"Kompakt’s chief aesthetic objective has always been the perfect marriage of ambient texture and linear 4x4 structure—blending deep, granular sound design with the 4-bar rhythmic intensity and patterning that makes house and techno so club-effective"

 Around this same time I had begun running for fitness, after years of poor health and eating habits. While there was no shortage of guitar-and-screaming aggro music to motivate me in the beginning, after a while I had burned out on the same songs. I was enjoying the running very much but wanted to get out of my own head during the process. This collection was the perfect answer to that problem. The steady slap of rubber on pavement paired wonderfully with the soft synths and samples of beats. There was a zen element, an unconscious mantra  of "Don't think, just breathe, one foot in front of the other" that I found myself slipping into. Unfortunately I have a habit of repetition and obsession. This collection was no exception. To be blunt, I was listening to the mix to the point of wearing it out on my ears.

Time passed and summer was coming again (and therein establishes my time frame!). A family member had kindly bestowed the simple joy that is an iTunes gift card to me. While many scoff at the idea of what they perceive to be a throw-away gift or an empty gesture, I am always thrilled to receive one. It means freedom to roll up your sleeves and dig in, really look for something left field. You can buy something on which you normally wouldn't risk the scratch. Recalling the joy of running accompanied by Kompakt, I searched around on the store to see what was available. Sure, I could have picked a specific artist and gone hogwild. Instead I decided to roll the dice again, purchasing one of the label's collections, this one titled Total 10. 

I once again hit pay dirt.

Twenty tracks this time, all of them solid examples of the artists at their best. The weather was improving, bad bout of Illiotibial Band Syndrome was fading away and I had all the heady, zoning out music I could want. Having a total of 30 tracks from this excellent label has proved to be just the right amount for the time being - I have yet to tire of this combined grouping, still spinning the playlist when heading out for a run. By mixing these two compilations I created a monster of a playlist that serves as a  surreal and dreamlike induction into a different headspace, all courtesy of this amazing German label. Head over to thier site or look them up on itunes, you'll find something you like, I know it.

Modern Sounds

Hello, hello.


This is it, friends and neighbors. My last round up before I start writing regular content again. I must confess it has been nice not to be under the perpetual self-imposed deadline of fresh, charming content every day. On the flip side, I've begun to itch, not having that full release of the creative mind. I've had a chance to reboot and restock. Watched a few movies, listened to some music, dl'ed some podcasts and am in the midst of another book. So starting tomorrow I'll be doing my usual columns on things you SIMPLY MUST KNOW ABOUT but may already be well aware of. At any rate, we will soon be back at equilibrium. Until then, feel free to look back at some of the more modern selections from the first 100 posts of sekrit awesome things:


Das Racist - The craziest post-modern, da-da rappers around. DL their mixtapes. NOW. 
Simple Science - The Get Up Kids return from the grave with renewed vigor!
Spoon - Their freshest single is a sick, sick mess full of off kilter drums. It's a knockout.
Sleigh Bells - Noise-pop electro duo from New York making some of the most popular music in some circles.
Atmosphere - Minneapolis' legends of hip hop put out a crazy good free album a couple years ago.
The Strokes - In light of their new album I offer a look back at the album that shaped the decade.
Childish Gambino - A look at the multi-talented career of Donald Glover and his musical exploits. Not long after that article was written he released a brand new EP. Check it out.
Gayngs - The mega-group has made huge waves in the music community this year. Find out why.
Analog Heart - American Idol winner David Cook made a phenomenal, hush-hush album before his big win.
The Gorillaz - Damon Albarn and Co. made an entire free album all on the iPad. It's a strange, beautiful thing.


That's it for now, kids. Like I said, I miss the regular grind even if the break has been nice. I just had to take a brief reprieve to build up a little momentum. Tomorrow we're back at it. Until then, read up and sweet dreams.

Gene Splicer

Evening. 


Way too late to be doing this. See how it gets when you let life happen? Things get re-ordered and priorities get in the way, and suddenly I'm frantically typing up a blog post just to get one up and tallied for the day. In the spirit of a frenzied feeling of harried crossed wires, the theme of today's roundup is posts on Mash-Ups and cultural jams, things that are spliced and resequenced for the sake of art. I think the reason I obsess over this concept is that it expresses the sheer possibility of infinite permutations, that even after a thing is created and labeled finished it can still be reconstituted and put into fresh context to become a new thing with new meaning. Peruse these pieces, won't you?


Kids & Explosions - A look at a fantastic mash-up album that doesn't just pair up songs, it creates whole new pieces.
Simpsons/Futurama Crossover Crisis - Just as good as it sounds, honestly. Two great tastes that go great together.
Chronologically Lost - Why my brain melts at the idea of watching Lost in sequential, chronological order.
Star Wars Xmas Invasion - Nothing at all related to the horrible special you're thinking of. Just look.
Fan Edits - In which I fawn over the concept of new & improved versions of films perceived as flawed.
Jaydiohead - Hipster Gods meet Hip Hop Deity courtesy of Max Tannone.
The Hood Internet - Watch these artists reconstitute the amazing work of Felt via Electro records. As dope as it sounds.
Affiliyated - In which the relentless Doomtree re-grind the slow-burn slow-jams of Gayngs.
Girl Talk - The DJ who crashed the internet last fall with All Day, a sick party album.


See what I meant? All these posts are basically accounts of my brain shutting down over the circular, downward spiral logic of these meta-contextual works of art. Read 'em and weep. My brain is fried. Yours can be too, just read up. 

Mile Stone

Hey kids, what do you know? I'm back in Minnesota and glad to see I brought just a little bit of the warmth home with me. My flight got in just after midnight - consequently I'm dragging today. To boot, this is post number 100. I should be doing cartwheels and lighting off fireworks. Instead, my head's bobbing and I'm thinking fondly of pillows. I got nothing. While I had sworn up and down that today would bring a wondrous return to form, instead it will be just one more slightly truncated post. So what can I evangelize about when I'm feeling so foggy? 

Girl Talk. All Day. 

That's what's up. 

I've talked about mash-ups here at great length, from the artsy compositions of Kids & Explosions to the meta-contextual jokes of the Hood Internet. The golden boy, though, is the massively popular Girl Talk, also known as Gregg Gillis. Gillis has been making music for years, at this point having put out five albums of remixes and mash-ups. His latest salvo, All Day, was so popular and hotly demanded it basically broke the internet when it came out in November of 2010. His site and any other that hosted the album were crushed under the overwhelming surge of traffic seeking a working link. I'm guessing the odds are pretty high that if you're even reading this then you have at least a passing familiarity with this ridiculously talented DJ. Alternately available as either one massive track or 12 separate songs, the album is, in my opinion, even better than his previous release Feed The Animals, even though the All Day hasn't received as high of marks as Animals. 

All Day is (to me, at least) the quintessential party album - it's high energy, full of huge hooks and varied enough to keep anyone's attention for a solid hour. Seriously - the choices Gillis makes when playing Dr. Frankenstein are good enough to just listen to it straight through, let alone putting it on for a ripper with your friends. I love the way it opens, kicking immediately into high gear with Ludacris rapping over Black Sabbath. We can all have a good laugh over the trials and tribulations of the dreaded rap rock but when you hear it done right (as it is several times on this album) it absolutely makes sense. It just takes the right DJ to make it happen. There are some absolutely sublime pairings here, like Jay Z's 'Can I Get A...' rapped over some General Public, the swagger of Jigga unexpectedly complimenting the indie-pop of 'Tenderness'. Even better is hearing Beyonce's infectious 'Single Ladies' sung over the raucous exuberance of M.O.P.'s 'Ante Up'. I don't tire of either if those songs on their own, so cutting them up and stitching them together is like making a sandwich from your favorite foods. Just goodness all around. Some of my favorite mid-90s alterna-Gods make surprise appearances here, as well. Portishead, Spacehog and Jane's Addiction all turn up in hilariously solid ways. There is no cognitive dissonance like hearing ODB rapping 'Shimmy Shimmy Ya' over 'Creep' by Radiohead and actually having it turn out better than one could ever think. There's a staggering array of material Gilllis draws from here, from the Jackson 5 to Bananarama, Rhianna to Toad The Wet Sprocket. This is the kind of excellent remix album where, if you find yourself not enamored with a specific track, you can just wait for about 45 seconds and something awesome happens. I've played it for friends who cried blasphemy over the use of 'Where The Streets Have No Name' only to smile and start bouncing their shoulders at the genius reworking of 'Killing In The Name' under M.I.A. It's nuts. 

Like I said earlier, the reviews for this album weren't as high as previous efforts by Gillis. I have no idea why, though - I think this album is absolute gold, start to finish. There's no lags in it at all, for me. You're getting ready to go out on a Saturday night, getting dressed in the morning, going for a drive on a sunny afternoon, I don't care. You can put this album on and straight up rock out for an hour. There's something so fun about listening to a mashup album and feeling that moment of recognition when you hear something familiar come flying through the ether. There are combinations here that make me laugh out loud every time I hear them. For real, if you haven't heard this yet go over to Girl Talk's site and pick it up. No iTunes this time, kids. I'm afraid the good people in the record business are a little wary about artistic license in this case. I'd write more about this awesome, super fun album but I'm struggling to make cogent thoughts at this point. I'm glad to be back in MPLS, if only for the signs of spring. See you tomorrow when I'm better rested. 

Sit Down & Shut Up

Day five, I'm just finishing my travels, currently on the way to the airport. A little rushed but mostly alright for time. I've had a phenomenal time in AZ and eaten way too much sinful food, including Black Sphinx dates - I honestly wanted to weep when I ate them, they were so good. Made a crazy ice cream Sunday like a child at the Road Runners show because apparently 60s radio hits necessitate a full ice cream bar. Chocolate covered blueberries were good but too much chocolate, not enough blueberry. Honey roasted peanut butter fresh pressed at Whole Foods was unreal. Sad my local store has no peanut butter press. Got too much sun and feeling fried still, just tired and dumb from all the vitamin D flooding my system.


Since time is a bit of a factor here I'll just throw a short bit up here on a popular but oddball music group, Das Racist. Hailing from New York, this meme-tastic hip-hop outfit first made waves with the dada-esque viral song "Combination Pizza Hut and Taco Bell". Soon after, to establish their legit rap cred, they released a pair of mixtapes: Shut Up, Dude and Sit Down, Man. These two mixtapes are not only super awesome examples of modern hip-hop and the humor it can wield but they're also totally free. While critics may dismiss it as joke rap or absurdist, they'd be missing out on awesome beats and surreal lines these guys create. My personal favorite track - the bobbing weirdness of "hahahaha Jk?" that sample the theme from Days of Our Lives. The refrain: "we're not joking, just joking we are joking, just joking - we're not joking." Sounds weird but it actually is a great line. 

There's a ton more I could dissect here, the songs and lyrics are intricately woven and strange. Unfortunately I'm at the airport now and am having to face the reality of checking in and dealing with crowds. Cringe. Shudder. Here we go. Tomorrow I return to the usual sturm and drang of my normal schedule, so these posts will be a little more fleshed out. Until then, kids. Until then.

Meat Cleavers & Shotguns

This is it, kids. End of the line.

Day 7 of the Doomtree Diatribe. I've covered the MC's and some of their best, if under-appreciated, releases. I've covered their devoted, multi-talented producers and beat makers. It's been fun rehashing their awesome body of work - I was introduced to their sound back in 2005 and they've accomplished tons and tons since then. They are the definition of hometown heroes, here in Minneapolis. They're a talented crew of devoted, boundary-pushing artists who grind away daily for the love of it, while inspiring the next generation to do something meaningful with their lives. To atone for the over-the-top sycophantic nature of that last sentence, let's take a step back and look at some tangential material, shall we? Just some details to round out the week, to ease off the medication, so to speak.

First up would be the excellent dance mix put out by waning member Marshall Larada, 'Break In Two'. Larada, known for his production and design skills, was at one time a formative and core member of the group, having taken a step back from heavy performance as of late. Released at shows and online, the album is, on the surface level, breakdancing music. Just a series of infinitely danceable beats designed to keep you going. Beneath that, though, is the reality - Larada designed an album of samples and beats from his childhood through modernity and it works as great party music. If you read yesterday's post on Paper Tiger's False Hopes, this plays the flip side to that expectation. You expect straight-up dance tracks, you get good times and mash ups and mixes galore. Pick it up and pop it in on a sunny Saturday while you cruise around the lakes this spring. 

Next up - the massive amounts of media the crew maintain on their site. Obviously in this digital age, the game has completely changed - MTV is almost entriely irrelevant to widestream publicity and radio is desperately trying to catch up to the shifting landscape. Doomtree's site has selected tracks to check out, as well as a collection of videos and shorts that are too numerous to list off here. Particular highlights, though, include their non-rap material. Turns out when some really smart musicians try their hand at humor it can really pay off. Check out their insane 'As Seen On TV', which sees the crew through the hyper-real filter of the TV junket. Others include the group of videos showing just how hard the crew is working. Check 'em out, they're good. On top of it, they have their bonafide videos available, as well. While they're all great, be sure to take a look at some of the best they've done, including clips for:

Half-cocked Concepts
Purexed
Optimist
Prizefight
Gameover
Dixon's Girl
Drumsticks
Traveling Dunk Tank
Burn It Down
One Dimensional Man 

One final note, probably most important of all. Sims is in the midst finishing a never ending tour in support of his phenomenal Bad Time Zoo and Dessa just announced her first headlining tour across the nation. If there is any chance that you could see either of these two when they come to your town, for the love of all that is good and sacred, go see them. They have phenomenal live energy and beats that make you move whether you want to or not. I did this week long series of posts because I wanted to do justice to their music and passion instead of a single blog post. Now I realize I could do this for every release they put out - they're that good. I'm sure other releases and events will warrant more posts, but in the meantime I got to evangelize about my favorite hip hop artists. Just glad to know other people appreciate them like I do.

Collabo

Evening!


Another day full of errands and tasks after yesterday, so today's post is, again, truncated. The week coming, though, will allow for a little more proper writing. It's snowing again, of course. It's Minnesota in March, after all. I'm at home, having downed massive amounts of curry in the hopes that the endorphins can counteract the weather's mood killer. Speaking of killer moods, though...


Last month I wrote a post on the amazing Gayngs and their awesome album Relayted. They're still riding high on their acclaim, ready to rock SXSW and (much to my sorrow, as I can't attend) playing their Affiliyated showcase at First Ave tonight as I type this. Due to time and budget I find myself so close yet so far from what is no doubt an amazing show, with member's originating bands playing all over the venue, including the massive Doomtree crew, Solid Gold, Megafaun and the Leisure Birds. For those able to attend, I'm sure it was every bit as awesome as could possibly be. For those like myself, though, there is one small consolation - the free and amazing EP, Affiliyated.

This sick EP is brought to us by Minneapolis deities Doomtree. What the group did is the kind of creative process that fascinates my brain with its unlimited, diverging possibilities. Essentially they stripped the original album, the aforementioned Relayted, and drew straws for the elements laid bare. By drawing at random, different members of the crew took on tracks and rebuilt them from the ground up. It's a great reworking of what was already a phenomenal album. Songs have gone from sexy, subdued ditties to ethereal, ambient beats. Instead of the soulful crooning on the original versions, here we have Sims and P.O.S. spitting new raps over these regrinds. It's still the same moody, gorgeous music, just tweaked and rebuilt by the best damn rap crew around. On top of all this awesomeness, it's free - a token of love from crazy, prolific artists who push themselves on every project. 


I may be bummed out I can't make it to the massive spectacle at First Ave, but having this rad EP makes up for it. All the artists involved continue to blow me away with all they do. SXSW is looking a whole lot better, I can say that much. Do yourself a favor and head over here to pick up the EP.

Referential Humor

Hey kids, what's shaking?


It's the weekend and I'm trying to fit this in around a busy schedule of normal get-it-done-while-there's-time kind of errands, the usual life stuff that gets done as soon as you have time. What that really means is today's post is gonna be a short, concentrated blast of love. To pack the most love possible into it, the subject is a dense, knotted ball of referential music. Mashup time, once again.


If you're not familiar with The Hood Internet you really oughta be. Remix/mashup artists from Chicago, they are best known for taking commercial rap and throwing it on top of indie music. The resulting mix either elates or infuriates hipsters - I can't tell because I honestly haven't had a chance to ask a genuine hipster about it, but then again this is focusing entirely too much on labels. I digress. Point is, The Hood Internet make these great, indulgent mix tapes and put them on their blog totally for free. I've written many times about the wonders of free things on the internet and this is another classic example. So these guys are mixing all this great stuff together, I'm sorting through and downloading it while thinking "This is great stuff for party music, having people over" and I notice one of the smaller or shorter releases they did:

Looks like the duo took the acapella tracks from Felt and put them over the awesome and strange electro music of Tobacco, specifically his album Maniac Meat. It is phenomenal and weird at the same time. Felt, in case you don't know, is the project of local deity Slug from Atmosphere and Oakland's Murs from Living Legends. The two have been making a series of albums together for the last few years as tongue in cheek tributes to celebrities they wanna bed, like Lisa Bonet, Christina Ricci and Rosie Perez. They're both incredibly talented, insightful rappers who have had both critical and commercial careers that establish them as legends in their respective stomping grounds so hearing them together is always great. So when a mashup team who I also love take their vocals and lay them on top of another musician's work we then spiral into a deeper level of Inception-like referential awareness. It's like an ouroboros at this point. The meta-context of the EP is so thick it approaches impenetrability, which amuses me to no end, and yet listening to it, it's just electro-hip-hop. 


This awesome(and free!) EP is a mutli-leveled beast of dance music the could be deconstructed by much smarter minds. I've wondered in the past about how music evolves and how our collective minds influence the direction of culture - I think this is another sign of where we're headed. Like Girl Talk's endless, segueing jams or Kids & Explosion's more ground-up approach, we have artists whose work becomes so causality-focused that the listener's personal history and ability to place context with the presented material becomes wholly ingrained to the experience. It's not just listening to the music anymore, now there is a level of awareness that goes along with it. One could relate it to the rise of cultural memes and how they spread and become jokes about the jokes themselves, like LOLCats, the self-aware schlock-fest Snakes On A Plane or the resurgence of Family Guy after its premature cancellation. Pop culture is eating it's own tail at this point. Good or bad, we're so connected to our own hive mind that ideas reference themselves in ironic or winking ways so fast that a generation gap appears after a point. However, this gap is not strictly based on age but on the effort put forth by the participant. If you don't want to care about it, your experience is much more surface level and straight forward, while connectedness and awareness of the in-joke makes it an endless spiral into meta-context. 


Holy Hannah, looking at all that text, you know what's really apparent? I need to abstain from espresso before I write these pieces. Looks like my mind is speeding up to the point of humming bird status. Instead of making my keyboard burst into flames from furious typing, I'll let the music speak for itself. Head to their blog to download this EP as well as the rest of their awesome mix tapes. Play it while you entertain this weekend.