Hercules DJ Console Rmx [hardware]

Yes, I've fallen off again from posting, but this time it's not out of laziness... directly. I've been listening to less LPs in the last couple weeks ever since I started giving my full attention to playing with my new toy, the MIDI controller you see pictured above. While I actually bought it off my friend almost four weeks ago, any down time where I wasn't partying was consumed by working on my Deadmau5 head (which I should actually post a pic of, come to think of it). Now I worked on this for nearly two weeks, first in just creating it for the show on the 23rd, and later in modifying it for Halloween, so it wasn't until after Halloween weekend that I finally got to dig in to mixing.

And what fun it's been thus far. So far I've played on this every day since a week before last Monday. And it's not like I can't post on this because I'm busy mixing, because I never post at home anyway, only at work O:) But now that I've started getting into this, it's all I think about during the day and consequently the vast majority of music I've listened to lately has been electronic or at least music I could mix. Since this primarily focuses on singles, I haven't dug into too many new LPs to review. Shows are also quieting down. Since Deadmau5 the only show I saw was Bear in Heaven, who I've seen before this year and was unimpressive only in the way that they put on an almost identical show (same venue even). It's sad that I'm already falling out of keeping up with LPs, because it's getting near the end of the year and the lists will start coming out and I want to be as caught up as possible (which is impossible to a completist like myself, of course). I still have many older albums from this year that I could review, but like I said, I'm not even in the mindset. At work instead of reading about LPs on Pitchfork, Tiny Mix Tapes, Slant, etc. I'm on Beatport reading about and listening to samples of new producers/DJs.

So it's hard to say what direction this blog will take. Ideally, if I keep working hard at mixing, I'll be able to put together some mixes that I can post here. I'm sure these would be much more desirable than any words or links that I've put up here already. Anyway, one of my motivators is a party that I'm supposed to co-DJ for in a week-and-a-half, so I've got my work cut out for me. Truly though I'm having a blast doing this, and it's not going to be a tough crowd (unless I don't play any pop), so I need to just have fun with it. I'm opening for Spiderman, which is daunting enough. He didn't have his public debut until a few weeks ago at his own house, and he had been practicing for two years. I've got a lot of nerve playing out after two weeks, ha.

Well, that's all for now. Time to get some soup dumplings in Chinatown....

If you're curious about the technical details about the Hercules DJ Console Rmx that I have acquired, here is the official site.

Also as a bonus for reading this far, here is the recently published Top 100 DJs from DJ Mag. (Spoiler alert! Deadmau5 is #4 :D )

Interpol - Interpol

When I first heard the first new Interpol single, "Lights", I couldn't get fully immersed in it. My initial reaction was to associate it with some of the slower, meandering and frankly boring songs from their last and third LP, Our Love to Admire. I didn't listen again or hear anything else new until I saw them at The Vic back in August. Since their last album dropped, I've only revisited them occasionally, throwing Turn on the Bright Lights into the car cd player for a few cold winter commutes (back when I had my old job and actually drove everyday).

Now off the heels of one of the hottest and spiritually brightest summers I can remember, Interpol comes to try to make a comeback, and I honestly felt it was too early in the season to give them a chance, as I tried to milk as much as I could of the freewheeling and non-serious summer days and nights. I almost didn't even go to the show, and seeing them live seemed anachronistic as I just found myself wishing that it was January, when I would expect their dark and brooding music would fit perfectly with the bitter Chicago cold and my post-holiday reflective blues.

They did not demonstrate much of their new material live, and the show acted as more of a distant reminder of the kind of pain and cold loneliness that used to be more prevalent within, rather than a timely beautiful reflection or amplification of it.

But when they played "Lights" live, there was definitely an effect. Some dark invisible hands grabbed me by the shoulders and threw me into a empty dark space, where I found myself floating without the aid of rhythm (the ground to dance or at least stand on), only to be barely carried along the wispy wave of the singular guitar line that pilots the track. The echoing vocals of Paul Banks climbed perfectly with the guitar line to form a dim light source of only minimal illumination. The light grew as the backing vocals and soft rimshots joined in, followed by the kickdrum, then galloping stick rhythms to become bright pulsating and alive, like a violent burning star. The lyrics are for me like most of Interpol's other songs, poignant only really with the fragments that stick out, which as usual tie together with feelings of bitterness, angst, and melancholy. There isn't complete emptiness in the lyrics. Like with the xx, there is much sentimentality, but the feelings are bittersweet, like the recognition of a complicated and abstract love that will not be calm or harmonious. Like a star that grows, love grows too. But burns too much at times. And wavers with violent turbulence. And will eventually die. Though it has the warmth to sustain, its potential for harm can be intimidating to the point where you might want to sail away, or at least stay in distant orbit.

Excerpt from "Lights":

All that I see
show me your ways
teach me to meet my desires...with some grace

All that I fear
don´t turn away
and leave me to plead in this hole of a place...what if I never break

[edit]

All that I can see
a gold mystic spree
a seeithing routine
I could never navigate
maybe I like to stray

no harm it seems to be less so free...not today
it´s like you want it that way


As much as I appreciated the live show, I still was reluctant to dive into the deep waters of a new Interpol album. Again, I recalled the inconsistency and overall low impact of the last album, and I was feeling like I should be ready for some more burnt embers from charred remains of their incendiary debut and fairly sizzling followup, or the failed experiments of the slow dirge-like experimentation a la Our Love to Admire's opening track. When I eventually did take the plunge, I found echoes of early work in theme and feel only, not in execution, and that the attempts at heavy dirge-like toils to be powerful and naturally emotional instead of vapid and mechanical. The album is finally the real reinvention, or at least long-overdue evolution for the band. Their self-titled offering is not the definition of an original artist's original work (that would be their first album), but it could be. It stands alone as a flowing body of solid songwriting and careful execution, a statement of original work that stands on its own yet can also fit in a catalogue. Going back and revisiting the third album, there are songs I like, but they ultimately are again concepts in the wake of the burst of dark beauty that was their earliest work. Many tracks demonstrated Interpol's attempts to evolve, but they felt forced as if the band knew they had to experiment but without inspiration, and pushed the album out on the reliability of the familiar-sounding songs that were actually not much more than degenerate mimicry of their early work.

However now on Interpol we are finally treated to some new material that finally does something new and does it well. They are still brooding, but they are brooding slower and more deeply. This is the heaviest Interpol album yet. It sounds like they finally gave up on the rat race to outrun their dark speed demon of a first album and just let their dark personas bleed emotion slowly out of their mouths and fingertips. There are no radio singles here, no songs to drop on a party mix, or even a driving mix (unless you like driving slow). Instead what you get is an album you can listen to front to back and want to start it all over when you're done because you just can't get some of those heavy lyrics or guitar lines out of your head. I've only been primarily listening to this in my basement on lukewarm October nights... on the rare circumstances I have no plans... so I can't even imagine its impact on the snowy and frigid nights in January where there is nothing to do and no one to keep you company but your anxieties and regrets.

Interpol - Interpol (full album)

Sufjan Stevens [Live at the Chicago Theater, 10/15/10]

I bought my tickets to Sufjan presale, half because I haven't seen him before and was a big fan of the two states albums, and half because I knew it would sell out and I would have security in selling them in case I didn't end up going. Since I knew they would sell out, I bought two tickets. As it turned out, I didn't get a date for the show, but more surprisingly, none of my friends were interested, or at least interested enough to pay the face value, which was $48 (after fees). So prior to the show I was losing interest in going, but my tickets never arrived in the mail and it was looking like I'd have to get them Will Call, precluding me from selling the pair in advance to free my weekend for a trip to Madison with some friends. However, listening to a leaked stream of the Age of Adz on NPR a week or so renewed my interest and reaffirmed my faith in the mystical minstrel.

What excited me and made me forget all about the Christmas album (the last release of his I could remember until I looked up and recalled he put out that BQE EP as well as a self-released psuedo-LP mp3 collection) is the fact that while his songwriting retained the orchestral instrumentation and epic nature, he also incorporated electronic sounds as well as prog rock developments. I only listened to it once though, deciding that I'd like the actual show to be as fresh as possible.

The day before the show my roommate expressed an interest in the extra ticket, but the day of the show he admitted he had to work late and would prefer to save his money for Bob Dylan on Halloween weekend. My tickets did end up arriving at my office last minute upon reshipment, so at about 2pm the day of the show I posted on CList that I'd sell my extra for face. Apparently earlier in the week people were scalping, but the day of the show people were getting desperate and were accepting less than face (technically face as opposed to face plus fees), so I wasn't getting any takers. Finally I added my phone number, which I've never done on a CList ad, and right as I left my house to go downtown to the venue, I got a call from a guy interested. No harrassing at the venue for me!

I met the guy at the venue a bit early, and we walked around the block so I could properly prep for the show with a little chat with Samson. This guy, who turned out to be a pretty serious 20-year-old music major, was a straight shooter (much like me at 20), and talking about music was about the only thing we had in common. Not only did he not fraternize with Samson but was no smoker or drinker either, and didn't have much to say when I brought up the topic of girls. In any case, he was a nice enough guy, and we got in our seats just as DM Stith was opening.

Now I was really hoping to have halfway decent seats. I knew they were in the balcony, but I got them presale so I was hoping for a nice view from up front or the side. Instead, we were in the very LAST row in the main balcony section, with the only people behind us being in a special row of chairs on the top landing. Not only did this make for a terribly far and awkward view of the performers but of the screen behind as well, which was host to much animated video during Sufjan's set. Not only that, but of course it did not sound quite as good (though still better sound than almost any other venue in the city), and to boot, it felt like it was about 85 degrees.

The unfortunate part about talking to Samson so early was that it was peaking during the opener, DM Stith. Only familiar with him as far as reading reviews, I enjoyed his short set which included a range of instrumental pieces, from acoustic to small chamber horn quartet, to looped wordless vocal chants. Sufjan started with a stage-full of musicians, himself poised in the front with everyone forming a filled-in semi-circle behind him (at least I can appreciate the geometry of the setup from that high up). After the first lush vocal-heavy piece, he introduced himself and the show which was to be basically all 'explorations' from Age of Adz. About halfway through the first set, he took a long break to explain the inspiration of the album, which was essentially the life story and work of an artist who, plagued by schizophrenia, escaped with his family to live and paint in the forest, before eventually driving out his family and losing complete touch with society due to his paranoia. The themes of his art were apparently very spacey, as in the outer variety, but also had this aspect of the cosmos of the mind and heart. Deep shit, indeed.

Sufjan rambled about this shit for a while, and while the information about the inspiring artist (who died of a heart attack one day when he left his house upon 'having a vision') was interesting, Sufjan's personal take on his own songwriting definitely got a bit overindulgent. It was nice to hear him crack some jokes too, and made me wonder if he actually doesn't take all the lovey-dovey shit in his songwriting as serious as I originally thought.

The worst part of the experience was definitely the vantage point, and the fact that I started getting tired as I came down from my talk with Samson during the second half of the set. The highlight for me, aside from the music, were definitely the videos. What made them cooler was that they were apparently animations created using images from the inspiring artist's paintings. There were definitely some spacey voyage-like trips, with one part uncannily resembling a flight down the corridor of the Death Star. It was definitely a quasi-cinematic experience.

Fortunately for old-time fans like me, the show was entirely Age of Adz material. After almost an hour, he thanked us for letting him play new material, and then dedicated the next song to us, which was of course, Chicago. This was definitely a nostalgiac and beautiful treat, and I sang along and swooned with the rest of the enamored crowd. He took a short break and then came out and did an encore with minimal accompaniment, playing two low-key tracks from Illinoise and Michigan, before finally closing with a pure acoustic rendition of John Wayne Gacy, Jr. Although that song is beautiful, it's fucking tragic, and it kind of sucked to leave on such a sad note, especially on a Friday night.

So because of that as well as the comedown from my drinks and talk with Samson that I left the show tired and introspective, and without desire to go out and party for the first Friday night in a long time. Many times I've gotten a bit fucked up for a show I wonder afterwards if I would have gotten more out of it if I would have been sober. Then again, I also many times wonder the shows I saw sober would have been like if I had been a little fucked up. I would say either way Sufjan's latest tour is still a unique and incredible experience, and I would definitely see him again if I had the chance. I just might try a little harder to solidify a date next time...

Sufjan Stevens - Age of Adz (full album)

Sufjan Stevens - Chicago (from Illinoise)

Menomena - Mines

I have three shows from last week to review, but I need to mix it up and throw down an album review first. Especially when I find a great album that is mostly overlooked, as is the case yet again with Menomena's latest offering and fourth LP, Mines.

I first discovered Menomena upon the release of their third LP, Friend and Foe, in the same way I discover a lot of great albums, via Pitchfork, in particular their review with the Best New Music seal of approval. It was actually my roommate at the time who bought the CD and got into it first. It took me a bit of getting used to their sound and quasi-oddball songwriting, but especially once I started picking up on the lyrics, I quickly got hooked.

This happened sort of the same way with Mines. Not exactly the most upbeat album (perhaps they should rename themselves Melancholia), it took me a bit to get into this album again, not so much this time because their sound was unfamiliar but because I was apparently not morose enough to get into it. Now that summer is over, and whatever unfulfilled hopes and dreams went with it are descending along with the angle of the sun in the sky, the ruined statue on the cover art inspires reflection upon the unreconcilable ruination laid evident with the absence of blinding summer bliss. Yet something is comforting about the wilderness that cradles the human remains that are left to slowly rest and rot...

This is the inspiration of the soul behind Menomena: deep, philosophical, stark and grand. And I'm not typically a lyrics guy, but their lyrics somehow speak volumes to me. While they can be cryptic, there's usually a meaning I can glean, even if I don't fully understand it. The best comparison I can come up with is Radiohead, for they even have some tracks with very few yet very poignant lyrics. Here is the lyrics to the entire song Tithe, which clocks at just under five minutes:

spending the best years of a childhood horizontal on the floor
like a bobsled minus the teamwork and the televised support

and nothing sounds appealing

someone retired on a percentage of the tithe that paved these roads
they lead to nowhere but they're still gridlocked, made of Solomon's pure gold
beneath the door frame waiting for earthquakes after the rapture comes and goes
the saints went marching, the trumpets salving, the chosen ones are phoning a goal

and nothing sounds appealing

The lyrics are devastating, yet I don't find them depressing for some reason. It's like a scientific result that is not what you hoped for, whether it's because it proved a hypothesis incorrect or whether confirming a bleak truth, either way it's still a fragment of truth that is appreciable for the nature of its infallibility.

While the lyrics indeed serve as the face of Menomena's strange and grotesque appeal, the music fleshes out the body, providing a decadent wonderland of technically precise and inventive songwriting, on which to color with the sharp musings of the Portland quartet. Again I cannot help but to comment on the scientific approach of the musicianship. While there is a fair share of electronic samples, the arrangement is still primarily rock instrumentation, and shows are still a completely 'live' experience. What keeps the feel and sound of the band distinct and not easily lumped in with other sound fads is that they have a more stripped down sound, with much less reliance on guitars and consistent use of piano, sax, various percussion instruments, and synth lines to color in over the basic drum set and low-fat electronic synth backbone. The cleanliness of the sound is occasionally marred by a jagged guitar line here and there to give an aggressive edge, but you will remember the piano and sax lines far more easily than the guitar lines, which is a credit to the delicate balance they strike in the songwriting.

The album is on the whole a tad less upfront than Friend and Foe, but there is no less complexity to the songwriting or profundity to the lyrics. I would definitely start with their last album, as this one definitely has more of an afterglow feel (I never did get into the first album, I am the Fun Blame Monster, although it was critically acclaimed, and the second album's existence I only discovered today, which was produced as a soundtrack to a local dance crew). But when you are musing about the emptiness of this post-summer autumn or the loneliness of your introspective self, reach for Menomena to fill your sunset with colors and your mind with reassurance that the loneliness, emptiness, and frustration is not only an inevitable orchestration of the hands of fate, but also that the aspect can be an acceptable and beautiful one to view and appreciate.

Menomena - Taos

Menomena - Tithe

Menomena - Five Little Rooms

MySpace page

M.I.A. [Live at The Vic, 09/30/10]

At least she wasn't preggers...

It's still weird though. Maya Arulpragasam, better known by her artist name, M.I.A., is 35 years old, yet she looks like she's 18. I can only hope I have any such luck with whoever I'm with when I'm in my 30's.

The show, which was at the Vic Theatre in Lincoln Park, didn't sell out in advance. I was expecting it to, but I guess because she booked two nights there was just the right amount of demand because although I was able to get a ticket at the door, the venue was still crammed with a dizzying array of all-aged bodies. My friend and I tried to get close, but we were stuck in the aisle not even halfway down to the stage, which meant more traffic and less dancing. Really I don't know where there was any room to dance, except for on stage, and one lucky fan did actually get the space to dance when M.I.A. after one of her many quasi-stage dives invited him up to party with her two quirky bald male dancers and three chicks in saris that covered everything but their eyes. When M.I.A. pointed to someone down front and invited them onstage, I assumed it would be a girl, or at least some small dude who must have looked like he could bust moves, but no-- it was a tall lanky white dude with a unzipped hoodie and graphic tee which he kept pulling the corners down in proud display. His dancing was atrocious, and this is even coming from me, and when he quickly ran out of moves he devised every BS idea possible to keep busy, from running around the stage to working the crowd (even standing in front of M.IA. while she sang), to eventually even grinding on the Sri Lankan firecracker herself! And the best part was that she ground back! Honestly, I had a great time at the show, but this guy had the best hands down.

Thankfully he jumped off at the end of the track and we could go back to watching real performers. The music sounded decent overall. I never thought of M.I.A. as hip hop until now, which is definitely what it is at least as far as the live show goes. She had a tall dark-skinned chick DJ who was pretty chill. She focused on her work, but she did smile and nod to the audience enough to show she wasn't working that hard. The first track was a little off, I think M.I.A. just needed to warm up, but once she got going she did her job well... which isn't too hard, considering she only has to do the vocals live which consist of less singing or rapping and more shouting.

So far everything was what I expected. Lots of entertainment on stage, no room to dance, and sound that is decent but not loud enough. What I also expected was MIA to have a crazy outfit and to play mostly stuff from the new album. Now I've only listened to the new album a couple times and I like some tracks but the ones that are abrasive scare me away (after all, I'm always a whole album kinda guy), so I did recognize most of the new songs, but I was surprised that she played a lot of Kala and Arular. In retrospect now it makes more sense because they are much more fun albums, but at the show I was ecstatically surprised to hear so many old tracks.

I first heard of M.I.A. when Kala dropped. I was DJing at the University of Pittsburgh's student radio station and I ripped a copy for myself. This was way before Paper Planes was released as a single and M.I.A. was a household name. In fact, I didn't really like Paper Planes at first. I even meant to play a different track on the album during one of my shows, but I actually accidentally played Paper Planes and just ran with it. Of course, I love it now, but at first I thought the beat was just way less exciting than the rest, and the sound effects during the chorus just seemed silly. So for me at first M.I.A. was Bamboo Banger, Boys, and Jimmy, the first two of which I got to hear that night and was consequently super geeked. The other surprise was that her costume was pretty simple. At first she was wearing something sort of skimpy on top, but then she ended up throwing on just a big white t-shirt which she kept on the rest of the night. I think she wore pants too, so overall very low key, yet she's so damn cute and sexy anyway (she really enjoyed sitting on top of the speaker.... damn lucky speaker) that I can't really complain.

Overall a good time, but again, I would have expected her to have enough cred to secure a show at Congress. At least that way we could dance, even though I'd probably find some way to offend someone with my moves or lack thereof and get kicked out. And then I wouldn't have gotten to hear Paper Planes, which she finally did as the last song of the encore. I was sort of expecting her not to play it actually, just because I'm sure she's quite sick of it, but I'm glad she did because if not for that song she would still remain only a major underground sensation a la Santigold, who is next on my list of world/hip hop/electronic/r&b genre mashers...

M.I.A. - Bamboo Banger

N.E.R.D with Daft Punk - "Hypnotize U"

Absolutely dripping with Prince-esque soul, from underneath the covers crawls this smooth and surprisingly minimalistic jam from the N.E.R.D. crew with production by none other than the anti-smooth (jagged) French rock-ravers (or rave-rockers?) Daft Punk.

Enjoy.

Hot Chip / New Order Members - "Didn't Know What Love Was" [Converse promotional single]

Everyone loves a sellout these days. And Converse managed to grab talent from two quite premiere bands and shake out a solid disco-house dance track out of them. To be specific, we have New Order frontman Bernard Sumner, Hot Chip members Alexis Taylor and Joe Goddard, and dance act Hot City altogether on this one.

Enjoy.

the xx [Live at Chicago Theater, 09/28/10]

This show marks the xx's sixth show in Chicago this year. SIXTH. I can only think of three of the other times they were here. I remember they came to play a show with jj back in April, but I'm not crazy about those guys (maybe if I was drugged out on a party boat floating on pristine lakes tucked between some lush Bavarian mountain ranges... yes, I know they're Swedish but Bavaria small towns is where I've been to). Furthermore, AR over at Market Snodsbury saw them first and told me they were pretty boring live, so I passed on that opportunity. They were oddly paired with Hot Chip for their next show which was only a couple weeks later, and I again passed on this. I even got a ticket as soon as they went on sale, but because the show ended up being the day after Coachella where both bands were to play, I sold the only tickets I can remember selling in recent history. I did end up unexpectedly catching a bit of their set at Indio, actually, and enjoyed the handful of songs I stayed for. The third time they were in Chicago was at Lolla, and once again I had no intention of seeing them in the clusterfuck that is the north side of Grant Park. If I recall, I was even over there for a bit while they were playing but it was such a loud, crowded, horrible environment I didn't even try listening to them.

Which brings us to the latest show, which I was well aware of, but had no intention of going to given all the other shows this fall that are much higher on my priority list. There was no conflict with the show, but I have been just seemingly throwing money away lately. That night was also to be my one night in this week. Yet my friend who won two tickets via XRT bailed as well as the friend she was going to go with, leaving me with two tickets at 6:00pm on the day of the show.

After texting at least ten people and getting at least four negative responses, I got a positive response from my old roommate who was a big fan of the LP and to my knowledge, hadn't seen them before. We missed the first opener, Zola Jesus, in order to get a late dinner, but we caught most of the second opener, Warpaint, who for whatever reason I enjoyed a lot more at Lolla actually (I think it was my first/hangover act of Day Three... somehow it ended up fitting that situation better).

As for xx, I thought I knew what to expect. I expected no special effects. I expected no fullness of sound or energy. I expected no one to even stand. Yet they started their set behind a giant curtain which dropped to expose their trinity of guitar on the right, bass on the left, and producer on a raised platform with a table bearing a bright luminescent xx logo. They opened with the Intro, which sounded like a dark ship of death rolling out to the open night sea. It wasn't an especially thick or overpowering sound, but it had a dense and resilient enough quality to it that it spread like a plague and penetrated every soul in the theater. There was immediately a palpable excitement, and within the first thirty seconds of the Intro the entire theater was on its feet, myself being up within about the first five.

The initial excitement naturally quiesced into a steady absorption of the dark and empty notes, the music which acts as sort of a macabre skeleton which can be dressed with flesh, but is most often left rather hollow and bare with minimal sound textures and melodies from the musicians. The vocals however, imbue the bag o' bones with a different fundamental piece of humanity, the soul. The lyrics of the xx are highly sentimental to say the least, but they are of a depth and complexity of human relationship that weighs equally on the warmth of a tender lover as much as the coldness of a love lost or even unrequited. Even the tender moments seem cold somehow, and the tragic dischord of incompatible feelings familiar in its honesty.

What I did expect was to shed quite a few tears. And this expectation was fulfilled.

I almost forgot to mention that we saw the xx leave their bus and walk into the venue right before the show. We walked right behind them for only a handful or so of paces before they got into the Theater's side door. Something about their music is so sacred that I don't think I could ever approach them to talk. I feel like I can only show them appreciation indirectly through supporting their music financially (bought the cd last spring), and in that way showing them a love that is ghostly but yet still heartfelt, much like their music.

the xx - Crystalized (video)

the xx - Islands (video)

the xx - Shelter

Das Racist - Shut Up, Dude [mixtape]

Day Two of North Coast Music Festival: we are rockin' and rollin' all night to the killer back-to-back combo of Boys Noize and Moby, a 1-2 punch so smooth that no one even noticed when they transitioned DJs. Our energy carries us to a nearby bar for a while before we head up north to Wicker Park where we find solace in the soulful vinyl mixed beats at Danny's.

To rest our busy heads we finally retire to my place where Samson awaited us. After a bit of Aqua Teen Hunger Force and my sidekick passing out, I decided I needed something more mind-warping so I turned to Pitchfork.tv who rarely disappoints in this department. Sure enough I discover a smorgasbord of trippy and mind-boggling videos (my new dream job: get paid to find crazy videos). One that surely stood out was a goofy hip hop song with a video that resembled an 8-bit video game. Turns out to be a story of two guys who are trying to find their third member so they can go perform a show in NYC: "Jay-Z and Justin Bieber's shared stretch Hummer got hit by a meteor on the way to their show. The promoter wants us to sub for them... in 3 hours." They hunt all over the city, all the while traversing through modded levels of various classic 8-bit video games, from Elevator Action to Double Dragon. Honestly I was so entertained by the NES-inspired video and the hilarious dialogue on the screen that I barely heard any words to the song, except of course the eponymous chorus, "Who's That? Brooown!"

Since then I had to rewatch it several times, each time subsequently ingraining the catchy tune more and more in my head until I finally discovered the source, Das Racist's "Shut Up, Dude" mixtape. Released in March, I am far behind in discovering it, let alone blogging about it. Yet in the past couple weeks I have listened to it incessantly, impressed with its catchy beats and funny yet slick rhymes.

First off, if you're not familiar with these guys, they are basically three multi-racial slackers from Brooklyn. Das Racist is mainly comprised of Himanshu Suri from Queens and Victor Vazquez from San Francisco, and are complemented by a third guy, Ashok Kondabolu, who apparently performs with them (referred to as their "Hype Man", he's the one they had to find in the music video). They're first song to get attention wasn't even "Who's That? Brooown?" but the rather mind-bogglingly simplistic, seemingly Harold & Kumar-inspired, "Combination Pizza Hut and Taco Bell". The song was some sort of internet sensation when it caught on, and although I find very little interesting about it, it serves as sort of a microcosm for the rest of the mixtape and what Das Racist is apparently all about: plain, simple 21st century-oversaturated-with-entertainment-thanks-to-technology fun.

Want to make a song about getting high and getting really confused about Taco Bell/Pizza Hut? Let's do it. Want to speed up Billy Joel's "You Oughta Know" and half sing/half mumble the original words before rhyming over it about getting high? Let's do it. Want to not rap over Ghostface's "Nutmeg" beat, not about getting high (they did start off rhyming about eating pizza...) but referncing everyone from Kanye to Jesus to Parappa da Rappa to TLC? Let's do it.

From Rainbow in the Dark:

We make a sound even if nobody's around
Like a tree or the tears of a clown
Yo, I'm afraid of clowns, I'm afraid of small towns
Positive energy is something like I'm afraid of all frowns
Catch me at the crib getting light to Jeff Mangum
It's fun to do bad things like rhyme about handguns
If any problem pop off
I'll Joe Pesci any fool while drinking that Popov
That's cause I'm a Goodfella
Stay up out the hood hella much now
But punch clowns if they touch down
While I'm eating lunch now
While I'm eating a burger
Metaphysical spiritual lyrical murder


Simplicity is only at the core of their style. The sampled beats, the loose delivery, the subject of the rhymes, and even the content of the rhymes often are effortless and in theory elementary. Yet somehow with the execution, many tracks reach that level of complexity where you are focusing as hard as you can, and you are still struggling to keep up with what's being said and what it means (and this is when I'm sober!). Unlike the music video, there are no stories to any of the songs, but rather the most common approach to the songs are a free association that drop pop culture references into a big melting pot. They're not systematically arranged like in a mosaic, but rather spilled in smooth and raw in a way that I would expect from Brooklynites. The ethnically diverse roots of the artists juxtaposed with their NYC burrough upbringing may be the farthest thing from authentic an old sense of the word, but with so much progress towards multiculturalism in our urban landscape, Das Racist ironically stands out as an authentic voice from the melting pot of America.

From Don Dada:

Is it parody, comedy, novelty, or scholarly
A little bit of column A, a little bit ocolumn B
A little common projects, a little bit of wallabies
Probably, you can always find me where the challah be

With 17 tracks clocking in at over an hour, and styles ranging from piano pop to gangster rap to reggae to skewery electronic hodgepodge, there is a diversity echoed by the skin colors of the artists as much as by the colors in their logo on the mixtape cover.

Let's hope the most recent mixtape, "Sit Down, Dude", is just as compelling, but more importantly, fun.



Links:

"Shut Up, Dude" mixtape

"Who's That? Brooown!" video

Caribou [Live at the Metro, 09/29/10]

I have been listening to Caribou since 2004 when I had my biggest exposure to a new world of underground music through a fellow classmate during my study abroad program in London. Back then known as Manitoba, Dan Snaith was a veritable challenge to my ears. The challenge wasn't in enjoying the music, as I found it with other bands I was simultaneously exposed to who scared me with screaming vocals or strong country/blues influences. But there was definitely a challenge in categorizing it for one, as back then to me music had only few and vast categories (it's funny how now I almost ascribe each artist their own category). Along with that was a challenge to truly appreciate it as much as other music that I could categorize. See back then the appreciation and/or love of music for me was just as dependent on the categorization, whether that be the genre itself, or the culture behind it (top 40 music with non-serious fans or rock music that had a nice following of douchebags automatically became unsavory). It was easier to judge music when there was more well-defined and less variety of categories. Back then almost everyone who I started discovering seemed an outlier to traditional categories, and it took a long time to break a lot of those barriers down.

Thankfully, Caribou has been one of the artists who helped push me to swim out of the swimming pool of narrow music options, nicely categorized by swimming lanes, out into the wide boundless ocean where there is no limit to what can be created. Since my exposure, I had revisited Manitoba time and again, each time expanding my mind with what the Mathematics PhD holder Dan Snaith was creating. The juxtaposition of folk sounding 'samples' (pretty sure he created everything from scratch) aligned with very forward-sounding technical grooves entranced me, and only continued to do so with the first Caribou-monikered LP, The Milk of Human Kindness in 2005. Andorra followed in 2007 (which won the Polaris Prize that year), by which point I definitely considered myself a fan, and was playing Caribou's music for everyone I knew in Pittsburgh.

In 2008 I was preparing to relocate to Chicago, and in doing so I took a trip to the Windy City with a friend to get a taste for my future. April 11th we were in Chicago and I wanted to see Caribou at Empty Bottle. I persuaded my friend, even though I knew he would undoubtedly not appreciate the opener of the night, Fuck Buttons. Partially playing off his distaste, I couldn't get into the squall electronoise droners much myself, but when Caribou took the stage and started performing, I was blown away.

It has been two years since then but I was lucky enough to see them for a second time this summer at a free show at Millenium Park. Of the heels of newest LP Swim, I was again treated to a new cornucopia of electronic, folk, and jam rock all rolled up into one psychedelic ball of dance-inducing joy.

I had been anticipating this recent show at Metro, but with a trip planned to South Bend for an ND game for the weekend, I wasn't sure how up for a show I would be on that Sunday night. Yet last week I got an email from Metro offering the chance to get into the Caribou show for free. Apparently they were pretty stoked that they sold out both Godspeed You Black Emperor shows scheduled in March 2011 within a week so they rewarded all of their patrons with free passes.

So come Sunday night I am pretty beat but I have free tickets and it's motherfucking Caribou, so I pounded my Red Bull, printed out extra copies for two buddies, and drove up to the Wrigleyville, the heart of darkness, for one more chance to be impressed.

And impressed I was. I've seen them twice before and every time I've been impressed. A plain white backdrop played canvas to kaleidoscopic video patterns, while multi-instrumentalist Dan and his three brethren labored lovingly on their instruments to create a mind-warping dance party.

Of course, it is the Metro. Meaning drinks are not cheap, water is not free, and a credit card is worth as much as toilet paper, but worst of all, NOBODY DANCES. Now things don't need to get out of control like they did at Crystal Castles (my only experienced exception to the rule), but people need to loosen up a little. It's not like we're at the xx...

On a positive venue note, though, the sound was great. I could hear each electronic tinge, each vocal warble, and each guitar pluck, not to mention of course the steady controlled cacophony coming from the two drum sets. The only complaint I had was regarding the backup singing. The guy's voice just needs some work, or he needs to be replaced IMO. But other than that, you have the most unabashedly happy, white t-shirt sporting, aging hipster (did he copy James Murphy or did Murphy copy him), completely transfixed in creating his own mathematically structured psychedelic blossomings.

I would have longed to have heard more old material, but I am falling in love with the new stuff faster than I can even keep track. Tracks already have this classic, ageless quality to them, which leads me again to reference how broad of range of styles his sounds can be, in terms of instrumentation, genre-sourcing, and fidelity.

My buddies and I all agreed it was a hell of a show. My only regret was missing Emeralds, a new act with more of a focus on flowing electronic textures than rigorous rhythms, but really, how often can an opener beat a headliner, especially this one?

Until next time Dan, I'll be thinking of you as the season becomes like the cover of Andorra, and I more and more miss the sun, sun, sun, sun, sun, sun, sun......

Life Update

It has been a long time since my last post. Every post up until now I did while bored at work at the Walgreens Data Center in Mt. Prospect. The day after the last post on June 29th, I quit the gig at Walgreens and took a week off before starting a new position at Navteq in downtown Chicago.

Not with ten days off nor all the more regular free time I've had since then did I decided to work on this blog. At work I honestly try to work. When I don't have much to do, I'm happily entertained by a large pool of potential distractions-- not only is nothing blocked (Gchat, Facebook, Youtube, Craigslist, MySpace, etc. all blocked at Walgreens) but we also have a pool table in our kitchen (about 50 feet from my cube) and a private gym in our building (four floors below me).

As for the rest of my free time, well let's just say I've been taking full advantage of the normal schedule, the raise in pay, the single lifestyle, and of course, the smorgasbord of entertainment that is Chicago in the summertime. From indoor shows to Millenium Park shows to music festivals, from beach volleyball to midnight bike rides to fall softball, to drinking outside to drinking on bikes to drinking at campsites to drinking at ND football tailgates, I've never had a busier summer, but I've probably never done so much damage to my body, seeing as by my count I haven't taken more than a day off from partying since I quit my old job on June 30th.

In addition to the change of job and an even more active lifestyle, I have on top of it all relocated to boot. I am still in Chicago, but in very different neighborhood, especially given the fact that I only moved about two miles from my old place in Lincoln Park. Wicker Park is on the whole cheaper, more diverse, more artistic, and simply put more interesting. I pay less and get more in my three-bedroom coach house, where I live with two new friends who are as big of media nuts as I am. Instead of bastardized IBM-compatible wares they are pure devotees to Apple, and instead of music junkies they are TV addicts. We all like movies though as well as drinking and talking to Samson, so I think it's going to be a pretty decent situation. Unlike my old roommate who was never home, they're around a lot, which means I don't get to walk around naked, but then again I don't need to be doing that anyway. It's more worth it to have other people around (I can still walk around naked in my room).

Since I've spent considerably less time indoors and therefore not at my computer, working on anything music-related has been minimal. I barely have time to read about, download, and listen to new music, let alone build my new music library, experiment with mixing, or last but not least, write in this blog. Only the first and last of these can I do at work, and I am at least keeping up with the former. Downloading has become easier thanks to getting into Waffles, but listening to music has become more difficult since my MP3 player got rained on while camping. The move slowed down my music activity at home, but I am hoping to get completely set up with integrating my collection in our house's hardware setup, and I also soon hope to get my friend's old controller he is selling so I can finally dabble with some more sophisticated mixing.

And so last but not least now I am hoping now to revive the blog, since I do find myself bored a bit too often at work. Today is the slowest Monday I can remember, and all find myself thinking about right now is all the new music I have managed to fall in love and great shows I've had the fortune of attending as of late.

But this isn't my attempt to break into the music blogosphere in any way to at all compete with other writers. I don't make it work to listen to something new as soon as it comes out, and listen to it so as to overanalyze completley it before you even hear the first beat drop. Nor am I anywhere near as good of a writer or as knowledgeable about music/history as many people who spend every day doing this without pay. Yet I do keep my ear to the ground for new artists, new releases, and new shows, and I spend a good amount of time listening to a wide variety of music and going to shows in Chicago, so I feel like I want to share at least a little of my appreciation for what is my personal rock in life. If I only help a few friends discover new music and a new appreciation for music through my incessant consumption and enjoyment then I believe Omnaural to be worth the effort.

That said, I'm hoping to get into a regular routine of reviews. Again, I don't make it my job to listen to new music, but rather listen to things as they come or as I find myself ready for them. In an ideal world I'd have time to listen to everything, and listen to it enough to feel somewhat confident assessing it formally for the world to see. But I don't want to turn music listening into that much of a chore for myself, not just because of the time but more importantly because I don't want it to become a less enjoyable or wondrous experience for me. So you will probably be hearing mostly about what I'm into at the moment, or at least what I might have found interesting or compelling as of late. Or I may just post BS just to get a post up...

Well that was far more long-winded than I anticipated. The funny thing is that after all this, I ran out of time at work to post an actual review. So unless my plans to watch the Bears tonight totally fall through, we'll just have to wait until tomorrow.

Until then, keep that beat goin'...

Moby - Old-School Rave Mix

If you've only heard Moby's radio singles, try your best to pretend you've forgotten them. Moby's roots are in old classic big beat music that fills rave parties, and he can KILL IT at the decks, which I can testify from the New Year's party at Brooklyn's Studio B in '08. This week's XLR8R podcast is to remind (or teach) you just that. Whether you need something to kickstart you at work (I have been treading in nap mode since my four-taco binge at lunch), get you to survive the drive home (though beats this blazing often make me more impatient in Chicago highway traffic), dancing in your living room while trying to cook or do chores (guilty as charged...), or actually entertain friends who like to rave during the week (if so, please invite me over soon), hop over to XLR8R and stream or download this. I know I'll be listening to this mix more than once to get me pumped for Deadmau5 at Soldier Field this Friday night.

If you're new at XLR8R, they feature weekly podcasts. Each podcast is originally and exclusively mixed for XLR8R usually by a premiere DJ/team, and long enough to fill a CD. I love grabbing one of these when I need a new background for running, working, anything where I want a fresh consistent beat.

If you know me, you know I listen to bands, specifically LPs more than anything else. Ever since my senior year college I have followed the indie music scene closely (mainly through Pitchfork like most everyone else), and have since maintained an incessant habit of following every band and LP that garners attention in those circles. But in my last year in grad school I finally got turned on to live DJ music after getting to know an experienced DJ in Pittsburgh and going to some killer shows (in NY and Detroit, not so much Pittsburgh ;). I discovered XLR8R when I came to Chicago in 2008. I was unemployed and didn't know a whole lot of people, especially anyone really into music, and so I'd spend time at record stores and magazine stands, and I think I randomly saw a print issue of XLR8R before I found their website. I was attracted by the fact that they focus on electronic music. They follow some bands and emcees, but it is primarily DJs and producers as their culture is that of the dance party scene. Although I was turned onto many new artists, simply reading about music only gets you so far, and I was finding it much harder to find material from many of their featured artists. So discovering the weekly podcast as well as daily MP3s (~three every day) turned out to be an exciting thing for me. It was a way for me to get in tune to the DJ world as well as keep my interest in shows alive at a time when I wasn't going to many live shows since I was new to the city and was trying to focus on getting a job before going out and partying hard.

Even though now I am still mainly a band/LP consumer, XLR8R is still my primary source for electronic music and DJ news. Hell, if it wasn't for them, I wouldn't have been the first of everyone I know to discover Major Lazer. So if you're looking for a source of electronic/hip-hop focused music, with a penchant for the dance party scene and an ear to styles from around the globe, check out the XLR8R website from time to time. You just might start dancing in your cube.

2010 Pitchfork Music Festival - My Schedule

Some really tough squeezes on the festival schedule for me. I was already annoyed at the sheer number of 'chillwave' artists on the lineup (We know where the scene is: can't we just call it 'beachwave'?), but now they are all pretty much lumped onto Sunday. As if a hangover wasn't reason enough to go the festival late on Sunday, but now I have even more reason to be going late since the only band I like of the early batch of sandcore-ers, Girls, I have already seen play a completely fulfilling show at Empty Bottle last November. Both days I'm disappointed I'm going to have to split time for so many of the bands late in the day, but I guess this is what I get for following so many Pitchfork-favored bands. One surprise is that Sleigh Bells is headlining the small stage. I was really hoping for Major Lazer. I did fall in love with Sleigh Bells at Coachella however, and am pretty sure I'll still be ending my night at the Balance stage after all, as much as I'm curious to check out a bit of Big Boi. I also think it's bull shit that Panda Bear gets such a great spot. I mean, I really like a lot of AC album material, the AC show at Pfork two years ago blew my mind, and I think Person Pitch is a work of art. But I was disappointed with AC at Coachella last year and I feel they're more likely to put on a fest-friendly set than just PB. Don't get me wrong, I find so much of AC/PB compelling that I'm curious enough to check out some of his set, but I can't help but wonder if I'm the only fan of theirs that doesn't think everything each of them shits is gold. Then again, looking again I can't really rearrange the schedule too much better. Maybe I'm just pissed I can't see all of Wolf Parade, Bear in Heaven and Panda Bear. Or maybe I'm just trying to push the AC anti-hype ;)

Anyway, without further ado, my 2010 Pitchfork Music Festival schedule (full schedule here):

a = Aluminum Stage, b = Balance Stage, c = Connector Stage

Friday July 16 (gates at 3 p.m.):

5:30 Liars (c)
6:25 Robyn (a)
7:20 Broken Social Scene (c)
8:30 Modest Mouse (a)

Saturday July 17 (gates at 12 p.m.):

1:45 Real Estate (c)
2:30 Delorean (a)
3:20 Titus Andronicus (c)
4:15 Raekwon (a)
4:45 Smith Westerns (b)
5:45 WHY? (b)
6:15 Wolf Parade (a)
6:45 Bear in Heaven (b)
7:25 Panda Bear (c)
8:30 LCD Soundsystem (a)

Sunday July 18 (gates at 12 p.m.):

2:30 Girls (a)
3:45 Local Natives (b)
4:15 Lightning Bolt (a)
4:45 Surfer Blood (b)
5:45 Here We Go Magic (b)
6:15 Major Lazer (a)
6:45 Neon Indian (b)
7:25 Big Boi (c)
7:40 Sleigh Bells (b)

Kanye West - Power [single]

You probably already heard about this a couple weeks ago, but this is the first link I found that worked, and thus the first time I'm listening to it. All Kanye antics aside, I've always liked his music (music > real life?), so I'm definitely looking forward to a new album of material.

Stream the new track "Power" over at That Grape Juice.

The Roots - Dear God 2.0 [single]

On June 22nd, the Roots will release their ninth LP, How I Got Over (Island/Def Jam).

Check out one of the new tracks, "Dear God 2.0" over at Magnet Magazine.


Also, if you're looking to catch one of the band's amazing live shows, your best bet looks to be at Milwaukee's Summerfest on Thursday, July 3rd. As long as I'm still on my current work shift with Fridays off, I'm there!

Lollapalooza Schedule Revealed

Today the Lollapalooze schedule dropped, and while I'm happy that I don't have as many conflicts as Coachella, I'm still pissed that I have to choose between Arcade Fire and Soundgarden on Sunday.

This isn't the most difficult choice I've faced at a fest, but it is the hardest one of this particular weekend. What makes it hard is not necessarily the level of appeal of both bands, because to be honest, I've never listened to a single Soundgarden album (or if I have I haven't paid attention) while Arcade Fire's Funeral stands as one of my favorite albums of all time, and indeed one of the first 'indie' rock albums I unabashedly fell head over heels for. The difficulty is mostly due to the fact that neither band are touring in full this year. Arcade Fire has another album on the horizon, so they will most definitely be touring in full soon enough to support that. As for Soundgarden, however, that is probably much less likely. But ultimately I think I'll follow my heart-- I'm proud to say that I'm still a fan before I'm a critic.

So after resolving that conflict, my personal schedule came together more easily than I thought it would. From my experiences at Coachella and Detroit this summer, when in doubt, I plan to favor more dance-friendly acts this year than in years past.

Friday

Los Amigos Invisibles
Ana Sia
The Big Pink
Devo
Dirty Projectors
Hot Chip
Chromeo
Lady Gaga


Saturday

Wild Beasts
Wolfgang Gartner
the xx
Gogol Bordello
Joachim Garraud
Metric
Kaskade
Cut Copy
DJ Mel
Empire of the Sun


Sunday

HEALTH
The Antlers
The Dodos
Blitzen Trapper
Minus the Bear
Yeasayer
Erykah Badu
MGMT
Cypress Hill
Arcade Fire

The Cool Kids - Tacklebox [mixtape]

Now still in Omnaural's infantile stages, music links have pretty much been limited to mixtapes. The reason for this is mainly because I blog from work-- not only don't I have my own music available, but I also spend a lot of time reading other news sites and blogs, and so most of what I listen to anyway there are new free singles, remixes, and mixtapes. Those of you who know where I work know that my resources are limited, and so I can't proffer the more obscure of diamonds in the rough. But I really want to get this blog really rolling, so I'll be passing along good stuff I find even if it's on the front page of nearly every other in-the-loop site.

This week The Cool Kids dropped their fifth official mixtape Tacklebox. These young MCs from my very own (I say that with liberty ;) Chi-town have only one formal originally produced output to their name, 2008's popular EP, The Bake Sale, but their first LP, When Fish Ride Bicycles, is purportedly in the works. This isn't a party mix like A-Trak's recent Billboard-single-studded affair, but there are enough colors of electronic production and smooth lyrical licks to please indie and hip-hop fans alike. Plus they get extra props in my book for referencing 'talking to Samson'! So do yourself a favor and get over their silly name and check out their mixtape here.

Hope to get some reviews posted soon...

You slept. I raved. (Detroit Movement 2010, North Coast Music Festival and more...)

I only wish I could say that this was true of my entire weekend. Even if I only partied all night for one of the three nights, I still had a blast at my second DEMF/Movement experience. My introduction to the phenomena was two years ago by a DJ friend from Pittsburgh, where I first learned how to really party hard. Last year I regrettably missed the fest, and now I find myself having to relearn the ropes again. Apparently skipping a year and hanging out with hardly anyone who knows how to party like these people makes you lose your edge a bit...

Check out the TimeOut Chicago reviews of the first two days below:

TimeOut Chicago: Movement Festival - Day One
TimeOut Chicago: Movement Festival - Day Two


Movement 2011 seems so far off, and I'm depressed by the thought of waiting that long for another ravefest. But I've already got a rebound strategy. For starters, I've got my ticket to the Chicago Deadmau5 show at Soldier Field on July 3rd. Check out the links for complete lineup and the ticket information:

Deadmau5 - Full Lineup
Deadmau5 - Tickets


Also, thanks to promotion at Detroit, I was made aware of the North Coast Music Festival happening for the first time at Union Park this year on Labor Day weekend. This is the only big-name-DJ heavy fest in Chicago that I'm aware of, and so I think I can safely say this was the best thing I've ever discovered at a porta-potty. Presale tickets went on sale today at 8am, and I've already added this to my ever-growing summer festival calendar. Again, lineup and ticket links below:

North Coast Music Festival - Lineup
North Coast Music Festival - Tickets


For all my friends who don't care for this scene, and for all the bands out there who make beautiful music the old-fashioned way,

I love you but I've chosen techno.

I'm Losing My Edge... (LCD Soundsystem - LIVE)

For those of you who don't know, LCD Soundsystem is the best band you've probably heard of but don't spend enough time listening to.

And they are on their potentially last tour.

James Murphy has only released three albums under this moniker with his killer combo.

Yet he's also 40. And he's losing his edge.

Or if nothing else, he's probably just losing his energy.

Last night I saw LCD Soundsystem for the second time this year, and second time ever. It won't be the last time I see them either, but I think this second time will be the best. The first time I saw them was at Coachella about six weeks ago. If you follow Omnaural, you are familiar with my experience and reaction. Basically, it was not the ideal setting for the band, IMO.

Last night's show at the Metro was a different story. I'll start by pointing out that a disco ball is NOT effective at an outdoor setting. Where does the light go? It disappears. In a club though, it's like a crystal ball that instead of being a window to the future or a distant vision, it transforms the atmosphere, spraying light upon every body like some sort of magic fairy dust or rays of infusing energy (depending if you're a fan of fantasy or science). Then you consider the band member elements that are different. Mahoney comes out with eyes looking like he's been drinking all day (instead of just for a couple hours like normal), and strutting some old school white trim, super-tight, athletic shorts, as if the tightness of the fabric is necessary to help ensure his drumming is extra precise. Nancy comes out in a classy v-neck black top as opposed to the more common ratty white tee. Yet both are hot, but instead of the usual raw rock star hot she is refined rock star hot. The rest of the accompanying band have their typical killer appearances, from Tyler Pope with a collared shirt so mind-blowingly colorful I can't help but be reminded of !!! to Gavin Russom with his receding hairline, long scraggily hair, white ratty tee and derelict face that reminds me of some psycho hillbilly killer from a Texas Chainsaw Massacre movie clone. And finally James Murphy comes out, evidently allowed to shed his formal Coachella-donned white suit and resort to his more comfortable Fruit of the Loom white tee, which he never somehow seems to sweat through.

And this is all before the band has played a note. When they do begin though, their music is like invisible hands that act as puppeteer for the audience. While throughout the Holy Ghost set, people hardly moved despite the fact that this was probably the tightest set for a band's seventh live show that I've ever seen, as if everyone in the audience were bound against their will as captives of some sort who struggled against confinement to only slightly wriggle and vibrate in place, when LCD started, the Metro exploded. It was like a shaken up bottle of champagne finally decorked. This was one of the more enthusiastic Metro crowds I've seen.

However this was not a crowd that would be constantly pumped with raw power like when I saw Crystal Castles. LCD is far more refined. That, and their lyrics are almost always far more reflective, or rather self-aware, and at other times, purely heart-breaking with emotion. The opener, 'Us vs. Them' was a proper hybrid of burner and anthem. The follow-up was 'Drunk Girls', an idiotic song no doubt, but whose music video justifies the song and proffers a certain appreciation for certain types of idiocy. 'Yr City's a Sucker' was third, completing the triumvirate of introducing the set with representation from each of the band's three LPs.

The excitement ceased to be quite as obvious for the rest of the set, as each person celebrated their love for the band in their own way, from the dudes who danced by themselves to the dudes who danced in their heads by themselves. I oscillated back and forth, as I continued to top off my mixed drink with more liquor from my flask, and revelling in each song that would start off with such a similar basic disco drum intro, then evolve into a unique and beautiful pop/dance creation. After way too much Pow-ing, I finally got to hear about how everyone's favorite electro-rock DJs are playing at their place of residence, and then a beautiful and bloopily accompanied explanation of everything James Murphy desires.

Then came the one of my favorite songs ever. A song with such a build so simple yet powerful that it is only perfectly mirrored in the music video, and song so nostalgiac that it also ranks up there as one of the most unlikely tearjerkers of recent years for me. The levels of irony just stack up like a midwest diner pancakes as unlike usual, when I listen to the song alone, I didn't really wonder at all where my friends were that night.

The irony continued as I listened to 'I Can Change' and while I usually think about how the ways in which I am ready for some much-needed change in my life right now, I instead thought about how I think this song is due for a much-needed remix or at least re-approach to the live execution. My forgotten lusting for that 'one other song from the first album I HAD to hear live' was satiated with the short burst that is 'Tribulations'. The alcohol and fatigue started to catch up with me during 'Movement', of which I found myself doing little anymore. To round off the set, I got treated to 'Yeah', which is another great song bogged down by a frustratingly repetitive monosyllabic chorus.

The encore was a treat however, beginning with the closest thing to a ballad LCD Soundsystem has to offer. I can vividly remember so many instances of breaking down to 'Someone Great', and so many great people that I've appreciated more because of it, and so it was probably a good thing I was drunk and tired or else my weepiness would probably have surely killed my mood for the rest of the encore. This was followed by James Murphy's (and every man who cared about the scene) immortal anthem, 'Losing My Edge', which needs no comment. The fact that the encore ended with 'New York I Love You, But You're Bringing Me Down' was in every way predictable but in no way disappointing, since I missed out on this at Coachella due to LCD's set being cut short due to time constraints. The insertion of a short cover of Jay-Z's 'Empire State of Mind' was awkward but heartfelt, and made me feel that there's a part of each of us that is from New York, whether it's because of the roots of America's distant past or the influence of the city's culture throughout not only America but the world today.

Some day I may move to New York, if I get tired of Chicago before I run out of energy.

But for now and a at least a good amount of time in the near future, Chicago is my home.

I lived in South Bend longest, and Pittsburgh second longest, and while I have a love and an appreciation for both of those cities, I'll never live there again.

Family and old friends, your city's a sucker...

A-Trak - Dirty South Dance 2 [mixtape]

If A-Trak is anything like this at Movement this year, I'll be far from worrying about not having a pop DJ for techno relief as Girl Talk did so heavily in '08.

Spiderman, it's on.

As for the mix, check it out here.

Coachella 2010 - Day Three

With each passing day, Coachella becomes more and more a distant memory. Contents of conversations fade, and details of experiences evaporate into the past as we speed forward through time, trying to carry with us as much of the pleasure and shed as much of the pain as possible. And sadly, while although some of the most exciting moments in our lives rend deep impressions on our souls or ink dark tattoos on our minds' eyes, particularly action-packed experiences tend to rush by us, without giving us a chance to really relish in the moment and cherish a memory to keep with us on the journey ahead. Which seems why I tend to remember better some of the moments in life where I am not active but passive, not engaged but observant, not interacting but alone, soaking the environment through my pores and holding my breath so to speak with the atmosphere of experience, letting my body absorb the particles and my mind react to he forces of the moment, the spatial and temporal arrangement of dirt and junk littered on our iron rock pirouetting and spiralling about that blazing source of life tethering our mysterious flames together, where we find ourselves closely united through a mutual adoration for and celebration of that mystical source of wonder that is music.


Saturday night was the night I drank the most and stayed up the latest, and I feared that my sleep would be the least productive. However I was actually able to sleep in a bit, and eventually dragged myself out of my tent to begin taking care of myself around 9:30am. Though obviously too late for a shower, a group of us decided to embark on a quest for a spicket. We found one on the other edge of our lot, and while some essentially did a full wash, I'm usually content with just mostly washing my head (subconsciously probably the part of my body I care about the most).


Back at our site, it was the making of being a typical morning. I forced Spiderman to eat again, because the last time I did he found himself very greatful. Your body needs energy, and a fueled metabolism fights a hangover better. While we pathetically tried to nurse ourselves back to tip-top shape, our attention was drawn to our hispanic neighbors, who must have decided that since it was the last day, they are pulling all the stops. Not only had their group expanded to be quite a large party this morning, but they were also quite energetic. They must have been trying to purge the rest of their alcohol stash, because they started passing around a bottle of rum, encouraging each participant with a chugging chant followed by a boisterous cheer when they finished taking down all they could. Apparently they had more than their party could drink, because they started approaching passers-by in attempts to recruit more help. Some tried to resist, but surprisingly almost everyone gave in to the peer pressure. I think everyone found it harder to resist when they saw how entertained the crowd was, as each new person that stopped for a drag encouraged even louder chanting and cheering. Plus when it would be a female that would pass by, they would not only offer the bottle but change the chant to "chichis para la banda", which I think is basically something in the style of Mardi Gras ;) Sadly, no chichis were to be seen, but Spiderman and I still got into the spirit and took a turn anyway.


Spiderman had actually decided to have a beer just before this and so between the two he already got his buzz right back. I continued pregaming as well, though I had to pack up my campsite because Spiderman and I both needed to load up the car before going into the fest so I could just hit the road after the night's headliner, Gorillaz. However we were getting a ride that night with Angel Raper, who was again driving to Coachella from LA, and hadn't yet arrived. Since my phone was dying, I needed a charge and so I went to the car to get some juice, where I think I unfortunately experienced my best buzz of the day sitting in a hot minivan by myself, staring at all the Jesus and Mary mementos and wondering when the last time I had a reverent, self-motivated thought about Christianity...


Soon after I got back to the camp we found out our chariot had arrived, and Spiderman and I said goodbye to our wonderful hosts and then trekked a couple lots over to where my friend parked. We loaded up the car, and then headed to the fest for the last time of the weekend, me with my beer in hand and Red Bull stealthily hidden in my back pocket (I didn't have my flasks, so I had to sneak something in).


This was also the latest day that we went in. Now that I have my schedule finally, I can see that it was around 3:30pm, because Angel Raper went to Deerhunter while Spidey and I went to go check out Glitch Mob at the Sahara. I was really feelin' them, though it wasn't really what 'glitch' was as I understand it. It was sort of smoother, like a slower jungle or trip-hop style. This would be the last I would see of Spiderman for a while though, and towards the end of their set I left to go try to find Angel Raper at the Matt & Kim set. When I got there, they were just finishing a song and started to banter about how excited they were to see Beyonce on Friday night and blah blah they like to talk and they are really high on life if you've never seen them before. Still, their energy proved even more infectious than when I saw them at Pitchfork last year, and even though I couldn't find my friend, I still had a good time bouncing along to some of their originals as well as some strange covers, including renditions of Better Off Alone, and We Will Rock You (?!?). I have to admit they were fun, but I'd rather be listening to fun music with a friend, so I left early to go over to catch the beginning of the set of a band who I've never seen and may not see again. Although I've only really listened to one album of Sunny Day Real Estate, and can only really recall one song that I particularly fell in love with, I had to take the chance to check out the sad pre-emo stalwarts. The crowd was pretty diffuse, so I just went to the right of the sound tent which is my friend and I's unofficial meeting place. Turned out fruitful because Angel Raper discovered me there just a couple songs in (apparently his phone wasn't getting texts).


We stayed for almost all of their solid set ("It's a beautiful day for sad songs"), and although I kind of wanted to stay to check out Jonsi, there was a break and so we decided to grab some food and then see some of Charlotte Gainsbourg. This time, instead of getting my usual falafel wrap, I settled for some lobster garlic fries since I wasn't that hungry yet anyway. In case you read too fast, I did say fries with GARLIC and LOBSTER. If this is common in California, then this is just another reason to get out to the west coast more often, because this shit was amazing.


We turned up for Charlotte with the most sophisticated crowd I saw all weekend. No glowsticks, but lots of guys in hats. Less bikinis and body paint and way more sun dresses. I'm guessing the average age of the crowd was at least five to ten years older as well. Gainsbourg's music was pleasant Feist-esque fair, and I enjoyed it but I would have rather checked it out at a smaller fest or a small club/lounge venue. Still it was refreshing and I found myself staying through the set even though I was and still am ever-curious for Jonsi since falling in love with Sigur Ros in grad school.


We split after this so AR could check out Spoon, who tend to bore me, while I decided to try to catch some of Miike Snow. I can't get enough of their electro dance pop LP from last year, and I was hoping the crowd and setlist would be better than the recent Metro show I saw. However, I couldn't get close enough in the tent for it to sound good, and so after struggling to get into a few tracks, I decided to go back to the tent Gainsbourg finished at to catch a little Sly Stone before Pavement. Unfortunately, the next forty-five minutes turned out to be a huge waste of time because for whatever reason, Sly Stone never came on before I had to go over for Pavement. All I did was end up wandering around to the merch and back, hoping he would go on, but all I got to hear was Phoenix rock out loudly from far away at the second stage, ceaselessly pulling in hordes of people from all corners of the fest. I saw a great Phoenix show at the Aragon this year, and since they sounded so good from afar I wasn't tempted to fight my way in with the masses. In retrospect, I should have gone to Sahara to check out Infected Mushroom for a bit, but that would have required swimming against the tidal wave of dance pop seekers.


So eventually I gave up on Sly and hit the main stage for the most anticipated classic indie rock show of the fest-- Pavement. It wasn't hard to find AR by the sound booth again, who was a longtime fan, but the crowd was again diffuse for these champions of pre-grunge alternative. I myself must admit I've never been able to fall in love with them, though I have spent some time familiarizing myself with their early stuff especially the debut. I did stay for most of the set to foster my appreciation for the band, but I got a text from Spiderman saying he wanted to meet me for Thom Yorke and so I decided to go find him by the fire tornado apparatus so we could hang together for that set.


Turns out Spidey was simply exhausted, because for the rest of the night, through Thom Yorke and then Gorillaz, he alternated between simply standing and sitting so he could rest and massage his feet. At least two girls approached him to see if he was ok, and it was understandably so for during Thom Yorke was the second time I saw a girl go down and need assistance.

But regardless, Thom Yorke's set was great. I've always loved The Eraser, which is almost four years old, and it was sweet to finally see it performed live. It was a little odd to see Flea of Red Hot Chili Pepper fame on bass, and I wasn't quite digging the live version of Skip Divided (though I'm not too disappointed because it's my least favorite track), but it was sweet to hear them play the album straight through in its entirety. Songs like Analyze, Black Swan, and Harrowdown Hill are as beloved to me as almost any Radiohead song, and Cymbal Rush was radically transformed to a mind-blowing climax live. I would have been satisfied with this, but after they finished the album, the band departed while Yorke stayed on stage to perform some solo stuff. First he did a new song on guitar that utilized live vocal and guitar looped playbacks, followed by an acoustic Airbag and then a piano Everything in its Right Place. If that wasn't enough, the band returned so that they could play some new "mad shit" as Thom put it. The most maddening was Thom's dancing though, and although the songs were upbeat and funky, they will hopefully never be put to record.


We started migrating to the main stage a little early since I didn't want to get stuck in the back for Gorillaz like we did for Tiesto. And it was a little awkward for me since Spiderman was still pretty much spent for the night, though he still agreed to stick by me while I eagerly awaited one of my more anticipated acts of the fest. I had heard Gorillaz described as a virtual band, and that they will basically substitute a huge video screen for the stage presence of musicians. This was fortunately only partially true. The stage was there, and they played an engrossing video to every song, but they also visibly had a stage band, which mainly consisted of Damon Albarn running around singing but also had a string orchestra as well as many others I couldn't quite discern from my distance. They started with a video of Snoop Dogg welcoming us to the world of the Plastic Beach, and moved to play a complete hodgepodge of tracks, which is basically what all their albums are like. Most of the crowd around me was digging it, and just looking around I was amazed not only by the energy people still had despite the late hour of the third day of this massive party, but also the diversity of the crowd that was getting into this music. I guess it shows how successful Gorillaz's weird alchemy of genre-mashing truly is. Although it was to be expected, they unfortunately played way too much new stuff, and the only classic I stayed long enough to hear was Clint Eastwood. I really dug Stylo though and the classic car chase video starring Bruce Willis, but I was really hoping to hear D.A.R.E. or Feel Good, Inc. Alas, we all agreed to cut out early to beat the rush, and so I missed the encore performance of Feel Good which apparently incorporated De La Soul who performed earlier that day.


Spidey and I found AR by our predetermined landmark way in the back, where he patiently waited and listened to Gorillaz from a distance, clearly not sold on their quirky conglomeration of sounds. Although we left early there was still a half hour wait in a car line to get out, and by the time we dropped of Spiderman at Palm Springs nearby, I was starting to crash. I had had energy all day, surprisingly even through the Gorillaz set, but at this point I was running on fumes. Still, I abide by being a good wingman and split a Red Bull with the driver so that we could distract ourselves with talk of music while we grabbed some tacos from a drive thru joint and finished the night with a two hour drive back to LA.

I can't remember what time it was when we finally got to AR's brother-in-law's loft in downtown LA, but it was somewhere around 4am. I took a shower because I knew I wouldn't find time to in the morning. We had to get up around 7am to drop off the rental car and then catch a bus to LAX so we could get our flights, which weren't the same but were deliberately booked to leave around the same time. This was good planning because I was a complete zombie at 7am, and I probably would have missed the second flight of the weekend if it wasn't for my friend. Fortunately though, I made boarding at 10:30am, and passed out for the entire flight home.



Phew! There you have it. Finally finished my inauguration of Omnaural with the final Coachella post exactly one month late!

Thanks for reading everyone and stay tuned for more *current* music posts... which will include links to actual music!