MP3 blog 2009/06/29

blog 2009/06/29 - Dance like iron-welded narcissism doesn't shield our sense of inadequacy!

Or like nobody's watching. Either way.... snaaaaaakkeee eeeyyyyyeeessss!
Hello and hello. And a hello to you!
That's the way it starts this time, with a funpacked dubstep romp. AC Slater moves from the bloghouse in to the big bass world and this track is hot.
http://www.myspace.com/theacslater

We follow that up with a rather surreal rework of Lady Gaga... taking Poker Face and giving us... "Poker Her Face". WTF? What does that even mean?
I just picture Gaga all dolled up and stunned, having Kanye repeatedly stab his index finger in to her cheek and giggling each time.
*poke*
teeeeheee heee!
*silence*
*awkward silence*
...
*poke*
teeeheeee heee!

But then I realize the track is pretty damn dope. A-Trak produces another winner, getting the GaGa line to sound like Amy Winehouse. Hot.

Let's jump ahead on the hip-top tip: the new Mos Def LP is "The Ecstatic" and it is hot. Highly recommended. To get a good introduction, check out the essential introduction to the new Mos Def with his performances of "Quiet Dog Bite Hard": http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t3k9uZ17Afc (if it gets removed, just google “mos def letterman quiet”
We are now in the post-808s+heartbreak era of hiphop. Love him or hate 'em, Kanye changed the game. Witness: Mos Def on dual Taiko drums thundering out the bassline. Taiko resurgence? Hell yes. Love Lockdown's chorus brought it to the forefront.
But the LP is not post-Kanye, it's just pure Mos Def. Solidly innovative, if only suffering from being a little top-heavy in the singles. Whatever, you can delete the handful of weaker tracks. Buy this album now, or shamefully get it later when it makes all of the Best of 2009 charts.
It even features an incredible verse from Slick Rick and makes him cool again. If it can do that, what is remains impossible?
http://www.myspace.com/mosdef


Z-Trip - M@sh Uptight: further in to the hiphop breakbeats, pioneer Z-Trip gives up a lot of goods on his website, and this is one of them. The glory of stadium rock combined with head-nodding goodness.
http://www.djztrip.com/

Boy Crisis - Dressed To Digress (Nero Remix): If you know me, you know I love when pop songs are given the dubstep treatment, and this one delivers in all of that assumed glory. OK OK, what the hell does "You can do me up like Woodrow Wilson" mean? When he says "You can do me like Bruce Springsteen / Ask the swim team / pass the string beans", I have a hard time believing this guy is talking to a woman. Luckily, I am more than happy to imagine him making out with other dirty dubstep boys.
http://www.myspace.com/boycrisis

This edition's flash-to-the-back, a special feature that I invented and noone else ever references, where-in we look backwards (in a flash) and see what is there in that cultural-temporal intersection that we somehow think is important.
Lo! It is Einstürzende Neubauten, love of my (childhood) life. I listened to Strategies Against Architecture and Tabula Rasa and Halber Mensch obsessively. I still get giddy shivers when I hear Blixa read from consumer catalogues!
Blume is a track from Tabula Rasa of staggering beauty that is often overlooked. Apart from the english version on my album, the single contained Japanese and French versions, as witness here. I love it when bands release alternate language versions. It reminds of Kraftwerk in it's goodness. The vocalist doesn't match the power my nostalgia holds on the English version, but I thought French-speaking people might enjoy.
And of course Ich Bin's is just a pure classic. Enjoy!
http://www.neubauten.org/

Haley Bonar - Big Star: A promotional track from her SXSW appearance, it's about time we got the soft rock representing on this blog! Too often singer-songwriters are shoved around by the phat bass squads or belligerent MCs. Way to take up space!
http://www.myspace.com/haleybonar

Halloween, Alaska - Champagne Downtown: While they are the winner of "Worst band name ever", this track scores points for pop-songsmithing. Then halfway through they do a "tribute to the angsty M83 songs" with their spoken word section. I can't tell if they are mocking M83 or are paying sincerely tribute. Oh those goofballs.
http://www.halloweenalaska.com/

Handsome Furs - Cannot Get, Started: I wasn't entirely feeling the new LP Plague Park, but this track rocks. The vocals evoke my fondness for The National... except with synth drums and more Walkmen-esque guitars. Special award goes for awkward, sentence punctuation.
http://www.myspace.com/handsomefurs

Iron And Wine - The Trapeze Swinger: As it turns out I have already posted a few tracks that are featured on "Around The Well", the new double CD from Iron & Wine. For fans of the band, it's a must. For those that are only casually acquainted, you can safely pass on this b-sides and rarities affair. The strongest of the bunch could easily have been distilled to a single 50 minute disc, but oh what a mind blowing disc that would be. Witness the spectacle of the hypnotic track "The Trapeze Swinger" here. *swoon*
http://www.ironandwine.com/

Kraak & Smaak ft Ben Westbeech - Squeeze Me: Move over A-Skilzz, we have some new stars glowing in the world of "bubblegum breaks" production. These tracks are like eating sugar-filled breakfast cereal... although that analogy only works if you have dentures or a solid gold grill already. Delicious and sugary rich. Chances are if you are grooving, you have long since ODed on pop breaks and no longer care that you are gumming, on that you suckle on goodness.
http://www.kraaksmaak.com/

M.I.A. & Annie Lennox - Paper Planes (B.Cause Party Break): This mashup dropped a while ago and fell right in to my heart. I love Annie Lennox to no end. I grew up with her, and her solo album "Diva" is one of my all-time favourite "not-so-secret shames". Lennox's vocals come from her single No More I Love Yous, and it reminds me just how awesome she is. This track is nothing mind blowing, but good fun.
http://www.annielennox.com/

And I will end things with some requisite gushing over Metric's new power-pop album "Fantasies". Chances are you will here this album more than enough over the summer, so I don't feel a great obligation to sell you on it.
They always have a hectic touring schedule, so just be sure to check them out on the road when they come to your town.
http://www.myspace.com/metricband



THIS WEEK'S TRACKS

AC Slater - Hello
A-Trak ft Kid Cudi, Kanye West & Common - Poke Her Face ft Lady Gaga
Boy Crisis - Dressed To Digress (Nero Remix)
Einstürzende Neubauten - Blume (French Version)
Einstürzende Neubauten - Ich Bin's
Haley Bonar - Big Star
Halloween, Alaska - Champagne Downtown
Handsome Furs - Cannot Get, Started
Iron And Wine - The Trapeze Swinger
Kraak & Smaak ft Ben Westbeech - Squeeze Me
M.I.A. & Annie Lennox - Paper Planes (B.Cause Party Break)
Metric - Gold Guns And Girls
Metric - Help I'm Alive
Metric - Stadium
Mos Def - Auditiorium ft Slick Rick
Mos Def - Life In Marvelous Times
Mos Def - Supermagic
Z-Trip - M@sh Uptight


77 minutes in the closet: http://thetastates.com/mp3s/blog/blog20090629.zip


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~CPI