Flashback: Daft Punk "Revolution 909" (1996)

On this date in history: “There was an accident in our studio. We were working on our sampler, and at exactly 9:09 a.m. on September 9, 1999, it exploded. When we regained consciousness, we discovered that we had become robots."

While it has been ten years since tragedy turned Daft Punk robots there is something else on 9/09 that comes to mind. Released in 1998 "Revolution 909" was the last single to be pulled from Daft Punk's debut album Homework. Sirens and police demanding over a loudspeaker to "stop the music and go home" are only the beginning to this stomping dance track. The song even has a Roman Coppola directed video that takes an unexpected turn early on:



: Long before their robotic accident and finding their electronic way Thomas Bangalter and Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo were in an indie group Darlin' whose sole release was a joint limited edition single. Fortunately there is now an unofficial myspace page for the group that allows you to sample their entire recorded output. Perhaps they were human after all.

Video: The Juan Maclean "Happy House"

The third single from The Juan Maclean's The Future Will Come is the first single. The initial "Happy House" release in March, 2008 targeted the dj crowd with over 12 minutes of disco glory and now that same song has been edited down to a spartan 3 minute pop song. The video starts out with some too close close-ups of Nancy Whang before evolving into something quite mainstream friendly with apparent un-ironic choreography:



: The "Happy House" single is out now and features a slew of remixes. Get your fix of The Juan Maclean info at their fancy website.

Video: Vitalic "Your Disco Song"

Since his debut Poney EP in 2001 unleashed the hit "La Rock 01" on the world Vitalic has managed to become one of the most recognized electronica artists to emerge during this decade despite having only released one album. Maybe I've missed it but I was expecting a little more fanfare when I discovered when he returned last month with the Disco Terminateur EP. While the EP's other song "Terminateur Benelux" is equally strong, "Your Disco Song" is a fine track that adds a bit of 8-bit flavor to Vitalic's modus operandi. Not loving the video:

: Vitalic's full length Flashmob drops in late September.

Video: Calvin Harris "I'm Not Alone"

It looks like the new Calvin Harris album will be released in the US so why not post the video for "I'm Not Alone"? Previously unavailable in the land of the free the single nabbed the number one spot on the UK chart back in April with a unique combination of indie and "stadium rave". I tend to be a bit hot and cold when it comes to Harris but this one is sticking around my mind months after first hearing it:



: While I see nothing on Ultra Records website or on the Calvin Harris myspace confirming the release the label's youtube page gives 8/18/09 as the digital release date which is the typical one day delay over the UK unveiling of Ready For The Weekend. The CD is due in October.

Video: Jay-Z "D.O.A. (Death Of Auto-Tune)"

Are hip hop tracks ever featured on this blog? Hardly ever. But how often do tracks as incredible as this come out? The No I.D. and Kanye West produced track is largely a subtly edited sample of Janko Nilovic & Dave Sucky's "In The Space" but the beat is undeniable. Jay-Z adds the icing and "old-man grumbling" to the cake with some notable lines asking if "I’m a multi-millionaire so how is it I’m still the hardest here" and announcing that hip hop's autotune abusers music are "going make it the great depression". Despite claims that "this ain’t a number one record, this is practically assault with a deadly weapon" this is one fantastic pop record:



: Jay-Z's new album drops in September and myspace has all the info.
Related: Autotune on Nova

Video: BT "The Rose Of Jericho"

Things have been fairly quiet on the BT front since he released his "ambient symphony" This Binary Universe. The 2006 CD/DVD package was a unique project for the producer showcasing seven tracks mixed to be heard in surround sound all accompanied by specially commissioned short films. At the time of it's release BT announced another album that would be out the following year featuring collaborations with Imogen Heap and Stewart Copeland. Fast forward several years and we have "The Rose Of Jericho". BT is dipping a tentative toe into the water rather than jumping in the deep end with this understated sort-of-trance instrumental with a "Popcorn" lead synth. It's certainly an okay track but not something that inspires any passion in me. The video continues BT's recent tradition of marrying music to images with the most emotionally effective computer graphics seen since someone last turned on the random visualization mode in windows media player:



: BT's site seems to be the place to find all the latest on his still untitled album but stop by his facebook where his bio suggest it will be out sometime in 2006 before the release of This Binary Universe.

Video: Tiga "Shoes"

What is that sound? Tiga's "Shoes" is one my favorite songs of the year yet I continue to find myself at a loss to describe it. Lyrically the song is an off the chart bizarre virtual duet between Tiga and pitched up "female" voice that was rumored to be Madonna where the man tells her he wants to fix her messy hair, nails and, of course, shoes all of which is delivered in an odd parental tone. Tiga brings plenty of top notch talent to the table with Soulwax, Gonzales and Jesper Dahlback helping out on the track which features some great electronics like the memorable bass line while it stays in a pop friendly zone. Assuming you don't pay attention to the lyrics.
The video is another highlight of the year with a superb execution of it's concept. A couple of models play out the uncomfortable lyrics under the pretense of a 70s talk show with a few shots of psychedelic happenings thrown in the mix. Brilliance defined:



: Out now, Tiga's new album Ciao! "has ideas and songs and the production is always spotless". Stop by his myspace to hear more.

Quiz Time: Know Your Crystal Method/Chemical Brothers

With the release of the new Crystal Method album I got to wondering if they had ever broken free of the "America's Chemical Brothers" tag. They don't particularly sound similar these days but some of the two acts choices have a familiar ring to them. Here is a little quiz I threw together:

Quizzes by Quibblo.com

Quck Bits

Pet Shop Boys have been playing a version of "Viva La Vida" on their current tour. Geowayne suggests the song was chosen in solidarity with Coldplay's plagiarism claims given that PSB were accused of the same (involving one of the same parties) with "It's A Sin". Since Chris has called it one of his favorite recent songs I lean towards the idea that they are playing "Viva La Vida" because it was the inspiration for the backing track of their current single "Did You See Me Coming?". The chord structure and main rhythm of both are strikingly similar (link takes you to a not quite a mashup)even if the melody and styles are completely different. A better reason to pick up tickets is that Stuart Price, who oddly enough remixed "Viva" for Coldplay, worked on the live PSB arrangements. Also they are also playing "Two Divided By Zero"!

Much hyped UK electro acts Little Boots & La Roux are rather interesting. Sorry it took me so long to check them out but I can't be bothered to follow every one-track internet sensation. Lost in the 80's has a great post about the original Giorgio Moroder/Freddie Mercury version of "Love Kills" that Little Boots has covered for her Illuminations EP. Both versions are great.

An additional note on Hooky's Freebass preview track: He has always made odd choices when it comes to previewing material on media outlets. See evidence in this circa-1990 tv performance of NO's "The Happy One", a Technique-era track that can only be found chopped into fifteen second intervals heard during transitional segments on the Substance video collection. The band released their only number one single in the same year.

Three Takes From The BPA

While housecleaning Norman Cook, better known as Fatboy Slim, found a number of forgotten tapes containing unfinished collaborations with musicians who had stopped by his studio over the years. In an effort to tie up loose ends he created The BPA as an outlet for the finished product. Without a proper band Cook has been promoting the album I Think We're Gonna Need A Bigger Boat with Iggy Pop using the house bands of a couple late night shows to bring their take on The Monochrome Set's "He's Frank" to the masses.

Here is Cook on bass with The Roots on Jimmy Fallon:



: and playing the night before with Paul Shaffer & The CBS Orchestra On Letterman:



: Then there is the official BPA version:



: Stop by The Brighton Port Authority for all the info and some entertaining fake backstory.

Waiting For The Sirens Response

Peter Hook did a lengthy chat on XFM this week covering the many projects of his lengthy career. Hadn't heard before that he wrote the melody for "Love Will Tear Us Apart" and that the song was written in about three hours but pretty much everything else about his past has been fairly well documented. On the news front his all bass playing project Freebass, which he has been talking up for the past four years, finally has a completed album in the mastering stage and he played a track from the project. "Stalingrad" is a reggae track that lacks a distinct vocal or anything to really latch on to. NewOrderOnline suggests fast forwarding the archive to 1:41:00 to hear the track but it doesn't sound like something that will make the album.
Most importantly Hooky revealed that he has been talking with Stephen, as Bernard is consumed with Bad Lieutenant, about releasing the half+ album they completed while recording Waiting For The Sirens Call. Is it too much to hope comes out within five years of it's originally announced 2006 release date?
Hooky's book (autobiography?) How Not To Run A Club is due in October so stop by his myspace for all the latest.

Flashback: DeeJay Punk-Roc "My Beatbox" (1998)

After an introduction borrowed from LL Cool J's "I'm Bad" warns all cars to be on the lookout for mean fellow with dimples carrying a beatbox we are launched into one the great jams of the big beat era. DeeJay Punk-Roc amps up the track with robo vocals and truly break dance worthy "Planet Rock"-style electro beats that drive the track to extremes. To this day I am puzzled as to why more people don't know about the song.
Maybe it is the video which is definitely of the time when all electronic music video were silly because Fatboy Slim had such crossover success with the intelligently silly "Praise You". This one doesn't quite cut it:



: DeeJay Punk-Roc's debut album ChickenEye, now out of print, contained a wider range of styles than "My Beatbox" suggests adding a heaver dose of the turntablism and old school hip hop. There was some controversy at the time in some of the UK press suggesting that Punk-Roc was just a Milli Vanilli-type front man for his co-producer Don Sergic, who has only a few credts to his name like his remix of Ill Disco's "Keep The Jam Going", never had substance behind them and were dismissed by Sergic. Stuart Price turned in an early and utterly fantastic remix of the track that didn't make the single, which did contain a Big Audio Dynamite mix, but can be found on the Respect Is Burning compilation.
DeeJay Punk-Roc released his follow up album Spoiling It For Everyone a couple years later to a quiet reception. After putting out a couple of mix discs Punk-Roc has all but disappeared. I hope we hear a comeback soon.

Coming And Going

Bernard Sumner recently announced that his new project Bad Lieutenant will release an album this fall telling the BBC "I'm very proud of it, it's a very good album. It's pretty guitary too because we've got three guitarists in the band." He also spoke a bit about New Order's breakup "we split into two factions, there's me Steve and Phil. The other is Peter Hook." Ouch. Also of interest is that he made the initial announcement via fansite NewOrderOnline which got no press attention for a couple of weeks. See my previous post on Bad Lieutenant for more info on the project.

Founding Freezepop member The Duke, aka Kasson Crooker, is leaving the group to concentrate on his day job at Harmonix. His departure doesn't come as a huge surprise given he stopped touring with the band last year for the same reason. What music Kasson has time to make will be released as Symbion Project, an alias he has used for more than a decade as his outlet for electronia. As for the remaining members of Freezepop they have promised that new music is on the way.

Video: Depeche Mode "Peace"

Revisiting the electronic sound of Some Great Reward is something that DM have never done before and it works exceptionally well on "Peace". The punctuated bass line, helium fueled leads, sparse arpeggios and even the string pad of doom that underscores a few lines all stir something deep within my soul that remind me why I became a Depeche fan. However I can't help but expect something more from the song. Perhaps it is just heightened expectations from listening to Violator recently, but there was a time when you could expect Martin Gore's songs to take you on a trip around the world and back developing organically in the course of four or so minutes which doesn't happen here. I have been trying to put my finger on exactly what draws me out of the song and while I have discovered that I am not a fan of the aimless organ part what is the deal breaker is the build up in the middle eight that leads to a cop-out fade out. It is like loading up the car for a road trip getting on the interstate and turning back around because you forgot where you were going. What does it say that this is definitely one of the two tracks that Sounds Of The Universe will be remembered for:



: The "Peace" single is out this week in most of the world although in the US the release seems to be limited to an addition to the content of the DM itunes pass. I'm sure depeche mode dot com has details buried somewhere on it.

Video: Felix Da Housecat "Kickdrum"

Near the beginning of the decade Felix Da Housecat had an amazing run of singles and remixes that tapered off with his album from a couple of years ago. Virgo Blaktro & The Movie Disco was only three tracks deep, one of those being a rewrite of a Stuart Price remix, with nothing that rivaled the heights of the material that made him an electroclash icon. Things might be turning around for Felix on his new single "Kickdrum" which finds him singing the praises of drum machines. It is loud, raw and could have been banged out with Reason in about 10 minutes but you leaves wanting more just like a teaser single should:



: July brings He Was King. Hopefully his old magic will be back. Felix Da Housecat's myspace is the place for more info.

Video: The Prodigy "The Warrior's Dance"

Prodigy's Invaders Must Die is a bit shy of standout tracks but their recent top 10 UK single "The Warrior's Dance" is definitely one of them. After the band's initial attempt at recording new material resulted in months of writers block things improved when Keith Flint challenged Liam Howlett to write something to be played live at last year's Gatecrasher festival. Howlett's retro track takes it's inspiration from two rave records released in 1989 with Final Cut's "Take Me Away" providing the vocals and a sample from Addis Posse's "Let The Warrior's Dance" helping the beat. The video is a self-aware edgy affair, they posted a preemptive notice of what to do when the video gets pulled from youtube, that features the band as literal firestarters, in the form of animated matchbook men, who controversially take on cigarettes:



: Visit Prodigy's site if the video does not work.

Video: Moby "Pale Horses"

Moby has been talking up the uncommercial nature of his upcoming album as he has been doing the press rounds. So far his singles choices bear that out. The vocals for "Pale Horses" were recorded in a completely unconventional way pointing to the words, which include the line "all my family died", to a friend singing the song for the first time. The effect is not unlike one of the quieter tracks on Play. The video is an sad little animated treatment of the song that brings Moby's alien sketches to life:



: The single release of "Pale Horses", due June 22nd, features remixes from Gui Boratto, Apparat and Jason Bentley. Wait For Me is out June 29th.

Video: Pet Shop Boys "Did You See Me Coming?"

The second single pulled from Yes is a rather nice example of PSB hitting their electropop stride with a generous touch of Johnny Marr guitar added to the mix. The single package should be amazing as it features three b-sides (one of which is the current Popjustice song of the day), Stuart Price's PSB Brit Award medley and a number of remixes including one from Richard X. However for the official video they take the performance video approach playing the song in front of the large video screen. Why shouldn't they remake the "Minimal" video a couple of years later and take out the interesting bits?:



: Actually there is a really great part where Neil works the jazz hands routine for a couple of seconds. "Did You See Me Coming?" is out June 1st (please release it digitally Astralwerks) and petshopboys.co.uk has all the info you need to keep track of the various formats.

Video: Rex The Dog "Bubblicious"

Rex The Dog might be stalking Vince Clarke. Rex developed his distinct sound after buying a Korg 700S because it was used on Depeche Mode's first album so one of his first moves was to turn in a storming remix of "Photographic" that was one of the few redeeming tracks on DM's cash grab Remixes 81-04. Rex's most recent video moves the timeline ahead a year or so later borrowing Alison Moyet's vocals from "Midnight", an album track on Yaz's (that's Yazoo to those outside of the US) debut Upstairs At Erics. "Bubblicious" is an exhilarating track that marries the essence of synthpop's age of innocence with the spirit of today's retro-flavored floor fillers. The video finds Yaz reconnected through the magic of stop motion cardboard albeit with Rex stepping in for the mysteriously absent Vince:



: I held off posting on this song for some months now because I had hoped to post news of Rex The Dog's album being released in the US. Unfortunately that still hasn't happened and nothing has been announced that suggests it will happen which is a terrible shame.

Techno From Unexpected Faces: UB40

Taking their name from a United Kingdom unemployment form UB40 were discovered by Chrissie Hynde who invited the politically minded reggae group to open for The Pretenders. Things really took off for the group in 1983 with the release their covers album Labour Of Love that featured their massively popular version of Neil Diamond's "Red Red Wine" giving the band a formula for success. They would go on to have hit covers of "The Way You Do the Things You Do", "I Got You Babe" and "Kingston Town" before having one of the biggest hits of their career in 1993 covering Elvis Presley's "(I Can't Help) Falling in Love With You" for the Sliver soundtrack. The song reached number one in seven countries including the UK and the US but the single was backed with a song that revealed a more musically daring side to the group. While the instrumental “Jungle Love” has been referred to as “an oddball "dub" mash up” it actually is an early drum ’n’ bass track that boldly wears it’s jungle influence down to the pitched up mc vocal sample. 808 State had released a “vs.” remix of the band‘s 1981 single “One In Ten” just the year before and UB40’s sound at the time heavily incorporated electronics so it was not a totally unanticipated move but discarding vocals and traditional songwriting to throw themselves into the deep end of the then emerging jungle scene is quite an unexpected move from a group that so often plays things safe. Ultimately the track didn’t quite hold up at the time and in the years that have passed it sounds really quite confused as if they attempted to distill an entire genre into a single track. However they do get points for trying: