Just Like A Minimal

I saw this posted at Very and had to share:



: Youtube is packed with remixes of the Flea Market Montgomery commercial if you're interested.

Video: Freezepop "Less Talk More Rokk"

Freezepop drop their major label debut album Future Future Future Perfect today which is a reason to celebrate. I have been following the trio since the days of the old mp3.com and it's been fantastic to see them go from doing everything DIY to getting the big label treatment. The new album opens with "Less Talk More Rokk" which appeared in the cult video game Guitar Hero and brought the band a wider audience than the underground synthpop crowd.

The "Less Talk More Rokk" video sends a couple of signals that Freezepop have moved to a major because it was clearly shot on a big sound stage and after years of fashionable modest outfits Liz suddenly has cleavage. Beyond that it has a video game theme going on and the best use of mice in a music video since PSB's "Home & Dry":



: Hear more from the album by downloading "Ninja Of Love" and stop by their myspace to hear more from Future Future Future Perfect.

Video: Rihanna "Shut Up & Drive"

Rihanna's follow up to her mega smash single "Umbrella" is "Shut Up & Drive" which follows the formula she first used on "SOS" of borrowing a musical foundation from a modern rock classic and creating a new pop r&b melody to form an instant hit. Given her previous success it seems like a no-brainer but the new song simply does not work. While "SOS" emphasised the strong points of Soft Cell's hit "Shut Up & Drive" does nothing right in playing up strengths of it's source material. When you think of New Order's "Blue Monday" you probably think of beats, beats, more beats, the distinct chill, the lead bass, that choir sound, the synth bass, the vocals and the beats. "Shut Up & Dance" has guitars rock out on New Order's familiar four bar chord progression and doesn't do anything else with the original song. Why even bother using the song if you're going to ignore what made the original work in the first place? Then there are the lyrics... I know that the double entente's show how Rihanna is a Good Girl Gone Bad but when such little imagination is used it just becomes silly.

As for the video we will let the youtube comments be our guide. "LOL...chicks who know's about cars" "she is so hot" "No girl in her right mind would work on cars in HEELS!" "yeah she's very very hot" What else could you need to know about the video?:



: In an unique turn Rihanna has a myspace page which allows you to preview some of her other music and read about her latest musical plans.

Mini Reviews

I listen to new music and sometimes I blog about it months after everyone else has...

Justice Debut Album

Every hipster's second favorite dance band released their debut album recently and while it is not as infallible as their hypem profile would suggest there is plenty of proof that everything Justice touches is made to be blogged about. Not only are they big into the whole artsy "it's not the notes you play- it's the notes you don't play" thing but they suggest with big ideas and do things that are open to interpretation like sample the same song that Will Smith sampled for "Men In Black". Are they using a track because it inspired them to create a new disco monster? Are they fans paying tribute to an under looked original source? Are they taking on ready made hits that "steal" from other songs? Do they want their money back after seeing Wild Wild West? It has been said that art must have ambiguity to allow a spectrum of interpretations to truly survive in critical circles and Justice do have that air of mystery about them. Too bad they didn't get down to business and truly capitalize on their string of pre-release singles with an album that wasn't so concerned with maintaining that aura.
Best tracks: "D.A.N.C.E." "Phantom"

Digitalism Idealism


These folks are often mentioned in the same breath as Justice because they released albums about the same time but Digitalism know how to rock a disco beat in their own way and remixed an old school Depeche Mode track & an aging Cut Copy track which are things Justice has never done. Idealism has range with parts of the album sounding like a rehash of digital hardcore while other moments are the sort of sublime analogue bliss that inspires dreams of electric sheep. Unfortunately it is five tracks too long and many of the tracks fail to distinguish themselves. Be sure to check out the highlights.
Best tracks: "The Pulse" "Pogo" "Jupiter Room"

Motor Unhuman

Originally based out of Paris & Minneapolis this transatlantic duo made the move to London where they are currently unleashing industrial flavored acid techno under the guise of Motor. The album is one of those borderline experiences that really works at moments but seems to be in need of full vocal tracks to really come to life. Given that they record electroclash as Xlover you can't help but wonder how much better the album would be if they didn't compartmentalize their music to different projects. Still it's an album that always urges me on to faster driving speeds and one that works despite "Bleep #1" being the least representative and worst first single from a decent album in 2007.
Best tracks: "Unhuman" "Flashback" "Drug Punk"

Video: Chemical Brothers "The Salmon Dance"

The Chemical Brothers We Are The Night has arrived to a lukewarm reception but I think that the album's second single is the duo's best hip hop track to date. Collaborating with former Pharcyde member Fatlip they have broken their usual pattern of cramming every hip hop idea that ever had into a track and instead let the song dictate it's own course. The success of the remarkably low key "The Salmon Dance" relies on the charms of Fatlip's narrative which fortunately prove to be quite rewarding.

The video features a young person being entertained, possibly with the help of Chemicals, by an aquarium. It's rather good and features the best Ed & Tom cameo ever!:



: Listen to remixes and more at The Chemical Brothers myspace.

I Know Twenty Five Years Is A Long Time

Don't Walk Away In Silence

Tony Wilson, the man behind Factory Records, died this past weekend. His unique approach to the music business of dealing without contracts and providing top notch packaging and production help bring about some of my most cherished albums. I don't know that I ever got a complete sense of his over sized personality since I've never seen his television hosting gigs in the UK but the occasional interviews I've read are fascinating. Just a short time ago Wilson was asked by Billboard of his opinion on how Steve Coogan played him in the biographical 24 Hour Party People:

Oh, I loved it. Basically, I'm a complete tw*t, but he played me as an affable fool, which is very sweet. I'm not really an affable fool, but I'm very happy to be portrayed as such... I am so proud of "24 Hour Party People" because it is very funny. I am now a celebrity in America because of that film, which is bizarre.

: Maybe he was even more of a celebrity here than he realized. I first read of Wilson's death on my ISP's news scroll where it was a featured story.

Dance To Disco

September will see the first release of Pet Shop Boys new EMI deal with Disco 4. Like the unexpectedly fantastic Disco 3 there is a twist in the series as the album showcases the Boys remix work for other acts including The Killers, Madonna, Rammmstein and David Bowie. Extended versions of "I'm With Stupid" and "Integral" (which will finally get a promo single release!) will round out the package along with a barcode inspired video that is intended to promote discussion about "the gradual erosion of personal freedom taking place in the current political climate". Sounds fun to me.

Techno From Unexpected Faces: Jesus Jones

Jesus Jones usually bring to mind a very specific time and place which I imagine for many is the fall of the Berlin Wall the collapse of 20th century communism. That's not exactly the case for me. Almost every time I hear "Right Here Right Now" I am reminded of an anti-drug assembly in high school that featured extreme athletic feats performed by a team of born again ex-addicts in front of video projectors playing hit music videos before the athletes slipped a rather overt Christian message past my school's administration during their testifying of the evils of drugs. Perhaps it's just that context that colors my thinking but Jesus Jones have never struck me as ravers and the All Music Guide agrees defining the band's sound as a "watered-down Madchester and dance-pop hybrid". While that less than flattering description fits the general impression of the band they did expand their pallet on their flopped followup to their breakthrough Doubt recording with midi-modified instruments in singer/songwriter Mike Edwards bedroom studio creating a tech heavy sound that brought world music influences to the forefront. "The Devil You Know" exemplifies the best qualities of Perverse but the single's b-side showed that they were willing to go beyond traditional song structures and embrace rave culture. "Want To Know" is a product of the band's keyboardist Iain Baker and a surprisingly effective no nonsense techno stormer based around a vocal sample that asks "what did you do today?". Shame it didn't make that greatest hits collection they shared with EMF.

Living For The Bottle

Dave Gahan just announced that his second solo album, written and produced with Depeche Mode's touring members Christian Eigner and Andrew Phillpott, is due out this fall. I'm going out on a limb and going to say this could be interesting. Paper Monsters was not a good album (nor was it worth the money that Mute or Sire kept giving to amazing remixers to rework mediocre songs for the single releases) but it was an album that demonstrated potential which blossomed when Gahan started writing with Eigner/Phillpott for Playing The Angel. So it puzzles me that all I've read is negative reactions on the web. I can't be alone in declaring "Suffer Well" the greatest DM single since "Precious"? I suppose all the haters will use the upcoming Recoil album as the standard to tear Gahan apart in the months ahead.

Some Newsy Things And Links

• Perhaps you are familiar with electropop siren Sarah Nixey. XO just interviewed her for his blog.
  
• Did you know that OMD reunited and have been playing gigs that showcase their early classic albums in their entirety? Electronically Yours was invited to an intimate warm up and you can read Orac's detailed report by scrolling down to "11 . 05. 2007".
  
• It was very tempting to copy and paste my own version of Tremble Clef's brilliant choose-your-own adventure post on Flunk's cover of Depeche Mode's "See You" but fear of it being a bad cover version of his blog stopped me short.
  
• A survey dares ask which synthpop guru are you. I'm Neil Tennant.
  
• After months of waiting for news about The Modern/Matinee Club's US EP I contacted the label that was supposed to release it. Even though the band had made the announcement and the label dropped money into prepping the release nothing was signed and after the name change they never got back to the label so another release from the band goes back into the vault. Shame they treat their fans this way.
  
• A source told fansite NewOrderOnline that "Peter Hook can leave the band, but this doesn't mean the end of New Order" because New Order is a democratic body. The source mentioned that Hooky recently signed with different representation than the rest of the band and that he stayed at a different hotel in Cannes than his former band mates during the junket for the premier of Control. The film's soundtrack is complete so we can expect something new from Joy Division this year and the silence of Bernard and Stephen suggests that they might complete New Order's unfinished album.

Inner City Pressure

Can't imagine why Neil Tennant would link to this in his blog:

Video: Phonique featuring Erlend Øye "For The Time Being"

Phonique released his album in the US earlier this month and since it involves a collaboration with the peerless Erlend Øye it caught my attention. "For The Time Being" is more of a mood piece than all out song, not unlike Øye's contribution to last years James Figurine album, but it still has a bit of magic to it.

However, the video is the least interesting video yet to feature on this blog. This variation on the film school staple "my girlfriend looking moody around the apartment in various stages undress" features the following plot. Girl wakes up, puts on socks, looks at boyfriend's picture, puts on pants, puts on sweater, puts on shoes, puts on jacket, goes outside, puts on makeup, back inside notices missed call from Phonique on cell, takes shower, puts on dress, dries hair, puts on fur coat, goes down subway escalator, dances at a club and kisses the fellow from the picture. Thow in some cross cuts of cheap effects that I can duplicate on my gradparent's cameraphone and you've got the finished video. In a word: genius! Not only does the web release of this, if I may quote the record label, "beautiful video" run 22 seconds of title cards before actually starting it is such an artistic work that we get 1:05 of end credits so we understand how much talent went into this production:



: Hear more from Phonique here.

Video: Tracey Thorn "Raise The Roof"

The second single taken from Tracey Thorn's Out Of The Woods is the delightful "Raise The Roof". The video tells the parallel stories of an internet couple preparing to meet for the first time which sounds like it could be utterly painful but is actually quite cute revealing a playfulness in the song that I missed the first time:



: You can get a free download of "Raise The Roof" by signing up here and you can listen to remixes and b-sides at Tracey Thorn's myspace.

The Gifts He Really Wants

With Father's Day just around the corner what better time to give Dad the two things that would make his life complete:

: The brilliance of amazon's personal shopping expertise is proven again.

Video: Chemical Brothers "Do It Again"

The Chemical Brothers took a bit of a beating at the Stylus Singles Jukebox over "Do It Again" as they noted, among other things, the distinct problem of it being "all pulsating buildup with no payoff". I've found that it's a bit of a grower and a unique moment in Chemical cannon as it melds pop friendly free association vocals (courtesy of the mysterious Ali Love) to music that is decidedly un-pop and underground by nature.

Opening with the music video rarity of a forced tooth pulling the music starts as two boys discover a tape that could have been dropped from a supersonic bomber just outside of their undeveloped Middle Eastern town. In a turn that seems remarkably familiar to PNAC planners the boys use the Western tape and a boombox to enchant their townsfolk Pied Piper-style before controlling the government, or at least the cops, as they loot a bank. While it's played on the light side the video does have some interesting ideas and I'm not quite sure what to make of it given the Brothers history of using the cultural travelogue tradition with past videos set in Latin America and Japan:



: We Are The Night is out in June and the Chemical Brothers have a myspace with all the latest info on their plans for global sonic domination.

Video: Justice "D.A.N.C.E"

Underground dance sensation Justice finally have a debut album on the horizon. The French duo first made waves in 2003 collaborating with Simian on "Never Be Alone" (which featured on PSB's Back To Mine) causing some fuss when the video famously beat out Kanye West at the European MTV Awards and they have built a strong reputation with their noisy "Waters Of Nazareth" and a series of high profile remixes.
Their latest work "D.A.N.C.E" is another killer club track that pairs sing song vocals with disco grooves. The video plays to their fan base using the hipster t-shirts of a faceless duo as a revolving canvas:




: Justice's unpronounceable album is due in June and you can stop by their myspace to preview more from the duo.

Vanishing Point

Peter Hook casually dropped the news that New Order have split in a radio interview last night. While speaking about his involvement with Perry Farrell's Satellite Party, Hooky admitted that "me and Bernard [Sumner - New Order singer] aren't working together" which comes after speculation brought on when Stephen Morris said that a November gig in Buenos Aires "might be our last concert ever". Hopefully this is just a warning shot across the bow to make sure that Bernard is paying attention but Hooky said it is "like the boy who cried wolf this time." Still there are a few things left hanging at the moment like the soundtrack to the Ian Curtis biopic Control and there are "seven songs left" from their WFTSC sessions that were intended for a follow-up album.
Hooky just started a myspace and has been blogging so maybe we will get some clarification shortly.

Video: Sarah Nixey "The Black Hit Of Space"

Sarah Nixey's strong album Sing, Memory came out a few months ago and her "futuristic cover" of The Human League's "The Black Hit Of Space" my favorite part of the album. Nixey managed to transform the original into something distinctly her own which is no small feat given Phil Oakley's seemingly random vocals in the original.
Filmed in Salzburg, Austria the video features Nixey dressed in black as the video suggests the normal laws of pyschics have been suspended as she is accompanied by clones while she hangs upside down singing. It's quite good:



: The single is due in July but you can hear more from Sing, Memory at her myspace.

Video: Bjork "Earth Intruders"

While new material from Bjork has remained big news in some circles there has been more buzz about "Earth Intruders" than anything else she has released in years. This has everything to do with finally reaching outside of her most devoted fan base that has followed her to the ends of the Earth (or were at least willing to brave incidental music and all vocal experiments) as she collaborated with Timbaland to create something accessible. Despite Timbaland's recent streak of hit singles "Earth Intruders" is still more Bjork than Tim as the stompy song recalls the fierce off-kilter pop of her Post era than Nelly Furtado or Justin Timberlake.
The video, which is being kept off of youtube by her record company apparently, brings to mind the dark world of the "Human Behavior" video. The visual layering effect echoes the inner workings of the earth as the tribal shadows in the foreground echo the conflict in Iraq:



: Look for Bjork on tour, which starts in surprisingly large venues in the US, this May and stop by her myspace to hear more from Volta.