Video: The Killers "Human"

Brandon Flowers pitched "Human" to producer Stuart Price as "Johnny Cash meets the Pet Shop Boys". My endorsement will almost certainly be the death blow to The Killers domestic success but the perfect marriage of the band's (occasionally) brilliant songwriting to Stuart Price's precision tuned disco machine makes the song one of my musical highlights of the year. Love the unique take on the man/machine dynamic with the whole "human/dancer" lyric that has everyone in such a fuss although I can't help but think that Flowers could have avoided turning up on worst lyric lists by picking a less obscure quote to build a song around:




: Those who still doubt the song's brilliance should give this youtuber's piano version a listen.

Video: Sam Taylor-Wood "I'm In Love With A German Film Star"

Sam Taylor-Wood's new M.I.N.I.M.A.L. video:



: Read better posts here.

Video: The Chemical Brothers "Midnight Madness"

The biggest fault of last year's We Are The Night was it's lack of a tent pole dance track and while it is a bit late The Chemical Brothers have found it with the first single taken from the duo's second greatest hits album Brotherhood. "Midnight Madness" is an awesome track that restores my faith in the Brothers ability to move a dance floor. A cousin to Tom & Ed's definitive trance statement "Star Guitar" here the Brothers refine an aspect of their sound that has never really been fully explored to great effect. Shame it's not attached to a proper album.

Directed by long time visual collaborators Dom and Nic the video features a goblin that crawls out of a bin marked "commercial waste" (subtle commentary on Brotherhood?) and proceeds to do unreal parkour/free running/dancing on the streets before taking it into the club:



: The song also has a Google Earth project connected to it that involves people around the world sending in footage taken at midnight. View the official youtube video or stop by their site for more info.

Video: Underworld "Ring Road"

It has been nearly a year since Underworld unveiled their long anticipated comeback album Oblivion With Bells to a public that has proved itself largely indifferent. Perhaps it didn't quite fit in with current musical landscape or reach the heights of the band's best material but it is fair to expect more of an online buzz for a band with their following. I suspect the reason is that we have another mishandled album on our hands. The lead single "Crocodile" was not the greatest intro to the album because it never quite lifted off like you expected (suffering from too much of the same riff) and it seems like I have seen nothing else about the album since it's release. A quick browse through itunes offers an explanation: they didn't release any further singles to the general public. Personally I was waiting to write about the album until "Beautiful Burnout" got an edit and a single release but I never saw it. Apparently that happened ages ago but was only promoted to djs despite being the album's most likely breakout track. Given that Karl Hyde's voice anchors Oblivion With Bells like nothing Underworld has released since Underneath The Radar this approach of exclusively chasing the Beatport crowd seems entirely wrong. "Ring Road" is a decent single choice with Hyde's daft spoken poetry bringing everything together. It sounds quite like Beaucoup Fish's "Bruce Lee":



: A live album is due from the duo in November so stop by their site for all the info.

Shuffle Blog

Neon Neon "Trick For Treat"

The better of Stainless Style's hip hop tracks has a truly oddball rap from Spank Rock that has something to say about Oprah and her cable network Oxygen before going into a riff on the album's subject John DeLorean. Saved by the killer falsetto "she got me dreaming like a Michigan boy" hook which I've just learned is sung by Har Mar Superstar. Still one of those tracks that works better in the context of the album.

Chemical Brothers "Spring"

This b-side from "The Boxer" single is unusually melodic as the Brothers noodle about touching ever so lightly the edge of psychedelia. A fans only affair but not a track without rewards.

Ladytron "Tomorrow"

There is something very familiar about this Velocifero track. Probably something to do with the album all sounding very much the same. It works but not as well as the song where she sings about loving a computer.

The Whip "Trash"

Are these guys on Modular? Apparently they are signed to Norman Cook's Southern Fried Records which I suppose means that label has diversified quite a bit. It has a great build to it and that's not the sort of thing you get every day in a rock record.

Underworld "To Heal (And Restore Broken Bodies)"

This Oblivion with Bells interlude just got an expansion for the Songs for Tibet-The Art of Peace Music Project compilation that makes it sound even more dopey as it wallows in new age spiritualism. Of course it's the sort of track I would have written off as completely harmless a decade ago so maybe it's just me.

Greatest Album Title Ever!

Soulwax's reworking of The Chemical Brothers "Hey Boy Hey Girl" is too fresh to be included on last year's remix collection but Different Is Dangerous point toward where the track can be downloaded for the price of an fake email address. Check it out even if you already bought the version that amazon sells by itself for $1.94 individually, on a single that brings you two tracks for $1.42, to solve the mystery of the seven second time difference between the two versions.

Kinda I Want To

A rather complete blog entry pointed me towards this clip of a local news story from the 80s covering Trent Reznor's early band Exotic Birds. His new wave history is hardly secret, the demo that got him signed to record Pretty Hate Machine did feature a song that was pure pre-acid house New Order, but seeing Reznor before the dark fashion demands of the industrial scene took over his image is a bit of a surprise. The fun starts about one minute in:



: Makes you wonder what Reznor could do if he ever started making upbeat music. Hopefully it would be along the lines of "Discipline" from this year's free NIN album The Slip:

The Human Shopping Mall

Mike Huckabee was the last person I ever expected to hear talk about a musician whose work I appreciate but he was filling in for Paul Harvey this week when he announced the death of Robert Hazard. The brief mention on the radio segment said that you might not know his name but you knew Hazard's work because he had written Cyndi Lauper's "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun". Actually I do know the name and really love his cheeky take on materialism "Escalator Of Life" which used to get frequent spins on Live 105 back in the station's Steve Masters glory years. Let's give it a listen:



: Hazard slipped off my radar in recent years but continued to write and record changing up his style going singer/songwriter with occasional country leanings also finding time to work with the school of rock which resulted in this charming video last year.

Video: Cut Copy "Hearts On Fire"

Cut Copy may have created the hipsters "Where The Streets Have No Name" with their underground hit "Lights & Music" but in Eno terms In Ghost Colours has more in common with the atmosphere and rhythm experiments of Remain In Light than the expansive canvas for tightly written songs heard on The Joshua Tree. Naturally the album's second single does nothing to back up my argument instead attaching their standard modus operandi of refashioned post punk to a melancholic melody while a decidedly 90s Euro synth takes the song into territory only previously explored by Electronic circa Raise The Pressure. One itunes user notes there is "nothing that separates it from 80s electronic music" but that isn't a bad thing speaking instead to the strength of the songwriting.
Clearly aimed at the band's core sophisticated Modular adoring audience the video chronicles a day in life of a complete sop that is perpetually rained on:



: Cut Copy have a myspace and probably have a facebook account too if you are interesting in that sort of thing. The "Hearts On Fire" single is out now and includes remixes from Calvin Harris & Midnight Juggernauts.

Video: Goldfrapp "Caravan Girl"

Goldfrapp's latest single is out in the US today. Seventh Tree's last obvious single choice "Caravan Girl" was tipped as "the Song Of Summer" back in February by XO but the tracklisting for the single is so weak that even some of the bands strongest supporters are left to simply yawn. On the bright side the video is rather nice:



: Recently the band have recently done a highly praised session for NPR with Steve Lillywhite that can be streamed here and announced Fall tour dates that include a few stops in the US. Stop by their myspace for details and sample more of Seventh Tree.

Don't Go

The reunited Yaz play their first US dates this week which must be the driving force behind Alison Moyet's most recent album The Turn getting a belated stateside release today. Here is Alison performing the added to the album after the original release single "A Guy Like You" on The Graham Norton Show:



: Check out an interview from the same show which is quite nice and stop by Yaz's myspace for more from the legendary duo.

Video: Audio Bullys "Gimme That Punk"

Perhaps you remember the narrator in LCD Soundsystem's dissection of musical elitism "Losing My Edge" listing every influential and underground act as their personal discovery. Audio Bullys seem to be under the influence of that track on "Gimme That Punk" announcing their own list of punk acts they demand to hear. This could be a fun track that proves they don't sound like a direct echo of The Streets anymore but there are issues. The lyrics paint such a broad view of "punk" that it encompasses almost every genre of popular music over the past forty years which is liberating in concept but every act named is so mainstream there is no distinct thread to tie the acts together making it simply a list of popular artists. Could it be that they are indeed serious and are taking the opportunity to rebuke the elitism found in LCD Soundsystem's track? It seems more likely that they are simply attaching themselves to some of the most successful names in the music business, everyone from The Beatles to 50 Cent, than attempting any commentary. That is all the more unfortunate given the beats are the least arresting the Bullys have ever dropped in a single.

The video has more punk credibility than the song. The director Don Letts made his first punk rock documentary years before he co-founded Big Audio Dynamite and here he keeps the style direct intercutting a stage performance with archive footage and a Dylan-esque scene of the band record dropping to the lyrics:




: Audio Bullys are at work on their next album. Updates and more from the band are available at their myspace.

Shuffle Blog

Perhaps you have read blog entries where someone talks about the first five songs that come up on itunes shuffle. Sounds like fun...

Pet Shop Boys- Fugitive (Richard X Extended)
I haven't listened to this in some time and it really is fantastic. Really everything you would hope that Richard X would help bring out of the Boys as it is top form sleaze. What a lost opportunity that it didn't find a home on the proper Fundamental instead of being tossed off to bonus track land.

Scissor Sisters- Lovers In The Backseat
Since this song is in the middle of the album I never realized how long and odd the introduction is. Actually the whole song is rather odd but it does deal with voyeurism so what do you expect?

Clinton- People Power In The Disco Hour
Perhaps Cornershop had a bit of pre-millennial tension on the brain when they decided to go from an indie band to a disco outfit. Or maybe Fatboy Slim's hit remix of "Brimful of Asha" inspired the change in direction. While they were never going to be my cup of tea I did enjoy this song even if I couldn't sit through anything else from Clinton.

Cosmicity- Future Song
There are many songs on the underrated modern synthpop act Cosmicity's final album Escape Pod For Two that I like more than this closing track but it does set a mood nicely. It does remind me that I really should post something about Mark Nicholas' post Cosmicity project.

They Might Be Giants- Minimum Wage

This fourty-seven second oddball track really is random, even on TMBG's masterpiece Flood.

Flashback: Prodigy The Fat of the Land (1997)

A short 11 years ago this week Prodigy's The Fat of the Land was unleashed on the world where it unexpectedly debuted as the number one album on the US charts. Dropped by Elektra after Experience failed to live up to major label standards the band had been written off as "kiddie rave" in America before the two pre-release singles "Firestarter" and "Breathe", both of which topped the charts in the UK, started getting attention from alt rock radio and began a bidding war that ended with Prodigy signed to Maverick in the States. I got on board early on picking up "Firestarter" the week it came out as a Mute released 12" single (the song would later be re-released by Maverick on CD single) so it was exciting to see group pick up momentum and acceptance from the alternative scene that had been hijacked by grunge which had effectively silenced the synthesiser in the States.


The controversial opening track weighs heavily in the legacy of Prodigy and the album. The titular sample of a thrown off Kool Keith line taken from Ultramagnetic MC's "Give The Drummer Some" is a major sticking point and while Liam Howlett suggests it is not literal but rather means "doing anything intensely, like being on stage - going for extreme manic energy" using the offending phrase simply makes the song ugly. Following one of the most extreme build ups ever recorded with the suggestion of domestic violence as the payoff is truly foolish and irresponsible. In the years that have passed there have been several attempts to reclaim the song including the oddly controversial video (spoiler: it's not a dude behind all that misogyny) and the Charlie's Angels movies but both take on the basic violent premise of the song's sample rather than deal with "extreme manic energy". The song does have legs and despite limited exposure at the time of it's release it continues to get played on Live 105 and ended up as their top ranking electronica song on a recent listener voted countdown.

"Breathe" is the band's masterstroke as Keith Flint and Maxim Reality spark over an understated Howlett track that does amazing things with an all 16th note bass line. The second pre-release single for the album effectively raised the stakes from the genre bursting "Firestarter" suggesting that Prodigy were more than simple adrenaline junkies and in fact a thinking man's band as well. Time may have proven otherwise.

A decade on "Diesel Power" remains the best electronica/hip hop track ever. Is it the rap? Probably not although Kool Keith would enjoy a renaissance in the late 90s where he would record boasts about the amazing amount of money he was given to work on "Diesel Power". It is the beats that have me reaching to turn up the volume when this comes on time after time.

Howlett sampled the Beastie Boys on this "Funky" track that takes the album down the rave route. Not a favorite by any means but one that sold my former boss on the album after hearing it in a record store.

We reach the low point of the album with "Serial Thrilla" which is a stupid, stupid, stupid song with Keith "my first single went to #1" Flint on screaming vocals. This is what happens when musicians give in to the influence of too much testosterone.

"Mindfields" is the mysterious fourth single from the album that was only released as a "white label" that was one of the most professional and least disguised "unlabeled" pieces of vinyl I've ever encountered. It's a Maxim song in the mode of "Breathe" and while a review mocked the "this is dangerous" line for trying too hard to be scary this was just a decent edit away from being a hit. Also it helped introduce the action movie world to bullet time on the soundtrack to The Matrix.

The Indian influenced "Narayan" brought Kula Shaker's Crispian Mills in for vocals to create mystic synthpop that had run through the big beat blender. There are some great bits but the track's nine minute running time, which in part are a set up for the big hit that follows, helped make it one of the most complained about tracks on the album. Kula Shaker reprised the song as "Song of Love/Narayana" on last year's Strangefolk which doesn't do much to improve the song's reputation.

There was a time when I suggested that "Firestarter" was the new "Smells Like Teen Spirit" as it rocked alternative radio out of it's grunge haze. Perhaps I overstated my case but the song did truly breakdown barriers as it took samples from The Breeders' "S.O.S." and Art Of Noise's "Close (To The Edit)" as it introduced the world to the punk version of Keith Flint. Twisted indeed.

"Climbatize" delayed The Fat Of The Land's release by several months while it was being developed because Liam said it was amazing and told NME that it would be a single for sure. It never was but the instrumental is a highlight that steps back from the hyper masculinity that permeates much of the album.

The album comes to a close with the hard electro rock cover of L7's "Fuel My Fire". Keith handles the vocals on this one with Saffron from Republica adding a nice bit of color as the backup vocalist which make it sound like an angry love song. Interestingly the choice to end with a cover hint at Howlett's limitations as a songwriter which would go to be far more obvious years down the road when Prodigy finally released a new album.

Fat Of The Land was the commercial pinnacle of the Electronica Revolution of 1997 and while the album has it has faults it stands nearly alone in it's mainstream acceptance. One of the reasons "Firestarter" failed to make Prodigy the next Nirvana is that no one could duplicate their sound that combined songwriting with aggressive techno trash. Actually Junkie XL came close and CJ Bolland did a direct riff on the band's sound on a song that is probably better know for it's remix, but no one else could match what Prodigy had at that moment.

Sweet Frosti

Devo are taking legal action over this american idol happy meal toy:



: Gerald Casale, creator of the Energy Dome hats, had this to say

"They didn't ask us anything. Plus, we don't like McDonald's, and we don't like American Idol, so we're doubly offended."

Video: West End Girls "What Have I Done To Deserve This?"

While I'm sure that blogging Swedish fans of the Pet Shop Boys have know this for ages I must pass this along for the benefit for others that the girl group West End Girls are about to launch their second album Shoplifters. The first single finds the Girls, actually one of the original duo was replaced but who is paying close enough attention to notice, taking on "What Have I Done To Deserve This?" with Magnus Carlson of Weeping Willows (the 99'th most successful band in Sweden as if you didn't know) doing the Dusty Springfield bits. Perhaps because it sounds so awfully familiar the song has inspired a post with no words at PSB blog Very and one sentence of nonsense at Popjustice. Can't find too much to say about it myself:



: Stop by their myspace for more on West End Girls and the new album.

Blow A Fuse

As someone who usually ignores flashmobs I have to admit that this is a pretty amazing tribute to one of the greatest music videos of all time:




: The performance took place earlier this month in San Francisco's Union Square and the location and the way some of the video was shot reminds me of the film Francis Ford Coppola made between the first two Godfather installments: The Conversation. Trust me and Netflix it.

Mini Reviews

Some blogs have frequent updates and proper reviews. That couldn't happen here...


Miss Kittin BatBox

Is disappointment of the year too big of a statement? Miss Kittin is one of those artists who could clearly make brilliant pop music anytime she wants but chooses not to out some need for underground integrity. Depending on your perspective this makes her a saint for not selling out or a fool for hiding her talent. The overall sound recalls her First Album with The Hacker but unlike that genre staple there is almost nothing here that draws you in as even promising tracks like "Sunset Strip" never truly develop. In political terms she is simply playing to her base and doing very little to interest anyone else. Even those who gave the album a couple of months to sink in.
Best Bets: "Kittin Is High", "BatBox"


Client Untitled Remix


While remixes from the four singles taken from last year's lacking Heartland are found here the real selling point of Client's Untitled Remix album are the band's collaborations with other artists. Both "Suicide Sister", their cheery duet with Douglas McCarthy, and their venture into house-gone-electropop "Sorry" with Mexican band Réplica are miles better than 95% of Heartland which suggests to me that Client need to rethink their track selection process when releasing proper albums. The remixes are mostly from parties with less than four discogs credits to their names and unfortunately it shows with only three or so interesting remixes in the set.
Best Bets: "Suicide Sister", "Sorry", "Zerox (N Joi Radio Edit)"

Chemical Brothers B-Sides Volume 1


When this turned up on itunes I knew that Astralwerks had given up on We Are The Night which is shame because it is much better than it has generally been written off to be. While a b-side collection is not entirely unwelcome the Chemicals can be a bit hit and miss as they often use alternate versions of album tracks to pad out singles. If you've been missing the straight dance tracks from the recent albums there is plenty to keep your interest with the subtle acid of "Nude Night", the rumble of "Base 6" and the thundering hip hop jam "Prescription Beats" almost making up for unlistenable experiments like "Scale". Even some of the alternate takes fascinate as we learn "Snooprah", which appears as the brief ambient interlude "Harpoons" on We Are..., also has a secret life as a seven minute dance track complete with disco sirens. The biggest problem here is the Volume 1 thing which keeps the Brothers best b-side, the amazing "Hot Acid Rhythm 1", off the compilation. Check that one out: found on the "It Began In Afrika" single it's well worth the 99 cents.
Best Bets: "Hot Acid Rhythm 1"(well obviously not on the album but if you're only getting one get this track), "Prescription Beats", "Base 6"

Video: The Orb "Vuja De"

Those adventurous enough to scour the deepest darkest depths of the new releases on itunes already know of the unlikely return of The Orb. Despite being completely off my radar since buying their greatest hits album back in 1998 it appears that Alex Paterson and friends have kept up an ambitious schedule, given the project's original goal was to get people to stop dancing at the end of raves, releasing four studio albums in the 2000s including one of the most annoyingly named albums of all time: Okie Dokie It's the Orb on Kompakt. Melding the band's original vibe with what could be called a proper pop song "Vuja De" is something of revelation. Let's give it a listen:



: The single is taken from album The Dream which is due out shortly in the US and appears to have been put out sometime last year in the UK. Considered a return to their original sound by a wikipedia entry the album features such artists as Youth, Steve Hillage and a guy from Dreadzone. Listen to a few tracks for yourself at their myspace to hear why it received a positive review from nme.

Nobody Loves Me

Using Amazon's download store exposes you to what happens on their music forums and this thread title caught my eye: help!!! - I have been trying for over a year to find this song!!! 1994-95 they played it in clubs alot but I also heard it on the radio I think... starts out slow w/bass guitar notes that get lower "dun dundun dundun dundun dun" and then there... : naturally I had to read the post:

is a female's voice and this is where I get stuck!!! She sounds like she is in pain or something and the chorus has three words - something like I need you or I want you or You Kill Me or something desperate... I really want this song and don't know where to look!!! Know it's not much info to go on but can anyone help???

: Let's examine the clues. Is there anything that would lead you to guess this as the correct song this person was looking for? Amazingly the first person to guess got it right! That almost makes up for the four guesses after the song's identity had been confirmed.