Hay hay!  Some of the other Shruggers (K!O x Minitonka x Scallywag) are starting a new Tuesday monthly at Legion.  Though we’re somewhat competing with some of our own familia (RAAAAAAAANDO w/ 8 A’s…DJ Fulltimefun x ARQ), it’s only once a month.  Plus we’ll have live bands and whatnot, in addition to zee good ol’ dance music.  And who says you can’t hit both parties???!!  This “good” weather should be enough of a motivator, party people <3

Here are a few hand-picked golden gems, for all of us to hold hands and slow dance in the dark to <3

Exile – Kiss You All Over (Brennan Green 6:59 Edit)
(Brennan Green is the MAN!  And this song is soooo lovely <3  PS for New Yorkers, he’s gonna be spinning this Saturday, April 17th at Rose Bar in WillyB)

Harpers Bizarre – Witchi Tai To
(One of my all time favorites!!!  Lyrics are based on an old Native American chant.  Peeped it from an old Lovefingers mix <3)

Delegation, “Oh Honey”
<3 <3 <3 and this is divine <3 <3 <3

Hey guys. So I just finished a live mix for Disco Vibes, albeit it’s a shorter mixtape this time. (Good for those with ADD!) It’s also a bit more dancey/disco-electro-housey than my other mix. Also, the name is swiped (”re-appropriated”) from a Terence Koh work of art, just FYI. Love that guy!

So yes, anyway, DL the mix by clicking the link below. And the tracklisting is below as well.  And again, many thanks goes to Matt Pace for letting me use his setup and subjecting him to the numerous takes I had to do.  He really IS Mr. Nice Guy! <3

Hope you enjoy the tunes and it keeps ya dancin’ through the night, or in the shower, or whatever

These Decades That We Never Sleep

△ △ △

Daniel Wang / Like Some Dream (I Can’t Stop Dreaming)
Logo / La Vie Moderne
In Flagranti / Exexex (Golden Bug Remix)
Surkin / White Knight Two (Laidback Luke Remix)
Florence + The Machine / Dog Days Are Over (An Optimo (Espacio) Industrial House Mix)
House of House / Rushing To Paradise (Walkin’ These Streets)

Pink Skull – Ritualistic Bug Use (Endless Bummer – Rvng Intl.) from Georgia on Vimeo.

Okay, so I realized I barely write about any contemporary music on ye ol’ blog, but hey, I’m a throwback kinda gal I guess. Plus there’s a whoooole lotta garbage out there…but really I think I’m just losin’ my edge, or actually it’s probably just sheer laziness. Well, whatever, the point is, is that PINK SKULL has caught my eardrums, mind, heart, and animal spirit and goddammit, I’m seriously obzezzed! They RULE man, so much!!! Like whoa.

Julian Grefe and Justin Geller are the mastermind producers behind this electronic band/duo. And they’re actually based out of Philly (!? Shouts to Full Time Fun / Actionbastrrrd / Mini Tonka / MoSharp / whoever else I’m missing), and not some awesome obscure European city, and/or Australia. Americaaaa, fuck yeah!!!!!

They just came out with their second album/EP through Philly’s main man, Dave P’s label RVNG Int’l, entitled Endless Bummer, the title being both comical and just really cool. Which is also indicative of their sound and visuals as a whole. I’m googly-eyed for these bros, what can I say. Their sound is both familiar and not so much, walking this tightrope between being accessible and still pushing boundaries and leaving room for experimentation. It’s like this morpho-mutation betwixt post-punk, industrial, electronic, psych rock and dance/disco. Soooo…basically it’s fucking badass to the max.

Us New Yorkers just missed them at Le Poisson Rouge on January 23rd! Dah!!! I could kick myself for that. But I have a feeling they’ll be comin’ round the bend soon…plus Philly’s only a heartbeat away right?! We should all make a trip.

Pink Skull // Chicken Dream Inside Egg

It’s taken me a minute…but hopefully it’s something that you can booze to, cruise to, and keep you warm at night.  These are just some of my most beloved jammers, painstakingly collaged/arranged, and imbued/mixed with a lot of love and magic, for your enjoyment! <3

EX ANIMO/AD ASTRA

It’s essentially a live mix (hence the f&*k ups…eeeep!  —-  channeling the philosophy of wabi-sabi), but was minimally and masterfully edited by musical maestro himself, DJ Maestro P aka Matt Pace, a fellow Shrugger.  (Alliteration much?!)  He basically salvaged what could be salvaged…BIG UPS!!!!  So many thanks to you again Matt

I hope you enjoy these songs as much as I have, and I hope it makes you feel like you’re flying, or maybe even disco dancin’ amongst the stars.  I’ll meet you on the astral plane babies

△△△

Tracklisting.

These New Puritans / Navigate-Colours
Woolfy vs Projections / Neeve (Permanent Vacation Tropical Heat Mix)
Freddie Mercury / Message of Love (Leo Zero Re-edit)
Yacht / Psychic City (Classixx Remix)
Sammy Barbot / Mexico (Lovefinger’s Barrio Edit)
Hot Chocolate / Heaven’s In The Backseat Of My Cadillac (Revenge Rework)
The Revenge / Hotz 4 U
The Lovin’ Spoonful / Summer In The City (Peter Visti Edit)
LCD Soundsystem / Sound of Silver (Tim Fuchs Rework)
Lifelike / L.O.V.E. Is What You Need
Alexander Robotnick / Problèmes D’Amour
Connie Case / Get Down
Jacques Renault / Sweet Rollin’ On
War / Galaxy
In Flagranti / Louvre For Yo
La Bionda / I Got Your Number
Still Going / Spaghetti Circus
DJ Kaos / Love The Night Away (Tiedye Mix)
Electric Light Orchestra / All Over The World

Anyway, so yeah, yadda yadda….the first time I was introduced to punk was through a mixtape (yes, an actual cassette tape) that my friend Rachon made me whilst in the throes of high school.  It was super legit.  She was wayyyy into it, all about it.  We were both music junkies and did a swap.  At that time, I was way into gangster rap…ha!  But hot damn, the parallels that can be drawn betwixt the 2 genres!  I immediately took a liking to punk.  The bands that stood out the most on that tape to me, were The Descendents, Bouncing Souls and Suicidal Tendencies.  I would go with my friends to punk rock shows and do the whole crowd surfing thing (which was supremely awesome!) and even got down in the mosh pit once, like an idiot.  Got knocked in the face then too, maybe that’s why I’m remembering all this punk rock nonsense.

The Descendents, Hope (live)

Alas, I’ve digressed again.  So I guess I just wanted to share some of the punk and post-punk bands that I’ve discovered over the years that might not get as much recognition as your Dead Kennedys, The Buzzcocks, Joy Divisions and what have you.  Though no one, including myself, can knock their greatness.  I bow down in reverence, and seriously they’re going to be canonized and remembered until humanity is no more. Got mad love for the classics!

PUNK

Xray Spex, I Am A Poseur

Delta 5, Mind Your Own Business

POST PUNK

The Fall, My New House

I love the album that this song is from (This Nation’s Saving Grace)!  The lead singer Mark E. Smith is a gangster!  And just for all you music nerds like myself, Mark E. Smith’s later musical project, the band Von Sudenfed, was a more experimental rock/electronic type sound, and has been compared to contemporary acts like DFA’s LCD Soundsystem.  And apparently, LCD has mentioned that The Fall was actually one of their sources of inspiration.  Fancy that!  Everything comes full circle, don’t it?

NU PUNK

These New Puritans, Elvis

Oh dude.  Can’t even explain how obsessed I became last year with this new band.  And it gets harder for new bands to grab me as years go by…guess I’m showing my age.  EEeeeEEek!  But yeah, their 2008 album, “Beat Pyramid,” seriously blew me away.  So fresh!!  And their whole iconography and aesthetic totally creates an atmosphere and whole package.  Also, game recognize game…▲Hedi Slimane▲(of Dior Homme x Daft Punk costumier fame) apparently paired up with the band to collab on some outfits or whatever other creative idears that were/are to be synthesized.  That is LEGIT!! ▲▲▲

Anyway, hope you lovelies enjoyed this modest foray into punk, post-punk and nua;dljf;aljr?????? punk.  Here’s an oldie but goodie, for good measure!  Sayonara!

Dead Kennedys, Holiday in Cambodia

But first I must preface this whole thing (as usual), starting with the fact that I really did try to come up with some sort of comprehensive list for the ending of the decade and what have you.  But it quickly dawned on me that I haven’t even listened to enough records that were released in 2009 to even compile a top 10 list.  In addition, I can’t even sort out or remember everything I’ve listened to this year.  Story of my life!

So then I thought really hard again (as years go by, this becomes increasingly more difficult), and thought I came up with this grand theory of how music becomes so personal to people, becoming “the soundtrack” to their lives as they say, that certain genres and artist become personalized markers on everyone’s individual chronology/timeline of growing up.  AND THEN, I was gonna just share stories of which artists my friends, family and loved ones have introduced me to, which have shaped my musical taste to date.  But goddammit, then I realized, “Hey, that’s fucking BOOOOORRRRING, and oh yeah, there’s really no point to this whole thing.”  And yeah, I also realize that maybe I’ve just lost my mind too.  So alas, I stared straight into the center of the cyclone of chaos where nothing made sense, and just said to myself, “Just fucking pick ONE band, or ONE genre, or just anything singular!”  And there you have it folks.  I chose Can.

CAN (Communism, Anarchism, Nihilism—how awesome of a backronym is that!) was an incredibly brilliant German experimental band from the late 60’s—1968 was there starting year, to be exact.  They were one of the very first krautrock bands; which basically meant they just said a big “FUCK YOU” to American musical influence, and stripped things down to a more minimal sound, and incorporated more world music into a psychedelic stew.  (Psychedelic shit is a running theme in my posts if you haven’t noticed..Mom and Dad are proud, I know).  Anyway, another thing that set Can apart from a lot of bands, was the fact that they used free improvisation and editing almost on the regular, to the point where they coined the term, “instant compositions.”  Sponteneity as the impetus for genius.  I like!

In addition, Can has laid the groundwork and influenced so many different artists spanning different genres, including: avant-garde, experimental, underground, ambient, new wave, electronic music, and post-punk.  Dude…The Fall, Siouxsie & The Banshees, Joy Division, David Bowie, Talking Heads, The Stone Roses, Sonic Youth and Radiohead have ALL cited Can as an influence.  If that’s not epic shit, I don’t know what is, man.

So anyway, I was lucky enough to find out about this amazing band through one of my old bosses, Fredrik Nilsen.  Dude was the coolest, nicest guy I’ve ever worked for, let alone one of the coolest I’ve ever met.  A fantastic photographer, dad, husband, artist, musician—just all-around awesome guy.  And he had the most extensive, eclectic, and awesome music collections I have ever seen in my life.  The crates ran deeeeeeeeeeeep ya’ll.  Like MAJOR.  He had all the necessaries (Dylan, Joy Division, etc.), along with crazy ass Noise shit, and of course, good ol’ Can.  He himself was in a few experimental noise bands back in the day, playing with the likes of Mike Kelley and Paul McCarthy, who are heavy hitters in the contemporary art world.  I really love when things transcend the boundaries and touch all these other parts of society, culture and life in general.

Blah, blah, blah, I’m feeling quite blabby today, my apologies.  So the album that really hooked me was one of Can’s later albums, Flow Motion.  Which is a bit unusual, because apparently “true” Can fans think the later work is shit.  Tago Mago and Monster Movie are supposed to be their magnum opus.  But whatever dude…Flow Motion is my jump off!  When I first heard it, I thought my heart stopped and my head floated into the atmosphere.  It’s truly brilliant.  I was just like, “What the fuck is this?!!?!  I must know everything and listen to everything they’ve ever made!!!”

I copped about 5 albums, and I just realized today that I don’t know where all of it went…great job!  I did find 2 albums, but alas, no Flow Motion.  Here’s a video though, to give you an idear, along with a couple of songs from some of their other albums.  Thanks for listening to my rambling and going-ons, and as a treat to you, please partake in zee German muzak!  Enjoy the ride, maaaaaaaan. 

Paperhouse

Yoo Doo RIght

Okay, I gotta say that this whole trip started because I was trying to find a lossless version of “All Over The World” by Electric Light Orchestra.  Turns out that the only way I got it was through downloading the entire Xanadu soundtrack, which is completely fine by me, seeing as how it’s one of my favorite films/musicals of all time.

Now, if you do not know about XANADU…I’m really not sure what to say except, my condolensces.  Please do yourself a favor and check out this epic (albeit, campy) film!  Do not get it twisted with the big pharm XANAX…(har har)…okay, but really, bad jokes aside, DO IT!  Olivia Newton-John in her prime, ELO doing most of the score, music, dancing, rollerskates, glitterati, forays into cartoon acid trip land…jesus, what’s not to like about all that?!!?

It’s got the best of the residual disco days and the early 80’s aerobic/neon madness (American Apparel’s design department probably plays this shit on repeat for inspiration), all wonderfully marinated and stewed into a psychedelic delight.  Bon appetit!

….they’re just that damn good.  DFA records has impeccable taste (taste is relative and subjective, yes), but really, they rarely do any wrong in my eyes.  We in the good ol’ US of A are lucky enough to have this record (album/EP) release in English.

Yura Yura Teikoku is a Japanese psychedelic band with an incredible track record nearly 20 years in the making, and is seemingly one of the rare “‘underground’ psychedelic group there [in Japan] to have achieved “overground” success.”  “Hollow Me” is the band’s tenth and supposedly most cohesive and mature album to date.  Can’t say that I’ve listened to their previous albums, but damn, “Hollow Me/Beautiful” is certainly a good reason and starting point to seek the other ones out and devour them.

Words that come to mind when experiencing the magical trip that Yura Yura Teikoku takes us on include: incredible, sensual, psychedelic (duh!), beautiful (in the title), ah shit, my brain is definitely not working.  Just listen for yourself, you’ll see what I mean.  The band has somehow given ethereal form to the existential feelings stemming from le vide, which pretty much sums up the pinnacle of artistry in my book.  And oh yeah, it’s all sung in Nihongo (<—for crass humor lovers only), but really, it’s besides the point.  They can be singing a made up language à la Sigur Rós, and it’s all G, the beauty is transcendent.

These 3 jammies pretty much sum up my mental space as of late:

Listless Dream (Album Version)

Beautiful

and of course, the banger:

Ohayo Mada Yaro

The Bloods, Button Up, 1981

Holy fuck, okay so I’ve been on a real No Wave kick lately, and let me just tell you…the goodies are sweet.  SO SWEET.  So good.  All the music from that era is simply amazing for various reasons, as the kind of music during that period was varied and undefinable.  I suppose because of the chronological development and unfolding of what was happening in music, No Wave was positioned in such a sweet ass spot historically, as it was sammiched between Post-punk, Noise, Disco, Funk/Soul, and Electronic, that it got influenced by all of the awesomeness of those genres.

The song above by The Bloods really exemplifies the greatness of the crazy genre mash up.  Most of the music from this era is undoubtably hard to find, as a lot of the artists kept it gutter, and therefore has even more street cred in this kid’s eyes.

Buuuuuut….lucky me (and lucky you!), I just got a few albums recently that takes a bunch of the bangers from that era and throws them all together to create a sonic wunderland.  Check it out:

New York Noise: Dance Music From The New York Underground (1978-1983)

THE BLOODS

Treat yourself.  Peace babies.