Justin Baum over at Ravegression helped me out on a mix and put a nice little blog up about me, go check it out here. He didn’t have a player on the site so i put it up here for you to listen but go check it out, see tracklisting, and even check out other mixes he’s done.
This is my first mix so be nice! hehe.
love,
Rchrd Oh?!
Rchrd Oh?!- Spacefucker Odyssey Mix
I love it when we get to see and hear the progression and development of a band and their sound. Walter Meego, who we've been listening to for about a year and a half (and who appear on MFR Vol. 2), are just one of those bands.
They've had folks come and go, and recently relocated from their icy home in Chicago to Robot Mark's territory of sunny Los Angeles. Like a lot of us, they have experimented and let their sound grow a bit, tightening up production, and their live show. I saw them about a year ago and thoroughly enjoyed it, then saw them this last autumn and they had clearly improved as a band, and the songs I'd heard before sounded tighter - Mark told me when he saw them a week or so back, they sounded fantastic. So really we couldn't be happier.
All of this sweet action is in anticipation of their upcoming full-length album, Voyager, which comes out in May on Almost Gold, the American home to such luminaries as Peter Björn and John, Calvin Harris, and Does It Offend You, Yeah? The record is fucking great. Really excellent electronic-rock songs with a heart - Justin's vocals sound even better on this record than the past singles, and the production is spot-on as well. Wait till you hear the guitar solo on "Keyhole". Hello?!? The album doesn't come out for quite a while, but we love these guys and want to help them get the word out early.
If you're headed to Austin for SXSW, you can catch Walter Meego playing live at a number of parties (March 12th thru 14th), and in May/June, Walter Meego is going on tour with Aussie-MFR buddies, the Presets, so keep your eyes peeled. Full tour details are on their myspace page.
Awesome.
PNAU has sorta been Australia’s hot little secret for a few years now, but with their latest self-titled album, taking over the world is only a matter of time.
Even without the children’s chorus (which will unfortunately/fortunately be compared to “D.A.N.C.E.”), “Baby” is one of those rare songs that you can jam out with while hanging out with your four year old niece and not be all embarrassed. There is so much potential for universal love here — it almost hurts.
PNAU - “Baby” (Breakbot remix) (mp3)
Safe prediction: PNAU will be the most blogged about band of 2008.
It’s been a year or so since we’ve posted Santogold. And since that time she has kinda, um, blown up. No surprise of course… she’s been on must watch lists from your mom’s blog to Rolling Stone. Everybody is rooting for Ms Santogold… no pressure or anything.
We have remix of “LES Artistes” by XXXChange. The track doesn’t stray too far from the original, but when you’re working with perfection how far do you wanna go? Good stuff:
Santogold - “L.E.S. Artistes” (XXXChange remix) (mp3)
Colin Meloy - We Both Go Down Together (Live) .
Sometimes a good track is great because of the moment in time it captured, sometimes a good tune in a record can never really be replicated again--either because of studio magic or some other special element that defies reproduction. One of the best ways to really measure a song is to hear it different ways and see how it holds up.
I've seen Colin Meloy perform this song with The Decemberists as their regular band, and with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, and this solo version. And with each version, the song and the story are front and center. Whether there is a full section of strings or just six, the intensity of this ill-fated couple is there.
Meloy is perfectly suited to the intimate solo show, although they've certainly gotten bigger over the years--in DC it's quite a number of steps between the Iota Cafe and the 9:30 Club. When I saw him at Iota he had the audience completely enthralled the whole time with intricate stories about each song--a tiny bit of his theatricality comes out at the very end of this track but it's really just a hint of what's there. Full solo album out on April 8th on Kill Rock Stars
We just posted both the Whip and South Central — but we can’t get enough of either band… especially when South Central is remixing The Whip into a twisted electro banger. Perfect. Like every other Whip song, “Trash” has quickly become a favorite… hoping for even bigger things for this band:
The Whip - “Trash” (South Central remix) (mp3)
Check out the video for “Trash” here and South Central’s “Golden Dawn” here. Pre-order the single and album here.
Kap10kurt’s new video for “Dangerseekers” is nothing short of amazing. Reminds me of all the cartoons I grew up on — like if Transformers and Jem & The Holograms had a crossover special. Mmmmm.
“Dangerseekers” is out now… buy it from iTunes USA, iTunes Not-USA, Beatport or even the real disc at Turntable Lab.
Panther - On the Lam (copy remix).
So, there's a dude jackhammering outside my window right now. I can see him out there, and my guess is that he's probably more upset about it as me. I guess I probably needed to be up anyway, but fuck. It's early. And that's ok, because there's this hot new Copy remix of the Panther jam to share with our coffee.
We've known Copy for years now, and generally speaking there's not much he does that I don't like. His sense of rhythm and subtlety always lead to engaging songs that reveal more and more on each listen. He uses an 8-bit palatte without sounding like video game soundtracks or nostalgia. He he wrangles in Panthers' song about running from the law and makes into a smooth soundtrack for running away.
And our boy Panther has been roaming the wilds of Portland for a minute now too, and it's nice to see him drop that sick full length. So, here's what you do -- ignore whatever bullshit is going on outside your windows, pop this one on in your headphones, and take on your day. Me? I'm going for a run. You? well, you're probably on the east coast so maybe just take a long lunch or something.
How does Le Tigre sound post Kathleen Hanna? The answer lies with MEN… the new duo made up of ex-Le Tigre bandmates JD Samson and Johanna Fateman. The sound isn’t much of a departure from This Island — MEN feels much like the next step rather than a different direction. I doubt either of these tracks will reach cult status like “Deceptacon” but they’re pretty easy to like, maybe even love — there’s potential for lots of play here…
MEN - “MAKE IT REVERSE” (mp3)
“Shake Off” is actually my favorite of the two — it is perfect in that sing-a-long DIY pop way and it has potential for some killer remixes.
MEN - “SHAKE OFF” (mp3)
Alphabeat - “Fascination” (Bimbo Jones remix) (YouTube)
Alphabeat is my total guilty pleasure right now. I’m kinda embarrassed… kinda not embarrassed. I don’t know… maybe in a year they’ll be as relevant as the Scissor Sisters or The Pipettes, but whatever. Right now they are my fun. “Fascination” was released with remixes by FrankMusik, Linus Loves, Sinden and Bimbo Jones. In stores in the UK right now…
Related guilty pleasure:
Human League - “(Keep Feeling) Fascination” (YouTube)
Original Alphabeat video (more…)