Ruff Club has been throwing one of the best weekly parties in NYC. I’m not the only one to think so… Ruff Club was recently voted best party of the year by Paper Mag at the Nightlife Awards.
This Friday is Ruff Club’s first party with NME… with guest band We Are Scientists. Enjoy if you’re in NY. Flyer below…
Paparazzi replaces the Neptunes’ stale drum kit on “Yummy” with “Knockout” and creates a club ready track. “Yummy Knockout” feels a bit like a rough draft… BUT it is a direction that I wish Stefani had explored on The Sweet Escape. Hell, Stefani’s rap in Paparazzi’s take doesn’t sound like she’s totally tripping over herself. And the fact that we don’t have to suffer through the same Pharell and Chad Hugo production that has dominated the Top 40 charts is enough to replace the album version with Paparazzi’s track. Biggest regret is the last minute of the original “Yummy” wasn’t totally amped up, integrated and abused.
DJ Paparazzi - “Yummy Knockout” (mp3)
Youth Group - Sorry.
I like to be surprised. I like to give the benefit of the doubt to a promising band. Youth Group's last record, produced by Chris Walla, sounded a little too much like a Chris Walla record for me. This new one, Casino Twilight Dogs, is something else entirely. It reminds me of the best elements of James, which is a good thing. It's one of those commercially loaded albums that still somehow sounds perfect to me. A great crisp weather driving record.
I'm glad that I gave them a second chance, because I love the new album and it's quickly made its way into my regular rotation.
This song is one of the standouts, and I think Anti made the right decision in laying this out as the first single. It's a nice little jam, showcasing the singer's stellar voice, and with a nice string arrangement. I'm a fan. The guitar work is also subtly explosive - especially on the band's cover of Alphaville's Forever Young, which is a stone cold jam.
It should be noted that 2006 was the year in which I rethought all my stereotypes about Australia. If you know me, you know what this mean. If you don't, you're clearly better off.
At any rate, the new Youth Group record comes out in 2007 on Anti records. Highly Recommended.
The wispy, Imogen Heap-like vocals; the moody keyboard intro; the insistent and jangly beat - this could only be a track from ... Blue Note Records?
Yes, the home to John Coltrane, Art Blakey, and Kenny Burrell has put out the new EP from The Bird and The Bee.
The Bird and the Bee - Again and Again.
Not only is the Bird and the Bee the only Blue Note act to have Built To Spill in their MySpace top 8, they're only one of a handful to even have a MySpace page. They're not the only ones - Blue Note has signed Norah Jones and the blandtastic Amos Lee in the past couple years - but this certainly seems like a strange move for the label. But hey, why the hell not?
The Bird and the Bee consists of Inara George and Greg Kurstin, respectively the bird and the bee of the duo. George was a solo artist and Kurstin was a member of Geggy Tah (!), and their paths crossed when working on George's newest record.
Though I really like this song, I can't say I'm crazy about their new EP, again and again and again and again. There's something about it that's just too wispy - it's so transient that it doesn't leave much of an impression. But there's certainly potential here, and these two seem to know what they're doing, so I'm holding out some hope for their full-length due Jan. 23.
You can order the EP on Amazon.
Pink Skull - The Return Of the Second Avenue Phantasmal Poison Arrow Band (DJ Mix)
Ahh... so my buddy Julian, from Pink Skull, dropped me a line via Myspace last week to tell me he and some friends had just finished a new DJ Mix that I had to hear. I say 'he and friends' because he told me "it features live sax from Billy Blaise (of Man Man) and percussion from Jeremy Gewertz (Jai Lai Savant) and keys from yrs truly" - awesome right?
The flavor of this mix?
Well, if you remember the last Pink Skull mix I posted (and have picked up on my own taste in general), it features similar styles: trashy disco, electro, variations on acid, and a variety of experimental dance musics. In other words, it is wild stuff. It features Goo, Can, Hawkwind, Nick Chacona, Popeye vs. Sylvester, Oorutaichi, Third Face, Les Rockets, Barfly, Emperor Machine, Skatt Bros., Chicken Lips, Black Dice - I don't have an actual tracklist for it, but if you ask nicely, I may be able to get one for you.
Hopefully this will start your week off right, by which I mean freaky - thanks go out to Pink Skull!
Visit their Myspace page for additional info, and visit their website for more music & downloads.
Just an FYI - we're having some issues with the commenting system on our server. The rest of the site will keep chugging along, we just might be without feedback for a short bit. Feel free to e-mail us with feedback in the meanwhile (use the contact link at right)!
-Rbts.
Thanks to Fat Planet, I have pretty much listened to Teenagers In Tokyo’s “End It Tonight” like fifty five times in the past few days. Produced by Jono Ma from the Valentinos, Teenagers In Tokyo is another Australian band that should be destined for international love. Face it. Australia never stops.
Maybe a totally surface comparison, but Teenagers In Tokyo look like they could be CSS’s Australian cousins. BUT judging from their three demo tracks: they sound closer to the Go-Go’s or Romeo Void or even a DFA band at times.
Their website has had a disappointing message for the past couple months that they are taking a short break. But their Myspace looks rather active. I dunno.
Teenagers In Tokyo - “Ended It Tonight” (mp3)
And speaking of Teenagers… The (other) Teenagers have a mix of my favorite underrated song of 2006 on their Myspace remix site: The Scanners’ “Lowlife” (The Teenz mix). Even at 96 kbps it is like… amazing.
Explosions in the Sky - Welcome, Ghosts
The west-Texas foursome Explosions in the Sky aren't exactly a household name, but they are definitely a well known band in indie rock circles, and most of you probably know, or know of, them. Their name usually appears in sentences with things like "powerful" and "explosive" in front of the requisite "instrumental rock", and are referenced along side bands like Sigur Ros and Mogwai. Their first official album, 2001's Those Who Tell the Truth Shall Die, Those Who Tell the Truth Shall Live Forever is simply awesome, as is the follow-up, 2003's The Earth is Not a Cold Dead Place.
They are dedicated to the "indie" part of indie rock, staying with Brooklyn indie label Temporary Residence, avoiding Clear Channel and LiveNation venues for their concerts (and they are known for putting on some fierce live shows), and none of their songs are likely to end up on the radio, not only because there are no words in them (when is the last time you heard a non-classical or jazz instrumental song on the radio?), but because they can be super-long. Their music often gets called "cinematic" by critics, so it was quite a coup when they were asked to score the critically acclaimed Peter Berg film Friday Night Lights in 2004. Throughout this time, they've maintained quite a following, which will be all the more rabid when their newest full-length album, All of a Sudden I Miss Everyone, is released in February.
Like the first album, it is just six songs, but I will tell you it is a wonderful six songs. Just beautiful stuff, even when the band is roaring at full blast, making your hair stand on end (I cannot wait to see them play this stuff live, jesus!). The opening song is a real killer, and this song is track-2, followed by a thirteen-minute-plus epic, so you can imagine where things go (hint: skyward). All of a Sudden... doesn't come out for a while, so you'll have to satiate yourself with this tease of a song until then. When the album does drop, it will also be available as a limited-edition double-disc version that will include an entire album of remixes by Jesu, Adem, The Paper Chase, Mountains, Four Tet and Eluvium, and the first pressing of the vinyl version features an etching on the fourth side, and will be on colored vinyl (light yellow and navy blue to match the artwork), and will also include the bonus CD of remixes.
Wow. Sounds dreamy right? Visit their webpage for dates of the upcoming tour and more information on the band and their albums (their stories about the albums are all good, and the one about scoring FNL is worth reading for sure). Stay tuned - it will be worth the wait.
Just a quick reminder — if you haven’t yet voted in the 2006 Readers’ Poll then you have until Tuesday, December 12th: Go Vote!
I threw together an iTunes iMix of the nominated tracks…. iTunes had 30/50 songs so not too bad.
Woah… okay I have to first say thank you. The response to our site survey was overwhelming. I excepted like twenty responses… serious. Instead we had hundreds and hundreds. So thank you all!
And to be totally honest the past month or so I’ve felt a tad burnt out, but all your kind words are enough to keep BIGSTEREO going another two years. Damn. It weird because this site is often very one directional… like we rarely get the chance to hear what you guys think. It was awesome…. even the people who were like, “I hate you.”
So the winners! Congrats to Raquel who won the Grand Prize of 100+ cds and a bandana. Rogier and Pinksunglasses won BIGSTEREO bandanas. How do you spell bandana? Is it bandanna or bandana? Oh bananas. If your name is Raquel, Rogier or Pinksunglasses and didn’t get an email from me then I’m sorry but you didn’t win.
For all you big fat losers… BIGSTEREO bandan(n)as will be going on sale this weekend. As soon as I get my ass in gear. I promise to let ya’ll know.
As far as survey results go:
When asked who is hotter 55% picked Salt N Pepa, 25% L’Trimm and 20% JJ Fad.
When asked who is hotter the second time 88% picked Van She, 9% NSync and 8% of you picked Ricky Martin. I admit, it was a stupid question.
Okay and the serious business… who will be the biggest and best artist of 2007? The award was pretty much tied between The Teenagers and Klaxons. Van She, Justice, New Young Pony Club and Young Love were close to follow.
Favorite (and funniest) comments
Thank you for introducing me to Van She, they have given me faith in the music industry again. True story, my friend got scarlet fever (not a joke) and I had him listen to “Kelly.” He purchased the EP, listened to nothing but Van She, and got better very quick. I’m not sure if Van She cured him, but who knows, stranger things have happened…
i am very cool. emm i got in trouble at school for goin on my dear biggie (you you) on the comp in the library. ehh but i’m a good kid. also i’m still a little tot, seriously i’m a kid. that makes me 50 times cooler, as i see it. also i’m rully feelin myself this week i’m filled wit self-love.
How embarrassing to admit you’ve been quite the inspiration for new music guys, thanks very much for that. To be honest, i nearly thought the internet was dead for a minute there! (well, besides the porn of course)
If Jesus could use the internet and took the time to update a blog of all the latest funky indie stylings happening round the known world I’m pretty sure his blog would look something like bigstereo. Bigstereo is rather rad…I like it more than milk in my tea.
my brother met michelle kwan.
i count on this website to make me happy everyday.
If you can get Fibes, Oh Fibes to come play in Chicago I will let them all sleep in my bed with me. xo Veronica
you guys keep it put bare bones, just music and i like that. but sometimes i wonder, who is bigstereo? know what i mean?
I like how you guys keep your blog pretty diverse musically. I mean, I like floukids and all but how many times can one listen to reinterpretions of a song that Justice got right the first time?
Yeah, I love the mixes by TheBangGang DJ’s…can’t get enough of ‘em! I officially named my iPod “Fuck Top 40″ and have been educating the locals about better music, oh, and I like to sleep naked. Cheers! (name and phone number not printed)
I like music, and sometimes guitars for the sake of guitars make me sad. As opposed to guitars for the sake of rocking, that is always a good use of guitars.
I frequently wear bandanas, especially free ones.
You suck.
Ok, there are like fifty other great comments but I am totally tired of cutting and pasting. We read them all though. And we’ll be emailing some of yau when we get to it.