choon

so for quite a while i've been secretly into this music coming out of the deepest darkest clubs of sheffield. or at least that's the way that bassline/niche has been sold on wikipedia. actually wikipedia says the scene is associated violence and gang culture, which is hard to believe for music that is basically super slow R&B vocals and ridiculously heavy sped up basslines. can't really imagine people getting violent while "baby, can you kiss me?" blares across the speakers.

"bassline (dance music)" feels slightly like a guilty pleasure and reminds of reggaeton in it's lazily repetitive (hypnotic) formula - but you also get the sneaky suspicion that one or a couple of tracks could blow the whole thing up rather than consign it to the damned history of weird uk club sub-genres. or at least it's worth keeping an ear out for so you might just end up with a hell of a night out dancing in the right london club.

here's some recent songs, at least one of which shows some promise to stray from the formula:

http://www.zshare.net/audio/73328588473bd01a/

1. Addictive - Candy Rain

2. Addictive - Right There (Burga Boy Remix)

3. TS7 - End with Goodnight

4. Delinquent - Playing Around (Dub)

Campus A Low Hum 2010

Hi all, apologies for the delay.

At the end of January I had the grand pleasure of attending Campus A Low Hum 2010. I can't say enough good things about it, and you should definitely try to attend next year, if you have any way of getting to New Zealand, etc.

A couple of highlights:

Gaywyre

The heaviest of metals, from Wellington, New Zealand

So So Modern

This was one of the first songs I heard when I got to the Camp. It made me think of what it might sound like if Justice did a cover of Eye Of The Tiger. They're also from Wellington, New Zealand

AND - (not related to Camp a Low Hum)

I just last night was told about a band called Surfer Blood. They are literally blowing my brain right now...

Gaywyre - Battleshark (buy the EP)

So So Modern - Berlin (apparently "Crude Futures" is not yet available in the USA. But do buy it if you're in NZ or the UK)

Surfer Blood - Swim (buy the album)

Best albums of the decade?

My friend Dan S. (danschwartzblog.com) is wondering what people's top 10 albums of the years 2000-2009 are. Comments please

If your brother won't rock then your sister will

I've had a song from Dan's Rock & Roll mix (http://danschwartzblog.com/post/192889087/rock-roll) stuck in my head for maybe two months now. Well overdue for posting here. (Wo, that makes me feel old - Wikipedia - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eddie_Cochran - tells me that Eddie Cochran died at the tender age of 21! Also of note is the fact that Dave Dee of Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick, and Titch, learned to play guitar on the guitar of Eddie Cochran's that was impounded after his death by automobile accident).

It somehow makes me think of a 1950s Ramones, I guess it is Rock & Roll after all so shouldn't surprise me so much. Consequently I am drawn to the melodic similarities between C'mon Everybody and I Wanna Be Sedated.

Eddie Cochran - C'mon Everybody (buy it)

The Ramones - I Wanna Be Sedated (buy it)

...and a new one just begun

In Josh K-sky's minimalist format:

Elephant Man - Sorrow to the World (edited short by yours truly because it's funny only at first)

Micachu - Calculator
(Buy it)

and, not least,

The Books - Take Time (look out for their track "A Dark Freezing Night" when their next album arrives)
(Buy it)

The Books are a guitar and cello and found sound duo from the northeastern USA that I find strangely relaxing, like riding on a train. They take audio and/or video footage, which they (digitally) cut up and splice, and combine with their own cello/guitar/vox, to create new experiences. As such, their stuff forms a considerably more coherent whole when you watch the video along with the audio:



anyways,
hope you all have fun new years'

Christmas

This time, you really did it.

Making believe He was just another baby boy.

Even so...

I don't intend to spend Christmas without you.

(see also)

An amazing transformation

It is true that many artists through the ages have radically redefined themselves, yet I believe that none have quite as profoundly as Alex Ebert. A few years ago, I had the fortune of seeing Ima Robot (a poppy dance rock band) live. Fast forward to this fall, at the treasure island music festival, and I'm watching Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros, what I can only explain as a hippie commune that decided to write and play songs together. And then - here's the punchline - I discover that the frontman for both bands is...the same man! This long-bearded, dread-locked hippie is the pop-rocker I had seen just 3 years ago. And the music is just as different as Alex Ebert's appearance. And I just happen to be obsessed with both bands right now.

As per our new blog rules, I will not post links to the youtube videos. But I strongly encourage you to look them up yourselves and witness this astounding transformation for yourselves.

Edward Sharp and the Magnetic Zeros - Home

Ima Robot - Creeps Me Out

And just for good measure, I'm also currently obsessed with Thao with the Get Down Stay Down:

Thao with the Get Down Stay Down - Bag of Hammers

Shake! Shake! Shake!