Man, watching all that HOT SHREDDING by Michael Angelo made me want to pick up the old axe and cut loose with some vicious fret destruction…but oh wait i can’t play guitar (not like that anyway, it’s a genetic thing). Thank the Gods of Shred for creating this AWESOME flash game…watch the intro then go back to “home” link and try “Magic Carpet Tour”. Soon Ye shall be ready to conquer “The Mountain of the Tapping Dwarves”. Be prepared to waste a few hours…it’s addictive.
OK he’s the REAL life Nigel (Michael Angelo)…seriously check this video out it’s a side splitting wankathon of unparalleled wankery…complete with perfect posing, hair and jeans:
Here is an in store (probably the sad future of this shredder) performance full of AWESOME shredding and classic rock medley:
the wait is over and you NORTH AMERICAN SCUM can finally legally purchase a copy of the new record from LCD Soundsystem. Their first release still hasn’t worked it’s way out of rotation here, it was that damn catchy and good pop dance punk whatever you call it. Sound of Silver ain’t no sophomore slump! the band has really matured and solidified into a tight unit. The first single was North American Scum sounds much like the older material (along with Time To Get Away), and this time we find singer/frontman James Murphy ranting about being Canadian NOT English, or shall we say he is clarifying the issue. Sound of Silver opens with Get Innocuous which slowly builds builds you into a submissive droning dance coma to get the groove going. MY favorite tune however so far is Someone Great, which is a simple pretty Kraftwork inspired pop masterpiece littered with electronic jabs and hooks. The album as a whole is just as dance/electronic orientated as their first, and they seem to have really mastered the art of combining electronics and live musicians. the album has been out for a while and a group of over eager beaver achievers actually remixed the whole thing which you can get free here (check out the remix of us vs. them by go home productions possibly better than the original and in “on repeat” over at Pitchfork).
“I am the adversary”…crows Nils Frykdahl at the end of this creepy as all hell video masterpiece from Sleepytime Gorilla Museum. This band simply defies definition and is perhaps the most creative act in the US right now. I am a bit biased as we (old band i was in cortex bomb) had the privilege of opening for them on Sept. 11th…yeah THE sept. 11th. and, as you’d expect, we blew them away! not…they are great, which is why they are touring right now with the also awesome Secret Chiefs 3, and I am sitting on my ass here writing about it!
The problem with being a total uber music dork is it’s difficult to find others of your species to…dork with. You’ve created this bitchin DIY UFO midi axe, and you need to showcase your stuff…teach that wanky “traditional” guitarist what’s what…but you have no friends, from all the toiling away long nights alone in your soldering iron dungeon working on your art. OK enough with the intro, here is a pretty swell “guitar” with midi ribbon controller and photo-theremin mounted to front…i’m not entirely sure where he misplaced his tin-foil hat but he’s got one. i know it. Visit his (really unfinished) website where you can buy one from him!
This isn’t a new song, but it’s probably still my favorite from these guys. At first i felt they were just another Godspeed You Black Emperor clone, but I think maybe they outgodspeeded even GYBE on this one. Slow building simple riffs with a few changes in the right spots create a very pretty song. This is a decent intimate live version (a few noticable fuck ups for the familiar ear).
This is one of the more interesting collaborations of recent times in the experimental end of the spectrum. Jazz drummer Steve Reid’s list of “people i’ve played with” is enviable to say the least, and it’s great to see him hook up with one of the more creative electronic musicians of our day. Together they have released an album “Tongues” and are currently touring. The music is still evolving and tends to collide here and there but is pretty amazing overall if only for it’s melding of generations. Kieran (best known as Four Tet) is playing a bank of Dr. Sample units, which are inexpensive yet versitile (see first video below) phrase samplers from boss (no longer produced…try ebay).
Don’t call them “Slow-core” they apparently hate that pigeonhole. Low are a minimalist group fronted by Alan Sparhawk (guitar and vocals) and Mimi Parker (drums and vocals) from Duluth Minnesota. The groups strengths are mainly focused around the vocal harmonies of these two and are often accented with noise and other interesting sound elements. The latest release Drums and Guns is a clearly aimed at the present dismal state of affairs in this world of ours. The songs are slow tragic and beautifully rendered and encourage the silent attention of the listener. We really like the harmonies on the song “Sandinista” and the band (very cool) offer you a listen to all the songs on their website before purchasing.
The future is now! there is a good debate raging over at CDM about who will release the next great digital hardware music-making interface. Two of the major contenders (combining audio with some visual flair via fancy light up buttons) are Yamaha and the Monome project. The major differences being Monome runs open sound control (OSC) which is open source software…and customizable, if you possess the brain power. Tenori-On is being released by Yamaha and will run good old Midi…easier right out of the box, but far less customizable. That being said it will be interesting to see how this plays out this year as both of these exciting interfaces will now be available (Monome has been for a while and has a head start). My guess and trust me it’s just a guess, is that software and touch screens will eventually make both of these obsolete. More detailed specs for the Tenori-On can be found here at Future Music
Bound Stems are a group from Chicago that create hard to pigeonhole complex pop music. This is not the kind of record that might grab you right off the bat, indeed much of it may sound abrasive as there are occasionally lots of things going on simultaneously, keyboards, guitars, and two vocalists. It is perhaps this cacophony in the end that makes it rewarding for the discerning listener.
