"Exam should have 18 pages. Pls check."

FUCK.

My Nouvelle Vague Channel

Continuing on the theme from iMeem's sellout, which led me to Pandora...

My Goldenvoice email told me Nouvelle Vague is touring. Of course, in Los Angeles. Of course, in January - when I'm not there. Thank you, Goldenvoice.

Anyway, feeling the spirit, I typed Nouvelle Vague into my handy-dandy Pandora box. And so flowed the following progression...

Nouvelle Vague - Sweet and Tenger Hooligan
Bitter:Sweet - The Mating Game
Gotan Project - Epoca
Etta James - At Last
Prozac For Lovers - (Don't Fear) The Reaper
Madeleine Peyroux - Smile

Side note: I'm not good at very many things, but one thing I am good at is noticing something I like... and watching that something turn from nothing into amazing.

Each "new" song made me want to blog about it. So then I realized it wasn't really the music that deserved a post, but the importance of always willing to listen to it, to follow it, to let it develop on your taste buds. And in the end, sharing your opinion with others so that all things with talent receive the recognition they deserve.

Never enough hours for the endless amount of discoveries this world has to offer. The journey continues...

iMeem, Why Have Your Forsaken Me...

Just days ago, I posted how I used iMeem to test my hypothesis about Cat Power vs. Warpaint. Literally days ago...

Yesterday, following my normal routine, I went to the iMeem site and typed in "Weezer." What the hell. How did I end up on Myspace? I thought I had a brain-fart so I re-typed in iMeem into my browser and paid closer attention.

iMeem sold itself to Myspace. Why... oh, why.

I invested 30 whole seconds in an attempt to figure out how to play music without having to sign in (I had long since forgotten my Myspace password). No avail.

Desperation ensued. I started panicking, and ranted to my sister how I hoped iMeem creators banked major monies because they pretty much sold the soul of internet music (rant continued for about 5 minutes)... then my sister said, "What's iMeem?"

Me: What's iMeem?!? How do you listen to music?
Sister: I use Pandora.

That's right. I gave up on Pandora when they told me they didn't know who Ted Leo & the Pharmacists were. C'mon. But apparently, three years later, I was pushed to find a new internet music streamer... and Pandora has turned into something awesome.

I typed in Lily Allen. Don't judge. I'm studying and need the peppy yet cynical music. Then I heard Yael Naim, the Pierces, Frou Frou, Kate Nash, and other artists I was in the mood for.

So in essence, what iMeem did by selling itself to Myspace was not beneficial for Myspace... but a winner for Pandora. And you can go ahead tell that one to your kids.

Cat Paints War

Someone else on the internet brought this up, but I thought it was interesting enough to repeat.

Warpaint sounds a lot like Cat Power.

I'll be honest. I had Cat Power on my external drive, but didn't give her any real attention until her song popped up on Juno's soundtrack. Then, of course, I became the biggest Cat Power fan alive. To clarify, in my definition, "biggest ___ fan" simply means I listen to the album for about a month straight.

And because of the musical hibernation I was forced into by the iron claws of graduate school, I always jump at even the most abstract references to remnants of my past musical enthusiasm. In short, I saw "Warpaint sounds a lot like Cat Power" and thought, "Hey, I know Cat Power. I now have a basis to also build an opinion."

This aforementioned internetee built a clever playlist that is as follows:
1. Warpaint - Billie Holiday
2. Cat Power - Don't Explain
3. Warpaint - Stars
4. Cat Power - Still in Love
5. Warpaint - Krimson
... and so on.

Not surprisingly, I couldn't tell you which was which without actually reading my iMeem page. So I fail to reject the hypothesis that Warpaint does in fact sound like Cat Power.

Boring blog excused, Warpaint is some good, mellow shit.

Back to Basics

Lots to talk about in the coming days, hopefully, but in the meantime, a couple of cover songs:





I felt it most prudent to ease back into this blogging thing. Besides, it's what we do best here.

One Regret

The only thing for which I'd truly kick myself over skipping Coachella:



Otherwise, Monday begins the most masochistically fun part of the festival for me: bootlegs!!!

WEAK.

The four fellas running torrent site The Pirate Bay have been convicted of breaking copyright law and are gonna be in jail for one year.

Read the fucking ridiculous details here.

Live Jigga

When Jay-Z performed at Glastonbury last year, one of my favorite segments was his little smooth operator threesome in which he performed "Excuse Me Miss," "Song Cry," and "Girls, Girls, Girls." It would've been a foursome if it weren't for his horrible freestyle over Estelle's "American Boy," but whatever. Combine that with the soundboard quality of the recording I've got, and the fact that sharing is caring, and here you go:

Excuse Me Miss (Glastonbury live)

Song Cry (Glastonbury live)

Girls, Girls, Girls (Glastonbury live)

Youtube Mashup

(via boingboing)

Siiiiick mashup artist, Kutiman, takes his samples from youtube clips. Be sure to check out the other vids in his "Through You" series.

RE: The Fat Man with the Bone

A couple of months ago, I stumbled onto a British show called Never Mind the Buzzcocks, which is a hilarious panel game much like Wait, Wait... Don't Tell Me!, except it's televised and focuses on pop music rather than politics. A great majority of the show's charm comes from its very particular dynamic, which consists of pairing wittily sardonic comedians with flavor-of-the-week indie artists.

I was very lucky in that I was able to catch all the Simon Amstell-era episodes before the BBC started removing episodes here and there. I highly recommend the series, and if you enjoy the same stupid-in-a-smart-way (or smart-in-a-stupid-way; I'm still trying to figure which one is right) kind of humor I do, expect to blow an entire weekend on the series. Here's a little taste, courtesy of the candyman:


Guests: Nicholas Hoult, Midge Ure (from Ultravox), Romeo Stodart (from The Magic Numbers) & Russell Howard. Context for some of the jokes: In the episode prior, one of the guests, Samuel Preston of The Ordinary Boys, walked off in the middle of the show because Amstell kept clowning on his wife's autobiography.


Bonus: Best "guess who" round ever.

Again, the BBC is removing episodes on YouTube periodically, so if you enjoy these, watch them as soon as you can.

Valentine Fallout

Rather than try to remember everything I tried to convey from the Valentine post that was subsequently murdered and covered up by the popo, I'll just relink the three songs that inspired what I mistakenly thought reflected Valentine's Day, you know, the spirit of giving. Here they are:

Oliver Future - Stranger Than a Stranger (KCRW live)

Friendly Fires - Paris (KCRW live)

The Magic Numbers - This is a Song (KCRW live)

No Words to Do It Justice

Post explaining how I came across this semi-retarded fat man singing into a bone and a multitude of other pop music lost gems very soon.

And in Other News

1. The Pirate Bay trial in Stockholm just gets better and better. On day 2, half the prosecution's charges were dropped, and on day 3, the defense introduced something called "The King Kong defense." Tickets for the trial available outside the courthouse, via scalpers.

2. Blink-182 are back together. Guitarist Tom DeLonge reached out to his estranged ex-bandmates after drummer Travis Barker's plane crash. We can expect fart jokes and full frontal nudity this summer.

3. Dr. Dre's Detox, aka hip-hop's Chinese Democracy, looks like it'll be coming out later this year. However, it'll be after the good doctor's proteges, 50 Cent & Eminem, release their respective albums, Before I Self Destruct (due 3/24) and Relapse (due sometime after 3/24). According to 50, "It's a story actually, the three-headed monster returns. Before I Self Destruct, I'll Relapse, then Detox." Clever.

As a little bonus, DJ Quik provides some fun facts about the Detox sessions. Highlights: 1. Dre's got 400 tracks to choose from. 2. He's been taking piano lessons from Burt Bacharach.

4. U2 have a new album coming out at the end of the month. This is particularly newsworthy for me personally because it's probably the least amount of promoting the band has done for an album since the late '80s. Remember when they held a press conference at KMart for Pop? Nonetheless, this album won't be completely devoid of promotional whoring. The boys will be the first to hold a week-long residency on the Late Show with Dave Letterman.

You're welcome.

How to Bring the Fat Kids Together

For the astute readers out there who've noticed a certain missing Valentine entry, here's the deal:

Blogger has been notified, according to the terms of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), that certain content in your blog infringes upon the copyrights of others. The URL(s) of the allegedly infringing post(s) may be found at the end of this message.

The notice that we received from the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) and the record companies it represents, with any personally identifying information removed, will be posted online by a service called Chilling Effects at http://www.chillingeffects.org. We do this in accordance with the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA). Please note that it may take Chilling Effects up to several weeks to post the notice online at the link provided.

The IFPI is a trade association that represents over 1,400 major and independent record companies in the US and internationally who create, manufacture and distribute sound recordings (the "IFPI Represented Companies").

The DMCA is a United States copyright law that provides guidelines for online service provider liability in case of copyright infringement. We are in the process of removing from our servers the links that allegedly infringe upon the copyrights of others. If we did not do so, we would be subject to a claim of copyright infringement, regardless of its merits. See http://www.educause.edu/Browse/645?PARENT_ID=254 for more information about the DMCA, and see http://www.google.com/dmca.html for the process that Blogger requires in order to make a DMCA complaint.

Blogger can reinstate these posts upon receipt of a counter notification pursuant to sections 512(g)(2) and 3) of the DMCA. For more information about the requirements of a counter notification and a link to a sample counter notification, see http://www.google.com/dmca.html#counter.

Please note that repeated violations to our Terms of Service may result in further remedial action taken against your Blogger account. If you have legal questions about this notification, you should retain your own legal counsel. If you have any other questions about this notification, please let us know.

Sincerely,

The Blogger Team

Affected URLs:

http://soulwhatisitworth.blogspot.com/2009/02/valentine-becomes-eclectic.html

And the family's reactions:

Me: The music popo got us!

Jerome: Congrats to all... We've made it!

Connie: Bitch muthafuckas.*

Bobby: Oh snap. Valentine Becomes Eclectic not kosher?

Me: I'm gonna print two copies of this notice. One to frame, and the other with which to wipe my ass.

Juliet: This is exactly why I need to quit my shitty job.

Zully: This is the way the IFPI shows love on Valentine's.

Connie: Fuck 'em bitchas.*

And an update:

I finally checked my hotmail after a couple of days, and it turns out the offending track was Spiritualized's "Soul on Fire." It has been automatically deleted from my box.net account, but the process to get the repost looks fucking scary, so I think I'm just gonna do a new post without the offending track, because, and I think you'll agree with me here, that artwork was TITS.

*Connie didn't actually say anything about the matter, but I'm sure this is what she was thinking.

It's Valentine's Day, So Why Not?

Clever vid featuring the j-pop/rock band Base Ball Bear. The bassist, Shiori Sekine, is the bassist in the movie, Linda Linda Linda (which is sick!). Subtitles rule:

Dummy!

I'm really lucky to have the friends I've got because it means I have an ever-present source of music-related news to consume and (sometimes) slowly digest. As a result, I don't travel very deep into the realm of the blogo-music-sphere. In fact, it's not uncommon for me to miss shit by months or years. And unfortunately, I have lots of facepalm moments where I am introduced or stumble across a sick act that I then realize I had heard about and passed up just months earlier, or sometimes years earlier. So yeah, this post is about Andrew W.K.

Well, I guess it's not totally about him. It's about how his first album, I Get Wet scared me away with its drippiness and I only just last week started to regret it. I kind of started to get a clue that all was not as it (bloody) seemed when I went to see Ted Leo & Rx's karaoke night and a super down-to-earth and all around nice guy Andrew W.K. was emceeing the event. Then the awesome Disgrasian blog posted about an album of j-pop cover songs. I should go ahead and just quote the man from his website:

I had never really heard music like this… At first it was hard for me to believe that these were the biggest hit songs in Japan - they sound so different from hit songs in the western world. But as I learned the songs and translated the lyrics, I fell in love with them and understood their appeal.

The album? It's effing awesome. Produced for the Japanese market, the thing unfortunately doesn't have distribution stateside. However, with some digging, you may be able to find it. And when you do, you'll find that j-pop standards translate super well into Andrew W.K.'s brand of party-metal. And once you've finished listening to the thing on repeat for a day or two, you may find like I did, that you have an itch to search out the source material. Which brings me to part 2 of this post: The Blue Hearts, who's track, Linda Linda, is included on AWK's cover album.


Debuting with their self-titled album in 1987, these guys apparently enjoyed some pretty mainstream success, with a couple of their songs even becoming classics (read: karaoke staples). Being a relative late-comer to the punk genre, I'll admit right here that I haven't got a very comprehensive understanding of punk history... but I can tell you that these guys are sick as hell. Lasting for 8 years and 7 albums has to count for something, right? There's also something to be said about having a movie written about a group of school girls learning to play covers of your punk songs. Anyway, on to the obligatory youtube embed:

Did you think I'd leave you without a tangible (audible?) sample of The Blue Hearts awesomeness? You were wrong.

Linda Linda - Andrew W.K.
Linda Linda - The Blue Hearts

Via My Weekly Routine

Every Sunday, Chromewaves uploads a cover song as their "mp3 of the week," usually coinciding the selection with an upcoming tour or album release for the cover artist. Not so every Sunday, the site also provides a mini-treasure chest of goodies for said artist, including free, full album downloads. This just happens to be one of those Sundays.

The Morning Benders are a NorCal band who:

1. are gonna tour with the Submarines soon.

2. have their own blog, and,

3. are sharing a link to their entire covers album, which they have entitled, The Bedroom Covers:


The link off the Morning Benders' own site seems to be a little wonky, so I'd recommend using the sendspace link.

Storytime: One Last January Entry

Once upon a time, there was a girl named Clare. Clare was from a land far, far away, called "Brooklyn." In Brooklyn, Clare was known for her beautiful, baby voice. Some would say she sounded like an angel. Others, like the chick from the Cardigans.

Now, Clare did pretty well for herself, releasing two solo albums, Sweetheart and Bentley Circle.

One day while studying at Berklee, Clare met a man named Olivier. I don't really know if they fell in love right away or whatever, but they did eventually get married. The couple brought in some people who could play strings and drums and stuff, and they all lived happily ever after as Clare & the Reasons. They have one album out so far, The Movie, which sounds pretty good, but this live cover of Tears for Fears' "Everybody Wants to Rule the World" is just amazing:



Bonus mp3: Clare & the Reasons - Pluto

So Fucking Hot

How badass is Friday? So much so that Leonard "I'm Your Man" Cohen is given fourth billing. However, the top-heavy lopsided billing begs the question, "Do they all have other plans for the rest of the weekend?" At least it'll be way cheaper to just buy the one day than to splurge on a whole weekend pass.

Take this opportunity if you can. You will probably never have another chance to see Paul McCartney and Morrissey for 100 bucks. After the show, we can go cougar hunting in Palm Springs again and be home in time for Saturday morning cartoons. Doesn't that sound like fun?

Tonight

One of the cool things about working on this blog is occasionally hearing shit before it becomes two or more years old. Example: Lykke Li in 2008.

And then I get to do follow-up video-posts with like new music vids or some shit:


Lykke Li - Tonight from Lykke Li on Vimeo.

50 and Still Sexy as Hell

On Monday, January 12, 2009, Motown Records celebrates its 50th anniversary. Rather than go into detail about the label's ineffable contribution to pop music, I'm just gonna link their wiki page. Do yourself a favor and at least read the "production process" section.

Instead, I'm gonna share some of my favorite Motown songs, "favorite" also meaning ones that are readily accessible on the laptop (right click the album covers for the links):

















P.S. - On a completely unrelated note, today, on a whim, I decided to go through a Smash Mouth live set that had previously only been labeled by track numbers. I was able to rename 11 of the 22 tracks, although two of the tracks were "intro" and "drum solo." Even so, given the nine songs I recognized, I'm both proud and ashamed at the same time. It's an odd feeling.