This gem’s been on the back burner for two years! Ouch. I started a post on General Elektriks back in August of 2005, the year his debut album came out. I remember the label pulled the MP3s, and since we like to play nicely with others, I pulled the review (crying, all the while, on the inside, gettin’ all emo). Since then, Quannum has partnered with a solid digital distributor, ioda promonet, and the goods are back! This is such a great album. French-Brit, and current resident of Berkeley, CA, RV Salters, is General Elektriks, a man with an impressive quiver of vintage keyboards and the playing skills to go along with it. Smooth ‘n’ easy grooves made for lazy summer afternoons. Quantic said it best, “Like the Beatles in a pub brawl with the Neptunes.” And as a bonus, plenty of the Quannum crew make guest appearances on the album. Two-years-old, but packaged with stay-fresh beats. Satisfaction guaranteed.
Looks like General Elektriks will strike again early next year. He’s been busy with his other project Honeycut.
It’s my last post from Memphis, so I’d better make it a Memphis band, eh? I especially like the changing moods of “In Transit” by The Coach and Four. First delicate and almost plaintive, then building until becoming strong, fierce, and frantic, it reflects the hidden stories of the band’s namesake, a local run-down hotel.
I so don’t want to repeat the stories of: “this-indie-rock-star-found-the-band” and “this-cool-producer-dude-recorded-their-album.” Sure, they helped Via Audio gain some traction and a bit of attention, but the story’s a year old and it’ll continue to be regurgitated in the future as the music media re-hash the band’s one sheet (not always a bad idea—sometimes it’s late and you just want to be in bed and you can’t think of anything to write about a really cool band and whew! the publicist wrote something decent you can borrow…). OK, here’s what you’re in for: sweet boy/girl vocals over a relentless tempo, some nice fuzzy guitar tones, sparkling tones for the chorus, then a big rockin’ bridge into chorus with echoing vocoder. Repeat chorus. Oh thank you Via Audio for repeating the chorus again and again. It drives me wild. RIYL: mature electro-gum pop by goofy/cute, thrift-shopping Brooklyn quartets.
I can’t write about 
Justice is a French DJ duo known for, among other things, a rumbling synthetic bassline that hits you like an electric shock. They released the addictive if woefully abbreviated Waters of Nazareth EP just over a year ago, and I’ve been dancing to it, especially the piece de resistance title track, ever since. Now, mind you, I was born without a stitch of rhythm or grace, so when I say I’ve been dancing to it, what I really mean is that I’ve been bobbing my head to it. But trust me, it’s been a wicked head-bob. “Waters of Nazareth,” unfortunately, has never been available in its original form as a free download (understandable for club DJs who live track to track) so you’ll have to go to MySpace and listen to it through your browser. Likewise “D.A.N.C.E.,” Justice’s latest cool-kid craze (with an awfully 
During the Civil War, Missouri was a border state, supplying formal regiments and informal militias to both sides of the conflict. Therefore, I’m not sure if 
Don’t get me wrong, I really like the arrhythmic bobbing of one thousand hipster heads at, say, a Menomena show outside in the summertime. Equally pleasing is the boho hippie happy love vibe and patchouli smell rising like steam above an Amadou and Mariam or Manu Chao show. But I’m not talking about hippies or hipsters here… I’m talking about the hot. sweaty. funk. Sharon Jones has been bringing the hot sweaty funk for years now and as soon as the band starts playing–hips WILL be swaying, arms WILL be flailing, and, yes, booties will be shaking, because Sharon and her million person band of 3-piece-suit-wearing talent consistently brings it. These songs may not be brand spanking new, but when the music is classic, who needs them to be?
It’s been almost four years since I had George Sarah and his string trio on my 
Two weeks ago when posting the 
My 10-year-old son plays the clarinet in his school orchestra. His teacher offered a weekly jazz band class, in which my son, disappointing his old man, chose not to participate. This summer I plan on feeding him some heavy doses of The Budos Band, regaling him with stories of their after-school jazz ensemble, and how it lead the boys across the East River, via late night ferry rides, to sneak into Antibalas, Sugarman Three and Fela Kuti shows. Those illicit escapades helped form the Afro-Soul roots of The Budos Band. No son, it’s not exactly Harry Potter but, man, “Ride Or Die” would sure make a great soundtrack to those Lego James Bond videos you’re always watching on YouTube kid.