If you’ll excuse the blatantly obvious for a second, one of the awesome things about the Internet is that you don’t have to be in New York, L.A., Chicago, Boston, Austin, or one of a handful of anointed college scenes to get noticed. Although, no matter where you are, you need a MySpace page come hell or high water. Through the Sparks aren’t in one of the Chosen Towns—they’re in Birmingham, Alabama, which by all accounts has a thriving local scene but probably won’t make any “The next” lists nonetheless. Plus, get this, Through the Sparks record in an actual garage. How…quaint. It’s enough to make you regain faith in American music. It also helps that the music itself is easy on the ears: a thinking feller’s mix of guitar and piano rock that’s both down-home and sophisticated. Any inherent Birmingham-ness or Southernness in general you might be looking to place on these polished pop articles will be as elusive as the band’s lyrics are charmingly obtuse. Maybe that’s the other awesome thing about the Internet: you can be from a scene without necessarily being of it—provided you’re on MySpace.
Copperpot
I’ve wanted to post Copperpot ever since Scott played a track for me in a rental car in Italy—a wickedly infectious track sampling Doris Day’s “Perhaps Perhaps Perhaps.” Now, almost two years later, I can finally share the sharing with this, the lead off track from the forthcoming album WLYA?. Yes, that’s the Blastmaster KRS-One blessing the mic—just the kind of talent Daniel Kuypers attracts. Our man picks up where his 2005 debut,
65 Days of Static
Just read my original post…so much has changed and so much hasn’t. Same goes for 65 Days of Static. They’re still making instrumental rock that I actually like. But they’ve since matured their sound a bit. It’s less of an aural blitz and more of subtle, studied sound. Don’t get me wrong, they still have an edge to them: they had to kick a Scottish after-school dance troupe out of their own auditorium to record the grand piano for this album. Now that’s rock ‘n’ roll.
Original post (12/20/2004):
I just got back from two weeks of working in London. Sounds great, I know, and for the most part it was. But, as a wise man once crooned, “being apart ain’t easy on this love affair.” So, as I fought jet lag and IMed my wife at 2am, I’d leave the TV on in the background for a little company. I usually kept it on mute, but when the video for 65 Days of Static’s “Retreat!Retreat!” flickered on, I turned up the volume and got sucked right in. Why can’t we just swap these guys for Linkin Park and make the charts a better place for everyone? Here are a couple secular tracks, plus a seasonal treat to play in your iPod as you fight through the crowds at Toys ‘R’ Us. Ho ho ho, indeed.
Alias
How about a hefty dose from Alias! Today we feature a broad sampling from Alias’s discography, beginning with remixes from his brand-spanking new remix collection, coincidentally titled Collected Remixes. Alias is anything but generic when it comes to producing his music. He adds so much more to his remix projects than a throwaway beat. He makes each song his own with his signature atmospherics and keyboard work—from reworking indie stalwart John Vanderslice to dropping the low end on Lali Puna’s björk-core to goblet-shattering levels.
Alias stands head and shoulders above most hip-hop producers because rather than relying on sampling Alias implements live and electronic instrumentation. He still taps the past for inspiration as evidenced by the Black Celebration era riff of “Cobblestone Waltz,” a track recorded with his brother Ehren for their collaborative instrumental album, Lillian. And don’t miss his work with Rona “Tarsier” Rapadas. It’s anything but a sidenote. His colorful production gently lifts her already lush and soaring vocals. There’s plenty here to digest, but just a few songs in you’ll hear how Alias, like several of his fellow Bay Area beat-heads, has single-handedly broadened the boundaries of hip-hop, revealing its rich possibilities.
Santa Maria
This one’s gonna be quick because I gotta take care of the mothers in my life today! Maria Eriksson from The Concretes pulled together some of Sweden’s finest players to back her up on her solo album. The first selection, “Cuckoo” is the most Concretes-like: playful, bouncy pop, while “Dogs” is slightly more introspective and somber. Ericksson and company get downright proggy on “Make Up.” A little something for everyone. Enjoy the music. Thanks for stopping by and don’t forget to call your mother!
Dntel
Lately there have been all these commercials for the NYC “easy listening” radio station and despite my general aversion to anything “easy” (especially when “listening”), I’ve been fascinated by how calm the woman on the advertisement is. One has to wonder… is it the music? Well I’m not ready to throw in the musical towel yet and so my latest solution to needing a little sonic R&R is going to have to be Dntel. Dntel is definitely not going to make the evening drive line-up next to Celine Dion BUT Dntel is Jimmy Tamborello (also part of The Postal Service and Figurine)–which earns him some cred in my book. His vocals are calmer (and prettier) than Ben Gibbard’s (although BG gets points for style) and the beats are a little lighter and more folky-playful. The end result is that I can’t turn it off. It’s a lovely and complicated melange of bips and tics that also manages to calm and soothe. Interesting. It ain’t easy like I thought I wanted, but it’s just right. As always, some tracks are included here, but the intrepid listener can find the whole album on Dntel’s Myspace page…
The Autumn Defense
Though the season isn’t quite right, these gentle tunes from The Autumn Defense sound just fine on our cool, sunny southeast Michigan mornings. Breezy easy-listening pop pleasure from Pat Sansone and Wilco’s John Stirratt, complete with whispered vocals, organ, strings, horns, and the the spirits of Cat Stevens or maybe Nick Drake. Two of these tracks — and there are plenty more available for free on their website — are from their 2003 release Circles, but a new, self-titled album looks promising. I know I’m a sucker for things that sound this pretty. Are you, too?
Magic Bullets
Writer’s block. That’s it. That’s the only explanation of how I can continue to tap my foot and nod my head on the sixth consecutive listen of “Heatstroke” from Magic Bullets and still not come up with something to write about it. Yes, it’s lame to just write “I like it” about a band/song, but with the pulsing keyboards and snappy drums of “Heatstroke,” that’s all your gonna get outta me. I like it. a CHILD but in life yet a DOCTOR in love is the debut album of this San Francisco band just out on Words on Music. If you must have comparisons, try these from Words on Music: C86, Felt, Gang of Four, New Order, Feelies, Talking Heads, Stranglers, Orange Juice, and the French Kicks. And make that eight consecutive listens!
Taxi Taxi
Sounds like Terence Bernardo can’t make up his mind. “Do I do a gritty, urban groove thing, or a slow piano jam?” Lucky for us he’s undecided. He’s given us both and sure enough there’s plenty more on Taxi Taxi’s debut, Maps and Legends. The variegated styles of Taxi Taxi are a sort of tribute to Bernardo’s kaleidoscopic, adopted hometown of New York City and his friends there who define the city and helped record the album. But music-heads from East to Left Coast will find something to love on Maps and Legends. From the Liquid Liquid-inspired party track “Shoot the Dog…” to the introspective “X Marks the Spot” Taxi Taxi holds all the songs together with inventive production, solid songwriting, and universal themes like love and loss.
Ghislain Poirier
Trying to keep it Francophone here…Montreal DJ Ghislain Poirier has range. His distinctive rebel beats draw from a range of styles — from Ragga to Detroit techno. (Ghis prefers to call his sound “le gros,” as in the fatness, which I won’t dispute.) He teams up with a wide range of MCs, from dancehall toaster DJ Collage to fellow Quebequois Seba. And he’s been called upon to remix a range of artists from Les Georges Lenningrad to Lady Sovereign to some up-and-comer named Jay Z. While these MP3s are nice tastes his best work can be found on his two albums for Chocolate Industries, a label that unfortunately doesn’t provide freeloads. Don’t let that stop you from having a listen (they’re available on eMusic). He also has an album slated for the fall on Ninja Tune.