Yeah yeah, I know they’ve hobnobbed with Katie Couric on “The Today Show,” that they’re a couple of preteen sisters, and that they’re all the rage these days, but Smoosh are pretty damn good. Let me share something I learned from listening to “Massive Cure”: Asya and Chloe are not scenesters, hipsters, teenstars, or fakers. They’re in this for the music, the very purest motive there is. Sure, there are lots of indie band comparisons, but 12-year-old Asya sings like a 12-year-old PJ Harvey, and 10-year-old Chloe shuffles the drums like nobody’s business. Girl power!
Quantazelle
I remember the 1984 Olympics here in Los Angeles. At least one of the bike races snaked around my friend Donald’s neighborhood in Laguna Hills. We went. Our view was a section of straightaway; it was as exciting as watching ice melt. When I was living in Salt Lake City, a couple of real nice fellows bribed the IOC into bringing the games to town. I set 2002 as my goal to leave Utah, a chance to move home and to avoid the hoopla that was sure to follow. I met my goal three years early… All of this as a preamble to say that “Braking (Hushed)” sounds like it could be the Olympic theme song if mankind is ever transformed into robots. That, or a really great remake of the Tron arcade game soundtrack. Speaking of arcade games, I swear there’s a Marble Madness sample in “Stereofoam.” I hope Quantazelle enjoys arcade games as much as I imagine she does.
Kid Lunch
People ask me where we come up with all the good stuff we post on 3hive. It’s hard to explain except to say that we sometimes seem to benefit from some sort of collective stream of consciousness. To wit: spring springs in Detroit, which reminds Joe of Hayden’s music; Joe posts Hayden, which reminds Eli of Kid Lunch who is a Canadian colleague of Hayden’s; Eli drops us a note about the Kid; I like the name and download some tracks from his 1999 self-titled debut; I like them enough to download the entire thing (it’s available for free on his website); I scrap together a post which says nothing about the music itself and voila! It’s just that easy! Kid Lunch may be in semi-retirement — his last live gig appears to have been in 2002 — but his sonically diverse album holds enough promise to leave me wondering if/when he’ll return with more good stuff. In the meantime, let’s see what kind of associations this post triggers… The suggestion box is open.
Spoon
So nice to have Spoon back in the mix. Dig the thick groove and soulful vocals on “I Turn My Camera On,” a cross between Prince and Gang of Four. How can that be bad? Not much more booty-shaking on the album (with the exception of “Was It You?”), but lovely nonetheless.
Quasimoto
Songs about potheads always get me listening for the same reason songs about gangstas do: because I ain’t one. And coming from somewhere near Oxnard, California (word to anyone who’s never been there: the name don’t sound street because the city ain’t), I’m betting Quas, the heliumized alter-ego of Madlib, isn’t a gangsta either. But the man can freak a funky beat like the shit was in a blender set to Negativland. Don’t worry if you don’t smoke the doob — Quasimoto’s doing enough for all of us.
Hayden
Yes, it was 70+ degrees yesterday in southeast Michigan, and yes, my daughter was playing in the sandbox in the park in short sleeves and no shoes or socks. Yes, the crocuses are in crazy bloom, and yes, the daffodils are ready to break free at any moment. The melancholy trio of songs below are for all of you who know, like me, that it will surely snow one more time this year. (Hayden is Canadian, after all. He knows this to be true, too.)
The Cars Are the Stars
Kicking off like The Notwist’s “Pilot,” “Helikopter” starts with the sparse kit and then takes a deep breath. There is beauty in the silicon: mixing Mogwai, Boards of Canada, The Merkin Dream and even a pinch of Postal Service. This is one of those tracks I’ll listen to over and over and over and in three years when I hear it again, I will be reminded of this time in my life.
Citizen Bird
I’m normally a patient guy. I coach a soccer team of sixteen 3-5 year olds for crying out loud. But I get impatient in two areas: waiting for new albums to come out, and waiting for my rare eBay purchases to arrive. We here at 3hive just love the Swedes; in fact, I’d expand that to all Scandanavians. In the midst of Sam’s Swedish shoegazing frenzy this past week, I finally lost patience in waiting for the new Citizen Bird album to come out before I put them on 3hive. (Plus, I didn’t want him to beat me to them, cause you know, that happens here at the 3hive; insults and fisticuffs have been know to fly.) I’ve read anywhere from spring 2004 to spring 2005 for the release of their sophomore effort. While Swedish but not exactly shoegazers, they do follow in the footsteps of Loop, Suicide, Spacemen 3, Stereolab, and the Stooges, with their throbbing rhythms, pulsing Farfisas, and fuzzy guitars. That should hold me over until the album finally comes out. Now if I could only do something about the USPS…
South Ambulance
That Sambassadeur post sent me on a Swedish shoegazing spree. That’s right, a spree. In case you doubt there is such a thing, I present you with South Ambulance. Also Swedish, also shoegazerly. When their press frequently references Ride, The Jesus and Mary Chain, and Television Personalities (and I’d add Galaxie 500 just to sweeten the deal), you know you’re in for a dreamy, melancholy treat.
13 & God
Remember the old Reese’s commercials? A woman holding an open jar of peanut butter turns the corner and runs into a man with a chocolate bar. “You got your chocolate in my peanut butter!” Tragedy is avoided when the two taste their happy accident. 13 & God is just as happy an accident. Formed when German glitch-popsters, The Notwist, and No. Cal.’s avant hip-hop duo, Themselves, were stranded while touring Canada. With time to kill and a penchant for collaborating, well, they made beautiful music together. On this track The Notwist flavor is dominant, but I expect Doseone (Themselves) a bit more on the mic for the album. “Two great tastes that (surprisingly) go great together.”