New Prog

Its rare these days to get much innovative music from the analog music world (at least for this cynic anyway).  But this new track Elephant from Tame Impala begs the contrary.  Its not for everyone, but it delights my palate, especially at face rockin' decibels.  Sounds to me like the liquid product of putting Wolfmother, Hot Chip, and ELP in a Blendtec and asking one of life's fundamental questions: 'Will it blend??'

In case you enjoyed that business, here's another. (Which includes a free download.)

EARTHS

I think that overall, there's a generalized disinterest with this blog. This I can understand; for the obtuseness of my posts are certainly unpalatable to most. I think another reason may be the fact that I am personally far removed from most of the content hereof. So I'm going to take this moment, emotionally open up, and share some personal information to the entirety of the cyber inter-spheres.

I love space.

And I don't just mean personal space (of which I'm also a huge fan), but I mean the biggest of spaces. The outer one. Furthermore, I have many'a'fantasies of flight on any and all levels. So you know what would be especially fun? Orbiting the earth on the international space station ...traveling at trouser pooping speeds.

Sunrises, sunsets, city lights, thunderstorms, aurora borealis; you know, such of what dreams are made; all within minutes of each other.



Earth In Motion from Joan on Vimeo.

(Do yourself a favor and enjoy this full screen ...in a dark room ...with headphones.)


Also, should you enjoy this sort of thing, and should you have 38 minutes of life to spare; watch THIS.

ADDENDUM! Original video with sweet techno is NO MAS. Until further notice, Beethoven must suffice:

Yes.

Temporarily Out of Service

So I have been a'slackin' on the blog front, and for that I emit condolences from deep within my bowels. BUT be not exorbitantly dismayed, I have not forgotten ye old blog. 

Through some major soul searching, I have decidedly made a handful of modifications round these parts. First most, you will notice no invasive tunes. This is not to be taken lightly, for it is my greatest pleasure to force unwelcomed music on unsuspecting blog-goers. BUT this being the free country it is, and since you have been set free from sin, you are now free to push play on the player for yourself. Go ahead. Push it. Push the play icon. I know you see it there, why the hesitation? It will not hurt you. At best you can expect good health, a rise in spirits, and generalized life enhancement. At worst, you will experience incalculable suffering through this life and the next. I have strong suspicion it will be the former. For this, I give you my word.


Second most, I have employed a new gaze-worthy picture and new blog title. This is not to say any of the marked quality of this blog will be affected henceforth, for these changes are solely aesthetic in nature and essence.

Grizzly grind by Danieljose X on Mixcloud

Now for this particular post's playlist rundown:

Grizzly Bear is one of the few creative analog bands of our generation. And this new track 'Sleeping Ute' from their forthcoming album attests to just that. It seems to me that they are channeling some prog from times past...

Clark has been featured on this blog many moons ago, and this little synth slammin' track 'Tooth Moves' is not one to be winked at. So it is settled, no winking at this synth slammin'.

'Blue Eyed Bitter' by Aeroc is one of those songs that makes you want to stare indefinitely into the clouds or the stars or anything upward.

This track 'Grinder' by Nitemoves is the very song that this playlist was built around. Goosebumps people. Listen, appreciate, repeat. And FYI: Nitemoves is also the drummer for Tycho on his summer tour.

'5th Stage' by Osborne is an oldie (like sooo 2008) but its a goodie. Inhale this business long and slow, hold, aaaaaand you're welcome.

Then we have a brief but delightful interlude by Dykehouse called 'Sandy Strip' that just fit right on in there, so there you go.

 Cubenx has many'a'good tracks and I encourage you to listen to most of their other stuff as well. This one, 'Grass,' is surely one of my fav's. Mellow and unoffensive, this can be appreciated with indirect listening as background music or direct listening through headphones or the like.

THEN we've got 'The Unknown' by Dextro. This track is dripping with melancholia, one of my favorite flavors indeed.

And finally, 'Melamine' by Geskia! I'm not necessarily excited, the exclamation point is part of the artist's name. This in one of those slow builders and slow faders which is my preferred way to end any mix.


Well that's all for now folks; and maybe for a while yet, as I do not have time to cater to all your wants and needs. My people need me.

Hay...

...listen to this.

Remember the Kooks?  Fun lovin' little indie band from somewhere in or near the UK?  Came out several years ago? Anything? Nothing?  Well, this is a pretty hoppin' reprise of one of my favorites from them 'Naive' done by Jean Tonique.  Its as catchy as the original with twice the pep!  You listen!

Next is Miike Snow's black and blue which has just recently graced my ears.  I guess this album has been out since 2010, but nobody ever told me about it.  Anyway, I find that every time I hear this song, I need to listen to it a little louder than the previous listen; something about that fast little synth-laced hook in the chorus that tickles my fancy every time.  You listen! You listen now!

And then we have us some Santigold.  You may remember her music from the dancing guy at her concert in 2009. But this song is much better than that. Its actually a good enough single to make me want to check out any follow up LP.  LISTEN to it! Do it, do it NOW!

Finally we have just a good ol' beaty track by deadmau5 and kaskade called 'I Remember.'

And lastly but not leastly, I tacked on another worthy santigold snippet for your brief amusement.

Therefore, be ye amused.  Did I mention you can download these mixes for increased availability and better stereo options? Did I already mention that? Just making sure...

Man's Volta

Here's the news:



The Mars Volta announces their 6th studio album Noctourniquet due out in March. That's right, sixth album. Where has the time gone.

If you don't know The Mars Volta, let me give you my summary and essentially everything you need to know about them.



Once upon the 90s, the prog/punk band At-The-Drive-In split to form Sparta and The Mars Volta. These two bands (with impressive but very different skill sets) were ATDI's split personalities. Where Sparta went the more convetional rock music route, whereas TMV went uber progressive.

I hadn't heard of TMV, and when I saw them open for A Perfect Circle in 2002 I thought it was ATDI because of their trademark large hair and spastic performing. They were awesome to behold. My compadre, Crispex, made haste the next morning to buy De-loused in the Comatorium their first and greatest LP. It was awesome to behold. For whatever reason, these musicians struck a chord with me. I saw them in concert two more times touring their second and third albums. Each subsequent show was a little less impressive than the previous. I feel like once they got a strong fan base they just released every studio jam session no matter how subpar the track. Jon Theodore was their drummer and I thought he really pulled the band together. (Much like a quality rug can pull a room together.) He got tired of working with ego tripping lead singer Cedric Bixler-Zavala and left the band much to my disamay. Initially I thought that Theodore was irreplaceable, but their next drummer (though not as good a fit for TMV in my opinion) was actually more impressive. Thomas Pridgen (aka 'tha predator') played on The Bedlam in Goliath their 4th album. He is an animal, and awesome to behold. He makes this album my second favorite behind only thier first. Here they are performing 'Wax Simulacra' from said album.





Later Pridgen had a similar experience with the effeminant Bixler and also quit the band after releasing their 5th, Octahedron, which was so unremarkable I almost gave up on them completely. But in the end, I'm a sucker for some new Volta music so I'll be preordering my copy soon. Yes, it may very well be a "listen once then forget about it" type of CD, but I'll have to go ahead and make sure. If thats the case, then this post you're reading will then be an even bigger waste of time. But since you've read this far I'll be honest, I just came across this band image and wanted to post it somewhere, then I thought maybe I should put some words under it.

So these are those words.

Shallow and worthless I know.

Life is short I know.

What are we doing talking about TMV?

For that I have no answers.


Anybody heard news about Tool's new album? I've searched the interwebs and can't find anything but rumors. Proof links anyone? Hello? Anybody still reading this?

Some Goodies

Com Touch by Chris Clark is an exciting little taste of his upcoming album set to be released sometime this year. I would classify it as modern prog synth. Clark has been around since the advent of IDM and most of his music is comparable to Aphex Twin and the like. This song: A+, and as with most electronica, you miss out on 75% of the music when only using computer speakers. (Nudge nudge, hint wink, wink nudge, nudge wink, wink hint, nudge hint, SLAP! Bet you didn’t see that coming.)

The Butterfly Technique by Mux Mool has a sweet break beat that’ll get your head-a-bobbin’. Also includes some very engaging synth work that builds to a subtle yet epic climax. Mux Mools recent release Planet High School is definitely an album worth your consideration. So consider it.

Sonic Armada by Air is one of my fav’s off of their new album “a trip to the moon” aka “Le Voyage Dans La Lune.” I think that a good way to describe this song would be: funky beat with a mad R2D2 solo. Overall, I would say that Air doesn’t have the same depth of emotion that many of their previous albums have, but its still an enjoyable listen if you spotify or find a stream.

Let’s Groove by Teen Daze is one of his most unique songs, in that it doesn’t really fit into his genre of Glo-fi/Chillwave music. (And this genre, by the way, is definitely a sinking ship. Too many uncreative kids are creating this music in their basement and making it very difficult to wade through it all to find the bands worth listening to. Bands like such as: Teen Daze, Washed Out, Teeel, and Brothertiger… speaking of which…)

Next is Evening Glow (Keep Shelly in Athens remix) by Brothertiger who is touring Europe this spring with TEEN DAZE. He also makes some worthy tunes, this is one of my favorites, even though it is heavily remixed.

Lastly, Love out of lust (Saturday, Monday Bootleg Remix) by Lykke Li. Why this you ask? I guess I just tacked it on because, well, I came across it and I liked to listen to it so you should also listen to it because you should also enjoy what I have been enjoying without you up until now. No further questions; have a good day.



And remember:

Clammy echos

Two musical items for which you should take note; both of which are featured in post's mixture.



Firstly: Echo Gardens-

These are some foreigners that have soft melodies that are easily digested by the ears. Nothing complicated. Just nice easy listening. Ironic enough the couple songs I put in this mix are basically their most poppy songs. But hey, they're fun and harmless and they still maintain some of that dreamy texture that characterizes the rest of their music. In short, I'd say they are Zero7 meets Múm meets OK Computer.



Secondly: Clams Casino-

This guy is just your friendly neighborhood beat maker. Originally I rode him off because his choice of rappers was so poor. (I'm sorry but ASAP Rocky? Who likes that crap?) But I later heard the music he makes without the MC's, and me likes. Me gusta muy mucho. I love the lo-fi samples he chooses, the wordless vocals he utilizes, and the overall nostalgic feel of his songs. They are really simple, but so deep at the same time. Perfect for cloudy days. And partly cloudy days. And partly sunny days. And sunny side up eggs. This particular track I have listened too about 100 times (seriously, I have a high tolerance for tracks I like) and have concluded that should I have any say, I'd like to be listening to this song when I die.



Now for specifics, here's the track listing:

Echo Gardens - Step 0:01
Clams Casino - I'm God (instrumental)1:50
An Alien - Monologue 6:17
Echo Gardens - Intro 6:47 /Purple 8:51
Steve Hauschildt - Batteries May Drain 12:17
Radiohead - Staircase 14:20
Professor Penguin - Pilot (Wrigglesworth PSB Edit) 18:10
Stumbleine - Ember (Sorrow Remix) 22:52

Hymn

I asked the Lord that I might grow 

In faith and love and every grace, 

Might more of his salvation know, 

And seek more earnestly his face.

‘Twas he who taught me thus to pray; 

And he, I trust, has answered prayer; 

But it has been in such a way 

As almost drove me to despair.

I hoped that, in some favored hour, 

At once he’d answer my request, 

And by his love’s constraining power 

Subdue my sins, and give me rest.

Instead of this, he made me feel 

The hidden evils of my heart, 

And let the angry powers of hell 

Assault my soul in every part.

Yea, more, with his own hand he seemed
Intent to aggravate my woe, 

Crossed all the fair designs I schemed, 

Blasted my gourds, and laid me low.

Lord, why is this? I trembling cried; 

Wilt thou pursue this worm to death? 

This is the way, the Lord replied
I answer prayer for grace and faith.

These inward trials I now employ 

From self and pride to set thee free,
And break thy schemes of earthly joy, 

That thou may’st seek thy all in me.