Provocatively Evocative

Remember Amp Live?

2009-11-11T15:38:00.006-06:00

When Radiohead released In Rainbows, an obscure hip-hop producer unleashed a critically celebrated unauthorized remix album called Rainydayz Remixes shortly after, free of charge. His name was Amp Live and the EP featured guest spots from Too $hort, MC Zumbi of Zion I, Chali2na of Jurassic 5, Codany Holiday, and Del The Funky Homosapien. A cease and desist order almost killed the project, but with the help of blogs and certain relevant cultural ouposts, the project saw the light of day finally as Oakland native Amp Live reached a settlement with Radiohead. You can still download the album free of charge on this web site, if you haven't heard it yet!

This brings us to today's topic, a track that Amp Live issued last spring is brought back into the spotlight due to an amazing remix EP launched yesterday on junodownload. Gary Is A Robot is a hip-hop club banger, with a auto-tuned poisoned chorus. But at least there's a vocoder the rest of the time. It's track infatuated with futurist ideals of spaceships and space travel, aptly reminding me of certain Brooklyn based Kapt10kurt productions. The track also features microphone interventions by MCs Micro Jaxson & Trackademicks. Needless to say the above isn't quite my cup to tea. However a brilliant set of remixes on this new EP rekindled my appreciation for epic scale eletro-house.

San Fransisco's Al Vellila's remix was the first track I listened to and after hearing the rest, it still sticks out as my favorite. It is a track that is ripe with Valérie collective throwback antics. But with MCs. Space age synths and 80s percussive fills carry the track until the galaxy shattering arpeggio comes to punch it up. A guaranteed dance-floor pleaser.

Other highlights include the James Curd remix, bringing a more downtempo approach to this track with an octave skipping bass line punctuated by a vibraphone maintained melody.

MP3: Amp Live - Gary Is A Robot

MP3: Amp Live - Gary Is A Robot (Al Vellila Remix)

Web Site: www.zionicrew.com

Twitter: twitter.com/amplive

Release Date: November 10th 2009

Label: Child's Play

Purchase Link: Juno Download

Watch for Amp Live's solo debut sometime in 2010 called Murder at the Discotek.

Brownstone Megaphone: Nylon Sound

2009-11-09T19:39:00.006-06:00

Sunday I received an e-mail from a certain John Whitlock from Brooklyn who is a talented graphic designer and musician. He self-released an album, Nylon Sound, late last August under the moniker of Brownstone Megaphone. For a self-released project, Nylon Sound is rather impressive. Building a hip-hop foundation, over which, layers of syncopated effect ridden samples make for an interesting listen. Subtle melodies still manage to pierce through the dystopic arrangements on most tracks, however. Giving experimental I.D.M. to the masses, Brownstone Megaphone and his Nylon Sound would fit nicely on the Ninja Tune or Warp Records imprints.

Stream the whole album from his web site: www.brownstonemegaphone.com

Website: www.brownstonemegaphone.com

Label: Self-Released

Release Date: 24th of August 2009

BBC's The Great British Synth Documentary is on Youtube!

2009-11-09T13:41:00.002-06:00

Stumbled upon this somewhere on facebook! This is great, giving us a history of the early days of electronic music and the pioneers who developed what is today such an important cultural movement!

Warp Unleashes Bibio's Next Album

2009-11-05T17:18:00.003-06:00

I'm sitting at my favorite spot downtown Guadalajara with my headphones on listening to Bibio's new album The Apple And The Tooth set for release on November 9th. Bibio, also known as Stephen Wilkinson, was signed this summer to prestigious British label Warp Records, at the same time he issued his 3rd album Ambivalence Avenue. The Apple And The Tooth full length features some new tracks and some reworks/remixes from the last album. A great soundtrack for where I am as the sun sets down and I nonchalantly observe a beautiful girl sitting a few tables away from mine...

Bibio's songs can be melancholic, manic or downright strange. Rooted in downtempo, Wilkinson isn't afraid of displaying his instrumentalist skills in guitar based ambient tracks such as Haikuesque ( The Gentleman Losers' Whispers In The Rain Mix). The first four tracks, presumably the new original material on the album, remind me of Black Moth Super Rainbow, psychedelia done with a Warp Records twist. There are even touches of dubstep bass with breakbeat madness on Steal The Lamp. With all these different flavors, Bibio stands out as a producer that doesn't want to be part of a specific scene, and whose appreciation for a broad range of music permeates through his work.

My favorite track is a self remix of an Ambivalence Avenue track and last on the album, Palm Of Your Wave. It's lush dual guitar intro leads into an unfamiliar dreamscape. Wilkinson's vocals lament over some sampled flutes while rhythmically, only a tambourine echoes on every 3rd beat. Simplistic magic.

To see what I mean, check out the streaming songs on Bibio's Myspace page.

TONIGHT!: MODESEKTOR @ BAR AMERICAS

2009-11-02T15:29:00.002-06:00

Holy Shit! FIELD MUSIC IS BACK!

2009-11-02T15:05:00.002-06:00

One of my favorite bands of the mid 2000s, Field Music, announced a few years ago that they were planning to split up after 2007's Tones of Town. Their jangly, precisely produced, brand of harmony-pop had me hooked. Needless to say, I was left devastated. In 2008, Not even a solo album by the band's David Brewis as School of Language could make me feel better.

Today I am proud to learn via MFR, that the band is back!! LET THERE BE JOY TO THE PEOPLES OF THE WORLD!! FIELD MUSIC IS BACK!!!

Here is an MP3 off their forthcoming Memphis Industries record, due sometime in early 2010.

Field Music - Measure

Technologystolemyvinyl

2009-10-30T13:38:00.002-05:00

Technologystolemyvinyl from Steve St.Louis on Vimeo.

Big up to my Winnipeg brethren on this nice little doc about the changes in DJing over recent years. Here they are stirring the debate over Vinyl and Serato. So which one is it?

L.A.'s LOW END THEORY Club: Where IT is Happening

2009-10-29T15:12:00.007-05:00

Lately my passion for cutting edge music has brought me to L.A. where, unknown to me, there are amazing things happening in music. I was already familiar with the works of the likes of Flying Lotus and Daedalus, but what I discovered was something that went much deeper than those two. They, along with many others, are part of a scene of forward thinking artists that are truly exciting and bringing everything we know about music to the next level. Here I will examine WHO and WHAT is going on at the Low End Theory club that is central to this scene, and why a pilgrimage, so to speak, will be of utmost necessity to those who seek to be enlightened by true visionaries. These creators are taking a syncretic philosophy to their music, destroying boundaries and trends (mainly propagated by their distant east coast Brooklyn hipster types), making music that fits no specific temporal reference, genre or system of beliefs.

Why not start by talking last night's CD release party at the Low End Theory Club by a duo long in the coming, Jogger. Their album, This Great Pressure is a creative tour de force. Annihilating everything every boundary you can imagine, by summoning a monster list of genres and influences, glitch, hip-hop, drum and bass, metal, indie-rock, electro, guitar solos, folk, psychedelia, with vocal harmonies to top it off. Hard to imagine until you hear it, obviously.

The duo is composed of Amir Yaghmai (violin, guitar, vocals) and Jonathan Larroquette (laptop, controller, vocals) and signed on to non other than Daedalus' new label Magical Properties (part of Alpha Pup Records). They mark another step in to the burgeoning L.A. scene and in the process unleash one of this year's best records!! A must hear for anyone ready for the mental and emotional assault that is Jogger. Get it at boomkat and read Shiloh Urban's review at Glitch.fm!

Now let's talk about the motherfucking Gaslamp Killer. I started listening to his mixes back in September and only yesterday saw the guy's live clips on youtube. Wow. I have a new hero. His mixes are dark and contemplative, very brilliantly orchestrated with elements of kraut rock psychedelia, dubbed out electro, swedish rock ( DUNGEN!!!), funky hip-hop breaks, and other obscurities. Just when you recognize the track, KAPLOWWW, next! He also knows how to scratch his needles!

All in all, I was immediately a fan. His live act takes these concepts a step further. He becomes a monster, taking lead of his crowds like a King before his royal subjects, or maybe more like a King Buffoon. You be the judge. Needless to say, he does "slay his audience" wherever he goes. Sticking to no formulae, his live mixes take on the shape of a mutating radioactive monster, summoning old classic rock, juxtaposed with some bassy garage-dub, and so on, all the while going absolutely apeshit behind the turn tables. He is a master and I am his humble disciple.

In a recent interview given to Fabric London, GLK had this to say about the L.A. scene:

We in LA are at the beginning of the road with this beat shit - there is gonna be a lot more stuff coming out of LA in the future - everyone is inspired & excited & competitive as hell!

Excellent. I look forward with glee, GLK!! HAIL!!

Obviously, I have only scratched the surface of who is involved here. I hope you are now curious enough to go discover who else is doing what!!

Bless.

Happy Birthday!

2009-10-27T17:28:00.005-05:00

Over the few last weeks, a few important record labels have celebrated the ever evolving existence of their catalogs and progression of their respective scenes, with delicious compilation albums. This is to hoping these outfits keep thriving and prospering!

BPitch Control was founded by prominent Berlin based DJ Ellen Alien in 1999. This year, after over the years launching the careers of Modeselektor, Apparat, amongst others, the label celebrated its 10th anniversary with a string of parties throughout Europe ending the 8th of August at legendary Berlin club Berghain/Panoramabar. Two months later, the label issued a 10th anniversary compilation with old and new contributors. This is more the celebration of the great Berlin scene that BPitch and associates have been part of. Check boomkat for tracklists and purchase link.

The label that brought us so many epic albums from Boards of Canada, Autechre, Aphex Twin, The Born Ruffians, Grizzly Bear, Broadcast, LFO, Squarepusher, Flying Lotus, !!!, Prefuse 73, Nightmares on Wax etc, Warp records, is celebrating it's 20th birthday by issuing a monster of a box set with insanely sick content. Get all the gory details on their web site. Highlights include a 2CD compilation of Warp artists covering each other (sick!) , called Recreated, and fans also had the chance to vote on Warp20.net for the tracks they wanted to see and hear, which composes the content for the Chosen 2CD compilation. Buy some Warp 20 releases at boomkat.

Hyperdub is a London based dubstep label formed by Kode 9 himself in 2004. After receiving accolades from The Wire, Pitchfork and Mixmag over the years, this month the label celebrates its 5 five years of existence with a heavy duty compilation featuring the many artists it has worked with over the years:

*32 TRACK DOUBLE CD PACKAGED IN CARTRIDGE-STYLE CASING INCLUDING CLASSICS, NEW, EXCLUSIVE, RARE AND PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED MATERIAL FROM BURIAL, COOLY G, ZOMBY, KODE 9, DARKSTAR. FLYING LOTUS, JOKER, IKONIKA, THE BUG AND MUCH MUCH MORE....

That's right. Some of the most celebrated garage/dubstep artists of recent years, all in one.

Check boomkat for more in details, tracklist and purchase link!

Thank you Bpitch Control, Warp and Hyperdub for all the great music! As the vulcans would say, "LIVE LONG AND PROSPER"!

New Music Madness

2009-10-27T15:05:00.008-05:00

Yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah I'm wired on coffee, sitting at a small bistro downtown Guadalajara, semi distracted by the parade of gorgeous girls strutting by... oh I'm excited about, well, mainly alot of new boomkat postings. Seems like it's become my main source of listening lately as I explore the darker ends of the very wide electronic music spectrum, steering away from convention and certain party lines very much alive, and blindly enforced, throughout the blogosphere...

Fuckpony - Feel The Love

I have to admit, I really like the name of this project by American ex-pat Jay Haze. Issued on Berlin based BPitch Control (home of my favs Moderat, Modeselektor, Kiki, Telefon Tel Aviv, Ellen Alien, etc), this album delves in minimal house territory, often flanked by the warmth of crispy synths and vocal samples. If properly used, there are some great dancefloor friendly romps here, like the 5th track, Orgasm On the Dancefloor Saturday Night. Nine minute epic I'm Burning Inside builds up into a synth arpeggio climax perfect for for when you have your special someone within arms reach... you know what I mean, ladies. Steer away from the two tracks that feature vocals from Chela Simon, however. I find her voice unfit for such an experiment, and the tracks very mediocre.

All in all, if I played a house dj set, I would definitely include a few of these special very original tracks, as minimal as they may be.

Label: BPitch Control

Web Site: http://www.myspace.com/mylittlefuckpony

Release Date: Oct 2009

Junk Culture - West Coast

Rather short, but oh so very sweet, this new 9 track project by a certain Deepak Mantena on Illegal Art offers an unpredictable hip-hop odyssey into the obscure. Cut. Copy. Paste. Overlay. Repeat. STOP. Restart! This album is one ever expanding adventure in sample land that keeps listeners on the edge of their seats. Boomkat compares this to the hip-hop version of The Field, a comparison I have to agree with. Oh, and it's no coincidence that Illegal Art has already published works by the likes of Girl Talk. But the samples here are not popular songs, or they may be, we just don't know it. Samples are so skewed and rapidly collaged that you barely have the time to analyze; what is actually going on?

Of West Coast, Illegal art says:

On “West Coast,” Deepak's samples are all run through a handheld recorder that gives his constructions a gritty lo-fi loop-based sound, mixing fractured vocals, pop hooks, and an overall euphoric warmth.

Explains everything!

Label: Illegal Art

Web Site: http://www.myspace.com/nojunkculture

Release Date: Oct 27th 2009

Weekly Playlist: Oct 22nd

2009-10-22T16:17:00.008-05:00

What follows is a brief preview of the ear tickling goodies that have been inside my head lately.

Said The Whale - Islands Disapear

This Vancouver based 5 piece writes songs that are fun, pop oriented, Canadian indie rock. The new album is a nicely produced little dandy of a project, that should propel this lesser known band to higher levels of prominence, hopefully. Check em out live as they are currently on tour across Canada.

Label: Hidden Pony Records

Web Site: www.saithewhale.com

Release Date: October 2009

Pablo - Turntable Technology

When I found out this guy is the hands behind Butch Cassidy Sound System, it became clear to me that this project a sure shot. Pablo delivers 27 tracks of hip-hop/funk/breaks spanning over 2 CDs, woven with great latin, surf, jazz, etc., samples. Varied production styles is what makes this release so interesting. Surprisingly not on Ninja Tune, where the sound would have been familiar amongst the likes of Coldcut, Amon Tobin and Kid Koala, but rather on scottish electro label SOMA.

Label: SOMA Records

Web Site: www.pabloslab.com
Release Date: November 2009

Fuck Buttons - Tarot Sport

This album is one that delighted me upon first listen. Through the layered noise and heavy percussive production, emerges blissful melodies, like if you could see the dreamscape of endless stars beyond black clouds of terror... Reminds me of The Field with a more progressive line and, well, more NOISE! Check out Daniel Marner's in depth review of this album at The Line Best of Fit.

Label: All Tomorow's Parties

Website: www.fuckbuttons.co.uk

Release Date: ??

Music I Hate But That Everyone Else Seems To Love

2009-10-15T21:51:00.011-05:00

I'm not even going to waste my time with clever intro to this because, fuck it, I don't want to skew the message. Because intros can some times drag on, uncontrollably, like Tool's Eulogy track, droning for three minutes until Maynard finally starts belching out some jesus loving lyrics. In my case, there is no Jesus, but there is droning!! Fuck. I just pulled a Tool. Let's get this over with. Here's music I hate, but that everyone else seems to love. Reader beware: I'm about to take a proverbial diarrhea like shit on some of your favorite bands.

COLDPLAY

Why does everyone love this god damned band? We all remember Yellow, back in 2000. Alot of young, insecure and daft youngsters could identify with this lament(able) song. Like many of my generation, I was once a brief Coldplay fan. But then I quickly got over my insecurities and stopped humming the Yellow chorus because I realized life isn't so bleak after all! Coldplay left my my life as quickly as it entered it!

Or so I thought... Every now and then I would overhear people talking about Coldplay "Oh My GAWD I can't wait to go see Coldplay at the MTS Center in 10 months". Such discourse was becoming way too common. I realized that greater forces were at play here. A quick internet search revealed to me that Coldplay is part of EMI Records, a most powerful music marketing machine. It was clear to me that the opinions of people on the matter were being molded by some powerful Satanic forces, masquerading as the marketing arm of EMI records. Finally EMI had a big hit in North America they could cash in on. Radiohead only appealed to stoners and hippies, but Coldplay really reached the coveted 12 to 25 year-old market, composed mainly of girls. Wallets of EMI leadership and EMI stockholders rejoice!

After the Yellow album, Coldplay's sound deteriorated with every new release. Up to the point where they are today. Even the legendary Brian Eno, the producer of last year's Viva La Vida can't make them sound good. Not even learning from Latin sensation Ricky Martin, a close relative of Chris Martin, by naming their album 'Viva La Vida' can save their faltering relevance.

Luckily for Coldplay, teenagers and insecure single girls in their twenties still love them and I'm sure they will keep polluting the airwaves for years to come.

THE DEAD WEATHER

This band of merry mercenaries proved to me that rock and roll is as dead as it was in 1970 when I recently saw them in Mexico. This band is composed of boring, uncreative types that out of the blue decided to record an album at Jack White's studio. Jack White would this time play the drums, but when he would get up and go to the mic to sing a song, the crowd made sure to go apeshit, because "oh my fuck it's Jack White!". The people going bat-bonkers, obviously, were the 90s leftover crew I was surrounded by. They had long greasy hair, baggy jeans and Led Zeppelin t-shirts.

The Dead Weather represents exactly what their name suggests, something that is DEAD. Power-chord driven drivel pseudo-rock, which is far too 90s nostalgic and executed so poorly they could very easily be compared to your local cover band which for the first time since their beginnings in the early 90s, record an album of originals. Years of covering Rage Against The Machine, Alice In Chains, The Foo Fighters and Everclear would ultimately have a huge impact on their sound and would end up sending the 200 copies of their album straight to the bass player's parent's basement, where the whole experiment would soon be forgotten.

But NAY! This band has Jack White and a couple other jack-offs from other failed experiments such as The Kills, Queens Of The Stone Age and The Raconteurs (don't even get me started on this crap!). SO IT MUST BE GOOD RIGHT!? Such a line-up will blur the critical senses of most easily influenced and gullible human beings. So as a result almost everyone I Know loves this band, even though it sucks way more than The Raconteurs.

Daily Political Commentary: Tory Gulag

2009-10-15T00:05:00.007-05:00

Every day, things happen. It's true. For example today my friend Mario came over and we had some brews. Not a joke. Things also happen on the polluted political landscapes of America and Canada. It's not pretty folks. When something happens, there's usually mud slinging involved. I, am here, to set the record straight.

TORY LOGO ON CEREMONIAL FEDERAL GOV CHEQUES

The Story:

Federal opposition MPs are taking aim at the ruling Conservatives over the appearance of their party's logo on ceremonial cheques at funding announcements.

An oversized $300,000 cheque was handed out last month by Gerald Keddy, Conservative MP for South Shore-St. Margaret's in Nova Scotia. The money, from the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency, is for an upgrade to a rink in Chester, a community in Keddy's riding.

(via cbcnews.ca)

I read this CBC report earlier today and was quite frankly left disturbed by the comments left by CBC readers. Even though these are 'ceremonial', I think people have a right to be concerned that the government of Canada emblems are being replaced by Tory logos. Ethically, this is unacceptable. Instead the comments section turned into a partisan bickering festival, skewing the fundamental issue in the process. Seems like Canadians are becoming more and more polarized like our neighbors to the south.

What's next? Tory logos on our military uniforms? That's a scary thought.

HEALTH CARE REFORM PLAN WILL BRING RUSSIAN GULAG'S TO AMERICA!

A few days ago, Rep. John Shadegg (R-AZ), unleashed the truth about health care reform in USA on the floor of the House of Representatives:

SHADEGG: You know, it occurs to me, and I’ll go through these other scandals very quickly, but what we’re really getting here is we’re not just getting single-payer care. We’re getting full on Russian gulag, Soviet-style gulag health care [...] It appeared in last Friday’s Wall Street Journal. You can Google it. You can pick up the phone and call Kim Strassel. You can ask her about Soviet-style gulag health care in America, where powerful politicians protect their constituents.
(via thinkprogress.org)

HOLY BATMAN! Russian style gulags??? Really???? Gulag's had health care? wait a minute... THIS MAKES NO SENSE!

It is getting more and more obvious that the corrupted members of congress are willing to go to any length, even if it makes them look like complete morons, to curb health care reform.

After "death panels" and many other lies, this comes as "a new low" for opponents of the proposed legislature.

yikes.

2009-10-13T21:47:00.002-05:00

"I swastika Obama", what does that even mean? Really.

(Thank you Think Progress for the pic)

CNN FACT CHECKS AN SNL SKIT AND FAILS IN THE PROCESS

2009-10-13T13:41:00.010-05:00

As the Huffington post reports, it all started with a certain Saturday Night Live sketch where Fred Armisen impersonated President Obama.

"There are those on the right who are angry. They think that I'm turning this great country into something that resembles the Soviet Union or Nazi Germany, but that's just not the case. Because when you look at my record it's very clear what I've done so far and that is nothing. Nada. Almost one year and nothing to show for it."

Arguably, the Obama joke has some truth in it. But one must remember that SNL is a comedy show. You can't really argue with satire. Instead, CNN spent the later part of the weekend probing these serious allegations, fact-checking, if you will. Meanwhile, CNN correspondents and pundits regularly invent facts and pull numbers out of their asses. Now, a real journalist would know enough about the subject matter to be able to respond to falsehood with facts, in other words, fact-checking. But nay! Instead viewers are treated to a shooting gallery of misinformation, while hosts and so called journalists simply sit there, in the glory of their self inflicted blind stupor.

Retribution came swiftly in the form of an 11 minute Jon Stuart rant on the following Monday. Epic. Watch it here:

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart

Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c

CNN Leaves It There

www.thedailyshow.com

Daily Show
Full Episodes

Political Humor

Ron Paul Interview

This indeed represents the sad state of journalism in America, when a comedy network talk show hosts blows the whistle on the failures of one day, Fox News and CNN the other.

Which label is putting out the best music lately?

2009-10-07T12:47:00.005-05:00

With the constant bombardment of music I willingly subject myself to on a daily basis, I decided today to study which labels I listen to most, based on the quality and originality of their roster.

Paper Bag Records (Canada)

Why not start with Canadian underdogs Paper Bag Records, which have been pushing Canada's best for years, but seem to have taken a more important role recently. For me, Amon Tobin and Joe 'Double Click' Chapman's Two Fingers project has been heavy on rotation, especially the instrumentals EP that was issued September 8th. Dope dub d&b fused hip hop breaks. More recently, Montreal's CFCF is issuing his hotly anticipated debut LP Continent on October 27th. This one promises to be jammed packed with psychedelic space disco jams that would make The Junior Boys bow in shame. Otherwise recently, the label also issued the new You Say Party! We Say Die! album, XXXX, and is also charged of taking care of Sweden's italo disco Queen Sally Shapiro in Canada. Other honorable Paper Bag roster members include Woodhands, Stars, Fembots, The Acorn, Winter Gloves, Rock Plaza Central and Slim Twig!

Moshi Moshi Music (UK)

The U.K. is home of some of the most cutting edge music in all fields. Moshi Moshi embodies the above statement in all aspects of the artists they sign. This summer I was lucky enough to catch the 10th Year Anniversary tour of Moshi Moshi Records in Montreal at the Sala Rosa. Incidentally, they had three of my favorite summer of 2009 Moshi Moshi bands performing. First up we had The Wave Pictures, a rock 3 piece featuring David Tattersall's low frequency falsetto, giving it somewhat of a trademark sound. Second was my favorite two piece band so far this year (with their album Yeah So released in June), Slow Club, a husband/wife creative duo singing about a variety of love related topics over his reverb infested accoustic guitar and her stand-up drum percussion madness(a recipe for something beautiful). Last but not least, Norwegian party music specialists, Casiokids, put up a solid closing performance. By that point I was pretty drunk and dancing to these clowns and their electro funk, with guitars, synths and high pitched vocals. I left the venue that night with a Casiokids T-Shirt on my back. There were only about 40 people at the show, clearly because no one distributes these bands in Canada yet, meaning that there is no press or marketing on them in the region.

Those are but a sample of the great depth featured on the Moshi Moshi roster. James Yuill's album last year, for example, was one of my favorites, featuring electro acoustic pop that rivaled Jose Gonzales and Fink. Otherwise, other bands worth mentioning from the Moshi Moshi roster are... Late of the Pier, Kate Nash, Au Revoir Simone, Fanfarlo, Hot Chip, Friendly Fires, Florence and the Machine and Architecture in Helsinki!

Labrador Records (Sweden)

Indie-pop is not better represented in the world than by Labarador Records. Through their solid roster of varied sounds, they've established themselves as a house hold name in quality. This year, important releases by The Legends, The Radio Dept. and The Sound of Arrows only reinforced that fact. Not to mention the signing of Little Big Adventure 2010 looks promising as twee pop veterans Club 8 are set for a release in April and a The Radio Dept. LP to follow this year's EP.

So there you have it. Notice I ignored American based labels? That's because they all get enough press already. Keep reading pitchfork media to stay in that mold...

Hey Youtube: Why should Barack Obama be impeached?

2009-10-03T13:17:00.005-05:00

Obama and Osama at Michelle Obama's birthday last year. Two thumbs up!

As a guy that seeks to understand as many point of views as possible, I decided earlier today to ask youtube a difficult question.

Why should Barack Obama be impeached?

Perhaps I made a mistake by asking this. Because it revealed a world built on fringe ideals that teeter, often, on the brink of pure hate and madness.

At least when Bush was there, some people were legitimately concerned as he and his cabinet blatantly lied to the world about WMDs in Iraq. But who says new President says new reasons to cry IMPEACH!!!

Let's dive right in shall we? Welcome to the Retard Gallery!

Our first commentary comes from a disgustingly obese southern guy who clearly fits our stereotypical redneck cliché. He is angry today. Very angry. Because Obama apparently plans on banning chewing tobacco. Here is a hilarious remix of the original youtube video. Beware however as chewing tobacco for all those years clearly has created some sort of cancerous ball of hate in his throat, something he is trying to unleash in this very video!!

Yikes. This guy, like many other fear mongers out there is quick to deface Obama as another Hitler. The health care reform bill will contain provisions similar to the Nazi T-4 program.

What is the Nazi T-4 program you ask? Well Hitler was ok with killing off those his staff deemed unworthy of life, and those who didn't have the right "racial hygiene". Clearly Obama is trying to do the same thing. He hates white people and gas chambers are coming to hospitals near you! Because only good genes should prevail in this overpopulated world! Come on! Who actually believes that! Lunatics of the far right, that's who. Obama has many faults, don't get me wrong. But I think that maybe we could engage in a real debate over these issues instead of smear campaigns and propagating hatefully lies.

But there is no end in sight. The whole conservative movement is sponsored by those who invest hundreds of millions of dollars in public opinion shifting operations, those who control the Hospitals, Health Care Inssurance companies and Big Pharma, all of whom who wish to keep the status quo; profits at record high.

Meanwhile, America remains the laughing stock of the rest of the developed world.

As a closing statement, make sure you get your IMPEACH OBAMA T-Shirts from the Impeach Obama Store, before the novelty runs out!!!

Jupiter One: Sunshower

2009-09-11T01:37:00.006-05:00

Needless to say, those of us who have somewhat lost faith in indie rock will breathe a sign of relief as they hear Jupiter One's sound...

This is more than your average 80s tinged love affair. There are no odes to The Smiths, The Jesus and Mary Chain, Sonic Youth or anyone else traditionally associated to indie rock!

Jup goes the length and offer a rather unpredictable sound. Sometimes they venture the same way Go Music Go has recently gone, reviving the arena rock sound of the 70s but with 'indie' aesthetic, which is perhaps the most surprising aspect of their music. They aren't afraid of the opposite end of the spectrum, though. While most of the album seems to ride a high energy dragon of calculated arrangements, the two end tracks offer a more mellow sort of campfire experience. This only goes to show that this band is versatile and dynamic, instead of keeping to one formula.

Kudos to them for their brilliantly composed and orchestrated album, which has in a sense, reinstated my faith in indie rock, by breaking tradition and barriers set forth by their peers and certain members of the press...

Jupiter One - Flaming Arrow

Brooklyn's Jupiter One is set to release their sophomore album "Sunshower" via Ryko on September 15th and are scheduled as opening act for Regina Spector across the US starting September 24th.

CFCF! Album details and new single; Monolith

2009-09-09T10:16:00.008-05:00

Montreal's very own ambient synth disco king will drop the follow up to his acclaimed Panesian Nights EP on October 27th via Paper Bag Records . Continent will feature 12 tracks of carefully crafted atmospheric gems.

"For the songs on this album I usually started with an idea in mind of a specific atmosphere I wanted to convey," says Silver. "That atmosphere, whether it was something hazy, nostalgic, otherworldly or unsettling, was always the first thing to come to a track. The songs range from mid-tempo nu-disco to balearic, house to ambient. Often the basis of the atmosphere was culled from films by Werner Herzog, Michael Mann, David Lynch, and David Cronenberg as well as countless musical influences including Arthur Russell, Saint Etienne, and Tangerine Dream."

Before Continent however, CFCF plans to unveil an EP called The Explorers featuring label mate Sally Shapiro. This one comes to us October 6th!

CFCF Continent Track listing:
1. Raining Patterns
2. Big Love
3. Invitation to Love
4. Summerlong
5. You Hear Colours
6. Monolith (right click, save as)
7. Half Dreaming
8. Letters Home
9. Break-In
10. Come Closer
11. Snake Charmer
12. Half Dreaming Reprise

The SWINE FLU: PROVOEVO Answers your F.A.Q.s

2009-04-28T13:07:00.004-05:00

The Swine Flu is the newest hot pandemic everyone from People Weekly to Rolling Stone to Men's Health are talking about. To shed some light on what all the hype is about, the PROVOEVO panel of experts have been answering your questions over the last few days. Finally, after much passionate love-making, here is the fruit of their labour.

What can I do to stay healthy and avoid contracting the virus?
You can't. The swine flu virus does what it wants when it wants. It's as simple as that. If the virus wants to go shopping for super hip New Balance shoes at the mall, it will.

Where does this virus come from?
It comes from pigs? WRONG. It comes from a bird/pig/human hybrid. So far no sightings have been reported. If you see this birdpigman, you should _________ .

Is it safe to eat pork?
No. It is never safe to eat pork. Ever. Just go look at where those things are bred and you will see that the is absolutely no reason to support that disgusting industry.

Hmm, I just got an idea for a porno

Is there any type of vaccine that exists for this virus?
No. It is however reported that many experimental curing methods are being developed in Mexico. Some researchers have been infiltrating a local pig farm, living amongst pigs to learn their ways. One researcher claims to have made out with a female pig. No one wants to believe him, but we all know it's true.

Can my computer get this virus?
A few cases have been reported in Russia where the swine influenza virus jumped from a human to his laptop computer running Windows Vista. This caused the system to become even slower and crappier than usual. The owner ended up surviving, but his laptop did not. Only a few computer fatalities have been reported as infections are not widely reported.

A possible vaccine??

What are the known symptoms of the swine flu?
The swine flu symptoms are like any other flu. So be very afraid peoples of the world.
Coughing, diarrhoea, nausea, soar throat, abnormally long farts, loss of appetite, etc
I think I had this last week.

What do I do if I think I might have the swine flu virus?
Remain calm. Never panic. Stay home and sleep. I think I might do that today even if I don't have the swine flu. Precautionary measures! Also, drink alot of water. Wait a minute, this is starting to sound like any flu treatment. Taking care of yourself! Perhaps this is just an elaborate scheme to teach us all good hygiene, part of the Hygiene awareness week!

I think the message the swine flu is trying to send us, is that we've lost respect for our hygiene.

"The LORD is my light and my salvation- whom shall I fear? The LORD is the stronghold of my life- of whom shall I be afraid? The Swine Flu, that's whom!"
Psalm 27:1

And the winners are...

2009-03-29T15:01:00.004-05:00

Thanks to some liveblogging via twitter and cbcradio3.com, we pretty well know who won the important awards at last night's Juno Private Gala, the banquet event where they give out most of the Juno before the lights and cameras of the Sunday night major label wank fest. Here is my analysis of what transpired.

The Stills somehow managed to go home with two Junos, one for best new band (yes, laugh all you want, I sure did), beating the over hyped Beast, the best band of the year, Plants & Animals and Crystal Castles. They beat Plants & Animals (+ Fucked up, Black Mountain and Chad Vangaalen!) again for best Alternative record of the year.

For the best Dance album of the year, Toronto's uber electro champion Deadmau5 takes the cake. No surprise there after a quick glance at who he was up against.

Winnipeg's Chic Gamine wins the best roots and traditionnal album by a group. A huge surprise considering the group's indie status, as they were up against the mighty Duhks and Elliot Brood. We anticipate an epic bidding war between rumored mega indie label Rounder Records and other interested parties to begin shortly.

Since there is no Electronic focused award at the Junos, DJ Brace ended up being nominated for best instrumental album of the year, up against a strings quartet, an innuit throat singer and an instrumental rock band from Vancouver. He ends up taking the prize in what some people couls say was a *huge* upset. Sarcasm. Big up to the Balanced Records crew!!

Check the official Junos website for more and cbcradio3's live blog we were all following closely last night. See you next year!

Hi-Fi: The Hype Kiddie Experience

2009-03-12T10:52:00.012-05:00

Hi-Fi Club opened in April 2008 in the wake of the closure of one of winnipeg's best little niche club, The Die Machine and the Collective. Places where Punks, Metalheads, Hipsters alike would gather on various nights of the week to enjoy some live music or maybe some dj performances...

Now this space full of good memories of pleasant times is being defiled by American Apparel on the first floor and Hi-Fi Club on the second. It has brought the CanadInns crowd to the streets of the Osborne Village. We just wish they could stay in the suburbs and leave us alone. But no, now they come inside the Toad to warm up in winter and come smoke on the Toad balcony in summer.

The advent of such a venue has brought upon a new breed. The Hype Kiddies are at Hi-Fi every weekend, sort of into the music, but not really. They blindly follow and create buzz around any event that happens at Hi-Fi. Like Rye Rye for example. Not even Sinden of Herve can make her sound good. She is Kid Sister's retarded bastard child. Yet hundreds of people are believing the hype put forth by these hype kiddies.

The problem is that Hi-Fi has become host to some interesting acts. These shows usually end up sucking because of the clientèle they attract to the club. The Hype Kiddies again lure the CanadInns crew to these events leaving us, music fans, mixed in a crowd that is ripe in alphamale drunk idiots and short skirt bimbo bitches where we might get bottled. The club is now regularly raided by the police. I recently avoided one by 10 minutes. It was the last time I was and will be there.

"The venue all around is bad news. Well for people who care about shit that is. Bar stars who hit it on Friday and Saturday could care less, as long as their dicks get wet"
-Anonymous

by the way, kudos to Fraser, for leaving this place.
.

The Grannys

2009-02-08T21:27:00.003-06:00

"I think the Grammys are nothing more than some gigantic promotional machine for the music industry. They cater to a low intellect and they feed the masses. They don't honor the arts or the artist for what he created. It's the music business celebrating itself. That's basically what it's all about."
-Maynard James Keenan

"While the music industry is doing everything they possibly can to go out of business, can we all make sure to rid ourselves of the Grammys, too? Out of touch old men jacking each other off. ENOUGH!"
-Trent Reznor

Fuck the Grammys!

From The Blog Vault: How I still Hate The Brian Jonestown Massacre

2009-01-31T12:32:00.004-06:00

I posted whats next on December 21st 2006 on my old myspace page. I was going over my old blog posts and found this one pretty funny and is worth reposting here. I also realized I was once, much, much funnier. I'll work on that, promise.
Here it is:

Anton Newcomb is a indie celebrity. He represents the core of the band called The Brian Jonestown Massacre which was propelled to fame by an award winning documentary called DiG!.

This documentary displays Anton Newcomb's extreme lunacy which is expressed every chance he gets. As a result of this documentary, hipsters accross the globe have elevated Anton to a God like status. Some call him a Genius.

I call him a burnout loon.

Don't get me wrong, the music is great. But upon close inspection, the BJM sound is like Oasis with a sitar and without the pretty boy lamentations.

But i'm not here to discredit the band and the music, but rather the raging egomaniac that is Anton Newcomb.
He was once my myspace friend. For the duration of our online relationship, i endured his thousands of bullshit bulletins. But one day, i decided i had enough.

I posted a comment asking him to get off myspace and go write some music.
his response was swift (because he is always on myspace):

The Internet is a VERY SERIOUS THING, according to Anton. He deleted me from his friends list of 36000 friends. Just for me pointing out the truth.

Meanwhile, there are still cocksuckers out there who worship Anton like if he invented ice cream.
Helene is a french twenty-something with pretty eyes and a life of opportunities ahead of her, but she threw it all away when she posted this on Anton's profile:

Hahahahahaha.... <--- That's me laughing Notice how she says Anton can do many things at once? Like writing and rehearsing music and posting lame bulletins every 10 minutes on myspace? I think not. And we need his bulletins? NIGGA PLEASE That's a truck load of cow crap. By the way, there is NOTHING easier than playing guitar and having sex at the same time. I would know. Helene also caught my attention as she posts something on Anton's profile almost daily.
Wow.
Fucking internet freaks.

I'm gonna go kill a baby and rape a cow for you Anton!
YER A GENIUS CAN I SUCK YOUR DICK?

The fact of the matter is that none of these fucking internet idiots are ready to admit that Anton Newcomb is a burned out silly old man. Too many drugs.
His new music fucking sucks, he needs to get a real job. I remember the part in DiG! where Anton says he's gonna take over the world and teach us, the viewers, how to. Anton, if there's anything you've taught us is how untalented and tainted you are by making allusions of grandeur. Anton lives in a world apart from the rest of us.

Ah well, while the internet cocksuckers keep posting some ego inflating bullshit on Anton's profile. You can rest assured, Jdub is here to point out THE MOTHERFUCKING TRUTH.

I am expecting some hate mail for this, however he truth knows no hatred or love!

Kanye is losing it

2009-01-30T16:17:00.002-06:00

A message from kwest on Vimeo.

Holy fucksticks

In other news, come down to support local cats Trompe Le Monde Saturday night at the nefarious HiFi Club.

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