Archive for July, 2008
Posted today, a video showing the making of the new MGMT video (pronounced M-G-M-T) for their single “Electric Feel”. Check it out if you’re a fan. These guys are playing along with Beck in September at the Aragon Ballroom in Chicago. Get your tickets fast, two shows are already sold out. I’ll be there.
REVIEW
You can take Beck’s latest release (his eighth) to extraordinarily thoughtful levels, or simply for the great piece of music he has delivered up. This may be one of his more mainstream efforts in recent albums, but that does not mean the tracks are overly conventional or unoriginal. If John Lennon was feeling curious back in 1967, and somehow stumbled upon an all-knowledgeable supercomputer which knew past, present, future, and Lennon was to ask it what rock music would sound like in 2008, I really hope the machine would play ‘Youthless’ for Lennon (along with a lot of other things, this is a Beck review).
Beck is trying to make us feel guilty like himself, ultimately for not rallying as a generation - being unable to join against a cause. From our environmental crisis (”with these ice caps melting down/with the transistor sound”), to war and peace, and far into his own dreams of profanity, asking us who’s going to answer them. Beck is full of guilt, he is leaderless, and “youthless”. People, what should we be doing? Answering his prayers? Loving a ‘Gammy Ray’?
Alas, it’s up to you and what path you decide. But choice is only an illusion, Neo. I am going to ask you to make one small choice, though, go get this album and listen to it. From the opening song “Orphans”, Beck will immediately pull you in and it’ll *click*. His efforts are far from extraordinary, but I’ve enjoyed this album. I give it three stars out of four. Its downfalls appear in a few odd tracks that make up his ten songs of choice. You have to choose - Beck wants you to.
I recently got an advanced copy of the new Beck release and I’ve been listening to it for the past two weeks. Never once, on my listen through, did I experience the feelings of “is this track over yet?” or wanting to skip a song. I thoroughly enjoyed the 10 song listen. What Beck is doing in the foreground and the background of his tracks is really interesting. Later this week I will post a full review of the album and give my thoughts. Definitely hunt this CD down if you don’t have a copy yet - it was released physically yesterday, the 8th of July. You will be impressed.
I promised I would post these yesterday, but I got tied up with stuff. So we can make Wednesday the remix day. I’ll try to post a handful of tracks I’m into, every Wednesday, right here. Tell me what you think, what you’re favorites are, or what you hate. This week I am really digging the Boys Noize ‘Lights and Music’ remix. I am a little behind on this one - its been around for awhile, but definitely check it out. Also the Justice remix of ‘Electric Feel’ is out in full glory now. The horns and Fx make the track. Watch for the breakdown at the end. And if there’s any other Cut Copy fans in the house, the ‘Far Away’ remix is great, but it’s kind of a rip-off of what Boys Noize did.
Moby - I Love To move in Here (Crookers Crack Mix)
Cut Copy - Lights And Music (Boys Noize Happy Birthday Remix)
MGMT - Electric Feel (Justice Remix)
Cut Copy - Far Away (Solly remix)
The Ting Tings - Shut Up and Let Me Go (CLASSIXX REMIXX)
Santogold - L.E.S. Artistes (Herve Remix)
Ercola - Follow Me (ft. Annie) (Lifelike Remix)
Cut Copy - Hearts On Fire (Kimono Kops Remix)
Yelle - Ce Jeu (The Twelves Remix)
Yuksek - composer (surkin rmx)
