Black Kids - I’m Not Gonna Teach Your BF How To Dance (The Twelves Remix)
Das Pop - Underground (Busy P Remix)
Midnight Juggernauts - Into The Galaxy (Shy Child remix)
The Montanas Roland Clarke - Music Talking (Fred Falke Remix)
The Presets - I Go Hard I Go Home (The Juan Maclean Remix)

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.

Beck - Youthless
Beck - Orphans
Beck - Profanity Prayers

Sebastien Tellier - DIVINE (Midnight Juggernauts Remix)
Cut Copy - Hearts On Fire (Kimono Kops Remix)
Pnau - Embrace (Feat. Ladyhawke) (Fred Falke & Miami Horror Remix)
Van She - Strangers (Yuksek Remix)

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)

If You Can Believe Your Eyes and Ears was The Mama’s and the Papa’s debut in 1966. Including hits like “Monday, Monday”, “Do You Wanna Dance?”, “California Dreamin’”, and “Go Where You Wanna Go”, it is packed with history. I was going through my Dad’s old CDs and I’ve been hooked on this one all week. There’s something about each song that simply fits right with the one before and after it. This debut hit #1 on the Billboard Top 200 in 1966.

I guess enough with the history lesson (thanks to Wikipedia). Since my last post, I’ve been into finding great videos of songs; and with the success of the last discussion I want to make it a weekly thing. Every Monday I’ll feature a live gig video here of something I find interesting.

Well, since I’ve been listening to this nonstop. Here’s a live video of The Mama’s and the Papa’s in 1967 playing “Somebody Groovy”. Because, you know we all want to find that groovy someone. I’m digging those outfits, Michelle Phillips’ vocals, and the drumming. Check it below. (For you hippie haters..Yea, I’ll post some electronic remixes tomorrow).

Album version HERE

The Monterey International Pop Music Festival took place from June 16 to June 18, 1967. Over 60,000 people attended, and it is often regarded as the precursor to Woodstock. LSD was very abundant at the event under the name of “Monterey Purple”.

“Somebody Groovy” live @ Monterey International Pop Music Festival (1967)

Part of my job this summer is driving around to all these properties around Chicago and the suburbs, so I spend alot of time in the car. And, without any blank CDs to make a mix or something, my radio is always on. But I am far from complaining. 94.7 rocks. “True oldies”, all day all night. Good song after good song, with rare commercial breaks. I can’t get enough of this station. I spend most of the time in my car frantically writing down lyrics so I can look up songs later and try to download them.

Here’s some songs and great videos I’ve found thanks to Dick Biondi:

Len Barry’s “1-2-3″ has been stuck in my head for the past week. I’m not upset. I want to find out who that girl is in the cage, where she is now, what she was on, and where to learn how to dance like that.

Spiral Staircase - More Today Than Yesterday
Nothing needs to be said.

The Ronettes - Be My Baby
Everyone was classy.

Vogues - 5 O’clock World
The Vogues are singing to all of us workin’ 9-5.

Looking Glass - Brandi You’re a Fine Girl
Shout out to Kelsey Landis.

Happy belated birthday Sir Paul McCartney. Born June 18, 1942, Paul is now 66 years old and still rockin’. McCartney and Ringo Star are the only half of the ultimate group still alive. George Harrison passed away back in 2001. Both Ringo and Paul still tour and release their own music. McCartney’s latest album, Memory Almost Full, was released last year. It was nominated for 3 Grammys and has gone platinum. If you’ve never really looked into his solo stuff, definitely check it out. It’s actually really good.

My favorite Beatles song at the moment: “Im Down”. The song was a B-side on the single “Help!” in 1965. Many critics have called it “the groups grittiest song in the whole catalogue” - some saying it is a rewrite of Little Richard’s “Long Tall Sally”. You be the judge. There’s some great video footage here from tours in the 60’s.

Beatles are it. Do you hear that organ?

Australia’s psychedelic revolution is underway. In Perth, three guys have come together to form what music needs, rock ‘n roll. Tame Impala’s mission is to play in large, grassy areas and record music in their homes for you to download. Their myspace caption reads, “music to download on sunny days.” Remember Me is just that. Go to their SITE right now and download this song. You. Will. Not. Regret. It. This song has been my favorite morning music for the past couple weeks. I need to send credit over to Ian LeSueur for sending this song my way. See what Mad Decent had to say. Ian is headed to Melbourne this fall to become famous. You should probably add him on Myspace now.

The group is signed to Australian’s Modular records. Founded by Steve Pavlovic, the label has grown quickly since 2004’s release of the Avalanche’s and Cut Copy’s debut albums. Regardless, this group is worth checking out. Follow this sound and really watch for it to spread everywhere. Do you have any tie-dye?

MYSPACE.com/TAMEIMPALA
MODULAR RECORDS