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Thursday, December 27, 2007
christmas check-in...
Did you order one of those vanmega.com audio almanacs? If so, you should have received it by now... CD's went out in the mail about 10 days ago, and those wanting the mp3's should have received an email a couple of days ago (check those spam folders).
Posting will be light (i.e. non-existent) until the new year 'cause I'm in vacation mode, tied up attempting to fuse my bloodstream with German beer and bree cheese. So, if you're looking for a webfix, this might be a good time to browse the archives or download some fake DJ sets (to fill up your brand new ipod, obviously).
If I do come up for air, I'll be posting on the tumblr thinggy. Feel free to follow.
elsewhere
david byrne's survival strategies for emerging artists - and megastars
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Friday, December 21, 2007
adventures in fake dj'ing: all purpose party edition...
I'm about 15 hours away from hopping on a plane and heading home for the holidays. I'm so ready to go. The most best thing about going home is (1) seeing everyone I haven't seen in forever, (2) partying with them. Can't wait.
The music is always tricky at these random holiday reunion parties... you're hanging with all types of folks who like all types of music. So, I've put together a mix that pastes together all kinds of music. There's something for everyone: fluffy pop to old nostalgic stuff to hip hop to indie electro to rock n roll to stuff featured in iPod commercials. The result is about 30 songs beatmixed together in 40 minutes. My favorite part is when Sir Mixalot lyrics get paired with a Strokes riff and a Peter Bjorn & John beat.
Ferreals, if nothing on this mix appeals to you, then you're dead inside and ain't got no dream. Or something.
This is the set list:
Spank Rock - Touch Me
Stars - Elevator Love Letter
P.M. Dawn - Set Adrift On Memory Bliss
Cansei De Ser Sexy - Music Is My Hot Hot Sex
Shabba Ranks - Mr. Loverman
Kris Kross - Jump
The Blow - Hey Boy
The Bird and the Bee - Fucking Boyfriend
Le Tigre - Deceptacon (DFA remix)
M.I.A. - Jimmy
The Arcade Fire - Rebellion (Lies)
Will.i.am - I Got It From My Mama (Break)
20 Fingers - Short Dick Man
Weezer - Island In The Sun
Fergie - Fergalicious
Blur - Boys and Girls
Michael Jackson - Billie Jean
Snoop Dogg - Sensual Seduction
Basement Jaxx - Do Your Thing
Daft Punk - Harder Better Faster Stronger (Baltimore Club Remix)
Justice vs. Simian - We Are Your Friends (Lower East Side Remix)
Feist - 1234 (Van She Remix)
Tegan & Sara - Back in Your Head
Peter Bjorn And John - Young Folks
Sir Mixx-a-lot - Baby Got Back
The Strokes - Take It Or Leave It
Crystal Waters - La Da Dee (Baltimore Club Remix)
New Young Pony Club - Ice Cream (Van She Tech Remix)
Luscious Jackson - Naked Eye
*Download the mp3 here* [53MB, right click & save-as]
Or better yet, subscribe to the fake dj set podcast here. (full details can be found here).
elsewhere
cookies with baconLabels: fake dj'ing, mp3
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Monday, December 17, 2007
quickie: inbox, mark as junk...
You know if you were to use HOB press releases as your source for Vancouver concert listings you could pretty much assume that no good gigs are coming to town anymore.
Ever.
This is where I link to quinn's blog and swak fer all your concert listing goodness.
elsewhere
pitchfork's top 100 tracks of 2007: a pie chartLabels: concert listings
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Sunday, December 16, 2007
metababble '07...
I've been busy this week compiling and creating the 2007 almanacs. I'm real happy with how it's all coming together. This year's playlist is a bit less eclectic than previous years, a bit more guitar driven. But that's not a bad thing.
Here are two tracks that I think are splendid (yeah, splendid), but didn't end up on the almanac as they didn't fit the flow of playlist:
The Axwell track sounds like parts of every electronic song ever released between 1987 - 1997 (but melted together and released in 2007) . The Pharoahe Monk track is sharp and a contemporary hyper-political take on the original Public Enemy track (he even updates the opening MLK sample!)
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Favorite gig in 2007: Hands down, Daft Punk in Seattle. But 6 billion other people might have already told you that. The New Porno's show with Dan and Niko performing as a full team was gorgeous (in some sort of sweaty, loud, beer soaked sort of way). St Vincent was my favorite "discovery".
The most painful crowd I dealt with this year was at the LCD Soundsystem show at the Commodore. Just because the floor naturally bounces it doesn't mean you're entitled to be a pushy/punchy douche bag... does it?
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Favorite album in 2007: The Apples In Stereo - New Magnetic Wonder.
New Magnetic Wonder is the perfect pop album. The normally obvious 60's influences found on Apples In Stereo tracks are dialed way down and the fuzz is turned up. Everything sounds optimistic, tight, and punchy. Oh and for me, the instances of vocoder, Mellotron, and Hilarie Sidney randomly on lead vocals are just extra gravy.
elsewhere
this is just offensive to lobsters and to rollsLabels: daft punk, mp3, new pornographers, st vincent, vancouver
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Monday, December 10, 2007
1. collect underpants, 2. ?, 3. profit...
Can we please stop the crazy train?! This announcement about Stereogum selling for $5M needs to be deconstructed. Let's review:
- Team 'gum is to flip their equity stakes in to BuzzNet.com
- "a source" values Stereogum at around $5 million
- Stereogum isn't being sold
To say that this is web 2.0 hype would be a disservice to web 2.0 hype. This "deal" is completely illogical. What it actually reads like is this:
- Team 'gum is selling their stake in the site for a stake in BuzzNet.com
- ... but Stereogum isn't being sold
- ... but if we were to sell it, we'd like to sell it for, like, $5 million. Yay!
Smoke. Meet mirrors. No money has exchanged hands here. No gain is realized. This is the blog equivalent of trading baseball cards.
elsewhere
bing boingLabels: wtf
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Friday, December 7, 2007
keep your heart 3 stacks, keep your heart...
Oh hey, in case you didn't hear* I'm engaged now**.
Sorry, off the market. Lindsay Lohans of the world, you missed your chance. Tsk. Tsk.
Me and Tk are ultrapumped about all this. And, no there aren't any definitive plans yet regarding the where or when of the big day. More to come, obviously. But either way, team calgary, when we're home for the holidays we better celebrate it up right (i.e. drinks, rap music).
* Aside from an update in status on facebook and phone calls to our families we haven't actually made any formal announcements. So you haven't missed anything. If there's one thing I've learned over the years, gossip via vanmega travels at lightning speed.
** The actual engagement went down a few weeks ago, but the ring just came in today.
Anyhoo, yay(s)!
elsewhere
tag your iTunes by mood with moody | free stuff!
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Thursday, December 6, 2007
promise: this will be the last talk of robot rock this year...
Have you got yourself a copy of Alive 2007 yet? No, not that torrent of the Japanese release that popped up weeks ago... but an actual physical copy of the real thing? It's a book! A wonderful picture book, that just happens to come with 2 CDs worth of wonderful music.
Maybe it's because I've already heard the disk, maybe it's because I was fortunate enough to see Alive 2007 performed live, but I just can't get over the 50+ photos bundled with the disk. I look at them with the same kind of glee a mother would at their child's baby photos... except, of course, I had nothing to do with creating the band, the show, or the projection screens. But I'm certain that this summer I witnessed something fantastic and this package is a pretty compelling souvenir.
The best part is that while the photos/video clip included with Alive 2007 are great, they really don't capture the energy of the show. Recently, there was a web chat with Daft Punk and someone asked why they didn't release a full video of the show. Their response compared the idea to putting an IMAX film on a postage stamp. I couldn't agree more. And that might be why this disk/book rules so much... it tells the story, but those of us who saw the real thing are in on so much more.
This is the part of the post where I stop gushing and provide an mpthreve sample:
I realize that posting the encore is kinda like showing someone The Usual Suspects right from the part where Verbal leaves the station... but I can't resist, the track is flawless.
elsewhere
Freeload: Shala Esquire's Immortal Movement Radio MixLabels: daft punk, mp3
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Sunday, December 2, 2007
free stuff: the vanmega 2007 audio almanac...
Update: lots of interest in this years almanac. yay! if you want a physical copy, email me by Wednesday Dec 12th. after that, only digital copies are up for grabs.
Here we go, internet!
There's no mixtape this month, instead I'm once again handing out copies of the vanmega.com 2007 audio almanac CD. Think of it as a Christmas gift... but one which doesn't require you to give anything in return.
Just like previous years, the audio almanac recaps some of my personal favorite songs of 2007... it's a mix of bands featured on vanmega and some goodies which have yet to be highlighted. The entire mix is based completely on my subjective criteria, and yes there will be fancy covers again.
There are two formats for this years almanac:
1. via CD, which I'll happily create and mail to you (I'll cover postage)
2. via download (a la the monthly mixtapes, as a zipped file containing mp3's, cover art, etc)
Getting your copy is easy... send me and email at vanmega at gmail dot com. Include these details:
- your real name
- your website address (if applicable)
- your preferred method of receiving the almanac - CD via traditional mail, or digital via download
- your real mailing address (if applicable)
- any other witty banter / comments you might have
By Christmas you'll have a copy of the CD waiting in your mail box or inbox for the holidays. Easy, like a Sunday... uh, whatever.
This offer is open to anyone who has read vanmega between 1 and 620 times this year. Please note... regulars of vanmega who I know, love and will see over the Christmas break, you still have to send an email in order to get a copy of the almanac too.
elsewhere
stir-fried wikipedia | un-classy list, alcohol additionLabels: mixtape
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