Whoa... whoa... whoa, internet tastemakerz. Can we please stop with all the comparisons of Santogold to M.I.A? Aside from collaborating with the same group of musicians/producers and their mutual love of bad, ill-fitting, 80's inspired neon fashions, they're nothing a like. It's a lazy comparison and it's gotta end. Especially considering how not so great M.I.A's last disk was.
If anything, Santogold's sound is reminiscent of Karen O with hints of No Doubt-era Gwen Stefani (weird, I know). The dancehall/electo stuff that everyone fixates on is fairly limited on her brand new s/t disk. So please get over it, and actually start listening to the album... because it's really good.
Hi, I'm not dead, just exhausted... thus, the temporary lack of posting.
Not sure what's killed me, either JWC 2008 (7 courses of food!), or this nasty flu I'm battling (not being able to hear at all in one ear = awesomeville). Either way, I've got a few mixes, a new mixtape, and bunch of poorly edited musings to post, but for now I nap and you watch Radiohead on Conan earlier this week. I realize that since this clip is over 24 hours old THE ENTIRE INTERNET has seen it 5 times, but I can get over how wonderfully sublime the performance is. Choice.
ZOMG... the first non-cryptic post from Ryan Adams' tumble blog! And, if you happen to be into Mr. Adams' work and the associated folklore, it's real interesting. The post in question offers full disclosure on pretty much all of the gossip that's haunted him over the last half decade or so. Some choice learnings:
I'm kinda fascinated by his blog, it's such a free-form mess of random content that borders on the edge of being an unreadable livejournal. But following it on tumblr is too easy and so even if you're not really paying attention to him, you're paying attention to him. It's actually really good from a (viral?) marketing perspective, though I doubt that's his intent. The few snippets of actual demos for his new solo and Cardinals albums (which are posted for about a day and then removed) sound promising.
Good Lord! Seattle's 2008 Capitol Hill Block Party line up just got announced and it's insane. Already confirmed:
Vampire Weekend, Les Savy Fav, The Hold Steady, Girl Talk, Chromeo, Kimya Dawson, The Dodos, U.S.E., Jay Reatard, Darker My Love, Akimbo, The Hands, Pwrfl Power, The Builders & The Butchers, Velella Velella, Past Lives, Black Eyes And Neckties, The Physics, Man Plus, Little Party and Bad Business, Champagne Champagne, + a bunch more acts TBA.
Compounding the insanity - ticket's are $18 for one day, or $34 for a 2 day pass. So to put this in perspective that's just as much insanity as the Pemberton Festival, but at 1/5th the daily cost. VALUE IN THE HOUSE!
Me and Tk have all kinds of funny jokes. For example, we joke that we're gonna have kids (LOLZ, right?!). Sometimes the joke is teased out... Tk thinks that if we were to have these magical kids, we would have daughters. The idea of raising a girl, of course, scares the crap out of me because (1) I don't get them (women, none of them) at all, and (2) karma. I'm 99% sure our daughter would be hotter than hell and have an affinity to making out with everyone she meets. Super.
Anyhoots, the fear might be gone after seeing this Led Zeppelin cover video. No one told me the energy of a young daughter could be funneled into guitar throw downs that make Dan Auerbach look lazy. I thought it was all pink bows, ballet practice, and trips to the mall. Hahaha, jokes on you now, Tk.
Note to self: stop compiling these tapes on a 4 year old laptop with a +90% full hard drive, you're missing out on a lot of sleep by working on a slow, clunky POS.
Here's this month's tape... starts out heavy with the guitars, then briefly veers off into sublime electro territory, finally ending with some more acoustic stuff. Well rounded and good to go. Sidebar: I'm really enjoying that new Black Keys album.
quickie: REM, National, Modest Mouse at Deer Lake Park presale
Oh, hello. If you're wanting to get in to the REM, National & Modest Mouse at Deer Lake Park presale that starts today head over to ticketmaster and punch in the password "straight" (for the Georgia Straight presale, obvvvs).
I'm not the biggest REM fan (although they were good on Colbert tonight), but I am a sucker for a strong bill and an outdoor venue that's nothing short of paradise on a sunny day.
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