Friday Music

New Scissor Sisters!!! I’ve been sitting on this one since downloading it last Saturday, and there were several times this week when I thought about doing a special weekday music post just so I could share my enthusiasm for it — the Scissor Sisters have a new album coming this September, called “Ta-Da”, and this is the first single from it. I am ecstatic to report that it’s just as brilliant as the tracks on their self-titled debut, and that they’ve maintained the “every cool sound from the 70s put into a blender and time-machined into the 21st century” feel of their music: Scissor Sisters – “I Don’t Feel Like Dancing.” Ironically titled, dontcha know, because hearing it, I do. I really, really do.

A double-shot of Japanese hip-hop for : These are two tracks from the Japanese group The Teriyaki Boyz, produced by (and featuring as a guest) Pharell from the Neptunes. They both appear on the soundtrack for “Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift” — a movie which I have not seen, but will probably catch when it comes to HBO or something, if only to jazz to the electro-urban Japanese soundtrack, and to marvel at how the little kid from “Sling Blade” turned into a driver in illegal street races. Teriyaki Boyz – “Cho Large,” and Teriyaki Boyz – “Tokyo Drift.”

Staying in Japan for a moment, here’s a track from the third soundtrack release for “Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex” — and I have to say that I absolutely love the music from this series, maybe even a bit more than I like the actual show. This is the best track from the album, in my opinion: Yoko Kanno (Featuring Gabriela Robin) – “Torukia.”

My recent post about Steely Dan touring with Michael McDonald got me thinking — not about Steely Dan, oddly, but about my favorite Michael McDonald song. It’s a song that he wrote while he was with the Doobie Brothers, and was pretty much the last big single that they had before breaking up and McDonald going solo. I really love this song — I love the poetry of the lyrics most of all: “He came from somewhere back in her long ago….The sentimental fool don’t see…Tryin hard to recreate what had yet to be created once in her life .” The Doobie Brothers – “What A Fool Believes.”

One of my favorite “writing soundtracks” is the soundtrack to “Ocean’s 12” –a very cool collection of retro-sounding caper-film riffs. I actually had the album long before I saw the movie….Unfortunately, this is one of those circumstances where the soundtrack was FAR better than the film. The film certainly isn’t awful, but it wasn’t great…and the soundtrack is brilliant. Check this track out: David Holmes – “165 Million Plus Interest (Into) The Round Up.”

Speaking of retro-sounding caper-film riffs — I’m a big fan of the “Acid Jazz” genre: modern composition that mixes traditional jazz with electronica and hip-hop-inspired beats and sounds. This is a track from 1995, by Ronny Jordan, which features Japanese turntablish DJ Krush (whom I’ve posted before) providing the beats, and a very “finger-snappin’ beat-poetry” spoken word voice-over by Dana Bryant. Very cool: Ronny Jordan (feat. DJ Krush and Dana Bryant) – “The Jackal.”

As a change of mood, here’s a nifty bit of work by the UK band Maximo Park (whose single, “Once A Glimpse”, I’ve posted before). I still haven’t picked up the whole album yet — but, given how much I liked the earlier single, and now this one, I really should: Maximo Park – “The Coast is Always Changing.”

Another one of my favorite tracks by DJ Shadow — and this is one of those where I actually prefer the remix to the original. This remix features Mos Def, whom I’ve raved about on many occasions. DJ Shadow (feat. Mos Def) – “Six Days (remix)”

There you go. Enjoy.