Here we go again, another entry in the relaunch of the Friday Music series… hopefully at some point, I can clear enough late work off my desk to be able to add other content to this blog as well! :)
First up, as I’m sure a lot of you know, Robot-helmeted French electronic duo Daft Punk have a new album coming out soon, called Random Access Memories. The only thing they’ve released so far is a 4-minute Radio Edit of a 7-minute-plus album track featuring Pharell Williams and Chic frontman/bassist Nile Rodgers. They’ve moved away from the electronic synthscapes of their work on the Tron:Legacy soundtrack, and even away from the Vocoder-based disco sound of earlier releases (like “Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger”), into a smooth sound that sounds like a cut from a late-70s Michael Jackson album. Daft Punk – “Get Lucky (Radio Edit)”
Another sneak look at an upcoming release: Alt-RnB vocalist Kelis (she whose Milkshake Brings All The Boys To The Yard, and who Hates You So Much Right Now, ARRRGGHHH!) is about to release a new album called FOOD, and the advance single, a catchy electro-influenced track with some autobiographical lyrics, also features a gastronomically-influenced title. Kelis – “Jerk Ribs.”
Jumping back in time, we land in the 80s, thanks to Jesse Slicer, a friend of mine who mentioned this earlier today on Twitter, and set my mind on a loop. A lot of folks enjoy the cheesiness that is “The Warrior” (“Shooting at the walls of heartache, bang-bang.”), but I’ve always preferred this — I love the synth riff that runs through it, and the synth solo. I miss solos in general, actually. Scandal – “Goodbye To You.”
I’ve always had a soft spot for songs like that, with a synth through-line. This one, from a few years earlier (right around 79/80) from a UK-based Prog-rock group making its transformation into a pop act, used an arpeggiated synth line almost like a toccata, which I thought was really kind of cool at the time (and I guess I still do): The Alan Parsons Project – “Games People Play.”
The concert for Hurricane Sandy saw Paul McCartney team up with the surviving members of Nirvana, performing a new track which they devised while jamming in the studio. The studio version of the track is appearing on the soundtrack to Dave Grohl’s indie film Sound City, a history of the eponymous L.A. recording studio. Paul McCartney, Dave Grohl, Krist Novoselic and Pat Smear – “Cut Me Some Slack.”
This is a very Florence-and-the-Machine sounding track from the trio being touted as the Next Big Thing in the UK music blogs. The Guardian referred to them as “trip hop given a bit of 2013 spit-and-polish”, and that’s not a bad description. London Grammar – “Wasting My Young Years.”
We’ll close out with another 80s track, because I’m a nostalgic fortysomething. This is, hands down, my favorite track from New Order (and that’s saying something, because I love so much of what that group did). New Order – “Age of Consent.”
There ya go. Enjoy, and come back next week.
