Category: Music

This week:

The soundtrack to AMC’s Mad Men has finally been released, filled with a bunch of period jewels, a couple of background score tracks, and of course, the wonderful theme: RJD2 and Aceyalone – “Beautiful Mine.”

Going with the hipster vibe for a bit, here’s a track from the sadly now-defunct Montreal acid jazz outfit Kobayashi. Acid Jazz, for those curious, is a relatively new form of the art, mixing jazz, soul, funk, hip-hop and electronica. LOVE this stuff. Kobayashi – “Shasta.”

I’ve recently been re-discovering the album that sparked my headfirst dive into electronic music, back in 1992. I was working at the local NPR station (KANU) at the time, and we would get lots of discs sent to us — mostly classical and jazz, naturally. When we’d get extras, or we’d get a “WTF? Why did we get this?” disc, it would go on the table outside the booth, free for any staff to grab. This album as a clear case of “WTF?”, which left my aging hippie boomer co-workers quite puzzled. There was a sticker on the disc which proudly declared “No Instruments Were Played On This Record.” I listened — and everything changed.

Here are the first two tracks, as I heard them:

Utah Saints – “Something Good.” From a opening sample of the announcer at a Kiss concert, to an entire melody crafted from Kate Bush’s “Wuthering Heights” — this grabbed me.

…followed by a stomper built around a sample of a guitar riff from Slayer: Utah Saints – “I Want You.”

Their follow-up album, Two wasn’t released for 7 years. I’ve got it, but by that point, I was recording electronica of my own, and so the music didn’t have the revelatory power of that first taste in 92.

Canadian singer Anjulie does indie RnB pop in the Duffy/Winehouse/Bitter:Sweet retro vein. She has a full-length debut coming out this year. Her EP, Boom is currently available from all the usual sources. Anjulie – “Boom.”

Lastly, for The Minion, the track from one of her favorite cinematic masterpieces, Nickelodeon’s GoodBurger. Some passable Third-Wave Ska revival from Less Than Jake, fronted in this case by Kel Mitchell’s Spicoli-esque character, Ed. Who can argue with the lyrical brilliance of: “I’m a dude, he’s a dude, she’s a dude, we’re all dudes, Yeah!” That’s deep, man. Less Than Jake (feat. Kel Mitchell) – “We’re All Dudes.”

Enjoy.

The first Friday Music of 2009!

First up, as promised — a track from Zooey Deschanel and M. Ward’s project, She & Him. The album is a mix of folk, pop, and a strangely 70s-style country, with all songs written by Ms. Deschanel with the exception of two covers (Smokey Robinson’s “You Really Got A Hold On Me” and The Beatles’ “I Should’ve Known Better”) and a traditional (“Swing Low, Sweet Chariot.”). Here’s the opening track — She & Him – “Sentimental Heart.”

Japanese Cartoon is the rock/post-punk/alternative side project of hip-hop artist Lupe Fiasco (although “the band” vehemently denies this, saying that he’s only the producer — but it’s fairly obvious that the lead singer, “Percival Fats”, is Fiasco putting on a comically fake British accent). I *LOVE* this track, and I don’t care who’s responsible. Japanese Cartoon – “Heirplanes.”

A track from The Killers new album that was used to good effect in the recent 11th-Doctor-announcement episode of Doctor Who Confidential, played over a montage of past Doctors being heroic: The Killers – “Spaceman.”

For those who liked “White As Diamonds”, which I posted last month, here’s another track from singer-songwriter Alela Diane, proving that the first one was no fluke. This woman’s voice gives me shivers. Alela Diane – “Dry Grass & Shadows.”

Proving yet again that Dave Grohl is a like-minded music geek, the Foo Fighters have done a b-side cover of one of my favorite obscure 80s new wave tracks, originally by The Passions: Foo Fighters – “I’m In Love With A German Film Star.”

Speaking of 80s — Most folks (in the US, at least) only became aware of her after “Nothing Compares 2U”, and the subsequent pope-photo-ripping scandal, etc., but my favorite work from Sinead O’Connor still remains the single from her first album, 1987’s The Lion and The Cobra, which I first heard on KJHK in my freshman year. Sinead O’Connor – “Mandinka.”

Lastly, something curious and wonderful. I read about this guy in Time Out New York — Darcy James Argue is the leader of a Big Band which he calls Secret Society. This 18-piece group’s sound is a mix of Jazz, Soundtrack Score, Funk, Rock, Fusion…nobody quite knows what to call it. They’ve been covered by everything from the jazz press to Steampunk Magazine. Check out the website for more info and more live recordings. In the meantime, give this a listen: Darcy James Argue’s Secret Society – “Ferromagnetic (Live at Le Poisson Rouge).”

Enjoy. If you have problems with the links, try copy-and-paste.

Glad to have you along in 2009.

Still flying off the internet radar, spending time with my kids.

I wanted to drop a quick post, though, and say thank you to everyone who read my stuff during 2008.

Whether you read Adamant releases, or the political posts on this journal that filled the past year, or if you’re just an occasional visitor for Friday Music or random geekery, I appreciate your patronage. Without an audience, I’m just telling stories to myself.

Thank you, and I hope you stick around for some of the things I’ve got coming in 2009.