Uncategorized – Page 17 – The Designer Monologues

January 22, 2010April 19, 2010

Friday Music

Hey there — here’s this week’s Mixtape of Teh Intarwebs:

First, in honor of my Alive Day (Three years Cancer-free!), I post the following. I really don’t understand this songs effect on me — from the very first time I heard it, the main synth riff made me get all misty. I don’t know why. It has a near-hymnal quality for me. Plus the lyrics (“I’m standing here on the ground, the sky above won’t fall down. See no evil in all direction. Resolution of happiness, things have been dark for too long.”) are very appropriate to how I feel. INXS – “Don’t Change.”

Gorillaz have a new album coming out in March!!! My Damon Albarn fanboy obsession can continue — “Plastic Beaches” will feature guest appearance from people as varied as Lou Reed and Snoop Dogg to Paul Simenon and Mick Jones of The Clash. This is the first single (coming out next week), and features Mos Def and, phenomenally, soul legend Bobby Womack (“Across 110th Street”, etc.). Gorillaz – “Stylo.”

I’ve been playing the hell out of FIFA10 on the PS3. I’m a football fanatic — it’s hardly surprising. Like the previous installments, the soundtrack to FIFA10 is great — a mix of music from all over the world. Here are four of my favorite tracks featured in the game:

From the UK — Alex Metric an electro-pop artist with currently only a non-major-label EP to his name. If there’s any justice in the world at all, his inclusion on the game’s soundtrack will increase his profile and he’ll take off. This track is GREAT: Alex Metric – “Head Straight.”

Another artist with a Myspace page, but no debut album yet. The woman who records as SoShy is French (of Argentine and Russian ancestry), and is currently based in Los Angeles. Enjoy the Wizard of Oz references — this is, at the moment, by favorite track on the game’s soundtrack. I’ll definitely be picking up her album, whenever it finally materializes: SoShy – “Dorothy.”

For The Minion — here’s a group that sounds a bit like a German version of Duran Duran. The only Deutsches Lied in the game — I guess Michael Ballack can go complain to a ref or something. Auletta – “Meine Stadt.”

This is some seriously hot shit from Bogotá, Colombia, and easily my favorite Spanish-language track in the game. Bomba Estéreo – “Fuego.”

So, there you go, kids. Enjoy.

January 8, 2010April 19, 2010

Friday Music

….and here we go: The first Friday Music post of 2010!

We recently finished watching the UK series Misfits, about a group of young offenders in a work crew who get struck by lightning during a strange storm, and develop superpowers. Fun stuff, and some really excellent music as well. The theme to the show, for example, is this track: The Rapture – “Echoes.”

One of the episodes featured a club scene, spotlighting this great example of Grime (the UK’s home-grown electronic/dance-music based variety of hip-hop, which I’ve posted about before): Skepta – “Rolex Sweep (Vandalism Mix).”

Excellent series — give it a go if you haven’t seen it yet.

Track from the Canadian band You Say Party! We Say Die!, from their third album, XXXX, released in late September. Twin Peaks reference, retro-80s sound (seriously — very OMD), and a female vocalist — Sign me up! You Say Party! We Say Die! – “Laura Palmer’s Prom.”

Speaking of retro — for a new year, I’m doing an awful lot of listening to old music. Over the holidays, I picked up a real gem — A 4-CD set of music from the immortal Stiff Records, the label responsible for ushering in the late-70s/turn-of-the-80s post-punk/new-wave movement in the UK. A lot of great stuff on this collection: Elvis Costello, Ian Drury & the Blockheads, Lene Lovitch, Madness… and several brilliant pieces by Stiff’s live-in producer and occasional solo act: Nick Lowe – “So It Goes.”

This is new, but it sounds old — another “super group” has reared its head: Them Crooked Vultures, a three-man jam formed by Josh Homme (Kyuss/Queens of the Stone Age), Dave Grohl (Nirvana/Foo Fighters) and John Paul Jones (Led Zeppelin). Straightforward 70s-esque quasi-psychedelic cock-rock — for example, check out this VERY Cream-influenced track: Them Crooked Vultures – “Scumbag Blues.”

Listening to that reminded me of the very Led-Zep influenced track from one of my favorite “almost-was” bands of the 80s, Zebra. I really expected these guys to be much, much bigger. I still regularly listen to their first album, which featured “Tell Me What You Want”, “One More Chance” and this track: Zebra – “Who’s Behind The Door?”

Lastly, here’s a symphonic metal track from the Dutch band Within Temptation — I have to admit that I have a soft spot for this genre. It’s almost genetically designed to be the background music for the most Awesome D&D campaign EVER! Within Temptation – “Ice Queen.”

There you go, kids. Copy-and-paste the links if they give you any trouble.

More next week….

December 31, 2009

New Year’s Eve

Thinking about endings.

Yes, yes, I know — there is no “year zero”, so 2010 is technically the end of the decade, not 2009. Same argument that got trotted out in 1999. To which I say bullshit, for three reasons:

1) The whole Western dating system is arbitrary as fuck anyway. (I’m looking at you, Adoption of the Gregorian Calendar…)

2) No, there was no “year zero”, but last I checked, we lived through 365 days in 2000, which makes 2009 the tenth year of the decade.

3) There’s no way you’re going to convince me that 1980 was part of the 70s.

Anyway — I have to say that I’m extremely happy to see the ass-end of the “Aughts” or whatever-the-hell-we’ll-end-up-calling-them. It was, all told, a fucking gallstone of a decade.

With some very notable personal exceptions (marriage to , getting my business off the ground, The Minion’s successful launch into college), it’s been ten years of some pretty bad shit — kicking off with a nasty custody fight, then Bush’s election, 9/11, the all-too-rapid dismantling of my country into something nearly unrecognizable, moving away from NYC, the loss of my Grandmother, financial struggles, Cancer, a growing sense of personal and professional stagnation, the economy kneecapping family and friends, and finally the death of one of my closest friends.

Not exactly the best decade ever. Of the four I’ve had, it’s easily been the worst. I’m very much hoping for better.

I feel like we’ve arrived at a turning point — with the potential for either outcome, really. 2010-2019 could turn out to be the decade when the course was reversed and the promise of the 21st century began to be realized, or it could mark our descent into economic and political meltdown, rife with fanaticism and conflict — the 1930s redux. Personally, despite my nature, I’m hopeful. I feel like things will get better — we just need to shake off the dust of this first decade, and move ahead.

I leave you with the following musical tidbits to mark the day:

The first, I’m happy to report, represents one of my Holy Grails, finally found — a track which some of you may recall I’ve been looking for, for AGES. I suspected that I’d finally find it as the year approached, and I was right. Here is the radio single from the soundtrack to the 1984 film, 2010: The Year We Make Contact, one of the only solo works by the Police guitarist to get radio play: Andy Summers – “2010.”

…and, a track which I still think represents U2 at their very best: U2 – “New Year’s Day.”

Thanks for reading, folks, and have a great 2010.