Best of '07: Half Year | Sweet 16 part 1

The Passion of the Weiss has already compiled his Top 10 For the Half Year. As its about that time of the year, as I've been thinking the same thing as well. As usual, I'd do the conventional top 10 list, but thought I expand it to an obscure number. The Sweet 16 Half Year List (So Far). Timewise, since I don't have the time to write a quick blurb about each album, I'll let the album speak for itself.

A quick recap of previous list, earlier this year-
First Quarter: Best of '07 (so far)

16. Explosions in the Sky- All of A Sudden I Miss Everyone
release date: Feb. 20

mp3: Explosions in the Sky- "Welcome Ghosts"
15. Bjork- Volta
release date: May 8

mp3: Bjork- "Hope"
(YouSend- for a limited time only)
14. !!!(chk chk chk)- Myth Takes
release date: March 6

mp3: !!! (chk chk chk)- "Heart of Hearts"
(YouSend- for a limited time only)
13. Feist- The Reminder
release date: May 1

mp3: Feist- "Past In Present"
(YouSend: for a limited time only)
12. Deerhoof- Friend Opportunity
release date: January 23

mp3: Deerhoof-"+81"
11. The Arcade Fire- Neon Bible
release date: March 6

mp3: Arcade Fire- "Neon Bible"
(YouSend: for a limited time only)

Tomorrow- we crack to the top 10 list...

Today's Brew | Polyphonic Spree

They've traded in their colorful cultish robes for the trendy black militaristic outfits. And waddah ya know, it sorta fits in their whole new album motif "Fragile Army" drops on June 19th.

mp3:Polyphonic Spree- "Fragile Army Mash Up

My Space: Polyphonic Spree
official site: Polyphonic Spree

Second Cup | Queens of the Stone Age

I enjoyed their last album "Lullabies to Paralyze" (2005), and as I crack open this album, thought I share the experience. Here's the first track off their album.
From the album "Era Vulgaris" (release date: June 12th):
mp3:Queens of the Stone Age- "Turning on the Screw"
(YouSend: for a limited time only)




YouTube: QOTSA featuring Bulby- "Sick Sick Sick":


official site: QOTSA
My Space: QOTSA

Today's Brew | Ladybug Transistor

The boys from Brooklyn return with a new album to drop next Tuesday- June 5th.
Visit their My Space to stream some tracks off the new album.

From their self titled album in 2003:
mp3: Ladybug Transistor- "Song For The Ending Day"
mp3: Ladybug Transistor- "A Burial At Sea"

official site: Ladybug Transistor
My Space: Ladybug Transistor

Second Cup | Swift and LCD

Last week was the 7" release of the Kisses For The Misses. And if you've been keeping track, Swift is one of our faves to blog about.

Swift was recently on BBC's Laters with Jools Holland.
Visit here for Richard Swift performs "Ballad Of You Know Who".

James Murphy (LCD) and Swift at the far left
Also, be sure to check out the kick ass performance:
LCD Soundsystem: "No Love Lost" (Laters with Jools Holland).

YouTube: Richard Swift- "Kisses for the Misses"



mp3: Richard Swift- "Kisses for the Misses"
mp3: Richard Swift- "Paisley Park"

official site: Richard Swift
My Space: Richard Swift

Today's Brew | Music Now Festival

This week on...

#50 - The Take Away Shows @ MusicNOW Festival
Uploaded by lablogotheque

Wow, what a treat...

#50.3 - My Brightest Diamond (MusicNow) - Like a sieve
Uploaded by lablogotheque

La Biscotte | Kawaii

(text by Anne)


Le post d’aujourd’hui est un peu particulier… Le groupe dont je fais
partie, Kawaii, a un homonyme norvégien : Kawaii donc. Que j’ai découvert
tout simplement parce qu’on m’a fait remarquer il y a quelques mois qu’il
existait déjà un groupe appelé Kawaii quand nous avons monté le nôtre. Je ne
l’ai pas fait jusqu’à aujourd’hui parce que la démarche me paraissait
ridicule, mais il n’y a pas de raison : le post d’aujourd’hui sera donc sur
le groupe norvégien Kawaii. Sur une base guitare-claviers vintage, ce duo
electro-pop lo-fi introduit quelques notes fantaisistes avec des jouets
d’enfants, des xylophones. On pense spontanément à Stereolab épuré. Leur
premier album « If if shiners, we have it » est sorti en 2004. LE groupe
prépare actuellement un nouvel album sur le label péruvien (!) Plastilina
Records.

--------------------------------------------------

Today’s post is quite parcitular. The band i’m a part of, Kawaii, has a
Norwegian namesake : Kawaii I say. I discovered them just because a few
months ago I’ve been told a band called Kawaii was formed before ours. I
haven’t done it yet since I found it ridiculous, but there’s no reason :
today’s post will thus be about the Norwegian band Kawaii. This lo-fi
electro-pop duo adds fanciful touchs with toys and xylofones to a
guitar-vintage keyboards basis. Their debut album "if it shines, we have it"
was released in november 2004. And they are working on a new album on the
Peruvian (!) label Plastilina Records.

My Space: Kawaii

Mp3: Kawaii – Hugs
(YouSend: for a limited time only)

Evening Brew | Architecture in Helsinki

The kids from Down Under return...with a new album "Places Like This" set to be released real soon...



Architecture in Helsinki - Heart it Races from helsinkids on Vimeo

mp3:Architecture in Helsinki- "Heart it Races"
(YouSend: for a limited time only)

My Space: Architecture in Helsinki
official site: Architecture in Helsinki

Today's Brew | Battles

Battles' Mirrored has been on my music rotation for some time, and its become one of my favorites this year. And to add, "Atlas" being a kick ass video.
P'Folk has Battles on their latest feature of Guest List.
It's funny that they mention that they've been perusing the YouTube site for New Order videos, and as you know, we've been revisiting this band in one form or another.
Check out P'Folk's Guest List feature ovah here.

Our previous entry of Battles ovah here.

mp3: Battles- "Bad Trails"
(YouSend: for a limited time only)
Stream the whole album on their My Space.

My Space: Battles
official site: Battles

Today's Brew | Spoon

Britt Daniels and company return with their new album set to be released in July.

From their forthcoming album "Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga":
mp3: Spoon- "Don't Make Me A Target"
(YouSend: for a limited time only)

From the album "Gimme Fiction"-
YouTube: Spoon- "I Turn My Camera On"


Spoon are playing at a few upcoming festivals around the US. Check out their My Space for the dates.

My Space: Spoon
official site: Spoon

Second Cup | Electronic Part 2

"Certainly a vast improvement from their sophomore effort... what makes Twisted Tenderness so vibrant is how Electronic placated their lushness for more of a moody demeanor, mysteriously similar to the likes of U2's electric distortion found on 1997's Pop." (All Music Guide)

From the album "Twisted Tenderness [Bonus Tracks]" (2000):
mp3:Electronic- "Make It Happen"
(YouSend: for a limited time only)

Today's Brew | Electronic

Electronic is the on-off project formed by New Order's Bernard Sumner and Johnny Marr (The Smiths).
The song "Getting Away With It" also features the guest vocals of Neil Tennant of the Pet Shop Boys.

From the self titled album (1991- US release):
YouTube: Electronic - Getting Away With It

Second Cup | The National

To celebrate the release of one of my favorite albums this year, I'm revisiting a great Takeaway Show video of "Start A War".
Also the boys were on MTV's Human Giant over the weekend- If you missed it like I did, go check it out ovah here.
video: Mistaken for Strangers (live performance)

mp3: The National- "Fake Empire"


The National- "Start A War"

#40.3 - The National - Start a war
Uploaded by lablogotheque

American Mary: The National
My Space: The National

Today's Brew | Monaco

Some folks out there really enjoyed our three day mini retrospect of New Order, upon hearing the news of the break up. So I thought we revisit it again, but this time around, we take a look at one of the side projects, and no it won't be a mini retrospect. Let's just say its just a random flashback.
After New Order's Republic release in '93, Peter Hook embarked on his second side project, after being in Revenge. Monaco was formed-- had more of a poppier appeal with the same feel of New Order.


From the album "Music For Pleasure":
mp3: Monaco- "Tender"
(YouSend: for a limited time only)

My Space: Monaco Song
(not sure if this is an official site or not)

La Biscotte | François Virot

(text by Anne)



François Virot vient de sud de la France, de Lyon. Après avoir été le
batteur de Clara Clara, projet plus expérimental, François Virot s’est mis à
la guitare il y a un an. Bien lui en a pris. Son jeu de guitare survolté et
un chant sincère et écorché font de lui des meilleurs songwriter folk
français du moment, tantôt comparé à Elliott Smith ou… Animal Collective. Et
si j’en parle aujourd’hui, c’est parce François Virot sera en tournée aux
Etats-Unis pendant tout le mois de juin. Vous pouvez télécharger quatre de
ses titres sur sa page MySpace…

-------------------------------------

François Virot comes from Lyon, in the south of France. Drummer of
ClaraClara,François Virot began to play the guitar one year ago. And it was
a great idea. His stepped up guitars and his sincere and tormented voice
make him one of the best french folk songwriter, often compared to Elliott
Smith or… Animal Collective. And if I talk about him today, that’s because
he will be on tour in the US in june. You can download four tracks on his
MySpace page…

My Space: François Virot

Today's Brew | PBJ vs LA

The fine folks at Stone Throws are back again...

For the week of June 10 to June 16, DJ/Stones Throw Records founder Peanut Butter Wolf will be spinning 7 different genres of music in 7 different clubs over the course of 7 consecutive nights, all in Los Angeles.

So if you're in LA, during this week, this is worth checkin'...

Club dates & music styles:

Day 1: Sun, June 10 The Do-Over @ Crane’s Tavern - ’80s early house
Day 2: Mon, June 11 Funkmosphere @ Carbon - ’80s rare soul & boogie
Day 3: Tue, June 12 Cinespace - ’90s hipster ironic badd covers*
Day 4: Wed, June 13 Dub Club @ The Echo - ’70s dub & roots reggae 45s
Day 5: Thu, June 14 The Root Down @ Little Temple - ’80s hip-hop 45s
Day 6: Fri, June 15 Firecracker @ Grand Star - ’70s Afro-Latin & disco
Day 7: Sat, June 16 Funky Sole @ Star Shoes - ’60s deep funk 45s

* I'm laughing at this one.

Anyways, some vintage video of PBJ + Charizma- circa 1992, courtesy of YouTube:
YouTube: Charizma and Peanut Butter Wolf - Red Light Green Light


offical site: Stone Throws

Today's Brew | The Hold Steady

As it seems apparent that June Gloom has settled in the May mornings here in the City of Angels.
We backtrack once again to a release that may have gone under the radar for some. This is off the heels of their critically acclaimed and blogosphere adored album "Boys and Girls in America". Recorded live from an in store performance at Long Beach's Fingerprints Record store back in October 2006.

The band is currently on tour, and will make their visit to El Rey Theatre in LA on May 31st.

mp3: The Hold Steady- "Citrus" (live from Fingerprints)
(YouSend: for a limited time only)

My Space: The Hold Steady
official site: The Hold Steady
Buy the album ovah here or ovah here.

Today's Brew | Jarvis

Backtracking a bit here, I'm revisiting the Jarvis album...and its some good stuff.
The album's been out for sometime- if you count the UK release back in November, and then the domestic release here in the States- just last month.

mp3: Jarvis Cocker- "Baby's Coming Back for Me"
(YouSend: for a limited time only)
My Space: Jarvis Cocker

YouTube: Jarvis Cocker- "Dont Let Him Waste Your Time"


YouTube: Pulp- "Common People" (1995)

Today's Brew | Jaylib

The fine folks at Stone Throws presents a reissue of Jaylib's "Champion Sound" as a deluxe edition. The original release date of May has been pushed to June 12th (tentatively)... As the album is a double disc, the second disc features remixes and instrumental versions of the original tracks. And from listening to one of the remixes, its an album definitely worth waiting.
From the double disc- "Champion Sound":
mp3: Jaylib- "The Mission (Stringed Out Mix)"

My Space: Jaylib

Today's Brew | El- P remixed by CWL

El-P's latest album, I'll Sleep When You're Dead has been out for some time, and I don't think I've written any entries about it yet. In fact, there are a handful of albums that are out now, that I haven't even written about...either they've just slipped past me and I've only recently discovered on my own as being good or just got distracted and totally forgot to write about them. But anyways, I'll do some backtracking now and then, to revisit some albums that I may have missed this past year.
In the meantime, El-P comes to the LA area on May 21st for a show at the El Rey.

And if you haven't already checked this remix by Casettes Won't Listen...here it is, once again.

mp3: El-P- "Flyentology"(featuring Trent Reznor)- Remixed by CWL

My Space: El-P

La Biscotte | General Elektriks

(entry by Anne)

General Elektriks est le projet de RV Salters. Musicien français fan de
vieux claviers vintage, il a lancé General Elekriks juste avant de déménager
à San Francisco. Avec un ordinateur, ses claviers oldschool et un micro
SM-57, il commence à mixer ensemble des boucles, des riffs funky au clavier
et des mélodies aériennes. General Elektriks est devenu un journal musical
qui l’a suivi à Seattle, puis à Bay Area à Berkeley, où il habite toujours.
Ensuite, il a commencé à poser des claviers pour l’équipe de Quannum. Son
album ‘Cliquety Kliqk’ a d’abord été sorti par Bleu Electric en France, puis
par Compost en Europe et par Quannum aux Etats-Unis. Vous pouvez aussi
écouter son tout premier morceau composé pour Genral Elektriks, "Badville",
et d’autres chansons inédites sur son site en vous enregistrant à sa
newsletter.

---------------------------------------------

General Elektriks is the brainchild of RV Salters. A French national and
keen vintage keyboard player, he initiated GE just before moving to San
Francisco. Using a computer, his oldschool keys and a SM-57 mike, he started
sowing together loops, Funky keyboard licks, ethereal melodies and digital
tweaking. GE became a musical journal that followed RV through his move to
Seattle, then back down to the Bay Area, Berkeley, where he currently
resides. There, he started laying keys down for the Quannum crew. His album
‘Cliquety Kliqk’ was first released in France by Bleu Electric, then picked
up by Compost for Europe and by Quannum for the US. You can also listen to
his very first track composed for GE, "Badville" and other unreleased tracks
on his website by registrering to his newsletter.

mp3: General Elektriks- "Badville"

My Space: General Elektriks
official site: General Elektriks

Second Cup | The Autumns

Tonight The Autumns begin their Friday residency at LA's very own Spaceland.
One of my favorite LA bands to catch live.

mp3: The Autumns- "Cattleya"

To stream or download more songs by The Autumns, visit their My Space.
My previous entry about them ovah here.

My Space: The Autumns
official site: The Autumns

Today's Brew | Frida Hyvönen

Frida redefines the concept of elevator music...in an interesting way of course.

YouTube: Frida Hyvönen- "(Behind) Closed Doors"


One of my previous entries about her ovah here.

Today's Brew | EP Doubleheader

A couple of stellar EPs worth checkin' out.

tWO gALLANTS
I'm sure the Frisco boys are well over their whole Houston altercation back in October. Revisit the whole incident ovah here.
They return with the release of an EP to come out this summer.

From their EP "The Scenery of Farewell" (release date: June):
mp3:tWO gALLANTS- " Seems Like Home To Me"
(YouSend: for a limited time only)


official site: tWO gALLANTS
My Space: tWO gALLANTS

----------------------------

A Hawk and a Hacksaw and The Hun Hangár Ensemble
Jeremy and Heather team up with a group of Hungarian folk musicians they discovered at a record shop in Budapest.

From their EP "A Hawk and a Hacksaw and The Hun Hangár Ensemble EP" (limited release):
mp3: A Hawk and a Hacksaw- "Zozobra"
mp3: A Hawk and a Hacksaw- "Ihabibi"

My previous entry about them ovah here.

official site: A Hawk and a Hacksaw
My Space: A Hawk and a Hacksaw


On a sidenote:
The Passion of the Weiss and Straight Bangin have finally compiled and posted the results of The Greatest Hip Hop Albums of All Time according to the Blogosphere.

Today's Brew | New Order Retrospect Part 3

We started Monday with a look back at some of the sights and sounds of New Order.

We conclude our mini tribute with a quick look at their more recent albums:

1993 Republic

After Republic, the group took a hiatus, as each member went their seperate ways to pursue their own side projects. And after 5 years of not seeing each other, the band returned in 1998 and also decided to play Joy Division songs once again.
mp4: New Order- "Ruined in a Day"
(YouSend: for a limited time only)

2001 Get Ready

"Get Ready is a very straight-ahead album, their first work in 15 years that's focused on songwriting and performance rather than grafted dance techniques." (All Music)
mp3: New Order- "Crystal"
(YouSend: for a limited time only)

2005 Waiting For The Siren's Call

"Their most innovative and unified record since Technique. " (Under The Radar)
mp3: New Order- "Guilt Is A Useless Emotion"
(YouSend: for a limited time only)

YouTube: New Order- "Krafty"


RIP: New Order
1980–1993, 1998–2007(?)
For more of their story, visit Wikipedia: New Order

To buy any of the New Order albums, go ovah here.

Mid-Day Brew | Across The Universe

I'm actually looking forward to seeing this movie this summer.
Based on the song by the Beatles...Across the Universe.






Movie Trailer: Across the Universe
(QuickTime)

Second Cup | NPR Concert: Bjork

Today, the new album by Bjork drops officially.
Check out NPR's Live Concert Series of Bjork and Konono No. 1 in concert from this past Saturday, May 5th in NYC. It includes some really cool features and the set list of songs that were performed that evening.
Also you can podcast the whole concert if you missed it, like I did.
And I'm sure the ripped version of mp3s will be floating soon somewhere.

Today's Brew | New Order Retrospect Part 2

We started yesterday with a look back at some of the sights and sounds of New Order.

Growing up in the 80s, I didn't really embrace or appreciate the music of New Order until much later in my life. Perhaps the only songs that really stuck out to me by them were the songs that really made them who they were. Such as "Blue Monday", "Bizarre Love Triangle" and "The Perfect Kiss".
But its around the late 90s, that I started to revisit their music, and began to appreciate the transitional journey they took from Joy Division to New Order.

I forgot to mention their very first album.
When New Order first released, Movement (1981), it was perhaps the closest you'd get to the hybridization and transition from the signature sound of Joy Division (minus Ian Curtis) and what was to be the beginnings of the New Order sound.

Here's a quick look at the albums that followed, marking New Order as one of the prominent bands of the 1980s.

1985 Low-Life

"...succeeds brilliantly, the work of a band at the very top of its game." (All Music)
mp3: New Order- "The Perfect Kiss"

1986 Brotherhood

mp3: New Order- "Bizarre Love Triangle"

1989 Technique

"The first post-acid house masterpiece of British pop..." (All Music)
mp3: New Order- "Round N Round"
(YouSend: for a limited time only)

YouTube: New Order- "The Perfect Kiss (10 minute version)"


To buy any of the New Order albums, go ovah here.

Today's Brew | New Order Retrospect Part 1

It became official last Friday. The inevitable demise of a group that surpassed its longevity from the ashes of its original incarnation- from Warsaw to Joy Division.
The surviving members-Bernard Sumner, Stephen Morris, and Peter Hook.

In a phone interview with Xfm on May 4, 2007, Peter Hook announced that he and Sumner had no further plans to work together, effectively spelling the breakup of the band.

The next few days, we'll take a retrospect look at the band known as New Order by highlighting the sights and sounds.

From their album "Power, Corruption, & Lies" (1983):
mp3: New Order- "Blue Monday"
mp3: New Order- "Age of Consent"
(YouSend- for a limited time only)

YouTube: New Order- "Blue Monday"

La Biscotte | Thee Stranded Horse

(text by Anne)


Les artistes ont leurs lubies. Quand Yann Tambour a découvert la kora il y a
quelques années lors du concert d’un orchestre malien, ce dernier s’est tout
de suite passionné pour cet instrument Africain. Et s’il s’en s’en est servi
avec son projet solo Encre, il vient de le mettre à l’honneur en lui
consacrant entièrement son nouveau projet : Thee, Stranded Horse. La kora,
une voix ou comment Yann Tambour réinvente le folk à la Française.

--------------------------------------------------

The artists have their fads. When Yann Tambour discovered the kora a few
years ago during a Malian orchestra gig, he immediatly fell in love with the
African instrument. And if he used it on his solo project Encre, he has just
created a new one completly dedicated to this instrument : Thee, Stranded
Horse. The kora, a voice or how Yann Tambour reinvent French folk.

Stream the music at his My Space site.

Official Site: Thee Stranded Horse
My Space: Thee Stranded Horse
Encre Site

Today's Brew | Björk

The anticipated album Volta by Björk drops on May 8th, Tuesday.
Quite an extreme departure from her previous album, the new material brings together a mish-mash, if that's even a word, of various kinds of genres, but interweaving this eclectic ensemble of influences ranging from African music to a Chinese lute.
From the NY Times article about her album, she describes the album as a "techno voodoo" album.

From the album "Volta":
mp3: Bjork- "Wanderlust"
(YouSend: for a limited time only)

NPR Live Concert Series will presents Björk live in concert from NYC.
It'll be broadcasted live this Saturday, May 5th-- check it out ovah here.
NY Times interview- Bjork on the Tribal Aspects of "Volta"

official site: Bjork
My Space: Bjork

Buy the album ovah here.

Second Cup | The M + Ms & Richard Swift

Okay, so if you haven't already heard...
Britney is going under the name "The M+M" and touring with her disposable wigs here in good ole southern Cali.

She just did a "secret" show at the House of Blues in San Diego.
She does another one at the House of Blues tonight in Anaheim.
And then another tomorrow night at House of Blues- Sunset Strip...

And then off the viva Las Vegas for another show this Sunday.

----------------

To make up for even mentioning that...

Daytrotter offers up a special SXSW session with Richard Swift, with some songs that will tickle your fancy much more than the sugar gone sour, Britney.
Check it out ovah here.

Today's Brew | Piano Magic

The latest from Piano Magic drops May 21st. Its called "Part Monster".

Stream the title track "Part Monster" at their My Space site.
My Space: Piano Magic

From their EP, "Open Cast Heart":

video: Piano Magic-"I Didn't Get Where I Am Today"

From their 2001 retrospective album, "Seasonally Affective":
mp3: Piano Magic- "The Sharpest Knife In The Drawer"
(YouSend: for a limited time only)
official site: Piano Magic