Saturday Night Electronic Mixtape

Side One
Oval "Do While (Excerpt)" 94 Diskont 1995
Greg Davis "Nicholas" Arbor 2002
Markus Guentner "Wenn Musik Der Liebe Nahrung" 1981 2005
Autechre "Yulquen" Amber 1994
Mouse on Mars "Frosch" Vulvaland 1994
James Taylor "Break Me or Take Me" Carthage Milk 2005

Side Two
Matmos "Reconstruction" The Civil War 2003
Pedro "Deadgrass" Pedro 2003
Pedro "Lay Down Mega Man" Early Pedro 2005
DJ Koze "Hicc Up" Total 6 2005
Rex the Dog "I Look into Mid Air" Total 6 2005
Juergen Paape "Cream" Total 6 2005

Saturday MP3 #4

Next week, if I remember: something from The Clientele's Suburban Light.

I think I'm probably just now enjoying Animal Collective as much as I might be expected to. It's shocking how versatile Sung Tongs is: I listened to the first half on the dark, rainy busride home yesterday, and then all of it today as I walked around Capitol Hill (Volunteer Park [Observation Tower and Conservatory] and the overlook at the northwest edge of the Arboretum) and it was perfect both places.

The new album, at least what I can tell from "Grass," is a lot more like what I heard in concert last spring. Huge, pounding drums take the place of the acoustic guitar strumming as the base sound Animal Collective is working around. The guitars here, much more in the background, are of the ringing, post-punk, electric variety, and I think there's a short sample of a jet taking off. The vocals are typically insane.

Animal Collective "Grass"

blissblog Going Nuts

Simon Reynolds on why it's weird/bad for so many old bands to be reuniting or to never have stopped touring:

It all contributes to what I increasingly feel is a key issue of our pop time, namely the erosion of a sense of time, of forward temporal propulsion."

Simon Reynolds on the difference between micro and minimal in the techno universe:

There's nothing self-denying, anhedonic, or disciplinarian about Kompact-style microhouse. The word "micro" itself has a whole different tang to it than "minimal", there's no intimation of renunciation or austerity. "Micro" is evocative of exquisitely finessed design features that only the connoisseur appreciates, or even notices. The microhaus aesthetic is much closer to Des Esseintes, the dandy aesthete in Against Nature, than to Foucault's Discipline and Punish; closer to Italodisco's chic and subdued sensuality than to Die Krupps or EBM. Micro's decadence is a new kind that denies itself outright excess or debauchery because that would be in poor taste.

IMG_0404

IMG_0404
Originally uploaded by andy.slabaugh.

Just to show myself that my camera is functional.

Technology

I got my camera back today after it being gone a couple of weeks for repairs. It functions now, but the memory card is having troubles. This is frustrating since the memory card worked when I last used the camera, so I don't know if the problem is in the camera or the card or the combination. I might sort it out eventually.

Today on the way home (listening to the second half of Emergency & I; I decided at least one reason "The City" is so great is because you're expecting loud guitars in the bridge, since it's an unhappy rock song, but instead you get keyboards playing over a groove, and it works!) my right iPod headphone started making rattling noises or something, which I think might give me an excuse to get some new ones, probably with Christmas-related funds, as they become available.

Now, I know you're saying to yourself, didn't he just buy himself some nice headphones? Yes, you are right, and they sound very nice, but they also force everyone else to listen to what I am hearing because of their design. This is okay in my room but not okay on the bus or in the library or basically anywhere with other people in an enclosed space.

On the other hand, I'd love to get a subscription to The Wire, or, alternatively, three to six other magazines rather than a second good pair of headphones.

Not What You Expected

I led you to believe I'd be posting about the DFA remix of Black Dice's "Smiling Off", but then upon listening to it today, I couldn't get excited enough about it to write anything. So instead we have two recent mixes from Doubtbeat first noticed at the seemingly short-lived House Is a Feeling blog.

Andy uses the term "necrohouse" to describe them, and I guess that means spooky, minimal techno. Although I do have something of a fetish for good crossfading and beatmatching, he's not going for that here, and that's okay because there's enough space and similarity in the tracks that they fit together anyhow.

You can download the files from the links at House Is a Feeling, or try his mix page, which is a pretty classy affair, just enough information to let you know what to expect from each of the twelve hour-long mixes. I'm almost inspired enough to put together a mix myself, but probably not for a while.

Sunday MP3

Not at the library today, so I probably won't be posting an MP3. Tomorrow, maybe backdated. Right now I'm listening to Iron & Wine and Calexico doing their thing on KEXP from a performance at the Triple Door. I'll be at the Moore Theatre at 8 o'clock doing the same thing in person.

Also, I didn't realize it, but Tony Scott and Ridley Scott (both film directors) are brothers.

Two movie-related conversations from last night: One, who would you choose to star as the lead couple in a screwball comedy if you were to shoot one today? The second was about why I liked Philip Seymour Hoffman, after I mentioned that I'd see Capote regardless of the quality of the film because I like Hoffman so much. I thought back through the films I'd seen him in, but couldn't pin it on anything in particular. Today I realized it was his role as Lester Bangs in Almost Famous, a film I didn't like all that much, but apparently the Bangs character was good.

Apparently I've seen thirteen films starring Hoffman, although I only remember him in twelve of them. (I only vaguely recall Twister.) I'd guess this would put him pretty high on a list of actors by number of films I've seen them in, although as I see more older films, dead actors are probably moving up the list pretty quickly. They are ranked below by greatness of the film, not specific roles.

1. The Big Lebowski
2. Hard Eight
3. State and Main
4. Magnolia
5. The Talented Mr. Ripley
6. Boogie Nights
7. Happiness
8. Love Liza
9. Empire Falls
10. Owning Mahowny
11. Punch-Drunk Love
12. Almost Famous
13. Twister

Annual Heating Degree Days

This map seems to be a good indicator of how cold different parts of the US are. (Each day accumulates heating degrees by the number of degrees the temperature is below 65 Fahrenheit. Days above 65 get zero.) I ran across it at work the other day, and found it interesting to compare a few different places I've lived. For example:

- Seattle = 5000
- Northfield, MN = 8000
- Wayland, IA = 6200
- Dalton/Orrville, OH = 6500 (my birthplace and ancestral home, more or less)

Of course, you'll be more interested in your own places.

Pop-Hop Ya Don't Stop

I forgot to mention anything about the music from Monday night. Superpitcher was best, because he's a really great DJ and also great at endearing himself to the audience with goofy gestures. I didn't stay to the end of the set, but would have barring time/sleep concerns. Metope was fun in a different way: he used a synthesizer to build his songs (I don't know if they resembled stuff he's actually recorded) and was continually reconstructing the beats. Probably best was the way he'd preview a really complex line, then fade it out and bring up the beats and melodies around it, surprising everybody when the seemingly out of place, difficult line fit right in with everything else. Ada never really looked up from her knobs and dials, and it was a little loud for me, but the last part, which was prettier than the rest, made it okay.

Also, here's that Danger Mouse track I promised. (It's him working with Cee-Lo under the name "Gnarls Barkley".) I'm actually sending you to Cadence Weapon's post, because I think he's still got the MP3 posted, and his blog is about as fun to read as anyone's, not to mention the music selection. He also thanked me in my comments for using one of his tracks in the first mix I did this summer. So read what Rollie has to say, and comment here if the track gets taken down so I can put it up on YouSendIt.

All Music All The Time

I was blown away by not one but TWO songs on the way home today, which isn't really that long, which is why I was so happy about it. Maybe tomorrow there'll be Danger Mouse, even newer than DangerDoom, and Saturday we'll have a Black Dice remix.

Professor Yeti review/column for October.

Although I did go to a techno night a while back, last night felt like my real introduction to the electronic scene here in Seattle (which should have been Decibel, if not for an unfortunately scheduled MVS retreat). It was kind of weird at first, as I was waiting for the show to start, because it seemed like everyone knew everyone else. Even Superpitcher, Ada and Metope were just hanging out talking to everybody who was there. I couldn't really handle it, since talking to people I don't know isn't reallly my thing, but later on I chatted with Metope for a little, struggling to hear him. I also met this guy in a Sonic Boom shirt who told me about Decibel, as well as MUTEK, which he has apparently been to. I told him that I was from Iowa and he mentioned that there were a number of people around from Iowa who go to a lot of the electronic shows, and that he would introduce me to them if he saw me around again.

I've heard this friendliness mentioned a number of times as a reason people prefer techno/dance shows to more taciturn indie rock shows. I'm sure the same is true for folk or any other more marginal genre, but all the same it was very encouraging to see everyone not just enjoying themselves, but doing so very much together. Given my strained budget for the rest of the month, who knows whether I'll be getting out much more until "America's own Radiohead" comes to town Nov 4. Unless Sarah Moody works her magic to get me/us to the Iron & Wine/Calexico show this weekend. There'll be plenty of time for DJs and synthesizers once bands finish up their fall tours.

More Music Notes

Kranky started podcasting, and on the first one there's this ambient/drone piece that sounds a lot like the beginning of TV on the Radio's "Staring at the Sun". I thought this was maybe just me. Then I read on Pitchfork that Lichens, the band responsible for the Kranky song, is Robert Lowe, who is now a member of TV on the Radio. So maybe I'm not crazy. I'll post the track next week, if I can extract it from the podcast and it doesn't sound too low-quality.

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Last night, I was at a Mennonite party (hosted by Seattle Mennonite's new associate/youth pastor) in Lake City, with honorary guest Charles, and we were being treated to what seemed like, for the most part, the greatest hits of our Carleton years: older Gorillaz, "Hey Ya", that one Modest Mouse song everybody went nuts over, etc. In general this seemed to be working well, except for those who'd foolishly envisioned a dance party. Then, mostly out of nowhere, on came "Baba O'Riley". I had to stop talking and just stare up at the ceiling and listen, which caused me at the same time to begin analyzing why.

Charles's perhaps offhanded suggestion, that it was just better than everything else, didn't satisfy me. My theory is that at some point in time I must have REALLY loved that song; although I like it now, it's no more necessary to me than most older rock songs. It's not even one of my absolute favorite Who songs, which probably include several moments on Quadrophenia as well as "Won't Get Fooled Again" and some earlier stuff. More importantly, this would have been during high school, perhaps even during the notably memory-rich end of senior year. It wasn't just that I had to mentally excuse myself from the party to listen to the Who, I also had to, subconsciously it seems, surf back through any and all memories that had somehow been associated with good old "Teenage Wasteland". Kind of like when you're trying to load a large file on the computer and you can't even type in a text editor. Except that I'm mostly human.

Maybe this wouldn't have happened without the cider or the Hefe Weizen, and maybe I was just kind of tired. I don't know. It was kind of an enjoyably odd experience, anyway.

Berlin

This post on life in Berlin, which of course I also linked to from del.icio.us gets me all the more anxious to live outside the US for a while, although there are plenty of logistics to figure out.

Saturday MP3 #2

This is probably my favorite track of the past two months at least. It's one I mentioned in my upcoming Professor Yeti piece, which you're all so excited to read.

When I got the Kompakt compilation a while back, the song I remember hearing about most was Michael Mayer's remix of Baxendale's "I Built This City", but I couldn't quite get into that one. I was disappointed because I'd been fascinated with at least the idea of the Kompakt label for a while, having enjoyed minimal techno in various incarnations and just assumed that microhouse was amazing. Being unfazed the first time through listening to the album, though, didn't shock me because it's rare that I like anything all that much the first time I hear it.

But this song totally owned me. Not so much the beat at the beginning; you get a taste around 1:15 when the main synth line comes in. Then, because it's a well put together song, the synth leaves as the vocal (sample?) comes in. You realize, as good as it's getting, due to both the effects on the voice and the sample, that it's going to get a whole lot better once they're combined. Not that there isn't a lot to love in the meantime, but when it all comes together about 3/4 of the way through, you realize what you've been missing.

Given that Rex the Dog has this thing about pretending that his dog makes the music, or that he's a dog, or something, and refuses to show his face (without sunglasses) in public, or speak on the radio, I'm guessing that it's not him on the vocals, so I worry that I might have a problem disassociating him as an artist from the voice which I like a lot, given that I grew up listening to rock and not techno, but that's neither here nor there.

Rex the Dog "I Look into Mid Air"

LPtJ on Browne

I could've just posted this to my del.icio.us list, but I thought it needed at least a sentence of context: I don't so much care about Jackson Browne's excellence as Darnielle's, since this seems to me a much better post than he's managed for weeks if not months, perhaps the best of the Movable Type era.

Update: if you're in the mood to read single blog posts, see what Defective Yeti has to say about discovering that his child has autism. Generally I turn away when sites (eg. The Morning News) orient themselves too many years past where I'm at, parenting being one example, but this post just stuck with me.

The Anticlimax

By now you think I've got these revelations that came to me during and after last Sunday's rock show at the Paramount. You'd be wrong. Mostly it's that Cut Copy managed to directly reference Interpol and, to my mind, Fischerspooner, while sampling Daft Punk's "Around the World" and just seeming wildly LESS interesting than I thought while listening to "Saturdays" over and over again. The Interpol reference, if you were wondering, was that one of their songs seemed to use the last 30 seconds or so of "Stella..." from the first record.

TV on the Radio wasn't great, but they were exciting. Well, "Young Liars" was great, but otherwise not quite. I really like when Tunde sings smoothly, stretching a little bit from time to time. Yes, just like on "Staring at the Sun". It seemed like he was more into some kind of gospel mode with a lot of jumping around and pointing and sort of yelping. They were trying to do SOMETHING, though, which I thought was encapsulated in the fact that one guitarist and one bassist were staring at their amps the entire time, which especially fit when they were making sheets of shoegazer noise. They just seemed to be committed to doing something artistic or real...

Whereas our friends in Franz Ferdinand seemed committed to, oh, playing at the same tempo all night. Except for the last song in the regular set with three guys on the drumset, it was the most vanilla, boring set I could imagine. It was too loud and hard to understand because of the cavernous Paramount. It was like they were up there to fashionably recreate the songs all the kids loved on the radio and the internet rather than communicate any sort of emotion or create a memorable experience.

In other news, I've been listening to internet radio at work. So far I'm liking WFMU a lot, and I've listened to Radio K, KEXP, KRLX and a few variants of Last.FM, specifically the "Similar Artists" streams for Farben and Colleen (not at the same time), which have worked well. If you have suggestions for internet listening, that is, not MP3 downloading, please comment. I know at least some of you do.

Not As Expected

I was going to write that review of the Franz Ferdinand show, but then I didn't feel like it so I wrote something else. Next post will be about that, then.

I finally filled a page with new links, so here's my del.icio.us collection. It should continue to grow.

MP3 #1

Okay, so I forgot that the track I wanted to post is on my hard drive at home, and I'm not sure it's good to connect my iPod when it can't see much of the music it has, so we're going with the Hollertronix mashup of Snoop & Pharrell's "Drop It Like It's Hot" and the Cure's "Close to Me".

I already wrote about this one: "Both tracks are so spare that you could probably play them at the same time and not notice that anything was wrong. Anyway, the contrast between the ultra-bouncy Cure rhythm and Snoop/Pharrell's sly declarations made me smile like a fool walking for several blocks (walking speed!)."

You've heard both these songs, perhaps too many times, but get over it. Download it by next Saturday, since those are the YouSendIt rules.

Hollertronix "Snoop vs. The Cure"

The word is:

Eponymous

Delicious

If you just happen to be in Seattle, you can get in free to the Local Sightings film festival at any of the screenings starting between 7 and 8 pm. The festival runs through Wednesday 12 October.

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Today's Ed Shepp Radio Experiment on WFMU was a great one. It was about suicide.

I got a free membership to Northwest Film Forum as well as a free screening of The Greenan Tapes, a terrific local production, free beer, free sushi, free Altoids, and a free Seattle history lesson from an odd-looking director type. Charles shared the experience. We then headed down to Neumo's, the site of a Zadie Smith reading, where we ate free cake. I also got, not for free, a ticket to the My Morning Jacket show and a copy of the new album. I didn't listen to the album because we wandered around all evening, but I'm sure it'll happen tomorrow, in a big way.

We've been discussing del.icio.us at work, and I think I'm going to make an effort to post links there regularly. It makes sense because a lot of times I run across something noteworthy, but I don't want to blog just about that, so it gets forgotten. Once I've got a few new things up there, I'll post a link.

YouSendIt

I'm going to start posting some MP3s using YouSendIt. Not today, but when I get to the library again. The only one I'm sure about is Rex the Dog's "I Look into Mid-Air" from Kompakt's Total 6 comp. I'd also consider Sun Kil Moon's "Glenn Tipton" if you haven't heard it. Have you?

If you have suggestions or requests, let me know. This may or may not be frequent, and it may or may not last long, but it's easy enough, and that "Mid-Air" track is a morsel of joy.

Popular Music and Its Consumption

Discussion of corporate music licensing at Mudd Up!

Also, populism vs. genre-ism from Simon Reynolds:

"Music should be precious, not something you channel-surf through."

1.5/3?

I think I'll write about tonight's show, compared to Wolf Parade, as a platform to discuss a number of things related to (live) music. For Professor Yeti, of course. Suffice it to say that I was underwhelmed by each of the bands in varying ways, but TV on the Radio came closest to good, and I wouldn't mind seeing them again. To expound would be to ruin my future essay.

Taxes

Stephen Lewis, ex-Carleton president, wrote an op-ed piece for the Star Tribune about the "immorality" of low taxes for the rich at a time of necessarily high federal spending.