Friday, August 30, 2013

Jam of the Day: Wolf Alice - "She"


Just when you think this band can be pegged, they throw in lots of curve balls. Track "She" sounds like something straight from the Hole/Breeders/Belly mold, all snarl and swirling grunge guitars, until the mid-section when the band suddenly does a 180 and channels in some xx. Mystifying and mesmerizing.

Videos of the Week


Here are the videos that made my week:



Showing that the band is not all dour, sour-pusses, The National show off their humorous side in this clip.



Breezy single from Barcelona dance act Delorean gets an interesting half performance/half complicated relationship storyline.



Dreamy, 80s-esque clip from Still Corners.



Colorful live performance footage is mixed with black and white footage of London street scenes and passersby in this clip for Gold Panda.



Surreal video for TV On The Radio.

Thursday, August 29, 2013

New: MØ ft. Diplo - "XXX 88"


Danish singer MØ previews a track she made with producer du jour Diplo, which finds him more in line with his work for Usher than his work as Major Lazer.

Jam of the Day: Some Minor Noise - "Aeroplanes"


Taking cues from Crystal Castles' brand of electro-pop, but trading antagonism for more jaded climes, Some Minor Noise put together a very infectious blend of wonky synths, dark bass, muted beats, and monotone vocals. The lyrics throughout their work is frequently dark but with a slight dark humor. I love the chorus of this slick track, "Who needs wings when you've got aeroplanes?/Who needs love when you are never to blame?"

Non-Sequiturs


Damn that is a beautiful belly.


Sexy daddy.


Lovely chest.


Grrrr.


Damn, he's bigger than that horse.


Love the downturned nip.


Boing.


Yeah, I just saunter around the gym with a huge amount of weight on my back.


Slyly sexy.


Damn.


Amazing back.


So cute.


Bubba bear.


Drool.


Stretch.


Adorable.


Sexy belly.


Grrrr.


Yum.


Another sexy belly.


Delicious.


Pull those shorts down just a little bit more.


UNF.


Stretch it out sexy.



Wow, that chest.


Those eyes.


Beautiful.


Damn.

I hate listening to a wonderful remix of a song then go to hear the original song and find it's shit.

If someone makes a point of telling you what a good person they are and how honest they are, most of the time they are going to turn out to be neither.

Google it people, I am not your personal information center.


I'd have to agree with that.

Another underrated record is Smashing Pumpkin's Adore.

I can't say I have ever heard a Biffy Clyro song before.

So, Miley Cyrus acted like a hootchie mama at the VMAs. I am so shocked. She is not stupid, she knows exactly what she is doing. She has one of the top singles on iTunes, everyone is talking about her, she is a meme-maker's dream, she comes up in Google if you type in "twerk." She is kind of brilliant actually.

To each his own, but to me, there is nothing sexy about feet.


Yes.

I forgot how brutal 14+ hour work days can be.

Happiness is finally parking in the premier princess parking spot at work.

My partner Andrew's alter ego is called JoJo Snow. You never ever ever want to mess with JoJo Snow.

While it was a funny bit for awhile, I am glad to have ridden myself of having an office nemesis. Sometimes all it takes is just a friendly conversation to make things better. Although it is not likely we will be best friends or anything, it is nice to at least get a friendly hello in the morning.

Until about 5 years ago, I religiously watched professional tennis and couldn't wait for all the major tournaments. Sad to say that I barely watch anymore. In fact, I completely forgot about the US Open being on.


Hee hee.

It is impossible to pick a favorite song or album.

When it comes to finances, I have found that trusting my initial gut instinct is the best way to handle things.

Lush were completely underrated as a band.

I hate car dealers. The entire process is a game to them to see how much they can bilk you out of your money.


This always cracks me up.

Anime porn is weird in its own right, but even weirder when the characters are animals.

You were hot, until I saw the fanny pack.

America just needs to stay out of the Middle East.

I don't think it is necessarily contradictory to pray when you don't believe in a god.


Baby marmoset.  Your cute of the day.

Lyrics Rattling Around My Brain

"Midstep, I changed
Heartburn and chest pains
I've moved, but no sound
We gave up our ground
Called it too late now
We're moving off
Cards have been laid down
We're moving

And I try to hold back
The hundreds of things I have wanted to ask
And I want it so bad so bad so bad
Yeah I want it so bad
When you say my name, the way you stare
You play these games, it's truth or dare
And I want it so bad so bad so bad
Yeah I want it so bad

Chin up, chest out
Feet set, and no doubts
You came and you went
Our time was so ill spent."

BASECAMP
"Emmanuel"

"I am just a copy of a copy of a copy
Everything I say has come before
Assembled into something into something into something
I don't know for certain anymore

I am just a shadow of a shadow of a shadow
Always trying to catch up with myself
I am just an echo of an echo of an echo
Listening to someone's cry for help

Look what you had to start
Why all the change of heart?
Well you need to play your part
A copy of a copy of a
Now look what you've gone and done
Well that doesn't sound like fun
See I'm not the only one
A copy of a copy of a

I am little pieces
Pieces that were picked up on the way
Imprinted with a purpose
A purpose that's become quite clear today

Look what you had to start
Why all the change of heart?
Well you need to play your part
A copy of a copy of a
Look what you've gone and done
Well that doesn't sound like fun
See I'm not the only one
A copy of a copy of a

I am just a finger on a trigger on a finger
Doing everything I'm told to do
Always my intention my intention your intention
Just doing everything you tell me to

Look what you had to start
Why all the change of heart?
Well you need to play your part
A copy of a copy of a
Now look what you've gone and done
Well that doesn't sound like fun
See I'm not the only one
A copy of a copy of a."

Nine Inch Nails
"Copy Of A"

"I can feel the walls closing in
and I don’t want to talk anymore
wish I could quietly slip away
and leave you here with no void
the only reason I stay is to care for you
everything else in me has atrophied
and I am cold and painless now
I want to live but I feel nothing
when can I die, when can I go
when will I be free, when will I know
when can I run – my legs are bound
when can I go, when can I go
was born a blackened seed in the wild
and Inever was a child
I was pulled right out of the sea
and the salt – it never left my body
someone opened me up while I was sleeping
and filled my body right up with sand
I carry a heaviness like a mountain
it forces me to remain
alive and ugly, alive and ugly
alive and ugly, alive and ugly
when can I die, when can i go
when will I be free, when will I know
when can I run, my legs are bound
can I leave here, knowing you’ll be strong without me
they’ll clap when you die
they’ll love you when you’re dead
and they’ll understand
and you’ll be forgiven then."

Chelsea Wolfe
"They'll Clap When You're Gone"

Appealing Things

Tuna tartar
Twisted Dee at Xion
BASECAMP
The early start of a long weekend
Getting things done
Breaking Bad
Pasty Clines at Cowtippers

Annoying Things

DJs who put long stretches of beatless buildups in their sets
People with messy bathrooms or kitchens...hell, people with messy houses
Cuts on your hands, especially your thumbs
Car dealers trying to work against you

Wednesday, August 28, 2013

Criminally Overlooked: Tove Lo - "Habits"


Ok people, here is a new segment I am introducing called Criminally Overlooked. This is for songs that I have been touting that no one (at least in the US) is paying much mind to, and they should be. I blogged about the Icona Pop track "I Love It" over a year ago before anyone here paid attention to it. So here is another song that should be HUGE, and hopefully will be. Swedish singer Tove Lo is like a classier Ke$ha (no offense to her, that is). Please love this song as much as I do. You will not be disappointed.

Jam of the Day: BASECAMP - "Smoke Filled Lungs"


Nashville trio BASECAMP release their self-titled debut EP, which can be downloaded for free here. "Smoke Filled Lungs" is a gorgeous track on the record that blurs the lines between future R&B, pop, and bass music. The narrator sings of a relationship failing, knowing how to fix it, but watching as his lover refuses to do anything about it. His haunted voice at the chorus sings, "It's just a cold visage and the hasty tongues/The hostile breath from the smoke filled lungs/That's why I don't like it here." You feel all the pain and futility seep from his body as the ghostly synths rise and take over his voice. The break at the 3:10 mark is mesmerizing.

Album Review: Franz Ferdinand - Right Thoughts, Right Words, Right Action


Franz Ferdinand
Right Thoughts, Right Words, Right Action
Rating: Grrrr

I will admit that I have taken Franz Ferdinand for granted. After their brilliant debut and their solid, if not slightly similar, sophomore record You Could Have It So Much Better, I tossed them off as another band that would fail to live up to their earlier work. With third album Tonight, it felt as if the band was slightly on auto-pilot, and really only showed true innovation on the bonus reworking of the album, Blood, which featured dub reimaginings of the Tonight tracks. And in the past four year since that record, I honestly forgot about them until they sneakily came out with a trailer and preview track from their latest album, Right Thoughts, Right Words, Right Action. Essentially, it is a back to basics record for the band. Coming in at a tight 35:00 minute run time, it never out stays its welcome and is full of bright hooks and effortless wordplay. There is nothing here in the way of experimenting or drawing outside the lines for the band but, as I have mentioned in past reviews, sometimes playing to your strengths is the right thing to do.

First singles "Right Action" and "Love Illumination" are

Tuesday, August 27, 2013

Jam of the Day: Flaamingos - "She's Never Satisfied"


Ok, Flaamingos are not the most original of bands that is for sure, borrowing liberally from The Cure, New Order, Joy Division, and Echo and the Bunnymen, but hey, when you make songs this hook-filled, who cares. This is complete and total ear candy.

New: TV On The Radio - "Million Miles"


Listen to this new track from TV On The Radio on NPR's website here. It's a different sound for the band, think Prince fronting The National; very soulful yet organic.

Video: Daft Punk ft. Pharrell Williams - "Lose Yourself To Dance"


Here's the sparkly new video from Daft Punk.

Monday, August 26, 2013

Jam of the Day: Nine Inch Nails - "Satellite"


There is an underlying funkiness that permeates a lot of the new Nine Inch Nails record. Standout track "Satellite" practically feeds off it.

Friday, August 23, 2013

Jam of the Day: Jon Hopkins ft. Purity Ring - "Breathe This Air"


This gorgeous track off his record Immunity gets redone with the vocals of Purity Ring's Megan James; to say that the song becomes even more sublime is an understatement.

Videos of the Week


Another weekend is looming ahead, and these are the videos that twerked their way into my heart:



Gorgeously lonely track from Mount Kimbie gets an intimate video treatment.



Trippy video from Soft Lenses.



Night on the town video clip from Pity Sex.



Intense clip from metal band Pelican.


Surreal party clip from tragically named band Diarrhea Planet.



Fun, 80s inspired clip from former Sugababes Mutya Keisha Siobhan.

New: Nine Inch Nails: "Find My Way"


Another track from the upcoming NIN record Hesitation Marks. This track has been previewed during his recent festival circuit. It is a slow-burner.

Thursday, August 22, 2013

Jam of the Day: Roosevelt - "Elliot"


From his upcoming EP Elliot, here is the title track, a blissed out synth pop, guitar number that is the perfect end of the summer jam.

Non-Sequiturs


Yeah Daddy.


Sexy nips.


Baby blues.


Gorgeous skin.


So handsome.


Ripped.


Grrrr.


Lush fur.


Blue collar hottie.


Sexy smirk.


Damn.


Intense.


Woof.


Ginger hottie.


Adorable muscle bear.


Sexy belly.


Nice and lean ginger.


Cut.


Drool.


UNF.


Oink.


I want that chest.


Handsome.


Gutters.


So cute.


So damn hot.


Beautiful fur and cut body.


Pretty much perfect.


Wet sexy.


Yummy.


Almost too big for me, but damn.


Woofy.


Sup?


Cutie bear.


Damn damn damn.


Lovely fur trail.


Woooooof.


Love the beard, hair, and tatts.


Sigh.


Double sigh.


Wow.


Sweet baby jebus he's handsome.


Drool.


Gorgeous body.


I'd watch football in order to look at him.


Furry daddy belly.

I think it is about time I personalized my office some. I have been here over 3 years and there is not one personal thing in it.

The little kitty stickers they have on Facebook are so darn cute.

Eating at chain restaurants in the Atlanta suburbs is completely depressing.


Awwww.

Murphy's Law sucks.

A complete undiscovered gem is Emily Haines and the Soft Skeleton's album Knives Don't Have Your Back.

While I am always very impressed with body builders, I am in no way attracted to them.

Work is so crazy these days that I sometimes I sit there paralyzed because I have no idea what to do first.

It never fails, the minute I think I am kicking ass at work I get kicked in the ass by work.


Me and Andrew to a T.

Beauty is always in the imperfections.

Am I the only one that thinks there should be no talking in restrooms?

I live in Atlanta for the nice warm summers. If I wanted constant rain I would go the Pacific Northwest.

Mark Twain was correct when he said golf was a good walk spoiled.


I'm doomed.

I love just letting SoundCloud randomly play, as it always seems to find the coolest things for me to listen to; today is Maya Jane Coles.

If I have done something incorrectly at work, I will always own up to making the mistake, correcting it hopefully, and moving on from it; however, if it is a technical problem that is causing things to be wrong, I hardly see it as my fault. Blaming me for the glitch is like blaming a flower for the rain.

Witch hazel is amazing.


Hee hee.

I would not be upset if football season was cancelled this year, or any year for that matter.

No surprise, but London Grammar is "touring" the US with no date even remotely close to Atlanta.

Sometimes it would be very nice not to get up for the gym at 4:30 am and not have to watch what I ear.

If I can hear you with my headphones on and office door closed, you are talking way too motherfucking loud.


Your cute for the day.

Lyrics Rattling Around My Brain

"If I think about it
Just don't get me started
The way you begin it
Decides the way that you own it
If I could take off this mask
Will you laugh at me? Will you laugh at me?

Think of the ocean and all the lands
Rise above now, all these conclusions here don't make sense
Are you going insane?

See all the places that felt like home, rise above now
It's an illusion, is it all in my brain?
Am I going insane?"

Porcelain Raft
"Think Of The Ocean"

"I'm seemin' to be a little alive
I'm happy again, caught, caught in time
Expose the daughter of yourself well
Me, I think that you're in her heart

You're the match of Jericho
That will burn this whole madhouse down
And I'll throw open like the wall, not safe
More like a love that's a bot-tle of exquisite stuff, yes

You, yourself, and your father
Don't know, so part in your own ways
You're really both bone setters
Thank you for mending me babies

You're the match of Jericho
That will burn this whole madhouse down
And I'll throw open like a walnut safe
You will seem more like being that same bot-tle of exquisite stuff
Yes, you are the match of Jericho
That will burn
This whole madhouse down and I'll throw
Open like the wall, not safe

You, yourself, and your father don't know
So part in your own ways
You're really both bone setters
Thank you for mending me babies."

Cocteau Twins
"Iceblink Luck"

"Through the haze of my confessions
I see you
And all my intentions lead me
Closer to you
Trouble with attention
I need to laugh
And through my obsessions
See the ways
We come to pass

Breakdown
Painted on my face
Place on me the song I sing
Later when you're not awake
And all your thoughts of me have gone
Away away away

Through the haze of my confessions
I see you
Who lends a hand of mischief
Keeping us fondly amused
Regrets of our deception
Lay on our path
But I would give it all
To be of the mind
We came to last

Breakdown
Write a song to sing
Awake as you fall asleep
Later when you've turned to her
And all your thoughts of me have gone
Away away away

I sit on through
Next to you."

Braids
"Juniper"

Appealing Things

Restaurant Eugene
The return of Franz Ferdinand
Jacques Greene
Portobello pesto pizza
Maya Jane Coles
Phantogram coming back to Atlanta

Annoying Things

Summer fading away
People who have my phone number yet still only contact me through Scruff or Growlr
People who chatter incessantly
Obnoxious Porsche and BMW drivers