Jam of the Day: DJ Rashad, MoonDoctoR & FreshtillDef - "Angel Dust"

Off their upcoming collaborative LP WTF!, DJ Rashad, MoonDoctoR & FreshtillDef showcase this track, with its mesmerizing programming and intoxicating synths.

Videos of the Week

Snowmaggedon is slowly fading from Atlanta. Here are the videos that kept me safe and warm:



Stylish, cool video from St. Vincent.



80s movie inspired clip for the funky jam from Chromeo ft. Toro Y Moi.



Adult Jazz put out this cryptic clip for their single "Springful."



Moonlit, desert shot clip from Jagwar Ma.



Hallucinatory video from Trust.



Musical spouses Dean Wareham and Britta Phillips star in this sleepwalking themed clip from Hospitality.

Jam of the Day: Francis Lung - "A Selfish Man"

Shimmering first single from former WU LYF bassist Tom McLung.

Non-Sequiturs

Beefy chest.

Lovely nips.

Amazing body.

Yum.

Rough trade.

Sexy face, killer body.

Beautiful.

Woof.

So damn hot.

Lots of fur.

Beef belly.

Gorgeous.

UNF.

Sexy smirk.

Total beef.

I need some construction work done.

Handsome.

Can lift heavy things.

Sexy in repose.

I cannot eat peanuts without dropping them all over the place.

There are now two hot gingers that workout at my gym in the morning. Makes it very difficult to concentrate.

I am not a bath person. It grosses me out that I am basically wallowing in my own filth.

I bought some new Calvin Klein pants that sort of look like black jeans but are a more snazzy fabric and cut. I do have to say I am rocking them.

Mr. Burns has a saying fit for every occasion.

Oddly enough, even though I write a music blog I do not watch nor do I care about the Grammy Awards.

When I was an associate at Greenberg Traurig, I used to work for the Grammys, doing their trademark work. I will say, they were the nicest group of people to work with.

Hearing other people's horror stories about their bosses and co-workers makes me appreciate my job even more.

Attraction will always be subjective and, in some cases, completely unexplainable.

It's the small details in a relationship that matter.

Once again it was Snowmaggedonapocalypse here in Atlanta again. Lots of people trapped on the highways in their cars for hours. A total mess. The picture above is of North Avenue, which is next door to my loft. It is a complete sheet of ice.

Good thing is I have been home from work for the past three days. We ventured out on Wednesday to the grocery store for provisions, came home and made chili and homemade vegetable soup.

Last year was the first really difficult time I had with my job. Not that I had any specific issue with work I was doing or with anyone at my office, it was just that there wasn't a lot of work to go around, and I found myself with a lot of free time. And with the changes concerning my position with the firm, we really felt set adrift with no captain, so to speak. At this moment, I don't even have a boss. It's very disconcerting.

With that regard, I am making some changes with my career soon. Not exactly sure what they will be yet, but am going to do something.

I was telling a friend the other day that these changes, whether good or bad, are simultaneously making me giddy/excited/happy/nervous/anxious/terrified.

Hee hee.

My beard has gotten to a thickness level where everything I eat and/or drink winds up in it.

While I have really enjoyed American Horror Story: Coven this season, even I have to admit the screenwriting and direction of the show have truly been off the rails.

Your cute for the day.

Lyrics Rattling Through My Brain

"All you see you don't want to see
but can't seem to avoid
When you're trying to be right
On this stress has life where,
you don't seem to care
And you're making the motions
to peal away as to why you're here

All that is countless moments
last of countless thoughts
Trying to figure me out,
never seemed to come around
'Til I got to that part of you that's ME

na na na na na na na na na na na na na na na na na na na na

I need more now I want more now
And I'm in Heaven I'm in Heaven now!!
You're so golden I'm so golden now
I want more now I want more now!!

Looked at the moon tonight
I can't get enough
Your hands as they start to touch
Why can't I get enough
So lie down, lie down

na na na na na na na na na na na na na na na
(you are so beautiful)
na na na na na
(you are so beautiful)
na na na na na."

Warpaint
"Teese"

"We're decadent beyond our means, we've a zeal
We feel the things they'll never feel
They're solemn in their wealth, we're high in our poverty
We see the things they never see

Wanderlust
With us, the world feels voluptuous
I just feel more, with us
It's a feeling that I've come to trust

Now that you answer to me
I'll tell you how i want to feel
Now that the walls have been broke
I'll tell you how I want to feel

Wanderlust
With us, the world feels voluptuous
I just feel more, with us
It's a feeling that I've come to trust

It's a feeling that I've come to trust
It's a feeling that I've come

Don't confuse me with someone who gives a fuck
Funny how that little pound will buy a lot of luck
Don't confuse me with someone who gives a fuck
In your mother tongue, what's the verb to suck?

Don't confuse me with someone who gives a fuck
Funny how that little pound will buy a lot of luck
Don't confuse me with someone who gives a fuck
In your mother tongue, what's the verb to suck?

Don't confuse me with someone who gives a fuck
Funny how that little pound will buy a lot of luck..."

Wild Beasts
"Wanderlust"

"I'm thinking it over
The way you make me feel all sexy but it's causing me shame
I wanna lean on your shoulder
I wish I was in love but I don't wanna cause any pain
And if I'm feeling like I'm evil, we've got nothing to gain

What if I never even see you cause we're both on a stage
Don't tell me listen to your song because it isn't the same
I don't wanna say your love is a waiting game

Baby I'm thinking it over
What if the way we started made it something cursed from the start
What if it only gets colder
Would you still wrap me up and tell me that you think this was smart
Cause lately I've been scared of even thinking 'bout where we are

What if I never even see you cause we're both on a stage
Don't tell me listen to your song because it isn't the same
I don't wanna say your love is a waiting game

What if I never even see you cause we're both on a stage
Don't tell me listen to your song because it isn't the same
I don't wanna say your love is a waiting game."

BANKS
"Waiting Game"

Appealing Things

Mickey Friedman at Xion
Egg sandwiches with pimento cheese
Not getting trapped in the Atlanta ice mess
Hanging out with Andrew on a snow day
The finale of American Horror Story: Coven

Annoying Things

Straight people at Xion
Unripe bananas
The finale of American Horror Story: Coven

Jam of the Day: The Presets - "Goodbye Future"

Excellent electro track from the Aussie duo.

Album Review: Alcest - Shelter

Alcest
Shelter
Rating: Yeah Daddy Make Me Want It

French metal band Alcest has quietly made the transition from its ambient metal beginnings into pure shoegaze. On 2010’s Écailles de Lune, the tension between explosive metal riffs and more textural, atmospheric washes of guitar led to their most gripping work, and heralded the discovery of other bands influenced by shoegaze such as Deafheaven. Alcest's latest record Shelter continues their path away from aggressive metal, eschewing chugging riffs for ethereal beauty and grace. Taking Slowdive's Just For A Day as a touchpoint, Shelter is a gorgeous, shimmering record full of soaring guitars, swooning vocals, and epic synth washes that is never less than intoxicating, however, losing the push and pull between the harsh and beautiful tends to take away from what made records such as Écailles de Lune so bracing.

Honestly, though, it is hard to find much fault with Shelter as a whole considering the sheer beauty of the tracks collected here. After a brief, ambient opening, the record soars into the clouds with the chiming "Opale," a rousing track where the interplay between the guitars and sweeping synths is almost perfection.



"La Nuit Marce Avec Moi" is perhaps one of the most gorgeous tracks Alcest has ever created, the warm washes of sound enveloping you in a comforting cocoon.



And if anyone calls into question Alcest's shoegaze bona fides, you only have to turn to "Away," which grabs Slowdive's Neil Halstead on vocals.



While the album floats along on its beautiful shoegaze course, it is not until the final 10+ minute track "Delivrance" where things get a little more tension-filled, as the track builds and builds into a Sigur Rós-ian epic swoon-fest.



Shelter is a record that I put on a lot to get caught up in its warm, inviting bath and I am never disappointed when I have it on. It is not a record that I turn to, however, for its forward thinking qualities. There is nothing here that makes it essential listening. Removing any traces of their metal past has made Alcest merely another shoegaze act, though a very good one.

Rating Scale:

Chilfos: masterpiece; coolest thing I've heard in ages.

Woof Daddy: excellent; just a hair away from being a masterpiece.

Grrrr: very good; will definitely be considered for my top releases of the year.

Yeah Daddy Make Me Want It: good; definitely invites further listens and piques one's interest for more material.

Meh: not horrible, but certainly not great; could have either been polished, trimmed, or re-thought.

Jeez Lady: what the hell happened? Just plain bad. They should hang their heads in shame and be forced to listen to Lady Gaga ad nauseam as penance.

Tragicistani: so bad, armed villagers with pitchforks and torches should run the artist out of the country for inflicting this abomination on the human race.

Jam of the Day: BANKS - "Brain"

Shlomoh produced single from upcoming LA based singer BANKS. While her songs on her last EP London were interior, intimate affairs, this single shows her in a more maximalist bent. Expect big things from her.

Album Review: Actress - Ghettoville

Actress
Ghettoville
Rating: Meh

Producer/musician Darren Cunningham, who performs under the Actress moniker, has slowly moved from the woozy techno of aptly named debut album Hazyville to almost danceable forms on 2012's R.I.P., seemingly setting the stage for perhaps more crossover appeal. Prior to the release of his fourth album, titled Ghettoville, Cunningham announced that this would be the end of his work under Actress, and even implied that this would be his last artistic record for good. Whether this is a true statement or just a marketing ploy, Cunningham's music appears to be a perfect amalgamation of his statements, a scorched earth policy record, taking his touchstones, techno, acid house, fragmented hip-hop, early Warp records IDM, and boiling them down to their bare essence. Ghettoville is an unrelentingly dour, bleak record, one that feels like all happiness and joy in making music has been leeched out. As a totemic statement of purpose and finality, it is a brilliant move, but in terms of it being an enjoyable listen, it is too clinical and exacting to gain much from it other than muted appreciation.

Cunningham starts Ghettoville off with essentially a big fuck you to casual listeners. "Forgiven" is 7+ minutes of almost painfully cold, drone techno. Its ice cold percussion slapping you in the face like a sheet of ice, while the samples are looped into a painfully repetitive black hole.



This approach to structure is mirrored throughout the record, from the burbling, lurching strains of "Towers;" to
what sounds like a sample of the bassline from Daft Punk's "Around The World" heard underwater on the blocky, murky "Skyline;"



while on tracks like "Rap," Cunningham distorts and twists a vocal sample into almost an incomprehensible mantra with a drugged down beat that never quite goes anywhere but further down a rabbit hole.



Tracks start and end with very little interior movement. Ideas are more like unformed sketches, drawn out to interminable lengths. Just when you think he has latched onto an interesting idea and might run with it, either the track abruptly ends or just settles into that one groove without going anywhere.

The only time a little light and levity are allowed in the mix are on tracks like "Birdcage" with it's almost danceable beat, fractured vocal samples, and watercolor keyboards; the delicate and playful keyboards shimmering through "Our;"



a thumping 4 to the floor beat elevates the almost cheerful "Gaze" with its house piano stabs and thick bassline;



while a funky, playful rhythm track takes over the track "Image" bumping up against ping ponging percussion and woozy synth textures.

But Ghettoville never quite breaks through the black grey clouds that permeate the whole record. Songs mostly edge along with bare, basic elements with little to no texture and movement, all bleak, oppressive atmosphere that over a lengthy 70 minute runtime can start to get to you. Ending track "Grey Over Blue" has a haunted grace to it, but like opener "Forgiven" it rarely moves outside its rigid confines, washing over you like a powerful wave of gloom, thrashing you against the shore, dragging you back into its cold depths.



Ghettoville is a polarizing record that basically seals the coffin so to speak on Actress' output. While there are some impressive pieces scattered throughout, and Cunningham's steadfast refusal to work on anything but his own terms is admirable, the record itself is that solemn, unwanted friend of a friend at a dinner party that does everything in his power to bring down a pleasurable evening with talk of homelessness, social inequity, and greed; that wet blanket that clouds everything. Ghettoville is a sobering, cooly distant experience that I can't say you will want to experience many times.

Rating Scale:

Chilfos: masterpiece; coolest thing I've heard in ages.

Woof Daddy: excellent; just a hair away from being a masterpiece.

Grrrr: very good; will definitely be considered for my top releases of the year.

Yeah Daddy Make Me Want It: good; definitely invites further listens and piques one's interest for more material.

Meh: not horrible, but certainly not great; could have either been polished, trimmed, or re-thought.

Jeez Lady: what the hell happened? Just plain bad. They should hang their heads in shame and be forced to listen to Lady Gaga ad nauseam as penance.

Tragicistani: so bad, armed villagers with pitchforks and torches should run the artist out of the country for inflicting this abomination on the human race.

Cover: Bright Light Bright Light & Ana Matronic - "West End Girls (Pet Shop Boys Cover)"

Cover of the Pet Shop Boys' classic first single.

Jam of the Day: Cloud Nothings - "I'm Not Part Of Me"

Brash and bratty indie rock from Cloud Nothings' upcoming record Here And Nowhere Else.

New: Chvrches - "Bela Lugosi's Dead (Bauhaus Cover)"

Interesting, synthpop take on the Bauhaus classic; from the upcoming soundtrack to the movie Vampire Academy.

Album Review: Mogwai - Rave Tapes

Mogwai
Rave Tapes
Rating: Yeah Daddy Make Me Want It

When Mogwai released their debut record Young Team almost 20 years ago it wasn't called a classic because of its complete originality, in fact in was quite easy to name and pinpoint each influence, instead, it was how the band took those influences and made them into something all their own. The album was intense and confrontational, constantly keeping you on edge, never knowing where a gorgeous passage would erupt into noise-fueled chaos or vice versa. This constant tension and release is still consistently stunning after all these years. While the band would still put out some really good records over the years, they never quite reached the heights that Young Team scaled, tending to fall back into familiar patterns, losing that once great edge.

The focus on their 8th proper album (not considered soundtracks and remix albums) Rave Tapes is on more electronics, however, Mogwai over their past few records have been integrating more keyboards and synthesizers into their sound anyway, so it is not like the record takes off into dubstep and drum n bass territory. While overall Rave Tapes is a solid record, there is just a lack of forward movement for the band. Most of the tracks play off the soft/loud dynamic that the band can pull off in its sleep, and at times it feels like Mogwai is checking boxes on a list, you have the track with voice samples, the one track with soft vocals, and the track with vocoder. There is a remarkable lack of surprise here that keeps me from really embracing the record wholeheartedly, but with that said, it is still a gorgeously produced album that is at least entertaining through its run. I was just left wanting more.

The tracks that spoke the most to me on Rave Tapes were the ones where the mix of guitars and keyboards coalesced into something almost sublime. The driving and pulsating "Remurdered" casts swooning synth lines against a current of booming drums and aching guitars,



the delicate bell synth tones that ring throughout the opening guitar laced tone poem "Heard About You Last Night,"



and the slow burning churn of "Deesh" with its rising tides of keyboards.



The remaining tracks on the record, aside from the relatively brief guitar workout "Hexon Bogon,"



and beautiful piano led ballad "Blues Hour,"



make more of an impression than it's a Mogwai song and it's done well but perfunctorily so. There is a distinct lack of adventure with this album, as if they are stuck in a holding pattern.

Rave Tapes was a ridiculously hard record to review for me. Had I not been a follower of the band and this was my first entry for them, my opinion may have been different, however, seeing as I have been an ardent follower over the past 18 years, I can't help but be a little bit disappointed. The odd thing is Rave Tapes is not a bad record at all, I can easily have it on and it is an enjoyable listen, but it becomes background, lacking the in-your-face forcefulness of prior albums. As such, this record, for me, definitely gets graded as a minor work for Mogwai.

Rating Scale:

Chilfos: masterpiece; coolest thing I've heard in ages.

Woof Daddy: excellent; just a hair away from being a masterpiece.

Grrrr: very good; will definitely be considered for my top releases of the year.

Yeah Daddy Make Me Want It: good; definitely invites further listens and piques one's interest for more material.

Meh: not horrible, but certainly not great; could have either been polished, trimmed, or re-thought.

Jeez Lady: what the hell happened? Just plain bad. They should hang their heads in shame and be forced to listen to Lady Gaga ad nauseam as penance.

Tragicistani: so bad, armed villagers with pitchforks and torches should run the artist out of the country for inflicting this abomination on the human race.

Jam of the Day: Young & Sick - "Magnolia"

Shimmering bedroom pop/R&B track from Young & Sick. His voice is like butter.

Videos of the Week

Bitter cold can't keep me from posting this weeks best videos:



From Damon Albarn's first solo comes the melancholy title track and its accompanying animated video. One of his best songs.



Whooshy synthpop single from Dornik gets a video that shows more than it tells, and lets you fill in the backstory.



Dense, hypnotic clip from former Brainiac member John Schmersal's new project Crooks On Tape.



Grainy and dreamy nature footage highlights and compliments this bit of pastoral ambiance from Bibio.



Surreal, animated clip from psych-rockers Temple.



Simple and yet slightly creepy performance clip from post-punk band Girl Band.



Fun track redone by Disclosure with Mary J. Blige gets the usual Disclosure treatment.

New: Metronomy - "Love Letters"

The title track from their upcoming album is another typically British bit of pop from Metronomy.

Jam of the Day: Ninetails - "Radiant Hex"

Haunting bedroom pop track from Liverpool trio Ninetails.

Non-Sequiturs

Sexy Aussie Scott.  One of the hottest gingers I know, and incredibly sweet.

UNF.

Love the dark features and fur.

Leather daddies.

Speedo hunk.

Beautiful profile.

Daddy fur.

This is one of the sexiest pics I have ever seen.

Yeah, I think perfection is a good word here.

Ditto.

I want to lie on that belly.

Acres of fur.

Gun show.

That is one damn fine looking man.

Gorgeous.

Beautiful smile and, well, beautiful everything

Drools uncontrollably.

Stay for the view.

Amazing smile.

Grrrrr.

Sweaty fur.

Amazing beard.

I want to claim that chest.

Ginger hotness.

Just an amazing body.  Cute fella too.

In repose.

Nips!

Yes, I will come hither.

Stunning eyes.

Nice gutters.

Adorabear.

Sexy daddy.

Redneck hot.

I would love to jump on that.

Interesting to me how sometimes it just takes the right circumstances for a friendship to develop.

I am highly suspicious of anyone who says they are bored.

Seriously, I cannot stop playing Warpaint's new album.

Samuel Colt is completely gorgeous.

I was in a slightly bad mood when we went out last Saturday night. A friend commented to Andrew that he "did not like mean Russ." Few people do.

Sometimes, I just don't have anything relevant to say.

I am beginning to enjoy black coffee.

Roland is about to release an updated versions of the TR-808 and TB-303. Drool.

Be sure to visit me at my summer home.

Wednesday was one of those days where my brain must have been on hold. I forgot so many things.

I am kind of liking the new Young The Giant record, which is not what I was expecting. They sound like a less ambitious Foals. It's not a brilliant record, but it is undeniably catchy.

After Christmas, Andrew and I bought some new clothes with some gift certificates. I also had some long overdue alterations done on some pants. It's fun coming into the office now, like a fashion show each day of the week.

Stocky is the new thin.

For our cats, yes.

Andrew and I have started a new meal plan for our workouts that involves eating 6-8 meals a day, all around 500 calories each. The amazing thing is how the more we eat the hungrier we seem to get.

It is shocking how blatant some people can be with their racism.

Opinions are like demo tapes; I don't want to hear yours.

In my mind, I am already there.

In dealing with my office floor co-workers, it makes it easier to imagine they are all characters in a David Lynch movie. Therefore, their idiosyncrasies seem more fitting than just odd.

It is hard to come up with creative, healthy ways to cook baked chicken.

Too funny.

Breakups always seem to come in large groupings.

I'm just not a fan of zombie movies or television shows.

If I have not responded to you on one social app, do not attempt to message me on 3 other apps.

The duck lips photo pose is horrible on women, and even more tragic on men.

I'm not a fan of Matt LeBlanc, but damn, he's aging well like a fine wine.

Your cute of the day.

Lyrics Rattling Around My Brain

"I've been infected with restless whispers and cheats
That manifested in words and the lies that you speak
I've been infected with restless whispers and cheats
That manifested in words and the lies that you speak
I've been infected with restless whispers and cheats
That manifested in words and the lies that you speak
I've been infected with restless whispers and cheats
That manifested in words and the lies that you speak

Because I played the fool for you."

Disclosure
"F For You"

"Against the garden gates
and your gaze becomes clairvoyant
doves lift you give your last
we're in wavelengths for an evening
i'm breaking up slowly
see my face under electric lights
and hold me there in silver thread
lately I've been leaving
no one has what they wanted."

Gem Club
"In Wavelengths"

"There is always sunshine
above the gray sky
I will try to find it
Yes, I will try
My mind has been wandering
I hardly noticed
It's running on it's own steam
I let it go
Oh, here comes my childhood
A penny for your secrets
and standing in the window
not out here where it belongs
There's a fire in the forest
it's taking down some trees
when things are overwhelming
I let 'em be
I would like to see you
It's lovely to see you
Come and take me somewhere
Come take me out
There is always sunshine
far above the gray sky
I know that I will find it
Yes, I will try."

David Sylvian
"A Fire In The Forest"

Appealing Things

Chili on a very cold day
Blue Moon beer
Warpaint
David Knapp at Xion
Donna Tartt's The Goldfinch
Dreams about Hawaii

Annoying Thing

Extremism on either side of an issue
People who only post cliched affirmations on FB
Winter