Videos of the Week

Once again it is Friday, thankfully. Start to the long 4th of July weekend here in the States. Here are the videos that I was tuned into this week:



New song from Drake's upcoming album. Definitely seems like he is really adopting the sound of The Weeknd; making very minimal, ice-cold R&B.



I am not a huge fan of the SBTRKT album, but there are a couple of killer tracks on it, this being one of them.



I have very high expectations for the debut album from Alex Clare. I just wish the damn thing would come out already. Here is the latest video from him. Not my favorite song of his so far, but it is still likable enough; and of course, he is such a cute ginger bear.



Footage of Radiohead at Glastonbury performing one of my favorite songs of theirs.



New video from Magnetic Man. Although they put on one of the worst shows I saw at Coachella, I still like them.

Coachella 2011 Day One

Coachella 2011 is now over and the post-Coachella depression is now kicking in. This was my second year in a row going and the experience was, if not necessarily better, different than last year, with a lot of highs and just a few lows. The better things about the festival this year were the bigger tents and the wider lanes between venues. It didn't feel like a Tokyo subway when you had to move quickly between stages. Also, the layout of the festival was much more conducive to quick travel. The lows, which honestly were few, were the difficulty with getting in to the festival. The security checkpoints were confusing and the staff didn't really seem to know what they were doing. The merchandise tent, which was really well stocked last year but crowded, was moved to the front entrance in a round kiosk that in theory seemed to be the way to work it; however, the quantity and quality of shirts was pretty low, and many bands didn't have shirts at all. Also, the crowds for the most part were nicer and well-behaved, but still, the amount of rude people who barrel through the crowds in the tent to get up front is annoying. These people don't care about the bands and really make things bad for the rest of it.

My bf Kurt, Mikey and Don waiting at the first checkpoint. It was warm all weekend, but only really hot one day.

My favorite time of the festival; right when it opens and the fields are sparsely crowded.

First band of the festival was New Pants from Beijing, China. They had a fun Devo/Cars kind of vibe to them, and for the most part their set was good, but they debuted a new song called "I'm Not Gay," which I assume was meant to be ironic since the singer said "I love the men, but I am not gay." But the song just seemed weird, so we left.

One of the other disappointments of the festival was the Sahara Tent this year. In 2010, there always seemed to be an amazing DJ or electronic act playing, but this year seemed to be a dearth of talent. We did check out 12th Planet for his dubstep set. Kurt is way more the dance music aficionado than I am, so I usually go with what he says to see.

Finally, my first real show of the festival. !!! was playing at the Outdoor Stage during the hottest part of the afternoon, and they turned up the intensity. The singer is in constant motion, and has some of the silliest, gayest dance moves I have ever seen. The groove was tight and driving and got the crowd worked up into a frenzy. I wish I had my camera out when the singer jumped into the crowd and came out to a point very close to us and got on a guy's shoulders. It was a lot of fun.

Unfortunately, we had to skip out of !!! towards the end of their set to go catch Cold Cave at the Mojave Tent. We were able to get a nice spot right on the side rail. They put together a nice set of their cold, icy synth pop. Loved the synth player on the left. He was rocking some cool hair.

We were basically planted in the Mojave Tent for most of day one. Following Cold Cave was Brooklyn via Manchester, England 1982 band The Drums. I love their album a lot and was very excited to see them play. The band is really tight, but it took awhile to get used to the singer, who performs in a very mannered and effected way. Once I got over the fact he wasn't going to sing like he did on the album, I was able to enjoy the performance.

I wanted to race over and see part of Warpaint's set at the Outdoor Stage, but sometimes you just have to say no and stay put. It was hot, and there was a nice breeze in the Mojave, so I stuck with my friends for The Pains of Being Pure at Heart. I loved their first album but was put off on the second by too much high polish production from Alan Moulder and Flood. Live, the songs seemed more organic and natural, and I must admit I enjoyed the set.

YACHT was a nice surprise of the festival. Coming off like Talking Heads circa Stop Making Sense, it was a quirky, high energy set that was exhilarating. The female singer was bonkers crazy and had the crowd in the palm of her hand.

The first minor disappointment of the festival was Interpol on the main stage. They were hyped beforehand regarding their collaboration with The Creator's Project, and it was supposed to be a "surveillance" theme, with individual cameras placed on the band and members of the audience. It was fairly lackluster. The only time the images became interesting was during the song "Lights" when a film made by David Lynch played. It was disturbing and Lynchian, so it was perfect to go with the song. The rest of the set was filled with the classics you would expect. But for some reason, as with most of the acts on such a huge stage, there was a disconnect between the performers and audience. It was a safe, good set, but nothing spectacular.

For me, the biggest disappointment of the festival was Cut Copy. Nothing to do with the band or performance, the tent was just overcrowded and full of pushy, rude douchetards, and I wasn't able to get close enough, so the sound was muddied and I couldn't see anything. They really have gotten big enough to where they should have been on the Outdoor or Main stage. I only lasted about 3 songs and had to get out of there before I ran amok. I was so mad, because they became my de facto must see band after Klaxons had to cancel.

Suffering the Cut Copy crowd no longer, I joined Kurt over in the Sahara Tent for Magnetic Man (Benga, Skream, and Artwork). I generally hate the crowd at Sahara. Usually a younger group of kids, all of whom are whacked out on some sort of illegal substance. I adore the Magnetic Man album though, and was willing to suffer the crackheads for some good music. Unfortunately, MM put on a fairly lackluster show. The visuals were really great and kept my attention, but the pacing of their set was schizophrenic and I never got a connection with them.

Final act of the night was Robyn. Again, the Mojave Tent was jam packed and we couldn't get a good spot to see her, as evidenced by the horrible pics I attempted to take. With Robyn, however, I would sit on hot coals to see her perform. She has boundless energy and would give the performance of her life even if there were only 10 people in the audience. And she did not disappoint. Running through her hits and deep tracks from her albums Robyn and Body Talk, she kept the pace up and the audience dancing and singing along. It was a brilliant way to close out my Friday.

Videos of the Week

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First day of Coachella, and New Pants, a Chinese synthpop band, are the first act on my agenda.



Hoping I can catch Magnetic Man unfortunately due to a conflict I might miss part of it.



My finger is on the button.



Menomena is a definite must-see.



Another hopeful, though there are conflicts.

Katy B: On A Mission

Katy B
On A Mission
Rating: Yeah Daddy Make Me Want It

Dubstep diva Katy B, after years of releasing singles and collaborating on other artists' albums, finally gets around to releasing her solo debut, On A Mission. Katy B went to the same performing arts school that unleashed Adele, Leona Lewis, Jesse J, and Amy Winehouse on the world. Unlike those artists, she is not a showboater, preferring to sing aside the mix, not overpowering the songs with wild flights of histrionics. She has a distinct way of singing slightly off the beat, creating her own unique cadence. The problem with the album, good as it is, is twofold: one, a lot of these songs have been released before which takes the surprise factor away, and two, in an attempt to provide crossover potential, the album flies from style to style with little cohesion.

These are fairly minor quibbles as the album has so many strong individual tracks. The title track is a great introduction to her sound. A persistent stop-step beat and wonky bassline propel her sassy vocal turn:



"Witches Brew" floats her whispered vocal on top of the mix, kicking in to full gear on the chorus:

04-katy b-witches brew by tiger2801

"Go Away," is a fresh update of trip-hop with dubstep swagger:

Katy B - Go Away by cameelah

Her collaboration with Magnetic Man (Benga, Skream and Artwork) "Perfect Stranger," is practically perfect in every way:



Her strengths seem to lie where two/three different genres are bumping up against each other. "Broken Record," twists house, dubstep, and drum and bass into a frothy concoction:



The album falters a bit when either the music overtakes her, or the genre exercise lacks distinction. Her collaboration with Ms. Dynamite, "Lights On," highlights the guest rather than Katy:



"Easy Please Me," bops over a New Order synth bass line without really going anywhere:

Katy B - Easy Please Me by Uwe Uzi

"Movement," is a slight, deep house track that passes by invisibly:

05-katy b-movement by tiger2801

And "Hard To Get," closes out the album like some reject from the Zero 7 back catalog:

Katy B - Hard To Get by buzzinunlimited

Aside from these slight missteps, On A Mission is a catchy, enjoyable record. If Katy B wishes to be an album artist, she will make a far stronger album by focusing more on making a signature sound rather than attempting to provide something for everyone. Dance/electronic music these days is notoriously singles based, and if she wants to go that route, then the cherry picking of genres may work better for her.

Rating Guide

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 peaks 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.

Videos of the Week

Another Friday is thankfully upon us. Here are the latest videos that are massaging my brain:



Video for the No Age single "Fever Dreaming," which was one of my top singles of last year. What appears to be a static shot at first grows more and more sinister, until the final shot which is quite shocking.



As most of you can tell, my friends and I are getting excited about our upcoming trip to the Coachella Music Festival. The majority of videos I am putting up for the next few weeks will be from bands playing the festival. Sort of my way of getting pumped up for it. Australian duo Presets, is one of the bands I am looking forward to seeing. This is an amazing song from them, with a surprisingly emotionally compelling video.



Love this song. As Kurt says, it's got the wubz.



Gorgeous reworking of this song from their last album, replacing Alice Adams' ghostly vocals with The Cure's Robert Smith, which gives the song added pathos.



Smooth track from dubstep supergroup Magnetic Man, featuring Benga, Skream, and Artwork.



Gorgeous song from Menomena. I just love the lyrics for this song.



I can't wait to see Rye Rye at Coachella. She looks like her show will be a lot of fun. This is a kick-ass track.



Really fun song and video from these dance-punk heroes.



Another recent find that is also playing Coachella. Based on this video and this song, it looks like it will be a fun set.

Non-Sequiturs

Coachella 2011 is fast approaching. Only 78 more days until I am in the beautiful Palm Springs area, sweating and having a wonderful time. Surprisingly, the festival is already sold out less than a week after the three-day passes went on sale directly (I was able to buy a ticket on layaway back in December, so I was all set). Usually the festival doesn't sell out until close to the actual date. Oh well, I was smart enough to get my ticket early, so I won't be missing out.

Kurt is being a sweetie and is helping to redesign my blogsite. In the next month or so, you will be seeing some pretty big changes in the look and feel of the site, so stay tuned.

This dress from the Givenchy 2001 Spring Collection just made my jaw drop. So damn beautiful. It amazes me that people can design garments like this. A total work of art.

Lyrics That Are Rattling Around My Brain

"A burning flame goes by and by
Visible love stands side by side
It comprehends
Beginnings never end

Into the cycle of the here and now
We take our fears and disappear somehow
As we ascend
Beginnings never end

Twin flames in our hearts
As we move towards our very start
Twin flames in our minds
When we move emotions multiply"

Klaxons
"Twin Flames"

"Well I was joking with my lemonade
I told him to get fucked and then get laid.
Now what do you say to a man who's got no taste,
who's really got no potential
except to procreate so inessential.

and what I, and what I found is that we
we're all just sleeping around.

All we really want to do is love."

Braids
"Lemonade"

"You penetrate my space
And now I'm looking out of place
And you're making it hard for me
I need air"

Magnetic Man
"I Need Air"

Appealing Things

Getting my Coachella tickets early before the festival sold out
Turning my friends on to music they normally wouldn't listen to
Seeing two amazing bands, Baths and Braids, at Masquerade for my birthday for only $8!
Beautiful pink, red, and orange clouds during this morning's sunrise
Working out at 5am

Annoying Things

Women who put their suitcase size purses up on the counter when they are paying for something and prevent anyone else from getting anywhere near
Drivers who don't use their turn signals or who talk on their cell phones while driving 20 miles under the speed limit
People who add you as a friend on Facebook and never say anything to you
The fucktards that work at Kurt's office
Kings of Leon