Moby ft. Apollo Jane - "Too Much Change"

Probably Moby's best song in ages. A haunting rumination on what the world is going through, it pairs Apollo Jane's ghostly vocals over searing synth swells. The simple lyrics say all that need to be said, “What are we supposed to feel/What are we supposed to do?/There’s too much change.”

A perfect teaser for his upcoming record All Visible Objects.

Jam of the Day: Moby - "Rio (Duran Duran Cover)"

From the compilation Making Patterns Rhyme: a tribute to DURAN DURAN curated by MANIMAL for the benefit of AMNESTY, Moby tackles "Rio" and trades Simon Le Bon's husky croon and saxophones for a calmer approach. Building off haunting piano chords and an insistent bass drum, a woman's dusky voice takes the lead, pushing the track forward with billowing synths and echoes of rhythm guitar, before gathering steam into a heady, swirly vibe. While it in no way replaces the fun punch of the original, it is an interesting take on an 80s classic.

Non-Sequiturs

Perfect bear belly.

Sexy Jeff from Seattle.  Grrrrr.

Yum.

Damn.

Sexy bear.

Gorgeous ginger.

Wow.

Amazing.

Daddy abs.

Daddy!

This Memorial Day Weekend, Andrew and I traveled down to Pensacola Beach, Florida to celebrate our friend Richy's 50th birthday. We had a house with 10 guys and a ton of other friends down there for the weekend. It was a perfect weekend, filled with sun, fun, sand, water, and great friends. It will definitely go down in the books as one of our best vacations. Here are some musings from the weekend:

* Good vacations are all about who you are with, and our house had a great group of guys with absolutely no drama.
* The drive to and from Pensacola is ridiculously boring.
* Orange is not my color.
* Dancing on the beach at night is a surreal experience, and sand is not a forgiving surface. My legs and feet are very sore.
* Sunblock, and lots of it, is your friend.
* Always bring a cooler with wheels.
* Be sure to get down to the beach well before 10:30 am, as the police tend to shut the road down around that time.
* I do not need to see women flashing their boobs all weekend.
* Chocolate chip cookies, Reeses Cups, Cake, and Krispy Kreme donuts are perfectly acceptable breakfast foods.
* Take a chance and have dinner with people you don't know very well, you may find you have lots in common and have a really good time.
* Always give someone a second chance to redeem themselves.
* But never give someone a third chance, they are going to be dick, regardless.
* People's real personalities come out when they get drunk.
* A good tent will be your life saver throughout the day.
* The straight women that were in our group should be given honorary gay men badges. They were so much fun.

Coming back to reality sucks.

Beware of snakes in the grass.

It is not fun coming home from vacation to a dead car battery.

Exactly.

I love the preset Fairlight CMI synth patch sound.

Apparently, I know a lot of Davids.

How do young people, who use "like" and "oh my god" in every sentence, ever get a job?

It was super tragical at Mexican the other night. What some people choose to wear out in public amazes me. There was a hootchie mama that showed up in a skin tight blue dress with neon green lacing up both sides, with an open back, and a nude colored granny bra underneath. To complete this striking look, she paired it with matching neon green lipstick.

Love this.

The mid-season finale for Mad Men was one of the best hours of television I have seen in quite awhile.

I'd have more respect for your stupidity if you were at least consistent about it.

Learning about other people's relationships makes me very thankful for how mine is.

LOL.

I could eat Mexican food pretty much every night.

How do you politely tell someone that no one can stand their new boyfriend?

I am so ready for Bear Week, and getting married to Andrew.

Why are the weeks after a long weekend the longest?

I love when I hear an album and the music is so intense it is like being on drugs.

Your cute for the day.

Lyrics Rattling Around My Brain

"Those were last nights having you
Smoked another Camel blue
Your apartment was my world
A light bulbs were the stars, the fire burn like our hearts.
Time would pass without a trace,
Watch the sunset on your face
Making love as morning comes,
Whispers something warm
Wanting more and more and more
I still feel your kisses burn with peppermint.

Can't forget the scent of you, let it linger
No one ever came closer, your movements in the dark
Does it hurt to be apart?!

Don't say it's over
Don't say it's over
Don't say!"

Say Lou Lou
"Peppermint"

"Guess it's true, I'm not good at a one-night stand
But I still need love cause I'm just a man
These nights never seem to go to plan
I don't want you to leave, will you hold my hand?

Oh, won't you stay with me?
'Cause you're all I need
This ain't love it's clear to see
But darling, stay with me

Why am I so emotional?
No it's not a good look, gain some self control
And deep down I know this never works
But you can lay with me so it doesn't hurt

Oh, won't you stay with me?
'Cause you're all I need
This ain't love it's clear to see
But darling, stay with me

Oh, won't you stay with me?
'Cause you're all I need
This ain't love it's clear to see
But darling, stay with me

Oh, won't you stay with me?
'Cause you're all I need
This ain't love it's clear to see
But darling, stay with me."

Sam Smith
"Stay With Me"

Appealing Things

Sam Smith
Throwing Snow
Moby's cover of "Rio"
Fried seafood
Early mornings at the beach before it gets crowded

Annoying Things

The taste of Mountain Dew
Having to wait until next year to see the final half season of Mad Men
People who want everything given to them without putting in effort
Coming home from vacation

Album Review: Moby - Innocents

Moby
Innocents
Rating: Yeah Daddy Make Me Want It

Based on his output since his breakthrough record Play, Moby, for me, does his best work when he is making music for himself and not for his perceived audience. Too many times he has tried to replicate the success of Play only to miss the mark, like on its follow up, the practically carbon copy 18, or the hodgepodge of different dance music styles on Last Night. Where he just stops trying to be the worldwide success story is where he truly shines, like on his minimalist masterpiece Wait For Me, or the more forward thinking collection of tracks on Destroyed. On his eleventh studio album, Innocents, we get sort of a middle ground Moby. There are hints of his more experimental wanderings, but it mainly plays as a retrospective of all his musical personas. You get lots of dreamy ambient numbers, his now trademarked dance tracks with field recording samples, wonky pop songs, and several introspective ballads. Aside from the relatively somber tone of the record, there is not a lot of thematic cohesiveness here like on Wait For Me that tied everything together, however, there is still a lot to recommend on Innocents that keep it from edging toward his less successful offerings.

I had high hopes that this record would be as sublime as Wait For Me based on the first few set of tracks. Opening with the stunning instrumental "Everything That Rises," which perfectly meshes sweeping synth strings with faded, grainy samples, Moby provides a masterclass in how to create a gorgeous build in a track. While on second and track and first single "A Case For Shame," Moby collaborates with Cold Specks to create a haunting, spectral ballad with minimal backing of muted percussion, piano, and strings, and evocative, bluesy vocals.



Instead of leaping off from this point, Innocents sort of meanders a bit. His collaboration with Damien Jurado ("Almost Home") aims for transcendence but just hits a flat line early, then maintains that mood for almost 6 minutes, never really doing much. In fact, a couple of times during the track I wondered if I had accidentally pressed skip back to the beginning. Moby follows this with a pretty, yet involving instrumental ("Going Wrong"), his collaboration with Wayne Coyne of Flaming Lips, "The Perfect Life," which, while more involving than "Almost Home," suffers from its basic one note feeling.



From here, things pick up slightly, with the sample leaning "The Last Day" with breathy vocals from Skylar Grey, which is another typical Play-esque track, that despite its familiarity still retains a sly charm,



synth charged "Saints" is another booming Moby dance track,



while "A Long Time" is slow-burning blues fueled track.



Two more collaborations hit the mark at the back end of the record. His second collaboration with Cold Specks, "Tell Me" has a haunted, stately vibe, its beautiful combination of vocals and vocal samples creating a interesting juxtaposition;



and his work with former Screaming Trees front man Mark Lanegan perfectly utilizes his world-weary vocals with the drone of electronics.



And of course, Moby finishes the record off with the amazing closing track "The Dogs," with his wan voice adding just the right amount of pathos to the gorgeous swirl of electronics and strings.



Ultimately, Innocents is a charming record that has more hits than misses on it, however, it feels like there is a lot of push and pull from Moby as to which type of record he wants to make. He could easily remake Play over and over again, and would likely find success more often than not. You sense that Moby really doesn't want to do that, and this dichotomy between sticking to the tried and true while itching to be more experimental results, at times, into something sublime. This was most apparent on Wait For Me, and while Innocents falls short of that high mark, it's good to see that he still has it in him to make some amazing music.

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.

Non-Sequiturs

Hot daddy!

Howdy partner.

Hot cop.

Gorgeous eyes.

Beefy.

Too cute.

Grrrr.

Damn. Can I get in the middle please.

Wet and sexy.

These cute bears are killing me.

So damn hot.

Adorable.

Damn damn damn.

Likewise.

I would love to look like this.

Sexy bear belly.

Drool.

Gorgeous fur.

Woof.

Beautiful body.

Love the chest.

Sexy smile.

Just plain sexy.

Folsom 2013 is now in the history books. Here are my impressions:

It was my second Folsom and Andrew's first. It was pretty overwhelming at times trying to do everything that Andrew wanted to experience, but we had a blast as always with one another.

The best parties are still Real Bad and Big Muscle Bear.

Magnitude redeemed itself this year with much better flow. Tony Moran spun an amazing set of music.

The fair itself was a lot of fun, though it still gets way too crowded for comfort.

Our hotel couldn't have been more convenient, right in the middle of everything. Our room was postage stamp small though, however, it was cheap and clean.

It amazed me how hot it got in the clubs, past the point of being merely uncomfortable.

It was so good to see old friends and to meet some new ones.

We had a blast at Magnitude with our friends Tony, Todd, Phil, and Daniel.

Here is a picture from the Real Bad party. It was made truly memorable by hanging out with our friend Scott. The following day, Scott introduced us to the most amazing Hunan Chinese restaurant.

Recon and Aftershock were the only disappointments. Recon for not really being what we expected it to be, and Aftershock for the interminable wait to get in and go through coat check, and for being so damn bright and ridiculously hot.

Several people we met were surprised Andrew and I had only been together for 9 months, thinking we were a very old married couple.

Next year, we definitely need to scale back the amount of events we do, as it always felt like we were rushing around.

The Mr. S Leather Store is like the Bergdorf-Goodman of leather stores.

The less clothes you wear at the parties the better; however, you have to get very creative with how you stow things.

Clothes check is your best friend.

Andrew is drawn to sketch.

It still amazes me how some people will only talk to people who look like them.

I have no idea where this picture was taken, but it reminds me of Wormsloe Plantation in Savannah with its moss covered trees. Makes me miss living down there; well, only for a moment. I could never live there again.

Lord, our cats are driving me insane.

I often dream of Barcelona.

If you are going to blatantly steal from me, you should at least give me credit.

I hate being sick on vacation.

If you get the chance to see Sigur Ros in concert on their current tour, by all means do. The combination of lights, visuals, and their hypnotic music was never less than sublime.

There are moments where it seems my position with the firm is akin to being the red-headed step child.

Some peoples' relationships are such carefully orchestrated and PR'ed pieces of bullshit.

I wish the obsession with gourmet hamburgers would fade.

LOL.

To me, it is a little fishy when someone says they used to live here and I ask who they were friends with, and they say "a lot of people."

It is time for some new music from Klaxons.

When you reach the bottom, the only way to go is up.

Mornings always go by so fast.

Yes.

If I look at a picture of a pipe, I automatically smell the scent of tobacco.

I am ready for a nice, quiet, stay-at-home-a-lot winter.

I will admit it, I like the new Miley Cyrus cd.

"If you can't lose, it's not a game."

Your cute of the day.

Lyrics Rattling Around My Brain

"To treasure gold is fun
Brother, drop your bag at once
From the air to the people
A mass to take you on
From the clock to the past
A future that I own
And to find just one other
Seems to be the goal of everyone
From the search to the hurt
I believed I could take you on
We would drink, we would dance
And you would watch me whenever you want

And can you give me, everything
Everything, everything
Cos I can’t give you anything
And if you wait, if you wait
I will trust in time that we will meet again
If you wait

If letters spell out words, son
You chose to put them in order, didn’t you
From the meaning, the moment you tried to take me on
From the air to the room A bed that I own

And can you give me everything,
Everything, everything
Cos I can’t give you anything
And if you wait, if you wait I will trust in time that we will meet again
If you wait
I will trust in time that we will meet again."

London Grammar
"If You Wait"

"Remember when my first meal was school lunch
Now I spit a 16 straight with no punch
Remember all for dinner all we ate was Captain Crunch
Now we blow big blunts on the way to brunch
Went from good fella to commissary slips
Now I got back up man every time I slipped
Never ever quit, I just kept on pursuing
Teacher always ask me, what was I doing
Scribbled in my notebook and never did homework
Low attention span, guess these Adderall worked
Rocked Tommy Hil shirts, ones with the boat
Rockport kicks way before we even smoked
Used to have baby lungs, choking when I hit it
Nowadays lace a whole seven in a sitting
Remember back then we thought we growed up
Rushing at a kid just to be grown up"

Danny Brown
"Grown Up"

"Where were you when I was lonesome
Locked away in this freezing cold
Someone flying, only stolen,
I can't tell, this night's so old,

I don't want to swim the ocean,
I don't want to fight the tide,
I don't want to swim forever,
When it's cold I'd like to die.

What was that, my sweet sweet nothing
I can't hear you through the fog
If I holler let me go
If I falter let me know

I don't want to swim the ocean,
I don't want to fight the tide,
I don't want to swim forever,
When it's cold I'd like to die.

I don't want to swim forever,
I don't want to fight the tide,
I don't want to swim the ocean,
When it's cold I'd like to die."

Moby
"When It's Cold I'd Like To Die"

Appealing Things

Daddy Scott
Hood
Quiet nights at home with Andrew
Crazy fun weekend up ahead for Pride with friends
Container Store
Danny Brown
Drinking cold water

Annoying Things

This week
Our cats not getting along
Automatic renewals
Aria resort accounting
Cold medicine side effects; i.e., old man bladder

Videos of the Week

Here are the videos this week that got me over my Post-Bear Week Depression:



Hyper-stylized video from Franz Ferdinand.



Interesting video from Fiona Apple, directed by her former paramour Paul Thomas Anderson.



Lush, and slightly trippy video from Washed Out.



Dark and intense video from Kanye West.



Slippery synthpop track from Soft Metals gets a sexy video clip.



Gorgeous clip from Braids.



Watery clip from Moby.



Futuristic clip from The Weeknd.

New: Moby - "A Case For Shame"

First single from Moby's upcoming, guest star loaded album Innocents.

Videos of the Week

The videos this week that yeah daddy made me want it:



Striking video for Moby's song "Lie Down In Darkness" directed by UK director For Eyes who has also directed clips for British Sea Power and Wild Beasts.



I wish the new Bon Iver album spoke to me more. I appreciate it, but it has no emotional heft for me. Sad, because this song is gorgeous and has an equally gorgeous video.



Former Test Icicles and Lightspeed Champion member Dev Hynes creates his own 80s throwback album under the Blood Orange moniker. Video has a very Basquiat, gritty NYC drag queen vibe.



More somber slowcore from Low.



Catchy as hell synth pop/dance punk from Cassettes Won't Listen.



In honor of Bush reuniting (well sort of, only one other original member and a long-time replacement) and coming to Atlanta on tour, here is my favorite song from them.

Moby: Destroyed

Moby
Destroyed
Rating: Meh

Moby always gets a bad rap, accused of being too mainstream by most of the electronic music community, and not being mainstream enough by the pop music lovers. And ever since Play, he has been trying over and over to please everyone, and also recreate the success of that album. It wasn't until 2009's Wait For Me, that Moby stopped making music for other people, and made an album he wanted to make (influenced by a conversation he had with David Lynch). It was a stunningly personal record, and was one of my top albums of the year. Based on that record, I thought Moby had gotten back on track. The follow up, Destroyed, is, unfortunately, not much more that a combination of Play and Wait For Me, without the cohesiveness of either record. In his words, the album is "broken down melodic electronic music for empty cities at 2 a.m." There is a loneliness and dreaminess to the record, and it gets off to a promising start, but halfway through it loses focus completely, with Moby resorting to his old bag of tricks, that was old enough 10 years ago.

Destroyed is made up primarily of ambient instrumentals, a couple of mid tempo pieces, and the rest his usual mix of dreamy electronic tracks coupled with samples or female vocals. The best of the instrumental pieces are forlorn and echoing, really capturing the feeling of moving through silent city streets. "The Broken Places" opens the album feeling like a ride in a cab to a hotel, the streetlights flashing coldly through the windows.



"Rockets" utilizes dreamy synth strings coupled with snippets of female vocals.



"Stella Maris" evokes most of the great moments from Wait For Me, pairing haunting, dark synths with gorgeous, semi-operatic vocals.



Other highlights of the album are the slow building "Be The One" that starts creepily with Moby's treated voice droning over ambient electronics, methodically building over drums and guitars.



"Sevastopol" is another great upbeat instrumental track that Moby can do in his sleep.



Moby is still good at picking out the right, dreamy female vocalist to pair with his songs. "The Low Hum" is perfect in its moodiness.



But aside from these standouts, the rest of the album just sounds uninspired and, quite frankly, lazy. You can pretty much pick any remaining track and pull it from some other Moby era. There are the standard Moby sung tracks, like "The Day" and "Blue Moon" that borrow from other acts, like Bowie and New Order, and come across as mere parroting.





And there are far too many lazy songs and instrumentals that sound more like background music for a trendy boutique. "The Right Thing" could be Play by numbers.



The final three tracks are all so bland as to be almost silent. The tracks are all pretty, but lack any sort of bite, texture, or interest to make them anything more. "The Violent Bear It Away" and "When You Are Old" are particularly generic, sounding like incidental music to a bad art film.





I had high hopes for Destroyed after the return to form of Wait For Me, and perhaps I judged this album too harshly on that basis alone. If Destroyed had ventured a little more outside of Moby's comfort zone, it would have probably worked much more effectively. Instead, we are left with a just ok Moby album, which, based on his best work, is just not good enough anymore.

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.