massive update!

My roommate's ex-boyfriend has been temporarily been staying at our place for the past couple of weeks while he looks for an apartment. It has been pretty much non-stop debauchery ever since, hence the lack of updates. However, now I will dispense loads of information I have been semi-involuntarily hoarding.

The guy I work with is very into listening to KCRW over the internets. I like it better than what we used to listen to (my boss' cd's, WPLJ (hell!) ), and it's also a nice change from my "work friendly" ipod selections. We listen to Morning Becomes Eclectic a lot. Sometimes it's a bit nondescript indie music-ish, but then other times it's pretty awesome. Case in point, 2 things:

1. The other day a song caught my ear and I said that sounds a lot like Simon Lord from Simian...the track was by a band called Bent. I look them up, and guess who had a large hand in making their record? Simon Lord. Still have some further listening to do, but the song caught me, and if any of Simon's old stuff is any indication, it should be good.

2. They've been playing the Chemical Brothers "Electronic Battle Weapon 8/9" pretty often which is awesome. The tracks have also been getting positive feedback in a lot of blogs, which is also music to my ears.

Dates of note:

3/31 - Datarock at Studio B...I've only heard their song "Fa Fa Fa" off of a SMD comp. Granted, it's great, but further evaluation will be necessary before the Studio B trip is made. The video for "Fa Fa Fa" is pretty cool too btw:



Bluesy rockers, Hollis Browne are back at Club Midway on Feb. 24th. I stumbled upon a couple of their songs you can actually download the other day, so check 'em out.

This Friday, the 9th, James Zabiela, creator of this lovely album, more specifically, this lovely disc one is dj-ing at...*insert feeling of dread* Pacha. My friend Eddie actually tipped me off about this one, which never happens. We were both trying to justify not going, but we really couldn't...sure his set could resemble the nondescript disc 2 of that comp, or his first album...or it could bang like disc 1...so we have tentatively vowed to go.

Other things of note:

I went to two nights of David Byrne's perspectives series at Carnegie Hall this weekend. Haven't had a chance to write a full review yet, but I posted a little bit about it in the comments at Brooklynvegan.

I just read that (Leslie) Feist (of Broken Social Scene) has a new album out May 1st in the US and Canada and April 23rd everywhere else, called "the Reminder". I really liked her last album, "Let it Die" and there was a time where I was listening to it a lot. It somehow got phased out of my regular listening, but she really has a beautiful voice...and I have this horrible bias against female vocalists so that's saying something.

John Digweed and MSTRKRFT are playing together on the Diamonds '07 tour, which covers most of the US, ending March 31st here in New York at Pacha.

Yesterday Sondre Lerche's "Phantom Punch" came out, and the winter cold that just kicked in here in NYC deterred me from running out to get it (along with the fact that I have a lot of stuff on my listening plate already). Hopefully I'll pick it up this weekend at some point.

A couple of weeks ago I bought the "Fujiya and Miyagi" cd. I really, really like it. It is excellent in that it bangs in a very relaxed, almost effortless way. It's great for everything...hanging out at home, running errands. I also enjoy the shoe references. Hopefully I will get around to writing a more substantial review soon.

I also purchased the Avalanches' "Since I Left You". My friend Eddie had been recommending it for months, and quite frankly I have no idea why I did not get it sooner. He has been one of my main sources of new music for the past 2 years. He has only given me 1 album I have not liked. Anyway...it's awesome. It is essentially a ton of samples, mixed to perfection. Two days after I bought the album I read on Pitchfork that a new album is in the works. Haven't streamed the new track yet, but I can't wait for the album!

And finally...I bought turntables! I have been wanting to learn to DJ for years. The Eddie mentioned above is going to Costa Rica/California/Montreal/Mars/whoknowswhere indefinitely and he used to DJ, so I got him to hook me up before he left b/c I knew I either wouldn't do it otherwise, or would have gotten totally ripped off buying the stuff b/c I have no idea what I'm doing. Got a sweet deal on Craigslist for some Technics 12's with Ortofon cartridges and a huge case. Plus the trip to Bushwick to get them, fitting them in the car, and the trip back to LIC via Astoria without taking the BQE was an adventure in itself. But now I have a nice set-up (temporarily) in the living room, plus Eddie's headphones, mixer, and a nice stack of his records I have accumulated over the past 2 weeks. Yea-yuhhh!