tomorrow

And don't forget about Passions tonight!

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Chemical Brothers

You could not pay me to go back to school right now...but if you did, I could write a small novel on my love for the Chemical Brothers. Actually, I am going to do it right now, here, for free.

I love the Chemical Brothers. I started listening to the Chemical Brothers in December of 2001, after hearing Star Guitar blaring from my friend Chuck's room before heading home for winter break. I went to see them in April and was hooked since. They are what got me into dance music and I have not looked back.

As many a Chems fan will admit...some of their recent stuff has been a bit spotty. I personally very rarely listen to Push the Button straight through, just a few choice tracks. When I first caught wind of We Are the Night (out in the US July 17th) I was obviously looking forward to hearing new stuff from them, but secretly hoping it banged in a new, good way, or in a classic, old school Chems way. I heard "Do It Again" first. I'm still not wild about the vocals, but I'll take it for its bang. Then I heard the cheeky "Salmon Dance", which after the novelty quickly wore off...I really didn't like. But today I heard "Burst Generator" at Chuck's urging and thanks to Ill-ec-tro-nic...and I love it. Lots of bleeps and blips with the signature Chems' bang. It reminds me more of their newer stuff, but their good newer stuff...closer to Surrender and Come with Us with some good electro stuff that's been happening lately thrown in. Ill-ec-tro-nic also had "All Rights Reversed" which features the Klaxons, which I'm sure will blogged to death soon. I have to say I like that one too...it has the likable Klaxons Brit vocals and some nice electronic stuff going on behind it with a nice build-up and break down that bangs.

I'm pretty sure the whole album has leaked at this point. I've only heard those 3 tracks, and will probably just seek out Das Spiegel (another banger according to Chizarles) before the album comes out. Even if the rest of We Are the Night is total shit, which I doubt, the Chems' newer albums are guaranteed to have a good handful of songs. The Electronic Battle Weapons always please. And the songs you don't like, when done live, by the Chems, will rock your face off and have you screaming along and dancing like they're your favorites. So it doesn't matter does it? Hear for yourself, thanks to Roland: Chemical Brothers live at Coachella 2005, and don't sleep when they come to the US in September.

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Cut!

So after all the hype I gave it, I slept on the party at Mr. Black last night. I am human. I get tired. I find it rather annoying when that happens. Luckily those Cut kids are all over NYC like a cheap suit:

Thurs...

Just found out about this recently. Looking forward to it, haven't heard Passions spin much before, maybe just a little after Moby at Master of the Universe.

Saturday...

I am not so much looking forward to Datarock, but maybe I was just in a bad mood that time I saw them.

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finally...the weekend

I haven't been out since last Saturday which I think is a record at this point. Work has been a bit hellish lately and I wasn't super excited about any shows going on this week. I was looking forward to the Juan Maclean at Element tonight, but somewhere mid-week I realized it wasn't on Element's calender or Juan's myspace anymore. Last night the blender was put to good use on one of the first really hot nights of summer...so my leaning toward not going to see Ladytron at Hiro was confirmed a few drinks in. Probably won't get out again until Tuesday for the Cut Crew and Van at Mr. Black...which I have already posted about. I am slightly regretting skipping town to go "upstate" tomorrow because I will be missing this:



I'm mainly regretting it because I was thinking of how I missed Switch the last time he came round (I wasn't really familiar with him yet, only to later realize how great his stuff is)...and Jesse Rose is on Switch's label (Dubsided) and there are apparently some similarities.

I'm beat though and need a break...and haven't been to Chester, home of cows and rolling hills, in ages. Plus the BFF housemate is up there with his crazy fam who I miss desperately.

Please pardon the following outburst:

Ugh! Motherfucker! I just watched a clip of Jesse Rose over at the Week in Dance and he dropped part of "This is Sick". Shit.

Oh! Also, for those of you smart enough to stay in this lovely metropolis for the weekend, another great option for Saturday night:


!
DTL will bass you and that explains it all. Alright...enjoy the long weekend!

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I like retro...I like electro...I like ghetto...house and techno

So I went to that thing at rebel tonight...you know how the bill was really packed...well, I managed to sleep through EVERYONE I wanted to see. I got there around 1/1:30ish...and someone was just finishing their set. I think it was either Metro Area or Jacques Renault...it was difficult to tell because of the smoke machine. It pains me a little to type that. Haha...anyway...I did manage to catch a Guy Called Gerald, who was ok, but not really my cup of tea. I kept circulating among the many rooms at Rebel, but nothing seemed to do the trick, so I split at 3:30. Whatever. It can't always be a home run...

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Friday evening's events

I left a lovely post-work BBQ in Astoria to head back to my place and then over to Studio B to catch the Glass and Professor Murder.

The Glass had audio problems from the get-go. The first song was a bit rough. Then they played Won't Bother Me, Come Alive, Mad At You, and a couple of other songs off the new record. They were quite good barring that first song, but definitely not optimal conditions to see them under. I swear, every time I go to to Studio B lately there is some Asian girl rolling right near me. It's hellish.

There was a bit of a break in between during which whomever was dj-ing dropped Soulwax's "It's the E-talking", followed by Green Velvet's "Shake and Pop" which worked quite well. Not too long thereafter, P-murder went on. They played a short set...probably around 45 minutes...they played a new song or two, a couple of oldies, but goodies, but they also left out a lot of stuff. They did play some stuff from the Caps & Jones mixtape though. The Asian girl who was rolling near me wound up on stage with her compatriot..some random girl. They distracted me. I'm sure they distracted the band. It was quite hellish. Not my best P-murder experience...but definitely not their fault. Michael Bell was having some throat issues, but did not puss out like some other peeps...*cough* Brandon Flowers *cough*.

Somewhere around 1:00 I got the hell out of there and wound up at the Annex. I assume the Peoples Champion was spinning b/c I knew it wasn't Curses. His name was quite appropriate...this guy was dropping every dope remix blogged about in the past month. There was Justice...there was Klaxons...there was getting down. Around 2 Curses! took the decks and just bassed it up. I was having an awesome time gettin down for a while before I spotted DB. Moments later he reappeared with a huge handful of glowsticks which were dispensed accordingly. Everyone was gettin' down. It was dope. Curses! second to last track was brand new and bass-tastic. The perfect end to a lovely night of banging, or rather, getting deep (:P - you know if that's for you)...I ran into my friend Van just as Curses was ending his set, and we danced into the wee hours together to some fine mixing from Miss Superstar. You can catch her and Van & Pussycat (the resident DJ's) on Tuesday at Mr. Black, and the following week, catch my boy Van and Pussycat along with Drop the Lime, the Captain, and Star Eyes! Yea-yuhh!



Beeeedtiiiiime bitches! Gotta rest up for:

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MR. OIZO in June!!!!...and a ton of shit going on this weekend

Just read in a bulletin from Fixed on myspace that Mr. Oizo is playing here June 9th!!! (with In Flagranti...another of those bands I have heard of, who I actually haven't heard)...I'm guessing at Studio B, but it didn't specify. I am quite excited about this because Mr. Oizo is one of the last people from the Ed Banger crew I have gotten to. Just downloaded some good remixes off of Palms Out. Definitely check him out.

And now a short anecdote about me not being able to say Mr. Oizo:

I had been calling Mr. Oizo... Mr. OYYYY-ZO...assuming I was saying it wrong and that it probably sounded more French than that. Then a couple of weeks ago I listened to the Ed Banger crew takeover KCRW, and heard Busy P say it correctly...Mr. wuuhhhzo, so now I know how to say it. BUT! for some reason if I try to say it in my normal voice...I can't...I have a huge brain spasm and it just won't come out...so what I have to do is pretend I am Busy P...I have to pretend to be a 30-something Frenchman...in order to say Mr. Wuhhhzo. And now you probably think I'm nuts, and rightfully so...

There is an insane amount of stuff going on in NYC this weekend.

Tonight:


I personally am on the fence about this one. I listened to a bunch of his stuff on myspace last night...it made me think of dudes in tight black t-shirts...and chains...and hair gel. That kind of dance music...well, not that bad, but closer to that end of the dance music spectrum.

Tomorrow there are 47 places I would like to be, and by 47 I mean...

a one:



Math Head...enough said.

a two-whoo:



The dope-ness my illin prevented me from seeing last week.

a threee:


Three. Three is probably what I am doing. P-murder are awesome. And I have been putting off seeing the Glass for way too long, who I like quite a bit, because they are always lurking around the city. Then I will probably head to the LES to see Curses! and if you were feeling crazy you could probably even make it over to 200 Orchard to see Math Head too.

Also, if you haven't gotten enough Trouble & Bass Friday night...Saturday night check this out.

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the weekend

Before and during the Air show on Thursday I started feeling kinda weird like I was getting sick, and by the time the show was done and I got home I felt like hell.

I called out from work and took it easy, but no amount of power naps, West Wing, or tequila made me feel well enough to go out for People Don't Dance No More Friday night...I watched a short video of Das Glow's set on Youtube (and know enough from personal experience that Curses! killed it) and immediately regretted my decision the next day. Fuck!

Anyway...I felt better enough to make the trek home to suburbia for poker/mother's day on Saturday. When I was up until 5am LOSING at poker, I was even more pissed that I didn't pull it together the night before. Oh well. Live and learn.

I don't really like the suburbs, but they are good for some things...like catching up on the internets. I discovered some good stuff.

The Music Slut has an MP3 of the new Justice track (Genesis) that I heard when Mehdi dj'ed at Hiro a couple of weeks ago. It bangs much more in person, but is still good.

Also, the name Ilya Santana has been coming up on a lot of the (ridiculous number of) music blogs I read everyday, so I finally gave him a listen...and it is some nice, bangin disco with a good balance of funk and electro. American Athlete is a good place to check him out. I think he is the perfect way to transition back from all of the more electronic stuff I've been listening to from Institubes and Ed Banger back to a lot of the more classic (but still good) disco on the Dimitri from Paris and Joey Negro "Kings of Disco" comp which I highly recommend. I just put it on my ipod finally but haven't been able to bring myself to listen to it yet. It's too big of a jump from what I've been listening to lately, but I think Ilya might be the solution.

Alright, I have to go to bed in preparation for my old school 2 hour hell commute that I used to do everyday for 6 months! crazy! I leave you with this possibility for Saturday night:

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New Boys Noize album info

Via his blog:

"MY ALBUM IS CALLED "Oi Oi oi" AND IT WILL BE RELEASED WORLDWIDE IN SEPTEMBER.

BEFORE THAT THERE S GOING TO BE ANOTHER SINGLE WITH SURPRISE REMIXES*

oi,
a."



Also, I must re-emphasize...he is playing Hiro June 28th!!

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Air at the Theater at MSG

You know when you go to a show, (usually one of your favorite bands) and right before it starts you get that "yea-yuhh, this is going to be awesome" feeling? Well, that's what it was like tonight, right before Air went on...except they are not my favorite band. I am barely familiar with them. I bought Moon Safari and Premiers Symptomes b/c I happened upon them in the used section of Kim's the day after my friend recommended them to me. I listened to them a little at first, but didn't really get that into them. Then I moved to back to New York in June and listened to them a bit more. They were good, laidback tunes for summer...good for unpacking boxes to...painting your room, etc. on a hot summer day. But for some reason, after that they never really got stuck in the rotation.

The only reason I even thought to go to the show tonight was because multiple people had told me they were a great band to see live. And they were all right.

Before they went on the lights went all dark and purple. Then there was this kind of droney noise that kept on while the band came out, and then Nicolas & J.B. came out, started playing and finally broke it. After some intensive Air-listening over the past couple of days I recognized many of the songs upon hearing them, but can't tell you the names of a lot of them. What I did notice immediately though was how flawlessly the songs were performed. Everything was perfect...not in that annoying, very synthetic-sounding way either, where it's almost too perfect. When Air performed it was like all the good things about their albums...those little groovy parts that would stop me as I was unpacking my boxes or walking to work...they were more emphasized, but so were all the subtleties as well. Everything just sounded richer. It was excellent.

As much as I enjoyed the entire show, even a lot of the more mellow songs which new life was breathed into upon being performed live, I can't help but say...the more banging ones were my favorites...namely:

Remember
Kelly Watch the Stars
Sexy Boy

Kelly Watch the Stars was probably one of the first more upbeat songs that they played that I knew so that was exciting. It also made me want them to play "Remember" which has emerged as one of my favorites over the past few days, and low and behold, a few songs later they did. *edit* - switch those 2 songs around.

It was great...right when the drums kicked in toward the beginning Nicolas turned around to look at the drummer and when he turned back to the crowd he had this huge grin on his face which made me happy. I like when the bands/dj's I see seem like they are enjoying what they are doing.

I forgot to mention that they started playing at 9:40. At 10:40, they stopped. Of course they did an encore. They played a very mellow song that I didn't recognize...and then a song or two after is when they dropped Sexy Boy, which was just full out rocking. Nicolas was just wailing on the guitar. It was excellent. At this point the crowd was really into it.

Other songs they played with no regard to order:

People in the City
La Femme d'Argent
Talisman
Cherry Blossom Girl

I think they closed with a super extended, rocking, banging version of La Femme d'Argent...it could have warranted guitar smashing at the end it was so good. I should say though...I keep going back and forth on whether they closed with that song or Talisman...and also out of those two, I think whichever one they didn't close with, might have been the song they opened the show with...it was very confusing! haha. *edit* They opened with Radian which I discovered thanks to Music Snobbery's setlist.

Overall...it was yet another banging show I have been to this year, that I would never have gone to had it not been recommended so strongly. And this is why you should listen to your friends...and also why you should yell at me about going to shows. The end.

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Stuff coming up soon...

Tonight as an alternative to what will surely be another over-crowded night at Hiro:


That's Jacques Renault, of I.S.S. at the Tribeca Grand (among other things) that is now over :(

I'm probably not going b/c I will be tired of standing forever waiting to see Air. Plus it will be nice to not be hungover all day tomorrow in preparation for being bassed tomorrow night:



Don't sleep because Curses! is sick -(scroll down to) Put Your Hand Up for New York!!...and I am not really familiar with Das Glow, but honestly, when was the last time someone on Institubes disappointed you?

For those of you who already have an appreciation for Curses! alter ego Drop the Lime, Tiger Beat 6 is having a massive sale until midnight (California time) on pretty much everything. So get yourself somethin good!

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Masters of the Universe

The short version:


The long version:

After some initial trouble I finally made it to Masters of the Universe at Studio B around 12:45. I immediately understood the emphasis placed on "I'll Bass You". Personally bass and dance music have always been associated in my head, so the whole "I'll Bass You" thing the Trouble & Bass crew have going seemed a bit obvious at first...like, no shit...there's bass. But really it's THERE'S BASS. A lot of it. They are not fucking around and it was wonderful.

When I first arrived I was still kind of buggin about my difficulty getting there...and I arrived mid-set and the tempo was soooo fast, so it took me a while to get into it. As soon as I started to get with it they announced that Curses! was going to do his set. It was dooooope. Just banging, bassy, funky, crunchy, good stuff. I honestly did not want it to end. Curses and the Cut/Trouble&Bass dj's were my main reasons for going to Masters of the Universe. I was never a big Moby fan really and was kind of just ignoring the fact that he was going to be there. Nevertheless Curses! set ended (but only after a refix of "Put You Hands up for Detroit" what?! and some guesting from Alan Astor on the Sax).

Moby went on immediately after and much to my chagrin I was hooked from the beginning of his "old school rave set". I can neither confirm nor deny if it lived up to that. I was too busy listening to much lamer music when the rave scene was breaking to actually know what an old school rave set would consist of. I have an idea, but I am no expert. All I know is Moby started spinning and I couldn't stop moving. Everything had a kind of older, nostalgic feel (even though, as I said I never went to a rave)...you could tell it was older dance music...no Ed Banger or Institubes in sight (though there were 3 occasions when I found myself thinking "the Soulwax remix of Gravity's Rainbow would go great here"). It was nice to hear something different that could still get ya movin'. I gather it must have been semi-authentic though because there were certain songs where the crowd went completely bananas. Speaking of the crowd...it was such a weird little mix...there was the typical Studio B Brookylny rock/dance crowd...then there were a few isolated "club ibiza!!! house!!! techno!!! omg!!!!" kids...and for every 15 or 20 people there was some nearly 40 year old guy with his wife/girlfriend having a rave flashback.

Somewhere a little after 3 Moby finished his set and the Trouble & Bass crew hit the decks immediately and blew the roof off the place. The people who stayed after Moby was done really wanted to be there and it was showing on the dance floor. It was an excellent night of heavy bass music that ended (reluctantly on the crew's part...they kept going and going even though you could tell they were supposed to have stopped a while ago...the light's were on, haha) around 4:15. An excellent way to spend a Saturday night...or any other night really. Don't sleep on that crew. They play New York a lot and are probably better than whatever you were planning on doing anyway :P Seriously though...they're good.

You can catch Curses! this coming Friday at People Don't Dance No More at Element...which I am now even more excited about.

ps- Thank god it is Saturday and I don't have work tomorrow!

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Reasons I am a turkey

Exhibit A

Reason #1: I THOUGHT that was Kanye...but then I explained it away in my head, saying why the hell would he out at Hiro on a Wednesday night just to hear someone play his new track out at a club. Whoops!

Reason #2: I knew there were going to be a lot DJ's I didn't know last night so I didn't even realize So Me was So Me...I just thought he was one of the DJ's I didn't know. Whoops #2.

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SMD in NYC

Just read in the Fixed weekly email:

07.07.07- Simian Mobile Disco debut NYC live show!

It won't look like this:



(pics from Stereogum)

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Let me sleep on it, I'll give you an answer in the morning

Just got home (after an annoyingly longer than usual subway ride...it felt like I was pacing on the 6 platform forever!) from Korrupt at Hiro. I just stayed for DJ Mehdi and A-trak's joint DJ set. It was awesome. They had the hip-hoppers moving to electro, the dance kids hip-hoppin. Excellent. What DJ-ing is all about if you ask me.

However...when I first got there (about 11:30 or so) as other Ed Banger's have reported no one was moving. Maybe like 5 people on the floor. The benches and tables Hiro sets up on the dance floor, that I haven't seen out there in ages...were fully intact and being used...people were sitting at them...and drinking...and talking...it was unnerving. I love a night of good dancing more than almost anything else...but when I realized Medhi was starting and that virtually nobody was moving...I was pissed at myself for not having more ambition to get on the dance floor. I'm still shy to a point. Old habits die hard.

Anyway...2 cocktails, and 2 dance tunes later (I want to say Human After All, but don't hold me to that and SMD's It's the Beat) I was out there gettin' down and I didn't stop until Medhi and A-trak were off the decks (around 1:30).

The entire evening consisted of a genre mash-up. Medhi dropped tracks from literally every current French act (Daft Punk, Justice - alot of Justice - Let There Be Light, Phantom, Waters of Nazareth, the We Are Your Friends remix; Sebastian - Ross Ross Ross; his ownself - I am Somebody), plus SMD, plus "Whoo! Alright, Yeah, Uh-huh" by the Rapture and either he or A-trak mixed em up with some old, poppy hip-hop-ish stuff, i.e. Bucketheadz "The Bomb", Crystal Waters' "Gypsy Woman", Michael Viner's Incredible Bongo Band "Apache"...the list goes on.

Some observations...the crowd was mainly into hip-hop. You could tell. Some hip-hop track I didn't recognize would drop and all of a sudden everyone would be going bananas...on the same token...I think I was the only one...I am serious (at least the only one in my vicinity) yelling along to "We Are Your Friends"...and "Whoo! Alright, Yeah, Uh-huh"...and umm every dance track with a chorus.

Ok...here is where you really start kicking yourself for not going. Mehdi dropped, in it's pure unadulterated entirety:

1. the new Kanye track that HEAVILY samples Daft Punk's "Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger"

2. the new Justice...no, not D.A.N.C.E. (as dope as that would have been), but an ever NEWER track, Genesis!

The extra kick in the ass...they are both stored in my cellllllll phone! and I can't get them out to share with you. I didn't even realize my phone had recording capabilities (and I use that term loosely, the quality is pretty horrible...it's the function on the phone to leave yourself reminders to pick up your dry cleaning and stuff like that, plus there are various people chatting...and me yelling like a maniac) until halfway through the Kanye track. It's hard to even hear him so it sounds mainly like a really shittily recorded version of "Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger" with some faint Kanye over it. However...despite my bitterness toward Kanye due to his sorely losing Best Video to Justice/So Me...the track is pretty dope. But...it mainly sounds like a mash-up of any other already existing Kanye song with Daft Punk.

Point number 2, Genesis was dope! Lives up to all Justice's prior stuff.

I am going to make a more serious effort tomorrow to try to get this stuff off of my phone and onto the computer. It's not looking promising though...the only options it gives me are to erase or rename... :(

Also, I would be remiss if I did not say what a gent DJ Mehdi is. Got the name of the new Justice track from him and he was quite gracious when I thanked him for dropping such a dope set.

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Ed Banger at KCRW

Yesterday the Ed Banger crew were at KCRW. You can stream it here.

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Next Friday:

Curses! and Das Glow?! yea-yuhh!

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Mr. Black

I have been to Mr. Black once. It was one of those crazy NYC summer nights where nothing goes right. I had made a last minute decision to see Radio 4 in Red Hook. I had been living in Long Island City for only about a month at that point...so I had no idea that on the weekend...the G-train...is WHACK!

About an hour after leaving my apartment and being told by the MTA that I should take a Manhattan bound F-train one stop into Manhattan, then transfer to another train going back to Brooklyn I gave up. I got out at West 4th, called my roommate. We agreed to meet in the east village in an hour or so. I went to a bar, killed some time. I get a call saying he's at Mr. Black.

I get there...and there is a line. I haven't waited in line for something that wasn't a show or a dj in...I don't know when. $10 cover. I was having a bad night. I finally get in...and the phrase that instantly came to mind was "gay sweat-box from hell". It was a small basement space with wall to wall gay guys, a large percentage shirtless. Not ideal conditions for me personally.

I found my friends, expressed my discontent which was met with, "I know it's hellish, but once you embrace the hellishness it's kind of fun". At first I thought he was crazy, but it was true. I paid $10 so I wasn't going anywhere. I had a few beers. We found a spot near a fan, and got down to some Top 40's/pop radio-style remixes. It wound up being a fun night. I imagine it would be a fun place to see any actual dj you know and like spin. I mean, come on, it is a "dance den"?

Back to seeing someone you like spin there:



Here's what you need to know about this flyer:

Van Scott. I met this darling almost 5 years ago - he was my ex-boyfriend's suitemate at school. He is one of the nicest people I know...and he knows his shit, and now he dj's.

Also, May 28th...the Cut Crew. If you haven't experienced any of the Cut dj's, you don't know what you're missing. I can't speak for Star Eyes (haven't seen her yet), but Drop the Lime is probably my favorite New York dj, and the Captain is dope as well.

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