Hey Monkeys! What's up? Sorry I lag on getting fresh goods up on here for you to peel and listen to, but that's what happens sometimes. In deference to all one of you that still reads this, I will put up THREE different pieces of music today that you will really lurve (or at least like, or maybe just listen to for 20 seconds and delete.)
Numero Uno is the first song I have ever really loved that could be considered true "8-bit" noise. While a big fan of electronic music, I have tended to fling my poop at things that sound too much like a Nintendo video game. There is something vaguely annoying about random bloops and beeps put around some cheesy and often monotonous computerized beats. It makes me want to say, "Look you stoner, that was probably sounded great to you on your computer at 3am in your dorm room freshman year, but to actually record and release an entire song of that shit? Bitch Please!" So I was pretty excited when I heard Matt & Kim. They are trendy little hipster kids from over in Brooklyn, and their live show has a reputation as a sweaty dancefest of the highest variety. Go download their lovely little tune called "Yea Yeah". It starts out pure Nintendo, you might as well be on level 3 in Commando for all the simplicity of the tune. But there's another level added - actual vocal harmonies! It's got a catchy little singalong that ain't original, but fun. A good summer time tune, something you could put on at a BBQ and people would sing along and shuffle around in their flip flops and get drunker more quickly than they would have otherwise.
Hot Chip came out with a new one, I believe it will be on the new DJ Kicks series that they produced. That album comes out today in fact. The tune is called "My Piano". Maybe it's just me, but I really loved the 2004/2005 Hot Chip stuff compared with this offering and most of The Warning. "Shiny Escalade" is still my favorite...I think because it does tempo shift in such an interesting and original way. This is also why "Over and Over" is such a standout from the LP and such a burner live for them. Don't get me wrong, the Chip is still top banana in terms of making me dance and scream and shout. "My Piano" is a perfectly acceptable expression of their art. I just want to get back that feeling I had all those many months ago when I first heard them and thought world peace was just around the corner (or whatever will happen when the perfect pop song is heard by all nations and we put down our guns and everyone goes to McDonalds for a McFlurry together).
Last but not least, I have a mystery song I need to share. I downloaded it back in April, but never played it. I finally got around to listening to it last week, and I love it! However, this is quite a kerfuffle, as I:
A) have no idea who it is by
B) have no idea what website I grabbed it from
I have checked through the archives of my usual suspects, and can't seem to find it anywhere. Maybe someday I'll know when I hear it burning up the dance floor in a club and can go ask the DJ. You can download it here, my song of the day, "SS". A sweeeeet arse electro gem that I only wish I could name!
Monday, May 21, 2007
Friday, May 11, 2007
Grooves, Air, and Fire
It's been a momentous week at Monkey HQ. Two concerts (Arcade Fire at Radio City Music Hall, then Air at MSG Theatre), a Mets game tonight for Tardyboy's birthday, and we purchased the new Groove Armada album. Somehow I managed to go to work every day too. I know, I am so proud of my diligence - actually going to work with all that fun stuff!
Arcade Fire on Wednesday was good, not great. Our tickets were in the second to last row of the entire auditorium, so it was not going to be the best show I've ever seen. Adding to the misery, the guy in front of me INSISTED on standing the entire show. We are sitting in the third balcony my man, why don't we stand for maybe "No Cars Go" and perhaps "Rebellion" and call it a day? Despite the environmental challenges, the band still rocked the f*ck out. There were some magical moments when all 3,000 fans in attendance were chanting along with the band. And even though they've been touring non-stop for about three months now, the band brought serious energy to every single tune. If David Bowie selects you to open up his personal concert series at Radio City Music Hall, and then sits in the front row, you get pumped up I guess. It would definitely make me want to take it up a notch. And they did. I would give Arcade Fire a hearty 7 bananas out of 10 on the Chimp-meter.
Air on Thursday night was much better. We had floor tickets and were able to sneak into some seats in the second row, right behind the small floor section. Great place to watch the light show (which was trip-tastic). The sound at the MSG Theatre was amazing, you could hear every small nuance from the guitars to the crazy synths they employ, and the volume was not too loud. You could actually talk to the person next to you without yelling. I cannot say enough about Air to fully praise them to the extent they deserve. The word we kept on coming back to when we were talking about the show was "precise". It's a feat of immeasurable difficulty to get the level of production quality they have on their albums into a live show, and they did it. They covered the hits: Sexy Boy, Kelly Watch the Stars, and a kickass ten minute jam of La Femme d'Argent to finish the encore. The encore left me breathless, those boys have clearly listened to some Pink Floyd and know how take it up to a new level when they want to get the crowd up and going. There was a well deserved standing ovation and alot of smiling faces. They also played a few of the new tunes, disappointingly skipping Hell of a Party. I guess if you don't have Jarvis Cocker on tour with you, that song doesn't make the setlist. Oh well, this show still scored a rock solid 9 out of 10 bananas on the Chimp-meter.
Last but not least, I downloaded the new Groove Armada album, Soundboy Rock. It is fantastic!!! Triple Exclamation Points!!! I am sharing the best song with you, go download Lightsonic. Much like Air, I would say Groove Armada has a formula and they stick to it. Some critics give negative points when a group doesn't constantly "evolve" from album to album. I am the type of music fan that is perfectly content when a new album feels like an extension of the previous work. Soundboy Rock is definitely that - some of the same guest musicians as Love Box, a very similar dub/garage feel, and of course a full helping of the tasty G.A. hooks that get you dancing in your chair.
Enjoy the weekend.
Arcade Fire on Wednesday was good, not great. Our tickets were in the second to last row of the entire auditorium, so it was not going to be the best show I've ever seen. Adding to the misery, the guy in front of me INSISTED on standing the entire show. We are sitting in the third balcony my man, why don't we stand for maybe "No Cars Go" and perhaps "Rebellion" and call it a day? Despite the environmental challenges, the band still rocked the f*ck out. There were some magical moments when all 3,000 fans in attendance were chanting along with the band. And even though they've been touring non-stop for about three months now, the band brought serious energy to every single tune. If David Bowie selects you to open up his personal concert series at Radio City Music Hall, and then sits in the front row, you get pumped up I guess. It would definitely make me want to take it up a notch. And they did. I would give Arcade Fire a hearty 7 bananas out of 10 on the Chimp-meter.
Air on Thursday night was much better. We had floor tickets and were able to sneak into some seats in the second row, right behind the small floor section. Great place to watch the light show (which was trip-tastic). The sound at the MSG Theatre was amazing, you could hear every small nuance from the guitars to the crazy synths they employ, and the volume was not too loud. You could actually talk to the person next to you without yelling. I cannot say enough about Air to fully praise them to the extent they deserve. The word we kept on coming back to when we were talking about the show was "precise". It's a feat of immeasurable difficulty to get the level of production quality they have on their albums into a live show, and they did it. They covered the hits: Sexy Boy, Kelly Watch the Stars, and a kickass ten minute jam of La Femme d'Argent to finish the encore. The encore left me breathless, those boys have clearly listened to some Pink Floyd and know how take it up to a new level when they want to get the crowd up and going. There was a well deserved standing ovation and alot of smiling faces. They also played a few of the new tunes, disappointingly skipping Hell of a Party. I guess if you don't have Jarvis Cocker on tour with you, that song doesn't make the setlist. Oh well, this show still scored a rock solid 9 out of 10 bananas on the Chimp-meter.
Last but not least, I downloaded the new Groove Armada album, Soundboy Rock. It is fantastic!!! Triple Exclamation Points!!! I am sharing the best song with you, go download Lightsonic. Much like Air, I would say Groove Armada has a formula and they stick to it. Some critics give negative points when a group doesn't constantly "evolve" from album to album. I am the type of music fan that is perfectly content when a new album feels like an extension of the previous work. Soundboy Rock is definitely that - some of the same guest musicians as Love Box, a very similar dub/garage feel, and of course a full helping of the tasty G.A. hooks that get you dancing in your chair.
Enjoy the weekend.
Tuesday, May 8, 2007
Music Reviews on the Uptick
I am not so sure Chimpy is creative enough to post humorous ramblings on this blog more than every now and then. In an effort to be more healthy, we will be leading a less interesting life the next few months...more movie watching, less visiting-bathrooms-in-a-bar time, if you get my drift.
If being boring and sober could mean anything positive to Chimpsonadavenport, it would be the fact that Chimpy is listening to lots and lots of new music. For those of you who don't want to canvas the blogosphere, I would like to think we here at Chimp Central can separate the peel from the banana. We'd like to share only the soft, tasty good stuff with our fair readers. Today's theme is Noise Rock. Let's share some of the tastier tracks now, shall we?
Parts & Labor are a noisy funk-punk trio from Brooklyn. Go get the song Fractured Skies. This is one of those songs and bands where the first 30 seconds is the WORST part of the song. It's all grating rhythm section with some droning keyboards and synths cut up in the background. I almost deleted it the first listen just a minute into the song - I have little patience, I want my music to be good from start to finish. Patience paid off here though, finally you get to some vocals and it becomes tolerable. Then all of a sudden: harmonies! walls of sound! Was that even some horns? Oh my! Yes Billy, there is a tooth fairy, and under your pillow she's left some progressive noise rock. Check it out.
Bringing the noise in a different way are another New York based band, Palomar. With obvious nods to the Pixies, the Breeders, and even the Cranberries, the star track to download is called "Woah!" It seems that every other band these days is co-ed. Dudes don't wanna rock out with just other dudes when they can hook up with someone in their band after band practice. And it's not cool at all anymore to be in a chick band (come on, who really liked the Donna's anyways?). So we get Arcade Fire, Yeah Yeah Yeah's, the Knife, Architecture in Helsinki, Broken Social Scene, etc. But you can't argue with the masses - they want high pitched vocals backed by simple chords on shredding guitars, rich bass lines, and adrenaline inducing drums. Give 'em what they want Chimpy, give 'em some Palomar!
If being boring and sober could mean anything positive to Chimpsonadavenport, it would be the fact that Chimpy is listening to lots and lots of new music. For those of you who don't want to canvas the blogosphere, I would like to think we here at Chimp Central can separate the peel from the banana. We'd like to share only the soft, tasty good stuff with our fair readers. Today's theme is Noise Rock. Let's share some of the tastier tracks now, shall we?
Parts & Labor are a noisy funk-punk trio from Brooklyn. Go get the song Fractured Skies. This is one of those songs and bands where the first 30 seconds is the WORST part of the song. It's all grating rhythm section with some droning keyboards and synths cut up in the background. I almost deleted it the first listen just a minute into the song - I have little patience, I want my music to be good from start to finish. Patience paid off here though, finally you get to some vocals and it becomes tolerable. Then all of a sudden: harmonies! walls of sound! Was that even some horns? Oh my! Yes Billy, there is a tooth fairy, and under your pillow she's left some progressive noise rock. Check it out.
Bringing the noise in a different way are another New York based band, Palomar. With obvious nods to the Pixies, the Breeders, and even the Cranberries, the star track to download is called "Woah!" It seems that every other band these days is co-ed. Dudes don't wanna rock out with just other dudes when they can hook up with someone in their band after band practice. And it's not cool at all anymore to be in a chick band (come on, who really liked the Donna's anyways?). So we get Arcade Fire, Yeah Yeah Yeah's, the Knife, Architecture in Helsinki, Broken Social Scene, etc. But you can't argue with the masses - they want high pitched vocals backed by simple chords on shredding guitars, rich bass lines, and adrenaline inducing drums. Give 'em what they want Chimpy, give 'em some Palomar!
Wednesday, May 2, 2007
VNV Nation
HI everyone...oh, it's just you Wife of Chimpy. Well Hello there.
So this lovely website thing just wiped out my post from today, which was utterly brilliant and most likely would have gotten me a deal to write the next Sofia Coppola screenplay. Oh well. Since I am feeling lazy (Chimpy needs a nap), I am going to post my song riiiiiiight HERE, it's by VNV Nation. I hope you like it.
So this lovely website thing just wiped out my post from today, which was utterly brilliant and most likely would have gotten me a deal to write the next Sofia Coppola screenplay. Oh well. Since I am feeling lazy (Chimpy needs a nap), I am going to post my song riiiiiiight HERE, it's by VNV Nation. I hope you like it.
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