Random 10 for July 28, 2008
1. Chromeo, “Momma’s Boy.” Love the Supertramp “Dreamer”-style electric piano in the intro, and the transition into Chromeo’s trademark early ’80s synth-R&B groove. Somewhere, Roger Troutman is smiling.
2. Jim Noir, “Look Around You.”
3. Alice Smith, “Know That I…”
4. Evangelicals, “How Do You Sleep?”
5. Thunderclap Newman, “Something In the Air.” Pete Townshend produced the band’s only disc, Hollywood Dream, and if for some reason you think that “Air” is all these men accomplished, you’re deadly wrong. This should have gone on much longer.
6. Remy Shand, “The Way I Feel.”
7. Datarock, “Nightflight…”
8. MC Paul Barman, “School Anthem.”
9. Todd Rundgren, “Mighty Love.”
10. Office, “Wound Up.” Don’t exactly know what’s going on with this band: “Wound Up” was accepted as a free download of the week on iTunes about a year and half ago, and the Chicago group’s debut disc on Scratchie, A Night at the Ritz, came out in late ’07, but six months later the group was sloughing off members and had asked to be released from its contract. Strange animal, this business.
Dfest Street Interviews
Friday evening at Dfest was packed with a wide range of people and machines — robots specifically. I only wish I had asked them if what Sam Waterston said is true, that they attack senior citizens and steal their medicine.
Video of the Day: Azeda Booth, “Big Fists.”
Wistful Canadian electro + footage from 1960s Jewish weddings = Bliss.
Interview: The All-American Rejects
Dfest was a monster this weekend, with over 150 acts playing on 11 stages Friday and Saturday. Friday’s headliner was the All-American Rejects, and I talked to the band early that evening about the onset of fame, the joys of playing on home turf, and the progress on the band’s third full-length disc. Matt Strasen shot the video, took the great photos and edited it all together.
Random 10 for July 25, 2008
1. Frank Sinatra, “Come Fly with Me”
2. Barenaked Ladies, “In the Car”
From a 1999 performance, this isn’t the best picture quality, but the Ladies’ lyrical prowess makes up for it. Bummer that head BNL Steven Page is facing drug possession charges.3. The Smiths, “William, It Was Really Nothing”
4. The Mothers of Invention, “Flower Punk”
5. Elton John, “Your Song”
6. They Might Be Giants, “Number 3″
7. Pilot, “Magic”
8. Weezer, “Island in the Sun”
I love Weezer, and I don’t care who knows it. Both this song and video (directed by Spike Jonze) make me feel all happy and mushy inside. And, yes, I have stopped taking my meds.
9. The Slackers, “Married Girl”
10. The Fratellis, “Flathead”
Who needs the Arctic Monkeys anymore? This band rules.
– Chase
Staticblog Afternoon Movie: “Some Like It Hot”
Billy Wilder’s magnificent farce starring Marilyn Monroe, Jack Lemmon and Tony Curtis, brought to you by the good people at Hulu. Just look serious and pretend to be working, and no one will know.
Either/Or: Episode 2
In Either/Or, we take two people in similar pursuits, and you choose between them. It can be based on any criteria: professional ability, personality, intellectual prowess, physical pulchritude, or who you’d want backing you up in a knife fight. It really doesn’t matter: just choose Either/Or.
Either Katy Perry, who has the No. 1 single on Billboard, “I Kissed a Girl”:
Or Rihanna, who has the No. 2 single on Billboard, “Take a Bow”:
Either “Step Brothers” star Will Ferrell, Or “Step Brothers” star John C. Reilly:
Random 10 for July 24, 2008
1. Beck, “Orphans.” The first video from Modern Guilt, this is visually straightforward material, but the song itself is quite possibly the quintessential Guilt track — gorgeous music, apocalyptic lyrics.
2. Shapes and Sizes, “Alone/Alive.”
3. Tom Ze, “Para la do Para.”
4. The Go! Team, “Ladyflash.”
5. The Reelists feat. Ms. Dynamite, “Back to Life.”
6. Shuggie Otis, “Strawberry Letter 23.” Almost everyone has heard the Brothers Johnson cover, which Quincy Jones suggested to the duo and ultimately became one of the best late-’70s soul-funk hits. Shug’s original is much more sun-dappled and summer of lovey, and was included in the release of Inspiration Information in the early ’00s.
7. Martha Wainwright, “Tower Song.”
8. The Raconteurs, “Attention.”
9. The Specials, “A Message To You, Rudy.”
10. Peter Bjorn and John, “Objects of My Affection.” Remember those online games several years ago where you could drag the hated politician of your choice through an endless cascade of killer orbs? Here’s the music video version.
Video of the Day: The Sea and Cake, “Crossing Line”
Ah, blue skies and sunny optimism: Sam Prekop delivers a summer pop glory that recalls super-smooth French popsters Tahiti 80.
Music Review: “Music From the Motion Picture ‘American Teen’”
Rating: 71
Director Nanette Burstein’s “American Teen” cuts closer to the adolescent experience than almost any recent film, and the documentary’s sound track benefits from a similarly on-the-mark sensibility. “American Teen” favors the underground aesthetic to ultra-slick pop, and while a few familiar names crop up (The New Pornographers, MGMT), the best tracks come from left field. There isn’t a unifying sound theory here, mainly because the songs are as wide-ranging as the teenagers Burstein followed.
“American Teen” bows with Black Kids’ “I’m Not Going to Teach Your Boyfriend How to Dance with You,” an exuberant blast of joy from the Jacksonville, Fla. band that could pass for one of The Cure’s less-gloomy pop hits. That reverie leads into choice cuts by The Ting Tings, Sunny Day Sets Fire and Jason Bentley’s remix of Frou Frou’s “Breathe In.” Sadly, side trips into classic rock (Cat Stevens’ “Trouble”) and cheese-pop (John Paul Young’s “Love is in the Air”) work in the film, but on the sound track, they play like iPod shuffling disasters.
Then Norman’s Ryan Lindsey delivers a killer power-pop highlight with “Let’s Go Out,” a Farfisa-fueled party call that kicks in and jumps out in just over two minutes. But the best track belongs to London outfit Does It Offend You, Yeah?, whose “Dawn of the Dead” is a wonder of dark, melodic synth-rock that must have Ric Ocasek beaming with pride. If “American Teen” delivers a spot-on depiction of ‘00s teen life, its music is a vivid snapshot of what the coolest ones put on their playlists.
– George Lang
