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March 31, 2005
You can just trust me
Sleepy alerted us to the news that a new Verve Remixed album was on the way in April. Now I don't mind mentioning that there is an RJD2 remix on the record, but if I mention who this Nina Simone remix is actually by, our innocent little blog will get nailed for eleventy billion downloads. So, um, you can just trust me that it's worth checking out.
Astrud Gilberto - The Gentle Rain (RJD2 remix)
Nina Simone - Little Girl Blue (Whitesnake remix)
Recently on Comfort Radio:
Self - Sassy Britches (Kung-Pow Mix)
Lamb - Gold
Barzin - Over My Blue
Posted by Scotto at 09:00 AM | Comments (2)
March 30, 2005
Calling out
Lyrics Born is putting out a remix album... drool...
Lyrics Born - Hello (Remix)
Lyrics Born - I Changed My Mind (Stereo MC's Rattlesnake Remix)
Lyrics Born - The Last Trumpet (Remix)
Recently on Comfort Radio:
Chungking - Making Music
John Vanderslice - Bushnell Scope
Heather Duby - Falter
Posted by Scotto at 09:00 AM | Comments (2)
March 29, 2005
"She's GONE!"
Morcheeba has a new album coming out in May, and the sound will be a bit of a shock to longtime fans - singer Skye Edwards is gone, replaced by former Noonday Underground singer Daisy Martey. The new stuff certainly has pep... I suppose I'll miss Skye, but I suspect she'll start cranking out well-produced solo albums any second now. In the meantime, here's a sample from The Antidote to consider.
Morcheeba - Ten Men
Morcheeba - Everybody Loves A Loser
As long as we're on the subject, here's a lovely little sampledelic track from Noonday Underground that I've been looking for an excuse to post. From the album Self-Assembly.
Noonday Underground - Never Go Away
Recently on Comfort Radio:
DJ Spooky vs. The Freight Elevator Quartet - This Is What Happens (live)
Laika - Red River (live)
Ivan Boogaloo Jones - Sweetback
Posted by Scotto at 09:00 AM | Comments (0)
March 28, 2005
Being a total fruit loop
The new Beck album, Guero, drops this week, and it's pretty entertaining. The Amazon editorial review actually summarizes the situation quite well: "Now that Beck has effectively exorcised his personal demons with 2002's hyper-confessional Sea Change, he can get back to the business of being a total fruit loop. We all know what that involves: video game sound effects, random shouting in Spanish, and rhymes about popsicles and vegetable vans." Hee!
Also of note is an EP from February, Gameboy Variations/Hell Yes, that included some Guero remixes, including this tasty little morsel.
Beck - Bad Cartridge (E-Pro remix by Paza - The X-Dump)
Recently on Comfort Radio:
Afro Celt Sound System - Dark Moon, High Tide
Full Load of King - Ride A Wave To Uranus
They Might Be Giants - First Kiss
Posted by Scotto at 09:00 AM | Comments (0)
March 25, 2005
I just had to share!
I forget which MP3J brought this to my attention - whoever you are, may you be showered with kisses and inappropriate fondling in the afterlife. Yes, this is a Massive Attack cover. "I just had to share!"
This may sound strange, but even as far back as the year 2001, people were making very good techno, as this entertaining track will attest! From the Drive To Capri 12" single.
The artist: Unagi. The album: Keepin It Eel. 'Nuff said.
These and other fine, fine tracks can be heard on Comfort Radio - one of the top three internet radio stations used by the military for blasting at dictators until they surrender. See you next week.
Posted by Scotto at 09:00 AM | Comments (0)
March 24, 2005
More tales of sexual abandon
Roisin Murphy of Moloko has teamed up with Matthew Herbert to put out a series of limited edition EPs, leading up to a full-length CD release in May. Her web site helpfully describes the following tracks: "'Ruby Blue'... begins with an ear-catching meld of distorted funk and Andrews Sisters harmonies. It slides around like a languid and sinuous eel, all finger-pops and syncopated handclaps, before busting out with a too-loud fuzz guitar and Roisin's provocative kitten purr. 'Night Of the Dancing Flame'... tells more tales of sexual abandon in not entirely private places, and you realise that between them her and Herbert might have hit upon a long untapped resource of Cab Calloway-influenced pop music."
I couldn't have said it better myself, unless you put me on retainer.
Roisin Murphy - Ruby Blue
Roisin Murphy - Night Of The Dancing Flame
Recently on Comfort Radio:
Dizzy Gillespie - Manteca
DJ Krush - Keeping The Motion
Longineu Parsons - It Will Be Better
Posted by Scotto at 09:00 AM | Comments (0)
March 23, 2005
Here's some more
Last week's Dälek post just wasn't enough ass-kicking good underground hip-hop, so, uh, here's some more. From the February 2005 release Expose Negative.
Oddjobs - En Pocket
Oddjobs - The Alibi
Oddjobs - Rather See You Never
Recently on Comfort Radio:
Phobode - Cyclical Time
Spool - algo
Bluetech - 7th Phase Dub
Posted by Scotto at 09:00 AM | Comments (1)
March 22, 2005
Banjotastic
Today brings psychedelic indie rock from the new album Sing Out America, by the Milwaukee-based 7-piece band Decibully. Their sound's a little bit Wilco, a little bit Gomez, and I kept hearing hints of Phish, but not enough to put me off my food or anything. Get more freebies from the band here.
Decibully - I'm Gonna Tell You
Decibully - Megan And Magill
Decibully - Rid Of Me At Last
Recently on Comfort Radio:
UK Gold - Amazulu Booty
Plaid - Bouncing Checks
New York Ska-Jazz Ensemble - Buttah
Posted by Scotto at 09:00 AM | Comments (0)
March 21, 2005
Cloying and kicking
Here's a few numbers from the December 2004 Tokyo Nu-School Of Jazz compilation. The first is a snazzy little acid jazz track - "It's a real toe-tapper!" The second is a swing track reminiscent of a Cowboy Bebop soundtrack tune. And Studio Apartment manages to sound both cloying and kicking at the same time - "How do they do it??"
Hajime Yoshizawa feat. Amadori - Piano Man
Sugar Mama - Choritsu
Studio Apartment - Life From The Sun
Recently on Comfort Radio:
Spaccanapoli - O' Mare
Sly & The Family Stone - Thankful N Thoughtful
Malawi Rocks Vs K-Sobajima - Theme From Space Invaders
Posted by Scotto at 09:00 AM | Comments (0)
March 18, 2005
Kind of unnerving
I put this Secret Machines LP on the stereo the other night while I was putting away groceries, and I swear the band must have somehow encoded "crank this fucker up LOUD" into the track. It was kind of unnerving, and also awesome. From the album Now Here Is Nowhere.
Secret Machines - First Wave Intact
My, what a sweet little Prefuse 73 song. From the Dublab Presents: In The Loop 2 vinyl EP, released by the fine folks at Plug Research.
Prefuse 73 - Oh Linda, You Lit Up My Life With Your Voice And Made Me Fall In Love With You
And finally... holy mizzoly, this next track is pretty. It seems that Better Propaganda up and mailed me a link to this track by Milosh, and for that, god bless their little indie hearts. Mmmm, sweet, luscious, electropop balladry, perfectly suited for your next "I love you the mostest" comp or stalker phone message campaign. From the album You Make Me Feel, also released by Plug Research.
These and other fine, fine tracks can be heard on Comfort Radio - the third most popular internet radio station in the highly coveted "two or three people who still willingly hang out with Scotto" demographic. See you next week.
Posted by Scotto at 09:00 AM | Comments (0)
March 17, 2005
May I suggest
If you haven't heard any ass-kicking good underground hip-hop in days, perhaps even multiple sets of days, may I suggest you turn your attention to the February 2005 release by Dälek entitled Absence. The soundscapes are menacing and raucous, and Dälek's lyrics are a precision attack; it's easy to imagine why it makes sense to have these people open for Mike Patton. Released by the delightfully-named Ipecac Recordings - their site is a treat, if you want the inside of your screen vomited on.
Dälek - Asylum (Permanent Underclass)
Dälek - Eyes To Form Shadows
Dälek - Ever Somber
Posted by Scotto at 09:00 AM | Comments (0)
March 16, 2005
Also, yummy
The compilation Monika Force presents an array of ethereal electropop goodness. Seeing some of the names on the comp, I would have guessed it was released by Morr Music, but I would have been wrong. It's being released by - surprise! - the label Monika in May. These tunes are languid, quirky, pretty, subtle... also, yummy.
Figurine - Connections
Michaela Melián - Brautlied
Barbara Morgenstern - Aus Heiterem Himmel (Dntel mix)
Komeit - 3 Hours (T. Raumschmiere mix)
Posted by Scotto at 09:00 AM | Comments (2)
March 15, 2005
Run, do not walk
I know I posted a Dierdre track off a comp a few weeks ago, but that was then, and this is the now of hearing the whole delightful album. Run, do not walk, to your nearest, uh, Amazon window, and click to purchase this fantastic debut from the former singer from Ekova. This is some mighty fine singing, some mighty slinky techno, some really swank production. Also, it is very good. From the Six Degrees release One. The Six Degrees site has a video and a stream of the whole album.
Dierdre - Waiting For Spring
Dierdre - More Than The Ocean
Dierdre - Lolita Nie En Bloc
Posted by Scotto at 09:00 AM | Comments (0)
March 14, 2005
Great philosophical questions
Am I just dumb for liking the new Moby album? Or is my being dumb simply a pre-existing condition that creates a liking of the new Moby album? These are the great philosophical questions I wrestle with.
Moby - Beautiful
Moby - Lift Me Up
In other news, our pal Ramez Naam just published a great book called More Than Human: Embracing The Promise Of Technological Enhancement, a wonderfully optimistic and articulate look at how science & technology are dramatically improving our lives & bodies. Personally I am embracing the promise of brain implants that give me wireless, behind-the-eyelids access to my pr0n collection. Anyway, buy Mez's book and see for yourself - it's time to get your transhuman on, people!
Posted by Scotto at 09:00 AM | Comments (4)
March 11, 2005
I'm not saying, I'm just saying
We're ending our week on an uptempo note with a quartet of completely unrelated boogie down tracks that I've heard on Comfort Radio during the past few weeks. If you can't boogie down to these tracks, you are a soulless robot. (Not that that's a bad thing, I'm just saying.) That is all.
Cornelius - Bird Watching At Inner Forest
Ugress - Swing E Sesso (remix)
Panjabi MC - Mundian To Bach Ke (Roobotika rmx)
Le Hammond Inferno - Speech Defects
Comfort Radio - your friendly neighborhood 24/7 groovebox. See you next week.
Posted by Scotto at 09:00 AM | Comments (0)
March 10, 2005
Crushing on, pt. 2
Guest-posting from Yara continues, as she describes what she's been crushing on lately:
"One of the Caro tracks I wrote about last time has a couple of remixes you can now hear (as well as a super-cute little label)."
Caro - My Little Pony (Ben Neville mix excerpt)
"The new Fischerspooner track that's out, 'Just Let Go'. Oh to be a 24-year-old raver again."
Fischerspooner - Just Let Go (Thin White Duke Remix) - Windows Media
"Kiss n Ride's 'Whose Side R U On Anyway?'" From the album Someone Killed My Generation.
Kiss n Ride - Whose Side R U On Anyway?
"There's also a track called 'Pi' from a duo that I think is called Hard Time. One of the indie 103.1 radio deejays down here (Los Angeles) has been playing the heck out of it, but I can't track it down anywhere. HIGHLY recommended if you can find it." [Anyone got this? -s]
"Ben Lee singing Modest Mouse's 'Float On'. I'll admit to a weakness for the Australian accent, but Ben Lee also sings this song way less pretentiously than MM does."
Ben Lee - Float On (live on Indie 103.1) (WMA file)
"Things I'm trying hard to like, but haven't been won over by yet: new Kings of Leon, Chemical Brothers, Bloc Party, Bright Eyes, Brazilian Girls, Graham Coxon..."
Posted by Scotto at 09:00 AM | Comments (0)
March 09, 2005
Crushing on
Yara returns for a couple guest posts this week:
"The disco desire has been satisfied by the iTunes Essential Disco Collection, and so, I've moved on to other things. Here's what I've been crushing on lately, in no particular order:
"Ian Brown, former lead singer of The Stone Roses, brought out Solarized."
Ian Brown - Time Is My Everything
"MIA's 'Galang', which I can't possibly describe, as me using all the hip lingo for 'intense' sounds ridiculous. The whole album is just wicked." [I don't happen to have that track, but here's a different track to check out. -s]
MIA - Gangalang (Tone 396 Mix)
"Crazy electrified Congolese music from Konono No. 1's Congotronics."
Jem's 'Finally Woken' reminds me just ever so slightly of Heather Duby's first solo effort (you can listen to the whole album off the site, but no download)."
"Spalding Rockwell's 'Hear My Name' with Armand Van Helden, which went around awhile back. There's also an incredibly hot-sounding French version, called 'Je T'Appelle'. They have a few new songs out an a new LP that have a just little more edge. Favorites are 'Vicious' and 'Kate'." [Stream these from their site if they sound inneresting. -s]
More from Yara tomorrow...
Posted by Scotto at 09:00 AM | Comments (0)
March 08, 2005
Don't forget to be late
In the same vein as Akufen comes this release from the netlabel Autres Directions in Music. The album is listed as "casiopop" and "collage" on its Internet Archive page - yes, they have a category called "casiopop"! I don't really get that - this is a lot yummier than invoking the world's little-keyboard-that-could to help define a sound. As I find myself saying so often, this wacky cut-up style is really up my alley, but might be too random for some folks. Not that I would know, since I get comments about as often as I get hit by meteors, which is to say, once every couple weeks or so. From the Where Does Dust Come From EP.
Obadia - Don't Forget To Be Late
Obadia - Lounge
Obadia - Some Hot Lazy Day
Posted by Scotto at 09:00 AM | Comments (4)
March 07, 2005
Every emotion in the world
Our NYC pal Lune alerted us to an upcoming set of west coast dates by Antony and The Johnsons, coming to Seattle in April. To whet the appetite, Lune writes:
"You will weep at the timbre and tone of Antony's unbelievable delivery, the unashamed honesty in his lyrics. Laurie Anderson says, 'every emotion in the world is contained in that beautiful voice', and she's not exaggerating. It's remarkable... There is nothing rambunctious to this stuff whatsoever - this is a sit down and float, lie down and cry, as he softly breaks your heart with every note type of thing. Unexpected chords, unlikely lyrics, disturbing subjects, and glorious new takes on old standards. If you're lucky enough to see Antony do 'Strange Fruit', you'll be undone."
Antony and The Johnsons - Cripple And The Starfish
Antony and The Johnsons - Hope There's Someone
Antony and The Johnsons - River Of Sorrow
From the albums I Am A Bird Now and Antony and The Johnsons.
Posted by Scotto at 09:00 AM | Comments (0)
March 04, 2005
As the kids are calling it
Remarkably yummy techno - or "techhouse", as the kids are calling it - from the netlabel Episonlab. The first track here is an uptempo number highly reminiscent of Mr. Scruff; the remix by Eloi Brunelle is smooth and crisp. From the Town Hall EP. Get more freebies from Mossa and Eloi Brunelle here.
Mossa - Town Hall (Take One)
Mossa - Town Hall (Take One - Eloi Brunelle remix)
These and other fine, fine tracks can be heard on Comfort Radio. See you next week.
Posted by Scotto at 09:00 AM | Comments (0)
March 03, 2005
The world goes round
Netlabel Alpinechic recently offered up a nice little collection of underground Swiss electronic music. I know, I know, who knew, etc. The first track here is pleasingly reminiscent of Air, but with just a touch more funk; the crunchy, low-fi wackiness of the second track bears some comparison to Cursor Minor; the last track is a sweet little disco thing. From the compilation Swiss Circus In Stereo.
Env - World
Mon Petit Poney - Harley
Le Zero - Sunset Silhouette
Posted by Scotto at 09:00 AM | Comments (1)
March 02, 2005
People are made of stone
Here's some friendly, catchy electropop, if that's your sort of thing - not hook-ridden Postal Service catchy, mind you, but it's certainly got a nice voice about it. From the 2005 release Americana.
Snooze - People Are Made Of Stone
Snooze - Now Were Two
Snooze - Black Flowers
Snooze - Home Is Where It Hurts
Posted by Scotto at 09:00 AM | Comments (1)
March 01, 2005
Crunchy goodness
Sleepy turned me on to this tasty glitch-hop from edIT, a Prefuse 73-ish bit of crunchy goodness. From the album Crying Over Pros For No Reason, released by Planet Mu Records - µ-ziq's label, what also brought you releases by such cats as Luke Vibert, Electric Company, "and more!"
edIT - Ants
edIT - Twenty Minutes
edIT - Situps Pullups
Posted by Scotto at 09:00 AM | Comments (0)