Posts by Chazzbot:
Guest List: White Life
August 2nd, 2011
We Talk Musical Influences and Favorites with White Life
As hopeless music lovers, musical etymology is always fascinating to us. Learning what made a certain work what it is always gives us a richer understanding and appreciation of someone’s craft.
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“Punk goes pop. It’s fun and guilt slowly dissipates. At the apex of the joy of “do-it-yourself” and the joy of pure pop, this song, its unintelligible lyrics, it’s giddy part-time-singer. “ |
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Jackson 5 (Clifton Davis) – Never Can Say Goodbye “This is Opera. Little Micheal brings the listener in somberly. As his emotions increase, so does the volume of the instruments, the intensity of his voice and the connectivity with the listener. A collision of genius, hard work, viability and undeniable performance. It’s my Mothers cell phone ringtone to boot. “ |
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“Almost stream-of-consciousness, a freewheeling exercise in defying the expected within the confines of the best sounds available. Once the perfect beat is found, whatever else is done inside is permissible, and enjoyed. A song that perhaps was an experiment in creating sonic serotonin; a Petri Dish of the most pleasurable imaginable chords, sounds, words and melodies. ” |
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“Where does this teenage romance meet the jaded singles game?” No, not a dance track, but raw raw raw lyrics and performance that leap out 30 years later. That’s power. I’ve listened to this song 300 times and it’s magic, still compelling. Anyone making songs should strive to this hugeness. |
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New Edition – She Gives Me A Bang “What makes Zappa fringe and New Edition commercial? Get out of the context of Arthur Baker/NY electro-rap hipness/Jackson 5 revival, and this track is a very weird experiment in danceable bubblegum. Speed, key-changes, a universal truth, and a child guides us through. A near-perfectly composed headtrip. Evil genius Maurice Starr knows that we’re all vulnerable children, gettn “bangs,” and his ability to manipulate both his cash-cow performers as well as his listeners, while clearly questionable, is astounding. Is he in jail?” |
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“Modern folk music. My mother didn’t cook while humming Irish ditties, my neighbor wasn’t in the street playing fiddle tunes. Traditional folk music came to me later in life when I sought it out. The music that just arrived in my brain for the first 13 or so years of my existence was radio pop. Before my brain was fully formed I was hearing straight FM sugar. I knew Donny was my favorite New Kid On The Block before I had ever heard "Amazing Grace" (which I heard for the first time on a frequently running infomercial on cable TV). I wasn’t a conscious being when this song, or others much like it were popular or predominant, but between my sisters’ teeny-bopper music fandom of the period and my parents enjoyment of the radio, my unconscious brain learned this song, built connotations and stored them forever. Hearing this song has a very real neurological effect on me. I also like the bassline.?” |
mp3 – White Life – Time Is Wasting
mp3 – White Life – I Just Want Love
Pick up White Life’s S/T album here
New Radiohead! “Staircase”
June 21st, 2011Surprise surprise– continuing with their unorthodox method of material release, our boys in London have once again dropped a brand new track in our laps with no warning, via Nigel Goodrich’s (the man who puts the ‘pro’ in ‘producer’) ongoing live video series, From The Basement. Spin and download the MP3 here and check out the video above. More please!
mp3 – Radiohead – Staircase
previously:
Radiohead – Supercollider /The Butcher
archive: Radiohead Live at Alpine Valley – 8/23/03
Chromatic Flights’ Favorite Cat EP
October 6th, 2009
mp3 – Chromatic Flights – Favorite Cat
mp3 – Chromatic Flights – Story Of The Sun
mp3 – Chromatic Flights – Sunset Bell
Meet Squeakers, the official SC Feline and, overall, my Favorite Cat. Squeakers would like to introduce you to his new Favorite EP by Chromatic Flights titled, simply, Favorite Cat EP. Confused? I sure am. One thing that I’m not confused by, though, is that Chromatic Flights is right up my alley. Almost Animal Collective-y at times with layered, repetitive vocals mixing with great electro-sensibility (electrobility? I’ll call Webster…) but with a vocoded twist. I can’t get enough.
I’m also digging that Chromatic Flights’ 3 EPs are all available for free download here– quite a lot of great stuff to keep you busy while you’re sitting at your desk trying to pretend like you’re working for the rest of the afternoon. Below you’ll find Favorite Cat and Story of the Sun from the Squeakers’ fav EP along with a bonus track called Sunset Bell. Word on the street is that Avey Tare’s sister did the album art for this one…
Please enjoy!
Seizure Chicken Interviews The Antlers (video)
September 22nd, 2009When The Antlers’ Hospice first reached us at SC I gave it my usual cursory listen while typing away at my desk at work and as the album developed my typing slowed… eventually coming to a dead halt. And then the second tune started. I knew we had something special here. The boys from Brooklyn dominated the coop for a while and Hospice has quickly risen to the absolute top of my Album of Twenty-Aught-Nine List. When my good friend Madano informed me that they’d be performing at the Forward Music Festival in Madison, WI on Saturday, September 20 I started playing eenie-meenie-miney-mo between my kidneys to determine which one to sell so that I could make the show. Needless to say, I was delighted when I learned I wouldn’t have to eBay my My Buddy doll collection as SC had done the unthinkable: scored an interview with The Antlers.
After seeing Peter, Darby and Michael perform the tracks at the High Noon Saloon on Saturday afternoon I was absolutely stupefied. When the interview came around I was absolutely terrified that I’d make a blubbering idiot of myself in front of these three guys who I had come to respect and even honor over the past few months. The conversation that ensued was truly enlightening—ranging from the conception of the album and the recording process (which, contrary to popular belief on the interweb, didn’t involve Peter being chained to a guitar alone for 18 months) to the immense task of taking an album as flawlessly constructed as Hospice to the stage and their plans for the future, this interview was absolutely eye-opening. A little insight into these great musical minds is priceless; I got a good deal more out of the interview than just a little bit. And now, here’s your chance! Check out the video above and learn a little more about this year’s top album, Hospice, and the phenomenal dudes who created it: The Antlers.
Washed Out’s New Single – Feel It All Around
August 25th, 2009
What is it about ethereal synthesizer lines, laid-back porno drum beats with some great layered vox over the top that makes all of us so happy? This new single, Feel It All Around, self-released by a gentleman who has named the act Washed Out (a clever double entendre… the name seems to be a bit self-deprecating but the track certainly does invoke a certain sand-castle-that-has-just-been-taken-into-the-ocean-by-a-gentle-wave feeling) is just ruling my face for the moment.
Dripping with reverb and tape echo, this track vibes for days. Check it out, give it a right-click and ‘save link as’ and you won’t be sorry. Album is due out Fall ’09 and I’m going to predict right now that you’ll be hearing more about it.
MP3– Washed Out’s Feel It All Around
