Seriously though, sans the abrupt ending, "Surgeon" is a damn-near perfect song. That Bowie-esque bassline, the nauseous synths...Mmm. Would not be surprised if this makes the top tracks cut this year. I'm hunting around for Annie Clark's producer...more on that when I stalk the info out of the web.
Strange Mercy will arrive September 13th on 4AD. You can also stop over there right now to grab a free download of "Surgeon".
My roommate clued me into this Pusha-T/Tyler the Creator release, informing me that he "knows a guy who knows the guy" who directed this video. Good enough for me. I think part of this was shot down skid row. Don't quote me on that, I just noticed the tents. Oh, and the cops.
"Trouble On My Mind" will be featured on Pusha T's upcoming release Fear of God 2: Let Us Pray, out in August on GOOD Music.
Sorry in advance for having to use so many videos in my posts of late. There's so much good ish to cram in here, and sometimes I don't feel like hunting down a working link for a soundbyte, or [heaven forbid!] creating my own. That's right. I'm apologizing to you for my laziness.
I basically feel too cool to do anything at the moment. It's this track. The one I'm about to post the video for. Like some sort of shimmering lost Curtis Mayfield cut, Steve Spacek is too chillaxed to resist a listen. The worst part - he's been making music for over a decade and nobody told me about it.
"Reversible Top" is off Spacek's 2005 album Space Shift, which completely makes sense. This fits right in between Quantic's Apricot Morning and Nostalgia 77's The Garden on my sequentially-cataloged music shelf - the one in my mind, that is. No word on further releases since '05, although he has gone on to perform with Katalyst under the name Space Invadas.
How's your Saturday going? I thought I'd add some summer to it. And nothing says summer like a nice mix for firing up the grill, drinking whiskey, or hanging out with old friends, all of which I'm about to do. Jealous? Don't be! Play this!
I have to give special thanks today to Jason Bentley of KCRW, who consistently provides excellent background music during my commutes to the office. This morning he followed up Bjork's stunning new release "Crystalline" (I think we can all agree it's stunning) with the little number I've posted below for your listening pleasure.
I literally
turned off my car's engine
reclined my seat
and blared the bass.
It was awkward
because I was outside
of Starbucks.
This track kept me a full three minutes from my first coffee of the day. I can honestly say that I don't think anything else, musical or otherwise, has inspired such a pause before.
Now that's not to say this is hands-down the new fucking awesome, but little by little I am changing my attitude towards dubstep. (Probably because it is the only genre that has been producing good music this year with any consistency.) I give full credit for this track's ferocity to Skrillex, although to be fair (or blunt, or whatever) I haven't been able to give Benny Benassi credit for anything in awhile. The full cut (this is the radio edit) isn't nearly as concise. Doesn't pack the same punch. If you don't believe me you can find the full version on the interwebs. But I don't know why you wouldn't believe me. I'm totally reputable.
So now I invite you to turn up the bass and let this track keep you from whatever menial task you thought was important. Cheers!
Whqles (pronounced "Whales") is a band I happened upon last night, playing, of all places, in Montana L.A. on Sunset. The Los Angeles-based duo describe their sound as "oceancore", and they recently released an EP of interesting psych-laced and loop-ridden covers. Hear their take on John Lennon's "Jealous Guy" below.
You can listen to their most recent EP, OPP, in full on their bandcamp site. It's like...ten minutes long. You have the time to spare.
I decided to cut my trolling short tonight when I saw a car cruising down Vermont with it's headlights off. I assume it's driver was likewise unawares. Okay, bad joke. But seriously, don't drink and drive. However, if you're not drunk, and looking for a good song to drive to, I have one for the occasion:
Mmm. That's tasty bass. SBTRKT is a London producer who just released his self-titled debut album on Young Turks. I hear the dude wears a mask on stage, that whole, "revealing your identity obscures the meaning of the music" thing. Isn't that a gimmick? Doesn't that make your identity more distracting? Whatever. That masks reminds me of The Mighty Boosh anyway.
