Good Weather For Airstrikes

I know I promised full coverage of Nastyfest last week, but as you probably noticed it, uh, didn’t happen. Thursday was my last day in London and I spent most of yesterday in (severely-delayed) transit, so it was a ridiculously busy week for me as I tried to squeeze in a few more days of work, tie up any loose ends I had in London and see White Rabbits and the Young Republic (more on them later) as many times as physically possible in the space of five days. But as I write this I’m driving to the greener pastures of Martha’s Vineyard, where things are a bit more laid back and there are like way less nail bombs to worry about, which means I should be able to get back into a more regular posting pattern now. Keep an eye out for my coverage of Nastyfest (seriously, it’s almost done) and a full wrap-up of my time in London in the coming week, but for now here’s the longggg-overdue next installment in the M3 series. Enjoy.

I’ll be real with you: I’ve been slacking in a BIG way on the whole M3 front. Like, M3 Volume 12 came out at the end of fucking December. That was six months ago. My bad. The worst part is, this mix has been done for over two months now, I just kind of… didn’t get around to posting it. Fortunately, I’m doing my best to rectify the situation and have M3 Volume 13 ready to go and should have a few more mixes coming down the pipeline in the coming weeks/months. Thus, I present to you M3 Volume 13, the most rockin’ mix I’ve ever dropped on this site and the best recipe you’ll find for getting fucking pumped this side of PCP.

We start off with what just might be the best track here, Les Savy Fav’s amazing “The Sweat Descends”. I know my step-bro’s in the band and everything, but I promise you there’s no familial obligation involved when I declare the track one of the best straight-up ROCK songs of the past ten years. Next up is Cazals “Poor Innocent Boys”, a track that owned me for months after I first heard it on the second Kitsune Maison compilation last summer. The artists formerly known as Shaky Hands keep things moving with their blistering hit single, “You and I”, before DC legends (and hometown heroes) Q And Not U fill the dancefloor with the most accessible track of their three-album career, “Wonderful People”, an instant-classic off their 2005 swan-song LP, Power. Then it’s back to the up-and-comers with a trio of bright young things from England keeping it shit-hot with debut Foals single “Hummer”, the diamond-cutting riffs of Fury of the Headteachers’ “Fables” and the Killers-sized synths of the Moths’ “Games”.

The Noisettes carry us over the halfway mark with their hard-rocking motivational speech of a single, “Scratch Your Name”, the standout single on the best record Motown’s released in, say, the last 20 years. Interpol keep things current with their yet-to-be-officially-released new single, “The Heinrich Maneuver”, the lead track off their hotly anticipated third album and Bloc Party’s “Skeleton” follows and is the brightest of a few under-appreciated gems on the mix, as it’s one of the best tracks the band’s ever released despite not making it onto either of the bands’ albums. Tragic. Moving on we’ve got another sleeper hit in Foreign Islands’ “We Know You Know It”, a track that succeeds on a winning combination of addictive “hoo-hoos”, remarkably polished production and some bomb-ass synthy bits in the chorus. Next up it’s a couplet of chart-toppers courtesy of Arctic Monkeys and Klaxons because regardless of how well-known they are, they’re bangin’ tracks that work perfectly in the context of this mix. Then Le Castle Vania breaks you off with a little piece of the reeemix in the form of his incredible update to Snowden’s “Black Eyes”, a track that was 1000% mediocre until Le Castle Vania got his hands on it. Props, kind sir. Rounding things out is White Rose Movement with their synth-heavy burner, “Alsatian”, which stands out as one of Mr. Paul Epworth’s finer production accomplishments and provides a fitting conclusion to this most rocking addition to the M3 series.

High Resolution Artwork: [Front Cover] [Back Cover]

Download: M3 Volume 13 [follow link]

M3 Volume 13:
01. “The Sweat Descends” - Les Savy Fav
02. “Poor Innocent Boys” - Cazals
03. “You and I” - Cut Off Your Hands!
04. “Wonderful People” - Q And Not U
05. “Hummer” - Foals
06. “Fables” - Fury of the Headteachers
07. “Games” - The Moths
08. “Scratch Your Name” - The Noisettes
09. “The Heinrich Maneuver” - Interpol
10. “Skeleton” - Bloc Party
11. “We Know You Know It” - Foreign Islands
12. “Brianstorm” - Arctic Monkeys
13. “Gravity’s Rainbow” - Klaxons
14. “Black Eyes” (Le Castle Vania Remix) - Snowden
15. “Alsatian” - White Rose Movement

Wednesday night’s Simian Mobile Disco gig was an invite-only affair spotlighting them as the only band on the bill and I’ll be honest, I generally have fairly low expectations for these promotional showcase-type events. I was still quite excited though, as the only other time I’ve seen SMD was at Studio B in March on what I can easily say was my drunkest night of 2007 to this point, and while I know they put on a ridiculously awesome show, I was looking forward to actually being able to remember it this time around. As expected, it was a considerably short set, barely 45 minutes, but they went all-out to make sure this wasn’t just your run-of-the-mill promo gig. The light show was one of the best I’ve ever seen, the sound was flawless and I’ll be damned if they didn’t have the crowd dancing for most of the set, which wasn’t exactly what I was expecting considering the typical audience at these things and the band’s early set time.

For two dudes who look like accountants, Mssrs. Ford and Shaw can certainly drop some bad-ass tracks. I never thought I could be so riveted by the sight of a lanky dude in glasses fiddling with a bunch of wires while his friend twiddles some knobs a few feet away from him, but I’m not gonna lie, I was into it. Sure, that had a lot to do with the completely overwhelming light show and the barrage of insanely hot jams coming at me from all directions, but the fact of the matter is that the SMD put on a GREAT show Wednesday night and are not to be fucked with as a live act.

The whole thing was set up to promote their just-released debut album, the awesomely-titled Attack Decay Sustain Release, so it was fitting that they opened with the album’s lead-in track, “Sleep Deprivation”. The three-minute instrumental steadily builds in momentum and intensity and provided the perfect intro to their set, before segueing flawlessly into the duo’s remix of the Go Team’s “Ladyflash”, the first of two remixes they’d drop in their set. Shortly thereafter came the back-to-back double threat of singles “It’s The Beat” and “Tits & Acid”, but it was absolutely GAME OVER when “Hustler”, perhaps the most bad-ass track of 2006, dropped and inspired the closest thing to an actual audience frenzy I saw all night. Another flawless transition led straight into SMD’s treatment of Klaxons’ “Magick”, their best remix to date, which elicited another hugely enthusiastic response from the audience.

Just as the crowd was getting really into it, though, the duo slowed things down and indicated that the next track would be their finale. I was about 95% sure I’d been standing next to ex-Simian vocalist and current Black Ghosts frontman Simon Lord all night, and that was only confirmed when the opening bars of current SMD single “I Believe” (which features Lord on guest vocals) rang out across the audience and Lord’s friends began to jump up and down and pat him on the back. “I Believe” is easily the most commercially viable track SMD’s put out to date and really gives “Hustler” and “It’s The Beat” a run for their money as the duo’s best track, and it certainly didn’t disappoint Wednesday night. The comparably-languorous pace of the track was a bit of a departure from the rest of their set, but a drawn-out, slow-building intro drew the crowd in perfectly before the beat exploded and introduced Lord’s vocals into the mix. A more up-tempo number might have provided a more fitting conclusion to their mostly high-octane set, but I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t incredibly impressed by their show as a whole. Attack Decay Sustain Release is out now and is one of the most complete debuts I’ve heard this year, maintaining a consistent standard of quality throughout and keeping you coming back for more with album tracks that hit every bit as hard as the shit-hot singles that accompany them on the record. Get on it.

MP3s:
“Hustler” - Simian Mobile Disco ((highly recommended))
“I Believe” - Simian Mobile Disco ((highly recommended))
“It’s The Beat” (Teenagers Remix) - Simian Mobile Disco

In other news, I’m writing this from a moving train right now because they have fucking high-speed wireless on trains here. I fucking love this country. Where am I off to? Well, all the cool kids are drowning at Glastonbury, but it’s all about motherfuckin’ NastyFest this weekend. Fuck paying £175 to toil in the swamp that Glasto is set to (if it hasn’t already) become after the weekend’s rains hit. Instead, I get to see pretty much every single band I’d wanted to see while I was here, but either missed or didn’t get a chance to see in London. The show is headlined by I Was A Cub Scout, iLiKETRAiNS and White Rabbits (three bands I’ve been aching to see for ages), but that’s just the tip of the iceberg. Then there’s three of the best bands I missed at the Great Escape in Fear of Flying, Foals (not on the poster, but allegedly playing?) and the Dykeenies, plus the Teenagers, the Moths (YESSS), Video Nasties and brand new XL signee Laura Groves. Oh oh oh and did I mention Does It Offend You, Yeah? are playing too?! AWESOME.

On a side note, we are staying in a hotel called Roomzzz (three z’s!). I really can’t wait. Festivities kick off at 4 PM today and will go until 3 AM tonight, and you better believe I’ll be there for every minute of it. Expect at least mildly comprehensive coverage on Monday, for now here are two very choice tracks from headliners I Was A Cub Scout and White Rabbits. “The Plot” is really quite amazing.

MP3s:
“Pink Squares” - I Was A Cub Scout ((highly recommended))
“The Plot” - White Rabbits ((highly recommended)) [LINK FIXED]

I went to three of the four days of the O2 Wireless Festival in Hyde Park last weekend and saw a number of excellent performances, but the blinding (literally and figuratively) brilliance of Daft Punk’s MONUMENTAL set on Saturday night renders any effort to even so much as remember any of the other acts of the festival all but pointless. No amount of superlative adjectives could even begin to do the show justice, but hey, I’ve never let that sop me before; let’s do this.

With me in London and at the festival this past weekend was my dear friend (my #1 stunna, if you will) and former classmate at UVA Jia Tolentino, and we made a point to get as close to the front of the stage as possible for Daft Punk, which meant situating ourselves in a prime position three hours before Daft Punk was to take the stage. The wait was made incredibly tolerable (to say the least) by an excellent set from CSS and my first ever LCD Soundsystem live experience (which was amazing, as expected), but while I’d normally wet myself at the prospect of seeing those two acts on the same stage in any setting, it almost felt like obligatory foreplay with the knowledge that DAFT MOTHERFUCKING PUNK would be directing a crash course in euphoria in only a few hours time.

Moments after LCD exited the stage an ominous black curtain was pulled across the set and the frantic construction of Daft Punk’s now-infamous pyramid began, only adding to the nigh-unbearable anticipation. After one of the most interminable waits of my life, the massive LCD screens to the right and left of the stage went black and an ominous synth line led us into the teaser trailer for Daft Punk’s latest cinematic odyssey, Electroma, which debuted to mixed reviews at Cannes last year and is currently being shown as a midnight movie on a regular basis in Paris. I can’t even begin to describe how awesome the movie looks, but I digress. From there it was another fifteen minutes before the stage was finally revealed eliciting uproarious applause from the crowd and soiling more than just a few trousers I reckon. Then, it began.

Leading in with an alternating refrain of “HUMAN” and “ROBOT”, Daft Punk built up an almost unbearable amount of anticipation for the beat to drop, before finally dropping the monstrous central riff of “Robot Rock” and throwing the crowd into a complete frenzy. You’d have been hard-pressed to find anyone in the 20,000 people (a very conservative estimate) crammed in front of the main stage who wasn’t completely freaking the fuck out at that point, and things only got crazier when the spoken verse of “Technologic” burst forth from the speakers accompanied by each word spelled out in twenty foot tall letters across the massive LCD screen behind the pyramid. It initially employed the lusty vocals of Busta Rhymes’ “Touch It” before evolving into the robotic high-pitched vocals of the original version, at which point the crowd let out another tremendous roar of approval. “Crescendolls” came shortly thereafter and was one of the few tracks that was played largely unchanged in its original form and was just a straight-up party from start to finish. Then it was time for the show’s first true climax, when the duo dropped “Around The World” transitioning FLAWLESSLY into “Harder Better Faster Stronger”. Suffice it to say, SHIT WAS BANANAS.

But the undeniable highlight for me and the moment I’d been waiting for all night (all my life?) was when at long last the ominous bells of “Aerodynamic” burst forth from the speakers, announcing the arrival of the “Aerodynamic” edit of “One More Time”. All of the highlights from each track were thrown together to create one massive, empire-toppling mega-anthem, resulting in rampant shit-losing throughout the crowd and some of the most incredible four minutes of my life. RIDICULOUS.

No single track was able to top “Aerodynamic”/”One More Time” (though “Da Funk” came damn close), but that’s not to say that the second half of their wasn’t every bit as life-affirming as the first. At one point during “Prime Time of Your Life” I had my hands over my mouth and my eyes transfixed on the stage, prompting a woman next to me to ask me what I was worrying about and demand that I have fun, but the fact of the matter was that I was simply just too completely overwhelmed by sheer, unadulterated awe to even move at that point. Fortunately, it was only moments later that “Da Funk” dropped and sent me and everyone else into another frenzied dance session once again. After an hour of pumping out an unrelenting stream of solid-gold jams the duo struck a triumphant pose and left the stage, giving everyone a few moments to reflect, recharge and refuel before one last final burst of euphoria.

As if things could get any more ridiculous, the climax of the encore came during a reprisal of the bridge of “Aerodynamic” mixed with Thomas Bangalter side-project Stardust’s “Music Sounds Better With You”, in which the music stopped suddenly for a beat as all the lights went out, and neon orange lights lining every detail of the duo’s robot suits lit up and caused one final audience freak-out before they pumped out a few more jams with their suits still ablaze with neon and left the stage for good. The only disappointment of the encore - nay, the entire performance - was the exclusion of “Digital Love”, but it certainly didn’t keep the show from going down as the best live experience of my life and a performance I will never forget.
With the exception of a few changes here and there (the exclusion of “Crescendolls” from the Coachella set, for example), the setlist was largely identical to the one from Coachella 2006 and most of the same tricks were employed, so those well-versed in the incredible quality bootleg of the show should know what I’m talking about. For the uninitiated, you’ll find high-quality soundboard recordings of the shows below along with a grip of some of the better Daft Punk remixes to surface over the years.

MP3s:
“Robot Rock” (Live @ Coachella) - Daft Punk
“Technologic” (Live @ Coachella) - Daft Punk
“Around The World/Harder Better Faster…” (Live @ Coachella) - Daft Punk
“One More Time” (Aerodynamic Remix) (Live @ Coachella) - Daft Punk
“Da Funk” (Live @ Coachella) - Daft Punk
“Harder Better Faster Stronger” (Dirty Disco Youth Remix) - Daft Punk
“Human After All” (SebastiAn Remix) - Daft Punk
“Human After All” (Justice’s Guy Man After All Mix) - Daft Punk

For a few moments after the show I thought I may never be able to see another live due to the knowledge that nothing will ever top Daft Punk’s seismic throwdown in Hyde Park, but with the news that Kissy Sell Out would be manning the tables in an hour at 333 in East London and a need to work off some SERIOUS adrenaline, we didn’t think twice before jumping into a cab and heading straight for Shoreditch.

KISSY SELL OUT @ 333


There’s no doubt that Phones was the king of the remix world in 2005, but 2006 saw the crown being shared by three newcomers. Metronomy, SebastiAn and Justice all churned out their fair share of incredible mixes, and you’d have been hard-pressed to declare a consensus favorite without considerable backlash. However, in 2007 it looks like a lone Brit is set to own the title once again. With a grip of mind-blowing remixes for the likes of pop behemoths All Saints, Mark Ronson and Gwen Stefani already to his name this year and publications already declaring him “an English Justice”, 2007 is shaping up to be the Year of the Kissy in a big way.

We made it to 333 with time to spare and killed time over drinks before Kissy took the stage at 12:30 and jumped straight into the early stages of his set, an impressive 30-minute run that included a hot mix of New Young Pony Club’s “Ice Cream” and was remarkably solid despite it’s obvious warm-up status. All of a sudden the opening synth burst of Kissy’s AMAZING mash-up of “Let’s Get Ready To Rumble” and Ali Love’s “K-Hole” burst forth from the mix and it was GAME ON. We quickly downed our drinks and legitimately raced to the dancefloor to revel in what is legitimately one of the single most brilliant mash-ups I’ve ever heard. There wasn’t a seconds rest before Kissy set off his signature fog horn (as in, dude has an actual fog horn on stage with him), which is basically his own special way of saying HEY IT’S TIME TO FUCKING DANCE OKAY?, and jumped right into his excellent “True Romance” mix of Mark Ronson’s recent chart-topper, “Stop Me”. The next hour was a relentless onslaught of jam after jam after JAM, with his remixes of the Black Ghosts “Face” and Gwen Stefani’s “Wind It Up”, as well as a mix in which dude took Nirvana’s “Come As You Are” and managed to turn it into a poppy-as-shit dancefloor burner. The final stages of his set featured a bangin’ update of “SexyBack” and GoodBooks “Leni”, but it wasn’t until he dropped his UN-FUCKING-BELIEVABLE (as in, the best remix of the year) mix of All Saints’ “Chick Fit” that the show reached terminal euphoria. Shortly thereafter Boy 8-Bit took to the decks and Kissy exited the stage to riotous applaud from an audience of sweaty, but immensely satisfied customers, and it was unanimously agreed that Kissy Sell Out’s set was truly the only thing in the world that could have followed Daft Punk’s performance and not have been a complete letdown.

I’m not kidding when I say this guy’s the best in the game right now, and you’d be wise to get your hands on everything and anything he touches. Below you’ll find a handful of his remixes and an original track he recently dropped for an Annie Mac mix on BBC Radio One. I’m serious about that “Chick Fit” remix; it’s some next-level shit.

MP3s:
“Get Ready For The K-Hole!” - Kissy Sell Out ((highly recommended))
“Chick Fit” (KSO’s Excellent Adventure) - All Saints ((highly recommended))
“Stop Me” (KSO’s True Romance) - Mark Ronson ((highly recommended))
“Face” (KSO’s Essex Street Corner Dubplate) - The Black Ghosts
“Leni” (Kissy Sell Out Remix) - GoodBooks
“Wind It Up” (Kissy Sell Out Remix) - Gwen Stefani
“We Are Rockstars” (Kissy Sell Out Remix) - Does It Offend You, Yeah?
“Harriet” (Annie Mac Edit) - Kissy Sell Out

MUSE TAKE OVER WEMBLEY STADIUM
Everyone who wasn’t at Daft Punk was across town for the second night of Muse’s ridiculous takeover of Wembley Stadium, which seems to have made it to the top of everyone in attendance’s Best Gigs Ever lists. From what I’ve heard it certainly sounds epic, but I was having my own OMGZ BEST SHOW EVER moment at Daft Punk, which I wouldn’t have traded for the world. Thus, I can’t tell you what it looked like, but I can tell you it sounded something like this:

MP3: “Map of the Problematique” (Live @ Wembley Stadium) - Muse

“Map of the Problematique” is their newest single and the only track from Black Holes & Revelations that I really loved, so I was considerably pumped to find out that it would be the second song to be destroyed via remix by Does It Offend You, Yeah? after their sufficiently excellent remix of “The Prayer” last January. Nothing terribly brilliant, but fairly bangin’ nonetheless; feel free to get at it below.

MP3: “Map of the Problematique” (Does It Offend You, Yeah? Remix) - Muse

MORE ELECTRO HOTNESS
“D.A.N.C.E.” has been remixed by pretty much anyone with a laptop at this point, but it’s ALL about the MSTRKRFT mix. Their “D.A.N.C.E.” remix joins their “Two More Years” and “Monster Hospital” treatments in the pantheon of untouchable MSTRKRFT mixes and takes an already insanely danceable jam and somehow puts it into an even higher gear. Brilliant.

MP3: “D.A.N.C.E.” (MSTRKRFT Remix) - Justice ((highly recommended))

I really thought I’d said all there was to say about Kate Nash, but then James Mount AKA Metronomy AKA My Favorite Remixer of 2006 decided to drop some hot fire all over “Foundations” and put her into even heavier rotation on the ‘pod. Whereas Metronomy’s generally kept to himself in terms of vocals on his remixes, his “Foundations” mix sees him reworking the chorus with his own “Fing-ger-tips, the cracks in our foundations” refrain and drenching the track in his usual production bells and whistles.

MP3: “Foundations” (Metronomy Remix) - Kate Nash ((highly recommended))

Never did I think I’d see the day that Van She Tech would get in the mix on a Feist track, let alone one as dainty as upcoming single “1-2-3-4″, but sure enough my inbox yielded none other than Van She Tech’s edit of that very track today. Not a banger by any means, but I’ll be damned if it doesn’t work quite well. I really like the way these new Feist singles are being handled; first Boys Noize on “My Moon My Man” and now Van She Tech? I could get used to this.

MP3: “1-2-3-4″ (Van She Tech Remix) - Feist ((highly recommended))

Enough MP3s for you? Jesus. Sorry for the lack of activity recently, I’m at one of my various jobs every day and this is the first night I’ve not gone out in two weeks, but I’m doing the best I can.

Those kids in Hadouken really know how to throw down. For proof, one needn’t look any further than Friday night’s over-the-top gig at Koko. It was their second performance of the night (the first having been at ULU only two hours prior), but you couldn’t tell given their contagious energy and the crowd’s overwhelmingly enthusiastic (to say the least) reaction. After a disappointing set by fellow new ravers Late of the Pier, Hadouken! took the stage to an audience that was already pumped and ready to go thanks to a downright impeccable DJ set from Mickey Four.

I’m not sure if new rave really exists or not at this point, but assuming it does, you won’t find anything more new rave than Hadouken!, with the possible exception of London’s 2012 Olympics logo. Neon synths pierce through the ether, dancey drumbeats pervade and shouty vocals are the name of the game, and Hadouken’s debut single “That Boy That Girl” might as well be the apotheosis of the genre (if you’re willing to legitimize it as such) for all I’m concerned. As their only single and most well-known song to this point, it was logically the pinnacle and finale of their set and sent the kids into an absolute frenzy. And “kids” they were, as I’d be willing to wager that a good 3/4 of the crowd were under 21, but I’ll take a venue full of drunk-ass teenagers flipping their shit for a band over a room full of NYC’s cooler-than-thou hipsters any day.

Other highlights included new single “Liquid Lives”, which burst forth from the speakers two songs into their set. I wasn’t terribly keen on the track when the promo first found its way to me a few days ago, but that “Drink! Smoke! Fuck! Fight!” chorus absolutely OWNED in a live setting and you really can’t fuck with those sinister-ass horns, nearly as massive as they are synthesized. Suffice it to say, I’m considerably fonder of it after a few more listens and last night’s show, but I still have to give the edge to that unfuckwithable debut single.

New track “Declaration of War” sounded brilliant as well and even featured some actual singing from frontman James Hadouken, and “Tuning In”, a track only available in remix form to this point, was great also. With the ink still drying on their deal with Atlantic and a legion of devoted young folks already worshipping their every move, the future is bright for this lot and you better believe we’ll be hearing a lot from them in the coming months.

MP3s:
“That Boy That Girl” - Hadouken! ((highly recommended))
“Liquid Lives” - Hadouken!

Despite the lofty praise I just doled out for the live show and recorded material, I actually think their best work to date has come in the form of the unofficial remixes they’ve put out over the last year. While their synth-heavy updates to Bloc Party’s “The Prayer” and Plan B’s “No More Eatin’” were great in their own right, it’s the first remix they ever released, of Klaxons’ “Atlantis To Interzone”, that stands out as one of my single favorite remixes of the last two years. It’s just. So. Good. So yeah, feel free to get at those below. You won’t regret it.

MP3s:
“Atlantis To Interzone” (Hadouken! Remix) - Klaxons ((highly recommended))
“The Prayer” (Hadouken! Remix) - Bloc Party
“No More Eatin’” (Hadouken! Remix) - Plan B

But the best thing Hadouken have spawned to this point has to be Bob Harlow’s brilliant music video for “That Boy That Girl”, which serves as a perfect introduction to the band and a crash course in how to make one of the best videos of the year on a shoestring budget. In fact, to call it shoestring isn’t even doing it justice - if the rumors are to be believed Harlow put this out on a basically non-existent budget of £40, which qualifies the clip as one of the best low-budget videos I’ve ever seen. Don’t miss this one.

Video: “That Boy That Girl ” - Hadouken
Director: Bob Harlow
Watch: [YouTube]
Download: [Quicktime • 37 MB]

Sure, “D.A.N.C.E.” is hard to fuck with, but in Sonny Jim’s “Can’t Stop Movin’” we just might have a darkhorse for the jam of the summer. Released on Rough Trade last week just in time for summer to break into full stride, “Can’t Stop Movin’” is an underground classic in waiting. And a truly underground classic it will stay, as the amount of copyrighted material in play here should be enough to make Sonny Jim hope the track never strays too far into the public eye. “A legal minefield”, I believe my boss called it.

Legalities aside, “Can’t Stop Movin’” is a severely amazing pastiche of classic samples featuring vintage strings, the Jackson 5 in spades and awesome 70’s television samples (”Can we play that again?”, “No that song’s too special.”) that has already received considerable radio play from with-it DJ’s across the UK. There isn’t much more to say on the matter, just make sure to file this under ENORMOUSLY FEELGOOD and thank Sonny Jim for making your summer that much better.

MP3: “Can’t Stop Movin’” - Sonny Jim ((highly recommended))

I’m still rockin’ it in the UK and with some found time this weekend I managed to pound out a few posts for your enjoyment, so hopefully this week will see things returning to business as usual around these parts. Here’s an especially long one:

Singer-songwriters aren’t really my thing. Maybe it’s because I’m not so into the folk/acoustic scene these days. Maybe it’s because it seems like anyone who’s even the slightest bit musically inclined fancies themselves one. Maybe it’s because – as a result of that last fact – they come a dime-a-dozen and, without the input of other band members to keep it real and let them know what’s up, they’re generally shit. But motherfuck, I love me some Kate Nash. Then again, Nash isn’t your typical singer-songwriter.

Sure, she’s got a proficiency for the acoustic ballad that’s yet to be topped in ’07 and a voice to carry even the most ambitious arrangement, but unlike the bulk of her breed, she’s no one-trick pony. Look no further than debut single “Caroline’s A Victim”. It’s quite the polarizing track, likely to split listeners’ opinions right down the middle, but if there’s one thing everyone can agree on it’s that the track – for better or worse – is… different. It’s spoken word. There’s barely a full verse. There’s a massive synth-based beat in the stead of any acoustic musicianship. In a word, it’s bold. That said, I’m not in love with it, by any means. Far from it in fact; I think it’s a very interesting choice for a debut single for an artist of Nash’s nature, and I find sometime Bjork-collaborator Valgeir Sigurrosson’s production to be of the highest caliber, but it spends most of its time collecting dust on the ‘pod outside of the occasional spin here and there.

Yet it’s still one of the most impressive debuts of the year and one of my favorite records of 2007. Why? Flip it over and take the B-side for a walk. Yeah. “Birds”, while at the complete opposite end of the spectrum from “Caroline’s A Victim” – all heartfelt acoustic balladry and whatnot – is easily one of the year’s best tracks to this point. Showcasing Nash’s wonderfully emotive vocals and her distinctive mastery of conversational songwriting, “Birds” is one of the finest singer-songwriter accomplishments in recent history and even manages to out-cute and out-quirk her closest peer, Regina Spektor; no small feat by any means.

Oh, “Birds” isn’t enough to get you sufficiently excited enough to get your hands on everything and anything Nash touches? How about the small fact that PAUL MOTHERFUCKING EPWORTH (as in, the one and only) is manning the boards on her debut album? It seems that lately Epworth’s been occupying himself with his Epic Man and Phones projects more than anything and it’s certainly been a minute since we’ve heard him making any waves as a producer, but lest you forget: dude played a significant role in more era-defining records in one 18 month period from 2004 to 2006 than most people do in an entire lifetime. Pumped for this Nash record yet? Thought so.

So, let’s keep it moving then, onto her hotly anticipated follow up single, “Foundations”, due out June 8th. No official word yet on whether or not Epworth’s formally involved with this one, but even though none of his typical tricks, bells or whistles are in play here I can’t imagine he’s not behind the boards on this, considering they must be at least knee-deep in the production of the album at this point (Nash has already had her major label deal inked with Polydor/Fiction for nearly six months now). And the verdict? Brilliant! Finding the perfect compromise between the production-fest that is “Caroline’s A Victim” and the acoustic genius of “Birds”, there’s wonderful (albeit subtle) production work at play here and if it’s really Mr. Epworth whose in charge here then I’m immensely excited to see that he’s chosen to test his boundaries and step away from the dancefloor for a bit to explore new horizons. But Nash’s as-yet-untitled debut still promises to bring its fair share of dancefloor heat, as the demo of “Like Maybe” can attest. It’s a bit rough at this point, but you better believe I’m salivating at the thought of how the track will sound once Epworth’s had his way with it and the final mix finds its way into my hands. It could end up being my favorite Nash track once all is said and done (but shit, “Birds” is damn hard to beat), and it’s more than enough to bump Nash’s album up to the top of my Most Anticipated Debuts of ‘07 list. Cheers to that then, and here’s to Kate Nash as the best new artist in Britain.

Oh, and before people start talking shit in the comments - Nash owns Lily Allen. I don’t even want to hear it.

MP3s:
“Birds” – Kate Nash ((highly recommended))
“Foundations” – Kate Nash
“Like Maybe” (Demo) - Kate Nash ((highly recommended))

STREAM: “Caroline’s A Victim” – Kate Nash

Also available for your enjoyment below is Nash’s new video for “Foundations”, which is like way adorable and totally worth your time. Director Kinga Burza employs the simple technique of using solitary shots of individual images to reflect the greater theme of the song and it works really well and just suits the song perfectly.

Video: “Foundations” - Kate Nash
Director: Kinga Burza
Watch: [YouTube]
Download: [Quicktime • 31 MB]

Burza also directed the just-released clip for the Teenagers unexpected anthem, “Homecoming”, another near-perfect clip that scores again thanks to what one can only assume is a collaboration with a top-notch Director of Photography. Just another simple, low-budget clip that just happens to succeed on every level. I caught the Teenagers last week at Electrowerkz and, uh, they were decent. Nothing super special or anything, but “Homecoming” and “Starlett Johansson” sounded really really great. So did the rumor that apparently Johansson has agreed to provide the female vocal on a track called “Homecoming 2″. No word yet on whether it’s a sequel to the original track or just an updated version of the original, but either way that’s pretty awesome. Enjoy these mp3s and then the video below while you ruminate on the matter. As the Teenagers first wrote to me in their first correspondence with me back in September of last year (which came with an mp3 of “Homecoming” attached), “maybe you will love this”.
MP3s:
“Homecoming” - The Teenagers ((highly recommended))
“Starlett Johansson” - The Teenagers

Video: “Homecoming” - The Teenagers
Director: Kinga Burza
Watch: [YouTube]
Download: [Quicktime • 21 MB]

MIKE SKINNER REMIXES THE TWANG
I’m not terribly fond of the Twang. At all. I don’t care what the NME says, they just don’t do it for me, which I guess is a bit strange because bands really don’t come much more quintessentially British then the Twang. But hey, throw Rya’s beloved Mike Skinner into the mix and I’m all about it. On their new single, “Either Way”, the Twang have done just that, and Skinner makes his triumphant return to the microphone with two excellent verses and his signature synthesized strings. The verses from the Twang have been minimized and chopped up into far more tolerable portions and even Skinner-protege Professor Green spits a moderately enjoyable verse that’s far less grating than his usual fare. Long story short: The Streets remix is infinitely better than its original counterpart. Enjoy.

MP3: “Either Way” (Remixed by The Streets ft. Professor Green) - The Twang

VICE RECORDS GOES INDIE; GOD SMILES
Speaking of Vice Records’ hallmark artist, word on the street is that Vice has parted ways with parent-company Atlantic Records and will officially become an indie label later this summer. It never seemed right to think that the records division of Vice, a brand predicated on controversy and throwing up a middle finger to authority, was technically a major label. If the rumors are to be believed, then something tells me we’re going to be hearing a lot more noise (and a lot less Annie) from the Brooklyn heavyweights from now on. Not sure where this leaves Bloc Party though….

GHOSTHUSTLIN’
In a week attempt to create some semblance of a segue here, does anything sound “more Vice” than Ghosthustler? Sexy synths, dirty basslines, don’t-give-a-fuck vocals, all under the incredibly bad-ass banner of “Ghosthustler”. And the best part? These dudes are from America. Texas, even! Which in turn makes them the best electronic act to emerge from these shores since Ratatat first threw “Seventeen Years” up on the Audiodregs site a couple years back. They’ve been getting mad blog love as of late and they barely had one show under their belt and a scant two tracks up on their ‘Space before Pitchfork was on their shit too, so the future’s bright for the Denton, Texas quartet. The first two tracks had me well on my way to jumping on the bandwagon, but their latest output, “Busy Busy Busy”, is all kinds of ill and I’m now a card-carrying member of the Ghosthustler hype parade. Featuring spooky synths and a downright dangerous bassline, “Busy Busy Busy” is reason enough alone to tout Ghosthustler as the next great hope for American electro. And with the genre looking more and more like the “it” sound in 2007 and major labels scrambling to get in on the game (see: Does It Offend You, Yeah signing straight to Virgin in the UK; Simian Mobile Disco’s rumored signing with Interscope in the US), I reckon you’ll be hearing a lot more out of Ghosthustler in the coming months.

MP3s:
“Busy Busy Busy” - Ghosthustler
“Parking Lot Nights” - Ghosthustler

Well if it isn’t… while Derek is having the “time of his fucking life” across the pond, I’m having an extremely classy time on these shores enjoying my last summer before I have “real world” worries. But enough about me, I’ve been teeming with things to tell you.

The first time I saw Holy Fuck was when they opened for Wolf Parade last April, and I left the venue a changed woman. They’re a Canadian experimental band based around the aesthetic of playing damn near anything they can get their hands on – like film editing equipment… obviously. Everything except computers, that is. This is really hard to believe once you hear them, because they achieve the same sound as many of their digital counterparts. There’s a spontaneous quality about their songs; I never thought I’d say this in a complimentary way, but it’s almost like listening to them jam because of their ensemble recordings, and because they’ve been known to tout their lack of rehearsal.

A few months ago, they played with my beloved Clinic – it was a lineup so perfect I almost thought the world was pulling my leg. But it wasn’t, and one of the last songs they played during their loud, outstanding set was “Lovely Allen” off their new EP. It’s not a “typical” song of theirs, however, it’s got a really striking, full sound. I liken it to the sound of climbing a really high mountain – literally or figuratively. Accomplishment, yeah?

MP3: “Lovely Allen” - Holy Fuck (ed.’s note: this song is very amazing)

Maybe I’m just a really big fan of “Tone Bank Jungle” because it’s the opener to the band’s 2005 self-titled debut, but I never grow tired of listening to it. I find a lot of “jams” and really drawn-out solos intolerable because like I’ve said before, I just haven’t got the patience for them. However, there are so many new, interesting sounds sporadically placed throughout that I can’t wait to hear what’s next. I suppose this is the sonic version of “shiny objects,” but I’ll have you hear for yourself.

MP3: “Tone Bank Jungle” - Holy Fuck

Like any good Jewish girl worth her weight in hair irons and leggings, I’m a natural at entertaining (in the sense that I like to have people over to eat cupcakes, not like, in a stand-up way). Thus, I know for a fact that any Eels album is the perfect soundtrack for your next get-together. “Friendly Ghost” of 2001’s Souljacker is one of my favorite songs by him. The first line of the song is “if you’re scared to die, you better not be scared to live.” If I were really edgy and thirstin’ to do something totally classy, I’d get that inked on my lower back (that was sarcasm… I don’t know if that translates well in cyberspace).

MP3: “Friendly Ghost” - Eels

Derek happens to be a fan of “Fresh Feeling,” also off Souljacker. While I won’t deny that I’m a big fan of this song, I once read or heard an interview with E where he talks about what inspired him to write the song. He was inspired by “feminine hygiene products.” At long last… a song (literally) about douchebags!

MP3: “Fresh Feeling” - Eels

The lead singer, E’s, voice is soothing and reminiscent of that teacher you had in grammar school who you thought was so cool at the time, but in retrospect you realize he was just a stoner who really did enjoy finger painting amongst five-year-olds. Last year, they released Eels With Strings: Live At Town Hall, recorded in my native land of Manhattan. One of my favorite songs on the album is their cover of The Left Banke’s “Pretty Ballerina.”

MP3: “Pretty Ballerina” - Eels

But who are The Left Banke?, you may inquire. Well, they were a 1960’s pop group that hasn’t got one fucking album in print (seriously, if Other Music doesn’t carry anything of theirs, then nobody does). However, because Derek is a precious stone amongst pebbles, he found their entire LP, Walk Away Renee/Pretty Ballerina. It’s a simple, perfect album with layered vocals and strings that inspired a myriad of artists in its wake (trivia: Noel Gallagher wants to record a tribute album). So, prepare to be the coolest person you know when you search “pretty” in your iTunes and this song pops up.

MP3: “Pretty Ballerina” - The Left Banke

Of course, when I search for the word “pretty” in my iTunes, another perfect, not so simple, song pops up: “Pretty Noose” by Soundgarden. You can make fun of me all you want, but this is my column, and if I get one more person to listen to this band, I’ve succeeded. This song takes me back to when I was like, 11 and Jim Carrey was hosting Saturday Night Live with Soundgarden as the musical guest. All my friends were so pumped to see the Cable Guy do that lame head-jerking sketch, but all I cared about was seeing the extremely foine Chris Cornell wail through “Pretty Noose” and “Burden In My Hand.” I guess it’s worth noting that Derek is not at all thrilled with me posting Soundgarden, but that’s his loss.

MP3: “Pretty Noose” - Soundgarden

This week’s video comes from a band with perhaps the worst name… ever. If I were that big an asshole and judged bands solely by what they call themselves (and at many times, I am that big an asshole), I’d completely disregard this British quad. Unfortunately – or fortunately – I can’t hate on this so easily for a lot of reasons; namely, my extremely sexy, extremely disease-free, extremely talented cousin, Lauren, worked on Shitdisco’s video for “OK.”

Video: “OK” - ShitDisco
Director: Price James
Watch: [YouTube]
Download: [Quicktime • 21 MB]

I don’t think I’ve ever seen a video with a concept even remotely similar to this before. Basically, the band is performing through a set of hands manipulating their faces in a pop-up book. A fucking pop-up book. Yeah, I’ll have what they’re having, too. In all honesty, the only part of the song I really like is the chorus because the lead singer’s voice sounds a little too much like David Gahan’s for my liking… and maybe it’s because I was raised in the fashion industry, but I’ve got a problem with some knockoffs. That said, Derek would like you to know (as in, Derek is typing this sentence) that he finds the band’s “Reactor Party” to be quite awesome and that those “dah-dah-dah-dah-dahs” have been known to get him all kinds of hot and bothered.

MP3s:
“OK” - ShitDisco
“Reactor Party” - ShitDisco

On the other hand, my filthy friend, Kramer, sent me this video. I guess you can say it’s a music video and therefore relevant enough to be in this column. If your, among other things, heart isn’t totally warmed at the sight of all two feet and nine inches of Weng Weng, you might want to do some re-evaluating. Trust me, I’m always the first person to brush off some YouTube clip as bullshit, but I kind of want to dedicate art to this.

Watch: [YouTube]

Alright, that’s enough out of me for now. Coming up next week: MY FIRST MIX! No, I’m not going to spoil the surprise and tell you the theme. In the meantime, keep it sophisticated.