Good Weather For Airstrikes

Last night Girl Talk almost killed me. Whether it was the relentless unce-unce-uncery of a metric ton of hot jams crushing down on me the entire night, the absolutely packed (read: wayyyyy over-sold) crowd at Studio B, or the countless drinks poured in my eyes, hair and face, I nearly died on multiple occasions last night, but fuck if it wasn’t entirely worth it. Hell, I think I may have been responsible for the death of at least three people in my own right via a few inadvertent elbows to the temple, and those are only the ones I know about. But yeah, shit was INSANE, Studio B was absolute hinges (as in “off the”) all night and even the venue’s ridiculously oppressive no re-entry policy (which resulted in the devolution of the men’s bathroom into an opaque cloud of cigarette smoke) couldn’t keep all in attendance from having the absolute time of their lives.

I first saw Girl Talk in DC two months ago, one of my most triumphant concert experiences ever if only for the fact that I managed to get kicked out (not once but) twice and still succeeded in not missing a single minute of Greg Gilles’ fantastic set, and he made my efforts worth it, putting on one of the most fun shows I’ve ever been to. But the difference between his DC gig and his show last night, his first in Brooklyn in over four years, was astronomical. In DC, Gilles basically went crazy in front of his laptop and played a slightly-updated version of Night Ripper in its entirety, with a very small amount of new material sprinkled here and there, but I was left with no complaints and eagerly anticipated his Studio B show expecting to see more of the same and maybe turn some of my less-musically-aware ladyfriends onto an artist they’d never heard. As if to directly chastise me for my clearly-not-high-enough expectations, Girl Talk decided that he would blow me, along with everyone else in attendance, out of the fucking water with a set of what appeared to be comprised of almost entirely new material.

After waiting in line forever in the freezing cold on the ONE FUCKING NIGHT I forgot my scarf and gloves, we were finally admitted, only to have to wait through two interminable, nigh-unbearable noise rock sets (from Hearts of Darknesses and Pterodactyl, if you must know) before Parts & Labor finally took the stage and breathed some life into the party. I’ll admit that I’m not the biggest fan of noise rock, but while the two opening bands seemed to subject the audience to nothing more than aural torture, with Parts & Labor you could tell that they were doing what they do best and they were doing it well, even if it didn’t necessarily cater to my tastes. But then the time was upon us as Girl Talk took to the stage and then, uh, told us to wait three-and-a-half minutes while he “just [went] to the bathroom real quick”. But then the time was upon us, as he returned to the stage and launched into the opening bars of album-opener “Once Again”, the only(?) Night Ripper track to burst forth from his speakers until nearly an hour later when he wrapped up the main set with an immaculate, incredible, life-affirming extended mix of the seminal moment from that album (and perhaps the entire mash-up genre): Gilles’ triumphant Biggie vs Elton John masterwork that occurs two-thirds of the way through “Smash My Head”. Everything else though - almost without exception - was brand new hot fire that, for the most part, blew the fucking doors off of Night Ripper, as impossible as that might be to believe.

First, there was that part where “Carry On My Wayward Son” birthed the synth line from “My Love”, before Rick Ross dropped by to spit a few verses of “Hustlin’” over the Timbaland masterwork and Mylo’s “Mothafucka gonna drop the preshaaaaaa” verse cut through everything to make me the happiest man in the NYC metropolitan area at that moment. Then later, out of nowhere, dude dropped the climactic synth surges of “Digital Love” over Missy Elliot’s “Get Ur Freak On” and brought a roar of approval from the crowd that wasn’t matched for the rest of the night. The Daft Punk hotness didn’t stop there as he brought the verse of “Technologic” into the mix toward the end of the set, and then absolutely destroyed the crowd in the finale of the encore with the synthetic euphoria of “Around The World”. Also making appearances were Talk’s new official remixes of Grizzly Bear’s “Knife” and Peter Bjorn & John’s “Let’s Call It Off”, as well as the unveiling of his long-rumored “Cell Phone’s Dead” remix for Beck, which - if it ever sees official release - is sure to blow some doors off their hinges in a big way. Later, in the final moments of the main set, Gilles threw on “Lithium” over a foor-to-the-flour beat and launched himself into the crowd, narrowly missing my head and smashing head-first into the face of an unfortunately-located Asian girl next to me, which was, y’know, almost as terrifying as it was awesome (she shrugged it off like a champ). After the conclusion of “Smash Your Head” brought the music to a halt for the first time since it began over an hour before, he dangled the prospect of an encore (which we didn’t get in DC) over the audience on the condition that “Everybody better dance like you just got born!”, before a collage of “Bossy”, “Around The World” and a Queen-tastic mix of the percussive beat of “We Will Rock You” and the guitar-hero glory of “We Are The Champions” overwhelmed the room and ended the set every bit as amazingly as it began.

To experience the glory for yourselves hit up the excellent downloads below, where I’ve posted “Smash Your Head”, the essential track off Night Ripper (for the one of you out there who hasn’t heard it), and “Pure Magic”, taken from his recent Bone Hard Zaggin’ 7″, as well as his excellent official remixes of Grizzly Bear’s “Knife” and PB&J’s “Let’s Call It Off”. Enjoy, and be sure to do whatever it takes to make it out to a Girl Talk show if he so much as breaches a 500-mile radius of your location; I can honestly say it’s worth it.

MP3s:
“Smash Your Head” - Girl Talk ((highly recommended))
“Pure Magic” - Girl Talk
“Knife” (Girl Talk Remix) - Grizzly Bear ((highly recommended))
“Let’s Call It Off” (Girl Talk Remix) - Peter Bjorn & John

INTRODUCING… ENCYCLOPEDIA PICTURA
Speaking of Grizzly Bear’s “Knife”, I’ve never been a huge fan of theirs, but their new video for the track is great. Directed by Encyclopedia Pictura, an up-and-coming directing collective that’s sure to do massive things in 2007, the clip is a breathtaking masterpiece of animation and special effects, complete with one of the best closing shots I’ve seen in a music video in a long time.

Video: “Knife” - Grizzly Bear
Director: Encyclopedia Pictura
Watch: [YouTube]
Download: [Quicktime]

The “Knife” clip is only Encyclopedia Pictura’s second music video to date, and their first, for Zion I’s “So Tall”, upholds (and possibly even surpasses) the impressively high standard shown in the Grizzly Bear video. Check it below, it’s just beautiful.

Video: “So Tall” - Zion I
Director: Encyclopedia Pictura
Watch: [YouTube]
Download: [Quicktime]

NEW HOTNESS FROM PHONES & NEW YOUNG PONY CLUB
It’s always a tricky situation when the remix hits the internet before it’s original counterpart, as you can’t really judge the merits of the remix without having heard the original track, and in many cases the remix can only yield so much insight into the intact structure of the original. This is especially the case when a track is as chopped-up and reworked as Phones’ edit of “The Bomb”, the hotly-anticipated upcoming third single from New Young Pony Club. That aside, I’m not sure if I like the new direction Phones has been taking on his remixes in 2007 (see also: “The Prayer” [Phones Full Metal Jackin’ Mix]). Whereas past remixes of his have seen him updating indie rock hits with a danceable beat and bangin’ electronic flourishes, this year has seen him gravitating towards a more electronic, almost-techno sound, with chopped-up vocal samples and pounding electro beats taking the place of his previous signatures. In fact, it seems to be borrowing heavily from the Simian Mobile Disco bag of tricks in both technique and general sound; check out the blogosphere premier below and let me know what you think in the comments.

MP3: “The Bomb” (Phones Edit) - New Young Pony Club

TIMBALAND… FEATURING THE HIVES
Yeah, you heard me right. Timbaland’s readying his upcoming solo album, Timbaland Presents: Shock Value, for release on March 27th, and it features a ridiculously star-studded cast of guests, including Bjork, M.I.A., Elton John, Nelly Furtado and Justin Timberlake (obviously) and even a rumored appearance by Coldplay. Here’s one of the first tracks to surface, featuring Swedish rockers the Hives, who contribute vocals and guitar-work to the track. According to the Hives, “We do not at this time know when it will be out but Timbaland is famous so you will notice when it is time.” Well put. Thanks to [grindin] for the hotness.

MP3: “Throw It On Me” (ft. The Hives) - Timbaland

LET’S TALK ABOUT BLOC PARTY, THANKS
I’ve got a full post on this (as well as my review of A Weekend In The City) on the way, but let’s just take a moment to talk about how fucking amazing Bloc Party is. I know they’re a pretty polarizing group these days (lord knows I still love them though), but you’ve got to respect the fact that they can drop an album as ambitious as A Weekend In The City and release 11 bonus B-sides (essentially, a whole ‘nother album) to accompany it without so much as batting an eye (no announcement, no advance notice, nothing). Every last song as good as (and in select instances, better than) the actual album; impressive as shit. That’s all I’ll say for now, I’ll go into it in further depth later, but I’ll leave you with one track for the taking to whet your appetite.

MP3: “Selfish Son” - Bloc Party

Now, “Selfish Son” is by no means the best of the bunch (it’s somewhere in the middle of the pack, really), but it’s perhaps the most interesting track of them all for me. You see, by far the most polarizing aspect of Weekend is Jacknife Lee’s production work, with nearly every one of the its detractors uniting to cite over-production as the album’s primary downfall. I’ll go into much more depth on this topic in my review of the album, but for now I’ll just be focusing on “Selfish Son”, a track that lives and dies on Lee’s heavy producton. Moreso than any other new song, “Selfish Son” would be absolutely naked and lifeless without Lee’s work behind the boards, and it makes for an interesting track that sounds more electronic than perhaps any other Bloc Party track to date. Plus, it also features Bloc’s twinkliest chorus yet, and you know I’m a sucker for all things twinkly.

That’s all for now though, check back soon for a massive surprise feature and stay tuned for much more Bloc Party coverage in the next two weeks.

I’d really hoped to post more live sets around here once I got version 2.0 up and running, but somehow I’ve ended up slacking in that department. Regardless, what better way to take a break from my epoch of an all-nighter than to bring some attention back to Maximo Park, who - lest you forget - had the best debut of 2005 (considering that Bloc Party’s true debut came in 2004 with their self-titled debut). We haven’t heard much out of the Maximo camp recently, as last we heard of them was last spring after the release of A Certain Trigger’s final single, “Stay”, as they were supposedly readying their sophomore album for a late 2006 release. That “late 2006 release” has since been pushed back to March 2007, with a lead single - possibly “Our Velocity, which lead singer Paul Smith described as “a spaceship exploding” - out sometime in January. Smith went on to discuss the band’s decision not to team up with Trigger producer and god-of-all-things Paul Epworth (they’ve gone with Pixies producer Gil Norton in his stead) this time around, pointing towards the fact that it seems that Epworth has an air about him that suggests he’s a bit too aware of his god-of-all-things status:

“We wanted to use somebody who didn’t tell us what to do and didn’t think that they knew everything about music, and would have a particular sound.”

Ouch, then. First introduced to me as “kind of a Hot Hot Heat ripoff” by Lizzy nearly two years ago, Maximo grew on me so much that they actually eclipsed HHH (both pre and post-Elevator) and finish six spots above the aforementioned Canadians on my year-end best albums of 2005 list. I was immediately hooked by the album’s near-flawless lead single, “Apply Some Pressure”, with that unbelievably addictive central guitar riff and its grueling pace, and the Park have subsequently earned themselves a spot near the top of my Bands I’d Kill To See Live But Haven’t Seen Yet list. Only further augmenting this desire is this fantastic official live recording, which I received as a bonus disc when I purchased the album on the day of its release in the UK last year.

SOUND QUALITY: A

Maximo Park, Live In Tokyo:
1. “Signal And Sign”
2. “The Coast Is Always Changing”
3. “Graffiti”
4. “I Want You To Stay”
5. “Limassol”
6. “Once, A Glimpse”
7. “Kiss You Better”

I’m all about the added bonuses, so here’s Field Music’s excellent remix of Maximo’s last single, “I Want You To Stay”. Field Music make the song completely their own, taking the bass-driven original and turning it into a jangly piano number far removed from the original, and it’s one of the best remixes I’ve heard all year.

MP3: “I Want You To Stay” (Field Music Remix) - Maximo Park

And while we’re on the topic of the “Stay” single, my main man Ramon Bloomberg (who also rocked that new Raconteurs vid) directed the track’s slick video, which you can and should download below. Let’s take a moment to give props to directors like Ramon and Elliot Jokelson who make their videos available for download for free on their personal website (*moment*, “props”). As for Ramon, he’s got some major projects coming down the pipeline, so remember the name.

Video: “I Want You To Stay”
Director: Ramon Bloomberg
Watch: [YouTube]
Download: [Quicktime]

A final note: My apologies for the slight lull in updates - it’s hard to get into pretentious music “critic” mode when you’re personal and academic life are simultaneously assaulting you with crisis after crisis from all directions, but I’m doing my best to forge ahead and keep the updates coming. However, if things slow down around here for a little while (which I sincerely hope they won’t), you’ll know why.

“Futures”, the first single off of Zero 7’s The Garden actually received the music video treatment twice. The first clip, beautifully directed by Robert Seidel, was ultimately passed on because it wasn’t commercial enough. With the state of music video distribution in the US one might find this curious, but you must remember that MTV and MTV2 actually play videos (and good ones at that) in the UK and that videos are often included as added purchase incentive on CD-single releases so commercialism remains a factor. Seidel’s video operates on high artifice and is centered around abstract images of what reveals itself to be different kinds of deconstructed foods and other natural materials, but ultimately succeeds thanks to it’s creative rhythmic editing and originality. Directors are always way better at describing their visions than I am though, so here’s what Seidel had to say about the clip:

“This low-budget video was done within just 2½ weeks for the planned DVD of Zero 7’s The Garden. The video visualizes crushed objects representing a diffuse future of wishes and desires which shape over time. Visible artifacts and the rough synchronisation add subtle emotions to the uncertain process…”

Video: “Futures” (Version 1) – Jose Gonzalez
Director: Robert Seidel
Watch: [YouTube]
Download: [Quicktime] [iPod]

The formally-released video was directed by up-and-coming production team Duckeye, who create a wonderful clip in which the aerial view of a landscape is manipulated in rhythm with the song. While the clip is brilliant in concept, it could have been better executed, as the video could stand to be more stimulating with more instances of the landscape interacting with the song as can be seen at times throughout the video. The two videos are difficult to compare due to the fact that their treatment of and approach to the song is so dramatically different, and I really don’t know which one I prefer. Compare the two for yourself and feel free to discuss in the comments.

Video: “Futures” (Version 2) – Jose Gonzalez
Director: Duckeye
Watch: [YouTube]
Download: [Quicktime] [iPod]

You’ve seen Jose’s video for “Crosses”, now check out the video for Zero 7’s reinterpretation of the song, directed by Duckeye. It’s a very simple concept, summed up eloquently and concisely by Duckeye themselves: “The discs are inspired by a pre-cinema optical toy called the Phenakistiscope. Look out stoners this one will mess with your head”. And let’s be honest, that’s all I need to hear for my interest to be considerably piqued.

This one’s not on YouTube (that’s unpossible!), and I don’t feel like wasting server space to upload it in Quicktime, considering the difference in resolution in my .mov and .m4v versions and most of you are probably content with the iPod-compatible version anyway.

Video: “Crosses” (ft. Jose Gonzalez) - Zero 7
Director: Duckeye
Watch: [YouTube]
Download: [Quicktime] [iPod]

My mere status as a straight, immature male has me inclined to declare Simian Mobile Disco’s new video for “Hustler”, THE MOST BRILLIANT MUSIC VIDEO EVER CREATED without even the slightest bit of hesitation, but I’ll see if I can do a little bit better than that. Director Saam Farahmand is one of indie rock’s hottest up-and-coming directors, here with his most bad-ass video yet, hot on the heels of his excellent vids for UK buzz bands Good Shoes (“All In My Head”) and New Young Pony Club (“Ice Cream”). Simian Mobile Disco’s “Hustler” is one of the smoothest, sexiest songs of 2006, smacking of bravado from start to finish (in a good way) and keeping the shit hot on dancefloors across Europe until the early hours of the morning on a regular basis (or so I’m told). Thus, it’s only appropriate that Farahmand hook it up with the hottest music video of 2006, and he does so, bringing the sexy in spades along the way. I won’t spoil the surprise, but let’s just say, the world might be a better place if all games of telephone ended like this.

The ((highly recommended)) seal of approval is normally exclusively reserved for songs rather than music videos, but I just had to make an exception here.

Video: “Hustler” - Simian Mobile Disco ((highly recommended))
Director: Saam Farahmand
Watch: [YouTube]
Download: [Quicktime] [iPod]

First of all, I don’t see why Zero 7 deserve their name on this track at all, as this could easily be a Veneer b-side, but that lone gripe aside, stop-motion wizard Adam Bizanski has done it again here. Bizanski has already scored previously with his excellent video for The Shins’ “Pink Bullets” and Wolf Parade’s “Modern World”, and despite the risk that he’s getting into one-trick pony territory with the whole stop-motion fixation, he’s succeeded again in crafting another excellent video for next-to-no expense. An interesting little human-as-butterfly tale of metamorphosis and rebirth, Bizanski’s clip proves to be one of 2006’s best stop-motion clips in a year where every director ever has taken the stop-motion technique for a spin. The animation is just beautiful and the subtleties of the clip (the textures, the diffused lighting, the framed butterflies) make it one of the most aesthetically pleasing clips of the year. The sole issue is that it’s way too short, clocking in at just under a minute and a half, so just as you’re beginning to love it it’s over.

Video: “Left Behind” – Zero 7 (ft. Jose Gonzalez)
Director: Adam Bizanski
Watch: [YouTube]
Download: [Quicktime] [iPod]

Gonzalez’s first video, for debut single “Stay In The Shade”, is his lowest-budget and least-entertaining clip, though it does feature extremely impressive animation. Directed by artist Elias Araya, “Shade” takes the animated artwork found on Gonzalez’s album and single releases and turns it into a short film of curious and trippy animations, so if this sounds like you’re thing, be sure to check it out below.

Video: “Stay In The Shade” – Jose Gonzalez
Director: Elias Araya
Watch: [YouTube]
Download: [Quicktime] [iPod]

So I’ve shafted you all on Music Video Mondays the last two weeks, and while I’ve got a ridiculous amount of work on my plate again this week I’m doing my best to keep things around here business-as-usual, so here’s a special themed MVMonday to keep you video enthusiasts satiated. I’ve been going through a pretty intense Jose Gonzalez phase ever since he blew my mind in concert last Wednesday (full review coming tomorrow or Wednesday), thus it’s only right that today be all about The Gonz and his music video history.

“Crosses” was the single that initially got everything started in both Sweden and the US, but it wasn’t until quite recently that the song saw a single release in the UK and, consequently, received the music video treatment. The video is beautifully-shot from a cinematography standpoint, but is pretty straightforward in concept and execution. The video follows Jose as he’s chauffered around town over the course of one night, and he’s joined by other characters who drift in and out of the clip and join him in the backseat of the car. Jose’s fellow passengers seem to exist ambivalent to his presence (and he to theirs), as they mouth the song’s words with detached aloofness. Jose maintains a stoicism about him as well (but let’s be honest, when does he not?) throughout the clip, waiting to break his stone-faced gaze until the clip’s waning moments when he leans forward and takes over vocal duties from his fellow passengers. Not the most riveting video in the world, but it’s beautifully-shot and fits the song appropriately.

Video: “Crosses” - Jose Gonzalez
Director: ???
Watch: [YouTube]
Download: [Quicktime] [iPod] [Windows Media]

Belgian filmmakers BoeMtjak took it upon themselves to create they’re own unofficial clip for “Crosses” after finding an interesting harmony between Mr. Gonzalez’s soothing voice and guitar and David Attenborough’s legendary Life On Earth films, which do indeed work quite well together. You can see that here via YouTube or download it here for an interesting viewing experience. On a side note, BoeMtjak also created a similar video pairing Sebastien Tellier’s “Fantino” and elapsed-time plant life footage, which you can view here in streaming Windows Media or download here .mov-style.

Cold War Kids, the best new American band of 2006, are set to break into the public awareness with their debut album, Robbers & Cowards, out on October 10th on Downtown Records. In equally exciting news, they’ve also shot and released their first music video. The video is for “Hang Me Up To Dry”, one of the many elite tracks on this year’s Up In Rags EP, and was shot at a California middle school Battle of the Bands, which the group was invited to by a friend who worked for the school to show the kids how a professional band put on on a performance. Shots of the middle schoolers jumping around to the music intercut with the band’s jubilant performance footage makes for a perfect, cost-efficient music video debut, in keeping with the Kids’ incredibly endearing DIY aesthetic. Here’s what the band had to say about the video in an excerpt from their website:

“Last thursday we played a mid-day show that you probably did not attend. It was at Rancho Starbuck Middle School in Whittier at a Battle of the Bands contest. Do 12 year old kids really have rock bands? This was the question we asked until we saw Metallic Tigers do their covers of Sabbath’s “Paranoid” and Rage “Killing in the name Of” (instrumental with shredding guitar solos). And The Lawsuits, with their rendition of the Ramones “I Don’t Care,” (they really did not). These kids could have fit right in at CBGB’s 30 years ago with their wild hair and fingerless black glove mic styles. We played a 5 song set engulfed by 200 pre-teens screaming and jumping the whole time, and because we knew you wouldn’t believe it, we got the whole thing on film and are going to use it to make a video for our song “Hang Me Up To Dry.”

Video: “Hang Me Up To Dry” - Cold War Kids
Director: Cold War Kids
Watch: [YouTube]
Download: [Quicktime] [iPod]

As I mentioned at the beginning of this post, the group have also announced the details of their upcoming debut LP, Robbers & Cowards. It’ll be released through Downtown on October 10th and culls tracks from the bands three EP releases plus two new ones, “Passing The Hat” and “God, Make Up Your Mind”. The band re-recorded “most of the songs on the EP’s in the way that [they[ would’ve liked to originally record them had [they] the time” Peep the album cover and tracklist below; linked files lead to the re-recorded album versions of the tracks, which I received on the four-track promo from Downtown. All songs are unmixed and unmastered.

Robbers & Cowards:
01. We Used To Vacation
02. Hang Me Up To Dry ((highly recommended))
03. Tell Me In The Morning
04. Hair Down
05. Passing The Hat
06. Saint John
07. Robbers
08. Hospital Beds ((highly recommended))
09. Pregnant
10. Red Wine, Success!
11. God, Make Up Your Mind
12. Rubidoux

ELSEWHERE:
Noise For Toaster has got a pretty sweet exclusive up, Ben Folds covering “Such Great Heights”, the original of which is, y’know, a pretty good song I guess.

Ooh.

I seriously waited the entire summer for TV On The Radio to release their Jon Watts-directed video for “Wolf Like Me”, primarily because the song was probably my favorite of the summer and is one of the most bad-ass tracks ever. Watts does it justice and more, creating a video that couldn’t fit the song more perfectly. The cinematography and after-effects of the clip are top notch and the 80’s b-movie horror film vibe is perfect, as is the subtle use of color and clever subcaptioned dialogue throughout.

Video: “Wolf Like Me” - TV On The Radio
Director: Jon Watts
Watch: [YouTube]
Download: [Quicktime] [iPod]