Moderate Rock

So I went to see The Deathset at Social last night. They are an incredibly intense band. The whole idea is a punk band for the club scene, and I think they do a really good job of it. They're a three-piece (guitar, singing, drums) + dj, and they set up right on the dance floor (I don't know if this was out of necessity or choice, but it definitely added to the effect). The singer was constantly in motion, one minute he'll be moshing with the crowd, next he'll be dancing on top of a pile of speakers which are nearly falling over, the next he's climbing a pole and singing upside down.

The result of all of this is the crazy throwbacks (Jackson 5?) and seamless transitions we all love from electronic music, and the raw intensity and anger we love about punk music. The crowd just ate it up, doing an odd combination of dancing and moshing. I think it's a really awesome idea, adds some feeling to an often frivolous club-scene, and is much more fun than modern punk, which is almost always 'political' and way too fucking serious. The highlight of the set for me was their finale, a cover (or 'remix') of Nirvana's "Tourette's", which pretty much sums them up for me. If you like that song, you'll probably enjoy a death set.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=1a5irwpURkk - check out the video for "Negative Thinking"

No no, I don't even care

Continuing with the trend of getting into good music a year or two after it comes out, I've recently found a band that I think you should listen to if you're like me and are somewhat obsessed with the folk revival in indie rock lately.

Go here and come back.

Oh No! Oh My! have opened for the likes of The Flaming Lips and Gnarls Barkley, and are exactly the kind of thing I could see you listening to if you are into bands like Clap Your Hands Say Yeah! and the like.

Frankly, the only reason why I even discovered these guys is from watching the movie Juno, which has a pretty decent soundtrack too, albiet the majority of it is songs by Kimya Dawson and her bands The Moldy Peaches and Antsy Pants.

More House Party Music

Steve Aoki, perhaps better known to the music world as DJ Steve Aoki Kid Millionaire, is the brainchild behind Dim Mak Records, a relatively small label that gave rise to the UK indie-pop hit Bloc Party, and recent artists including Scanners and Klaxons. He also owns a clothing line, and organizes parties at night. He's pretty cool.

In January, he finally got around to releasing a mix tape of sorts for the kind of music that you might hear at these parties called "Pillowface and His Airplane Chronicles". Apparently pillowface is some kind of reference to an alter-ego of his that doesn't sleep.

Anyway, this album opens up with a pretty old mix of a Refused song, and sets the tone for what is to come: crank up the music loud and party! The title track pumps you up pretty good, and although you'll probably have to tell everyone at the party to give it a chance before they turn off your iPod (there's screaming), it gets you in the right head set.

Along the way, you'll hear mixes from groups such as Klaxons, The Mystery Jets, and Kid Sister, and guest vocals from Peaches, Kim, and Uffie.

My overall impression of this record is that it's the kind of thing that you want playing at your next post-exam house party where people are drunk and want to dance. However, listening to this in my room at 9:00 in the morning leaves something to be desired (and I'm only a little drunk). With each song flowing seamlessly into eachother, the majority of the record is forgettable, which is good in some respects. Weird Science's remix of Bloc Party's Helicopter is the aural equivalent of putting batteries in pie, cooking it, and then pretending that it tastes good when you cut out a slice later. Also, it's not really any S.U.R.P.R.I.S.E. which Justice song made it here, and it's a little dissapointing that Aoki didn't try to break new grounds by mixing another song of theirs, but at least they used MSTRKRFT's version. Frankly, I'll be happy when someone mixes Justice's Genesis with Phil Collins and Peter Gabriel (you know, the band Genesis).

In a nutshell, put this on if you are too lazy to DJ at your next party, but don't be surprised if it comes off as pretty boring (at least in terms of contemporary indie dance-rock anyway).

Crazy Crystal Castles Concert at Circa? Correct!

So Keane and I went to she Crystal Castles at Circa Friday night. Not my favourite group on this scene right now, they're best know, at least to me, for their wicked remix of 'Atlantis To Interzone'. But I mean, it's Klaxons, everyone remixes Klaxons, and it's always good, but their 'Crimewave' single is crazy catchy too.

Anyways, on to the show. I think this kind of music is always better live, it's so much fun to dance around and such. Plus, I love the fact that they bring in a drummer, it's way more real feeling. The singing was not amazing, but the singer was ridiculously high-energy. They didn't play too long, but I guess they don't have that much material. They aren't Justice or anything, it's not the kind of thing where I'd go thinking "hmm, I just feel like sitting and enjoying some music tonight", but I'd definitely see them again if I was in a high-energy fun mood.

That's the other thing, I've never been to Circa before, and I have to say, I have mixed feelings about it for a venue. Likesay, it seems like the kind of place you go if you have so much energy that you can't look at the same thing for more than 30 seconds at a time. But on the other hand, it definitely pumps you up for the show, and they actually play good music (even when the band's not on), like they actually put thought into it, not just top 40 whatever. At the same time, if I was paying to see someone who's music I really wanted to hear, I'd be pissed for several reasons: The dance floor's too small (for the number of people there), the people are annoying (grabbing at me, not paying attention to the music, pushing), the drinks are expensive!

Long and short: fun band, fun place, fun night, just not necessarily my thing. At least, not every night.

Stuff that White People Like

This blog says more than mere words ever could (which is useful because the site is another blog).

http://stuffwhitepeoplelike.wordpress.com/2008/01/30/40-indie-music/

Hilarious!

Their Album Title Rhymes Like This One Doesn't

aRTIST oF tHE yEAR goes beyond what most bands do by going out of their way to give English and Grammar teachers at least three fevered dreams and a tearful phone-call to their mother about the sordid situation of their life.

Why? How the hell should I know?

How? By writing their name with capital letters where non-capital letters should be!

It actually sums up a lot of what they are like as a band. They're part of the French electro scene right now, which I suppose gives you a general idea of what you're going to get when you listen to them. Given my somewhat limited (but ever growing) knowledge of the underground club scene across the pond right now, if I had to describe them to my kidnapper in exchange for my release, I'd probably say that aRTIST oF tHE yEAR is a band that you'd get if you took Digitalism, sebastiAn, and a grade four birthday party and put them in a blender. Although I'm a few months behind, wRECK lA dISCOTHEQUE is their most recent album, closing off 2007 with a bang.

The first impression I got listening to this album was that I no longer have to wonder what would happen if I were trapped on a rollercoaster that happened to be floating in space while people were cheering me on. This is the kind of stuff that you want playing at your party, but only once everyone is out of their mind. It's pretty rave-ish, although about mid-way through the album you end up getting at least one slower-paced song.

Anyway, if you're looking for experimental-electro, these guys are popping up on Top 10 lists (for electro) all over the place lately. Give them a listen. yOU wON'T rEGRET iT!

Awesome Awesome Band Band Poney Poney

I know next to nothing about these guys. According to their Myspace Poney Poney used to be some sort of One man and an ipod deal. They're a 3 piece now and by the sounds of it all business.
Their new track has been produced by Justice which I feel is a pretty good testament to their quality already and they've recently remixed the new Teenagers single Love No.
They seem a little like Paris' answer to the Kalxons, but very worth keeping an eye on.