Designer Drugs - Drop Down

In a world of dirty hipsters and even dirtier electro, those that resound with gritty, zealous synths and frantic basslines reign supreme. Designer Drugs, a couple of odd fellows who have come out of the woodwork with those assets and more, have churned out remix after remix and made a name for themselves as purveyors of true fucking party music. Lucky for us, their original music is just as good as the many remixes that they lay claim to, and with their newly released singles, "Riot / Drop Down," they prove this to club kids with a stunning array of caustic, and often violent, beats. I'm somewhat concerned about the general anger and sense of sadism that I expect, and thoroughly enjoy, from a lot of the music I listen to... but with videos like The Bloody Beetroots' Awesome and the studded fist that adorns the cover of "Riot / Drop Down," this theme of animosity seems rather self-perpetuating, though it does happen to perfectly coincide with the "get fucked and dance" party atmosphere of electro as well. The single that stands out more to me out of the two is "Drop Down." The little hook, "drop down, let me give it to you," is catchy as all hell and signals the coming of an atomic explosion of sound and weird, manic melodies. The wobbly electro synth melody pervades through the music as convulsive and dark and conjoins fantastically with an equally invasive crazy resonating alarm sound. The build is fucking beautiful, and the drop even more so. If you want darkened electro with a taste of pure party frenzy, this track is for you. Check it.

MSTRKRFT - Heartbreaker [Music Video]

MSTRKRFT (featuring John Legend) from Vincent Haycock on Vimeo.

The awesomely cute video for "Heartbreaker" by MSTRKRFT. I've been obsessed with this song lately, check it out.

Emancipator - Shook [Sigur Rós vs. Mobb Deep]

What do gangsta rap and post-rock have in common? Well, not a lot by their lonesome, but in the world of bastard pop, conventionality is not the name of the game. Mash-ups have risen immensely in popularity as of late with artists such as Girl Talk, Super Mash Bros, and Milkman slicing up tracks every which way, blurring and reshaping musical designs and fashioning new memories out of old ones. Downtempo artist Emancipator brings us the ethereal soundscapes of Iceland's Sigur Rós and warps them with a verse of one of hip-hop's most revered tracks of the 1990s' "Shook Ones (Pt II)," by east coast legends Mobb Deep. I'm not the biggest Sigur Rós fan for reasons I don't care to mention, but when one of the most impressive and raw verses of the 90s' is layered over it, I can't help but appreciate. The emotionally-driven piano and string instrumentation build and build with chopped up vocals pushing against the melody as spare breaks and the song eventually drops, the short but commanding discourse of Prodigy combining with Sigur's vivid background music, the presence of the song rather bleak and visceral. A chill vibe with a hint of lyrical dynamism. Genius. And another great song to sleep to as well.

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Washed Out - Feel It All Around

Chillwave. Glo-fi. Silly hipster bullshit. It's a beast comprised of many names and entities, resembling the Lernaean Hydra of Greek mythos... that is, if it were decked out in plaid and high-tops. Washed Out brings us this emerging brand of music from the confines of his very bedroom, enveloping everything in his reaches in a smokey haze of surrealism. The lethal combination of chillout and lo-fi creates true hypnotic sound, lulling you into a relaxed and vulnerable state. If you want something to throw on when you're crashing tonight, or even if you're staying up and doing a ton of work like me, grab this track.

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Tim & Jean - Come Around [Transcribed lyrics included]

These two gentlemen are Tim & Jean. Tim & Jean have composed the track that has broken my rabid dubstep addiction. With an eerie similarity to Passion Pit, as noted by countless other individuals [read: everyone, PERIOD], Perth's Tim & Jean have worked up a musical storm with their warm & sparkling feel-good hit of the late summer, "Come Around." These skinny-jean-rocking blokes from down under compound the vibrancy and exorbitance of electro-pop with a lot of fun tropical, hazy elements and top it all off with some fucking cute lyrics. "When sunshine comes around, will you still be with me?" Fucking cute, right? Check it.

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Lyrics (because I've been unable to find them elsewhere, I transcribed them myself):

Tim & Jean - Come Around lyrics

When sunshine comes around, will you still be with me?
You know it's not the same, but you can count to three
Why don't you find yourself a nice dress to wear
While you're at it, you might as well even care [x2]

I can't complain with what I've got in this life
Possessions only make it hard to feel alright
That's why it's so much harder for people to smile

Hold on, girl, don't be talking like that to me
I'm the one who's been there through the misery
Fall in love, 'cause I'm supposed to be the bad guy
I just need to take a breath and look with my eyes

We're never gonna feel the same
Hey, no, look what you've done now
You should've been the one to blame
Hey, no, look what you've done now [x2]

I can't complain with what I've got in this life
Possessions only make it hard to feel alright
That's why it's so much harder for people to smile

We're never gonna feel the same
Hey, no, look what you've done now
You should've been the one to blame
Hey, no, look what you've done now [x2]

X & Hell - Jump the Gun [Jakwob Remix]

To those of you who are stuck dealing with me on a daily basis, you're probably well aware that in the last week or two, I've been on an unstoppable (possibly life-threatening) dubstep binge. The genre is propelling itself upwards out of the musical underground and tearing to shreds everyone's vestibular systems with grimey, syncopated basslines encompassing earth-shaking wobbles. As it's shoved into the limelight, I'm assuming somewhat against the will of many cause now it's just fucking "trendy," we can also see producers sprouting out of the ground like flowers in spring... and I assume we'll see that these very flowers wilt. Hell, I wouldn't lie to you, I've tried my hand at dubstep - it's a fun, new, and very expansive genre, with much room for creativity and experimentation. At the same time, I'm one of the aforementioned flowers. Granted, you won't see me grow, but... well, enough with the fucking plant metaphors already. Whether you're a dubstep musician or a dubstep fan, you see producers come and go like nothing; some have their 15 minutes of fame with a successful track, and some wreak havoc upon everything they lay their dirty little synths on.

Jakwob is very much the latter.

I would never be able to tell you whether the man is having a very well-coordinated and fantastically-timed streak of luck with his production or he holds the philosophers' stone of dubstep. It's not up for me to speculate about such supernatural issues. My job is to listen, and I would love to think that I do my job well, although people may tell me otherwise. But I do listen, and I hear naught but golden waves of sound from this track. "Jump the Gun" isn't as intense as some of his other remixes, but the staccato of his melody remains persistent and memorable throughout. Simple melodies like these tend to bore me, but he manages to pull it off perfectly, fusing his homogeneous principal against a bouncy and well-timed auxiliary harmonic line. In layman's terms, he kills it all too simplistically. If you're a fan of dubstep, a fan of electronic, or just a fan of good music in general, I can guarantee you won't be disappointed by this track.

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BRAND NEW: The Bloody Beetroots - Warp 1977 (ft. Steve Aoki)

As far as I know, this beastly dancefloor-destroyer came out today. This represents the extensive intensity of The Bloody Beetroots' arsenal of synths, basses, screams and heavy to all hell kicks and snares. I'm still somewhat unsure of whether or not I like Warp 1977 better than Warp 1.9, but there's no denying it's astounding ability to get you to lose all control of your limbs. Sir Bob Cornelius Rifo has mutilated the electro scene once again, left it writhing and twitching in pain, and desperately wanting more.

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Ellie Goulding - Starry Eyed [Jakwob Remix]

Thumping dubstep track with bass that will rupture your eardrums and mercilessly strip you of your dignity. It's not the dark, evil sound you've come to expect from the generally grimey genre. In fact, it's rather emotional, and of a much brighter tone than most dubstep, most likely due to the choice of song and artist remixed. You don't have to be a musicologist to recognize that dubstep and indie-folk are two highly different genres, which makes Jakwob's melding of the two more impressive than you could ever consider. Sample-laden with vocals gated and pushed until the drop, the song builds and builds to crush you at the peak. Altitude is high. Jakwob presents to you his Everest and dares you to climb it... so go ahead; seize the day.

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Sunday Recording

Princeton - Calypso Gold

Since when did being prep become so incredibly hip? With the emergence of bands like Vampire Weekend promoting their brand of Ivy League high fashion and music, the trend is slowly assimilating into the overall domineering indie mindset. It can only be a matter of time before "The Harvard Rowing Club" releases their debut album, but until that happens, we can find ourselves thoroughly satisfied with Princeton's "Calypso Gold."

The eclectic mix of Afro-Caribbean percussion, vibrant classical strings, playful lyricism and subtle baritone vocals fuse to provide an intricately soothing piece of music. The songs open with percussion and within a few seconds, bursts into a cheery, exotic melody accentuated with fragile lyrical serenades. Every tap of the keyboard complements the vocals, only to dissolve as quickly as they've begun and flourish into gentle string arrangements. Imagine every Oxford-and-collared-shirt-wearing-band you think can of, but a little more polished and a little less self-aware and you've got Princeton. The Los Angeles band has come a long way from their debut album and there could be no better proof of that than "Calypso Gold." Cheers to them.

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Vampire Weekend - Horchata

So I finally got around to listening to "Horchata," the most prominently featured and blogged about track off of Vampire Weekend's new album "Contra." It woefully pains the indie-hipster part of me to say I was pretty damn disappointed. I'm not the biggest Vampire Weekend fan by any means; in fact, I ostensibly opposed the hype surrounding the release of their debut album, "Vampire Weekend." But... because I couldn't beat 'em, I joined 'em, and they earned their rightful chance to grow on me.

And here we are, only...

"Horchata" seems to be a bit of a stretch for Vampire Weekend. It takes their laidback, summery afro-pop influences and touches them up with a heavier emphasis on synthesizers and symphonic / ambient sounds, but in the most tiresome, difficult way. The style IS mind-blowingly Vampire Weekend, and if you know them, you'll know what I mean once you listen to this track. As my situation concerning Vampire Weekend was prior to this, it just might have to grow on me, but with it's abrupt ending, painstakingly pretentious lyrics and over-relaxed / pseudo-cultural vibe, the days to come aren't looking the brightest for "Contra."

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If a frog can do it, so can I / The Shins - Australia

The more I play "Australia" by The Shins, the more I want to learn how to play banjo. The twangy, jingly-jangly back-country sound it emanates makes the song entirely what it is, bar none. I'm a little sad that they only use it during the chorus but the scarcity might be what keeps me coming back. In fact, I've been noticing the more prominent use of banjo in the music I've been listening to lately; Sufjan Stevens comes to mind as a huge example of that... re-listening to Michigan and Illinois has developed my new found love for the 5-stringed beast of an instrument.

The Shins - Australia

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Trashcan

Classy? You betcha.

Chiddy Bang - The Opposite of Adults (Kids) (ft. MGMT)

Philadelphia electronic/hip-hop crew Chiddy Bang have released one hell of a mixtape to the delight of internet bloggers spanning the world wide web, and the track that stands out in particular to me is "The Opposite of Adults." Chiddy Bang samples MGMT's dreamy, synth-laden summer hit "Kids," and fantastically reworks the beat around their snazzy flow and hypebeast lyricism, with the ever-welcome addition of catchy oscillation and percussion, of course. The vocal content isn't what shines on the track but compliments, to me, entirely their genius idea of sampling and re-editing MGMT. They transformed the nouveau-disco homage to the 80s into an arrangement of addictive and crunchy staccati. Start-stops never sounded so damn good. Check out the rest of the mixtape if you'd like... but for me, this gem shines the brightest.

We've encountered a difficulty.

It's worse than crack.

Classixx - Cold Act Ill

A fine consortium of melody, harmony and rhythm, Cold Act Ill takes us back to the illustrious decades of the 70s and the 80s, the periods in which disco, funk and soul flourished loudly and proudly. The song combines vintage, raw synths with a little taste of modern electro, a funked up vocal sample, and steady kicks and hats to create an energetic track worthy of any dancefloor. Classixx has a fine hand for time-traveling and I know very few that do it better than they do. The song aims to get you excited, and the message sounds with pristine clarity. "We came here tonight to get started, cold act ill and get retarded."

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Halloween

This Halloween weekend turned out to be the most insane and interesting Halloween I've ever had. I'm going to put every one of my thoughts into a bullet point, so I can keep track of everything in one gigantic list.

Things That Occurred That Made This Halloween Ridiculous/Awesome/Horrible/Entertaining/Fantastic:

- My friend's mom lost his $100 two-day pass.
- We got my friend a ticket for the second day, to see Justice, which is why we were taking this entire trip to begin with.
- We bought two handles of Smirnoff, the first of which exploded completely as the handle of the bag which it was being carried in broke, and the second of which created a completely round hole the moment I set it on the ground... gently, I might add. Luckily, we saved most of the second handle.
- The left side of my friend's car stereo system stopped working for a little while.
- Got a whole bunch of awesome glasses to add to my collection. The biggest in the world? Someday. Not yet, but someday.
- I saw Justice, absolute front and center, the weekend-defining moment.
- Saw deadmau5 twice, saw 2ManyDJs, A-Trak, Steve Aoki, Basement Jaxx, and the Bloody fucking Beetroots, who put on one of the best shows I've ever seen. Got to hear Modeselektor play... was way too tired to stay until 4:00 AM.
- Got pulled over for speeding.
- Got a ticket for a parking violation at UCLA.
- Reconvened with a lot of old friends and got to see a bunch of people.
- Got a bridge toll violation, although got it rescinded and had to drive around the middle of nowhere looking for an ATM. Found one, paid the toll and bounced.
- Got from LA to Sonoma on a single tank of gas, BARELY.
- Laughed, learned, loved. And all of that other bs.

Best Halloween ever? I think so.

I am deadmau5.

The forces of nature worked overwhelmingly against me as I tried to finish my Halloween costume in time for my epic outing in LA @ Hard Haunted Mansion.


Several bike and car trips, 20 bottles of glue, a pair of white tights, a litre or so of water, two cans of spray paint, two failed rolls of wire netting, a spilled bottle of Gorilla Glue, a bunch of q-tips, a roll of duct tape, some pumpkin pie & milk, a whole bunch of cash and roughly 28 days later...

I am deadmau5.

Thanks to all who've helped contribute to this costume in any way. Words cannot express my gratitude enough.

Donald Darko

Hadn't seen this movie in quite a while, so my friends and I decided to watch it again. Still as entertaining, still as amazing, and not at all as confusing as the first time I saw it. It got me thinking a lot about time travel and the theories of space and time. I wish I knew a little more on those subjects, not because I could pull them out of nowhere as stupid conversational pieces but truly to pique my own interest and curiosity. Jake Gyllenhaal does a fucking good job. The theories of a tangent universe enveloping both itself and the parallel true universe seem so perplexing. I wonder what the scientific basis for this movie was... quality entertainment regardless.

And yes, time travel is cliché as flonk.

Shoes

Courtesy of Poladroid.

Air - Alone in Kyoto

This track makes me want to perform open heart surgery. The song builds slowly, minimalistically, with acoustic guitar and mellow pads. The recurring beep reminds me a lot of an electrocardiogram. It climaxes with repeated piano chords, phasing in and out and reinventing the melody from the ground up time and time again. The harmonies are dramatic but not overdone and not by any means exhaustive. The kind of track where you can appreciate the tension. Ends comfortably with adequate resolution, albeit entirely on a down note. Good for sleeping, good for relaxing, as subtly alarming as it is.

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High Places - High Places

Rating: 8
Links:
- Blogspot
- Myspace

For all you Animal Collective enthusiasts, High Places will take you to an abode most comfortable. The zips, zaps, and boinks that make up those familiar, maniacal rhythms you've come to appreciate from the aforementioned art-noisers seem to reign prevalent on this album. Tribal clicks and beeps give the songs a very primitive electronic feel, a Caveman's musique concrète. One very distinct feel is lent to it by a soft-spoken songbird by the name of Mary Pearson, unlike that of the high-pitched whine we've come to expect from Avey Tare and friends. The lyrics and vocals don't particularly strike a presence to me, partially because I'm not one to care for them, but I will add that they compliment the instrumentation in a way which is truly enjoyable. The variety of sound is daunting, with melodies crashing and criss-crossing through headphones and speakers every which way. If you like experimental, I can almost guarantee that you'll enjoy High Places.

Album Highlights: "The Tree With the Lights In It," "Gold Coin," and "Namer"

The Battle of Land and Sea - The Battle of Land and Sea

Rating: 8
Links:
- Official Website
- Last.fm

The Battle of Land and Sea consists of Sarah O'Shara and Joshua Canny, whose compositions are mere products of their voices, their guitars, and their love for music. This terrifyingly ethereal duo plays a brand of ghost-like indie pop on their self-titled album, their haunting and memorable vocals fusing with the atmosphere fashioned by dual acoustic guitars. O'Shara's trembling voice is soaked in complete sorrow, but where sounds of mourning are penned, there seems to be an equally powerful message of hope and buoyancy. I don't know if their songs have a purpose in their writing, but I don't think I want to know. Mellow, flowing rhythms carry themselves through each song effortlessly, strumming and eerie modulations intact. The lo-fi resonance of "Birdsong" drifts quietly through the air, enclosing in a bubble of tranquility anyone who crosses its path, leaving them at a standstill, exhausted and impassioned. "You Are a Sailor", the final track on the album, does the very same with terribly memorable discourse sung so lazily that you can't help but be swept up in their lethargic daydream. Go ahead and slip into magnificent phantasms at the hands of The Battle of Land and Sea. You won't regret it.

Album Highlights: "You Are a Sailor", "Saltwater Queen", "Birdsong", "I Built the Sea"

MSTRKRFT - Fist of God

Rating: 7
Links:
- Official Website
- Last.fm

Truly masters of their craft (Shut up, don't make fun of me), MSTRKRFT pours in the bass, stirs up a whole lot of synths, and adds a dash of reverb and compression, to create a completely funked up, moveable-shakeable-can't-help-but-groove-your-ass-off record. Who knew Canadians could be so talented? The arpeggiation of sounds scales up and down on the very first track, “It Ain’t Love,” appended by a similar up and down motion by my own head. “Heartbreaker”, featuring John Legend, is a great electro-ballad with Legend reminiscing about the sad, sad story that we’re all familiar with: the one who slipped away. The title track "Fist of God” bumps out a gritty, vehement synth line while a fun (at first) little sample echos in enhancement; I say at first because I found myself annoyed by this sample before the song had ended. The song that follows, known as “So Deep”, featuring Jahmal Tonge of Canadian indie duo The Carps is one that I happen to like very much. The soulful vocals blend with the warping electronica, those Rolands flowing with the intonations of his voice. Nonetheless, a fair share of piping, vexatious synth lines and vox that throw off certain tracks certainly mar and blemish points of the album. Entire songs are completely ruined by the vocals, whereas their instrumental counterparts could've come off much better. One example of this is "Bounce", where the trying verses by N.O.R.E. and Isis interfere with my love for good, ol' electro. But don’t let that hinder your acquisition! If you're looking for the "White Album" or "Sgt. Pepper's" of all electro albums, then I don't think you'll find what you're looking for, but if you're in the mood for something a lot less serious and a lot more fun, then there's no need to look elsewhere. “Fist of God” remains entertaining, and danceable as fuck, at its core and is a good listen for any electro fan. And yes, I know, the cover is fucking atrocious. Goddamn Canadians.

Album Highlights: "Fist of God" (although kind of annoying, but meh), "1000 Cigarettes", "It Ain't Love", "So Deep"

The Mars Volta - De-Loused in the Comatorium

Rating: 10
Links:
- Official Website
- Last.fm
- Storybook of De-Loused In the Comatorium

The siren-like sound opens up to the world, it's perfectly symmetrical high pitched pulsation accompanied by all too foreign crypticism and codes. Powerfully charged words lead further into powerfully charged arrangements, and the wailing begins, desperate and desolate at its core. The melting pot that is "De-Loused" is composed of bouncing, jazzarific guitar taps, the emanated Latin American sounds of struck bongos, havoc wrought by cataclysmic and alternating snare hits and kicks, and an air of anguished cries from metaphysically-withdrawn drug addicts. The keys aim to please and the skitchy electronica hums, layering itself between sound and sound, between all musical motion, an all but abrasive complement. "De-Loused" is a concept album about a friend of The Mars Volta who committed suicide after possibly realizing he did not want to accept his reality, and found himself disgusted by it; at least, that's a guess, and the very basis of the album's story. "De-Loused" is an amazingly horrific blend of fantasy and reality. I've come across many a review that did not exactly praise this album, but when it comes down to it, as stubborn as I am about my musical taste and certain bands... about this band, I've got to leave it to the principle of "to each their own." It's in many ways a love-hate thing... and I can't help but love it. I couldn't really tell you why, to be honest. At least, for the most part, you need to listen to it for yourself.

Album Highlights: Just go listen to the album all in one sitting.

Giant Skyflower Band - Blood of the Sunworm

Rating: 8
Links:
- Last.fm

If the forest made music, this is what it would sound like. At the heart of "Blood of the Sunworm" lies a simplistic and earnest penchant for folk metres and ancient tones. Donaldson croons over heartfelt mixes of domestic and foreign sounds, acoustic guitars and sitars blending together all too well. Songs like "Bitter Wild Rabbit / Builds the Bone" contain enough essence of pop to attract those who stray from the New Weird America roots of the tree, while the 11 minute folk-epic "Meditations on Christ and the Magi" satisfies any of us who are looking for "the sounds of the universe." This music could very well accompany you on an bright and sunny day. The lo-fi quality is a staple of folk like this, and whereas some may not pull it off as well, the Giant Skyflower Band seems to. There's a song or two that isn't as comparable to some of the other songs on the album, so it feels like filler, although I acknowledge the attempt of these songs to satisfy the listener wholeheartedly. Still, even with it's minor flaws, "Blood of the Sunworm" is a magnificiently written album; those looking for a pseudo-spiritual experience should surely check it out.

Album Highlights: "Bitter Wild Rabbit / Builds the Bone", "Meditations on Christ and the Magi", "The Arcangel (Hurray for the Beast)"

National Skyline - Bliss & Death

Rating: 9
Links:
- Official Website
- Last.fm

National Skyline is the kind of music you'd stare off into the distance to, but at the same time, remain blissfully aware of your surroundings, for fear of an impending attack. I barely have any idea what I'm talking about, really. To put it in not-crazy-terms, beautifully mixed shoegazing guitars, eccentric electronics and surrealist lyricism are the result of National Skyline's newest effort, "Bliss & Death." I hadn't heard of National Skyline before this, but from what I gathered, they came off as a normal "indie rock" band. I was serendipitously wrong, my expectations crushed. Of a far higher quality than anything I had expected, "Bliss & Death" from beginning to end never failed to impress me. From the catchy, Radioheadesque "Revenge" to the acoustic strumming against ranging, varied soundscapes of "Kingdom" to the album's very last song & instrumental fit for a king, "The Ghost II," National Skyline prove themselves to be a hell of a band and certainly earn my respect. Not many artists can consistently get better, and since I've, from first hearing this album, looked up reviews for previous albums and saw only good things, I must congratulate them on a job well done. My minor problems with the album stem only from "Bloom", a 7 minute song whose instrumental passages, as much as I loved them, could stand to be less lengthy; they lead into a rather abrupt ending for the song, and what seems to come off as a build-up reveals itself to be rather consistent playing. Other than that, bravo to National Skyline.

Album Highlights: Everything, especially "The Ghost II", "Solid Cold", "Driving Down", and "Kingdom".

Five O'Clock Heroes - Speak Your Language

Rating: 6
Links:
- Official Website
- Last.fm

Arguably one of the poppier records I've ever come across (my library's full of stupid ambient bullshit), Speak Your Language by British indie rockers Five O'Clock Heroes is something I've found I can't stop listening to. The album irritatingly dominates the "Recently Played" list on my last.fm account, but not without good reason. It's a guilty pleasure, really. Solid, although there are a few tracks that tend to get on my nerves. The chorus of "Alive" is bothersome so much so that I can't focus on anything I'm doing, but the almost dub-pop feel of "Don't Say Don't"s chorus seems to make everything better. The title track "Speak Your Language" is a whole lot of catchy in a good 2 minutes and 57 seconds. The lyrics are random indie cliches ("What was love that truly desire / There is nothin’ that I really want") but I guess you can't really expect anything less. The singing can be a bit much at times as well, but they're British so I guess they're allowed to get away with it. Overall, Speak Your Language is filled with attractive riffs, fetching drums and falsettos you can both chuckle at and appreciate.

Album Highlights: "Radio Lover" (catchy as fukk), "Don't Say Don't", "God & Country" (he yells and it sounds nice)