Techno Thursday

DJ Tocadisco - The Black Series (Part 2)

Tech-House at its finest. Amazing build up before the bass drops on "Morumbi."


Deadmau5 - Faxing Berlin [Mau5trap]











Deadmau5 is one of my favorite progressive house djs from last year. With Chris Lake's take on "Faxing Berlin" I know why. I can't wait to see Deadmau5 at Coachella this year. I wonder if I will enjoy seeing him early in the afternoon in the blistering heat as much as I would if I saw him at night like at TAO or something. For some reason I don't think I will.

In honor of MSTRKRFT releasing their spring tour dates and their new kick ass poster I have been listening to MSTRKRFT The Looks today. I remember walking into the front gate of Coachella last year and hearing MSTRKRFT play Daft Punk's "Rolling & Scratchin." The bass was so loud and could be heard over all the other stages. Needless to say, my friend and I sprinted over to the stage as fast as we could. Peace & Beats

Top Tracks: "Easy Love" "Paris" "Street Justice" "Neon Nights"

What I'm Watching

The best way to describe The Kingdom is very intense. One of the best movies about the Middle East I have seen in a long time. It made me think about the "war on terror" in two new ways. One being from the perspective of the rich and powerful Saudi's point of view. Second, what it would be like if we treated terrorist attacks more like murders instead of starting a war without an end by using a preventative/pre-emptive attack approach. It was appearent that the same director that did Friday Night Lights made this film. The soundtrack with Explosions in the Sky and Tim Mcgraw being the most obvious. Also, I was unaware of many women's dislike of Jennifer Garner until my girlfriend and her friend enthusiastically brought it up to me. If you feel the same way don't worry about it. I didn't time how long she was in the movie but it didn't seem like she was in it as much as the other guys. Enjoy

What the Critics Thought

Want Some Weed With Those Munchies?

Click on Image to see it better :-)

I always knew I liked California a lot. If you can believe it or not, at a few select locations you can now buy marijuana from a vending machine. However, you do need a special car to buy from every college kids dream machine. Also, a rent-a-cop guards the machine but who is to say a couple Franklins wont make him turn his head. I hope they have flaming hot Cheetos and grape drink in it too.

What I'm Listening To

The Field - Sound of Light EP

I can't even count the number of times I listened to the Field's From Here We Go Sublime. So many times that I was shocked when I just saw that it was released in 2007. I remember last year one night after Coachella listening to this album over and over in the car when I couldn't sleep. It definitely should have been on my post for some of my favorite albums of last year, but that goes to show how my lazy ass just throws these posts together when I have free time in between classes. Anyways, today I listened to the Sound of Light EP and enjoyed it. I don't think it is as strong as Axel Willner's last album though. I saw him live at Club Congress awhile back with !!! and he played a song with more of a trance feel to it. That was the song my roommate and I decided to go out and have a smoke to so I was hoping to hear it on here but I guess Axel considered it a dead jam and left it out of the EP.

Top Tracks: "Morning" "Night"

If I Had The Money To Go To The Record Store

I recently have started collecting records again because I want to start spinning vinyl instead of only using my cdjs and also because the artwork on many albums I buy is really cool so they are great to hang on your wall. The sad thing is unless you're looking for crappy classic rock albums like the typical douche next door, fresh vinyl is hard to come across in most parts of the U.S. Luckily there are place online like Juno that don't rape with shipping and handling fees. So here's a list of a few of my favorite recent additions to my collection that are both great to listen to and hang up in your dorm or house. Peace & Beats

Justice - D.A.N.C.E. (Remixes)













Trentemoller - The Chronicles













!!! - Take Ecstasy With Me

Lineup For Coachella 2008

Even with being titled as "the official first case of the flu" at the University of Arizona today I am not going to let it hold me back from posting the lineup for Coachella this year. After all it is the best musical festival of our generation. I remember last semester making a list with my roommate of the djs we assumed and hoped would be there. Luckily for us, many of them are going to be there. I am predicting that Sunday, with an illegal substance or two, will be one of the best nights of my life. Booka Shade, The Field, Justice, Deadmau5, Simian Mobile Disco and Chromeo!!! However, I must say this year doesn't look too good for anyone who isn't into the dance/electronic scene. I mean seriously, Jack Johnson is headlining...pathetic

FRIDAY, APRIL 25: Jack Johnson, The Verve, Raconteurs, The Breeders, Fatboy Slim, Tegan and Sara, Madness, The Swell Season, The National, Animal Collective, Slightly Stoopid, Mum, Sharon Jones & the Dap Kings, Stars, Battles, Aesop Rock, Midnight Juggernauts, Does it Offend you, Yeah?, Minus the Bear, Spank Rock, dan le sac Vs Scroobius Pip, Diplo, Adam Freeland, Santo Gold, Jens Lekman, John Butler Trio, Vampire Weekend, Dan Deacon, Architecture in Helsinki, Sandra Collins, Busy P, Cut Copy, Black Lips, Datarock, Professor Murder, Reverend and the Makers, The Bees, Porter, Rogue Wave, Modeselektor, American Bang, Lucky I Am.

SATURDAY, APRIL 26: Portishead, Kraftwerk, Death Cab for Cutie, Cafe Tacuba, Sasha & Digweed, Rilo Kiley, Dwight Yoakam, M.I.A., Hot Chip, Cold War Kids, Stephen Malkmus & the Jicks, DeVotchKa, Flogging Molly, Mark Ronson, Turbonegro, Scars on Broadway, Islands, Enter Shikari, Calvin Harris, Boyz Noize, Junkie XL, Cinematic Orchestra, Jamie T, The Teenagers, VHS or Beta, Carbon/silicon, Erol Alkan, Yo Majesty!, Little Brother, Bonde Do Role, St. Vincent, Akron Family, MGMT, Institubes DJs (Surkin, Para One and Orgasmic), James Zabiela, Sebastian, Kavinsky, Dredg, The Bird and the Bee, Grand Ole Party, New Young Pony Club, 120 Days, Yoav, Electric Touch, Uffie

SUNDAY, APRIL 27: Roger Waters (“Dark Side of the Moon”), Love & Rockets, My Morning Jacket, Spiritualized, Justice, Gogol Bordello, Chromeo, The Streets, Metric, Danny Tenaglia, Simian Mobile Disco, Booka Shade, Murs, Dmitri from Paris, Autolux, The Field, Linton Kwesi Johnson, Les Savy Fav, The Cool Kids, Sons & Daughters, Sia, Holy Fuck, Black Kids, Black Mountain, The Annuals, Kid Sister w/A-Trak, Man Man, Duffy, I'm from Barcelona, Manchester Orchestra, Deadmau5, The Horrors, Austin TV, Shout Out Louds, Plastiscines, Brett Dennen

Fashion Friday

Dachi World brings fashion to the streets with their new take on the infamous "I Love NY" t-shirt you see everywhere. I'm really digging it. Dachi had some problems with his Pay Pal account but now everything seems to be up and running. He is a nice guy and a local artist deserving of your dollar. As he told me, "Try not to get too much paint on it."
Find it at: http://dachiworld.com/


One of my favorite remixers of the year also has one of my favorite shirts of the year. His shirt is also re-design of one of the most famous shirts ever, but something about this shirt tells me that the Reagans wouldn't approve of the new version. You be the judge. I have even seen Justice's Xavier de Rosnay wearing it on several occasions. He is from France and aren't they all supposed to have amazing style lol?
Find it at: http://www.erolalkan.co.uk/

Considering how remarkably cold it was yesterday here in Arizona I decided I better add a hoodie to the post. Keep warm in style with this retro teal hoodie titled "heatseaker" from Mishka. I wish I had one, but at $110 it is a little too pricey for my college student budget.
Find it at:http://www.mishkanyc.com/catalog/index.php?cPath=0_23

Look Whose Big Time Now

I have to say all the Grammy nominees this year put on one hell of a live show. Well, I'm not so sure about Shiny Toy Guns, but all the other guys for sure.

Best Electronic/Dance Album
(For vocal or instrumental albums. Albums only.)

• We Are The Night
  The Chemical Brothers
  [Astralwerks]
  
  
• †
  Justice
  [Downtown/Vice/Ed Banger]
  
  
• Sound Of Silver
  LCD Soundsystem
  [Capitol Records/DFA]
  
  
• We Are Pilots
  Shiny Toy Guns
  [Universal Motown]
  
  
• Elements Of Life
  Tiësto
  [Ultra Records]

Techno Thursday

Today it really hit the spot to listen to techno. Following is a short list of some of the tracks I have been enjoying on this cold Thursday. Peace & Beats

Marc Romboy vs Gui Boratto - Eurasia (Guis mix) [Systematic]

Ellen Allien and Apparat - Rotary [Bpitch Control]
(actually considered electronica on beatport.com for some reason)

Butch - On the Line (Oxia Remix) [Circle Music]

Popof - My Toys [Skryptom Records]

Steve Lawler - Courses For Horses [Renaissance]
(First three minutes are slow, but after that the song really gets going)

Throwback Tuesdays

If you don't know who the KLF are, you should! They are true pioneers of the Ambient House and Acid House genre. The KLF, better known as Bill Drummond and Jimmy Cauty, used to play music for ravers to come down to back in the 90's. Their albums title "Chill Out" is very fitting. Compromised of very calm music that is heavy on samples. Not fitting for the club, but a great album to throw on when traveling at night (which is kind of the whole concept of the album anyways). I consider "Chill Out" one of the best ambient albums of all time. Enjoy :)
Top Tracks: "Madrugada Eterna," "Elvis on the Radio, Steel Guitar in My Soul," and "Wichita Lineman Was a Song I Once Heard"

Justice Tour Dates!!!

Props to Peter Hill for this amazing live action shot

Time to bust out your glow in the dark crucifixes, that's right, the hugely popular French Electro House duo plan on bringing their new Live tour back to North America after a brief stint in L.A. for New Years. Following are their shows scheduled in the U.S. The show in New York looks like one not to miss! Tickets will sell quick so don't procrastinate.

03-03 Austin, TX - Stubb's Bar-B-Q *#
03-04 Dallas, TX - Palladium Ballroom *#
03-06 Orlando, FL - The Club at Firestone *#
03-09 Baltimore, MD - Sonar *#
03-10 Philadelphia, PA - Electric Factory *#
03-11 New York, NY - Madison Square Garden *#^%
03-12 Washington, DC - 9:30 Club #^
03-15 Boston, MA - Paradise #^
3-19 Detroit, MI - Royal Oak Music Hall #$
03-20 Chicago, IL - Riviera Theatre #$
03-22 Denver, CO - Ogden Theater #$
03-24 Seattle, WA - Showbox SoDo #$
03-26 Portland, OR - Roseland Theater #$
03-27 San Francisco, CA - Concourse Design Center #$
03-31 Los Angeles, CA - Mayan Theatre #$

* with DJ Mehdi
# with Fancy
^ with Busy P
% with Chromeo
$ with Diplo

Dan Deacon is Weird

After Listening to Dan Deacon's "Spiderman of the Rings" I was so baffled as to what the hell I just listened to. According to my encyclopedia for everything, Wikipedia.org, "Dan Deacon's compositional style is best classified in the future shock genre." I've never heard of that genre before but I guess it's kind of fitting. I hoping to see him live tonight in Phoenix after watching crazy videos of him on youtube.
Top Tracks from : "Wham City," "Snake Mistakes" and "Pink Batman"

Dan Deacon's upcoming tour dates:

January 14th - Phoenix, AZ @ Modified
January 15th - Los Angeles, CA @ El Rey Theatre
January 16th - Irvine, CA @ UC Irvine Pacific Ballroom
January 17th - San Francisco, CA @ Great American Music Hall
January 18th - Portland, OR @ Backspace
January 19th - Portland, OR @ Holocene
January 20th - Seattle, WA @ Neumos
January 21st - Vancouver, BC @ Richards on Richards
January 24th - Minneapolis, MN @ First Avenue
January 25th - Chicago, IL @ Lakeshore Theater
January 26th - Chicago, IL @ Metro with Girl Talk (SOLD OUT) no UR
January 27th - Detroit, MI @ Scrummage University
January 28th - Cleveland Heights, OH @ Grog Shop
January 30th - Montreal, QC @ La Sala Rossa
January 31st - Boston, MA @ The Pozen Center
February 3rd - Philadelphia, PA @ First Unitarian Church
February 8th - New York, NY @ The Whitney Museum of American Art

Links to Hilarious youtube videos of Dan Deacon:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=5oGMR9irekY
http://youtube.com/watch?v=vFlBJ1xZK10

Now Two Shirts From The Candidates Promising Us Change

To everyone who has jumped on the Barack Obama's bandwagon, Rocksmith has brought us their Andy Wharholesque t-shirt to help you show your support in style. You better hurry up if you want to get your hands on it! I know it can be found on http://www.digitalgravel.com at the moment, but their shirts normally sell out quickly!

Who doesn't appreciate the creativity of Ron Paul and his grassroots organizers and campaigners. From having a virtual march in the computer game World of Warcraft to spray painted "Ron Paul Revolution" signs it's all good to me. So I say its time that everyone who has one of those Che Guevara t-shirts that I see everywhere and throw on one of this Ron Paul shirts in resemblance to them. After all, he is America's candidate for a revolution.

Get it at:http://www.ronpaul2008store.com/servlet/Categories?category=I+Support+Ron+Paul+T-Shirts

Some albums from the year that made us all want change

Last year the music I listened to was primarily electronic. Most tracks coming from LP's and singles. However, I still think it would be fun to list 10 albums from last year I really enjoyed. This doesn't mean they are necessarily my 10 favorite, just 10 albums I think everyone needs to give a listen. Hopefully some of the choices will expand your musical horizons. Also, I don't feel like there is any need to rank the albums. I'm one of those guys that thinks there is a certain song or band for a certain type of mood or situation you're in. Well enough of my talentless writing. Here it goes. Short, simple and unranked.

LCD Soundsystem - "Sound of Silver"

An album full of fun. All I have to say is get it and if you can see them live that's even better. Disco for our generation











Justice - "†"
Well I must not be as hip as I thought I was, but maybe I'm still ahead of many others that are just now finding out about Justice. They have been rocking their hit "Waters of Nazareth" since 2005 even though it is rightfully on their full length today. Now Justice's popularity is booming. Their songs can be heard in cell phone and Cadillac commercials. I'm not sure how many old white people cruize around in their Escalades listening to them though. Regardless, Justice have definitely hit the mainstream and i hope they are here to stay. Welcome to the French Electro Duo that is set to follow in the footsteps of their fellow Parisians, Daft Punk.




M.I.A. - "Kala"

The album is named after M.I.A.'s , Maya Arulpragasam mother , but trust me this is probably not an album for your mom. This album is beatastic. No I'm not just saying that because after seeing her live and was so blown away by her performance that I have developed some kind of celebrity crush on her. This album is filled with creative and funky beats that are definitely not native to America. Crank up the Bass and enjoy :)



Holy Fuck - "LP"

Holy Fucks "LP" appears to not be on any other lists of top albums of 2007, or even Pitchfork's Best New section. That doesn't mean to dismiss it completely. This albums has a real cool vibe to it. There is some kind of Soulwax mixed with Kings of Leon feel to it. Like a electronic jam band full of indie kids. Give it a try on a nice sunny day like we have here in Arizona today :)

Yeasayer - "All Hour Cymbals"

One of my favorite albums of the year...obviously. According to my I-Tunes "All Hour Cymbals" is Psychedelic Rock. To me it sounds like a great mix between two other favorite indie bands of mine; Animal Collective and Grizzly Bear.





Daft Punk - "Alive"
Well I might like this album much more than you because I was lucky enough to see their final show in the U.S. at Vegoose in Las Vegas last October but this album should still get your feet shuffling on the dance floor, kitchen and shower. Too bad it doesn't come with a massive light display and pyramid. But non the less, it is an amazing live set by two of the most legendary electronic artists of all time (Thomas Bangalter & Guy Manuel de Homem-Christo) playing their songs from primarily their three previous albums.