DJs Are Heroes Too

It´s been making the rounds to nothing but amazing acclaim, so we want you to have it as well. A typical influences mix it would be if it hadn´t turned out so well. DJs like Breakbot are the reasons why I love music; they respect the musical heritage and implement that influence into their productions. What follows is the mix plus certain songs from the mix I´ve grown up with:

Breakbot Heroes Mix - In New DJs We Trust

Lew Kirton - I Can´t Live Without You

Silver Conventions - Fly Robin Fly

The Cool Notes - My Love Is Hot

Eddie Conard - U Are Unique

BB and Q Band - Dreamer

BB and Q Band - Dream (Shep Petitbone Edit)

Grandmaster Flash - The Message (A Capella) (alt)

The O´Jays - Cry Together

Marvin Gaye - Please Stay (alt)

Joe Walsh - Things

Barry White - Love Theme (alt)

Journey - Don´t Stop Believing

Foxy - Lady Macho - Montreal

Doobie Brothers - What A Fool Believes (alt)

Index - Starlight (The Break)

M83 - Run Into Flowers (Midnight Remix by Jackson) (alt)

Thanks to ROBOTXY for the individual songs.

Jackson Fourgeaud

To every story, there is the wizard, the wise man, the magician. Always kept on the shelf for certain measures, little does he talk, but when he does . . .

Jackson Fourgeaud, or more popularly known as Jackson and His Computer Band, in this cess pool of right-now's banger-crap, is one that stands out, noticeably. One-of-a-kind, sure, but I don't want to hear that again. It sounds too far away to be true, but I originally heard my first Jackson remix five years ago. This was the period of the failed record label GOOOM. From GOOOM, the remaining survivors today are TEPR, Yelle's current tour drummer, and M83, who got played out real hard once PitchForkMedia gizzed all over Anthony Gonzalez's most recent EMO album. But that's beside the point. "Run Into Flowers" was the single remixed by Jackson as the "Midnight Fuck Remix." And there happened, I think, a great schism. There was such a new sound brought to the table, namely those super compressed snare drums all to reminiscent of the snare drum King, Mr. Oizo. Jackson Fourgeaud has been an inspiration and influence to virtually every member on Ed Banger family, but that's no big deal. C'mon -- it's Warp Records. They kinda know what they're doing.

Enough of my silly poetics; Jackson is a much more charming man than I am as he speaks about music, remixes, and influences. We wont mention his production horizon. Let's all hope he's working on new material.



M83 - Run Into Flowers - Midnight Fuck Remix (ALT)

Panico - Illumination - Jackson Remix (ALT)

Symmetry Along a Cemetary Wall

"A horror of life, and an ecstatic joy in life."
--Baudelaire



In the early morning hours the owl by my house began to hoot. Still in my dream state I understood why the owl has traditionally been associated with the virtue of wisdom. The owl's call is an unchanging sentence of three parts, beginning with an introduction crescendo: hruu-oohh-aah, forming the catholic inquisition encompassing all the questions that had arisen thus far in my dream. The call then answers itself with two "hoos" which express the duality of all life, that to every question two responses can equally suffice. But I half-dreamt half-philosophized that I still was not satisfied. What did the owl mean to tell me? In my dream I hooted back, a call of my own: words, antonyms and synonyms, a rise in tone and a final, vocal punctuation mark. A few seconds followed, as though the owl were considering my statement, turning it over in his mind. In that time, I realized why the owl conversed only in the morning, the only time of day when dream and reality are not yet separate and distinct: in the time when you may confuse what actually happened with what you dreamed, the owl has furtively gained its place into personification that seems superior to other creatures. Now, the owl was ready for its final response. It answered in the same, three-part call it had opened with, but I understood what he meant: an answer is already contained in every question.

Check out how Yuksek reinterprets M83's pop song "Graveyard Girl." Now this is the kind of music I expect to hear in a graveyard.

M83 - Graveyard Girl (Yuksek remix)

Breaking news: Justice don't know who the Jonas Brothers are. WTF? No, but seriously, check out Pitchfork's revealing interview with Justice. They talk about how they don't consider themselves musicians by nature; because of technology they don't really have to write songs, just like they didn't have to know how to paint to be graphic designers. Or how they're not doing remixes except for friends (so that's what "We Are Your Friends" was about). So the question must be asked: what's up with their Stevie Wonder snippet (see: Mass Hyperbole, as if you haven't already).

Also dig this summer anthem: Aeroplane completely remix a Shortwave Set tune. Here in San Francisco, things are just heating up.

The Shortwave Set - Now 'til 69 (Aeroplane remix)

Tin Cans of the Night

When times were simpler, the official album charts and MTV told you what was hot. But now, with the ability to share music within seconds, it's difficult to tell what's popular from day to day. So, when a band like M83 releases a new album, it may seem like a big deal to me, but I have to all but assume that it isn't the case for the rest of the world. There's no surprise that their album released just last week, Saturdays = Youth, might have slipped through the top 40s chart; but it is still surprising to me to see that M83 is currently one of the most searched and blogged bands on Hype Machine.

M83's new album has soundtrack written all over it. The title itself puts it in the category of innocence, rites of passage, intense nostalgia, and angst. Anyone even close to the age of M83's Anthony Gonzalez (26) can note the obvious references throughout the album. Even the cover, which depicts several awkward teens with an interesting, to say the least, choice of fashion, is like an Eye Spy book for pop cultural influences: I spy Donnie Darko, I spy the Brat Pack! Musically, each song seems like a departure from the typical M83 sound, which has been known to be much rawer and more experimental. Ewan Pearson's helping hand clearly gives the tracks a more produced, ready-for-America feel. The album as a whole feels like a soundtrack, and not necessarily one that is produced by one band, but a compilation of bands, from Frou Frou on "You, Appearing," to New Order (think "Age of Consent") on "Graveyard Girl," to Depeche Mode on "Couleurs," to Journey on "Skin of the Night." Some songs even set the visual stage, as in "Highway of Endless Dreams," which starts, "7 a.m., dusty road, I'm gonna drive until it burns my bones." The song--a long build up that ends before it releases--then proceeds to suit quite well an early morning drive on a desert highway. But despite the obvious influences, every note has that special M83 touch that makes you feel as though you are drifting in a barred spiral galaxy.

M83 - Couleurs

After listening to the album nearly incessantly over the past week, I still am unsure whether to dub this album as timeless or a soon-to-be guilty pleasure. The lyrics are campy, though admittedly deliberatly so, and the chord progressions are at times sugary sweet. Whereas M83 was once a band that was not for everyone, now they are open to anyone between the ages of 18 and 35. But for now, unlike the pop culture that Saturdays = Youth refers to, these songs are uniquely ours.


I recommend that you do buy the album! For some less blogged about songs, check out these recent gems as well:

M83 - Graveyard Girl (Yuksek remix)

Midnight Juggernauts - Shadows (M83 remix)