We Do Piknikz

So it's been a while, so I'm gonna try to make it up to you. Plain and simple, I've been (as I'm sure you have) bombarded by really good stuff lately, and I need to share some of my thoughts as well:

1. Jamie Lidell's new album Jim is out now, and it's pretty fantastic. He's gone less electronic and more Motown on us, and it works really well since his voice always had a soul element to it. As is always with the music I like, there are remixes so u can listen to what u like whilst shakin' ur booty. Lidell's single A Little Bit of Feel Good has been remixed by the masochistical melody master from Ed Banger, Mr. Oizo. Peep it:

Jamie Lidell - A Little Bit of Feel Good (Mr. Oizo Remix)

2. Three great albums i'm listening to right now:
- Cut Copy's In Ghost Colours - 5 years people have been waiting for this one if they were avid fans, but if you weren't one then you will be now. Amazing album, light, poppish, full of the cotton candy glaze a summer album should have, and so effortless it makes musicians wanna bonfire their instruments and call it quits:

Cut Copy - Out There On The Ice

-Pnau's self titled is kickin' my ass; I mean, maybe I'm that out of the loop, but these guys came out of nowhere to make kidzbop adult appropriate dance music that is simple and beautiful, on The MFA side of things:

PNAU - Dancing on the Water

-The Presets' Apocalypso is gonna be another Modular juggernaught this summer, but not in the same way as their aforementioned labelmates. They are raw industrial, somewhat cheese but only in the way that it's a compliment.

The Presets - Talk Like That

K this is all for today; I promise to be more industrious in the upcomin' weeks.

P.S. All the contributors from this blog will be together in Davis this weekend, hopefully we see some of our reader base.

Is Iron Man Real?

I've been seeing the Iron Man movie previews everywhere. And, unlike in cartoons, Iron Man in the movie looks real! So my question is quite simple, is Iron Man real? Have we been blind to his presence all along?

Lately it seems like we've been prone to post more about the female singers of the eclectro scene, and rightly so because thems some fantastic divas lately. But equally exciting are what the males have to offer. And they shouldn't be hard to find. Already this year there is a lot to be excited about, with new music from some big names, Jamie Lidell and Gnarls Barkley's Cee-Lo, but let's dig a little deeper.



Sam Sparro presents something of a paradox; he just may well be this generation's Eric Burdon. Despite his huge voice, when you take a look at his photos you might be surprised to find he's something of a, well, underfed, short haired, leaping gnome. But the fact remains, Sparro has an amazing voice and it is used well in "Black & Gold." If the rest of his tracks are as well produced as this, we can expect Sam Sparro to become more of a household name.

Sam Sparro - Black & Gold

This next one is an instrumental, but I like it better than what's getting a lot of exposure lately. Kelley Polar may not be a recognizable name either, but unlike most musicians these days he is classicly trained, having studied at Juilliard (though he was later expelled). His tracks are nicely polished, but gritty enough to be played on the dance floor, much like Matthew Herbert. If anything, from what I've heard from Kelley Polar's newest album I Need You To Hold On While the Sky is Falling, his songs are interesting to listen to. Dust off that disco ball, and check out this track.

Kelley Polar - A Feeling of the All-Thing

Finally, what would a post be without a monthly check up on our friends from the Justice Department? Justice must be hard at work on side projects, but that doesn't mean they can't keep turning out their own gems. An awesome video for the mediocre "DVNO" popped up recently. As is the case with all Ed Banger art and media content, this one is produced by So Me. What is clear about this video is that So Me and Justice are well aware of their demographic: kids who woke up every Saturday morning in the '90s to watch cartoons. The video references probably about twenty production company motion graphics that seeped into our subconsciousness after watching so much TV. The two ones not referenced that I can think of is DIC (the little girl saying it, and the logo coming through the window) and then after every Simpsons episode, the movie theatre where someone says "Shh," and the logo is shown on the silver screen. If I weren't lazy, I'd research every graphic animation because some of them seem to be on the tip of my tongue, especially the last one, which is a nice finale to the video: the Justice duo playing the piano together and flipping off a page which turns into a J. Enjoy!