Music In Media

Ok, as promised here is the Fred Falke remix of Lykke Li's "I'm Good, I'm Gone," fresh as this morning's baked baguettes. Since I last posted about her, Lykke Li has seen a surge in popularity (no correlation, right? nah), especially with the debut of her album "Youth Novels," so this remix couldn't come at a better time. And it's easy on the ears too.

Lykke Li - I'm Good, I'm Gone (Fred Falke remix)



The arrival of this anticipated remix gives me the excuse to write about something else that I've been noticing in the past few days: electronic music in the media. It seems like the kind of music we post about here, from Australia to Sweden and back, is starting to get picked up by those in high places. Songs I never thought I would have heard outside of my own room are popping up in the most peculiar places. I don't know if it's just coincidental or just a sign of the times to come. I have to admit, it gets me excited.

So, when else can you hotwire a car, do several drive-bys and get chased by the FBI all while cranking out the sweet sounds of Justice? I got a chance to play Grand Theft Auto IV this past week. Simply put, it's amazing. Just by chance I had recently noticed that on Kavinsky's site, he had advertised that "Testarossa" was featured on the "electrochoc" channel, so the first time I did my own hotwiring I immediately tuned in. I was thoroughly impressed with the tracklist and quality of mixing. To my surprise, searching for the ramps to drive my car off of, in addition to SebastiAn's remix of "Testarossa Autodrive," I heard "Waters of Nazareth" by Justice, "Tits & Acid" by Simian Mobile Disco. Albeit lo-quality, you can listen to the radio station yourself without playing the game here and here.

When I checked the tracklist on wikipedia, I was shocked to see names like Boys Noize, Bag Raiders and even Black Devil Disco Club. How the hell did Rockstar catch wind of Bag Raiders? Ah, then I saw that DJ and producer François K compiled the list. Still, it makes playing GTA IV that much more enjoyable. There are other quality songs on the other stations as well. I've heard !!!, LCD Soundsystem (while buying a chicken sandwich), Q-Lazzarus' "Goodbye Horses," and even Philip Glass (while getting into this epic six-star wanted level chase on the train tracks).



On Tuesday I was invited to go to a film at the SFIFF called American Teen. The documentary, directed by Nanette Burnstein, attempts to tell the story of the American High School Experience more realistically than its predecessors. The movie features a wide array of songs, but I did notice"Kids" by MGMT and "I'm Not Gonna Teach Your Boyfriend How to Dance With You" by Black Kids.

Black Kids - I'm Not Gonna Teach Your Boyfriend How To Dance With You

Sometimes when I'm bored I surf trailers and I recently caught an independent French film called Naissance des Pieuvres or in Engish, Water Lilies. The trailer features Vitalic's "Trahison." The trailer renewed my love for Vitalic and it looks like an interesting film itself that I will have to catch once it comes out.

Vitalic - Trahison

Least Likely to Run a Marathon

The other day I was surprised to learn that several people I work with (and their respective significant others) attended The Hives show a few weeks ago. We were all eating a casual dinner after work and I thought to myself, "That's weird, I don't know anyone who likes The Hives that much... there's a lot of great bands from Sweden, but I never thought of The Hives as one of them." Perhaps it was presumptious of me, but it surprises me to find a trend has developed without my knowing it.



In any case, it seems like everyone is coming down with a case of Stockholm Syndrome. Of the recent Swedish offerings is 21-year old Lykke Zahrisson, who's thankfully changed her musician's name to something that flows off the tounge a little easier, Lykke Li. She received some help with her album, Youth Novels, from Bjorn of Peter, Bjorn & John (they seem obsessed with us young folks). The recent single from the album, "I'm Good I'm Gone," is a promising, catchy pop tune. Listening to it, I can't help notice the similarities between Lykke Li and Feist. The title alone bares a striking similarity in stressed syllables to Feist's "My Moon My Man"; they even have the same construction. Both songs build over a looped 4 note rhythm lower-register piano melody. However, Lykke Li's voice is a little less deeper and stronger than Feist's; she sounds more teenage-y, pop-y, school-girlish(-y?). Whether or not the similarities are deliberate, it may give Lykke Li an extra push into the limelight. Feist was recently nominated for a handful of Grammy awards, which means the world is more than ready for Lykke Li.

Lykke Li - I'm Good I'm Gone

For all you girl-group lovers, this one's for you. Those Dancing Days is an odd enough name for a band, but somehow it works (and wow, they're so cute!). Nonetheless, these Swedish girls might confuse you at first: is their sound pop, Clash-revival, Northern Soul, or circus music? A song like "1000 Words" might throw you for a loop on first listen. Within the first few bars you'll think you've played the wrong track, "Oh, this is 'London Calling.' Oops." But keep listening, "Oh no, it's a new Amy Winehouse song... wait a minute, Amy would never use circus organs like that." That's when you explode.

Those Dancing Days - 1000 Words

All of it makes me excited to one day touch Swedish ground. What kind of people live there? What kind of strange things do they think when they watch the sunset? What do they say to one another when they wake up in the middle of the night? Do the high school teachers have smoke breaks? Most importantly, are they uptight about bathroom etiquette?