MOG - kindofadraag's Posts

Hot Chip Triathalon & Download Contest

kindofadraag — Thu, 20 Mar 2008 23:43:31 GMT

Assuming some of you don't know: Hot Chip are those British electro kids that brought you that poppin little dance track, called 'Ready for the Floor,' that came out back in January and has been remixed by everyone under the sun (to the point where some of you probably haven't even heard the original version. Fix that now--you can listen and read).

Why it bears mentioning: I heard the song on the radio last night and realized how good it is--I even put it on a mix CD I made for a dude who listens mainly to metal. I TOTALLY love it. This morning I went to add it to my myspace profile, and what I found on Hot Chip's myspace page is quite frankly the best internet marketing campaign I've ever seen from an indie artist, ever. It was all aimed at promoting the album that was just released on February 12th, Made In The Dark. The major is now on a[n extremely well designed] Facebook App that hosts "The Hot Chip Triathalon." At midnight on March 31st, the winner of this trilogy of memory games will be whoever holds the highest score in the Facebook App. The prize: 2 round trip tickets to see the band in NYC on April 12th (airfare, hotels, etc.--but London to New York only--outlanders are ineligible).

The fact that there are only 37 active users means that if you happen to be reading this and you live in the UK you really DO have a fighting chance.

The campaign also includes an official Hot Chip YouTube page and a link to download the new album's title track for free. You have to fill out a form first, but that form is actually an entry to win all formats of the album and and single “Ready For The Floor” (released January 28th 2008). Read the Terms and Conditions.

I know, it's a lot to digest. Just make sure you chew your food, and wait at least 30 minutes to go swimming after you eat.

Hot Chip rules. The End.

MASHED POTATOS To Open Crystal Castles Show at Detroit Bar (4/11)

kindofadraag — Sat, 15 Mar 2008 21:29:42 GMT

If you live in or around the general Long Beach area and you go anywhere at all after dark, you've undoubtedly heard the buzz about DJ duo MASHED POTATOS (that is spelled correctly. cross my heart). DJ's Dan & Dan are most noted for packing the walls of 7th & Cherry's Que Sera on bi-weekly dance night, CALL SICK on FRIDAY, hosted by MikeyB (The Militia Group, M For Montreal).But the Dans are not limited to the confines of Long Beach's familiar places. They've been featured at countless LA/OC clubs, DJ Paul V (indie103) played their mix tape on the radio (available here), and they even did a set at my birthday party last July. (250 people showed up, followed by the cops, twice, and on the the third visit from the law they brought 6 squad cars, 2 canine units, and 2 ghetto-birds. that's Long Beach for 'helicopters.') It was fun. . . Next on the agenda for the Mashed P--they're spinning at the Crystal Castles show on April 11th at the Detroit Bar in Costa Mesa. Get your tickets early (here) or risk losing all your friends and having your identity stolen. . Check 'em out on the OC Weekly blog.

Glenn Branca Seeks 100 Guitarists for Next 'Hallucenation City' Performance

kindofadraag — Sat, 15 Mar 2008 20:56:06 GMT

(view craigslist post here)

Glenn Branca - Hallucination City: Symphony for 100 Guitars on Chime.TV

Glenn Branca seeks 80 guitarists and 20 bass players to perform 'Symphony No.13 (Hallucination City).' The concert will be held in Seattle, WA on May 16th as part of Party-in-the-Park: a fundraising event in celebration of the Seattle Art Museum's (SAM) 75th birthday. The event will host 700 guests and showcase other musicians and artists, but it will feature the Branca +100 performance. Rehearsals for the show will be held from 11AM to 9PM on May 14th & 15th, and a sound check will take place prior to the Olympic Sculpture Park performance. All guitarists will be accepted as volunteers ONLY. This means YOU WILL NOT BE PAID. However, food and drink will be provided during all rehearsals & at the performance. Note: Volunteers must be able to read standard staff notation and follow a part measure by measure. For more information contact glenn@glennbranca.com for a detailed info sheet.

FASCINOMA: the music of road trips and memories

kindofadraag — Fri, 14 Mar 2008 18:45:03 GMT

Who is whisper kid? I looked ‘em up and I still don’t really know. Their myspace page lists band members, “Rhea and anyone else who wants to play with her. This has included: Champ, Ryan, Katya, Tracey, Christian…” Rhea-the-ring-leader (whose myspace blog is definitely worth a read) and her sporadic entourage played their first show at the Echo Curio on December 29th and boast an astounding 47 friends on their myspace page, where you can also listen to a ton of crappily (is that a word?) recorded, reverbed-out tracks that resemble the soundtrack to a spaghetti western written by 4th grade-aged Lydia Lunch, PJ Harvey, Kim Deal, and the Manson Family girls, while they’re coming down off speed. It’s a huge bummer. And I like it.

The Gift Machine is like a K Records super-group. Their myspace page will tell you, as it told me, that the band is the brain child of Dave Matthies and has at one time or another included Karl Blau, Phil Elverum (the Microphones, Mt. Eerie), Nate Ashley, Alex Parrish (Dame Dulce), Lisa Jackson (the Crabs), Steve Moore (Stebmo, Laura Veirs, Mount Analog, etc.), Jeremy Hadley (Velella Velella), and apparently one guy who’s in a band with Kyle from Little Wings. For another really bad comparison, based solely on the tracks available via The Gift Machine myspace profile: if Jacob Dylan sang for a band whose major influences were LSD, Yo La Tengo, and Beachwood Sparks, they’d be called The Gift Machine. I don’t want to short-change them though, because they’re pretty good, and they’ve got banjos and weird, tinkly, oscillating Silver Apples-esque droning noises. (Side note: the endless references to bands I’ve never heard of on this page successfully remind me of just how little I really know about music, and how little time there is to absorb it all.)

Fascinoma is the music of road trips and memories. One third of the group known as Fascinoma, Lin (who also goes by an internet alter ego, Mindy Chiu) brings the essence of simplicity to her songs. Mostly composed of guitar, beats and vocals, Lin’s music has a delicate, haunting quality to it; her vocals are sweet, fragile, and timeless. Songs like “Madness Vision” are reminiscent of David Garza’s work on “Kingdom Come and Go”, with their echoing voices and uncomplicated rhythms. Look for Fascinoma’s debut full-length in the coming weeks–Music For Heroes, out on Orphan Records. (Fascinoma review by Ana)

Fascinoma, The Gift Machine, and whisperkid March 22, 2008 at the Echo Curio! Doors @ 9pm, $5 donation

Waterden Records: The Instant Automatons

kindofadraag — Fri, 14 Mar 2008 01:39:39 GMT

So I think Henry Rollins is a genius, and if you read any blog I've contributed to (The Orphan Review, I Am The Rhythm Thief, fantastic-weapon.com) you've undoubtedly heart me gush over the man on several occasions. How do the Instant Automatons provide me with another occasion on which to do so? A few months ago I was listening to Henry Rollins' radio show (Harmony in My Head), and he played a track from the Instant Automatons. I was sure it was a rare Fall recording (listen, you'll see what I mean) but when he explained what it was I was stoked. See, everything this band ever recorded is available for free on the Waterden Records website , and it all sounds like this. So if you hate it, don't bother, but if you are half as into Ariel Pink, Suicide, Psychic TV, and any New Wave labelled "goth", as I am, you will probably have already clicked on the link I provided.

In that case, I'll just let you know that I haven't read most of the serious amount of verbage on the Waterden website because I am way too lazy--so don't feel bad. I don't really give a shit about what the the band thinks about giving music away for free. In fact, I'm entirely sick of that topic. But I'm totally into the fact that they're doing it.

Whether you decide to label them Post-Punk, Noise, or just fucking garbage (the option I'm sure a lot of you will choose,) The Instant Automatons are a lot better than tons of the crap being released today and I am thankful for their free audio archives. I dig the pre-casio hythm tracks that somehow manage to work with poorly played saxamaphones and synthesized harmonica noises. The lyrics aren't half bad either. So if you're bored with your music, download the whole Instant Automatons catalog--legal and gratis. Thank me later.

Steve Albini, Where the Hell Do You Think You're Going?

kindofadraag — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 05:00:48 GMT

I'm just not sure if I say it enough. Actually, I'll take that back--I'm totally sure that I DO NOT say it enough--Steve Albini, I love you, I love Rapeman, I love Big Black, and I love Shellac. Seriously this man writes like the most bitter, petty, cathartic, and universally comprehensible lyrics I can think of. He thinks the same psychotic, homicidal thoughts that you do when you find out that your girlfriend has been sleeping with your sister, but he has the guts to say it--LOUD. Really fucking loud. Steve Albini writes like, the best, meanest, craziest, heaviest, TOUGHEST, bitter, angry, break-up music I can think of.

Example #1: Copper - This song is track 8 on 1998's Shellac release, Terraform. Once when I was pissed at this stupid kid (I'm not getting into it) I played this song on loop for like 5 hours. I think I even made a 7-minute-long pissed off video of me destroying the shit that he left at my house, and I KNOW I pissed off all 11 of my heroin-junkie roommates. But it wasn't my fault: I blame said behavior entirely on the one line from the song. But I blame my speedy emotional recovery on the same line: "Copper, you will never be gold."

Example #2: 'Bad Penny' (what's with the copper motif?) - I remember this record from when I was like 16. It came out in like 1987 or something, but my parents weren't that cool--I was left to my own devices to fight off Barbara Streisand and Supertramp. I'll admit, it was hard, so I didn't hear Big Black's Songs About Fucking for another 13 years. I like 'Bad Penny' for reasons I can't really say--watch the video, and if you don't understand just go read the lyrics because I promised the Orphan powers that be that I would cut down my profanity.

Example #3: Shellac - Prayer to God: Off of 1000 Hurts, the only thing I really need to say about this song is that it's scary and you know how it feels. The video will do the rest of the talking. (this video pisses me off even more because I think I'd probably die after seeing this live.)

Make Out Parties, Rollerskates, and the Homecoming Game: THE TEENAGERS

kindofadraag — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 04:18:46 GMT

Nothing reeks of high school more than day-glo graffiti, awkward make-out parties, football games, boys obsessed with fornicating, cheerleaders, rollerskates, and the Fresh Prince of Bel Air. Nothing, that is, except for maybe the Teenagers MySpace page. The visuals included in this post are really only a tiny fraction of the serious gems that make up the collage I used to have inside my locker that treasure trove of all things pre-mature ejaculation. I hope the only reason it took me more than a minute to realize that these 3, certainly-over-25-year-old men CAN NOT BE SERIOUS, is that I didn't get much sleep last night. Truth is, their brand of 90's inspired synth-pop (sounds gross, I know...) is quirky--it's like a mock boy-band that does it WAY better than the real thing. They are talented dudes with a serious sense of humor so convincing that it probably goes unnoticed.

The Teenagers 'Homecoming'

(how fitting is it that they got famous on myspace????)

It's positively undeniable: these dudes are hilarious. Normally I wouldn't host a download for a song that came out as a single like two days ago, but The Teenagers offer a pretty good incentive to make the purchase. They released three different versions of the single, each version on a different color 7 inch vinyl: red, white, and blue (all super limited editions, of course, and rought five bucks each). The 7 inches feature 4 different versions of the title track (feat. tepr and delorean remixes as well as a cover by soko) and two B-sides ('Trouble' and 'Tiger'). Safe to say they've made it well worth the purchase (which can be made here), so I've got no qualms with offering up the MP3 to the loyal readers of the Orphan Review.