Blog-achella-geddon 2012!: Tom Brady Can Suck It

Gotta start this post with four simple words that equal excellence: New. York. Football. Giants! Another great win and another amazing game. I bet Tom Brady went home and cried himself to sleep on his supermodel...

See, that's why I hate that guy. EVEN WHEN HE LOSES, HE WINS! Fuckin' prick. I hope Welker moustache rapes him. Anyhoo, in celebration here's a NY band. How's THAT for on-the-nose?

The Rapture



Who they are: One of the bands that started the whole Dance-Punk revival (or whatever the hell you want to call it) waaaaaaaaay back near the dawn of the century.

What they sound like: A little bit o' Rock, a little bit o' Dance, and a whole lot o' catchy... which is scientifically proven to be a solid formula when done right. And these guys certainly do it right...

The Rapture - Never Die Again (ysi)

What I think: Although the new record didn't give me the hugest boner on first listen, there's definitely plenty to like. Plus, unlike a lot of these whippersnapper bands that are playing this thing, these guys actually have something called a "catalog", which comes in handy. Don't miss 'em...



GO BIG BLUE!

Blog-achella Goes To '11: Sproing Sproing Sproing!

Moving along at a snail's pace, we are...

Omar Rodriguez-Lopez is one of the dudes with the big hair from that band with the dudes with big hair. Never liked 'em much although Mrs. Tonegent thinks they're hot. But then she thinks I'm hot, too, which really puts her taste into question...

Now the namesake singer of Marina & The Diamonds is someone I would say is hot. But that's about where the praise ends, because the retro '80s sound ain't doin' it for me so much...

Really, I have the same problem with Kele as a solo artist that I do with his band Bloc Party... dude can't sing good. Diggin' some of his beats, though... check it out on the Facebook page and tell me what you think...

And The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart are just about as good as you might imagine a band that calls themselves The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart would be... a.k.a. not very... which brings us to the always exciting (and excited)...

!!!



Who they are: A band whose members come from bands such as The Yah Mos, Black Liquorice and Popesmashers. And if you don't know those names, you don't know Sacramento, bee-yatch!

What they sound like: !!! (which I like to pronounce Sproing Sproing Sproing) were one of the original members of the whole Dance Punk revival from a few years back, coming up along with LCD, Interpol (p.s. fuck Interpol), The Rapture and about a million other bands. But they were always a little more funky and a little less punky...

!!! - The Most Certain Sure (ysi)

What I think: ... and aside from the genius of Mr. Murphy, they were always the ones I liked the most. That's probably why they're still around. Here's an older live clip. I had to take it because these guys are a bitch to search for. Most engines/sites won't even accept "!!!" as a search term. Stupid Internets...



I know I'll get in at least one more this week... sigh...

Blog-achella X: Those guys again? Well, at least they don't suck...

This is the third time today's band has played the big show in the last four years, so forgive me if I don't have much new to say about them...

Hot Chip



Who they are: A band whose career has actually proven to have some legs, unlike so many other blog darlings of the past few years... it's probably because, unlike most blog darling bands, they're good.

What they sound like: Four albums in, the Hot Chip sound is pretty well established... the new record stays with 4/4 rhythms for most of the tracks... the vocals certainly haven't changed and neither has the sexy/nerdi-ness...

Hot Chip - We Have Love (ysi)

What I think: I'm still in awe of the show they put on at the 'Chella in 2008, so you bet your ass I'm all over the Hot Chip. Woulda liked to give you video from that one, but all I can find on YouTube is crappy fan-shot video. So here they are from Glasto the year before, rockin' the live New Order mash-up...



Warms your heart to see a little nerd become a big Rock Star, don't it? I just wanna pinch his rosy little cheeks...

Blog-achella X: Fuck Vampire Weekend. There. I Said It.

The bands I move past today will probably get me flamed a bit, but I can take it...

Deadmau5 is a DJ, for me at least, that seems to be more popular than he is good, although I certainly don't hate him. No, I save the hate for... well, you'll see some good expletive combinations during Saturday's rundown (I'm looking your way, Tiesto)...

Vampire Weekend however, does get a big ol' hairy hate wiener stuffed up their collective cornhole. I put it quite excellently a couple years back, but I'll just paraphrase myself. If your band makes Paul Simon's little Jewy whiteguy take on African music sound authentic by comparison, you suck....

And I know a lot of people are into Them Crooked Vultures because the guys in this band were in other bands or at least their dads were, but let's be real here. Dave Grohl will sit in with a Junior High stage band for a bowl of soup at this point, so I don't really consider anything he does to be all that special anymore. And Josh Homme isn't far behind. I'm shocked Will.I.Am. isn't in this band to be honest. But, giving credit where credit is due, at least they're not doing the National Anthem for a bowl game with Josh Freaking Groban like Flea... for the love of fuck, Flea, WHAT HAVE YOU BECOME?!?!? A TICK?!! A GNAT?!?! A CHIGGER?!?!

LCD Soundsystem



Who they are: Mr. James Murphy, winner of the annual "Rock Star I'd Confuse For A Plumber Or Maybe A Guy Who Works At Home Depot" and whatever band of scurrilous scallywags he currently has in tow.

What they sound like: He's the man who brought the Dance/Punk hybrid of '70s New York City back into style... and the one that approximately 8 million other bands ape to often dubious results. But, if your on your computer box reading an internet page-amathing about music, I don't need to tell you what LCD sounds like and you already have most of it anyway, so here's a remix courtesy of Brits Padded Cell from the longform Nike piece LCD did a couple years back...

LCD Soundsystem - 45:33 (Padded Cell Remix) (ysi)

What I think: Although I've heard LCD live can be a bit hit-or-miss, the time I saw them at Coachella 4(?) years back, they were fucking amazing. Of course, I was fully off my tits at the time. But hey, if you're not off your tits at Coachella, you're doing it wrong...



And the Friday wrap-up finishes up tomorrow.

Blog-achella 09: Masters of the Craft

So, I guess I forgot to tell you ahead of time that I was going to be on vacation last week, huh? Sorry 'bout that. Won't happen again. Promise. But now it's time get back to it, because the big show is less than a month away! So without further ado...

MSTRKRFT



Who they are: A duo from Canada ("Take off, eh!") that I put up with people like Justice as founders and one of the few interesting acts in the ElectroBlogFidgetHouse genre.

What they sound like: They've done the interesting thing on their new album Fist Of God of teaming up with some pretty mainstream Hip-Hop/R&B artists. The results are a bit mixed, but this jam with John Legend, of all people, sounds like a hit to me...

MSTRKRFT - Heartbreaker (ft. John Legend) (ysi)

What I think: It would certainly be cool if some of those big name stars dropped by, and who knows... anything can happen. But if it's just them, it'll look a little like this...



... which seems like good times. Okay, no more vacations from me, I promise...

Blog-achella 09: Hey! They don't suck! Who knew?

So the Saturday lineup started out with a pleasant surprise, and we have another such act today... after plowing through a whole bunch of crap, that is...

Cloud Cult from Minneapolis are one of those bands that when you first hear 'em sound really interesting, what with their built-in string section and their song "Lucky Today" (super catchy little ditty which I know I've heard on some commercial somewhere... trust me, you've heard it)... but once you get a few songs in you realize they're not all that. Can anyone say "one-trick pony"?

Zizek Club from Argentina are also right on the brink of being interesting... kind of somewhere between Kuduro, Reggaeton & Baile Funk. They're the kind of act that the white Indie kids will jump all over because someone like Diplo may have told them they're cool, but you (the esteemed Tonegents reader and connoisseur of all things funky) have a listen to the songs on their Myspace player and tell me with a straight face that you ultimately give a rat's arse... you can't.

Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti are just kinda crap. I know, terribly incisive commentary, eh?

Ida Maria is this kinda punky Norwegian gal who doesn't really do anything for me either.

Billy Talent are a Pop/Punk band from Toronto, kind of a homeless man's Green Day, like a million and one other Pop/Punk bands. I'm sure they'll kill on the Warped Tour...

But now, pleasant surprise time, despite the horrid band name...

Gang Gang Dance



Who they are: They are an Indie Dance band from New York that are quite the blog darlings... which usually means they're gonna suck. Because let's face it, Indie kid bloggers know fuck-all about dance music.

What they sound like: See, more often than not, so-called Indie Dance acts have one thing in common... that they don't seem to have ever listened to any actual dance music and are in fact quite impossible to dance to. Usually the only thing that can save them is being from New York. LCD, !!!, The Rapture... all from New York. Most of the bad ones... not. So they got that going for 'em. I'd compare 'em to !!! on some heavy mushrooms. They're just as weird, just as refreshingly funky, but the tempos are generally slower...

Gang Gang Dance - Blue Nile (ysi)

What I think: You might be able to tell that I was mildly surprised that I liked these guys, perhaps because I've already mentioned it twice, but hey! I do! Who'da thunk it? Live show looks decent, too.



And since there's a kangaroo at my work today, that will be all...

Blog-achella 09: Loading the Presets

Let me start off today by giving the gas face to the following...

First off, I can't think of a DJ that excites me less than Felix Da Housecat. If I were to write him up, I'd say exactly what I did two years ago, so you can go read that if you like...

Then we get A Place To Bury Strangers. These guys are the sound of if The Jesus & Mary Chain sucked. But with a name like that, you already knew there was exactly zero chance of them being any good...

A then, there's The Hold Steady, who are currently touring with Counting Fucking Crows, so that's all you need to know about them...

So, moving on...

The Presets



Who they are: An Aussie duo, one of whom looks in that picture like he was just forced to listen to A Place To Bury Strangers.

What they sound like: How about... Junior Boys on 'roids? Some pretty nice pop songs with some pretty fierce dance beats underneath...

The Presets - A New Sky (ysi)

What I think: If only all the songs on the record sounded like that one... it's a pretty uneven affair. I think they have a lot of potential, though. So many bands who attempt this kind of Electro-Pop end up sounding painfully '80s (I blame the upfront male vocals for a lot of that, but really, some of these acts stopped listening to any new music somewhere around Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me). The Presets avoid that... on about half the record. I'm gonna keep an eye on 'em... and I wouldn't be surprised if they were this year's Hot Chip (the unexpected band that stole the show)...



(Seriously, did Hot Chip fuckin' tear the roof off last year or what?)

Blog-achella 08: Guess they heard Prince was playing, too...

Let's start Thursday off by saying... "Holy crap! Prince is playing!"... yup, still pretty stoked about that...

Less stoked about Raleigh, NC's Annuals and their mellow Indie Pop. Not bad, but nothing I'd get terribly excited about. I'm sure Nic Harcourt loves 'em, though. That's not necessarily a compliment...

Also not quite doin' it for me is Black Mountain from Canada. Seems like they're trying to channel Led Zeppelin somewhat, but the results are "meh", and "meh" don't get you the full treatment when Tone is in a hurry.

Holy Fuck



Who they are: A bunch of wackos from Toronto.

What they sound like: Purely instrumental, kind of on the LCD Soundsystem tip, but more noisy and choatic. They've been getting a lot of pub lately for their smashing remix of Radiohead's "Nude"... be sure to cop that one. I have a feeling you might be able to figure out why I chose this song to post, though...

Holy Fuck - Tone Bank Jungle (ysi)

What I think: They are supposed to but on a very good live show... despite their electronic elements, they play it all live without any laptops or such things and use some very unusual "instruments"... I'd definitely give 'em a shot.

Blog-achella 08: The Blitz!

Today's Blog-achella Blitz (you like that? I just came up with it. I should be in marketing!) concludes with...

VHS Or Beta



Who they are: Despite their sound, which would immediately say New York or London, they're actually from Louisville, KY of all places. BTW, I have Louisville going to the Final 4. Music and bracket tips? How does anyone live without this blog? :P

What they sound like: These guys seemed to come up with the rest of the first wave of the Indie Dance acts (!!!, The Rapture) and like those two, have shown to have some staying power. How do they do this? By not sucking. Really, it's just that easy. And while they certainly have some dancier tracks to choose from, I'm gonna give you one in which they sound exactly like The Cure...

VHS Or Beta - You Got Me (ysi)

What I think: I've liked these guys since I first heard 'em. I think I'll catch 'em at the big show. You should, too.

Blog-achella 08: Used Old Donkey Association

Some dance for your pants...

New Young Pony Club



Who they are: A London band with a good girl-boy ratio, if you're a boy. The girls, however are seemingly out of luck, 'cuz those dudes is ugly.

What they sound like: I've seen the tiresome "New Rave" designation bandied about with respect to these guys, but seriously, what the hell does that mean anyway? Let's just call it nice Indie Dance-Pop... nah, that's pretty lame, too... ah, screw it...

New Young Pony Club - The Bomb (ysi)

What I think: Out of all the millions of bands playing this kind of music nowadays, I'd say these guys are one of the better ones... they actually have some nice hooks and I'm a sucker for girl-harmonies... and no, that's not code for hot lesbo action, although maybe it should be ;)

Blog-achella 08: I'm not making a "shrimp on the barbie" joke, I promise

You know what I see happening right now? I see a supergroup to be announced as a last minute addition... a supergroup featuring Jack-o, Yahoo Serious, Paul Hogan and Bindi Irwin on vocals...

Midnight Juggernauts



Who they are: Did you think you'd seen enough Australian bands yet? Well, too bad! Maybe this year's festival is sponsored by Foster's and I missed that somehow...

What they sound like: More Indie Dance music...

Midnight Juggernauts - Shadows (ysi)

What I think: ... but these guys are my favorite of the lot, so far. Their tracks started hitting the blogs last summer, and I was pretty much immediately on board. Although some folks were disappointed with their album when it finally dropped, I like it well enough... and who are you gonna believe, me or them?

Blog-achella 08: Vote Obama!

Lacking a particularly entertaining and relevant opening comment at this time, let me just say that I'm loving that Obama is starting to kick Hillary's butt at the polls...

Does It Offend You, Yeah?



Who they are: A British duo who easily adapt to blend into the natural background and escape from hungry predators, such as the hyena. Hyenas will fuck you up.

What they sound like: On the song below they kind of sound like a more aggro version of Chromeo, what with the vocodered vocals and all, but on a couple of other tracks I heard, the vocals are more shouty and obnoxious...

Does It Offend You, Yeah? - We Are Rockstars (ysi)

What I think: There are a large number of acts of Friday that are prepared to give you a serious case of tinnitus with their grindy analog synthamathizers, and these guys are one of them. In other words, "meh".

And speaking of Obama, there's this music video that Will.I.Am made that sort of makes a song out of one of his speeches. It's pretty cool, especially for the fact that he somehow convinced Esthero to back away from the gravity bong long enough to show up for the video shoot...



All kidding aside, though, Barack Obama is the guy we need to elect to be the next President of the United States... let's make it happen!

Blog-achella 08: I don't get it

Sometimes you read the blogs and they are all raving about this particular new act. Your interest is piqued so you download a track by this incredible,amazing,OMG BEST MUZIK EVARRRR new act, and you listen to it and you think... what in the HELL are these people thinking? This is one of those times...

Dan Deacon



Who he is: A possibly retarded guy from Baltimore

What he sounds like: I thought long and hard about how to describe this, but the best thing I could come up with is that it's dance music... for Oompa-Loompas on crack...

Dan Deacon - Wham City (ysi)

What I think: I like to think I'm all hip, I'm cool, I'm in the know... but I am man enough to admit... I don't get it. I see the YouTubes videos of the kids going crazy at this guys shows, and I think to myself... these are not humans, they are crack-smoking Oompa-Loompas, because that's who this music is for. I mean, this just makes me want to pour battery acid into my auditory canals. But hey, maybe I just don't get it...

Blog-achella 08: Get yer tracksuit on!

Yet more tunes to put some dance in yer pants...

Datarock



Who they are: A couple of wacky Norwegians who rock spiffy tracksuits at all times. Tracksuits, not just for Jerry Seinfeld's dad anymore!

What they sound like: Similar to our last couple of artists, but more along the lines of, say, Chromeo i.e. Electro-pop w/o guitars for the most part. Love the little "Grease" moment in this song...

Datarock - Computer Camp Love (ysi)

What I think: Not, that I like "Grease", because that would make me ghey. Well, I wouldn't say these guys are as good as Chromeo (whom I just saw live and they were the shizzle, nizzle!), but I hear Datarock put on a good show, too. Fun music if not life-changing, and hey, sometimes fun is all ya need. Except for the times that you don't need fun, for instance, um... when you're dead, I guess. Check 'em out.

Blog-achella 08: Get off J.M.'s jock already!

Due to technical error (that's my fancy way of saying I forgot to upload a freakin' tune this morning before I shuffled off to work :P ), there will be no regular Tonegents post today, but Blog-achella, however, proceeds...

Professor Murder



Who they are: Four sorta robot ant lookin' dudes from Brooklyn. Strange.

What they sound like: Now, with a name like Professor Murder, I woulda put my bet on some Dancehall Reggae, maybe? Wrong! Actually, it's time for more mediocre Indie Dance Rock... yay.

Professor Murder - Free Stress Test (ysi)

What I think: It's the shitty vocals that kill this one for me. At least the guy in the last band could sing a bit. This genre is getting so watered down right now, that I think it's just about over. Sure, the good ones will survive... and let's add The Rapture to yesterday's short list... but this here is just aping a sound that other folks do better, without addin' nothin' to it. Double negative, beeyatch! Suck it!

Blog-achella 08: Time to testify?

A band from the church of which James Murphy is probably the Pope...

Reverend And The Makers



Who they are: A whole bunch of folks from Sheffield in the UK.

What they sound like: Well, under "sounds like" on their Myspace, it says "the best band you EVER heard", which is both a) vague and b) a bit cheeky, no? You better be careful with that 'round here, chillun. What they actually sound like is one of those bands that's a little of the rock and a little of the dance... seems to me there are a couple bands out there that have tried that combo lately...

Reverend And The Makers - Heavyweight Champion Of The World (ysi)

What I think: ... and there are certainly other bands out there that do it better. I like this song well enough, but was less than impressed with the rest. (Check out that rhyme, I should be a rapper). Hey, if you're gonna play the Dance/Rock game, you're playin' with people like LCD and !!!, so you better have some game. That said, I can't see this show being a terrible time, because you will get to jump up and down and shake your stuff a bit, and I know you like to do that. But as for the record... meh...

Blog-achella '07 - Sonic Youth (Fri.) / Soulwax Nite Versions (Sun.)

To end what has actually been a pretty good week of tunes...

Sonic Youth

Who they are: The mother of all New York Indie bands.

What they sound like: When they aren't firmly lodged waaaaaay up their own arse with the whole guitar noise thing and decide to write a straight ahead rock song, they're quite okay...

Sonic Youth - Incinerate

What I think: See above. Never been a huge fan, but you could do much worse as you know, if you've been following this little project for the last few weeks :P

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Soulwax Nite Versions

Who they are: The 2 Many DJs guys have a band, and this is it.

What they sound like: Kinda that dance punk thing that I'm just about over. However... they made two versions of their last album... the original, called "Any Minute Now", and the revision, called "Nite Versions" which was a way pumped up for the dancefloor version. Needless to say, I prefer the Nite Versions.

Soulwax - E Talking (Nite Version)

What I think: That one's a banger. This should a pretty good show. Unless it sucks. :P

And with that, have a great weekend!

Blog-achella '07 - The Rapture (Sat.) / Ratatat (Sun.)

Hey everybody... hope you had a great weekend... mine kinda looked like this...



Yeah, the drive's a bitch every day, but I think it's well worth it...

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Next, allow me to get a bit meta on you here and use the blog to talk about the blog. Up for two weeks and visitors already from Canada, Mexico, The UK, Spain, France, Belgium, Switzerland, Germany, Slovenia and The Czech Republic! Too freakin' cool! Y'all need to say hi, so I've switched the comments settings so that anyone can leave one. So please do ;)

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All right, enough dilly-dallying. Time for some music.

The Rapture

Who they are: One of the first wave of the dance-punk bands, reppin' the "House of Jealous Lovers", NYC.

What they sound like: Like they've taken their game way up a notch. I would have easily dismissed them as one hit wonders after "House...", but fuck, this new album is reallllllly good. These boys might just have some staying power after all. There are also some genius remixes floating around out there... but here's an album cut.

The Rapture - Don Go Do It

What I think: In case you haven't figured it out, I'm highly recommending them. What's that you say? You hadn't figured it out? What are you, dense in the head? :P

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Ratatat

Who they are: A couple more dudes also from NYC, who dabble in the rock + electronica thing.

What they sound like: Well, it's a little bit of the rock + a little bit of the electronica... and, well, it's kinda just okay from the few songs I've heard. However, they do some pretty rad remixes, so I thought I'd mix it up a bit and throw one of those at ya, 'cuz who don't love a little Biggie Smalls on a Monday morning?

The Notorious B.I.G. - Party and Bullshit (Ratatat Remix)

What I think: Hard to say, depends on what kind of set they play. If they've figured out a way to perform some of the remixes live, that would be very cool. I mean, all you gotta do is bring Biggie back from the dead... how hard can that be. They do that shit in movies all the time. It would be a lot more impressive than the Crowded House reunion, that's for sure...

Blog-achella '07 - Ozomatli (Sat.) / Peaches (Fri.)

Ahhh... just got back from a Tuesday morning walk on the beach... because "Extra" is on hiatus... and because I can :P

Ozomatli

Who they are: Los Angeles' best party band, 256 years running.

What they sound like: Latin + Funk + Hip-Hop + Shake Yo Booty, Beeyatch! They have a new record coming out in April, but I'm gonna take ya way back today. I remember when I used to go see these guys in small clubs in L.A. when they were just starting out, places where they would barely even fit on the stage (the original lineup having must have been a dozen members, including DJ Cut Chemist and MC Chali Tuna of Jurassic 5, who are no longer with them). Yup, I'm old school like that! Be all impressed and shit. This one was one of those original jams.

Ozomatli - O Le Le

What I think: Despite the fact that their lineup has gotten watered down over the years, I will refer you back to the "Who they are" section, and bid you good day.

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Peaches

Who she is: A dirty, dirty electroclash bitch... and damn proud of it!

What she sounds like: I was never a big fan of the electroclash back when it was all the rage (what, 3 years ago?), but this here song off her new album is kinda rockin' and good.

Peaches - Boys Wanna Be Her

What I think: Despite the fact that I'm not a huge fan, I can't see Peaches not being fun live.

Okay, back out to the beach...

Blog-achella '07 - Konono #1 (Sun.) / LCD Soundsystem (Sat.)

Gotta make it quick today...

Konono #1

Who they are: Street musicians from Kinshasa, Congo who play homemade instruments made of junk, more or less... featuring what they call a likembe or "thumb piano".

What they sound like: Like nothing you've ever quite heard before, to be honest. And from reading a couple of articles, they like to play it LOUD.

Konono #1 - Dishte Tshiekutala

What I think: This is the kind of thing you're either into or it gives you a headache. I am, shall we say, intrigued...

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LCD Soundsystem

Who they are: Tha disco infiltrator fo sho!

What they sound like: They've been covered quite frequently in this space, so I know I don't need to get into it. Jury's still out on the new album though... not feelin' it as much as the first. Here's a surprisingly downcast song, although good.

LCD Soundsystem - Someone Great

What I think: The last time they played Coachella, they were just about the best thing I saw all weekend. Don't miss it!!!!!!