kudu: and the night i almost got hit by a truck.

KUDU reminds me of the craziest night of my summer.*

I headed to Home Sweet Home for the Hell Yup DJ set. Because I didn't really know anyone there other than the DJs themselves, I proceeded to consume way too many Blue Moons.

You can probably see where this is going. Well, actually...you probably couldn't.

So I head out the door for a minute, return to the bar, and as I'm heading out the door I run into this theater-girl from college that I knew. I sit at the bar and buy her a drink. I'm pretty sure that I say "Fergie is the voice of our generation" at some point in our conversation. However, this is one of few things I remember from our conversation.

Eventually she leaves and the Hell Yup kids are like, "Hey, want to go to this other party?" I am drunk, so I obviously say yes. I get into a cab, next thing I remember is getting out and going into a very crowded bar. I dislike crowds when I'm very drunk, but I didn't know what else to do with myself...so I kept walking. As I head to the back of the bar, my friend taps me on the shoulder and is like, "Dude, that's Yo Majesty** right there." I look. Sure enough, Yo Majesty is literally two feet away from me. They start walking and at some point two feet turns into two inches. I freeze. Holy shit.

I mean, what do you do when some of your favorite rappers are standing that close to you? Obviously, you talk to them!...But I didn't. I'd like to blame it on the alcohol and my general shyness***. In any case, we head outside for a moment. Across the street, the girls of Yo Majesty are hanging out with Naeem from Spank Rock under a streetlight. I am drunkenly standing with two friends as they talk to Sylvia, the lead singer of Kudu. She has a Darth Vader mask on, someone may have tried to grab her vagina, I decided she was totally incredible in the short time that I spent in her presence, and the next thing I remember is waking up on my friend's couch wondering whether that night actually happened. Apparently, on the way home...I almost got hit by a truck.

The worst part of this story isn't that I blacked out. Nor is it that I didn't holler at Yo Maj. Okay, I'm going to confess this...but please don't hate me-- I had never heard Kudu until the day after all this happened.

Perhaps you haven't heard Kudu either. And it's okay. You didn't drunkenly stand next to the lead-singer for a decent period of time on one random summer night. Also, if you haven't heard Kudu before...you're in luck! Because I wrote this post. Now, if you drunkenly run into Sylvia, you can be appropriately starstruck.

dl: KUDU - Playing House (YSI)
dl: KUDU - Suite Life (YSI)
(electrowonderfulsingerness)
- buy it - site it - space it - hype it -

* In fact, this was one of few crazy nights of my summer. I'm a motherfuckin' hermit.
** You may recall that I'm obsessed with Yo Majesty.
*** read: awkwardness

thunderheist: suenos dulces.

THUNDERHEIST just entered my life, and that makes me sad.

This seems to be a week of artists I've overlooked or had to give a second chance, and I'm pretty sure that I didn't listen to Thunderheist because I got them confused with another group with "Thunder" in their name that sucks. This isn't the first time this has happened.

Thunderheist is composed of Isis and Grahm. Isis raps, Grahm DJs...and as a result, awesome things happen. "Sueños Dulces", which samples The Eurythmics' "Sweet Dreams", is the first song I heard by them. Having done my research, it's a possibility that it's one of the first songs most of the internet heard by them. Admittedly, I was a bit surprised that I liked this song. I don't even like "Sweet Dreams" or any other song by The Eurythmics. Beyond that, I absolutely hate when '80s songs are mutilated when sampled (see Smitty's "Died in Your Arms, exemption to Rihanna's "S.O.S."). Given these handicaps working against Thunderheist, it's safe to say that Isis is an incredibly awesome MC for selling me on this shit.

dl: THUNDERHEIST - Sueños Dulces (YSI)
dl: THUNDERHEIST - Bubblegum (Hatchmatik Birdflu in June remix) (YSI)
(Canadian hip-hop)
- site it - space it - hype it -

cannonball jane: take it to fantastic.

CANNONBALL JANE is totally a teacher, but "Take It To Fantastic" sounds way cooler than any music that my elementary school teachers could have come up with. At least I think so. Maybe my 30-something teacher in second grade dabbled in gangsta rap?

Well, Cannonball Jane is certainly not gangsta or rap, but there's definitely a huge hip-hop tinge to her material. I never would have imagined that such sweet sounds could come out of Bridgeport, CT...mostly because it always looked gross anytime I passed it on the highway. However, Cannonball Jane isn't as gross as I always thought Bridgeport was.

Girl group pop seems to be totally cool these days (see Amy Winehouse, The Pipettes), but I've yet to hear someone who's taken that formula and chose to reinvent it, rather than emulate it. The vocals of Cannonball Jane are girl-group pop, but the beats are so hip-hop that I expect Ghostface to pop in any minute now and drop a verse.

"Take It To Fantastic" will be featured on the October 9th release of Knees Up!, which also includes two remixes of the song-- one by Adrock of The Beastie Boys and another by DJ Downfall.

dl: CANNONBALL JANE - Take It To Fantastic (YSI)
(hip-hop beats/girl-group vocals, awesome)
- site it - space it -

glass candy: they totally don't suck.

GLASS CANDY is a band that I confused for another band with "Glass" in their name. As a result, I haven't picked up on their awesomeness until now. In the past year, they've received a bit of hype, but I've completely ignored it because I thought they were a band that sucked. Completely ignored it! Until now.

Glass Candy definitely does not suck. I continued to think that they did until earlier this month when a friend told me that he was going to the Glass Candy show at Studio B. Well, I still thought they sucked when my friend told me that. It wasn't until another friend mentioned them a week or so later that I actually took a moment to google their shit and listen to it. If I haven't said this before, it doesn't suck.

The "Geto Boys" demo is an obvious favorite of mine, due solely to the familiarity of "My Mind Playing Tricks On Me", which is actually more familiar to me because Destiny's Child nabbed this melody for the chorus of "Illusion" off of their debut album which was the only time they ever let LaTavia Roberson have a solo which was actually a rap. Is it sad that I just admitted that? Is it even sadder that I needed to admit it with a run-on sentence? Forgive me grammar-lords. But don't forgive me lords of coolness. I am not ashamed to admit that Destiny's Child is the shit.

Wait. This post was about Glass Candy. I also like their cover of Kraftwerk. (Does that make me cool?)

dl: GLASS CANDY - GETO BOYS (demo) (YSI)
dl: GLASS CANDY - Computer Love (Kraftwerk cover) (YSI)
(wonderful electro songs to sip lemonade to)
- space it - fan it - hype it -

podington bear: new remixes

PODINGTON BEAR remixed Dntel a while back, and I remember saying in my post that I hoped he'd do more remixes in the future.

My hopes have become a reality. Last Friday, Podington began to release a "handful of Portland bands remixed", beginning with Graves' "Val K". On Monday it was followed up by a remix to YACHT's "I Believe in You". The instrumentals on these remixes are what we've come to expect from Podington-- totally cute.

I don't know much about the Portland scene, so I can't even offer a guess about which bands will be featured next, but I'm excited to hear whatever Podington has in store! This makes Hump-Day seem all too far away.

dl: GRAVES - Val K (Podbear remix) (YSI)
dl: YACHT - I Believe in You (PodBear remix) (YSI)
(remixes of Portland bands by a musically talented bear)
- site it - space it - hype it -

health + cfcf: remixes and such.

HEALTH's website name, healthnoise.com, could indicate what you would expect from their sound...

No! They do not sound like two baby pandas sipping peacefully from their mother's teet. However, if you guessed that they're kind of noisy, you guessed correct. Originally this was a bit off-putting for me, but a friend has urged me to give them a second chance. I wasn't originally convinced until I came to the realization that at 2:04, "Crimewave" falls into the "too short to suck" category.

But holy shit. HOLY SHIT. The remix of "Triceratops" by Montreal's CFCF is the jam. In fact, CFCF in general is just the jam. While "Crimewave" is a great song, this remix is the type of song that could have me bobbing my head uncontrollably in my cubicle, afraid that my co-workers are going to see me, and consequently settling on tapping my foot. The foot tapping would gradually creep up to my entire leg, until I'm stomping. Finally, the music within me would burst through my fist as I propel upward from my office chair and start dancing on my desk.

Okay. So that obviously didn't happen, but it could. This remix would also serve as a great soundtrack for the training montage of some '80s movie...or my life. If you see me running around the streets of NYC in neon gym-shorts, you'll know what I'm listening to.

dl: HEALTH - Triceratops (CFCF remix) (YSI)
dl: HEALTH - Crimewave (YSI)
(two very different jams by the same band)
- site it - space it - hype it -

BONUS TRACK: KANYE WEST - Golddigger (CFCF remix) (YSI)
BONUS TRACK: SPANK ROCK - Put that Pussy on Me (CFCF remix) (YSI)
- space it -

frikstailers: foonkie boogie.

FRIKSTAILERS just friended me on the space as I was about to go to bed defeated that I had no good songs to blog about.

Hailing from Argentina, Rafael Caivano (Ralf) & Lisandro Sona (Sandro Lee) are Frikstailers. They are on the label Pino Rec, which seeks "to agglutinate, to promote and to give space of development to different emergent projects from heterogenous Latin American music electronic fusion as far as style and line, but equal as far as initiative and musical sonorous investigation." Essentially this means that their artists make incredible electro-experimental tunes. Well, it doesn't actually mean that. But it's what they do.

On their blog, Frikstailers writes about their song "Foonkie Boogie"...

"it's our hit at the moment, everybody dance with this in our parties, it's made with voices of justin, britney , madonna and lot's of other guys, each and every sound was sampled of some pop tunes we found in mainstream records."

Unlike Girl Talk's pop-music creations, this is a bit more subtle. When I say subtle, I mean that you'd have a very difficult time picking out each pop element. "Suparitmo" seems to take a similar approach to "Foonkie Boogie", but I'm only saying that because I can kind of hear Justin Timberlake in there somewhere.

The boys of Frikstailers have also completed remixes of Justice and Garbage. Admittedly, the Justice remix isn't life-changing. However, the "Stupid Girl" remix strips away the poppiness of the original, taking Shirley Manson's vocals to a much darker place. In a good way.

dl: FRIKSTAILERS - Foonkie Boogie (YSI)
dl: FRIKSTAILERS - Suparitmo (YSI)
(electro-experimental creations made with pop tunes)
- space it - blog it -

BONUS TRACK: GARBAGE - Stupid Girl (Frikstailers remix) (YSI)
BONUS TRACK: JUSTICE - D.A.N.C.E. (Frikstailers remix) (YSI)

WEBBYVANDERQUACKIN': Check out the Boody B remix of Mapei's "Belly" over at BIGSTEREO.

namalee: welcome to namazonia.

NAMALEE 'N THE NAMAZONZ's is quite obviously fronted by a girl named "Namalee".

She appears to have an unhealthy obsession with Spongebob Squarepants, rarely seen in photos without a necklace bearing a plastic figure of the character. She claims to be the child of Jerrica Benton, Jem of the similarly named Jem and the Holograms*. She even has a song called "I WANNA B A KARTOON". It's safe to say that she has some sort of preoccupation with cartoons.

Her song "U GLO GRRL" features a video in which she writhes sexually in a bathtub, whipping around her wet hair. Later in the video, she appears in the same tub with pineapple shaped sunglasses, fanning herself with a Spongebob fan. Apparently this video (1 of 3) was filmed in her native land of "Namazonia". Namazonia is a land characterized by an overdose on color and children's toys. It has its own national anthem with the surprising title of "NAMAZONIA". Upon hearing the first twenty seconds of this song, I was a bit hesitant to instantly proclaim my love for Namalee...

"Namazonia! (It's the place to be!) Namazonia! (You can climb a tree!) Namazonia! (It's the place to be!) Namazonia! (Let yourself be free!)"

Then the song became awesome after that. Around 1:50, it gets even more awesome. This is grime-y electro-pop GOLD.

"I KNEW I WAS RIGHT", a punky girl-power anthem, doesn't even sound like it's by the same musician who created "NAMAZONIA" or "U GLO GRRL". This quick ability to change genre is reminiscent of Peaches ability to go from electroclash goddess to punk-rock bitch. But it doesn't stop there. Two-thirds of the way into the song, Namalee adopts R&B vocals for a breakdown preceded by the ever-so-wonderful "And now it's time for a breakdown" [popularized by En Vogue's 1992 hit "My Lovin' (You're Never Gonna Get It)"].

With these beats, vocal versatility, and sheer craziness...I don't think Namalee's music can be contained by the boundaries of the UK much longer. Her album will be released next year, and a tracklisting can be found on her space.

dl: NAMALEE N THE NAMAZONZ - I KNEW I WAS RIGHT (YSI)
dl: NAMALEE N THE NAMAZONZ - NAMAZONIA (YSI)
(crazy British electro-pop)
- space it -

* In a snippet of an interview on her page, she also states that her "mum's Sri-Lankan". I never knew Jem was Sri-Lankan.

WEBBYVANDERQUACKIN': (the return) You're in luck. Missingtoof has an mp3 of "U GLO GRRL", which you should definitely check out.

cat ciao!: cat fight.

CAT CIAO! is the best thing to come out of Evansville, Indiana since Don Mattingly or Elbert Frank Cox.

The group is composed of two female rappers, Melissa "the Murda one" and Katie "the Asian one". They are joined by a boy named Josh who does things with his hands to make music. Their goal is to "to bring a fantasy element to all your daily i-pod playlist traxx." By fantasy element, I assume they mean HOT RHYMES!

"Cat Fight" is my favorite of their tracks. It's essentially a theme song with a chant-worthy, self-promotional chorus of, "Cat Ciao! we are hot hot hot, Cat Ciao! always hits the spot." If that sounds stupid to you, rest assured that Cat Ciao! isn't good because of their lyrical content. There's just something deliciously gritty about their sound that I'm totally feeling like R. Kelly felt on some booties.

They have two other songs available for download on the space. "Roll Over Heiress" seems to be a tribute to the lifestyle of Paris Hilton and other rich bitches. "Top Secret" is about aliens! These songs are also awesome.

Josh also goes by the name Owl Meat. He makes some pretty good remixes and playdates, including one of Aesop Rock's "11:35" with The Goddamn Electric Bill.

dl: CAT CIAO! - Cat Fight (YSI)
dl: AESOP ROCK vs. GODDAMN ELECTRIC BILL - Goddamn 11:35 Bill (YSI)
(electro-hop jam and playdate)
- space it - space it -

mocha: anyway, you can catch me any day.

MOCHA was a rapper signed to Missy Elliott's Goldmind Inc. record label.

She first appeared in 1998 on the remix to "Hit Em Wit Da Hee", in which Timbaland sampled Bjork before I was sensible enough to listen to her. The first time I really noticed her to the point of being like, "Damn, who is that chick?", was on Nicole Wray's 1998 single "Make It Hot". After that, I coincidentally* kept running into her verses on CDs I purchased-- Timbaland's "What Cha Know About This" off Tim's Bio, Gina Thompson's "Why Do Fools Fall in Love?" off the soundtrack of the same name, Destiny's Child's "Stimulate Me" off the LIFE soundtrack, DJ Clue's "I Like Control" off The Professional, and Sporty Thievz's "Even Cheaper" off the single for their their TLC-response "No Pigeons". I owned most of her discography without even trying.** I didn't know anything about her solo album until my 8th-grade-girlfriend mentioned that she had a song featured on a Hot 97 mixtape. I was like, "Yo! You got to burn that shit for me!" She never did. Remember when we used to burn CDs to share music regularly? I do. And it makes me feel old. I'm totally not old enough to feel old.

In any case, I came across the song my 8th-grade-girlfriend once mentioned several months ago. In fact, I came across a few more songs that were recorded for her album Bella Mafia***. I was super excited.

While these came from an era when Timbaland's production was a bit more fun, they're surprisingly mediocre. "Runnin Shit" has a corny cartoon-esque beat that Mocha totally pulls off with her attitude, but it is accompanied by an incredibly lame chorus by Timbaland. There's something wrong with "Talkin Crazy" that I can't quite put my finger on. I think the beat may be a bit too powerful for Mocha's delivery. "Mardi Gras" sounds like a second-rate version of Eve's first single "What Yall Want".

After all those years of anticipation, I was kind of disappointed. At least this provides a bit of closure about why her album was never released. Since her rap career has dwindled, Mocha has had two books published. Her first novel Cash Money includes the following description-- Tanita and Freeda, best friends caught up in a game of men and fast money, struggle with a decision that could end their friendship and possibly even their lives. I totally want to read it.

dl: MOCHA f/ TIMBALAND - Runnin Shit (YSI)
dl: MOCHA f/ MISSY ELLIOTT - Mardi Gras (YSI)
dl: MOCHA - Talkin Crazy (YSI)
(late 90s, early 00s hip-hop)
- wik it -

* I say "coincidentally" because it was all entirely coincidence. While I totally liked Mocha (a lot), I never made any effort to buy albums she was on.

** I actually remember consistently holding Nicole Wray's CD in a Sam Goody and second-guessing whether I should buy it. I bought Total's 1998 album for my other 8th-grade-girlfriend and almost kept it for myself. These two purchases would put me four songs away from having all 11 songs of Mocha's pre-solo material. I don't know why I felt the need to put this information on the internet.

*** Yes. This was the title of a Lil Kim album two years later.

superlover shania d: it's u.

SUPERLOVER SHANIA D's "It's U" is a dash of Kelis, a sprinkle of Sade, and 100% Shania D.*

In fact, this song could pass as an unreleased slow-jam by Kelis. I don't say this to imply that it is unoriginal, given that one of the sole characteristics of Kelis is her originality and the fact that she just doesn't give a fuck about fitting into genres or expectations. In fact, this general attitude seems to propel Shania D forward herself-- "Her influences include Nina Simone, Sade, Bob Marley, Santana, Frida Kahlo, Esthero, Tricky, and Missy Elliott. All artists who did it their way with no apologies."

Similarities to other artists seem to be by mere coincidence. Her song "Brighter Hue" may have a vibe reminiscent of Sly & The Family Stone, but I don't get the impression that she sat down and said to herself, "I am going to write, sing, and produce a song that is reminiscent of Sly & The Family Stone!" There's something so incredibly genuine and likable about her. When asked for more details about her tunes, she states-- "My music is inspired by life, love, and the belief that we as artists have a voice and can use that voice and power to promote love, peace, fun, joy, and good times."

Going back to "It's U"...I don't know if it was intentional or not, but this song is pure bedroom-babymakin' music. It's the type of song that could have you humping your pillow in the absence of your lover. Hypothetically (I swear). "Underwater2U", a purely instrumental track, has a similar effect...as does "Geneva", which (for some reason) reminds me of Me'shell Ndegeocello's "Andromeda and the Milky Way" in a very positive way.

But it's not all just sexy, sultry shit. This girl raps, speaks poetry, and did I mention that she produces all of this herself? Because she does. She's also scoring (scored?) a documentary on the life of John Woo.

Long story short, I totally wish we were friends.

dl: SUPERLOVER SHANIA D - It's U (YSI)
dl: SUPERLOVER SHANIA D - Underwater2U (YSI)
(sexy jams)
- buy it - site it - space it -

* In retrospect, I've realized that this doesn't quite make sense, but I like the way it sounds. Perhaps there are trace elements of Kelis and Sade that weren't quite significant to include? Or I'm stupid.

pash: abcd.

PASH is a band that met in college and junk. That happens a lot, but it doesn't often result in pop songs as exciting as "ABCD".

"ABCD" is just one of eleven songs appearing on their new album The Best Gun, recorded in the studio with Jason Caddell (formerly of The Dismemberment Plan). The album is set to be released on August 28, 2007, and from what I've heard from their previous album Kingwood and what I've heard from this album so far...I am relatively sure that this is indie-pop GOLD.

Also, they were featured on Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen's website this past April. In my opinion, nothing is much cooler than that.

Lead singer Meredith Munoz seems to have been branded as some sort of indie-version of Kelly Clarkson by the press. I find it funny that anyone who wants to attribute a positive poppy influence will immediately cites Ms. Clarkson. Usually, this comparison is complete bullshit. But in this case...it's not entirely far off. In fact, at this point in Kelly's career, I imagine her hearing "ABCD" and thinking, "This is the type of song I wish I could make". Also, Meredith is totally hotter.*

dl: PASH - ABCD (YSI)
dl: PASH - Kill the Rich Boys II (YSI)
(indie-pop)
- pre-ord it - site it - space it - hype it -

* I'd say "no disrespect to Kelly", but I hear that she doesn't read blogs.

twink: axel f & ice cream truckin'.

TWINK is a word with many meanings-- a wink, an abbreviation for twinkle, "gay slang for a cute young thing with nothing upstairs", and of course...a Boston musician with a huge collection of toy pianos.

I discovered his tunes a while ago thanks to 3Hive. In a conversation a few days ago, I sent the link to his website to a friend, to which he replied, "I thought you were sending me gay porn for a second." Well, this music is significantly better than porn. Also, it's cute. And porn is not cute. Got it? Good.

So Twink has a new cover of Harold Faltermeyer tune "Axel F" (aka the theme to Beverly Hills Cop). I have heard plenty of covers of this song, but it doesn't get any better than a toy piano rendition. Also, Twink released an album called Ice Cream Truckin' this past April. The theme of the album is "music for modern ice cream trucks". I can not think of any good reason why I don't already own this album, other than the fact that I lack a dozen puppies to frolic through a field with while I bump this on my iPod and devour a pint of Ben & Jerry's. Now that would definitely be better than porn. Hands down.

dl: TWINK- Axel F (YSI)
dl: TWINK- Slush Bunny (YSI)
(toy piano jams)
- buy it - site it - space it - hype it -

bonus track: USHER - Yeah! (Axel F mix) (YSI)

bedtime for toys: cold fever.

BEDTIME FOR TOYS have been getting some love lately due to their upcoming performance this Saturday with Dandi Wind and Passions.

I have to thank those who have shown love for them, because without them...I wouldn't have discovered "Cold Fever". I have absolutely no idea when this song appeared on their myspace or how I missed it, but I'm glad it's finally entered my life. "Cold Fever" begins with a short intro freestyle by lead singer Marchelle Bradanini, followed by a rap by hypeman and "culture connoisseur" Toussaint Christophe. Marchelle sings a lot, Toussaint appears again, and everything is pure magic. It's not as dance-party ready as previous jams such as "Say BOOM", but it is no doubt...a jam.

I once took a class in college called "Hazardous Earth: Stuff that Will Kill You". I didn't learn much, but I did learn that if the world is ever going to end...it's going to start on the west coast. If Bedtime for Toys are playing when the world ends from the inevitable supervolcano, I will die a happy man. You will die too, and I'm sorry for that. As Marchelle says in "Say BOOM"..."Tonight we've got to celebrate 'cause this could be the end." While we are alive, we can still listen to her voice. Isn't that what's important?

dl: BEDTIME FOR TOYS- Cold Fever (YSI)
dl: BEDTIME FOR TOYS- Say BOOM (YSI)
(LA electro R&B/hip-hopesque jams)
- buy it - site it - space it - hype it - wik it -

gidgetsparks: top friends.

GIDGETSPARKS may have been shown some love four posts down, but I am inclined to say that she deserves a bit more.

With the help of producer machinedrum, she has joined the ranks of musicians that have made songs about the space. Before I go on about this song, may I highly recommend visiting her space and streaming it? The animated graphic in the back of her page creates an entirely hypnotic effect when paired with the song. For a few seconds, I was compelled to put this Brooklyn white-girl rapper in my top friends. Then I realized, I don't even KNOW this chick. It's creepy enough to blog about her twice within a short period of time, but I think putting her in my top friends would be even creepier. And then I thought to myself: Why am I such a tool for thinking about my top friends on the space? That is lame city. Plus, this song is half a joke, right? I can't even tell.

The lyrics of this tune aren't quite as mind-blowing as "rubberband handz" and "guffawguffaw", consisting merely of...

• "Put me in your top friends. I'm not in your top friends. I thought that we were best friends. So put me in your top friends. Take me off your top friends. Don't want to be on your top friends. We were never best friends. So take me off your top friends."

Clearly not her best work, but they kind of shine some light onto the weirdness of the "Top Friends" feature on the space. I mean, think about it. How many tweens (and sadly adults too) have expressed these concerns? In fact, I was just on a friend's page and saw word for word a comment that read: "WHY AM I NOT IN YOUR TOP 8???" Seriously. Are you kidding me? Is that really such an important part of your life? Yes. Apparently it is for them.

In any case, the lack of words in this jam showcase machinedrum's awesomeness. I am hoping that I will be in attendance at the August 23rd show so I can be too scared to say hello to either of these people.

I am awkward.

dl: GIDGETSPARKS w/ MACHINEDRUM - top friends (YSI)
dl: GIDGETSPARKS - rubberband handz (YSI)
(electro/hip-hop)
- space it - space it -

minitel rose: remixes.

MINITEL ROSE are an electro-pop dance trio from France. They are on VALERIE Records. If you haven't heard of this label, it's okay. I hadn't either until a week or two ago after someone recommended Sexy Sushi to me.

If things go the direction I suspect and hope for, you'll be hearing a lot more from Minitel Rose and their label-mates. Just last Thursday, Discodust had a post up about fellow VALERIE-folk COLLEGE and ANORAAK. It was at this point that I realized I needed to get my ass out of my blog-depression and do a post about some remixes that Minitel Rose did.

Yes, Minitel Rose have their own very awesome tunes...but I'm not in enough of a go-getter mood to ask them for mp3s. Also, these remixes are SO good. Check it.

dl: PINK FLOYD - Another Brick in the Wall (MINITEL ROSE remix) (YSI)
dl: CASSIUS- Toop Toop (MINITEL ROSE remix) (YSI)
dl: THE KINKS- Sunny Afternoon (MINITEL ROSE remix) (YSI)
(electro remixes of various tunes)
- space it - space it -

le squid: i can feel this.

LE SQUID is a mysterious Swedish musician I happened to come across on someone else's space.

By "mysterious", I mean that I literally know very little about him. His name is Emil Oldberg? He uses Garageband? He likes or knows The Teenagers or Justice? Calamari may be his favorite food? The latter three questions are based purely on speculation.

Sometimes (well, usually all the time), tunes speak for themselves. You don't need to know who someone is, their story, who they roll with...because without a doubt, you are tapping your foot at your desk jamming to their tune. It's a pleasant feeling. It's even more pleasant when you're not at work and you can let the tune propel you into a seizure-like chair-dance. These songs don't even need to have real names. In fact, they're better off without names. I can feel them, can feel them move. My body. For those who need some sort of description before you listen to something...I will say that this is like Daft Punk's second-grade little sister. Or the third cousin once-removed of Boy Crisis. I mean that as a total compliment. This is the jam.

dl: LE SQUID- lic 30 (YSI)
dl: LE SQUID- lic 20 (YSI)
(Swedish electro-dancestuff)
- space it -

the special pillow: sleeping beauty.

THE SPECIAL PILLOW's Sleeping Beauty first caught my attention due to the fact that it has a song called "I Love Your Smile", which reminded me of the Shanice* song of the same name (see video).

Because of this song-title, I listened to the album. Unfortunately, The Special Pillow's "I Love Your Smile" didn't make me immediately want to "put that new black mini on my charge anyway". In fact, the album just sort of became background music for me as I sat around my room doing some sketches. Then my sister stole my boombox so she could play a Wonderpets CD for my nephew. Sleeping Beauty fell off my end table, and I never listened to it again.

Until, well...today. Not expecting an homage to a '90s R&B star, I was a little less disappointed. In fact, I kind of liked it. Clearly my desire to prioritize Shanice over independent rock bands shows how much I truly love music. Hopefully The Special Pillow can forgive me for that.

Not to keep harping on it, but both Shanice and The Special Pillow's "I Love Your Smile" songs aren't as different as I initially thought. This is sewious. Both are insanely catchy, and the "doo doo doo"s of Shanice are nearly equivalent to the "na na na"s of The Sleeping Pillow. OK, it may be a stretch to say that they're alike in any way. It may also be a stretch to say that I like the latter song more than Shanice. But, well...I like it.

It's the summer jam that I discovered way too late into the summer. Catchy with a bit of a twang, perfect for sipping lemonade on porches.

d/l: THE SPECIAL PILLOW- I Love Your Smile (YSI)
(sweet, sour, psychedelic sounds)
- buy it - site it - space it - hype it -

* Apparently, Shanice is back. Also, I think the boombox in the background of this video is the boombox that my sister stole from me. Also also...Shanice is with Flex Alexander? How did I miss that? I watch One On One, like, all the time. Also also also.

gidgetsparks: rubberband handz.

GIDGETSPARKS will be performing at the CA$$ETTE NYC party (Thursday, August 23rd). I think she is awesome. Not only does she make beautiful art, but she also makes amazing music about dinosaurs, lobsters, and her awesomeness (which was very convincing given that I think that she is awesome).

"Invertebrate, let's go out on a date. Sweet to meet you, but now I gots to eat you."

Am I the only person who thinks that is amazing? Because I do. Coincidentally, I've also been co-writing a song about lobsters. Strange coincidence? Maybe, but I have a feeling that people are so tired with the current state of hip-hop that they want to rap about new things-- like lobsters. And why not? Shooting bitches and dealing drugs is so 1990s.

d/l: GIDGETSPARKS- rubberband handz (YSI)
d/l: GIDGETPARKS- guffawguffaw (YSI)
(Brooklyn electro-hop)
- space it -