Das Model

In case you were wondering...
2 DAYS UNTIL KRAFTWERK.

Snakefinger - The Model
Krazy Ben - The Way Models Are

It's More Fun To Compute

3 DAYS UNTIL KRAFTERK.

Glomag - Pocket Calculator
Bubblyfish - It's More Fun To Compute

Today's selections are from
8-Bit Operators
The Music Of Kraftwerk Performed On 8-Bit Video Game Systems

New Music Tuesday + Kraftwerk

4 DAYS UNTIL KRAFTERK.
Woo-hoo.
Glass Candy - Computer Love
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There are a few new releases of note today - M83's Saturday=Youth, Phantom Planet's Raise The Dead, The Kooks' Konk, Does It Offend You, Yeah?'s You Have No Idea What You're Getting Yourself Into , Frank Black's Svn Fngrs, and the deluxe 10 year anniversary reissue of AIR's classic Moon Safari - a two disc set. Happy shopping.

Kraftwerk Mash-Up

5 DAYS UNTIL KRAFTWERK.

ToTom - Policy Of Spacelab
Apollo Zero - Workin' Techno Pop

Both of these are taken from Bootwerk - A Bastard Pop Tribute To Kraftwerk, which you can nab from the link.

Sunday Stew

A few bits and bobs to share today...

Kraftwerk - Techno Pop (Demo Version)
6 DAYS UNTIL KRAFTWERK. I am excited.
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Mute Records has done us Americans a favor. They are releasing the Hercules And Love Affair album in the US. It has been out on DFA since March in Europe, but we will have to wait until June 24th to get it here. It is well worth the wait. The first single will be Blind and is out May 27th. No word on the remixes, but it will probably have some of the same ones as the Euro versions - Frankie Knuckles, Serge Santiago and the band's own mix among them.
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The latest web/music/playlistism thingie buzzing around the internets is to make a Muxtape ("a simple way to create and share mp3 mixtapes"). It's ultra basic but works very nicely for streaming audio. Create an account, upload some songs and tell your friends to listen to your hot new mix. Listen to SIART's Muxtape, which features Hercules And Love Affair, Herb Alpert, The Skids and ZZ Top, some Italo, some electro and a few more choice morsels.
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Trip-hop? I think not...

Funky Friday

Human League - Love Action (I Believe In Love)
Spoon - Don't You Evah (Matthew Dear Mix)
Mr. Chin - Faces Vs Fraction (Trust)
Freshro - I Turn My Camera On
Special Request - Salsa Smurph
Pic Vicious - Who's Your Lover
N*E*R*D - Everyone Nose
Jonzun Crew - Pack Jam
Belle Stars - Hiawatha
Cut Copy - Far Away

Psonic Psunspot

I love me some XTC. I also love their alter-ego The Dukes Of Stratosphear. They only ever released two records - 1985's 25 O'Clock EP and 1987's Psonic Psunspot. The former is a blast of nugget-y psychedelic garage rock, a glorious tribute to the '60s. It's follow up is a more polished affair, but mines a similar vein of music. These were combined for a remastered reissue in 2002 under the title Chips From The Chocolate Fireball. Both sets bookended 1986's Skylarking, XTC's most psychedelic and '60s influenced work to date. I am a big fan of these records. They are exuberant in their recreations of the past, and contain some seriously killer songs. Today's selections come from Psonic Psunspot. Both are dynamic rockers with hooks to spare, big beats and bass, and lots of psychedelic production touches. Great stuff. For more in depth on these records check out Pitchfork's review or the write up at allmusic . Little Lighthouse
You're My Drug

New Music Tuesday

Today is a BIG day for new music releases. I will break it down alphabetically, starting with The Breeders' Mountain Battles. I love the Deal sisters, and I love this record's scruffy, scrappy indie rock. Plenty of good songs, with one sung in German and another in Spanish. Who needs The Pixies? Also out today; Clinic's Do It, Cut Copy's In Ghost Colours and Dark Meat's Universal Indians (see here for more). Foals' Antidotes also hits shelves today. The Brits recorded in NYC with TV On The Radio's David Sitek as producer, and the result is a great blend of neo post-punk and NYC art rock. There are nice production touches - electronics and horns, and plenty to get you herky-jerking. A couple more records of note; Meat Beat Manifesto's Autoimmune is a return to the kind of speaker shattering beats and frequencies he practised on 99% & Satyricon, two of my fave MBM albums. I've posted a couple of tracks already. Finally, blogger faves of a couple years ago and Minneapolis' own Tapes 'n' Tapes return with Walk It Off, produced by the ace Dave Fridmann (Flaming Lips/Mercury Rev). Happy shopping...
The Breeders - Walk It off
Foals - Tron

Funky Friday

Steely Dan - F.M
Yelle - Tristesse/Joie
Erykah Badu - The Cell
Matmos - Mister Mouth
Jamie Lidell - Green Light
Meat Beat Manifesto - I Hold The Mic!
Does It Offend You, Yeah? - Battle Royale
Neon Neon - Trick or Treat (Instrumental)
The B-52s - Funplex (Peaches' Pleasure Seeker Remix)
The Teenagers - Starlett Johansson (Rory Philips Mix)

Universal Indians

Dark Meat are a 17 piece psychedelic jazz rock collective from Athens, GA. According to their bio they feature "double drums, shredding guitars, jazz bursts, gospel vocals and marching band horns! Dark Meat lives together, eats together and makes music together, the true meaning of collective - several members live in Orange Twin, a 100-acre sustainable-living eco-village, where members farm, do bio-diesel conversion and host shows at their amphitheater. For three years, Dark Meat has thrilled crowds with earth-shaking, hallelujah-roaring performances throughout the South." The band's past and current lineup include members from Of Montreal, Elf Power, The Instruments, We Versus Shark, Gnarls Barkley and more. They self released their album Universal Indians back in 2006. It has been picked up by Vice Records, expanded with three songs, and is being reissued next week. It is a heap of fun. Loud and raucous, most of the songs sprawl into chaos then re-emerge. You'll hear free jazz, classic rock, the blues, a dash of punk, Celtic folk and so much more. Its like The Polyphonic Spree without the cult appeal, but much looser and cruder too. Here is how the band describes itself on it's myspace page;

Influences
Sounds Like
Very amusing. Freedom Ritual kicks off the album in great style. Starts softly but gets very loud. Enjoy, and if you do I think you will like the rest of the record too.

Juliet Of The Spirits

The B-52s are one of my favorite bands from the late '70s/early '80s. Their early records were herky jerky new wave smashes, infused with quirky song titles, themes and lyrics. They had 3 of the most unique voices in rock; Kate and Cindy, with their shimmering rock goddess vocals, and Fred shouting crazy one liners in between. They were a great rock band you could dance to. After fading a bit from popularity they made a spectacular comeback in 1989 with Love Shack. The album Cosmic Thing took elements of the old band and presented them in a more polished, produced fashion. 1992's Good Stuff seemed almost like a carbon copy of it's predecessor, and they finally lost my interest - and it seemed like that of everyone else too. It was their last album. Until Funplex hit stores last week. After 16 years they've decided to introduce The B-52s to a new generation.

Those of you expecting something new will be disappointed. Those of you looking for that classic mojo of old might be surprised to hear how good these guys sound. I don't know if this generation will be interested. My guess would be probably not - no hip hop beats or production by Timbaland. They do have a producer in Steve Osborne (New Order/Happy Mondays) who knows modern studio trickery, and he has given these songs a very 2008 sheen. The girls sound fabulous, Fred is as wacky as ever (Bootybot! Erotobot!), and Keith Strickland's angular rhythm guitar riffs are everywhere. I have to be honest here and say that I was a little nervous about this record, but have been won over by it's goofy charms. There are lots of songs about sex, some invites to party and dance, a hint of politics, and more sex. It is a lot of fun, and as someone who is middle aged it is encouraging to see my (slightly older) peers enjoying themselves so much. Juliet of The Spirits is a gorgeous girls only moment, a highlight of the album. Eyes Wide Open is their 2008 moment - very DFA, very groovy.
The B-52s - Juliet of The Spirits
The B-52s - Eyes Wide Open

Late Breaking Update
The B-52's return to The Billboard 200 with their first studio album in nearly 16 years this week, as "Funplex" (Astralwerks) bows at No. 11 with 30,000. It's also the highest debut in Astralwerks' history. The B-52's last studio effort, "Good Stuff," peaked at No. 16 in July 1992.
(www.billboard.com)

Funky Friday

Duran Duran - My Own Way (Night Version)

Donald Fagen - The Nightfly

The B-52s - Eyes Wide Open

Vitor Hublot - Aller Simple

Casino Music - Viol Af Dis

Gnarls Barkley - Surprise

Gus Gus - Polyesterday

Gus Gus - Believe

PIL - Death Disco

7 Hurtz - Kaye