Simian Mobile Disco Unpatterns [Wichita; 2012] by zcamp Rating: My favorite Simian Mobile Disco track just so happens to be the one considered by many critics and fans alike to be among the group’s worst. Yeah, I’m talking about Temporary Pleasure ’s “Audacity of Huge:” a bone-stupid, frothy glass of electro-pop bravado whose notable traits include, among others, Yeasayer’s Chris Keating rap-singing about chilling in a “double dutch dinosaur duplex” with the sultan of Brunei with a steady supply of “Bill Murray,” and a constant, mildly-annoying sample that sounds like a demonic Cookie Monster being tickled. Fans ...

Download link is in the original post Sounds like: Azari & III, Prince, Soul Clap Song: Azari & III - "Reckless With Your Love (Tensnake Remix)" [download here ] What's so good? No, this is not a new track, but it’s one that should definitely be added to our ever-multiplying playlist. If you loved the original, you’ll probably take a listen and think, “Hmm…not sure,” but before you pass any judgments, give the whole song a listen and let it sink in. While the vocals have been chopped up and the beats have been skewed to match the swirling club ...

Bassist Mike Gordon and his solo band returned to Northampton, Massachusetts tonight, the town where the quintet played their first gig on June 30, 2008 . This evening’s show took place at the Calvin Theatre, just down the block from the scene of  the group’s debut performance – the Iron Horse Music Hall. Cactus paid tribute to bassist Rick Danko, who passed away twelve years ago today, in a roundabout way by covering the Holland/Dozier/Holland-penned Baby Don’t You Do It, a staple of The Band’s live repertoire that was first recorded by Marvin Gaye. [Photo by ...

Forget disco, C+C Music Factory, Fatboy Slim or the Chemical Brothers: 2011 will go down as the year when America finally tuned in and dropped out to electronic dance music. It wasn't about a single sound or style, or an exclusionary "underground" ethic. The dance revolution of 2011 was for everyone. And if momentum is any kind of barometer, this time it might be here to stay.

Rusted Wheel - The Belle Brigade (mp3) At Least I Have You - Mates of State (mp3) Chances Are - Bob Seger & Martina McBride (mp3) My single most favorite trend of the past 20 years in music is the surge in male-female musical groups. Boy-girl duets is nothing new, mind you. Helloooo, Sonny & Cher? Donny & Marie? The history of pop music is replete with duets, from Kiki joining Elton to Rihanna guesting with Eminem or Coldplay. But the fact is this: You put a male and a female in a song, singing into one another, singing around one another, singing on top of one another, and I’ll give your song five times the chance of success. The song doesn’t have to be overtly sexual, because the allure of male-female singing goes far deeper than mere genitalia. It follows a rule similar to Jules' explanation of foot massages in "Pulp Fiction." A male-female duet hits me in the same core as bagpipes or African drums; something primal in me is instantly drawn to it. Trying to name all the current bands on my radar which exploit this weakness is virtually impossible. The Weepies, The Civil Wars, The Rescues, Mates of State, The Belle Brigade, The New Pornographers, Buddy & Julie Miller. Those are all bands who earn chronic rotation in my musical life. Others include The Ting Tings, Lady Antebellum, Sugarland, Swell Season, Acid House Kings, Sleeper Agent, Black-Eyed Peas, COYOL. These are all without even looking at my iTunes collection. There’s no telling how many I’m missing. Glee , the entire show, the cultural phenomenon, rocketed into instant success the minute they turned "Don't Stop Believin'" into a male-female duet. As much as I adore ‘80s music and its place in my heart and history, its male-female combos kinda sucked unless they were one-shot deals. Roxette? Animotion? The Human League? Ace of Base? Just about the only one that comes to mind that earned much respect was Timbuk 3, and that’s a stretch. The ‘70s and ‘80s seemed better about single-gender combinations, groups where multiple dudes shared singing duties or sang on top of one another. Hall & Oates, Tears for Fears, Wham, Alabama, The Eagles, Flock of Seagulls... the Beatles, even. Almost the only obvious exception that stands out is Fleetwood Mac. But you sit me down and ask me to start rattling off all the songs from my life I’ve loved that harnessed the power of a male-female duet, and I might never find time to eat a meal again. Here’s what I came up with just on the way home from dinner tonight: “Don’t Go Breakin’ My Heart” - Elton John & Kiki Dee “After All” - Peter Cetera & Cher “The Next Time I Fall” - Peter Cetera & Amy Grant “Stop Draggin’ My Heart Around” - Tom Petty & Stevie Nicks “Endless Love” - Lionel Richie & Diana Ross “Islands in the Stream” - Kenny Rogers & Dolly Parton “Kid Fears” - Indigo Girls & Michael Stipe “I Knew You Were Waiting” - Aretha Franklin & George Michael “It’s Only Love” - Bryan Adams & Turner">Tina Turner “Up Where We Belong” - Joe Cocker & Jennifer Warnes “Chances Are” - Bob Seger & Martina McBride “U Got the Look” - Prince & Sheena Easton “Summer Nights” (and most of GREASE) - Olivia Newton John & John Travolta “I’ve Had the Time of My Life” - Bill Medley & Jennifer Warnes “Don’t Know Much” - Linda Ronstadt & Aaron Neville “Almost Paradise” - Mike Reno & Ann Wilson These all popped up in 15 minutes or less of driving. I’ve thought of at least several dozen more since then, and I haven’t even Googled “greatest duets ever” or anything yet. I only made this connection, about my deep instinctive love for male-female songs, because I wrote about both Turner">Tina Turner and Bryan Adams. The truth is that I love their duet, “It’s Only Love” as much as if not better than anything the two of them created individually. Which is absurd, by the way. It’s not that great. Which means this is more about my own Kryptonite, my own Achilles’ Heel. But I wouldn’t trade it. Rap and Hip hop men have always sensed the value of a well-placed woman. We would never know Rob Base or DJ EZ Rock if they didn’t enlist the assistance of a woman to tell us exactly What Took Two. C&C; Music Factory never sells 10,000 CDs without a woman belting out that chorus. This continues today with B.O.B.’s “Airplanes” and Eminem’s “Love the Way You Lie,” just as examples. I love all these ...

Famous electro producer/one man brand Steve Aoki is readying an LP called Wonderland  for late 2011 release, and will feature the likes of LMFAO, Travis Barker and will.i.am among others. One of those others is Rivers Cuomo, who took time off from ruining Weezer's legacy to collaborate with Aoki on a big, dumb club track called "Earthquakey People (The Sequel)." I guess Aoki should get some credit for realizing that Cuomo's voice would be awesome over electro club music, but Weezer fans will probably not take kindly to their hero being turned into the new ...

Pictureplane Thee Physical [Lovepump United; 2011] by Embling Rating: Late last month, Slate issued a pride-week series of articles on the historical and contemporary relevance of the gay bar. The gay bar was described by June Thomas — the author of the series — as “a refuge [and] Hebrew school,” a place to escape the aggressive straightness of the world, but also a place to transmit cultural traditions, to pass along heritage. Thomas’ assessment of the importance of the gay bar is lucid and level-headed enough for even the most clueless and sheltered heterosexual: Historically, gay bars were a haven from the ...

Robert Clivillés and David Cole notched up an impressive number of hits in the late 80′s/early 90s as C&C; Music Factory. The duo also produced work for some of the biggest names in musical history with their production gracing artists such as James Brown, Michael Jackson, Donna Summer and Aretha Franklin. For me though, it’s [...]

† FROM DJ PAUL V. Y’all want this party started right? Y’all want this party started quickly? Well folks, the partyrockers are indeed in the house tonight, and this bangin’ bootleg from Bavarian DJ Mash Mike pretty much guarantees a good time! With bits of Pink, Kraze, Danzel, C&C; Music Factory, Salt ‘N Pepa, those [...]

I'll be honest, I had no idea what I was getting into when I saw the cover of I AM PEACEMAN by Sir Ivan .  He's wearing a yellow jacket and cape, as he floats in front of a giant peace sign in the sunset--I was a little scared, to say the least.  But they say you shouldn't judge a book by its cover, so I delved right in and gave it a listen. I was surprised I hadn't caught it when I looked at the song titles, but most of these are covers (save a few ...

"MindKilla" from the album Eye Contact 2011 iTunes As a proudly underground entity, Manhattan's Gang Gang Dance seemed bent on creating one long celestial psych jam. But for 2008's Saint Dymphna , they pared down the dubby dance experimentation and reaped the rewards (namely, a record deal). Less woozy and intoxicating than its predecessors, that album was a gateway drug into what now turns out to be an even wilder and murkier milieu. GGD's fifth album and first for 4AD, Eye Contact opens with the 11-minute "Glass Jar," a freewheeling mass of synths, cymbals, and high moans that ...

No-brainer right here, just clickity-click away on that download button below.  This is the 3rd Expressway Mixtape from Russ Chimes and you know it’s gonna be full of smooth deliciousness. If you aren’t familiar with parts 1 & 2 you’d best be getting your ass over to his soundcloud page to check them out as well. Expressway Mix Pt.3 by Russ Chimes Tracklist: 1. Russ Chimes - Aurora (Intro)  2. Style Of Eye - Sexx (Russ Chimes Expressway Re-Work)  3. Russ Chimes - Helix  4. Moonchild - Lovebirds (Russ Chimes Remix)  5. Alex Metric & Steve Angello - Open Your eyes (Style Of Eye Remix)  6. High Powered Boys - Work  with  Arno Cost - Apocalypse (Sebastian Leger Remix) &  Adam Kesher - Hour Of The Wolf (Lifelike Remix)  7. Tong & Spoon - Muchness (Kink Remix)  8. His Majesty Andre - Clubs  with  C&C; Music Factory - Gonna Make You Sweat  9. Nightriders - Get Hooked (Grum remix)  10. Hurts - Better Than Love (Burns Dub Mix)  11. Funkabit - Root Beer  12. Kevin McKay - Body Talk  13. Proff - Interstellar  with  Modjo - Lady  14. ZZT - Zzafrica (Light Year & Finger Prince Remix)  15. Loops Of Fury - We Unfold  16. Para One - Animal Style  17. Broke One - Go Go Go (Russ ...

The following is a reprint of our review that ran during the 2010 SXSW Film Festival. In the immortal words of C&C; Music Factory, "Hesher," a dark comedy/drama concoction from co-writer/director Spencer Susser, is very much a thing that makes you go "hmmmm." This might not be a bad thing (to tell you the truth we're still parsing through our thoughts on the film), but it certainly exists – it's the kind of movie you're thinking about days after you've seen it, whether you want to or not. Joseph Gordon-Levitt stars as the titular character ...

C & C music factory?, originally uploaded by thebamboozla.

In the immortal words of C&C; Music Factory, "Hesher," a dark comedy/drama concoction from co-writer/director Spencer Susser, is very much a thing that makes you go "hmmmm." This might not be a bad thing (to tell you the truth we're still parsing through our thoughts on the film), but it certainly exists – it's the kind of movie you're thinking about days after you've seen it, whether you want to or not. Joseph Gordon-Levitt stars as the titular character, a kind of shamanistic wanderer (or "tramp") whose life intersects with a very troubled family. Hesher ...