Archive for the 'electronic' Category

Ladytron

I listen to Elliot Smith when I want to be sad, Ben Folds Live when I want to sing along to every single song on an entire album, and Ladytron when I want to be confused as to what I should feel. There’s a wealth of emotions associated with Ladytron’s slightly depressing, slightly muffled, electronic mire. If Cut Copy {my post from yesterday} took all that glittered about the eighties and put it through a twenty first century strainer then Ladytron has taken all the repressed memories of that glam decade and done the same. I’m not sure if I’m supposed to be depressed or be overjoyed that other people in this world can find beauty and love in the parts of life that aren’t immediately cuddly and warm. The track Black Cat comes from Ladytron’s upcoming album Velocifero and from this first single it appears as it’ll be a darker, more dreary, affair than Light and Magic (iTunes) was.

mp3 : Ladytron - Black Cat
mp3 : Ladytron - Seventeen

I’ve not seen them live, nor will I probably get a chance to do so {they feel a bit like a flash in the pan phenomenon}, but I reckon a set mixing Marilyn Manson mall goth with Smashing Pumpkins dreary pastiche would fit them well. Especially if everything, all the time, was black. In other news, I felt like I should include this track below as so continue the ruse. Enjoy it if you dare.

mp3 : Ladytron - Predict the Day

+ twf hype elbows site myspace amazonmp3 itunes
add this post to del.icio.us / digg / facebook

Plastic Operator

For most bands, listing Jean-Michel Jarre, Akufen, The Pet Shop Boys, Vangelis and The Postal Service as your influences might be a bit pretentious. Not so for the dynamic duo that is Plastic Operator. Hailing half from Montreal and half from Antwerp, Mathieu Gendreau and Pieter Van Dessel respectively, this little electronic pop band puts forth a might effort on their debut full length entitled Different Places (iTunes). Mixing drum kit, synth, and various other electronic efforts {including some wicked synth fuzz on the vocals} they succeed in creating a sound that is both modern, retro, fresh, and comfortable. They avoid the trap of so many of their counterparts as they provide a genuinely fresh submission into a world crowded with copy cat electropop acts.

Whatever your opinion, it is rare that you see this musical maturity on a debut full length album. And that rarity makes this disc all that more refreshing. There is not a single dark or disappointing moment from start to end and the album contains enough changes to keep you interested even after repeat listening.

mp3 : Plastic Operator - The Pleasure is Mine
mp3 : Plastic Operator - Home 0207

on tour
Feb 01 - Barcelona - Razzmatazz Club
Feb 08 - Meerbeke - Het Uur
Feb 09 - Antwerp - Petrol Club
March 28 - Opwijk - NIJDROP

+ twf hype site myspace amazonmp3 itunes
add this post to del.icio.us / digg / facebook

Gossip Girl vol 11 and 12

That’s right, two volumes {aka two episodes} of Gossip Girl recap in one little post. This will get me all caught up on the drama that unfolds every Wednesday on the CW here in the states {and on various other affiliates on various days elsewhere}. This first episode aired quite awhile back and was the episode during which Christmas was celebrated, Rufus and his no-name-good-for-nothing {and not too attractive} wife hit splitsville, and Serena {with a ton of help from Vanessa} finally gave Dan her Christmas present {if that’s what the kids are calling it these days. And speaking of that particularly cheeseball love scene, does anyone know where Serena got all those projectors, where the were positioned in the room, or how she happened to cover three walls with video with nary a piece of equipment or cable in sight? On to the music.

All the files {both episodes} in one zip : here {zshare = left click}

mp3 : Band of Horses - The General Specific
mp3 : McGuire Sisters - Christmas Alphabet
mp3 : The Dan Band - Christmakwanzakah
mp3 : The Weepies - All That I Want

Obviously I’m a huge fan of Band of Horses so I figure any inclusion of their music on this show is well deserved {and no, it’s not selling out to put your tunes on television}. The rest of the tracks were holiday specific with McGuire Sisters providing a nice classic sound, The Dan Band apparently was chosen because the instrumental segment of this song was catchy {even though the entire song as a whole is kinda weak, especially the chorus}, and the Weepies track is a wonderful inclusion. I’ve long loved the Weepies and I applaud almost every song I’ve heard by them.

This is the latest episode of Gossip Girl {that being episode 12}. In this episode Rufus was turned down, again, by Lil, but this time she was running from love {to money} at the behest of her daughter whereas before it was at the prodding of her uber manipulative mother. It appears as if Dan and Serena made it through their most recent rough patch {usually dealing with the tension between the haves and the have nots} except at the end we found that Serena only escaped a real punishment, which should have been well deserved, because {as Dan predicted} someone donated enough money in her name to get her out of trouble. Does that make Serena the OJ Simpson of the show?

All the files {both episodes} in one zip : here {zshare = left click}

mp3 : LCD Soundsystem - Someone Great
mp3 : One Republic - Come Home
mp3 : Oppenheimer - Breakfast in NYC
mp3 : The Filthy Youth - Come Flash All Your Ladies
mp3 : The Filthy Youth - Orange

If you haven’t heard this track by the now infamous LCD Soundsytem you’ve either been living overseas {think remote parts of Tibet} or you haven’t been to a real party in the last nine months. It’s a great song with a slow build from start to finish, but I swear, sometimes when I listen to LCD I just can’t help saying “I liked it better the first time I heard it, when it was called Moby.” Next up is another solid track by One Republic {whom I insist must have a space between the words in their title} and although it’s not as popping as the Timbaland remix of Apologize {what could be?} it’s still a solid song. A song that reminds me a lot of Jon McLaughlin with a little slice of John Lennon’s Imagine piano line thrown in. Next in the mix is Oppenheimer, a little duo out of Nothern Ireland that I’m currently fascinated with. I feel like this song is The Flaming Lips filtered through the best Swedish pop you’ve ever heard. It’s all warm and fuzzy and local. Last in the mix is The Filthy Youth, a band who creates dirty punk infused post modern rock akin to Kaiser Chiefs or a slightly less swagger filled Strokes. Orange is clearly the better of the two tracks.

+ twf hype elbows amazon itunes