MBV ATP MP3s

The awesome Bradley's Almanac just put up mp3s for the entire My Bloody Valentine set from ATP NY. They won't be up for long so grab 'em quick.

MP3: Pita - 3

Pita - 3


"3" from Pita's Get Out is the kind of song that makes it not matter what else is on the album. And in this case, that's a good thing because the rest of the tracks can't compete with "3."

It starts out nice and pleasant with a weird rewind beat but at about a minute and a half, it jumps into the kind of ear penetration that makes you wince. And it doesn't go away. But you realize that hey, this actually sounds amazing. It's full on speaker blowage but that beat doesn't stop. Occasionally it gets almost completely buried underneath the static but it's still there. It's a noise-dance-drone masterpiece. Fucking count me in.

Video: Electric Facial Stimulus

Daito Manabe composed this sweet little electro-glitchy tune and then hooked his face up to electric stimulizer things. He basically turned his face into a visualizer and gave himself super cool geek cred in the process. I want to be his friend.

Dag Rosenqvist & Rutger Zuydervelt - Feberdröm

You might be thinking to yourself, "Who the fuck are Dag Rosenqvist and Rutger Zuydervelt?" Chances are you'd be more likely to recognize them under the monikers they normally use to create music. Rosenqvist happens to be known as Jasper TX and Zuydervelt is none other than Machinefabriek. Yes, this is a collaboration of epic proportions.

These two joined forces before a couple years ago on Vintermusik, so this isn't unprecedented. However, that doesn't mean this isn't fantastic. Because it is.

Feberdröm is a mini 3" CD containing one 24 minute song (titled "Feberdröm"). It's a beautiful 24 minutes filled with hissing white noise and shrill high end notes. There's throbbing drones laying down on the bottom coupled with soft turntable-esque crackle and pops. Everything shifts shape, fading, morphing, and it all melds together perfectly. It's certainly a song worthy to bear the names Rosenqvist and Zuydervelt.

Put out on the Odradek label in a limited edition of 200 copies. The CD comes packaged in an Origami style fold out sleeve. It's a bitch to try and put back together but it looks awesome.

P.S. Sorry for the shitty music player. I had to use a different file hosting service because the mp3 is over 50MB and my usual one won't allow that and the new one doesn't allow hotlink but it had it's own music widget blahblahblah, click here to download the song.

MP3: Dwayne Sodahberk - What I Can Do If You Don't Listen

Dwayne Sodahberk - What I Can Do If You Don't Listen


This here song is 6-going-on-7 years old. It's the opening cut from Dwayne's 2002 album Don't Want To Know You. It's the first song of his I ever heard and it's still my favorite. It's kinda gritty, lo-fi, blown out, and under water sounding with this killer beat that I can't get enough of. It starts out kinda noisy and glitchy but then it just gets into this groove and never comes out. It's amazing.

MGMT Video

Another awesome Eric Wareheim directed video. This time he's making little kids show off their super fly dance moves while singing MGMT's "The Youth." Good job!



P.S. Human After Yall. Read it.

I'm Not Dead

I'm just recuperating from a fight I got into with this tree.

Video: DKC2 Rap

Boy Friends episode 10. The dirty Will Oldham one raps about that ridiculously hard level in Donkey Kong Country 2. Bramble Scramble. That level IS hard.



Download the MP3 here.

Video: The Skull Defekts at PA's Lounge

Here's a video I shot of The Skull Defekts when I saw them play PA's Lounge the other night. Forgive the poor camera work. I was more interested in dancing than shooting a good video.

MP3: Bob Ostertag - w00t (Contra Excerpt)

Bob Ostertag - w00t (Contra Excerpt)


I know this is old but bear with me for a second here. I wasn't just like, "Oh, I never wrote about Ostertag's w00t so I should do that now." Not that that's a bad thing. But, well, whatever. Here we go.

I was surfing some netlabels, found a sweet netlabel blog (Netlabels Noises), and somehow ended up on Bob Ostertag's website where I found (and downloaded) a bunch of his older stuff and I was like, "Oh, I totally forgot about that w00t mp3 I have." So I listened to it again and realized how cool it is.

Instead of making regular 8-bit music from old Game Boy or NES consoles, he decided to sample the actual music and sound effects from various games, mash it up, and make it awesome. The whole thing is one long 50 minute track of video game chaos.

I had a favorite part, though, and thought I should edit that out and post that instead of the whole thing. So here it is. The part from w00t comprised entirely of Contra sounds. It is utter fucking mayhem and I love it. It makes me wish Contra actually sounded like that because then I'd probably play it daily instead of weekly.

If you're interested in listening to all 50 minutes of w00t, you can download it for free here. Also, at that same link, Ostertag lists the titles of games he used to create the song.

The Skull Defekts at PA's Lounge

It seems like the only time I ever go to PA's Lounge is when everyone else doesn't. There was probably less than a dozen paying patrons at PA's last night and I'm pretty sure it's been that way every other time as well. Whatever. The music is just as good, if not better when there are less people around.


Sound checking took decades and eventually the first band, locals Magic People, went on. Decent enough music. Kinda like Neptune meets Throbbing Gristle. (Disclaimer: I have no idea what Throbbing Gristle sounds like.) They are a bass/synth duo. One guy plays bass guitar and a bass drum, the other dude plays a synth and occasionally throws in a low-fi Casio-type beat. They have a nice sense of humor. I'm pretty sure the bassist called out that "This next song is also about kittens" without ever saying that any of the previous songs were about kittens. Yeah, I loled. My only criticism is that they might need some more practice keeping time. Unless they were going for the "kick drum slightly out of sync with recorded beat" thing. They got that down pat.


Talk Normal was next. Another duo. This time two Brooklyn girls, one on guitar, the other on drums. They were so fucking cool. How cool? At one point , the guitarist slid a screwdriver under the strings on the neck of her guitar and started thrusting and jamming it like it was a fucking dildo. And they played with all the lights out, save for a lone red bulb. That's how cool. And the drummer ended up laying a guitar on her set and smacking it with her sticks for one song. I'm tellin' ya, these guys are goin' places.


And then SKULL motherfucking D. These Swedish dudes know how to rock. They bookended their set with complete darkness, while bright spotlights shown through the rest of it. One of the guys had a table set up with huge plastic jugs that had mics taped to the inside of them. He ran the mics through some sort of effects stuff so he could make them sound all weird. It was the fucking coolest. And the 4 of them wore all black. Classy.


I gotta admit, I wasn't expecting much from the last band, Centipede Eest. I was debating whether or not I should even stay for them. It was obvious they couldn't possibly be any better than The Skull Defekts. And they weren't. But they were still good. Kind of a psychedelic punk rock, with a dash of jazz thrown in for off-kilter measure. Even though most people had left the club already, the Centipedes still had plenty of energy and frankly didn't give a shit whether or not anyone was watching. They were dancing all over the place (mostly off the stage) and had no problem rocking and getting in people's face. It's good to see a band who still gives it there all no matter the size of the crowd. That's something I really appreciate. Definitely a good way to end the evening.

Tomoko Sauvage & Gilles Aubry - Apam Napat

Tomoko Sauvage & Gilles Aubry - Apam Napat


Tomoko Sauvage and Gilles Aubry are two people (girl and guy, I think) who make minimal electroacoustic music. Sauvage taps on porcelain waterbowls and Aubry does live sampling, slightly altering the sound in the process. What emerges is really cool microtonal stuff that can be both hypnotic and dizzying.

Apam Napat was improvised and recorded live in Berlin. They played 3 songs that clock in at over 40 minutes. The opening song, "Halftone Dots" is the most fast paced and seemingly structured of the bunch. The percussion is layered many times on itself and makes for a very urgent song. Not like the "I gotta piss" urgent, but like the "Shit I gotta get outta here" urgent. It's strange because it puts me at ease while making me nervous. That's definitely a feeling that makes absolutely no sense in my head.

The other two tracks, "Undercurrent" and "Apam Napat," are more sparse, almost like Sauvage and Aubry originally made freaky free folk but wanted to be closer to the Earth by making music with waterbowls. There are times when I'm listening to Apam Napat and I think to myself, someone probably thinks I installed a bunch of wind chimes in my apartment. Of course I mean that in the nicest way possible. I like wind chimes. And I like this record so everything should be OK.

Apam Napat is available as a free download from the netlabel Musica Excentrica. Do it now. Do it here.

Staples: Harry And The Potters - And The Power Of Love

Harry And The Potters - Flesh, Blood, And Bone


Harry And The Potters - Felix Felicis


Harry And The Potters - This Book Is So Awesome


Harry And The Potters - (Not Gonna Put On) The Monkey Suit


Harry And The Potters - Phoenix Song


Staples is a feature about, you guessed it, staples in my music diet. Albums that no matter how (im)perfect they are, or how old or new they are, I always come back to them because they're that awesome.

I have never read a Harry Potter book, nor do I plan on ever reading one. I was sucked into seeing the movies by Elise every time they came out and eventually I started liking them (the first two still suck). And yes, I am looking forward to seeing the sixth movie when it comes out next summer. I say this because some will challenge that the only fans of Harry And The Potters are fans of Harry Potter himself. I tell you now I am no such fan. I just really like the band.

So, Harry And The Potters are a band that consist of two brothers who act/sing/make music as if they were Harry Potter. Joe DeGeorge is Harry from year 4 and Paul DeGeorge is Harry from year 7. It makes perfect sense, right? Their first two albums (Harry And The Potters and Voldemort Can't Stop The Rock don't really showcase the Potters' talents. It took them a little while to really get good at what they were doing and on And The Power Of Love they really shine musically.

But maybe you're thinking I don't care how good they are at making music, I really don't care about Harry Potter and am not even going to bother listening to this. Well my friend, you will be missing out on some of the funnest music ever. I shit you not, the most fun I've ever had at a concert was when I saw Smoosh open for Harry And The Potters. There was so much fun being had that night that the fun meter just fucking broke.

And The Power Of Love is full of such unbridled enthusiasm. These guys love what they're doing and it really shows through their music. You put this record on and you get happy pretty much instantly. I mean it opens with "New Wizard Anthem" which is probably what they chant at Quidditch matches or something. And while there are inside jokes aplenty that you'll only get if you've read the books, there's still enough stuff on the surface for regular people to understand. And when they sing about Draco being a phantasmaphile, you can probably guess what they mean.

There isn't a single song on here that is lacking. Everything is perfect, super fun, and full of energy. It's hard to get the idea just by listening to a song or two, you really need to hear the whole thing to fully appreciate (as with most records). Do yourself a favor and overlook the Harry Potter theme so you can give this one a chance because it really deserves it.

I'm The Handyman

My two CD towers just weren't cutting it anymore. They were too rowdy and precarious and frankly, I just didn't trust them. Elise (who secretly coveted the corner they were in) suggested I hang some shelves for all of my music. I pointed out to her that we didn't have any open wall space to hang such monstrous shelves and she replied, well, we can always take down our art. So we did. Here are a couple of before pictures.





So then we went to the lumber shop and picked up some supplies. This is me being proud and excited.



Murphy's Law made me a very grumpy person during the actual construction, so there aren't any pictures of me building anything. If pictures were taken of me, you would probably be decapitated with my razor blade eyes through the photo just by looking at them. I mean, Elise is lucky to be alive. She was at ground zero. So for your safety, I included a few pictures of the finished product.





Now I pray that my handy skills are badass enough to hold up such a beastly collection. And this is what I listened to while I was being Mr. DIY.

The Knife - Handy-Man

Kid606 - Die Soundboy Die EP

Kid606 - Loose Noose


I first discovered Kid606 in '03 when I was DJing at WMWM and Kill Sound Before Sound Kills You came out. Some of the guys I knew at the station were like, "Sweet! A new Kid606 record!" And I was like, "Oh. Cool." It didn't take me long to get into him, though. Kill Sound is a great record and a fine introductory to The Kid as it was catchy and dancey enough to hook me and glitchy and noisy enough to ease me into his back catalogue. And that's where I really caught onto Kid606, with albums like Down With The Scene that open with 7 seconds of ear shredding noise (titled "Chart Topping Radio Hit") before kicking it into some awesome breakbeat.

Sadly, I picked what I think of as a bad time to discover Kid606. Every album since then has been less and less noise. I mean, Resilience was basically an ambient record (albeit a really good one). I haven't heard either Done With The Scene or Pretty Girls Make Raves (oh the puns!) but I'm pretty sure they're more geared for booty shaking judging by the names alone. I really liked when he would make stuff that had really random beats that you could dance to for about 9 seconds before he would change it up and get rid of any semblance of a beat, only to flip back 4 seconds later with a completely different tempo. He was the fucking best at that.

This new teaser EP, Die Soundboy Die, is supposed to be a taste of the full album to come in early '09. And if it's any indicator, The Kid is still going strong with the heavy beats. Now, I'm not too polished up on my various electronic music sub-genres (house, dubsteb, electronica, etc) but I do know "I like this" electronic and "I don't like this" electronic. This still falls firmly into the former but for me, each consecutive record Kid puts out, it gets closer and closer into "don't like" territory.

Yes, Die Soundboy Die is a Kid606 album and it sounds like it. But he's starting to sound a bit more generic as time goes on. This is darker, bassier, and maybe a little more dubstep (am I way off base?) than his previous releases and I guess I just haven't adjusted to Kid's new style. I'm always curious to hear the next Kid606 record, and Soundboy hasn't stopped that, but keep it up, Kid, and I just might not care anymore.

P.S. I really dig the song "Loose Noose" from this EP. I don't want anyone to get the wrong impression about how I feel towards Die Soundboy Die. Some of the tracks have a vague skweee feel to them, and that's fine by me. So, yeah. I like it, and not just because it's Kid606. It's good music but maybe I just wish someone else was making it.

Aidan Baker & Tim Hecker Collaborate

I know I should've let that Lubomyr Melnyk post simmer a while but I just saw this and couldn't help but post about it.

Aidan Baker (of Nadja, who knew who I was when I met him) and Tim Hecker (of...Tim Hecker) have made what I can only assume is sweet, sweet music together and they called it Fantasma Parastasie.

It comes out on October 14th via Alien8 and it's streaming in full right now.

Wow. I am ridiculously excited right now. Hooray for collaborations!!

Lubomyr Melnyk - The Lund-St. Petri Symphony

Lubomyr Melnyk - The Lund-St. Petri Symphony For Double Piano Part I


It's a rare occasion when a single person comes along and does something so completely original and amazing that it changes the way you view things forever. If you haven't heard of Lubomyr Melnyk before, prepare to be be brain fuckled.

Melnyk created an entirely new way of playing piano which he calls Continuous Music. It's appropriately titled because he plays (in the case of The Lund-St. Petri Symphony) at the speed of 11-14 notes per second in each hand. For 45 minutes. That's at least 30,000 notes on one record. By one man. I don't know what how many notes are found on the average 45 minute record, but lets just assume it's less. Like, a lot less. He actually holds two world records for being the most awesomest pianist ever. One for Fastest Pianist (19.5 notes per second in each hand) and another for Most Number Of Notes In One Hour (93,650 individual notes in 60 minutes, averaging 13 notes per second in each hand).

OK, so this guy has really fast fingers. Cool. Another novelty record? NO. How dare you. This is not a "novelty record." This is some of the most gorgeous, hypnotic music I've ever heard, swallowing my body in a "Sea Of Sound." Listening to Melnyk play the piano is truly breathtaking and unlike any experience you've likely had.

The Lund-St. Petri Symphony was originally composed and performed live played on 3 organs (but recorded on piano) in the Domkyrkan cathedral in Lund, Sweden. However, Melnyk claims that current technology would be unable to capture the "extreme density of sound" of 3 pianos (which I believe) and hence the recorded version contains the piece played on both solo (first disc) and double (second disc) piano. Melnyk hoped that one day he could release a version with an extra disc/record that contained the third piano and would be played simultaneously with the first disc but that has never happened and probably never will. We will just have to settle to imagine what the original triple organ performance in Domkyrkan sounded like. Sadly, I don't think my brain is up to the challenge.

I urge you to find and listen to as much of Lubomyr Melnyk's Continuous Music as possible. It's rare to come by and if you ever find a recording somewhere, buy it immediately. If you regret your purchase, then I don't like you.

Wisteriax - Static Voyage

Wisteriax - Track 5


Wisteriax is one Karen S. Langlie from Lowell, Massachusetts. Static Voyage is a free record she put out via Infinite Sector (feel free to go here and download it).

Wisteriax makes music almost entirely sourced from her cello, although Static Voyage is listed as having "cello, shortwave, loops and FX." So, yeah. Cello. I'm pretty sure the shortwave part is about the sporadic radio transmissions that pop up every now and then on the record but the rest (loops, FX) is probably based on the cello in some way, shape or form.

So, remember that Greg Kelley record I reviewed a little while back, Self-Hate Index? And how it was just one dude making lots of noise with a trumpet? Well, Static Voyage is a lot like that, except the artist is of the female variety and her talents lie in strings instead of brass. And Voyage never gets quite as abrasive and noisy as Self-Hate but we're still pretty much on the same page here.

Static Voyage is one of the most literal titles for a record I've heard in a while. Not that that's a bad thing, though. Just the opposite. It lets you know what you're getting yourself into beforehand. This is the type of music I'd expect to hear if I was traveling through space in a faux-1950s sci-fi B-movie.

Of course it's only appropriate for such a voyage to be one loooong song (74 minutes) and it's also very fitting that it was recorded for the FZC sound/noise installation at Burning Man in 2003. I don't want to call this New Age or hippie music, because it definitely isn't. But at the same time, I get that kind of feeling from it, for no particular reason. Maybe it's the whole "space" thing because Static Voyage is pretty spacey. And spacious. So space -> New Age, New Age -> hippie, I don't think I'm that off base.

Anyway, my point is is that even though I get certain feelings from this album that I normally don't associate with good music, I still like Static Voyage. It's interesting and unique. I'm always up for hearing new sounds from traditional instruments and Wisteriax definitely delivers.

She's playing a few shows in the Boston area within the next month or so. The most interesting one is her performance at the 119 Gallery in Lowell on November 16th where she'll play an improvised soundtrack to Jean Cocteau’s 1946 film La Belle Et La Bête (known as Beauty And The Beast to us non-French speakers). You can find the rest of her upcoming dates (and listen to some other tunes) on her Myspace page.

ATP Pics

Yeah, I know what I said last time, but I also said I'd post the pictures my friend took when he got back home to England. So here's a bunch. Check out the rest of the pics he took on his Flickr page. And he does cool illustrator/designer/artist type stuff as Waste. Check the website here.


My Bloody Valentine. That big shaved head is mine.



My friend Emily was trying to blend in with the walls at Kutsher's.



Steve and Emma chilling with that bear at EPMD.



All 5 of us (from left: Steve, Emily, me, Emma, Norm) out by the lake right after Lightning Bolt finished. This is a rare picture because normally I'm clothed.



Lightning Bolt. See if you can find me.



The one I'm sure you've all been waiting for (aka my mom).



Eek!