Psychotic Girl by The Black Keys (feat. Intuition)

"and I can't get lost in your world"

First heard Intuition on his song “Al Bundy” almost a year back. So when I heard he did an edit of The Black Key’s “Psychotic Girl”, I knew he’d cut up some nasty lines for this blues rock band.

“Psychotic Girl” gives the typical tale of a seemingly normal gal that shows her true colors when you’re least expecting it. Intuition’s thoughts go well with The Black Keys’ original vocals, especially against those back beat blues.

I would’ve liked Intuition’s flow a bit slower paced and better volumized (volumized), but he did a damn fine job at picking a song that was meant for him to lay some dirtay lines over.

Now off to listen to The Black Key’s discography :)

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While My Guitar Gently Weeps by Carlos Santana

featuring India Arie & Yo-Yo Ma

I’ve heard quite a few Beatles cover songs before, but this one really does George Harrison’s original justice.

First hearing India Arie’s voice was a bit peculiar. I couldn’t picture her standing in, but after getting use to her voice with Santa’s guitar, it made for a perfect match.

I’ve only listened to a couple tracks off Santa’s newly released album, Guitar Heaven: The Greatest Guitar Classics of All Time, but his rendition of this classic takes it. You can’t beat a Beatle’s song redone by a master guitar player + beautiful vocals by India Arie – oh, and some damn good cello playin’.

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Business Casual by Chromeo

"She says I'm not romantic, I saw she's too dramatic."

I actually just talked about Business Casual at Indie Shuffle, but I wanted to feature ’em here, their music is really hittin’ the spot.

Chromeo’s got this throwback 80’s coolnass, but with an electofunk vibe of today(ish). Their songs are catchy as hell with lyrics that’ll get hammered into your head for days (in a good way). Yea, they can be a little cheesy at times, but I think that’s what adds to their appeal.

I’ve been having a hell of time jamming to three of their songs – “Don’t Turn The Lights On” – which is featured in the Indie Shuffle article – “I Could Be Wrong” & […]

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Starfucker by Starfucker

I just love sayin' their name, Starfucker!

The only reason I listened to these guys, initially, was their name – Starfucker. I thought it was the coolest band name I’d heard in a while, but I also thought it was meant as a metaphor for “fucking” a star (like the ones in the sky), not the more obvious fucking a star (like the ones in the movies). I’ll admit, I wasn’t as impressed, but the name still rolls off the tongue nicely – or maybe that’s just my fascination with the word, fuck.

Aside from Starfucker’s name, their first album, also called Starfucker, was a pleasant surprise – I’m not that into indie rock, yet, but I really enjoyed a few songs off this. The album had a nice blend of electronic instrumentals with an indie rock vibe. It resembled Broken Bells, which whom I’ve really gotten into lately.

The top songs I picked, if you’re not playing them already, are “Florida”, “Gregory Erickson the Second” & “German Love”. I read on a forum that “German Love” is a true story about a guy from Germany who made sex tapes with his girlfriend but didn’t exactly tell her about making the tapes. Well, he put up a site with the videos (also called a porn site) and it blew up in popularity. She found out and dumped his ass, and so the rest of the story goes. Who knows if it’s true, but it’s a good story to tie along with the song.

Let me know what your favorite song is out of these three.. or any other Starfucker song, if you’re into ’em…

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Baby, I Love Your Way (Live) by Peter Frampton

Know Good Classics - #5 (Rock)

I’ve been lacking in the classic rock listening lately, so I thought I’d feature one of my favorite love songs. Maybe this will rekindle my interest in good ol’ rock.

With classic rock songs, usually the live version is better than the recorded – I think the crowd brings out the passion in the musician. Frampton’s lyrics in “Baby, I Love Your Way” may be simple, but that’s what makes it so sweet. The song gets me all mushy every time I listen to it. Hell, it makes me wanna be Frampton’s baby… for the song. I wouldn’t go as far as saying this is the best love song of all time, but it’s in the top two (Atmosphere reference) – at least the live version is. What’s your favorite love song

A funny/random side note – at around 40 seconds in, he sings, “far away from the city”. Every time I hear him say “city”, it sounds like he’s saying “shitty”; kinda like the owner of City Wok (Shitty Wok) from South Park (the Chinese dude). I get a good chuckle every time I listen to it.

* If you’re interested, here are the other Know Good Classics… here.

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Picking a Lock at the Speed of Light

by These Modern Socks - Minneapolis Fucking Rocks!

I’ve been so obsessed with SOLID GOLD lately that I’ve started to listen to their opening acts – or anything else from Minneapolis. These Modern Socks’s style may not be my usual preference, but then again neither is SOLID GOLD.

Picking a Lock at the Speed of Light, These Modern Socks’s latest album, didn’t seem like anything special at first – none of the songs hit the spot, and I really wasn’t use to their style. But before giving up on these guys, a song caught my ear. “To NASA” seemed to be more rich in electronic instruments than the previous songs, which is what got me into current indie rock in the first place (i.e. SOLID GOLD), so I decided to listen to the album one more time through – usually it takes me a couple plays through […]

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It’s the Chemicals by Inspired Flight (feat. Scarub)

Collaboration is Innovation

Music that isn’t easily classified, is so, usually because it pushes the boundaries of its genre, leaking into every other. When I first heard Inspired Flight’s “It’s the Chemicals”, I thought it was an electronic song; then after about a minute or so I realized that it had some hip-hop elements, as well; and finally, I heard some alt rock. Well, after listening to it a few dozen times more I’m still just as clueless on classifying it, but I guess that’s the case when a group pulls from different genres through the use of electron equipment.

Electronic instruments have given us the power to utilize instruments that were once too difficult and tiresome to learn. Now we can mesh up a range of instruments to create something that would’ve taken many hours and musicians to achieve. Yea, some say it’s just being lazy and blah, blah, blah (see Copyright Criminals), but this doesn’t consider everything. It may be easier, but it allows the artist to create without the limitations of knowing every instrument.

In the end it all comes down to what is produced. Art isn’t necessarily about method, but what the final outcome is. You wouldn’t fault photographers for not creating everything in their lens, just like you wouldn’t fault DJ’s for not creating every beat. Yes, there is a limit to the extent of sampling you do off of someone else’s work, but it’s not set in stone. As Newton put it, “if I have seen further it is only by standing on the shoulders of giants” – we are all just building off of our predecessors. The key is to build up, push the boundaries of a genre, and create something new.

Someone help me out on where to put this (what genre), I’m leaning towards electronica now…

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Just Like Everyone Else by Solid Gold

"Keep your fuckin' mouth shut."

Ever since I can remember, my father has hated the word fuck. I, however, kinda like it. It’s served me well, expressing my thoughts when I lacked the more appropriate words – it has so many uses. Yes, it can be crude & inappropriate, but it can express something like no other word can. It may even shock some at times, for example – when used in music, but isn’t that the fun in it anyway

Now, when I talk about it being used in music, I don’t mean by those hip-hop hooligans, they tend to overuse it. I’m talking about when a musician drops it when you’re least expecting it. A good example is Solid Gold’s “Just Like Everyone Else”. Zach Coulter’s voice is anything but crude, but when he slips in the good ol’ fuck bomb, it gets your attention. It was surprising at first, but after a while you start to understand its purpose. How else could you express such hurt & anguish from an ex-love Just picture the song without all the fucks, it’s just not as affective. I gotta give credit to Coulter for his use, and not overuse, of the word. Well played, sir.

If your in Minneapolis tonight, Solid Gold is playing at the Weisman Art Museum at 9. I may hit it up if I’m over in the Twin Cities tonight.
Edit: I just looked at the website and it’s sold out… fuck.

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Pursuit of Happiness (KiD CuDi Cover) by Lissie

"Everything that shines ain't always gonna be gold."

Lissie is one pretty young thing (love you MJ) that packs some power. In her live performance at the Great Escape this last May, Lissie performs “Pursuit of Happiness” by KiD CuDi, or I should say outperforms. They’re only a handful of covers that I like better than the original. Along with Lissie, the instrumentals – especially Eric Sullivan’s guitar solo – make this song addicting as hell… which may, ironically, be it’s one downfall – it’s been stuck in my head for the last couple of weeks.

Make sure to check out the video of her performance in the full article. It really captures the passion she has for singing.

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Ready Let’s Roll by Bob Schneider

"Drinkin' Mai Tais and smokin' blunts with some Mexicans."

I went to see Bob Schneider live a couple years back in college. I’m not the biggest fan of his, but when I first heard Ready Let’s Roll, I was hooked. I had no idea what the song was called at the time, so I searched the net to figure it out. Well, I finally came up with it, but it just didn’t sound like it did in concert. With some more research I found the one featured here. It’s not as good as when I heard it live, but I think it still does it justice. Check out the video in the full article, it’s the closest thing I could find to what I heard that night.

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