August 9, 2010

Butter Team @ Sweet Revenge 8/10



I'm DJing at Sweet Revenge in Clinton Hill/Bed Stuy tomorrow night (and every other Tuesday after that for the near future). Here's a quick preview.


Butter Team Sampler - August 2k10 (right click to DL mp3)

Big Boi - Night Night
Debbie Harry - Rush Rush
Notorious BIG vs. Aloe Blacc - Juicy Dollars
Air - Kelly Watch the Stars (Moog Cookbook Remix)

Previous mix: BT Weekend Beats Vol. 31

Keep reading...

July 7, 2010

Wavves - King of the Beach (feat. Corey Worthington)



This is what bro sounds like.


Wavves - King of the Beach (feat. Corey Worthington)

Listen to the rest of King of the Beach here.

Related:
Bros I Want to Chill With (1)
Bros I Want to Chill With (2)

Keep reading...

June 25, 2010

Weekend Beats Vol. 31




Butter Team - Weekend Beats Vol. 31 (right-click to DL mp3)

1. Al Green - I Want To Hold Your Hand - from the 40th anniversary re-release of 1969's Green Is Blues. I pop this off every Sunday morning.
2. Peter Gordon & The Love of Life Orchestra - Beginning of the Heartbreak - Among everything in their crates, LCD Soundsystem chose THIS track to kick off their disco roots-themed FabricLive mix in 2007. They also re-recorded and re-issued it on DFA earlier this year. Now that's how you let the beat build.
3. Delorean - Deli - from their Ayrton Senna EP (not the new album). kind of an odd choice given everything else on this mix is a bit more chill BPM-wise, but it kills, so.
4. Jacques Dutronc - Le Responsable - a French take on British garage/freakbeat. nobody knows about this bro but he's a pimp. here's the mp3.
5. The Outcasts - Loving You, Sometimes - According to Garage Hangover, The Outcasts paid for their own studio time to record "Loving You" in 1969, got some local airplay in Kentucky, scored an opening slot for Neil Diamond, and split. an all-time favorite.
6. Twin Sister - I Want A House (outro) - just a chill lil' outro.

Keep reading...

March 30, 2010

Cut Copy - Far Away (Rad Redux)



Two years ago I posted a Cut Copy/Rad mashup that was quasi-successful (100K+ views, not bad for a 5 minute vid), but the quality was terrible. The source video was a YouTube rip (after who knows how many compressions) which was then edited and re-uploaded, and the audio was a shitty MySpace rip (In Ghost Colours hadn't come out yet).

This movie*, this band, and you the reader all deserve better. So allow me to introduce a much higher quality version, complete with tighter edits and some new high school danceoff scenes from earlier in the movie (3:03!). Enjoy.



*Fun fact: the family in the center of the Butter Team header is enjoying a 1971 RCA color TV with an XL-100 advanced tuning system and Solid State Accucolor. They are excited about this transformative technology and what it will do for their lives. They're preparing to watch Rad, except the opening title sequence was replaced with "Butter Team," which by transference leads them to conclude this blog is rad.

Keep reading...

January 13, 2010

Butter Team: Now Available In Superchill Tumblr Form




Feel it.


Nas - Queens Get The Money (from Untitled, 2009)

Keep reading...

December 29, 2009

Best Butter Team Mixes of 2k9



Oh snap, 500th post. It's been a pleasure. I'll be shutting down BT to work on some other sites (including Sketchy Santas, Sketchy Bunnies and Urlesque), but please enjoy this wintry mix + my other two favorites from this year. Be sure to sign up for email updates on the right for a few mixes in 2k10.


Butter Team Winter 2k9 Mix (right click to download mp3)

Tracklist:
1. The Avalanches - Little Journey
2. Royksopp feat. Fever Ray - This Must Be It (Thin White Duke edit)
3. Discovery - Osaka Loop Line
4. Fleetwood Mac - Dreams (Mingus Rude/Avalanches edits)
5. The Outcasts - Loving You, Sometimes
6. Okkervil River - On Tour With Zykos
7. The Zombies - I Can't Make Up My Mind
8. Benji Hughes - The Mummy
9. Ruby Andrews - You Made A Believer Out of Me
10. Q-Tip - Won't Trade
11. Avalanches/Daft Punk/Cut Copy - SuperNightVisions
12. VEGA - Kyoto Gardens
13. Mark Mothersbaugh - Look At That Old Grizzly Bear
14. Sufjan Stevens - That Was The Worst Christmas Ever!








Summer Sanka Mix (Deux)
- right click to download

Tracklist:
1. Electric Light Orchestra - Livin' Thing (Avalanches redux)
2. Instant Funk - Got My Mind Made Up (Avalanches redux + Spank Rock intro)
3. The Main Attraction - Everyday
4. Atlas Sound feat. Panda Bear - Walkabout
5. Beach Boys - You Still Believe in Me
6. Bullion feat. J Dilla - You Still Believe in Dee
7. Roy Ayers - Running Away
8. Kid Creole & the Coconuts - Stool Pigeon
9. Organ Morgan - Cocaine Afternoon
10. The Avalanches - Slow Walking
11. Tough Alliance - 25 Years and Runnin'
12. The Very Best - Yalira
13. Junior Byron - Dance to the Music (LCD Soundsystem redux)





Buttery Soul Mix (right click to download)

New Holidays - Maybe So, Maybe No (1969)
Smokey Robinson - If You Can Want (1968)
Ruby Andrews - You Made a Believer Out of Me (1969)
The Jarmels - A Little of Bit of Soap (1961)
The Impressions - Seven Years (1969)
The Mad Lads - No Strings Attached (1969)
Betty Padgett - Sugar Daddy (1975)
Harvey Averne - You're No Good (1968)
Jackson Sisters - I Believe in Miracles (1976)
The Johnny Otis Show - Watts Breakaway (1969)

Keep reading...

November 18, 2009

The Last Days of Digi Stax



NPR recently chronicled the story of a sample - in this case, The Charmels' 1967 single "As Long As I've Got You" - which RZA copped for "C.R.E.A.M." on 1993's Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers). That opening piano tinkle from the Stax house band (which often included Isaac Hayes or Booker T. and the M.G.'s) also marked the debut of RZA's most consistent influence - sweet Southern soul.

More than 15 years and 40 albums later, the two most prominent samples from RZA's Digi Snax hail back to 1969; The Tempations' Message From A Black Man, and "I Like It" from Stax staples The Emotions (who just finished their secular conversion from gospel act The Heavenly Sunbeams). Jonathan Kaslow, producer of Stax's The Soul of Hip Hop, said, "After 1969, things got much more interesting rhythmically. The BPM’s got to around 88 or 90…just the kind of tempos that would become perfect to rap to. And a lot of the beats that are sampled from Stax are just so perfect that they just loop it and do nothing else. They don’t have to layer it or anything. They’re perfect."

The beats might be right, but it appears the price is not. When Prefix asked RZA about samples from Digi Snax, he said: "I got mad records, but I didn’t even go through my records and do shit like that for the album...One, I’m a musician now myself, so I can create my own music. And two, the sample business is fucked up because they still haven’t met a standard of doing business. It’s like I do a song and you take 90 percent of my fuckin’ song when your track never even went gold and it’s about to go platinum. Until they get it right soon, I’ve declined on using samples lately."

That's a shame, especially considering what he did with these two:


The Emotions - I Like It (from So I Can Love You, 1969)


RZA - Don't Be Afraid (from Digi Snax, 2008)


The Tempations - Message From A Black Man (from Puzzle People, 1969)


RZA - You Cant Stop Me Now feat. Inspectah Deck (from Digi Snax)

Check out RZA's other classic soul samples on Shaolin Soul or The Soul of Hip Hop.

(pic via Soul Sides)

Other BT sample posts:
Messages From Black Men (Nas, Mos Def)
More Than U Know (Prince Paul, De La Soul)
You Never Knew (Hieroglyphics)
Since I Met You (Avalanches)
You Made A Believer Out of Me (Q-Tip)
3 Feet High and Rising (De La Soul)

Keep reading...

October 13, 2009

BT Video: Should Have Taken Acid w/ Yall

Although the arrival date of VEGA's debut EP still remains a mystery, Alan Palomo's side gig Neon Indian goes legit today with the release of Psychic Chasms. We celebrated by making a video for the song that started it all - this gentleman most likely celebrated via an all-night (or multi-day) chillbrocore sesh, and upon entering a store the next morning found himself unable to complete any transactions/basic motor functions.










Neon Indian - Should Have Taken Acid With You

Stream a few tracks from Psychic Chasms here or pick it up at Insound.

(original clip via Every Day I'm Tumblin')

Previously:
BT Video: No Reasons (VEGA)
Seems Chill/Not Chill (Neon Indian)
More posts about VEGA
Nude (Hipster Runoff Remix)

Keep reading...

October 8, 2009

BT Video: Nude (Hipster Runoff Remix)

Whilst listening to the new Jesus Christ cassingle in bed tonight and staring at the ceiling of your suburban cocoon, remember the remix that launched HRO's career as a meaningful artist/DJ back in early 2k8.



Produced by Butter Team with footage courtesy of GroceryBag.TV, this new video examines how teens use technology to experiment with self-expression, and expose their hopes and fears for the world to see. This is 'what it's like' growing up in the YouTube era.







Radiohead - Nude (Hipster Runoff remix)








"Jesus Christ" (the indie band) - Is This Really What You Want?

Related vids:
Thrashin' to VEGA
Cut Copy vs. Rad
Architecture in Helsinki vs. Mac and Me
Unicorns vs. Look Around You

Keep reading...

October 6, 2009

See the Sea



Vitalic - See the Sea (Red)

Every single instrument from Vitalic's debut OK Cowboy - even the voices - were synthesized. With rare exceptions like Trahison (featured here in French film Naissance des Pieuvres), songs don't fade in or out with a human's touch, they power up and down in rapid combustion.

Four years later Pascal Arbez still owns the Formula One formula with
Flashmob, but as dummy mag says, he's "found scope in disco that the sleazy ice of electroclash did not allow for." Vitalic's disco - the Ridley Scott/20JFG version - finds Justice and Glass Candy tied together at the wrist, thrashing across a strobe-lit Studio 2054 basement with switchblades. Instead of orchestral flourishes and Wurlitzers, we get acid squelches and seas of straight up hot magma.




Vitalic - See the Sea (Blue)

HRO's take: "I think Vitalic made electro techno music before there were computers. Have only heard them on the Party Monster soundtrack, back when I was trying to ‘learn what it would be like to move to NYC and become part of a relevant party scene.’ [In the video for single "Your Disco Song"] there is a broad who has a disco ball surgically attached to her skull. Think she ‘lives to party’ and she just wants to ‘disco so fucking hard.’

Indeed. While his robotic French contemporaries lust over humanity, Vitalic embraces the first pop genre built on synthesizers with a cold, industrial precision we can still dance to - even if the hott claps aren't from real hands.

Flashmob is available now.

photos: Neil Krug (check this bro out)

Keep reading...

September 15, 2009

Girls, Man



"I'm just crazy...and fucked in the head," C. Owens whines over complimentary doo wops and bop bops from his crew of studio bros. While he rides cul-de-sac curbs and laments a general lack of anything awesome, we get it all - the harmonica, the hand claps, a sun tan, some pizza, and "Girls," who release "Album" on 9/22 via True Panther.








Girls - Lust For Life

(PS - pretty sure that is not Zach Galifianakis playing barkeep, but if you'd like to analyze further here are his Top 20 Most Awesomely-Awkward Internet Moments via SARAHSPY. Also looking forward to his new HBO bromedy Bored To Death, the first episode of which premieres this Sunday and can be downloaded for free on iTunes.)

9/25 update - Pitchfork gives it a 9.1 (not that it matters, but let's be honest, it's good to see a great album get recognized)

Keep reading...

August 28, 2009

Summer Sanka Mix (Deux)







Summer Sanka Mix (Deux)
- right click to download

Tracklist:
1. Electric Light Orchestra - Livin' Thing (Avalanches redux)
2. Instant Funk - Got My Mind Made Up (Avalanches redux + Spank Rock intro)
3. The Main Attraction - Everyday
4. Atlas Sound feat. Panda Bear - Walkabout
5. Beach Boys - You Still Believe in Me
6. Bullion feat. J Dilla - You Still Believe in Dee
7. Roy Ayers - Running Away
8. Kid Creole & the Coconuts - Stool Pigeon
9. Organ Morgan - Cocaine Afternoon
10. The Avalanches - Slow Walking
11. Tough Alliance - 25 Years and Runnin'
12. The Very Best - Yalira
13. Junior Byron - Dance to the Music (LCD Soundsystem redux)

---

Notes:
1 & 2. part of When I Met You, a special compilation The Avalanches prepared to shed some light on their influences behind Since I Left You, with some Spank Rock and other intro flavorings added
3. backbone of the title track for Since I Left You, but like a lot of their sample selection it stands well enough on its own (more Avalanches source material here)
4. pretty chill
5. pretty chill
6. damn
7 & 8. you may know these beats from such hit songs as "Baby I Got Your Money" and the Troy McLure afterschool special "Lead Paint: Delicious but Deadly," respectively
9. pretty chill, more songs by Organ Morgan here
10. from the limited release 2001 At Last Alone comp (other rarities here)
11. easily the best summer band of 2k6 - 2k10, from their New Waves EP (video here)
12. buy the full length Warm Heart of Africa LP immediately ($8.99 bob digi)
13. intro is part of LCD Soundsystem's goggle-fogging FabricLive 36 mix, spliced with the original extended version for extra "ride on outability"

Also recommended:
Summer Sanka Mix
Buttery Soul Mix
Chocolate Bobkast #27
GvB Summer Mix

Keep reading...

August 20, 2009

Mrs. Cold




Slide on a ribbed pastel mock and peruse frozen prepared foods with this on blast.








Kings of Convenience - Mrs. Cold (from Declaration of Dependence, out October 2k9)

Related:








Kings of Convenience - I Don't Know What I Can Save You From (Mojib remix)

Keep reading...

August 14, 2009

Bumpin' with Ma Barker



When a female Depression-era outlaw becomes the inspiration for a hit 1977 disco single, which is then remade into an even funkier instrumental three decades later, only to become the backbone of the liveliest song on The Avalanches' 2001 classic Since I Left You, this person is worth knowing at least briefly.

Kate "Ma" Barker was left to raise four deliquents by herself, and later became an accomplice to her sons' spree of robberies, kidnappings and other crimes. Arthur was arrested for murder and Llyod for robbery, Herman committed suicide at a police roadblock, and Fred was gunned down with Mom in an FBI standoff in 1935. Without her shenanigans, though, we probably wouldn't have had Mama Fratelli from The Goonies, Ma Beagle from Ducktales, or the goggle-fogging beats below.








Boney M - Ma Bakes (Ma Baker re-edit)








The Avalanches - Live at Dominoes (from Since I Left You)

"Live at Dominoes" also includes a sample from Dimension 5ive by The 5th Dimension.

Thanks to Apache Cleo for the tip.

Related:
Fellows of the Royal Society (Lost Avalanches Vol. 1)
Since I Met You
Flight Tonight
Diners Only (Foam City Redux)

Keep reading...

August 6, 2009

Cocaine Afternoon


Grandparents shouldn't be disheartened by Organ Morgan's debut song/EP title or the "do you wanna have a party?" intro - his beats are as wholesome as ginger snaps, a nice pair of slacks, and robot insurance.








Organ Morgan - Cocaine Afternoon

As young Matthew Mayes explains: "it's very much in the same vein as The Avalanches, and was heavily inspired by their one and only album Since I Left You. I personally feel there wasn't and still isn't enough of this music around...other influences include The Go Team!, Lemon Jelly, Pepe Deluxe, Hot Chip, Passion Pit and artists that aren't scared to try something new and different for a great sound. I'm basically having a lot of fun cutting the summery bits out of all my old and dusty vinyl."

The Cocaine Afternoon EP isn't yet available for sale, so Mayes has kindly offered all three songs for download. Stay tuned for a 26-track Alphabet LP very soon.








Organ Morgan - Do Not Disturb








Organ Morgan - Broken Heart

(photo credit: Old Glory)

Related:
Fellows of the Royal Society (Lost Avalanches Vol. 1)
Since I Met You
Flight Tonight

Keep reading...

July 29, 2009

Allow Myself to Remix Myself


OK now...OK now I have two versions of this Memory Cassette song. Wigscrambling part is the remix was done by Dayve Hawk, who is Weird Tapes...who is also Memory Cassette. All five rmxs are available for free to celebrate MC's debut Call & Response EP (vinyl is sold out but you can buy the bob digis on Amazon for $4). Considering this bro's already given us more than a full album's worth of incredible music between his various aliases, maybe we can all pick this one up.

Tracklist:
Surfin
Body in the Water
Asleep at a Party
Last One Awake

Buy the Call & Response EP here for less than half of one Hamilton







Memory Cassette - Surfin (Weird Tapes version)








Memory Cassette - Last One Awake (Friend version)

Also notice the crescenfresh artwork provided by Chris from GvB.

Related:
Asleep at a Party
Collapsing At Your Doorstep (Friend rmx)

Keep reading...

July 22, 2009

What's Your "Cool it Now" Number?

How many times can you listen to this song in a row? I start seeing unfavorable side effects around 38, but found the collective office threshold is much, much lower.

As coffee highs waned, bagel carbs crashed and the cube farm fell into silence, we enlisted Ronnie, Bobby, Rickie and Mike (+ Ralph) for a motivational experiment. Everyone knows playing New Edition's "Cool it Now" over the paging system provides a noticeable five-minute productivity bump (it's been in the effective manager's toolbox for years), but exactly how long could heightened performance levels be sustained? How would coworkers react to having their dopamine receptors milked repeatedly for hours?



Not too well, as it turns out. Although results were initially promising, the HR rep pulled the plug after an unfortunate "I'm so excited/scared" incident about 14 plays in, and for the rest of the day we were only allowed to listen to Sven Libaek's Open Sea Theme (via Life Aquatic). Please use the streaming dashboard below to discover your personal threshold and share the results.








New Edition - Cool It Now (buy the mp3 on Amazon)








New Edition - Cool It Now (VEGA remix) (from VEGA's Nicky Digital mix)








Robbers on High Street - Cool It Now (from Guilt By Association Vol. 2)








New Edition - Cool It Now (Extended Dub)

Keep reading...

July 17, 2009

Oshit! Ebaahi Highlife Soundz



"Highlife music from Ghana and Sierra Leone emerged in the 1920's and has been a major influence on all subsequent African Music. The fusion of indigenous dance rhythms and melodies with Western sounds began in the coastal towns of Ghana, including regimental brass bands, sea shanty hymns, European foxtrots, Caribbean kaiso, African rhythms of Liberia (dagomba), Sierra Leone (ashiko and goombe) and Fante (osibisaba). The instrumentation included African drums, harmonicas, guitars, accordions; and by 1920's were known collectively as Highlife."

Several different styles of highlife emerged since - ballroom dance, village brass band, rural guitar, etc., but as Awesome Tapes From Africa tells us, "unfortunately there are not many bands still active in this realm of vintage highlife today...but these are my JAMZ."

"Oshitℇ" is more Ghanaian Crosby/Stills than pre-Vampire Weekend juju, and "Kpanlogo" is a simple, yet wig-scrambling reminder that you are not on vacation right now.








Ebaahi Soundz - Oshitℇ (1992)








Ebaahi Soundz - Kpanlogo (1992)

Lots more here, and don't forget Very Best is @ LPR tomorrow (you could try to catch King Sunny Adé @ the African Music Festival first).








Very Best - Salota (2008, from The Very Best Mixtape)

Related: Oh Shit. Gang Gang

Keep reading...

July 13, 2009

Buttery Soul Mix



Just under 30 minutes of speaker pimp classics you've never heard.

New Holidays - Maybe So, Maybe No (1969)
Smokey Robinson - If You Can Want (1968)
Ruby Andrews - You Made a Believer Out of Me (1969)
The Jarmels - A Little of Bit of Soap (1961)
The Impressions - Seven Years (1969)
The Mad Lads - No Strings Attached (1969)
Betty Padgett - Sugar Daddy (1975)
Harvey Averne - You're No Good (1968)
Jackson Sisters - I Believe in Miracles (1976)
The Johnny Otis Show - Watts Breakaway (1969)






Buttery Soul Mix (right click to download mp3)

Enjoy - and remember to hit up Soul Sides for your old soul/funk/latin/hip hop needs.

Related:
Here Comes Shuggie (+ Johhny) Otis
3 Feet High and Rising - Original Samples
Q-Tip flips Ruby Andrews

Keep reading...

July 2, 2009

Seems Chill/Not Chill



Well, we can finally pursue other mysteries* - it seems Neon Indian is composed of none other than VEGA's Alan Palomo..."Orbiting around the themes of drug induced heartbreak, weary afternoons, and lost chances, this music provides a lush soundtrack to the deadbeat exploits of teenage ennui. Neon Indian's bedroom ballads have already forged the upcoming Psychic Chasms, the debut full-length, set for release this fall." Assuming ennui means lack of interest or boredom, then yes, this is an accurate description of what you're hearing.

If VEGA is "dreamwave," then we will call this "chillbrocore."








Neon Indian - Terminally Chill








Neon Indian - Deadbeat Summer

*Here are some clues for the next mystery I'm working on: A tiny submarine that flies through the air...A half-dollar worth five thousand dollars...Some tipsy birds...A world that fits in the palm of your hand...And a case that turns out to be a real can of worms! (via Encyclopedia Brown on my summer reading list)



If you're not into chillbrocore, new unreleased VEGA joint "Kyoto Gardens" can be found in this mix courtesy of VEGA and Nicky Digital. "This was made in a single unit surrounded by kangaroos on the outskirts of Melbourne working with my dear friend Miami Horror. The frantic sound of hopping brought to mind the similar bubbling of arpeggiated basslines and bouncing tom fills. They made the mix; I was merely dictated by their beat-juggling nature. This mix also premieres my track 'Kyoto Gardens.' Enjoy! Or don’t." - AP








VEGA's Pregame Jamz

Miami Horror Vs. Dan Hartman - Starmaker
Gary Low - You Are Danger (Romeo Erotic Re-Edit)
B.W.H. - Livin Up (Putsch 79 Remix)
Casco - Cybernetic Love
Lifelike - L.O.V.E. Is What You Need
New Edition - Cool It Now
Alan Braxe/ Fred Falke - Arena
VEGA - No Reasons
Sebastian Tellier - Kilometer (Aeroplane ‘Itao 84’ Remix)
Kano - It’s A War (Serge Santiago Re-Edit)
Dynasty - I Don’t Want To Be A Freak (Lmr Edit)
Breakbot - Penelope Pitstop
Rhigeria - Vamos A La Playa
Empire Of The Sun - Walking On A Dream (Treasure Fingers Remix)
VEGA - Kyoto Gardens (Unreleased)

illustration via shantz

Related:
Bros I Want To Chill With Vol. 1
Bros I Want To Chill With Vol. 2

Keep reading...

June 23, 2009

Summer Sanka Mix


Feel sad and confused about this weather. Might just spend the whole summer sitting at hearth's edge and thinking about other, radder summers when we won trophies for being awesome outdoors. I had made this special mix of relevant mp3s just in case things improve later, but what's the point, you know? Might add a gray or dark blue overlay on my Twitter avatar to "take a stand" against El Niño.

The Very Best - Warm Heart of Africa (feat. Vampire Weekend)
Tough Alliance - Hung Up On A Dream (Zombies Cover)
Phoenix - Lisztomania (Star Guitar Remix)
Memory Tapes - Bicycle
Air France - GBG Belongs to Us
Weird Tapes - Party Trash
The Avalanches - Undersea Community
Toro Y Moi - Blessa
VEGA - No Reasons
The Zombies - This Old Heart of Mine (BBC)








Summer Sanka Mix
(right click to download mp3)

You may also enjoy our new Buttery Soul Mix featuring crescrenfresh speaker pimp classics.

Keep reading...

June 19, 2009

Phoenix Tonite



We've got two free tickets to tonight's very, very sold out Phoenix show at Terminal 5. Want them? Just sign up for email updates on the right (we post an average of once a week here so it's not a big commitment) and leave a comment making your case. Begging, flirting, flattery or sob stories not necessary to enter - we'll pick a random. Winner will be emailed this afternoon, you can pick these babies up in Chelsea anytime afterwards, and maybe your evening will resemble the video above.

Update: Chana is the winner.








Phoenix - Lisztomania (Holy Ghost! Remix Remix)








Phoenix - Lisztomania (Star Guitar Remix)








Phoenix - Lisztomania (Classixx Version)

Keep reading...

June 16, 2009

Mr. Scruff @ Sunday Best



Were the ice cold tallboy Sapporos not frothy enough? Your homemade chorizo huareche too filling? Scenic canal-side dancefloor (w/ disco ball) not adequately shaded? Beats not buttery enough? You forgot how to play Connect Four? What? The lampshade is listening.







Mr. Scruff - Sunday Best 5.31.09 (link via Sunday Best)

Cheers to Sunday Best and Brklyn Yard for not only hosting Mr. Scruff a few weeks back as part of their ongoing summer/Sunday series, but also offering the full set for each DJ afterwards. Only problem with this almost three-hour mix, really, is certain parts are so nasty that I literally just get uncomfortable. Like 12:38 - is that Bill Withers covering "Summertime?" Or the aggro hott claps/gymnasium danceoff beat around 1:31:45 - that was just kind of inappropriate with all the kids and dogs around.

Keep reading...

June 4, 2009

The Road Was For Us


Ten years ago Hockey Night was just a bunch of four track demos from a chill bro in Red Wing, MN named Paul Sprangers (who may or may not have contributed to this video about people from Minnesota who use knives inappropriately). When he wasn't popping wheelies, hanging with dubious Julies or performing in spazz-punk trio The Renegades (with drummer Alex Achen and guitarist Scott Wells), P penned songs that would later be compared to Pavement, Thin Lizzy, T. Rex and The Wyld Stallyns.

In 2003 I ordered their debut LP Rad Zapping, and the boys included an additional CD-R with "Hockey Night Demos" scribbled on it. Kind of like they knew Zapping was "OK" while future material would be "pretty nasty." And indeed, that series of unnamed dueling axe-wizardry was so righteous, so scrumptralescent, that three years later Daytrotter would dub it "the most wickedly great, face-freezing guitar lines this side of the apocalypse or pearly gates."

In 2007 after the crew surprisingly failed to achieve interplanetary harmony, guitarists Spranger and Wells left the band to sign with DFA Records. Blog chaos and verbal shivving ensued; we spent two years poring over 2005's Keep Guessin' for clues.

The road was for us
It paved the ocean with trust
Started a band, but man
We never took care of all the Renegade rust








Hockey Night - Renegades (from Keep Guessin')

Buy it at Insound!

What happened, bros? While we may never fully know, Hockey Night's latest status signals an era of enhanced vibes is directly ahead: "BAD STUFF + PEACE ATTACK = FREE ENERGY." And regardless of which guitar rock era you most covet, there can be no doubt that "Dream City" is a proper summer 2k9 jumpoff. It's light, it's tight, verses end with the words "tonight" and "allright." Maybe we can move on.








Free Energy - Dream City

PS - would hate to be whoever stayed inside to work on the wikipedia entry for summer, although they did a pretty decent job.

Keep reading...

May 28, 2009

Fellows of the Royal Society (Lost Avalanches Vol. 1)


Exotic cuts and liquid assets have been carefully inventoried to match the disparate temperments of the world's premier living experts in sensory communication. As new (old) beats fill the hall, the Fellows' collective unconscious arrives at a state in which past, present and future* Avalanches recordings exist in simultaneous potentiality. Cutlery and carafes clink quietly amongst Chateaubriand and Château Margaux; cheeks glisten with duck meat and dill curry.








With My Baby (Frontier Psychiatrist single, 2001)








Undersea Community (Undersea Community single, 1999)








Thank You Caroline (Rock City 7", 1997)

*This month a cryptic image appeared on the Avalanches news section consisting of Keith Moon's picture with Clearasil spot cream from the back cover of The Who's 1967 album, The Who Sell Out, accompanied with the words "clearing samples." The status "...are clearing samples" also now appears on their Myspace page, and a blank page on Play.com has been created for a New Album TBA. Preliminary inquiries into the Fellows' advisory body have not been returned.

Is that Artax in the back?

Related:
Since I Met You
Flight Tonight

Keep reading...