Fluxtumblr

Nov
9th

Mon

Bradford Cox interviewed at the “Fader fort” during CMJ. I love Bradford because he is endlessly entertaining, and pretty much refuses to be anything but extremely candid. I am particularly fond of the bit where he’s talking about overhearing people on bad dates that sound like stilted interviews. Well, it’s either that or the extremely painful awkward silence that seems to last a full minute.

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Movie Studio: How about a Beatles song, guys? Wouldn’t that be beautiful? You guys could buffoon it up. And then we could jam it in this piece of shit live-action Cat In The Hat movie we’re making.

Smash Mouth: Ooh, we can defile two beloved institutions at once! Synergy! We love it!

Movie Studio: We knew you would.

Smash Mouth: We’ll shit on an American flag too if you want.

Movie Studio: That won’t be necessary, Smash Mouth.

— No. 32: Smash Mouth, “I Wan’na Be Like You (The Monkey Song)” « Idolator: Music News, Reviews, And Gossip Christopher Weingarten is killing daily over at Idolator. Please, if you enjoy laughter, go read all of these F2K entries.

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Goldfrapp
“Black Cherry”
Live on Later with Jools Holland circa 2003

You know what? Even if you love Goldfrapp, you’re still probably underrating what they achieved in this decade. This is unquestionably one of the great ballads of the past ten years.

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Jenny Slate as Stella is just great in the vaporizing and love-making scenes. I love the way she talks about the pollen in the air and then later asks, “What do you love?” I had her bring up the pollen because one time when I was living in Princeton there was this tree that was giving off the most erotic odor and I would become very aroused. I thought of climbing the tree and sort of making love to it, but chose, rather, just to inhale deeply as I walked past. Also, I have Stella mention that her body is vibrating like a tuning fork because I’ve noted that the female orgasm and its effect on the body is markedly different than what happens to a man’s body after an orgasm. A man often feels drained and depleted, not to mention confused, but women seem to be energized, at least in the way that a tuning fork continues to hum for some time after its initial outburst of sound.

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HBO: Bored To Death: Creator’s Blog

Jonathan Ames’ breakdowns of each episode of his amazing, brilliant, absolutely wonderful television series Bored To Death are a joy to read. Also, since this bit mentions Jenny Slate, it should be noted how funny and beautiful she was in the series finale. In a show overflowing with top-shelf cameo appearances, she really stands out, not the least for her easy chemistry with Jason Schwartzman.

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People at the forefront of technology tell us that the future belongs to customization. People want interactivity, to have their media arranged and delivered according to their particular desires and preferences. Anything standing in the way of that risks being marginalized. But the method of delivery and consumption is just a part of it— it extends much further. People also want to get inside the music and see how it works and maybe even have a say about the basic elements of construction. There is no end product, and content is never fixed. Maybe the same people listening to music in front of their computers will take a few samples, their favorite bits from a few different records, and combine them into something of their own. Now they’re making music, not just listening to it. How important are those lines?

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Pitchfork: Resonant Frequency: Resonant Frequency #64

Mark Richardson’s new column is mostly about how musicians have fewer opportunities to create work in which they can control context, but as you can tell from this pull quote, he’s open to the possibilities offered in a culture where listeners are nearly always active in shaping their experience with art.

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Nov
8th

Sun

Okay, this is what I need: Hours upon hours of footage of Andrew Falkous talking about anything at all whatsoever, but especially the things that bother him. “You should only speak ill of the dead…”

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tUnE-yArDs
“Hatari”
Live in Chicago, 10/15/2009

Somehow I just totally skipped over this woman’s work for the better part of this year, mainly because I guess whenever I saw the name, it really put me off and I never bothered to listen. How foolish of me.

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Nov
6th

Fri

Atlas Sound & Panda Bear
“Walkabout”

There are a few fan-made videos for this song, but this clip by Fernando Nogari is the clear winner with its lovely muted colors, understated stop-motion effects, abundant jewels, and beautiful actress. It’s not the most obvious treatment for the song, but it fits comfortably with the tone of the music.

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That’s a little lazy. Beach Boys is just kinda your go-to vocal harmony band—especially given the fact that there are so many bands right now with guys in them who do legitimately sing like the Beach Boys. I feel like Amber and Angel’s tones are very, very different. They’re much less about that “warm, round” thing than a very linear, angular thing. That’s a little lazy, dude.

— Dirty Projectors’ David Longstreth reacts to comparisons of his music to a wide range of reference points in articles and reviews about Bitte Orca. He says some nice things about Beyoncé and of Montreal, so that’s cool. I guess he’s into insolent sex parties.

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Nov
5th

Thu

“He’s lame, he’s not attractive, he has really no musical gift to give to the world…there’s something about him that’s hokey and uncharismatic…” An appreciation of Peter Gabriel!

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The Flaming Lips
“Watching The Planets”
Live in Los Angeles, 10/15/2009

Mike Powell’s review of this song on Pitchfork today is excellent. I especially enjoy this bit: “I suspect the band put it at the end of Embryonic because it’s what they want you to feel most; what they want ringing in your head. Is it “dark”? Does surrendering to the undifferentiated energy of the universe seem dark to you?”

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Nov
4th

Wed

Dylan’s thing has never been palatability, and he’s clearly enamored with contrast— in this case, between his worn, gravel-gargle voice and everything else. And it’s his unhinged vocals that make Christmas in the Heart interesting, and, in some ways, appropriate to its subject: In practice if not in theory, Christmas songs aren’t about perfect pitch and studied harmonies, they’re about slouching around an out-of-tune piano with your relatives, sloshing back store-bought eggnog, and hollering songs you learned in kindergarten and have been singing— with abandon, without training, without self-consciousness— nearly all of your life. It’s Christmas: Even Bob Dylan’s allowed that.

— I really like Amanda Petrusich’s review of Bob Dylan’s perplexing and hilarious Christmas in the Heart on Pitchfork, but I wish they had let her give the album a 12.25!

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Previously.

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Sleigh Bells
“A/B Machines”
Live in NYC, 9/30/2009

Sleigh Bells is just a girl with a microphone, a guy with a guitar, and an iPod. So why do they look so totally compelling and epic in live footage? It’s rare to see audience-shot stuff that conveys this much excitement. This was filmed by Abbey Braden, who should be getting some serious gigs on the strength of what she did at this one show.

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There was no way I was not going to fall immediately in love with Margaux Motin’s art. Technically brilliant, stylish, sexy, funny, energetic, just a joy to behold. Here’s the full strip, with guitar tab for “Darling Nikki,” on her blog.

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