Sam Sparro has graced us with his big gay self and his big gay voice by teaming up with Basement Jaxx for their forthcoming single. I never really cared much for either band/singer, although Sam did release 2 monster singles that blew my mind. And Basement Jaxx had that one song with Dizzee Rascal I liked. Other than that, these 2 have stayed way low on my radar.
However, with the release of "Feeling's Gone", both have catapulted themselves into JO territory. Sam Sparro has always had a fully developed husky deep voice that could turn water into chocolate, I don't know what took me so long to understand that. His first album was just eh...so so. Hopefully this single is a sign of things to come. Because it's been added to the sumer of 2009 mix.
Fleetwood Mac sampling, psychedelic-punk-house musician/multimedia artist/Rhinoceropolis art collective member Pictureplane has been one busy dude lately. He's released his great new album Dark Rift on Lovepump United, made a sampler full of Denver musicians, and a new mix for The Fader magazine...all while preparing for a US tour with HEALTH.
If you aren't familiar with Pictureplane, his music is kind of like an impromptu rave full of gay teenagers (and their goth cousins) that have been sucked into a black hole and then shot out of a noise punk cannon back into space. In other words, it's awesome.
Check out his Creep #5 mix and Goth Star and the video for Trance Doll. Enjoy!
Fake Blood is definitely one of my favorite remixers so when I found he had taken the Gossip's 'Love Long Distance' and put his name on/in it, I knew I'd have a new jam on my hands....and I was right! As with most Fake Blood remixes, I think I like the remixed version better than the original. His remixes always have a great energy while maintaining the feel of the original. Anybody remember his 'Stuck on Repeat' remix? Little Boots' album cut sounds so weak next to that remix.
Here are both tracks (original and remixes) for you to enjoy!
Famed songwriter Ellie Greenwich has passed away. She will be greatly missed. I remember my queer childhood filled with her songs in my house. My parents raised me on a strict diet of 103.3 Oldies, The Beatles, Broadway showtunes, and that was pretty much it. When the CD generation came about, I remember my first records being Joan Jett and Richie Havens. Everyone else was getting Jewel or something, but that's just not what I was raised on (until like 10 years later when she released "Intuition" and you KNOW homegirl got buck to that).
I don't think people quite realize what a legacy she is. She worked with Phil Spector, Neil Diamond, and ex-husband Jeff Barry. She wrote songs for The Shangri-Las, The Dixie Cups, Ike & Tina Turner, The Crystals, The Ronettes, UK sensation Elkie Brooks, and The Beach Boys (as well as the b-side for Cyndi Lauper's "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun"). She provided back-up vocals for Frank Sinatra and Dusty Springfield. In 1991, she was inducted into the Songwriters Hall Of Fame. She was a pioneer not just for women but for all songwriters that came after her. She really did encompass the feeling of a rising teenage nation with her straightforward words and compositions. The results have been classic songs that get stuck in our heads on a regular basis. Teenagers today with their Lady Gaga and iPhones make me so mad.
Yesterday, Ms. Greenwich died of a heart attack after being admitted earlier for pneumonia. She will be greatly missed as one of the most talented figures in musical history. I was super sad about Michael Jackson, but this one hits home a little bit more. Today is pretty much gonna be spent blasting her tunes and remembering a time when things were just simpler.
Here's what I know about the xx. 2 boys, 2 girls. 19yrs. British.
I'm usually not hyped up on "buzz bands" (see: The Strokes, Arctic Monkeys, other boring indie crap...), but I really do like the xx. Their girl/boy vocals and mellow electronics draw me in and keep me wandering around in their hazy landscape of pop...and that's a nice place to be.
Their record is out now and is available through Rough Trade. Also, if you buy the CD version you get a bonus disc featuring 3 cover songs. So check it out!
Here are a couple of the tracks floating around the internet and the a really cute acoustic version of Crystalised Romy & Oliver did for Amsterdam Acoustics. (Also jump over here to check out their mix for Fact Magazine)
The blogging world LOVES the xx...maybe you will too?
Hey, remember a while back when we wrote about Portland emotronic artist Logan Lynn? His album, 'From Pillar To Post' is due out Labor Day weekend, so that's exciting news....BUT....In addition to the proper record, he is also releasing the first of a four-part remix series that very same weekend! 'Blood In The Water' will feature remixes of the songs "Write It On My Left Arm" and "Feed Me To The Wolves" by four different DJs/producers and will take his sensitive jams and kick them up for the dancefloor.
As a teaser for the album and the remix record, Logan Lynn has released Y-Tron's "Leaving Clues" Radio Edit of "Write It On My Left Arm". It's available to download for free so jump over here, and DO IT!
(Or you can listen to it here first!)
Logan Lynn - Write It On My Left Arm (Y-Tron's "Leaving Clues" Radio Edit)
Major Lazer is on a huge kick. Their debut album "Guns Don't Kill People...Lazers Do" has reached #169 on the Billboard charts as well as #7 on the Dance/Electronic Charts. Their single "Keep It Goin' Louder" featuring Nina Sky and Ricky Blaze has reached #24 on the Dance Club chart as well. And now we finally have a remix done by Switch for the song "Baby" featuring Prince Zimboo featuring a guest verse done by M.I.A. to round out the party album of summer 2009. There's talk of breasts, breast milk, and M.I.A. chanting "where's the daddy?". OK, Maya...Hopefully the success of such will bring a second record cause I can't get enough of it.
If you are into remixes at all and like Tegan and Sara at all you've probably heard Dutch DJ Tiesto's remix of their "hit" Back In Your Head. Now it's time for Tegan and Sara to payback the favor to Tiesto by guesting on the track "I Feel it in my Bones" from his upcoming record Kaleidoscope. The results are a mixed bag. I don't think I'd like the song if T&S weren't featured, but I do like it with them. Maybe Tegan and Sara will pull a Yeah Yeah Yeahs and make a dance-oriented album? Sara seems to be into it..."Tegan and I would happily disband if Tiësto let us tour the world with him. I'd take dance lessons and would be open to discussions about wearing "outfits" on stage."
Tiesto's record comes out October 20 on Ultra Records and features a bunch of other collabos with notables such as Calvin Harris, Jonsi from Sigur Ros, Emily Haines from Metric, and everyone's favorite ex-bisexual, Nelly Furtado.
You remember our post from a little while back where we interviewed Sister Mantos and posted a couple of tracks? If you're in Europe, now's your chance to see Sister Mantos live in a town near you! AND don't forget to head over to iTunes and pick up 'Tough Love or the Fands of Hate'!
Peaches announced that on August 25 she's launching a blog as well as PeachesTV. Although I am back and forth on Peaches, I am anxious to see what her take on blogging and TV will be. Also, I like her homage to Shock G.
I came upon this a while ago, but kept forgetting to post about it. Brace Paine (or Nathan Howdeshell if you prefer) does a really awesome blog on tumblr called ART THROB. He mostly posts weird and arty photos with youtube videos, songs, and personal Gossip pics sprinkled in. It's definitely worth checking out if you have some time to kill.
As an aside, Gossip will be headlining a US tour with MEN this fall, so be sure to catch them in your town. Click here for US tour dates and, to get you excited about the tour, here are a couple of tracks from the bands!
Calvin Harris comes off like a douchebag. He totally has that altbro fake hip smug look on his face everytime i read/see/hear anything about him on the world wide web. Even in live videos, he looks bored and douchey. After the sensation that was "Acceptable In The 80's" and the following decrease in plays on my computer, I came to the conclusion that Calvin Harris is in fact the douchiest white guy in the world. And I refused to listen to him for years.
Then 2009 came and he released a little single called "Ready For The Weekend". Um...what can I say? Disco piano and bass, programmed full beats AND DIVA VOCALS IN THE CHORUS. It's like the 2009 version of C + C Music Factory. Only not because C + C Music Factory rules and Calvin Harris has only had 2 singles I've liked thus far. But that doesn't take away from the fact that Mr. Harris has crafted one of the most perfect pop songs in the last 5 years. That and it gets fag ass bumping on the floor. Really, the floor is my friend's car. Whatever.
Strut Records, the label behind the Horse Meat Disco cd I just posted about, have released more great stuff! Their latest comp, ZE30, is a collection of the best tracks from mutant disco label ZE Records. Over the years the label released records from Lydia Lunch, Suicide, The Waitresses, Was (Not Was), and my fave from the label, Lizzy Mercier Descloux.
Oh how I wish I was born like 20 years earlier. The late 70's/early 80's in New York spawned some of the most amazing stuff ever!
Check out a WAY more comprehensive history of ZE Records from FACT Magazine, and enjoy some great ZE songs!
No, we're not posting that ancient Beyonce video...but we are posting the new video for the Antony and The Johnsons cover version of it! The video was directed by Joie Iacono and includes footage from James Elaine's 'Pink Lady'. The song was released as a double A Side 7" single with the song Aeon.
I have to admit that I was not initially impressed with the Swedish duo The Sound of Arrows. The group first released a song called M.A.G.I.C. last year that featured a children's choir and was cute, but kind of like D.A.N.C.E. lite. The teaser video, on the other hand, was a totally fantastical homage to an 80's childhood that I couldn't resist. Now they are back with a new single and video for the track 'Into the Clouds' that turns their Neverending Story obsession into a big pop song and I have new faith in The Sound of Arrows. It may be kind of cheesy, but it's fun and I think they describe their music perfectly as "widescreen pop". It really sounds like an 80's fantasy soundtrack, and that's kind of awesome.
As a reminder of how authentic The Sound of Arrows sounds, also check out Limahl's The Never Ending Story theme and compare!
Bry'nt is my new current obsession. For a while, it was 9 member Korean girl groups with horsey leg choreography, but all that has changed after hearing Bry'nt's "Porn Star 2: The Director's Cut" mixtape. He is everything I ever wanted a gay rapper to be: thugged out, don't-give-a-fuck, talented with a quick tongue for spittin and suckin. AND being gay was literally the last thing I thought while hearing it. You know me, being gay is really like, 1 of MANY awesome things about me, so why capitalize on one thing. This man is my coming of Christ. Thank God. Because Caushun and Deadlee sincerely get on my fucking nerves yappin and shit fuckin up my entire weekend. Bry'nt is straight fucking hood. The beats are hood, the rhymes are hood, AND you can download his entire mixtape for free:
Bry'nt - Porn Star 2: The Director's Cut
And you can all thank OutHipHop.com.
I've written an open letter...
Dear Bry'nt,
I want you inside me. More than that, I want a full length record to come out. And if it's possible to get a joint produced by 9th Wonder, that would be great too.
Last week the Horse Meat Disco DJ collective released their first official mix cd on Strut Records. The cd is a 70 minute set of the best disco, italo, and electro rarities that you would hear if you attended one of their famous Sunday nights at The Eagle in London. The cd is 2-disc set consisting of the mix as well as the individual tracks, (which is a really cool way to offer a dj mix on cd) and as a promo for the cd, the DJs also put out a 30 minute mix available to download for free!
If you aren't familiar with Horse Meat Disco, it was started in 2003 by James Hilliard and Jim Stanton and set out to create a party that harkened back to the disco scene of 1970's New York and "to provide a queer space for everyone after all the best parties have always been the ones where the crowd comes from all walks of life." Since 2003, they've added 2 residents (Severino & Filthy Luka) and the party has grown into one of the biggest venues for the best DJs around with guests like James Murphy, Derrick Carter, Lady Miss Kier, Andy Butler, and tons of others. Besides offering the weekly party in London, they've also taken it on the road so cities all over the world can experience a Horse Meat Disco party!
Horse Meat Disco are currently touring for their cd, but they are pretty much sticking to Europe (besides dates in New York and Toronto) but in the meantime you can download their promo mix, turn off the lights, and dance the night away in your bedroom!
(As a side note Strut also put out the great Disco Not Disco compilation, Disco Italia, and a bunch of other cool stuff...so be prepared to spend money if you hop over to their website!)
EDIT: Thanks to the wonderful world of twitter and all the tweeting and re-tweeting (and our friends at Think Pink Radio), I've learned that HMD also made a mix for FACT Magazine last week! It's equally as awesome (if not more awesome since it features one of the best songs EVER--Ride the White Horse by Laid Back) so click the link to grab that one too!
With Homo A Go Go officially starting tonight in San Francisco, I thought this would be a good time to profile one of the hottest groups playing the festival, Icy Lytes. Icy Lytes are a hyphy-crunk-ghettofab duo from LA who've been cranking out jams (officially) since early last year, but in that short amount of time they have already been featured on the IHEARTCOMIX blog (and a bunch of other ones), are on the URB Next 1000, and have a prime slot this Saturday night at Homo A Go Go. We were able to ask Mo'neex and Beex a few questions about their past, present, and future.
Check out the interview, download a couple of tracks, and watch a video after the cut!
IL: Icy Lytes BX: Beex MX: Mo'neex
How did you guys get together and start making music as Icy Lytes?
IL-Mo'neex & I met through a mutual friend in '06, and in the fall of '07 she approached me and asked if I would make beats for a few songs that she had written. I was eager to collaborate with more rappers, so I said yeah. At first we had a hard time getting the right sound, but as we got to know each other, we discovered we had great chemistry, and after doing a few shows and having a great response we decided to pursue the band idea.
What were some of your inspirations/ideas going into it?
BX-As for me, I had been making too much serious music, and really needed a fun outlet musically, so all I had in my mind is to make music to party to.
MX-In the beginning I just wanted to write a song for my ghetto 15th street cousins in Missouri, which you all know as "CHICKENAZO", to send them some love from L.A. to Kansas City, Missouri. I was homesick, I was trying to send home some love, but in the end I was ready to create something that was L.A. and POWER HOUSE it up with BEEX.
It's exciting you guys are playing Homo A Go Go! Are there any bands you are excited to see or play with?
BX-Glass Candy is dope. They always put up a great wall of energy and sound.
MX-I'm heated up for Jenna Riot, psyched for Glass Candy and excited for all the amazing artists that we will share the stage with at HOMO-A-GO-GO.
What do you have in the works? Can we expect an album and a tour soon?
BX-We have an EP release comin up sometime in the Fall, and we will definitely tour it up. We have a bunch of new music comin up soon too. A lot more mexican rap jamz.
MX-Expect to hear some collaboration pieces soon such as Jenna Riot, Kid Infinity, HOTTUB, Apes on Tapes and who knows who else?! It will be served with a side of XUCHI-TEC, SWEAT, & ENERGY!!
A while ago, I wrote about Simian Mobile Disco's follow up record "Temporary Pleasure" and gave out an mp3 featuring Chris Keating from Yeasayer. Well more songs have leaked since then and one of them features Beth Ditto of the Gossip. Continuing in the vein of slinky, sexy jams, "Cruel Intentions" is as much a single as a companion piece to "Audacity Of Huge". Beth's vocals are more restrained then her usual fare of punk screams and big vibrato. But it really suits the music very well so I'm re-excited for this record to come out.
Also strangely, the picture above comes from like, a 2006/2007 issue of Pop! magazine (it's more like the thickness of a book, I don't know what they're talking about calling it a magazine) that I have lying around my apartment. Beth did a photo shoot for them with some skinny male model as well as interviewing Yoko Ono, but really all my attention was on the fact that all these high end brands were finally making clothes that fit the majority of America. And she looked DAMN good.
Formed last year in the dorms of Bryn Mawr College in Pennsylvania, Post Post is an all girl four piece rock band ready to break and mend hearts of queer girls all over the world! Michele Zauner, Marisa Helgeson, Riki Gifford-Ferguson, and Casey Sowa mix sweet and dreamy vocals with indie rock instrumentation to create songs that sound like they could all be the long lost gay lovechildren of Mirah and Tegan and/or Sara, with Kimya Dawson as an eccentric aunt. The lyrics are honest and sang in earnest and the musicianship is skilled, without being at all robotic. Post Post are keepin it real with live instruments and human voices and they're a welcome addition to a queer music world that is currently kind of obsessed with electronic music.
In their short musical career Post Post have already played with the likes of Hey Willpower and Beach House and have an EP entitled Meta Meta on the way September 4th. They are also currently booking a tour for October and will be recording a full length album over the coming months.
Jenna Riot, San Francisco's femme electro sensation/co-host of BrownDownCrown has a brand new video!
The video is a dirty sweaty queer disco explosion captured with style by Courtney Trouble and comes just in time to wet your palettes for Jenna's Homo A Go Go performance next week!
So I attended the Gracious Calamity show last night at Weirder Park General Store (by the 6 corners in Wicker Park, Chicago) and it was a fantastic acoustic show. Gracious Calamity really knocked the walls off the place with their intricate guitar and ukulele work as well as their insanely tight vocal harmonies. However, I really do have to mention a few other performers from last night who totally deserve recognition and are really putting Boston, MA back on the musical map (I'm ashamed of Aerosmith and I'm giving Passion Pit a second chance).
Tiny Tornadoes, I guess, have reunited after a few years hiatus to go on tour and if you check out their Myspace page, the first sentence is literally "Come join Tiny Tornadoes for sing-along campfire fun". And that is literally what you get. A set filled with harmonies, an incomplete-but-never-feels-incomplete drum set, a saxaphone, 2 guitars, and shakers and movers. Their set was a highlight. If you're form Boston, you might remember Shira E. from The Popsicles (Kate and Kit from Gracious Calamity were also members) and the writer of one of my favorite songs ever (Run For Your Money). I'm glad to hear her back in action with Shai, Gabe, and Mickey. It was an awesome set.
The other highlight of the night was another Boston based band called Christians & Lions. Really, if you have a banjo in your band, I'm pretty much into it before you've started playing. Their music was hymn like at points, with flourishing touches of electric guitar and organ. It really was pretty to listen to and almost put me to sleep (in a good way. I def have found a new bedtime record to listen to).
There were other bands playing that I was sort of spaced out through, but you know me, it takes me a couple months to get into things, so I'm not writing anyone off at all (I'm really slow when it comes to music as well as writing my own). I was just super tired and super stoned and super drunk last night and frankly, my bed was calling out for me. But I will definately be taking a trip back to Weirder Park for upcoming shows.
Ambiguous gender, crude 3D animation, face paint, very high voices, very low voices, the internet, the grossness and awesomeness of pop culture, wigs, politics, psychedelia, trash and hilarity are all sped up and slowed down to inhabit a simultaneously overwhelming and awe inspiring universe created by Ryan Trecartin.
If you aren't familiar with the video/art star Ryan Trecartin, he is a 28 year old artist currently working out of Philadelphia and blowing minds all over the world. His work was discovered in 2005 on Friendster by Sue de Beer and he's been a critical success and prolific artist ever since.
His videos are most often collaborative and usually feature a selection of his artist friends and cohorts (such as Telfar Clemens, and a cameo from my friend and amazing artist Leilah Weinraub) dressed and painted to portray the characters who navigate a world, that i would imagine, is like living IN the internet.
Trecartin is awesome in so many ways, but one of the best things about him is that his work is very accessible on the internet. It's not put away in a museum somewhere (although he has been in the Whitney as part of the 2006 Bienniel, the Guggenheim, and recently, the New Museum...as well as tons of gallery shows and film festivals) all you have to do to watch Trecartin's work is log onto YouTube or Vimeo. It's right there. Free and easy.
Anyways, you should really check out Ryan Trecartin. As an introduction, or in case you haven't seen the new stuff, here are two of his latest works. (and some older stuff after the cut)
In the 90's, Jock Jams was like, the best compilation album ever (until we got "Now That's What I Call Music!" volumes 1-7 and nothing after that). Everyone liked it because it was a 20 something CD of individual songs we didn't want to drop $14 for all on one CD. Yes, Jock Jams was our saving grace. It also was the soundtrack to super beefy muscle gym bunnies but no limited to. Who remembers being a teen in the 90's getting buck to Amber, 2 Unlimited, and C + C Music Factory? Because that pretty much was my entire childhood. I also remember Jock Jams being even cooler cause it was endorsed by MTV before MTV because the lamest channel ever created. Seriously, they should've just put Simon Rex's nudie shots on the cover and boom, all 6 volumes would've gone platinumzzzzz. For the girls and the girrrllls.
And it was even funnier cause the gays (or at least the like, 10-15 year old phags I knew AND YES YOU CAN TELL WHEN YOU'RE 10) went buck for it. Cause boiled all down, it was just crazy club jams and like, cheerleader chants remixed to 90's house beats and shit. What wasn't to love? Nowadays we have so many compilation albums geared towards commercial club music for trixie gays that it's just like, seriously WTF? "100% Hits"? Ministry Of Sound? Global Underground? When is American gonna go back to its roots? The fucking easy schmeezy not-remixed-by-Junior Vasquez-20-songs-I-like Jock Jams? NOT HARD TO DO.
BOYCOTT!
(Also, my street corner is somehow the gayest corner in Chicago. I just heard a car blasting Paradiso Girls).
I saw a really cute bear wearing a Peaches shirt at Market Days. He and his bear friend were a sight for sore eyes in a sea of plaid shorts and numbered tshirts.
How is this new show gonna convince people Shane is a doctor? What happened to her being a skateboarding hair stylist? Or a photographer? Or underwear model? Or street hustler?
Shane is like lesbian Barbie.
I will not be watching Dr. Shane or whatever it's called. (or the rumored L Word movie)
Every few years, a young, budding celebrity comes along that makes our gaydars tick with excitement. Ellen Page, Zac Efron, Raven Simone, we've got our eyes on you. Lindsay Lohan, we spotted you back in your Parent Trap days. All the post-coming out 'I told you so's are getting a little tired.
This brings us to Kristen Stewart. When you came on the scene, I got a little funny feeling. As you've began to blossom and grow from tween star and full fledged actress, I've had my eye on you. Why was I finding you attractive, I don't like straight girls... I knew there was something funny going on there, but I just couldn't place in. It light of recent events, Kristen Stewart, I have no choice but to put you on Dyke Watch.
Click the cut for Part One of our in depth examination
So first of all, I want to make it clear that I don't believe hanging out with lesbians will turn you into one.
What I am saying, however, is that hanging out with Jodie Foster definitely will. In 2002, at the age of 12, Kristen Stewart played Jodie's young daughter in the film Panic Room. Also of note, Jodie Foster played the lead in Freaky Friday 27 years before Lindsay Lohan starred in the remake. Coincidence? I think not. Jodie Foster obviously controls the underground teenage lesbian Hollywood scene. Abigail Breslin, take note.
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Let's take a better look at Miss Stewart in this film:
That is a gaybie if I ever did see one. I'm sure every budding lesbian has a similar portrait, I know I do. The Syd Vicious shirt really puts it over the edge there. Also, note that the year is 2002. Why is she wearing a t-shirt over a long sleeved shirt? Lesbians do love their layers, you know. Sensible, fashionable, and ready to adapt to any weather that may occur during your hiking trip.
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They say that if your index finger is shorter than your ring finger, you're a dyke. It's hard to tell from the angle, but this picture looks pretty clear - that is one short index finger. Shown here in comparison to her well adjusted, heterosexual co-star Dakota Fanning, Kristen Stewart's fingers tell the truth.
So maybe you don't believe in Science. Well, then just tell me that these aren't the hands of a lesbian :
Is that a bowling shirt she's wearing? Everybody knows that lesbians love bowling. Lesbians love all sports, really, but more than sports, they like sports apparel.
Kristen Stewart looks ready for rugby in her knee socks, doesn't she? Or maybe she's more the roller derby type...
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So what else do lesbians like?
SMOKING WEED Duh. It's natural, sometimes organic, in Amsterdam you can buy it at coffee shops, and, oh yeah, it gets you stoned. I bet K-Stew is wishing she had a girlfriend to make her cookies and pizza snacks...
Good thing she has one (or supposedly "had" one, these two haven't been seen in public for quite a while) See, the holding hands I could let slide. Girls love that shit. Holding hands while wearing a blazer? Might as well be carrying a pride flag, dear.
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You might say "But wait! Isn't she dating that nice boy from Twilight? The sparkly one?"
Obviously, this is the face of a happy, heterosexual couple. They are totally in love and have lots and lots of sex. With each other.
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Unless you've been living under a rock, or have better things to do than look at celebrity gossip constantly, you know that Kristen Stewart is currently in production for the Runaways biopic, playing Joan Jett.
I mean.. what else can I even say? It's almost too easy to go after her for this bold transformation, so I'll just leave it at that. Kristen Stewart and Joan Jett are bff now. Again, not saying that hanging out with lesbians makes you gay, but I'm pretty sure Joan Jett could turn Sarah Palin out.
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Kristen Stewart. Oh Kristen. Can I call you Kris? We love you! We want you! We could really use a new girl on our team (I'm getting a little bored with Shmindsay Shmohan...) Whenever you're ready, we'll be here with birkenstocks to spare. Until then, girl, I've got my gaydar set to 'baby-dyke'.
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Please note: This is a work of satire. No celebrities or future lesbians were harmed or outed in the writing of this post. Don't sue me, Kris.
