WHAT'S THE SAGA?

I am a huge fan of Queens of the Stone Age, if you didn't already know from reading the site. Like a lot of people, their third LP, 2002's Songs for the Deaf, was when I really started to pay attention to the band. However, I always sort of hated the radio "theme" that ran through the album, in the form of a number of interludes and between-song banter from fake radio DJs. I often wondered what the album would sound like without the radio stuff, and recently I realized it wouldn't be hard to just take it out using Live. So that's what I did.

Here are the edited versions of the 8 tracks that contained radio "banter". I edited it out, cutting out the DJs and using a little bit of reverb on the end of tracks that got cut off by radio static. I also tried to make sure that song lengths, like the drum intro the begins the album, and the extended silence before the "hidden" track at the end, were kept the same.



Songs for the Deaf [No-Radio Version]

To listen to it correctly, unzip the tracks, put the album in an iTunes playlist with these "No-Radio" songs, and delete the duplicates from the original album. Sort by track number.

I haven't listened to it more than once, so I don't know the full effect yet, but my first impression is that it makes the album go down almost a little too easy. But part of me thinks that's just because I'm so used to the radio breaks that I expect to hear them as part of the album. So I don't know how I feel yet. I do know that I almost kept in the Russian sounding lady near the end of the album because that was the only DJ I actually liked... but for consistency's sake, she's gone too. Let me know what you think.

YOWZA

The first Essential Mix of 2008 is by none other than one of my favorite duos, Sinden & Herve. Woo! Download here.

Thanks to the excellent Electric Zoo for the link.

DIRE MAKER

I'm leaving for a week in Jamaica tomorrow morning. I don't know what my internet access is going to be like, so this may be my last post for a while, we'll see. In honor of that, here's the song I appropriately can't get out of my head.

Led Zeppelin - "D'yer Mak'er" [YSI] [DivShare]

So a week away in the sun. But what a weekend I'm missing!

The biggest thing is this week's Too Much Love, which promises to be zany to the max, as usual. DJ STV SLV from the sensational Chicago blog the Hood Internet will be laying down a very special guest DJ set. The HI's trademark blend of the indiest of indie rock with the crunkest of hip-hop has been featured on Pitchfork repeatedly, and promises to be a fun time for all.

Also in town for the holidays is the extremely talented Willy Joy of Fly By Night - this cat always annihilates it when he plays, so don't sleep! Curating the whole thing in my place will be Twin Cities wunderkind Jonathan Ackerman. 10 p.m., 18+, $3, free with student ID, you know the drill. Don't forget to ask Ackerman about the after-party too, which will be bonkers.

Tonight, be sure to stop by the VIP room for Honeymoon V, hosted by my compatriots in the Moon Goons. $3 gets you in, but $10 gets you in plus a free limited-edition t-shirt. My bol Mike 2600 is playing, and Adam from Chromatics will be dropping a guest set too. He's probably just as likely to play gangsta rap as Italians' stuff, so check it out and let me know what happens.

One more party of note - if you're in the Chi this weekend, definitely don't miss out on the coming together of Prime Time of Your Life and Life During Wartime at Darkroom for - that's right - Prime Time of Your Life During Wartime. All the regs will be coming together - Bald Eagle, Mother Hubbard, Poptastic and Mister Wolf - plus very special guests JDH and Dave P from the outstanding Making Time party. Yow.

IT MAKES ME DANCE

NEW MIX! I did it for last Saturday's Soulful Science (thanks to Emily for asking me on the show). It works as a compilation of my current obsessions, particularly Turbo Records, and my DJ-crush on Herve and his Dubsided brethren.

CLOSED SYSTEM

Boys Noize - & Down (Extended Mix) - Boysnoize
Chromeo - Tenderoni (Proxy Distort Remix) - Turbo
Roy Davis Jr. - Rock Shock (Roy's Original Mix) - Roule
The Black Ghosts - Face (Switch Remix) - Southern Fried
Duke Dumont - When I Hear Mu'Sic - Turbo
Speaker Junk - Foxxy - Dubsided
Claude Vonstroke - The Whistler - Dirtybird
Simian Mobile Disco - System - Wichita
The Chemical Brothers - The Salmon Dance (Herve Remix) - Virgin
The Knife - Pass This On (M.A.N.D.Y. Knifer Mix) - Get Physical
Kissy Sell Out - Her - Lavolta
Goose - Bring It On (JFK Remix) - Skint
Vitalic - Repair Machine (Discomix) - PIAS
ZZT - Lower State of Consciousness - Turbo


A bit of warning: the levels are a bit fucked. Also, it's pretty much entirely bangers, and it's a pretty long mix. Overall though I'm extremely happy with it.

The link is for MassMirror, which let's you pick what download service you want to use. Give it a listen and let me know if you like it. Better yet, send it to your friends if you like it.

Also, check out where I'm playing Friday and Saturday. This weekend is going to be NUTS - hot parties and hot after-parties. For now click the fliers - I'll elaborate tomorrow.

SPMV06: TOP TEN MUSIC VIDEOS, PT. I

Welcome to SPMV06, where we distribute awards for the best music videos of the year.

I personally have never given up on music videos. I used to watch them in the iTunes store when they were free. Then came YouTube, which I consider to be more of a hindrance than helper to the artform. Shit video and shit audio does not a quality audio-video make. Luckily we have devotees like Cliptip to helps us get our hands on hi-fi versions of videos. Makes me almost wish I had bought a full-fledged iPod instead of a Nano. Anyways, I have uploaded all of the clips on the list except one for your viewing pleasure. Let's begin.

10. Phoenix, Consolation Prizes (live on Conan)

This is the only video I do not have a copy of for download. I can't find it on YouTube either. You'll just have to take my word for it that it was very, very good. I think there is a such thing as a quality late-night performance, though it is a hard thing to pull off. Phoenix passed with flying colors. The whole band stopped on cue at one point so the singer could take off his jacket. The guitarist had a mask on... but for only half of the performance. Don't know why, don't care. It was cool. And it made me like this single about ten times more. Quality stuff, Frenchies.




9. Justice vs. Simian - We Are Your Friends

Along with its reissue this year, this single got a video to accompany it. My only issue here is that the edit of the song they use is rather hastily done and not long enough. But this video is hilarious. Setting up the pranks must have been hella fun. Yeah, hella fun. The best YouTube fodder out there. I feel like they really are my friends! Tee hee. I won't get sick of saying that.




8. The Rapture - W.A.Y.U.H (People Don't Dance No More)

Ah yes. Who would have thought that Mattie Safer's rapping would have gone from booze infested Sister Saviours, complete with drinking mantras tattooed on their foreheads, to School House Rock slash Sesame Street inspired super happy fun time BBQs, dissing parties with free drinks. Not me. This vid is the sh*t. Plus Luke Jenner wears a cape... a CAPE, people... for the whole video. Can't argue with that. Also, Safer wears a grill, flops around in a kiddie pool, rides in the back of a pick-up, and does a choreographed dance. Props.




7. Hot Chip - Over and Over

The thing I like about this video is that I really can't tell what it's about. I think it's sort of discussing originality and realism in the music business, and popping big balloons and the resulting winds, and making a music video, and optometry, and funny sunglasses, and being white and funky, and skeletons, and various types of hand percussion. And the pasted in backgrounds remind me of guitar hero. But I still don't know what it's really about. And I think it's about something. You win this round, Hot Chip.




6. Kasabian - Shoot the Runner

This is essentially the same video as Queen of the Stone Age's "Go with the Flow." But that might be the best music video ever, so this one is good by default. Paint never seemed so edgy! or something. Anyone I show this to likes it (as long as they don't know who Kasabian is).

To be continued...

MIX: I GO HARD I GO HOME

I've got a new mix up available for download. Just head over to rad fellow Minneapolis blog Still-Listen to hear it and get a copy.

Tracklist:

Depeche Mode - Personal Jesus (Boys Noize rework)
Peaches - Boys Wanna Be Her (TS Brooklyn Fire re-touch)
Klaxons - Gravity's Rainbow (Van She remix)
The Presets - I Go Hard, I Go Home
Guns'n'Bombs - Nothing is Getting Us Anywhere
The Gossip - Standing in the Way of Control (Soulwax Nite Version)
Fox n' Wolf - In Yr Underwear (Jesper Dahlback mix)
Justice - Let There Be Light (demo)
DJ Mehdi feat. Chromeo - I Am Somebody
Justin Timberlake - My Love (Linus Loves remix)
Brazilian Girls - Jique (MSTRKRFT remix)
Spektrum - Don't Be Shy
The Rapture - Whoo! Alright - Yeah... Uh Huh (Simian Mobile Disco remix) / (original version)

Let me know what you think.

SABRA CADABRA REPRISE

I ended up uploading that Black Sabbath bootleg for a friend, so if anyone was interested here's a link to download it. Thanks to Jefito Blog, hopefully he doesn't mind.