Striking

Wired: Diplo Talks Sample of the Millennium, the Return of Fun and Other Musical Secrets

"It’s very competitive, this crew we have, of DJs — competitive about how good it sounds, like how good our mixing and mastering is, because that’s a fucking skill that we all hone and try to compete with each other. It’s also how different it sounds, and how it can be integrated into a set. Those are three qualities a record has to have if you’re a producer. And at the other end, I’m still producing pop and R&B records, and I take a little bit of what I learn in the club scene with my friends and take a little of that pop style, and try to use it to my advantage and just keep learning."

I also did not know that the Clash sample in "Paper Planes" is actually replayed, and not a direct sample.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY

Diplo was in town last Saturday to play an MCAD private party. Afterwards he swung by Too Much Love to lay down an impromptu set. Shit was off the hook. Props to Danger McHav-Hav and Mil$ Bil$ for bringing the party down from MCAD.

There are photos up on l'etoile...


And of course the Moon Goons were on party patrol...


Talk Radio

Naughty Wood

J.Ackerman + Cupcake



Nyteowl


Mint Condition

"WHAT? DIPLO'S WHERE? CAN'T TALK DJING"

...full set here.


If that weren't enough, we're doin it up extra hard again this weekend. It'll be a year to the date since I started Too Much Love, and it just keeps getting bigger and better. Make sure you come to First Ave and celebrate with us.




P.S. Recordings from last weekend coming soon

SABRA CADABRA

FYI: Right now I am listening to this Sabbath bootleg. Unfortunately it's down now, so I guess that's not much use to anyone. Maybe you can bug that guy or me to send it to you. Probably not.

FLOSSING: Anyways the weekend was alright, although a bit of a letdown. Diplo on Friday was less than satisfying. Instead of doing an uber-hipster mash-up of great shit like he did on the Mad Decent tour this summer, dude stuck mostly to hip-hop. We weren't feeling it and left before he finished.



Flosstradamus proved to be a bit more enjoyable with an energetic opening set. It's really cool to hear hot DJ shit like this coming out of Chicago for a change. However Flosstradamus walk a very thin line between jamz and cheez, a line which they crossed back and forth many times. If Daft Punk weren't Daft Punk, I might get upset about them playing "One More Time", "Around the World", and a remix of "Prime Time of Your Life" (but it's Daft Punk, come on). And I can even get behind playing "100% Pure Love". But dance/pop/trance shit hit "Better Off Alone"? Not cool. Playing multiple tracks in that vein... worse. And one thing I don't think I will ever understand is the cross-over appeal between electro/house stuff like Daft Punk and hip-hop (ie Rick Ross). I can hear the influence in Ed Banger stuff, yes, but I don't know how house fans can get wild about new gangsta rap. Whatever; it's probably a personal problem.

Anyways I recommend checking them out if you have the chance, great stuff overall.

Saturday I skipped Dead Meadow, a decision I instantly regretted. Oh well.

BLOGGING: Two blogs I've gotten into of late: the ever-cynical Occam's Razor and the brand spankin' new Electric Zoo which, especially for being so new, has some really really good shit up.

GUITAR HEROING: I neglected to mention that I played GHII for the first time last week. It was fun but not overwhelmingly so. But yes, playing "War Pigs" was pretty kick ass. Haha Ozzy just screamed "ARE YOU HIGH? YOU'RE BEAUTIFUL. ARE YOU HIGH? THAT'S BEAUTIFUL" a few times on this bootleg. Fun times.

MIXING: I am tempted to post the mix that aired on Radio K this weekend, but I have a few misgivings about it and want to redo it. But I'm also lazy so it very well may be up in a day or two.

MY CHEMICAL ROMANCE UPDATE: My current favorite part of TBP is actually just the single "Welcome to the Black Parade" in general. It's sequencing is more than a bit ridiculous and I'm always surprised by how much I like it.

That slow piano part intro just invites so many insults, then it builds and the ridiculous lyrics repeat. And for the kick into punk overdrive, there's no tension. They resolve the slow part and that huge drum fill just kicks it into high gear, and from there it's all business. The verse is over in a few seconds and they hit that huge chorus. By the time the bridge comes it feels like your legs are moving faster than you can handle and you're tripping down a hill until you come stumbling to the half-time breakdown, only to go into I! DON'T! CARE! and back into the biggest chorus evar.

UPDATE UPDATE: Man this bootleg is kicking. I keep asking my parents why they never went to see Black Sabbath live since they were actually alive to see them in the 70s. They just get kind of puzzled and ask me when I started liking Black Sabbath.

HOW I DISAPPEARED

RADIO: I will have an exclusive mix played on Radio K this Saturday for Soulful Science. It's on from 5-7 pm central time, and you can stream it from the website.

MY CHEMICAL ROMANCE UPDATE: My current favorite part of TBP is "This is How I Disappear", specifically the razor sharp guitar jabs in the hyper-dramatic, half-time bridge.

WHY BLOGS SUCK: Why is it that I read about the same goddamn shit every day, but once something important comes up there's nothing? I swear, whole albums get posted multiple times on hype machine, but I had no idea that Rub N Tug had released an entry into the Fabric Live series a few months ago. #30 to be exact. Of course everyone's all over Diplo's mix or Cut Copy's mix, but they just let this one slide. No, I have to find out from the Turntable Lab Holiday Gift Guide.



Anyways I got the mix but have yet to listen, I'll fill you in later. Also, coincidentally, Headphone Sex just put up an awesome post on Whatever We Want recs; be sure to check it.

THIS WEEKEND: The timing for my trip home to Chicago this weekend is magical. Tomorrow night I get to get down to the sounds of Diplo spinning at Smartbar. Yessss.

Then omg omg omg Dead Meadow is playing Saturday night at Subterranean. Yes you can pay up the ass to see them open for the quickly diminishing Wolfmother, but this is a separate show afterwards. This band fucking rules, as I have said before, and I wonder if this will compete with their performance this summer, which remains one of my favorite shows of the year so far.

Also, I am going to buy season three of Arrested Development tomorrow. It's 10 bucks at Best Buy.

COMING UP: I have to finish the Justice weekend bit. I need to give MSTRKRFT a bit more credit. I have to announce DJ related details of the next TML, a holiday party, and a New Year's eve party. I have to post a new mix. We should chat about new Spektrum and Fox n' Wolf singles. All in due time my children.

AMERIWHA?

Information Leafblower just did his fourth annual Top 40 Bands in America panel/list. While I was glad to be a part of it again, I really think the list fell on it's face this year. It's harder to hate on than it is to be bored by it. I think the vague rule of voting for bands "you blogged most about" is what screwed it up. Since I don't post that much, my list ended up being the best U.S. bands who were active in 2006, meaning they toured and/or put out a record, but I really thought that's how everyone else would go about it. I don't know how they chose the bands they did. I actively dislike a number of bands on it, and haven't even listened to a greater number.

Also ILB says he didn't poll any "dance bloggers" or "hip-hop" bloggers. Don't know how I feel about that. For the record, my list is mostly dance-related. Don't make fun, this was impossible. How could a best of '06 list not have the Knife? Damn Americans! Here you are:

10. Secret Machines
A jam band that I don't feel bad about liking. And they tour A LOT.

9. Rub-N-Tug
Their remixes and DJ mixes are adding up to an extremely compelling, dubbed-out body of work that provides quite the mind-trip, especially compared to most other remixers tackling indie rock et al.

8.Erase Errata
The girls released their best album this year, a kinetic and thoughtful punk record, and they still have indie-dom's best rhythm section.

7. Justin Timberlake
Justin Timberlake makes being a mind-blowing pop star seem like nothing at all. I saw him do "SexyBack" on Leno and he basically stood there, bouncing a little, talking about how he's sexy. And it was amazing. I want that job.

6. Diplo
Brings excitement to anything he touches. Check the Mad Decent podcasts and his genre-bending, crowd-hyping DJ sets.

5. lcd soundsystem
My favorite band. The idea that 45:33 is just something to keep us busy while we wait for the next full-length is a bit ridiculous to think about, considering that it's better than pretty much any other band's records.

4. The Rapture
An obscenely fun record and the most insane live show I've seen this year.

3. My Chemical Romance
This record is so fucking awesome. Hilarious and totally rawks.

2. The DFA
Consistently the best. This year in particular featured a spacier, more psychedelic direction from the production team, the release of two excellent remix compilations, and more great work for lcd soundsystem, Delia Gonzalez & Gavin Russom ("Relevee" single), and more.

1. Timbaland
If you can make room for Sufjan Stevens on this list, but not Timbaland, you are certifiably insane. He's been on top of his game for years, and it seems like 2006 might have been his best year yet with amazing singles from Nelly Furtado and an incredible record from Justin Timberlake. Definitely the best music coming out of the states, pop or hip-hop, is from Timbo. Too bad the Rapture couldn't afford to have him produce any of their record; that could have been fun.

MAD RECENT

Futureheads at Varsity tonight. Bonde Do Role / CSS / Diplo at same place tomorrow night. Longshot here, but if anyone has an in for Diplo for me, I'd very gladly accept.

Also, two links of note: the latest Beatz by the Pound lists this year's best techno releases so far, while the Pitchfork Sherburne column takes a close look at Perlon.

NOT THE CSS THAT MAKES MY WEBSITE LOOK WEIRD

Out yesterday on Sup Pop is the new album from Brazil's CSS, Cansei De Ser Sexy. The electro poppers are out on tour now with fellow Brazilians, the bootlegging Bonde do Role as well as everybody's friend Diplo, playing the Varsity in Minneapolis on July 31. It's one of the few shows I'm looking forward to this summer.

A few links for more info, including a post at Fluokids featuring a bunch of remixes:

» fluo kids: Cansei De Espera

I have been getting tired of waiting to post some Cansei De Ser Sexy material. They were one of my favourite discoveries of my time in Brazil, and I think that if there is any justice in this world, they will be absolutely enormous one day.

» The FADER Magazine - Made In South America

That whole "World Cup" thing aside, this week is a big one for Brazil. Two of the country's most enjoyable musical exports of late, CSS and Bonde Do Role, are embarking upon a nationwide tour with a noted dinosaur DJ friend of ours...

» CSS: Cansei De Ser Sexy: Pitchfork Record Review

Patchy and uninspiring debut from Sao Paulo disco punks and Diplo pals.

» The Friends of Diplo: A Report Card

It's a bit hard to remember now that the entire world seems to be either on Diplo's dick or vehemently dismissing everything the guy has ever touched as opportunistic trash, but there was something truly exciting about Hollertronix's Never Scared mix...