international dateline

equal parts exciting and absurd, i will be making my debut appearance on belgian radio in two hours. i was contacted yesterday by steven from studio brussel about my recap of the soulwax show, and we just did a phone interview from my office. it will be broadcast on the internet at 4:15 pm est here, check it out...!

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i'm currently under a strict save-money regime (we'll see how long that lasts!) but if i weren't i would definitely be at this tonight:

not only is home video criminally overlooked, but tiga always puts shit on blast when he mans the decks.

hmmm. maybe i will go to this...

home video - that you might

tiga - far from home (chicken lips dub)

ladytron - flicking your switch

ladytron - the way that i found you

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leave them all behind

the much-hyped "one time only" pack drops at alife rivington club on saturday. while there are a bunch of options to choose from (16 styles! fuck!) i think these three are definitely winners. especially want to get my grubby little hands on the wovens since i slept on the polka dots and hideouts.

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i've been a big whitey fan for a minute now (dude killed it at the tribeca grand back in dec. 2004) but his the light at the end of the tunnel is a train never got a proper stateside release. cue kid millionaire. dim mak has again snatched up a painfully underappreciated british act and will be releasing the lp in the states on oct. 10th. a US tour will coincide with the domestic release:

October 18 - Los Angeles, CA - Club NME @ Spaceland
October 19 - Los Angeles, CA - 3rd Thursday @ Hollywood & Highland Center (Virgin Megastore)
October 20 - San Francisco, CA - Mezzanine by Live 105
October 21 - Seattle, WA - The Stranger Genie Awards @ Henry Art Gallery (Univ. of Washington)
October 22 - Portland, OR - Fez
October 24 - Vancouver, BC - Plaza
October 26 - Chicago, IL - Empty Bottle
October 27 - Cincinatti, OH - Alchemize
October 29 - Detroit, MI - Lager House
October 31 - New York, NY - Fontanas
November 2 - New York, NY - Lit
November 3 - Philadelphia, PA - Making Time (w/The Rapture, Hot Chip, and the Presets)
November 4 - Brooklyn, NY - Studio B (w/Justice, Digitalism, Fixed DJs)
November 5 - Washington, DC - Rock & Roll Hotel (w/The Horrors and !!! DJ Set)
November 8 - Atlanta, GA - Eleven50
November 9 - Orlando, FL - The Club at Firestone
November 10 - Miami, FL - Studio A
November 11 - Tampa, FL - Orpheum
November 15 - New Orleans, LA - One Eyed Jacks
November 20 - San Diego, CA - Beauty Bar
November 21 - Los Angeles, CA - Cinespace

if you are in the nyc/tristate area and miss out on the chance to catch whitey at lit, well, you are a jackass.

whitey - non stop

whitey - wrap it up

whitey - can't go out, can't stay in

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this is hardcore

this photo of olivia is like a ancient greek tragedy come to life in modern day california: yes, she is rocking an 'nsync tshirt; no, that bicycle does not have a front wheel.

devo - through being cool

andrew w.k. - party hard

pulp - joyriders

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yr city's a sucker

i'm still recovering from the klaxons/soulwax/fixed show on thursday - i can't remember the last time i had such a loud, sweaty, fun time. i went with john (who is now working for spitzer and looked like he stepped straight out of a law & order episode) and liz. i convinced liz to bring her camera, and she got some great pics.

acen - close your eyes

the goodmen - give it up

klaxons were first up (do they really not use "the" before "klaxons"? because it feels awkward to write without it....) and they absolutely killed it. young, brash, and wicked loud. perfect. highlights included "gravity's rainbow" and "4 horsemen of 2012":


klaxons - atlantis to interzone (third eye re-fit)

but it was also a night of kicks:



in this one i am rocking my black and yellow 180 id's, the gold lame kicks belong to none other than kid millionaire, and the white chucks contained suroosh alvi:

after getting worked up into a frothy mess by the klaxons, we retreated to the back bar for a bit and enjoyed a short-ish set by jdh and dave p. seriously, every time i see these guys they just solidify their spot as nyc's most consistently amazing dj team. nice work.

jdh:

dave p:
but we didn't have to wait long before soulwax, a vision in white denim and polo shirts, took the stage. it was interesting to see these guys live - in a way, it was exactely what a group of dj's and studio wiz's playing live should sound like. and that's a compliment. from the opening kick of "teachers" to the high point of "another excuse" soulwax kept the crowd wrapped up in spastic glory. fun fun fun night.

(yes virginia, that is a rack of purple cowbells)

ladytron - seventeen (soulwax mix)

gorillaz - dare (soulwax mix)

all the pics from the night can be found here.

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just another damn song

i'm not super into punk and/or hardcore, so i haven't been following the collective swan song of cbgb's and the continental that closely. i am, however, super into bad brains. don't sleep on this one:

oct 9 - bad brains, cbgb
oct 10 - bad brains, cbgb

tickets on sale sunday.

fuck.

bad brains - supertouch

bad brains - pay to cum

bad brains - how low can a punk get

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photo: "cat licking its own gut on n. 6th st" by amanda

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come into my world

At all levels criss-cross of bridges, cat walks, cable cars. Catatonic youths dressed as women in gowns of burlap and rotten rags, faces heavily and crudely painted in bright colors over a strata of beatings, arabesques of broken, suppurating scars to the pearly bone, push against the passer-by in silent clinging insistence. (description of "interzone", naked lunch, p. 53)

the latest (perhaps only?) group to drop both oblique william burroughs references and an unabashed love of day-glo rave culture, klaxons will descend upon nyc tonight. i'm not quite sure how the basement stage at club midway will contain the group, but i will certainly be there to find out.

klaxons - atlantis to interzone

klaxons - atlantis to interzone (crystal castles remix)

klaxons - gravity's rainbow (van she remix)

and make sure not to miss the modular records uber-blowout at studio b on thursday - the klaxons will be joined by soulwax performing nite versions live.

soulwax - another excuse (dfa remix)

klaxons will drop their debut ep, xan valleys, on modular october 6th. tracklisting is:

1. gravity's rainbow
2. atlantis to interzone
3. 4 horsemen of 2012
4. the bouncer
5. gravity's rainbow (van she remix)
6. atlantis to interzone (crystal castles remix)

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klaxons - atlantis to interzone

all we need is a drumline

really feeling original fake, the new clothing collab between kaws and medicom. shit is moving fast, but head over to we sold out! to cop it while you can. my favorite piece is this cashmere sweater - even though it's retarded expensive. reminds me a little of lucien pellat-finet. ah fuck it, i just like cashmere because it's soft.

i said it.

dj hell - let no man jack (busy p stotter remix)

plastic little - i'm not a thug

a.r.e. weapons - weakest ones

ghostface killah - holla

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endless endless

it was with sincere sadness that i read the news on pitchfork yesterday that trevor jackson's output recordings is shutting down. an excerpt from jackson's statement:

The label remained a true independent for its entire lifetime and was never run by a staff of any more than two, So I'm extremely proud of what was achieved and really hope the music and spirit of the label made even the smallest impact on people's lives. Nobody taught me how to run the label. It started with a dream to create an international genre-less platform for musical outcasts who couldn't get their music released anywhere else, and it ended up becoming a highly respected label spoken about in the same breath as labels that had inspired me to create Output in the first place. I got the chance to meet and work with some of the most wonderfully talented and inspiring people on the planet and had the pleasure of getting support and feedback from people I had respected and admired for years.

output definitely had a large impact upon developing my musical leanings - and "make it happen" was the first record i ever played at a paid dj gig (nevermind that it was in white river junction, vermont....) but beyond the music, i think output was important in that it proved that a label could still maintain a firm committment to style and elegance in physical packaging in the digital age. make sure to check the moribund website in october, when all of the label's final releases will be available for free mp3 download. here are some old highlights from the label:

playgroup - make it happen (zongamin remix)

dead combo - hey dusty

the rapture - i need your love

black strobe - chemical sweet girl

black strobe - innerstrings (no shuffle mix)

circlesquare - non-revival alarm

colder - to the music

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colder - to the music






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not gonna get us

you can keep your kiwis and your easter eggs, i don't think there's much that beats a classy black and white footscape woven. fuck. (via slamxhype)

emf - unbelievable

cam'ron feat. hell rell - something new

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you make me like charity

guantanamo bay prisoner "installed" in disneyland by banksy

big day for new releases - even if most of them have been flitting about the internet for a minute now:

tv on the radio - return to cookie mountain

my (semi) early favorite for record of 2006. tv on the radio are the only pop band who come close to making the kind of "enormous music" that is usually the realm of avant-garde classical composers like steve reich or phillip glass. it would be easy to label cookie mountain pretentious were the melodies not so beautiful and the emotions so earnest. i've posted a whole mess of tracks from this record already, but check out "snakes and martyrs", which is one of the extra tracks on the US edition

tv on the radio - snakes and martyrs

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the rapture - pieces of the people we love

i'm a sucker for fun, especially when it involves roller skating, so it's no real surprise that i'm digging this record. while the rapture began as a proof-of-concept for the DFA, the results of the band working with a diversity of producers on this new album are extremely positive. some tracks have a definite ewan pearson vibe, some a danger mouse feel, and a bunch have the paul epworth disco stamp. but don't fear, every track has the punchy rapture flavor we've all come to love.

the rapture - the devil

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xiu xiu - the air force

when i would did a radio show senior year of college with a buddy of mine we would always play "support our troops OH!" because it was the only song that would get people to call the station and prove that someone was indeed listening to AM radio in new hampshire at 3 am on a tuesday morning. which is to say, i appreciate xiu xiu but i'm not their biggest fan. the air force, out today on kill rock stars, is definitely the most accessible release to date with equal parts engaging melodies and esoteric songcraft.

xiu xiu - boy soprano

xiu xiu - support our troops OH!

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cassius - 15 again

oh, cassius. you've meant so much to french house music. 1999 still doesn't leave my record bag when i play out. but why, WHY would you let pharrell stomp all over a track mumbling about the environment? and why, WHY would you name it "eye water"? things like that are just inexcusable in my book. luckily they still have the sense to temper such missteps with absolute bangers that seem to come almost exclusively from paris these days. (can i get a rousing realization of "it's the new berlin!"?)

cassius feat. pharrell - eye water

cassius - toop toop (mr. oizo remix)

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did anyone catch the boris show at northsix last night? i was planning on hobbling over there but was exhausted when i got home from work. i couldn't even make it through the bedroom to the living room, so there wasn't much of a chance i was going to make it down to wythe.

boris - six, three times

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rollin' and scratchin'

been having fun kicking around brooklyn the past couple of nights, but think i might venture into manhattan for a party tonight. fashion week brings a lot of silliness to the city, and the colette-sponsored event tonight looks like it should be a fun time. apparently there will be a dance instructor on hand to teach people how to do the moves from daft punk's "around the world" video. combine that with aaron lacrate, pedro winter, justine d, and oxy cottontail and it has all the makings of a legendary night.

see you there.

daft punk - around the world

daft punk - aerodynamic

daft punk - superheroes

daft punk - the brainwasher (erol alkan remix)

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and here's the video:

wash the day away

the new a/w collection at supreme dropped yesterday - a couple key pieces for this next season: quilted leather jacket, baseball jacket (i'll stick with mishka on that one), all over tees (eh, what you gonna do), but i'm really feeling these new era hats. supreme has always been hit or miss when it comes to headwear. i think it's pretty obvious that they have the five panel on lock at this point, but some of their new era collabs have left me cold. while i appreciate the sentiment behind the recent public enemy hat, it felt a little heavy handed and wasn't something i would really rock. that's why i love these new joints - clean but unique, the real essence of the supreme brand.

the supremes - you keep me hangin' on

ghostface killah feat. superb - we made it

in flagranti - reputation or notoriety?

the presets - are you the one (van she remix)

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i was watching an old episode of punk'd on mtv2 last night, and tommy lee uttered "i feel like i'm in a fellini movie, this is retarded" at one point. i'm pretty sure it's the most cultured reference i've ever heard him make.

i only bring this up because my old college roommate was obsessed with the fact that he once touched tommy lee's leg at a motley crue concert.

new order - touched by the hand of god (biff and memphis remix)

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everything is possible

photo: richard kern

as i previously reported, my dad decided that this was the year he was finally going to trek out to burning man. he got back a couple of days ago and filed this report:

We had 1000 to 1500 people dancing each night 9:30 to 8am 4 nights in
a row. Biggest night was with guest djs Freq Nasty and Bass Nectar.
Other guest djs were Dylan, Clark, and Yoshi. Our house djs were DJ
Melee (plays and does bookings at Avalon) and JefrTale (Jeff Taylor).

The crowd was out of control. They wrecked our dance cages by dancing
on them instead of in them (as many as 12 people hanging onto the
outside at once), climbed upside down across the inside of the dome,
and copulated in public. Not that I saw the copulation but one night
there were couplings on the VIP area sofa, on the swinging bed in the
chill dome, and on the hood of the fork lift outside.

- Dad

first rule of throwing a party: if you don't want people to have sex in the middle of the chill out dome, don't put a swinging bed in the chill out dome.

ewww.

justus kohncke - love and dancing

interpol - public pervert

the faint - sex is personal

the vaselines - sex sux (amen)

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enjoy your worries, you may never have them again

my robot friend feat. antony - one more try

i'm back. thanks to everyone who offered to help me out with hosting space and/or intimidating mr. timberlake, but the good folks at the riaa and i have come to terms with each other. looks like i learned my lesson: don't fuck with popstars.

sprites - i started a blog nobody read

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also starting a new job this week. guess it's good to get back out into the world, although i have to admit that i had grown quite fond of lazing around the apartment.

the rakes - 22 grand job (filthy dukes society remix)

the books - getting the job done

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lots of new music reviews (even long format!) coming up this week, so make sure to check back regularly. in the meantime, play this lil' scrappy promotional game:

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light rail coyote

stopped by classic kicks yesterday and copped a pair of the gimme five court force lo's, which are now sitting on the mantle. not sure how long liz will tolerate that though...

i can't decide if these unreleased joy division inspired blazers are cool or totally stupid. i'm a little bit surprised that peter saville didn't do it, especially since he's no stranger to the sneaker game.

still battling with the man over mp3 hosting, should be sorted out in a couple days though. i hate ysi as much as the next guy but i ain't got many other options in the meantime:

shy child - the noise won't stop

make sure to stop by the last pool party at mccarren park tomorrow - spank rock headlines with gang gang dance, shy child, and the rub on dj duties. nice way to end the summer.

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and, just because:

gza - i gotcha back