Dizzee Rascal and Armand Van Helden go "Bonkers"

As dance music aesthetics continue to dominate mainstream American music, thanks to the ubiquity of Lady GaGa, Kid Cudi and the Black Eyed Peas boasting beat-driven hits, seasoned underground dance artists are ready to take the power -- and dance floor -- back.

Case in point: Dexterous British rapper Dizzee Rascal and stalwart house music bad boy Armand Van Helden have come together to record the rave-tastic single “Bonkers,” which tops the UK singles charts this week and is the fastest-selling British single of the year to date.

The high-energy tune pulses with Van Helden’s solid 4x4 kick and Dizzee Rascal’s rapid-fire rapping in his thick British brogue. The buzzing bass line and hands-in-the-air crescendos should make it an easy sell in American clubs, but only time will tell whether the quirky party track will make any headway on the Stateside pop charts.

Then again, in a world where pop princess Lady GaGa is in heavy rotation on Power 106-FM (“Where Hip-Hop Lives”), anything is possible.

(Originally published in the L.A. Times)

BLK JKS: From South Africa with riffs

It was globe-hopping DJ Diplo who first alerted me to South African band BLK JKS back in February 2008. He described the band as akin to “an African TV on the Radio,” fully aware of the statement’s irony.

Listening to the act's debut EP "Mystery," it’s easy to understand the TVOTR reference. Opening track “Lakeside” rides a ghostly vocal melody peppered with falsetto in a style ripped straight from the TVOTR playbook. But dig a little deeper, and a myriad of sounds and influences fly out in a fast and furious fashion. From random bursts of Afro-pop rhythms to simmering reggae rhythms, the band's sound incorporates all of it in seemingly effortless fashion.

Despite much Internet attention, the Echo was less than packed for the band’s L.A. club debut (it performed at the Natural History Museum with Fool’s Gold back in March). But those that did catch the band bore witness to one of the most explosive and genuinely thrilling shows L.A. has seen in a very long time.

What’s most readily apparent about BLK JKS is that these guys can really play. The taut four-piece is led by singer/guitarist Lindani “Linda” Buthelezi and backed by guitarist Mpumi Mcata, who trade blistering but abstract leads between washes of tuneful noise reminiscent of ‘90s U.K. dream-pop pioneers A.R. Kane. But it’s the ferocious rhythm section of bassist Molefi Makananise and Tshepang Ramoba that stole the show. They somehow maintain a groove while whipping through rapid-fire tempo and time signature changes, showing a raw musical dexterity rarely seen at indie rock shows.

The appreciative crowd soaked up the band’s energy, as the group veered from expansive, dubby instrumental passages into dense, menacing riffs like a new-school Bad Brains. As the performers wrapped up the hourlong set with a spirited run through “Summertime," the audience’s applause lasted long after the band members had disappeared into the backstage area.

Hey, Paul Tollett, I’ve got the perfect band for Coachella 2010....

(Originally published in L.A. Times)

Dopplereffekt brings electro irony to the Sunset Strip

The irony was fleeting, but not lost.
While a majority of the worldwide techno fraternity was heading toward Detroit for the annual three-day electronic music festival now known as Movement, one of the city’s most celebrated and plugged-in acts -- mysterious underground electro legends Dopplereffekt -- was 3,000 miles away. Dopplereffekt was taking the stage at the Roxy to perform to an 18 and older crowd of party people brought together by the marketing mavens of automakers Scion, a youth-targeted brand from Toyota, which is sponsoring the four-city Dopplereffekt U.S. tour.

The band is the conception of one Gerald Donald, who before starting Dopplereffekt was one half of the even more seminal outfit Drexciya. After splitting off to go solo, Dopplereffekt released two vinyl-only albums that are essentials to the Detroit electro canon, 1995’s “Fascist State” and the following year's “Infophysix.” Thick with stark, minimal tracks heavy with irony, songs like “Superior Race” and “Pornoactress” pulse with inner-city energy enraptured with technology and European sensibilities.

But any semblance of a “party” quickly dissipated after Dopplereffekt took the stage.

A duo -- Donald and his female foil, known only as To Nhan Le Thi -- with keyboards, both wearing disturbing black matte masks, stood facing each other in front of a large screen. The beats of the preceding DJ were replaced with ominous synthesizer tones, and after a brief false start that forced the band to leave the stage, the show eventually commenced with more of the same moody keyboard ambiance, and little else.

Images of the duo in lab coats, interspersed with random shots of satellites and political symbols, flashed on the screen behind the pair as they stared at each other and idly poked at their machines. As the first song faded into the next and then the next, there was no discernible beat. Delving into their most recent ambient output, such as the 2007 release “Cabal Yau Space,” a good 15 minutes passed with this bizarre scene onstage and a confused club wondering what the heck was going on.

“We want to dance!” wailed a voice from the crowd.
“Drop the bass!” chimed in another.
Pockets of people started booing.
Still, the eerie scene onstage remained static. Dopplereffekt continued to just stare at each other from across the darkened stage, the only movement coming from Donald’s left hand, which twitched spastically above his keyboard. Eventually, a hissing snare drum was thrown into the mix, evolving into slow, loping grooves reminiscent of late-period Kraftwerk.

By then the hecklers had lost their steam, and much of the audience had drifted off toward the bar. The music slowly inched up in BPMs and even elicited some dancing, but never really hit any sort of peak. After about an hour (and not playing any of their mid-‘90s classics), the pair unceremoniously left the stage. As the closing DJs frantically set up their gear to save whatever semblance of a party was left in the night, the subdued crowd slowly trickled out of the club.

While it wasn’t exactly the Sex Pistols at Winterland in ’78, the absurdist nature of Dopplereffekt’s performance was more a case of wrong place, wrong time. This was a show for obsessive techno and electro fiends, and would have been more readily appreciated in the right environment -- like the Movement festival in Detroit.

(0riginally published in the L.A. Times)

It's that techno time of the year again...

If you’re from Detroit and have even the most fleeting association with techno music, Memorial Day weekend means “the festival.”

Old-school heads (cough!) will know it as “DEMF,” AKA the Detroit Electronic Music Festival. New kids know it as “Movement.” Regardless, this annual under the radar three-day festival of techno down on the waterfront in Hart Plaza has gone through all sorts of drama over the course of existence. There was the whole Carl Craig era (he started the damn thing), and the fallout when he was ‘fired’ by some lady whose name I forget (ha!). Derrick May took it over for a minute, but now it’s the hardcore crew called Paxahau running the show—and quite well at that.

Serious techno freaks generally bitch about something (namely the line-up), but this year’s edition looks especially hot. Then again, the line-up looks pretty good to me every year (Flying Lotus, Carl Craig, Richie Hawtin, François K, etc.) . Not enough for me to pony up the cash to fly home, rent a car, get a room and party like it’s 1995 all over again. But hey, a boy can dream (or in this case, reminisce).

So I definitely got a laugh out of this spot-on rundown of who goes to the festival that’s in this week’s edition of the “Detroit Metro Times,” the city’s alt-weekly. I’m not even mad at their definition of the “Old-School Detroit Techno/Rave Set,” which is where I fit in. Although I do take umbrage at the idea of being “worn out from having just traveled from somewhere.” Hey, don’t hate me for getting the hell outta Dodge when the getting was good. Besides, I’ve found that I’ve out-partied people much younger than myself the last few times I made the voyage. Defensive much? OK, maybe just a little. But like Jagger so sagely said back in the day, “Time waits for no one.” It stalks and eventually catches up with even the best of us. Or is that the luckiest?

Regardless, I’m sure the myriad of party people descending on the Motor City this weekend will have one hell of a good time. Just be safe out there (they don’t call it ‘Murder City’ for nothing) and do yourself a favor and befriend a local to serve as a travel guide. And if you find yourself in the vicinity of suburban city Ferndale, have some of the best Chinese food in the world at China Ruby on Nine Mile Rd., or down the street at Bangkok Café. They’re both so, so good. God, I wish I was going to Detroit this weekend…

Album review: The Field, "Yesterday and Today"

With the release of his 2006 single “Over the Ice,” Kompakt recording artist Axel Willner (AKA the Field) galvanized the global techno community. Combining minimal aesthetics with a crafty sample of Kate Bush song “Under the Ice”) into a lush, hypnotic groove, the song signaled a genuine and inspired new voice in electronic music, landing on many influential year-end ‘best of’ lists.

Willmer expounded on his trance-inducing template with the 2007 full-length “From Here We Go Sublime,” crafting dreamy, propulsive instrumentals out of even more unassuming sample sources, rendering the likes of Lionel Richie, Coldplay and Fleetwood Mac into his tactile, emotionally-charged tracks.

For his second LP outing, Willmer continues to mine unlikely sources to create mesmerizing tracks while expanding his palate to include live instrumentation. In this case, it’s the ten-minute-plus title track, a sprawling collaboration with Battles drummer John Stanier, whose muscular trap work ignites the last half of the song. For first single “The More That I Do,” Willner chops up obscure Cocteau Twins tune “Lorelei” into a thick, almost cacophonous cluster of percussive bliss.

Like an electronic Kevin Shields of My Bloody Valentine, Axel Willner’s music as the Field uses rhythm, repetition and unexpected melodies to make a captivating sound that can be too much for some listeners. But to fans of top-flight techno craftsmanship, it’s nothing less than spellbinding.

--Scott T. Sterling

The Field
“Yesterday and Today”
(Kompakt/Anti-)
4/5 stars

Kid Rock knows beer

Oh, Kid Rock. When he’s not mashing up Lynyrd Skynyrd with Warren Zevon to produce a massive hit ("All Summer Long"), pimping babes decked out in decidedly non-P.C. Confederate flag bikinis for said song's video or enticing young men to think about joining the National Guard, the self-proclaimed “Son of Detroit” is trying his hand at creating the next great American beer.

“It’s going to be called ‘Bad Ass Beer,’ '' Rock boasted to Rolling Stone magazine recently from his suburban Detroit studio, where he’s hard at work recording the follow-up to his multi-platinum 2007 release, “Rock N Roll Jesus.”

“It just tastes like good American light beer…an everyday beer,” he raves, extolling the fact that his brew will be an all-American endeavor, right down to the hops. “It’s creating jobs in Michigan at the brewing company. We know people are hurting here so we’re trying to take that whole approach.”

While we wait to see if Bad Ass Beer will come to usurp the likes of Natural Light and Coors as the beer of the American working man, what’s even more intriguing to us is the series of competitor-mocking advertisements Rock is working on to promote his new golden dew.

“There’s one where it looks like the Budweiser horses, and they’re all up in the air, just freaked out, like they went haywire, and whatever they ride on is smashed up, and it just has my beer sitting in the front. It says, ‘Bad Ass. And ‘…and the horses they rode in on,’ ” Rock tells the rock mag. “There’s another one where we [mess] with Corona. We have an old rusty truck with no tires on it and it’s sitting on the Bad Ass beer, and it says, 'The only way you’ll ever see a lemon on it.' "

But for Rock, it all boils down to flavor: “It’s good, and there’s no aftertaste,” which sounds like as good a tagline as any -- definitely better than meaningless marketing boasts such as "triple-hops brewed" or "beachwood aged."

Expect Bad Ass to hit shelves in time for Labor Day festivities. Beer run, anyone?

(Originally published in the L.A. Times)

Today’s obsession: New Boyz: “You’re a Jerk”

Thanks to Detroit homegirl Kathy Rivkin giving me the heads up, I’ve found my new favorite song. In the grand tradition of Soulja Boy, teen L.A. hip-hop duo New Boyz has delivered “You’re A Jerk.”



It’s reminiscent of the Neptunes minimal era, when they were cooking up classics like “Grindin’” for the Clipse and “Nothin’” for N.O.R.E. mixed with some of that Cool Kids retroism (note their super-trendy style profile, heavy on bright colors and plaid. I guess kids in the 'hood ARE shopping at American Apparel).
This spacious hip-hop jam also comes with a new dance, “the Jerk.”

Yes, “You’re A Jerk” is totally ridiculous. It’s also pretty awesome. Watch your back, Soulja Boy. L.A. is comin’ atcha!

Here's a brief clip of the Boyz getting the kiddies all riled up at a SoCal high school show:


UPDATE: I couldn't resist. I wrote about the New Boyz for the L.A. Times.

Coachella 2009 preview: Cloud Cult

Why they will make you want to relocate to a small cabin in northern Minnesota and live a simple, more meaningful life: Grand, orchestral, cinematic — Cloud Cult makes music that really wants to be the soundtrack to your life. What started in the mid-‘90s as a solo project for singer Craig Minowa has exploded into a sprawling, multimedia experience. In concert, the band conjures its intimate and emotional indie epics while painters Scott West and Connie Minowa (Craig’s wife) collaborate on a large canvas behind them. The resulting piece usually gets auctioned off at the end of the show.

The band received much exposure last year by scoring a widely seen Esurance TV commercial with their song “Lucky Today.” The aggressively green outfit used the opportunity to push an environmental message within the spot. Craig Minowa, who lives on a remote farm powered by geothermal energy in the woods of Minnesota with Connie, also runs the band’s eco-conscious Earthology record label, and works with organizations such as Reverb and American Forests while on tour.

Still supporting their 2008 album "Feel Good Ghosts (Tea-Partying Through Tornadoes)," the next Cloud Cult release is a DVD. “No One Said It Would Be Easy” is scheduled to come out the Tuesday after Coachella. It's an up-close documentary that explores the band’s unusual but inspiring dynamics, both personal and creative.

Lucky Today - Cloud Cult

(Originally published by L.A. Times)

Peter Saville on the Manchester revolution

Peter Saville is a rock star. One of the co-founders of the famed Manchester, UK, record label Factory, his stark, often re-contextualized images have become iconic. From Joy Division’s seismic logo to the notorious “floppy disc” design for New Order’s “Blue Monday” 12-inch single, Saville’s visual work for Factory challenged convention and reinvented how the world looked at record covers.

Now the creative director for his home city of Manchester, Saville received a hero’s welcome when he spoke to a packed Paley Center for Media audience in Beverly Hills on “Use Hearing Protection,” in a Q&A format moderated by Christopher Mount, an art professor and former editor-in-chief of i-D Magazine.

Dressed in a white suit (“I can only wear this in L.A.,” he deadpanned), Saville thoughtfully touched on a wide range of topics while images of his many pieces flashed behind him (his cover for Pulp’s “This Is Hardcore” even elicited a squeal from the crowd). He said Factory owed its success to the fact that no one in the loosely defined “company” knew what they were doing. Attributing the enduring power of Joy Division to the band’s democratic approach as opposed to being a vehicle for Ian Curtis, he said it was Curtis’ death that allowed Factory to become such a cultural force.

“When Ian died, we suddenly sold more records than we could keep up with,” he remembered, adding that they sunk a majority of the profits into their famous club Hacienda in Manchester, a practice that would continue with New Order.

Touching on his panoramic post-Factory work, he told amusing tales about working with George Michael and Stella McCartney ("I'd worked with her dad, so I never felt obliged to take her seriously"), getting particularly scathing when discussing the fashion industry, which he finds “useless.” He garnered laughs when deconstructing what he called “the current culture of handbags, which is fashion moving off of the body.”

Particularly animated about his new role as the creative director of Manchester (which sponsored the event), Saville talked about the challenges of re-envisioning his city to be perceived as more than just a football town, in reference to the world renowned Manchester United squad. “We were the first modern city at the start of the Industrial Revolution,” he challenged while explaining the current “Original Modern” campaign.

Afterward, Saville mingled easily during the reception, posing for pictures and signing autographs for fans while Tim Burgess of the Charlatans spun actual vinyl records, including New Order’s “Blue Monday,” of course.

(originally published by the L.A. Times).

Live review: Ladyhawke at the Troubadour

if there’s any consolation for bitter music fans stuck in town while SXSW rages on in Austin, it would have to be the stream of bands that stop in L.A. on their way either to or from Texas. Case in point: Tuesday night’s show at the Troubadour by New Zealand blog sensation/’80s revivalist Ladyhawke.

It was a quick warm-up gig before facing the indie elite for three shows at this year’s SXSW, including Perez Hilton’s much-discussed "One Night in Austin" showcase Friday night, and one that singer Pip Brown and her bandmates definitely needed.

While there are countless new acts pillaging the '80s for inspiration, Ladyhawke’s ace is that she emulates songs and artists that most serious rock fans consider hopelessly uncool. From the booming drums that Phil Collins made famous to piles of analogue synthesizers, Brown’s music captures FM radio circa 1985 perfectly. Early singles such as "Back of the Van" and “Paris Is Burning” sparkle with the same teen dream drama of prime Bananarama and Kim Wilde’s “Kids in America.”

But Ladyhawke’s L.A. debut opened with a sputter, not a bang. Brown and her pinup-ready all-boy band took the stage and kicked into a moody instrumental opener amid a sea of fog, only to have a technical issue with her monitors force them to stop. They started again — and stopped. Brown unceremoniously took off her guitar and fled the stage.

After a few minutes of roadies frantically trying to remedy the situation, Brown returned and apologized to the sold-out and supportive crowd. Shielded by voluminous bangs and her guitar, she was finally able to charge through a couple of songs from her self-titled debut album, but it was obvious she wasn’t having much fun — yet.

As the band persevered, the show started to come together. The bouncy melody of “Manipulating Woman” prompted dancing down front, which only spread with the poppy march of “Dusk Till Dawn.” Brown has a knack for writing insidiously catchy melodies, deftly combined with a thick, dance-rock pulse not heard since Billy Idol’s “Rebel Yell” album.

Tossing out non-LP B-side “Danny and Jenny” for the hardcore fans, Ladyhawke wisely saved the best for last, closing with the killer one-two punch of “Back of the Van” and “Paris Is Burning.”

By the time she encored with her latest single, the uptempo Pat Benatar homage “My Delirium,” any earlier technical transgressions had long been forgotten. “Thanks for putting up with all of that,” Brown smiled at last. “It was worth it to finally play L.A.”

It was a touch of the SXSW “experience," in SoCal instead of Austin: Catching a new band still finding its legs, stumbling toward that first big dance, and somehow making it work.

(Originally published on L.A. Times)

Prince announces LOtUSFLOW3r details and three L.A. shows on March 24

Hardcore Prince fans have been all a-twitter lately, with the Purple One releasing three new albums (“LOtUSFLOW3r,” “MPLSoUNd” and “Elixer,” the latter the debut from current protégé Bria Valente) through an exclusive deal with Target.

Much of Prince’s recent online activity has stemmed from the launch of his latest Web venture, the customarily mysterious LOtUSFLOW3r.com. So far, the site has only offered a handful of teases, such as snippets of new songs “Disco Jellyfish” and “Colonized Mind," but little else.

According to the latest press release, the site goes fully live on March 24 as a subscription-based portal, offering fans access to the new music, as well as unleashing a torrent of extremely rare concert footage from his entire career. Ranging from early shows to his already-mythologized appearance at Coachella 2008, Purple People who ante up the annual $77 fee can download all three of the new albums and all of the requisite goodies that come with them (lyrics, photos, etc).

But for L.A-area Prince fans, March 24 will be especially juicy, with the artist planning on performing no less than three different shows in the city at three different locations, and with a unique band at each stop. Details are promised on LOtUSFLOW3r.com over the days to come.

Prince’s promo blitz continues after the 24th. He'll appear on "Tonight Show With Jay Leno" as musical guest for a three-night stand beginning March 25, returning on May 28 to perform on Leno’s penultimate show as host.

This is not the first time Prince has dabbled with a subscription Web service -- his NPG Music Club lasted five years and closed in 2006.

(Originally published on L.A. Times)

Live: Cut Copy's blizzard of Oz

Cut Copy was just full of surprises during its recent two-night stand in L.A. After having the LAFD unceremoniously shut down a beyond sold-out gig at the Music Box @ Fonda on Tuesday night, the Australian dance mob wisely moved the whole operation to the much larger and more comfortable confines of the Club Nokia downtown for the second show.

Any danger and lawless excitement of the previous night’s proceedings was drastically muted by Club Nokia's plush “new car smell.” Still, Cut Copy and their able support acts worked just that much harder to fire up the impressive crowd, which packed the main floor all the way to the bar and well into the balcony.

Matt & Kim’s spastic nerd-punk missives went over well with the bobbing heads down front, thanks to rapid-fire rhythms and over-caffeinated charm (not to mention a well-placed cover of '80s pop-metal nugget “The Final Countdown” by Europe).

Fellow Australian DJ Knightlife played a somewhat wobbly set of digital dance re-edits on CD, picking up steam with the In Flagranti remix of the Rolling Stones’ “Emotional Rescue” before settling into a straightforward, thumping, rave-approved groove.

But the night was all about Cut Copy, which is proving to be the most formidable Australian export since INXS.

Cut Copy ably combines an inherent penchant for pop melodies with infectious dance beats (and an encyclopedic knowledge of the dance-rock greats that came before them), and their nuanced sound kick-started the crowd almost immediately. Led by freshly bearded singer Dan Whitford (who made a sincere apology for the previous night’s debacle), the act plied the crowd with sunny, Split Enz-meets-Daft Punk pop-hop (“Feel the Love”) next to pristine, '80s-tinged synth-pop seduction (“Hearts on Fire,” “Lights & Music”).

But Cut Copy, performing as a four-piece, was most impressive when the act all but abandoned its comfort zone to dig into “So Haunted,” pulling out guitars to bash out a discordant dirge of shoe-gazing chords more reminiscent of Sonic Youth or Nirvana than New Order. But the magic happens during the song’s chorus, which sparkles with layered harmonies that could've been left over from Electric Light Orchestra’s “Out of the Blue.”

Given the rapturous response when the foursome finally took their bows around midnight, it’s clear they'll need plenty of space when they eventually find their way back to town. They've earned it.

(originally published in the L.A. Times)

Dan Auerbach: Black Keys singer goes solo and gets primal

If Akron, Ohio’s Dan Auerbach sounds particularly groggy during a recent phone interview, it’s for good reason. The Black Keys singer/guitarist just survived a 30-hour drive straight through from Minneapolis to Seattle for a gig on his current solo tour, which hits L.A. at the El Rey on Saturday night.

“Man, I felt like we were in Montana for-ever, he moans woefully. “We had to get a second bus driver, because we’d already burnt out the first one on this tour, and the guy deserved a break."

Auerbach is touring in support of his recently released solo turn, “Keep it Hid." Instead of moving away from the organic Midwestern blues that marks his day job, with drummer Patrick Carney, in the Black Keys, Auerbach has expanded on the template, creating an album that explores the outer reaches of classic rock and vintage blues.

At what point did you decide to do a solo album and tour?

I just had this block of free time and a bunch of songs I’d recorded, so I decided to just go for it. It’s really nothing deeper than that.

I’m intrigued by the album title of “Keep it Hid.” It has an underground, almost outsider feel.

Part of me just thought it was a cool title. But also, I’ve been recording on my own without Pat since I was 15. I’ve just never had the opportunity to release anything. I’ve thankfully been too busy writing, recording and touring with the Black Keys. It definitely took over, so in a lot of ways a lot of these songs and ideas have literally been hidden.

Over the past couple of weeks, I’ve had two different women mention how much they like your solo album. Do you think there’s a sensual quality to your solo work that might not be so apparent in the Black Keys?

We definitely did it for the ladies (laughs). I don’t know, man. I’m definitely attracted to music that I think could be considered sexually motivating. I’m in love with that primal beat and wild-man sound. Songs like “The Prowl” and “I Want Some More” are so jungle and completely primal. It’s the same reason I’ve always loved artists like Junior Kimbrough and Alice Coltrane. Music that’s circular and hypnotic.

You did some really interesting things when sequencing “Keep it Hid.” It sounds like you were going for a classic album feel.

Absolutely, yeah. I thought about it once we had all of the songs together. I really wanted it to flow. The idea was for it to be a headphone album. I don’t find many new records where the songs flow like a movie. It’s not even like I’m especially fond of old records just because they’re old. I gravitate towards music that sounds timeless.

A common thread through many of the live reviews on this solo tour is how much fun you and your backing band (San Antonio’s Hacienda and My Morning Jacket’s Patrick Hallahan on percussion) are having on stage.

Yeah, it’s a blast. It’s insanely fun. With the album, I wanted the songs combined to equal something greater than its parts. It’s sort of like that on stage. Together, we’re creating something bigger than ourselves, and it’s just really great. Everyone is completely into it.

What’s it like being on a big tour without Patrick?

I’ve never done a tour without Pat. So this is a totally new experience for me. There are six people on stage. Everybody is such a great musician, and we can re-create every little sound from the record. I’ve never been the kind of person that wants to perform a record note for note. I usually find that boring. But with these guys with me, we can capture all of the subtle nuances.

What do you have planned once this U.S. tour is finished?

This band is going to tour Australia and Europe. I’ll come home for a couple of months, and then Pat and I go into the studio to start the next Black Keys record. We’ve got some festival dates this summer, both solo and with the Black Keys.

It doesn’t sound like you do very well with down-time.

Well, yeah. It’s a blessing and a curse. I don’t know what it is, man. I pretty much think about making music constantly, so why not just do it? I’m sure there will be a day when I wake up not wanting to play music. But until then, I’m just going to keep plugging away.

(originally published in the L.A. Times)

Yeah Yeah Yeahs: Hell yeah!

It was only a week ago that Yeah Yeah Yeahs fans were buzzing over “Zero,” the first single from the act's highly anticipated, exclamation-point-enhanced new album, It’s Blitz!

Loaded with swirling, colorful synthesizers that could have been lifted from a Little Boots song, “Zero” plays like the perfect soundtrack to a raucous, beer-fueled dance party, ultimately driven by a propulsive beat and singer Karen O’s signature yowl. And then bright and early this morning, the full-length album made its way onto the Internets, revealing a revitalized band -- one bouncing back from its contentious and far more eclectic sophomore effort, Show Your Bones.

With It’s Blitz! not due to hit retailers until April 14 (!), the rumors of guitarist Nick Zinner all but abandoning his six-string for keyboards seem to have been greatly exaggerated. While analog synth sounds are everywhere, Zinner’s dexterous ax-slinging appears to be in ample evidence here.

But more than anything, the YYY’s new LP finds the trio taking their sound directly to the heart -- and the heart of the dance floor. A mission statement: “Dance 'til you’re dead / Off with your head!” Karen O howls on “Heads Will Roll,” another floor-mover that shares plenty of DNA (and melody) with New Order’s classic “Blue Monday.”

Dreamy romanticism marks numbers like the bouncy “Soft Shock” and “Hysteric,” but it’s with the sweet electro-ballad “Skeletons” that the band finally produces a worthy heir to their breakout single “Maps.” Yet fans of the caustic riot-blues that marked most of the YYY’s debut, Fever to Tell, will be as disappointed with It’s Blitz! as they were with "Show Your Bones," as the Yeah Yeah Yeahs are obviously not interested in revisiting their own past.

Instead, they’re making like Blondie, and seeing just how far they can stretch the boundaries of their sound without snapping.

(Originally published in the LA Times)

The Best of the '80s: Dif Juz, "No Motion"

When people talk about music in the '80s, they usually reference popular but fleeting stuff from bands like A-Ha.

But underneath the surface churned all sorts of amazing music that never really saw the light of day outside of specialty radio shows way down at the end of the dial that would come on late at night, a few import magazines and of course, the one or two indie record stores that existed in most major cities.

Dif Juz is one such band. As part of the 4AD roster alongside the likes of Bauhaus and Cocteau Twins, their dreamy, atmospheric instrumentals were stunningly gorgeous.

The band's biggest moment was having their song "No Motion" appear on the 4AD compilation album Lonely is an Eyesore. This chiming slice of sonic heaven is a timeless wonder. Enjoy.

Ludacris: Don't sweat the technique

Lil’ Wayne, Jay-Z, T.I. and Kanye West. These are the usual suspects mentioned when the conversation moves towards your big-money rappers. Why Ludacris is consistently overlooked in that conversation is a mystery and just plain wrong.

While the wildly successful Atlanta rapper/actor has sold millions of records and starred in Oscar-nominated movies (Crash), he rarely if ever shows up in tabloids or paparazzi shots. And on the same day that Kanye West’s much-ballyhooed 808s & Heartbreak had the masses scratching their heads to Tears For Fears samples, Ludacris dropped the much sturdier Theater of the Mind.

Loaded with club bangers (“One More Drank”) and radio hits (“What Them Girls Like”), it’s the class of big-money commercial rap albums (debuting to sales of over 213,000 copies) that are fewer and further between. Theater of the Mind culminates with an incendiary four-track suite of songs (including an amazing beat from DJ Premier, “MVP”) where Ludacris trades verses with Nas, Jay-Z, Lil’ Wayne and Common, and should all but insure it a Best Rap Album Grammy nomination in 2010.

Speaking from his home base of Atlanta the day after the 2009 Grammys, Ludacris seems unconcerned about the lack of scandalous headlines in his life. He does, however, have a new album that’s already done and can recommend a great Singaporean restaurant.

So what did you think of the Grammys this year?
I watched it as a fan, and found it pretty boring. There were a couple of exceptions. I was really glad to see Lil’ Wayne perform with Allen Toussaint in honor of New Orleans. I loved that.

Considering the November 2008 release date, do you expect to see Theater of the Mind in the running for Best Rap Album next year?
Ah, I’ll have another album out in time for that one! I’m on the move. The next album is called Battle of the Sexes and should be out around August of this year.

That’s the one with Shawnna, the female rapper signed to your Disturbing Tha Peace label, correct?
It’s my album, but yeah, it features Shawnna representing for the ladies. My whole point is to do things in hip-hop that have never been done before and to fill a gap. There’s never been an album with a male and female MC touching on different relationship issues. It’s 80% done already.

What inspires you after having already achieved so much success in rapping as well as acting?
I’m driven by the desire to touch on things that have yet to be done. I want to be a pioneer in the game. Theater of the Mind is more of a hip-hop oriented album. I didn’t feel like hip-hop was being represented enough in today’s music, and that’s where that came from. I want to inject that same energy into Battle of the Sexes. There are no female MCs representing right now.

I know you’re already onto the next album, but Theater of the Mind is a really great album that’s been completely underrated
Some of the best albums are, man! I’m happy with the feedback I’ve gotten from it. It puts me in the position to keep moving forward. I feel like I’ve done my duty.

There’s no reason you couldn’t have two albums competing for the same award
Yeah, that would be dope!

A lot was made about collaboration between yourself and Good Charlotte. Whatever came of that?
I’m still working with them. What we came up with just didn’t fit the theme of Theater of the Mind. But that doesn’t mean we won’t be coming with something soon. So far, it sounds like the perfect gel of alternative rock and rap.

Are you any closer to a duet with Eminem you’ve spoken about in the past?
I had a chance to speak with Em recently. He let me know that he’s hard at work on his new album, and that once he gets that handled we’ll definitely be getting together in the future. That’s something I’m really looking forward to.

You’ve had more success at acting than most rappers. Why do you think that is?
I love what I do. I love rapping and acting, and I’ve been blessed.

Who are some of the producers on Battle of the Sexes?
In the same way you say that Theater of the Mind is underrated, let’s just say that a lot of underrated producers are working on this next one! Guys you might not expect.

With all of the economic strife and the inauguration of a new President, how are things at home in Atlanta?
Man, we’re pulling through. We’re going to sustain either way. Of course it is hard for a lot of people, but in the end we’re going to be OK. I still have my restaurant Straits open, and the food is good enough to keep it going, and I’m proud about that.

Strait serves Singaporean cuisine. How did you get into that?
It’s no different that my music. I like to do things that are different and unique. I wanted to introduce something hot and exotic to that part of Atlanta. I can bring people in for the first time, but the food has to bring them back. Thanks to my chef and partner Chris Yeo, the food does bring them back. I knew the restaurant business would be hard, but we’re making it happen.

Little Boots makes bold strides

With the cacophony of central London roaring behind her, Victoria Hesketh -- the burgeoning 25-year-old electro-pop sensation known as Little Boots -- is insisting she’s more than just another blog-driven flash in the pan.

“My new songs are even more commercial,” she says of her forthcoming debut album, which does not yet have a release date. Of course, her previous material isn't exactly old.

Hesketh rode to Internet prominence late last year with “Stuck on Repeat,” a throbbing dance-floor anthem that alternates massive synth melodies with ominous sleigh bells. Through it all, Hesketh’s clear, higher-register bell-like voice stands front and center.

And yet, she says "Stuck on Repeat" isn't an indication of where she's heading.

“My music is brighter and more colorful than that," she says via cellphone. "To me, ‘Stuck on Repeat’ is kind of disco-y and dark. The other songs are more varied. There are slow songs, some weird ones, it’s a real mix. I really hate two-dimensional albums ... I want to be more like early Madonna albums, where she would do all sorts of different things, but her voice is what tied it all together.”

Hesketh is currently spending a lot of time in Los Angeles, putting the finishing touches on the album with producer Greg Kurstin of L.A. band the Bird and the Bee. “He’s just so talented and really gets me," she says. "He’s got such a broad range of experience. He and I co-wrote and produced all of the tracks. But I also did some things with a new guy called Kid Gloves, and Joe Goddard from Hot Chip.”

Hesketh’s Little Boots moniker is taken from English translation of the Latin “Caligula,” the notorious third Roman emperor who inspired the infamous 1979 movie of the same name. She's been a mini YouTube sensation, where she posted videos of herself performing original songs as well as covers, such as Haddaway’s “What Is Love” and, more well-known, Hot Chip’s “Ready for the Floor.” The latter is striking in its simplicity, as she's accompanied only by a Yamaha Tenori-On, a hand-held music sequencer that lights up in time with the music it produces.

“I just borrowed it from a friend, and picked up it pretty quickly,” she says of the device, “because quite honestly, I’m really quite nerdy. I love getting new things to sit and geek out on until I totally understand it. But they are a bit tricky at first. I use one in concert. It’s a great visual aid with all of the lights, so much better than just another laptop. We’re working with Yamaha to create a special one to take out to festivals and things.

“So often people think it’s all just robots and machines, and that’s not the case," Hesketh continues, the sounds of the city still churning in the background. "To me, it should be just as exciting as seeing a great guitar player. That’s what I’m trying to do, anyway.”

(Originally published in the L.A. Times.)

I went to Prince's house

Yes, it's true. I was in the man's house. It was one of the greatest musical experiences of my life. My official recount of the evening can be found here on the L.A. Times website.

Something that was omitted from the piece was a mention of his current harmonica player, Frederic Yonnet. The guy is simply amazing. I haven't heard someone blow a harp this well since the glory days of Magic Dick and the J. Geils Band. When Prince and the band tore through a version of the Rolling Stones classic "Miss You," he positively ignited the room with his immense talent.

I had a chance to chat with Mr. Yonnet at the event, and he was as kind and humble as they come. A true gentleman and class act.

I love the above video. The intro from Dave Chappelle is hilarious, and spot-on. Like Chappelle, I didn't know I liked harmonica music before this guy (Magic Dick not withstanding). Frederic Yonnet is the truth.

Hardcore '84: Prince "Computer Blue"

Prince at his most purple. In the year 1984, he blew the roof off of the music world with the release of Purple Rain. He was melding all sort of sounds that had never been mixed before, and it routinely blew minds—especially when it came to sci-fi funk-rock workouts like "Computer Blue," taken from his masterpiece album. This 1983 live version (well before the release of Purple Rain the following year) is Prince at his best, up close and personal with the crowd, just killing 'em. Awesome.

Hardcore '84: Breakin' (featuring Ice-T)

1984 was no joke. The year stands as one of the greatest 12 months of American pop culture ever. Exhibit A: this amazing dance battle sequence from the hit movie Breakin'. Breakin' was such a box office success that the sequel (the notoriously titled Electric Boogaloo) hit theaters only a few months after the original (both in the calendar year of 1894). The MC hosting the battle is the one and only Ice-T. So the next time someone tries to pop off about Ice-T not being down, throw this clip at 'em. Ice has been representing for years, yo. And he's down with Mariska Hargitay. You can't front on that.