simplesinger

“Third (this one isn’t Daft Punk’s fault),...

Tue, 21 May 2013 15:17:00 -0500

“Third (this one isn’t Daft Punk’s fault), the media needs traditional pop stars in order to discuss EDM as a cultural phenomenon, and this has proven difficult, since EDM as a genre generally eschews the star system. Daft Punk’s Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo and Thomas Bangalter, who haven’t allowed their faces to be seen publicly since the late ’90s, exemplify this. Nevertheless, the press has inserted RAM into a narrative that the record can’t really sustain. Whatever else is said about Random Access Memories, it is clearly not intended to make Daft Punk more famous than it is now; it will likely succeed in making the group less so.”

Feels dead on to me.

Hyden is on fire lately.

via Looking at Daft Punk’s new album, ‘Random Access Memories’

Rating the lead singers of active bands in 2013

Tue, 21 May 2013 13:53:50 -0500

Rating the lead singers of active bands in 2013

Forgotten Species Demos by Forgotten Species My favorite is the...

Mon, 20 May 2013 13:49:00 -0500

Forgotten Species Demos by Forgotten Species

My favorite is the first track “Boots All Summer” for having the line

“You’re a terrible child…. And those are terrible clothes”

The cadence is the key, but they’re all great

And those are just the demos!

I may be in love with the bassist, but you can trust my impartiality. Forgotten Species is to music, what Craig Hodges is to the NBA 3-Point Shooting Contest.

They will knock your boots off, and make you a happy person.

Check them at The Hideout THIS SATURDAY May 25th starting 8:00pm.

I will even buy you a wooden leg, and make you drink it with me.

BE THERE!

johnnyauer: Shot by Nathan Michael, edited and produced by...

Fri, 17 May 2013 15:56:38 -0500

johnnyauer:

Shot by Nathan Michael, edited and produced by yours truly, with original music by Michael Pietrus for Knob Creek.

The Knob Creek Big Flavor Dinner Series is on the move and coming to a city near you.

Daft Punk | Random Access Memories | The Collaborators: Paul...

Fri, 10 May 2013 16:23:53 -0500

Daft Punk | Random Access Memories | The Collaborators: Paul Williams (by TheCreatorsProject)

“Taste this fruit from another planet…”

“Instrumental Touch” TV commercial featuring...

Thu, 09 May 2013 13:41:00 -0500

“Instrumental Touch” TV commercial featuring percussionist Glenn Kotche (by deltafaucet)

GLENN!

Daft Punk | Random Access Memories | The Collaborators: DJ...

Wed, 08 May 2013 17:46:22 -0500

Daft Punk | Random Access Memories | The Collaborators: DJ Falcon (by TheCreatorsProject)

A little hard to understand at times, but turns out to be really cool as well. Can’t wait for this one.

12 Years of DFA: Too Old To Be New, Too New To Be...

Wed, 08 May 2013 15:26:00 -0500

12 Years of DFA: Too Old To Be New, Too New To Be Classic

“Peanut butter is the greatest American flavor. It’s the only flavor… the rest of the world they don’t get it. Peanuts. Oh man.”

This is excellent.

B.I.G. Flume I suppose this should be an obvious fit, and I...

Tue, 07 May 2013 12:47:55 -0500

B.I.G. Flume

I suppose this should be an obvious fit, and I haven’t listened through the whole thing yet, but seems to work better than most.

Photo

Tue, 07 May 2013 12:23:20 -0500

First Listen: Music From Baz Luhrmann’s Film ‘The...

Thu, 02 May 2013 13:26:20 -0500

First Listen: Music From Baz Luhrmann’s Film ‘The Great Gatsby’

This is really something.

Daughter - “Get Lucky” (Daft Punk cover) (by...

Wed, 01 May 2013 21:28:11 -0500

Daughter - “Get Lucky” (Daft Punk cover) (by ohdaughter)

“As the Bandcamp refunds begin to trickle in, not much is...

Wed, 01 May 2013 12:37:00 -0500

“As the Bandcamp refunds begin to trickle in, not much is clear about how these songs went public or how long we’ll have to wait before we hear Jai Paul’s proper debut. But there is one thing that pretty much everyone who shelled out the £7 cannot shake: these tracks— brimming with ideas, innovation, and eccentric personality— are jaw-droppingly good.

Listening to a Jai Paul song sounds like a tuning into a pirate radio station being broadcast directly from someone’s brain. Unexpected sounds interrupt like interference from the next stop on the dial, and the vocals and instruments fade in and out like you’re one town over from where the signal comes in clear. Occasionally, a Jai Paul song can also sound like a live DJ set— kinetic, free-flowing, and a little off-the-cuff. But you often get the feeling that you are the only person listening to this radio station, or the only person at this club. That’s probably the most interesting contradiction at the heart of Jai Paul’s music: It’s at once distant, unknowable, and somehow feverishly intimate.

Moving from an airy falsetto to a lower, slightly menacing coo, Jai’s vocals are nimble— but his most distinct voice is his production style, which might seem like a strange thing to say about a collection of unmastered demos. But innovation shines through their rough edges. Jai agilely deploys a unique vocabulary of pauses, crossfades, and eclectic samples; J Dilla’s Donuts, the Avalanches’ Since I Left You, and Rustie’s Essential Mix all feel like aesthetic touchstones— music that’s managed to edit the modern world’s unending flow of information and voice into something cohesive and rhythmic. Still, all of those other records have a collective feel, like they’re tapping into the soundtrack of a universal subconscious. What sets these songs apart is that you are always aware that there’s a single human being at the center, one who oscillates between being forthcoming and shy, leaning close and then vanishing. This lends the illusion that his tracks themselves are inhaling and exhaling— breathing symphonies of digital noise.

…

I’ve talked to people who feel guilty listening to these songs, or critics who aren’t quite sure how to evaluate them. Are these demos or could they actually be the completed product? (Remember: both of Jai’s official singles had an intriguingly “unfinished” quality about them.) Does the leak, if you could even call it that, help or hurt our chances of hearing Jai Paul’s proper debut within the year (or the decade…)? Did he ever want us to hear this material? Are we dishonoring him by listening to it, by loving it? If the music moves us in a way that nothing else has this year, should it matter”

I’ve been wondering all of these same things myself.

via Maximum Distortion: The Peculiar Case of Jai Paul

The new Cayucas and Fortune Tellers records make for a perfect...

Wed, 01 May 2013 10:59:00 -0500

The new Cayucas and Fortune Tellers records make for a perfect May Day soundtrack. Why not throw some Gold Motel in there as well.

So nice.

Patti Smith’s Advice For Aspiring Artists Is Just Wonderful

Wed, 01 May 2013 10:54:56 -0500

Patti Smith’s Advice For Aspiring Artists Is Just Wonderful:

Patti Smith: “Don’t make compromises, don’t worry about making a bunch of money or being successful. Be concerned about doing good work.”

Daft Punk | Random Access Memories | The Collaborators: Chilly...

Wed, 01 May 2013 10:54:00 -0500

Daft Punk | Random Access Memories | The Collaborators: Chilly Gonzales (by TheCreatorsProject)

And here it is.

“Generally I’m looking to fulfill my specific musical function, which has to do mostly with harmony. Harmony is still an underused musical weapon these days in the pop landscape. It has the most strong emotional reaction, despite the fact that there is so much science and involved in it. And yet, it’s still largely the thing that will make the hairs on the back of your neck stand up involuntarily.”

My favorite so far.

My goodness, would I like to go to music school or take piano lessons from this guy.

Fitz And The Tantrums - Out Of My League

Fri, 26 Apr 2013 17:11:01 -0500

Fitz And The Tantrums - Out Of My League

"We need music criticism because people like writing it and people like reading it. It’s as simple as..."

Thu, 25 Apr 2013 12:35:46 -0500

“We need music criticism because people like writing it and people like reading it. It’s as simple as that. Why do we need blogs about World of Warcraft? Why do we need people who want to talk about knitting? There’s a number of things that, if you’re outside of that culture, it seems strange or unnecessary. If you’re in it, though, it feels very necessary. They give meaning to life, they make you happy, they give you something to do.”

- Author Devon Powers makes a case for music writing in her conversation with Eric Harvey about her book Writing the Record: The Village Voice and the Birth of Rock Criticism. (via pitchfork)

Daft Punk | Random Access Memories | The Collaborators: Panda...

Wed, 24 Apr 2013 11:30:43 -0500

Daft Punk | Random Access Memories | The Collaborators: Panda Bear (by TheCreatorsProject)

A little less compelling than the other ones, but still pretty cool.

I really hope they do one with Chilly Gonzales. I bet that would be something.

mppsyd: “”Dr Valorie Salimpoor said: “When people listen to a...

Tue, 23 Apr 2013 10:14:31 -0500

mppsyd:

“”Dr Valorie Salimpoor said: “When people listen to a piece of music they have never heard before, activity in one brain region can reliably and consistently predict whether they will like or buy it, this is the nucleus accumbens which is involved in forming expectations that may be rewarding.

“What makes music so emotionally powerful is the creation of expectations. Activity in the nucleus accumbens is an indicator that expectations were met or surpassed, and in our study we found the more activity we see in this brain area while people are listening to music, the more money they are willing to spend.”

…

Researcher Dr Robert Zatorre said: “This is interesting because music consists of a series of sounds that when considered alone have no inherent value, but when arranged together through patterns over time can act as a reward.

“The integrated activity of brain circuits involved in pattern recognition, prediction and emotion allow us to experience music as an aesthetic or intellectual reward.”“

via Great music is ‘as good as sex’