GRAPHIC LINK
 »General

In need of distraction, I created this popup window to assist devoted Voltage readers (all 2 of you!) to create graphic links back to this fine publication on your own sites, if the mood should ever strike you.

The graphic in question is the one at right. Check the popup for more instructions. E-mail if confused. (Or e-mail if not confused, for that matter. I'd love to hear from you...)

From now on, the link to the popup will live at the bottom of my links list, at left.

posted by Maximus | 10:46 am EST | 2004.01.31 | link

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DOWNLOAD OF THE MONTH: SPACELAB 01 MODE: ELECTRO
 »Downloads

The download of I Cloned Myself For Christmas was a hit in December, so I'm gonna make it a monthly thing. January's choonz: SpaceLab 01 mode: electro. It's a 9-track compilation of new electro from the European underground, served hot and steaming by the folks at Spacelab, who do their thing every Friday night on Italy's Radio Onda Rossa.

This is actually some of the most chill straight-ahead electro I've heard in months -- good stuff for the 'phones and the dancefloor. I'd recommend it even if weren't a totally free and legal download. But since it is, you can grab it without risking a nasty letter from the RIAA.

Got any candidates for future Downloads of the Month? Let me know. I'm looking for complete tracks -- not samples -- and again, free and legal are the operative words, so that I don't get any nasty letters...

posted by Maximus | 8:01 am EST | 2004.01.30 | link

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HEKTOR
 »Tech

Another logical recombination of different '80s trends: in this case, robots and graffiti.

posted by Maximus | 3:42 pm EST | 2004.01.29 | link

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ADULTPERIOD.COM
 »General

Finally, Adult. have their own website! There's also a totally new site for their label, Ersatz Audio.

posted by Maximus | 9:26 am EST | 2004.01.28 | link

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BREAKIN' III: VATICAN BOOGALOO
 »General

CNN reports that Pope John Paul II has given his blessing to a group of breakdancers from "a Polish group that helps poor and marginalized youths."

Those 500-year-old marble floors must be great for headspins...

UPDATE: Video here!

posted by Maximus | 12:18 am EST | 2004.01.28 | link

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CREATING ANOTHER GENERATION OF CANDY RAVERS
 »General

New from the creators of the Teletubbies: the equally colorful, nonverbal, blobby, and vaguely disturbing Boohbahs.

From the Parents Information page: "The Boohbahs, five magical atoms of power, light and fun, travel in their Boohball around the world, from child to child. Their names are Special K, XTC, GHB, Crystal Meth, and Shroomy." OK, I made that last sentence up...

posted by Maximus | 11:20 am EST | 2004.01.27 | link

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THE MIAMI-FICATION OF NEW YORK, CONT'D.
 »General

In December I described Crobar as "New York imitating South Beach imitating New York." The feedback loop continues, according to Tricia Romano's latest column in the Village Voice:

I hear that Centro-fly has been sold to the owners of Miami's swanky, fabulous Bed. The club will remain in its current form until March, I'm told, and then the South Beach nightspot owners take over, presumably remaking it in Bed's own very lounge-y, very glammy, very bottle-service-y image. Not fantastic news for those of us who don't want to shell out $300 for a bottle of vodka that goes for $25 at the corner store.

posted by Maximus | 6:18 pm EST | 2004.01.26 | link

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SNAP!
 »General

"We just don't take Madonna's sloppy seconds."

--The Scissor Sisters, explaining why they refused a request from Britney Spears to remix her new single "Toxic."

posted by Maximus | 11:01 pm EST | 2004.01.23 | link

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VIDEO KILLED THE RADIO STAR
 »General

Ever wondered who was responsible for the shimmering comic-book animation of a-ha's "Take On Me" video*, or the trick photography that allowed Lionel Richie to actually dance on the ceiling?** Answers to these and other burning questions can be found in A Guide to 1980s Music Video Directors. The site is part of Michael E. Grost's obsessively detailed Classic Film and Television site.

*John Barron, who also directed classic clips for Michael Jackson, Dire Straits, Madonna, Thomas Dolby, and others.
**Stanley Donen, who had earlier created the effect for Fred Astaire in the 1950 musical Royal Wedding.

posted by Maximus | 3:08 pm EST | 2004.01.23 | link

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CAN'T TOUCH THIS
 »General

What's the bestselling rap album of all time? Believe it or not, it's Please Hammer, Don't Hurt 'Em. Over at Contrabandit.com, Leroy Barnette III says it's time the hip-hop nation gives props to the man in the baggy gold-lamé pants.

(Via Global Pop Conspiracy.)

posted by Maximus | 3:54 pm EST | 2004.01.22 | link

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SUI GENERIS
 »General

Sasha Frere-Jones talks about Dizzee Rascal at Slate:

The same words pop up again and again in descriptions of Dizzee's remarkable voice: "choking," "strangled," "yelping." And his rhymes do sound like they're trying to leap back down his throat before he spits them out. The effect is a bit like fried ice cream—two different sensations at once. Dizzee's musical backdrops are just as complex as his voice. An anachronistic interjection like "You haven't gotten the foggiest!" delights and worries, because Dizzee is that kind of teenager: His facility and wit don't mask the fact that he's not entirely in control of his emotions.

posted by Maximus | 3:42 am EST | 2004.01.22 | link

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SUNDAY NIGHT'S ALL RIGHT
 »Reviews

Is Sunday the new Saturday? Maybe. I had a great night out this past Sunday at Fringe Benefits' Synth Pop Party at the Pussycat Lounge. It's a surreal location -- on a seedy street two blocks south of Ground Zero, in the deserted-by-night (and currently iced-over) financial district. The club is a narrow, two-level space whose decor is best described as '60s Bachelor Pad/Swiss Chalet. The usual entertainers and their usual audience were nowhere to be seen (altho I wondered about the two Hasidic guys in the balcony -- they didn't seem like the synthpop type).

The Somnambulants gave a solid performance, despite some technical glitches. I've seen them perform "Monument," "Evacuation," and their other standards on numerous occasions, but I like them better and better each time. They're also just cool people (and, I recently discovered, Joseph is a neighbor of mine in Greenpoint).

The Fitness is a quartet from, I think, Seattle, who straddle the line between electropunk and stereotypical electroclash. Pros: tight musicianship from the expressionless keyboardist and bassist; no lack of energy and volume from the singers, who are a girl in a mirror-ball top and a freaky, clownish guy in a trucker hat. Cons: Freaky, clownish guy in a trucker hat. (If there's one thing New York doesn't need more of...) And actually, it was more shouting than singing. But hey, that's hardcore for you.

The last act of the night: My Favorite. Slate recently called them "mope rock," and they do owe a heavy debt to the Smiths, but their music is no slavish imitation of Morrissey and Marr. Darren Amadio's shimmering guitar (aided by well-deployed pedal effects) evokes too many New Wave rockers to catalog; Andrea Vaughn's vocals remind me of both Moz and Natalie Merchant (but less annoying than either!). The songs are gentle but energetic, wordy, and complicated; all of that, plus Kurt Brondo's accordion, made me think of Squeeze more than once.

As for this coming Sunday, here's something that looks pretty good:

Sunday, January 25, 2004

DJs Steve and Pedro (Shout!)
DJs Alex English and Alex Malfunction (Girls & Boys/Broadcast)
DJ Ben Rymer (Fat Truckers)
DJ Jeanne Klafin (Mute Records)
...plus surprise guests

Second floor of Bar 13 (third floor of building)
35 East 13th Street @ University Place
Union Square, NYC, NY
10pm - 4am
Free

posted by Maximus | 2:33 am EST | 2004.01.21 | link

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BANDS AGAINST BUSH
 »General

Just what it sounds like:

Bands Against Bush is an international movement which uses music and art and the support systems of these activities for protest and political involvement. We oppose the Bush administration and its domestic and foreign policies.

posted by Maximus | 4:01 am EST | 2004.01.20 | link

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THE GREAT REALITY TV SWINDLE
 »General

The ultimate betrayal of punk -- or the ultimate expression of it?

LONDON - As Johnny Rotten once snarled, "Ever get the feeling you've been cheated?"

To the dismay of aging punk fans, a British television company announced Monday that the former Sex Pistols singer and angry punk icon — now known by his real name, John Lydon — has agreed to appear in the reality show "I'm a Celebrity ... Get Me Out of Here!"

posted by Maximus | 2:32 pm EST | 2004.01.19 | link

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FAKE ACCENT
 »General

I've written a short piece on The Plantains for the "poptronica" webzine 100% Unnatural. Check it out here.

posted by Maximus | 1:28 am EST | 2004.01.16 | link

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CREEP YOURSELF OUT
 »General

With this.

posted by Maximus | 11:36 pm EST | 2004.01.14 | link

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WORDS OF WISDOM...
 »General

from Tremble:

[W]hen reading about burgeoning trends in the NY Times it is necessary to back-date the actual trend start-date about 18-24 months.

posted by Maximus | 11:12 pm EST | 2004.01.14 | link

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DYNAMIC DUOS
 »Events

Scrolling thru recent entries on Jenyk.com, I came across some familiar faces in this photo feature on "dynamic duos."

Among the selected twosomes are a couple of my fave NYC nu-electro (is that the term for it this month?) acts, The Somnambulants and Mommy and Daddy. The latter are sidelined due to bassist Edmund accidentally slicing open his hand recently (!), but the former are playing at a few spots around town soon. Here's their next show:

Sunday, January 18, 2004

THE SOMNAMBULANTS (9pm) with MY FAVORITE (11pm) & The Fitness (10pm)
A Fringe Benefits event

Upstairs at Pussycat Lounge
96 Greenwich at Rector
$5 w/Free drinks from 8-9!
1/9 train to Rector

posted by Maximus | 4:40 pm EST | 2004.01.14 | link

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KRAFTWERK ADDS ANOTHER N. AMERICAN DATE...
 »Events

And it's still not in NYC! MTV says they're headlining at the Coachella Festival in Indio, California on May 1, along with Radiohead and the reunited Pixies.

Coachella is one of the few North American events along the lines of the big European festivals like Glastonbury. Over the last couple years, performers have included Björk, Basement Jaxx, Beck, Belle and Sebastian, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, the Beastie Boys, and Blue Man Group (plus many acts whose names do not begin with the letter "B").

[Via ProductShop NYC.]

posted by Maximus | 9:58 pm EST | 2004.01.13 | link

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SCISSOR SISTERS @ THE BOWERY BALLROOM
 »Reviews

After eight blissful sun-filled days in south Florida, I returned on Thursday to the urban deep-freeze called New York. Yikes! I'll post something about my adventures down south soon -- after my fingers warm up a little more.

Meanwhile, some impressions from the Scissor Sisters concert at the Bowery Ballroom on Saturday night:

Did you know that Ian Curtis and Morrissey had a love child who became a lounge singer? His name is Baby Dayliner, and he was the first opener, wiggling around the stage and crooning over boppy synth backing tracks. Weird stuff, but charming in its offbeat way. Like some of the best New Wavers, Baby Dayliner is literate without being boring, and leavens his sincerity with a dash of irony. And his last number was the best hip-hop joint I heard all night...

...Better than anything from Opti-Grab. My opinion hasn't improved much since I saw them at Outsider Fest. I did crack a smile at "Jersey Lover," a dead-on parody of Expose, Safire, Trinere, Erotic Exotic, and all those other acts I think of as "Power 96 music." That's the Miami radio station that played this stuff during the '80s (the three big markets for it being Miami, New Jersey, and NYC's outer boroughs).

But if "Jersey Lover" is making fun of freestyle and its listeners (and it clearly is), aren't the trio's other songs doing the same thing for booty-rap -- and isn't a group of three white hipsters mocking black hip-hoppers kind of offensive, not to mention lame?

Anyway, the main event was well worth the wait. I saw the Scissor Sisters at Maison du Chic in early 2003; since then they've picked up a major-label record deal, and undergone a major metamorphosis in sound and style. The Guardian says their new album is "the first post-electroclash masterpiece;" that's kind of silly, since much of the material has been around for a couple years.

But it certainly isn't electroclash. If they were ever an "electro" act, they aren't now: producer/arranger Babydaddy barely touched his synth, spending most of the set strumming a bass. That, plus Del Marquis' guitar work and a newly added live drummer, pushed the songs squarely into rock territory, with strong disco and funk flavors.

This is not the disco-rock of DFA bands like LCD Soundsystem. Those acts favor simple, even simplistic, punk and post-punk song structures; the Scissor Sisters' work is melodically and lyrically complicated, recalling Broadway- and soul-influenced '70s pop composers like Elton John and Billy Joel. And in contrast to the strangled, faux-primitive wailings of The Rapture, vocalists Jake Shears and Ana Matronic aren't afraid to sound like they know how to sing.

Shears is the unmistakable star of the show. The songs are built around his voice, which alternates between a tenor growl and a Bee Gees falsetto. Strutting around in a cocked hat, tight leather pants, and a leather jacket over a bare chest, he looked like he'd just slunk over from the stage of "All That Jazz" or "Cabaret." But there isn't a single untalented member of this band, and all showed their chops on Saturday night. The show ended with the B-52s' Fred Schneider bounding onstage during the encore, to add a little more manic energy. Very campy, very eclectic... very Scissor Sisters.

I liked the new glam-rock version of the band, but I still miss their older, more electronic sound. They performed "Comfortably Numb" as hard-thumping, rough-edged live disco, with no trace of the chilly New Wave influence found in their recording of the song. Early synth-heavy numbers like "Electrobix" were not even on the set list. But their neo-traditional approach is intriguing, and likely to win a wide following. Maybe classic songcraft is the most rebellious thing you can do in pop music these days...

posted by Maximus | 2:27 pm EST | 2004.01.11 | link

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