JNB has not had nearly enough electronica lately. Haters of club music– go ahead and scroll to the next post in your reader. Seriously though, electronica takes me to a place that no other genre can. I feel like the stuff that we have now is the stuff that the Limelight kids dreamed about tripping to, back in the day. It is so hard to put my finger on exactly what aspect of these types of tracks do it for me. So I guess that I will never really be able to describe it (defend it). If you happen to be a like minded or open minded individual, please enjoy this track by Crystal Castles– Suffocation

[img I love this shot, btw]

Not to beat a dead horse, but I have said it before about the Swedish and their rock/indie pop. I have been digging Miike Snow since the first time that I heard “Animal,” last spring. BTW, of all of the countless remixes of Animal, my favorite is still the one on the tarp surfing video (a mix that I still have not been able to figure out the name of). The track that I’m sharing today is called “Cult Logic.”  Enjoy.

[I'm not sure who shot the photo, but I love the styling.]

(Photo: David Koppe)

For me the jury is still out, on whether I like Hot Chip. They kind of remind me of a modern version of XTC, or something. One thing standing in the way, is that their name reminds me of Hot Action Cop. I realize, that is my problem, not theirs, but still. Anyway They are Brits, they play keyboards. Some of them are mustachioed. Press play to hear “I Feel Better.”

Moving back to the electronica end of the spectrum this week, with Underworld. Reagan absolutely can’t stand them. So, I’m generally relegated to blasting them in my headphones, when I do listen. I have been a fan since the days of “Underneath the Radar.” I even hung on after hearing so many versions of “Born Slippy” that I couldn’t even discern which was the album cut, anymore (still can’t).  The song that I’m sharing is one of my favorites. It is called “Rez.” I’m sure that I could dig up a radio edit somewhere, if I looked for long enough. But I’m a bit low on energy, at the moment. So, here is the nearly 10 minute long version. Get comfortable, and press play.

I think that it is funny how often I have been asked what kind of stuff I listen to when I run. I’m not sure why, but it almost always catches me off guard. I don’t really know how to answer it, because 1. it is always changing; and 2. Do I just start listing off some songs, or what? I’m kind of curious about what people expect to get, as a response to that question. FYI, this question is almost exclusively asked by my friends who don’t run. I’m not sure if that has anything to do with it.  Anyway, I’m flattered that people are curious about what is playing in my headphones while I work out.

Now that I have that tangent out of the way, The Knife is another group that I discovered while watching snowboarding videos. Hehehe. I know that I need to get more diversified, thanks. Some of their stuff is really weird. Some of it is amazing (to me). Also, I’m kind of drawn to their weirdness. There is something hot about weirdness when it is derived from Scandinavia or Eastern Europe. The Knife is a Swedish duo, who like wearing masks. I know. Their sounds is similar to Ladytron, since the female does most of the vocal work. Similar beats, too. To tie things into the rant in the first paragraph. This song, “You take my breath away.” Has been one of my favorite jams to run to, for the past week and a half. It gives me an extra boost, when it comes around on my playlist. Judge if you will. I know that steel drums don’t conceptually mesh with a electronica. But, to me, it works. Give it a spin, if you are feeling up to it.

Make no mistake, these guys are weird. But, they are also pretty awesome. This week, we are swinging back to the NYC Electronica scene. Fischerspooner was formed by New Yorkers Warren Fischer and Casey Spooner. They got their start performing in the Starbucks at Astor Place. So, you know the’re good. Hahahahah. For real, though, you have to respect an outfit that can make it from performing at Starbucks, to where they are now.

Over the years, Fischerspooner has grown from just the duo, to become a full-on theatre/music troupe (sort of). By this, I mean that they have put together some pretty elaborate stage antics to accompany their live performances, including more than 10 people on stage, at a time. Their sound consists generally of some Matt and Kim-style keyboard, with a technofab beat underlying a barrage of various Depeche Mode-esque samples. The vocals are reminiscent of the performance that Kip gave at the end of  “Napoleon Dynamite,” or what it would have sounded like, if he had a clone of himself singing a duet. Despite the fact that I just made them sound totally lame, I’m really a pretty big fan. I currently have two of their tracks on my latest and greatest workout playlist.

Fischerspooner has released a few studio albums. I think that my favorite Fischerspooner album, track for track, is their 2005 release “Odyssey.” The particular track that I’m sharing, is called “Get Confused.” This song is awesome for many many reasons. The reason that I personally love it, is because it embodies an inside joke that Reagan and I have had forever. I always tease her about being confused and about getting too excited. She does this fake pant-breathing when she pretends like she is getting excited and when she is pretending to be confused. When I first came across this song,  I felt like they were totally ripping off our joke. Ok, so there is that, pluuuuussssss, toward the end of the track, there is a flute solo not unlike something that Ron Burgundy could have composed on the fly, to woo a lady like Veronica Corningstone.

If you are feeling nerdy, don’t be shy about pressing play.

First of all, sorry in advance. It is that time of day where I feel like everything that I bang out on the keyboard it hilarious/awesome, even though in reality it is total crap and laden with typos. It’s like punch drunk mixed with invincibility.

Getting to the point: I mean, you have to love a band that is named after a song, right? Keeping with the electronica theme, this week, we are listening to Ladytron. I first discovered Ladytron, on snowboarding videos. Yes, snowboarding videos. I don’t remember which video, but I thing the song was “Flicking your Switch,” which is still probably my favorite Ladytron track. Since that day, I have grown to like Ladytron so much, that when I’m in the right mood, I find myself skipping every track not by them, on the Ladytron Pandora Station.

Their sound has changed a bit, over the last decade. Their first album “604″ was super raw, almost to the point of too-much Casio. They have since developed a much more refined sound. The single “Ghosts” from their latest album “Velocifero” almost has a Portishead feel to it. The stuff that I like the best, falls right in the middle. The track that I’m sharing is from “604.” The name of the track like the band’s name, also contains the word “lady.” It is entitled “Ladybird.” Check it.

As a side note: Last week I meant to link to this site Musicritics.com, which is a golden font of trance music, complete with commentary. I have gotten to know one of the authors, Andre, a little bit over the past few months. Anyway check it out, for some solid content.

Going back to the electronica side of things, this week. Paul Oakenfold is one of the World’s original trance djs. I feel like he is kind of a legend or pioneer, in his own right. Even if you don’t particularly care for trance, if you are a fan of music, then you can probably appreciate what Oakenfold had accomplished professionally.

Oakenfold came up through the ranks of the Music Scene starting in the UK as a type of garage DJ.  He practiced and experimented with mixing popular music starting in the 70′s, before traveling to New York City and eventually becoming a producer for names like Dj Jazzy Jeff and Salt n Peppa. He was also the UK promoter for Beastie Boys, during the “License to Ill” era.

Later, of course, he became one of the biggest names in trance music, and probably club music, generally. He has probably done half a million remixes. Undoubtedly, he has mixed mixed something that you like, or even love.

I really started to get into this genre in college, when I discovered that I could have it absolutely blasting in my headphones without being distracted from reading/writing/studying.  Not only does the music allow me to focus on other things, but the up-tempo breakbeats also actually keep me motivated, and I have found that I am more productive. This may sound completely lame, but it is totally true.

I feel like Oakenfold is most well known by a couple of his tracks from Bunkka, “Starry Eyed Surprise” and “Southern Sun.” Those are both very hot tracks, in my opinion. But the song that I’m sharing today is from Oakenfold’s “Great Wall.” The track is “Dirty Sticky Floor [JXL Full Length Vocal Mix] – Dave Gahan.” Unless you hate trance music, feel free to check it out.

First of all, only one of the Brazilian Girls, is actually a girl. She is the lead singer, Sabina Sciubba, and she is not Brazilian. Fantastic name for a group, nonetheless. As it turns out, Brazilian is about the only thing that Sciubba, is not. Hahahaha. She grew up in Munich and Nice. In addition to French and German, she speaks Spanish, Portuguese and Italian. The cool part is that she regularly incorporates her linguistic skills into Brazilian Girls tracks.

Though the group has been around since the early 2000′s, I have not really been into them for that long. I first heard of them on Slacker.com (a Pandora knock-off), earlier this year. They really only played two of their songs, and honestly, I thought that they were both a little tired.

Recently, at the suggestion of a friend, I dug a little deeper into their catalog and came up pleasantly surprised. As with Sciubba’s linguistics, the group’s sound spans a quite a wide variety of different sounds and genres. There is a little something for everybody. Some of the tracks have very characteristically Latin beats, some are electronica, while others have a ska groove.

The song that I’m sharing today is titled “Internacional,” from the “New York City” Album that was released last year. Give it listen if you have 6:22 to spare.

I planned to mix it up this week, and break out of the early 90′s electronica stuff. But after adding a few “New Order” songs back in the commuting playlist, I remembered how much I like them. So, I’m sharing one of their songs today. Some interesting things about New Order, are: They used to be “Joy Division” (-1) until the lead singer, Ian Curits, committed suicide. Their single Blue Monday, is the best selling 12 inch single of all time. Despite having the distinct late 80′s/early 90′s sound, their music is still relevant. The particular song that I’m sharing today was released on the Technique album in 1989. It is called Fine Time. Check it out.