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.

Going back to the early 90′s, this week. 1993, was the actual year that the track I’m sharing was released. It came out on the album “Strange Cargo III.” The artist, as you have probably guessed by this point, is William Orbit. Why is it that all of the best electronica artists/DJs, or whatever you want to call them, were from the UK? I’m not sure that the same is not still true today. Back to the point… Orbit was mainly a producer before putting out the “Strange Cargo” series. This song was on the charts, so even if it wasn’t your genre, chances are, you have heard it. It popped up in my headphones the other day, and I thought that it was a good one share. I’m referring, of course to Water from a vine leaf. This track features some vocal work by Beth Orton. But the first half of the track is instrumental. It has since been remixed about 1000 times, including a pretty cool mix by Underworld. The version that I’m sharing, is just the regular old album cut. It is about 7 mins. long. So, if you have the time to commit, here you go.

Lucky number 13, here we are. I debated about posting something other than these guys, today, since the last LMA was also electronica-style stuff. But whatever. “These guys,” by the way, are Groove Armada. A couple of guys, is exactly what they are. They are kind of like a 2 man version of Norman Cook (Fatboy). Groove Armada hails from the UK, where interestingly enough, they owned a night club with the name Groove Armada, in the mid-90′s. Their sound isn’t super original, awe inspiring, or anything like that. Over all, it is your typical house style electronica stuff. The reason that I’m sharing it, is because I have found it fantastic for background music while reading (drowning out train noise w/o being distracting), running or working on computer crap. They have both high energy and mellow songs, which is kind of nice also. If you hate house music, you will hate these guys. Reagan, can’t stand them. The slow developing, busy, long, repetitive tracks, that seem to bleed into one another, can really work against any argument that it is enjoyable music. On the other hand, if you are in the mood, and the venue is right, those same characteristics can make it ideal. The song that I picked to share is kind of a middle of the road, choice, as far as energy level goes. The title of it is “Easy.” As mentioned above, it is fairly slow developing. It you give it a chance though, it has full on throwback disco flavor, by the time that it gets going. Press play, if I haven’t talked you out of it.