Saturday, July 19, 2008

M.I.A + Santogold= Get it UP

"Retired" artist M.I.A. teamed up with Santogold alongside Gorilla Zoe and collaborated on a song called Get it Up remixed by Radioclit! The track is pure genius. Beginning in sirens and Streetfighter game soundeffects, the trio lend their vocals to the tribal indian chant and drum-beatesque track which can be found on Santogold's upcoming mixtape Top Ranking.

Check it out here: Get It Up

Monday, July 7, 2008

King Khan and the Shrines

A voodoo resurrected James Brown playing alongside the 13th Floor Elevators would be an appropriate comparison to King Khan and the Shrines. "The Supreme Genesis of King Khan and the Shrines," title of their current tour album, proved to be true to its name this past Sunday at Mohawk in Austin. While King Khan has collaborated and recorded under the numerous names of The King Khan & BBQ Show, The Spaceshits, The Sensational Shrines, King Khan & His Lonesome Guitar, and The Ciaoculos; this is the first time the 9 piece band has toured the U.S.
Sporting a black long sleeve button down, retro nylon pantsuit, cobrasnake staff in hand, King Khan made his entrance from the balcony, through the crowd and onto the stage with his personal pom pom cheerleader. While his entrance was less grand than his exit, Khan made it a point to get up close and personal with the fans by parading around through the crowd several times. At one point, Khan made all the surrounding people "get low" and crouch for a significant amount of time.
The band's energy was incredible and frontman Khan kept the crowd in stiches. Aside from his colorful personality, Khan's lyrics and commentary left room for laughs and gasps. “It’s gonna get nasty tonight,” commented Khan during the show. And indeed it did, in a gospel inspired sec Khan went into detail as to how he "enters his baby". While his story is a bit too crash and inappropriate to repeat, Khan was so creatively descriptive that he left little room to the imagination. Stripped down to tight-black undies, gold cape and a plastic helmet, Khan made his exit to "No Regrets" through the crowd preceded by the band's saxophone player at the end of the show.
No Regrets - King Khan & The Shrines

Saturday, July 5, 2008

Borderline Obsessed.

In the past several months my fascination with David Byrne, former Talking Head, has grown immensely. Upon seeing his name on the Aclfest lineup a few months back, I immediately purchased my ticket. Disregarding of the major headliners, or lack of, I specifically bought the ticket just because he was going to be there. I'm not saying or insinuating that I'm going to stalk him or anything crazy like that, I just truly appreciate all the artistic expression he's contributed to the world.
I've been listening to his 1981 collaboration album with Brian Eno, titled My Life in the Bush of Ghosts.
Regiment - Brian Eno/David Byrne
I can only describe it as an instrumental ambient pop-rock third world sampling of the ages... This album was definately ahead of its time, and I'm looking forward to Byrne and Eno's upcoming collaboration and tour.
In consistancy with the temporary infatuation, I also checked out Stop Making Sense, a highly acclaimed concert movie featuring the Talking Heads. Shot in 1983 during the Speaking in Tongues tour, the film was notable for its state of the art audio techniques.


In further, True Stories and Ile Aiye: The House of Life are both monumetal in Byrne's directing career and are must-sees.

Wednesday, July 2, 2008

No Age

Last night I went to go see No Age, a garage post-punk duo from L.A. I really enjoyed the show. Both Dean and Randy had huge smiles on their faces as the energetic crowd moshed and headbanged. If you throw Boston based post-punk band Mission for Burma and alternative rock-band Sonic Youth in a blender you'd get No Age.
Another band I was extremely impressed by last night was Austin based band The Strange Boys. Ryan, the lead singer implenets bluesy Chuck Berry vocals to the band's retro Cali beach sound. Definately, a must check out. They'll be playing a couple of show in the Austin area as well as ACL.