8OH!21OH! Appendix

Because I didn't want to break the 80min mark... I present the Appendix.

Don't Forget to Download it.  Here.

8OH!21OH! (Mix)

I guess I've been on an electronic thing musically lately. It happens to everyone.

Just promise you'll use more than your computer speakers to listen with. 

At least once.

Download.It.Here.Now.

My Coolest Living Room Yet

Spent part of my five day weekend taking everything off the walls, painting the walls twice, and then reinstalling everything plus more shelves. I suppose it really didn't take as long as it sounds. All the shelves from Home Depot. Really easy to install. I think it came out really well. Definitely my coolest living room ever.

RAA & Lord Huron

Saw both of these guys at Hi-Dive last night. First off, I love the venue size of Hi-Dive. It's a perfect 200+ size. However, it's the worst layout I've ever seen. This is it (the blood looking stuff is people)...

So yeah, you come in and the stage is behind a wall right next to where you come in and there's like 10ft of gap between the wall that runs down the middle. So that gap get's way congested and you can't get anywhere. Other than that it's great.

So the bands... The first we saw was Lord Huron. I never hold my breath for opening acts, in general, but these guys were awesome. It was like Animal Collective meets Vampire Weekend. Really Fantastic stuff. I bought there record 15sec after their set was done. Check em out at bandcamp (which is one of my favorite sites for indie music nowadays).

And of course the main act was Rural Alberta Advantage which I was just ecstatic to see. And they didn't disappoint. At all. It was the perfect size show. Maybe around 100+ people, $12/ticket, nothing fancy, just rocknroll in a small room. Those are my favorites.



Frank, AB by theraa

I don't know what else to say. It was a phenomenal show. (I met the drummer and told him how awesome he is and then bought their first album on vinyl.) It was really the first live music I'd seen since going to Jamaica (not counting the larger Girl Talk show we saw last month). It definitely rekindled my love of seeing music made right in front of me.

(If you want to hear more of RAA, just say the word and I'll put it in your (e)mailbox. Seriously, any word, at all, and it'll be there.)

Tuesday. Music.

Because some things just won't make a mixtape and because so much music comes out so often, it's time for some links.

I don't exactly know what all this Moombahton stuff is about (sorry, I got lazy there for a sec), but it's interesting. And this short EP reminds me of how crazy, off-the-wall cool Diplo's earlier stuff was (not that he doesn't put out good stuff now, it was just a newer style in the beginning). This is cool stuff.

(Get it at MadDecent.com (or directly here))

Then there's this mixtape by one of the guys who helped on Major Lazer's album GDKPLD. I browsed it and it seems pretty fun.

(More at MadDecent.com)

Bouncin' Bush Stew ft. Prince Zimboo by blondtron

Then somehow I missed this Blaqstarr Mixtape whenever it came out. Good stuff.

Another one I think I'm going to enjoy is Com Truise: Free Here. It's 80s-synth-Baths type music. Pretty cool.

Oh man. And just when I thought the night couldn't get better I come across a Star Slinger Mix with an intro by Donald Glover. I'm loving everything this guy puts out. (Warning: Troy cusses!)

STAR SLINGER - FABRIC MIX - APRIL 2011 by Star Slinger


Good luck with the rest of your week.

Vinyl

Jesse got me a record player for my birthday last month. I've been meaning to write about because it's incredibly cool, but I've been busy being depressed.

Here's why I love it so far...

Records don't sound "better" than CDs. They sound warmer and more unique (nothing compares to the clarity of digital). Records, in contrast, have a very physical, imperfect sound. There are variations in record flatness and turntable rpms that change the way the music sounds every revolution. Things just sound amazing on it. The Beatles? Van Morrison? It's like a time machine. It completely transforms the way the music sounds.

I love that records aren't convenient. It places so much emphasis on just listening to music. You can't listen to records in the car or during a workout. You put on one album at a time. No shuffle. No impulsive changes. It's for start-to-finish album listening. And you have to flip it at least once during the record! (GT's Night Ripper is two records meaning TWO flips!)

I love that I'm buying a physical copy of the music. I don't like buying mp3s. Records typically cost what CDs used to cost ($15-20) so they aren't cheap, but you get everything with it. You get the biggest copy of the album artwork (which is all but lost on mp3s) possible. You get a code to download the digital copy free with the record. And the best thing to me is that I have a physical (and probably limited number of) copy of this music; a physical copy that I can pass on to my kids. I can't wait to pass Bon Iver and Neutral Milk Hotel on to my kids. I love that.

(Look what Jess just got us! AMAZING album.)

And finally, I think records are going to be around forever. They've made it this far whereas several other mediums haven't. In fact, it's the only one still around that's been surpassed by something else, isn't it? So unlike a collection of 8-tracks (which I've had) vinyl will be useable forever. That's pretty freakin' sweet.

So it's definitely given a new form to my passion. I'm not interested in collector's editions this or that, just great albums. And there are lots of great ones out there.

(My first flat TV and wall mounted speakers! Record player sits atop the shelves Sam and I installed.) 

Don't Stop Now Mix

This is the result of songs I didn't get to use last time and new songs that needed to be shared asap. There's some dance, remixes, indie and soundtrack. I tried to arrange it in the least jarring way possible.

Just remember, even if there's just one song you don't hate, I've done my job. Well.

Get it.