Latest Posts by alwaysmovinginstereo - Page 5

the-greatest-hits tumblr does it again.

B&W

"I never had the chance to write about the rooftop in Brooklyn. It was perfect in that after a whole day of sufficiently getting wasted, John's rooftop seemed like the best place to be of all time. This was the New York I'd been imagining for eons; with the M train's hum echoing along its elevated tracks and the Manhattan skyline hanging brightly in the western sky. I called my sister and left a drunkenly laughable, yet sincere voicemail. I had fallen in love, I said - with these people, with this place. With my youth. 

I hung up and stood quietly - the moment was wholly mine. I'm nostalgic for that night more than any other in my entire life." 

Hey it's like that Usher song, but for the Kate Bush-loving set. Niki and the Dove's "DJ Ease My Mind".  

Zola Jesus opened for the xx nearly two years ago at the Fox Theatre in Oakland, easily becoming the most pleasant surprise of the night. That's saying something considering the show was stacked, with fellow openers Warpaint being as outrageously beautiful as they are, and headliners the xx beefing up their set and presence to suit their ever-growing success. 

Sometimes you remember exactly how you felt the first time you heard a song. A song you've heard 100 times. Beyond all the memories and feelings you've since attached to it. You remember the exact drink in your hand and the friends surrounding you that regrettably you forgot you had. 

I heard "I Can't Stand" and was instantly taken, especially by her voice, so hauntingly powerful it completely enveloped the 2,800-capacity room. I remember. I remember. I remember. Perfectly.

Top 3 Female Vocalists I've heard live:

1. Florence Welch

2. Zola Jesus

3. Terra Lopez, of Sister Crayon.

I will post anything that vaguely resembles "Heart and Soul" by T'Pau. Now that I've made that clear, here's stereo-land favorite St. Lucia remixing UK solo chica Charli XCX's new single "You're the One". 

Now Future Islands. They reduce me to pieces. They're the A-side on a recent release of the Less Artists More Condos 7" series benefiting the late Ariel Panero of the Brooklyn-based artist collective Famous Class. "Cotton Flower" is a comforting ode to letting go. 

They play SF's Independent September 4th.

So I was going to post the brand new XX single "Angels" but everyone on this side of the internet has uploaded it already. You've heard it eight times today. If not, go here and enjoy one of the best songs of the year. But before you go, listen to Twin Shadow's lead off track "Golden Light" off his new album Confess. Fog summer appropriate and accompanying sadness approved.

http://player.vimeo.com/video/41088220

This shit has popped since May and I get a Sneaker Pimps "Six Underground" vibe. So get on this, MSMR very well may blow up by the end of this year. And if I'm wrong, we will still get to enjoy this song forever. Win-win.

This Thursday in Oakland.

M83 at Terminal 5 in NYC on May 10, 2012. 

I finally caught The Horrors live at Bimbo's 365 Club in SF last week when they co-headlined two shows with The Black Angels. It was a loud, and achingly gorgeous-sounding set in a beautiful venue.

Back in England, where these decidingly throwback shoegazers are from, they're Album of the Year winners(well, NME says) and doing duets of their single "Still Life" with mega fan Florence Welch. It's about as good as you'd hope, which is close to perfection.

This Saturday in Oakland. 

I want to go back.

Friends to the north RAC remixed LDR's epic "Blue Jeans," which has been remixed more times than the number of jeans you've owned in your lifetime. It's this or the Moonlight Matters remix taking the cake as best. 

Layering the sweet, and infectious vocals of Whitney Houston's early smash "How Will I Know?" onto Robyn's likewise sweet and stellar floor filler, "Dancing On My Own," some guy who calls himself Zooash made an entirely appropriate tribute and ended up creating the best mash-up in ages. 

"Dancing In Houston" bridges generations of truly great pop music together in such a simple and beautiful way, it's disarming. You may just tear up out on that dance floor.  

favorites.

The new St. Lucia remix ep "We Got It Wrong" is out of control. This week Lenno's bouncier and disco-y take is a standout, while Starslinger's moody version is no slacker in the goods department either. And eventually, I'll mix the Xaphoon Jones' redux with something grimy and presto! 

Listening to the original "We Got It Wrong"(streaming above) and the Brooklyn artist's other breakout track "All Eyes on You"  leaves us desperately wondering about a full-length's arrival.

Drive VHS by James White

The Knocks featuring Mandy Lee covering M83's ubiquitous "Midnight City."

Three months and counting.

It just dawned on me that the XX are working on their sophomore record as we speak and it's easily the most anticipated release in stereo-land. You can visit their blog and start counting down the days(hello summer 2012), while listening to their inspirations - which include Cocteau Twins and The Streets' classic "Blinded by the Lights."

Meanwhile streaming here is the Flufftronix dub bootleg of "Infinity" that had me digging dubstep for nearly three whole months.

There are songs I just respond to immediately. It's so predictable. I could loop the first 16 seconds until infinity. The "so come dance with me" refrain toward the end is simply icing on a pulsing, synth-filled cake. You know hard it is to say no to cake?!

The album's called I Love You, It's Cool, which makes it sound like it could be brilliant.

The band's called Bear In Heaven, and they're playing your favorite venue The Independent on April 8th. 

This Future Islands tune is so fucking sweet. Like Sunday-happy-morning-time sweet. Off their On the Water LP. Out since October, we've all been lagging. Sit back and relax now. You've got contentment on your hands. Every little thing is gonna be all right.

Tomorrow night.

Enough with the sad sack shit I've been posting lately(god love it). Alas, spirits are up in stereo-land. The dj gig has been treating me well(meaning they actually pay me).

It happens every 1st, 2nd, and 4th Thursdays at Merchants, 401 2nd St in Oakland. 

Meanwhile I can't wait until Coleco's rework of Foreigner's "Urgent" is made available soon as an MP3 because it's absolutely perfect for a dive bar DJ attempting to make smashed people dance. Hallelujah.  

I was always thinking of games I was playing...

St. Etienne, the early 90s English indie-dance act that inexplicably covered a Neil Young classic and garnered their first and only US club hit. Here's "Only Love Can Break Your Heart."

Some things are just between you and me.

M83's anticipated double-album Hurry Up, We're Dreaming finally and officially dropped on Tuesday. I must admit, I've been apprehensive. How could the self-proclaimed youth and nostalgia-obsessed Frenchman and mastermind Anthony Gonzales live up to the hype(machine)? I mean, everyone loves that sax solo in lead single "Midnight City"! And Urban fuckin' Outfitters had rights to the first complete stream of the album!

Still, I believe true mainstream success will elude M83. Unless within the year he sells out the Fox Theater(I call it) and every track is licensed to movies, tv, and commercials ala Moby's Play. 

Regardless, I will continue to listen to standout track "Steve McQueen" with my fist in the air.