Song of the Week: Tricky - "Christiansands"
This week's song of the week is another throwback, but this time to a man who is perhaps more well known for trying to impersonate Bruce Willis in the 1997 film The Fifth Element than any of his musical pursuits. This is unfortunate though, considering Tricky has done far more for the world of music than he ever did for film. Formerly of trip-hop contemporaries, Massive Attack, Tricky decided to go his own way with his half-speaking, half-singing style and haunting sound. It was only then that he started to gain international fame for his fusion of hip-hop and electronica.
This week's track, "Christiansands," is from his third album Pre-Millenium Tension which was featured in Q Magazine as one of the 50 Heaviest Albums of All Time. Enjoy the weight.
Essential Mixes
Summer brings travel plans, and travel plans raise some pretty important questions regarding everything including itinerary, directions, and--most importantly--tunes. Music is an necessary part of every journey, and I've found that essential mixes are some of the best things to choose for your days in transit.
What's an essential mix, you ask? Well, since 1993, BBC Radio One has been broadcasting 2-hour music sets mixed by DJs of all shapes and sizes. While they haven't quite gained a whole lot of traction here in the US, the essential mixes on Radio One have become some of the most popular broadcasts around the world. Almost any established DJ you've heard of has performed an essential mix, either to make a name for themselves or to further enhance their status in the world of DJing.
What makes them so perfect for travel is that they:
a) are two hours of extremely smoothly mixed music
b) aren't limited to any one genre of music
c) can easily introduce you to new music
The only problem with essential mixes is that there are so many of them, and that means finding the right one can be difficult, especially if you are unfamiliar with the world DJing. So, I've compiled a short list here of some of my favorite mixes as of late with short descriptions and previews of each one, so that you may start enjoying these very special works of art.
Paul Oakenfold's legendary 'Goa Mix' (12-18-94) - tracklist preview download
Description: Popularly regarded as the greatest essential mix of all time, Paul Oakenfold revolutionized the essential mix program by providing a mix influenced by Goa Trance and infused with non-traditional DJ set material, like movie soundtracks and other odd audio samples to create his masterpiece.
Steve Aoki's pre-Ibiza mixtape (08-02-08) - tracklist preview download
Description: Steve Aoki (aka Kid Millionaire) is the owner of Dim Mak Records (a personal favorite of mine), and has been busy tearing up nightclubs with his crew and their unique brand of hard-hitting electro house music. His mix isn't particularly amazing, but he's part of the new wave of electro that the kiddies are all raving about. If you are a fan of MSTRKRFT or Justice, you'll probably enjoy this mix quite a bit.
Trentemøller's essential mix of the year (10-15-06) - tracklist preview download
Description: Danish DJ Trentemøller provides a journey through an electronic landscape on this essential mix. More of a concept piece than one that is dancable, his mix includes a great deal of progressive house, minimal techno, and chillout beats. He does sprinkle in some unexpected tidbits of reggae and rock though, making this a very relaxing, but interesting mix indeed that is perfect for rainy day listening.
Deadmau5's breakthrough mix (7-19-08) - tracklist preview download
Description: Another progressive house artist comes in the form of Deadmau5 (pronounced "dead mouse") who is most recognizable for playing his DJ sets wearing a giant, foam mouse head. Even though he's been making tunes as early as 2005, he wasn't very well-known until right before he went on Radio One. This mix firmly established him as one of the most popular contemporary DJs around.
High Contrast's drum and bass set (10-07-07) tracklist preview download
Description: I will admit, High Contrast is kind of hard to get into. He plays drum and bass, which isn't an entirely accessible genre of music, but I think he kills it on this mix. This Welsh DJ is generally credited as the one that is making drum and bass sexy again, and I'm inclined to agree. Just a warning though: if you are going to dance to this, be careful to avoid dancing to every drum beat, otherwise you may end up looking like this.
Review: Peter Bjorn and John - Living Thing
The album's first track "The Feeling" seems to serve as the perfect introduction to PB&J's new style and song structure, not only because it is chronologically first or because it features vaguely reminiscent traits from Writer's Block, but also because the chanting chorus, quite literally, states "I can feel it / Can you feel it? / There's something in the air." What is, in fact, in the air is the new, yet oddly familiar, sound that Living Thing creates. The track also points out that more of the same stripped down sound is what's to come with the words "I'm feeling that all the things we are is enough." This seems to be the overlying mentality of Living Thing, and it shows on almost every track.
Next is "It Don't Move Me," which is Living Thing's most transparent throwback to the band's old ways, as it takes the formula of "Young Folks" and applies it unabashedly to a new set of lyrics and the removal of whistling and bongos in exchange for a dark sounding piano riff and funky electronic backbeats. While this sounds like a cop out of a song, these seemingly small transformations make for a much more brooding and dark song that retains all the hooks of a joyous pop anthem. From here on out however, the terrain gets much more unfamiliar.
Thankfully, Living Thing successfully avoids being an album full of rewrites of their strong suits, as songs like "Nothing to Worry About," "Lay it Down," and "Living Thing" prove that the trio has more than one dimension. "Nothing to Worry About," with its child sung chorus and simple lyrics, has most likely already reached your ears, and if not, will probably reach them soon. The catchy chant of "Do this thing / This type of thing / Put a little money in this type of thing / I got nothing to worry about" will most likely follow a similar path of a little-known ditty I heard last summer. I believe it was called "Paper Planes."
"Lay it Down" is similarly infectious, but uses garish vulgarity to hook the listener, opening with the chorus "Hey, shut the fuck up boy / You are starting to piss me off." This tactic seems a divisive one among listeners, coming off as either cheap and immature, or the most fun dance song you've heard all year. Regardless, it's catchy. Just don't expect it to be more than that.
"Living Thing" may not get as much radio play as "Nothing to Worry About" almost surely is, but it does introduce a nice, twangy vibe that shows a willingness to play with genres that sadly is not really anywhere else on the album. The rest of the songs seem to stick to their signature, indie-pop guns. Lucky for PB&J, these guns are pretty reliable, even if they aren't all extremely notable.
The album concludes with "Last Night," a floaty, ethereal bullet from one of those signature guns that seems to find its target better than any other on the album. The simple piano and synth melody supported by nothing more than a heartbeat and staggered lyrics marks the point at which Living Thing sounds the most alive. The track is a beautiful, yet injured sounding conclusion to a similarly constructed album.
Overall, Living Thing is a solid step in the right direction for Peter Bjorn and John. Admittedly, it is a baby step, as some songs cling rather tightly to the successes of Writer's Block. And yes, the instrumentation is way stripped down, which is not necessarily the wisest move considering calling Peter Bjorn and John's lyrics "a little repetitive" is a bit of an understatement. However, this unlikely pairing makes for a slow burn of quirky hooks that somehow fall together into an album that will have you swaying back and forth chanting all along the way.
Song of the Week: Yeasayer - "2080"
If you have not yet heard of this uber-hip quartet from Brooklyn, we don't think we can be friends with you. With their debut, All Hours Cymbals, Yeasayer introduced the world to their yelping harmonies, jerky performance style, and "world" influenced indie-rock. Look for more heavenly goodness in their early 2010 sophomore release (and watch out for its review in the paper!)-- these guys might just be the next big thang.
 | Yeasayer - 2080 |  |
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 | Found at skreemr.com |  |
Post written by Stephanie Garcia.
Hiatus is Over
We here at tableau apologize for these past few weeks of silence here on Mise-en-scéne. It's just that finals have recently ended and everyone presumably has been enjoying the illusion of freedom from responsibilty that summer inevitably brings. To make up for the lost time, here's a smattering of things that have happened since we left:
-Just Plain Ant, you know, that guy I interviewed a while back? Well, he's released two albums on his newly found record label, Just Plain Sounds. The first one is Braintrust's The Bailout, featuring the vocal graces of A-Bomb and Dr. Benway over Ant's slickly produced beats. The other, Jay Slim's The High Life is so new that I haven't even had time to check it out, but I bet it's pretty cool, considering the fact that Chuck D probably wouldn't want to work with Ant if he was producing uncool things. Yes, I'm talking about that Chuck D.
-A second Tron movie is coming. While this is relatively old news, you may not know that Daft Punk is slated to do the soundtrack. So, to recap: French robots and lightcycles. What more do you need?
-Star Trek came out, and according to everyone from Trekkies to n00bs, it's a pretty solid flick. Unfortunately, X-Men Origins: Wolverine cannot boast the same accolades.
-Nerds rejoice! The Electronics Entertainment Expo (E3) is just around the bend. Expect a better show this year in comparison to last year's heavily regulated, poorly timed, and thus more boring expo. All the big names of the video game industry will be there to drop tidbits of information regarding what you should look forward to playing this holiday season. E3 runs from June 2-4.
-Oh yes, and apparently Passion Pit is all the rage these days.
Expect more regularly scheduled posts from here on out, including songs of the week and album reviews. Hopefully we can bring you some cool stuff to augment your summer experience.