Begin Anew

It’s been a little while since I posted but tonight I’m determined to post something.  I get into “funks” every now and again so my creative outlets loose steam at times (ie: photography and blogging about music) BUT, I then have to look to music and photography as inspiration and begin anew.  Thus the theme on this post, “Begin Anew”.

And what delighted music do my ears hear upon going over to one of my favorite websites: www.hypem.com but a wonderful song called “Eyes Wide Open” by Gotye.   From Wikipedia findings, seems he has had 2 hits down under, “Eyes Wide Open” and a song called “Leanalilgivinanlovin” which is another bright musical gem. I would say from these 2 songs that Gotye is infectious and fun!

Here are the 2 songs via YouTube:

The video for “Eyes Wide Open” is pretty amazing!

And the video for “Leanalilgivinanlovin” is fun and animated too!

I would say this music has fit the past week’s weather in SF and gives hope to my friends and family in the Midwest and East coast that the sun will shine again!

And I also want to plug my friend Richard aka “Disco Pup” has he has added some great music which he dubs “Nu Disco“! Here is the link to his podcast, the current one titled “Aumentare”.  I am also posting the release statement he sent me via Facebook describing the songs he has included in the podcast. Enjoy!!

Podcast Link: http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/discopup-presents-danceteria/id386464658

Danceteria by Disco Pup:

As previously noted, I had intended to do an unabashedly disco mix featuring reboots of some classics, plus explore a genre that is being called Nu Disco.  Then Sharam released “Fun”, and I knew I had to do something else.  So, this became the 20th episode in the Burning Man Trilogy.

Take Me Over (Mylo Remix) – Cut Copy

Thanks to the boys at DOPE and Ben Holder for alerting me to new music from Cut Copy.  This is the first single off the new album, Mylo giving the track an electro spin.

Complete – Code Talkers

Niko Its  A Bad Dream (Sean Palm and Matt Xavier Gravity Pimps Remix) – One Of Them

These two are arguably examples of minimal, a genre I’ve rarely featured. It’s almost chill-out, but good beats and bass keep them from nodding off. After the mix was done, I actually had to go back and write down the times of the transition, as I couldn’t tell.

Come Home (Sasha Remix) – Yousef

This opens the new Global Underground mix from Dave Seaman.

Dog Tag (Sébastien Léger Rmx) – Format:B

One of two tracks brought to my attention by dj spaceotter, who wrote “I love the slinky bassline, the stereo panning effects, and the great build.”

Brainstorm – Re-Zone

From a George Acosta compilation, this hints at the progressive and trancey beats to come.

Fun (Funhouse Mix) –  Sharam featuring Anousheh Khalili

And here, 35 minutes in, we have the reason this set exists.  It starts out wonderfully typically Sharam, great drum loop, deep bass, perky synths… then it stops, cold.  And when I first heard it, I thought there was a glitch in the file itself.  Then Anousheh begins to sing, and the song rebuilds itself around her.  And sets you up for the rest of the set.

Thrive (EDX’s Fe5tival Mix) – EDX

The other track dj spaceotter alerted me to: “This is the kind of epic progressive/trance that reminds me of earlier, more optimistic times in electronic music–the ennobling, joyous nature of progressive & trance in the late 90s. Nice synth triplet chord progression over a sustained choral note.”

Die For Love (Original Vocal Mix) – Klingenberg and Dave Darell

The mix is called “Original Vocal”, but something tells me there’s a version with actual verses somewhere.

Belfunk (Original Mix) – Sasha

I’m going to pick up pretty much anything Sasha puts out. He is easily one of the most original dance music producers out there, stretching genres and challenging listeners.

The Far Side (Original Mix) – Soundprank

Beautiful – George Acosta featuring Fisher

A couple of fun proggy/trancey tracks that continue to ramp up the energy.

9 PM – (Dj J3H 2011 Remix) – ATB

A nice little reboot of the classic ATB track.  Reminds me of sweating my ass off at the Factory.

Ready (Maarten De Jong Dub Mix) – Giuseppe Ottaviani, Walsh and McAuley featuring Emma Lock

Ottaviani is a protege of Paul van Dyk and this Dub Mix featured more vocals than any of the other dubs.  I found the full on vocal to be a bit much, but it may appear on the next Alternative.

Hand (Next DJ mashup of JvD mix) – Jorn van Deynhoven and Temple One vs El

From the mix name to the list of artists, I have to believe that this is a combo of two or more tracks.  If anyone knows what the originals are, let me know.

Be.Angeled (Paul Van Dyk Club Mix) – Jam and Spoon featuring Rea

From 2001!  I know!  Be.Angeled is a German film that follows a group of young people as they attend Berlin’s Love Festival.  The vocalist Rea would go on to sing for Paul van Dyk on his “Reflections” album.

Many thanks to DJs Pete Savas, Matt Consola and spaceotter. And thanks to Randy Moore who continues to push and promote.

v.3.46
http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/discopup-presents-danceteria/id386464658
The first Danceteria of 2011 features an exploration of progressive, tech house and minimal tracks. But true to the cover art, the set takes a sharp turn about 35 minutes in with a brand new track by Sharam. After that, it’s nearly non-stop switch-backs and rabbit hops until the very trancey last 20 minutes.

Related Articles

• Paul van Dyk: 2011 North American Dates (jambase.com)

Musical Interludes for the Weekend

As usual on a late Friday night, I start to browse through the web for new and old tunes to add to playlists for the 2 bars I work at.  One bar where I work, Trax (Haight St, SF, CA) is what you might expect from a dive bar on Haight (yes, that Haight St, yes those hippies back in the 60’s) is a very laid back dive.  The regulars are musically savvy ranging from jazz to current music and everything in-between.

Trax: Where Destinies Collide

I love playing a song and seeing that misty look in their eyes as memories drift back to them.  Playing a tune they haven’t heard of in a long time or thought of for that matter.  I love playing for all ages, it’s a challenge that I look forward to fulfilling weekly.  I try to stay within certain parameters for a bar crowd: ie: nothing too depressing, nothing really slow and something that makes people generally happy and in a good mood.  Sometimes I strike out, but I think every DJ/bartender who brings their IPODS strike out at some point or another.  Music is a journey and sometimes, you step in shit just like in real life!!

So some music I stumbled on for this weekend:

Peter Bjorn and John – “Second Chance”: They were the guys behind the mega hipster hit “Young Folks” in 2007.  That nice little whistling tune you would have stuck in your head for days on end.  Well now they are back with something a little more grittier and a departure from the whistling.  Don’t get me wrong, I love the tune “Young Folks” but this track kicks some serious ass for 3 guys that are listed in Rhapsody under the category “Dream Pop” (how the hell they come up with these genres are beyond me..?) And it seems they replaced the whistling with a cow bell! Gotta love the cow bell!  Check it out:

Now I’m a sucker for a rap song that loops a song in a decent manner.  I admit, I’m picky about my rap.  I can’t do gang bangin’ rap, I’m a 38 year old white gay male…I just don’t get the gang bangin’ rap.  Now if that is what you like: cool. To each his own.  I mostly favor women rappers vs male rappers ie: Missy Elliot, Lil’ Kim, etc. But I found this nice little rap jam via Gorilla Warfare Tactic with a tune called “Temptations” which I’m thinking is a double meaning: one being they sample a Temptations song (“Ain’t Too Proud To Beg”) and from what I can gather lyrically, maybe temptation is a theme as well..? Anyway, I think it’s a cool song so take a listen:

Another element in a song that will probably catch my attention is when a song starts out one way, then changes into something else in the middle and then go back to its beginning.  A good example is from way back in the day (well at least for me anyway) is Billy Joel’s “Scenes From An Italian Restaurant”, its 3 songs in one! Starts out slow, then gets mid tempo on your ass and then goes into full kick ass mode by 2:54!

So the song that I’m currently referring to with this element is Memory Tapes “Today Is Our Life”: it starts out slow and moody then it bursts into bright pop sweetness! Then by the end of the song you just have quiet synthesizer playing to fade. Below I have posted Billy Joel’s way of using the element of a song within a song and Memory Tapes after that:

Billy Joel – Scenes From An Italian Restaurant

Memory Tapes – Today Is Our Life

So that concludes another post here in Xanadu! Have a great weekend everyone!

To see my photography go here: http://shandopics.paradepro.com/ or here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/shandopics/

To buy my photography go here: http://www.redbubble.com/people/shandopics (and if you don’t see a photo you like that is currently on Red Bubble, tell me a photo you do like and I will post it for you to purchase!)

All the photography you see on here (unless otherwise noted) is by me and if you are in the Bay Area and would like to have portraits done, or a headshot or some other kind of photography gig, let me know! Thanks!!!

Related Articles

• New Memory Tapes: “Today Is Our Life” (pitchfork.com)

Digging for Gems: From Classic Rock to New Rock

I work at two gay bars here in San Francisco and I’m in charge of music on my shifts. It is one reason I started a music blog because I was spending so much time researching new and old songs (cause I get tired of listening to the same stuff over and over) that I figured I might as well blog about songs I discover.

Last night I Goggled “rare classic rock songs” and found some gems I had never heard of so now I’m sharing them with you!

Also, I found a band by the name of Cosmo Jarvis which is really just one person, Harrison Cosmo Krikoryan Jarvis, who was born in New Jersey but moved to Devon, UK according to Wikipedia. He has a song called “Gay Pirates” which is a sweet pop tune with a great message. I think if you heard it without knowing the title you might not even realize its about two gay pirates!

And lastly, posting the new song by Cold War Kids “Mine is Yours” from the album with the same title. The album drops on January 25th and I’m excited about it so will probably be reviewing it later this week! If you don’t remember who Cold War Kids are, I will post their first hit “Hang Me Out To Dry”.

Have a great weekend everyone and as my friend Dave and I say to each other when ending emails: LICK IT UP!!
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First is a song called “Fast Bluesy Woman” from a band called Tucky Buzzard, 1972. Simply awesome!

Another classic rock gem by Cat Mother and the All Night Newsboys called “Good Old Rock N’ Roll”

This is a down and dirty classic by Moxy called “Midnight Flight”, 1976.

Music in the now, “Gay Pirates” by Cosmo Jarvis! Great pop and great message!

Lastly, the new song by Cold Wark Kids, “Mine is Yours” then followed by their first hit “Hang Me Out to Dry”!