Nuclear Beef

Glitchy IDM Deconstruction Audio Beef Today. Acute is (self-)titled while his glitchtar gently weeps.

'Titled' and 'Stillmyguitargentlyweeps' by Acute from his self-titled 2003 album

Boy, there's nothing I like more than excellent tracks I come across on the internets with absolutely no meta information. Oh wait, there is! Musicians who name themselves something that makes them totally impossible to find in google! All I know about Acute is that his name is Andrey Schneider and he lives in Israel. This album (demo?) was apparently released some time in 2003, and sounds remarkably fresh for an IDM album of that vintage. It could use some mastering and is unfortunately somewhat uneven. Some tracks even sound plainly unfinished. I wish I could tell you why, but I have absolutely no idea! Leaving all this mystery aside, here are two gems in the rough.

'Titled' starts out with a whimsical piano and then glitches it into submission. I admit that I'm a sucker for this type of twurking, but Acute displays a finely tuned ear for creating rhythms within the madness. I would not be surprised to discover that he (she?) has some classical training, as 'Titled' displays a certain melodic sensibility. What really sold me on this track is the progression just before the end, where the melody he's been hinting at finally shows itself with a wry smile to the sound of sampled applause. Unfortunately, the track then abruptly ends. Unfinished? I hope so, because I want more!

'Stillmyguitargentlyweeps' sounds a bit like two songs playing at once, both of which are 90 degree IDM permutations of the Beatles classic. A robotic shimmering crunch-and-evoke with shades of early Autechre. Playful but somehow as serious as a heart-attack. Intricately arranged and strangely soulful.

(If anyone has any information on Acute, please feel free to email nuclearbeef a@t gmail d0t com. I'd love to hear what he's been up to recently. Andrey Schneider, please phone home! Shalom shalom.)

Posted by darwin at 03:14 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

This entry probably deserves to be in the category 'Stupid Stuff' as well as '(Music) Journalists Are Incompetent.'

MD: Still on the subject of the Internet, Pitchfork gave you a big fat “10” for Source Tags & Codes. Are you guys worried at all about this record living up to that? Pitchfork has a tendency to turn on a lot of bands; they gave a 6.7 to Secret of Elena’s Tomb and 3/5 for the “Worlds Apart” single. Are you guys worried about them turning on you?

CK: If I lived my life worried about what Pitchfork thought would you consider me a very intelligent person?

MD: No.

CK: Last thing I heard about Pitchfork from one of our friends that worked there was that all those guys have not been laid in three years. Seriously, none of them have had sex. They are just really angry at the world and they just need some pussy, you know, they just need to get fucked.

So that explains it!

(I must confess, I know nothing about the band Mr. Keely is in.. but I'm far more likely to check them out now that I know we're on the same page about Pitchfork. And before anyone points out the obvious, yes, I really need to get fucked too. Doesn't everybody? Everybody deserves to be fucked, anyway...)

Posted by darwin at 12:14 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Fresh Air Interview Audio Beef Today. Not Music! Ice Cube answers burning questions from NPR's Terry Gross.

'Fresh Air Interview - 01/10/2005' (64KHz Mono MP3, 47 Minutes, 22mb) by Ice Cube and Terry Gross from NPR's Fresh Air, January 10th, 2005

Here's an interesting interview with former NWA member and gangster rap pioneer Ice Cube on NPR's talk show Fresh Air. Cube was appearing in order to promote his new family comedy Are We There Yet?, which was number one at the box office this weekend. Cube and Terry Gross talk about the history of NWA, gangster rap and Ice Cube's career evolution from rapper to actor to producer. They cover a lot of ground, but Terry asks the most important question right at the very end of the interview.

TERRY GROSS: Can I ask you one dumb question?

ICE CUBE: Please.

TERRY GROSS: This is very dumb.

ICE CUBE: Ok.

TERRY GROSS: Do you think of yourself as being Ice Cube or Ice Cube? Or does it.. does it matter?

ICE CUBE: I don't know that, what was the difference between Ice Cube or Ice Cube?

TERRY GROSS: What, where the emphasis is.. on the first or the last word, and if it's Ice Cube, it really sounds like the ice cube.. and if it's Ice Cube.. I.. I don't know, I've never..

ICE CUBE: All my friends call me 'Cube'

TERRY GROSS: Ok.

ICE CUBE: And you know, if you know me real good, call me 'Cube', I'll respond to that.. but uh.. I don't know, I think I'll debate that.. whether I'm Ice Cube or Ice Cube.

TERRY GROSS: I'm over thinking this.. I've obviously overthought this.

Oh Terry, don't be so hard on yourself! I'm proud of you for not being afraid to ask a question that I'm sure millions of people have wondered about over the years. It's too bad that Cube didn't give us a definitive answer...

(I've always thought he was Ice Cube, myself. When I first heard this interview on the radio, I admit I was a bit thrown that Terry called him Ice Cube. That said, I absolutely cracked up laughing when she actually asked him. Classic. And yes, I know you can listen to this in RealAudio at NPR's site. That's where I encoded it from, because Real Audio is teh mecka suck. Also, anders over at Music (For Robots) links us to this fun cover of Cube's verse on 'Straight Outta Compton' by Nina Gordon, formerly of Veruca Salt. Giggle. Cinnacism doesn't like it, but she's not the boss of me!)

Posted by darwin at 10:06 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

Euro Electronic Folky Female Audio Beef Today. Masha Qrella and Blue Foundation tell us about their days.

'My Day' by Masha Qrella from her forthcoming (2005) album Unsolved Remained on Morr Music

'My Day' by Blue Foundation from their 2004 album Shape Of Days on Virgin Music Denmark

(It seems like these days I find myself posting a lot of songs about.. well.. days. As I'm certainly never one to break an obsessive pattern before its time, here's two more!)

Masha Qrella has been on my short list of artists to watch since I heard her first album Luck last year. I had the bad.. luck.. of losing my copy in a drive crash, but Masha's haunting voice on tracks like 'I Want You To Know' (linked by mark over at Music (For Robots)) and '14 Reasons' stuck with me for.. days. Imagine my delight when I came across a promotional copy of her new album, due out in late February on renowned Berlin-based label Morr Music.

The album is a bit less eclectic than Luck but it's still crisply produced (by, I presume, Masha herself) and prominently features her dulcet vocal tones. Fans of Portishead, Massive Attack, Morcheeba and other electronic acts with beautiful female vocals would do well to give Unsolved Remained a listen. The track I've posted here is both the strongest on the album and representative of its sound. She sings harmony with herself and somehow effortlessly blends folk music with downtempo ambience. Lovely.

Denmark's Blue Foundation seem to be a loosely-organized collective with a large cast of characters. Their 2004 album Shape of Days nonetheless establishes a consistent melancholic beauty throughout. The day evoked by singer Kirstine Stubbe Teglbjærg dovetails nicely with the day described by Qrella. The track grooves along, showcasing live trumpet by Bo Rande, emerging from a shimmering soundscape. Blue Foundation signed to a major, but you shouldn't hold it against them. They clearly have creative control over their artistic direction, and I'm certainly curious to see what their future holds.

But that is, as they say.. a story for another day!

Posted by darwin at 02:41 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Electro Vs. Commodore 64 Audio Beef Today. The Cannibal Cooking Club meets Tomas Nordstrom at tear time.

'Tear Time' and 'Tear Time - Tomas Nordstrom C64 Remix' by Cannibal Cooking Club and Tomas Nordstrom from the 2004 Vinyl Single Rest In Pieces on Chan n Mikes Records

Here's a nice little slab of post-techno (see, Pitchfork fuckers, I can make up trend names too!) madness from German electro weirdos Cannibal Cooking Club and Swedish Bleep-meister Tomas Nordstrom. CCC (two guys from Germany) are somewhat 'traditional' electro musicians, but are clearly on the more experimental side of the electro world. It's music for DJs... mentally ill DJs. This track is not their most innovative, but in order for the remix to make sense, I had to post the original.

And oh yes, the remix. Tomas Nordstrom showcases his C64 tracking skills by turning in a SID remix which drastically improves upon the original. Frankly if I were CCC and I heard this remix, I would have gone back and added that thick ass bassline into my slightly monotonous electro track. Oh well, yet more proof that it's all about how you work it, not what equipment or software you use.

Tomas Nordstrom is a hard man to google, but he has an interesting release out on web-mp3-label Race Will Begin which released Nordstrom remixes of 'Slow' by Kylie Minogue and.. 'Milkshake' by Kelis. Yeah, I know, but this 'Milkshake' remix actually doesn't suck, in large part because he fuzzes the irritating vocal in and out of the mix. Nordstrom is also affiliated in some way with Don't Recordings which features an artist called EDIT who is not edIT aka Edward Ma but nonetheless has some pretty interesting tech-electro MP3s up here. For example this one, which I would probably play in a DJ set. I guess electronic dance music isn't dead.. yet!

(Of course, the website of Michael Forshaw's Label Chan-n-Mikes (linked above) is now off the net, which can't be a good thing, can it?)

Posted by darwin at 05:43 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

Bouncy New-School German Breakbeat Audio Beef Today. External Hard Drive wakes up, listens and makes breakfast in bed for 400,000.

'Why Not' and 'Happy Funk Shit' by External Hard Drive from their 2004 Self-Published CD Firewire

External Hard Drive are two DJs (Alexander Gasteiger and Oliver Wrage) from Berlin who obviously have a sense of humor. They make bouncy mostly-breakbeat music with the kind of unusual samples which bring a smile to this jaded raver's face. I first came across this album as an unnamed promo, but discovered upon visiting their site that the songs actually have names. Of course, the song names seem to have nothing to do with the content, but what do you want, they're from Germany! It's weird German shit!

Of the two tracks, 'Happy Funk Shit' is the weirder, while 'Why Not' has the sort of strapped-down funk and sample-freaking that motivates me when I'm half-awake and need to get to work. Both are a bit frantic (and could use a bit more mastering) but leave me excited about what to expect in the future from External Hard Drive.

There also seems to be some connection between External Hard Drive and Sex In Dallas, whose 'Everybody Deserves To Be Fucked' made me giggle when it was posted by blair at Music For Robots a while back. Apparently Gaga (Gasteiger) from External Hard Drive plays guitar (?) on 'EDTBF.' The association is not too surprising, as both groups play to the dancefloor while simultaneously being a bit of a piss-take.

Their web-page isn't particularly informative, but you can apparently email them for a copy of the CD. They're selling it for 10 Euros, which I think (given the current state of the dollar) is something like $27 dollars. Pricey, I know... but at least no middle-man is taking his bite. You could do a lot worse!

(As an aside, what's with groups these days and their non-googleable names? Try searching for a German group called External Hard Drive and google is suddenly defeated. Whine.)

Posted by darwin at 11:05 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)

Ok we bring you this nice movie in superb quality but if you download and watch it you must dontate some money to the Unfortunate victims of the Tragedy in Asia. So many people died and more are homeless so give generously and help some one less fortunate than yourself. Trust me you will feel better.

Posted by darwin at 08:52 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Jazzy Uptempo Breakbeat Audio Beef Today. DJ Romanowski knows what he's gonna do.. he's gonna move!

'Days and Daze' by DJ Romanowski from his 2005 album Party In My Pants on Future Primitive Sound

It's Wednesday, so here's a little slice of jazzy niceness to get you through your Hump Day at work or wherever you are. San Francisco's DJ Romanowski chops and pastes a jazz track and flips it into an uptempo dance floor rocker. He flips a beautiful vocal sample and verily squeezes every last drop of soul from it. I'm pretty sure that he got an actual trumpeteer to play on this track, otherwise this is one of the most impressive samplings of a horn lead that I've ever heard.

(Those who know my musical taste will find even more impressive is that this track is seven minutes long and I still like it. I have Music Attention Deficit Disorder (MADD) so that's pretty damn extraordinary!)

Romanowski instantly establishes the mood, but doesn't pull out all of the stops until the almost-ska bounce breaks free at the three minute mark! After things get rolling, the trumpet lead frolics and bounces your troubles away. Simply Lovely.

This album is due out in early January, though it was originally scheduled for a 2004 release. Romanowski's page seems broken, as does Future Primitive Sound's page. If they can't even get their websites working, it's no wonder they can't get this dope album out the door. Get it together, guys!

(And yes, I know that Scissorkick and Fluxblog posted tracks from this album a few months back... but they didn't post this one!

Extra special haterade shoutouts to the dipshit calling himself Ataturk in the comments to my recent Dr. Kinsey Post. Just so you know, I'm going to keep on doing my thing... and you can keep on being an ignorant hateful fuck. See how easy it is to tolerate people who you dislike, dumbass? MWAH.)

Posted by darwin at 12:20 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Just wanted to take a moment to note the passing of a great actor, Jerry Orbach. Quite possibly the best TV detective EVER.

"He always knew his lines -- and yours, too," said choked-up co-star Sam Waterston, who joined 300 people for the hourlong service at Riverside Memorial Chapel on Manhattan's West Side. Orbach, a Broadway song-and-dance man who achieved his widest fame as Detective Lennie Briscoe on TV's "Law & Order," died of prostate cancer Tuesday night at age 69.

Rest In Peace. Thanks for all the memories.

Posted by darwin at 09:24 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)