Category: Dance (Page 12 of 26)

Seen Your Video: OK Go, “End Love”

June 15, 2010 /

Sweet Jesus. OK Go has done it again.

What I love about “End Love” is that the stop motion photography reminds me of Zbigniew Rybczyński’s groundbreaking videos in the early ’80s, particularly the Art of Noise’s “Close (To the Edit)” and Lou Reed’s “Original Wrapper.” Only, of course, OK Go takes the concept into outer space by turning the clip into an all-nighter and, in the end, a giant group production. Along with a few very curious geese.

Tim is clearly the best dancer of the bunch here, but that’s almost become an in-joke of sorts. If Dan and Andy suddenly learned how to be as fluid as Tim, it wouldn’t look right. The occasional inclusion of super slo-mo shots was a nice touch too, but nothing touches that human cyclone at song’s end. And now that they have gained control of the album and released it on their own label, we don’t have to worry about any of that ‘no embedding’ nonsense. Get comfy. You’re going to need to watch this one a couple times to catch everything.

Alternative, Artists, CD Reviews, Dance, Pop, Rock, Seen Your Video, Videos

Devo: Something for Everybody

June 15, 2010 /


RIYL: Jerking back and forth, whipping it, playing peek-a-boo

Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Jim Morrison and Kurt Cobain lived and died in less time than the gap between Devo’s last decent album and the present. (Add a year if you want to go back to their last truly good album.) The band’s last album, Smooth Noodle Maps, is almost old enough to buy its own beer, all of which is a flowery way of saying that it’s been a long, long time since Devo was even close to being on their game.

Devo_01

Or maybe they were just biding their time. After all, there was no point in Devo releasing new music in the ’90s or even the first half of the ’00s, as the musical climate would have been indifferent at best and hostile at worst. Now, on the other hand, is a damned good time to be Devo, on a number of levels. Between the New New Wave movement (most of which, frankly, stinks) and the emergence of former alt.rock chart giants dominating the kids music circuit, Devo, for the first time in decades, has options. And they’re striking while the iron is hot.

Something for Everybody, Devo’s first album in 20 years, is an embarrassment of riches. The songs are insanely catchy – “What We Do” and “Human Rocket” are among the best songs the band’s ever done – and the production deftly blends classic Devo (think Freedom of Choice, New Traditionalists and Oh No! It’s Devo) with modern-day flourishes. The lyrics are still oddball, but tamer; there’s no talk of slapping mammies or altruistic perverts, and that’s just fine. Not everything here works – “Cameo” tries a bit too hard, and “Sumthin'” is too slavish in its attempt to channel “Whip It” – but this is far better than anyone had a right to expect from a band nearly 30 years removed from its commercial peak. Bravo, gents. (Warner Bros. 2010)

Devo MySpace page
Click to buy Something for Everybody from Amazon

Alternative, Artists, CD QuickTakes, CD Reviews, Dance, Pop

Robyn: Body Talk Pt. 1

June 10, 2010 /


RIYL: ABBA, Annie, Goldfrapp

No one in mainstream pop blends cutting-edge production flourishes with devastating hooks better than Robyn. You want to know what’s wrong with the major record labels in 2010? Don’t look at illegal file sharing, look at the fact that not one of them was able to turn her into a dancefloor-ruling superstar after her debut. More power to Robyn that she’s releasing her music on her own imprint and her own terms, but in the old days, talent like this was locked up, placed in indentured servitude, and used to make tons and tons of money. When Christina Aguilera recorded her silly Bionic, she wanted to be as cool as Robyn.

Robyn

Compare Bionic with Body Talk Pt. 1 – supposedly the first of three Robyn releases this year – and you’ll hear how far Aguilera, and everyone else on the American pop scene, has to go. At just a blonde hair over half an hour, Body Talk covers more ground than most dance-pop singers manage to stake out in a career, from the trippy, spoken-murmured opener “Don’t Fucking Tell Me What to Do” to the closing number, the Swedish traditional song “Jag Vet En Dejilg Rosa.” In between, you get the delicious champagne fizz of “Fembot” and the prom-theme-in-waiting “Cry When You Get Older” (suck it, Vitamin C!), plus a moody dance track (“Dancing on My Own”), a chilly slice of synth reggae (“Dance Hall Queen”), a space-age Röyksopp collaboration (“None of Dem”) and even a piano ballad for good measure (“Hang with Me”).

It’s smart, instantly addictive, and it’s over before it gets anywhere near wearing out its welcome. While Robyn’s imitators are busy copping her sound, they’re all missing the important part – it’s the songwriting, stupid – and if you aren’t a fan yet, then you’re missing out too. Time to correct the error of your ways. (Cherrytree/InterscopeKonichiwa 2010)

Robyn MySpace page

CD QuickTakes, CD Reviews, Dance, Pop

Me, Myself, and iPod 6/9/10: They work in bars. Whether they are all on drugs remains unknown

June 9, 2010 /

esd ipod

Strange. I thought that the closer we got to summer, the more awesome mp3s I’d have for all y’all. Instead, it appears the opposite is happening. Like I said, strange.

The Chap – We Work in Bars
I’m not 100% sold on this London band, but there’s a spirit to the work that I find appealing. Definitely want to hear more before officially passing judgment.

The Mercury Program – Arrived/Departed
This made the cut for one reason: the delay-driven guitar line at the beginning of the song is a near note-for-note copy of the beginning to the song “Outside” by the late, great band Tribe. These guys obviously took it in a much different direction (an instrumental, moody jazzy direction, that is), and that’s cool.

Hot Hot Heat – Goddess on the Prairie
You have to feel a little bad for these guys. When people start making jokes about the ’00s, these guys will be near the top of the One Hit Wonder joke list, and the worst part is that even the members of the band don’t like that song and wish they had never recorded it. This song, from their new album Future Breeds, which came out this week, shows the band, well, pretty much where the world left them. Give them points for not suddenly pretending to be Franz Ferdinand.

Parlovr – Pen to the Paper
Is Montreal the new Brooklyn? Or was Montreal Montreal before Brooklyn became the destination of choice for musical immigrants? Either way, this song has a driving quality to it that brings out the New Order fan in me.

Alternative, Artists, CD Reviews, Dance, Downloads, Instrumental, Jazz, Me Myself and iPod, Pop, Rock

Andy Bell: Non-Stop

June 7, 2010 /


RIYL: Erasure, Hercules and Love Affair, being absolutely freakin’ fabulous

It’s clear after listening to Andy Bell’s latest solo effort Non-Stop that he’s the happy half of the synth-pop duo Erasure. While both Erasure and Bell’s solo material primarily consist of poppy synth-pop melodies with dance floor-friendly beats, the lyrical content of Erasure songs are always melancholy, introspective and down. Maybe Vince Clarke, the other half of the legendary synth-pop duo, likes to bring you down when you get your groove on. Conversely Bell’s solo tunes are, with rare exception, just as happy, upbeat and hopeful as the synth-heavy music that accompanies them. About as down as Bell gets on Non-Stop is “Will You Be There?” where he questions a lover’s reliability. But the tone of the song pretty much assumes that the answer to the titular question is a resounding “yes.” Almost every other track on this stellar solo effort is an excursion into fabulous happiness, climaxing in the brilliant “DHDQ,” which stands for “Debbie Harry Drag Queen.” It’s a track tailor-made to be the theme song for the next season of “RuPaul’s Drag Race.” It, like just about every other track here, is a sure-fire hit for gay clubs across the world, don’t try to be ‘manly’ and pass them up. ‘Real’ men can listen to dance-pop while sipping on Appletinis too, dammit. Well, they can at least listen to dance-pop. (Mute 2010)

Andy Bell MySpace Page

CD QuickTakes, CD Reviews, Dance, Electronica, Melodramatic, Pop

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