Peter Hook’s The Light – Unknown Pleasures Tour

12/01 – Washington, DC @ 9:30 Club
12/02 – Philadelphia, PA @ Voyeur
12/03 – New York, NY @ Webster Hall
12/04 – Boston, MA @ Royale Nightclub
12/06 – Chicago, IL @ Double Door
12/07 – Seattle, WA @ Showbox at the Market
12/09 – Portland, OR @ Doug Fir
12/10 – San Francisco, CA @ Mezzanine
12/11 – Los Angeles, CA @ Music Box at the Henry Ford Theater

O. Children
O. Children
Deadly People Recordings

The East London-based O. Children have had one of the most unusual founding stories I’ve heard recently. As the story goes, two former members of the underground band Bono Must Die – Tobias O’Kandi and Sleath – decided to form a new band and much like countless other bands across the globe, they released demo versions of several songs on the Internet. A random staffer at an East London record store played these early demos and the demos impressed O. Children’s current manager to the point that he knew that he wanted to work with the band. Their future manager contacted O’Kandi and Sleath and wanted to set up a meeting with the band – but the problem was that there wasn’t a full band yet. The pair of O’Kandi and Sleath quickly recruited a couple of random dudes to be in their band and during the entire meeting everyone had to pretend that they had known each other for years. And as they say, the rest goes down into the annals of history . . .

With the release of their full first length album on Deadly People Records, O. Children makes a rather auspicious debut. I fell in love with their brooding, darkly sexual, atmospheric sound. Naturally, because of their sleek and deceptively simple bass lines, shimmering guitars, and O’Kandi’s husky baritone many listeners may unfairly compare them to Joy Division or to their countless imitators – Interpol included. Of course, O’Kandi’s vocals uncannily sound as though he’s channeling Ian Curtis – it’s not just in the timbre but it’s in the phrasing and pronunciation. Hearing certain lines in O. Children’s songs reminded me so much of random Joy Division songs and although it may be kind of unwelcome for the band, it should be sort of expected. These days even decent baritones are rare to come by so whenever I come across a baritone vocalist, it stops me dead in my tracks. But that’s where all comparisons to Joy Division probably should stop. Spiritually, they share much more with acts such as the Black Angels, Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, the Horrors and others – in other words, O. Children’s songs focus on seduction, murder, madness and sin. And much like Nick Cave, there’s often a highly literate feel to the lyrics, as though they were inspired by Edgar Allan Poe short stories and Dostoevsky’s Crime and Punishment. It’s the sort of soundtrack for grave robbing or wandering around abandoned graveyards on Halloween.

“Dead Disco Dancer,” has a chorus that reminds me of something schoolchildren would sing-a-long in unison but with a naughty 60’s go-go dancer feel. But interestingly enough, it’s a song that describes the bloody corpse of a disco dancer – with a “bullet in his head,” O. Kandi sings. The video, although low budget, carries a sleazy, dirty feel that’s all too fitting. And to be honest, it’s probably one of the better songs I’ve heard all year. “Ezekiel’s Son” has the feel of a Grimm’s Fairy Tale, complete with prerequisite evil lurking in the forests somewhere. “Ruins” is probably the most muscular song on the album and with its added keyboards has a cinematic feel – as though it should be on a horror movie soundtrack. Oddly “Radio Waves” sounds a lot like Joy Division’s “Transmission” but with a cool horn solo at the bridge. Granted, much like a lot of debuts, there are moments where you can easily hear O. Children’s influences but much like many of their spiritual music soul-mates, they’re on that cusp of something truly interesting and exciting, songs like “Dead Disco Dancer” and “Ruins” attest to that fact.

Track Listing

1. Malo
2. Dead Disco Dancer
3. Heels
4. Fault Line
5. Smile
6. Ezekiel’s Son
7. Ruins
8. Radio Waves
9. Pray the Soul Away
10. Don’t Dig

(go here for part 1)

1. Tales From The Crypt “Main Theme” – Part Two of our Halloween soundtrack kicks off with a theme song from beyond the grave. So many of us have fond memories of sitting around the television on dark nights during our childhood, glued in terror and fascination to HBO’s spooky series, Tales From The Crypt. With gruesome host The Cryptkeeper and a cast of guest stars that included everyone from Tom Hanks, Adam Ant and John Lithgow to Brooke Shields, Meatloaf and Bobcat Goldthwait, the show never failed to send chills down the spines of even the most jaded horror fans. And of course, who better to turn to for a fittingly chilling theme song than the master of dark musical accompaniment, the one and only Danny Elfman. Elfman has pretty much cornered the market in this particular genre, and with themes like this one it’s easy to see why.

2. The Rocky Horror Picture Show “Sweet Transvestite” – Halloween weekend 2010 marks the 35th anniversary of one of the greatest spectacles to ever be captured on celluloid, so I pay homage with my favorite track from that film’s soundtrack. The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975) is in a class all by itself, an over-the-top parody of sci-fi and B-movie horror films that in some ways became the ultimate sci-fi/B-movie horror film itself. Ever since the first midnight viewing at New York City’s Waverly Theater on April 1, 1976, legions of audience-participating fans have catapulted this diabolical display of decadence and debauchery to cult status. “Sweet Transvestite” marks the moment in the film when I realized that newcomer Tim Curry was a genius, and I always find myself pulling this fantastic soundtrack out at Halloween time. So, don’t shiver with antici-SAY IT-pation any longer, kiddies, just listen to the song.

3. Alice Cooper “Welcome To My Nightmare” – It’s only fitting to follow The Rocky Horror Picture Show with one of the original masters of shock rock theater, Alice Cooper. With his dark, macabre and somewhat glam aesthetic, Cooper would probably have fit right in with the RHPC cast. Although I’m only putting one song from this album on the playlist, the entire Welcome To My Nightmare (1975) album is a perfect listening experience for Halloween. A concept album that centers on the nightmares of a child named Steven, the story winds its way song by song through dark and harrowing topics and provides a twisted sonic backdrop for all sorts of nocturnal mischief. In fact, you can pretty much put most Alice Cooper records on the turntable for Halloween; the man has always dwelled in a very dark realm. Check YouTube for a brilliant version of this song performed by Cooper on The Muppet Show in 1978.

4. Joy Division “Dead Souls” – There’s an inherent darkness to most of Joy Division’s music, but the JD track that I pull out more than any other at this time of year is “Dead Souls”. Originally released in 1980 by French label Sordide Sentimental as the B-side to “Atmosphere”, “Dead Souls” hints at the torment that was going on inside of singer Ian Curtis, whose struggles with mental and physical illness are well documented. Nine Inch Nails recorded an excellent cover of “Dead Souls” for the soundtrack of the 1994 movie The Crow (that soundtrack itself is a Halloween must-listen) that did justice to the original while adding their own flavor. For me, though, the original better evokes an eerie, somewhat paranoiac feeling that fits so well with the horror and mystery of Halloween.

5. Louis Armstrong “The Skeleton In The Closet” – Pops Armstrong wasn’t necessarily known for Halloween-worthy tales, but I stumbled across this gem from the 1936 film Pennies From Heaven and it totally fits the bill. A legendary artist in a groundbreaking movie role (in Pennies From Heaven, Armstrong was the first African American in Hollywood history to get featured billing alongside white actors), it’s pure pleasure to watch this scene where Armstrong recounts a tale of ghosts and goblins cavorting in a deserted mansion during the witching hour. The scene that features “The Skeleton In The Closet” is a who’s-who of music legends from the 1930’s, as Armstrong performs the song with Jimmy Dorsey and his orchestra, featuring the incomparable Lionel Hampton on drums. You’ll be jiggling like a skeleton’s bones to this one.

6. The Sonics “The Witch” – Before there was punk, there was garage rock, and one of the enduring beacons of the garage sound was The Sonics. Grittier than The Who, harder than The Kinks and more esoteric than The Rolling Stones, The Sonics were as close of a precursor to the bombastic sound of early ‘70s punk as you can find. Four of their most well known singles make excellent additions to any Halloween playlist; “Psycho”, “Strychnine” (which has been covered by The Cramps and Flaming Lips, among others), “He’s Waitin’” (with Satan as its subject matter) and this track from their 1965 debut album Here Are The Sonics. “The Witch” warns all the boys to watch out for an evil new girl in town, with long black hair and a big black car, but I think I know a few guys that wouldn’t mind meeting up with this chick in a dark alley.

7. Son House “Death Letter (Blues)” – If you’re talking about the early roots of American blues, don’t forget to include Son House in the conversation. While many blues aficionados tend to focus on Robert Johnson, Howlin’ Wolf, Muddy Waters and John Lee Hooker (and respect is definitely due to these legends), it is often the more obscure bluesmen that capture my attention. A product of the Mississippi Delta blues culture of the late 1920’s and early 1930’s, Son House lived and recorded in scary times and it often showed in his lyrical content. “Death Letter (Blues)” deals with the receipt of a letter that tells Son House that the woman he loves has died, and he rushes back to sit with her body and make sure that her spirit rests until Judgment Day. There are elements of olden-time death rituals and even voodoo tradition in this track that are very welcome on Halloween.

8. The Pogues “Haunting” – Some might consider it blasphemy to include a song from a Pogues album that was recorded without Shane McGowan, but alas, Waiting For Herb (1993) is the album that contains “Haunting”, a song about being scared out of your wits by a possessed tree on the way to a dance in Ireland. There’s something truly Irish about riding your bicycle along the road, stopping by a tree to get out of the rain, and suddenly the tree starts talking to you. Irish folklore is chock full of fairies, goblins, sprites and all sorts of other merry- and mischief-making creatures that wreak havoc on the unsuspecting, and The Pogues tell the story as if it’s an old drinking tale. Which makes total sense – since we’re talking about the Pogues, here.

9. Coldplay “Cemeteries Of London” – I’m a big fan of cemetery architecture and landscaping, forever taking my camera to one resting place or another and shooting angels, saints and other interesting graveyard statuary and stones. Some of the most grand and beautiful cemeteries are in Europe, most notably England and France. The first time I heard Coldplay’s beautiful “Cemeteries Of London” from 2009’s Viva La Vida LP, I imagined wandering through London’s famous Highgate Cemetery with my camera, getting tangled in ivy and losing my way among the aging mausoleums. The song’s structure and melody also evoke old seafaring laments, so one might imagine the ghosts of British sailors lost at sea wandering through the night in search of lost loves. Delicious visions for Halloween night.

10. 45 Grave “Surf Bat” – We leave you to your tricks and treats with a very Munsters-esque track from L.A. horror-punk/death rockers 45 Grave, “Surf Bat” from their 1983 full-length album Sleep In Safety. Along with The Cramps and the Misfits, 45 Grave are frequently credited as being one of the creators of the horror-punk genre, making them a perfect addition to any Halloween exploit. And on that note, Halloween playlist Part Two comes to its creepy conclusion…. a merry Devil’s Night, Happy Halloween and Feliz Dia de los Muertos to all.

Because the band has become all but synonymous with sleek, glossy, synthesized soundscapes, it is perhaps too easy to forget that New Order’s music is often not all that far removed from its roots in Joy Division’s dark, angular, guitar-driven post-punk rock.

Yes, there’s a lot of dance music in there, as has been obvious since at least 1983, when “Blue Monday”—a track that wears influences from Donna Summer to Kraftwerk proudly—became the #1 independent single on the UK charts. But there’s rock in there too. Bernard Sumner betrayed some awareness of his status as a rocker among dance musicians in an MTV interview from the 1980s when he called the sequencer “the perfect punk instrument.” Underneath the drum machines, New Order’s songs have always been driven at least as much by Peter Hook’s hard-strummed basslines as by the keyboards, and while the guitar lines have tended toward the subtle, they’ve always been a part of the band’s sound. All the computers might have made the playing easier, but they didn’t automatically turn rock tunes into anything else.

New Order’s position at the nexus of rock and dance provides the various artists on the massive Ceremony compilation—a slightly sprawling 30+ track tribute benefiting the Salford Trust Foundation’s Tony Wilson Awards, which give grants to musically gifted children—plenty to work with. Whether they go for the brooding rockers or the breathy dance tracks, choose to play it straight or deviate wildly from the source material, the artists from 24 Hour Service Station’s slightly Florida-heavy roster have a lot of options.

Some of the bands that have chosen a rocking approach actually hew closely to the originals. Yes But No’s cover of “Ceremony” shows off New Order’s disco-free rock heritage to good effect with brittle and fiery guitars, throbbing bass, and insistent drums that sound a lot like a just slightly lower-fi version of the equally guitar-heavy original, except for the sweet, predictably childlike harmonies of 10- and 13-year-old sisters Skylar and Brianna Ward. It’s a surprisingly engaging take on the track, calling to mind 1990s shoegaze as much as 1980s Manchester and youthful enthusiasm. The Dark Romantics’ spiky, sneering “Crystal” is another guitar-driven rocker that manages to conjure up much of the spirit of the original while delivering something new.

Rock-oriented artists that take bigger liberties with the source material offer what are arguably the best tracks on the record. The Sheaks’ version of “Ceremony” sounds nothing like Yes But No’s nor the original, instead reinventing the tune as a bit of lovely slowcore with glassy piano tones, pedal steel, and really cool sloppy-or-sleepy vocals. On Jimmy Oakes’s two contributions to the record, “Love Vigilantes” and “Bizarre Love Triangle” are reborn as pretty pieces of Americana/easy listening, with acoustic guitars, warm rasping male vocals, and gentle piano lines that stop just short of venturing uncomfortably into the Bruce Hornsby catalog. John Ralston’s similarly rootsy interpretation of “All Day Long,” another highlight, driven by electric piano, Hammond organ, and acoustic bass guitar, sounds like The Band in 1973 backing a low-key singer from mid-1990s Madchester. Others take New Order into classic singer-songwriter, twee acoustic pop (XOXO’s cute if a bit too nasal “Every Little Counts”), and art-song territories (Johnny Parry’s “The Him,” a warm and loungy piano-driven modernization of the original, featuring a pleasantly somnolent croaking reminiscent of Leonard Cohen or Nick Cave), often with very interesting results.
A few rockers don’t fare quite as well. Light Yourself on Fire’s wholehearted death-metal take on “Chosen Time” deserves points for originality and for effort, but is hard to enjoy if you’ve never wanted to hear Cookie Monster’s Bernard Sumner impression.

And sadly, most of the album’s electronic artists seem intimidated rather than inspired by the source material, turning in only modestly updated interpretations that—especially for male vocalists, who deliver far too many stiff deadpans with embarrassingly quasi-British inflections—sound like lukewarm impersonations that only remind us how effortless the originals really weren’t. At the other end of the vocal spectrum, some of the singers on Ceremony might sing a little too well for their own good—for example, thanks in part to a pretty but hyper-enunciated female vocal, The Bedford Incident’s “As it is When it Was”  winds up sounding unfortunately like the closing song in the first act of a Broadway musical about New Order.

There are some fine exceptions. While Rabbit in the Moon may not deserve their official bio’s laughably hyberbolic title of “most original electronic group in the world,” their rendition of “Blue Monday” refreshes the original smash hit very effectively, with hard-edged drum machines and chilly AutoTuned vocals that should play very well on contemporary dance floors. Farther afield, the spaced-out rocksteady/electro of Solo Gigolos UK’s World, which features an affectless female vocal that remains true to the Sumner spirit while renewing the track more effectively than some on this collection, offers another highlight in the more-computerized-than-not column.

Overall, Ceremony is certainly a good cause, and it’s an often-entertaining record, but its highlights are probably too diverse and its lows are probably too numerous to be likely to fully satisfy anyone beyond the most cultish New Order fan. Thankfully for those most dedicated of enthusiasts, however, this may be a testament to just how varied New Order’s gifts really are just under the polished surface.

Released on February 20, 2010

Track Listing

Disc One
1. Strangely Enough Impact
2. Ceremony
3. Dream Attack
4. Blue Monday
5. Crystal
6. Sub-Culture
7. World
8. Turn
9. Mr. Disco
10. Paradise
11. Run
12. Thieves Like Us
13. 60 Miles an Hour
14. Love Vigilantes
15. All Day Long
16. Temptation
17. The Him

Disc Two
1. At It is When It Was
2. Round & Round
3. The Perfect Kiss
4. Your Silent Face
5. This Time of Night
6. Blue Monday
7. Ceremony
8. Sunrise
9. Chosen Time
10. Leave Me Alone
11. Every Little Counts
12. Bizarre Love Triangle
13. Regret
14. 1963
15. Ceremony

Photography by Ashley Rossi

When this band eventually appears 10 feet tall from all of the success they’ve gained, you can tell your buddies, and younger siblings that you knew about Hank

and Cupcakes way before they found out. Here’s the video for their latest single, “She’s Lost Control.” If you haven’t seen them live yet, do so. Music video directed by Casey Randerson.

Two Worlds Collide EP

Freebass
Two Worlds Collide EP
Hacienda Records

As the story is told, Freebass, a band formed around three bassists came about during a drunken night between legendary denizens of the Manchester scene Peter Hook (Joy Division, New Order) and Gary Mounfield (Primal Scream). In interviews Hook has been quoted as saying that the band was a reaction to both his and Mounfield’s bands being in a lengthy hiatuses. Andy Rourke (The Smiths) was recruited to join up with the general idea that Mounfield would play the lower parts, Rourke would be somewhere in the middle and Hook would play the higher registers. Interestingly, when the news came out that Rourke, Hook and Mounfield were collaborating, I remember that there were a lot of critics and fans who dismissed the effort as being ridiculous and downright laughable. Initially, the Manchester based group wanted to recruit a bunch of different singers to sing songs – and the list reportedly included Billy Corgan and Liam Gallagher. Both of which probably wouldn’t have worked well anyway. After all, the project flies in the face of all known rock and pop conventions. And, as a general rule supergroups are viewed – at least by critics – with a healthy level of suspicion and derision.

It took several years but when the Two Worlds Collide EP dropped, I suspect that there were critics across the world who stifled guffaws and rolled their eyes. And although we critics are a cynical and jaded lot, I think it’s a bit difficult to immediately dismiss this EP. Sure a song like “You Don’t Know This About Me” sounds a lot like Get Ready-era New Order but if they continued without Bernard Sumner singing lead – at least up until the bridge which sounds a bit like it could have come from an old Stone Roses or Primal Scream song before ending abruptly. “Milky Way” is reminiscent of the Stone Roses with the same sort of jangling, shimmering rhythm guitars. “Death Starr” is by the far the most original sounding song on the entire EP. Some terribly pretentious poetry recited by Howard Marks in a Vincent Price-inspired vocal performance are backed with a propulsive bass line that pulls the song forward. The beginning of the song reminds me of “Come With Us,” the lead track on the Chemical Brothers’ Come With Us album. Both songs channel some avant garde tendencies. To the song’s credit it kind of works in a rather unexpected way. “Live Tomorrow,” sounds a lot like Power, Corruption and Lies-era New Order, full of synthesizers, drum machines, electronic blips and boops, as guitar and bass are played with what sounds like delay pedal and slight reverb. It’s all funky, danceable while being expectedly trippy and industrial but at the same time, not terribly original.

Two Worlds Collide seems to depend heavily on the winning formulas of beloved and legendary Manchester bands which is wonderful – if you want to hear Primal Scream, New Order and the Stone Roses or songs that sound a bit like an organic mishmash of all three. It’s abundantly clear Rourke, Hook and Mounfield have a natural chemistry and simpatico throughout the record. The songs feel as though the band was having fun which is probably something you might not be able to say about the last New Order album, for example. However, that simpatico doesn’t always equal growth as musicians or as a band. The album feels a bit stalled in the great reputations and efforts of their collective pasts. Because I’ve been a fan of all three of their bands, it’s encouraging to see these three are at it again these days, but it’ll be interesting to see where this leads the band. Until then, Freebass may sadly be a mildly interesting footnote in Manchester music history and for the careers of Rourke, Hook and Mountfield.

Release Date: March 26, 2010

Song List:

1.    Intro
2.    You Don’t Know (This About Me) feat. Tim Burgess
3.    The Milky Way feat. Pete Wylie
4.    Dark Starr feat. Howard Marks
5.    Live Tomorrow You Go Down
6.    That’s Life

It’s 7:15PM. Celia Cruz returns from the dead and sings through the speakers; the sunshine beams through the windows, which are open. I can hear feet on the sidewalks, walking slowly. The rhythm of conga and piano reminds me of the little island where I was born, but I want to hear the sound of Manchester, England or what I think is Manchester, England but it doesn’t matter. Like Tony Wilson said, “If you have to choose between the truth and the legend, choose the legend.”

In my legend, all they play in Manchester is “Madchester”, Joy Division, New Order, and the throbbing vibrations of rave music, dance music, house music. My iPod is connected to the mixer of Angels and Kings; the music of Celia Cruz slinks back into the grave.

In forty-five minutes, Dave Haslam, Hacienda DJ, among other prestigious titles, will be onstage to present his discussion. I’m drinking a Jack and ginger. I ask the bartender if we can rearrange the positions of a bench.

She tells the bouncer to help me move all of the seats. I expect only 15-20 people so I tell him not to move all of them.

We move all of them.

The place looks like a proper room for a lecture about Joy Division, New Order, and everything else. A room overstuffed with seats in the front to accomodate only my projected 15-20.

By 7:45, there are nearly forty in the room. Maybe more.

Dave Haslam @ Glasslands on 4/3

I introduce Dave to his audience, which comprises many people I’ve never met. I can barely get the words out of my mouth to list off his accomplishments to the  audience. I make no mention of my name (Jenn pointed this out to me). I’m a standing body in the spotlight, like a mannequin. But when I say “Dave Haslam”, everyone cheers. He walks onto the stage, away from the spotlight so that half his body is concealed in a long shadow. I should have done that.

Some of the writers for The Whiskey Dregs are in the room. Some friends. There’s Simon Reynolds and a guy who looks like Richard Belzer but it’s not him.

He begins with Ian Curtis’ death — the why and how. Then some history behind Manchester — the whys and hows of an industrial age giant, crumbling before the feet of its once prosperous citizens. Dave says we have cities like this, too like Chicago and Detroit. More like Detroit. He says the echo of the collapsing ruins was Joy Division’s music. He talks about other things, too. I’m completely engaged. It’s like listening to the first story I ever heard. It’s because I love this music and I love what it did for me throughout my life, like kissing a girl to “Blue Monday” when I was in high school or hearing the synthesizers wail on “Love Will Tear Us Apart” in Donnie Darko.

Dave talks about the last show they played before Ian hanged himself. There were 300 people in the room — no indication this band would stretch their influence beyond their generation or beyond genre because they had no genre. Just like Manchester, Dave says, the city no longer had industry and were left with a voice. A pained, dark, working class voice.

After his lecture and hardy, enthusiastic applause, he takes questions. Hands raise and then more hands but then I cut off the questions, otherwise Dave would still be asnwering questions and missed his flight back to Manchester. Dave might not have all of the answers, although it almost seemed as if he did; the possibility of learning about your favorite bands from someone else’s qualified and intimate perspective is enough.

Photo by Angel Ceballos

It’s so easy to get caught in the tempest of hyped albums, especially with the surge of music bloggers, trolling indie labels for the next big record. Most fall short (See: Kool Kids). Then there are some albums that are denied a full onslaught of media coverage. Let’s change that.

Warpaint’s Exquisite Corpse (2009) is hypnotic, melodic, rhythmic, and beautiful. Oh man, screw this. I really can’t wait for you to hear for yourself. Just listen to the link posted below.

(A full review of this E.P. will be posted soon on our site.)

Notable songs:

1. “Stars”
2. “Elephants”
3. “Krimson”

Bands of the same vein:

Cocteau Twins, Editors, Joy Division, Interpol

The Damned

By Jenn Sussman aka Belladonna

1. El Michels Affair “C.R.E.A.M.” – I felt that the playlist needed a chill intro track this week, and who better to lay down a mellow groove than the originators of the cinematic soul sound, the Brooklyn-based El Michels Affair. After the release in 2004 of the much buzzed-about Sounding Out The City LP on his own Truth & Soul Records label, EMA founder and musician Leon Michels was approached by Scion Motors about a collaboration with Wu-Tang Clan lyricist Raekwon as part of their Metro concert series. The combination worked so well that it not only led to a tour with Raekwon but also to a full-length EMA album of instrumental funk/soul versions of classic Wu-Tang tracks called Enter the 37th Chamber. Devoted Wu-Tang heads will no doubt recognize the track featured here, but even those who don’t are still welcome to enter this chamber of chill.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6hcUZg52RGA

2. Brazilian Girls “Homme” – I’m still feeling the chilled out vibe after that opening track, so I’m gonna head down this chill path a bit towards a favorite of mine by the beguiling Brazilian Girls. Incorporating reggae, jazz, bossa nova, pop and electronic styles into their infectious grooves, the Girls are actually made up mostly of guys…and not a single one of them is Brazilian. Fronted by multi-lingual vocalist Sabina Sciubba, they’ve been keeping the groove going from dance floors to boudoirs since 2004. Their self-titled debut album contains one of my favorite dance tracks of all time, “Sirenes de la Fete”, as well as two of my favorite chillout tracks, “Lazy Lover” and the track featured on this week’s playlist. Sung completely in French, “Homme” is about the motivations of the heart and the lies we tell each other (and ourselves) to justify those motivations. Très humain.

3. Goldfrapp “A&E” – If you’ve ever felt like you needed to be rushed to the emergency room after a bad breakup, you’ll understand exactly where Alison Goldfrapp is coming from on this track from her 2008 album, Seventh Tree. This emotional track was inspired by Goldfrapp’s own trip to “accident and emergency” (the British version of the ER), where a high dose of painkillers altered her reality and opened the door for this metaphor of a song. It’s honest, it’s beautiful, and it’s here for your enjoyment in both its original form and remixed by Hercules and Love Affair for those who prefer to dance their blues away.

4. Kool Keith “Master of the Game” – There aren’t too many brothers walking around in Elvis wigs, worshipping the color green, and waxing poetic about outer space. In fact, there’s probably only one, but that’s all we need. One of the weirdest characters in hip-hop and owner of one of the best flows in hip-hop, Kool Keith was a founding member of seminal hip-hop group Ultramagnetic MC’s and later went on to create and portray many oddball characters, including Dr. Octagon (check out the very cool “Blue Flowers” from 1996’s Dr. Octagonecologyst), Ultra, Dr. Dooom and Keith Kong alongside such notable names as Dan The Automator, DJ Qbert and Ice-T. Whatever alias he records under, Keith’s albums are always thematic and always a trip. Cover to cover, there aren’t many avant-garde hip-hop albums better than 1999’s Black Elvis/Lost in Space, where this playlist track resides. Prepare to get weird.

5. Mindless Self Indulgence “Bitches” – The only way I can describe MSI’s debut release, 2000’s Frankenstein Girls Will Seem Strangely Sexy, is to call it insanity on a disc. The 30 short tracks, arranged in alphabetical order, are literally the only orderly thing about this group; their musical style, song structure, album art and fashion aesthetic are wacked-out, wild and completely over-the-top. Even singer Jimmy Urine’s vocal style is all over the map, a crazed combination of melody, naughty little boy and banshee over a kaleidoscope of rock, punk and electronica over hip-hop beats. Many NYC folk (myself included) have a special place in their hearts for MSI because of manager/producer (DJ) “Saint” James Galus, who manned the decks at Mother and others in the Meatpacking District and the LES in the late 1990’s and early 2000’s, before yuppies and high-end retailers took over the neighborhood. But more importantly, bitches love them ‘cause they know that they can rock…and, because they sample Siouxsie on killer tracks like this one.

6. EMF “Search and Destroy” – This week, I’m giving double props by selecting a killer cover done by one of my favorite underappreciated bands, of a song originally recorded by a legend headed for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, the one and only Iggy Pop. EMF (aka Epsom Mad Funkers) are best known for the so-so mid-90’s smash “Unbelievable”, but believe me when I say that absolutely every other song they ever did was 100 times better. This particular track is rare and only available on a greatest hits compilation, but those who are down for a trip back in time to some unexplored territory should pick up EMF’s 1991 debut album, Schubert Dip – and anyone wondering where Muse got their sound from should look no further than EMF’s unbelievably good 1992 release Stigma, which has a permanent spot in my top ten favorite albums of all time/all genres.

7. Gang of Four “I Love A Man In Uniform (rerecorded version)” – Formed out of the musically fertile art school scene in Leeds, England in the late 1970’s, at a time when political undercurrents in song lyrics were as common as choruses, Gang of Four were outspoken icons of the post-punk movement. Their landmark 1979 debut release Entertainment! was unlike anything that had been released before it, combining elements of punk, funk, dub and reggae, and it placed Gang of Four at the forefront of a new sound rising out of a generation of Brits raised on poverty, depression and the threat of cold war. Originally released on 1982’s Songs of the Free, “I Love A Man In Uniform” offers a tongue-in-cheek tale of a man who joins the military not out of a sense of duty or honor, but because he thinks that it will make him seem more attractive and confident to his woman. I’ve selected my favorite version from Gang of Four’s 2009 rework, Return The Gift.

8. V.A.S.T. “Pretty When You Cry” – Another of my top ten favorite albums of all time/all genres, V.A.S.T.’s 1998 debut Visual Audio Sensory Theater marked the beginning of my love affair with a band that makes me fall in love all over again with every album they release. The brainchild of singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Jon Crosby, V.A.S.T.’s signature sound is rock-based but with layers of goth, ethereal and classical styles over Gregorian chants and assorted devotional vocal samples. Their sound has changed and grown a bit over time with excellent releases like Music For People, Nude and Turquoise & Crimson, and with Crosby side projects like Generica and Bang Band Six, but the V.A.S.T. foundation is always there. I’ve seen V.A.S.T. in concert four times, and every V.A.S.T. fan I come across (which, strangely, always feels a bit like finding a soul-mate) loves them as much as I do. I couldn’t possibly pick a favorite V.A.S.T. song, so I’ll give you the one that recently got me free drinks for the evening when I spun it in earshot of a surprised and grateful bartender.

9. Joy Division “Leaders of Men” – A candle burns eternally in the heart of every goth and post-punk fan for this beloved British band, whose singer died far too young at the insistence of his own internal torment. The late Ian Curtis and his bandmates (who would later become seminal new wave group New Order) left behind many memorable tracks despite their brief career, my favorite of which is featured on this week’s playlist. In the wake of the passing into law of healthcare reform legislation by a government that did not ask the wishes of the people it represents, it seemed fitting to select a track that questions our personal identity, the choices that are made for us, and how quickly things can get out of control. Speaking of control, after you’ve checked out every Joy Division song ever recorded, take a walk in Ian’s world by watching Anton Corbijn’s stark black and white 2007 biopic Control, based on the memoirs of Ian’s wife Deborah.

10. The Damned “Absinthe” – In the latter part of an on-again, off-again career spanning over 25 years, punk-goth-rockabilly-cabaret chameleons The Damned released the extremely rockin’ Grave Disorder (2001). An ode to la fee verte, “Absinthe” begins with a sampled intro of Gary Oldman’s Count Dracula speaking passionately about the wicked green elixir. I couldn’t possibly put it any better than Damned singer Dave Vanian does when he croons, “Come taste this lunacy / You’re blinded by the Green Fairy / Creeping out of your glass into your mind, then you can’t really see / I can take all of your fears / Transform the way you feel / Welcome to the spirit world where all your dreams are real…”. Grab a spoon, a spigot and a sugar cube and drink up, children. (p.s. For a great spooky trilogy, play this track with Donovan’s “Season of the Witch” and The Animal’s “House of the Rising Sun”.)

As a DJ, historian, journalist, and author Haslam, was an active participant of the music scene throughout the “Madchester” movement and will give us a unique glimpse into the world that inspired everyone from U2 to Interpol. He is also one of the lucky few who attended Joy Division’s last performance.

Grab a drink with us and consider all of those bands you like. The ones who stare face-forward into the floor beneath the soles of their shoes; they had a beginning, too — one that can be traced from their shoelaces to the roots of Manchester, where, among the economically depressed ruin of an industrial town, a band kicked a hole through the fabric of Rock and Roll. This night will be dedicated to the bands and scene that started it all.

FROM JOY DIVISION TO NEW ORDER: A Discussion With Dave Haslam
@ Angels and Kings
FREE
8PM-9PM
500 East 11th Street
Between Avenue A and B

RSVP Here

Dave Haslam’s official bio

DJ Dave Haslam made his reputation DJ-ing over 450 times at the
legendary Hacienda club; being invited to open for a host of bands,
including the Stone Roses and New Order; and writing for a variety of
magazines including the ‘NME’, and ‘The Face’ and publishing three
books.

During the mid-1980s Haslam was involved in live music in Manchester;
he presented Sonic Youth’s first headlining gig in Manchester, and
afterwards the band slept on the floor of his apartment.
He made his debut at the Hacienda on May 1st 1986. Playing an
eclectic mix of music, his Thursday night became the focus for
Madchester’s indie dance fraternity. Ian Brown, Tim Burgess and the
Chemical Brothers all later credited the night as an inspiration. In
1989 it was described as “the best club night in Britain” by the
‘NME’.

He DJ-ed at the Hacienda, mostly Thursdays and Saturdays throughout
the ‘Madchester’ years in the late 1980s, and returned to play at the
club in 1996; he was on the wheels of steel on the last night of the
club on June 28th 1997.

In 1990 he toured America with Mike Pickering, Graeme Park, and Paul
Oakenfold (his gigs in Detroit and Chicago remain among his favourite
ever gigs). Since the early 1990s he has hosted a variety of
successful club nights in Manchester. During the early 1990s he
travelled to Ibiza, Switzerland and France playing Italian piano
anthems and bleepy Warp remixes. In Berlin in 1993, he played
alongside Paul van Dyk at the famous E-Werk club. Haslam was
nominated one of the top 100 DJ’s in the world by ‘DJ’ magazine in
1993, and won ‘City Life’ DJ of the Year in 1994. He DJ-ed at the
first ‘Creamfields’ (in 1998) and latest (2008).

He appeared in the film ‘Twenty Four Hour Party People’, and has also
cooked cauliflower cheese for Morrissey; confused a TV presenter live
on Icelandic TV in a conversation about Moby; and written three books
(‘Manchester England’, ‘Adventures on the Wheels of Steel; the Rise
of the Superstar DJs’ and ‘Not Abba; the Real Story of the 1970s’).

He currently hosts ‘Sweet Sensation’ nights – fabulous, but
infrequent guest-list only parties at various venues in Manchester.
He describes his DJing philosophy as “playing the best records ever
made one after the other” and his style as “eclectic”; he has been
described as “a hero of the Manchester scene” and “the man with
golden ears”.

His recent gigs have included the after-party for the Manchester film
premiere of ‘Control’, a new wave night at Nouveau Casino in Paris
(highlight; Haslam playing ‘French Disko’ by Stereolab and then
pirouetting in the dancefloor), and a Gorillaz aftershow party
(highlight; Damon Albarn standing on a chair singing along to ‘White
Man in Hammersmith Palais’). In May 2008 he played two nights at
‘Aura’ in Lima (Peru), and has since travelled to play in Geneva,
Berlin, and Paris.