JAMES FIGURINE

Jimmy Tamborello (of Dntel and The Postal Service) has a new project to be unveiled this summer. Under the guise of James Figurine, the album Mistake Mistake Mistake Mistake, will be out in Europe on Monika records at the end of June and then in the US on Plug Research in the middle of July. Thus far, the sound is a lot like what you hear on Dntel but with less grunge electronica, if that is a word.

This is what Jimmy says:
""In November of 2001 my band Figurine went on a short tour of Germany with Lali Puna. Our label there, Monika, set us up with a driver to get from show to show. She only brought three or four tapes to listen to on the drives, mostly techno. ... Listening to the same tapes over and over again (especially Kompakt's pop-leaning Total 3 and some 7"s on Parfum) while driving through Germany made a giant impression on me.

... This record was supposed to be an extra melodic, minimal techno record with some sparse vocals, but my technopop tendencies got the best of me, the songs slowly filled up, and this is what I ended up with. It's called Mistake Mistake Mistake Mistake because that's what I kept chanting to the beat while I worked on the tracks."

John Tejada and Jenny Lewis are aong the big names that helped along the way.

The best I've heard thus far is "Apologies" but you can find more James Figurine here.

mp3 - Apologies

HOT CHIP: And I Was A Boy From School

I had heard a few tracks from Hot Chip last fall from their album, mostly from Coming On Strong. I couldn't get into them then but this track has me bopping around like a robot. Almost like a disco meets Postal Service and Dntel, the electro disco loop in the back will move your body while the near monotone lyrics will having you singing along.

I am officially obsessed with this track and I'm ranking up the hits on my play count.

mp3 - And I Was A Boy From School

Find more Hot Chip here and here.

EXPLAIN: the Bluest Light

For whatever reason, I find myself with the Engineers Blue Light Anti Gravity Bloc Paty remix on repeat. After feeling good about myself for discovering what the 'Grey Cup Ring' was that Donovan Woods referred to (see here), I thought I could uncover the mystery of JUST WHAT THE BLUEST LIGHT is. Well, I am not coming up with much.

When my wife and I tried to dissect it, I thought it was referring to love. You'll find it in all of these places - shadows, cupboards; it will walk you home; it will help you remember, etc.; you are THE bluest light=the most love.

Now the research I am finding on Song Lyrics seems to fall into 2 purported thoughts:
1. The song is about a break up and the loneliness to go along with it. You see the 'bluest light'/loneliness everywhere you go and the 'bluest light' reminds me of YOU everywhere I go.
2. The song is a metaphor, saying your closeness to someone is like that of blue wavelengths, which are the shortest in the light spectrum. Therefore the bluest light refers to how close you are to someone and ALSO that when galaxies come close to Earth, they appear to be blue.

Regardless, this is an amazing and haunting remix of a already terrific song. Listen to the mp3 below and if anyone can add a explanation, I would appreciate it.

mp3 - Blue Light (Engineers 'Anti-Gravity' Mix)

TRACK A TIGER

I am going through my mailbox, cleaning out some tracks sent to me by labels and artists. Track A Tiger is a pretty good find with male-female vocal harmonies that remind me of EastMountainSouth - nothing to hard or too soft, just nice melodies. Check out the 3 mp3's below for a sampling as well as their website and myspace page.

mp3 - Sound As Ever
mp3 - Seashaken Heart
mp3 - Glad To Be Scattered

NEW RADIOHEAD - Live from the Hammersmith Apollo in London

I don't what exactly this site is called, LDERS(?), but check the link for recent Radiohead shows and downloads.

I am not sure yet what I think of the new tracks. It is tough to judge new songs live because they will sound totally different in the studio. Some sound good, some sound like guitar rock or adult contemporary. If you listen, let me know what you think. Does anyone know the release date of the new album?

DONOVAN WOODS

There is a artist known as Donovan Woods who is a unbelievable acoustic solo artist. For some reason, I have kept the 3 great songs of his I had to myself and only shared them with Co-Pilot Greg recently. See below for those gems.

Today, we were lamenting that he doesn't have more music available so I decided to stop by his usually haunting grounds myspace and twotimes.ca to see what's doing. To my surprise, HE HAS POSTED CLOSE TO 2 ALBUMS WORTH OF NEW MUSIC!!!, what looks like a EP called The Yukon Is Kept Mine and a LP called Slow and Steady. I have listened to all the tracks and I think it is safe to say these are quiet bedroom recordings and not the real deal. This guy can play and this guy can sing - someone sign him already.

mp3 - I Ain't Saying Shes Better Than You Highest Recommendation!
mp3 - Brand New Gun
mp3 - My Cousin Has A Grey Cup Ring

***NOTE*** I recently found out that a Grey Cup Ring is the equivalent to a Superbowl Ring. The Grey Cup is what the winner of the Canadian Football League wins and all the players get rings. That should clear up the mystery of being jealous about a Grey Cup Ring.

NEWS: New Keane track available at Stereogum

Keane's new single "Is It Any Wonder" is available to stream and Stereogum has the links. They deem it "second rate U2" and I can see that line of thinking. Definitely more upbeat than most of Hopes and Fears but I can't say much more than that.

NEWS: Sufjan interview over at Pitchfork

Pitchfork has a pretty solid interview with Sufjan Stevens up. Among the highlights from the article, Sufjan details:
...No new album any time soon. He needs to take some time off to stop writing because he is getting sick of his sound.
...He seems to struggle with his feelings about The Avalance album coming out this Summer that features Illinois outtakes. He says they are songs that he didn't feel were good enough for Illinois, that they needed to be reworked, that he wouldn't tour behind the album because it isn't that good, etc. etc. The writer even jokes that he is showing NO enthusiasm for the record but he insists that he likes it and it is really for closure on everything from Illinois.
...Sufjan supports downloading! That is nice. He says he can get by with what he makes and selling all those records won't inhibit him.
...He is currently very into birds following the track NPR asked him to do, Lord God Bird.

NEWS: RHCP Dani California video

I was sent this link to the new Red Hot Chili Peppers for their new single, Dani California. I saw them perfrom on SNL last weekend and was less than impressed with this song (but Test Pilot Drue says that is because no one EVER sounds good on SNL). I admit, hearing the studio version does sound better but I am still waiting for a monster single from the new album, Stadium Arcanium, out this past Tuesday.

VIDEO LINKS:
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