Albert Hammond/Junior Boys at Hiro Ballroom

So, last night found the McAD and I at Hiro Ballroom to hear the Junior Boys DJ and to catch the Albert Hammond, Jr. set. The Hammond set was fun enough, but there were a couple big problems. First off, I was really enjoying dancing to some Jackson 5, when someone decided to cut it off so the band could get on stage. Wack. Then there's the issue of being all "ooh I'm gonna distance myself from the strokes and not play any strokes tunes". So instead he covers a Frank Black song (not a pixies song, but a frank black song. maybe a commentary on solo careers? who knows.). For as much as I could bash it, it was a fun set. But it was like drinking a miller lite when you're really craving an MGD.

Brett Beyer

The Junior Boys were fun, but they were kinda just rocking some house stuff, nothing that I really recognized. We did dip out during their set several times to drink cheap beers ($7 for one bottle of beer is just never okay), so maybe we missed something. I don't think so though.

we're back

How great it is that we are back. I'm know you're excited. So I am gonna give my own little list of songs from the summer. I meant to just put up my favorite songs from the summer regardless of when they came out, but it ended up being all songs from the summer.



1. Pull Shapes - Pipettes
This song will lift your spirits no matter what. Happiness in musical form. What's it about? Loving music and how it makes you dance. Speaking of dancing, try listening to this song when you are in a car alone, YOU WILL DANCE. It is involuntary. You can't help it. If you think I'm lieing, wait until the singer asks: "is that a drum beat?" The ensuing drum part is a one way ticket to dance city.



2. In The Morning - Junior Boys
One of my first posts on this blog was about this song. It's off the new album that comes out today, and it should be a good one. This song needs to be heard on a dance floor (maybe I just love to dance by myself in a car) and that synth line at the 3 minute mark still has my ears ejaculating.



3. Watermelon vs. The Pineapple - Xiu Xiu
This song is also from an album that comes out today. Usually Jamie Stewart's voice is really intense and creepy. Here it's barely less intense, and maybe more creepy. But as far as artsy indie shit that your Young Jeezy lovin' roommate would hate goes, this is fantastic. Underneath it all, this song can be both beautiful and heartbreaking at the same time.



4. A Public Affair - Jessica Simpson
I'm on some cheesy radio shit right here, but man I love this song. I really am not a Jessica Simpson fan (TV shows, music, and her looks included), but I just can't help but enjoy this song.



5. Another Sunny Day - Belle and Sebastian
I didn't put this list in any order, but this song is an unofficial number one. My favorite song from my favorite album of the summer right here. Murdoch's voice builds a little intensity with every line of the song and by the time he gets to the last verse he just melts your heart. This whole album was so good it really could have taken up all 5 songs on this list.


So that's the list. Left off were about 20 different songs by The Knife, new TV on the Radio, along with new Mountain Goats songs, and looking back over it I can't believe I left off Voxtrot, but that's the list. Oh, and this summer I also decided WWE wrestling isn't good anymore.

BTW, I am totally into Young Jeezy, too. (definitely watch this clip, maybe not the best made-for-youtube clip ever, but worth it to see Michelangelo dancing in a club)

Junior Boys "In The Morning"

In The Morning - Junior Boys

I am seriously excited for this new Junior Boys album (titled So This is Goodbye, out in August), even more so after I finally tracked down their new single "In The Morning". This song might be better than anything on their stellar first album (Last Exit), and that is saying alot. That album was most of the time subtle in it's whispery, sexual little way. This song bubbles along with a ridiculously danceable, almost industrial beat. Check the build up and release at the 3 minute mark with that synth line that gives my ears a boner. I gotta hear that synth line on a dance floor before the end of the year.

Between this album and Thom Yorke's, my most anticipated albums of the summer list is now at 2.

MC Abstract Douchipster's 10 Songs

I figured for my first post I would put up 10 songs for one reason or another. Mostly these are just the songs I am into right now. Some have sentimental reasons, some are just songs I decided I wanted others to hear.

Everybody's Gotta Learn Sometime - Beck

A song that means alot to me for certain reasons, but you might know it from the "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind" soundtrack. Originally performed by a band called The Korgis, it's performed here by a scientologist named Beck Hansen. Try not to be moved by the vocal performance from Beck as he longs for lovin. Also, check the Jon Brion production (yes, that guy from the Kanye album) as he tries to do his best Nigel Godrich impersonation.

Peacocks - The Mountain Goats

I had alot of trouble picking just one song from this group as I have grown an obsession with John Darnielle's muppet-like voice. But the strength of his songs and lyrics make the voice endearing. Darnielle may not be a virtuoso on the guitar, but few people today are writing songs as personal and as craftful as he does on a regular basis.

I Would Hurt a Fly - Built to Spill

Built to Spill is one of the greatest bands of the 90s no doubt. Each song of thiers has more innovation, emotion, and kick ass sections than most bands out today have in thier entire catalogue. Also, singer/songwriter/guitarist Doug Martsch, is as close to an actual God as anyone in rock has ever been.

Get Set - Kano ft. Low Deep, Ghetto, Big Seac, and Demon

Time to change it up with one of the best MCs out of the truly blossoming UK hip-hop/grime scene. This song was featured on the compilation "Run the Road vol. 2" which was the sequel to one of the most important (and great) compilations to be released in the last 10 years. I originally heard this song from a guy named Mikey, and he liked it. I do too. The beat is sick, and the rhymes are too. This is the new age grime, indeed.

Little Derek - Sway

Sway is truly about to explode. He has more mainstream upside than any MC in England, he's got better rhymes than anyone out today, and he is a Newcastle United fan. All of this adds up to my favorite new artist and your future favorite new artist. I met him, too.

My Sentimental Melody - Magnetic Fields

Yes, the Magnetic Fields sing mostly love songs. Yes, the songs are written by Stephin Merritt, who is a homosexual. Yes, the love songs are mostly sung by a man about men. This should not stop anyone, straight or gay, from listening to this brilliant man. The melodies are perfect, the production is fantastic, and the lyrics are universal enough to appeal to anyone with a heart. HOLY SHIT, this guy can write the perfect love song.

Fog - Radiohead

Baby alligators, nuff said. I figured for my first post I had to put something by the greatest band in the world. This is probably my favorite Radiohead B-side because while it's too WIERD a song even for Radiohead to put on an album, it's also too GREAT a song to not love it. Radiohead gave experimentation a heart.

Death to Everyone - Bonnie 'Prince' Billy

Anyone who knows me could have guessed that there would be something by this guy here. This song is an acceptance of the most basic fact of life, that "it's gonna come". The production on this song (and on this whole album) makes you feel like you are sitting in a dark room with Bonnie (real name Will Oldham) as he sings this dark song to you, adding a creepy effect to an album with creepiness to spare. If you plan on listening to this guy alone at night, it is best to not be near any razors or ropes long enough to make a noose.

Bellona - Junior Boys

In a perfect world, this song would have OWNED dance floors when it came out. I can't really explain why I included this song here on my first post. I guess I just always thought these Canadians deserved more acclaim. Heart-felt vocals along with a glitchy dance beat all put into a pop song that owes as much to Daft Punk as it does to Timbaland.

R.A.G.U. - Ghostface Killah ft. Raekwon

Between me and the Green Hornet, this blog is definitely gonna have a strong predilection for the Wu-Tang clan and Wu associated projects. My favorite member of Wu recently put out arguably his best album and this is one of my favorite songs from it. This song could have fit in perfectly on Raekwon's album "Only Built 4 Cuban Linx". Raekwon's storytelling is as good as it has ever been, and no two MCs work together better than these two men. Fishscale is easily one of the best albums of 2006 and this song is a classic example of the genius of the Wu.