remix monday : beyonce

I do not love Beyonce Knowles; I do have to say that. I think she's a bit talented, yes, but I love her as much as I love, say... American cheese. It's not nearly the pepperjack or jarlsberg that rock my world, but I tolerate it lovingly. At first, I thought the track, Diva, was a bit stupid, and purposely tossed as the third single off I Am... Sasha Fierce because it couldn't keep up with the first two (If I Were A Boy, Single Ladies), and thus had to survive off their momentum. I was probably right, but pay no mind to that.

Here's a remix of it, the first of its kind, to make me want to play Baywuntz Kanowlayz more often. Speedy Graffiti is a very talented remixologist based out of greater Phoenix who sent this to me personally, and I was so surprised (see: pleased) that I played it this past Saturday at SHIFT. Give it a spin (click the down arrow to download, as well)...

Diva (Speedy Graffiti remix)

April Showers: DJ MAJR set-list

APRIL SHOWERS Set List

Song 2 (cover) - Trash Yourself & Toxic Avenger
Losing Streak - Frankmusik ft. Computer Club
We Are Golden (Calvin Harris remix) - Mika
Supply & Demand (D.I.M. remix) - Fischerspooner
Heavy Cross (Fred Falke remix) - The Gossip
Diva (Speedy Graffiti remix) - Beyonce
Love or Torture - Blake Lewis
Invisible Light - Scissor Sisters
Telephone - Lady Gaga ft. Beyonce
Dance in the Dark - Lady Gaga
Fembot - Robyn
Waiting for Bulletproof Love - Kylie vs. La Roux vs. Gwen
Boots & Boys - Ke$ha
Might Like Ghosts Better - Deadmau5 vs. Amanda Blank vs. Bad Cabbage
Momma's Place (Speedy Graffiti remix) - Roisin Murphy
Mercy (Dunproofin's Thankful remix) - Duffy
Rocket (Richard X 84 remix) - Goldfrapp
Admiral Sloth (Trash Yourself remix) - El Paso Hot Button
Fixin to Thrill - Dragonette
What is Love (Barletta remix) - Haddaway
Fresh Prince of Bel Air (Mustart Pimp remix) - Will Smith
Can't Believe a Single Word (LA Riots remix) - VHS or Beta
Pop Goes the World - The Gossip
Acapella - Kelis
Fire in Your New Shoes - Kaskade ft. Dragonette
Blame it on the Girls (Wolfgang Gartner remix) - Mika
Stuck On Repeat (Fake Blood remix) - Little Boots
Zero (N.A.S.A. remix) - Yeah Yeah Yeahs
Ready for the Floor (LA Riots remix) - Hot Chip
I Feel Better (CapnHarry & BHB remix) - Hot Chip
Shout (Wayne G remix) - Tears for Fears
Blue Monday (Verdis remix) - New Order
Push It - Salt N Pepa
In My Arms (Sebastien Leger remix) - Kylie Minogue
Everybody (Headshot Boyz remix) - Backstreet Boys
Naturally (DJ MAJR remix) - Selena Gomez
In for the Kill (Le Castle Vania remix) - La Roux
Heads Will Roll (DAN OH remix) - Yeah Yeah Yeahs
Fuck You - Lily Allen
Sick Muse (Adam Freeland remix) - Metric
Untouched - The Veronicas
Teeth - Lady Gaga
Lisztomania - Phoenix
Ghetto Superstar - Mya ft. Pras & ODB
New In Town - Little Boots
Doo Wop (That Thing) - Lauryn Hill
Hate to Say I Told You So - The Hives
Take Me Out (Daft Punk remix) - Franz Ferdinand
Jerk It - Thunderheist
The Boys - Dragonette
Show Stopper (Tommie Sunshine remix) - Peaches
Y Control (Tommie Sunshine remix) - Yeah Yeah Yeahs
I See You Baby (Fatboy Slim remix) - Groove Armada
Paranoiattack (The Sneekers remix) - The Faint
Alive - Goldfrapp
P.Y.T. - Michael Jackson
Filthy/Gorgeous - Scissor Sisters
Dancing on My Own - Robyn

weekend 04/23-25 preview

This weekend we have two great shows! Dragonette and Hot Chip grace the DC stage, each known for vibrant live performances. Then, of course, there's our end-of-month bash, SHIFT: April Showers. So, go enjoy the best in electro-pop, two nights in a row, and come dance your face off at SHIFT. It promises to be the most awesome of experiences, as SHIFT plans to go aurum!

A GREAT weekend! Best in a while!

SHIFT

Saturday @ 10:00-3:00a

Cobalt

$6

Facebook Invite

Dragonette

Friday @ 11:00

DC9

$8 (may be sold out)

Big Sunglasses - Dragonette by nour">deadpoetshonour

Hot Chip

Saturday @ 7:00

9:30 Club

SOLD OUT

Ready for the Floor - Hot Chip by nour">deadpoetshonour

DO IT!

three track thursdays 04.22.10

Today's three tracks come from a wide variety of indie acts. From synth-pop, to androgy-piano pop, to singer/songwriter indie rock. It's a good time for a three track thursday!

We have the uber brit-pop synth-heavy Frankmusik (ft. Computer Club). Vincent Frank is a part of the new rush of electro boys: a horde of synth-pop lead male vocalists headed by Frank, and followed by the likes of Dan Black, Just Jack, Blake Lewis, and Simon Curtis. I've become a huge fan of Frankmusik because he has only released one full-length album state-side, and has already caught my ear on 5 tracks I deem quality. This is a rarity for any act over a series of albums for me, but Vincent Frank did it quite quickly. Check him out!

Next, we have Mika's new track from the Kick Ass soundtrack. Titled the same, Mika teamed with RedOne [who is responsible for Lady Gaga's production... you know, when you thought she was saying 'Red Wine' in Just Dance, then you felt like a retard when you realized it was an ol' school shout out to those who made her famous... like right now]. This track is quite decent, if you can handle Mika's shrieky vocals in the beginning; something I had trouble stomaching, but to which grew accustomed.

Lastly we have a BRAND NEW track called Your Hands (Together) from The New Pornographers (one of the best bands you'll see live) that reminds you that acts can have a traditional singer/songwriter indie rock sound and still sound like genuine pop. It took me a while to come around to them, but TNP finally got me with a track called Sing Me Spanish Techno, and this track has been stuck in my head all week, thanks to the infectious Neko Case vocals. This fantastic song, from the upcoming LP Together (due out May 4th), will do the same to you- I promise.

Just press the down arrow (on the right) to download the tracks.

Losing Streak (ft. Computer Club) - Frankmusik

Kick Ass (We Are Young) - Mika

Your Hands (Together) - The New Pornographers

guest DJ spotlight : DJ RAD

DJ RAD is what one would call a showman. The lead promoter and resident DJ of Pink Sock at Wonderland Ballroom, DJ RAD is no stranger to the DC scene. He has cut his own niche out of the DC gay dance market by creating the highest grossing weeknight event Wonderland has seen, while doing it on the unenviable platform of a Wednesday evening. Additionally, there's the fact that it's in Columbia Heights; an area that is growing on the good side of the gays, but is not yet the proverbial hot-spot. Still, Ryan Duncan has taken this night (which debuted last fall) and parlayed its surprising (and mammoth) success into opening/guest DJ spots at The Green Lantern's RAW, Town's WTF, as well as earned the respect of many DJs and promoters with his talent and enthusiasm.

Stylistically, DJ RAD (Ryan Adam Duncan), can be explained as the perfect balance of aggressive rave-heavy (think: Goldfrapp, Blisterz Boyz, The Faint) and disco-friendly. Similar to his contemporaries, he has a great deal of respect for these genres, but where he separates himself is his immense utilization of/appreciation for the Grace Jones-esque era of soulful, sexy, late 70's dance. Like Jones in the late '70s/early '80s, Duncan is able to straddle the disco-to-new wave transition without a flaw, while maintaining a healthy and sharp eye for the new.

Personally, he is of the rare humble breed of promoter/DJ. As far as his Pink Sock party, he is innovative with many hilarious themes and accompanying decor; all the while paying out of pocket with zero assistance. Moreover, he tackles and overcomes the venue's Cretaceous sound system with a ballerina's fluidity. It's this kind of 'love for the show above all else' that good promoters own and convey, and he is the epitome of such. He also consistently goes out of his way to support other parties, and is always camera friendly (whether or not he realizes it).

For all these reasons he was chosen to be a part of this Saturday's SHIFT: April Showers, as the opening spin-master for resident DJ MAJR. Similarly, both have a DJ moniker taken from their initials, both are meticulous executors, and both plan to bring the house to its knees. One thing he will appreciate at SHIFT is Cobalt's fantastic in-booth sound system, as well as being the DJ during the coveted 11:30-12:00 rush. The 400+ that usually walk in the door during that time may be the largest crowd he's had a chance to make dance... and they will appreciate it. I know, as I'll be one of them! So, don't miss it! It'll be totally rad.

photos courtesy of brightest young gays (namely Bradley Portnoy & Ben Murray)

fresh wednesday (cont.) : new vidjas

Check these vidjas out. I really dig both, and you should too! One is the venerable Hot Chip (who is performing here in DC this Saturday), the other, Delorean, is a rising act from Spain with whom I've recently become enamored. Pitchfork coined its sound "sunstruck synth-pop" - I could not have said it better. Or, maybe I could've... had I cared enough to do so.

Nonetheless, I do like Delorean's video a little more, as I tend to put more stock in music videos that really sync with both the lyrics and the feel of the music, but Hot Chip gets an award for Big Balls for this off-the-wall masterpiece. Wow. Check out Hot Chip's new album, One Life Stand, and Delorean's Subiza, which just dropped in the U.S. on March 30.

I Feel Better - Hot Chip

Stay Close - Delorean

fresh wednesday: groove armada

Groove Armada came back in a big way this year with a new album, Black Light. It may not be amazing, but this album is fabulously sexy. It's as though they made it 20 years ago in a dirty London studio with the kind of basic hardware that projects the most dense, sensually raw/basic sound. I've come to the conclusion that Groove Armada wrote this album (in 1989) in the studio waiting room while Violator (perhaps the best synth album ever) was being recorded. It has the qualities that can only be achieved by the types of acts that actually lived through the synth-pop explosion of the 80's, dance craze (and all its many children that THANK GOD have ceased to remain relevant... R.I.P. happy hardcore) of the 90's, and neo-new wave electro-clash (that revived and conformed to modern pop standards) of the 00's.

To this day, I do not know if anyone else has really pulled this off in quite a stellar way. Death in Vegas tried a few years ago with Satan's Circus, but fell short. The lead single off this album is the previously blogged about I Won't Kneel (perhaps the best single from any act so far in 2010). This follow up, though, can hold its own. Here is the album cut (download link above it) and the fantastic Urchins remix (which you can download from the soundcloud) of Paper Romance.

download(mp3)

Paper Romance - Groove Armada

Paper Romance (Urchins Remix) - Groove Armada

vidja of the day : the presets

This video is a classic, in my opinion. Music videos should match not only the theme of the song, but the music itself (one of my gripes with the new Lady Gaga 'Telephone' video). This video is also pretty amazing because it was so obviously low-budget. The Presets are a great band, the best 2-piece I've ever seen live, and this is one of their best songs... and easily their best vidja.

I'm salivating to hear what their next LP will sound like, which they are no doubt producing now.

essential tuesday: music you should own

Here are three tracks you should own! First we have a song called Electric, by Melody Club. This act had some great underground success right about the time I started going to indie/electro bars in 2005. They have a lot of decent tracks, but nothing comes close to the pop brilliance that is this one. I remember being drawn out to the dancefloor when hearing it, and not being able to help myself from dancing.

Then we have Dolly Rockers. These UK bitches are pretty fantastic, as they are completely cliche UK pop rock, but both quality and danceable. This tune, Gold Digger, is by far their best track to date. Lastly, we have the always unstoppable Fischerspooner. FS changed my audio tastes and my perception of performance art. They ARE electropop, and have been for years. This track, Never Win, is the most radiopop they get, but worth a listen for those of you unfamiliar.

Electric - Melody Club

Gold Digger - Dolly Rockers

Never Win - Fischerspooner

remix monday : lily allen

I have a love/hate relationship with Lily Allen. Sometimes she's amazing. Others she's simply ordinary (never quite terrible). Here's a remix of a track that I love, Everyone's At It. Love or hate Lily, you have to adore her balls. She consistently gets out there and says what she wishes, writes extremely well, and stands by her mess of a self.

This track, in its original version, is pretty great. The remix, though, is so much more synthetic (in a good way). Do yourself a favor and put on your headphones for this one. This track about the joys and dissimulation of drug PR is lush with a fantastic drop-beat.

Everyone's At It (Tranqatari Remix) - Lily Allen

DOWNLOAD(mp3)