Amon Tobin Live!

Saw the incredible Amon Tobin throw down a vicious DJ set last night at the Bluebird Theater in Denver.

His arsenal included (as usual) a little bit of everything: techstep, dubstep, good ol' drum 'n' bass, ambient, chorales, marching bands, symphonics, and sprinklings of his own material...typically all at the same time. Folks that came expecting the subtlety of his latest album, The Foley Room had their minds and ears exploded.

Having seen him several years back I knew what kind of dark, crazy territory I was in for. Both times there were huge chunks of the set that sounded like an alien warehouse party flavored with random selections of that crazy Earth music. He has the ability to spin baffling combinations of sounds and beats with the utmost precision; always surprising and always fantastic.

If you have a chance to see him, do so – it's a one-of-a-kind experience.

Review: "Year Zero" by Nine Inch Nails

Right up front: I'm completely blown away by the latest Nine Inch Nails album.

To be honest I had given up on Trent Reznor ever recapturing the lightning in a bottle that was The Downward Spiral – the subsequent NIN releases were an exercise in frustration and diminishing returns. And while the virtual world viral chase that surfaced in advance of the album looked interesting, I just didn't imagine that the album itself would live up to the hype. Holy Jeebus, was I wrong!

For one thing, it's got a sound that feels current and classic at the same time. Gone is the hollow, underproduced feel of the tedious With Teeth. That classic heart-pounding power chord kick that you look for in a NIN album is back, along with noise, noise and more noise. And I don't mean just some noisy rock fuzz; I mean crazy, squelchy machines-imploding-and-running-off-the-rails noisy. And somewhere between the last album and this one Trent recaptured that signature 'funky industrial drummer' vibe that always separated his stuff from just another dude with a guitar and a drum loop.

For another it's a full-blown concept album (I know The Fragile was billed as a concept album as well, but I'm pretty sure only Trent could tell you what the concept was). The setting is the near-future America on the brink of a socio-political sci-fi apocalypse. Sounds like shooting fish in a barrel if you have even a passing familiarity with NIN's favorite themes, I know...but it works. There's plenty of getting on our knees, being on our knees, and getting up off our knees, but in this context of a totalitarian military/religious state, there's a compelling reason for it.

Lyrically he manages to examine several different point of view beyond master and servant, and pulls off some very cool new vocal and musical twists along the way without losing the essential NIN of it all. I don't know if it's going to resonate with folks that weren't already predisposed to dig his stuff, but I hope it does because this deserves to be heard.

So reaching the end of the disc, I'm already certain that Year Zero is one of my top ten albums for 2007. I'm also realizing I'm gonna lose a lot of free time to chasing the mysteries of this thing online....

See also:
NIN: Year Zero Mania

Tops of My Pops for 4/29/07

A weekly look at what I'm listening to, from my Last.fm user stats:

Top Artists for the week ending April 29, 2007
1. Nine Inch Nails
2. Tim Hecker
3. Amon Tobin
4. Thom Yorke
5. Underworld
6. Meat Beat Manifesto
7. Brian Eno
7. The Dead Texan
7. Harold Budd
10. Cocteau Twins
10. Manual
10. Kasabian
10. The Strange Parcels
10. The Kleptones

Listened to the surprisingly excellent new Nine Inch Nails about a million times this week, and ended up crowding out almost everything else (see my review of Year Zero to find out why). Also giving Amon Tobin a little extra attention in anticipation of his upcoming Denver appearance – should be a fantastic show!

See also:
The 'Tops of My Pops' archives

It's Coachella 2007 – wave to the shark!

Coachella 2007 kicked off today...and I feel perfectly fine not being there for the first time in four years. Last year's line-up was a bit dodgy but I went anyway. This year's simply was not worth the trip (certainly not worthy of a three day festival).

A week or two back my wife showed me a full page in that month's Marie Claire magazine, I kid you not: "What to Wear to Coachella". If there was any doubt in my mind about passing on this year's festival, that clinched it for me.

(But have fun, Steve. I know you'll the the most out of it!)

See also:
Jamie in the basement
Festival Madness

Tops of My Pops for 4/22/07

A weekly look at what I'm listening to, from my Last.fm user stats:

Top Artists for the week ending April 22, 2007
1. Akufen
2. Fila Brazillia
3. Zero 7
4. Underworld
5. Peanut Butter Wolf
5. Radiohead
7. Beck
8. Massive Attack
9. DJ Shadow
9. David Bowie
9. Severed Heads

Lots of mix CD listening this week. Checked out Akufen's Fabric 17 mix which was filled with lots of obscure click-house (enjoyable as expected) and Badmeaninggood Vol. 3 from Peanut Butter Wolf, which was filled with lots of obscure funk and soul (which was unexpectedly boring). Also rocked two huge favorites: the exceptional mixes from Fila Brazilla and Zero 7 in the Anotherlatenight series.

See also:
The 'Tops of My Pops' archives

500 Trades Later, Still Loving Lala

I just noticed that I passed the 500 trades mark at Lala a few weeks ago. While things have slowed down a bit (now that my want list is down to the newer or more eclectic releases), I'm still trading three or four times a week. At $1 + shipping a trade, it's consistently been a fantastic deal.

If you haven't tried Lala yet, I whole-heartedly endorse checking it out. If you're already a member, why aren't you sending me all the stuff on my Want List? :-)

Click here to get any of my CDs for $1



See also:
Do you like my Lala?
I love Lala

Tops of My Pops for 4/15/07

A weekly look at what I'm listening to, from my Last.fm user stats:

Top Artists for the week ending April 15, 2007
1. Lusine
2. Radiohead
3. Massive Attack
4. Meat Beat Manifesto
4. Josh Rouse
6. David Bowie
6. Fila Brazillia
6. Squarepusher
6. Cocteau Twins
6. The Kleptones
6. Dub Syndicate
6. James Brown

Gone into full-on Lusine mode this week after getting my hands on Podgelism, which remixes Serial Hodgepodge with contributions from John Tejada, Matthew Dear, Deru and of course Jeff McIlwain himself. Great stuff that's really scratching my electronic itch of the moment.

See also:
The 'Tops of My Pops' archives