Tag Archive for 'music'

Musical Education: Dubstep

This is another chapter in my book of musical education, youth culture, and what’s new. I also just want to draw attention to this genre — dubstep — in the hopes that more people will start listening to it. It should definitely appeal to old dnb/jungleheads — I think that is part of what did it for me.

I was inspired to write this after listening to this track by The Bug, “Poison Dart feat. Warrior Queen,” which I am just loving, along with the rest of the album.

I encountered this genre of music as a result of listening to Mary Anne Hobbs’s show on BBC Radio 1. Wikipedia says, “Hobbs has been a notable champion of the dubstep and grime genres.

To give you a little more background, here is a short documentary that the BBC made on dubstep. You should note that the video was added April 26, 2006, so, unfortunately, if this is the first time you’re hearing about this genre, then you’re already behind.

MGMT vs. Sparkle Motion

Boing Boing posted about a new MGMT video that is out.

The video is great, but I can’t watch it without thinking about Sparkle Motion. Apparently this scene was originally supposed to be shot with the Pet Shop Boys’s “West End Girls,” but it was too expensive so they picked Duran Duran’s “Notorious” instead. It’s nice to see it with “West End Girls,” but I think “Notorious” works out better in the end.

NAKAHARA Masaya at Super-Deluxe

Daily Journal Entry #11833 05/23/08 Fri

The Shock Doctrine

I watched a good video of Naomi Klein talking about her new book The Shock Doctrine, where she argues that governments use disasters to establish equally if not more disastrous neoliberal economic policies. It was inspiring to think about history as “shock resistance,” but I am so pessimistic about the world right now that it is difficult to believe there is much if anything we can do, especially because of the need for collective action. Maybe the best we can do is to simply get through this.

De-Stress

I got a response from the IRB, which helped to reduce a lot of my stress.

Experiencing Nowhere

I found it amusing that everyone used their weak or non-existent cell phone reception as an index for how removed we were at the lake house.

Minutiae

  • Mailed some documents, shot a video journal at the mall, bought a Nintendo DS, got a haircut, and drove to the lake house — I played lots of Pokemon Diamond on the way.

Links

Daily Journal Entry #11831 05/21/08 Wed

Minutiae

I am a typeface that you have never heard before.

I heard this song at GB in Shinjuku Nichome. I’m not sure which is more endearing — that it is shot in Tokyo or that it is about a font.

Towa Tei featuring Kylie Minogue – “German Bold Italic”

I’m not usually a fan of the chill lounge sound, but this is also a good track.

Towa Tei – “Technova”

I knew I had encountered Towa Tei before, but I couldn’t quite place him. Then it hit me — which explains the sample in “German Bold Italic.” Groove is in your heart.

Deee-lite – “Groove is in the Heart”

Where art thou, Shizuo?

I was recently bemoaning the, now eternal, absence of one of my favorite bands, Shizuo.

Shizuo – “Sweat”

Wikipedia says that Annika Trost, from Shizuo, went on to do a project with Gina V. D’Orio, from EC8OR.

EC8OR – “Dynamite”

Their new project is called Cobra Killer, and, according to their MySpace, they should have an album out soon. I can’t wait. I’m really enjoying this track in the meantime. Warning: This video contains a clown.

Cobra Killer – “Mund Auf Augen Zu”