MUSIC: Beirut (Flying Club Cup)

I would categorize Beirut's previous full-length, Gulag Orkestar, as a grower. It took me a while to really latch onto it, but I can now say (with confidence) that it's a mighty fine piece of work. Which leads to my excitement for the upcoming Flying Club Cup (out on October 2nd), obviously. (I also thought you'd enjoy the sweet discount offer talked about below). The new album, apparently all about France, was recorded rather sparsely in Albuquerque (as expected, with favorable results). Revolver's blog has a comprehensive review, check it out. As always, here's some sample tracks.

::: Beirut - Cliquot (from Flying Club Cup)
::: Beirut - A Sunday Smile (from Flying Club Cup)
::: Beirut - Scenic World (from Lon Gisland EP)
::: Beirut - Brandenberg (from Gulag Orkestar)

Insound is offering an awesome discount offer. When you pre-order Flying Club Cup (CD or LP), use the following codes to save money on your whole order. Buy the album, it's good stuff.

"flyingclubcup10" for 10% off your entire order
"flyingclubcup15" for 15% off your entire order if you spend $50

[Beirut official website.]
[Beirut on myspace.]
[Current macktronic contest.]
[Download Music from eMusic; free 25 song free trial.]
[Buy music from Insound.]
[Find/Listen/Download music at The Hype Machine.]
[Photo credit goes to animalshapes.]

Tags: mp3, music, beirut, flying club cup, discount

MIXTAPE: NUMBER TWO (The Junction Between Summer and Fall)

It's been a while since I've posted a mixtape, but I thought it prudent to pass this along; seeing as it rained today for the first time in a long while, I find myself pulled to songs of this grouping: fleeting, caught, and residual (to be obscure).

01 ::: Panda Bear - Bros (edit)
02 ::: Gang Gang Dance - Egowar
03 ::: Mixel Pixel - You're The Kind of Girl
04 ::: Bonobo - Change Down / The Sugar Rhyme
05 ::: Broken Social Scene - Lover's Spit
06 ::: The Robot Ate Me - We Were Human
07 ::: Sunburned Hand of the Man - Butterfly Mask
08 ::: Liars - Sunset Rodeo
09 ::: Tel Aviv - History (alt)
10 ::: Brightblack Morning Light - Everybody Delight

Support the artists (and macktronic in the process) by buying albums over at Insound.

[Current macktronic contest.]
[Download Music from eMusic; free 25 song free trial.]
[Buy music from Insound.]
[Find/Listen/Download music at The Hype Machine.]
[Photo credit goes to tonysoko.]

Tags: mp3, mixtape, brightblack morning light, tel aviv, liars, sunburned hand of the man, the robot ate me, broken social scene, bonobo, mixel pixel, gang gang dance, panda bear, the junction between summer and fall

CONTEST: FADER 7-inch #4 (Busy P & DJ Blaqstarr)

UPDATE: This contest has ended, congratulations to Joshua of Encinitas, CA!!! You can always find a direct link to the latest contest using the "current contest" link found in the sidebar.

Contest time again! This go around features the 4th edition of the super limited 7-inch series by the folks at FADER w/ Southern Comfort (artwork shown above). On it are two tracks: "Pedrophilia" by Busy P and "I Can Feel It In The Air" by DJ Blaqstarr. Here's the press release:

Pedro Winter AKA Busy P kicks off the 45 with "Pedrophilia." In true Parisian fashion, the track's electrophonic attitude sways with a sleek haute couture. The beat's solid three-minute rhythmic soundscape pulsates with a heavy kick countered by the track's only lyric: "BUSY P" stitching together form and function. Flipping the wax gives way to DJ Blaqstarr with his dance ready "I Can Feel It In The Air." Driving beats and a thumping kick give rise to the to self proclaimed "King of ROQ's" club-bumping trademark. Rounding out the record Southern Comfort and The FADER enlisted Japanese artist Tomoe Hamaya to ninjafy the cover.

In order to win this contest, simply send an email to macktronic (at) gmail (dot) com with the subject line "FADER 4 CONTEST" including your mailing address in the body of the email. A winner will be chosen at random on Wednesday Sep 26th. Good luck!

Here are some sample tracks for these amazing artists.

::: Blaqstarr - I Can Feel It In The Air
::: Blaqstarr - Check Me Out Like
::: Busy P - Rainbow
::: Kraftwerk - It's More Fun To Compute (Busy P Remix)

Download the FADER 48 podcast and issue for free!

[Blaqstarr on myspace.]
[Busy P on myspace.]
[Download Music from eMusic; free 25 song free trial.]
[Buy music from Insound.]
[Find/Listen/Download music at The Hype Machine.]

Tags: mp3, music, contest, free, seven inch, vinyl, fader, southern comfort, busy p, blaqstarr, kraftwerk, remix

MUSIC: Hey Willpower

The esteemed Avery over at DeliSF recently reminded me (by way of the weekend notes post) that I need to be listening to more Hey Willpower. Unendingly danceable songs from this local (SF) band are the norm, and it looks like we'll soon get more as their new LP will be dropping on tomlab in October. That's good news. Here's some tracks.

::: Hey Willpower - Hundredaire
::: Hey Willpower - Chewing Gum (feat. Annie)

[Hey Willpower official website.]
[Hey Willpower on myspace.]
[Download Music from eMusic; free 25 song free trial.]
[Buy music from Insound.]
[Find/Listen/Download music at The Hype Machine.]
[Photo credit goes to Alice!. on flickr.]

Tags: mp3, music, hey willpower, san francisco, dance

VIDEO: Office (Oh My)

Check out this new video by OFFICE. Funny retro-porn visual stylings and catchy song are always a good combination.

[Official OFFICE video site.]
[Official OFFICE website.]
[Download Music from eMusic; free 25 song free trial.]
[Buy music from Insound.]
[Find/Listen/Download music at The Hype Machine.]

Tags: video, music, office, porn style

SHOWS: Wolf Parade / Handsome Furs / Sunset Rubdown

Treading dangerously close to the territory forged in a previous post, I bring you some odds and ends centering around the boys from Wolf Parade. One might ask why I'd do such a thing, and the answer is quite simply: they're dominating my musical attention right now (for reasons highlighted below).

Reason #1: I attended quite possibly the best concert of my last two years this past Wednesday at Great American Music Hall in San Francisco, at which Wolf Parade blew my feeble mind. I missed their last time through SF (unavoidable) so when all my friends sang their praises, I was left in the lurch. Well, lurch no more, as I got to experience their brilliance first-hand.
::: Wolf Parade - Shine a Light (from AttQM)
[Buy the album on vinyl here.]

Reason #2: I just purchased tickets to see my first Handsome Furs show, which occurs this coming Monday evening at The Rickshaw Stop. Fellow WP side project Johnny and the Moon will be opening (and I'm excited about that). Seriously, their debut album blows my skirt way up and will most definitely fall in the Top 10 of my nonexistent Top 10 list (how anti-blogger!).
::: Handsome Furs - In The Radio's Hot Sun (from Plague Park)
[Buy the album here.]

Reason #3: Filling out my social calender for October, I also got me some tickets for Sunset Rubdown at The Independent (on Sunday the 21st). Again, with JatM opening no less! Bonus points for walking distance to the venue from where I often lay my head.
::: Sunset Rubdown - A Day In The Graveyard II (from 2006 EP)
[Pre-order the new album here and receive a free advance digital copy plus a free limited edition lithograph. I actually did this myself.]

[Download Music from eMusic; free 25 song free trial.]
[Buy music from Insound.]
[Find/Listen/Download music at The Hype Machine.]
[Photo credit goes to maya.bird on flickr.]

Tags: mp3, music, wolf parade, sunset rubdown, handsome furs, san francisco, amazing

MUSIC: Lemonade / Clipd Beaks / Tussle

Got a chance to talk to some of the boys from Lemonade last night at a Great American Music Hall show. They hooked me up with an excellent local sampler called Fear and Excitement in San Francisco. Here are some notable tracks by some notable local acts (who you should check out immediately).

::: Lemonade - Rain
::: Tussle - Second Guessing (YAHCT Remix)
::: Clipd Beaks - Lizard

Just some beautiful noise.

[Lemonade on myspace.]
[Tussle on myspace.]
[Clipd Beaks on myspace.]
[Download Music from eMusic; free 25 song free trial.]
[Buy music from Insound.]
[Find/Listen/Download music at The Hype Machine.]
[Photo credit goes to polaroidjesus. An actual photo of a Lemonade member!]

Tags: mp3, music, lemonade, clipd beaks, tussle, yacht, san francisco

MUSIC: Caribou

I was fairly obsessed with Caribou's previous album, but only in a secretive kind of way. They somehow come off anxious and jubilant, which ends up mildly confusing. The new (excellent) album continues down this road. I like it (still secretly, but much less so now).

::: Caribou - Sandy

Buy the new album titled Andorra here.

[Official Caribou website.]
[Caribou on myspace.]
[Download Music from eMusic; free 25 song free trial.]
[Buy music from Insound.]
[Find/Listen/Download music at The Hype Machine.]
[Photo credit goes to rudiments.]

Tags: mp3, music, caribou, indie, blossom

REMIX: Ratatat/Chamillionaire by Car Stereo (Wars)

Dovetailing my previous post, here's a mash-up of (the endlessly macktronic-approved) Ratatat and Chamillionaire done by Car Stereo (Wars). Fire it up, it's fantastic.

::: Car Stereo (Wars) - I Been A Criminal About Seventeen Years (Ratatat vs Chamillionaire)

[Ratatat on myspace.]
[Chamillionaire on myspace.]
[Car Stereo (Wars) on myspace.]
[Download Music from eMusic; free 25 song free trial.]
[Buy music from Insound.]
[Find/Listen/Download music at The Hype Machine.]
[Photo credit goes to pseudothoughts. I don't know who it is, I just liked the picture.]

Tags: mp3, music, remix, mash-up, ratatat, car stereo, wars, chamillionaire

MUSIC: Car Stereo (Wars)

A good friend of mine recently pointed me towards Car Stereo (Wars), out of Austin. Looks like he (they?) caught the ears of the folks over at Blender (see here) at SXSW and the Austin blogs seem to be loving it as well. Quickly setting aside the obvious comparisons to Girl Talk (like Gillis owns all things mash-up related), it seems like they're onto something good. I formally invite them to DJ out here in SF. Here are some tracks:

::: Car Stereo (Wars) - Who Likes Nick McKenna
::: Car Stereo (Wars) - Gator McKluskys Gold

Order the album directly from the artist here (complete with hand-cut felt mustache!).

[Car Stereo (Wars) on myspace.]
[Download Music from eMusic; free 25 song free trial.]
[Buy music from Insound.]
[Find/Listen/Download music at The Hype Machine.]
[Photo credit goes to CS(W).]

Tags: mp3, music, mash-up, car stereo, wars, dj, austin, girl talk