RIOT

My good friend and former roomie Kalan Sherrard was arrested and charged with numerous crimes while demonstrating against the horrific forces of capitalism this week in Pittsburgh. The picture above is real, and very much an indicator of Kalan's love of life, theater, and art, as well as his antipathy towards authority and those that wield power over us. In celebration and solidarity, I present Underground Resistance's "Riot." If you would like to help with K's legal fees, you can go here to make a donation.

Underground Resistance- Riot

Tomorrow is moving day, so I'll provide something apropos.

rubber or leather?

Today is the day of the Folsom Street Fair, so in case you're not really into the shitty progressive trance stuff that seems to blast from the event, I'm giving a piece of experimental, queer punk stuff from the almighty God Is My Co-Pilot. "Rubber or Leather" is a classic track about fetish wares...so the question is: Rubber? Or Leather?

God Is My Co-Pilot- Rubber or Leather

A return to 'normal' programming tomorrow.

house music is for fagz

Praise Mary! So, the Bay Area's very own Hunx & His Punx have been given the remix treatment from another queer, Nick of the amazing Teengirl Fantasy. Exactly how he turned a fun, trashy rock track like "Dontcha Want Me Back" into something Carl Cox could have produced is a mystery to me, but he managed to do it. The remix features bright, lush synths, bouncy pop-house bass, thrumming kicks, and those lovely major-key piano stabs that all queers seem to salivate over. Since the most astoundingly gay-pop, progressive house radio station in the City, if not the world, just switched formats a week ago, this track ought to keep our briefs hot and steamy until the hopeful reversal of said format switch. Though I admit that I've never been a regular listener of Energy 92.7, it is true that the station was a cornerstone of the LGBT world...all over the world, and it is a shame that such a unique radio phenomenon was usurped by yet another staid Top 40 station.

Hunx & His Punx- Dontcha Want Me Back (TEENGIRL FANTASY RIP NRG Mix)

Obviously, you should be listening to Teengirl Fantasy and Hunx & His Punx all the time, because they are two of the best groups around right now. AND both groups have upcoming albums on my friend Dean's True Panther label.

Finally, a last queer note: one of my favorite writers, Dennis Cooper, gave a shout-out to Deep Movements on his blog today. Check it out, along with some insane Halloween horror goodies.

dead space

Redshape comes out with a new album this October called The Dance Paradox, and with my powers of getting advance copies, I've been rocking it pretty hard the past few days, especially on late night drives. The edit of "Dead Space Mix" sounds like early C2 on some dark drugs, with intensely organic-feeling percussion, an astounding, swelling synth loop, some bright harmonies, and finally, some bleeps and blips that bring to mind the acidy backing portions of Jamal Moss' work. Raw, analog techno at its finest! Definitely place your orders right now, as I'm sure that Delsin will sell out quickly. Highly recommended.

Redshape- Dead Space Mix (Edit)

fallin'

Though autumn in the Bay Area doesn't have same charms as, say, autumn in New England, that lovely scent of dead leaves and smoke still fills the air, and light becomes more distilled, sharper. While Nobukazu Takemura's "Icefall" from the Scope LP might be an attempt to evoke wintery landscapes, there is something about the piece that screams autumn to me. It is perhaps the two-chord pulse that begins and then runs throughout the track, its lifting appeal. Who knows. But no matter the reason, "Icefall" is one of those pieces that I cannot stop listening to, perfect in every way.

Nobukazu Takemura- Icefall

Dancing again, later today.

teengirlz in amsterdamn

So, in case you missed it, friends and compatriots Teengirl Fantasy have an interview up on Pitchfork that you can read here. Also, there was a feature on them up on Pukekos last week in which yours truly is mentioned (I'm Ted, by the way), which is available here. Enjoy, and BUY UP THOSE 12"s. They are beautiful to look at and listen to...and not to be crass, but they'll probably be worth a shit-ton of money someday.

Love you boys, and miss you much!

(Get ready for some awesome shit tomorrow— two posts, two completely different tracks!)

dreamed

Sometimes the 'shuffle' function alerts me to tracks I've overlooked due to my propensity to acquire disgusting amounts of music every week, month, year. Recently, it alerted me to another track by the mysterious One of Them, whose "He is Dancing in New York" I posted back in May. Here, Sean Palm gives the remix treatment to "Niko It's A Bad Dream," transforming a dark techno banger into a bright, tech-house piece that is perfect for that 3 am dancefloor apex. With some sonic and rhythmic similarities to Glove Disco's remix of 2raumwohnung from 2007, this is a propulsive slice featuring excellently syncopated percussive elements, a wriggling bass-line, a very Loco Dice mid-frequency five-note harmonic element, and a washed-out break that is sure to drive crowds crazy. A sleeper hit of 2009 for certain! On Chris Fortier's Fade imprint.

One of Them- Niko It's A Bad Dream (Sean Palm's Bits & Pieces Remix)

Next up, an older slice.

perfect

there is enough treachery, hatred violence absurdity in the average
human being to supply any given army on any given day

and the best at murder are those who preach against it
and the best at hate are those who preach love
and the best at war finally are those who preach peace

those who preach god, need god
those who preach peace do not have peace
those who preach peace do not have love

beware the preachers
beware the knowers
beware those who are always reading books
beware those who either detest poverty
or are proud of it
beware those quick to praise
for they need praise in return
beware those who are quick to censor
they are afraid of what they do not know
beware those who seek constant crowds for
they are nothing alone
beware the average man the average woman
beware their love, their love is average
seeks average

but there is genius in their hatred
there is enough genius in their hatred to kill you
to kill anybody
not wanting solitude
not understanding solitude
they will attempt to destroy anything
that differs from their own
not being able to create art
they will not understand art
they will consider their failure as creators
only as a failure of the world
not being able to love fully
they will believe your love incomplete
and then they will hate you
and their hatred will be perfect

like a shining diamond
like a knife
like a mountain
like a tiger
like hemlock

their finest art

- Charles Bukowski

dOP- The Genius of the Crowd

stars

Around autumn, no matter the year, I get a thing for guitars again. Usually this means listening to GBV or Pansy Division or Ariel Pink a lot, but this year, I discovered the totally awesome Night Control. Like a strange mix between Ariel Pink, Kurt Vile, and more lo-fi GBV moments, this stuff is weird enough to please weirdos and poppy enough to please those who enjoy more mainstream tunage. A departure, yes, but sometimes you need to slow it down.

Night Control- Star 129

Tomorrow, a return.

Today, while sitting in a cafe, a track by Rhythm & Sound came over the speakers, and I remembered that I was going to post a track from them last week, an action which I didn't complete. Today, though, I think we're ready.

To introduce Rhythm & Sound would be somewhat superfluous, so I won't bother doing so. Instead, I ask that you listen to the message that Rod of Iron brings to "Lightning Storm," and pump up your system's bass to the maximum. Perhaps the most vocally rich track in the R&S oeuvre, "Lightning Storm" is a pleasure to listen to, and presents issues that humanity grapples with on the daily.

Rhythm & Sound- Lightning Storm (featuring Rod of Iron)

Tomorrow, some weird tunage from Night Control.

ring in

Sorry it's been a while— I've been busy with the start of my second MFA year, and I've also been debating the ethical issues surrounding posts of mp3s that are culled from relatively new releases. After some inner debate, I've decided that I will continue to post old classics as well as newer tracks; however, in terms of the newer stuff, I must note that such posts are put up only in the service of getting the artists more exposure— I won't post anything that I don't believe should be bought and enjoyed in full.

Without further ado, here's a piece from Alland Byallo's latest, Brick By Brick. The album is a gorgeous collections of hypnotically deep, tribal techno that has fantastic presence and is sure to please fans of Fuckpony, Shonky, and many others. "Ring in the Dead" is the album's opening track, and really brings it with monstrous bass, a dubby delayed brass melodic line, some darkly panning vocals, and truly propulsive percussion with prominent congas and reversed splash cymbals. A great piece to begin a late-night set, Byallo is truly one of the jewels not only of the San Francisco techno scene, but the US scene in general. Highly recommended! On Byallo's own Nightlight imprint.

Alland Byallo- Ring in the Dead

Tomorrow, something a bit different.

synchro

Japanese Synchro System are among the more underrated producer duos in the world— from their lovely cover of "I'm on Fire" to the soothing deepness of "A Day In The Life," the two know their shit, and it shows. Take the track below, for example: "Japanese Synchro System" sounds like something Delano Smith or Carl Craig would have done during the second wave in Detroit. A rhythmically complex, lush piece, this track has returned to me in a big way during the past week. Highly recommended!

Japanese Synchro System- Japanese Synchro System

Get out yr joints for some ill dub styling tomorrow.

house montage

First off, some goods from a friend over at ILX. Smooth Touch was one of those Strictly Rhythm monikers from the early '90s that released one single that defined a sound at the time, and what a single it was. "House of Love," here given the remix workout from one of its producers and NY house legend Erick Morillo along with Ani Phearce, is a sweaty, attitudinal number that makes people want to slam. Never underestimate Morillo, my friends— the man did co-produce "I Like To Move It," after all.

Smooth Touch- House of Love (More/Phearce Mix)



Next, a flip to more ponderous techno from Derrick May, who worked with techno-ambient luminaries System 7 on a lovely record called Mysterious Traveller back in 2002. "Icon (Montage Mix)" is a mix of a lush, magisterially European synth loop smashed with May's acidy Detroit rhythms. Perfect for the fall, this is one that gets a lot of play on my headphones.

Derrick May/System 7- Icon (Montage Mix)

Tomorrow, some more.