Ah, Warmth through electricity...


So Mr. Mark and I have both had a bit of a dry spell with the blog posting and whatnot, due mostly to the fact that we’ve been stressing out about finding a new place to live. We’ve signed the lease, so it’s time to get back to business. So far, I’ve posted a lot of rock music, so for a change of pace, let’s try some electro-pop. Admittedly, nowadays I really have to be in a certain mood to listen to stuff like this, but when I’m in that mood, this is what I bask in.

Art of Noise – II Pleure (At The Turn of the Century) (From the album The Seduction of Claude Debussy)
Jackson & His Computer Band – Utopia (From the album Smash)
Fischerspooner – Never Win (From the album Odyssey)
Boom Bip – The Move (From the album Blue Eyed in the Red Room)
Nobody – The Porpoise Song (From the album Pacific Drift: Western Water Music Vol.1)
Daedelus – Something Bells (From the album Daedelus of Snowdonia)
Koushik – Be With (From the album Be With)
Felix Laband – Miss Teardrop (From the album Dark Days Exit)
The Go Find – What I Want (From the album Miami)
Hood – The Lost You (From the album Outside Closer)

For starters, putting Art of Noise on here was sort of a risky proposition considering they’re best known for their remix of the Peter Gunn theme, but I didn’t know that when listened to this CD at a Borders in 1999. The album that this song comes from is a hotchpotch of classical music, opera, drum n’ bass, and some truly awful stabs and hip hop, plus it has John Hurt narrating it throughout. Granted they have a rather gimmicky and dated sound, but this still holds a special place in my heart. Warp Records is the home of Jackson & His Computer Band, which is a bit more glitchy sounding than most of the stuff I like, but I really do enjoy the theatrical feel of the "Utopia" refrain. What can I really say about Fischerspooner other than they’re really serious about being cheesy, they’re an absolute blast "live" and Odyssey is a far more cohesive and polished follow-up to #1. This Boom Bip track just sounds so effortless, don’t you think? You should also check this CD out for the song The Matter (Of Our Discussion) featuring Nina Nastasia on vocals, it’s very nihilistic and kind of bittersweet at the same time (I don’t really understand how that happens). The Porpoise Song is a Monkees cover and really reminds me of what an electronic version of Elliott Smith might sound like. This CD was stuck in my car stereo for over 6 months, and I still like it! Something Bells, the beginning of this song always makes me think of Charlie’s Angels for some reason. Be With, whoever I date next should be forewarned, I’m probably going to try to make out with you to this song, sorry. Miss Teardrop, so back when I posted stuff by that band Oxford Collapse, I quipped at the end about not reading promotional liner notes anymore (because they’re misleading), well in the case of Felix Laband, the quotes on the promo package actually discouraged me from listening to it. Seriously, this stuff is laughably pretentious: Richard Dorfmeister (K & D) says "Miss Teardrop is a sublime brill supertune. Sneaking carefully into your ears and remaining there for a long time." Martin Gretschmann (the Notwist) says that the album is "the soundtrack for sensitive people’s lives – very recommendable." Peter Kruder (K & D) calls it "an inspired and deep album of esoteric kindness and warm technology! Had a very sensual evening with this record." Very sensual indeed. The Go Find album was a pleasant surprise when I came across it a few years ago, it’s still surprising to me that it never really caught on, hipster girls usually love shit like this. I really really like the band Hood, they’re from Leeds, England and they’ve struck quite a balance between droney guitar rock and electronic experimentation, and they seem to be getting better with every album.

So there’s that, enjoy and please...
forgive our hiatus,

-Popkoff