I love my hippie humor. Arf. So Girl Talk’s got some new Schtuff out. You can download it here, for free, or you can pay for it like you should. I didn’t pay for it, because I have no gas in my car due to some unfortunate circumstances and one of the jollies of bringing you guys mp3s is that I can call myself part of the music/media industry (cough*BS*cough). Well, I do.

If you don’t feel like going through all that, pleasure yourself with these nice mp3s.

Girl Talk | Myspace | Get the album

 Play Your Part - Girl Talk [4:45m]: Play in Popup | Download
 Don't Stop - Girl Talk: Play in Popup | Download

All this jazz about Radiohead being opposed (and rightly so) to the release of a Greatest Hits comp has gotten me to thinkin’. Actually it was one of the comments on the NME article, but I would’ve come up with it eventually. If EMI wanted to do something that would sell, and be less blatantly offensive, they ought to have released a B-Sides & Rarities instead. Y’know, like Amnesiac. Anyone who likes Radiohead enough to be interested in this Hits disc is likely to have those songs already because, well, they are good songs. So it’s a rarities night tonight: the sexiest song ever written (according to Thom), the sexiest song ever written (according to me), a corrected version of an old song done live on French TV, an old song done for the radio with members of the Posies (not Pixies, I can’t stress this enough), a “No Surprises” b-side, a string quartet rendition of an OK Computer track, one of my favourite early songs live, and an acoustic version of Kid A’s closer. I think it’s a pretty balanced selection. And, because I like you, I’m throwing in a video of “Karma Police” live on Le Reservoir. That whole set is floating around YouTube, I recommend you seek ‘em out. [youtube onw96jFCHb4]

 Radiohead - Nobody Does it Better (live) [3:35m]: Play in Popup | Download
 Radiohead - Talk Show Host [4:14m]: Play in Popup | Download
 Radiohead - Fog (again) [live] [2:17m]: Play in Popup | Download
 Radiohead - Blow Out (acoustic) [3:23m]: Play in Popup | Download
 Radiohead - How I Made My Millions [3:08m]: Play in Popup | Download
 Section - Electioneering [3:15m]: Play in Popup | Download
 Radiohead - Killer Cars (live) [2:17m]: Play in Popup | Download
 Radiohead - Motion Picture Soundtrack (acoustic) [3:16m]: Play in Popup | Download

Alright, kids, here’s the deal. It all comes back to Love You Long Time. This whole indie obsession with the last two decades comes back and is glorified in LYLT. The tight pants, the subtle interest in hip-hop culture, the Teenage Mutant Ninja 80’s References; the whole current wave of hipster throwback all point directly to Love You Long Time.

So here’s the breakdown: MC Oz (vocals, keys, occasional guitar), $ally Kat (keytar, vocals), Chains (bass) and Dr. Liam (drums & sequencer) throw down a fantastic selection of party time hip-hop and feel good synth-pop, then sprinkle it generously with a commanding stage show: lots of dancing (break and otherwise), some freestyling, a big ol’ boombox, riding on shoulders, and frontflip 180s off a stack of speakers. It’s the best feeling party time always, deal?

I had to tell you that. It’s important to know.

Shiny Toy Guns // The Rapture

Venue : In the Venue, SLC

Date: 05-02-07 

So you've already heard all the negatives about the STG show.  Now you get to hear about the good stuff, namely the performances themselves.
We showed up pretty late, yet again, but this time we didn't miss the opening act.  I'm so glad we did because the Rapture encapsulate all that is good about disco.  It doesn't matter how you feel about disco right now, what matters is that if you take everything that is good about any musical genre, it will be good sounds.  On top of that one member of the band, what you would call the keyboardist, is not needed on keyboards for every song.  During those songs he fills the roll of either saxophonist or percussionist.  And by percussionist I mean he dances around with a cowbell and beats it like nobody's business.  It's superb to view.  Also, his saxophoning is akin to that heard on the Beastie Boys track "Brass Monkey" [which I've decided to be the hyphy-est thing ever].  The Rapture are great, but they didn't adhere to the opening act standard practice of saving your biggest hit for the end of the set.  Not a big complaint, but it threw of the momentum of  the show.
Regarding the headliners, there are a lot of nice things that I want to say about Shiny Toy Guns and their live performance.  I hope I cover them all.
First of all, these people take every aspect of their music seriously.  I mentioned earlier that they scrapped the album We Are Pilots twice and redid the whole thing.  That sort of obsession spills over into their live shows, too, with fancy lightings, projections, and serious energy.  They also have and interesting positioning on stage.  Normally a four-piece band will be set up like a diamond, with drums in back, bass and guitar on left and right, and a charismatic frontman out in [surprise] front.  STG was, left to right, Mikey Martin [drums], Chad Petree [guitar, vox], and switching spots were Carah Faye [vox, keys, sometimes bass] and Jeremy Dawson [bass, keys].  I'm very, very, very glad they did this because Mikey Martin is one of the most entertaining people to watch ever.  Dude likes hittin' stuff.  And since a number of songs feature some kind of electronic beat in addition to his drumming, he has a lot of free space to work in.  Also, he enjoys spitting on his bandmates.

One of my favourite things about the set was that after they played "Le Disko" a good number of the dumber people at the show made their exodus, leaving the rest of us to enjoy the show.  "Le Disko", by the way, was dedicated to us in SLC, but then more specifically to Provo.  I have no idea why, and am immensely intrigued.  If anybody can tell me the reasonings, I shall repay you tenfold.  Also they gave shoutouts to X96 for being generally kick-awesome.

Results:
The Rapture: Superfun dancy sounds.  They like you very much.
Shiny Toy Guns: Amazing energetic times.  They've only got one album out, so their set was actually shorter than the Rapture's.  Got a cover of Depeche Mode's "Stripped" [a billion times better than Rammstein's], but no "When They Came for Us".
Final Verdict!: An amazing tour.  Both bands are brilliant, keep an eye on STG.

 Related Links:

 Shiny Toy Guns Official Website // MySpace // Buy Their CD

 The Rapture Official Website // MySpace // Buy Their CD

Related Audio:

You Are The One - Shiny Toy Guns

[audio:http://lovethemusicreviews.com/audio/01%20You%20Are%20The%20One.mp3] 

When They Came For Us - Shiny Toy Guns

[audio:http://lovethemusicreviews.com/audio/04%20When%20They%20Came%20For%20Us.mp3]

The Rapture - Mirror

[audio:http://lovethemusicreviews.com/audio/Rapture%20-%20Mirror.mp3] 

I have a little secret. I've never really listened to Bjork before now.

I know, I know. What was I missing out. I'll be working on filling the Bjork-void in my life at a later date. Cinco De Mayo is tonight, and I have a long night ahead of me, filled with crying, being in the weeds, spilling beer everywhere, and serving fajitas. And hopefully a lot of money.

 This mp3 spotlight post was going to be on the track "Innocence", from the new album, but then I realized that I liked Earth Intruders better. So here you have it. 

I love it. I love the beat to the song, makes me want to wiggle all over and shake my booty at top speed. I'm also appreciating the unique way Bjork sings. Reminds me of Johnny Cash, sort of, how in some parts she doesn't really sing, she sort of…talks.  

 Anyways, enjoy. Buy the CD. Seriously. Well worth it. Especially if you're a Bjork virgin like myself. 

Related Links:

Bjork Official Website

Bjork on MySpace

Buy This CD

Related Audio:

Earth Intruders - Bjork 

[audio:http://lovethemusicreviews.com/audio/01-bjork-earth_intruders_(co-produced_by_timbaland).mp3] 

Otherwordly Beats + Caterwauling + Ear Sex = Thievery Corporation 

I considered not writing this post, thinking, "Everybody has to know who the Thievery Corporation is…", but then I realized that even if one of you didn't know who they were before you read this post, then it was all for something. I'm so nice. And it would defeat our purpose.

Thievery Corporation was introduced to me by a friend when he was drunk, telling me how awesome they were. I took all this with a grain of salt, but he did burn me a disc with some of their stuff. I guess some people can communicate honestly when intoxicated. Well. I got hooked.

Some of you may be familiar with the track "Lebanese Blonde", which was featured on the Garden State soundtrack. (I swear, every song in the world has been featured on that soundtrack, and I've never even seen the bloody film.) They recently released their album "Versions" in 2006, which is a compilation album featuring a handful of outside artists. 

Possible categories: electronic, dub, acid jazz, lounge, world, ambient, experimental, indie, etc. 

What I like about Thievery Corporation is the global feel they have. They combine styles of music from all over, and languages, too, which makes for a quality blend of sound. Added to their political bent, you get music which is a sign of the times, and to me, representative of ever-increasing surge in globalization. (I'm an anthropology major, what can I say. <<—That. ) 

So, you have quick rundown of Thievery Corporation, a handful of links, and some selected mp3s. They're quite hard to choose, because TC is one of those groups whose albums have 12 out of 13 uber tracks. The ones I chose are from the albums I'm more familiar with. I'm not writing a band history because I don't care what year the DJ was born in. Its all about the music, dawg.

Related Links:

Thievery Corporation Official Website

Thievery Corporation on MySpace

Thievery Corporation Wikipedia Entry

Thievery Corporation at Last.FM

Related Ear Sex(doing a bit different):

Le Monde

[audio:http://lovethemusicreviews.com/audio/02%20-%20Le%20Monde.mp3] 

Facing East

[audio:http://lovethemusicreviews.com/audio/02%20-%20Facing%20East.mp3] 

Lebanese Blonde

[audio:http://lovethemusicreviews.com/audio/04%20-%20Lebanese%20Blonde.mp3] 

Heaven's Gonna Burn Your Eyes 

[audio:http://lovethemusicreviews.com/audio/01%20-%20Heaven%27s%20Gonna%20Burn%20Your%20Eyes.mp3]