May 11, 2005
We like tambourines
The rumors were true: I've got a new monthly column up at Pitchfork, part of the rotating stable of genre-focused whinniers including Dave Stelfox, Jess Harvell, and Martin Clark. (What are they going to do in months with five Wednesdays, have us thumbwrestle for stylistic dominance?)
Of course if you're visiting this blog today, you probably came from Pitchfork, in which case greetings. For your diligence, a bonus. In the column I forgot to mention the sing-songiest track of them all, Captain Comatose's "To My Song," which you can download at that link right there. The good Cap'n — a collabo between Khan and Snax — have come up with the party jam of the summer, all pistoning pianos and overdriven whiteboysoul howling, and that chorus! Woo-hoo. It's like Superpitcher's version of "Baby's on Fire," but hopped up on poppers, which makes sense, since the whole album (on holy Playhouse) is reportedly an ode to amy nitrate. I never even really undertsood what poppers do, being sort of ex-straightedge and all, but based upon that all-up-in-your-frontal-lobes throb, I think I get it.
You will be hearing this everywhere this summer: clubs, festival tents, rooftops, basements, helipads.
Posted by philip at May 11, 2005 09:19 AMWell thát brought a big smile on my face... :-))
The power of the "I wanna be your Dog" piano 'riff'! thanks for the link.
OMG, your article was the best thing Ive ever read on pitchfork. Ive been eating all the music you talked about for breakfast lunch and dinner lately. Cant get enough of the stuff. Fantastic to read such a well written primer that I can pass around to my friends who are "electro-house" / techno challenged... and get a heads up on all the tunes I missed. made my day. and your from SF... so am I. Fantastic. thanks!
Posted by: Justin baum at May 11, 2005 11:00 AMlove your article in the audio culture comp. I have been looking for articles comparing the classical mnml to the modern styles but haven't been able to find any untill yours. good stuff.
and yes i found this blog from pitchfork...
agree on safari..no one seems to get enuff of it. that acid line from the alex smoke mix. jesus! i never thought i'd see the day when all these mnml techno snobs jock james holden. hah!
have you written anything on the legitimization of trance music for mnml snobs via kompakt/mayer?
Yeah, I /saw/ that article at Pitchfork today and was (pleasantly) surprised to see that you wrote it. Glad to see them doing this new column and they couldn't have picked a better writer for the "techno" section.
Posted by: --s-tephen at May 11, 2005 11:22 AMthanks for all the nice words. props to pitchfork for continuing to push forward w/ non-indie rock; gotta give a hand to scott plagenhoef for his support of techno & dancehall & grime & d'n'b etc...
as for the minimal techno & progressive house crossover, a lot of folks are talking about it, and martin turenne wrote a little thing about it a month or so back (linked off a sidebar in the last issue of earplug (www.earplug.cc, my comments field seems not to accept html linking tags any more), or the one before that. but yeah, i'd like to do something in-depth on it, because the trend is certainly continuing, in both directions.
Posted by: philip at May 11, 2005 11:33 AMawesomeness. it's so cool to see the p-fork and just maybe the indie universe in general opening up to new sounds. cheers to them. nice column too. i really must find that M.A.N.D.Y. mix now. do you know if it's available online anywhere, preferably us domestic?
progressive trance was my first techno love going back to frequency 8 mix tapes and parties in san francisco mid-late 90s (ok that's not too far back). i've been loving alter ego's remix of solvent's "think like us" lately, probably because it gives me the same highs without feeling explicitly ecstasy-oriented.
Posted by: matt at May 11, 2005 12:02 PMBeatport carries Get Physical tracks for download - not sure about whole mixes, though, given how crappily iTunes handles DJ mixes.
Posted by: philip at May 11, 2005 12:06 PMyou write exactly what i want to be reading about. so good. so good.
Posted by: brian at May 11, 2005 01:53 PMSo glad to see you on PFM, my comrade.
Together with Jon Zwickel and Mark P., we the XLR8R crew are taking over Pitchfork bit by bit!
Posted by: Cameron from Pitchfork at May 11, 2005 02:14 PMWow! Busy place around here lately. Congrats on the Pitchfork gig. Now maybe the site might be worth a look. :)
Posted by: jamie at May 11, 2005 03:01 PMyou are poser mr.philip and you are groopie of luciano and fuckin'trendy!!
Posted by: eric at May 11, 2005 03:42 PMeric, make the tea. ;)
Posted by: philip at May 11, 2005 03:47 PMthis whole minimal house/techno = trendy thing is pretty overblown. who are these snobs? doesnt seem to be the case in the uk at any rate. no one seems to listen to this stuff, especially not in clubs, and it has zero media presence. Electrohouse is a lot higher profile, and demographically more aligned to the fashion/art/east london axis. next strawman please!
Posted by: ambrose at May 16, 2005 10:10 AM