ok, alright, fine

The Beautiful New Born Children write short and frenetic songs. This is nothing new, people have been doing it for years, from the garages of british invasion straight through Supergrass and into the now. But TBNBC do it well and recklessly with the pedal to the metal. They're all in other bands and all play different instruments in those bands, so this is obviously their "sweet fuck all lets get ripped and make some fun songs and noise" project.

And apparently sending unsolicited demos really does sometimes pay off, because they sent one to Domino, obviously thinking that nothing would become of it because there was no contact information on it. Eventually they were found and we are all better for it. And for once, a description written by the label is surprisingly accurate: Imagine The Sonics recording Slanted And Enchanted in 1966 for In The Red Records and you're in the neighbourhood.

I'd also add that if you toss in some Unrest pop smarts and hyperactivity and you are downright locked in. This CD should come with a warning on the label if you are caffeinated, whoa man you'll hurt yourself flailing along!

the Beautiful New Born Children - Do the Do
the Beautiful New Born Children - Up And Down And Round And Round

word in your belly

Mira and Laurent met in Paris. She was a Finnish model and he was writing film music. They instantly fell in love and soon chose to move into a cabin together deep in the woods of Finland, completely isolated. Intent to learn about each other and make music. Together they make stark, spacious arrangements of acoustic guitar and vocals. Their debut CD (out now on Young God was recorded in Finland, and then back in New York, M. Gira, who co-produced the record brought in friends such as Akron/Family and Julia Kent of Antony & the Johnsons to occasionally enhance with strings and sounds. Mi's sound reminds me of Nico or the intimacy of Lisa Germano, who put out many amazing records for 4AD in the 90s and has also recently signed with Young God Records. L'au is more of a Nick Drake or Neil Halstead. A simple, plain and solid record that isn't trying to be weird or challenging. Check them on their current, incredibly long tour which has already started:

Tue 1/24 - Andy's Denton TX w/ Akron Family
Wed 1/25 - Emo's Austin TX w/ Akron Family
Thu 1/26 - Opolis - Norman OK
Fri 1/27 - The Pistol Gallery - Kansas City - MO
Sat 1/28 - The Mill Iowa City IA
Sun 1/29 - Iron Post - Urbana IL
Mon 1/30 - Boxcar Books - Bloomington - IN
Tue 1/31 - Viper Room - Cincinnati OH
Thu 2/2 - Mac's - Lansing MI
Fri 2/3 - Urban Institute for Contemporary Art Grand Rapids  MI
Sat 2/4 - Empty Bottle - Chicago IL
Sun 2/5 - Cafe Montmartre - Madison WI
Tue 2/7 - Onopa Brewing Company - Milwaukee WI
Wed 2/8 - Turf Club St. Paul MN
Thu 2/9 - Triple Rock Social Club - Minneapolis - MN
Fri 2/10 - O'leavers - Omaha, NE
Sat 2/11 - Larimer Lounge Denver CO w/ Born Heller
Mon 2/13 - Urban Lounge Salt Lake City UT w/ Born Heller
Tue 2/14 - Neurolux Boise, ID w/ Born Heller
Wed 2/15 - Towne Lounge Portland OR w/ Born Heller
Thu 2/16 - Sunset Tavern Seattle WA w/ Born Heller
Fri 2/17 - 321 Kennewick WA w/ Born Heller
Sat 2/18 - Eagle's Hall Olympia WA w/ Born Heller
Mon 2/20 - Delta of Venus Davis - Ca w/ Born Heller
Tue 2/21 - Cafe Du Nord San Francisco - CA w/ Born Heller
Wed 2/22 - The Attic Santa Cruz Santa Cruz Ca w/ Born Heller
Thu 2/23 - The Mainzer Theater Merced CA w/ Born Heller
Fri 2/24 - The Monday Club San Luis Obispo CA w/ Born Heller
Sat 2/25 - Arthurball Los Angeles CA w/ Born Heller
Mon 2/27 - Casbah San Diego CA w/ Born Heller
Tue 2/28 - Plush Tucson AZ w/ Born Heller
Thu 3/2 - La Zona Rosa - Austin TX
Sat 3/4 - Jack Pot Saloon - Lawrence KS
Mon 3/6 - High Five - Columbus OH
Tue 3/7 - Beachland Ballroom - Cleveland OH
Wed 3/8 - Garfield Artworks - Pittsburgh PA
Thu 3/9 - Valentine's - Albany NY
Fri 3/10 - Tonic - New York NY

Hear some songs over at Songs:Illinois and Aquarium Drunkard and here:

Mi & L'au - A Word in Your Belly

teenage freak girls

Boston's The Mules blew through my little town the other week and caused my drunken feet to moooove. I had no idea what was going on- I was expecting some unexciting punk bands and what I got was a wild mix of the Contortions + Cramps + Os Mutantes and some serious Sonic Youth skreeech. Psychedelic experimental garage rock for the next generation.

Their Myspace page claims soft machine, the monks, the pretty things, the mothers of invention, the doors, james chance, glenn branca, red crayola, os mutantes, amon duul (I+II), goblin, b52s, sonic youth, minutemen as influences and for once its kind of right. It also promises the world's fastest freak out! (no hippys, no young vulgarians, the sound of a black leather glove) - and I think if the club had been as packed as it should have been it could have easily of happened.

They just finished up a tour w/ labelmates Wildlife, who both have newish releases on Bodies of Water Arts and Crafts. The Mules 7inch is so new, in fact, that the artwork wasn't even available yet, but I bought one anyway. Have your own freakout and check out the other track over at their webpage.

the Mules - Electrocution

minimalist jukebox

Never before in my life have I wished I lived in Los Angeles until I read the information about the upcoming minimalism music festival set to happen in late March. Over the course of two weeks time, festival director and composer John Adams will touch on and perform works from just about every major figure in the movement. From African and Gamelan music to Glenn Branca's electric guitar orchestra to the Los Angeles Philharmonic performing pieces by Terry Riley, Steve Reich, John Cage, Arvo Pärt, Philip Glass, Michael Gordon's Decasia film score, and much much more. Sure, in order to go to all these performances you might break your own bank in the process, but it'd be worth it.

In a groundbreaking first by a major orchestra, the Los Angeles Philharmonic presents a wide-ranging survey of Minimalism. Under the watchful ear of Festival Director John Adams, Minimalist Jukebox reflects on where we've been, the current state of the art, and things to come. Run Minimalism's musical gamut from African drums to Branca’s electric guitars, from Riley, Glass and Reich to Andriessen, Pärt and Adams himself. Open your ears and expand your mind.

Steve Reich - Nagoya Marimbas
Steve Reich - Music For 18 Musicians: Section VIII

last ride together

Austin's I Love You But I've Chosen Darkness has their bags packed and ticket stamped, ready to board the hype train. They have a hip underground sound of today (dark, indie & retro), they're on a hip, now label (Secretly Canadian) and they have a ridiculously long and silly name (like Crap Your Pants and Say Waaah! (thanks Brainwashed)). But don't let these things deter you. If you are a fan of the icy post-post-punk movement, the genre has not yet died a horrible death.

Fear Is On Our Side is set for release March 7th. Much darker than the previous EP, produced by Spoon's Britt Daniel, this was put down by Paul Barker (Blackouts, Ministry, Revolting Cocks). According to Plan is the obvious single, a warmer Colder, ripe for a strobostrophic remix. I eagerly await the 12" extended mix, thank you...

Elsewhere they channel Lonely Is An Eyesore outtake material into "the Owl". "Today" starts with an infinite guitar loop that slowly builds into the buoyant "We Choose Faces", crescendoing into some serious MBV swirlpool. "At Last Is All" is the inevitable collision of the Cure and early U2. "Long Walk" lopes along, a slow e-bowed train ride through tunnels. The untitled track probably had a name previously, but had to be ditched when they realised Thom Yorke had the same song title. (I mean this in a good way, I still like Radiohead, for now.)

I Love You But I've Chosen Darkness - According to Plan

other 2 mp3s removed at request of label, sorry folks.

club carioca

With Diplo gaining more and more momentum in the undergroud, his live mixes are spreading throughout the internet fast and furious. And in many of his recent mixes you will find lots of Brazilian baile funk. Furthermore, with the widespread love of 2005's Arular by M.I.A. and its heavily influenced beats, its just a matter of time before more of this type of sound rises to the top.

Man Recordings in Germany is hoping to be a big part of that with their recent signing of Edu K. He has been releasing records in his native Brazil for some time now with De Falla, whose style ranges from punk to metal to rock and beyond over the course of seven albums. Its no surprise that none of us have heard his name, but maybe not for long.

In 2000, he cut the song "Popozuda Rock n Roll", a salute to the baile funk movement from the punks. The song took off and became a huge hit in Brazil, amongst both punks and the dance scene. In 2004, the song got included on Essay's Rio Baile Funk Favela Booty Beats compilation and soon thereafter got picked up by Coca-Cola for a commercial in Germany. Last year, Man put out a 12" with various remixes of the song including a crazy mash-mix by Diplo that somehow merged the Cure with the hard pounding booty bass.

The newest 12", Sex-O-Matic, features one of the hottest female MCs in Rio at the moment, Deize Tigrona. The single includes remixes by Solid Groove from London, a reggaeton remix by Edu K and a baile funk remix by DJs Sany and Mavi (which features a great GNR guitar stab, check it out!). Edu K is currently in the studio putting the finishing touches on his Man Recordings solo album "Frenétiko", which is scheduled for a release in March 2006.

De Falla - Popozuda Rock n Roll
Edu K (feat. Deize Tigrona) - Sex-O-Matic (original mix)
Edu K (feat. Deize Tigrona) - Sex-O-Matic (DJ Mavi + DJ Sany Funk Carioca Mix)

microfrippertronicsoft

A post over at Channel 9 chronicles the visit from forward-thinking prog-guitar maestro Robert Fripp to Microsoft's campus to record the new sounds that are going to be used for the next version of Microsoft's operating system, Windows Vista.

Some of these sounds will replace the ubiquitous sounds that Brian Eno created years ago for Windows 95. Eno told XFM that he was paid $35k for the six second sound. He also somewhat explained these dealings in this interview, excerpted here:

The idea came up at the time when I was completely bereft of ideas. I'd been working on my own music for a while and was quite lost, actually. And I really appreciated someone coming along and saying, "Here's a specific problem -- solve it.''

The thing from the agency said, "We want a piece of music that is inspiring, universal, blah- blah, da-da-da, optimistic, futuristic, sentimental, emotional,'' this whole list of adjectives, and then at the bottom it said "and it must be 3 1/4 seconds long.''

I thought this was so funny and an amazing thought to actually try to make a little piece of music. It's like making a tiny little jewel.

In fact, I made 84 pieces. I got completely into this world of tiny, tiny little pieces of music. I was so sensitive to microseconds at the end of this that it really broke a logjam in my own work. Then when I'd finished that and I went back to working with pieces that were like three minutes long, it seemed like oceans of time.

Watch and listen... clear, confident and connected...

witchcraft breaker

Psychic Ills is the latest, greatest post-Velvet Underground, post-Spacemen 3, stoned-to-the-bone, psych phenomena from The Social Registry. They finished a tour opening for labelmates Blood on the Wall last month, gearing up for the release of their debut full length, Dins on February 7th. Last year saw the release of their first 7" and a recent 12" featuring a remix by former Spaceman, Sonic Boom.

Recorded by Charles Burst, who has worked with bands such as Black Dice and Gang Gang Dance, the Ills alchemize wailing analogue drone, tight kraut rhythms, and zonked out of the atmosphere vocals to the max. Combining all the good shit into a murky brew that goes down easy for you syrup-heads. Lick my decals off, baby.

You can hear a couple other tracks from their upcoming LP over at the always wonderful 20 Jazz Funk Greats and Daughters of Invention.

Psychic Ills - January Rain