Every music artist samples in some way, that’s no surprise. Typically it’s better to sample from songs that aren’t just a few years old. No one remembers the old stuff, thus it can be called current. When Kanye West sampled Daft Punk’s “Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger” for his song, “Stronger”, it was a stretch as the Daft Punk version only came out 6 years prior and Daft Punk has been on the road with their Alive 2007 tour, greatly featuring their version of the song.
The Alive 2007 tour, an amazing spectacle of a concert, featured some of the most advanced visuals I’ve seen. One of the most enchanting visuals was the red light up suits worn by the Daft Punk duo (seen below left).
If you’re wondering, that’s Kanye West on the right in his blue light up jacket from his “Stronger” performance on Saturday Night Live. It is one thing to sample a riff, but to also sample a concert which is still currently going on is a whole other matter.
10 12 07
UNKLE’s latest album, which apparently took me awhile to get, goes in a new direction in comparison to the first album which featured DJ Shadow as a major player. Never, Never, Land–masterminded by James Lavelle, Richard File, DJ Shadow–utilizes many pianos and strings which give it an almost trip-hop like feel. Much like UNKLE’s first album, Psyence Fiction, there is an assortment of guest artists who make up many of the vocals on the tracks.
This is the type of album that when you play it on your iPod–during your travels–everything around you takes on this surreal feeling. Especially while listening to the minimalist What Are You To Me? or the epic of strings Reign.
11 26 04
More often than not I find myself feeling that my iPod knows what kind of mood I’m in. As an avid user of the Random feature I leave the DJing up to my iPod and it continually impresses me by its track selection.
While I know the random feature works entirely by mathematics I am frequently shocked at how well the iPod comes up with a musical set which is tailored to my mood and activity.
Obviously I have selected what music goes on my iPod but out of the over 3,000 songs I have stored on it right now they cross many genres. Yet it’s almost as if the iPod knows what I want to listen to–it brings me up and takes it low.
My iPod is the ultimate DJ.
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09 05 04
People seem to be going 8-bit crazy these days. From people like Bit Shifter to Nullsleep. I’ll admit I get into it and enjoy these 8-bit masterpieces but nothing beats the originals from the games themselves, that is until they were put onto the back drop of some breakbeats.
Saskrotch has put out Nintendo Breakz Volume One, a collection of 40 classics remixed. The Megaman (Rockman) 2 remix has really got me going right now. Totally has a 1992 early hardcore feel. The Bubble Bobble remix is almost happy hardcore like with 4-4 stompyness.
07 13 04
I’ve long been a fan of Orbital and after The Altogether I was somewhat disappointed with what Orbital had been putting out. When I heard that their next album would be their last I was hoping that they could redeem themselves.
The Blue Album is definitely a good farewell as it touches upon the progression of their sound over the years. Tracks such as One Perfect Sunrise and You Lot are just pure Orbital of old but with a bit of an updated feel.
With the end of Orbital I totally regret missing them perform live. But at the least I have an extensive collection of their work over the years. Tracks like The Box and Halcyon and on and On are what got me into electronic music.
07 07 04
I recently picked up the new Streets album and decided I’d give everyone my take on the album. While in many ways I do think the album format is dead, A Grand Don’t Come for Free definitely makes you think otherwise. The flowing story through tracks makes you want to listen to the album from start to finish whenever you listen. Ok well ya I don’t always listen to the entire album everytime but in theory you should.
On a side note Neera and I will be seeing The Streets live at Avalon at the end of this month. I’ll be sure to post some photos. It seems that I only take photos at Streets concerts.
06 02 04