In honor of the SYTYCD finale last night, I’ve decided to put together a list of my favorite dances from the show. In no particular order:

Comfort and Twitch in Forever:

Katie and Joshua in No Air:

Chelsea and Mark in Bleeding Love:

Kayla and Kupono in Gravity (the dance about Addiction):

Jeanine and Jason in If It Kills Me:
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Ll9xhRZ5W4&feature=related)

Jeanine and Brandon in Battlefied:

Katie and Twitch in Mercy:

Heidi and Travis in Calling You (park bench dance):

Lacey and Pasha in In The Morning (the mannequin dance):

Ashley and Kupono in Felt Mountain (the crash test dummy dance):

Jamie and Hok in the Chairman’s Waltz (the Hummingbird and the Flower):

Melissa and Ade in This Woman’s Work (the dance about breast cancer):

Jeanine, Melissa, and Kayla in Kick It (superheroes):

Jeanine and Kayla in The Four Sections (the veils):

Karla and Jonathan in Falling Slowly:

Kayla and Kupono in Eyes on Fire:

Kayla and Jason in They’re Everywhere (zombie one):

(And anything that Sonya Tayeh and Travis Wall choreographed, because I think the two of them are fantastic.) What are your favorites?

Also, because we see the dancers so much but learn little about the choreographers, I put something together so you could get to know the people who make the show possible: <a href=”http://ax20.wordpress.com/2009/08/09/so-you-think-you-can-dance-choreographers/”>The Choreographers</a>

So Today I’ll talk about a band that with it’s first album captured all of my curiosity; Goldfrapp.

This band commanded by Alison Goldfrapp was a true revelation for me when I listened “Lovely Head” it was such an experience!, Lovely Head is (At least for me) Goldfrapp’s master piece, a synthesizer was heavily used to create this song yet it’s still so dramatic, melancholic and so warm you can actually feel Alison’s feeling through the speakers/headphones, the experience is so Magic and as the lyrics in that song mention; “It starts in my belly, then up to my heart…” and that’s exactly what happened to me with that combination of Alison’s angelical voice, the violins and the synth, it just made me shiver, it was so powerful that I had to get that album which did not disappointed me, “Felt mountain” is a beautiful and rich album, but “Lovely head” and “Pilots” are for sure the cherry in that cake, yet the whole album is fantastic and so unique that classic instruments such as violins and piano sound spectacular even combined with the Synthesizer, just magic.

Then there are the other albums, “Black Cherry”, “Supernature” and “Seventh Tree” Albums that deserve to be described appart given their Electro-Pop Nature, Yet I’ll include the Video for “Strict Machine” below.

Enjoy.

 Allison Goldfrapp es un bombon completito, hermosa, con una voz privilegiada, una mente un tanto torcida, una vision critica de la sociedad y muy influenciada por el cine y todo lo visual. Empezo colaborando con Tricky para despues juntarse con un vato llamado Will Gregory y armar este disquito (y 3 mas q ya veran por aca). Si han escuchado Utopia o Lovely Head con ese chiflidito perturbador y pegajoso (no estoy albureando) van a disfrutar tanto como en este congal este buen disco, sino han escuchado a Goldfrapp o solo conocen su ultimo disco, entrenle a este, les va a gustar mucho mas. Ah x cierto, esta es la version con remixes de Human, Lovely Head y Utopia (uffff este esta bien rico).

Parte 1 http://www.mediafire.com/?m2xwyzkhoqi

Parte 2 http://www.mediafire.com/?zzm0feydzjn

“You’re my favorite moment, you’re my Saturday.”

Inspired by Kasia’s fine musical taste in yesterday’s post, today I want to share with you just a little bit of the sexy sounds and lusty beauty of one Alison Goldfrapp (and friend):

Miss Goldfrapp, who in conjunction with a man named Will Gregory, make up the ambient/electropop/folktronica (I swear I made that up in a bar conversation 10 years ago to impress a girl)/electroclash/synthpop/triphip (obviously you can blame Wikipedia for all of this) group that’s simply and brilliantly titled Goldfrapp. Nice, huh? This is the song playing at the very end of Kasia’s video:

“It’s called “Number 1,” and you’ve probably heard it before. Probably in a Gap, or in a Starbucks, who knows. You’ve probably heard of Goldfrapp before too, unless you’re against most forms of sexy music. I mean, you’ve definitely heard of them if you ever saw Hard Candy, in which they were an actual plot point of the movie.

True fans of the above genres will tell you that there’s much, much better artists than Goldfrapp in the business, and they’re right, but my God, isn’t a Goldfrapp a lovely package? Lush, beautiful songs with a dynamic, sexy voice and a singer that looks like a living incarnation of erotic 1970s dreams exploding out of your head. Or is that just my head? Or is that Goldfrapp’s “Lovely Head,” I wonder?

That’s “Ride A White Horse,” which you can take a metaphor for cocaine, certainly, or you can just take it as a funky, sexy song with an incredibly hot video. I choose to do both, thank you very much.

Regardless of the criticism of Goldfrapp, and there’s been a lot, say whatever you will about their music (and you’ll notice I’m less into justifying this group to you right now, or delving into their substance, when I can deliver unto you their very special spectacle), but they do what they do…

…quite nicely. Sin Titulo is a fan. Here’s the first song I ever heard by them a great many years ago, entitled “Pilots (On A Star),” a lovely candidate for a Bond song sound if I ever heard one, and here’s an incredibly beautiful song called “A&E.” And this…

…is “Strict Machine,” a song called “a future S&M club anthem if ever there was one,” according to PopMatters, and which to me, sounds like red hot sex filtered through a machine in a club to a brilliantly arousing array of lights with sultry synth just pulsating all over the place.

That’s “Ooh La La,” and as I watch these videos, I’m reminded of not only how sexy the music/general aesthetic of the group is, but how much fun too. This is how I wish my dreams were, just more drippingly hot. I think I’ll leave that as my final statement on Goldfrapp.

Well, today Danielle has learned how to widget some of her favourite music on to her blog. Sort of. She’s sure that she screwed something up. Ah, okay, anyways.

I love music, and I love to hear what people are coming up with. Whether new fresh tunes or old ones I have just discovered for myself, my tastes definitely run to the odd with artists like Man Man, Tori Amos, Kate Bush, and Tom Waits topping my list. I have a tonne of artists that I love, and every chance I get I try to find more. In honour of this (only slightly) momentous task of a music widget (points off for the eventual reformatting that’s going to take 3 hours), I’m going to discuss one of my favourite artists-Goldfrapp.

Goldfrapp is the duo of badass Britons Alison Goldfrapp and William Gregory (est. 1999). If you want a full biography go wiki them, dammit.

Alison Goldfrapp–The photogenic half of the musical genuises who comprise Goldfrapp.

Their second album Black Cherry (2003) was actually my very first listen of Goldfrapp. I had a shit load of time on my hands (thanks cancer!), and discovered a lot of music that year. I had read a small review about it in the local paper, and intrigued, I bought it as soon as it came out. I can’t recall exactly what sent me storming into the record store thinking I had to have Black Cherry. I had never actually heard Goldfrapp before, but apparently the written description was all I needed. I got home, put it into the CD player, and I knew the album was going to rock as the first electronic strains of “Crystalline Green” came on-I had never heard anything quite like them, and they were amazing (As an interesting fact, 2 songs off of Black Cherry were featured on the C.S.I. episode about furries. Bit squicky, what with the yiffing and the murdering). After listening to Black Cherry I automatically went out and bought Felt Mountain.

Felt Mountain came out in 2000, and although it didn’t initially fair well commercially, I, personally, think that it’s a masterpiece. It fuses cabaret with a dreamy airy quality. Alison Goldfrapp’s vocals range from seductive to ethereal, and William Gregory’s background in film scoring is audible in the arrangements. To me, it feels like a film soundtrack to an indie film noire version of Heidi on ‘shrooms (or heavy tranquilizers, depends how you look at it). While I love all the albums these two have produced, I would have to say this is still my absolute favourite. It’s almost timeless; its sound is odd enough that you just can’t place it.

After that, I didn’t get my next Goldfrapp fix until 2006, when Supernature was released in North America. This is one of Goldfrapp’s most successful albums, and it’s not hard to see why. There are catchy hooks in pretty much every song, sweet ballads, and stomping bar beats-this album is very polished, and is every ounce of what I have come to expect from this duo. It’s not just that they managed to corner the sleek, sexy, electronic Siren market; but that they actually make a statement about what we feel sleek, sexy Sirens ought to be. I challenge you to watch their videos for “Ride a White Horse” or “Number 1,” and not laugh. They have an amazing sense of humour, and the fact that they are willing to poke fun at themselves and just have a good time is more reason love Goldfrapp as people, not just their music. (While you’re on youtube, I recommend you check out their Christmas carol: “oh baby Jesus, he isn’t just another fetus…” how awesome are lyrics like that?)

Continuing on here, Goldfrapp have continued to brighten my life with their latest album Seventh Tree (2008). I know that a lot of people, mostly those who listened to Goldfrapp for their electronic dance tunes of the second and third albums, were disappointed with the return of a more ambient, folk centred album. I really enjoyed this though. Alison Goldfrapp’s voice is as amazing as ever (why she not been hit up to sing a James Bond theme is beyond me) and Will Gregory’s talent with a multitude of genres and instruments is brilliant. This album echoes the sort of psychedelic folk music of the 60’s/70’s and is a really solid outing. My favourite songs are “Eat Yourself” and “Little Bird,” although “Little Bird” sort of creeps me out when she says the crow “has two mouths for eyes” because I think of Neil Gaiman’s Corinthian…I don’t think that is quite what she had in mind.

In addition to all of their own albums, Goldfrapp also do remixes for other artists. I am obviously biased, but they do a great job with rearrangements and melting Alison’s vocals into the mix. Two of note are the Flaming Lips “The W.A.N.D. Supernaturalistic (Goldfrapp remix)”, and Depeche Mode’s “Halo (Goldfrapp remix).” If you like Marilyn Manson, Goldfrapp did a very cabaret mix of “This is the New Shit.” I’m a big fan of remixes (well, the good ones anyway), and Goldfrapp hasn’t let me down yet.

I know I am not a music critic, and that I could have given you more of a description of their sound, but I really feel that their music speaks for itself. So go have a listen, if you haven’t already. Goodness! There are no words that I can write that compare to the mastery of Goldfrapp’s unique sound and lush vocals.

Musiktips von André sind eigentlich immer gut. Auch diesmal bin ich für seine Empfehlungen dankbar und möchte sie gern teilen. Allerdings nehme ich an, daß die Tips für die meisten, die sich für diese Art Musik interessieren, ohnehin nicht neu sind.

Seventh Tree von Goldfrapp – Felt Mountain fand ich ja sehr gut. Bin schon sehr gespannt, wie das Neue ist.

Morcheeba – Dive Deep

Katja Maria Werker – Leave That Thing Behind

Zu kaufen gibt es diese Empfehlungen in fendi911s – Amazon Einkaufsladen

Update: Leider musste ich ein paar Bilder und das Interview wieder entfernen, weil es wohl nur zur Veröffentlichung in Printmedien gemeint war. Wir Webleute sind nämlich nicht so cool, müsst ihr wissen… Als kleinen Ausgleich hab ich am Ende des Artikels einen Link zu einem anderen Interview mit ein paar neuen Fotos angehängt.

Am 3. Februar veröffentlichen Goldfrapp ihre neue Single A&E. Der Song ist definitiv das Highlight des neuen Albums Seventh Tree und wir hören es jetzt nun schon sein einigen Tagen in der Dauerrotation. Der letzte Titel, der mich dermaßen hingerissen hat, war Utopia von ihrem ersten Album Felt Mountain. Doch während Utopia eine surrealistische Klangwelt erschafft, kommt A&E eher naturalistisch daher. Das ganze Album erinnert mehr an das melodische und atmosphärische Debüt Felt Mountain, als an die von harten elektronischen Klängen geprägten Alben Black Cherry und Supernature. Besonders die Fans der letzten Platte werden vielleicht enttäuscht sein, denn auf Seventh Tree werden sie nicht einen tanzbaren Track finden. Aber diejenigen, die sich eher ein verträumtes und melodisches Album gewünscht haben, werden mehr als begeistert sein.

Die Single A&E könnt ihr ab dem 3. Februar als Download und ab dem 11. als CD erwerben. Das Album Seventh Tree erscheint am 25. Februar.

Blackbook Magazine Interview

You can hear a great new Goldfrapp track by clicking above (indeed, there’s a whole rake of their new tracks up on YouTube). This is a great track and the first time I’ve been interested in Goldfrapp since they released Felt Mountain. Again, they’ve taken  a new direction which, rather unexpectedly, seems to be Beatles-influenced. There also seems to be a Cocteau Twins’ influence on some of the new tracks and a David Axelrod sound to one called ‘Cologne Cerrone Houdini’. But ‘Happiness’ is aptly-named as it’s dripping with pure joy.

‘Felt Mountain’ still sounds like one of the best-produced records ever to these ears. It’s rare to hear a record where everything sounds recorded with such precision and everything seems to have a point to the sound. That’s not saying that great records sometimes are shittily produced and, in fact, benefit from that. There are records I love that sound like they were produced by an earless donkey but I wouldn’t have them any other way.

Titolo: Lovely head
Autore: Goldfrapp
Album: Felt mountain (2000)
Ascoltala!: http://www.musicwebtown.com/jacopax/129317/

I Goldfrapp sono una delle tante mutazioni transgeniche che hanno traghettato la scena del trip-hop negli anni 2000. Il duo londinese, almeno nell’album di esordio Felt mountain, sembra aver mandato a memoria la lezione dei Portishead, specialmente per ciò che concerne l’atmosfera delle canzoni. Ma laddove il punto dei riferimento dei Portishead erano le musiche dei B-movies e dei film di James Bond, i Goldfrapp sembrano rifarsi soprattutto all’immaginario noir e alle spettrali composizioni di Angelo Badalamenti. Lovely head, celebre in Italia per essere stata utilizzata in uno spot della BMW, si apre con una straniante sirena, subito seguita da una melodia fischiettata che sembra rubata a qualche spaghetti western morriconiano. L’entrata in scena della cantante Allison Goldfrapp lascia senza fiato: la sua voce di velluto trascina l’ascoltatore in un mondo ovattato, reso impenetrabile e ultraterreno dagli arrangiamenti di Will Gregory.

LINK: pagina personale su MySpace, monografia su Ondarock

L’ANGOLO DEGLI ORRORI: quasi tutto ciò che è venuto dopo l’album d’esordio meriterebbe di finire in questo spazio. Ma a riconferma che nulla nasce dal nulla, il videoclip di Lovely Head avrebbe già dovuto far presentire le vette di kitsch che i Goldfrapp sarebbero stati in grado di raggiungere nei successivi album Black Cherry e Supernature. Girato con una normalissima telecamera digitale, il video di Lovely Head è talmente orribile e assurdo da diventare quasi geniale. Indimenticabile l’immagine di Allison Goldfrapp che si aggira nel giardino in mutande e stivali, frustando e prendendo a calci una povera siepe, colpevole di chissà quale crimine…

> Goldfrapp – Pilots
            (Felt Mountain, 2001)
> David Snell – International Flight
            (Thievery Corporation’s The Outernational Sound, 2004)
> M83 – I Guess I’m Floating
            (Before The Dawn Heals Us, 2005)
> The Books – Tokyo
            (The Lemon Of Pink, 2003)
> Ulrich Schnauss – Stars
            (Goodbye, 2007)

Zeon, the creator of the mix, describes it better than I could…

A themed mix, designed for those in-flight time you spend looking out of the window plane. Put these tunes on your headphones, relax, and let them put your mind at ease. Here we have an otherworldly, gorgeous hymn from Goldfrapp, one of the best tracks of her entire career, a short, soothing groove from David Snell, a tune from French shoegaze masters M83, The Books’ sample-laden track, and the title track from German Ulrich Schnauss’ latest offering. Enjoy.

This mix is spectacular. It sets up a theme and develops it in less than twenty minutes. I enjoyed it thoroughly and will definitely be using it on my next trip. Thanks again to Zeon for sharing. [to extract .rar files use winrar.]
goldfrapp – thievery corporation – M83 – the books – ulrich schnauss – winrar