So here’s a little bit of news for all you Hercules & Love Affair fans desperate for any news (there isn’t a lot).

You might remember that they put together a mix of a bunch of obscure disco songs but also snuck in their own new track “I Can’t Wait.” At the beginning of December they’re going to release that song as an exclusive single to celebrate their upcoming tour in Mexico and Europe. These are the first live dates in a long time for the band, so if you’re in any of these cities, don’t hesitate to go.

November
Thu 19 – Salon Covadonga – Cuauhtémoc, Mexico City, MX
Sat 21 – Antigua Aceitera  -  Juan Manuel Vallarta, Guadalajara, JA

December
Fri 4 – Casa da Musica – Porto, Portugal
Sat 5 -  Club Lux – Lisbon, Portugal
Sun 6 – Paradiso – Amsterdam, Holland
Wed 9 – Hafen 2 – Frankfurt, Germany
Thu 10 – Berghain – Berlin, Germany
Fri 11 – Fabric – London, UK
Sat 12 – Tripod – Dublin, Ireland

Also, Andy of H&LA put together this remix of Lady Gaga’s so-awful-it’s-catchy “Bad Romance” so check that out too (if you dare).

♫ Lady Gaga – Bad Romance (Hercules & Love Affair Remix)

Ultimamente a Lady Gaga anda concentrando todas as atenções só pra ela. Tipo o Google que quer comprar todo mundo a Lady Gaga quer fazer parceiria com todo mundo. Só esperamos pela Madonna agora, porque com a Beyoncé: check. E como uma mão lava a outra, logo deve sair o dueto contrário, Lady Gaga feat. Beyoncé.

Tá dominado, tá tudo dominado

Ontem também saiu um remix do Hercules and Love Affair pra Bad Romance, que ficou ótimo, por sinal.

O grupo de eletro dance Hercules and Love Affair é um projeto paralelo do DJ e produtor Andy Butler e tem como membros também Nomi, Kim Ann Foxman e Antony Hegarty [do grupo pop Antony and the Johnsons]. A banda ainda está em ascensão musical com seus poucos trabalhos lançados, mas se espera muito sucesso desse grupo, principalmente pela formação categórica.

Aqui para download o single Blind     Download

1 – Blind

After taking the Monday off to generally loiter and drink (taking in the excellent The Hidden Revolution @ Walkabout, being denied due to lack of delegates pass at Night & Day, visiting the Ruby Lounge, sticking my head in at BBC Introducing @ Moho, moving swiftly into the Rocksound showcase where I chanced upon the raucous Outcry Collective, then fucking right off home) we rolled up for our last show of ITC, SJM Concerts presents…

Painless soundcheck, and the night got to the off with Apples opening up…

we then smashed out probably the best set we’d done over ITC, finished strong…

After spending some time speaking to to all manner of peeps, it was time for NYC act Jessica 6 to take to the stage…let’s get it out right now, the vocalist was smokin’ hot, unbelievably so…brilliantly, Nomi Ruiz is a M-F transsexual, and has performed with Hercules and Love Affair (see Guardian Review here)

The night was taking a turn for the exotic…they put in a great set and we’re a friendly bunch to boot… We bumped into loads of people this night, Senor Rob Kerford of Sonic PR was a welcome meeting – fair play to him he stood and listened to us both put the world to rights.
Patiently.
For about 10 minutes.
Mark of a legend right there.

Special mention goes to George who’d caught our set at The Bay Horse and came back for more. Heroic.

Jon of mm.co.uk was also spotted (for the fourth night in a row!) and there were a host of others….
Plenty of tossers abounds too to be honest – lamentable dickheads who who seem to pop up like cockroaches from time to time…ah well.

And that was ITC 2009.

Onwards to the studio….

El próximo 19 de noviembre la banda originaria de Nueva York se presentará en el Salón Covadonga de la Ciudad de México.

Originalmente Hercules and Love Affair participaría en el Festival Sonofilia, pero debido a la cancelación de este evento -que aún no tiene nueva fecha- la banda neoyorkina continúa con sus planes de visitar nuestro país.

Así que el jueves 19 de noviembre aún tendremos la oportunidad para ver a esta agrupación conformada por el Dj Andy Butler, Kim Ann Foxmann, Nomi y Antony Hegarte.

Anteriormente se había presentado el Dj Set, pero ahora tendremos la oportunidad de ver el live act.

Los boletos estarán disponibles a partir del 6 de noviembre a través del sistema Eticket.

Salón Covadonga

Puebla 121, col. Roma

.

Procurando coisa nova encontrei esse clipe do Mika. Umas pirações visuais muito boas e um hit estilo “Blind” do Hercules and Love Affair.

Depois da rápida passagem do Franz Ferdinand por São Paulo pra tocar na The Week e no VMB 2009 os escoses marcaram para março do ano que vem algumas datas por essas banda de cá.

Argentina (12/03 – Buenos Aires)

Chile (13/03 – Santiago),

Paraguai (16/03 – Assunção), 

Brasil (18/03 – Porto Alegre – 19/03 – Rio de Janeiro – 21/03 – Brasília – 23/03 – São Paulo),

Peru (25/03 – Lima),

Colômbia (27/03 – Bogotá) e

República Dominicana (03/04 – Punta Cana)

Os ingressos em SP e no Rio começam as vendas no dia 19 de outubro de 2009!

Os valores do ingresso em São Paulo vão de R$ 90 (meia/pista) a R$ 300 (camarote/inteira). No Rio os valores vão de R$ 70 (meia) a R$ 140 (inteira).

Minha aposta é que os ingressos em SP esgotem na primeira semana!

A banda que eu queria muito que abrisse o show do FF:

HERCULES AND THE LOVE AFFAIR

Mas parece ser bem impossível já que dia 14 a banda inicia uma tour por alguns países vizinhos. Caracas na Venezuela recebe o HATLA no dia 14 de outubro, Bogotá (Colômbia) no dia 15/10 e Buenos Aires (Argentina) no dia 17. E o Brasil? Ficou de fora…

I rushed out of work last night, threw on the first sequined shirt I could find, and speed walked down to Congress only to find that the Hercules and Love Affair show was a DJ set!!!!! (Lesson learned: Always read the fine print on show flyers)

I definitely wanted a little more dancing to this:

And a little less sitting around like this:

(Note: not all drinks pictured are ours, i swear.)

Oh well, still a fun dance party. I REALLY want to hear “Blind” live though!

“A new musical scene emerge… Called indifferently Neo-Disco, Cosmic Disco, or Space Disco, a new style is raising from clubs in New York, London, Paris, LA or Tokyo. Far from the somehow dusty sound of the 70’s, the NuDisco scene reinvest the disco imagery, somewhere between abstract, electronic, and dance music more “djable” as some of the producers say. Giorgio Moroder is not so far.”

My friend Andrea has written something about this new musical scene in her site Soma in kinderland. She’s that kind of girl that u can spend the whole day with her and u keep wanting more! =)

myspace

1. awake at 8
riding six hour sleep wave
drafting poemscapes

2. shuffling around house in
boys superman underwear
white tanktop
corinne couch cuddle
jokes of bobble heads
something sweet and 12 year old and ripped open tender
cartoon watching kind of morning

3. mystery of the disappeared bread
from freezer

4. sixteenth annual polish festival
shannon, lola, corinne
cheering on the black booted jumpers
mispronouncing kiss me in polish

5. blush
of polish boys/men
costumed
catching breath
onstage
how i always want to sneak one of them around back
press him against scaffolding of stage
sink teeth into neck

6. puddle of pierogi grease
remains
paper plate
old world language
familiar in ears
filling heart

7. september summer
tank-topped and bike riding
cutting through gold light
magic unfit for words
in air against skin

8. saturday night stereo fusion from the lower level:
journey rising from nicoletta’s room
herculues and love affair rising from corinne’s

9. if there is one definite things in my bones
about tonight
it is this:
home.
lit candles.
hot water.
while the rest of queer portland
dresses for
dirty dance
flash mob

10. dollar bills raining
from top of staircase
corinne
standing below
arms outstretched

11. hobo spider
sealed in glass jar
kitchen counter

12. first line of geese
swift wings
flapping
diagonal line across sunset sky

13. toss
of last burial dirt
into split open ground

Russell left one his Ipods here when he left for school. I found it today and plugged it in, just to see what’s on there. It’s interesting to see what other people have on their Ipods — it tells you something about them, like what they have on their bookshelves or in their refrigerator. Unfortunately, I can’t make much out of Russell’s Ipod, because I’m not familiar with most of the artists.  That makes it even more compelling, because I’ll get a chance to listen to some new music.

Here are the 20 top-rated songs on Russell’s Ipod:

Stuck on Repeat — Little Boots

Jai Ho — A.R. Rahman

Glass — Bat For Lashes

Diva — Beyonce

Iron Lemonade — Black Moth Super Rainbow

She Loves Everybody — Chester French

Scream (Doctor Rosen Rosen Remix) — Chris Cornell

Momma’s Boy — Chromeo

+81 – Deerhoof

Whats The Difference – Dr. Dre

Fixin to Thrill – Dragonette

Fixin to Thrill (Don Diablo Remix) — Dragonette

Heaven Only Knows — Emmylou Harris

Walking on a Dream — Empire of the Sun

better off as two – kissy sell out mix — Frankmusik

Shut The Club Down — Girl Talk

Set It Off – Girl Talk

Once Again – Girl Talk

Kansei (promo) — Greg Kozo

Hercules Theme — Hercules and Love Affair

Pues hoy inicia bien la semana con los ultimos actos internacionales para el Sonofilia 2009, el primero de ellos es el dueto australiano PNAU quienes ya tienen un rato dentro de la escena electronica de aquel pais y que poco a poco se han ido ganando adeptos sobretodo por su musica y sus colaboraciones con otros artistas de igual prestigio. Ellos vienen presentando su placa homonima del 2007 y quizas muchos remixes de sus anteriores discos.

Por si fuera poco las sorpresas no terminan y minutos despues el festival confirma la presencia de mas ni menos que de HERCULES AND LOVE AFFAIR el grupo Neoyorkino que el año pasado dio de que hablar con excelentes temas como “Blind” y “You Belong” se presentara tambien en esta edicion del festival. Cabe recordar que Kim Ann Foxman vino hace poco a la ciudad en su faceta de DJ y no le fue tan mal, aunque muchos se quedaron con escuchar versiones del disco homonimo de la banda ahora en el festival sera cuando tengan esa oportunidad. Y si muchos se preguntan si Antony Hegarty viene con ellos lamentablemente la respuesta es NO porque el solo colaboro en el disco y no es parte de los actos en vivos (a menos que Sonofilia nos quiera dar la sorpresa).

En pocas palabras es una buena noticia para todos los que quieren ir al festival y no encontraban un grupo por el cual ir. Pues ahora son un total de 12 los actos internacionales en este festival y todos de gran calidad.

En otras noticias ya este viernes 11 es el concierto de el grupo Danes MEW , los boletos aun -creo- hay en taquilla y en ticketmaster. recuerden que cuestan 390 pesos en preventa y el dia del evento en 450pesos, asi que no pueden dejar pasar esta oportunidad unica. Ellos vienen presentando su ultima placa No More Stories… y se presentaran en el Teatro Estudio Cavaret.

Did I hear Antony (and the Johnsons)?

Download Hercules And Love Affair – Hercules And Love Affair

Thanks to my friend Evan, who alerted me on Monday that some serious Aughties musical canonization was going down this week, I’ve been following Pitchfork’s unveiling of the Top 500 tracks of the decade. As it may be of interest, I thought I’d share my feelings. 

In subsequent posts, I may comment on their impending coverage of the decade’s best music videos and albums, as well as their formulations on the reclamation of pop, the exploration of noise, and the mainstreaming of indie rock. I won’t devote posts to it, though, because there’s a fine line between providing useful commentary and hearing yourself type. And my hunch is that discussing the singles list will suffice, as it presents, by microcosm, a general set of criticisms I’ve long held about the “tastemaker” e-zine.

Covering Pitchfork’s appraisal of the decade in this way makes more sense to me anyway, as the 2000s marked the resurgence of the single. Our increasingly digitized media culture cultivated the need for that one song, found at the click of a mouse or the touch of an mp3 player button or phone pad. That song also tended to get posted on blogs, e-zines, and MySpace pages (however briefly) as a means to define the self or selves (this was a decade when Gnarls Barkley, Brightblack Morning Light, and Crystal Castles could potentially coexist on the same shuffle or mash-up).

So, this list is the first time I’ve seen music of my youth canonized in such a way that it now seems historical. When Pitchfork first did the list half-way through the decade, I was 22 and just out of college; an adult, but only sorta. More specifically, the songs were still new. But having graduated from college twice over and a year into my second post-college job in 2009, I can look at songs from 2000, when I was in high school, and feel my age like many folks who transitioned into adulthood in decades prior.

And now, some nostalgia. A lot of the songs on this list bring up specific memories, images, people, and feelings. I remember my friend Brooke trying to teach me a dance routine to Aaliyah’s “Try Again” for our junior prom. PJ Harvey’s “Good Fortune” reminded me of a high school boyfriend which, in hindsight, speaks to an epic love song’s power to project. I remember a classmate singing the chorus to OutKast’s “Ms. Jackson” to herself in French class. I remember hearing Jay-Z and UGK’s “Big Pimpin’” at a Claire’s somewhere in New York City on a field trip. Radiohead’s “The National Anthem” confused the hell out of me, but I kept playing it at full volume anyway. Missy Elliott’s “Get Ur Freak On” was a confusing song that made perfect sense. And if Daft Punk’s “One More Time” was released when the class of 2001 voted for our song, it would’ve been my pick (I submitted U2’s “Beautiful Day” and Counting Crows’ “Hanging Around”; our song ended up being Aerosmith’s cover of The Beatles’ “Come Together” from the Armageddon soundtrack, for some reason).

Then there’s the rough transition between high school and college. Songs off Radiohead’s Amnesiac and Daft Punk’s Discovery suggest my lonely, uncertain summer before college. I started college, withdrew mid-way through my first semester, and resumed in the spring. This was a “the” time — The Strokes, The White Stripes, The Shins, The Avalanches, and the last album by The Dismemberment Plan. It was also when I started to follow Pitchfork, mostly to avoid writing term papers.

After a summer back home, I applied for a college radio show. It was here that I really started learning about music, and just how much music there was. KVRX maintains a “none of the hits all of the time” policy; if a musical act got a single or video on rotation in a commercial market, they could not be played. While I was there, we pulled The Arcade Fire and Franz Ferdinand from rotation. Some deejays would think that by pulling a musical act they liked out of rotation, we were initiating a taste-based attack on coolness (i.e., undiscovered = good, discovered = bad). While this prejudice existed (and I would certainly perpetuate it at times), pulling an artist embraced by the mainstream out of college radio rotation felt like more political to me. “Spoon is on 101X? Great! They’re awesome. Now let’s shine a light on the thousands of other bands who’ll never get that kind of attention.”

Pitchfork made an effort to shine a light too, biases notwithstanding. During my tenure at KVRX, my relationship with Pitchfork became contentious. While I followed Pitchfork, I was also dismissive or derisive of the staff’s opinions (a classic push-pull for many music geeks: we are at once too cool for Pitchfork, yet check to see if we line up with their rulings). As I came into my own as a feminist, I also became more critical of what they covered, how they covered it, and what they dismissed, out of which came, among other things, this blog.

Yet, there are so many songs on this countdown that remind me of that time. I remember my first radio show, when I played Interpol’s “NYC” because I had some vague idea of who they were. I remember exactly where I was when I first heard TV on the Radio’s “Staring At the Sun” and Dizzie Rascal’s “I Luv U.” I remember seeing Spoon perform “The Way We Get By” on Conan and hoping they’d get big. I remember hearing the bass line to Broken Social Scene’s “Stars and Sons” for the first time. I remember fighting The Rapture’s “House of Jealous Lovers” for weeks before surrendering. I remember being unable to avoid The Postal Service’s “Such Great Heights.” I remember playing Broadcast’s “Pendulum” while getting ready for parties. I remember rocking out to The Gossip’s “Standing in the Way of Control” in the deejay booth. I remember LCD Soundsystem’s “Losing My Edge” being one of the go-to songs deejays would throw on for a smoke break when we weren’t quoting from it (I alluded to it in this post’s title). I remember hearing M.I.A.’s “Galang” at a party and having it blow my mind. I remember impromptu dance parties after Alliance for a Feminist Option meetings when a bunch of sweaty grrrls I still call friends would shimmy to Beyoncé’s “Crazy in Love” and OutKast’s “Hey Ya!” I remember skanking harder and smiling wider than I ever have with the person I built my life with to Ted Leo and the Pharmacists’ “Where Have All the Rude Boys Gone?”

In addition, there was Boards of Canada, Wolf Eyes, Feist, Black Dice, Andrew Bird, Ladytron, Devendra Banhart, Destroyer, Hot Chip, The New Pornographers, Deerhoof, M. Ward, Liars, Junior Boys, The Walkmen, Manitoba (later Caribou), El-P, The Go Team, (Smog), Sufjan Stevens, RJD2, The Books, Talib Kweli, Phoenix . . . . The list goes on. If I ever had trouble keeping up with new artists after graduating in 2005, it was only because I had so many established artists to follow.

Of course, my college radio utopia didn’t last. It couldn’t. My monolithic friend group fragmented. People moved, lost touch, became casual, or just stopped being friends. Perhaps this is really when the decade became more to me than a sequence, instead an evolution of time. Late-in-the-decade offerings like LCD Soundsystem’s “All My Friends” and Animal Collective’s “Fireworks” convey this for me.

After college, I acquired Deerhunter, CSS, Hercules and Love Affair, Santigold, Bat for Lashes, Grizzly Bear, Battles, No Age, Be Your Own Pet, Girl Talk, Magik Markers, Vampire Weekend, Vivian Girls, Women, King Khan and the Shrines, and St. Vincent.

Assuredly there will be more new artists for me (and you) to adopt. Just this week, because of the countdown, I picked up on The Knife.

There are artists whose countdown placement evinces moments when we were willing to bet the farm on an act that now seem dated (Death From Above 1979, The Streets, and Klaxons). There are also acts I didn’t “get” but sorta came around on later (hello, Joanna Newsom). There are acts I didn’t know that well in college but came to treasure later (bless you, Neko Case). There are acts I enjoy but could never fully champion (I like you fine, Belle and Sebastian). There are acts I appreciate, but kinda overwhelm me and can’t listen to all the time (Jesus, Xiu Xiu). And then there are acts for whom I just never got the fuss (Fleet Foxes and The Decemberists).

With that said, this countdown plays predictably. Accepting minor issues like what song was selected to represent an artist and where songs fell in ranking, Pitchfork got a lot right. They also got caught up with some songs that I think they’re overselling, and some things they marginalized or completely overlooked. I’ll preoccupy the rest of this post with those flaws.

For me Pitchfork’s big Achilles heel has always been hip hop, primarily because they really only cover mainstream hip hop (Lil Wayne, T.I., 50 Cent, Clipse, Eminem, Cam’ron, OutKast, Kanye West, and Jay-Z — the last three are all over this countdown). And while this isn’t a problem in its own right, it limits how hip hop is defined and what it represents, which, in a lot of commercial hip hop, that still means money, Cristal, whips, blunts, and bitches (though not in all cases). It certainly suggests that the only way for rappers to be successful and culturally relevant is to be part of a corporate mechanism. This seems like something a publication that prides itself on giving visibility to independent artists should re-evaluate. Because, in my mind, if there’s no Busdriver or Jean Grae, I question the validity of the list.

As a result, it largely eclipses underground hip hop which has seen tremendous advancements over the course of the decade, particularly in the states. Talent from labels like Stones Throw, Quannum Projects, Rhymesayers, Definitive Jux, and anticon., along with talent at labels like Plug Research, Mush, Warp, and Ubiquity have created some of the most vital and interesting work in the genre, expanding its sound and its content while working outside a corporate mechanism in the process (anticon. runs as a collective). But you’d never know that if you only read Pitchfork, who primarily acknowledged a few efforts, primarily from white male label owners (El-P) and instrumental artists (RJD2, DJ Shadow). No female MCs were acknowledged. This may also speak to the dearth of female MCs in underground hip hop, but doesn’t excuse it (I love you, Jean Grae; I love you, Psalm One). My challenge to hip hop fans in the next decade is to try to create an online resource as influential as Pitchfork to get the message out. You’ve got a guaranteed spot on my blogroll. My apologies if someone’s already doing this and I don’t know about it.

Also, as you may have noticed if you combed through the entire list, only the top 200 songs are accompanied by blurbs from the writing staff. While I understand that writing 300 more blurbs presents its own challenges, I also think it suggests that tracks 500-301 weren’t good enough for a write-up. And this makes me especially sad when many of the women I loved in this decade – Vivian Girls, St. Vincent, Goldfrapp, Sleater-Kinney, Bat for Lashes, Björk, and The Gossip — are thrown at the end and not given any qualifying statements. This especially seems necessary for a song like The Gossip’s “Standing In the Way of Control,” which became a bit of an LGBTQ anthem this decade. That would be especially useful to read alongside #18, Hercules and Love Affair’s “Blind.” This is a great dance song that I’ve always interpreted as an anthem for coming out and living life queer. But you wouldn’t know that from Tim Finney’s write-up.

And while I’m heartened by the women who did make it to the top 200, especially women like M.I.A., Beyoncé, Missy Elliott, Annie, and Karen O of The Yeah Yeah Yeahs, who made the top 20, I can’t help but notice that many of these women were pop artists who worked extensively with predominantly male producers. I don’t want to suggest that cutting a track with Timbaland or Pharell from The Neptunes means that women are robbed of artistic autonomy, as I wouldn’t say that for Justin Timberlake. However, I do take issue with what female artists and what songs get praise. Or even what versions of songs. While the Diplo remix of the version of M.I.A.’s “Paper Planes” that features UGK is great, I wonder why her version isn’t enough.

That said, the 2000s were both a hell of an education and a hell of a time. Pitchfork knows it. I know it. Hopefully, you know it too. It was a great time to be alive. I hope the next decade is even better.

Day 3 (Saturday) started out pretty early. I was first one out the door. Everyone was kinda wanted to do their own thing for a minute and I was no exception. I was going to catch lunch with my buddy Ben in Lincoln Park at this place called Duffy’s. It’s a Michigan bar, which would explain the super lame maize and blue color scheme!

Duffy's in Lincoln Park

After lunch with Ben and his friend Nick- which included checkin out crazy homeless dudes across the street, making friends with our waitress who wouldn’t get on camera because she was SAG (but we still made a date to be there for brunch on Sunday), and an awesome burger + beers- Nick and I cabbed it to Lolla to catch some more shows. I didn’t really have a whole lot in the morning I wanted to see, so I didn’t feel bad abt drinkin most of the afternoon away with those guys, lol. I wanted to check out Mike Snow, but blew that one. Same with Atmosphere. Funny story about why I wanted to see Atmosphere. 1st because my old roommate Jesse talked abt the guy nonstop for 2 years, so I wanted to see what the fuss was abt. 2nd because I had met this girl in Columbus a cpl weeks prior who got super excited when I said I’d be in the Chi for Lolla (so would she). So we exchange numbers and literally the next day she deleted me. I txt her friend as to why she did and she said, “she didn’t think she would hear from you, so she deleted you.” um… ok. So I txted her like wtf?! I told you we’d link up in Chicago. No response….super weird. But she also gushed abt Atmosphere so I was hoping I’d catch her eye and go feign to take her backstage to spite her. No dice

My friend Molly txted me to meet her at the Chairlift performance. Right when I came in they were doing Snoop Dogg’s, ‘Sensual Seduction.’ I personally love that song, so I was into it, but the sound was horrible! That sound guy was havin a super off day.

There were some mad hippies dancing in front of us the whole time too, so that was pretty cool to see. Like LA hippies, not fake ass Midwest ones.

Back to the dj stage it was for me and I caught the last little bit of Perry Farrell performing with Porno for Pyros. They were his special guest. Along with Perry’s wife. She’s not bad lookin at all. She also had some super hot friends of hers onstage. She wore this super short mini and kept kicking her legs in the air! Caught panties like 15 times in 10 minutes!

Their kids were sitting on stage as well. All 3 of them had their protective headphones on and flip camera’s out, catching mommy and daddy’s performance.

Perry Farrell's kids (w/grandma)

It never ceases to amaze me how people can idolize someone and place them on this revered pedestal, but to their kids, they are just mom and dad. Funny how that works. Perry finished off his set with a new track that he worked on with Kaskade called, ‘Machine Girl.’ I don’t think it’s out yet. Danny Masterson was in the back, so I rapped with him and his boy for a little bit. Supposedly he’s comin to Cleveland in a cpl weeks (dj Mom Jeans in the house!). Jesse is in love with him btw. Wanted to push our departure to Chicago back a day because he thought he was gonna meet him, lol. He wound up meeting him on Friday night anyways. He prob drew wood, lol. Talked to Kaskade after the show, he said he hasn’t been here in a while, but he really likes Cleveland. Way to go my man!

There wasn’t really a whole lot of action after that. I watched a little bit of Hercules and Love Affair, but the set was a little too slow for me. I was in the mood for some bangers. LA Riots was on afterwards anyways. I walked around a little bit and caught the tail end of Santigold. That show was freakin packed! I don’t know how I found my friends in that crazy ass crowd. She even brought the GZA onstage with her, much props. I dipped out of there when the show was over and headed to LA Riots. Set was good but man, that dude is a piece of work. I walked over to him and introduced myself (we met earlier in Cleveland). He proceeded to talk abt how ppl at Ultra fucked up the monitors and he wasn’t treated right by the owner/manager, there was a descrepancy with the money, the list goes on and on. Needless to say, he wasn’t happy. He vowed Ultra would never get another AM Only dj and he was gonna come back to Cleveland somewhere and do a free show (I hope he follows through on that party). I would be seeing this guy around everywhere I went. And everywhere we were, he had smokin hot girls with him. I gotta move to LA and be a dj, hot damn!

Backstage waiting for Diplo to come on I noticed a rather peculiar thing…. The dude was wearin a damn 3 piece suit! Blue pinstriped suit and vest, with a white shirt and some brown boat shoes, no socks. Pimpin! It was so fucking hot too, I can’t believe he didn’t pass out wearin that. I almost did and I was rockin a t-shirt and shorts. He played during TV on the Radio AND Ben Harper, but oh well… And he trainwrecked a cpl times, oh well… and he played a lot of other people’s tracks, oh well…. I was waiting for major lazer stuff, grimy diplo stuff, and any other kind of DIPLO stuff, oh well…. Maybe next time.

So lookie loo… I got a text from Katie (girl from columbus, not the deleting girl), and I was super pumped. I had barely seen her since we had been there and I was not happy about that. I figure meeting someone is cool, finding out that you’ll both be going to the same event is even cooler. Meeting up out of town away from your friends and outside influences should be a perfect time to really develop a repor, which is great, but none of that really happened . It was like she left her phone at the hotel (she must not really be a txting kind of girl. Old school, I like that, lol). So I meet up with Katie backstage at Yeah Yeah Yeahs. There’s this little artists village, complete with food and free booze. Katie goes to get us drinks while I wait in line to get in the opera box to watch YYY’s. The crowd was freakin sick!!! There’s obviously no way we were gettin in there, the line was super packed, and there was only 50 ppl allowed in at a time, so whatever. As I’m waiting…. bam! Joy Bryant comes out of nowhere. Somebody w/ her was trying to talk the crew into letting her up there, but no dice. I introduced myself and asked when her next project was. We had a very short back and forth. Then I think I fainted (I really didn’t faint, but I wish I would have, lol).

When I came to, Ben Harper was standing in front of me! Now, all the time I get “Anybody ever tell you that you look like Ben Harper?” I hate when ppl come up to me and say stuff like that. 9 times out of 10, the person is the exact opposite of you, but they wore the same shirt or something, people are stupid like that. But I swear, I’ll never think bad of anyone who says that to me again cause I freakin do! I said hello and he must have realized it too because he gave me a funny look like, “damn, this dude looks like me!” We had a brief convo and he said he loved playing at the Cleveland House of Blues (shouts to Carrie, Elise, and Rickey!). I’m meeting people that are showing Cleveland love all OVER the place!

Katie comes back, we watch a brief bit of the show, then we must part. I have to get to my friends before we are lost in the crowd and we never make it home! I head over to catch the end of Bassnectar with my peeps. Watched that for a while, then thought we should head out a little early to beat the crowd. We spend an hour the night before looking for a taxi, lol. We passed by the Clarence Buckingham Memorial Fountain on our way out (not right time of day, but I wanted to show you the dope-ness)

I guess somebody jumped in there at some point in the weekend. It’s really big when you see a person in it. Check it out here. I’m sure that guy spent the night in jail… bummer. We rolled out of the festival and made our way to the train station. I was going to take the subway in Chicago for the first time! I was pretty stoked. btw, the fare there is $2.50, so don’t complain Cleveland! We were on our way there, but Jimmy John’s was callin our name. So quick pit stop there, super packed train ride later (I felt like I was in Tokyo, getting crammed in by a wrangler), waste of time stop at the grocery store for headache medicine we already had, shower, and I was ready to hit the streets. Big night ahead of me…. I was gonna go to some hot parties, kick it with Lindsay Lohan (explained below), see Katie, and all of my dreams were gonna come true, right? Wrong.

Earlier that day I met this girl Evan. She’s a freelance photog from Miami. She said Samantha Ronson was spinning at hotspot Angels & Kings, Lohan was comin thru, and she was at that table. So I peaced out to my dudes and rolled over to A&K. Shit was packed!!!!! I hit Evan up and ask her to come get me. I approach the bouncer and tell him that my friend is on the list and has a table. If she came out to get me, would that be ok? He says, “yeah, get in line.” I’m thinking how is she gonna see me if i’m standing all the way in the back of this long ass line? So obviously I don’t. She comes out, I see her, she points to me, and then the bouncer shoves her back inside. I say “hey sir, that was the friend I was talking about. She has a table and knows the dj” His reply? “I don’t care, we are at capacity, get in line.” ANOTHER photog I met comes out to holler, asks the bouncer if I can roll in with him (he’s with Evan), and he flat out says no. Photog is like sorry dude, i’m in. Have a good one, lol! Guess I can’t blame him. Welcome to Chicago sucka! Guess my hot streak couldn’t last forever…

Not for the faint of heart!

I pick myself up, get that dirt off my shoulders and hop in a taxi. “Hard Rock Hotel please,” I say to the cabbie. We’re ripping through downtown at breakneck speed cause Santigold, Passion Pit, and GZA are performing live. Plus there’s an open bar. Plus I know ppl there. So i’m thinking to myself…. JP gave me this pass, so I know I’m allowed to get in, but i heard there’s a line, so maybe my artist credentials will work right? Dumbass…. maybe it was because I didn’t want to abuse my priviliges and soil my name, or maybe because I was scared I’d get checked, but I didn’t get in right away. I asked the bouncer at the door and showed him my artist creds, he’s like “ok… now get in line.” I see some guy who obviously is working the party, but I can’t get close enough to get his attention. I don’t want that bouncer bouncin my ass to the street. The guy comes back and lets a cpl people in. Then he yells, ‘we’re at capacity, these ppl have been waiting for an hour and they aren’t coming in. no one is coming in.” Fuck that I say, I’m not getting denied twice. So some lady walks out and she has a staff badge on. I’m like can i get in, i’m with the band. She sees my creds and tells me she’s going to inform someone that talent is outside and needs to get in. Good thing I didn’t hold my breath! So the guy comes out again and I get his attention and say hey, i’m not tryin to be pushy, but I’m here with the band and they are already here and I just wanna get in. The golden doors open and i’m on the scene! Worked like a charm!

So I make it in there and can’t find any of my new peeps. I’m walkin around and catch the last bit of Passion Pit perform.

I came too late for Santi and GZA. I start pounding doubles (hey they’re free!), and continue the search. There’s another side to the party and I try to walk in there, but they say it’s VIP only and that’s the exit. If I want to get in, I have to go to this other door. I walk up and flash my artist creds…. Good to go. I’ve gained access to the next level, lol. Once I get in there, I see all the ppl i’ve been hanging with… Vyle, Victor, JP, Nelson, and lo and behold…. Daniel from fuckin LA Riots. He’s rockin a trio of ladies, and he’s talkin to another one. Nelson hands me a corndog and i head straight to the bar. While I’m waiting, I strike up a convo with one of Daniel’s ladies. He’s close, but he’s tied up talking to someone else. She seemed super nice, then Daniel swoops in, grabs the girl by the arm, and dips. Uh oh, I think she’s in trouble with daddy I say to the guy next to me, lol. I ran into the Cool Kids, their dj MVPJ, and rich their manager. Funny cause I hit up PJ wayyyy earlier to say i was comin to the Chi and he said they would be in Japan. And I had talked to Rich on the phone, so it was funny running into all of them at this party. Cashed some more drinks and started contemplating what the hell Katie was doing. She hadn’t hit me up and I was drunk and getting perturbed. I was so set on kickin it with her. Party’s over.

I go outside to try and link up with Katie, and I run into my 2nd favorite Austin duo, Elizabeth and Molly. We’re watching this drunk dude lookin crazy. Check this out….

Now it’s time for handshakes…. then Rick Astley shows up, lol

Then they try to pull his pants down…. bad move

I’m tryin to talk to Katie’s girls and see what’s goin on, but i’m having a hard time understanding what’s being said and i finally just ask where they are staying, I’ll come in a taxi. There was talk of going to some spot open until 6am. After like 15 minutes of trying to call her back and figure shit out, I dip out and go back to old town to meet up with my peeps, grab a slice (and by slice I mean Chicago’s deep dish, not shitty cardboard Panini’s pizza), and head back home. Here’s the spot.

And here’s some nice ladies I met, lol

Cashed out…. time for bed. Big day tomorrow. It’s the last day of lollapalooza….. out!

Hercules And Love Affair continue their disco revolution with the release of the brand new single ‘You Belong’ released 7th July.

Taken from their critically acclaimed debut album and sung by the fabulous Nomi.

A breathtaking set of mixes including Riton, Kevin Sanderson and a stunning Hercules Club Mix are all designed to get your ass on that dancefloor.

It’s official.  Every good show this week is happening on Friday.  This is one of the first times where I am really, truly undecided on what to recommend.  Luckily, my own band is playing so I won’t have to make any tough decisions myself, but I’ll try to give you as much information as possible so you can make your own educated choice.  The British band, The xx, that everyone seems to be talking about (I don’t really like what I’ve heard of them so far) are playing a free show with the beautiful School of Seven Bells at South Street Sea Port.  Not a bad choice.  Some of my favorites, Ducktails and Woods, are playing at the Bell House, but they play all the time, so I’d skip that one.  Kurt Vile, Hercules and Love Affair, The Walkmen, High Places, AnCo, Black Dice, Franz, and Teengirl Fantasy are all also playing shows (not together).

But the real two shows you have to decide between are the Darlings’ record release party at Death By Audio and Alela Diane/Sharon Van Etten at Union Hall.  If you’ve been reading my blog for awhile, you know that I LOVE Alela Diane’s latest album.  I saw her at SXSW and she puts on a very, very good, folky live show that displays her gorgeous voice and commanding stage presence.  Sharon Van Etten is also a NYRM fave.  A night of strong, lovely women.  On the other hand, the Darlings record release party at DBA will be a who’s who of the hipster milieu, with performances by not only Darlings but Boogie Boarder, Snakes Say Hiss, and Tony Castles, whose set I unfortunately missed tonight at Cake Shop (Yeasayer pictures to follow this post).  So go see whatever you’re in the mood for.  Both are extremely good bets.

MP3: “Dry Grass & Shadows” – Alela Diane

MP3: “Teenage Girl” – Darlings