November 26, 2009 by James Gideon

On this Thanksgiving Day, it’s time to give thanks. With an unusual number of injuries to the top competitors in mixed martial arts, MMA fans have been missing out on many of the fights they want to see. That being the case, there are many things to give thanks for this Thanksgiving.

3. “The Prodigy” BJ Penn

Penn is willing to test himself against the best fighters in the world in any weight division. In 2005, Penn fought the 220 lb Lyoto Machida at K-1 Heroes 1 in Saitama, Japan (unanimous decision loss), and he campaigned to move up to fight Welterweight Champion Georges St-Pierre earlier this year. BJ Penn is the only UFC champion who has remained injury free of late. Since his loss to St-Pierre in January, Penn put on an outstanding display against, then number one UFC lightweight contender, Kenny Florian at UFC 101. Next month, Penn will face Diego “Nightmare” Sanchez, who may prove to be the biggest lightweight test of Penn’s career. MMA fans should be thankful for BJ Penn.

2. UFC veterans Randy Couture and Tito Ortiz

With all of the injuries to the elite fighters in the UFC, veterans Randy Couture and Tito Ortiz have picked up the slack. They have the name recognition to headline pay-per-views, and they have done just that. At 46 years of age, Randy Couture is still one of the top 5 light heavyweights in the world. He has fended off retirement, and given us some outstanding displays in the octagon. Whether you love him or you hate him, “The Huntington Beach Bad Boy” Tito Ortiz is good for the UFC and mixed martial arts. Ortiz can headline a pay-per-view whether he is champion or not, and not many fighters can do that. Ortiz could have done without making excuses for his split decision loss to Forrest Griffin, but with Tito that is par for the course. MMA fans should be thankful for Randy Couture and Tito Ortiz.

1. Strikeforce

Mixed martial arts is still in its infancy. As the sport becomes well-developed and mainstream, one dominate promotion may be good for the sport, as it is in football (NFL), basketball (NBA), and baseball (MLB), but at this stage competition among promotions is still important. Competition will help balance the pay scale for fighters with the profits of promoters. High fighter purses will encourage some of the best athletes in the world to pursue MMA, and that is obviously good for the sport. Thus far, Strikeforce, unlike Elite XC, has seemed to be a solid promotion that gives fans the best fights possible. Without Strikeforce, MMA fans may be missing out on the talents of fighters such as Fedor Emelianenko and Nick Diaz. MMA fans should be thankful for Strikeforce.

Der Titel ist ein Zugeständnis an den gestrigen Abend und den körperlichen Zustand in dem meine Freunde und ich mich befanden.

Aber wer würde es einem verübeln, nach so viel Bewegung:

Schon der Einstieg in den Abend verlief feucht fröhlich. Wir kamen bei einem Freund eines Freundes unter, genau an der Grenze zwischen Berlin Mitte und Kreuzberg. Nach dem obligatorischen Bier gab es Havanah Club mit Cola in Biergläsern. So “gestärkt” ging es dann zum Konzert. Das war, wie schon gesagt, sehr schweißtreibend.

Danach ging es in eine plüschige Bar, in der wir erfolgreich den wohlverdienten Schlaf nach hinten schoben.

Am nächsten Tag, sprich heute,  ging es wieder mit der Bahn zurück, die sich mal wieder als Logistikunternehmen profilieren durfte. Worin aber der überragende Kundennutzen lag, als ich 2 Stunden lang auf einem Bahnhof auf meine Weiterfahrt warten musste, ist mir bisher noch schleierhaft. Dafür habe ich 2 Leute kennengelernt, ist ja auch was.

Abschließend…

möchte ich noch 2 Links weiterleiten. Sehr interessant ist dieser Vortrag von Daniele Ganser über die NATO Geheimarmeen. Der Zweite Link befasst sich mit einem deutschen Schauspieler und “seinen Weg in die Politik”.

autoKratz se apunta a la moda de lanzar sesiones para sus seguidores, y nosotros encantados, oye. Don Diablo, The Prodigy, Boris Duglosh, Maximo Park o ellos mismos con dos temas son algunos de los protagonistas de la mezcla que han hecho para celebrar el inicio de su tour por Gran Bretaña. Con estos nombres, que nadie espere una sesión suave, porqué fieles a su línea los de autoKratz usan toda una mezcla de estilos, siempre con el hard delante. La facción dura de Kitsuné, son.

Že ještě stop motion animace zdaleka nezmizela dokazuje i britská hudební skupina The Prodigy ve svém novém klipu k písničce Warrior’s Dance, tak se na to mrkněte:

Well, the weekend was something else. Didn’t sleep for 2 days, taking this (newish?) substance called methadrone. Now i know what your thinking and i just wanna say NO. ITS NOT A REPLACEMENT FOR HEROIN OR CRYSTAL METH. Its like MDMA, but a little milder on the comedown. Give it ago sometime, if your that sort of person.

Other than that, my weekend was pretty uneventful, as in we didn’t actually do much other than take it. Not meaning to sound as if we were doing it constantly or that we’re really cool or anything. It’s just that we just did it round each others houses. Makes me wonder whats the point of doing it if its like that? Needs something for it to go hand in hand with.

This guy, makes some awesome remixes. I think the genre is called Fidget House? Anyone heard of it? See what you think.

Herve

Omen (Herve End of the World Remix) – The Prodigy

Mars (Exclusive Herve Re-Fix) – Fake Blood

The Science Of Fear (Herve Remix) – The Temper Trap

]]> http://youknowwhatweshouldtotallydo.wordpress.com/2009/11/24/005-0-make-twilight-music-videos-with-music-from-the-prodigy/ Tue, 24 Nov 2009 06:16:35 +0000 tokyogodfather http://youknowwhatweshouldtotallydo.wordpress.com/2009/11/24/005-0-make-twilight-music-videos-with-music-from-the-prodigy/

We should make music videos about scenes and themes in the TWILIGHT books using songs from the recent electronic group, The Prodigy’s album, INVADERS MUST DIE. Main scenes will be from the last book, BREAKING DAWN.

Vor ihrem Auftritt in der wiener Stadthalle am Donnerstag dem 26. November besuchten mich die drei Bandmitglieder von der Kult-Band “The Prodigy” in meiner bescheiden Villa am Waldrand hinter Hintergucking. Keith Flint wirkte wieder einmal leicht neben sich und gab fast ausschließlich sonderbare Filmzitate von sich. Auch Leeroy Thornhill zeigt sich nicht gerade von seiner nüchternsten Seite, sodass ich meinen Hauptgesprächspartner in Mastermind Liam Howlett finden durfte.

Quelle: mhauri

Anbei ein Auszug aus dem Interview:

PseudoQuasi: „Hallo Freunde! Wie fühlt ihr euch so kurz vor dem Beginn eures Wien-Auftritts?“

Flint: „Ich bin nicht dein Freund, Penner!“

Thornhill: „höhö“

Howlett: „Wir fühlen uns grandios, haben ausreichend oft unsere Toiletten missbraucht und warten nur darauf unseren Fans die Beine abzuhacken, Feuer zu legen und zuzusehen wie sie auf ihren blutigen Stümpfen vor dem Flammentod davonkriechen.“

PseudoQuasi: „Wie habt ihr euch von euren Liebsten verabschiedet?“

Flint: „In der Hölle ist kein Platz mehr, hat früher immer mein Großvater erzählt. Schon mal was von Macumba gehört oder Voodoo? Mein Großvater ist ein Priester in Trinidad. Er pflegte zu sagen: ‘Wenn in der Hölle kein Platz mehr ist, kommen die Toten auf die Erde’.“

PseudoQuasi: „Interessant! Leeroy, könntest du gegebenenfalls meine Frage direkter beantworten?“

Thornhill: „Kloar! Ich habe mich total musikalisch von meiner Mom verabschiedet, Mann. Ich habe ihr auf einer 2-Saitigen Gitarre vorgesungen: „Mama meine liebste Frau, ich nix mehr arbeiten tu am Bau. Ich fahre nach Wien ganz viel, wo ich zeigen kann meinen Stil.“ Danach haben wir noch ganz viel zusammen Radio geschaut und Brot getrunken.“

Howlett: „Ach, ich halte nicht sonderlich viel von diesen sentimentalen Abschieden. Klar habe ich gestern ein bisschen gefeiert – mit meinen 380 engsten Freunden in einer Londoner Disco. Ich habe es natürlich nicht übertrieben, es blieb lediglich bei den üblichen WhiteLine-Contest`s, Table Dancing und wenige bis mittelmäßig viele Liter Bier.“

PseudoQuasi: „Wo und wie werdet ihr eure Aftershow-Party in Endeffekt feiern?“

Thornhill: „Naja, weißt du…“

Flint: “Na los, sag’s doch! Du wolltest doch gerade sagen, dass der gesamte Binnenpluralismus im öffentlich-rechtlichen Fernsehen eine Farce ist.“

Howlett: „Nachdem wir alles Leben in Wien verni…ähhh ich meine, dass ich und mein Fußvolk nach unseren absoluten Sieg eine bombastische Party feiern werden. Vodka, Bitches und Schokolade sind dann die Stichwörter des Abends. Das wird ein Spass! Über das “Wo” mache ich mir aber erst Gedanken, wenn ich nach meinem Firestarter wieder am Boden der Realität angekommen bin.“

Thornhill: „Aber voll krass, oida!“

PseudoQuasi: „Herzlichen Dank für dieses interessante Gespräch und viel Glück für euer bevorstehendes Konzert!“

Flint: „Eins sag ich euch! So leicht werdet ihr mich nicht los!“

Jan Wayne vs. Raindropz! – Numb (Handz Up Club Mix)

Kelly Clarkson – I Do Not Hook Up

Scooter – I was made for lovin you

Groove Coverage – Poison (Al Storm Remix)

Hinder – Use Me

Good Charlotte – The Anthem

The Prodigy – Warriors Dance

Cascada – Miracle (Sad Remix)

Sean Kingston – Fire Burning

Shinedown – Second Chance

as a baby my mother read to me the story of a heroic dog named Buck.
as a chylde i grew up reading tales of fantastic knights battling hideous monsters.
as a younge man the army taught me to fight to kill other younge men while doing my best to embody sterotypical warriors of the ancient past.
as an employee @netcom.ca i was introduced to men and women battling online for gold, xp and rep.

and today after attending a release party for karmic ubuntu i believe my warriors are to be found LIVING planet-changing possibilities.

my warriors are living within an island society under the thumb of advertisingbehemoth7, still excited when talking to another being who shares their gratitude for software that is “free as in Freedom, free as in beer“.

my warriors are passing out dvds of Zeitgeist Addendum outside theatres showing Capitalism: A Love Story because they BELIEVE human beings still have a choice to make on the side of life and death, resources-based or monetary-based.

my warriors are mothers carrying chyldes and mothers doing their best to win the war for the health of their families under the guns of pollution, de-natured food, slavery and false education.

my warriors are fathers taught to believe they must walk, drive, ride, cycle or fly away from the wyfe and chyldes they love for TOO many hours of each remaining day, because they believe it is the only way their family will survive.

my warriors are men and women going to work with equal partners that smile nervously when they speak the word “boss”, because they see no need to entitle one.

my warriors are the tiny few at my university actually doing their best to keep their myndes and ears open in order to gain practical skills for a planet in transition where humans focus on efficient use of ALL available resources.

my warriors are the friends that discuss fascinating ideas, misguided horrible nasty historical current decisions so EVIL they almost defy comprehension, with an open heart that can feel compassion for all of us suffering the effects.

my warriors are every being HOLDING ON until they can get a breath of fresh air, a drink of clean water, a bite of healthy food, a position of dignified work and a moment’s peace..

Zane Lowe in Teignmouth. Photo by tj.moore at Flickr.

Setlist:

1. Kasabian – Clubfoot
2. Biffy Clyro – That Golden Rule
3. Chemical Brothers vs. Party – Galvanise The Empire
4. Black Sheep – The Choice Is Yours
5. Radiohead – The National Anthem
6. U2 – Sunday Bloody Sunday
7. Pink Floyd – Another Brick In The Wall (Part 2)
8. Public Enemy – Fight The Power
9. Whateverman – P.E. Theme
10. Old School Break
11. John Lennon – Power To The People
12. Led Zeppelin – Immigrant Song
13. Rage Against The Machine vs. Whateverman – Killing It
14. Rage Against The Machine – Killing In The Name
15. Edwin Starr vs. Whateverman – What War
16. White Stripes – Seven Nation Army
17. System of a Down – Chop Suey
18. Sex Pistols – Anarchy In The UK
19. The Prodigy – Firestarter
20. The Prodigy – Warrior’s Dance
21. Ian Brown – F.E.A.R.

A radio rip is available to download for free here.

The above is not a setlist as much as this year’s most exciting megamix – and there’s a phrase I haven’t bandied around with complete abandon since 2004. Previously, I mentioned something of writing about my favourite remixes of the year and although perhaps this isn’t the ’something’ I was expecting to write, c’est la vie. This year has been fucking awful for good remixes. I could only find three that met my flaky standards. One was the Stuart Price remix of Paparazzi which I overplayed anyway and don’t really enjoy any more, and doesn’t exist much outside of the middle eight anyway. Another was the Does It Offend You, Yeah? remix of Uprising that sometimes is better than the album version – a claim which is completely reliant on my mood at any given moment in time. But I’m a complete whore for DIOY,Y remixes anyway, so it’s a completely predictable anticlimax. The third was the Filthy Dukes mix of To Lose My Life that I thought was fun for a few weeks but it dulled quickly. Thinking about it, I only really liked it because it sounded like Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark, White Lies and Bimbo Jones in one big melting pot, then I realised that they all do their own thing independently and it sounds better than this track. And with that thought, this brief flirtation was o-v-a-h.

I was reminiscing about the Teignmouth weekend a couple of days ago and realised that Zane Lowe’s warm up set for the evening was, not only one of the best openers I’ve seen for a band, but it fit the bill for resuscitating this dismal commentary. I’ve seen Zane DJ in a couple of other venues before, but he didn’t leave any kind of impression on me. This clicked. He actually did two half hour sets sandwiched between some really happening local bands, and the second was superior to the first, which is above. Rather annoyingly, the audio of the second never surfaced, and I don’t remember much of it other than an amazing remix of Bonkers, so I can’t even describe it. It was amazing. But back to the first set – Zane made me dance. I never dance. Ever. I’ve never understood the appeal behind DJing, or how some people are into it in the same way that I’m into peanut butter M&Ms (you’re pressing play on a track someone else created? Inspirational.) but I have a new found appreciation for it all now. Kind of.

I loved the way it was put together – though I will say that the airhorns all the way through got me excited for a play of the Freemasons remix of Ring The Alarm, which Zane obviously did not play: it was so not the audience for the Freemasons (myself aside, and I would have danced for everyone else there if it had come on),  but I loved all of the thought which had gone into each track and how it would work best in the mix. It was a great blend of genres, alongside music from today and music from ye olden days as well that provided an education for some of the younger audience members there (“Isn’t this from that Fatman Scoop song?”). It created an air of context for the set Muse went on to play, both musically and emotionally, and that’s a beautiful thing.

I would have taken System of a Down out though. I hate that song. Flobots would have worked just as well there.

Nice work Zane Looooooooooooooooooowe. I’m on board.

The Prodigy ya esta listo para sacar un libro ilustrado documentando lo que la banda vivió en su gira del 2008 y 2009 “Invaders Most Die”.

 Este libro contara con los autógrafos de los miembros de la banda y será un libro limitado a 999 piezas y cuenta con 350 paginas con más de 500 fotos, la fecha de lanzamiento esta programada para el 4 de enero y tendrá un costo de 99 euros.

A few weeks ago, a friend and I were sat at his house before heading out to the pub to watch the football. After a few beers and listening to some music our attention turned to Spotify, and more importantly the Top Hits section. For those of you who don’t have Spotify; a) you have lost the game and b) it’s the top 5 most played tracks by a particular artist.

As you can see, this is the top 5 most popular tracks by The Prodigy on Spotify. No real suprises there although I would have thought something from the new album would have made an appearance. But anyway, on to the game!

Basically choose an artist on Spotify, any artist at all but one that you know of. Before you click their name try and name all the tracks you think will be in their top 5 most played. Whoever gets most of them correct is the winner! Easy, eh?

Once you have established how many you’ve got, you have to choose your next musician from the Similar Artists section. And keep repeating this until you run out of music.

It’s a lot harder than it looks too, your brain often goes blank and can’t think of a song title or just forget the song all together. When my friend and I were thinking of the top 5 for The Jam we both forgot A Town Called Malice which is their #1 most popular.

Go ahead and try it, something to pass the time before the pub and a real way to test your music knowledge!

The Prodigy – Thunder (Bang Gang Remix)

It’s time for the list which has been eagerly awaited by quite literally nobody – my top 10 of 2009.

10. Happy Up Here – Røyksopp

I’m a bit hit and miss with Røyksopp. When I like their stuff, I really, really like it. The Girl And The Robot, Only This Moment, So Easy and Miss It So Much are all wonderful songs, and I could listen until the cows came home. But for some reason I just don’t care for anything else. It’s nice enough background music, but I wouldn’t go out of my way to hear any of it. Happy Up Here is lovely. I remember liking it from the word go, which is unusual for me because I usually hate everything until it’s been forced onto me so many times that I grow to like it for familiarity’s sake. I was trying to work out how best to describe it to someone who isn’t familiar, and ‘lovely’ is the word I keep coming back to. It’s not a great characteristic of someone who is meant to be making a career of writing words that explain things to other people really, is it. But this is my blog, and I shall do as I please. Lovely lovely lovely lovely lovely.

09. I Am Not A Robot – Marina and the Diamonds

For the first half of this year, I despised Marina and the Diamonds and Florence and the Machine. I had no idea who these two women were that quite literally numbers of people were hyping, and I was annoyed by their stupid band names. “What’s wrong with just being called Florence or Marina?” I wondered to myself. I still don’t know, and I am still mildly aggrieved by it as I don’t know who the Machine or the Diamonds are. But the point of this blurb is not to rip apart these artists, it is to tell you why I like them. I saw Marina at the Radio 1 Big Weekend in Swindon, and she was really wonderful live. She had good songs, nice outfits, stage presence, and seemed like a friendly person. I think those qualities are all you need to be a good pop star, and as I Am Not A Robot is my favourite song of hers, it made sense to put it on here. I think the video, although pretty enough, could be improved by being a bit more Foundations by Kate Nash, but that is neither here nor there.

08. Untouchable – Girls Aloud

This video is a disaster. Fascination are unerringly brilliant at finding amazing songs for this band, and actually making a success of it all, but they always seems to get the videos wrong. This song is not the time or place for bondage outfits and spaceships. That aside, the song is made by the middle eight section:

Whenever you’re gone, gone, they wait and the door
And everything’s hurting like before
Without any meaning, we’re just skin and bone
Like beautiful robots dancing alone

If you can’t appreciate the beauty of those words, there’s something wrong with you. Nice work Xenomania, as ever. I think this song would have been nice in the Live Lounge, if someone with an ounce of vocal talent had done an acoustic cover. Because, let’s face it, Girls Aloud don’t have the capacity to do it themselves. Perhaps someone like Jenny Lewis, she’d make nice work of it. But as the chances of her going into the Live Lounge are slim to none, this is a pipe dream. This is unrelated news, but Girls Aloud never bettered their second album. Just saying.

07. Eyes As Candles – Passion Pit

I saw Passion Pit at Hyde Park Calling this summer, but as I was a. very drunk, and b. very excited to see the Killers later, I don’t remember much of it. I wasn’t particularly blown away, or inspired to go and listen to Manners, but mojitos do that to a girl. However, someone (who was shocked and verging on appalled when I said I didn’t know anything by them) all but held me down and forced me to listen to this song, and it was instantaneous. I went and listened to the rest of the album after this, but all to no avail. The song itself isn’t completely dissimilar to MGMT and that kind of synthy, screechy style, and it’s a coincidence of sorts that I only like two of their songs on their album (Time To Pretend and Kids, if you were wondering).

06. Warrior’s Dance – The Prodigy

This is one of those aforementioned songs that I didn’t care for at all the first time I heard it, but rather than it growing on me, one day it just clicked and I ‘got it’. I’m not normally a massive fan of Keith Flint et al, but this song is awesome. I love the growling bassline and although sampled female vocals over a dance track are normally a pet hate of mine, they work in this. This song is one of those which works better as a radio edit, because it cuts the crap and just gets to the good stuff. Untouchable is one of those songs too for the record. Life is too short for six minutes of Girls Aloud.  But back to the Prodigy. All of the singles from Invaders Must Die have been pretty good, but I find that the album is a bit samey and tired if you listen to it in its entirety. This song is miles apart from the other singles though, which is why it made my list and the others didn’t.

05. This Is Nowhere – The Airborne Toxic Event

It feels a little strange to be putting this on here, but I couldn’t leave it off really. The big single that everyone knows by this band is Sometime Around Midnight, and it was that song that I heard on the radio which made me go and listen to the album, which is really fucking good. A couple of years ago, my new year’s resolution was to try and see more live music, and it turned into a bit of an obsession which has now got to the point where I find myself going to shows by  artists I don’t like, just to see if they’re any more tolerable live than they are on record. But anyway, I liked Airborne’s album, and found out they were doing a show in London in May, which I very nearly didn’t go to. Thankfully I did, and not only were the band even better live than they were on record, but I met this guy there who was one of those people who renders you speechless. So it was a pretty good evening really. This Is Nowhere is one of those songs that you love a hundred times more after you see it in action, so that’s why I decided to put it on here. They are a phenomenal band though – definitely go and see them live.

04.  Number One – Tinchy Stryder (feat. Dappy of N-Dubz)

Have you ever heard a song, and been absolutely perplexed by anyone who doesn’t think it anything short of did-the-earth-just-move fantastic? That is how I feel about this song. I don’t understand how people can not love this, in the same way that I cannot understand long division or the point of algebra, or anything Tom Wilson says when he starts talking about his job and physics stuff. It just doesn’t make sense. Admittedly I love this song a little less than I did when it was first released, but I think that’s probably due to overkill and I only have myself to blame for that. Tinchy Stryder’s album was a massive let down, and I don’t particularly care for N-Dubz either, so I feel it only fair to crown this track as the pinnacle of their careers and everyone should just leave it at that.

03. Bad Romance – Lady GaGa

This has been a good year for Lady GaGa. Some people don’t like this song, and complain that it sounds too much like Poker Face, but in my eyes that’s like saying: “This raspberry sorbet is awful because it tastes too much like raspberries.” Who cares what form it takes, when it’s a good thing? The point I am trying to make is that it’s a stupid and redundant argument. The song is instant; it’s got a punchy beat, a catchy hook, fantastically bizarre lyrics which sometimes border on the delirious and synths. It’s amazing. I can’t remember if I’ve written on here yet about how Lady GaGa has rewritten the rule book on being a pop star this year or not, but if I have, then I shall just say that any person who makes me doubt Britney Spears’ status as Queen of pop is a force to be reckoned with. It was very tight between Bad Romance and Paparazzi as to which song would make it on this list, but as much as I loved Paparazzi, I never spent three days of my life with it on repeat.

02.Uprising – Muse

The first time I heard this, I nearly cried. I, as you may or may not have picked up from this blog, adore Muse. When I heard the shambles that is United States of Eurasia, I started thinking: “Oh my word, I’ve lost them forever, what am I going to do with my life, it’s all over,” etc etc. Then I heard the first thirty seconds of this which is basically just the Dr. Who synths and I thought it was terrible. When I heard it in full, it was the greatest sense of relief that I’ve had since I got my A-Level results. This song is one of the highlights of The Resistance, and it’s definitely going to wind up being one of my all-time favourite Muse songs I think. I think that the lyrics could do with improving – I make no secret of the fact that Matt Bellamy, as much as I worship the ground that he walks on and the air that he breathes, is not a great lyricist. Some people I know argue that good lyrics make a song, but I prefer the music part of it all. If something’s catchy and it grabs my attention, I don’t give a damn about the lyrics. Again, not a good quality for a journalist, but what can you do.

01. Bonkers – Dizzee Rascal

Anyone who knows me is already very aware of how much I love this song. It’s got to the point now where I get texts from people in the middle of the night telling me that Bonkers is on and they’re thinking of me. I love that affiliation. I don’t think I fully realised how much I adored the song until Zane Lowe used it in his warm up set in Teignmouth, and I went absolutely mental, to the amusement of everyone else there. Sadly the album didn’t live up to this, but I’m starting to feel like I’ve said that about half of the artists on this list. Perhaps I’m just too casual a listener. Anyway, Bonkers. Song of the year (and Holiday was pretty good too, if only for the moment when it ‘goes off’. If you’ve heard it, you’ll know what I mean). Congratulations Dizzee Rascal, you legend.

It’s been a busy week, it’s not been lacking in music in any way…just too busy to actually update upload talk. Now I can’t remember exactly what it was I have been hunting out and listening to. However, three from today spring to mind, one is old and two are newer-ish.

Old first: Neon Indian. I finally got hold of a copy of their album and I find myself listening to it without realising, absorbing the music and feeling relaxed because of it. It’s not an album that is going to make you stand up and shout from the rooftops, or march on the Houses of Parliament for change but it is an album that will make you long for those long lazy summer days as a student. The ones that feel like a photograph when your camera was pointed into the sun; you’re capturing your friends at a festival sprawled out on the grass, high as kites, in the words of Modest Mouse “talking shit about a pretty sunset”. I like it, it makes me feel good. I’ve uploaded one of my favourite tracks of the album for you to listen to.

and newer-ish: Ellie Goulding. Everyone everywhere is hyping this girl like there is no tomorrow. She’s coming from Neon Gold, home of Yes Giantess (one of my favourite bands ever) so that’s a good recommendation to start off with. Her music is, strange. Very dance indie pop, which in itself isn’t odd, it’s just that when I see her sing I can’t quite get my head around the fact that that voice is coming from her. Something just doesn’t seem to fit. I don’t mean that in a horrible way at all since I personally love her songs I just, can’t quite understand it. Anyhow Pariah have remixed her and though you barely hear the original vocal I like it. I reminds me of oldschool.

Finally: Delphic. Been around for a while, still very underground even though they’re signed to the subsidiary of a major label. I’m never quite sure what to think of Delphic, counterpoint was huge, then This momentary did barely anything for them…all’s been quiet since and they come back with this. Hmm, I am reserving judgement…

Oh and one last thing: The Prodigy remixed Ian Brown. Fucking Immense.

Neon Indian – Ephemeral Artery

Ellie Goudling – Starry Eyed (Pariah Remix)

Delphic – Doubt

Ian Brown – Just Like You (Prodigy Remix)

Photo by Solange Reyes Poblete

 “Teatro Caupolican. As fast as you can.”

Had they seen it, The Prodigy would have been proud of my entrance. Taking me at my word, the taxi driver put his foot down, yelled at dithering pedestrians as he mowed them down and narrowly avoided a head-on collision outside the venue. It was pure adrenaline and very Prodigy.

Already inside the venue were a motley crew of lithe hipsters, ageing dance fans, punks and misfits. It was a typical audience for this impossible-to-pigeon-hole band who make rock for ravers and dance music for metal-heads. Whatever music you’re into, it’s an odds-on certainty that your mum won’t like The Prodigy.

Before the 28 October show, internet forums had been buzzing with righteous indignation at the change of venue and Primal Scream’s cancellation. But what no-one had seemed to realise was that The Prodigy don’t need support bands. They don’t need anything except a PA the size of a small country with enough bass for your face to vibrate.

The moment they stomped petulantly out onto the stage, all gripes were forgotten. Opening with World’s On Fire, Maxim worked the crowd like a psychotic fairground attendant (‘all my people of Chile, I can’t hear you!’) while Keith leapt across the stage as if suddenly released from a cage round the back. Then came Breathe with its infectious beat and snarly punk chorus and it all went off.

If Chile could somehow tap into the energy that The Prodigy produce live, all its future electricity needs could be met. While other bands speak to their fans through their lyrics, a Prodigy gig is all about the raw power and aggression of bass and beat with the amps racked up to 11. Subtle they are not.

Caupolican’s security staff looked on in bemusement as mild-mannered boys stripped to the waist, screamed at the stage and swirled their shirts around their head to Spitfire, while middle-aged men did themselves an injury busting their best moves. Bemusement turned to horror when Maxim asked the soundman to ‘give them the bass’ and a sweaty jumping mob, women included, shouted out the words to Smack My Bitch Up.

Indeed, if there had been an earthquake that night, no-one in the crowd would have noticed. With the bass loud enough to take your scalp off, several thousand heads bobbing like angry seagulls and twice as many bouncing feet, the venue quite literally jumped of its own accord.

Write in if I’m wrong, but 19 years on The Prodigy are still the best live band ever.

http://www.santiagomagazine.cl/index.php/en/music/shows-international-acts/468-the-prodigy-in-santiago.html

Depeche Mode

20 / 21 November

In August 2007, during promotion for Dave Gahan’s second solo album, Hourglass, it was announced that Depeche Mode were heading back in studio in early 2008 to work on their upcoming twelfth studio album. In March 2008, rumours surfaced that Ben Hillier would be the producer of the forthcoming album. In May 2008, the band returned to the studio to work on some songs that Martin Gore had been working on at his home studio in Santa Barbara, California. In August 2008, it was announced that Depeche Mode were splitting from their long-term U.S. label, Warner Music, and will be signed to EMI Music worldwide. At a press conference on 6 October 2008 at the Olympiastadion in Berlin, the band announced plans for its Tour of the Universe, the group’s first-ever European stadium tour.

Muse

27 November
The Resistance was released on 11 September in Italy, Germany and Australia and the Benelux, 14 September in the UK, and 15 September in the U.S. and Canada. It is the first Muse album to have been produced by the band itself. The album was mixed by Mark Stent. On its release, it topped the album charts in 19 countries and reached number 3 on the American album chart. It also beat its predecessor, Black Holes and Revelations, in relative album sales in its debut week in the UK with approximately 148,000 copies sold. The first single “Uprising” was released 7 days earlier. On 2 June 2009, the band announced through e-mails and their website that they would begin a tour of Europe and the UK.

The Prodigy

3 December
Invaders Must Die was released in Europe on February 23, 2009 charting at number one with week one sales of over 97,000. To coincide with the release of the album, the band embarked on an arena tour.

Editors

Lead singer Smith revealed that the band will explore a new direction on their next album, pursuing a new, rawer sound. Before January 2009, Editors had written around eighteen new songs for the new album and they have been described as some of the most synthetic, raw and anthemic songs they have written to date. In October the band went to the studio to record some demos. The band spent the first week of April recording the album and on 8 April, they released a short video with information about the recording process. It announced on that Mark ‘Flood’ Ellis would be the producer for the album. Earlier on in the year, the sound of the album was said to have a very electric feel with the band often using the Terminator theme song as a reference.

Arctic Monkeys

6 February
Arctic Monkeys revealed that the band had listened to Jimi Hendrix and Cream while writing the new album. It was revealed via a bulletin on the band’s MySpace page that the title of the album will be Humbug. As announced on the Arctic Monkeys website the first single will be “Crying Lightning”.

Proxy превзошел самого себя. Буквально. Ремикс на The Prodigy звучит злее и мощнее любого из треков его последнего EP. Настоящий электро-панк, или как говорят The Bloody Beetroots – панк электро. Terror Dactel к этому же столу приготовил медленный раскачанный электро-гитарами трек. А ремикс на Ursula 1000 задорнее любого диско-трека на данный момент, правда вот кто-нибудь подскажет, откуда тема из этого трека, уж больно знакомая. Ну и текущий хит от лейбла Эрола Алкана Bangkok, как всегда очень актуальное звучание, а уж как этот трек хорош на большой скорости.

Boris Dlugosch – Bangkok (alt)
The Prodigy – Invaders Must Die (Proxy Remix) (alt)
Foamo – Wardance (Original Mix) (alt)
Detboi – Whine Ya Body (alt)
Terror Dactel – Vocaloid (featuring Charlie Tippie) (alt)
Ursula 1000 – Star Machine (Skizzo Franick Remix) (alt)
Tonka – Jack Track (Black Noise Remix) (alt)
Juan Maclean – Give Me Every Little Thing (alt)
Kano – It’s a War (Serge Santiago & Tom Neville Edit) (alt)
Kloseline – Jack (alt)
Music Go Music – Warm In The Shadows (Fred Falke Remix) (alt)
Nadisko – Disco Check (alt)
On-The-Go – Better Act Now (alt)
Aquasky ft Slips & Dapz – You Know We Do It Big Girl (Tonka Remix) (alt)
Douster – King of Africa (alt)
Felix Da Houscat – ELVI$ (2 Many DJs Edit) (alt)
Felix Da Housecat – We All Wanna Be Prince (Chewy Chocolate Cookies Remix) (alt)
Rockets – Golden Strings (alt)

A finales de los 80 , cuando el hard rock empezaba a convertirse en una parodia de si mismo, toda una corriente de nuevos músicos empezaba a dar sus primeros pasos con la única idea de romper con todo lo establecido, desde la estética a las letras de las canciones pasando por el tratamiento de la música en si misma. Si en los 80 todo estaba encajonado por estilos en los 90 no había límites creativos . Con esas premisas empezaron a despuntar grupos como Red Hot Chilippepers mezclando funk y soul con Hard Rock logrando una mezcla explosiva, Faith No More con su estilo único que bebía tanto del Trhash metal como del funk como del Rock, Nine Inch Nails que fusionaba techno y guitarras metaleras, Rage Against The Machine con su furiosa mezcla de rap y Metal, The Prodigy con su techno punk …y por supuesto el Grunge con Nirvana a la cabeza y con Soundgarden ,Alice in Chains y Pearl Jam como máximos exponentes del género. Una década en la que le dabas una patada a una piedra y salían nil grupos acojonantes (lo mismito que ahora…) y que nos dejó un legado de discos increibles y conciertos irrepetibles.

RED HOT CHILIPPEPERS

SOUNDGARDEN

PRIMUS

RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE

THE PRODIGY

“Cast Your Novel” – For Those Who ‘See The Words’

I threatened to do a NaNoWriMo Cast List over here, but now I have actually followed through on my threat, but (as always) I am taking this shit a little less seriously than absolutely everyone else. The basic problem with casting a film based on my WIP is that so many modern actors as so fucking uninspiring that I feel let down as soon as the production logo has vanished and the film begins in earnest. Modern directors (with a few exceptions) are also rather bland. Fuck ‘em. I’m gonna cast my novel with some of my favorite actors.

Robert Mitchum as Detective Adway

Zero Mostel as Detective Connell

Katharine Ross as Alison Torrance

Lee Marvin as The General

The Sound Of Thunder – Music To Complete NaNoWriMo By

It seems that quite a few people have put up soundtracks for their novels. Neat idea, as it gives me the opportunity to be just as eclectic and obscure as I want to be – and you can’t complain, okay. My original notion was to include links to where you could listen to the songs for free, but that seems like way, waaay too much bother for something that is – in reality – a way for me to screw around for half an hour. Go find the tunes yourself if they sound interesting, I have a big ol’ novel to finish off here.

Fangoria – La Lengua Asesina
Fangoria – Bitchtime
Shoukichi Kina – Celebration
Shoukichi Kina – Jing Jing
Snuff – Arsehole
Nick Cave And The Bad Seeds – The Mercy Seat
The Prodigy – Narayan
Hi-Standard – California Dreaming
Me First And The Gimme Gimmes – Country Roads
Baken Beans – New Song Of Summer
G-Point Generation – We Are The Famous Five
Saint-Saëns – Danse Macabre
Screamin’ Jay Hawkins – Feast Of The Mau Mau
Screamin’ Jay Hawkins – Constipation Blues
Splodgnessabounds – Dangerous

…and enough Rammstein to send a sane man mad.