Sunday, September 30, 2007

New Radiohead - "In Rainbows"

Radiohead announced that they're coming out with the new album called "In Rainbows". That'll be exciting right?

Want to hear something else that's exciting? Well they're letting you choose your own price for the album. That's right.

So it sounds like eventually they'll sell it in stores, but for now you can pre-order it for whatever price you want. Sweet! It's a $0.45 charge for credit card processing, but beyond that it's up to you. I paid 10.45 euros (god damned Europeans) and it's the first time I've bought an album in 2 and a half years (since M.O.P. came out with "Mash Out Posse").

Album is out October 10th

Radiohead - In Rainbows

Friday, September 28, 2007

Cool Kids- Black Mags

Worst name for a hip-hop group: Cool Kids.

Ok, now that we've gotten that out of the way, check out their new video for the song Black Mags. I'm absolutely digging it. The song is fucking crazy good. The video is nice. I want what they're wearing. What's better than riding your bike around some afternoon? Nothing. Plus it all looks like a Nike ad from 1987. Fucking bad ass.

Anyone know any details on the Cool Kids? All I know is they're from Chicago and roll with the Flosstradamus crew.

(nod to Derek for the heads up on this)



Cool Kids - Black Mags (official video)

Thursday, September 27, 2007

Hotel Chevalier free download


I am always the last to know, but Victor has been out of the country so maybe this is news to him. "Hotel Chevalier" is Wes Anderson’s short film that serves as a prequel to his upcoming feature, The Darjeeling Limited. There was a line around the block for a showing in the SoHo Apple Store yesterday (?), but the great news is that it is available for free download on iTunes. I haven't watched it (on accounting lawyering the shit out of a bunch of folk all morning), but I would like to someday.

Tuesday, September 25, 2007

Amazon's New unDRM'ed Music Store


The big news today is that Amazon has launched it's new DRM-free music store. That's right, straight up MP3s. All the songs are 100% transferable to anyone you want to send them to. You can play it on any MP3 player. You can burn it to as many CDs as you want. And, unlike emusic.com, you buy it per song rather than a flat monthly fee.

I'm very much against DRM (Digital Rights Management or as I call it "corruptible media") and I feel pretty guilty about illegal downloads so this sounds like its right up my alley.

Amazon MP3 Beta

An Open Letter to Apple Computers Inc.



Dear Apple,
I know it's been a long time since we've last spoken but I wanted to speak to you about your most recent commercial and the placements in which you've been running it.

Let me begin by saying that I am an enormous fan of your products. I've owned two Shuffles, a Nano, and in the coming months I plan to purchase your new phone. I own two of your computers and my office is exclusively a mac environment. I'm a total brand zealot.

On top of that I am obsessed with your commercials. As someone who works in advertising I am a little more aware of them than the average person. They're beautiful, moving pieces of communication. I would be proud to some day create something half as moving. Your most recent advertisement is no exception. The song "1, 2, 3, 4" by Fiest is yet another amazing choice, the editing is great, and the concept is so simple. I love it.

Or at least I did love it the first 17,342 times that I saw it. At this point approaching 30,000 viewings and I regret to say that I've grown tired of it. Though I'm not a big watcher of TeeVee it seems to follow me everywhere.

In the future I would recommend having the following internal dialog with your marketing department, "Hey guys, I know we're buying a ton of placements for this new ad, maybe we should have the creative department working on a replacement that will run as the ad begins to wear out."

My point is that the media weight that you've purchased for this single spot is, in a word, "inhumane". The spot has gone from "interesting" to "grating" and at this point is quickly approaching "torturous".

All I'm really asking for here would be a little bit of variety. Just one more execution would be perfect and would save me from tearing out my own hair. Two or three would be even better.

I hope that you are understanding of my situation. Thank you for your continued hard work and dedication to the fields of both consumer electronics and advertising.

Sincerely,
Gregory "Whatevs" Rutter

Monday, September 24, 2007

Deerhoof

Whatevs, I appreciate your Deerhoof post--not because I like the band; in fact I find their music a bit abstruse. What can I say? On these simpleton ears, their alleged, Pitchfork-approved genius is lost. However, I have apparently moved in across the street from vocalist/bassist Satomi Matsuzaki, and that's worth a blog mention. Moreover, while I've left the Eastern Time Zone, I'm still right by He Man. Oh, He Man, how wonderful life is, now you're in the world.

ps -- Fun Game: How many indie bands with "deer" or "dear" in their names can you think of?

Friday, September 21, 2007

genius

now that i know how to post videos, you better watch out.


Free Deerhoof downloads

If anyone is interested in some free downloads from the band Deerhoof, they've offered up a whole mp3 "album" on their website. It's a lot of rare tracks, remixes, and live tracks. Can't pass it up though.

Check out the track "Flower, panda, you're our two, the last trumpeter swan" which is awesome.

Deerhoof - Free Downloads

Thursday, September 20, 2007

Amen Brother

I'm sure most everyone has seen this documentary by now, but I thought it was worth posting here in case anyone has missed it.

It's a short(ish) film about the "Amen Break" which is a six second piece from the song "Amen Brother". This drum break has been sampled countless times so across many different genres of music that you've probably heard it hundreds of times already. Check it out.

Wednesday, September 19, 2007

Britney 4eva

there are two kinds of great songs. the ones that take multiple listens to fully appreciate, and the ones, like this little beauty, that just smack you in the face right out of the gates:

Ummmm...

Straight outta Japan, DJ Sara, age 8, battle scratching DJ Ryusei, age 5.

Thanks Nick.

Tuesday, September 18, 2007

Heman Woman Haters Podcast #2

Hemen: Never on schedule, always on time.

We've put together our second Heman Woman Haters' podcast. It's fourteen tracks, a little over an hour of utter Hemanery.

The whole thing can be downloaded directly via this link (download podcast episode #2).

Download the individual tracks as a ZIP file via this link (ZIP File of Tracks).

Here's the track listing

01 - Terry Poison - Ballroom (DatA Remix)
02 - Alex Gopher - Brain Leech
03 - Good Shoes - Ice Age
04 - Junior Senior - Hip Hop A Lula
05 - Das Llamas - The Wedding Song
06 - The Lonely H - Don't Worry
07 - The Mendoza Line - Since I Came
08 - The Thermals - Pillar of Salt
09 - Broken Social Scene Presents Kevin Drew - Lucky Ones
10 - Zero 7 - Crosses
11 - Bat For Lashes - What's A Girl To Do?
12 - Kanye West - Flash, Lights
13 - Riot in Belgium - La Musique
14 - The Sounds - Tony the Beat

If you'd like to subscribe to the RSS feed for the Heman Woman Haters so that you can get all of them, here are the links.

Subscribe to this Podcast


RSS Feed

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Shakey Jake: 1925-2007

If you didn't go to the University of Michigan, this post will make no sense to you.

You can call him an eccentric or a bum, but in a big way he was a symbol for Detroit and what it has become in recent years. Does he represent what Heman embodies? Certainly not, but respect must be paid when it is due.

Friends Recall the Larger-Than-Life Persona of Shakey Jake - The Ann Arbor News

Boadrum 77

I'll forever hate the fates for not making aware of this event until months after the fact.
From Vice Magazine

On 7/7/07, the Boredoms put on a crazy, already-legendary concert under the Brooklyn Bridge with 77 drummers spiraling out from a humongous guitar gong that Boredoms leader Yamataka Eye struck with a giant trident scepter. It was, according to all who attended, “the best show ever.”

I was one of the 11 drum leaders for the concert and my initial reaction to the experience is to say simply that there are no words or recordings that can approach what it was like to live that piece and participate in it. Friends who weren’t there ask, “how was it?” and I have no answer. It was one of the greatest experiences of my life—how do you say that and not seem like a blowhard?

When I found out I had been selected I felt honored and unworthy. I had visions of Eye having a huddle with the Boredoms after the first rehearsal and deciding that I needed to be let go. There are artists who you respect and there are a few who are beyond understanding. The Boredoms are like that for me. My head was full of fantasy and fear. Failure felt palpable.

The load-in time was at 8:30 AM. By the time I arrived most of the drummers were already there with their kits set up. And like drummers tend to do, they were all banging away. It was a war zone and completely overwhelming. The drums obliterated all thought.

We started the piece at 7:07 PM. The sun was just beginning to set. Seventy-seven drummers sat in the spiral. Eye let out a long wail and we began to play. Drum patterns were passed along the spiral from the center where the Boredoms sat on an elevated stage. The rhythms were simple and powerful and when everyone was playing them at once they felt elemental.

By the time we finished it was almost dark. When the last sound finished I was overcome with emotion. Slowly and granularly the experience began to reveal itself. I had been borne upon an idea so clear and powerful that it transcended all individual weaknesses. I felt blessed and awed.

It is very difficult to relate to people who were outside the spiral. As I was walking the mile back home, I stopped to get a bite to eat. A dude was like, “Hey did you just play at the Boredoms thing?” I said yeah. “You were good,” he said. “There was another guy in a white shirt that wasn’t so good. He kept dropping his sticks. But you were good.”

Suddenly I knew I was going to cry. I could feel it in my chest. I kept rubbing my hands over my face and looking down at the street on the walk home. There are few musical moments that have brought me to tears. When I cried that night it was for the uncommon fortune that had visited me that day. I don’t think it’s too much to say that my entire life had led me to the moment I started drumming in Boadrum77.


Kanye's softer side

From some other blog:

"I'm not sure how much thought you've given to what the inside of Kanye West's Los Angeles home looks like, actually I'm pretty sure the answers is none. And if you have then 1. that's weird, and 2. you're probably wrong. I mean chances are you didn't come up with this: Andy Warhol? The Jetsons? Giant creepy plush happy face flowers? Yes, yes and definitely. Read the Interior Design article or just skip the words and go right to the slide show."

See it here in all its glory.

Monday, September 17, 2007

intergalactic struggles and dancing

Los Campesinos - You! Me! Dancing!

This is really fun.

very clever, mr. cold

This belongs in the comment section, but I couldn’t help myself. Because I know you a bit, Mr. Cold, I know that a phrase like “reinventing” the “global pop music game” is intended primarily as ironic instigator and not as a substantive assertion. If I didn’t get this, mind you, your post would be downright offensive. So let’s start with your words. It was masterful to note that when you strip away “the bullshit, the self-aggrandizement, the petulance, the superficiality, the materialism, the chipmunk vocal samples, the sampling in general,” what you have left are the SINGLES. I feel bad for the poor fellow (or one of our female readers?) who thinks that a catchy single, especially one which can best be described as “silly,” deserves any more credit the hundreds of passing pop fads with which we are seasonally bombarded. And all this said, the mere idea we give any credence to the whims of the global pop scene? Brilliant. I am always saying, “every 14 year-old loves it; how could it be anything but progressive and perfect?”

This albums has 3 songs to which I would be happy to dance while out and about. That does not make it great, especially considering that the album also has some of the worst songs I have ever heard (enter Drunk and Hot Girls and the continued decline of Mos).

The girl in the video below is really fly. And so quoth two of my favorite idiot savants of cultural criticism:
Butthead: Dude I love rap videos.
Beavis: Yeah yeah! BRBRBRBB!!
Butthead: They don’t mess around with stupid stuff and just get right to what I want to see.
Beavis: Yeah yeah!
Butthead: Bouncing boobs.
(both): Uh huh huh uh huh huh.

Way to pave the way Kanye. I am a little disheartened that the reinvented game seems so derivative and unoriginal, but I guess “that’s just the way it is.”

Kanye -- The Counterpoint

So, I've been away from this gathering of souls, minds and energy we call HMWH for some time. Trust me, I felt the absence within, but now I'm back, and I'm just thinking--strip away the bullshit, the self-aggrandizement, the petulance, the superficiality, the materialism, the chipmunk vocal samples, the sampling in general, and, umm, Kanye's 3 LP career opening arc has redefined the game. Not the game of hip hop. I leave HMZ and his ilk to canonize and demonize when it comes to MC's. I'm talking about the global pop music game. The Graduation singles are burners and the whole disc's Euro-vibe is hott. I love it. Why does my soul stir, HMZ? I need you to berate me, call me names, because I'm thinking, despite everything, this motherfucker is the truth, and um, you're a hater, A.C. Slater.

Sunday, September 16, 2007

Turn your Mac into a Karaoke Machine

Setting up your Mac to play karaoke is so fucking easy, I'm amazed:

  1. Get a mic. USB mics are cheap. Headset mics are cheap. Whatever.
  2. Google ".kar files" and download a few songs that you like. This site has a few thousand .kar files for free.
  3. Play the .kar file in Quicktime. Listen to the cheesy midi sounds, watch the lyrics scroll across the screen. It's just like renting a booth in Japantown, but with a better song selection and without dropping a hundred large.
  4. That's it. Quicktime natively supports karaoke files. Go nuts.
  5. Sing "Total Eclipse Of The Heart" and "Livin' On A Prayer."
Not sure if it works on PCs or not, it got passed to me and I'm no expert.

Los Campesinos! - "International Tweexcore Underground"



HMZ, thank you so much for turning us on to this band. I think this video was the original vision for "High School Musical" before Disney got ahold of it and ruined it.

Friday, September 14, 2007

Fucking Kanye West



Here's my thoughts on this right now: It's a decent song. It's a pretty good video. The whole thing is fucking catchy as hell and is a great song to release to coincide with the release of his album. Ok.

Here's my thoughts on this in an alternate universe where he released this at the beginning of the summer instead of the end: Fuck man I want to listen to this song forever on repeat and never listen to anything else ever again. Gnarles Barkley "Crazy"? "Hey Ya?" Who gives a fuck. This is the future and perfectly sums up the feeling that I want to have all summer and for the rest of my life! Yes! Yes! Yes! Here Kanye, here's all the money I have. Just go ahead and eat it! Fuck my life is so great right now.

Kanye West - Good Life feat. T-Pain

Tuesday, September 11, 2007

The National - Apartment Story

Not the most dynamic video in the history of music videos but the shots are beautiful, the cinematography is perfect, and it has a good song to go with it. So all in all it's not too hard to look at.

The National - "Apartment Story"


New Wu-Tang Clan

I was going to save this for the next Heman Podcast (it's coming, get ready) but since it's a leak from Wu-Tang's next album I decided that it wouldn't be appropriate to save for Heman. So I searched my soul and decided to release it into the wild and share it with you.

It's a really good track. Makes me remember why I loved grimy hip hop to begin with.

(nod to Ethman for heads up on this one)

Wu-Tang Clan - Watch Your Mouth

Friday, September 7, 2007

From La Blogotheque: "Take away concerts"

Thanks Neff for the heads up on this.

This is a series of "concerts" shot in one take in an unexpected setting. Really interesting and worth a look. I am linking his blog.

Take away concerts.

Hip hop strikes again

Jesus. The new Kanye West album is so bad that it is making my head ache. With the minor exception of “Stronger,” though I like that song significantly less than the “sampled” song, every song has terrible production… not to mention the abundance of terrible slant rhymes and downbeat fuck ups that permeate the whole project. Maybe my hatred is amplified by seeing him disputing a bill at Mercer Kitchen a few months ago. He was wearing a while, patent leather backpack -- yes... in the restaurant – which was bouncing hither and tither like it was full of newspaper wadding. Needless to say, while I guess I appreciate his thoughtful version of hip hop, he is just a fucking hack as an emcee.

I pair this today with the return album of Talib Kweli. My hip hop experience in the last few (2?) years (I am sure there are exceptions which you can feel free to posit) has been centered about all my older albums. My love for them – and I thus connect my like of hip hop – has not faltered in the slightest. Not so with every new artist and album I am hearing… I exclude the producers, mashers, etc., from this criticism, but L’il Wayne? People whose names came and went the first time I heard their one hit song? Same old some old tired shit, epitomized by toddler-weight backpack man above. However, the Kweli album below is a breath of fresh air. While certainly not perfect, it is reminiscent (if not entirely derivative) of the Black Star, Reflection Eternal era Kweli, and I just really enjoyed listening to it for the first time. It almost saved my shitty mood… almost.

DOWNLOAD BOTH HERE