One of my Twitter friends posted this awesome little 16step sequencer created by André Michelle called ToneMatrix, and I have to admit it’s an addicting little toy! I basically made some Postal Service type beats with absolutely no trouble at all, the only trouble is that I can’t record the beats I make. Kitsune Noir will be coming to your dance floor really soon! Play around with it and let me know what you think.
Bobby
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April 13, 2009 - See more posts by Bobby
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Old Panda Days (featuring Nick Krgovich) by Casiotone for the Painfully Alone
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Optimist Vs. The Silent Alarm (When The Saints Go Marching In) by Casiotone for the Painfully Alone
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Killers by Casiotone for the Painfully Alone
It’s been way too long since I posted any music on the blog, so I wanted to share a couple of albums I’ve been listening to. They both come from one man, Owen Ashworth, who’s better known as Casiotone for the Painfully Alone. In the last couple months he’s has two albums released. The first was called Advanced Battery Life, featuring 11 years of collaborations and covers from all over the musical spectrum. The second, more recent release was called Vs. Children, which is a more of a proper album.
Advanced Battery Life starts out with a collaboration with Nick Krgovich, who is most well know for his collaborations with No Kids and P:ano. This might just be may favorite song of the year. There’s something haunting and amazing about it, and I’m sure I’ve listened to it at least 30 times or more. The rest of the album is filled with great covers of old classics from artists like Paul Simon and Bruce Springsteen.
But his new official album is where the gold is. Vs. Children is a much deeper album which nearly becomes a cohesive piece. The songs are mostly about criminals and love, which turns the album to a more melancholy tone, but his songs have never been more beautiful.
The songs above are my favorite from the album. I love Optimist vs. The Silent Alarm for the line, “Raise a little family, on Schlitz and Mickey Mouse”… it’s such a gem. My other favorite is Killers, which is filled with beautiful organs, and the last line of the song goes, “We could be killers, just for one night”, riff off the Bowie song, Heroes.
You can pick up both of these albums over on Tomlab, which I highly suggest you do.
Bobby
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April 10, 2009 - See more posts by Bobby
Sundays for me usually consist of large amounts of relaxing, and often there are cardigans involved as well. Yesterday I came across something else to help me relax, Sigur Rós’ documentary Heima, which translates to ‘At Home’. I’d never seen it before, but the video above is the whole dang thing. It’s absolutely beautiful, even though the quality is crap. Enjoy it while it lasts!
You can purchase it here.
Bobby
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March 22, 2009 - See more posts by Bobby
I was browsing around Cody Hudson’s blog last night and came across this fantastic permanent installation he did for Gravity Tank. He grabbed a bunch of scrap materials from their shop and had a bunch of other stuff from dumpsters and thrift shops, and just started putting it together. The time lapse video does a great job of showing just how much work an installation of this size must take. I think in the end this turned out absolutely beautiful, and I wish I could have this in my house!
I put some still photos of the installation under the cut as well, so check ‘em out.
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March 20, 2009 - See more posts by Bobby
Aquarium Drunkard, aka Justin Gage, released an awesome project a couple weeks back called RAM On L.A., a tribute to the Paul McCartney classic, RAM. He gathered a bunch of hip, East Los Angeles bands together like Earlimart, Bodies of Water and The Parson Redheads to create a beautiful, contemporary version of this classic record. The album is amazing and it’s suggested that everyone who downloads the songs donate money to No More Landmines, a cause that Paul proudly supports.
I’m a big fan of RAM, some of you might remember I put Ram On onto the +KN Mixtape Sunshine Sometime, it’s an absolutely amazing song. Since I’m kinda nutty, I decided to create my own cover to this sweet comp’, because… well… the original artwork needed some love.
Below is the tracklisting, download it here.
Earlimart / Too Many People
Frankel / 3 Legs
The Parson Redheads / Ram On
Bodies of Water / Dear Boy
Radar Bros. / Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey
Naptunes / Smile Away
Los Baby Fools / Heart Of The Country
Le Switch / Monkberry Moon Delight
The Broken West / Eat At Home
Amnion / Long Haired Lady
The Parson Redheads / Ram On (reprise)
Travel by Sea / The Back Seat Of My Car
Bobby
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March 16, 2009 - See more posts by Bobby