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Instead of fretting over who you will be lending your support to in the U.S. Presidential elections, why don’t you vote on this instead: which version of Valerie tickles your fancy, the original Zutons version, or the tweaked Mark Ronson-Amy Winehouse collaboration?

And yes, the fate of the free world depends on your vote.

Posted on February 4th, 2008 by Antiguit

I’ve been binging on plenty of electropop lately because it mirrors how I have been feeling: strange, upbeat, and strangely upbeat. A band that has me standing at attention and listening attentively is Brooklyn-based The Epochs, who marry sensible pop with catchy synth beats. Dreamy and addictive, you will set their tracks on replay without knowing what hit you. They play New York city on February 12th, so if you are within range of their loudspeakers (Alamak!), I suggest you draw closer to the source of the music that has you nodding along to its bassline.

Another interesting electro-leaning team is Balkan Beat Box, whose members are actually alumni of Gogol Bordello and Firewater. As their name suggests, they weave electronica beats with traditional Balkan-inspired (imagine that) riffs, which brings about very surprising results.

(Speaking of Gogol Bordello, it appears they’re set to embark on a transatlantic tour of magnificent Gypsy punk proportions. Rar, they play Chicago and Detroit early March. Road trip, May?)

eMusic and FreeIndie are two portals that provide super access to artists that rock the same boat. Also look out for Goldfrapp’s fourth studio album Seventh Tree, with a UK release date of February 25th and lined up for release in the US on February 26th. Can’t wait!

(Last post of the day, I promise)

Posted on January 30th, 2008 by Antiguit

Jakarta synthpop outfit Goodnight Electric has made it big Time (heh heh, get it). Keep at it, boys!

The Charter guy is coming tomorrow to upgrade our analogue receiver to a digital one. We also upgraded our cable subscription so we will be receiving wonderful things like BBC America and the incredibly important Boomerang. Success! My housemates have made the mistake of leaving the Charter guy alone with me when he will be doing the installation. Who will be there to make sure I do not asphyxiate the poor man out of happiness once he has completed the necessary wiring?

Posted on January 29th, 2008 by Antiguit

When a fresh-faced band or singer performs a cover version of a much-loved hit from a bygone era, people either join the camp that appreciates the new interpretation or join the scowling horde of listeners who take great offense at the idea of trying to re-interpret something that was perfect when it first came out. The following is a list of covers that should not invoke the wrath of music purists, as well as a suggestion of a song that could use a revival over the airwaves (or fibre-optic cables, or whatever crazy contraption it is we use to promote music through nowadays).

a) In 1968, five-piece British band The Zombies released an album called Odessey and Oracle. It had pretty psychedelic cover art, a misspelling of the word “odyssey,” and a catchy little ditty called This Will Be Our Year.

In 2004, McSweeney’s—a publishing company that caters to the lo-fi listening, sweater-wearing, painfully hip hipster population the world over—published The Future Dictionary of America. Every copy of this witty book was accompanied by a CD called The Future Soundtrack of America, a compilation album spearheaded by an OK Go cover of This Will Be Our Year.

Featuring more bass drum and less crash cymbal, the OK Go take on the single challenges the universal versatility of Coldplay’s Clocks: from the tearful goodbyes of a mother who sees her son off to war, to the bittersweet sentiment of college graduation, to the slow, deliberate paces of smitten teenagers walking into the sunset, this is more than just the soundtrack of America, or of the future, or of the future of America for that matter.

b) In 1981, Soft Cell released two versions of music videos to accompany their hugely popular dance anthem Tainted Love. Thankfully for us, the eighties were a very strange time in human history, and out of this strangeness came strange music videos. Look out for random comets that defy the laws of astrophysics, and generous servings of anachronisms.

In 2006, Bajan darling of pop radio Rihanna sampled the bassline of Tainted Love in what would become another dance floor filler, SOS. Like her disco-going predecessors, she released two music videos for the same song, but unlike them, her videos are not very entertaining. She looked fabulous in them, this I do not deny, but there was a desperate shortage of renegade blue comets and Victorian-era ladies having tea with Roman emperors.

c) Do you remember Freiheit? Two people I have asked this question to do not, and neither do they remember the track that made them the kings of inspirational music. Solang’ man Träume noch leben kann is better known to the world as Keeping The Dream Alive, and has humbly served countless times as backdrop to montages of the photo and video variety that show people suffering for their art form of choice (e.g. athlete collapses in the middle of race, but stands back up and limps to the finish line last despite the obvious pain in his leg as a testament to his inner strength and commitment).

A quick mental check tells me this single has yet been covered by any contemporary songbirds, and as much as a part of me worries the tear-jerker value of this song will be dissolved when transposed onto a formula for a Top 40 hit, wouldn’t it be interesting to see how things turn out should painfully hip folks like Portishead or Sondre Lerche decide to resuscitate its popularity?

Posted on November 19th, 2007 by Antiguit

Antiguit encourages your visiting deadmediafm, a neat little niche on the web that exposes the Indonesian indie music scene. If you can get past the Indonesian text on the webpages and banter at the podcasts, you will be treated to a treasure trove of fantastic twee pop. Bands featured on the website offer the combination of wonderful ditties and cheesy tongue-in-cheek humor, first made officially cool across the archipelago by Mocca. Am especially enjoying White Shoes & The Couples Company and The Monophones. Fab!

Posted on November 8th, 2007 by Antiguit