David Mancuso, who played a seminal role in DJ and dance culture in the 60's by hosting underground dance parties at his loft in NYC, has finally brought the party to LA. Will a tour shortly follow? Maybe an original series on HBO?
Tons of new releases this week. Kanye, Death Cab for Cutie, and Herbie Hancock (!?). Right now I'm listening to Sons and Daughters, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club and The Duke Spirit. I still can't get rid of The National's new record. Soo good.
Sunset Junction - a music/cultural/mobbish festival happening this weekend in Silverlake, the uber-gentrified part of LA.
Yay, I'm so excited this is out. A good collection of songs from one of the finest minimal techno labels out there. Let's see how it does..
It looks really good. The Sia "Breathe Me" single isn't on there, I'm wondering why. It's blowin up everywhere after they played it during the finale of the season episode on Sunday. Personally I think it needs to go away - it's been out for such a long time - driving me crazy.
This is amazing, if a little disturbing. People mail in their secrets on the back of a postcard...
Last night was a screening of "Freestyle" at the Fairfax silent movie theatre, as well as magazine release party for Beautiful Decay. Freestyle was released in 2000 but is still an excellent film to see if you love or want to learn more about hip hop. Kevin Fitzgerald (the director) was at the screening and let us know that he's releasing a directors cut pretty soon with tons of cool features - keep an eye out for that towards the end of the year. The film focuses more on the LA scene, highlighting events like The Good Life and Project Blowed. For a more concise history of hip hop culture you should check out "Can't Stop Won't Stop" by Jeff Chang - gives a broader, more in-depth history (in all fairness -that only a book can do).
As you may or may not know, Apple faced a class-action lawsuit by those who had enough with the faulty iPod business. If you own a first, second, or third gen iPod with a faulty battery, you can file a claim to receive 50% of the amount you spent replacing the battery or $50 in store credit. Which is lame because the cost of replacing the battery is 99.00 not including shipping -they still won't cover the whole cost of replacing the faulty product. Sigh.... (see above link for more info)
The Cabana Club is not all that. The "pool" is this concrete hole of green water that doesn't have anyplace to sit near. It takes forever to get in even if they're expecting you and takes a dog's year to get a drink. Overall - It's great to be outdoors, but there are spots way cooler than this one.
So last night was insane. Melissa and I went to the Viceroy in Santa Monica for drinks, only to stumble into a private Courvosier tasting that was happening at the pool. We ponied up cabana-side, sipping XO and having a great dinner of crabcakes and shrimp thingies. We then traveled down the street to 1217 where an restaurant/industry event was happening. The owners and designers of Sushi Roku, Boa, Mood were there, along with KCRW DJ Jason Bentley on the decks. In a champagne induced haze I'm always attracted to those spinning platters, so of course I wandered over. He was wondering why no one was on the dance floor so I suggested playing some Killers. He says "good idea" and plays that remix of Mr. Brightside by Jacques Le Cont. The few people who were on the dancefloor immediately scattered. Whoops! We hung out much longer than the 11 o'clock curfew we set on the evening, but hey whateva! it was worth it.
Mobius Band's new release is getting so much hype. It's an excellent record, fusing alt rock with electronic sensibilities. Although I wish they would branch out more with the percussion and get a little crazier - but that's just my broken beat background talking. I'm looking forward to seeing them perform live in LA towards the end of September. Check them out at http://www.myspace.com/mobiusband .
You need to hear this record. The PR spin indicates that Lidell is fusing electronic with classic funk and soul elements. It's really a soul record, with hints of electronic music thrown in (try 'When I Come Back Around", "Multiply"). This record is significant because it's Lidell's newest release on Warp - it's marketed to the hard-core electronic kids. The electronic reviews are awakening to funk, soul, blues and other organics - which I think is going to spark an epidemic in production within the electronic realm. His live performance is supposed to be amazing. Check out the feature in this month's The Wire. Lidell mentions how lame live electronic shows are he doesn't want to watch producers up there "checking their e-mail" - I couldn't agree more.
