Maya Arulpragasam came onto the scene in 2005 with her debut, Arular. M.I.A. mirrors the past – leading by sample – and marks the future. From sound to sentiment to style, she lays the groundwork for the new underground of which she spoke in NME
Ladytron always had a flair for the dramatic, they liked edgy, swooning darkness and detached melancholy. Their singers sounded sophisticated, remote and contemptuous. They had impeccable taste in music (electronica, shoegaze, goth), and dressed it up with hip and modern production. “Seventeen” is still a killer single.
Natalia Kills has seemed to be quite the presence overseas, and it’s truly a shame that the US has not been fully exposed to Perfectionist, her debut pop album. While she seems to take herself a bit too seriously, especially considering the type of music she is making, Natalia delivers some very solid dance-pop here.
At a time when nothing was sacred, everything real was artificial, and “America” was the culprit: we found freedom in the music – we found our Jesus and our Kubrick. Justice’s 2007 release Cross was the literal presentation of Arcade Fire’s standout album; the neon bible was authentic synth soul. The French came to the rescue again – via Gaspard Augé and Xavier de Rosnay – in a musical Yankee liberation movement. Cross was the 21st Century Lady Liberty, a shining beacon of hope for the sonically stranded stateside souls. Before Justice, it was just us brother – lonely.
I would’ve call this a near perfect album if it weren’t for the fact that most long time Guetta fans will be a bit disappointed. If you’re a long time house lover, look no further because you’ll feel betrayed with his new album, full of more pop and hip hop elements. However, any casual listener or pop lover (like myself) will have a blast with this new record! Its full of promising top 40 hits and makes a good party mix.
Girls’ lead-singer, Christopher Owens, was raised by the Children of God cult, better now known as The Family International. A hefty portion of his adolescence was filled with major losses within his family: his father left the family when Owen was young, his younger brother died due to medical complications and because the cult didn’t believe in receiving clinical treatment, and Owens’ mom was forced to travel around the world to spread the word of the cult. Because of their radical beliefs, Owens left, but the imprint of their ideology is apparent in Girls’ work, especially on their sophomore LP Father, Son, Holy Ghost.
The “Unforgettable” project takes a look at the key and important albums that have come to define the alternative experience. With the deluge of music in the present era, these “unforgettable” and ultra-important gems are lost in the undertow.
Right now it seems we are caught in the midst of a massive sea change, most glaringly evident in our Transatlantic home-away-from-home… time and space clash radically across the pond’s many currents… on one hand we have a tale of two cities upon a hill: London on behalf of Mother England, and DC on behalf of Lady Liberty… on the other we have a tale of two soundtracks… Watch the Throne versus The Adventures of Slick Rick… as Jay-Z and Kanye tout the impact and rap/hip-hop’s monarchical status of late – literally now - it would seem as if the future looks back to its golden age. As our generation’s defiance was defined by a one Posted Bill’s existential debate over “what the definition of ‘is’ ‘is’” – young subjective somethings mulling monotone over the “whys” of contemporary ills, micromanaging small fires, hyperfocusing on the nuanced semantics, preserving their fame, sealing their shame, and talking themselves out of a hole they inevitably talked themselves into needlessly… Essentially, just as Slick Willy’s surgically precise wordsmithing paved the way for triumph through hazy abstractions, it seems now as we spearhead our generational voyage towards an age of post-post-modernism, so we shift focus to our literal forefathering England – five hours, and seemingly lifetimes – ahead for ear-to-the-concrete countercultural guidance…
The girl that you now see standing in front of you Keeps going on, because she believes…
In setting you free
This installment of Dime Dailies finds itself resting in the progressively nostalgic nook of Nouveau Music, as we listen to the monstrous melodies of Ben Carson:
In honor of Bitches Brew‘s recent 41st Anniversary, a cinematic parallel capturing the aesthetics of Miles Davis’ psychedelic fusion jazz masterpiece.
I caught The FountNHead when they performed at a show at The Masquerade in Atlanta this past summer. The trio caught my attention instantly. Maybe it was the brash political message they exuded. They performed with a doll of Barack Obama onstage by the way. It could have possibly been the angst that I picked up in their tone. The same youthful angst that is propelling Tyler the Creator and the Odd Future movement. That same angst the propelled Nirvana in the 90′s and Linkin Park in the 2000s. All that said, it most likely it was the music.
