Pozi B back in the place to B, Yo!

Okay…back from my cupcake induced coma. Vital stats are stable and I am ready to rock it once again. Here are a few tunes to kep you rocking into the weekend, no doubt.

So, Crystal Castles is been the blogtastic duo of the latter part of 2006 and are still making hits all over the place. I freakin love this duo so much so I couldn’t resist posting them on the workout..they deserve it. They are fresh on thier U.S. tour as we speak and will be coming to San Francisco March 10th, opening for the Presets. I can’t wait. Don’t miss it! Check thier page for more info on tour dates and also where to buy thier music, which is a bit tough to get your hands on, so get it fast or it’ll be sold out! Here’s a couple remixes they’ve done lately.

Mp3: Crystal Castles vs. The Little Ones

Mp3: Goodbooks-Leni-Crystal Castles Remix

And of course, the post wouldn’t be complete without my Workout track of the week. Keep em sweatin’! This one comes courtesy of the main man, Low B, the other half of the wonderful Hollertronix. He will also be in SF at the Mezzanine, March 14 with the Clipse. And buy his music here!

WhatchooknowboutTHIS! – Low B Remix

I know this is short and sweet, but i gotta clean the bathroom and the kitchen, take a shower, teach 5 year olds how to dance and finish a flyer…all in a few hours. Call me Wonder Woman But I still got love for the homies, so make sure you stand in front of your mirror and shake that ass, just for me.

Oahu

I am in my hotel room in beautiful Waikiki.  I have to admit, I was a little aprehensive about Hawaii because I thought it would be too touristy.  It is! However, it is amazing.  My girlfriend Natasha, and I are still exploring but are enjoying all of the fine cuisine.  I have yet to have a Mai Tai.  Although I am comfortable in my manhood, it still seems like the tropical equivalent of an Appletini.  It is super expensive here.  I am rolling with Miller High Lifes (Lives?) right now due to the price.  Since our hotel costs too much in my opinion, I am enjoying one service they offer: FREE CALLS ANYWHERE in the United States.  So, I am serious, email me your phone number ( jsagouspe@gmail.com) and I will call you.  I need to get my money’s worth.  Aquarium tommorow. I am hyped. The aquarium is my favorite place in the world.  It is also important to mention that there are many Japanese tourists here.  I had no idea.  They all have the Japanese mullet too. I bet you guys would know it if you saw it.  Furthermore, In one of the Tony Hawk games, I totally skated off the top of this hotel over a helicopter.  Surreal.  If you ever come here, it is great, but stay to the tourist parts. It is depressing otherwise.  I hope to get to the other side of the island at some point though and maybe accidentally see some of the actors from Lost.  By the way, if you missed it, the science company that Juliet works for is called “Mittelos”.  This is an anagram for “Lost Time”, which is confirmed to not be a coincidence. 

Blahblahblah.  Too much rambling.  Here is what you all want:

MP3: “Fancy Footwork” – Chromeo

I bet you guys have heard the Thomas Barford remix.  Stick with the original. I have DJed that remix, and it is ok, but Chromeo is one of those bands that has such an awesome sound that no remix could ever do them enough justice.

MP3: “Find What You Get (Nik 7 Remix)” – Bang Gang

I totally stole this from the hollerboard! This is the Icelandic band “Bang Gang”, not the equally amazing Australian Djs.  I know very little about Nik 7, but this remix is worth a handshake.

MP3: “The Creeps (Fedde Le Grand Remix)” – Camille Jones

Is this remix enough to forgive Fedde Le Grand for “Put Your Hands Up for Detroit”?  You be the judge. That video gave me total price.  “Price” is the feeling when you feel embarassed for someone else and also feel embarassed for watching the, do that embarassing thing.  It was created by my friend Michelle after something she witnessed at Price Club.  Please use the word.  Make it catch on.

-Johnatron

Giant Kitten Terrorizes London

Sorry for the slow week – we had our first DJ night last Wednesday and then I flew to NYC the next morning. In the meanwhile, Johnatron slipped away to Hawaii and Pozi slipped into a cupcake-induced coma from which we have yet to rouse her…But it was hott! Audrock Rocked it! Party photos soon!

For now, enjoy this lovely little slice of Luxxury heaven from the Self-Promotion division of Workout Enterprises Worldwide, LLC:

Video: “Sweet and Vicious” – Luxxury
Luxxury on the Myspace thing

A Daft Punk Sampling Etymology

Just got my laptop back after a week. It’s all fixed. Hooray. Quick catchup:

1. Palmsout Sound posted an essential listing of original sample sources for a dozen Daft Punk songs. It’s hard not to listen to these songs and rethink what the meaning of “creativity” is in sampling. There’s a fine line between lifting someone else’s music wholesale and rescuing an otherwise buried idea. In several of the songs, the samples are relatively hard to spot (e.g. the “Around the World” source), which makes a strong case for the sampler as curator, practicing the art of selection and recontextualization.

By contrast, even allowing for a more elastic definition of “original”, upon hearing “Release The Beast” I can’t help but feel a little disappointed to learn how much less original “Robot Rock” is. Go listen for yourself and see what you think. (P.S. Now that I’m already breaking your heart, and since you got so sick of “Crazy” last summer that you’re ready to hear it again, check out the song that Gnarls sampled to make that track.)

2. Nation of Ulysses/Makeup/Weird War visionary/genius (and former co-worker of mine back in my D.C. days) Ian Svenonious has a fantastic new TV show called Soft Focus on Vice TV. Watch the Ian Mackaye episode now, taped in front of a live studio audience at the Guggenheim, which somehow feels appropriate.

3. There was a new Glass Candy track on their Myspace page a few days ago but it’s no longer there. However you can still grab it from the fantastic 20 Jazz Funk Greats blog, which is always a fantastic read.

MP3: “Miss Broadway” – Glass Candy (via 20 Jazz Funk Greats)

It’s yet another cover, this time of Belle Epoque’s disco classique, Miss Broadway. As with their Kraftwerk cover (which is still available) I think they’ve improved upon the original. Go get it before Johnny Jewel changes his mercurial mind. Glass Candy will be playing in SF on May 17 at Donuts (yes, I will be there.)

4. Tomorrow night (Wednesday) is the debut of The Workout: Live, our new DJ night! Johnatron, Pozibelle and I will be joined by the fantastic DJ Audrock from Club Loaded. We will be spinning pretty much exactly the kind of stuff we post and talk about here. Bonus: there will be free cupcakes!

P.S. The free beer thing mentioned on the flyer is no longer true. BUT. There will be drink specials, like $1 sake shots or something.

P.P.S Wednesday is the new Thursday!

Imposters!

Quit stealing my flair! I am Johnatron! There is just ONE! Soon I fear that when you refer to Johnatron, you will have to specify which one. Well let me tell you, I am the best one. I am not from Kentucky (I think there is one there). I am not from England. I stick by my name and it is MINE. This also goes for people who hear my name and try to adapt it to themselves (Erikatron!? REALLY?) So, to be fair to me, I am going to have to ask that if you insist on biting off me, you must turn in the following application and wait for approval.

Actual name: _________
Intended name: _______atron
Reason for name change: ______________________________

___________________________________________________
Place or region of residency: _______________________________________________________

Hobbies: ___________________________________________________________
Blood Type: ________________

Then you need to include a picture. Also, don’t hold your breath anyway.

My friend John Shay (not an atron, thank god) told me about the 8-Bit Operators. It is a tribute to Kraftwerk done by chiptune artists on Nintendos and the like. If you didn’t think I was going to post this, You don’t know me very well.
MP3 “Pocket Calculator” – Glomag
MP3: “Radioactivity” – David E. Sugar

Buy it at Amazon.

Goth Thursday. How Awkward.

I’m not sure if I really want to indulge in my closet penchant for Goth *every* Thursday, but I’ve been wanting to post these two songs for a while, and “Rural Juror“-like awkwardness of those two words together in the title strikes me as funny.

Before they O.D.’d on guitars and heroin and went all White Zombie on our asses with their limp proto-Industrial Metal (“Jesus Built My Hotrod”, anyone?), Ministry was rad. Nowadays every American chav and Suicide Girl-manquée at Mall of America looks like an Al Jourgensen clone, but at the time his post-Apocalyptic Road Warrior shtick fit perfectly with the dance/rock/goth/industrial/pop sound he helped invent. Both sonically and sartorially, for better or for worse, there’d be no Trent without Al. (Speaking of, check out the new Nine Inch Nails song at Fire in the Stereo).

But before he lost his marbles dropping acid with Gibby, Al wrote some super swell synth-goth ditties, a slightly harder-core Depeche Mode. Ministry’s second album “Twitch”, released in 1985, dabbles in the relatively new art of sampling and rhythmic noise in a pop context, and the result is catchy dark pop; even a bit, dare I say, funky (in a white way).

MP3: “Just Like You” – Ministry
Buy it on Amazon

I adore the Sisters of Mercy. Besides having the chutzpah to collaborate with fellow bombast-a-don (and Meatloaf collaborator) Jim Steinman, Andrew Eldritch is erudite, pretentious, and goddamn hysterical. In 1985 Eldritch produced a few tracks by a cat named James Ray and released the songs on his Merciful Release label. One track in particular, “Mountain Voices”, is fantastically dark and dancey, featuring very Sisters-like vocals, synthpop synthbass and beats, electric guitars and lots of melody. It’s pretty melodramatic and the chorus is kinda silly (sampled violins!) — and it even flirts with a Country twang. But it works.

MP3: “Mountain Voices” – James Ray and the Performance
Buy it on Amazon (for $39!!!)

I had to buy a filler-laden ‘best of’ CD for $20 on Ebay a few years ago to get this song, but now you can download it and every other song they recorded for free on the James Ray web site.

Now…I must go deposit my beloved Powerbook at the repair shop and pray for its health. I’ll be back with some cool new tracks next week.

From Kernel to Popcorn : A Valentine’s Day Love Affair

Since it’s Valentine’s Day, this post is dedicated to three things that I love to the max…Shoes, Lipgloss and Justin Timberlake (with no shame). I will except gifts in any of these categories for the lovely day of February the 14th.

Now working in a shoe store, I have aquired just a few too many shoes…namely some dope ass sneakers that are absolutely necessary when wrecking the dance floor with some fly ass moves…gotta have the sneaks to back up the attitude. And I don’t dance to any old song, its gotta be a banger. Banger this track is. Introducing to you Mr.Podgers, a hidden gem in the world of myspace that I ran across as a result of my insomnia. You play this song and all the fly girls (and boys too) will be dancing; sneaks, heels, whatevs…

Mp3:”The Night Shoe Contest” – Mr. Podgers

Okay, so I love sneakers, and occassionally I do wear the heels, but either way, lipgloss is an absolute essential item in my life. When I was 16, and kinda broke (not that that has changed too much), I would go to the grocery store and take full advantage of the 2 for 1 lipgloss deal…You see, one goes in the pocket, the other you pay for, cut the guilt in half. I swear thats the only thing I ever have stolen in my life…I love lipgloss that much. Well, Lil Mama is 16 and instead of being a hoodlum and stealing, she channels her energy into a damn good song about lipgloss. I love it! But really, the track is super hot and hard hitting. And suitable for the fly girls and fly boys alike.

Mp3: “Lipgloss” – Lil Mama

And now to my third and final love for Valentines Day 2007…Justin Timberlake..oh why yes…I will be your valentine. We can dance all night in our fly sneakers, sit on the grass and lay side by side, toes in the sand, all that..naked But really, is it just me, or is every one doing a “My Love” remix these days? Honestly, I love the song just as is. Makes my heart melt everytime. But, remix is the name of the dj game, and the song is oh so catchy, so here are two for you..
First one is from Diplo, who just kills it everytime. He throws the TI rap in first, sounds so dope, even the most suspecting will forget what song it is.
Next comes from Like Woah! out of Sydney, Australia on Bang Gang 12″ (Keep an eye on Bang Gang cuz thier shit is so fresh! Just realeased thier first 12″).
Like Woah! is Ghetto Ghetto Techno…You forgot this was a pop song, didn’t yah?

Mp3: My Love (Diplo Remix) -Justin Timberlake
Mp3: My Love (Like Woah! Re-edit)- Justin Timberlake

The Electronic Battle Weapon Series.

 

People can knock the Chemical Brothers all they want, but you simply can’t knock the Electronic Battle Weapon Series.  These are their more experimental dance songs, and if “experimental dance” means not having Q-tip rap over some kind weird middle-eastern techno shit, sign me up.  The Chemical Brothers do a lot of things that I don’t like, such as wear orange glasses (see picture above), but this is not one of them.  Also, check out the name.  It is SAVAGE.  It is not even just a weapon. It is a BATTLE WEAPON.  Over the years, there have been nine separate entries into this series, and I have picked my favorite three to post on here.  They are in the order that I like them, but feel free to rearrange them in your head. 

MP3 “Electronic Battle Weapon 8″ – The Chemical Brothers

MP3 “Electronic Battle Weapon 6″ – The Chemical Brothers

MP3 “Electronic Battle Weapon 9″ – The Chemical Brothers

Buy 8 and 9 at Turntable Lab

late night reminiscence

(Painting by Bender)

its 3am…raining…feeling dark..

Mp3:Daywalker – Captain Brave and the Koolaid Sippers

BoysNoize/Daft Punk: “Feel Good/909 (Johnatron Edit)”

 

I wanted to start this one off right with something I “made”.  This is a blend of “Feel Good (T.V.= Off)” by Boys Noize and “Revolution 909″ by Daft Punk.  The last few times I DJ’d I played these tracks side by side.  I felt it was time to take initiative and make a proper banger out of the two, and I think it turned out well:

MP3: “Feel Good 909 (Johnatron Edit)” – Boys Noize vs. Daft Punk

This next one is off of one of my favorite labels, Turbo, which is run by the fantastic Tiga of “Hot in Herre”, “Pleasure From the Bass” and “You Gonna Want Me” fame.  It is interesting if you look at the label history as a whole.  It started off funky house, went disco/electro, and now its minimal/techno. This track is by The Proxy, about whom I know very little other than the fact that people are calling this some of the best Soviet music ever. I’m not sure what that means since the USSR fell in 1989, but I guess it sounds very “Iron Curtain.” I’m almost certain it samples “Dominator” by Human Resource, and between that and its Hoover bass (which hasn’t been used enough recently) makes it fine by me. 

MP3: “Destroy (Riot in Belgium Serious About Dance Remix)” – The Proxy
Buy it from Turbo.

On a related note, here’s the Tiga remix of the new Killers single.  As sick as I am of most of the Killers music, I’ll admit I really liked a few of the first few singles.  However, the singer has one of those faces that just want to punch.  I think he was born with this condition and it predates his fame, so perhaps he cannot be held to blame. In any case, Tiga’s new remix is simple and catchy and I just plain love it.  The only version I could find of it right now is right off of Tiga’s first podcast for “Sid Loves Turbo” which everyone should start subscribing to NOW.

MP3: “Bones (Tiga Remix)” – The Killers
Buy the album at Amazon.

Next is the new Trentemoller.  His name is much easier to say than people think (“Trent Mole Air”).  This track is typical of his sound, so if you like him, which I do, download it.  If you don’t, then skip it.  I don’t give a fuck. I am punk rock that way.

MP3: “African People” – Trentemoller
Buy it here.

Last is an electro-rock classic from Blancmange.  “Blind Vision” has one of the best basslines I have ever heard.  I wish I could tell about all the insane energy surrounding this song and era, but it came out about 2 years before I was born, so I don’t know.  But whatever, I like it a lot. If you want to bone up on your Blancmange trivia, check here. 

MP3: “Blind Vision” _ Blancmange
Buy their “Best Of” here.

Ok guys. That just about wraps it up.  Sorry that my posts contain about as much charisma as an old sock.

Johnatron