Damaged Good$ finally went and did it yesterday, releasing the $pread Love Not Germ$ mixtape its been teasing us with for a few months now
It’s worth the wait, too: Beyond the three songs the band has already given out for free to promote the release, the free-to-download mixtape (click the link to head to the download page) features a slew of other electro-hop bangers well worth your time. After the jump, check one of our new favorites, “I Remember.”
Presented by DJ Benzi (who has previously given his stamp of approval to tapes from the likes fo Kanye West, Clipse and Mike Posner), the 11-track release is likely just the first of two to come from DMG$ in 2010, Coool Dundee, the taller half of the duo, tells us this afternoon. But that second release, which will be a full proper album and again will find the duo working with London-based producer Xrabit, is the last thing on the duo’s mind at the moment.
“We’re just gonna keep pushing this for a bit–until there’ve been like a bajillion downloads and everybody in the world has a copy,” says Dundee, born Chris Clark. “We’re gonna start doing more [show] dates, too.”
As for how the group got Benzi involved, it was simple.
“At first, we didn’t want to do a DJ thing,” Dundee says. “But then we thought about it and we just asked him and he said yes.”
Easy as falling asleep, huh? Not really, says Dundee, who admits to not having slept for the past two days.
“It’s hard to sleep!” he says, with a laugh. “We’re just always doing stuff–writing, whatever. And sleep’s not fun.”
He clearly doesn’t speak for me. Anyway, check out “I Remember”
As promised, DFW’s own Neon Indian released a new single via Mountain Dew’s new Green label Sound entity today
The song, called “Sleep Paralysist,” is pretty token Neon Indian, filled with blips, bleeps and a repetitive, synth-based beat. It’s a little less backward-thinking than past Neon Indian songs, but, unsurprisingly, it’s still pretty darn rad.
Oh, and here’s a cool note: The song was co-produced between bandleader Alan Palomo and Grizzly Bear’s Chris Taylor.
My only reservation? With more and more Neon Indian songs being written, I worry that the band’s encores will no longer solely comprise of VEGA songs. Oh well.
Florene’s upcoming full-length on Waaga Records won’t be released until April 27, which seems like a long time to wait for Homemade Extacy, but maybe I wouldn’t know.
Anyway, thankfully, none of us will have to wait until the end of April to hear more new material from the Denton-based experimental electro duo. Earlier this week, Florene’s Aaron Mollet and Gavin Guthrie finished mixing and mastering Mind-Surfer, an EP release the band had in the works pre-Waaga. Which means that the band can now get back to work putting the finishing touches on the act’s full-length debut for Waaga.
Mind-Surfer’s six-songs are being released by Skrot Up, a cassette-tape only record label out of Denmark. Yes, cassette only. Which totally explains the dimensions of the cover image you see to the right. But, for those of you who don’t want to go buy a pawnshop tape deck, don’t panic: Mind-Surfer will include a download code for the cassette deck-less. Skrot Up is also about to release another cassette from Mollet’s solo project, Customer.
And Florene was kind enough to send along “Parc Bitch” for our readers’ listening pleasure. It’s the second song on the EP. (So, that’s Side A, right?).
Check it out after the jump.
According to Guthrie, Homemade Extacy probably won’t be back in time for NX35, where Florene plays just before Brooklyn’s own Neon Indian. But, Scrot Up should have the cassettes back in time for South by Southwest, which is great because Florene’s already booked to play a hefty eight shows in Austin between Tuesday and Saturday of SXSW, including the 20 Jazz Funk Great’s showcase, as well as Scrot Up’s.
For more new tracks, surf over to Florene’s MySpace page and check out “Short Wave 5.5.” another new track on the Mind-Surfer EP. And, on Customer’s page, Mollet’s uploaded “Ghettosexxx” and “No Sure”–both on his own upcoming Stolen, according to the artwork below.
NX35 Adds Kissaway Trail of Demark, 9 More Names To Lineup
The NX35 Music Conferette has confirmed Kissaway Trail of Odense, Denmark and Denton’s fast-rising Fergus & Geronimo will join more than 160 bands set to play the ever-expanding festival Pitchfork christened “SXSW’s baby cousin.”
Kissaway Trail recently shared a European tour with Passion Pit. The band will appear at NX35 just before the group’s first U.S. release drops in April on Bella Union.
Other adds include Ha Ha Tonka of Springfield, Mo.; French Horn Rebellion and Snarky Puppy of Brooklyn, The Crash that Took Me, Dem Southernfolkz, and Anonymous ???? of Dallas; and Woven Bones and Follow That Bird! of Austin.
Held in Denton, Texas the weekend before SXSW, NX35 will also welcome The Flaming Lips,The Black Angels, HEALTH, Juliana Barwick, Jookabox and others to the other, smaller Texas music town north of Austin.
The NX35 Music Conferette is a walkable, 4-day music conference programmed in the heart of Denton, Texas’ central business district March 11-14, 2010.
Denton was recently considered an heir to Athens, Georgia with Midlake as its “R.E.M.- apparent” in a Dallas Observer cover story profiling the band’s evolution alongside that of their long-held hometown. Patrons of NX35 will be introduced to what Paste magazine called the Best Music Scene of 2008 via its most talked-about talent, with Midlake and their polarizing new material, the fast-rising Fergus and Geronimo, and recent Kirtland Records signee Sarah Jaffe as the lantern holders.
Wristbands for NX35 are going fast at nx35.com. Saturday single-night wristbands have sold out. Members of the press are asked to submit requests for passes by February 20.
This year’s programming includes a discussion with producer/musician/journalist Steve Albini, the grand opening of a museum honoring the history of the 8-track tape curated by former Denton record store owner Bucks Burnett, and a lineup the Austin-American Statesman‘s Patrick Caldwell deems a “scorcher” in his report on the first round of bands announced at the paper’s Austin 360 music blog.
Ozzy Osbourne To Sign Copies Of I Am Ozzy At The Northwest Highway Barnes & Noble Next Saturday
Last night, I finally got around to starting Ozzy Osbourne’s just-released autobiography, I Am Ozzy, which, no surprise here, is already a New York Times best-seller. And, this morning, the Barnes & Noble here in Dallas on the Northwest Highway has confirmed some big news on that front: The Ozz-man himself will be appearing in the store next Saturday, February 27, to sign copies of the book.
[Cue devil's horns being triumphantly thrust in the air.]
I’m only a couple chapters in, but, thus far, the book’s pretty much as entertaining a read as you’d expect from Ozzy’s drug-addled mind–which is to say that it’s very entertaining. Revealing, too. Ozzy admits in the book’s first few pages that, thanks to drug abuse in the ’70s and ’80s, his accounts of the stories he shares are probably a little skewed. But, between you and me: That all just makes his takes on these tales all the more entertaining.
I dunno, I just think he’s just a crazy interesting guy. I’ve been fortunate enough to interview Ozzy in the past, and he indulged me in talking with me some 20 minutes past our allotted time. Pardon my pulling back of the curtain here, but–fanboy alert!!!–I think he’s just the coolest.
And I’m not the only one who thinks so: At an L.A. bookstore signing earlier this month, some 3,500 fans showed to meet the legend in the flesh. Expect a similar mob scene at next weekend’s signing.
So, last week, we passed along a free Exit 380 mp3, a song called “Street Trash View” from the band’s new Cities Townies EP. That song highlighted the band’s ’90s alt-rock prowess and, uh, it sure was nice of the band to give it away for free, wasn’t it?
Then, this week, the band’s frontman, Dustin Blocker, emails along the above video for another song on the EP, this one called “Run For The Gold”. And, even if for nothing else, the video would stand as an impressive clip just because it’s a single shot.
But it’s a fine pairing of song and visual presentation–even if the concept’s a little trite and, hey, Blocker’s friends really don’t live all that far off from some pretty nasty people, if you really think about it.
Oh, and of the music: Well, on that end I’m a little confused.
Because, look, this song is crazy different from the song we offered up last week. This one is far more like the stuff we wanted to hear from the band’s last album–country-ish, noir-ish stuff. And that’s pretty awesome.
So now I’m thinking there’s more to this band than I thought, and, curious, I go back and listen to “Street Trash View.” And, actually, on second listen, the Alive in Chains (with maybe a little Living Colour, too) feel of that last one’s actually pretty impressive, too.
I’m confused: Does this band boast an impressive range or does it have no clue what its going for? The band’s playing an EP release show on Saturday, February 27, at Trees. That might be the place to find out.
Hailey’s attracts massive new crowd to Denton for Neon Indian
Hailey’s was packed beyond recognition on Saturday — I mean it, I only knew a dozen or so of the over 700 people that came through the door for Spune’s 2K10 Winter Dance Party. Even the earlier shows attracted a decent turn out, and that’s a challenge no matter the city.
I arrived on the early end of the show, from Peopleodian on, it was evident that even though we were in Denton, it wasn’t going to be a typical night in Little d (not a bad thing, I love feeling like I’m in Europe without leaving my hometown). It was also pretty clear early on that the electonica-heavy night wasn’t necessarily the danciest music around. The majority of the dancing actually took place between sets when our ears and hips belonged to YeahDef — at least that’s when my hoodie went up.
Phantastes and Ishi proved to be the most compelling acts of the night, though Neon Indian was certainly fun to watch. Both Lars Larsen (Phantastes) and Neon Indian are departing Denton this weekend, so there was an appreciative energy between crowd and stage for both. The Exodus is a game we know well here, talent must evolve and move on — the transience of Denton is as much a part of the culture as the music. Still, many people expressed their sadness that Larsen was leaving and Neon Indian’s Alan Palomo offered a sweet thank you to Denton’s role in the band’s life. Ishi was by far the most danceable live band in the lineup (at least for my groove), but there was much more crowd-surfing and overall mayhem during Neon Indian. Seriously, the crowd was bananas. Think we got a good taste for what Denton will look like during NX35 — hope Hailey’s doesn’t run out of PBR again!
Only 2 Days Left To Vote for the Best DJs in Dallas
Every good partygoer has an opinion about who spins the best tunes, so it’s only natural that we turned to, well, you to choose the Best DJs in Dallas. Online voting lasts three weeks, and each week a few will be eliminated until three winners emerge. You can vote once a day, every day, during the voting period. Winners will be announced in the April 2010 issue of D Magazine—and they will have you to thank.
Another month, another new song for you to download for free courtesy the powerhouse hipster-hop duo of Theodore Beard and Coool Dundee, better known ’round these parts as Damaged Good$.
It’s kind of a beast of a song, too, featuring a beat from Rusko built around a sample of the theme music from the Nintendo Entertainment System’s Bionic Commando. And the lyrics? Well, let’s just say that it’s a rare day when you can find a song that so easily reference’s McDonalds’ “I’m Loving It!” campaign, Teddy Ruxpin and Fleetwood Mac’s “Rhiannon.”
The release of this, the third in the band’s free-release series of songs (go here to get earlier freebies “Dopest/Flyest” and “The Great Escape”) comes with some good news/bad news: This is the final track the dup is releasing as part of its $pread Love/Not Germ$ campaign in support o its mixtape of the same name, which will drop next month–or February 14, to be exact. It won’t be all we hear from DMG$ in 2010, though: The band plans on releasing an EP in the following months.
Anyway, enough, jibber-jabber. Hit the jump to check the track for yourself.
The Blockbuster location at 5960 West Parker Rd. in Plano will host a Michael Jackson-themed vigil/party tonight in anticipation of the midnight release of This Is It on DVD and Blu-ray.
Plano’s Dance Zone by Sarasue’s Academy will send dancers to — um — dance Jackson’s iconic “Thriller” dance, with performances beginning at 9 p.m. The dancers will also instruct attendees on duplicating smooth moves.
Naturally, those in attendance will have the first opportunity to purchase the This Is It DVD or Blu-ray (beginning at midnight); there will also be unspecified Blockbuster prizes up for grabs.
Admission is, of course, free. (What, you thought the Blockbuster folks would be so crass as to actually charge admission for the opportunity to sell stuff to you? Shame, shame!)
