Alternating Current / Direct Current

Ah blog. Where have you been.

Let's not talk of our brief separation and just work on getting back to having some sort of friendship. Let's go to all the things we find and then tell everyone the story. We're always there together, but I can't have you acting too clingy because that doesn't make me want to write. Let's be relaxed about it so you can be important in my life, but I need to get out there and do different things too. I know I want to write a book, but I know it can't be with you, and you know that too. You love all the same music I do, but dare I say that I need to look at the other blogs? I'm a man afterall. I actually have another blog. I never told you but there it is. It read you one day and it didn't like the fact that I was posting, but that was to be expected; I would imagine you would have the same reaction. Towards the end there I was writing over there more and I realized that I couldn't keep both of you up forever. We had a long stint at Coachella, then Soundset, and I'll see you again at Pitchfork for sure, but I need to write for the other one. I'm sorry it had to be this way. Can we just listen to music like old times?

Speaking of dreaming, even though Cut Copy hasn't made an album in ages.. AGES I say, Dan Whitford (Cut Copy * 1/2) and Joel Dickson (Riot In Belgium) have come together like hydrogen and oxygen to explode into this fluid fantasy for my aural entertainment. How could you not play this at eleven? You can definitely hear the Cut Copy arpeggiation, the signature synths, and catchy chorus. Can't characterize too much of Dickson since I don't know too much about him other than RIB's "The Acid Never Lies" (fantastic) off of Azuli records. Clicky!

Voltage - All Night

Voltage - All Night (Azari & III Remix)

Riot in Belgium - The Acid Never Lies (3PM Rough Rave Version)

Little note behind AC & DC. After the advent of the electric lightbulb, cities were considering switching from their night light fuel from gas in favor of electricity. One region in particular was around Niagra Falls where a hydroelectric plant was beginning to be built. (side note: did you know that because of all the generators in the area, the falls actually used to pump out about 20x more water and were that much more awe-some?) There sprung a debate about how to carry the electricity from source to bulb over the huge distances of demand via cable. On one side was Nikola Tesla (of the Tesla Coil), proponent of the AC system and on the other was Thomas Edison with the DC system. DC was what Edison's lightbulbs used, batteries inherently have DC, no AC motors were around, not to mention all of Edison's patents were using DC. Unfortunately, AC had the super-advantage since transmission costs ($ per mile) for DC were much higher than AC since DC required additional generators ever couple of miles because the power lines would lose current and heat up if you tried to push it further than 2 miles. AC needed a similar station every ~15 miles so building sending electricity in rural areas was much more economical. Niagra was a done deal with AC and Edison ate his hat. More.
I love being a geek.

Where is Cut Copy?

Occasionally along comes an artist whose work is so intertwined with certain facets of your life, particularly those that have become your foundational bricks, that a mere smattering of their samples can bring about both the savory reminiscence and the sting of repetition. It's been some time since I saw Cut Copy and much longer since In Ghost Colours came out. Naturally to assuage my selfishness, I hope that they are working hard on:

- Coming back to Chicago
- Making a new album
- Making sweet remixes
- All of the above

Fortunately for me, I've found a couple of gems that they have been putting their pen to. The latest of which (last few months) are:

Munk - Back Down (Cut Copy Jackmaster Remix)
The Juan Maclean - Happy House (Cut Copy Space is the Place Remix)
Mercy Arms - Kept Low (Cut Copy Remix)

Looking at their myspace, they are doing the DJ circuit in Australia and NZ now until the end of the year. Discogs' only 2009 entry is their remix of Move by CSS. Hypemachine gives only old mixes and other people's mixes of Cut Copy. I guess I'll have to keep waiting for something to happen. Here are some more from months / years past.

Kaiser Chiefs - Never Miss A Beat (Cut Copy Mix).... can I repost this enough times?
CSS - Move (Cut Copy Remix)

Also, while pursuing these folk I found I Thought Of Numbers from 2001 -- quite a departure from their current polished melodically moving sound. This stuff comes out of the early 2000's electroclash introduction which Bright Like Neon Lights also takes some cues from.

Cut Copy - Rendezvous
Cut Copy - Sitting Down Standing Up

Enjoy!

Unfair

-Jon-

Oh my. I've been so bad to you guys lately, selfishly keeping these to myself... listening to them almost everyday in the car without any consideration to how tight these are.

La Roux - Tigerlily (not the whole thing. Can't find it. Unfair!)

Kid Alex - Fame (Headman remix). Headman myspace. Indie/electro/pop/dance/yowza. No srsly, this guy is intense. He just did a podcast for Modular here. I'm listening to the myspace songs and I think it's time to go out. With you.

Kano - Another Life. Beginning taken into Discopolis. (mp3 later)

Kaiser Chiefs - Never Miss a Beat (Cut Copy Mix) <-- Tres boss.

AAH! Get them all and start floor stomping. Not too much though. Apparently Mark Gertz of the DWD DJ's was doing a mix and it was just him and his gf and it was so good that he was stomping so hard he broke his foot. True story. My hair dude told me.

Old Cut Copy

So I ordered Cut Copy's 1st album from Insound a while back (last year) and it finally came this past weekend. It definitely falls under the electroclash category that I discovered in 2004 (I say discovered because I know it was around in the late 90's at least). It has the electronic sound, it is easy going, the vocal effects are typical of the genre, and the repetitious octave arpeggiation is there too. The style though has many mirrors to In Ghost Colours both vocally and melodically. On this one the production is a little rougher, the vocals do not stand out as much, but wouldn't you know it they have the mini ~30sec track as an intro to 'That Was a Dream' like they do to every other song on IGC.

Cut Copy - Autobahn Music Box

Cut Copy - Bright Neon Payphone

Listening to this right now, I can't help but mention other electroclash stuff that I got via Larry Tee. He had a compilation come out that to me was less about getting all wrapped up into it and more just being knowledgeable about one aspect about the history of my kind of dance music. Just listen:

Fischerspooner - The 15th (it's a cover, but I forget of whom)

Memory Boy - (There is no) Electricity

Soviet - Candy Girl

Oldie

I have to post this one.

Cut Copy - Going Nowhere (Digitalism Remix)

I first heard it on Radio Soulwax's Get your Yo Yo's Out like 2 years ago coming back from my first Coachella. Wowee! Took me some time to find it though...

Man, it's such a good mix, here is every last bit of it...



Radio Soulwax - Get Your Yo Yo's Out part1
Radio Soulwax - Get Your Yo Yo's Out part2

I'm blogging this on a Sat night, that's how good this thing is.