Weapons of Hope, Weapons of Choice

I go a Weapons of Hope 12' in the mail today. EP.1 featuring 40 Winks and Akida&Jolynn. Luckily for me and terrible for many, Boston got nearly 10' of snow tonight, so after a pleasant evening of drinking, I came home to Weapons and a collection of my favorite Eighteenth Street Lounge. I tried to mix Ocote Soul (Divinorum - Quantic Remix) OR Thunderball (Strictly Rude Boy) over JLS's "Rooom for Error." The result was way too much - I thought the bass in Rude Boy or the quirky funk of Ocote Soul would love mid-range jam of "Room for Error." It didn't work, but what DID work was Jay-Z's "Girls, Girls, Girls" slowed and mixed with JLS "Room for Error." Mmmhmmm, try it out.

Tom Middleton

Chris at Slackline just turned me on to Tom Middleton, a 15+ year veteran in the downtempo scene. I always find it interesting how you can love music so much, and be into so many artists, but miss some of the veterans that have made this genre what it is. Oh well, so here's to Tom Middleton!

Tom recently release Lifetracks, his most recent (of only a few) full length albums. He's been all over the place though, composing tracks for commercials, TV, and for many compilation albums and singles.

After a few listens, I really like the second half of Lifetracks. It's very relaxed, quintessential lounge music. Its perfect for a lazy day or ambient party tracks - hence "Lifetracks." The first tracks on the album -- Prana, Beginning of the Middle, Shinkansen -- are more electronic driven, with deeper bass, bleeps and cosmic sounds that resontate from ear to ear, but are fun to listen to. Prana particularly has a very cool, dramatic undertone of moody strings. After these first few tracks, the tunes become slightly more organic, pushing forward pianos and string instruments, and even (what I think are) wind instruments. I particularly like Seredipity and Sea of Glass, two songs that (as the titles suggest) have fantastic flowing melodies that soothe and relax.

Daft Punk - Alive 2007

November 20, 2007 was the day Daft Punk blew us away with Alive 2007 - the most amazing Daft Punk album I've listened to yet. And its LIVE! I don't immediately think a live electronica album will be good, but this completely shut me up.

Daft Punk mashes up its biggest hits, mixes them while keeping true to original form, and loops other hits on top of it! (Think "Around the World" mashed with "Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger") Screaming fans are not overwhelming on this live album, they make you wish you were there but help you appreciate that Daft Punk recorded this truly amazing set.

Recorded live at Palais Omnisports de Paris-Bercy, an 18,000-capacity sports arena in Paris, on June 14th, 2007, Daft Punk "redefines" the live electronica experience. I dont know for sure if they did, but I damn well believe it listening to this album.

You can listen to the entire album (every track is full length) at Download.com.

Must Watch Video

"Now why'd you want to go and put starz in their eyes?"

Go to YouTube. Click this link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K72tfYdYROo Watch Just Jacks' "Starz in their Eyes" Think about all the wannabes and one hit wonders this song applies to. Think about how Just Jack can't just have one hit - he's too good. The song is too good...and its going to be playing on my iPod for many many moons.

Stay tuned for more about Just Jack. A review of his newest album, "Overtones," will be posted to ProperlyChilled.com in late December/early January, written by yours truly - my next foray into the music I love.

MORE

I find myself wanting to write about more - more music, beyond the "chillout" parameters I set for this blog. So i'm going to expand what I write about, its my blog damnit!

Downbeatscape will continue to peruse the world sounds of downtempo, but I'm also going to write about dancehall, funk and tunes that just generally make me move! Close your eyes and think about your favorite summer soundtrack, the one you put on before going for martinis and tequila shots - yeah, i'm going to write about that groove too.

RJD2 - the 2007 Singles

I'm still kickin on RJD2's Deadringer. I can't stop plugging for it. I also just downloaded two singles, both from "The Third Hand", RJD2's fourth full-length album. I posted about this album about a month ago (See the "Works of RJD2 on Nov. 1) - its very alt-rock and emo-artistic, a departure from RJD2's trip-hop roots.

I like RJD2's older stuff more, but the remix of Have Mercy (featuring Lyrics Born) is an improvement over the original track on "The Third Hand." Lyrics Born really livens up the track with his deeper voice and hip-hop style. His tone contrasts RJD2's vocals and balances the track more - it makes it interesting. I won't listen to the original, but this version with Lyrics Born is a significant improvement.

The other single, You Never Had It So Good, is probably the only track I like off of "The Third Hand." Similar to Have Mercy with Lyrics Born, I like this track b/c it doesn't sound like the rest of RJD2's new stuff. However, it doesn't sound like his old style either. You Never Had It So Good is a slower alt-rock track that is like Ben Folds mashed with Radiohead. The track is very simple, employing soft, basic power cords strummed staccato like and layered under a Ben Fold's like piano riff. RJD2 even sounds like Ben Folds on this track. Its not new, its not old - just different, and its a funky sunny day track that will make you smile. Thank goodness I can be a little bit positive about "The Third Hand" !!

True or False: Music reveals who you are?

I wish I could blog from a plane. I'm in the air, somewhere over Buffalo, NY on my way to Boston, reading the latest issue of Esquire. Chuck Klosterman's America piece is always fascinating, and this issue's topic is: "True or false: The music a person listens to reveals many truths about that person." I think it does, but the question is always HOW? If I like heavy metal and chillout tunes, does that make me balanced or does that mean I like extremes, and then deeper, why do I like these types of music. Is it the melodies, the instruments themselves, the different vocal styles, how popular they are with others? Who knows except for you? I've always been fascinated by this question, and I wonder how attuned people are to their musical preferences. So lets all think deeper about why we truly love the tunes we do - and as Chuck might suggest, now you'll be able to truly answer that tough question: "What's your favorite music?"
(Photo from www.esquire.com)

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving y'all. Its times like these where I give thanks for my health, happiness and many other things, in no particular order ;)

1. Seeing my family since last December
2. Visiting my grandma and grandpa for the first time since last December
3. Having the means to buy new snowboard stuff
4. Great friends who force me to see them even when i'm exhausted (visiting home isn't always restful!)
5. Having the opportunity to write for Properly Chilled
6. This blog - for the determination to take my passion to a whole 'nother level
7. For the desire to be close to family, even when so far away
8. For my youth - so many opportunities await
9. For the anticipation of the new Bran Van 3000 album
10. Coworkers who give me ultimatum's because they care and force me to be better
11. A bad-ass Holiday party coming up at Top of the Hub at the Pru (in Boston)

And i'm thankful for so much more, and for the ability to see what means most to me and my loved ones.

Cheers,

Erik