I can't really say I'm a big fan of the Swedish trio THE TINY. Lead singer ELLEKARI LARSSON's voice tends to grate me the wrong way. Precious is as precious does.
But I like ED HARCOURT just fine, and he was good enough to lend a hand (and voice) on one of the songs from the Tiny's 2006 release, STARRING SOMEONE LIKE YOU. If you'd like to hear it, I'm here to help.
The Tiny on MySPACE.From the LP STARRING SOMEONE LIKE YOU, 2006 >>>
[MP3] "Sorry" [w/ED HARCOURT]
From the LP CLOSE ENOUGH, 2005 >>>
[MP3] "Closer"
Ho! Ho! Ho! (aka Paris Hilton! Pamela Anderson! Mary Cheney!).
[MP3] THE VON BONDIES/"C'mon C'mon"
[MP3] FRANZ FERDINAND/"Come On Home"
[MP3] SUFJAN STEVENS/"Come On! Feel the Illinoise!"
[MP3] LEVELLERS/"Come On"
[MP3] CONSEQUENCES/"Come On"
[MP3] BROADCAST/"Come On Let's Go"
[MP3] PJ HARVEY/"C'mon, Billy"
[MP3] JEM/"Come On Closer"
We don't spend a whole hell of a lot of time highlighting electropunk music around these parts, but what the hell -- it's the weekend, and maybe you're in need of something a little more than the usual Red Bull & vodka to get your body moving tonight.
TWIN CITIES ELECTROPUNK is a collective of Minneapolis-St. Paul electronic artists that's just released its third compilation of songs. Just 1000 such compilations are available in hard-copy form, but you can download all 14 tracks (as well as the first two collections in their entirety) from their website above. These guys are clearly working in true DIY fashion, so, regardless of your general feelings about "electropunk" music, why not head over there and see what you can dig up?
Here, by the way, is how they describe the project, sound, and mission:
"Nobody invented this electropunk thing. No city can claim it (though New York certainly tries). It's simply what happens when you take a generation of bored teens and twentysomethings - raised on hardcore punk, British techno, Nintendo, and Doritos - and place cheap digital recording technology within their grasp. Next thing you know, you've got a million zillion half-rock, half-electronic, cyborg bands thrashing out one MP3s after another of ragged, jagged synthesizer pop and giving it away for nothing on their websites. Nobody asked for some big record label's permission – heck, most of them didn't even pay for the software they're using - they're just doing it for the hell of it. Because there's no excuse for boredom when you’ve got computers and guitars. If that ain't punk, I don't know what is."
Twin Cities Electropunk on MySPACE.
[MP3] Mach FoX/"AXion/FriXion"
[MP3] Evarial/"I Ain't Too Keen on That"
[MP3] Thosquanta/"Lovelife"
I rarely find myself smitten by remixes, and that certainly holds true for the recent ARCHITECTURE IN HELSINKI remix album, WE DIED, THEY REMIXED. That said, I did think the remix below quite charming. Feel free to compare it to the original version from 2005's IN CASE WE DIE.
[MP3] Architecture in Helsinki/"Wishbone" [Franc Tetaz Remix]
BONUS TRACK >>>
[MP3] Architecture in Helsinki/"Wishbone"
More kids' songs for Christmas -- this time courtesy of the U.K. charity album COLOURS ARE BRIGHTER: SONGS FOR CHILDREN. Proceeds go to SAVE THE CHILDREN.
Mainly, though, this gives me an excuse to re-post the RICKY WILDE version of "I Am an Astronaut" from 1972. Ricky "sang" this tune when he was just ten years old, and it cracks me up every time I hear it. He also happens to be the little brother of KIM WILDE, who would become famous in the '80s for "You Keep Me Hangin' On."
[MP3] Snow Patrol/"I Am an Astronaut"
[MP3] Belle and Sebastian/"The Monkeys Are Breaking Out the Zoo"
BONUS TRACK >>>
[MP3] Ricky Wilde/"I Am an Astronaut"
RAMONES songs being sung by children? Well, why the hell not?
Go-Kart Records released BRATS ON THE BEAT: RAMONES FOR KIDS on November 21. The gimmick? Kids -- in the guise of the GABBA GABBA HEYS SINGERS -- support various punk and indie artists on various Ramones cuts. Silly but harmless. Though, on a more serious note, a percentage of the album's sales will be donated to St. Jude Children's Hospital.
[MP3] Brett Anderson [The Donnas]/"California Sun"
[MP3] Spooney [Gabba Gabba Heys]/"We Want the Airwaves"
[MP3] Emily Wynne-Hughes [Go Betty Go]/"I Just Want to Have Something to Do"
Lately, I've been luxuriating in the dirty-old-man decadence of SERGE GAINSBOURG. Specifically, I've been listening to INITIALS S.G. -- a 23-track collection covering the Frenchman's wink-'n'-a-leer career from 1958 to 1980. A perfect soundtrack to any respectable Friday night orgy. (Don't forget the martinis and whipped cream.)[MP3] "Marilou Sous la Neige"
[MP3] "Je T'Aime... Moi Non Plus" [w/JANE BIRKIN]
[MP3] "Initials B.B."
[MP3] "L'Anamour"
