The fight for diverse and conscious voices

I haven't posted music lately because most of what I've been hearing has been either outright lame or "B+" at best. However, there are three important words for today's post:

New. Glitch. Mob!

http://theglitchmob.com/
Go here for album preview, new single, and tour dates. Boston show is 3/12/2014 at the House of Blues and I'm planning to be there. I was sad to miss their last show, which I heard was awesome, and I'd like a chance to see them live. Having more friends go with me would make it more better. The new single (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qKxDzyHPo0o) is called "Can't Kill Us" and it would likely make Trent Reznor proud. It's got the Mob's bombastic tones, but the electronica is dark and powerful.

https://soundcloud.com/dj_tigerlily/all-of-me-john-legend
This is a great bootleg of John Legend's lovely piano+voice piece "All of Me" (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=450p7goxZqg) that came out in October. Legend has won (*checks*) nine Grammies and is a really talented singer-songwriter. That said, I'm still not a major fan. Here Tigerlily & Dem Slackers have taken Legend's vocals and built them into a nice little house dance number.

https://soundcloud.com/bodyheatmusic/reset-stealin-your-soul-fire
Back in January I noted Reset!'s Turbofunk number "Stealin' Your Soul" as a fantastic turn-it-up-loud tune with a couple remixes that were only just OK. Now comes Fire Flowerz with a remix worthy of the original. This one kicks it up another notch with a dirty fuzzy edge that fits well in the turbofunk spirit of the original.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hfi6BX2FNjA
https://soundcloud.com/designerdrugs/little-boots-meddle-designer
An oldie but still fun so here you go (the things I do to pad out a music blog, let me tell you). About six years go Little Boots put out an electro-pop number called "Meddle". It's a bouncy fun tune that is very much of its era. Plus I generally like Little Boots. Then there's the Designer Drugs - yes, that's their name - 80s Coke Jam remix. The remix strips out a lot of the pop notes, drops things down an octave, and gives it more of a dance beat. This is the sort of thing I play when I need to get my ass moving.

https://soundcloud.com/namdrik16/lorde-royals-reggae-remix
Because you can remix anything into anything, right? Rawnie Lovely (https://www.facebook.com/rawnielovely) has taken Lorde's massively popular "Royals" and redone it in reggae style. There have been lots and lots of remixes and most have been "meh". I think I flag this one (even though Miz A agrees it's in the B+ range) because I have a love for reggae in general.

https://soundcloud.com/nickraymondg/marvin-gaye-grapevine-autograf
Let's close out this sound set with a remix of a real classic. Marvin Gaye was justly called the Prince of Soul and "Heard It Through The Grapevine" was one of the sounds that defined Motown for the rest of the world. Autograf's remix is a blend of original soul and modern deep house that makes me wish Gaye were still alive.

Meeting cancelled so let's dump out some of these links. One new and several familiar voices here, including two really good modern covers of "classic" tunes.

http://rcrdlbl.com/artists/Letting-Up-Despite-Great-Faults/track/Bulletproof-Girl/
I don't blog much rock, for whatever reasons. This is definitely on the electronic side of rock - very synth-heavy - but it has a number of standard rock tropes. Letting Up Despite Great Faults (http://www.lettingup.com/) has a new album out and this "Bulletproof Girls" is from that. This all-male quartet reminds me of a lot of other all-male acts - they self-describe as "shoegaze guitar", a phrase I've not heard before but which is remarkably descriptive. It's a gentle, introspective sound without being maudlin or emo.

http://soundcloud.com/philosophyofsound/by-the-rivers-dark-pos-rework
Philosophy of Sound (http://www.philosophyofsound.info/) are a new-to-me electro-funk duo from down under. This rework of a Leonard Cohen classic works exceptionally well. The master's vocals are pristine, but laid over a kicked-up bass track that energizes without overwhelming. It's a fresh take on an old favorite.

http://audioporncentral.com/2012/10/illegal-sunday-the-xx-sunset-volta-remix.html
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WJ9rflGsNEg&feature=player_embedded#!
The xx are hot again. After being popular in 2009/2010 they kind of faded from sight but are back with force nowadays. The first link is a Volta remix of their track "Sunset". It's not bad. A little heavy on the electro and nu disco for my tastes. IMO, the xx rises or falls with Romy's voice and Volta respects that, but overdoes the knob-twisting a bit.

The second link is OH MY GODS. BBC Radio One did a live show with the xx and the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra. I'm often hesitant about orchestral arrangements of pop music, and it's doubly dangerous to try putting a full orchestra behind an act that builds around intimate breathy vocals. Normally you'd want (and the xx gives you) a spare sound. But somehow this works. It's goosebumps throughout, though I wish they'd edited out the enthusiastic audience.

http://audioporncentral.com/2012/10/illegal-sunday-yes-owner-of-a-lonely-heart-jean-claude-gavri-remix-dimitri-from-paris-re-touch.html
I had to go back to 2009 to find a remix of a Yes tune that I liked enough to blog. Yes still is one of my guilty pleasures and there haven't been a lot of reworks that attempted to touch them. This is Dmitri from Paris (a producer I've heard but not blogged before) touching up a remix first done by another Frenchman, Jean Claude Gavri. I can't tell you who's responsible for what parts of the sound, but the double-edit definitely produced something good. It sounds like I imagine Yes would sound if they were writing in a modern style.

http://audioporncentral.com/2012/10/little-boots-double-pack.html
Bronski Beat are another good act that doesn't get covered much. Here's Little Boots (http://littlebootsmusic.co.uk/) doing a modernized techno-dance version of their "Smalltown Boys". This is also another good example of how a light production touch on vocals can work well. She's got a great voice and it's not overtuned, though I wish they'd let her punch it just a bit more, and the ending of the post on APC sounds like it was cut short.

The second track in the post is Little Boots doing a dub remix of Jupiter's new "Juicy Lucy (Needs a Boogieman)." I've had the Jupiter track on the back burner for a bit - it's a style of old-school blaxsploitation-film funk that I should like but it just didn't do anything for me. The Little Boots remix is a step up in that it keeps the boppin' funk core but emphasizes the instrumentals rather than the vocals I found too repetitive in the original.

http://audioporncentral.com/2012/10/jack-beats-ft-jess-mills-somebody-to-love.html
This just hit today and it's a good antidote to the gray and drear. Plus, Jess Mills! Here she is doing vocals for Jack Beats (http://www.jackbeats.co.uk/) a UK duo. Their new EP shows traces of vocal trance, hip-hop, dubstep, and definite techno genetics. Last month I blogged their first single, a Diplo collaboration. I think I'll be buying this one when it drops.