5/27/2005
Random Photo of the Day: "Smoker In Pink"
Yann Tiersen feat. Elizabeth Fraser
The divine Elizabeth Fraser has quietly returned from her most recent oblivion by lending her crushingly gorgeous vocal pipes to a couple of tracks on Les Retrouvailles, the new album from Amelie composer Yann Tiersen. On the This Mortal Coil-esque "Mary", Liz gives one of her most straightforward vocal performances ever, likely due to the fact that the lyric is so intriguing with lines like "...and I can feel the taste of your 3rd birthday cake." Here, on "Kala" she conjures the ghost of Cocteau Twins past by multilayering her vocals, all echoey and haunty-like atop Tiersen's swirly, cinematic musical backdrop. She swoops and hollers in classic Liz-speak fashion, sending ripples of satisfaction down the spines of those of us who wait patiently for her every rare murmur. Anyway, it's good stuff. Hopefully this will help clear some of the bad Cocteau juju left lingering after thier cancelled Coachella reunion plans. Note to Liz: Cough up album already, would ya?
Yann Tiersen feat. Elizabeth Fraser - Kala
MP3 5.75MB, 320kbps, 44kHz
5/26/2005
Random Photo of the Day: "4th Street Rock-n-Roll Mural"
Photos by Patrick, Idaho Youth Ranch Thrift Store, CDA, ID, May 2005Amy Denio
One day a coarse psycho goody two shoes
Said something about
"I'm going to the store for bread
Cause you never call me anymore"
Coarse psycho goody two shoes
Your laces are untied
Won't you take a walk with me
On the balustrade?
Spoot Music
Amy Denio - You Never Call Me Anymore
MP3 3.37MB, 128kbps, 44kHz
5/24/2005
Random Photo of the Day: "Kate's Delicious Martini"
Photo by Patrick, Mik-n-Mac's Lounge, May 23, 20055/22/2005
Random Photo of the Day: "Bradley In Coeur d'Alene"
Kraftwerk
以前にお伝えした、クラフトワーク初のオフィシャル・ライヴ作品『Minimum Maximum』(写真)がいよいよリリースされることに！ リリースされるのは、2004年から始まったワールド・ツアーの模様を収めた作品で、ヨーロッパ、アメリカ、そして日本で行なわれたライヴの中からベスト・トラックを全22曲セレクト。
まだトラック・リストは発表されていませんが、一説によれば、過去の代表曲から最新作『ツール・ド・フランス』収録曲「エアロ・ダイナミック」までを網羅したベスト盤的内容となる模様です。 リリースは以前にお伝えしたように、DVD版(2枚組)、CD版(2枚組)、SA-CDハイブリッド版(2枚組)、スペシャル・デザインボックス仕様のアナログ版(4枚組)の4フォーマットを予定していますが、とりあえずアメリカではCD版のリリース日が確定。Astralwerksレーベルより6月7日にリリースされる予定です。
なお、クラフトワークは5月30日から7月4日まで、アメリカおよびヨーロッパを廻るワールド・ツアーも予定されています。
MP3 4.47MB, 320kbps, 44kHz
5/19/2005
Random Photo Of The Day: "Powell Plumbing"
Saint Etienne
Trois ans après Finisterre, Bob Stanley, Pete Wiggs et Sarah Cracknell sortent leur huitième album le 6 juin. Aux premiers acquéreurs de Tales From The Turnpike House sera offert un Ep, en avant-goût d’un autre disque de chansons pour (grands) enfants. Et comme le trio ne chôme définitivement pas, il a à nouveau frappé de son sceau un documentaire, 'Hymns To London Revisited', consacré à la Lea Valley, lieu interlope londonien destiné à être rasé pour une hypothétique organisation des JO 2006 ! Le documentaire sera présenté le 27 octobre au Barbican de Londres, pendant que Saint Etienne interprétera sa bande-son en direct. Ce ciné-concert tout particulier sera enfin suivi d’un set de présentation de ce très attendu Tales From The Turnpike House. Qui c’est les plus forts ?
Saint Etienne - Side Streets
MP3 4.05MB, 192 kbps, 44kHz
5/18/2005
Random Photo Of The Day: "Downtown Coeur d'Alene > 1970's"
King Yen Restaurant, Spokane, WA
It was a tough call: should we indulge at our old favorite Peking Palace or should we branch out and experiment. We opted for the latter, leaving the Value Village parking lot on Boone and deciding to hit whatever random Chinese restaurant happened to just pop up. We headed north on Monroe and stumbled upon the King Yen Restaurant. We only found it because we were looking really, really close and paying attention, otherwise we would've slipped past this nondescript little grey brick building without a thought. I was leery, but there were quite a few cars in the lot, and that's always a good sign. The May sun beat down hard, and across the street a sweaty, ultra-skinny, shirtless and be-mulleted Spokanite weed-wacked his way around piles of rotting garbage. Despite this, we held tight to our appetites and made our way in.
A cool breeze hit us as we made our way into the foyer of one of the most absolutely starkest Chinese joints I have ever seen. It looks like they remodeled a while back, then forgot to put everything back up. Only a simple red lantern hanging in the corner and a framed print of the great wall indicate what type of cuisine you might end up with. In fact, if they were forced to switch genres and become a Jewish deli, it would take them about ten minutes to make the switch. Aisles of forest green chairs and tables gathered in a flat, open space with crisp white walls and overhead fluorescent lights create a cafeteria style atmosphere. Very clean, albeit quite boring. Bonus points for the inclusion of real plants rather than the usual dust-gathering plastic palms. Also a nice touch was the Chinese bubblegum pop music on the soundsystem, beamed mysteriously in from the other side of the globe. Unfortunately, the ample windows also provided a clear shot of the yard-working Spokanite, a disturbing fact that I somehow managed to tune out since I was so extrordinarily hungry.
From the looks on the faces of other diners, we were in for something fine. The menu (online here) is mindbendingly expansive for those looking beyond the usual combination platter. Not I. I picked the Number C, ripe with the promise of Lemon Chicken, Egg Roll, Combo Fried Rice and Soup. Here they offer the option of Egg Flower or Hot and Sour, a rarity here in the great Northwest, and something I love. Naturally I had to try the Hot and Sour. Our lovely waitress never made it very far into her English lessons, but that's what pointing is for, I guess. Apparently unfamiliar with the phrase "Fried WonTons", I actually had to open the menu and refer to the Chinese text, making little frying-and-eating triangular motions with my hands until she began nodding with understanding. "Ah! Fly-uh Wah-Tah. OK!"
Fried WonTons are different everywhere and King Yen has some of the best. Perfectly sizzled in hot oil and filled with a cream cheese filling, these were just the thing to whet our appetites, all drizzled in the sweet red sauce they were served with. The Hot and Sour Soup was equally impressive. I thought the heat was adequate, but Lou had to jazz his up with a small scoop of hot chili sauce. Ouch. I thought it was odd that each item in our combination dinners arrived on a separate plate, family style, but that turned out OK because we just decided to share each other's main dishes. The glaze on my Lemon Chicken was fine, and served with real lemon wedges, but nothing to scream and moan over. The chicken itself was a bit overcooked, sadly, making it a little on the chewy side. Lou's Schezuan Beef was better, strips of medium beef with chunky green onions and chili peppers, just the right amount of spiciness in the potentially addictive sauce. The egg roll was good, and served with its own plum dipping sauce and with a very thin, crisp shell, vietnamese style.
Our timing was superb, because just as we were served, in walked a family-reunion style group of about forty hungry Asian-types, all yammering away in an undetermined language, complete with screaming kids. Suddenly the tranquil atmosphere was shatterered and we struggled to finish our meal as fast as possible and get the heck out of there. As I dumped my poor never-to-be-finished chicken into a Styrofoam to-go container, Lou swiftly paid the $17 tab (not bad!) and we left the brightly lit King Yen chaos behind, waving goodbye to Mr. Mullet as we sped off. Overall, the food was decent for a good price, and they could certainly use your business so they can afford to splurge on some more decor.
Overall Rating: Ambience - 4/10(but a clean 4) Food - 7.5/10
AFX
It's only May and 2005 has already seen eight new records from the formerly very quiet Aphex Twin. With his Analord series of limited edition 12" releases (under the AFX moniker), Mr. James seems intent on demonstrating how a very simple musical formula can be manipulated into a variety of wonderful and blissful tracks. It's classic Rephlex electro house. These tracks could have been recorded ten years ago, and you wouldn't know the difference. The series is a natural continuation in sound from earlier AFX releases, lush and gorgeous. A complete turnaround from the headache-inducing confusion of 2001's Drukqs, it's a thankful return to smooth, melodic Polygon Window territories. Magnificent. This track appears on the latest in the series, Analord 08 (Rephlex).
AFX - Backdoor.Berbew.Q
MP3 6.79MB, 192 kbps, 44kHz
5/17/2005
Random Photo Of The Day: "Eve Black"
Michael Jackson Rub N' Play
GE's Got To Investigate Silicones
A shattering musical epic from General Electric's 1973 industrial show. If this kind of thing delights you as much as it does me, check out 2004's 365 Days project, which featured quite a few of these corporate gems on mp3 (including another masterpice from this GE record, "Sand".)
"Instead of the common staged industrial theatrical show, "Silicones" was actually a film used to attract potential clients. The music and lyrics were by the talented and clever team of Hank Beebe and Bill Heyer, two of the best industrial composers in the business, who also wrote shows for the Detroit Diesel Engine Division of GM (Diesel Dazzle), Rambler (Going Great), Seagram's, Dodge and American Motors, to name just a few. "Silicones" starred Ron Young, Paul Eichel and Joy Garrett, a singer who did a lot of 70s television - and the lead singer of this sexy number, making it all sound pretty damn groovy.
- Jonathan Ward" (quote courtesy 365 Days)
GE's Got To Investigate Silicones - The Answer
MP3 11.3MB, 192kbps, 44kHz
5/16/2005
Random Photo of the Day: "Jhanie at Lake Titicaca"
Colder
As you may have noticed, we have a new blue look going on here today at Making Flippy Floppy. The coding was starting to get a bit wonky and Firefox couldn't read it anymore for some reason. So! It was time to for something different, and as days get hotter I wanted something a bit...colder.
Speaking of which (Oh, wotta transition!), I'm delighted to present the latest from France's Colder. Marc Nguyen Tan is the man behind this band, and he made one my top ten favorite albums of 2003, Again which was an addictive mix of lo-fi electro beats, detached euro-cool, gothy Tones on Tail vibes and lo-fi experimentalism. I could listen to that albums lead track "Crazy Love" on repeat for many sick hours of Strawberry Smirnoff vodka and spinning round like a record. Anyway, Colder is back for 2005 with a new album Heat and though I haven't had a chance to absorb the whole thing, it seems like a bit of a step away from the dancefloor and into more of an indie-rock zone. Not neccessarily a bad thing, but so far nothing here has the same sort of grip that thier debut had on me. At times it sounds like a more robotic Joy Division as fronted by a slightly tipsy Daniel Ash affecting a Frenchy accent. The mood seems a wee bit glum compared to Again, excepting the disco-dub of "Tonight" and "On My Mind" which provide some welcome mid-album bass groovilation. I haven't seen a release date for Heat yet, but it is set to emerge soon enough on the fantastic Output Recordings label.
Colder - Wrong Baby
MP3, 7.58MB, 320kbps, 44kHz
5/13/2005
Random Photo of the Day: "Dyke Road Firepit"
Bruce Haack
Bruce Haack, born on May 4, 1931, was one of the most musically and lyrically inventive children's songwriters of the '60s and '70s. Despite -- or perhaps because of -- his intended audience, his music was unusually expressive, combining homemade analog synths; classical, country, pop, and rock elements; and surreal, idealistic lyrics. Haack's innovations and desire to teach still sound fresh, making his music a favorite with fans of analog synths and esoteric recordings. Followers like Luke Vibert and Add N to X championed his unique musical vision, which embraced concepts like "powerlove" and turned household appliances into synthesizers and modulators. (AllMusic.Com)
MP3 3.58MB, 128kbps, 44kHz
5/12/2005
Random Photo Of The Day: "The Package"
Human League
Ground zero for electro-punk, this John Peel session was recorded in July 1978.
Phil and League on Being Boiled:
Phil Oakey - 'I think I wanted to see If I could get away with it, they'd done a really good backing track and I didn't know If I was up to the task of being in the group. So I just took a tape home and wrote some stuff over and I was just amazed when they said it's alright, I just went and sang it too them, which is like one of the scariest things I have ever done in my life, and they said yeah that's alright.'
Martin Ware - 'I thought It was brilliant.'
Ian Craig Marsh -' err jaw dropping I think.'
Academics were mystified and intrigued by the bizarre lyrics of silkworm torture and Phil admitted that it was all down to religious confusion on his his part as he explains here;
'...I'd got some religions mixed up and I thought that like Buddhism was the same as Hinduism, and it was sort of a plea for vegetarism really against killing the silkworms to make socks or something? I got really
confused about it.'
(Quotes courtesy league-online.com - Also see Blind Youth - the Early Work of the Human League)
Human League - Being Boiled (Peel Session)
MP3 4.95MB, 160 kbps, 44kHz
5/11/2005
Random Photo Of The Day: "The Red Wig"
Grace Jones Vs. Hell
grace jones is unique
grace jones is classic and she doesn't get the credit she deserves
grace jones is one of the best
grace jones is too often dismissed as an amazonian model
grace jones is at a play party
grace jones is fearless
grace jones is the best mum in the world except for one thing
grace jones is a successful updating of the jaws
grace jones is one of the great undiscovered countries of contemporary entertainment
grace jones is viciously effective
grace jones is really sensational
grace jones is being heralded as the latest fashion icon
grace jones is memorable as the main vampire katrina
grace jones is dead
grace jones is her usual domineering self and her double
grace jones is awesome too
grace jones is a jamaican woman and someone who i personally admire a lot
grace jones is a club performer who's also a vampire
grace jones is a very striking woman
grace jones is a diva
grace jones is seeking the forefront of global rhythm
grace jones is menacing as zorin's hired thug may day
grace jones is a hillside agriculture volunteer with the peace corps in honduras
grace jones is about 5'2"
grace jones is the flying nun
grace jones is the unquestionable queen at the club
grace jones is beeping me but i've gotta show you this money thing
grace jones is doing a version of our song
grace jones is visually striking
grace jones is hot and she made that movie great
grace jones is 45
grace jones is 47
grace jones is back
grace jones is the billie holiday of contemporary music
grace jones is a very scary lady
grace jones is his icy sidekick
grace jones is too bizarre to be enjoyable
grace jones is walken's henchwoman and plays her role with panache
grace jones is too lean and would probably sink
grace jones is definitely a gay icon but i don't know if she was queer or not
grace jones is printed as #1182
grace jones is 48
grace jones is the shit u
grace jones is playing on the stereo
grace jones is a very uncommon signer and hard to find
grace jones is an astronaut and should be getting her final promotion soon
Grace Jones Vs. Hell - I've Seen That Face Before (Libertango)(Berlin Mix)
MP313.2MB 320kbps 44kHz
5/04/2005
Random Photo of the Day: "Q & The First Summer BBQ"
The Tears
Seems like that old black magic is back again for Brett Anderson and Bernard Butler who were last seen together in 1994, releasing Suede's epic Dog Man Star album, before a notoriously bitter split. When it was announced last year they had kissed and made up it seemed too good to be possible. Starting from scratch and calling themselves The Tears, they set about putting together a few little ditties. The result, Here Come The Tears, is a stunner: gorgeous and epic in classic Suede fashion, but not nearly as angsty. The sound is matured and relaxed, and Brett's perfect-pitch voice is in fine form again after years of decay brought on by mad drugs and chainsmoking. The production is immaculate, laced throught with glittery garlands of strings, and layers of jangling guitar and backing vocals. It's closer to Butler's work on McAlmont & Butler ("Yes") than it is to anything churned out by Anderson's latter-day Suede, who seemed to run out of creative steam. Rehabbed and refreshed, older and wiser, these two are ready to conquer the world all over again with an album that is an instant British classic that is as lovely and lush as a rainy spring garden.
UK Release Date: June 6, 2005
The Tears - Lovers
MP3 5.62MB, 192kbps, 44kHz
5/03/2005
Random Photo of the Day: "Joan Crawfish Conquers Castle"
The Twin
Somehow no one was paying attention when Boy George slipped out late last year with a new album Yum Yum recorded under the moniker "The Twin". It was recorded with George's old pal Kinky Roland and is delightfully hardcore fun. No Culture Club style lite-rock balladry here! Sounds like George is a big fan of Peaches' electro-punk raunch. Songs range from electroclash-style dancefloor stompers (the wonderfully obscene "Here Cum The Girls" ) to the Garbage-style rock of "Human Racing". The ragga flavored "Fire-Desire" pits George against New York nasty girls Avenue D in a vicious battle over the same Chi-Chi Man. This is without a doubt Mr. O'Dowd's best solo work since 1995's oft-overlooked classic Cheapness and Beauty. So far Yum Yum has only seen the light of day in the UK as a limited run on George's own indie label More Protein. I have a feeling George is waiting for a buzz to build from the underground up before springing this one on the general public. Yum Yum has the potential to be a huge comeback for Boy George, and it's addictive beats and sassy attitude outdoes the work of many younger artists working in the same realm. In other words, it makes an album like Fischerspooner's Odyssey seem like a total snore. However, I have to admit the new look is a bit harsh.
The Twin - Disco Ugly
MP3 7.17MB, 224kbps, 44kHz
5/02/2005
Random Photo of the Day: "Bulletin Board"
P.Diddy
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