Franz Ferdinand - "Take Me Out (Daft Punk Mix)". Thanks to stx, I managed to get my hands on this terrific remix off a new French 7". The song is surprisingly untouched, but what Daft Punk have done is to transform Franz Ferdinand into the band I wish they were. As usual, Pitchfork gets it totally wrong:
"The efforts of Daft Punk, unfortunately, add very little to a perfectly realized song, and prove deeply disappointing. Much like slapping bright-orange lipstick and green eyeshadow on a naturally beautiful girl, their electro-squelch additions simply seem detrimental to the original package."See, the problem with Franz Ferdinand, for me, is that its dun face needs some make-up. The album hops and struts, but it feels like rock'n'roll in a big ole' gymnasium - the sounds dissipating in the air. It's a lotta noise that's pretty easy to ignore, one man on the piazza, flailing in a leather jacket.
It's true that Daft Punk haven't done much here, but what they have done is brilliant. Instead of reimagining the song, they've simply fixed it: they've squeezed the walls, knocked the light-bulbs out. The song's got that same dandy spring, but coming in round the shoulders is a heavy analog synth, a dark pressure in the peripheral vision. Suddenly there's some real danger in the white flashes, the snaps of guitar. It's not just boys getting hip and bothered - there are wolves in dem walls. The stakes are raised; Alex Kapranos sings in those opening lines that he's "just a cross-hair ... just a shot, then we can die," and those kind of lyrics finally kinda make sense. This is the thrill of a chase, of a fight, of a long and strobing night.
Chad Van Gaalen - "Clinicly Dead". A favourite of both Monica and Annette, they saved me the trouble of having to figure out which song to share from Infiniheart. "Clinicly Dead" is smashing bedroom rock that comes at you from all directions; Flaming Lipsy lyrics and noisy Modest Mouse pop. Reminds me most of all of Grandaddy, albeit without any of the noodly synths. It's too bad VanGaalen's vocals are buried so deep in the mix: I'd love to hear them toe-to-toe with the chorus' blooming buzz. The rest of the album is charmingly eclectic, heart-on-sleeve balladry knocking up against electroacoustic instrumentals. [buy]
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I like lists. Totally silly, but there's some grim satisfaction to nailing things down at a particular moment. Inspired by Aaron, then, here are some ho-hum lists for 14/07/04. the year's been pretty mediocre for albums, so far, but my cup runneth over with singles. and, uh, i indulged.
fave 5 albums of 2004 so far
jolie holland - escondida
joanna newsom - milk-eyed mender
kanye west - college dropout
les mouches - you're worth more to me than 1000 christians
william basinski - disintegration loops 1
fave 30 songs of 2004 so far (one song per artist)
1. modest mouse - "float on"
2. arcade fire - "tunnels"
3. wilco - "at least that's what you said"
4. britney spears - "toxic"
5. joanna newsom - "bridges and balloons"
6. kanye west - "family business"
7. one-t and cool-t - "magic key"
8. royal city - "jerusalem"
9. sufjan stevens - "Seven swans"
10. camera obscura - "keep it clean"
11. the streets - "dry your eyes"
12. fiery furnaces - "straight street"
13. divine comedy - "our mutual friend"
14. wheat - "i met a girl"
15. rza - "grits"
16. avril lavigne - "my happy ending"
17. jolie holland - "do you"
18. usher ft. lil jon & ludacris - "yeah"
19. rachel's - "last things last"
20. the killers - "indie rock and roll"
21. new year - "disease"
22. mase - "welcome back"
23. counting crows - "accidentally in love"
24. feist - "mushaboom"
25. mouse on mars - "wipe that sound"
26. the bees - "chicken payback"
27. mf doom - "doper skiller"
28. mocky - "mickey mouse muthafuckers"
29. eamon - "fuck it"
30. hidden cameras - "builds the bone"
