Sunday, August 9, 2015

Click (Music): Creepy Badminton, Wearing Glasses, Day Wave and Coffee Cans that Rattle

It has been two weeks since we last visited the world of clicks. These two weeks have seen new videos from gigantic acts such as Of Monsters and Men and Against Me!, as well as from relative newcomers like Transviolet. On the single side of things, K-OS is back and continuing to drop lines like it is 2005 (Grammy Year!), Jereco leaves the thrashing to someone else and Mendoza keeps falling down the slippery slope of a love druggie. Here's all of that...as well as much, much more:

Tracks:

"Spaceship" by K-OS

It's weird listening to "Spaceship" by K-OS less than an hour after running eight miles with "Stuart" by the Dead Milkmen playing on repeat. You really see both sides of the alien coin. K-OS glorifies the uplifting feeling and freedom that one gets when learning how to fly "like a spaceship from the sky." Meanwhile, the Dead Milkmen visit the trailer park and speak to the locals about the human/alien interaction that occurs when aliens begin "building landing strips for gay martians." These tracks also allow you to see two sides of the Donald Trump coin. One track has Donald Trump nodding his head in sweet, floppy affirmation. The other has him looking for a time machine so that he can go back to the 80's and build a ceiling over Des Moines, Iowa. Aliens and Donald Trump, I told you it was weird.



"Too Slow" by Jereco

I had big plans to tell you all about how Jeremiah Maslin (aka Jereco) made the switch this year from drummer in a punk band to electro-pop producer and vocalist but then I got distracted with my air conditioner. I'm convinced that thing is making me fat. No one seems to believe me but I only want to eat when it's cold. In fact, when I went to the walk-in clinic and told the doctor about both Jereco and my air conditioner he responded with "A punk band? Seriously? How is "Too Slow" this good?"



"I Wear Glasses" by Mating Ritual

When I put on my first pair of poo brown glasses in forth grade, I was glad that I could see the chalk board again. I wasn't glad that chicks didn't dig the brown frames. I went from a different girl every night to barely even registering on the 4th Grade Hotness Board. Perhaps if I had just penned the girls in my class a love poem as brilliant as Mating Ritual's "I Wear Glasses" things would've been different. Social experiment time: *Runs to the phone, calls up his favorite fourth grade lover, sings "I wear poo brown glasses so I can see you better," now has a Thursday night date that his wife is not going to be happy about*



"Love Druggie" by Mendoza

The story of Mendoza begins in one of Copenhagen's most infamous regions, Istegade. Her street was filled to the brim with bars, lady-boys, discos, prostitutes, drugs, karaoke haunts and addicts. While her apartment was depressively small and cramped, Mendoza took to the streets at the age of six to make the best of her situation. She used a bit of the entrepreneurial spirit that she had discovered within herself to sell bracelets that glowed under the ultraviolet light at the discos. Aside from learning how to make the most of a situation, Mendoza discovered something else about herself during this time period. She discovered the love of singing. This shouldn't come as much of a surprise considering her grandmother, who lived with her, was an opera singer and her father was in the choir. But neither of these two sang the way she did, her singing was different. It was a difference that they didn't embrace. Her father and older brother would imitate a goat when they passed by where she was practicing. This embarrassed her. Thankfully, she kept at it. Now, Mendoza has arrived at a place that has people describing her as "this generation's dystopic pop star." You can see why in her new track "Love Druggie." She sings about wanting to hang out with her friends but they only want to take drugs and get f***ed up at the club. Mendoza, who became a mother at the age of sixteen, responds that she would "rather be a proud Mum, than in this club kid copy posse." Considering she played that club kid game before even finishing grade school, who can blame her.



"Danger I Am" by Magic Bones

If Jereco hadn't gone all electro-pop on us, he could probably guest drum on this Magic Bones track. "Danger I Am" is as punk as buying a slightly used car with all pennies.


Remix:

"Future is Mine" by DJ Cassidy featuring Chromeo (Young Bombs Remix)

When I first heard this "Future is Mine" remix by Young Bombs, I went over to the fax machine and typed in Why, Young Bombs, why? I hit a button and a copy of my nose hairs came out. I hit another button and the following list came out:
-We've been big fans of Chromeo since "Needy Girl" back in '04 so to remix them was a privilege.
-We've really tried to mash indie-house, progressive house, disco and funk together on this one.
-The space echo effect at the end of the track was inspired by the end of "Karma Police" by Radiohead (Yes, we're Radiohead fans. Who isn't)
-DJ Cassidy emailed us yesterday and told us he played this remix at Leonardo Dicaprio's gala in St. Tropez. I know we're pretty much celebs now...
-Our friend and studio neighbor Tristam (of Monstercat) saved our asses and helped us get the low end of the mix sounding pristine. Big shout out to him!
-We ditched our usual animal art on this one since the remix is living on Cassidy's SoundCloud instead of ours. Also, Cassidy is a fine looking gentleman so why shouldn't he be on the cover?
-This is our 12th release which marks our 1 year anniversary of releasing free (and now official) remixes on soundcloud!
-Dave 1 of Chromeo pulls of "tight pants, wide stance" better than anyone...
I felt pretty good that I had achieved such a high level using the fax machine so I tried again. I typed Why, future, why? It popped out this reply:
-I am so proud you learned to use this antiquated machine moments before it became completely irrelevant in present day life. 
I quit.



Videos:

"Drag" by Day Wave

Day Wave has decided to quit taking over just your speakers. Now he is gunning for your monitors as well. Yep, "Drag" is the debut video from Day Wave. He fills it with antiquated machines that have a cult following (Polaroid Camera, Reel to Reel). I'm currently sitting outside of Office Max, I want to be first in line when fax machines get a cult following.



"Girls Your Age" by Transviolet

Rumor has it that people have been getting mysterious tapes in the mail with Transviolet's "Girls Your Age" on it. I consider those people super lucky. Here in Tampa the only mysterious mail we get are coffee cans that rattle and hiss. I'm glad I didn't open that s**t.



"Lion's Heart" by Eliza and the Bear

This week's film study, "Lion Heart" by Eliza and the Bear. Tender, you go first. Well, I really don't know what the heck is going on in this video. But I do love the guy with the cauliflower head (or is it cotton candy) that wants to play badminton. I feel like he just wants a friend.



"True Trans Soul Rebel" by Against Me!

In the last few months, I'm not sure I've seen a darker collection of videos than the ones created by Against Me! These things are crazy. In their latest, a live version of "True Trans Soul Rebel," there mouths showing up at places they shouldn't be. Like on coffins or on slit wrists or on hands holding a human ear. The video was directed by Steak Mtn.

This is the first visual from the band's forthcoming live collection titled 23 Live Sex Acts.



"Empire" by Of Monsters and Men

Of Monsters and Men's new video, which was shot by Tabitha Denholm, was meant to tell a story about women that we don't usually see. This story involves a Harold and Maude type relationship with a slight twist, the older character has the youthful, liberated spirit, the younger character is the jaded one. The video for "Empire" is precisely why, when it came time for committing, I sought out an older woman.



 Get All of 2015's Click Tracks (when available) in One Spotify Playlist:

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