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The Faint get remixed, drop new album next week

Esteemed dance-punkers the Faint have delivered some of the most fun live shows I’ve ever been to. Their time on Saddle Creek was fruitful, yielding three albums, including 2001′s irresistible good-time maker, Danse Macabre.

Get your dancing shoes on and prepare for a frenzy, because their latest effort, Fasciination, drops next week (Aug. 5). For this release, they’ve parted ways with Conor Oberst’s (Bright Eyes) label and formed their own, blank.wav, backed by a division of Filter Magazine.

From their first single, “The Geeks Were Right,” it doesn’t sound like the boys are paving any new ground, but rather further honing their existing skills of booty-moving.  While you are waiting for the album, and their not-to-be-missed stop at 9:30 Club Aug 16th, enjoy this remix of the first single, courtesy of Does It Offend You, Yeah? and check the rest of their tour dates after the jump.

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MP3: The Faint – The Geeks Were Right (DIOYY Remix)

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MGMT @ 9:30 Club

MGMT at 9:30club DCAll photos: Faith Desired

After what was, to be frank, a fantastic live performance at Bonnaroo, I promptly arranged to go see MGMT again in the club setting to see how they fared. What I stumbled upon was a mixed bag experience that, I’m not entirely convinced, is MGMT’s burden to bear.

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Ponytail @ Floristree

Ponytail @ Floristree Space 07/21/07

Photo 1: Edan Wilber

Photos 2,3: Frank Hamilton

I think I caught the words “Mai Tai” in the middle of “7 Souls”? It doesn’t matter, really; Ponytail have done away with words. Turns out they weren’t as important as we had thought. Singer Molly Siegel yelps and lunges across the stage amidst reports that she might have been sick, but if she performs every night the way that she has on the two occasions I’ve caught the band live — well, I’d be exhausted after one song. Ms. Siegel acts as a focal point for the sounds the other three band members produce, inserting punctuation marks into the musical phrases (instead of the music punctuating the lyrics) with wordless shouts and animalistic yips. The music is a fantastic burst of energy, exciting, flawlessly performed, even occasionally catchy.

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Stress points

I’ve been combating my recent stress (and distress) with some fantastic new tracks. Thought I’d share a sampling. The first are a pair from an upbeat descendant of Dexy’s Midnight Runners. They are called the Rumble Strips and hail from the UK, and even made a bit of a remix of Amy Winehouse’s “Back to Black,” injecting some of their characteristic energy and throwback sound as a bubbling influence just underneath the surface.

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MP3: The Rumble Strips – Time

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MP3: Amy Winehouse – Back to Black (The Rumble Strips remix)

The last track is an electro-dance-fever inducing remix by Tepr of “A Cause Des Garçons,” a track from French superstar-to-be Yelle.

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MP3: Yelle – A Cause Des Garçons (Tepr Remix)

Jetsetting.

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MP3: Chikita Violenta – War

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MP3: Los Fancy Free – Beatles Suit

In the first week of August, I will be leaving things in the capable hands of assistant editor Alex Mudge for a week+a day, as real life intercedes into my digital workplace.

I will be flying the coop to Mexico City for a week+a day of international AIDS researching. This is my first time in the D.F. so I am looking for recommendations of things to do and see.

Any readers experienced some great music spots in Mexico?

Whartscape 2K8 Photo Exhibit!

All photos and words courtesy of our in-house photog Caleb Moore!

Dear Baltimore,

Love of my life. Dastardly deamon of colors, body odor, and DIY artstuffs. Shitstorm of creativity and inspiration. A mistress after my own heart, and many many others.

I want you to know I will be bringing many friends to share your scarred, beautiful body. We will feast on it.

You’ve taught me so many things in my one short year as your humble resident. I don’t know where to begin. This was a truly epic, exhausting weekend for all; Whartscape being a most inspiring cavalcade of electronic wizardry, acoustical sublimation, and performance arting.

This is an event that makes dealing with your less attractive qualities ALL WORTH IT. This is why you are being seen (for better or worse) as a mecca of art and music, right under NYC! A cheap, dirty, violent, spastic mutation of your aforementioned big brother.

Whartscape is a culmination of the spirit, energy and honest artistic effort that you are becoming known for.

I just wanted to say thanks for everything, and fuck the police.

From,
Me

TO THE READER:

Miscellaneous Items of Interest (in no particular order):

  • Where did all of these attractive people come from? Where are you all hiding? (I’m talking to you, girl with the red patent leather fanny pack and checkered ray bans)
  • Greg Gillis’ side project– Why, Why, Why is that girl in the band? What did she do exactly? Play off beat on purpose and “sing”? Whose girlfriend is this? Am I supposed to be asking these questions? Is that all a part of the master plan?
  • Ray bans are getting a bit out of control in this town. For that reason, I will cry a single tear.
  • EAR PWR will save the free world.
  • Beach House has saved my soul. And they are the cutest band alive.
  • That kid with the rash on his arms and the crazy eyes. I don’t want to say anything else because he might actually be special.
  • Double Dagger– while throwing a tom into the crowd might seem like a good in the heat of the moment, the kid that got hit in the head with it will likely disagree. Control the rage, or instantly lose the respect of potential fans. Ed. Note: Actually, I am pretty sure I saw the big guy after the set and he seemed damn happy to meet Double Dagger. The bleeding head just seemed to irritate him. I could be wrong though…
  • Ed Schrader should always wear a leotard.
  • Narwhalz (of sound). The hater that we loved to hate love. Please come back and talk more shit about our town, you kicked so much ass.
  • There’s NOTHING gay about interpretive dancing.
  • Why is White Williams such an ambivalent hard ass (see below)? And since when does he play droney electronic ambiance?
  • Baltimore is SMALL. I mean SMALL. Don’t make enemies here.
  • Chruches get really dank and sticky when you cram 300+ hipsters into them.
  • Lizz King, props to you for being neck-down-naked and melting your own face off almost.
  • Creepers.

ON TO THE PHOTOS!
These are in no order whatsoever (kind of). Please enjoy, and buy me a detachable flash for xmas. Read the rest…

Peter Minkler (viola) & Lura Johnson (piano) @ An Die Musik

Seems this month is just chock full of new contributors. Welcome Sam Buker, a new A.S. member with a taste for good classical and jazz.

A rare treat in the summer: classical chamber taking a brave stance. Try a sonata (1979) by American George Rochberg, a serialist composer who turned back to tonality after the death of his son. Great deep force from the piano — enough to slam the front seats back a foot. Fantastic thrusts from violist Peter Minkler. But he and Lura Johnson were just warming up for the Shostakovich. Read the rest…

Whartscape 2008 Day 1 Review

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Thursday night, the first night of Whartscape, had that still new and fresh feeling…virginal maybe? Open seats were hard to find in theater 1 of the Charles. Wharstscape posters adorned the wall with phrases like “Worm Paste,” and “Owl Dad.” As with much of Wham City, I have no clue what either poster means, and it’s implied that I’m not supposed to know.
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Interview: Bela Fleck

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MP3: Bela Fleck – Foggy Mountain Special from Bluegrass Sessions V.2

If you are a musician, especially an instrumentalist, you have likely heard the name Bela Fleck. If you are a lover of bluegrass, you have likely heard the name Bela Fleck. If you are a banjo lover, you have likely heard the name Bela Fleck.

The list goes on, endlessly. Bela Fleck is one of the most versatile musicians of our time, excelling as both a genre-defying instrumentalist and an arranger. His instrument of choice: the banjo. Raised in New York City and named after the famed composers Bartok, Dvorak and Janacek, he has quite a legacy to live up to. Like so many others, Bela started out on the guitar. But his love of Earl Scruggs’ definitive banjo work in bluegrass and country quickly swayed him onto the banjo. Like the next logical progression from Scruggs, Fleck takes many of the aspects that Scruggs introduced into bluegrass (strong jazz influence, lyrical quality, fluid phrasing, awe-inspiring and complex licks) and takes them to the next level.
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High Zero Festival Line-Up

So this just in: this is the line-up of the 10th year of our charmed city’s High Zero Festival, hosted by the Red Room.  It showcases all that is good and right and discomforting in music experimentation. I’m excited for Arrington de Dionyso, eccentric, Tuvan-throat-singing front-man of the jaw-dropping, intimidating well-spring of experimental rockknown as Old Time Relijun (Wiki).

Enjoy these tracks off their 2007 LP Catharsis in Crisis and read on for the full festival line-up.

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MP3: Old Time Relijun – Indestructible Life

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MP3: Old Time Relijun – Veleno Mortale

Straight from the horse’s mouth:

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