San Francisco's Ghosts on Tape is an artist I admire. Using only "some janky ass ghetto equipment", Ryan Philip Merry is producing some of the most musical, enjoyable beats I've heard in a while.
Maybe it has to do with his open minded approach to influences (electro, turbo grime, speed garage and Miami bass to name a few). I'll settle with ghettotech as the genre that might sum it up.
His just-released free live mix was performed using two samplers and features 25 minutes of tracks he's working on. Even if you have a modest interest in dance music and tropical, bass-heavy beats, I suggest you give it a listen. I suspect a full album release is in the works.
In a recent interview, Ghosts on Tape said even though he has a passion for dancehall, sadly "there's like no Jamaicans" in San Francisco. Just like there's no black folks in Alaska, according to Diddy. But G.O.T. is right about Jamaicans in S.F., although I can personally confirm SF kids love their Red Stripe.
Walking on Jim Lambie's color chart floor at MOMA.
All apologies for the extended absence, as I've been relocating my entire life to a completely new coast. Despite my worldly travels, I've actually only lived in the San Francisco Bay Area, except for a four month stay in the U.K.
I went to New York City last year and everything about it felt right. And so here I am, having a new life adventure. I found a hot piece of real estate with cool roommates in Brooklyn and everything has been going well so far.
I was surprised by how comfortable I felt leaving San Francisco. Perhaps it was the support of all my friends and family, who encouraged me that NYC was the right thing for me.
To be honest, it actually didn't hit me that I was leaving until I unplugged my stereo system and packed it up for storage. It was one of the last things I packed. So many years singing and dancing around in my bedroom, getting ready to go out and playing records I had just purchased at Amoeba and Streetlight.
The last album I played on my stereo before packing up was New Order's Technique. I had just come back from selling a bunch of DVD's at Amoeba, and used the exchange credit to buy four albums: Blondie's Eat To The Beat, Hercules and Love Affair (self-titled), Missy Elliott's Miss E... So Addictive, and the New Order album.
Pretty much all four albums had songs I was very familiar with, and I purchased them as a kinda of comfort food before I left for my trip: albums that would keep me warm and feel familiar, while still being new.
The album of this moment for me has been Ciara's The Evolution. I can't believe people weren't into this when it came out late 2006. It's a solid, creative, interesting piece of dance, pop and R&B. Where was I when "Promise" came out? I have been listening to this album non-stop since I got it.
Ciara can be so beautifully vulnerable, awkward and self-conscious. She's also very passionate about the music she makes. I'm looking forward to her new three albumFantasy Ride project.
About a year ago, when Sally Shapiro was about all I listened to, I was looking for a good italo disco compilation that inspired the music of Disco Romance. Last week, I found Disco Italia: Essential Italo Disco Classics 1977-1985.I listened to a few tracks in the store, and liked a few, including a Kano song called "Now Baby Now." Kano is one of the most famous italo disco bands, and its music is hard to find, with no proper reissues in sight. They're most famous for being sampled by Tag Team on "Whoomp! (There It Is)."
But to my disappointment, the collection overall is pretty boring. The songs are either extremely annoying ("Burning Love," "Tina Are You Ready") or try very hard to sound like American soul and funk ("Dreaming," "Love (Is Gonna Be On Your Side)." Red Dragon Band's "Let Me Be Your Radio (Part 1)", sounds oddly like The Rapture's "House of Jealous Lovers." This comp has little to do with what I enjoy about italo disco - that is: spacey, synth heavy, dramatic dance pop. The liner notes are very informative. I just wish they would have included songs by more of the artists they praise: Capsicum, Vivien Vee, Change and Capricorn.
I can't differentiate what I'm hearing on this comp with what I hear on Disco Deutschland Disco: Disco, Funk & Philly Anthems From Germany 1975-1980. It's a far more interesting listen, with fun gems like "You've Got The Power, Pt. 1" and "Fashion Pack (Studio 54)". Whatever genre you call it, Disco Deutschland did it better. To be quite honest, it's all just European disco to me.
A few months back, Disco Workout posted an interview with San Francisco DJ Bobby Viteritti, one of the most famous San Francisco DJ's of the late 70's and winner of 1979's Billboard DJ of The Year. There's an amazing piece of SF history: a free MP3 from a party at the Trocadero Transfer in 1979. This is the real thing -- what people really danced to in 1970's San FranDisco. I was surprised by the fantastic sound quality. Needless to say, there's lots of Donna Summer and Diana Ross.
On my short (20 minute max) commute to work these past 2 weeks, I've been popping in Cut Copy's In Ghost Colours album and I am in complete heaven. It's an amazing album to start the day. That IS the power of music -- just one more thing to be excited about in the morning.
I've been listening to "Hearts on Fire" for what feels like a year now and "Lights and Music" has been saturated in my brain. The album mixes are longer and I'm falling in love with them again.
The real surprise is the incredible "Strangers In The Wind." It's a beautiful marriage of Fleetwood Mac's melancholia with mid-80's synthpop balladry. It was telling that they put Tusk-era Mac on their So Cosmic mix -- I just never thought it would take shape on their actual album. So haunted, indeed.
I've been hearing In Ghost Colours play at my local coffee shop. I've been hearing it through car windows (my apartment is on a deceptively loud street corner). And I've been seeing posters advertised everywhere for their show at Mezzanine this Saturday. This sold-out, dream team bill also features Simian Mobile Disco, and I will be fortunate enough to attend.
Check out their label Modular Recording's website, which has a curious display of "gay vague" Web 2.0 design.
I made my silver screen debut last night in Milk, when I joined thousands of people for the reenactment of the 1978 candelight vigil following the murder of San Francisco supervisor Harvey Milk.
The film is directed by Gus Van Sant, with Sean Penn playing Harvey Milk and James Franco playing his lover Scott Smith.
The experience was totally amazing. Holding up candles and walking back and forth on Market Street between Van Ness and Gough with thousands of people in total silence was very surreal. It really felt like a true memorial, and people were incredibly respectful and contemplative.
It started at 10:30 and lasted until 1 a.m. Gus was there, and I think James Franco was there with a very 70's mustache and red jacket, but I couldn't completely tell.
When the film comes out in September, I hope I can recognize myself as a speck in the background. My outfit was awesome.
I turned 28 today. I spent it wandering around the Ferry Plaza with my mom and sister. I got a 12" record from my brother, Bloc Party's "Flux" single with a remix of "Where Is Home?" by Burial. I'm not a fan of dub step, but definitely curious to hear what it sounds like.
The photo is of me and my cousin's dog Mooshie on Christmas Day a few weeks ago. Mooshie means 'like a mouse' in Farsi. Yikes! My eyebrows look pretty sinister.
I've been really into El Perro Del Mar's debut album from over a year ago. It's melancholic yet hopeful. Lines like "God knows, I've been taken a lot without giving back" and "You've got to give to get" are so simple and beautiful. It doesn't drive me nuts that she repeats them for a good 3+ minutes. There's a sense of catharsis when you repeat phrases that you should follow, but somehow still neglect.
She has a new album coming out at the end of February, and I'm glad I had time to catch up on her debut. It's the perfect soundtrack for these crazy January storms we're getting in California.
A few weeks ago, Pitchfork Media posted a video by The Dodos, a San Francisco duo with an "acoustic troubadour meets freak-folk" sound.
I went to high school with Meric Long, the leader of the band. I recall him being a nice guy, and somewhat goofy in junior year English class.
From the high school friends I keep in touch with, I heard about The Dodos being Meric's project and that he was playing around town, although I haven't had the chance to see him perform.
The Dodos song "Fools," and their music in general, is pretty much what the band describes as their inspiration: "free-spirited, unhinged acts like Animal Collective." "Fools" is very energetic and emotive. I definitely dig it. The album is coming out on French Kiss next year.
It's strange to see a creative experience by someone you remember from an early educational institution, especially when you have similar interests as adults (freak folk, Animal Collective, San Francisco, independent music, etc.) and you weren't close friends back in the day.
It's a a feeling of genuine surprise and happiness when someone is doing something they love, coming from the same Lamorinda rich hippy suburban bubble as I did. It's also encouraging, and inspires me to get my shit together, get over my stage fright, finish the new album and keep pushing.
Cass McCombs is also from the same pool. I remember seeing him perform at a New Year's party in Walnut Creek in 1998, and tearing tickets at the now closed Park Theater about a decade ago (although thesedays his PR only brings up his periods in New York, Baltimore and now Chicago).
Of course people move on, and new environments shape their creativity. Perhaps that's one reason San Francisco has been taking its toll on me as of late.
I like Cass's music a lot, and I still haven't had the chance to get his new album. I've been wanting to do a cover of "Nobody's Nixon" for some time now. He's currently on tour with Jose Gonzalez.
Here are a few things I bought today at Amoeba Records on Haight Street (San Francisco):
Spank Rock & Benny Blanco Bangers & Cash Price: $4.98 Yes, I know a lot of the tracks were available for free on Spank Rock's myspace about a month ago, but I'm not much of an economist. "Shake That" and "Loose" were fun 2 Live Crew interpretations and damn, it's only $4.98 for better audio and hot cover artwork. All 5 tracks are ridiculously trashy, and it'll keep me running (and giggling) at the gym.
Kanye West Can't Tell Me Nothing Price: $5.98 This is Kanye's pre-Graduation mix tape. He raps over "Young Folks" and "The Eraser" (Thom Yorke's song that I talked about last week), babbles about porn, Rolling Stone and politics. There's also Kid Sister's "Pro Nails," which I really love. It's a very engaging listen. He has another official mix tape that was released last week. You can get it free at Kanye Talk.
Clipse We Got It For Cheap Vol. 2 Price: $5.98 This came out a few years ago, but I was inspired to pick it up today since Hell Hath No Fury still gets played regularly. They put a really excellent live show in September, and definitely value and acknowledge their fans more than any artist I've seen live in a while. I'm looking forward to putting this on.
Devendra Banhart Smokey Rolls Down Thunder Canyon Price: $13.98 I'm still an avid folk music listener. I wasn't totally looking forward to a new release by Devendra, mostly because his albums are very long and take time to digest (time that I was saving for a later date). Still, I will always buy anything he releases, mostly because he's charming, a great musician and unlike any other artist around right now. Oddly enough, I was reminded of him when I saw his Annie Leibovitz photo in this month's Vanity Fair. It was either this album, or the Jens Lekman's Night Falls Over Kortedala, but I decided I could wait on the Lekman album.
There is really only one messiah in my world .. and that is Morrissey. Yes, I can go on and on about my fandom (I made the Manchester pilgrimage in 2001!), but it's really the same story for any fan of the most polarizing, talented and legendary singer alive.
I am very fortunate to live in one of the 3 locations where he's having a multi-night stand, especially after seeing him a few months ago at Oakland's Paramount Theater. That show was pretty awesome, but seeing him at The Fillmore will be tremendous. Out of the 4 shows he's doing, I'm planning on getting tickets for the last two nights (Sept. 26-27).
I love what he has to say about this current tour:
"Thanks to those of you who have bought tickets, and thanks to those even considering coming along. With so many US concerts this year your loyalty has already been over-stretched, so if you decide to pass, that's OK." (Source)
Any morsel of self-deprecation from The Man will make my week.
Also, here are a few "bootleg" t-shirt designs that are somewhat pricey or no longer available:
I've been very busy with work lately. I've mostly been trying to unwind as best as I can in the evenings, which usually means messing around with drums or catching up on some reading.
This weekend, I saw Ala Ebtekar's exhibit at Gallery Paule Anglim. He's an Iranian-American painter who does whimsical illustrations over pages from prayer books he gathered on a visit to Tehran.
Besides the obvious depiction of war bloodbaths in his "Morning Breeze" series (left), I really liked how I was able to come up with my own story on how the lives of the illustrations unfolded. The beautiful calligraphy on the book pages lends itself to endless amount of imagination.
Ebtekar's "Ascension" paintings are also really unique. This powerful horsewoman (above) has ambivalent Iranian eyes when she's surrounded by bombs or body-less angels. I can see how she feels.
The show runs until Saturday. Check it out. You can also see his artist profile video on SPARK.
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My sister was the one that gave me the heads-up about the Ebtekar show. She's back from a trip to Iran with my mom. She brought back some amazing photos, which is a huge feat -- she's definitely not considered the creative one in the family.
This building is outside my auntie's apartment. I have no clue as to what neighborhood in Tehran this is, but the architecture is gorgeous. I love the step-ladder feel and the very precise window patterns on the buildings surrounding the area. I am not an architecture nut, but seeing how people live and work is something I enjoy.
Animal Collective member Panda Bear'sPerson Pitch album has been one of my top listens this year. A filmmaker named Mike (I couldn't find his last name) documented his three only shows in the U.S. earlier this year, and put them on a DVD called People Party. At first, the DVD was unbelievably offered for free. Naturally, the popularity of the deal got way out of hand, and now you can pay a measly $5 for a multimedia experience. I went for the $13 package, which comes with recordings of all live shows. You can learn more about it here.
I purchased a ticket today to see Animal Collective on Sept. 17 at The Fillmore. They're one of my favorite bands, and I've loved their live shows. I'm really looking forward to the new album.
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I know I write a lot about M.I.A. She has an album coming out in a few weeks and I just really admire her. She has a new video for "Jimmy," which is a re-imagining of a disco song from a Bollywood film called Disco Dancer.
The music has sweeping Euro disco strings, and a melody a bit like ABBA's "Gimmie Gimmie Gimmie." The whole video production brings to mind the music videos I grew up watching on Nima TV on Sunday afternoons. This song has massive remix potential.
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Sunday's travel section of the New York Times did a feature on my neighborhood. They call it the NOPA district, which still bothers me -- it will always just be "the panhandle." It's kinda strange to see everything all mapped out. Where I live feels like home, and not "a kind of cultural bridge between hippie Haight Street and the rest of the city." The round-up of stores around Divisadero is fairly accurate, except for a few cringe-worthy moments: on Cookin' Recycled: "a glorified antiques store that is just outside Nopa (but with a Nopa feel)."
It's completely ridiculous that they didn't mention Club Waziema. Maybe because the Times thought it was in Nopa (but without a Nopa feel)?
This Saturday was my third time seeing M.I.A. The Rickshaw Stop is a tiny venue, especially after seeing her at the Independent, and the slightly larger Grand Regency a year or so ago.
1. After this show, I'm slightly more excited about her new album Kala. The songs and videos floating around right now, "Boys," "XR2" and "Bird Flu," haven't impressed me. A little too tribal for my liking. But the new songs she played live were really incredible. I liked the first of the batch, and this one big pop/club track that sounded like a companion piece to "10 Dollar."
2. She looked a bit more focused and serious. There wasn't that fun, crazy, neon explosion of the first album promo tour. Maybe it's because she's testing out the new material for a bigger tour? Maybe it's her shorter hair cut? Or the "DARFUR" t-shirt, or the military headwear? She's becoming a pop star .. and sticking to her guns, so to speak. It's very exciting to see.
3. The show was very loud. My ears are still ringing, and I truly regret not bringing plugs. I had a similarly loud experience when I saw Clinic earlier in the year. Apparently, I didn't learn my lesson.
4. She was more on-time than usual. The show started at 9 p.m. and she was on by 11:30 (one opener, and a bunch of DJs). This was better than the last few shows when she was late, played short sets and pissed off a lot of people. She's been in SF since Thursday I think (she DJ'd at Popscene that night, and played a record store show earlier on Saturday .. both of which I missed). However, I read she was 3 hours late (!) at a show in Brooklyn earlier this week.
5. The audience didn't seem that into it. Lots of random people. LOTS of people taking photographs. I know she's incredibly photogenic .. but it was non-stop. It took me no time to find the photo above from last night's show on Flickr (which I very much appreciated).
Overall, I had a good time. I hope the ringing in my ear will stop. Next up: Clipse in September. Hip-hop shows are always hit or miss for me -- the audience has really gotta be there. This should be a cool show.
That's me and my friend John rockin' to the beat last Saturday at Frisco Disco. Ugh, makes me wish I wore more color or crazier shit. Click on the photo for more from the party.
Pride celebrations were being held throughout the country this weekend, with SF and NY pretty much at ground zero. This was my fifth year celebrating. In the week leading up, San Francisco becomes one longish party. I had a good time this weekend, although I'm still somewhat dehydrated and have been trying to give my legs a rest.
On Pink Saturday, I went to dinner with a friend, bar hopped, party hopped and ran into some familiar faces. My final stop was Frisco Disco, the weekly dance party at The Transfer. It's the West Coast's answer to Misshapes (although it's been around longer), with fun, obnoxious, beautiful people, an almost anything-goes attitude to the music being played, and just a great way to dance until your drenched in sweat.
It was probably the most fun I've had at a party in a long time (perhaps since, Misshapes in April?). I had seen DJ Jefrodisiac (one half of the Frisco Disco team -- the other is Richie Panic. They also perform as Paradise Boys) perform elsewhere. He performed a long-ass set in 2005 when M.I.A . made her first trip to San Francisco, performing at the Independent. She was stuck at the airport and ended up being super late, but all was good with Jefrodisiac's blend of 80's hip-hop and electro classics. Oh, and if you were at the show, my girls were the ones that hopped on stage during his set, dancing until they were booed by the crowd.
Anyway, Saturday night was amazing, and I must have been dancing for an hour and half. They played everything from The Smiths' "Panic" to Tag Team's "Whoomp! (There It Is)" to The Rapture's "House of Jealous Lovers" and a shitload of dance and hip-hop tracks I didn't know. There were sweaty boys bumping and grinding in wannabee go-go mode, cute flirty girls in halter tops rubbing my beard, and some random people wearing too much clothing. In other words, for a music lover at Pride weekend, this was the perfect way to celebrate diversity.
It's not necessarily fair to compare Misshapes with Frisco Disco. With the latter, there are no celebrities, no mid-set performances, or the East Coast capacity for taste/image-making. However, the crowd and spirit at both parties are essentially the same. Plus, Frisco Disco is cheap and you can actually see people. You will find me there again.
San Francisco's Ghosts on Tape is an artist I admire. Using only "some janky ass ghetto equipment", Ryan Philip Merry is producing some of the most musical, enjoyable beats I've heard in a while.
I can't differentiate what I'm hearing on this comp with what I hear on 
I've been hearing 
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