Scenario: You're at a dance party and the djs spins a song that you're like this is awesome and in turn you ask your friend if it's so and so but you both can't seem to figure it out. Well, that's what happened with me and the Klaxons - SLS and I were out and we couldn't figure it out but absolutely loved the track, Gravity's Rainbow. (check out their myspace page and download tracks) Thanks SLS for doing some investigative legwork!
Mark your calendars: Sept. 19th, 2006 @ Club Midway (formerly Scenic) - 25 Ave. B (between 2nd and 3rd St) New York, NY Sept. 21st, 2006 @ Studio B w/Soulwax - 259 Banker St (between Meserole and Cayler) Greenpoint, Brooklyn (We are so excited for Soulwax!!! I might just pee in my pants with excitement)
That's about the extent of our Spanish, despite like 89 years of studying it in high school. But ever since we discovered Juniper Moon about a year ago, on the Rough Trade Indiepop 1 compilation, we seriously want to go over to Barcelona and kick it on the beach with girls in pigtails. All we can really figure out about JM is that they're from Spain, have something to do with Spanish uber-twee flaship label Elefant Records, and are FUCKING AWESOME. The above video for "Volveras" kind of looks like it should be on Boobah or something (note: click on that link at your own risk, seizure may ensue), but the song is completely infectious, and it's been stuck in our head for hours, even though we have absolutely no fucking clue as to what's being said. Here's my favorite song of their's so far, the title track off of their 2002 album, El Resto De Mi Vida:
Before we go into this week's episode of PR3 and the sort-of-untimely expulsion of Katherine, please take a moment, as we did, to savor the above image of Keith giving Laura "the hand". I want this show to get gayer and gayer and gayer, until it becomes a sort of gay reality TV supernova, shining bright and forever in the galaxy of popular culture.
Moving on.
Where the fuck is Michael Kors? Not that I'm not completely in love with Vera Wang, and would somehow find a way to father her babies if she were still capable of child-bearing, but I miss Michael's bitchy, slightly slurred commentaries. And I'm not OK with randomly bringing Ivanka Trump into the mix. Though it was funny hearing her saying "streetwalker", instead of "whore", "slut" or "Paris Hilton" when describing Angela's shitty-ass metallic-jacket-and-skirt combo. Speaking of Angela, her bio and profile on bravotv.com seem to have been deleted: COULD THAT MEAN SHE'S THE DESIGNER TO GET BOOTED OFF THE SHOW NEXT WEEK? God knows they've set her up enough. Stay tuned. It's back up. There's goes that theory...
It kind of sucks that Katherine got booted off so early... though she was a bit of a wuss, she was a likeable, sort of endearing wuss, who looked not unlike Jack Osbourne. Had she put a hoodie on her dress like T. Gunn had suggested, Angela probably would have been eliminated. Oh well. As we've just predicted, she'll probably be kicked off next week. HOT.
SO, Lance Bass came out yesterday--we were a bit surprised, we always thought either Joey or JC would be the first ex-NSYNC member to admit to the pole. This "news clip" from E! has some pretty golden moments in it, including:
Ryan Seacrest acting as if he's qualified to comment on other people's "sexuality"!
A heartwarming story of Joey "walking in" on Lance and his boyfriend (unfortch sans reenactment)!
Lance referring to his and Joey's new show as "the new Odd Couple"!
Let's hear that one more time... "THE NEW ODD COUPLE"!
Let it be said that it was valiant of Lance to keep his orientation under wraps for the sake of his fellow bandmates... Lord knows he had us all fooled.
SHOCKER! We've always been closet Jessica Simpson fans, for reasons unknown to everyone including ourselves. We think we were more into her as a celebrity (idiocy, divorce, lips) than a pop star (boring, shit). MORE SHOCKER! In an incredibly bizarre twist of fate, Jessica's new single and video are amazing. We take points off from whoever wrote this song for the whole "Holiday" debacle, but the video is a mind-blowing excerise in America's obsession with celebrity and... something. Anyway, you can watch Jessica fellate an ice cream cone in it. The video is so good, in fact, that we've deicded to use it to inaugurate our new weekly music video recap section, dubiously dubbed Cap That Video!. Note exclamation point for increased eightiesness.
CAP THAT VIDEO! #1 JESSICA SIMPSON, "A PUBLIC AFFAIR"
Jessica in the back of the limo, looking "sultry". Perhaps this is some sort of method acting? Perhaps she's thinking about how much she likes Starbucks? Her genius is truly endless.
Somehow, Christina Milian commenting on her crippling level of fame and celebrity seems a little too post-modern, even for a Jessia Simpson video.
Eva wants to be "the most downloaded person on the Internet". We were unaware that you could download people from the Internet. If we had known, we'd have downloaded Wentworth Miller ages ago. Maybe La Longoria thinks this is not a J. Simp video shoot, but the Cronenberg thriller Scanners?
Oh God, why did I take this gig. That's it, I'm firing my agent. I'm through. Everyone hates me. Even my mother hates me. She doesn't call me anymore... nobody does. People even blame me for some retarded 80-year-old winning Idol this season. I thought, you know, Jess is single now, maybe I'd come to the shoot, chat her up, have some wine spritzers in my trailer... I didn't even get a trailer. I'm still hot, still the Crest of the Sea, you know? Damn that agent.
Jessica and the girls end up at Misshapes. We're only half joking.
Andy Dick illustrating that, like robots, ninjas and pirates, he is no longer funny.
We're not witty enough to make this image funnier. Just breathe. Take it in.
"Holiday! Celebrate!" How lame are roller rinks the second people put their hands in the air? Notice black woman in leopard print: "subliminal racism" or "costume coordinator on crack"?
Oh God, sorry, sorry. It's just so funny. Ha. Hahaha.
Apparently you can download people off the Internet! This video quite literally gets better by the "second".
The score: Jessica: 1 - Nick: 0. We left out the Dirty Dancing spoof, Jessica looking cute in a photobooth, and Christina Applegate (not much of a loss there, we're sure you'll agree). Best pop video of the year? You be the judge:
I haven't been in love with a band as much as I'm in love with Good Shoes in a long time [their website has great, fun graphics - drawings of SHOES! and BIRDS!]. I'm the first to admit that I have a fickle heart, but this charming foursome from Morden, UK make me want to get up and move around every chance I get. Their myspace page is one of the most consise band pages I've seen in a while too. It lists a plethora of links in addition to songs and their gig calendar. It's worth checking out their you tube account to watch some of their videos. All of the videos are visually stimulating and colorful.
I just wanted to highlight some of the reasons why they make me smile: (taken from their bio)
We are a band, we consist of 4 members, joel cox, rhys jones, steve leach and tom jones. we play danceable, shed rehearsed guitar music. we like to dance, drink, draw, pretend to be on a mobile phone whilst we are not, write songs, dance. We are based in morden.
Here at Disco Nap, we urge the kids to come out and shimmy it out 'til the sun comes up. When there's an amazing band playing + dancing = Come out and play with us this Friday.
Friday July 28th, 2006 Justine D & Dave P Present: NIGHT TIME
at DON HILL'S 511 GREENWICH ST. at SPRING NYC 11PM-4AM
W/ SPECIAL LIVE GUESTS (The raddest new band in the UK!):
Confession time: at first we kind of dismissed the Horrors as hokey post-Libertines British fodder because they dress like Gomez Addams and have names like "Spider Webb" and "Coffin Joe". But then, two things happened. First, the above video came to our attention. Second, we realized that we love post-Libertines British fodder! The video is for the Horrors' new single, "Sheena is a Parasite", and it's directed by Disco Nap-proclaimed Freakiest Man Alive: Mr. Chris Cunningham. We've been huge fans of Cunningham's ever since we were first subjected to the terror of his "Come to Daddy" video for Aphex Twin many moons ago. We watch the Director's Label DVD religiously, and the fact that he chose the Horrors for his first video in over six years has to go for something, right? So we gave the Horrors another chance and needless to say, we've been scouring the five buroughs for a copy of the single for the past week (if anyone finds it, let us know). As if God knew exactly what we needed to make our lives better, the video stars none other than OUR FAVORITE BRITISH ACTRESS EVER: SAMANTHA MORTON. The one who wears Tom of Finland T-shirts to the Oscars, and is playing Deborah Curtis in Anotn Corbijn's Joy Division biopic. I think Cunningham throws some squids on her in the video. Anyway, amazingness ensues. It's already banned on MTV. PUNK.
And just for you, dear DN readers, here is a demo verison of the Horror's song "Count in Fives":
When the God of Music Nerdom spoke to us in our dreams and commanded us to start this blog, His intentions were crystal clear: "My child, do not stray from the path of over-hyped British pop and indie obscurity, for it leads to Blogads and boundless Unique Visitors." Alas, today when have done Him wrong, but we cannot help ourselves: there's a new season of Project fucking Runway.
As the kids say, OMG. PR is, without a doubt, the greatest reality show in existence, and from what we saw on last night's premiere episode, not much has changed from the winning formula of seasons 1 and 2: Nina's still a bitch, Heidi still had horrid syntax, Tim's still an android. While we won't get deep into details, KKH and I would like to present our favorite (and least favorite) cast members from PR3, based on last night.
We loved: Malan, the uber-creepy Thai Crispin-Glover-in-Willard lookalike with the maniacal laugh. We also think he might have a fake accent. Cannot get enough. Already hates all of the cast members in a very snooty, upturned-nose way, and dresses like an undertaker.
We despised: Tie between Jeffrey and Keith: Jeffrey because he follows the term "rock stars" with "Jennifer Lopez and Britney Spears", and his neck tattoo would make Henry Rollins cringe. Oh, and his garment looked like something out of The Secret of NIMH. Keith because the fact that he won the challenge will inflate his head even more.
CEC Projected final 3: Michael Knight, the gentle ATL homie; Alison Kelley, the NYC hipster; and Keith Michael, the talented douche.
KKH Projected final 3: I agree with 2 out of the 3 CEC picks. Keith Michael (reminds me of a darker Jude Law + Nick Stahl blend) - everyone has a little love for assholes + he's essential for ratings; Michael Knight *insert Knight Rider theme now*; Ulrike Herzner, the German from Miami Beach - wild card pick.
This Saturday, resident DJs JDH and Dave P. present FIXED at Studios at the Tribeca Grand Hotel. We always have fun at FIXED, you'll dance 'til your feet hurt into the wee hours; you might even hear the tooting of whistles on the dancefloor! In the past, FIXED has featured some great dj sets and live performances by the likes of Simian Mobile Disco, Cajuan, Long Blondes, etc. This week's guests are Brooklyn's The French Kicks who perform live at midnight. We loved 2004's One Time Bells that did not receive the recognition it deserved. It got lost in the mix of the New York music scene and the FK were often overshadowed by the hoopla surrounding their labelmates, The Walkmen. But could 2006 be the breakout year for this band? You decide, check them out live at FIXED = FREE w/ RSVP only to: weare138nyc@yahoo.com.
Check out their tour page for dates in support of their latest release: Two Thousand. They are also touring with our favorite French import, Phoenix later this month into August.
We’re absolutely in love with Swedish imports: Hennes & Mauritz, Cheap Monday Jeans, and the gorgeous specimens, just to name a few. Last night, we went to Cake Shop, where our friends - Crashin'In Dj’s Lio and Paulie spun between sets by Mixel Pixel, Ivy League, White Rabbit, and our Swede favorites The Legends and Acid House Kings. We could not pass up the opportunity to see Acid House Kings in their Scandinavian twee glory. They started their set with songs off of their 2005 album, Sing Along with Acid House Kings but we were extremely delighted when they played some of our favorite tracks from 2002’s Mondays are Like Tuesdays and Tuesdays are Like Wednesdays; ending their set with my personal jam: Say Yes if You Love me. AHK’s bassist, Johan is also the lead behind The Legends. Up Against the Legends was my summer 2004 soundtrack. They are touring in support of their new album, Facts and Figures out in September. With both Acid House Kings and The Legends you’re never disappointed with their exuberant beats, extensive handclapping, and people singing along to their catalogue.
Whistles. Glowsticks. Neon. K-holes. They're all coming back, and faster than you can say "Madchester". That's right: RAVING. The NME is talking about a "new rave" scene, New Young Pony Club are busting out the early-90s inspired dance jams, and bands like Klaxons are making it worthwhile to take lots and lots of drugs and stand in a field for 19 hours. Ok, maybe not, but we LOVE the video for their new single, "Atlantis to Interzone". Fire up the fog machines and lasers, we're gonna have a hell of a time. For bonus points, head over to Klaxons' myspace page to hear their cover version of Kick Like a Mule's rave classic "The Bouncer", and giggle at the fact that it's actually quite good.
Oh man, Jarvis Cocker. We've never been able to get enough of the bespectacled, foppy-haired sex addict. Pulp (see a few posts below) remain one of our favorite bands of all time, and we'd been waiting for some new Jarvis material to sink our teeth into for a long while (not counting Relaxed Muscle--so scary). Now, if you can, close your eyes and imagine our joy when The Tripwire informed us early this afternoon that the Jarv had joined MySpace and posted a new version of his (sort of) new song "(Cunts Are Still) Running the World"! Try as you might, you just can't imagine it, can you? Because it was THAT HUGE. Take a few minutes out of your summer day to check out "Running the World" : myspace.com/jarvspace
Happy 4th of July! Our words of wisdom for today: eat a hot dog, drink a beer, and make sure to watch your step while you’re watching the fireworks on your best friend’s rooftop. We hope you’ve been enjoying the ample amount of free events over the past weekend as they continue into this week. Everyone’s favorite married duo - Mates of State are touring again in support of their latest release, Bring It Back. Oh how we’ve missed the sweet, sweet sounds of organs and drums. The tour kicks off at New York’s own Castle Clinton on July 6th, as part of Downtown NYC River to River Festival. But have no fear kids, you can be sure to avoid the Belle and Sebastian + Starbucks debacle. For more info about tickets, go here. In the meantime, watch the video for Ha Ha from the 2003 release, Team Boo.
Shambolic Sheffield indiepop heroes the Long Blondes have finally cracked the UK Top 30 with their new single, "Weekend Without Makeup". We've loved the Blondes ever since they first graced our iTunes with "Giddy Stratospheres", one of our favorite singles of the past couple of years. The band are playing Knitting Factory with blogger favorites Think About Life on 7/27, and you can bet your green sequined beret that KKH and I will be there, shaking our rumps to the Debbie Harry-meets-Sleater-Kinney PURE POP BRILLIANCE. The band have just made a nice little e-card with the "Weekend" video and loads of audio streams on it. Click here to check it out. Rejoice!
We here at Disco Nap are MASSIVE, MASSIVE Jose Gonzalez fans. We just came back from his Summerstage show with Sue Jorge, and we've fallen even more in love then we were before. Hirenditionon of Kylie Minogue's 1989 hit "Hand on Your Heart" (which he introduced live as "a song by Aitken, Stock and Waterman"--how kick ass??) is possibly one of our favorite cover versions ever (along with "Sex Machine" by Flying Lizards, but that's another post for another time). The video is fairly new and as gorgeous as the song itself, which is rare these days. Enjoy directly above.
We're a little late on the bandwagon on this one, but a musician friend from Sheffield told us a while back to check out Monkey Swallows the Universe, and despite the horrid name, we finally got around to it. And. We. Couldn't. Be. Happier. MSTU are sparse, beautiful acoustic indiepop, kind of like if Elliott Smith hung out with Young Marble Giants and got wasted on Pimms is a sunny parking lot. This song is called "Sheffield Shanty" and makes us happy as fuck.
I just want to move, I don't care what the song's about!
Hopefully you've already heard of the Pipettes-- a brightly-colored all-girl trio heavily inspired by early '60s female pop groups such as the Marvellettes and the Shangri-Las. Their new single, and more importantly new video, "Pull Shapes", is a fun throw-back to Swinging London-style dance parties (think Austin Powers, only watchable). If you've seen the David A. Stewart (yes, of Eurithmics) film Honest, starring the All Saints--really, not nearly as bad as it sounds--you get the picture. Only no one has seen that movie, so I guess it's a moot point. Anyway, watch the video for "Pull Shapes" here.
