The Walrus is a Philadelphia-based music blog written by Michael. You may send me stuff through the send a tip page or email me. All mp3s should be sent as links. NO ATTACHMENTS, PLEASE. If I like your music, chances are I will write about it.
DISCLAIMER
mp3s on this site are for promotional purposes only. If you wish to have an mp3 removed please contact me.
Laurie Anderson’s first album in 10 years, the mesmerizing and politically-charged Homeland has been owning my ipod for the past few days. Once again, the electronic music visionary, who reached beyond the avant-garde and into the mainstream with 1980’s Big Science, has created a tour-de-force of modern language, bold social commentary and enigmatic, brooding soundscapes (with the help of some friends like John Zorn and Four Tet). This is a record for NOW and it is as thrilling as it is terrifying.
Watch as Anderson, engineer Mario McNulty and co-producer/husband Lou Reed discuss the album (excerpt from the album’s companion DVD):
Preview the record and purchase it from Nonesuch Records. Also be sure to catch the legendary artist on tour this summer.
Tobacco’s buzzy electronic music is the backdrop to a crude piece of footage featuring everyone’s favorite long-fingered friend in extremely NSFW situations. This is just wrong on so many levels, but watch it anyway. You know you want to, sicko.
Not only did Motown Records release some of the most brilliant and timeless pop music in history during its heyday in the ’60s, but chief Barry Gordy also had the foresight to have his artists record versions of their hits in various languages. The compilation Motown Around the World: The Classic Singles compiles the best of these Italian, Spanish and German versions in a nice, 2-CD set. Have a listen to a track below.
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
Groundbreaking composer Karlheinz Stockhausen, one of the earliest to use electronics, gave an interesting lecture entitled “Four Criteria of Electronic Music” at the Oxford Union at Oxford University in 1972. Check out these two excerpts from the lecture where Stockhausen highlights the anatomy of electronic sound (first video) and speaks to the dehumanization of popular music within the context of human behavior and evolution (second video). No big whoop…
On sounds…
On Human Evolution…
Ok, take it easy Heinzy. The entire lecture is said to be available for mail order purchase via Stockhausen.org (.pdf catalog – yikes! So much for being progressive.)
Nocturne of Exploded Crystal Chandelier, the debut album from one of Philly’s most promising new bands, Sun Airway, will hopefully see the light of day within the year. For now you can (and should) catch the live premiere of their blissful and layered electronic pop at Johnny Brendas in Philly this Thursday, or at Mercury Lounge in NYC on June 28th. Dig some mp3s from the album below:
and despite the video’s title, it sounds like pure EVIL. This is my new ringtone!
“Scientists at Sheffield University in the U.K. have just released what amounts to a recording of what you would hear if you could stand inside the solar corona — the upper layer of the sun’s atmosphere — and it turns out that what you’d hear is music. The simple symphony that fills the corona not only is beautiful but could also could yield new insights into how the sun operates.
The corona is not just the blast wall of heat and light that it seems to be. Rather, it’s filled with vaguely banana-shaped plasma structures known as coronal loops. Measuring up to 60,000 miles (about 100,000 km) long, the loops help keep the corona turbulent and, like ocean currents that eventually produce tidal waves, give rise to the cosmic fireworks known as solar flares…” [Time Online]
In reference to the German V-2 rocket and Kraftwerk’s Florian Schneider, Bowie and Eno penned this progressive, faux-electronic tune “V-2 Schneider” for Bowie’s classic 1977 album Heroes. The ghostly vocal refrain begins as nothing more than a texture, blending in seamlessly with wailing saxophones and a military/motorik beat, but eventually gains a nice clarity. It’s a stellar track, and one that was ahead of its time…
MGMT may have released a rather lackluster new album, but one thing is for sure, the guys have good taste. Case in point, this nice live cover of “Anything Could Happen” on radio station CD101 — originally written and recorded by ’80s New Zealand indie giants The Clean. Check out the original below as well…
NYC duo The Golden Filter will be bringing their Moroder-infused disco beats and lush vocals to Kung Fu Necktie this Saturday night and I do recommend that you catch them. Their performance at this year’s SXSW Urban Back lot party was one of the highlights for me at the fest. Dig an mp3 below:
