One of my oldest friends just moved from New York City to Antwerp, its polar opposite in almost every way – quiet, clean, sleepy – and it seemed fitting to pull out LCD Soundsystem‘s “North American Scum.” It’s off their brilliant album Sound of Silver and is a tongue-in-cheek look at the differences between Europe […]
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2007 in review: LCD Soundsystem
November 22, 2007It’s Thanksgiving in the US, which means I can start thinking about the year 2007 in music. Without question, “All My Friends,” by LCD Soundsystem (off the brilliant album, Sound of Silver) was my defining song for this year. Using an evening out as a framing device, James Murphy incisively considers growing older while finding […]
z=z at Tourfilter Night, Thurs Sept 16
September 15, 2010Cambridge! Somerville! Boston! Allston Rock City! Late notice, but I’m guest DJing at Tourfilter‘s monthly residency at River Gods, just outside Central Square, Cambridge this week: Thursday, September 16th, and the festivities start at 9 pm. Same drill as last time: my playlist is composed entirely of songs from artists with shows lined up for […]
Crowdsourcing the “I Hate [City]” playlist
February 3, 2010Despite being dedicated urban dwellers, a couple of my friends and I started talking about songs that express an antipathy toward cities; in particular, songs that expressed a dislike for a specific city. We have a starter set (see below), but I thought I’d crowdsource it a bit – can you think of songs that […]
Video: Kermit the Frog, “New York I Love You But You’re Bringing Me Down”
December 4, 2008[embedded YouTube link; if you can’t view it, click here] This one’s for Scott. Make sure you watch through the end for a surprise. EDIT: YouTube pulled the video at EMI’s request; you can see the video here. Thanks to Scott for pointing this out in the comments. [via Brooklyn Vegan]
Threesome: Namecheck nation
September 9, 2008[embedded YouTube video; if you can’t see it, click here] Three songs that namecheck bands, with three different intentions. The Dead Milkmen had a minor college radio hit in 1987 with their song, “Instant Club Hit (You’ll Dance to Anything),” which lampoons listeners of a number of (iterated) post-punk bands, such as The Communards. The […]
Release notes: The Faint, Fasciinatiion
August 18, 2008I find it quite remarkable that Omaha, Nebraska’s Saddle Creek Records could have birthed three different bands with such different sounds. Conor Oberst and Bright Eyes have the emo-folk thing, Cursive the harder indie sound, and The Faint write dance-y electro-pop. Or maybe dance-y electro-indie-punk would be a better description – it has considerably more […]
Prepping for the big score
April 12, 2008I was prepared to hate the movie 21, partly because the trailer suggests that the movie is entirely unlike the book, but mostly because they shut down the People’s Republik and Harvard Bridge for several nights for filming (I really hope there is a kick-ass car chase on the bridge, not just a touching love […]
Coverage: The Main Drag, “All My Friends”
March 8, 2008I should add to my previous post that The Main Drag endeared themselves to me forever when they chose to cover LCD Soundsystem’s “All My Friends” for Coke Machine Glow (I kind of like that song). Their version loses the staccato piano and swaps out James Murphy’s world-weary but assertive voice for the straight-up emotion […]
Capturing the zeitgeist
January 11, 2008Apparently, I’m not the only person who thinks that LCD Soundsystem’s “All My Friends” is the defining song for the year. Pitchfork’s Top 10 Singles of 2007. “Someone Great,” also off Sound of Silver, is at number 7.
Read: The Pitchfork 500
January 22, 2009The Pitchfork 500, subtitled “Our Guide to the Greatest Songs from Punk to the Present,” is an excellent example of the upstart music criticism website using its powers for good, not for evil. Covering the period from 1977 to 2006 (with a few late-breaking tracks from 2007 snuck in, including z=z fave “All My Friends“), […]
zed equals zee 