By popular demand, I am bringing back the Hodge Podge this week. I will not go so far as to say that it is back for good, but it is here again today. Partly because I would hate to let Brian down and partly because it seem the most efficient manner in which to post a few tracks that I have been meaning to get up for a while now. Let's get it on…
I've been sleeping on this Soars track for weeks now and I'm not really sure why. I totally dig the song as well as the folks who sent it to me, so I feel that is my TGIF-ly duty to send it off into the ether today. It is also worth mentioning that the Pennsylvania outfit will be playing their first ever NYC show tonight at Glasslands Gallery in Brooklyn. Unfortunately I cannot make it, but if any of you are reading this while finalizing your plans for the evening I would advocate checking them out. "Throw Yourself Apart" is big, lush, orchestral and spacey and I can't imagine a scenario in which it wouldn't rock live. Their record doesn't drop until October, but if you can get yourself to Glasslands tonight you can tell all your friends that you found them before they got huge. Here is the low down on the show; Soars plays at 9pm so don't be tardy to the party:
PopGun Presents…
How To Dress Well, Golden Filter, Secret Guest, SOARS
DATE: Friday, August 13th
TIME: Doors/Show at 9:00 pm
VENUE: Glasslands Gallery
VENUE ADDRESS: 289 Kent Ave., Brooklyn, NY 11211
SUBWAYS: Bedford Ave. [L Train], Marcy Ave. [J, M, Z train]
I don't particularly care for instrumental music, but I do like Richard Swift. I also like it when a record label pulls off a cool concept. As such, I am applying the Meatloaf philosophy (you know, that whole two out of three thing) to Mr. Swift's latest project. It's part of Asthmatic Kitty's Library Catalog Music Series, in which a host of artists produce instrumental records that provide a soundtrack for the minutiae of life. The idea of packaging and selling elevator music to hipsters makes me chuckle, thus I approve. Swift's foray into the project is called Music for Paradise Armor, which sounds more romantic than it really is. To me it sounds a bit like a robot beating on a Congo drum in a bathroom with a dripping faucet. I guess all sorts of wild stuff was used to make this record, but I'm pretty sure I could record something similar using only the current contents of the junk drawer in my kitchen. Either way, it's interesting and certainly worth checking out.
Instruments of Science & Technology (Richard Swift) – Old Hanshakes
When considering the vault today, I was inspired by a conversation Kevin and I had last Saturday afternoon with a fellow music enthusiast over a few PBR's at Union Pool. Typically whenever the topic turns to hip-hop I just keep my mouth shut, sip my drink, and wait for the dust to clear. For me, hip-hop is the conversational equivalent to politics or religion for most people. I'm not sure why that is, but I'm pretty sure it has something to do with Puff Daddy. I actually grew up listening to Run DMC, N.W.A., Geto Boys and the like almost as much as I listened to Poison (almost). Somewhere along the way the genre got away from me, but from time to time I get a bit nostalgic for it. I dabbled in some Tribe Called Quest and The Roots in college, but those years were largely dominated by 2Pac and Biggie blasting over the speakers at our frat parties. From there I tried (briefly) to diversify into what I consider slightly more "authentic" hip-hop (stuff like Roots Manuva and J Dilla), but that didn't last long. All of this to say that I gave a rare listen to the seven hip-hop tracks in my iTunes library earlier this week. This was one of them, and as of this moment I am convinced that it might be the greatest hip-hop song ever written. It's Danger Mouse, it's MF Doom, it's about the cartoon characters from Adult Swim, and it's fucking awesome.
