Music

Human. Robot.

Based on the trailer, Daft Punk seems to be attempting to channel Kubrick in their upcoming movie, Electroma.

You can view Daft Punk's previous movie, Interstella 5555, IN ITS ENTIRETY below.

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They Don't Make Music Videos Like This Anymore

...but they really should.

AC/DC's "Jailbreak"

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Poor People

With speculation that the price of music may be heading towards zero, it's always interesting (and rare) to see bands releasing their entire albums for free. The Brian Jonestown Massacre does it.

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The Album is Dead; Long Live The Album

This article in the New York Times predicting the end of The Album as we know it got me thinking more closely about what I've been listening to recently, and how I've consciously or not been opting for albums that exist as grander statements than the individuals song they include. While we at the 'drome will treat to you to a fair share of mixes from time to time, which I always love tremendously, they tend to leave me with a feeling that I'm missing something like the scale of the pool the songs swim in. Three albums I've been listening to recently are good examples of artists or bands exploring the Album as a form in and of itself: Arcade Fire's "Neon Bible," Andrew Bird's "Armchair Apocrypha" and Ry Cooder's "My Name Is Buddy."

While each of these albums contain some derivative sounding songs -- Neon Bible sounds like it could have been written in Asbury Park, Andrew Bird sounds like he's Running on Empty, and Ry Cooder is channeling Woody Guthrie, Pete Seeger, and every other folk revivalist of the last half century -- each artist or band puts its stamp on the songs by weaving them into a larger context of themes and stories. In its own way, each album is a testament to the Album as an art-form and the valiant, never-ending struggle against an ever-diminishing attention span. Each has already established itself as a personal favorite of 2007. (Continue for download.)

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33.3333333333333333333

Every few years, Continuum Publishing issues a bevy of new titles in its 33 and a Third book series. Each title is dedicated to a single (and singular) album that strikes a deep, resonant chord in popular culture, with an emphasis on America and the UK. From dissections of Neil Young's Harvest to Pink Floyd's Piper at the Gates of Dawn, each book provides insight to albums people are seriously passionate about. To have written one and have it published is like having a championship belt in music criticism -- it doesn't mean you're "the best" at what you do, but it's definitely a trophy.

Earlier this week they issued their next batch of books to be published. The list includes Funkadelic: Maggot Brain, Slayer: Reign in Blood, and Fleetwood Mac: Tusk, and others. Also, John Darnielle of the Mountain Goats will be writing the book on Black Sabbath's Master of Reality.

There is some concern, however, that among the 21 titles in this round, the selections skew male. For instance, Tori Amos is the only female performer (if you don't include Fleetwood Mac which had two female members). And there are only a handful of other female musicians considered in the series as a whole.

I don't want to hypothesize about the cause for this gender bias. But I thought that it was worth pointing out because it is so pervasive in the culture and marketing of popular and indie music. I also don't want to blame the publishers. While they may take most of the flak for this bias, their choices were limited by a public RFP issued weeks earlier, and perhaps those submissions skewed male.

In either case, I'm excited for the next round to come out in 2008 and 2009.

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The Suckfest Begins The Aural Assault On Your Eyes

About six years ago I started the Indie Rock Suckfest, a small and scrappy but apocalyptically powerful radio show, that was originally sandwiched between the Classic Country and Gospel shows on Sunday mornings from 6-8 am. Needless to say, no one listened when it began. Over the years the line-up swelled (including several on the Cosmodrome staff), the hours got better, listenership increased, and its place in history was cemented. After stepping down the reigns were left in the rockingly capable and never culpable hands of several, including Zeke Sulkes and Josherman. Finally, the Suckfest has proven itself well worthy of a documentary. And I have to say: it's about damn time.
Suckfest 4 Lyfe !!!!:

The Indie Rock Suckfest incinerates your eardrums Monday night/Tuesday mornings 2:00-3:30 AM central.
89.3 FM Evanston - Chicago
www.wnur.org

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A Sweet Summer's Night on YouTube: An Incomplete Survey of Swedish Music Videos (Pt. III)

Wrapping things up, here are five of the most memorable moments in Swedish (World?) history.

Europe: "The Final Countdown"

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A Sweet Summer's Night on YouTube: An Incomplete Survey of Swedish Music Videos

From Sweden's Wikipedia entry:
The Kingdom of Sweden (Swedish: Konungariket Sverige) is a Nordic country in Scandinavia. It is bordered by Norway in the west, Finland in the northeast, the Skagerrak Strait and the Kattegat Strait in the southwest, and the Baltic Sea and the Gulf of Bothnia in the east. Sweden has a low population density except in its metropolitan areas, with most of the inland consisting of forests. The country has large natural resources of water, timber, and iron ore. Its citizens enjoy a high standard of living in a country that is generally perceived as clean, modern, and liberal.

As Jules noted in Pulp Fiction: "Oh, man, I'm goin', that's all there is to it -- I'm fuckin' goin'."

But wait... there's more. Over the years, Sweden has given us some of the greatest (and kitschiest) music Europe has to offer. Inspired by The Knife's amazing music video oeuvre, here's an incomplete survey of the greatest Swedish music videos that YouTube has graciously provided, broken down into five mostly meaningless categories: The Knife & its Derivatives, Pop, Rock, Popular or Shitty or Both?, and Classics.

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A Sweet Summer's Night on YouTube: An Incomplete Survey of Swedish Music Videos (Pt. II of III)

For those of you that don't like The Knife, hopefully you'll find some good stuff here. In fact, I know you will.

Pop
A few years ago, when the Concretes came out with "You Can't Hurry Love", I was sure it was going to be one of those breakout pop hits in the mode of the Cardigans' "Lovefool" or Sixpence None The Richer's "Kiss Me". Alas, I was wrong. Still, it's a nice catchy pop tune.

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Will Reggaeton Find a New Beat?

The weather around Cosmodrome HQ has been getting warmer as of late and that means only one thing: Reggaeton. Apartment windows open up, car windows roll down, and soon all the streets are filled with crashing waves of Latin dance music that had been formerly concealed by winter weather. Don't get us wrong, we're into Reggaeton - it makes us feel all woozy inside.

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