I NEED SUGAR
JAN29/2010
TOP 50 TRACKS OF THE NAUGHTIES, 36 THROUGH 40
Continuing the decade review, tracks 36 through 40.
Naughties.40 The Postal Service - Such Great Heights (John Tejada Remix) John Tejada was prolific throughout the decade, but nothing compares to his remix of Such Great Heights. So subtle, it draws you right in. The original sounds like happy hardcore after hearing this version. From 2003.
Naughties.39 The Kooks - Sofa Song The punchiest, danciest, singalongiest acoustic song of the decade. Just plain fun. From 2005.
Naughties.38 Silversun Pickups - Lazy Eye (Curtis Vodka Edit) Curtis Vodka tossed out a whole whack of bootleg mixes on his MySpace page back in the day, this was the best of the lot. The added kick and percussion ups the intensity of the original and makes for great dance floor fodder. From 2007.
Naughties.37 Deep Dish - Dreams featuring Stevie Nicks Kindly reviving one of the great tracks of the 70's and having Stevie Nicks sing on it, no less. (There's a great story behind that, too.) This song was great even before 2006's Montreal club excursion, but hearing this on a big room system at 4:00a. Epic!
Naughties.36 Underworld - Dinosaur Adventure 3D (Funk D'Void Vocal Remix) Funk D'Void's remix warms up Underworld's banging techno track, opting to focus on synths over the heavy bass line of the original. A top progressive vibe. From 2002.
JAN28/2010
TOP 50 TRACKS OF THE NAUGHTIES, 41 THROUGH 45
Continuing the decade review, tracks 41 through 45.
Naughties.45 Pearl Jam - Sad Every once in a while Pearl Jam remember what it is to rock with conviction. From 2000, their best song about lost love since Black.
Naughties.44 Miike Snow - Animal Can't say enough about Miike Snow's Animal. Rhythm, melody and melancholy. Simple but precious pop song. From 2009.
Naughties.43 Bent - Waiting For You featuring Simon Lord (Danny Howells Remix) Simon Lord followed 2006's massive Simian success by collaborating with Groove Armada and Bent in '07. Danny Howell's epic remix of Bent's Waiting for You was a nice precursor to the Black Ghosts and, along with Groove Armada's The Things That We Could Share, really cemented Simon Lord as the king of earnest dance rock vocals.
Naughties.42 Ida Maria - Going to Hell Singing along to damnation never felt so right. Inexplicably not included on her album release, Ida Maria's chant friendly Going to Hell. From 2007.
Naughties.41 Babak Shayan - Flowers Warm and soulful with a light vocal mid-track pause. Good late night vibe and great loud. Deep house at it's finest. From 2004.
JAN27/2010
TOP 50 TRACKS OF THE NAUGHTIES, 46 THROUGH 50.
The first decade of the new millennium was a great decade for music, as noted in this article on my personal blog which was inspired by Street Boner's 90s lament." So, what better way to celebrate this much improved decade than by counting down I Need Sugar's best.
Starting with number 50 and working our way up. Here we go!
50. Underworld - Trim "Sugar. Sugar. Clear your mind. Leave it all behind." Nice vocal synth pop off Underworld's underrated 2002 release.
49. Ada - Maps (Michael Mayer & Tobias Thomas Mix) Before my '06/07 infatuation with Yeah Yeah Yeahs there was Michael Myer's remix of Ada's Maps cover. Glorious DJ track from 2005.
48. Cut Copy - Future Marks the early 2000's punchy crossover tracks and a sign of things to come from Australia. Sounds even better sped up. From 2004.
47. The Organ - I Am Not Surprised The Organ's stoic live shows came to an end following their Drake underground European sendoff. They'll be missed.
46. Kings of Convenience - Scars on Land Decade long folk kings, KoC channeled the best of Simon and Garfunkel but were always at their best when they played to their own rhythm.
JAN20/2010
PAINTING TO MODELING, NIGHTLIFE TO LIGHTLIFE.
Born in Helsinki, Reka Nyari has had a circuitous journey through the northern hemisphere. Originally landing in NYC to dedicate herself to painting at the School of Visual Arts, she increasingly found herself drawn to photography throughout her post-graduate time modeling throughout Europe and Asia before heading back to NYC. Beginning with post night life point and shoot self portraits, you can see her growth as a photographer browsing through her flickr stream. And it's these original self portraits that prompted this article.
The Artists Wanted Power of Self image competition concludes this week. A panel of judges including Steve Buscemi, Chris Weitz, Guggenheim curator Helen Hsu and Flavorpill founder Sascha Lewis will award one artist six months of free living at The Edge in New York City, while the top public vote getter will be awarded $1000. Reka's Self Image series consists of these original black and white night life photos. Have a look at Reka's great photography here, then browse to her Artists Wanted page to vote for her.
All photos copyright Reka Nyari. Used with permission.
JAN20/2010
PHILOSOPHY NEVER LOOKED SO GOOD.
Kudos to Harper Collins for taking a subject not typically associated with design and ratcheting up the quality level for the covers of their philosophy books. Found in their Modern Thought series, each one of these stands on its own; together, they're like a history lesson in modern design, beginning in 1927 with Heidegger's Being and Time. The Kant and Wittgenstein covers are particularly daring. Enjoy!
JAN13/2010
SHUFFLE MUSEY 01
The challenge: Go to iTunes DJ, delete all the songs, change the source to your entire music library, turn off the setting "Play higher rated music more often", hit Refresh. Grab about an hour worth of music, in sequence, and mix the tracks. You can change the order, but you have to use all the songs.
The fun: up until just a few hours ago I hadn't heard 13 of these tracks. Some of them are great. And then there's the podcast about God.
Here's the full track list:
01 Tom Waits - Medley: Jack & Neal - California, Here I Come 1977
02 Stereo MC's - Gringo (Ragged & Ruthless) 2008
03 Edan - Rapperfection 2002
04 Massive Attack - Teardrop featuring Elizabeth Fraser 1998
05 Sonic Youth - Crème Brûlée 1992
06 Bruno Pronsato/Anonymous - The Make Up The Break Up Part 1 2009 / God The Sequel Podcast
07 The Legendary Pink Dots - Small Anthem 1997
08 Herb Alpert & The Tijuana Brass - Tangerine 1965
09 Mali Music - Le Relax 2002
10 Cesaria Evora - Paraiso Di Atlantico 1999
11 Badmarsh & Shri - Get up 2001
12 Client - In It For The Money (Radio Session) 2006
13 The Spinto Band - Needlepoint 2008
14 The Spongetones - She Goes Out With Everybody 1994
15 Big Sugar - AAA Aardvark Hotel 1993
16 Funk La Planet All-Stars - Summertime (DJ Fudge Dub) 2007
17 Simulator - Progression 2002
And here's the download link. Enjoy!