“If you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em” seems to be the operative adage in Green Label Sound‘s philosophy. In this modern age of file sharing and ADD-style consumption of music thanks to the almighty blogosphere, we live in a culture dominated and dictated by “the single” (this really goes without saying). As record companies and album sales feel the heat, Green Label got with the program; backed by Mountain Dew (yes, Mountain Dew), GLS showcases independent artists through releasing exclusive tracks for a free download. After the success of working with dance duo Matt and Kim and The Cool Kids, Flosstradamus got the fateful tap on the shoulder to release an original collaboration track, a first for both the label and the Chicago DJ duo.
Josh Young and Curt Cameruci (J2K and Autobot, respectively)—renowned for their high energy DJ sets and ability to keep bodies moving on the dance floor the whole night through—saw this as their opportunity to showcase the softer side of Flosstradamus. For this, they turned to indie darling Caroline Polachek of the Brooklyn-based band Chairlift, whose song “Bruises” tickled the hearts of many after being featured in one of those career-making iPod commercials. The result of this collaboration is “Big Bills,” a song with a certain je ne sais quoi-type elegance both in its vocals and production, an addictive hook, and a darker message than its sugary-sweet surface seems to suggest.
“We knew we wanted to make it a dance track and make it a little more poppier than a lot of our other stuff. And it was for the ladies, to be honest. We wanted to make something more dance floor-friendly and a little bit more on the girl-pop end of things. And [Caroline] was perfect for it,” says Young.
Wow, this commercial just makes me feel satisfied. Ty Evans of Lakai Fully Flared (edit: BEST video since Fulfill the Dream) fame directed it, with Brazilian Bob Burnquist having the fun.
Whew, after a week cavorting with Sea Lions on the California coast, followed by a weekend soaking UV in Delray Beach, landing back in Detroit seems like a perceptive examination of the color gray.
Gray skies, gray roads, gray trees, gray grass, gray, gray, gray. The ashen forecast got me pretty thrilled to move to Austin in a few months and not deal with slush anymore.
LUCKILY MJ is coming to save the World. But seriously, the best name he could come up with for the tour is ‘This Is It’? You’d think after creative euphemisms like “Jesus Juice” and “this is what friends do!” he could have come up with something better…
After spending a week in 70+ weather frolicking with aquatic life, the single digit temp reading in Detroit seems enigmatic… far too frigid for my frail figure. This coupled with a day spent stationary at the Shapiro trying to catch up on 6 weeks worth of rigid body diagrams, static equilibriums, structural analysis’, shear forces and bending moments (ugh) make me really want to start summer.
But wait, Eastbound and Down is on tonight! This makes up for everything.
The outright crude humor of this new HBO series is exactly what I think Sunday night needs, straying from the restrained, sometimes recurrent humor of Flight of the Conchords. Check a clip below.
And some tracks I’ve been studying to for a while.
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And a tribute to the late 80s and utterly comely go-go boys:
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I recently purchased a Snuggie blanket. I think my buy had something to do with the idea of comfort ingrained in my subconsciuos night after night through those euphoric infomercials. Needless to say, after 8 weeks of waiting in anticipation for its delivery and the consequently life altering effect of being able to pick up my land line phone while maintaining warm appendages, my Burgandy Snuggie arrived. Immediately, the clouds parted, the snow melted, and the perenialls in my backyard began to bloom.
Well, not really. This parody video sums up my thoughts well.
I would like to take a brief moment to welcome Bradley Bennett Friedman aka C’mon C’mon! to America, and the network, as he will now be posting on the regular here at roubalot.com.
For those who are unfamiliar with Mr. Friedman, he is the leader of Squirrel Genocide in Metro Detroit, an unarmed militia dedicated to the unpeaceful extinction of squirrells, as he once had a dream in which he transmutated into a human size squirrel and had to battle Master Splinter. Needless to say, Splinter had his way with Brad’s new furry figure, changing his mores and views on wildlife forever. He woke up, and henceforth dedicated his life to getting back at the mammal which haunts his dreams until this day.
Just kidding! Here’s to you cap’n Brad!
And what about Joaquin Phoenix… it’s tough to say – hoax or genuine?
Check him out in new form. Best part of this is Letterman’s Unabomber comment… I remember getting that same comment 3 years ago from some football player bros here in Ann Arbor. It cracked me up then, and evidently, Unabomber jokes are timeless.
I stumbled on this song while listening to some hood rich podcast on East Village Radio a few days ago. The verse was stuck in my head for three mornings straight, so naturally, I had to give it a look up.
I can’t tell if it’s remotely good, or just plain crap, but it’s so damn catchy!!! I love it.
Some sad news for the history books. Lux Interior of The Cramps died this week of his long standing heart condition. As the joint (with his wife Ivy) leader of The Cramps, Lux pretty much defined (if not invented) Psychobilly, as well as providing rock’n‘roll with some of its most entertaining music, outfits and visuals.
I’m no authority on The Cramps – I only own a couple of their many albums – but from the quality and flamboyance of what I know, I can honestly say that the world will be a more boring place for the loss of Lux. The following footage is a strong testimonial to that:
After a 24 hour outing of debauchery in the less than embracing town of Cleveland, OH, followed by serious indigestion from the Arbys I forced us to eat on the way home, I spent the remainder of the day playing catchup on work (zoning out in the Shapiro Undergraduate Library, fabricating new skits for the mini-film, Randy, and perusing the information superhighway). While doing so, a real gem arose from the muck of mundane.
I stumbled upon Ace Frehley’s new official online home. Channeling the year 1995 for his aesthetic motif, Space Ace is undoubtedly riding a virtual rocket ship into the future with this one.
Can’t forget about the Smoking Guitar Solo… Perhaps the longest guitar solo in rock and roll history (this is part 1 of 3), get ready for Mr. Space to launch you into an uncharted solo shredding universe!
