The Right Track

Somehow it makes perfect sense to us that in a year where the virtual world of Avatar reigned supreme at the movies, virtual band Gorillaz would return on the scene with their most cinematic sounding album yet. The brainchild of Damon Albarn (of Britpop band Blur) and Tank Girl comic-book illustrator Jamie Hewlett, Gorillaz’s third album Plastic Beach shows an evolution since their previous effort five years ago, the double platinum Demon Days. On the one hand Albarn helms the songwriting, production, singing and playing like before, but he also manages to cull an eclectic group of cameos including Snoop Dogg, De La Soul, Mos Def and Lou Reed. Then there’s the sound, which ditches much of the pop of its predecessors, instead giving a film-like feel brimming with world music and electronic textures—and like a movie, it also tells a bit of a story, taking listeners on a submerged trip to the Plastic Beach world. (It’s hard to pull out specific singles as each song almost needs to be heard in its own utterly brilliant, cohesive musical context). The video for “Stylo” shows promise that the new crop of videos will be just as star studded and cinematic as the music—this one includes a car-chase scene in the desert featuring Bruce Willis and loads of special effects including Harry Potter Dementor-like creatures. Look for the band to headline the final night of the infamous Coachella music festival in California on April 18th. continue reading »

Veteran underground dance DJ/Producer Chris Staropoli a.k.a. That Kid Chris hits the decks at Club 57 on Saturday, March 13 to celebrate the release of this new CD, Morning Rush, due March 30. continue reading »

Cascading in this week is angelic San Francisco house songstress Samantha James with a brand-new single, “Waves of Change.”  Riding the wave is another SF music maven, DJ/remixer/producer Kaskade, who shores up a slew of remixes on the track. Admittedly, we don’t feel like it comes close to James’ amazing previous efforts like “Rise” and “Breathe You In” (the melody here is a bit clunky), but we still have high hopes for her upcoming sophomore album, Subconscious. continue reading »

VJ TonyBuilt spins video, ranging from Lady Gaga to Liza (and his own unique video mash-ups) every Sunday at Score in the Luxe Suite at Lucky Strike Lanes (624 W 42nd St) beginning Sunday, March 14. continue reading »

It’s hard to miss Bitch, even if you’ve never met her before and aren’t familiar with her from her early 2000s punk-folk duo, Bitch and Animal. The multi-colored dreadlocks she’s worn for most of her career have been replaced by a spiky jet-black haircut, but she’s still unmistakable. For our interview at Paradise Café in Chelsea she’s wearing a neon pink cowl-neck number, chunky pink geometric earrings that don’t match, a gauzy bustle and red fingerless driving gloves—a recent rediscovery. “Don’t you love it when you rediscover fashion?” she asks, eyes twinkling. continue reading »

After their song “Evacuate the Dancefloor” proved to do anything but—being one of last year’s dance-floor favorites—Eurodance group Cascada is back. The album Evacuate the Dancefloor was just released this past August, and they already have a new album coming out. New song “Pyromania” is said to be the first single. Similar to “Evacuate,” the song bites Lady Gaga’s sound (not necessarily a bad thing), though we don’t find it as enticing as their last single. After all, we want to evacuate before a pyromaniac actually sets us on fire! continue reading »

DJ Tikka Masala delivers the fresh beats at monthly party Fresh Friday at Bushwick’s cute Tandem bar and That’s My Jam at The Bell House every third Saturday of the month. Check out DJTikka.com for details. continue reading »

 
It seems damn near everyone is launching a comeback these days, and somehow it’s always tied into a reality show. In fact, we could make our own reality show about all the former-big-names-turned-small-names going onto reality shows to try and become a big name again. Though surely VH1 did something like that already… continue reading »

DJ Jonathan Warman spins fruity rock nuggets, the cream of indie electro pop and disco utopia at Nowhere Bar’s Homo Superior on Sunday, February 28 and every fourth Sunday of the month. continue reading »

In this era of reality television, when stars will do anything from documenting their plastic surgery to giving blowjobs in front of the camera, it’s an outright novelty when a celebrity can retain any air of mystery. Fantastically, the mystery of Sade remains safe and intact as she nears 30 years in the recording arts. And one thing has held true—she’s been able to totally vanish for great lengths of time (never seen on a red carpet and rarely surfacing in a tabloid) and always reemerge to sell millions of records and gain critical acclaim before disappearing again. An amazing feat! continue reading »