Daft Punk

Posted on March 14, 2013 by Andrew Eidson

Recently the French electronic dance band Daft Punk posted a 15 second short on Saturday Night Live. Presumably, it was an advertisement for a new album. The background music is more funky, and less noisy than their most recent releases.

Some have speculated they may be going back to a sound more reminiscent of “Discovery” from 2001.

What interests me is the approach of the advertisement. Usually a band just tweets or blogs, but this was a full-blown advertisement on national television. It went viral, alright. Scouring Youtube, I’ve already seen tons of remixes and 10 minute loops of the fifteen second clip.

Needless to say, I’m rather excited about a new Daft Punk release.

I remember going to a CD Warehouse in Laurel, MD and picking up a copy of “Homework” back in the day. It was pretty much my first techno album I had ever owned alongside a Kraftwerk album.

I really enjoyed “Discovery,” but everything seemed to go downhill after that. “Human After All” was recorded in six weeks and it showed. Then they did the soundtrack for Tron 2.0. It was not bad, but soundtracks are not wholly representative of a band’s creative output. Continue reading →

Ke$ha – Warrior

Posted on December 6, 2012 by Andrew Eidson

I’ve been a Ke$ha fan for quite some time now, and I’ve been really excited for her latest release “Warrior.”

I had first seen a lyric video for Die Young a few months ago and was not impressed. In fact, I had low hopes for the following album.

Eventually, the song began to grow on me.

At first, I thought it wasn’t danceable enough. You know, I was holding Ke$ha to that double standard. I wanted a certain kind of song, and I was used to getting it. Die Young is definitely no Blow, which still remains to be my favorite song/video combination. Continue reading →

Linkin Park – Living Things

Posted on June 28, 2012 by Andrew Eidson

Growing up with Linkin Park being one of the big acts, I was apprehensive about reviewing their new album, Living Things. It would be all too easy to poke fun of their alleged fan base. You know the type, the adolescent emo-kids, the wannabe tough types, and other white trash types. At least, that’s the stereotype.

But that might be unwarranted; with each new release there are fewer and fewer reasons to poke fun of Linkin Park. The juvenile anger from their initial album has all but gone away.

Over the years, Linkin Park has nearly perfected the art of mixing electronic music, rap, and elements of rock into one commercial musical enterprise. They are one of the few bands who come close to “rock music” and are still played on pop radio stations.

Linkin Park’s sound has matured. It hasn’t become stale, but rather has reached its boiling point. Where will they go from here? Continue reading →

Madonna – MDNA

Posted on May 12, 2012 by Andrew Eidson

Madonna is finally getting on to the bandwagon that she helped create with her incredibly addicting new album MDNA.

Comparing Madonna to Lady Gaga is overdone. I remember when Lady Gaga first appeared in the public eye, and comparisons were dramatically flooding the media. Back then I was inclined to agree. Lady Gaga’s music at the time seemed like a natural progression of the dance-pop Madonna had been putting out for years (let’s forget that Europe and Mexico had been putting out similar music for the last 10 years prior).

With MDNA I feel that the sphere of influence has come full circle. Girl Gone Wild is the obvious Lady Gaga-inspired sort of song, from the dramatic opening to the chorus and the hooks.

Also, Britney Spears appears to have some influence in Give Me All Your Luvin’, though this is heavily debatable. Not everyone agrees with me, but I cannot help but pick up Femme Fatale-era vibes from the song. Continue reading →

Neon Indian

Posted on April 17, 2012 by Andrew Eidson

Neon Indian has been showing up a lot lately on Facebook via the Spotify music application.

Many indie artists these days are throwbacks with an 80s dance influence. Neon Indian sounds that way at first, but then sounds more like a unique brand of offbeat, low-key, dance-rock.

A lot of music in that style tends to bother me, but Neon Indian does its own thing. Truth be told, it sounds like a bedroom producer who became ten times more professional over night. It sounds excellent, but still has some cheesy dance numbers you’d expect to hear from an Internet dance artist. Continue reading →

Beats Antique

Posted on February 14, 2012 by Andrew Eidson

Blind Threshold, by Beats Antique, is one of those electronic albums that uses as many instruments as it can to create a vibrant atmosphere. Imagine something like Muslimgauze meets Bond, but slower and with far fewer strings.

In fact, Blind Threshold reminds me more of Muslimgauze than anything. The album is mostly Middle Eastern dance music, with the band trying a little bit of this and a little bit of that. Continue reading →

Florrie

Posted on November 20, 2011 by Michael K. Eidson

Album Cover for Introduction, by Florrie I discovered Florrie’s music on Last.fm, while playing one of their similar artists radio stations. Usually when I listen to Last.fm radio, I’m also focused on something else, programming or writing or reading. I don’t give all of my attention to the songs that play on Last.fm radio, because typically either they are songs I’m already familiar with or they have no standout qualities. But sometimes a song I’ve never heard before grabs my attention. I have to stop what I’m doing and check out the song and album titles, see who the artist is, see if the track is available for legal download, and search the web for other info about the artist and their music. That’s exactly what happened when Call of the Wild by Florrie popped up on Last.fm radio a few weeks ago.

<a href="http://ownimusic.bandcamp.com/track/call-of-the-wild-by-florrie">Call of the Wild by Florrie by Florrie</a>

Continue reading →

Renard – Nice People

Posted on November 15, 2011 by Andrew Eidson

I had never sat down and listened to a full Renard album, but something just seemed attractive about an album titled Nice People.

I had heard some of his spin-off projects, but never anything from the DJ mastermind himself. I chose this one due to its description: “A selection of audio inspired by unforgettable times with unforgettable creatures.” I follow this guy on twitter and tumblr, so I figured I might understand some of the references.

I only understood one, and that’s Jokes Don’t Die So Easy. I’ll get to that later. Continue reading →

My Top 110 Music Artists, #2

Posted on August 2, 2011 by Michael K. Eidson

At #2 is the female vocalist who racked up 10 #1 hits on the US Hot 100 faster than any other solo artist, and faster than any other acts in Billboard history except the Beatles and the Supremes. She’s also the youngest artist to place 10 singles at #1 on the US Hot 100. Her music is a mix of pop, R&B, dance, hip-hop, and reggae, and all sexy. Continue reading →

Pop Then and Pop Now: Or How I Learned To Stop Worrying And Love The Dance Floor

Posted on July 23, 2011 by Andrew Eidson

Lately, I’ve noticed that a fair number of pop artists have significantly changed their styles over the last decade and a half. I will document this for you with a barrage of videos that demonstrate just what I’m talking about. Continue reading →

Mystic Sounds

A Spotlight on Music

Tag Archives: dance

Daft Punk

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Ke$ha – Warrior

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Linkin Park – Living Things

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Madonna – MDNA

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Neon Indian

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Beats Antique

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Florrie

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Renard – Nice People

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My Top 110 Music Artists, #2

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Pop Then and Pop Now: Or How I Learned To Stop Worrying And Love The Dance Floor

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