May 30, 2007

In the Flesh, as sung by George W. Bush

Pink Floyd's "In the Flesh"

As sung by George W. Bush

So ya
Thought ya
Might like to
Go to Iraq.
To feel that warm thrill of confusion,
That unilateral attack.
I've got some bad news for you sunshine,
George isn't well, he stayed back at the hotel
And they sent us along as a surrogate band
We're gonna find out where you folks really stand.

Are there any Muslims in the theater tonight?
Get them up against the wall!
There's one in the spotlight, he don't look right to me,
Get him up against the wall!
That one looks Arab!
And that one's a Kurd!
Who let all of this riff-raff into my herd?
There's one eating cous cous,
They're upsetting my calm!
If I had my way,
I'd have all of you bombed!

Posted by andrewanissi at 03:23 PM | Comments (0)

April 05, 2007

Sanctuary To Wind Down U.S. Operation

By Chris M. Walsh
Dated: April 04, 2007

SOURCE: Billboard

British independent music company Sanctuary Group Plc will wind down its U.S. label's front-line efforts this summer, but will continue to run a catalog operation, according to a source within the company.

U.K. execs arrived in New York last Thursday (March 29) and alerted staffers the label would be cutting operations by June 30, according to one source at the U.S. label.

For the full article, click here.

Posted by andrewanissi at 09:30 AM | Comments (0)

August 07, 2006

MUSIC REVIEW: The Knife - Silent Shout

REVIEW
OF THIS ALBUM
IS
COMING SOON!

Posted by andrewanissi at 07:37 PM

June 27, 2006

MUSIC: AFX - Chosen Lords - Rephlex

by Patrick McNally
SOURCE: Grooves Magazine

During 2005, Aphex Twin released a series of eleven back-to-basics 12-inches—music created on analog equipment released on an analog format. This would have seemed a retro move if the post-junglist, post-IDM drill-and-bass scene he had become associated with wasn’t exhausted and delimited, and Aphex’s own micro-edited rhythms and hyper-programmed textures hadn’t curdled and congealed. The music on the Analords EPs was an escape, a simplifying of tools and a closing off of the almost wearyingly infinite possibilities of software and hard-disk recording. Chosen Lords does some paring down of it’s own, culling the 41 tracks of the original vinyl releases to a more manageable 10.

Opening track “Fenix Funk 5” stays closest to the modern Aphex model, possibly why it is one of two tracks here credited to the Aphex Twin name. (The rest are all AFX.) Skittery machine breakbeats hiss under energetic bass-driven funk, but stripped of obsessive, tortuous digital chops and folds, the beats recall Richard D. James’ 1992 toytown ’ardkore cash-in, “Pac Man” by Power-Pill, as much as any Richard D. James album glitch-out. “Crying in Your Face” and “Pwsteal.Ldpinch.D” are some of James’ straightest, and straightest-faced, dance tracks ever, with drum and arpeggio patterns reminiscent of the queasy meeting between trance and trip-hop found on the Border Community label.

For the full review, click here.

Posted by andrewanissi at 01:42 PM

February 28, 2006

NYC CLUB REVIEW: PACHA

by Paul Nahm

Pacha

618 W 46th St

(between 11th Ave and the West Side Highway)

New York, NY

(212) 209-7500

Life is about taking chances. It’s also about balance. In this sense, Pacha has been showing great promise. We see the balance in their talent bookings as well as their relationship with local heroes Sleepy & Boo (www.basicnyc.com). The club understands the need for a headliner who can draw crowds and ‘pump up the jam’, but also a strong local customer fan base from the hometown crowd. The venue has been active in these aspects, and has been in control of carving its own image and branding, which is essential for any nightclub. For these reasons, Pacha has become a consistent stop-off point in my party itinerary.

The diverse lineups that Pacha has to offer appeals to a wide demographic, which is key in drawing a large crowd to any one establishment. People choose where to drop their hard earned cheddar for varying reasons, but again, it is ultimately to have a whooping (or in the words of Boo – a woot woot) good time. As any club director will knowingly admit, appeasing everyone is difficult, and finding that middle path while not dumbing down the music is an arduous task that event coordinators must deal with. With that said, we see Pete Heller spearheading the Producers Series on February 25, 2006, and the following week, Pacha brings the German Maestro Timo Maas, with Sleepy & Boo as openers on March 3rd (for an expanded list of upcoming acts, please see below). Important to note, S & B now host events in the refurbished basement, where local disc jockeys are invited to perform sets. Again, we see the strong local aspect of the club’s intentions and this brings a huge draw from the New York metropolitan area.

Continue reading "NYC CLUB REVIEW: PACHA"

Posted by andrewanissi at 11:27 AM

November 21, 2005

Sprint Brings Music Direct to Cellphones, But Price Is Too High

By WALTER S. MOSSBERG
November 17, 2005

The legal music downloading business has taken a big step forward in recent weeks, and I'm not referring to Apple Computer's much-touted move to sell videos on its iTunes Music Store. I'm talking about something that got much less attention: the launch of the first legal music downloading service you can access right from a cellphone.

Some cellphones already are able to play songs copied from computers, or streamed from an online radio-type service. And cellphone carriers have long sold snippets of songs as ringtones, which can be downloaded onto phones. But the new Sprint Music Store, unveiled by Sprint Nextel a couple of weeks ago, is the first service that allows complete songs to be purchased and downloaded directly from a cellphone, without a computer.

This Sanyo 9000 downloads songs.

This is a potentially big deal, because many more people carry cellphones all the time than they do iPods or other portable music players. And they can use their cellphones in places where they can't easily use a PC. The much-touted Apple-Motorola ROKR phone, introduced earlier this fall, doesn't let users access the iTunes store.

I have been testing the new Sprint Music Store and found it works well. The user interface is clean and simple, even on a small screen. The downloads, and playing of previews, are very fast over Sprint's new broadband-class Power Vision network, which is required to use the music store, though it's deployed in only parts of the country so far. Song playback sounded good on both phones I tested.

Unfortunately, Sprint and the record labels have decided to spoil their breakthrough service by setting a stratospheric new price for the legal download of a single song: $2.50. That's 2.5 times the 99 cents that Apple and others charge on their online stores for a better-quality version of the very same song. Right now, Sprint is offering the first five downloads free, but starting with the sixth song, the $2.50-a-song price kicks in. The charges show up on your cellphone bill.

Continue reading "Sprint Brings Music Direct to Cellphones, But Price Is Too High"

Posted by andrewanissi at 08:48 AM

September 12, 2005

The White Hots

In the mood for some good jazz? Check out The White Hots here.

Posted by andrewanissi at 10:42 AM

May 23, 2005

ALBUM REVIEW: Doves - Some Cities

by Andrew A. Anissi

I know it's hip to like the Doves right now, but c'mon, they sound like every other generic brit pop band, as if, before being packaged and shipped to our generation, they were produced on a brit pop assembly line, creativity replaced by the type of mass production we remember from Charlie Chaplain's Modern Times.

Yes, there's a lot of feeling and soul in there, but no unique voice. You'll also find that the catchy tracks like "Black and White Town" are more monotonous than the background scenery in a Flintstones cartoon. Still...there are catchy tracks involved, and, as I said, there is some soul in there, so you might like the album.

Posted by andrewanissi at 12:14 PM

May 07, 2005

ALBUM REVIEW: Miasma and the Carousel of Headless Horses - Perils

Review by Andrew A. Anissi

Ever imagine yourself working deep within a secret, subterranean chamber preparing a ritual to raise to spirit of a long-dead sorceror to learn his alchemical secrets? Or maybe chanting incantations over a bonfire in the middle of a dark forest, attempting to awaken long dormant forces of nature to take rise up and assert their presence in the world? If so, this album would be an appropriate soundtrack to either of those visions. The playful but dramatically forceful tunes of pagan magick brought forth via a medley of harmoniums, autoharps, violins, violas, pianos, organs and glockenspiels, played by the Brits in Miasma and the Carousel of Headless Horses who surely prefer "Old Europe" over the new, brings to mind an occult world that Aleister Crowley would thrive in. Listen for the Eastern European gypsy rhythms mixed into the sounds of Olde English wizardry.

Posted by andrewanissi at 04:32 PM | Comments (0)

April 11, 2005

ALBUM REVIEW: Secret Chiefs 3 - First Grand Constitution and Bylaws

Review by: Andrew A. Anissi

Yes, the Secret Chiefs 3 are an "experimental rock" band according to allmusic.com, and that was also my first guess at a genre for these guys, but what does that mean? In the case of First Grand Constitution and Bylaws - I haven't yet listened to their other albums - I would say the Secret Chiefs 3 play an odd, but pleasingly envigorating and unique fusion of punk rock and classical music, with a theme of ritual and mysticism. The vocals are from Faith No More's Mike Patton, but many of the tracks have no vocals, and this seems to be a secret side project from an unknown world of art waiting to be discovered.

Continue reading "ALBUM REVIEW: Secret Chiefs 3 - First Grand Constitution and Bylaws"

Posted by andrewanissi at 12:19 AM | Comments (0)