Above all I admire the casting for this rendition of Scarface. Tony Montana is excellent.

Daedelus and the 256 Bits (or: Buttons)

This past Friday, I caught Daedelus at Loda, a weekly event at Gallery in Silver Spring, Maryland.

There were other artists performing and they were all quite good, but I went to see Daedelus and I was not disappointed. Well, not entirely. There were some sound issues that dragged his set downwards, but otherwise, it was an excellent performance.

One thing that I thought very impressive was his set up- only a Macbook and two Monomes, one with 64 buttons and another with 256. To say only is a bit of an understatement. All three are impressive pieces of hardware by themselves. Strung together, they're even more impressive.

Daedelus was running his beats off of the 64 button Monome and all of his melodies, samples and various noises of all types off of the other, mashing any number of the 256 buttons to create each song. Watching him, it almost seemed impossible that he might remember where anything was- the buttons on the Monome carrying no indication, save for a basic on/off feature whereby the user knows if a sample is active, if an LED is lit or not. All real, specific indication of use comes from the software used, which can be anything, really. I'm not sure exactly what Daedelus was using on Friday night, but he was getting results.

The crowd was bouncing around, even with the sound problems and going wild for nearly every stitch of sound that tore through the air.

An excellent show, all around.

How I spent my tax refund (well part of it)

The cold knife of taxes jiggles in my side like a key in the wrong lock, but once a year I get my comeupance in the form of my tax return. Here are the things that devoured my return as soon as it entered my account.

1. 1 - case of Hitachino Nest Beer - White. A couple years back a friend recommended Hitachino beer and since then I have been ruined to all other beers. This Japanese import is truly the nectar of the gods. It's a sweet and sour Belgian White beer that is uniquely mouth watering. Most of the local stores stopped carrying it several months back (from a lack of distribution and the worsening economy) therefore, this came only by way of special order. Normally I can't justify paying almost $5 per 12 oz bottle unless it's a rare import at a classy bar, but this is what the refund is for, right? To blow it immediately? Here's to jump-starting the economy.


2. 27 - LPs, 8 - 45s. Before things got too crowded at the DC Record Fair this weekend I was able to snag some really decent funk and soul records. I made the critical mistake of bringing my portable record player in my travel bag, because within ten minutes it just became an obstacle to the swarm of people fighting over crates. So I was not able to preview any of the records, but I am really satisfied with what I blindly purchased (again the burning hole in my pocket from the refund is the only reason I would have opened my wallet before my portable case.)

3. 1 - Office Space Blue Ray Disc. Possibly the best comedy ever made and the movie I have seen more than any other. Not sure that the high resolution is needed or overly noticeable, but I needed a new copy anyways.

4. Renewals (1 year - Virus Protection, Car Inspection. 6 months - Car Insurance.) It is not an accident that all my interval plans expire around the time I get my tax refund. Boo. Not fun.

5. 1 - Elder Scrolls IV Oblivion for PS3. After I finished Fallout 3 (Ed. Note - best game available for PS3) I had a craving for another RPG game and I figured I would just work backwards through the Bethesda catalog. I have never really connected with games involving potions or magic (I am more just a big gun shoot 'em up guy), but this game is so well developed that leveling into full nerd was quite painless. (HP on free time - 50HP.)

Pick Of The Crate - Disco Lady

A terrible thing happened to music in the late 70s and unfortunately funk and soul music were not immune to the epidemic. This plague was disco. Between 1975 and 1979 a lot of hybrid albums were popping up all over the place fusing funk and disco. I blame Van McCoy, but there are a lot of other people who helped propel this genre. I generally steer clear of these records, but every once in a while I come across one that really melded the sound in a pleasing way and could have led the revolution had disco not died a firey death one night at Comiskey Park. The record I wanted to display for people's exhibit A is George Franklin Smallwood's "Disco Lady".


This copy is a reissue pressed by my friend Kevin over at www.dcsoulrecordings.com. I don't know much about the history of the man, but the music speaks for itself and was good enough to be chosen as a DC/VA/MD record that needed wide-spread re-release. If you would like a copy please contact Kevin. I think he is doing a second run in the near future (although he may still have some on hand now.) Enjoi.

Take Me In Your Arms And Love Me - Gladys Knight & The Pips

Sure, you don't need anyone to tell you that Gladys Knight and those wonderful Pips are good. In terms of hits that should be remembered though, this one seems to have fallen to the wayside next to some of their others.

I might be a sucker for harpsichord in popular music, so the intro that reoccurs later in the song is all it took for this one to grab me. Maybe it's a clavinet, but it's played like harpsichord anyway. I like the fact that you can hear the mechanics of the instrument as it's played. I enjoy when this happens with piano and any other keyboard instrument too. The hi-hat and bass do a nice complement with the harpsichord on the intro also.

Aside from the intro though, it's a great song and a great arrangement that makes smart use of strings, horns, guitar, and backup singers to sometimes stay out of the way and other times build into a powerhouse. Of course it's a great arrangement, it's a Motown record, right? Why am I even writing this?

Recordmendation - Memory Cassette

As noted in my 2008 mix post - my record consumption in 2008 was at an all time low. I have gone from picking up about 3-5 albums a week to maybe 3-5 a month. I have been sticking to safe bets like new albums by bands that never disappoint and always build on their previous work (see Animal Collective, Portishead, etc.) It's hard for me to really get behind a new band unless they really blow me away and stand out in my collection. Last year that band was Air France and this year I have a new cleared space in my heart for my new love - NJ's own Memory Cassette. Not ironically the debut EP from Memory Cassette will be coming out on Acephale Records, which is also the home of Air France (according to GvB). The similarities between Air France and Memory Cassette are noticeable - they both make beautiful, dreamy, electronic sunshine pop. What sets Memory Cassette apart is the live vocals as a substitute to looped vocal samples. The vocals are in complete unison with the emotional tone and composition to compliment the groove whether it be a downtempo eye closer or a four-on-the-floor ass rocker. You can find the first two EPs "The Hiss We Missed" and "Rewind While Sleeping" for free over at the weird tapes blog or you can check out some head nodders over at myspace. That's about all you will find. There is certainly an aura of mystery surrounding the project. No photos. No info or blog entries. Worst off - no news on touring, but if they come anywhere around DC you will be sure to see me noting the instruments used to bring amazing headphone music to the stage. Enjoy and support the project as soon as the EP comes out for sale (not sure if it is one of the two aforementioned EPs or a new one).

Weird Tapes
Memory Cassette's Myspace

Who I'm In Love With Today - Amy Mainzer

Anyone that knows me knows that I am a space junkie. I Tivo all the space shows on the Discovery and the History Channels and I finally got caught up on the last couple episodes of The Universe. After my last relationship ended I told myself I would not get in another relationship unless the girl was exponentially smarter than I. Perhaps I have found that person. Her name is Amy Mainzer and she is the classiest slash sexiest research scientist around (and no that is not an oxy-moron.) She was on the latest episode of the Universe and she is made me want to pull out my old Astrophysics books. If I were smart enough I would made some quip about the difference of big bang and big bounce theory, but I am not that intelligent. I need teaching. And I think Amy could provide that. Maybe in some far away galaxy many years ago...