cooltunes

Unlike Norway, Sweden, Finland and the like, Poland is not a country one normally associates with metal. However, metal is certainly a worldwide phenomenon, and Poland is no exception. Probably most metal fans are by now aware of Behemoth, especially now that they are touring with Ozzfest. Their sound is a formidable mix of black and death metal, and hopefully they will get the exposure they deserve. Vader is another well-known band out of Poland, having basically played their same distinctive style of straightforward death metal for close to 20 years.
A couple of my favorite Polish metal bands seem to have flown well under the radar. The first is Lux Occulta. I’ve only heard their album “The Mother and the Enemy,” since it’s recently been re-released in the US. My high expectations were actually exceeded by this album. It’s a fascinating mixture of black metal, math-metal technicality, a bit of jazz stylings, and a handful of interesting non-metal tracks with female vocals.
Kobong is another under-appreciated Polish band. I haven’t heard a full album from them, only a few songs. From what I can tell, they are akin to a funkier, weirder version of Meshuggah. Their music is full of strange rhythms and grooves, except instead of Meshuggah’s atonal yell they feature some crazy Polish guy yelling over the music. The sound is very weird overall, but since I have a weakness for ultra-rhythmic bands who can actually write good music, Kobong works for me. They apparently did a music video for the Polish version of Trainspotting, which you can view on YouTube here. Getting ahold of their records is even more difficult than finding Lux Occulta’s - in fact I’ve never seen any Kobong CD available anywhere, whether online or in a retail store, except perhaps for some weird European sites I can’t read. If anyone knows how to buy their CDs please let me know!

Stuffed with fresh peach cobbler, I thought I’d buy some Einstürzende Neubauten tonight, and also got Blixa Bargeld’s ‘Somewhere Over the Rainbow’.

• A bootleg recording of Vladislav Delay’s set from DEMF last month, which can be downloaded here (also contains part of Jeff Mills’ and A Guy Called Gerald’s sets)
• A live performance of Monolake’s from Frigid in Sydney
• Rhythm & Sound’s DJ set from Paxahau’s 8th anniversary
• Pole - Steingarten
• Jan Jelinek Avec The Exposures - La Nouvelle Pauvrete
• Jan Jelinek - Loop Finding Jazz Records
• Andrew Pekler - Station to Station
• Kate Simko’s set from DEMF last month, which can be downloaded from her site here.

I’m a little behind in finally listening to the back catalogue of the ~scape label, there are quite a few gems there. Lots of forays into glitch meets jazz. They’ve also put out an interesting series of compilations where IDM/glitch-heads produce hip-hop. Staedtizism 3 is worth checking out for the tracks by luminaries Thomas Fehlmann and Daniel Bell aka DBX.

If Moby is struck by lightning, we’ll all know why.

I didn’t know that evangelicals blamed Katrina on a Gay Pride Weekend in New Orleans. There’s a Gay Pride Weekend going on in SF right now. Should we be worried?

The Swedish government will be paying disability benefits to a man who claims that his fondness for heavy metal renders him unable to work from time to time.

Swedish occupational psychologists obviously were not consulted on the matter.

A friend has undergone a traumatic rift in her family, and is shakily getting to her feet again. In her company from time to time is someone just learning how to walk, having recently celebrated her first birthday. As one is tentatively finding her balance again, and the other is determinedly upright, wanting to move fast, I’m giving them some music to dance to when the time comes to throw caution to the winds.

And the Kylie Minogue has that ‘. . . la la la la la la la la’ refrain, perfect for someone anxious to talk and sing, but not quite able to grasp the finer points of human speech just yet.

I Just Want to Dance With You - George Strait
Fly Like a Bird - Boz Scaggs
Feeling Good - Michael Buble
I Wanna Dance With Somebody - Whitney Houston
Graceland - Paul Simon
What’s New Pussycat - Tom Jones
Girls Just Want to Have Fun - Cyndi Lauper
Calling Elvis - Dire Straits
Can’t Get You Out of My Head - Kylie Minogue
Red Staggerwing - Mark Knopfler and Emmylou Harris
Venus - Frankie Avalon

And other trailer music, as in Kerry Muzzey. The origins of E.S. Posthumus are somewhat cloaked in mystery, but amusing nonetheless. I was debating how much of this stuff I should buy last night when my brain shut down, and I was forced to leave the laptop.

In the bright light of day, the brain struggles with the whole idea of trailer music, which is needed long before the actual soundtrack is written. And that there are people who write music very similar to what’s heard on soundtracks, hiring the Seattle Symphony and a choral group to sing in Latin.

Certain family members being enamored of the actress, here is Scarlett’s version, sung over scenes from ‘Lost in Translation’.

Actually, the New Orleans-set ‘A Love Song for Bobby Long’ might have been a better choice for the video.

The song can be found on ‘Unexpected Dreams, Songs From the Stars’, which also features the singing efforts of Jeremy Irons, Ewan McGregor and Teri Hatcher. Brace yourself.

Music writer Marc Geelhoed takes a look at what folks are buying, and is appalled at the popularity of a certain blind tenor.

Put together a piece of music by moving pipes from a conveyor belt and following the instructions on the various switches.

As I watched the ‘Jungles’ segment of ‘Planet Earth’ the other night, the sound of the chimps in the fig trees reminded me of Matija Gogala’s Bioacoustics and Music pages.

He’s a retired professor of animal physiology in Slovenia, and his site features sounds from cicadas, birds (and cicadas that sing like birds) and gibbons.

The recording of two gibbons demonstrating glissando is a wonder.

Davie Bowie and Beastie Boys, among others.

What is it, and where did it come from?

Maybe it’s not the best choice for a sluggish Monday afternoon, but the torpor has taken over, and I don’t want to hunt for something different just yet. Besides, right after that, alphabetically, is Brian Tyler and Klaus Badelt’s ‘Constantine’ soundtrack.

Eno’s 77 Million Paintings installation has shown up on my Involver page. Looks like a fascinating exhibition.

If only Beard Papa was not in such close proximity to the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts where it’s going to be showing.

Over at the nearby jr. high, the sound system is impressive. The national anthem will apparently be sung by a student with admirable chops, and the resounding cheers and applause at the end will no doubt be tripled when parents show up later. Not sure if it will be tonight. I think the practicing of speeches has begun.

The band, however, needs more practice.