The Digital Outhouse

MGMT “Love Always Remains”

By implementing the almighty power of hindsight, I’ve come to realize that there’s something special about MGMT’s earlier releases.

For obvious reasons (mostly relating to youth), a majority of the songs featured on their Time To Pretend EP  have a less than serious feel to them, and there is a particularly 
blasé imperfection to each of the delicately crafted tracks. 

Of these, MGMT’s ode to the “west” (which I directly interpret as the West Coast, and more specifically, San Francisco) best demonstrates what I am trying to convey.

No one has to hear / the sound of people laughing at their fears

and the ocean and sun are always there / to make you happy

if you’re feeling scared of the darkness.

(Source: deesto)

Craft Spells “Still Left With Me”

So approximately one day ago, my favorite band from Stockton took to the Internet (more specifically, SoundCloud) so they could unleash their new EP Gallery on their unsuspecting victims.

Needless to say, I was pretty excited.

This of course, means that Justin Vallesteros and crew will be playing their new material at the Great American Music Hall in San Francisco this weekend. Sadly, I won’t be there.

But maybe you will be.

Anyway, for all of the unlucky folks who won’t be able to make it out there, Deer Lodge was nice enough to provide a free stream of the EP over at their site. I’d recommend heading over there to check it out. But only after you hang out here a little longer. I get lonely.

Black Moth Super Rainbow “Spraypaint”

The Spring and Summer months usually hold the promise of introducing amazingly awesome stuff into popular culture. For many reasons (and by many, I really mean to say monetary) the entertainment world feels inclined to shower us with their bountiful gifts, and as a consumer of all things material, color me stoked. 

Two such examples are the simultaneous (well, not really) releases of the Avengers movie, and Black Moth Super Rainbow’s follow up to their 2009 album, Eating Us. Both are pretty fucking significant.

I had the pleasure of watching a midnight showing of the Avengers last night, and it was everything I hoped it would be. It’s full of mind-numbing action, and almost feels surreal at some points. Sure, superhero movies have become a mainstream, money-making powerhouse over the last few decades, but to this extent? No, never.

Moving forward, The Avengers movie has set the precedent for what comic-based films will need to live up to (though comics have been doing ridiculous shit for years now, like the Civil War story arc, and more recently, The Avengers vs. X-Men). One superhero? No, how about 5? Or 25.

Trust me when I say this, The Avengers was great (like realizing a childhood dream, great), but just wait until the movies adapt stories like House of M. I mean, if the potential moral ramifications of having 98% of the mutant population lose their powers, followed by the mandatory registration of their identities with the government does not interest you, I don’t know what will. 

And then there’s this whole Black Moth Super Rainbow deal. With a band lineup that reads: Tobacco, Father Hummingbird, The Seven Fields of Aphelion, Ryan Graveface and Iffernaut, you’d almost think they were the Avengers themselves. And they sort of are, but for like music, bro.

According to my super-secret sources, we can expect something, well, sometime soon. I’ll also be seeing them next week in San Francisco, as they put the finishing touches on their west-coast tour and that be rad if I saw you there too.

Oh and by the way, my favorite Avenger (from the comics) is Hawkeye. Thanks for asking.

Charlotte Gainsbourg “Anna (Moonlight Matters Remix)”

“Moonlight Matters is what happens when the sun goes down, The mood is right, and creativity is set loose…”

So reads the first line in Sebastiaan Vandevoorde’s biography for his alter ego, Moonlight Matters. For those lazy to read further, Vandevoorde has remixed tracks by artists such as Lana Del Rey, Metronomy, The Drums and of course, Charlotte Gainsbourg. They’re all pretty great, and add a touch of “smart-witted melody” (as he himself would say) to the original versions of the songs.

In general, I’m not too fond of remixes but this? I can live with.

Keep an eye out for his new EP (which was announced on his Facebook page last month) due out sometime in late May.