Liquid Liquid and Melle Mel – “Cavern” and “White Lines”
I’ve loved Grandmaster Flash/Melle Mel’s “White Lines (Don’t Do It)” since it was released in the fall of 1983. I was an 8th grader in Racine, Wisconsin. It only took me 37 more years to find out that the funky…
LIGHTS… new from M.I.A.
I’ve said it before – a large part of the allure of M.I.A.‘s music for me lies in the physical realm. If she resembled a Sri Lankan Mugsy Bogues, I may not have become enamored with her back in the…
John Grant on Later…With Jools Holland
Best television discovery of late? Without a doubt, it’s Later…with Jools Holland, a BBC2 music show that showcases 4-5 artists per show in a unique way: all bands & artists are set up in studio at the same time in…
The Modfather’s Mid-Life Renaissance
For me, music begins with John Lennon. The very first step after that is Paul Weller. And it’s always been that way. Ever since I heard Sound Affects by The Jam back in 1981, Paul Weller has taken me on…
Radiohead’s ‘The King of Limbs’ [My 2 Cents]
Like a lot of you, I dropped the $9.00 for Radiohead‘s new album The King of Limbs, when it was offered up a day earlier than expected on Friday. What was it, last Monday when it was announced out of…
Chromeo’s Night by Night
I finally got around to checking out this new Chromeo tune over at Gonzo’s site, and I like what I’m hearing. For anyone who has any part of their musical sensibilities rooted in 80’s funk & electro – and you’re…
Review: Desktop, “Desktop EP”
If you hadn’t guessed already I’ve got a soft spot in my heart for the blips and bleeps of the current generation of electronic indie pop. Detroit duo Desktop bring blips, bleeps, swooshing synths, atmospheric guitars and enough pop sensibility…
Discovering Discovery
As side-projects go, the pairing of Rostam Batmanglij (keyboardist for Vampire Weekend) and Wes Miles (vocalist for Ra Ra Riot) makes perfect sense. The results however, are as far as you can imagine from the twee indie pop of the…
Review: Alan Wilkis, “Pink and Purple”
Brooklyn-based electrofunk wizard Alan Wilkis recently gave me an early peek at his latest release Pink and Purple. For those of you not familiar with Alan, let me bring you up to speed the self-described “musician, multi-instrumentalist, producer, and general…
Phoenix vs. Alan Wilkis
Friend of Ickmusic Alan Wilkis shot this remix over to me earlier this week and I simply cannot stop listening to it. With Phoenix coming off their stellar SNL performance (seriously, who did they pay to get the sound right…
