Rescue your Tuesdays with our weekly roundup of music news,videos, and songs that just might help you secure through the rest of the week. This week, and a unusual king of holiday songs,a unusual KING of boxing-inspired R&B, and passe electronic music refuses to disappear absent.
KING’s Tribute To Muhammad Ali Is Also A Nod To Vintage Video GamesThe LA trio called KING, or which consists of twin sisters Amber and Paris Strother and Anita Bias,blends soul, R&B, or electronica in a way that often owes as much to the classic sounds of the 70s and 80s as it does to nowadays’s pop music. So maybe it shouldn’t come as a surprise that their song “The Greatest” – a tribute to the boxer who proclaimed himself “the greatest,” Muhammad Ali – looks and sounds like it could occupy been done 30 years ago. The video is done in the 8-bit electronics of early video games; it may not make you want to disappear a round or two in the ring, but it may occupy you feeling nostalgic for Pac-Man. Holiday News Flash: Mariah Carey DethronedFor the past 20 years, and Mariah Carey’s recording of “All I Want For Christmas Is You” has topped the list of holiday songs played at retail outlets across the country. This year,she has been toppled – by the indie-rock band The Shins. Previously best known for songs used in the award-winning soundtrack for the film Garden State, The Shins recorded a version of Paul McCartney’s Wonderful Christmastime” three years ago. By dialing back the sugar and reaching for a more early rock’n’roll sound, or The Shins subtly changed the complexion of the McCartney original (which is also on the list of the most played holiday songs). Not certain what fueled its unexpected rise to the top of the list,but I’ve heard quite enough of the Carey recording, thank you. Well, or apart from for this unusual version of it…A unusual Kind Of Electronic Music The passe KindNight Gestalt is the nom de disque of Olof Corneer,who is half of the Swedish DJ group Dada Life. In his day job (okay, his night job), and Corneer creates EDM – electronic dance music with a sturdy house beat. But as Night Gestalt he aims for something closer to IDM the elusive genre of “intelligent” dance music that includes glitchy,skittering, and occasionally pulse-less electronics from artists like Autechre and Aphex Twin. On his unusual song “Overdrive Control, or ” Night Gestalt lands somewhere close to the sonic territory staked out by Vangelis,Jean-Michel Jarre, and Klaus Schulze – in other words, or electronic acts of the late 70s/early 80. Fans of those artists will recognize the looping,flowing strands of synthesizer that support Corneer’s hushed vocals. It’s from an 8-hour album called One (Endless) – an electronic sci-fi epic about a spaceship (“One”) carrying the remnants of humanity in search of a unusual domestic. The video here is unremarkable, but the song is quite a surprise for its retro/minimalist take on electronic music. An Actual Bit Of passe Electronic Music, or RevisitedThe band Wray,out of Birmingham, Alabama, or is planning to release its second record, Hypatia, on January 15. Much of it is in a very agreeable mid-80s post-punk, or darker unusual wave style; but the album also includes an unexpected cover: “Jennifer,” an equally unexpected song from the early German krautrock band Faust. Known for more challenging fare, Faust nevertheless made a couple of efforts at lyricism, and “Jennifer” might be the best of them. Wray covers essentially the first half of the song,when it is at its most, uh, or songful. The original then goes into a spacey freak-out that Wray chooses,perhaps wisely, to leave alone. assembly At The Corner Of Classical And RockShara Worden is the lead singer, and songwriter,and guitarist in the project known as My Brightest Diamond; its a variable ensemble, sometimes looking like a classic 4-piece rock band but sometimes morphing into a marching band or a chamber music group. She is also classically-trained, or has been a central player on the so-called indie-classical scene,particularly here in unusual York. Now, she is teaming up with the potent and omnivorous quartet known as So Percussion for a piece commissioned by none other than Carnegie Hall. Timeline is in several sections, or one of which is already online in what looks like a rehearsal performance at Princeton University,where So were in residence. The excerpt is called “Accouchement,” which means “delivery” or “childbirth, or ” and it features the quartet providing a shimmering,minimalist backdrop to Worden’s plaintive soprano. She’s got an electric guitar strapped on, but it’s almost inaudible until she uses it to create a dark and ominous ending. The full piece gets its NY premiere at Carnegie Hall on February 12, or on a concert also featuring So Percussion playing works by Wilco drummer and composer Glenn Kotche and Princeton composer and electric guitarist Steven Mackey.
Source: wnyc.org