Free Camels

I guess this has been up since May, but I haven't checked up on them for a while:

Unbuttoned-button-up and deep-cut-V-neck-loving French band Phoenix has posted a new instrumental track from their upcoming album Twenty-One One Zero for free downloads on their MySpace as well as on Cartier's. The tune is apparently part of a collaborative promotion with Love Cartier and humanitarian group Action Contre La Faim.

You can also watch the accompanying video which features black and white shots of Phoenix, just being really cool and using really cool stuff. Like curly phono cables. Awesome.



What does this track say about their new album? Probably nothing at all, given that all three previous Phoenix full-lengths have featured some sort of long instrumental track that doesn't necessarily have anything to with the rest of the release's aesthetic.

If I was going to be pessimistic, however, I would say that the track does sound a little more like the work of certain of Phoenix's Paris-based colleagues than does their past offerings. Certain colleagues who like to dress up as robots and go on certain tours featuring certain giant pyramids. And that Phoenix may be doing this because they have wrongly taken their subtle similarities to said-colleagues to be the reason for their earlier success, and are making the mistake of trying to pull a Hogyssey. Hey. Phoenix. That didn't work out to well for the future members of Arckid, and it won't work for you.

Nobody got that reference. Don't worry, that makes you better than me.

But I'm actually pretty optimistic and look forward to Twenty-One One Zero's eventual release, the date of which is not on Pitchfork's Summer Release Guide, (man I cannot WAIT for Thr33 Rings) and thus does not yet exist.

I just hope they tour. Those Versailles boys can rock it live.

Robot Rock Was Nothing

I just uncovered some shocking information about English "poet" Mike Skinner AKA The Streets!

Check out the incidental music at the 31 second mark in this Al Gore speech from the South Park Season 10 episode "ManBearPig":

(Apologies in advance: This was the least retarded-ly spoofed-clip of it I was able to find on YouTube)




Now, carefully listen to the production on early Streets track, "Same Old Thing":

Oh Mike Skinner, you thought that separating the "pom pom pom" and the "blaaaaaaaaaaaaah," as well as the fact that that South Park episode came out 4 years after Original Pirate Material would save you from exposure. But I've got you now!

Just wait till my "The Streets Source Material Montage" video hits YouTube! It will completely eradicate your reputation as an innovative and original artist! Or lead to resurgent fame and an incredibly successful tour a few years after a lackluster third album...

She Wrote Me A Lullaby

Utada Hikaru - Boku Wa Kuma



I listened to Heart Station a bit when it came out, and then stopped because - as we all can agree - nothing on it could touch "Easy Breezy." At the time, the meaning of this kindergarten song flew right over my head, which is odd given that 70% of the song's lyrics consist of the word "kuma." Kuma means bear, so the song essentially goes "something something bear, bear, bear bear, something something something bear." Which is pretty much what my daily life sounds like. So I join with Japanese school children, never-mauled-Hollywood-large-animal-trainers and Brian Bell (not that Brian Bell. Kuma-teki Brian Bell!) in support of this single. I'm in proud company.

I'm Chocolate

Annie - I Know Your Girlfriend Hates Me



I totally relate to this song. Almost none of my friends' girlfriends have ever liked me. Ever. So thanks Annie, it really makes me feel better to know someone else out there has the same problem. And I'm just so glad you're back!

Be warned: this is the most irritatingly catchy song-sung-by-a-Scandinavian-girl since that Lykke Li Little Bit business. Although this one might be slightly more racist. Not really my problem, though.

The PRC Still Wants That BAPE Store...

Cindy Sui just published an excellent article in The Asia Times looking at the different impressions of recently departed Taiwanese President Chen Sui-Bian's possible legacy amongst the Taiwanese polulace. It takes a careful look at the talents and contradictions that defined the man throughout his time in power, and finds that Taiwanese people, at least at this early date, view his time in office as a mixed-bag of historic accomplishments and broken promises. Sadly, the one success that both critics and fans have attributed to him, creating a government with zero-tolerance for in-house corruption, is about to be sullied by some shocking events including the discovery of his son-in-law's insider trading, his wife being put on trial for embezzlement, and accusations that he faked an assassination attempt on himself in an attempt to gain sympathy votes for the 2004 election.

Regardless of how history comes to view Chen, it's incredible to think how different the Taiwan-China world (or China world, depending on your politics) is from the world we imagined/feared back during his early days in power. Sure, the future is generally impossible to predict accurately, but when it comes to divergence from expectations, there are degrees of seperation. When the U.S. invaded Iraq, for example, some predicted that it would ensure U.S. security for all eternity and provide Bush Jr. a spot in the ranks of presidents with infinitely high approval ratings, while others were sure the opposite would occur. Suffice to say, while no one person on either side may have been absolutely right about everything, only one of those groups was really in the ballpark.

When it came to this whole Chen business, however, pretty much all of us were way off. I remember sitting in a classroom at the People's University of China in Beijing back in the summer of 2004, joining American and Chinese students arguing about the probable events of 2008. This was around the time that Beijing Olympics were ceasing to be a date in the distant future and becoming a fast-encroaching, city-renovating reality. While we disagreed on many things, everyone seemed to believe that something drastic was going to happen. We were primarily arguing about who was going to take the leap first - China or Taiwan - and what the sensible act of recourse would be for the other side. When we talked about other issues (Tibet, the American public's perception of the games) it was always in the context of how Chen and the PRC would interact.

Fast-forward 4 years and not a lot of that makes sense anymore. Chen never made that "independence" announcement of his. (Oh..) The KMT is back in power. (Huh?) And China kind of digs them. (What?) And Tibet is the one drawing attention away from the games. (Those guys?) But then there was that accidental publicity coup with the earthquake, which came right after that cyclone (Natural disasters? Those only happen in India and places that end in -istan. Who's FEMA? What's a "Live Strong" bracelet?)

At the time we didn't know any of this would happen. We were focused on one thing: The Status Quo. Nobody wanted Taiwan or China to do anything to change the status-quo. Lots of smart people wrote lots of long papers on the need to avoid revisionism. It was very important that nothing changed. Of course we were all imagining that if the change came, it'd be big and it'd be drastic.

This was also an era when the force seen to be countering Chen's personal Taiwanese nationalism was a grassroots nationalism on the mainland. There were anti-Japanese protests and anti-American protests, but these were inextricably tied up with the Taiwan, the clear and present issue. These were two big, unstoppable forces that were about to collide, and would surely make a big mess in the process.

In retrospect, I think we all thought it would depend on who broke first: Chen or China. We didn't see anyone else in the equation. But in the end, it was a different player - the Taiwanese people - who made a move. Back then we believed that people on the island were kind of ambivalent about the whole China thing, they just wanted a fresh face that would stamp out corruption and keep economic growth on an upward path. Even those who didn't agree with his nationalist stance on independence per se might be won over by his efforts at localism, such as his use of taiyu and the promotion of hakka.

But things worked out quite differently. True, China played a role by sitting back and waiting to see how things worked out, but in the end it was the Taiwanese who got fed up of the whole thing. The economy wasn't getting any better, and many blamed Chen for denying Taiwan access to China's growing economy (a charge that may be unfair, in retrospect) and spending money on ridiculous personal projects like eliminating Chinese names from street signs. Chen's one unshakable accomplishment - stamping out corruption - has now been undermined by these financial scandals involving his family members.

Meanwhile, the once hated KMT ( and hated by both Taiwanese and mainlanders alike) was holding historic meetings with the PRC, despite not being in power. They soon took the legislature back from Chen's DDP, however, and the KMT's Ma Ying Jeou beat out the DPP's candidate in this year's presidential elections. The party that got the rest of the world involved in this business by escaping to Taiwan (and not being swiftly thrown in the ocean) in the first place is back in power, and seems far more moderate and sensible than Chen to both the PRC and the Taiwanese populace. (Or at least the minimum-majority)

As Sui points out, Chen has left an odd legacy. Instead of provoking an all-out breach with the mainland, Chen's policies have probably made the mainland more willing to compromise when it is dealing with other, less-belligerent representatives of the island. In Taiwan this "theory of relativity" has worked in the opposite way, as Chen's extreme positions have accustomed the middle to a certain sense of nationalism, one felt a little more strongly now than in the era before Chen took power.

Situations like the Tibet protests and the Sichuan Earthquake were impossible to predict, despite their enormous impact. With Chen, however, maybe the signs were there if we had chosen to look for them. Personally I was too busy reading papers about 2008 doomsday scenarios (and listening to KMT-hating-70%-hakka-by-blood friends) to realize that there are other major actors besides political parties and presidents (human populations, for example). There's still plenty of time for sh@t to go down - it ain't August yet - but it looks like Taiwanese and mainlanders alike will be watching the mind games. (Alright, seriously, this has moved even further down on Google. What the f@ck?)

Robotripping/Mind Games

Some interesting news items today.


According to iReport and CNN, L'il Wayne has just released a second avant-garde video for his single "Lollipop." The video is meant to simulate the experience of being inside Weezy's head. Or at least the experience of drinking a bottle of Nyquil.


omgloljk

In other news, China has announced that it will be playing Mind Games. And no that doesn't mean this, this, this or any of the other trazillion pages that came up on google before the thing that happened TODAY and which I'm actually talking about: this.

The Olympics and the Paralympics won't be the only global multi-sports events held in Beijing this year.

The Chinese capital will host the first World Mind Sports Games from Oct. 3-18, featuring five events and - yes - doping controls.

About 3,000 competitors from more than 100 countries will be competing for 35 gold medals in chess, bridge, draughts (or checkers), Go and Xiang Qi (or Chinese chess), the International Mind Sports Association said Wednesday at a sports conference in Athens.

In the wake of the late announcement, ESPN and Spike TV are naturally sprinting to be the first to gain US broadcasting rights.

Album Cover Of The Day

Yu by Jesse Cutler.

I didn't even know where to begin with this. The artist's pre-pornshoot photo on the back? The inexplicable Asian theme, featuring a Thai model and Chinese characters for an album that sounds like new-age meets calypso? The fact that Yu is the mandarin pronunciation for the largest chinese character, which means fish? I was overwhelmed. Little did I know these were the least of the surprises I would receive about Mr. Jesse Cutler.

Before this album cover prompted me to Google him, I'd never heard of Cutler's vast media empire, spanning music, books and inspirational videos. According to his website:

Jesse Cutler has spent an illustrious career, beginning at age 12, as a musician, composer, actor, producer, entrepreneur and even a Playgirl centerfold

Well that explains the photo. Yes Cutler goes deep in the industry. He's even an acquaintance of Mr. Paul Schaffer (that guy who dances at Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremonies)! In fact, Schaffer has actually written the foreword to Cutler's new book StarLust™: The Price of Fame (Morgan James, 2008), which 'asks would-be celebrities and their parents, “Are you willing to pay the price?” ' Someone needs to ask that question, surely. And JC is the man to do it.

Cutler will also release a CD entitled Test Of Time, a greatest hits collection to compliment the book. This will be the latest edition to a music catalogue that already includes such notable titles as the aforementioned Yu, as well as Cutler's Music Of The Stars collection (12 releases, one for each sign of the Zodiac). Recommended as another-release-you-might-be-interested-in by people purchasing Yanni Cd's on CDbaby.com.

Cutler runs some other enterprises, including The Cutler Edge, a webcast where Jesse Cutler interviews the movers and shakers of the entertainment industry. As he warns us: "This ain't no Mickey Mouse Ball Club! At the Cutler Edge™, we get down to the nitty gritty." As of June 2nd 2008, The Cutler Edge has interviewed approximately 1 celebrity, a well-respected industry veteran by the name of Jesse Cutler.

Another interesting feature of his site is the Jesse Cutler Sphere Of Influence, which name checks and gives links to the websites of JC's extensive list of celebrity friends, a large portion of whom are currently deceased (Hey! John Lennon has a website?) Carrot Top and Drew Barrymore's ex-boyfriend are among the living.

Below is Jesse's introduction to Starlust. It's awwwwesssooooome: