Manhattan Offender

MO Music: Tuesday Tunes

The weekly trip to Other Music always brings great new items to the MO iPod.  This week , with the propensity of "bitch tracks" added by Mr. Offender at top of mind, the search was on for diversity.

• Despite reading a scathing review of Ghostface Killah's Fishscale, the album has been a must have for a while.  Having listened to Ghostface during a recent appearance on the Wendy Williams Experience (a daily must in the office to make the afternoon lively), the expectation of great tracks was fulfilled. 
• With deep roots into garage punk and early surf punk, it is always an inspiration to hear elements of these genres while at the gym or while en route to the office.  Visceral yet playful at the same time, Mas Rock and Roll is a compilation of mostly 60's Mexican surf punk.  The compilation is a quirky cross-pollination of punk, psychedelia, garage and much more.  Intrigued?  Have a taste of Taurus from Los Commandos.
• Glitter Girlz is a compilation of female glam rock from the 70's.  The album is a great exploration of music that would later evolve and morph into sounds as diverse as Blondie and Abba.  Compiled by the Ursula 1000 crew the album is pure fun.  A favorite is the super-catchy Rub My Tummy.
• Although it isn't as diverse as the other picks, DFA Remixes:  Chapter One compiles several remixes previously available only on singles or vinyl.  Despite already having about one-third of the tracks, the compilation brings some new life to some.    A few, Le Tigre's Deceptacon and Fischerspooner's Emerge, have a bit of age on them, yet still come off as fresh.  Other remixes of the Gorillaz, Chemical Brothers and Hot Chip don't quite gel together as an album but are all essential single to have in any collection.  Try on Soulwax's Another Excuse to get an idea of the brilliant subtlety of the DFA crew.

Big thanks to Other Music for allowing the posting of the above streams!

Fischerspooner and the Landmark Lovely

So the last night of Fischerspooner's residency at Canal Room is tonight. Completely recommended as a person who's gone to see the latest incarnation of the show twice.

I like to think that Casey Spooner and I have a relationship, excepting the fact that we've never met. When they were first coming out I was 225 pounds and in a dead-end corporate-slave type job, pigeon-holed by a mentally unstable tyrant. Then one day I heard the lyrics from Emerge: "You don't need to/Emerge from nothing/You don't need to/Tear away." Right words at the right time. Lost 50 pounds, got out of the job and, well, emerged.

Now at last week's show, I kept bumping into this one girl, so I started to talk to her. Very cute, tall brunette, 20-something hanging with four of her friends who also seemed to be quite fun. Shared about 15 laughs with her when she pulled out this one: Have you heard of " Landmark ?" I made the common assumption that she was increasing the comedy level and replied, "What, the cult? Why are you a recruiter?" Not a second passed, "It's not a cult ..." This conversation ended as soon as I could. Turns out that glaze over her eyes wasn't alcohol, it was self-righteousness.

Flash-forward to the final song of an impressive set. The Landmark Lovely is smashed, topless, and making out with a friend on the stage. Shame on me for being so quick to judge. If this is what Landmark is all about, then sign this fag up, honey.

Just for shits and giggles I did look at the Landmark website. From their mission statement: "A fundamental principle of Landmark Education's work is that people ... have the possibility not only of success, but also of fulfillment and greatness." Kind of the message that I got from Emerge. I downloaded the song for free. Landmark charges.