Reclamation #3: You are correct!

Two of my favorite things! So fun! So correct! Say it! --RWK

What Community? #63: Is this your London?

Finding facts never looked more fun. --RWK [via Ray Pride]

Encounter #84: Stress / Burnin' What Community? #32

This is rather unsettling. I don't know if Gaspard and Xavier really see themselves as banlieue bullies but this video certainly says their idea of "and justice pour tous" is anarchic (just like Metallica), their idea of faith is ironic (they believe in themselves, for sure) and their understanding of how to market themselves is pretty smart: only provide provocative art, and shift moods with each offering (see how different all their videos are), and never explain it -- just do it. (Oh snap!) Romain-Gavras directed this video, and a comment on his myspace page says he's the son of Costas-Gavras, which kind of makes sense, considering I've never seen a film by the elder Gavras, since I hear that Costa's style is a similar brand of immersive polemical. The scary thing is this clip's verité style looks so verité that I began to worry: how much are these boys acting? is the banlieue really this terrible? what are the moral implications of all this? how does this compare to Simon's B-more? how does it compare to West Oakland? East Oakland? Richmond? Hunter's Point? I really know nothing about the world. I live in such a safe bubble that my biggest worry right now is whether I'll ever get a job I like, not "Will I ever get a job?" So what's the value of this brand of art, really? Is it supposed to sell the song? It definitely performs an amplified stress with its parade of hate. Is it supposed to provoke me to take stock of ghetto life? I clearly have, at least superficially. Is it just an affective clip, plain and simple? I think it's a good selling technique to say you're not even a part of the world, that you're somehow above the law and that you're here to cause a little ruckus while you can. Sure. But that can be done with a little more joy, right? I'll grant that this could be read as an affirmation of the world in that there is pain in the world, but maybe I just want my music to be more fun. Clearly these boys like Daft Punk a lot, and they're modeling their career/s after the OG French robots, but what Daft Punk did with their robot rock was funnier and cooler and less pompous in a way. Their third single off Homework was "Burnin'." Here it is:

See, this one is definitely about being so cool you set the world ablaze, and want to see it, so long as it's a good time. The firefighter and the kid aren't who Daft Punk are aligned with: it's the Chicago house DJs making cameos next to those French robots at that table. Maybe I'm a wuss, but I appreciate the spirit of this video more. I just don't need to see kids beating strangers up any more. (I like the Burgess version of Clockwork better than the Kubrick version.) But if you do, here's a high quality Quicktime version of stress for you to download and get nervous with in the safety of your home. --RWK

Songs #18: Digital Love (Cover)

Well now. This comes from Discobelle. It's a rock-ish cover of a Daft Punk anthem, which is a dancey cover, of sorts, of a soul song by George Duke. Talk about art in the age of mechanical reproducibility. This is sweet, if almost too sweet; catchy ditty for a few weeks of plays at best, novelty one-time listen at worst. Right now, I'm in the former camp. --RWK

Daft Punk - Digital Love (Alphabeat, FrankMusik & Leon Jean-Marie cover) (zshare)

[Pic: like RS, I stole it from DVDBeaver.]

Encounter #73: Turn back the clock albums for the afternoon.

Yup, ten years is turning back the clock for me. This afternoon I happened to listen to both of these albums, back to back, thanks to the simple beauty of iTunes. Funny how much my interest in electronic music has changed since my early high school years. First of all, I still swear by Daft Punk. Second, I rarely think to listen to Bjork. I think it's because Bjork is so damned serious all the time while Daft Punk went on to make one of the greatest party albums of all time that, even when it's serious, is always teetering on the edge of plain silliness. But those guys are too smart to get bogged down in big emotional statements. Not that I don't appreciate emotional music. Heck, I listen to that Fred Falke remix of The Whitest Boy Alive almost daily. And since last week I've been listening to Cut Copy's In Ghost Colours almost non stop.

Cut Copy have perfected blending Talking Heads and New Order and My Bloody Valentine and the Italodisco feel of Daft Punk and French Touch/Club into something so smart, poignant and fun that I can't help but smile. Truth be told: as soon as Homogenic ended I threw on In Ghost Colours and was happy again by the middle of the first song. As I said in the post below, my affinity is motivated by more than just the music. Both of Cut Copy's albums are very self-aware "concept" albums that constantly comment on themselves, song to song. Both albums are "about" eternity and love and lights and music and all kinds of cool stuff I find in my own philosophy (my life). Music is still very much about identification for me, to a certain extent, and how things impact me on a gut level. So to hear myself echoed in this music is kind of how it felt when I, like so many, got so turned on by OK Computer and Homogenic back in the late 90s. Except, you know, I'm a little older now and have different fears and goals and lovers and friends. In a basic sense, things are better now than they were in high school and that is reflected in the music I choose to listen to--now I prefer less melancholy, more joy. I prefer Daft Punk, even in its early noise-house era, to Bjork's (rather perfect) album of dirges for lost loves and limbs. I prefer my BPMs upwards of 110 and my songs to pop with passion, not march with ressentiment. Cuz even when Cut Copy are singing another love song it's usually about love songs -- even if it's a sad love song it's smart, and joyful. --RWK


Daft Punk - Indio Silver Club


Bjork - All Is Full Of Love


Cut Copy - That Was Just A Dream (not from the new one but I already posted the "Lights and Music" video earlier)

What community #20: Dangerseekers

Everybody wants to be Daft Punk. Not everybody succeeds. But this is just too cute to pass up and not spread around. And the animation is pretty dope. --RWK [via]

RE: Encounter 47 (#48) Amy Killed it- This Formula is just too Perfect

about time they performed together, too bad the forum was the Grammys. quite a jacket that is, that is.

>>cb

Kanye is not Stronger than Daft Punk, Madonna, or even Diddy, and especially not Kels.

I first heard about the possibility of this over at Palms Out. It's as annoying in reality as it was in theory. Not only is he "sampling" Daft Punk but he's "sampling" one of their biggest hits (from years past) and barely changing it. The production is cool, sure, but I'd rather listen to "Gold digger" to be honest.

And now this video? How many ideas are you trying to cram into this piece of shit? Just the other day a friend of mine asked, "What ever happened to the concept video?" Well, this is it. I mean, I'm not against appropriating old art for new art (d'uh) but I'm against lazy theft. Even a Madonna video like "Express Yourself" (dir. David Fincher, see below) made sense in its marriage of performance and storyline: everything worked together. Here, it's just one idea stumbling into another, which I think is why the song is so annoying, too. Kanye heard some hot new French electro shit and decided to thieve that for his next big thang. That's all well and cool as long as it's actually positioned as a remix, or it's using some new artist like the ever-accumulating avalanche that is Justice. At this level, "Stronger" is no better than everybody's least favorite tribute song, "I'll Be Missing You". But then, at least that video was kind of amusing in its fish eyed late-90s candy visuals. And, well, it was about Biggie. What is Kanye's song about? How he's the best, yet again. Get over yourself and actually make me believe it but actually making a song I like. Or, stop being so earnest about how much you love yourself. Take a lesson from these guys:


She was hot, and David Fincher's visual style is kind of great despite being because it's mostly ingratiating and ostentatious and plain silly.


I miss Biggie, too. And 112, kinda.


So unsexy it's unbelievably awesome.

Here's a Diplo remix of Kanye's song that is undoubtedly sloppy, as usual, and better than Kanye's because, well, Kanye isn't allowed an appearance: mofo's muted. --RWK

Kanye West - Stronger (Diplo's Work Is Never Over remix)