Greetings from the future....

Wishing all my fellow CDCers a very Happy New Year!

The last time we were in Australia I bought a CD by local artist, Gotye. His 2006 release "Like Drawing Blood" just became available on the US iTunes site in December (still not available in Canada - sorry). The album was voted UK iTunes favorite record of 2008. I love the whole ecclectic album, but will nominate "Heart's a Mess" for my pick.

G'DAY PNAU

If that doesn't makes, don't worry, things are relaxed down under where Karen and I are currently chillin' in advance of the pending nuptials of CDC's very own GameDayGeorge.

Anyway, please find enclosed the song "Come Together" by Sydney's own PNAU, as well as a photo of me posting the post.

A circular reference so deep this iMac is beginning to implode into a singularit -- (poof)

Boots Riley

So I'm taking a big risk with this one, because in all liklihood you have already heard of and appreciate Boots Riley of East Bay fame under the alias, The Coup...AND this album came out years ago, BUT...

but, my friends, I bring him into this collection because I was recently at a jam session holiday party extravaganza at the house of Rupa from the band Rupa and the April Fishes (you may have heard of them also), and to my appreciative surprise, Boots Riley waltzes in to join our merry music making, he even freestyled over my marracas, and i mean that in the least sexual way.

So here you go, my favorite song from The Coup's album, Pick a Bigger Weapon...It's called Laugh/Love/Fuck, three of my dearest wishes for all of you in the new year!

Damn that's good

Trips to Louisville, KY...both bitter and sweet...at least always come attached with good music. I can confidently say that y'all bitches are gonna love this shit: Little Jackie...(and count 'em all)..."28 Butts!" Enjoy! Happy New Year! And a big shout ooout to my man Scotty Siegler for helming this crazy and fruitful music sharing experiment!

I married into this blog...

Hello CDC mates - why am I here? 

I like music, I am very fond of Karen and Scott is therefore a part of my life. Yes Meatloaf - two out of three...

My first post is a theme song  for a new animated series I co-created - Skipping School.

What do you think?

Wannabe in L.A. (?)

So Karen and I are in L.A. for Christmas.
And so I was compelled to post this fast-and-dirty track by The Eagles of Death Metal which are fronted by Jesse Hughes (left) and (gasp) hunky Josh Homme (right) of those inimitable Queens of the Stone Age.

Their new album is called "Heart On", and features even more puns than where that came from, including the title of this track "Wannabe in L.A.".

So, Merry-Ho-Ho from Lost and Jealous!

Congratulations to Faust

Whose selections (2) for the CDC have made it to the Time's Top 10 songs of 2008!
Kanye West, Love Lockdown
Pink , So What
Ida Maria , Oh My God
Lil Wayne, A Milli
Fleet Foxes, White Winter Hymnal
Jonas Brothers, Burnin' Up
Beyonce , Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It)
MGMT, Time To Pretend
Duffy, Rockferry
Gnarls Barkley , Going On

Cuban beats to warm you up!

Check out Alex Cuba's "Agua del Pozo."

Singer-songwriter Alex*Cuba hails from Artemisa, Cuba (60KM from Havana) and resides in Smithers, B.C. (14 hours north of Vancouver). Musically, he lives everywhere in between. His trademark sugarcane-sweet melodies, pop-soul hooks and rock chords subtly subvert commonly held notions of what Cuban music is. Alex is on the vanguard, crafting a cross-cultural sound that mirrors his geographical journey. Not tied to tradition, this Cuban-Canadian prefers his vintage Gibson over el sencerro (cowbell) anytime.

This month, Alex further endeared himself to Canadians by releasing a spanish version of Blue Rodeo's classic country song "Bad Timing."

OT - Ghettochef!

Although this post has no music submission, many seedies were in attendance last night at Ghettochef. In a close contest, Shawn was the victor. 

I give you the culinary stylings of Shawn and Scott. Enjoi.

Ghettochef! Dec '08

Hello!

I've missed you all! Sorry for the lack of posts, messages, love, etc. No, the bloom hasn't fallen off. I've just been hella busy.

Without further ado, I've added Fleet Foxes' cute, short little ditty "White Winter Hymnal" to the playlist. Appropriate, n'est-ce pas?

If I don't see you in person beforehand, I wish you a happy holiday and a sexy new year!

Labrador :: Loyal Divide

So it's really not fair to post a song and ask our intrepid Seedy Seers to listen to it a few of times before passing judgment. Because even though The CDC acts as a bit of a filter, there's still an investment by each of us to listen to at least couple dozen tracks each month.

That said - I'm asking just that. Headphones are good.

"Labrador" starts out a bubbling tape experiment worthy of of Kid A, and slowly adds a number of subtle but compelling percussive layers before a soft chord structure and softer vocals come in to guide us through the rest of the stuttering gated synths. It's a rich track that I feel really rewards repeated listens.

The group, (The) Loyal Divide is a fivesome out of Chicago - and this track is from a just-released EP also titled "Labrador". They also have an equally compelling offering in the form of their early 2007 eponymous debut.

Money-back-guarantee: If you don't like this track, you get the next one for free.
(I'm not sure what that means, either)

On the 25th... gonna cover you with...

This isn't an official post - more of a public service. In case you missed it... in honor of the holidays check out John Legend on a Colbert Christmas expounding on the virtues of nutmeg. (Sadly the preamble to the song is missing in this clip)

Feeling Chill

This is Curumin's Compacto. It feels smoky, warm, old, new, nice groove.

According to Luciano Nakata Albuquerque , the Brazillian who is Curumin, "Compacto" in Brazil, in Portuguese means a 7" album; we call 45s "compactos." In that song's lyrics, I'm [singing] about that old feeling of hearing a record [for the first time] in your home, [being] very quiet and trying to relax. This feeling, this old-style way to hear music. Enjoy

I Was Made for You - She & Him

In need of some new tunes for a relaxing Sunday morning?
While sipping on your favorite cup of coffee (or tea)...
And reading the daily newspaper...
With NFL football on the tele in the background...
Well, here it is!
The whole album is great.
Check it out.

In A Green Space

I've been mulling his music for a while and finally decided to post it today, this crisp and bright December morning.

Dear subsrcibers, here is biostatistician/ethnomusicologist Koushik's sun kissed, funk leaning, 1960s psych pop, airy, serene, languid, dazed, textured, lush, chil, bird chirps, off beat and a whole lot more In A Green Space from his Out My Window record. Also good with getting it on but I think that is just personal preference.

R.A. the Rugged Man - Chains

I heard this recently on Pandora and it's catchy. A little rap from Strong Island, NY. I think it must be a law that at least one former Wu-Tang member make a cameo on all rap that comes from out east. Not that I mind. I kinda like old school Wu-Tang. 

R.A. the Rugged Man apparently has a storied past. At the tender age of 18, there was a 9-way bidding war to sign him to a label. I guess it didn't do positive things for his ego. I can't do better than this wiki quote: 

"Due to his violent personality and certain sexual harassment lawsuits filed against him, R.A. was blackballed from the industry for some time"

Oh Noes, a there's misogynistic rapper with a violent personality?! Not too many of them around!

I guess a tortured life makes for good art.  

Enjoi, seedies. 

Guest DJs, Santa, and More...

A little housekeeping here.

First - thanks to Shawn for the first CDC Guest DJ playlist. I've burned our discs now to his exacting specifications and the "distribution channel", as it were, should start delivering his masterpiece tomorrow.

Out-of-towners and ne'er-do-wells can also download all the tracks and an xml playlist file for importing into iTunes here.

Ne'er-do-wells? Yeah. You know who you are. Without naming any names, a certain subset of the CDC found themselves awfully busy in November and unable to find time to post. That's cool. I know how it goes. Perhaps this is your graceful exit from our modest little club. If so, pay no attention to the man behind the curtain and return to your regularly scheduled lives. But if it was merely an oversight or inability - let me know and Santa can furnish your with one of the newly minted discs in the spirit of the holidays.

And hey - it's December! Let's close the new year out with a bang. The bad news is that the December disc will likely not be available in a physical form until Tuesday January 13th as the production line will be in Australia until that time. The good news is, for your two-weeks-worth of patience, you will be rewarded with a shiny bonus disc: The CDC - Best Of 2008. This disc will consist of the top-vote-getters from our first nine months. Joy!

And finally a reminder that Guest DJ spots are available in perpetuity if anyone has the same wherewithal as our man Shawn. Reserve your favorite month today!

"Whistle While You Work" or, "Oh No :: Andrew Bird"

So if you don't like the whistling, and you don't like the violins, and you don't like the big words, then maybe this isn't for you. Except that it is. Andrew Bird's forthcoming album, Noble Beast, due out on January 20th, is supposed to be his most accessible yet. Of course, he's still whistling right out of the gate, and throwing around turns-of-phrase like "salsify mains". But check this out - he actually explains his wordplay:

Words get under my skin the same way melodies do. Something catches my attention and I file it subconsciously. It often begins with an archaic or obscure word I have not defined. I just like the sound of it and its elusive meaning gives it a mysterious shine. On the menu of a local cafe is an item called “salsify.” Before I reach for the dictionary I let my imagination run wild and decide that salsify is a burrowing bronchial root like a rickety old mine that burrows deep into something. It turns out that’s mostly correct which encourages me further. All I know is “salsify mains” sounds good to me.

That quote was taken from Measure for Measure, a New York Times blog in which songwriters write about their songs in the making. So that's cool.

The former front man for (really?) the Squirrel Nut Zippers will be in San Francisco at the Fillmore on Feb 19 and 20th. We've seen him at Coachella and Outside Lands, and recommend a ticket if you want to see what he does with that gramophone. (seriously - it's part of the act)