Daily Bowie - Boys Keep Swinging

Oft the overlooked final album of the Berlin Trilogy, 1979's "Lodger" finds Bowie shaking off some of the iciness of the previous two records and assembling a relatively straight forward rock offering, though one that pulls elements from a half dozen genres to create something uniquely Bowie.  You can really start to hear his influence on acts from the last thirty years here.  Listen "Boys Keep Swinging" below.

Tariverdiev

The Cold War and the Iron Curtain kept American and Russian cultures away from each other for decades.  Arts, literature, music, film, and so on planted firmly on the other side of the wall.  And so, the west missed out on the prolific film score work of Mikael Tariverdiev, work that involved a lot of slinky, piano-driven jazz performed under a cloud of melancholia.  It's beautiful stuff.  Earth Recordings just issued a 3-disc set of the man's music, appropriately called "Film Music," comprised from 3 different Russian films, though he scored over 100.  Listen to the smoky and somber "The Last Romantic" below and get the album here.

Daily Bowie - Outside

Your Daily Bowie today is the title track from the 1995 album "Outside."  Enjoy.

HAERTS - Eva

Good news everyone!  It looks like we've got new music from dreampop act HAERTS, in the form of the "Power/Land" EP.  Listen to the sweeping, majestic lead off "Eva" below.

Daily Bowie - Moonage Daydream

It was only a matter of time before i got to something from 1972's "The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and The Spiders From Mars."  Listen to the phenomenal "Moonage Daydream" below.  Your Daily Bowie.

Daily Bowie - All the Young Dudes

Originally penned for Mott the Hoople in 1972, Bowie's "All the Young Dudes" basically serves as a veritable anthem for the entire glam rock scene of the early 70's.  He must have realized this as he recorded his own version and began performing the song live.  Originally appearing on the 1974 album "David Live," the song became a part of his repertoire for the remainder of his career.  Listen to a studio version below.

LUH - I&I

LUH, or Lost Under Heaven, the project of former WU LYF front man Ellery James Roberts and Ebony Hoorn have a new track, "I&I," out with an accompanying video.  It features production from The Haxan Cloak and is as somber and gorgeous as anything else you'll hear today.  The duo recently signed to Mute, so hopefully we'll get an official release before the year is up.  Watch and listen below.

Daily Bowie - Quicksand (demo version)

"Quicksand" is one of my favorite Bowie songs, a highlight from 1971's "Hunky Dory," an album full of highlights.  Read about it here.  And while the album version is lush and gorgeous, this simple, stripped-down demo version is pretty damn cool as well.

Cold Cave covers New Order

Hey everybody, Cold Cave covered New Order.  How had that not happened yet?  Listen to "Your Silent Face" below.

John Congleton and The Nighty Nite

One of my most favorite acts of the last 15 years or so was the excellent and now defunct The Paper Chase, the project of musician and producer John Congleton.  The band blended caterwaul and creepiness so perfectly as to induce goosebumps and scar eardrums.  I loved them.  But as most things do, the band eventually came to an end, and i found myself having to get my Congleton fix through his seemingly never ending list of producer credits.  Until now.  April will see the release of a new project called John Congleton and The Nighty Nite.  The sonic aesthetic is akin to what Congleton used to make with The Paper Chase, and i could not be more excited.  Look for "Until the Horror Goes" on Fat Possum on April 1st, and listen to "Until it Goes" below.

Daily Bowie - We Are the Dead

If i was pressed, on most days "Diamond Dogs" is my favorite Bowie record, though it's still something of a Sophie's Choice kind of decision to have to make.  That being said, there's just something about it that resonates with me, and a big part of that is the creeping and theatrical track "We Are the Dead."  It oozes with appeal, and also features the line, "I love you in your fuck-me pumps."  And that's good enough for me.  Listen below.

The Big Pink

Hey, it's The Big Pink.  I kind of forgot all about these guys, after loving a handful of singles they put out way back in 2009.  Looks like the band's got a new EP, "Empire Underground" due in March on B3SCI, and it sounds pretty good.  Watch the video for "Hightimes" below.

Daily Bowie - Lady Grinning Soul

The fact that i've been posting Bowie tunes every day for the last two weeks and that i'm only just now getting to music from 1973's "Aladdin Sane" shows you just how much amazing stuff the man made over his decades-long career.  Listen to that album's closer, "Lady Grinning Soul," below.

Daily Bowie - Cat People (Putting Out Fire)

I've never been all that crazy about Bowie's 80's output.  There are certainly some songs here and there (i will fight to the death anyone who doesn't love "Modern Love"), but for the most part, it just doesn't live up to what came before or after.  That being said, you can't deny that "Cat People (Putting Out Fire)" from the 1982 album "Let's Dance" and the Giorgio Moroder produced soundtrack to the film of the same name is crazy fucking cool.  It's sexy and ominous and just an intense piece of synth pop.  Even Danzig likes it.  And it was used to great effect in Tarantino's "Inglourious Basterds."

Rubble Kings

"Rubble Kings" is a documentary film from 2010 by Shan Nicholson about the street gangs of New York City during the 1970's, basically what was the inspiration for "The Warriors."  I have yet to see the movie, but the recently released "Rubble Kings" album, a collection of songs inspired by it and produced by Little Shalimar is fantastic.  A mix of 70's funk and soul, and featuring rap verses from the likes of Run the Jewels, Bun B, and more, this record is a monster.  Currently, you can download the whole thing for free from Adult Swim and get the vinyl from Mass Appeal.  Below, listen to "Savage Habits" featuring Bun B, Killer Mike, and Cuz Lightyear, and then check out the grooving instrumental "Edge of the Edge."

Nevermen - Hate On

Always stoked for anything Mike Patton related, so his upcoming Nevermen project was always going to make waves in my world, but with each new bit i hear, i just get more and more excited.  Listen to the latest proggy single "Hate On" and get the self-titled album next week on Lex/Ipecac.

Iggy Pop - Gardenia

So, Iggy Pop recorded a new album with Queens of The Stone Age front man Josh Homme...and if that didn't just pique your interest and make your day, then i don't want to know what's wrong with you.  "Post Pop Depression" is due in March on Loma Vista, but you can listen to the grooving and driving first single "Gardenia" below.  Classic Pop.

Daily Bowie - Ashes to Ashes

Easily one of my favorite songs, by David Bowie or otherwise, "Ashes to Ashes" from 1980's "Scary Monsters" LP is one of those tunes that can move me every single time i hear it.  There's something devastating about it, hopeless, strung-out junkies for whom there is no return, no respite.  Despair is real and palpable and spread across the universe, the ultimate fate of Major Tom.  If Bowie was ever going to make me weep, it's here.

"...Hitting an all time low."

Daily Bowie - Nite Flights

In 1993, on the "Black Tie White Noise" LP, David Bowie covered The Walker Brothers' amazing "Nite Flights" because of course he did.  Ever the fan of Scott Walker, it's only fitting that the Bowie would be inspired by and cover the man's music.  It's a shame the two never had the opportunity to collaborate.  Listen below.

Fatima Al Qadiri

"Brute" is the latest release from electronic musician/producer Fatima Al Qadiri, and the first release from the album, "Battery," sounds like an oncoming apocalypse, a harbinger of doom from which there is no escape, a crushing and brutal regime whose foot soldiers will silence the righteous uprising.  It's dark and heavy and awesome stuff.  Listen below and get the record from Hyperdub in March.

David Vassalotti

Let's focus on a different David for a little while.  In this case, it's David Vassalotti, the guitarist for the jangly and excellent band Merchandise.  Vassalotti has a solo album, "Broken Rope," coming out next month on Wharf Cat.  Listen to the single, "Lady Day Redux," below, a rollicking, guitar-driven groove of a jam.

Daily Bowie - Cygnet Committee

Today's slice of David Bowie comes from his 1969 album "Space Oddity," which was also known as "Man of Words, Man of Music," and just simply "David Bowie."  Listen to the dystopian progressive folk of "Cygnet Committee" below.

Eric Bachmann

Eric Bachmann of Archers of Loaf and Crooked Fingers fame will be releasing a self-titled solo album in March on Merge, and first single "Mercy" is a gospel and doo-wop-tinged wonder.  It's personal, hooky, and sounds like an instant classic.  Listen below.

Daily Bowie - The Supermen

A lot of people think of early Bowie as way folky or spacey, that the really driving rockers didn't arrive until Ziggy did.  They're wrong.  While there certainly was plenty of folk and space imagery to go around, Bowie was always able to deliver as raucous a jam as any of his contemporaries.  Just listen to the opening drum beat, the eerie vocals, the slow tempo guitar riff of "The Supermen," the album closer to 1970's "The Man Who Sold the World."  It's weird and it rocks.

METZ - Eraser

Looks like we've got some new music from METZ headed our way this Friday.  The "Eraser" 7" finds the noisy Ontario band making their normal ruckus in glorious form.  Listen to the title track below and get the record from Three One G, or digitally from Sub Pop.

Daily Bowie - Love Is Lost (Hello Steve Reich Mix by James Murphy for the DFA)

This might just go on forever.  With damn near 50 years of material to draw from, i'm never at a lack for something Bowie to post.  The "Love Is Lost (Hello Steve Reich Mix by James Murphy for the DFA)" version of the song originally on 2013's "The Next Day" is kind of a definitive sound for Bowie in his last decade, a stunning mix of krautrock, electronica, and mature pop all woven together by an artist he undoubtedly influenced.  Everything eventually comes full circle.  Listen below.

Daily Bowie - Slip Away

"Slip Away" is basically David Bowie's love letter to New York City (his home for many a year), but in an odd, very Bowie-esque way, a highlight from the 2002 album "Heathen."  There's an inescapable wistfulness to it, like a old, fond memory catching in your throat.  It's also today's Daily Bowie.  Listen below.

Daily Bowie - Crystal Japan

Here's a kind of eerie, kind of soothing jam for today's Daily Bowie.  Instrumental "Crystal Japan" was originally intended to be on the 1980 album "Scary Monsters (and Super Creeps)," but instead found it's way onto a Japan released single and a sake commercial of all things.  It's also really similar to the Nine Inch Nails song "A Warm Place," from 1994's "The Downward Spiral" LP, a fact that Reznor totally admits to and agrees with, stating that he subconsciously and unintentionally pulled it from the ether.  To his credit, Bowie never sued or asked for royalties.

Woods - Sun City Creeps

Woods have been cracking out dependable little indie-lo-fi-psych-folk-pop nuggets for over a decade now, and they still show no sign of slowing down at all.  New album "City Sun Eater in the River of Light" hits the shelves and waves in April on Woodsist, and first taste "Sun City Creeps" finds the band traversing in some new sounds.  Flourishes of African jazz and desert blues highlight the new jam, giving it a full and cinematic vibe.  Listen below.

Daily Bowie - Sons of the Silent Age

One of the things i love about David Bowie's career, more so than most artists of his longevity, is how different each era of music sounds from one another, and how devoted the fan base can be to their particular favorite.  And that favorite can totally change over time.  I used to be way, way into Ziggy-era Bowie, and electro-industrial Bowie before that, but of late, Berlin Bowie is my frequent go to era.  The combination of "Low," "Heroes," and "Lodger" is damn near flawless, and was the forebear of so much to come.  "Heroes," the 1977 released centerpiece of the trilogy, has become a kind of cultural touchstone, its title track ranking up there with the very best that the man ever recorded.  The whole thing is remarkable though, with my favorite being the sweeping and exotic "Sons of the Silent Age."  Listen below.

Daily Bowie - I'm Deranged

Yesterday, a friend of mine declared his love for the 1999 album "Hours," arguably one of Bowie's lesser efforts, but a record he had fond memories of from his high school years, and thus a record he had a more personal or profound relationship with.  For me, that was 1995's "Outside," Bowie's first real foray into the industrial sounds made popular by Nine Inch Nails and the like.  Before that record came out, i had kind of written Bowie off as a former superstar turned adult contemporary artist, the outcome of so many classic rock stars before him.

As a kid in the 80's, i was always aware of Bowie, but had never really given him much thought.  He was the Goblin King in "Labyrinth," or a radio and TV staple with the singles from "Let's Dance."  He was there, but mostly just on my periphery.  His music didn't feel like it was for me yet, as the fifth graders weren't really jamming Tin Machine, you know?  But at some point, i remember hearing "Space Oddity" on our local classic rock station, KBAT, and i began to find a new appreciation for the man.  I realized why he was a superstar...even if i wasn't into his newer stuff.  It wasn't until high school and the release of "Outside," that i really began my ascent into Bowie adulation and fandom.

Bowie tapped into a genre i was really into at the time, added his own theatrical accoutrements, and created something completely brand new...and really fucking weird.  With flashes of electronic music, jazz, and industrial rock, and featuring an assist from Brian Eno, "Outside" is a concept album about a noirish dystopian 1999 following the fictional Nathan Adler, an art crime investigator.  It's a dense and strange record, but it is MY high school Bowie album...and i'm pretty attached to it.

Listen to "I'm Deranged" below.

Lust For Youth - Stardom

Lust For Youth have a new album coming out in March on Sacred Bones, so at least there's some good news today.  Listen to the dreamy, ethereal "Stardom" below and be on the lookout for "Compassion" when it comes out.

Daily Bowie - Big Brother/Chant of the Ever Circling Skeletal Family

Today's Daily Bowie comes from the 1974 album "Diamond Dogs," a project created from the remains of Bowie's proposed and rejected "1984" musical (the Orwell estate said "no").  On a lot of days, it's my favorite Bowie record, and years ago, the band i used to play with toyed with the idea of learning and performing the whole thing live.  That never happened, but i guess we all have our regrets don't we.  Listen to the duo of tracks that close the album out below, "Big Brother" and "Chant of the Ever Circling Skeletal Family."

RIP Alan Rickman

RIP Alan Rickman.  The actor had many memorable and wonderful roles (Professor Snape) over the course of his career, but in some ways, he'll always be Hans Gruber to me.

Daily Bowie - The Loneliest Guy

Kind of a downer song for today's Daily Bowie selection, but there's a calming beauty within it.  Listen to "The Loneliest Guy" from 2003's "Reality" LP below.

Secret Boyfriend

Here's some haunting ambient machine music from the latest album from Secret Boyfriend.  "Memorize Them Well" is the sound of meditating deep within a factory somewhere, eyes closed, room darkened, your mind taking you into spiritual nether-caverns that really don't exist.  Listen below and get the "Memory Care Unit" LP from Blackest Ever Black.

Daily Bowie - A New Career in a New Town

A day later, and i'm still reeling and struggling with the news of David Bowie's passing.  It's going to hurt for awhile.  So, i think i'll be posting some tracks and stuff here everyday for the next week.  From 1977's "Low," here is "A New Career in a New Town," your Daily Bowie...

RIP David Bowie

In a word...i'm devastated.  It was terribly difficult just to type out the words "RIP David Bowie."  There are only a handful of artists who i could actually say shaped my life in some fashion or another, drawing an endless amount of inspiration from, and Bowie was one of them, as he appeared to be for scores of others around the globe.  He was a chameleon.  He was Ziggy Stardust.  He was Aladdin Sane, a Diamond Dog, the Man Who Fell to Earth, the Thin White Duke, a constantly evolving singer/songwriter/performer/actor/icon who always seemed to be one step ahead of everybody else.  Even in the end.  His latest LP felt essential after first listen, and now "Blackstar" may just be more poignant than i ever could have realized.  I'll be listening to it endlessly for a little while, along with "Hunky Dory," and "Low," and "Heroes," and...well let's just be honest, i've got 25 studio albums, some live recordings, singles, collaborations, and so much more to wade through over the coming days.  This is going to be a hard death to get over, but i count myself lucky, not just that i was able to see Bowie perform live over a decade ago, but that i was alive and on this Earth while he was creating music.  I got to witness the second half of his evolution.  I got to hear the music.

For now, everyone needs to grab their favorite David Bowie incarnation, their favorite Bowie record, and just slip away with it for a little while.  I'm going to leave you with "Fantastic Voyage," a track from the year of my birth, the 1979 album "Lodger."

RIP David Bowie

RIP Angus Scrimm

RIP Angus Scrimm.  The "Phantasm" actor passed away yesterday at the age of 89.

Tarquin Manek

Tarquin Manek is one half of the experimental electronic, kind of darkwave Australian duo Tarcar (whom you should totally check out), but has just released his first full length solo effort on Blackest Ever Black.  Here's how they describe the album:

"A unique synthesis of time-dilating folk-jazz romanticism, brittle chamber dub and plasmic post-techno electronics."

That's better than i could ever hope to do.  At any rate, the songs are weird and hypnotic and fascinating.  Listen to "Sassafras Gesundheit" below and get the "Tarquin Magnet" LP here.

Squadra Omega

Still combing through 2015 for releases that i missed, though 2016 offers up some goodies today (Bowie!), and i find myself tripping through Italian jazz-fusion-krautrock-psych troubadours Squadra Omega's May release "Altri Occhi Ci Guardano," and man is it something.  The record ebbs and flows and pushes your brain inwards and outwards, smearing your grey matter across an ever expanding universe.  It sounds like John Zorn and Ennio Morricone making a record with Goblin.  Start your trip now.  Listen to the desert guitar/surf-tinged "Sospesi Nell 'Oblio" below and grab the record from Sound of Cobra.

White Denim - Holda You (I'm Psycho)

Hey, there's a new White Denim jam out there.  New album "Stiff" is due in March on Downtown Records, but listen to the first taste, "Holda You (I'm Psycho)" below.

Odd Nosdam - T r i s h

It's hard to believe it's been almost 5 years since we lost Broadcast's Trish Keenan.  In 2013, Anticon member/producer/musician Odd Nosdam released a very limited cassette EP tribute to the late singer, and it's getting a vinyl reissue this month on Sonic Cathedral.  It's hazy.  It's beautiful.  It's wonderful.  Listen to "T r i s h" below.

Cross Record

It's always a joy to find new music growing in your own back yard.  In the case of Cross Record, that would be Dripping Springs, Texas, a small town right outside of Austin.  A blend of dark folk, goth, psych, and drone, with a light layer of doom, the band's music is somehow dreamy, haunting, hypnotizing, and foreboding all at the same time.  Get the upcoming "Wabi-Sabi" LP later this month from Ba Da Bing Records and listen to "Basket" below.

Teeth of the Sea

UK experimental weirdos Teeth of the Sea released their fourth album, "Highly Deadly Black Tarantula" a couple of months back, and it feels like the culmination of everything the band has produced up this point.  A wonderful mix of prog rock, industrial, electronic, noise, drone, and endless experimentation, the record can certainly be a challenge, but a highly rewarding one.  Get the album from Norman Records or here, and listen to the crawling closer "Love Theme for 1984" below.

Colin Stetson and Sarah Neufeld

Here's another one of those records from last year that for some reason or another completely fell off my radar.  Saxophonist Colin Stetson and violinist Sarah Neufeld (of Arcade Fire) create complex and breathtaking compositions, the two instruments pulsing and throbbing against each other, fingers massaging your cranial cavity, the sounds pushing you further in, a fantastic inner journey.  It's almost overwhelming.  Listen to "The Sun Roars into View" below and get the "Never Were the Way She Was" LP from Constellation Records.

Turbo Kid

I posted about the Le Matos and Pawws track "No Tomorrow" from the "Turbo Kid" soundtrack last year when Mondo/Deathwaltz released the 7" single.  The score itself is pretty amazing too.  The LP appears to be sold out, but you can still grab the download or CD here.  Listen to "Wasteland" below.

Arca - Urchin

2016 is here.  Happy New Year everybody.  Here's a new, free track from producer Arca called "Urchin."  Listen and download below and enjoy.