Vegyn Remixes Air

Record Store Day was last weekend, and as per usual i spent way too much money.  But i got some cool shit, like a reissue of Marty Willson-Piper's (The Church) 1987 solo album "In Reflection" and the 12" single of The Cure's "Alone" remixed by Four Tet.  I also snagged "Blue Moon Safari," electronic musician and producer Vegyn's remix and reinterpretation of Air's debut album "Moon Safari."  It's wonderful.  Check out the mix of "Sexy Boy" below and download the album here.

Daily Jam - The Way You Look Tonight

It's Sunday, so here are some Sunday sounds from French duo Air.  And here's hoping i get to catch them live in Austin in October.  In the meantime, let's listen to "The Way You Look Tonight," our Daily Jam.

Daily Jam - Playground Love

You ever make a mixtape for someone? An aural definition of you assembled by bits and pieces of pop radio? A testament of your deepest feelings as conveyed by rock stars, composers, and singer songwriters alike, all presented in an old school, analog tape format? Or maybe just a collection of tunes you think that certain someone might like? I did. I used to do it all the time. I even wrote about it once, a long time ago. Hell, I still make CD-R mixes, agonizing over sequence and flow, to jam in my car on the drive to work because I’m an old person and stuck in my ways. I still feel that there is an underappreciated art to it, especially when dubbing cassettes, and tucked away in boxes in closets in my house are dozens of old tapes I made for myself years ago.

And lo and behold, when my wife was cleaning out some stuff the other day, she came across the empty case for the first tape I made for her. It was an interesting artifact to uncover, with some of the music kind of dated, and the actual tape missing, probably eaten long ago by a car tape deck. But ultimately, it’s still a pretty decent mix, featuring some love songs my then 20-year old heart thought were to die for…except for one glaring omission. Being that I most likely made the tape either at the end of 1999 or the beginning of 2000, I’m aghast at my exclusion.

“Playground Love.”

So far, writing this column (in 2017), I have yet to repeat an artist, but “Playground Love” is just too silky smooth to ignore. Penned for Sofia Coppola’s 1999 film The Virgin Suicides, and included with the score, the song is an absolute gem from French electronic duo Air featuring Gordon Tracks. It’s sexy, and alluring, and feels like some kind of wonderful Godley & Creme homage, all dreamy pining and pangs of teenage lust and love. Gorgeous and haunting, the song is the embodiment of the kind of smoky, lovelorn jam you would put on a youthful and sincere (and maybe a little naïve) mixtape for the object of your desire.

So how the hell did I leave it off of there? To remedy the situation, I suppose a new mixtape should be in the works. Odes to domesticity…and cool, slinky sex songs…and sax. Plenty of sax.

Listen below, our Daily Jam.

Daily Jam - Jeanne

Oh how my heart beats for Francoise Hardy, French chanteuse of the 1960’s, former pop music and fashion icon, the Yeh-Yeh girl from Paris. Her impressive early catalog trades in folk, pop, British Beat, and a slew of other genres and influences sung in French, English, German, Italian, and more over the course of dozens of albums. Funny that I had no idea who she was until listening to fellow Frenchmen Air and their collaborative effort with Hardy called “Jeanne,” which appeared as a B-side on the single to “Sexy Boy” in 1998. The song is spacey, and haunting, and gorgeous, and it sent me on a path to discover the further works of Mlle Hardy, as well as the many other wonderful artists contributing to the 60’s French pop scene.

I’ve had a soft spot for French music ever since.

I’ve written at length in the past about songs and albums that can transport you back to a particular time in your life, a nostalgia trip in audio pill form. “Jeanne” is certainly one of those songs for me. Just hearing the wistful acoustic guitar, the soothing tones of the synthesizer, and Hardy’s ghostly vocals takes me back to my freshman year of college. The song paints such a vivid picture of that time in my mind’s eye, that a whole sea of memories, feelings, stories, and emotions can come flooding into my head, leaving me wading through the history of a teenage version of myself, who to some degree, does not exist anymore. It causes a homesick kind of feeling. It makes me feel all too mortal. What if we could remember what we thought the future would be like? This song haunts me.

Check it out below, our Daily Jam.

Daily Jam - Bathroom Girl

Air's score to Sofia Coppola's "The Virgin Suicides" reigns supreme as one of the best movie soundtracks of all time.  Over 20 years later, and i'm still smitten.  Listen to "Bathroom Girl" below, our Daily Jam.

Daily Jam - Ce Matin La

I really do love those first few Air albums.  Here's a track from the first one to start our week off to, hopefully setting the right vibe for things to come.  Listen to "Ce Matin La" below, our Daily Jam.

JB Dunckel

JB Dunckel is best known as one half of the French duo Air, and this month he's ventured out on his own with solo album "Carbon."  Psych pop synths abound.  Check out the dreamy "Zombie Park" below and download the album here.

Daily Jam - Wonder Milky Bitch

Air is one of those artists whose catalog i could comb through everyday for a song to post.  Today, here's the sublimely weird "Wonder Milky Bitch," our Daily Jam.

Air and Francoise Hardy- Jeanne

Today sucked.  I'm exhausted.  I'm moody.  And there's still more to do.  So, here's one of my favorite songs of all time.  Way back in 1997, French duo Air teamed with living legend Francoise Hardy for a track called "Jeanne."  The song appeared on the single to the band's "Sexy Boy" on Astralwerks.  It's smooth, and sexy, and trippy, and mournful, and beautiful, and it led me to discover the work of the lovely Mlle. Hardy.  Listen below and enjoy your evening.