more from The xx, a few cool covers, some newbies & a few classics. i first posted about The xx's cover of Womack & Womack when i came out of hibernation last february, and i'm happy to first squeeze them into my previous playlist with an epic cover of Aaliyah's "Hot Like Fire." i also posted "Cuore" by Rita Pavone but check out the crazy set at one of her tv performances for another song:
i threw this playlist together while enjoying California's June Gloom. it gets cloudy & grey in LA every June; it's so rare around here i'm loving every minute of it. it's almost like being back in Belgium. the playlist has a little Belgian touch, with Nicoletta's cover ofJacques Brel,and a sweet song by Belgians Das Pop. i really dig Marina & The Diamonds & i will always love Yo La Tengo, so i included some of their tunes as well. fitting to June gloom, Cinematic Orchestra & Radiohead do the trick, and i had to shake it up with the Pixies. i can't tell you how great it was to see them open for The Cure at Coachella several years ago, where i proceeded to cry like a river when they performed "Boys Don't Cry," or was i just rolling my ass off & dripping sweat?!?! what a blissful blur that was!!! as for The Horrors, they rock! i bring it back to LA with "Lazy Eye" by the Silversun Pickups, my old roommates. Brian, Nikki and myself -duh!- used to often go down the street fromour houseto the Silversun liquor store on Sunset Boulevard in Silverlake... they ended up on MTV; i ended up in rehab... to each his own!!! anyhew, here are some low-fi mobile phone pix i took on my way to work this morning...
the hollywood sign is barely visible here: another hollywood street:
this is the view from my office on sunset boulevard: this is the view from where i sit at my desk: this is my office as seen from the street: and this is the church across the street: by the afternoon, as usual, the sun was out again:
check out these 6 pix taken on a rare sunny day in Brussels: these were taken during an exhibit celebrating the newRené Magrittemuseum in Brussels: Brussels has plenty more cool museums, like The MIM:
ok, here's the first song on the playlist:
just cuz i can't leave you on such a mellow note, here's a great pick me up:
& the video to my favourite FYC song posted on this playlist:
i posted the video & songherebut check them out live:
i can't wait till they make it to LA! enjoy & share the wealth!
i dig'em all & they're all credited properly so google'em or look'em up on myspace if you must find out more. it starts with my new favourite band The xx & ends with ODB who holds a special place in my heart. i've been waiting for way too long to get my hands on some tracks from The xx... expect to get more as i keep sharing music i love... the Daft Punk cover of The Twelves is epic. & check out this fluffy video for Bunny Holiday:
so...
LET ME TELL YOU SOMETHING!
i'm feeling the need to share some deeper thoughts today. after 7 years in the production, advertising & music industry, i took a much needed break to find a new & more balanced way of life for myself. so why the hell am i back in this bizz? WHY?! who am i and what is the point of all this??? YIKES!!!
before i go on, check out the pic i took by my office the other day; what a funny juxtaposition of ideas/brands/concepts:
only in LA, right?!i luv it!!!
so, how am i easing my way back in this new climate? well, as soon as i find myself getting a little ahead of myself or things don't feel right, or i'm just taking a wrong turn, guess what?
I JUST SIT & DO NOTHING!!!
i lay down my weapons & just wait for instructions, & by that i mean i try to set my ego aside & reconnect with the universe. keep reading if you wanna know the kinda shit that pops up in my head when i meditate...
when i was a kid, there was this kinda joke question that often popped up in TV comedy shows. one characther would ask another "ok big shot - so what's the key to the universe?" or perhaps "tell me, oh great one, what's the meaning of life?" it was always the same question, a kinda cosmic joke, a way of debagging the pompous & the mystical. essentially, it was meant to satirize the oldest question we know: "who am i & what is the point of all this?"
the assumption of course, was that even the smartest of smart asses would be dumbstruck by such an unanswerable question. underlying that assumption, i believe, was another: that it was futile & meaningless to quest after the universal spiritual truths which were clearly beyond our comprehension. the suggestion being that if you really insisted on posing big stupid questions about the meaning of existence, then there was a perfectly serviceable church, synagogue, mosque, temple or whatever with a big book full of slick answers & a neat circular argument. meanwhile, we would all be better off aknowledging our lowly place in the scheme of things & getting on with the business of living normal mundane lives... funny, but i don't hear that joke anymore!
i think there are reasons for this. first, my memory became increasingly selective & i took the path of only hearing what i wanted to hear. secondly, mainstream society isn't so threatened by mysticism as it was back when i was a kid or even many years prior to that. from my teenage years on, there has been such an explosion of information, products & status brands in the world, making rampant & obsessive consumers of us all.
the current economic recession is a blessing in disguise! somehow i just have to believe that it will all make better sense one day. meanwhile, advertising is taking a back seat or toning things down a bit, or going in a new direction, whatever that may be... it has been in a constant state of flux since i accidentally fell into this bizz, but this time more than ever, it's changing once & for all. everything is changing! this is exciting. hopefully we will all come back to basics & boil things down to what's truly helpful, necessary & innovative.
still, there are more things to watch, listen to, wear & buy than ever before. we've been living for so long in a nintendo sega xbox wii guitar hero disney coke bud apple nike adidas puma levi's diesel lacoste a.p.c. calvin h&m american apparel vw bmw fiji smart water frenzy of consumption, and just the basics!!! not much time left to ponder the imponderable when we're ticking off that shopping list! everybody expects a millionaire lifestyle as a basic right. yet, despite our relative luxury, freedom & privilege, this lifestyle remains essentially unsatisfactory. so this recession is what we need to crush our collective self-rightousness & sense of entitlement.
the main problem, i think, is that we've tried to construct an identity out of our patterns of consumption for way too long now. we say this is me, this is my boyfriend, this is my look, etc. these are my nikes or this is my mac. in fact, we even take it further & say this 80s look is really me today, those pumas are so you, these raybans are so him, these marc jacobs are so her... we say, i'm totally unique because i am me & i'm in the know & i'm cutting edge, i only smoke this brand & only eat organic, or like this kinda furniture... i drive a prius because i am me & nobody else. then we meet someone who smokes the same brand & drives the same car, & we're delighted because like us, they are totally totally unique & original. or we feel angry that they have copied us!!! we try to establish ourselves, our originality in this confined way, then expend way too much energy on maintaining our terminal uniqueness, teaching it, updating it, advertising it... phew! how exhausting!!!
no matter how hard we try, we can never get enough of whatever it is we think we need: money, clothes, drugs, food, sex, vacations, recognition, fame, status,... we might get some, but never does it bring us lasting happiness or security, so we go looking for more & more & more & too often keep hitting the same walls. or we might look for a relationship, the support of a boyfriend or girlfriend, someone to love, someone to make us feel whole. and that may be nice for a while, but eventually our relationships bring their own problems, and may even become a complete pain in the ass!!! we keep making the same mistakes while expecting different results. that, my friends, is pure insanity!!! that's what Albert Einstein said. trust!
sooner or later, try as we might to avoid it, we are confronted with the stark fact of our heroic, ironic & tragically neurotic & unsatisfactory existence - we are left with ourselves, which is why so many of us have that old joke question, or a version of it, echoing in the back of our minds... "yeah," we say, feeling very cheated about the lack of reward for all the effort we keep putting in, "just who the hell am i & what is the point of all this???" and since we've all become too accustomed to having our needs met and our desires & interests continually serviced (or so we think), we notice a curious lack of response in this area. and we would really really like to know the answer. really!!!
i have now been clean of all & any mind altering substances for a while because that is what i needed to do to move forward, and it is finally becoming crystal clear to me that until i address this joke question & start working on the answer, all issues of wealth & value are totally meaningless. and so today, i meditate. i stop acting. stop speeding. slow my roll...
SIT & DO NOTHING!!!
i listen to the universe, which speaks to me through my gut instinct, my friends, my peers & everything around us. what a gift that is. i highly recommend it, or the change that is happening all around us will simply pass me by & i will keep making the same mistakes & get the same old results.
meditation is the greatest source of strength & basic intelligence in my life. it connects me instead of setting me apart. and if you're at a loss here, just get enough sleep...
"SLEEP IS THE BEST MEDITATION." (the dalai lama)
and don't forget to...
"DANCE LIKE NO ONE IS WATCHING, LOVE LIKE YOU'LL NEVER BE HURT, SING LIKE NO ONE IS LISTENING, AND LIVE LIKE IT'S HEAVEN ON EARTH." (william purkey)
ok, lets lighten this up with a Monthy Python clip:
just in case you don't know what to do tonight, THIS is where it's at! do a "Lykke Li" search on this blog to get to previous posts with pix of her & free MP3z...
i've shared several versions of Little Boots' "New In Town" in some of these posts. i really like her too. here's the video:
this Belgian stop motion flick screened this year at the Cannes Film Festival shows what happens when you take a young couple under your roof - the party at the end rocks:
"it's a new dawn, it's a new day, it's a new life for me
and i'm feeling good!"
i couldn't think of a better way to kick off this playlist than with the one & only Nina Simone... i had the privilege of being at the Greek Theater with 2 special friends -Wanna & James- for her 2001 performance. anyhew, here you go:
i am now slowly easing my way back from sabbatical. i have a nice window office on Sunset Blvd & i get to hang out with smart & talented friends & directors/designers/animators. check out the NIP/TUCK promoArsenal did & dance! here's the Rescue Me promo and some fun Volvo & Mitsubishi spots. last but not least, don't mess with The Arsenal Robot...you're free to hit me up if you need a solutions oriented shop that does it all, from soup to nuts!
now back to the music! this one's a good mix of old & new. some chill tunes & some harder dancefloor beats to shake that ass... from Aphex Twin to Au Revoir Simone, Ayarkhaan to James Brown, Buddy Holly to Róisín Murphy,Cibo Matto to Matt & Kim,Junior Boys to Jacuzzi Boys, Jazmine Sullivan to Roy Buchanan, Sarah Vaughan to Santogold, Stealers Wheel to Solomon Burke, Lee Douglas to Damian Lazarus, Luscious Jackson to La Roux, Nat King Cole to Bounce Camp, Those Darlins to The xx:
they're my new fave new band!
i also love Andy Webb's mashup at #43 (Holy Ghost! - Hold On / Metro Area - Orange Alert / In Flagranti - In The Silver White Box / Barbara Norris - Heavy Hitter (SDC Re-Edit) / The Rapture - House of Jealous Lovers (Acapella). WHAT'S FREE TO YOU MEAN? check this out:
Mozart to M.I.A., Mr. Scruff to Metric, Lenny Kravitz to La Roux, Lenka to Little Boots, Phoenix to Fever Ray, Jurgen Paape to Jamie Jones, Britney Spears to Nightmares On Wax,... The Golden Filter'sremix of Little Boots is sick! find here their "Solid Gold" track.
i have new snail mail info:
Tintin Américain 6600 Sunset Blvd. Hollywood, CA 90028
i collect postcards, so send me one!
on a different note, i can't wait for this to be in theaters:
Pan African - Flight 2 (62 FREE MP3Z) i loveCape Town. i'm just chilling with the family right on the beach, going to braais (South African bbqs) & wandering around town...
"Jogging for Jesus" (track #43) is hysterical! you'll recognize new tunes & remixes for Andreas Tilliander, Bat For Lashes, Boozoo Bajou, Chromatics, Fannypack, Fever Ray, Glass Candy, La Roux,Lykke Li,M.Ward, Phoenix, Portishead, Remi Nicole,Roísin Murphy, Royksöpp, Sia, Phoenix, Savath y Savalas, Sébastien Tellier, The Tallest Man On Earth,The Teenagers, The Whitest Boy Alive, Thieves Like Us, Tommy Sparks...
i threw in a few classics from Beethoven to Ennio Morricone, Smokey Robinson to Stevie Wonder, Simon & Garfunkel to France Gall, Desi Arnaz to Bill Withers, The Traveling Inner Lights to South African duo The Movers... old school African tunes i love are by Rikki Llionga, Monomo, Mory Kante & the legendary Miriam Makeba who recently moved on...
the African beats i mixed in are South African, Zimbabwean, Zaïrian/Congolese, Ghanaian, Malinese, Nigerian, Senegalese, Tunisian, etc. one of my faves is "Sabali" by Amadou & Mariam at #70!
i'm too lazy to clue you in on the songs; they're all credited properly so if you must, check them out on myspace or google them... i'm also keeping my ears pealed for the local music scene...
it's 40 degrees celsius in the day (around 100f for those of you in the USA); the temperature drops to a nice 20c at night (about 70f). i spend most of my time on the beach, but will do more with my folks in the winelands (where my mother was born) & enjoy the nightlife with my brothers, cousins & friends...
check out this fun video:
this is track #90 on my playlist.
here are 2 more with the picturesque Table Mountain in the background (over 3000 feet high, a good 2 to 3 hours hike up from the city with fantastic views - the best work out in the world!!!).
if you're in the northern hemisphere, March 21st is the beginning of Spring; it's also my brother Eric's birthday. there was a time when i was the taller one:
here's the longest playlist i've ever put together while Los Angeles was hit by rain storms... ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTY THREE MP3Z! 9 hours of music to help me through the 16 hour direct flight between the US of A & South Africa... CALIFORNIA RAIN - 1 2 3 M P 3 Z (click this link for downloads)
clip directed by Patrick Daughters from Adele to Astrud Gilberto, Beethoven to Brigitte Bardot, Beck to Balloon, Bob Marley to Bugge Wesseltoft, Cass Elliott to Calvin Harris, Cat Power to Coeur de Pirate, Claudine Longet to Cowboy Junkies, Dinah Washington to Depeche Mode, Joe Dassin to Daedelus, Disco Devil to Devendra Banhart, Fever Ray to Friendly Fires, Great Apes to Golden Filter, Herman Düne to Hot Chip, Jorge Ben to Jamie Lidell, Lee Dorsey to Little Boots, Marie Laforêt to Metronomy, Marlena Shaw to Mickey Gang, Nina Simone to Norman Jay, Plastic Bertrand to Prince, Phoenix to Prefuse 73, RADIOHEAD to Rosie Gaines, Samantha Jones to Sébastien Tellier, Sia to Saint-Germain, The Mary Jane Girls to The Teenagers, Will Smith to 2Pac to Sissy Spacek, Tesla Boy to Tahiti Boy, Yaz to Zapp, etc...
my favorite has to be Hank Williams' 1948 song (#17 on this list), and after that it gets kinda clubby for those of us who like to shake it on the dancefloor! enjoy & share the wealth...
as a special Saint Valentine's treat i couldn't resist but throw in a remix of Mariah Carey's "I'll Be Loving You Long Time" at #37... spank me!
that aside, i promise it's all good & fun! cross my heart!!!
check out this xylophone redo of Justice's D.A.N.C.E. by New Kids On The Glock. the xylophone is my all time favorite. my fisherprice one was my favorite toy when i was a kid. anyhew:
on that note, my dear mother got me these cool new toms to change in:
BE THE CHANGE YOU WISH TO SEE IN THE WORLD. (Ghandi) (go to links on right side of my blog to get to toms website)
here's my favorite song by LA LUPE, the queen of latin soul...
