French Toast

Dear faithful, steamy TMC readers. I haven't been posting around these parts lately, and while Jess has turned a tour-de-force one woman performance, I do apologize for the reckless abandonment. I've spent the past five months in France, and while the French may sell themselves convincingly as the world's cultural capital, the country's taste in music is dubious in the very best of lights. Techno remix of Seven Nation Army? Check. Cheesy new-age "classical" concerts at the opera? Check. Awarding of literally the highest honors in the nation to Kylie Minogue and Celine Dion (not that they don't both have their moments...)? Check. I suppose this doesn't mean that there isn't mind-blowingly good music happening all over France, but I think some of the Eurovisionesque music has made that hard to find.

To give you a taste of what is the toast of France just at the moment, the following videos are currently both top-ten in the country:

What Planet U On? by Luciana and Bodyrox. I know nothing about them. This doesn't necessarily sadden me, though the actual planet sequence at the beginning is guilty pleasure-y .


Beeper by Kid Sister. Kid Sister is a Chicagoan rapper and she is definitely the high point of this song. The ironic beeper part drives me nuts. That said, the Kid Sister I've run into state-side is much more fun.
Download: Pro Nails by Kid Sister featuring Kanye West.
Buy Pro Nails here.

Regina Spektor on the True Colors Tour

It is officially summer, but I am still a prisoner of exams. This song, after a yearlong hiatus, has reappeared in my favorite playlists to suit the current mood. Regina Spektor's "Summer in the City" can be missed among all the other hits of Begin To Hope, but I think it's one her best.

Catch Regina Spektor, along with other big names like Tegan & Sara, Cyndi Lauper, the B-52s, and other LGBTQA artists/comedians, on the True Colors Tour passing through major cities throughout June. With this lineup, both the gays and straights will be battling it out for tickets. Sadly, I won't be in DC for the June 7th date at D.A.R. Constitution Hall, but it's good to see they've gone for a bigger venue this year.

Download The Mixtape About Nothing

Head over to 10.Deep to download Wale's Seinfeld-inspired mixtape for free. Haven't listened yet, but it's set to go on my Ipod. Serenity now!

Ode to Mac OSX

I've heard of The Bird & The Bee and the "Again & Again" is nice and poppy, but I'm posting it mostly because of their video, an ode to the Mac OSX. Mac lovers, prepare to glow with pride. PC users, grin and bear it. Here at TMC, it's a 2-1 Mac-to-PC ratio. But hey, as the PC-user, in this trio, I think I'm doing just fine.

W.A.L.E.D.A.N.C.E.

Another reason to have pride in DC: DC's resident big-time rapper, Wale. This track is not part of the upcoming Seinfeld-inspired album, The Mixtape About Nothing, but it's good for creating some buzz. That's right. Seinfeld. Inspired. Album.

It's produced by Mark Ronson and set to drop May 30th. Also, Julia Louis-Dreyfus makes a cameo in a skit. In an email to EW.com, she comments, "Wale is my favorite artist because he's the only one who ever included me in a mixtape -- hear that, P. Diddy?” Schwing.

While you're counting down the days until you can get your hands on the album, read more about it here and check out "W.A.L.E.D.A.N.C.E." and it's sweet video.

I know I'm an Internet Junkie When...

I recognize every YouTube spoof in the the new Weezer video for "Pork and Beans." It's a little bit alarming that I have so much useless pop culture knowledge packed in my brain. Nevertheless, it's a nice return to good ol' Weezer. They're not quite doing much differently, but it's good to see something new.

A few of my favorites in the video are: 1.) Dramatic chipmunk; 2.) gay Britney fan; 3.) Kevin Fed/Popozao. Ch-ch-check it out.

Lykke Li on Black Cab Sessions

Man, I forget to look at the Black Cab Sessions for a while and I miss a ton! Here's Lykke Li with "I'm Good, I'm Gone." I should be seeing her live in London in two weeks or so, and based on this little cab performance, she'll be good. Enjoy.

Sweet Sounds with the Commodores

This song is pulling me through days of studying Econometrics. I don't know why, and I don't care. It's damn good. Motown in the 80s is gold. Smooth vocals with synth-y instruments. It's a Marvin Gaye and Jackie Wilson tribute and the references make it even better. "Sweeeet sounds."

Kaki King at ULU, London

While my impressions are still fresh, here's what I thought of Kaki King's concert at ULU tonight:

Kaki King had, by far, the best stage banter of any performer I've ever seen. And I like to think that means something, because although I'm a ripe 20 going on 21, I've been to a fair amount of shows. Touring with Dave Grohl and the Foo Fighters in Australia, the awkwardness of playing at Japanese jazz clubs, and eating meat and getting drunk in Istanbul were among some of the laugh-out-loud anecdotes.

The last time I saw Kaki, she was touring with a keyboardist and drummer, which nicely complimented her material from her latest album at the time, ...Until We Felt Red. But this time around, I was a little glad she had only brought her guitars and her friend Dave Brannigan on synthesizer, because I felt the new album, Dreaming of Revenge lacked the bare bones guitar work of her previous albums. That's not to say there's not a lot of fancy guitar-playing; as always with Kaki King, there is. You just need to listen harder for it and with the stripped down version, it was immediately apparent. Listening to the album again, I almost have trouble recognizing the album versions of the songs even though I know she played a lot of songs from Dreaming From Revenge.

Some songs from the set (in no particular order):
1. Life Being What It Is
2. Yellowcake
3. Doing the Wrong Thing
4. Jessica
5. Lovestoned (Justin Timberlake cover)
6. Tomorrow (Morrissey cover)
7. Everlong (Foo fighters cover... not quite a cover but part of a story)
8. Montreal
9. Close Your Eyes and You'll Burst Into Flames
10. Happy As A Dead Pig In The Sun (a crowd member requested it and although she couldn't remember it, she gave it a good shot)
11. Night After Sidewalk
12. Playing With Pink Noise
13. Ingots (I could be imagining she played this)
14. a song she wrote in Japan that sounded like a score for anime, according to Kaki

I don't know. The set was really long and had the ULU allowed her to continue, no doubt she would have encored with "Gay Sons of Lesbian Mothers." Oh well. I'm glad she ended with "Jessica," just because someone requested it and she was going to do it.

It was a great show. If you get a chance to see Kaki King live, do itttt. Good times are to be had.

This live recording of "Life Being What It Is" captures Kaki pretty well. "Fuck, I practiced this too." Her voice might be something to get used to, but it's sincere and not arrogant and overall pleasant. Enjoy.

Smoosh! Another Reason I Feel Old

I'm over the fact that I'm old enough to like bands whose members are younger than me, so I might as well like Smoosh, the indie-pop sister trio whose oldest member is 16. I've had a song or two in my Itunes for a few years now, but recent Smoosh buzz on the blogs (NPR's Bryant Park and Chromewaves) has inspired me to revisit them and post my own praise.

I hadn't heard their cover of Bloc Party's "This Modern Love" but I'm thoroughly impressed. I think I like their girly (in the best way possible of course) indie-pop version to the original.



Also, I hear these girls have Swedish parents? Yet another reason why Scandinavia rocks.

Here's an old favorite and one of their earliest songs "Find a Way" from their 2006 performance on Jimmy Kimmel live. Now that's the way to grow up... playing Jimmy Kimmel at 14 years old.