Tampa Calling

Vinyl:

Fugazi – 3 Songs (7″)
Originally recorded in 1989.

Levon Helm – Electric Dirt
Electric Dirt again finds Levon steeped in tradition in his connection to the land and those who live by it, but this record goes deeper and wider, incorporating gospel, blues and soul elements in a bracing collection of originals and carefully chosen outside songs.

Wilco – Wilco (The Album) LP+CD
Wilco’s seventh combines the intimacy of its previous studio disc, Sky Blue Sky, with the experimentation of A Ghost Is Born in a set that boasts strong melodies and often unabashedly pop arrangements. LP includes the album on a CD.

Pete Yorn – Back & Fourth

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It used to be that MTV would overplay videos to such a degree that it was impossible not to know the latest singles by Madonna, or Prince, or Michael Jackson (may he RIP). Those artists blew wads of cash to make miniature movies for their songs. (Michael and sister Janet’s 1995 acclaimed video duet, “Scream,” cost $7 million alone to produce.)

Nowadays, MTV doesn’t play videos so much as it airs clips of them during the closing credits of its neverending reality TV programming, so many artists have turned to YouTube to get the vids out and are likely alot more budget conscious when making them. The results vary from fun and inspired to downright garbage. Here’s a look at two Moby videos created in support of his ninth album (out today on Little Idiot). I’ve also included a preview clip of Bjork’s live Voltaic CD/DVD release. (Complete clips from the DVD would be nice but sadly, there are leaked or uploaded as yet.)

Artist: Moby
Album: Wait for Me
Songs: “Shot in the Back of the Head,” “Pale Horses.”
Both of Moby’s new singles have intrigued me with their raw electro-meets-organic feel. The video for “Shot in the Back of the Head” is David Lynch’s dark and abstract translation of the song, which is rather gloomy all on its own; and “Pale Horses,” the second single with haunting female vocals by Amelia and melancholy overtones, is directed by Elanna Allen and follows a lonely alien who takes a train to the moon to find some companions. Both are animated, but in very different styles.
Grade: A for both; the music was good and the videos compelling enough to make me want to check out Moby’s new album. (CHECK OUT THE VIDEOS AFTER THE JUMP). Read the rest of this entry »

I’ve been listening to Ratatat on repeat lately and am pretty stoked about their show this upcoming Friday night at The Ritz. The Brooklyn-based duo — made up of guitarist Mike Stroud and multi-instrumentalist/producer/synth extrordinaire Evan Mast — produce some top notch rocktronica and have released three solid full-length albums on XL Recordings — Ratatat (2004), Classics (2006) and LP3 (2008).

The duo’s sound is mostly instrumental, save for when they’re remixing someone else’s song (like their sick redux of Bjork’s “Wanderlust”), or when they’re trying to create a mood, like in LP3’s “Flynn,” which has a breezy, tropical feel and ascending, Beach Boys’ style backing vocal samples. Atmospheric layers of sound effects, ethereal guitar solos and warped riffs are scattered throughout, but Ratatat really excels with hip-hoppin’ beats and funkin’ grooves that make you want to bust a move. Even when the music falls into a lazy, melodic, pop-a-Xanax amble, you’ll still find your head bobbing.

Ratatat has earned quite the rep for energetic live shows marked by synchronized lighting and video projections, and if you are a fan of any sort of electronic music, this is a show you don’t want to miss. opening for Ratatat is solo hip-hop artist/rapper Despot and drum-and-bass trio Tussle. Fri., April 10, The Ritz Ybor, Ybor City, $18 in advance/$20 day of show.