January 21st, 2004 1:37pm
N.E.R.D. "She Wants To Move" - Whoa! Did Pharrell...
I Can See It In Her Eyes
N.E.R.D. "She Wants To Move" - Whoa! Did Pharrell just sing "her ass is a spaceship I want to ride?" Yes. Yes, he did. And then there was a sci-fi sound effect! This is the first contender in the stakes for weirdest mainstream single of 2004 - it's got all of the tell-tale Neptunes signature moves, but manages to sound somewhat alien thanks to the rumbling percussion (which reminds me of early Smashing Pumpkins, believe it or not), guitar squeals, and distinct lack of chorus. Nevertheless, it still comes out sounding like great pop. This is from the forthcoming Fly Or Die.
Vive La Fete "Nuit Blanche" - Their name translates to "Long Live The Party," and the title is a French expression to describe a sleepless night of partying. That should clue you in to the aesthetic of this Belgian duo. Basically, this is catchy dance-pop sung in French. Love it or hate it.
Blonde Redhead "Elephant Woman" - On their forthcoming 4AD debut Misery Is A Butterfly, Blonde Redhead finally evolve beyond their old formula (you can't hear it, but here's my impression: uh uh, eh eh, ah ah, oh oh, ii ii, uh uh) and find themselves sounding like some kind of cross between the Cocteau Twins and Debut-era Bjork. The lush sound suits them well; but even though the new record may be their most consistent to date, nothing on it comes close to the restrained melancholy of "In Particular" from their previous album.
N.E.R.D. "She Wants To Move" - Whoa! Did Pharrell just sing "her ass is a spaceship I want to ride?" Yes. Yes, he did. And then there was a sci-fi sound effect! This is the first contender in the stakes for weirdest mainstream single of 2004 - it's got all of the tell-tale Neptunes signature moves, but manages to sound somewhat alien thanks to the rumbling percussion (which reminds me of early Smashing Pumpkins, believe it or not), guitar squeals, and distinct lack of chorus. Nevertheless, it still comes out sounding like great pop. This is from the forthcoming Fly Or Die.
Vive La Fete "Nuit Blanche" - Their name translates to "Long Live The Party," and the title is a French expression to describe a sleepless night of partying. That should clue you in to the aesthetic of this Belgian duo. Basically, this is catchy dance-pop sung in French. Love it or hate it.
Blonde Redhead "Elephant Woman" - On their forthcoming 4AD debut Misery Is A Butterfly, Blonde Redhead finally evolve beyond their old formula (you can't hear it, but here's my impression: uh uh, eh eh, ah ah, oh oh, ii ii, uh uh) and find themselves sounding like some kind of cross between the Cocteau Twins and Debut-era Bjork. The lush sound suits them well; but even though the new record may be their most consistent to date, nothing on it comes close to the restrained melancholy of "In Particular" from their previous album.
1/21/04 2:43 pm
Have you actually located a tracklist for the Blonde Redhead album? For the last week, I’ve only known the songs as “Track 1,” “Track 2,” etc.
1/21/04 2:52 pm
No, I only know that the first song is called “Elephant Woman” and the second one is called “Messenger,” because I listen to a French radio station that’s been playing the songs.
1/21/04 4:00 pm
Of course you listen to a french radio station- you are something else, Matthew! New Blonde Redhead- what a great day!
You can get the full tracklisting and another amazing mp3 at the 4AD site.
1/21/04 4:08 pm
that french station is awesome - i listened to that last show… boy, the DJ loves the DFA… i wish my understanding of french was better (or existed at all), so that i could find some more cool shows on that site.
1/21/04 4:44 pm
Thanks for the tip, Johnny. I checked last night and the night before, but it wasn’t there yet.
01 Elephant Woman
02 Messenger
03 Melody
04 Doll Is Mine
05 Misery Is A Butterfly
06 Falling Man
07 Anticipation
08 Maddening Cloud
09 Magic Mountain
10 Pink Love
11 Equus
1/21/04 5:20 pm
Does anyone know if Guy Picciotto produced the record? From the sound of it, I’m guessing no…
1/21/04 5:40 pm
that nerd track is very strange! i hear the clash and santana in there somewhere. i prefer them when they don’t use live instruments.
1/21/04 5:47 pm
Ohmygod, those semi-regular claps in that N.E.R.D.-track! Adooooorable!
1/21/04 6:08 pm
i was expecting a bit more out of the n.e.r.d. track. it just sort of laid there and didn’t have any sense of energy or passion to it. in other words, it didn’t make me want to get up and dance.
sincerely,
douglas reinhardt
1/21/04 6:17 pm
has the n.e.r.d. album been leaked?
1/21/04 7:13 pm
its very similar to Stay Together - but its still good. I’m surprised Douglas said he was expecting more - if anything i just expect more of the same from them, i dont think they can surprise anymore, its a formula but a good one.
Marten is right, the hanclaps are great.
BTW - whats wierd about it?
1/21/04 8:11 pm
that french station is awesome - i listened to that last show… boy, the DJ loves the DFA… i wish my understanding of french was better (or existed at all), so that i could find some more cool shows on that site.
mr blair | Homepage | 01.21.04 - 11:08 am | #
—— Well done mr blair. Am a french grrrl, living in brussels and yeah we love french stations, DFA:/James Murphy.. Liars, Rapture, ima robot (will be at the botaniqe*Brussels:/belgium on the february 14!!, tussle, chick chick chick…). Blonde Redhead singing in french and italian (mélodie citronique) is great too!!!
1/21/04 8:58 pm
Yeah, that NERD track is pretty freakin’ great.
1/21/04 10:23 pm
The N*E*R*D album is called Fly Or Die. Even yesterday Chad Hugo was still mixing it in NY, so I doubt it has leaked yet. Certainly not as a finished album.
1/21/04 10:44 pm
just listened to the n.e.r.d. track… yawn. i hear nothing new going on there at all. i definately prefered the college/leaked version of the band - w/o the electric guitars, pseudo rock-rap thing going on - and this song… i hope more people start to get tired of pharrell, because he is, as they say in the hip-hop world, played out.
1/22/04 1:00 am
Speaking of foreign language “pop,” do you like Stereo Total, Matthew?
1/22/04 5:10 am
ah, the n.e.r.d. track builds nicely, until that fucking chorus with its electric guitar proclaiming “this is rock.” (and will one ever be able to hear staccato acoustic guitar chords without thinking “like i love you”?)
1/22/04 12:37 pm
I’ve never really liked Stereo Totale, Todd. I find them sort of annoying for some reason.
1/22/04 3:05 pm
the blonde redhead song is magic! thanks a lot for posting it, matt.
and thanks for this blog, you give many great moments at work…
1/22/04 3:13 pm
oh my my my…i love the N.E.R.D! i’m digging what sounds to me like flemenco guitar. she’s sexy!
1/23/04 9:44 pm
I’m diggin’ the N*E*R*D track. Why am I thinking Adam and the Ants when I hear it though?
1/28/04 9:13 pm
I agree - the N.E.R.D. track is very out of this world. The Neptunes’ stuff has been rather lacking lately, so I can’t wait to see how N.E.R.D.’s new disc turns out.