You Are My Dream

The Boggs “Melanie in the White Coat” – Last week I wrote an entry on my R.E.M. blog about the way “Welcome to the Occupation” buries a simple folk song beneath booming arena rock rock percussion. The Boggs do a similar thing with “Melanie in the White Coat,” but it is far more bombastic and absurd. The drums are so loud and busy that they drown out almost everything else in the mix. The vocals are audible and carry the melody, but the lyrics about being in awe of a rowdy, intimidating woman named Melanie are mostly mumbled and muttered, as though the singer is terrified that she might hear him. (Click here to pre-order it from Gigantic.)

Ellen Allien – Excerpt from Fabric 34: Larry Heard Presents Mr. White “The Sun Can’t Compare” / Estroe “Driven” – Although Ellen Allien’s entire Fabric mix lingers in a romantic twilight haze, there’s a strong sense that the listener is meant to feel a bit removed from themselves and their desires. Have you ever found yourself in an unspeakably lovely moment only to feel bad that you have no one to share it with? It’s just like that, really. The mix peaks early with this inspired segue from Larry Heard’s melancholy acid house hit “The Sun Can’t Compare” into a moody, low key instrumental by Estroe that sets the tone for the rest of the set. (Click here to buy it from Fabric London.)

Elsewhere: My new Hit Refresh column is up on the ASAP site with mp3s from Panda Bear, Dntel, and Hauschka/Tarwater. The Panda Bear album may be old news to most of you, but I strongly recommend that Hauschka/Tarwater song.