It’s Either Do Or Die

Studio “Self Service” – “You do it to yourself, you do, you and no one else.” That’s the gist of this song, but in context, it seems like a lot of projection. The singer seems rather self-absorbed, and the “you” only seems to exist in relationship to himself, as though they were just a body orbiting his position. The sleekness of the track only emphasizes that impression — it’s so shiny and perfect that it seems like he’s wearing a suit made of mirrors. (Click here to buy it from Information.)

The Chemical Brothers “We Are The Night” – Why am I surprised that I like so much of the new Chemical Brothers album? They’ve always been pretty good, and besides that whole “electronica is going to take over music!” thing was ten years ago, and it’s not as though they were the ones going around proclaiming that they were going to kill/replace rock and roll or remake the mainstream. They were simply a couple guys who were slightly ahead of the curve, and now people can ride their coattails and be considered modern or cutting edge. Basement Jaxx have their cult, Daft Punk have their hits sampled by hip hop stars, and they somehow get lumped in with the likes of the Prodigy. It’s just not fair, especially when they can make this sort of sinister space groove sound sorta timeless and totally effortless. (Click here to buy it from Amazon.)

Elsewhere: My review of Steve Buscemi’s new film Interview is up on The Movie Binge.