Pop Muzik
Flashback Friday
Submitted by dr™ on October 24, 2008 - 4:43am.Scott Goddard - Cowpunk
Wide Boy Awake - Come Back Friday
Altered Images - Insects
Tim Scott - Swear
Kim Wilde - Cambodia
The Human League - Rock 'n' Roll
Ministry - Same Old Madness
Fad Gadget - Coitus Interruptus
Grauzone - Eisbaer
Psyche - Unveiling The Secret
Strawberry Switchblade - Jolene
Psychic TV - Godstar
Swedish Summer
Submitted by vodka ed on July 28, 2008 - 9:33pm.
Most people already know that the Swedes are world-famous for their blondes, meatballs and stores of consumer-assembled furniture. What they might not realize however, is that Sweden continues to be a major player in the pop world. Yes, the music of ABBA continues to be a worldwide juggernaut, with countless hundreds of millions of records sold, along with the success of Mamma Mia! on the theater scene and now on the big screen. But post-ABBA Swedish pop music has spawned plenty of other internationally successful bands - A-Teens (ABBA for kids), The Cardigans and Roxette to name but a few (not to mention the fact that chances are pretty good that the hot US chart-toppers you hear were likely penned by a Swede). So, on my recent jaunt through the Scandinavian wonderland, I familiarized myself with the next New Wave of Swedish Pop.
Now, on to the smörgåsbord of...Summer Breeze. Though not all of these songs originate from Sweden, they still keep with the overall warm, breezy theme.
01 Cloetta Paris - Did We Collide
This will appeal to fans of fellow Swede Sally Shapiro. For a more Italo Disco selection, check out the lead single Secret Eyes of Cloetta's debut album of the same name.
02 Annie - Songs Remind Me Of You
Due out in October, here's another one that has the same amped up Stacey Q feel as #1. Pop heaven.
03 Blank + Jones - The Night Starts Here (feat. Stars)
One of the rare occasions you'll hear a Trance artist on RobotSound, this number is off of Blank + Jones' new release, The Logic of Pleasure. Bernard Sumner also sings a track on the LP.
04 Bon Voyage - Monster
Bon Voyage is the new project from Starflyer 59 (Christian alt-rock) frontman Jason Martin and his wife. You might be familiar with Jason's brother, Ronnie Martin of Joy Electric (Christian synthpop). Praise!
05 Zeigeist - Black Milk
More Swedes here. The girl vocalist, Princess, sounds a lot like Karin from The Knife.
06 The Kid - Transient Dance
You can hear the New Order influence in this track from these fresh-faced goth-poptarts straight outta Gothenburg, SE.
07 Grafton Primary - Relativity
The debut LP from these Aussie Indietronica rockers will be out soon-ish. I hear some retro-futurism here [Human League, Gary Numan, New Romantix-era DMX Krew].
08 Morgan Geist - Most Of All
One of the less recent selections, this 2006 track features Jeremy Greenspan of synthpoppers Junior Boys. Disco-tastic!
09 Kuryakin - Still Here
The sunshine pop keeps shining on with this track from Kuryakin's soon-to-be-released EP.
10 Aprilsrain - Left Alone
Representing the Bay Area, Aprilsrain allow for some splendid indie pop enjoyment.
11 The Sound of Arrows - Danger!
All the Swedish Indie record stores had these guys playing on their stereos. Watch out for this hot debut!
12 Ladyhawke - Paris Is Burning
This Kiwi girl is sure to keep you cool this summer. Some of her songs remind me of Luscious Jackson's disco-y stuff. Check the video here.
13 Air France - June Evenings
Some people are referring to this as Balearic Beat (what Ibiza Eurobots listen to after the drugs have worn off). To me, it's kinda like clubby Xymox from their later years.
14 Gentle Touch - Once You Used To
Easy, breezy, beautiful, Covergirl.
15 The Daysleepers - Release The Kraken
Venturing into Nu-Gaze territory, The Daysleepers hail from New York City. Luscious, ethereal indie rock.
16 Errors - Salut! France
Changing gears once again, these Glaswegian instrumentalists on Mogwai's label straddle the fence between indie and synthpop. Rest assured though. You'll still get your fix of Melodramatic Popular Song.
17 Jesu - Hard To Reach
Godflesh turned Nu-Gaze. Taking the name from the final track on Godflesh's 2007 swansong, Hymns, Justin Broadrick and friends have shifted into entirely new directions.
Jingle Bots
Submitted by dr™ on December 25, 2007 - 12:44pm.
While there's still a few hours left of Christmas (at least here in California), I thought I'd post a few more festive tracks to keep you feeling that holiday spirit. Some of these are from the Christmasasaurus Vol. 2 comp, so I apologize for giving you the same presents twice.
Tracks:
The Waitresses - Christmas Wrapping
Bit Shifter - Winter Wonderland
Casiotone for the Painfully Alone - Cold White Christmas
Saint Etienne - I Was Born On Christmas Day
Cocteau Twins - Frosty the Snowman
Au Revoir Simone - The Winter Song
Temp Sound Solutions - Dance of the Sugarplum Faeries
Me First and The Gimme Gimmes - Hava Nagilah (Gotta have at least one token Jewish song)
The Sonics - Santa Claus
The Crystals - Santa Claus Is Coming To Town
Cristina - Things Fall Apart (My pick for best Christmas song ever)
Sally Shapiro - Anorak Christmas
Signaldrift - Dripping Angels
Hai Robotto - God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen First Noel
Simian Mobile Disco - I Believe (SMD Space Dub)
Seefeel - Spangle
Catch the Breeze
Submitted by dr™ on September 5, 2007 - 12:27am.This one has been on repeat on my iPod today: A slice of pure pop bliss that's as welcome as a cool ocean breeze during this past week of beastly, Hel-L.A. summer weather. From some of today's best songwriters, Saint Etienne, here they capture the effervescence of Abba and The Beach Boys and channel it for the luvved-up generation.
Saint Etienne - Lightning Strikes Twice (from 2005's Tales From Turnpike House)
Guilty Pleasure
Submitted by dr™ on June 26, 2007 - 10:55pm.Though I'm not sure I should even admit to liking something so pop-y (I can safely blame VodkaEd for this kind of thing), I feel strangely compelled to share this with you. Some of you may even hate me for introducing it to them, but what the hell, you know? I try to provide quality entertainment for robots, and this is mindlessly fun entertainment, if anything. Currently, my guilty pleasure is a "perfect" mash-up of an insanely catchy arpeggiated synth riff overladen with Princess Superstar's sassy sing-along raps that's got club anthem with huge crossover appeal written all over it. So, without further ado, here's the bouncy, titillating video for Mason vs. Princess Superstar - Perfect Exceeder.
Never before have I so wanted to be an exercise ball
For those of you who want to have another go, take a peek at the Princess' goodies at her online shop and pick up a copy of this on cd or wax...like I did (just don't tell anyone, ok?)
Discopunk Will Never Die
Submitted by dr™ on March 14, 2007 - 9:05pm.Today's mini-mix comes to us from Robotsound™ devotee Max, The Magical Sexual Mule [courtesy of Freqtronik]. More pop-alicious than what I usually serve up, it will please most Disco Punk constituencies [DFA-holes, Daft Punkers, Neu-Ravers, 3-letter band name aficionados, fans of "Pony" or "Club" groups], and should have you bouncing around in no time.
Black Leotard Front - Casual Friday
Dondolo - Dragon (Shit Robot Fire Breathing Mix)
Moving Units - Anyone
New Young Pony Club - Ice Cream
The Sounds - Tony The Beat
MSTRKRFT - Easy Love
CSS - Alala
The Juan MacLean - By the Time I Get to Venus
Soulwax - NY Lipps (Kawazaki Dub)
ESG - Dance
