Woodhands | “I Wasn’t Made for Fighting”

I have a friend who complains that dance-rock has finished its run. I don’t know. If Woodhands can extend the era into this new year, I wouldn’t have any issues with that at all.

Woodhands – MySpace | Wikipedia | Last.fm | Amazon

RJD2 | “Work It Out”

Just got back from my trip to NYC, and I’m already pining to be back. I snuggled up close and became intimate with parts of Brooklyn this time around, so I figured I should showcase one of my favourite videos shot in the best borough.

I can’t take my eyes off of this video. Simple idea, filmmaking, and incredible choreography. Addicting.

RJD2 – Official Site | MySpace | Wikipedia | Last.fm | Amazon

MGMT | “Kids”

One of my coworkers teases me about liking saccharine suburban dance pop, rife with handclaps and high-pitched vocals. Guilty. But she talks about it way more than I bring it up, so I get this inner-glow feeling that she is just trying to convince herself to hate them.

The other day, she admitted to liking this song and then cringed when she discovered it was MGMT. HA HA! In your face, non-believer! Sell out, just like I have!

MGMT – Official Site | MySpace | Wikipedia | Last.fm | Amazon

Santogold + Tegan and Sara | “L.E.S. Artistes” vs “Walking with a Ghost”

“L.E.S. Artistes” – Santogold

Some of Santogold’s other songs, like “Creator”, sound like a right rip-off of M.I.A.. This particular one is a very polished number that sounds curiously similar to Tegan + Sara’s “Walking with a Ghost”. Is she getting hot off of other people’s proven formulas?

“Walking with a Ghost” – Tegan and Sara

Gosh, isn’t everyone?

Santogold – MySpace | Wikipedia | Last.fm | Amazon

To My Boy | “Model”

“Model” – To My Boy

I think this is what results if They Might Be Giants got stuck in a blender with Patrick Wolf. Electronic nerdy goodness.

To My Boy – MySpace | Last.fm | Amazon

Juiceboxxx | “Thunder Jam III”

If you leave a Juiceboxxx show without getting some of his sweat on your clothes, you must’ve been at the wrong show. JB is a crazy, off-his-rocker rapper from Milwaukee; his music itself may not be a selling point to those not into rap, but he’s raw, hot, and wraps you in when he gets on stage.

This is live music with no boundaries, and I beg you to get him to your city for a gig if you can. After all, everyone needs to be perspired on once in a while.

Juiceboxxx – Official Site | MySpace | Last.fm | Amazon

Lykke Li | “Little Bit”

I saw this gal recently at Emo’s Annex during SXSW 2008. I knew nothing about her beforehand, thinking only her name sounded like something you’d do under the covers. Pretty cute and confident performer, especially given her age.

I think she’s gonna go places.

Lykke Li – Official Site | MySpace | Wikipedia | Last.fm | Amazon

The Mae Shi | “Run to Your Grave”

I have this weird rule about not seeing bands more than once, unless they put on a fantastic show. Not only did I break that rule, but I saw these kids from LA THREE times in a span of THREE days.

Needless to say, these guys were, by far, the most engaging performers I saw at SXSW 2008. This video kind of says it all.

The Mae Shi – Official Site | MySpace | Wikipedia | Last.fm | Amazon

Aphex Twin | “Come to Daddy” + “Windowlicker”

“Come to Daddy” – Aphex Twin

To date, this Chris Cunningham-directed number is still one of the most frightening things I’ve seen.

Even better, though, is Cunningham’s “Windowlicker”, an ingenious video that pairs a disturbing back-limo groping session with the grotesque face of Richard D. James/Aphex Twin pasted on the bodies of bikini clad women. The 4-minute-long vulgarities-rich intro is fantastically offensive. Gasp. It makes my skin crawl.

Clearly, this is one of the best music videos out there.

“Windowlicker” – Aphex Twin

Aphex Twin – Official site | Wikipedia | Last.fm | Amazon

Royksopp | “Remind Me”

I don’t know where I got the assumption that all dance videos were boring and without depth. How foolish. Enter Royksopp’s “Remind Me”, a fantastic video clip that should make all planners, statisticians, and technical illustrators wet their pants.

Thanks, Spacing Wire, for the link!

Panther | “How Well Can You Swim” + “You Don’t Want Your Nails Done”

“How Well Can You Swim” – Panther

I found this… somehow. And now it’s on my favourites list. I don’t know much about this Panther fellow, other than his real name’s Charlie Salas-Humara, he’s from Portland, and that he’s opened for Ratatat and The Gossip. But he is so crazy awesome that I want to eat him alive (and believe me, I don’t say that about everyone).

Here’s another goodie:
“You Don’t Want Your Nails Done” – Panther

And finally, a cameo dancing bit in a video by the Thermals:
“Pillar of Salt” – The Thermals

Panther – Official site | MySpace | Last.fm | Amazon

Similar artists: Y.A.C.H.T. | The Blow | Dan Deacon

Daft Punk | “Around the World”

Please indulge me as I dip into my late university years, an era filled with so much electronica my ears and tummy were bursting. It was a period of all-night parties, of super-long naps in the afternoon, of Trainspotting, of watching other people spend their student loan money to really screw themselves over. And now I see these same people adding a million applications and friends on Facebook, all wizened, some of them starving artists, some of them well-off parents, and me? Well, I’m sitting here, listening to music from my past, analyzing my history like I was part of some big, long, lost movement. Yeah, I hardly think so. But whenever I hear this song, I get start tasting the sensuality of the late ’90s all over again, the people, the dress, the smells, the late-night gatherings at pubs and coffee shops. That’s gotta count for something.

Anyway, this video for Daft Punk’s “Around the World” still fascinates me, largely because of Michel Gondry’s directorial finesse — but also because it makes me believe I’m on drugs without really being on drugs (the safest and cheapest high ever). Thanks, guys.

Daft Punk – Official site | MySpace | Last.fm | Amazon

Gui Boratto | “It’s a Beautiful Life”

“Beautiful Life” – Gui Boratto

I’ve had this Gui Boratto single (from Chromophobia) looping on my iPod for the last month or so, but watching this video almost made me lose interest in it completely. The close-ups, smiling faces, extended shots, and melodramatic soft focus all reeked of a Becel margarine commercial or a similar get-fit-and-lead-a-balanced-life PSA. Despite my love for the song I didn’t dare post the visuals for fear it’d do the same for you.

But here it is. I finally managed to get my way through the entire thing to discover how it all comes together in the last 20 seconds, telling somewhat of an endearing tale. For a brief, brief moment, it made me appreciate its understated beauty. Kinda like David Lynch’s The Straight Story, a yawn-tastic film that only stirred me out of my sleep in the last scene. But there you go: I will never sit through the entire movie again just to see the ending. And I still don’t love the video — there’s too little build-up for its punchline — but at least it’s growing on me.

If you don’t have the patience, maybe watch the first minute or so and jump to the last 30 seconds. Or maybe you should just scroll down, read more entries, open up a new tab and do some more web searches while the song plays in the background. Or dang, just stream the mp3. After all, I still think it’s a good song.

Gui Boratto – Official site | MySpace | Last.fm | Wikipedia | Amazon

Similar artists: Orbital, Ricardo Villalobos, Paul Oakenfold

Plastic Operator | “Folder”

Wow. The sun’s shining, butterflies spring from my footsteps, and the skies above drip sweet cola into my gaping maw. Indeed, the world is an open park involving non-stop napping in grassy meadows.

When I discover an album that makes me feel so content and summery, even when it’s not — as is often the case here in the Pacific Northwest — I grab it by the balls and stake my claim. And now, as we edge into spring, Canadian/Belgian duo Plastic Operator is my new victim of choice. Bwa ha ha ha! These boys won’t know what hit ‘em!

The group came to being when two international audio production students at London’s Westminster University (Montreal’s Mathieu Gendreau and Antwerp’s Pieter Van Dessel) joined nerdly forces to create a three-track release in 2004. Since then, they’ve been working on their debut LP Different Places, released internationally on May 14, 2007. It’s a tasty serving of electronic pop; in fact, I equate listening to the album to getting my paws on the first foot-long Mr. Freeze of the summer: it’s incredibly sweet, refreshing, and does a fantastic job at kicking me out of my extended winter slump.

My heart is a-fluttering. It’s time to pack away the winter clothes. After all, I’ve found one of my early summer 2007 soundtracks, and I’m ready to get things going. [insert pumping fist here]

Official site: www.plasticoperator.com
MySpace: www.myspace.com/plasticoperator
Last.fm: www.last.fm/music/Plastic%20Operator
eMusic: www.emusic.com/artist/11626/11626803.html