Maybe Not the Greatest You Ever Will Hear, But A Pretty Damn Good Robot Mix Nonetheless

OK, i've got a boatload of reviews and freebies i need to get to, but guess what? That ain't happening today, my friends. Work has been hectic, and equally if not more importantly, i need to get my ass to the Velvet Lounge to go catch the early show with the Elastic Waste Band headlining. Who are they? Just the remaining members of Morphine with a Delta Blues Man sitting in for Mark Sandman. Too bad the Lounge's website is sucky, and they won't answer their own phone to tell folks when the show actually starts, because the real losers here are the LET readers deprived of the daily fix of little heard gems as dictated by yours truly.

And the Flyers. They're losers, too.

Fortunately, apropos of absolutely nothing, i've been sitting on a robot mix for some time now. i'd like to say it's The Greatest Robot Mix You Ever Will Hear, but that might be pushing it this time. i'd probably need some Heartbeeps clips to reach that stratosphere, but this one is pretty damn good nonetheless.

Without further ado, it's Maybe Not the Greatest You Ever Will Hear, But A Pretty Damn Good Robot Mix Nonetheless.

mp3: Robots in the Garden (Autolux from Future Perfect)

mp3: Freak-A-Zoid Robotz (RMXXOLOGY Theme) (Delicious Vinyl All Stars feat Bobby Evans from RMXXOLOGY)

mp3: Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots (Live On The BBC) (The Flaming Lips from Future Soundtrack for America)

mp3: Robots (Live) (Flight of the Conchords from The Distant Future)

mp3: Orion's Belt Buckle (Free the Robots from Ctrl Alt Delete)

mp3: Do You Like Robots? (Mike Doughty from Smofe and Smang)

mp3: Revelation of the Robots (Luke Kuzava from Zombies Can't Dance)

mp3: Grocery Robots (Patton Oswalt from My Weakness is Strong)

mp3: Tonight (The Robot Ate Me from Carousel Waltz)

mp3: Death Star Droid (Robot Koch from Death Star Droid)

mp3: Mr. Roboto (Styx from Kilroy Was Here)

mp3: Paranoid Android (Sia covering Radiohead from Exit Music: Songs with Radio Heads)

And, of course, the greatest robot dance i've ever seen, which means it's probably that much greater than the greatest you thought you had seen prior to seeing this one. Or something like that.

Live Review: Sia, 9:30 Club, May 4, 2010

Ah, Sia. What more can i say about my favorite musical pixie? Last night, she came through town on her latest tour, this time to promote her upcoming We Are Born. As always, she charmed the crowd with her whimsical, playful on-stage banter before repeatedly knocking us on our collective ass with her powerhouse vocals. Which, of course, is what makes the experience the good time it always has been.

Now, i've been catching Ms. Furler for some years now, the first of which was with her in the large Zero 7 touring band of the early Aughts. Even then, she was bouncing off the walls liked a coked up chipmunk (but in the best way possible, of course). While she's not with Zero 7 anymore (or at least right now), she's seemingly standing completely on her own stage for the first time in her career.

To begin with, the crowds have grown considerably since her last couple of jaunts through town. For her last two shows, i doubt there were 500 people there. Last night was damn near capacity. Not that it makes any difference to me, but the demographics of the audience have swayed, too. Suffice to say, my heterosexuality was in the minority last night, so a big shout out to my peeps of the Rainbow Nation. The main difference in that lay in the fact that i haven't heard that much screeching since i was in grade school.

Perhaps more tellingly, there were no Zero 7 songs this time around. In the past, there's always been at least "Distractions," if not others, mixed in with Sia's own material. While there were a couple of covers last night (the Kink's "I Go to Sleep" and Madonna's "Oh Father"), these are both tracks she's made her own by virtue of covering them on her own CDs.

This did nothing to diminish the evening, however. The crowd seemed to get into the newer material, while damn near exploding for her better known stuff. During the pause at the end of "Breathe Me," the crowd got so loud that Sia said afterwards that we had beaten out the heretofore champion crowd at Coachella in terms of sheer noisiness.

And then there were the little flourishes that take the show to the next level. The ample chatter between tracks delved from accepting and donning gifts from the crowd to admonishing herself for cursing when she knew there were kids in the audience. She also got into some quick "bus song" jams, including "I'm Gonna Pee on You" and "I Need Strong Shoes for my Feet." Oh, and she started the show wearing a lit "penis hat" (scroll down to see for yourself) and closed wearing giant wings that blew bubbles into the crowd.

Now if that's not a good time, well, you're just an ass.

mp3: Thistles (Zero 7 B-Side from Throw It All Away)

mp3: Lentil (Sia from Lady Croissant)

mp3: Breathe Me (Sia from KCRW performance)

And for those of you that are awaiting her upcoming CD as much as i am, head on over to Sia's homepage to watch videos for six new tracks. Like, now, Daddy-O.

A Terrible Concert Update

While Megan clearly has been the concert lead for LET this year, tonight starts a pretty decent run of shows for me, and since i don't have anything else prepared for today, you get to check out what i have deemed worthy of my attendance. As always, if you see the lumpy, bald guy with the red beard in the corner, and you mention this ad, you'll get 50 PERCENT OFF your next order!!! Now all i have to do is start an import/export business, and we're styling.

May 4, 9:30 Club, Sia

(That's tonight, suckas, so be there or don't. Your call, really)

mp3: Drink to Get Drunk (Sia from Healing is Difficult)

May 10, Rock 'n Roll Hotel, Caribou

(Don't have tix to this one yet, but i always kick myself when i miss him playing 'round these parts, so this time, i'm going. Damn it.)

mp3: Hello Hammerheads (Caribou from The Milk of Human Kindness)

UPDATE: This one is sold out, so unless i get off my ass and pull the old "let the blogger in" card, i guess i'm going to have to wait AGAIN to see Dan. Damn it two times.

May 21, Sully's in Chantilly, 3rd Rail

(A friend of mine's band. She keeps promising me an mp3 for the site, but i'm going to break my own rule just for her and mention the show SANS music for all ya'll to enjoy.)

May 29, DAR Constitution Hall, Erykah Badu

(Not my favorite venue, but this is what we do for Badu)

mp3: Amerykahn Promise (Erykah Badu from New Amerykah Part One (4Th World War))

June 3, Velvet Lounge, Elastic Waste Band

(The latest iteration of the remaining boys from Morphine. Saw them at the Mark Sandman Tribute Concert, if memory serves, and they were money)

mp3: Damn Fool (Orchestra Morphine ft. Laurie Sargent from The Sandman Project)

June 17, 9:30 Club, Evelyn/Evelyn

(Amanda Fucking Palmer's new gig.)

mp3: Do You Swear To Tell, The Truth The Whole Truth, And Nothing But The Truth, So Help Your Black Ass? (Amanda Palmer from her website)

June 27, DC Improv, Jim Gaffigan

(In case you needed to find me when you can't locate me at the Hole show, C.I.T.)

mp3: Bacon (Jim Gaffigan from King Baby)

July 17, Verizon Center, Star Wars in Concert

(May the Nerd be with You)

mp3: The Imperial March (Kuricorder Quartet from Ukulele Force: Star Wars Best Covers)

July 26, DAR Constitution Hall, The Black Keys

(See the above note re: Ms. Badu, but come up with something that rhymes with "Keys" in the second verse)

mp3: If You Ever Slip (The Black Keys from The Hottest State Soundtrack)

Undoubtedly, there will be some more, and i'll do a write-up on each one after the fact. If there's somebody kick ass coming we truly should not miss, feel free to plug your band in the comment section.

...For P Is Free

References to semi-obscure Boogie Down Production tracks aside, yes, today is all about "The Remix." You probably wouldn't believe the amount of music backlog i discovered yesterday. By and large, we thank each and every one of you. There really was some kick ass stuff sitting in my inbox, and i look forward to listening and enjoying (and in some cases reviewing) all of it. Granted, some of it is dreck and rubbish, but we take the good with the bad, eh? Such is the exciting life of a music blogger, i suppose. And don't worry, if your stuff was crap, your secret is safe from me. Better yet, it's probably just that i'm not into nu-wave industrial hardcore thrash gaba death metal disco rave hip hop or whatever it was that sound you were going for there was.

While we've got some great full-length albums to talk about in the days to come (two or three of which are really goddamn good), i figured it would be easiest (and most fair to the artists, i think) to start with the singles and go from there.

Now that i've gotten that long winded meandering out of the way, let's get back to the music.

First up, we have a remix of the Lauren Flax/Sia track, "You've Changed." No, it's not exactly the same "You've Changed" i mentioned a while back. This remix is of the original, not the completely new take Sia's doing for upcoming CD, We Are Born. This remix was done by none other than DJ duo Drlkt Freddie, who have an upcoming CD of original material on the way. Because even i'm confused with the above description and i wrote it, let's just cut to the chase and put up both the original and remix version, and you can figure it out for yourself. Obviously, the boys have clubbed it up quite a bit, adding pumping bass and looping the vocals just right.

mp3: You've Changed (Lauren Flax ft. Sia from her MySpace)

mp3: You've Changed (Drlkt Freddie Remix) (Drklt Freddie Remix from their MySpace)

Next, we have a little sumfin sumfin from local VA homeboy Atari Blitzkrieg. Unfortunately, his actual website (not the MySpace link i'm posting) keeps crashing my Interwebial connection, so i'm not going to point you in that direction, but said MySpace page has pretty much all you need to know, including how to pick up some more freebies AND, more importantly, where to buy stuff. Remember, kids, indie musicians need our love more than most, so dig deep and drop ducats if any of their music moves ya'. Now, Freddie practically assured getting onto LET by remixing Sia. Atari succeeded in much the same manner by remixing Flying Lotus into his own "Dramamine." We bloggers are not hard to figure out. Of course, it certainly didn't hurt that both remixes are tight. Atari also has an upcoming CD, The Melancholy Tales of Extraordinary Robot Avengers. You can find all his stuff at Amazon, it appears, so have at it. To further whet your appetite, he did drop us a track from that new one, so enjoy. He's got an almost lazy mouth style of flow, all set over chilly 8-bit beats, blings, blips and pings. Good stuff, i think, though some of the lyrics are hard to hear over the instrumentation.

mp3: Dramamine (Flying Lotus Remix) (Atari Blitzkrieg from his MySpace)

mp3: Dance of the Crystal Dragons (Atari Blitzkrieg from the upcoming The Melancholy Tales of Extraordinary Robot Avengers)

Now i'm off to check ye olde emailbox to see if any of you hooligans took the hint and sent me nude pictures of your ex-gfs or drugs or something. Work with me here, people.

Singles Club: Sia's You've Changed and Lykke Li's Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow?

I was in the car with The Missus yesterday when I mentioned to her that two of my favorite pixies (no, not those Pixies) had just unleashed some free mp3 love on the world. As a great many conversations with The Missus go, she asked me what the hell I was talking about. I then informed her that Sia had dropped "You've Changed" from her upcoming CD, We Are Born, via Twitter, and that Lykke Li, apparently apropos of nothing, gave away her take on the Shirelles classic, "Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow?"

As is also the case with many conversations with The Missus, this led to a complete non sequitur regarding "actual" pixies. "I can see you calling Sia a pixie, but not Lykke. Pixies can't have long hair." While I still have no idea where that notion came from, I did agree that LL was not necessarily the first person that would come to mind when one thought of pixies.

"However," I retorted, "if we use the X-Man Pixie as our baseline, it's absolutely the right word. Sia would be your early Pixie before she lost part of her soul to the demon Belasco and effectively became Dark Pixie during X-Infernus. I think it's more than fair to think of Lykke Li as a very credible Dark Pixie." And then I was met with the blank stare that a lot of women give me when I start trying to reduce everything to comic books. Such is the story of my life, I suppose.

Regardless, these are two great tracks. You might possibly recognize Sia's track, as she did an earlier version with Lauren Flax. This new version is a lot less dance floor-y and better showcases her vocals as opposed to Ms. Flax's production skills. LL similarly comports herself quite nicely on this Motown gem.

Pixies, indeed, says I.

mp3: You've Changed (Sia from the forthcoming We Are Born)

mp3: Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow? (Lykke Li from her website)

It's Covered: I Go To Sleep

I'm afraid you're only getting a quickie today, kids. Before you can respond, "that's what she said," the truth of the matter is I'm plum tuckered out today. The old man back has returned in all it's wonky glory, so the trip to the doctor yesterday resulted in me now ingesting a variety of pills that are making it hard to keep my eyes open. Now, kids, I don't want any of you getting the wrong idea here. Your good, ol' Uncle Chris wants you all to know that he firmly endorses pharmaceuticals. Better living through chemistry, I always say. Don't let my currently overwhelming desire for a nap keep any of you from hours and hours of wonderful experimentation.

As such, it's only apropos that today's tune is "I Go To Sleep." Written by Ray Davies and originally recorded by Peggy Lee, it's since been covered by everyone from the Pretenders to Cher on her debut solo album. According the the Interwebs, who we all know would never lie to us, Davies wrote the song while waiting in the hospital for the imminent birth of his daughter. My first encounter with the track was with the ever lovable pixie, Sia, but I'm not sure that has anything to do with the price of potatoes, so do with it what you will.

For today's special, we're offering the following versions by Sia, Samantha Jones, The Kinks, Celine Mastrorelli, Works Progress Administration and Zero 7. Yes, Sia is singing in that version, too, but that's hardly a bad thing, now is it?

mp3: I Go To Sleep (Sia from Sounds Eclectic: The Cover Project)

mp3: I Go To Sleep (Samantha Jones from A Girl Named Sam)

mp3: I Go To Sleep (The Kinks, demo version, from Kinda Kinks)

mp3: I Go To Sleep (Celine Mastrorelli, unreleased demo)

mp3: I Go To Sleep (Works Progress Administration from WPA)

mp3: I Go To Sleep (Zero 7 from The Saturday Sessions)

The Top Albums of 2008 According to Chris: #2 - Sia

Is there a more lovable pixie in all of musicdom than Sia? Whether you adore her for her work with Zero 7 or her solo stuff, the gal not only has an amazing set of pipes, but I can't think of a performer who looks like s/he's having more fun on stage than her.

2008 finally saw the release of the heavily leaked Some People Have Real Problems (she even invited fans to download illegally at one of her 07 stops at the 9:30 Club). Sure, she released it on the Starbucks label, but what can you do?

I'm sorry, but the lady just does something for me and, when 08 gave us Lykke Li, that's really saying a lot. It's just something about the way she seems to have boundless energy and a playfullness on stage that's downright contagious. That being the case, she remains one of my favorite acts, year in, year out.

2009 allegedly will see the release of her next CD, which, incidentally, was written about two CDs ago, but was shelved by her then label for being "too upbeat," proving yet again that label execs are fricking maroons (also, morons).



mp3: Little Black Sandals (link expired)


Here's hoping Sia makes it back DC-way in 09.

Live Review: Sia @ 9:30 Club, March 7

I've said it before and I'll say it again. Sia is the most goddamn adorable performer touring today. Her March 7 show at the 9:30 Club did nothing to detract from that reality.

I showed up around 10:30 (sorry, Har Mar Superstar) and Sia was out front, apparently gabbing with fans. As I passed her, she gave me a huge smile and a great big, "Hello!" That's the kind of kick-off I love as a fan. She took the stage around 11, opening with "Buttons" with the band in full fluorescent costume. Underneath the black lights, it's a great way to start a concert. She performed predominantly from her latest, Some People Have Real Problems, hitting "Little Black Sandals," "Girl You Lost to Cocaine," "Playground," "Day Too Soon," and "Soon We'll Be Found." Of course, she also did her big hit, "Breathe Me," and a couple of Zero 7 tracks, "Destiny" and "Somersault."

It's not Sia's incredible voice (Good Lord and Butter, that woman can belt 'em out with the best in the business) that makes her shows so thoroughly enjoyable, though. Honestly, I don't think I've ever seen anyone who appears to be having a better time on-stage than she does. She's all smiles and giggles and has some of the best audience banter I've ever heard. Last night, she gave stuffed animals to the crowd, allowed one fan to make out with her Rock 'n Roll Elmo doll and made happy birthday wishes to a couple of lucky fans. Add to that, she took requests from her website bulletin board and credited them to the fans that made them.

The only complaint of the night had nothing to do with Sia, but goes toward the crowd. Folks were a bit too vocal during some of her quieter numbers and there were a few ass hats in the back that simply wouldn't shut up. Not an uncommon occurrence at concerts, but that doesn't make it any more acceptable.

Here's another crappy photo from my cell phone of the band in full regalia doing "Buttons" and a couple of tracks from Sia's KCRW performance of a few years back.

Album Review: Sia - Some People Have Real Problems

In the interest of full disclosure, I have to admit that I LURVS me some Sia. I've been fortunate enough to see her solo in concert a few times and with Zero 7 once. The woman has an incredible voice and, quite frankly, is the most adorable pixie I've ever seen on stage. While I wouldn't necessarily call her a strict "entertainer" in the purest sense, she appears to have more fun in front of an audience than any ten performers I've ever seen combined. It's always a breath of fresh air to see a seemingly non-jaded singer soak up the pure joy of performing.

When last I saw her at the 9:30 Club a few months back, Sia gave the audience her "blessing" to visit "one of those sites out of Mexico" and download her latest, Some People Have Real Problems, rationalizing that no performers made a penny from album sales anymore and that it was her personal "thank you" for attending her show. Of course, I did so immediately, but the sound quality left something to be desired. I knew I loved it then, but it was only with the recent purchase of the CD that I realized how kick ass it really was. Now, I know my erstwhile partner Megan disagrees with me, but I'm willing to go so far as to say it's the best damn album of the albeit very New Year.

Things start off with the inspirational "Little Black Sandals," with which Sia incidentally opened the aforementioned show. It's a nice opener, showcasing her vocal range. Next up is "Lentil," my favorite track on her earlier live album, Lady Croissant. While this version isn't quite as peppy as the live version, it's fun nonetheless. "Day Too Soon" comes closest to the album's first ballad, but to say it strays too far from Sia's signature sound probably is a bit of overkill. This track already has received maxi-single treatment, complete with a number of remixes. Yeah, I bought that, too.

The next four tracks, however, are what take the album to stellar heights. "Girl You Lost to Cocaine," while not a necessarily upbeat topic, is a powerful anthem about the painful reality of having to say "enough is enough" when dealing with an addict. Again, while the message is a bit of a downer, the addition of a driving drum and piano gives the track an uplifting feel. "Academia" may be my favorite track on the album. With seemingly nonsensical lyrics, Beck makes an appearance and the track jams along, plain and simple. Kinks cover "I Go to Sleep" brings the tone back down a bit, returning to the more ballad-like songs of Sia's repertoire, but it's moving nonetheless. "Playground" rounds out the quartet, as near to funkiness as Sia gets. A taste of hip hop sensibility, hand claps and Sia's vocal range makes this one a winner.

The album ends a tad weaker than it starts. "Death by Chocolate," "Electric Bird," "Beautiful, Calm Driving," and "Lullaby" are all fine tracks, but, truth be told, they're not awe inspiring. The exception to the latter half of the CD probably is, "Soon We'll Be Found," another slow burner that simply blows wind up my skirt, plain and simple. While the album technically ends with "Lullaby," there is the obligatory "hidden track," "Buttons." This one made the rounds of ye olde blogospheres a while back and it was that first taste that let me know SPHRP was going to be a winner. While the video is a bit odd, the track itself is a winner, ain't no doubt about it.

Personally, I think it's her best solo work since Healing is Difficult, and I loved that one. It's got a nice mix of upbeat, pop-oriented stuff and slow jams, making for the perfect mixture of Sia goodness. Sia's coming back to the 9:30 Club on March 7 and I already have my tickets. If you see the guy in glasses with the shaved head and some form of red facial hair (currently, I'm sporting the Wyatt Earp mustachio, but it may well be back to the full beard by then), come up and say "hey," and I'll buy you a beer.