popwreckoning

Asheville, North Carolina festival Moogfest, scheduled for October 28-30, announced its initial lineup via AC Entertainment. Moogfest’s Halloween harvest of musical delights builds on the success of last year’s reinvention of the Moogfest concept in the city that Bob Moog, founder of the Moog synthesizer, called home.

The initial lineup includes The Flaming Lips, Passion Pit, STS9, Ghostland Observatory, Crystal Castles, Chromeo, Battles, Umphrey’s McGee, Mayer Hawthorne & The County, M83, Holy F**k, Matthew Dear, Twin Shadow, Toro y Moi, The Naked And Famous, Tim Hecker, Anika, Austra, Causing A Tiger, and Gold Panda, with many others still to be announced. ‘70s innovators, including Tangerine Dream, Hans-Joachim Roedelius and Suicide, will present rare US performances as they are also included in the festival lineup.

The final Moogfest 2011 lineup will feature performances by over 60 artists in numerous venues throughout downtown, including the Asheville Civic Center Arena, the Thomas Wolfe Auditorium, and Orange Peel Social & Pleasure Club. The festival will also host workshops, talks, interactive experiences and art exhibitions and installations.

Weekend passes for Moogfest 2011 will go on sale on Saturday, June 4, at 12 Noon Eastern exclusively at www.moogfest.com.

Thump. Whap! Thump. Whap! (Ba-Da-Bum-Bum)

Thump. Whap! Thump. Whap! (Ba-Da-Bum-Bum)

Thump. Whap! Thump. Whap! (Ba-Da-Bum-Bum)

Thump. Whap! Thump. Whap! (Ba-Da-Bum-Bum)

Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha-ha! Ha! YEAH! [Cue Synth]

So begins Codename: Rondo, the fourth studio album from Ghostland Observatory. Wow. Wasting no time, the duo jumps right in with a heavily synthesized glitch-glam gem. Vocalist Aaron Kyle Behrens’ voice wavers with electronic garble, and the perfectly simple and catchy “ah-woo-hoo” hook is sure to be hummed by many a listener.

Ghostland has never been labeled anything resembling an organic/roots band, and that trend continues here with an even stronger dedication to digital experimentation and, well, weirdness, than anything in their catalog to date. Although the entirety of Codename: Rondo was not able to match the brilliance of the opening track (and occasionally completely misses the mark), this band has earned the right to be heard out fully (even if everything isn’t fully understood).

The most striking bit of strangeness on this album manifests itself as the fourth track, “Codename Rondo.” As author Bill Simmons once said about Sacha Baron Cohen’s performance in Talladega Nights, I could have a million years to think about it and still not be able to decide if it works for me. Make up your own mind on this one. I still haven’t made up mine.

The duo tries for a (mostly) instrumental track with “Time,” but much like the second act of Stanley Kubrick’s Full Metal Jacket, the absence of the strong main character (Drill Sergeant Hartman and the aforementioned Behren) leaves the audience listless (if not bored). The next track, “Mama,” is by far the weakest on the album. If Ghostland Observatory was an eighties hair metal band, this would be their “Every Rose Has Its Thorn,” and yes, that’s meant as an insult. Fuck Poison. There, I said it.

</bitching about the few things that I didn’t enjoy>

<glorifying this album>

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There is SO much to love about this album. We’ve covered the wonderful first track. “Give Me the Beast” might be the strongest and most single-ready song on the album…or so I thought until I heard “Freeze.” On a scale of 1 to David Bowie, this lands somewhere between MGMT and 98.34. Notice to trendy dance clubs selling Tecate tall boys: check the EQ and queue up this track immediately. Doing his best Freddy Mercury, Behren anthemically croons, “The night is young, let’s have some fun, it’s time to hit the floor.” Trust me: it’s damn near impossible NOT to while this song is playing. The album ends with a schizophrenic track called “Kick Drum Speaker.” A melancholy piano riff plays behind a looped sample of the famous DECtalk DTC01 (of Radiohead and Stephen Hawking fame) repeating the title of the track. Although the vocal sample never changes, the instrumentation changes every 20-25 seconds for a solid five minutes – a great and representative way to end the album.

Conclusion? Where we’re going, we don’t need a conclusion. We just need these words from the third track: “The future’s like the weather, baby; there ain’t no guarantees.”

Remixes and mashups fall into the same genre of music; like brother and sister. Remixes consist of songs that have parts pulled away and/or added on by another musician, whereas mashups consist of combining two separate songs to make one cohesive unit. Dave Wrangler is one of the latest in making mashups and remixes and he has put together three stunning tracks that use Ghostland Observatory as the base.

I had a chance to e-mail with Dave, discussing his technique in putting songs together and he says, “For all of the remixes I do, I actually create the instrumentals from the tracks with lots of intricate editing as there are no instrumentals available. In essence, not as simple as laying words on top of an original instrumental: a “blend.” The process requires a moderate knowledge of music theory, a really good ear for musical format/structure and other fundamental variables.” Sounds pretty difficult to me, which all the more depicts the effort and talent that goes into creating such sounds.

Pharcyde vs. Ghostland Observatory (Dave Wrangler Remix)

This is by far my favorite working of Wrangler’s. He uses the lyrics of hip-hop group, Pharcyde, from their track “Passin Me By”, and the music from Ghostland Observatory’s “Midnight Voyage”. Now I am not a fan of hip-hop, never enjoyed it, save for the early incarnation of the genre. But Wrangler does an excellent blending of two genres here. He combines hip-hop and rock to create a really unique track, that’ll surely cater to fans of both fields of music. Though Ghostland Obsevatory is an electronic group, “Midnight Voyage” has an amazing electro-guitar riff that pulverizes the track as a rock n’ roll number. That riff is the best part of the song, as well as the slow thudded electro-drum that Wrangler takes and spills over the Pharcyde lyrics.

Michael Jackson vs. Ghostland Observatory (Dave Wrangler Remix)

Here Wrangler fuses together the Michael & Janet Jackson duet “Scream” with Observatory’s “Club Soda”. The song has an initially strong build up but at points feels slightly forced with the mashup not sounding completely synced. Though unique and enjoyable at points, it feels as if the vocals are just slapped onto the music without a proper melding; it’s pretty noisy.

Notorious B.I.G. vs. Ghostland Observatory (Dave Wrangler Remix)

Here we have Biggie‘s track “Nasty Boy” married off to Observatory’s “Heavy Heart”, which works much better than the Michael Jackson tune. It follows a similar pattern to the Pharcyde mix, combining hip-hop lyrics with more dancey, rocky and electronic tunes, that create a interesting and enjoyable contrast that fit together well. The song is slow but works with a heavy beat and bass provided by Observatory’s track. The beat meshes in perfect conjunction with the beaty delivery of Biggie’s lyrics.

Dave Wrangler: website | myspace

Technically New Jersey considering the venue where Saturday’s Download Festival occurred resides just across the Delaware River in Camden, NJ. Regardless of its actual location, Download: Philadelphia, run by Live Nation and partnered with SPIN, was a great (if exhausting) day filled with even better music. Leave it to Live Nation and SPIN to put together a festival with not only the biggest names in music (The Killers) and living legends (Iggy & the Stooges), but with the relatively unknown and the fast rising up and comers.

One day. Two stages. Sixteen bands.
Check it out –

1:30-2:00 // William Fitzsimmons // 5 Gum Stage

William Fitzsimmons is a beautifully soft spoken yet witty singer songwriter self-proclaimed to write a lot of songs about divorce because his parents were as is he as of late. He “screwed someone over. In case you were wondering.”

Due to the very first slot of 10-hour concert, the crowd for Fitzsimmons wasn’t great, but with over 42,000 MySpace friends and lots of press love, he shouldn’t be wanting for attention. The early birds in attendance, myself included of course, were treated to a soft and amazing cover of Go West’s “King of Wishful Thinking.”

2:00-2:30 // Colour Revolt // Main Stage

2:30-3:00 // Alberta Cross // 5 Gum Stage

Imports Alberta Cross sat around a picnic table rather nonchalantly both before and after their set on the 5 Gum Stage, their demeanor hardly giving away how hard they’d rock once they picked up their instruments. Their ambient yet hard as nails rock pulled in the crowd with a solid set.

Photo: Jessica McGinley

Photo: Jessica McGinley

3:00-3:30 // The Parlor Mob // Main Stage

Local guys The Parlor Mob threw down on the Main Stage having recently flown in from performing at Lollapalooza just the day before. Jet lag be damned, the quintet had great energy and stage presence as they flew through a slick set.

3:30-4:00 // Eli “Paperboy” Reed & the True Loves // 5 Gum Stage

Undeniably one of the best performances of the day came from Eli “Paperboy” Reed & the True Loves. The crowd was transported back to the late 50s, when rock ‘n roll had real soul, the instant Reed’s vocals exploded over swinging riffs, jazzy horns and groovin’ beats. Reed and his True Loves ability to bridge generational and genre gaps is inspiring: their soulful rock got both the Y-Rock and the Prairie Home Companion (not to say the two are mutually exclusive) crowds grooving at the 5 Gum Stage on Saturday.

4:00-4:45 // Louis XIV // Main Stage

Dirty blues rockers Louis XIV — another band who worked both Download and Lolla — played a solid set of both hit singles from their debut album The Best Little Secrets Are Kept and the more recent Slick Dogs and Ponies.

4:30-5:00 // The Airborne Toxic Event // 5 Gum Stage

Something about the 5 Gum Stage perhaps, but The Airborne Toxic Event pulled off one of the best sets of the day, following Reed’s slot. Their sound check alone had the audience, who’d been waiting the 30 minutes since Reed/the True Loves left the stage, dancing around and demanding more when the sound guy (wrongly) said they had to wait for the Main Stage performers to stop before they could start.

The band, whose self-titled, debut album drops tomorrow, pulled off a powerful set that only disappointed the crowd by ending.

5:15-6:00 // Man Man // Main Stage

Some technical difficulties with Honus Honus’ monitor got locals Man Man off to a bit of a late start, but their frantically high-powered set more than made up it. In true Man Man fashion, they donned their customary all white attire complete with random strokes of white face paint. The band blasted through older songs like “Black Mission Goggles” and tracks from their newest release Rabbit Habits including “Big Trouble,” “The Ballad of Butter Beans” (my favorite), and single “Mister Jung Stuffed.”

My love for Man Man runs deep, so deep that I skipped over The Enemy UK’s set to stick around for all that Man Man had to offer. I was not disappointed.

6:15-7:00 // The Duke Spirit // 5 Gum Stage

Another highly impressive act came in the form of the UK’s The Duke Spirit. Seeing drummer Olly walking around all day, I was pretty sure he would’ve been a pretty good look alike for a part in I’m Not There. Front woman Liela Moss certainly knows how to entertain an audience as she belts out Brit indie pop rock.

6:30-7:15 // Mute Math // Main Stage

Lush piano melodies, steady beats, high enegry and a keytar! On Saturday someone told me that Mute Math is this generation’s Rush. Interpret that as you wish.

7:15-8:00 // The Whigs // 5 Gum Stage

Athens, GA trio The Whigs also pulled double duty over the weekend, playing Download: Philadelphia on Saturday and jetting over to Chicago for Lolla on Sunday. The rocked it pretty hard on the 5 Gum Stage, although I admittedly skipped out a bit early to catch some of the Man Man Q&A and to ensure I wouldn’t miss a second of Ghostland Observatory over on the Main Stage.

7:45-8:30 // Ghostland Observatory // Main Stage

Hyperactive bliss. Ghostland Observatory is off the wall, in your face fun and madness set to the beep blip boop of electro pop… with braided pigtails.

8:15-9:00 // Sia // 5 Gum Stage

I don’t know what rock I’ve been under, but I didn’t realize Sia had such a large and dedicated fan base. The crowd loved every single thing she did. It was pretty unreal. Listening to her sing, it’s not hard to understand why she’s got rabid fans. She packed out the 5 Gum Stage, holding the crowd until she herself left, despite the concurrence of her set’s end and Iggy & the Stooge’s beginning.

9:00-10:00 // Iggy & the Stooges // Main Stage

Legendary. What else is there to say? Iggy has an insane amount of energy and just wows.

10:30-11:45 // The Killers // Main Stage

To end the night, the Killers put on an elaborate show that undoubtedly pleased the masses; I wouldn’t know, I wasn’t there. I’ve seen them before and was wowed then. I expect wow-factor came into play on Saturday night.
Please note: Only the Killers’ personal band photographer was allowed to shoot the band so please don’t look to me for an explanation regarding the quality of these photographs.

On the whole, Download: Philadelphia was a wonderful festival that I sincerely hope will become an annual event in the City of Brotherly Love.

Ghostland Observatory describes their style as a “robot making love to a tree,” so it is fitting that their third album would be called Robotique Majestique. However, with such a promisingly unique description, this Austin duo failed to deliver more of the exciting electro funk offered on their previous releases.

This is music that is supposed to make you want to move around and there are a few tracks that do that. “Heavy Heart” is a welcome track after the instrumental “Opening Credits” that sound like they should be the theme to 2001: A Space Odyssey. “Heavy Heart” has a pulsated rhythm provided by drummer Thomas Turner and Freddie Mercury style vocals from vocalist Aaron Behrens. In contrast to the first song, I would expect this song on the soundtrack to Rocky Horror Picture Show.

Another song worth listening to is “Dancing On My Grave,” which slows things down, but still keeps up with energy. This is impressive because some of the faster tracks on the album feel like they are lacking energy.

The whole album acts as a blast from the past with its synthesizer heavy parts. However, because it does borrow a lot from the past, you might be better off just listening to some original 70s or 80s music.

The main problem with this album is that after awhile all the weird spacey sound effects get repetitive as do Behrens’ vocals, which get really annoying after awhile. If you try to listen to this album in full, you’ll feel inclined to space out instead of hearing the space and robot sounds. The band’s first two albums were a lot more fun and energetic, but for a third album release, this just disappoints.

Robotique Majestique was released by Trashy Moped Recordings.

Tracklisting:
01. Opening Credits
02. Heavy Heart
03. No Place For Me
04. Freeheart Lover
05. Dancin’ On My Grave
06. Robotique Majestique
07. The Band Marches On
08. Holy Ghost White Noise
09. HFM
10. Club Soda

Ghostland Observatory: Website | Myspace
Trashy Moped: Website

Written by: Bethany