2 with ten – the letter h
hardknox. i found this bio and it’s really accurate “Equipped with the streetwise fury of a junglist, the uncompromising angst of a metal rocker, and the discriminating taste of a Big Beat cut ‘n’ paster, Lindy Layton and Steve P — better known as the seasoned production duo Hardknox — overturn electronic music conventions into bloody, indistinguishable masses of sound. Scorched basslines press up against blistering breakbeats as screaming guitars survey the resulting ruination like shocked onlookers to a train wreck. Featuring a cameo by Schoolly D on their self-titled 1999 full-length debut, the grungy sounds of Hardknox first appeared on Skint Records (home of Big Beat king Fatboy Slim.) Hardknox’s window-cracking, wall-shuddering, speaker-busting sonic brutalism plays out like a lesson learned the hard way, spraying hooks with all the lethal fury of gunfire“.
i first heard of hardknox in 1999 when their self-titled debut landed on my desk. at the time i thought it was one of the better records i had heard primarily because of the aggressive nature to it all. the album moves into some dark dreamy patches at times but there are always aggressive almost abusive undertones throughout. to this day hardknox remains as a staple on my shuffle as i pretty much only listen to this when im doing something physical and aggressive like working out or running. this definitely isnt a band for everybody but im very specific in how i “use” (listen to) hardknox. it works really well for me in that regard and i suggest you track this cd down if u like to listen to music when u exercise. the track i chose cos i can is the first track i ever heard as well as the first track that hooked me. hope u investigate more.
the h’s on both my desk top and lap top computers are pretty f’n weak. it’s always so much nicer when u have a ton of choices – maybe that’s why i have scratched my head over this second choice for a while. im not sure what this phenomenon is called but when i look at my library i have a bunch of singles by a bunch of h’s but not too many full albums. obviously this is the sign of the times as we move away from the full album paradigm into the age of digital singles. i mean, west indian girl’s next release is going to be a digital twin single so im not really complaining…just commenting – good or bad im not sure but that’s present day reality. i honestly dont have anything i feel really strongly about as it pertains to a new band. im sure some of u will mention health or the horrors and i hope u do because i want to listen to more of them. for both of the bands i only have a few tracks in my library but nothing where i can confidently say “i love this band and this album and here’s why”. i feel i would undermine my own credibility if i broke my own rules and just mentioned a trendy h pick based on just a song or 2.
heatwave. taking a page out of one of our regular blog-poster’s (nick d) book i’m going with a band from the 70’s. why? well the reason is this…while researching all my h’s i found heatwave’s story to be the most enjoyable to read because i honestly didnt know anything about them except that they wrote disco songs. please check out the bio i have linked because it’s a great read – i had no idea that their keyboardist and leader rod temperton went on to write and produce so many hit songs…esp with michael jackson. plus the picture i found of them is pretty classic – they look like they would still be really cool today. anyway, chalk heatwave up to a lesson in 70’s disco fusion. another reason i chose this song was because of the first 33 second dreamy jazzy intro which im sure so many people forget is even there. it’s pretty awesome how they started this song and how it drops right into that classic groove. normally i dont post videos but damn this is awesome – the amps the outfits the moves. makes me feel good.
Bonus: 80’s cheeseball or synth pop genius…u make the call on this one. funny how the more digging u do the more u sometimes end up kind of liking someone in a very warped way. for example i had no idea that harold faltermeyer was an arranger on giorgio moroder’s soundtrack to the 1978 film midnight express, which if u havent seen u should because it’s a great movie. anyway…isnt it amazing how much money a person can actually make in this industry? fletch anyone. shit, his official site claims that this song is actually the biggest selling ring tone of all time. damn, good god harold.
OK PLEASE SEND ME NEW MUSIC!!! IDEALLY FROM THE LAST 2 YEARS – I DESIRE RECENT H’S
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Francis Ten
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i guess i did actually respond to this but my comment is still awaiting moderation… i said holy ghost and hearts revolution.
Holy Ghost! – What you would expect from a DFA-signed outfit. I dig it. Here is a track remixed by Friendly Fires:http://www.pinglewood.com/2010/February/Friction_Burn.html
Instead of digging around and posting something obscure and new, I have to go with the Horrors, despite it being mentioned several times on here. This track, “Mirror’s Image,” is one of my favorite songs of 2009: it’s sexy, moody, gutteral, and just plain beautiful. AND it’s produced by Geoff Barrow of Portishead (no need to say more): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0EOPIi4Q3lM&feature=fvsr
Holy Ghost… any track will do but if you want guidance… check “Hold On”
http://www.myspace.com/holyghostnyc
Hearts Revolution… check out “Dance Till Dawn” or “Digital Suicide”
http://music.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=music.artistalbums&artistid=5518648&ap=0&albumid=11303985&songid=43210954
I second The Helio Sequence – check out “Can’t Say No”
http://www.myspace.com/theheliosequence
Hum – Since they’re doing a reunion show in Chicago in March I’m going to add this. Straight out of U of Illinois land…this song is “Dreamboat” and one of the only songs I can play a small portion of.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qTvhTRGovFA&feature=related
Cheers!
D
Hopewell “Safe as Milk”
http://blip.fm/Lilandee
http://www.myspace.com/hopewell
and then I calm down with some Pet Shop Boys LOL. but were not at P yet.
Ok bending the rules and NOT staying new but music should be timeless…they say. MY H is a double H Helmet and House of Pain “Just Another Victim” off the Judgment Night soundtrack. This song reminds me of Detroit. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aSlXFoIAa88
Husker Du!!! Sweet.. I thought I was the only one!
Ok.. H.. Jesus.. New Also?.. I haven’t any Fran, sorry ;(…Sooooooooooo I’m going to go with Hooverphonic, and Happy Mondays.
I was introduced to Hooverphonic by my lesbian neighboors who happened to have amazing taste in music, were very sexy, and I loved hanging out over there… for some reason…. I heard 1 or 2 songs and had to buy a copy of their debut album A New Stereophonic Sound Spectacular. At the time there was nothing quite like it out and the vocals were delicious and melodic. Of special note on that album is 2 Wicky, and a personal favorite, Someone (links respectively):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wobu_4uASfE
and
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SIIhUXJrkMk
Happy Mondays were pretty popular in the 80’s but have been around for quite some time in some for or another…. Of course there is the obligatory mention of Step On (one of their most popular tunes), but I had a chance to see them this summer with the Psychedelic Furs @ the House of Blues Orlando and was amazed at the amount of material they had and how well they performed. I’m including a link to Step On and to another favorite 24 Hour Party People (yeah, from the movie, go see it if you haven’t, hilarious).
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NG9QrWkcV5I
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N7sa9r0mvBs
ok trying to stay new, if you go here: http://laisthenewny.com/?p=494 and scroll to #5 it is a song off the brand new helen stellar album. they are amazing! also their http://www.myspace.com/helenstellar has 3 new tracks too. new stuff is a little less gazey and has the influence of eli, their new 2ns guitar player.
for the second one i pick the finnish band husky rescue. my fave song is sweet little kitten http://tinyurl.com/y98bohv, and there is a bunch more on their http://www.myspace.com/huskyrescue from their new record ship of light which dropped a couple weeks ago.
Mmmmmmmm Hardknox is super tasty, and right up my alley. My head is bobbing as I type this.
Axel F, PURE GENIUS! While it might be a touch dated, there is something extremely desirable about older, slightly ragged, emptier music then the polished multi-layer things we get today. I think more emotion is captured into older tracks no doubt due to the lack of massaging by computers.
I thought for sure you would have picked some Haysi Fantayzee (since you requested Chris get that to you). I helped him upload that onto your ftp if you haven’t noticed it there. I know one of the songs is skippy, but coming from vinyl that doesn’t surprise me. Some of the jumps sound like maybe something went wonky in the digitalization. Anyways Haysi Fantayzee has a very playful tongue in cheek feeling to it that reminded me of some of the earlier releases by my first suggestion:
Hanzel und Gretyl-Late 90’s Industrial Dance turned from spacier themes into a heavier psuedo-germanic industrial metal sound. They are from NY and are certainly milking the German thing (a bit too much to be serious IMO).
Faster, louder, repetitive music may very well not be your thing. At the very least maybe you have some new workout music. I could listen to this for days straight. This selection is very indicative of their current sound:
http://blip.fm/profile/lordpantsington/blip/35194830/Hanzel+Und+Gretyl%E2%80%93Lederhosen+Macht+Frei
Next up Hocico http://www.forvo.com/word/hocico/
(Mexican Industrial Band) More of a symphonic side to Industrial. Reminds me of some crazy dark chamber music at times. They seem rather influenced by Leaetherstrip, has some of that same gothic industrial feel to it. Sometimes they can be a little blah for me. It makes for good background music when drawing.
http://blip.fm/profile/lordpantsington/blip/35196381/Hocico+Pandemonium