Goldkixx II

Don't You Want My Love?

2010-07-28T18:40:00.004-04:00

The Caribou DJ night was great, thanks to everyone who came out, Dubinsky (natch) and Frontrunners. Lots more stuff coming up for the rest of the summer and into the fall.

Eli Escobar feat. Amanda Blank

2010-06-30T09:30:00.003-04:00

LOVE THING E.P. by EliEscobar

Eli Escobar Love Thing Part 3 (Only You) featuring Amanda Blank
(download)

I'm far more partial to the classic house and disco vibes that are all over Love Thing Part 2, but that's not to say that this first legally-downloadable track (courtesy of RCRDLBL), featuring Amanda Blank, doesn't have some compelling moments to it, notably the sparse use of strings and the acid-tinged piano-roll elements towards the end. All the more reason to cop all of the single on Beatport (now) or iTunes (when it launches on July 13th).

Goldkicks, The Original, is now the current

2009-09-29T09:33:00.000-04:00

Recently on Goldkicks

The Centaurs: A Lost Animated Short Film by Little Nemo creator Winsor Mackay

Etta James, Beyonce, Brand Nubian & Simply Red and how it all works

The Death of Quebecois Film-Maker Pierre Falardeau

Girls, JJ, Tanlines, & Early Babyface

Chromeo's New Song Night by Night

Three Versions of Baby, It's You

Memories of Mormon Basketball Players and Miami Bass Musicians

HBO & Jonathan Ames' Bored to Death Television Series

CFCF, Jay Watts III at the All-Rounder LI

2008-11-14T13:54:00.003-05:00

Saturday, November 15th

10pm, Free
Korova Bar Terroir
3908 St. Laurent
Montreal, QC

Join our FB group for more information

2008-07-16T17:12:00.000-04:00

hand in handjob

More Square Quotes Episodes

2008-07-14T03:39:00.003-04:00

Okay, Alexander, Martin, Ali and myself have been busy since I last posted here. We've got four whole more episodes, and pretty soon, we'll be producing a special episode for Osheaga. The Osheaga podcast you'll be able to get directly from their website, and will include interviews with musicians, artists and other people associated with the festival.

In the meantime, do some catching up with the last couple of episodes... I'll list them in reverse chronological order, or you can go to the main site at www.squarequotes.com or find us on iTunes.

Square Quotes, Episode 6: Bend It Like Beckett

Square Quotes is back with a vengeance, notorious and ever glorious! During our two week hiatus we shuffled off the chains of Suoni per il Popolo and now fly towards the sun like Icarus! This week's episode is packed with summer sounds, summer flicks, and Cancon controversy.

Jordan Robson-Cramer, contributing member of Montreal's Sunset Rubdown and Miracle Fortress visited us and played a song with Rory Seydel (also of Shapes and Sizes) - the newest member of Jordan's long-standing project Magic Weapon.

Tempting fate, we invited Darren Curtis and Matt Silver, two peanut-shelling funny-men partially responsible for Kidnapper Films' debut full-length Who is K.K. Downey? to talk with us. The film premieres in Canada later this week as part of the Fantasia Film Festival.

This episode's musical picks anticipate, welcome, and think about love: its complications, its great bounty. Delegation's Darlin' (I Think About You) appears on their landmark champagne-disco-funk album, 1979's Eau de Vie; ABS dug up Jermaine Jackson's Good for the Gander, which is an unreleased Motown gem produced by Norman Harrison and Ron Tyson; Steely Dan's Dirty Work speaks for itself; Johnny Moped's Darlin' (Let's Have Another Baby) gets straight up paternal; we all love Silver Apples' I Have Known Love (they may be popping up in our city sometime soon - shhh); and Magnum Force speaks to the mood of the moment in Girl, You're Too Cool.

Square Quotes Episode 5: Pansexual Digressions & Nocturnal Omissions

With a turnaround time that would daunt most college radio stations, but is par for the course in the big leagues with major players like Radio Congo, we came up with episode 5. A majestic palace of sophistry, loving communication, and dialogue. Our guests this week were Ken Vandermark, the acclaimed saxophonist whose name you might recognize from Powerhouse Sound and The Flying Luttenbachers; Amber Goodwyn, the publisher of Canada's, nay North America's best smut zine, Lickety Split; and finally, the beloved Claude Bernier, logistics master and jack of all trades with the Suoni per il Popolo festival, who came in to the studio to chat us up, and deliver exclusive Suoni sounds recorded over the course of the festival from Vic Chestnutt and The Sun Ra Arkestra, live at Sala Rossa.

This Episode's Songs...

Leon Ware Rockin' You Eternally, The Velvelettes Je Veux Crier (My Foolish Heart Keeps Hanging on a Memory), Di Melo A vida seus métodos diz calma, The Sun Ra Arkestra Excerpt (Live at Sala Rossa), Vic Chestnutt Excerpt (Live at Sala Rossa), Marcia Hines You Gotta Let Go, Sadina I Want That Boy

Square Quotes Episode 4: Too Much Too Late

Woah. Well, Square Quotes took our sweet, precious time delivering this, a snapshot of a week or so in the life of a gaggle of Montrealers... First, Sasha Kleinplatz, a Montreal dancer, choreographer and organizer who recently put on a dance event called Piss In the Pool at the dilapidated Bain St. Michel went head-to-head with ABS; after that, we spoke to Billy Mavreas, the garrulous and lovable mensch who runs the Monastiraki Curiosity Shop, and is also a cartoonist who's recently published a graphic novel called Inside Outside Overlap, published by Timeless Books. It's all about dream logic, the murk, and a recent experience at the Helen Pitt Gallery in Vancouver, BC, where he participated in their Workaday series; and finally, Jenny Craig, the hostess and curator of the monthly Greasy Goose salon series discussed the business of talking about things here in Montreal, and let us listen in as local cosmologist Mark Slutsky spoke about ESP. Music? Yep, music again - Art Ensemble of Chicago, Manfred Krug, Mavreas' The Fudge, Ben E. King, and The Soft Boys. All for you, by us.

Square Quotes Episode 3: The Sun (Ra) Also Rises

On episode three of Square Quotes we talk with Alex Moskos of electronic-jam-duo Thames / circuit-twisted pop trio the Unireverse. Afterward we enlist his help in channeling the spirit of afro-futurist jazz artist Sun Ra.

Then Jack Oatmon of the Montreal Mirror stops by to give us the lowdown on Ivan Smagghe's health issues and he manages to squeeze in an interview with Andy Butler of NYC's post-disco group Hercules & Love Affair.

Later on we check in with Phil Elverum, of Mt. Eerie, just before his appearance at the Suoni per il Popolo festival. We play some songs too, like "I Comma Zimba" by Abdullah, the militant Motown musician and "Moliendo Cafe" performed by twelve-piece Romanian brass band Fanfare Ciocărlia. We also get heavy with Pilooski, who channels the high priestess of soul Nina Simone.

Square Quotes: Episode 2 - Grant Hart, Nader Hassan, Adam Gollner

2008-06-07T14:46:00.001-04:00

Square Quotes
Episode 2: Naders of the Hart

In Episode 2 of Square Quotes, Alexander Buckiewicz-Smith and Jay Watts III continue with extended coverage of the Suoni per il Popolo festival, interviewing artist and musician Grant Hart formerly of Husker Du, and Nova Mob, now solo; and local sculptor, musician and the Rum Tum Tiger of the Mile End, Nader Hassan.

Besides those in-depth portraits, there are songs from The Cake, criminally under-rated group The Feelies, Lord Kitchener, and Barcelona's one-man neo-tropicalia explosion El Guincho. We also recorded local author Adam Gollner, at the launch of his new book on fruit obsessives, “The Fruit Hunters” (at Drawn & Quarterly), as he told the crowd about how some time in Borneo led him to chase after the lady fruit, the famed Coco de Mer, lodoicea/a really crazy fruit.

Square Quotes: Montreal Arts, Music & Culture Podcast

2008-06-04T00:28:00.002-04:00

Square Quotes Podcast, Episode 1

In this inaugural episode of Square Quotes, hosts Alexander Buckiewicz-Smith and Jay Watts III fumble their way through two interviews, while producer Ali Rahman wonders what exactly it is that he’s got himself in to.

The two guests, gracious and forgiving to a fault, were Montrealer Sam Shalabi and Jon Fall Ryan of Brooklyn’s electronic noise-improv sextet, Excepter, both of which will be performing in Montreal as part of the Suoni per il Popolo festival.

The episode features contributions from both interviewed artists, as well as three selections of music picked by the hosts in their quest for obscurantist internet supremacy. Thrill to the sounds of “Guzar Jaye Din,” a Bollywood song from the film “Annadata;” get girl crazy with Chuck Jackson as he exalts the fairer sex in “Girls, Girls, Girls;” and smother yourself in sentimental kitsch with the Portuguesed-American Jeanette as she runs us through “Porque Te Vas.”

More episodes to come, as ABS and JW3 find their footing, and producer Ali continues fretting.

The All-Rounder: Korova Saturdays in Montreal

2008-05-20T16:35:00.006-04:00

Since last fall, I've been DJing on Saturday nights at Korova here in Montreal. Korova is a 2nd floor bar at 3908 St. Laurent, just above the newly renovated Copacabana, and while it's not the best-looking bar in the city - more like a pretty cute friend who knows how to dress well - and that hand-dryer has yet to be fixed, despite numerous promises from the proprietors, it's received nods of approval from such reputable judges of character as The New York Times and uh, Nylon Magazine.

I find the staff awesome and the people who come there, the majority of which I don't know, to be receptive. Anyway, the format's pretty simple - fun selections of dance-oriented music from all genres with an ear towards Italo, disco, and vintage electro and boogie.

In the previous 24 Saturdays we've have had plenty of guests, too: Insomniak, Alexander Buckiewicz-Smith (ABS), Patrick North (S.L.U.M.), Khiasma (Baile MTL), Alexandre Pare, Molo Bain, A Fly Is On The Wall, Heidy Pinet, JP Emond (Masala, CISM), Etienne Cote-Paluck (ECP), Cederic Pilon (Mr. Vain), Chris Hill (Deadbeat Dad), Mark Slutsky, and Justin Time.

If you're interested, there's a Facebook group or just come down. Doors are at 22h and there's no cover.

Such Good Friends

2008-05-14T14:06:00.004-04:00

Thursday, May 22
William de Samman
Chanteclair
Jay Watts III
Salon Officiel
351 rue Roy est
Montreal, QC
No cover charge, 22h

Tiring or disquieting?

2008-05-12T11:10:00.003-04:00

Just take a look around, do you know that many exceptional human beings? Self-actualized uber-mensch sharing the staircase in your crumbling apartment block? Wise sages bagging your groceries? (If that kid was so wise, you think she’d mix put cans of tuna on top of my hothouse tomatoes?)

Sammy Sandala gets up in Kenneth Brannagh's face when discussing the tiring matter of his reincarnation.

Popth 6th!

2007-09-19T21:16:00.000-04:00

Pop Montreal's 6th annual festival is mere weeks away, meaning that, once again, it's time to book off work, stock your cabinet with electrolyte-replenishing goods, and make some serious charts and schedules to ensure you'll be able to see at least a portion of what you want to this year.

The schedule's already up on their main page, and just going through it, there are a couple of stand-out shows... Octogenarian comedian Mort Sahl, the Montreal-born pioneer of intelligent stand-up comedy and an all-around pleasant fellow is one of my personal highlights, but other, less greying figures and groups will receive my attention, as well.

The release of the program this year will lead to another crop of upset band-handlers and confused festival-attendees, like any year, but (full disclosure here: I wrote a couple of them), this writer took particular care not to be as snarky as in years past, attributing his missing the deadline that pulling-many-punches approach.

I'm going to try my hand at some festival coverage this year, rather than ending up in the hospital half-way through (last year), or blindly drinking my way through out it (last year and previous years). There are scores to be settled, bands to mock, and, hey, even some to champion, too! Osheaga presented an opportunity, but any review of that would somehow lack all the extraneous happenings, occurences, mistakes and everything else that go into making Pop the distinctly more enjoyable festival. "I saw Peter, Bjorn & John in a field with a bunch of other people and we were worried about rain, but it was sunny" is as fine a distillation of the experience as any other, no?

One big surprise for me this year is the evident lack of a SLUM showcase, but maybe I'm not looking close enough. First day highlights include Vancouver drone-o-morphic psych outfit Anemones at one venue and Caribou at another, at the same time. (What gives?)

There'll be more within the next couple of days, including a rigorous plan of attack (in that classical Goldkicks style, natch), choose-yr-own-adventure schedules, loads of self-serving blogging and more contributors... In the meantime, a couple of songs kicking around: I'm far too lazy to upload anything else.

Carly Simon Why (12-inch Extended Mix)

Zdar How Do You See Me Now?

2007-03-17T17:29:00.000-04:00

Maestro Fresh Wes - Poetry Is Black

I don't care to tackle the lyrical conceit of the good Maestro's Poetry Is Black, primarily because my appreciation of hip hop has little to do with it as a poetic form, and also because it's dated ("1991, son, and that's how I'm livin'"), de-fanged and cliched enough to provoke nothing more than a smirk, but the quick-clipped pace, rolling bass, and trumpet swells of a song like this, so indigenous to the hip-house era of the early 90s, sounds fresher and fresher after a year or so of being assaulted by the unholy union of French Touch house and blog-friendly hip hop.

2007-02-23T17:05:00.001-05:00

2007-02-08T18:03:00.000-05:00

Dante Decarro (Wolf Parade guitarist and Hot Hot Heat alumni) has put out the last Daddy's Hands album, Welcome Kings on his south-island-based record label, Kill Devil Hills Records. Long-awaited. Order here.

More Baile Montreal stuff coming up... The 9th volume will be on Saturday, March 3rd at Zoobizarre. Usual info & some mixes on the myspace. For previews of what you'll hear, check out what Guillaume & JP have been working on, on the Masalacism blog.

BAILE MTL 6 w/ Paul Devro

2006-11-27T15:53:00.000-05:00

Saturday, December 2nd @ Zoobizarre, 6388 St. Hubert (Metro Beaubien)

The 6th volume. Considering how packed it was for the last two volumes, we're encouraging peolpe to show up early and prepared for top level booty bass.

Special guest Paul Devro (Mad Decent, SLUM) will be flying in from Vancouver.

As well, we'll also have copies of the first BAILE MTL mix-tape, "Baboon", with selections from JP, Guillaume and Jay from Ivory Temple; and mixing by Guillaume.

Doors 22h, $5
Zoobizarre - 6388 St. Hubert, Metro Beaubien

Baile Funk Volume 5.

2006-10-21T16:43:00.000-04:00

Saturday, August 26th @ Zoobizarre, 6388 St. Hubert (Metro Beaubien)

Back for the fifth installment, Montreal's premiere hi-cut blend of funk carioca, international booty beats and post-tropicalia dancehall nonsense, now in full technicolour and stereophonic sound. DJing by that master of all forms of radio (AM, FM, shortwave, internet) MASALA (masalacism.blogspot.com), and IVORY TEMPLE (myspace.com/ivorytemple), and 21st century video projection magic. Globe-trotting, genre-hopping, and saliva-swapping with: baile funk, desi beats, Miami Bass, d. south, Washington Go Go, soca, reggaeton, electro, soul, funk, hip house, etc.

portes 22h, $3
Zoobizarre - 6388 St. Hubert, Metro Beaubien

Baile Funk Volume 4.

2006-08-25T00:50:00.000-04:00

Saturday, August 26th @ Zoobizarre, 6388 St. Hubert (Metro Beaubien)

Much-ballyhooed, fourth volume of this event. This promises to be going off bigger than last time, and with more bar staff this time, so you won't have to wait twenty minutes in line for a little juice. Guillaume De Couflet II will, of course, be offering up Brazilian cuts and the rest, while JP and myself take on the rest of the globe. Hopefully a perfect appetizer for the following weekend, with MEG Fest nouveau-French-touch shindig going down. (Honary Franco Uffie, Feadz, Ghislain's set with live drummer(!), Busy P, SebastiAn, DJ Medhi, Teki from TTC, Para One!)

And a little bit in the future, on the fifth-year birthday tip, Pop Montreal gets too big for its britches with Goldkixx-approved programming (_urtis _odka?, _losstradamus?, _id _ister?), between the dates of October 4th and 8th. Sleep less!

Hood Rat, Hood Rat, Hoochie Mama...

2006-06-10T17:14:00.000-04:00

2 Live Crew - Hoochie Mama.mp3

I first encountered 2 Live Crew in elementary school, right about the time the group was gaining national notoriety for, uhh, being banned in Boston or something. I don't remember the details, I just remember that it was the sort of thing that corrupted youth, and being youthful, I was eager as hell to hear it. Strange that a little bit of controversy around some regional hip-hop group could result in a 8 and 9 year old kids actively seeking it out in a small town in northern British Columbia, about as far from Miami as one can get in North America without running into an eskimo. Also very strange that the Bibliotheque Nationale here in Montreal has two copies of 2 Live Crew's Greatest Hits Volume 2... (2 Volumes?)

Hoochie Mama is dirty, as expected, with references to coochies, 69s, hoodrats, hot pants, booties and all the rest... Compared to Me So Horny (the sequel of which was the embarassing satire on Presidential sexual indiscretion, Bill So Horny), this is bouncier, funnier, and definetly a fine summer track, the sampling owes a bit to Eric B. & Rakim, to my mind, too.

Ridin' Dirty...

2006-06-05T16:18:00.000-04:00

Missy Elliot vs. M-Flo - AstroDutch Mix.mp3

Los Angeles, California's Siik (thanks for Jon Meyer's jam support on this, he shoved this over my way) throws up a well-flushed out remix here, a little too cluttered for my girlfriend but dynamite to my ears.

Guillaume and I, under our nom de chanson IVORY TEMPLE were defeated soundly a couple of weeks back at the 2nd iPod Battle (the first one is held in ), not even making it past the first round. There were rumblings that our mixer didn't have any bass, so we're going to be back for the next installment, whenever that happens. Beyond my whining (I'm not a sore loser, really!), I'm encouraging you to check out what these kids are up to, because it was fun, it will be fun, and it's encouraging to see some Anglo and Franco hybridization in this city. Chroniclers of MTL nightlife, 33mtl have some pictures and videos of the whole shindig, which was held in the somewhat decrepit Union Francais building in Old Montreal.

Also on our plate, another BAILEFUNKMTL night on Sunday, June 25th at Zoobizarre, a Bmore mix from Guillaume, and an IVORYTEMPLE summer mixtape.

June 2nd Partial Playlist

Shut Up Bitch Lil' Kim
Holla At Me DJ Khaled
Muscolor ft. TTC Para One
Astrodutch (Siik Remix) Missy Elliot
I Ting (Jools MF Remix) Amerie
Gold Lion (Optimo Remix) YYYs
Wake Up Lo Fi FNK
How Do U See Me Now? Zdar
Can't Go For That PJ Pooterhoots
Everything Is Everything Phoenix
Some Indulgence The Embassy
Fa Fa Fa Datarock
Hate Fuck Mt. Sims
Star Track Rod Lee
I Love Your Smile (Bmore Remix) Shaunice
Overnight Star Flosstradamus
Bojangles Tittsworth
Take Me Noisy Bunch Remix
McNasty Filth Jaylib ft. Jay Dilla
Be Easy Ghostface Killah
Gangsta Boogie Plantlife
Gimme That Nut Eazy E
Clek Clek Boum Voltair
Son Do Braza Braza
Melo de Estudante Tetive
Baile (Sp. Rock Baile) Flosstradamus

...and then Guillaume's handwriting goes all crazy...

Broke Ass Home DJ Ayres
....? Noisy Bunch
Boss Of Me Kevin Swift
Jeffersons Tittsworth
Respect (24 Hrs) Aretha Franklin
Saian ft. RZA, Ghostface
We Got Our Own Thing (Smalltown DJs Remix) Heavy D

Reduce The Friction...

2006-05-15T15:24:00.000-04:00

Eric B & Rakim - Let The Rhythm Hit Em (Omega One Remix).mp3

From DJ Ayres' The Rub: It's The Motherfucking Remix Vol. 2, a creepy as hell Omega One mix, well-suited for late-night strolling back from whatever party. Thank god summer's here, huh? The forward-pushing triumvirate of The Rub (DJ Ayres, Cosmo Baker and DJ Eleven) will be here in Montreal on June 4th at Club 1234, a sure-sign that it really is summer here.

Square Pegs.

2006-03-30T16:37:00.000-05:00

Shapes And Sizes - Island's Gone Bad.mp3

I'm off to Hawaii to work on an article about Queen Lili'uokalani's songbook and Hawaiian nationalism, but before I go, I'll be checking out Victoria's chipper and rose-cheeked pop quartet Shapes & Sizes, who'll be stopping by Casa Del Popolo tonight. I long ago promised to write something about them and their Canadian baroque pop brethren: The Paper Cranes, The Dymaxions, and Code Pie, but that'll have to wait. For now, here's a lament for the departed ex-pats of Victoria, BC, long may they suffer.

My first column in the Mirror just appeared today. Scope out at your own risk!

Weekend Double Dosing

2006-03-24T18:35:00.000-05:00

The Embassy - Some Indulgence.mp3

Sweden's The Embassy sort of passed me by. Albums in 2002 and 2005 won over Sweden, but unlike minimal design at bargain prices, sensible automobiles, and blonde pop chanteuses, they never seemed to make it over the pond.

The Embassy trade on the sort of late New Order-esque sophisto-Euro-pop production (a solid base of acoustic guitars, chimes, crystalline oohs and ahhs) that activates my musical sweet-tooth (and may bring up a bit of something in the back of the throat along with memories of Erasure and The Pet Shop Boys for some of you). Dreamy-yacht-rock may be perfectly suited for car commercials (the hidden historical aim of indie rock's progression, synthesis to thesis and antithesis), but it's done without the bad faith or second-guessing that hounds say, graduates of Evergreen College. Ambitious feel-good pop music best played on your stolen Bang & Olufsen turntable.

Band Website or Label Website

Primal Scream - Accelerator.mp3

To cleanse the palate, similar to a whiff of coffee beans, here's a song originating from a similar school (Creating A Universe Within A Studio), but arrives at different conclusions... Primal Scream, who've pretty much cemented their reputation as The Only Supergroup Worth Talking About with members like Mani (formerly of the Stone Roses), Kevin Shields, and collaborations with Two-Long Swordsmen, Kate Moss (in her pre-Doherty days) and many more, are set to release a new album in May titled Riot City Blues, which will add to the roll-call of British music's leading lights by featuring contributions from Echo & The Bunnymen's Will Sergeant, The Bad Seeds' Warren Ellis, and Alison Mosshart from The Kills.

This track is from 2000's skull-cracking XTRMNTR, which I'd argue is the most completely realized statement articulating PS' mission, encapsulating most of what was worthwhile from the various musical subcultures they toyed with in the 90s while remaining. It could do without Pills' hip-hop stylings, though.

On another note, I've got a column in the Mirror that's starting this week. No name as of yet, still sussing that out, but the focus will be on mp3s, blogs, and other aspects related to music online. Montrealers can read it next Thursday, gratuit.

Gotta Get Your Love

2006-03-22T16:31:00.000-05:00

Clyde Alexander & Sanction - Gotta Get Your Love.mp3

A couple of years back I picked up the spectacular compilation Disco Juice, a double-LP featuring selections from Harlem's P&P Records, including Jesse Gould's Out Of Work and L.J. Waiters' Hooked On Your Line.

The first cut on side C is the one above: Gotta Get Your Love, recorded by Gary Davis in 1979, by Clyde Alexander & Sanction, Sanction (a group featuring Gary and his younger brother Wendell). A choice song in the UK's Northern Soul scene, this track is a killer slice of gritty disco that (thankfully) lacks the sheen of overproduced string sections and too chirpy back-up singers. Beyond the sizzling horn section, this track kills it for a number of other reasons - the up-in-the-mix rolling bassline, the stuttering snare break, and the chattering vocal interplay, touching off my fetish for songs that hint at a party setting (think Roxy Music) whether through champagne glasses clinking or general party sounds.

A strange aside to all of this, though it was released ostensibly as a track by (at the time) 15 year old vocalist Clyde Alexander, he barely appears on the track, his contributions lost far, far in the mix, while Rhonda Whaley's vocals dominate, the strange situation owing to a demand for exclusive contracts for performers only signed by Clyde. Quickly a choice song amongst DJs in the UK's Northern Soul scene, a second version was recorded by Gary Davis in 1982 using the same players (sans lil' Clyde, sadly) and self-released on Chocolate Star Records.

Grab The Comp Here

Disco Lazers... Ring My Bell.

2006-03-20T15:06:00.000-05:00

Anita Ward - Ring My Bell (12 Inch Version).mp3

24 year old substitute teacher and gospel-trained singer Anita Ward scored a subsantial dancefloor burner with 1979's Ring My Bell. Originally penned as a teeny-bopper homage to telephone obsessed youngsters, and intended for 11 year old Stacy Lattisaw, it might not have been recorded by a reticient Ward were it not for Stax Records producer Frederick Knight's insistence. Hitting number one and holding for five months in the States (to say little of her impressive numbers in Britain, Canada, Europe and elsewhere), she toured heavily, before retiring back to teaching and motherhood.

Ward's soaring high-pitched vocals play off the cooing back-up singers, and the shuffle beat and disco lazers make this the sort of jubiliant pop song that often seems woefully underrepresented when journos, "Remember The 70s" VH1 shows and others look back at the "disco era." Far from the presumed homogenity of gawdy fabrics and banal club decadence, there was an inventiveness and spirit in a lot of the music missing from mainstream rock music at that time*. It's not necessarily a forgotten classic (Ward performed this at New Year's Eve in New York in 2000, there have been a whole slab of remixes floating about), but it's a choice one, on par with Clyde Alexander's Gotta Get Your Love, another one of my faves that I'll feature tomorrow.

*Yes, yes, I realize I'm pretty much preaching to the converted here, I don't know that many people who fly the rockist flag all that much, not even the Mojo Magazine tribe members, but I'm too lazy to fabricate any other intellectual/historical context to justify my affection for this song with.

IVORY TEMPLE will be filling in the blanks between soundchecks and sets and bathroom runs on Wednesday night at Club Lambi (4465 St. Laurent) as Scandinavian electro-popper Annie return to Montreal. Given that she's got a higher profile than at the time of last year's Pop Montreal festival, one would expect a little more people than the music critics and forward-thinking St. Catherine Villagers that made up the bulk of the audience at that point.

Baltimore Club-It: Fuck You Up Like A Percoset

2006-03-08T17:20:00.000-05:00

Spank Rock - Sweet Talk.mp3

Hotly anticipating their return to Montreal in just over a month, I've been periodically squealing in delight since partner-in-crime Guillaume (aka G'Homme) played this for me barrelling down Ste. Catherine last week. Baltimore-based Spank Rock's Sweet Talk hits similar po-funk spots as bi-coastalians !!! or AreYouFamiliar faves Velella Velella: a head-nodding, arm-thrusting number that finishes with a cascading schoolgirl chant, leavened with sweet percussion and their patented brash lyric stylings...

Heads would do well to check out a Spankrock video hosted by the BigDada crew, featuring some extensive MTL metro action, including a detailed explanation of the ACT. It's here in Quicktime format.

Montreal, QC
Thursday, April 12th
Spankrock, Devlin & Darko et guests
@ Main Hall (5390 St. Laurent)
$12 adv/$15 door

Everybody's favourite jet-set juvenile Douglas Ko of SLUM fame had 'em over in Vancouver last month, and from all accounts, it was incredible. Now, someone throw Think About Life on this bill!

Order Spankrock from BIG DADA or TurntableLab if you're so inclined.

Uffie Pops...

2006-03-06T19:31:00.000-05:00

Uffie - Ready To Uff.mp3

Cut-to-shape perfect bio: pint-sized female rapper with a foul mouth, originally from Miami (f'real?), worked with Feadz (that's her boypal, sorry, fellas), remixes by Mr. Oizo and SebastiAn, a 12" (Pop The Glock) released on Pedro Winter's Ed Banger Records, and all of 19 years old. This is cross-continental stumble-hop with RapMaster synth-estra hits, which gives me high hopes for the upcoming full-length. Jesus, with the exception of Poirier, Ghostface & Spankrock, the only new hip-hop I've been really excited about has been from Europe (Modeselektor, Roots Manuva, TTC, et al.), huh?

Unfortunately the Uffie/Mr.Oizo/Feadz tour wasn't able to stop by Montreal this time given the short notice, but I'm hopeful that Uffie will be here sometime soon. MEG, perhaps?

Curious nerds can drop paypal euro$ at ARCADEMODE, or get creep-like at her myspace page.

Goldkixx II: Yours, Mine, It's All About Crime.

2006-03-06T17:50:00.000-05:00

Goldkicks was getting a bit sluggish, owing to its advanced age and the burden of extensive archives of drunken rambling, half-baked commentary and earnest pleas to attend various DJ nights.. Here's hoping that version 2 will prove to be a more focused effort.

Guillaume Decouflet and myself are DJing under the moniker IVORY TEMPLE and have some more nights and gigs coming up, as you can see on the top-left. Hook us up on the myspace if you're so inclined.

I'll be in Vancouver for a couple of nights (March 31st and April 12th) on my way to and from Hawaii. Anyone with points to check out in Maui, let me know, and I'll see a lot of you V-couvs, however briefly, soon!

A couple of points of interest over the next week or so... Ghetto-tech-er Disco D at Kop Shop on Friday. Tonight's a new PeerPressure night @ Blizzarts... I'll be recovering at home, but it should be good. If you're in the same state as me, stay home and check out my man Alex' show on McGill's threatened station, CKUT 90.3, midnight - 2 am.