I've been a hermit lately. Anti-social and generally unfun. This might be changing. I'm feeling less hermit-y today for some reason. Maybe the meds are kicking in lol.

This will be the last Shark Attack for a long, long time. We will be honored to have you on the dance floor with us for one last bang!

Residents Starr, Braceface & J.Zero will be throwin' down hot tracks all night. As always, full bar, pool & $3 photobooth.

Karaoke madness in the back rooms.


Obviously, I won't be spinning, but I will be there. You should be there too!

On Friday, May 1st, Strangelove pays tribute to industrial pioneers SKINNY PUPPY. In the back room, DJs Tomas Diablo and Joe Radio (Death Guild) play the best of Skinny Puppy and their side-projects, as well as like-minded Dark Electro, Industrial, New Wave, and Goth. In the front room DJs Unit77 (Attackhaus) and Orko (Dancing Ghosts) assault your senses with classic goth and industrial. All the best music to feed your Addiction - we know you'll Dig It.


Drink Special: the Worlock

Details below...

STRANGELOVE: tribute to Skinny Puppy
Dark Electro - Industrial - New Wave - Goth
Friday, May 1st
with DJs TOMAS DIABLO
JOE RADIO (Death Guild)
UNIT77 (Attackhaus)
and ORKO (Dancing Ghosts)

at THE CAT CLUB (Folsom and 8th)
21+. 9PM-3AM . $6.
Free before 10
http://www.strangelovesf.com

And then on Saturday, Radio Clash!!!

Today and tonight have been awesome. For many reasons.

I am smiling and I am happy. This is rare.

I haven't clicked with two albums like I have with Metric's Fantasies and Pet Shop Boys' Yes in a very, very long time. They're kind of restoring my faith in pop music.

What's everyone else listening to?

It's going to be, in the parlance of the youth of today, quite an enjoyable get together which you will most certainly not want to miss (those kids today with their crazy newfangled slang!)

There will be awesome music expertly mixed by licensed DJ's (we don't really have licenses.) There will be a pool table for you to indulge your sex-on-a-pool-table fantasies (this will not actually be permitted.) There will be karaoke so you can dazzle the crowd with your stirring rendition of Cannibal Corpse's classic "Fucked With a Knife" (but you will have to do it a capella.)

Plus it's dahlia_noir's birthday! Come celebrate it with us! (And we all know what a huge Cannibal Corpse fan she is, so make sure she's in the room when you start to sing!)

So here is a CD-length collection of songs I've been loving lately for you to download and listen to at your leisure. Enjoy!

Metric - Stadium Love
Fischerspooner - Door Train Home
Little Boots - Stuck On Repeat
Trentemoller - Gush
ABBA - The Visitors (Crackin' Up)
Flight of the Conchords - Fashion Is Danger
Pet Shop Boys - Vulnerable
Franz Ferdinand - No You Girls (Vince Clarke Remix)
Bat For Lashes - Pearl's Dream
Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Dull Life
Peter Bjorn & John - It Don't Move Me
Lily Allen - The Fear
La Roux - Quicksand
Grafton Primary - She Knows It
Royksopp - This Must Be It
Lady GaGa - I Like It Rough
The Legends - Closer
Phoenix - 1901

(And here's the whole thing in a zip file)

Yes ABBA. Shut it. It's a good song. It's, like, about alien abduction or something. Anyway, the rest is almost all new stuff. If you only download one of these, I HIGHLY recommend the Metric song. I've been completely addicted to it over the past few days. Get it now before it's used in a commercial, because I guarantee you that it will be.


What is everyone else listening to?

Thanks to southernpm, leolz, nebulocity1976 and Scott (does he have an LJ?) for coming out last night! You guys made the night doubleplusawesome!

All in all SA was a lot of fun. I personally had more fun than last time and feel like I definitely spun more SA-appropriate stuff (only tech-house, minimal and electro.) I have no idea what I played since lack of pen caused me not to keep a set list, but I'm pretty sure there was no Depeche Mode, Goldfrapp or Ladytron.

Tragically, I subjected unwitting strangers and the above mentioned LJ users to my singing via karaoke. I'm hoping none of them experience any adverse effects, but it was my first time and I have no idea what kind of damage my singing might cause. We'll see.

Can't wait for next month!

Oh, also, thanks to everyone who voted for beeblezep's Threadless design!

So beeblezep submitted a t-shirt design to Threadless and I, for one, think it's awesome. True, I'm a bit biased (I ♥ cows...oh, and Craig's, like, my friend or something) but come on, ya gotta admit, it's pretty adorable.

Your mission? VOTE FOR IT!!! Thanks!

Also, please refer to this this entry by josh_zero for a primer on how Shark Attack can help you cope with the encroaching apocalypse.

First up, on Friday, 0tterboy and I will be guest DJing at Strangelove where we will be spinning an all-female vocalist set. I have a fuckton of stuff to play and am really excited. I can finally play stuff from the new Portishead album! and it will totally kill the dancefloor! AWESOME! I may play stuff from the solo album by Karin from The Knife if I can find something on it that's actually semi-danceable. Anyway, here's the flier for the event;

( Strangelove 03-06-09 )

Then on Saturday, Dancing Ghosts will celebrate its 2-year anniversary with a tribute to the legendary London nightclub, widely accepted as ground zero of Goth and deathrock, The Batcave.

( Dancing Ghosts Presents a Tribute to the Batcave )

FINALLY, the Friday following that event I will be DJing at the next Shark Attack!

( SHARK ATTACK! 03-13-09 )

Radio Clash was fun. Good people, good music. I hope there's another one.

Dollhouse was meh, but has potential. It needs more Whedon-ness. The dialogue was just kinda..dialogue and didn't have that trademark Whedon wit. But yay! Amy Acker's in it! Why was I not made aware of this?

TONIGHT!!! I will be DJing here;



YOU SHOULD COME!!!

First, this weekend join dahlia_noir, dj_domg and melting_girl as they put on the first ever Radio Clash!

( Click for flier! )

The combination of the three of them equals out to what will probably be the best, most diverse selection of music you will hear in a club for a long time.

And then, on Saturday, I will be DJing at the Bloodwire show, djron1n's event that is happening at the Retox Lounge...

( Captain, there be fliers here )

And then, on March 7th, Dancing Ghosts celebrates its 2-year anniversary (!) with a tribute to The Batcave!

( I'm sure you can guess what lies beneath the cut... )

(HUGE thanks to haphazzard for his awesome flier designing skillz!)

Your presence is requested at one, but preferably all of these events. Thank you for your time.

As always, I post these setlists for my own amusement and reference. I don't really expect anyone else to be too titillated by them. With regards to this one, I'm disheartened by how safe my song selection was ("Ride A White Horse" again Ryan?!? Enough with that song! Jesus...) I really thought I was more daring that night. Oh well, I'm positive that my mixing was excellent since a few people had remarked on that. And the crowd was enjoying what I played so I guess, for that night anyway, safe was good.

( Temptation 1.24.09 - Setlists )

TEMPTATION
Saturday January 24th, 2009
Electro, Goth, Indie, New Wave, 80's ++
4th Saturdays at The Cat Club
Hosted by Randy Maupin

http://tribes.tribe.net/temptationsf/photos/d1f76ecc-7bdc-455a-85bb-b3696b17dfc4

The Cat Club
1190 Folsom @ 8th
21+
9:30pm - 3am

Back room DJ's spinning the New Wave/80's remixes + more
Resident DJ's:
Dangerous Dan (The Bar, 1984)
Skip (New Wave City)

Front Room DJ's spin Electro/Indie and vintage Goth/80's + more
Guest DJ's:
Tomas Diablo(Strangelove)
Orko (Dancing Ghosts)

$3 draft beer special until 10:30, ask your bartender
Door Chick Adrianne takes your big cash money
$7 cover

Get on the VIP guest list:
Sign up at-
temptationsf@gmail.com
You must be added to the list by 7pm the day of the event
To get in FREE - you must arrive before 10pm
To get in for $5 - between 10 and 11pm
After 11pm, it's $7
Please give us your first and last name,
and a plus one (or more, make it a plus 10 if you want) if you're bringing a
friend(s)
First name alphabetical please

Contact Randy Maupin at:
allstars66@hotmail.com
for party area reservation or bottle service

Join our Tribe
http://tribes.tribe.net/temptationsf

Temptation is on MySpace, too!
http://www.myspace.com/clubtemptationsf

( Flier! )

Take my word for it, and please remember never to question my word.

( So many bright and pretty fliers! )

So this is superextramega late and not at all as grand as I'd hoped it would be. I'd planned to write about pretty much every album and explain why I chose it, but it was getting too unwieldy and time consuming, thus I kept putting off finishing it. Plus, if it got too big, no one would read it which would defeat the purpose of writing it in the first place. I'd also planned to upload sample songs from all of the top albums as well as my favorite singles from the year, but I'm not convinced that anyone would really download them, as in the past when I've uploaded stuff, maybe one or two things gets snagged. (How's that for a passive aggressive swipe at my flist?) Instead, I'll just recommend key songs from the albums and you can either download them yourself or sample them on iTunes.

ANYWAY, 2008 was a pretty awesome year for music. I actually had a lot of trouble narrowing down the list (hence the large "Honorable Mentions" section, any one of which could arguably be swapped out for any in the top 10.) Even the "disappointing" albums weren't that bad. They just weren't what I was hoping for. Well, except for Hard Candy, which really wasn't too hot. But even that had "Voices", "Miles Away", and "4 Minutes", which despite being essentially a Justin Timberlake song featuring Madonna, was pretty decent. So without any further ado, since I loathe ado, here's the list;


Top 10 Albums of 2008

1. Portishead - Third: I didn't even expect them to ever release another album, much less an album this good. Such a hard left from their first two albums that it left a lot of casual fans confused and put off. Incorporating elements of industrial, IDM and Krautrock, Portishead completely abandons the staid coffee-house trip-hop genre that they arguably helped create. That they do it so effectively, without it seeming like a stunt, or a "statement" is incredible. And yet, it could be easily said that this is the album that they would have made, had there been 4 albums between their eponymous second album and this one. Thus this album should really be seen much more as an evolution than a revolution of their sound. (listen to "Machine Gun", "The Rip", or "We Carry On")

2. Ladytron - Velocifero: More and more I'm convinced Ladytron can do no wrong. Barring a foray into blues or jazz fusion, I would welcome countless more albums with the classic Ladytron sound, which has evolved only slightly (but effectively) since their debut. Wisely choosing France's Vicarious Bliss, denizen of the Ed Banger label as producers, Ladytron have managed to tweak their sound just enough to sound vital yet remain recognizably Ladytron. (listen to "Runaway", "Predict The Day", or "Burning Up")

3. Girl Talk - Feed The Animals: Much more cohesive than Night Ripper and so far beyond the current state of mashups, as to redefine the genre, Girl Talk does what most mash-up artists aspire (or should aspire) to- he makes entirely new compositions from bits of other songs. Just take a look at the Wikipedia page dedicated to listing the samples on each of these songs. Most mash-ups have one, two, maybe three songs layered on top of each other (sometimes artfully, more often not); Girl Talk has no less than fourteen recognizable chunks of songs. An important distinction to remember when it comes to this album; these are definitely songs. Whereas Night Ripper often seemed like a game of "check out all these awesome samples all pushed together and shit", this album can be taken apart and listened to separately, as well as work as a fluid whole. Anyone who can seemlessly integrate Kelly Clarkson into "Wish" by Nine Inch Nails without it seeming kitschy or funny, actually deepening the emotional impact of both songs is clearly a gifted talent. (check out "Here's The Thing")

4. We Are Scientists - Brain Thrust Mastery: Certainly not as immediate as With Love & Squalor, this album is definitely a grower. Incorporating elements of new wave into their vaguely indie dance-rock sound, WAS (now a duo) exhibit some signs of growth lyrically, and still retain the catchy hooks at which they excel. (listen to "Chick Lit", "After Hours" or "Lethal Enforcer")

5. M83 - Saturdays = Youth: New wave + shoegaze = Win. (check out "Graveyard Girl", "Kim & Jessie" or "Couleurs")

( And the rest... )

( Honorable Mentions )

( Top 10 Most Disappointing Albums of 2008 )

( Top 10 Singles That Didn't Come From The Top 10 Albums )

2009 is off to an epically crappy start. First my connecting flight in Long Beach is delayed and we're told to go to a different gate. Then it's delayed some more and we're instructed to return to the previous gate. Two hours later it arrives. And we wait. And wait. An hour after it lands, we finally board. When we arrive in Oakland, I realize that I forgot to get cash for AirBART. No problem, I'll just stop by an ATM at the terminal. I get to the ATM and, not having used my card in 8 days, completely blank on my PIN. I enter it once. It's wrong. I enter it again, it's wrong. Now I'm kind of irritated at myself and I try again. Wrong. A 4th time. Wrong. What the hell? Who forgets their PIN? Well me, as it turns out. I call WaMu in the hopes that they can either refresh my memory or reset my PIN (I highly doubted they'd be able to do that over the phone) and they can help me in no other way but to tell me that my card has been "locked" due to multiple incorrect entries and would be available to be used again after 12am PST

Great. AirBART stops running at midnight.

I call a couple friends and, as one would guess on New Years Eve...at midnight...they are in no condition to drive and will likely not be sober for a while.

So here I sit. In Oakland airport. Security keeps walking by me, eying me suspiciously no doubt due to my excitable outbursts on the phone and my increasingly irritable demeanor. My friends have offered to pay my cab fair to head to the party, but it's likely to be in the neighborhood of $60, which I would feel incredibly uncomfortable asking someone to pay, besides that I am in absolutely no condition to even make an appearance at a party. I look a mess, I smell like an ashtray (my parents' smoking habits seem to have risen to the "chain" level, unfortunately) and I'm very, very pissy. Honestly, it seems easiest to just wait for my card to "unlock" and take AirBART when it reopens at 5am. Assuming it's operating on a normal schedule on New Years Day which in all likelihood it isn't.

**EDIT**

Finally home. Thanks to haphazzard for rescuing me from the drunkards and gangsta imbeciles on Market street. Good to be home. The year can only improve from here!

On Friday, January 2nd, Strangelove focuses on 4 of their favorite record labels. In the back room, DJs Tomas Diablo and Unit 77 (Attack Haus Productions) spin the best of Wax Trax! and Razormaid! Records.
In the front room, DJs Orko and Otter (Dancing Ghosts Productions) spin the best of Mute and 4AD Records!

Thanks to 4AD and the efforts of Dancing Ghosts, we'll be giving away assortments of CDs from artists like Dead Can Dance, Cocteau Twins, Bauhaus, and Department of Eagles.


What ARE these record labels?

Wax Trax! essentially defined industrial music, and featured artists like Front 242, Ministry, KMFDM, Revolting Cocks, Front Line Assembly, My Life With The Thill Kill Kult, Coil, and Skinny Puppy side-projects Cyberakitf and Doubting Thomas.


Since 1984, Razormaid! Records has been the premier DJ remix label, and has released dance mixes of artists like Depeche Mode, the Cure, New Order, Gary Numan, Red Flag, Microchip League, Kraftwerk, the Eurythmics, and Nitzer Ebb.


Mute Records was formed by Depeche Mode producer Daniel Miller in 1978 to release his single 'Warm Leatherette' (under the name 'The Normal'). Since then Mute has released music by Fad gadget, Nitzer Ebb, Goldfrapp, Yaz, Erasure, Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, and of course Depeche Mode.


4AD was formed in 1979 and funded by Beggars Banquet. They have released music by Bauhaus, the Cocteau Twins, Dead Can Dance, Clan of Xymox, Tones on Tail, This Mortal Coil, Xmal Deutchland, the Pixies and more.


Strangelove is every first Friday at the CAT CLUB (Folsom and 8th), with different themes and guests every month.
There's lots of room to dance and socialize, and if you keep dancing, we keep the party going until 3AM!



Details...

STRANGELOVE
Friday, January 2nd: Attack of the Record Labels

- In the Back Room
Wax Trax! and Razormaid!
with DJs TOMAS DIABLO
and UNIT 77 (Attack Haus Productions)

- In the Front Room
Mute and 4AD
with DJs ORKO (Dancing Ghosts Productions)
and OTTER (Dancing Ghosts Productions)

at THE CAT CLUB (Folsom and 8th)
21+. 9PM-3AM . $6.
Free before 10
www. strangelovesf. com

So I will be in Vegas for oh, about the next millenia. Okay, so it's only eight days, but staying with my mom, my dad and two pugs, sleeping on a fold out sofa bed in a town where it seems like the only things to do are gamble, drink, smoke and shop at Wal-Mart, it's going to feel a lot like a millenia. Especially since I don't smoke or gamble, and now that my dad's sober it's going to make drinking a little awkward. There's talk of a brief sojourn to SoCal, but it remains to be seen whether that will come to fruition.

A few things;

- As previously hinted at, Shark Attack is back. I'm excited about this and you should be too, since it's gonna be so awesome that it will radically alter your perception of existence. The awesomeness may result in a tear in the fabric of the spacetime, but it's cool; like the Scarlet Witch, the Shark Attack DJs come equipped with the power to manipulate reality. We'll put it all back together again, don't you worry your pretty little heads about any resultant paradoxes. I mean, why do you think the LHC didn't create mini-black holes or strangelets? The Shark Attack DJs. You're welcome.

-Before that, on January 2nd, 0tterboy and I will be DJing at Strangelove's Attack of the Record Labels event. It's Strangelove plus Dancing Ghosts! That's easily as much awesome as Shark Attack. I can't, however, attest to Tomas Diablo's reality manipulating abilities, so I make no promises regarding safety from spaghettification (which is not a delicious pasta dish.)

So that's about it. Only two more hours of work and then I'm off till the fifth day of 2009. I'm pretty sure I'm gonna return from Vegas having gained back all the weight I lost this year, because if there's one thing my family does well, it's eat. Aside from that, I have no idea how I'm going to fill the time there. Anyone have suggestions on what to do in Vegas on the cheap? That doesn't include gambling or smoking?