The Dissociatives: another reason to procrastinate from studying

Image courtesy of The Dissociatives.

Hey all, sorry for the absence, studying for finals is taking up most of my time. I'm in college, you see. After I finish studying, I'm too burned out to concentrate on reviewing music. I can only sit in a semi-passed out state and quietly absorb it. But I have a good thing going here and it would be a shame to abandon it now, so here is a brief post with some sonic goodies.

Does anybody remember the Dissociatives? It's Silverchair guitarist/vocalist Daniel Johns' band with musician/producer Paul Mac, who is known for remixing songs for bands like Placebo, Gorillaz and Silverchair, as well as for his own music. To date, they've had two releases: 2000's I Can't Believe It's Not Rock EP and self-titled The Dissociatives in 2004. Their sound is experimental art-rock electronica that, instead of merely combining each member's individual musical styles, MUTATES them to create an entirely new creature.

The Dissociatives' music is disarming, in a very good way. With both EP and album, it's hard to guess what the next song is going to sound like because no song is stamped with a "trademark Dissociatives" sound. One thing is for certain, however. The Dissociatives sees a happy and relaxed Johns, the sound of uncontained joy, of someone who has shed their personal demons and is finally enjoying life and freely exploring music.

As a duo, Johns and Mac have are currently on hiatus and have not as of yet stated plans for new Dissociatives releases- they did, however, join forces again when Mac toured with Silverchair as keyboardist to support 2007's Young Modern.

Though this project may appear as nothing more than a credibility notch to some, the Dissociatives is no vanity project- it's more like the love child of two perhaps unlikely musical partners. Give it a listen and tell me what you think.

mp3: The Dissociatives- Take Her Out from I Can't Believe It's Not Rock EP

mp3: The Dissociatives- Aangry Megaphone Man (imagine an umlaut over the second "a") from The Dissociatives

Dissociatives official site

Dissociatives myspace

Silverchair official site

Silverchair myspace

Paul Mac official site

Paul Mac myspace

Paul Mac & Daniel Johns myspace

Damn, this post was meant to be brief. I think it was all the links that made it go on for ages.

Mini-mix: Songs for a rainy day

Photo by Brandon Barber, University of North Carolina

It is raining really heavily here in New York- the type of rain that inspires people to create mixes. I don't have a lot of my music on this computer yet, so this mix is small, but suitable for some of the moods that rainy days stir.

Songs for a Rainy Day

Nellie McKay- David

Tracy Chapman- Let It Rain

The Beta Band- Dry The Rain

Portishead- Mysterons

IAMX will make you love again

Photo courtesy of Shout.ru

Finally. IAMX fans living in the States, rejoice. Metropolis Records released IAMX's 2006 album, The Alternative, on May 6th and is releasing 2004's Kiss + Swallow on June 17th. This is further proof that you don't need a major label or its prostitution-like marketing techniques to promote your music. IAMX's Chris Corner, of Sneaker Pimps fame, chose to take the indie route when he embarked on his solo project. In true DIY fashion, Corner built a devoted fanbase through grassroots support and promotion, and without any help or interference from major labels.

Kiss + Swallow and The Alternative are worlds within themselves: dark, sexy electro that covers a range of topics and themes worthy of a theatrical production: passion, venom, pride, ego, sorrow, domination, sexual power, disaffection. It's quite a plate.
The production of both albums is crisp and clean, devoid of unnecessary pomp and fluff. Arrangements seem to be put together with great care to create just the right effect. Every beat, every melody is alive, tangible. Even Corner's vocals are full of energy and life. When you listen to a song like "Nightlife" (The Alternative) or "Your Joy Is My Low" (Kiss + Swallow), you can feel the sweat, the heat, the darkness. The beat throbs so naturally that it becomes a part of you.

IAMX will be playing shows around Europe this summer. For more information on show times and ticket prices, check out the official site and Myspace in the links below.

Here are two of my personal favorites from each album:

mp3: IAMX- Your Joy Is My Low (Kiss + Swallow)

mp3: IAMX- This Will Make You Love Again (The Alternative)


Official Site

IAMX myspace

Great interview with Chris Corner on TA Live

Cover Lover #1: Jose Gonzalez- Love Will Tear Us Apart

Photo by Fredrik Egerstrand


I present to you the first ever Canvas of Stars "Cover Lover" post. What exactly is "Cover Lover"? Exactly what the name implies: good covers that make you feel the warm fuzzies. There are enough horrible covers in this world to make a person grow to despise music and society. I remember the day I heard a cover so horrendously bad that I wanted to break the sound system. Playing in the background at a store was Jessica Simpson's cover of "These Boots Are Made For Walking," the classic song popularized by Nancy Sinatra. Sinatra's version was like the "Fuck-You Song" in a time when it was impolite to write a "Fuck-You Song," and between Simpson's synthesized voice, the limp country twanging and pump-pop beats, Jessica Simpson completely buried that song. She owes Nancy Sinatra and Lee Hazlewood an apology.

But enough about that, because "Cover Lover" is all about spreading the love. Today's offering is a scrumptious classic guitar cover of Joy Division's "Love Will Tear Us Apart" by Swedish indie-folk artist Jose Gonzalez. The cover is featured on Gonzalez's 2004 Remain EP. Although Gonzalez writes his own music, he is also noted for his covers, which include Massive Attack's "Teardrop" and The Knife's "Heartbeats."

Through Gonzalez's classical guitar creates a warm, full sound, his cover of "Love Will Tear Us Apart" manages to capture the cold, insular feeling of the original. Even Gonzalez's voice on the track, which sounds like it was recorded on the North Pole, is evocative of Ian Curtis' unusual, engaging vocal style: a voice that sounded like it was slightly detached from what it was singing; a person on the outside of the situation, looking in.

Jose Gonzalez deserves major props for his excellent version of this song. Joy Division is not an easy band to cover. Many who try end up making unmemorable, passionless ripoffs. Gonzalez's cover reminds you of why the original was so exciting, while still incorporating its own style.

Download and enjoy.

mp3: Jose Gonzalez- Love Will Tear Us Apart

Official Site

Here's a video of him performing the song live:

Nine Inch Nails give it away for free

In an unexpected but not unwelcome move, Trent Reznor announced that The Slip, the latest Nine Inch Nails CD, will be available for free on their official site. No catch. No hoax. No corporate greed. For those who prefer to own a physical disc with album art, Nine Inch Nails will also be releasing the album in CD and vinyl format. Vinyl. Fucking ace. Nine Inch Nails is one of the increasing number of acts who have begun to explore alternative ways of releasing music in the emerging digital music industry. Making their album available for free not only shows NIN's appreciation for the fans, but also happens to be a brilliant marketing strategy. Good for Trent, I say. I am never one to bash free music.

Go ahead, check it out:

DOWNLOAD album from their official site

DOWNLOAD album from yousendit link

Here's a taste of the album, if you're not sure whether you want to download it. Easily one of the best tracks.

mp3: Nine Inch Nails- Echoplex

The Zeropretties- "You Never Know"

If anybody knows what happened to The Zeropretties, please contact me. The Zeropretties is (was?) a five-piece riot grrrl band (plus male drummer) from Manchester. Around 2004, I happened to stumble upon one of their songs on Purevolume. The song is called "You Never Know," and it's from their EP In It For The Noise. The song is a giddy rock romp, propelled to delightfully wicked heights by the crash and thrash of drums and the strong, intense (female) vocals. It's difficult not to do some sort of jumping or head-bobbing when hearing this song.

There is little to no information on this band today- they used to have an official myspace, but it's been taken down along with their Purevolume page. Their official site hangs stagnantly in cyberspace, only a few links still working. There is a Meefo page for the band which gives some background information as well as a download for their song "Sleaxxxe"- I don't think it's free (it wasn't when I tried it), but I'm sure you clever people could figure out an alternative way to acquire it.

Since the band has most likely broken up (sigh), there are probably few ways of finding this song online. As an audiophile and admirer, I feel an obligation to keep The Zeropretties' memory alive. That is why the link for the song won't expire. Listen and enjoy.

mp3: The Zeropretties- You Never Know

Official site (or what's left of it)

Meefo page (with download of "Sleaxxxe")

House Rules

Hi, and welcome to Canvas of Stars, a new mp3 blog not unlike the fofillion other mp3 blogs that are floating around cyberspace at this moment. This blog is sort of a trial blog-- I do not know if I will be able to commit to regularly contributing music to it because of my other obligations, so I'm going to try this out. If it doesn't work, I will shut down the blog. In the meantime, here are some of the "rules" of the mp3's that will be posted here:

1) Mp3s are posted for the purpose of promoting the artist and inspiring and giving some sort of joy to the listener.

2) Most Mp3s won't be on the site for more than a WEEK.**

3) If you like what you hear, please buy that artist's music. I do it too. Buying CDs (or digital albums) is about more than just getting an artist a bigger paycheck or supporting an already crumbling industry-- it's about showing the artist how much you love and value their work. And it makes you feel really shiny inside.

** Exceptions to the rule will be mp3s that artists have made free for downloading, and songs from albums that are RARE or OUT OF PRINT.

I hope this is the beginning of something really good.