gold lion

Tomorrow night, we're going old school! MisShapes will be celebrating its two years of existence, and it's also Greg K.'s birthday (today!), so for the occasion, i will be back behind the decks! Very excited, so you should come out and dance to my little old school MisShapes set. Beforehand i'll be attending the Yeah Yeah Yeahs gig at the Bowery, which is only appropriate since Greg and i met at a YYYs show in early 2002.
Also, let me tell you that i heard the new album, Show your bones, without any expectations or hopes, and i have been nothing but blown away by the record from start to finish. The production, vocals and just overall feel of the album are very different from Fever to Tell, not as dancefloor oriented and definitely not as whiny (and that's coming from someone who loves Fever to tell). Let's just say if you're a fan of early Siouxsie, you're going to love this album. Well, even if you're not, you may still love it because it's really that good. Laura saw them play last night and loved the show. Bowery shows tonight and tomorrow should be hot and sweaty.

Vintage Karen O. - Bowery Ballroom, april 2003.

gigs

Quick DJ gigs reminders...

Tonight, eamon and i are at our weekly party CALLING ALL KIDS at Sapphire. We LOVE this party so much that we extended the hours from 9pm until whenever... From 9pm to 11pm, we have a happy hour special, 2-4-1 drinks! After that, we have cheap drinks all night. This week, we got a nice mention in L MAGAZINE, and last week blackbookmag.com wrote this cool little piece:

Wednesdays @ Sapphire Lounge
Calling All Kids is where the untamed wunderkind of NYC can indulge in the newest new wave and best in indie, dancing their asses off under the requisite disco ball at the most contagious party since “Last Wednesdays” to infect the Lower East Side. The brainchild of power DJs Eamon Harkin and Melody Nelson, CAK is the New York sibling of the same-named London fete, and provides the ultimate soundtrack for kids on both sides of the pond.
Every Wednesday
249 Eldridge Street, New York, 212-777-5153

Tomorrow, i am guest deejaying at HIRO for the weekly Cheeky B*stard party. Both the ballroom and the lounge will be open, and there's a bunch of stuff going on such as...
* In the ballroom, Michael T will be spinning rock'n'roll, dance-rock, new wave and b-bop (joined by DJ Peter Makebish).
* There will be an After-Party for the hot new flick Running Scared hosted by Filter magazine - Free Newcastle Brown Ale from 10pm - 11pm.
* In the Lounge, there's CD release party for the new compilation Future Retro - a collection of remixed 80's alternative classics remixed... featuring: Depeche Mode vs. Tiga, New Order vs. Crystal Method, Yaz vs Richard X and more. Free CD giveaways, courtesy of Rhino Entertainment. The Mod Professor will be playing Post Punk, New Wave, 80's alternative and electro house along with Guest DJ Melody Nelson (that would be me!).
* For complimentary admission tell Eddie Q you're on Melody Nelson's list at the door. Doors open 10pm.
Hiro (The Maritime Hotel) :: W 16 St. and 9 Ave.

Finally, watch this spoof video for Madonna's Sorry. A friend of mine did it with his friends, it's pretty entertaining...
The Madoonanas :: So Sorry [youtube]

get steady

Sometimes i hear about local bands for months, even years, before i manage to listen to their music or see them play. I have so many examples of these under the radar bands, and Jonny Lives was one of them. They've been playing new york for longer than most and yet last friday was my first time (perhaps my second) seeing them on stage. Don't get me wrong if i say the following, but when you go see a band whose music you have never heard, it can at times be painful to sit through a set of unknown songs, no matter how good they are. It's just that we, low attention span music fans, like familiarity and sound recognition while standing up for more than 40 minutes. However in Jonny Lives' case, the show was painless and dare i say a lot of fun! The band's music effortlessly flirts between power pop and garage rock, and the members bring on the energy to get the crowd pumped, which is always a great thing. Here's a little song to give you an idea:
Jonny Lives :: Get steady [mp3]

A few blogs have posted about this village voice article on celebrity DJs. Besides the whole celebrity DJs phenonemon, the article touches on the "everyone's a DJ" debate, which is something that seems to come up in my conversations every other day of the week. Sure, everyone can DJ these days, especially in this age of iPods and CDs, but as easy as it looks to be a DJ, it's actually not that easy to be a good one. I remember a conversation i had with Justine a while ago about what makes a great (non-dance) DJ, and we both agreed that song selection makes up for 70% of it... to me, the remaining 30% are about originality, set construction, ability to adapt and respond to a crowd, mixing skills and overall efforts. I, personally, come from the Carlos D. philosophy (presumably amongst others such as Mike Goodstein and Justine D. to name a couple...), where i would rather DJ with vinyls than CDs, not only for the greater control over the cueing and mixing, but also because it gives me the feeling of making a real effort at my craft, no matter how little or heavy beatmatching i may be trying to do. I spun once with an iPod and, technically speaking, it was the worst experience i've ever had behind the decks. As a record collector, i'm also enamored with the idea of where a DJ finds that one great album or 12" remix. At our weekly parties, Eamon and i become the biggest nerds going through each other's bags and constantly asking whose song it is and where it was found. There's just something really exciting about sharing stories behind vinyls. That said, i also do not believe you need to spin with vinyl to be good. I know many friends and acquaintances who i think are good DJs, and only use iPods and CDs, it's just a matter of preference and involvement. Needless to say that lately some amazingly skilled DJs like Junior Sanchez and 2ManyDJs only use CD-Rs when they spin... goes to show that skills and format don't really go hand in hand anymore. An illustration of the opposite of that are DJs who spin oldies, '60s, and soul, where little mixing skills are usually needed but you'd never see them use CDs because spinning 60's girl groups or old soul is all about the 45s. So my point was... sure, everyone may have become a DJ these days (including celebrities!), but it's really not that easy to be really great at it. It takes more work and preparation than one may think.

Ok enough rambling, now for a pretty picture... i haven't actually heard the album, but Sean did the artwork for the new Mates of State album, and surprise surprise, i love it! There's something very Melody Nelson about it...