Big Ideas (don't get any)

A graduating student named James Houston @ the Glasgow School of Arts did this for the Radiohead "Nude" RMX competition. At first, I thought that it was pretty far-fetched that, even though I love Radiohead more than I love most things, I was supposed to find this artistically satisfying. Believe me, once you get past the first minute of beeping and boredom, you'll be so glad that you watched this. Houston said it's not supposed to be beautiful. Sit on that.

Crystal Castles @ Cervantes = Kind of Disappointing. At least I got nice pictures out of it.

Crystal Castles is easily my favorite thrash electro group consisting of a talented DJ who does pretty much nothing live and a "singer" who does nothing but look good, throw herself around, and scream seductively. Seriously though - I lv them. But I was very sad after seeing them last Monday the 16th (yes - I need 2 blog more) because, as my friend commented after we got through the sweaty, hormone-drenched masses - I would have rather just listened to their CD. How sad is that?

This reaction came from a couple factors:

1) The crowd was comprised of mostly high school / prematurely "hip" jr. high kids who were probably used to going to shows in order to mosh. Ok, so I went through that. But I don't think that I would have ever heard the opening notes of "Crimewave" and automatically wanted to smash into people. At Oberlin, there were some sexually overenthusiastic people, but from where I was standing, the crowd was respectful. I could hardly pay attention to the music because I was standing next to some fat guys who wanted to kill evrybdy.

2) pictureplane opened, which was nice - but he experienced some technical problems. That made me sad.

3) The official opening band was called dd/mm/yyyy or something like that. I could just tell you that progressive, pseudo-experimental weirdo-rock is "just not my cuppa tea," but that's not true. I've enjoyed almost every kind of music, and can definitely appreciate it live. But this was pretty awful. The skill was there, but the music was not. I felt like they were on stage for upwards of 30 min. I could be exaggerating. Anyway, I noticed that the guitarist was wearing a Fall of Troy T-shirt. Then I understood.

4) Crystal Castles just does better in a smaller venue. Cervantes isn't huge by any means, but it's no 'Sco. The effect of having a strobe light in your face while Alice Glass shrieks at you and writhes around on the stage in front of your eyes was, well, nonexistent. The energy was way off, and the music sounded amateur.

Reasons why I DID like the show:

1) Friends! <3

2) I got to meet Ethan! He was kute.

2) These pictures that you have been looking at.

In conclusion:
I'm gonna go listen to the album version of "Courtship Dating" and pretend this didn't happen.

Uhh..what?

Buy Now's song, "Body Crash," is an amazing example of how low-budget songs can live up to everything else out there. The first time I heard it, I was pretty blown away. Now, the first time I saw this video, on the other hand, I was, well - watch it. And listen too!

Shazam Remix of Muscles' "Sweaty" has a rly cool vid.

SLO MO <3

I saw Teengirl Fantasy at Rinoceropolis.

Just last Wednesday, a couple friends and I drove over to the Rinoceropolis in Denver to see Teengirl Fantasy and pictureplane. It sure was surreal to see Oberlin people and Colorado people integrating and enjoying each other's music. If you're in Denver and have a chance to check out a show at Rinoceropolis, I say GO FOR IT. The place is brimming with art to look at, people to talk to, music to listen to... The neighborhood wasn't totally legit, but I think that made the place even more charming.

A noise master from Tijuana/San Diego called Kixly worked his magic before Teengirl Fantasy came on. Although it wasn't everyone's cup of tea, and many people ended up leaving, I was very impressed by his ability to combine looped and manipulated clicks with much broader sounds, like the deep impact of drums or even wordless breaths. I was pretty transfixed through the whole performance as Kixly's waves of sound made my fanny pack vibrate against my hip as thoughts of empty space and cluttered rooms drifted around in my mind.

The Teengirl Fantasy live experience was even better than I had gotten used to at Oberlin. Whether this was because there was actually room to dance, or if they have gotten better since I last saw them (how is this possible?), I am not sure. The crowd response was insane, and the set seemed to end as soon as it began. Tracks that stood out to me as exceptional were "hoopdreams" (mp3) and "Gasmaskk" (mp3) but the usual favorite - ""Portofino" (mp3) - was also bomb. I bought their CD at the show (with a handmade case!), and I must say that it has been quite infectious. Dance music and IDM have been too separated for too long. Artists like Apparat, Crystal Castles, and now Teengirl Fantasy have been at once offering catchy dance music and experimenting with new sounds, new combinations of instruments and electronics previously not thought of as instruments, interesting loops, and unpredictable-but-groovy beats. With all the hype already surrounding this electronic duo, I can't imagine the caliber of TGF-powered dance parties at Oberlin three years from now...

pictureplane was, as I remember, your more typical electro show (which I, of course, loved), complete with several remixes (of Crystal Castles and JT), which ended up being a couple of the best tracks. Here's my favorite pictureplane original, which I feel exemplifies the sound. I can see them going places. If you're in the Rinoceropolis neighborhood for a show, chances are you'll see them, and you'll probably love it.

"Day Glowwed" - (mp3)

****Plz keep in mind that you can download most of Teengirl Fantasy's bitchin' EP on their Myspace (lnked above).

Sometimes I get a little confused about Le Castle Vania.

I like Le Castle Vania. It's pretty catchy, danceable, unoffensive electro (I even included it in my last post about music I like this summer)... But I can't help noticing his image. If I saw him getting into his car, I'd assume there was an AFI or Senses Fail CD all cued up. Is there a wave of ex-emos gathering together to embrace electronic music (possibly emo's polar opposite)? Is this the natural progression for the "scene?" Or are long-haired, lip-ring sporting, alt bros dreading the inevitable northward spread of Mexican anti-emo violence?

What's the deal with Le Castle Vania?

Summer 2K8 Stylistic Shift & Other News

Today, I celebrate a new dawn in the age of the Oberlin Tritone - now going by the name of "Litter Paragon." I realized that I will actually only really be writing about Oberlin when mentioning places like the 'Sco, and cultural events and phenomena at Oberlin will always be related back to "the real world." This being said, I decided to step back and contemplate what this blog actually means, which is very little. I hope that what I post has some meaningful value to some of you out there, even if it is in the form of free mp3's and the occasional satire, but I have no delusions of profundity. There are countless electro/fashion/opinion/cultural satire/indie scene blogs out there, truly littering the internet with redundant blabbering. I'll try to make this as useful as possible, limiting the self-affirmation that comes along with having your own blog. Litter Paragon is the culmination of my frustration with blogs such as this, and my admiration for some of the undeniably cookie-cutter blogs out there (such as this...). It's an oxymoron, but it's what the internet is coming to.

Enough with the mission statement. My concert schedule for this summer is packed and bangin' - fellow Oberlin cats Teengirl Fantasy will be dropping by Rinoceropolis this Wednesday, kicking things off. There are local indie shows multiple times per week at the Plummer Schoolhouse and the Alley House, and starting this week, I'll be going to Denver for shows as often as I have gas money for. I was really surprised at how many of my favorite artists are coming through Colorado this summer. I'll have a lot to write about very soon. Hell yeah.

This summer will mark a stylistic shift for this blog. Because I'm not writing for The Grape or any other publication this summer, expect more mp3's and hypewriting and less essay-esque mammoth posts. I think this will be a healthy change for both of us. I'm kicking it off with a bomb ass list of my favorite tracks right now. I'm not promising these are totally new (although most are...), just that they're sick as fuck.

Hit Me TV - "Maybe the Dancefloor (Blokgolf Remix)" mp3
The Presets - "My People (DIM Remix)" mp3
Kid Sister - "Pro Nails (TEPR Remix)" mp3
GRUM - "Go Back (Le Castle Vania Remix)" mp3
Steve Aoki - "Scanners, Low Life (LA Riots Remix) (Uffie Guest Drop)" mp3
Metric - "Moster Hospital (MSTRKRFT Remix)" mp3
CSS - "Computer Heat" mp3
Estelle - "American Boy ft. Kanye West (Kill the Noise Remix)" mp3
Uffie - "Robot Oeuf" mp3
DJ Mehdi - "Pocket Piano" mp3
Apparat - "Arcadia (Telefon Tel Aviv Remix - Edit)" mp3
Sebastien Tellier - "La Ritournelle (Metronomy Remix)" mp3

Enjoy! Lv U