Last night, while hanging out at Spy Club's opening party, I confessed to Dia and Tim why I no longer frequent indie clubs as I once did. I get ill at the thought of spending another night listening to some banal Top 40 track wedged up against a Smiths song as if it is supposed to make sense. Just because 2 Many DJs mashed together the obscure and mainstream does not mean that everyone should, it just means that 2 Many DJs found a way to bridge genres in a cohesive fashion. But just as Nirvana gave way to a sea of crap 1990s indie rock, so did 2 Many DJs give way to the faux eclecticism of the indie clubs of today.
Spy Club seems to be the antithesis of hip parties where the music is just background for skinny-tie knotting make-out sessions. The party, which is promoted by Piper and Shalyce of Bang and Cafe Bleu (full disclosure: I used to DJ for them) takes place at Boardners every Thursday with two rooms mixing the old and new of (primarily) British pop. Tim and I mostly hung out in the front room, where Chris B. and Dia played excellent sets before and after a live performance from Nude, who I think might be Placebo Jr. The DJs dug deep for some choice selections that one doesn't necessarily hear at the indie clubs anymore. Chris played a Style Council song that encouraged me to run home and listen to the copy of Internationalists that I haven't heard in years and Dia played Ned's Atomic Dustbin's moshpiece, "Kill Your Television." It had been ages since I have relished in the joy of hearing a song at a club. That said, I hope to make it down to the club next week. Perhaps we can all dance nerd-soul style to the Beautiful South.

When you start reading many words regarding Kudu, you might notice the repeated use of one. Siouxsie (perhaps followed by either Sioux or and the Banshees). That's the comparison on the press release for Death of a Party (Nublu Records) by way of a quote from Simon Reynolds' Blissblog. As for singer/bassist Sylvia Gordon and the Banshee leader, well there is a resemblance, mostly in respect to their pitch and, occasionally, phrasing. But if Gordon does have a touch of Siouxsie about her, it is Ms. Sioux on holiday in Hawaii or Spain or Japan, abandoning the raspy rock warrior howls for the torch-singer-meets-manic-percussionist sound of the Creatures. Gordon and partner D., a drummer since the age of three who has played for the likes of John Cale and Lauryn Hill, let their jazz backgrounds shine throughout the course of Death of the Party. However, where a lot of heavily jazz-influenced dance music sounds tepid in that NPR background music fashion, Kudu resonates like the out-of-control loft party in your mind. Opening track, "Hot Lava," may not be the records first single, but it is the song that seems to epitomize this album, a lengthy, mid-tempo, hand-clap and sing-a-long dance number bound to please many crowds. Elsewhere, the duo introduces snips of Gordon's quick-paced raps, electro stomps and witty lyrics. It is the sound of a band that, although enjoyable on cd, is probably infinitely better live. I hope to find out sometime in the near future.

Mathias Modica and Jonas Imbery have been making me dance all year. First, there was Munk, whose album Aperitivo made it out to the States earlier this year. Then there was Leroy Hanghofer. Now, it's a mixed disc featuring the club tracks released through their label, Gomma. Gommagang 3 features a few folks whose names you might recall from this site, such as Hiltmeyer, Inc. and Who Made Who, and a few indie-level big names (The Rapture, James Murphy).
Gommagang 3 is a solid, mid-tempo dance mix of house-fused rock or rock-fused house that occasionally ventures into electro terrain, as with the flat-voiced, kitchen-sex jam "Hot in the Kitchen" from Midnight Mike and the techno-meets-early-Alan Wilder sound of "Black Beauty" by Tomboy.
The only drawback of this compilation is that Modica and Imbery include two mixes of Who Made Who's single "Space for Rent." The song is beautiful with skyclimbing male vocals that hark back to 1970s rock, but two mixes just isn't necessary, particularly since Dirt Crew does a fantastic job with this track, while The Rapture makes it sound like a Goldfrapp cover band. A Leroy Hanghofer song would have worked quite nicely in place of the latter remix.
Oddly enough, though, I'm not bothered by the inclusion of two versions of Munk's "Disco Clown." With "Disco Clown," the standout number on Aperitivo and the duo's latest single, the situation is a bit different, as Midnight Mike's "128 BPM Remix" is the floor-stomper included in the main mix and a second minimal-goes-noisy mix is featured as the secret track.

If you come across a copy of Punk Planet Issue #71 (which I saw on the stand at Boarders last night), please check out my interview with Dan Roberts of The Shortwave Report. Before or after you do that, listen to one of his shows. Basically, Roberts collects reports from shortwave broadcasts and compiles them for his show. It's a good way to get a feel for what other countries are reporting and is really well done.

Sorry for the lack of posts lately. Finals suck, but I turned in my last paper three hours ago and now it's time to post away again.
For those who haven't already heard, Depeche Mode is set to play Coachella in April. Perhaps I shall brave that desert heat next spring.
If you read the article, you might take notice of a Coachella documentary focusing on some of the most memorable performances at the annual outdoor sweatbox, including footage from Morrissey's set at the first Coachella, wherein the flying Moz-a-likes soared over my head as I stood in the press box. That's no joke exaggeration either. People were climbing up on the fence and jumping over the press box towards the stage like life depends on licking the sweat off of Moz's band-aid covered nipples. I have some pictures of that show. If I ever get around to it, I'll scan them and post them here.