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Chromeo Releases a New Dress Code

NPR is streaming Chromeo’s newest release Business Casual until the record drops on September 14th. I’m hugely obsessed with Chromeo, and consider any tracks the duo touch cause for celebration. Business Casual is no exception. It continues the dance-driven groove of their previous records, replete with smooth Talk-Box choruses and slightly geeky, urgent lyrical come-ons.

Chromeo’s lyrics are fun, their beats danceable and their melodies smooth. If you’ve only heard one or two songs, it might be tempting to read the band as a bit of a parody, but in countless interviews, the duo insist upon their sincere love of the music from which they borrow. It’s also doubtful that a parody could sustain itself through an entire album, let alone a near-decade long career.

This sincerity probably keeps them just under the pop-radio radar, which is a good thing if you want to see them live. I saw Chromeo play at Berbati’s Pan when they toured in support of Fancy Footwork. It was a hot, sweaty crush of dancing and probably the most fun I’ve had at a show since I was in college. Live and on their records, Chromeo delivers the party, and while they would no doubt bring the same energy to a larger club, the small venue, with the band mere feet from the crowd, made for a more intense and exciting performance.

If you’re in your early 30’s Night by Night will probably make all your party playlists this year. It combines an 8-bit video game vamp with some Beat It era Eddie Van Halen guitar soloing that makes for a fat, when-you-wore-high-tops sound that is both nostalgic and refreshing.

If you miss the streaming of Business Casual, you should, of course, go buy the album. But you can also comfort yourself immediately with these performances they did with Daryl Hall of Hall and Oates.

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Smooth Summer R&B

Smooth Summer R&B Mixtape (21 Songs):

  1. Boyz II Men – Motownphilly (Original Version)
  2. Bobby Brown – My Prerogative
  3. Chromeo – Opening Up (Ce Soir On Danse)
  4. DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince – Summertime
  5. Bel Biv DeVoe – Poison
  6. Usher – Truth Hurts
  7. Ralph Tresvant – Do What I Gotta Do
  8. Eamon – I Want You So Bad
  9. Next – Too Close
  10. Chromeo – Bonafied Lovin’ (Tough Guys)
  11. Boyz II Men – It’s So Hard To Say Goodbye To Yesterday
  12. Bel Biv DeVoe – When Will I See You Smile Again?
  13. Keith Sweat – Whatever You Want
  14. Zapp – Computer Love
  15. Ralph Tresvant – Sensitivity
  16. Marvin Gaye – Sexual Healing (Long Version)
  17. Another Bad Creation – Iesha
  18. Usher – Bad Girl
  19. Chromeo – Momma’s Boy
  20. Do Me! (WBBD – Bootcity! Remix)
  21. Boyz II Men – In The Still Of The Nite
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The Man Walks Into A Bar

One of my greatest discoveries this year was an appreciation for bitter apéritifs. It all started with a glass of Cynar, a bitter—but at the same time sweet—Italian liqueur made from artichoke leaves. According to the bottle, Cynar is traditionally enjoyed neat or on the rocks, possibly with an orange slice. I’ve had it this way, and it took me a very long time to get to the bottom of the glass. Cynar begins sweet, but quickly presents a strong, lasting bitterness that dissuades one from taking another sip immediately.

Portland’s great, new restaurant/bar, Beaker and Flask, features a lot of drinks using Cynar, along with other bitter liqueurs. Their cocktail list is very eye-opening, with much less citrus and sugar than any bar you’ve probably been in, and bitterness is often a delicious feature of their concoctions. I’m really not a fan of much sweetness or citrus in beverages, so I love what Kevin and his team do. It’s led to me picking up a few more European liqueurs for our home bar.

Last night, I built a cocktail around Cynar and Becherovka, and arrived at a surprisingly good recipe that I’ve dubbed the Man Walks Into A Bar. It has a slightly bitter, woody flavor with a light sweetness. It’s an excellent pre-dinner drink, with an elegant, light walnut color. This recipe makes 2 at once, for sharing with a barmate or your bartender.

The Man Walks Into A Bar:

1.5 oz each of Cynar, Becherovka, Limoncello and Vodka
3/4 oz Lillet Blanc
2 dashes Angustura Bitters in each glass

Place two dashes Angustura Bitters each in two cocktail glasses.
Combine Cynar, Becherovka, Limoncello, Vodka and Lillet Blanc in a cocktail shaker with ice.
Shake well and strain into glasses.

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Camera Obscura’s My Maudlin Career

This is a heads-up for probable awesomeness. As they did with Neko Case’s Middle Cyclone, NPR will be streaming Camera Obscura’s new album, My Maudlin Career, beginning at 11:59pm tonight. Based on the sample track, French Navy, this should be another great album from Camera Obscura, whose last album, Let’s Get Out of This Country, reminded me of a pop re-imagining of the Good the Bad and the Ugly score.

*Update*

Well, as expected, it’s a solid album. I think I prefer Let’s Get Out of This Country a bit, largely for its more ethereal instrumentation. That may be my peculiar taste, and I could see many people preferring this album, because the individual songs seem to stand out a little more on their own.

Comparisons aside, I’m certain this album will be entering our household soon, and will be played frequently when we’re kicking back.

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Neko Case’s Middle Cyclone

If you had ever questioned whether you would pickup Neko Case’s latest album, Middle Cyclone, you can listen to the entire thing on the National Public Radio website. NPR has does America a great service by sharing this and shedding light on another great contribution to the often-regrettable cannon of recent Country Music.

I’ve long thought Neko Case might be too uncompromising for mainstream success. Her humorous and vociferous interview with Pitchfork found her in a mood to burn bridges while taking shots at Celine Dion, Shania Twain and much of the recording industry. That’s all well and good, but her last album, Fox Confessor Brings the Flood, seemed to veer into an extreme seriousness that sapped some of the fun out of the music.

Middle Cyclone feels more relaxed than Fox Confessor, returning to the dark beauty of Blacklisted, probably her best album. Love is a theme on Middle Cyclone, but it reaches well beyond individual, romantic love, into the realm of spiritual and elemental longing, out-of-reach but not intangible. Case’s music is still serious and uncompromising, but she brings to it the kind of infatuating gentleness that makes boys fall in love with girls they know they’ll never get.