SCORN DEM.

So, as a queer man I often find myself on shakey grounds when it comes to my support and enjoyment of the dancehall genre. I've been a fan of the music coming out of Kingston and other Island Nations since I was kid, but sometimes I get pretty pissed off with the outright homophobia that permeates the scene. Whether it's Mr. Vegas talking about cutting 'batty boys' with a machete, or Bennie Man professing his desire to hang 'chi chi gals' with a long a piece of rope, I often feel out of sync with the music I love and the life I live. A recent example of this is found in Vybz Kartel and Spice's new(ish) track 'Romping Shop.' In the intro, Vybz and Spice have a bit of a back and forth which leads up to the quote 'Man to man, gal to gal that's wrong. Scorn Dem.' One thing that's really interesting to me however, is that Vybz chose an adapted version of this song to be used for a commercial advertising his condom brand 'Dagger In Codoms.'

I find this ad both entertaining and hilarious. And I think that Vybz is doing something great here; HIV/AIDs and other STD/STVs are rampant in Jamaica, and he has chosen to use his success as a means for promoting safer sex. However, it's a bit tragic that he still finds the gay community, one that is highly impacted by this epidemic, to be 'scorn' worthy. I understand that the culture of the Caribbean Island Nations has historically been centers of anti-homosexual sentiments and it's somewhat ingrained into the peoples of those nations, but I just wish that there might be a way to someday strike a balance of tolerance. For the time being though, I'll make playing dancehall an empowerment thing. Here's the MP3 and video for 'Rompin Shop.' Be warned, this song is DIRTY!

MAYA RUDOLPH LOOKALIKE?
=?


Vybz Kartel and Spice- Romping Shop

FRANKMUSIK

Uhhh...

What's with the girls in the onesies and LSD trails all over the place? And why does this guy sound like he has a retainer in his mouth? I bet he spits a lot... This is going to be playing in Forever 21 by the end of March. Mark my words.

BOOTY DO

I've found myself strangling drawn to the recent development of the cultural phenomenon of young people recording themselves doing dances attributed with certain hip hop songs and posting the results on youtube. What began with 'Crankin dat Soulja Boy,' and has since evolved into 'Doing the Stanky Legg [sic].' Said dance does not incorporate doing anything other than repeatedly bringing one leg in toward the other in a somewhat rhythmic fashion. There are literally HUNDREDS of videos of people doing this dance. Here are a few:




At least it's a means for fighting teenage obesity...

AND THE BEST:

LA ROUX

Continuing in the new ladies of dance vein, I'd like to take some time to discuss another one of my early 2009 favorite acts, La Roux. Hailing from Southeast London, Elly Jackson, aka La Roux, is taking the new wave of UK Dance-Pop to new places, bringing together aspects of international 80's pop chic (think Gary Numan, Prince and Blondie partying together with maybe a little less coke), influences from bigger UK electronic acts such at Hot Chip, and a hint of the burgeoning electro explosion, mixing them together and standing out among all sorts of new comers. It's not hurting her any that she's working with the disco hot shots over at Kitsune, touring with Lily Allen, getting remixed by a ton of big names, or is friends with another one of my favorites Mr. Sebastien Tellier either. And she's super fucking cute! For your listening and viewing pleasure here's 'In For the Kill' and the most beautiful remix Skream's ever done.


La Roux - In For The Kill from pster on Vimeo.

La Roux- In For The Kill
La Roux- In For The Kill (Skream Remix)

xo

WE'VE GOT OBSESSIONS.

Marina & The Diamonds are one of my favorite acts to come out this year, and are most likely going to remain that way for the next 10 months. With an extremely unique approach to song writing, Marina finds a place somewhere between Lykke Li and Little Boots in the new landscape of female fronted acts. Her lyrics border on darkness and absurdity, but she makes it work by tying it all together with an elaborate sound scape and great production. I'll be interested to see where she goes from here with her new tracks, but for now enjoy 'Obsessions' and a fantastic remix from Gold Panda.

Marina & The Diamonds- Obsessions
Marina & The Diamonds- Obessions (Gold Panda Remix)

NEW SHIT COMING SOON

I've decided to jump on the music blog wagon. Here I'm gonna write about new stuff people are doing and post my favorite dance cuts, as well as some of my own work. I'm also going to discuss some cultural things that impact my life and promote work being done by other artists in PDX.


First up are new Thunderheist tracks "Sweet 16" (aka 'Horny') and "Cruise Low". Since first hearing "Bubblegum" in 2007 I've been a huge fan of this Canadian duo, and am really looking forward to their up coming BIG DADA debut record. I'm attempting to set up a date for them to make their first appearance here in Portland sometime in the early summer. I really want to kick it with Isis, she seems rad.

Thunderheist- Sweet 16
Thunderheist- Sweet 16 (Mansion Remix)
Thunderheist- Cruise Low (direct link)


Next up are NYC based Electro/Ghettotech duo Bit Crushers . The two have been cranking out heavy dance jams together since 2007 and have recently gotten a lot of attention on the DJ circuit with their track "Wanna Ride." The track was recently got a new bassy, fidgety face-lift by fellow New York heavy weight DJ Fame and has been featured pretty heavily in my recent sets.

Bit Crushers- Wanna Ride (direct link)
Bit Crushers- Wanna Ride (DJ Fame Remix) (direct link)
Bit Crushers- What She Said (direct link)


In non-music news, Jade was kicked off of RuPaul's Drag Race tonight. It should have been Rebbecca Glasscock, but whatever.

xo