Twelve best tracks of 2006 Here are my twelve best tracks of 2006. These are the ones I hummed over and over in my head and always looked forward to hearing on my stereo or radio show. They are in no particular order, since they all totally rock. Beatport probably sells 'em all.

Mike Monday - Bhalobashi (Simple) The happiest track of the year. Doppelwhipper and You Are Here came close, but this one wins. Joyous electrohouse.

Ame - Rej (Sonar Kollektiv) Well, duh. Wicked progressive house. Crazy, fast melody. Huge hit.

Ellen Allien and Apparat - Jet (Bpitchcontrol) Probably the best emotional techno of 2006. The remixes by Paul Kalkbrenner and Ben Klock are excellent too.

Djuma Soundsystem - Les Djinns (Trentemoller mix) (Get Physical) Trentemoller had another great year, which is shocking, considering his output in 2005 was also excellent. This track had a simple, bass-heavy breakbeat and an awesome synth melody.

Extrawelt - 8000 (Traum) Progressive house? Techno? Somewhere in between? Another slice of melodic techno genius.

Booka Shade - In White Rooms (Get Physical) Catchy as a sticky baseball.

Switch - A Bit Patchy (Eric Prydz mix) (Data) On the first few listens I thought this was a good remix. After a few more, I realized it was genius. Prydz took the quick orchestra stabs of the original, changed it into a cooing wordless female vocal and halved the speed. Once I figured it out, amazing.

The Orb - God Less America/Gorgeous (Kompakt Extra) Heavy, stomping funk. Who knew The Orb had it in them?

Thomas Melchior & Luciano - Father (Cadenza) Twelve minutes of the same drum loop. Or is it?

Martin Landsky - 1000 Miles (Poker Flat) Honking techno!

Audiojack - Robot This is how you work a filter.

Nathan Fake - You Are Here (Fort Dax remix) (Border Community) Blinder! Great melody, with an orchestra going totally nuts.

Labels: dance, House, Music, Techno

  ¶ 11:02 AM 0 Comments Links to this post

  Neil Tyson speaks the truth Talking about the recent case of a teacher spouting religious anti-science nonsense in class, Neil de Grasse Tyson wrote in his letter to the New York Times:

To the Editor:

People cited violation of the First Amendment when a New Jersey schoolteacher asserted that evolution and the Big Bang are not scientific and that Noah’s ark carried dinosaurs.

This case is not about the need to separate church and state; it’s about the need to separate ignorant, scientifically illiterate people from the ranks of teachers.

Neil deGrasse Tyson

New York, Dec. 19, 2006

The writer, an astrophysicist, is director of the
Hayden Planetarium.

PS. 500th post!

Labels: astronomy, biology, evolution, science

  ¶ 11:48 AM 0 Comments Links to this post

  Tom Cruise A truly bizarre suggestion. I don't know enough neurology to comment on it, so just read it.

Labels: biology

  ¶ 11:53 AM 0 Comments Links to this post

  Swoon 168 - December 18, 2006 - Acid! Plastikman - Konception (Plus8)
Virgo Four - Take Me Higher (Soul Jazz)
Air Liquide - Ek-stasis (sm:)e)
Air Liquide - Tongues of Fire (sm:)e)
Caustic Window - Humanoid Must Not Escape (Rephlex)
Stakker - Humanoid (exp)
Gizz TV & Walker - Spalt II
Ellen Allien - Magma (Bpitchcontrol)
Donato Dozzy - Gol (Dozzy)
Cobblestone Jazz - India In Me (Wagon Repair)
Solenoid - Acid Mule (Orac)
Tom Pooks - Docker (Kompakt)
Rex the Dog - Maximise (Kompakt)
Alex Smoke - Never Want To See You Again (Soma)
Dom Kole - Monster Eats the Pilot (Elektro Komfort)
The Knife - Silent Shout (Williams acidic mix) (Brille)
Audiojack - Robot
Orbital - Lush 3-1 (ffrr)
Orbital - Lush 3-2 (ffrr)
Orbital - Impact (ffrr)

Labels: acid, Music, Tracklist

  ¶ 8:46 AM 0 Comments Links to this post

  The Real Simpsons Good God!

  ¶ 3:04 PM 0 Comments Links to this post

  Night at the Museum Judging by the amount of ads I am seeing for A Night at the Museum (warning, terrible Flash website), this must be an awfully poor movie. Here are some guesses as to why:

1. Owen Wilson is in it.
2. They subsituted computer animation for plot.
3. The best joke is Ben Stiller getting slapped by a monkey.

Labels: movie

  ¶ 11:03 AM 0 Comments Links to this post

  From Karaoke to Stardom - Mon Dieu Moi Aussi This release from From Karaoke To Stardom has been out a while, but sometimes I need to let things stew a while before I can realize what they're really like. In short, this is a really cool minimal release.

On the A side is Beat Zen Square Zen Zen. As I said, it's minimal with an up and down bassline and looped bleeps as accompaniment.

B1 is Elastic Time Bubble, which I think is the best track. This time the bassline throbs and oozes, the kick drum is punchier, and the melody is twinkly but haunting.

B2 is Maguliadura. It's more like the B1 track, with another haunting melody, which is accompanied by looped strings. It's a bit more uplifting. It's not as fast as the other tracks and is a nice way to end a fine ep.

It's out now on Rrygular.

Labels: minimal, Music, Techno

  ¶ 3:35 PM 0 Comments Links to this post

  Aurora last night Some aurora pictures from last night, taken in my backyard:

Labels: astronomy, photography

  ¶ 3:25 PM 0 Comments Links to this post

  The invasion has begun The invasion has begun, our mighty foot soldiers have infiltrated the capital of the U.S. and A, inventors of democracy. Prepare to be cowed! Or squirrelled.

Whatever the reason, observers say, black squirrels have been showing up in areas where only gray-colored specimens had been.
They appeared in Bethesda, Silver Spring and Chevy Chase in the 1960s, perhaps using the Rock Creek Stream Valley as a highway north from the District. One survey of Bethesda in 1990 found that about 25 percent of the squirrels there were black.

From Sandwalk.

Labels: biology

  ¶ 10:31 AM 0 Comments Links to this post

  Swoon 167 - December 11, 2006 Andrew Johnson - M and K (Kompakt)
Susumu Yokota - Long Long Silk Road (Lo)
Maxime de la Rochefoucauld - Chapati
Namusouke - Survive (Mute)
Kinnie Starr - Sex in the Prairies (Violet Inch)
Enigma - Dancing With Mephisto (EMI)
From Within - Snake Charmer (M-nus)
u-ziq vs. the Auteurs - 1 (Astralwerks)
Repeat - G-thing (A13)
The Future Sound of London - Vertical Pig (Astralwerks)
Markus Guentner - Altocumulus Opacus (Kompakt)
Canonic - The Memory of In or Out (Hometapes)
Caribou - Anna & Nina (Domino)
Arovane - Windy Wish Tree (City Centre Offices)
Aphex Twin - Pancake Lizard (Warp)
SCSI-9 - Morskaya (Kompakt)
Kinder Atom - Eagle Sprouts (Nice+smooth)
Shout Out Out Out Out - Do I Stutter?
Maxime de la Rochefoucauld - Je t'en pris
Autechre - Vletrmx (Warp)

Labels: ambient, Music, Tracklist

  ¶ 8:58 AM 0 Comments Links to this post

  Understanding economics Here's an interesting hypothesis on why people have understanding macroeconomics. It's not our usual way of thinking, and the adaptation may have come later.

Labels: economics

  ¶ 1:47 PM 0 Comments Links to this post

  Swoon 166 - December 4, 2006 Autechre - 444 (Warp)
Two Lone Swordsmen - We Love Mutronics (Keithy Boy mix) (Rotters Golf Club)
QPE - McGarrett (The Agriculture)
DJ Olive - The Furry Whale (The Agriculture)
Larry Kucharz - 1999 no. 3
My My - Swiss on Rye (Playhouse)
Duoteque - Amarcord (My My remix) (Boxer)
Mike Shannon - Suddenly Hosed (Wagon Repair)
Will Saul - Pause (Isolee remix) (Simple)
Alex Smoke - Never Want To See You Again (Soma)
Dmitry Gren - Busy Cluster (Kompakt)
Staffan Lanzatti - Ride (Rrygular)
Dole and KOM - Flight 815 (Elektro Komfort)
Claude von Stroke - Who's Afraid of Detroit? (Dirtybird)
Stephan Bodzin - Valentine (Herzblud)
Mike Monday - Bhalobashi (Simple)
Bocce - Ping Pong Pixel (Dadmobile)
Bitrate - Go Man Go (db)
Mstrkrft - Neon Knights (Last Gang)
Pava Up First - Broadcast (Dare to Care)
MoR - Save A Prayer (2112)

Labels: House, Music, Techno

  ¶ 9:07 AM 0 Comments Links to this post

  Worst warranty instructions ever This must be among the most confusing warranty directions I have ever come across. What makes it so bad is that the company's first language in English. On an 8.5 x 11 sheet of paper with a detachable card at the bottom, Coronado writes above the perforation line:

Detach and return the bottom portion, fold and send the full form, or fax to
Coronado.

OK, I understand detaching and returning the bottom portion and keeping the top for myself. I don't understand how I can then fold and send the full form back to Coronado.

Labels: coronado, warranty

  ¶ 9:23 AM 0 Comments Links to this post