Max Avery Lichtenstein
May 14th, 2005 by Paul Irishacoustic instrumental // film score
A month ago, I was taking a drive with my friend Christin who was in town. She was visiting her boyfriend, however after a three days of together-time, they were arguing non-stop. During our ride, she went on and on about her boyfriend and how much of an petulant asshole he was and all that. And then right in the middle of it all, she paused. I thought something was quite wrong. But Christin waited a beat and said, “I really like this song.” That’s exactly what ‘Tarnation’ will do – it’s relaxing melodies just grab you and elevate your mood. The song has a simple repetitive structure with guitar, piano, and cello forming the body. It’s the title theme from the award-winning documentary Tarnation which is set for release on DVD Tuesday.Powerful music from a quiet sound.
Max Avery Lichtenstein – Tarnation
movie trailer for Tarnation
buy this dvd
I don’t spend too much time watching 
For those of you who like Aqualung, but think that Matt Hales is neither sufficiently electronic nor sufficiently German, you might consider Tesri, the quirky little album from which the below track is taken. There are definitely shades of Mr Hales in the sparse rhythms and doleful keyboards, though the similarity shouldn’t be overstated. The joy of Aqualung comes from its rich acoustic texture, whereas Morgenstern & Lippok aren’t afraid to throw the odd electronic buzz or pop at you. Thankfully, though, they’re not the sort of melody-ruining buzzes and pops that you so often find in ‘cutting edge’ electronica. On the contrary, ‘Gammelpop’ is a pleasing blend of idyllic twitters and big hugs, a tranquil break from the grimy, industrial sound of the rest of the album.
[Guest post from D. Laster today] The repetetive bass kicks and hi-hat snarls of house music will never cease to create the perfect late-night dance club moment. Dutch producer Olav Basoski uses a signature blend of hard hitting house beats, filtered disco breakdowns, and perfectious timing to get bodies moving with every track. Basoski has an extensive discography, including commisioned remixes for Moby, Bob Marley, and James Brown. He recently started Rootz Records with DJs Alex Romano and Silverius where he has released a series of transitional tracks for DJs entitled 
An eerie glockenspiel speaks. A xylophone answers. With the sound of streaked glass, Emilie asks of you, ‘Won’t you open for me, the door to your ice world?’ “The Frozen World” is a beautiful concoction of shivery sounds – the most subtle and crippled samples tense you up while Emilie holds the bass entry till nearly a minute into the song. She manages to hit the right combination of warm bass, swells of strings and her voice to the point where your spine shivers. Turn the volume up on this one. “To the Dancers on the Ice” hits you like a 7am hug after a sleepless night. Pair it with 
My commute home, like yours, is a time to unwind and forget your day’s stresses. Luckily, Boston’s 
Common has been the influential uncle of the hip hop scene. But even though he’s got some of the most sophisticated lyrical technique, his sales haven’t come close to your typical hip hop juggernauts. Jay-Z even addressed this disparity between substance and sales, rapping in “Moment of Clarity”: Truthfully, I wanna rhyme like Common Sense/But I did five mil/I ain’t been rhyming like Common since. But later this month, Common releases 
Britain’s answer to the 
Interstellar are a Toronto duo, much like the classic team of The Skydome and The CN Tower (only less architectural). Their music is an odd blend of synths, vaguely manipulated vocals, and a soft, acoustic sensibility―guitars, crickety cymbals, and well-rounded chords. I got hold of a promo of theirs about a year ago when their last album was released, because Sean from 
In ’98, I spent the summer on a ladder scraping dry blue paint off an ugly house. Albeit a shitty job, I had a 2X CD-R drive at home that birthed a hiphop mix including The Herbaliser’s “The Blend” featuring vocalist What What. One of my co-scrapers (from ghetto Hartford) dug the track so much that he replaced his prized Nas CD with the Herbaliser. I never saw that CD again. Now, the hip-hop powerduo is releasing their latest album, Take London, on the premire British beats label