polloxniner

It's Gonna Be A Minty Fresh 2007!

Here we are, kiddies, bidding sayonara to yet another year. Not that 2006 was just another year. It was a banner year for me both professionally and personally. Sure, there was that one shitty person or moment that put a damper on things... but eh... karma has an uncanny way of taking care of those things in time. I'm looking back at 2006 feeling deeply happy, grateful, and optimistic. I hope you all had a similarly good year.
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So the question is: How are you celebrating New Year's Eve? For those of you still undecided, here are some of the parties going on about the city I recommend:
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(Click invitations to enlarge)

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Guest DJs include Jamie Klaxon with host DJ Alex English. More info here.

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And speaking of DJs, here's a heads-up on NEXT ON THE DECKS 2. If you missed NEXT ON THE DECKS last year, I suggest you go check it out. Last year, Mark Ronson judged the competition and this year Steve Aoki Kid Millionaire takes the judge's podium. If you're an interested DJ, you need to submit a 30-minute mix by January 15, 2007. The winner gets an all-expense paid trip to the Winter Music Conference in Miami in March '07 as the opening DJ for Steve in addition to playing the Hollywood kick-off of the NEXT ON THE DECK 2007 TOUR. Other prizes include KREW Clothing, Supra Footwear and Zero Halliburton and Spinner.com.
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As a rule of thumb, I don't do Best-Of lists because I find it tough to limit myself to the best 10 or 20. So here's a round up of some of the albums and singles that got a lot of play this year:

ALBUMS
Sonic Youth: Rather Ripped
The Knife: Silent Shout
Ghostface Killah: Fishscale
The Rapture: Pieces Of The People We Love
Lily Allen: Alright, Still 
TV On The Radio: Return To Cookie Mountain
Hot Chip: The Warning
Lindstrom: It's A Feedelity Affair
Peter Bjorn and John: Writer's Block
T.I.: King
Junior Boys: So This Is Goodbye
Booka Shade: Movements
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SINGLES
Sonic Youth - "Incinerate"
The Knife - "Silent Shout"
The Rapture - "Pieces of the People We Love"
Justice - "Waters of Nazareth"
TV On The Radio - "Wolf Like Me"
Hot Chip - "Over and Over"
T.I. - "What You Know"
Peter Bjorn and John - "Young Folks"
Test Icicles - "What Your Damage (Alan Braxe and Fred Falke Remix)"
Poni Hoax - "Budapest"
Jamie Lidell - "Multiply"
Al Usher - "Gnanfou"
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I feel like I'm leaving a lot out but that's the thing about shortlists. I didn't include mp3s for any of the songs on this list as I'm sure a quick search on Elbo.ws or Hype (though Hype's always so glitchy and unreliable these days) will bring them up snap snap. Just seems redundant... not that I'm gonna leave you high and dry. Below's a grab bag of tunes up for only one week. After that, it's adios:
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Kirk Degiorgio - "Starwaves"
Trentemoller - "Take Me Into Your Skin"
2 Raum Wohnung - "Sex Secret (Peter Rauhofer Reconstruction mix)"
Sally Shapiro - "I'll Be By Your Side"
Justice - "Phantom"
Arthur Russell - "You Have Did The Right Thing When You Put That Skylight In"
Loose Joints - "Is It All Over My Face (Unreleased Original Full Length Version)"
RJD2 - "Beyond The Beyond"
Boat Club - "Vacation Forever"
Bloc Party - "Marshals Are Dead (Paul Epworth Edit)"
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Looking ahead to 2007, there's a bunch of great albums due out in 2007. Some I've already heard -- lots of gems! -- and others I'm already drooling over:
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Bloc Party: Weekend In The City
Air: Pocket Symphony
Arcade Fire: Neon Bible
!!!: Myth Takes
LCD Soundsystem: Sound Of Silver
Of Montreal: Hissing Fauna, Are You The Destroyer?
Courtney Love: How Dirty Girls Come Clean
Radiohead: Untitled
Smashing Pumpkins: Untitled
Cat Power: Untitled
Interpol: Untitled
Justice: Untitled
Alan Braxe: Untitled
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Hope you have a great New Year's celebration, whatever you decide to do. Do it safe and do it twice, I say. I'm still on holiday so back to tanning for me. See you all in 2007 -- it's going to be a fantastic year!

Happy Holidays

Ah, the holidays. Let me start by wishing you all a Happy Holiday! While I'm at it, I'll go ahead and wish you a Happy New Year (because who knows when my next post will be). I'm hoping to post again before 2007 but we'll see how that goes.
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Now if you've been hitting the holiday party circuit like me, then you're just about ready for a nice nap. Between all the company parties (i.e., Island Def Jam holiday party, Universal Records holiday party) and the non-company holiday parties, I'm done... for now. Luckily parties don't happen much on weekends, at least not in New York City anyway, so this weekend I'm going to nap, shop, detox, and get the naughty knots out of my hair.  *
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The new year brings lots of good things, and I'm super optimistic about 2007. One of the things I'm most excited about is a brand new project currently in the works. It's a project born out of my love for great music and desire to put it all out there for everyone. I've got good people and friends supporting me so I feel really blessed. More to come soon...
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Speaking of great new music, Alan Braxe is quietly working on some new/original material which will surface in early 2007. Personally, I'm about to bust at the seams waiting to hear finished tracks. He's been absent for far too long and sorely missed. Inevitably, though, when I think of Braxe I think of Fred Falke and Kris Menace for obvious reasons. So a while ago, I got my grubby paws on the "Fairlight" 12-inch and fell into a (space) disco-induced jag which I haven't been able to shake off for some time now. 
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Kris Menace feat. Fred Falke - "Fairlight"
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I don't know how this little edit slipped by most people, though in all fairness it wasn't released on its own. I think it's pretty fantastic in all its funky smoothness. Wilton Felder's sax slays.
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The Crusaders - "My Lady (Todd Terje edit)"
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By far, one of the best singles in 2006 was Peter Bjorn and John's "Young Folks" but since I seem to be on some kind of disco jag, I thought I'd hit you with this remix.
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Peter Bjorn and John - "Young Folks (Punks Jump Up Special Disco Mix)"
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Not to forget my own artists, there's so many great things awaiting them in the next year... just a few... from The Rapture shooting the video for their third single and Mika having his breakthrough year to Pharaohe Monch's return, and so on and so forth. Here's to a wonderful holiday, folks. And if I don't post this side of the year, then have a great new year as well. Until then, enjoy this. Keep the music playing...
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