Video of the Week: "Count It Off" - The Saturday Knights

I was hipped to this video by The Saturday Knights by a friend of mine who happens to be a friend of the filmmaker, so I checked it out mostly as a favor to her. Turns out it is awesome, and now I can't get the song's hook out of my head. It's a perfect follow up for those who dug Kermit The Frog's appearance in LCD Soundsystem's "New York I Love You" video last year. It's also an official selection at this year's SXSW Film Festival.


"Count It Off" - The Saturday Knights from Lincoln Leopard Films on Vimeo.

The Saturday Knights - "Dog Park" mp3

extrawack!'s Top Ten Albums for 2007

Lest we get one more email or phonecall from a publicist or music mag asking us for a sneak peek at our year-end album list, I thought I'd post it up about three weeks earlier than we have in the past.



Ladies & Gentlemen, without further ado, and in alphabetical order...the extrawack! Top Ten Albums of 2007:


Nicole Atkins Neptune City
The Besnard Lakes The Besnard Lakes Are The Dark Horse
The Cake Sale The Cake Sale
Calvin Harris I Created Disco
The Fratellis Costello Music
Gabby Glaser Gimme Splash
LCD Soundsystem Sound Of Silver
Ra Ra Riot Ra Ra Riot
M.I.A. Kala
White Rabbits Fort Nightly

As you can see, we were moved mostly by music that made us move. A bunch of the artists above gave us some of the best live sets of the year as well...James & LCD had us grooving with friends at Webster Hall and in the middle of thousands of strangers at the Virgin Festival in Baltimore. The Fratellis had us pogoing like it was 1979 at the Filter Courtyard Party @ SXSW. Nicole Atkins and The Besnard Lakes both hypnotized us in different but amazing ways at shows in Austin and Hoboken respectively. And M.I.A. made us feel like we were citizens of some sort of Groove Nation and she was that country's Queen Of Dope Beats when we saw her in Maryland and on Coney Island.

Here's our year-end gift to you, enough downloads to make your Zune/iPhone/whatever sound like ours:

Calvin Harris - "Acceptable In The 80s" mp3
Nicole Atkins - "Party's Over" mp3
The Besnard Lakes - "And You Lied To Me" mp3
The Cake Sale (featuring Nina Persson) - "Black Winged Bird" mp3
Gabby Glaser - "Spirit Of Long Island" mp3
The Fratellis - "Chelsea Dagger" mp3
White Rabbits - "The Plot" mp3

James Murphy Spinning @ Hiro Tuesday Night

As if there weren't enough to do on the first night of CMJ:

Free Beer & Mr Murphy spinning? I can do that...

Free before midnight...RSVP here.

James Murphy - DFA Radio Mix 2005 Cd1 mp3
James Murphy - DFA Radio Mix 2005 Cd2 mp3

Virgn Festival Day 1 - LCD Soundsystem Steals The Show

Of all the acts at the sweltering first day of the Virgin Festival, the best set of the day (in my opinion) was turned in by LCD Soundsystem.

James & Co. hit a groove midset that didn't let up until they left the stage, and I actually heard a girl near me tell her friend, "I've always wanted to dance outside...this is perfect!" after a bootyshakin' version of "Tribulations". Having only seen LCD in Manhattan amongst the chin-strokers and arm-crossers, it was a blast to watch people grooving like they meant it.

Surprisingly to me, since everytime I'd seen them before it looked like they were phoning it in, the Beastie Boys were pretty damn good, and Mix Mister Mike remains incredible.

Let down of the day? Amy Winehouse. She's SO not meant for daytime, or festivals. The combination of the two made for a listless and forgettable set.

Act I most want to see in the future? These dudes who tag-teamed a SCORCHING version of Freebird in the Guitar Hero Tent:

James Murphy/LCD Soundsystem Press Conference

This morning I attended an alleged press conference in Manhattan, where LCD Soundsystem's James Murphy was to "be officially responding to allegations of the assumed LCD Soundsystem backlash". Obviously meant to be a bit of a goof, the event turned out to be more fun than your average press junket roundtable.

The event started with Murphy joking that DFA's been preparing for any backlash by compiling embarassing data in advance on perceived possible backlashers for use in case it's needed. Truth of the matter is, there's very little backlash going on, despite Murphy pointing out that he's heard from haters that upstarts like Lindstrom and Ed Banger are forcing DFA off the top of the groove pyramid.

The conference soon turned into a Q&A free for all, with questions ranging from interesting to downright ridiculous:

-When asked about this past weekend's shows at The Bowery, he said he thought the crowd was better on Friday, but the band played better on Saturday...and he thinks the upcoming Studio B show (their first Brooklyn show ever) will have more of a party vibe.

-He claims he gets his news from "Best Week Ever".

-He spoke a bit about his passion for Ultimate Fighting, and when asked, claimed that if he had to choose music to enter the ring to, he'd pick The Fall's "Totally Wired".

-He finds it strange that people ask him to play his own music when he's DJ-ing, which he feels is like being that guy in a band wearing his own band's shirt.

-One "reporter", whom I'm pretty sure was a plant, asked Murphy to respond to accusations that he was more "Eldridge & Canal" than "Roebling & Grand". Murphy responded that despite his current residence in Williamsburg, he's a long time West Village guy.

-He's not too worked-up about the album of remixed versions of every single track off of Sound Of Silver that appeared for free download on the Internet the same day the true album was released. He knew it was coming beforehand, but the fact that the makers request all downloaders to make a donation to charity, he thinks is a good thing.

-And he more or less concluded the session by sharing with one reporter his recipe for seasoned potato cubes.

If nothing else, Murphy proved he's got a pretty decent sense of humor, and for a guy who seems to be a kingpin in the world of trendsetting, he doesn't appear to take himself too seriously.

Here he is responding to a question as to whether he considers himself a role model:



The Fall - "Totally Wired" mp3 buy

LCD Soundsystem - "Watch the Tapes (Team9 remix)" mp3 donate

LCD Soundsystem - "North American Scum" wma buy

LCD Soundsystem - "North American Scum" Video

I can't recall the last time I was so anxious for an album to (officially) be released like I am for LCD Soundsystem's Sound Of Silver, which based on the leaked tracks I've heard is state-of-the-art rock-disco-groove. I also can't wait for their Bowery shows...is there a better way to spend a chilly March Friday night than sweating it out on the dancefloor with James Murphy? No, there isn't.

Here's the video for the first single from the album, "North American Scum":



Here's a slew of LCD Soundsystem videos and live performances at YouTube.

LCD Soundsystem Tour Dates:

03-30 New York, NY - Bowery Ballroom
03-31 New York, NY - Bowery Ballroom
04-28 Indio, CA - Empire Polo Field (Coachella)
04-29 Los Angeles, CA - TBA
*04-30 San Francisco, CA - Mezzanine
05-01 San Francisco, CA - TBA
*05-02 Seattle, WA - Showbox
05-03 Vancouver, British Columbia - Commodore
05-04 Vancouver, British Columbia - TBA *
05-05 Toronto, Ontario - TBA *
05-06 Chicago, IL - Metro
05-07 Detroit, MI - Majestic Theater
05-08 Toronto, Ontario - Phoenix Concert Theater
05-09 Montreal, Quebec - Spectrum de Montreal
05-10 Montreal, Quebec - TBA *
05-11 Boston, MA - Axis/Paradise
05-12 Brooklyn, NY - Studio B
05-13 Washington, DC - 9:30 Club
05-14 New York, NY - Webster Hall
* James Murphy and Pat Mahoney DJ set