Remembering The Future

Santogold : Shove It
taken from her self-titled alum on Downtown (2008)

MGMT : Electric Feel
taken from the album Oracular Spectacular on Sony (2007)

Plantlife : Rollerskate Jam & Fool For U
taken from the album Time Traveller on Decon (2008)

As a person who spends perhaps too much time digging into the past, it’s important to be reminded that there’s still just as much life being lived now as there ever was back in the day. For anyone who finds themselves waxing nostalgia over a lost golden era of greatness, I recommend going out to some live concerts and picking up an album or two by artists, like the ones I’m posting today, who remind us all that music history is happening right now and we still have a very bright future to look forward to. THESE ALBUMS ARE FREAKING UNBELIEVABLY GREAT, so stop asking why you don’t like what’s on the radio and start spending your loot on the good stuff.

I won’t act like I had too much of a role in Santi’s recent explosive exposure, but me and my bandmate buddies can at least take credit for putting her on for her first solo show in NYC, so we’re helping the cause. This girl deserves every bit of shine she gets. In addition to being a suuuper mellow, down-to-earth, and incredibly talented person, she has crafted a broad-reaching, unique sound (read- NOT an M.I.A. imitation like some fools may claim) on her new album that warns the villagers of the oncoming flash-flood of more that is sure to come. Her voice slashes through the punchy, punky, electro-funky, reggae-bottomed beats like a blazing light saber. When I listen to her record, I hear the demolition of an invisible wall that separates CBGB’s (R.I.P.) from a big bass club like Brooklyn’s Studio B, where the mosh pit reaches a new fervor with the introduction of the sub-woofer and the multicolored mohawks get a glitter treatment from the disco ball overhead. I picked “Shove It” just because it’s getting hotter each day now as summer draws nigh, and there’s a nice little guest appearance from the one MC Spank Rock on here too, and the beat was produced by the late great Disco D (R.I.P.). Now go SUPPORT THIS ARTIST and get yourself the goods.

Now I’ve spent almost all my precious little writing time on Santi, but you need to check out MGMT who are more of that next shit out of Brooklyn! Psychedelic, dance-inducing, electro-rock with a catchy factor that is devastating. Don’t sleep and then feel bad later when your little brother tells you, “I told you so” – PICK UP THE ALBUM NOW.

And it’s the return of PLANTLIFE! Here’s an album that brings more falsetto and funk than all the funky falsetto records of the past few years combined (since the release of the first Plantlife album). Jack Splash gives us 19 tracks worth of casio party beats, quasimoto-styled chipmunk raps, dirty samples, and raw unabashed SOUL. There’s so many tracks I could have highlighted on this one to show you a different reason why you need the whole record, but isn’t “Fool For U” enough? This is quite possibly the sweetest soul tune I’ve heard a young man sing since the Chi-Lites stopped recording. Time traveller indeed. Get it while it’s hot.

BONUS BEAT- Mark Ronson ft. Santogold : Pretty Green
(originally by The Jam)
taken from the album Version on Columbia (2007)