all neon like

New Kanye album's been leaked for a bit, feelin' major this exchange from "Everything I Am":

"Ok fair enough, the streets is flaring up
'cause they want gun talk
or I don't wear enough...
baggy clothes, reeboks, or adi-dos,
can I add that he do spazz out at his shows?

Say goodbye to the N-double-A-C-P award
goodbye to the In-dia-Ar-ie award,
they'd rather give me the ni-nigger please award
but I just take the "I got a lot of cheese" award."

Oh and the Weezy appearance is typically breathless, belligerent and greatly appreciated. He spits "Suck my bat bitch" at the end of a track called "Barry Bonds".

But the best moment from the album is this ravey synths and soulful strings number, that along with the Daft Punk -infused "Stronger", sounds something like mainstreams hip-hop's response to nu-rave, the reemergence of 80's style in street fashion, and those damn ubiquitous neon sunglasses...

Kanye West - Flashing Lights (ft. Dwele)

crank dat supermayer

... in which two globetrotting, taste maker deejay extraordinaires play sad, lonely boys disguised as superheros.

SuperMayer - The Lonesome King

The debut album from Kompakt label boss Michael Mayer & Superpitcher is really great fun & poppy (don't call it emo-) techno for the most part, but also flirts with quirky dance-rock and the ultrastylized type of Kompakt-trademarked trendy trance. As with most releases from these two, it's the attention to detail and nuance in texture that sets them apart. Every sound is highly coiffured and deliciously catchy.

In related news, Superpitcher is set to spin again in San Francisco on October 19th at Fat City. (Tix from Blasthaus available here.) You'll want to check it out 'cause his last appearance in town was a corker for sure. While Miss Kittin jumped around downstairs at Mezzanine to a packed house, Superpitcher did his thing for a dedicated 50 or so patrons in the damn-near-hidden upstairs lounge. While I never remember specific transitions or songs from DJ sets, the end of this one was just mind blowing enough to recall. "Return of the Zombie Bikers" (which was still new enough to really freak people out) gave way to that huge rockin' bassline from the DFA remix of "Dare", transitioning into the Mayer remix of "Happiness" during the vibed-out soundwash part. He then ended the set with some lovely AOR-type cheese that I don't recall, probably Todd Rundgren considering his stated affection for the pop maverick. Fucking hell is right.

Monday Movie [Parte 4]

Derby (1971) / dir. Robert Kaylor

A cinema verité journey inside the once-professional, now-underground pseudo-sport that refuse to die: roller derby. The filmmakers follow young factory worker Mike Snell who dreams of making it big on the circuit. We get a few extra-long shots of his predictably dull home life (in Dayton, Ohio, natch) that, when juxtaposed with the derby, make its violent spectacle just about the most exciting thing ever. Boredom at home culminates in carousing and womanizing, forcing his wife into a catty exchange with some neighborhood mistresses. Taking a small break from Snell's tedium, Kaylor intercuts to aging warhorse Charlie O' Connell, captain of the San Francisco Bay City Bombers.

While Derby never stops to explain to intricacies of the game, we are instead offered a barrage of up close & grainy on-the-track action footage which more than compensates. The simple pleasures of watching grown men in tights & leather calf-highs flailing all over the circle track, the notorious double take-downs (which is the roller derby equivalent of a home run & a touchdown making sweet love), and a few dropkicks to the head will suffice. When brawls ensue small children and grandmas in knitted sweaters applaud and women with beehives hug their husbands in admiration. The America on display here is mundane and brutal in equal measures. The film ends in uncertainty, with Snell hopping on his motorcycle, bound for Oakland and the training he hopes will propel him to the Bay City Bombers someday. Well worth tracking this down on VHS.