images, working in the glow of red Christmas lights, laying broken car
windshields and thrifted glass lamp covers on long strips of unexposed
film, then turning a flashlight on it all." Check out the "Journey From Darkness Into Light" tonight at 8 p.m., $6.
As SFist reported earlier in the week, the new Yeah Yeah Yeahs video was shot in the streets of San Francisco. The embedded video is above, but here's also a link to the clip for the trio's killer new single, "Zero."
The video opens with the band at the Warfield, and then moves to Karen O. running around the city, most notably through Chinatown (and on top of a car). We want to know if you can name any other landmarks in the track, from specific bars and corner stores to the mural she slinks on by.
If you dig the new millennium disco fogging up windows in clubs across the country, you'll feel love for the Juan MacLean track "The Simple Life." The song luckily has nothing to do with Paris and her former BFF Nicole. Rather, it's a bit of Star Wars meets Donna Summer, a gorgeous track that beams subtle sonic lasers into your earholes to make sure you're paying attention. The single warms up the dancefloor with a purely (electronic) instrumental sound before getting all Human League with a female/male point/counterpoint on love disappearing into the stars. Check out the original song at Just Press Play or the M Worgull remix here.
Some of the most interesting music being made these days is coming out of the Asian American underground, who put a whole new spin on the phrase "Asian Fusion." Inspired by urban life in America as well as cultural influences from all over the East, today's Asian-American artists are putting their own touches on hip-hop, reggae, bhangra, broken beat, and future disco, not to mention inventing their own microgenres.
If you want to hear tomorrow's music right now, the SF International Asian American Film Festival is sponsoring a phat party at 111 Minna this Friday featuring a bento box-worth of mostly local Asian-American musicians, producers, and DJs, including hip-hop producer Trackademicks, LA electronica whiz Nosaj Thing, Surya Dub mainstay Kush Aurora, Daly City Records' honcho Mochipet, Bay Area Sistah Sound founder DJ Zita, SF disco revivalist DJ Pickpocket, nu-jazzster Tokyo Component, and downtempo rocker Citizen Ten. For more info, click here.
Music is only one part of the music business. The other part, of course, is business, and a big part of that business revolves around how artists are marketed. With that in mind, the National Association of Recording Industry Professionals, or NARIP for short, is offering a one-day seminar on "Music in Advertising: Selling In, Not Selling Out." The event, which promises to be a chance to soak up game on "matching bands with brands," features a panel discussion with Jeff Daniel of Rock River Music and Jason Zada, founder of EVB. The PR blurb gives an indication of what's to be discussed: "Once taboo, brand associations and advertising are embraced by today's savvy recording artists and their reps to increase exposure to their music and advance their careers. Such recent associations include Madonna with The Gap, Feist with Apple, Goldfrapp with Target, Prince with Verizon and Rihanna with Cover Girl." It happens tonight at SF State at 7 p.m.; details are here and here.
Kev Choice
Levende Lounge
March 11, 2009
Better Than: watching reruns of Lost.
Most hip-hop open mics are dingy, dusty affairs offering plenty of underground flavor in basement-like settings. Upscale restaurant-lounges used to be reserved for jazz trios.But We All We Got, a new Wednesday night talent showcase, breaks both molds by taking place at Levende, an upper Mission St. locale where the décor can accurately be described as "posh."
The evening started with selections from DJ Mike Biggz, and some verbal niceties from host Sellassie. People trickled in, rather slowly at first. Most seasoned clubgoers generally wouldn't think of arriving at a venue before 11:30 p.m. While that latecomer logic holds true at many a spot where DJ music is the main draw, at an open mic night, if you get there too late you might miss something interesting, like the guy who did a song from a rap project based around Tom Waits samples (which sounded pretty good, actually).
Manic Mondays
Bar on Church
Last Seen: March 9, 2009
Better than: The Bar on Castro (R.I.P.)
Also See: Our Manic Mondays Slideshow.
Break it down and build it back up. In case you haven't noticed, the Bar on Castro has migrated and reintroduced itself as the Bar on Church, giving the old Transfer a much needed facelift after the venue switched owners.
The new Bar on Church was gutted and remodeled by proprietor Greg Bronstein and interior designer Craige Walters. The improvements include a new 30-foot bar equipped with three topless male bartenders, an impressive sound system, silver U-shaped seating booths (five of them), and ample room for dancing. The graffiti-riddled bathrooms have been gussied up as well. But some of the old remains: poor ventilation resulting in pit stains and dehydration and yes, Transfer enthusiasts.
