Luxxury’s 2006 Top 10
for Chris Walker Versus
In no particular order:
01. M3, Miami, especially the Filter magazine Revolver party at Pawn Shop. In retrospect a lot of the great musical things of the year seemed to start here, starting with Justice who unfurled their dirty distorted punk rock disco sound to the US during their now legendary DJ set. Peaches also brought it, I forget if she was right before or after but it was definitely a pummeling one two punch. Then I saw Jamie Lidell (who I interviewed after the show for The Believer) Kudu, The Presets, Vitalic, and Hot Chip for the first time. And my friend Elle introduced me to Robots in Disguise, who I immediately fell in love with (and for whom I am currently remixing a song). These bands ended up being a major part of the Luxxury 2006 soundtrack.
02. "I Always Say Yes" and "Sugar and Whitebread" by Glass Candy. Portland producer/guitarist/genius Johnny Jewel and original retro Nico/Blondie ice queen Ida Know's forays into the Disco Noir are funk without being funky, punk without being punky, and simple without being simplistic. They live in a shimmering gold nightclub by the sea, on the Interweb. Bonus: there's a hot cover of "Computer Love" on their Myspace right now. Double bonus: look for the official Johnny Jewel sanctioned Baron von Luxxury remix of "I Always Say Yes" coming soon...
03. Daft Punk at Coachella. Mindblowing spaceship disco. Runner up: Madonna at Coachella. Dope pop kitsch.
04. Finishing Luxxury's debut album Rock and Roll (is Evil). This album took me 3 years to make. I'm so fucking proud of it I can't stand it. Featuring amazing cover art from Jeremy Blake , design by Shadrach Lindo, liner notes by Theresa Duncan , and immeasurably valuable sonic contributions (from co-writing and co-producing to blippiness and glitches) from my bandmate/friend Devin Dirt. It's a sonic snapshot that begins with Moroder, moves forward to early New Order and then shifts gears back in time again to Bowie and Roxy. The cold, icy glare of Eno's synthesizer is reflected in Bolan'sbackstage coke and mirrors, as performed by our robot sex club hosts.
05. Most listened to albums/songs in the Luxxury tour van this year:
Beams by The Presets. Disco rock, Australian style. The Presets are on the fantastic Modular label, home to Cut Copy and New Young Pony Club among others. While this album has one too many listless instrumentals, the other songs are great enough to make it all worth it, namely "Are You The One" and "Girl By the Sea.""
Get Rid by Robots in Disguise. Amazing electropop/rock songs by a London based female duo with production by Chris Corner (aka IAMX and formerly a member of the Sneaker Pimps). Standout songs include "La Nuit", "DJ's Got a Gun" and my favorite "Turn it Up."
Witching Hour by Ladytron. Stellar, timeless songwriting and hauntingly crystalline production made this a sleeper hit. It took a few listens but now barely a week goes by that I don't get absorbed in the dense layers of this album.
Physical Grafitti by Led Zeppelin. An obscure British blues-rock outfit from the mid 70's. Ask your older sister.
06. Luxxury's Late Summer UK Tour, especially at Being Boiled and Computer Blue in London. Top three songs played on the PA before our after our set: Justice+Simian Mobile Disco, "We Are Your Friends; New Young Pony Club: "Get Dancey", The Presets "Are You The One"
07. Lessons from the Dirty Sanchez tour: silence is not always golden.
08. Five Albums That Seemed Overrated At First But Turned Out To Be Worth The Hype:
Cansei de Ser Sexy: CSS
The Looks: MSTRKRFT
Silent Shout: The Knife
Sexor: Tiga
Waters of Nazareth: Justice
09. Myspace. Who needs a damn label/booking agent?
10. Rodney on the Roq (KROQ, LA) played "Sable Starr." I can end the band happy now.
11. Song of the Year: "Hustler" by Simian Mobile Disco. So not even close to being sick of it.
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