Fishpork’s 100 Favorite Tracks of the 2000s

This is an attempt at the impossible. Here are our 100 favorite songs of the past decade (featuring multiple tracks from Animal Collective, The Knife, Radiohead, and Elliott Smith). Our top two choices are more like 1a and 1b. Be patient, as the page needs to load the embedded songs.

1. Panda Bear - “Bros” (2007)

2. The Knife - “We Share Our Mother’s Health” (2006)

3. Animal Collective - “For Reverend Green” (2007)

4. Grizzly Bear - “While You Wait For The Others” (2009)

5. The Knife - “Heartbeats” (2003)

6. Grizzly Bear - “The Knife” (2005)

7. LCD Soundsystem - “Someone Great” (2007)

8. TV on the Radio - “Staring at the Sun” (2003)

9. Crystal Castles - “Crimewave” (2008)

10. Beirut - “Ciloqut” (2007)

11. Thom Yorke - “Harrowdown Hill

12. Animal Collective - “Derek” (2007)

13. Nine Inch Nails - “Me, I’m Not” (2007)

14. Beck - “Lonesome Tears” (2002)

15. At The Drive-in - “One Armed Scissor” (2004)

16. Animal Collective - “Grass” (2005)

17. Deerhunter - “Nothing Ever Happened” (2008)

18. Atlas Sound - “Recent Bedroom” (2008)

19. Panda Bear - “Comfy in Nautica” (2007)

20. System of a Down - “Chop Suey” (2001)

21. Animal Collective - “Peacebone” (2007)

22. Battles - “Atlas” (2007)

23. Error - “Jack the Ripper” (2004)

24. Enon - “Pleasure and the Privilege”

25. Elliott Smith - “Son of Sam” (2000)

26. Animal Collective - “Did You See the Words” (2005)

27. The Knife - “Marble House” (2006)

28. LCD Soundsystem - “All My Friends” (2007)

29. Thom Yorke - “Analyse” (2006)

30. The Flaming Lips - “Ego Tripping at the Gates of Hell” (2002)

31. Girl Talk - “Smash Your Head” (2006)
<

32. A Perfect Circle - “Judith” (2000)

33. Radiohead - “Idioteque” (2000)

34. Tapes N’ Tapes - “Manitoba” (2006)

35. TV On The Radio - “I Was A Lover” (2006)

36. Radiohead - “Reckoner” (2007)

37. Fever Ray - “Coconut” (2009)

38. Animal Collective - “My Girls” (2009)

39. Built to Spill - “Things Fall Apart” (2009)

40. Wilco - “I’m Trying to Break Your Heart” (2002)

41. Modest Mouse - “Tiny Cities Made of Ashes” (2000)

42. Animal Collective - “Leaf House” (2004)

43. Modeselektor - “Happy Birthday” (2007)

44. Arcade Fire - “Wake Up” (2004)

45. Autolux - “Blanket” (2004)

46. MGMT - “Time to Pretend” (2007)

47.  Built to Spill - “Conventional Wisdom” (2006)

48. Wilco - “Side With the Seeds” (2007)

49. Elliott Smith - “Happiness/The Gondola Man” (2000)

50. Avey Tare - “I’m Your Eagle Kisser” (2007)

51. Department of Eagles - “Waves of Rye” (2008)

52. Animal Collective - “Summertime Clothes” (2009)

53. Radiohead - “2+2 = 5″ (2003)

54. Dredg - “Sang Real” (2005)

55. While Lies - “Farewell to the Fairground” (2009)

56. Grizzly Bear - “Ready, Able” (2009)

57. Matisyahu - “King Without a Crown” (2005)

58. Modest Mouse - “Paper Thin Walls” (2000)

59. Dillinger Escape Plan - “When Good Dogs Do Bad Things” (2002)

60. Elliott Smith - “Twilight” (2004)

61. Deerhunter - “Flourescent Grey” (2007)

62. Holy Fuck - “Lovely Allen” (2007)

63. LCD Soundsystem - “Never As Tired As When I’m Waking Up” (2006)

64. The Notwist - “Boneless (Panda Bear Remix)” (2008)

65. Liars - “Nothing Is Ever Lost or Can Be Lost My Science Friend” (2004)

66. The Mars Volta - “Inertiatic E.S.P.” (2003)

67. The Notwist - “Solitaire” (2002)

68. Of Montreal - “The Past is a Grotesque Animal” (2007)

69. Queens of the Stone Age - “Tangled Up in Plaid” (2005)

70. Radiohead - “Jigsaw Falling Into Place” (2007)

71. Saul Williams - “Raised To Be Lowered” (2007)

72. Autolux - “Great Days for the Passenger Element” (2004)

73. Sigur Ros - “Untitled 8″ (2002)

74. Yeah, Yeah, Yeahs - “Maps” (2003)

75. Portishead - “Threads” (2008)

76. Sufjan Stevens - “Chicago” (2005)

77. Ugly Casanova - “Things I Don’t Remember” (2002)

78. Animal Collective - “Brothersport” (2009)

79. Radiohead - “Pyramid Song” (2001)

80. Nine Inch Nails - “Only” (2005)

81. El-P - “Flyentology” (2007)

82. Queens of the Stone Age - “No One Knows” (2002)

83. Ghostface Killah - “Shakey Dog” (2006)

84. Modest Mouse - “Missed the Boat” (2007)

85. UNKLE - “Persons and Machinery” (2007)

86. Amon Tobin - “Verbal” (2002)

87. The White Stripes - “Denial Twist” (2005)
>

88. Tomahawk - “Captain Midnight” (2003)

89. Modest Mouse - “Bukowski” (2004)

90. Sigur Ros - “Hoppipolia” (2005)

92. Fuck Buttons - “Sweet Love For Planet Earth” (2008)

93. Bon Iver - “Skinny Love” (2008)

94. Built to Spill - “In Your Mind” (2001)

95. The White Stripes - “Icky Thump” (2007)

96. Does It Offend You, Yeah? - “We Are Rockstars” (2008)

97. Dub Trio - “Not Alone” (2006)

98. Modest Mouse - “The World At Large”

99. The Walkmen - “In the New Year” (2008)

100. Nine Inch Nails - “The Great Destroyer (Modwheelmood Remix)” (2007)

Trent Reznor Quits Twitter, Cites Metal Sludge

You knew it was only a matter of time before all the controversy involving the hatemongers on Twitter vs. Trent Reznor and his new fiance Mariqueen Maandig came to a screeching halt. Reznor tweeted for the last time a link to a message on the NIN forums announcing the end of his “interesting experiment.” Reznor’s latest online conflict occurred with a blogger named Fred W. Garrett, who questioned Trent’s motives for raising money for Eric De La Cruz’s heart transplant and his treatment of fans who won tickets through his Twitter contests. Trent also mentions the term Metal Sludge and describes it as:

Metal Sludge is the home of the absolutely worst people I’ve ever come across. It’s populated mainly by unattractive plump females who publicly fantasize about having sex with guys in bands. Kind of like a role-playing game where people NOBODY will fuck make up stories about their incredible sexual encounters with people they WISH they could fuck.

He also gives some advice for the contingency:

Cutter’s tip for my friends there: remember to cut along the length of vein, not across. Bigger payoff.

In his Twitter-less universe, Reznor does have a plan:

I have business in the real world to attend to including wrapping up the live version of NIN, DOING some cool new shit and spending as much time as possible with the most amazing woman in the world.

You can read the lengthy message here.

NIN/JA @ PNC Arts Center

For a tour that is supposed to present the last performances for Nine Inch Nails as we know them (him), it seemed awkward for Trent Reznor and company to play a set before Jane’s Addiction (a band that hasn’t been relevant in 15 years). As it turns out, the outdoor venue ended up sucking a lot of the life from their performance, and Jane’s Addiction proved they deserved to headline. Gone were the breathtaking lighting rigs from last year’s “Lights In The Sky” shows and the sporadic small venue shows. Instead, we get $80 seats that practically require binoculars. I avoid the PNC Bank Arts Center at all costs, as there is very little to get excited about. However, an exception needed o be made when NIN is playing their last area show after twenty years. Unfortunately, it was the least memorable performance I’ve seen by the band.

Yes, it’s great that Trent Reznor has sobered up and defeated his inner demons. And I suppose this is why we are now saying “goodbye” to this part of his musical career. Hopefully, he will continue to share his unique abilities with the world in another capacity. With that said, the watered down versions of tracks that served as therapy for all of Trent’s past emotional instability were awkwardly out of context and should have not been included in the set list. I do appreciate the gesture that he is playing the deep and rare tracks that longtime fans want to see performed for the last (first and last in some cases) time. However, ingenuously transforming these tracks from soul searching catharsis into stadium anthems with unscripted “heys,” “woohoos” and handclaps seemed marred by pretense. “Mr. Self-Destruct,” “Last,” “March of the Pigs,” “Reptile,” and “Gave Up” need to be sealed up to serve only as the abrasive, self-loathing, and genre defying classics they are.

In all fairness, twenty years is a long time to share your self-hatred with the world without following the road paved by Ian Curtis or Kurt Cobain. We saw a glimpse of what could happen when Trent’s self-loathing is redirected toward political apocalypse with the impressive Year Zero project. Trent promises there is more to come. We didn’t see much reason to get to the show early enough to see Tom Morello’s new band, Street Sweeper Social Club (Audioslave and The Nightwatchmen were achingly diluted and bland). The “Wave Goodbye” tour had a lax camera policy, and we captured some of the performance. Unfortunately, tripods and additional audio gear were not allowed, so the shaky cam and overmodulation of the sound were unavoidable.

(Mark)

After NIN finished their encore with a whimper by playing “Hurt,” the lights went on and stage change began.  After 15 minutes Jane’s took the stage and immediately went into one of the best songs ever written, “Three Days.”  The last and only time I heard this song live was at the Hammerstein Ballroom for the ”Relapse Tour” in 1997 with Flea replacing Eric Avery on bass.  It was immediately clear just how much Avery’s style and execution is irreplaceable.

I’ve been a hardcore fan of more than 15 years, yet my expectations were not high.  I anticipated to find the show nostalgically entertaining at best.  However, even after an 18 year layoff their sound was unbelievably tight thanks to the return of Avery’s precise bass playing.

As the band continued through classics such as ”Ocean Size” and “Pigs in Zen,” the highlight was a powerful delivery of “Then She Did.”  Avery’s infectious bass lines and Navarro’s shifting guitar rhythms brought chills, and Perry’s voice sounded stronger than it had during the last semi-reunion shows.  Jane’s Addiction put forth a solid live performance and filled a void that was 15 years overdue.  Better late than never.

(Pete)

“Gave Up”

“Mr. Self-Destruct”

Trent Reznor Raises Money For Good Cause By Hanging Out With Fans

Trent Reznor (NIN) is offering some VIP treatment for fans who are willing to donate some much needed funds to help Eric De La Cruz, a 27-year old who is in dire need of a heart transplant. A letter on the NIN web site reads:

A Letter from Trent:

This is for something important. Eric De La Cruz is dying and needs a heart transplant. He keeps getting turned down for a transplant list because he’s on Nevada Medicaid, and there are no transplant centers in Nevada. We want to get involved and hopefully so do you, so we’re extending a hand. His sister Veronica (former Anchor and Internet Correspondent for CNN) has started a campaign to save his life.

Eric’s situation shines a bright light on a broken health care system, and his particular set of problems are being addressed on the political front, aiming for reform in addition to the need for immediate financial help to keep him alive TODAY. I think we can help with the latter. 100% of the money collected from this will go directly to Eric’s fund. I hope you’ll consider helping out with this.

Sincerely, Trent Reznor

A $10 “just donate” option has been added to the three donation options originally posted:

If you have a ticket to a NIN/JA show: if you donate $1,000 to this cause, we’ll invite you to come hang out with us before the NIN/JA show of your choice. You and a guest can watch NIN and Street Sweeper Social Club’s soundchecks, eat dinner backstage with us, take pics / get autographs and watch the show from the side of the stage if you’d like. If you donate $300, you and a friend can join us for NIN and SSSC’s soundchecks and a handshaking / hug session before doors open at the NIN/JA show of your choice. If you do NOT have a ticket to a NIN/JA show: if you donate $1,200 to this cause, we’ll invite you to come hang out with us before the NIN/ JA show of your choice and provide 2 tickets (best available). You and a guest can watch soundcheck, eat dinner backstage with us, take pics / get autographs and watch the show from the side of the stage if you’d like.

More info on this rewarding fan/charitable opportunity can be found here. Trent posted further details about what the general experiences would be like for fans who decided to purchase one of the more expensive donation options here.

UPDATE: In less than 48 hours, $542,212 has been raised. According to the video above, this will be more than enough for Eric to get his heart transplant. Job well done, NIN fans!

Relaxed Camera Policy Announced For NIN/JA Tour

The recently announced NIN/JA tour, which finds Nine Inch Nails and Jane’s Addiction sharing the stage for the first time since 1991, threatens to be the last wave of performances for Trent Reznor under the moniker of NIN. Trent recently tweeted about an official announcement for a relaxed camera policy he devised and provides details in a forum on the band’s web site. Here is an excerpt from the message:

In an effort to allow you to document your experience at the upcoming NIN/JA performances, we will be relaxing our photo/video policy (5/7/09 - 6/12/09 only). Fans will be permitted to bring in their personal cameras, video and audio recorders. This is not not an open door policy for any and all recording devices. Please try to use common sense as we are trying to ensure this experience is great for everyone attending. Don’t show up with a television crew and a recording studio.
To be clear: this applies only to the North American NIN/JA tour.

In other NIN/JA tour news, Trent has also announced set times for each band (including Street Sweeper Social Club). In a surprising move, NIN will play before Jane’s Addiction at each show. This may backfire, as hoards of NIN fans are already announcing they will either not attend or leave early. This is no surprise to me since NIN fans are notoriously closed-minded.

http://ninja2009.com/

April’s Fresh Pork Cuts

Pete’s:

• Puscifer - “The Mission”
• Neon Indian - “6669 (I Don’t Know If You Know)”
• White Lies - “Nothing To Give”
• Lily Allen - “Everyone’s At It”
• Röyksopp (featuring Karin Dreijer Andersson) - “Tricky Tricky”

Mark’s:

• Grizzly Bear - “Cheerleader”
• Atlas Sound - “Memorial Corridor”
• Nine Inch Nails - “Non-Entity (Studio Version)”
• Deerhunter - “Disappearing Ink (Live)”
Modest Mouse - “Satellite Skin (Live)”

Share

Controlled Chaos: An Interview with Girl Talk

Greg Gillis (aka Girl Talk) has evolved from mash-up novelty to Pitchfork stud, performing over 100 shows a year to sold-out crowds. The 27-year old released Feed the Animals, his fourth album, earlier this year and has just finished up an intense leg of his current international tour. The album appeared on countless end-of-the-year lists, including #11 on The Fishpork 20. We called up Gillis earlier this week to find out what’s next. The former biomedical engineer who takes fair use and copyright to its limits talked about the dark process of creating Feed the Animals, the controlled chaos at his shows, and his yearning to try something different for his next release.

Fishpork: First of all, congrats on making all of those end-of-year lists.

GG: Thank you, man. I appreciate it.

Fishpork: When I talk to people or read about reactions to your music, specifically with Feed the Animals, it seems that they either love it or hate it. Comments on music bogs are usually something like, “I’m glad Girl Talk is finally getting respect on this list,” or “Girl Talk is on the top ten, that’s a joke.” Do you pay attention to music bloggers?

“I try to be able to take a step back, and I would rather be a polarizing figure and kind of push people one way or the other, rather as something that slips by as just another musician.”

GG: I try not to, but occasionally I’ll be sitting in a hotel after a show — I’ll be a few drinks deep — and I’ll just get real dark. I’ll look up negative press of myself. I think, on the whole, it’s better to ignore. I mean, I’m pretty hard on myself in terms of what I want to get out of projects, so reading stuff from bitter assholes spewing off negative stuff is valuable. It’s also probably in my best interest not to pay attention to it. So I try to ignore it, but I sometimes get into it. I try to be able to take a step back, and I would rather be a polarizing figure and kind of push people one way or the other, rather as something that slips by as just another musician.

Fishpork: Any reaction’s good, right?

GG: Right. I think when people are truly and passionately hating it, that to me means I probably did something good there.

Fishpork: Your live shows are becoming legendary. We saw you at Irving Plaza in 2006 with Peeping Tom, and the stage crowd was small. A few weeks ago at the Starlight Ballroom in Philly, there were well over 100 on the stage. How are the venues reacting to your open-stage policy?

GG: We’ve probably gotten a bit more organized with it, and that Philly date was the first show on that tour. I play shows all year round, but that was the first show with that crew. I had some extras there helping me out. I think we fine-tuned it a little bit. Back in the day, based on how this project developed, I wanted to keep it as raw as possible. I like the chaos. I like to be insane to a degree, but I’m not down really with people being hurt at a show. At some of the shows we’ve gotten to decide where. It’s just like when you’re playing for 2000 people you really just can’t have an open stage. It’s just gonna be too much. I’m kinda battling with that for a little while, and I think this tour proved to me that it’s not the worst thing in the world to get security organized to help stop people. Now, when I talk to venues, I explain to them that the majority of the audience is probably familiar with the style of show and are gonna want to get on stage. But we just kinda try to make an effort to limit it to some degree, keep it loose. I don’t ever like it to be an exclusive crew that gets to be up there, any sort of VIP club. I like it to just be people who hang out in the front row, who somehow get up there. So we’ve been a bit more organized after a few issues with too many people on stage, and this and that. So right now, I think it’s in a good place, definitely walking that line where it’s chaotic and where it’s fun. And that’s where I want to be.

Fishpork: There must be a level of trust you have with your audience to get that close to you during a gig. How do you remain focused during all that chaos?

GG: Yeah, that’s been another interesting thing as the audiences get bigger. Back a few years when you’d let people on stage, it was like, “Oh, well he is giving us this trust, and we’re going to give it back to him and help him out.” But as the size of the shows have gotten bigger, audiences have gotten more diverse — younger, older, people who are familiar with this style of show and people who aren’t. But along with that you get people who don’t really understand that level of support that I need. They’re kinda maybe thinking about themselves a bit much when they’re up there — when they’re kind of running into me, knocking things over or something. I mean, I kinda get in my own zone. And usually I find that the circle of people around me, regardless of whether they’ve been to a show or not, (that) over the course of the show understand that I need the support. They’re up there, and it does get a little chaotic. At most of the shows, the inner circle around me kind of becomes like the fence, where they’re hanging out dancing but also doing their best to protect what’s going on because the show can easily be stopped at any point. But during the show — it’s something where the set — it’s all very live, but the actual sample triggering and progress of the set are things I’ve gone over a lot. Those are the things I’ve gone over a lot, things I’ve worked on for hours in my house — so most of the set is kind of memorized. Even if I couldn’t see the screen, I would have an idea of different cues on the screen as far as which sample they are. So I’ve played over 100 shows a year for the past two years — so it’s just something where it’s become accustomed. I’m use to — all I need is my right hand. If I’m able to get a glimpse of the screen I can keep everything together.

Fishpork: What was the creative process like during the creation of Feed the Animals and how has it changed since your earlier albums?

GG: I think it’s pretty similar to my last few. The first one was really raw. Secret Diary back in 2002 was something where it was just me experimenting in my free time. I was going to college at the time. Something like — where I never sat down for a ten hour day to work on music. Whereas (with) the new one, I’m always coming up with new ideas to incorporate into the live show. This one came out two years after the one prior to it, and the editing took me about 3-6 months. It was like a year and a half of playing live shows. By the time I actually sat down to edit the album and put it together, most of the core ideas were already thought out. I kind of knew where it was going — knew where a lot of things were going to be. And then it’s just a matter of fine-tuning it. I would have to say that this album — I’m really happy with it and happy to be done. And to me it’s my favorite album I’ve done. But assembling it was kind of a dark process for me. I really locked myself away, and it was the first album where there was actual pressure.

A lot of people didn’t realize that I had been doing that for six years, and it’s just something that’s part of my life. And people thought is was a project that would die off. So on the new one, I really wanted to prove that this is my life — this is what I do.

It’s my fourth album, but I knew people were going to treat it like a sophomore effort — because people weren’t as familiar with my earlier stuff. So going into this I felt like I just had something to prove almost — just in terms of when I knew when Night Ripper came out, a lot of people just kinda dismissed that as a novelty and this one time thing — and the shows with me and a laptop. A lot of people didn’t realize that I had been doing that for six years, and it’s just something that’s part of my life. And people thought is was a project that would die off. So on the new one, I really wanted to prove that this is my life — this is what I do. And I wanted to make an album that’s better than that. So, in sitting down to do it, I put a lot of pressure on myself, and basically stopped associating with anyone I know — just locked myself away. And my girlfriend got really annoyed, because it’s all I talk about — forced her to listen to all the time. So yeah, I was definitely a weird era. I remember staying up ’til 8 or 9AM everyday, then sleeping til the afternoon and just seeing very little daylight and literally just sitting in my bedroom/studio and just staring at that screen for hours and hours and hours.

Fishpork: It was definitely worth it, man. While your songs include a sprinkling of indie rock giants like Of Montreal and Yo La Tengo, rap and pop songs make up most of the album. Why do you think you are so well received in the indie rock scene?

GG: Um, I don’t know. Where it started was as more an electronic music thing. I was influenced by guys like Kid 606, Negativland, John Oswald, all those types. Those are my contemporaries, and that’s who I looked up to in the early days. I’ve played with a lot of rock bands, rap groups — whatever — but the scene that I was most attached to was the American underground electronic scene. I definitely think that Pitchfork (the web site) — when they review anything — all of a sudden, if they give anything a positive review, it gives them a new fanbase. If they give Lil’ Wayne a positive review, then, all of a sudden, there’s going to be a whole new crew of people who like Lil’ Wayne. I think that’s just kind of the nature of that thing. For me, I follow all sorts of music, and I sample what I listen to — so I’m mainly a fan of kind of Top 40 pop these days. But ultimately with the music, when Jay-Z samples the song from Annie, it’s like that song is huge in clubs and rap fans. It doesn’t mean that those people who like that song should necessarily like the soundtrack from Annie. If you’re truly making something transformative out of samples, then ideally it would exist in its own world. There is a lot of rap and pop elements to what I do — it’s the foundation. But I try to make it transformative, and I wanna make something new out of it. Even though it contains all of these elements of radio music, at the end of the day, I hope it’s not just a mix tape of pop songs. I hope that as a collage, it becomes something else. When people from the indie rock world kind of embrace it, for me, it’s a great thing. I feel that I have transcended the source material.

If you’re truly making something transformative out of samples, then ideally it would exist in its own world. There is a lot of rap and pop elements to what I do — it’s the foundation. But I try to make it transformative, and I wanna make something new out of it.

Fishpork: You’re frequently mentioned in discussions concerning the current state of the music industry. While more established bands like Radiohead and Nine Inch Nails have released their albums in groundbreaking fashion, do you feel an artist has to be established to release music in creative ways and be successful?

GG: I don’t think so. It depends what you want out of it. When I was starting out, I would make a song and put it on Napster immediately and try to get on a message board and push it on people. And I think a lot of people do that. There’s a whole community of people pushing their own material on message boards — just giving their stuff away for free. So I think the pay-what-you-want model — if you want to make money off of that — it would obviously be helpful if you’re an established artist. But I also think that’s a great way just to get it out there. If your band is starting out, then the ultimate goal should be just to expose yourself to as wide of an audience as possible. And in doing that, if you do the pay-what-you-want thing, and if no one’s ever heard of you before, most people are going to take it for free. But that’s just the nature of music. I don’t think it should be viewed as a negative thing. That’s how bands get big in the Internet age. People get into it, and all of a sudden, people are gonna start going to your shows and buying your t-shirts, and that can ramp up into something where you can sell some records some day. Again, I think that all depends on what you want out of it. The pay-what-you-want model is a very specific version of people offering up their music just straight up for free, which is what I would guess at this point is almost the most popular way for musicians to do it in the underground world. So many people just put their stuff out there. You put up a YouTube video or do this or that. That’s what it’s about now. It’s just about exposing yourself.

Fishpork: What’s up with the “Scentless Apprentice” Nirvana cover? Is that ever going to be recorded?

GG: I have a recording of it. I maybe wanna do it. One of my best friends who does music I’m a big fan of is in a project called Hearts of Darknesses, a guy named Frank Musarra, who I do remixes with under the name Trey Told ‘Em. And his Hearts of Darknesses project I toured with recently. They did play that Philadelphia show. He’s a guy I played with a long time. He did a cover of Nirvana’s “Beeswax” sometimes, and we were talking about doing a split 7″, which I would like to do. I love the Nirvana cover. I haven’t broken it out in a long time. I feel like it needs to be documented. So I would love to do just a limited edition 7″ of that or something, just because it’s been such a big part of the live show — at least in the past. I’d love to get that out there in some form.

Fishpork: That’d be awesome, because at the Peeping Tom show in 2006, the set kind of blew me away, and, all of a sudden, it ended with that song it just brought everything to a higher level. It was really intense.

GG: Yeah, I really loved performing that, because the whole show I wanna go nuts, but at bigger venues it’s dependent on how the show’s going down. It’s like I kinda get stuck, and I literally have to be clicking a mouse non-stop. So that Nirvana cover was always a great way of — musically it was good — and performance-wise, this was my five minutes to really get in the crowd and get nuts. So I used to love doing that. The shows these days have evolved into a bit more of a party and less controversial in a way that I feel that Nirvana could be a potential bummer — like after the ending of where the sets are now — maybe not. So I haven’t done it in a while, but it’s something I really — I mean I love Nirvana, and I enjoy doing that cover. So I’d like to document it.

Fishpork: Give us one sample you have stuck in your head that you are dying to use in the future.

GG: A Capella wise, my favorite song right now it Beyonce’s “Single Ladies.” So I’ve been working with that a lot. And instrumentally, I’m trying to think about something I’ve been using. I’ve been actually trying to use Led Zeppelin’s “Dazed and Confused,” but it’s not a 4/4 time signature. It’s like a 3/4 time signature, which makes it a little complicated when you’re using a lot of rap based on 4/4 things. That’s something I’ve been working with a good bit. What else? Grateful Dead, I keep jamming that at the live set, so I’m sure it’s going to pop up on something.

Fishpork: Are you always writing, Greg? It seems like the songs get mixed up here and there and your changing stuff, but are you continuously listening to the radio, just listening to things that are in your head?

GG: Yeah, I mean it’s everyday. It’s like — the day I finished Feed the Animals, my live sets probably heavily based around that. And as soon as the next day goes by and the next week, it’s like I start sampling new things. And all of a sudden, new remixes come out, ya know, new interpretations of previous material. So I feel like the album documents a specific era of the live show, but it continually — it keeps going. There’s even elements in Night Ripper that I’ve continually remixed and liked the new version better than what’s on the album. There’s never really a finalized, correct version. The show’s just a big collage. Smaller elements are always changing. Yeah, so everyday of my life I’ll sample something. On a good day, I’ll sit down for like 10 hours and fiddle around, and that will influence the next week’s worth of shows.

Fishpork: What can we expect from Girl Talk in 2009?

GG: I don’t know. I mean, right now I’m still playing shows. The Philadelphia show kicked off the most exhausting tour I’ve ever done — just really long with shows every day. And during that time period I didn’t get chance to work on too much. So now I’m kind of getting back into weekend shows and heading over to Australia and Europe over the first couple months of 2009. Yeah, just working on small things. I would like to mix it up a little bit. I have some friends I want to collaborate with. I’m proud of the last two albums, but I feel like I don’t want to repeat that album necessarily — maybe, depending on what comes up. I would be interesting in working on individual songs with repetition in the structure and maybe doing an EP or something. I have a friend out in Pittsburgh who records under the name Skymall — who uses samples. In a way, it’s a lot different than me, but I played with him a bunch. And he played the last Pittsburgh show with me. I’m a huge fan. We’ve worked on stuff together, but I even wanna maybe do a split EP with him to kind of get his name out there. I think people would really take to it.

I’m proud of the last two albums, but I feel like I don’t want to repeat that album necessarily — maybe, depending on what comes up. I would be interesting in working on individual songs with repetition in the structure and maybe doing an EP or something.

Fishpork: Please tell us you will be at the ATP Festival that the Flaming Lips are curating in the Catskills in September. Any chance you’ll be there?

GG: I haven’t heard anything. I know Wayne Coyne is a fan to some degree. He nominated Night Ripper for Shortlist Music Prize, some contest he nominated it for. I got a chance to play back-to-back with the Flaming Lips at a festival outside of Chicago. I went on before him, and it was more of a jam band sort of crowd. I don’t think a lot of people knew me, and it just finished pouring down raining. It was freezing out, and I took the stage. And people were kind of loosening up a bit. When the Flaming Lips play, they have a big truck that pulls in for all their props. And it’s just like a big open truck just sitting there by the side of the stage. And you can go and grab whatever you want, and people are coming on stage. Wayne Coyne came out during my set. And came out and started bringing out props that were going to be used during the Flaming Lips show and sorta gave my show an extra boost. People came out in costumes, and he has these giant hands. It was cool, man. He didn’t need to do that at all. It wasn’t like I requested it or wasn’t like the show was completely failing or anything like that. But he just stepped up and took it over the edge when he hit the stage. A lot of people who were standing there were waiting for the Flaming Lips. And, of course, they lost their minds. It was really cool, and I gotta chance to talk to him after the set. And he’s a really nice dude. So, I haven’t heard anything about the All Tomorrow’s Parties, but, yeah, I definitely think it’s a potential thing.

Fishpork: Did you get a chance to talk to Mike Patton?

GG: I did, because we actually shared a dressing room. I can’t remember how that worked, but it was like me, Diplo and Patton all in the same room for a minute. He was cool, ya know. I just rapped with him for a few seconds, and he was there pretty early, so we had a chance to chat. And he’s always like — seems like a  really down-to-earth guy. Actually, when Feed the Animals came out, the Wall Street Journal entertainment section, which I didn’t even realize existed, did a story where they reached out to a bunch of artists I sampled, almost trying to be an expose sort of thing — like “are you gonna sue this guy or what?” And they went up to Patton, and they were like, “how do you feel about this?” And he said, “it’s a honor to collaborate with Busta Rhymes.” Everyone else they interviewed was like, “yeah, blah blah blah.” Patton was the one guy who was like, “ya know, it’s really cool.” So, yeah, that got me pumped.

http://www.myspace.com/girltalk
http://www.illegalart.net

Fishpork’s Ten Favorite Shows of 2008

As a collective, Fishpork attended 15 live shows this year (and there are still two more: Of Montreal tomorrow and Crystal Castles on New Year’s Eve, both at the Music Hall of Williamsburg). Unfortunately, a band does not have complete control over how well received their live performance can be. This was the case with all bands that played in our least favorite venue of 2008: The Electric Factory in Philadelphia. Although Animal Collective managed to overcome the venue’s sound limitations the best, others were not so lucky (The Mars Volta, TV on the Radio, Of Montreal). Unless Jeff Mangum announces a show here, Fishpork will avoid it at all costs in 2009. Highlights of the year included an intoxicating performance by Deerhunter, a sweaty dance party curated by Girl Talk, and a 3am secret show by Modest Mouse. These were our favorite shows of 2008:

1. Deerhunter @ The Music Hall of Wiiliamsburg
2. Girl Talk @ Starlight Ballroom
3. Enon @ Hiro Ballroom
4. Modest Mouse @ Music Hall of Williamsburg
5. Built to Spill @ Terminal 5
6. Animal Collective @ Electric Factory
7. Nine Inch Nails @ Wachovia Center
8. Radiohead @ APW Festival
9. Saul Williams @ The Trocadero
10. Battles @ Johnny Brendas

Honorable Mention:

Holy Fuck @ Johnny Brendas
Crystal Castles @ Webster Hall
Health @ House of Blues
TV on the Radio @ Electric Factory
Of Montreal @ Electric Factory

Least Favorite Show of 2008

The Mars Volta @ Electric Factory

Favorite Live Venue of 2008

Johnny Brenda’s, Philadelphia, PA

Least Favorite Venue of 2008

Electric Factory, Philadelphia, PA

Nine Inch Nails, Sesame Street Used For Torture

In a disturbing but not very surprising revelation, the music of Nine Inch Nails has been used by the U.S. military against detainees in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Guantanimo Bay. Prisoners were aurally assaulted for hours and days at a time with excrutiating levels of hard rock music. In addition to Nine Inch Nails, the blaring sounds of AC/DC, Queen, Pantera, Rage Against the Machine, Eminem, Dr. Dre, Metallica, Christina Aguilera, and Neil Diamond have been played at levels just loud enough to avoid bursting the ear drums of detainees. Even children’s songs, including the Barney and Sesame Street theme songs, have been used to “break” detainees. The Associated Press cited an FBI report where one interrogator bragged that it only took four days of alternating music and light with silence and darkness. One prisoner reported the following statement to his lawyer:

There was loud music, Slim Shady and Dr. Dre for 20 days. I heard this nonstop over and over. The CIA worked on people, including me, day and night for months before I left. Plenty lost their minds.

Recently, some artists have stepped forward to communicate their disapproval with these tactics. Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails voiced his opinion today on his web site’s blog:

It’s difficult for me to imagine anything more profoundly insulting, demeaning and enraging than discovering music you’ve put your heart and soul into creating has been used for purposes of torture. If there are any legal options that can be realistically taken they will be aggressively pursued, with any potential monetary gains donated to human rights charities.
Thank GOD this country has appeared to side with reason and we can put the Bush administration’s reign of power, greed, lawlessness and madness behind us.

Unfortunately, not all musicians are offended by the thought of their songs being used for torture. Stevie Benton, bassist for Drowning Pool recently commented to Spin Magazine, without authorization from his record label:

People assume we should be offended that somebody in the military thinks our song is annoying enough that played over and over it can psychologically break someone down. I take it as an honor to think that perhaps our song could be used to quell another 9/11 attack or something like that.

Those artists who are insulted with these tactics are doing something about it. Massive Attack and former Rage Against the Machine guitarist, Tom Morello, have officially campaigned against the use of their music for torture. Shows and festivals they are associated with will include moments of silences to voice their disgust with our government’s disregard for human rights. The campain is called Zero dB and is run by a human rights group in England called Reprieve, who enforce the human rights of prisoners. Their web site features an online petition for those who condemn the use to torture.

The Fishpork 20: Favorite Albums of 2008

Remember this era in music. It’s a special one. We’re going to look back and talk about it like we talk about the 60s or 70s. I used to miss all the great bands that came out of the 90s, but my longing for the hay days of grunge and industrial has since dissipated. Go ahead and disagree, but this is a renaissance period for music. This year was no exception. In fact, it served as an endless discovery period of great bands and classic albums. However, our favorite album of 2008 was not a difficult choice at all. Here is our list of favorite albums of 2008:

1. Deerhunter - Microcastle/Weird Era Cont.
2. Crystal Castles - Crystal Castles
3. Of Montreal - Skeletal Lamping
4. TV on the Radio - Dear Science
5. Eric Avery - Help Wanted
6. Elf Power - In a Cave
7. Guns N’ Roses - Chinese Democracy
8. Nine Inch Nails - The Slip
9. Tapes N’ Tapes - Walk It Off
10. Atlas Sound - Let the Blind Lead Those Who Can See But Cannot Feel
11. Girl Talk - Feed the Animals
12. Nine Inch Nails - Ghosts I-IV
13. Portishead - Third
14. Sigur Ros - Með suð í eyrum við spilum endalaust
15. Vic Chesnutt & Elf Power - Dark Developments
16. Ladytron - Velocifero
17. The Notwist - The Devil, You + Me
18. First Wave Hello - God Bless, Devil You
19. Fuck Buttons - Street Horsssing
20. David Byrne & Brian Eno - Everything That Happens Will Happen Today
    

Honorable Mentions:

• Dub Trio - Another Sound is Dying
• Amanda Palmer - Who Killed Amanda Palmer
• Health - Disco

Most Disappointing Albums:

• Beck - Modern Guilt
• SexTapes - SexTapes
• UNKLE - End Title . . . Stories For Film

Most Overrated Albums:

• Fleet Foxes - Fleet Foxes
• Vampire Weekend - Vampire Weekend
• Cold Play - Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends

Fishpork will post our favorite songs and live shows of the year next week. Check back soon!

Next Page »