Back when I used to skate, oh yes I once did, I loved listening to a lot of thrash-punk hardcore. Bands like Agent Orange, Descendents, Fugazi, Minor Threat, 7Seconds, Bad Brains (endless list) and a ton of straight-edge. That raw, fast, harsh sound with heavy distortion still sticks with me to this day. Thrash never sounded so good, especially on the dance floor and when it has been produced or remixed by a favorite Frenchie, Simon DeLacroix – The Toxic Avenger.

Toxie’s music is the epitomy of that heavy, beautiful distortion. Upon hearing his remix of ‘Sexual Earthquake in Kobe - Love with Chloé Sevigny,’ I immediately fell in love! Brash, bold, distinguished elements that create Toxic’s sound. Not a newcomer to music, he’s been creating it for quite some time, dabbling in various genres and signed to the growing iheartcomix Records within the past year. It isn’t just the Ed Bangers that hold court in France these days.

Intrigued by his music, I decided to do some research on “the Toxic one”. Of course I found some more great music Toxic Remixes but not much information on him – Well, not in English, just French! So for those that desire to know a bit more, and can’t “parlez français”, get to know this poker playin, rockstar dreamin, comic lovin, trash ragin, super-hero!!!!

Toxic Avenger - Superheroes (Toxic Avenger rmx)

Toxic Avenger - Stage Divin’ <– ACE exclusive track!!

Lovestar: Tell us a bit about the man behind the mask, Simon DeLacroix, “The Toxic Avenger”.

Simon: Oh! Is there really a man behind the mask? The thing is, I don’t even remember when I first put this mask on and why I put it on?! Maybe it’s because I’m pretty shy, and the mask helped me exteriorize myself while on stage… Otherwise I don’t know what I can tell you about me… I’m a hoodie collector, I’m a big fan of The Smiths, (Morrissey’s band), and a big fan of Weezer too. I live in Paris (where every stranger thinks is THE place of the new French electro sound, which is totally wrong! Like.. “Tell me please where I can see busy p or Justice playing!!!” “Well … they’re in Japan for the moment…”).

Lovestar: Do you find similarities between yourself and The Toxic Avenger, the comic book character that you dubbed yourself after?

Simon: Yeah! In the movie Melvin is an awful guy, he becomes The Toxic Avenger so he can save the world and be with beautiful girls – That’s exactly me!

Lovestar: Did you ever have aspirations to be anything other than being a musician or was this what you wanted to be for as long as you can recall?

Simon: NO! I’ve played music in bands since I was 12yo. First in punk bands – I was the guitarist and the lead singer. Then in some hardcore metal bands who had little success (one band, “Comity” have continued on without me, you can find it on myspace). Time passed and I fell in love with a girl who was working at an electro radio station and also fell in love with this style of music. It was, I don’t know, maybe 8 years ago. I started to create music with a low budget computer. It sounded soooo bad so I added some heavy saturation to it.. And it sounded pretty good! That is how my sound was born.

Lovestar: Along with creating music under the name ‘The Toxic Avenger,’ you also are involved with other projects – including an electro rock band, The Black Milk and the hip-hop group, Ed Wood is Dead Please tell us about the three.

Simon: Well, Ed Wood is Dead is a band that celebrates B movies via Hip hop music and comedy; I do instrumentals on this one. The Black Milk is an electro rock band where I play guitars & synths. The goal is to do the anthem of the century. Well… We are still working at it!

Lovestar: What led you to make the kind of music that you do – your inspirations/influences?

Simon: OST of 70’s / 80’s B & Z movies! Every vulgar dance tune, worst Emotronic bands with Autotune, Kylie Minogue. I love easy emotion in music – you (more…)

It was a grand celebration, judging from the enormous crowds and the mass amount of photos that have surfaced, it clearly was a mega event! Shame, I did not go; rather stayed clear of the extreme humidity Chicago was experiencing last wknd for Lollapalooza. It seems sitting on ice was the way to go!

Did everybody know when they kept repeating ‘Lollapalooza,’ ‘Lollapalooza,’ over and over, what the word meant? I wondered, so I looked into it. Amongst a few other meanings, the term Lollapalooza refers to a large lollipop (or “all-day sucker” one of which is held by the character in the festival’s original logo), quite fitting I’d say. (thanks Wikipedia)

Before the moment of it all passes away – the stench washes off your trainers from the beer and piss – the lingering sweat from the person rubbed up next to you on your shirt – here are some images that scream MEGA-MUSIC-FESTIVAL!!

And if you missed it this year as I did, and decide to venture to it next – the Chicago Park District and C3 Presents agreed to a five-year, $5 million deal, keeping Lollapalooza at Grant Park in Chicago until 2011. By that year, we will all be recycling, right?

As always, photo thanks to Clayton Hauck where everyoneisfamous
Lolla Day 1 / Lolla Day 2 / Lolla Day 3

Tony Wilson, a visionary whose persona became as immortal as the bands he signed, died today at age 57. He was most well-known as the co-founder of Factory Records, owner of Madchester hub The Hacienda, and the man who signed such legendary bands as Joy Division, New Order and Happy Mondays.

for more info check out NME and Wikipedia

you might wanna rent the Madchester bio-pic 24 Hour Party People and have a movie night in his honor .

So, since I am such a kind and generous person as well as a dashing stallion, I thought, in honor of my new mix featured on Discobelle’s exalted “Mixin’ It Up” series, I would make as many of the tracks from the mix available for download as I could. I won’t go through the trouble of describing each track to you as I’ve already done that over on Discobelle, so download the tracks here and then go listen to what I done did with ‘em over there and enjoy.

Justice feat. Uffie - The Party (LA Riots rmx)

Leonard De Leonard - Leonizer Fever

Jess & Crabbe - The Big Booya

Dark Globe - Auto-Erotic (Chad North rmx)

Deejay Punk Roc - My Beatbox

Para One - Clubhoppin’ (Small Saul rmx) <–from Palms Out

Fafa Monteco - Vous Voulez De La Musique (Sebastian Leger rmx)

PS: I was curious as to who was the top ranked music blog that I frequent on technorati.com and the results appeared thusly:

- Discobelle: 3400th
- Fluokids: 3621st
- Palms Out: 4161st
- Big Stereo: 5790th
- Missing Toof: 9807th

Interesting.

When Ms. Lovestar informed me that our favorite prodigious producer, Lillica Libertine, has sent us another barnstormer of track, I begged and pleaded with her to allow me to do the post, since she did the last one (see post and interview here). I LOVE Lillica’s music. It’s so hard and heavy without being angry or mean and sneaks its way into my sets quite regularly. This one in particular rocks with a simple complexity that is his signature style and is a nice distorted builder to get them kids moshing proper.

Lillica Libertine - Manhunt

When you’re a gal with arms as long as legs, a 35-inch inseam, hands bigger than your face, and feet longer than, well, a foot…. you have a propensity to acquire the ever-so-charming label of (dun dun dun….) GOOFY.

That’s me: Goofy. No need to sport a warning, or stencil “Hi Im uncoordinated” onto a name tag for my cardigan. NOT that you’ll ever catch me wearing a cardigan (well, in public)(ok ok, at least not one with a nametag), Its written all over my lengthy stride, and the chair i most likely just bumped into (then yelled, “watch where youre going!”).

Regardless, the law of goofy clearly states one very important, universal rule:
Thou Shalt Not Dance… Ever

And I dont. ever.

But with the official Daft Punk and The Rapture After Party taking place tonight… all bets are off. I mean, how will I resist!? How could anyone resist?! Im so excited I could just bust a move right here at my desk! I wont, because that might cost me my job (as its sure to appear to my boss as an aggressive war negotiation move, or possibly a deep-jungle-salary-angst-attack?) But who knows, maybe ill be able to shed my painfully awkward bends and shakes, and meld them into a graceful barrage of twists, leaps and flips (inspired by Buffy, but minus the wooden stakes, obviously). Odds are, not. Although, the time has decidedly come to prove that, if there’s a good enough lineup on the turn tables, the dancin’-chance is one worth taking. Even for the goofy. Yes! yes. Tonight, might just be ….THE night.

Whether or not this plan works out, I should take this opportunity to mention to anyone coming tonight, that they might want to bring along a few extra layers of clothing* for safety, because, like it or not, I shall be dusting the dance floor with endless excitement and enthusiasm. After all, how often, is there an OFFICIAL After Party, For Daft Punk AND the Rapture, IN New York, AT Studio B…. one thats actually AFTER a Daft Punk/Rapture show! Ill tell you what, not very damn often.

*hockey masks, goalie pads - those kinds of things. You get the point.

After a huge weekend in Chicago (or anywhere for that matter), we are mid week and I have a feeling many are fiending for more continuous great music whilst back at work, twiddling their thumbs and staring at their computer screen. It’s popped up everywhere, and it’s that sweet of an hour mix, that I had to repost. This will help tide you over til the weekend!

EROL ALKAN – Global Gathering 7.28.07

Klaxons - Atlantis To Interzone Sample + Erol Alkan Sample
Dusty Kid - The Cat
Justice - Phantom Pt. II (Soulwax Nite Version)
Proxy - Decoy
The Black Ghosts - Face (Switch Remix)
Larry Tee Feat. Princess Superstar - Work It Out (Herve Goes Low Remix)
Duke Dumont - Lean & Bounce
Kanye West - Stronger (Diplo Work Is Never Over Remix)
LA Priest - Engine (Erol Alkan Edit)
Boys Noize - And Down
Les Petits Pilous - Jolie Fille
Eurythmics - Sweet Dreams (Erol Alkan Edit)
Brodinski - Bad Runner (Auerdem Acid Edit)
Justice - Stress (Erol Alkan Edit)
ZZT - Lower State Of Conciousness

Erol Alkan – Live at Global Gathering

Lollapalooza Friday Aug 3. - The Dafter Party

Busy P - Shot Callin’

“Chicago, I love you but you’re bringing me down.”
I think that just might be the next song Kanye West samples, I’m sure LCD will give it up. (At least they made it in.)

The Rapture’s Throne Of Blood, Ed Banger, Daft Punk, & Mas after party at Green Dolphin in Chicago reached capacity faster than anticipated. The line was a bit much, bands that played the festival were escorted thru the side door, but Kanye West showed up toward the end of the evening, and must have missed the message. Ironically, he had just left the studio, hanging with Daft, and the boys invited them to their party to get down in a night of Chicago madness. Unfortunately, the venue reached capacity, and security didn’t care who anyone one was. Kanye, wasn’t the only one, Fall Out Boy - Pete Wentz was also a little too late.

DJ FUNK

Thanks to Sean Dorgan from Klicking And Screaming, Ellei Johndro from Shadowscene and Joey Carmelo from Bluebelongs for the photos!
More pics and party! Mas-Forever.com

Just about finished with North America and touring in general (for now), and fresh from Lollapalooza, there are only three dates left to catch them in action. However, if you really do want to literally capture them in action (and have it featured in a music video), this bit of news just might be for you.

On this lazy Sunday I thought It was time for me to highlight a band that have been blessing me with so much joy of late – Friendly Fires.

They are the cream on my chocolate sundae, the chocolate digestive biscuit to my cup of tea, they are just so darn good…I think you get the idea. Since hearing ‘Photobooth’ I frantically searched for more of their musical delights and found what I was looking for in the infectious and addictive ‘My Love’ a cover of Jamie Principle’s acid house classic. This track immediately won me over, and with Friendly Fires adding their own unique twist on this old classic it became reminiscent of falling in love all over again!

I seriously urge you to check out this St. Albans three piece – they will have you in a daze. With another three track EP ‘Cross The Line’ also out now; grab a copy this second before they all vanish from the face of the earth!

Lead track on the EP ‘Strobe’ is a laser-driven love song, with lead singer/writer Ed Macfarlane getting deep and personal over a bittersweet melody that quite simply hooks you in. Second track ‘On Board’ is more of a mutating leftfield floor shaker with chanting vocals and rattling percussion riding a fat, funk-laden bassline. Finally, ‘Bring Out Your Dead’ comes howling out of the fuzzy silence at 100mph, gleefully sporting a demented swamp-disco bassline, careering guitars and yowling imprecations to bring out your non-living. Not bad for a home recording, done in singer Ed’s bedroom.

If like me you want to feed your Friendly Fires addiction further, why don’t you invest in one of their flashy t-shirts by emailing here: friendlyfiresband@gmail.com for availability.

For eons (ever since we started this blog) I’ve been wanting to do a feature on my good friend Zebo and I just couldn’t find a good time to do it. But now he has unveiled the first release of his new record label S.E.S. Records and I’d say it’s the perfect time to show him off.

I met Zebo back in 2001 at a house party where we happened to both be playing. At the time he was (and still is) a devout ragga junglist and i had just given up jungle for french/filter house. Since we were both into ragga and he was playing it better than just about anyone in the city. We’ve been friends to varying degrees since then and, by chance, we both happened upon B-more at around the same time as well. He gave me some of the tracks that he was making and I was thoroughly blown away. My favorite, by far, was his take on the Chicago classic “Chicago Southside” by CZR and it became a standard for any set I played outside of Chicago:

Zebo - Southside Refix

Along with that he gave me a quirky, fun remix of “Double Dutch Bus” by Frankie Smith:

Zebo - Bus That Dutch

and this nice, gentle, instrumental tune:

Zebo - Love & Hate

Zebo continues to make some of the best b-more (white boy b-more as the old originators call it) that you’re going to find and with the introduction of his new label S.E.S. Records, started with longtime partner Abducted, he’s already known as a leader amongst the b-more elite. The new record actually has my favorite thing he’s ever done, a sly little mash of Slick Rick and a classic, piano house sample with a great break.

Zebo says: “We are proud to present S.E.S. Records out of Chicago. Our first release features two tracks by BIRD PETERSON and one track from Zebo and one from Abducted.”

A. Rockit Remix

AA. The Breaks Remix

B. Abducted - No No No Remix

BB. Zebo - We Likes

You can buy the wax exclusively through turntablelab.com

And lastly heres a brilliant mix from Zebo for you to make sweet, sweet love to.

Zebo Furious Styles Sparks Mix

Tracklist:

Image taken off Busy P’s My Space

Pizza bringing people together? Busy P, and Kanye West at Lollapalooza, with a box of Chicago’s famous deep dish pizza from Giordanos. Eat that. Read up on Busy P’s Daft Punk tour blog at the fader.