The Twin Cities’ culture gurus vita.mn is hosting Minneapolis’ best New Years Eve party tonight at Loft over Barfly. Above the Fold favorites Solid Gold and Le Castle Vania are featured performers during the party. The night will also feature DJ sets from world turntable champion DJ Klever and ’08’s indie firestorm, Hercules and Love Affair.

Tickets are available at Vital Culture

Don’t miss out on the best way to ring in the new year in the Twin Cities! We’ll see you there!

• MP3: Hercules and Love Affair – Blind (Hotline Remix)
• Le Castle Vania – Zero Machine
• Hollywood Holt – Caked Up (Klever Remix)

Signing off for a few days…..hope your holidays are enjoyable!

The Twelves – B-Live Rio Films ‘Louco Por Musica’ from Bacardi B-Live on Vimeo.

Being that the holidays are all about giving (or something like that), Discobelle and Bacardi B-Live felt it was only proper to dole out some killer remixes to spread the holiday cheer. Brought together by BB-L, The Twelves and Cicada not only rocked the BB-L party, but also rocked a couple of remixed tracks of each other’s work… Thanks to Discobelle we have them for you.

• MP3: Cicada’s – Metropolis (The Twelves’ B-Live Rio rmx)
• MP3: The Twelves – Be My Crush (Cicada’s B-Live Rio rmx)

It has been three years since Kill Memory Crash has had a full release with Ghostly International. They were nice enough to send over their recently released EP titled Of Fire last week. The lead track Ever Experienced sounds like it would be perfectly fit for a futuristic vampire film based in the dark ruins of New York, or maybe their hometown Chicago would fit better. The electric grind at the base of the song mixed with its dim, concentrated vocals give it the darkness that paints the aforementioned scene. The group taps into their industrial, rock roots in Hell on Wheels. They use an array of abstract noises to fill out the rock based track. Hit + Run was featured on Ghostly Swim, this spring’s release that combined Ghostly International and Adult Swim. This track is high in intensity and may be the most repeat friendly on the album. Of Fire has an ability to turn intensity into a captivating 25 minutes and will likely be the most out of the box album you have liked in a long time.

Purchase the album HERE

• MP3: Kill Memory Crash – Ever Experienced

Do you have any idea how hard it is to pick out any reasonable number of favorite songs for the past year? My music library widened exponentially this year. After sifting through and picking out 20 songs, I realized my list is rather representative of my entire collection. Here are the songs that were burned into my ear drums this year (in no certain order):

1. Santogold – L.E.S. Artistes (XXXChange Remix) – This remix is better than the original
2. The Magnetic Fields – Drive on Driver
3. The Slips – Girls at the Back Up – This London duo can glitch with the best of them. This track is definitely a floor banger!
4. Kings of Leon – Sex on Fire – The Kings made a statement in 2008 with this lead single off their new album
5. Kid Cudi – Day ‘N Night (Crookers Remix) – This remix takes the darkness of the original and turns it into a DJs dream, just don’t watch ‘the video’ cause Cudi will go all Kanye on you.
6. Lil Wayne – Lollipop (Kanye West Remix) – ‘You can have a bag if you’re a snacker’
7. Boy Crisis – L’Homme – This may be the next great American band…even if Pitchfork thinks the exact opposite…This track is by far one of the year’s best
8. Thunderheist – Jerk It – I can’t wait for this Canadian duo to make their move on the U.S. in ‘09. Anyone who promises someone will go home pregnant at every one of their shows knows how to throw it down
9. The BPA – Toe Jam (Feat. David Byrne) – This track’s positive tones, created by a Fatboy Slim/David Byrne fusion is such a fun, easy listen; and the video is one of the year’s best!
10. Mates of State – The Re-Arranger – Always a sucker for lighthearted, hopeful love songs
11. MGMT – Kids (Soulwax Remix) – Thank you Soulwax, you took something great and made it better
12. Sunny Day Sets Fire – Teenagers Talking – This international supergroup was on our radar all year. Its hard to pick just one of their songs.
13. HEALTH – Triceratops (Acid Girls Remix B) – ‘Are you bleeding?’
14. Natalie Portman’s Shaved Head – Confections – Best song of the year about sweets
15. Ratatat – Mirando – This duo’s 2008 album ‘LP3′ took their intricate noise making to a new level.
16. Santogold – Lights Out (Diplo’s Panda Bear Edit) – The choral ‘Comfy in Nautica’ vocals add such a sexy tone to this song
17. David Byrne – Everything That Happens Will Happen Today – Classic Byrne/Eno
18. T.I. – Whatever You Like (Remix Feat. Ludacris, Flo Rida) – Been all over this song since Fall.
19. M.I.A. – Boyz (Wale Remix) – WALE’s verses on this remix added the energy to give this track a secondlife
20. Solid Gold – Get Over It – Minneapolis’ best up and coming band…can’t wait to see what ‘09 brings

There have been all kinds of remixes of Thom Yorke songs floating around since this album dropped almost two and a half years ago. A compilation of several of the remixes was released in Japan this year. It may be old news, but I just thought I would put you on to some of these tracks as they peaked my interest when I saw it. After all the Radiohead hysteria this year, it makes these solo tracks seem even better.

• MP3: Thom Yorke – The Eraser (XXXChange Remix)
• Thom Yorke – Harrowdown Hill (The Bug Remix)
• Thom Yorke – And It Rained All Night (Burial Remix)

Speaking of Burial, he did that blog post in October saying there would be a new album soon. We are looking forward to that possible release in ‘09. Til then how about some more remixes?

• Burial – Archangel (Phaseone Remix)
• Burial – Archangel (Nomad in the Dark Re-Edit)

Mason Proper front man Jonathan Visger is experimenting with the depths of his creativity under the guise Bug Lung Baby, and best of all: It’s free! Performed and arranged by Visger, the tracks ooze out of the indie box, lifted by hip-hop like programming / sampling.  The new EP entitled Trilobite Trash can be found, for free download, on RCRD.LBL

After a tour with Hot Chip and the release of recent LP The Singles (Rong, DFA); Avant-electro/dance punk/electronic/noise (you get the idea) group Free Blood is hitting the road again:

Free Blood Dates:
01/08:  Los Angeles, CA @ Dance Right at La Cita
01/09:  San Francisco, CA @ DNA Lounge
01/10:  Sacramento, CA @ Old Ironsides
01/11:  Seattle, WA @ Chop Suey
01/16:  New York, NY @ Le Poisson Rouge

You may recognize the name from his recent remix, with Switch, of Santogold’s Creator, but FreQ Nasty has been in the game for a long time as one of the originators of dirty, grinding bass sound.  With a new LP in the works, and Fabric Live 42 under his belt, FreQ Nasty is rocking it, dirty as ever, and we’ve got the track to prove it.

• MP3:  FreQ Nasty vs Propa Tingz – Peachmaker (DUB)
• MP3:  Santogold – Creator (Switch vs FreQ Nasty remix)

Since word broke of Andrew Bird’s new album coming out in January, a lot of people have been abuzz. Nobel Beast will be available January 20 and a physical only release of limited edition Useless Creatures will be released as well. It features instrumental tracks with Andrew Bird and band members.

A U.S. tour will begin in January as well. The tour will make its way to Minneapolis’ State Theater on April 11.

Check out the first track off the new album:

• MP3: Andrew Bird – Oh No