Archive | May, 2011

save my body

27 May

Great indie band name ideas: Cuddle Wars. Airplane Breakfast. Sleeper Car.  Slow Feather. Kitten Brigade. Lazy Panda.

You heard it here first. I am off to Vegas, signing out til Wednesday. Happy Memorial Day weekend!

Today’s Emo: My Body / Young the Giant (Two Door Cinema Club remix)

‘my body tells me no / but I wont quit ’cause I want more / ’cause I want more‘

My Body offers an apropos selection of lyrics before I head off to dance my face off in the desert to both Tiesto and Deadmau5. What a weekend ahead of me… I am not as young as I used to be. Funky fun Two Door beats plus smoking Young the Giant vocals makes for the perfect Friday-before-a-three-day-weekend-of-revelry indie jam. Rinse and repeat, cause I want more. #emo

Today’s Untz: Til Silvia Saves the World / Kap Slap (Swedish House Mafia vs. Miike Snow vs. Britney Spears)

‘watch me move when I lose / when I lose it hard’

Toss Swedish House Mafia, Miike Snow, and the ex-queen of pop in a blender and the result is this play inducing mash up dripping in sugar, best served in a red Solo cup. Til Silvia Saves the World  sounds like it came straight from the strobe lit floors of Bootie SF. A delightful mix of lots of oooh oooh and uh uh uh noises and clever plays of layering vocals (‘who’s going to save the world tonight’ / ‘we’ll keep dancing til the world ends‘)…. I am guiltily drinking it up. #untz

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feeling fire

25 May

Today marks TUATE’s 51st post! Very nice. When I started this back in January, I didn’t know if I would have the focus or time to keep it up, and while at times it has felt like a self-inflicted and silly burden, for the most part I have really enjoyed this project and the opportunity to share one of the things that makes me the happiest.

WordPress collects the search engine terms that lead to referrals to your blog, and since I launched there have been some real gems. Beyond lots of creative iterations of the words untz and emo and lots of sappy song lyrics, there have been some additional awesome searches like “untzbury” “neil young license plates” “untz.ca dating friends” “robyn call your girlfriend not gentle” and my all time favorite from two weeks ago, “drunk girl bay to breakers panhandle she ok” (clearly I must have been spotted that weekend).

Here is to 101.

Today’s Emo: Speaking In Tongues / Arcade Fire


‘come out of your head / and into my world now’

Arcade Fire made a grumpy, sleepy Tuesday quite a bit better by premiering two new tracks, Speaking in Tongues and Culture Wars, to be in included in a re-release of The Suburbs this summer.  The songs were recorded with the rest of Suburbs and definitely share the melancholy, rolling sound of the neighborhood.

While neither track is causing me to lose my shit like Bon Iver’s new album, both are more than pleasant. Speaking in Tongues, featuring David Byrne of Talking Heads, is my favorite of the two, sounding like a less dreary Suburban War. Can’t wait for Outside Lands. #emo

Today’s Untz: My Feelings for You / Avicii and Sebastien Drums (the Prototypes remix)


Things are about to get a little bit heavy sounding, and a lot bit fun. Came across this take on My Feelings for You on Hypem the other day in the midst of the daily grind, and couldn’t wait to get home, turn the speakers up and free these beats from the my headphones…. this is the type of untz that begs to be played loud.  I have my dancing shoes out and ready for Memorial Day in Vegas and this is the perfect backdrop for a warm up. #untz

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bon wombat

23 May

We survived! Hooray! To quote my favorite Party Cat, we should celebrate.

Today’s Emo: Perth / Bon Iver


‘move dust through the light / to find your name’

Two Bon Bons in two weeks because the new album (which I may or may not have gotten my hands on thanks to the iTunes leak) is blowing my mind and headphones and speakers in a gentle ethereal manner since it’s un-release. I am floored by this song, its little drummer boy beats that become drummer man beats, and the way it makes me want to visit Australia and disappear into the outback. Enough said. #emo

Today’s Untz: Techno Fan / the Wombats (Afrojack remix)

‘the lasers fill our minds with empty plans / I never knew I was a techno fan’

One of my favorite people and untz companions Alex g-chatted me this track on Friday, and it went on repeat for the afternoon and into the weekend. Afrojack needs no introduction, but The Wombats are new to my ears and thus have been Wiki’ed. The bats are a group of Indie pop youngsters from England who sound like early Bloc Party, and Techno Fan is off of their January release, Jump into the Fog. Gladly. #untz

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coyote spring

20 May

My mom flies into SFO this afternoon, and I am looking forward to a weekend filled with good food, time at the park, afternoon tea and Nordstroms. She sometimes reads TUATE from my Facebook links (where she likes to also leave wallposts like ‘Dear Tory, I miss you! Love, Mom’), which is great except when my posts reference musical attributes like bedroom pop and songs best intended for behind closed doors.

Anyway, she adored the post I wrote on my dad and his Neil Young obsession, although temporarily freaked out that I had shared our home internet password with the entire worldwide web, and contacted my father in a panic, who promptly assured her things would be OK. She then foolishly admitted all of this to me over the phone for fodder, thanks mom!

Today’s Emo: Always Spring / I’m From Barcelona


‘somewhere it’s summer / somewhere it’s always spring’

Whiny but tasty on the ears, I’m From Barcelona is the type of band that both the younger, naive emo-lustful me, and current, more musically developed me could both enjoy. Always Spring, off of the group’s recent album Forever Today, offers pleasant trickles of horn, clap along beats, and earnest, concerned vocals emitting convincing though somewhat mindless lyrics.

The group is comprised of nearly half of Sweden, with the band boasting a whooping 29 members at its peak, and I find myself curious what some members are up to in this track that sounds like it was produced by a fine tuned quartet. Group size and hide and seek aside, I appreciate a dose of carefree music to help make it to the weekend. #emo

Today’s Untz: Starchaser / Coyote Kisses


During college I spent a magical semester studying abroad in Chile and my favorite bar in Valparaiso was called Coyote Quemado (flaming coyote), making Coyote Kisses an alluring find before I even listened to their songs. Sarchaser definitely lives up to the idea of flames over besos, and this track stretches my threshold of untz to its limits, but I like it. Playful, poppy beats on beats, hard sounds without being harsh, and like most good electro, some surprises interwoven throughout. Fiyah! #untz

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strfkr lament

18 May

Two posts in two days feels a bit like pulling a double rainbow, but it is nice to get back on track, and there is music to be shared, even if it is occasionally squeezed in before meetings.

I was listening to songs and reading through a few older posts the other day, and realized there is scattered bitter sentiment about being trapped in the corporate jungle from time to time on TUATE.  Yesterday was my one-year anniversary at my job, and as much as my nature may occasionally fight being prescribed to a 9-5+ day, “reaching out” and exhausted, computer screen poisoned eyes, it has been a really great year for me here overall. So occasional bitching and moaning aside, cheers to that.  And cheers to music for drowning out the bitching and moaning.

Today’s Emo:  Lament / Mount Moriah


‘if this will be anything / than let it be over’

Mount Moriah breathe some fresh North Carolinian air into the indie music scene, with a little bit country, a little bit rock and roll and lots of tambourine. The duo’s self titled debut album dropped April 12th, and I have enjoyed earfuls of  slightly rough but girly vocals and guitar laced melodies dripping of sweet Americana. #emo

Today’s Untz: Julius / Starfucker


‘picture your body / hearing your voice / fall into your eyes’

My favorite Portlandians just dropped a music video for one of the best tracks off their new album, Reptilians, and I have revisited and put on repeat. I have been dying to see Starfucker live since I caught the last few songs of their show at Rickshaw Stop a couple months back.

I will forever more call missing a show due to poorly timed arrival / miscalculation of door opening and opener set times as getting “starfucked” and will not let it happen again. Luckily STRFKR will be playing Outside Lands, so I can redeem myself come August. Might need to camp out outside GG park with the homeless the night before, just to be safe. #untz


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call calgary

17 May

A brief disruption from my usual Monday/Wednesday/Friday untz and emo delivery schedule due to far too much fun this weekend and a sleepy, slightly uninspired Monday. Thank you to the few loyal listeners who reached out to make sure I was still alive after my failure to post. To make up for my tardiness I present two magical tracks. Enjoy.

Today’s Emo: Calgary / Bon Iver


‘who goes in and then stays inside / oh the demons come, they can subside’

The Bon is back, delivering Calgary off his upcoming self titled LP as the perfect umbrella for these folds of San Francisco rain and gusty bay winds. I listened for the first time this morning with bated breath and the highest of expectations, bracing myself for potential disappointment. Expectations were all exceeded.

The gentle rolling drums, that haunting voice, the sigh inducing lyrics, the layers of folky goodness laced in at the end… this is everything I expect from the man who locked himself into the isolation of a Wisconsin cabin in the woods for three months to emerge with For Emma, Forever Ago far too long ago. I cannot wait for the rest of his new album, but until then will be curling up into this on repeat. #emo

Today’s Untz: Call Your Girlfriend / Robyn (Feed Me remix)


‘don’t you tell her how I give you something that you never even knew you missed / don’t you even try and explain how it’s so different when we kiss’

OK, so it is never a great idea to promote being “that girl,” wrecking a home and the instigation of someone elses heartbreak. Accordingly, Robyn’s Call Your Girlfriend is pretty mean, and definitely infringes on girl code. To her defense, the girl has been screwed over enough times in her other songs, whether she is dancing in the corner on her own watching you kiss someone else, missing her ex with every heartbeat, or never having him at all… so I suppose she can be a bit nasty and fight for what she really wants, just this once. Especially when Feed Me tosses in serious untz and makes her home-wrecking sound so wicked fun. Just watch your back.  #untz

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wash and waste

13 May

One of my favorite San Francisco holidays is only days away, making this a very squirmy, hard to focus work week. The 100th annual Bay to Breakers arrives this Sunday, swarming the streets of the city by the bay with unicorns, beer floats, barbarians, Care Bears, a few actual professional runners, contact highs, and men in diapers or a lot less.

This will be my third Bay to Breakers but instead of entering it with the confidence of a pro, I am worried the fun police hired by new corporate sponsor Zazzle may rain on the parade more than the weather forecast. During years past, I have gotten nothing but smiles and thumbs up from the city’s finest as I’ve pranced down streets in blonde wigs, furry cat hats and lots of fishnet, but sadly this year threats for legally stopping the mayhem seem more serious… literately the slogan from Zazzle is “we’re serious.” Ugh. They are promising drunk tents for detainment of the obliterated. Time to go camping!

Anyhow I have a fun house party to attend off of the Panhandle to hide from the rain and the feds, but I truly hope that San Fran does not find itself stripped of another one of the events that makes it so great. RIP Lovefest. Long live B2B!

Today’s Emo: Waste / Foster the People

‘you know it’s funny / how freedom can make us feel contained’

Another track dropped off of Foster the People’s upcoming full length debut, and I am loving it. Like Helena Beats and Pumped Up Kicks, this song drips of good old MGMT from years past, and it is nice to have that void filled with fresh young talent. Hopefully unlike MGMT, Foster the P can actually carry a live performance, because I will be seeing them at Outside Lands this August.

I like the sentiment behind the song, about sitting next to someone you love while they sort out some shit in their head, about letting them know you aren’t going anywhere while they do. Heavy stuff expressed with simple lyrics and set to a happy, more lighthearted backdrop. FTP for FTW. Again. #emo

Today’s Untz: Eyes Be Closed / Washed Out (SposhRock remix)

Lately I am discovering that chillwave is the perfect genre for me: untz and emo majestically rolled into one. While the wave’s signature sleepy beats are not ideal for dancing my face off, they hit the spot for most of life’s other moments… leisurely runs, long hours at work, driving with the windows down, semi-conscious early AM muni commutes, and everyone’s favorite time behind closed doors. Toro y Moi, Teen Daze, and Blackbird Blackbird are all finding themselves on heavy rotation as the soundtrack to my life.

This remixed Washed Out song is the perfect addition, oozing with sleepy happiness and a touch of Enya. The track is off Washed Out’s upcoming Sub Pop release in July, Within and Without, and the LP’s cover leaves little to the imagination for which of the above listed activities it is best suited for. Just saying. #untz



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about levels

11 May

There are few better ways to fall asleep than with bass still ringing in your ears, drum beats vibrating through aching feet from dancing, and the heat from a live show pulsing in your veins but somehow still allowing you to drift off into a post concert blissful coma. Thanks to last minute tickets from the lovely Lisa, I was just floored by TV on the Radio at the Independent, and am happily sinking into said slumber.

Today’s Emo: About Today / The National


‘today you were far away / and I didn’t ask you why’

A favorite from the vault, although this one was discovered much later than when it was produced. While I was listening to Maroon Five and Ashlee Simpson and busy wrapped up in soccer practice, prom dates and graduating from high school in the spring of 2004, the National was busy releasing their Cherry Tree EP and crafting this subtle masterpiece which has come back to haunt me and delight me seven years later. Seven years, wow.

I didn’t come across this song until last fall when I started hungrily losing myself in all things The National, and I didn’t fully lose myself into About Today until spring when it started to hit quite close to home. I love the strings, the simplicity, the gaps between words. Mostly I love how it explains the lingering sting of words left unsaid. #emo

Today’s Untz: Levels / Avicii

A quick change of pace. This song is appropriately called Levels, because I hear layer upon layer build onto each other like a well played Tetris game of untz. Avicii is a very Nordic looking Swede who is showing some amazing talent for a twenty one year old, tossing in vocals from Pretty Lights’ Finally Morning between his own blocks of beat laced synth. This is the the kind of music that makes me mourn that it is only Wednesday. But it makes Wednesday so much better. #untz

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just go girlfriend

9 May

Things were getting anti-climatic and very chilly on the bleachers at the Giants game on Friday, so we cut out at the bottom of the 8th to beat the cab crowd only to have the Gigantes take back the game during the 9th. Luckily we made up for this by dancing our faces off at a pajama party at the Mezzanine. Some killer untz, and a reminder of why San Fran/the Mezz rocks… the pajama theme did not translate into skanky lingerie but rather fluffy bathrobes and lots of boxers, flannel and plaid. Cuddle time!

Good that I got some fun in because I spent a lot of the weekend working. The plus side of working at home is headphones get traded in for Bose. That’s the only plus side.

Today’s Emo: Girlfriend / We are Trees

‘talk to me girl / I never wanted it to end this way with you’

First came the Boyfriend EP, and now comes le Girlfriend EP from We Are Trees, a bedroom pop duo that resembles a slightly less funky Beach House with a side of Long Walks on the Beach. Dreamy vocals and teenage heartache dripping in every word. I like. #emo

Today’s Untz: Just Go / Germany Germany ft. Steffaloo


‘if you think you’re better off alone / just go’

Beautiful. Germany Germany becomes my most posted artist with today’s third appearance on TUATE. Everything I come across from Canadian Drew Harris, I adore, but I have had a really hard time classifying this one…. untzy emo, or emoy untz? Opting for untz due to the beautiful beats passing through my speakers right now, but there is definitely something simple and sad in the vocals amidst the deceivingly upbeat synth.  An age old question we have all asked ourselves at some point or another…. as Alice Deejay put it- do you think you’re better off alone? #untz

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dramatic holidays

6 May

Work has been so busy that I haven’t had the time to find good music during the day or the time after work to write about it. But here is good music, and a few words.

Today’s Emo: Wolf Like Me (TV on the Radio Cover) / The Holidays


‘dream me oh dreamer / down to the floor / open my hands and let them weave on yours’

There is something sexy and mischievous about this take on a TV on the Radio classic. The original is arguably untouchable, but Aussies The Holiday give this a brave go, in part releasing the cover in tribute to TOTR’s recently deceased bassist, Gerard Smith. A solid listen that has me revisiting the original.

We’re howling forever. #emo

Today’s Untz: Too Dramatic (the Kids are Radioactive Remix) / Ra Ra Riot

’cause you’re too dramatic / I don’t understand it’

My coworker Tom is a fellow music nerd and revelry lover who also has his own blog, originally named BlogJuice. It has been nice to have someone to ping during dragging midweek afternoons about shows, tracks and fun happenings… helps keep my inner untz happy amidst the cubicle dividers and florescent lights and professional speak. While some of BlogJuice’s stuff is a bit too hardcore for my day to day, it is all pretty solid, and this Ra Ra Riot remix posted earlier in the week hits the spot.

The Syracusian indie rockers get hopped up on something radioactive and I can almost taste the weekend here. So close. Giants’ first pitch is at 7:15 tonight, and I will be there on the bleachers soaking it in, hopefully a few beers deep. #untz

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