M83 – We Own The Sky / Kim & Jessie

Two great songs. Certainly the meaning of song is being rewritten at this stage, they’re more electro pop tracks with lyrics. But they’re sweet. M83 & MGMT are leading the way back to 80s esque music. The 80s led to the dirty garage rock of the 90s (Nirvana) and its ‘alternative’ brethren now, and the electronic sound of 80s music disolved into its own genre of “nobody listen’s to techno” as rapped by Eminem.

Nirvana with Teen Spirit

Luckily in the late 9Os bands were trying to bring it back again, and now finally we’re seeing more blending of the lines between rock/pop/electronic.

Stereolab – Les Yper Sound

(The above is a crappy version of how I see the perfect blend of electronic & rock music from the late 9Os early OOs). Certainly Kim & Jessie, We Own the Sky, Electric Feel, Kids are all very electronic rock. Last year we had the huge success of Peter Bjorn & John’s Writers Block Album. That was my album of 2008.

I’ve since retired it, but I could listen to those beats and rhythms endlessly. I love the fact that the styles are blending. My too favorite types of music in one. Hooray. I think Prodigy was an early band to put catchy lyrics to a hardcore electronic song, and now we’re seeing the cooling off of the steam, with lighter more versatile tunes that can blend the lines of alternative and electronic, almost unnoticed.

Prodigy – Breathe

M83’s Kim and Jessie is a fun track with a deep 80s music feeling. It would fit in perfectly on the Donnie Darko sountrack right next to Notorious by Duran Duran. It’s soft and sunny attitude dances along on a sunday afternoon.

We Own the Sky is a more trancy electro rock song. This is my new closing time song when i’m turning back the registers at work and shutting everything down, i turn up the stereo as loud as it goes. It lacks the big beat of the trance sound, but the repetition and poppy flow is all there.

There are just so many different variations right there on the electronic rock thing right now. There will certainly have to be subdivisions. Animal Collective, Panda Bear, Battles, there are a lot of contenders and with great tunes. I’ll probably have to hit up these three next. And see where the story takes me. For now go download Mr Tiddles by Sasha off the Airdrawndagger album.

M83’s Last.fm blurb:
Antibes, Nice, France (2001 – present)
M83 (named after the spiral galaxy “Messier 83”) is electronic artist Anthony Gonzalez. Gonzalez and former member Nicolas Fromageau founded the group in 2001 in Antibes, France.