I gave Orbital a few more listens after I heard 50 Cent raving about his favorite electronic act of the 90s. I don't think much of In Sides because it's really not that good, but I found a rather nice album in Orbital 2. So thank you 50 Cent and your eclectic taste in music and your wonderful performance in Get Rich or Die Tryin'.

Orbital- Halcyon+On+On

-John

This is a music appreciation blog, but for today I must digress into something far more important, the essence of fanboys. This video transcends all emotions.

I first heard Marconi Union on sansserifmusic (Wed. 8:00-9:00 pm). The host of the show thinks they're pretty great, so I think they're pretty great. It makes my day when an adorable woman breaks the latest in ambient, dub, and house music.

Marconi Union- Sleepless

-John

This is electronica on the grander scale. A soundtrack set to the bleak, haunting future. Vangelis brings about an apocolyptic beauty to his pieces, finding deliverance in the inescapable. There's a life-affirming quality to these songs that I respond to. I figure once I can't recognize the beauty in these songs, I've lost all feeling.

Vangelis- Light and Shadow

Vangelis- Rachel's Song

-John

Scales is being touted as Matthew Herbert's most accessible record to date, and the claim becomes evident immediately upon first listen. This isn't the fractured collage experimentalism of Plat du Jour; rather, Scales strongly recalls Herbert's work on Roisin Murphy's Ruby Blue. It's not surprising that songs on both of these albums are almost interchangeable; Dani Siciliano - who provides the vocals on this record - has the same loungy and soulful quality as Roisin Murphy. In any case, Herbert's latest is a very strong collection of songs, and should appease appreciators of his jazzy, IDM beats in a pop-song format.

Matthew Herbert - Birds of a Feather

So for me, Hot Chip is turning out to be the Out Hud of 2006. Hot Chip is set to release their second full-length lp, The Warning. It's a much more polished affair compared to their first album, and with the DFA's backing, there's no reason why this band shouldn't blow up the indie circuit. They're masters at creating a groove, and they should get bottoms shaking when they hit the Subterrenean on 3/20.

Hot Chip - And I was a Boy from School

-David

Have you noticed how often I declare my posts as the single of the year. In the past month, I have claimed everything from TI to Madonna to be the best songs ever recorded. I'm sorry. I just don't know any better, but I have to be right with Marit Larsen. This song has handclaps!!!, ergo single of the year.

Watch the video first.

Marit Larsen- Don't Save Me

-John