A Taste:

Justice, Daft Punk, Peaches

You can’t properly go to outer space without a good chunk of electronica on your iPod. Just ask Powerman 5000’s Spider One.

In order to get into that galactic mindset that makes Somewhere on the Other Side of Nowhere so damn epic, he spent a lot of time cranking the best and brightest names in modern electronic music. Spider one shared his playlist with ARTISTdirect.com editor and Dolor author Rick Florino in this exclusive feature. Check it out below and be sure to pick up Powerman 5000’s latest album, Somewhere on the Other Side of Nowhere available everywhere now!

Spider One’s Playlist:

1. Justice

2. Daft Punk

3. Peaches

I’m not listening to much. After a show when I’m on the bus, I’ll put a movie in. When we were making the record, the last music I dove into was stuff like Justice, Daft Punk, Peaches, trying to get a handle on that world and bring a little bit of that vibe into what we were doing.

4. Powerman 50000 — Somewhere on the Other Side of Nowhere

Unfortunately, with the reality of the world, we can’t have a 50-foot spaceship land on stage. We can’t quite get there yet [Laughs]. We’ve definitely stepped it up a little bit production-wise on this tour. We touch a little bit on each album, but we really lean towards the new stuff because the new material has been getting the biggest response.

—Rick Florino
11.16.09

Check out Rick Florino’s new novel Dolor available now for FREE here…

A Taste:

Beach Boys, Justice, The Animals, Ratatat

Cobra Starship’s dance-y pop rock never fails to “Make them good girls go bad!”

On their latest album Hot Mess, the merchants of pop dance ecstasy light up one infectious anthem after another. They’ve got the groove to make any dance floor go off, and they’ve got enough melody to make you hum all day. It’s quite the combination, and the perfect mess of melody and mischief.

Guitarist Ryland Blackinton has a very diverse taste in tunes. He opened up his iTunes and gave ARTISTdirect.com an exclusive look at what he’s spinning. Check out Ryland’s playlist below and pick up Hot Mess now!

Ryland Blackinton’s Playlist:

1. The Creation — “Painter Man”

2. The Animals — “Please Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood”Classic Animals. This is also one of my favorite videos from the 60’s. Eric Burdon walks around so nonchalantly while he lip syncs.

3. Ratatat — “Mumtaz Khan”

Ratatat’s newest album, LP3, really blew my mind. They started using a lot of Middle Eastern percussion and this song, in particular, has one of the best baroque guitar riffs I’ve ever heard. Seeing them live is psychotic.

4. The Beach Boys — “In My Room”

Brian Wilson perfectly encapsulates the sense of security one feels in his respective bedroom. This song also has some of the most beautiful four-part harmonies they’ve ever done. The album art [for Endless Summer] is crazy too. It features strung out mountain man drawings of them hiding in the grass. Way far out.

5. Patrick Cleandenim — “Motorik”

Patrick just recently released Orange Moonbeam Floorshow in the States, and it’s the best dance album to come out in a while. He used to make this really Bacharach-y piano pop music, and I fully back his movement into electronic dance music.

6. Crystal Stilts — “Prysmatic Room”

Like hearing a song you’ve loved in the past, the Stilts have an amazing nostalgic quality. I remember the early demos had so much reverb it sounded like the music was drowning. I can’t put it on without listening to the entire record.

7. Dinosaur Jr. — “In A Jar”

8. Justice — “Planesphere Part II”

Insanely dark and classical…Even more impressive that it was madeexclusively for Dior Homme.

9. Breakbot

This guy just got signed to Ed Banger records and basically every remix he’s ever done is better than the original. Hopefully we’ll be seeing an album of his soon!

10. Talking Heads — “Naive Melody”

Perfect song. David Byrne once said, “The better the singer, the harderit is to believe them.” It’s true, though not a pitch perfect performance, you get every word of the song. I also love that weird little warbly synth sound. The live version on “Stop Making Sense” will make a Talking Heads fan out of anyone.

—Rick Florino
08.31.09

A Taste:

Michael Jackson, Crookers, Justice, Chromeo

Taboo of The Black Eyed Peas isn’t afraid to step outside the box.

On The E.N.D. (Energy Never Dies), he helps elevate The Black Eyed Peas’ signature sound to a whole new stratosphere. On the album, B.E.P. has incorporated flourishes of European electro and dance music into their unique hip hop, and it’s a sonic concoction that’s undeniable.

Taboo also pops up in Streetfighter: The Legend of Chun-Li, busting different kinds of moves than he’s used to rocking on stage.

In this exclusive feature, he opened up his iTunes and shared his playlist with ARTISTdirect.com. Check it out below!

Taboo’s Playlist:

1. Michael Jackson

I’m listening to Michael Jackson, dude. I know it’s cliché, but right now I’m all about Mike. Mike has been one of the biggest inspirations to our group. The fact that Will.i.am got to work with him and produce some of the songs on his hopefully his upcoming record is incredible. God forbid, those songs never get to see the light of day. They’re amazing. Will played them for us, and we were blown away by the chemistry that they had on the record. Hands down, Michael Jackson was one of our biggest inspirations as far as performing and musical genius.

2. The Crookers

3. Justice

I’m listening to a lot of electro right now; we’re in this electro mode!

4. The Presets

5. Kraftwerk

6. Chromeo

7. MGMT

8. David Guetta

—Rick Florino
07.06.09