I received an email reminder today about this video from Brooklyn indie-rock artist, Ariel Aparicio; it’s a cover of the Psychedlic Furs punk classic Pretty In Pink. The original rock number featured on his latest album, All These Brillian Things, is a beautiful ode to a friend stricken with cancer. Pocketknife turned that sweet, melodic version into a synthetic house number with a noticeably darker, tougher,  yet resonant flavor. Ariel’s guitarist from his back up band provided a few licks over Pocketknife’s sublime, moody electronic instrumentation.

Funny, I was thinking, Ariel, hmmmm? Do I know this guy? I dug a little deeper and found out that yes, I do know Ariel! He and his partner co-own two of the hottest Thai restaurants in Brooklyn, JOYA and SONG.

When I lived around the corner from the JOYA in Carrol Gardens, I was a regular. The food…fantastic! The atmosphere is modern and industrial with exposed brick that is softened with local artwork and floral arrangements. Both restaurants feature DJs on the weekends. In fact, I loved the place so much, I even had my wedding reception there. The marriage didn’t last, but the memories of all my great friends from Brooklyn and others who came in from around the country to celebrate, as well as the inspirational sounds of DJ Ray Velasquez, will live with me forever.

That being said, Ariel is one of the sweetest, most genuine human beings I’ve ever hard the pleasure to meet. Although his first album didn’t catch my fancy so many years ago, it’s great to see that he’s kept at it and is hitting his stride. Like that spicy thai cooking emanating from the kitchens at JOYA and SONG, this one is just is as spicy.

The video is currently being spun on MTV’s LOGO channel. It held the number one spot on the channel’s The Click List program, and has since been nominated to The Click List Top 10 of 2009.

Download the House Mix of Pretty In Pink from

I always loved Arrested Development for their socially inspired rhythms. Here’s the premier of their latest video, “The World Is Changing.” For more on Arrested Development, check out their web site at http://www.arresteddevelopmentmusic.com

– by Tony Zeoli

Google and Facebook will be adding music to their offerings through agreements with iLike.com, Lala.com and Imeem.com. According to a NY Times blog post, next Wednesday, Google will announce a new feature of its popular search engine that will return with search results music files hosted by a iLike and Lala. If a user types in a search for Tiesto or Kaskade, the search results will provide links to pop-up music players and the user may stream the tracks directly from the search engine, without having to go to the sites themselves.

Facebook will add Lala to its Gifts shop. Many Facebook users already purchase credits to send personalized messages to friends, like birthday e-cards. User will soon be able to purchase tracks for 10-cents and share them with friends to stream or simply purchase tracks for $1 and then download.

In related news, MySpace announced that videos from recently acquired, iLike.com, will appear on throughout the Facebook platform.

For more on these stories, check the following sites:

• http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/10/21/hot-on-heels-of-google-facebook-to-take-first-step-int-music/
• http://mashable.com/2009/10/21/facebook-lala/
• http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Google-MySpace-Facebook-make-apf-2162130000.html?x=0&.v=9

They’re from Australia and have been around a few years, but I’d never heard of Sneaky Sound System, until that is, I caught a friend’s post on Facebook for the music video “I Love It.” I was instantly struck by lead singer Miss Connie’s (Connie Mitchell) sultry, evocative and playful vocals. The group’s sound is similar to Duran Duran with a tiny twist of Dee Lite that is long lasting and timeless. “I Love It” is an instant classic.

Little did we know, Sneaky Sound System have achieved double platinum status in Australia, achieving four number one singles and two ARIA Awards. I am absolutely enthralled with this band and am amazed no one has picked them up here stateside. They did recently play a New York date in March, then headed to the Winter Music Conference for a little networking. I’d love to see what happens with this group and hope they something happens for them here. I think they’re genius!

You can learn more about Sneaky Sound System on their web site.

Axwell produced this video postcard from WMC 2009. The audio sounds really nice! Love Axwell’s tracks, which you can check out on MySpace. He’s definitely come on the scene in a big way.

His most recent, “Leave The World Behind,” is blowing up worldwide. Sorry, no links yet avail from iTunes to purchase. You might want to check Beatport for this track.

Axwell’s upcoming gigs:

Apr 10 2009 8:00P Spin, San Diego, USA – San Diego
Apr 11 2009 8:00P Avalon, Los Angeles, USA – Los Angeles
Apr 12 2009 8:00P Bal en Blanc, Canada – Montreal
Apr 30 2009 8:00P Pacha ,Sharm el Sheikh, Egypt – Sharm el Sheikh
May 15 2009 8:00P INOX, France – Toulouse
May 22 2009 8:00P Catwalk, Barcelona, Spain – Barcelona
May 23 2009 8:00P Venue, Athens, Greece – Athens
May 31 2009 8:00P Paradise Bay Beach, Malta – Malta
Jun 4 2009 8:00P Skive Beach Party, Denmark – Skive
Jun 5 2009 8:00P Forum, Denmark – Copenhagen
Jul 4 2009 8:00P Stade de France, Paris, France – Paris
Jul 18 2009 8:00P Extrema Outdoor Festival, Holland – Best
Aug 12 2009 8:00P SHM@Greenbeat Festival, Croatia – Zagreb
Aug 21 2009 8:00P Catwalk, Barcelona, Spain – Barcelona

The original was produced by Stonebridge for Champion Records, but it’s back for a remix treatment by Steve Angello and Laidback Luke. The video…eh…a little weak, but what did you expect in these harsh economic times—a masterpiece? No, we didn’t think so. Just enjoy the music and forget about the tacky motion graphics. You might like the second video, which is a collage of a bunch of live dates from around the world.

Steven Angello & Laidback Luke Remix:

Original Stonebridge Extended Remix:

Here’s 10 hot−no wait−cool videos culled from YouTube for your enjoyment. I’m not saying they are the best videos, but they certainly give you and idea of what was going on at WMC this year.

1. Swedish House Mafia

Swedish House Mafia (Axwell, Sebastian Ingrosso & Steve Angello) dropping their new track “Leave the World Behind” (Dirty South remix) at Beatport Pool Party during Winter Music Conference 2009 in South Beach.

2. Way Out West at the DJ Mag Party

3. ROGER SANCHEZ – BANG THAT BOX LIVE FROM MANSION WMC 2009

4. WMC 2009 Promo – Dubfire @ BEATPORT Pool Party w/ LEE KALT – House Music TV 167

For when you want to WATCH more than you want to LISTEN… DUBFIRE of DEEP DISH takes the stage at REMIX HOTEL – BEATPORT Pool Party. JESSICA and MALINDA show the crowd that good looks and hot bodies go perfect with house music. The crowd is all fired up as the “DEEP of the DISH” takes us all on a mid-afternoon tour of the Underground.

5. WMC 2009 – Louie Vega (WhodanyTV.com)

“Little” Louie Vega rocking the party at the Beatport stage during WMC 2009, Miami Beach. He is half of the famous production team Masters at Work.

6. Sharam- party all the time @ Cameo March 25th WMC 2009

7. Lil Jon + Diplo @ Mad Decent WMC 2009 Pt. 1

8. Steve Lawler @ DJ Mag Pool Party, Shelbourne WMC 2009 03/25/2009 3

9. Ultra Music Festival 2009 Miami – Carl Cox day 2

10. Armand Van Helden – “Where’s Your Head At” @ Mn2S Nikki Beach WMC 2009

On the way to Winter Music Conference 2009, but first, a little discussion on video blogging.

On the show this week Pete features the video for ‘Everytime We Touch’ from David Guetta and Chris Willis with Steve Angello and Sebastien Ingrosso, ‘Everybody’ from Rudenko, the Mickey Moonlight remix of ‘Ulysses’ from Franz Ferdinand, ‘Science Fiction’ from French Miami, an interview with Luke Walker, a competition to win copies of Mr Oizo’s new album and the Bedroom Bedlam Chart. There is also a mix from Ridney in the ‘Exclusives’ section of the website.

Drugs Are Bad feat. Patci – Jason Rivas Club Mix

Drugs Are Bad feat. Patci – Jason Rivas Dub Mix

Drugs Are Bad feat. Patci – Jason Rivas Instrumental Mix

Drugs Are Bad feat. Patci – Jason Rivas Radio Edit

Drugs Are Bad feat. Patci – Hy2RoGeN Vocal Mix

Drugs Are Bad feat. Patci – Hy2RoGeN Radio Edit

Geez, Kanye seems to have his music video cannon set to rapid fire. After releasing his Olympic-themed video just two weeks ago, he’s out with a new clip for Good Morning, which is a sweet little anime video featuring furry creatures and a hover Delorian. Good times.

-Melanie Donnelly

Kanye West – Good Morning [V]

I stumbled upon this video by Dntel (AKA Jimmy Tamborello from The Postal Service) on YouTube, and it’s worth a watch. The song, “Rock My Boat,” is just lovely, featuring vocals by Mia Doi Todd, and the video incorporates some arrestingly homespun animation.

The song can be found on Dntel’s 2007 Sub Pop release, Dumb Luck.

-Melanie Donnelly

This Radiohead video has been making the rounds on the intertubes for a few weeks now, but the methods used to create it are so crazy that it deserves a little extra attention. Not content to use anything as conventional as, I don’t know, cameras or lighting, Radiohead’s team used the following methods to produce this Tron-meets-Apple-IIE-and-executive-pin-art video:

“…Two technologies were used to capture 3D images: Geometric Informatics and Velodyne LIDAR. Geometric Informatics scanning systems produce structured light to capture 3D images at close proximity, while a Velodyne Lidar system that uses multiple lasers is used to capture large environments such as landscapes. In this video, 64 lasers rotating and shooting in a 360 degree radius 900 times per minute produced all the exterior scenes.”

Confused? Me too, a little bit. Check out the making-of video on Google to shed some more light on the process, and while you’re there, download Radiohead’s visualization data and create your own video.

Radiohead – In Rainbows

- by Melanie Donnelly

This is one of more favorite tracks of all time from LTJ Bukem. His groove is flawless. Simply a genius. Enjoy!