From my homie James Dewulf

If you remember back in July when Posner signed, I got him a custom varsity jacket from Old 2 New Designs in Boise, Idaho. Well thanks to my friend Bo who is an Idaho-native, he made me aware of this documentary that stars Eric, the guy who helped me put together the jacket. How cool does this look?

Mike Posner put me onto this documentary following a generation of post-punk musicians who took the synthesiser from the experimental fringes to the centre of the pop stage.

In the late 1970s, small pockets of electronic artists including the Human League, Daniel Miller and Cabaret Volatire were inspired by Kraftwerk and JG Ballard and dreamt of the sound of the future against the backdrop of bleak, high-rise Britain.

The crossover moment came in 1979 when Gary Numan’s appearance on Top of the Pops with Tubeway Army’s Are Friends Electric heralded the arrival of synthpop. Four lads from Basildon known as Depeche Mode would come to own the new sound whilst post-punk bands like Ultravox, Soft Cell, OMD and Yazoo took the synth out of the pages of the NME and onto the front page of Smash Hits.

By 1983, acts like Pet Shop Boys and New Order were showing that the future of electronic music would lie in dance music.

Contributors include Philip Oakey, Vince Clarke, Martin Gore, Bernard Sumner, Gary Numan and Neil Tennant. (more…)

This video is so genius and so retarded at the same time. They got the voice over guy to read the script like he was doing voiceover for a television news piece. They also edited it like a TV news piece. It sets itself apart from any other informercial I’ve seen. Rather than invasively sell you a product, they get your attention by making the school “newsworthy.” That’s the genius part. However, if you really listen to what they are saying, it’s incredibly repetitive and very boring. They don’t show you much except what amounts to a disjointed montage of people in different factories. It’s almost like a Sesame Street segment. Absolutely mind blowing. Almost as good as JamesMakinMoney.com

Wale live on Fallon 11/10/09

Hey NYC — be sure to come out to BK tonight and see me (DDoff) spin at Beauty Bar. It should be an Elitastic time, ya smell me?

It’s only appropriate to offer you a sneak peek of what you might hear tonight, so check out the continuous mix below. Not only do you get this fresh set, but this is also the first unleashing of Wale and K’naan’s instant classic “TV in the Radio,” produced by Dave Sitek.

If you’re a fan of The Hood Internet, some of the mash-ups thrown in there may be familiar to you. Shouts to ABX and STV SLV!

DDoff – Soul On Ice Mix [click to download]

Track listing:

Wale feat. K’Naan – TV in the Radio
Mayer Hawthorne – Just Ain’t Gonna Work Out (Astronote El Camino Remix)
Brother Ali – ‘Round Here
The White Panda – What You Know About Little Secrets (Passion Pit vs. T.I.)
DJ STV SLV – Red Dress Turnin’ Me On (Keri Hilson vs. The Glitch Mob vs. TV on the Radio)
Chali 2na feat. Talib Kweli – Lock Shit Down
ABX – Cult Logic Forever (Miike Snow vs. Drake)
Jadakiss feat. Swizz Beatz – Who’s Real
T.I. feat. Swizz Beatz – Swing Ya Rag
ABX – All About the Islands (Puff Daddy & the Family vs. Volcano Choir)
Ludachrist – Soul On Ice (Foreigner vs. Young Jeezy & Akon)

Any excuse to post more MJ content. Who’s going to see the movie this week?

Get the mixtape, and even a commemorative t-shirt, at UNDRCRWN. Track list is below:

This might have aired during the superbowl. Unclear if this aired more than a couple of times on television, hence the NOT FOR AIR chyron on the tape. What an amazing piece of branding. Not sure a company could ever get away with something as blatant as this, unless done tongue-in-cheek, in 2009 without being heralded as corny. From my memory of Miami Vice and the way something like this would impact in 1985 though? Wow. Pre-internet, something like this was very powerful. Pepsi has a history of epic commercials, including extended spots with Michael Jackson (from 1984-1990), and Michael J. Fox. For a period of time in the 70s and 80s, Pepsi outsold Coke in the US. This was due in large part to their Pepsi Challenge which, because of the sweeter Pepsi formula, more often than not found blind taste testers choosing Pepsi over Coke, as well as their high profile endorsement deals. To put things in perspective, Pepsi had Michael Jackson, Madonna, Ray Charles, Spice Girls and Coke had Paula Abdul, Weird Al Yankovic, George Michael and Elton John. This is another incredible commercial. A two minute long Pepsi branded Miami Vice episode slash music video starring Don Johnson and Glenn Frey (of The Eagles) who composed the Miami Vice theme song “You Belong To The City”

which Jay Z sampled for Teddy Riley and Neptunes-produced “The City Is Mine” f. Blackstreet off In My Lifetime Vol. 1

not to be confused with the opening credits theme composed by famed producer/composer Jan Hammer