Man, it’s been a long month.

First, I ended up at a Buddhist Temple in New Hampshire for an Asian New Years thing, which was an experience in and of itself that I wrote at more detail in a yet-to-be-published article about Pokémon. Later that same weekend I’d be stuck on a $15 Chinatown bus in the middle of a flood on the way back to NYC from Boston. One weekend later I’d be pushing my way through a thousands-thick crowd of Pikachu cosplayers at the Pokémon Diamond/Pearl launch party, held at the Nintendo World Store in Rockafeller Plaza. Until that day, I’d never touched a Pokémon game in my life. It was an experience as well, its fans no less devoted to their cause than the Buddhists I’d met earlier.

A week later, I’d be at the Sakura Matsuri (Cherry Blossom Festival) in Prospect Park, Brooklyn. Oddly, and perhaps frighteningly, there were some cosplayers there too. I still don’t know what Naruto headbands have to do with with cherry blossoms, but I didn’t really bother to ask. A few days before that I bought a new mixer (Numark DMX09) I couldn’t really afford, and had been coming to work late with bloodshot eyes on a daily basis because of my late-night musical fucking-arounds, which really isn’t good seeing as we’re supposed to be having this big website redesign project we’re all working on dilligently.

I guess I’m trying to say what I already said, that it’s been a long few weeks.

So I guess I’m trying to apologize. I set out on PopCultureShock to spread as music as far as my fingers could manage, and I’ve gotten sidetracked. But, I am coming to you today with not one but two original tunes “debuting” here on PCS, I suppose, courtesy of Bridge & Causeway, a little music whatever we run courtesy of PCS. It’s a symbiotic relationship, I suppose. I’m hoping to run more of these posts, and working on a few “exclusive” mixes for PCS. Sort of a PopCultureShock Soundtrack, if you will. Here’s just hoping I can get my shit together and keep it up on a regular basis.

So I’ve been working the new mixer hard, trying to figure out what does what, and get it set up to record right. I put together this quick little mash-up track while I was at it. It’s got some DJ Mehdi beats, off Ed Banger’s Records (check the label out if you’re still sleeping!), and vocals from Slum Village’s “Do You” (original track produced by Dilla, I believe). It was just a little test, done in one take, so the quality isn’t computer-polished or nothin’, just working out the new effects I got, but it turned out sounding catchy enough to make a few trips through my iPod on the morning commute, so hopefully some folks up on hip-hop around here might dig it as well.

DJ_Mehdi_w_Slum_Village_(a_Dylan_Garret_mash).mp3
(download “DJ Mehdi w/ Slum Village (a Dylan Garret mash)”)

Today’s next track comes from Sami Suova, out of Helsinki, Finland, keyboardist in a rather well known Finnish electro-rock-pop band (did I just make that genre up?) who’s name I’ll withhold by request, and former roommate and music collaborator of mine during his New York travels. He gave me the okay to post his latest track on PCS, a house remix of Finnish rock band The Sweeties’s “Magazine Lassie”. His remix kind of reminds me of some good ol’ Factory Records, Hacienda-style late-80s/early-90s, “love thy neighbor (and do a shitload of ecstacy)” house music. Then again, maybe I’m projecting from the time we watched 24 Hour Party People at 2am and spent half the night making cheesy house tracks on my Korg DDD-1. Our only rule was that everything had to have pianos. Regardless, this new remix of his gave me a nice, warm, old-school house vibe that made me think I need to get back into some more uptempo work myself. And hell, that’s usually the mark of a good track, when it makes you want to work on something new yourself.

So here you go, the Schmamix of The Sweeties’s “Magazine Lassie”.

Magazine_Lassie_(Schmamix).mp3
(download “Magazine Lassie (Schmamix)”)

And there you are, a little dirty hip-hop, a little house. Maybe rock next time? Don’t ever let anyone tell you PCS isn’t about diversity. Either way, ’til next time, keep those playlists fresh…

(Note: Pictures by Bridge & Causeway DJ and newfound photographer Mr. Brown, of the 2006 Winter Music Conference in Miami. The atmosphere from each one (maybe it helps that I was there when they were taken) really reminds me of what I love about music. Anyway, I’ll try and hassle him for the shots from this year’s and put them up when I can.)