There is man who is really not any more man than he is a razor blade gun. He’s a razor blade gun, loaded with paint balls or something – as all razor blade guns are compatible for paint balls, right? The mere mention of razor blades is because a guy’s gotta feel tough from time to time. Jason Forrest, who used to go by the moniker of Donna Summer (100-percent un-tough) – a disco queen/diva, may not need to feel tough all that often, but occasionally it feels good as novelty feels good. Given the option, however, and Forrest – an artist gone electronica who now resides in Berlin with his wife – would pick tough as shit. The paint balls would be his ammunition, despite the glaze of hard ass that he portrays, only because we’re talking about songs that conspire with various remnants of 80s pop and rock and not just the punk motherfucking rock that he tends to find most likeable. That with dissonance and a disagreeable temper should be what he butters his bread with and he does to some extent, but it’s actually the music made for the top 40 lists and that he knives up like a meal and pieces together before he takes pleasure in completely annihilating his babies. He blisters it out of his laptop, tagging it with knuckles, which brings blood, and then thrashing to his music the way a swimmer does to get that last drop of water shaken from the ear canal. His show is a physical show and his music is physical music, but it comes from all directions, landing body shots in all different colors and combinations, shifting from aggression to agile movements of the popular world and then back again, getting all humid and acting with heavy breath. Surely, Girl Talk wouldn’t be half of what it is without a guy like Forrest to emulate or study. Forrest is going the route of the silent performer becoming a front man – Albert Hammond Jr. zooms quickly to mind – and forming the Jason Forrest Band, in which he writes songs that still receive an electronic treatment, but are churned out with live instrumentation and come to us as a hybrid of Neal Pollack, Andrew W.K, Gorillaz and himself, just in a more straight-forward manner. This happens because with the songs on his non-band albums, Forrest can be a quagmire, mystically creaming all of these different songs together – sometimes with an overall purpose – and letting the listener go forth and formulate whatever kinds of explanations they want. It’s actually led to numerous interpretations of songs that have been turned into videos by amateur video makers who now are personal friends with Fatboy Slim and high rollers like that – simply because Forrest’s songs were open-ended in their frothy forcefulness. The band is in its first unveilings less shadowy and more about the party that’s always been in the splicing, just never let fully out of the bag. Forrest chose the digression and it will be interesting to see where the road leads.

One
Day Of the Triffids
Yes, I’m officially a Triffid fan. We can’t decide if we should loathe the walking-orchid turned human carnivore, or simply root for them. After convincing my wife to sit through the 1962 original version, I remembered something about a gun that shoots razor blade triangles and cuts off the triffid stalks, but it was not in evidence in the film. Then I found a little torrent called “BBC Day of The Triffids, 1981 whole” or something like that. Watched it and found my razor blade gun! If you have absolutely no idea what I’m talking about check “here”:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Day_of_the_Triffids. It’s VERY thorough…

Two
Deerhoof
Yes, I’m officially a Deerhoof fan. Friend Opportunity is — to me — one of the very best records of the indie-rock movement. It’s basically a band at their creative and recording height. I’m been obsessively listening to it for weeks now, and I never get tired of it. I know some people out there are haters on the vocals, but they work sooo well! The guitar is somehow both fierce and really restrained, and the drumming — well I think they have a lot more in common with breakcore than most people do. Awesomeness.

Three
Torrents
Yes, I’m a torrent-er. I’ve given in and it’s changed my life for the better. Now seemingly any media from any time is only about 30 hours away from being seen and/or heard. We live in Berlin these days and it’s been damn nice to see the Oscar nominees, and various TV shows basically right after they happen.

Four
Heroes & Lost
Yes, I’ll admit it. I’m a god-damn Heroes fan too. Ever since Lost it seems that a hand-full of TV people give a shit about making a decent story. While I find both shows a bit long-winded when they get to explaining the obvious, they are still both good shows! Also, I’m watching a bit too much Metalocalypse.

Five
Booty
Duran Duran Duran started me listening to Booty music, and I’ve spiraled across to B’more house music too. The dirtier, the nastier, the better! Also, I’m amazed at how cut-up and hectic it is! Mixes great with Dj Technorch!

Six
Dutch Cheese
God damn those evil Dutch people for making the most awesome tasting cheese ever.

Jason Forrest’s Daytrotter Session
Jason Forrest’s Official Site