Kraftwerkin’ Day and Night was going to be the title of a section of my record collection, but it swelled into a behemoth of synthesizers and I had to change the game plan. Now, Kraftwerkin’ Day and Night is a blog section dedicated to the day-to-day activities of one lowly freelancer (that would be yours truly) who listens to things that sound like Kraftwerk while trying desperately to make a name for herself. I’m posting these updates because I get a ton of questions about working freelance. Maybe this will help. Maybe it will be entertaining too. I don’t know.

I work from a home office deep within the confines of Greater Hipsterville. Every day, I sit at a desk cluttered with Sanrio and San-X stationary. It’s totally kawaii. Unless I have to go out for an interview, I wear my freelance uniform. That’s yoga pants, a band t-shirt, a hoodie and Target socks decked out in funky patterns. When I run outside, I slip on Chuck Taylors. They don’t necessarily match my socks. Today, I’m wearing a Nine Inch Nails shirt that I bought when the Downward Spiral tour came to Los Angeles. Yes, that was 18 years ago, but there are no holes in the shirt, so it’s okay.

I am a consummate professional.
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Just the other day, I was wondering, what the heck is ADULT. doing these days. The duo from Detroit won my ears, and plenty of others, with their visceral electronic sound more than a decade ago.

Dear readers, this is why we should always follow the bands we love on Facebook. Today, ADULT. posted this video of a video by Nicola Kuperus and Adam Lee Miller called “Rise & Fall: Repeat.” It was taken last weekend at Dlectricity, “Detroit’s Nighttime Exhibition of Art + Light.” I would have love to seen this whole event in person. Even better, though, is that their Dlectricity bio says, “New ADULT. music releases are planned for this winter.”

My copy of “How Soon Is Now?”

Wondering what the most popular posts on Beatique were this week? Here’s the rundown.

1. Chris Corner Turns to PledgeMusic to Fund New IAMX Album, Hits Goal in Under an Hour

This is the most popular post on this blog ever. Thank you to Team IAMX for the Facebook link love.

2. Why I Kind of Wouldn’t Want a Smiths Reunion

The Smiths reunion rumors started and ended once again this week. This is where I stand. Always.

3. I <3 Synthpop at Club Underground on Friday Night

I ended up not playing the songs mentioned in the post at Underground on Friday. It happens. If you’re curious, here’s the set list.

4. ‘The Passion of the Groove’: From Sheila and B. Devotion to Alacazar

I love disco. Hope you do too.

5. Celebrating One Whole Year of Freelancing

A year goes by fast.

There was an interesting story that ran in the Wall Street Journal last week about Japanese record buyers who scour the U.S. for 99 cent bin finds that they can sell for far more than that in Japan. From “Japanese Collectors Face a Record Shortage of Obscure Music”:

In this game, a well-stocked Rolodex means getting first dibs on records instead of rifling through crates once they’ve been picked over. Osamu Ueno, an independent record buyer, says he moonlights for a Japanese buyer as its eyes and ears in San Francisco—for a 10% finder’s fee. Mr. Ueno wouldn’t give details, fearing prices of mentioned CDs would rise, but he offered this: “When you find these CD titles, they’re usually in the clearance sections for 99 cents.”

Much of what the Japanese want goes for higher prices. Collectible artists in Japan include female pop singers like Patti Page, whose “(How Much Is) That Doggie in the Window” was a 1950s hit, and 1980s teen idol Debbie Gibson. A “Doggie” record-single goes for $5 in the U.S. and $30 in Japan, while Ms. Gibson’s LPs can fetch $200 on eBay. The Japanese “like sugary sweet pop,” collector Alec Palao says.

But some things, like privately pressed novelty records, are “rare for a reason,” says Mr. Vague, the Long Beach dealer. “No one wanted them in the first place.”

$200 for a Debbie Gibson album? I wonder how much someone could get for the cassettes? And by someone, I mean me, if, in fact, I can find my copies of Out of the Blue and Electric Youth on cassette.

I can’t believe it’s been more than a decade since The Faint released Danse Macabre. This wasn’t the band’s first album, but it was definitely their landmark album. I was a resident DJ at Bang! here in Los Angeles back in 2001 and quickly became obsessed with playing so much of Danse Macabre. “Agenda Suicide” and “Glass Danse” were biggies, as was “Your Retro Career Has Melted.” “Let The Poison Spill from Your Throat” might have gotten some play too. Then there was the fantastic Thin White Duke Mix of “The Conductor” that was really popular at this electro party I did called Transmission.

True story: I randomly ended up DJing at The Faint’s stop at the Troubadour while they were touring with Danse Macabre. Somebody I had never met called me up that afternoon and asked if I would do it. Even weirder was that I was scheduled to interview them for Outburn magazine that same night. So, I ended up DJing the show and interviewing them. At that time, it was one of the most exciting work days I had ever had.

Turn-of-the-century flashbacks aside, this is a phenomenal album and one that rightly deserves an extra-special release. Go ahead and check out the free track available via the above widget. The remastered, deluxe edition comes out on October 30. The Thin White Duke mix of “The Conductor” is on the bonus disc, which makes this absolutely worth your while. Here’s the tracklisting, per a recent press release.
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Recently, I was invited to a screening of The Odd Life of Timothy Green at Disney’s studios. It took me a little while to get together everything I wanted to say about the movie. The following might contain spoilers, I can’t say for sure since I don’t really know what constitutes a spoiler.
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Hi Everyone,
I’ve neglected blogging, and a lot of other stuff too, because I’ve had my nose buried in some freelancing that has nothing to do with the things I write that you might actually read.
Somehow, in the midst of that, I managed to spew four stories that you did read. At least, I think you’ve read them because you’ve been tweeting, sharing on Facebook and all that good stuff. I want to thank you for that.
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