Wednesday, January 31, 2007
I was listening to
NPR on my way home from work this afternoon, and I heard them review the newest
Clipse album
Hell Hath No Fury. It is (as we've pointed out
here) is a fantastically brutal record with some of the dopest beats The Neptunes have ever laid down. NPR likes 'em. You should too.
MP3 |
Clipse - Mr. Me Too Hell Hath No FuryMP3 |
Clipse - Chinese New Year Hell Hath No Fury
Saturday, January 27, 2007
Back again after about 2 months without one of these, I'd like to focus some attention on the (now) legendary
Tricky Dick.
Formed in the western suburb of Elgin in about 1993 and consisted of Memo, Chris McCaughan, Steve Katzel, and Jeremy Hansen (who is not my boss). Since breaking up in 1998 they have gone on to play in bands such as The 4-Squares, The Broadways, Biscayne, Burn Elgin, The Lawrence Arms, Houseboy, and Seedy Sea Controversy. They sounded like a coctail of Crimpshrine, Jawbreaker, cold Chicago winters, and warm beer. They were fun and existed in the era of Chicago punk rock that I grew up with, and I'll always remember them fondly because of that.
What the band left behind is a 24 track CD
Discography of everything that the band ever recorded (and) which is still (amazingly) in print from
Quincy Shanks Records. This is Chicago punk rock. The production is terrible, the singing/shouting is (oftentimes) off key and inaudible, and the music is sloppy. In simpler terms, it is f$*%ing great. The Tricky Dick
Discography is (in my eyes at least) a must have for any fan of the Chicago punk rock sound.
MP3 |
Tricky Dick - Fair Weather Friend DiscographyMP3 |
Tricky Dick - World Gone Mad DiscographyMP3 |
Tricky Dick - Oak And Clark DiscographyMP3 |
Tricky Dick - When I Was Twelve DiscographyMP3 |
Tricky Dick - Climbing Discography
Thursday, January 25, 2007
Dustin Kensrue is best known as the lead singer and guitarist of the fabulous Orange County post-hardcore band Thrice. Well, earlier this week his debut solo album
Please Come Home was released. It is so much better than I ever would have expected even being a big fan of Thrice. Simply put,
Please Come Home is outstanding.
If you like gritty and soulful classic folk that is twisted up with the blues and has hints of melodic country, you'll love this. Reminding me of stuff like Ryan Adams, Johnny Cash, Rocky Votolato, and David Gray, this album just feels right. He's also toured solo with Ben Nichols of Lucero fame. Seriously, pick up a copy of this now.
Please Come Home is out now on
Equal Vision Records.
MP3 |
Dustin Kensrue - Pistol Please Come HomeMP3 |
Dustin Kensrue - I Knew You Before Please Come Home
Wednesday, January 24, 2007
Tuesday, January 23, 2007
Dudes. I've been busy lately and I promise I'll be a better blogger after the next few weeks. Stuff at work is crazy. I'll be done with school in 3 (count 'em) weeks. I've been sick for going on 3 weeks now as well. Tis the season I guess.
I got a package a week or two ago with a CD and some press materials as well. I lost everything but the CD that was simply labelled
Modern Mega State. On my way out to get some milk this evening, I popped the CD into the car and was amazed. What (you ask) did my ears hear? Well, it was aural sugar. Ear candy of the highest quality. It was the sweet sweet sounds of 21 year old New Yorker
Darla Rose and her autoharp. Reminiscent of (to me at least) the sounds of early Juliana Hatfield and even Frente, I can't tell you why I like this. I just do. Have a listen. Both tracks are great, but "Number One" just gets me every time. It is over before I'm ready every time. I'll just have to listen to it over and over.
MP3 |
Darla Rose - Number One MP3 |
Darla Rose - I Tried
Sunday, January 21, 2007
The
Chicago Bears are going to the Super Bowl for the first time in 21 years, and the entire city is going nuts. GO BEARS! Can you believe it? Not only did they win, but the Bears ended up killing the Saints. They KILLED 'EM 39-14. Thomas Jones and Cedric Benson has amazing games. The defense stepped up. Special teams was outstanding. To quote Quincy, "I can not believe it!"
Woo hoo!!!!! GO BEARS!!!! They'll see y'all in Miami in two weeks. No one believed and they won despite Rex. Unbelievable.
MP3 |
Chicago Bears - Super Bowl Shuffle (Vocal Mix) MP3 |
Chicago Bears - Super Bowl Shuffle (Extended Vocal Mix) MP3 |
Chicago Bears - Super Bowl Shuffle (Instrumental Mix)
Saturday, January 20, 2007
I really like this song a lot. I might actually like the Braid version better than the original. Imagine that. I remember when Morrissey toured with the Smoking Popes. This is pretty random.
PS: Anyone want to redesign this site for me? For free? Cheers.
MP3 |
Braid - There Is A Light That Never Goes Out Movie Music Vol. 2MP3 |
The Smiths - There Is A Light That Never Goes Out The Queen Is Dead
Lately I’ve been really fond of music that somehow sounds like a geographic location. One band capable of such imagery is Sigur Ros, in whose music the strikingly beautiful landscapes of Iceland come alive. Another artist I’ve recently discovered whose music has similar qualities (images rather than sounds) is
Martha Scanlan.
Martha’s previous band, The Reeltime Travelers, had a song on the
Cold Mountain OST and has toured with Alison Krauss. While not on tour, Martha makes her home in the mountains of East Tennessee and Western Montana. Her intimate narratives evoke the landscapes of both those locales.
Haunting, and oftentimes sparse, Martha Scanlan’s first solo album
The West Was Burning, is equal parts bluegrass and rootsy folk music. It is music that sounds more timeless than old-timey. It makes me (as does a lot from this genre) makes me want to get out of the city and off to the mountains.
The West Was Burning is due out February 13, 2007 on
Sugar Hill Records. In addition to her great rendition of Bob Dylan’s “Went To See The Gypsy,” I’ve also included the original.
MP3 |
Martha Scanlan - Seeds Of The Pine The West Was BurningMP3 |
Martha Scanlan - Went To See The Gypsy The West Was BurningMP3 |
Bob Dylan - Went To See The Gypsy New Morning
Friday, January 19, 2007
If a picture is worth a thousand words, how many words is a moving picture worth? An interesting question considering the title of the great new
Mission Of Burma DVD
This Is Not A Photograph. And while it certainly isn't a photograph, it is a snapshot of the Burma reunion coming together that is filled with tons of old footage and plenty of live material both old and new. Additionally, the DVD does a pretty good job of telling the story of the old Burma days in Boston in the late seventies and early eighties.
By now, just about everyone knows the Mission Of Burma story. The band formed in Boston in the late 70's and released a few singles, an EP, and a full-length record on a small indie label before the guitar player's hearing problems forced the band to call it quits. They had a small and devoted following but broke up before gaining any true national attention. During the 20 years that the band ceased to be a band, however, their legacy grew and grew.
There is no denying the power of Mission Of Burma's music and the impact it has had on so many people. I mean, its not everyday that band just rises from its ashes after 20 years of dormancy, records and releases two albums that have the same spirit and ferocity as their original recorded material. It is even rarer for a punk band. Burma's rare combination of dissonant prog rock, melody, and noisy punk sounds as vital today as it ever has. Just listen to
The Obliterati for proof.
Mission Of Burma's first tour of duty came at a time before the Internet. Before "alternative" music magazines, and before MTV's video culture. By calling it quits at (what was then) or before their musical peak, Burma's reputation was shrouded in mystery. It is now great to have documentation of that time in the
This Is Not A Photograph DVD. The DVD is informative, well done, and presents the band as many have never seen them before. Oh yeah, it's also kinda fun to see 3 middle-aged guys making the noise these guys do.
MP3 |
Mission Of Burma - Trem Two Vs.MP3 |
Mission Of Burma - Is This Where? The Obliterati
Wednesday, January 17, 2007
Do you like female-fronted alt-country/roots rock that (to me at least) recalls Emmylou Harris, Allison Krauss, and Mindy Smith? If yay, then check out The Spares. This Chicago duo has a new record called
Beautiful And Treacherous Thing full of twangy guitars, melodious songs, and the lovable vocals of Jodee Lewis. Even my wife likes this.
You can pick up a copy of the album
here.
MP3 |
The Spares - Waiting For The Smoke To Clear Beautiful And Treacherous ThingMP3 |
The Spares - You And The Moon Beautiful And Treacherous Thing
Monday, January 15, 2007
The Woods began in the woods at the foot of Bear Mountain. I'm not sure of much after that, but they have have a new album called
At Rear House coming out on the Shrimper Label (I think) today. Like many other of the groups on that label, The Woods are a wierd little band. Comprised of Jeremy Earl and Christian DeRoeck, they can best be described as catchy campfire nu-folk. Maybe freak folk. Whatever. I don't even know what that means.
Do you like Akron/Family? Sentridoh? Lo-fi backwoods Americana and the hiss of cassette tapes? The duo crafts eerie folkish tunes that remind me of a cabin hidden deep in (you guessed it) the woods. The cabin has a big cast iron stove in the center that warms it on cold nights. It has a large orange shag carpet and several fine taxidermy displays. In the corner (covered with cobwebs) is a guitar. Someone picks it up. Oh, what magic musical it makes.
MP3 |
The Woods - Don't Pass On Me At Rear HouseMP3 |
The Woods - Night Creature At Rear House
Saturday, January 13, 2007
Let's all hope (at least us Bears fans) that we get "good Rex" in tomorrow's NFC playoff match up. I'm not overly confident that the Bears can win the game, but Seattle doesn't exactly scare me either. If
Da Bears don't win tomorrow, it is because they beat themselves.
Anyhow, because I've gotten more than a few requests, I'm reposting the original Super Bowl Shuffle. Although it is a classic, the song is showing its age. What we need is an updated version for the 2006 season, or at least a remix of the 1985 version.
All that being said, it is my feeling that whoever from the NFC makes it to the Super Bowl will most likely get crushed by their AFC opponent. GO BEARS!
MP3 |
Chicago Bears - Super Bowl Shuffle (Vocal Mix) MP3 |
Chicago Bears - Super Bowl Shuffle (Extended Vocal Mix) MP3 |
Chicago Bears - Super Bowl Shuffle (Instrumental Mix)
Friday, January 12, 2007
I'm pretty busy and get a
TON of emails about the this new band and that, and I have a hard time replying to all. That being said, I got an email last week from the Chicago band
Somme. I'd never heard of them prior, and didn't think much about it.
Fast forward to yesterday when I get another email following up on my lack of response to the first one. It caught my attention so I checked out the tunes, and I think they are worth some attention. Self described as, "A spectacularly ambitious sonic marvel, owing as much to key influences Spacemen 3, Jesus and Mary Chain, as to
Slow Riot-era Godspeed You Black Emperor," I'd rather make comparisons to Isis and Pelican, but that's just me. Somme is (in fact) a duo that combines droning atmospheric guitars with thunderous drums to create and epic battle cry.
The band has a new self-released EP
Weight, that was was recorded live in one day at Steve Albini's Electrical Audio Studios in Chicago. Ch-ch-ch-check it out!
MP3 |
Somme - Massless Weight EPMP3 |
Somme - Forge Weight EP
Wednesday, January 10, 2007
If you haven't yet listened to the music of William Elliott Whitmore, stop what you are doing and stream the two tracks below.
My wife and I have been lucky enough to have seen
William Elliott Whitmore live a few times, and his performances have (without fail) floored me. Every single time. With a gruff and booming voice that has been compared to Tom Waits and Johnny Cash, he plays rural folk blues that even hardcore kids and punks can relate to. Throw some banjo, guitar, and harmonica into the mix and what you have is music you can stomp your feet to.
Hailing from an Iowa farm along the banks of the Mississippi River, William Elliott Whitmore is a scruffy, tattooed, almost punk-lookin' guy that sings these gut-wrenching songs about loss with so much conviction that he gave me chills. If I didn't know better, I'd swear his songs were 60 year old blues standards. His latest album
Song Of The Blackbird is out now on
Southern Records as well as his recent collaboration with Jenny Hoyston (from Erase Errata) called
Hallways Of Always. Fantastic songs that are great on the records, but that resonate so much more live.
MP3 |
William Elliott Whitmore - Dry Song Of The BlackbirdMP3 |
William Elliott Whitmore - Black Iowa Dirt Hallways Of Always
I've noticed that my site looks like crap in Firefox. Does anyone out there have any suggestions for fixing things areound here so that it looks good in both IE and Firefox? Any help would be appreciated.
Tuesday, January 09, 2007
Is it just me or is the new
iPhone one of the coolest things you've ever seen? I know that
everyone is writing about the new iPhone, but from what I've seen it appears to be amazing.
I also wanted to tell everyone just how much I like the Lily Allen record. She's like a female Mike Skinner and that's alright with me.
MP3 |
Lily Allen - Smile Alright, Still
Sunday, January 07, 2007
The new album from San Francisco art pop group
Deerhoof is called
Friend Opportunity and will be released on January, 23rd buy the
Kill Rock Stars label. Prior to the release of their 2005 album
The Runners Four I never really understood Deerhoof's music, but with that album it all sorta clicked.
Friend Opportunity is equally as good. It is so full of infectious melodies that are buoyed by Matsuzaki's childlike wail and the bitchy (as if they are gonna slap you in face) and bitchin' (like a hot rod) classic rock guitars.
If you've never gotten into Deerhoof before, give 'em a chance. This is a must have and instant contender for a spot on your best of 2007 year end list.
MP3 |
Deerhoof - +81 Friend OpportunityMP3 |
Deerhoof - Matchbook Seeks Maniac Friend Opportunity
Saturday, January 06, 2007
I'm scared of
Genghis Tron. The music that this Poughkeepsie trio churns out beats my ass every time. They've recently followed up their debut 2005
Cloak Of Love EP with a new full-length entitled
Dead Mountain Mouth. It is full of (again) extreme juxtapositions. I mean, anyone that would even think about combining the disparate elements that Genghis Tron does has some serious explaining to do.
Genghis Tron sandwiches industrial metalcore riffage up against dreamy electronics in a much more cohesive way that than they did on their debut EP. A grindcore masterpiece (if you will) that actually offers much more than repetitious and mind-numbing blast beats. When the band turns off the loud, they let the synth hooks creep in and the glitchy drum programming take over. This band is is like the love child of Converge and Aphex Twin. Despite the drastic time signature changes and light switch start stops,
Dead Mountain Mouth is fluid from start to finish and is definitely something that heavy music fans should check out. Its out now on
Crucial Blast Records and is fast becoming a favorite of mine.
MP3 |
Genghis Tron - Chapels Dead Mountain MouthMP3 |
Genghis Tron - Warm Woods Dead Mountain Mouth
Friday, January 05, 2007
Formed in 1979, Washington DC's
Bad Brains juxtaposed the fury of hardcore punk with the spiritual groove of reggae and although the original lineup of the band is still together today, it is (to me at least) not the same band that existed in the early eighties and is largely credited with establishing hardcore punk.
Their recently released DVD and accompanying CD
Live At CBGB 1982 (however) does a great job capturing the band at their best, right in the middle of what most fans consider their most vital period of 1979-1986. The jarring transitions from warp-speed hardcore to their Rastafarian jah anthems are evident here as well. It is a testament to the power of the music Bad Brains created that (despite mediocre sound quality and the notable absence of the song "Pay To Cum") their visceral energy still smarts.
1982 at CBGB, with Bad Brains, what could be better than that? Not much, really. This was recorded before the band became (at least IMHO) a watered-down version of what they began as. Now I fully realize that most bands (Bad Brains included) attempt to "move forward" artistically, but nothing that they have recorded since 1986 packs the same punch that their early material did.
Zach Baron at Pitchfork (of all places) almost perfectly sums it up by saying, "The audience for this kind of creaking document is clear: Those who wish they'd been there, those who were and want to look back, and those who just really, really love the Bad Brains." I am one of those who wishes they were there to see Bad Brains during their glory days. Hell, I was four years old in 1982 and only discovered of the band much much later (via Thrasher magazine I think).
Live At CBGB 1982 for me (and many others) is as close as we'll get. The DVD and CD are out now on
MVD.
MP3 |
Bad Brains - Destroy Babylon Live At CBGB 1982MP3 |
Bad Brains - Jah The Conqueror Live At CBGB 1982
Thursday, January 04, 2007
Awhile back I wrote some good things about the Boston-based twang-folk band
Joy. Well, they are at it again and have a new 7 song EP called
Sailing Days that is out now on the always excellent and always lo-fi
Shrimper Records label. It is full of sprawling twangy lo-fi alt-folk that is recommended listening for fans of Iron & Wine, Sufjan Stevens, and even Sentridoh. Have yourself a listen.
MP3 |
Joy - Tiger's Paws Sailing DaysMP3 |
Joy - Hammers And Hail Sailing Days
Wednesday, January 03, 2007
The Colour is yet another band from Los Angeles that is trying to make a big splash on a major label. It feels like we've all heard this story before, but before you pass judgement, hear me out.
I got a teaser EP from the band a few months ago and recently received their debut full-length
Between Earth & Sky in my mailbox. Overall, the album comes across like a strange cross-pollination of Black Crowes-esqe southern rock and darkly brooding new wave a la Joy Division/Interpol. An unlikely combo that (in this case) goes together like ravers and glow sticks and is weirdly palatable in the same way that MMJ's
Z is. It's not
that good, but what is? The lead single (perhaps?) "Devil's Got A Holda Me" steals a page straight from the Zeppelin songbook, and that ain't so bad either.
Between Earth And Sky is due out Feb. 6th on the EMI/Rethink Label. Peep these songs in the meantime.
MP3 |
The Colour - Devil's Got A Holda Me Between Earth And SkyMP3 |
The Colour - Black Summer Between Earth And Sky
Tuesday, January 02, 2007
Happy New Year everyone! I hope you all had a great holiday season and are ready for the year to come. 2007 is already shaping up to be the best year ever.
Have you ever heard of
Grabba Grabba Tape? I hadn't either until recently, but I am glad I did. This Madrid duo of Gros-OH!-Vot and Lol-OH!-Vot dish out noisy Daft Punkish electro pop that is is pop in the same way that Lightning Bolt is. Yeah.
In addition, they look strange (white fur and neon pink faces), they bang relentlessly on their keyboards and drums, and sing through vocoders. Almost surprisingly, this isn't a recipe for musical disaster. Their latest album
Kurt Kobaya... is brash, bold, and fun. It is out now on
Simple Social Graces Discos.
MP3 |
Grabba Grabba Tape - Jaaj Ajja: Juanlumigas en los Ojos Kurt Kobaya...MP3 |
Grabba Grabba Tape - Orangotango y Cha Cha Cha Kurt Kobaya...
