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November 30, 2006
The bubble
[Cred: AP Photo/Claudio Bresciani]
"French rider Olivier Garcia rides his horse Emir et Djugut inside a giant plastic bubble during training for the grand opening of the Stockholm International Horse Show at the Globe Arena in Stockholm, Sweden, Nov. 29, 2006. The three-day indoor horse show starts on Friday and is expected to have an audience of over 70,000 the biggest yearly event at the Globe Arena."
I want to see them get the horse into that thing. Youtube?
Previously:
Flaming Lips bubble @ Red Rocks.
Posted by Merry Swankster at 02:12 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
AllofMP3 shutting down
Russia is shutting down cheap-o download site Allofmp3.com (link via CNET).
Russia has agreed to shut down Allofmp3.com and other music sites based in that country that the U.S. government says are offering downloads illegally.The nation has struck the agreement with the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative as it seeks entry to the World Trade Organization. The U.S. has suggested that it would hold up Russia's acceptance in the WTO unless leaders there took action against digital piracy.
"Russia will take enforcement actions against the operation of Russia-based websites," according to a press release issued November 19 by the U.S. Trade Representative. "(Russia will) investigate and prosecute companies that illegally distribute copyright works on the Internet."
On Wednesday, Allofmp3.com was still operating. Gretchen Hamel, a spokeswoman for the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, said that she didn't know when the deal requires the Russian government to begin taking action.
I checked and the site is still operational. A company spokesman appears to be in denial.
"AllofMP3 doesn't expect the Russian government to take any action against the company since it operates within the current law," said Rory Davenport, an Allofmp3.com spokesman. "The company is fully committed to its business."
If I was that guy I'd resign immediately and avoid eating sushi with anyone with ties to Russian secret services.
Posted by Merry Swankster at 02:02 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Australian Animal Collective
You were excited for a second that I had discovered the "Australian Animal Collective", weren't you? Then you could have casually tossed about phrases like "Oh, Wombat, are totally the Australian Animal Collective." Well it's not going to happen.
What I refer to is the geographically specific release of Animal Collective's foray into the Australian tour CD, joining a proud and domestically frustrating tradition. For the discerning Ocker ear, Brooklyn's own provide new studio material, and a live version of the title song, "People." The music is not unlike last year's Feels, meaning it is tuneful despite its pronounced oddity.
Animal Collective - "People"
This unintelligible epic starts calmly as guitar strum and wayward piano flutters lounge about on the grass. As the speed nudges up, nervous tingles emerge in the form of incessant drumstick-ery. Riding in gallantly, comes a great, lazy echo of a Lee Hazlewood guitar line. This descending melody anchors the song, the one constant spine in the composition's developing shape. As two or three more sonic layers settle into place, affirmative yelling ("Yea Yeahh", to be exact), comes across strangely subdued, leaving you unprepared for an ambush white noise "eeeeHreeeeeex Hxaxaxh" screech. What sounds like a gang of prowler monkeys darts around the track next, ever so often tripping over each other in accidental harmony. It hangs together, though. That guitar line braves the feral elements stoicly, exhibiting a Game Warden's illusion of control as he leads Safari. It's not really the dominant force, but it helps you relax in the wilderness.
Animal Collective - "Tikwid"
Enunciation is not on top display here either, although words are actually being (de)formed. Plainly pretty at the times when tumbling words won't express what a lush "OoooooH-Ahhh" might, it shuffles gaily. It's devolved easy sunniness almost invents a cultural appropriation project in which Paul Simon embraces the indigineous music of tripping Brooklynites and wins a Grammy. Almost.
// Animal Collective - Back Catalog - BUY
Posted by Jeff Klingman at 08:50 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
November 29, 2006
Retrohump Day - Beach Boys on a winter day
[Denver 11.29.06: Taken from northwest of downtown: Coors field and skyline blanketed - 11:00am MT.]
Memories of endless SoCal summers that seem to loop together from year to year are long gone. So too are the "chilly" sixty degree winter nights that required digging for windbreakers that would otherwise be content gathering dust. Mild winter weather is now relegated to the California-era Merry Swankster. Recognized as the loud complainer on the lack of delicatessens in Los Angeles.
In my current home state of Colorado, it is cold and snowing. Temperatures that less than a week ago provided a balmy Thanksgiving stunner have dropped dramatically. Enabling fresh coats of white stuff coating Denver and environs today. Great news for skiers and boarders. Terrible for commuting to work. Mountain slackers get to enjoy a day on the slopes which is not at all comforting. I avoided the temptation of calling in sick for a midweek powder run to steer clear of potentially awkward lies revolving facial wind burn following alleged illness.
For contrast to the reality outside the window, I turn to the reliability that is denial. I close my eyes and the best musical ambassadors for the idyllic California lifestyle take me away...
Beach Boys - "Wouldn't it be Nice" 1966
I don't totally hate winter. In fact compared to the East Coast, the short daylight days in Colorado are cake. Sunny days, great winter sports and shit...next week it'll probably shoot back up to the mid-sixties. Wouldn't that be nice...
Beach Boys - "I Get Around" 1964
Two minutes of candystriped harmony and hot rods in a nondescript television studio. Survey says: 1964!
Beach Boys - "Surfin' Safari" 1962
Beach boys as lumberjacks singing about surfin' safari. Why not? The terribly young boys in one of their earliest hits.
**Bonus**
Albert Hammond - "It Never Rains in Southern California"
Papa stroke in his classic dark ode to the land of unvaried weather patterns.
//Beach Boys - site
//Albert Hammond - site
Posted by Merry Swankster at 01:52 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Retrohump coming...
Youtube failed me last night with the above closure notice and foraging took a little longer than usual. Had to pillage alternative video sites for our Wednesday video feature. Fear not, they will be up shortly.
Posted by Merry Swankster at 01:40 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
If Pitchfork dies, Slate, you're next
As thinking humans, we're inevitably going to have complex emotions regarding battles. While we may identify with one side over the other, empathy and humanity's dedication to self-interest leads the intelligent to at least comprehend what the other side is fighting for.
And, hey, do I feel that way about this Slate article on Pitchfork Media. I really do believe that Matthew Shaer (says the bio: a correspondent for the Boston Globe's Arts section and an editor at Boston.com) was unaware of how similar the publication that published his dreadful piece (Slate) was to the subject of his hit job (Pitchfork Media). Both are witty and insightful, but occasionally ponderous and incredibly infatuated with contrarianism (a point that Slate at least acknowledged by publishing the dare-I-say-brilliant? "What's wrong with Slate" piece penned by Jonah Goldberg).
There are many things wrong with this piece (one: why not try Ryan Schreiber for comment on what Pitchfork's goals/strategies are? Otherwise, it just seems like a blog post linking other blog posts... Look how my opinion is confirmed!). Here's one great example of using tenuous logic to prove a premise.
Pitchfork needs to provoke to survive—a strategy that arguably extends to publishing verbose and unreadable writing.
That's uber-contrarian. To attract more readers, in essence, one must write unreadable prose. Well said... Unfortunately, this is actually Pitchfork's worst trait. I cannot recall the last time I read a full P'fork review. I look at the rating, look for the key songs enjoyed, and try to find them online to make my own decision (thereby getting in and out in seconds and missing all the great eye treats provided by advertisers).
Here's another:
If a review is provocative enough, music geeks will pick up on it. By the time, say, a record-store owner gets around to weighing in on a band, a summary judgment has already been passed online. The phenomenon has a name: the Pitchfork Effect.
Nope. The Pitchfork Effect was created, in effect, to explain how bands with little or no publicity suddenly became huge. If Pitchfork decreed a 9 or above, kids would be more willing to give it a chance. In today's Web environment, things are way too complicated for the P'Fork Effect to hold much weight. For me, it's strictly a number's thing; it's not about the prose. Pitchfork has never, ever been about the writing to me. It's always been about the numbers. Does anyone who reads Pitchfork really disagree?
Idolator actually did a great job touching upon the music-related problems with the piece. But here's the most pressing issue with the piece: it is frightfully past expiration date.
ALSO: Am I crazy to think that Pitchfork's influence is waining? Before the proliferation of blogs, Pitchfork was the arbiter of music. And even if you didn't believe its rankings (and even if they completely slagged off your favorite band) you could inflict no greater punishment than refusing to visit for a week. But, in 2006, the playing field is somewhat leveled. Pitchfork Media is both ridiculed and revered - it's certainly no infallible taste-maker whose opinions people are forced to begrudgingly take as Gospel. People get their music leads from a gamut of sources (in which, perhaps, Pitchfork holds the most weight). But whereby Pitchfork provided music snobs with refuge from the Spins and Rolling Stones of the world, today's music snobs can find their next greatest band from dedicated bloggers who hold the same interests.
SUMMARY: I liken Pitchfork to my quasi-home Williamsburg (I now live directly north in Greenpoint). The best way to approach both is to be ambivalent. It's not healthy to either love or hate either.
Posted by Keith O'Brien at 10:59 AM | Comments (6) | TrackBack
November 28, 2006
Colourmusic in Brooklyn tonight!
Hey New Yorkers! MS fave, and underhyped band Colourmusic is playing Union Hall in Brooklyn tonight! Yeah do it!
Other dates:
11.29 - The Wildflower Cafe & Gallery, Bethlehem, PA
12.01 - Cowboy Monkey - Champaign, IL
12.02 - Mac's Uptowner - Charleston, IL
Previously:
Quarterly Report, 3rd Quarter of 2006 Podcast
MS Pick - Colourmusic - Yes! | Video
Colourmusic - Live @ Hi-Dive, Denver, CO, 7.27.06
MS Pick - Colourmusic | Tonight in Denver
//Colourmusic - site
//Colourmusic - MySpace
Posted by Merry Swankster at 04:08 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Sounds like My Bloody Valentine...?
Yesterday I whined and complained about too many "sounds like My Bloody Valentine" descriptions with regards to noisy rock bands. I culled a short list of blog posts with the text "..sounds like My bloody Valentine.." written in the post.
You knew this was coming:
-On Boris - Sounds like My Bloody Valentine covering "Sister Ray." [Tim's Store Picks]
-On Sigur Ros - “Myrkur” from Von sounds like a My Bloody Valentine song. [Mog]
-On Asobi Seksu - Sounds like My Bloody Valentine fronted by a J-Pop Hipster Star. [Bohemian Playboy]
-On HTRK - The whole ep sounds like My Bloody Valentine if they'd have been elegant but deadly dominatrixes, hooking up with Chris & Cosey for a candlelit dungeon-set 'collaboration'. [20 Jazz Funk Greats]
-On Serena Maneesh - (neo-shoegaze -- sounds like My Bloody Valentine meets 60s Garage Rock) [Sgt. Politeness]
-More Serena - My Bloody Valentine gets tossed around a lot in the unoriginal reviews of this album. [Genius Trainwreck]
-On Kashmir - Featured on the new album are Lou Reed and David Bowie himself singing on "The Cynic" which sounds like a My Bloody Valentine song. [Palms Out Sound
-On Broadcast - Broadcast sounds like My Bloody Valentine crossed with the good Stereolab songs. [Sound of Crickets Chirping]
-On a song in the works that I'm actually looking forward to hearing someday - I'm making bilan a song about my favorite friday the 13th movie (part 8 - jason takes manhattan) and it sounds like my bloody valentine producing the soundtrack to the NES classic "mega man 3". [Duk]
-On Arcade Fire (dear lord) - 'Rebellion (Lies)' sounds like the Pixies to my ears. The rest of it sounds like My Bloody Valentine (so good! so good!) [hehehe!]. [I've Lived on a Dirt Road all my Life]
-On Autolux - kinda sounds like my bloody valentine. [Door Spirit]
I am Pot, you are kettle. We both black.
-On Dalek - If we want to be facile, think My Bloody Valentine meets the Def Jux crew. [Merry Swankster]
-On Serena Maneesh - Noisier AND sweeter than My Bloody Valentine, though not usually at the same time. [Merry Swankster]
Posted by Merry Swankster at 03:05 PM | Comments (6) | TrackBack
Tom Waits on the Daily Show tonight
Tom Waits will be Jon Stewart's guest on the Daily Show where he will also perform. The appearence coincides with the release of the awesomely titled box set, Orphans: Brawlers, Bawlers & Bastards.
Subscribers to eMusic download service can blow their monthly quota on it here.
//Tom Waits - site
//Tom Waits - Orphans: Brawlers, Bawlers & Bastards - buy
Previously:
White Stripes on the Daily Show
Steven Colbert on De Stijl
Posted by Merry Swankster at 02:44 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
Obscurer Than Thou: (More Basking in) the Volcano Suns
While you were digging in to a big bowl of gravy, D. Klein was digging through the vaults to bring you more primal rawk. Of course his holiday included fixin's as well. Fixin's you've never heard of...
V.S. 1.0 – The Bright Orange Years
by David Klein
Nothing against Daniel Craig, but Sean Connery as James Bond cannot be improved upon. He is the best and the only one that matters. Some folks prefer Roger Moore (of course, these are the people who prefer Paul McCartney's “Live and Let Die” phase) and I’m sure if you look around, you’ll find a George Lazenby fan site out there. Similarly, (I bought this segue for $3.99 on eBay) there’s no real agreement on the definitive Volcano Suns record or incarnation. Some purists swear by the founding lineup on the band’s first two releases. Others single out the third incarnation, which put out two LPs on SST in ’88 and ‘89. I’m not just being contrarian when I say I prefer V.S. 2.0, the lineup that produced Bumper Crop (1987).
In any case, it really is all good, good, good (like Brigitte Bardot), which is why I am taking a somewhat exhaustive approach to these guys. Let’s take a look at lineup No. 1., for which Peter Prescott tapped Jeff Weigand on bass and Jon Williams on guitar, both on spirited backup vocals.
The Bright Orange Years, 1985, Homestead Records.
the Volcano Suns - “Jak”
On the first song on the debut record, the band emerges fully formed, musically and lyrically, in this sneering putdown of a dilettante:
"If you can fool yourself/ You can fool anyone"
the Volcano Suns - “Truth is Stranger Than Fishing”
Shimmering with unresolved tension before bursting into Technicolor glory about two thirds in, this could easily be taken for a great lost Mission of Burma instrumental, at least for most of it.
the Volcano Suns - “Balancing Act”
Even in a mid-tempo ballad the band has me resorting to sports metaphors, which is to say they leave it all on the field. When the trio hoarsely proclaims, “It matters, it matters, it matters to me!” in the song’s climax, they concisely enunciate the entire indie rock ethos. Oh, and Yo La Tengo has been known to cover this song.
Previously: OTT (Man Sized Action)
OTT (Volcano Suns vol. 1)
Posted by Jeff Klingman at 11:40 AM | Comments (4) | TrackBack
November 27, 2006
Introducing 'The shillest'
An occasional MS.com contributor back from London marveled at the Venn diagram of indie rock and crass commercialism that is today's 30-second spot. Royksopp scoring car insurance commercials (and its label promoting it)! Of Montreal providing song and steakalicious lyric alterations for national restaurant chain! Tres passe, if you've been living her for some time. But, even the jaded get knocked silly by the choices some artists make.
Now we know all you kids out there have the DVRs, but, fortunately for you, one of your very own MS.com writers makes a living by obsessing about marketing. And thus watches more commercials than he'd like to admit. So we introduce "The shillest", an occassional head's up/commentary on how corporate brands just can't get enough of the artists you wish remained pure.
Artists like, say, Cat Power.
Posted by Keith O'Brien at 02:35 PM | Comments (3) | TrackBack
Asobi Seksu - Live @ Larimer Lounge, Denver, CO 11.18.2006
I have always suspected critics' most detrimental reviews are written ahead of music actually reaching their ears. While I have no way of proving this theory, and I would eagerly accept suggestions that debunk me, I believe that a measurable percentage of critics consistently practice the type of reprehensible journalism my conspiracy rich imagination allows me to concoct. One would really have to try hard to get caught writing a review for a Rolling Stones concert that they didn't attend. Sprinkle in the obligatory walking dead mentions, adjective synonyms for awe at Jagger's still swaying hips and Reynolds-wrap it with a longing to witness the band 30 years ago and voila! Ready for print.
For a band like Asobi Seksu a fake-journalist (apologies to Stewart, Colbert, Poehler, etc.) needs to spend just a few minutes researching the Internet for factoids forming the outline of which to write from. Sharp ironic wit is added for humor and flow, and before you know it - a tale is spun invoking My Bloody Valentine, and the country of Japan for a far fetched sidebar on how the Lost in Translation soundtrack fed the roots in which Asobi Seksu was born from. At best a conceptualized fantasy linking together accessible references for word count requirement fluffage. At worst, a lame myth created out of bullshit in which the band fights off the rest of their careers. Wikipedia entries ta-boot.
No proof exists that Sofia Coppola's inclusion of My Bloody Valentine in her film has any historical significance to the formation of Asobi Seksu. For me to even jokingly insinuate the possibility is irresponsible and I am sorry. As far as I know the members of Asobi Seksu, which roughly translates to "Playful Sex" in Japanese, have never even seen the film or heard it's music. The crutch of a music writer in post-millennium times may be the ubiquitous descriptive reference to MBV anytime a band performs an array of unearthly sounds. Usually all at once.
I propose a new rule to stop doing this immediately, or at least slow the flood. If the shoegaze argument needs to be made for Asobi Seksu, by all means lets go to the town square and debate. However, the standard bearers of the genre do not need a cameo with every mention of new bands moving into the neighborhood. [Ed. note - One of our podcasts distilled the issue very well. See Jeff's notes on why the shoegaze tag may be too liberal for Asobi Seksu.]
Armed with competent knowledge of Asobi Seksu (and infuriating blog-talk) I checked out the Larimer show on the Saturday night before Thanksgiving. Repeated spins of Citrus impressed an urgent anxiousness in the music. The un-comforting sounds that only quasi-experimental arrangements provide. Slicing through the meandering drone of classic shoegaze theory is the voice of main vocalist Yuki Chikudate. Sweetening the themes of Asobi Seksu with pipes of saccharine, Chikudate's voice tightropes over the battering of keyboards, guitars and drums in such a measured and peaceful manner that the sonic barrage is equalized for pop worthy consumption. Whether wailing or fluttering it is powerful, and always ethereal.
Curious with how the well developed production of Citrus would be arranged for a live show, the audience didn't know exactly what to expect when the petite and stylish Chikudate led her band mates from behind a keyboard deck into a Saturday night in Denver. What followed was a tight performance nailing the point home regarding the aforementioned shoegaze pigeonholing. Satisfying both pre-show questions and the obvious needs for entertainment, Asobi Seksu delivered the goods in a short 45 minute set. The virtues of band practice paying off once again.
During the show I was asked by a friend who is somewhat familiar with the music if I knew the singer sang in Japanese. I answered affirmatively and my mind immediately focused on the integral voice of Chikudate. Whether she sings in English or Japanese, her inflection is softly subtle and vague enough in it's enunciation that a listener may not realize a language swap is occurring. Rehashing shoegaze meanderings via vocals? Up for debate.
After the jump - more pics, tour dates, and leftover stuffing.
-- -- --
"Strawberries" has the distinction of making it onto our quarterly podcast twice this year. Both the album version and the CWL remix made the cut in consecutive podcasts. If there was an award for such significance they would be win.
Asobi Seksu on the road:
11.27 Phoenix, AZ - Rhythm Room*
11.28 Albuquerque, NM - Launch Pad*
11.29 Lubbock, TX - Jake's Backroom*
11.30 Norman, OK - Memorial Union Rogers Room at University of Oklahoma*
12.01 Dallas, TX - Sons of Hermann Hall*
12.02 Houston, TX - Numbers*
12.03 Austin, TX - Emo's*
*w/ Mates of State
Previously:
Summer Sounds (on Sundays)
//Asobi Seksu - site
//Asobi Seksu - Myspace
Posted by Merry Swankster at 01:15 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Easing Back in...
Hey, I'm still trying to break the cycle of napping and stuffing my face with two hands, so a real live in-depth whatever will have to wait another day or so. If you are dying for a dose of pontificating, you can read my review of the Long Blondes Someone to Drive You Home that was up on Prefix over the hiatus. Shockingly, I thought the record was good.
Also, for some unfathomable reason, I never knew this existed. I now do, and am thankful.
the Unicorns - "Tuff Ghost"
Normal output to resume shortly...
Posted by Jeff Klingman at 12:13 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
November 22, 2006
Housekeeping (without mp3s)
Just a quick notice that we've implemented Feedburner for our RSS feed. So if you would like to change your feed (or subscribe to us if you haven't already), you can now subscribe at http://feeds.feedburner.com/MerrySwankster
Have a happy holiday.
Posted by Merry Swankster at 01:04 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
November 21, 2006
Julian Casablancas loves the Mets
I know baseball is over, and maybe three of you actually care about sports at all, AND we are technically on vacation, but I found this interesting. Julian gets interviewed by a Mets blogger. Turns out the brooding Stroke's interest in sports follows a curiously similar path to your own Merry Swankster.
Stroke fans will want to dissect some of these responses on fan message boards (Link via Y2K Blog):
Y2K: How about the other guys in the band, are they Mets fans?JC: I think because of me they all root for the Mets, but they’re kinda not so into it. I kind of always want to play catch or pitch to someone – I think pitching’s really cool. If I could go back in time I’d be a minor league pitcher, a failing type of guy out there just struggling to make it by.
-- -- --
Y2K: Thoughts on Albert Hammond Jr.’s album [Yours to Keep]?
JC: It’s great. He’s my bro and I’m rooting for him. I like the album a lot, I think it’s cool. When you’re in a band it’s kind of hard to bring stuff that five people agree on, but it’s cool because he wanted to do this, he wanted to do his own thing. I’ll tell you though, I don’t know how he does it, going straight from our tour to his tour, I think he’s gonna crash after this.
Previously:
The Mets are not afraid of you and will beat your ass!
Posted by Merry Swankster at 01:10 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Happy Thanksgiving | Taking the week off
We're taking the week off. Turkey day and all. For readers outside of the US, the Thanksgiving holiday takes place on the fourth Thursday in November. Its a day for family and friends to get together and be thankful for the ability to eat enough food to get through the long, cold winters.
This being a cold, heartless music blog and not a sweet, old grandmother - it cannot bake anything delicious. It can however, lead you to the best combo dessert ever concocted. Pumpkin pie + cheesecake. Two great creations made better through mating. Mmmmm.
After the break we'll be back in full force for what is left of '06. Action packed with steady MP3s, more Retrohump favorites, and show reviews, starting with the suprisingly short, but engaging Asobi Seksu show at Larimer Lounge on Saturday night. Promise.
Posted by Merry Swankster at 09:10 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
November 20, 2006
Coachella 2007 Dates Set | Expanding to 3 days
Dates set for 2007 edition of festival. April 27 - 29. The added day marks the first time the festival requires a day off work. My guess is increased competition from Lollapalooza and Bonaroo made the decision an obvious one. Thats 50% more foot pain, sunburn and awesome for those keeping track at home.
Another bit of news is the announcement of a country music festival taking place on the polo fields the weekend immediately following Coachella. Same tents and everything.
Previously:
2006 Festival Coverage
Posted by Merry Swankster at 11:21 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
November 19, 2006
Sunday three-pack
Because I'm half the man that Klingman is (and I got things to do, son).
Ghostface Killah - Ghost Is Back
This is some straight scallops and bacon confluence - two tastes that taste great together. Hey, can I get a hungry Ghostface rapping over the killer bass and flute loop from Eric B. and Rakim's seminal Juice (Know the Ledge?) Why not? It's a rough edit, so you know that, should this make the upcoming album More Fish, it's going to be 75% more ridiculous. But, as it stands, Ghost is on point, "My rhymes weigh more than Gerald Levert"
//Ghostface Killah - site
//Ghostface Killah- Myspace
The Low Frequency In Stereo - Axes
Hmmm, predictable Keith. He always follows up a plaudit for street hip-hop with some math rock. Or is it post-rock? The tired one-two punch. Okay, admittedly, the genre math rock has always confounded me. And if anyone has an astute grasp on what constitutes the "math" part, please assist us all in the comments. Anyway, this songs rocks, math or no. My helpful local record store made the Stereolab comparison, which is certainly apt (as you do get that sort of fuzzy morning synth action), but I see LFiS more as a heir to the faster offerings from Scottish twee bands. Horn sections storm in and out, guitars oscillate between keeping time and meandering into a five-second ascension, and Hanne Andersen's voice, as if fragile, keeps up the pace.
//The Low Frequency in Stereo - The Last Temptation of... - buy
//The Low Frequency in Stereo - site
//The Low Frequency in Stereo - Myspace
Blogger DJs fear not. You now have your transition song after Tribulations. The parallels are there. From the Billie Jean-esque opening, to a (frankly eerily similar) laconic, mournful guiding bass to Khaela Maricich's carefully attuned voice (going lower when to convey the darkest of the lyrics, nimbly speeding up pace, slowing down enunciation when required), it is as if she should be James Murphy's wife. And it has the punctuation "clap-clap." Got to have the clap-clap. How else would people know that the next line was forthcoming?
//The Blow - Paper Television - buy
//The Blow - site
//The Blow - Myspace
Posted by Keith O'Brien at 11:51 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
Start your band dude, like, now
Thanks to the hit-or-miss Cornerstone Player compilation series, I hereby declare that the world is now officially devoid of suitable band names.
Below, behold, the choices afforded to today's bands (and I pray it was a war of naming attrition, rather than an affinity for the chosen appellation).
As Tall as Lions
Shout Out Out Out Out
Does It Offend You, Yeah?
And, yes, I treble-checked; these are band names, not song titles.
Link deets
//As Tall as Lions - site
//As Tall As Lions - Myspace
//Shout Out Out Out Out - Myspace
//Does It Offend You, Yeah? - site
//Does It Offend You, Yeah? - Myspace
Posted by Keith O'Brien at 11:40 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
November 17, 2006
Islands - Live @ Cervantes Masterpiece Ballroom, Denver 11.14.06
The state of Colorado has dealt the Islands a shitty hand in 2006. Last time they came around these parts, founding member J'Aime Tambeur left the band. The ex-unicorn quit the band following the Islands' May show at Larimer Lounge. This time around they got stuck on I-70 during a winter storm, forcing a Tuesday night show to begin well past midnight. Curfews? We don't need no stinking curfews. I hate to sound like a cranky old man complaining about a late night out during the week, but I half wished the band hadn't shown at all. After the train wreck that followed I imagine the band thought the same.
This was the first time I attended a show at Cervantes Masterpiece Ballroom. I confess complete ignorance to any and all history the room may have, so apologies in advance to fans of Cervantes. Both of you. Cervantes is the biggest shit-hole to audaciously declare itself a legitimate music venue. I will go on record as saying Cervantes is the worst place to see a show in all of Colorado, possibly the universe. Worse than the Mos Eisley Cantina - which at least has the fabulous Figrin D'an and the Modal Nodes as house band.
Cervantes is a dirty, cavernous and drafty room in the sketchy Five Points neighborhood of downtown Denver. No matter what people try to tell me, I do not see Five Points turning around any time soon. No impending Starbucks invasion, or the human assembly-line imagery of Agrestic's little boxes to worry about here. Every city needs a rough area though, why should Denver be sanitized?
The brief uninspired set by Los Angeles MC, Subtitle, provided distraction, er...entertainment while Islands got their gear in place. Looking like he just woke from an extended nap, he rapped over iPod tracks and singled out people who weren't dancing. I hate feigned outrage as much as I hate feigned enthusiasm.
Finally....Islands were ready to rawk out the sparse crowd dwarfed in the giant room. The audience needs to be commended, however. Most managed to resist the temptation of slumber to stick it out and see live music on a school night. The glass is always half empty side of me begs to mention that there weren't that many people to begin with. Couple a small crowd in a large venue and the results look sad. Sadder than passed out kiddies on the diseased, pleather couches that ring the Cervantes floor. Reminded me of post-collegiate, European travel. Imagine the dirtiest hostel you have ever been to - polar opposite to the German kind with delicious breakfast and spartan facilities and more the sleep-with-one-eye-open establishments. Previous tenant: the gallows. Now renovated into a factory farm of bunk beds for broke backpackers. Every one of you who were napping reminded me of this. I blame the heavy Grateful Dead decor for enabling such a fiasco.
Ah yes, the show. The sound was awful. Nick Diamond's vocals were barely audible. When the crowd jeered for higher ampage they got ear-piercing feedback instead. The bassist took what seemed like a bathroom break and Diamond summoned Subtitle back to the stage for impromptu freestyle filler over a lets-look-busy jam. Subtitle fallaciously thought his cue for "...Whalebone" had arrived when he hit the proverbial freestyle wall, pun intended, and sulk-rapped, "I thought we were doing Whalebone" a few times before walking off-stage. "Tsuxiit" instrumental followed. Pre-planned setlist item, or sly dodge around sound problems? Next up was "Where There's a Will There's a Whalebone" providing quick redemption for bleary-eyed Subtitle. He nailed the hip-hop interjection as well as Busdriver did on the record.
That my friends was how my Tuesday night ended. Twas an extremely long day that for me began in Los Angeles, and ended with if nothing else, another memorable chapter in the early days of Islands, Denver and the Merry Swankster.
-- -- --
Islands - Abominable Snow
I kill me.
Previously:
Don't Call Me Whitney, Bobby
I am a rock, They are the Islands...
Islands – Live @ the Knitting Factory, New York City. 12.6.2005
//Islands - site
//Islands - Myspace
//Islands - Return to the Sea - buy
Posted by Merry Swankster at 03:45 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
More Beavis and Butthead
Surely I wasn't the only one cracking up watching Beavis and Butthead's first appearence on Merry Swankster this week.
What can be done to bring this show back on the air?
Beavis and Butthead - Most Wanted
Posted by Merry Swankster at 01:30 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Fished from the plumbing...
On the Internet you find wonderful, magnificent, disgusting treasures. A collection of recent booty:
-Wowee Zowee mania is in full swing. Domino Records has a free download of Pavement's 4.24.1994 show in Hollywood here.
-Minty Fresh is giving away the new Prototypes EP. Tis the season to be thankful.
-List season is upon us. Don't strangle that puppy! Resist the urge to spew vehement disapproval. Get a grip on yourself.
-Ever wonder how a meeting between a satirical music blogger, Borat and a Star Wars legend would play out? Someone has. Nerdom that can only be described as epic. "YODA, BORAT, AND GERARD NEGOTIATE A THREE-WAY"
-Nothing but Green Lights hearts Economy Wolf. The UK blog predicts wolf band #48,936 as best of the year...in 2007.
Beastie Boys - "Professor Booty"
Happy Friday.
Related:
Pavement
Prototypes
MS Lists
Wolves
Posted by Merry Swankster at 10:50 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
November 16, 2006
Obscurer Than Thou - the Volcano Suns
Flush with the positive reinforcement that TWO comments can bring, our pal David Klein returns with another out of print treat for the hardcore record nerds...
Volcano Suns – Pt. 1 “You Only Get This Offer For a Limited Time”
by David Klein
When Mission of Burma called it quits in 1983 the group’s members went in vastly different directions. The tinnitus-plagued Roger Miller, forced to explore a less caustic musical path, formed the experimental, toy-piano-incorporating Birdsongs of the Mesozoic, while the freshly sober bass player, Clint Conley, produced Yo La Tengo’s debut LP, then dropped out of sight until 2002’s unlikely reunion. Only drummer Peter Prescott continued to rock in a Burma-like way, forming the Volcano Suns and cranking out six mostly excellent platters. The rock gods, it seemed, smiled on Prescott, who got to enjoy a pretty decent career, selling some records, playing in large halls and making a lot of people jump around wildly—something the other members of Mission of Burma never really experienced in their brief career. There was still a lot of Burma in there, but the music seemed to emanate from a wholly different place. Definitive M.O.B. songs like “That’s How I Escaped My Certain Fate” sound as if they were created in a badly lit room with a low ceiling. Volcano Suns sound more like, I don’t know, like if the protagonist from Stephen King’s “Lawnmower Man” started an indie band and staged an enormous jam in a cornfield, at an astounding volume. It’s a big roiling sound, not at all twitchy.
Additionally, while the hard-charging tempos and overall sense of abandon of the Volcano Suns will sound familiar to fans of Prescott’s previous band, the Suns were far more light-hearted. No songs based on Goering quotes here; instead, the leather-lunged vocals and wryly humorous lyrics that touch on consumerism, sexual politics, and bucolic life temper these sweaty rave-ups with an attitude of aggressive fun. Prescott’s distinctive shouted vocals, along with spirited harmony singing by the band, have a sort of populist appeal that evokes a debauched all-night barn dance.
Which leads me to the music. The first three Suns records are seminal and well worth tracking down. Nevertheless, the single they released between the 1985 debut The Bright Orange Years and the following year’s even-more-raucous All Night Lotus Party (note: possible masturbation reference) captures everything that’s great about the band, in an incredibly short space, serving as a fine introduction. I was reserving words like “storming” “monolithic” and “burly” to describe these tracks.
the Volcano Suns - "Sea Cruise"
In which an anonymous stowaway arrives in a new land, only to learn that:
"This country is a playground/if you know a way to play
It’s take it or be taken/that’s the American way!"
Jam packed with cool parts, like Prescott’s distinctive, sputtering drum fills in the shambolic sections between verses, the pirate shanty bit around the 1:20 point, and the fierce guitar playing throughout. You know what else was great about these guys? Unlike a lot of over-the-top bands, you can actually hear what they’re saying. Here's an obscure fact: the vocalist who chimes in on the title phrase of “Sea Cruise” comes from the band Christmas, whose bassist, James McNew, left them to join Yo La Tengo, and whose 1986 debut record had the scarily clever name, In Excelsior Dayglo.
the Volcano Suns - "Greasy Spine"
From the crisp tom-tom thuds, rumbling bass, and long shard of feedback that herald its beginning, through the last joyously off-kilter scream, this is one whomping B-side. Rapturously repetitive and rich in assonance (rarely has the short “i” sound sounded so good), this song has the chest-beating vigor of a drunken sailor on shore leave.
Testify:
"Never trust a man with a skinny tie
Never trust a girl with a greasy spine
When she says she wants to be your valentine"
Think how much better life would have been in an alternative universe, in which Mission of Burma were Nirvana and the Volcano Suns were the Foo Fighters. The Suns would still be enjoying a thriving career, while Dave Grohl, drummer in a couple of excellent, now-defunct bands, would be living off his memories. Krist Novoselic would have produced Ride the Tiger, then disappeared until the Nirvana reunion in 2002, while Clint Conley would have gone into politics and won, because he has a perfect name for politics, unlike Krist Novoselic. As for Kurt Cobain, he would have suffered from tinnitus and been forced to quit hard rocking to write non-caustic children’s music. I guess that leaves Roger Miller…who would have reached for his revolver. And then, realizing that he didn’t have tinnitus anymore, but just a really bad stomach, would have gone on to play the big, loud rock he was destined to make.
Previously: Obscurer Than Thou, part the First
Posted by Jeff Klingman at 10:00 AM | Comments (4) | TrackBack
November 15, 2006
Retrohump Day: Sordid Sentinels Edition
I don't think its an unfair statement to cite Pavement as the default all time favorite band of at least a third of the indie blogosphere (myself included). Witness the mainstay presence of tracks from the newly re-issued Wowee Zowee on elbo.ws and the hype machine, over ten years after their creation. Sure, the new release is an obvious reason for the focus, but classic albums get re-issued all the time and barely make a blip with the "next big thing" crowd. Not too surprising when you think about it, though. Using the "people have stronger feelings about albums from their teen years" principle and looking at the mean age of blogging types it's almost guaranteed. Expect Pavement albums to dominate future list making endeavors in the same way Beatles and Dylan haunt mainstream magazine retrospectives now.
What is surprising, however, is that the boys commanded such teen devotion with such lousy videos.
Pavement - "Rattled by the Rush" Original version
Following the semi-success of "Cut Your Hair", all eyes were on Pavement to break out in huge Nirvana fashion. "Rattled by the Rush", as great a song as it is, is too oblique to blow that door open by itself. As Malkmus admits in the Slow Century documentary, he was smoking a ton of grass at the time, and this "sounded like a hit" to him. Hard to argue with that one, as its random associations and swaying rhythmic cadence is perfect for the red eye set. At least the boys were clear headed enough to realize that an off kilter single wasn't going to get any traction from a video that was basically a low energy performance clip, edited in a motion sickness inducing choppy fashion.
Of course, they perversely replaced that one with a video that included the exact same footage, only shrunk to bathrrom tile size, and featuring all the rip roaring excitement of waiting for the tub to fill up. This kind of mind boggling anti ambition is charming in retrospect, and the resulting re-edited clip provided one of the all time most memorable Beavis and Butthead moments...
Pavement - "Rattled by the Rush"
(as described by Beavis and Butthead)
Great succinct summation of the Jesus Lizard as well.
Pavement - "Father to a Sister of a Thought"
Again, another video that's only half-assed at best, and a smart half-ass at that. This is Pavement's great alt-country track, although strip it of its lovely pedal steel and I'm not sure anyone would make that connection. This one looks like its storyboarding came about from a ten minute, "so what's country all about?" brain storming session. There are hats and cows man, what else do we need? You could argue that all the hanging around in a parking lot is a sly commentary on the not so wild west of American suburban sprawl, but I doubt it was that calculated. Also, dig the ultra nineties grain on the film stock, which reminds me immediately of some Stone Temple Pilots vids. Hey, maybe Steve was being sincere when he called them "elegant bachelors."
One thing I can say for this video, and the entire Pavement videography, is that there's usually at least one instance of a silly visual non sequitar that's good for a chuckle. The water cooler on the prarie moment gets that from me, here.
Pavement - "Grounded"
(live in Manchester, UK 1999)
This clip is from the band's final tour, post Terror Twilight. There will probably be the inevitable, Pavement: 20th Century Masters compilation at some point, and it'd be a total crime if this wasn't a first ballot inclusion. I saw the Portland entry in that tour, and it was probably my single most memorable show. After a lovable introduction from Steve's Dad, the band took stage and promptly nailed "Grounded" saying it was "probably the best introduction to Pavement." I'll be first in line if there happens to be a reunion tour, but I have no illusions that it'll ever match up to the idealized version that still swims around my head.
Posted by Jeff Klingman at 10:48 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
November 13, 2006
Post-Theme Post
This is a list of stuff I've been listening to, and while I suppose you could indentify a few common threads, the bottom line is mainly that they are all Jeff-ceptable. To make up for a lack of introspection into the specific quality that ties them all together in my admiration, I offer a whole bunch. All armchair psychoanalyis from the peanut gallery will be carefully considered...
Pavement - "Type Slowly" (Live at the Tibetan Freedom Concert)
Matador Records is not letting us move on with our lives. This box set installment plan they've got going means that we'll be inundated with b-sides, live material, and alternate versions for years to come. Being a tragically hip, ahead of the curve music blog and all, we give you a cut that'll probably make it to the Brighten the Corners re-issue. What all these varying versions of songs soldify is just how malleable Pavement's compositions were. This live airing of "Type Slowly" completely destroys its recorded counterpart, and was the only real reason to pick up that Tibetan Freedom Concert double disc back in the day (so are things in Tibet cool now, Beastie Boys? Where'd you go?). The crunchy raison d'etre of that show must have brought the boys' inner hippies to the fore, as this is about as jam-tastic as they ever got. But sick, "Marquee Moon" style jamming, not like Widespread Panic or something. The interplay between Malkmus and Spiral Stairs is inspired, and the airplane falling from the sky heaviness that develops is a remarkable. Then, the way they just sort of casually slip back into the song after melting faces, pretty much sums up the continuing appeal of the group. Bad ass, but not all up in your grill about it.
//Pavement - Wowee Zowee: Sordid Sentinels Edition Buy
...and You Will Know Us By the Trail of Dead - "Goldheart Mountaintop Queen Directory"
After Source Tags & Codes' infamous Pitchfork 10.0, the knives would have been out for ...Trail of Dead even if Worlds Apart wasn't a prog nightmare. This faithful Guided by Voices cover seems a bit like returning to the indie world, hat in hand, begging for forgiveness. That doesn't mean it isn't good. Robert Pollard's bleeding heart melody is amped up with strings and crystal production. You'd think the hi-fi makeover might dull the original's hissing charm (and it does, slightly), but the songwriting was just really strong to begin with.
//...and You Will Know us by the Trail of Dead - So Divided Buy
Frog Eyes - "Our Lordship Has Devised a New Billing System"
This one popped up on shuffle while I was distractedly shuffling around Midtown Manhattan myself, and I was suddenly in love with it when I had never given it much extended thought before. This is the entire point of shuffle. This song is gorgeous, which is not an adjective most folks would attribute to Carey Mercer's work. The distant piano waterfalls dribbling in the background, accentuate what is actually a restrained and melancholy reading of moving lyrics lamenting the futile resistance to the passing of time. As CM tends towards the grandiose, he's actually railing against "the Emporer of Time", but that guy's obviously the one making all the key time-passage decisions.
//Frog Eyes - the Bloody Hand Buy
Deerhoof - "+81"
Songs from the forthcoming Friend Opportunity have begun to trickle out, and so far so good. The art rock veterans are still playing in the sand box of relative accessibility that produced the Runner's Four. Never fear, the "chorus" is just Satomi saying "choo choo choo choo", so it's not headed for TRL or anything. Despite the token weirdness, It's so bright and joyful that it never feels wanky or willfully obtuse, which makes all the difference.
//Deerhoof - the Runner's Four Buy
These New Puritans - "Chamber"
In these days of democratic distribution of home production techniques, I like how willfully cheap this sounds. The synth sound is brutal, the guitars tinny, and the vocal effect is something akin to "Post Punk echo version 1.2". These Brit teens have good instincts for song construction, however, and a knack for bringing all their suspect elements together triumphantly at just the right time.
//These New Puritans - Now Pluvial EP Investigate
the Blow - "True Affection"
While this may have also been produced on the cheap, it sounds like a million bucks. Man, that keyboard tone just makes you have to sit down. It's so warm and smooth and rich. Do other people lose their ability to function in the presence of a really nice keyboard tone, or am I minorly autistic at this point?
//the Blow - Paper Television Buy
the Knife - "Heartbeats" (Planningtorock remix)
Hey, sick of "Heartbeats" yet? Me neither. I do wish I could hear it again for the first time though, and this remix sort of makes that happen. This creeping, string laden remix almost equals the dropped jaw awe of the retro-futurist original version. Which I would have deemed all but unthinkable before I heard this. Sooooo good.
//the Knife - Deep Cuts Buy
FIN.
Posted by Jeff Klingman at 11:50 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
November 12, 2006
Spoon, through the prism of 'Stranger Than Fiction'
If not in the know, one could attend a screening of the Will Ferrell vehicle Stranger Than Fiction (as I did last night), and enjoy what seems like a tapestry of a soundtrack. But rather than assemble a number of artists to submit their work, the music in the film was compiled by Spoon's Britt Daniel and many of the musical interludes featured his band's work. Two things: one, it demonstrated how well Spoon's upbeat understated rock works in celluloid. Two, it made me want to revisit the band. Two examples.
Vittorio E - from Kill the Moonlight (2002)
Sort of sounds like Sister Morphine, if it never broke into a sweat. Choral notes as a simple drumbeat and guitar scale up and down gives foliage for Daniel's declaration "It goes on."
The Way We Get By from Kill the Moonlight (2002)
Spoon's anthemic entry - the chugging piano intro leads to tales of backseat pot adventures, shrugging bar conversations, and magazine reading - the nerdy white kids' (diffident and indifferent) hustle (sort of) tale.
//Spoon - Kill the Moonlight - buy
//Spoon - site
//Spoon - Myspace
Posted by Keith O'Brien at 10:28 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
November 10, 2006
Bank of America covers U2
Is Jim Dubois the greatest consumer marketing executive in Manhattan that can sing like Bono? Is there a blog covering songs reworked for internal corporate meetings? If no, why the hell not? I have so many questions...
Jim Dubois & Ethan Chandler - "One"
Money line:
"Integration never had us feeling so good/
We'll make lots of money forever I can sing"
African children just lost all hope in Bono (via BV).
Posted by Merry Swankster at 12:15 PM | Comments (5) | TrackBack
MS Pick - the Rapture
This song is for those of you wanting to find the breaking point of a set of speakers. The sonic demarcation between status-quo listening and a nightmare of popping bass and chronic hiss. I do not advocate premeditated destruction on what should be one of your most precious possessions. I'm just saying it would be a great candidate for such an experiment.
A much better idea is a retaliation plot for that bastard neighbor who decides cranking techno early on Saturday mornings is a good idea. High decibel revenge is a dish best served with the proper music. Chainsaw guitars, huge pulsating bass, and the reliable snare cadence are the sounds of "The Sound" that enamor. Posts given the MS Pick distinction will always be ones of praise (no matter how abstract), but even the most loved music gets lost in the studs when traveling through walls. Whether dancing with a friend seconds away from blowing out perfectly good speakers, or on the wrong side of the walls from a spiteful neighbor, this song should be played loud and often.
The band is in their final week of touring before finishing up in Los Angeles on the 20th. Full dates after the jump.
//The Rapture - Pieces Of The People We Love - buy
//The Rapture - site
//The Rapture - Myspace
Don't get left behind:
11.10 Pomona, CA - Glass House
11.11 San Francisco, CA - Bill Graham Civic Auditorium (Be the Riottt! Festival)
11.13 Seattle, WA - El Corazon
11.14 Vancouver, British Columbia - Richard's on Richards
11.15 Portland, OR - Wonder Ballroom
11.17 Las Vegas, NV - Celebrity Vegas
11.20 Los Angeles, CA - Henry Fonda Theatre
Posted by Merry Swankster at 11:40 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
November 09, 2006
New Long Blondes Video & B-Side
Some of you out there in TV Land might be sick of my constant micro updates about the Long Blondes, but I'm not, and that's what matters in this little dictatorship of ours. In my own defense, the kids have been awfully prolific and consistent, and that's the best recipe for devotion bordering on dementia.
the Long Blondes - "Once and Never Again"
The video for "Once and Never Again" is fairly oblique, even by the Blondes' skewed standards. The preoccupation with retro glamour and Cindy Sherman continues, although the four panel divisions make You Tube sized watching less than ideal. Also, "the drama" and "the road movie" are presented as some sort of easily understood defining headers, although they don't have very much to do with the video itself. There's a car in it, is that what you mean? Shades of drama emerge at least in the lower right frame as Kate Jackson's interest in the blonde girl seem less and less honarable as the song approaches its Sapphic twist (which should be the name of a new dance craze, like, immediately).
The NME provided text at the top claims the song was based on a fateful meeting between Ms. Jackson and Courtney Love. Um, does that mean Courtney came onto her?
the Long Blondes - "Five Ways to End it"
This b-side on the "Once and Never Again" single is (like the rest of this album's b-sides) produced by Erol Alkan, and it finally makes the dance music that he's famous for a more overt influence. As they've told us already, the Blondes "Don't dance to love songs", and this one is as romantically challenged as the fatalistic title would suggest. A pulsing club beat and rave synths start us off here, accentuated by some low in the mix bass, and barely audible, Lost jungle whispers. The whispering is key to the song's sense of conspiracy, with Kate keeping up with her life's mission to make sure her ex-boyfriend's never get laid again. It takes center stage, sort of, at the 6 minute sprawler's mid point, but in tandem with a creeping feedback that makes turning up the volume to eavesdrop a bit tricky. Once the argument for lout abandonment has been won, the guitars drop off, and the techno gets a bar or two to itself. A dance club victory lap after dumping the bastard is to be expected, after all.
Previously: Too many to list.
//the Long Blondes - Someone to Drive You Home Buy
Posted by Jeff Klingman at 12:45 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
November 08, 2006
Retrohump Day - Award Shows
The recent posts on award show antics inspired todays Retrohump. Unlike the usual performance features shown in this space, I've culled interesting presenters of Grammy Awards past.
John Lennon & Paul Simon 1975
Art Garfunkel accepting the award for an absent Olivia Newton John instigates great reunion banter between Art, Paul and John. Elton John was the notable loser with light FM classic: "Don't Let the Sun Go Down On Me." Simon makes a joke about flowers I think, but its over my head. Anyone care to enlighten me?
David Bowie 1975
The video quality is pretty awful but it warps pre-Thin White Duke-era Bowie to make him look even more alien-like than usual. Somewhat terrifying. I prefer to let my imagination take over with thoughts of the after party that went down with Bowie, Lennon and other assorted weirdoes that evening. David and John were chummy in 1975. Earlier that year they recorded "Fame" in New York which ultimately ended up as a late addition to the Young Americans album.
Tupac Shakur & Kiss 1996
A ridiculous presenter match up with retarded results. I should disclose a high personal bias against all things Kiss, especially the band themselves. Biggest revelation - Hootie & the Blowfish are Tupac's homeboys. For some reason Grammy producers get giddy with such weird pairings. I guess I see the humor in it. But if your going to go for this angle, why not really get crazy with it? For next year I want to see Ted Nugent and the Dixie Chicks come out and present Hip Hop record of the year. Someone is bound to get shot, or at least an arrow through the heart.
Posted by Merry Swankster at 12:20 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
Love is All @ the Knitting Factory, Live review...
...is not here. But, you can read it easily enough over at Prefix Magazine.
For those who can't be bothered with a click over (and thanks alot, by the way) I give you a video taken at the show, and presented in our now trademark shoddy audio.
Love is All - "Busy Doing Nothing"
Posted by Jeff Klingman at 09:20 AM | Comments (2) | TrackBack