Bright and perfect pop in steady flows from Scotland. I still do double takes on "Blues are Still Blue" to ensure it's not a Bowie tune.

1900s - Plume Delivery - buy

Technically an EP but I make up the rules. Mixed gender group edges out Oakley Hall's two (2!) long play releases with the better weighted psychedelic pop of Plume Delivery.

Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Show Your Bones - buy

Studio troubles threatened to cut YYY's burgeoning career short. Ignoring Karen O's semi-apologetic "sometimes I think I'm bigger than the sound," you wouldn't know it from these songs showcasing a maturing band.

Raconteurs - Broken Boy Soldiers - buy

Nashville by way of Detroit supergroup/side project for all involved (Brendan Benson, Jack White, and the Greenhorns). I enjoyed this album immensely. Would have been in the 'top 10' if the live evolution of these songs were the ones recorded on Broken Boy Soldiers.

The Ballet - Mattachine! - buy

Most fun you'll have with gay boys and girls playing electro-pop melodies with strings singing about gaydar and Internet trysts while keeping your pants on.

Ladyhawk - s/t - buy

In a year where keyboard domination killed sightlines and sometimes looked like nothing more than fancy music stands for band members, Ladyhawk plays up the 6-strings and we are the better for it.

Liars - Drum's Not Dead - buy

Brooklyn art punks scoured for something new and found it in the dank cellars of Berlin. This polarizing album is technically wonderful, if at times nauseatingly unlistenable. Rare tenderness can be found in the final track. The Fever to Tell-esque, unrepresentative "Maps" response - "The Other Side of Mt. Heart Attack."

Sonic Youth - Rather Ripped - buy

Uber-influential pioneers of the indie world drop their most accessible album of their career at release #20.

Danielson - Ships - buy

Equal parts freak-folk and J.C. idolatry. Danielson is a literary brainiac in the anti-Destroyer mold. Meaning that I get the stuff. Most of it anyway.

Silversun Pickups - Carnavas - buy

Likely to break out and reach mainstream success in '07. Luckily they seem poised for the stepped up role. I don't necessarily disagree with the Smashing Pumpkins peg that is often used to describe them purely on the fact that they also dabble in the more accessible regions of hard driven noise rock. However, connections of this sort carry so much extra baggage that it unfairly typecasts young bands. I'm just thankful that Brian Aubert's born-for-emo voice didn't follow the path of least resistance and go the My Chemical Romance or Panic! at the Disco route.

Posted by Merry Swankster at 10:42 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

December 26, 2006

The eagle eyed and well read among you will notice that this list is the same as one that ran a week or two ago over at Prefix. I apologize for the sloth, but it seemed Sisyphean to try and re-write justifications for the exact same albums using different words. But, like any good re-release, this one comes with bonus tracks, in the form of some Honorable Mentions.

On with it, already...

My Favorite Albums of 2006

1) Sunset Rubdown - Shut Up, I am Dreaming

Mothers eating their babies, mobs of persuing snakes, subcomittee votes on eye gouging; with dreams like these you'd think Spencer Krug might welcome an interruption. Looser, weirder, and more art-damaged than Wolf Parade, it's like Spence has always been dreaming of this band. Krug's uncaged songwriting is darker and more beautiful than that of his peers. A flavor of the month can't last for two years can it? I guess that means he's for real.
// Sunset Rubdown - Shut Up, I am Dreaming - buy

2) Liars - Drum's Not Dead

Reducing Liars' achievement to colonizing already discovered ground isn't being honest. Perhaps old-timey noise terrorists stumbled across these visceral sounds decades ago, but they never found a way to make them really work. Emerging from their Cold War bunker with a cohesive song cycle full of brutal rhythm and surprising melody, Liars acheived what artniks before them couldn't. Getting a bike with wings off the ground briefly before crashing isn't inventing flight, after all.
// Liars - Drum's Not Dead - buy

3) the Long Blondes - Someone to Drive You Home

Back in the Nineties while the British music press tore themselves apart trying to solve the great Blur vs Oasis debate, sullen teens knew that neither answer was correct. They sat in dimly lit rooms with their Pulp and Elastica records and plotted revenge. Stylish, supremely catchy revenge, no less.
// the Long Blondes - Someone to Drive You Home - buy

4) TV on the Radio - Return to Cookie Mountain

TV on the Radio's sound can only be described with sketchy made up terms like doo-wopacolypse. This time, instead of coasting on that shock of the new, TVOTR used their sonics to craft sharp songs. Sleepy neo trip hop, buzzing shoegaze, industrial clamor, and blistering dance rock all held together by huge vocal talent. When you bring Bowie in to sing, and completely blow him out of the studio, you've got some to spare.
// TV on the Radio - Return to Cookie Mountain - buy

5) the Knife - Silent Shout

Silent Shout is an experiment to see how alien a band can sound and still generate genuine empathy. Karen Dreijer's voice warps and contorts, threatening to completely segregate her from humanity. The dark electro that surrounds her offers no supporting warmth. Yet somehow, these abstracted tales of family ties and mundane living manage to connect. They can wear masks if they like, but the need to share of themselves is thankfully never completely obscured.
// the Knife - Silent Shout - buy

6) Love is All - Nine Times That Same Song

Almost every line sung by Josephine Olausson seems to come with a built in exclamation point. Bouyed by guitar rips, sprinting drums, and irrepressible horn blasts, silly everyday sentiments like "WE LIKE THE SAME KIND OF CHEESE!!!" come across as if she didn't notice the caps lock was stuck on. The enthusiasm is contagious, making this perhaps the most life affirming no-wave pop record ever.
// Love is All - Nine Times That Same Song - buy

7) Danielson - Ships

In which Daniel Smith enlists a legion of contributors to sound more like his brainy, polite self. Whether penning propulsive odes to library books, lovesongs to a suffix, or ingeniously re-naming caskets "body baskets," Dan exudes more casual intelligence than all the cranks who he outranks. While his love of the Lord is always going to get more ink in a heathen scene, it's the love of language that makes this unmissable.
// Danielson - Ships - buy

8) Belle & Sebastian - the Life Pursuit

If his lyrics are to be believed, Stuart Murdoch hung his boots up and retired from the disco floor nearly a decade ago. He apparently never had the heart to throw them out completely, as this release sees him cutting a rug in glam, funk, and sunshine pop styles. For the pale shut in fans of yore, there's also classic twee laments like the gorgeous "Dress Up in You". Something for everyone on this, the band's best offering in ages.
// Belle & Sebastian - the Life Pursuit - buy

9) the Fiery Furnaces - Bitter Tea

The dichotomy between sublime and annoying is likely one that will define Matthew Friedberger's career as long as he's writing music. There's helpings of both, but the newfound Motown bounce of the best material makes treasure hunting through the backwards gibberish a necessity. It's Eleanor's haunting deadpan that makes the cryptic come alive though, weaving tongue twisters into heartbreak with ease. As Matt's knotted solo albums confirmed, he needs to be saved by her grace.
//the Fiery Furnaces - Bitter Tea - buy

10) Peter Bjorn & John - Writer's Block

Not content to dominate the world in the areas of perfect cheekbones, standard of living, and smoked fish, Sweden flaunts its overflowing pool of genius pop with another stunning release. The doe eyed whistling single, "Young Folks," garned all the attention, but that stellar duet was by no means the only treat PB & J had to offer. In fact, the consistencicy of the low key hooks throughout makes the album's title a laughable misrepresentation.
//Peter Bjorn & John - Writer's Block - buy

[Continue reading for honorable mentions.]

Honorable Mention (11-20):

Junior Boys - So This is Goodbye - buy

Mel Torme's dead right? Can we hand the "Velvet Fog" nickname to Jeremy Greenspan?

Casiotone for the Painfully Alone - Etiquette - buy

An album of acutely drawn character studies of floundering post adolescence, sung in male monotone, but mainly from a female perspective. Like the musical equivalent of an Andrew Bujalski movie. Probably the most underrated album of the year.

Camera Obscura - Let's Get Out of the Country - buy

Traceyanne Campbell's may need to be convinced that she is pretty, but only the hardest hearted bastards could claim that her album is anything less than gorgeous.

Destroyer - Destroyer's Rubies - buy

A lovely but exhausting record that one can only assume will be holding secrets close to its chest for decades to come.

the Ballet - Mattachine! - buy

Long before Neon Lights was a twinkle in my eye, the Ballet put out the most instantly likable disc of the year. The abundance of wit and grace insure that it's not getting old anytime soon.

the Blow - Paper Television - buy

Khaela Maricich might be best suited to sadly sighing over a minimal beat, but the charm of Paper Television is that the options are never limited. Hip hop beats and dance club sex jams also bend effortlessly to her frail voice. While she may sound vulnerable, she's anything but meek.

Subtle - For Hero: For Fool - buy

I would be susceptible to a charge of rap tokenism here, if I was sure that this was even a rap album. I still don't really know what to call it, and I'm grateful for the enduring confusion.

Beirut - Gulag Orkestar - buy

I really don't want to go to the source for indigenous Balkan music. That might make me a bad person, but it's true. This is just fine.

the Rapture - Pieces of the People We Love - buy

Musical empty calories, but in retrospect it feels a little silly to have bet that a DFA-less Rapture wouldn't look good on the dancefloor.

A Sunny Day in Glasgow- the Sunniest Day Ever EP - (out of print)

Instead of reaching with an album that I liked four or five songs off of, I'll give credit for a super consistent EP, whose swirling mysteries have yet to be fully cracked by, like, a million listens.

...and that's it, one man's take on an unusually scattered and consensus-less year in music. Perhaps, you are too glassy eyed with lists already to handle some more, but my founding compatriots, M. Swankster and Mr. O'Brien will have their views up in the days to come, and we we will forge our own mini-agreement after that. Then, it's on to the new...

Posted by Jeff Klingman at 03:16 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

December 25, 2006

It's a crying shame on a day like this that there was no XTC side project called Andy Partridge and the Pear Trees.

Instead...

the Long Blondes - "Christmas is Cancelled"

the Ramones - "Merry Christmas (I Don't Want to Fight Tonight)"

the Waitresses - "Christmas Wrapping"

Cristina - "Things Fall Apart"

Casiotone for the Painfully Alone - "Cold White Christmas"

Merry / Happy Whatever...

XOXO,
JK for MS.com

Posted by Jeff Klingman at 12:10 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

December 22, 2006

Thanks to a plucky mutt, and an unexpected wi-fi connection in the Oregon suburbs, the 'cast is here!

Unlike some other blogs that have been itching to put the year to bed for months now, we're still sifting through the best tracks right up until the bitter end. As it turns out, the final quarter of the year was home to some of its very best material. Thus, it deserves a bit of our patented microfocus before we switch to backwards looking, sweeping generalization mode (which will be next week).

For now, let's bask in the Fall for a few more seconds, pretending that the year isn't headed for its imminent demise.

Album of the Quarter : the Long Blondes - Someone to Drive You Home
Runners up: the Blow - Paper Television, Swan Lake - Beast Moans

"Merry Swankster Fourth Quarter Podcast"

Tracklisting :

01: the Blow - "True Affection" (from the Paper Television album)

I was originally going to put this sparse, almost funky stunner second, but that unstoppable, “Bum, Bum, click, Bum, Bum, Click” just sort of destroyed anything it was supposed to segue in from, so first it is.

02: Under Byen - "Palads " (from the Samme Stof Som Stof album)

The Danish art rockers vamp over slinky Bjork-esque future pop here, before the bottom end drops out and a gorgeous stream of whispered sweet nothings takes over.

03: Swan Lake - "Are You Swimming in Her Pools?" (from the Beast Moans album)

There’s alot to appreciate among the cluttered wreckage of Beast Moans, but the entries where Krug mainly goes it alone, waxing vague and philosophical over a bare bones strum, are the only ones I can really bring myself to love. Congrats, Spence, you’re the sole artist to make all four quarters, one way or another.

04: the Long Blondes - "You Could Have Both" (from the Someone to Drive You Home album)

I don’t know what else to even say about the Long Blondes at this point, given how exhaustive our obsession has been all year. But, I guess the best complement I can offer is that I’m still not tired of the old singles, and this new material is on another level still.

05: Art Brut- "Nag Nag Nag Nag" (from the Nag Nag Nag Nag EP)

If the UK rock scene was a John Hughes movie, Eddie Argos would be the perfect match for Kate Jackson, unnoticed in plain sight. They share interests like referencing Cabaret Voltaire, being unhealthily obsessed with music, and pathologically disturbed by getting older. Plus he’s not going to leave her for some other girl like all those jerks she dates. They should perform a duet about everyone else’s stupidity and realize they're in love. Sadly, in the real world, I think that mustache is going to be a real obstacle.

06: Jarvis Cocker - "Black Magic" (from the Jarvis album)

In which Jarvis Cocker goes to a karaoke bar, gets drunk for a few hours, cues up “Crimson & Clover”, realizes the speed is off and he can’t read the words without his specs, makes up some quasi inspirational lyrics off the top of his head, and goes home with four waitresses half his age.

07: Beach House - "Apple Orchard" (from the Beach House album)

The finest moment of an entire album's worth of gorgeous sighing over days gone by.

08: Of Montreal - "Eagle Shaped Mirror" (from the Daytrotter.com session)

The as of yet unreleased new Of Montreal album has been dominating my stereo for months now, so its again a relief when Daytrotter gives us an excuse to actually reflect some of our current listening habits while they are still current. To be ultra specific here, this reminds me of the Bowie demo tracks they used to stick on the old RYKO disc re-issues. Just something thrilling about hearing such weirdo, pristine pop songs in a setting that lets you know there’s a real guy behind it, after all.

09: Born Ruffians - "the Knife" (Live @ KEXP, Grizzly Bear cover)

I know this will be considered blogsphemy by most, but I actually prefer this to Grizzly Bear's original. That one is hushed and beautiful, sure, but this brings the song back to its harmonic sixties roots, sounding like a Northwestern garage band making the prom circuit. I can smell the pomade and picture the matching two tone suits.

10: Malajube - "Montreal 40 C" (from the Trompe L'Oeil album)

Bouncy Quebeckers keep it real en Francais, and refuse to let something so simple as an attention span stop them from having a good time.

11: Prinzhorn Dance School - "Eat, Sleep" (b-side to the "You are the Space Invader" single)

New DFA Records kids could never be mistaken for a dance band, but their are certain elements here that make the signing less than baffling. The minimalism most of all. Just a few repeated phrases, some beats, some strum. Oh, and the late lapse into lyrical German probably didn't hurt.

12: Subtle (f/ Dan Boeckner) - "Middleclass Haunt" (b-side to "the Mercury Craze" single )

So I guess the non-Krug Wolf Parader hasn't been completely idle after all. Here he lends his gravel, "old before his time" voice, and world weary guitar strum to the spastic weirdness of non traditiojnal rap collective, Subtle. There’s not enough of anything you would call “hip-hop” to be a truly cross genre piece, but its bizarre enough to sound new, and familiar enough to get you through the listens it’ll take to figure out what’s actually going on.

13: Casiotone for the Painfully Alone- "Graceland" (from the Graceland EP)

At the end of last year, at their first New York City show, the Islands covered this Paul Simon classic in a completely earnest and faithful manner, sort of an affirmation that "no, that whole African Pop thing we’ve been talking about was NOT a joke." This is better. It doesn’t take an ironic tact either, smartly, because the lyrics still shine through as Simon's strength. The real key is Casiotone substituting a dark stutter where the sunny shuffle would normally be, and highlighting what a sad song this actually is.

14: Fujiya & Miyagi - "Ankle Injuries" (from the Transparent Things album)

Uses the trappings of krautrock, but with a much lighter touch, making it more lullaby than drone.

15: LCD Soundsystem - "2:58 to 10:00" (from 45:33 "Original Run")

The only times I'm gonna run is for a subway, or away from a cougar, so the utilitarian worth of James Murphy's Nike project is beyond me. A prime 7 minute slab of ZE Records space disco doesn't need a distinct purpose though.

16: Klaxons - "Atlantis to Interzone" (from the Xan Valleys EP)

We all know that "new rave" is profoundly NOT a genre, but the aid raid sirens, and female siren calls of this one make the description semi-understandable for one-time use. The best part is that the dance throwback is only a head fake, completely overshadowed when the punks slam through the club door and start barking at the kids rubbing Vapo-rub on each other.

17: Matt & Kim - "Yea Yeah" (from the Matt & Kim album)

Amateurism saved by non-stop enthusiasm. Charming to the point of undeniability.

18: Love is All - "Kiss Kiss Kiss" (bonus track from the Nine Times That Same Song re-release, Yoko Ono cover)

Proving that even skronking Yoko Ono no wave can sound like a hell of alot of fun coming from Josephine Olaussson’s excitable throat.

19: Animal Collective - "People" (from the People EP)

From Australia comes this Feels outtake, which is rather warm and inviting despite having not a single intelligible lyric, and very few structural changes over a lollygagging six minutes. Here's hoping that 2007 produces many more moments this likeable in spite of their oddity.

So that's it for the first year of Merry Swankster podcasts. As all the evil (but very stylish) music pirates out there know, the first quarter of '07 is going to be a doozy, so the next one may well surpass even the towering heights of this installment.

For now, we'll leave you to digest...

Posted by Jeff Klingman at 10:50 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Ladies and gentlemen of the Internets. You may have heard that the Denver area got paralyzed by a huge blizzard this week. Two feet of snow plus giant snow drifts. Coming after an epic battle with the MySQL database beasts, the exhausted MS armies were felled by the unbeatable forces of Mother Nature. Merry Swankster HQ has been beat up, left for dead and in the past few days - snowed in.

It's been a rough week for us. Arcade Fire provided an early Christmas gift but then all hell broke loose. So the podcast will not be ready today as hoped. We had to enlist the help of a loyal patriot to the MS cause. A fearless beagle (shown below) is carrying the podcast on his tiny sled of hope. Traveling hundreds of miles away in the hope for a Christmas miracle. Will he make it? Will Christmas be saved? Will MS readers the world over get the fourth and final podcast of 2006 in time??! Or will he go the way of the three kings and show up a few days late? Godspeed little friend...Godspeed.

Posted by Merry Swankster at 12:45 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack

December 21, 2006

Thieves Like Us and an appreciative fan of their drumming.

photos by Devon Banks

Well, I'd like to think that my non-stop shilling in the run up to last Friday's inaugural Neon Lights show had alot to do with the strong turnout, but realistically I think it's a fact that when you get alot of talented people together in the same room, people are going to be interested in coming there too, and drinking heavily. So much thanks to Bell, Lismore, Thieves Like Us, and the Ballet for being irresistible, and to DJ's Earfarm, Crumbcake, and Fluxblog, for maintaining the kind of perpetual motion that we all love. You can read Matt Earfarm's semi-comprehensive wrap up for his lofty DJ perch here, and marvel at the majesty of Matt Fluxblog's DJ set as well.

My partner in crime d has posted a much more timely review, so please read her take in all its glory. Which brings us to me...

Somewhere around posting the two hundredth notice brow beating the New York public into attending, I officially lost my ability to be objective about it. So any kind of "comprehensive write up" I could offer you would be painted so thickly with the proud parent brush as to be completely unreliable as a factual document.

With that in mind, I soldier on...

Bell

Due to a long stint responsibly manning the door, my view of Olga Bell's set was sliced into short pieces. Of course any sane observer needed only a song or two to realize that she was destined for big things. The intimacy of the recorded tracks didn't prepare me for how room filling Bell's pipes would actually be in person. Even those lurking towards the back of the room, trying to play it cool, were pinned down and forcibly charmed. The live rendition of the previously posted "Expanding File" was a highlight for me, its forays into thumping electronica calmed down by the milk and honey vocals.

I'm totally inconsolable over the fact that I missed her cover of Skee-lo's "I Wish". That song was drilled into my head repeatedly by teenage years spent idly gawking at MTV, carved into my memory banks waiting for the one moment years into the future where my intimate knowledge of its lyrics would one day be rewarded by their shocking appearance coming from the lips of a lovely young chanteuse. This destiny was unfulfilled, and now I shall never know true contentment.

Oh well.

Jessica Martins of Via Audio eventually pitched in on vocal harmonies, achieving their desired gorgeous layering effect. Before that, she watched and grinned with the rest of the assembled.

This was the default audience facial expression...

(Follow the link to read brief Bell agreement from my former DJ battle adversary Rachael, from the Underrated.)

Lismore

The fine folks of Lismore took stage next, in what was clearly the best dressed perfomance of the evening. Lead singer Penelope owned the black cap and tie ensemble, like an evil Andrews Sister, and her compatriots equalled her in their disaffected cool. As admirable as the icy reserve of the set majority was, the best moments for me were when the Jersey City-ites picked up the pace a little, as in new track "Cherry Bomb". A good sign for things to come.

Although she appears intimidating on stage, Penelope was as amiable as her Aussie lineage would suggest. We chatted briefly about the baffling honor of being a Hustler magazine music pick. Who knew that hardcore porn hounds were also into to glacial glitch pop? Or that the Flynt mags even had record reviews for that matter? I'm not just playing dumb, I promise...

Thieves Like Us

You could suss out the nationality of the Thieves Like Us members pretty easily. Super tall gent in the white patent leather jacket de-mystifying the keyboard by tilting it upwards; Swede. Super tall gent with long blond hair and wispy mustache beating the synth pads like they had insulted loganberries; Swede. Hype man in the middle, rocking the Kangol hat, print shirt, and jeans; Yank. But no matter the transparency of their national affiliations, TLU brought their hits. "Drugs in My Body", "Fass", and "Lady" were all trotted out in a dance-o-matic row, if I remember correctly. I dub synth pad Pontus the night's MVP, as no other single performer inspired the frenzied double metal hand signal accompanied by a screamed "DRUMMER!" as depicted in this post's top photo. Of course, it would be odd if anyone else but a drummer had that screamed at them, but we needed more specific screaming, is all I 'm saying. Pontus delivered.

the Ballet

The Ballet ended us off on a great note, sounding much crisper than they had when I saw them at the Cake Shop earlier this year. With songs as clever and catchy as those that litter Mattachine!, a sharp, faithful performance is going to kill. It did. They were a hit parade from the beginning, starting with "Personal", moving to "Cheating on Your Boyfriend", through "Corduroy", and onto the new MySpace featured charmer, "Murder at the Discotheque." Somehow I think the lack of a cello player pushes the group into tighter, more playful arrangement. He acknowledged as much in our recent interview, but I can attest for myself that the results were top notch non-stop pop! My night was a palindrome, as I soon went to resume my solitary perch atop the Delancey basement stairs, collecting cash from the tardy. I didn't have to be down there to know that the Ballet finished strong, as a cavalcade of drunk pals were well prepared to fill me in, on their way out.

So, after lingering about long enough to hear Fluxblog play my beloved "North American Scum", collect the felt banner, and bask for a second more in the night, it was done. Thanks again to everyone who made it out, a pox on those who did not.

Don't mourn us, we'll be back sooner than you think.

Check out more photos on Flickr here, and the come befriend Neon Lights on MySpace here. That way when the next show comes about, you'll be duly notified, and instead of swapping long winded recaps, we can just sort of nod knowingly at each other.

Hey, you know it just occurred to me that I still don't know what that last mystery drink special was...

// Bell - MySpace
// Lismore - MySpace, band site
// Thieves Like Us - MySpace, band site
// the Ballet - MySpace, band site

Posted by Jeff Klingman at 04:55 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack

December 20, 2006

Bringing it old school. Way back to 2004!

Beastie Boys - "Triple Trouble"

Inspired by the recent troubles at MS headquarters and in lieu of a real Retrohump post, I present this video for “Triple Trouble” from the (now middle-aged) brats of Hip Hop.

Ad-Rock dressed like Kelly Clarkson. Sasquatch smoking doobs with the Beasties. More cowbell. Kanye West. MS site back in working order – bizarro world on this here blog.

Posted by Merry Swankster at 01:41 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

December 19, 2006

UPDATE 10:26 am ET: Back in business!

MS.com is under the weather - Movable Type, is not playing nice.

(If you are not technically savvy, please ignore this.)

Over the weekend an issue with a corrupted file in the MySQL database was identified and fixed (thanks B. Ward). However a less serious, but unbelievably frustrating issue has lingered. When working in the publishing platform of Movable Type any time a user clicks on something the site kicks back to the login screen. This has severely degraded the ability of MS.com staff to publish posts. This coming at a terrible time of the year when we have lots of great stuff to share - year end lists, fourth Quarter Podcast, etc.

I'm at my wits end trying to solve this issue and have resorted to this plea for help.

I found a link on the SixApart support website that seems to explain a fix for the particular issue, but my technical expertise hits a wall trying to follow the cgi instructions.

Click here:
Instructions for fix?

If anyone out there can help please contact me at: merryswankster (at) merryswankster dot com.

Update: 10:26 am ET: Back in busine

Thanks for reading.

-Merry Swankster

Posted by Merry Swankster at 12:25 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack

December 18, 2006

Because the post on writers invoking My Bloody Valentine as a descriptive adjective drew a short, yet healthy discussion in the comments section, I feel the need to dumb it down with a simple image using TuneGlue's audio mapping tool :

Previously:
Sounds like My Bloody Valentine...?

Posted by Merry Swankster at 01:00 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Alright kids, let's get literary... A few months ago, Sam James of New York's folk-rock three-piece The WoWz gave me a volume of his as-of-yet unpublished poetry. It was entitled Name Games and, for reasons unknown (international travel?), it bore a photocopy of his passport on the cover. Inside, to my delight and horror (to my delighted horror), I found 41-pages of brain-raping delirium.

I shouldn't have been so surprised. WoWz lyrics, after all, are dripping with the same punchy humor and perverse logic: "Dogs wear leashes / to keep the blood from going to their heads;" "Everybody loves the one who makes them come," etc. Assertions that, at first listen, may sound like the mutterings of a madman. But then, given the right circumstances and (ahem) the right controlled substances, might just take on a level of prophecy.

At any rate, after my brain attained rape-crisis counseling--"seek medical attention," "remember it wasn't your fault," "recognize that healing takes time"--I asked Sam if I could post his verse here, so it could violate your craniums too. Below are two untitled poems, extolling, among other things, the virtues of oral over anal; obesity over anorexia; the Bible over the First Amendment; and, if my interpretation serves, Sam James over the Bible?

Oh, and for you illiterate bastards (I wouldn't dare leave you out), I've also tossed in some WoWz mp3s: ditties that have the jingle jangle of Mr. Tambourine Man-era Byrds, complete with a hint of Blonde on Blonde imagery, Beatles For Sale-esque harmonies, and the kind of PBR-induced hootenanny you'd find at Doc Holliday's on a Tuesday...after the jump.

Sam James loves girls who like him.
Sam James prefers girls who do not give themselves to him.
Sam James hates girls who think he is weird.
Sam James considers all girls to have more than one personality.
Sam James wants girls to come to him.
Sam James can't stand being treated in a sexual manner.
Sam James wouldn't be sad if you cared about him.
Sam James won't hit you, he'll just play head games.
Sam James likes girls who loved their parents.
Sam James spits on women's asses.
Sam James times himself.
Sam James counts himself out.
Sam James prefers oral to anal.
Sam James fucks it.
Sam James ain't so charmed.
Sam James don't wanna kiss because you wanna fuck.
Sam James likes to keep bases covered.
Sam James would rather be an asshole than fuck yours.

###

Being fat is better than being anorexic in every way.
Hating people who are stupid is anorectic.
Vore is a suffix. Vole is a rodent.
Experts disagree, but Sam James doesn't.
Do me a favor, because you're killing James.
It's very frightening, but the Bible backs it up fact by fact.
Friends are for this and that.
Solitude is forever.
Four-letter word for you right now: jerk.
Hello to the tag which reads "Hello."
Goodness knows time travel is dangerous.
Get out of the classroom if you can't teach Sam.
The first amendment is not the bible.
James merely reminded you: what are the first four letters in the word Messiah?
Why must you?
Because what?
Did you just say 'Jesus?'
James knows his first name is Sam.
Say it.

From Cool Dump:
The WoWz- Distant and Wide
The WoWz- LDL

From Long Grain Rights:
The WoWz- Happy Today

From Nicotine Bubble Gum:
The WoWz- My Baby Loves me

//The WoWz - Cool Dump - Download
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Posted by Koren Zailckas at 09:50 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

December 15, 2006

...is thank you to Jessica, singer for the band Via Audio, the keen graphic designer behind this lovely poster, and special guest star for tonight's opening performance by Bell.

If you still need any more details about tonight and its events, I'm not sure if I can help you.

Posted by Jeff Klingman at 03:25 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack

photo by Bao Nguyen

So, since you may have grown tired of my continual pimping of tonight's Neon Lights Presents... show (at the Delancey, 8 o'clock sharp), I've decided to up said pimping's intellectual content. I recently interviewed Greg Goldberg, the chief singer/ song writer of our final act, the Ballet.

It is long and interesting. These are facts. You will folllow the jump, read it in its entirety, become intrigued, and come to tonight's show. This is also a fact.

First, some audio for reference...

the Ballet - "I Hate the War"

...and now...

the MS Interview

Jeff Klingman: First of all, let me ask about the packaging for the Mattachine! album.(Each CD comes with hand printed art, cleverly fashioned from a manilla envelope). Is it important for fans to feel like they're getting something rare and lovingly crafted when they go to the trouble of tracking down your album?

Greg Goldberg: Well, I'd hate for anybody to be disappointed, but it wasn't like we thought "We need to make this special for it to be worthwhile to people." It's more like a kind of care wetry and put into everything we do. That the CD's are rare is more a function of our budget and the time it takes to produce them than it is a desire to create something limited or exclusive.

JK: Any plans for a wider release?

GG: No, but Mattachine! is on iTunes now. Can you get wider than that?

JK: If you'd allow me to demystify it, what's the meaning of the album's title?

GG: Mattachine refers to the Mattachine Society, which was the first gay liberation organization in the United
States.

JK: Ouch, I probably could have Googled that...Moving on....

You wrote and recorded the album in your apartment, right? How were you able to get such a polished production sound?

GG: Yes, it was all done in my apartment. I still don't really know what the difference between mixing and mastering is. But I've been home recording for a long long time. Like anything else, the more you do it, the better you get at it. Do you really think it sounds polished?

JK: I think so, but I have a high tolerance for lo-fi.

Is your goal strictly to make pure pop music? Would you ever be interested in pushing the Ballet' in to more experimental or harder edged directions?

GG: When I write a song I'm usually trying to find a catchy melody -- the right combination and spacing of words and notes. You probably don't have to be making pop music to do that.

JK: There are collaborations on the album from members of Voxtrot, the Baskervilles, and the Aislers Set. How did these come about?

GG: Linton from the Aisler's Set is a friend of ours from way back when. Rob from Baskervilles I met on the internet, and Ramesh from Voxtrot I also met on the internet. I mean basically I just asked people, "You want to come over and sing?"

JK: A common reference point in writings about your music is the Magnetic Fields. Is that fair? Is Stephin Merritt a conscious influence, or is that just an easy connection to make due to the gay themes?

GG: Yes -- it is fair. I am a big fan of Stephin Merritt's work.