I’ve got all sorts of sinister shit for y’all. In the forthcoming days reviews of Over the Edge, Pink Flamingos, American History X, Boogie Nights, To Die For (possibly) and most anticpated of all (at least for me) Trash Humpers! Stay tuned kids…
Monthly Archives: November 2010
Garage Explosion – Excellent New Documentary!
Watching this documentary, you might feel like you are reading this website. There are shots of living and deceased (literally/not literally) KLYAM regulars like Black Lips, Jay Reatard, King Khan & BBQ Show as well as shots and interviews with other great musicians and performers like Ty Segall, Thee Oh Sees, Davila 666, The Dirtbombs, The Magic Kids, Hunx and His Punx and Box Elders. What is garage rock? For Jay Reatard, it was about grossing people out. For Joe Bradley, “it’s about keeping it simple, stupid. That’s what we’re [Black Lips] are trying to do. It’s about fun and entertainment.”
VICE goes around interviewing some of the most notable and downright prolific names in garagerock. Part 1 examines the scenes in Memphis and Detroit.
Part 1: http://www.vbs.tv/watch/vbs-music-specials/garage-explosion-part-1-of-3
Part 2: http://www.vbs.tv/watch/vbs-music-specials/garage-explosion-part-2-of-3
CD Review: My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy [2010]
Rapper: Kanye West
Release: 11/2010
Label: Roc-A-Fella
1. “Dark Fantasy” – A+
2. “Gorgeous” – A
3. “Power” – A+
4. + 5. “All Of The Lights (Interlude)/All Of The Lights” – A-
6. “Monster” – A-
7. “So Appalled” – A
8. “Devil In A New Dress” – A
9. “Runaway” – A-
10. “Hell of a Life” – B+
11. “Blame Game” – B+
12. “Lost in the World” – B
13. “Who Will Survive in America” – B-
Comments: My history with listening to Kanye West is brief and to the point. I bought The College Dropout in the summer of 2004. I really loved that album. It’s still pretty great. After that, I fell out of touch with West, not necessarily because he was gaining fame or anything (no such ‘indie’ mindset for a thirteen year old), but because…well, I don’t know. This album, along with man himself, has received a lot more hype in the past few months than I can ever recall before. Initial reviews have near universally dubbed this one of the best pop albums of all time. “Dark Fantasy” certainly gives these claims some validity. The beat. The lyrics. The chorus of “Can we get much higher?” is something that is overwhelmingly more luscious and “bigger” than most of the shit that gets played on Top 40 radio today. I think “Power” is one of the best songs of the year. I must say this was looking like something special by the end of “Power,” but ultimately fails to keep up that pace. He didn’t fail to jot down his thoughts on paper and get a bunch of great guests to spot on this record. As an all-encompassing work of art, this kind of album will be hard to surpass. To put it simply, it doesn’t (through-and-through because as I’ve mentioned there are some ace tracks) sound as great as it looks on Wikipedia. Realistically a top 30 album of the year. Top 10 or top 5? Definitely not.
Grade: A- (90)
Robert Plant:Burning Down One Side & Slow Dancer (Live 1983)
I talked about Robert Plant having a very strong solo career so I thought I would take a little time and go through it over a few posts (yes all the way from post Led Zeppelin 1980 to now). After the unfortunate death of John Bonham in 1980, Plant quickly went to work on a solo career, his first effort “Pictures at Eleven” was released in 1982. While musically some of it is, well typical 80’s songs, other songs (such as Slow Dancer) hold up very well over the years. Vocally he isn’t as commanding as he was in Led Zeppelin, but he isn’t trying to be either (although he does go pretty hard on a couple of tracks). The result of “Pictures at Eleven” isn’t a masterpiece by any means, but is a very strong solo effort that gives listeners a first glimpse into Robert Plant post Zeppelin, not the rock icon they knew, but a new phase of a legitimate musical artist.
Here is ‘Burning Down One Side’
Here is ‘Slow Dancer’
Frank, Paul Lead Way On Defense Budget Reduction
News doesn’t get posted here all too often, but I read a good article in the Boston Sunday Globe yesterday. Barney Frank (D-MA) and Ron Paul (R-TX) have come together against the popular Congressional sentiment of increased or status quo defense spending. On most issues, Frank and Paul, are quite unalike — Frank is an outspoken liberal while Paul is an old Right libertarian — but here they agree and they want other Congresspeople to see the light.
Check out the article: http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2010/11/21/frank_paul_make_a_case_for_pentagon_cuts/
SOTD: Holly Golightly – “There’s An End”
CD Review: Memphis [2010]
Band: The Magic Kids
Release: 5/2010
Label: True Panther Sounds
1. “Phone” – A-
2. “Candy” – A+
3. “Superball” – A+
4. “Hideout” – B+
5. “Summer” – A-
6. “Hey Boy” – A+ [CLICK TO LISTEN!!!]
7. “Good To Be” – A-
8. “Skateland” – A-
9. “Sailin” – A+
10. “Little Red Radio” – A-
11. “Cry With Me Baby” – A
Comments: The Magic Kids were rightly called the next evolution of The Barbaras. The Barbaras might just never play again: at least one member is currently in Wavves (Stephen Pope and maybe, just maybe, Billy Hayes) and the other three are in this band, The Magic Kids. Hayes certainly incorporated a bit of the Barbaras surf-pop sound in “Baby Say Goodbye,” which was penned by him and released on Wavves 2010 LP King of the Beach. At any rate, comparisons to the Beach Boys have been a plenty since the release of this record. The initial critical response to this record was that it was pretty average: Memphis is a nice attempt at ’60s surf, but it just doesn’t do anything extra. To an extent, I suppose that that may be true. Let’s not forget, though, that some songs are just 100% pop gems like “Superball” and “Hey Boy” and the rest are not too shabby…maybe even great. Perhaps somebody not too familiar with this kind of music would lump it in the “oh, this all sounds the same category.” Touche, touche! If you are sucker for it, it’s quite like bubblegum — sweet and colorful. Though this is quite a summer record — nobody is going to mistake “Sailin” for “skiing” — it pretty much screams nostalgia. Nostalgia for those warm and sunny days that became no more after October 28 (in the Boston area). So anyway, Memphis is a keeper.
Grade: A- (93)
Song of the Day: Wavves- Weed Demon
I’ve been really getting into pre-King of the Beach Wavves recently. I mean I liked Wavves before King, but when that LP was released, I became a superfan. But, recently I have been gaining an appreciation for the older songs beyond So Bored/No Hope Kids/ To the Dregs/Summer Goth. Thus, I present to you the Song of the Day: Weed Demon. Long live Wavves!
New Black Lips Song: Live In Savannah, GA
After a fairly extended break from touring (only a few one-off shows and festivals since April), the Black Lips played the first of two November Georgia shows last night in Savannah at the Jinx. They played a brand new song, which will probably be released on their new album due out in April 2011. I’m not a master decipherer, but it sounds like the chorus goes something like: “I’ve been looking at a new collection.” Ian has a nice solo.
Click here to watch (starts @ 4:00 if you don’t want to watch “Short Fuse” first): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g7kNgW2HEE4&feature=mfu_in_order&list=UL
Who Did it Better? Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door
Back with another edition of Who did it better? and this time I have 4 songs for you to decide from, today we are going with another Bob Dylan classic ‘Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door’ (note oddly enough the original song is not on YouTube, but I did find a nice live performance with Tom Petty to supplement it)
Next up a Guns N’ Roses cover
Third I am going to throw in a different Eric Clapton cover
Just for argument sake here is a Avril Lavigne cover
Personally I like all the cover’s (yes even Avril’s), it’s a heartfelt emotional song and all four artist has that come across. My favorite of the four though got to be Guns N’ Roses, just can’t get past Axel’s vocals on this one, but we would love to hear your thoughts!
Kids Like You & Me (KLYAM) 