Saint Swithun was from Winchester, England and is widely remembered because on St. Switun’s Day, July 15 (my birthday), if it rains, it will rain for forty days and forty nights! This from the British weather love proverb:
Thus far, as I recall, it has yet to rain on my date of birth. Hopefully, this year will be the same!
Chris DeCarlo
Sonic Youth’s latest, fantastic, release, The Eternal has earned the band’s highest chart performance, peaking at 18 on the Billboard 200. Previously, the band’s highest chart placement was 34, with 1994’s Experimental Jet Set, Trash and No Star. Of course to a band like Sonic Youth, where artistic integrity means everything, I’m sure this is frivolous and as a fan, it is for me. On the other hand, I find it noteworthy, ironic and actually a little humorous that it is this album in particular that has reached the higher ends of the charts. As some of you already know, this album is the band’s first release without the support of a major label in over twenty years. I suppose this proves that the band did not need to be on a major label to reach wider audiences and gain some commercial success. Over the years, the band had built up enough of a fan base to let go of the major (perhaps they were on a contract with Geffen for all of these years?). We, fans, do not need anything else, but the simple notice that a new album is being released, to get off our asses and check it out. Maybe, others will play the SY game of signing to a major and creating a large following, then taking it with them when they return to their independent status. Unfortunately, it should be noted that SY is a rare example of a band that has remained completely true to themselves over the years within the corporate ogre. All in all, check out the amazing album, The Eternal now!!!
Chris DeCarlo
Animal Collective- Summertime Clothes (2009)
Black Lips- Sea of Blasphemy (2005)
Jay Reatard- See/Saw (2008)
Necro- Your Fucking Head Split (2000)
King Khan & The BBQ Show- Too Much in Love (2006)
Continue reading Songs of the Week!
Supreme Genius:
1. March 2009 – Black Lips/Gentleman Jesse & His Men/Mean Creek – Grade: A+ at the Middle East in Cambridge, MA
2. May 2009 – King Khan & The Shrines/Mark “BBQ” Sultan/Homosexuals (didn’t like) – Grade: A+ at the Paradise Rock Club
3. April 2009 – No Age/The Beets/Lemonade – Grade: A+ at Wellsley College
Genius:
4. October 2008 – Built to Spill/Dinosaur Jr/Meat Puppets – Grade: A at the Orpheum Theatre
5. May 2009 – Animal Collective/Grouper (hated)– Grade: A at the House of Blues
6. August 2008 – Radiohead/Grizzly Bear (didn’t see) – Grade: A at the Comcast Center
7. November 2008 – No Age/Soft Circle/Silk Flowers – Grade: A at the Middle East
Continue reading Chris’ Greatest Concert Experiences (minus one)
This is basically a list of my favorite modern (formed in the 21st Century for the most part or became prominent within the past few years) bands and some of their songs.
1) Black Lips- Top Songs: Bad Kids, Sea of Blasphemy, Dirty Hands, Fairy Stories, I’ll Be With You, and many more
2) King Khan and the Shrines- Land of the Freak, Took My Lady to Dinner, I Wanna Be a Girl, No Regrets, Welfare Bread, and others
3) Animal Collective- Summertime Clothes, Peacebone, Banshee Beat, Purple Bottle, Who Could Win a Rabbit
4) No Age- Everybody’s Down, Eraser, Teen Creeps, Brain Burner, Neck Escaper
5) Jay Reatard- See/ Saw, An Ugly Death, No Time, I’m Watching You, Screaming Hand
Pretty & Nice, TV Smith, Jay Reatard – Harpers Ferry – July 3
Pretty and Nice: Interesting kids…. Their music mixed loud, fast punk with some glimmers of power pop. Musically, they had the chops, but they didn’t stand out more than any other band to me. On the other hand, it was their “antics” that caught my attention. These include singing songs about ponies for mic checks and similar little songs between their actual numbers, making extremely strange, almost robotic faces, often while rocking out on the guitar (mainly this was just one guitarist and it looked as though he would fall at any moment haha).
Continue reading Review: Jay Reatard, TV Smith, Pretty and Nice @ Harpers Ferry (7/3/09)
Kids Like You & Me (KLYAM) 