All posts by G. Gordon Gritty

Black Lips, Music, Tours

IMPORTANT: Black Lips @ Paradise APRIL 14

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After selling out the Middle East Downstairs as headliners for two years in a row, honorary KYLAMers and of course (shocker!) my favorite band Black Lips will be moving up in the world of Boston venues, playing at the Paradise Rock Club on Thursday April 14. Vivian Girls will be opening. The Lips will be hitting the road a little later than usual this year and will be touring independently of a record release — their new album has been pushed back to Summer 2011 after initially being slated for April 5.

Other dates here:
02-24 Miami, FL – Grand Central *
02-25-28 Miami, FL – Bruise Cruise *!
04-06 Carrboro, NC – Cat’s Cradle
04-07 Baltimore, MD – Ottobar
04-08 Washington, DC – Black Cat
04-09 Philadelphia, PA – The Trocadero
04-12 New York, NY – Webster Hall
04-13 Pawtucket, RI – The Met
04-14 Boston, MA – Paradise Rock Club
04-15 Montreal, Quebec – Le National
04-16 Toronto, Ontario – Phoenix Concert Theatre
04-17 Detroit, MI – Magic Stick
04-19 Columbus, OH – Outland Live
04-20 Newport, KY – Southgate House
04-21 St. Louis, MO – The Firebird
04-22 Chicago, IL – Logan Square Auditorium
04-23 Minneapolis, MN – Varsity Theater
04-25 Omaha, NE – The Waiting Room
04-26 Kansas City, MO – The Beaumont Club
04-27 Dallas, TX – The Loft
04-28 Austin, TX – Emo’s
04-29 Houston, TX – Fitzgerald’s
04-30 Baton Rouge, LA – Spanish Moon

CD Review, Music

CD Review: Mine Is Yours [2011]

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Band: Cold War Kids
Release: 1/2011
Label: Downtown

1. “Mine Is Yours” – B-
2. “Louder Than Ever” – A-
3. “Royal Blue” – C
4. “Finally Begin” – C
5. “Out of the Wilderness” – B-
6. “Skip the Charades” – B
7. “Sensitive Kid” – B-
8. “Bulldozer” – C
9. “Broken Up” – C-
10. “Cold Toes on the Cold Floor” – C-
11. “Flying Upside Down” – C

Comments: If we get over the fact that Cold War Kids have historically been rather high-aiming, we all might appreciate this record a little more. There is some intrinsic value in CWK’s way of going about sounding ‘big’ — their ‘art’ doesn’t come off as forced. They’ve always incorporated blues and soul into their pop appearance more emphatically than a group they are often compared to — Kings of Leon. Keeping that in mind, there indeed seems to be a limit on creativity (confirmed via this record) in pop-sensible modern rock. For a decade or two, we’ve all heard dry John Mayer/dry Matchbox 20/dry (insert lame top 40 “rock” band here).  “Mine Is Yours” is pretty bland (good, but generically so) and “Louder Than Ever” also sounds like just another anthemic tune. I’m not sensing any of the depth that debut LP Robbers & Cowards or 2010 EP Behave Yourself brought to the table. Even something strippeddownLOUDstrippeddownLOUD like “Out of the Wilderness” just doesn’t come off as triumphant as it wants to be, minus a few satisfying parts here and there. “Skip the Charades” is a nice idea and a pretty solid slow song, without sounding retarded or cheesy. The last four or so songs are just utterly un-fulfilling. I don’t think I’m going to completely give up on Cold War Kids, but where are the immediate hooky tunes (“Saint John,” “Heavy Boots,” etc) that got me interested in them in the first place? Except for “Louder Than Ever” not on here.

Grade: C+ (77)

humor, Jay Reatard

Jay Reatard’s 3 Rules For Getting Out of a Fight

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As posted on Death + Taxes (great site):

1. “Man, what?”
Act dumb. Maybe shrug in a vaguely irritated manner. The “Man, what?” response, Reatard claimed, both signifies confusion and a vague air of pacifism that may cause your antagonist to simply lose interest. For real fighters, it’s not much fun to fight someone who won’t fight back.

If he persists, move on to phase two.

2. “Dude said it was cool.”
This both reinforces the pacifist vibe and offloads responsibility onto someone else. Usually the guy provoking you will accuse you of breaking some rule stupid rule that his drunkenness dictates is worth fighting over. “Dude said it was cool” defuses your antagonist’s argument by placing you back in the land of the rule-followers. It was all a misunderstanding. You followed the rules—dude said it was cool. If your red-faced instigator is on the fence but asks which dude specifically, point to someone who looks like he could take the guy.

If he still won’t get out of your face, move on to phase three.

3. “Man…I’m just partyin’.”
If he’s still not letting it go at “Dude said it was cool,” you put your hands up by your chest, equal parts exasperated and clueless, and say “Man…” letting it hang for effect, “I’m just partyin’.” When you’re talking about guys who pick fights at parties, there’s usually some common ground when it comes to worldview. They’re likely to scorn party poopers, and probably respect the will to party. To party is a virtue. With “Man, I’m just partyin’,” you make a friend of your enemy, as if saying, “we’re both in this together” in a way he can appreciate and respect.