This was back when Peter Hook didn’t disappoint KLYAMers.
All posts by G. Gordon Gritty
Gentleman Jesse + His Men 7″ Single!!!
Available for your order and listening pleasure at HoZaC Records!
Check it out:
KLYAM Shuffle: Glen
Going along with the trend.
1. “Union Song” – The Nightwatchman – I haven’t listened to this guy in a year, at least. This is a refreshing song, not one of his best, but politically meaningful at least.
2. “Pick Yourself Down” – Gangbang Gordon – (Warning: this is my own song). I wrote this song on a night that I just wanted to write a song. I made a decent chord progression and then just ad-libbed for five minutes. So lyrically it’s a piece of shit…example: “Might as well call your lawyer. Take a seat in the foyer. If you think you’re gonna wait long, better write a fuckin’ song to help you through the times, to help you un-wind, amount of stress you’re in it’s not even worth telling your kin.” Yeah, for real. One more example, if I may: “She doesn’t get English. She was born in Spain. Bilingual education won’t even give her a reign. All she is is hot, I ain’t talkin’ looks. Just look at her face, you will give her a book. She ain’t nothin’ but a reader. She ain’t nothin’ but Aretha. When she stretches her chords.” Okay, I’ll stop. If anyone wants to listen to this song, let me know.
3. “Hippys” – Black Lips – One of their best non-album tunes. I like its southern country punk slime like a Sherman in a Suuuuuueeeeeeeeebaaaaaahhhhhhruuuuuuueee.
4. “Red Red Wine” – UB40 – Also another song that I don’t play too much. It gives me too much ’90s nostalgia. Good and bad. Usually bad things were associated with song like the show COPS. I definitely appreciate it, though.
5. “Hang On, Siobhan” – The Walkmen – A downer of a song. Beautifully written and meaningful. Nice if I want to get all introspective and shit, but I rarely do.
6. “Losing Feeling” – No Age – I bumped this heavy last year around this time, I think. One of the most ambient-yet-catchy No Age songs pre-Everything In Between. The sped up punk towards the end is pure awesomeness.
7. “Imagine Pt. 3” – The Smith Westerns – I added this song on a limb a couple of weeks ago. They are similar to Magic Kids (at least on this song), but more British and Beatles sounding. Also, pretty MGMT like. I do like this. Not so sure their debut album stuck out, but this next one is shaping up to be a little better. We’ll see.
EP Review: Hot Tropics [2010]
Band: The Growlers
Release: 10/2010
Label: Everloving
1. “Graveyard’s Full” – A-
2. “Nosebleed Sun” – B
3. “What It Is” – A-
4. “The Moaning Man From Shanty Town” – B
5. “Sea Lions Goth Blues” – A+
6. “Badlands” – B
7. “Let It Be Known” – B
8. “Camino Muerto” – B+
9. “Underneath Our Palms” – A
10. “Hula Hula Hideout” – B
Comments: The Growlers are pretty distinctly So. Cal, which is a pretty daunting statement to make in an age where there is striking diversity among bands from that area. What I meant to say is they aren’t too far away from Mexico and listening to their music confirms this. Opener “Graveyard’s Full” features lead and bass guitar riffs that border on traditional Mexican/Caribbean. Singer Brook Nielson’s vocal style — part raspy/part laid-back eerie — fits genuinely on tunes like this. Short ditties like “Nosebleed Sun” add to the mystique of the band. What the hell are they singing about, anyway? I haven’t been able to discern such, but such does not matter much. Rhyming, for the win. Anyway, “Sea Lion Goth Blues” is this release’s best song and it’s not like its new or anything. Far from it. Other versions of “Sea Lion” have featured a more prominent lead guitar — one of the best of its kind that I’ve heard in the last year or so. The surf notes are compelling. Still, the added echo and reverb on Brooks’ vocals and the respective instruments are refreshing. My second favorite song on here is probably the second-to-last ditty entitled “Underneath Our Palms.” It’s plainly neat.
Grade: B+ (88)
Band Recommendation: The Onions
The Onions are a product of The Last Daughters of Compton, a band that was featured over 9,000 years ago on the cover of Minimum Rock and Troll.
They are fronted by disgruntled Wisconsin master baiter, online radio superstar, organic farmer, lead guitarist and vocalist Brad X. Brad X looks something like this:
Brad X posts on the Terminal Boredom forums, a gathering place for ass-worshipers, A.D.D record collectors, and most of all punk purists who scoff at the notion that the Black Lips are still a great band. Jared Swilley, Black Lips bassist, was known for logging in TermBo late-night and freaking out on the haters. His most epic diss was: “I have an extremely powerful attorney. i do whatever i want. i travel the world. i get laid by chicks hotter than you douches can dream of (im in her room). and i get paid like a motherfucker. fuck you. your lives suck. i am so fucking happy right now.” The late great Jay Reatard spent a fair amount of time on the forum as well. Nobunny remains the best boarder in the game.
At any rate, behind the internet shit-talking and what have you, lies a fairly accomplished musician who knows the art of the catchy punk song.
Take a look at The Onions MySpace, listen to this reel-to-reel, or go to Texas in March to watch them play at SXSW.
Who Did It Better? “Holiday Road”
Lindsey Buckingham
The Walkmen
http://www.avclub.com/video_embed/?id=48355
The Walkmen cover “Holiday Road”
For some reason Ham doesn’t feel right singing it, but for obvious reasons I think The Walkmen’s instrumentation is much better. ’80s vs. ’10s. C’mon, guys.
7″ Review: Nobunny/Jacuzzi Boys [2010]
Bands: Nobunny/Jacuzzi Boys
Release: 11/2010
Label: Scion A/V
A. “Someone Else’s Brain” [LISTEN]
B. “Coral Girls” [LISTEN]
Comments: Nobunny’s “Someone Else’s Brain” is very First Blood and very good. It fits in line with some of his retro power-pop/country-rock tunes on that record. Interesting subject matter! “Coral Girls” is a keeper as well. It’s a mainly fast number with a few slow parts and a very very sludge-y/heavy guitar solo part. Take a listen to both tunes.
“…….Nobody”
Cox Plays Drums On “Notown Blues” @ Black Lips ATL Show
In what seems to be a biennial pre-record release show, Black Lips played in their hometown of Atlanta on Saturday night at The Variety Playhouse. Their impending record is untitled as of right now, but will most likely be released in April. Perhaps this was just an early treat. The Lips put together a similar show at the Playhouse in February 2009, the month that they released 200 Million Thousand. That show surely was fun as can be for all that attended — the Lips played a mix of rarely played oldies and a few new songs that would quickly vanish from their typical set-list. For example, they played four songs that had a little lasting power back in 2009, but are rarely played nowadays: “Take My Heart,” “Starting Over,” “I’ll Be With You,” and “Elijah.” The tunes that have stuck from 200 Million Thousand are “Drugs” and “Short Fuse.” As far as rare classics go, they played “Ain’t No Deal” (which I must note has been played more than usual in 2010), “Workin,” and one of my personal favorites, “Fad.” Getting back to Saturday night, they played six new songs, a few of which have been debuted recently. These include “Dumpster Diving” (Ian St. Pe on lead vocals), “Raw Meat” (the whistle one they played frequently on their ’10 US tour), and “New Direction” (not the official name, but sung in the chorus). Notably, though, Bradford Cox was in attendance and he played drums (as he did in the studio back in ’04) on “Notown Blues”. Accomplished multi-musician Joe Bradley played the organ during that song.
Initial Reaction To Trash Humpers
IMDB reviewer OChrist’s feelings on this piece of work are pretty much mine exactly:
(LINK) So Harmony Korine (a great name for a gangster’s moll) was able to replicate the look of a crappy 8th generation VHS videotape? That’s some feat. So he got a bunch of irritating exhibitionists to unconvincingly disguise themselves as old people and then set them loose to hump trashcans and break old TV sets? Bravo. The only true accomplishment here is getting intelligent people to A) masochistically sit through this non-movie and then B) actually try to critique and interpret it like it’s something more than the pathetic indulgence of someone who has so much contempt for his audience that he makes Marguerite Duras look like Nora Ephron.
So when Chris ends up doing his review for this, he’ll be attempting B).
Kids Like You & Me (KLYAM) 