All posts by G. Gordon Gritty
CD Review: Stroke [2009]
Band: Various Artists
Release: 2009
***DISC ONE***
1. “Pull Down The Shades” – Jay Reatard – A+
2. “Rebel” – The Checks – A
3. “Ain’t It Nice” – The Bleeding Allstars – A+
4. “Don’t Catch Fire” – Peter Gutteridge – B+
5. “Luck or Loveliness” – The Chills – C
6. “Nothing’s Going to Happen” – David Kilgour – B-
7. “All My Hollowless to You” – The Crying Wolfs” – B+
8. “Beauty” – Stephin Merritt – B
9. “Nostalgia’s No Excuse” – Portastatic – B+
10. “Crush” – The Mint Chicks – B-
11. “I’ve Left Memories Behind” – Jay and Sam Clarkson – B-
12. “Burning Blue” – Sky Green Leopards – A
13. “The Slide” – Shayne Carter – B
14. “Grand Mal” -Pumice – C-
15. “Knoxed Out” – Hamish Kilgour – D+
***DISC TWO***
1. “Not Given Lightly” – Boh Runga – B+
2. “Bodies” – Bill Doss – C+
3. “Sign the Dotted Line” – Jeff Magnum – B-
4. “Lapse” – Bill Callahan – B+
5. “Growth Spurt” – Genghis Smith – B+
6. “Coloured” – Yo La Tengo – B
7. “Dunno Much About Life but I Know How to Breathe” – AC Newman – C+
8. “Glide” – Alec Bathgate – B+
9. “Inside Story” – Don McGlashan – B
10. “The Outer Skin” – Sean Donnelly – B+
11. “What Goes Up” – Lambchop – C
12. “Brave” – The Mountain Goats – B
13. “Round These Walls” – The Tokey Tones & Friends – A-
14. “Just Do It” – The Bats – A-
15. “My Only Friend” – Will Oldham – B+
16. “It’s Love” – The Pyjama Party – B+
17. “Becoming Something Other” – Jordan Luck – B-
18. “Driftwood” – The Verlaines – B+
19. “Song of the Tall Poppy” – Lou Barlow – B-
20. “Nappin’ In Lapland” – The Nothing – C-
21. “Sunday Song” – Tall Dwarfs – B
Comments: Jay starts off this cover tribute album to Chris Knox, a highly inspirational rock musician from New Zealand, with “Pull,” originally more of a punk sharp shooter. Jay managed (talking about him in the past tense is depressing) to make it really sound like his own with a softer combination of acoustic and electric. It’s awesome to listen to Jay’s faux Brit accent come out when he chants “pool down the shaydes” haha if you know what I mean. Fun bubblegum rock comes on “Rebel” which reminds me of “Buddy Holly” by Weezer. I had to double check that JR didn’t sing “Ain’t” because it sounds literally like something he’d do. I’m going to say he definitely stole (or playfully borrowed) elements of this song and incorporated them on various releases, namely “It Ain’t Gonna Save Me” but others as well. “Don’t Catch Fire” is a slow erotic shoe-gazer, I guess. “I watch your strip tease till I have to go.” That’s an intense line. “Burning Blue” is comparable to softer Jay stuff so obviously it’s awesome! And check out that song title…look familiar?
Final Evaluation: Very Positive (Disc 1>Disc 2)
Peggy Wang Makes Posts!
She’s just like me…except she’s in a really awesome band as well!
Here. Go and see how her shit: http://www.buzzfeed.com/peggy
Great Bradford Cox Quote
Talking about album leaks:
When Lotus Plaza came out I was like a mom or something. Keeping up. The way that it went from anticipation anticipation anticipation anticipation…it’s such a sexual thing. You know what I mean it’s like they really wanted to see him with his clothes off. The album leaks like a fucking homemade sex video or something. Once the real album comes out it’s almost like yeah, I fucked her. I fucked him. I fucked that person already. When they first start getting it on they’re like “oh my God Atlas Sound is shit compared to this! Deerhunter is shit! Lotus Plaza is Deerhunter! Lotus Plaza is the essential essence of good music! Lotus Plaza is the transcendental…” The first two weeks it’s always the same. Then a week later they’re is a backlash. I’m tired of hearing about how good this is. The album isn’t even out yet! Think about In Utero: it took a year of 92/93/94 for that cycle to fully happen. There was an important day like Election Day. There’s not that anymore. People have destroyed a format of art. I have too. I’m not being Mr. Highhorse. I’m sorry for the tirade.”
In Honor Of Saturday Morning
INCENDIARY MATH!
Black Lips Funny
What do you do when your sixteen and in deep shit? You’re looking out at the world from the strip-mall and the detention hall, from the basement and the cul-de-sac and it just looks like there is a wall around you. Everybody tells you and your friends that you’re going nowhere, that your lives are already ruined. What the fuck do you do?
You hang around and smash stuff and get high and try to be a bad-ass, that’s what you do. You steal and drink and smash up the car your mom gave you and pull your pee-pee out in public. You work at sandwich shops and fast-food joints and try to screw private school girls because they think your tough and the girls at your school think your gay because you pretended to give your friend a blowjob at the junior prom. You fuck it all up as ugly and as dirty as you can because, why the fuck not?
Your parents and teachers and sandwich-shop supervisors look at you and think, “What happened to the kid? He has all the advantages in the world and he has chucked it all in the shitter. Doesn’t he believe in the inherent goodness of our enlightened society? Doesn’t he believe in any thing at all?”
No Age Notes!!!
– There’s a new album in the works.
– The band has been writing it for the past year.
– 60 to 75 percent done according to Randy Randall.
– Two confirmed songs are “Fever Dreaming” and “New Two”
– It may or may not come out this summer.
– The band is also working on a documentary about all-ages venues.
No Time: Zinn + Salinger Dead
J.D Salinger and Howard Zinn = Dead.
Beach House – Zebra
Yeah, yeah, yeah, I listened to and reviewed this album for the first time back in November. Talk about an early leak! It’s among the better things that I’ve heard for 2010, but it’s a little blase, aka something bitchfuck media won’t admit! Take this song “Zebra.” You got to admit it’s pretty awesome, but at certain points I feel sort of disappointed. “Any way you run, you run before us” is simply an excellent chorus, but this song calls for some kind of loud extravagant epicness. The ending is quite solid, but in the middle it’s just all right. What do you think?
Kids Like You & Me (KLYAM) 