Since Chris put one foot forward in making KLYAM more like Beer Advocate, I’ve decided to make this alcohol related post out of necessity and clarification. As I’m passively sipping on an alcohol beverage, I’ve embarked on the chaotic quest of finding out how other people feel about how drinking alcohol feels. Chances are that the person on Yahoo! Answers asking this question has never tasted alcohol and is curious. We’ve all been there. Now, I know some (if not all, then most) of you folks did not need the aid of anonymous internet discussion boarders in gauging the mysterious liquid. Maybe one or two of you reading decided to look into this medium. Fine. Typical responses (in my viewing history AND as expected) run the gamut from the neo-Prohibitionist (“Don’t drink at all. It is poison!”) to the impudently blithe (“Get fucked up and see!”). If I had to respond, I would take a reasonably middling stance. I’ve seen a fair share of responses, though, that really get my blood boiling. I can understand the truths in both extremes that I just mentioned, but when I read a response that says “you will feel horribly sick the next morning” I get semi-angered. If you have a moderate amount of alcohol beverage, in between ONE and anywhere between TWO and ______ drinks, chances are more than probable that you won’t feel sick. It’s called moderation for a reason. It’s a crime to instill fear in the brains of neophytes with this kind of garbage…this kind of shit. I don’t know too many people that go all out/black out during their first experimental session, do you? That’s all really. I could conclude this passage much more formally, but that’s all I have. My libation is getting warm.
All posts by G. Gordon Gritty
CD Review: Only in Dreams [2011]
Band: Dum Dum Girls
Release: 9/2011
Label: Sub Pop
1. “Always Looking” – A+
2. “Bedroom Eyes” – A
3. “Just A Creep” – A-
4. “In My Head” – A-
5. “Heartbeat” – B+
6. “Caught in One” – A-
7. “Coming Down” – A+
8. “Wasted Away” – A-
9. “Teardrops On My Pillow” – B+
10. “Hold Your Hand” – B
Comments: Quick thing that I’ve noticed right off: Dee Dee’s voice goes full-circle in the sexiness/appealing category. “Always Looking” is an Austin Powers 4 sound-track candidate with swampy guitar and even a happy-go-lucky clapping part. FELT! HEART! Haven’t heard that kind of stuff since The Go Team! In terms of stuffiness of hooks and all that stuff (pun intended), this album gets high marks. I’ve always thought Dum Dum Girls had some serious development potential when I saw them open twice for KK+BBQ. It was a relatively new band at the time so things live weren’t as “hitting” as on record. But this record is much fuller than I Will Be. We get better harmonies, better vocal focus. As various press releases indicate, Only in Dreams is about relationship emptiness and life emptiness. Despite this subject matter, it never really gets in the way of fun rock ‘n’ roll. It gives Dee Dee a much better platform as a song-writer. Make no mistaking Dum Dum Girls with their girl group contemporaries. The middle chunk of songs are fine pieces, but it’s not until “Coming Down” that things pick up. This song is powerful (as I’ve mentioned in a previous review) and will knock you on your ass if your susceptible to this kind of excellence. Upon showing it to someone, they quipped… is this a live recording? Not so much the case, though the distorted/washed guitars make one wonder. I am fan of this. Puts more focus on the beautiful songwriting. Bridge is perfect: “I THINK I’M COMING DOWN. HERE I GO…HERE I GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO.” It does indeed have the same chord progression/vocal stylings as Mazzy Star’s “Fade Into You,” but builds on it in a very modern fashion. As a rule, I Will Be packs more immediate punches, more in your face(ness) than Only in Dreams. Only in Dreams takes its time and this just goes to show to you how far this band has come. Going from Sub Pop rookies, to King Khan and BBQ Show openers, to Girls openers, they’ve spent quite a bit of time covering a lot of ground while getting their music out there. And great for them. They are headlining The Paradise in October. Check this out, check that out.
Grade: A- (91)
Black Lips Do “Noc-A-Homa” On Daily Habit
“Deep Ghetto On Lock”
I used to compose hip-hop songs back in ninth grade. I had a MySpace page. I remember distributing CDs of my material in the hallways. I was cleaning out my room today in search of some remnants of my past work. All was lost, I thought. I couldn’t remember what I called myself. GMONEY, Gmags, gspinit? Ah, yes, G-Spin-It. I knew I reached some level of notoriety when a senior at the Homecoming Dance asked me if I could do a live performance of my Spanglish hit “Orgullo de Rappers”. Well in between September 2005 and September 2006, my voice changed from pre-pubescent Hispanic wanna-be to just about what a 15 year old should sound like. I know this because I recorded myself rapping over an instrumental of “Shake Your Money Maker”. These were the days. Here are the words to an unreleased, lost song from 2006.
No need for me to enter club scene
Being fifteen, I rock ya mic
Like I’m a big bad machine
Like the yellow submarine
I sink you, blink once I’ll out-think you
That’s right foo, join my crew or screw
I pull through
To pursue my dream to the extreme
I light ya beam, with whipped cream
I don’t care if I didn’t make the B-ball team
I still exhibit my scheme
I ain’t no Chamillionaire or Kanye
What I do is under pay my way to success
Suppress my progress is to recess
But what I got to confess is my guess
To be number one, without a gun
You poke fun, you’z be outdone
This is what I begun
I ain’t leavin’, believin’ that I’m achievin’
No deceiving’, rather retrieving my diamond and gold
Proven, I don’t need to be told
Let alone be controlled about how I rhyme
It’s a matter of time before I turn platinum
And succumb to a mystery
Without a doubt I’m the best rhymer
In History!
Link To G-Spin-It Myspace: http://www.myspace.com/gspinit
Ian St. Pe Shredding Guitar In New Project
Ian of Black Lips fame has spent some time recently recording with members of Los Lobos, Deer Tick, Dead Confederate, and Six Finger Satellite. This new project hasn’t been ‘officially announced’, but it’s been confirmed by some folks on the internet. Stay tuned.
NOBUNNY Opening For Girls!/Meet NOBUNNY
@ Paramount In Boston On Sat. Sept. 24and…the rest:
September
14 Atlanta, GA Variety Playhouse*
13 Asheville, NC Orange Peel*
16 Nashville, TN Mercy Lounge*
17 Chapel Hill, NC Cat’s Cradle*
19 DC 9:30 Club*
20 Philadelphia, PA Theatre of Living Arts*
22 New York, NY Bowery Ballroom*
23 New York, NY Bowery Ballroom*
24 Boston, MA Paramount Theatre*
25 Montreal, QUE Corona Cabaret*
27 Toronto, ONT Mod Club Theatre*
29 Chicago, IL Lincoln Hall*
30 Madison, WI Majestic Theatre*
October
01 Minneapolis, MN First Ave Nightclub*
Also, check out a feature on NOBUNNY (which I guess has been online for a while I just have never seen it…) HERE: http://www.noisey.com/#!/feature/meet-nobunny
Old Tyme SOTD: “Beg For Love” – Plan 9
Upcoming Releases: Mark Sultan, KK+BBQ, Thee Oh Sees
Mark Sultan might just top Thee Oh Sees in terms of amount of releases in one year. Either way, the good news is that both artists have new records coming out soon.
Sultan has two full-length LPs due out on In The Red — Whenever I Want and Whatever I Want — as well as an EP Livin’ My Life coming via his own label, Sultan Records.
That’s not all for Sultan-related stuff. King Khan & BBQ is releasing its first material in nearly two years: a 7″ that features an original “We Are The Ocean” and a Syd Barrett cover “Terrapin”. Recorded at Moon Studios this past spring. Sultan Records.
And how could a year go by without a Ding-Dongs release? This is Sultan + Bloodshot Bill as you all know. Sultan Records is putting out Lucky Day EP.
Here is the Sultan Records link before I forget.
Now, Thee Oh Sees. Earlier this year, they released Castlemania, which is awesome! Well, In The Red will be soon releasing Thee Oh Sees latest: Carrion Crawler/The Dream LP.
Here is the link to In The Red.
Shitty/Awesome – “Hang Up”
From upcoming release Shitty/Awesome on Guestroom Records!
New Wavves EP – “Life Sux”
Side A
1. Bug
2. I Wanna Be Dave Grohl
3. Nodding Off (Ft. Best Coast)
Side B
1. Poor Lenore
2. Destroy (Ft. Fucked Up)
3. (In The Sand – LIVE) = Bonus Track
Release: September 20
Kids Like You & Me (KLYAM) 