Black Lips #1 (WATCH): Playing Pinko at Dickies. Not to spoil, but to spoil: Joe doing Yoga, Jared prank firing his booking agent, Cole in a staring contest with a random girl, Ian taking on the name MC Delicious and free-styling behind Joe’s beats.
Black Lips #2 (WATCH): Black Lips Playing B-Ball. Cole = The Wig.
Powerpop masters [and KLYAM favorites to boot] shot a video in SUBZERO temperatures for “Let’s Go To The Beach,” an excellent tune from my one of my top LPs of 20-10 WW2 (2010, Dirtnap).
By the way, if you haven’t heard, they are playing April 29 at the Starlab in Somerville.
Also, if you haven’t noticed, when it rains around KLYAM, it usually pours in terms of coverage of bands. I’m on a White Wires (and related bands) streak. Watch out!<
A band of White Wires drummer Allie! Insta-catchy pop!
They have an LP (which sold out and is being repressed on Infinity Cat) and a cassette for your listening pleasures.
You can listen to “Doo Wah Diddy” for a little taste and also take a ride to their Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=191172137584280&set=a.166487570052737.35500.166477510053743&theater
From Mark Sultan’s Website:
“Mark is headed to Europe for some shows (including a few with Dan Sartain, Ty Segall, as well as Dum Dum Girls). It will be his first time in Europe on tour as the one-man band ‘BBQ’ since maybe 2006 (?), and certainly his first tour there since the release of the now-out-of-print ‘$’ album.
By the end of 2011, expect to hear roughly 30 new songs. They will be released on two staggered albums by In The Red Records (Los Angeles), as well as on a few 7” records.
Among the many, many new hit originals are cover versions of songs by Ultravox, Lee Maye, Gene Vincent, The Stains and some others.
Special guest musicians include Jared Swilley and Cole Alexander of The Black Lips, King Khan, Erin from The Spits, Danny from the Gories, and some other folks.
Western Canadian and US tour dates for June to come soon.”
Hunx getting the best of P4k reviewer who said Hunx is “not exactly what you would call a classically trained singer” (NO SHIT!) and gave the latest record a 7.2.
Martin Douglas: “My review of the new Hunx and His Punx record for Pitchfork Media is pretty good, I must say.”
Hunx (Seth Bogart): “I thought it sucked, I have a beautiful voice and am at least a 9!”
Bits and pieces of:
Family Tree – NEW
Lock and Key
You Keep On Running – NEW
Dirty Hands
O Katrina
Buried Alive
Make It
Bad Kids
Band: The Vaccines
Release: 3/2011
Label: Columbia
1. “Wreckin’ Bar (Ra Ra Ra) – A-
2. “If You Wanna” – B
3. “A Lack of Understanding” – C+
4. “Blow It Up” – B
5. “Wetsuit” – C
6. “Norgaard” – A-
7. “Post Break-Up Sex” – A-
8. “Under Your Thumb” – B
9. “All In White” – B
10. “Wolf Pack” – A-
11. “Family Friend” – B
Comments: To answer the title’s question, I honestly had no expectations of the Vaccines. I heard the name, was present for the hype, and so on and so forth. I never gave their singles a healthy listen so this is a fresh start kind of review — the kind I like the best because I’m left with little bias. Anyway, it’s pretty easy to point the comparison finger to homeland counterparts Fratellis (“Wreckin’ Bar), Franz Ferdinand/Editors/Early-Mid 2000s Post-Punk Revivalists, and the like; i.e bands that were able to achieve “indie” stardom with a ‘bigger’ sound — so to speak — that was a few hair-lengths and stylistic choices from the real big name, The Killers. In the Vaccines case, it does feel quite like they are aiming (probably not true) for Killers-esque fame, instead of becoming the next Arctic Monkeys. Their descent into safe pop like “Wet Suit” just goes to show you they really don’t care about developing a Vaccines signature sound. When they speed things up to a near-garage level (“Norgaard”), they become a very fun band to listen to. Single “Post Break-Up Sex” and “Wolf Pack” combine the charisma of catchy garage pop with post-punk revival delicacy. There’s a lot to like on Vaccines, but as a fan of the heavier, louder, ‘dirtier’ stuff, there does not seem to be enough.
Grade: B (85)
A punk rock parody featuring Ty’s old band The Epsilons:
Rapper: Wiz Khalifa
Release: 3/2011
Label: Atlantic
1. “When I’m Gone” – B-
2. “On My Level” – C
3. “Black And Yellow” – A-
4. “Roll Up” – B-
5. “Hopes and Dreams” – B-
6. “Wake Up” – B-
7. “The Race” – B-
8. “Star Of The Show” – B-
9. “No Sleep” – C+
10. “Get Your Shit” – C-
11. “Top Floor” – C-
12. “Fly Solo” – D+
13. “Rooftops” – C-
14. “Cameras” – C
Comments: We’ve got a new Kid CuDi in town! Now, now, not really, but you can see a theme. Wiz had an intricate revelation after smoking via rolling papers and here we are with this, a very “focused” record. Focus from a stoner….no way?! “When I’m Gone” is an aspirational number — a non-single with the aim of a single — see where I’m going with the CuDi comparison. There’s the opening piano, the OH SHIT’s about to get REAL moment following that, some meh-meh rhyming (“Back in the day money was short, I’m making it taller), and a decent hip-hop chorus. So at this point, it’s pretty reasonable to assume Wiz is about to travel down the “I’m about to get rich” rapping route, a well-traveled path…but wait maybe he’s not! “On My Level” is bass heavy — a deep beat that is a bit too deep and not aided any by a less than spectacular chorus and real rudimentary verses. “Man, I’m high as fuck and I swear I’m on my level. Man, I’m sloppy drunk, man I swear I’m on my level.” Huh! “Black and Yellow” is old news at this point, but it still holds up pretty well. Pretty much one of the freshest hip-hop songs – verse, chorus, break, everything – of 2010! “Roll Up” sounds like a handful of other songs — does it not? It’s pretty lazy — a trait that a lot of the hip-hop records I’ve reviewed possess. A pre-requisite to listening to this album may indeed be smoking, but a well-done record is one that need not require the green leaf to be appreciated. Rolling Papers – I think it can be argued — lacks genuine excitability. It’s perpetually chill, which could be appealing to a lot of listeners. I will give it that. BoB lacked true excitement, I mean he’s not on Wiz’s level if only because he included that girl from Paramore on a song. That’s some weak ass shit. “No Sleep” is like a ghetto Miley Cyrus tune. Lyrically, speaking. Just got to shake your head listening to “Fly Solo,” which is similarly corny. The latter third/half of this is just frustrating. I’m giving Wiz an honest chance too, but it’s hard to find anything better than average. Speaking of BoB, “Cameras” = that silly “Nothin On You”.
Grade: C+ (77)
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Wiz Khalifa performs April 9 at Northeastern’s Matthews Arena with Third Eye Blind, Taking Back Sunday, and Mac Miller as part of the school’s annual Spring Fest concert.
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Kids Like You & Me (KLYAM) 