Category Archives: Music

CD Review, Music, The Beets

CD Review: Stay Home [2011]

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Band: The Beets
Release: 1/2011
Label: Captured Tracks

1. “Cold Lips” – A-
2. “Dead” – B
3. “Hens and Roosters” – A-
4. “Watching T.V.” – B
5. “Pops N’ Me” –  A-
6. “Floating” – A-
7. “Eat No Dick 2” – C
8. “Let It Dim” – B-
9. “Knock On Wood” – B-
10. “Just A Whim” – A-
11. “Your Name Is On My Bones” – A-
12. “Young Girls” – B+
13. “Flight 14” – A-

Comments: The Beets of Queens, New York (word to Queens — the best borough in NYC), a staple in the NYC DIY community, have followed up their first collection of songs with Stay Home, thirteen new songs about staying home. The coy, stripped down nature of these tunes are typically inviting and catchy. Stay Home is definitely meritorious of better acclaim than it will probably get. The more ‘professional’ music personalities will most likely brush this to the side given its home recording quality. The songs themselves have a Beat Happening feel to them, driven by neat vocal harmonies (“Floating”) and puerile topics (“Hens and Roosters,” “Pops and Me”). What separates The Beets from the rest of them is the singer Juan Wauters…his accent and delivery, specifically.

Grade: B (86)

Music, music video, Tours, Video

Who to See: Neko Case or Tapes n’ Tapes

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I was as going to go to the Tapes n’ Tapes concert at the Paradise on February 3, but instead I am considering going to go see Neko Case at the Wilbur. It is a tough decision actually I never saw either of them live and you never know what can happen, bands break up, Neko Case could not tour for another 5 years, stuff happens. I remember the first concert I was going to see was Elliott Smith, I ended up missing the show which turned out to be his last tour before he died. So I figured I would take this oppurtunity to occasionally take a look at who is playing at various places in Boston in a new feature “Who to See” . The idea is simple, you listen to a song from a couple of artist playing in the area on that date (date will be chosen based on who’s playing and how far in advance) and you decide who you would rather see.

First Up: Neko Case “People Got A Lotta Nerve”

Next: Tapes n’ Tapes “Insistor”

So let me know what you think!

Music, radio

2010’s Most Dedicated Radio Journalist/DJ: Ben Tan

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The first annual KLYAM Most Dedicated Radio Journalist/DJ Award goes to Ben Tan of Emerson College’s WERS 88.9. Ben is probably the most dedicated (volunteer?) staff member at that station as he is News Director in addition to being a reporter for news segment You Are Here (interviewing the likes of anti-war protester Cindy Sheehan and economist Jeffrey Miron, etc) and being a DJ on programs such as the Playground and late-night slow jamz Secret Spot. Ben even braves blizzards to show up behind the microphone. This guy deserves a round of applause for his dedication.

Art, Black Lips, Honorary KLAYMERS, Lists, Mark Sultan, Music, pictures, Pixies, Punk, Steve Albini

KLYAMer Shuffle: Chris

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Pixies– U-Mass (1991)- One of my favorites from one of my favorite bands.

Gheorghe Zamfir– The Lonely Shepherd (don’t know actual year of release, but it appears on the Kill Bill Volume 1 sountrack, released in 2003)- Epic as fuck!

Mark Sultan– Cursed World (2007)- A decent tune from one of my top singers.

Dinosaur Jr– Pieces (2009)- Solid opener from last year’s Farm.

Arctic Monkeys– Cornerstone (2009)- I love this song! My favorite from also last year’s Humbug.

Tool– Parabola (2001)- Tool (and I feel like this song specifically) always seems to come up on these shuffles :)

Big Black– Bazooka Joe (1986)- Another fucked up, but sonically sound number from one of the best bands to come out of the 80s by far.

Lou Reed– Perfect Day (1972)- Lou’s finest solo work.

Black Lips!– Transcendental Light (2007)- Ian on Vocals! which we will be seeing again soon :)

Weezer– Island in the Sun (2001)- A fairly decent song from post-classic Weezer.

Music, News, Nobunny

Nobunny Tour Info!

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Typically I only post tour information that is pertinent to the Boston area, but Nobunny is the man and his likeness is on the background of this webpage, so here y’all go:

1/1 – Chicago @ Empty Bottle w/ Hot Machines, Ramma Lamma, Spectras
2/2 – Olypmia, WA @ Northern*
2/3 – Vancouver BC @ Railway Club*
2/4 – Seattle, WA @ Funhouse*
2/5 – Portland, OR @ Slabtown*
2/9 – San Francisco, CA @ Knockout*
2/10 – Sacramento, CA @ The Hub*
2/11 – Los Angeles, CA @ 6th st Warehouse*
2/12 – San Diego, CA @ Till Two
2/13 – Tucson, AZ @ Solar Culture
2/15 – Austin, TX @ Emo’s
2/16 – Houston, TX @ Rudyards
2/17 – Denton, TX @ tba
2/18 – Tulsa, OK @ tba
2/25 -San Francisco, CA @ NoisePop
4/24 – Nobunny’s 10yr anniversary – 5 cities in one day!
Los Angeles, CA @ Playboy Mansion
Plus shows in Chicago, Tucson, Oakland, and New York

*with Dreamdate

May- full USA tour

Music, music video, Rage Against the Machine, Who Did It Better?

Who Did it Better? “Maggie’s Farm”

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Back with another song, this time I got about as polar opposites as you can get Bob Dylan and Rage Against the Machine doing Dylan’s classic “Maggie’s Farm”

First up, Bob Dylan

Next up, Rage Against the Machine

Although I appreciate Rage Against the Machine version, I am sticking with the original, this is the first song I would say the artist took a little too much creative liberties.