Been eagerly waiting for this announcement for a year! Better Than Something is screening at the Museum of Fine Arts:
August 30, 2012, 8:00 pm – 9:30 pm
August 31, 2012, 8:00 pm – 9:30 pm
September 1, 2012, 1:00 pm – 2:30 pm
September 2, 2012, 1:10 pm – 2:40 pm
Better Than Something by Alex Hammond and Ian Markiewicz (2012, 83 min.). Controversial and prolific garage rock icon Jay Reatard released more than 60 records in his 10-year-career as a solo artist and with bands like The Lost Sounds, Final Solutions, and Angry Angles. Eloquently interweaving interviews with friends, rare concert footage, and scenes from a candid week spent with Jay, this intimate portrait—shot only months before his death—brings us incredibly close to Jay’s complicated punk-rock world. Discussion with directors follows the August 31 screening.
The GZA, the Genius himself, is touring with Wavves’ Nathan Williams’ (and l’il bro Kynan’s) new side project Sweet Valley and hitting up Boston’s Paradise Rock Club on Friday, October 19, 2012! This show is especially significant because the GZA will be playing his classic LP Liquid Swords in its entirety. Killer Mike and Bear Hands are opening as well. Here is the full list of tour dates from Pitchfork:
09-14 Buffalo, NY – Town Ballroom *
09-15 Toronto, Ontario – Soundstage *
09-16 Detroit, MI – St. Andrews *
09-17 Pittsburgh, PA – Altar Bar *
09-18 Cleveland, OH – Grog Shop *
09-19 Chicago, IL – Metro *
09-20 Minneapolis, MN – First Avenue *
09-22 Denver, CO – Summit Music Hall *
09-25 San Francisco, CA – Fillmore *
09-26 Sacramento, CA – Ace of Spades *
09-28 Santa Ana, CA – Observatory *
09-29 Los Angeles, CA – El Rey *
09-30 Solana Beach, CA – Belly Up *
10-02 Phoenix, AZ – Marquee *
10-18 New York, NY – Irving Plaza (CMJ) *
* with Killer Mike, Sweet Valley, Bear Hands
P.S. Sweet Valley’s debut Stay Calm is out this week on Fool’s Gold Records.
I could listen to this vintage, black and white, old timey pop magic till my eyes bleed and I go deaf, collapsing into an early grave. I always feel like I am on a death trip when I hear this music, like the world is coming to a complete stop; it’s an odd feeling. This is The Skyliners’ “Since I Don’t Have You,” a classic from the greatest era of mainstream American pop music. Wait, what did I just say? This was the only great era of mainstream American pop music. Don’t worry darling, rock ‘n’ roll never died, your parents just did, it’s time to move on and look past the charts and then look even further past the dipshits that make music that is supposedly an “alternative” to the charts, just look around you, it’s in the air and it’s on KLYAM. Rock ‘n’ roll/punk slime/ that music that gets your best girl wet, it’s all here to stay.
This week Wavves dropped the track “Hippies Is Punk” for Adult Swim’s 12 Tracks 12 Straight Weeks Singles Program. Give it a listen at the link below. What do y’all think? Perhaps a hint at what is to come on the upcoming Wavves LP to be released later this year. http://www.adultswim.com/promos/201206_singles/index.html?cid=homepage_singles2012
Sometimes it sucks to move onto something new. A vague statement that is — but think about it. Usually it means you lost or neglected something of the past. In the case of music libraries, I’ll never completely know what I listened to prior to December 2009, when I bought a new laptop and dragged a very tiny amount of music from the old computer. Still though, December 2009 is sort of long ago (for a young person like myself) so here are tunes/bands that I probably haven’t posted on KLYAM:
The 1990s – “See You At The Lights” – I remember getting into this during my Dandy Warhols/’garage rock revival’ kick back in 2007. It’s still really catchy power-pop. I was more of a songs guy in those days so it doesn’t really surprise me that this is the only song that I’ve listened to by the band.
The Apples In Stereo – “Go” – I never knew this came out in 2000. I would have thought mid-2000s. It is an eccentric track that might have subliminally contributed to my liking of similarly weird stuff, but it’s this extremely pop song that is overflowing with hooks while being a little corny. That’s part of the charm, though. I dug deeper into this band’s discography recently, but didn’t find anything really like “Go”. Maybe I didn’t dig deep enough.
The Avalanches – “Electricity” – I do have a bit of a sweet spot for some dance music, but this is in no way traditional dance music. The samples are incredible, giving this song a bit of an urban/hip-hop feel. I remember thinking about trashing this song to save up on space, but now I’m so glad I kept it.
Babyshambles – Like with a lot of bands I love, I arrived late to the party. I got into The Libertines a few years after their demise and it took me several months of hardcore fandom to give the side projects an honest look. Pete Doherty wrote some killer songs in Babyshambles: “Killamangiro,” “Fuck Forever,” “Pipedown” to name a few. I think I have to give this man a lot of credit for getting me into more ‘punk’ pop, eventually paving my ears to say Jay Reatard who was totally punk-minded albeit in a totally different way.
Bishop Allen – “Middle Management” – I remember hearing this for the first time on MLB 2k7 and being happy behind belief. It was cool to learn that these guys took their name from a street that we would eventually take on-route to seeing some damn great shows at the Middle East, but the song itself exemplified exactly what I was into in the spring of 2007. Quirky, melodic, power pop jams. I remember thinking to myself, how come these guys are virtual unknowns while a band like The Click Five is getting the time of day? There are some other tunes by Bishop Allen that I’d recommend like “Ghosts Are Good Company” and “Things Are What You Make Of Them” if you dig stuff by The Lovely Feathers or Adam Green.
Bubba Sparxxx – “Back In The Mud” – If I remember correctly, I first thought this song was off Speakerboxxx/The Love Below, which is one of the few hip-hop albums I’ve ever purchased. This song is pretty straight forward, but Sparxxx’s quick fire delivery on the verses and the guitars/fuzz make this ‘not your average joe’ rap song.
Cat Power – I can’t say I’m a committed/knowledgable Cat Power listener. I’ve only heard a handful of her songs, but there was something about her voice/songwriting that struck a chord with me upon discovery. Nowadays, I can’t really imagine myself getting into her kind of music, but then again I’m sure if I hear something as striking as “Nude As The News” or “I Don’t Blame You” I’d have to take that back.
The Concretes – “You Can’t Hurry Love“ – I realized upon hearing Peter Bjorn and John’s Writer’s Block that there might be some other Swedish bands that I could enjoy. Indeed. There was The Shout Out Louds, Jens Lekman, and low and behold The Concretes. This jangle is a pop masterpiece.
Crystal Castles – I’m guessing I got into this band around the time that I heard “Electricity” given how they are very much alike. A song like “Courtship Dating” is as if The Yeah Yeah Yeahs devoted themselves to electronica while “Vanished” is just full of hooky synths. I know CC has some albums out, but as weird as it sounds, I think I felt a little guilty listening to Crystal Castles while simultaneously getting big into rock and roll bands like No Age so I limited myself to a few songs. They’ve got another album coming so maybe when that gets released, I’ll give CC the fresh look that they probably deserve.
Kids Like You & Me (KLYAM) 