Category Archives: Random

Entertainment, Music, Random

Poetry By Brooks Nielsen

Leave a comment

Cold River
They drug me down to the old cold river
They’re gonna throw me in
Cuz I’ve been caught sleeping with the daughter
Of the only man in town who can swim
I’m facing the old cold river my back against the wind
They gon’ throw me down to the bottom of the river
Never to rise again
I sink down, down to the old cold bottom
Down, to rest with the fish
I sink down, down to the old cold bottom just as the old man wished
The sea sleeps and the moon is hanging
Something I’d rather do
But I’m facing the old cold river
Bed of eternal blue
With no reason to breathe without the right to love free
Sleep in the deep, sink like a drink
Until again when we meet
I sink down, down to the old cold bottom
Without a hope in the clouds
Down down to the old cold bottom
To rest my bones in the ground
They can’t save me
Nobody can save me
They can’t save me now
They can’t save me
Nobody can save me if I must live without
I’d rather drown
Till I rise to the wide open sky
Down to the bottom old lonely bottom
Till I rise to the wide open sky
Leaving this place where love’s forbidden
Life without her love ain’t worth living.

CD Review, Lists, Music, Random, rant

Top 5 Labels [1/2 Year 2010 Style]

3 Comments

Top rated albums from January to June 2010 by label. If a label is a subsidiary or an imprint of some larger label, the larger label/owner will be used. Score multiplied by .4 if at least one album scored a 90 or above. Score multiplied by .3 if at least one album scored an 84 or above. Score multiplied by .2 if at least one album scored a 76 or above. Score multiplied by .1 for everything below that.

1. Beggars Group [Includes Matador Records, Rough Trade Records, XL Recordings, and 4AD]: Hippies by Harlem [95]; Gay Singles by Hunx and His Punx [95]; Be Brave by The Strange Boys [91]; Contra by Vampire Weekend [90]; High Violet by The National [88]; Minor Love by Adam Green [85]; The Monitor by Titus Andronicus [84]; Big Echo by The Morning Benders [83]; Before Today Ariel Pink’s Haunted Graffiti [77]; Brutalist Bricks by Ted Leo and the Pharmacists [75]
– Grade: 272.5 (38+38+36.4+36+26.4+25.5+25.2+16.6+15.4+15)

2. Warner Bros. [Includes Sub Pop Records, Atlantic Records, Vice Records, and Epitaph Records]: Teen Dream by Beach House [95]; I Will Be by Dum Dum Girls [94]; Expo 86 by Wolf Parade [92]; Avi Buffalo by Avi Buffalo [89]; Male Bonding by Male Bonding [89]; Something For Everybody by Devo [89]; Adventures by Bobby Ray [82]; Brothers by The Black Keys [81]; Shame, Shame by Dr. Dog [75]; Realism by The Magnetic Fields [74]
– Grade: 213.3 (38+37.6+36.8+26.7+26.7+26.7+16.4+16.2+7.5+7.4)

3. Merge Records: Work by Shout Out Louds [89]; Swim by Caribou [83]; Transference by Spoon [81]; Volume Two by She & Him [81]
– Grade: 84 (26.7+24.9+16.2+16.2)

4. EMI (Includes Capitol Records, Mute Records, and Virgin): This Is Happening by LCD Soundsystem [81]; Plastic Beach by Gorillaz [78]; Sisterworld by Liars [76]; Head First by Goldfrapp [74]; Heligoland by Massive Attack [73]; Of the Colour… by OK Go [69]
– Grade: 68.6 (16.2+15.6+15.2+7.4+7.3+6.9)

5. Universal (Includes Interscope, Geffen, and A&M): Permalight by Rogue Wave [84]; Thank Me Later by Drake [78]
– Grade: 40.8 (25.2+15.6)

5. Secretly Canadian: Pigeons by Here We Go Magic [83]; Odd Blood by Yeasayer [81]
– Grade: 40.8 (25.2+15.6)

——————-

Predictions: If both Black Lips and No Age release new LPs in 2010 and they are awesome (as projected), then the Warner Bros. grouping might just gain some ground. I’m not so sure there are going to be any more really really noteworthy Beggars Group releases besides Interpol for the remainder of the year. We’ll see. Merge, I’m sure, will see its stake rise up with the release of Arcade Fire’s The Suburbs and Superchunk’s Majesty Shredding.

Beer Review, Random, rant

Beer Review: Sol

Leave a comment

Brewed By: Cuauhtemoc Moctezuma
Owned By: Heineken International
Method: Bottle [12 FL OZ]
Quantity Consumed: 7

Comments: The thing about Sol is that you must stick a lime in the bottle in order to appreciate it. Once you have one Sol, you can have six more and still think you are still drinking your second one. Sol doesn’t do much damage to your motor abilities BUT don’t think that I’m saying you should just keep guzzling them down without restraint. No, no. Consume in moderation over a few hours. 7 is moderation when looking at the big picture. Also, I’m pretty sure you will enjoy the taste. It’s much better than any other beer that I’ve had. I’ll be ordering my next shipment soon.

Grade: A (Not perfect, but what beats it?)

Art, Articles, Culture Jamming, Entertainment, humor, Music, pictures, Random, rant

Major Labels Are Not So Major

Leave a comment

Here’s a random rant I wrote a while back:

I often hear artists say they must sign to a major label to gain commercial success in the music world. Supposedly with such corporate support they are able to reach more people with their music, people they would otherwise never reach. Perhaps, this is true. Of course, this would not be the punk rock way of going about things. Signing to a major label is a sign of selling out to most fans of the punk orientation. By the early 1990s, we witnessed various underground (many of the punk variety) artists make the leap from independent labels to major labels. Some achieved the commercial and artistic success they sought, others saw little to no change in album sales or fan base. In fact, several groups have abandoned or have been dropped by their major labels and have made a return to the underground. What really fascinates me is that some of these bands have sold more records on their independent labels than on their major counterparts. This makes one question the earlier assumption that higher status means higher chart positions. There are numerous examples that disprove this theory. Sonic Youth fans recently enjoyed the release of their latest, sixteenth studio album, The Eternal. This album is particularly significant because it marks the first time in twenty years the experimental rockers released a studio album under an independent label; this time it was the prominent and well-respected, Matador Records. Previously they were signed to Geffen Records, a major label. But, naturally, none of this matters because it does not matter if you sell a hundred records or a million or whatever. What matters is if you have integrity in your art and that you are enjoying yourself. Then again, various miserable fucks have made fantastic music over the years, so I guess you don’t even have to enjoy yourself, but you deserve it!

Thank God, I managed to write X amount of words on the music industry without using the bland term “indie,” until now. I hate that word (even though I am guilty of its use) it’s too vague. If anyone has an actual definition for said word. Pitch it to me. For now, keep on rocking (independently) in the free world.

Animal Collective, Art, Entertainment, Hunx and His Punx, King Khan, Lists, Mark Sultan, Music, No Age, Pains of Being Pure At Heart, pictures, Random

My Top Faves That Are Due Back to Boston

2 Comments

The following need to hit up Boston ASAP, but not when I am away!

No Age (last seen April ’09)

Mark Sultan (May ’09)

King Khan & The Shrines (May ’09)

Animal Collective (May ’09)

The Pains of Being Pure At Heart (Sept ’09)

Hunx and His Punx (Oct ’09)

King Khan & BBQ Show (Oct ’09)

amongst others…

Almighty Defenders, Animal Collective, Art, Black Lips, Box Elders, Bradford Cox, Entertainment, Girls, Harlem, Hunx and His Punx, Jay Reatard, King Khan, Mark Sultan, Music, No Age, Nobunny, Pains of Being Pure At Heart, Random, The Walkmen

Honorary Klaymers

9 Comments

1) Black Lips

2) Jay Reatard

3) King Khan

4) Mark Sultan

5) No Age

6) Box Elders

7) Hunx and His Punx

8) Walkmen (for Glen)

9) Animal Collective

10) Bradford Cox

11) Harlem

12) Nobunny

13) Girls

14) Pains of Being Pure At Heart

15) Almigthy Defenders

16) Wavves

We feature many artists here, some far more than others, but these very few guys hold the highly prestigious title of “honorary klaymers,” even if they don’t know it.

Chris