I remember Glen threw this ditty on a mix for me and after hearing it a couple of times it didn’t stand out at all. Then suddenly, it came up on my ipod shuffle and for the first time I truly listened to it. The tune hynoptized me and still does. I highly recommend anyone reading this to check out more of their material, I know I will. No wonder, they are one of J Mascis’ new favorites!
Chris
April 19
Amherst MA, USA
Hampshire College
With special guests director Danny Perez and members of Animal Collective.
Details TBA.
April 20
Boston MA, USA
Brattle Theatre
With special guests director Danny Perez and members of Animal Collective.
$15. Get tickets: 8:30pm & 10:30pm. – http://www.artistadvocacy.com/music/news/more-animal-collective-oddsac-dates/
Sadly, I highly doubt I will be in attendence due to my school schedule and transportation and what have you lol, but I have a friend that attended a screening in New York and was blown away. Below is a brief trailer for the film.
Chris
Artists: Girls, Dum Dum Girls, Leisure
Location: Paradise Rock Club, Boston
Date: Thursday, April 1, 2010
Grade: B+/A-
Act I: Leisure – They were ok, nothing special. Clearly, they had musical chops and they were decent performers, but the music just never came through for me. I didn’t hear great songs. In other words, the parts were better than the whole; for me, with a great band, live or on record, but especially live it’s vice versa.
Glen: Unlike Chris, I actually dug this band. As I said to him, I couldn’t really find a problem with their music. In other words, I might not have loved their brand of glam/dance rock, but I thought it was pretty catchy and the lead singer was a funny character. They reminded me of the Lovely Feathers with the keyboard and song structures.
Set List:
follow me
heartbeats
sway
other people
no other place
suez
outside
Act II: The Dum Dum Girls – Things start to heat up. I saw these girls last October, opening for King Khan & BBQ and honestly they didn’t floor me. Don’t get me wrong, I thought they were decent, but nothing notable. This time around, I appreciated their performance more. I don’t know if anything changed with them, so it was probably just me. Anyway, I really dug their vocals the most. Still, this time, they didn’t send me flying off my rocker, but I thought they did a good job and I enjoyed it. Not to mention, as before, their dress and body movements on stage both caught my eye. I love the head bobbing and almost elegance in their appearance. I mean they look rather attractive in their all black get up and it’s certainly a sight for sore eyes!
Glen: Of course, it’s hard to go without mentioning the DDG appearance unless one wears a blind fold during their performance. They played a tight set that showcased some new songs like “Bhang, Bhang,” my favorite “Jail La La,” “Rest of Our Lives,” and “Yours Alone.” Also played were older ones like “Catholicked,” and some other song that I can’t think of the name, but they’ve been playing for a while. Like I said in my review of their 2010 album I Will Be, the drum beats are absolutely fantastic, but like Chris said their voices are beautiful.
Act III: Girls: Ahh my favorite Girls are Guys! Of course, the band I came to see and they did not disappoint. The group opened with the classic, “Laura” and immediately all in attendance it seemed, began singing along. The music was nice and soft, almost warm? lol The lights were a flashin’ but slowly and matched the music perfectly. Singer/Guitarist, Christopher Owens modestly rocked out with his funky, moonwalking dance moves. He really looked fly, definitely flyer than Whacko Jacko. They continued the set with other Album classics, such as “Darling,” “Ghost Mouth,” and their signature number, “Lust For Life,” which unsurprisingly garnered the greatest reaction from the audience. They created one hell of a song transition, actually three song transition, from the soft, yet infinitely endearing, “Hellhole Ratrace,” into the noisy (a first for the evening), garage like, “Morning Light,” then finally into the Grease resembling, “Big Bad Mean Motherfucker,” which also generated large enthusiasm from the crowd, including a trio of femmes gyrating on stage. Girls also played about six or seven non-Album lol tracks, including the new song, “Substance.” This is sort of a criticism of mine, but not really. Let me explain… Well, I anticipated knowing all but one or two songs they would perform, three tops! This was considering, I knew and loved all of their record. Incidentally, I didn’t know any of the tunes that didn’t appear on their record. Ohh well, I suppose this is not their flaw, but a bad on my part as a fan. Anyway, they came back for a sound encore featuring the classic, “Lauren Marie,” a track I was waiting for all night! Overall, they were a fabulous live band and I recommend everyone to see them, if you get the chance.
Glen: Like Chris said that three song transition — Hellhole to Morning Light to Big Bad — was awesome. It will go down in the history books as one of the most memorable parts of a concert for me. My only response to them playing five or six non-Album tunes is that they toured behind Album last fall. They are probably getting ready for whatever is next and want to get a feel for the new material.
Chris
Listened to The Fall for the first time after hearing their name dropped frequently as an influence, innovator, etc. for like the past 3-4 years. I mean me personally, of course, they have been seen as an influence for decades. So, youtubed this. I like it, I’ll have to check out more. Mr. Bradford Cox humorously introduced Deerhunter as The Fall, when we saw him live. Gotta love Him!
Chris
Artist: Big Black
Full Title: The Rich Man’s Eight Track Tape
Year: 1987
Label: Touch and Go
Grade: B+
Tracks:
1) Jordan, Minnesota- 9
2) Passing Complexion- 7
3) Big Money- 7
4) Kerosene- 10
5) Bad Houses- 8
6) Fists of Love- 8
7) Stinking Drunk- 8
8) Bazooka Joe- 9
9) Cables (live)- 9
10) Heartbeat (Wire cover)- 9
11) Things to Do Today- 8
12) I Can’t Believe- 8/9
13) My Disco- 9
14) Grinder- 8/9
15) Ready Men- 8/9
16) Pete, King of the Detectives- 9
This record is a compilation consisting of the LP Atomizer (tracks 1-9), the single Heartbeat (track 10), and the EP Headache (tracks 11-16).
Comments: Having been a huge fan of Big Black’s magnum opus, Songs About Fucking, my thirst for pure fucking noise grew into dehyrdration. With RMETT I feel stuffed and then some! In terms of the chaotic nature of Big Black’s music, this compilation showcases head spinning material far more than SAF. Now, I’m not saying it’s better, but if noise rock is your thang, then you will really dig this piece. The whiplash begins with “Jordan, Minnesota,” a terrifying ditty about a child molestation ring in said community; Albini hollers, “This is Jordan, we do what like… this will stay with you until you die and I will stay with you until you die.” I’m still baffled as to why Disney never returned his phone calls to feature Big Black’s music on one of their film’s soundtracks?! Musically, Roland, the drum machine is hard at work throughout the record, complementing the chainsaw guitars, literally, these motherfuckers sound closer to chainsaws than most wimpy musician’s guitar playing. Other lyrical themes include domestic abuse (“Fists of Love,” “Stinking Drunk,”), the innocent hobbie of watching cattle slaughtered at a local ranch to pass the time (“Cables”), and racism (“Pete, King of the Detectives”), where Albini roars in his deliberately, white liberal hipster, offending lyrics, “I am Pete!… I’m a hard working man, I ain’t no drunkard, I ain’t no coloured man!” Don’t worry kids, it’s all good fun… Moving on, “Kerosene,” is the best track and by far Big Black’s greatest offering, in fact, I’d say it’s Albini’s “Let It Be,” with Shellac’s, his other band, “My Black Ass,” being a potential rival. Kerosene features everything that made Big Black kick ass and harsher than just about any other band one cares to name: musical intensity through violent, slashing, guitars, pounding drum beats, extremely morbid subject matter (some kiddies decide to burn themselves to dust because it’s “something to do”). Other notable treats include, “Heartbeat,” a catchy cover of the Wire number of the same name and “My Disco,” a tune that puts a whole spin (ha!) on said genre. Overall, this record is for the Ready Men, not for you wee, little pussy wussies out there, I insist y’all find some kerosene.
Chris
Question: How does music make you feel?
Answer: The music I love makes me feel like Alex in A Clockwork Orange when he has an orgasm from listening to the great Ludwig Van. The music I disdain makes me feel like Alex later in the film when he is conditioned to feel nothing but utter torment when he hears Beethoven’s Ninth, to the point of “doing himself in.” I don’t feel suicidal, but the likes of Jason Mraz with his “I’m Yours” is nothing short of pure torment!
Here’s a bit of the old ultra violence… viddy well brothers and sisters!
If you haven’t seen the film or read the book you have no idea what the fuck I am saying lol.
Chris
This song always reminds me of the wonderful weather and the Summertime (duh!).
Chris
Chris
Chris
ONE WEEK ONLY — King Khan, the Black Lips, and others are featured in this documentary on the Atlanta music scene, directed by Matthew Robison and scheduled for DVD release on Record Store Day
Click here to watch: http://pitchfork.com/tv/#/episode/2116-we-fun/
Kids Like You & Me (KLYAM) 