So the following may or may not be the official video for Ty’s outstanding Goodbye Bread track “My Head Explodes”. The video says it is official so we’ll accept that as truth. Either way, it’s less psychedelic and more carnage than the other Goodbye Bread vids.
Secondly, Ty has a collaborative album coming out in April with White Fence. It’s called Hair and a couple days ago a song on it called “I Am Not A Game” was made available for listening pleasure. Click to check it out: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YkL26bcfUG0&feature=related
I read a comment yesterday on a Ty song thing on Last.Fm. To summarize, it said that most bands should probably just stop making music. They have failed. This sorta explains that:
It finally don’d don me that this song might just be about that time at that eighth grade final dance when you were standing by the bleachers watching adolescents ‘dance’ ‘ to “Yeah” by Usher…when all of a sudden some girl drags you onto the dance floor.
1. Black Lips – Arabia Mountain – My excitement for this album grew steadily once the news came out that they were working on one in early 2010. The original release date set for “when school gets back in” was pushed back once Ronson joined as co-producer. As we all know by now, the band had a delightful time working with him. So it’s no coincidence that Arabia is filled with some of the catchiest songs I’ve heard in a while. The sound production is not as muddy and psychedelic as the band’s previous effort 200 Million Thousand; instead, it’s clean and clear. The songs themselves cross the kind of rock and roll terrain that the Lips have always found themselves in, including but not limited to: clangy, jangly, country, punk. This stuff is addicting (for people with an ear for it like me) and tough to remove from the record player. I guess that’s a quality that the best album of the year should possess.
2. Ty Segall – Goodbye Bread – This is another one that I was counting the days until release. Ty’s last record Melted received an ‘honorable mention’ in my Best of 2010, but would have comfortably cracked the Top 5 if I redid my list a few months later. Goodbye Bread was a quintessential summer listen and still holds the test of time as this part of the country is freezing over. The thing that Ty does so well (and has always done so well) is arranging his songs. There’s optimal fuzz, hard-pounding drums, and a lingering bass line in nearly every song at some point and a lot of it is unexpected and fresh. I love the opening of “You Make the Sun Fry,” and the ever so crunchy chorus in “My Head Explodes,” in particular. Goodbye Bread affirms Ty’s status as one of the most talented song writers in modern rock and roll. At the least, it goes to show that noisy relatively straight-forward garage isn’t all the dude is about.
3. Atlas Sound – Parallax – Last year (as I just said above) I made the folly of overlooking some records. Another one of them was Halcyon Digest. Sure, it was among my Top 10, but I didn’t really appreciate as much in 2010 as I should have. With Parallax, I gave it several listens before reviewing it and over the course of listening the real beauty of it really came out. It’s mainly a light affair with several streaks of brilliance that some could dub ‘experimental’ or ‘odd’, but to me is just as pop as anything typically labeled that. Bradford knows catchy better than most. The by product of this is a mass of songs that are inspirational and healing.
4. The Beets – Let The Poison Out – The Beets are one of those bands that I regret not getting more into earlier on in my KLYAM career. After seeing them open for No Age at Wellesley College back in April 2009, I failed to do significant follow up research. Well, now I’d say I’m fairly well versed on the Beets; all the credit to them for infectious releases and superb live performances. Let The Poison Out works so well because it’s just so hard to not be hooked on the Beets raw rock, pop, n’ roll . It makes me want to start pounding on some drums while blasting it loudly. “Doing As I Do” and “I Think I Might Have Built A Horse” are sing-alongs like none other.
5. Mikal Cronin – Mikal Cronin – You can tell this guy has spent some quality time hanging around Ty Segall. Not to say he hasn’t spent quality time with other musicians. The Moonhearts are nice. Well anyway, this album really captivated me as it fits in perfectly on a scale of Ty and Thee Oh Sees. Like those folks’ records, Mikal Cronin is quite instantaneously hooky (with like two exceptions, but those are still real good). Picking favorites is a challenge. I love “Situation” a great deal, because right from the get-go it is extremely fun. The San Fran rock ‘n roll region had quite a 2011.
Honorable Mentions
Shannon and the Clams – Sleep Talk The Orwells – Remember When Thee Oh Sees – Castlemania Girls – Father, Son, Holy Ghost Natural Child – 1971 Mark Sultan – Whatever I Want The Hussy – Cement Tomb Mind Control Davila 666 – Tan Bajo
Black Keys – “Lonely Boy” – Not the first “Lonely Boy” (King Khan & BBQ Show, among recent others, had one), but we’ve certainly have one heck of a memorable tune here. From the guitar riffs to steady drum beat down to the catchy synthesizer, this might be the most intriguing pop-rock song I’ve heard in a few years. I doubt it will make itself to Top 40 airwaves (with its definitive rock and roll edge…damn ‘electro-rock’ these days), but it certainly should keep fans — devout and marginal (like myself) — happy.
Ty Segall – “Spiders” – This is a song that surely makes noisy sound quiet. In an interview with Prefix earlier this year, Ty said he wanted to do a noise rock record. Whether this is literally the noise rock 7″ that he was hinting at or whether it’s a piece of a larger puzzle is something I guess we’ll have to figure out later.
Thee Oh Sees – “The Dream” – Like a whole bunch of Oh Sees songs, this one keeps you on your toes. It’s a classic mix of throwback pop and distortion. The great thing about Thee Oh Sees and just mentioned understudy Segall is how well they engage listeners throughout the course of a song. Thee Oh Sees tend to go the long route, Segall prefers the short. Random screams here, random guitar clinging there, EXPLOSIVE finish; it’s all awesome. Random to only me and you…maybe.
Bad Sports – “Just Can’t Be Friends” – A nice power-pop/punker that will tickle your fancy if you’ve been digging fellow current Dirtnap bands like White Wires and Steve Adamyk Band and older stuff like Exploding Hearts. Simple and catchy. Typically, just how I like it.
The Energy – “Thinking Cameras” – Not as fast as ‘hardcore punk’, but it punches just as hard as that form of music. This is in your face punk rock. You better wear protective covering because the raw energy (pun sort of intended) on display here might just melt your clothes.
No Pilot – “Energy On” – This is a highly dancey noise/electronic offering coming via one-man band in France. With several layers of effect laden guitars and natural hand-claps as percussion, it’s easy to get lost in the music. That’s exactly what makes it so impressionable.
Kids Like You & Me (KLYAM) 