I heard this on 93.3 earlier today and was like woah.
I almost didn't notice Beyonce's bizarre robotic marriage glove with those hips gyrating all over the place.
BONUS:
The club remix bumps the tempo and adds a little early 90's dance vibe. You might hear this at Ethan's birthday party tomorrow night if I'm feeling ballsy/gay.
Beyonce - Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It) (Maurice Joshua Club Edit)
Thursday, October 30, 2008
The fucking jam.
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
Favorite Song Wednesday
Joubert Singers - Stand on the World (Larry Levan Mix)
I'm not sure the true story of the track, there are several different versions. Discogs credits disco remix pioneer Walter Gibbons (and his early 80's religious conversion) with it's discovery. A Youtube clip of the song lists it as released in 1982, as opposed to Discogs 1985 listing for both the original and Tony Humphries remix releases. Also, French electro group Keedz recently released a version of the track that's gotten some play on Annie Mac's BBC show. This is Larry Levan's mix, which I originally found on some blog and then rediscovered on the Unabombers "Electric Chair Rip", an excellent disco edit single.
Okay, I'm done being nerdy. This song is just undeniable. It begins with a rippling piano line and from there it just builds and builds. The drums are typical Levan, punchy and succinct, with some monstrously extended hand claps. A slap bass line is almost joking around it's so wild, with some wicked vibrato and really strange rhythmic accents. The instrumentation is perfect, but the real draw is the choir.
You can hear the vocals begin to build at the around the 30 second mark and they explode into actual lyrics a little after one minute in. The refrain is triumphant, the mixing of male and female voices is particularly poignant, the gender of the vocal timbre weaves in and out gracefully and effectively. My favorite part has got to be when the female voice is isolated and sings, "We don't know how, we don't know when." It has the flair of a show-tune.
Also, be sure to listen to the whole track because the last 30 seconds is when it atually hits the "Stand on the World" part, and although it fades out rather quickly, it is a great culmination of the rest of the song.
BONUS:
Alternative version of Stand On the World, this one listed as released in 1982. More electro-funked out, but lacking the grace of the Levan mix.
Version by Keedz released in 1982. The high synth stabs on this are nearly identical to Justice's D.A.N.C.E, the bass sound is awful, and it sounds like they're exploiting the original vocal recording. Really not very good.
.
DOUBLE BONUS:
And lastly another MP3 from that Unabombers single, this a mix of Daniel Wang's "Like Some Dream (I Can't Stop Dreaming), which was featured on the James Murphy/Pat Mahoney Fabric Live mix last year. It's the heat.
Daniel Wang - Like Some Dream (I Can't Stop Dreaming)
Monday, October 27, 2008
Best Secret Place To Party
...per the Austin Chronicle critics poll (pulled off of Austinist). Please lord let this not be the ironic payback for all the jokes made at the expence of Californians when they invaded Austin during the tech boom.
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Best Secret Place to Party: The Beast House
Did you guys know that there is a slammin' place to party above Emo's Lounge on Sixth? It's true. The Beast House is only open for special events a few times a month and is sponsored by Camel, but the parties are always free, with killer DJs, live entertainment, and free grub. As if that weren't enough, the phat decor, free Pac-Man, and gorgeous pool table will make you feel like that video audition you sent to the Real World production office really did pay off.
604 E. Sixth, second floor
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Lame!!
Lame!! Lame!! Lame!! Lame!! Lame!! Lame!! Lame!! LameLameLame!! And don't say phat, especially not in writing!!
http://www.austinchronicle.com/gyrobase/Awards/BestOfAustin/?Year=2008&Display=Long&BOACategory=Arts%20%26%20Entertainment&Poll=Critics
Sunday, October 26, 2008
dear tatted bar owner/tender who instinctively doesn't like me
if you fail to give us (copious) free drinks again, we will take a steamy shit on your sound equipment, raze your building, and tell everyone that you have spread many contagious genitalia-scarring diseases, you hopeless swine.
seriously, drmrneedbeer4rockn. nowww.
wait no jk jk. thanks for giving us a place to play and throwin' us a few bones. keep on RCKN in a free world.
pieces and hard-luff,
every band in austin
(austin music task force, or whatever you are, get on this. don't spend a milli on marketing live music [thereby increasing the bloating of blooze and indie yawncore]. just buy us some kegs for our house party makeout party wyldprty. luvya.)
Thursday, October 23, 2008
Favorite Song Wednesday
Okay, for the last two weeks I haven't really had a favorite song. I've been man-crushing all over Arthur Russell since I downloaded the new compilation and I've had little time for thinking about much else.
Kraftwerk - Computer Love
But tonight I remembered that "Computer Love" by Kraftwerk is probably my favorite song. I had a nice little drive from Colorado to Austin earlier this summer in which I listened to the entire Kraftwerk discography in one sitting (minus the album they did for the Tour de France a few years ago). Ralf and Florian is their most beautiful tonal work, and Radioactivity might have been the most forward thinking, but Computer World is my favorite just because it is so damn nerdy.
Tonight I played it at Clementine and a customer asked me if the sounds were music we were playing or if some equipment was malfunctioning. Sandwiched between Home Computer (who sampled this? it isn't Missy, that was Cybotron) and Computer World 2's stuttering drums, Computer Love is Kraftwerk's attempt at robotic romantic ennui.
Boy do they succeed. The melody trades between a watery synth and high pitched bell sound, while the cheapest sounding drum machine 1981 could buy rattles out a driving hi-hat pattern and clipped snare shots. What really gets me though is the vocals. Lyrically it's incredibly sad and it vaguely alludes to prostitution, but I'd like to think that the Kraftwerk boys just stayed in with their computers instead of scheduling a downtown date with a mistress of the night.
BONUS:
Italo-disco revivalists Glass Candy sex it up a notch with this cover.
Glass Candy - Computer Love
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
bryan show this weekend
tall edit: it's on friday the 24th. this friday. i spent too much time making sweedums radiate, not enough time on unimportant things like date. Read More......
Monday, October 20, 2008
More Arthur - What It's Like
So here is another song off of Love is Overtaking Me, the soon to be released Arthur Russell compilation.
Arthur Russell - What It's Like
Originally I thought this to be the weakest song on the album. The compilation is country themed, and this is one of the songs where the instrumental timbre of country music is strongest. There is a wanking lead guitar, slithering organ line, and a slow-walking bass. The drum beat is straight and simple rock, but a little articulation on the hi-hat really goes a long way. A triumphant trumpet gives the song a boost about halfway through.
Lyrically, it shares some of the nature description in previous songs, but the writing as a whole is dramatically different. First and most obvious is that it reaks with cliches and some of the lines are really awkward rhymes. What makes this passable, and even an asset to the song, is the structure of the story-line.
It's easy to ignore the continuity because of the staggered vocal phrasing, but if you pay close attention to the song as a whole, it has some depth to it. It's open to interpretation who the speaker is in the second half of the song, but if you cast it as the preacher it ties a lot together. Suddenly the silly sounding organ runs make sense and the bad rhyming and overly simplified descriptions of love fall right in line with the zeal of a man making a forced decision on religious logic.
I thought I'd post the lyrics to the song in order to help you follow the story and form an interpretation of your own:
In Iowa, in the tall grass
there is a couple.
She's very young,
he's a young preacher.
And every day they would go out
to the fields where nothing is planted
and lie in the tall grass.
But one day, he called her into the sanctuary.
He said, "Kate, I've been touched by the Lord.
I don't need you anymore."
She didn't know what to think.
But she loved the Lord.
So she just leaned back in the pew and thought about the tall grass and said:
"Reverend..." she said,
"Reverend... Reverend the only reason I did it is to find out what it's like."
Give me, the truth to me,
and tell me of what I see,
a feeling there must be an answer for me,
I feel like I ache all over inside,
my heart is so,
so troubled. I feel like I could die.
Oh, is this what love's supposed to be?
But I'm not one to gamble,
And I don't need to scramble.
I didn't know that love would strike me blind.
This is what it's like.
This is what it's like.
On Sunday, I read somewhere
that real love is heart and soul,
yeah, but only a master could understand that.
I left that old magazine and walked down into the green
of summer, I felt like I could cry
but in the grass I only sat.
Well I'm not one to gamble,
and I don't need to scramble,
I didn't know that love would strike me blind.
This is what it's like.
This is what it's like.
Thursday, October 16, 2008
More Arthur
Arthur Russell - The Letter
This is probably my favorite song on the new Arthur Russell compilation.
special cookie surprise
Alright, so assuming it doesn't rain, tonight EYEPLUG is doing some visuals down on the main mall of UT for the free KVRX Rainbow Party. There will be DJs, a step team, and special handmade eye gougers to enhance your experience. Don't miss!
and then hey friday...
yeah. be there, ummk?
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
MP3s
Free Blood - Parangatang
Take a wild stab where these guys are from. I give you three guesses. Duhhh, of course they're from Brooklyn. Psychadelia and soul and a little bit of tribal drums but enough of a beat to be remixed, I'd love to see these guys live.
Jonas Bering - Can't Stop Loving You
I've started listening to techno.
Arthur Russell - Goodbye Old Paint
This is the most obtuse track off the new compilation of Arthur Russell country songs. At first I wasn't fully sold on the album, but I've become endeared to it and now I can't stop listening.
Monday, October 13, 2008
Leonard Bernstein....
a story from his offical website, i guess?
Leonard Bernstein
by Marin Alsop
I will never forget going to a New York Philharmonic rehearsal when Leonard Bernstein was conducting Tchaikovsky's Fifth Symphony. I was imagining how many hundreds of times he must have conducted that symphony and wondering what kind of approach he would take.
The two hours that followed were an absolute revelation and offered me insight into and understanding of who Leonard Bernstein, the conductor, really was.
This was a man whose primary and all consuming commitment was to the creator, the composer. He was unrelenting in his dedication and doggedly devoted to uncovering the composer's true intent.
Imagine my surprise when he walked out onto the podium and announced to the New York Philharmonic that he'd been "wrong" about Tchaikovsky's Fifth Symphony all along!
This willingness and desire to re-examine every piece of music, to bring a fresh approach and new insights to every performance of a work, set Bernstein apart from everyone else.
One of the greatest gifts Bernstein shared with me was the significance of story; that every piece has an inherent story and that every composer spends his life trying to articulate his own personal story and answer those existential questions that are so consuming for him.
I was always delighted when he would stop a rehearsal and say "must I tell you the story of this Haydn Symphony?" only to have 70 musicians magically turn into 4 year olds with that sparkle of anticipation in their eyes that says "yes, please tell us that story!"
For me the thing that set LB apart was not only his embracing of the story, but his profound understanding that every story has a moral that connects all of us on the most basic human level.
Bernstein, the conductor, was the ultimate champion of the composer, committed to conveying every dimension of that composer, and I frequently had the sense that he was that composer for those moments, his association so strong that it blurred the line between conductor and creator.
Friday, October 10, 2008
Beatles Stems
The Beatles recorded most, if not all of their songs, with only four separate tracks. I found some four track master recordings that have the individual tracks isolated for your listening pleasure. It's hypnotizing to listen to the stripped down parts of these extremely canonized tracks. Hearing the articulations in such detail humanizes the songs and is incredibly endearing. Also, the recording technology creates interesting pairs of instruments out of necessity, instruments whose relationships you might not otherwise notice in the context of the full arrangement of the song. Here's a few examples, I'll probably be posting more stems in the future. If anyone wants to use these for remixing or music production purposes let me know and I can give you the other parts of the songs.
Sergent Pepper's Lonely Heart's Club Band - Electric Guitar and Horns
The guitar tone on this recording is righteous. There is so much attitude. I always thought of a carnival when I listen to this song normally, but this makes me think of a giant dark rock and roll arena. The distortion on the guitar is like a piece of paper being ripped in half and crumpled.
The horns on the track create a striking dichotomy, one that I never paid attention to on the regular recording. The first melody, regal and bouncing, seems to come completely out of nowhere when you're listening to the shredding guitar track isolated. Also the ending horns add a nice drone element to the ending.
A Day in the Life - Acoustic Guitar, Auxiliary Percussion, Piano
You can faintly hear John Lennon's vocals in the background, giving you a bit of a cheat sheet as to how the track fits together. The piano is so subtle and dynamic on the verses, the shaker overpowers it nearly completely. Then when the guitar drops you're treated to an epic repeated melody and Beatles roadie Mal Evans (thanks to Songfacts.com)counting up to 21 or so. Things get pretty dissonant towards the end of the count before returning to a parlor sounding piano melody. At around the 3:00 mark you hear John laugh, much louder than the drowned out vocals from earlier. Then his vocals take center stage, "I'd Love to Turn You On," then another count, this time the voice gets delayed and cacophonous before coming to an abrupt stop.
Yom Kippur with Monotonix
Hey! So I'd like to write about how i just saw this great show, and how that's been happening a lot to me lately and how it doesn't get old, but actually I'm sort of sad (all that is true tho)!
Today is Yom Kippur, the holiest day in the Jewish calendar. You are supposed to fast, which I didn't do...I've only actually made it the whole way like 3 times out of 10 years since my Bar-Mitzvah when you are supposed to start, but my eating this year was particularly egregious. Anyways, it's the day of atonement and you go to services twice if you are observant, once in the morning, and then you take a break in the afternoon, and then you go back at maybe 5-6 PM and stay until sundown and then the holiday is over and you break the fast. Usually, you go to someones house for a little get together which is called break-the-fast. That's what I did. Then I went and saw Monotonix.
It was already a very weird Jewish day for me internally. I don't think about being Jewish a lot unless someone else brings it up, and then its only in this caricatured way of how my being Jewish relates to the situation (hint: it usually doesn't). So being at services when I'm not very religious (although I used to be) was one thing. Then I had a nice realization that I wasn't the only one at synagogue who maybe didn't believe in God all the way. It was a funny little conversation, I was talking to this guy who was in the foyer "looking for his wife." He was, and even somewhat actively, but he was not looking forward to finding her because then he would have to go back into services. It's weird the way I belong to this distinct culture, but the only time I am ever in a large group of only Jews would be at something related to the religious aspect. Even the camps or at the JCC which are these supposed more secular branches of the diversified and vibrant Jewish community have always felt like they had this religious bent to them. (and maybe this has something to do with my family being from here, and all my parents friends and acquaintances either awkwardly talking to me or awkwardly not talking to me at such meetings.)
Anyways I went and saw Monotonix after break-the-fast tonight. They were staying with Party Chris and he introduced me to them. I talked to their drummer Haggai. I asked him what he did for the holiday and he said "ooh, i think we are probably just going to pass out," thinking I meant "hey let's hang out tonight and party really hard!" I suppose. So I clarified and the answer was basically drive and fill mail-orders, catch lunch, read e-mails. Something to note---these guys have been on the road without a break, half a world from their home for what will amount to something like 120 days. They play NYC on this stretch 4 times in 3 days, with a show in Delaware the evening of the 3rd day. On their way to the US and back from they play in Europe and England. Per Party Chris, in the last 6 months they have had one 3 week break in Israel, and thats been the extent of it.
Anyways, I felt sad that that was how they had spent their holiday, and even sadder that I had had this idea to bring them a save plate from break-the-fast filled with ultra-Jewish food goodies that you really see in bulk on the holidays (noodle kugel, fruit salads, regular salads, different things) and I just didn't do it. We were at my parents friends house, not my relatives, but if I had explained the situation I'm sure something could have been arranged. Probably would have gotten in for free, too.
And its how they are spending their life right now. In some ways there is nothing greater, and I respect that as guys in their mid 30s - early 40s they are at a point in their lives where they can make the decision to commit to an amount of work like that. Like hey, this is what we want (all off of some initial spark of imagination), and this is how you do it -- and by touring with a show like that...seriously, they should be playing arenas -- but at the same time touring that hard is something at this point in my life I would never be able to do (due to a lack of discipline I'm sure affects most my entire age group, simply because that's not what humans do or how they think at this point in their lives...like coach said, "mental toughness.") So while conceptually its not all that foreign to me, it lays this sort of psychedelic wash of feeling a greater period of human lifespan than I have actually existed in thus far. And that's heavy shit!
Their show was all fun, but deeper than that, it consisted of this progression of rock and roll tropes that, done so right, really spoke for themselves. Like, this is why you set cymbals on fire, and this is why you play on the floor, and move around, and crowd surf, and dump out beers, and dump out trash cans, etc, etc, to infinity. I mean, I've seen all that shit done wrong so many times, that it was really a joy to see it all done right, and all at once.
They made me think of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, actually, the way the whole experience was a show, and the way there was this great pacing to it. The fire was right at the beginning, and so were the trash cans and a certain kind of mayhem, and that all gave way to a different sort, which then gave way to this absurd "taking it to the streets" thing which can only end up in a hippie drum circle, and finally, mercifull, was broken up by sirens, and the fact that it was a EMS truck just trying to make it across the street after waiting patiently for the crowd to let them through and not cops breaking the whole thing up, well that was just a detail. But it wouldn't have worked in opposite order. And the little touches, like going all over the place, but doing so hooked up to a 100 foot guitar cable instead of rocking one of those wireless get ups. It was all great.
The whole bit was like this beautiful dance of life, to me. All these dance steps, but to me what made it so much better than the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, is while there was an outline (set this on fire, move a couple times, stand on something) there was clearly a much greater level being improvised. It was really L'Chaim! as the Jews say, "To Life!" and I really feel every band like this that exists is a triumph of humanity over the forces of annihilation. (heavy!) But seriously, after what I went through all day, I bizarrely found this incredible solidarity with my Jewish roots from watching these mostly secular Israeli's rock out on Thin Lizzy riffs, and there is something sort of awesome about that. Although I would certainly hesitate to call Monotonix "a religious experience."
So yeah, it was a really, really great show. I just wish I hadn't forgotten the food!
Wednesday, October 8, 2008
OH EM GEE DUDERS!, This is my F1RST!!!1 post and i'm totally fucking stoked!
Look what the surf dragged in! It's me Skyler!
Now I know what you're thinkin. "But, but, Skyler! aren't you supposed to be grippin' it and rippin' it out on some totally gnarly waves somewhere??"
FOR SURE BRO!!! But thats the most totally awesome part! This is the internets! If what I know about sex wax and seashells is true, then surfin the information super highway is going to be a peace (Buddha '08!!) of fucking cake bro!
And I know just the way to celebrate this momentus moment! Pullin the pin out of this chill cervezanade and lettin one fly for freedom! WOOOOOOO!
That feels good!
And while i'm at it, I think i'll go ahead and raise my glass (Just kidding bros! YOU KNOW I GOTS THA CANS! (remember what happened when I totally tried to rush'm n crush'm those longnecks? MORE LIKE GLASSNECKS OUCHHH!).. Where was I.. OH! Right! Giving the proper props to my main man Tom Sanford. A true American hero, and the greatest artist of our times. word! Here to make this world a better place n shit! one painting at a time. Enjoy broskies, and until next time... GRIP IT N RIP IT 4 LIFE!!!!!!!
"Tecate Can" 2008
Oil, acrylic & fake gold on paper
h: 48 x w: 31.8 in / h: 121.9 x w: 80.8 cm 
Fuckin beautiful n shit!
Monday, October 6, 2008
Ian Mackaye interview
courtesy youtube: skip a couple minutes through the questions, because this is edited really weird
incredible pt 3: re: steve b
for those of you who didn't catch it, steve b wrote this assumedly more informed opinion than my own re: "incredible..." pt 1.:
"Strange Boys, Barbaras and Oh Sees sound nothing like Vivian Girls.
One reason they're getting attention is that, while not trailblazing anything, they are playing a style of "indie/garage/punk/whatever" rock that hasn't been played in the past 10 years or so.
By that, I mean, noisy, melodic pop a la Black Tambourine, Tiger Trap, Aislers Set and you could go back earlier and say Marine Girls, Shop Assistants, etc.
I can see some of what you're saying, but you come up short on a lot of your analysis.
For one, yes they are attractive, but not in a textbook kind of way, like a pop star or what-have-you. There are LOTS of bands with goodlooking girls (you'll see this when you see Golden Triangle) and it hasn't benefited them at all.
Basically, the attention they're getting comes from these things:
1. Touring relentlessly. Look at their tour schedule. This is how the Black Lips and Jay Reatard became successful. Touring. Touring. Touring.
2. In The Red. It's been a label that major indies have scooped artists from for years. Black Lips, Jay Reatard, The Ponys, King Khan & BBQ Show.
3. The 1st press of their LP sold out in about 5 days. Obviously, this gets the ball rolling as far as internet interest.
Ok, that's it."
------------------------------------------------------------
so I thought that was well thought out enough to repost in its entirety.....
Anyways before I continue, I'd like to further caveat my position by saying I'm not familiar with Black Tambourine, Tiger Trap, Aislers Set Marine Girls, or Shop Assistants, which should tell you something about how skin deep I'm actually in the garage thing (which matters--I'm not claiming to speak for people really into it). OK, so thats one caveat. The other caveat being that that previous blog post would have been more well thought out if I hadn't had a show to go to. So thats that.
As far as Strange Boys, Barbaras and Oh Sees sounding nothing like Vivian Girls, I agree to an extent---the previous post was intended to comment strictly about commerce and nothing about art. As far as the Vivian Girls touring relentlessly, I had no idea, and obviously that strikes at my own regional bias. I've got mad respect for all bands that tour relentlessly.
But with that out of the way, I think its worth mentioning that I'm of the opinion that what those 3 bands do is more difficult than what The Vivian Girls do. Beyond that, while I personally don't value "difficulty" in music on its own, I begin to find importance in "saying something new" from genres with a strong formal/less-experimental history. Lotta quotation marks...
I think its worth bringing up the short term (last 5 years) history of bands getting picked up off In The Red and I'm glad you did. The band The Vivian Girls actually reminded me of (again, only from video) was The Ponys. I picked up a copy of Laced With Romance and was pretty into it, especially the first 2 tracks, and though I think at this point it sounds sort of specific or I guess you could say dated, if I could do it all over I would still probably get really into those tracks again. That record all had a bunch to do with the production on it in my mind but thats a different story...the point of this is to say I'm not going to be too stuck up not to get into Vivian Girls, because I think their songwriting is legitimately good.
Anyways, yeah, I was really into it, but I saw them live and thought it was just OK. Then their second record came out, and it felt like a real lateral move to me, like, it didn't have the same singles, but at the same time, other than that it wasn't really worse, just them doing a different sound. I just couldn't figure out exactly why. Like, I could see the connection from the first record to the second, but it was the sort of record that left me hoping the 3rd record would be somewhere in the middle of the first 2 and like....i don't know...I don't even want to get too into it to be honest. I managed to see them live a second time (a year later-ish), and thought the first time I saw them was better.
And I would imagine the Vivian Girls will stick a little closer to their sound for subsequent records, and again I'm not completely familiar with them, being in Austin, Texas. But the comparison to me is that the sound they are working with is a pretty simple one. I think the Black Lips are a great band and also a great band to contrast them with to try and communicate what I think the difference between creativity and non-creativity within the genre is. "Good Bad Not Evil" has as least 6 different things going on. There is the chord thing, where everything is sort of based off these basic chord shapes, E, A, G, D, and C and their minors, and these common progressions that involve these shapes. There is this stylistic country under-vibe. There is this sort of Deerhunter style psych under-vibe---I'm sure if I knew the exact guitar looper pedal I could point to it, but it definitely feels very modern to me. There is this "we sound different live than on this record" vibe (I used to have their live record which I probably loved way more than Good Bad Not Evil, although really now I'm curious to hear it again if for no other reason than just for the sake of comparison). There is a strong lyrical point of view. And on top of that they are laying some pretty funky rhythms on these chords that you really have to go through the steps before you discover. And that's really just the record, and what I can think of right now: that's not to say about what their live deal is.
But for me, when I hear the Vivian Girls there are about 2 things going on. There is this shoegazey guitar, and there is this 3 part harmony. There is also the fact that in one manner of speaking they are really great songs, but it feels very "great, where do you go from here?" for me. Maybe in a manner of speaking a good band to compare them to would be The Clean. The Clean wrote a number of songs that I think are really incredible, but that doesn't change the fact that their entire output basically has the exact same drum beat. That to me in itself should disqualify you from the upper floors of the proverbial rock and roll hall of fame.
As far as the first press of their LP selling out in 5 days, I would love to know that story.
To kind of switch gears, as far as Golden Triange is concerned, I thought they were awesome. In regards to the commerce aspect of their band, I really can't attest to it because I don't know their history well enough, but I am glad they caught this tour with Quintron and Miss Pussycat, because people will be accidentally see them, get into them, and I thought they were really great. As far as the other bands (Strange Boys, Barbaras, Oh Sees) those are all great live bands I've been fortunate enough to witness, and I feel they are all successfully extending the idiom (more than what could rightfully be called a "twist"). This is in opposition to playing a sound that, for whatever reason, just hasn't been played in 10 years.
So that's what I got on the subject for now...stoked on Steve B that he coaxed me into writing it, cause it was fun.
Sunday, October 5, 2008
Other Blog Sunday
I read a lot of blogs and it's time to start giving some shout outs to my blogging heros.
Turntable Lab's Estoy Con Estupido Blog
Blog run by the staff and extended family of one of the best online music stores around, Turntable Lab. Some might argue that the store isn't what it used to be, particularly due to the larger focus on clothing. Seriously, why do I get a weekly email fashion update? It reinforces the shallow image theme that really drives me bat-shit about all this DJing non-sense. But regardless of the clothing section, Turntable Lab's vinyl selection and new digital store is still pretty on point, and they also carry a great selection of music related books.
Enough about the store, this is really about the blog. To say the dudes working at Turntable Lab are knowledgeable about music is a no brainer, but this isn't yr "omg check out this rare boogie track" sort of blog. They do let you know when Turntable Lab Radio is streaming a new episode, but you're more likely to read some serious DJ rants, ridiculous posts about the election, sports highlights of the week, hilarious youtube videos, and some cool design posts. Oh, also a bagillion flyers for DJ events featuring the lab crew (the newest contributor is Austin's own DJ Mel). In addition to posting on the Lab blog, most of these guys have their own personal blogs, some of which are among my favs.
Recent gold-star blog posts;
Afrocentric WWF Exploitation
Economic Straight Talk from Wanda Sykes on Leno
DJ Mel introduces himself with some Miami Bass... from Texas.
INCREDIBLE!! (not part 2)
I saw a great show tonight. the 2 bands i saw were Quintron and Ms. Pussycat and also Golden Triangle (from NYC, not ATX) who were great and are playing our house tomorrow, 99% sure. 8 PM. With WYLDPRTY. You gotta check em out, they were rad!!! Plus, we're gonna get a keg. Anyways, those bands were KILLER!!!!
Read More......Saturday, October 4, 2008
Incredible...
...the way you can watch these things as they are happening. This is a rant, so it will inevitably include leaps of logic and easily misunderstood language. Be prepared. It's a little piece on how the music industry works, which is something every citizen in America should be aware of, IMO. It's a case study, and the source material is The Vivian Girls.
Pitchfork just reviewed the new Vivian Girls record and started with this line:
"In a year when Brooklyn buzz travels around the world at lightspeed, you can probably count on one hand the number of new bands that, when the hype settles, are more than inconsequential collections of postures and exhausted second-hand styles."
I have a one word answer to that: Yes.
You could read the rest of the review, but to me, this first line reads as "you are going to accuse us of this, and we are going to let you know we are aware of your forthcoming accusations, and use them as a straw-man argument to debunk them as they pertain to this band, even though that's not the sort of thing you can really debunk in a record review."
It realy strikes at values, I guess, but I have a number of theories involving this "Vivian Girls explosion" (which i'm calling pitchfork best new music a culmination of.) Before I continue any further, let me say I don't think they are bad. The point of this "article" doesn't related to how good or bad they actually are, outside of the fact that they are not IMO that super fucking awesome. And i feel comfortable saying that as someone who has only seen their live material on the internet and hasn't heard their whole record, given partially to the fact that what i saw of them live wasn't interactive in a way that would suggest the experience live is different than the record really, and also due to the fact that their "LP" is TWENTY TWO minutes short, so having heard their myspace tracks, and from the live footage, its possible I have heard their whole record.
The point of this article for me is more why "The Vivian Girls" instead of The Strange Boys (also on In The Red), The Barbaras (In The Red/Goner), or The Oh Sees (just to name the bands that off the top of my head I think are better, doing a similar sound for longer, been working harder for longer, and not immediately sucessful in the same way)? This is not to mention the bands that have done the garage sound recently who I'm not familiar with, but know I should be, a list which would include Reigning Sound, and I know there are some others that I should be able to think of and just can't.
the short answer:
1) The Vivian Girls are from Brooklyn, where the music media industry literally lives, works, and breaths.
2) There are 2 hot girls in the band.
3) They have a good single, with an accompanying music video.
4) There are certain elements of known quantities about them: they will be able to sell records (see items 1-3), they play a sound that has an established national scene, and they have buzz, which is related to items 1-3 and also a considerable about to the first half of item 4.
what is buzz? Buzz is when a bunch of people see a band and say to themselves "this band is going to be a much bigger band than they are currently." not "this is a great band that no one knows about!" If 95% of people in the music industry literally did not know the difference between good and bad music, they would be saying the same thing about Yellow Fever, starting, oh, 9 months ago. I think Yellow Fever is going to be fine (from an "industry standpoint" to totally seperate the commercial side from the art side...im literally rolling my eyes as i type this)
I should also mention, another reason this example in particular strikes a chord with me has to do with the fact that its garage, which is a) not that hard to do a shitty job of, witness the wave of shitty bands inspired by The Black Lips and then again I've been told by Jay Retard, and b) this current garage revival has created its own circut which it is possible will now become infested with money-grubbers and kill a lot of creativity, and also, even though it may have only been a matter of time, I think Vivian Girls is going to be the band to do it.
So why not those other bands? 1. geography. 2. they aren't hot girls, and certainly not in this typically American early 20s definition of what hot is way
Anyways, this probably isn't all I have to say on the subject, but I gotta go see a show, so anything else will have to wait (I'm going to see Golden Triangle, who may be one of those 5 bands that is not all hype from Brooklyn...I'll find out soon enough...and also Quintron and Miss Pussycat)
Introducing: Stupid Song Saturdays
Howdy faithful readers! Inspired by Dan's fantastic 'Favorite Song Wednesday' series, I thought I'd start a couple of weekly/weekend posts of my own (tomorrow's will be even more special). For my first installment I bring you:
The Subjects, Laugh
From the simulated synth-laughing to the baby speak to the bobbing bass-line, I think it's fair to say this song is STUPID. And possibly rage-inducing. Now I don't want people to misunderstand the spirit of this post; I'm not exactly saying this song is bad. Some baby-murdering part of my personality actually appreciates it for its quirks. However, for simplicity's sake let's just say this song is stupid.
By the way, so far I only have about 3 weeks more worth of songs thought up for this dang-ole thing, so if you have any stupid song suggestions (I'm so good at alliteration) email me at fredrockjock@gmail.com
Friday, October 3, 2008
Noggin/Sievert EYEPLUG
I'm reposting this because the youtube one was lo-res.
Noggin and Sievert, EYEPLUG, HUNTING MAGIC//Rancho Relaxo from EYEPLUG / tall reed on Vimeo.
Enjoy.
Thursday, October 2, 2008
bottom feeder: Creature Show, Follow That Bird, Everything in Heaven, Domy Recap, Pastiche....
So first things first. Download this mix from DJ Tanner if you haven't already. I posted it like a year ago and only three people got it. Which is shameful. So get it. LINK-> Now. It will be done by the time you finish reading this post. Maybe.
My friend Tara helped set up an art show at WET Salon (1109 South Congress) all about creatures/monsters. It's tonight (Thursday), 7-10ish. Lori's doing projections. Be there, holeface.
Ok, then Friday, go see Follow that Bird at their EP release at the Parlor. I saw them a couple a weeks ago at a house party and it was fantastic. Loud, raucous, unhinged. And this show is FREE. Yeah, so come, listen, get an EP and pizzabeer. 9 o'clock.
Finally, on Saturday, Ben Aqua/Totally Wreck's Everything in Heaven has a preview screening at OKAY mtn. Everything in Heaven is gonna be on public access channel 16 on Sundays at 7pm. Whoo. Public access already melts my brain thanks to Perry Logan, Puppetose (or whatever it's called now), and Cookin' Good. Here's the preview below.
Also, I went to Domy books yesterday for a Monofonus reading by Karen Davidson. Super swell store (more on that soon) and a funny reading as well. Also, I ran into Adam from Austinist who I hadn't seen in awhile. He told me about his new column he's doing called Pastiche. Ch-Ch-Check it.
Alright. these sort of posts from me are going to go on LINK>>> hunting magic from now on.
Wednesday, October 1, 2008
Phish is getting back together
I saw em twice---in 99 and in 2000 at Southpark Meadows (R.I.P.) I probably will end up shelling out 50 bucks to see them again, and I will probably be super psyched to do so, and god willing I will have a great time when I am there, and maybe even catch some sort of monster (even in the pantheon of things) jam. Anyways, I found this on the internet. Its a review of one Phish song on one particular day. There are thousands of these on the internet at phish.net. I'm going to throw some of the early highlights in bold in case you don't want to read the whole thing. But you should.
Subject: 12/30/97 AC/DC Bag Review
From: Mathias A Loertscher
Date: 1998/03/20
AC/DC Bag 12/30/97 set 2
I don't know if anyone has reviewed this monster before, but upon
listening to it today, I felt inspired to give my own analysis and
interpretation of it. I am not in the habit of ranking jams as the best or as better than, this just happens to be my favourite jam of maybe all time. I was lucky enough to witness it in the flesh and have vivid memories of the emotional peak it brought me to. I have started the timing when Trey begins with the chk-chk (approx 10 secs before the actual song begins. Why? Why not) The times are even then not 100% accurate. This is my first major review of a jam. I hope you enjoy it and I appreciate any feedback.
After a little muted rhythm by Trey, the tune opens authoritatively. The
crowd responds nicely, and th boys settle into what can be described as an
solid Bag groove. Not too fast, not too wild, but solid. Mike's playing is
right on, with little lilt here and there, esp. at 0:36. Trey is keeping
things nice and open. Lyrics start at about 0:50. So far this Bag is
nothing special, but it feels right. As Trey begins the second verse (Time
to put your money where your mouth is), Page switches up to the Clavinet
(I have noticed a little confusion amongst this newsgroup as to which is
the Clav and which is the Moog. The Clav is Page's main funk keyboard, and
is also featured in Gyute. The Moog has a more electronic sound is the one
he uses in Frankenstein). He funks it nicely for the rest of the verse, giving this Bag a little more edge. He switches back to the piano for the chorus. The rest of the pre-jam Bag is nicely played. Solo starts at
approx. 3:40. After a little normal Bag-style playing, Trey settles into a very very rhythmic and repetitive pattern at about 4:10, playing very staccato. Page has already moved up to the Clavinet and is complementing nicely, not taking too much of the focus. Mike varies the bass line a little, yet keeps implying the chord progression. At 4:35, Trey moves up the 'doc and continues the rhythm, this time with more vigour, yet with equally short and staccato notes. Page has changed the sound on his Clav, giving it a little more twang, probably playing a bit with the wah wah pedal he's got hooked up to that thing. He is soloing very cautiously, yet melodically. By about 5:15, everyone has become a lot more active. Trey is subtleing playing around with the rhythm he's been laying down. Mike is still implying the chord progression, but has taken a few liberties here
and there, filling in all the spaces nicely. Fishman has all the while been keeping the beat simple, restraining himself. He sounds so solid though. He and Trey have hooked up tightly. Page begins soloing with a little more emotion, giving the jam a little more direction. By 6:10, Mike has abandoned the Bag, and is providing a very up beat bass line, propelling Phish 2000 into what now sounds like its going to be a sick jam. At about this time, Page starts playing higher up in the range. He begins exploring a very nice theme, almost spacey sounding. Trey responds at 6:30 by unleashing the first space sound digi delay. More follow. Mike is simplyfing the bass line a little. Fish follows Mike and lays down the groove in a more restrained manner. Trey begins anew with the staccato rhythm at about 6:55. At this point, Page changes his sound to a real down home twang. It almost sounds like he's playing a guitar, or a lap steel. Trey begins playing chords by 7:15. Mike's bass playing has picked up again and now he's gathering steam, taking Fish along with him. These two have locked up tighter thn Fort Knox. Between 7:30 and 8:05, Trey and Page really start playing off of each other. Trey is sparsely playing a lot more chords. I really think that Trey has successfully managed to integrate himself more into the collective playing of the band this past year. I know that he wanted the jams to be less guitar solo orientated and
I think he's managed this quite nicely. Not taking the focus, but being part of the whole, that's what the boys are about when they jam, which is something none of the other jam bands I've ever heard have really
successfully done. They all rely on a soloist. Anyways, by this point,
Page is really playing with some urgency, milking that twang for all its
worth. At 8:10, Trey starts with some wah wah funk chords, adding to the
fire that Mike and Fish are laying down. Page speeds up his playing,
toying around with a very bouncy theme. By 8:35, he settles on a
repetitive pattern. This allows Mike and Trey to refine what their already
playing. Everybody is showing lots of energy by this point. Mike sounds
like he's pounding that bass fast and furious. I can see Fish sitting
back, riding the groove and playing in a sweet trance. At 9:05, Page
starts playing a lot of notes, giving the jam a more textural feel. Trey
has kept the wah wah chords going, probably as tranced as Fish is right
now. At 9:35, Trey varies his playing a bit, filing in more. The jam,
although it has retained the flavour it started with, now sounds a lot
more full. Mike's emphasising the peaks and valleys a lot more too. They
continue on this groove for a while, until at 10:40, Trey unleashes
another spacy digi delay. Fish man breaks it down nicely, and Page calms
down a lot. Mike follows Fish, and Trey comes in with a new rhythmic
theme. He has changed the effect on his guitar, sounding a lot harder and
rougher, like he's getting ready to kick ass and take names. He prowls
around for a while, almost like a tiger or something. The jam has a much
more gritty feel to it, and yet is more subdued as well. By 11:40, the
tiger is getting restless, sounding more and more like a chain saw.
Whatever remnants of the more positive, happy jam remain are in Page's
keyboard work. Page is still on the Clav (which I would argue has replaced
the B3 as his second keyboard, piano remaining #1), and his playing sounds
less extroverted than before. At 12:15, Trey is ready to go. He starts
into a nice meaty theme, although it sounds like he's still holding back.
Mike is completmenting very nicely, as is Fish. Both have found their own
niches in this new road. Page is getting a little more vicious as well. By
12:35, their rocking. Not too hard, but rocking. At 12:45, Trey switches
back into some wah-wah chords, still sounding rough though. The rest of
the boys keep it going, and Page switches down to the piano at 13:00. As
Trey battles with the wah wah, sqeezing all the rhythmic variations he can
out of the 'doc, everyone else gets down to business as well. Fish is now
flying, filling in like a champ, making extensive use of his various
cymbals. Page has hunched down and giving the sound a really nice full
warm texture, yet not venturing too far into happy land. At 13:12, Trey
lets fly a hell of a wah wah run, lasting a full ten seconds. The first
time a friend of mine heard that run, he got very upset at Trey for being
so damn good. At 13:30, Trey lets loose!! Enough is enough, its time to
rock and roll!! The theme he starts playing sounds a lot like Psycho
Killer to me, expect this is like a Psycho Killer on amphetamines. Page is
playing high up on the piano, with lots of energy. Fish is driving the
rhythm, hitting a lot of splahes for accentuation. Mike is laying down the
groove, making sure no falls behind. The continue this theme until about
14:15, when Trey kicks down a big fat power chord, jumping off that train.
The rest of the band pans out the rest of the way, until Page starts
hitting some high notes repetitively with some urgency. The boys have been
battling long and hard with this groove, and now, in their greatest hour,
they will show what true warriors are really made of. At 14:30, Trey
unsheaths the 'doc of its effects and plays straight from the heart.
Everyone is playing dynamically, refusing to fall into a simple groove yet
not deteriorating into a mess. Trey's solo is one of the greatest I've
ever heard. Cliche free and without restraint, he proves himself a mature
guitarist with original and energetic things to say. Page compliments him
incredibly well, obviously listening to the development of the solo,
playing more when needed and restraining himself when Trey needs more
space. Mike proves here why he is the most solid bass player around. Not
drawing too much attention to himself, he nonetheless retains his own
sound and provides the band with its drive. Fish proves here why he is the
most improved member of the band. Dynamic. That is the adjective I'd
attribute him. I can only think of some jazz drummers who play more
musically. By 15:15, Trey settles on a repetitive pattern, laying on a few
effects. The band switches down out of turbo. Page heads up to play some
mellow Clav, and Fish's rhythm eventually mutates into something that
sounds a lot like the Runaway Jim rhythm. Mike is playing a little more
bouncy, but switches to create a thick warm texture. At 16:15, Trey still
has the pattern going, although it sounds like its modulating a bit. It
dies down at 16:30. Trey starts noodling softly. Page goes to the piano,
playing a very cool descendo at 16:57. Mike has started to play between
Fish and Trey, finding a nice groove between them. Trey plays more chords,
eventually settling on some very light and pretty ones. Page is also
playing very beautifully as well. Trey's chords sound like someone riding
a horse bareback through a beautiful green field on a day when the sky is
the color of blue jeans. Fish's rhythm is the galloping feet as they meet
the soft ground, leaving it perfectly trampled in its wake. They keep this
gloriously chill and free groove going for awhile. At 18:30, we start to
see some cloud coverage. Not enough to ruin a beautiful day, but enough to
let ya know it might be time to find shelter. Trey and Page both create a
little tension with the chords they play, very intermittendly. At 18:45,
it breaks down to pretty much just Trey. He plays a very different
pattern. Although it contrasts with the previous mood, it sounds very
logical. Sort of like going from yellow to purple. Their very different, but they create a strange and wonderful effect when placed side by side. The rest of the band follows him. They are all playing a little more disjointed now. Fish however gets the same rhythm going. Mike sounds a
little more sinister, reflecting the darker mood. At 19:22, Trey starts
to solo again. Quietly, and sounding a little more cooly dangerous. He
gets more passionate as time goes on. By 19:45, he settles on another
repetitive pattern, building the energy, until he finally unleashes some
more rock and roll!!!! Fish follows him and gets equally tempremental.
Mike and Page can do nothing but join the flow. At 20:15, Trey lets loose
with a yowl!! A little machine gun follows. At 20:40, he lays down some
power chords. Page complements nicely, although sounding equally pain
stricken. Trey lets loose again at 21:00, this time soloing with the wah.
The rest of the boys keep up nicely, everybody playing heavy. At 21:20,
Page has a really nice crescendo that really emphasizes the strangely
organised chaos or hell the boys have found themselves in. At 21:50, they
settle down quite a bit, letting the groove take over. Fish is playing
beautifully as is Mike, who sounds really dark. Page is onto to the Fender
Rhodes now. chhhhhhhiiiiiiiiiiiiillllllllll. At 22:30, Trey wah wah chk
chks out a few mutterings. He turns on an effect (the one which I think
overlays an octave on what he's playing), and solos very quietly. Page is
over on the piano now. The jam is still rather erie sounding. Effect
switch at 23:30, and Page gets a little more active. Mike and Fish are
just laying it down smooth the whole time. Trey sounds a little more grimy
now. The energy begins to build. Trey noodles for a bit, often playing
some very interesting lines. By 24:30, Page has switched over to I'm not
quite sure which synth (Not the Moog, Clav, Rhodes, or B3), and is giving
Trey some spacey backdrop to work against. This continues for a bit until
Trey ends it with a one off chord. Page and Mike also die out immediately,
but Fishman lets the rhythm ride out for a bit until Trey starts up with
the McGrupp opening, at which point he fades out very nicely.
All in all, I think this is one of the finest musical moments in
Phishtory. I have heard some (not nearly all) of the jams from 97, and
have to say that this one, in terms of magnificence, complexity, and
originality is the best.
Hope that everyone has fun at the Spring Mini Tour.
Mathias
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Smoother than scratch-free Formica and cooler than a Frigidaire."
----------------------------------------
Mathias Loertscher, DEC.
"Smoother than scratch-free Formica and cooler than a Frigidaire"
Favoritesong Wednesday #3
Ok, so maybe that Otis song isn't my favorite song. It's great and all, but half of what I enjoy about it is projecting Otis's legacy onto a cross-table discussion between two imaginary figures. There's a lot of me filling in blanks on that one.
Brian Eno - The Big Ship
Another Green World (1975)
This song is probably my favorite song for real. My Brian Eno obsession is well documented. I have a copy of his diary that he published from 1995 by my bedside. I have had a data CD of his pop records in heavy rotation in my car for the past 3 years and I can now sing pretty much every guitar or synth solo. I work at least 2 oblique strategies from this delightful Mac widget into my life every day. I threw a remarkably uncomfortable listening party for Another Green World in the basement of ol' Casa Vista. I forced 35 minutes of bell studies he did for a clock that's supposed to run for 10,000 years onto the unprepared Clementine customers last week until someone complained. I almost even downloaded the new Coldplay album because he produced it.
Nerdiness aside, this song is some epic shit. It's like men building a pyramid. Rolling snares and rimshots keep a marching 6/8 pace as layer after layer of synthesizer and sustained guitar tones spiral into the clouds. Halfway through the track scalpel sharp hi-notes carve into the dense and drawn out bed of textures, but the most beautiful thing about the song is that it never explodes in climax or crumbles into a ruins, it fucking fades out. As if the pyramid workers were pretty close to finishing the damn thing but then were struck with a sudden sense of tranquility and just walked slowly into the desert and forgot about the whole project.
BONUS MATERIAL:
I took a few videos while driving to Rocky Mountain National Park in Colorado this summer. Aforementioned Eno data disc was in the CD player. They're a bit shaky, but I was operating a motor vehicle at the time of filming.
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