8.31.2006

Power and Glory Part One

Lisa Papineau is a singer who has so far made her name as a vocalist with Air and M83. So it should come as no surprise to hear that her first solo album is a similar affair, but it's a bit more stripped down. Her breathy vocals remind me of Lori Carson, and her lo-fi electro sound mixed with organic instruments is a sound reminiscent of Beth Orton. Unlike the latter, Ms. Papineau's sound is a little less folky, and more pop. But not Britney Spears pop, you know what I mean.

Click the album cover below to check out the video for the song "Out To You," and trust me, it's more than just what you see in the first few seconds.

click to check out a video from Lisa Papineau

Then you can click on this picture of the artist herself to hear her song "Shucking. Jiving."

click to hear Shucking. Jiving.

Then you can go out and buy the record, cuz it's already out and it's called "Night Moves."


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Velocity Girl: the song, not the band

Remember Primal Scream? Of course you do. Okay, maybe not, but you should. As usual, us Americans are oblivious to way too many excellent releases by British bands. At first, Primal Scream were a sort of Byrds-esque kind of band. But something happened with their third album "Screamadelica": they found dance music. The impact that Nirvana's "Nevermind" had on mainstream rock music in 1991 is very similar to the impact of "Screamadelica" on acid house, techno, and rave culture in the British mainstream. Combine that with the Stone Roses, Happy Mondays, New Order, and the Charlatans UK, and you have a monster scene full of endlessly influential acts.

Three years later, Primal Scream's next record "Give Out But Don't Give Up" goes in a completely different direction. Screamadelica had a couple of tracks that were slightly rooted in American Southern rock, or a Stones/Faces kind of sound. "Give Out..." was an entire record of that sound. There was a problem, though. The production was so slick that it sounded too perfect. It was all too intentional and well-thought out to truly evoke the sounds of bands that make loose bluesy rock. "Vanishing Point" (1997), "XTRMNTR" (2000), and "Evil Heat" (2002) followed, and brought back elements of the band's folky roots, as well as the innovative electro sounds of Screamadelica and the blues-rock of Give Out But Don't Give Up.

There have been a couple of minor missteps, but the band has managed to stay influential and relevant all these years.

Now, here in the present, the Scream are back with "Riot City Blues," a return to the blues-rock sound of before, but they got it right this time. Because it's loose, the way the Stones or the Faces do it. The way that bands like the Mooney Suzuki forgot.

Click the album cover below to check out three new videos from Primal Scream.

click to check out three new videos from Primal Scream


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In Circles

Lately my friend Chris keeps talking about Sunny Day Real Estate and how great they were. Personally, I loved their first album, Diary, but my interest waned with subsequent releases.

Sunny Day Real Estate's first album: Diary

Their next album, commonly known as the 'Pink Album', was self-titled. And it was a downer. A total and complete downer. While I realize that it was simply the direction the band was headed in, I also missed the energy of "Diary." That was when I lost interest. Then the singer Jeremy Enigk put out a solo album titled "Return of the Frog Queen." I wasn't very into that, either. I'm talking about a time when I was on college radio, I was still (barely) under 21, and I wanted more power in my music.

But...times change, musicians evolve, and people grow up. Enigk has a brand new solo album called World Waits, and it comes out on October 17th.




After hearing the first single Been Here Before, I'm really curious. Check out his MySpace page here, you can listen to more songs there.

Here are the US tour dates:

Here are the upcoming US tour dates:
8/28 Los Angeles, CA - The Troubadour
8/30 San Francisco, CA - Great American Music Hall
9/01 Bellingham, WA - The Nightlight
9/02 Vancouver, BC - Richard's on Richards
9/03 Seattle, WA - Bumbershoot Festival
9/09 Portland, OR - Crystal Ballroom



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8.29.2006

We Won't Get Fooled Again

Wow. Seriously. I'm really curious to hear this one...

(New York, NY, August 24, 2006) -- Universal Republic Records will release new music from the legendary rock band The Who, it was announced today by Mel Lewinter, Chairman and CEO of the Universal Motown Records Group, and Monte Lipman, President of Universal Republic Records. The historic signing with Universal Republic will include the first studio album by the band in 25 years, Endless Wire, scheduled to hit stores October 31, 2006.

“We are thrilled beyond words to welcome The Who to Universal Republic,” stated Mr. Lewinter. “They are truly one of the quintessential rock bands of all time. Larger than life, never compromising – The Who’s profound insight and willingness to push the musical envelope embodies everything vital about the indispensable music culture they helped spawn.”

Stated Mr. Lipman: “The Who not only defined their generation, but every generation of artists that followed with their genre-defying mixture of rock, R&B, and conceptual breakthroughs. We’re honored they’ve chosen Universal Republic and are certain their new album is poised to reinvigorate the music world all over again.”

Universal Republic will inaugurate the new pact with the release of the first new Who studio album since 1982. The disc will include all new songs, as well as music culled from a 29 minute operatic work, described by The Who’s co-founder Pete Townshend as “A Mini-Opera inspired by his Novella The Boy Who Heard Music.” Townshend has made the book available online at
www.petetownshend.co.uk/projects/tbwhim/.

A recent EP, Wire & Glass, (available only on import in the U.S.), which includes music from the mini-opera, and one full length song, “Mirror Door”, all of which will be available on the new studio album, has garnered rave reviews, proving the venerable band has not lost their magic touch.

The Who will embark on a whirlwind trek that will find them hitting the U.S. in September, kicking off in Philadelphia on September 12th, with more shows to follow in U.S. and Canada in October and November, as well as South America, East Asia, Europe and Australia in 2007. The band’s touring lineup is also to include Zak Starkey, Ringo Starr’s son on drums, and Simon Townshend, Pete Townshend’s brother on guitar, Pino Palladino on bass guitar, John Bundrick on keyboards.

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Machinations of Evil

As the world turns, so does the hype machine. But that word hype doesn't have to have a bad connotation. The problem is, there is so much new music out there. How could one possibly sort through all of it and find the good stuff? You don't have to, I'll do it for you. Here's the latest stuff:

Favourite Sons is the marriage of Ken Griffin of Rollerskate Skinny "fame" and members of Philly's Aspera. The kids of the defunct Aspera found Ken bartending in a NYC bar, got all watery-eyed, asked him to jam and out came Down Beside Your Beauty, which will be out to the public on September 12. Check out Hang On Girl and No One Ever Dies Young. I know, I've been pushing this one for awhile, but I really like it a lot.

Then there's 120 Days. These kids found each other in a nowhere town in Norway, decided if they were ever to really do anything they'd need to move to where there were actually people, pooled their money, bought an RV and drove it to Oslo and lived rent-free (you don't have to pay rent for the sidewalk) creating music in their tight-quarters studio/mobile home. Imagine a handful of NEU!, Spacemen 3 and XTRMNTR-era Primal Scream obsessed kids hanging in an RV in a city that sees periods of darkness that last for weeks on end. Then 120 Days makes a lot more sense. That'll be out on October 10. Check out Come Out (Come Down, Fade Out, Be Gone). Sounds good, doesn't it?

I also recommend that you check out this blog that Vice has on their site. It's an MP3 blog with all kinds of crazy shit. They call it Up Your Jaxxy, which may or may not be a quote from a Streets song...I'm not sure.


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The Drugs Don't Work

STILL having problems. It does only seem to be an issue if you're using Firefox on a Mac. Seriously, if any of you are having any problems viewing this page, let me know through a comment or an email. From what I've seen, when on a Mac using Firefox, all the sidebar content with the Musicbox and links and archives is pushed down to the very bottom, and the main content is in two columns side by side. Maybe I'll look into moving over to Moveable Type or TypePad or something...I don't know. I'm sure the issue just comes down to something in the CSS/HTML scripting, but I can't tell for sure. Everytime I tweak something, I still have the same problem. According to Blogger, everything should work fine with Firefox on a Mac. But, Blogger prefers that I switch over to their new templates, and I don't want to. I even tried switching over temporarily to see how it looks, and the same issue was there. \

Either way, I have some new posts coming in the very near future. Today, I promise.


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8.28.2006

Test

This. Is. A. Test.


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8.24.2006

Danger! Danger!

This morning I migrated the blog over to the new Blogger beta. It's supposed to be all new and improved or whatever, but it has bugs. One of them seems to be that if you view the blog in Firefox on a Mac, there could be some problems. I can't figure out where the issue is at, it could be just a bug with the new beta version. Who knows. I'm hoping it will work itself out, but for now, this blog may look like ass if you view it via Firefox on a Mac. I tried it on Safari, and it was fine. Let me know if it looks all fucked up.


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8.22.2006

Zuckerzeit

Two things: first, if you haven't stopped by the Painted Lady in Hamtramck lately, you should. Second, you should listen to more Kraut Rock. There, I said it.

At the Painted Lady, the cheap PBR, Blatz, and Old Milwaukee still flows freely (at a price). The Leroux Blackberry Brandy and Sparks also flows freely when the latter is in stock. When I was in there last night, Nick was behind the bar, Andy the owner was cooking up some cheese fondue, Lou was holding down the fort, and Tim Vulgar was playing the records.

The Painted Lady 2930 Jacob Hamtramck, MI

That's where the Kraut Rock comes into play. Tim was playing something that I really liked and I asked him what it was. He passed the CD case over to me and I saw that it was "The Faust Tapes" from Faust. I have that. I just didn't know it. Okay, I did, but I hadn't listened to it very much. Months ago I acquired several Kraut Rock albums through an ex-girlfriend (thank you, by the way), and I still haven't sat and listened to all of them yet.

The Faust Tapes

So now I'm sitting at the office listening to Faust (as well as Cluster and Neu!), and a co-worker asked what it was. I didn't expect that, but then I realized that it was the track "Untitled: Rudolph II" from Faust. It's a short piano thing - maybe a minute long. But she really liked it. Then I explained to her that the track she liked was probably one of the 'easiest' songs from the band and that everything else is way fucking out there. I like arhythmic and atonal music.

In the time I was there last night, Tim was pulling out a lot of the more obscure stuff that has come to sound like my idea of mainstream radio. Gong, Neu!, Marc Bolan, Faust, as well as some stuff where I don't know the artist info, but I know it when I hear it. He and his former co-conspirator DJ Nai Sammon are almost entirely responsible for my interest in Kraut Rock. But that was almost ten years ago. And I've acquired a lot more music in that time.

Go here for a really good wikipedia article and list of Kraut Rock bands. Then go here to check out what's happening at the Painted Lady.


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8.18.2006

Witticisms

I read a LOT of blogs. Seriously. And I find that the blogs with the most witty titles are usually the most interesting of the lot. For example, I just came across this one from a fellow Michigander: Clever Titles Are So Last Summer. You should go there and check it out. Her deal is that it's an MP3/concert blog, sort of like this one.


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Can You Smell Friday?

Check out this new video from Silversun Pickups for the song Well Thought Out Twinkles.


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Only the Good Die Young

Awhile back, I posted about this Philadelphia band called Favourite Songs. I liked their sound a lot, very informed by The Jam. And I'm a big Paul Weller fan, so you can do no wrong if you're sounding like that.

There's another song available in streaming-audio glory just for you. It's called "No One Ever Dies Young." Check it out.


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Pretty Girls Make Graves

Dim Mak records never fail to satisfy. I don't know what they're doing, but whatever it is, they're doing it right.

The latest Dim Mak release is from a UK band called Scanners. They've opened for the Electric 6, the Wedding Present, The Bravery, The Organ, Juliette & the Licks, and many others. Apparently, word of their intense live performances spread, and their first U.S. show sold out in an hour. Not too bad.

Their sound is new wave, and I know that's what all the 'hype' bands are doing nowadays, but stay with me here. This is not Interpol or the Editors, nor is it the Kooks or the Arctic Monkeys. Think more along the lines of Siouxsie & the Banshees, like "Once Upon a Time - The Singles" Siouxsie. The early stuff. And The Pretenders, that's another excellent reference. The new wave sound of The Scanners is fun. Sarah's vocals aren't a mix of anything, but might be a little similar to Poly Styrene of X Ray Spex (not as screamy) or maybe even Pretty Girls Make Graves. If you remember the '80s and liked the fun somewhat goth/punk stuff, check this out. Check out the Scanners' song "Lowlife." You know the drill, click here for more info.



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Get Yr Blood Sucked Out

Portland's Viva Voce is not your typical male/female drummer/guitarist band. In fact, those bands are anything BUT typical, and Viva Voce manage to rock out like a full-on '70s arena rock act. Anita Robinson's rock goddess guitar excursions and Kevin Robinson's thunderous drumming combine into a melange of fuzzed-out psych, infectious melody, and handclap breakdowns. Sound good? Yeah, I thought so. Click the link to check out their track "When Planets Collide." Then click the pic below to check out their site:


click to check out Viva Voce's site

On tour with Viva Voce is Silversun Pickups, who hail from Los Angeles. I do like what I've heard from VV, but I think I'm liking SSPU more. They're like...if Secret Machines were less Pink Floyd and more Monster Magnet, if that makes any sense. Check out this track: "Well Thought Out Twinkles." Then click the pic below to check out their site. I highly suggest going to the MP3 player to check out some songs. This is one to watch out for, I think.


click to check out the Silversun Pickups site

Unfortunately for all of us in Michigan, this tour isn't coming here. Let's hope the current tour does well enough for them to loop back around and cover the cities they missed.


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Underneath The Waves

Every week - no, every day I my email inbox fills up with marketing companies and record labels pimping new music to me. I'll be honest with you, about nine out of ten of these bands are worth me 'letting you in on the secret'. And I do, because the bands deserve a chance. Sometimes I post about the crappy ones, too, and don't really give an opinion either way.

When I was a teenager, I was really big on OPTION magazine (defunct) and Alternative Press magazine (not the same anymore). Both featured lots and lots of reviews of new records. But the big thing for me was that their reviews didn't feature opinion. Don't get me wrong, I love reading what David Fricke (music editor for Rolling Stone) or Robert Christgau (music writer for the Village Voice) have to say about a band because their opinions are very informed. However, if you take the emotion out of it, and just talk about the music itself, you can get a better picture. Alternative Press used a rating system, and the reviews were very light on emotion and opinion. OPTION didn't even have ratings, just good in-depth reviews lacking much actual opinion. The emphasis was an actual description of the record, and I appreciated that. It takes a lot for a music writer to gain my trust, so it's hard for me to read those kinds of reviews.

OPTION is gone and AP has turned into a glossy mag with the latest black-eyelinered boy band on the cover. The owner (of AP) is a friend of a friend, and I get it, I understand he's just doing what he needs to do to make money, but I don't like the mag so much anymore.

And, like him, I've found that music reviews with opinion are more entertaining and engaging. Reading OPTION was like reading about classical music, it was quite technical. That's not what sells. I'm not selling anything (least of all my soul) here, but if the reviews get you to check out a good new band that deserves a chance, so be it. And in the meantime I hope you check out the non-music stuff that I post on occasion.


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8.17.2006

Good Good Things

It was 1990 when I was 14. In a small bedroom in the Kewadhin Apartment Complex on campus at Central Michigan University in Mt. Pleasant, MI, the Bassmaster General spoke to me. On that day, I committed to the All-O-Gistics.

Here is my interpretation and feelings regarding the holiest of scriptures to a fourteen-year-old punk kid:

Thou shalt not commit laundry
-I didn't have a choice in the matter, my mom washed my clothes, like it or not. And I was never much of an outdoors type of kid, so my clothes didn't get all nasty or anything. Clothes don't get very dirty when you spend most of your free time watching standup comedy on TV.

Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's food
-I stuck by this one, didn't see why it mattered, but I stuck by it. My neighbors had all kinds of interesting food that smelled weird. But I never asked what it was. Now I know it was curry.

Thou shalt not create ties with the scathed
-I wasn't sure what that meant, but I tried my best. By 'my best' I mean I stayed away from the 'Farmers', who were all shunned for some reason.

Thou shalt always go for greatness
-At fourteen I wasn't focused enough to do this. Actually, maybe I was. I had yet to realize that mixtapes with Ministry and New Order weren't going to win over any girl around there. As much as I thought it was really good, the ladies did not.

Thou shalt not commit adulthood
-This was a difficult one in my situation at fourteen. Latchkey kid. Had to 'grow up' quick.

Thou shalt not partake of Decaf
-My coffee addiction was still a few years away at this point. But I would get pissed when my mom would buy decaf for the sun tea that she always made.

Thou shalt not suppress flatulence
-Ummm...yeah. I denied this commandment of the All-O-Gistics.

Thou shalt commit thyself to an institution
-Same with this one. As much as I wanted therapy, my mom wouldn't send me.

Thou shalt not have no idea
-I was a Boy Scout, always prepared. And always having an idea.

Thou shalt not commit hygiene
-Same as the flatulence commandment, I had to deny this one, too.

Thou shalt not take the van's name in vain
-My mom never named her mini-van.

Thou shalt not allow anything to deter you in your quest for all
-College frat-guys always deterred me in my quest for riding my bike across town without having to take Mission. Bastards.

Okay, here is my take on the All-O-Gistics at the age of 30, in the year 2006:

Thou shalt not commit laundry
-I commit laundry at least once a week, less often when I didn't live in a place with a washer and dryer.

Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's food
-Now I covet the BBQ I can smell my neighbors cooking down the street. I still covet curry, but not as much.

Thou shalt not create ties with the scathed
-I've found that you can learn a lot from the scathed. I also figured out what it meant: someone who's damaged. Imperfect articles are often the most interesting.

Thou shalt always go for greatness
-JobSearch06 is all about the quest for greatness. What do you do for a living? Know of any openings? Leave a comment, the search is on!

Thou shalt not commit adulthood
-Too late, I have forsaken the Bassmaster General. It seems to have happened somewhere between acquiring five figures of debt on my student loans, leasing a car, and standing up and doing something in several situations where I would've backed down in the past.

Thou shalt not partake of Decaf
-NEVER. Ever. Nerver. Neeven Voggen!

Thou shalt not suppress flatulence
-Always. Yet again, I've forsaken my master.

Thou shalt commit thyself to an institution
-No interest in therapy anymore. Can you ever forgive me, your emminence?

Thou shalt not have no idea
-While I know that I really don't know it all, I sound like it sometimes. Because I always have an idea.

Thou shalt not commit hygiene
-I'll burn in hell. I commit hygiene several times a day.

Thou shalt not take the van's name in vain
-Somewhere in a (junkyard) galaxy far, far away, the Millenium Falcon rusts in peace. Mike Stanley's Astro Mini Van was one scary piece of scrap metal. I think the backseat was just a frame...

Thou shalt not allow anything to deter you in your quest for all
-Not anymore. JobSearch06 continues!

So, as you can see, times have changed. The All-O-Gistics are about halfway relevant to me. I never really looked at them as a way to live, just a funny song about a fake religion. The Descendents probably came up with those lyrics when tweeking hard on coffee while hanging out in their practice space in a basement after being up for three days straight. They weren't even twenty when they wrote that song. And they lived in Southern California. Oh, and it was the early '80s. Four things that I couldn't relate to by the time I heard the song. Well, I did live in Southern California in the early '80s, but I was five, I don't remember much.


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8.16.2006

Transsexual Blackout

Damn, I am a sucker for well-compressed drums! Check out the latest from The Bronx or anything from Detroit's Bang Bang to see what I'm talking about.


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8.11.2006

Nosferatu Man

Overdone? Yes. But I don't care. Here's the first twenty tracks that come up on my iPod when I hit shuffle:

  • If It Don't Work Out (undubbed demo) - The Zombies: In the Studio
  • Gudbuy T'Jane - Slade: Get Yer Boots On (GH)
  • A Force On Edge - Beans: Shock City Maverick
  • Will You Love Me Tomorrow - The Shirelles: Anthology (disc 1)
  • Folson Prison Blues - Johnny Cash: Hits
  • Yes, I Guess - French Kicks: The Trial Of the Century
  • The Ordinary Boys - Morrissey: Viva Hate (EMI Centenary Edition)
  • Solid Baby - T. Rex: Wax Co. Singles-As and Bs
  • Broken Record - Bouncing Souls: How I Spent My Summer Vacation
  • Untitled: Arnulf On Drums 1 - Faust: The Faust Tapes
  • Disconnected - Aceyalone & RJD2: Magnificent City
  • Wild Flowers - Ryan Adams: Gold
  • Original Me - ALL: Anthology
  • Obstacle 2 - Interpol: Turn On the Bright Lights
  • Damage - Ol' Dirty Bastard: Return to the 36 Chambers
  • Pretty Baby - I Am the World Trade Center: The Tight Connection
  • A Bird In the Hand Is Worthless - The Deadly Snakes: Porcella
  • The Heavens - The Raveonettes: Pretty In Black
  • Time Out (Segue) - Edan: Beauty & the Beat

I've been really into the random/shuffle thing lately. When you have 8000 songs in one spot, its easy to forget what all you have...


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Dandy Of the Underworld

I have a couple of new links to highlight today. First, is a Hamtramck-based blog called Seat of the Revolution. And second is the Hamtramck Star, an online news site for all things Hamtramck. I don't know why I didn't already have that on here...I don't really live in Hamtramck, but very, very close, and I've been there an awful lot.

Also, Toybreaker, which is Detroiter Bethany Shorb's blog about circuit-bending, fashion, Dethlab, and generally dark, chaotic, and experimental music.

And, there's another one that I saw awhile ago, but forgot to post: Got Detroit? Subtitled, "boyishly tackling man-sized problems."

Gina Gold, the Brooklyn-based promo goddess recently alerted me to another good local blog called Pink Is the New Blog. I like it. Check it out.

Shit, check out all of 'em.


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8.10.2006

History Still Has a Hold Of Me

Check out this e-card from Favourite Sons. I'm really liking this one, as far as the newer crop of bands are concerned.

Here's a track to check out, too:

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Do You Love Me Still?

A little while ago I posted about this new UK band The Kooks. They're quite precocious, and I find that annoying as hell. But, there's a chance that they've figured out the way to really make this Jam/Kinks combination that bands like Arctic Monkeys and The Libertines attempted. To be fair, their attempts were excellent, but I have a feeling that The Kooks may have stumbled on the perfect balance. True, there are many influences at play on their new record Inside In/Inside Out, but I think that Jam/Kinks combo is the main touchpoint considering how diverse those bands' resepective influences were.


The album's out October 3rd on Astralwerks. Check out this single:
a dizzying-eclectic, genre-whore of a record…from a band too inspired to know what they actually sound like yet’ (NME)


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Le Disko

Okay, so I know there are plenty of these bands to go around lately, but I think you should check out this LA band Shiny Toy Guns. Yes, their promo pic makes them look like you'd want to beat them up, but seriously, if you're a fan of The Faint, Depeche Mode, The Rapture, or The Killers, you would probably be into this. And if you like those bands, then you probably don't think the promo pic is all that bad. I'm not going to post that here, by the way, you'll have to check out their MySpace page yourself.


From there, you can check out some tracks from their upcoming album We Are Pilots out 10/3 on Universal. Here's one that I recommend:
On tour right now in Alaska. Why Alaska? I have no idea.

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Special Sauce

Remember G. Love? It makes me think of 311 and the H.O.R.D.E. Tour and Blues Traveler and all that. Sometime back then someone who lived in Boston for awhile told me that a bunch of very similar bands cropped up all around the same time in the same scene, but G. Love was the one who got a record deal with the majors.

Believe it or not, he has a new album out! Yeah, the guy's still making records, apparently. It's called Lemonade, and it came out on 8/1 on Brushfire Records. Guest stars include Blackalicious, Ben Harper, Jack Johnson, Donavon Frankenreiter, and of course, Special Sauce.

Here's a few tracks for you to check out:
Click the album cover below to check out his site:


click to check out G. Love's site

And click here to check out his MySpace page.


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Before I Fall To Pieces

Back when I first saw all the promo crap for this new(er) band Razorlight, I found it easy to assume that they were one of these black-eyeliner boy bands that are so popular these days. But, I was surprised when I checked it out and found that it's hooky stuff reminiscent of the Strokes or the Killers.


And then the gods of PR just rained down upon me and informed me that Razorlight's new self-titled full length is due out on August 22nd on Universal Records.

Click the pic below to check out their site, and go here to check out their MySpace page:


click to check out Razorlight's site

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8.08.2006

All Tomorrow's Parties

So the Yeah Yeah Yeahs put out a new album a couple months ago called Show Your Bones. For the video for the single "Cheated Hearts," they called on fans to record themselves lip-synching to the song and then send it in. Then the best parts were compiled together along with some actual footage of the band. I remember when I first heard about it, I thought it sounded kind of cheesy. But, it works - real well. There's a very human and 'close to home' element to it. These are people like you and your friends and your six-year old sister, plus a handful of all-out weirdos. Check it out:

And tonight the Yeah Yeah Yeahs will be on Conan O'Brien at 12:30am EST on NBC. Click the pic below to check out their website.

click to check out the Yeah Yeah Yeahs site!


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8.04.2006

Under the Influence of Giants

I - I don't know what to say about this one. The quote from Maxim magazine says "Toss Prince, the Bee Gees, and ecstasy in blender. Press "puree." Enjoy."

I guess that comes close. From what I've seen and heard, I guess a more modern reference would be to say that Under the Influence of Giants are like the Scissor Sisters, but a little less gay bar, and more tennis headbands, pastels, and Bee Gees. I don't know, click the pic to check out their video for Mama's Room. The self-titled full length comes out August 8th. On tour now. Click here for tour dates and other info.

click to check out Under the Influence of Giants' video for Mama's Room


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8.03.2006

How I Spent My Summer Vacation

From last Friday to this past Tuesday night, I was on my summer vacation. Friday, I did nothing but laid around and then went to the bar for a few drinks. Saturday, I went to Warped Tour with four friends, and five Spaniards who are visiting for a month or so. Wait, four of the Spaniards are visiting. Garcia is from Spain, but he's lived here for ten years. His sister Maria, her boyfriend Javier-Luna, and their friends Freddie (Alfredo) and Cesar are just visiting. After Warped Tour, I DJed at the Garden Bowl all night. Sunday I did brunch with a friend, and then Monday and Tuesday I went up north with a friend visiting from SF, and met up with everyone I was with at Warped Tour (well, most of them), plus Andrea who was visiting from SF.

This is what I learned on my summer vacation:

  • Having never been to a Warped Tour, I had no idea how much of a punk-rock warzone it can be. Especially when held in an urban environment. They must've paid every crackhead in a five block radius to clean up, because I drove by on Sunday, and you'd never know anything happened in that spot.
  • You can bring in bottled water to Warped Tour as long as it's sealed. However, once you get to the gate, they make you open it and throw away the cap. This is annoying. And each bottle that I bought had the cap removed. Very annoying. I'm guessing they do this so that you can't use the capped (and possibly water-filled) bottle as a projectile in the pit. Any other explanation that we could come up with didn't make any sense.
  • This is funny because when entering, we weren't frisked or anything, so I could've had a knife in my pocket.
  • Bullfrog Sunblock works pretty well. But if you're using the spray-on kind, make sure you rub it in. And apply liberally.
  • The eggs benedict at the Majestic Cafe (brunch) is bland. The eggs were not poached, they were like the egg patty that you get on an Egg McMuffin. And the hollandaise was bland and thin. Now I remember why I stopped eating brunch there. ANYWHERE else is better.
  • The patio at Slows is now open.
  • Spaniards love the rock and roll. Seriously. They're fanatical about it. At least the five who I hung out with are.
  • The trip from Detroit to Oscoda is supposed to be about four hours, but there are so many distractions that you barely notice.
  • East Tawas, MI has a very nice public beach right on US 23. There's a Carter's Freshables grocery store right across the street, but the Wal-Mart down the road shut it down.
  • The water at that beach was mostly clear, and warm, but not warm like bath tub water. It was just right. Not too crowded, either.
  • Oscoda has a great 'old man bar' called Edelweiss Tavern with cheap-as-hell prices.
  • Behind the Edelweiss is a restaurant called Tait's Bill of Fare ("Fine dining in a relaxed atmosphere" with "spirited drinks"). The bartender at the Edelweiss recommended it. We were hoping to get smelt, but he told us it was out of season. At Tait's, all the dinner dishes come with soup AND salad AND your choice of potato or risotto. Plus the main dish was a decent size. I had the chicken special which was two chicken breasts coated in bread crumbs, parmesan, and garlic then grilled. I chose the risotto, which was actually more like cheesy scalloped potatoes with flour added. I think they may have been out of Arborio rice and just tried faking it. For the soup I chose the "Millenium soup," which was black bean soup in the bottom of the cup with white cheddar cheese cream on top. Holy shit, was that good. Surprisingly, the salad was actually a good Spring Mix with grape tomatoes and cucumbers. With the exception of the risotto, it was an excellent meal. I forgot, we also had an appetizer that was crab/spinach/mushroom stuffed phillo dough. That was also really good. Our meals came with a bread basket, and they were very good about refilling it. Andrea had the pickerel, which she liked, and hers included all the sides. She also had a couple of drinks. All of that food, along with the drinks for two people came to about $53. Totally a good deal. Especially in a slightly touristy area.
  • Being four hours from home with absolutely no access to the internet, and a cell phone that was only working intermittently feels so good. I can't explain it.
  • On Monday night, Javi and Bill made sandwiches which I guess are a creation of Javi's. They took italian sausage, wrapped it in bacon, then put it all in aluminum foil and dropped it in the bonfire for a little while. Once that was done cooking, they chopped up the sausages, and put them on un-toasted white bread with ketchup and American cheese. That was one of the best sandwiches I've ever had. I'm definitely trying that at home.
  • Apparently drinking Corona all day at the beach is more or less nullified by the sun and sweating out every fluid you consume. Andrea and I killed a 12-pack on the beach in Tawas before we got to the cottage in Oscoda, and I wasn't feeling it at all.
  • Tab Energy Drink goes very well with vodka. Like Red Bull, but lighter and it's sugar-free, it also has a slight vanilla taste to it.
  • On Monday I went to bed when it was still dark out (4:30am or so). The Spaniards were still up playing football on the beach at sunrise, apparently. They've been here for a few weeks, they should be used to the time difference by now, right? Right? No, I think they're just crazy. In fact, I don't even believe that they slept at all. I went to bed and they were up, I woke up and they were up.
  • Lake Huron is beautiful on a hot summer day. No land in sight straight ahead of you, clear water, and a sandbar that goes way out.
  • Oscoda seems to breed some sort of mutant strain of flies that have evolved beyond any sort of bug repellant. They bite mostly on the ankles. It seems that they particularly like fleshy people and Spanish people.

Those are just a few of the things I learned on my summer vacation.


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French Disko

It's like The Editors, but not as harsh...like Interpol, but not so Joy Division. I don't know what this is, but the NYC 5-piece Favourite Sons are definitely an act to watch out for. Go
here
to check out their new single "Hang On, Girl." Full length due out soon on Vice Records.


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