Business Casual

2006-11-10T09:54:00.000-05:00

Yeah, I know. It's been awhile. I'm taking a hiatus from rocknrollscientist. Work's been busy, and therefore I can't update much while at the office. Plus that means that when I'm not at the office, I'm taking full advantage of my time away. Full advantage means I'm not sitting at home on the couch typing things here.

For right now, I've been posting more on my MySpace blog. For some reason I'm more comfortable with that medium right now. And I'm already on it throughout the day, so it's easier to deal with. If you're not on MySpace, but want to keep reading, you need to get an account. It's free. You can find my page at myspace.com/ifuzzbot, but you can't get to the blogs unless you have a MySpace login.

As for all the people I've worked with for content, I apologize for not being very responsive lately. I'm still DJing every Saturday night, but posting here on rocknrollscientist is going to be very spotty. Shoot me an email if you'd like to talk more about it.

Jimmy the Exploder

2006-10-28T11:35:00.000-04:00

This week, I found myself at two art museums. I didn't mean to.

On Thursday night, I went downtown for a couple of drinks after work. Then I remembered that my friend Andy said he was working the door for an art opening. I had read a little about the place, but wasn't quite aware of the situation. For some reason, I was thinking it was a total DIY gallery in the vein of the Detroit Art Space or the Detroit Contemporary (not CAID, that's been around for decades in various spaces). So I text Andy and verify that he's working and then start walking down the street.

The Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit (MOCAD) is serious. Big time. Earlier last week, I drove by and noticed someone on a ladder painting the front of the building with a giant graffiti tag that went from corner to corner and sidewalk to roof. It actually looks pretty cool. But then when I was walking up to it on Thursday (I was drunk, by the way), I saw something odd. I thought I saw a kid hanging off the roof by one hand, with a can of spray paint in hand, bombing the facade. Walking past, I had to go back, and then I stopped and stared for a minute. It was a robot! A freaking robot! But I like the idea.

So then I turned the corner because it quickly became obvious the entrance was on the north side of the building. What I saw surprised me. Suddenly it became clear that this was no little DIY art gallery opening. There were maybe twenty valets lined up at the street, driving off in Saabs and Volvos and high-end VWs. I saw the blazered security dudes, and walked up. As soon as I got in the lobby, someone asked me if I had tickets at will-call, or had to buy. I saw Andy sitting at a table with ten other people and went there. He had acquired a wristband through a friend who didn't have their plus-one, so he kept it and gave it to me. The next day I found out that I was there at a time when it would've cost $125 to buy a ticket at the door. Crazy.

Andy pointed me in the direction of the room with the bar. There were people EVERYWHERE - it was insanely crowded. And right away I knew for sure that this was a big deal. It was all middle-aged white people wearing black, i.e. art patrons. They were doing a ticket system for drinks, but the prices weren't too bad. Unfortunately, the only whiskey they had was Dewar's, and I had been drinking a lot of Seagram's 7 earlier in the night. The Scotch was close enough, I guess. That room was kind of dark, and the most crowded. One wall had the bar, the opposite wall had the food (which I never had the ambition to wade through the crowd to get to), another wall had a table with some t-shirts for sale that were designed for the event, and the fourth wall had a white banner stretching from side-to-side and roof to ceiling that was backlit with the museum's logo. That's also where the Paxahau DJs were at. I tried walking into the other big room, but they wouldn't let me with my drink, and I just got it and didn't want to let it go. But looking in, I could see several installations that looked interesting. After less than a half hour I left because I was drunk and stupid and starting to feel edgy around all these people who couldn't possibly move any slower.

The next night (Friday) was the premiere of James Petix's film "It Came From Detroit" at the DFT Film Theatre (in the DIA). This thing has been in the making for years. It was supposed to be all about Detroit's garage rock music scene, but I think in the making of it, the focus shifted to what happened to the scene.

There's just one problem: it's too soon. I'm not saying he should wait awhile and come back to it or anything, it stands on it's own. But there are so many interesting directions that the scene has taken lately and those are all worth pursuing and exposing in the context of the recent past. For example: Patrick and Jack of the Greenhornes playing on Loretta Lynn's last album, the Raconteurs, Brendan Benson's solo career, Lee Marvin Computer Arm, the Frustrations, the Genders, Human Eye, Saturday Looks Good To Me, and the Terrible Twos.

It was great to see all those bands up there on the big screen and the interviews were great. I wish there would've been more from the people who made the scene, not just the bands.

Some interesting tidbits: Dick Valentine (singer from Wild Bunch/Electric 6) was always shown with Chris Tait dressed as the 'budget devil' which was to support his statement that he sold his soul. Amy Abbot (bartender from the Gold Dollar) was in a bear costume every time she was interviewed. And every profiled band had some live footage or at least a music bed of their own work except the White Stripes. There was no music and no video, only still photos and some voice-over narration. Also, the Jack White/Jason Stollsteimer tiff was noted lopsidedly with a few band members giving their reaction, White explaining things at a press conference, and Stollsteimer defending himself to the interviewer. There was nothing direct from White. It didn't feel fair. There was footage of the Electric 6 playing live in London with Esquire doing the Jack White parts on stage. Absolutely no mention of The Dirtys, and only a brief mention of the Greenhornes. No early footage of the Soledad Brothers when they were especially physical in front of a crowd. No mention of the many bands who never called Detroit home and weren't from here but still loved playing here and recording here and partying here, i.e. the New Bomb Turks, the Compulsive Gamblers/Oblivians, the Lost Sounds, the Mooney Suzuki, and the Bellrays.

As a fan who was at hundreds of these bands' shows, and helped "keep us drunk" as Mary Ramirez (Detroit Cobras/Buzzards) referred to employees of the Garden Bowl in the late '90s, I feel that people like me were sorely under-represented. From being at all those shows, I know there were quite a few others like me who weren't in any bands, and weren't close friends with any of them, but we supported them completely, and without us, there wouldn't have been people at the shows who the bands didn't know. There wouldn't have been fans early on.

Plus there are a few people who weren't in bands, but were close to them and could've been interviewed.

Don't get me wrong, I loved the film, but being not only a film student, and also someone who was there, I feel there are some things that are missing. But if you weren't there, and you love the music, it's an excellent portrait of a time and a place that greatly influenced many a young adult life, including my own.

P.S.: the Dirtbombs played before the film in the Rivera Court at the DIA, and even though the sound was very echo-ey, it was still pretty fucking cool to see them playing in that space.

P.S.S.: I feel I should also note that James himself noted that this is not the final cut of the film and that he will be revising it before submitting it to Sundance and all the other film festivals next year.

LINKS: MOCAD, It Came From Detroit, DIA

Color Me Impressed

2006-10-15T18:52:00.000-04:00

More and more I'm hearing cool underappreciated music in advertising and film soundtracks. When discussing with friends, they think it's cool and wonder why it's happening now and not before. I know why. Media planners and creative types in advertising are in their late twenties/early thirties (like me). We grew up in a time when 'punk broke' as Sonic Youth said. That's just another way of saying that the alternative became the mainstream in my generation.

So it follows that people from my generation who work in advertising are taking advantage of their situation to put good underappreciated music front and center for the masses.

Back in the '90s, Cameron Crowe took advantage of his situation to bring us the first solo material from the Replacements' Paul Westerberg. The "Singles" soundtrack featured "Dyslexic Heart" and "Waiting For Somebody," the first two new solo songs after The Replacements broke up. It was a big deal for a lot of us.

Somewhere out there someone got the idea to have Westerberg write and perform music for the new animated film "Open Season." I really don't get it, the idea is odd, having his music as part of this film. It's a kids movie, for chrissakes. It's the same thing happening all over again. A Paul Westerberg fan took advantage of their situation to try and push this amazing music on the mainstream.

I haven't seen the movie, so I have no idea how well it works, but we get eight new Westerberg recordings. Plus there are two songs from Deathray and one from Pete Yorn, all three written by Paul. So that's eleven new Westerberg songs, plus the Talking Heads song "Wild Wild Life." I guess they had to throw in that one to round out the soundtrack's original purpose. The Deathray and Pete Yorn tracks were probably added to make the record more palatable and/or marketable to the masses.

Good. Because these are some of the easiest to digest songs the man has recorded in thirteen years. But that doesn't mean this stuff's watered down. Plus, and this one's a seriously big plus, Tommy Stinson (bass player from the Replacements) plays on two tracks.

If you're a Westerberg or Replacements fan, you should pick this one up. And don't be concerned about it being a kids' movie soundtrack, that's irrelevant here.

He Said/She Said

2006-10-15T17:46:00.000-04:00

I know. It's been awhile since you've seen anything new in this space. The past two weeks have been spent transitioning from a job I held for five years to a brand new one. So finally I'm starting to get a handle on things. Finally there's something new to read on rocknrollscientist!

Last week I suddenly had the opportunity to get on the guest list for a show, but I couldn't make it. First week at the new job, I didn't want to be out too late. So I checked out the band's music and liked it. Now I want you to hear it.

From All Music:
"The Dallas band came together in 2004 with the plan of creating a solid rock sound that refrained from any kind of current chart trend or blogger buzz. With a year of honing their style behind them, the Hourly Radio self-released the Lure of the Underground EP in January 2005. Growing popularity in and around their hometown eventually led to a stellar performance at 2005's SXSW conference as well as additional tours opening for Clap Your Hands Say Yeah and stellastarr*. A deal with indie imprint Kirtland was inked by winter, and a limited-edition double A-side single "Crime Does Pay" was made available via iTunes in June 2006. The Hourly Radio's debut album, History Will Never Hold Me, was slated for September."

Their sound is refreshing...guitars with a U2 influence, basslines reminiscent of Franz Ferdinand, and high-pitched falsetto vocals. Yes, I know, it's been done. Overdone, in fact. We've seen way too damned many of these bands in the past few years. But, if you're into this sort of thing, you should check out a couple tracks and decide for yourself.

Crime Does Pay
Not A Victim

And then you can check out their website here: The Hourly Radio.

The Seeker

2006-10-04T11:16:00.000-04:00

I have something special, kids. Two tracks off the new Who album. It's called Endless Wire, and it comes out on Halloween. Check it out:

Tea and Theatre
It's Not Enough

There are 19 tracks total. It'll be interesting to hear the rest of it and see how well this one sells.

My Kind of Lover

2006-10-04T11:09:00.000-04:00

I can't say enough good things about this band Locksley. Last week I wrote a little about 'em. It's like if late '60s garage bands had access to better production. And lived in our time. And came from Wisconsin. Listen to it. Now.

LINK: Locksley

Something To Write Home About

2006-10-04T10:44:00.000-04:00

A little while ago I wrote about the new Jeremy Enigk solo album. Well, now he's on tour with Cursive for the last leg of their Happy Hollow tour.

Check out the tour dates:

November
03 Colorado Springs, CO - The Black Sheep
09 Omaha, NE - Sokol Auditorium
11 Columbia, MO - The Blue Note
12 Memphis, TN - Young Avenue Deli
13 Birmingham, AL - Bottle Tree
14 Atlanta, GA - Variety Playhouse
16 Charlottesville, VA - Satellite Ballroom
17 Charlotte, NC - Tremont Music Hall
18 Carrboro, NC - Cat's Cradle
20 Tallahassee, FL - The Moon
21 Gainesville, FL - Reitz Union Ballroom
22 Orlando, FL - The Club at Firestone
24 Houston, TX - Warehouse Live
25 Austin, TX - Emo's
26 Dallas, TX - Gypsy Ballroom

Jeremy Enigk's site
Enigk on MySpace

I Love You. Maybe.

2006-10-04T10:16:00.000-04:00

I've got some links to new music that you're gonna want to check out:

Come Down from 120 Days. Swedish Krautrock if you can believe it.

Hang On, Girl from Favourite Sons. And three more from the Sons:
Down Beside Your Beauty
No One Ever Dies Young
Tall Grass

You can find all this and more at Vice's MP3 blog, Up Yer Jaxxy.

Don't Make Me Wait

2006-09-27T12:57:00.000-04:00

Click that picture up there. Listen to the song "Why Not Me." Do it. Right now. What are you thinking? Supergrass? The Kinks? The Sights, maybe?

I doubt you're thinking that this is the sound of four guys from Wisconsin who moved to Brooklyn, NY to get more attention for their band. But if you did, you'd be right. Funny, six years ago Detroit would've been the place for a band like this to move to for attention.

Simpler in influence than the Arctic Monkeys, younger than Supergrass, and more British Invasion than the Sights are these days, Locksley has a chance. This is one of those bands who critics find it so easy to discuss and throw around comments like 'pop-infused hooks' and 'punk enthusiasm'. Neither of those would be wrong, but it would be unjust to bestow such tired cliches on a band that does what they do so well.

It is poppy and hooky and they most certainly have a punk energy running through their songs. In fact, I'm quickly reminded of The Exploding Hearts who had a very similar sound, but theirs was more rooted in '70s power-pop. The boys in Locksley seem almost too good to be true with their hooks and all four of 'em taking turns singing. I swear I'm listening to The Raspberries or The Move or Badfinger or The Kinks. And just like the Exploding Hearts, these guys took a sound that they liked and made it their own.

The album doesn't sound forced, nor does it sound completely derivative. Original and fun and upbeat with good lyrics. They don't fuck around.

Go here to check out their MySpace page, and here for their site.

Endtroducing...No Love For Detroit

2006-09-27T12:38:00.000-04:00

So I've been told...

DJ Shadow is ready to bless the US not just with two turntables and a microphone but with a full ten piece band! Following the successful European leg of his tour, Shadow will be over with his traveling party to thrill Northern America. Special guests will vary depending on location, but fans can expect to see Q-Tip, David Banner, and Keak Da Sneak.

He’ll be meeting up with trip-hoppers Massive Attack in his hometown Bay Area, but for the rest of the excursion, he’ll be ably supported by The Outsider guest star Lateef The Truth Speaker. DJ Shadow Tour Dates

September

22 Berkeley, CA - Greek Theatre#
24 Los Angeles, CA - Avalon*
25 Los Angeles, CA - Avalon*
26 San Diego, CA - House of Blues*
28 Las Vegas, NV - House of Blues*
30 Dallas, TX - Gypsy Ballroom*

October

01 Austin, TX - Stubbs BBQ*
03 New Orleans, LA - House of Blues*
04 Atlanta, GA - Roxy*
06 St. Louis, MO - Pageant*
09 Chicago, IL - House of Blues*
10 Milwaukee, WI - Eagles Club*
11 Cleveland, OH - House of Blues*
12 Toronto, Ontario - Kool Haus*
13 Montreal, Quebec - Metropolis Gillett Entertainment*
16 Philadelphia, PA - Theatre of the Living Arts*
17 New York, NY - Webster Hall*
18 New York, NY - Webster Hall*

*= w/ Lateef the Truth Speaker #= w/ Massive Attack

Click here to check out a track from his new album, "The Outsider."

The Emperor's Soundtrack

2006-09-26T16:51:00.000-04:00

Don't be a douchebag and try to dismiss this as 'skater rap', because even you don't know what that means. This summer, Lupe Fiasco appeared on the Kanye West track "Touch the Sky," as Mr. West's new protege. From what I heard and read, Fiasco completely upstaged his mentor at the Chicago appearance for Lollapalooza. Then the single for "Kick, Push" came out and critics were quick to dismiss it as another 'backpacker' or 'skater rap' track. Whatever.

The full-length finally came out this past Tuesday (09/19), and it's called "Food & Liquor." Lupe Fiasco will NOT save hip hop. Nor will he fix it. But he might reinvent it. With respect from Kanye West, and an executive producer credit from Jay Z, this is definitely a mainstream hip hop record. Now, let's hope we hear the whole damned thing on mainstream radio throughout the Fall. Because I'd like that.

The skater comment comes from the first single "Kick, Push" being about a young skater finding freedom, love, and an outlaw spirit on a skateboard. The backpacker criticism comes from the lyrics being mostly positive and/or political and the music not giving in to too many hip hop cliches. Lupe Fiasco is threatening to make hip hop a safe place for geeks and iconoclasts, and I think a lot of critics don't like it. They'd prefer their rap to fit into nice little genres like crunk and bounce where every song sounds the same and the lyrics get increasingly negative.

Despite the connections to West and Jay Z, there is no obvious influence to Fiasco's sound, it is all his own. Especially the lyrics which come from his Islam-derived ethics, respect for women, and increasing love/hate for mainstream hip hop. He even takes Jay Z to task for rapping about praying to (mob boss) John Gotti instead of God.

I hope he does save hip hop and fix it and completely reinvent it, because the mainstream needs a positive voice questioning the disrespectful attitudes towards women, and the questionable goals that we hear in crap like Lil' Jon. Honestly, as far as I'm concerned, if you've got flow, talent, and you have the kids' attention, fucking use it.

Fifteen, Part 1

2006-09-26T15:49:00.000-04:00

I had high hopes for this record. When I first heard a couple tracks, I thought it sounded like this Gang of Four/Talking Heads on meth/Magazine kinda sound that's been popular for a couple years. And that's what it is, but too much so.

Forward Russia sound like a carbon copy of Bloc Party. Add a little bit of The Editors in there whilie you're at it. What if Bloc Party sounded just a little bit edgier? They'd sound like Forward Russia. And that's all they have going for them. I tried listening to it a few times in it's entirety, thinking it would grow on me, but it hasn't. This last time I couldn't wait until it was done.

The album "Give Me A Wall" from Forward Russia is not recommended by me. But if you want to check it out for yourself, hit up their MySpage page right here and see what you think.

Papillon de Madame

2006-09-26T12:45:00.000-04:00

It's been a few weeks now, and I've been listening to this CD on and off, and I really like it. Singer-songwriter-ish vocals and lyrics with minimal electro beats. Lots of bleeps and bloops. But it isn't arrhythmic like Solex, and it isn't folky like Beth Orton. It's just...nice.

Lisa Papineau has already made a name for herself as a vocalist with Air and M83, and now she has her very own solo album. But she didn't do it all by herself. You'd think she did if you read the liner notes and saw what all she played...but she didn't. She had help. Thomas Huiban is credited with bass, synthesizers, singing, beats, triangle, kalimba, and guitar. Matthieu le Senechal Delosmone de Villeneuve played the Rhodes piano, clavinet organ, guitar, mandolin, accordion, synthesizers, sang, and made some beats. Then Bob Merrymountain created the string arrangements, played synthesizers, percussion, sang, and did some live programming and choreography (?). Lisa gets in on it with melodies, words, singing, beats, bells, synthesizers, cymbals, guitar jack, and one lousy Rhodes part. That's all verbatim from the liner notes. We are also told that Lisa Papineau endorses chicory, a pleasing non-caffeinated warm beverage.

Despite all of this instrumentation, "Night Moves" is a very subtle record. And Bob Seger is nowhere to be found. This is decidedly not a rock album.

I'm a fan. But I don't like the track "Shucking. Jiving." It sounds like a Meg Lee Chin outtake, and I never liked her stuff all that much anyway.

She Said She Wanted Something She Could Recognize, Something She Could Feel

2006-09-26T12:18:00.000-04:00

Last Wednesday night, I was sitting at the bar at the Garden Bowl in Midtown Detroit. I was waiting for the Terrible Twos to go onstage upstairs in the Magic Stick.

Dave Z, the owner of the Majestic (Garden Bowl/Magic Stick/Majestic Theatre/Majestic Cafe) sat down next to me. I asked Dave what was up with lame shows on Saturday nights. On Saturdays, I DJ there and if there's a good show with lots of people, I get more into it and then people get more into it and stay longer. Win/win situation all around. He said "rock n' roll's changed..." No shit. I already knew that. Then he started saying something about garage rock, etc. His venues did really well in the late '90s and early '00s when garage rock in Detroit blew up.

But it isn't like that anymore. Jack White lives in Tennessee and claims he's from there. The Sights are on a major label, but you'd never know it considering their low profile. The Electric 6's second to last album took over a year to come out in this country. Bands from out of state who made a name for themselves here, like the Soledad Brothers and the Greenhornes are changing significantly. The SB broke up last month, and the Greenhornes are down to three members from the five they started out with. Not to mention Jack and Patrick from the Greenhornes are busy being the rhythm section for the Raconteurs. The Clone Defects shattered into Human Eye and The Valentinos, but the former are on an indefinite hiatus, and The Valentinos just can't seem to catch a break despite their excellent Television/Roxy Music inspired sounds. Bantam Rooster splintered into various acts including The Dirtbombs, The Buzzards, The Detroit City Council, and The Detroit Cobras.

Plus a lot of the acts from outside of Detroit who loved playing here because of the friendly scene are either all done, or they've moved on to significantly different sounds. If Sweden's Hellacopters haven't already broken up, then they should considering the watered down crap they're pushing now. The Supersuckers play more acoustic country than "Born With A Tail" rock n' roll. New Bomb Turks? Remember them? Yeah, barely. They haven't put out a good record in years. The Oblivians broke up, went back to their earlier incarnation of The Compulsive Gamblers, then they broke up, too. Greg Oblivian's Reigning Sound is great, but they don't fill the clubs. Neither does Jack Oblivians solo stuff. Remember Jay Reatard and The Lost Sounds? It's all but a memory...they broke up, too. Murder City Devils: done.

Most of the acts that helped build this late '90s scene in Detroit are completely different than what they once were. Bands grow and evolve, and often the fans can't do the same. Add onto that an over-saturated concert venue scene in Detroit, and you have too much going on and what is going on is lacking in the energy or substance it once had.

As soon as Dave mentioned 'garage rock', I interjected and pointed upstairs, "the Terrible Twos are what happened to garage rock. It isn't what it used to be. Garage rock has morphed more into a dirty avant punk rock n' roll type of thing." Those guys can't sell out a 500-person venue when they headline, but they sure as hell help. In fact, I think they are one of the most interesting things going on in Detroit music right now.

I think Detroit's main problem is over-saturation of venues, but the second problem is the people. The kids aren't willing to give a band a chance anymore.

This rant is all over the place, but I ain't apologizing. I had some things I wanted to say. This scene is frustrating.

In the Morning of the Day

2006-09-26T12:03:00.000-04:00

I think it was sometime before the movie Goodwill Hunting made Elliott Smith an indie-folk god when a million and one of my female friends were pushing him on me. He was good at what he did, he was a great songwriter, very talented, but I'm not so into it. I don't know why. Sometimes, I just can't get down with the sad bastard music.

But sometimes I can. When I first put in this new CD from Goldenboy, I immediately thought of the new-ish songs that Kevin Shields did for the Lost In Translation soundtrack. So I started listening to the rest of the album, and it is sad bastard-y, but I still like it. I hear some Johnny Marr in the music, and some Kevin Shields as well as Elliott Smith in the vocals and lyrics. It's textured and poppy.

Goldenboy consists of Shon Sullivan and Bryan Bos. Apparently Shon toured with Smith years ago and he referred to Sullivan as 'Goldenboy'. It's taken a couple weeks, but these two are growing on me. Their new album "underneath the radio" comes out on October 3rd. I have a track you can check out, it's called "Summer of the Evening." You can check out more songs on their MySpace page, and if you click on the picture above, you can check out their regular site.

I've Got A Leather Jacket On, I Know That Is A Sin

2006-09-22T11:00:00.000-04:00

You like Broken Social Scene, right? How about Metric? You know them, they're the Canadians doing Pretenders/Blondie style new wave. Well, anyway, Emily Haines happens to be the lead singer for Metric and a regular contributor to BSS's indie pop circus.

She has a new solo album out on September 26th. Her backup band is called the Soft Skeleton, and the record is called "Knives Don't Have Your Back." If you click right here you can check out a track from the record called "Doctor Blind." It's a Cat Power meets Beth Orton meets Lisa Papineau kind of affair. If you like those acts, you'll like this.

Check out the Soft Skeletons site.

In the Morning

2006-09-20T13:04:00.000-04:00

Hey, check out a new single from Razorlight called "America." Then go here to check out their MySpace page.

Falling Out of Love

2006-09-20T12:43:00.000-04:00

I remember back in 1998, I was on college radio (WSGR-FM) and fervently following everything that went on with Grand Royal Records. Not just because I was a Beastie Boys fan, but also because those guys had good ears. The label didn't last, and I don't know if it was just poor business decisions or what, but almost everything they put out had lots of promise. One of those acts was Sean Lennon. Yes, that Lennon. His first solo album, "Into the Sun" was kind of a freeform audio pastiche. There was lots going on with electronic elements, guest artists, experimentation, and varied instrumentation. But the underlying current was still good pop music.

So, eight years later, he's finally releasing a new album. This time he's on Capitol Records, and the title is "Friendly Fire." It comes out on October 3rd.

In the time between the first and second albums, he contributed to lots of good releases with lots of talented people like his mom (Yoko Ono), Money Mark, Deltron 3030, Cibo Matto, Handsome Boy Modeling School, Thurston Moore, Ryan Adams, The Boredoms, et al. But he kept it on the down low. Now he feels that he's ready to attack the record label machinery yet again with a high profile release.

As before, there are guest artists here like drummer Matt Chamberlain (Pearl Jam, Tori Amos), Yuka Honda (Cibo Matto), and Bijou Phillips, among others. Lennon has also produced a short film for each of the album’s tracks, directed by Michele Civetta. The fantastical shorts, which together comprise a conceptual film about betrayal and the failure of love, feature appearances from Lennon and friends including Lindsay Lohan, Bijou Phillips, Asia Argento, Carrie Fisher, Devon Aoki, Jordana Brewster and others.

I have to admit that as much as I loved Lennon's first album, the experimentation and slight lack of focus got on my nerves after awhile. It's kind of like listening to something from the Japanese noise/pop genius Cornelius...you can tell it's really good, and sometimes you might like listening to it, but it's all about the small doses. Too much of a good thing, maybe? I don't know.

Okay, so check out this track from Lennon's new album. It's called "Dead Meat." Then go check out the trailer for the conceptual film meant to accompany the album. As you can tell by that single, Lennon has toned down the experimentation a bit and focused more on songwriting and texture. It's refreshing to hear him this way, because his talent becomes clearer.

Three Button Hand-Me-Down

2006-09-20T12:19:00.000-04:00

The Nice Boys are from Portland, Oregon. They sprang from the ashes of the tragically-cut-short power pop/punk band The Exploding Hearts. And just like EH, these Nice Boys do play rock n roll. And damn, do they do it well. This shit is so full of clever hooks. Like the bastard sons of the Faces, Sweet, Nick Lowe, and Marc Bolan, they bring us power pop so catchy and so good.

And just like the Exploding Hearts, these boys have the fashion and the look nailed. Even their flyers and overall graphic design fits the bill. It's all about early '70s power pop and glam.

They have a full-length out right now on Birdman Records. It's self-titled. If you click on the pic above you can check that out on the label's site. If you go here, you can check out the band's MySpace page and listen to a few tracks.

The Nice Boys are playing the Painted Lady in beautiful downtown Hamtramck (right by Detroit) on October 2nd. Doors are at 8, and it's on a Monday, so make sure you mark your calendars.

Jack the Ripper

2006-09-15T15:34:00.000-04:00

There's something new coming out of Southend, UK. Something menacing, the likes of which hasn't been seen since The Meteors terrorized us with their psychobilly stomp in the '80s. The Cramps were doing the same thing at the same time, but The Meteors had this evil, dark thing going on, much like The Horrors do now.

The Horrors aren't even old enough to legally drink in this country, but somehow have been on the cover of NME twice, and have a video directed by Chris Cunningham featuring Samantha Morton. You gotta see this to get an idea of where these guys are coming from: Sheena Is a Parasite.

There's this darkness that makes me think of Nick Cave, but then there's the trash/camp/Elvis worship of The Cramps. I should explain that the 'billy' in psychobilly here is really more like surf guitar with Elvis-style vocals. Mean, skeery Elvis vocals. Oh, and I almost forgot the organ, there's lots of that. Addams Family style. Even better, sometimes the vocals and guitar style are like The Fall! They dress in suits, kind of like The Strokes, but these kids would kick the latter's fashionable asses. Their first EP comes out on October 24th, but you can check them out right now MySpace right here.

Caged Birdsong

2006-09-15T13:18:00.000-04:00

I'm a fan of Madlib and anything he does, so when I was reading about two new records that he released on his label Stones Throw, I got excited. But in the review, one was stated as being better than the other, and when I was at the record store, I couldn't remember which was which. So I bought "Shine Through" from Aloe Blacc.

I think I made the right decision. The review that I had read was a distant memory as to the actual content of the records, so I didn't know what I was getting into.

When you first put on the record, you start thinking that it's a soul thing with underground hip hop style beats. Lots of jazz influence. Then the second track is a cover of Sam Cooke's "Long Time Coming," and the soul thing starts gaining some momentum. But then "Are You Ready" starts reminding me of some dancehall type stuff with Afro-beat music. "Busking" is exactly what the title says: singing on the street, a cappella. Busking is the term used to refer to making money by being a street entertainer. This guy is all over the damned place, because "Bailar" (scene 1) is fucking salsa! And "Nacimento" is bossa nova! But with "Dance For Life," he brings back the soul with some electro beats. Oh, wait, "Patria Mia" is a Mexican pop song...and then the title track "Shine Through" is a gentle ballad. But that's followed by "Caged Birdsong," hip hop in the vein of Soul Position or the Roots. The rest of the album has more ballads, more hip hop, and closes out with a flamenco.

Did I mention he's from LA? Yeah, and he's half of the indie rap cult heroes EMANON with DJ Exile.

Fuckin' a. Check out Aloe Blacc's site here, his MySpace here, and go out and buy this record.

Don't Stop Kicking Me Down

2006-09-15T12:52:00.000-04:00

What if Dean Wareham of Luna (and Galaxie 500) had fronted The Verve instead of Richard Ashcroft? It would probably sound like the Seattle quartet The Purrs. Their new self-titled album seriously takes me back to the early days of The Verve. It's great background music for your life. Not too crazy, not too downbeat, the music swirls in and out around the singer's lyrics. Sounds good. Check out the track She's Gone. And go here to check out their MySpace page.

Please...Don't Be Yourself

2006-09-15T11:45:00.000-04:00

Sometime in the late '90s, industrial music broke. It fell apart. What was once either harsh metal disco or very stark electro gave way to crappy trance. A handful of industrial acts kept it interesting and experimental, but not enough, and the clubs cared more about the dance music. I bring this up because right now I'm listening to Soulwax's "Nite Versions," which is all remixes of tracks from their 2005 album "Any Minute Now."

If you're not already familiar, Soulwax is a Belgian rock band. Or, they were a rock band. Maybe they still are...the lines are blurred now. I'll admit, I've barely heard their album Any Minute Now, but I have heard something else from them. Early on, they had promise as a band, but it was nothing special. Then in 2002, they took on a major project: Too Many DJs. The two brothers who make up half of Soulwax are also known as Too Many DJs. Do you remember all that mash-up stuff that was going on in the early '00s? Too Many DJs took that idea, and blew it right the fuck up. Why? Because they actually got permission for all the samples, so it was a legal recording. Personally, I was horrified the first time I heard New Order's "The Beach" mashed up with "Sandwiches" from Detroit Grand Pubahs, but at the same time, I really liked it.

A couple years after all that fame from TMDJs, they released another record as Soulwax, 2005's Any Minute Now. Not quite rock, not quite dance, it lied somewhere in that neither territory where Fischerspooner resides. So the remix album is even more interesting. Their goal was to make the original album into something that DJs could spin at clubs. And, damn, did they do that.

Right away, "Teachers" grabs you. The idea is so simple. LCD Soundsystems did something similar with "Losing My Edge," but that was very indirect, witty, and honestly a bit pretentious. Teachers lists the band's teachers - literally. That track leads into Miserable Girl. That's where the interesting blurred lines between techno and industrial comes into play. At this point you start to hear late '90s industrial influences like 16 Volt and Penal Colony. After that is E Talking which starts with a loop of Roland 808 percussion sounds, quite retro...throughout there's a chorus of a girl saying "it's not you, it's the E talking," which is funny if you've ever taken E at a party/rave. In fact, this whole record seems to be about paying homage to their influences via classic electronic references and drums and bass guitar and samples. Accidents and Compliments is a simple early '90s style club track. Nothing special. But then comes Compute. That industrial stuff comes back in the form of Nitzer Ebb! No, it's not a cover, there are no samples of the band, it's just the style and the sounds and the drums and the vocals.

The more I listen to this, the more it becomes obvious that the band was already acknowleding their rock influences with the original versions of these tracks. And you still get some drums, guitar, bass in the remixes. But with the 'nite' versions, you get references to classic techno. Back before the lines got so blurred. Classic equipment like the Roland 606, 808, and 909 are all over the damned place on this record. The track I Love Techno even samples that stupid song from LA Style: "James Brown Is Dead!" After that, Krack is full of Kraftwerk references right down to blatantly ripped off keyboard sounds. I think my favorite is the next track NY Lipps. Remember Lipps, Inc? They did that song "Funky Town." I hate that song, but I love the electro intro at the beginning. So NY Lipps has vocals that could pass for something from Pixeltan, or maybe even earlier ESG. But all throughout there are sounds taken straight from the intro to Funky Town. And they use that guitar hook from the chorus of the song, too. But only sparingly. The last track, Another Excuse is classic '80s NYC club music.

I gotta say, Soulwax know their shit. They cover it well. Click here to check out their site. It's done really well, much like their records.

God Gave Rock and Roll To You

2006-09-15T01:10:00.000-04:00

Tonight I attended a show at St. Andrew's Hall in Detroit. This is the full title of the show: Little Steven's Underground Garage Presents the Rolling Rock and Roll Show delivered by the AT&T Blue Room. Did you get all of that?

I wasn't going to go this show...part of me wanted to see it, but part of me thought that $20 was too much. The latter part of me had it right the first time. A friend invited me to the show yesterday, and when I say invite, I mean she said she would put me on the list. I agreed to go, but then changed my mind because I've been out a lot lately. This afternoon my roommate talked me into going. So, for me, this show was sponsored by Deanna (guest list add) and Mike (drinks). Thank you. It was worth it at least to see what it was all about.

This night of the tour had The Sights opening. I've supported the Sights ever since their first shows - through five drummers, two organ players, and at least three bassists. I love seeing them. But I didn't absolutely need to see them tonight. Next up was The Gore Gore Girls. I've never really been a fan, but I have to say they are sounding better than ever. Then there was Atlanta's The Woggles. Those guys were doing this garage rock thing when I was in grade school. The first time I saw them in the late '90s, the only people there were people who are all local rock stars now. Speaking of local rock stars, I couldn't flick a cigarette at tonight's show without hitting someone who's put out a record. The Woggles fucking rocked, and I'm really glad they were getting some exposure. They did it right, too. Lots of energy, tight songs, and the singer hung out in the crowd for a few times, dancing with cute girls and singing to us on our level. I really appreciate that kind of thing. Except when Eric Davidson of the New Bomb Turks does it - he's kind of a prick when he's in 'entertainer' mode. After the Woggles came Mooney Suzuki. They've always been pretty good live, but their over the top rock star schtick is exhausting. At this point in their career, they're venturing into territory that is already well covered: bland poppy rock, the kind of stuff meant for car commercials (incidentally, two of their songs have been in national car commercials).

Finally, the headlining act came on: The Zombies. This was the band that I really wanted to see. I can see those other guys anytime. The billing for the band lists them as "The Zombies" with 'Colin Blunstone - Rod Argent' in smaller print below it. That's because they were the only original members of the band onstage tonight. I'm fine with that, they were the songwriters, Blunstone was the lead singer with that smooth voice (and he still has it!) and Argent's organ provided the backbone to the band's sound. So it's a good thing, right? Maybe. Bass was provided by Jim Rodford, an old friend of the band who played on many Kinks records back in the day. His son was playing drums, I can't remember his name. Guitar was played by some other guy whose name I forget, but he played with Howard Jones and a bunch of other people. Whoever he is, he's quite capable, I just don't remember his name.

Argent dominated the show, and I don't just mean his onstage banter, I mean his fucking songs dominated the show. Did you know that after the Zombies broke up in '67, Rod Argent formed a new band and called it Argent? I always thought that seemed kind of pompous to name a band like that. Anyway, the band Argent also featured Jim Rodford, the same Jim Rodford who played bass with 'The Zombies' tonight. And tonight's setlist featured four Argent songs. That was about three too many. I only say three because Argent had one redeeming song: "God Gave Rock and Roll To You," and they played it at tonight's show. Let me tell you Rod Argent looks like a pedophile. I won't qualify that, but I'll give you a picture of the band Argent from 1973. Argent is second from the left and Rodford is third from the left.

He looks harmless enough, right? Here's what he looked like tonight:

See what I mean? Fucking creepy. He was such a completely pompous asshole. I was so sick of it, I was ready to leave, but then Blunstone announced they were going to play some tracks from their one full-length album Odessey & Oracle (that's the way they spelled it). Good. That was what I wanted to hear. I didn't go out tonight to hear Colin Blunstone's '80s solo hit of the Jimmy Ruffin song "What Becomes of the Broken-Hearted." Nor did I come out to hear Rod Argent brag that Jimmy Ruffin once said in an obscure BBC interview that Blunstone's cover was his favorite cover of the song. I also didn't come out to hear Rod Argent fucking brag about someone giving him an award because "She's Not There" has been played five million times on American radio. I fucking wanted to hear some good psych-pop. It took them long enough. It was torture sitting through the first two Argent songs...awful, awful metal-ish crap.

Overall, I have to say it was good to hear Colin Blunstone sing in person. Jim Rodford is an excellent bassist, and the drummer and guitarist were quite capable as well. But Rod fucking Argent...that guy irritates me. Watching his shit-eating grin every time people applauded was the most painful thing...the band should've been billed as Rod Argent, featuring the other guy who sang for The Zombies. That's what it felt like. He kept announcing the Odessey & Oracle songs like it was a revelation to realize how good they are. I'm guessing that's why they only played a couple songs off that album...even they don't get it, that was the best stuff from them. Memorable, influential, and extremely relevant. I wish they saw it that way.

Turn the Beat Around

2006-09-14T18:40:00.000-04:00

Glasgow's El Presidente have something for you. It's a slice of T Rex glam tempered with some Scissor Sisters disco style. Check out the video for Without You. Go here to check out the band's site, and as usual, their MySpace page. I'm really liking this band. So far I've only heard a handful of tracks, but I'd watch out for them. Bet on hearing this on the radio in the near future.

Check One...Two

2006-09-11T13:33:00.000-04:00

Your favorite Siouxsie Sioux/Pretenders revivalists Monsters Are Waiting are on tour with She Wants Revenge and Pretty Girls Make Graves.

November 9th 9:30 Club Washington DC 9:00 PM
November 10th Satelite Ballroom Charlottesville, VA 9:00 PM
November 11th House of Blues North Myrtle Beach, SC 8:00 PM
November 13th The Club at Firestone Orlando, FL 8:00 PM
November 14th Earthlink Live Atlanta, GA 8:00 PM
November 15th Varsity Theatre Baton Rouge, LA 9:45 PM
November 16th Meridian Houston, TX 9:00 PM
November 17th Stubb’s Bar-B-Q Austin, TX 8:00 PM
November 18th Gypsy Ballroom Dallas, TX 9:00 PM
November 20th Rialto Theatre Phoenix, AZ 7:30 PM
November 21st House of Blues San Diego, CA 6:30 PM
November 25th House of Blues Las Vegas, NV 7:00 PM

Monsters Are Waiting's new album "Fascination" is out right now. You can read all about them, check out some songs and a video on their MySpace page. Click on the pic to go there

Boat Rock

2006-09-11T13:16:00.000-04:00

Years ago, the band Slint released an album with a song on it called "O Captain, My Captain." Ever since then, countless bands with similar sounds have made records with nautical themes, progressive/jazz instrumental structures, and folk sounds. Mainly June of 44. Jimmy Lucido of the LA band The Strays first referred to these bands as Boat Rock, and the name stuck. (it's possible that he wasn't the first to say it, but he was the first person I heard it from)

The first time I heard The Decemberists, I was annoyed by them. What they were making was Boat Rock, but in lyrics only. Musically, it was just...annoying. The vocals bothered me, the prog-folk instrumentation bothered me, and the way that indie kids were bending over backwards to heap praise on the band especially bothered me. I just didn't see it.

So they have a new album coming out on 10/3. It's called The Crane Wife. From what I've heard so far, I like it. A lot. It's entirely possible that my tastes have evolved, but I think the reality is that the band has evolved into something that's simply more palatable for me.

The vocals are Morrissey-esque, the instrumentation is still slightly folk-prog, but not annoyingly so. The lyrics are still Boat Rock, but that ain't a bad thing. You can check a track from The Crane Wife here. It's called "Summersong." Then there's the band's site, which is here, and if you click below, you can check out more songs on their MySpace page. By the way, the band is featured in the latest issue of Filter Magazine.

Eveningland

2006-09-11T12:58:00.000-04:00

This is what I love about the alt-country genre, you can be folk and country and poppily atmospheric and it all fits. I guess I really don't like genres and classification, but it's a necessary evil if one is to explain what a band sounds like.

The Brooklyn band Hem has a new album out this week titled "Funnel Cloud." If you haven't heard this stuff yet, I recommend it. There's a bit of Neko Case (with and without the New Pornographers), but then there's also some Nick Drake, Belle & Sebastien, Beth Orton, and Patty Griffith in there, too.

I probably shouldn't bring up the alt-country thing because that may skew your opinion before you hear Hem. A better way of putting it would be traditional American music. And the band's principal members Dan Messe, Sally Ellyson, Steve Curtis, and Gary Maurer completely and totally bring it on this record. Guest players include Amy Helm (of Olabelle), the 21-piece Gowanus Radio Orchestra, and James Iha (Smashing Pumpkins). The instrumentation alone is staggering: piano, celeste, glockenspiel, guitar, mandolin, banjo, and harmonica.

You can check out Hem's site here, and you can click on that pic below to check out their MySpace page.

1, 2, 3, 4, 5, breakdown!

2006-09-11T12:25:00.000-04:00

So many different things come to mind when I hear this four-piece from Leeds (UK). Note that there should be an upside down exclamation point before the band's name and a regular one after it. That's how Forward Russia prefers to do things. They also prefer to name all of their songs after numbers.

Their stuff is prog-rock, but not like Yes, and it's staccato, but not quite like Nation of Ulysses. I hear Gang of Four, The Plot To Blow Up the Eiffel Tower, some recent acts like Franz Ferndinand and the Editors, maybe some Libertines, too. Oh, and you can't forget the Public Image Ltd influence. It took me a minute to figure out why the vocals sounded so familiar, but then it struck me. This guy sounds an awful lot like John Lydon (PiL era only).

Their album "Give Me a Wall" comes out on 9/19 on Mute Records. You can go here to check out the song "Thirteen" from Forward Russia. Then click on that picture of the band to check out their site. Of course, they're on MySpace, too.

Good Mourning

2006-09-08T17:16:00.000-04:00

Through a totally chance occurance, a friend of mine posted a bulletin on MySpace a few days ago about something I can't believe I didn't know. Matt Skiba of Alkaline Trio has a new project. It's called Heavens. His roommate Josiah Steinbrick (also of Thieves Like Us) has recorded some solo music and they were listening to it one day and decided to make something out of it. The result is the album "Patent Pending," which is due out next Tuesday (9/12).

After following Alkaline Trio for so long now, through six albums, I think it's become clear that Skiba has more than a passing interest in the darker side of life. It's in his lyrics and his music and the graphic design chosen for all of the band's merchandise. With Heavens, he has chance to truly explore that dark side. In a blurb Heavens' MySpace page, he actually says he drew on Sisters of Mercy as an influence. And that's what I'm talking about. That dark goth sound of the '80s like Sisters of Mercy, Bauhaus, Echo & the Bunnymen (on occasion), and Joy Division.

Right now you can go to the band's MySpace page and stream the whole album. If you're an Alkaline Trio fan, or have an interest in those other bands I just mentioned, I highly recommend you go here and check it out.

Misshapes/Mistakes

2006-09-08T16:02:00.000-04:00

I know I've mentioned Gawker blogs (Gawker, Consumerist, Wonkette, Gizmodo, Fleshbot, Jalopnik, et al) before here on this blog. Just now, I was reading Gawker (NYC media gossip mostly) and their weekly feature "Blue States Lose." In this feature, they look at "retardted pictures of fucked up hipsters on several sites that feature these people partying. Most of the victims are trustfund empowered McHipsters.

Remember back in the '80s when the self-proclaimed Party Monsters would go on all the daytime talk shows? Most of those kids were regulars from an NYC club called The Limelight, and their appearances on the talk shows were very intentional attempts to draw attention to the club. In fact, there was a movie about it a couple years ago called "Party Monster," starring Seth Green and Macaulay Caulkin (like, caulking?). Anyhoo, these current party kids share a lot with the original Limelight Party Monsters: a garish and often ridiculous sense of fashion, way too much blow, too much glitter, and ambiguous sexuality. Okay, so none of that is all that different from any other club kids. Just take a look at the pictures on the site. Trust me. It's like the 'Dos and Don'ts' from VICE Magazine, except this is just the 'Don't's.

I should note that the parties that the photos are taken at aren't just in NYC or LA, they're everywhere. Watch out Dorkwave kids, you could end up being made fun of on Gawker!

Click the banner below to check it out, this is some serious shit. Funny and depressing at the same time.

Well Thought Out Twinkles

2006-09-01T15:45:00.000-04:00

It seems that normally, it takes twenty years for a previous decade to come back into style. And music typically follows that cultural pattern. Things have been getting screwy lately, though.

I don't want to say who started it because honestly I don't know. But it feels like we might be coming up on the end of the Gang Of Four/Joy Division/Magazine wannabe phase. In other words, bands like Interpol, The Editors, The Killers, et al.

We're starting to see something different. It's still '80s, without a doubt, but the '90s are creeping up on us, too.

Remember how Smashing Pumpkins were really good at the psychedelic folk-ish gentle sounds mixed with psychedelic freakout sounds? There's a lot more of that coming up lately. First off, we have Dirty on Purpose. Go here to their MySpace page and check them out. The Brooklyn band's new album is called "Hallejulah Sirens." The sound is folky, and then majestic. In fact, it's remeniscent of the recently dead and gone band Grandaddy. But all of that comes back to Smashing Pumpkins and even Slowdive ('80s shoegazer). A more modern touchpoint could be Mojave 3, but that band was the later edition of Slowdive, so we're back to the '80s again.

Just slightly similar to Dirty On Purpose is Mew. I gotta tell you, I've been obsessively listening to this since I got it on Monday. Memories of My Bloody Valentine and the Pixies and Dinosaur Jr and even the Pet Shop Boys all come together in their new album "And the Glass Handed Kites." Their site is pretty cool, you can check that out here. Last week I was at Record Time, and I was looking at all of the featured new releases. I saw Mew's new record, and I kind of liked the cover art, so I was intrigued, but I didn't know what they were about. Then the album showed up on my doorstep and has rarely left the CD player since. It's a space-pop kind of thing, for sure. The vocal harmonies are amazing, the songwriting is tight, and the melodies are sugary, but not annoyingly so. Oh, and they're Danish, and everyone knows that Scandinavians know what the fuck they're doing when it comes to good music. Mew mew mew.

A few days ago (or was it last week?), I posted a link to a track from this LA band Silversun Pickups. If there were ever a modern Smashing Pumpkins-esque band, it would be these guys. But, fear not, for they do it well. Their new record is called "Carnavas," which may or may not mean something in Spanish. Swirling guitars, ups, downs, psychedelia, it's all there. Their site featuring the amazing Carnavas cover art is here, and their MySpace page is here. With all of this Smashing Pumpkins worship going on, I should note that I'm referring to the Gish era, and not the bald idiot with ZERO on his t-shirt era.

Your past is coming back to haunt you, are you ready for it?

Power and Glory Part One

2006-08-31T13:50:00.000-04:00

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.

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

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

Velocity Girl: the song, not the band

2006-08-31T13:20:00.000-04:00

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.

In Circles

2006-08-31T12:33:00.000-04:00

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.

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

We Won't Get Fooled Again

2006-08-29T13:06:00.000-04:00

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.

Machinations of Evil

2006-08-29T12:39:00.000-04:00

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.

The Drugs Don't Work

2006-08-29T12:09:00.000-04:00

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.

Test

2006-08-28T20:12:00.001-04:00

This. Is. A. Test.

Danger! Danger!

2006-08-24T13:08:00.000-04:00

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.

Zuckerzeit

2006-08-22T14:03:00.000-04:00

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.

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.

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.

Witticisms

2006-08-18T12:34:00.000-04:00

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.

Can You Smell Friday?

2006-08-18T12:19:00.000-04:00

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

Only the Good Die Young

2006-08-18T12:03:00.000-04:00

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.

Pretty Girls Make Graves

2006-08-18T11:49:00.000-04:00

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.

Get Yr Blood Sucked Out

2006-08-18T11:05:00.000-04:00

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:

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.

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.

Underneath The Waves

2006-08-18T10:52:00.000-04:00

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.

Good Good Things

2006-08-17T14:34:00.000-04:00

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.

Transsexual Blackout

2006-08-16T13:09:00.000-04:00

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.

Nosferatu Man

2006-08-11T11:15:00.000-04:00

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...

Dandy Of the Underworld

2006-08-11T10:32:00.000-04:00

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.

History Still Has a Hold Of Me

2006-08-10T22:17:00.000-04:00

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:

Hang On Girl

Do You Love Me Still?

2006-08-10T22:01:00.000-04:00

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:

Eddie's Gun

a dizzying-eclectic, genre-whore of a record…from a band too inspired to know what they actually sound like yet’ (NME)

Le Disko

2006-08-10T21:31:00.000-04:00

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:

Le Disko

On tour right now in Alaska. Why Alaska? I have no idea.

Special Sauce

2006-08-10T21:17:00.000-04:00

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:

And click here to check out his MySpace page.

Before I Fall To Pieces

2006-08-10T21:03:00.000-04:00

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:

All Tomorrow's Parties

2006-08-08T16:06:00.000-04:00

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.

Under the Influence of Giants

2006-08-04T12:21:00.000-04:00

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.

How I Spent My Summer Vacation

2006-08-03T17:25:00.000-04:00

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.

French Disko

2006-08-03T12:07:00.000-04:00

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.

On the Dark Side

2006-07-27T13:53:00.000-04:00

Overheard at the office:

S: "She got a bridal shower to go to, why can't she skip bible study? Jesus ain't goin' nowhere!"

Sometimes I really do like working here.

Somewhere In Detroit

2006-07-25T08:36:00.000-04:00

Tuesday nights are rarely ever fun. You're one day past Monday, but not quite halfway through the week. Usually there aren't any shows to go to, and drink specials just aren't enough to make you want to sit with three other people at your favorite bar.

If you live in Detroit, you're lucky. There's trivia at Bookie's downtown every Tuesday night. There are four rounds of ten questions, and at the end of each round, each player gets a free shot. Typically, the shots are something heavily 'watered down' like a kamikaze or something with watermelon Pucker. But it's still FREE. Each team can have up to four players, and you better fucking watch it, because you can't have five people at your table without another team complaining about it. Even if you are losing. The questions range all over the place from pop culture to sports to history to government to current events. The team that wins gets their bar tab paid for. But keep in mind that since they've been doing this (about six months), the same team has won every night except the one night they didn't show up, and last week. Last week in a stunning upset, the Earmuffs beat the Teabaggers.

Watch out for God Bless the Midwest (my team).

The festivities start at 9:30pm every Tuesday. Bookies is located at 1265 Washington Blvd, Detroit, 48226 - (313) 963-2589. If there's a baseball game, they might start a little late when the game is done.

Overhead At the Office

2006-07-21T17:21:00.000-04:00

"I can't find my Nickelback CD, does anyone have a copy I can burn?"

God, I hope he can't find another...

Run To the Hills

2006-07-21T15:15:00.000-04:00

I'm sure you're heard by now about all the stuff going on in the Mid East, i.e. WWIII. Most of it is going on in Lebanon, and there are citizens of many countries presently there. Some are workers and some are tourists.

So, those citizens' respective countries are working to get them outta there before the shit really hits the fan, whatever that may mean. For the most part, people are being shuttled to the island of Cyprus, and from there being airlifted to their native countries or the next best thing. Some interesting stories have been popping up regarding this process.

The Swedish government went through telecom companies to locate all of their citizens in Lebanon. And then they sent text messages giving them directions on where to go and what to do. How in the hell do you send a text message when a word has the little circle over the 'A'? I wonder. In a four-day, grueling around the clock operation, they quickly evacuated 5,000 people using text messages. LINK

How do you think the US reacted? They started evacuation on Tuesday, and they're still working on it. Plus, they're going to charge citizens for the evacuation! There are reportedly as many as 25,000 US citizens in Lebanon, and about 8,000 want to leave. Those who want to leave must sign a note before boarding any kind of ship (boat, helicopter, plane) out of Lebanon pledging that they will reimburse the US government for $200. The thinking behind this is that the money will cover the cost of a normal commercial flight from Lebanon to Cyprus. If evacuees don't have a way out of Cyprus once they get there, they will be charged for that flight as well. Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi (D) made a good point when she said if we can provide more thatn $300 billion for a war in Iraq, we can provide free flights to evacuate our peeps in Lebanon. Fuckin' a. LINK

My favorite evacuation? Yes, this is a top three list. My favorite evacuation was when Bruce Dickinson, singer for Iron Maiden, and licensed pilot airlifted 200 British citizens back to London yesterday. He did so with a Boeing 757. LINK

D'You Know What I Mean

2006-07-14T16:34:00.000-04:00

Usually, when a band has the balls to glorify themselves in a way like the Beatles once did ("we're bigger than Jesus..." or something like that), or more recently, like Oasis ("we're bigger than the Beatles"), they better fucking know what they're talking about. They better be right. Or at least damned close.

Enter Britain's new band of the moment, The Kooks. Like last year's Arctic Monkeys, The Kooks are young (early 20s), and every British music mag is drooling over them. Courtesy of Luke Pritchard of The Kooks: "We are the most exciting band in Britain. There hasn't been a record like ours for ages."

In case you weren't already aware, the music hype machine in Britain is almost always completely out of hand. They freak out over anything, even the most mundane, banal crap (Babyshambles). This is why NME can't be trusted when they put The Kooks on the cover and say "Britain's favourite new band come out fighting." I'll put money on it right now that when their full-length album debuts, it will sell more on the first day then the Arctic Monkeys full length, and that one set a record for sales.

So the real question is what does it sound like, right? I'll tell y ou what it sounds like: The LIbertines. They can say all they want about having a crazy new sound, but like it or not, it's a sound very, very close to the Libertines. But, I'll give 'em credit, The Kooks do it well. I wouldn't say that they will single-handedly reinvent Britpop, which they claim they're doing. But it is good, and it is worth checking out.

Click the pic to go check out The Kooks' site:

Bands and Things

2006-07-14T16:28:00.000-04:00

So there's this newer band called the Noisettes, and they have kind of an amped up bluesy punk sound. Click the pic to check out a track from them called "Scratch Your Name":

And if you like that, and want to check out more from them, go here.

Bitches Brew

2006-07-14T16:23:00.002-04:00

From the golden Congregation/Gentlemen era of the Afghan Whigs...sometimes this song is referred to as "Miles Iz Dead," and sometimes as "Rebirth of the Cool." It appears on an early EP and then also as a bonus track on Congregation, which is personally my favorite Whigs album.

Lately I've been going back to a lot of stuff that I was really into in the mid to late nineties. I know it's typical, but this is the stuff that's timeless. It doesn't sound dated to these ears.

Amps

2006-07-12T17:30:00.000-04:00

Lately I've been minorly obsessed with energy drinks. And protein bars, but I'll talk about those once I've tried more brands.

I don't have an energy drink everyday, and most days I don't have more than one. It all started when I needed a warm-weather replacement for coffee that had no sugar.

I've tried a lot of the energy drinks out there, but most are pointless. Some taste like armpits (Sobe), some taste like gasoline (Red Jak), and some are very tolerable, but are so full of sugar that I feel cheated. And like I've just consumed a bunch of empty calories that I won't use.

So my favorite is Diet Rockstar. You get a good dose of the vitamin B complex, which is very good for hangovers, vitamin C, a bunch of other vitamins and minerals, taurine (Red Bull's big ingredient), caffeine, inositol (don't know what it is, but it's in most energy drinks), guarana, some stuff I think is used as preservatives and coloring, and milk thistle. That last one is curious. It's legal to buy milk thistle in this country as a supplement. You'd typically find it in the aisle at the drug store with all the other bottles of mystery vitamins and herbs like echinacea. But it's illegal to buy in Canada. At least that's what I've heard. What I like about it is that it's good for cleansing your liver.

All of those things add up to Diet Rockstar being the best buy because it works well as an energy drink AND a hangover remedy. Plus there's no sugar in it (but there is Splenda).

I've tried so many energy drinks, I can't even remember all of them right now. Usually I stay away from the ones that are really cheap, because seriously, why waste my money?

I do like the Starbuck's Double Shot, which is two shots of espresso with cream and sugar added. They now offer a diet version with less milkfat, less sugar, and therefore less calories. Both are good, but being lactose intolerant, I'll grab the diet version when I can find it. There's only one problem with the Double Shot: it's just caffeine. No taurine, no milk thistle, no added vitamins, just caffeine and sugar. I avoid the sugar because I don't want the empty calories and I want to avoid the sugar rush. The amps I'm looking for need to be longer lasting than a simple boost to the blood sugar.

There's also the variety with tons of caffeine - like dangerous amounts of caffeine. That would be Bawls in the bumpy blue glass bottles. This one is relatively expensive, and tastes really good, but there's actually a warning on the back about how much caffeine is in it. That worries me. But I'm a worrier, so it's probably nothing.

Speaking of amps, Amp, the Mountain Dew energy drink works well, but it tastes funny. So does Invigor8te from V8. Plus that one is pretty much just caffeine and a lot of vitamins. Much like the Arizona Iced Teas version of the energy drink. I don't even know what that one's called, the title on the can is vague, but it's yellow with a blue cross on the front.

Overall, the general problem with the energy drinks that deliver is taste. That's why I try to stick with Tab Energy Drink when I can find it. Rockstar is great for long-term purposes because the taste is a bit much and the effect is heavy duty. But I don't always need that much, so when rocknrollscientist needs a moderate buzz, he reaches for a pink fizzy Tab Energy Drink. Seriously. I really like it. It has all the right stuff in it, and lots of caffeine, and the price is decent, and it has Splenda instead of sugar.

Wouldn't You Miss Me?

2006-07-11T11:21:00.000-04:00

It was announced today that Syd Barrett, founding member of Pink Floyd died last Friday of complications related to diabetes. He was 60.

We've all heard the stories about his LSD-induced meltdown, and how that got him kicked out of the band. One day on the way to a show in 1968, the band elected not to pick him up. After that happened, he moved into a basement apartment at his mom's house in Cambridge. He boarded up the windows to keep the press out.

With the help of Pink Floyd co-founder Roger Waters and Barrett's replacement David Gilmour, he recorded and released two albums in 1970, "The Madcap Laughs" and "Barrett." In that year he performed one concert in London with Waters and Gilmour backing him up. It wasn't until 1972 when he resurfaced in a band called Stars, but quit after one gig. In 1974 his old manager convinced him to go back into the studio to record, but it didn't work out. Barrett then sold all of the rights to his music to his record label and returned to his mother's where he enjoyed painting, writing, and gardening.

There's a song from '80s twee pop band The Television Personalities called "I Know Where Syd Barrett Lives."

He was very famous once upon a time
But no one knows even if he's alive
But I know where he lives and I visit him
In a little hut in Cambridge
I know where he lives
Cause I know where Syd Barrett lives

I had already heard Syd's solo stuff by the time I heard the above song, but it intrigued me enough to actually go out and buy some. Okay, I got all of it. I fucking love Syd Barrett's solo stuff.

This is sad.

source

If You Ain't Slurpin', You're Better Off Jerkin'

2006-07-11T11:20:00.000-04:00

Free 7.11 oz Slurpees at 7-11 today. Available while supplies last. Note that it's only the 7.11 oz cups that are free.

It's Bigger Than...

2006-07-09T23:46:00.000-04:00

...hip HOP, hip HOP. DPs got that crazy shit, we keep it crunk up, john blazin' shit!

Last Sunday night, I was watching Entourage, and during the end credits, they were playing the track "Hip Hop" from Dead Prez. The album it's from, "Let's Get Free" came out years ago. The band has never been very mainstream. So it was cool to hear it in a place where millions of people have a chance to hear it.

A lot of hip hop is very similar as far as the percussion and bass sounds, as well as the use of samples. But this DP track is more electro sounding, more like an underground sound.

The song has been following me. I heard it last Sunday night on TV, then I was eating dinner somewhere with friends on Friday night, I was singing it, and then Gina pulled out her iPod so we could listen to it in the car. Then I DJed both Friday and Saturday nights, and of course, something made me want to hear it. Tonight, I was watching the new 'Lost Episodes' of Chapelle's Show, and what was playing over the opening shot of Charlie Murphy and that other guy onstage? Fucking "Hip Hop," that's what.

Normally I wouldn't think this is weird, but the album came out in the year 2000! It wasn't a big mainstream record, it had hardly any radio airply. Why am I being followed by a song?

Lightning Blue Eyes

2006-07-05T10:41:00.000-04:00

The smell of sulfur and black powder still fills my nostrils, my legs are dotted with small red burn marks, and I've consumed at least three grilled meats in the past four days. Happy birthday, America.

In the past four days, I've gotten drunk twice (almost entirely on PBR), bought illegal fireworks from the back room of a party store in east side Detroit, went to the Taste Fest, got bored by the Taste Fest, lost a girlfriend (for real this time), DJed, consumed more energy drinks than any 200-pound man should, and spent a lot of good time with friends.

Shee-it, that's what summer's all about. Except for losing the girlfriend, that hurts. But I'll live.

Is it a grain, or pasta?

2006-06-30T12:53:00.000-04:00

Have you ever really thought about orzo? You know, that stuff that looks like gigantor rice. It's about five times the size of typical rice, comes in multiple colors, and has the consistency of pasta. Here, take a look at some raw orzo in this pic:

Last weekend I had a conversation with a chef from Union Street, a hip restaurant in Midtown Detroit. The place has been there forever, there's no theme or a certain cuisine, no fusion, and you can't get hummous. The gimmick is good food and big portions. So I was talking to this chef and complaining about how the specials never seem to change, and how I missed a few things that disappeared from the menu years ago. He couldn't really give an explanation on those things.

However, I was in there last night, and I checked the specials menu hoping to see something I haven't seen on there every week for what seems like forever. I admit it's entirely possible that I've never noticed this special before. It was Southwest orzo (meaning multi-colored like in the pic above) with smoked chicken, garlic, red onion, shiitake mushroom, and tri-color peppers in an asiago-chablis creme sauce. Ho-ly crap.

I don't think my conversation had anything to do with it, chances are its an item that's appeared on the specials menu before.

The point is, that was a really good dish. I like Union Street a lot. And I think you should go there for dinner tonight. Ask for a chilled shot of Pama, it's a new pomegranate liqueur. Get a pint of Stella Artois or Woodpecker Pear Cider to go with it.

For almost ten years, the Majestic Cafe felt like the de rigeur place to go for a decent dinner in Midtown Detroit, but I haven't had a good meal there in way too long. Union Street has always been there across the street. I don't know why I didn't go there more often. Now I do.

Sounds of the City

2006-06-26T18:27:00.000-04:00

Earlier this month I was in a serious pop-punk mood. I went out and re-bought a couple of Blink 182 CDs that I misplaced sometime in the oft hazy life of a DJ. I got "Dude Ranch" (my favorite) and "Enema of the State." I remember back when each of those came out, I listened to them obsessively. And, just like before, once I re-bought them, I obsessed for a couple days. But now I'm over it. Not completely, just for now. So two weeks ago I was at a Best Buy picking up a Lil' Kim CD, and I decided I wanted some newer pop-punk stuff.

Recently I read about a new Bouncing Souls album called "The Gold Record." That one review that I read referred to it as their 'rock-opera' album like Green Day did with "American Idiot." I think that reviewer may have been hitting the pipe too much that day. "The Gold Record" is not a concept album. Or at least it doesn't sound like it. Simply, it is more of the well-written and well-performed punk/pop/rock that Bouncing Souls fans have come to know and love.

Listening to it opened up some good doors for me. I swear, every time a punk band covers a Kinks song, I (a) yet again realize how big of an influence the Kinks were on modern punk and (b) discover another Kinks album I hadn't heard before. On this record, the Souls cover Ray Davies' "Better Things" from the Kinks record "Give the People What They Want" (1981). And that's just the first door that opened. It's an excellent cover, by the way.

They also cover a song called "Lean On Sheena." I was reading the liner notes, and saw that it was written by J. Gittleman. Being a Mighty Mighty Bosstones fan from way back, I recognized he name right away. Joe Gittleman played bass in the Bosstones. But I didn't recognize the song. I know I haven't heard the past couple albums, but this didn't even sound like a Bosstones song. So I looked it up and found that when Gittleman left the Bosstones, he started up a band called Avoid One Thing along with members of other Boston bands like Darkbuster and Spring Heeled Jack. Their sound has been described as The Replacements meets Green Day. I can agree with that. But not completely.

See, this Bouncing Souls record fits in nicely with the poppier later non-ska stuff from the Bosstones and the later non-Irish stuff from the Dropkick Murphys. There's a common thread in all of that. I'm sure there are people who will disagree with me on this one, but I think that common thread is oi. Oi as in that 70s punkish rock n roll stuff like Cocksparrer and the Angelic Upstarts. Not the white-power soccer hooligan bullshit, but the feeling from the songs. The anthemic vocals and songs, and the lyrics that mean something.

By the way, Avoid One Thing recently broke up, but they have two excellent records out and I recommend picking up either one. You can find both real cheap on Amazon (used). The first one is the record with "Lean On Sheena." Click here to check out a couple of their songs.

"The Gold Record" is full of songs about growing up: "I heard someone say that nothing gold can stay, but there's love in our all our souls and it shines like gold." There are the songs about their roots in New Jersey, songs about old friends, songs about ex-girlfriends, songs about how much music means to them, and a song with lyrics written by a soldier stationed in Iraq.

Then there's another door. Every time I listen to the Souls, I remember this other related band, the World/Inferno Friendship Society. I guess back in the '90s there was a house down the street from the Souls, and the kids there had a band called Sticks & Stones. I still haven't heard anything from them, but they seem to be legendary in the New Brunswick, NJ music scene. Anyway, a man going by the name of Jack Terricloth left Sticks & Stones to form the World/Inferno Friendship Society. He is seemingly insane. But I could be wrong. His band's sound is much like Gogol Bordello, who have been getting more popular lately. It's a very Brooklyn/film noir/Eastern European/ska-ish/punk sorta thing. And that doesn't even begin to explain it. There's also a vaudevillian/theatre aspect to it as well. Your best bet is to check out the band by clicking on the link up there. They have a new album coming out soon. There was an older version of the website that had a crazy story on it involving talking cats and a man named Nosliw Pilf. Note that the name is Flip Wilson spelled backwards. The band's first album cover was a take-off of an old Flip Wilson record. It's strange shit, but somewhat captivating...

Back to the task at hand, the new Bouncing Souls record "The Gold Record" is a rock record. It's post-punk, but not in that Fugazi kinda way, more like that 'we're 35, been doing this for fifteen years, and we've evolved' kinda way. Check it out.

Thanks to the Music In Our Lives

2006-06-24T14:16:00.000-04:00

This is happening tonight. Believe it.

(photo by Re-Bake-A)

You Can't Turn Back

2006-06-24T14:15:00.000-04:00

I am a bruxist. Do not be alarmed.

Checkerboard Slip-Ons

2006-06-21T14:58:00.000-04:00

Last week I got the new Bouncing Souls record "The Gold Record." There's something about the summer that makes me want to hear lots of pop-punk. It's probably memories and nostalgia and all that. I had read something about their new one and decided to check it out. But...more about that later.

I was reading the liner notes to the album and saw that one of the songs was written by Joe Gittleman of the Mighty Mighty Bosstones. Then I looked into it further and found that the song is from Joe's more recent band, Avoid One Thing. So I had ska and pop and punk on the brain. And then I ran into Royce Nunley somewhere recently. Royce was a founding member and bass player from the Suicide Machines.

The gods spoke, and I listened. I pulled out my copy of "Destruction By Definition" from the Suicide Machines. The band's first record, a split with the Rudiments from back when they still went by the name Jack Kevorkian & the Suicide Machines was probably my first experience with modern local music. It was also my first exposure to ska-core (punk/hardcore). Soon after that I heard Operation Ivy and Skankin' Pickle and Against All Authority, and many others. This was probably all around '94 or '95.

Destruction by Definition was different. The production was rock-solid, everything was tight and well recorded. I listened to it constantly that summer.

But in time I got tired of ska. Okay, I didn't get tired of ska, I just got more interested in the origins of it and went more towards roots ska and dub and rocksteady. And my interests in more rock n' roll type things was steadily growing. Ska and pop-punk and all that stuff was temporarily left behind.

So I pulled DbD out again this morning. I've listened to it here and there in the past few years. It really is a good record. They re-recorded some of their earlier hits like "New Girl" and "Vans Song." They also did a cover of "I Don't Wanna Hear It" from Minor Threat.

Okay, that reminds me of why I was so suddenly put off from this band. They put out DbD in 1996, and at the time I was dating this girl who claimed that she was their original bass-player back when they were all going to Eastern Michigan University. I never believed it, but I told her did just to make her feel better.

We went down to St. Andrew's Hall that summer to see the Machines with The Vandals and Assorted Jellybeans. At some point, we were waiting outside in line to get in, and Jay Navarro (singer) walked by and she called out to him like she knew him and he ignored her - blatantly. So...I don't know about all that. Assorted Jellybeans only had one really good song, but they played it and that made me happy. I had never seen the Vandals before, but they put on one helluva show. Tops. The Machines came on, went through about five songs at triple-speed, and then came their cover of "I Don't Wanna Hear It." Before the song started, Jay told the crowd that if people started moshing, they weren't going to play. He just didn't want people to get hurt. I get it. We got it. Apparently the skinheads up front did NOT get it. Or care. They were barely halfway through the song before Jay stopped the band. He said something brief about how he warned us. Then they all walked off stage. We thought maybe it was a joke, and that they would come back. But they didn't come back. We drove an hour to get there, and they play six songs? That's it? Fuck 'em.

That's why I stopped listening to them. But then I picked up their later self-titled album. I can't find it right now, but it was pretty good power-pop. Any traces of ska were gone, and replaced by a Bob Mould/Replacements/Fags kinda sound. I wish I knew where it was...

I just checked a Wikipedia article for more recent info and found that the band officially broke up May 13th of this year. I know that Ryan (drummer) and Jay (singer) are continuing with their rock/metal band Left In Ruin, Danny will be touring with Against All Authority this summer, and it didn't say what Dan would be doing. And that article had a large quote from Ryan, and attributed it to their website, but that post is no longer there. No idea what's up with that.

Not Enough Saturday Nights

2006-06-18T12:59:00.000-04:00

One Wednesday night, about eight years ago, I was at Detroit's now-defunct Gold Dollar to see Bantam Rooster and the New Bomb Turks. After Bantam Rooster was done, a lot of people started leaving. The New Bomb Turks were setting up their gear, and Eric the singer started berating them for leaving, calling them pussies and that just because they have class in the morning, it doesn't mean they have to leave. Once the band got started, he stood up there and said "I'd like to thank you for staying...I'm lookin' out there, and I can tell that for each and every one of you, EVERY night is Saturday night." Fuckin' a right. Back then was a time when I could go to the Magic Stick in Midtown and see the Hellacopters or the Supersuckers or the Dragons rock the fuck out. Since then, the Hellacopters have mellowed, the Supersuckers are barely still around, mostly playing country, and who knows what happened to the Dragons. Bantam Rooster is gone, and I lost track of the New Bomb Turks.

Don't get me wrong, the rock is still out there, it's just getting harder to find and more diverse. Now you have Wolfmother with their Deep Purple meets Blue Cheer goodness and the Backyard Babies are still glammin' it up. It's still there, it's just not like it was in that golden late '90s era.

Then a band like River City High comes around outta Richmond, VA. When I think of Richmond, I think of politically-charged hardcore punk bands like Avail and Strike Anywhere. It sounds like there's some rock 'n' roll goin' on there, too.

Full disclosure: River City High were first brought to my attention by my friend Deanna who happens to have just started managing them. But I get nothing out of this, it's good music, and I want you to hear it.

If you long for those days when the Hellacopters still wore their MC5 appreciation on their sleeve, when Tom Potter (Bantam Rooster) was the devil onstage, and the Supersuckers played "Born With a Tail" like they really fucking meant it, you're going to like River City High. In fact, if you ever liked the Dragons, this is totally your bag.

It's that slightly punk anthem, gravel-voiced, rockin' out sound. Infectious.

Click here to check out their website, and click here to check out their MySpace page where you can also listen to their music.

New record out on Takeover Records September 19th.

UPDATE

2006-06-17T14:21:00.000-04:00

It's now good and propah. If you type in www.rocknrollscientist.net, it will take you to this page. Also, if you still have http://rocknrollscientist.blogspot.com bookmarked, that will still work, too.

Believe the Hype

2006-06-16T16:33:00.000-04:00

I am a lazy sonuvabitch. It's true. I let the registration on rocknrollscientist.com lapse. I lost it. So for now you have to use rocknrollscientist.blogspot.com to get here. Soon I'll have it changed to a .net, but not quite yet. The domain registration process isn't always fast.

Enjoy.

Room On Fire

2006-06-14T12:55:00.000-04:00

Coming at us with the Talking Heads/Television sound that we expected out of the Strokes' second album (but never got), here's "In the Morning" from Razorlight. Click here to stream the single, and then click here to check out the band's site. I like this one.

America Off Line

2006-06-13T13:51:00.001-04:00

About 16 years ago, my dad sent my sister and I a Christmas present. It was a Tandy computer. I admit, I was less than happy. It's not like I was a spoiled kid or anything, but even then I knew that Tandys were complete crap.

Anyway, I couldn't do anything about it. This thing had 256k of storage on it or something ridiculous like that. It wasn't good for much, but my mom went and got a modem and AOL for it. I never really understood what AOL was for. Back then it was actually a way to get online, a service provider. But they made it practically impossible to get to the actual internet. Instead you were given their content. I didn't give a shit about that, I wanted the internet, dammit!

So everytime I read something these days about AOL, I just remember how pointless it was in 1990 as a service provider and how they are now re-branding the company as a content provider. BECAUSE THAT'S ALL IT EVER WAS IN THE FIRST PLACE.

Most days, there are a handful of blogs I try to always read. One of them linked to something different recently, so I checked it out.

The Consumerist seems to be a part of the Gawker Media empire created by Englishman Nick Denton (Wonkette, Gizmodo, Lifehacker, Fleshbot, Gawker, The Defamer, et al). Even if it's not, there's still the high quality of information presented in an easy to read format. The focus is the consumer 'biting back'.

I just took a look at the latest update, and it inluded an article about an AOL subscriber trying to cancel their account. There's an MP3 you can listen to of a five-minute phone call. It's ridiculous. He keeps trying and trying to cancel his account, but the customer service rep (CSR) kept trying to figure out why he wanted to cancel. He would not let up. It's pretty funny. Check this link for the full story.

Rollin' With Saget

2006-06-12T12:10:00.000-04:00

NSFW. Cuz he's the 'illest motherfucker in a cardigan sweater'. Jaime Kennedy, Stu Stone, and the man himself, Bob Saget.

New Attributes

2006-06-09T19:35:00.000-04:00

A year ago at this time, we were in the midst of a glut of (sometimes over) hyped newer British bands. Bloc Party, The Libertines, The Others, Arctic Monkeys, and the Futureheads. The latter seemed to get overlooked in the marketing orgasm that the others seemed to enjoy.

I don't claim to know why they didn't get the attention they deserved. Although, I can say that once upon a time, I put on some headphones in a Borders to check out their first album. I didn't like what I heard. It sounded generic and lacking in substance. But I thought the same of the first Interpol, and now I have everything from them. So what do I know?

This is what I know, the Futureheads have a new album comin' out June 13th. It's called "News and Attributes" and the first single is a killer. You can check out "Skip To the End" by clicking here. Its a blast of early Elvis Costello meets Billy Bragg meets everything good about British pop music in the '80s.

Click the pic to check out the Futureheads website.

The Futureheads are on tour soon and will be in Detroit at the Magic Stick on July 27th with Tapes 'n' Tapes.

Gene Pool Style

2006-06-09T12:57:00.000-04:00

Tuesday night, Grand Rapids' (MI) very own Whirlwind Heat took the stage at the Magic Stick in Detroit. In the midst of a nationwide tour, mostly with Be Your Own Pet, the band made a stop in the town that helped propel them to where they are now.

It was only a few years ago that Jack White signed them as the first band on his Third Man Records. Considering their neo-new-wave-whatever sound, it seemed an odd choice. Back then, WH would say that they started out trying to sound like Devo. Now they claim no bands as influences. I'm not trying to call them out, I'm just stating the facts. Considering where their sound has gone, I get it. Now they say that feelings are their biggest influences.

For this show, they didn't play anything from the first album or from the Flamingo Honey EP, it was entirely from "Types of Wood." I think they played the whole album in it's entirety, but they didn't play it in order. There were about thirty kids up in front of the stage, and maybe just as many further out sitting at tables watching. A few of those kids up front knew all the words and were singing along. Some were even dancing! For some reason, Detroiters usually find it difficult to dance at a rock show. I'll never understand.

Early on in the set, David Swanson's Moog cut out. I don't know if it was the keyboard or the connection or what, but it was out for the night. A couple times he tried to figure it out while the drums and bass went on, but it didn't work out. So he sang the Moog parts! And he did it well, sounded just like a synth. But he couldn't sing all of it, so the parts where he would normally be singing and playing, he just sang. The band worked suprisingly well with just drums and bass. Much like Death From Above 1979 or Japanther or Tentacle Lizardo, Steve Damstra II plays the bass like he's playing the lead guitar. Okay, better example, it's like in Joy Division, where the bass was always up front. Sometimes in Joy Division's songs, Peter Hook's parts were taking the place of the lead guitar, and other times he was providing rhythm along with the drums. So in Whirlwind Heat, Steve plays the bass and alternates between lead parts and rhythm parts.

It seems like a newer trend lately. All of these bands who do it have a slight new wave bent, but are also quite rockin'. Whirlwind Heat, Death From Above 1979, Japanther, and Tentacle Lizardo are all bands that feature at the very least bass guitar and drums. And on some, or in some cases, many songs, they use keyboards and samples and drum machines. I know there are more examples, but I can't think right now. I could say Morphine or the Inbreds, but those had a sound more rooted in jazz.

The point is, watch out. The drums/bass/synth people are coming to take you away. Whirlwind Heat may not be at the head of the pack, but they're creepin' up fast.

Ummaguma

2006-06-04T03:42:00.000-04:00

The new Secret Machines album "Ten Silver Drops." I got it a couple weeks ago, and I've given it some time to sink in. I'm not sure why I bought it other than appreciating the cover art. I acquired their previous album and wasn't all that into it. This one is good. It's like...Pink Floyd kind of. Like the early space-jam freakout Pink Floyd right after Syd left or was kicked out or whatever. But it's not all like that, all the songs are actually songs, not just lengthy jam things.

Also, listening to it, it would be very easy to assume these guys are from England, but they're actually from Texas. I never woulda guessed.

Tamaki or Maki?

2006-06-03T13:04:00.000-04:00

I have a lot of friends in Ferndale (MI - Detroit suburb). My favorite local record store is in Ferndale. A couple years ago, I dated a girl who lived in Ferndale. In short, I spend a lot of time there.

One of the things I love about this town is lots of good restaurants. Its not quite like Royal Oak, there are less restaurants and higher quality.

A few weeks ago I started hearing about a new sushi place on Woodward. I drove by last week and saw that it was open. So last night some friends and I checked it out.

Its called Sakana Sushi Lounge and it's on Woodward just north of 9 Mile next to the Magic Bag. There's a public parking lot in back and it looked like they offered valet service.

The space is minimally decorated. There are windows in the front, so it's well lit, but the walls and furnishings are all dark. Towards the back end there are couches and tables like in a lounge section at a night club. There's a slight club atmosphere to it, and I just saw that they have DJs some nights. The music when we were there last night was all satellite radio, but it was a good selection of instrumental downtempo hip hop in the vein of DJ Shadow.

There were nine of us, so they had to seat us back in this lounge section because the rest of the seating is booths along one wall. Then there is a bar that's L-shaped, and the wing of it that faces the front windows is where you can watch the chefs prepare the sushi. There are also some couches and tables up there.

Within our group, we've had sushi all over the Detroit area and the country and it was agreed that the sushi at Sakana was the best we've ever had in Michigan. Rebecca said she thinks it may be better than any she's had in San Francisco, too.

The eda mame was salted - I've noticed that some places don't do this, but I prefer it. Bill had an avocado salad with ginger dressing that looked good and he confirmed it. The rest of us had drinks in place of salad. Lisa and Rebecca had pear sake-tinis that were pale green. Sweet, but not too sweet. Very good. Janna and Amy had green tea, which I wish I would've tried. Someone who did try it complained that it was too bland, but it's not supposed to be an intense flavor. Chris and I had the Hitachino Nest Red Rice Ale which I highly recommend. Amy had the Hitachino Nest White Owl Ale. When we asked about their Japanese beer selection, our server (of course) said they have Sapporo, which is expected. But then she asked if we liked Blue Moon. I don't know if she was trained that way or if its something she noticed on her own to relate Blue Moon to the White Owl Ale. It is kind of light like a Belgian blond. Some of you will be glad to know that they have the typical things you would find at a bar. Chris ordered a Jim Beam with three ice cubes and they delivered on it. Often when at a nice restaurant, if you order something like that, they just look at you weird and then fuck it up.

Next up was the sushi. I can't say anything special about the nigiri but it was good. I had the sake nigiri (smoked salmon), which was the typical size and shape. Aaron tried the tamago which I've never had before, but it looked good. It looks like nigiri, or like a black-belt Spongebob Squarepants. There's a rectangle of a sweet egg omelet sitting on top of a lump of rice with some wasabe, tied together with a black band of that seaweed paper they use to wrap hand rolls. Everyone who tried it liked it.

Then there's the rolls. There was everything typical as well as a couple of the usual Americanized items like the Philly Roll. But their specialties were the most interesting things. I admit, I haven't had sushi many other places besides the Detroit area, so I don't know what others do with it. Most of what I've had has been fairly traditional or included lots of cream cheese.

But Sakana takes it to some really interesting places. One roll included strawberries, another had slices of kiwi wrapped around each roll. They had several specialty rolls named after cities like Detroit, Boston, and Philly. Many of the specialty rolls included tempura flakes and theirs is so good - light and crispy.

That takes us to dessert: Japanese fried ice cream. I have no idea what it was called because I was too busy flossing in the bathroom. Yes, the bathrooms at Sakana have a choice of waxed or non-waxed floss in the bathrooms. It's in a dispenser on the wall. I have NEVER seen it before, but I think it's a great idea.

Basically, they take a scoop of vanilla ice cream, coat it in walnuts and then tempura, then they fry it. Then it's cut in half, and laid out on the plate with some stripes of chocolate syrup and caramel. Easily one of the best desserts I've ever had in my life.

The service at Sakana was exceptional...all servers we dealt with were knowledgeable about the menu and very friendly. We ordered two of the ice cream desserts and one of them had a weird small piece of metal in the ice cream. Our server immediately had the owner come over and talk to us. He was very understanding and apologetic. He was also good-natured and easy going. The cost of the ice cream was taken off our bill without a problem.

Altogether for nine of us, our bill came to $230 and that included many drinks, appetizers, lots of sushi, and dessert. Well worth the money.

Sakana is located at 22914 Woodward in Ferndale. Their phone number is 248 336 2555. The hours are 11:30am to 2am Monday through Saturday and 3pm to 12am Sunday.

The Cure For Evil

2006-05-30T17:13:00.000-04:00

Coming up! Pocket reviews. Teeny tiny reviews of good stuff new and old.

Everyone Wins!

2006-05-30T10:03:00.000-04:00

Here are the winners for all of the recent contests. Kelley won the Whirlwind Heat tickets, Stacey won the Bellrays tickets/posters, and Annette won the Streets prize pack!

Stay tuned for more contests. You too can be a winner.

Green Mind

2006-05-18T15:14:00.000-04:00

Do you need more soul in your life? Yes, you do. Click this to stream the Bellrays album "Have a Little Faith." Then email me (address at right) and enter to win the posters and tickets noted in posts below!

It's Latin and It Says We Must All Die

2006-05-17T16:26:00.000-04:00

Sometime in 2002, I was drifting in the 'electronic' section at Borders in Dearborn (Detroit area). In my experience, the electronic or dance or club music sections in corporate chain stores are a fucking mess. You can rarely find what you're looking for unless the hype machine is churning madly for it. Instead of looking for what you want, you end up treating it like used CD/record shopping i.e. you flip through all of it.

So, that afternoon, I was in the mood for something different. I came across a CD with an interesting night-time shot of a 'urban renewal' style apartment building that seemed British (full disclosure: I'm into architecture and the way it interacts with society). The CD has a little sticker on it with quotes from the British hype machine. I believe it was NME that said "The Streets are reinventing hip hop the way the Sex Pistols reinvented punk rock," or something like that. I'm paraphrasing, but that's basically what it said. I was hesitant, I'm quite familiar with the way the British elevate mediocre musical acts to saintly status. But, I needed something new, so I decided to check it out despite my hesitation.

Note that: the little label said 'hip hop', but the album was in the 'electronic' rack. Mike Skinner, who is The Streets started out making 2-step and garage music. Two-step is a variant on jungle and in the UK, garage is almost synonymous with two-step. For more on that, check out this Wikipedia article on the subject. Now that Skinner is on his third album, The Streets are referred to more commonly as hip hop, but that's difficult. British rap fans dismiss him as electronic and American rap fans dismiss him as indie rock, but none of that makes sense. Music critics will define it as hip hop, and that's mostly because of the vocal style. Even that is difficult because it's more like he's talking and rhyming, but not rapping.

So, back to 2002. The album was Original Pirate Material. I listened to it for weeks and weeks at a time. Without fail, I played several tracks every Saturday when DJing, but people weren't all that into it. I didn't get it. That album was very dense with lush strings and piano sounds. The rhymes were good, but nothing special. Lots of cockney patois and British slang.

In 2004 OPM was still in regular rotation for me while DJing. The shit's just too good. Not quite hip hop, not quite electronic, but done so well, and with this British guy doing a stream-of-consciousness thing over top of it. Then A Grand Don't Come For Free came out. Holy shit. Seriously. This one was a concept album, but he took a chance because the concept was that the songs were sequenced to tell us about a day in the life of an individual who's quite boring and unambitious. He's going through his day to day stuff, loses a thousand pounds, hangs at a bar where he meets a girl, gets addicted to sports gambling despite knowing nothing of the sport, starts dating the girl, has problems with her, starts knocking her down (verbally), loses her and gets depressed over it, gets mad at his friends for stealing the thousand pounds and then finds it again. That's it. That's the story being told. It would be boring if he wasn't such a goddamned good storyteller. And the beats! The music is stripped down and simple this time around, but still really good.

Finally, it's 2006, and people are starting to pay attention. Mike Skinner's shining star shone so bright last year that P. Diddy asked him to record a song to be used on the Notorious B.I.G. 'Duets' album. After realizing that the sounds clashed too much, Diddy decided not to use it, and maybe that's good for Skinner considering how much that 'Duets' album was hated. Instead he took that track, left out the vocals from Biggie and put it on his new album "The Hardest Way To Make An Easy Living." The track is called "Two Nations," and it's an examination of the differences between hip hop in the UK and the US. "Understated is how we prefer to be, that's why I've sold three million and you've never heard of me," that's him 'talking' to Biggie. But the person being addressed ends up being American hip hop as a whole. But this track is later in the album. As a whole, the record is about the problems Skinner has encountered as a result of fame. It's bold, and it's harsh, he lets it all out.

Right from the start he's going on about being strung out (Pranging Out) after getting back from being on tour. And he ain't talkin' 'bout being tired. "I'm panicking a bit, frightened of fuck-all"

The title track "Hardest Way To Make an Easy Living" is more or less a rundown of the costs of being a musician. It's not so easy. A whistle in the chorus helps make it irresistible.

The first two albums each had at least one tearjerker ballad type song. On this album there are three. "All Goes Out the Window" is how not to fuck up a good relationship, i.e. don't lie to her, and you won't have to remember anything. "Never Went To Church" is a ballad about how Skinner misses his father who passed away and how they didn't get along. "Two Nations" (mentioned above) is the third ballad.

On "Memento Mori," he quotes a latin phrase meaning "remember that we all must die" to show us that if you have money, have a good time. When he says "I never think about money, in fact I have no idea how much money I have," it's hard to relate for most of us. But his point comes across, you can't take it with you. Also in this song he says "driving a Ferrari is fucking book." The first time I heard it I assumed it was more British slang and quickly forgot about it. Then I was texting my girlfriend awhile ago and I typed 'cool' and noticed that when using T9 predictive text input, 'book' is the first word that comes up. Finally, I figured out some British slang without having to look it up online!

The first single "When You Wasn't Famous" is all about being famous and dating famous women and how it makes you feel like you aren't famous. This one is something new for Skinner (as The Streets), it's a lot more upbeat like a club track. Of course, the lyrics are clever as all hell.

Last is a medium tempo groove with "Fake Streets Hats." He's out of his mind on tour, the drummer is leaving trailing gaps in songs, he's fighting with the audiences, he sees Streets merch that he thinks is bootlegged but it's real. There's a nice Japanese-sounding flute loop all throughout. Plus lots of samples of live audience cheering.

This is the thing, though: on the first albums, Skinner was humble. Very humble, and you felt like you could relate to him even though he was portraying a British street tough. We now know that it was a character he was portraying, but now that he's being himself, he's cocky as hell, and it's harder to feel something. Don't get me wrong, I love this record, and I've listened to it obsessively since I got it. I even bought it on Amazon UK to get it a week early. I'm definitely a fan and that hasn't changed. But, as Skinner has exposed himself for who he really is, he's opened up a new can of worms. Musically he's tighter than ever. Not as sparse as the second record, and more hip hop than the first. But despite the amazing music, the sound of The Streets has always been wholly dependant on Skinner's stories and his stream-of-consciousness. I'm not writing him off, but my view has changed.

Curious? Want your own copy of the CD? Looky over there to the right for my email address and send me your name to be entered in a contest to win a free copy of the CD as well as some other Streets stuff. Winner will be chosen at random. I love you. No I don't. Yeah, I do.

Types of Wood

2006-05-17T16:06:00.000-04:00

First, read that post below about the new Whirlwind Heat album.

Second, look to the right over there for my email address and email me with your name to enter the contest. A winner will be chosen at random.

Third, there's still time left for you to enter the Bellrays poster and concert tickets contest, so email me and enter, dammit.

Hearts of Oak

2006-05-16T12:36:00.000-04:00

A few years back, Jack White (White Stripes) signed Whirlwind Heat of Grand Rapids, MI as the first band on his Third Man record label. Of course, the local hype on the band was justifiably huge.

I remember the first time I saw them play Detroit. Drums, bass, keyboard, and three very spastic guys onstage. That was sometime in 1999. Keep in mind this was before spaz-tastic bands like the Blood Brothers were getting big.

Their first album, "Do Rabbits Wonder?" was a hyper yet glorious mess. The songs were all named after colors. Hearing the album, and seeing the band live, it quickly becomes obvious that they are trying to challenge us. Then in 2004, they put out an EP called "Flamingo Honey." Recorded with Brendan Benson at his Grand Studio, there are ten songs each one minute long. Does that sound like an annoying concept? It is. Especially because all of the songs have so much promise and you can hear how much the band evolved from "Rabbits."

I first heard "Flamingo Honey" just about a month ago. A friend mentioned one track in particular. I found it cheap, so I picked it up, not knowing all the tracks are only a minute long. It's a seriously good record for being so brief. That's why I got so excited when I realized there was a new one coming out.

As the band says in the bio on their site, if you can't take The Heat, get your ass out the kitchen. We on a mission.

It's true! The hyper spastic (yet glorious) mess that was their first album has been refined to something rather funky. On "Types of Wood" the basslines are slippery, the drums are tight, the Moog is funky. Okay, so maybe this is funk music. I didn't want to say that, but it fits. No, it really isn't funk, but the elements are there. Better yet, think of earlier Beck. Not the folk stuff, but the funky stuff. In fact, The Heat toured with Beck just before releasing this album. Quite appropriate. Click here to check out the first single, "Reagan."

And, they're on tour soon with Be Your Own Pet:

05/20-Neighborhood Festival w/ Moving Units-Long Beach, CA
06/01-Southgate House-Newport, KY
06/02-Subterranean-Chicago, IL
06/03-Beechland Ballroom-Cleveland, OH
06/04-Little Brother's-Columbus, OH
06/06-Magic Stick-Detroit, MI
06/09-Pioneer Arts Center-Easthampton, MA
06/10-Maxwell's-Hoboken, NJ
06/12-Knitting Factory-New York, NY
06/21-Walter's-Houston
06/22-Emo's-Austin
06/24-The Brick House-Phoenix, AZ
06/25-The Glass House-Pomona, CA
06/27-Troubadour-Los Angeles
06/28-Bottom Of The Hill-San Francisco
06/30-El Corazon-Seattle, WA

Maximum Rock & Soul

2006-05-10T12:32:00.000-04:00

It's on! I have a pair of tickets to see the Bellrays at Small's in Detroit on June 21st, as well as some posters (see previous post) to give away. All you have to do is post a comment with your name and email address. Also let me know if you want your email address added to the addVice emai list. Thanks. If you're hesitant about posting your email address, then just email it to me (address to the right).

Detroit Breakdown

2006-05-08T16:58:00.000-04:00

Okay, first, scroll down and read my review of the new Bellrays album. If you've already done that, read on.

If you're in the Detroit area, you can win tickets to see the Bellrays at Small's on May 21st as well as some nicely done posters. I guess you don't have to be in the Detroit area to win, but I can't imagine someone from Wyoming wanting to drive to Detroit to see a show. I guess. I don't know. Anyhoo, to enter the contest, leave a comment with your name and email address. Also note whether or not you want to be added to the addVice email list.

Here are some of the posters:

NOTE: there is some confusion over whether or not the Bellrays will be playing Detroit on this tour, so while we wait to see what's happening with that, the contest is just for the posters.

Universally Acknowledged

2006-05-08T16:56:00.000-04:00

So...there's a new little music player application over there on the right. Note that you'll need to adjust your volume before you hit play or click on any of the songs, because it's kind of loud. The music will change from time to time.

All Sparks

2006-05-05T15:28:00.000-04:00

I meant to review this album weeks ago, and for some reason I'm just now getting around to it. The Editors happen to be one of those bands I was referring to below.

When Interpol's first album came out everyone kept saying "you have to hear it, they sound just like Joy Division!" Being the Joy Division fanatic that I am, this made me not want to hear it. But then their second album came out, and I bought it without even hearing it and of course I love it and went and got the first one too, blah, blah, blah. They play minor chords and the singer sounds like he learned to sing by listening to Ian Curtis. In my mind, the comparisons end there. Curtis idolized David Bowie, and tried to sound like him. In turn, Interpol takes it in the logical direction and try to sound like Curtis. I get it. They do it well, too.

The Editors' first album "The Back Room" came out to a flurry of critical praise and a massive hype machine worthy of Bloc Party. Yes, it is that good. But you know what? The Editors are a British Interpol with different production values. Maybe you can throw a little Kitchens of Distinction in there just to make you feel better. Christ, sitting here listening to the record, I'm realizing that KofD are the real reference here...wow. It's like an epiphany. They're like a darker Kitchens of Distinction.

Recommended if you like the Interpol kinda thing.

Click here to check out some tracks from them. I particularly recommend the first single "Munich," the Stereolab cover "French Disko," and "Fingers In the Factories," but you'll have to get the album to hear that last one.

(Check out this album cover...have you ever seen the video for Joy Division's "Love Will Tear Us Apart?" The scene on this cover looks like it could be the same setting as that video...)

Fingers In the Factories

2006-05-05T15:27:00.000-04:00

Is it just me, or does it seem like every new hype band recently can be traced back to Joy Division, Gang of Four, or Nation of Ulysses?

I Love Baby

2006-05-05T11:07:00.000-04:00

About ten years ago, I was watching TV on a Saturday afternoon, and I came across the movie "What's Love Got To Do With It," the story of Ike and Tina Turner. I had heard about him abusing her and that they were married and all that. But I didn't really know the story. I also didn't know that Ike's "Rocket 88" is considered to be the first rock n' roll song ever. I guess I didn't realize because the song was credited to Jackie Brenston and His Delta Cats, but the band never existed. Jackie Brenston was the sax player in Ike Turner's (early band) The Kings of Rhythm and sang the vocal on the ode to the Oldsmobile 88. The song was recorded in a time when the singer was the most visible 'leader' of a band, so it would be easier to sell the record by naming the band after the singer.

Anyway, I didn't know how closely connected R&B and rock and roll were. I had heard Andre Williams and Gino Washington and all that (early Detroit soul/R&B acts), but I never heard the seriously rocking stuff until I saw this movie.

So that got me on an Ike & Tina kick, but sometimes, you heard the acidic Jimi Hendrix influenced guitar and her voice, and you WANT it to bust out, but it doesn't. The problem isn't a lack of power, because they sure as hell had it. And the problem wasn't a conscious downplaying of their sound. They weren't holding back. I think the issue I have with it is the sound could've been so much bigger. Maybe it was the times they were living in, I don't know.

I found what I couldn't get out of Ike & Tina. One night at the Magic Stick in Detroit in 1998, this band from Southern California was playing. My trusted music professor Tim Lampinen (aka Tim Vulgar) was freaking out that the Bellrays were playing and his band The Clone Defects were opening. I knew nothing of the Bellrays, but trusting Tim, I checked them out.

HO-LY CRAP! They describe their sound as 'maximum rock and soul', and I think that's quite perfect. Seriously, imagine if Ike & Tina had supported the Stooges on tour of America instead of the Rolling Stones in 1969. That's no joke. You read that right. The fucking Stooges in a mashup with Ike & Tina.

And that's just me being simple for the sake of brevity. I really should bring in all the things I hear like Stax/Volt soul, the MC5, the Ramones, Motown, Fortune Records, and the Detroit punk of the early '70s.

It's easy to look at the band and assume that it's exactly the sum of it's parts: three white guys and a leggy black woman up front singing. Does that mean that she sings soul while they play punk rock? No, not quite, these three white guys have some serious, serious soul. They know what they're doing.

Their new album "Have A Little Faith" just came out recently on Cheap Lullaby Records. Click here to check out their site. Right from the first track "Tell the Lie," they have me hooked. I'm in and I won't let go til it's all done. If you go to their site, there's a music player down on the bottom right. You can listen to the whole album right there. Or, you can click the pick below and that'll take you to their site as well.

Garage D'Or

2006-05-03T13:13:00.000-04:00

I have acquired a ridiculous amount of music lately. As usual, I go through phases where I may get something new and listen to it and obsess over it for a week straight. Or I might come back to something older that I had forgotten about.

Two weekends ago, Beth and I were talking and I said something about ice cream, doo-doo-duh-doo doo-doo. The song "Ice Cream Everyday" from Camper Van Beethoven was in my head. All I ever owned from them was a rarities comp called 'Camper Vantiquities'. And she knew the song!

So I went to work the next day, got on Amazon and ordered up a new copy of the CD because I had no idea where mine was and I really wanted to hear it and didn't expect to find it in any local stores considering it was (originally) released in the late '90s. The version I found was a more recent reissue that had some demos tacked onto it.

Everyone knows "Take the Skinheads Bowling." Yeah, it's a fun song, and maybe it's novelty to some, but altogether since 1985, the band has released eight full length albums, three compilations, two live albums, a five disc box set, and numerous EPs and singles. Not to mention the post-Camper acts like Monks of Doom, Magnetic Fireworks, and the most successful and well known spinoff Cracker.

The rarities disc "Camper Vantiquities" is actually a really good deal. You don't get "Take the Skinheads Bowling," but I'm so fucking sick of that song, I think I'll get over it. Instead, you get a good twenty track overview of their career. You get the faux Balkan folk music with string instruments, the cheesy keyboard pop songs, the alt-country roots music, and some cover songs.

Right from the start, "Heart" is a fun pop song reminiscent of ska, "Never Go Back" follows in a similar vein. Then "Seven Languages" gives us ska guitar, cheesy keyboards, AND goofy pop all in one song! "Axe Murderer Song," "SP37597," "Guardian Angels," "A.C. Cover," "Silent Monster," "(We Workers Do Not Undertand) Modern Art," "We Eat Your Children," and "Processional" are all instrumentals that run the the gambit with the many sounds of Camper Van Beethoven. "I'm Not Like Everyone Else" is a cover of The Chocolate Watchband's cover of The Kinks' original. "A.C. Cover" is titled that because an audience member once harassed the band about the faux ethnic instrumental claiming that it was actually an Alex Chilton song, which it is not. But, my favorite cover on the CD is "Photograph," the only good song I've ever heard from Ringo Starr. Then there's "Ice Cream Everyday" which is my favorite song period on this CD. Some of the best cheesy keyboards I've ever heard!

Completely recommended. The liner notes for each song are also an excellent view into the band. SpinArt's re-release has some demo tracks added, and those have no notes in the same format as the original track listing.

Since I'm such a big fan of Dave Lowery's voice, I figured it would be a good idea to pick up something from Cracker as well. Back in 2000, Virgin put out a 16 track best-of from the band that came with a bonus live disc. Then just a week ago, seemingly for no obvious reason, they decided to release ANOTHER best-of from the band. This is the thing, the band is no longer on that label. So, Cracker's fuck you to the man was to go back and re-record their greatest hits, and release it themselves on the same day as this latest comp from Virgin. I opted for the 2000 release which is titled "Garage D'Or" (Garage Gold for the non-francophone inclined).

I'm quite happy with it. I got exactly what I wanted and then some. The only songs I ever heard from Cracker (when I actually paid attention) were from the first two albums: "Cracker" and "Kerosene Hat." This comp spans their whole career. The latter half isn't so good, but I can deal with that. Maybe it'll grow on me, I don't know.

All those hits that are too familiar to everyone who came of age in the late '80s are included. You know, "Teen Angst," "Low," "Get Off This," "Sweet Potato," etc. Then there's something I've never heard...a cover of "Shake Some Action" from the Flamin' Groovies. This took me by surprise. The liner notes don't really say who is singing, but it's not Dave Lowery. It's a good cover, but the vocals sound strained like whoever's singing it wasn't having a good day. I still haven't checked out the live disc yet, but from the reviews I've already seen, it sounds like it's nothing special.

I recommend it if you're looking for a good overview of Cracker's career, but if you're a hardcore fan, you may appreciate the greatest hits re-recorded, "Greatest Hits Redux."

Listening to this stuff is weird for me. I thought it would sound dated, like a throwback to me. Maybe it doesn't because I don't have any important memories to it beyond sitting behind the counter at the record store I worked at in high school. The really big hits from Cracker do sound a little dated, but that's only because radio played the shit out of those tracks. So those sounds come to define a time period, but only slightly. The Camper stuff is different. I've always liked it and it highlights something for me.

In 1989, I was lucky enough to be living in a college town where the college had a really good radio station. College rock was always as vague a term as alternative rock, both don't define a genre. Using the terms to define a genre is something of a paradox. Both words merely meant music that was rock in some way that wasn't being noticed or played by mainstream radio. An alternative. That's all.

Yeah, I know this debate/discussion has been going on since 1990. I'm aware. I've lived it. My point is that when I was still young and impressionable, I had the opportunity to get into all these acts that were still fresh and reaching their peaks, releasing genre-definining, generation-defining, and revolutionary music. Example: between 1987 and 1991, New Order, Ministry, Stone Roses, Meat Beat Manifesto, Sonic Youth, Nirvana, Primus, Depeche Mode, U2, Dinosaur Jr., The Smiths, REM, the Replacements, The Cure, The Pixies, My Bloody Valentine, Morrissey, Jane's Addiction, the Sugarcubes, Peter Murphy, the Pet Shop Boys, Lou Reed, Nine Inch Nails, XTC, Public Enemy, Cocteau Twins, The La's, Happy Mondays, Ride, Social Distortion, They Might Be Giants, The Breeders, Iggy Pop, The Fall, Dee-lite, Slint, Massive Attack, Primal Scream, A Tribe Called Quest, The Orb, Throwing Muses, Overkill, Bad Religion, Mudhoney, Black Sheep, Cypress Hill, Sepultura, Ice Cube, Smashing Pumpkins, Fugazi, and Corrosion of Conformity.

Now, read over that list a few times. Think about how much of that music was truly different. A whole lot of it was. The Orb defined modern ambient music, Nine Inch Nails and Ministry reinvigorated industrial into dance-metal, A Tribe Called Quest showed us that hip hop could be positive and make you think at the same time while Ice Cube helped define gangsta rap. The Smiths, REM, and the Cure were almost single-handedly responsible for bringing sad bastard music out of the downbeat tone of Nick Drake to something danceable. Sepultura and COC changed metal forever. Cypress Hill made hip hop safe for stoner white kids. Fugazi brought the skeery politics of hardcore punk to a less confrontational audience. Mudhoney's trashy grunge was infinitely more interesting than Soundgarden and Pearl Jam. The Replacements made Big Star palatable for the punk kids.

I could go on and on and on, I guess I don't really have a point, I'm just happy that I was there to experience it firsthand. Like Cracker and more importantly Camper Van Beethoven, there will always be 14-year olds freaking out over this stuff the first time they heard it. It's not like I feel like I 'win' because my generation was the first hearing it...it was a really exciting time and without knowing the history of music, I could still tell that there were a lot of important things going on in music at that point.