Mudhoney Short Review

Photo credit: My shitty camera phone.

This past Friday at the Independent, Mudhoney came to town and flat out killed it. Wooden Shjips were also on the bill. I wasn't planning on a review but Mudhoney rocked me hard enough to feel compelled to brag about their sheer balls-awesomeness. However, due to transportation (and other personal deliberations) I missed most of their set along with the opener (can't recall name and too lazy to troll for my ticket stub). The Shjips continue to lock into that molten- spacey psychedelic groove with laser-like precision. I love seeing this band play and was kinda pissed I wasn't able see their full set. My state of mind was perfectly in tuned with the thick repetitive slabs of bass and eerie keys emanating from the stage.
Afterward, Mudhoney took the stage around 11, Most of their set focused on material off the new record, The Lucky Ones, one of the best records released this year, do yourself a favor and grab it here if you don't already own it. They played all hits e.g. "Touch Me I'm Sick", "Let It Slide", "In ‘n’ Out of Grace", Sweet Young Thing Ain’t Sweet No More, etc. The band drenched me in a washing machine of pure noise. My favorite part of the evening had to be when the band broke into "Hate the Police" and the whole place when crazy. Everyone in the front was jumping up and down and singing at the top of their lungs, including myself. Finally ending the evening with an awesome cover of the Flag's "Fix Me". Man oh man, what a great night. Mudhoney laid it down hard.

Setlist
01. The Money Will Roll Right In
02. I'm Now
03. The Lucky Ones
04. Next Time
05. You Got It (Keep It Outta My Face)
06. Suck You Dry
07. Inside Job
08. Blinding Sun
09. Sweet Young Thing Ain't Sweet No More
10. Good Enough
11. No One Has
12. Touch Me I'm Sick
13. F.D.K. (Fearless Doctor Killers)
14. This Gift
15. Hard On For War
16. When Tomorrow Hits
17. In 'N' Out Of Grace
18. Hate The Police
Encore
19. The Open Mind
20. Street Waves
21. Tales Of Terror
22. Fix Me

Night Marcher @ Bottom of the Hill 9.4.08

The three pronged guitar attack of rockNroll.
Gar
Speedo, himself.
Here are some photos I shot at the Marchers show last Thursday at Bottom of the Hill. This was seriously one of the best shows I've ever attended. I was planning on a full scale review but I couldn't break away from the spell the Night Marchers cast on every single person that night. SF may have thought they were equipped to handle the sheer fury of the Swami Sound System's high fusion of rockNroll, but they weren't. They threw down even harder, faster and louder than last April. Shit was killtacular. I almost decided to forsake the evening's festivities in order to fine tune a paper that was due the next morning. I am so glad I paused my responsibilities and went. I will never question the sheer force that Reis and company are capable of delivering on any given basis. My Standouts of the evening were "Closed For Inventory" and "Jump In the Fire". The thumb nail clap never got going during "You Got Nerve" this time. Regardless of a few dedicated trying to kick start the finger percussion band wagon. The one-two closing punch of "Scene Report" and "Fisting the Fan Base" summed up the evening perfectly, a rhythmic freight train equal parts Kitsos and Kourkonis pounding away as Speedo and Gar traded riff after heavy riff. As soon as they made a quick descent to stage right. The sea of fans grew angry at the abrupt conclusion of the evening and began shouting for more. The shouts rang louder and louder until the band came out and delivered a final encore knife into the crowd to satisfy their rockNroll blood lust. My only regrets were not bringing enough cash to score the new tour 7'' they're sporting on this new tour or the new Froberg designed t-shirt, it's got a sweet bubble graphic. Aside from those minor hiccups the night was truly memorable and I can't wait to see them again.

Words of Wisdom

"Sometimes it's like what we're doing is like this funky, weird little dream thing. And that's the kind of stuff, if you let it get to you, it'll really get you down. That's where "Unsatisfied" came from. You just don't know what you're doing, or why you're doing it. You're not really working a job for your life, you're just sort of going around entertaining people; entertaining strangers. I feel like I'm doing something that's something fun and sometimes powerful, but never really real. Not thinking about that stuff is the key." Paul Westerberg

Over Due Duke Spirit Review

Photo credit Me.

Nothing ever really came out of this going up some place else so I figured better late then never. It’s been nearly four months since I witnessed The Duke Spirit rip it up on an uneven SXSW warm up bill back in March at the Rickshaw Stop. They completely owned it that night, as evident by the Spirit cleaning out the entire audience of the Rickshaw at the conclusion of their set leaving the headliners to play to a scattered tribe of arguably friends and girlfriends. My expectations were pretty high for the July 23rd show at Bottom of the Hill. After a mindlessly uneventful Bart and bus ride I arrive at the venue around nine under the falsified guise that my deliberate tardiness would yield no visual or audio investment in the opener. This plan crashed down upon me as I found myself stuck in the trajectory of a lackluster opener. I circumvent my way through the ten or so people who punctually arrived to the show (of which I am now an official member) and take solitude at the bar satiating my throat with several pints of PBR and slipping into a coma of disinterest.
The opener, Scene Of Action, locally of the East Bay, didn’t register on my rock radar in any way, whatsoever. The motion of my drinking arm captivated my attention more than the audio dreck permeating from the stage. The only thing I remember about them was their drummer bore an uncanny resemblance to the singer from those god-awfully insipid Freecreditreport.com commercials but with an under nourished mustache.
The next band, Aarrows, also of the bay area, was more palatable than the opener but that’s not saying a whole lot. Although, most of their songs sounded like one long drawn out rhythmically angular jam, it was still a major upgrade from the previous band. Around this time frame the bar traffic began to slow to a gridlocked pace. I grabbed a few more pints before firmly planting my roots in front of the left side of the stage for the remainder of the evening.
At eleven o’clock The Duke Spirit wrestled the stage away from mediocrity and showed everyone at Bottom of the Hill what a proper show should sound like. Their stage setup was far more suffocating than at the Rickshaw. The band formed a crescent moon of sorts with Drummer Olly Betts and Keyboardist Travis Shettel anchoring the back line. Guitarist Daniel Higgins and his gear completely eclipsed Shettel and keyboard. Vocalist Liela Moss stood front and center while Bassist Toby Butler and Guitarist Luke Ford flanked the other side of the stage.
The band opened their set by charging through strong versions of “Love Token” and “Lasso” before Liela announced to the enthusiastic crowd that she was experiencing throat difficulties leading up to the show and at one point the band considered canceling the gig if her symptoms worsened, luckily for us they soldiered through it. The band followed up this startling announcement with an especially haunting rendition of “Dog Roses”, in which Liela’s sultry vocals swooned on a cloud of propulsive clatter emanating from the rest of the band before tearing the song wide open with a searing harmonica solo that hit me with the force of a lightning bolt. Seriously, though, “Dog Roses” live packs so much more punch than its studio counterpart. It was a standout at the Rickshaw and definitely a highlight of the evening.
“My Sunken Treasure” ensued before a dynamic performance of “The Step and Walk”. Another highlight of the evening, the song lurched seductively upon the talents of Butler’s fuzzed out bass and Bett’s tight drumming, which built up more steam and power as the song progressed. Ford and Higgins’ distorted guitars blaring wildly as Shettel’s eerie key flourishes slithered along the undercurrent of Moss’s fierce tambourine motions and sintilating “Oooh’s.” The song reaching maximum hip shaking velocity each time Liela belted out the chorus “With out joy joy joy and the rain I might feel the same”. That song is so fucking cool.
“Neptune’s Call”, the first of a two song encore medley, saw the band flexing all its sonic muscle. As soon Liela crooned the lines, “Neptune is my king again, his song in the sea” the rest of the band exploded into a blitzkrieg of pounding rhythms, driving guitars and banshee vocals sending me into a spasmodic vortex of sweat, beer residue and a mess of hair.
The rest of their set drew heavily from Neptune along with a handful of songs off Cuts Across the Land, including a blistering performance of “Love is Unfamiliar Name”. I really couldn’t tell that Liela was having throat problems because the band played exceeding well, although, stage banter was kept to a minimum taking time out periodically to thank the receptive crowd and the band. The Duke Spirit put on a very solid performance and it was certainly a thrill to see them again in such a short time frame.

Duke Spirit Setlist:
1. Send A Little Love Token
2. Lasso
3. Dog Roses
4. My Sunken Treasure
5. The Step and the Walk
6. Sovereign
7. Hello to the Floor
8. This Ship was Build to Last
9. You Really Wake the Love in Me
10. Red Water
11. Love is an Unfamiliar Name
Encore
12. Neptune’s Call
13. Cuts Across the Land

MLS, Primal Scream and Saturday Musings

Photo courtesy of Squirrel Records (UK Album Version)

It's another beautiful overcast morning here in San Francisco. I finally got my copy of The Manhattan Love Suicides compilation Burnt Out Landscapes yesterday and wanted to brag about how great it is. No big surprise that this is one of my favorite bands at the moment. I wrote more about them here . It came out last month via Squirrel Records in the UK and is scheduled for a domestic release in August via Magic Maker Records. The compilation contains 27 tracks of fuzzy noise pop bliss. Burnt Out Landscapes collects all the tracks from their three limited 7'' singles on Magic Maker Records, Lost Music Records and Squirrel Records, the three tracks from the out of print Cloudberry 3'' cd single. A WOXY radio session from last year's SXSW, four new tracks and a few miscellaneous songs bookend the rest of the disc. I've been listening to it nonstop for the past day and a half. It has done a proficient job at drawing my attention away from the Dime boards as I wait frantically for any scraps of The Fluid reunion shows in Seattle last weekend.
Here's two of my favorite songs from the compilation. Buy it here

Never Far From You

Heart and Panic

As mentioned below, SP20 went on and I was taking whatever morsels of information I could from The Seattle Times, who blogged during both days. For the most part I enjoyed the coverage. However, I was gravely disappointed that the journalists covering the event didn't mention any of the Fluid's (Saturday) set nor Green River's (Sunday). A paragraph briefly mentioned Mudhoney's set (Saturday). One journalist couldn't stop gushing about their professed love for Wolf Parade and their excitement over WP closing out the festivities, and this apparent love dwarfed more important coverage of the festival. Luckily, I scored Green River's set and it takes as many causalities as their show on the 10th, they're flat out killing it.

Onto some other good news a new Primal Scream album is on the way. The bad news is there is no set US release date, like most other Primal Scream albums, the US is neglected off the bat. I am hoping they'll be touring the US, although it's probably highly unlikely. Beautiful Future's gonna drop on July 21st. Here's the video for Can't Go Back. The video definitely reminds me of Vanishing Point/Xtrmntr era Primal Scream. Definitely a move away from the left turn on the more bluesy, Rolling Stones-sounding Riot City Blues, which according to most was a steamer. I am probably one of the five people that actually enjoyed it. I thought there were a couple of solid cuts hiding amongst the filler.

The Duke Spirit are playing Wednesday at Bottom Of the Hill I will be checking that out. A full review will follow that may be appearing else on the web. Stay Tuned for that one.
This is me leaving.

SP20

Green River. Photo courtesy of Kris Sproul.

Oh summer laziness, it's crawling on its last legs. A Banal part time job has bred not only a lack of money but also a lack of creativity. Sitting here watching "Amazing Journey," The story of the Who on VH1 Classic [side note: the doc is edited for tv and I am finding illogical closure with all these lame commericals] while I wait for the housing complex dryer to not heat my clothes correctly. I, wasting space assumed I would attempt some sort of update or rather just complain about how I wasn't lucky enough to go to SP20 in Seattle this weekend. For the uncooth, SP20 is the 20th anniversary celebration of Sup Pop Records, a long list of cool bands playing: Mudhoney, Green River, The FLuid, Pissed Jeans, etc. A history lesson of Subpop can be found here Subpop Wiki . I think I may have found the seemingly best alternatives presented to me at the present junction: Trolling Dime for torrents and constantly refreshing this blog The Seattle Times for band recaps. The torrents have already yielded a killtacular bootleg of Green River from the surprise warm show on the 10th at the Sunset Tavern along with the Fluid. I am crossing my fingers hard that both of the Fluid's sets will go up at some point. The taper of the Green River show hinted at it. This is me somewhat gushing about the Fluid here Old Post . They're playing later tonight at the festival. Now I am spent.

Will this actually happen?

The uncontrolled escalation in gasoline prices got me thinking if this concept would ever actually occur.

Night Marchers Mini Recap

This summary is not available. Please click here to view the post.

Nightmarchers

I am on my way out to see the new John Reis' band The Night Marchers at Bottom of the Hill @ 8:30. Sadly in the past I've missed all opportunities to witness any of his previous great bands play live. From all the reports I've received he's got quite a reputation for delivering the rock to the masses. I am pretty stoked on this and hoping his high voltage brand of rock n roll will melt away the nagging sinus problems I've endured these past few days. Anybody who is not hip to the great music Reis and company needs to check out this previous post from last year http://nonlinearenjoyment.blogspot.com/2007/11/hot-snakes.html. Granted, I am more a Hot Snakes fan than his other projects, however, I am really loving "See You In Magic", the Marcher's debut released last Tuesday via Vagrant/Swami. Sonically just imagine Hot Snakes but Reis singing instead of Rick (Gar on bass & Jason is back on drums). Plenty of Downstroke mania (Yonkers, Wipers, HS, etc). The band branches into other musical territory with a few mellower songs that work very well including "You've Got Nerve" and "Panther In Crime" that never would've showed up on any HS imprint. Nevertheless, my favorite tracks are the full bulldozers... I mean killdozer tracks including the opener "Closed For Inventory", "In Dead Sleep(I Snore Zzzz)", "Jump In the Fire" and "Bad Blood". Basically, the whole album slays, which usually happens with any music project attached with Reis.
Here is
In Dead Sleep(I Snore Zzzz)
more information on The Night Marchers can be found here at The Night Marchers Myspace page


photo taken from photolink

Also the first four Replacements albums were reissued with extras and remastered on the very same Tuesday as "See You In Magic".
Heres my favorite outtake from "Let It Be" which I have on a Bside comp somewhere.
Temptation Eyes

Human Giant

Life and all of its crazy interruptions has prevented me from properly updating in a while. So here's a half ass update in a sense. Human Giant is arguably one of my favorite shows on tv and the Internet. It completely blows SNL out of the water in terms of both funny and strange, although nowadays that's not very difficult to accomplish. Season 2 of Human Giant is underway. Tuesday Nights @ 11 on MTV. I highly recommend picking up season 1 on dvd.

Assorted Clips from the show

From Season 2








From Season 1




From FunnyOrDie.com


Human Giant Youtube Page

JAMC 3.12.2008 Roundhouse Gig

photo courtesy of pnemeth http://www.flickr.com/photos/pnemeth/
Also a huge thanks to Chalkfarmer for recording this and sharing it with everyone. I am honoring his request to leave the files in flac format, also thanks to Lazy_ontologist for taking the trouble to split the files and upload them on sendspace.

Show info:
The Jesus & Mary Chain
Roundhouse, London, UK
12th March 2008

01. Taste of Cindy
02. The hardest walk
03. Head on
04. Far gone and out
05. Sidewalking
06. Snakedriver
07. Dead end kids
08. Happy when it rains
09. Some Candy talking
10. Between planets
11. Cracking up
12. Blues from a gun
13. All things must pass
14. Cherry came too
15. Just like honey
16. Sometimes always
17. Vegetable man
18. Darklands
19. Nine million rainy days
20. Reverence

81mins

Taped & transfered by Chalkfarmer
http://wwww.freewebs.com/chalkfarmer

SP-CMC-1 > RS-PS1 > R-09 (16bit/44Khz) > USB > PC >
GOLDWAVE (track splits & fades) > TLH - FLAC (level 6)

http://www.sendspace.com/file/lxyuno
http://www.sendspace.com/file/mn3lld

Duke Spirit Pics and mini recap

Opening act, Hot Tub, A trio of rapping females from Oakland. My initial and later overall reaction revolved around meh to very disinterested. I am as they say " not down w/ the hiphop." However, they did set the template for a rather abrasively crunchy beat that propelled the patrons around me to attack the dance the floor like angry sturgeons, or maybe it was just those two dudes grinding on each other that
reminded me of an underwater sword fight. I digress, the evening got progressively better when the next band, TIG TIGS took the stage.

I dont know if it was the copious amounts of Speak Easy Stout that coursed through my veins or that TIG TIG was just flat out killing it, but I was totally into their set. At a mellower moment during their set I ended up in the middle of a Swaying session with one of the ladies from Hot Tub, somewhat random. During a song in the later part of their set, TIG TIG threw down a most excellent propulsive beat and a meaty angular guitar lick that reminded me of that Stix song from Happy Gilmore (played over the drunken montage where Sandler falls off the rails after being accused of cheating through grade school). There's another current rock song that apes this song's kool-aide riff too, but I don't know the name of it just that it never fails to play on the radio of my friend's car on the way to hockey games in the east bay.

Finally, the moment Id been waiting for. The Duke Spirit ascended to the stage, equal parts swagger, and chops. Simply stated they went off for a packed bay area continent.

Showcasing material mostly from Neptune, they rattled it off with ruthless efficiency. Notable memories during a break between songs, I sheepishly asked for "Message to a Pretty" to which Ms. Lelia Moss responded, "We're not that clever." Their renditions of "Dog Roses", "The Step & the Walk" and "Love Is An Unfamiliar Name" were the high points of the set list for me.



The packed crowd quickly dispersed after the Duke Spirit exited the stage leaving the headliners, I don't remember their name something with a Poly and Bee, to play to a crowd of maybe 15 or 20 plus or minus a few extra heads. I don't really know, I left midway through their first song to catch Bart.

Full Set List:
I Do Believe(Intro)
Send A Little Love Token
Lassoo
Dog Roses
Sovereign
The Step & Walk
My Sunken Treasure
This Ship Was Built to Last
Red Weather
Love is An Unfamiliar Name

Duke Spirit live on KCRW

In celebration or rather to merely boast about going to see the Duke Spirit melt my face off with their high voltage brand of rock n roll tonight @ the Rickshaw Stop off 155 Fell St. and Van Ness at 8pm. I will most likely be geeking out front and center yelling "Message to A Pretty". I am sharing this great set I found from their session @ the KCRW studio on March 4th 2008. Showcasing material off their excellent sophomore album, Neptune. Which is easily one of my favorite releases of 2008. It's still not available here in the states but can be ordered here as an import http://www.puregroove.co.uk/search.asp?FromForm=1&Search=duke%20spirit&CategoryID=1&Quantity=0&Record=15595#1
I recommend purchasing it from puregroove because you get a mixtape selected by the band along with a dvd of their in store performance, as well.
I left the show up in flac format as per the show taper's request, you'll need flac to play it or to decode to wav to make a cd of it.

Show link http://www.sendspace.com/file/rwxjn9



Info from show's Tapper, Nibbler. Many thanks for his hard work for sharing this show:
"THE DUKE SPIRIT - LIVE ON KCRW 2008
AIRED TUESDAY, MARCH 4, 2008
KCRW Radio FM Broadcast
Santa Monica, California.
Source: FM Broadcast
Live In Studio Session @ Time Of Broadcast
STEREO CAPTURE

**** NOT FOR SALE **** PLEASE DO NOT DISTRIBUTE THESE FILES IN LOSSY FORMATS ****

Lineage: FM> Harman Kardon AVR30 > Analog Out > Sony RCD-W500C >
Audio CDR.WAV > Pioneer DVR-RW DVD-108 > EAC > CD WAVE(Tracking-Flac.8)->

Air guitarists get ready to rock when The Duke Spirit return with songs from their upcoming release, Neptune, on Morning Becomes Eclectic

01.(=Intro=)
02.Send A Little Love Token
03.Dog Roses
04.The Step And The Walk
05.(=Interview With Nic=)
06.My Sunken Treasure
07.Sovereign
08.Lassoo
09.Cuts Across The Land
10.(=Outro=)

The Band:

Liela Moss - Vox, Harmonica
Luke B. Ford - Guitar
Dan Higgins - Guitar, Autoharp
Toby Butler - Bass
Ollie "The Kid" Betts - Drums
Travis Shettel - Piano

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Duke_Spirit

Enjoy,
Nibbler

Setlist And Info Copied From KCRW's Website

Their often incorrect - Please direct all hate mail, insults & or praise @

http://www.kcrw.com/music/programs/mb


Stream/Audition This Show @

http://www.kcrw.com/music/programs/mb/mb080304the_duke_spirit

Remember, Streams Can Sound Very Lossy."

Enjoy.

Elixir Recap

A short recap of the fund raiser that took place @ Elixir Wednesday Evening:
There's no exact science to Long Island's, just copious amounts of the wrong synergy of alcohol, insofar as everything that should not belong in a single glass gets placed in a single glass guaranteed to supply the drinker with a headache the following morning or at least that was my attempted goal as I prepared them for unassuming patrons. The Discovery of Fernet and Ginger displaced any sort of bar/drink knowledge I thought I possessed. I rocked out to a joyous melody of the Mats, GNR, Maiden, the Cure, New Order, Motorhead, Oasis, etc. The bar was packed full of CSB/ the beca department's finest and I got to enjoy my favorite Porter, Speakeasy's Hunter's Point [or as I like to call it the "eyes" while motioning with two displaced fingers to my eyes ] until the keg gave out and the last remnants gave me a malty facial. Overall it was great night.

Raveonettes & Drug Rug

I've been listening alot to this over the past few weeks. I would have to say its probably my favorite album in the infantry of 2008. It makes my ears melt with delight with each successive listen. I've never really been into the Raveonettes, but I know good people who swear by them and I probably should have checked them out sooner. Their koolaid sounds very MaryChainy but not in a total aping way. In fact, one of my pals, Dave C. wrote a great review/interview with them back in 2007,
that can be found here
http://www.somasomascene.com/ravers_oct07.html

They're playing at the Independent on Wednesday, March 5th, however, I will be unable to make it because I will be lending my bartending skills to Elixir in the Mission for charity ([16th Mission and Guerrero]. my directions: right off the 16th Mission Bart stop, 2 blocks up and hook a right. 511.org this shit if I give crappy directions). I will attempt to hold the jukebox hostage all night with a melody of GNR, Oasis, the Cure, Maiden, and Wu-tang.
On a completely unrelated note, The Duke Spirit are playing at the Rickshaw Stop. Located at 155 Fell St & Van Ness on March 10th and I will checking that out. Their 2nd album, Neptune has also been receiving alot air time on my stereo and is equally awesome.
Below are a couple of my favorite tracks off the S/T Drug Rug album. The Boston, MA natives opened up for Autolux at the Independent back in January and won me over with their infectious, country laced pop tuneage. Once I regained the services of my ears(reader's note: my auditory canals were severely devastated by Autolux's dissonant wall of uncompromising noise) I was able to properly enjoy this album, although live they were much better I do hope they end up moving to SF, which they mentioned in between songs, because I would love to see them preform on a regular basis.

Here's my favorite song off the Lust Lust Lust album:

Black Stain
http://www.mediafire.com/?vun223ddmij

Drug Rug Tracks:

Winter Time
http://www.mediafire.com/?yhjmcn53vm0

Walden
http://www.mediafire.com/?dmjhjtw9qyv

Pillow FIght!

The rules of Pillow Fight are as follows:

1) Tell everyone you know about Pillow Fight!

2) Tell EVERYONE YOU KNOW about Pillow Fight!!!

3) Nothing in your pillow but pillow.

4) Don’t hit anyone without a pillow.

5) Don’t hit anyone operating a camera.

Witnessing a sea of people at the stoke of 6pm dislodge their pillows and go full force at each other was quite a spectacle.

Howlin' Rain & Black Mountain Pics @ the Independent 2.04.08

Black Mountain


Howlin' Rain

More to follow.

Black Mountain's Setlist

Superbowl is Superlame

What a let down for Superbowl commericals. I can honestly say there wasn't a commerical that stood out in my mind this year. Although I exacerbated the situation instead by directing more focus to shoveling food and beer down my throat than actually watching the game. I later passed out on the carpet from sensory overload midway through the game, I think. The events blurred together in a haze of nachos and selected import beers. On the plus side I did happen to walk away with $10 from my friend's Superbowl pool, which was surprising due to my incredible lack of football knowledge. Here is my favorite commerical from 2007. I totally want this guy to play my party. I bet he goes off.

Pics from Drug Rug/Wooden Shjips/Autolux @ Independent 1.31.08

Autolux


Wooden Shjips




Drug Rug

Brief show recap: Autolux was deafeningly loud and fucking cool, no banter just layers of noise and feedback,they threw their instruments down and walked off when they were through. no thanks. I haven't seen them since 2005 and I recall them putting on a good set but this time around they completely blew my ears away, I was not prepared. Drug Rug was also very good too. I usually hate opening bands but I was pleasantly surprised by their upbeat, poppy, country stomp. Wooden Shjips were good, as usual. I am working on a full review that will go up on soma soon.

Wooden Sjips/Autolux

This isn't so much a post as much as me bragging about going to see Wooden Shjips and Autolux at the Independent in a mere hours. More to follow.

Quick Update

After preforming some extensive research (ie wikipedia) I learned that the Whistle tips video below in over five years old. I've also found several remixes of said video which are equally as entertaining. The focal point of this update is to tell everyone I found this great site http://themightybooshonline.com/ that has the Mighty Boosh episodes available to watch. This is quite excellent news for those of us (like myself) who live in the US and do not get BBC3 on their cable provider nor have a dvd player that reads all sectors (the series dvds are formatted for non US dvd players). For those who don't follow the Boosh, its the show that the Old Gregg video was captured from in another post below, recommended viewing. I am going to add it to the links in the corner. Other important news worth mentioning is Wooden Shjips and Autolux are playing this Thursday @ the Independent. Tix are $16 and doors open at 7:30 show starts at 8pm.

Random Bay Area

Yeah, So my friends up in Nor Cal enlightened me to this. Its from the bay, buts its so bad its good. Tahoe is alright, my shins are bleeding from doing laps in the snow and I cant feel my fingers tips
This is the arguably the funniest thing I have seen in a while discounting Buddyhead rants of late, it gets almost as good as Ol' Greg, as seen in an older post.

Iggy Time

Ive been listening a lot lately to a combination of solo Iggy Pop records, mostly his first two releases the Idiot and Lust for Life. For the uneducated, David Bowie played an integral role in both records (producing both, and working up music on the Idiot tour that would become Some Weird Sin, the track listed below and other numerous music related to these projects). Just as Iggy provided a vital role in Bowie's Heroes (Pop's approach to writing lyrics). In fact, the creative symbiotic relationship that fostered between Bowie and Pop during the late seventies yielded some truly great and inspiring music (note: the late Ian Curtis of Joy Division fame, listed the Idiot as his favorite album, and it played in the back round while he hung himself). I am backing Lust For Life more, atleast for now. I love the looseness of the Sales brothers (Hunt-drummer, Tony-bass) rhythm section, especially Hunt, who pounds the distinctively propulsive party beat on the title track, Lust For Love, that now is such a staple of Carnival cruise line commercials and the opening music to the film Trainspotting.

Some Weird Sin.
http://www.mediafire.com/?24uiemsjy0z

I also forgot to include on my top music of 2007 unearthing the entire catalog of the (late and great) Fluid (someone needs to seriously reissue their catalog) Ive included the song, Much Too Much from their 2nd lp, Clear Black Paper. This song totally steals the koolaid from the Stooges' Raw Power, which is not actually a bad thing.

Much Too Much
http://www.mediafire.com/?2h2nmlye9dm
The song still slays, although not quite as hard as Raw Power, but then again most music compared to the first three Stooges albums amounts to weak sauce.
I am off to Tahoe to Go Off for MLK Weekend.


*Note* this photo was stolen from this site http://modobs.wordpress.com/2007/08/06/look-what-youve-done/

Top 2007 and whatevers

So my top 10 picks are up at
Soundsect.com's top 20 albums of 2007

http://soundsect.com/feature.php?id=13
Here's a better list of favorite music from this year
Its sorta in order by soundsect.com's listings:

Les Trois Malheures- S/T Ep
Black Rebel Motorcycle Club - Baby 81
Alcest - Souvenirs d'un Autre Monde
Boris Vs. SBGM- Damaged 10''
The Duke Spirit - Ex Voto Ep (Neptune is going to be SWEEEET)
Les Savy Fav - Lets Stay Friends
Queens of the Stone Age - Era Vulgaris
The 2007 output of the following bands:
The Manhattan Love Suicides - S/T, Kick It Back 7'', Keep It Coming 7''
Wooden Shjips - S/T, SOL 7'', Loose Lips 7''
Dinosaur Jr. - Beyond
Boris and Michio Kurihara - Rainbow [2007 sparked a curious interest Boris, I am still trying to process the releases that I picked up, namely the Sunn0))) joint album, Altar (I know this came out in 2006, but I was late to the dance). So far the Damaged 10'' and Rainbow are my favorites.
Countless Cure Boots (standing out the most are Downloadfest 07 [cuz i was there and on the floor staring lovingly at Robert and company as they tore through nearly 30 years worth of music, dropped a new tune, although not the top of the new three, I would have been spazzing out more if they had played b-sides [yeah, yeah I am Cure dorkus], Mexico 07 trilogy [showcaing the three new singles coming out later], SBD 89 Tour Comp, London 7.24.90 [which so far has my favorite version of A Forest], Hartford Matrix mix 96, Netherlands 1980 [Simon's bass is so thick in the mix], Finsbury 93 [disc 2], JAMC Boots(especially the wealth of 2007 reunion shows, and my personal fav ULU London cuz its got Happy Place on it) and Dinosaur Jr. Boots [Beyond material showcased and it sounds even better live than on record]
Noel+Gem 2006 solo shows [This sparked an interest to seek out more Oasis, which is alot better than I thought or remembered growing up]

Reiusses:
Sea Hags, Shark Move, Joy Division -Unknown Pleasures. I didnt buy alot of reissues this year,

Books:
God is Not Great
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows
I am American (And So Can You)
Slash
Presidential Courage
The World is Flat
Getting back into fiction, 3 Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch [fuck you media mail,the 4 Novels form the 60s by Philip K. Dick, this actually came based on the post below [I havent started reading it yet, but I really enjoyed 3 Stigmata, so I think I will like these].
Rereading the Prydain Chronicles three times and its still as good as when i first read them 13 years ago.

Movies
Anything that had Judd Apatow's name attached to it, man knows how to make me laugh and thats what I look for in movies.
I wish there was more here but I didnt make it to alot of movies, I waste all my money on music and books.

TV Shows
30 Rock (so many star wars references amongst a very smart, hilarious and well written show)
the Office
Flight of the Conchords
The Wire (new season underway, fuck yeah!)
Real Time w/ Bill Maher

Last but surely not least, the friends and people who've affected my life in a positive manner in 2007, you are an esteemed collective, both the catalyst, keeping me on track to tackle my objectives and the source of light that guides me home when i lose my way in the dark. Much love and respect.

Thats about it, so far 2008 is pretty great, the new Black Mountain, mentioned below, slays.

Overdue Xmas gift

I finally got my overdue christmas present in the mail today. I am stoked. I am still a bit of a newb when it comes to the canon of Philip K. Dick, this assembled collection contains what a few pundits argue are some of his strongest works: "The Man in the High Castle", "The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch (the only work I am familiar with at this point)", "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?" and "Ubik". I've also added a new link, Redroom: Where the Writers Are, its social networking site of writers and books, it basically helps authors promote their work and offers a data base of well known books and such. A famous man, Billy Madison, once said, "reading is good, lets start the story".

The Jesus and Mary Chain

Photo property of Soma Soma Scene.

I am really pleased to share a morsel of my review way back from October 29, 2007 of Friday evening's Fillmore starring the Jesus and Mary Chain. The rest of the review can be read over at Soma Music Scene.

"Mark Crozer and Phil King were very proficient; they let their playing do all the talking. Drummer Loz Colbert held me in awe; I was
not very familiar with his previous bands Ride and Animal House, but he played exceptionally well, at times looking like a frenetic
octopus.
Miranda lee Richards, introduced as a friend of the band, came out and sang on Just Like Honey and Some Times Always. Both
sounded pleasing to the ear, most notably Sometimes Always. The song was never one of my favorites, but this rendition struck
me in a very profound way. Richards' airy vocals gave me chills.

The band ran through Darklands, and Nine Million Rainy Days as encores. Nine Million Rainy Days had a similar effect on me the
way Sometimes Always did, hitting me in a way the studio version never did - Jim's delivery sounded more impassioned, with a
sense of deprived yearning, as he sang the words:

And this room becomes a shrine thinking

Of you and the way you are sends the

Shivers to my head you're going to fall

You're going to fall down dead.

The band ended the evening with Reverence. The song sounded exceptional. Due to my close proximity to the Williams'
speakers, I was able to physically feel fragments of the feedback. The air from the speakers rattled my insides with a harsh
dissonance; the squalls of feedback were well timed in conjecture with William’s turbulent foot stomps, reminding me of Godzilla
attacking Tokyo."

Rest of the review here www.somasomascene.com/jamc_sanfran.html
Also as a treat here is the encore to Sept. 7, 2007's show @ Brixton Academy, Darklands and Nine Million Rainy Days (both of which appear for the first time during the 2007 reunion shows).

http://www.mediafire.com/?a0tdjrkwjn2

http://www.mediafire.com/?1gom1gmvzjy

Other JAMC news, the four cd B-sides collection is due sometime at end of February or March, and a new album, aswell (no date reported as of yet). On the band's myspace page there are a couple of new songs up in demo form
http://www.myspace.com/jesusandmarychainband

Upcoming Gigs:
03/11/2008
London @ the Roundhouse, Camden, UK
03/12/2008
London @ the Roundhouse, Camden, UK

Old Gregg

I think this speaks for itself. Oddly hilarious and equally disturbing.

Home Grown Poems

I was thumbing through my copy of American Poetry: the nineteenth century volume earlier and it inspired me to go through some poems i wrote last year and share.

Broken Guardian

Your eyes don't kiss the sky,
Only now dilated, perspired tears cascading the floor,
Wasn't supposed to be this way,
I have forsaken as a Gargoyle,
Too long I sat idle collecting dust.
Annihilating the burns of summer's grace pressed upon my lungs, as
I struggle to recover my breath under a neon sky, clouds swirling orange, pink
And chaotic purple as the sun reluctantly dissolves across the horizon.
Unaware of the impeding storm circling overhead,
A shell of goose bumps explode up my spine,
Innocence tempestuously peeled like fruit,
Paralyzed with terror, seething crimson rage,
White spots crackle under the shadows of my clinched eyes,
Lacerating hero's wings, I reel off my pedestal,
Oaths lose their meanings, a cold reminder of regrets never healed,
Too many tears slip through my finger tips, hitting the ground with the force of Bedrock, crushing the Earth, I can never cleanse the stain,
I am a broken guardian.

May

Dusk during the opening weeks of May,
I crave the sun's decaying warmth,
Slow dancing over my arms like embers under a hushed flame,
A gentle spotlight to all those unhindered by the shielded cover of trees,
The wind sputters small breezes, rendering the sun's waning heat harmless as a small
Child.
Gusts gently caressing my cheeks and the back of my neck,
Sweet smells of pollen and nectar hang in the air flooding my nostrils,
I inhale and exhale like I never breathed before, the scents overwhelm me,
In this fleeting crux I feel so grateful to be alive.

Twilight
At 3 am when the city sleeps the night off, I am saved.
The Night frozen for a few hours til the sun births a new day,
I dont care much for the renewal, I linger for those dwindling hours,
Beset by the brush strokes of a petrified night's sky.
Unbridled hope and optimism lift my thoughts until sleep pulls my away and I plummet deeply into my bed giving way to uneven rest

Current Reads

I am about One hundred pages from finishing the 3.0 version of Thomas Friedman's "The World is Flat." I have to say that I've enjoyed it so far. I became of fan of Friedman's work after reading 1999's "The Lexus and the Olive Tree" (another book on globalization) a few years ago. As an American student, I find similar parallels to my own academic experiences in regards to the chapters detailing the growing disparity in terms of quality education and funding options for American schools. Education is held in the highest esteem in other countries and yet here it is never brought up in political discussions and continues to slowly erode. My big soapbox question is if we're supposed to be the next leaders of this country, why are the current leaders not enabling us with the necessary tools to do so?

Shark Move

I don't know much about the band Shark Move. They were a 1970's Indonesia prog-rock band. They only released one album, entitled "Ghede Chokra’s". Due to the untimely passing of original keyboardist,Saman Loebis, from a car accident they were unable to solider on. This was recently reissued on Shadoks and is a great slab of 70's other worldy prog-rock. It may border on the cheese at times but its still a good album. Besides, how can anyone not like a band called Shark Move? Here is my favorite track,

"My Life."
http://www.mediafire.com/?8hejpskpsrl






(photo from the jagjaguwar website)

Some other sick news is the new Black Mountain, "In the Future" drops on Jan. 22. But if you pre-order the album from Jagjaguwar, you'll receive a digital download of the album on Jan.8, two weeks before its released.

From the Jagjaguwar website: "BLACK MOUNTAIN's "In The Future" CD/2xCD/2xLP

BLACK MOUNTAIN's "In The Future" is now available for pre-order. When you pre-order the record, whether it is the limited-edition 2xCD version, the regular 1xCD version or the 2xLP version, you will receive a digital download code that will allow you to get FREE FULL ALBUM MP3s as early as January 8, up to two weeks before the release date. (And if it isn't obvious, the 2xCD version is the same price as the 1xCD version, and comes with three additional songs, so you might as well order that while supplies last.) The link will be up until the release date, January 22."

Go here to pre-order: http://www.scdistribution.com/cat/jag_catalognew.php