I didn't know when I planned out the list that my Kid A write-up would be preceded & overshadowed by a massive webcast event at www.radiohead.tv Wednesday thru Friday celebrating the new album In Rainbows. Radiohead are (far and away) the best band on the planet because they can do something as mundane as spinning a record or pouring a drink, and it's enthralling. So you can imagine what happens when they start to pick up the instruments.
Enjoy the videos, which are not in the order they happened, just in an order. I present the thumbs_down webcast, starring the band and their producer Nigel Godrich, and directed as far as I know by Garth Jennings, director of the film adaptation of Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, as well as being half of the music video directing duo Hammer & Tongs (most famous for Blur's cute "Coffee & TV" milk carton). Video artist Adam Buxton helped out too.
TEST 123 - Nigel DJing [Shannon]
"Bodysnatchers" [In Rainbows]
"Ceremony" [New Order cover]
- Entanglement, Part 1 (Thom DJing & dancing)
"Unravel" [Björk cover]/Entanglement, Part 2
"Thumbs Down" interlude
"Jigsaw Falling Into Place" on helmet-cam [In Rainbows]
"Reckoner" [In Rainbows]
- Fun with "Arpeggi" in a carpark
- Colin DJing [The The]
"15 Step" [In Rainbows]
Se7en remix/Adam & Thom messing about
Ed's tender moment
- More Thom DJing
"The Headmaster's Ritual" [The Smiths cover]
"Faust Arp" on a hill [In Rainbows]
"I Might Be Wrong" [2001's Amnesiac]
"Videotape" [In Rainbows]
Showing posts with label Artists. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Artists. Show all posts
Monday, November 12, 2007
Wednesday, August 15, 2007
Come hang out on Friday...or be square
I'm not totally sold on The National yet, but that's probably cuz I haven't listened to their new album, Boxer, yet. So, I'm getting there slowly but surely. I dig that they're kinda working the negative space between The Walkmen and Interpol. They're playing the South Street Seaport Music Festival in NYC this Friday, with The Forms and Takka Takka opening. Oh yeah, and it's FREE. So come hang out, and if you see me, say 'what's up', give me a pound, whatever.
Lineup: Takka [6pm], Forms [7pm], National [8pm]
"Fake Empire" [live on Letterman]
- BONUS: "Mistaken For Strangers" [video]
Lineup: Takka [6pm], Forms [7pm], National [8pm]
"Fake Empire" [live on Letterman]
- BONUS: "Mistaken For Strangers" [video]
Wednesday, June 13, 2007
Mix-Up: The Kinks
Who doesn't like making mix CDs for friends? If you answered, "Me!", leave now. No really. Get out of here. Yer bumming me out. So my friend Kim gave me the task of compiling a Kinks mix for her because she keeps hearing their classic songs on Sirius radio. But of course, such an open-ended request usual means I'll go a bit overboard. And so instead of me teaching Kim about The Kinks I learned that I really didn't know much myself. This process has been a win-win.
The first thing I did was wrangle everything I already owned, which is:
- The Kink Kronikles, the 1972 double-album compilation of thier peak-period
- 1967's Something Else By The Kinks, long considered their towering classic LP
- an import Greatest Hits which covers some of their early Pye singles
- 2 Konk/Velvel samplers from 1998, covering their 70's output.
All of this which I've never listened to nearly enough, like most of my gigantic CD collection.
Then I did some reading. As I have since I was a senior in high school (all those many years ago), I pulled the Rolling Stone Album Guide off the shelf. Even if you don't agree with their ratings, it's at least good as a starting point, a first batch of info if you will, that you can then play with and prove wrong (if you like). I took what I learned there over to the good ol' Wiki, and started exploring the discography links, and bouncing back and forth to Allmusic.
And of course I did what any self respecting music obsessive in 2007 would do: I downloaded their entire discography (almost two & a half GBs), then picked through what I needed.
The first thing you learn about The Kinks, from general consensus:
If you want to like The Kinks, and enjoy their great work, and be truly satisfied, then for Pete's sake, STOP at 1972!! Sure, there may be good songs, and maybe in there somewhere is a good album or two, but I want GREAT! And great stops with fuckin' "Celluloid Heroes". As it should. I started at the end. I had my last song.
The second thing I learned was that pretty much from the jump, they were contenders. "You Really Got Me" was only their third single. That's unreal.
They're usually placed also-ran 4th after The Three *ahem* Great British Invasion bands. But what hipsters like me and thousands of others have been learning since Damon & Jarvis were dropping Ray Davies' name like kickass singles AND groupie panties in the mid-90's, The Kinks were just as good as The Beatles, Who & Stones, and those three ripped The Kinks off left & right. I learned that listening to The Village Green Preservation Society (from 1968) reveals that Paul McCartney's a fucking biter, and his "classic" song-suite on side 2 of Abbey Road (from 1969) borrows it's entire mood & style from The Kinks classic from a year earlier. And don't even get me started on Pete Townshend, who I love. It's like anything The Who did before Live At Leeds is suddenly just not as good, cuz The Kinks did it better...except maybe being loud. The Who had a better drummer & bigger amps. But Ray Davies owns Townshend in the tough-mod-with-an-insecure-center songwriting. When Davies' creative spark started to run out of gas, Townshend dropped Who's Next and took the spotlight for good.
The Beatles, Stones & Who all have a bundle of indesputable classic singles from the mid-60's, but the one thing that I got from exploring The Kinks singles discography is that their B-sides are almost always as good as their A-sides. That's very rare. While The Beatles were covering Chuck Berry again, or rerecording lyrics in German, The Kinks were banging out "I Need You", a massive proto-punk anthem and creepy emo-stalker theme song.
So right here, I unveil my 2-disc, 52 song journey through The Kinks' highpoints, covering "You Really Got Me" (their third single, from the fall of 1964) through the epic "Celluloid Heroes" (a flop of a single from the fall of 1972). If you feel inclined, have fun compiling your own copy.
Disc One
01. You Really Got Me (Single 8/64, from The Kinks)
02. All Day And All Of The Night (Single 10/64)
03. I Gotta Move (B-side 10/64)
04. Stop Your Sobbing (from The Kinks)
05. Tired Of Waiting For You (Single 1/65, from Kinda Kinks)
06. Ev'rybody's Gonna Be Happy (Single 3/65- UK A-side/US B-side)
07. Nothing In This World Can Stop Me Worryin' 'Bout That Girl (from Kinda Kinks)
08. Who'll Be The Next In Line (Single 3/65- UK B-side/US A-side)
09. Set Me Free (Single 5/65)
10. I Need You (B-side 5/65)
11. See My Friends (Single 7/65)
12. A Well Respected Man (Single 10/65)
13. Till The End Of The Day (Single 11/65, from The Kink Kontroversy)
14. Where Have All The Good Times Gone (B-side 11/65,
from The Kink Kontroversy)
15. Milk Cow Blues (from The Kink Kontroversy)
16. Dedicated Follower Of Fashion (Single 2/66)
17. Sittin' On My Sofa (B-side 2/66)
18. She's Got Everything (Recorded in early 1966, B-Side 6/68)
19. I'm Not Like Everybody Else (B-Side 6/66)
20. Sunny Afternoon (Single 6/66, from Face To Face)
21. Dandy (from Face To Face)
22. Holiday In Waikiki (from Face To Face)
23. Fancy (from Face To Face)
24. Dead End Street (Single 11/66)
25. Big Black Smoke (B-side 11/66)
26. Mr. Pleasant (Single 4/67)
27. David Watts (from Something Else By The Kinks)
28. Love Me Till The Sun Shines (from Something Else By The Kinks)
29. Waterloo Sunset (Single 5/67, from Something Else By The Kinks)
Disc Two
01. Death Of A Clown (Dave Davies solo single 7/67,
from Something Else By The Kinks)
02. Autumn Almanac (Single 10/67)
03. Susannah's Still Alive (Dave Davies solo single 11/67)
04. Wonderboy (Single 4/68)
05. Days (Single 6/68, on European versions of
The Kinks Are The Village Green Preservation Society)
06. The Village Green Preservation Society (from The Kinks Are
The Village Green Preservation Society)
07. Picture Book (from The Kinks Are The Village Green Preservation Society)
08. Starstruck (Single 1/69, from The Kinks Are
The Village Green Preservation Society)
09. Village Green (from The Kinks Are The Village Green Preservation Society)
10. Plastic Man (Single 3/69)
11. King Kong (B-side 3/69)
12. Drivin' (Single 6/69, from Arthur (Or The Decline & Fall Of
The British Empire))
13. Mindless Child Of Motherhood (B-side 6/69)
14. Shangri-La (Single 9/69, from Arthur (Or The Decline & Fall Of
The British Empire))
15. Victoria (Single 12/69, from Arthur (Or The Decline & Fall Of
The British Empire))
16. Lola (Single 6/70, from Lola Vs. Powerman & The Moneygoround, Pt. 1)
17. Get Back In Line (from Lola Vs. Powerman & The Moneygoround, Pt. 1)
18. Apeman (Single 11/70, from Lola Vs. Powerman & The Moneygoround, Pt. 1)
19. God's Children (Single 4/71, from the Percy soundtrack)
20. 20th Century Man (Single 12/71, from Muswell Hillbillies)
21. Oklahoma U.S.A. (from Muswell Hillbillies)
22. Supersonic Rocket Ship (Single 5/72, from Everybody's In Show-Biz)
23. Celluloid Heroes (Single 11/72, from Everybody's In Show-Biz)
- Exhaustive Kinks discography
- Wikipedia: The Kinks [main page]
- Wikipedia: The Kinks [discography]
- Allmusic: The Kinks
The first thing I did was wrangle everything I already owned, which is:
- The Kink Kronikles, the 1972 double-album compilation of thier peak-period
- 1967's Something Else By The Kinks, long considered their towering classic LP
- an import Greatest Hits which covers some of their early Pye singles
- 2 Konk/Velvel samplers from 1998, covering their 70's output.
All of this which I've never listened to nearly enough, like most of my gigantic CD collection.
Then I did some reading. As I have since I was a senior in high school (all those many years ago), I pulled the Rolling Stone Album Guide off the shelf. Even if you don't agree with their ratings, it's at least good as a starting point, a first batch of info if you will, that you can then play with and prove wrong (if you like). I took what I learned there over to the good ol' Wiki, and started exploring the discography links, and bouncing back and forth to Allmusic.
And of course I did what any self respecting music obsessive in 2007 would do: I downloaded their entire discography (almost two & a half GBs), then picked through what I needed.
The first thing you learn about The Kinks, from general consensus:
If you want to like The Kinks, and enjoy their great work, and be truly satisfied, then for Pete's sake, STOP at 1972!! Sure, there may be good songs, and maybe in there somewhere is a good album or two, but I want GREAT! And great stops with fuckin' "Celluloid Heroes". As it should. I started at the end. I had my last song.
The second thing I learned was that pretty much from the jump, they were contenders. "You Really Got Me" was only their third single. That's unreal.
They're usually placed also-ran 4th after The Three *ahem* Great British Invasion bands. But what hipsters like me and thousands of others have been learning since Damon & Jarvis were dropping Ray Davies' name like kickass singles AND groupie panties in the mid-90's, The Kinks were just as good as The Beatles, Who & Stones, and those three ripped The Kinks off left & right. I learned that listening to The Village Green Preservation Society (from 1968) reveals that Paul McCartney's a fucking biter, and his "classic" song-suite on side 2 of Abbey Road (from 1969) borrows it's entire mood & style from The Kinks classic from a year earlier. And don't even get me started on Pete Townshend, who I love. It's like anything The Who did before Live At Leeds is suddenly just not as good, cuz The Kinks did it better...except maybe being loud. The Who had a better drummer & bigger amps. But Ray Davies owns Townshend in the tough-mod-with-an-insecure-center songwriting. When Davies' creative spark started to run out of gas, Townshend dropped Who's Next and took the spotlight for good.The Beatles, Stones & Who all have a bundle of indesputable classic singles from the mid-60's, but the one thing that I got from exploring The Kinks singles discography is that their B-sides are almost always as good as their A-sides. That's very rare. While The Beatles were covering Chuck Berry again, or rerecording lyrics in German, The Kinks were banging out "I Need You", a massive proto-punk anthem and creepy emo-stalker theme song.
So right here, I unveil my 2-disc, 52 song journey through The Kinks' highpoints, covering "You Really Got Me" (their third single, from the fall of 1964) through the epic "Celluloid Heroes" (a flop of a single from the fall of 1972). If you feel inclined, have fun compiling your own copy.
Disc One
01. You Really Got Me (Single 8/64, from The Kinks)
02. All Day And All Of The Night (Single 10/64)
03. I Gotta Move (B-side 10/64)
04. Stop Your Sobbing (from The Kinks)
05. Tired Of Waiting For You (Single 1/65, from Kinda Kinks)
06. Ev'rybody's Gonna Be Happy (Single 3/65- UK A-side/US B-side)
07. Nothing In This World Can Stop Me Worryin' 'Bout That Girl (from Kinda Kinks)
08. Who'll Be The Next In Line (Single 3/65- UK B-side/US A-side)
09. Set Me Free (Single 5/65)
10. I Need You (B-side 5/65)
11. See My Friends (Single 7/65)
12. A Well Respected Man (Single 10/65)
13. Till The End Of The Day (Single 11/65, from The Kink Kontroversy)
14. Where Have All The Good Times Gone (B-side 11/65,
from The Kink Kontroversy)
15. Milk Cow Blues (from The Kink Kontroversy)
16. Dedicated Follower Of Fashion (Single 2/66)
17. Sittin' On My Sofa (B-side 2/66)
18. She's Got Everything (Recorded in early 1966, B-Side 6/68)
19. I'm Not Like Everybody Else (B-Side 6/66)
20. Sunny Afternoon (Single 6/66, from Face To Face)
21. Dandy (from Face To Face)
22. Holiday In Waikiki (from Face To Face)
23. Fancy (from Face To Face)
24. Dead End Street (Single 11/66)
25. Big Black Smoke (B-side 11/66)
26. Mr. Pleasant (Single 4/67)
27. David Watts (from Something Else By The Kinks)
28. Love Me Till The Sun Shines (from Something Else By The Kinks)
29. Waterloo Sunset (Single 5/67, from Something Else By The Kinks)
Disc Two
01. Death Of A Clown (Dave Davies solo single 7/67,
from Something Else By The Kinks)
02. Autumn Almanac (Single 10/67)
03. Susannah's Still Alive (Dave Davies solo single 11/67)
04. Wonderboy (Single 4/68)
05. Days (Single 6/68, on European versions of
The Kinks Are The Village Green Preservation Society)
06. The Village Green Preservation Society (from The Kinks Are
The Village Green Preservation Society)
07. Picture Book (from The Kinks Are The Village Green Preservation Society)
08. Starstruck (Single 1/69, from The Kinks Are
The Village Green Preservation Society)
09. Village Green (from The Kinks Are The Village Green Preservation Society)
10. Plastic Man (Single 3/69)
11. King Kong (B-side 3/69)
12. Drivin' (Single 6/69, from Arthur (Or The Decline & Fall Of
The British Empire))
13. Mindless Child Of Motherhood (B-side 6/69)
14. Shangri-La (Single 9/69, from Arthur (Or The Decline & Fall Of
The British Empire))
15. Victoria (Single 12/69, from Arthur (Or The Decline & Fall Of
The British Empire))
16. Lola (Single 6/70, from Lola Vs. Powerman & The Moneygoround, Pt. 1)
17. Get Back In Line (from Lola Vs. Powerman & The Moneygoround, Pt. 1)
18. Apeman (Single 11/70, from Lola Vs. Powerman & The Moneygoround, Pt. 1)
19. God's Children (Single 4/71, from the Percy soundtrack)
20. 20th Century Man (Single 12/71, from Muswell Hillbillies)
21. Oklahoma U.S.A. (from Muswell Hillbillies)
22. Supersonic Rocket Ship (Single 5/72, from Everybody's In Show-Biz)
23. Celluloid Heroes (Single 11/72, from Everybody's In Show-Biz)
- Exhaustive Kinks discography
- Wikipedia: The Kinks [main page]
- Wikipedia: The Kinks [discography]
- Allmusic: The Kinks
Monday, March 12, 2007
Here's Our Future...I Hope
I have mentioned that I'm a **revisionist**, and I produce evidence of that nearly every conversation I have concerning music & movies. I have proclaimed many a band the next greatest thing ever, and am known to crown a new greatest song of all time every month or so. I'll get back to this.
On Sunday, March 4th, I went into NYC, to the Bowery Ballroom, to see The Thermals, a punkish trio (quartet, on stage) from the Pacific Northwest (Portland, I think). Now, unfortunately, I must say I went alone. This is very significant. I don't like going to shows alone, and almost never have, because my A#1 rule... not rule, um, kinda like a personal guideline in life is that music (or anything) is better when shared with friends (or at least vaguely interested acquaintances). I guess you could make the argument that being alone increases the likelihood of meeting new people, and that may be the point you'll get out of this post at the end, but whatever, I'll continue.
I went to the show because (a) The Thermals recently-released third album, The Body, The Blood, The Machine (on SubPop) had been on repeat on all my various media playing devices - enough to be one of my Top 5 Albums of 2006 (you know that list I STILL haven't posted, that you are dying to read, and that I probably won't post for another month or so just to seem insouciant & punk), (b) their single from said album, "A Pillar Of Salt" was my pick for Best Single of 2006 (ditto on the lateness for that list, too.); the song and video are brilliant, necessitating better words than I can muster off the top of my head right now, and without a doubt allowed me to utter such **revisionist-friendly** statements like "That song could be 'Smells Like Teen Spirit' for this new generation" or at the very least, "That video is everything that's good about Rock & Roll and being young". Oh, and (c) The Big Sleep were opening, and they kick ass live.
In case any super-Thermals fans are reading (probably by search-engine accident, because I'm pretty sure I haven't reached proper blog stardom yet), I will admit I entered the show under-informed. I really liked the record, but had only really obsessively memorized the lyrics to "Pillar" and "Here's Your Future", and I kinda knew "How We Know" from their last album cuz the video was played on Fuse like three times. Apparently, I missed a memo, because to the sell out crowd of 800 people, The Thermals are the **best band ever** of right now. The band came out with humble thank you's for the surprising sell out, and proceded to more than earn their money.
Frontman Hutch Harris appeared to already be sweating during the hellos, looking at once energized and majestically wrecked, almost the spitting image of Tom Verlaine, 30 years ago, on the cover of Television's masterpiece, Marquee Moon. He knew that he had penned an album's worth of lyrics probing the uncertainty and insecurity that comes with being spiritual and religious in a world where priests do wildly inappropriate things, and where the Christian Right looks bent on world domination - so he was going to make us all believers. Bassist Kathy Foster, as always, was ready to play Bonnie to Harris' Clyde, her head full of curls forever bouncing like a bunch of tiny bungy-jumpers; and whether she knew it or not, you could tell from the young girls in the crowd that she was their new role model.
Almost immediately, I knew I was seeing something special - this wasn't a show, it was an event, maybe even a coming out party. As the band tore through "Future", "I Might Need You To Kill" and "An Ear For Baby" (the opening salvo from the new album), the place lit up with excitement. The normally jaded NYC crowd had uncrossed their arms, and were moving to the music. There was jumping, pogoing, even a bit of moshing, but with absolutely no aggression. The entire ballroom was a steambath of boundless joy. The Thermals came to rock, and their fans came to love them for it. And it wasn't just for the songs from the new album (which, being Pitchfork-approved, accounted for the people at the back of the room, still waiting on that memo), the fans came to hear all the songs, from all three albums, and they came prepared, knowing all the words. For every line that Harris delivered with dignity, there was an anthemic chorus that was shouted back by tired lungs and serated vocal chords. **I thought, 'This must be what it felt like to see The Clash in 1977'.**
After blasting through all ten songs from the new album, and probably 13 or 14 more from the previous discs, all in an hour, The Thermals left the stage as grateful for the experience as they were thankful for the opportunity. And I didn't feel like I missed out on sharing the show with someone, because I shared it with everyone. I want to say to you now, hey, dig this band. Get to this now, because this band is very special, and I don't ever want to have to be revisionist about this. Look around and see The Strokes and Wilco and The White Stripes, and then Death Cab and The Shins, and it's kinda feeling like 1990 again...the year before 'the year that punk broke.' I have hope that way more than 800 people in a club are gonna know The Thermals soon enough.
And, just in case you think I'm exaggerating, here's a little clip of the show I was at, from the song "Back To The Sea". Note how loud the crowd is...
This is an iconic video that pretty much justifies 25 years of ADD-inducing MTV jump-cut editting. Here's the clip for the Raz-approved Best Single of 2006:
The Thermals' "A Pillar Of Salt"
- The Thermals on Myspace
- Buy The Thermals on Insound
- The Body, The Blood, The Machine review on Pitchforkmedia
Here's some extra stuff for your viewing pleasure
(this is what YouTube is good for)
"Here's Your Future"
"St. Rosa & The Swallows"
"How We Know" video
"A Stare Like Yours"
"No Culture Icons" video (lo-fi, so you have to turn it up)
On Sunday, March 4th, I went into NYC, to the Bowery Ballroom, to see The Thermals, a punkish trio (quartet, on stage) from the Pacific Northwest (Portland, I think). Now, unfortunately, I must say I went alone. This is very significant. I don't like going to shows alone, and almost never have, because my A#1 rule... not rule, um, kinda like a personal guideline in life is that music (or anything) is better when shared with friends (or at least vaguely interested acquaintances). I guess you could make the argument that being alone increases the likelihood of meeting new people, and that may be the point you'll get out of this post at the end, but whatever, I'll continue.
I went to the show because (a) The Thermals recently-released third album, The Body, The Blood, The Machine (on SubPop) had been on repeat on all my various media playing devices - enough to be one of my Top 5 Albums of 2006 (you know that list I STILL haven't posted, that you are dying to read, and that I probably won't post for another month or so just to seem insouciant & punk), (b) their single from said album, "A Pillar Of Salt" was my pick for Best Single of 2006 (ditto on the lateness for that list, too.); the song and video are brilliant, necessitating better words than I can muster off the top of my head right now, and without a doubt allowed me to utter such **revisionist-friendly** statements like "That song could be 'Smells Like Teen Spirit' for this new generation" or at the very least, "That video is everything that's good about Rock & Roll and being young". Oh, and (c) The Big Sleep were opening, and they kick ass live.
In case any super-Thermals fans are reading (probably by search-engine accident, because I'm pretty sure I haven't reached proper blog stardom yet), I will admit I entered the show under-informed. I really liked the record, but had only really obsessively memorized the lyrics to "Pillar" and "Here's Your Future", and I kinda knew "How We Know" from their last album cuz the video was played on Fuse like three times. Apparently, I missed a memo, because to the sell out crowd of 800 people, The Thermals are the **best band ever** of right now. The band came out with humble thank you's for the surprising sell out, and proceded to more than earn their money.
Frontman Hutch Harris appeared to already be sweating during the hellos, looking at once energized and majestically wrecked, almost the spitting image of Tom Verlaine, 30 years ago, on the cover of Television's masterpiece, Marquee Moon. He knew that he had penned an album's worth of lyrics probing the uncertainty and insecurity that comes with being spiritual and religious in a world where priests do wildly inappropriate things, and where the Christian Right looks bent on world domination - so he was going to make us all believers. Bassist Kathy Foster, as always, was ready to play Bonnie to Harris' Clyde, her head full of curls forever bouncing like a bunch of tiny bungy-jumpers; and whether she knew it or not, you could tell from the young girls in the crowd that she was their new role model.
Almost immediately, I knew I was seeing something special - this wasn't a show, it was an event, maybe even a coming out party. As the band tore through "Future", "I Might Need You To Kill" and "An Ear For Baby" (the opening salvo from the new album), the place lit up with excitement. The normally jaded NYC crowd had uncrossed their arms, and were moving to the music. There was jumping, pogoing, even a bit of moshing, but with absolutely no aggression. The entire ballroom was a steambath of boundless joy. The Thermals came to rock, and their fans came to love them for it. And it wasn't just for the songs from the new album (which, being Pitchfork-approved, accounted for the people at the back of the room, still waiting on that memo), the fans came to hear all the songs, from all three albums, and they came prepared, knowing all the words. For every line that Harris delivered with dignity, there was an anthemic chorus that was shouted back by tired lungs and serated vocal chords. **I thought, 'This must be what it felt like to see The Clash in 1977'.**
After blasting through all ten songs from the new album, and probably 13 or 14 more from the previous discs, all in an hour, The Thermals left the stage as grateful for the experience as they were thankful for the opportunity. And I didn't feel like I missed out on sharing the show with someone, because I shared it with everyone. I want to say to you now, hey, dig this band. Get to this now, because this band is very special, and I don't ever want to have to be revisionist about this. Look around and see The Strokes and Wilco and The White Stripes, and then Death Cab and The Shins, and it's kinda feeling like 1990 again...the year before 'the year that punk broke.' I have hope that way more than 800 people in a club are gonna know The Thermals soon enough.
And, just in case you think I'm exaggerating, here's a little clip of the show I was at, from the song "Back To The Sea". Note how loud the crowd is...
This is an iconic video that pretty much justifies 25 years of ADD-inducing MTV jump-cut editting. Here's the clip for the Raz-approved Best Single of 2006:
The Thermals' "A Pillar Of Salt"
- The Thermals on Myspace
- Buy The Thermals on Insound
- The Body, The Blood, The Machine review on Pitchforkmedia
Here's some extra stuff for your viewing pleasure
(this is what YouTube is good for)
"Here's Your Future"
"St. Rosa & The Swallows"
"How We Know" video
"A Stare Like Yours"
"No Culture Icons" video (lo-fi, so you have to turn it up)
Saturday, March 10, 2007
I love you, Ted Leo / I join Spin class
On his superb new album, Living With The Living (out 3/20), Ted Leo asks 'Who do you love?' Well, I love you, Ted Leo. Just in case anyone thought this was turning into a Hip-Hop blog, I had to return with some good old-fashioned politi-punk fire in the tradition of The Clash. Besides being one of the nicest public figures I've ever met, Ted Leo and his music produce a very rare, extremely high level of anticipation in me; maybe ten artists get this reaction - it's like I'm ALWAYS waiting for the next album, even if I know they're not in the studio. And where some artists might disappoint, Ted and his new album do not. LWTL is a sprawling, varied rock album, packed with literate lyrics, spat and crooned with vitriol, with his troubled mind tearing itself apart over the state of our country. It is now the front-runner for best album of 2007, and unless there is an avalanche of classics, it'll surely stay towards the top of the list.
And speaking of Ted, because of him I stumbled on to AOL's Spinner, their music blog which is actually pretty damn good. They skew towards hipsters to pull the Sterogum readers, but cover all music news, and since its AOL, they pull more choice content, like free downloads from Bright Eyes, live footage of TV on the Radio, or in-office interviews & performances of Ted Leo. Check it out...
- Spinner
- Ted Leo's hilarious interview + 3 tunes
- 3x3: some live shit
- free stuff!!
a little taste - "Who Do You Love?"
And speaking of Ted, because of him I stumbled on to AOL's Spinner, their music blog which is actually pretty damn good. They skew towards hipsters to pull the Sterogum readers, but cover all music news, and since its AOL, they pull more choice content, like free downloads from Bright Eyes, live footage of TV on the Radio, or in-office interviews & performances of Ted Leo. Check it out...
- Spinner
- Ted Leo's hilarious interview + 3 tunes
- 3x3: some live shit
- free stuff!!
a little taste - "Who Do You Love?"
Friday, March 9, 2007
Where Brooklyn At? Part 2
I needed to post this now, because in 13 minutes it will no longer matter...
Today is the 10th anniversary of The Notorious B.I.G.'s death. And I just wanted to say a few words.
For any Rock cats who can't seem to fathom what Biggie means to Hip-Hop, think of him like Jimi Hendrix. He took something that all his peers thought they knew, and blew it wide open. Their careers were short like their lives, but their legacies will extend for decades on end.
Rest In Peace. Respect due...
Age 17, freestyles already slaying.
This minute-long freestyle is one of my favorite pieces of music ever. I could listen to it all day.
Craig Mack's "Flava In Ya Ear (Remix)" - 43 seconds that put Biggie on the map.
"One More Chance (Remix)" ...black & ugly as ever
Today is the 10th anniversary of The Notorious B.I.G.'s death. And I just wanted to say a few words.
For any Rock cats who can't seem to fathom what Biggie means to Hip-Hop, think of him like Jimi Hendrix. He took something that all his peers thought they knew, and blew it wide open. Their careers were short like their lives, but their legacies will extend for decades on end.
Rest In Peace. Respect due...
Age 17, freestyles already slaying.
This minute-long freestyle is one of my favorite pieces of music ever. I could listen to it all day.
Craig Mack's "Flava In Ya Ear (Remix)" - 43 seconds that put Biggie on the map.
"One More Chance (Remix)" ...black & ugly as ever
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)