To those of you who missed our show reviews, be careful what you wish for. This one's a video. Forewarned is forearmed.
See Jimbromski broadcasting from his basement, complete with flopsweat and a gay v-neck shirt
Revel in gratuitous underage cleavage shots by crack cameraman Potsy
Watch a bitter old man advocate a fascist-style culling of the youth of America
And much, much less, all in less than six minutes!
Enjoy (?):
Postscript: My comments about the youngsters at the show were tongue-in-cheek. I'm sure they'll all go on to do great things with their lives. Fucking trust fund babies.
Like bacon and football, here's yet another example of our neighbors to the North trying to do things their own way.... Gordon Lightfoot, Bryan Adams and Anne Murray each officially received a granite star on Canada’s Walk of Fame, on King Street in Toronto, on this day in 1998. They were the first three pop artists to be honored into the newly recognized group of Canadian stars. Rush and Celine Dion were added a year later, followed by Neil Young and Joni Mitchell in 2000. They were also each presented with a take-home brass and granite trophy, topped with a star created in the likeness of a maple leaf.
How did Neil Young and/or RUSH get skipped over on the first try?
The past few posts I touched on my ignorance of electronica/dance/whatever. It was also a topic of discussion w/ the rest of Rock Club in regards to Datarock and Ki:Theory. I tend to dismiss much of this music without really giving it a chance. Case in point, I went back and listened to Datarock and some of it's pretty good. It's not something I'd put on my iPod but it's not as bad as I first thought.
After I badmouthed the new albums by Spiritualized, M83, and Cut Copy, Stutts (our Rock Club proxy and sometimes reviewer) emailed me with a list of albums to check out. It wasn't a list of the best electronic/electro-pop/ambient albums ever and they're not all favorites of his. He just offered them up as a good examples of various genres. He did a nice job with the recommendations because no two albums are alike. It's impressive b/c Stutts is no club kid. He just knows a lot about music (and porn).
I'll post my reviews of the 10 albums recommended. Here's my take on the first five along with a description from Stutts:
Amon Tobin - Supermodified
Stutts: A.T. has an interesting back-catalog, mostly b/c of his creative breaks and use of retro-jazz. Yeah, there's a lot of djs out there that incorporate jazz elements (a notable album is St Germain's 'Tourist'.) But the particular jazz samples are inspired and usually serve as flourishes, not the main element. The guy can go from slow trip-hop to manic drill-n-bass but most tracks are moody with a slight up-tempo beat. His soundtrack to the Splinter Cell game is excellent and even his older Cujo work rivals the best stuff found on late-90s Ninja Tune. But Supermodified is plain cool.
Jumbo Slice: All this Jazz talk had me worried. I'm sure there's Jazz I'd love but since I'm usually exposed to the Smooth variety, I tend to avoid Jazz. Stutts description above is right on the mark. Tobin's samples and accents work well with the electronic elements. The first half is definitely strong. I like the tracks with bigger beats ("Get Your Snack On", "Marine Machines") as opposed to the mellow songs (like "Slowly".) Tobin also released a song called "Hot Korean Moms" so he gets bonus points for that. Rating: Three and a Half Bowls of Kimchi.
The Third Eye Foundation - Little Lost Soul
Stutts: I wanted to pick something that pushed the experimental envelope just a bit w/out going full into Autechre territory (by the way, if you want to hear a great Autechre track, check out Clipper.) This dude has a sense of humor. It's dark but it's there. Some manic drum/drill beats over very moody and even creepy textures. I'm recommending this album as a starter but I think Ghost and In Version are also worth checking out.
Jumbo Slice: Never heard of The Third Eye Foundation but if he's on Merge he's doing something right. Merge is a great record company. Reading the description from Stutts, I figured I'd like this. If I'm going to listen to electronic I prefer it to be "moody, "manic", and "creepy". A sense of humor helps. That's why I like Richard D. James of Aphex Twin. The guy seems like a complete nut job. Matt Elliot, the man behind The Third Eye Foundation, is a little more reserved than James. What Elliot does on this record here isn't too similar to Aphew Twin but a lot of same qualities are there. Rating: Two and a Half Glowsticks.
Cinematic Orchestra - Every Day
Stutts: This one is just flat out pretty. That's it.
Jumbo Slice: There was a short period in my life when I was very much into Acid Jazz. I'd go to the Eighteenth Street Lounge each weekend and hang out on the couches acting all suave. I even bought a bunch of Acid Jazz CDs despite the fact I really didn't care for it. Why be such a jackass/wanker/douchebag? Because I was dating a Norwegian au pair and that's what she and her au pair friends liked. Sounds stupid but it was worth it at the time. Conclusion: Unless it helps with the ladies I see little, if any, reason to listen to Acid Jazz. Cinematic Orchestra is no exception. The instrumental songs are cool/chill out stuff but nothing memorable. I found the singing a big distraction especially on the last track, "Horizon". Every Day only gets a rating of One Martini Glass.
Scanner - Lauwarm Instrumentals
Stutts: Not too many guys who mix in scanned police recordings and eavesdropped phone conversations into their tracks. So this gets a nod.
Jumbo Slice: Freaky weird stuff. If Lost used electronic music instead of a full orchestra Scanner would be perfect for the job. I can just picture Jack and Kate getting chased through the woods as this music played. Certain stretches are monotonous but they manage to move on before it gets boring. Rating: Three Black Smoke Monsters.
Tarwater - Silur
Stutts: Well, it's only right to throw something so very Krauty into the mix here. And this one manages to be both cold/detached and engaging. And is ultimate track ends off with an otherwise joyous mood (considering the rest of the album). It's unusual and worth a mention.
Jumbo Slice: The first couple songs reminded me of Tricky. Granted, my knowledge of electronica is pretty limited so maybe that's a bad comparison. The rest of the album struck me more as post-rock than electronica. It also got more "Krauty" with each song. A few could have been theme music for Sprockets with Dieter. Maybe that's why I liked it. Rating: Three and a Half Frankfurters.
8. Arm's Way, Islands - "In The Rushes" harks back to the Unicorns. That's good thing. A very good thing. Still, I find Islands as a band very disappointing. They barely escaped the Overrated category. I'm going to see them today at Waterloo Records here in Austin. Honestly, I'm going for the free beer as much as I am the band. Speaking of Waterloo Records...
7. Rook, Shearwater - I saw them perform at Waterloo Records and I'll admit they put on an impressive performance. I just can't get past singing voice. When Jonathan Meiburg goes all falsetto it's irritating. I lump Shearwater in the same category as The Decemberists - excellent musicians, smart lyrics, annoying singing style that makes it hard for me to fully appreciate them.
6. The Hann-Byrd EP, Oxford Collapse - Austin has a plethora of free shows. Oxford Collapse is playing with Frightened Rabbit and Peel (how's that for a triple bill?) on Thursday night at Mohawk. And it's free. Why? I have no idea. I don't question these things, I just go. Oh, what about the EP? Let's just say it's better than Shearwater but not as good as...
5. The Bake Sale EP, Cool Kids - Reminds me of the rap I grew up listening to: Public Enemy, Run-DMC, some LL Cool J.
Albums Instantly Saved To My Permanent Library:
4. This Is Not The World, The Futureheads - These guys are alright in my book. I hope they come to Austin sometime. I've always wanted to see them live.
3. At Mount Zoomer, Wolf Parade - They have a bunch of solid side projects - Frog Eyes, Handsome Furs, Sunset Rubdown, Swan Lake - but none of those bands can match what Wolf Parade does.
2. Feed The Animals, Girl Talk - The samples of Journey, Dexy's Midnight Runner, and the Red Hot Chili Peppers seem forced (or just plain stupid) but the mixes of Aphex Twin, Wu-Tang, The Cure and Radiohead (blasphemous for some) work great. I love Girl Talk but he's due for the inevitable blogophere backlash. The pattern for blogs towards indie music is very predictable. I fully expect this album to be panned despite that it's nearly as good as Night Ripper, which was widely praised.
1. Fleet Foxes, Fleet Foxes - Loved them in concert and can't wait for their show here in Austin.
I took time to listen to 15 albums released over the past few weeks (does not include Chinese Democracy or Coldplay). Here's the order in which I'd rank them based on one and only one listen. Let's start at the bottom and work our way up:
Just Plain Awful: 15. Real Close Ones, The M's - The Rockists like the M's so I'll give this another shot but based on one listen I think this album blows. I'm clearly in the minority since The A.V Club gave it an A and Pitchfork gave it a 7.4.
14. Weezer (the Red Album), Weezer - Another disappointment from Cuomo and crew. I still like Weezer though. I may only listen to their first two albums and a smattering of other songs, but I still like them.
I'll come out and say it. They're Overrated:
13.Songs in A&E, Spiritualized - I don't get the big deal with these guys. I've seen rave reviews for the album but I found it decent but not remarkable. Same goes for the new albums by M83 and Cut Copy.
12.Stay Positive, The Hold Steady - Well, I didn't hate it…
I can take it or leave it:
11.This is Ivy League, This is Ivy League - Nice but not enough for me to go back for a second listen. Potsy would enjoy their Belle & Sebastian-esque tunes though.
10.Velocifero, Ladytron - Didn't expect to care for this album. Their last album, Witching Hour, got positive reviews but I thought it was the same old electro-poop. Oops, I mean electro-pop. Whatever. Velocifero is a little meaner, darker, ass kicky-er. Well, except for when they sing in Bulgarian. That song is a tough listen. Verdict: I like it enough to see them in concert again but not enough put it in my listening rotation.
9.Tha Carter III, Lil Wayne - Brilliant album cover, decent album. Not the best rap album on this list.
In the first scene of Anton Corbijn's Control, a young Ian Curtis comes home to his family's council flat, bearing in hand David Bowie's Aladdin Sane album. Curtis, played by Sam Riley, lays back on his bed and listens to "Drive In Saturday," and within the hour he's ditched his schoolboy uniform in favor of eyeliner and a furry jacket. Perhaps a heavy handed stab at characterization but Riley plays it well. Curtis the schoolboy lives within the spacious confines of his mind, and his music--Bowie, Lou Reed, Iggy Pop, Roxy Music--transports him from the black and white boundaries of his hometown of Macclesfield.
Black and white, literally--Corbijn shot the film entirely in b&w, which adds an arty touch to the movie. But the plot of Control is surprisingly straightforward and avoids avant-garde gimmickry, to its credit. Control is two stories, really--Curtis as an artist and a poet, and Curtis as a married man and father. This ground was covered to some extent in 2002's 24 Hour Party People--boy grows up listening to glam, boy goes to see the Sex Pistols in Manchester in 1977, boy forms Joy Division with his mates. After the Sex Pistols show the camera follows Curtis as he walks to his job, and only after he passes the camera do we see he's scrawled the word "HATE" on the back of his pea coat. Four years may have passed since he brought home Aladdin Sane, but, as on that day in 1973 when he put on the eyeliner and donned the fur jacket, young Ian is still easily moved.
Control excels in its look at Curtis's home life. The movie was based on the book Touching From a Distance, by Curtis's wife Deborah, so much of the focus of the plot is on the domestic impact of living with a rock star. Matters are further complicated when Curtis develops (catches? inherits? someone help me out here) epilepsy. Doctor's prescription? A cocktail of giant pills, and early nights, and alcohol in moderation. Needless to say, the counsel, with the exception of the pills, is ignored, at the cost of Deborah and Ian's sanity and stability.
"Transmission," Joy Division (1979)
This is a very depressing movie, don't get me wrong (SPOILER ALERT: Curtis hangs himself at the end. But I'm sure you knew that already, because if you've made it this far you know a little about Joy Division). Early on, Curtis recites Wordsworth's "My Heart Leaps Up", which contains the eternal truth that "the child is the father of the man," and indeed, in Curtis's case, it seems like he began writing his suicide note many years before he killed himself. But Control isn't a two hour mopefest. On the contrary, it's full of engaging characters, not least Curtis himself, but also Factory Records impresario Tony Wilson, band manager Rob Gretton, and not least young Bernard Sumner, who later picked up the broken pieces of the band and formed New Order, who found fame of their own accord. Sam Riley's performance as Curtis is Oscar-worthy, and I mean that sincerely--he looks like Curtis, he dances like Curtis, he sings like Curtis, and he has epileptic fits like Curtis.
"Isolation," Joy Division (1980)
Control is surely one of the finest rock and roll movies that I've seen in my short life. It avoids hagiography, while simultaneously steering clear of the faux fly-on-the-wall/you-are-there-now treatment that turns so many music biopics into jokes (Oliver Stone's The Doors, for starters). You'll want to purchase the entire Joy Division discography after seeing this one, believe me.
Saw this on Stereogum--Josh Homme went on a tirade against some Norwegian dweeb who was throwing shit at him.
I think this falls under my banter policy--you have a mic, you make your wry observations, your witty jokes, you think you're Jon Stewart, or, in this case, you go apeshit. It's always a one-way conversation and you're rarely as interesting as you think you are.
That said, don't throw shit at the band, because they may throw crap back at you. So consider it a wash.
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