PODCASTS: Little Records archives the best of ’80s underground rock and the early days of ’90s indie rock into exceptionally thoughtful and curated playlists that it’s our go-to listening. I almost wish they would chat in-between sets but they just jam one great song after another relentlessly for the shear love of spinning great music. Half the tunes I admit I never heard until them because honestly in the late 70’s 80’s 90’s there was just too much great original music to keep up with it and is a full time job to listen. Thankfully these Baltimore based guys have done this job and only taken them 30+ years to create this ongoing themed archive that deep dives into a bunch of shows about the different music scene that offered so much american culture with all sorts of fun sets. Can’t recommend enough for a proper music lesson in what today’s bands are doing completely fucking wrong so just sign-up to their mixcloud stream right now. Don’t question my authority in this matter they take great care each and every show. Plus not to mention my lazy ass does not to get up and visit the stax. I just click play and they are already two steps ahead of me. Enjoy this service.
Podcast 045. Sub Pop Singles Club
One of the more genius moves for Sub Pop in its early days was the creation of the Sub Pop Singles Club, in which subscribers received a new, limited-edition seven-inch once a month via the postal service. READ ON AND LISTEN.
Totally like this so your mom see’s what good taste you have in music.
I think it was almost a year 1/2 ago or more when Neil Sabatino mentioned to me he was planning on putting out a covers release on his label Mint 400 Records but the twist was all the songs were originally written or released in 1967! That is like 47 year ago people. 1967 was a significant year in music and this covers compilations just scratches the surface with current group who are re-interpreting for posterity their own unique takes and in our humble opinion do it justice 100%.
So much psychedelic music and a whole era of uncharted waters in pop music, far too much to mention here as there are whole blogs that really blow it out better than our little brain can handle. The First Pink Floyd album came out then and whole bunch of groups like The Kinks or The Creation had releases that we are still unearthing today. Was basically like the 90’s but the original 90’s if that makes any sense. A musicology student finding this download in the future will be very grateful when they discover this in a meta archeological dig. They say every 30 years popular music re-invents itself and we have yet to see anything as original as this era. Musically we have been borrowing ever since. So we will see what happens but here is a great set of re-interpretations of some amazing songs by 21st century bands and artists like The One & Nines, Fawn and Rabbit, The Duke of Norfolk, Fairmont, Jack Skuller, The Maravines, Moscow Centre, Murzik, Neterare Fan Club, Tri-State and Zach Uncles. This is a great idea because these bands actually don’t give a shit about EDM? Some things should just be honored and set free. So here it is. Stalk the label and download some nuggets need that re-discovery. facebook | Twitter
Here’s a few 1960’s pop selects: Let’s Spend The Night Together MP3 Cover The One and Nines – Original by The Rolling Fucking Stones.
“To Love Somebody” MP3 cover by Fairmont. Originally released June 1967 by The Bee Gees
“I’ll Be Your Mirror” MP3 cover by Murzik. Originally released by The Velvet Underground original lead vocal by Nico.
Dear Protestors protesting something:
Get a fucking job already. I don’t care if you flip burgers or take tickets at a theater Do something so you’re not sucking off your parents tit already. Learn a little respect and then once you realize how complicated things really are maybe you will contribute a little something to society. I don’t care if it’s in back-alley or on the corner even that is a service but as the Butthole Surfers say
…it’s better to regret something you’ve done than something you haven’t…
Whatever it is; unless your a farmer you can’t live off the land because even begging takes effort and you are reliant on some other working fools to work. So unless you have mental issue or nobody ever gave you break. Get a Mcjob you can’t intern your whole damn life.
SINGLE REVIEW: We like our jangle garage psyche and this track by Black Manila called “Fiasco” is right in the sweet spot of all groovy things 60’s. Naming their top 5 influential bands as The Velvet Underground, Captain Beefheart, T-Rex, The Stooges and John Lee Hooker. These are some pretty big corner stones that Liam Ramsden, Conrad Armstrong and Gareth Hoskins aka Sun King are taking on but would also say something a little New Wave is ingrained too. This new track by them is less drone than the VU with more of a sculptured song as there is an actual guitar solo to beef it up. Repetition is form in itself and they apply this keenly. We also thought the kids were afraid of guitar explorations, whilst J Mascis he is not (none are honestly) there is enough original guitar slang here to bring this track to the next level. Way above the haze for the acid test. They say this song is about being on a higher plane when imbibed with drink. Been there so we appreciate this so cheers and beers we say to this unsigned band. These grooves will be available 30th April for download & safe keeping with a UK pride B-Side called “England”.
Here’s one from their previous release called Hazy Daze MP3 by Black Manila
Tour & Holiday stops:
4/20 Buffalo Bar, London
4/28 The Finsbury, London
5/16 Capanno Blackout, Prato (Italy)
5/17 Caffe Del Teatro, Aradeo (Italy)
5/18 Villanova, Pulsano (Italy)
5/19 Blue Dhalia, Marina Di Gioiosa Ionica (Italy)
5/20 Chromazone, Atripalda (Italy)
6/4 Bloomsbury Bowling Lanes, London (Gibson showcase)
6/8 Green Door Store, Brighton
Some hand picked songs by Black Manila: Death Letter Blues MP3 by Son House from The Delta Blues of Son House (Liam likes this) Hedi’s head MP3 by Kleenex from Liliput (Gareth Likes this) England Made Me MP3 by Selfish Cunt from English Chamber Music (Conrad likes this noise- thumbs up on this one)
There is no scientific methodology to picking the best of album of 2011. Every year it does not seem like any good music is on the horizon then the music that matters start to tickle our ears. We go with the gut check versus a pedantic drivel as our motto around here. Sometime music is able to surprise you on first listen -sometimes second but if it does nothing after third pass we just move on along. Other times you respect a few words someone else says and you suddenly see the light. These are the various reasons we like making Best of Lists. Some folks just go for cool, while me try, we’re ok with failing. Hard to do as we recognize the lenses and filters of other as unique to them. So here it goes nothing.
This is a alternatively spooky monster that grows from first stringed note. You wonder why is this violin doing this to me? Instruments and simple beats played with a devilish flare the likes we have not heard in years since the art compositions of Hugo Largo where the bass and cello interplayed and built up so nicely without sounding like some bad brooklyn keyboard experiment gone wrong. This instrumental music is dark like The Velvet Underground with guts spilling in the soundscape of it’s wake.
10) Ruins by Talkdemonic
Download: Revival MP3
We’re a sucker for the psychedelic rock. Give to us this music anyway you want just don’t serve it with no reverb. That would be cruel. The Black Lips shuffle, crank and conquer here in the rockin way they only can. This is probably not on many folks lists. What we like is their consistency and homage to bands The Creation and Psych genre even when they may be arguable a little pitchy in vocal performance we’ve identified as one of the elements we like. Where the best of 12 strung guitar keys are tested on homages to Spiderman.
09) Arabia Mountains by The Black Lips
Download: Modern Art MP3
This is a total NPR lift. We kicked out a record from the list because it was a old release. We dropped the scrubber on this one and then suddenly what De La Soul was trying to do made even more sense all over again. What a total compliment to a pioneering hip band to be mashed up with Fela Kuti. I don’t think musical compliments get higher in the soul universe my brothers and sisters.
08) Fela Soul by Amerigo Gazaway of Gummy Soul [get it]
Download: Ooh (featuring Redman) MP3
This music has guys and is tough as all get-out. As Lee Fields would ask “are they rough”? It’d say hells yes. If you suddenly were inspired to play music from working at a pawn shop and make tunes with guts like this. You’ve got the blues my brothers.
07) Scandelous by Black Joe Lewis & The Honeybears
Download: Mustang Ranch MP3
I feel like this record came out of left field for me this year. Nothing like it since The Sophtware Slump has the keyboard pop charm been captured. Funny that such a simple little sound can put out so many luscious little melodies.
06) Aabenbaringen over aaskammen by Casiokids
Download: Det haster!
This is a oddly familiar Feelies record. They have a style that’s never been able to be mimic’d not even the shins who come close to a cover band version. Here Before is a winner. Once your fan of this band you’ll always be a fan because they create these effortless folk-american rock songs that many emulate and pitch right out their playbook. Essential listening that when witnessed live it’s shear manic joy.
05) Here Before by The Feelies
Download: Should Be Gone MP3
We love the re-interpretation of something like the pysche genre when it’s just done so naturally it’s all new all over again. That’s true musical influence. This band boils down the basic ingredients of a organ, bass, guitar and drums and somehow create their magic out of the steam.
04) Lil Daggers – Self titled debut
Download: Slave Exchange MP3 – Right or wrong this is a great song.
We dig this record at the RS blog. We even bought the Looser edition and had the fuckin band autograph the damn thing. Actually had the band carve their names with a ball-point pen on the back cover. They inspected it after I removed the plastic saying I as getting a good deal and they should keep some. Fuck them for making such great record and thank you John Agnello for capturing something as brilliant as bandwagonesque.
03) Endless Now by Male Bonding Bones MP3 – Great long epic closing concert jam.
02) Divine Providence by Deer Tick
This was late comer on our radar but the first time I heard the music it peaked my interest. Then I heard the Westerbergian style party lyrics and I was fan. A band you mates can all mumble or shout at the concerts or in the car. Lets go out to the bar! The Bump MP3 Is this a song about getting in trouble? Does it really matter?
01) Dance Valhalla by British Sea Power
Download: We Are Sound MP3 – A defining sound and song.
Breed (Nirvana Cover) by Titus Andronicus. Spin put a 20 year Nevermind comp out a little while back and I was surprised that TA broke their formula on this where they sound like a really rocking band versus a rowdy/horsy version of Crooked Fingers. Complete with octave pedal. Pretty good.
Territorial Pissings MP3 (Nirvana Cover) by Local H. this is from a whole show of Nirvana covers. Kind of funny but if you think about it they are almost a tribute band. Sort of outing themselves.
Stay Away MP3 (Nirvana Cover) By Charles Bradley & The Menahan Street Band from the same Spin comp as TA. This is the best and most awesome cover on there. Funk/soul he’s got it all my friends
Hey Joe MP3 (Jimi Hendrix cover) by The Creation. If you never heard of this band you won’t have any excuses for getting into them now. Making Time is probably the song you’ve heard on the Rushmore sound track. This cover is from the same record called We are Painterman.
Guns of Brixton MP3 (The Clash Cover) by Jimmy Cliff w/ Tim Armstrong from Rancid. Amazing how The Clash championed reggae and the black community and related in a very blue collar way to working class plight which was a re-occurring theme with the band and the respective audiences. Funny enough I always thought of Rancid as as really great Clash Cover band and here he is producing one of the godfathers of the genre some 30 odd years later with music influencing music full circle.
Who knew that so many great songs start with the word “Hey” in the title of it. Total excuse for a quickie playlist but here’s a few attention getters to fill your brainspace when you’re trying to make a point or can’t remember the words you were trying to put together — Hey buys you time while you’re try figure out what you are going to say. When you feel you’ve been cheated out of something you deserved. When somebody steps on your toe and you scream “Hey mother F’er!”. When somebody cuts you off in traffic and you also scream “Hey Mother F’fer…” but the window is closed and nobody hears you mutter the words. When you see somebody at a office party and you don’t remember their name and you just say “…Hey you”. Um it’s me did you meet immediate person to your left or right and then they tell you their name (works everytime). You should know my name you bastard but hey here’s a list of songs. Hey, I know I’m a fuckin’ genius. DOWNLOAD MP3s: Hey Joe (Hendrix Cover) by The Creation from We are Painterman. Best alt 60’s record ever. Hey Cowboy, The Phone’s For Youby Grandaddy from Now It’s on CD (demo). Weirdo keyboard rock from Madesto, CA. Hey Julie by Fountains of Wayne from Welcome Interstate Managers Pop till you drop. Hey Man by True Love from their first record. Great Jersey Power Pop. [Buy] Hey Man (Backup Plan) by The Young Leaves from Mass off their first EP. Tremendous power rock trio. Hey! Luciani by The Fall from 458489 A Sides. Hey Sexy by Eddie Spaghetti from the CD Old No. 2 One man rocknroll band. [BUY]
Continuing, overall this year was a bountiful one musically with our best of list deserving 13 great albums. Yeah! Shit I cut a bunch just because they would have only eeked in based on the merits of previous releases but in fairness we all have our internal logic (See part I for our Best 2010 Album guidelines) which makes these lists so much fun. So please share yours. We’ll have a separate year in review post about the things that sucked and rocked in the music industry and only go into a few reasons why the music on these records is worthy of your time and money. What I would like to see is a Web Blog equivalent of a Grammy but that whole scene is more splintered. The VMA’s are a joke. So who knows. Might be too many disparate choices. I am interested to know what’s on your list though. Without further ado here’s 2K10 year’s best of albums!
6) Elvis Costello – National Ransom
Some of my favorite pop songs have been written by Costello from This Year’s Model and his whole 70’s era. This one is good old Americana rock and roll with just enough roots and blues to make it a tasty album all the way through and he’s a Brit! Great playing on here making it a great dinner party record to sip some whiskey to with a blaring fire with friends. I can hear the smoke and smell the cinder burning.
Listen: Download MP3: National Ransom [Buy]
5) The Gaslight Anthem – American Slang
This is Jersey pride stinging you in the face. These are the rock stories of youths gone wild in the suburban and urban streets. The ability to tell the tales and paint pictures is what catapults this band’s scenes in the tradition of Springsteen and Dylan. Yup close as classic rock as you’ll get without sounding too melancholy for the 60’s. Much respect.
4) Ted Leo & The Pharmacists – The Brutalist Bricks
It’s about time that Jersey’s native son is on a New York label again like Matador. Hopefully there will be many more releases like this one. He heaves his voice and modish riffs like he has a millions songs to give and no concern for the future. The record has a nice live feel minus all the emo hand clapping so lets hope that he see’s some bucks so he can keep making music like this for us.
Listen: Download MP3: Gimme The Wire MP3 [Buy]
3) Tame Impala – Innerspeaker
This is one of those bands that came out of the blue for me. Ripped it up in all sorts of interesting ways. They sort of remind me of British Sea Power in their big rock compositions but more Revolveresque vocally with these interesting dream groove space jams. Big Bonham drums that just power you into the future with flanger effects, phasers and small stones. This is near perfect psychedelic rock.
Listen: Download MP3: Desire Be Desire Go [Buy]
2) Male Bonding – Nothig Hurts via Subpop The right mix of trashy bass, Melody and sing-song guitardness is up in this English bands tunage produced by John Agnello. At their heart they remind me of fIREHOSE but sound nothing like them. They use reverb like any proper British group of record geeks should. I don’t know… try it in case you haven’t already. This band has heart.
Listen: Download MP3:All Things This Way [Buy]
1) True Love – ¡Pas Net! via Mainman Records
Besides the fact I’ve known these guys since forever and the various groups they were each in before. They have never faltered to deliver quality rock-and-roll that nods to just the right amount of genres and musical stock. Any lame metaphor would not be perfect enough. They put a lot of care in their pop-rock which is alla The Creation, Nada Surf, Sweet, Bowie,gbv and feel free to insert any weird 70’s references. All three in this trio can sing and play an instrument which makes for better bubblegum chewing for us all at the risk of biting our lips in sobering retarded awe. This is fantastic marathon beer drinking rock music without breaking a swet. A sobering experience for critics and in my humble opinion this is what albums should be like from a start to finish. When it’s over you want more and you don’t know why. This one reaches the finish line breathlessly.
Listen: Download MP3:Bitter Wine [Buy]
Download Bonus: Here’s a track from their first self titled LP. If you don’t like this something is seriously wrong with you and I don’t think we can be friends.
Listen: DOWNLOAD MP3: Over The Rainbow [Buy]
Dear CMJ Friends, here’s the one guy who has had the honor of drinking with Joe Strummer, seeing the music industry implode and basically keeping one of the most in depth music magazines alive for the past 30 years – The Big Takeover. This humble guy is Jack Rabid. His army of devout writers and friends have helped carry the torch for music with heart and that matters in a time when we need it the most. If you love music and understand the creation of it as one of those things that makes life meaningful. Then this is the essence what Jack and co have captured in print for all these years. I always talk “oh-crap – how did I miss this band or that band”. Jack Rabid and company don’t miss a beat or least twice a year they feature many not so obvious bands. What is super unique and whole reason in of itself to back-issues is he’s never posted one word of the content featured in the pages of his magazine. So you’ll only what I am talking about if you read and subvert this whole social media thing.
Back story: As I embarked on working on this Artist series for Ogilvy; little did a I know that myself as a super fan of his magazine, and a random music post about his 30th anniversary show that it would lead to episode in this mini documentary series. The topic is so close to my heart as the blood is in my veins that having him end up being featured has seriously made my year. So I am happy to share this video and I hope you dig it. Plus some of the others artists and tremendous talent I have been privileged to have met so far. Who should I interview next?
(The Create or Else Team: L-R Nancy H, Myself, Jack and D.Zellerford)
A short playlist for friends: I Didn’t See It Coming by Belle and Sebastian from their new one Write About Love [BUY] Second Life Life by Gang of Four from the Second Life EP [BUY] Nothin’ ’bout Nothin’ by Joe Strummer. This track is music Joe Recorded after disbanding The Clash. I didn’t know it existed until i found this comp from Permanent Records. [BUY] Big Takeover b/w Attitude by Bad Brains self titled (1982) – [BUY] Aftertaste by For Against from Nebraska. Featured in the video above. [BUY]
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