Kicking off Halloween month with a few scary rock songs for bad people who like songs about monsters, ghosts and Goblins. A pretty eclectic list of genres mixed in with Psych, Punk and Indie. We’ll do another post later in October. Enjoy!
Scared MP3 by Albert Hammond Jr from Yours to Keep Scarysmurf MP3 by Kid Dynamite s/t Loch Ness Monster MP3 by Big Dipper from Heavens Goo Goo Muck MP3 by The Cramps famously from Bad Music for Bad People Human Fly MP3 by The Cramps City Hobgoblins MP3 by The Fall Ghost Town MP3 by Bubblegum Thunder from The Cock Monkey LP (Recorded by Steve Albini) – pretty ripping indie rock if I do say so myself. Ghos† Smile MP3 by Fight Back. Punk Metal demo if you like buzzoven & early neurosis Graveyard Swagger MP3 by Sick Figures from Two Ghosts. This swings and has a banjo giving it a spooky feel in particular with the low vocals. Ghost Herd MP3 by Lil Daggers from s/t (2011). Florida Pysch band. Zombies (Ghost Dance) MP3 by Magma from Udu Wudu. On the Tomato label (1989). Song written by channeling Aliens and their take-over of our planet. Amazing orchestration. File under weird.
All Tomorrow's Parties - Fist of Tarver of Chavez Asbury Park, Nj
Here’s a couple photos from last night. I wish I had a proper camera but sometimes if you just work with what you got it really is all about your timing so the rest of you can suck it. All Tomorrow’s Parties was a blast last night. Always awesome to see the 1 millionth Chavez reunion. One day maybe one day we’ll hear something new out of these men. The word is that ATP is now contracted to have the event in Asbury’s convention hall for next couple years after this weekend’s show. This works for me although I’ve always wanted to have a reason to go to Monticello, NY because the damn weather people are telling me what the temperature is there for some reason. I tried to sit through Bonnie Prince Billy but was not in mood after laughing my ass off to Reggie Watts and be run over by Shellac and Chavez. We waiting in line to watch Thinking Fellers Union. They were as quirky as I remembered them.
For the rest of the weekend I’ll need to live vicariously through everybody else who is staying down there for the weekend into Sunday when Public Enemy plays and maybe Radiohead? Holy Hell I wish I could see that double bill.
One of the more pleasant experiences to break-up all the noise was seeing Reggie Watts. The guy introducing him in this google performance is a tool but you get a good idea of his schtick. He reminds me of old school SNL so maybe one day he’ll get to do that show.
RECORD REVIEW: Son of The Sun make music for the universe of rock fans who miss the late 70’s and nostalgia surrounding smokey club jams. Almost Not There is a extended EP with 6 varied songs with at least two number #1 hit “10,000” and another called “My Best Mistake”, the guitars have a little retro delay on it and vocals chime in a sort of Brian Fallon kind of way. There’s also something a little spooky with the way the keyboards on other tracks like “Henry’s England” are used channelling some retro. Their sense of layers make Son Of The Sun a good band that like to play with your sense of song that take you on a interesting rock journey. Hailing from Buffalo, NY with a few previous releases under their belt we urge you check them out at a local venue near you and report in. Like we were saying there is a lot of variety with this units rock-n-roll twists – if you like the picking found on “Friction” by Television and on 10k electric Dylan-esque jams really come through – they will keep you guessing as to their true retro-influences.
10,000 MP3 single by Son of The Sun from Almost Not there
Sounds like this sound man: Friction MP3 by Television from Marquee Moon (1977) Mr. Pharmacist MP3 by The Fall from Bend Sinister (1986) No More Heroes MP3 by The Stranglers from Golden Brown Mirror People MP3 by Love & Rockets from Earth, Sun & Moon (1987)
To be honest I’m looking for motivation to get back into the 4 strings thinking. Besides literally trying to find the bandwidth to do it right with Eastern Anchors. I’m not sure why you’d need more inspiration than bands like Girls Against Boys for inspiration in particular when there is awesome tone, tube amps and distortion pedals are at play on every song. GvsB were a innovator in this spectrum of rock, however there are a crap load of other bass players who’s bass licks are just as stellar.
U.S. 80’s-90’s MP3 from Bend Sinister (1986) The bass playing on any of The Fall’s songs is just always so solid and straight forward it becomes innovative on it’s own mainly because who-ever is playing is try to stay ahead of the crazy amount of songs on any given album Gang of Four were also master of making the drumming just as important as the melody with bass making it work perfectly showing who is in control of the rythem section. Not Great Men MP3 by Gang of Four from Entertainment (1979)
Wartime A experimental project that features bass with sorts of effects and use of the “Phaser” is Wartime which was Rollins and Andrew Weiss making some funk w/ Sim Cain going nuts on the roto toms. Then again any song that Andrew played on I thought was awesome and big like on 1,000 Times Blind MP3 from Rollins Band’sLifetime record (1999). He breaks it down into a swinging bass distorted inferno on Lonely MP3 as another example.
Bassface by David Wm. Sims from Jesus Lizard
The Art of Self-Defense MP3 by Jesus Lizard – really any freaking song is an example of killer bass playing but the magic really happens when you have the whole band working hard like this and doing it fucking fast. Almost inconsequential what the singer is doing although you better keep your eye on David Yow because he might grab your private parts. As he and David Wm. Sims are going to be touring with Scratch Acid later this fall. She Said MP3 by Scratch Acid.
Lets consider this part 1 of some of the alternative players. I’m drawing a blank besides like John Paul Jones and particular songs it’s obvious I’ll need to revisit this short list. Please leave a note in the comments. What’s a good drummer gonna do if you can’t give the bass player some credit for making it happen.
I remember in 8th grade this skater name Rusty gave me Murmur because he just didn’t get it. It was probably one of the weirdest random gifts of music I ever got. The first time I heard “Radio Free Europe” was a high-school band covering the song then within literally a couple months I had the original version of the song where this whole world opened up I did not know existed. It was one of the signs I should quit my cover band and look for other kids making original music. That first original band a couple years later would be called the Unemployed, then The Leisure Set and my senior year Psychic Fair then a whole shit-tone saga of bands, records and recordings since.
From Murmur to New Day Rising I was hooked on this alternative music thing. I think Hüsker Dü put the nail in the cofin but it was definitely a moment when I thought. Hell I can make punk music if they can. This sounds easy instead of these Rush covers like “XYZ” and “Spirit of the radio”. Mike Stipe made it ok to not be so secure and to just let it out with a nice subtle twist with his almost undiscernible lyrics. Mills made it ok to be a melodic bass player and play some chords. Peter Buck was just cool. Hell he played on Let it Be by The Replacements. I think a super geek thing when on tour one time was when my band old indie band Aviso’Hara of 10 years played the 40 Watt, I met Buck’s ex wife which i think she wanted the club in their divorce settlement and then as we were driving out of town we made sure to drive by the restaurant Automatic for the People where REM named said record after. Anyway, heard on the internet we all have a reunion show to look forward to. They are as iconic as The Rolling Stones in my book. Thanks for all the great music boys.
“Something about that sound man” I Will Dare MP3 by The Replacements from Let It Be. Solo in the middle is Peter Buck playing the mandolin. New Day Rising MP3 by Hüsker Dü s/t
We have no clue what Aabenbaringen over aaskammen means...
ALBUM REVIEW: Ok we lie, it’s Norwegian for roughly the “revelation over the mountain” but after a whole slew of singles this is technically their first end to end record after releasing piles of singles. I of course because I technically live in a cave on the weekend and during the week untangle a mountain of real work related riddles & sniglets it’s no surprise i never heard of them but thankfully I’m on Polyvinyl’s distro list so some sort of culture does make it my way. In order to describe this group we’ll need to take you into our 80’s time machine bit by bit. In order to confirm what the big corporate mags are onto. Quickly line-up if your a Kid A Moon Safari or Kraftwerk fan. We’re going take you a little deeper but not Autobahn deep (Ok maybe that is another lie). We’re going to keep it to one hot summer in 1986 or 88 and my Walkman was playing a couple OMD tracks, a bunch of Scottish songs by APB and even some DM. I know a girlfriend was making me listen to Yaz and I countered with APB. Anyway, Electronic pop is the kind of music that you either hate or like it very little as much as you do meaningless anagrams which happens to be another language. There is certain sense of soundscape artistry that vocalist Ketil Kinden Endresen has explained is a “result of them expanding their palette”. We’re not all about the grunge on the RS blog but however you want to explain these Casiokids make some pretty good ecstatic music. We get it. One day it will be re-interpreted music for time travel. We do think their is a need for analog electro pop music and just spacing-out in general with the sweet sounds of Casio’s holding down those giant monotone notes. Enjoy.
Det haster! MP3 by CasioKids from Aabenbaringen Over Aaskammen
Something about this bands sounds man: Shoot You Down MP3 APB
Da Da Da MP3 by Trio (Ich Lieb Dich Nitch Du)- 1982
SINGLE REVIEWS: Consider this month’s FIVE Crop O’ Singles your spin through a 45′ bin at a record shop except here we give you the goods in the form of mp3’s. Cool right? We strongly recommend that you actually go and purchase or investigate all of these bands and better yet go out of your to see them live. Ultimately we leave it up to you and your own devices how you go about consuming music so here’s this month’s curated selects you bastards.
Lightouts – Have consistently been delivering flaming gong rock-n-roll at such a steady pace we’ve been happy to be at the listening end each ime. I don’t know why other bands don’t do it this way by releasing 2-3 songs at a time is the perfect cadence to saunter and appear yet again for a third time on the RS blog! The Eloise Suite the “A” side rock fire-stomper is reason enough to grab your chick and shake your hips and swill some PBRs but the real motivator that should peak your curiosity is the closer. “All I Want / Heroes which is a LCD Soundsystem & David Bowie cover packed into one song. The artwork series is pretty cool too! I hope they actually print and produce some of these. I would surely had noticed them in the bins.
Next up is Knifey Spooney from Oakland California. Here’s a actual 7″ that’s available as 00 and 11’s for you to grab here if your’re into real quirky rocknroll chordage. “Art for Show Press pass” is sloppy like Sorry Ma’ and fun like The Raging Lamos which is a odd reference just for the old Jersey Court Tavern crowd who will know exactly what I’m talking about. This is fun like a fast version of Black Diamond and a little sloppy version of the Melvins. OK a couple references for you in one paragraph should be motivation enough. Art Show Press Pass MP3 by KNIFY SPOONEY [BUY THE REST]
A little bit like Cheap Trick and The Knack combined in what is a band known as The Perms because it’s totally ok if you want to party all night staying up late watching The Legend of Billie Jean and drinking Dr. Peppers. Oh now that you have this 70-80’s hair image planked in your head with the 101 rock rhymes you’ll probably enjoy the straightforward nature of this band. Nothing too deep it’s just a good rock song kids by a trio of Canadians. Get with their 5th album coming out this month called Sofia Nights. High School High MP3 by The Perms [ BUY ]
Long band names scare me but not so much these days. Here’s a beautiful light shoegaze dream-pop band called Letting Up Despite Great Faults. “Teenage Tide” reminds me of Lush dark bits of The Ravenettes with their whispy reverb drenched moments making peppering of subtle feedback which makes for an incredibly & unmistakably catchy song. More of this secret formula can be found via their record Paper Crush. Teenage Tide MP3 by Letting Up Despite Great Faults [ OLD FLAME ]
ok if you spun some pavement delivery and the concrete soundscapes that i love by grandaddy with a UK band shoegaze outfit fit to support Manchester flower power scene they would sound like Silence Rises. This may have been their game-plan developed in the boardroom of some dank rehearsal space and I would have told you I have reservations because the groups name sounds like the name of a Emo band but in the end the creative department would be right and I’d be wiser after a good listen to the full track. Throw down some RadioheadBends era inspired guitar power and “Shallow Water” will help you get your rocks-off. Blues for a Dead Lover would be the case study for a well delivered execution. Shallow Water MP3 by Silence Rises [ OWN THE FULL EP ]
Something about these sounds that remind of that sound man: Hallucinations MP3 by The Ravenettes from Lust Lust Lust (2008) Grinding Process MP3 by Melvins from 10 Songs live 2 track C/Z (1986) He’s a Whore MP3 by Cheap Trick (1977) Miner At The Dial-A-View MP3 by Grandaddy from The Sophtware Slump (2000)
ALBUM REVIEW: If we were to shoot a band up in space in the late 1990’s and then they landed back on earth in late 2011 they would probably sound similar to the music on Lenses Alien by Cymbals Eat Guitars. Ageless and pure indie rock that was somehow incapsulated in this experiment of fluid guitars; almost as if anything that may have come before may have somehow influenced them in a magnetically sealed hyperbolic chamber. Never afraid to just let it fucking rip Joe & his rock-o-naughts launch you into the outer rim in a slow explosion that is every bit Trail of the Dead sounding without being formulaic as telling you a very long story via their music. Maybe it’s easier for you to imagine what The Shins would sound like with balls except in this incarnation they have volume behind the yapping. A track like “Plainclothes” is ever as much a hit as they showed us on their debut Why There Are Mountains. All the notes on here are as passionate as they are live except they give you much more this time. Lucky for them their command was steered by Jersey City denizen John Agnello so we have him to thank for capturing this space magic. But here they are playing awesomely with dynamics and layers of thick amp goodness that will clear the ear wax right out of the dormant state you were in while maybe you were up in the black. People who have since gone deaf to good music with this sonic landscape will be awakened at least for a brief respite their muscles will do a awesome convulsion they did not think they had in them.
We highly recommend this band as a cure for your rock guitar slump and bad posture. Enough of these words. Just fucking buy the shit for yourself. Catch them on tour, buy a t-shirt and whatever they say on your planet. We’re all only here temporarily so enjoy.
Definite Darkness MP3 by Cymbals Eat Guitars from Lenses Alien (2011 Barsuk)
Remember what the 90’s sounded like? Randy Described Eternity MP3 by Built To Spill from Perfect from Now On (1997) Punch Me Harder MP3 by Superchunk (vinyl rip) from No pocky for Kitty (1991) high-wire moves MP3 by Polvo from Exploding Drawing (1996) breadcrumb trail MP3 by Slint from Spiderland (1991)
Charles Bissell (Wrens) & Joe from Cymbal Eat Guitars projectmatters.org
Glen Matlock was there writing most of tunes on Never Mind the Bollocks, Here’s the Sex Pistols. Maybe not cool or stupid enough to stick around for their run but in post-pistol life he’s cashed in. We know the face of the pistols infamous line-up but most record geeks know he was one of the actual musicians with some song writing skills. Here’s a couple but gotta say not much as changed since the rockn-roll genre was invented but somehow was the intro-drug for most of us into punk because of it’s easy accessibility.
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.
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