Numerology is one of those real weirdo sciences based on some sort of mathematical religion I won’t even begin to understand. What does interest me though is that our time on this giant landfill is limited so when there is a awesome calendar that ends on 2012 you have to begin to wonder what the Mayans knew? What is going to happen from a year from now? Obviously their civilization did not stick around or maybe they just got on the good ship, put on their sneakers and got out of Dodge. Whatever the reason when ever there are songs that include some sort of integer it gives the song some meaning that we attach to it I like them usually. Here’s a few odd songs with numbers in their titles. I left out some of the obvious ones and just went in order of what has randomly come-up on a search in my music library then filtered on time, years or when something is counted. Whatever came first you could probably rationalize this post all freaking day!
As the year and this decade winds down it’s a new habit in my life to see who’s passed on to the other side. Morbid I know but at the same time it gives me inspiration to enjoy interacting with my own family when I can and everyday extraordinary people. Someone once said to treat every moment and thing as it happens as a minor miracle. The musicians music people listed here either touched some aspect of music and if you take a moment to appreciate their achievements through to their demise. Their existence will have touched you too. Even if it is for thirty seconds. Some from this listing I don’t even have music for. For the brevity I apologize. You have the internets at your disposal.
Jay Reatard (Jimmy Lee Lindsey Jr.) – Died January 12th 2010 in Memphis, TN, from cocaine toxicity with alcohol as a contributing factor. He really was a established self recorded 29 year old garage rock artist who was prolific with his synth band Lost Sounds, his solo singles that were put out by Matador, to his lo-fi label Shattered Records. He contributed to a number of side projects to a great genre of music. His last record was little more mature in varied instrumentation but still keeping with the spirit of self-recorded music. Short songs for short attention spans. Here’s one. Download:It Ain’t Gonna Save Me From Watch Me Fall (Matador)
Dannie Flesher was the Co-founder of Wax Trax! Records passed in Hope, Arkansas, U.S. of Pneumonia of January og 2010. He was 58 years old. His label partner Jim Nash originated the store in 1970’s in Ohio before moving to 2445 North Lincoln Ave in Chicago which released recordings by Brian Eno, Ministry, Coil, Controlled Bleeding, Strike Under, Sister Machine Gun, Front 242, My Life With The Thrill Kill Kult, Divine and The KLF. Nash died in 1995 and the label folded soon after but both left behind a legacy of industrial music that started many a career in the dark genre to it’s commercial success. Here are just a few of the groups and music this label inspired. MP3 DOWNLOADS: Megalomaniac (Bomb) MP3 K. M.F.D.M. Mix By Excessive Force U-Men by Front 242 from the CD Geography (Wax Trax! 1988) The Missing by Ministry from Land Of Rape and Honey
Iain Burgess (December, -11-2010) passed away in Florida, of Pulmonary embolism was a super well know Producer and a workhorse behind many 90’s bands. To name a few he worked with Big Black, Cows, Poster Children, Naked Raygun, Effigies, Bhopal Stiffs, Solient Green And Shellac, Ministry, Bloodsport, The Defoliants, Pegboy and whole shit load more so check out a pretty good list on Brooklyn Vegan ». MP3 Downloads: Jordan, Minnesota by Big Black from Atomizer 39 Lashes(Jesus Christ Superstar Cover) MP3 by the Cows from Sexy Pee Story Heave Ho MP3 By Cows from Cunning Stunts She Walks by the Poster Children from Flower Power (1991 Frontier reissue originally released on Vinyl in 89. The first four songs from this record were tracked by Albini the rest of the tracks by Burgess.
Mark Linkous – Died March 6th 2010 in Knoxville, Tennessee, U.S. of apparent Suicide. This Alternative rocker was Born 1962 and was a Singer, guitarist and producer and the creative force behind Sparklehorse. His music was dark, sad and wonderful at the same time. It’s A Wonderful Life MP3 title track by Sparklehorse Angel’s Harp (featuring) Black Francis MP3 from collaboration record with Dangermouse Dark Night of the Soul.
Alex Chilton – Died March17th 2010 in New Orleans, LA, from a heart problem. William Alexander Chilton) was born Decemebr 28th 1950, in Memphis, TN, and most notably known as the Guitarist and singer from Big Star. Although not popular at first he influenced more pop rock artists than one could ever count including Jon Auer and Paul Westerberg. Andy Hummel also passed July 19th in 2010 in Fort Worth, Texas, U.S. of Cancer. He was 59 years old rocker Born in Valley Forge, Penn. Was Bassist and was a member of Rock City, Icewater and Big Star!
Thirteen MP3 by Big Star from #1 Record/Radio City(1972). Chris Bell has a composer credit on this even though Chilton had written the song some 6 years earlier after seeing The Beatles play. “Rock ‘n’ roll is here to stay”. Alex Chilton by The Replacements
Jim Marshall Photogrpaher, Died March 23rd 2010 in New York, NY.He was Born 1936 in Chicago, Ill., U.S. His photos include some of biggest rock icons from the 60’s and 70’s including: The Who, Miles Davis, Jimi Hendrix (burning his guitar), The Rolling Stones, Johnny Cash (throwing the finger- photo is the one above), Cream, Velvet Revolver, Otis Redding, Bob Dylan, Led Zeppelin, Lenny Kravitz and a ton more. His black and white work is great. I almost bought a print 15 years ago from a gallery in San Francisco but did not have a place to honor it enough back then.
Ronnie James Dio (Ronald James Padavona) – Died 5-16-2010 in Houston, TX, U.S. – Stomach cancer. He played all sorts of genres from Rockabilly, to Rock to Metal. Born 7/10/1942 in Portsmouth, NH, U.S. – Sang and played bass and trumpet and was a member of The Vegas Kings who became Ronnie And The Rumblers who became Ronnie And The Red Caps who had a couple hits “Lover” and “Conquest”. He also had Ronnie Dio And The Prophets, The Electric Elves who were renamed Elf who had a couple hits called “I’m Coming Back for You” and “Ain’t It All Amusing”. He played in Rainbow with songs like “Stargazer” and “Love Live Rock n’ Roll” and then what most people know him as the Black Sabbath singer after Ozzy he sang on “Neon Knights” and “The Mob Rules”.
Phil Petillo (Dr. Phillip J. Petillo) – Passed away this past August 13th 2010 at his work shop in Ocean New Jersey. He was 64 years old. He was Born in Jersey City, NJ and was Luthier and inventor and Proprietor of Petillo Masterpiece Guitars which he opened in 1966. His customers included Bruce Springsteen, Meatloaf, Nils Lofgren, Tom Petty, Keith Richards, Ricky Nelson, Herb Ellis, James Taylor, Gene Simmons, Sting, Jim Croce and Tal Farlow to name a few. Official Facebook page and memoriam run by his son David Petillo » who runs the business these days. Tremendous loss to the world. I had a bunch of conversations with him and his son David this past summer of 2010 in preparation to interview him for mini documentary series I’ve been working on called Create or Else. On top of being known as guitar tinkerer he’s also quite the engineer and has number of patents under his belt. I can’t get into some of them but lets just say it had to do with solving our energy crisis. That is where the story got interesting for me and my team I would to catch-up with his legacy very soon.
Captain Beefheart (Don Glen Vliet) (aka Bloodshot Rollin’ Red) – Died December, 17th 2010 in California, of Complications from multiple sclerosis. To say he was an Experimental Rock, Blues Avant-garde musician would be understatement. Once the disease took over he turned to painting as a form of expressing himself until he could not do it any more. That’s how I want to go.(i think) Check out Hollywood Reporter Obituary » they do a finer job of getting into the details of his life. The music he made was extraordinary here’s just one sample. Enjoy. Electricity from Safe as Milk (1967)
For more death tracking check out the Dead Rock Star Club where some of our info was borrowed from.
ALBUM REVIEW forLeft & Right: Computer generated and recorded music would not be possible 15 years ago like it is today. Which is good and bad I suppose. The way we hear things has no happy accidents from your regular old analog compression unless its you’re own special subtle twist and you have drunk people insisting your guitarists sound like Dean Wareheim from Galaxie 500. Maybe a obscure sign you are making good music you like verses what you think other people will like. To reproduce that magic accidentally is the trick for sure for whatever the drunk guy heard. You still of course need some SKills underneath all of “it” and be able to borrow ideas, as there is only so much auto-tune that can be corrected, so lets face it most independently recorded music are demos until there’s some validation of your product at some point. Whatever the hell it is what do I know. Maybe somebody pays your way? Left & Right has four dudes who have documented the special secret sauce and the ingredients are in their album Miss Virginia. The music comes highly recommended and we give it four hot southern girl’s drunk on PBR’s which is our way of saying — thumbs up.
Old Smile’s Debut comes to us via the new cassette label tree top sorbet. I first encountered this bizarro cassette label culture a few years ago at the Cake shop when I picked up Knyfe Hyts (which i’m just getting over btw) and I suppose we need to calm down a bit considering the above rant about demos and self recording quality. Music on tape used to = Demo.
Anyway, the O.S. decompiles a freedom of making music. Tom Herman the man behind this viejo’s grin is in good shape. Mixing experimental noise with your regular ones is fine by me in Neutral Milk kind of way. This is the early stuff. The music you will roll back to and turn on the 60 watt energy efficient light buld and “I see where he was going”. Who wants a bunch of pop-songs in a row anyway? There’s some nice oceanic layers in this music and is meant to be listened to in sequence because the notion that everything needs to be hit is a negative affect of top 40 radio Regardless, while there are no “hyts” on Hawkin’s Bridge perse the music is ambient like cough syrup on a tofu icecream sunday and organically fills in the melody with swan song vocals making picture of Brooklyn cityscapes streets seems clear to me. We hear it this way at least. Three and 1/2 PBRs on me.
Always have loved the Melvins and it’s super awesome to hear them true to form in darker and simpler ways on The Bride Screamed Murder which was released this past summer. I don’t think they will ever sell-out Hollywood style and if they would they are probably too retarded to even make a reality show worthwhile. I think only a few folks would laugh being is that I loved Greg The Bunny. They eat hipsters for breakfast for one thing. Anyway, their rock is anvil ugly at times, self-mocking almost always but done with a shit-eating grin. Their bombastic capabilities always keep morphing and re-inventing over and over through volumes of material on what is loosely defined as heavy metal. Buzzo and Dale Crover are always humble geniuses and I consider them the deans of metal for simpletons. The way it should be. The Water Glass MP3 – New Melvins from The Bride Screamed Murder. Awesome drum solo which is of course on the opening track! [Buy] Here’s a couple from the live two track record called 10 Songs(out of print) put out by the Seattle label C/Z Records in 1986. Easy As It Was MP3 Grinding Process MP3 By the time you check out these tracks from Bullhead(1991) and you’re not a convert then I give up and you don’t have a pulse. [Buy] It`s Shoved MP3 Zodiac Mp3
Welcome, here’s the first 7 of my best of lucky 13 albums for 2010. I’m breaking it up so you get a chance to listen to this first batch. Lots of albums will be in a different list all their own like No Age, She & Him II, and Superchunk just to keep you guessing. Although great bands they did not make it to this particular list. Here’s the review stalker guidelines for selecting this years list. Pretty general stuff but anyway. Enjoy! Rule: 1 Don’t stick to any one sub-genre if you can help it although you like what you like. Rule: 2 These are albums not hit songs or singles although a good album has stand-out tracks it needs songs around them that make sense so the record needs to gel from the beginning to end. One song does not an album make unless it’s a amazing song. Rule: 3 Just because a band made great record in the past doesn’t automatically qualify them. Although if it’s kind to your ears for reason you can’t explain put it on the list! Rule: 4 These are not Grammys so don’t make obvious choices mix and shake it up some variety. Not even easy as a guideline unless it’s a specific black metal list. Rule: 5 Listen with your ears on and check out these songs if you’re not familiar with them already. Make a mix and share it with your friends. Then go support the bands you like and buy their music you cheap ass. That’s the point.
The Soft Pack via Kemado Records
13) The Soft Pack – Self Titled
This band used to be called The Muslims and not sure why they changed their name to something more PC. Sort of lame but whatever. My friend Albie turned me on to them and just based on this song alone they made it to my best of list. I don’t know a whole hell of a lot about them other than they know how to compose a good rock song or two. See I’m breaking my own rules already.
Listen: Download MP3: C’Mon [Buy]
The Hold Steady - Heaven is Whenever
12) The Hold Steady – Heaven Is Whenever
This is their Let it Bleed. This is band knows how to lay it down and are relentless despite the departure of their keyboard player, the rhythm section, the solos are right in the sweet spot, and big rock ideals make every track a keeper. Singing songs about girls and drinking doesn’t get any better than this. Shit there are only four chords anyway.
Listen: The Weekenders MP3 [Buy]
Nada Surf - If I Had a Hi-Fi
11) Nada Surf – If I Had A Hi-Fi
This is a cover Album. Wait what? Yeah and you know what it’s awesome all the way through. Every song sounds like it could be a Nada Surf song. They are songs that have inspired them or they inspired it seems to me. It’s confusing but hot damn they do everything justice. It’s a first here for sure. Here’s our review with all the original versions of the songs(almost).
10) The Black Angels – Phosphene Dream
Psychedelic or Psych or voodoo rock. This record is huge. The sound track for a all out acid war. Picture tar pits burning and people running around naked like a scene out of True Blood. That’s track 1 and it just gets wilder from there. These are images this music conjures up. A little Jim Morrison a little led zeppelin. This stuff is huge and simple at the same time.
Listen: Telephone MP3 [Buy]
The Fall - Your Future Our Clutter
9) The Fall – Your Future Our Clutter
Mark E. Smith is the grand creator of alternative punk among the best of the . A constant artist who keeps moving The Fall’s music even it should not be moved. His place in history was chiseled and yet he chooses to take the same old atonal ingredients using keyboards, drums, and bass bulldoze over his own castle and fill it with more crazy moaning alchemy. Great noise.
Listen: Hot Cake [Buy]
Sweet Apple Love & Desperation
8 ) Sweet Apple – Love & Desperation
Lots of big rock jams on here of the kind pot smoking variety. Another big rock entry on this best of list. Besides the fact it has variable rock star weight this is great. That’s all.
Listen: Flying Up A Mountain MP3 [Buy]
Black Rebel Motorcycle Club - Beat The Devil's Tattoo
7)Black Rebel Motorcycle Club – Beat The Devil’s Tattoo
This is southern black magic. This shit rocks hard and is relentlessly distorted with creepy church organs. I like them so much because they remind of the american version of The Jesus and Mary Chain sometimes. All the guitars sound great and fills a huge space.
Listen: Beat The Devil’s Tattoo MP3 [Buy]
Unremarkable People Confirmation Bias EP via Ourselves Collective
Album Review:Unremarkable People are my New favorite band on so many levels if life were a video game. The group is the brainchild of one known as B. Mandelbaum. Not a very rockstarish name but then again neither is singer/songwriter Burt Bacharach.
The evidence is in the words and melodies that are apologetically so and prolifically free. How else are kids supposed to work? Mandelbaum and his collective of friends (Dan, Adam, Tom, Steve, Christian, Jeremy, Bill, Matt, Rowen, Mike, Joe..) remind us sincerely musically of the one man show known as Los Halos lead by Samezvous aka Eli Wenger or East River Pipe.
One way to come up with huge discography is to never stop recording and to release as much material as you can as if your life depended on it. This is what Unremarkable People have done in the tradition of cooperatives. A don’t stop. Don’t look back Clash philosophy where you are dared to quit. Maybe they edit out the shit (or maybe not) and move on. Not sure if it applies here since there is one beating heart creating the material and lots of friends are involved. To make them just show up to the scene is probably a job in itself.
The evidence is the debut a 16 track epic that was recorded in different places in and around Brooklyn, Queens and Shirley NY called A Rare Condition, in This Day and Age(2009) but this is not what I’m here to talk about today. The second release is compromised of 5 EPs! Not singles or 7 inches. The latest of five final installments in series is called Confirmation Bias EP. This is manicmusic the sort that blasts out of confetti cannons for good reason at all other than to celebrate imbibing air. Pop music with a infectious melodic sting not unlike a needle prick but in the 2 1/2 minute variety that is sure to bring out your best most awkward dancy dance.
Shows:
Fri 12/10 Union Pool w/ Roadside Graves
Sat 12/18 Terror Pigeon Dance Revolt Christmas Spectacular @ SILENT BARN
Sun 12/19 Terror Pigeon Dance Revolt Christmas Spectacular @ THE OASIS
Fri 1/14/11 Brooklyn Fireproof East
Influences and stuff I hear in Unremarkable People but decide for yourself:
Baltimore (mp3) East River Pipe from Tape op [Buy]
Lioness (mp3) by Los Halos From Leaving VA and here’s an outtake called Loveless(mp3) that did not make it onto the album and was only available if you got the box set of cds mailed to you. This cd was called a new kind of joy. In the liner notes he goes on about that there was a girl that inspired LVA, then they broke-up and the friend thing was ruined when he played her the song and she laughed. Ouch. [Buy]
Album Review Radical Hips(EP): You never know what the week will bring sometimes. Either you’re in luck and you find money in a pocket or your inbox has a note from an old friend. Please meet Billy Alpha via Yab Yum Records. Most north Jerseyites know him from The Alphamales or his is more recent joint WJ & The Sweet Sacrifice. Solo and in his room Billy sings songs about his alarm clock as his girl makes sad faces on his arm. There are no solos just a man buried and hunkered over his acoustic guitar only reaching out to take a swig of some booze from a dirty glass that Bruce Springsteen may have touched once. The deep voice sounds somewhat like Nick Cave or Elvis but mellower walking you home in a wet silent snowy night. Where you may hear what silence sounds like. These are songs for the end of the night or the begining of your day depending on your alarm clock but if you listen carefully you can hear the clank of the beer bottles being cleaned up in-between chords and tracks.
Album Review: Oh, Thunder by Olympia Washington’s songster and enchantress Eleanor Murray. The tremelo timber of her voice could easily kick start any campfire with a few chords. The film visual are burning embers each embodying a thought or feeling. This is her third release coming out on Bicycle Records and first I’ve ever listened to so I’m a bit of newb. One of the stand-out tracks word-wise is “When A Heart Becomes A Heart” in the tradition of folk addressing these feelings. Creating a definition to song about crying and honesty. Another is a track called “Scream” which is photographically introspective and has a great example of her vocal detail abilities caring the sentiment around in voice while you look at her under a photo loop. This is really quite good so if you if you are into something mellowliciously Nico check her out.
MP3 Scream by Eleanor Murray from Oh, thunder [Buy]
Bonus MP3 Tracks: Jesus Of The Moon by Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds from Dig!!! Lazarus Dig!! – Quit an awaking from this artist. Super mellow but yet totally musical and thick. You can hear the dust kicking in this song from the resurrected rock star. Abschied by Nico(1938-1988) from Desertshore(1970). I have no idea what she is singing about since this track is in German but interesting to know that the heroine died after being mis-diagnosed from a heart attacked while cycling. Ms. Murray’s voice reminded me of her — somehow sad in some way but as expressive.
ALBUM REVIEW: The immediate happiness of Tapes n’ Tapes one feels comes to mind when listening to Warship by The House Floor band. Mainly due to the timber in the singing and low-fi-nesss of the recordings. Cheap microphones I don’t think so but certainly DIY in most respects meandering in spots while building you up in other places. I’d go deeper but the influences verge and teeter on Camper Van Beethoven and hum stylistically something closer to The Loon or The Shins. For more local reference totally remind me of Montagna & The Mouth To Mouth (track from them below). Certainly has just as much reverb as the song craft does not stick to any particular formula which makes this recording ambiently-free with just the right amount of twangy guitars for my taste. I am thankful there are no crappy keyboards or lame use of drum machines to be found so that is a big huge +. Nothing more annoying than that junk and having engineer like Andrew Maury give this mix some love certainly helps the end result. I can’t wait for their next record already.
My favorite part though are the song titles what I don’t like is that lyrics/singing are unaudible in parts and not a in a wrens sort of way but like small random pieces of paper you find that you wrote to yourself in your pocket only you may know what you scribbled. Some of these treasure titles are like kid’s notes from a childhood past or straight out of the song writers notebook. I’d say about 10 years of age or so. Which makes it a interesting theme album somehow tying the worlds together with an adult dialogue. I’d send you to one of their sites but it’s in Japanese or some shit but feel free to grab the whole record over at Listen Before You Buy. Great site they run there.
All Aboard / MLWR(LOL!) lead track from Warship With Awkward Speech by Montagna & The Mouth To Mouth from L’avenir The Day That Lassie Went to the Moon Camper Van Beethoven from Telephone Free Landslide Victory (1985) – Totally grab this record. Will give you an idea of what can be laid down without fear of what your cool indie friends will say in particular since all the words are clear in this style of jangle pop.[BUY]
I’ve been on eMusic since they began and have dealt with their changes and growth throughout the years. Always linking to them for almost every post in hopes of inspiring a purchase for other rabid music fans. This new deal with Universal Music Group is not a great one. Although the numbers sound good(250,000 addition to catalog) the fall-out is bad for fans of what got the digital music club there in first place.
Emusic was always been the one place you could get a true read on what was being offered in Indie music land. Now with Merge Records gone a whole slew of awesome labels
under the Beggars Group which includes Rough Trade, 4AD, Matador, XL, among others there is little in a way of choice.
It will be interesting to watch the Emusic charts for sure but One of the key things(ok actually there are several) with emusic was that the cost of entry was low so you could sample several new bands all the time.
I loved it. They also did a great job of championing new bands that were not part of any of the aforementioned labels who otherwise would never be on their radar unless Emusic bubbled them up and gave them a chance.
Now songs are anywhere from 79 cents to 49cents! Where they used to be half that and then half that before. Still cheaper than iTunes standard 99cent or 1.29! but man have they made up the difference. I’m not going to get into a long cost analysis but the analogy is consitent with the target crushing your local mom and pop shop. Imagine if your cool local indie suddenly started charging you more suddenly unilaterally for everything. No more nice price. And even more if it was popular! WTF. Should you not pay less if something is popular? Not more. We obviously are not privy to the exact offer that the indies rejected if any. Their statements reference terms but that is the confidential stuff.
Another disturbing thing is that because it’s a download site and you went back to grab a copy of something because it got corrupted the prices you see are the new ones. Does this mean I have to rebuy? Well it seems that is the case. The whole advantage of having a download site like emusic is that you could go and get a copy of your file in case you wanted to post some of your work computer vs your home machine.
So basically as of Nov 18th some of the cooler independent labels won’t be available for some time. Emusic will need to do some serious price-point re-tinkering with their system to bring back the labels that have said no thanks. Hell even create a different set of charts because lord knows I don’t want to see Kenya competing against Matt and Kim or whatever.
On the other hand this is great news for insound and the other independent download hotspots and maybe make other cool shops like ubiquity records update their cart system or if amoeba music expanded theirs? It creates an opportunity for music fans to utilize the blogs and go direct if possible but where do we send them? Merge Records right now has a great online store but that’s just one label. So they umbrella an pool their resources? Ironically, the one band I always wanted to get some tunes from was Sonic Youth and now their awesome back catalog is part of the defection. So now what?
If mog.com were smart they’d add a ecommerce layer so if somebody really wanted to own something they could; but lets see if their new app is cool enough. Last.fm can’t because of the sheer conflict using itunes data scrobbler and who knows what is in store for ping.fm.
MUSIC REVIEW: The mega Girl Talk single really abuses something the Beastie Boys and other more awesome mix-ologists and hip/hop Rapper samplers started over 20 years ago. It’s a pretty masterful piece of work although I prefer DJ Red Alert (BC) Before Computers myself – that was art. So all I have to do is walk into a club connect a bunch of 15 second samples and boom chuck-ala, Boom I am done? Ok may it’s more involved but lets about talk capturing all these melodies into one bastard piece of music. I love a good mash-up and all but this is retarded. It gets you in a groove then it changes faster than a raver on crank and ecstasy with some serious memory lapse issues. Maybe it’s all those caffeinated drinks that are coming off the shelves? Would be nice if there were a theme or storyline. Something to connect the dots between jams. I am big fan of less is more and this is not it if idea is take everything that sounds cool from the creative commons bin and jam it all together. Much respect to the rapping on this and all the little pieces of music: Radiohead, Sweet Leaf, fugazi, New Order, etc Crap there are like over 500 different Artists and Musicians sampled. I was afraid this day would come.
Girl Talk is Gregg Gillis
Additional production and assistance by Frank Musarra
Mastering and assistance by Jonathan Schenke
Track Listing if you grab the separate files:
1. Oh No
2. Let It Out
3. That’s Right
4. Jump on Stage
5. This Is the Remix
6. On and On
7. Get It Get It
8. Down for the Count
9. Make Me Wanna
10. Steady Shock
11. Triple Double
12. Every Day
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