A Quiet Place

[For a completely otherworldly, sublime, and psychedelic experience: turn off all the lights and turn the volume up.]

So here is a new track from yours truly. Although most of my music is recorded on computer, I aim for the rawest, simplest, most honest sound and process possible. And, although these are overdubs (me recording over myself, as I am only one person and sadly can only play one instrument at one time well) each "dub" gets only ONE take. Only once for each sound, even if they're electronically manipulated.

"The Stoned Ambassadors"

Tonight I was finally able to see my friend's new band "The Stoned Ambassadors". Hailing from the great state of New York, they received an A+ for music with "Incomplete" grade for a band name. Please, if any of you have any suggestions send them a friendly myspace message with an improvisational idea or name, I hear they are taking other names into serious consideration....

A great live show, these guys play music reminiscent of "The Jesus and Mary Chain" mixed with "Funhouse" era material from "The Stooges".

If you wish to check them out, these "Stoned Ambassadors" can be heard here.

And for fun, "The Jesus and Mary Chain" are always waiting for new listeners or returning admirers.

The Jane Austen Book Club.

So I am currently sitting here watching this film with my sister called the Jane Austen Book Club, and it is amazing. I feel that you should all watch it. If you like Jane Austen and/OR if you are a girl. The people are all sexy and smart.

Something to Ponder and Pander

http://downhillbattle.org/reasons/index.html

ohmigod ohmigod

I LOVE BECK! I LOVE THE VELVET UNDERGROUND! AHHH!

Record Club: Velvet Underground & Nico 'Sunday Morning' from Beck Hansen on Vimeo.

This video is the first song of Beck's latest project, the Record Club. Basically, Beck gathers his friends, they record an entire cover album in a day with no rehearsals or practices, and then Beck releases it on his website.  One track is posted each week. The guests for "The Velvet Underground and Nico" were Joey Waronker, Icelandic singer-songwriter Thorunn Magnusdottir, and Yo (?).  Future collaborators are  Devendra Banhart, MGMT (!!), Jamie Lidell and Nigel Godrich. 

2d+e+a = MO-Dettes

Dutch, English and American female punks tour Dallas circa 1980.





The Mo-Dettes appeared in the early 1980s and represent a form of uniqueness through several dimensions. Besides the most apparent observation, an all female lineup, the Mo-Dettes also elaborated on the simple, three chord punk style of the mid-1970s and added their own flavor to the movement . Comprised of a British and American girl, as well as two other Dutch female punk rockers, the Mo-Dettes played music closely inspired by the postpunk reggae influence of the late 1970s as well as earlier American motown and British rock n'roll tunes. The band released a single "White Mice" on the British "Rough Trade" label (The Smiths, Delta 5, Gang of Four) as well as subsequent releases including a cover of The Rolling Stone's "Paint it Black".

I've always been a sucker for postpunk dub guitar and female fronted vocals, and any band that finds a clever way to include "MOD" in their band or album title, as such this band has always held a soft spot for me. They released an album "The Story so Far" which compiles their singles as well as four tracks recorded in 1980 by none other than the man himself, John Peel.

Check it out here.

FM 94.9 Independence Jam: A Review

I apologize for my lack of blogging...

Anyways, about I week ago I attended my local radio station's annual indie jam. It's always a good deal, $30 no service charge and the venue is beautiful, almost on the beach. Very strong lineup this year; Dead Confederate, Metric, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, and the Black Keys. I was postponing this review in hopes I could find a picture of Karen O. hilariously singing in a bodyguard's face, but no such luck. 

Dead Confederate: Meh. Solid, slightly emo grunge. The had some intense rockin' moments, but they definitely didn't blow me away. BORED. The singer and drummer were sporting some ridiculous bangs, I don't know how they could play their instruments. 

Metric: Canadian synth-poppers brought the dance-ability. Their set was mostly made up of songs off of their latest album "Fantasies", and of course the fist-pumper "Monster Hospital".  I have a huge girl crush on lead singer Emily Haines now. She's been described as "sassier than fuck". It's true. 

Yeah Yeah Yeahs: Most of the sold-out crowd was there to see Karen O. and co, so everyone pretty much lost their shit when they came on and went straight into "Dull Life".  They played a good balance of new and old material, I was very happy they played "Rockers to Swallow", it's probably one of my favorite YYY's songs. It was a short set, but a good one. Good timing as well, since the sun was just starting to set. Very high energy, the three of them have such good stage presence. They played "Maps", naturally. Here's the thing, I think Maps is a beautiful song, but I really don't understand why it's so popular. I just think they're just better at the raw, higher energy songs. Give me the glitzy, angsty, foot stomping, dancing music! 

The Black Keys: I had not heard much of their stuff beyond "Strange Times", and "I Got Mine", but they killed it, despite some technical issues. They had some guitar problems and had to stop a couple times, spurring the crowd to start screaming for a drum solo. A lot of their songs sounded the same, but I didn't really have a problem with that since all the songs were good. There was lots of headbanging and blusey swaying going on in the audience. 

Minus some obnoxious high school hipsters and the usual douchebags, it was one of the better shows I've seen lately. 

My Jesus Wore A Crown Of Broken Guitar Strings (an improvisational apologia)

So, in case you were wondering (I highly doubt) where I have been for the past 5 days, why I have not "bloggered" anything, or why I had to catch up and view/comment on your entries all today, I was in enjoying a little bit of wilderness. For 4 days I was "living" on top of a mountain--albeit small--in the middle of the great Granite state of New Hampshire with nothing more on my person than an acoustic guitar and a fresh pair of socks. Accompanying me (or perhaps I was the one doing the accompanying) were two high school friends of mine: Jeff and Mike. Now, Jeff and Mike were fellow classmates of mine, as well as bandmates (Jeff being an ex-player of trumpet, and Mike that of trombone)--although they never pursued musical undertakings to the extent that I have; and I spent most of my adolescence in the company of Mike, as we were in Boyscouts together on many-a camping trip. This past year (our freshman year) they went about the arduous task of teaching themselves to play guitar, and have since come out into the summer having accomplished much, musically speaking. Now, Jeff is all into rap, jungle, noise, and all this other crazy [insert genre]-core whozeewhatsit (which tends to get on my nerves sometimes, though I'll never admit it, as Jeff usually rants on and on about his clearly biased and ill-educatedly hyper-analysis of why so-and-so is better than so-and-so), whilst Mike enjoys folk, bluegrass, red hot chili peppers, and a sprinkling of eclectic potpourri. In fact, Mike started playing some Beirut, which instantly brought my mind back down to DC, recalling fondly-found memories of Danielle and of the planting of seedlings that seemed to bequeath my first year of the college experience. Amongst the trees, sky, mountains, rocks, dirt, bug bites, spider webs, sunburns, fog, rain, wood chucks, and dirty socks, there was still music playing (and not a single broken guitar string, except the ones in my head and heart).

"Jesus made me so Jesus save me from pity, sympathy, and people discussing me"

Morrissey - November Spawned a Monster


Definitely the most sexually charged Morrissey music video to date. Honorable mentions include the mesh shirt and the "VILE" hat. Once upon a time I actually held this man's hand (true story).

The "Bona Drag" (slang for "nice clothes") album can be found here .

Banksy.

The "anonymous" artist Banksy, famous for his street art, is having a show in Bristol coming up. Check it out - and check him out.

Walk the Line.

Yo. Homies. If you haven't seen the Johnny Cash / June Carter film "Walk the Line" with Joaquin Phoenix and Reese Witherspoon, then you must see it. So effing good. Plus you'll start listening to Johnny Cash if you haven't already.

Top Class Manager ROB GRETTON - Joy Division / New Order Tour Diary

Wes Eisold's "Heartworm" bookstore / record label / whatnot has obtained the only copies of this limited volume to make it to North America. This book compiles twenty notebooks that chronicle the tour diaries and personal notes of Rob Gretton, the manager for the bands Joy Division and New Order. So far, the most introspective journey into Joy Division has arrived due to Debbie Curtis, but as she never toured with the band this source is sure to add yet another level of intimacy and detail to the Joy Division / New Order story. The treasure trove of insight for Joy Division fans, this publication is limited to a global release of a mere 1500 copies, get it while you can!

http://www.theheartworm.com/storePurchase.php?storeID=77

In the city there's a thousand things I want to say to you....

The Jam stood out among the 1977 British punk scene because they resumed the modernist fashion of the 1960s but retained the frustration and emotion of contemporary UK underground pop. "In the City" was one of their first singles and this video debuted on Tony Wilson's "So it Goes" along with Joy Division's "Transmission" in 1977. Their later career saw them assuming even more of their "mod" influence as their sound grew more reminiscent of 1950s Rhythm and Blues. Definitely the coolest band to ever rock the mullet. As most of my own fashion is contrived from this band, I unabashedly admit my fondness for this debut full length.

The Jam "In the City"
http://www.mediafire.com/?znmzwknodty

Lays.

So I'm sitting here watching TV and being awesome, and a Lays commercial comes on. I thought: I-Must-Know-Who-This-Is. Here it is.

Cry Yourself To Sleep.

This is amazing. The band is "Sun Kil Moon" named after a sumo wrestler named Sung-kil Moon or something like that. Anyway, it explains the name. This song is so sad sounding. It will put you to sleep... crying?

It's Time To Lose Big.

Everybody. It's time that you check out Eef Barzelay if you haven't already.

"Look here junior, don't you be so happy. And for Heaven's sake, don't you be so sad."

New York City postpunk expressionism at its finest, Television's "Marquee Moon" successfully defines the sound of 1977. They literally built the stage at CBGBs and played the club's first matinee show. Amidst Debby Harry hangouts and Iggy Pop antics, Television grafted an intricate chord structure to the emotional elements of the punk rock movement in the mid-1970s. No doubt the album of its era and highly representative of the "post" punk transition.

http://www.mediafire.com/?quixzbznxdx

Noel Gallagher "The Dreams We Have as Children" (Live for Teenage Cancer Trust

For those of you who wondered how Oasis would sound with Noel singing rather than Liam, ponder no further. Imagine the beauty of "Sad Song" applied to acoustic versions of all the classic Oasis songs, not to mention an epic cover of the The Smith's "There is a Light that Never Goes Out". Songwriter begets singer / songwriter and the result is amazing. Not to mention that the concert was planned as a fundraiser for a Teenage Cancer foundation.

http://rapidshare.com/files/211179106/Noel_Gallagher-The_Dreams_We_Have_As_Children_2009_.rar

Music

This summer I've been working on recording an album. Here's one of the pieces I felt was fit for being listened to: 

ee cummings

While Mr. Cummings' works can be somewhat agitating for me because I love proper grammar and punctuation, I find that no matter how often I come back to his 100 Selected Poems, I am enamored once again. I picked this little book up at a flea market or used book store somewhere and have never regretted the small change I paid for it. In other words: buy it.

Here is one of my favorites; number 28 (in this book):


since feeling is first
who pays any attention
to the syntax of things
will never wholly kiss you;

wholly to be a fool
while Spring is in the world

my blood approves,
and kisses are a better fate
than wisdom
lady i swear by all flowers. Don't cry
-the best gesture of my brain is less than
your eyelids' flutter which says

we are for each other: then
laugh, leaning back in my arms
for life's not a paragraph

And death i think is no parenthesis

kutiman

In the spirit of the Mary Poppins video, I figured I'd share this:
www.thru-you.com
This Israeli DJ 'kutiman' essentially edited together a bunch of random homemade videos to make this online album. Not only is it conceptually very cool, but musically the album is really enjoyable as well.

Sharing the Wealth

My cousin went to Phenway Park to see Phish reunion. She gave me this link, figured I'd share it with y'all. Hope it works.

www.megaupload.com

I Belong to the (Blank) Generation

Hopefully, this video will substantiate my recent melancholy and nostalgia that arrived as a result of passing the old New York City club "CBGBs". This past weekend I revisited Bleecker Street to find that the club where I performed my first stagedive, saw Bad Brains for the first time and forged many unforgettable memories and friendships is now an upscale motel.

This song goes out to the Blank Generation, I still take it or leave it each time.

Normally I'm skeptical of people who create derivative works (see anyone who wrote a book about the Da Vinci Code) but this is effing sweet. Using only the movie Mary Poppins and video editing software... Wow.

The guy has several more on his youtube page, including an autotune-sounding Harry Potter mix. Check it out.

Technicalities.

Guys how come when people type it goes into the margin instead of the thing automatically going to the next line so people can read it on Antonio's and Carrie's posts?

Bach, dig?

I have gone to see John Bayless before at the Newport Music Fest and was
utterly blown away by his playing. Here's a man who can take suggestions
from the audience, like "play a Bach Fugue but play it dixieland" and can
pull it off. The performance I went to see, he ended with playing Amazing
Grace in his right hand and Jesu Joy of Man's Desire at the same time in
his left! Enjoy this video all about how Bach improvised (a fact I did not
know until this year when I had to do research for one of my music classes).

ALMOST makes Taylor Swift sound good

Beautiful beautiful beautiful. And I am neither a Taylor Swift nor Coldplay fan.

Joe Schmidt is the mastermind behind this composition, you can
download the mp3 off his website www.jonschmidt.com. Or I'll add
it when I figure out how to put mp3's on blogs.