Dreaming
This is what Best Coast should've been
Dreaming
Catholic Discipline
I recently watched Penelope Spheeris’ three part documentary
‘The Decline of Western Civilization’. I would strongly recommend it to anyone
interested in music and youth culture. In the first part of the series there is
a performance by Catholic Discipline which really struck me. Catholic
Discipline was started by Claude Bessy aka Kickboy Face,
co-founder/editor/writer for the renowned LA punk fanzine ‘Slash’. Claude
wanted to be in a band but couldn’t play anything so he got friends from other
bands to join him and play different instruments to the ones they played in
their respective bands. They were only together for about a year, between 1979
and 1980, and never released any studio recordings. They did however release a
collection of live recordings in 2004, five years after Bessy died.
The performance in ‘The Decline of Western Civilization’ is
of their song ‘Underground Babylon’. It’s so rough and grimey, which admittedly
is something I love in music, but there is also bucketfuls of melody and pop
sensibilities to get the heart racing. There is just something about this song which
I can’t explain, but I’m sure it’s the same thing that has caused it to become
firmly embedded in my mind.
Get ‘Underground Babylon’ below. It’s the version from ‘The
Decline...’ and has an excerpt from the interview with Claude Bessy. This version
is far better than the one eventually released on the ‘Underground Babylon’
album. I’ve also included the video of this performance for good measure.
Catholic Discipline - Underground Babylon
and the video...
Sometimes the world is great.
whoo! @ntlers
I like these guys a lot, but I didn't listen to 2009's "Hosp1ce" too often because it depressed me to no end. So when I heard "Burst Ap@rt" I was happy, because it's another great album, but it's not centred around cancer. Only dying dogs. A step forward, I suppose.
Anyway, listen to it because it's rad, and the singer has a wonderful falsetto.
(Oh, the 320kbs version is on one of those sites that makes you wait for a minute. Patience)
Grab It
New Me@t Puppets
I haven’t really followed the Me@t Puppets to any extent. In
fact, the only records of theirs I know are their self-titled debut, a
beautiful and filthy piece of punk rock noise, and their sophomore effort Me@t
Puppets II (The one with those songs they did with that shitty gutter punk bank
for MTVs unplugged series). After surviving two break-ups, gunshot wounds,
severe drug addictions and not seeing each other for more than 15 years, the
Kirkwood brothers have returned with their thirteenth album as the Meat Puppets
entitled ‘Lollipop’. The most striking feature of this record is how Curt and
Cris Kirkwood, both now in their 50s after starting the MPs 31 years ago, are
still able to produce music with such vitality. Apparently, much of their
output between MPII and ‘Lollipop’ has been mostly free-form jams and drug
induced sound exploration. This is certainly not the case on ‘Lollipop’.
Instead, the MPs have stuck with twelve concise, traditionally structured rock songs.
Even in their early days the MPs embraced their country/blues influences and
this is still quite prominent in their sound. I was also very pleased to find
that they continue to embrace their 90s rock n roll sensibilities. It’s also a
really positive record without ever breaking over into cheesy and offensive
positivity. All in all this is a really well written, solidly produced, pop
rock record, brimming with catchy feel good tunes and rock n roll swagger. Here’s
the opening song from ‘Lollipop’. Enjoy.
Me@t Puppets - Incomplete
Young Legionn@ire
I’ve been on a bit of a rock n roll binge since...well,
since I was 13, but particularly so the past few days. Thanks goodness for this
because it has brought Young Legionn@ire to my attention. I first heard them on
a sampler CD and was struck by the instantly recognisable vocals of Paul
Mullen, the ex front man of the sorely missed yourcodenameis:milo. Young
Legionn@ire was started by Mullen and Gordon Moakes of Bloc Party after the two
collaborated on the little piece of genius that was yourcodenameis:milos 2006 album 'Print
Is Dead'. They exchanged ideas over the next three years until
they finally got together in 2009 and began to write and record what would
become their debut album ‘Crisis Works’. While the personality Mullen has
brought to each of his previous bands is very much present, there are less
obtuse structures and more ‘leg-on-your-monitor’ ballsy riffing along the lines
of Terra Diablo or Colour Of Fire. Check out the first single from ‘Crisis
Works’ below and pray that Young Legionn@ire will be around for a while.
New Okeyvil Rivet!
While everything I post here is legal and legitimate, I could not help adding to the new bandname lexicon that SB seems to be building. Slowly, band by band, we will bring a new language to you all.
Meanwhile, one of my favourite rock n roll bands, Okeyvil Rivet are about to release "I Am Very Far", which should be out next week Tuesday. They're one of those bands that keeps releasing consistently good music. While it's never cool or trendy, it makes me happy. And there's nothing like walking in for a late morning class on a sunny day with "Singer Songwriter" playing through your headphones. Will Sheff is a wonderful lyricist, and while the last few albums have been drenched in AM radio sunshine, the new stuff however seems steel-lined instead. Good for them.
You can stream the new album here.
Stream It
Total W@rr!
Total W@rr are two cool Frenchmen who decided the next
logical step after playing hardcore was to form a light hearted pop group.
Their first EP ‘Cascades’ blended some folkish guitar playing with games-type
electro pop topped off with some chillwave influences in the vocals and
background noises. It was pretty special stuff. Their new song ‘Please Never’
is more direct electro pop and, although the guitar is still present, it’s much more
simple and understated. This song is packed with super melodies, layered vocals, tons of cool
percussive elements and quite a funny lyrical theme. Grab ‘Please Never’ and
the ‘Cascades’ EP below and become a happier person.
Total W@rr - Cascades EP
Total W@rr - Please Never
New 'And So I Watch You From Afar'
And So I Watch You From Afar - Gangs (Bandcamp)
Two Scintillating 90s mixes from Shady Lane & Commodore 64! Hoo-ray!
001//Hanson//MmmBop
002//No Doubt//Just A Girl
03//Letters to Cleo//I Want You To Want Me
004//Save Ferris//I Know
005//The Mighty Mighty Bosstones//The Impression That I Get
006//Lit//My Own Worst Enemy
007//Foo Fighters//Everlong
008//Green Day//Uptight
009//Blink-182//Dammit
010//Mellincollin//No Cigar
011//Nofx//Linoleum
012//the Presidents of the United States of America//LUMP
013//Feeder//Buck Roger
014//Weezer//Buddy Holly
015//Supergrass//Alright
016//New Radicals//You Get What You Give
017//Pulp//Common People
018//Blur//Girls & Boys
019//Liquido//Narcotic
020//Underworld//Born Slippy
01 Mudhoney - In N Out of Grace
02 Sonic Youth - Drunken Butterfly
03 Sebadoh - Beauty of the Ride
04 My Bloody Valentine - When You Sleep
05 Suede – Trash
06 Lush – Ladykillers
07 Sparklehorse – Rainmaker
08 Dinosaur jnr. - Start Choppin
09 Guided By Voices - Things I Will Keep
10 The Brian Jonestown Massacre - This Is Why You Love Me
11 The Lemonheads - It's a Shame About Ray
12 Magnetic Fields - No One Will Ever Love You
13 The Verve Pipe - The Freshman
14 Elliott Smith - Miss Misery
15 Evan Dando - The Ballad Of El Goodo
16 Ben Folds Five- Brick
17 The Posies - Please Return It
18 Pavement- Date with Ikea
19 R.E.M. - Whats the Frequency, Kenneth
20 The Breeders- Divine Hammer
21 Martinis – Free
New De@th Cab.
Band photos are always a bit weird. I'm sorry, but how do you get it right?
Anyhoo. Here's a track from the forthcoming album, should be released on May 31 - but hopefully sooner, right? Right! L33k, we await you.
Anyhoo. Here's a track from the forthcoming album, should be released on May 31 - but hopefully sooner, right? Right! L33k, we await you.
This new song is called S0me Boys, it's actually quite nice. I haven't listened to these guys in quite awhiles, and the only album of theirs I can actually listen to properly is Transatlanticism. That's a mighty fine album, although quite heavy on the emotionalness-ness; but I can dig it, I guess I must have a bit of a vagina. Just, like, a little bit.
Anyhoo, back to the matter at hand, this new track is pretty awesome. There're some nice bass squelches going on, with Benjy rocking some almost-trashy, lo-fi vocal effect; Obvs Benjy's talking about some boys and some girls, some of them sleeping alone, some not. Some wack emo bullcrap which totes will get eaten up by some of you peeps that'll be retreating to the cold warmth of their empty beds this winter (probs including me). It's nice and comforting, sometimes. There're some nice layered vocal melodies going on in the background, too. And a real replendent chorus... It's totes nice, I think I'm getting into nice stuff again.
Someone once told me that Death Cab is music for boys who don't have girlfriends but wish they had. I'm sure that's about half of us, right? Everybody get your cardigans, horn-rimmed glasses, little notebooks and obscure band shirts out and then we can look sad, out. It's time.
If you're into this vibe, you'll be totes into The Good Life's Album of The Year, one of Tim Kasher from Cursive's side-projects. It's all about a relationship and all that teary kinda junk, but it totes makes me cry. Every time. If you're a weepy sonuvabitch, you should definitely grab it.
tUnE-yArDs
I don’t know how to even begin to explain the brilliance of
tUnE-yArDs new record “whokill”. Seamlessly combining a myriad of diverse
influences; including jazz, funk, rock, R&B and Afro-pop, into a very unique
yet cohesive sound which perfectly balances these elements so that they are never
unwelcome yet never go unnoticed. However, the real genius of this record lies in the attitude and confidence of the delivery. Merrill Garbus, the tUnE-yArDs
mastermind, sounds like she could lead the armies of earth in defence of an alien offensive. Check out one of the many standout tracks below and experience all
this for yourself. A whole lotta soul.
New Rad1ohead 7". Well... let's see...
I'm basically listening to this as I type. This first track, i don't know. It seems a bit better than the whole of fucken King of Limbs. It's lees frenetic. It does go on, though. In fact it still is.
Funny thing is, Rad1ohead, suddenly, after the release of their last EP (It's a godamn EP, ok? Ok.), started getting a shitload of flak. People started finding reasons for disliking their whole process. Their laboured, we're going to craft a godamn album for five-six-seven years process. This is in stark contrast to somone like, say, Bradford Cox, who releases, let's say, 200 FUCKEN SONGS A YEAR or whatever. This doesn't necessarily mean all of them will be good, and in fact alot of them are just pretty ok and fine to listen to BUT it beats waiting around years and years while some band who, apparently, are geniuses craft, I reiterate, CRAFT, some recording, sitting in studio, being pedantic.
You can plainly see I'm irritated and I'm trying not to let that cloud my vision, but, god, It's hard.
I guess the pressures are tough, when the world touts you as some godamn geniuses. Means you have a shiteload to prove, or something. But it's totally their fault, y'know. Release a game-changer and your game has changed. Ask Interpol. Or The Strokes. They can never live up to their previous offerings. And that's a shame.
I just think, with the weight of being fucking geniuses, Radiohead are trying way too hard to be too fucken clever. And it's boring the shit out of me.
New Familjen Single
I love Familjen, the alias of Swedish artist Johan
T Karlsson. So, now that you know that, check out his new single. This is taken
from his most recent record "Mänskligheten" which is quite a departure from the synth-heavy
electro pop of his first release "Det snurrar i min skalle"
and is quite adventurous in combining new sounds and influences. “Man Ser Det
Från Månen” represents this progression nicely, beginning with an extended
ambient intro and combining more organic elements than previous efforts.
However, once the vocals kick in its classic Familjen, infectious as hell, with
fantastic instrumental hooks and a very cool bassline tying the whole thing
together.
Familjen also happens to be responsible for one of my all
time favourite songs (and accompanying music video). Check it out, it’s kinda
great.
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