For Christmas this year, one of my brothers got me one of those Visa gift cards for $25 that are good anywhere, and that night I went to Cheapo Discs (open 365 days a year till midnight) to spend it. One of my finds was Epic Soundtrack's first album entitled "Rise Above."
Epic Soundtracks was the stage name of Kevin Paul Godfrey, drummer in the Nikki Sudden fronted Post-Punk band, Swell Maps. Epic was also the real life brother of Sudden, and an accomplished solo artist. Between 1992-1997, he released 3 solo albums, each consisting of a kind of simplified, piano-based Orchestral Pop. "Rise Above," his first album, in it's sparser moments, reminds me of the His Name Is Alive/Pale Saints side project, ESP Summer. In it's more intricate parts, the album's sound leads me to believe (though I have no real reason to suspect this) that it could of been a major influence on the song-writing style of modern Pop Balladeer, Badly Drawn Boy.
A couple of days ago, I had lunch with a friend, and over chips and salsa, I tried to explain to him my thoughts about the album-listening-process. I started off by saying "Man, I think listening to CDS is so weird sometimes." With a sincere look of confusion on his face, he replied, "Really, even after all this time?" It made me laugh, but I went on to explain that I still find myself surprised by the way my perception of a song (or an album) changes over time.
In the same way that the listening process still surprises me, so too does the feeling that comes over me when I find a song or record that I’ve been searching forever for.
Tonight I went to the new Backspin Records location on Airport, which is in the same exact location as the CD Warehouse I used to work at, not to mention, the same location of Austin’s long lost and much beloved A,B,C,D’s. It’s strange to go in there now and see the same stage that I used to sit at and listen to CDs at when it was A,B,C,D’s; the same stage that I would years later clear off to assemble a speaker system for an in-shore performance at Cd Warehouse. There’s a lot of good memories in that building for me, and I’m glad it’s once again a record store. Since Backspin opened up last year, I’ve had really great luck there, and tonight was no exception.
Three or four years ago, I bought a Kinks record on vinyl for $0.99 in Round Rock called "Everybody’s in Show-Biz." It was released in 1972, and contained a lot of radio-ready 70’s rock that, I think most would agree, is a far cry from the Classic Pop sound of the 60’s Kinks. It’s not bad, but it’s not great either, and I’ve held onto it for the longest time because of a single track, "Sitting in my Hotel."
From the opening airy vocals of Ray Davies, to the keyboard heavy chorus, to the backing trumpets, "Hotel" is a melodic comfort for me. For years, I’ve have searched the internet for a download of the track. I’ve looked for the album to download as well, but I have never been able to find it.
Tonight I found the album at Backspin for $5.99, the Cd case was old and scuffy, and it had the old Rhino logo on the side. On the back, the previous owner had placed 2 white stickers next to the track-listing, in which they wrote the track-lengths on (it probably belonged to a disc-jockey).
That was about an hour ago, and now I’m posting the song for you. I don’t if anyone else will like it as much as I do, but if they do, they will at least have some place to download it from.
I initially was going to write about the psychedelic dream pop band, The Church. About how their music was great, ethereal, etc...Then, as I was listening to new music on KVRX, I was completely stunned by a jaw dropping cello and slide guitar cover of "What you want". It was Japancakes covering My Bloody Valentine! Upon further research, I came to learn that the latest Japancakes record is a song for song cover of My Bloody Valentine's 1991 opus "Loveless". I was immediately overwhemed after listening to the entire album. Japancakes have used beauty, skill, and space to recreate one of the the most dazzling, hazy, dense albums in rock music, and they somehow completely disregard a crucial element that made "Loveless" brilliant, feedback. Japancakes did not use any feedback! Instead, by stripping the music to it's essential parts and using instruments often associated with country/singer songwriter music they present the songs as a pastoral homage to lush Americana...and in my opinion, they did a great job!
Pataphysics plays last (9pm?) come early. get into it. get your face painted. get in on that cakewalk. coloring contest, alright. The Carnys are also playing Bill Jefferys is in another band, mockingly named The Bill Jefferys. They're playing too.
2209 South 1st Street suggested donation of $5. so don't let that stop you.
Man, I haven’t even started shopping yet. I made this Christmas Mix today though, and I think it’s pretty fun.
1) "Baby Jesus (Radio)" -- Bruce McCulloch 2) "Here I Am Lord" -- The Vandals 3) "I Don’t Believe In Christmas" -- The Sonics 4) "Holiday Hymm" -- Orange Juice 5) "Run Away With Me" -- Jens Lekman 6) "Jingle Bells" -- Booker T. & The MG’s 7) "Donna & Butzon" -- Badly Drawn Boy 8) "Winter Wonderland" -- Cocteau Twins 9) "Just Like Christmas" -- Low 10) "Christmas Time is Here" -- Vince Guaraldi 11) "Linus’ Speech" 12) "Christmas (Baby Please Come Home) -- Darlene Love 13) "Merry Christmas (I Don’t Want To Fight Tonight)" -- The Ramones 14) "Father Christmas" -- The Kinks 15) "St. Nick" -- The Beach Boys 16) "Merry Xmas Everybody" -- Slade 17) "Alan Parsons in a Winter Wonderland" -- Grandaddy 18) "Stocking Stuffer" -- Grand Buffet 19) "Back Door Santa" -- Clarence Carter 20) "Baby, It’s Cold Outside" -- From the film ’Elf’ 21) "The Christmas Song" -- The Raveonettes 22) "Let’s Trim the Christmas Tree" -- Line Material 23) "I’ll Make Everyday Christmas (For My Woman) -- Joe Tex 24) "What Are You Doing New Year’s Eve" -- King Curtis 25) "Hang Myself From the Tree" -- The Vandals
Unfortunately, I had to split it into to separate downloads, tracks 1-13 in the first one, 14-25 in the second.
To download Part One, Click Here. Wait a second for it to load, then hit "Click here to start download." To download Part Two, Click Here, and do the same thing.
If Jesus & the Mary Chain had a baby and called it the Feelies, it would probably sound a lot like the early 80’s Scottish Post-Punk foursome, Fire Engines. Birthed from the same scene that produced Pop acts like Aztec Camera & Orange Juice, Fire Engines forged a distinctive sound that inspired such bands as the aforementioned Mary Chain, Primal Scream, & Franz Ferdinand. With a sizeable dose of tinny guitar, and an excessive about of cowbell, the heavily instrumental group skirts the line between Jangle-Pop & punchy Dance Rock. Although lead guitarist & vocalist David Henderson occasionally drops in syrupy vocals on tracks like “Candyskin,” the majority of the album is made up of his yelps and spirited screams. Bassist Graham Main’s kinetic rhythms are not only incredibly dance-able, but also rough sounding. Needless to say, I have had a great time driving around town listening to this.
Recently the band reformed (upon request of Franz Ferdinand) to play a couple shows in Glasgow & London. Here’s hoping that there are more to follow.
On Saturday night, Mr. Mark & I drove to San Marcos to do some record shopping, we hit-up Sundance Music, Hastings & Half-Priced Books. One of the things I purchased from Hastings was a DVD copy of Jean-Luc Godard's 1960 French New Wave film, "Breathless," for $10. I had never seen it before, but I had been harboring an interest in it ever since the Alamo Drafthouse played it back in May or June. I remember that when they screened it, the gimmick they offered was that the purchase of your ticket afforded you the right to smoke in the theater during the film. This "luxury" was obviously due the excessive amount of smoking that occurs in the film.
If I had any doubt about making my purchase Saturday, it was wiped away by the girl (Jean Seberg) on the cover of the DVD who, lets just say, is right up my alley.
In all honesty though, after watching the film for the first time tonight, the entire thing is pretty much up my alley. It's a slow moving train, but it's short & beautifully filmed. There's a ton of long interesting tracking-shots & what seems like an endless amount of playfully charming dialogue. There's an air of high-brow artistic existentialism here and there, but the majority of the film plays it straight, and manages to capture the whimsy of new & uncertain love. The editing is a little choppy for my taste.
The plot as outlined on IMDB:
"Michel Poiccard, an irresponsible sociopath and small-time thief, steals a car and impulsively murders the motorcycle policeman who pursues him. Now wanted by the authorities, he renews his relationship with Patricia Franchini, a hip American girl studying journalism at the Sorbonne, whom he had met in Nice a few weeks earlier. Before leaving Paris, he plans to collect a debt from an underworld acquaintance and expects her to accompany him on his planned getaway to Italy. Even with his face in the local papers and media, Poiccard seems oblivious to the dragnet that is slowly closing around him as he recklessly pursues his love of American movies and libidinous interest in the beautiful American."
Back in September, when I attended the Fantastic Fest at the Alamo, I saw a wonderful 1967 Japanese thriller called "Velvet Hustler." That film oozed cool in a way that's hard to replicate, but the funny thing is that after watching the end of "Breathless" tonight, it's pretty clear to see the influence it had on "Velvet Hustler."
"Velvet Hustler" is a lot more difficult to locate, but I recommend trying to seek both of these films out, perhaps even view as a double feature.
They have a coolness that's just fuckin' timeless.
I don't know how to describe the vibe I get when I hear this. When I was little, I was very sick with some crazy fever. I remember it was cold outside at the time, I had to be in the hospital for several days. The sun didn't shine, but it was still bright outside. I remember I could see down the hall from my room. I would watch people talk in the waiting room with the light from outside on their faces, for some reason, whenever I hear minimal music like this Caribou track I am instantly taken back to that exact moment. I like the feeling, but I question why I like it.
I re-watched one of my top 5 favorite films of all time today, "Zero Effect," an exceptionally entertaining, funny, and emotionally effective mystery. Equal parts Comedy & Drama, the film is one of those experiences that stuck with me over time, and gained even more of my respect with each subsequent viewing.
When I watched it today, I was once again struck by one of the films finest transitions, a sequence that leads from a lovely diner scene to the character’s long-awaited and awkwardly beautiful sex scene. The whole bit is anchored by the musical cue of "Into My Arms" by Nick Cave.
A few weeks back I spent an entire evening looking up videos of both Nick Cave and The Birthday Party on YouTube. I’ve always liked Nick Cave, but I was never really blown away by him until I started watching these videos. On record, I think his stuff with The Birthday Party has dated much better than a lot of his solo work has, but after watching these videos, it easy for me to see why he continues to be such an influence. I realize that only posted covers, but in this case, I’m more fascinated by his style than his song writing ability.
Von Südenfed is a collaboration between Andi Toma and Jan St. Werner, of the electronic music group Mouse on Mars and Mark E. Smith, better known as band leader of The Fall. The three first collaborated on a 2004 12"double A-side "Wipe that sound/Cut the gain", which was released on the Sonig label; this is being followed by a forthcoming full-length "Tromatic Reflexxions", to be released on Domino Records in June 2007. "Fledermaus Can't Get It", is the first single and 12". If this song is any indication of the full-length then we are indeed in for a flirtatious genre/mind bending good time.
In sticking with my own personal agenda, if Mark E. [FUCKING] Smith makes a dance record then we seriously need to catch up...
Last week I revisited the Magnetic Fields "69 Love Songs," and by my count, there are really only about 28 to 35 songs in the 3 disc set that I truly like and/or love. That’s a lot of filler for a collection I once held in such high regard. Yes, there was a time a few years ago where I felt that the best gift you could give someone you cared about was Stephen Merritt’s masterwork, but as time goes on, tastes change and so too do perceptions. Listening to it again, it would appear that while some tracks are meticulously crafted with love, others seems to be spat out like watermelon seeds. The quirky songs are as catchy as ever, and some of the ballads still hit me on a gut level, but there are others that affect me merely because they remind me of the time in my life that I discovered them.
As I worked my way through the 3rd disc, I came across the track, "Meaningless," which has never really been a favorite of mine, although I can relate to it’s unabashedly bitter take on relationships. As I listened to the track, my mind drifted off, and suddenly I found myself humming another song in my head, "Togetherness" by the band Outrageous Cherry.
I first posted about Outrageous Cherry all the way back in April ‘06, you can check that out here, although the links are D.E.A.D. "Togetherness" was the first OC song that I ever heard; I remember sitting at my girlfriend’s computer, after reading about them, and searching for them on Limewire or Soulsearch, or whatever it was I was using at the time. Listening to it that first time, it didn't quite sound like “crazy Psychedelia” I imagined it would from the article, but several years later when I heard it again within the Jangle-Pop context of their album, "Out there in Dark," it made much more sense to me.
Strangely, both songs start at different ends of the "Love Spectrum" but eventually reach the same conclusion: breaking up kinda sucks. In a head to head comparison, I think “Togetherness” is a better song. While Merritt seems to fancy himself a lyrical wordsmith with a literary sheen, his deadpan delivery can undermine his harder sells, in other words, it’s just hard to take him seriously sometimes. Outrageous Cherry vocalist Matthew Smith’s straight-forward approach on the other hand, while not overly sentimental, nor immediate, really hits home as the song builds to it’s final refrain.
It was 1992, my friends and I started going to raves. The music was not only futuristic: Detroit Techno, Acid House, and Hardcore Breakbeat; they were also new genres of music I had never heard. I was not only inspired to make music but to find as much as i could about it. [The rhythms and bass lines were beguiling and hypnotic.]
A year later, while visiting Melissa at her new digs, her then boyfriend Scott played me a song that would stop me dead in my tracks. It was this hybrid of breakbeats, Brian Eno style pads, spaced out bleeps, cartoon vocals, and tough stabs of Detroit Techno style synthesizers. The song was ACEN's "Close your eyes". It perfectly captured the spirit of that time in dance music.
The dark beauty of that track was brought back to my attention today after 14 years [!!!!] by an amazing update by Speakerjunk. Enjoy and remember...
Alongside Alan Vega, Martin Rev formed the late-70's New York band Suicide. That fact alone was reason enough for me to buy one of Rev’s solo works, “Clouds of Glory,” an album recorded mostly between 1981 & 1984. Another reason? It was only a penny on Amazon, plus shipping of course.
The exact reason why I bought Rev’s album though was once again because of Little Hits. Back when I religiously visited that blog everyday, I downloaded his 1979 single “Mari,” which is an incredible Electro-Pop song, that caused a friend of mine to recently joke that “wow, those Postal Service dudes totally ripped this guy off.” That song is definitely poppy and even sort of bouncy, but the real appeal of it to me though is that it has a whimsical quality to it that’s not unlike the songs of Mort Garson.
The Verdict: Well I guess the best possible thing that could of happened would have been if “Cloud of Glory” were jam-packed with dreamy Synth-Pop songs like “Mari,” but it is instead filled mostly with what I would call Proto-Industrial tracks, which bare a mild resemblance to the soundtracks of many 80's Horror films. It’s not a total lost cause for me though, the track “Whisper” is right up my alley, and I’ve included that song below as well one of the other tracks from the album that better represents it.
"Walking on Thin Ice" by Yoko Ono was the first single she released in 1981. Ono and John Lennon concluded the recording of the song on December 8, 1980. It was upon their return from the recording studio to The Dakota (their home in New York City) that Lennon was murdered by a deranged fan. John had stayed up all night the preceding weekend listening to a preliminary mix of the song, and passed away clutching a final mix of it in his hands. Lennon's lead guitarwork on the track, which he had recorded that day, and praised by many as the most fascinating of his career, was thus his final creative act. At the end of January 1981, "Walking on Thin Ice" was released as a single and became Ono's first chart success, peaking at No. 58 and gaining major underground airplay. The single was released in February 1981 in the UK and reached number 35 on the chart.
The lyrics talk of the unpredictability of life and death -- of "throwing the dice in the air" -- and reach the conclusion, "when our hearts return to ashes, it will be just a story....". With the world in shock, a new poignancy was added to the already haunting yet highly danceable track.
I have a friend who is sort of my movie counterpart. While I’m continually exploring the vast map of music and editing/revising my ever growing album collection, he is doing the same, but with his huge DVD collection. The glowing difference between us is that while I prefer digging through used binds, thrift stores, and pawn shops for great deals, he prefers to buy things new. Since he tends to enjoy films that have limited releases, it would make sense that he would make a lot of his purchases online.
That being said, sometime last year he began making a lot of purchases from Amazon.com, and enjoyed much success in doing so. He was so pleased with his Amazon savings that he practically became a spokesperson for the site, and he quickly sacrificed the convenience of buying something from a mega-store like Best Buy or Fry’s, opting instead to just order it off of Amazon. For me, the act of searching for a good deal is just as important as the satisfaction of the purchase itself, so initially, I was fundamentally against Amazon. The more I explored the site, the more I realized that it had little to offer me, due mostly to the fact that (when you factor in the shipping cost) I could find better deals in my day to day thrifting.
When I recently revisited the site, I made a few purchases, 3 albums that cost a total of $6.50, but when you factored in the shipping, came out to about $14.00. I was sure that I could find better deals if I just searched a little harder. I began looking through my collection of Mp3's at all of the stuff that I had downloaded over the last year or two. I looked up a lot of albums based on a track here or there, and cross-referenced it with info that I found on Allmusic.com. I ended up making 3 purchases that added up to a total of $0.95, plus shipping.
The first album I received was Chris Stamey’s "Fireworks" which was actually shipped from Austin, where I live, not from a record store or anything, but from an independent distributor off of 19th Street. Stamey first came to my attention through the amazing mp3 site, Little Hits, which posted his 1977 single, "The Summer Sun." I’ve included that single in this post because not only is it the inspiration for my purchase, but it’s also a pretty incredible Power-Pop song.
Stamey went to college in North Carolina and formed the Sneakers, and after starting his own Label in New York, Car Records, helped form the Jangle Pop band, the dBs. After leaving the dBs, Stamey released several solo albums including "Fireworks" (originally recorded in 1988, but not released until 1991), which I purchased unopened for $0.84, plus shipping.
The Verdict: At first, I thought certain tracks on the album sounded a bit dated, but it has grown on me considerably in the last week or so. The first blast of vocals on the opening cut, "Company of Light," instantly warmed my ears with it’s familiar dreamy twang, and the intricate lyrics of that song have endeared it to me even more. "Glorious Delusion" is absolutely gorgeous and is reminiscent of so much modern Indie Pop. "Two Places At Once" is characteristic of the whole album, deceivingly simple Pop Rock that’s as "radio-ready" as it comes, right down to the huge chorus. There’s nothing particular groundbreaking about "Fireworks," but in it’s own way, it is very comforting, and it has gone a long way in revealing to me how truly unadventurous something like the Mountain Goats is, which isn’t necessarily bad thing mind you.
My last post in OPEN HOUSE was made almost 5 MONTHS AGO! The time was spent; working late hours and sleeping all hours of the day, there was a lot of dinner parties, getting great Christmas gifts from my friends, too many lazy winter days sipping lattes being induced into a sugar coma, probobly too much Korean food, and long hours listening to great music procastinating. That being said, I decided in order to ease back into the "making frequent posts mode" that I would make a mix sharing some of my favorite tracks from the past few months and right now.
Artists include: Claude Von Stroke, Magda, Ritchie Hawtin, Heartthrob, Marnie, Cosi Josias, and many more.
Well, after months of combing the internet for rumors & details, making lists & editing schedules, SXSW has finally come & gone. I have spent the last 2 weeks trying to write the most long-winded, overly detailed account of the 9 day festival I could muster, but it's been increasingly difficult since I had to make up a lot of lost time at work, not to mention, take in some much needed rest. So here are some highlights from the Music portion of the festival.
Wednesday:
Wednesday was a great day all around, I saw 60's Folk legend Donovan, who was added to the festival line-up a short 2 weeks or so prior. The audience at the show was packed in tightly, and made up of a wide cross-section of old and young people, and apparently a lot of my friends were there, but couldn't find me.
Donovan was an authentic relic of 60's Psychedelia, his wild-man hair, child-like demeanor, and loopy delivery seemed ironic in the context of the Church. He was in fact so authentic that at times, I thought he bordered on parody (I even had images of Will Ferrell in my head at certain moments), but still, it hard to argue with the songs and the audience response, pews of people singing along and clapping to "Mellow Yellow."
I also saw a great show by a band called Oxford Collapse, they are a rock band from Brooklyn that make Post-Punk influenced shout-alongs, fast & funky, all baselines and saxophones, plus, the guys all dressed like yuppies (or David Byrne circa 1978). Their set was really fun and rocking.
The Highlight of the night, and possibly of the whole festival for me was seeing Rosie Thomas again.
Miss Thomas is someone who I have admired ever since I first saw her at SXSW in 2001. I have wrote about that show before on Open House:
"When I walked through the doors that night I had no idea who Rosie Thomas was, but the concert experience that followed would stay stored away in my brain for long after. As anyone who knows me well enough will tell you, there is a part of me that really enjoys a good musical train wreck (that's why I like to go see Mark Eitzel) and her performance was that and more. Sandwiched between 2 punk rock bands, Thomas sat down in a chair with her acoustic guitar in hand and a pair of oversized black thick-rimmed glasses sliding off her nose. When she spoke her voice was squeaky, high-pitched, and child-like, but when she removed her glasses to sing it would morph into the soothingly strong, rich voice of an angel. At the end of every song she would punctuate it with quickly-spoken "thank you very much" reminiscent of Latka Gravas, she would then put her glasses back on and resume a nervous chit-chat with the restless audience. The real derailment occurred when Vancouver's lame glam-punk-revivalist, the Black Halos (a band on the same label as Thomas mind you), began heckling her, she in turn took jabs at their punk rock credibility. All in all it was uncomfortable, beautiful, and slightly confrontational."
Wednesday night at the Presbyterian Church was a different story altogether, the show was beautiful and the experience went even further in endearing Rosie Thomas to me. Snuggled up in the second pew of the church, I sat entranced by the sheer delicacy of her music. She sat on stage wearing her "little bow peep" dress alongside Denison Witmer and another guy who I can't remember the name of. The sorrow in her music still contrasted with the giddy banter she squeezed in between the songs, but they still, remarkable, complemented each other well. My favorite part was when she said "this next song is cover, it's called....'Margaritaville.' No, but wouldn't that be awesome?" During the set, she also spoke of her past SXSW experiences including the show in 2001 with the Black Halos heckling her.
Early that day when I was at End of an Ear, I saw her new CD, "These Friends of Mine," which had came out the day before, but I decided not to buy it then, opting to buy it directly from the artist that night. When I arrived back at the Church for her set, I was surprised to find that she did not have a merchandise table set up.
After her set, I walked up to her and stood patiently for her to finish taking photos with some friends. When she finished she turned to me, and as I began to speak, she put her arm around me. I asked her if she had any copies of her new CD, and she jokedthat she "wasn't sure if it was okay to set up a merch table, since it was a church and all," giggling at the thought of saying "meet me at the back of the church, and I'll sell you stuff." She then told me that she had some CD's in her van, and I told her that I wouldn't mind waiting. She then informed me that she actually had promotional copies in her van, and that she would just give me one for free.
Shocked, I said something about that being great as she scurried off. After a few minutes she surprised me by sidling up next to me from my left, she exclaimed "here you go guy!" Even though, it was promo, I still tried to offer her money, and she refused. I then told her that I was at the SXSW show in 2001, and her eyes lit up as we discussed how incredibly rude those guys were. "I'm so glad you were at that show, all these years I couldn't tell if I had blown that whole thing out of proportion" she said right before saying her goodbye. Like a friend I have known for years, she said quickly "okay, come here" as she stretched her arms out and gave me hug. Bottom line, I'm celebrity-crushing hard on Rosie Thomas
The first half of Thursday was a total bust. I wanted to see Boris play the Vice Party at 2:00, but traffic prevented it, so Mr. Mark & I had lunch instead. I then briefly bounced into see the Melvins, but found myself pretty much bored by them. I then, on a hunch, decided to go see Mika Miko play at Mrs. Bea's, figuring that all of those girls would be there. Unfortunately, like someone who hasn't lived in Austin their entire life, I walked in the completely opposite direction and ended up going to Antones instead to see Blonde Redhead. That show was running late by 45 minutes to an hour, and although I saw Jenny Smith there, the rest of the show was pretty much a total let down. I waited over an hour through what seemed like an unbearably long sound-check period (it still sounded like shit by the way) only to leave 3 songs in due to my immense disappointment with their new material.
On a side note, I really hate Antones.
I then walked around the corner to see Badly Drawn Boy play for free at the Cedar Street Bar, figuring that I might as well since I was in the neighborhood, but guess what, they were running behind as well. It was now nearly 6:00, so I decided that I would walk back toward the highway and try to find Mrs. Bea's again, hoping to catch Marnie Stern play at 6:30. When I finally arrived, I was not surprised to find out that they too were running behind, but for the first time that day it actually worked out in my favor.
As a result, I ended up discovering the Tiny Masters of Today, the Highlight of my Thursday. They are a noisy Garage-Punk band from Brooklyn comprised of a 10 year old girl on bass, a 12 year old boy on guitar, and Russell Simins from the Jon Spencer Blues Explosion on drums. Their music was simple, sing-songy, and fun, and their apathetic little-kid voices really completed the whole package. The audience started off sort of passive, but when people started dancing, the kids would smile and awkwardly laugh while singing. When they introduced their song "Bushy," the little girl said "this song about how we don't like President Bush," to which the boy replied "Um, no, it's about this big bush in our front yard." They also did a Moldy Peaches cover, and then closed with a cover of "Jump Around" (by House of Pain) that brought the house down.
I saw Marnie Stern, but still don't know what I thought of her, outside of the fact that she's quite charming.
That night around 2:00am, I talked to someone from work, who was covering my inventory shift for me, and they told me that we were apparently $1500 short for the week. So I went up to the theater around 3:00 and I was there until about 6:30 in the morning. I cut the shortage in half, and then went home and took a shower around 7:00. Unfortunately for me, I had a 9:00am SXSW Volunteer shift to go to, so I didn't go to sleep that night at all.
Friday:
After my shift that morning, I went to the Convention Center and saw Iggy Pop & the Stooges get interviewed, which means that within the course of a year, I have seen Morrissey, David Lynch, & Iggy Pop get interviewed, not bad I'd say. The interview was a lot of reminiscing, not much talk about contemporary things.
One of the Highlights of Friday was seeing the Tiny Master of Today play again at Club De Ville, this time with a tiny backing dancer. I also saw Automusik, which is a local trio that would best be described as Sprockets-esque. They are basically a parody of late 70's/early 80's German Electro-Pop. Very funny and very very silly. They don't play often, but I would recommend seeing them when they do.
I guess the best part of my Friday was seeing 31 Knots from Portland. They are sort of a hard band to peg on record, and I didn't really know what to expect when I saw them. Given the serious demeanor they have on their albums, I certainly wasn't expecting the lead singer to start the show by dressing up in a marching uniform, and blowing a whistle loudly while standing behind the audience. He then charged/stumbled/leaped onto stage and began performing the first song. After the song ended he took off the marching uniform, and was wearing a sort of 1920's farmer-type of outfit, white shirt and black suspenders, coupled with an eerie blue mask (might of been of Asian decent). The best I can tell, he was playing the role of an intense preacher during that song. The slight variations on costumes continued though out most of the set, as did the overall intensity of the lead singer/guitarist performance. Throw in some time spent writhing around on the floor in the middle of the audience, sniffing the chest of one of the guys in the audience. and then pretending to shoot everyone with his guitar, and you would pretty much get the idea of the show, it Rocked.
I was awake for like 37 hours that day, and as I was driving home my eyes were playing serious/dangerous tricks on me. At one point, while driving down Koenig, I thought that I was on Red River driving past Brackenridge Hospital.
Saturday:
Saturday, I saw Rosie Thomas play an instore at Waterloo Records, and then I went to Emo's to go see the Buzzcocks. Saturday was very notable for me since I got to see both the Buzzcocks & the Stooges in one night. The funny thing is that given all of the hoopla about the Stooges playing SXSW, I actually ended up enjoying the Buzzcocks set more.
Don't get me wrong, finally getting to see Iggy perform was amazing, but there is something to be said for the Buzzcocks set. They played a 45 minutes opening slot to a huge crowd packed into Emo's Main. The set was fast and jam-packed, only old material, no new, and all the songs just rolled right into the next. It also helped that I danced, I never dance at shows...ever. Dancing for me is just jumping around a lot, and I'm rarely at a show where the mood strikes me enough to do that, but the Buzzcocks were legitimately awesome. I danced and sang along from beginning to end, what more could I ask for? Oh, and their t-shirts were the vintage designs and dirt-cheap to boot.
Most of what I wrote above could not be said for the Stooge's show. The t-shirts were new, expensive, and ugly, and they only touted the new album. I didn't really dance, which isn't their fault, I wasn't really deep in the crowd, I was further towards the back and on the side, not to mention that it was the last show of SXSW, so I was too tired to dance. As far as the material they played goes, I wasn't shocked that they played new material because that's what they were there for, but I was shocked that, with the exception of the closing song, "No Fun," the latter half of the set was completely dominated by new material. I was expecting them to wind down the show (or wind it up, depending on how you look at it) with "I Want to be Your Dog" or "TV Eye," but both of those songs were shockingly played with in the opening minutes. All of that aside, seeing Iggy was like seeing a really grouchy endearing old friend (one springs to mind right now), and he really is showman, especially when it came to the new songs, it seemed like was doing everything he could to sell those. By the time the last song rolled around, the inevitable end to the whole SXSW experience started to settle in, and it was ushered in by a very memorable finale:
This is kind of a repost from April, but since all of our mp3's are screwed up prior to December, and it is relevant, I see no harm in reposting these songs. The plight of RockFour at South By Southwest is sort of a depressing one. Imagine being a 60's influenced psyche band from Israel, and traveling all the way to Austin, Texas to play a 45 minute set at SXSW, but when you arrive, the club (in this case, the Continental Club) you are playing is completely isolated from the rest the city. Couple that with the poor decision to sandwich the band in between 4 Country acts, specifically Pam Tillis & Ian Moore, and you have a rather depressing scenario on your hands.
Fortunately for RockFour, their music will be worth crossing the river for. After spending years on the American Guitar Pop label, Rainbow Quartz, RockFour are releasing their new record, "Memories of the Never-Happened," through Israeli Label Earsay Records, it should be interesting to hear. The songs posted below are from their 2004 release, "Nationwide."
RockFour will be fighting for attention Friday March 14th at the Continental Club (1315 S Congress Ave) at 10:00PM.
With South By Southwest right around the corner, I have spent most of this week trying to figure out my schedule for both the movie & music portions of the festival, while also trying to figure out how I’m going to balance my volunteer shifts with my actual job. I’ve decided to add another task to my load for the next few weeks by posting a series of SXSW specific blogs.
Looking at the Lineup for this year, it’s not the usual crop of "in-the-moment-hipsters" that’s got my attention, but rather, it’s the slew of bands that have been on my radar for years now, but for whatever reason never seem to actually travel to Texas. Bands such as The Forms, Rockfour, 31 Knots, & The Isles are perfect for an event like this, essentially giving me an opportunity to kill many birds with one stone. Part of the fun of SXSW is having the freedom to walk from venue to venue and still be able to get in and see what you want. Clubs like Emo’s & the Parish, which will no doubt be housing some of the bigger named acts (Blonde Redhead, Mountain Goats, and whatnot) are harder to get into, unless you’re willing to commit your whole night to it. With this in mind, these lesser known bands should really be the ticket for me this year.
Our first post is about The Isles from New York. I first heard their "Back to Terrific" EP in 2005, and immediately thought to myself, "why aren’t these guys huge?" Their sound, a mix of Sunny California & Dreary British Pop, felt unusual, yet familiar at times and the recording seemed near perfect in it’s balance of emphasis. The vocals were clear, pretty, but not too sugary, while the drums were light, but diligent pops. A friend of mine recently described their vocalist as sounding like what might happen "if Interpol & Death Cab for Cutie had a baby and peed on it," which he said was a compliment. I can see where he’s coming from on that, but I think they’re better than the sum of those parts. Since their 2005 EP, they have released several singles, and a rather impressive full length entitled "Perfumed Lands"
They will be headlining Wednesday March 14th at Habana Calle 6 Annex (708 E. 6th St) at 1:00AM, and I will be there.
It's almost cliche now to claim to like Wire. So many bands and artists have cited them as an influence, that it almost feels un-hip to not like them.
I stumbled upon Wire in the bargain cassette bin of Hastings many years ago. I bought their first 2 albums ('Pink Flag' and 'Chairs Missing') for a buck each. For about a year I listened to those albums so intensely on my headphones, that I can now recite every lyric. It was 1991 and I had grown tired of radio, tv and college rock.
Within the span of 2 albums though, Wire changed from a manic punk band exploding into 2 minute songs to a post punk art band willing to experiment with, and abandon, what they had done previously. A year hadn't even passed, 'Pink Flag' came out in 1977. 'Chairs Missing' came out in 1978.
The music was pure balm to me. The melody, energy and angular guitars from 'Pink Flag' can still be heard today (Interpol, Elastica, Lush, Bloc Party, Rakes anyone?), and the dubby textures, echo reverb and fantastic use of silence from 'Chairs Missing' are still being employed today to great effect (i.e. Mogwai, Trans Am, Colder, etc...)
Here's a few tunes from both, but i highly suggest tracking down both albums today.
Something sad sparked my recollection of this song yesterday, but I’m really glad it did. I had not thought about the gentle Alt-Country styles of the band known as Tarnation for quite some time, and not only was it a welcomed trip down memory lane, but it was also an enlightening one. It would appear that the long dormant 4AD band is now on the verge of releasing a new record (well sort of.) Apparently after Tarnation’s 1997 sophomore effort, "Mirador," main songwriter & lead vocalist Paula Frazer dropped the moniker and released several records under her own name on the unlikely Retro Fuzz label, Birdman Records. This March 1st, Frazer evokes the Tarnation name once again with the release of "Now It’s Time," also distributed by Birdman.
I listened to the title track on her Myspace profile, and got really excited. The song is gorgeous and has a strange Cat Stevens quality to it. If that song is any indication, I suspect that the new album will still have the same dreamy feel of Tarnation’s debut, "Gentle Creatures," minus the tin-can vocals.
The song I’m posting, "It’s Not Easy," is probably my favorite Tarnation song, and easily one of their most upbeat. The beautiful contrast of Matt Wendell Sullivan’s lead vocals and Frazer’s wailing yodel comforts me every time.
Rising from the ashes of Antipop Consortium, Beans bridges the gap between the Avant Garde musings of Sun Ra, and the electro street spirit of Afrika Bambaataa.
He has 3 albums under his belt. ‘Only’ (his most recent) takes a hard left into experiemental territory, which was briefly visited on his first two LP’s. His work with Prefuse 73, Dani Siciliano, Arto Lindsay, Ghislain Poirier, EL-P, and Outhud keeps him tied to the Indie/Underground scene, but this is still straight up Electro Hip Hop.
Last March I saw Billy Braggperform as part of Anti’s SXSW Hootenanny at the Central Presbyterian Church, a unique experience to say the least. I didn’t really know much about him then, nor do I now, but I have a general idea of who he is, and his place in musical history. Recently I picked up a MOJO compilation for a $1 that had a song by him on it, and I liked the song so much, it inspired this blog. It’s a very simple, very endearing Pop Rock song about a girl, a song that would fit nicely along side Wreckless Eric’s “Whole Wide World.” That being said, I realized that most of my favorite Love songs are in fact simple little Pop Rock tunes.
A dear friend of mine recommended Television Personalities to me a long time ago, and cited them as a reason to like Jens Lekman (since he covered them, he couldn’t be all that bad.) I’ve like everything I’ve heard by them, and if nothing else, I like the fact that they wrote a song based on dialogue from the film Gregory’s Girl.
Speaking of Jens Lekman, his entire song-writing style is more or less akin to that of Jonathan Richman, who will be playing both the Cactus Café & the Continental Club in late February. I’m pretty excited about seeing him.
The only things I really have to say about the Velvet Underground right now is that this particular version of “I’m Sticking With You” is in my opinion better than the none-demo version. It was playing in my car several years ago when I got into a car accident with a pillar that probably should killed me. Plus, I also learned how to sign the lyrics of this song for an American Sign Language assignment.
So I just want to thank the guys at You Ain’t No Picasso for turning me on to this totally inspiring Zombie’s song, it really made my day. I can’t remember the last time I listened to a song for the first time, and was instantly moved by it’s warmth. I listened to it at least 8 times before leaving for work today, and all I could think about tonight was coming home and listening to it again.
As a bonus, I’m posting another amazing sentimental reflection on life, "In My Life" by the Beatles (it was recommended a few weeks back by a dear friend.) As a second bonus, I’ve been on a real Kinks kick recently, so I’m posting one of current faves.
Disclaimer: The songs posted in this blog are for sampling purposes only. If requested by the artist or label we will gladly remove any song posted here within. These songs have ALL been purchased by us at Open House and we encourage you to do the same. In short, support musicians, independent record stores, and local music venues nationwide.
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This blog is curated by Mr. Popkoff and Mr. Mark.
