Sufficiently Peculiar

Where have you gone, Jay Reatard?

2010-01-18T12:42:00.000-08:00

It seems to be the season for loss. Not that any season is exempt, but it's hard to have to report (not that this blog can claim to be a source of actual news) so recently after my last posting, that rock persona Jay Reatard is dead at the age of 29. The sheer volume of his output is staggering; something like 22 full-length albums and some 1000 shows performed in his short but meteoric lifetime. How can we even say we'll miss someone who we are just in the process of meeting and whose trajectory indicated only vast amounts more to come? I like what I've heard from him so far. I recommend taking a look on YouTube for examples of his stuff. For a better job of journalism, check this link to Rolling Stone.

R.I.P. Vic Chesnutt

2010-01-10T11:00:00.000-08:00

I'm a music fan. I've got a bunch of records. I've been going to shows for many years but I would say that I haven't seen as many live performances as I would have liked to, considering my interest.
For a time in the 90s I was lucky enough to be able to volunteer as an usher for the Arts at St. Ann's, then still housed at the historic St. Ann's Church in Brooklyn Heights. I saw many shows there during that time. But I was blessed to have been in the audience (rather than working that night) for a performance by Vic Chesnutt, playing with his "skiffle band" which included his wife, Tina, on bass guitar.
Back then I had not heard any of Vic's music yet. I'd heard about him, and I think I might even have heard a snippet or two in record stores or on radio, but those left little palpable impression. I simply didn't get it. He was a singer-songwriter, clearly southern in drawl and attitude and what so different about that?
When Vic began to sing, in that usually underheated and slightly decrepit church, on that particular night, however, the impression was enormous, awesome, life-affirming. I cannot say that I've ever been as attentive at any concert as I was at that one. Every pore of my skin seemed to be open and waiting; I was like a baby bird, only more silently so, ears as wide as those chickadee's beaks can stretch, hearing a profound performance given by a brilliant performer.
What was it about that moment that caught me so powerfully? On hearing the album that he was promoting at the time, the magnificent "About To Choke," I realized that Vic had been performing the songs at about half-speed at St. Ann's. He really took his time with them. Perhaps, and one could guess this about a lot of what he did, it was because he was so badly crippled that he poured the kind of grace that a solo flamenco dancer displays into his vocals, simply because that was all he could still control to the degree that he clearly needed in order to express the depth of his convictions. He was spell-binding, blood-curdling, breath-taking and hilarious.
I miss him, never met him and wish you all could have seen him that night. It must have been a hell of a lot of pain to bring him to the point of taking his own life, a life that has so generously contributed to my own.

Wutthehey?

2009-11-06T16:32:00.000-08:00

China vs. Canada

2009-11-06T16:10:00.000-08:00

Here's an interesting post from the fine folks at the ARChive of Contemporary Music: "Alternative China in New York," about a current festival of "underground" music from China being performed here in NYC. I seriously want to check out these bands, and there are several opportunities to do so. As for tonight, I'm torn:
These Are Powers, Soft Circle, Carsick Cars, P.K.14, Xiao He @ Glasslands – Brooklyn, NYC
Or
Hidden Cameras w/ Gentleman Reg @ Brooklyn Union Hall 10PM – Brooklyn, NYC

The whole schedule for the Maybe Mars tour of Chinese artists is here.

Catchy? Heck, yeah!

2009-10-23T17:20:00.000-07:00

And if you haven't had quite enough of Bastardo, click here to see "The Making Of…"

Chuck, Chuck, Bo Buck…

2009-09-18T18:03:00.000-07:00

There's nothing new under the sun. Especially when it comes to clichés, old saws, maxims, aphorisms and truisms. Or maybe even more especially when it comes to band names. Can we stop with the wolves/bears/panthers and the crystals, please? Hey, you, over there planning to name your band something clever, just consider the fact that you may confuse someone into buying a record by a band named exactly like yours only a hair's breadth different; different enough to earn you a place on my list. What exactly is this list? I sometimes imagine these pairings as bills for fantasy concerts where I finally see the bands and am therefore never again confused. Or maybe just a very entertaining walk through a record store. Or, more probably, it is likely that these things have stuck in my head and now I can throw you the hot potato. Feel free to add your own in the comments. And, finally, here it is, the list of shame:

Crystal Skulls / - Stilts / - Antlers / - Method / - Castles / The Crystals
Xiu Xiu / Xu Xu Fang / Red Fang / Fin Fang Foom
Locksley / Loxley
Wooden Shjips / - Wand / - Stars
Young Widows / - Galaxy / - Knives / - Gods / - Marble Giants
Youth Group / - Movies / - Pictures of Florence Henderson / Sonic Youth
Windy & Carl / Cyann & Ben / Meg & Dia / Matt & Kim /
   Tuck & Patti / Willie & Lobo
Willy Mason / Mason Jennings / Mason Proper / Mason Williams
The Owls / Wow Owls / Owl Service / Low Flying Owls
Wye Oak / Rye Coalition / 18th Dye
Dopo Yume / Yume Bitsu
Wolf Eyes / - Parade / - & Cub / Seawolf / Seabear
Willard Grant Conspiracy / Joel Plaskett Emergency /
   Jon Spencer Blues Explosion
Wild Beasts / - Light / - Colonials / Wilderness
Volcano the Bear / Volcano I'm Still Excited!
Ut / Ui
The Books / -s On Tape / - of Knots / - of Kills
The Killers / Kills / Thrills / Stills / Chills
Black Dice / - Angels / - Eyes / - Grape / - Kids / - Keys / - Wire / - Lips /
   - Heart Procession / - Box Recorder / - Rebel Motorcycle Club /
   - Moth Super Rainbow / - Ox Orchester / - Tie Dynasty /    - to Comm /
   -stone Valley Singers / Big Black / Crippled Black Phoenix / Phoenix
Cliks / Click Five / Count Five / Ben Fold Five
The Field / Fields / Field Music / Magnetic Fields / The Nields
Sage Francis / Page France
Headlights / Razorlight / Softlightes
Gregory & The Hawk / A Hawk and A Handsaw
Say Hi / Say Anything
Telephathe / -pathique / -popmusik / -vision / -vision Personalities /
   Alternative -vision / TV on the Radio
Prefab Sprout / Tobin Sprout / Amon Tobin / Amon Düül
Pele / Pela
Barr / Bauer / Baumer
GZA / RZA
Bradley Strider / Tinchy Stryder / McCarthy Trenching
They Might Be Giants / Under Influence of - / Standing on Shoulders of - /
   - Sand / - Drag
Le Tigre / Tiger Lillys / Tiger City / Tgr Lou
Deer & The Headlights / Dear Hunter / The Dears
Band of Horses / HORSE the Band
I Love You But I've Chosen Darkness /
   Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin /
   Seagulls Screaming Kiss Her Kiss Her

I promise more later, but that's a good start.

Like a drunk in a midnight choir

2009-09-15T18:09:00.000-07:00

Brilliant, elegant idea.

The composer/poster, Jarbas Agnelli, says it best himself:

"Reading a newspaper, I saw a picture of birds on the electric wires. I cut out the photo and decided to make a song, using the exact location of the birds as notes (no Photoshop edit). I knew it wasn't the most original idea in the universe. I was just curious to hear what melody the birds were creating.

I sent the music to the photographer, Paulo Pinto, who I Googled on the internet. He told his editor, who told a reporter and the story ended up as an interview in the very same newspaper.

Here I've posted a short video made with the photo, the music and the score (composed by the birds)."

I'm glad he took the trouble.

Sound archive(s), free, online, go now

2009-09-15T17:36:00.000-07:00

"Explore 44,500 selected recording of music, spoken word, and human and natural environments."

The British Library has opened its very impressive archive of recorded sounds to the public. Who knows what's out there?

Here's a clip of an "aboriginal song on wax cylinder 1898." (courtesy of the Guardian)

Speaking of archives, Ubuweb has an amazing one. Theirs is focused on art, and it's just about that specific; you can find almost anything relating to any art medium that's ever been recorded or documented via this incredible site.

Case in point: I tried to collect the Tellus cassette-only music magazine when it was being published, but I only managed to snag a few (I miss See Hear.) Ubuweb has links to all 26 of these historic collections of avant-garde work, all downloadable, legit and cost-free:
Tellus #10: The All-Guitars issue (1985): Glenn Branca - Acoustic Phenomena (mp3)

Michael RIP

2009-09-12T16:10:00.000-07:00

Here's a great, and lengthy, story about digging up Michael Jackson's first recorded track:
Link via the excellent Numero Group record label's blog.

Gaining perspective; Canine disgrace

2009-09-11T13:26:00.000-07:00

Here's a new project on Kickstarter that I'm excited about:

I just love the Kickstarter system: you pledge support, the amount of which will only be charged if the proposed goal amount is reached by the deadline date. Therefore, if not enough people pledge, you aren't charged, and the project does not go. The Jay Bennett project I posted about earlier met exactly that fate, lack of pledgers, and did not come to fruition. But so far, that has not happened to many of the Kickstarter projects, certainly none of the others I have gotten behind.

This is the first one for me that is not a music-based project. I think these guys are twins. That's not why I pledged. This pop-up design/drawing innovation is fascinating. I would love to be able to do the maximum pledge and have them come and give a lecture; perhaps they will show up here in NY anyway. I've become more interested in perspective drawing lately; I studied mechanical drawing in high school and have never really explored beyond that. Did I mention that I collect ViewMaster reels? And pop-ups are cool. My sister collects pop-up books. I guess the collecting thing runs in my family, although she denies that she's been bitten by the bug.

I'm sorry; I cannot help myself. I must post this photo:

Guy Davis Meets Bob Dylan at the Crossroads

2009-08-28T17:33:00.000-07:00

A Sufficiently Peculiar Review

Sweetheart Like You, Guy Davis
Red House Records, 2009

By Miles Kowitt

Although Guy Davis was raised in New York City, his soul has always belonged to the Mississippi delta with the bluesmen who awoke his muse and fired his storybook imagination with their songs and stories of suffering, survival and redemption. Sweetheart Like You, his tenth recording for independent blues label, Red House Records, takes its name from a song off of Dylan's 1983 Infidels album, which Davis covers with astonishingly deft and soulful clarity. Davis, an actor, writer, storyteller and teacher as well as gifted musician, plays 6 & 12 string acoustic guitars with an old school finger-pickin’ style in the tradition of his legendary forefathers: Son House, Leadbelly, Reverend Gary Davis and Mississippi John Hurt, as well as 5-string banjo, mandolin and emotive blues harmonica. Sweetheart Like You, his latest album of classic blues and folk renditions interspersed with flavorful originals, is the sonic calling card of a true 21st century bluesman. Spread over 14 tunes, Davis whoops, hollers, plucks, picks and moans his way all the way up through the Mississippi delta, to the smoky night clubs of mid-1950’s Chicago, and into the projects of modern-day urban America. Among the country blues classics, Davis takes us to a southern work camp via Son House’s prison lament, “Down South Blues” and offers up a sprightly rendition of Muddy Waters’ “Can’t Be Satisfied” picked on a 5-string banjo. Turning in heart-felt originals such as “Words to My Mama’s Song,” with its modern hip-hop recording techniques like looped vocal percussion and the gospel-infused “Angels are Calling,” Davis proves to be an artist who is just as comfortable embracing the past as he is exploring the present. It is a stroke of good luck indeed for fans of traditional American music to have musicians like Guy Davis around who remind us that the blues are very much alive and available for the next generation to treasure and enjoy.

To purchase this album and other fine albums by Guy Davis, check out redhouserecords.com or visit Guy’s own website at: guydavis.com

While attending the First Annual Vermont Blues Festival this month, I was blessed to witness a feverish performance by Guy Davis along with Mavis Staples, Shemekia Copeland and other masters of the genre.

Superlatives / Laxatives

2009-07-31T07:07:00.000-07:00

I was recently polled with the forever-ridiculous queries: What is your favorite album, band and song? Gimme a break. Get a life. It's all good.
I actually answered; I surprised myself, frankly.

Album: Conference of the Birds (title track) - Dave Holland Quartet
Band: The Hidden Cameras
("Ban Marriage" from The Smell of Our Own)
[windows media, courtesy of Hidden Cameras]
Song: "Fourteenth of February" - Billy Bragg
from William Bloke; I first heard it on the soundtrack to Walking and Talking

Of course, ask me again in five minutes and I'll give you different answers. Or infinite answers. Or a blank stare.
Favorite color: Orange
Or green & yellow.
Never mind.

Another feeble attempt to cobble meaning out of nothing

2009-07-30T19:08:00.000-07:00

A friend recently shared that he is particularly devoted to one record label; in this case the LOAF label which, I think, features lots of up-to-date electronica artists (thanks, Gareth.) I've been meaning to put together a list of relevant labels because, it turns out, this is often the deciding bit of information for me when purchasing music. I read plenty of press but that cannot entirely guide me when I really need it. Of course, there are plenty of instances in which I've bought things either on a whim, with just about zero info to go on, or when I've gone directly against this wisdom by buying from lackluster labels or when I've ignored obvious positive signals, with better or worse results to show for it. In any case, this will be a long list, and I will add to it in time, I hope. I'll skip the majors, but then I'll break that rule. Likewise with defunct labels, vanity labels, etc. Feel free to give feedback—it's all about shared knowledge.

I'd also like to mention that I've been treated exceptionally well by one label on the list: Revenant Records. They publish old-timey music, with the strengths of extremely carefully chosen material and award-winning package design. I'd buy every one of their records & box sets, if I could.

It should also be noted that two labels have taken advantage of the lovely Kickstarter site to clear their warehouses and give us great deals on older releases:
Polyvinyl
and
Emergency Umbrella
Go get 'em now!

An even more ludicrous idea: a collation of band names. Coming soon.

Here's a link to my useless list.

Does my list of record labels seem long and redundant? Well, it is.

Kickstarter / Jay Bennett / VU / Nick Drake

2009-07-28T18:13:00.000-07:00

I've never been the biggest fan of Wilco. Or Son Volt or whatever else there is in that particular pile to get obsessed with. I did hear about Jay Bennet passing recently; so my ears perked up when I saw a listing on my fave site—Kickstarter.com—for his latest record. Wait, there's more. I know that you, like me, will want to buy the album, titled not-so-subtly, "Whatever Happened I Apologize" on vinyl, but if you're not certain, you can download the Whole Thing for free. Also, you can stream a couple of songs for a quick taste. It seems he might have written a song about me; OK, it's probably about Hank Williams (or maybe Hank Snow.) I have to say that, so far, I like what I've heard.

Just click here to download the album.
And here for the Kickstarter page.

Miles, our intrepid columnist and critic, is encouraging me to get on the stick and write. So, I'll do my best.
I've been cataloging my records—by that I mean all my records; CDs, 7"ers, 10"ers, 12"ers, cassettes, DVDs, VHSes and music books (oh, yes, and viewmaster slides, too.) I'm putting them all in Excel—probably not the best idea, but that's all I've got. I'm mostly finished, about a quarter of the way through the 12" vinyl. Miles suggests I post them here, but I dunno. If you've got an opinion about that, let me know. The primary purpose of the project is to try to avoid repetition—firstly with downloading, but, now, mostly with purchases. But I have to say that I've latched on to the activity, which feels very familiar to the son of a librarian, as a relaxing hobby in itself. Then again, maybe it is contributing to my increased sense of obsessiveness about all this accumulation.

Truth is, I've completely stopped downloading music, save for the stuff at Daytrotter.com, which is entirely unique and totally legit. The downloading became just too much; there's so much out there and only so much time to listen. The net result, however, of all of that hoarding, is that I've been buying waaaay more CDs than I ever did before, albethey 99% used copies. I certainly never felt that downloading is a completely estimable way of finding new music, but I'm not entirely convinced that it is simply detrimental to artists, either. I don't suppose the musicians themselves get any cash from my used record purchases. And I'm also buying a lot more tickets to live music shows. And, and and while I'm at those shows I always buy as much music as I can afford to—directly from the artists—by far the most fulfilling for both of our interests. Suffice it to say that my online activity has reignited a lifetime interest and, well, now you're hearing about it.

This weekend I read The Rough Guide to Velvet Underground by Peter Hogan and Nick Drake's Pink Moon by Amanda Petrusich (a 33 1/3 book.) I enjoyed them both. I recently read an article by Amanda in this month's Wire magazine; very well written. Interestingly, there is a certain amount of crossover in these books. John Cale, of the VU, while working with famed producer Joe Boyd (Miles promises to lend me his book, White Bicycles) producing and arranging one of Nico's albums, let it be known that he wanted to work with Nick Drake on his second album, Btyter Layter. It has been suggested that Cale introduced Drake to heroin. But probably not, thank goodness. Drake had plenty of troubles of his own. At least John didn't introduce him to Nico; it seems that not only did she sleep with absolutely everyone, but she managed to turn many of them on to smack, including her son, Ari (not that I'm suggesting she had the sex with him.) She was clearly a piece of work. Hey, did I ever tell you that I'm within 6 degrees of separation of Marianne Faithful? 'Nuff said. Whatever happened, I apologize.

A Sufficiently Peculiar Review #4

2009-07-21T14:22:00.000-07:00

Sonic Youth @ United Palace Theater, NYC
Friday, July 3rd, 2009

By Miles Kowitt

It is an uncommon practice in the often-transparent world of popular music for an artist to develop a singular style and stick to their guns no matter what the mainstream world may dictate. Sonic Youth have been doing this for nearly three decades now and have lost none of their passion in searching for that elusive “sound” that only they seem to hear. That “sound” grew out of the No Wave scene in Manhattan’s Lower East Side in the late 70's into the dawn of the 1980's. As disciples of guitar provocateur Glenn Branca, SY signed to his Neutral Records label in 1982 and committed their first dissonant chiming guitar forays and disembodied murmurs to vinyl. Since that first self-titled E.P., the band has experienced an evolution like no other in Rock and Roll. I suppose if you threw the Jefferson Airplane with the original Velvet Underground into a large pot, simmered, adding in some Sun Ra, Throbbing Gristle and a dash of the Ramones, you might come close to an accurate description, but SY have many more dimensions to them than a casual fan might realize.

SY have been one of the few bands in this age to sign with a major label, Geffen Records, and still maintain their Indie cred, continuing to release bold and brash albums well into their third decade together. They have played everything from the dingiest shit-holes all the way up to huge festivals and even Madison Square Garden, opening for Neil Young in the early 90’s. They have ventured into countless side projects: Ciccone Youth and the SYR avant-garde series, not to mention solo releases and interesting and unusual collaborations. They have embraced musical forms as diverse as cheese-ball Hair-Metal, Hip-Hop, Psychedelia, Free Jazz, World Music, and even neo-classical arrangements, all with their unique brand of rebellious humor and youthful experimentation. And, most unusual for a successful rock band, they have given back to the community that supported them, providing a leg-up to bands like Dinosaur jr. and more famously, Nirvana. With goodwill to fellow artists and fans alike, Sonic Youth can truly be called a band for the people.

For their latest album, The Eternal, SY have returned to an independent label, Matador Records, and have added the newest fifth member, much in the way they did with previous member, Jim O’Rourke. Bassist Mark Ibold, from 90’s Indie-Rock darlings Pavement, brings yet another dimension to the SY sound, adding taut and muscular bass grooves to their heady stew of sonic delight. This album, for me, is the most satisfying SY release since the epochal Daydream Nation, bridging the gap between the murky experimentation of older releases with the more conventional rock-solid numbers they perfected on a string of hit Alt-Rock albums in the 90’s.

Tonight’s set-list focused primarily on songs from the new album with some interesting older gems thrown in for good measure. The band opened the show with current single “Sacred Trickster” which to my ears has a more conventional rock sound much in the style of their early 90’s major-label albums Goo and Dirty whereas another new tune “Anti-Orgasm” sounds like an outtake from Sister. For me, the standout track of the current batch of songs was “Massage the History” which featured Thurston Moore on acoustic guitar, an oddly unnerving sight for a band so associated with electric instruments, but all the more effective for it. SY crowd pleasers such as “Tom Violence”, “Catholic Block” and Kim Gordon’s tour-de-force “Pacific Coast Highway” sounded as fresh as when I first heard them back at City Gardens in Trenton, NJ in the mid 80’s. The real treat was a couple of noisy blasts from the Confusion is Sex/Kill yr. Idols period which somehow fit in perfectly with the newer material. For the final encore, Moore invited the audience to move forward, crowding the stage, much like their many club gigs in the early 80’s and exclaimed, “Now that feels more like it” and launched into some early staples like “Brother James” and the evening’s closer, “Death Valley ‘69” with as much velocity as if they were brand new songs. Moore’s generosity with his audience reminds us that an audience is just as important as the band it has paid hard-earned cash to see.

From the cover painting on their latest album (by acoustic guitar virtuoso John Fahey) to the inner-sleeve photo (of Johnny Thunders at Max’s Kansas City) and tribute to fallen Stooge, Ron Asheton, SY have never been afraid to praise and even pay homage to their heroes. Somehow, in the SY alternate-universe everything that is old will eventually become new again. Hence the Sonic Youth aesthetic: destroy what’s old, take the remnants and start again with a strange familiarity but a whole new direction. An idea simple enough in theory, but harder to execute as proved by countless SY sound-alikes that littered the musical landscape of the last decade. Sure, Punk taught us that anybody can start a band and make a record but so few do it as well. Constantly evolving, but firmly tethered to their Downtown NYC Art-punk outsider roots, Sonic Youth are still D.I.Y. after all these years.

 Set-List:  Sacred Trickster / No Way / Calming the Snake / Poison Arrow / Tom Violence / Walkin Blue / Anti-Orgasm / Leaky Lifeboat / Antenna / Catholic Block / Malibu Gas Station / Massage the History / World Looks Red / What We Know / Pacific Coast Highway / Brother James / Death Valley '69

The Eternal is out now on Matador Records. For more information on the band, check out www.sonicyouth.com

At the lovely United Palace Theatre even middle-aged hipsters look nice.

Hey, I was at that show, too! Miles took us to the terrific Malécon Restaurant across the street for some pre-show chow and who should we see exiting the place with well-satisfied grins? Lee Ranaldo and Mark Ibold, shaking hands with friends and giving the Family Circle stamp of approval on the joint. And it was good eating. Might even be worth a trip up there on a showless night.

– ed.

Actual vinyl records

2009-07-17T06:42:00.000-07:00

Now this is an innovative idea for publicity: Los Campesinos! are compiling a box full of records that they will accumulate along the way on their upcoming US tour. And then, they'll give it to some lucky fan. Can I say now that I'd like to be that person? Already the list of its contents is intriguing, and they haven't even started up here yet.

Apparently, you have to follow along on their blog, gather clues or whatnot and be constantly reminded that you are one of millions of people wishing to get lucky. I think it is brilliant marketing and a heck of a lot of fun. As I always say about lottery tickets, it's the cheapest entertainment you can get for a buck.

This just in…

2009-07-10T20:47:00.000-07:00

You MUST see this amazing t-shirt site. Puts Threadless to shame.

Nonsek

I recommend Leigh Wells' channel

Here's an example I saved:

Of course, the best ones weren't saved…and I'm obsessed. Again.

Photographs, images, art

2009-07-10T17:29:00.000-07:00

I've been meaning to post some things from some friends.

Many (probably most) of my co-workers are incredibly talented. Some more visibly than others, but I'll try to get more permissions to share their work with you.

This is a piece by Miguel Ovalle. It is a sculpture, a wall hanging and it's very large. Amazing. Apparently it took him some months to craft it.

Bryce is a DJ on WFMU. Dang. How'sit goin' Bryce?

John Roblin joined in on the cover-mania:

Subtle, I think. Hey did you do that one of "Ship Too Late to Save a Drowning Witch?"

Goopy is a wished-for friend, someone whose work I admire, get a laugh out of and generally makes me wonder about its author. Maybe someday, at a interweb hoedown, we'll meet. Prolly not.

The rest of these are borrowed images; respect to their original post-ers. Lemme know if you want me to not hang them on my cyberwall.

Why hockey is a violent sport

2009-07-09T11:16:00.000-07:00

It's SUBLIMINAL, dude!

I'm officially obsessed with Continuum's 33.3

2009-07-06T19:06:00.000-07:00

Good ole' 33 1/3 is having a competition. Being interested as much in words and images as in sounds, I just couldn't help myself. Here are my first drafts:

A dream come true would be Lester Bangs writing a blow-by-blow commentary on Metal Machine Music. If grating music and brilliant writing interests you, grab " Psychotic Reactions and Carburetor Dung" - edited by Greil Marcus, of course. Obvious, I know.

Truly one of the best record covers, EVAR. And, I think, the album Eno wishes he produced. I suppose the logical next step would be Songs About F*cking by David Byrne.

Another brilliant cover and another source of envy, this time for Lou himself. Heck, I just want to acknowledge this as one of my all time faves.

I thought of asking Andy Warhol to write this one, but Greil would be the "perfect storm" for this classic album/cover combo.

This last one is probably the most remixed/mashed/copied album cover of all human history. Here are just a few I grabbed from the interweb for you:

Tributes to the image:

Reflexive: ie, pop will eat itself covered in whipped cream.

Some people made their own versions:

courtesy of Danger S. Jones

courtesy of Walter and Veronica

Farm: A Sufficiently Peculiar Review #3

2009-07-06T17:39:00.000-07:00

Farm, Dinosaur jr.
Jagjaguwar, 2009

By Miles Kowitt

Dinosaur jr. are back and in top form! The Massachusetts trio of J. Mascis, Lou Barlow and drummer Murph have managed a rare feat in the often fickle world of Rock and Roll; they have completed a successful reunion tour, made a worthy comeback album with 2007’s Beyond, and have continued on as a reformed band making a follow-up album that can stand proudly next to such classics as You’re Living All Over Me and Bug. Farm is a glistening, mossy slab of fuzz-box-drenched guitar tsunamis adorning 12 gloriously noisy, but melodic numbers in the classic Dino vein. All of the trademarks one would expect from a Dinosaur jr. album are here: the quirky cartoon cover art with its slime-green sasquatches, the rumbling bass-lines, the distorted “Cortez the Killer” meets Mary Chain guitar squalls, the self-effacing slacker lyrics, that lethargic, nasal wine of Mascis, the catchy-as-hell choruses, and those heart-breaking melodies floating just beneath the murk. Destined for Indie-classic status, tracks like “Pieces”, “I Want You to Know”, and “It’s Over” offer a more pop-friendly approach that somehow loses none of the heft that Mascis and company have always packed into a song. Barlow, who sat out Dino in the 90’s to focus on Sebadoh and other Indie-rock projects, offers up 2 originals, as he did on earlier albums, showing a darker, almost-gothic side of the band. Mascis’s trademark amp-up-to-11 guitar solos still have the intensity to melt brain-cells, but it’s his keen sense of melody and uncanny ability to write a great hook that proves him to be a master of his craft. Farm easily joins the ranks of great summertime driving albums; so roll down the windows, crank up the stereo, and hit the highway, Dinosaur jr. are along for the ride.

Farm is available via Jagjaguwar Records

What is peculiar; what is sufficient?

2009-07-03T04:25:00.000-07:00

I've been thinking. Thinking and not posting. I have oh so many plans for this blog, don't you know. I says to myself, "Wouldn't it be nice to post something daily?" And self says, "Yes, you go ahead and make your humanoid plans, hah!" I'm done making promises to you, my friends. It's July 4th almost and I've not delivered my Summer Festivals calendar. Prolly won't happen anytime soon. Mos' likely won't be posting daily, either. But you know I'd like to do so, and that will have to suffice for now.

I've been thinking that most of what I've posted hasn't qualified as particularly peculiar. Not that I profess to know what is peculiar and what is not. That, I assume, is for oneself to decide. But I didn't name this blog as I did in order to set any sort of qualification as to what could or could not be included. Then, again, there are those moments when I feel that I am in touch with the sublime and those are the moments I wish most to communicate to you. So, I'll make a little list. Why not.

1. I went to a wedding last weekend and sat at table with Ken Butler. He is, if nothing else, sufficiently peculiar. Among the many deep thoughts he shared with us was the proposition (maybe his, maybe not) that those who hoard piles of books or records or picture postcards might simply be responding to a deeply uncontrollable urge to build a nest and line it with stuff in the instinctual manner foretold us by our ancestors the reptiles/birds. He did not play his pocket trumpet.

2. My work computer's hard-drive crashed and died last week. Very destabilizing in its effect on me. I lost some music, no big deal, really. But I started out with a blanked-out iTunes library, so, naturally, I copied the discs that I bought that day (confession: I buy stuff most every day.) And, wonder of wonders, I liked a couple of the albums.

3. They are A: Kleerup by Kleerup and B: Topless at Arco Arena by Wonderlick. Get yer own damn links.

4. That's enough for now. More soon.

Why're they the best?

2009-06-09T18:22:00.000-07:00

Why is it that my favorite band, my favorite TV show and my favorite magazine all have the same name? I am truly perplexed by this. I am also truly amused by it. And, of course, I think you should love them, too.

If all that doesn't annoy, maybe this will:

While the Record Goes Around - The Playmates

A Sufficiently Peculiar Review #2

2009-05-30T06:44:00.000-07:00

Rodriguez @ Bowery Ballroom, NYC
Friday, May 15th, 2009

By Miles Kowitt

It is a now legendary story of VH1 Behind the Music proportions; Mexican-born Detroit-based singer-songwriter, Sixto Rodriguez, now aged 67, comes out of a 30-year period of obscurity and receives long-overdue international acclaim. In 1970, with his name only known in the sleaziest dive bars on the darkest streets of the Motor City, Rodriguez, a then 20-something upstart, recorded an album with Motown session aces and inked a record deal with Hollywood-based Sussex Records. That album, Cold Fact, proved to be a psychedelic folk-rock masterpiece peppered with eclectic and often apocalyptic musical flourishes offering biting social observations about class, race, gender and equality in American culture. Of course, the album was doomed to obscurity here in the U.S., but somehow wound up on the shores of such far-flung places as South Africa, New Zealand and Australia. A trip to the U.K. was arranged and Rodriguez found himself in Lansdowne Recording Studios in early-70’s London with a crack producer and top session men. His sophomore album, Coming From Reality, was released in late 1971 on Sussex with high hopes, but again disappeared without a trace.

His music career abandoned, Rodriguez became a blue-collar man back in Detroit and worked construction and hard-labor jobs for a meager paycheck. By this time, the idea of making music again, let alone touring, seemed as far away to him as the mountains of Mars. All the while, his album Cold Fact became a staple of rock record collections in South Africa, nestled comfortably between the Beatles and Dylan and blaring out of dorm rooms and car speakers all across that country. A pretty, young South African woman at the show said, “To me his album will always be summer camp in the countryside with red wine and really good pot.”

True enough, several South Africans at the New York show shockingly knew every word to those songs, singing and bopping their heads as if they had lived and breathed those songs. In fact, those songs were part of the soundtrack to their lives, despite the cold fact that very few record buyers here even knew who Rodriguez was. But the wheel of history is an uncanny mechanism and turns in the most unexpected ways. Out of the blue, a promoter contacted Rodriguez about doing some shows in South Africa. Thinking he’d play a few dive bars for chump change and drink some free booze, he agreed to the tour. When he arrived, he found himself and his hastily assembled band booked into a 25,000-seat arena playing to a packed house of adoring fans. Now both of his albums have been re-released here in the U.S on reissue label Light in the Attic, and have received rave reviews, picking up new fans along the way. Thus, several decades late (but better late than never as they say), Rodriguez is finally on tour in America.

On this particular night, Rodriguez took the stage with his band of razor-sharp twenty-something musicians: a three-piece horn section, a rock solid drummer, a fluent lead guitarist filling out the sound nicely, a very capable female keyboardist and a bassist who seemingly served as band leader and also as Rodriguez’s personal escort. Clearly, the years have been rough for the singer-songwriter; he walked slowly with an apparently painful limp, led to his perch at center-stage by the aforementioned bassist. Donning a dark pair of blind man’s shades and a black-brimmed hat with black, straggly hair flowing out from under his hat, Rodriguez looked more like a seedy East L.A. street urchin than a celebrated performer about to play to a fairly packed house of old and new fans.

After an anxious few minutes of on-stage acclimation and impromptu band introductions at the singer’s behest, the band launched into the first number of the evening “Only Good for Conversation.” Within moments, the song took off like a rocket into a psychedelically charged stratosphere with screaming lead guitars and an almost Sabbath-like crunching breakdown, involving the audience more than just as mere spectators but as participants in a riot, pushing back against invisible barriers. The singer summoned all the rage he could muster from the turbulent 60’s to present-day struggles, spitting out the biting lyric “My statue’s got a concrete heart, but you’re the coldest bitch I know.”

The band maintained a consistent groove as they ran through storming versions of most of the tracks on Cold Fact with just a few from the newly reissued sophomore album. His classic drug-song “Sugarman” sounded edgier and almost post-modern, sans the queasy strings of the album version. Between-song banter and accessory adjustments took up a lot of time but never really took away from the show itself. Instead, they allowed the audience a glimpse into the fragility of an eccentric and often misunderstood artist at work, in his element. At times, however, one wondered whether this man would make it through the set, stripping down to a black wife-beater to reveal somewhat muscular arms built on Detroit construction sites and swilling down cupfuls of red wine procured from eager fans. Curiously, he would take his hat off, rustle his fingers through the greasy strands of hair, stagger nervously about and look as if about to keel over and pass out right there on the stage; but then, as if touched by some deep inner spirit, he would place his hat back on his head, his fingers finding the right chords on his guitar and the other hand miraculously beginning to strum, haphazardly at first, his voice cracking a little, but finally finding his way into the tune. The set closed with “Forget It” which begins with the lyrics, “But thanks for your time, then you can thank me for mine, and after that’s said, forget it.” Surely, no better song could sum up the pent-up bitterness and regret of his formerly side-lined music career.

Rodriguez came out by himself for the encore, which for me, was really the most magical and revealing section of the entire show. He played two songs on his battered semi-acoustic guitar, showing him to be vulnerable yet dignified. The first song “I’m Gonna Live” he introduced by addressing his mature age, telling the audience, “There’s only one age and that’s…alive!” He closed the evening with the Etta James classic “At Last” which ended the evening on a poignant note. A gracious and genuinely humble performer, he seemed truly surprised at his recent success, telling the audience, “It is an honor, a privilege…man, I’m impressed by all of you.” He bowed to the audience and was led slowly off stage by one of his lovingly protective band members.

After this performance, one has to wonder what’s next for the man: a world tour, some new songs, a new album perhaps? With Rodriguez, like all truly great artists, you get the sense that it takes a while for the world to catch up to where he is at; but now that it has, there’s no telling what he might do next.

Both Cold Fact and Coming from Reality are available through Light in the Attic Records.

*****Also, check out Rodriguez's set on Daytrotter.com. - ed.

BANG! it's ON! A marathon? CAN do!

2009-05-18T16:33:00.000-07:00

I've been seeing posters advertising this 12-hour avant-garde music marathon and I've been wanting to share it with you.
It's the Bang On A Can annual music marathon, Sunday, May 31. Click here for info.

It will go from 12 PM to 12 AM at the World Financial Center Winter Garden. I'm going to do my best to show up.
I'm a huge fan of Julia Wolfe's work; some of that will happen around 8PM. The capper is Tortoise at 10PM. It will be packed, for certain.

I plan on compiling a calendar for this summer which will collate all of the festivals, primarily the free ones, going on in NYC. For now, however, I'll post these links so that you can whet your appetite.

Central Park Summerstage

Celebrate Brooklyn @ Prospect Park

River-To-River @ Manhattan south venues

Lincoln Center Out of Doors

Solar-One @ East River & 23rd St. (nothing scheduled yet, as of 5/18/09.)

Bryant Park Film Festival

McCarren Pool (I don't yet know if they will be having shows this year.)

Please comment if you know of others in this vein that we ought to know about!

[image by Antony Hegarty]

Puns, Visual and Aural; Homophones; Lists: pt. 1

2009-05-13T16:09:00.000-07:00

Sometimes I just can't get things out of my mind. Sometimes I can't get my mind out of things. Somethings, I just can't get mind out of my time.
That being established, I feel the need to let you know I've worked up some lists. I just don't know how to present them. I'm thinking I'd like to show them on a separate page with a link on this site. How does that sound? Ha! It shouldn't have sounded like anything, because I'm not actually speaking to you. In fact, maybe no one is reading this! So I'm not even not-talking to myself.
Anyhow, I'd like to present a couple of of pairs of record covers; the first two are 7" singles sleeves and the second pair are from current CD covers.

Hey kids! Think up your own "two-of-a-kind" covers pairs! Collect them all! Trade with friends!

Now, if you're looking for something unique, may I suggest you start: here.

Personally, I'm backing these guys:
Kind of Bloop and Unbunny.

A Sufficiently Peculiar Review

2009-05-07T19:40:00.000-07:00

Together Through Life – Bob Dylan
Columbia Records, 2009

Robert Zimmerman, better known as Bob Dylan, has just released his 33rd studio album for Columbia Records. Together Through Life is a brief, but ultimately fulfilling jaunt down the overgrown back-roads of American musicology. From the swampy Zydeco-like accordion riff Los-Lobos-member David Hildago drives through the heart of disk opener, “Beyond Here Lies Nothin’,” through the Honky Tonk Roadhouse Boogie of “Shake Shake Mama” and turning a corner into the Tex-Mex flavored “This Dream of You;” this album is a fine representation of Dylan’s post-millenium oeuvre.
Like his last two albums, Dylan himself again takes the producer’s chair and dons the alias “Jack Frost.” His icy production is similarly sparse and to-the-point, allowing the listener to wade through the bog and into the root of the songs. Guitars fuzz and fizzle in a murky backwater, punctuated by shimmering electric organ blasts, snatches of accordion, and wayward fiddles churning this gumbo into a spicy concoction of countrified, boogie blues. Heartbreaker Mike Campbell and the aforementioned Hildago come along for the ride, adding an earthy hue to the groove. All told, these 10 songs, in classic album format brevity, find their rightful place in Dylan’s ever-expanding canon.
Although not as biblically revelatory as Modern Times or apocalyptically desolate as Time Out of Mind, Together Through Life easily notches another entry into Dylan’s restless travelogue. All of the trademarks any Dylan enthusiast has come to expect are here: the odd pop-culture allusions such as, “I’m listening to Billy Joe Shaver and reading James Joyce,” in the lilting, joyous optimism of “I Feel a Change is Coming On” to his reworking of the Willie Dixon Blues classic “I Just Want to Make Love to You” onto which he grafts original lyrics—a tight re-reading of the tune to come up from the waters anew—with “My wife’s Home Town” much like he did for the last album’s “Rollin’ & Tumblin’.” In the lyrics department, Dylan has become less wordy and more precise in his imagery, enlisting celebrated Grateful Dead lyricist Robert Hunter to stir this recipe into something more easily digestible.
Yet this album is all Dylan; a road-weary traveler footing it down America’s lost highways in search of the secrets so many other musical journeymen have chased after, but were ultimately consumed by: Robert Johnson, Hank Williams, Woody Guthrie—all ghosts haunting Dylan’s work but resonating strongly through it. As always, Dylan forces his listeners to face up to the hard truths of life as he cynically wheezes out this album’s philosophical gem, “The door is closed forevermore, if indeed there ever was a door,” on the album’s centerpiece “Forgetful Heart;” reminding us that life is foremost about the journey and not about the destination. "There must be some way out of here?," a character in a Dylan classic from another era questions, and we all know the answer; we are all stuck with our lot, so let’s make the best of it. Together Through Life is certainly not the beginning, nor is it the end for Dylan, however it is a document that somehow magically weaves past and present into some alternate reality where the American Wild West and the steel-and-glass towers of corporate America meet on an endless horizon.

-Miles Kowitt

News

2009-05-02T19:00:00.000-07:00

The Buskers have a new album coming out soon - and they are performing at the Franklin Opera House to celebrate its release. Oops. That's tonight. Guess I can't make it. Sorry, Craig, et al.

Wanna buy the albums? Here's a link to an address where you can order via good old US mail (Oh, and you can buy mp3s of the new stuff, too).
Hey that last one looks familiar. Oh, yeah, I designed the "doggy" cover.8¬/

*****EXTRA!*****
I've listened to Spank That Tambourine - and it is wonderful. From the opening chords it's clear that The Buskers have sharpened their production and sweetened their sound. The vocal mix is the best yet, with terrific backup singing and the instrumentals are smoking. Not literally. Favorite song (so far): "You Devil, You Dog." (or is it dog/devil?)

Painter, poet and raconteur Hal Bernstein is reading some of his poetry at The Telephone Bar on Second Avenue (just south of St Marks Church in The Bowery, b/w 9th & 10th Sts.) on Monday, May 4 at 8PM.

I'll be there. With flour in my hair.

*****Extremely EXTRA****
This is happening this weekend - mark your calendars.

This is from Steve:

A lot of people have been asking:
WHAT EXACTLY IS THE KNOWLEDGE EXCHANGE?
One way to describe it is a Clothing Swap that substitutes Knowledge for Clothing. Another way is a farmer’s market in which you substitute Knowledge for Produce (although no Money is exchanged).

It’s a forum for you to share one thing you know well by sitting in a flea market like atmosphere for 20 minutes or longer and share your knowledge with people who what to know what you know. Everyone knows something and there is no prerequisite for who can exchange knowledge. Expect people from all backgrounds and ages….

Here’s How it Works:
1.) Think about what you know and would like to share. You needn’t be an expert, but simply feel confident and passionate about what you know. Past knowledge exchanges have included: Hypnotism, Breastfeeding, Grilling, Photoshop, How to Argue, Interior Decorating, Knitting, Salmon Fishing…
2.) Give what you know a name.
3.) Decide how long you want to be responsible for sharing what you know in public. The smallest increment of time is 20 minutes and the maximum amount of time is 3 hours. At least 40 minutes would be great
4.) Send an email to Steve Ausbury (or find him on Facebook) stating your name, knowledge sharing topic, specific time you can commit between 12 – 3pm and contact info.
5.) See you on May 9th. We will have pads, pens, large memo pads, and a box of various materials to help you share your knowledge. Please bring your own special supplies if needed. Bring friends and family!
The Knowledge Exchange is part of the Flatbush Freemeet: The Knowledge Exchange will be part of the Flatbush Freemeet hosted by Freecycle™NYC and Sustainable Flatbush. Bring your old clothes, electronics, and other reusable household items and pick up new stuff! Then exchange knowledge with people from Flatbush and parts elsewhere!

Time: May 9th from 12 – 3pm
Location: P.S. 217 playground, Coney Island Avenue at Newkirk Avenue, Brooklyn. Closest subway is the Q train.

Kevin Hays, pianist extraordinaire, filmmaker, and teacher, will be performing at the Rubin Museum of Art on June 26, 2009!

Heck, maybe I'll make it this time. Here's what I said about the show I saw: "This is the kind of music I always want to hear." Endquote, the raven.

Oh, woe is me.

2009-04-27T16:49:00.001-07:00

So, I asked for comments, and I got a good one. Apparently I hadn't enabled the thing properly. Anyhow, now you can while away the hours freely airing your humble-most thoughts in the comments field.

Thanks, Jay.

Nature intended the abstract…

2009-04-25T14:04:00.000-07:00

…for you and me.

This mix was the first I did solely on CD, and mostly from downloaded mp3s. Yes, I admit that they were not originally my own, but since then I've gotten hold of nearly all of these on disc. In fact, that has been the net outcome of my downloading experience; I buy a ton of CDs, nearly daily, and almost entirely inspired by things I hear/download online.

I had spent a week at a yoga retreat in southern Utah—incredible scenery—at a place, now defunct, called Inner Harmony. I made the mix with those people who were my fellow students and teachers in mind. Then I sent a copy to each of them, along with the address of another of our co-yogis, and asked them each to make cover art and send that to their enclosed recipient. I heard from 2 or 3 out of 20 or so people. Oh, well, one tries.

In any case, several people have given me very warm feedback on this one, so I hope you enjoy it, too.

The Inner Harmonica

(to download the entire mix, click here.)
(to download all the art in order to make a CD with cover, etc., click here.)

1. El Desierto - Lhasa
2. Conference of the Birds - Dave Holland Quartet
3. Mushaboom - Feist
4. Le Fleur - Minnie Ripperton
5. Cissy Strut - The Meters
6. Mr. Rabbit - Paul Westerberg
7. All Good Naysayers, Speak Up! - Sufjan Stevens
8. Spill the Wine - War
9. I Wish I Knew How It Would Feel to Be Free - Shirly Scott and the Soul Axes
10. Beautiful Day - Katell Keineg
11. Plate Techtonics - Phalen/Moore
12. Daughter - Peter Blegvad
13. From Now On, We Walk - The Books
14. Three Day Night - The Books
15. Kaimuki Hula - Na Mele Hawai'i
16. Homeboy - King Creosote
17. Gabriel - Lamb
18. The Plum Blossom - Yusef Lateef
19. N.I.T.A. - Young Marble Giants
20. Such Great Heights - The Postal Service
21. Waitin' For Superman [The Flaming Lips] - Iron & Wine
22. I'm Going Home - Sacred Harp Singers (from Cold Mountain OST)

Metal vocals?/Squares

2009-04-25T13:41:00.000-07:00

Ever wondered how those guys sing like that and still manage to be able to order pizza?
What say, Lips?

*****Click here to get valuable tips before you try it at home.*****

Non-sequitur:

Reminds me of one of the most wonderful music videos out there:

Can't embed this one. Also, consider contributing to his site; clearly, the guy deserves it.
I love the lead-in-groove-sounds at the beginning. Smells like Trane spirit.

People/Bags/Cameras/Hidden

2009-04-25T11:06:00.000-07:00

Here are some pictures that make me wonder about people:

Those above are (is) The Hidden Cameras. One of my all-time-faves. Certainly one of the best live acts you'll ever see.

See this post for some Hidden mp3s.

Alfred Tomatis/Benjamin Whorf/Virgil Griffith/Edouard Locke

2009-04-25T10:05:00.000-07:00

A Taste of Tomatis

"The Tomatis method refers to the work of Dr Alfred A Tomatis, an ear, nose and throat specialist born in France. His method—aka 'auditory training,' 'auditory stimulation' and 'listening therapy'—is intended to re-educate the way we listen to improve learning and language abilities, communication, creativity and social behaviour. Perhaps the most poignant aspect of his theory, though, is the Tomatis effect, which posits that we can vocalise only those sounds that we can hear. His groundbreaking research led Tomatis to the following conclusions:

The primary function of the ear is to convert sound waves to electrochemical impulses that charge the neocortex of the brain.

Sound is a nutrient; we can either charge or discharge the nervous system by the sounds we take in through both air and bone conduction.

There is a distinction between hearing and listening. The two are related, but distinct, processes. Hearing is passive; listening is active. This corresponds to the difference between seeing and looking. Listening and looking are active focussing processes.

The quality of an individual's listening ability will affect both spoken and written language development; listening ability also influences communication, thereby shaping the individuals's social development, confidence, and self-image.

The active process of listening can be enhanced or refucused by auditory stimulation using musical and vocal sounds rich in high frequencies. This entails the use of filtered and enhanced audio tapes employing the music of Mozart and Gregorian chant.

Communication is a process that begins in utero. The unborn child hears as early as the fourth month after conception. Sound actually helps the foetus's brain and nervous system to grow."

from Sullivan's Music Trivia by Paul Sullivan; pg. 98

This reminds me of Benjamin Whorf:

"The Sapir-Whorf hypothesis, also known as the Whorfian hypothesis, proposed that language affects thought, and the structure of the language itself affects cognition. As Whorf put it, "Language shapes the way we think, and determines what we think about."

"My analysis was directed toward purely physical conditions, such as defective wiring, presence or lack of air spaces between metal flues and woodwork, etc., and the results were presented in these terms. ... But in due course it became evident that not only a physical situation qua physics, but the meaning of that situation to people, was sometimes a factor, through the behavior of people, in the start of a fire. And this factor of meaning was clearest when it was a LINGUISTIC MEANING [Whorf's emphasis], residing in the name or the linguistic description commonly applied to this situation. Thus, around a storage of what are called 'gasoline drums,' behavior will tend to a certain type, that is, great care will be exercised; while around a storage of what are called 'empty gasoline drums,' it will tend to be different -- careless, with little repression of smoking or of tossing cigarette stubs about. Yet the 'empty' drums are perhaps the more dangerous, since they contain explosive vapor. Physically, the situation is hazardous, but the linguistic analysis according to regular analogy must employ the word 'empty,' which inevitably suggests a lack of hazard. The word 'empty' is used in two linguistic patterns: (1) as a virtual synonym for 'null and void, negative, inert,' (2) applied in analysis of physical situations without regard to, e.g., vapor, liquid vestiges, or stray rubbish, in the container.

In studying the cause of a fire which had started under the conditions just described, Whorf concluded that it was thinking of the "empty" gasoline drums as "empty" in the meaning described in the first definition (1) above, that is as "inert," which led to a fire he investigated. His papers and lectures featured many other examples from his insurance work to support his belief that language shapes understanding."

via Wikipedia

Sometimes, people's logic is just backwards. Some said this about Whorf. I say this about Virgil Griffith.

This does not remind me of Edouard Locke:

The Wire/David Simon/Bill Moyers

2009-04-21T14:18:00.000-07:00

Last night I watched the final episode of season 5 of The Wire. I put it off as long as I could; I will miss very dearly watching this show. A friend pointed me to the podcasts of Bill Moyers' Journal (they're available for free through iTunes) and his excellent interview with David Simon, the creator of the show. I think it's a must-listen, even if you haven't (yet) seen the show.

Click here to hear the podcast (you'll have to go to iTunes to subscribe.)

Ólafur Arnalds offers FREE download

2009-04-20T20:29:00.000-07:00

Excellent Icelandic neo-classical composer Ólafur Arnalds has posted his new second album online, free, for the taking. This is, dear readers, a brave new world.

Go ahead and click on those birds now!

Michel Gondry/Cibo Matto/toilet paper?

2009-04-20T20:22:00.000-07:00

This might be my favorite music video EVAR. Might not.

Cibo Matto - Sugar Water
Uploaded by bebepanda

Check this out—Michel is selling toilet paper printed with his "good ideas." Hey, at least it's printed with soy-based inks.
Buy it here.

Hmm...how do I make a space after the last line of the post?

Hubcap Diamond Star Halos #1

2009-04-20T19:25:00.000-07:00

Guest columnist: Miles K.

(To download a zip of the entire songlist, click here.)

Dear readers/listeners: I submit for your listening pleasure, 10 bands that never really got their due & 10 songs that everyone should know but maybe it’s good they don’t…shhh…don’t tell anybody, they might spoil it for the rest of us.

1. The Pretty Things: “Rosalyn”
This British Blues/R&B craze beat group should have been as big as The Stones, The Kinks or The Animals, but indeed the Gods of Rock had other plans for them. Led by the brazen Phil May on vocals and the bearded Dick Taylor (who had a shot at being in the Stones as bassman but gave up his spot to Bill Wyman) on guitar, this band blasted onto the British scene in 1964 with this nifty little number. Later covered to great effect by David Bowie on his 1973 all-covers “Pinups” album, this track boasts everything a scorching blues-wailing rocker should have: spleen-rupturing slide guitar, skull-thumping drums, screeching, manic vocals and enough energy to tear through the speakers of any cheap AM car radio. The Pretties sadly never caught on in America and where their contemporaries took off for the stratosphere of rock superstardom in the States, the Pretties marinated in relative obscurity, releasing 2 unsung psychedelic masterpieces in the later part of the sixties: S.F. Sorrow (the first proper concept album pre-dating The Who’s “Tommy” by a good year) and the even stranger Parachute. While the Pretties have never really gone away (tours and albums still get them out to their aging fans), they continue to remain on the murky periphery of classic rock, a genre they helped forge back in its formative years.

2. The Move: “Walk Upon the Water”
These mid-sixties pioneers of British psychedelia are often overshadowed by the larger-than-life pomposity of the 70’s rock behemoths they later morphed into: Electric Light Orchestra (ELO). Led by the Beatles-inspired future Wizzard, Roy Wood, who wrote all the band's early “hits,” and boasting the confident swagger of Carl Wayne on lead vocals, along with future ELO and Black Sabbath drummer, Bev Bevan, The Move exploded onto the British pop scene with television-smashing live performances and 3-minute pop singles with intricate vocal harmonies, sonic orchestral bass-lines, and song craftsmanship to make even Brian Wilson jealous. This one glorious track off their self-titled debut is clearly as good as any of its contemporaries, but you won’t hear a Move song on classic rock radio anywhere in this galaxy. Also, check out the original version of “Do Ya” on the last Move album “Message from the Country” before ELO Zepped it up for 1970’s rock radio play-lists.

3. The Creation: “Making Time”
Crackling through the cones of your speakers comes a sound so dangerous and so addictive it should have a warning on the record label. This 1966 gem of British Power-pop indelibly stamps itself on your cerebral cortex and all you can think to do is pick up the needle and put it back at the beginning of the track. Thus is the impact of The Creation’s sonic masterpiece “Making Time.” That riff alone is worth the price of admission. A sonic innovation on many levels, this track featured guitarist’s Eddie Phillips’ bowed guitar, a good few years before Jimmy Page’s violin-bowing freak-outs on “Dazed and Confused” sent American kids into orgasmic shudders of sonic delight. The track also boasts a euphoric dose of feedback, still new to virgin radio ears, and hammers it all home with some vicious power-chords that, I bet, made Pete Townshend himself sit up and take notice. Sadly, The Creation would merely serve as a footnote in the career of one Ron Wood who played with the band in their declining days. Fortunately, in the late 90’s, American film-maker, Wes Anderson, used the track to great effect in his gorgeously moody film Rushmore, thus introducing The Creation to a whole new brood of listeners.

4. Quicksilver Messenger Service: “Fresh Air”
These San Francisco scenesters were contemporaries of the far more successful Grateful Dead and Jefferson Airplane; they lacked the hit power and live draw of those bands, but remain nonetheless exciting. John Cipolina and company forged a fierce reputation as a bluesy, psychedelic live band that could change gears from spacey jazz-rock to fuzzed-out rock freak-outs on a dime. I’ve always thought this track could work just as well as, say, “All Along the Watchtower” in a Vietnam War film. To me, it says all that needs to be said about that era—Have another hit…indeed.

5. Moby Grape: “Omaha”
I had this song on a compilation tape I made off of a Philadelphia classic rock station in the early 1980’s. This particular station was enamored of obscure 60’s Psychedelia and would mix it in with standard fare from the era like the Doors, Floyd, and Yes. Wildly animated guitarist Alexander “Skip” Spence started with the Airplane before forming the Grape. His story and brilliantly misanthropic solo album Oar are a topic unto itself to be discussed at perhaps a later date. In the meantime, I leave you with this short burst of brilliance—Listen my friend—you will be glad you came along for the ride.

6. Nektar: “King of Twilight”
Covered by Iron Maiden in the 1980’s, this slab of progressive heaviosity never found the place on classic rock radio which it rightfully deserves. Led by Hendrixian British guitarist Roye Albrighton, Nektar first reached the ears of the listening public in Germany, evolving out of the band Prophecy, a bluesy rock outfit that found luck playing the military bases which housed American soldiers eager to delve into the “new sounds” that rock had to offer in the late 60’s. Having made one loosely conceptual platter of highly acidic space-rock, Journey to the Center of the Eye, for the Bellaphon label in Germany, the band hit its stride on this, their sophomore release. Beginning with the side-long epic title track and then exploring more blues-based, even funky tracks (which showed a whole other side of the band that they would soon exploit to great effect on their conceptual masterpiece, Remember the Future), the true Nektar “sound” starts here. While real success eluded them in their heyday, Nektar did manage to tour the States regularly with their liquid light show by fifth member, Mick Brockett, and are still on the road today, albeit with only 2 of the original members.

7. Marillion: “Market Square Heroes”
Scottish purveyors of 80’s Prog, Marillion were the rightful heirs to the throne of progressive rock begat in the former decade by the likes of Genesis, Yes, and King Crimson. This was their first single in the UK and what a glorious one it was. Front-man Fish, decked out in slightly ridiculous spangled, medieval outfits and Peter Gabrielesque face paint, rolls his R’s with a vengeance on this track, a staple in their live shows, and proclaims himself to be the new King of the Kingdom of Prog. Reportedly about a clash with a gang of fascist neo-nazi street thugs, this track announces Marillion as a force to be reckoned with; and in the early to mid 1980’s, they were. Ultimately, Fish left the fold, to be replaced by a more commercially appealing singer in Steve Hogarth, much the way Genesis turned to the more traditional Phil Collins in the wake of Gabriel’s departure from that band. But this period of the band's work has lost none of its magic over the years and Fish still tours heavily in Europe, occasionally ripping into this track with all the scorn and defiance of his younger days. “Are you following me?,” Fish screams out to the punters and they answer his call to arms with an affirmative, “Yes!”

8. Big Star: “September Gurls”
Written by American rock outcast, Alex Chilton, this track off of Big Star’s second album Radio City was a delightful slice of American jangle-pop that would ultimately give birth to the whole college/alternative rock scene in the 1980’s, chiefly REM and company. Big Star made three amazingly eclectic albums in the 70’s and then faded into obscurity. Albeit to my ears not as classic as their first album, #1 Record, their second release opted for a more soulful R&B flavor á la Stax records, looking back to Chilton’s beginnings in The Box Tops. Nonetheless, toward the end of side 2 comes this delicious slice of pop confection. It’s a shame Chilton couldn’t have gone on to greener pastures, but such is the often tumultuous and fragile world of Rock and Roll. Immortalized in the 80’s by The Replacements’ brilliant eponymous single, Alex Chilton will always have a place in the hearts of sensitive rockers everywhere.

9. Flamin’ Groovies: “Shake Some Action”
Initially a San Franciscan pre-punk garage band fronted by chest-beating wild man, Ron Lonely, the Groovies relocated to London in the mid 70’s, hooked up with Dave Edmunds, and reinvented themselves as melodic new-wave jangle-pop merchants. Upon hearing all glorious 4:31 minutes of this 1976 track from the album of the same name, one scratches one's head, befuddled as to why this song was not blaring out of every dorm window, car stereo or barroom jukebox cost-to-coast. Absolutely criminal!

10. The Only Ones: “Another Girl, Another Planet”
This punky little ditty was penned by Only One, Peter Perrett and remains the signature single of a band that should have been huge in a Police, Pretenders, Elvis Costello New Wave world but are now relegated to Punk & New Wave compilations the world over. To me, this song is as memorable as, say, The Knack’s “My Sharona” but try finding this on today’s rock radio? No way!

Well, that’s all, folks! until next time…

*Please Note: The mp3’s of these tracks are merely posted as a sampler with the understanding that if you like what you hear, you will buy the full-length albums from these artists. Please buy from independent record stores! If you are in New York City, may I recommend Rockit Scientist at 33 St. Marks Place, as they will have most of these titles as well as other groovy merchandise.

Bill Irwin/Ukeleles/Dent May/Covers

2009-04-19T17:57:00.000-07:00

Bill Irwin, even if he hadn't appeared as Mr Wiggles on Sesame Street, has become the pre-eminent face of "The New Clowning." And he's a hekuva nice guy to boot.

What? Nobody told me he has a lead role in "Rachel Getting Married." Really good movie, although admittedly it sports some serious cringe-moments.

Here is a playlist comprising excerpts from his post-post-modern, post-deconstuctivist, post-ridiculousness-ist performance piece, "In Regard of Flight," as it appeared on PBS in the mid-80s (I think.)
There are five segments here, and they should play one after another (hey, cool, youtube!)

Speaking of ukeleles (if you made it to the last "In Regard" segment…), here's Dent May & his charming ukelele thing:

Ukes, ukes, everywhere!
Four more vids in a sequence - all covers! all great!

Speaking of cover versions, here's one I like of Tom Waits' "Innocent When You Dream" as done by Great Lake Swimmers

Young, loud & snobby

2009-04-16T14:54:00.000-07:00

Why does it bother me that these kids look to come from a somewhat privileged background? Maybe I'm the (reverse) snob. Wouldn't be the first time. Anyhow, they kick some white-person booty.

Something's out there

2009-04-12T21:44:00.000-07:00

I'm happy to tell you that another friend has contributed a mix for us. John and I know each other a long time. He tends to listen to things that are rhythmically challenging or, at least, funky, and I approve of that. In his words:

"This is the first of the Sonic Sculptures done just for CD and not
adapted from a cassette. This is about the third of fourth version of
this CD. Various earlier versions included tunes by Miles Davis, Soul
Coughing, David Byrne, Ray Anthony, Duane Eddy, Tom Waits, Laurie
Anderson, & Sting. Next week it probably would have a few more
changes, but I decided to stop screwing with it and make it official.

The collection was first put together in the summer of 2001 around the
time I bought the 'Lounge-A-Palooza' and 'Nimrod' CDs which served as
the jumping off point. All the songs in this collection were assembled
in Roxio Jam with crossfades."

Neptune Lounge

(to download the entire mix click here.)

(to download the art, including cover, back cover & labels, click here.)

1. Last Ride In - Green Day

2. She Don't Use Jelly [The Flaming Lips] - Ben Folds Five

3. Blue Rondo á la Turk - The Dave Brubeck Quartet

4. Assam - James Asher

5. Superstition - Stevie Wonder

6. Even Trolls Love Rock & Roll - Melvin Taylor & The Slack Band

7. Stepping Razor - Peter Tosh

8. Shining Star [Earth, Wind & Fire] - The Dust Brothers feat. Jeymes

9. Robert Goulet (On The River Nile) - Chris Ballew

10. Bílavísur - Björk Go∂mundsdóttir & Tríó Gu∂mundar Ingólfssonar

11. Blue Roz - Milt Jackson & Wes Montgomery

12. None Shall Escape The Judgement - Ernest Ranglin

13. Gonzalo's Dream - Bob Telson

14. Sitting in Limbo - Jimmy Cliff

15. Love Will Keep Us Together [Captain & Tenille] - Jimmy Scott & Flea

16. Watching the Wheels - John Lennon

17. Para Donde Vas - The Iguanas

18. Rivers Of Babylon [The Melodians] - Sublime

19. Sleep Dirt - Frank Zappa & James "Bird Legs" Youman

20. Good Riddance (Time Of Your Life) - Green Day

Mr. Wizard & The Beatles

2009-04-10T13:22:00.000-07:00

We seem to have a bit of a Beatles theme going here. I just want to say that's not my intention - blame Michael Jackson.

My friend Rich is a terrific storyteller. I invited him to do a StoryCorps session with me. This file (99.5 mb mp3) was the result.

Rich tells two stories. The first is about a magic trick that he used to do with his school chums called "Mr. Wizard." I don't know why, but this story just kills me. The second story is about how he and his friends sneaked into the hotel where the Beatles were having their press conference in Boston back in 1964. They infiltrated the press conference and even asked questions! It's a hoot.

Since then, he wrote this e-mail to me about how their story has hit the inter-webs:

Hi Henry:
Hope all is well.
Thought you might get a kick out of this - the story of the Beatles press conference. Somehow we were contacted by a guy who runs a Beatles web site and we told him our whole story and this is it. (Link)
Thanks again for your support and the story-listening.
Rich

Funky is Paul.

2009-04-10T06:42:00.000-07:00

Combining some of my favorites: The Kinks, red, green, yellow and that two-tone Brazilian bell thingie.

And if you liked that one…

Posing a threat. Get over yourself.

2009-04-10T06:31:00.000-07:00

FotC - Fashion is Danger from Flight of the Conchords

Not everyone loves the Conchords. But everyone loves hair gel.

Note to self: Don't drive down Abbey Road.

2009-04-08T06:25:00.000-07:00

Somebody ought to tell him that "Why Don't We Do It In the Road" wasn't referring to Abbey Road. And they didn't mean "drop trou in traffic."

Thanks to X_Zess

Gracious! It's another double-disc mix!

2009-04-07T21:08:00.000-07:00

This is a dream come true for me. All that music hanging around my apartment keeps shouting at me, "It's all about the sharing!" I've toyed with many modes of delivery: providing mixes for restaurants where I've worked, tracks for a friend's film project at NYU, posting songs to other community sites. But my wish is fulfilled by this venue which allows me to host not only my shares, but those of my friends and colleagues. I love to find out what others are listening to; what's on your iPod/on your turntable/on your deck/on your mind?

Here's a great example: These mixes were given to me by Aubyn at Christmas 2006. They're still fresh and crispy. Be sure to download the 3 pdf files he prepared with pix, lyrics and spankingly sharp layout.

(To download the lyrics booklet pdf, click here. This is essential.)

Grace:

(To download a zip of the entire set w/artwork, click here.)
(To download just the Grace pdf booklet, click here.)

1. The Greatest - Cat Power
2. Four Strong Winds - Johnny Cash
3. Wait - Alexi Murdoch
4. Chinese Translation - M. Ward
5. The Crane Wife 1 & 2 - The Decemberists
6. Lion's Jaw - Neko Case
7. If It Be Your Will (Leonard Cohen) - Antony
8. Amazing Grace - Willie Nelson
9. Sisters of Mercy (L. Cohen) - Beth Orton
10. Apres Moi - Regina Spektor
11. All of My Days - Alexi Murdoch
12. The Charging Sky - Jenny Lewis & The Watson Twins
13. Better - Regina Spektor
14. Heaven Turns To - The Hidden Cameras
15. Further On Up the Road - Johnny Cash

Peace:

(To download a zip of the entire set w/artwork, click here.)
(To download just the Peace pdf booklet, click here.)

1. All of the Animals Were Gone - Damien Rice
2. Where is My Love - Cat Power
3. You Are What You Love - Jenny Lewis & The Watson Twins
4. Fidelity - Regina Spektor
5. Cosmia - Joanna Newsome
6. She's Gone - The Hidden Cameras
7. Edit - Regina Spektor
8. 9 Crimes - Damien Rice
9. Postcards From Italy - Beirut
10. Yankee Bayonet (I Will Be Home Then) - The Decemberists
11. Shankill Butchers - The Decemberists
12. Right in the Head - M. Ward
13. Everybody Knows (L. Cohen) - Rufus Wainwright
14. Thunder on the Mountain - Bob Dylan
15. When the Deal Goes Down - Bob Dylan
16. Requiem - M. Ward
17. Sons & Daughters - The Decemberists