Jay Reatard
Got to see a glorious
live show by this goofy kid at the Hemlock last Saturday - highly
recommended if you
ever get a chance. It was a "matinee" show at the Hemlock,
and god knows I love a matinee show. Nothing
better than getting to rock out and follow that up with a greasy diner
mill at a decent hour.
I took these pics with the new digital camera - still trying to figure
out, but I think the lil' clicker shows a lot of
promise.
And though I generally hate these sort of blown out, too-much-flash
flat photos, I thought I'd include a couple
that fit that description just to be a completist.
Tokyo Electron These Arizona kids opened the show and some of my friends actually
felt they were even better than Jay
Reatard. I would have to disagree with that observation,
but nonetheless they were quite good - punk, sure,
but almost straight-forward hard rock as much as anything else.
the band was super-tight and very im-
pressive. Certainly one of the best "openers" I've seen in quite
some time.
These, also, were taken with the new digi camera. I also took
film photos of both acts and just got the flicks
back, so I will hopefully be able to post them on here soon too.
Beerzone - Ha
Ha Ha. I don't know dick about this band, but this was
the only track on this recent new punk
comp that I recieved that was
worth a shit. I'd be willing to guess that most of Beerzone's
output is poor
at best (from the write-up on
Allmusic it looks like English meathead punk), but writing a rock song
about
Michael Jackson molesting kids is
going to be a keeper no matter what.
Boyracer - Her
Fame Fades Quickly. Entry #1 this go-around in the
"college years" songs. Fuzzy English
pop-rock...I had a roommate
who loved these guys, but I was never here nor there about them.
But
I
recently picked up their "In Full
Colour" CD out of the bargain bin and I'll be damned if it isn't quite
enjoable,
and a nostalgia trip to boot.
Calla - Tijerina.
Calla have been one of my very favorite bands of the last few
years (though I'm not fully sold in
their new album "Strength In
Numbers" just yet, but I'm giving it a chance). This is a track
off
of their second
album from 2001 called
"Scavengers", probably my favorite song from that album but you could
have hon-
estly picked any of the tracks
from the album and it would have been nearly as good.
Duster - Earth
Moon Transit. Entry #2 on the trip down college nostalgia
lane...my friend Drew who is often
pictured on this site taped
me a copy of their debut record "Stratosphere" when it came out, he
worked for
Mammoth records at the time
and was always getting promos from other labels. Up records was
just killing
it in those days, and this is but
one of many examples.
River City Tanlines - Drag
U Down 2 My Level. I just realized this is my only
"newer" track here...bluesy punk
out of Memphis led by Alicja
Trout, probably best known as a member of The Lost Sounds. I
could be mis-
taken but I believe this is
a cover, but I'm too lazy to go find the CD on my shelf and verify
that.
Stereolab - Pinball.
One track of the many, many songs that make up the box set
"Oscillons from the Anti-Sun"
that came out in 2005. The
whole thing is demos, B-sides, live tracks and so forth, and probably
not for the
casual fan but certainly of
interest to those that are already fans of the band. This could
almost be entry #3
of the college reminiscence,
though not for this particular song but Stereolab in general - who I
obsessed
over for many years and still own
god knows how many CDs by.
***January Nineteenth Two Thousand and Seven***
BEST
RECORDS OF 2006!!!
Here are my big winners from my annual arbitrary list making
shenanigans...
2. The Thermals –
The Body, The Blood, The Machine
Having released two damn good records, I never would have guessed they
had this in them. Expanding their
sound, slowing things down and amping up their intensity all worked
wonders for this troupe. A
Pillar Of Salt Here's
Your Future
3. Ghostface
Killah – Fishscale
Not just the best hip-hop album of the year, but probably the best
hip-hop album of the last five years. And
the next five years. Back
Like That
4. Destroyer
– Destroyer’s Rubies
If Dan Bejar releases a new Destroyer album, it's pretty much a forgone
conclusion that it will be on my top
ten list. The whole release is awesome, as usual. European
Oils Painter
In Your Pocket
5. Brakes –
Beatific Visions
They had a nice Pixies-influenced debut a year or two back, but this
pop-country-punk hybrid is 18 light
years ahead of that album. Definitely the album I've been the
most obsessive about out of the bunch. Beatific
Visions Mobile
Communication No
Return
6. Band of Horses
– Everything All Of The Time
This made everyones top ten lists, and for good reason. Beautiful
stuff here from beginning to end from
some former Carissa's Wierd members. That band never got
its due, so at least people are paying
attention this time around. The
Funeral
A bunch of tracks from this album available here.
7. TV On The Radio
– Return To Cookie Mountain
Yet another fantastic sophmore album, and again probably better than
the debut. I'm beginning to think
that sophomore slump theory is pure urban myth. Wolf
Like Me
8. My Morning
Jacket – Okonokos
A live album shouldn't ordinarily make a top ten list, but this sounds
as good if not better than the studio
versions of these songs. An instant live album classic. At
Dawn Anytime The
Way That He Sings
9. The
King Khan & BBQ
Show – What’s for Dinner?
A great album and one of the funnest live shows I've seen in years
(along with the Eagles of Death Metal).
Too bad they can't work their signature adlib songs about "teabagging"
into their studio work. Too
Much In Love Why
Don't You Lie?
10. Eric Bachmann – To
The Races
Bachmann never puts
out a bad album, but this is one of the high water marks out of his
entire catalogue. Carrboro
Woman
You can also download the track "Lonesome Warrior" from the Saddle
Creek website here.
***January Fourth Two Thousand and Seven***
BEST RECORDS OF 2006!!!
It's that time of year again, a time for pointless lists, my favorite
time of the year. Here ya got my favorites
ranked eleven through thirty. Next go around I'll post the top
ten and corresponding downloadables. Enjoy
the free musics.
11.Morrissey
– Ringleader of the Tormentors
He just keeps producing quality music year in and year out; I would
rank this release as his best since
"Southpaw Grammar", and it might even be better than that. In
The Future When All's Well You
Have Killed Me
12.The Nice Boys
– S/T
This group is probably best known as the new band of the one
surviving member of the Exploding Hearts,
but hopefully folks will look past that and see a band producing some
top-notch glam/power pop songs. All
Our Good Times Avenue
29 Dugong
Along
You can also download their
song "Johnny Guitar" over on their label's website here.
13.Mastodon –
Blood Mountain
Not quite as good as their near-perfect sophomore effort from last year
"Leviathan", but still a damn fine
effort from one of the best bands in metal. Circle
Of The Cysquatch The
Colony Of Birchmen
14.The
Radio Dept. – Pet Grief
I know it doesn't make much sense but try and imagine Swedish twee pop
run through a distortion pedal.
It might sound goofy but it works fantastically. A
Window The
Worst Taste In Music
15.Swan Lake
– Beast Moans
Dan Bejar is the King Midas of the Vancouver music scene - everything
he touches turns to gold. Here
he joins forces with one Frog Eyeling and one Wolf Parader to produce a
trio of awesomeness...comes
across very similar to his "Notorious Lightening" EP from last year. All
Fires Are
You Swimming In Her Pools The
Freedom
16.Sparklehorse
- Dreamt for Light Years in the Belly of a Mountain
It sounds like Sparklehorse - nothing more, nothing less. I love
Sparklehorse so I got no problem with that.
Mark Linkous has defined a sound that is uniquely his, instantly
recognizable, and this newest batch of
songs is as fantastic as anything he has ever put out. Ghost
In The Sky Morning
Hollow
17.The Black Keys
– Magic Potion
You wouldn't expect a couple of kids from Ohio to play fuzzy
blues rock this well, but well, shit, here you have
it. I burned a couple of their CDs for my mom and she even likes
them, so it's got some multigenerationality-
ness going on. Oh, and this is probably their best record yet. Modern
Times Your
Touch
18.Eagles of
Death Metal – Death By Sexy
Not only did they put out one of the funnest records of the year, they
also put on one of my favorite live shows
of the year too. Singer Jesse Hughes is the best I've seen work a
crowd since seeing Howlin' Pelle of The
Hives. Cherry
Cola Solid
Gold
You can also grab the song "I Want You So Hard", another awesome track,
here.
19.Casiotone For The
Painfully Alone – Etiquette
I pretty good album overall, but more importantly, home to what was
probably the greatest song of the year
in "Young Shields". I've sorta overlooked this man/band
up until now but I think it may be time to delve into
the back catalogue.
I would have uploaded the necessary songs, but you can download "Young
Shields" and some other
tracks here.
20.Mogwai –
Mr. Beast
After a couple of mellow, almost orchestral records Mogwai returned to
their roots and produced a rocker.
And while I liked that mellower output just fine, this type of work is
what they are best at. Travel
Is Dangerous
And just because I like to take lists too far, here are the
also-rans as it were, or 21-30 if you prefer.
21. Thom Yorke – The Eraser.
22. Candy Bars – On Cutting Ti-gers…
23. Silversun Pickups - Carnavas.
24. Bonnie 'Prince' Billy – The Letting Go.
25. Most Serene Republic - Phages.
26. Grandaddy – Just Like The Fambly Cat.
27. Sonic Youth – Rather Ripped.
28. Built to Spill – You In Reverse.
29. Jenny Lewis – Rabbit Fur Coat.
30. Belle & Sebastian – The Life Pursuit.
And now, a word from everyone's favorite wrestling color analyst...
Mahatma Gandhi vs. Eddie Guerrero
in a falls count anywhere, lunch lady match
Talk about a hypothetical clash
for the
ages: Mahatma "the Hindu Hustler" Gandhi versus Eddie Guerrero.
At first, one immediately goes to the blood line and championship belt
that Eddie sported – any resume with
a belt eliminates the humanoid element.Plus, we
all know that Eddie was hopped up on the steroids until
they blew up his heart. Now, let's be honest
here, Eddie's technical skills were shit and he would have to
"cheat to win."However, if you're a Guerrero and
eat steroids on your cornflakes … you're one tough
hombre that isn't scared of a 30-pound blanket.
Well, what about the other player
on our stage.Talk about tough, this dude once went
without eating for
3 years. In addition, our sources here at the
institute have learned that Ghandi was an 8-time, king cobra
bite survivor; plus, we have learned that he twice rode an elephant
through a village to trample children.
Hell, he even showed up as Itzhak Stern in Shindler's List.
In the end, I say it comes
down to heart.I hate to be Timmy Technical, but we
saw the physiological response
put forth by Eddie's ticker. Therefore,
I take Gandhi in this one.Unfortunately, we will
never know the real
outcome, but if I will tell you this much, I wouldn't be surprised if
Eddie hasn't already dropped a heavenly frog
splash on Mahatma – seconds after he told him to eat a god-damned
hamburger.
.....................
What's next for the
Eagle? I suggested he expound on the topic of a zombie Owen Hart
but he threatened my
life that I might besmirch that man's good name so I dropped the topic.
Turnbuckle Talk with
the American Starship Eagle