Thursday, June 17, 2010
new blog:
If you somehow managed to stumble upon this here blog, you probably have figured that it is inactive. That would be accurate. I've moved my blogging activities to kuddlykittenz.tumblr.com. The Tumblelog isn't going to be strictly music, which I think was one of the limitations that kept me from writing in here all the time.
Tuesday, December 29, 2009
Scored some sweet records:
on CD:
Yann Tiersen & Shannon Wright - s/t: Yann Tiersen did the music for "Amelie", and Shannon Wright is just awesome. It's spooky and ambient but still rocks out in spots.
The Mooney Suzuki - Electric Sweat: Garage rock isn't usually my bag, but I've been listening to the Sonics1 a lot lately, and this CD was $4.00, so I figgered what the hell? Sure enough, it's pretty rockin'. From what I understand, the band teamed up with the folks behind Avril Lavigne's sonic drek, The Matrix, for their next record. Hrmph.
on cassette tape:
Quincy Jones - The Dude2: It's soooo 1981. James Inghram raps. Abe Laboriel channels Larry Graham. A Dave Koz clone rips out some gross alto sax solos. You can practically hear the lleyo being snorted off the mixing board. I like it.
3 Mustaphas 3 - Heart Of Uncle: I've been aware of these guys since about 1989 when I read a review of one of their records in Spin and it sounded really cool. I'm sad that I never actually procured a record until now. They take a kitchen sink approach, throwing in Middle Eastern, Baltic, and Carribbean bits together with vocals in French, Italian, and Hindi, and it comes out sounding pretty sweet.
Orleans - Waking And Dreaming2: You may recall that this album, which contained the 70s AM Gold hit "Still The One", also had one of the absolute worst album covers of all time*. Last night, Chris and I were listening to it, trying to imagine the band in the studio making this record, and not being able to figure how they could take what they were doing seriously. Dude sounds just like Peter Cetera. The music sounds like post-good Chicago. You can hear the cocaine on this album even more clearly than on The Dude. Definitely worth the $0.50 I paid for it.
(* PS: I will pay good American dollars for a copy of Devastatin' Dave's Zip Zap Rap.3)
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1 A little over three years after I wrote this, I got to open for the Sonics at their first Seattle show in 35 years. Guess it's good that I listened to all that garage rock.
2 I now also have both of these albums on vinyl. The warm, sweet, non-flutter-and-wow-y analog sound hasn't made the music suck any less.
3 This still holds true. Devastatin' Dave is my hero.
Yann Tiersen & Shannon Wright - s/t: Yann Tiersen did the music for "Amelie", and Shannon Wright is just awesome. It's spooky and ambient but still rocks out in spots.
The Mooney Suzuki - Electric Sweat: Garage rock isn't usually my bag, but I've been listening to the Sonics1 a lot lately, and this CD was $4.00, so I figgered what the hell? Sure enough, it's pretty rockin'. From what I understand, the band teamed up with the folks behind Avril Lavigne's sonic drek, The Matrix, for their next record. Hrmph.
on cassette tape:
Quincy Jones - The Dude2: It's soooo 1981. James Inghram raps. Abe Laboriel channels Larry Graham. A Dave Koz clone rips out some gross alto sax solos. You can practically hear the lleyo being snorted off the mixing board. I like it.
3 Mustaphas 3 - Heart Of Uncle: I've been aware of these guys since about 1989 when I read a review of one of their records in Spin and it sounded really cool. I'm sad that I never actually procured a record until now. They take a kitchen sink approach, throwing in Middle Eastern, Baltic, and Carribbean bits together with vocals in French, Italian, and Hindi, and it comes out sounding pretty sweet.
Orleans - Waking And Dreaming2: You may recall that this album, which contained the 70s AM Gold hit "Still The One", also had one of the absolute worst album covers of all time*. Last night, Chris and I were listening to it, trying to imagine the band in the studio making this record, and not being able to figure how they could take what they were doing seriously. Dude sounds just like Peter Cetera. The music sounds like post-good Chicago. You can hear the cocaine on this album even more clearly than on The Dude. Definitely worth the $0.50 I paid for it.
(* PS: I will pay good American dollars for a copy of Devastatin' Dave's Zip Zap Rap.3)
1 A little over three years after I wrote this, I got to open for the Sonics at their first Seattle show in 35 years. Guess it's good that I listened to all that garage rock.
2 I now also have both of these albums on vinyl. The warm, sweet, non-flutter-and-wow-y analog sound hasn't made the music suck any less.
3 This still holds true. Devastatin' Dave is my hero.
(Originally posted 07/20/2005)
Some critically acclaimed and wildly popular bands...
...that I pretty much never, ever feel the urge to listen to, in no particular order:
Built To Spill: I enjoyed their first album (Ultimate Alternative Waivers). I don't hate hearing them. But I am not engaged by them, even a little bit. I saw them live years ago, and my favorite part of their set was their cover of fucking "Freebird".
Beck: I think I like what Beck does conceptually, but his music always sounded too slick to me even though it was presented as this anything-goes thing. I still want to check out Sea Change so I can hear dude try his hand at doing Gainsbourg. Also, Scientology is retarded. (I was heartbroken to find out that Isaac Hayes was one of them.)
The Flaming Lips: Maybe this group has suffered from overexposure. I don't need to hear The Soft Bulletin ever again, because for a about two years, I couldn't spend more than an hour or so in a bar without it coming on. (An exaggeration, duh, but you know.) Regardless, "Race For the Prize" is still the jam. Since I originally wrote this post, I heard them do a tune from their newest record on some late night talk show, and it sounded pretty cool. That said, that was a month or so ago, and I haven't rushed out to pick up the new LP. Or download the track, for that matter.
REM: I liked these dudes as a kid, circa Green. By the time Monster came out, I could barely stand to listen to them. They became a Big Music Making Machine, just like U2, and I didn't really care about anything they had to say. Remind me to tell you my weird meeting with Michael Stipe story sometime.
Nirvana: I still like to listen to Bleach every once in a while. Nevermind Nevermind. Again, this band suffered from crazy overexposure. In the 90s, when the grunge thing was happening, I liked Nirvana a lot, but I was way more into Alice In Chains and Soundgarden. Ultramega OK still totally fucking rules! Remind me to tell you my weird meeting with Krist Novoselic story sometime.
X: I've never been able to pin down quite what it is about this band I don't care for. My first thought is that it's the vocals, but then I think maybe it's because the songs sound indistinguishable from each other to me. I saw them at SXSW a few years ago, and while their performance was good, it did nothing to make me want to listen to them more.
Johnny Cash & Willie Nelson: I totally appreciate the cultural import of both of these guys. But man, I'd be totally ok not hearing either of their songs ever again.
I don't hate any of the acts I've listed. None of them make me feel physically ill or agitated upon hearing them (see: Celine Dion, Nickelback, Creed). I just never go, "Hey! I really want to hear Live at San Quentin!" or "Man, isn't Odelay a rad record? Let's listen to it again!" There are records that I do that with.
Built To Spill: I enjoyed their first album (Ultimate Alternative Waivers). I don't hate hearing them. But I am not engaged by them, even a little bit. I saw them live years ago, and my favorite part of their set was their cover of fucking "Freebird".
Beck: I think I like what Beck does conceptually, but his music always sounded too slick to me even though it was presented as this anything-goes thing. I still want to check out Sea Change so I can hear dude try his hand at doing Gainsbourg. Also, Scientology is retarded. (I was heartbroken to find out that Isaac Hayes was one of them.)
The Flaming Lips: Maybe this group has suffered from overexposure. I don't need to hear The Soft Bulletin ever again, because for a about two years, I couldn't spend more than an hour or so in a bar without it coming on. (An exaggeration, duh, but you know.) Regardless, "Race For the Prize" is still the jam. Since I originally wrote this post, I heard them do a tune from their newest record on some late night talk show, and it sounded pretty cool. That said, that was a month or so ago, and I haven't rushed out to pick up the new LP. Or download the track, for that matter.
REM: I liked these dudes as a kid, circa Green. By the time Monster came out, I could barely stand to listen to them. They became a Big Music Making Machine, just like U2, and I didn't really care about anything they had to say. Remind me to tell you my weird meeting with Michael Stipe story sometime.
Nirvana: I still like to listen to Bleach every once in a while. Nevermind Nevermind. Again, this band suffered from crazy overexposure. In the 90s, when the grunge thing was happening, I liked Nirvana a lot, but I was way more into Alice In Chains and Soundgarden. Ultramega OK still totally fucking rules! Remind me to tell you my weird meeting with Krist Novoselic story sometime.
X: I've never been able to pin down quite what it is about this band I don't care for. My first thought is that it's the vocals, but then I think maybe it's because the songs sound indistinguishable from each other to me. I saw them at SXSW a few years ago, and while their performance was good, it did nothing to make me want to listen to them more.
Johnny Cash & Willie Nelson: I totally appreciate the cultural import of both of these guys. But man, I'd be totally ok not hearing either of their songs ever again.
I don't hate any of the acts I've listed. None of them make me feel physically ill or agitated upon hearing them (see: Celine Dion, Nickelback, Creed). I just never go, "Hey! I really want to hear Live at San Quentin!" or "Man, isn't Odelay a rad record? Let's listen to it again!" There are records that I do that with.
(Originally posted 06/14/07, revised 12/29/09)
I am the laziest blogger on the planet. In an attempt to kick-start this shit, I'm going to populate this here blog with content that I've written in other forums/blogs/whatever, and then hopefully start adding newer content.
Sagittarians are notorious for getting excited about an idea, starting it, and then getting bored with it and moving on to something else. Some people call this ADD. I call it cosmic, maaaaaan.
Sagittarians are notorious for getting excited about an idea, starting it, and then getting bored with it and moving on to something else. Some people call this ADD. I call it cosmic, maaaaaan.
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
Miss me?
Not likely, since I don't think anyone ever read this blog in the first place. I'm going to make another attempt at this blogging thing. (Ew. 'Blogging'. Not fond of the word at all. It's like the 'panties' of web terminology.)
Look forward to more music reviews, music musings, and moderately entertaining bullshit.
Look forward to more music reviews, music musings, and moderately entertaining bullshit.
Monday, March 3, 2008
MyCrack attack:
I've been adding a bunch of bands on mycrack today because I'm A) not interested in listening to anything I have on hand, and B) am horribly out of touch.
I just now got around to listening to Red Sparowes, a band that Wardell recommended to me forever ago. It's like the music of Explosions In The Sky as played by the Cure, with little bits of GYBE! thrown in just for kicks. (I just noticed a little guitar part toward the end of the song "A Message of Avarice Rained" that sounds a bit like the outro to a Quicksand song...)
Also, Sparowes tourmates Russian Circles sound pretty killer. I'm sure they're sick of being called math rock, but if it walks like a duck, sounds like a duck, and is a two-piece instrumental band that plays in odd meter like a duck, then...well, you know.
Another band who's name I've heard but ignored is Tilly and the Wall. I want to hate this band. I think I might hate this band. But I have a feeling that it's going to turn out like El Perro Del Mar turned out - it'll be too cute for me to stand, and make me angry and all Hulksmashy (because that's what twee does to me), but then I'll listen to it more and think it's the greatest thing since Tiny Tim.
Murder By Death: Nick by Cave. Bet they're sick of that too. In any case, it's pretty rockin' country Gothic (no, not like Fields of the Nephilim).
One last one: General Surgery. It's death metal. Or goregrind. All these fucking subgenres of metal confuse the shit out of me. And if you get any of these bands confused and put them in the wrong subgenre, they're liable to sacrifice you to Odin and then eat your liver with fava beans and a nice Chianti. Anyway - General Surgery plays what I think is death metal, with the vocals pitched down an octave so it sounds like the sound your guts make after eating at Taco Bell. It's pretty sweet.
Thursday, February 14, 2008
The slack attack continues...
My laptop is still busted, and my secret wellspring of new music dried up. So for now I will tell you about my current musical excursions:
American School of Warsaw: has been on hiatus for a couple of months. We will start rehearsing again soon, and will be recording an EP in April at Jupiter Studios with Jon Ervie. Plan on hearing some new sounds out of this old dog. (ASOWs first show was just over six years ago. Can you beleive it? Yes? Well, ok then.)
Key Note Speaker: is doing preproduction for a new record. We've been playing as a three piece as of late, occasionally augmented by our pal Leif Dalan on the keys. We hope to enter the studio (probably with Endino again) in late spring or summer.
Kate Tucker & The Sons of Sweden: have brought me on board as their touring bassist. BJ Meyers, who normally provides low end for the Swedes, has other comitments that prevent him from going on the road, so that's where I come in. We'll be playing a showcase at this year's SXSW in Austin, and I may be joining them for some gigs in New York in May.
Mi amiga Clarita and I also have started a group. We made our debut a few weeks ago at a birthday party for a dog. We haven't settled on a name yet, and are probably going to need a real singer, as I was told that I sing like a Muppet.
American School of Warsaw: has been on hiatus for a couple of months. We will start rehearsing again soon, and will be recording an EP in April at Jupiter Studios with Jon Ervie. Plan on hearing some new sounds out of this old dog. (ASOWs first show was just over six years ago. Can you beleive it? Yes? Well, ok then.)
Key Note Speaker: is doing preproduction for a new record. We've been playing as a three piece as of late, occasionally augmented by our pal Leif Dalan on the keys. We hope to enter the studio (probably with Endino again) in late spring or summer.
Kate Tucker & The Sons of Sweden: have brought me on board as their touring bassist. BJ Meyers, who normally provides low end for the Swedes, has other comitments that prevent him from going on the road, so that's where I come in. We'll be playing a showcase at this year's SXSW in Austin, and I may be joining them for some gigs in New York in May.
Mi amiga Clarita and I also have started a group. We made our debut a few weeks ago at a birthday party for a dog. We haven't settled on a name yet, and are probably going to need a real singer, as I was told that I sing like a Muppet.
Tuesday, November 27, 2007
I haven't forgotten you, Detritus.
No, in fact you keep staring me in the face, seeming to say "don't you love me anymore?" Of course I do.
My laptop is still busted (mostly due to my own laziness). I've been on vacation, and now it's the holidays and shit. I promise to get back in the saddle again. For reals.
My laptop is still busted (mostly due to my own laziness). I've been on vacation, and now it's the holidays and shit. I promise to get back in the saddle again. For reals.
Wednesday, August 29, 2007
Sunday, August 26, 2007
Hipster Olympics
This is beyond awesome, and it's applicable to places besides Williamsburg.
(thanks to Ingo for this)
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Now playing: Rachel's - Tea Merchants
via FoxyTunes
(thanks to Ingo for this)
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Now playing: Rachel's - Tea Merchants
via FoxyTunes
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