portishead and a few names i won't mention here

everyone is abuzz talking about the new portishead video. i havent even tried to find third yet, but this was a nice treat. technically i dont like the song, but i can see where they are going. they are trying to recapture that spooky and powerful feeling they had in dummy and whatnot. while i'm still looking forward to hearing it, i'll just remind myself that there probably won't be anything ground breaking....more of the same. which can be good.

i'm getting really sick of seeing this name thrown around: jaymay. ugh it really irks me, and i dont think her songs are particularly good anyway. also i'm sick of the she&him shit. i know i used to be excited to hear the album, but once this zooey fever hit, i find her voice really annoying.



this is one of scarjo's pictures from her album cover photo shoot. you know, the tom waits covers. i hope they spent at least as much time on the recording and production of the record as they have on promotion.

i've been obsessively listening to amy winehouse this week, and i'm not ashamed. she's just so damn interesting. more specifically, i've been listening to "addicted," the bonus track of her UK release on repeat. i sometimes amaze myself at how many times in a row i can listen to a song. not just any song will fall privy to this treatment, of course. i pick up the nuances of the person's voice and emulate them. this particular song has so much straight up slang slung around like it's no big deal. if anyone else had written a song about someone smoking all of his or her weed, it would be laughed at, splooged upon, and muckraked. fucking brits are so cool. i could not find a decent performance of this particular track on youtube, so here's a little clip of her doing coke on stage:



also i've listened to a beauty of a record by bon iver, for emma, forever ago. it is sure to make many returns. his falsetto is engaging, his compositions cerebral. he's touring right now with phosphorescent.

sure i have sxsw envy. i'm sure most music nerds who aren't there have it. what i'm struggling with more than that is my lack of willie nelson tickets. i allowed the time to pass and missed out on my chance. i've only been immersing myself in his catalog for the past two years, no biggie. i hope this wasn't my last chance ever....

duke ellington's money jungle....one of the greats.

also i'm buying the the plants and animals record. stupid pitchfork.

the great white jenkins and their web of connections

....yeah, it's over a week ago. the great white jenkins played a show at gallery 5 last tuesday for these united states' cd release show. what is very cool about this particular band's tour is that they have commissioned a local band in every city that they're playing to learn a few songs from their new album. the result is a lot of musicians on one stage, but it's a pretty cool idea.

this time they played with marionette. known these guys for a little while now and they're pretty fucking rad. they let loose into noise jams and float around some pretty impressive compositions. they've recently added a female singer (and tambourine player....tambourinist?). while i have seen that this maneuver kills whatever the particular band has going on, i'm pretty into this extended lineup. the drummer also plays in tulsa drone and barstool heroes; the former played with the homemade knives at one of their performances, fyi. rip. the latter is basically the best music to see live in an oregon hill dive bar. never gets old. the bassist also plays for barstool heroes as well as mason dixon disaster, whom i'm trying to warmupto. THE HOTDAMNS played their asses off as another opener.

back to TGWJ: they played the same day that my review of their EP appeared in a local alternative publication. although they seemed less than enthused to meet me afterwards, they played a fantastic set playing many selections from the EP (mussel souls). three horn players from fight the big bull (i'm sick of linking!) played with them on a few songs. matt white from TGWJ plays in FTBB. since they played last, the band played for the few remaining tuesday night drunks and diehards.


i'm SUPER BUMMED to have missed out on getting willie nelson tickets! why, oh why, did i wait? hopefully i'll be able to find an extra somewhere.

speaking of willie....
screwed is on.

danzig, popmatters, thee silver mt. zion, the duo/grace potter

danzig has ruled my car cd player for the past week or so. i feel like i've been neglecting my metal intake of late, so it was time for the immersion. i am looking for some sweet new metal discs (not NU METAL) for my listening pleasure. thoughts?

i've been trying to wrap my brain around circle takes the square. this has recently been dubbed one of my boyfriend's favorite albums of all time. while on the surface i really hate the 'vocals,' i must admit that the record's flow really counterbalances that annoyance. granted, i've never been one to seek out the screamo or whatnot. as a singer it is especially difficult for me to not let bad vocals ruin the music for me. part of my being a trey-hater is the fact that i had to cognitively work on not letting his crappy vocals ruin the big picture. i wonder how many other bands i've written off right away because i couldnt stomach the singing.

the best news ever for a monday (or anytime, really):
i've been asked to join popmatters' staff! no, really, i can write. don't let this blog fool you. i'll probably be covering mostly country titles on there.

tomorrow there is a show:
these united states
marionette
the great white jenkins
and the hotdamns!

wednesday night there is also a show:
grace potter and the nocturnals
the benevento/russo duo

but i have no one to go with to wednesday's show. i'm a little bit embarassed to admit to liking grace potter. and although i did not enjoy her 2007 release, i think her live show will live up to the hype it collects. the duo are my boys whom i havent seen since 2005, so i should like to see them again. pitchfork didn't get their lazy asses around to reviewing their 2006 album until last year, but at least they realized how worthy the duo are.

next sunday has a bit of a dilemma:
should i go see:
gene/gayla mills
akron/family
special ed and the shortbus

two of those have vcu philosophy department connections.

also, i have a show scheduled for april at cous cous. my friend dani (female singer of the hotdamns) and i are working on duo material: our vocal harmonies, my ukulele, her acoustic guitar. our first song is a cover of traditional folk song "banks of the ohio." we have yet to name our outfit but will name it shortly. that is, if i didnt piss dani off by not showing up today.

my book, the rap scene: the people, the image, the music, was completed today in lieu of practicing.

she & him

i'm looking forward to this disc so much!

here's a reason why:

"why do you let me stay here" mp3

various subjects contained herein

last night i performed with amy winehouse but i kept forgetting the words.

in my dream, of course.

did you know that william h. macy plays the uke?



just when i thought he couldnt get any cooler....

let's have a moment of silence for no depression whose last issue comes this spring.

hooked on steely dan?

great score today at plan 9:
bill kirchen's tied to the wheel, a set of fantastic trucker tunes, signed by kirchen and two other musicians on the record.

another 2007 gem:
aaron ross (of hella)'s shapeshifter

tonight i wish i'd go to:
see this guy from parts and labor at the camel or ilad at ipanema.
instead i have to work on reviews and rap books. hopefully i can go see grace potter next week.

i think most people feel selfish to a degree about bands they like. while on one hand, i want my favorite bands to succeed and hit paydirt, but on the other i want to be able to enjoy said bands. case in point, sharon jones is pretty fucking huge relatively. this leads to bigger venues, less intimate shows, soldout shows, and dealing with annoying know-nothing-about-music showgoers. it's a toughie and i feel like a deck for even thinking that way.

listened to david vandervelde's the moonstation house band all weekend. i think i overlooked this one for my best of 2007 list.

note: should check out more dawn landes.

and here's some chocolate rain to start your week:



how about that breathing method?

nat baldwin, shows, grammys, did you vote?

maintaining a blog with some sort of regularity is harder than it would seem. i just can't seem to get my shit together to post daily. if i used the same computer at home that i do at work, it would be a different story.




last tuesday, per elliott's suggestion, i went to ipanema to see nat baldwin of the dirty projectors. while elliott was right on about the greatness of this performance, he neglected to mention how fucking hot mr. baldwin is. note: the great white jenkins did not perform on this night due to an illness. fight the big bull (big band funk) played instead (AFTER nat) and covered several weezer tunes as well as "thriller." while i think "thriller" is getting its due praise especially with the timely 25-year-anniversary release, i'm getting fucking sick of thriller in the mainstream. fucking naomi campbell is doing the fucking thriller dance in a commercial with the sobe life water lizard. but i digress....

mr. baldwin's performance was mesmerizing and psychedelic. he chanted and moaned along with his upright and horn section, fueling a frenzy of nnnnoise that was engaging, enlightening, and potent. this noise went somewhere, as the tiny basement-like restaurant/bar's patrons listened with bated breath. the whirlwind of sounds was not without substance or form as baldwin's bowed bass constructed a jam of insurmountable proportions. fuck these words, it was really my thing. be on the lookout for my jambase interview with baldwin. also he gave me a copy of his april '08 release, most valuable player, which conveys his trance-like presence. i'll be reviewing that, hopefully, for a website, but on first listen this album contains lots of goodies.

i met the eels over the past week or so, and while it was not my first meeting with the band led by E, it certainly broadened my eels knowledge. i could have done without watching the 11 music videos and 1 live performance on the second disc, and there are lots of annoying songs. plus where was their cover of tennesse ernie ford's "sixteen tons?" that song shaped my childhood.

beatbox and blues get a mashing with son of dave's release, 02 which i am just now realizing is from 200 fucking 5. why didnt they send me his '08 thing?

for perhaps the first time since middle school i watched the majority of the debacle known as the grammys. at least this year they didn't leave stevie wonder on stage. the lengthy gospel clusterfuck was retarded, and what was up with the one gay white guy with a fauxhawk in the gospel choir? amy winehouse will not cease to be entertaining, even though she appeared nervous and slightly sober at her "performance." she's so trashy and a chav that she's fantastic. oh and she's jewy. loves it. i wish i were 19 and looked like rihanna. more later after i play receptionist for an hour...

shows coming up:

the wiyos at ashland coffee & tea valentine's day (ugh) may or may not happen.

hoots/hellmouth

mermaid skeletons

red clay village or ralph stanley

grace potter and the benevento/russo duo

barn burning/josh small

WILLIE NELSON (i'm paying for these tickets with my rap book proceeds)

they might be giants

handsome furs

carolina choc drops

and new pornographers are playing the same night as iron & wine and califone. doh

DID YOU VOTE IN YOUR STATE'S PRIMARIES?
yes

what i do not like about this process is how much lying takes place that my parents fall for. they are told that the conservative notion is one that maintains a person's liberties, that the conservative right wants to keep personal freedoms in place. now how am i supposed to respond to my mother considering the following: 1)my expensive education which taught me quite a bit about the rule of law and political philosophies, 2) my personal research done not by watching foxnews. how can i tell my mother that she's being lied to without sounding like 'those liberal assholes who look down on the right for not being informed.' and what if what i've learned is what 'they' want me to believe? why were dennis kucinich and john edwards on the ballot? why do the voters in the 'black' communities not have computerized ballots; and why do they not even have enough crappy physical ones to go around? suspicious. these are just the beginning of why 1)i could not be involved in political science or politics and 2)everything about politic pisses me off. it also seems hard for most people to sustain an intelligent conversation without letting one's passions overtake the logic.in politics and in general.

/rant

music to make the day less long

i usually can count on the good ol' interwebz for getting me through my work day, and today is of no exception:



yeah it's been done by inmates, and much better at that. but i still love it. it reminds me of this but i'm not sure why. anything to fuck with the public is cool by me.

today's post is brought to you by covey run cabernet savignon....the one with the california quail:


over the weekend i sat in on the high street lowlifes' recording session at good old (and actually new and improved since the fire) sound of music. jay lindsey, producer.
while the sessions may have been rushed a bit due to lack of ample funds, they made the best of their time. the band comes straight out of the 1930's, with their old time string band sound and throwback wardrobe.
jay at the soundboard, studio A

natheil (love her name) working the saw (apparently the sound comes out behind so that's the best place to set up a mic


then i saw the hotdamns play some new songs at their spot wonderland.



today i reviewed the lightning bug situation's a leaf; a stream. aka brian miller (jolie holland's guitarist). this is yet another great album from 2007, combining a dreamlike textured set of mellow songs a la m ward with spoken word folks sharing memories. lovely.

next up:
the great white jenkins mussel souls
not looking forward to: baby dee safe inside the day
charlie hunter, bobby previte, john medeski altitude (third of a trilogy, and by the first half of disc one it already has the prior two beat. that's not hard though tbh because i dislike dj logic.)
nathaniel mayer and his hilarious hair
some more 2007: nina garcia and jim white (this one completely slipped my mind!)
white blue yellow & clouds
il gato
wayward sway
son of dave

the hotdamns, the mishaps, tournament friday @ rumors

i can't help loving the shoes guy:


and i CANNOT STOP playing charlotte gainsbourg's rendition of "just like a woman" from the i'm not there sndtrk. god i need to see that fucking movie. sometimes it takes an artist's new perspective to spark new life into a song i've always taken for granted. jay says it's about joan baez, and man dylan knows how to cut.

time for SVU!

el guincho, alex dupree

right now is the perfect time for looking over discs from 2007 that either went underappreciated or unheard by yours truly.

el guincho, the spanish panda bear.

alex dupree & the trapdoor band's las meridanzas: a gentle blend of chamber pop and folk with some pretty killer riffs.

john maus, which i'm still not sure on.

scout niblett: some meditative female vocals

LOW DISK SPACE: note to self - please figure out how your external hard drive works asap.

also check out this week's discs:
here

new year, hopefully renewed vigor

i'm a bit disappointed in my lack of live music experiences in 2007. sure, i saw some great local bands, and i saw a few great larger acts. it was nowhere near the amount to which i'm accustomed. maybe if the people in charge of getting my show admissions werent such slack half-asses, i'd be more inclined to pursue something. also, even though there is a larger venue attracting more and more larger acts, i've only wanted to check out a handful or so of them. am i getting too picky with how i spend my time? perhaps i'm a bit jaded when it comes to a positive live music experience, and i'm also spoiled. if you've ever been to a show with me, you may have been privy to my show rituals. maybe i'm spoiled by the hotdamns shows. gotta save that money for willie nelson in march....
regardless, i want to make 2008 a better year for live music. even though i have to miss out on my girl sharon j on friday, i'll make up for it in february:
the wiyos
the great white jenkins and nat baldwin (of the dirty projectors) thanks elliott for the headsup
hackensaw boys (bryan hoffa benefit!!!)
mermaid skeletons
cass mccombs (band of horses)
anais mitchell
and probably some punk/hardcore/metal shows.

2008 is great

the new MMW disc: let's go everywhere

for the most part, it's a thumbs downer. this is mostly because i hate children, and children are jampacked on that shit. don't they realize that a child yelling is one of the most horrifying sounds ever made? i guess they are sort of out of ideas.

cat power - jukebox

at least she didnt use that old man perv keyboardist on this one, but this time i don't have a chan-handwritten copy. nevertheless, i'm into it, especially "new york."

the mountain goats: heretic pride

i very much liked this on the first and second listens. i still need to hear their other stuff (which i've been meaning to do)- i mean, besides the few tracks i'd heard previously. however, the title track is already a tad annoying, but we'll have to see after a few more listens.


m. ward and zooey deschanel:
i'm very much looking forward to their album she and him: volume one, especially if her myspaceis any indication. gotta love chicks with ukes. which leads me to...practicing my uke.