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.