Beirut - "Elephant Gun"

Not much to say here besides "best video this year?"

Fuck the British Press: Why Favourite Worst Nightmare is a Complete Nightmare

This is a rather childish rant, so excuse me please. I'm in class still, so it comes off as a bit scattered.

I’ve never understood the way the British music press works; here in the US, we essentially only have monthly magazines, with the exception of Rolling Stone. I’ve always seen the “weekly” form of music press as cheap, an almost tabloid like version of what the press should be. With the music industry, there isn’t really enough news to fill a weekly magazine besides Billboard, but that’s for insiders who care about the news. In the past few years, magazines like New Musical Express have become a real problem for musical trends in the United States. Magazines like this have always been known as hyperbolic at best, but they’ve really gained a reputation for a two key features: their interviews and their lists.

I’ve interviewed bands before and I’ve often asked them what they thought about music and what they like or admire. It seems to me that no one’s ever told me who they don’t like in the music industry and why. I doubt that these interviewers are asking for dirt, so what is it about these magazines that makes the musicians want to talk? Mudslinging through NME is so easy. If you say it at Friday’s gig, it’ll make the print deadline and make it to the newsstands by Monday.

The funny part about this story is that that’s not what’s really bugging me about magazines like NME. NME, in particular, is notorious for their lists. They revise their “Best Albums of All Time” list every few months, adding in whatever flavor of the month they feel is worthy of the hype. Of course, they’ve had a few hits (well, mostly Oasis), but it all came crashing down when I heard that they placed Arctic Monkeys’ debut album within the top five of all time, ahead of several Beatles and Clash albums. How does that happen? I don’t even like the Beatles and I know that the Arctic Monkeys are trash. Of course, I know this happens every few years, but why is it still a problem?

Today, I read a report that ten of the twelve tracks from Arctic Monkeys’ new album are within the top 75 of the Top 200 Singles. The other two songs are ranked at numbers 77 and 114. What the hell? Hype really sells overseas, apparently, because there are bands that can’t get one song on the charts, let alone every single song from their twelve-song album.

Because of the hype, Arctic Monkeys have become one of the biggest spectacles in the world. I will admit that I liked that “I Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor” song when I first heard it, but after that first week where I couldn’t go outside without hearing it, I wanted to kill myself just to make it stop. I’m not sure how this album is going to shake out with American radio and television, but I’m hoping the backlash catches up.

playlist for tuesday, april 28, 2007.

raider (domi)nation
manowar - "overture to the humn of the immortal warrior"
saxon - "die for metal"
manowar - "i've got to rock (to stay alive)"

hella - "let your heavies out"
barr - "half of two times two"
elliott - "blessed by your own ghost"
deerhunter - "spring hall convert"
lungfish - "hear the children sing"
american analog set - "waking up is hard to do"
gruff rhys - "beacon in the darkness"
let's go sailing - "sideways"
mark kozelek - "rock n roll singer"
mark lanegan - "one way street"

orchid - "...and the cat turned to smoke"
guitar wolf - "roaring blood"
big business - "easter romantic"
the melvins - "#2 pencil"
sister vanilla - "jamcolas"
andrew wk - "party party party"

(guest set by matt strasser)
!!! - "bend over beethoven"
brainiac - "silver iodine"
deerhoof - "the galaxist"
beirut - "elephant gun"
lightning bolt - "dracula mountain"

a noise set featuring:
black dice
the mountain goats
ride
lots of movie speeches

joanna newsom and the ys street band - "cosmia"
rocky votolato - "lilly white"
karen o - "tracks 1-3"
page france - "mr. violin and dancing bear"
rob crow - "i hate you rob crow (single version)"
benni hemm hemm - "snjórjljóssnjór"
YACHT - "we're always waiting"
of montreal - "tropical iceland/and she was (live)"
the fiery furnaces - "single again"
cake - "war pigs"
the little ones - "gregory's chant (live)"

midnight movies - "patient eye (james iha remix)"
someone still loves you boris yeltsin - "half awake (deb)"
the honorary title - "thin layer"
sonic youth - "teen age riot"
the lemonheads - "become the enemy"
dear nora - "(i can't believe) i left california"
billy bragg - "california stars"
the new amsterdams - "from california"
the old 97's - "just like california."

Live Review: Lightning Bolt @ 1269, April 11, 2007.

fe·vered
a. A condition of heightened activity or excitement: a fever of anticipation.
b. A contagious, usually short-lived enthusiasm or craze: disco fever.

When I was tasked with writing a Lightning Bolt live review, I was overwhelmed. I first tried to break it down into manageable pieces. What words described that night? Fevered was the perfect word, or so I thought. When I looked it up, the results above were not quite sufficient; this was the definition of "fevered" not considering actually having a fever. Though I wasn't sick, the feeling in the room was beyond the illness that your mom used to get you out of school for. There was a sort of heated, angsty anticipation I had never really felt before.

When I heard Lightning Bolt was coming through Los Angeles, I was excited. I'd never seen them before and listening to their music only made me curious. They never announced the locations of either shows in LA, so everything happened by word of mouth. This particular night, somewhere around 700 people showed up to see the madness in action. The wall of people leading up to the stage seemed inpenetrable. The one thing on the halfpipe stage clearly visible upon entrance was a big circular mirror hovering above a wall of speakers that the band brought with them. This was a hostile show of force.

The setup period seemed too long, and though the band apologized for the wait, part of me wants to believe that they wanted to make everyone wait just that much longer.

From the first drum hit straight through to the last fuzzy bass notes almost an hour and a half later, the noise didn't seem to stop. There must've been 40 people on the top of the halfpipe and 150 surrounding the band on the stage. Right below the stage is where most of the madness happened though. After the initial rush of "2 morrow morrow land," everything seemed to open up. Somehow, I'm surprised that no one got severly injured. Everyone, including Ted Leo, was getting really into the experience.

Lightning Bolt ran through a good amount of their recorded material, mostly focusing on material off of Hypermagic Mountain and even working in some improvisations. I wish I could describe more of what went on; this is really where the word "fevered" comes in handy. The middle hour of the show (after the first 15 minutes and before the last 15 minutes) seems to run together in my mind, as if I were hallucinating. The heat of the room, combined with the constant noise assault creates the perfect fever dream scenario. The last 10 minutes were something to remember, however. Lightning Bolt jammed on "Dracula Mountain," a song that everyone seems to know. The crowd went absolutely apeshit. There were kids jumping off of the halfpipe, 15 feet off the ground. Kids were dancing all the way back, realizing that something like this wasn't going to happen again soon.

If you've never been to see Lightning Bolt, get out of your parents' basement and see the world. Treat yourself to a good pair of earplugs and a bottle of water and live a little. These two guys are proof that RISD is one of the coolest places to be.

PS. Here's a great documentary about Lightning Bolt that I found on youtube. It has a running time of 71 minutes and the quality isn't that great, but it comes from a DVD that you can find on the intarwebs for purchase. Watching the first three minutes will give you a good idea of what you missed.

playlist for tuesday, april 3, 2007.

!!! - "heart of hearts"
plok - "snickerpuss"
the constantines - "shine a light"
illinois - "headphones"
let's go sailing - "too many stars"

kamikaze hearts - "half of me"
low - "breaker"
deerhunter - "spring hall convert"
yo la tengo - "pass the hatchet"
jay reatard - "my family"
hella - "world series"
bonnie "prince" billy - "master and everyone"
do make say think - "bound to be that way"

kill creek - "hardly accounted for"
foot foot - "out of the sand"
fragile fawn - "love to love to love"/"indian giver"
kiddo - "thom yorke (demo)"
the black heart procession - "we always knew"
love of diagrams - "cool (live)"
dear nora - "loose"
mirah - "sweepstakes prize"
gruff rhys - "lonesome words"
rodriguez - "only good for conversation"
lcd soundsystem - "time to get away"

i'm from barcelona - "oversleeping"
marnie stern - "put all your eggs in one basket..."
deerhoof - "+81"
ooioo - "eye mix 1"
cibo matto - "sugar water"
black black - "honey in your ears"
the pogues - "the wild rover"
limbeck - "home is where the van is (ed rose version)"

cursive - "frankly mr. shankly"
jets to brazil - "sea anemone"
refused - "rather be dead"
the raveonettes - "remember"
the one am radio - "i think this is my exit"
statistics - "reminisce"
the appleseed cast - "innocent vigilant ordinary"
team sleep - "kool aid party (with mike patton)"
charlotte gainsbourg - "the songs we sing"
nouvelle vague - "blue monday"
tilly and the wall - "lost girls"
clap your hands say yeah - "the sword song"

art brut - it's a bit complicated sampler:
"pump up the volume"
"direct hit"
"post soothing out"
"late sunday"
"nag nag nag nag"

Uncertainty, Inadequacy and How Andrew WK can Solve All Your Problems

I've recently discovered that I'm one of those people that doesn't really know how to slow down. For me, it's either "stop" or "go." There isn't anything in between, as hard as I might try or as much as I might convince myself. Can I set my sights lower and expect to get there? Is that being fair to all those who have given everything so that I might do the same, or is it more selfish-bastardry?

The last week has been strange. It started out so slowly and ended so strangely, with even more scary things in the middle. The one encouraging part of the week was the one music related part, so I feel that it should get filed into the archives of this blog, rather than anywhere else. I had the chance to meet Andrew WK and see him speak. It was the most amazing experience I've ever had at the station. He's been doing lectures all over the country about "living the best life" and "having a good time." While this is not wholly surprising, considering the nature of his music, it's the way he talks about it. If you check his Wikipedia entry, there's no college listed, and yet he speaks much more eloquently than anyone I have ever met at this school. It's not revolutionary science or anything, but something about the way he spoke was so impressive.

At first, I was skeptical. I mean, think about it. Rock and roll Tony Robbins? It had to be some kind of act. It was an elaborate one, and I eventually figured out that he had to be somewhat serious. Then, I had it in my head that I was just enamored with the idea of this ridiculous figure doing something other than rocking my face off, but as the ideaology burrowed further into my head, I realized that everything he said was true and that maybe I shouldn't take myself so seriously. i can't think about not living up to my own standards, because that's exactly what they are. They're not for anyone else; they're for me. I can't ever let myself down, unless I give up absolutely. I still don't know what's going to happen tomorrow or the next day, but living right now is the most important thing. I used to forget that a lot, but I went out and bought a pair of white pants and I'm planning on wearing them on special occasions to remind me of this ridiculous man that I met and all that he stood for.

In that spirit, here's a bit of what you missed.