Let's Find Out About! pow wow!...

pow wow!
This group comes from Brooklyn. They are led by two brothers, Edward and Jeff Nazareno. The hype for this group has slowly been building around the blogosphere and they have earned comparisons to Velvet Underground and The Kinks, two of my favorite groups. The band calls itself "The lovechild of Burt Bacharach, The Smiths and Diana Ross. From the Future. In outer space." And Earfarm says they sound like "The Modern Lovers if they replaced their pre-punk edge with a dose of sunny day Belle and Sebastian ennui." For my part, I would compare the group to Dirty on Purpose without quite as much fuzzy distortion, but a bit more poppy hooks.


Middle Distance Runner
The group originally started as a Led Zeppelin cover band in DC, but according to their website they have always been the second best band in the world, only beaten by Oasis. They are also huge fans of Blur. The band describes their sound: "Middle Distance Runner is what you would be left with if you took every nu-metal, frat-rock, and emo band, put them into a poorly insulated spaceship, and then drove it into the sun" or, alternately: "Indie-pop with a dick and a brain." According to Paste Magazine, "Before every show, band members huddle up, put their hands together and yell “1-2-3 Professionalism!”" That's fucking hilarious.


Antipop Consortium
Formed in 1997 by Priest, Beans and M. Sayyid in New York City. The band is hip-hop with an IDM ("intelligent dance music") influence. They disbanded in 2002. During its heyday, the group earned comparisons to MF Doom, Kool Keith and Aesop Rock. They opened for Radiohead and toured with DJ Shadow. Sayyid said in an interview with Index Magazine that he grew up listening to Dead Kennedys, The Specials and Black Flag along with Kurtis Blow and Run-D.M.C. And Beans describes their style: "It's a mix of Suicide, Sun Ra, and Afrika Bambaataa, with lyrics by Richard Wright." He also claims he grew up as a Kiss fan before he discovered hip-hop. This is a hip-hop band that is influenced by everything from Prince to Pavement. Really!

Bonus! Download "Rinseflow" (Tragic Epilogue)

People Under the Stairs
Formed out of the late-90s LA underground hip-hop scene by Double K and Thes One, who comes from Lima, Peru. After releasing the well-received Question in the Form of an Answer in 2000, PUTS toured with De La Soul. The band is still recording, most recently releasing Fun DMC last year. For that album, the group actually recorded dialogue off the streets of South Central, LA to recreate the sound of their hometown. This is a hip-hop band that's all about having fun, which is really quite refreshing.


Gentleman Auction House
This is a seven-piece indie group from Missouri. And they are Cardinals fans. So fuck 'em. Unfortunately, I do like their music though. Crashin' In writes, "They have no tricks or frills to grab your attention, they simply just have good catchy indie pop songs that will stick in your head all day long." They definitely have a sort of Arcade Fire/Thermals sound, which is fun to listen to.


Dandelions
I learned about this band from Swan Fungus in one of the most excellent blog-articles I have seen. Really this is what the internet was made for, right? Swan Fungus gives us four downloads [EDIT: you can click MegaUpload DL to download the whole thing] off of an incredibly rare and actually excellent album by a little known band called the Dandelions. And who are the Dandelions? Two girls, ages ten and eleven named Kitsy and Tres, who recorded this folk album in 1971. And it's shockingly good stuff, much better than a lot of the folk-pop of the '60s. I'd certainly rather listen to the Dandelions than Peter Paul & Mary. The blog post also gives us the notes from the record's back cover. Here's an excerpt:

In a few weeks we were together at Kitsy’s home for the weekend and Uncle Scott and Aunt Judy were there when we started to make up some songs. Uncle Scott said, “Why don’t you two make an album since you’re so good?” We said, “O.K.!”

How wonderful is that. There's no video of their music on Youtube as far as I know, but here is something about dandelions anyway:

On Rolling Stone & Mastodon

I was a subscriber of Rolling Stone magazine for five years, but this year when it came time to renew the subscription I just couldn't face another year of cover stories on the Jonas Brothers and Zac Effron or whatever shit goes on there these days. Seriously, Rolling Stone has sold its soul to the devil, and not in a cool way like Robert Johnson or Mick Jagger. No, a music magazine that used to have the Fucking Beatles or the Rolling Stones or Jimi Hendrix on their covers now panders to the preteen Disney crowd. It is sickening.

Here is the May 15, '08 edition for example. On the cover are the girls of the Hills. Sure, they are dressed in skimpy outfits and are "hot" I guess, but they are also braindead stars of a reality show with no talent whatsoever. Rolling Stone, music still exists. Would it kill you to put My Morning Jacket or Vampire Weekend or MGMT on the cover? Or really anything that does actually count as music?!

So that's why I was quite pleasantly surprised to see the newest Rolling Stone. I had an hour to kill so I took it off the shelf and there was Lil' Wayne, an actual artist, who is a hell of a lot more interesting than U2. And that wasn't the only good article in there. There is a three-page spread on Mastodon, a band that I have heard a lot about over the last few years. They are the best metal group in the world, one of the few groups from that genre that also gets its share of critical acclaim. I'm not much of a metal fan, though, so I had never checked out their music or really read too much about them. And the article really made me fascinated with the group. It was one of the few times that I have started reading an article about a band I had no interest in up to that point and could not pull myself away. And the reason for that is that Mastodon is an incredibly interesting group, one of the few real fucking rock & roll bands left. And this is presented brilliantly by Brian Hiatt. Here is how he opens the article: "Brent Hinds, frontman and lead guitarist for Mastodon, has reached the inevitable point in the evening when his speech starts to slur." After reading that sentence, there was no way I wasn't going to read the whole article. That article was what Rolling Stone should be all about, presenting genuinely exciting bands to a larger audience. For that, I am glad I picked up the newest edition. Still, I think I'll check in next time to see if Miley Cyrus is on the cover before I resubscribe.

Random Musings (4/11/09)

1. For those of you who don't believe that New Haven is rough, I had the following experience two days ago. At an intersection about five minutes from where I lived, a cop car whizzed up right next to me, the cop jumped out of the car and immediately began running after a 14 year old kid. This moment reminded me so much of The Wire, specifically the episode in which Herc and Carv tackle the kid with the eye-patch carrying the re-up. Elm City represent!
The image up top comes from the Coliseum's implosion.

2. The Cubs had a so-so week. Here is my revised Gold Star and Shit List:

Gold Stars:
Mike "Little Lord" Fontenot: I was sad to see DeRosa go, but so far the Fonter is actually out-performing him, hitting .385 with a homer and four RBIs.
Kosuke Fukudome: It's been shocking, but since his dreadful Opening Day, Fuku has been one of the Cubs best hitters. Maybe I can start wearing my Fukudome t-shirt in public again.
Rich Harden: After a really bad spring in which his velocity was only hitting the high-80s, Harden looked as good as ever on Friday, allowing only one earned run over six innings while striking out ten. He was also throwing 96, which may be the best news of all. Keep in mind, the guy is the Cubs' fourth starter. Jesus, imagine this rotation with Peavy!
Angel Guzman: So far, Guzman has looked like the best Cubs' reliever besides Marmol. He has struck out three over two shutout innings in relief. It would be nice if Guzman finally lived up to expectations. He's 27 now, only one year younger than Big Z.

Shit List:
Derrek Lee: He needs to start hitting or he needs to be dropped down in the lineup. The third hitter can't hit .154.
Ted Lilly: After calling his first start "the most important start of the year," Lilly gave up four homers in five innings. He got the win, but did not come close to deserving it.
Kevin Gregg: He gave up zero runs all spring. But Spring Training doesn't count, and so far in the real season, he has a WHIP of 3.00 and has been part of both Cubs' losses (allowing the winning runners to score in both games two and four).
Lou Piniella: He's made a couple fairly questionable moves so far. In game two, he put in Gregg in a tie game with two runners on. Isn't that a job for Marmol? Then yesterday, he pinch-hit Miles instead of Hoffpauir in a big spot. Miles hit into an inning-ending double play.

Overall, I'm fairly pleased with the Cubs' season so far. The two players I was most worried about heading into the season, Fukudome and Harden, have had great starts. Bradley broke out of his hitless streak with a home run yesterday. The rotation looks solid. The biggest question marks so far are the bullpen and Soto, who hopefully will be back in the lineup today. Winning these next two against the Brewers would be nice.

3. The NHL and NBA playoffs start soon
The Bulls are set for a matchup with the Celtics. They'll be lucky to win a game. At least I'll get to watch Derrick Rose on TV. The Blackhawks have a much better chance of making round two in a probable matchup with the Calgary Flames. Chicago swept the season series 4-0 over Calgary this year. I am really looking forward to this next week. With playoff basketball, playoff hockey and regular season baseball, I will have plenty of opportunity to kick back and cheer for Chi-City.

4. Almost Famous is a great great great movie.
I don't think I'll ever get tired of hearing "I am a golden god!"

Music for the Springtime (or for Smoking Bitches)

It might not feel like spring yet in the Northeast but I'm looking forward to two months of throwing the disc, and relaxing in the sun. So here is a little taste of what we can all look forward to. (Note: These songs may or may not have anything to do with spring)

RZA ft. Big Daddy Kane & GZA: "Cameo Afro" (Afro Samurai Soundtrack)
Big Daddy Kane still has it as he proved on this track, released three years ago.
DOWNLOAD

Guided by Voices: "Always Crush Me" (Alien Lanes)
"Always crush me/Picture my amazement when it doesn't always pain me/And I will reproduce faster." Uh, OK then.
DOWNLOAD

Arcade Fire: "Intervention" (Neon Bible)
This was the last great rock album. I'm still waiting for a new one to claim that title.
DOWNLOAD

Interpol: "Next Exit" (Antics)
Maybe it's the fact that I got this album before their first one, but this has always been my favorite Interpol record.
DOWNLOAD

Menomena: "Twenty Cell Revolt" (I Am the Fun Blame Monster!)
This is a cool group. They write all their songs using a computer program called Deeler. But it's not really electronic music at all (they use chimes and a trumpet on this song). Additionally, their album title is an anagram for "Menomena's first album!"
DOWNLOAD

Django Reinhardt: "Swing 42" (Intégrale Django Reinhardt, Vol. 16: "Festival 48")
Django has always been one of my heros, a gypsy who was the greatest guitarist in the world despite deforming his left hand in a freak fire accident. Here he is performing near the end of his career, along with the Quartette du Hot Club de France along and his frequent collaborator, Stéphane Grappelli. I was lucky enough to see a fantastic tribute to Grappelli by Florin Niculesco at the Sunset-Sunside Club in Paris last year.
DOWNLOAD

Just 161 to Go

Cubs win! Cubs win! It was a good Opening Day for the Cubs tonight and for Big Z in particular who threw 6+ innings of one run ball. He struggled early, but dominated in the later innings. Maybe after five years he's finally got the hang of Opening Day.

Gold Stars (These guys made me proud)
Alfonso Soriano: He led off the game with a home run and ended up 2-5 on the day. And he didn't drop any balls in the outfield. But can you do it in the playoffs, Sori?
Mike "Little Lord" Fontenot: He went 3-4 with two runs as the opening day second baseman. Plus, he made some mighty nice plays in the field and a pretty intense slide into home, missing a tag from Pudge.
Micah Hoffpauir: This guy can rake. He got a ribbie in his one pinch hit. He really should play everyday somewhere, but as long as we're using him off the bench, he makes from a pretty damn good pinch hitter.
Carlos "Big Z" Zambrano: Could this be the year Z finally matures? He looked pretty composed out there, never getting too frustrated with calls or with Lou when he got the boot. If he can get his head straight, I am convinced, he could be a Cy Young.

Shit List (Self-Explanatory)
Kosuke Fukudome: Fuku looked pretty much the same as he did for most of last year. He hit a couple weak ground balls, a pop up, and struck out looking. I love the guy, but either he has to start hitting or he's an enormously expensive bench player.
Derrek Lee: Lee also went 0-4. One of those outs was a long one, but Lee was very quiet tonight. He's clearly no longer the offensive juggernaut he was three years ago. Another .300/20 HR season would be nice though.
Milton Bradley: So far no explosions, but he went 0-3 and made a horrific error in the field (he had a ball bounce out of his glove in the ninth inning) even if it wasn't ruled an error. He also rolled over his ankle, but didn't seem to be bothered by that. If he had really gotten injured on the first day, that would almost not surprise me as a Cubs fan.

Meet 25th Man: David Patton

Today, the Cubs made their final roster adjustments. They released Chad Gaudin, sent Jeff Samardjiza to AAA, and kept Angel Guzman and David Patton. Patton is probably the one guy on the team that I know the least about. He was a Rule-5 pickup for the Cubs, who got him from the Rockies. He is a 24-year-old who has never pitched past high A. Last year, he put up a solid 10.6 K/9. His WHIP at 1.39 was a little higher than desired however. This spring, Patton was pretty phenomenal, lighting up Mesa with a 1.26 ERA over 14.1 innings. According to a Scouting Report (which, admittedly does not come from a professional), Patton routinely hits the mid-to-upper 90s with his fastball, as well as throwing a Ben Sheets-esque curveball.

The season starts tomorrow. I am psyched as hell.

Let's Find Out About! One-Eyed Doll...

In my running gag here, I introduce you to bands/artists that I have just recently learned about (maybe you know them already, but they're new to me). And I give you a video to wet your appetite.

One-Eyed Doll
Just Press Play calls One-Eyed Doll (she's a singer/guitarist (real name Kimberly Freeman), not a band) "dirty, corrupt, and dangerously sweet." She dresses up in scary makeup, wacky outfits, and is that a Statue of Liberty hat? Her song "Be My Friend" features a refrain, "Serial killer are people too/If you take away their voices, I'm just like you/I'll hack you up and bury you in my yard/But why does making friends have to be so very hard?" All this comes from a sweet-voiced girl. Thank God there's One-Eyed Doll, now that Be Your Own Pet has broken up. I need a teenage girl serial killer in my life.


Crocodiles
The band comes from San Diego. They first came to the attention of the music world with their single "Neon Jesus," released last year. Now they have an excellent full-length called Summer of Hate coming up at the end of this month, which has given them a bit of exposure among the blog world (they've been called a Band to Watch by Stereogum and Stark Magazine). Maybe they are yet another group that sounds like Jesus and Mary Chain and Velvet Underground, but frankly, there's a reason so many bands mimic that sound and the Crocodiles do a fantastic job of it.


Voxtrot
They are an indie group formed in 2002 by Ramesh Srivastata in Austin, Texas (which we know is home to the weird). The group has gotten a fair amount of attention from the internet (Pitchfork, in particular, loved their first two EPs and then panned their debut LP but what do you expect?). They still need to record a follow-up to their debut. They definitely have the talent to break through to the mainstream (at least the indie mainstream).


Orchestral Manoeuvers in the Dark
This synth-pop group was formed back in the late-70s in Liverpool, so they were really playing with synths before that became a big (annoying) thing. They were originally part of the same scene that produced Echo & the Bunnymen and Frankie Goes to Hollywood. They are one of the few groups to actually have more success in the US than in the UK (they hit number four in the States with "If You Leave" off the Pretty in Pink soundtrack), although they had perhaps the most success of all in Germany, where their single "Maiden of Orleans" was enormously successful. The original band broke up in 1996 and then re-formed three years ago. Their 1984 single "Tesla Girls" is (I'm guessing here) the inspiration for Tesla Boy, whom I profiled last week. But despite all their success, I think it's fair to say that they have been frequently overlooked when discussing the most popular/best/most influential bands of the '80s. I, for one, did not know anything about them before writing this article.


The Love Language
This indie group comes from Raleigh, North Carolina. Much like previously profiled The City and Horses, The Love Language was created out of a rather painful breakup between singer/songwriter Stuart McLamb and his then-girlfriend. How painful exactly? McLamb told Spin,

When I came to, I was in a friend's apartment in handcuffs with my ankles bound, not knowing how I got there.

The group was originally just McLamb, but now contains seven members. Love Language was recently profiled on NPR, giving them exposure among suburban housewives everywhere. They also received a nice-sized article in a recent issue of Spin, who named them a "Hot New Band." The future looks bright for McLamb, who has a musical philosophy that I like a lot:

"I'm a real lo-fi junkie," he says. "I like the [Band's] Big Pink philosophy -- you should have a dog on the floor of a basement while you're recording. That's where the best stuff happens."

Hum
Let's let Allmusic introduce the band:

Endless feedback, a heavenly drone, and an obsession with science and outer space: these three elements perhaps most define the beautiful style that has become the trademark of the unmatchable Hum.

Groups with space fascinations (Sun Ra Arkestra, Dr. Octagon) are always great. Hum was formed in 1989 in my home state of Illinois. In their prime they toured with the Jesus Lizard, Liz Phair and the Smashing Pumpkins. They recorded their first demo in the basement of legendary producer Steve Albini. Hum had some success with the single "Stars" off their major label debut, You'd Prefer an Astronaut in 1995. They even appeared on Beavis and Butthead, as well as on Howard Stern's show. They broke up in 2000, but have recently played a handful of reunion shows in the Chicago area.


Rumspringa
Rumspirnga means "adolescence" in Amish. I never knew that Amish had its own language, but apparently it does. The group comes from the LA-area. They describe their influences as being a mixture of Skip James, Creedence and Chicha:

psychedelic Peruvian music that came around the 60s and also the local alcoholic beverage derived from corn which the Peruvians drank.

Read that whole interview because it's pretty hilarious. And check out the video below, suppposedly directed by Shia Labeouf (do you really expect me to believe Shia Labeouf has the balls to do this? If it's true, I guess I just gained a dose of respect for the man)


Bellman Barker
Bellman Barker comes from the DC area. Their singer has a mustache, which is always a plus. And their name comes from "a book about circuses." Here are their commendable plans for the future:

Recording a full-length, tour, get filthy rich and famous, see our faces all over PerezHilton, drug addiction, rehab, jail stints, flashing our genitals to the paparazzi while getting in our cars, etc.

They look like a fun group and I look forward to that debut full-length.


As for the picture up top, that's from Blue Velvet, my favorite David Lynch film. I was looking for the picture in which Isabella Rossellini is straight-up naked, but couldn't find it. That scene ranks with the one in The Shining with the girl in the bathtub as Most Terrifying/Gross Scene with a Beautiful Naked Lady.

Jay Cutler to Bears

Woo hoo! Forget that the Bears gave up two first round picks. Forget that their two best receivers are an ex-kick returner and an ex-Arena Leaguer. For once in my lifetime (and the lifetimes of any Bears fan younger than sixty), the Bears have a real quarterback. Sure, he may be a bit of a drama queen, but he sure as hell beats Orton, Grossman, and whatever other street-people/village idiots have passed as Bears quarterbacks over the years (I'm looking at you, Cade McNown). I don't know what the result is going to be, but I know that at least my Chicago sports teams have finally made some much needed changes this year. The Cubs got the bat they needed for the playoffs (Bradley, so long as he doesn't get in another brawl with an umpire), the Bulls got the best player they've had since Jordan (Rose, so long as he isn't ruined by Del Negro), the Blackhawks did something (I really have no idea what, but they are good this year) and the Bears got a real quarterback.
(Sun-Times)