It's Ace's Birthday!

Happy Birthday, Ace.

What a long strange trip it's been.

Mannequin Men recorded the new single for HoZac this weekend and came out with two good 'uns. Can't post em yet, until the 7" comes out, but when things get pressed, i'll throw some digital copies up here. Email me if you want to hear it and i'll send it along.

!!!

Shrimpss - 2 New Songs

1. Song
2. Beach Towel

I'm really really quite fond of these two. We worked hard at getting things to sound a little different on these and we're finding out that we might actually have something cohesive working. Pretty cool actually. I like making music with those dudes.

Still couldn't talk Lust into singing but his drum tracks are incredible.

shrimpss

Have to say it again...

Just have to say that You and Me on a Jamboree is the BEST blog site I have ever been to for any music, and luckily enough for me (and you) that music is Reggae.

Totally comprehensive and awesome, I want to encourage you all to check it out on a sunny day like today.

Main site for You and Me on a Jamboree
Reggae in the Grass

Dukes of the Stratosphear - 25 O' Clock EP

As you might be able to guess from the truly fucked up cover art, this one is kinda psyched out. It's real good and upon repeated listens keeps getting better. This is Andy Partridge and the XTC kids trying to figure out how to put out weirder records. The answer, as we all discover eventually, is to make up a fake band and release the shit. This band is quite a bit better than your average side-project, and there is some really worthwhile stuff on this EP, which is how it wound up on this here blog.

I've always been a fan of the XTC stuff that leaned a little closer to this direction so this is an obvious choice for me. Hopefully, for you XTC haters out there (and there shouldn't be any) this will convince you of the fact that they were a truly great band and a band that's prowess in rock n' roll cannot be denied.

You like Floyd, right? Then get this shit and shut up about how much you hate Drums and Wires (even though it rules).

Dukes of the Stratosphear

Kevin Ayers - Bananamour

I know, I know...It's been a while.
I'm sorry.

Work has been kicking my ass, and I've been busy as hell.

I figured I'd throw this up here because I really can't stop listening to it.
I play 'Shouting In a Bucket Blues' for anyone who will listen to it, and I kept playing 'Decadence' on repeat on the drive home from Los Angeles.

There's something about Kevin Ayers that I didn't quite pick up at first. Now it's dripping from my chin and I can't get enough of the guy. Great guitar playing and a totally unique voice (both literally and stylistically) combine for a real strange musical experience. I know the word 'genius' gets thrown around a lot at people like Bobby Conn and Devendra Banhart and the like, but if you really wanna get to the root, try Ayers on for size.

Here ya go, dorks.

Bananamour

Currently-March 24, 2009

Been writing a ton of new shit lately with the boys and I'm pretty sure that it has something to do with listening to a TON of new things. Trying to figure out a little bit of a new angle to work things from and getting into some albums that have previously eluded me. I think I'm learning that the key is to temper the weird shit with a little bit of obviousness. Look dumb and play smart, if you will. Here's some songs that have been particularly interesting to me in these past few weeks. Come out on Wednesday and hear how much I rip em' off.

The Bats-Made Up In Blue

-I put these EPs up a while ago and not nearly enough people downloaded them. They're incredible in their simplicity and concurrently how that simplicity piggybacks how hard the songs are to play. The rhythms played in this tune specifically sound rather simple (and are, kinda) but the way everything is woven is truly brilliant. Something I try to constantly copy and can never pull off.

Can-Sing Swan Song

-This came on in the van on the ride home from Iowa and I realized how modern this song is. It sounds like it should be the new Devendra Banhart single. That's no dis on Can, but when you think about it, they really do sound similar. Can is such a strange strange band, and one that I didn't get into until very recently. Their ability to weave songs in and out of genre while still sounding like the same band is incredible and something I admire a great deal.

Kevin Ayers-Shouting In a Bucket Blues

-My old boss, Joe, turned me onto Kevin Ayers and I hated it at the time. As I got older, the nonchalant nature of his recordings really struck me. A virtuoso indeed, the guitar playing on here is hilariously bombastic yet still tasteful. The lyrics are by far what hits me hardest with Kevin's stuff. The opening line of "Sometimes I get too drunk and feel so goddamned low..." is so plaintiff that it almost goes unnoticed. I listen to this song at least once a day and will continue to until I start the cohabitation that is on the horizon. The most "male" song I have heard that has absolutely no masculine qualities.

Harlem-Psychedelic Tits

-This is one of the obvious "garage" records I just can't stop listening to. This fucking kid can SING. The Black Lips wish they were still this good, and Harlem wishes they started the trend cos they'd likely be rich. We can't always get what we want, folks. Again, fantastic lyrics about, what I'm guessing, is sex on hallucinogens. The way the chorus decays is radical and propels this seemingly simple song into one that I'm sure I will be able to place in my life when I'm older.

The Clash-Something About England

-What a bizarre fucking song. Can't believe that this is the same band that wrote 'Janie Jones'. The Clash has made a HUGE reintroduction to my listening pile. When the snare cuts in with the hi-hats at the end of the first "verse" it is incredible. They made the political lyrics palatable and made the goofy ones important, the way a band is supposed to pull it off. Mick Jones is a fucking genius and his harmonies are something that should be mocked. Honestly, please, kids, I'll never smite you for mimicking the Clash.
No one will.

The Zeros-Rico Amour

-Not much to say about this song, but somehow it keeps coming back to me so I figured I'd put it up and see what you guys thought about it. The cadence of this song is just perfect. Steady, lumberingly fast, and delivered very articulately. This is the kind of stuff I always loved about punk. Songs about nothing, the embrace that fact.


Narrator-Wolves In the Walls

-One of the best songs that a friend of mine has ever written. Any friend, any band, any time, this song speaks louder than it could have possibly been intended to. The delivery on the vocal is magic, and totally encapsulates how I would expect Sam to speak to himself in his head. Aside from that, everything sounds like it is passing through the other notes. There's nothing to hold onto until the second verse and then you are offered some beds of notes and nothing more. It reminds me of people who have no association with the song. I hope that one day I put together something that can come close to matching how important this song feels.

The Clean-Whatever I Do It's Right

-The bass in the intro is enough to make you cream your Levi's, but what really dominates this song is the vocal's dance with the drums. The Clean got so much of the simple shit right that it is frustrating. Verse, verse, verse, bridge, verse. The songs aren't following shit, they're just being played. The feel of these songs is something that makes my face hot with envy, must be something in the water in NZ.


My Current Temp

Blackout Fest, Athens, Ohio April 16-19 2009

Well, we finally got asked to play Blackout Fest in Ohio, but we aren't able to do it since it's a Thursday and we have to pretend that we are big boys with real lives. Kinda a drag. The bill seems like a true ripper, and we would have had the chance to re-match Times New Viking which woulda been fun. It's a seven and a half hour drive without stopping which means eight and a half or nine if you're us, and I would have to be back by six Friday. Not happening. Either way, Blackout Fest is one of the cooler festivals that happen across the U.S. on a regular basis, and if I'm not mistaken they've had at least ten of 'em, maybe more.
One of the bands that I was most excited about playing with, a band we shared the stage with in Columbus, that I'm pretty sure didn't like us, the Guinea Worms. Great stuff, but you could tell they thought we were posers. Whatever. Here's a song of theirs since I don't want to put up their recordings and cheat them outta scrilla. Hilarious song title.