It rocks! Kicks Asses!It's the new video from Stereo Total! Actually, I prefer themusic to the visuals, but I love to quote that line, which comes from the band (and yes, Asses is meant to be capitalized)...Endnote: Click here for my review of Paris <-> Berlin, whichwas released by Kill Rock Stars last Tuesday. Video from YouTube.
Travels With Jerry (and Zach)Flugente, self-titled, Mootron Records [9/18/07]It's not fashionable to sing about the government or politics.-- Flugente, "It's a Modern World"*****The solo debut from Brooklyn's Jerry Adler (The Blam) documents a trip through Europe. The troubadour-orientedsongs reference Holland, Germany, France, Italy, and Spain.It isn't bad—obligatory reference to Van Gogh aside ("I could cut my ear off")—and Adler [left] has the right kind of voice for that whole talk-sing thing—like Dylan with clearer nasal passages—butI get the same feeling from this release as I do most live albums.When they're good, I tend to think, "Wish I'd bee
The Seven Percent ProblemI've been collecting quotes and articles about the dearth of female directors in America and Britain for almost a year now. These pieces say what needs to be said, so I'll just add one thing: If this is something that concerns you, support these filmmakers whenever you can.This has nothing to do with pity. If you don't like a woman's work, there's no reason to feel obligated, but if you enjoy their efforts, don't wait until her film appears on DVD. See it in the theater—on opening weekend. Barring that, don't rent the film—buy it.These may seem like small gestures, but they do make adifference. Me and you and everyone we know
Margarita MUSICLets go to Mexico and drink margaritas.-- Bitter:Sweet, "Dirty Laundry"Bitter:Sweet, The Remix Game, Quango [8/7/07]The remix version of Bitter:Sweet's The Mating Game seems custom-made for high-end bars and boutiques. It's hard not to like, but there isn't much foreground action going on here—it'sthe epitome of background music. Not, as Jerry Seinfeld might say, that there's anything wrong with that. I'm a big fan of Air's Moon Safari, and I can't begin to count the number of times I've encountered that album in commercials, movies, even trailers, like Sidney Lumet's Before the Devil Knows You're Dead.I'm sure Moon Safari gets alot of
Dead End Kids on a Leaky BoatDon't talk to me about naval tradition. It's nothing but rum, sodomy and the lash.-- Winston ChurchillHave you heard of the Pogues? They're like a drunk Clancy Brothers. They, like drink during the session as opposed to after the session. They're like Dead End Kids on a leaky boat. That Treasure Island kind of decadence. There's something really nice about them.-- Tom Waits on his new favorite band***** Waits on Rum, Sodomy & the Lash:Their music is likethe brandy of the damnedPogue Mahonethey are the lastpure heartsfrom Dickens, Joyce, Dylan Thomasto Christy Moorelike Red Diamonds,Pirates, full of malarkeythey're litt
Gangs of New YorkPaul Simon, Songs From the Capeman, Warner Bros. [1997/2004]I don't care if I burn; my mother can watch.-- Nelson Agron (1959)My dad sent me a copy of this CD as he thought I might find it of interest. Though I was a fan of Simon and Garfunkel back in the 1960s, particularly Bookends and Bridge Over Trouble Water, I haven't paid much attention to them since, with the exception of Garfunkel's short-lived acting career (notably Carnal Knowledge, Catch-22, and Nicolas Roeg's Bad Timing) and the stray solo track, like Simon's sing-a-long favorites "Kodachrome" and "Me and Julio Down by the Schoolyard," which was brilliantly reinvented in
Ten is the Magic NumberFrom Merge's description of the new Spoon album:It's worth pointing out that Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga is comprised of ten songs, the perfect number of songs for an album (see Fulfillingness' First Finale, Seventeen Seconds, Back In Black, The Queen Is Dead, The Charm of the Highway Strip, Nebraska, Nashville Skyline, Heroes, Unknown Pleasures, The Violent Femmes, The Woods, Sticky Fingers, etc.). We’ve also got it on good authority that 36 minutes is the ideal album length.I love declarative statements like this, but tend to avoid making them myself—they're too easy to pick apart. I mean, the author makes a good point. There's nothing mor
What's Goin' On (The Good, the Not-So-Good and the Irritating)Chili Jackson, self-titled EP, Conscious RecordsChili Jackson is the indie version of Quiet Storm. Produced by Jonathan Plum (Pearl Jam, Alice in Chains),he isn't slick, but nor is he edgy (the AMG classifies his work as Easy Listening).Adam Zwig's label is called Conscious Records, and this Portland bassist/singer's soul-pop plays like nursery rhymes with a social conscience—"Why do these things go on / Why do they happen" and "She's my girl / And I wouldn't give her up for the world"—but his voice is too flat for the music he's trying to make.Maybe he just needs more experience, maybe a f
Soul Shakedown PartyBob Marley & the Wailers, Roots, Rock, Remixed, Tuff Gong/rockr Music [7/24/07]Though the remix album remains a popular concept,it hasn't become a science.It's still an art. Some music works better as the foundation of remixes than others. Some producers are better at reinventing that raw material than others.Here's the thing: If the remix is too similar to the original, it becomes superfluous. If the remix is too different, the original gets lost. The best producers find a happy medium between the two.My favorite example is Felix da Housecat's version of Nina Simone's "Sinnerman." There's a reason this mix is everywhere—on the
Bummer in the SummerAll alone on the bone when I didn't have a home When I saw the way I was and I knew where I was supposed to beI was twitchin' so I turned and it's really hard to learn That everyone I saw was just another part of me.-- Arthur Lee, "Bummer in the Summer," Forever Changes (1967)These are the reviewsand other assignmentsI'm working on this month.Amazon CDs: Sara Bareilles - LittleVoice and Lifehouse - Who We Are.Amazon DVDs: The Flying Scotsman (Jonny Lee Miller ona bicycle), Wild Tigers I Have Known, Black Book (Verhoevenis back—and van Houten's got him), A Crude Awakening, andFull House - The Complete Seventh Season [six-disc set].A
Around the World in a DayDie! Die! Die!, self-titled, S.A.F. Records [8/3/07]I never told the truthHow can I tell a lie.-- Die! Die! Die!, "Auckland Is Burning"Their name indicates the sounds this Dunedin threesome are putting down, i.e. loud, fast, and aggressive. Fortunately, you can add melodic to that list. (Noise without structure is just...noise.)Recorded and mixed by Steve Albini, Die! Die! Die! don't recall many other NZ bands, not even those they cite as influences: the Clean, the Gordons, the DoubleHappys, and Bailter Space. Until I read otherwise, I assumed they were from the US or Canada.Their bio adds that the young trio has already opene
