This news bummed me out:
Musician Vic Chesnutt Dies
Saturday, December 26, 2009
10 of the Coolest Occurences in the Year 2009, Part One
Chunklet.com is easily the best musical website on the internet and they recently posted their 20 Most Surreal/Ironic/Hilarious Moments of 2009.
Chunklet started out as a pretty stellar music zine, based outta the Athens, Georgia area.
I'm going to steal their year-ender idea and simplify it into my 20 coolest parts of 2009.
Here's part one, look out for part 2 the next couple days.
10 Kool Things:
1. Reading everything I could find by Lester Bangs, the best music critic I've ever stumbled across.
2. Watching Inglorious Basterds, Big Fan, and A Serious Man, my three favorite films of the year, in that order.
3. Getting annihilated by Dan Deacon at his performance in Pawtucket, RI, at Machines with Magnets, with a big group of friends. Guest appearances by White Mice, The What Cheer? Brigade, and fire made the night pretty nuts.
4. Buying The Jesus and Mary Chain's Honey is Dead (above) and The Vaselines' The Way of the Vaselines: A Complete History, both on cassette at Turn it Up! Records in Northampton.
The Jesus and Mary Chain - Reverence
5. Moshing at Dinosaur Jr at the Middle East in Boston with my friend Corey.
6. Purchasing The Sonics' Here are the Sonics and Blue Cheer's Vincebus Eruptum on vinyl at Mystery Train Records in Amherst. RIP Dickie Peterson.
7. Smashing my head to Lightning Bolt TWICE, once at UMass-Amherst, once in Providence.
8. Watching Jersey Shore, Curb Your Enthusiasm, and Lost, my top three television shows of 2009, in that order.
9. Chugging a Yaeger Bomb after the Bulls-Celtics Game 6 went into triple OT. During the first OT I promised my friend Chris I would throw down said drink if we went into triple OT. Best NBA series I've ever seen.
Here's a picture of Kevin Garnett almost committing murder:
10. Enjoying WMUA-hosted concerts: Parts and Labor at the Blue Wall and Lightning Bolt with a buncha other grand bands at the Chaos First Fest. God Bless College Radio.
Jersey Shore Stripper - I Think We Have a Situation
The single greatest reality television program of all-time, MTV's Jersey Shore, has given us some of the most inspirational entertainment of this century.
Now there's footage of Mike "The Situation" as a stripper before his days on Jersey Shore.
New Rule: I will only post TMZ reports relating to Jersey Shore.
Voyeurism has never felt so greasy!
Sunday, December 20, 2009
The Christmas Crap Continued: Screaming Females Live
Cokemachineglow.com has some of the best music journalism around. Their year-end awards are right-on and hilarious. They don't take themselves too seriously.
Here's a video they put up of the Screaming Females pulling off "Bell" live on some MTV channel.
Follow that up with the legendary MTV clip of a high-as-hell Beck getting the interview treatment from Thurston Moore. Mike D guest stars.
Here's a video they put up of the Screaming Females pulling off "Bell" live on some MTV channel.
Follow that up with the legendary MTV clip of a high-as-hell Beck getting the interview treatment from Thurston Moore. Mike D guest stars.
Deerhunter Live at McCarren Park 8-3-2008
Dear Bradford Cox,
I attended your gig with Deerhunter at AS220 in Providence, RI, in July 2007. That was the summer after Cryptograms dropped and boy that ambient kraut-rock weirdness made an indentation on my fragile, sophomore-in-college brain. That record and Person Pitch collectively lit my consciousness on fire more than any other stimuli I came in contact with that year. But that concert was a messy mess, Mr. Cox. You came out babbling about Brown University, Pitchfork, and demanding more alcohol, while your band looped the music to Cryptograms, in hopes that you would FOCUS and start playing that damn song. I watched you barf up a couple drinks, smash the ceiling with your mic stand, and make out with one of the guitarists. I had to pee, and when I was finishing up at the urination station I could've sworn your guitarist was next to me. The exchange: "Hey, dude, umm, why aren't you on stage?"
"We had some sound problems and had to end early."
Twenty minutes of drunk Bradford Cox and that was the night. So, Mr. Cox, I was annoyed with you. Until this morning, when I stumbled across this On Demand on Comcast cable:
Watch the full concert at baeblemusic.com
There's a couple feet of snow on the ground, I'm stranded in my house on my only day off of the week, and I hate snow. I hate snow.
In conclusion, Mr. Cox, I am not annoyed with you anymore. I forgive you!
Happy Holidayze!
Set List:
Calvary Scans
Never Stops
Spring Hall Concert/Hazel Street
Nothing Ever Happened
Fluorescent Grey
Operation
Saved By The Old Times
I attended your gig with Deerhunter at AS220 in Providence, RI, in July 2007. That was the summer after Cryptograms dropped and boy that ambient kraut-rock weirdness made an indentation on my fragile, sophomore-in-college brain. That record and Person Pitch collectively lit my consciousness on fire more than any other stimuli I came in contact with that year. But that concert was a messy mess, Mr. Cox. You came out babbling about Brown University, Pitchfork, and demanding more alcohol, while your band looped the music to Cryptograms, in hopes that you would FOCUS and start playing that damn song. I watched you barf up a couple drinks, smash the ceiling with your mic stand, and make out with one of the guitarists. I had to pee, and when I was finishing up at the urination station I could've sworn your guitarist was next to me. The exchange: "Hey, dude, umm, why aren't you on stage?"
"We had some sound problems and had to end early."
Twenty minutes of drunk Bradford Cox and that was the night. So, Mr. Cox, I was annoyed with you. Until this morning, when I stumbled across this On Demand on Comcast cable:
Watch the full concert at baeblemusic.com
There's a couple feet of snow on the ground, I'm stranded in my house on my only day off of the week, and I hate snow. I hate snow.
In conclusion, Mr. Cox, I am not annoyed with you anymore. I forgive you!
Happy Holidayze!
Set List:
Calvary Scans
Never Stops
Spring Hall Concert/Hazel Street
Nothing Ever Happened
Fluorescent Grey
Operation
Saved By The Old Times
Thursday, December 17, 2009
SNL Sketch Makes Funny Social Commentary
SNL made a point about the awful media coverage of the Tiger Woods scandal.
Jason Whitlock gives his always intelligent insight on sports, sex, and race.
Jason Whitlock gives his always intelligent insight on sports, sex, and race.
Monday, December 14, 2009
A Few Reasons Why I Love Providence
If you aren't from the greater Providence, RI, area, you might not be aware of the recent law legislators passed banning indoor prostitution from the great capitol city.
Yep, that's right: if you wanted to pay for sex, Providence and parts of Nevada were, for years, the only places in the country where legally, anything could happen.
Providence's strip clubs were popular among the rich and famous, including Mo Vaughn, Danny DeVito (totally unconfirmed rumor), Dennis Haskins (Saved by the Bell, probably true) and Robert De Niro (also unconfirmed).
Plus a lot of skeezy people from New England spent lots of paychecks in Providence.
The economy is in the shitter of this great town. I think we just lost another chunk of income.
Not to be forgotten in the whole ordeal, our beloved New England Patriot's mascot was caught in a prostitution ring, getting screwed over for the new regulations.
Tuesday, December 8, 2009
Five More Records You Should Hear From The Year 2009
I can't think of an underlying thread that exists between these five records besides the fact that they were released between January 1, 2009 and December 8, 2009.
And so this wraps up my twenty favorite records of the year countdown, cut from twenty-five because I can't think of anything else makes the list that I can post without feeling like a booger. Read here, here, and here to see my other fifteen. Thanks for reading and big ups to largeheartedboy for linking to my crucial commentary on the past year in music.
Last Five Records:
Beirut: Mark of the Zapotec - Pompeii Records
Casiotone for the Painfully Alone: Vs. Children - Tomlab Records
Handsome Furs: Face Control - Sub Pop Records
Jeffrey Lewis and the Junkyard: Em Are I - Rough Trade Records
The Thermals: Now We Can See - Kill Rock Stars Records
And so this wraps up my twenty favorite records of the year countdown, cut from twenty-five because I can't think of anything else makes the list that I can post without feeling like a booger. Read here, here, and here to see my other fifteen. Thanks for reading and big ups to largeheartedboy for linking to my crucial commentary on the past year in music.
Last Five Records:
Beirut: Mark of the Zapotec - Pompeii Records
Casiotone for the Painfully Alone: Vs. Children - Tomlab Records
Handsome Furs: Face Control - Sub Pop Records
Jeffrey Lewis and the Junkyard: Em Are I - Rough Trade Records
The Thermals: Now We Can See - Kill Rock Stars Records
Jeff Mangum Gets Jiggy With It
Neutral Milk Hotel's Jeff Mangum Returns With Chris Knox Cover
Merge Records, you sly dogs. You reissue the Neutral Milk Hotel Records on 180 gram, post mysterious video footage of the Elephant Six legends on your blog (watch below), and now a new tune!!! Plus, it's a cover of Chrix Knox, a very cool New Zealand musician who helped spawn one the better punk rock scenes of the 1980's.
Merge Records, are you hinting that something unbelievable might be happening soon?
Look, I don't feel like Jeff Mangum owes us a Neutral Milk Hotel reunion. Sometimes music this pure and brilliant is only captured for a couple years and then disappears. Mr. Mangum almost had a nervous breakdown from the attention his deeply personal musical explorations received. He turned down Michael Stipe's offer to open for R.E.M.
But if he does one day get the group back together, and they have any type of performance, I'll crush anything that stands in my way to get there.
In the meantime, let's enjoy this recently released live footage and please, fucking stop singing Holland, 1945 at every faux-hipster party.
April 8th
Two-Headed Boy
The Fool
King of Carrot Flowers Pts 2 & 3
Oh Comely
Merge Records, you sly dogs. You reissue the Neutral Milk Hotel Records on 180 gram, post mysterious video footage of the Elephant Six legends on your blog (watch below), and now a new tune!!! Plus, it's a cover of Chrix Knox, a very cool New Zealand musician who helped spawn one the better punk rock scenes of the 1980's.
Merge Records, are you hinting that something unbelievable might be happening soon?
Look, I don't feel like Jeff Mangum owes us a Neutral Milk Hotel reunion. Sometimes music this pure and brilliant is only captured for a couple years and then disappears. Mr. Mangum almost had a nervous breakdown from the attention his deeply personal musical explorations received. He turned down Michael Stipe's offer to open for R.E.M.
But if he does one day get the group back together, and they have any type of performance, I'll crush anything that stands in my way to get there.
In the meantime, let's enjoy this recently released live footage and please, fucking stop singing Holland, 1945 at every faux-hipster party.
April 8th
Two-Headed Boy
The Fool
King of Carrot Flowers Pts 2 & 3
Oh Comely
Tiger Tiger Woods, Ya'll
Dear Tiger Woods,
Thanks for providing fodder to the American people for the past two weeks and beyond. The Michael Jackson death story recently, well, died. Now we're rolling again.
You da man Tiger. You da MAN.
Love,
The American Media
(Via Bestweekever.tv)
Thanks for providing fodder to the American people for the past two weeks and beyond. The Michael Jackson death story recently, well, died. Now we're rolling again.
You da man Tiger. You da MAN.
Love,
The American Media
(Via Bestweekever.tv)
Sonic Youth Tell the Story of the Chode
Sonic Youth - Dirty Boots
Sonic Youth - Bull in the Heather (Featuring Kathleen Hanna from Bikini Kill, Dancing on Thurston Moore's wiener)
Sonic Youth - Bull in the Heather (Featuring Kathleen Hanna from Bikini Kill, Dancing on Thurston Moore's wiener)
Monday, December 7, 2009
Sunday, December 6, 2009
Thursday, December 3, 2009
Best Driving Around Music: 2009 Version
Recap: So far my top records of the 2009 countdown has slapped you with my favorite rock dinosaurs and the rookies of the year.
Now, feast your eyes on my favorite five albums I blasted in 2009 while driving around in my killer blue 95 Dodge Caravan.
Atlas Sound: Logos - Kranky/4AD
Circulatory System: Signal Morning - Cloud Recordings
Dan Deacon: Bromst - Carpark Records
Jeremy Jay: Slow Dance - K Records
Sunset Rubdown: Dragonslayer - Jagjaguwar Records
Wednesday, December 2, 2009
Five Rookies from the Year 2009
Monday I brought you the top five records by old farts circa 2009.
Here are my Rookies of the Year, or, five bands that debuted their music in 2009 that I enjoyed and you should check out:
The Pains of Being Pure at Heart: S/T - Slumberland Records
Nobunny: Love Visions - 1234! Go! Records
The Strange Boys: And Girls Club - In the Red Records
Freddie Gibbs: MIDWESTGANGSTABOXFRAMECADILLACMUZIK - Self-Released Mixtape
Hornet Leg: Ribbon of Fear - K Records
Tuesday, December 1, 2009
Magnetic Fields Announce New Album
The Magnetic Fields announced they have a new record coming out early January, called Realism. Cover art found above. Their last album, Distortion, was one of my favorites of 2008.
Hit this link if you want to hear some good covers, and originals, from the Magnetic Fields, including an excellent version of "Take Ecstasy With Me" by !!!.
Why I Missed The Latest Pixies Reunion
The Pixies are currently touring behind their 1989 release Doolittle, personally my favorite record by the band. Alas, I refuse to see them on this tour, or any future tours for that matter, and here's a couple reasons why:
1. I saw the documentary, loudQUIETloud, filmed while the Pixies were on their first reunion tour. I cannot think of a more depressing movie about music. It beats out Dig! Drummer David Lovering comes across as a very sad drug-addicted bastard, Kim Deal and Frank Black still despise each other, and Jose Santiago is pissed that he has to deal with these three nitwits. It's clear from minute number one that the only reason they're touring again is to make some money. Of course, they hadn't made any in their original incarnation and were all kinda broke before they got back together. I found this is as an acceptable consequence of what occurs in the commercial music business and didn't care about the selling-out aspect. It was more depressing how money degraded the band's dynamic into an episode of the Real World/Road Rules challenge. After seeing loudQUIETloud, I had an image in my mind of the Pixies as some of the saddest people ever invented.
2. Then I saw Kim Deal perform with The Breeders and she was happy and goofy the entire performance. Making it much more obvious how much she hates Frank Black. I like Kim Deal after seeing her play in The Breeders. Frank Black, the jury is still out on that bald guy.
3. At 50$ a pop, in this battered economy, that seems a tad steep.
OK, so I AM jealous of the people who saw the Pixies, they are a cool band. I'll contradict myself. Most of the reason I didn't see them lies in answer #3. Still, that movie is an embarrassment. Don't see it, it'll make you hate the Pixies a little.
Here is a video of them performing Debaser (Via An Uncontrollable Urge):
Also, check out An Uncontrollable Urge interview The Soft Pack (formerly known as The Muslims)
1. I saw the documentary, loudQUIETloud, filmed while the Pixies were on their first reunion tour. I cannot think of a more depressing movie about music. It beats out Dig! Drummer David Lovering comes across as a very sad drug-addicted bastard, Kim Deal and Frank Black still despise each other, and Jose Santiago is pissed that he has to deal with these three nitwits. It's clear from minute number one that the only reason they're touring again is to make some money. Of course, they hadn't made any in their original incarnation and were all kinda broke before they got back together. I found this is as an acceptable consequence of what occurs in the commercial music business and didn't care about the selling-out aspect. It was more depressing how money degraded the band's dynamic into an episode of the Real World/Road Rules challenge. After seeing loudQUIETloud, I had an image in my mind of the Pixies as some of the saddest people ever invented.
2. Then I saw Kim Deal perform with The Breeders and she was happy and goofy the entire performance. Making it much more obvious how much she hates Frank Black. I like Kim Deal after seeing her play in The Breeders. Frank Black, the jury is still out on that bald guy.
3. At 50$ a pop, in this battered economy, that seems a tad steep.
OK, so I AM jealous of the people who saw the Pixies, they are a cool band. I'll contradict myself. Most of the reason I didn't see them lies in answer #3. Still, that movie is an embarrassment. Don't see it, it'll make you hate the Pixies a little.
Here is a video of them performing Debaser (Via An Uncontrollable Urge):
Also, check out An Uncontrollable Urge interview The Soft Pack (formerly known as The Muslims)
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