Where have you been Zack de la Rocha? The world’s falling apart around us, and you’re nowhere to be seen. Yeah you’ve played some shows with Rage, but that just doesn’t cut it - we need to know what you’re thoughts on our present situation. The explanation for the band’s name might help explain Zack’s approach to music:
“The name taken from the infamous 1970 black and white, captured by legendary Chicano photographer George Rodriquez featuring a center framed tag on a white wall in an unspecified section of Boyle Heights. It reads: ‘It’s better to live one day as a lion, than a thousand years as a lamb.’ This record is a stripped down attempt to realize this sentiment in sound.”
This sentiment is alive in the difference between Zack’s post Rage Against the Machine career and the rest of the band. From what I can see Audio Slave is nothing but a productive lamb, yet Zack’s presumed silence keeps him the stalking lion waiting to unleash. To be fair though, at some point it does become more about what you accomplish than merely speak about. With that say hello to One Day As a Lion.
One Day As a Lion is still a bit of a mystery, but “Wild International” motions towards a sparser, more electronic Rage Against the Machine with distorted keys, popping drums and of course an attack of syllables. We’ll keep you posted on any potential shows coming up. Right now you can only hear “Wild International” on their Myspace page, but the EP is out today so go buy it.
I can grasp the frustration of anyone that comes out of a manically organized O.C. suburbia like Irvine. With 2/4 of the members of Bodies of Water claiming Irvine, CA as their hometown, that innate frustration of growing up as an upper middle class youth is completely tangible to me. I use to hold a grudge against Bodies of Water for their lambasting of some esteemed artists like Jeff Buckley and Joni Mitchell. Luckily my ill will has lapsed and I am able to enthusiastically welcome the new Bodies of Water record, A Certain Feeling, with all of its jazzy, stoney, 90s, rock jam goodness. For me the opening track off of A Certain Feeling falls somewhere between a balls out snow ball fight and some long winded south swell surf session. In other words, its as fun as it is epic, as bright as it is cool. Check it out below.
Later this month Takka Takka’s sophomore album, Migration, is being released, an album that out runs the sophomore slump with the power of re-invention. While We Feel Safer At Night embraced acoustic guitars, Lou Reed talk-singing and straightfoward rhythms, Migration focuses on more subtle nuances in muted guitars, hushed recording and more complex rhythms. Both albums have a deep New York center, they just approach the music with different decades of influence.
“Everybody Say” is a good representation of the album as a whole. The song is subdued on all fronts. A muted guitar acts more as a rhythm line, and Gabe’s vocals sound like melodic speaking. The song refuses to build - content with it’s single frequency delivery. Yet, there’s nowhere it needs to go, because it’s completely hypnotic and soothing as it is.
07-15 – New York, NY @ Pianos (Record Release Residency) 07-22 – New York, NY @ Pianos (Record Release Residency) 07-24 – Chicago, IL @ Daytrotter Session! 07-25 – Chicago, IL @ Shubas 07-26 – Madison, WI @ The Frequency - Madison 07-29 – New York, NY @ Pianos (Record Release Residency)
A lot of people loved them and a lot of people got tired of them. Come this September, the Cold War Kids are going to try and strengthen the testimony of their followers or convert the nonbelievers with their sophomore release Loyalty to Loyalty. Though the Cold War Kids were one of my favorite local, LA-based acts of 2006, I find myself in need of some convincing that their new album will be “something of a masterpiece…brimming with the poignant, intimate narratives and brooding atmospherics”, as their press release states. I am hopeful though after I heard this little snippet from the upcoming album:
Loyalty to Loyalty tracklisting:
1. Against Privacy
2. Mexican Dogs
3. Every Valley Is Not A Lake
4. Something Is Not Right With Me
5. Welcome To The Occupation
6. Golden Gate Jumpers
7. Avalanche in B
8. I’ve Seen Enough
9. Every Man I Fall For
10. Dreams Old Men Dream
11. On The Night My Love Broke Through
12. Relief
13. Cryptomnesia
Dates in Full:
08/22/08 Outside Lands Festival, San Francisco, CA
08/23/08 Sunset Junction Festival, Los Angeles, CA
08/24/08 Les Schwab Amp, Bend, OR
09/20/08 Street Scene, San Diego, CA
09/27/08 Wonder Ballroom, Portland, OR
09/28/08 Richards on Richards, Vancouver, Canada
09/29/08 The Showbox at the Market, Seattle, WA
10/01/08 The Neurolux, Boise, ID
10/02/08 In The Venue, Salt Lake City, UT
10/03/08 Boulder Theatre, Boulder, CO
10/10/08 Fine Line Music Café, Minneapolis, MN
10/11/08 Vic Theatre, Chicago, IL
10/14/08 Paradise Rock Club, Boston, MA
10/15/08 Webster Hall, NYC
10/16/08 Music Hall of Williamsburg, Brooklyn, NY
10/17/08 Theatre of the Living Arts, Philadelphia, PA
10/18/08 Nightclub 9:30, Washington, D.C.
10/20/08 Cat’s Cradle, Carrboro, NC
10/21/08 Mercy Lounge, Nashville, TN
10/23/08 Lola’s, Ft. Worth, TX
10/24/08 Emo’s Alt. Lounge-Outside, Austin, TX
10/25/08 Warehouse Live, Houston, TX
10/26/08 Voodoo Music Experience, New Orleans, LA
Lackthereof, Danny Seim’s side project, doesn’t attempt to step outside the Menomena shadow it’s been veiled under, and why should it? I’ve been wanting to hear a new Menomena song for a while, and “Last November” is a great addition to the catalogue.
Much like Autolux, Lackthereof / Menomena focuses heavily on setting the mood of a song through droning keys/guitars and crisp, up front percussion. Danny Seim’s drum sounds make other drummers weep in shame, and just to prove it’s not some studio magic he brings the same tone and precision to his live show.
Your Anchor comes out on July 22nd through Barsuk.
Any fan of Autolux understands the pain and frustration that comes from waiting for a new album release. So it is no minor news to present the new single “Audience No 2″ from Autolux’s TBD new album. It’s been four years since Future Perfect was released, and although they did a lot of touring on that album it still lends the question - what took so long? There were announcements on their site back in 2007 about the new LP, but nothing ever materialized.
Despite the TBD on both release date and title, Autolux have given us a treat to chew on while the main course is wheeled out, and boy is it tasty. Within the first two bars of “Audience No 2″ it is clear that Autolux are still the band I know and love. Taking cues from “Turnstile Blues,”Carla Azar delivers another haunting percussion beat, while Eugene and Greg come in with just the right bit of feedback and ghostly tone to make this album even more anticipated. The recording on this song (and all of Future Perfect) sounds like it was performed in an abandoned warehouse on the moon, and yet they somehow manage to keep everything sonically perfect. Enough of me, go enjoy the song.
Download “Audience No 2″ at Autolux’s site. They are asking for a dollar donation if you have the heart.
So it looks like Seth Rogen got his wish for Huey Lewis to take on the role of penning the theme song for the sure stoner hit of the summer Pineapple Express. This new tune from Huey and the News is sure to be one heck of a nostalgia trip for anyone able to reminisce on the role of the soundtrack sensation “Back In Time” from Back to the Future. Pineapple Express director, David Gordon Green, gives us the rundown on the origins of the film’s theme song (via Movieweb):
“Huey Lewis just finished our theme song for us. It is called “Pineapple Express”, cleverly. Our only input was, we told him we wanted it to sound like his 80s work that we loved so much. And we wanted to have the plot in it. And we wanted to have him say the title as many times as he could. There is a lot of alto sax. It is kind of like that “other” “Back to the Future” Huey Lewis song. Not “Power of Love” but “Back in Time”. Yeah.”
Now put that in your pipe and smoke it. The Pineapple Express soundtrack drops on August 5th with the film hitting theaters August 8th. Check the tracklisting and red band trailer below. Stream the full song over at Myspace.
“Ideally we would draw people with the same mindset that we’re in. That we’re going to play intense music and it’s going to be really a physical experience, and they would be prepared for that and come really excited”
Health sounds like someone brought cavemen microphones and electric guitars (we can assume they already had drums) and recorded the primal assault. Every song is on the verge of collapsing from the wild attacks each member gives to his respective instrument; however, there is always an underlying thread that holds each song together, and of course the spontaneity is what makes Health so much fun to listen to.
So of course go buy their self titled full length album, but we’re here today to discuss the curious Health // Disco remix LP. My first thought is that the band’s statement above still holds true for this remix album. It’s still quite a physical experience inside these re-visioned tracks, but if you’re looking for some mild reworking of Health’s album you’ve come to the wrong place. Health might have been the starting point for all these tracks, but there are a lot of layers of paint covering the canvas.
One can assume this project began to blossom when Crystal Castles remix of “Crimewaves” became an unlikely hit across both blogs and radiowaves. The track has added a few more bells and whistles (via David Wolf) since being released on the original 7inch, though I’m not sure which version has been playing on Indie 103.1 (who knew people played good music on terrestrial radio?).
A great balance between disco chimes and source material is found on the CFCF remix of “Triceratops.” There is some fantastic throwback keyboard work here that will get you out of the worst mood. I wish they’d make a music video for this track filled with fog and a huge over sized drum kit… oh wait Hall and Oates already did that.
Its been over two years since IGIF introduced me to Arms which they appropriately described as “the best thing (they’ve) heard in a long time.” Two years later and Arms first proper release, Kids Aflame, is still as welcome a sound as anything I have heard in a long time. I can’t blame Arms (aka Todd Goldstein) for taking his time with landscaping the diversity on Kids Aflame which showcases perfect anthems for the summer months. From ukulele to big guitars to DIY goodness, Kids Aflame will easily position itself into your summertime playlists for anything from summer afternoon cool down sessions to early evening warm up sessions. It just feels good.
Since Gregg Gillis’ music sounds like it’s been created by a mad scientist, it should come as little surprise to know that Gillis (aka Girl Talk) is actually a mad scientist of sorts - working as a biomedical engineer by day (a career he recently gave up to pursue Girl Talk further). Gillis’ approach to music is a combination of schizophrenia, ADD, a perfect understanding of pace, and the vision to blend tracks from across the musical spectrum. Depending on your perspective, he’s either the best or worst thing to happen to music.
I happen to see potential and evolution in the music Gillis creates. He’s not afraid to utilize technology and play his laptop like you would any Les Paul. The thing that seperates Girl Talk from the hords of bumbling laptop DJs is that he’s extremely talented and each track highlights the level of obsession and precision that goes into making his music. He never uses technology to mask a lack of skill, whereas most people only use it for that purpose.
Much like Night Ripper before it, Feed the Animals, Girl Talk’s second full length album, has one track that shines above the rest. “Hold Up” held that stature on Girl Talk’s debut album and “Still Here” takes the prize here on his latest release. While the hard hitting hip hop heavy tracks hold there on amongst the best dance mixes, it’s the more precariously balanced crossovers that feel the most innovative. By the middle of “Still Here” you have Kayne and Radiohead handling percussion duties for “No Diggity,” while Gillis unexpectedly serenades us with The Band’s “The Weight.”
He may not be making music in the traditional sense, but Girl Talk has mastered the art of collage and pastiche. I’ll dance to that.
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