Paradise Vendors >> I know what you need

Paradise Vendors - "Prozac" (a.k.a. "Proloft")

(self-released [Spartie Records], 2003 / 2005)

Paradise Vendors were a short-lived New Orleans band, or dare I say supergroup, named after the fictitious hot dog company for which Ignatius J. Reilly worked in the novel A Confederacy Of Dunces.  I read that book over 20 years ago and later unknowingly went to the same university (Loyola) as its author.  The book has always annoyed me a bit, but it's undeniably a classic of Southern literature.

I first heard this song on WTUL in late 2003, under its original title of "Prozac."  I was driving and had no cell phone yet, so when I got home I immediately called the station to ask what the song was.  I knew it'd go down as a local classic.  (This mp3 is from the impossibly-rare Music 1... demo EP CD-R.)  In 2004 PV played around town a lot and in early 2005 put out their one and only album, Candy.  It included "Prozac," but under the name "Proloft," presumably to avoid lawsuits, though the second name seems more likely stir up two lawsuits, if you ask me.  The semi-rapped ending verse of the song reminds of me of the surrealist "eatin' cars" part in Blondie's "Rapture," and the song in general has a playfully quirky, genre-busting feel like that of "Rapture."

Live in the crimson confines of Circle Bar on Oct. 26, 2004; photo by Jason Songe

I saw a subtly brilliant performance by a local band called the Vivid Prawns in March 1998 at the Mermaid Lounge, with fellow locals Sage Maas (proggy alt-metal) and Zoom (lame retro power pop).  The Prawns were basically a clone of The Sea And Cake (one of my favorite bands ever), and I was sure they'd get signed to Thrill Jockey Records, but they never released any official music, to my knowledge, and kinda faded away.  If anyone has any Vivid Prawns music or info to send my way, please do so.  They morphed into Veloka in the early '00s or perhaps late '90s.  So if you know about the two bands that made up PV, you'll understand how they got their hybrid sound: smooth tropical stylings from the Vivid Prawns, and burlesque-y edge from Veloka.  Paradise Vendors' bassist Dave Baker and drummer Elzy Lindsey were each in the Vivid Prawns and Veloka, as well as some band called Nuclear Choir.)  I'm sure I'm making this sound way too confusing...  So I'll put it this way: The bassist and drummer in any band comprise what is known as the rhythm section.  The following three NOLA bands had the same rhythm section: The Vivid Prawns, Veloka, Paradise Vendors.  And the synth guru from Electrical Spectacle, Anton Gussoni, was PV's secret weapon.  Add the dynamic vocal stylings and fashion sense of Jeanne Stallworth and you have the final piece in the Paradise puzzle.

I don't have any clips of the Vivid Prawns, but here's one of Veloka at the Howlin' Wolf (now called Republic) in glorious 144p:

Since I think it's rude to embed more than one video per page, see another super-psychedelic clip of Veloka here.

Hidden under a "Read More" tab at CD Baby is a great trove of info about Paradise Vendors, so I will simply cut and paste some of it over here, in case that page ever disappears.
First is a bio, presumably written by the band members themselves:

"If the illegitimate children of Martin Denny and Nancy Sinatra grew up in New Orleans and they formed a band... or you played turntables with LPs by Brasil 66, Dick Dale, The Pixies, and Burt Bacharach simultaneously and all the tunes were in E minor... or punks play bossa nova in the Irish Channel... or The Cramps fell in love with Doris Day... You might have pop exotica space rock.

When bassist Dave Baker (Veloka [alternative rock], The Vivid Prawns [Asian pop rock fusion], Nuclear Choir [new wave punk]) and drummer Elzy Lindsey (Veloka, The Vivid Prawns, Nuclear Choir, Fucus and way too many more bands to mention...) met thespian and chanteuse Jeanne Stallworth, (The Foxy HooHoos), guitarist Robert Vicknair (Veloka, Frank [digital garage], Merkins [post punk]) and last but not least, Anton Gussoni (Electrical Spectacle) on Moog and Rhodes piano... the eclectic collaboration of Paradise Vendors was born."

Here are excerpts from some local reviews:

Bunny Matthews (OffBeat magazine) describes our music as "excellent."
Anthony DelRosario (Turducken Productions) says "Paradise Vendors blends gypsy, surf, new wave, moog stuff, cabaret, world percussion, trashy girl rock & spacey instrumentals into an otherworldly hybrid too eclectic to readily classify."
Steve Perrin (rock journalist) says "P.J. Harvey meets Marlene Dietrich."
Jason Songe (liveneworleans.com) says "The music was a soundtrack to an underbelly... The band's music exposed what was under the city's black veil."
Keith Spera (Lagniappe / Times-Picayune) describes Candy as "eclectic, adventurous and artful modern pop..."
Alex Rawls (Gambit) says Paradise Vendors' music "evokes the luxuriousness of artists like Les Baxter or John Barry."

Songe is the affable booker at the Circle Bar, and he used to run the aforementioned site liveneworleans.com, which was an invaluable resource for reviewing under-the-radar local bands in the pre-MySpace/Facebook/Tumblr/Twitter era.  It has what are probably the only two detailed gig reviews that Paradise Vendors ever received, replete with photos:
Cafe Brasil (April 11, 2004)
Circle Bar (Oct. 26, 2004)

Last month I finally(!) got the original 2003 demo EP, Music 1..., whilst enjoying an in-store performance by What Moon Things at Euclid Records.  Afterwards, I convinced the band to snag a used copy of Candy for a few bucks after I had a Euclid employee play "Prozac" on the stereo.

This is of course the EP spread open; the front cover uses the same photo that's on the CD.
It's a purse with a Paradise Vendors 7" record (which doesn't actually exist) sewn or glued onto it, replete with the band's label, "Spartie Records." And a light-up ring.

Planets with similar climates: Lee Hazlewood & Nancy Sinatra - "Some Velvet Morning" (1967), Moonshake - "Exotic Siren Song" (1996), Blondie - "Rapture" (1980), Bleach - "Surround" (1991), The Cardigans - "Carnival" (1994), Furry Things - "Burn For" (1997).

Pure Bathing Culture >> You know it's your time, you're the one

Pure Bathing Culture - "Pendulum"

(Partisan Records [U.S.] / Memphis Industries [Europe],  2013)

It's a huge honor to present this song.  I first heard it in summer 2k13 on Sirius' XM U station.  I was immediately floored that an unknown new band could barge out of the gates with such a masterfully-crafted song.  (Though I secretly wondered if Pure Bathing Culture was Memoryhouse under a new name...)  And the opening jangly guitar chords made me think it was a cover of the Go-Betweens' brilliant "Streets Of Your Town" (see video embedded below), but luckily it turned out to be an entirely new song by an entirely new band, and it blew me an entirely new mind.

This truly should've been a massive radio hit.  If you're a fan of production like I am, you'll revel in every little detail of this song as it leaps out of the speakers with unmitigated authority, and it will truly be stuck in your head for the rest of your life.  I'm sure the band's manager or publicist is a nice person, and was smart enough to choose to work with such a talented band, but he or she needs to be replaced immediately.  In America's current musical climate, in which completely hookless, soulless songs by the likes of Vampire Weekend, Arctic Monkeys, and Arcade Fire are becoming hits or semi-hits left and right, it should be pretty easy for any trained squid to finesse this song onto playlists nationwide.  Obviously it did get onto Sirius, which is quite a taste-making entity, but the only times I've heard it on WTUL were when I requested it.  In fact, a DJ last fall played it back-to-back with "Streets Of Your Town," at my request.  I also got KLSU to play it last fall at my request.  It was on some sort of regular rotation on Sirius XM U, because I heard it several more times there.  In fact, Sirius was so devoted to this band that they hosted a live in-studio performance / interview session in September.  I recorded some of it, mainly because the lyrics to "Pendulum" were a lot easier to make out in the live version.  Watch it here.

Here's the Go-Betweens song I mentioned above.  Check out how similar the opening guitar part is to that of "Pendulum":

Note: That's the "big-budget" version of the video; there was also a more low-key original version that focused more literally on the streets of an Aussie town.  So, if the Go-Bees were able to get TWO videos made for their killer song, how come Pure Bathing Culture didn't even get one? Refer back to the criticisms I had for PBC's management...)

Download an interesting remix of this song called "Pendulum (Women's Hour Edit)" for free here.

Stairway left after bombing of Aleppo, Syria by the Assad regime. This reminded me of a pendulum.
(Posted by Tumblr user miymintimatmazel; photographer unknown.)

Planets with similar climates: The Go-Betweens - "Streets Of Your Town" (1988), Puro Instinct - "Slivers Of You" (2010), Cocteau Twins - "Heaven Or Las Vegas" (1990), Memoryhouse - "Heirloom" & "Sleep Patterns" (2011), Spiritualized - "Ladies And Gentlemen We Are Floating In Space" (1997), Wild Nothing - "Through The Grass" (2012), Slowdive - "Alison" (1993).

Wild Nothing >> The past was folded up and in the twinkle of an eye everything had been changed

Wild Nothing - "Paradise" (feat. Michelle Williams)

(Captured Tracks, 2012)

Yes, this is the "video version" of Wild Nothing's shoulda-been-a-megahit, featuring ultramegafamous actress Michelle Williams(!).  M.W. recites from Iris Murdoch's 1975 novel A Word Child in the middle of the song, which is just a spacey instrumental passage in the album version.  This Michelle-fortified version is not available anywhere, and believe me, I looked high and low for it, so this is certainly a Blowtorch Baby exclusive.  The place I ripped it from rhymes with MooCube.

Counting days

The opening synth wash sure reminds me of the melody in Slowdive's best-known song, "Alison".  I first heard this song in my car while parked in a thrift store parking lot in Terrytown in summer of 2012.  Its amazing bassline and breezy overall feel prompted me to immediately text my sister to tell her to check it out.  I wasn't yet obsessed with WN, but it happened fairly quickly.  It ended up being a no-brainer to name Nocturne my favorite album of the year, and I think most followers of this blog would agree with me on that.

Last October, I finally got to see Wild Nothing live, opening for Local Natives at Tipitina's, and thankfully they played "Paradise."  Yes, the bassline is just as huge & badass live as it is on record.  Still amazed / saddened that they weren't headlining.  And next month the headliners are opening for Kings Of Leon at the N.O. Arena(!).

Mon. Mar. 10: Went to the Circle Bar to see Weekend + Nothing + AAN (pronounced "On").  AAN's singer has a beautiful voice, not unlike Wayne Coyne's, and the band cranked out multifaceted, Yo La Tengo-esque indie rock. The guitarist with the white Jazzmaster was almost a dead ringer for Damon Albarn, so I expect a strong female fanbase with this band.  Ashley had to leave to get to sleep.  I wanted her to see Nothing, who sound like a recreation of Slowdive / MBV on record.  Much to my surprise, they sounded more like Slayer live, so I was actually kind of glad she missed them.  They played five songs from the new album, and one from their 6-song EP.  Weekend were as streamlined and muscular as I had anticipated they'd be.  After the disappointment of no "Spiral" from Wye Oak the previous night, I had to deal with Weekend not playing the song I wanted to see, "Mirror."  Their singer seemed a bit drunk and angry, swinging his bass into the crowd at one point.  He got rather forcefully pushed back by them.  And each band only played for about 30 mins.  But overall it was a good night, and the highlight was Weekend's "Just Drive," which I got a full video of.  Nothing's bassist (also in Whirr and Death Of Lovers) was really engaging and we recommended shoegaze bands to each other.  Drove down Bourbon St. blasting "It's Alright" on Weekend's album Jinx, as I had just bought the CD at the gig.

Fun Fact: I sat next to local jazz drumming icon Johnny Vidacovich during Nothing.  Not sure why he was at this show...  Also met a guy who flew to L.A. just to see a recent reunion of the band Failure, so we talked about our love of Failure for quite a bit.

Tue. Mar. 11: Went back to the Spanish Moon to catch Weekend and Nothing again.  Right before this show, I stopped at F.Y.E. and got the latest CDs by Chairlift, CHVRCHES, and Danny Brown.  Seeing these bands on a stage in a much larger venue with a better sound system made quite a difference.  (Not dissing the Circle Bar at all, by the way.)  The crowd was only about two dozen souls.  No flyers for this show were spotted around the area.  You do the math...  Nothing played the same basic set again; one of their singers told me the previous night that they do the same 35-minute set each night on this tour.  And yes, just like the previous night, they sounded more like Slayer than Slowdive.  Traded more shoegaze recommendations with Nothing's bassist and merch guy.  Weekend's set, on the other hand, was quite different from the previous night.  They started with "Just Drive" (said the drummer, though I thought it was "July"), ended with "Coma Summer," and did a killer "Mirror" in between.  (The singer introduced that song by saying it was about his mom... then, after a short pause, said it was about his dad.)  Overall, they did more krautrock-y, jam-friendly songs than the previous night.  Afterwards I shot some pool upstairs by myself, then talked with Weekend's awesome drummer.  Some of the bands we touched on included CAN, Moonshake, Heat Dust, Belong, and Glish.  I didn't buy a drink at any of these three shows... Sorry, bartenders!  Had to spend a lot on gas and merch, and booze is very low on my priorities list.

Some of the excellent music heard on the club's PA on this night included lots of weird hip hop, The Cure's "One Hundred Years" (seguing into Nothing's first song), some Prefab Sprout, Flipper's "Ha Ha Ha," and the Chameleons' "Don't Fall."  I got a particular kick out of the Chameleons song, because I had just posted "Swamp Thing" on my Tumblr a few hours earlier, and I leaned over the second-floor balcony (this venue used to be a fire station) during the aforementioned game of pool while singing the phrase "donnnn't fall."  Kinda rad.

Sat. Mar. 15: Bought some plants at the annual Parkway plant sale @ DIllard University.  At Bed Bath & Beyond that night, I walked right by the first person I ever got a New Year's kiss from and she didn't recognize me.  In the twinkle of an eye everything had been changed indeed...

Planets with similar climates: Catherine Wheel - "Flower To Hide" (1992), Slowdive - "40 Days" & "Alison" (1993), The Smiths - "The Boy With The Thorn In His Side" (1985).

Wye Oak >> You look over my shoulder, distant, abstract

Wye Oak - "Spiral"

(Williams Street Records / Adult Swim, 2012)

On August 3rd, while pulling into the parking lot outside the Saints' facility in Metairie to watch an open practice, I heard this song on WTUL and just about lost my shit.  I called in and found out who it was, then asked the DJ if he was sure that it was really Wye Oak, since this song is totally different from their normal rustic alt-country sound.  He and I talked about how 4AD-ish it was, and I mentioned that it sounded a lot like the album Euphoria by the band Insides.  He said he hadn't heard any Insides, but would check them out.  The next night, the Oak opened for the dreadful Dirty Projectors at the House Of Blues.  I almost went just to see them perform this song, but I couldn't justify the cost of around $30.00, plus I would've lost all respect for myself if I had stood in the same room with the Dirty Projectors or their fanbase.

Wye Oak are named after the state-champion (that means largest) oak tree in Maryland.  R.I.P.  This song premiered as a free download at Stereogum, which is where I downloaded it, and it is still available there.  Singer / guitarist Jenn Wasner said on Stereogum "This track was written specifically for this Adult Swim series, but they didn’t provide any thematic or sonic guidance for the song. A lot of the music I had been working on independently at the time sounded something like this — so I felt like the Adult Swim opportunity was, as a standalone track, a great opportunity to experiment with some of these new sonic and rhythmic ideas in a low-pressure context. The song revolves around the idea of repetition and rhythmic interplay — parts that are fairly minimalist and circular that come together to form an almost hypnotic wash."  The song's stuttering ambient marimba finale strikes me as a clear homage to Tortoise's genre-busting "Djed."  Check out the passion with which impending indie heartthrob Wasner belted out this song on the same day I first heard it, meaning the night before they played in N.O.:

After seeing that video, I was absolutely kicking myself for not going to the gig.  But I'll see them when they come back to N.O. or B.R. as headliners.  If they can continue exploring this type of sound, I'd say they'll instantly be the most compelling band in all of indiedom.  You could say Wye Oak pulled a reverse Slowdive with this song, considering how Slowdive suddenly went from an electronic dream pop sound to a country-ish sound under their new name Mojave 3 in the mid-'90s.  Well, folks, the Oak is the new sheriff in town and they're ready to right Slowjave 3's wrong.  My only complaint is that the vocals in "Spiral" are hard to decipher due to the massive amounts of reverb and Wasner's breathy, innovative phrasing, but that actually helps the music to more dreamlike and disorienting.  For a not-so-accurate stab at them, go here.  I think she sings "Hearts have signed for(?) a contract: Constant contact" and then she definitely sings "You look over my shoulder / Distant, abstract."

You can download every digital single in the Adult Swim series for free here.

Jenn's new project, the hilariously-named Dungeonesse, is a full-on dance/synth thing, so hopefully they'll put out at least a few songs in the same vein as "Spiral."

View the best pic I took at Saints practice that momentous day here.

Tue. 3/12: Got an eye exam from a new doctor and then got contact lenses for the first time in a few years; had been wearing really scratched up old glasses.  It was like seeing the world in HD and I was somewhat in shock for the rest of the day / week.

Sat. 3/16: Went to the spring Record Raid and talked to the usual music buddiez but didn't see the person I hoped would be there, so I was pretty depressed the rest of the day.  In my haul: School Of Seven Bells - Disconnect From Desire (2xLP on swirly gray vinyl), Broken Water - Whet (LP on translucent green vinyl), Steve Reich - Reich Remixed (2xLP), Dead Leaf Echo - Truth (EP), Niki And The Dove - Instinct, Crowded House - Temple Of Low Men, Joan Armatrading - Greatest Hits, Frank Ocean - Channel Orange, Toro Y Moi - "So Many Details" promo single, Mary Timony - The Golden Dove, TEEN - In Limbo.  Bought some vitamin B-12.

Thur. 3/21: Went to the Alicia Keys / Miguel concert at New Orleans Arena with Em, Ashley, and Ashley's mom.  Was stunned at Em's new car that she bought a few days earlier.  Almost wore my Glish t-shirt, but donned a long-sleeve shirt at the last minute.  Only saw Miguel's last 3 songs due to a ticket snafu, so I dunno if he played my fav. song of his, the future #1 hit "Don't Look Back".  He finished with an extended rendition of his mega-hit "Adorn."  Saw Hornets star Eric Gordon in the drink line; probably should've shook his hand or something since he will surely leave as a free agent soon.  Alicia brought her A-game despite the fact that the arena was about half full.  (Everyone on the upper level got a free upgrade to the middle level.)  Seeing her perform "Un-Thinkable" while bathed in orange lighting was one of the top 10 concert moments of my life, and I was pleasantly surprised at how berserk the crowd went when she did an old fave of mine, "Diary."  Maxwell dueted with her via a pre-recorded video segment shown on the screen behind her.  She played for almost 2 hours, meaning about twice as long as when I saw her in '04.  Afterwards, I hurried over and absorbed the end of a hushed and beautiful Benoît Pioulard show at the Circle Bar by myself.  A rude bartender tried to throw shade when I mentioned the concert I had just seen up the street, but I still stupidly tipped her a dollar.

Fri. 3/22: Decided to do the "be a tourist in your own town" thing... Well, in my previous hometown at least.  Went to Barrister's Gallery at its new location on St. Claude (used to be inside of or next to Zeitgeist Theatre on Oretha Castle Haley) and saw some very impressive avant-garde stuff; got a poetry book at Maple Street Book Shop at the N.O. Healing Center; got some cool stuff at Euclid Records (Acetone LP, Cul De Sac 7", Lansing-Dreiden CD); got a thyme plant at Harold's; played basketball at Delgado for 2+ hrs until dark; watched March Madness.

Sat. 3/23: Went to Slidell on a whim and scored a book about Ani Difranco at Goodwill.  Man, I had forgotten how much she once meant to me, and how endearingly funny she was/is, but flipping through a few pages in this book brought it rushing back.

Planets with similar climates: Cocteau Twins - "Road, River And Rail" (1990), Insides - "Distractions" (1993), Beach House - "Wild" (2012), Lush - "Undertow" (1993), Twin Sister - "The Other Side Of Your Face" (2010), Grimes - "Be A Body" (2011).

White Cascade >> How it can be so far

White Cascade - "Fine As Usual"

(self-released, 2010)

This mammoth multi-part suite encapsulates the quieter aspects of White Cascade's sound, which can vary from noisy pop to long ambient drones.  It's from their self-titled debut EP (actually 40 minutes long, hence album length), which they self-released in June 2010 as a digital download and on cassette.  (Their follow-up EP consists of short, relatively spiky pop songs.)  The monster ambient intro really throws the gauntlet down.  As for the lyrics, your best approximation is about as good as mine.  I made out the line "How it can be so far" at the 7:52 mark, for what it's worth, and it rhymes with "Every second star" from the previous verse.  What matters is that this song is pure instant Prozac for the soul, especially if your soul is a fan of (The) Verve's flawless debut album A Storm In Heaven.  A Storm In Raleigh doesn't have quite the same ring, but I could be convinced to catch a plane there just to see White Cascade live.

This .jpg is in honor of White Cascade being the first North Carolina band in space, living up to the state's "First In Flight" motto

I found out about this band last year, but I don't remember how.  In true shoegaze / dream pop fashion, they have released two EPs, but no official album, though as I mentioned, their first EP is 40 minutes long.  Hopefully they can be convinced to go on tour, though their sound is, defiantly, and with clenched fist, the opposite of every prevailing trend in both "indie" and non-indie music.  Perhaps this is why they give their music away for free at their Bandcamp page; or at least they did last year, but it appears they're charging $1 per track now.  Which is good, because it shows their music is now becoming in demand.  See them performing in their newer, more upbeat style here: Sessions at Studio B with The White Cascade.  It also includes an interview.

Sat. Nov. 17: Donned one of my Plexi shirts and went to the Record Raid at Tulane on a pretty cold day.  Stopped by the Mushroom (a block away) first, to give the dudes & dudettes 3 mix CDs and some of my fav. beers, and my VHS of Paris, Texas.  Why?  Because they always give me good deals, since I'm always recommending them obscure stuff from the used stacks.  I stupidly forgot to take a pic of all 3 CDs together, but here's the first one:

(The second one was part 2 of the "Intensity In Ten Cities" theme, and the third one was all ambient music, titled "Ambient Assault."  Request them by name!)  Sam was enthused and said she was going to bring the CDs home to listen to them, and said she loved the Unwound CDs I'd recommended to her in September.  She burned me the Dinosaur Jr. cover album by The Electronic Anthology Project, and is gonna also burn me one of those Italian horror soundtracks that Goblin did in the '70s.  Best music buddy ever.  I was sad to hear she missed the Dino Jr. concert last month due to illness, since they're probably her second favorite band after Sonic Youth.  Was relieved to hear her family in NJ didn't get any damage from hurricane Sandy.  The store has been remodeled after the hurricane and looks really good.  At the Raid, I bought less stuff than usual, so I was pretty proud of myself.  My best find was American Music Club's extremely rare debut LP for only $5, plus their fairly rare California CD (33 cents), Pageninetynine (pre-Ghastly City Sleep / pre-Pygmy Lush)'s Document #8 CD (33 cents), Jon Spencer Blues Explosion's Experimental Remixes CD EP (33 cents), Roy Ayers Ubiquity's Vibrations LP ($5) (mainly for the heliocentric chillout classic "Everybody Loves The Sunshine").  Also got an amazing clear blue vinyl 7" by You Am I that I never thought I'd see in person (33 cents).  I had bought the Blues Explosion CD right when it came out in late '95, so it was quite sweet to nab it again after unwisely selling it ca. 2000.  Bought the sick Japanese edition of Trans Am's self-titled CD from Joey Buttons; it has a whopping 9 bonus tracks and cool neon orange cover art.  It turns out he was also at the Future Islands / Talk Normal show the previous week, and the vendor sitting right next to him was at it too, so we all discussed it.  Small world...  Joey also told me about his new project called Pressures.  Talked to Scott from Skully'z about a bunch of concerts too, incl. Cold Cave; he was wearing a Cold Cave hoodie.  Towards the end of the raid, I asked how they were doing, and he told me they had sold about $500 of stuff already.  Also bought a CD by punk "supergroup" OFF! for 33 cents and gave it to the Mushroom, since several of them had seen them live.  When I was walking up the stairs to the store, a guy who works there saw me and enthusiastically complimented me on the mix CDs.  I had him burn Bare Minimum's first CD so that I could give it to this guy who I always talk to at these Raids, whose name keeps escaping me (Jason or James?).  So yeah, I kept going back and forth between the Raid and the 'Room.  Took some free LPs that the Mushroom had put out in boxes at the foot of their stairs, incl. a mint copy of Yoko Ono's classic Season Of Glass and a Sesame Street album.  Drove around and tried to find the N.O. Book Fair, but failed, since it turns out it had moved to the Warehouse District.  So I went to this lame music festival on Magazine St. for about 15 minutes and endured Rockin' Dopsie & the Zydeco Twisters while looking at all the touristy art booths.  Apparently one can now buy a little glazed clay statuette or fridge magnet of every single noteworthy location in the city.  These "artists" are totally shameless in their pillaging of N.O.'s culture for quick dollars.  Dopsie (pronounced "Doopsie," for you non-locals) shouted his catchphrase "Somebody screeeeam!" at least five different times, and believe me, I wanted to after looking at all the aforementioned trinkets.  If you've ever walked on Royal Street and peered into the "art galleries" there, you'll know what I'm talking about, but the stuff at this fest was even lamer.  As I've mentioned before, I really refuse to call this stuff art, since it's really in the realm of just crafts.  Note: Was a bit saddened to see that the former home of Underground Sounds is going to become a Dat Dog location.

Planets with similar climates: Verve - "Already There" (1993), Slowdive - "Blue Skied An' Clear" (1995), SIANspheric - "Watch Me Fall" (1995), The Emerald Down - "Recondite Astral Traveler" (2001), Feverdream [Australia] - "No Stone Unturned" (1995), Catherine Wheel - "Girl Stand Still" (1993), Sonic Youth - "Karen Koltrane" (1998).

Blouse >> You're a strike of lightning

Blouse - "Into Black"

(Captured Tracks, 2011)

Note: I started writing this in June but never got around to posting it.  I noticed the outdated R.I.P.'s at the bottom and decided to keep them in.

As you have probably already gathered, most good band names are taken by now.  I mentioned in the last post that Portland is a hotbed of talent, and Blouse is another great example.  I think Johnny Marr or Robert Smith would be proud of this song's loping, serpentine guitar riff.  There's something sexy and funky and very New Orleans about that jazzy, off-beat stutter in it.  And the singer is the one who plays that guitar part, as you can see in the video clip embedded below.  This song is almost impossible for me to get out of my head.  If I heard the line "And you're a strike of lightning, making up a sky for the gods to kiss with" correctly, then I'd have to say that's one of the coolest lyrics I've heard in the past few years.  (You can actually hear the lyrics better in the live clip.)  There's some line about a stained glass window near the middle, and the intensity ramps up subtly in the song's final minute.

"Fade to black" is of course a cinematography term, and this song has a very cinematic feel.  A convenient way to describe Blouse would be "The XX meets Joy Division," and it wouldn't be far off from the truth.  The sound quality of this song is awfully murky and "dark" (bass-y), in production lingo, but I guess it suits the music well.  One expects this kind of jangle-pop stuff to be trebly and shimmery, so it sort of surprises the ears to hear something so sludgy.  The synth near the end of the song does brighten it up and adds some extra edge.  This song was released as a 7" single in early 2011, with striking cover art that was a clear homage to Joy Division's Closer.  It then appeared on their self-titled debut album near the end of the year.  Their song "They Always Fly Away" is their other clear standout, with a truly badass bassline, showing that this band is much more than a one-trick pony.  AllMusic Guide said "There's a tingling chill running through Blouse's self-titled debut album that suggests both erotic reverie and nervous foreboding.  Blouse seems to be a work in progress, but this provocative first effort shows the band is heading for fascinating territory."
I'd have to say Captured Tracks, also home of dreamy retro janglers Wild Nothing, is my favorite up-and-coming record label right now.

Amazingly, I just went and checked out the song on YouTube and noticed lots of people saying that the MTV teen ho dramedy Awkward. (yes, the show's name has a period at the end) "brought me here."  So I guess MTV scooped Blowtorch Baby for the first time, but only due to my procrastination.

Wed. Oct. 31: I went in to N.O. to see the Jezabels at Circle Bar.  I had a weird feeling that it would be cancelled, but I didn't call ahead of time for some reason.  Sure enough, I walk into the near-empty club in my Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles shirt and green wristbands only to find out they had cancelled, due to their singer's alleged throat problems.

So this pic sums up my two dismal trips to the Circle Bar in late October... Two headlining bands, one of which played for 10 minutes and the other of which didn't show up.  When I took this pic next to the club's jukebox on the 24th, a few minutes before Exitmusic went on, things seemed so promising:

(Look at the size of the crowd in that Jezabels poster, and then think about the fact that the Circle Bar holds about 50 people.)

Thu., Nov. 1: Took a pic of some random CDs in my car:

I originally bought the N.W.A EP on cassingle in 1991 (at age 14... sorry, PMRC!), the PJ Harvey album on cassette in '95, and the MBV album on cassette in '96.  Sensing a trend?  Lesson to record industry: If people buy or obtain a musical item cheaply or for free, e.g. on cassette or as free mp3s, they will end up later buying it on CD if they like it enough.  So if you record labels sign good bands and put out good albums, people will continue to buy them in multiple formats over the years.  Anyway... I bought the Nudeswirl CD in '96 in Richmond, VA, and the Pale Saints and Six By Seven CDs in '02.  The Twin Peaks soundtrack was bought by one of my parents when it came out; I later borrowed it & decided to keep it.  I added a clear red tray to the Lush CD's case in order to match the cover art.  Those of you who don't own early Mercury Rev on CD are missing out, since the spines say STEREO PATHIC, STEREO PHOBIC, STEREO FUCKED, etc.

I was so bummed by the Circle Bar shows that I didn't go to see the Psychedelic Furs on Nov. 2 with my sister and Damion.  She said it was a great show, and they even played one of my favorites, "All Of This And Nothing."  (But no "Highwire Days" or "Dumb Waiters.")  And she said Richard Butler was dancing around as crazily as !!!'s singer, which is pretty impressive for a guy of his age.

So the promising month ended with a whimper, but I still saw over a dozen bands, the best of which were Godspeed You Black Emperor, Merchandise, MONO, and Meta The Man.  And locals Glish, the Tarik Hassan Group, Miss Mec, and I, Octopus.  The two songs that Exitmusic played before quitting were good.  In fact, the bands that I skipped last month would constitute a best-ever month of concertgoing for a normal Pitchfork-focused indie-vidual: Dinosaur Jr., M83, P-Furs, Silversun Pickups, Neil Young & Crazy Horse, Kendrick Lamar, Dum Dum Girls, Cold Cave, Diamond Rings, Trust, etc.

I'm not bragging whatsoever, just trying to start a dialogue about how one decides which shows to attend and which shows to skip.  I've been wanting to do this for a long time now, so this seems like a good time to do it.  For me, going to a show a very complex form of calculus that factors in obvious things such as "Does the band kick ass?" with more nebulous ones like "Is their career on the downswing or is it still on the upswing?," "Have I missed them in concert before?," and "Could this be their last-ever tour?"  (If the band members hate each other, any show could be their last.)  Ticket cost, opening act(s), venue, etc. also factor in.  How many original members, or members from the band's "golden era," are still in the band?  It of course helps to find out whether or not the band is playing your favorite songs on this particular tour, or if they've decided to move on to "the new stuff," or if they're doing one of those stupid "Play an entire album all the way through" things.  However, this only applies to "song"-based bands & solo artists.  There's of course a whole other category of experimental music in which the avant-gardeness of the music is the only thing that matters, and you're surely not going to recognize anything in terms of a lyric or a melody.  You're going just to hear them try to play something you've never heard before and may never want to hear again.  Sometimes a band that hardly ever tours is hitting the road; in this case, it's more important to see them then to see some band that tours constantly.  If it's a hip hop or electronic / DJ act, how much of their music do they actually perform live and how much of it is pre-recorded samples?  Are you under the weather, and if so, just how devoted of a fan are you?  One of the toughest things for me to decide on is seeing a local band, since you can probably see them any old time, but what if they break up and you never got to see them, or only saw them once?  (E.g., the fact that I only saw my favorite-ever local band, The Universal Chrome, once.  And I never saw Falling Janus, Dead Hand System, Burnversion, Evil Nurse Sheila!, etc.)  When in doubt about seeing ANY concert, even if it's "just" a local band, it's always best to just go, because otherwise, you might be wondering for the rest of your life if you missed a great show.  If the show was mediocre, at least you saw it, and you know that you don't have to wonder for the next 50 years if it was great or not.  And you supported the band and supported the music club.  The turnout may influence the band's decision to come back to your town again, and may influence the club's decision to book the band again.  And you might meet an interesting person, or see a flyer at the club informing you about an upcoming concert that you didn't know about.

As examples, here are some recent & upcoming concert dilemmas spanning early October to early November:
1.) The P-Furs only had two original members, the Butler brothers.  But they are the main driving forces of the band, and the lineup also has fiery saxophonist Mars Williams, who joined ca. 1983.  (Did not go, and regret it.)
2.) In a few days a fairly lame synth-pop band called Future Islands is playing at the Spanish Moon.  I have no desire to see them, but the opening act is an uncompromisingly brutal female noise-rock band called Talk Normal.  Do I go just to see the opening act?  What if the opening act cancels or is replaced?  (Will probably go.)
3.) Voodoo Fest every October: Lots of bands, but most are lame or washed-up, and tickets are like $90 per day.  (Solution: Went to the free local band festival Houmapalooza.)
4.) MONO at the Spanish Moon.  Yes, they're great live, but I had already seen them there 3 times.  Do I go yet again?  (Went & was glad I did.)
5.) Mercurial band Merchandise playing at a club with barely any air conditioning, right as I was getting over a cold and hence was pretty feverish.  (Went, because they could be legitimate stars soon, and I had missed them in April at an even smaller club called United Bakery.)

If you have anything to add about concert dilemmas you have valiantly faced and overcome, let Blowtorch Baby know.  I'm currently wrestling over whether to see DJ Shadow next month at Republic...  The dude's first album kinda changed my life in 1997, but do I owe him the favor of buying a ticket to one of his shows 15 years later?  He played at House Of Blues as the opening act for rapper Jeru The Damaja in '97, and I bet tons of underground music heads went to that show just to see Shadow do his magic.  Then again, what if he still "has it" in 2012?  The interesting thing about a DJ is that his music never "ages," since he's spinning samples, and those samples will still sound literally identical to how they sounded x amount of years ago, and you're not gonna see some aging guy on guitar.

R.I.P. Ray Bradbury, a genius.
R.I.P. Tim Mooney of American Music Club, Sun Kil Moon, and other San Fran bands.

Brilliant retort I observed on June 23, in the AOL chatroom The Crash Pad:

Murrican:  i've got a nickname among a certain group of females.

SpudMakenzie:  heart attack while havin sex with a hooker/?

Why Romney's not talking about Benghazi anymore

Atlantic City faces long recovery before it can start destroying lives again

Planets with similar climates: The Organ - "Brother" (2004), Sonic Youth - "Becuz" (1995), Siouxsie & The Banshees - "Christine" (1980), The Cure - "Lullaby" (1989), Bell Hollow - "Eyes Like Planets" (2007), The Lucy Show - "Ephemeral (This Is No Heaven)" (1985), Tamaryn - "Love Fade" (2010), Lush - "Take" (1992).

Maria Minerva >> Northern star, what you are

Maria Minerva - "Luvcool" (a.k.a. "Lovecool")

(Not Not Fun Records, 2011)

This song is like a complex crystal built from deceptively simple molecules.  It's a perfect example of "less is more," and the importance of simply playing the right notes.  If that opening keyboard drone note was any lower or higher, it simply would not mesh with her voice the right way, and if Maria sang the opening word "Cool" differently, it would just not be as starkly beautiful.  Drea immediately remarked that this song has a real Twin Peaks feel to it, and I had to agree.

Maria Minerva was born Maria Juur in Estonia, and is now based in London.  She has written for the super-highbrow music magazine The Wire.  I had been hearing about her for the last year or so, as one of many artsy female electro-pop crooners.  After thinking about going to see her opening for Jesus & Mary Chain-esque retro fuzz-poppers Moon Duo, the evening arrived and still had not decided.  And there was a somewhat shockingly contentious Vice Presidential debate on TV.  The show was gonna start at 10 PM and I live an hour away.  I was quite sure I'd be able to see her when she returns as a headliner someday, but a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.  9:00 rolled around; listening to some of her stuff on YouTube... "I'm a dude whose main love is shoegaze & post-punk type music; why do I even feel the need to see all these solo female electronic musicians?"  Striking me as a more less-girly, more "European" version of Grimes, or a less pretentious Laurie Anderson... 9:15... Listening to some more, still also listening to the debate in the other room... I forgot to shower tonight... 9:30... Welp, after listening to "Lovecool" (how it's spelled on YT) about 5 times and having my soul / mind just turn to warm lime jello, I realized this song would be haunting me for the rest of my life, and hence I had to go see her.  So at 9:45 I headed out.

Listened to MSNBC's post-debate analysis on the radio; WTUL's DJ played my request for George McCrae's "I Get Lifted" right as I pulled up to Siberia.  I had previously only been to two shows here, and one Record Raid.  In fitting with its name, the club now serves what is billed as New Orleans' only true Russian / Slavic food, so I ordered a $4 provolone blini (Russian crepe) and $2 grilled asparagus while watching a blonde-looking lady setting up some equipment onstage in the nearly-empty building.  It turned out to be Maria, who I guess dyes her hair darker in her videos.  She began by saying "Can you guys come in closer, away from the bar?" and some people obeyed.  There were film clips projected behind her the whole time.  She had some sound problems, due to getting to the club right before 10; "This is what happens when you don't have a sound check," she said apologetically at one point after having to restart a song, and I had flashbacks to Grimes' performance at Tulane's quad last March.  She only played for 30 minutes, and did not do "Luvcool," so I was disappointed, but was still glad I had gone, since I would have always been wondering if she played it or not.  I think most of the crowd was a bit dumbfounded by her music, especially the singing.  Like many great singers her voice can admittedly sound off-key until your ears adjust to her style.  I could sense some snickering going on just based on how people were turning to their neighbors and talking while smiling.  (For example, Bob Dylan has a terrible voice but is a great singer, if that makes any sense.)  I think her voice is more suited to icy, almost-whispered songs like "Luvcool," just as Grimes' voice is better-suited to songs like "Be A Body."  She could totally become the go-to female guest vocalist in all of indiedom, not just in synth-popdom or chillwavedom.  I'm not trying to turn this site into Hipster Runoff or anything, but hopefully Maria will supplant the rather boring and pretentious Zola Jesus.

It's kind of freaky how much she resembles my dad's sister Kathleen.  I also kept thinking to myself how much she resembles Lindsey Vonn, even down to the height (probably almost 6 feet) and the frankly startling Olympic swimmer build, which was only startling because most indie dudettes & dudes tend to be so rail-thin and lacking in musculature.  Those N. Europeans are generally the most unweak on earth, which you'd know if you've ever watched those World's Strongest Man or CrossFit competitions on ESPN2.  Maria Minerva is probably Lindsey Vonn.  Maria Minerva is Lindsey Vonn.  Maria Minerva is the world's foremost female downhill skiier.  Lindsey Vonn is the most meteorically-rising composer of electronic avant-pop.  Maria Minerva was on a Wheaties box.

Pic with no flash during middle of her set, showing projected video

Pic with flash during her last song; the flash obviously killed the video

I took one flash pic as I on my way out the door to get a few moments of refreshing air; this turned out to be at the end of her last song.  Camera battery died soon after, so the existence of the pic itself is sort of a miracle.  Saw her outside a little later and gave my standard "Good show."  Her accent is quite odd, since English is probably not her main language; she sounds kind of like Marlee Matlin.  I was wearing a black shirt with 4 gold dolphins and the word "MAUI."  "Mah-oo-ee?" (or something like that) she asked, while touching the word on the shirt.  I told her I came in just to see "Luvcool" and added "and you didn't play it, or at least I don't think you did."  She confirmed she didn't, and asked if I had seen the video.  I said yeah.  She said she can't play it live because she no longer has the computer on which she composed it about 3 years ago, which had all the synth presets; I forgot if she said it had been stolen or if she just lost it.  I told her she should re-record it and should definitely keep working on it / start playing it, but I stupidly forgot to ask her what the song is about.  Also forgot to ask if she tried the club's food to see if it passed the authenticity test.  She said she was surprised at the low turnout because "Moon Duo are big," so I explained the neighborhood's new no-concert-flyers rule.  I asked if opening act Sir Stephen (misspelled on the chalkboard outside as Sir Stephan) had gone on before I got there, and she said "No, he's on next.  He's my fwend; you should come back inside and watch him."  Then she indicated that the convo was over when she reached out and shook my hand and said that she had to go back inside.  So yeah, that was my little 5-minute brush with the next Laurie Anderson or Grimes or, if she gets more into multimedia stuff, Miranda July.  Her future stardom is all but a given.  She has boundless charisma, friendliness and energy, and zero ego whatsoever, so it's weird that people probably think of her as an "ice queen" based on her music / image.

Other show tidbits: DJ Perpetual Care played Kraftwerk's "Trans Europe Express" and "Numbers," among dozens of other songs.  In fact, the vast majority of the music came from his decks, since there was only 75 mins. of live music in the 3.5 hours I spent there.  Sir Stephen, with trumpeter in tow, got bumped.  DJ PC pointed me to him, so we chit-chatted and he apologized and seemed really bummed out.  He's a local dude on 100% Silk Records, a disco-ish offshoot of Not Not Fun, hence he and Maria are basically labelmates.  He told me he and Maria had just met tonight, so I thought it was cute that Maria already thought of him as a friend.  But that's just her personality: super-friendly as fuck.

I put 2011 as the date at the top of this page, even though I mentioned that she said she recorded the song about 3 years ago, which would be around 2009 or early 2010.  If you stole her computer, please return it to me.

Staking Chinese Pistachio trees with Parkway Partners peeps, incl. Nell Howard, Tim Hurley, and two guys whose names I have temporarily forgotten.  This was the biggest and most annoying tree, so we had to rock the roots back and forth to sever some of them.  Pic by my sis, who provided moral encouragement and called this pic the "Iwo Jima moment."  I'm in the red Drew Brees jersey, as I mentioned before:

Mon. Oct. 15: Saw MONO at the Spanish Moon for the fourth time; Chris Brokaw (ex-Codeine guy) opened.  More on that show next time maybe.

Today: Tamaryn's new album drops, but they are not coming here on their tour with the equally dream-poppy Young Prisms.  Still mad at myself for skipping the Prisms last year.  Tamaryn's new single is sorta forgettable, not nearly as amazing as "Dawning" (then again, what is?), but the new album is allegedly more radio-friendly as a whole.
Probably going to eat at GW Fins tonight for my parents' anniversary, even though it's a seafood restaurant and I don't eat seafood.

Oops: Without permission, Paul Ryan and family show up washing clean dishes at Ohio soup kitchen - "The Post reports that Ryan made the unscheduled stop after an event at Youngstown State University, and was there for about 15 minutes.  But though the pictures taken show Ryan apparently doing dishes, the food had already been served and everything had already been cleaned before he got there."

Planets with similar climates: Julee Cruise & Angelo Badalamenti - "Falling" (1989), Memoryhouse - "Lately" (2009), Laurie Anderson - "Walking & Falling" (1982), Chairlift - "Cool As A Fire" (2011), Slowdive - "Losing Today" (1990), Insides - "Darling Effect" (1993).

Lovers >> I know I don't want to live without it

Lovers - "Figure 8"

(Badman Recording Co., 2010)

Not much to say here other than the band totally nailed the vocal harmonizing to stunning effect.  The harmonizing brings to mind Alice In Chains' eerier, acoustic-based stuff, and you know I'm always drawn to songs with this kind of "prowling" beat / tempo.  There's one somewhat startlingly sexual lyric that actually goes with the mellow flow of the song quite well, though it might make you spit your soda out the first time you hear it.  "They don't pray as hard as I ache" is a sublimely beautiful and subtle way of exposing the folly / cruelty of religious conservatives as it relates to the simple human emotions of two people (in this case, women) who love each other.  It's always nice to have a simple, catchy, solid song like this pop up on the ol' shuffle play, and I always have to play this one 5 to 10 times in a row.  The beat is extremely similar to the one in a song called "Digital Versicolor" by fellow Portland synthers Glass Candy.

Note: If I ever decide to take this mp3 down, you can hopefully still download it from the Oregon Music News site by clicking here, and while you're at it, read their nice article on the band.  At the bottom it also lists the exact gear they used on the album.

The typical shrieky grrrl band like Sleater-Kinney or Bikini Kill couldn't write a song with this kind of subtlety and atmosphere if their lives depended on it.  It's just baffling that this was not a huge indie radio hit, though the band's unremarkable name is probably partly to blame for them getting lost in the avalanche of new bands popping up every week.  And of course their label couldn't even bother to release it as a single.  This is why one of my dreams if I ever win the lottery is to start my own singles label dedicated only to releasing songs that should've been singles years or decades ago.  I would do this right after buying up a ton of rainforest in South America.

The bio on the group's website says: "Loud and proud, Portland, OR based Lovers is a band of emotional intensity and complexity. Their new album Dark Light begins with singer Carolyn Berk’s confession, 'Every time the music starts, I can feel my aching, shaking heart,' and from there, Lovers embark on a spiritual journey of inspired three-part harmonies, deep introspection, and next-wave humor. Since 2001 songwriter Carolyn Berk has established her unique voice as Lovers with four acclaimed, haunted and heart-broken previous albums. Lovers (celebrated lyricist Berk, synth-programmer and performance artist Kerby Ferris, and sequencer and percussionist Emily Kingan) craft an intimate portrait of female friendship, sexuality, and evolution as an infinite process."

I like most infinite processes, such as the "rising" and "falling" of the sun, that perpetually-swinging pendulum I used to see at some museum, breathing, learning how to juggle knives, cleaning your car's windshield, etc.  I also like intimate portraits of female friendship, such as The Simple Life, Bananarama's "Cruel Summer" video, and Desperately Seeking Susan.

Dark Light was the album on which Lovers "went synth-pop."  I headed over to Siberia last year to see Lovers, even though most of their new album, Dark Light, was a bit too synthy and '80s for me.  My sister and her boyfriend bailed on me at the last minute, so I had to go solo.  Seeing a flawless rendition of "Figure 8" was obviously the main highlight, but the rest of the set was no slouch either.  The keyboard player and harmony vocalist, Kerby, made some funny quips throughout the night and was quite entertaining overall.  Local homo-disco party rappers Skate Night! played last, and got a great reception as well.  I felt out of place being one of the few str8 dudes there, but hey, this is New Orleans and people are people so why should it be?

It was kinda weird though, since Siberia is mainly a punk / metal / stoner rock type of club.  I believe it used to be a meat storage facility, based on its thick brick walls and super-cold A/C.  It now allegedly boasts the only true Russian food in the whole city.  It's right on the same St. Claude intersection with the Hi-Ho Lounge and the AllWays Lounge & Theatre, making for one of the coolest 50 square yard areas in the country.  I rarely go there, though.

I forgot to mention I saw this new local band Glish on Aug. 12th at one of the new Sunday matinee shows at The Big Top.  Excellent shoegazey noise pop stuff, especially the heavy, drifty, Hum-meets-Slowdive song "Collider," which you can stream [http://glish.bandcamp.com/album/collider-demo,here].  It was hot and raining so I didn't bring a camera, but the photo-holic guy who runs barryfest.com (I had gotten a business card from him outside a show here or at the Zeitgeist early in the year) was taking lots of pics, so I assume he'll post them soon.  They began with "Collider" and then did every song on their Blast Off EP except "Don't Be So Fucking Nonchalant."  I bought Blast Off on cassette afterwards, since that's the only physical format it's available on.  I made sure to wear one of my best shoegaze shirts, namely my red Band Of Susans one.  Afterwards, I asked the singer if anyone in the band was into the Swirlies, since they had a very Swirlies-ish sound, and she goes "Oh my god, I was just listening to them today!"  So I asked her favorite songs but she didn't know any because that was the first time she'd ever heard them.  She was rocking a pixie cut and possibly the shortest shorts ever manufactured in any sweatshop.  One of their members was wearing a Flaming Lips shirt.  Another local act, an emo-ish, looper-fortified duo/solo project called The Self-Help Tapes, played after Glish, but Glish was the acknowledged headliner.  It was a benefit with all proceeds supposedly going to a local company called the Community Printshop, though I saw some Glishers dividing up cash outside the club afterwards, so I'm not so sure about that.  The turnout was about 20 people, and unfortunately Desiree was not among them.  I almost bought a $5 print that just had the phrase "When Doves Cry" on it in a cool peach-colored font.  (Scheduled opening act No Clouds, supposedly a trip-hop / shoegaze type band, cancelled.)

Went to the new Fresh Market on St. Charles afterwards and got some obscure beers.  Their beer dude, Madison, is like an encyclopedia of beer knowledge.  He told me that a local deli called Stein's actually has the best beer selection in town by far (not counting brewpubs like d.b.a. and the Avenue Pub), so I'll have to hit it up soon.

I took this at the Zoo recently, and found out it's a quote by an author named Mark Doty:

There were some other cool quotes mounted around the Zoo, including this one by Robinson Jeffers, done stencil style on a gray wall:
"As for us:
We must uncenter our minds from ourselves.
We must unhumanize our views a little, and become confident
As the rock and ocean that we were made from."

Deciding on a bunch of shows to go to in the next two months, including Saul Williams (spoken word), Glish (EP release party), M83, Godspeed You Black Emperor, Dinosaur Jr. (original lineup), Voodoo Fest, and the Psychedelic Furs (with the only two original members being the Butler brothers, but Mars Williams has returned on sax).  Definitely going to see Beach House, Merchandise, and Aussie sensations The Jezabels.

My cousin Shane came in, so we watched the Saints' humiliating season-opening loss to the Redkins in RG3's debut.  His friends, Redskins fans from Virginia, went to the game and probably had the time of their lives.  On Sat. they all saw Galactic (w/ Corey Glover of Living Colour on vocals) at Tipitina's.  On Sunday night I went to the Mushroom, but found out that the person I wanted to see doesn't even work there on that day anymore.  But one out-of-the-blue "I'm Nicole, by the way" introduction was enough to make it a worthwhile night.  Snagged Curve's Döppelgänger on used used CD and Less Than Zero on DVD.  I had sold my Döppelgänger CD many years ago, and, after listening to it again, realized I was right to have done so, since it pales in comparison to both Cuckoo and the EP compilation Pubic Fruit, but any Curve fan knows that.

ATTN: Employees - Do not buy these used CDs - As a bargain bin aficionado, this makes me nod my head in agreement grimly

Documentary claims that the music industry deliberately lowered the quality of vinyl records during rhe '80s - "The records were thinner and more flimsy. Everything was designed for us to switch our music collection over to CD."

Ervin McKinness, aspiring rapper, tweets 'YOLO' about driving drunk and dies minutes later

Currently eating or drinking: Campari tomatoes; Outer Darkness Stout (best stout ever, probably; comes in a wine bottle; almost as thick as motor oil); Winn-Dixie sourdough bread; Kraft Mayo With Olive Oil (olive oil is the #1 non-water ingredient in it, so it's quite healthy, and tastes just like actual mayo); Eel River Porter (beer); Quaker Stila blueberry crisp bars.

Good to great movies recently seen: Live!; Another Earth; The Doom Generation; Vivre sa vie (a.k.a. My Life To Live); Not Easily Broken; All She Can (a.k.a. Benavides Born).

Currently reading: Paul Theroux - Sinning With Annie and Other Stories (1969-72); Christian Lander - Stuff White People Like.  Tried to skim Dave Eggers' A Heartbreaking Work Of Staggering Genius but got annoyed by it.

Planets with similar climates: Lush - "Light From A Dead Star" (1994), Glass Candy - "Digital Versicolor" (2007), Grimes - "Be A Body" (2011), Pet Shop Boys - "Love Comes Quickly" (1985), Let's Active - "Horizon" (1988), Cat Power - "Cross Bones Style" (1998), Pearl Harbor (a.k.a. Puro Instinct) - "California Shakedown" (2009), School Of Seven Bells - "I L U" (2010) & "Lafaye" (2011), Alice In Chains - "No Excuses" (1993), Blair (Blair Gimma) - "Hearts" (2009), Curve - "Clipped" (1991), Yo La Tengo - "Autumn Sweater" (1997).  

School Of Seven Bells >> Swing my weight around

School Of Seven Bells - "Windstorm"

(Ghostly International / Vagrant Records [U.S.]; Full Time Hobby Records [U.K.], 2010)

My town is about to get a direct hit from Hurricane Isaac, so this was the only song that kept coming to mind.  It's only gonna be a category 1, and we took a direct category 2 hit from Gustav in '08, so I'm not very worried.  The only annoying thing is moving my 100+ outdoor potted plants around.  Perhaps based on their extremely polished sound, I had always thought SVIIB were on a major label, but a check of my Disconnect From Desire CD, in beautiful paper gatefold packaging, proves otherwise.  This is truly one of the catchiest choruses I've ever heard, so beware, because it can really get stuck in your head for months at a time.  This song came out on a red vinyl 7" in the U.K., but only as a "digital single" in the U.S.  More proof that the Brits have always valued these kinds of bands more than we have over here, though ours did have an extra track, since we believe in super-sizing.

This song has that duelling-simultaneous-choruses style that reminds me of the old nursery rhyme "Frère Jacques," as well as the Psychedelic Furs' immortal "The Ghost In You."  The wussiness of the song's opening chant used to put me off, but Alejandra Deheza's main vocals have a deep, resonant, almost androgynous tone that is very awesome to my male ears, especially during the "When the fire's burning from sky to ground..." part.  The drums have a loose, jazzy feel that suits the music perfectly.  It was NPR's song of the day: "[Ben] Curtis says he began writing the chord progression based on a melody that Alejandra Deheza was singing while they were driving through the Alps; they constructed the song's transporting sound to remind listeners of the mountains."

The aforementioned extra track on the U.S. single is a predictably pounding remix by A Place To Bury Strangers.

"Bye Bye Bye" actually had more potential to be a hit than "Windstorm" did, in my opinion.

Fun Fact: The album title is from Brian Eno's storied Oblique Strategies card deck.  Yes, this band is pretentious and meticulous in all the best ways...

As I mentioned a few months ago (see here), I saw SVIIB in April '11 opening for Interpol at House Of Blues in New Orleans, and headlining at the Spanish Moon in Baton Rouge in April of this year.

Alejandra's twin sister Claudia had left the band in Sept. 2010, right after Disconnect From Desire came out, so I guess I'll never get to see the "real" / original SVIIB live.  Note: They were not at their merch table either time, so don't plan on saying hi to them at a gig.  And they did not have the "Windstorm" 7" for sale at either gig, since it had presumably sold out long ago.  They also didn't play "Dust Devil" either time, so don't go hoping to see it.  I did see Ben Curtis playing pool upstairs at the Spanish Moon right before opening act EXITMUSIC went on and unspooled their gloom-rock.  Ben's previous band, Secret Machines, kicked moderate ass at Voodoo Fest '05, doing a bombastic type of Led Zeppelin meets prog rock thing.

Former print mag CMJ's digital cover from July 26, 2010. Hilarious Fact: This was actually not SVIIB's debut album..

Go check out the album cover and then look for that strange symbol, on the band members' bodies and elsewhere, in the music video:

There was also a deluxe version of the CD that came in a box with tarot cards; these cards are reproduced in the booklet of the regular CD issue too, so don't break the bank on the deluxe CD.  I usually complain about bands that I like making super-catchy songs and then not receiving enough of a marketing push.  Well, this album got a truly impressive and diverse promotional blitz, but SVIIB's music proved to be not quite simplistic enough to compete in the current major-label or indie climates, in which lobotomized party music reigns supreme.

Cheesy '80s-style album announcement poster

You may wish to read this article, if only for the stylish photos: The evolution of Brooklyn's School Of Seven Bells

Map from two days ago

Map from today

I was gonna see the Jeff Buckley-channeling band Ours, of "Sometimes" fame, at the Parish in N.O. last night, but it was cancelled due to the storm.  I guess I'll go when it gets rescheduled.

My sister sez noted Lana Del Rey hater Brian Williams has been following around her crew at her hospital in N.O. today, so you can probably catch a glimpse of her on tonight's NBC News.

Hipster traps appear around New York City - "...which include sunglasses, a yellow bicycle chain, a Holga camera, a can of PBR and a pack of American Spirits as bait."

Planets with similar climates: My Bloody Valentine - "Drive It All Over Me" (1988), Curve - "Horror Head" (1992), The Psychedelic Furs - "The Ghost In You" (1984), Lush - "Take" (1992), Pearl Harbor / Puro Instinct - "Slivers Of You" (2010), Catherine Wheel - "Flower To Hide" (1992), Bleach - "Dipping" (1991).