Note: I wrote this post on the same day I made my last post, the Paradise Vendors song, July 31st. The only reason I didn't post this one was the Palestine-vs.-Israel conflict, as well as the rash of beheadings by ISIS. It just felt inappropriate to post such a fun and flippant song at that time. Then the Mike Brown fiasco happened, etc., and everyone on social media turned into an idiot, and I ended up spending the summer and fall adjusting my entire sociopolitical worldview to these eye-opening realities. (Key terms I learned: Cultural Marxism and Identity Politics.) However, it's now New Year's Eve and this song is the ultimate party jam and this is America, so here you go.
Electrical Spectacle was a New Orleans band consisting of Mike Mayfield and Anton Gussoni. They made party-friendly electronic dancescapes that answer the question: What would Kraftwerk have sounded like if they had originated in New Orleans rather than in Germany? Since Kraftwerk literally contains the word "twerk," you know they were a deranged party band in an alternate universe, and New Orleans is an alternate universe, so do the math. This song sure does sound like it was inspired by Kraftwerk's "Ruckzuck". That was the theme song for the science show Newton's Apple, which I watched religiously in the '80s. (Check out this mind-blowing comment about "Ruckzuck" on YouTube by user dabidosan: "Can't believe I'm going to put this out here, but.....This used to be the theme song to the children's show Newton's Apple. Well....when I was little, every time the show would come on......I would take my badminton rackets and flap them on my back while hopping on one leg to this song....it was my 'Mosquito Dance.'")
Mood Modulation EP (CD-R, 2001)
Electrical Spectacle (CD-R, 2002)
I heard this track a lot on WTUL in the early '00s. I actually have it both on the Mood Modulation EP (CD-R, 2001) and the band's self-titled album (CD-R, 2002). The mp3 I'm posting here is from the 2001 EP, just because it's surely much harder to find. Both versions sound almost identical, though the first one was made entirely by Mayfield when it was a solo project, and the second version was made by Mayfield, Gussoni and drummer Louis Romanos when it had become a true band. My copy of Mood Modulation has cool little pinholes punched into the cover near each corner around the atom design. "Transcontinental" (even the title has an "international man of mystery" feel to it) is remarkably solid from an instrumental standpoint, down to the snappy drumming and the killer synth attack. The fact that one person put this whole song together on his own is simply breathtaking. Some vocals might've helped it to reach a wider audience, but may have also tarnished its aesthetic. It should've been used in one of those Austin Powers movies, as Fantastic Plastic Machine's "Bachelor Pad" was.
L-R: Gussoni, Romanos, Mayfield; photo from 1/22/02 issue of Gambit
Local indie label Backporch Revolution says this (er, they did back in July... it has now been deleted) about the Mood Modulation EP: "From spaced-out krautrock to space age bossanova, the 2001 debut 4-track EP from Electrical Spectacle is arguably the most-played local release on WTUL in the last five years. It's never been readily available, though, so we're finally re-releasing it on the web."
Local newsweekly Gambit has a great article by Michael Patrick Welch (a.k.a. The White Bitch) which talks about how bands like Electrical Spectacle fit into the early '00s NOLA scene.
I never saw Electrical Spectacle, but I have seen Mayfield live, as a member of ambient droners Liteworks in 2009, and in '80s-style minimal wavers ((PRESSURES)) in 2014. I don't think I ever saw any band featuring Gussoni, but I seem to remember talking to him about music right outside of the Loyola library in early 2001. The full-band version of Electrical Spectacle featured amazing Jaki Liebezeit-esque drummer Romanos of chill local jazz/electronic duo Permagrin. I saw the 'Grin three times, all in 2004, including once at Jazz Fest.
Planets with similar climates: Kraftwerk - "Ruckzuck" (1970), Fantastic Plastic Machine - "Bachelor Pad" (1997), Quintron - "Bug Attack" (1998), Telefon Tel Aviv - "My Week Beats Your Year" (2003), Aphex Twin - "Girl/Boy Song" (1996), Harald Grosskopf - "So Weit, So Gut" (1980).
Alrighty, I'm back. After realizing three years have passed since I started this thing, I've decided to stop beating around the bush and just post lots of my all-time favorite songs, since I've barely gotten to many of my all-time favorite artists. Yes, Tumblr has been consuming most of my attention, since I can post major-label songs (recently by the likes of Ween, the Sundays, the Pointer Sisters, the Police, *NSYNC, Ride, PJ Harvey, the Church, Marvin Gaye, Goldie, the Bangles, the Future Sound Of London, Depeche Mode, PM Dawn, Daft Punk, Plexi, Sinéad O'Connor, etc.), which is something I obviously can't do on here. I'm going to start doing shorter posts on here.
Miracle - "Strange Taste"
(self-released[?], 2013)
Here is an astounding song from Steve Moore (Zombi) and Daniel O'Sullivan (lots of bands). It effortlessly lays to waste most of the '80s-wannabe bands of the current era, as well as the output of most actual '80s bands. I got it for free from Mixmag at SoundCloud. The production is gorgeous. You can tell the band did not treat this song as a mere throwaway.
Here are the young men
This song is not on any of Miracle's official releases (an album, an EP, and two singles), for some unfathomable reason. I really hope they release it as a standalone single, because it could be huge on college radio. The bio at the Planet Mu page says "In fact it was on a Guapo / Zombi tour in 2006 they first met, with the music starting to trickle out slowly around 2010. Initially the music was intended as an instrumental dance project, however the project started to take on a life of its own when Daniel started to add vocals and lyrics." I would love to get an instrumental version of "Strange Taste," but the version with vocals is impossible to improve upon. The long pause between "sun" and "fall" in the chorus is so tantalizing.
I think this sums up Miracle's main influences pretty well
The concerts I've seen since I last posted on here 4 months ago:
Cat Power + Nico Turner at House Of Blues
Rihanna + A$AP Rocky at New Orleans Arena (rechristened Smoothie King Center [really] last week)
Bodhi3 w/ guest poet Moose Jackson at Siberia
Darkside + High Water at House of Blues
Julianna Barwick + Vasillus at Tulane's LBC Quad
Cobalt Cranes + Grooms at Circle Bar
The Body + Pyeya at the Mushroom
The Amazing Acro-Cats (yes, performing cats) at the AllWays Lounge's Marigny Theatre
Chelsea Light Moving + Merchandise at One Eyed Jacks
(After the Darkside show ended on Super Bowl night, I drove by Siberia to possibly catch High On Fire, but after seeing the huge throng of black-clad people milling about outside, I assumed it was a sellout and didn't even stop.) Skipped Voodoo Fest, at which the Cure played "Burn," my favorite song by them, for the first time ever. Out of the bands in the list, Grooms were the most striking and memorable. Expect a song from them on here very soon. The new Warpaint and Blouse albums are big disappointments so far. And Grimes signed to Jay-Z's management team... No comment on that.
Planets with similar climates: Depeche Mode - "Blasphemous Rumours" (1984), National Skyline - "Metropolis" (2000), Tears For Fears - "Change" & "Start Of The Breakdown" (1982), Satisfact - "Dysfunction" (1996).
This is one of those songs that causes you to think "Okay, this band is gonna have a box set one day." Just like the Wye Oak song in my last post, I heard this one on WTUL while driving around (in this case, on the Westbank), and just about flipped out and had to call in immediately to find out what band it was. This was in spring of 2006. I obtained the mp3 as a free download from their website probably the same day, probably with crazed drool issuing forth from my mouth and my eyes bugging out of my head. Just last week, I finally bought the CD that it's on, The Dividing Island. Befitting the band's artsy leanings, it comes in cool gatefold packaging with triangular flaps, all done in a black and white color scheme.
Right down to its puzzling name, Lansing-Dreiden has always shrouded itself in mystery, and I always heard that they do not actually appear in the official music video:
As one astute YouTuber said: "Lansing-Dreiden rule! Fuck Pitchfork!" I swear, someday I hope to have "Fuck Pitchfork" on my tombstone. Make it happen, someone... I'll have my sister make you a free mix CD. (Pitchfork actually gave the album a 7.7 rating.)
The video was also available for free download on their site back in 2006 in MPG format, and I sent out its URL to all my online music buddies. (This was at the dawn of the YouTube era.) Yes, they simply gave away this song and its video for free, for many years in fact. Incredibly, this song wasn't released as a single, though having a video qualifies it as a de facto single. I was constantly haranguing people to check this band out, and I was sure they'd be the next big pop stars or something. L-D seemed to pattern themselves after The KLF in many ways, and "A Line" could've been as big a hit as "3 A.M. Eternal", if not bigger. (I bought the "3 A.M. Eternal" cassingle in 1991, a day before going to Cozumel!) In my review of The Dividing Island on Rate Your Music in 2007, I said "Unfortunately, the rest of the album veers from quirky '60s pop to other genres, since I once read that the band's goal on this album was to make it sound like a compilation of several different bands in different genres."
In recent years, the post-L-D project Violens has been garnering a good amount of attention in the indie blogosphere. They released the dazzling, kinetic single "Acid Reign" in 2010, but have turned sort of boring since then in my opinion. They're currently on Slumberland Records.
Mexican Summer (home of Best Coast, Tamaryn, No Joy, and others) is about to reissue L-D's first three releases. Ariel Pink is quoted as saying "Lansing-Dreiden was a musical entity shrouded in mystery and a best kept secret to muso’s the world over in the early 2000's. With this highly anticipated and beautifully packaged reissue of the band’s most treasured ouvres, Lansing-Dreiden is finally set to gain the appreciation and attention they have always deserved."
(Note: The mp3 in this post is from the original 2006 CD, not the upcoming Mexican Summer reissue, which will presumably be remastered. Remember that I always try to avoid giving away the highest-quality version of a song, because I want people to have a reason to buy the latest pressing of an album.)
Mon. 3/25: Went to the Baton Rouge Zoo for the first time, and my animal-snob self was pretty impressed. Also went to the Cohn Arboretum right down the road, but my über-plant-snob self was not too impressed. Lots of cheesy generic landscaping plants like waxleaf ligusturum, yuck.
Wed. 3/27: Went to the Hornets-Clippers game with Damion via free tix from Hector. The Hornets lost, but I did excitedly snap a pic of a young Chris & Cliff Paul as we were arriving.
Afterwards, I went to see Helen Gillet play a fun but poorly-attended solo show at the AllWays Lounge. She did lots of covers of peppy French pop tunes, which came as quite a shock to me, since I had seen her doing strictly experimental stuff with her cello.
Those are copies of her two CDs for sale at the foot of the stage
Had a great 1AM conversation with a WTUL DJ, Calder King, in which we talked about shoegaze bands. I was blown away when he immediately played my requests for Drop Nineteens' "Delaware" and Swervedriver's "Never Lose That Feeling." And I pretty much decided to become a DJ there, since I now know of three WTUL DJs who didn't go to Tulane.
Thu. 3/28: Went to the Iron Rail's new location to pick up a 12" by Arctic Flowers that I had ordered last Oct., but someone had bought it. Bryan (Funck, the Ian MacKaye of the NOLA punk / indie scene) was playing a Duran Duran best-of album, and not for irony value either. In fact, when it ended, he upped the ante by wordlessly putting on a Milli Vanilli album, again not for irony value. They definitely don't make 'em like that dude very often... Loyola represent. Some of the crusty punks shopping inside seemed a bit bewildered, but I can report that I heard some people humming along. I'd like to volunteer there or help out in some way, but I'm unfortunately not much of an anarchist.
Fri. 3/29: Continuing the theme of going to new places, I went to Pizza Delicious' new digs with Ashley (impressive art gallery inside, by the way), then showed her Euclid Records and Harold's nursery briefly. Scored Blouse's debut LP on white vinyl w/ alternate cover art at Euclid; a pretty unexpected find. I lent Ashley Wild Nothing's Nocturne and the Cure's Kiss Me Kiss Me Kiss Me. Went to the Defend New Orleans store for the first time and bought a mohawked-skull logo pin. Finally made it to Stein's Deli for the first time, and was not disappointed by their beer selection, which was rumored to be amazing. They were playing Tool's Undertow in its entirety, not the hipster stuff that you'd hear at, say, Dat Dog. Gave the remainder of my pizza to two difft. thrift stores, since it was too spicy for me and I'm trying to cut way down on my dairy intake in order to clear up my sinuses. I'm not religious, but this Good Friday really lived up to its name, right down to the breezy, NorCal-esque weather. Sorry for all the details, but this was an eventful week for li'l old me. The next post will be free of personal details because I will not do anything next week.
Planets with similar climates: Tears For Fears - "Head Over Heels" (1984), Simple Minds - "Promised You A Miracle" (1982), Depeche Mode - "Stripped" (1986), School Of Seven Bells - "Heart Is Strange" (2010), The Psychedelic Furs - "Heartbreak Beat" (1986).
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).
You may remember this song when its video was briefly a viral sensation several years ago. I was so obsessed with it that I told or emailed everyone I could about it. As with all great works of art, every word of it is still relevant today, or at least can be used by future sociologists / historians to determine the zeitgeist of a certain era.
"What she said"
I don't know if it did anything to curb the overusage of gang hand signage among white females in North America. If anything, it may have glorified it and caused it to even spread overseas. I'm not totally against the usage of gang signs, and I've been known to throw up a Wesside (Westside), but only in emergencies. Check out Reid's website Very Tasteful to see the wide array of stuff he does with comedic panache. This song was compiled on a digital album called Very Tasteful: Volume One (available on Amazon and iTunes) in 2009.
I did not vote for Obama in '08 because I didn't think he had enough experience. So I cast a protest vote against the Republicans by voting for Ralph Nader that year, as I had in '00. I'm glad Obama was able to overcome the overtly racist attacks on him over the last 4 years, starting literally on day 1 of his first term, with Mitch McConnell's infamous "We will block literally everything he tries to do over the next four years" pledge. The incredibly creepy, devious, and out-of-touch Mitt Romney never really had a chance in this race, and he literally invented Obamacare in Massachussetts, so there's that. The Republicans' voter suppression tactics backfired. Using the Benghazi scandal backfired. The concept of having a Republican president, Republican House, Republican Senate, and ultra-conservative Supreme Court (bye bye, Roe v. Wade) was enough to get lots of people out to the polls who normally wouldn't have. Republicans are doing very well in the House, but have now lost 5 of the last 6 popular votes in U.S. Presidential elections. (Remember, Al Gore won the popular vote by half a million votes in 2000.) This coincides with Rush Limbaugh's rise to power as the undisputed voice of conservative America in the early '90s. Coincidence? Rush's salary of $50 million a year does not seem to be providing his employers with much in the way of hard results, and he in fact seems to be simply helping the opposition get elected, time and time again. Just my observations as a politics junkie and believer / hoper in the future existence of a third party in America. This will not happen in my lifetime, of course. I voted for Obama this time, mainly as a fuck-you to the current crop of rabid, secessionary, antebellum Republicans, even though I don't really agree with Obamacare and some other things, such as the fact that he didn't close Guantanamo Prison as he had promised back in '07/08. Presidential votes don't even matter in my state anyway, since it always votes red; only "swing states" matter, and Obama won 8 of the 9 that were designated as such this year. The other 41 states were pretty much ignored altogether.
You can see this is based on 2004-5 data, before California and Florida tanked due to the housing crisis. But it was also before Katrina, so I bet my state is now #1 in the righthand column of this list.
Fri. Nov. 9: Future Islands + Talk Normal + Kindest Lines at the Spanish Moon in Baton Rouge.
I got a lot of strange looks due to my James Chance & The Contortions shirt that says WHITE CANNIBAL. NOLA band KL opened unannounced, and impressed the crowd with about half an hour of synthy post-punk. They opened with their single "Destructive Paths To Live Happily," as they usually seem to do. Talked with their very loquacious guitarist Jack a lot the rest of the night about shared favorite bands (Chameleons, Comsat Angels) and about the drama (suicide, onstage fights, label bankruptcy) surrounding his previous band, The Public. He insisted I take a free copy of the "Destructive Paths" 7" and I declined, telling him I already had it. I offered him a few dollars for it but he refused, so I graciously took it. Talk Normal were the reason I went to this show and they were badass. A female duo: one on drums and lead vocals, another on guitar/bass and occasional lead vocals. They had an abrasive but oddly melodic sound, not unlike Live Skull or Sonic Youth's more acidic songs. The drummer is very entertaining and the guitarist is very icy and badass in her own way. Most of the crowd was pushed to the rear corners (and upstairs balcony) of the club by the band's onslaught, but they cheered heartily after every song. The lack of bodies up front allowed me to get this photo; check out the drummer's neck:
In addition to all these pedals, guitarist Sarah Register also had a large looping pedal unit of some sort off to the left; she used it a lot towards the end. l freaking love this pic.
Bought this from them at the merch table afterwards: Sugarland CD, Secret Cog CD-R EP, "Lone General" 7". (Note: My 7" is pressed defectively and is essentially unplayable, even though it looks totally fine. So be forewarned if buying it.) If I had known it was a CD-R instead of a CD, I would've bought Secret Cog on 12" for the same price ($7).
Future Islands are a strange synth-rock band on, surprisingly, Thrill Jockey Records. Those of us who grew up on Thrill Jockey's esoteric post-rock in the '90s will find the label barely recognizable nowadays, but anyway, the band's frontman is one of the most charismatic you will ever see. The only way I can describe him is a cross between Jack Black, Morrissey, Peter Steele (of Type O Negative), and Har Mar Superstar. He does some really cool, Ronnie James Dio-esque stage antics, and announced to the crowd that he had just eaten two cheeseburgers. They played some new, unnamed songs. At the merch table afterwards, Talk Normal's email signup list had only 2 names on it (one of them mine of course), while Future Islands' list had about 20. I recommended Hovercraft and Lozen to Talk Normal, and they wrote it in their smartphone to check out later. I actually typed in three specific Hovercraft songs for them; even though Hovercraft were much more spacey and atmospheric, their guitarist did some noise wrangling that Talk Normal sometimes does. It turns out TN's guitarist is a sound engineer with a very impressive list of projects, such as most of Broken Water's releases. (She told me they actually played with Broken Water.)
I got home and found out I actually did NOT own the "Destructive Paths" 7", so I was glad Jack made me take it. A good ending to a very interesting night...
Sat. Nov. 10: Finally saw The Right Stuff and was pretty impressed. I have to say Chuck Yeager is the world's ultimate badass.
Sun. Nov. 11: He Can Jog at McKeown's Books And Difficult Music.
He Can Jog is a guy from Milwaukee who makes glitchy, ambient electronic music via circuit-bending and real-time use of some sort of software that he apparently writes himself. His bandmate used a melodica and some sort of keyboard. The crowd was about 15 people, but they seemed to be really digging it. Reminded me a lot of Oval. HCG played here in 2008 as a trio but I didn't go. Bought a Kennech Koch book called Thank You and Other Poems (1963) and a compendium of works by "punk poet" Steven Jesse Bernstein called More Noise, Please! (1996). Talked with one of the store's owners about Terry Riley's A Rainbow In Curved Air (after I overheard him comparing He Can Jog's music to that album), Steve Reich, and other stuff. It was a free show, as all of these "An Evening Of Difficult Music" events are. I dropped $3 in the musician's tip jar but stupidly didn't take a HCJ postcard which contains a download code for one of their recent albums. Oh well.
Stopped by the Mushroom on my way home and talked to McCall (had incorrectly thought her name was Nicole) for a while. She said she checked out the Polvo album I had told her about and liked it, but it was not really her thing. She told me she has not been to many concerts lately, but did get to see Frank Ocean. Filled out a survey she was doing for a business class. Didn't buy anything; saw a great Faith No More shirt that I may return to get on Saturday, when I go to the fall Record Raid at Tulane.
Mon. Nov. 12: The Twilight Sad + Errors at the Spanish Moon in B.R.
Listened to a New Fast Automatic Daffodils CD on the drive over. Stopped at Barnes & Noble, since they have an "arthouse" film sale every November; got Badlands for $6. It was an incredibly cold*, grim night, and the crowd was very small. (*About 45º, unheard-of here at this time of year.) I guess the weather was apropos, considering that these two bands are from not-so-tropical Scotland. Errors do a synth-enhanced post-rock / krautrock thing. Some of their songs have vocals (in sort of an androgynous dream-pop style), but the main thing for this band is really dense rhythms. The drummer is freaking amazing, like Jaki from CAN reincarnated. They could sell out and do some dumb party-friendly shit like Yeasayer or Passion Pit, or go more highbrow like Tortoise and please the indie geeks, but they seem to be stuck in an uncomfortable place in between. Their second-to-last song was a cover of Tristeza's "Halo Heads," or so I thought, but turned out not to be. The chiming guitar part is 100% identical. I almost asked them about this afterwards, but thought better of it. Afterwards, I got a Guinness on draught upstairs and then went downstairs. This redhead bumped into me, literally, and told me "You guys were great!" "No, I'm not int he band." "Oh, you have a ski hat on, so I thought you were the singer." (Mine = green, his = white and tan, with ear flaps. And I look nothing like him.) Then she leaned her rather prominent bosom onto me and asked me where I was from, then said she was from Mississippi. I was kind of weirded out by how direct her come-ons were, since I never get this kind of thing directed at me, and I even wondered if she was trying to pick me to win a bet. Wondered if she had stalked me here from this site, RYM, or last.fm. My mind is wired in such a way that I was more offended by her intellectual dishonesty than I was happy to have a drunk, giddy woman leaning on me. Perhaps this is why I never get laid. (More on this story below.)
I went back upstairs because Errors were so loud that my hearing was probably permanently damaged. And I just had to stand up close, as I generally do to make bands feel appreciated when there is low turnout. Dumb. Right before The Twilight Sad took the stage, I heard "Jeopardy" by The Sound, one of my all-time favorite bands, on the club's p.a. system, which really got me fired up. TTS did their depressive, angsty Chameleons / Whipping Boy / Interpol gloom-rock for about an hour, with no encore. The crowd was small but extremely appreciative. The singer was quite charismatic, not unlike Future Islands' singer; they both did these punching movements in the air, stared up dramatically at the ceiling, roamed like caged animals across the tiny stage, etc. I liked the last song a lot, called "Rabbit" on the setlist. This word is not in any of their songs, so I dunno what it was. Maybe a cover of a song by their friends / countrymen / onetime tourmates Frightened Rabbit? Talked to guy about A Place To Bury Strangers after noticing his APTBS hoodie.
Now as for the girl whom I had sort of shot down, I felt bad about it, and came downstairs for TTS' final two songs. (The band's singer had given her a shout out for driving 3 hours.) We smiled at each other and then I noticed she had buddied up with another guy, so I was happy for her, and kind of relieved. While driving home, it suddenly dawned on me that she had been trying to find a Baton Rouge dude or dudette (the crowd was 90% male) at whose house she could crash for the night rather than buying a hotel/motel room. I started cracking up after realizing this. She saw one of her favorite bands and got her free place to stay, and her boyfriend-for-the-night was none the wiser, so I had to tip my ski hat to her ingenuity. After buying a TTS album on double vinyl and thanking their guitarist for selecting that song by The Sound, I got a blueberry yogurt at a gas station and embarked on the hour-long drive home.
I have photos and show flyers from all of these, but I'm just gonna post the one Talk Normal pic, since I think people probably get annoyed by posts that have too many images / videos. The October / November concert flurry is over, and there are basically no good shows coming up. Time to get caught up on yardwork, reading, situps, and movie watching.
To finish up what I was talking about in the previous post, I thought of another major category of concert conundrum: Who to see and who to skip at big festivals. Do you stick around for the entire set by a performer that you like, or wander around and catch a few songs by something outside of your normal comfort zone? A year or two ago at Jazz Fest, I made sure to hoof it over to catch the very end of Shawn Colvin's set, since I had recently gotten into her early single "Diamond In The Rough". And sure enough, she played it as her last song, to an almost nonexistent crowd. That was pretty cool. Also caught the end of Fats Domino's performance at Jazz Fest '97, since I figured (correctly, it turned out) that it might be my only chance to ever see him. All this thinking about concerts has been stimulated by my joining of last.fm, since I've been adding lots of listings for shows I've gone to over the years. The excitement of reliving the ones I've been to slightly outweighs the disappointment of missing certain other shows. Last.fm is very addictive if you're a serious music fan, so you might want to think twice before joining, since 4 or 5 hours can disappear in about half a nanosecond. The upside is that you are contributing to a database of music that may aid some other rabid music fan in the future whom you will never meet.
Planets with similar climates: I have no idea; probably some Das Racist, MC Paul Barman, Lonely Island, etc.
Das Racist - "Rainbow In The Dark" [original version]
(self-released, 2010)
After two "mixtapes" which set the underground rap (sorry... "hip hop") world abuzz, Das Racist's debut album, Relax, was unleashed on a label called Greedhead Music, run by DR's own Heems, née Himanshu Kumar Suri. Their unforgettable and extremely quotable song "hahahaha jk?" (built on a sample of the theme song of the soap opera Days Of Our Lives) was an instant classic that made me sit up and take notice, but the effortless charisma and cool of "Rainbow In The Dark" is what made me a true Das Racist convert. Highlights: That slightly off-the-beat synth part and all the obscure, geek-friendly lyrical references. The 2011 version on Relax is slightly spruced-up compared to the mixtape version, but is almost indistinguishable. (The original 2010 version is about 10 seconds longer: 4:02 vs. 3:52.) Das Racist is a group that is always one step ahead of the spider; their secret weapon is the ability to subtly parody other rappers' attempts at lampooning lame genres of hip hop. (Think De La Soul's "Ego Trippin'" video.) SPIN's review of Relax says "The synth-pop jam 'Booty In The Air' is essentially Das Racist spoofing Lupe Fiasco spoofing mainstream rap." It goes on to say "Reprised early internet cut 'Rainbow In The Dark' is a welcome oasis of expertly half-assed calm amid the newfound clamor." (The last line of this song is especially funny because my sister and I's Cuban friend Alex once exclaimed "I can't... They'd put me to work!" when he was asked if he wanted to visit a plantation.) Here is the origin of the group's name, if you're the last person on earth who was still wondering. In order to not embarrass yourself further, the first word is pronounced DASS, not DOSS. I will remind you that this is a professional site, so please, no Dio jokes re: the song title.
I mentioned this concert last year, so go here to read a nano recap and see the extremely great, Wikipedia-worthy, 7-dudes-in-one-shot pic that I took near the triumphant finale. Note: I just found out the "DJ dude" (who also did some rapping at the beginning of DR's set) is Lakutis.
Despite the band's laid-back flow on record, they were super-energetic live, almost to the point where I'd use the word "frantic" to describe their onstage antics. They do rap about Four Loko, and I remember jokingly pointing that out to my sister as a possible explanation for their manic energy. Amazingly, no vids from the show have been put on YouTube yet, despite it being a pretty packed show. The bizarre film clips that were playing behind them were definitely unexpected, and I can't even begin to describe them, so I won't. I'm still shocked that they didn't play "hahahaha jk?," but at least I have a reason to try to see them again. Some girl was hitting on Lakutis after the show outside, and invited him to go the Saint with her. My sister and I went over there just on the off chance that he or any Das Racist members would show up, but none of them ever did. Opening act Danny Brown has gone on to become a pretty big star, at least in indie circles, though he has apparently stopped wearing tiger outfits onstage. Kool A.D. of D.R. recently released two solo albums. Sorry... two solo "mixtapes." I guess the only difference is that a mixtape is given away free, oui? Heems is my favorite Das-er, basically functioning as the Q-Tip of the group with his nonchalant delivery.
Fun Fact: DR's mixtape Shut Up, Dude was named after a lyric in this song.
Fri. Sep. 28: Bought a gorgeous, essentially brand-new La-Z-Boy recliner at Salvation Army for only $140. Looked at carpet samples beforehand with my mom, but decided to just get my carpet professionally cleaned instead of getting new carpet after realizing that $2.50 a square foot sounds cheap until you extrapolate it out to the size of a living room.
Sat. Sep. 29: Went to the Mushroom and finally got to talk to Sam again for the first time since Jazz Fest. I found out she's in a band (Trampoline Team). She asked if I'm going to see Dinosaur Jr., but alas I ain't; tried to talk her and Mike into seeing Godspeed You Black Emperor. She offered to burn me this Dino Jr. remix album, but I said I'd have to hear some samples first. Was somewhat amazed to find out she had gone to the Boris concert in Baton Rouge in '07, and also had seen one of MONO's many shows there. And she casually mentioned Magma(!) when describing some local band's sound... We both made fun of Ben from Bipolaroid. I dug out some used CDs (Unwound's Fake Train & Challenge For A Civilized Society; Yo La Tengo's Painful; Suzanne Vega's self-titled) from under the "blue roof" tarp for her to check out. Picked up Cat Power's Moon Pix on vinyl and showed them the inner sleeve, boasting "This is what my front porch looks like":
Sam replied that her dad in New Jersey has lots of cacti and desert plants too, which really impressed me. In addition to the Moon Pix LP, I scored the 2-DVD Criterion Collection edition of Paris, Texas for only $4, and a movie called Forty Shades Of Blue. (Again, no jokes please.) Mike said his jokey metal / grindcore band Foot was playing 3 hours away in Mississippi that night, and I took a 1-song freebie CD-R of theirs. Sam said I'm her favorite customer, which, since she's pretty much my favorite person in the world, pretty much made my year. Though as a Phillies fan, I was not too fond of the fact that she was wearing a Yankees shirt. (Aren't Jerseyites supposed to be Mets fans? I know the members of Yo La Tengo are diehard Mets fans, and their name even came from a phrase that a Mets outfielder was known for shouting.) It was raining, so I ducked into some little place called Favori Deli on Maple St. Got a very good grilled chicken for myself and a Philly cheese steak for my mom, who was born & raised in Philly. It's right next door to the former digs of The Camera Shop, which I used to frequent when taking Fine Art Photography at Loyola in '97. I caught the very end of the Fall Garden Fest at City Park, but most of the vendors had already left due to the rain, so I just bought a little lily called Zephyranthes atamasca, which looks like a chive or wild onion plant. I unfortunately skipped Glish's Come Down EP release party at Circle Bar, just because I don't really like going there and the acoustics are awful, though Sam had informed me that it finally has air conditioning now. My sister surprisingly bought a Godspeed ticket without me having to even convince her. I thought she'd want to go to M83, but apparently not, so I might got to that alone, despite how gleefully Hipster Runoff has mocked M83's recent efforts.
Sun. Sep. 30: Took my dad to the airport parking garage to jump the dead battery in his truck. Went to Barnes & Noble in the rain for a few hours, getting a few things for my sister's birthday. Hit up the second (final) day of FGF and scored three more native species: Osmanthus americanus (Devilwood or Wild Olive), Amsonia hubrichtii (Narrow Leaf Blue Star), and Hypericum densiflorum or H. frondosum (St. John's Wort). Somewhat renowned local acoustic guitarist John Rankin gave a chillaxable performance under the glass dome of the fern / cycad / orchid house at the Botanical Garden, accompanied by a sax player and a guy on upright bass. I used to walk by his open door at Loyola in '01 and hear him giving one-on-one guitar lessons. I guess he still teaches there, but I don't feel like checking. I used to have his '84 LP Something I Ate. Anyway, it's not often you get to see a jazz concert attended by about 5 people inside a greenhouse at a botanical garden in the rain. If this sounds appealing to you, move to New Orleans, because I really doubt you'll find that anywhere else other than maybe Amsterdam or San Francisco. (Which reminds me... Note to self: Move back to New Orleans.) Drew Brees torched the Packers in Green Bay for 400 yards by the end of the 3rd quarter, but the Saints still found a way to lose, falling to 0-4.
Mon. Oct. 1: The first day of the Times-Picayune's mega-controversial shift to only putting out a newspaper 3 days a week after 175 YEARS as a daily paper. Why they couldn't have just trimmed it down to 4 or 5 days a week is beyond me. This happened because the paper sold out to a cheapskate conglomerate based in the NE U.S. called Advance Publications, which already was notorious for killing off Ann Arbor's newspaper after buying it. And word has it that they're giving Syracuse's paper the axe next. N.O. is now the largest city in America without a daily newspaper. Baton Rouge's The Advocate is making an aggressive foray into the N.O. market to try to fill this void. As a tree fanatic, I can't say I'm too distraught, considering that lots (millions? tens of millions?) of trees will be saved by the shift to digital. I still refuse to read novels on any format other than actual paper, though. Extremely psyched to see Merchandise & Glish at The Big Top on Friday, and for the first Obama-Romney debate tonight. Working on a metal / punk mix CD to bring to the dudes at the Mushroom, since that's what they mainly listen to. But I'm miffed that the mix I painstakingly made for Sam never made it to her. And thus ends a post that began with me talking about "mixtapes."
Speaking of Alex, here he is, valiantly holding the purse of his extremely wasted wife Tace at the Orpheus parade in February. This girl is a doctor and can outdrink the entire U.S. Senate without even blinking, so it was quite a shock to see her practically unable to walk or form a coherent sentence:
(Camera phone pic by my sister.) I'm in the green hoodie, just a few days before the Trayvon Martin hoodiegate incident broke. FWIW, I wore a baby blue hoodie to see Boris the previous November, just to stand out among the black-clad metal masses.
Planets with similar climates: Special Ed - "I Got It Made" & "I'm The Magnificent" (1989), MC Paul Barman - "Make No Mistake" (2002), Poor Righteous Teachers - "Can I Start This?" (1990), Eminem - "My Name Is" (1998), Flight Of The Conchords - "I Told You I Was Freaky" (2009).
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.
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).
I can't believe it's still California Month, tremor #63:
New Math - "Invocation"
(415 Records [U.S.] / CBS Records [Europe], 1982)
I don't know much about this band, other than the fact that they changed their name to Jet Black Berries. (I bought a cassette by JBB ca. 2006, but hated it.) I bought this New Math EP, They Walk Among You, three years ago just based on the cool band name, cover photo, and album title. The band members look pretty suave on the back cover. (This mp3 doesn't want to play properly, so I might take it down at some point. It's the only mp3 I've ever posted that has done this. Sorry.)
Just a cool song, not much more to say. I have to say it's uncanny how identical the present-day band The Horrors sound to this song, down to the singer's dramatic snarl and vocal phrasing. (Well, prior to their laid-back new album Skying, anyway.)
I played some 21 on this court at the end of Annunciation St. today. The guy I was playing was pretty good, and we each scored about 40 points total before his lunch break ended and he had to leave. Later I met the darned sweetest girl ever, working at this plant nursery on the Westbank that I never go to. She had that short indie-girl haircut that was prevalent in the '90s, and seemed quite caffeinated, but in a good way. I asked if she was from Georgia, based on her accent, and she said no, she was from Shreveport. I related to her that I had recently asked my dad if said city (approx. the 100th biggest in the U.S.) had any art museums, aquariums, etc., and he said "Shreveport has nothing of cultural significance." She seemed to agree with my dad on this. I bought a crassula and a phlox.
I've been meaning to post these for a long time, so I might as well now... I seem to remember that there's a labyrinthine history behind the popularization of the "Fuck you I'm an anteater" meme, so you can look it up if you want to, but why would you want to do that when life is so short? The other one is just a spoof of it.
Planets with similar climates: The Horrors - "New Ice Age" (2008), The Sound - "Winning" (1981).
The Moog Cookbook was two guys with way too many vintage synths. They put out two albums of cheesy synth covers of well-known songs, including this R.E.M. chestnut. Thank god they (R.E.M., that is) finally broke the hell up this month after being the paradigm of all "bands that should've broken up 20 years ago" jokes.
I didn't realize TMC were from California until just this month. I downloaded this album, their self-titled debut, a few years back. The word Moog is pronounced "Moag," as most people hopefully know. My other two favorite songs on this album are "Evenflow" and "Smells Like Teen Spirit." Of course, Sara DeBell's brilliant Grunge Lite album beat The Moog Cookbook to the punchline by several years, though TMC's versions are more fleshed-out and party-worthy. See you later in an elevator, R.E.M., and thanks for all those... er... those 5 or 6 great songs you gave us over those three decades... This one was definitely your best.
Back cover of their self-titled album
On some Japanese magazine, 1998
1997 press photo
After the Saints' stunning beatdown at the hands of the winless Rams, I went to Voodoo Fest yesterday in hopes of catching some Odd Future, but we got there too late. (I read that they got into some onstage spats with cameramen, and Chris from the Mushroom told me that they were pretty disorganized / unprofessional / mediocre overall. Read this.) Saw most of TV On The Radio, who did "Will Do," "Staring At The Sun," and "Wolf Like Me," among others. They closed their set with a cover of Fugazi's classic "Waiting Room." Then saw almost all of The Meters' set, which was the main reason I went; this was one of only a handful of times since the '70s that all four members have played together, so it was a pretty huge deal. It was kind of funny seeing those old dudes playing circles around their disciples TVOTR. It was annoying that Cheap Trick were playing at the same time, at much louder volume, on the adjacent stage. I wanted to strangle them. The Meters did an epic ten or so minute version of their classic "Fire On The Bayou", which most non-New Orleanians know as the theme song to the HBO show Treme. They also did "Hey Pocky A-Way," which is the unofficial theme song of Mardi Gras, and "It Ain't No Use" and a few others. My hour of watching them went by too quickly. Then it was the Raconteurs closing things out on the main stage (don't you need a hit single to do that?) in a Led Zep-y way, as though the '80s, '90s, and '00s never happened. I finally met my sister & Vanessa's friend Cecile, who has her own business designing neckties. Then we saw this techno duo(?) called Soul Clap at a little side stage before the plug was pulled at 9:00.
Then we got some food at Lucy's Retired Surfer Cafe, and Vanessa explained the X-rated meaning of the slang term "Superman that ho," as used in a certain Soulja Boy hit song. Haha. She was really on, and the Red Bull surely didn't hurt. I realized that I might have obtained the explanation for the term "decorate the spine" in that Knapsack song I posted two days ago... I drove Damion's friend Wessel back to the apartment while this Moog Cookbook song played in my car, so he must've thought I was on crack or that I had the strangest music taste ever. I swung by the Mushroom right before they closed at midnight and picked up this Joy Division poster (Closer album cover) that I'd seen a few weeks earlier, for my sister. And got a jazz LP for a buck just because it has Terence Blanchard on it.
This morning I called in a Halloween-themed request of Oingo Boingo's "Dead Man's Party" to WTUL, and the DJ girl played it only a few minutes later, which impressed me.
I got an amazing boombox necklace and gold "$" ring today at a Halloween store. They had at least four different Lady Gaga outfits, and a Mike "The Situation" one. Christina Aguilera's "Dirrty" played over the P.A. system, and a lifesize Freddy Kreuger statue next to the cash registers periodically spat out lines such as "How's this for a wet dream?" (Yes, there were plenty of kids in the store.) I felt ashamed to be an American.
Planets with similar climates: Ween - "Now I'm Freaking Out" (1994), Komputer - "Looking Down On London" (1997), Sukia - "Vaseline & Sand" (1996), Add N To (X) - "Plug Me In" (2000), Moonshake - "Exotic Siren Song" - (1996).
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