Bummer of a night for El Perro Del Mar: Come all the way from Sweden to play to a crowd that’s not interested. Not faulting the crowd, because it was a birthday party after all, and people were there to celebrate. But the main room at Neumo’s was so loud with conversation that it was nearly impossible to hear Sarah Assbring’s voice. When it did slip through the noise, though, it sounded far richer and more confident than it does on her album, and it was a beautiful thing.

She started the set solo with acoustic guitar, strumming a song I didn’t recognize and, unfortunately, could hardly hear. Her three-piece band came out dressed in dapper suits and ties to play Rhodes, bass, and guitar, with one of them triggering drum loops and percussion. It might have been a great set but I couldn’t tell you. The room was simply too loud and her music too gentle and the night too incongruent to make for a good performance.

I got frustrated and left after five or six songs, so I didn’t stick around for the Saturday Knights, who I’m sure provided a raucous throwdown far more suited to the crowd and the occasion.

Speaking of raucous throwdowns, Misshapes at Last Supper Club was… well, let’s just say that last night felt like old times in downtown Fort Lauderdale, surrounded by spray-on tans, black button-down shirts, and expensive shoes. And it was fucking fun.

Read FITS in next week’s paper to get the full story.

Brad Delp, the lead singer of the band Boston was found dead yesterday, at his home in New Hampshire, at the age of 55. Boston was most famous for their eponymous album, which featured their monster hit, More Than A Feeling.

Many teenagers lost their virginities as this song blasted from car stereos. What a tremendous gift he gave the world!

In his honor, I’d like to post the remix that Eric and I worked on last year for some club nights we did together.

Boston VS. HMA feat. DJ FITS - More Than A Feeling (Remix)

I looked out this morning and the sun was gone

Turned on some music to start my day

I lost myself in a familiar song

I closed my eyes and I slipped away

Rest In Peace Brad.

Last December’s windstorm rendered my car totalled (a 15 foot piece of metal fell a few stories from a construction site onto the SUV next to my car, then hit my car, bending the frame). Since then I’ve gone carless since turning in the rental car, and have decided to maintain that lifestyle (at least for the next few months). I just sent in the last paperwork to the insurance company this week, making me officially car-free. In honor of that (and the death of the car I so very much loved), here are the first three songs I ever played in that car - I remember because I thought long and hard about what these songs would be while shopping.

1) Masta Ace - Sittin’ On Chrome

2) Masta Ace - Born to Roll

3) Blur - Song 2

Indeed, Mr(s) Lasagna, indeed:

(Hat tip to Brooklyn Vegan)

Update: Picture deleted because it was giving me the creeps. Also, this post should more accurately be tagged “schadenfreude” rather than “guilty pleasure.”

Widow, rocker, plastic surgery victim, and all-around fallen woman Courtney Love has been sued by an upscale California drug treatment center over an unpaid bill of $181,286. Full story here.

Epic disco dance porn duo the Nachos appeared at the Crocodile last night. Their press release read:

“THURSDAY, MARCH 8TH AT THE CROCODILE CAFE IN SEATTLE, WASHINGTON. THE NACHOS WILL APPEAR WITH VERY SPECIAL GUESTS JUCIFER AND THE RUBY DOE”

Helmet and D-Lab are their names, and their act is a fantasia of movement and sound. They had little Honeytone amps, an iPod, and a keyboard around their waists. Through the cold wind and rain of Belltown, the Nachos maintained and spread the mobile love of their party.

Only when we arrived at the Crocodile did I find out they weren’t actually on the bill. They were crashing someone’s show. They made posters and everything, and it wasn’t even their show.

Here’s footage:

Randy Jones performing at the 2006 Decibel Festival.

(To be read in the most pretentious, “poetic” voice you can muster.)

Aural corona. Solarized tone splash. Galactic afterbirth. Threnody for space-time continuum. Secret language of minerals. So highbrow it transcends brow-dom. Eccentric concentricity. Pointillist disco seizure. Insectoid metallic syncopation. Manic Conrad Schnitzler/Jean Jacques Perrey hoedown. Conlon Nancarrow in a pachinko gallery. Iannis Xenakis in a windtunnel. Doppler-effected DMT-elf shrieks. Silver-oxide symphony. Stratospheric striated odes to black holes.

I guess you had to be there.

Lucinda Williams’ “Side of the Road” is a perfect song.

• Structurally: It doesn’t rely too heavily on the chorus. The instruments (violins and Gurf Morlix’s steel guitar) harmonize with Williams’ voice, instead of competing with it.

• Thematically: It’s about struggling to retain your independence in a relationship, and who doesn’t know a thing or two about that?

• Lyrically: “If only for a minute or two, I want to see what it feels like to be without you; to know the touch of my own skin, against the sun, against the wind.” (Full lyrics below the jump.)

• Linguistically: Every time I hear Lucinda sing, “If ah stray away too far from yew, don’t go and try to fahnd me, it dudn’t mean ah don’t love you, it dudn’t mean ah won’t come back and stay besahd yew,” I feel like I’m back in Austin, drinking beer on the porch at Trudy’s and baking in the sun.

• Musically: The notes of the steel guitar are perfectly articulated above Lucinda’s incredible craggy voice, and the fiddles are sweet enough to tug at you, subtle enough not to be cloying.

• Emotionally: It makes me cry every time I hear it. Even now.

Continue reading "The Perfect Song" »

THIS.

Hat tip to The Superficial

I can’t remember who I was talking to the other day, but we had a short conversation about Golden Earring. I said they had a second top 10 hit in the ‘80’s. That they weren’t just a one hit wonder with Radar Love. But I couldn’t remember what the song was.

Well, I went looking…

Twilight Zone from the album Cut

Soon you will come to know When the bullet hits the bone

Download the 12” Promo Remix here.

Expect to here this the next time I DJ.

DJ/rupture, Filastine @ CHAC Lower Level - 03/08/07

I got to the show just in time to catch the last several minutes of Filasine’s set, and was impressed, especially by his closing shopping-cart-as-percussion routine. Anybody know if that was a contact mic on the cart or just a regular microphone?

DJ/rupture’s set was like no DJ set I’ve seen before. Most DJs try to disguise the fact that they’re mixing disparate records—the ideal is a seamless mix, with the DJ disappearing behind one seemingly cohesive set. But DJ/rupture is not afraid of transparency. Hearing his set, it’s totally apparent what he’s doing, and he’s not worried about making an “imperfect” or dissident sound. When he had to speed up one record to get things matched, he made the adjustments right over the mix, even though it revealed his hand in the proceedings. In fact, he seems just as enthusiastic about playing with the rough edges of mixing as he does with the fluid integration of sounds. He demystifies the art of the DJ, by revealing and reveling in the process while working the dance floor. A friend of mine was recently talking about “DJing as the new punk” or some such nonsense, but if that was true it would look more like DJ/rupture and less like the French electro we were talking about at the time, because DJ/rupture’s not above doing things wrong.

But what does it mean when the “world’s smartest DJ” mixes Salt’n’Peppa’s “Push It” into Spank Rock’s “Put That Pussy On Me”? Does it signify something different than when another DJ does it? Are there levels of smartness that I’m missing? Or are those both just jams?

We just posted a new episide of Setlist. You’re stoked. Click here to listen to the Prime Time Nine, the nine local bands we showcased in this week’s Musicians’ Resource Directory. The playlist includes Lake of Falcons, Black Bear, Dirty Scientifix, Sleepy Eyes of Death, Ghost Stories, and more. And best of all, you don’t even need an iPod or iTunes to hear it, just click on the link and it streams right on to your computer like a magical magic thing. Isn’t free new music awesome?

I was cautiously interested in tonight’s NYC/Misshapes invasion of the Last Supper Club in this week’s Up & Comings:

MISSHAPES (Last Supper Club) Misshapes is a weekly “hipster” dance party thrown in NYC by a trio of DJs known as the Misshapes: Greg K, Leigh Lezark, and Geordon Nicol. The night has become famous for its celebrity DJs (ranging from Madonna and Kelly Osbourne to Les Savy Fav and the Rapture) and also for a reported ban on beatmatching exacted on guest DJ Princess Superstar. The indie dance night depends more on taste and aesthetic than it does on a particular genre or technical skill, and it will be interesting to see how that dynamic translates to Seattle, with the Misshapes themselves as the celebrity DJs. Will NYC’s hipster culture mix with Seattle’s bridge-and-tunnel crowd? Does anyone in Pioneer Square really care about the Misshapes? Will Madonna be there? (She won’t.) ERIC GRANDY

I might have been a little less equivocal in my excitement had I known then that tonight’s special guest are Bloc Party. They’ll be DJing along with Seattle’s LA Kendall and Colby B. It should be a fun, weird night in Pioneer Square.

I was completely misled by the names on the bill at the Triple Door last night, and my mistake worked out in my favor—halfway, at least.

I got to the joint just in time to catch the last song by Industrial Revelation. I was expecting some kinda abrasive electro klang machine based on the groups name, but instead I was treated to one of the most beautiful melodies I’ve heard coming from a stage in a long time. The young quartet play a sort of postbop soul-jazz, but like their MySpace says, hyphens and labels fall away when you’re absorbing the pure heart and passion that these guys play with. This song ascended in movements, the trumpet player leading with a melody so timeless I figured it must be a standard. The keysman switched from a woozy Rhodes to dramatic grand piano halfway through, and the rhythm section was so casually locked in it seemed they were superliminal. I only caught this one tune but I was entranced.

After their set, I was stunned to learn the song was an original. “It’s an ‘I hate my girlfriend song,’” the hornman told me, “so it might as well be a standard.”

I’m definitely looking out for these guys in the future.

The headliners, Das Vibenbass, I’m not so sure about. This time I judged by the name and ended up disappointed. I figured it would be a vibes-led band, probably a trio, with vibraphone taking lead backed by a slamming bassist and drummer. Instead a sax player ruled the proceedings, trotting out all the standard tenorman tropes—pitter-pattering runs, minor skronk, arched back, little shuffling dance steps. It reminded me too much of Tuatara, one of Skerik’s earliest groups from the mid-’90s, also a vibraphone-flaunting fusiony groove band. The whole affair would’ve been far more intersting if they were a trio, minus the sax. Vibraphone is a deliciously unusual sound, liquid and spacy, percussive but melodic. Sax is just sax. In this case it overshadowed what was clearly a very talented trio. Their best songs were their slowest, when the brassy histrionics were put on mute. I stuck around till the end of the night, but after the first 10 minutes I felt like I heard enough. Dudes should be called Das Saxenbass so people know what they’re getting.

It was great to see the supersupportive crowd that turned out for Vibenbass, but Industrial Revelation stole the show.

Holy shit! It is a great week for tour announcements! Daft Punk is going on tour with the Rapture, SebastiAn, and Kavinsky! And they’re playing Seattle!

Tour dates (from Pitchfork):

Daft Punk:

06-10 Inverness, Scotland - Loch Ness (RockNess Festival)
06-14 Paris, France - Bercy
07-21 Los Angeles, CA - Sport Arena
07-27 Berkeley, CA - Greek Theatre
07-29 Seattle, WA - WAMU Center
07-31 Denver, CO - Red Rocks
08-05 Toronto, Ontario - Arrow Hall
08-07 Montreal, Quebec - Bell Center
08-09 New York, NY - Keyspan Park

Now what the hell is the WAMU Center?

And this is why…

I love this record so much. But like a lot of music from my teenage years, I can’t tell if my admiration exists because it’s actually a successfully executed record, or if it’s just because it was the soundtrack for a lot of awesome things that happened in my youth.

Eh, I don’t care either way. The point is that I love it, and that’s enough for me.

Specifically, it’s the songs “Going to Pasalacqua,” “Why Do You Want Him?,” “Only of You,” and “The One I Want” that are bringing back all the memories. I’ve always been a sucker for those unrequited love songs, especially when I was 14.

I saw Green Day play the Mercer Arena in… 1995? My friends Tyler, Erik, and Kyla went too, and I think the Riverdales opened. I remember I wore this bright yellow jacket that I had just bought a few days before the show. It was a terrible coat—really, really ugly—but I loved it. My mom and Erik’s mom drove us to the show, and before they let us get out of the mini van, we had to sign a piece of paper that promised we wouldn’t mosh or crowd surf.

Like a good girl, I didn’t crowd surf that night, but I did work my way up to the very front row. Billie Joe spit on me from the stage. After that show, Green Day was all I listened to for a month straight—this record and Kerplunk especially, since I never actually owned Dookie and would have to borrow it from my sister whenever I wanted to listen to it. I used to dance around my room, singing “Why do you want hiiiiIIiiim….” So good. This album also has the band’s cover of Operation Ivy’s “Knowledge,” and yes, it was through Green Day that I got into Op Ivy. But that’s a whole ‘nother post for a whole ‘nother day. I fucking love Operation Ivy.

I’m pretty certain my Kerplunk cassette is still in my car, so now I’m going to go and rock that the whole way home. “2000 Light Years Away,” “Christie Road,” “Dominated Love Slave”? Fuck, yes! It’s gonna be one hell of a sing-along in my Nissan Altima.

Tour dates from Pitchfork:

03-24 Brooklyn, NY - 3rd Ward (Todd P show) *
03-25 Providence, RI - TBA
03-28 Buffalo, NY - Soundlab
03-29 Cleveland Heights, OH - The Grog Shop
03-30 Detroit, MI - TBA
03-31 Chicago, IL - Cobb Coffee Shop (The University of Chicago)
04-01 Omaha, NE - The Magic Theater
04-02 Denver, CO - TBA
04-03 Salt Lake City, UT - TBA
04-04 Salt Lake City, UT - Kilby Court
04-05 Boise, ID - TBA
04-06 Seattle, WA - TBA
04-07 Portland, OR - Satyricon
04-08 Eureka, CA - The Accident Gallery
04-09 San Francisco, CA - CCA
04-10 Oakland, CA - Warehouse
04-11 Los Angeles, CA - TBA
04-12 Los Angeles, CA - TBA
04-13 San Diego, CA - Che Cafe
04-14 Flagstaff, AZ - Inner Beach
04-15 Santa Fe, NM - High Mayhem
04-16 Midland, TX - Truckload Fireworks
04-17 Austin, TX - Emo’s
04-18 Houston, TX - Notsuoh
04-19 Oklahoma City, OK - The Conservatory
04-20 Kansas City, KS - TBA
04-21 Bloomington, IN - TBA
04-22 Cincinnati, OH - TBA
04-23 Pittsburgh, PA - TBA
04-24 Morgantown, WV - 132 Pleasant Street
04-25 Philadelphia, PA - TBA
04-26 Dragon Island, Narnia - TBA
04-27 Brooklyn, NY - Pratt University (Todd P show) #
04-28 Providence, RI - TBA

* with Marnie Stern, BARR, Ecstatic Sunshine
# with the Sun Ra Arkestra

Hmmm, TBA on April 6th, huh? Hey, Clayton, isn’t there an edition of Sing Sing that night with Andrew W.K. and Flosstradamus? Maybe Andrew needs a backing band, if you know what I mean…

…from Snohomish, Washington, just got POPPED with this impressive arsenal? Busted near Spokane, driving 111 mph. Damn homie. What do you need “four rifles, nine handguns, a switchblade knife, a Taser, and night-vision goggles” for? Where were you going anyway?

Haven’t seen this posted here, so I just wanted to post a reminder about the DJ /Rupture & Filastine show tonight at the CHAC (Lower Level). The atmosphere is going to be a bit different than the last time I saw this pair (in a squatter’s row in Barcelona), but the pair have a definite ear for beats, with Filastine drawing on his Infernal Noise Brigade experience, /rupture having an uncanny ability to blend tempos and genres into a cohesive whole.

I’m sure I’ve posted this before (maybe not here on Line Out), but here’s DJ /rupture’s Gold Teeth Thief mix, which is pretty indicative of what he plays (one of the best 50 records of 2001 according to The Wire). If nothing else, it fits the gray weather.

Our lovely sister paper, the Portland Mercury reports today that the Gossip have signed to a subsidiary of Columbia, Music With a Twist, “the first major music label dedicated to identifying and developing lesbian, gay, bi-sexual and trans gendered (LGBT) artists.” So far, the label has “identified and developed” the L Word soundtrack.

In reference to Eric’s post yesterday, here is a tailored drinking game for your next viewing of Pussycat Dolls Present: The Search For the Next Doll.

Every time a contestant has a confession and says, “You have to remember: this is a competition!” you drink a redheaded slut.

Every time they play “Don’t Cha” as background music (which is at least seven or eight times PER EPISODE) you have to drink a tranny hooker’s cum, which consists of a shot of Bailey’s mixed with syphilis.

Every time one of the contestants throws up her food, you have to drink a sex on the rag, which is clamato juice and grenadine with triple sec.

Party on!

Yes yes, mashup concept albums are so 2004, but here’s one I’d welcome any damn year: ALmatic, DJ Swindle’s blending of the intricate flow of Nas with the lush grooves of Al Green, which can be downloaded (“for promotional purposes only”) here.

P.S. While discussing this record with my Stranger peers, Charles Mudede revealed he’d recently been given a different Al Green-themed rap mashup: The Green Album, combining the grooves o’ Green with Jay-Z’s promiscuous Black Album. This CD was given to Charles by its creator, who apparently works in the Nordstrom shoe department. (Dear shoe-selling mashup artist: Send me your shit. if you feel like it: David Schmader, c/o The Stranger, 1535 11th Ave, Sea WA 98122.)

In a world overrun by Hot Topics, Good Charlottes, and Fall Out Boys, it’s so important to support the Real… Tonight you really should go check out the Trashies (like Paul said!). I mean, just look at this guy. This is a sh*tbag you can trust!

The Trashies really make me miss the Golden Era of Dirtnap punk. All the shows, all the bands… the headbanger’s neck. Whu’happened? Where did everybody go?

Hey, also of interest—there are videos with the Trashies and a handful of other local Seattle bands with neato videos floating around on YouTube on our video page. Since this is the annual Musicians’ Directory, it seemed like a good time to check out how different local bands have pulled together some real music videos. High budget and no budget, if you have a band, you really should take advantage of MySpace and YouTube’s free video hosting. Free publicity all over the world wide interweb thingy.

Jon Fischer’s Concerted Comic has been showing up in guy’s bathrooms at clubs around town. The artist / illustrator / cartoonist has been getting guerilla with the placement of his comic about being in the crowd.

“For me,” he says, “the crowd is as interesting as the band.”

Expounding on this week’s feature, Toilet Humor, here’s a real time digital inking session of Jon creating one of his characters. The music is Ghostland Observatory’s “Piano Man”:

Sometimes you must wonder what the hell is up with the people, probably mostly dorky, muso-head guys like me, who come in, ask for something, then offer a little chit chat about that certain record we’re really looking for.

I did just that to you the other day. I came in and inquired where your records by Camel might be. You pointed them out, and I saw that you only had one of their records in, Rain Dances. It wasn’t the one I wanted, but that was cool, ‘cause it had a track with Brian Eno on it! So I put it in my pile of records to buy. Hey it’s was only $3.99!

I then went on to say something along the lines of how embarassed I was to be buying a record from a band that Peter Frampton was in at one point in his career.

You gave me an odd look, but just carried on. We talked about how, until Michael Jackson’s Thriller album, Frampton Comes Alive was the number one selling album of all time. I went on to say how much I loved this song by Camel called Summer Lightning, and how Breathless was really the album I was looking for, but how I guess I’d have to wait until another day. You said, “Yeah, we don’t seem to have that in, but check back,” then I purchased my music and left.

Only when I got home and started looking through my Camel records, did I realised I’d said that idiotic thing about Frampton, because of this album,

which was mixed in with my Camel records. See! Frampton’s Camel!

What an asshat know-it-all geek I must have sounded like. Yet, you just blinked and let the moment pass, without saying anything snide or know-it-all-ish back to me. You were so polite, I am now humbled and will try not to be such a dumb fart again.

I have uploaded some Camel songs in your honor at my blog here.

Summer Lightning was played at an Optimo night in Glasgow, Scotland when I visited a while ago. It’s one of those ace tunes that is a little light rock, a little progy and Alan Parson Project-ish, and a little dance-y all at once. I was just reminded of it by the fantastic Talking In Stereo blog.

Elke is the song from Rain Dances with Brian Eno playing “Mini Moog, Electric and Acoustic Piano, Random Notes, Bells”. It also has Fiona Hibbert playing the harp. I think you’ll agree, it’s very nice!

I really do hope you like them! And I hope you can forgive me for being dumb.

Sincerely,

Terry

UPDATE: I’m not the only idiot out there. From the Official Camel Website

When not in a lawyer’s office, Latimer had hawked CAMEL for a deal. In late 1987, he began negotiating with EG Records, on a seemingly successful course. A small label, EG hosted such names as Brian Eno, Robert Fripp, Brian Ferry to name a few, and a CAMEL/EG marriage seemed a promising step. But negotiations dragged on for 6 months only to come to an abrupt end when Latimer was asked why Peter Frampton wasn’t in the band any longer…

There’s a great article in today’s Guardian about the circuit-benders in MTO, who tinker with noisemaking toys to create music that sounds like this.

For toy modification, you need a battery-operated toy that makes sound. Take it apart and locate the circuit board. Using a piece of wire with solder on either end, connect together parts of the circuit board while the toy is making sound. Generally, the result sounds like Kraftwerk in a creche. Another way is to lick your fingers and just go prodding around, touching two points at once. However, in Duffy’s experience, “the less you know about it the better. It is like stumbling round an alien landscape in the dark.” When he finds connections he likes, he solders the wires in place and adds a switch.

Here is a YouTube video that doesn’t sound so great, but gives you an idea of what they do:

Now this is refreshing—some good ol’ fashioned weed rap.

Devin the Dude’s “What A Job,” featuring Snoop and Andre 3000. Devin’s Waiting to Inhale hits 3/20.

Sub Pop has just announced that they will begin giving a scholarship of $5750 to one lucky kid who loves the arts and their community. All you have to do is send them a letter, no longer than one page, with this information:

What are you doing in the arts/music field in your community?

How and/or why did you become interested in artistic outlets?

Why do you need this scholarship money?

What are your influences and/or who inspires you?

Who are some of your favorite bands or artists?

Sounds like a great opportunity for someone in our community, as it applies to young people living in Washington and Oregon. You can find out more here.

OK, I don’t know about this, from today’s New York Times Style section:

IN 1994, Calvin Klein designed a fragrance that embodied, in its flat little screw-top bottle, the disaffected, sexually ambivalent grunge youth of the moment… A unisex brand that became the olfactory talisman of Generation X, CK One was so authentically grunge it was carried in record stores alongside albums by Nirvana.

More on this and other questions raised by the new Calvin Klein fragrance, CK in2u, over on Slog.

My favorite Seattle band to watch live, The Trashies, are playing tonight at the Funhouse. It’s both an
album release party and a bon voyage as they embark on a monthlong U.S. tour. I haven’t heard their newest, What Makes a Man Get Trashed, but I can tell you that they’re pretty amazing to see live. You might get punched, or you might fall in love, but either way, there’s a lot of excitement when the Trashies play. Some people might explain their act as retro-punk, or nostalgia-punk, but, really, when they’re actually playing music and destroying their instruments, it’s as though you enter some sort of twilight realm where the vivaciousness of punk rock has never been called into question. It’s five bucks and the doors are at 9:30, and you should go.

The new Locust record, New Erections, will be released March 20th, but right now you can download two songs, “We Have Reached an Official Verdict: Nobody Gives a Shit” and “Slum Service (Served on the Sly),” at epitaph.com.

I’ve been thinking about the coke rap story that appears in this week’s issue (“Get Higher, Baby”) for many months now. Due to length and relevance two crucial points didn’t make it into the piece, and I’d like to bring them up here.

Both deal with Ahmir “?uestlove” Thompson, drummer for the roots and one of the true archivists and tastemakers of hiphop culture. Towards the end of last year, ?uest posted on the Okayplayer message board, sounding off about Clipse’s Hell Hath No Fury. While he held the album in postive regard, he had explicit doubts about the wholesale Pitchfork/indie-rock support it got. For some unfortunate reason, the post has been taken down, but the line I remember verbatim is—and excuse my use of the word, but I’m quoting here—“Niggas can’t be ironic.”

It was his contention, one that I had been chewing on for a while, that black people are only valued for their street-level awareness. Anything above or beyond vicious tales from the hood—true or not—is by white critics deemed un-street, un-real, and therefore unimportant.

Which is why Game Theory, The Roots’ best work in years, went largely ignored. A 7.7 score on Pitchfork glossed over some the album’s strongest points. ?uest’s disappointment with the general shrug from the media came to a boil with a YouTube tour video that he posted from a Bristol, U.K. hotel room in December of last year. After learning that MOJO magazine didn’t include Game Theory in its 50 best albums of ‘06, ?uest films this intimate video diary, saying “It’s bumming the shit outta me, man.” Dude looks like he’s about to lose it, worried that because of the lack of attention The Roots might be dropped from Def Jam.

Any time an artist of his caliber is so disheartened it’s pretty crushing.

Introducing “Reactable”: Electronic music with a tangible interface. I want one now.

My guess is we’ll be seeing more and more of this sort of thing in the near future.

INDEED….

Glitchy electro jokers Modeselektor will be releasing the third volume in Bpitch Control’s Boogy Bytes mix series, due out April 23rd. Here’s the tracklist:

1 Intro by The Panacea
2 Siriusmo - Wow
3 Detroit Experiment - Vernors
4 Flying Lotus - 1983
5 Spank Rock – Rick Rubin
6 Paul Kalkbrenner – Gia2000 (Modeselektor rmx)
7 James Holden – Idiot
8 Bobby Peru – Erotic Discourse / Audiojack rmx - (Xtremely Touched by MDSLKTR)
9 C’hantal – The Realm (Acapella)
10 Nathan Fake – Charlie’s House (Apparat rmx)
11 Errorsmith – Free For All
Robag Wruhme – Papp Tonikk
Female – Cally2
Krause Duo - Tigerbett
12 Skream – Midnight Request Line
Angelo Battilani - Empty
13 Rhythm & Sound W/Bobbo Shanti – Poor People Must Work (Carl Craig rmx)
14 Burial – Southern Comfort
15 Jean Jacques Perrey & Luke Vibert – Moog Acid (Plasticman rmx)
Philipe Cam - Karine
16 Various Production – Lost
17 Fillin # 1
18 Siriusmo - Discosau
19 Fillin # 2 feat. Teki Latex
20 Modeselektor feat. TTC – Une Bande De Mec Sympa
21 Clatterbox – Collision Detection
22 Mr. Oizo – Half a Scissor
23 Marcel Dettmann – Just Do It
Errorsmith - A1/ERR001
24 u-Ziq – u-Ziq Theme
25 Phon.o – Ridin Dirty
26 Radiohead - Idioteque
27 Outro by Modeselektor

That is one hell of a tracklist, but anyone who saw them rock rebar not too long ago knows they’re up to it. (Hat tip to Resident Advisor)

Fujiya & Miyagi: Masters of that driving beat.

This week’s Data Breaker feature focuses on hot British trio Fujiya & Miyagi, one of the most effective new revivers of the motorik groove. The group’s David Best gives good interview, so I’m going to post the entire Q&A (after the jump) on Line Out, where space is infinite and everybody can hear you whisper.

F&M play Chop Suey Sat. March 10 with Prototypes and Young Knives; doors at 5 pm (that’s right).

Continue reading "The Best (and Rest) of Fujiya &Miyagi" »

Brendhan Bowers, drummer for the Pharmacy, finished the music video I mention in this week’s Underage column. He shot the video on 16 mm film for a school project. It’s for the band’s new song “Tropical Yeti,” which is on the seven-inch they’re releasing this month. You can get a copy at their Vera show on Saturday. It’s pretty; it’s on white vinyl.

The video’s got monsters and robots and boys skateboarding on keyboards. And the song’s pretty good too. Enjoy.

Reh Dogg hates your friends. He really does. He wants to wants to poison their asses with ammonia and bleach. Hey, at least he’s honest.

WATCH THE VIDEO
Hat tip to publikhair.

Perhaps you heard about how Kelis was arrsted in South Beach last Friday for disorderly conduct and resisting arrest. Kelis reportedly yelled up a shitstorm at 2 undercover officers posing as prostitutes, after she thought they tried to solicit her hubby, rapper Nas. Mrs. Milkshake allegedly hurled racial epithets and caused a large crowd to gather.

But the best part? Nas mistook them “hoes” for members of the Pussycat Dolls.

In true last-minute fashion, I just bought my (overpriced) ticket to Austin next week for SXSW. Thus far, I’m not planning on hitting the conference proper, instead opting for the tidal wave of music. This will be my first time going to SXSW, I’ve only been to Austin once, and while I’m excited, I’m more than a little overwhelmed despite my Internet research. I know how to handle the more electronic music based festivals, but this would seem to be an entirely different beast. I’m assuming plenty of the Line Out readership has gone or is going, so would any of you care to help a brotha out with some tips on SXSW survival? Is this just a bigger Bumbershoot, or something else entirely? Any bands that are a can’t-miss? Is this whole wristband vs. badge thing as annoying as it sounds like it could be? Or should I just chill the hell out and not worry about any of this?

Brand New has a bad rap of being a one-hit wonder screamo band. You remember that song of theirs from a few years back, “The Quiet Things that No One Ever Knows,” right? It was played on MTV all the time—the video was about a girl and a guy getting in a car wreck while the singer achingly sang the chorus “So keep the blood in your head/And keep your feet on the ground/Today’s the day it gets tired/Today’s the day we drop out…” It was terribly dramatic and cliché. But I liked the song.

Sorta.

I like the rest of the record, Deja Entendu, better. It’s a really strong and eerie album, and I don’t mean “eerie” in that faux-goth way like the Used and My Chemical Romance. Both musically and lyrically, the band delves into darker territory than most of their peers; their songs aren’t about the blackness of a lonely or broken heart. The band’s frontman, Jesse Lacey, makes no effort to hide the fact that he’s a passionate, cocky and/or crazy motherfucker—he worships Morrissey and he sings about drowning babies and taking advantage of the plethora of meaningless sex. In his lyrics, he’s a little mental, a little lucky, or just smart. I’m hoping for the latter, it’s probably a combination of all three.

Most Brand New fans didn’t care about the quick and unjust “screamo” classification that came along with 2003’s Deja Entendu, as most of their fans wore a lot of dark eyeliner and liked all the other crap the band got boxed in with. But I cared. And, as a legit fan of Deja, Brand New’s second album (their first, Your Favorite Weapon, is admittedly totally weak), I grew really tired really quick of having to defend myself, so I just silently enjoyed them and kept my feelings to myself.

Turns out, my love affair wasn’t fleeting—their newest record, The Devil and God Are Raging Inside Me, while ridiculously titled, is really good.

Rumor has it, the band recorded a whole other record before releasing The Devil and God, but they apparently scrapped most of the material from first studio session afterwards and then reworked a lot of what they did save. It shows—some songs are more orchestral and haunting, expanding on some of the darker themes on Deja, while others are really bombastic and loud, a lot more cathartic in obvious ways. And there are a few tracks that are both of those things. It’s a pretty bi-polar record. Wait, no… that would imply there’s some happiness in there… really, there isn’t at all. But there are a lot of shifts in the music’s texture and energy, which keeps things interesting. (It’s also an amazing record to drive to if you ever find yourself speeding down I-5 after a frustrating and long day.)

The Devil and God probably won’t win them much commercial success (although they were just on Letterman), but I hope it does garner them some respect from the world’s music snobs. They deserve it.

The band is playing the Fenix on March 29th, and they put on a hell of a live show. (Or they did the one time I saw them in 2004.) And because I have a sense of humor (and understand that many of you will probably disagree with everything I just said here) I’ll leave you with something lovers and haters can enjoy—mocking emo by way of Brand New’s popular radio hit. Enjoy!

ASCAP, the non-profit organization that licenses copyrighted material for public performance and compensates the artists/performers/publishers has announced record revenues today, according to the Hollywood Reporter:

SCAP has reported record revenues of $785 million for 2006, royalty payments to members of $680 million, and an all-time low operating expense ratio of 12.0%, the performing rights organization revealed Tuesday. Revenues exceeded those of 2005 by $37 million, showing a 5% growth.

Total royalty distributions to members also increased from the prior year by $34 million. U.S. distributions totaled more than $486 million, and international distributions reached $211.7 million. ASCAP also welcomed 40,000 new members during the year.

“Our overarching priority each year is to put more money in the pockets of our members - hard working songwriters, composers, lyricists and music publishers. That’s a goal we clearly met in 2006,” said John LoFrumento, CEO of ASCAP.

If ASCAP’s CEO sounds almost smug in this article, it’s because he’s on the winning side of things. While the RIAA is desperately trying to maintain the value of physical reproductions of sound, the records from which record companies derive their profits, ASCAP succeeds in upholding the value of the very sounds, words, and ideas that those objects contain. The RIAA has aligned itself with the mass-produced, material, and ultimately disposable thing, whereas ASCAP has aligned itself with the intangible longevity of the idea, the ephemeral occurrence of sound. The RIAA’s business, the physical freezing of sound, is ultimately quixotic. The value of the physical thing is only the value of the sound it attempts to contain, and sound and ideas will always escape their confinements. A CD is worthless plastic, a song is priceless.

Last night, before venturing down to the Baltic Room for some highfalutin’ live music, I joined the hot-pocketed, teleholic masses to watch the CW’s new reality tv show, Pussycat Dolls Present: The Search For the Next Doll. In case you couldn’t work this out from the cleverly oblique name of the show, it’s a Top Model style race to the bottom to find someone worthy of performing “Don’t Cha” on daytime talk shows, at lesser sporting events, and probably for icky Las Vegas conventions.

The debut episode began with 18 mostly indistinguishable contestants. One girl had pigtails, another was in some kind of “rock” band, one girl’s parents died in a plane crash, one lived in her car, another girl used to be fat.

The highlight of the episode was undoubtedly the spread of a virus that caused no less than two hopefuls to puke on camera (I can’t remember if either of those girls made it through, but I feel like that must be a disqualification). The puking happened right after the cast saw the real Pussycat Dolls in concert, leading to no end of wisecracking along the lines of, “So how is that any different than a usual Pussycat Dolls concert?” and so on.

The singing/dancing showdown had medics and IV drips on hand for the ill, and the winners (again, I have no idea who these people are) were rewarded with clearly expensive pink feather boas, which the preview indicate the girls will have to “hang up” should the night have the right stuff.

I could get into what it means that this is what “artistic/musical” ambition looks like in modern America, or how depressed these people make me, or even how lame it is that Tori Alamaze’s song couldn’t dent the American pop consciousness until it was attached to six disposable tranny-hookers, but I feel like if I type the phrase “pussycat doll” one more time my head will explode. So instead, let’s just try to come up with some suitable drinking games to use for next week’s show, shall we?

I can’t tell the difference between my broken beat and my funky breaks, but whatever Suntzu Sound’s AC Lewis was playing for his debut live set at Oscillate last night, it was tight. Lewis, though he only played for 20 odd minutes, showed a veteran DJ’s sense of pace and structure, building spare percussion up into busy climaxes and then breaking them down again, and playing with a grab-bag of vocals, samples, and synths in a way that recalled the ecstatic eclecticism of Basement Jaxx. The last few minutes featured a particularly sick synth line, and the iconic KRS-1 sample had DJ Collage, possibly the only person in Seattle who should ever be toasting doing just that from his post at the door. All in all, it was a fun little showcase from an established DJ and an emerging producer. Kris Moon’s dub set was quiet but delightful as always.

Jimi Hendrix’s stepsister (and queen of the dead rock legend’s multi-million dollar estate) has filed a lawsuit against the makers of Hendrix-themed vodka.

As the Seattle Times reports:

[Hendrix’s stepsister Janie Hendrix] claims that Craig Dieffenbach and his company, Electric Hendrix LLC, have committed trademark infringement, false advertising and other unlawful acts by describing their company as “a Jimi Hendrix family company.” Janie also said that the use of Jimi Hendrix’s likeness to promote alcohol is offensive: “In view of the circumstances of my brother Jimi’s death, this attempt to associate his name with the sale of alcohol beverages amounts to a sick joke.”

Full story here.

That’s right: Donnie Davies, America’s hottest new ex-gay troubadour will be preaching to the sinners gathered next week at Austin’s South by Southwest music fest.

Last night I was emptying out some boxes in my new apartment and I found an old college paper I wrote for an African-American Literature class.

The assignment, as I remember it, was an “image analysis” — a close examination of a pair of images that depict some form of African-American culture. We were told to think about the “commodification of blackness” in whatever we chose, to break down to their bare elements the bodies, clothes, colors, moods, words, and ideas contained in each image.

I chose the above two album covers.

Going back and re-reading the essay, it was surprisingly good, mainly because the images themselves are so striking and so oppositional. There’s a lot said in both, and a lot to say about them.

Also, these are two fanfuckintastic albums.

Beaters and action.

Producer / engineer, Geoff Ott, from London Bridge Studio, is here on Lineout today to talk about recording kick drums.

Geoff will be monitoring this post, so if you have any questions, ask away.

The first thing to do when mic’ing any drum is to hit it and listen, how does it sound?

There are so many sizes and styles of kick. One thing to realize is that a jazz drummer has a much different sound than a metal drummer, so you have to decide what kind of sound you are going for.

Since we are making a triple platinum record here, let’s go with a 22” DW with a hole cut in the front.

I would start by checking how much padding is in the drum. Generally I prefer something the size of t-shirt or small towel to fold into a rectangle and lay in the bottom of the drum with approx 2” extra at each end to lay across the head for a little dampening.

The beater side head has a lot to do with the action and how the drum feels to the player, so I usually don’t touch that unless I have to.

Next I have the drummer play and I tune the front side head up and down in pitch to find where the sweet spot is. Once you have the drum sounding like Appetite for Destruction, you can place the mics.

I would say that 85% of kick drums that come through London Bridge have a hole in it. The hole is good for getting a very present sound that can cut through 20 layers of Marshalls.

There are two basic spots to place the inside mic: one is all the way in the drum about 4” away from the beater head aimed right at the point of the beater attack. And one is just in the drum. I usually listen to both of these positions and pick one somewhere between the two.

I also add a second mic, like a Neumann U47, for outside placement anywhere between 4” and 2 feet in front of the kick. This mic will give you a more natural low end but will lack attack. This outside mic is perfect for blending with the inside mic.

Remember this is rock, not rocket science. There are no rules. This is meant to be a starting point. I’ve had drummers show up with 5 pillows shoved in the kick. And some with wide open basketball sounding double kicks with silver dollars taped on to the beaters.

You have to take each session and drum one by one.

On my lunch break I went to Paper Zone to geek out over things I could glue together. I do that sometimes. I’m sorta like an old lady when it comes to crafts and glitter and glue—I love them. Anyway, while I was there, the Beach Boys song “Don’t Worry Baby” came on over the loudspeaker, which was funny because I almost posted about the Beach Boys yesterday after a friend reminded me how much I love the song “God Only Knows.” I haven’t actively listened to the Beach Boys in years. I’m not sure why, I’m not sure how. I guess I was too busy listening to other stuff like uh… well, let’s not talk about it.

I’m getting off track. My point is, for the past week or so, the Beach Boys have popped up in my life at least once a day via television, movies, radio, friends, and loudspeakers in stores. The Beach Boys have been stalking me. I took it as a sign, and yesterday, after a brief revisit to their catalog, I decided that “God Only Knows” is my favorite Beach Boys song. But now, after today’s trip to Paper Zone, I’m thinking maybe “Don’t Worry Baby” is. Although, the harmonies at the end of “God Only Knows” really are sort of perfect.

“I Know There’s an Answer” is good too, though, and since we’re talking about songs on Pet Sounds, then “I Just Wasn’t Made For These Times” is far too sad to be a favorite, but it’s also sounding really great right now. As is “In My Room.” I like the harp in the beginning. Sigh. I just can’t decide.

What’s your favorite Beach Boys song? Is that a dumb question? Whatever, I’m going to ask anyways. So tell me.

Kanye West flips Rich Boy’s awesome dumb rim anthem “Throw Some D’s” into a big stupid tribute to fake tits.
Wearing a wig and fake mustache.
What’s not to like?

It is with fondness and respect that we bid adieu to Dave Segal, longtime columnist, critic, and musical excavator at The Stranger, as he takes flight to sunny Orange County, California.

Segal was hired this morning as Music Editor of the O.C. Weekly. It won’t be an easy job, but if anyone is up for it, it’s him.

We’ll miss the hell outta his work here at the paper and throughout the Seattle music community.

Best of luck, Dave.

I hate to illegally download another blog’s ideas, but this post on Idolater, about the RIAA’s condescending phoner with some college newspapers is too good to ignore. Additional text and analysis is available at Emcees Without Voices, and the full transcript of the conversation is available here. This is all required reading.

A Ricardo Villalobos remix of Beck’s Cellphones Dead is up at Little White Earbuds.

It’s pretty damn good! Not as somnabulant as Villalobos has been of late.

“One by one I’ll knock you out!”

It’s also on the new deluxe edition of Beck’s The Information.

Cleveland Eaton - The Funky Cello

Cleveland Eaton was a bassist for The Count Basie Orchestra in the ’60s and ‘70’s. Wonder what Basie would have thought of The Funky Cello? Eaton is now an esteemed scholar at the University Of Alabama.

Eruption Featuring Precious Wilson - I Can’t Stand The Rain

Another Frank Farian production. This is a great disco cover of Ann Peebles 1974 hit I Can’t Stand The Rain.

David Naughton - Makin’ It (Disco Remix)

Yes! It’s THAT David Naughton: the star of An American Werewolf In London. This is the theme to the late ‘70’s/early ’80s sitcom he starred in. It reached #5 on the Billboard Singles Chart in 1979 making him a bonafide one hit wonder!

The Quick - Sharks Are Cool, Jets Are Hot

This single was recorded in 1978, yet the vocals sound oddly “New Wave”-y. A duo from England, The Quick found minor popularity in th UK and Australia, yet only became a hit here in 1988, when the pair changed their name to Giant Steps and released the hit single Another Lover, which reached #11 onthe Billboard Charts.

Claudja Barry - Trippin’ On The Moon (Cerrone Remix)

Everyone knows disco superstar Claudja Barry. This song was was written by Alain Wisniak and Cerrone. Claudja decided to cover it a year later, with production help from her husband Jurgen Korduletsch. Cerrone liked her version enough that he offered up a rare remix of it on the 12” single. The original contained a drum solo by Din Da Da artist George Krantz, but Cerrone being the original dance floor drummer took that out of his remix and changed the key to minor, making his version slightly darker. For the original mix of this go to my blog, here.

That wraps up a week of Dust Bin posts that were all about rare disco. I promise no more disco posts for awhile.

Speaking of Sebadoh… while Sunday’s show maybe didn’t meet all my expectations, “Skull” still manages to give me a little chill every time I hear it. And today, with the sun and the blue sky and the white clouds, well, it’s just perfect.

C’mon take my skull… for a ride.

Sunday’s Sebadoh show was… okay.

Sadly, it wasn’t nearly as interesting and memorable as I expected it to be.

I was glad I went, it wasn’t BAD. It was neat to see the original three together—Lou, Eric, and Jason—and since I had never seen Sebadoh live before, I was excited to finally hear some of those songs in concert but ultimately, the evening was lackluster. In the beginning, Lou kept knocking over his mic stand. And all three of them took such a ridiculous amount of time doing the whole instrument change up/guitar tuning thing, it really fucked with the flow of the show—once they got started, played a few songs, then it was time to change instruments again and any built up momentum was immediately killed.

I suppose the sloppy stage presence was sorta fitting. Sebadoh has always felt like a band that was falling apart at the seams to me, but on Sunday night, while playing to a less than full Neumo’s, the band seemed sorta bored, the crowd seemed sorta bored. But maybe it was just Seattle? I heard Portland’s show on Friday night, was pretty killer and included a Minor Threat breakdown, a Tom Petty cover, and an audience that actually danced and moved a bit.

Next time, I’m headin’ south.

I am preparing to speak to Ian Svenonius this afternoon (my 18 year old self would be so jealous), and in a last-ditch attempt to think of something to ask him I’ve been reviewing his new “show” on Vice “TV,” Soft Focus. Chris hong wrote about it here, but this new episode with Cat Power is worth another post. Crazy-extroverted Chan Marshall is soooo much more fun than crazy-introverted Chan Marshall, no?

I’m thinking veggie lasagna…

There are many albums being released today. Among them are the Arcade Fire’s Neon Bible and an international re-release of Bruce Springsteen’s Greatest Hits.

The Boss has been a canonized saint of blue-collar Americana for as long as I can remember, and I feel like he must have a million greatest hits collections. But today’s dual releases finally mark Springsteen’s passing from the realm of living cultural forces to the world of pop ghosts. His Greatest Hits have long been made; he is done.

But he is a specter hanging all over the Arcade Fire’s new, living record (especially the songs “(Antichrist Television Blues)” and “Windowstill”), not to mention the 2006 releases of bands like the Killers and the Hold Steady. Welcome to the hauntological, Boss.

Since we’re on the subject, here’s Amy’s single featuring Ghostface Killah from his More Fish album last year.

Girl is set to go big. Winehouse is the anti-Lilly Allen, possessing everything Allen doesn’t—terrific voice, real instrumental and songwriting skills, and a body like a brick house. Though they both have no shame in speaking their minds.

…is more Amy Winehouse. The fact that she drunkenly heckled that blowhard Bono at an awards ceremony just gilds this lily.

Let’s fall in love this morning:

Look for her at SXSW and her first American release, Back to Black, soon.

(And all that talk about you losing four dress sizes for the cameras—lady, say it ain’t so. You’re better than that.)

Sheila “What, what, WHAT?!” Broflovski needs put out a cover this song immediately.

From the official press release:

The momentum behind this group and the scene they come out of in Seattle is undeniable. Armed with a purpose beyond creating music for music’s sake, Blue Scholars take the classic form of the emcee/DJ duo perfected by groups such as Gangstarr, Pete Rock & CL Smooth, Eric B. & Rakim while carrying the essence of militant, yet personal struggle shown by hip-hop luminaries such as Public Enemy and KRS-One.

Blue Scholars second full-length release, “Bayani”, is due out in June 12, 2007 on Rawkus Records in collaboration with MASSLINE. Be part of the next cultural shift.

Rawkus, if you ain’t know, is the label that broke Mos Def, Talib Kweli, and Company Flow, among others.The razor logo graced the cream of hiphop’s indie boom in the late 90’s, and became synonomous with raw, progressive independent hiphop. With the worldwide distibution of this storied indie-hop label, the Scholars’ music will reach ears far and wide. That, my friends, is wassup.

I want to send a HUGE congrats to the homies Geologic and Sabzi- this is a beautiful thing for them, their MASSLINE fam, and the entire Northwest.

The Flirtations: Divas to die for.

The Flirtations’ 1969 soul classic “Nothing But a Heartache” is one of the greatest songs of all time. This video—which I can’t stop watching and which is now potentially causing me to piss off some of my editors due to blown deadlines—offers an unexpectedly bizarre presentation of it. (Embedding wasn’t possible; sorry). And those flared pantsuits? Lord have mercy!

Entercom, Clear Channel, CBS Radio, and Citadel Broadcasting have agreed to settle the payola charges prompted by former New York AG Eliot Spitzer.

Here’s the Washington Post’s optimistic lede:

Radio listeners sick of hearing the same tunes again and again may soon encounter surprising new voices, thanks to a $12.5 million settlement pending against major broadcasters accused of taking record companies’ bribes.

The agreement includes pledges to give 4,000 hours of air time to local artists and independent labels.

It’s hardly news that hip-hop has its detractors. Violence, misogyny, homophobia, the list goes on and on. Despite the fact that none of this is really news, CNN has an article describing a backlash against rap music, based on not only these criticisms but the fact that for the first time in 12 years, there weren’t any rap albums in the top 10 sellers for last year. The article makes for an interesting read, even if it does largely reinforce what you already know/feel.

In anticipation of their seventh album, Blue Sky Blue Sky Blue Sky, Wilco is offering a free MP3 download of “Blue Sky Blue” “Sky Blue Sky.” Taken from the upcoming album, the song is available at the Wilco website.

“What Light” starts with Jeff Tweedy in heavy Dylan mode, backed by prominent slide guitar (Nels Cline?) and lap steel. A full chorus comes in towards the end as things get all goose-bumpy. Definitely more -country than alt-, and a great tease of what’s to come.

Blue Sky Blue arrives May 15.

Soulwax has announced tour plans around their upcoming appearance at Coachella, and they include a date in Seattle, Wed 4/25 @ Chop Suey. The show will include a live performance from both Soulwax Nite Versions, the Dewaele brothers’ dance/rock band, and from their mash-up mad DJ alias, 2 Many DJs. Fixed DJs JDH & Dave P will open.

I am SO STOKED!

I really can’t find much info on who Chi-Chi Favelas is/was. But this crazy disco album has some pretty important names on it.

Once again, Lene Lovich writes all the lyrics, and this time the music is written and produced by Alain Wisniak. Wisniak was a close friend and co-composer on the Kongas project with Cerrone, and also helped Cerrone with production and engineering on some of his later work.

The vibe of this particular incarnation for all the people on this album is “Rock Disco” and it comes off fairly well, I think, on the title track and on the Cocaine Suite which finds Chi-Chi covering the J.J. Cale classic made famous by Eric Clapton. I can actually hear this following some of the disco punk bands that have rose up in the last few years like LCD Soundsystem or The Rapture.

The writing onthe back of the album says:

This album has been dicophonicalloy recorded to perfection on the most advanced equipment specially for your dancing pleasure. We have used only the funkiest ingredients to insure this L.P. to be of the highest quality. OUr experienced engineers personally guarantee the groove to be as fresh and exciting as the moment it was laid down. You are now invited to sample th latest and tastiest disco sound around. try it…you’ll like it!!!

Check out the picture of Chi-Chi.

You gotta check it out. Downloads at my blog here!

P.S. Don’t go thinking I’m a coke fiend because of my last two posts. Just a kooky coincidence. Cocaine is the drug that brought down disco in the states. How could a reasonable person condone that?!?

P.P.S. What the hell is with that creepy autoasphyxiation cover anyway?

P-Funk, back in the day: You should’ve seen their rider.

In the current issue’s George Clinton/P-Funk feature, I got cosmically sloppy in a couple of places, as reader Josh Welbel pointed out in an email. In the name of accuracy, I bring the errors to your attention here.

Mr. Welbel notes that “Loose Booty” is not a celebration of feminine cabooses, but rather “about nodding out on junk. It’s that kinda loose.” Apparently, I was too mesmerized by the song’s awesome music to hear the crucial line about “Doin’ the junkie twist.” I slouch corrected.

Josh also takes issue with my interpretation of “Flashlight.” “If there is phallic imagery in the lyrics, please enlighten me, as I have never noticed it,” he writes. “As in any art we see what were lookin’ for, I suppose, but as far a I can tell it’s a flashlight that helps ya find the funk. It’s the light that’s inside of us that lights the way, it is funk enlightenment, etc. But a euphemism for the human shmekle?”

Shmekle? What, schwanz isn’t good enough for you? But seriously, I took liberties with that analysis. Given Clinton’s predilection for sexual innuendo, it’s not that farfetched that he’d consider the flashlight as a metaphor for dick. Maybe that assessment says more about me than it does about George. What it says I’ll leave up to you, dear reader. In the article, I do touch on the illumination part, and it doesn’t seem like much of a stretch to extrapolate enlightenment with sexual pleasure, knowing P-Funk’s track record, though the lyrics don’t explicitly say this is so.

Welbel continues: “All bass parts on [“Flashlight”] are played by Bernie [Worrell] on a MiniMoog bass synth. Bootsy [Collins], as far as I know, is not on that song at all, though Catfish [Bootsy’s brother] may be. If it is Catfish you are referencing then I apologize wholeheartedly.”

Welbel’s right about Bootsy not playing bass on “Flashlight.” Apparently he plays drums (?!) on it, according to Wikipedia.

Welbel concludes, “It pains me to send you a less than praising response to your piece; but, there are few songmakers on this planet worthy of analysis and I feel the P-Funk crew are, in fact, among them, and I think they deserve accurate representation. I appreciate that you meant no harm, of course, I just think you may need to go back to P-School.”

Ooh, pwnd.

Charlie is the 13 yr old sonic guru. The throwback, Black Light Kid.
Episode 1, Episode 2.

Charlie sent a couple reviews of albums he’s been listening to:

Frank Zappa: Hot Rats

One word, Zappa. Zappa = Genius. You can figure this out just by looking at the track names, such as “Willie the Pimp”, “Little Umbrellas”, and the “Gumbo Variations”. The only track with vocals is “Willie the Pimp”, which is sung by Captain Beefheart. The song starts with Sugar Cane Harris sawing away at the violin in a hypnotic rhythm. And this is just one song, the best nine minutes of my day.

Electric Flag: A Long Time Comin’

Electric Flag mixes Hendrix and Motown. Electric Flag’s drummer is Buddy Miles; Yes, Buddy Miles, more popularly known as the drummer for Jimi Hendrix. You can hear the Motown with songs like “Killing Floor”, and “Groovin’ is Easy”. “Killing Floor” has a bass line that will shake your soul, it is sweet. The trumpets chime in to fill the rhythm in the perfect spots. This album is the one album that will forever stay with me, and you need to go out right now and buy it.

I didn’t know much about Electric Flag. Here’s more:

Continue reading "Charlie's Picks" »

On Saturday night I had the good fortune to pop by Neumo’s for the show by the Coup, and it was fucking awesome. I’ve never seen ‘em before, so I have no idea how this tour’s line-up—Boots Riley with live guitar-bass-drums and kick-ass backup singer—compares with what they’ve done in the past, but it totally worked on me and the rest of the crowd, which freaked out admirably.

Personal highlight: “ShoYoAss,” my favorite track on Pick a Bigger Weapon and one of my favorite songs of last year. This is gonna sound weird, but the song’s always reminded me of the Rolling Stones’ “Jigsaw Puzzle,” another six-minute-plus track that seems like it could go on forever and always ends before I want it to. Live, “ShoYoAss” was a melodic riot, led by the aforementioned ass-kicking backup singer/dancer, whose name I wish I knew so I could write her a fan letter.

I had to take off before Lyrics Born performed—how’d his show go?

After spending much of the past year marveling over the Knife’s brilliant, ghostly Silent Shout, I’ve finally come to appreciate their previous album, Deep Cuts with equal enthusiasm.

Initially, Deep Cuts seemed like a lighter, less conceptual record, more a collection of pop songs than an epic album cycle. But repeat listenings reveal just as much depth and complexity as on Silent Shout, only differently directed. Where Silent Shout deals with a darkly supernatural Scandanavia, Deep Cuts seems to address something more like reality, still with intense joys and pains, but grounded in cafes and discotheques, taxes and pregnancies, rather than magic forests and haunted houses. Deep Cuts is a city record, whereas Silent Shout is a wilderness.

According to an article on Billboard.com, long-in-the-tooth b-boy provacatuers the Beastie Boys have announced a new album, due this summer.

No title has been given, but we’re suggesting Bigger and Deafer or It Takes a Bottle of Metamucil to Hold Us Back.

This is a W. Michael Smith and Lauren Rinder production. This is beautiful symphonic disco, with a touch of the electonic to give it some energy (especially at about the :47 mark)! These guys are brilliant, they had many groups, all of which were shells for their different production personas.

Of course, a few years later they would produce two of late disco / early italo’s most influential albums, The Warriors and The Seven Deadly Sins.

Interesting fact form Discopia:

“7 days a week, 3 different projects at the same time. I played drums on everything but had to play a little differently. I had to ask the engineer ‘What’s the name of this group?’ The amount of coke we did to do all this you can’t even imagine. $300 a day. I had to have plastic inserts in my nose so I could do more.”

Wow! That’s some dedication!

They also wrote the theme to In Search Of… and soundtracked just about every “American Ninja” movie to come out in the early ‘80’s (when ninja’s were the hot shit)!

In his post-disco years Rinder would also go on to host a fishing show on ESPN callled Charlie’s Anglers. (Oy, what a name!)

Enjoy some downloads on my blog.

Hall & Oates say it best, “Watch out boy, she’ll chew you up.”

After the paper went to press, I received an email advising that Costes’ “opera porno-social,” Les Petits Oiseaux Chient (“Little Birds Shit” warning: NSFW), starts tonight at 7 pm at the Re-Bar instead of 8 pm as listed in The Score this week.

I’ll miss the show as I’m hosting Flotation Device on KBCS 91.3 FM from 10 pm to midnight. Tonight’s broadcast pays tribute to Charles Gocher (read Dave Segal’s fine piece) and Leroy Jenkins. Kyle Gann penned a tribute to the composer, improviser, violinist, and beloved member of the Revolutionary Ensemble.

Also in the mix: George Crumb, Michelle Boudreau, Butch Morris, Morton Feldman, Yann Novak, Gilles Gobeil, and classic electronic music from Bruno Maderna.

Catch the on-line stream or tune in to KBCS 91.3 FM from 10 pm to midnight.