Friday, October 30, 2009

Glide Review- Girls Album

Hey There-

New review over at Glide.

Check it out Girls Album

Rock and Roll.

Thursday, October 29, 2009

Album Review-Michael Hurtt & his Haunted Hearts Come Back To Louisiana

This review is part of the "Over Flow" Review Series. For various reasons these past reviews were not published anywhere else. I am tagging them as "Overflow Reviews" and may add some extra information before or after if needed but will keep the ratings and reviews just as I originally wrote them. Enjoy:

Michael Hurtt and his Haunted Hearts
Come Back To Louisiana
*** and 1/2

Ah the spicy gumbo that is Nawlin’s music, constantly impressing with range and depth.   Today’s chefs adding to the flavor are Michael Hurtt and his Haunted Hearts bringing back the often forgotten country music of the town.  These troubadours pluck and strum their way through some bayou backwater hillybilly lost classics an sprinkle in country fried chicken gristle originals leaving the listener an earful of goodness.  The title song and opener comes from Rockabilly Hall of Famer Jay Chevalier and the back-porch-moonshine keeps a’flowin’ as the Haunted Hearts stroll through their original “I Dreamed By Starlight”, pick with the quickness on Ford Nix’s “Ain’t No Sign I Wouldn’t If I Could”, an amp up the friskiness on Tommy Odom’s “She Won’t Turn Over For Me”.  The electric playing craftily increases as the album progresses, culminating with the original rockabilly of “Hey Little Tornado”. 

Come Back to Louisiana would ring truest crackling over a turntable in a dusty old juke joint or echoing off a balcony somewhere in the Faubourg Marigny.  While the title of the newest bonus single “Lonely Mardi Gras” may throw you for a loop, the tune should toss revelers into finding a dance partner and strutting down St Charles Ave, shimmying and shaking their blues away.

More after the Jump...

Thursday, October 22, 2009

Glide Review- Flaming Lips


Hey There,

I have a new review up on Glide.

It is of those kooky Flaming Lips newest release Embryonic

Check it out right Here!

More thoughts on the The Lips, Embryonic, 1994, and some video and tunes after the jump


Monday, October 19, 2009

The Grateful Dead are King Kong

A few weeks ago I DVR'd a documentary called I'm King Kong! The Exploits of Merian C. Cooper.  I watched it recently and became completely fascinated by Merian C. Cooper's life, you couldn't make-up a character like he supposedly was.  His most famous work was obviously King Kong:


Music, videos, Pictures of a Tye-dyed Empire State Building and connecting the mythical great ape to the Sunshine Serenader's after the jump

Friday, October 16, 2009

Glide Review- Built to Spill



Hey There,

My newest review is posted over on Glide.

It is of Built to Spill's newest release, There Is No Enemy.






Check it out here!

More thoughts and Music Clips after the jump

Thursday, October 15, 2009

New York City Never Cease's to Amaze...Underground Railroad, On My Block.

I love this city, plain and simple.   It has been my home off and on for the past 14 years (Jesus, I'm getting old) and I fell in love with it the minute I got here. Of all the traits, the amazing people, art, food, architecture, music, nightlife, the one that seems to seep into everything is the History of this town.  I can't walk more then a few blocks on a sunny day and not help but think of the millions of people who walked the same block before me.

Whitman talked about this beautifully in Leaves of Grass, particularly in the Crossing Brooklyn Ferry Section:

I too lived—Brooklyn, of ample hills, was mine;
  60
I too walk’d the streets of Manhattan Island, and bathed in the waters around it;

I too felt the curious abrupt questionings stir within me,

In the day, among crowds of people, sometimes they came upon me,

In my walks home late at night, or as I lay in my bed, they came upon me.

NYC History came up and slapped me in the face just recently.  It hit me where I live...literally...on my block this happened....


Camera phone pic taken Oct'09

Pics, Video and a whole bunch more after the jump.

Wednesday, October 14, 2009

Glide Review- Monsters of Folk



Hey There,

My newest review is posted over on Glide.

It is of the Monsters of Folk Self Titled release.



Check it out here!

Some more feelings on the album and a sample music clip or two after the jump.

Tuesday, October 13, 2009

Album Review- Angelo Diablo Self Titled

This is going to be the first review I am posting directly to Rock the Body Electric, in the Overflow Review Series. For various reasons these past reviews were not published anywhere else. I am tagging them as "Overflow Reviews" and may add some extra information before or after if needed but will keep the ratings and reviews just as I originally wrote them.



Angelo Diablo
Angelo Diablo
*** and ½ (out of 5)

The Angel, the Devil, the same. Lucifer, the fallen angel, smolders among the embers and along the fringes of this self-titled release and the holy/horror mix produces a triumphant debut. Gorgeously grotesque lyrics uttered in a Waits-fueled vocal by Nick Reis paint lurid pictures; but when paired with the euphoric guitar strumming and rising drums, a sliver of redemption is birthed and grows as the record progresses.

Both “Dead” and “What a Wonder” begin in bleakness but end with lyrical and musical pleas for the listener to embrace life. “Lullabye” and the heart felt Spanish turn in “Joaquinito” show a tender side before the dirty uncle shows up to make a pass at your kid sister with “Ice Cream” and the straight out, no fucking around of “I Wanna”.

The Devil is always present, but who among us is truly beyond redemption? Angelo Diablo occupies both worlds at the same time and so do we – which is precisely why this album works so well.

Check them out at: http://www.myspace.com/angelodiablo1 Disk available at http://www.cdbaby.com

More Info and Music After the Jump...

Newest Review Posted on Glide

Hey There,

My newest review is up on GlideMagazine.com

It is Brendan Benson's newest Solo release My Old, Familiar Friend.


Check it out here!


Some more feelings on the album and a sample music clip or two after the jump.

Friday, October 9, 2009

20th Anniversary of "The Warlock" Shows

Today marks one of the strangest shows in the glorious Grateful Dead's history. Back in 1989 the Dead were in a late career renaissance fueled by Jerry being in good healthy and vibrant contributions from their keyboardist Brent Mydland.


I have always loved Brent in the Dead, there is something so 80's about it, but somehow the whole ball of tye-dye works. His light electro-keys, his gruff howl of a voice and his really dark song writing all made a lasting impression. Fans seem divided on his contributions, but I love them, and here is one of my favorites.

Anyway back to the "The Warlock" Shows. The Dead were in rare form and decide to go back and bust out a couple of gems, even going so far to bill themselves as their original name, "The Warlocks".


I could go into why these shows were great, but why not take a gander at the glowing reviews on Dead.net while actually listening to an exactly 20 year old show in it's entirety right here courtesy of the Internet Archives:

The Grateful Dead 10/9/89 Hampton Virgina


Ahh, the Good Ole' Grateful Dead....Enjoy Yerself.

Rating System-

When it comes to Album Reviews, I am going to stick with Glide’s (old) Star Rating System, to go along with the writeup.  Sometimes the star ratings come easy, some other times not so much, but I think having some sort of guide to refer to is a good thing.  Basically it breaks down like this:

No Stars- Why was this made?!
1 Star- Bomb-riffic
2 Stars- Meah
3 Stars- Good
4 Stars- Great
5 Stars- Boosh!!!!!

There will be half stars tossed in there as well just to mix things up.

Some examples of past albums I rated using this system and the official breakdown of half stars etc. after the jump....

Welcome


So welcome to Rock The Body Electric, thanks for checking out my one room apartment right off a busy exit ramp of the information superhighway. Some friends and I will be using this terrain to post various thoughts and views on all aspects of life, culture and various happenings.

For now there is no set structure, but I will be focusing on mostly musical topics. I currently am a New York City based Staff Writer at http://www.glidemagazine.com and have contributed over 150 columns, reviews and interviews for various other websites and print magazines…but there is always more, and I will use this blog to post the overflow and make things a bit less formal and a bit more personal with pictures, interviews and other random ramblings. Friends (who also happen to be excellent writers) will pop up time to time to express thoughts whims and mental flings so it shall be an excursion of epic proportions, or at least a way to waste some minutes during the day.





The name of the blog is a tribute to the great Walt Whitman who was a New York City boy and a lover of all humanity, from the White House to the Out House. He was a keen observer who had a way of crafting such beautiful writing that it somehow still feels fresh over a century later. He tapped into the American Spirit and while we hope to do justice to the Good Gray Poet, just about anything we produce should be a trip.

Enjoy, Comment, Contribute, Get Fired Up, and again Welcome.


-Shawn