Tuesday, March 31, 2015

Album Review: Sleater-Kinney- No Cities To Love

Sleater-Kinney
No Cities To Love
****and1/2 out of *****
With their highly anticipated comeback No Cities To Love, Sleater-Kinney's Carrie Brownstein talked about willing the band back into existence with the creation of this album, quick assesment? Mission Accomplished.

The band has crafted their most mature (makes sense) and accessibly mainstream (semi surprising) album of their career. When they were last cranking out the jams, the band seemed to hit a musical turning point with The Woods, blasting their angst past while funneling it through loud arena rock production; an amazingly successful record all around.

They turn down the angst/fire/noise on No Cities To Love and increase the pop but for a band just getting back into the swing of things after a 10 year split SK are confident, vibrant and just as vital as ever. By putting a softer touch on things a new legion of fans will be able to attach themselves to these songs now that the band might have it's highest profile ever thanks to years of internet pining and Brownstein's star turn on IFC's Portlandia.

As for the songs themselves even though they are produced by John Goodmanson who helped the band on their earlier raw fantastic albums (One Beat, Dig Me Out, All Hands On The Bad One) there is clearly tons more sonic polish this go around. A track like "Gimme Love"  is a nuanced disco rocker that could have wide-range appeal but songs like "Fangless" bring back the two guitar machine which Brownstein and Corin Tucker slip into with ease.

The opener "Price Tag" is classic SK in every way, Tucker lyrically addressing actual economy, spiritual costs, or political acquiescence while the band gets back into their twin guitar groove majestically. For a band that famously doesn't use bass, "A New Wave" gets awfully close to that sound as the dance vibe pops back up. The other member of the trio Janet Weiss takes center stage on "Surface Envy" with her skin pounding, but the song also hints excitingly at noise rock flair with scratchy/digital guitars in the background.  

"No Anthems" states there aren't any, but itself is anthemic as is the first single "Bury Our Friends" which takes a pumping chorus and puts out the positive vibe of not giving in, even in this bizarre new gilded age. These tracks on other albums would be clear highlights, but here they are just part of the amazing tapestry from SK's comeback disk.

The tunes are tight and efforts like the very pop leaning "Hey Darling" are balanced out with closer "Fade" which hints at The Woods mega rock. If there is one complaint it may be the band never cuts loose to those realms, seeming to veer for drum tight with this offering. Hopefully the reunion continues because this doesn't feel like a one off, rather a rebirth and where the band goes next could be even more exciting then No Cities To Love.  
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We dig on Sleater-Kinney hard. So we had high hopes for this disk and for the most part those were completely met. Wouldn't mind a few more solos next time though as Brownstein can cook. 

Support the band here, buy the album here, peep some video below:

Monday, March 30, 2015

Dylan Cover #182 Rivers Rubin "Thunder On The Mountain"

In this ongoing Monday Series we will be exploring various artists versions of Bob Dylan song's. Today's tune comes from Rivers Rubin and is a live cover of "Thunder On The Mountain"  
Thoughts on Dylan Original:
From the first time we tackled a cover of this tune:
The opening track on Dylan's 2006 album Modern Times, "Thunder On The Mountain" has all the ingredients of a classic; ingenious word play, a rhythmic backbone and some sweet fret work.  In my original review of Modern Times I quoted three sets of lyrics from this tune.  It is epic and fits in with the heavyweights of Dylan's past.  
Cover: 


Thoughts on Cover Artist:
I am not familiar with Rivers Rubin, but he seems to be folk artist from Colorado who is playing currently in the Chicago area. Can find out more info about him here.
Thoughts on Cover:
I like these sorts of covers when the artist addresses a song and makes it his own. Theses songs aren't written in stone and sometimes the artists covering them are too reverent to the source material. I think Bob would probably get a kick out of hearing Rivers speed up only to be broken down effort. If anything it is certainly an original take on the track.  

Friday, March 27, 2015

Full Show Friday: Metallica 6/22/10 Sofia Bulguria

We search the murky back waters of youtube to find full concerts and post them to the site weekly, come back every seven days to help us celebrate Full Show Friday's. These shows are of varying quality and may not be here for long so enjoy them while you can...As always, please support the artist every which way, but especially by seeing them live (if they are still playing)...This week..Metallica!
This is from the Big 4 Tour back in 2010. It is Metallica's headlining set. Pro-shot Pro-sound from Sofia Bulgaria. 

Not the best of set-lists or playing from the guys, but there are some highlights specifically, "Welcome Home (Sanitarium)" being the big one. The real reason to post this show is the encore  which brings out the full big four for the Diamond Head cover of "Am I Evil" then the old school Kill'Em All jams "Hit The Lights" and "Seek & Destroy". 

If you are not a fan of modern Metallica much (like us) if you jump to 1:45:00 that is a great closing set. Enjoy:

Metallica live June 22, 2010 at Levski Stadium in Sofia, Bulgaria.

Setlist

1. Creeping Death
2. For Whom the Bell Tolls
3. Fuel
4. Harvester of Sorrow
5. Fade to Black
6. That Was Just Your Life
7. Cyanide
8. Sad But True
9. Welcome Home (Sanitarium)
10. All Nightmare Long
11. One
12. Master of Puppets
13. Blackened
14. Nothing Else Matters
15. Enter Sandman
ENCORE
16. Am I Evil w/ The Big Four
17. Hit the Lights
18. Seek & Destroy

Thursday, March 26, 2015

"Blurred Copyrights" and Plagiarism

In the increasing fractured world of covers, samples and digital remixes and an increasingly fractured music business the idea of paying royalties out has become murky and the recent "Blurred Lines" case brought things to the forefront again.
Pitchfork has an article on the case written by writer/artist Damon Krukowski who agrees with the ruling but not necessarily the financial settlement which is 7.4 million dollars. He makes some interesting points, but I for one do not feel sorry for the Thicke/Williams/TI side of this one. Would it be super hard to have credited Gaye as a writer or given him credit/his family money before this went all the way to court and a settlement? (Quick side-note, we highlighted Gaye in our Full Show Friday's earlier this month).

One of the more surprising things I learned from Krukowski's piece is there is yet ANOTHER Led Zeppelin rip off issue?! The last time copyrights were discussed on the site, Zeppelin were the main focal point. We pointed out 4 songs of theirs, huge hits, where no credit was given and now there is a case for "Dazed and Confused" too?!?!
  
Unreal. Our dislike for LZ grows by the day. Is it that funking hard to credit someone else regarding songs when you take inspiration, or at times clearly more, from? Oh well. 

Wednesday, March 25, 2015

Album Review: Various Artists- Catch The Throne: The Mixtape Vol 2

Various Artists 
Catch The Throne: The Mixtape Vol 2
*** out of *****
Last year HBO brought in hip hop artists to rhyme over beats and music taken from their supremely successful series Game of Thrones which is based on George R.R. Martin's fantasy series A Song of Ice and Fire. Now it is back in expanded fashion.

Method Man opens things with only a verse based on the Watcher on the Wall oath. It acts as an intro with more samples from the show then actual lyrics from Method Man himself, but the combo puts us back nicely into Westeros. MDNR moves things intro electro-pop with skittering beats in one of the more flushed out complete songs that doesn't owe much to GoT proper. 

Modern day R&B is highlighted with Melanie Fiona's "Fight To Do It" while Ty Dolla $ign  twists in samples from the best character of season 4, Oberyn Martell. Kap G gives a better effort on "Surrender Now" tying in the story and swinging back up North to the wall with the samples. Yandel gets the Reggaeton flowing while Raquel Sofia stands out going bilingual pop, expertly crooning "Legends"

Snoop Dog puts fourth a valiant effort with "Lannister's Anthem" a powerful take the Golden Lions could be proud of. Another hip hop veteran Talib Kweli drops in and puts out extra work for Davos Seaworth and Stannis Baratheon rhyming about "Lord Of The Light" in the most complete hip hop track here.  

Like each book and each season of the show, the mixtape expands as well, up to 15 songs this time adding metal to the mix instead of just hip hop. The Red Viper's pursuit of justice continues with the pounding drums of Killswitch Engage's "Loyalty". This injection makes perfect sense as swords and sorcery as well as literature (both fantasy and otherwise) are common place in metal lyrics.

Anthrax expertly gives a mix of punk and old school metal in "Soror Irrumator" while Mushroomhead tries to mix the hip hop and metal on disk closer "Among The Crows" but combining those two styles has always been tricky. Mastodon on the other hand does a slow build with acoustic guitars and huge drums on "White Walker" and using that delicate touch makes the track standout. 

HBO wants to expand viewer base for the series even more hence the wide range of artists/styles and the metal vibe is such a natural fit it makes sense not to overload things in that vein. As a complete listen though that upbeat injection gives this version of the mixtape more life then the previous, growing the anticipation even more for season 5 next month. 
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Listen for yourself below, but never forget Winter Is Coming:

Tuesday, March 24, 2015

Album Review: Buena Vista Social Club- Lost And Found

Buena Vista Social Club
Lost And Found
***and1/2 out of *****
Can it be almost 20 years since Buena Vista Social Club entered the American lexicon? Time flies and with it lives as many of the original members including bassist Orlando "Cachaito" Lopez, percussionist Miguel "Anga" Diaz and guitarist/singer Company Segundo have passed from this world. The newest offering from the collective Lost And Found seems to be acting as a final look back to the musicians and sound that made Cuba's 40's and 50's jazz clubs the place to be.   

That playing was resurrected in 1997 by Ry Cooder, who produced these musicians sessions and opened up their sound to a whole new generation of listeners (present company included) around the world. The music was just as alive at the end of the centruy as it was in the middle of it, splashing rhythmic lines with excellent melodies and vibrant upbeat playing.

Lost And Found is a mix of songs from those sessions that didn't make the original album, various other recordings from late 90's/early 00's and live recordings. While not surpassing the original it acts as a nice complement with tracks that bounce and cook in the trademark Cuban style.   

Opening with the live crowd appreciated "Bruca Manugua" the album puts listeners back in that Latin inspired mindset. "Macusa" is a studio cut that moves all over the place with acoustic picking and injects a noisy, rhythmic piano in the distant right speaker/headphone that adds a unique slight dissonance to things.

"Black Chicken 37" is all about the bass and percussion; this track would make a fantastic backing for the adventurous hip-hop M.C. "Como Fue" is a live cut that puts the focus completely on the vocals while "Guajira En F" is a great mix of the collectives playing style.  

Tracks like the short "Habanera" and "Tiene Sabor" which is piano led with female vocals and a cutting violin solo, still feel like something would be needed to make them complete. That outtake vibe doesn't crop up often, but there is no doubt new listeners should go to the original first, then pick up Lost And Found. Both are worth your time and energy as the BVSC sound should be treasured and appreciated. 
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Support the artists here, buy the album here, stream the album here at NPR for a limited time and peep some video below:

Monday, March 23, 2015

Dylan Cover #181: James Blunt "I Want You"

In this ongoing Monday Series we will be exploring various artists versions of Bob Dylan song's. Today's tune is a cover by James Blunt playing "I Want Your" 

Thoughts on Original:
A song that fits the Gemini Dylan like a glove; direct lyrical yearning chorus with verses that meander about introducing characters like roadblocks in the way of true love. It was the last tune written for the mega Blonde on Blonde and a song he and others (it was Al Kooper's favorite) admired so much he almost titled the album after it. Never a track that jumps to the top of peoples "favorites" or "best of" Dylan lists but one that really nails what the artist is all about in some of the simplest terms.     
Cover:

Thoughts on Cover Artist
The best thing Blunt has been a part of? Right Here.
Thoughts on Cover
Simple and direct. Not a fan of Blunt's voice so I won't go back to it at all, but the instrumentation is really sweet and the added pieces work nicely.

Friday, March 20, 2015

Full Show Friday: My Morning Jacket 6/21/11 Los Angeles, CA

We search the murky back waters of youtube to find full concerts and post them to the site weekly, come back every seven days to help us celebrate Full Show Friday's. These shows are of varying quality and may not be here for long so enjoy them while you can...As always, please support the artist every which way, but especially by seeing them live (if they are still playing)...This week..My Morning Jacket!

This is on the bands tour for their 2011 album Circuital. We were not big fans of the disk but we go back and fourth with this band in general. Z is fantastic, but other then that we take a song here and a song there and that's about all. They do have excellent taste in their covers though which really helps especially in their live sets. Can't front on the greatness of "One Big Holiday" though...killer tune.

This show is Pro Shot with Pro Sound from the Village Studios in LA so enjoy:


My Morning Jacket
Village Studios
Los Angeles, CA
June 21, 2011

Victory Dance
Circuital
Day Is Coming
Wonderful (The Way I Feel)
Outta My System
Holdin On To Black Metal
First Light
You Wanna Freak Out
Slow Slow Tune
Movin Away
Wordless Chorus
Smokin From Shootin
Touch Me I'm Going To Scream Part 2
One Big Holiday
I Will Sing You Songs

Thursday, March 19, 2015

SXSW Streaming: SXSW ON

We have never been to SXSW and while it may be in the cards for future years, 2015 continues the trend of us passing on attending. However, RtBE and you non Austin travelers do not have to miss out on the Panel Talks or Performances because the internet is awesome:
You can go to SXSW ON and get video streams of talks and shows. Not just the little bars and bands either, one of RtBE's favorites Spoon will be playing tonight at 8pm CDT, pretty damn Boosh.  Now all you need is a case of Shiner Bock and you will be good to go.
For those of us who can't make it south this is a pretty great alternative, we will def be watching the band we rated as having the 2nd best album of 2014 tonight. Until then lets peep a quick live video of them premiering a song on NPR live in NYC at Le Poisson Rogue:

Wednesday, March 18, 2015

Album Review: Jerome Price- Negative EP

Jerome Price
Negative EP
** out of *****
The DJ Jerome Price from Leicester, UK has released his newest 3 song 1 remix EP titled Negative this month on Love Not Money Records. Price now splits his time between Newcastle and Los Angeles since entering the music business first time gaining prominence like most in the techno/house/electronica field by remixing hits. 

This offering buts the club square in focus with some restrained production work in the opening title track as things untz and pulse but never work into a frenzy. The aptly titled "OMG" uses various samples of that expression into a more dance focused song that dips then returns with power.

"Gave Me Everything" has two offerings, the remix by Jacky (UK)'s Groover is first and actually feels more linked to the first two songs in its restrained pumping as it builds to its finale. The original is more experimental, playing with sounds and slightly less concerned with the dance floor.

Price has been at this for a few years now and this offering would sit beside techno DJ's in clubs, lounges or dance-halls with ease.    
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Unlike last week's noise rock reviews, electronica is far from our wheelhouse. We do always love showcasing a variety of tunes though on RtBE.

Support the artist here and you can also stream Price's EP below to judge for yourself:

Tuesday, March 17, 2015

Happy St. Patricks Day!

Wishing everyone a happy safe and fun St. Patrick's Day from RtBE and we might as well throw in a self plug.

Here is Angels & Vagabonds Irish inspired tune, "Queens Boulevard Serenade":


The story goes; in the lead up to our first St. Paddy's Day gig we were working on some traditional Irish songs to play and our lead singer/keyboard player Don McNally realized they were basically all the same chords just re-arraigned.

So the Irish American from Woodside, NY dug into his past and crafted QBS. He brought it to the group and after a few tweaks it was ready for prime time, we actually played it only about a week after it was written. There is a little inside baseball into our process, now go celebrate by hoisting a pint....Happy St. Paddy's!
  

Monday, March 16, 2015

Dylan Cover #180 KT Tunstall "Tangled Up In Blue" Live

In this ongoing Monday Series we will be exploring various artists versions of Bob Dylan song's. Today's tune is a live cover by KT Tunstall playing "Tangled Up In Blue" 
Thoughts on Original:
From the first time we tackled a cover of this track:
Have we really gotten to #58 on the Dylan cover list and not touched one cover of "Tangled Up In Blue"? Wow. The song that never ends, the tune that might just best sum up Dylan, and we waited this long? Well it just goes to show you how many great tunes he has. Dylan constantly toyed with this song (check out the Rolling Thunder and Real Live version's if you haven't yet) and even he knows it can't stay stagnant in one form for long, so covering it is a good bet.  Needless to say it is in the top 5 greatest songs he ever wrote if we were ranking them...hmm.   
Cover: 


Thoughts on Cover Artist
This is interesting, KT joins Jerry Garcia and Jack White as the only people we have featured twice in this series (outside our monthly focus series). Never would have thought she would have popped up twice randomly...oh well here's what we wrote about her the first time we tackled a Dylan cover of her's: The first time I heard KT Tunstall was on a sampler CD that I got with some magazine, I forgot which one at this point, but it was her biggest hit of a song, "Black Horse & The Cherry Tree". When I first heard it I was impressed, by her song writing, singing and performance, while I haven't dove in to anything else she has produced it is obvious she is talented. 
Thoughts on Cover
Really good cover and the best part is the intro. The clapping and bass lead make this unique and adds flair to the proceedings. Putting the rhythm in front to start allows the strings and KT's voice to rise as the song progresses. A good cover for this Monday.  

Friday, March 13, 2015

Full Show Friday: Flogging Molly's Pinkpop 2014

We search the murky back waters of youtube to find full concerts and post them to the site weekly, come back every seven days to help us celebrate Full Show Friday's. These shows are of varying quality and may not be here for long so enjoy them while you can...As always, please support the artist every which way, but especially by seeing them live (if they are still playing)...This week..Flogging Molly!
Well St. Patrick's Day is on Tuesday so lets get the Irish flowing. In fact, we are really getting it flowing tonight as you can come see Angels & Vagabonds 4th Annual St. Patrick's Day Show tonight for free if you happen to be in town. 

But back to the Show we got for you right now, Flogging Molly Live from Pinkpop Fest 2014. Pro Shot, Pro Sound. You will want to raise a pint to this one as the singing flows and the stomping commences. You can peep the setlist below, and we will have more Irish for you next week.

Enjoy:

Setlist:
The Likes of You Again
Swagger
Revolution
Every Dog Has Its Day
Whistles the Wind
Drunken Lullabies
Saints & Sinners
Requiem for a Dying Song
Float
Tobacco Island
Happy Birthday
(for Bridget)
Devil's Dance Floor
What's Left of the Flag
The Seven Deadly Sins

Thursday, March 12, 2015

Album Review: Lightning Bolt- Fantasy Empire

Lightning Bolt
Fantasy Empire
***and1/2 out of *****
Lightning Bolt are an art/noise metal duo from Providence, RI who came to prominence by turning the volume way up at their grungy lo-fi basement shows and on the floors of bigger venues; if you are looking for melody or songwriting look else. That said it you want raw power and electricity Brian Gibson and Brian Chippendale are the people to zap it to you.

The instruments are drum and bass, but the main thread is volume and lots of it. There are overdrive pedals, feedback, drum effects, muffled vocals and big swells of incomprehensible sound. This is the duos first release for Thrill Jockey and a step up in quality over their notoriously lo-fi past, that said don't expect a lot of cohesion or clarity and that is perfectly OK in these waters.    

"The Metal East" opens the huge double LP Fantasy Empire with screeching bass that sounds like a guitar crashing over slick popping drums, running four plus minutes the track has a heavy metal ebb and flow to it. Gibson has been quoted as saying he hates the label noise punk, and here the duo really toss a lot of that off in favor of incorporating classic metal tropes into their style. 

A number like "Dream Genie" rambles on and allows Gibson to solo in a way that Dave Mustaine would be proud of while "Horsepower" is full metal complete with a slight breakdown. All the tracks run long here (again a metal trait) and some can punish the ears, like the start stopping buzz-sawing of "King of My World" but the when things work like the industrial creeping "Mythbuster" which explodes into powerful and rhythmically focused ending, you don't want the aggression to stop.  

Some negatives lie in the drum sound which at times comes off weak, programmed and thin especially next to the fuzz bass. Also with a group like this it is always frustrating when it comes to vocals and lyrics. If they were just relegated to yelps/screams and colorful additions to the sonic palette that would be fine, but it is obvious that Chippendale is saying something, what that is doesn't matter because it is completely unintelligible.

The closing track, "Snow White (& The 7 Dwarves Fans)" is the most exploratory, opening with a mellow intro, progressing into the depths of chaos then grooves and finally collapses at the finale of it's eleven minute journey. As Fantasy Empire is a step up in all directions for Lightning Bolt, ending on an exhilarating high note hints at even more quality cacophony to come.
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Thanks NPR for cluing us into these guys. Again we love this stuff and realize it isn't for everyone...but if you dig on some noise, check it out.

Support the band here, stream the album for a limited time here, and peep some video below: 

Wednesday, March 11, 2015

Album Review: A Place To Bury Strangers- Transfixiation

A Place To Bury Strangers
Transfixiation
*** and 1/2 out of *****
The New York City based noise trio A Place To Bury Strangers have released their 4th full length album with Transfixiation, it's first with it's newest member, drummer Robbi Gonzalez. The disk is a mix of slow burning shoegaze and noise driven feedback, but all under a restrained banner; this album won't blow out your speakers but mixes in enough nuance to remain lively in the noise rock genre.   

Working best on vinyl, with a split to two sides, opening bass driven "Supermaster" works its way up with an impending sense of doom and explosion which never arrives; a neat tick and a perfect intro to side one's mixed restraint. The smoldering "Straight" melts away but never catches fire, both "Love High" and "We Don't See" seem to be more fragments then songs, distant quick blasts.

The focus of here is the six minute "Deeper" which opens with headphone cracking bass booms that induce shivers as the combo of evil/sexy vocals/lyrics pry on the brain. Lines like "If you fuck with me/you're gonna burn" and the breathy female backing gasps, along with the title all lead to an erotic industrial offering melts into the tribal drumming of the instrumental "Lower Zone"; as if the sex theme wasn't obvious enough.

Side two plays longer and kicks up the energy with the screechy "We've Come So Far" that uses a repetitive bass line behind chaotic guitars, but that sense of true wildness is reigned in. "Now It's Over" takes an early 80's dance rhythm into noise rock territory while "I'm So Clean" finally turns the feedback into overdriven punk rock.

The come down doesn't last long as "Fill The Void" begins mellow but amps the tempo, tone and pressure with fuzzy guitars and trashcan lid snare slaps. "I Will Die" wraps things up as an experiment in volume with a slowly raising cacophony of sound that overwhelms as the needle reaches the inner label.   

Transfixiation probably won't win over anyone who is not a fan of the group, and the song writing/lyrics here are never going to stand out, but it is the bands most complete album. With not just focusing on noise, but expanding and shifting their sound layer and touch Transfixiation is a positive sign for the group going forward. 
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In our noiserock wheelhouse, APTBS is solid in this genre, while never quite becoming one of our favorites, same could be said about Transfixiation.

Support the artist here, buy the album here, peep some video below:

Tuesday, March 10, 2015

Game of Thrones Music Update: Catch the Throne II

We are fans of pretty much all things Game of Thrones, but for this site the music takes the lead.
We shared some amazing NOLA inspired playing from the books/show, talked about it at the day job and reviewed the first Mixtape: Catch The Throne. With the HBO Series coming back in a month it makes sense for volume 2 of the mixtape to come out and it will next week.

Some previews have come out such as Talib Kwalei's track, "Lord of the Light" which you can peep here with a bad ass intro from none other then Davos Seaworth:


Expanding beyond hip-hop this time around, some metal acts have been asked to contribute and one of our favorite current ones, Mastodon, leaked a short preview of their contribution to the mixtape yesterday:


Once it is out we will get a full review up, and we can not wait for season 5.

Monday, March 9, 2015

Dylan Cover #179 Cassie Morgan and the Lonely Pine "4th Time Around"

In this ongoing Monday Series we will be exploring various artists versions of Bob Dylan song's. Today's tune is a live cover by Cassie Morgan and the Lonely Pine doing "Fourth Time Around"


Thoughts On Dylan Original:
From the first time we tackled a cover of this song:
This is a weird one, as I heard this track after I had already fallen in love with The Beatles"Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown)" and didn't know what Dylan was getting at with this track. After checking out Wikipedia, I guess I am not alone as John Lennon was all over the map with his reactions to it. The music is the same and the lyrics are a mix of lazy and nonsense, reading into anything Dylan says too heavily can cause one to go mad, but why he chose to do this song so close to when the Beatles had their first lyrical success is a mystery. social commentary, goof, stoned malaise? Either way, the song was never one of my favorites and not up to anywhere near the version he was praising or mocking, take your pick.

Cover:

Thoughts on Cover Artist:
I have never heard of Cassie Morgan and the Lonely Pine until today. They are a folk rock duo from St. Louis, MO and have a pleasant sound.

Thoughts on Cover:
I dig on the accordion flare for this one, the light chimes and backing instrumentation a lot. Morgan does a solid job with the vocals but they seem to hover a bit to close to bored for me, yet that song can install that feeling at times. It is a weird one.  

Friday, March 6, 2015

Full Show Friday: Marvin Gaye 1976 Holland

We search the murky back waters of youtube to find full concerts and post them to the site weekly, come back every seven days to help us celebrate Full Show Friday's. These shows are of varying quality and may not be here for long so enjoy them while you can...As always, please support the artist every which way, but especially by seeing them live (if they are still playing)...This week..Marvin Gaye!
The definition of smooth Mr. Marvin Gaye was touring in 1976 behind his I Want You album and was squarely in his sexy zone as he displays his vocal chops and light disco/soul sound in front of the European fans. 

A killer version of "Let's Get It On" is the highlight, but the whole show works well to ease the body mind and soul to get ready for the weekend on this Friday.  

Enjoy:

Thursday, March 5, 2015

Amazing Article, Phantom of The Orchestra, on Japanese Classical Music Insanity

We have mentioned longform.org here before and it is still our go to for informative thought out articles. This one regarding Mamoru Samuragochi and Takashi Niigaki is pretty amazing.
Christopher Beam paints an extremely detailed picture that deals with deception, music, honor, artistry, suffering and perhaps most deeply, Japanese culture.


It was well worth your time and it will be interesting to see how this develops in the near future. In America they would feud for a while, then team up and tour the country for money, before probably breaking up and getting back together once or twice.

Things are obviously different in Japan and having zero knolwedgee of the the culture I am just simply intrigued as to where.this will lead. Until then there is always the music.



Wednesday, March 4, 2015

Album Review: The King Khan & BBQ Show- Bad News Boys

The King Khan & BBQ Show
Bad News Boys
*** out of *****
The Montreal pairing of The King Khan & BBQ Show are back with their first album in five years titled Bad News Boys. Released on the minimalist rock label In The Red the duo instantly return to their lo-fi, silly punk rock that has moments of real majesty.

The on again off again team of The King Khan (Arish Ahmad Khan) and BBQ Show (Mark Sultan) have both branched out to other multiple outfits and offerings but seem to do their best work when together. Bad News Boys showcases the groups strengths and weaknesses properly, but thankfully the good outweighs the bad.

Beginning with "Alone Again" the immediate stew of lo-fi garage punk, doo-wop singing and devil-may-care attitude wafts through the speakers. "Illuminations" is a driving number while "Kiss My Sisters Fist" starts to inject the bands humor behind some mumbled lyrical work.

There is a clear yin and yang present as three soulfully sweat offerings with passionate lead vocals ("Bye Bye Bahi", "Ocean of Love", "Never Felt Like This") are off set by 3 juvenile tracks ("D.F.O", "Snackin' After Midnight", "Zen Machines") to make it so the band never gets to serious, or really so the record never soars to the hieghts it is hinting at.

The main problem is the jokes rub raw and aren't that funny to start with. "D.F.O" stands for Diarrhea Fuck Off and is a blast of Beastie Boy punk placed right next to the sing songy sunshine tune of "We Are The Champions" the transition is too jarring.   

At times you wish the band would clean up their act, both sonically and lyrically, but that may take away the scruffy charm. Tracks like "Killing The Wolfman" winningly bridges the gap between extremes and would be a fun b-movie soundtrack.

As it is though dimwitted do-wop with a side of aggressive ass shaking is what these Bad News Boys are pumping out these days and for some moments that's all you need.
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Support the band here, buy the album here, stream the album here, peep some video below:      

Tuesday, March 3, 2015

Album Review: Screaming Females- Rose Mountain

Hey all got a new review up @glidemag which you can read Right C'here!!!
It is of the Screaming Females newest release, Rose Mountain.

We talked about the amazing giveaway the band had last month, but that is nothing compared to how much we love this new disk. In complete honesty we weren't sure this band had this kind of album in them, they have always had their style so locked that we figured they would just keep going in that direction until they were done.

Rose Mountain is the album you give the casual fan, that is if you can't drag them to a live a show first. There are deeper songs here then just "lets show how tight we are and how wild we can play", the band is clearly evolving and that in itself is exciting.

We have been on this band for a very long time (since literally before this site started) and to see this growth gets us juiced for the present and the future. We just saw them on Saturday at the Knitting Factory but you will have to wait a bit for that review.   

Until then, support the band here, buy the album here and peep some video below:


Monday, March 2, 2015

Dylan Cover #178 Tedeschi Trucks Band "Don't Think Twice, It's Alright"

In this ongoing Monday Series we will be exploring various artists versions of Bob Dylan song's. Today's tune comes from the Tedeschi Trucks Band with Amy Ray and is a live cover of "Don't Think Twice, It's Alright" 

Thought's on Original:
From the first time we reviewed a cover of this tune:
Yet another one of the mega-Dylan tunes that we haven't covered someone else covering on this site (got that covered?).  Hard to believe because this song is so iconic and flat out awesome.  Biting and yet not bitter, a toss off of the grandest proportions, "Don' Think Twice" is epic and yet so straight forwardly simple.  It easily ranks as one of the bard's best works, truly a classic.  
Cover:  

Thoughts on Cover Artist:
Every time we hear The Tedeschi Trucks Band we enjoy it. There is little to disk like about the couple headlining and their back up players are all top notch. That said we have never had the urge to see them on their own yet (although if their 2015 tour came closer we would go) and their albums always seem to go on a bit too long (both in individual songs and total time) for us. We are happy they are making glorious music though and here's hoping the band stays together.    
Thoughts on Cover:
Wow, this tune just keeps delivering with great live covers. This song starts out fine with Susan singing over acoustic wanderings, Amy Ray from The Indigo Girls continues it, but when that lonesome trumpet comes in, boosh! That is the jelly. Granted like a lot of jam bands these peeps over do it a bit because I could do with out the showy flute solo, but damn this was a fun listen for that trumpet break alone. The gorgeous singing from both Ray and Tedeschi is great as well and shouldn't be undersold.