Saturday, October 31, 2020

Celebrating the Halloween Spirit Through Songs

 A few years ago, one of the best blogs out there, WFMU's Rock and Soul Ichiban put together a great collection of Halloween inspired tunes and playlists.


They have crafted one dealing with ghosts which you can directly download. Another that tackles vampires and you can grab that one directly as well. Now there is also Weird-O-Matic streaming and a you can also drink a spooky cup o' Alligator Wine!

All of these are fantastic and as always Ichiban gives us old songs that are brand new to RtBE and all are also flat out awesome!

I mean how could we have missed The Bar-Kay's "Holy Ghost" for all of these years?

Damn that is some funky stuff. WFMU Rock and Soul Ichiban always delivers the goods, but in 2014 they got some help from their friends over at Fringe Factory who offered up a Halloween themed show themselves right here.

Here are a few songs that jumped out to us from these shows/free downloads and of course it wouldn't be Halloween without the "Monster Mash" and Elvira. She closes out our Halloween focus with her Third Man Records release "2 Big Pumpkins" written by the B-52's Fred Schneider:
The Pastel Six: "The Strange Ghost"

The Primates "The Creep"

The Upsetters "The Vampire"

Virgil Holmes "Ghost Train"

Bobby "Boris" Pickett · The Crypt-Kickers "The Monster Mash"


Elvira "2 Big Pumpkins":

Friday, October 30, 2020

Live Streams: Teenage Halloween

With live music on lock down (like everything else currently in New York City) live streams and old concerts have become essential for live music junkies like RtBE. While this current state of pandemic separation is in order we will highlight various shows/streams/virtual events for your viewing and listening pleasure and you can always check out or weekly Full Show Friday series for concerts from the past. Please support the artists any which way you can. 

Today we highlight: Teenage Halloween

Earlier this week RtBE reviewed the newest self titled release from the band and now the group is celebrating the records release with a live stream:


To get in the mood here is a live tune from their newest record titled "Stationary":


Full Show Friday: Fishbone Live 1992

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...Fishbone!
Some months our Full Show Friday's will focus on specific artistsyearsvenues, festivals or some combo of it all
This month we are returning to the year of 1992 for our Full Show Friday Series.

We end our monthly Full Show Friday 1992 showcase with a very underrated live band, Fishbone from 1992. 

Fuck Racism! Vote on Tuesday (or before if possible) if you are in the United States.

Full set list below, Enjoy:


This was a "Pay-Per-View" event or a Cable TV series called "Thursday Night Concerts" -. 

1. Post Cold War Politics 2:20 2. Skankin' to the Beat 3:40 3. Party At Ground Zero 6:30 4. Behaviour Control Technician 11:10 5. Those Days are Gone 14:25 6. Alcoholic 20:20 7. Freddie's Dead 26:26 8. Naz-Tee May'en 30:30 9. Cholly (Gonna Have a Good Time Jam) 35:45 10. Hide Behind my Glasses 49:35 11. Everyday Sunshine 56:02 12. Fight the Youth 1:06:50 13. Sunless Saturday 1:12:30 14. Subliminal Fascism 1:16:20 Encore 15. Bonin' in the Boneyard 1:20:40

Thursday, October 29, 2020

Happy 20th Anniversary to Outkast's Stankonia

Come Halloween one of the biggest hip hop albums ever turns twenty years old as Outkast  fantastic Stankonia was released twenty years ago on that freaky night back in 2000. 

RtBE got an early copy of this record back in the day, right before a long road trip (conveniently with another record we recently highlighted) and instantly fell in love with this classic album. That love has lasted to this day and we ranked it high on our list of best albums of the 2000's for Glide. In revisiting that list, we should have ranked it even higher...

Everyone can have personal favorites, but Stankonia seems to be the pinnacle of Outkast's career. The band brought in outside genres, totally embraced their P-Funk roots and brought their dirty south style to an international level.

Each song still sounds dope and the album is immensely fun to return to. Let's celebrate the record in the best way possible, by listening to the tunes:


Album Review: Frank Zappa - Halloween '81

Frank Zappa
Halloween 81 - Live @ The Palladium 
*** out of *****

(This is a review of the single disk highlights disk, you can buy the full 6 CD box set here)

Frank Zappa on Halloween at the Palladium was iconic, even the Zappa family estate thinks so since this is the 3rd box set released following Halloween '77 and Halloween '73. Sure it is overkill and the lesser of the three box sets, but like The Grateful Dead, Frank was always evolving and has a rabid fan base who will purchase any and everything the artist ever created. 

For this run of shows the band supporting Frank was as whip-crack tight as always with Ray White on guitar, Ed Mann on percussion, Tommy Mars on keys, Steve Vai on guitar,  Scott Thunes on bass, Chad Wackerman on drums and Robert Martin on keyboards. This is the band who would record Ship To Late to Save A Drowning Witch and continue through the early 80's with Zappa before his bigger band outings later in the decade. 

Some of the bright spots from this stand alone highlights disk are the quick, bright and excellently played "Montana" that moves into the chugging "Easy Meat" which incorporates a more 80's synth vibe while remaining musically dexterous.  

"Sinister Footwear II" is more of the same high level musicianship and changes before devolving into the heavy metal stomps of "Stevie's Spanking" which showcased Vai's guitar technique. "Goblin Girl" combines Zappa humor (and love of kazoos) with the musically adventurous "The Black Page #2" ending the constructed set. The encore has the keyboard driven "Strictly Gentile" which is an album highlight before a fun requested "Whipping Post" cover which finds Ray White singing up a storm.   

Less successful are a tame version of "I'm the Slime", a rote"Joe's Garage" and a drawn out silly "The Torture Never Stops" to end the album. Unfortunately this would be Zappa's last stand at his beloved Palladium as the venue would close before he played Halloween again for the final time in 1984, this time at the Felt Forum. 

Every fan has their favorite era of Zappa's and ours is the mid to late 70's, while the 80's were OK for the zany virtuoso, things moved towards amped up cheesy synths/keyboard sounds and a less engaged all around style from the front man. 

This album takes highlights from the huge box set and flows seamlessly as it it was a show in itself and while fans will buy the full six CD sets, newcomers should look to other releases like Live in New York (RtBE's favorite Zappa) or Roxy and Elsewhere if looking for an intro into the strange world of live Zappa. 
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Support the artist, buy the album and peep some video below:


Wednesday, October 28, 2020

Live Streams: Independent Venue Week - Wiki, Mint & Friends

With live music on lock down (like everything else currently in New York City) live streams and old concerts have become essential for live music junkies like RtBE. While this current state of pandemic separation is in order we will highlight various shows/streams/virtual events for your viewing and listening pleasure and you can always check out or weekly Full Show Friday series for concerts from the past. Please support the artists any which way you can. 

Today we highlight: Independent Venue Week - Wiki, Mint & Friends

Some NYC venues are trying to support each other, live music and the economy with Independent Venue Week around NYC. Tonight Wiki along with Mint & Friends will be live streaming from Sultan Room at 7pm. You can gather in person (with safe social distancing) at Trans-Pecos in Queens if you would like to grab some food and watch with people:


The rest of the weeks schedule can be found over at Brooklyn Vegan. To get in the mood for tonight's show here is a tune from Wiki titled "Pretty Bull"


Album Review: Morganthus - Supercult EP

Morganthus
Supercult EP
**and1/2 out of *****



The metal trio Morganthus from Warren, PA recall the glory days of heavy rock and roll with their newest EP titled Supercult. While the excellent cover art may bring to mind Megadeth, the sound on the three song offering is straight from the bubbling cauldron of Black Sabbath

Opening with the title tracks distorted rumbling feedback, the guitars vibrate speakers as the drums and rumbling bass continue to shake the system in a style very reminiscent to the Birmingham metal godfathers. This is all before vocals from Doug "Wes" Miller enter and point directly towards the Ozzy obsession. The band do add a touch extra doom and stoner haze to the sound, muddying things up while also delivering shredding solos on every track here. 

After the excellent title cut, "Wasp-76b" keeps the same style trudging forward as mammoth sized beats sink in and Ozzy like vocals wail before another soaring solo is dispersed from Miller. Cory N. on Bass and John "Dog" Marconi keep the slow low-end churning while Miller leads the charge on the slightly cleaner "A National Acrobat" which also injects a touch of prog rock to close the brief but powerful EP.  

Sure, this sounds almost exactly like Sabbath at times, but is that such a bad thing? As fans ourselves of Black Sabbath, hearing a band super influenced by them doing their own thing scratches a metal itch in retro fashion. RtBE can definitely recommend that any like minded fans of Ozzy, Geezer, Iomi and Ward should check these guys out immediately. 
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A totally random bandcamp find. Support the artists, buy the album, stream it on bandcamp or below and peep some video:



Tuesday, October 27, 2020

20th Anniversary of Medeski Martin & Wood's - The Dropper

Late October of 2000 saw the NYC based jazz collective Medeski Martin and Wood put out their most experiential record yet on Blue Note records titled The Dropper.

Over on Glide Doug Colette went over the history and all of the tracks of the record so go there to read the fine article.

RtBE's personal connection is that we bought the CD release at Tower Records on Broadway and enjoyed it immensely over the fall of 2000. It quickly became our favorite MMW album and remains so all these years later. While not all fans of the band liked it, some thought it was too out there, or too hip-hop, we were right there for both of those styles. 

Adding Marc Ribot brings in the downtown NYC jazz style while producer Scotty Hard adds a gritty 90's hip hop vibe. While albums like Friday Afternoon In The Universe and It's A Jungle In Here were our entry into the band and Combustication was the first album we really loved, The Dropper is the record that we go back to the most from the players; it is their freakiest and best. 

To celebrate the 20th anniversary here are a few tracks from the record:




Album Review: Teenage Halloween - Teenage Halloween

Teenage Halloween
ST
***and1/2 out of of *****

This self titled release on Don Giovanni Records from the Asbury Park, NJ based Teenage Halloween, is a poppy punk blast of angsty emotion as the group deal with mental health issues and queer struggles in the modern word. 

Luke Henderiks leads the charge on vocals and guitar with an expanded cast of characters helping out with Eli Frank - lead guitar / composition / production, Tricia Marshall- bass / vocals / keys, Brandon Hakim - saxophone, Peter Gargano- drums, Jane Lai - piano and Evan Bernard- tambourine / guitar. The group churns out tight propulsive numbers throughout that shine bright against the struggling though emotional hell lyrics. 

Lyrically quitting your job, growing up with horrible family members, struggling with gender issues, dealing with people full of shit and the whole world falling apart, all play a role as Hendericks struggles to match his emotional weight with sunshine pop punk sounds. When he screams the title refrain of "Clarity" there is an emo resonance as he truly is searching for it, with you are rooting for him to find some.    

The suburban angst of "Stationary" kicks things off before the straight ahead motoring "Holes" but both are dipped in pop punk shine as is the pounding "SMH City" which delivers the lyrical plea "Don't give up on us yet!". The heart of a self-destructive queer is on display for the closer "Turn Right, Goes Straight" which opens up the bands style more with bar room piano shuffles and a scorching guitar rave up to end.    

The best efforts are the slightly doo-wop hip swinging of "Drown", "Sweat" with it's gorgeous piano lines along dramatic swells and the slower paced "Racehorse" which proves the outfit can take a breath and still produce soaring sounds around weighty topics. 

A direct comparison would be a much less optimistic Beach Slang as James Alex seems to be trying to save the world with each song while Henderiks and crew are just trying to walk around safely, in a comfortable mind-frame, while making it to tomorrow. 

The track "Figwit" sums it up for Teenage Halloween on the excellently produced self titled full length as they take beautiful background vocals and a huge layer of supporting guitar lines, drum fills and piano runs around the phrase "Try hard, wake up, That's all you can do." 

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Support the artists, buy the album, stream it on bandcamp or below and peep some video:



Monday, October 26, 2020

Dylan Cover #451 Tom Russell - Lily, Rosemary, and the Jack of Hearts

 In this ongoing Monday Series we will be exploring various artists versions of Bob Dylan song's. Today's tune is from Tom Russell covering "Lily, Rosemary & The Jack of Hearts".


Thoughts on Original
From the first time we tackled a cover of this song
A "Mr Toad's Wild Ride" of a tune, that organ twists and whirls itself around with delight.  A fully flushed out script that Dylan decided to put to tunes...in fact I am shocked their hasn't been a movie made based on this song.  Turns out there have been two screenplays written but nothing has come to fruition. 

He only played this song live once according to his official website, but this is news to me as I thought it had never been attempted...now I have to track that down....Well after some more research there is a lot of discrepancy as to whether this was ever played live, I am voting no, but who knows. Any which way it is one of the most unique story songs of his career and really would sound more at place on Desire, but as it stands it breaks up Blood On the Tracks with a transporting feel.   

Cover

Thoughts on Cover Artist
This is RtBE's first time hearing Tom Russell's music.

Thoughts on Cover:
Musically it is a straight ahead acoustic version, but the key to this cover is the multiple vocals as Tom Russell, Eliza Gilkyson, and Joe Ely work their magic on different verses. The cross vocals, especially the male/female dynamic, add a news sense to the original song. An interesting attack on an interesting song. 

Friday, October 23, 2020

Live Streams: Tom Petty 70th Birthday Bash

With live music on lock down (like everything else currently in New York City) live streams and old concerts have become essential for live music junkies like RtBE. While this current state of pandemic separation is in order we will highlight various shows/streams/virtual events for your viewing and listening pleasure and you can always check out or weekly Full Show Friday series for concerts from the past. Please support the artists any which way you can. 


Today we highlight: Tom Petty's 70th Birthday Bash Virtual Festival

This one is going to be great starting around 4pm EST today:
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JUST ANNOUNCED - Join us this Friday for the Tom Petty 70th Birthday Bash Virtual Festival #TomPettyBirthdayBash October 23rd on @amazonmusic @siriusxm - visit the link in our bio Featuring - @mikecampbellofficial @benmonttench @adamsandler @stevienicks @postmalone @lennykravitz @rickrubin @am0slee @beck @brandicarlile @chrisstapleton @davestewarteurythmics @dhaniharrison @grahamcoxon @eddievedder @emilykingmusic @waynecoyne5 @foofighters @garyclarkjr @jakobdylanofficial @jimmyiovinemusic @kiefersutherland @iamladyblackbird @lucinda_williams @lukasnelsonofficial @missmargoprice @martystuart @amosshart @sextonplace @norahjones @oliviaharrison @dbtrockshow @rickrubin @rogermcguinn @sabinasciubbaofficial @spoontheband @janesaddiction @chrisstillsmusic @stevienicks @susannahoffsofficial @wesleyschultz / @thelumineers @tompettybirthdaybash

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Lot's of RtBE favorites lining up for this one including Drive By Truckers, Gary Clark Jr., Spoon, Jane's Addiction and more.

To get in the mood, here is DBT covering Petty's "Rebels":

Full Show Friday: Metallica - Live Shit: Binge & Purge (San Diego 1992)

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!

Some months our Full Show Friday's will focus on specific artistsyearsvenues, festivals or some combo of it all
This month we are returning to the year of 1992 for our Full Show Friday Series.

They were one of the biggest bands in the world in 1992 and they are still one of the biggest in 2020...in fact they have gotten even bigger. 

Metallica has legions of fans and today we dip back into their show from San Diego. Pro Shot, Pro Sound, Full Set List below.  Enjoy:
 Setlist:
1. "Enter Sandman" 00:01 2. "Creeping Death" 05:33 3. "Harvester of Sorrow" 13:34 4. "Welcome Home (Sanitarium)" 20:10 5. "Sad But True" 28:23 6. "Wherever I May Roam" 33:43 7. "My Friend of Mysery Bass Jam"/"Orion Jam" 43:23 8. "Through The Never" 51:31 9. "The Unforgiven" 57:12 10. "Justice Medley" 1:05:18 11. "Bass Solo"/"Drum Solo"/Drum Battle"/"Guitar Solo" 1:13:42 12. "The Four Horsemen" 1:32:49 13. "For Whom The Bell Tos" 1:39:11 14. "Guitar Solo"/"Fade To Black" 1:43:35 15. "Wiplash" 1:52:22 16. "Master of Puppets/Seek & Destroy" 2:00:56 17. "One" 2:20:55 18. "Last Caress"/"Am I Evil?" 2:30:38 19. "Battery" 2:37:05 20. "Stone Cold Crazy" 2:47:13

Thursday, October 22, 2020

New Song from Goodie Mob Featuring Chuck D "Are You Ready"

The Atlanta based Goodie Mob have joined forces with Long Island's own Chuck D for their newest single, "Are You Ready".

RtBE have been long time fans of both Goodie Mob and Public Enemy so we came into this with high expectations and they were fulfilled as Goodie takes on a very PE sounding beat with success. Hopefully there is more to come in the near future. 


Live Streams: Pearl Jam

With live music on lock down (like everything else currently in New York City) live streams and old concerts have become essential for live music junkies like RtBE. While this current state of pandemic separation is in order we will highlight various shows/streams/virtual events for your viewing and listening pleasure and you can always check out or weekly Full Show Friday series for concerts from the past. Please support the artists any which way you can. 

Today we highlight: Pearl Jam

To celebrate the 30th Anniversary of the bands first live performance Pearl Jam will be broadcasting a monster show from a few years back on nugs.net...


To get in the mood for this concert here is a great live PJ tune:

Wednesday, October 21, 2020

Album Review: Haircut - Cake EP

Haircut
Cake EP
*** out of *****

The Richmond Virginia based hardcore punk outfit Haircut return with their third blistering EP in three years as the six song Cake on 11 pm Records smokes through your ear holes in six minutes.

Pounding drums kick off the title tune as buzz saw guitars and exasperated vocals join the fury. "Honey Pot" screeches in an out of numerous tempo shifts in just under a minute run time while the snarling "Prayer for a Little Girl" screams about a cursed soul with pure desperation.

"Take It" is driving straight ahead four on the floor mayhem before the rollicking chaos of "White Worm". Album closer is the elongated effort here...and still only runs 1:25 as the guitar shifts and slams back and forth. While the whole band is locked in over this brief release, the drumming and clear production is what elevates the effort as the group sounds alive, vibrant and clear around that amazing drum work.  

Efficiently powerful, brutality with a keen ear for the melodic shift here and there make Cake a delicious hardcore punk offering from Haircut.   
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Support the band, buy the album, stream it on bandcamp or below and peep some video:



Heaven is Whenever Tenth Anniversary Release

The Hold Steady's fifth studio Heaven is Whenever is turning ten years old this year and the band is celebrating with an enhanced release including B-sides.

Craig Finn, the bands lead singer wrote a bit about the recording of this album in an Instagram post about the release:

View this post on Instagram

Heaven is Whenever 10th Anniversary Deluxe Edition! 2-LP with Embossed Album Cover Original Album + 9 Bonus Tracks New Liner Notes by Patterson Hood Pre-Order begins Monday, October 19 / Available November 27, 2020 Everyone seems to have an opinion about our fifth album, Heaven is Whenever. Ten years later, going over these songs for this reissue, we’ve taken on a great new appreciation for this collection. With some distance, it seems we were trying to get somewhere else, and this was a necessary transition record. The songs are weary, but with a dark humor. It might even be the funniest Hold Steady LP, although it’s sometimes hard to tell because it doesn’t convey the same ecstatic joy as some of the earlier records. For the 10th Anniversary Deluxe Edition, Heaven is Whenever includes nine bonus tracks that tell the story of the time it was made. We were chasing something that was mostly undefined, and we kept making more and more music. We recorded stuff we forgot about like “Wonderful Struggle”, stuff we’ve played live but never released, like “Separate Vacations”, and even an alternate version of “We Can Get Together”. There’s even more to the story - the Super Deluxe version of the album available on streaming platforms will include tracks from the 2009 Avatar Sessions in New York City, versions of Heaven is Whenever songs that Franz was working on with the band prior to his departure. In 2020, we’re very proud of Heaven is Whenever. It’s the sound of a band pushing through difficult times by making music about that very struggle. It acknowledges suffering as part of human life. And with all the extra songs that we recorded beyond the album tracks, it’s a testament to the band’s willingness to show up and try to work through uncertainty. Our amazing friend @dbtph from Drive-By Truckers has a lot more to say about that in the LP liner notes. Happy 10 years to Heaven is Whenever! ***Our Heaven is Whenever store opens Monday, featuring exclusive versions of the album and merch you won't be able to get anywhere else! You'll receive an email with all of the details on Monday.*** Read more at the link in our bio!

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RtBE has always really enjoyed HiW and feel that it was a big record from the band, transitional, but a transition that never really went anywhere with Teeth Dreams...but that is another post. HiW really struck a nerve personally living in NYC and seeing Finn deal with things lyrically around music and relationships. While not the bands best album, (that would be Boys and Girls in America) it still has a lot of great songs in the bands classic style. 

Here is a track from the album, buy the anniversary collection here.