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Since we’re having a bit of a Grunge revival here at 100b, we might as well talk about one of my favorite Grunge albums - Temple Of The Dog.
Temple Of The Dog was, I guess, a Grunge supergroup - but not at the time they recorded their one and only album. Made of members of Soundgarden and the project that would soon become Pearl Jam, Temple Of The Dog formed for this one album as a tribute to Andrew Wood, singer of the Seattle band Mother Love Bond. Wood was Chris Cornell’s roommate and a bandmate of Stone Gossard and Jeff Ament’s and had tragically died in 1990 of a heroin overdose, just before Mother Love Bone’s debut album Apple was released.
Joined by Soundgarden’s drummer Matt Cameron as well as Mike McCready and Eddie Vedder (who had recently joined with Ament and Gossard on new project Mookie Blaylock, later Pearl Jam), Temple Of The Dog got together in late 1990 to record songs that Chris Cornell had written, some in reaction to Wood’s death (”Say Hello 2 Heaven”, “Reach Down”). The album was released in April 1991, but wasn’t exactly a huge success. Until over a year later, that is, after Grunge had broken into the charts and the album was re-released with “Hunger Strike” as its lead single.
“Hunger Strike” did pretty well for the band (who, by then, no longer existed), reaching #4 on Billboard’s Mainstream Rock Tracks chart. This is the song you might remember from way back then, but it really should’ve been a much bigger hit. Temple Of The Dog is a great album, a hidden treasure that deserves more attention than it’s gotten, but “Hunger Strike” is really something special. A stunning song to begin with, the combination of Chris Cornell’s unreachable wail and Eddie Vedder’s so-deep steadiness is almost magical. It’s like they found a way to make pain and calm work together to create something of true beauty.
Temple Of The Dog - Hunger Strike
Temple Of The Dog - All Night Thing
From the simpler hand drawn stickers to the more complicated arty pieces, I love Sticker-Art. I never actively went looking for them, until a few weeks ago when Bean and I were out for some errands. We came across a cool sticker, stuck to a wall in an alley, of the top half of a cute little monster face peaking out. I don’t actually know the little guy is a monster but I like to think he’s peaking out from the dark nether regions of the city. It made my day, and I started paying more attention to these forms of urban adornment. I mentioned to Bean that if I had the time and I wasn’t so lazy, I’d start a sticker-art site called ‘Decal On My Sticker’ after the perplexing Whirlwind Heat song.
A few years ago the Sympathetic Sounds Of Detroit compilation album introduced us to the cacophony of experimental rock band Whirlwind Heat. We’ve seen them play once when they supported The White Stripes back in 2003 and decided our tastes weren’t developed enough (yet?) to truly appreciate their sound. I do, however, enjoy “Decal On My Sticker” a whole lot. I may not always get the band, but, much like the stickers, I do appreciate their quirkiness and creativity. Their third album came out this summer, but what I really want is a copy of the EP they made with Lightspeed Champion last year as Lightspeed Heat - I find this collaboration utterly fascinating.
Whirlwind Heat - Decal On My Sticker
“Damn” was the “Can’t Let You Go” single’s B-side and was the single that prompted me to get Street Dreams, the critically slagged but commerically successful second album put out by Brooklyn-born Fabolous.
“Damn” isn’t much more than your standard hip-hop boastfest and we don’t have to backtrack but five years. That said, I still nod by head every time I hear it. There’s just something about the bass and bells that does it for me.
Fabolous - Damn
I never could really get into The Secret Machines, not being a big prog fan, but I loved “Nowhere Again” so much that I seriously wished I would like the rest of their music more. “Nowhere Again” was my favorite going out song (I have it the single on 7″) - I’d pop it on, turn the volume up, and let that beat get right into my bones.
In fact, I still love it so much, I’m starting to wonder again if I should give them another try. Maybe I’ve just been missing out all this time.
Here’s a live version of my beloved “Nowhere Again” for your listening pleasure.
The Secret Machines - Nowhere Again (live)
Chin Up Chin Up’s debut came out exactly four years ago and I completely forgot I had it! A friend of mine had given it to me, because I mentioned the song - that shares the same name as the album, is so lovely I used to listen to it over and over again. And it still is one of the most amazing songs I’ve ever heard. Apparently, it was quite a hit by indie standards for a while when it first came out. Sadly, this album is also known, because bass player Chris Saathoff passed away in a car accident before its completion. I’ve listened to We Should Have Never Lived Like We Were Skyscrapers a couple of times now and it’s wonderful, but the stand out song is still the title song.
No part of the song seems to be meant as background noise, it’s build like a wall of sound in which every brick, whether it be the back up vocals or the drum machine, is played at maximum volume. Normally, I’m not a fan of breathy, husky male vocals, but in this song it works, especially when the other voices, which sound strangely robotic, chime in. The repetitive melodies, the heavy use of electronics, and the strong beat are echoed in more recent bands like Foals. The lyrics are a mystery. I know it’s in English, but it makes no sense to me. Well, if the chorus really is ‘paralyzed teeth and trial sized feet transfer the call and lie and your back’, I don’t think we’re meant to know what it’s all about. Not without some sort of decoder ring.
Chin Up Chin Up - We Should Have Never Lived Like We Were Skyscrapers
There are some bands whose records I really loved and enjoyed at the time I got it, but the moment it was drowned out by my next exciting purchase they fell off my radar. It has nothing to do with the band, I just moved on from their particular sound and felt no need to revisit it. Ima Robot is one of those bands. Four years ago, the Bean and I went to see the Von Bondies play, supported by Ima Robot. We thought they had an excellent band name, but we didn’t really expect much. The LA band, fronted by Alex Ebert, turned out to be very dynamic, oddly charismatic, and impossible not to love by the end of their gig. A month later on a very bizarre day - involving a strange record store clerk, a medical emergency on a tram, and Franz Ferdinand tickets - I came across their debut, which turned out to be the perfect soundtrack to that disturbing day.
I was surprised their nutty stage presence translated really well on CD. Their glammy, new wave synth pop is doused with a good helping of crazy. In spite of oddball lyrics and their equally strange high-energy, danceable sound, their songs are so damn catchy you’re gonna hear Ebert’s high-pitched, nervy voice for days after you’ve turned it off. Their second album came out two years ago and they have a new one on the way.
Ima Robot - Philosophofee
Ima Robot - Here Come The Bombs
Ima Robot - Let’s Talk Turkey
Today’s Backtrack is a time-warp of sorts. Not wanted them to get buried underneath the next batch of music I get, I took the opportunity to listen to some CDs I got last month. Out popped this white-ass dude Eli ‘Paperboy’ Reed & The True Loves. You would be forgiven for assuming Eli Reed & The True Loves were a re-release from The Sixities (thats with a capital T and S). Really, you would.
You’d be forgiven. But, you’d still be wrong.
Eli Reed is a 24-year-old from Massachusetts, in the United States, and he and the True Loves got soul. Proper soul. This is James Brown-, funky-, feel it in your belly-, reaching deep down into your guts-type soul. If you love the old school (and I mean old old school) sound, you absolutely positively cannot pass this by without a listen.
Eli ‘Paperboy’ Reed & The True Loves - (Doin’ The) Boom Boom
Like what you hear? Follow up with Eli …
I can’t believe how long it’s been since I listened to this album. Although “Four Kicks” (off Aha Shake Heartbreak ) is really my favorite Kings Of Leon song, there’s not much that can compete with Youth & Young Manhood taken as a whole album. A little like Creedence Clearwater Revival but with thick layers of sleaze on top, Youth & Young Manhood tells stories about wayward daughters, whores, transvestites, murder and violence, seedy encounters, and shady preachers.
I remember being totally blown away when I first heard it. I took it and my old-school discman to the Tamboosh the very next day and made her listen to it on my headphones while we waited for our lunch to be served. A few months later, I actually got a pang of sadness when I saw it in on display in a record store - I knew it was insane, but for a split second I was actually disappointed that I couldn’t buy it again and hear it all fresh and new. Listening to it again this week for the first time in, I don’t know, maybe over a year, gave me a little taste of that first-listen thrill all over again.
Kings Of Leon - Red Morning Light
Kings Of Leon - Joe’s Head
No Cities Left is a beautiful album that never really managed to capture my attention. I have no particular reason why Canadian band The Dears doesn’t make the soundtrack of my life, because their songs are such well-written, grand, orchestral productions and I like them individually, but as a full album it just doesn’t do it for me. I guess it’s like meeting a perfectly nice person that you just can’t seem to click with. It’s their second full lenght album and it first came out in 2003, but was rereleased in 2005. They have a new album ready to drop any second now, and if you want to keep track of what they’re up to you’re better off checking out keyboardist Natalia Yanchak’s blog than their official sites.
Here are some of my favorite songs from the album. First up the beautiful, Smiths-inspired “Lost In The Plot”. The next song is a wonderfully playful he said/she said duet, and lastly a floaty summery number that ends with a riot:
The Dears - Lost In The Plot
The Dears - Postcard From Purgatory
The Dears - Warm And Sunny Days
In May 2007, I posted an Aesop Rock Mini-Sampler Backtrack. R.A. The Rugged Man is not Aesop Rock. In fact, The Rugged Man is to Aesop Rock as turds are to brownies. Aesop is a cerebral underground hip-hop lyricist. The Rugged Man is often filthy and rudely vapid, which should come as no surprise given he holds Kook G. Rap as one of his primary influences. He’s the seedier side of underground hip hop and is not for the easily offended or those of delicate constitution.
And The Rugged Man is one of my favorite emcees.
With only two full-length albums made a decade apart (Night Of The Bloody Apes in 1994 - never released - and Die Rugged Man Die in 2004), it says a helluvalot about his skills that R.A. is as well as known as he actually is among the hip hop community.
To introduce R.A. The Rugged Man to the uninitiated, three tracks from between 1999-2006 for your consideration. First, “Stanley Kubrick” (Soundbombing 2 1999). Next, “Lessons” (Die Rugged Man Die 2004), a capsule biography without unnecessary apologies and one of only two singles from his only full release. Finally, a superb example of his explosive skills at internal rhyming in his verse for Jedi Mind Tricks’ “Uncommon Valor: A Vietnam Story” (Servants In Heavan, Kings In Hell, 2006), the story of his father in the first person.
For those possessing the aforementioned delicate constitution, only “Stanley Kubrick” contains anything remotely as crude as The Rugged Man has been known to spit.
R.A. The Rugged Man - Stanley Kubrick
R.A. The Rugged Man - Lessons
Jedi Mind Tricks - Uncommon Valor: A Vietnam Story (ft R.A. The Rugged Man)
In the process of ripping my entire CD collection to my shiny new external hard disk, I’ve come across tons of albums that I’d totally forgotten about. It’s kind of sad how that happens, but also nice to rediscover them later. Kind of like finding money in your pocket. Ikara Colt’s 2002 debut Chat and Business is one of those albums.
Truth be told, I never really got into Ikara Colt with any sort of passion. I picked up the album when I wanted so spend some money and liked it well enough - it sounds pretty good loud when you’re having a bad day - but I never loved it. Drowned In Sound’s Conor Kinesis put it perfectly in his review of Chat and Business: “You may be fond of it, but you can never quite bridge the gap between friend and bedmate.”
Ikara Colt split up after exactly 5 years together, under the theory that it’s “better to go out this way than to turn into some old, tired and jaded outfit”. I respectfully disagree - it would’ve been better to stay together long enough to fully realize the potential that their releases only touched on. “At The Lodge” was the song that initially got me interested in the band and it’s still, 6 years later, an amazing track. Damn, those drums still drill right down into my bones and make my heart pound from the moment they kick in.
Ikara Colt - At The Lodge
I downloaded a song in December last year that I have no recollection of at all. It’s really good and I’d love to know who the artist is, but sadly even when I googled the lyrics I got nuthin’. It got me wondering what other ’songs that time forgot’ were lurking in my folders. Well, there were seven, of which four came from the same unknown artist. I was shocked, these poor bands were playing their hearts out and I didn’t bother to give them their proper names. I figured this could make for an interesting ‘What’s My Line’-type guessing game - I’m nothing if not topical. The problem is that I have no clues or hints other than the actual tunes. I don’t even know if it’s ‘bigger than a breadbox’. Aaaawesome, I just made one elderly person chuckle … if I’m lucky.
OK, let’s play What’s My Band! Here are the four songs (I picked my favorite from the one band with four songs) that keep me up at night. The sad thing is that every single one of these songs are really wonderful! I can see why I wanted them in the first place, so if anybody out there happens to have an idea who they’re from and what they’re called, then for the love of Thor, take me out of my misery.
This is the song that started this whole weird post. It’s amazing and more than deserves a name. It’s a little bit punk, a little bit electronic funk, and a whole lotta mystery. I think the phrase ‘Meter Man’ is repeated a lot, but it could also be Meet Her Man, or Meet A Man.
This Biritsh(?) band and song sound familiar, I have the feeling that if I ever find out who it is by, I’ll be kicking myself. It wavers between stomping and folky & angry and sweet - love it.
Mystery song number three is a fresh take on seventies, feedbacky psychedelia.
This song did get a title, “Silver Streak”, but that didn’t do me any good. It was downloaded three year ago and I still have no idea who the band is. It’s sweeping Americana with canned vocals and a spectacular intrumental Lynyrd Skynyrd-type ending.
If you’re looking for something different, give 17 Hippies Heimlich a listen. The 13-member ensemble from Berlin, Germany bring together some interestingly varied influences (Eastern European and American folk to name two of the more obvious) and it makes for an intriguing session.
Having been around in some form or another for 11 albums in as many years, Heimlich is the sound of a mature band that knows what it wants the world to hear.
17 Hippies - Tick Tack
For funzies, here’s 17 Hippies’ take on the classic (nee Poptastic) “Apache”, which, coincidentially, I wrote about almost exactly one year ago.
17 Hippies - Apache
Earlier this week, I came across Stereogum’s Drive XV, a tribute to R.E.M.’s Automatic For The People. I’m a little bit late to the party, but it’s a wonderful tribute to a classic album. Listening to it reminded me that it’s probably been too long since I last listened to R.E.M., which is a damn shame.
Many moons ago, I wrote about how I’ve listened to Pearl Jam for pretty much my entire life. R.E.M. is the only other band to have such a long-term presence. Like any R.E.M. fan my age, I got into them through the big singles from Out Of Time. I taped that album from a friend, I think, which led me to tape Green and Document from another friend’s older sister.* And here I am, 17 years later, still in love.
Here’s a few songs that might not necessarily be the very very best, but that were and have been important to me ever since they were released. “Nightswimming” has always been, without a doubt, my very favorite or theirs. Until Interpol came along and sang “NYC”, I’d always considered it the most beautiful song ever written. (Now they’re tied.) “Belong” is a little unusual, but those soaring vocal bits give me the shivers every time. And, although “Orange Crush” is probably my favorite off Green now, it didn’t get any better than “Stand” back when R.E.M. first came into my life.
R.E.M. - Nightswimming
R.E.M. - Belong
R.E.M. - Stand
* Yup, killing the music industry even back then. In case any big execs are reading along, let me explain exactly how much money I stole from R.E.M. / the big bosses by taping those those three albums back in the early ’90s. Shortly after, I bought Automatic For The People on cassette (it was yellow, remember? That was cool.) and then Monster on CD. I eventually replaced my tapes with legal, overpriced CDs, plus a few more. aDawgg and I paid not-so-small ticket prices to see them live in 2003 and both bought not-so-cheap t-shirts. The entire staff of 100b saw them again on a lovely summer night in 2005. Because I’m a big dorky fangirl, I bought another t-shirt. I will eventually fill up the missing spots in my CD collection and will always jump at the chance to see them live. So, yeah - that illegal copying sure did some serious damage, huh?
(Doh. Mp3 links now working.)
I was cleaning out one of my old bags for storage and out came Bad. Shamow! I hadn’t listened to the full album in years, so I stopped what I was doing and popped it in my CD player. When Michael sings ‘your butt is mine’, I’m transported back to the first time I saw the “Bad” video and thought he had to be the baddest gangster ever. I was 6 and my only knowledge of gangsters came from cartoon wolves in zoot suits. When it first came out a Rolling Stone review said Bad is a better record than Thriller, I’m not so sure I agree, but it still is very exciting. It debuted at 1 back in 1987 and claimed that spot the next six weeks.
The video for the eponymous single cost more than the “Thriller” video, but where did the money go? Did the dancers’ fees go up that year? Was the cost of studded leather ridiculously high then? Aside from that financial mystery, it is a pretty cool vid. I love that, like in “Beat It”, Michael’s idea of street gangs had more in common with Bernstein and Sondheim’s Sharks and Jets than anything rooted in reality. Here’s the full 16 minute mini movie directed by Martin Scorsese, starring Roberta Flack and Wesley Snipes:
I prefer the Guys ‘n Dolls inspired gangster antics of “Smooth Criminal”, because I have fond memories of me falling on my nose while trying that leany forwardy bit of the video. And I used to love to play the Moonwalker game on my brother’s Sega. It was awesome, I could kill a man with a fedora! I’m actually a bit surprised so many bands have covered this song, because other than ‘you been hit by a smooth criminal’ I still cannot decypher any of the lyrics. What is it about? Who’s Annie? Why does he pronounce the you in ‘Annie are you OK’ like Ricky Ricardo?
The rest of the album is also still thrilling and a stunning walk down Michael’s wacky but wonderful memory lane. Even the lesser known songs, that are generally considered the album’s filler tracks, like “Speed Demon” and the upbeat duet with Stevie Wonder “Just Good Friends”, are great pop songs and balance out the album really well. Whatever Michael’s next otherworldly stunt, there is nothing he can do that could erase the awe-inspiring musical legacy he leaves behind with legendary albums like these under his belt.
Michael Jackson - Bad
Michael Jackson ft. Stevie Wonder - Just Good Friends
I can feel myself entering a hip hop phase again, having drifted away for a few months. In my regular pre-post scramble, the Geto Boys popped into my head. When it comes to the Geto Boys many (if not most) hip hop heads will immediately think of their only truly big time single, “Mind Playing Tricks On Me”, off We Can’t Be Stopped (1991).
This isn’t the best rap track ever. In fact, “Mind Playing Tricks On Me” is very much of its time. But, damn, if it ain’t catchy. Listen to it once and it’ll be looping through your head incessantly, especially if your memory is seeded with it already.
Geto Boys - Mind Playing Tricks On Me
As a special bonus, here is the irrepressible Isaac Hayes’ “Hung Up On My Baby” from the 1974 Tough Guys soundtrack. Listen to it for 10-15 seconds and it’s obvious why I’ve thrown this up as well.
Isaac Hayes - Hung Up On My Baby
I’ll just be honest here. I was supposed to post about Ladyfingers a long time ago. Like maybe almost a year ago, possibly. I kept putting it off because, I guess, I wasn’t sure I could do him any justice. Also, (and some may say this is a little pathetic and that may be true) a part of me loves this music so much that I kind of didn’t want to share it. Not that I don’t love you all, gentle readers, but it was nice to keep it as my own little secret treasure for a while. (And I hope it’s understood that trying to keep music as my secret is probably the highest compliment I can give.)
But that’s all blown to crap, pretty much, because Ladyfingers will be playing at SXSW in exactly one week’s time. In the same line up as one Billy Bragg. Since everyone with any taste is going to be peeing their pants over this within a few weeks (or at least I hope so), the jig is pretty much up.
So let’s see - the best way I can describe Ladyfingers - basically Mr. Adam Weiner (songwriter and singer) with assorted others - is as absolute rockabilly mayhem. Seriously, it just blows you you away, knocks you across the room, makes your hair stand straight up. The first song I heard was “Cure For The Common Cold” (below) and it blasted through my speakers like a tiny tornado. I just sat there, a little stunned and absolutely sure I needed to hear it again, right away. But I ordered the album, My Prom, first.
As wonderful as every aspect of My Prom is, the thing that keeps me listening is Adam Weiner’s incredible, indescribable, vocals. His singing is clearly influenced by countless greats (Elvis and Buddy Holly among them) but is completely his own. He growls, hiccups, squeaks, croons, hollers - and sometimes all within a few seconds of each other - there’s no one else quite like this. You’ll definitely like Ladyfingers if you’re, like me, also a fan of Dan Sartain - but that’s the only artist I can think of who is even vaguely similar.
Clearly, you need to hear this for yourself. And if you’re at SXSW, you lucky bastards, check him out next Friday night (details on Ladyfingers’ Myspace) and then come back and tell me how awesome it was. But, pretty please, try not to rub it in too much.
Ladyfingers - Cure For The Common Cold
Ladyfingers - Ladyfingers
When I was in high school I took this early Fleetwood Mac CD from my uncle without asking, because his CD collection was so ridiculously big yet all he seemed to play were the latest Celine Dion or Mariah Carey or other pop diva. So I figured he wouldn’t miss it and the, ehm, nine other discs I rescued from a dusty death, and he never did. My lack of remorse at the time stems from the fact that I fancied myself the Mozes of Music rather than a sneaky thief. I’ve stopped setting free other people’s music carriers since then, but I’ve failed my teen self because I sort of forgot about this one as well.
Looking Back On Fleetwood Mac is a sixteen song record of the band’s hits from their first successes as a blues band, generally known by Fleetwood Fans as the ‘Peter Green Led Era’. It’s not an ‘official’ compilation, which just means it was dirt cheap, but it does feature most of their big hits like “Black Magic Woman” and “Need Your Love So Bad”. I was only vaguely aware of their pre-Stevie Nicks days, thanks to their songs featuring in commercials and on movie soundtracks. I’ve since learned that they were really big during the British Blues Boom in the sixties and that they’ve had eleven personnel changes in total. And that their steady blues rhythms will lull you into a perfect state of cool contentment like a tall frosted glass of lemon iced tea.
I have to admit that Fleetwood Mac’s bluesy era is not my favorite, though this Cd is all I have to rate it by, so that might not be entirely fair. I was, however, pleasantly surprised by “My Heart Beat Like A Hammer”, which ironically makes it onto most ‘Worst Of Fleetwood Mac’ lists on the web. Like most of their songs at the time, it follows traditional blues patterns, but it has that touch of originality that made me do a double take, and wonder whether this cheapo compilation might have left out more of these little gems.
Fleetwood Mac - My Heart Beat Like A Hammer
Together with Khaela Maricich, Jona Bechtolt made a name for himself in The Blow. That is so before 2007, dude. Now he is YACHT.
I Believe In You. Your Magic Is Real has been sitting in the Backlog Pile for more than a month and I whipped it into the player today. I don’t know if I’d call it Grunge R&B, but I do call it entertaining and worth spreading the word about. Give “Your Magic Is Real” a sip and see if you agree.
YACHT - Your Magic Is Real
Snagged your interest? Go to MySpace or the Team YACHT site for more.
Digable Planets are a band I used to listen to back in the early ’90s - I’m pretty sure aDawgg had their first album on tape* but I liked them enough to get it, as well as their second album, on CD for myself later on. Reachin’ (A New Refutation of Time and Space) was released in 1993 - I remember watching the video for their first single, “Rebirth Of Slick (Cool Like Dat)” on MTV all the time and knowing even then that they were doing something really different. I’ve always gravitated towards the softer, more melodic, side of hip-hop. I suppose you could argue that Digable Planets laid the foundation that later led me to look even further back in time and discover groups like A Tribe Called Quest and De La Soul.
Blending elements of hip-hop, jazz, and a vocal style that was more spoken word poetry than rap, Digable Planets represented an intellectual pop that doesn’t show up very often. Much like their contemporaries Arrested Development, they looked back to traditional African-American sounds - a huge contrast to artists like Onyx, Dr. Dre and Ice Cube (all hugely popular back in 1993). Reachin’ made it to #15 in the Billboard 200 albums chart (#5 in the R&B / Hip-Hop Charts). “Rebirth Of Slick” also got up to #15 in the Billboard Hot 100 (#1 in the Hot Rap Tracks), and won them a Grammy for Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group, but their mainstream success was pretty much limited to that single.
Digable Planets - Rebirth Of Slick (Cool Like Dat)
Digable Planets - Where I’m From
It turns out that there was only a tiny window for their sound and it had already passed by the time the second album, Blowout Comb, was released in 1994. They never had another release in the charts (you’ll notice that Arrested Development’s popularity fizzled out around then as well). They didn’t really change much up for Blowout Comb - it’s basically just a continuation of what they were doing on Reachin’ - though it does sound like they were a little influenced by the beats of more popular hip-hop. But Blowout Comb just doesn’t quite have the charm and innocence that the earlier album had. It’s definitely not a bad album, but it doesn’t keep my interest the way that Reachin’ still does.
Digable Planets - Borough Check
It’s true that Digable Planets’ sound is a little dated now - it takes you right back to the early ’90s when we watched Where I Live on Friday nights - but is still just as unique and enjoyable now as it was then. Good thing, because Digable Planets reformed, released the compilation Beyond the Spectrum: The Creamy Spy Chronicles, and toured in 2005. Rumor has it that they are or will be working on a new album. I seriously doubt there’s room for them in the charts nowadays, if they still sound anything like they used to - I think they’re a little too intellectual for current Top 40, but you never know. I guess we’ll see …
* Remember when we bought albums on cassette? aDawgg had an insane hip-hop collection on tape back then and I would sneak into it and listen to the songs I liked when he was out. For some weird reason I thought he would be mad, so I’d check where each tape was before I played it and then rewind it back to that spot before I put it back. Good times.
stellastarr*’s debut was one of the high points of 2003 to me. It’s filled with uplifting songs that seemed to be inspired by early grunge, Pulp, and John Hughes movies. The perfect experience from start to finish, they could break my heart and lift it up at the same time. So when their follow up Harmonies For The Haunted came out two years ago, you better believe I was there with bells on. When I brought my precious copy home and listenend to it, I remember being a bit disappointed, because they seemed to have lost a bit of the silliness and playfulness. As a result, I only listened to it a couple of times and whenever I felt like listening to the band I invariably reached for their debut. I don’t think that’s entirely fair of me, I was so in love with their first album it was almost impossible to follow it up by my standards.
Now that I’ve required a proper amount of distance from both albums, it turns out the follow up to stellastarr* is a great piece of work. Maybe it’s not as exuberant and enthusiastic, but it’s equally surprising and poppy. It eases you in with “Lost In Time”, a love ballad with a big, big sound. My favorite is definitely “Damn This Foolish Heart”. It plays with your feelings as the mood swings up and down like a bipolar seesaw. They’re now working on their third album which will be “faster, less mid-tempo, more energy, more rock, slightly more aggressive”, according to lead singer, Shawn Christensen. So faster, agressive rock … sounds deeelicious to me!
stellastarr* - Damn This Foolish Heart
All I want for Christmas is christmas sexy bitch play boy fuck.
Seriously, people, this is real. 100b had the pleasure of getting not one but two search hits from - I pray - the same person clacking in this search criteria. So, someone was holiday horny and we had the pleasure of giving them a wee spark of hope for porny pre-Christmas cheer. Being the curious skank I am, of course, I had to see if I could find some christmas sexy bitch playboy fuck for mydamnself. Because I’m not a total pervert, I did this under the guise of seeing how this sordid trail lead to 100b.
I couldn’t find it. Exactly. Some. Not much. I mean, um, yes, I found some Christmassy porn. But not the trail to 100b the gets entangled with it.
(You shouldn’t try this at home unless you’ve obtained the age of legal majority in your locale.)
Well, the Christmas countdown has begun. And to kick it off the fun … I got a cold. What’s wrong with this? I learn of the existence of Christmas porn lurkers (sad) and get a cold (bummer). At least there are a few days to shake it off before the true fun fun fun begins and I get to give the mountain of presents I’ve gotten for people.
To begin spicing up for the holidays, here’s some joy for our Secret Surfer brought to the world care of The Brian Setzer Orchestra:
The Brian Setzer Orchestra - The Dirty Boogie
I’m a bit of a sucker for b-sides. Sometimes there’s a reason songs were left to be b-sides, but sometimes they’re a great opportunity to hear a band you love do something they might never do otherwise. Maybe a nifty cover, occasionally a bit of a different style, perhaps a remix that’s actually worth bothering with (I may love b-sides, but I’m not often a fan of remixes). In any case, it’s always nice to hear more of a band you love, and the idea that there’s songs out there that I don’t have makes me crazy. So I download them with total abandon. I stick them in this b-sides folder I have, until there’s enough to make a CD or playlist - and I almost never listen to them until then.
This morning I meant to listen to Cold War Kids’ Robbers and Cowards but accidentally stuck their “We Used To Vacation” single in my cd player instead. Which reminded me of all these potentially great songs just waiting around for me. So here’s a few I dug up.
I may as well start with Cold War Kids’ version of John Lennon’s classic, “Well Well Well” - one of the b-sides from their “Hang Me Up To Dry” single. We heard them play this live in Amsterdam earlier this year - as with every cover these guys do, this one is fantastic, gut-wrenching, and funky.
Cold War Kids - Well Well Well
The Raconteurs haven’t, as far as I know, blessed us with that many extras yet. But here’s a lo-fi acoustic version of “Steady, As She Goes” (b-side of, unsurprisingly, the “Steady, As She Goes” single). It shows off the beautiful oddness of Jack White’s voice, which I love, and it’s got a bit of a sweetness to it that the original doesn’t.
The Raconteurs - Steady, As She Goes (Acoustic)
And finally, this Arcade Fire track was released with “Keep The Car Running” - it’s pretty much what we expect from them, but you can’t have too much of a good thing, right?
Arcade Fire - Broken Window
The Bean turned me on to the post-punky, garage sounds of Chicago’s The Ponys two years ago and I absolutely loved their second album Celebration Castle from 2005. Though I had their debut release as well I never listened to it, and I can’t for the life of me think of a reason why. Now I feel like I’ve cheated myself for not listening to it sooner, so before my self-resentment reaches unhealthy heights, I think I’m gonna have to pick up their third album Turn The Lights Out which came out earlier this year.
After listening to both albums I love them equally, but for different reasons. Laced With Romance has a rawer, messier feel, but that’s a good thing. It gives their music a sense of immediacy that the more polished Celebration Castle lacks. That’s not meant as criticism, I just found that most great first albums have that magical combination of ambition, enthusiasm, and a hint of desperation which can never exactly be recaptured in following works. Luckily, in the case of The Ponys they seemed to get more comfortable with their sound by their second album, which allowed a deeper exploration of what makes them unique. Laced With Romance opens up with “Let’s Kill Ourselves”, a song so exhillirating that I felt compelled to turn up the volume until there was a faint ringing in my ear by the end of it. You’re gonna want to risk your hearing for these guy, because from the first tunes you’ll find that this album is best enjoyed with the speakers turned to LOUD.
The Ponys - Let’s Kill Ourselves
The Ponys - Fall In
The Ponys - I Love You ‘Cause (You Look Like Me)
The Go! Team unleashed their sophomore release - Proof of Youth - in September and I’ve had it in the CD changer on and off for a few months now. However, I never took the opportunity to shout out about how thoroughly enjoyable the follow up to their 2004 debut (Thunder, Lightning, Strike) is.
Well, damn it, it is enjoyable! If you’re one of the cadre that have their first release, then you’ll definitely need to buy yourself a copy of this new album. If you haven’t yet partaken of their bountiful and deliciously upbeat musical fruits I highly recommend you treat yourself to both. Though there isn’t an incredible amount of difference between both albums you can easily chalk it up in the ‘never too much of a good thing’ category!
For more about the band and upcoming gigs head over to the official site of The Go! Team.
If you are unconvinced by the 100b recommendation, further proof can be obtained at The Go! Team presence on MySpace.
The Go! Team - Titanic Vandalism
The trouble with emusic, as wonderful as it is, is that about half the albums I get from there are done like drive-by-downloads. I do it quickly while I’m passing through the site but then I totally forget they’re there. Every once in a while I have sort through my bulging downloads folder and dig around to find the good stuff. So that’s what I did this week and I’m glad I did.
I seriously don’t even know when Devendra Banhart’s latest album came out and I definitely don’t remember downloading it, so it was a nice surprise to see it waiting there. Where previous Devendra Banhart albums have been more 70s in a Marc-Bolan-meets-tiny-Spanish-pixie sort of way, Smokey Rolls Down Thunder Canyon is a bit more 50s and 60s (there’s still some Marc Bolan there though, it wouldn’t be right if there wasn’t). It’s got some doo-wop, some soul, a little funk - even a touch of reggae - and I find it a little more subtle than his other efforts. Don’t get me wrong, I love those too, but I this is my favorite Devendra release by far. I honestly have no idea what the rest of the music geek world thought of it, I haven’t read a single review of it. So for what it’s worth, I think it’s absolutely stunning - Devendra has always made beautiful and unique music but Smokey Rolls Down Thunder Canyon shows off his amazing talents in a way I don’t feel his other albums have. I’d be surprised if it doesn’t end up on my Best Of 2007 list in a couple months.
Devendra Banhart - So Long Old Bean
Devendra Banhart - Shabop Shalom
Architecture In Helsinki is pretty much the exact opposite of Devendra Banhart. Much more Talking Heads and not so much hippy lovechild. I have to admit, I know absolutely nothing about Architecture In Helsinki other than that I really enjoyed In Case We Die. Sadly, it’s another one I always forget about, so I don’t listen to it that often, but their latest album, Places Like This may make a more long-lasting impression. I wasn’t sure what to expect so I just popped it in my stereo and waited to see what would happen. Oh, boy, it knocked my socks right off my feet. Do you like old-school hip-hop? Or the B-52s? Or, um, Justin Timberlake? The only way I can describe Architecture In Helsinki is as a badass mix of all kinds of funky electronic-ish genres that would be great to dance to but is actually quite odd in the most pleasurable poppy kind of way. So there you go. Check them out if you haven’t already, you’ll love them.
Architecture In Helsinki - Like It Or Not
Architecture In Helsinki - Same Old Innocence
Fellow emusic subscribers who want instant gratification: Download Devendra’s Smokey Rolls Down Thunder Canyon here, and Architecture In Helsinki’s Places Like This here.
I bought The Wrens’ 2003 CD The Meadowlands a few years ago and I gave it one or two spins, but then I forgot all about it as is often the case with Backtrack albums. Now that I’ve given it a couple more listens, I have no idea why I never listened to it again. The Wrens hail from New Jersey and play versatile, layered rock music that seems to explore the edges of pop, but never really becomes easy to sing along with. They do have their bouts of emo - a genre that never caught my fancy - but make it up with songs like the pretty, dreamy “Thirteen Grand”, perfect for a lazy Sunday or “Faster Gun”, which sounds more like happy, American, college rock circa 1998 when it was OK to smile on stage.
My vote for stand out songs go to “Per Second Second” and “This Is Not What You Had Planned”. In the first the instruments take center stage and the vocals merely accompany the dizzying, almost psychedelic scenery. Whereas “This Is Not What You Had Planned” is super short, sparse, most obviously recorded in their living room and the best example of the intimate world they build - flegmy coughs and all.
The Wrens - Faster Gun
The Wrens - Per Second Second
The Wrens - This Is Not What You Had Planned
I can’t even remember buying this 25-track, RZA-produced soundtrack. It must have been an informed impulse purchase. Samurai? Black samurai with an afro? RZA produced the soundtrack? Cool. Sweet. Cha-ching. Going through the collection for Backtrack preparations Afro Samurai jumped up and down until I gave it another listen.
For the uninitiated - like I originally was - Afro Samurai is an anime adaptation of a manga series. The five-parter originally aired earlier this year in the U.S. (on Spike TV) and U.K. (on Adult Swim). Not only is the soundtrack produced by the RZA, Samuel L. Jackson is the voice of Afro Samurai.
Sadly, I haven’t seen it yet myself. The soundtrack was enough to get me started. However, having listened to the album again, I think I may have to get me a little some of that. Even more fun - if true and if it ever comes to fruition - there may be an actual Afro Samurai movie starring Jackson. Ladies and gentlemen, the hardest working man in showbiz!
You can get yourself a copy of the DVD at Amazon (U.S.). Denizens of the U.K. need to wait until next month (according to the page at Play.com). I’ve just pre-ordered mine.
While you wait, find the way of the warrior with these tracks from the soundtrack and peruse the Afro Samurai website for goodies:
The RZA - Certified Samurai (ft Talib Kweli, Lil Free, Suga Bang)
The RZA - Just A Lil Dude “Who Dat Ovah There” (ft Q-Tip, Free Murd)
The RZA - Fury In My Eyes / Revenge (ft Thea)
For this week’s Backtrack Day, I thought I’d do a little backtracking into 100b itself and check up on some bands that we’ve written about (mainly in New Band Day posts) in the past. Some of them have gone on to make fantastic albums (1990s, Guillemots, Jamie T, Hot Club De Paris, Jeremy Warmsley) and some went straight onto my favorites-of-all-time list (Pop Levi, The Bicycles, Cold War Kids, The Long Blondes). But what about those bands that we haven’t heard much about since we first wrote about? I did a little searchin’ and found out …
Give Half To The Monkey is one of my very favorite New Band Day finds but, sadly, there doesn’t seem to be much to find out about their current activities. There’s not too much updating going on over at MonkeySpace, and Google coughs up nothing about these guys. I can’t even find an mp3 to offer you all, but if you head over to Bebo, they’ve got loads of songs streaming. I sure hope Give Half To The Monkey is still around and doing what they do, because they are seriously great.
Unfortunately, there’s no big news for Kitty, Daisy and Lewis either. They appear to be playing live regularly, but there’s no future releases or recording news listed anywhere. I guess we shouldn’t be too hard on them, they are still in school after all. Have a listen to this, one of their few released songs, and hope for something new soon.
Kitty, Daisy and Lewis - Mean Son Of A Gun
Vampire Weekend, on the other hand, are cruising right along. Their debut EP was released over the summer and it didn’t take long for them to get all signed up with XL Recordings. Their first single with XL, “Mansard Roof” will be out on October 22nd and their debut album is scheduled for January 2008.
Vampire Weekend - Oxford Comma
Shout Magic, another favorite of mine, apparently had some line-up changes recently. But they’ve still managed to record another EP, which will be available soon. I assume it will be up for download from their website like the first one (which is still there, by the way, so grab it before they come to their senses) - I’ll be keeping a lookout for it.
Shout Magic - Branch Davidians
The Deadly Syndrome is actually a band Tamboosh found, back in 100b’s earliest days, and I ended up loving them as well. Their debut album, The Ortolan will be out on September 11th on Dim Mak. I’m pretty excited about that - I think I’ll make a Mustachio to keep me busy while I wait.
The Deadly Syndrome - Emily Paints
It looks like there’s some exciting stuff on the way, no?
You know how sometimes you get so download-happy, once you’re done the whole experience is a blur? That’s what happened the day I downloaded The GO’s 2003 release Supercuts. You can download it for free from their site. Yes, the whole album for naught! I don’t mean to sound even more grubby than I usually do, but I actually yelped when I saw that. Of course when I was done, I forgot all about it. So the other day I was cleaning out my mp3 collection, because I really don’t need three versions of The Wiggles “Hot Potato” (Yes I am 26, but occasionally I enjoy novelty rock ‘n roll aimed at toddlers. What?!?) and there was The GO gathering dust in the dark crevices of my music folder.
I’ve since listened to it a couple of times and I love it! It made me all excited about their new CD Howl On The Haunted Beat You Ride that just came out. I haven’t heard any of their other recordings yet, but Supercuts is a little bit o’ Stones, Faces, Love and you can actually hear the rock history of their hometown Detroit in there too. There are also hints of New York Dolls, Kinks, well, basically all your garage greats are present, but is it just me or do The Monkees rear their head every once in a while? Now that’s my kinda band. Ok, so now that we’re done with the compulsory comparing game, you should really check em out yourself. They may sound familiar, but they give contemporary rock that raw kick in the butt it occasionally needs. Oh, and Jack White used to play with them, but that sounds like the kind of, undoubtedly worn-out, tidbit that might drown out The GO’s own impact, so forget I said that …
Here are my favorite songs, you can download the rest of Supercuts from their official site:
The GO - Games
The GO - Linda We’re In trouble
The GO - Love, And If We Try
C.L. Smooth is a legend based on his collaboration with Pete Rock at the beginning of the 1990s (think “They Reminisce Over You (T.R.O.Y.)”). However, following the break up of the duo in 1995, Smooth sunk away into the musical background, releasing isolated tracks here and there and rarely even appearing as a guest on anything. In October 2006, he returned with the release of his first solo album, American Me.
The initial single was the title track, “American Me”, with “Smoke In The Air” as the b-side. Available for your review is the digital version of the “American Me”/”Smoke In The Air” vinyl 12 inch, which I downloaded more than a year ago but never really had a chance to properly listen to until recently. For those of you that remember enjoying Pete Rock & C.L. Smooth, you shouldn’t be disappointed by the mature flow of one many wrote off after a decade in the musical shadows. For those of you new to C.L. Smooth, welcome. This is definitely not a man ready to be kicked to the curb, as the politically-colored “American Me” and the heavier “Smoke In The Air” aptly demonstrate.
Check it.
C.L. Smooth - American Me (American Me 12″)
C.L. Smooth - Smoke In The Air (American Me 12″)
Visit the official C.L. Smooth site to hear more.
Like most 8 year old girls in the eighties, I didn’t just want to be a Bangle, oh no, I wanted to be Susanna Hoffs! I wanted to wake up one magical manic monday, walk like an Egyptian, while writhing in the sand holding my eternal flame with my beautiful, teased, curly, eighties hair. About two years ago when HMV had one of their mega sales and Bean asked me if there was anything she could add to her order for me, I had her pick up the Best Of The Bangles. I was so excited, but once I had it I never really listened to it.
I came across it again the other day and they are still as wonderfully poppy as ever, though I think this is not exactly an official greatest hits album. The booklet doesn’t give any information about the songs and it doesn’t have every hit of theirs, so no “Walking Down Your Street” or “Hazy Shade Of Winter”. The latter is probably excluded because it’s a Simon and Garfunkel original and that might have cost a pretty penny to put on there. It may not be perfect but it was cheap and it has all my favorite songs!
Here’s my top 5 of the Best Of The Bangles :
5. The Bangles - Eternal Flame
A bit played out, thanks to Atomic Kitten’s horrific rendition and Classic FM radio, but when it first came out I was memerized. This was the song that started the Susanna Hoffs fascination.
4. The Bangles - In Your Room
This was not a big hit, but it’s so catchy and perfectly eighties that I can practically smell the hairspray. Don’t ask me why, but I think Ryan Adams could do a killer version of this song.
3. The Bangles - Manic Monday
The astute Allen Lulu pointed out that Prince did not write Manic Monday especially for The Bangles. Siiiigh fine, I finally did my homework and learned that he had actually written it for a girl group he helped create, Apollonia 6. He lost interest in that group and presented the song to The Bangles because he was rumored to have had a big, fat, glamorous, eighties, pop crush on Susanna Hoffs. Psh, he recycles songs to pick up chicks. Isn’t that just typical.
2. The Bangles - James
This is definitely their most underrated song! I love the combination of fifties girl group vocals with their familiar eighties sound.
1. The Bangles - Walk Like An Egyptian
I can’t imagine any other song taking the lead, because I still get a flutter when I hear the opening rattle. They made walking like an Egyptian cool. Ok maybe not cool, but the move finally became a dance. Favorite line: When the buzzer rings (oh whey oh) they’re walking like an Egyp-sheean.
BS 2000’s Simply Mortified is an album that I bought on a lunch break about six years ago but over the years, had completely forgotten about. While I was packing up all my CDs for the move recently, I noticed loads of albums that I wanted to listen to again, but none more than 2001’s Simply Mortified.
BS 2000 is (or maybe was?) a side project of the Beastie Boys’ Adam Horovitz and West Coast-based Avery Smith, the Beasties’ tour drummer. According to their VH1 artist page, BS 2000 was “originally conceived as an east-meets-west long distance beat-trading coalition”. Their first album (1997’s BS 2000) was released in 1997 on vinyl only, through Grand Royal. I didn’t even know that album existed until this week, but apparently it was an instant hit with DJs. A few years later, I saw a video on MTV for some crazy song called “Buddy” and loved it immediately. It was goofy and charming and incredibly catchy. I didn’t realize it had anything to do with the Beastie Boys until later, when I looked them up and found the album on that lunch break.
Martin Strong’s Great Rock Discography is a great book (there I go, using those crazy books again) and a fantastic resource, but I’m not sure I agree with what Mr. Strong has to say about my beloved Simply Mortified:
Much the same fare [as the 1997 release], but with distorted vocals, fantastic scratching and less songs, at least the passion was all there if Horovitz’s and Smith’s brains were somewhere else. Many would’ve liked to dismiss BS 2000 as a sad joke or just another example of the Beastie’s ever increasing oddness – and perhaps it was, but that still didn’t diminish the fact that it was as zany, as lo-fi and as nuts as anything to grace the underground indie scene that year.”
One my biggest music-related pet peeves - I reckon you should be able to tell when a review is positive or negative, don’t you?
Some of that is true though – the songs on Simply Mortified are crazy, and some may not even completely qualify as songs exactly, but that’s what makes me love it. I’ve said it at least ten thousand times, but I always appreciate music that can’t be pinned down, genre-wise. Sometimes BS 2000 are silly rap, like the Beastie Boys making children’s music. And then sometimes they’re punk. But other times they’re roller rink instrumentals with sweet beats. I’m sure I don’t know what genre I’d classify them in – is ‘fun’ a genre?
BS 2000 - Buddy
BS 2000 – No Matter What Shape Your Stomach Is In
BS 2000 – The Scrappy
A few years ago I first heard dios (malos)‘ “Starting Five” and I loved it. So when their eponymous, sophomore album came out in 2005 I picked it up along with a few other CDs. I listened to it twice and then sadly it got buried under a big, fat pile of new music. The only song that lingered in my brain was the single “I Want It ALL” because it’s so darn catchy. Everytime I flipped by the CD I thought ‘I should listen to it again … but not right now’, so thank the Flying Spaghetti Monster for Backtrack! Now that I’ve listened to it again, I feel really bad that I ignored it so long, because they’re lovely. They make layered indie pop that bounces between Blur and The Beatles, with a summery sweetness that makes you want to jump in a fountain and go La Dolce Vita crazy.
The song that made me want to buy the CD:
dios (malos) - Starting Five
A B-side I had hidden in a folder:
dios (malos) - Dumb After All
The first song that caught my ear:
dios (malos) - I Want It ALL
My favorite song off dios (malos):
dios (malos) - Grrrl…
They just finished recording their new record and this time I definitely won’t wait two years to give it the time of day. Listen to more songs on dios (malospace).
Here’s how I imagine it going down at Elektra Records.
Peon: And next on the agenda, um, the new KMD album.
Executive: Is it good?
Peon: It sure is.
Executive: What’s it called?
Peon: Black Bastards.
Executive: What? That could be a problem. Let me see the cover.
(Peon hands album mockup to Executive)
Executive: Jesus H. Christ on fire! Fuck that bullshit! We’ll be massacred! Pull it!
In my head I see the reaction being similar to the apoplectic fit Flick’s mother goes into in A Christmas Story. You know, when Ralphie’s mother tells her Ralphie learned the eff-bomb from Flick. Unfortunately, the Elektra decision was probably much more cold, calculated, and corporate than that.
So an excellent album by Zev Love X, DJ Subroc, and Onyx the Birthstone Kid was sent into virtual exile when Elektra decided the cover art of the follow up to Mr. Hood (1991) was just too much for this fragile world to handle. What Elektra missed out on - and Subverse picked up and released in 2001 - only began to emerge from obscurity as fans of the reborn Zev persona - MF DOOM - started diggin and dustin off in an effort to learn more about the enigmatic man in the iron mask.
If you’re accustomed to the current MF DOOM style, it may be strange (for non-3rd Bass fans) to hear his early flow. But, it’s good stuff and you really should pick up the album if you call yourself a hip hop aficionado
Dig in …
KMD - Black Bastards
KMD - What A Nigga Know
Let me say right off the bat: If you’ve stopped by just to get all of Aesop Rock’s biggest numbers for free, then you’ve come to the wrong place. My role isn’t simply to dump free music into the Intertubes, clogging them up and shit. My role is to nudge and prod visitors in directions they might enjoy - especially if they’re not already enjoying them.
So, with that out of the way, I thought I’d backtrack to Aesop Rock, one of my favorite underground hip hop artists … who’s been buried under the piles of music I’m always wading through. The nudging and prodding part is achieved by sharing some tracks that give you a taste of what makes Aesop Rock and the Definitive Jux label so unique. (Def Jux is home to some of underground hip hop’s best known names, including C Rayz, Cage, Cannibal Ox, Mr. Lif, RJD2, and The Perceptionists, among others.)
Our man in question has been recording strange, obtuse, and interesting tracks since 1997 (check out Music For Earthworms), but really established himself as an underground name with Float (2000) and the classic Labor Days (2001). Aesop’s next full release, Bazooka Tooth (2003), received less acclaim, but, personally, I enjoy it just as much for different reasons. Between and around those releases are a number of quality EPs and albums I highly recommend picking up.
This write up doesn’t really do the man justice, as I need to rush off to work. But, you don’t really want to hear me describe him anyway. Do you? You want to describe him yourself. The following three samples should give you reason to dig up and buy more with your hard-earned cash.
And, of course, you can hear even more by finding Aesop Rock on MySpace.
From the 2005 Definitive Jux Presents Bucket Of B-Sides Vol 1:
Aesop Rock - Kill Em All (RJD2 Remix)
From the 2005 EP Fast Cars, Danger, Fire & Knives:
Aesop Rock - Rickety Rackety (ft CamuTao, El-P)
From the 2005 Cage album, Hell’s Winter:
Cage - Left It To Us (ft Aesop Rock)
We at 100b buy a lot of music. Sometimes it gets all backed up and great albums get lost in the black hole of our collections. And sometimes there’s something wonderful from way back in the day that we haven’t listened to in years. So we decided to set up a day to explore those lost albums. In honor of the first Backtrack post I set out to pick one album every day from my still-not-listened-to pile. Which is quite large, by the way, and ever-growing. This worked out rather well as a diversion from spending a depressing amount of time packing boxes this week (and not getting all that much done).
So to start the week off right, I went for The Gaskets’ Loose Change, an album I’ve tried to listen to several times but have only managed to get through the first few tracks. (Which is absolutely not a reflection of the quality of the album, only crappy timing on my part.) If you’re not aware of The Gaskets, they are described on their official site as “a duo … who make electronic music with a rock attitude. While many ‘hip’ two-pieces are influenced by punk and cleverly combine its aesthetic with dance music, Gaskets listen exclusively to Michael Jackson.” So there. I think “Left Hand”, the track that got me interested in the first place, is still my favorite, but the whole album is pretty great. Check out “Deportees” (below), “The Easy Life”, and “A Movie About You” if you need some convincing.
The Gaskets - Deportees
The Russian Futurists’ Our Thickness was up on Tuesday. This album was by far the highlight of the whole exercise. I first heard “Paul Simon” on a mix the Tamboosh made me a very, very long time ago, which may be one of the most perfect, fun, danceable songs ever. I loved Our Thickness so much, I don’t even know how to explain it to you. It’s got this incredible mix of sounds and beats that makes everything feel like a sunny day. Just listen to this, one of my favorites, and see for yourself. (And if you’re new to The Russian Futurists, be sure to get yourself Me Myself & Rye: An Introduction To The Russian Futurists.)
The Russian Futurists - Three Seven Notes
Those bleedin’ boxes had gotten to me by Wednesday. I had to resort to The Sweet to sort me out.
On Thursday, I finally cracked open my copy of Johnny Cash, At San Quentin. Yes, it’s shocking that I’ve had this for ages and still haven’t listened to it, I know. But I actually found it a little underwhelming. Don’t get me wrong, of course I enjoyed it, it’s Johnny Cash - I’m not a communist or anything. But At Folsom Prison is one of my all-time favorite albums and I feel like At San Quentin lacks a lot of the belly fire that makes At Folsom Prison so exciting to listen to. But like I said, it’s still The Man In Black, so it’s all relative.
Johnny Cash - San Quentin (live at San Quentin)
Today I found a CD I’d been looking for all week, Dan Sartain Vs. The Serpientes. I’m a huge fan of Dan Sartain, and I picked Join Dan Sartain as one of my top albums of 2006, but I forgot I had his previous album sitting right here. This man is a rockabilly whirlwind, his maniacal energy is totally contagious - excellent music to pack boxes to.
Dan Sartain - Tryin’ To Say
Just think - all that great music just wasting away on a shelf. What’s in your pile?
