Old Stuff

I finally picked up a copy of Herb Albert's classic album from a thrift store for a buck. This is probably the best album cover ever.



South African garage? Yes, there was quite a bit.

Electronic Submission #3

I probably won't go see these guys. See earlier post.










I wish I hadn't missed the Geographer show though....I learned later that I might have been able to go to the show for free. Damn.

T.G. vs. The Knife

I'm pretty sure The Knife were influenced by Throbbing Gristle. But then, what electronic group wasn't. Directly or otherwise. You be the judge:

Throbbing Gristle - Hot on the Heels of Love (1979)



The Knife - Silent Shout (2005)



I'm sure I'm not the first to make this comparison.

Blip Blip

I really like older sounding lo-fi electronic sounds. I like anything that sounds like it was made from an Atari. I don't even care if the songs all sound the same.

MC5

Just because they rule. If you don't think so, you have no business listening to rock and roll. PERIOD.

Shoegaze

How does todays shoegaze bands compare to the bands of the nineties? I feel it's actually somewhere in between the noise rock movement of NYC and the British shoegaze of said decade. I don't know....you be the judge....


Todays band No Joy:




















Todays Tamaryn, who in my opinion take a note from Mazzy Star as well as the shoegaze movement.



The DustDevils circa NYC in the 90s:



DustDevils - Throw the Bottle Full











Swervedriver from Oxford, UK circa 91.



Thanks to Josh Franta for the music referrals.

Bruise Cruse

Anybody want to fly me to Miami? Only $20? Whoever is going to this is lucky.



Ty Segall is really tearing it up these days...



I mean, Surfer Blood with Thee Oh Sees? My two favorite bands right now playing together??

Surfer Blood - Fast Jabroni - Halfway House Sessions from Halfway House on Vimeo.

Thee Oh Sees

Most everyone who knows me, knows that I love Thee Oh Sees. I just think they are the perfect blend of old psychedelic and garage rock. Their live shows are usually pretty amazing and most importantly, fun as all hell.

And they're from the Lower Haight.

And sure they are gaining popularity, and that usually wards me off, but their last show was so good, I can't help but remain true to them. They are my favorite band right now.







Once you watch this video of them live on KEXP, performing "Tidal Wave", you can listen to the whole show here:




I Was Denied

Best Coast/Wavves

If you want to see them, you should probably hurry. This will most likely sell out. I would be surprised if it didn't.





February 26th at the Regency Ballroom

Fridays are for Dancing

I decided that Fridays are the days for electronic beats and such. After all, the weekend is here. So....this would be the day for haters of electronic and dance beats to completely avoid my blog (assuming that anyone is even reading this anyway).

A remix of an acoustic Matt Gonzalez song? Doesn't seem likely, but it really works for me.



Somebody took Blip, Cut and Glitch 101 at the University of Daft Punk.



People still make mix tapes? Weird. These guys made a mini-mix tape of disco ooze goodness.



Both are on Teenage Gang Records

New Zealand and Kiwis pt. 2

A few more gems from New Zealand:



Before Neutral Milk Hotel's Jeff Magnum was having nervous breakdowns in reaction to "fame", the Tall Dwarves were making ingenious lo-fi pop gems south of the equator. Chris Knox of the Tall Dwarves later invited Magnum to play in NZ with them. It would have been brilliant to see.



Peter and Graeme Jefferies are two brothers from Aukland. They had a band called Nocturnal Projections. They went on to do separate things.



Peter mostly did piano type stuff. I had a chance to see him at the Bottom of the Hill some years ago, and all I can remember from that show was how bombed he was. He almost fell out of his chair a couple of times...it was a BBQ show in the afternoon....oh those Kiwis...

Listen to this song while reading or taking a bath.






Graeme Jefferies went on to do more experimental stuff with "This Kind of Punishment" and later, a more conventional group called "Cakekitchen".

New Zealand and Kiwis

I really like kiwis. They're like strawberries, except they're green, which automatically makes them better. The only problem is that damn outer skin. That sucks.

In the late eighties and early ninties their was an explosion of indie pop in New Zealand. I became kind of obsessed with it, and I will share with you some of the best over then next few days.

I'l start with two of the noisier side of things.





The Bailter Space cuts off at the end, but if you ask nice, maybe I'll get you a copy.

Something to Dance to...

I need to break up all this up with something a little more on the dancier side of things. After all, I like to shake it too. Here's a remix of an old 80's new wave song by the Units. Love these guys. Check out the original if you feel the urge....and yes, the graphic on the YouTube video is terrible.

In My Own Backyard....

I just don't understand. How is this band such an unknown to me? They exist right in my own town, yet I have never heard of them, nor have I seen them play any shows really. Granted, I have been out of it for a while, but still, am I that oblivious? Their songs contain everything I love. Distortion, reverb and more reverb.

COLLIDER

Zoo Kid

I still can't believe this kid is only 16 years old. Kinda makes you take stock of your life a bit, eh? Like shit, this boy is but a child, yet he is already writing masterpieces, while yours truly, has only been in one terrible punk band, and a semi-OK post-punk band that didn't go anywhere...






Also, how come nobody has drawn any comparisons from Zoo Kid to Billy Bragg. I'm not saying their music is quite the same, but similarities can be made for sure...



note: I like Zoo Kid better than Billy Bragg...thought you should know.

Next Up

I've been going to so many shows lately, I'm losing track...

Next up is the Dum Dum Girls at the Bottom of the Hill on Wednesday. My main motivation though, is to catch Dirty Beaches, who are the opening band (see earlier post). The secondary motivation is, of course, the Dum Dum Girls are babes. Yup. It's true. Not that their music isn't good, cause it is, but hey...I'm a guy.

Tonight @ The Independent

Yeah...going to see The Radio Department at the Independent tonight. I've always been kind of hesitant to see them live, because, well, they're kind of snoozy....you know, It's "Dreampop" after all.

note: I did end up enjoying them after all, but they did , at times, bore the hell out of me. Oh well.

The Radio Dept. - Pulling Our Weight (Music Video) from theradiodept.com on Vimeo.

I am looking forward to seeing Young Prisms, though...I'm a sucker for all things shoegaze, after all.

note: they were , in fact, better than Radio Dept. in my humble opinion.

Young Prisms "Sugar" from kay kanine on Vimeo.

Booooozzzze.

Hah Hah. I love that Bandcamp has a "DRUNK" tag. I suppose if the Replacements were around today they would be in this catagory. What about the Pogues though....? Back in the day, me and my friends would always dish out the Pogues when we downed fifths of whiskey. Anyway, my hope is that these guys, Fidlar, play a show here soon, and one of the members passes out within five minutes of the show, putting a end to it real quick...that would be awesome.

Chillwave and other Laptop Doodlers

I love chillwave and laptop music, I do, I do....but let me put this to all bedroom artists, tweekin' on Reason, Cubase or whatever, into the wee hours of the morning: YOUR LIVE PRESENTATION NEEDS WORK!!! It's not that fun to watch you and your best buddy twisting knobs on your MIDI gadgets. In fact, it's incredibly boring. So get a projector. Gets some lights. Dress up. Do some theatrics. I'm paying you to entertain me. OK? OK. Thanks. I still love you.

...and more surf influenced stuff.

I'm not sure what my deal is lately. I don't even surf. I mean I do enjoy the beach, but I've only attempted to surf a couple of times and it was pretty much a disaster. So what's with all the surf music influenced music I've been getting into? Not sure. maybe it has more to do with my love of reverb more than anything.....

ZOO MUSIC

I think I like pretty much everyone on the Zoo Music label. Here are a few of my favorites...

"Sweet 17" and "True Blue" by Dirty Beaches.....you can hear Phil Specter, especially in "True Blue"....

True Blue b/w Sweet 17 by ZOO MUSIC

Woven Bones.




....and Reading Rainbow.

Rival Tribes

File along side Surfer Blood. Well, sort of, but not really, but maybe more shoegazer-ish, yeah..

My New Blog - TV Girl

So I have started a blog for new music that I have discovered on Bandcamp and other various sources. I hope you like it. I'm starting it off with my favorite find of the past few months, TV Girl. I really like a lot of the surf influenced stuff that is coming out these days, and these guys fit right in.