I really like this new Hope Sandoval and the Warm Inventions record, Through the Devil Softly. It has gotten me to pull out some of the old Mazzy Star stuff lately as well. She seems like she has belonged in company with what Neko Case and Cat Power have been doing in recent years.
I’ve also been listening to The Fruit Bats - The Ruminant Band lately. This record gets better the more I listen to it.
One of the records I’ve enjoyed most this year is Deer Tick – Born On Flag Day. I think I recently discovered why I took to this band so quickly. They remind me of the Dashboard Saviors, a band from Athens, GA that put out three records on Twin Tone Records during the 90’s. Both sport a vocalist with steely, gravelly voices. Both put a rock-n-roll jacket on their smart and seedy country songs. I’m extra happy about Deer Tick’s record because I never felt like we got enough music from the Dashboard Saviors, whose music I’ve also been revisiting in the last week or so. As it turns out Deer Tick also have some earlier output that appears worth purchasing. Give the video below a minute or so to get going.
I’ve been enjoying the re-release of Death Cab For Cutie - Something About Airplanes lately. Transatlanticism was the first record I really got into from this band, so this one had already passed me by the first time. This doesn’t sound quite as polished as Transatlanticism, but the songwriting is a little more aggressive sounding, and overall more appealing to me.
Right now I’ve got The Replacements – Pleased To Meet Me on the stereo. It’s been a little while since I’ve played a Replacements CD. It’s always a good experience. I found a great live video of Bastards of Young, which I posted below.
Next will be Other Lives – Self-titled. This record has really had my attention this summer.
My next show on KAXE is Saturday, 6/27/09 – 5 pm to 7 pm.
Earlier this month I went on a little trip to Washington State. We spent one night in Seattle and went north for the rest of the trip. But we took advantage of our evening in Seattle. Reading the local downtown paper I found out the Wooden Birds were playing at a place called Chop Suey. It looked like they went with the theme of the space the club took over. We also saw Other Lives, who were equally impressive in their performance. It was a great night. And my mother and father in law were great sports about my wife and I keeping them out late.
I bought a CD from each band, and they have been getting a lot of play around here. The Wooden Birds – Magnolia is a short but wonderful version of some quiet pop music for adults. Their live show reminded me fondly of seeing The Hang Ups. Other Lives is very lush, somewhere between Fleet Foxes and Radiohead. Very philosophical concepts form the basis for many of the songs. I told them to send their music to KAXE, and they have already done so…that’s good.
My next show on KAXE is Saturday, 6/13/09 – 5 pm to 7 pm.
Last time I was at The Electric Fetus one of the records I bought was Galaxie 500 – Today. I’ve given it about a half-dozen listens since then. Like all of the Galaxie 500 records I’ve heard, it’s great. Their music has aways been especially great to listen to in the summer. This is Dean Wareham’s project before Luna, a band that also holds a special place in my heart. I prefer Galaxie 500 to Luna most days though, I just love the airiness of the sound.
Earlier this afternoon I heard Dan Auerbach – Keep It Hid. That is one of the best records of the year. While there is a departure, Black Keys fans should still dig it. Right now is one that is in the top five from last year, My Morning Jacket – Evil Urges. I have a somewhat interesting story about seeing these guys live a long time ago, but I think I’ll drop that in some other time. Anyway, Evil Urges has less continuity than other MMJ releases. They are tackling a number of different styles on this record, but they have enough success that continuity doesn’t seem that important.
Getting ready for Saturday’s show I’m listening to The Mekons – Original Sin. It’s a disc I recently picked up used. I knew buying The Mekons was best to approach with a trusted recommendation. I had gotten once, but it has gotten a little hazy. I was able to remember that Fear and Whiskey was supposed to great though. So far it is as good as The Mekons Rock-n-Roll, which is the other Mekons record I own, and toward which I have quite fond feelings.
My next show on KAXE is Saturday, 5/16/09 – 5 pm to 7 pm.
Well, right now I’m listening to Great Lakes Swimmers – Lost Channels. This just came out last month, and is the follow up for 2007’s great release Ongiara. I have listened to Lost Channels quite a few times. It has taken a little while to figure out what to say about it. In general I can say that I like the new record from this Toronto band an awful lot. I think it stands up to the quality of Ongiara. It is different though, more different than it seems during the first few listens. Lost Channels feels more band-oriented, yet very even keeled. Perhaps even less percussive sounding that the rather dynamic Ongiara, this feels at times like chamber-pop, and at times airy folk. And there are both here. She Comes To Me In Dreams sounds like a purposefully made single. It is the most rocking I’ve heard from this band, one of the only numbers in which a drummer is obviously apparent. But it is a good enough song that it doesn’t bother if me the song was written with a hit in mind. The record has a few more well done tracks that bound along with a pronounced beat. Others are very slow and intimate, and quite impressive as well. I had pretty high expectations for the Great Lakes Swimmers next record after I fell in love with Ongiara, which ended up being my favorite record from 2007. It took me longer to become engaged with Lost Channels, but I do feel like it is a very good, to excellent record, and a worthy follow-up to Ongiara.
They played last month in the 7th St. Entry in Minneapolis. My wife and I really wanted to attend, but it was on a Wednesday, and other schedule difficulties made it impossible. It was early in their tour, so we’re hoping that they will come back to Minnesota before they are done supporting the new record.
Next will be a record from last year that got dogged right away by Pitchfork. They tried to redeem their mistake later in the year by calling it one of the most underrated records of the year. Anyway, Black Mountian – In The Future, was one of the better records released from last year. Retro? Well, yes but what isn’t these days. As I said in an earlier post, some of the updating of retro sounds happening these days is turning out quite well. Black Mountain’s last two records are an example of this.
I’m spending my time this morning on more preparation for tonight’s show on KAXE. At this moment I’m hearing Bob Mould – Life and Times. There’s quite a bit of the old Husker Du and Sugar sound in here, probably more Sugar than Husker Du. He does some of his usual exploration as well, which is usually up and down. This feels like one of his better solo releases.
I’ve got John Vanderslice – Cellar Door in the CD player right now. This 2003 release is my second favorite record from Vanderslice. Pixel Revolt, from 2005, is his best, and one of the best of that year. But both of these are pretty rewarding. He has a new one called Romanian Names coming out next month on the nineteenth. I have high hopes for it.
I’ve been listening to Mudhoney - Superfuzz Bigmuff plus Early Singles. This is my favorite record from these Seattle rockers. While there isn’t a lot of depth here there is a lot of snarl. And during their best songs Mudhoney rumbles and shrieks with the best of them. Superfuzz Bigmuff plus Early Singles is one you want to have if you like Nirvana – Bleach.
Next will be Minor Threat – Complete Discography
On a beautiful evening, I’m listening to Blackalicious – Nia. I don’t know enough about hip-hop to comment more than just saying that I really love this record. Next will be Kula Shaker – Peasants, Pigs, & Astronauts. This is another band I don’t know that much about. I like this record quite a bit though.
Well, it turns out that Saturday was not only Record Store Day in Minneapolis, but it was a national event. So I suppose this is a good time to write a little about this subject, something which I would have brought up at some point.
I may be old fashioned, but buying music via some of the modern methods is leaving something out of the experience. It is nice to look forward to getting the mail from time to time, like when the new Great Lakes Swimmers CD is expected from Amazon, for instance. But the way I managed to get six cd’s for about forty-six bucks at The Electric Fetus last Friday is my preferred method. Good record stores are like a cross between a museum, and an eclectic and discerning shrine. Great, and often ridiculously obscure music plays over a nice sound system while I wander around seeing what catches my eye and I try to remember what would be on my list, were I to have one. It is inevitable that I end up with three or four more records than I can afford. So with regret I scale down the spending spree to only that which I need. And last Friday I was lucky enough to discover the events of Saturday’s declared holiday.
If this is just another made-up holiday intended to stimulate more capitalist consumption. Well, it sure beats Valentine’s Day. As I mentioned, my wife and I were able to catch a nice performance by The Bad Plus with Wendy Lewis, at the Electric Fetus. Further investigation led me to discover that we should proceed over to The Fifth Element to catch an in-store performance by Eyedea & Abilities. The Fifth Element is record store that focuses mostly on hip-hop, and is run by Rhymesayers Entertainment whose most notable artist is Atmosphere. Well, the place was about ninety-five degrees, but patience paid off, as Eyedea & Abilities put on an energetic show for a packed store. I am posting a few of my photos from both events. In-store performances are often fun to catch, and are usually happening at about the right time to stop in after work on a Friday afternoon.
Later that night, we went to the 7th St. Entry where Little Man, and The Magnolias were both impressive. But that will need to be another post.
My next show on KAXE is Friday, 5/1/09 – 7 pm to 10 pm.
On the way down to the Twin Cities yesterday we got caught behind two state troopers that had decided they were going to ride in the left lane the entire way, which ended up being more than 100 miles of driving. Some people are public safety service officers, others write tickets.
In some driving around Minneapolis this afternoon I listened to The Pharcyde – Labcabincalifornia. I forgot how much that record moves. I don’t think there is one song I could play on the radio. But I love the record.
On the way here I passed over the new 35W bridge for the first time. I felt a little weird, but it looks pretty much like the old bridge, which I passed over hundreds of times. I suppose that should be unnerving, it isn’t though, for some reason. Probably because I know it is a brand new bridge.
Today happens to be “Record Store Day” in Minneapolis. There are specials and activities associated with “Record Store Day.” In a couple of hours I’m going to see an in-store performance by The Bad Plus with Wendy Lewis supporting their great new record For All I Care. It will happen at the Electric Fetus, where I happened to leave some money yesterday. Anyway, adding a performance by The Bad Plus is a nice bonus for this little weekend trip.
Right now in the player I’ve got The Magnolia’s – Off The Hook. The Magnolias is a Minneapolis band that has always centered around John Freeman, with members flowing through over the years. You could call this a dry punk-pop. The Mags were on Twin Tone Records in the late 80’s for a few records including Dime Store Dream. But Freeman and The Magnolias reached a creative pinnacle that any artist might strive for in 1992 with Off The Hook, on Alias Records. Everything came together on this record, especially songwriting and production. Freeman’s gravelly high-pitched voice combines with bright guitars in very well written songs that lean toward a contextual minimalism. Creatively speaking, Off The Hook is a flagship record within its genre the way The Jayhawks – Hollywood Town Hall is for country-rock/Americana. There isn’t a boring moment on the record.
After one more good record, Street Date Tuesday in 1996, Freeman put The Mags to rest in the late 90’s. And he fronted a band called The Pushbacks which was still mostly his songs and band under a different name. Well, he put the Magnolias together again in the last year or so, put out a new record, Better Late Than Never, and recently completed a European tour. I bring all of this up because my wife and I are going to see them in the 7th St. Entry in Minneapolis on Saturday night along with an exciting new Minneapolis band called Little Man. Freeman’s bands have always been great live, especially The Magnolias. He’s a pro, and he always has his band in a tight package. I’m really looking forward to it.
Next will be The Pixies - Doolittle. That one’s not bad either.
