Berkeley Place-A lil' bit of BK from VA One of the top rated indie music blogs on the internet. Statistics Unique Visitors: Total Unique Visitors: Outgoing: Total Outgoing: 1650 0 94 10795

Articles from Berkeley Place-A lil' bit of BK from VA

THE DEADSTRING BROTHERS-“Silver Mountain”/SOULSAVERS- It’s Not How Far You Fall, It’s The Way You Land 2007-10-15 04:55:17 It’s a banner year for country rock, and here’s two reasons why. SOULSAVERS- It’s Not How Far You Fall, It’s The Way You Land I’ve never heard of them before, but apparently Rich Machin and Ian Glover are a well-known production team from England who call themselves The Soulsavers. Whatever the original reason for the moniker, they earn it with, It’s Not How Far You Fall, It’s The Way You Land. Mark Lanegan (Screaming Trees, Queens Of The Stone Age), who in my view has never quite found the perfect project to highlight his spooky, haggard vocals, signs on as the lead singer for this truly incredible album. It’s so good, I’m making an exception to my no-majors rule (it’s on Columbia Records). Lanegan co-wrote five of the tracks (one is a remake of his “Kingdoms of Rain” tune), and sings on covers like “Through My Sails” by Neil Young and an eight-minute “No Expectations” (Rolling Stones) that is nothing short o ...

DRUNK COUNTRY UPDATE 2007-10-14 19:44:50 Regular readers know what a huge fan I am of Drunk Country.  Sadly, it looks like they’re either breaking up or reshuffling or somesuch–their e-mails are almost as good–and difficult to classify–as their music.  Here’s their latest . . . Some news, then. There is woe in the wind as I annouce that the other half of our sad endeavour, what be Drunk Country, has upped & trundled off to that there fool’s gold what be Londontown with his delicious woman in tow. Possibly even toe. Definitely too. He, & she, what is they, shall be ensconsed in some shared hostelry or other until such a time that they do realise that they don’t have a piggy bank fat enough to support such whimsy. Poncey new A&R employ with a brand spanking recording label company aside, so he has, I give them 8months afore they whisk back smart, all heel-clicked & Aunt Em starved. Therefore, said sad endeavour will carry on operating as a one-man assault, on all t ...

DIVISION DAY-“Beartrap Island” 2007-10-14 11:55:50 It seems like so many years ago when I first heard Division Day’s Beartrap Island. And it was. I interviewed the band and found them all to be a very approachable, down-to-earth group of guys. I’m pretty sure it was my first interview on my original site (which has since been destroyed). Well, they’ve made it big. Snatched up by Eenie Meenie Records, the band has re-released (with some new material) their phenomenal debut album, Beartrap Island. And guess what? It’s still great. Lots of albums don’t age well, but DD’s music is as fresh now as it was in ’04. The dynamic single, “Tigers,” with frenetic drumming (mostly cymbals) and shouted harmonies; the odd, digital squeaking underneath the spoken whisper of “Is It True What They Say?”; the sinister thumping rhythm of “Lifeblood,” underneath surprising tough vocals; the almost mock-optimism of “To The Woods;” . . . And if Tap Tap Click Click doesn’t make you want to run out and buy a ticket to th ...

FROM THE MAILBAG: CITAY, THE NEW WHOLE USUALS, WEST INDIAN GIRL, AND AARON STOUT 2007-10-13 14:42:47 CITAY-”Little Kingdom” Proggish hard rock in the tradition of Pink Floyd and early Black Sabbath by a band with two members who teach at San Francisco’s School of Rock. The classic rock influence is all over this record, but the production by Tim Green (who also produced albums for Sleater-Kinney and The Melvins) has a definite alt-90s feel, which leads to an overall contemporary sound. Citay “Little Kingdom” THE NEW WHOLE USUALS-“No Name Sally.” We don’t traditionally write about singles here, but Me & The Machine Records has offered this exclusive on-line single off the debut album by The New Whole Usuals. Me & The Machine are known for eclectic but always interesting artists, so I was excited enough to throw this up for y’all, despite that I haven’t received the full-length (and therefore haven’t reviewed the band). What do you all think? No Name Sally WEST INDIAN GIRL While I’m at the single-posting thang, I’m gonna throw this on ...

ELEVADO-“The World Is On Fire” 2007-10-12 03:45:39 I hate the term “Art Rock” (a.k.a. “Avant Rock”) because it can describe anyone from Art Brut to, well, Elevado, who have just released their fourth album on the ISP label. The title track, “The World Is On Fire,” sounds like a Radiohead cover of a menacing Tom Waits blues grind: A bluesy beat, creeping bassline, random sounds and handclaps, and a voice that cries above it all. “Ribbons and Bows” harkens back to The Rasberries and T-Rex with its pyschedic sounds and verses. In fact, it almost sounds like they were trying to make a garage band nugget. Because of that, I can’t say I found it to be a very interesting track, especially compared to “Our Turn Came Tonight,” a much more satisfying, albeit equally retro, collage of percussion, fuzz, and steady bass. The difference is probably that the vocal track isn’t as produced here, and that just works better. For fans of: Tom Wait’s “Bone Machine” album; Radiohead; David Bowie; The Walkmen; Television, a ...

BAND OF HORSES- Cease to Begin 2007-10-11 03:12:38 “I could speak . . .” These three words begin “Cease to Begin,” an album that, in Pitchforkese, resounds resplendid with Earth-shattering revelations. Lots of folks will say this is a sell-out record, one that takes everything great from Everything All the Time and tried to repackage and repurpose it, over and over again, in search of commercial success but at the same time never digs deeper into the well. To those naysayers, I say: “Nay.” While it is true their songs have recently appeared in movie trailers and Wal-Mart ads (for shame, BoH!), the band is simply trying to make a living in an industry that no longer rewards breakout successes with large record sales or large record contracts. As fans of the band Jet must surely know, success can be both brief and fleeting, and the price of that can be overexposure. I detest Wal-Mart, and have instructed my children that it is “evil,” but it’s not like the BoH record was recorded and pressed by child laborers . . ...

10 REASONS I LIKE COVERING CARS 2007-10-10 04:13:36 I got the idea for this post from Speed of Dark. A great blog. 1. Just What I Needed-Bush. 2. Just What I Needed-Weeping Tile. 3. It’s All I Can Do-The Bravery 4. Bye Bye Love-Alkaline Trio 5. Just What I Needed-Damone 6. Just What I Needed-Scout Niblett 7.-10. Can be found at Speed of Dark. But I’ll give you a hint: One of them is Smashing Pumpkins. Cool beans. ...

2 FROM THE MAILBAG!: MORNING RECORDINGS and BEN JELEN 2007-10-09 04:04:14 MORNING RECORDINGS-“The Welcome Kinetic” A series of instrumentals interspersed with vocal tracks, Morning Recordings’ “The Welcome Kinetic” is a fascinating journey. Pramod Tummala leads an eclectic ensemble through an even more eclectic collection of dub, electronica, synth-waltz, and mystical swirl music. At times, it feels like a Fellini film. Alternatively, it sounds vaguely like ‘70s porn. In other words, it’s perfect music to listen while you stare at a fishtank and your girlfriend rides you reverse cowboy style. For fans of: Elliott Smith, John Lennon, Flaming Lips. The Welcome Kinetic. BEN JELEN-”ex-sensitive” The second release from Ben Jelen, on the great Linda Perry’s label, Custard (it’s the first 2007 Custard release–they’re getting a very late start). Pretty good stuff. Check out this track: “Mr. Philosopher” (acoustic) ...

WHAT I’VE LEARNED ABOUT T.V.’S NEW SEASON 2007-10-08 12:09:50 It’s been a little over two weeks of the season, and Cavemen isn’t cancelled yet. Amazing! Here’s a few other amazing things: 1. Bionic Woman is just not that good.  It’s not well thought out and it’s not even that cool visually.  There are too many ludicrous plot holes, beginning with her origin: She’s driving with her boyfriend who is also a superspysurgeon and they get totalled by a mack truck–I mean, end over end over end.  She loses an ear, an eye, both legs, and an arm.  Her boyfriend, the driver (in a driver-side collision, no less) just has a few band-aids and a headache.  And within hours, he’s performing major surgery.  And then he dies at the end anyway!  If they were gonna kill the boyfriend, why not have him die in the crash?  Was it worth all that nonsense just to make the stupid allegory about men trying to make their girlfriends better through enhancement?  Seems they could have accomplished that without such a ...

SHARING THE STAGE: MIKE WATT, DAVE GROHL, PAT SMEAR, AND EDDIE VEDDER! 2007-10-08 04:46:36 Today, a show from May 6, 1995, starring a bunch of guys who mostly went on to be in supergroups but, when this recording was made, were just starting to get big. Billed as a Mike Watt show, it also featured Dave Grohl on drums, guitar, and backing vocals; Eddie Vedder on guitar and backing vocals (and lead vocal on “Habit”); Pat Smear on guitar, backing vocals (and lead vocal on ‘Secret Garden’); and William Goldsmith, of Sunny Day Real Estate, (occasionally) The Foo Fighters, and Mike Watt’s band, on drums. Notably, this was the show where Eddie unveiled “Habit.” He hadn’t even played with PJ yet! This is a high quality show. As usual, a few tastes and then a zip. Walking the Cow (Daniel Johnston) Big Train Formal Introduction (fIREHOSE) Against the 70’s Drove up from Pedro Habit (Pearl Jam; Eddie Vedder on vocals) Makin’ the Freeway (fIREHOSE) Chinese Firedrill Piss-Bottle Man Forever - One Reporter’s Opinion E-Ti ...

THE OAKS-“ Our Fathers and the Things They Left Behind” 2007-10-07 06:37:52 If indie rock were around in the 1960s, when Jorma was doing interesting, sweet and subtle acoustic picking for Jefferson Airplane, it might have sounded like The Oaks. They’re not folk and they’re not psychedelia (although both elements are here), and they’re definitely indie rock (complete with obtuse lyrics about relationships), but the overall sound—which combines the usual guitar-drum-bass with marimbas, bells, vibraphone, organs, electronica, trumpets, and even accordion—is rich and soothing, more than the average indie trio or foursome. “Freeing My Heart” is a complex organism that seems to live on its own: a breathing, whispering love song. “Message from the Moon” advises that “one day we will stand before our maker” and “all our days are numbered,” but does so without being foreboding or depressing. In fact, it’s a rather hopeful message, delivered in the way one hopes a parent would teach a child. Our Fathers and the Things They Left Behind is ...

HOW TO SAVE THE MUSIC INDUSTRY 2007-10-05 17:33:57 What’s Wrong? These days, there’s a lot being said about the effects of illegal downloading through filesharing, album-providing .rar blogs, private forums, and even folks like me (mp3 bloggers). Don’t get me wrong: I am against illegal downloading of albums. I believe labels deserve to be paid for the service they are providing and, more importantly, I believe that if what they are providing is not worth my money then it is also not worth stealing. But I feel differently about individual tracks. A single song, ripped at low quality, is a taste, not a meal. Like a sampler spoon at the ice cream parlor. If an mp3 dropped here or there stimulates sales of an album, then the Industry wins and so do the artists. And if the buyer is able to sample first, s/he’s more likely to enjoy what is purchased. Everybody wins! I’ve been research this issue, and I haven’t found a single report showing that artists who are frequently traded on filesharing networks have fewer sal ...

THREE SINGER-SONGWRITERS FROM THE MAILBAG! 2007-10-04 17:31:04 TEJAS SINGH-”A Brief History” Before you dismiss Tejas Singh as just another jam band, keep in mind that although something Phishy is definitely going on here, this singer-songwriter’s band has one of the most extraordinary drummers I’ve heard in years. Frenetic, kinetic, and driving the entire band forward with a propulsive, gyrating rhythms, Sydney Driver is not only a star of this show, but he also knows exactly when to fill and when to lead. The interplay between his drums and James Lewis’ constantly bouncing lead guitar on the title track to this CD (EP?), are truly astounding. As for Mr. Singh himself, yes, his vocals sound a lot like Dave Matthews Band’s and Ben Harper, two bands I am not a big fan of, but he does enough with the music that he breaks away from being yet another soundalike (see John Mayer, Jack Johnson, etc.), and brings subtle vocals to the mix. A Brief History JAMES ERIC-”Tonight the Moon” We’ve written ...

MORE ROBYN HITCHCOCK (KINKS AND) BEATLES (AND MORE) COVERS! 2007-10-04 03:41:13 A.K.A.: TEN REASONS I LOVE ROBYN COVERS 0. ZIP FILE of tracks 1-8, which are the second set of the 7.1.07 show posted earlier this week (wherein Robyn covered the entire Sgt. Pepper’s album) 1. Strawberry Fields Forever (Beatles) 2. Penny Lane (Beatles) 3. Sunny Afternoon (Kinks) 4. Waterloo Sunset (Kinks) 5. Are You Experienced? (Hendrix) 6. Hey Bulldog (Beatles) 7. All You Need is Love (Beatles) 8. Kingdom of Love (Soft Boys) 9. Across the Universe (Beatles) 10. 8 Miles High (Byrds) ...

GEORGE BYRNE-”Foreign Water” 2007-10-03 03:58:49 Raise your hand if you remember my big post on Australia’s indie label, Laughing Outlaw Records. No? Well, I guess that’s understandable. We post a lot of music here, and it was a big post with lots of artists on it. Well, it would be a crime if George Byrne were to get lost in that shuffle. Of all the artists profiled in that post, Byrne has stuck with me the most. He has a smooth voice and music that is deceptively simple, like Ryan Adams (when he was good) and Calexico, and bands like that. “Light Years,” posted below, sends me dreaming every time I hear it. Both of the songs below are somewhat moody, but he’s also got a few faster numbers, like the uptempo “Tongue Tied,” complete with handclaps. Twelve songs about love, loneliness, heartbreak and being human. This album is worth hearing, worth buying, and worth keeping. Light Years Everybody Hides ...