Articles from Berkeley Place-A lil' bit of BK from VA |
10 REASONS I LOVE TOKYO POLICE CLUB
2007-09-23 04:35:04
TPC are in the studio working on the follow up to their awesome debut, “A Lesson In Crime.” I’m nervous . . . How can the follow up possibly be better? Here’s hoping they’re less like The Kaiser Chiefs and more like Bloc Party.
1. Citizens of Tomorrow (Space Ballad version)-Tokyo Police Club
2. The Daytrotter Sessions. (Follow link.)
3. Friends of P (Rentals cover)-Tokyo Police Club
4. Cut Cut Paste (B-Side)-Tokyo Police Club
5. Elephant Shell (Live) -Tokyo Police Club
6. Citizens of Tomorrow-Tokyo Police Club (.mov video)
7. Cheer It On-Tokyo Police Club (.mov video)
8. Nature of the Experiment-Tokyo Police Club (.mov video)
9. Your English is Good (new single)-Tokyo Police Club
10. Shoulders and Arms (Live version)-Tokyo Police Club.
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10 REASONS I LOVE THE VON BONDIES
2007-09-22 12:59:00
Why am I doing this? Maybe it’s because Rescue Me was fucking robbed at the Emmys. One of the best dramas in the history of television, and fucking James Spader gets the best actor statue? He acts opposite William Shatner. Even I could act against Shatner. Dennis Leary has shown incredible range and power this season, as has every other member of the cast. Fucking Emmy selection committee blows.
Or maybe I’m doing this because the VBs haven’t produced anything in a long while, and I saw The Hives have something coming out. Von Bondies blow those dudes away.
Or maybe it’s just because these rare cuts have been sitting on my hard drive for too long. Check ‘em out. And check out the VB’s last album. Good stuff.
1. Cryin’
2. Night Train
3. Vacant As A Ghost
4. Sound of Terror
5. Going Down
6. In the Act
7. Shallow Grave
8. Rock and Roll Nurse
9. No Sugar Mama
10. Save My Life
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EMILY JANE WHITE-“ Dark Undercoat” and DEEP DARK WOODS-”Hang Me Oh Hang Me”
2007-09-21 04:20:11
Today, two artists whose music recalls the rustic songs done by the Grateful Dead, Johnny Cash, The Cowboy Junkies, and even Gram Parsons and Dave Grisman–except the banjo plunk is replaced by dark, somber country.
First, Emily Jane White. Double Negative Records, is releasing her debut album, Dark Undercoat, on November 5. Occupying an odd space between Hope Sandoval, Cat Power, and Goth, Emily Jane White makes musically simple but lyrically complex folk songs that ruminate on myths and mystics. In Sleeping Dead, she sings: “I had a dream last night/there were ravens above my bed/and they took my newlywed’/’Cause we’re all sleeping dead.” It sounds like the kind of traditional that The Grateful Dead used to play, but Ms. White infuses a sinister, breathy sense of menace.
Hailing from San Francisco, Emily is best known so far for “Wild Tigers I Have Known,” the title track from soundtrack of the film by the same name. (Go ahead, figure that sentence out ...
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SPACE ROCK FROM THE MAIL BAG: PINK FLOYD, WOODEN SHIPS, AND SUNSET RUBDOWN
2007-09-20 03:20:51
In the same week, I received the resisue of the Syd Barrett/Floyd classic, “The Piper At The Gates of Dawn (Special Edition),” an EMI Records release that’s worth every penny it will cost you, and Jagjaguwar’s latest Sunset Rubdown album, “Random Spirit Lover.” “Piper” features not only Syd but also Roger Waters and, so it includes the creative core of both of the Band’s essential iterations. (David Gilmour, while a great guitarist, did not in my view shape or form the direction of Pink Floyd.) The release marks the group’s 40th anniversary, and it’s a double disc—one stereo, one mono, with so many great tunes: Arnold Layne; Gnome; Bike; Astronomy Domine; Lucifer Sam . . . And, of course, Interstellar Overdrive. I popped it in for a little taste of retro heaven, and then right after it came the new Sunset Rubdown record.
Sunset Rubdown is not exactly space rock, but it’s as close to prog rock as we get nowadays, and goes along nicely with “Pipe ...
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ATMOSPHERE-Sad Clown Bad Summer EP
2007-09-19 03:54:14
Fans of Minneapolis-based Atmosphere have long enjoyed the underground rap troupe’s Sad Clown Bad series. Each one is unique and fresh, and this summer jam is he best of the lot. With summer stories that rival DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince’s classic anthem, Summertime, I can recommend this to fans of hip hop or laidback hipsway alike. It begins with Sunshine (”sunshine so fine/feel it in my skin/warmin’ up my mind”), a simple and radio-friendly ditty that you can play for your 10-year old. It proceeds to The Number One, which heats up a little bit, telling a story of High School love that is still innocent, especially compared with the nasty grind of mainstream hip hop. The star on this cut is Ant’s fantastic soul samples and well-placed snare riffs. Slug has perfect timing, knowing when to hit the beat and when to back off and the let the rhythm hit you. Things then heat up with RFTC, with a deeper, grimier beat and tales of doing lay-ups ...
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10 REASONS PEARL JAM IS A GREAT COVER BAND
2007-09-18 16:16:01
0. Zip file.
1. Know Your Rights (The Clash)
2. Fortunate Son (creedence Clearwater Revival)-Pearl Jam and Sleater Kinney
3. The Boys Are Back In Town (Thin Lizzy)
4. Rockin’ In The Free World (Neil Young)-Pearl Jam and Bono
5. Picture in a Frame (Tom Waits)
6. All Along the Watchtower (Bob Dylan)
7. Little Wing (Jimi Hendrix)
8. Don’t Be Shy (Cat Stevens)
9. I Got You (Split Enz)
10. My Generation (The Who) (with bluesy intro)
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THE NEW YORK FUND-“Guns” (EP)
2007-09-18 04:21:07
I haven’t been able to discover much about The New York Fund after discovering them on e-music, but I think they were signed to a label but refused to become cookie cutter, so now they’re independent again and looking for a contract. Good for them. The theory of the biz has always been that labels get the best artists because they have the most money to spend. Okay, I buy that argument. But then why do the labels sign the same producers on every single artist they sign, so that everyone becomes the same? That’s why they’re not making money like they used to. They hate to admit it, but it’s true. If you look at sales statistics, you won’t see a correlation between people who download music and those same people’s expenditures on music. Those of us who always bought, still buy. Those who illegally download entire records (which I don’t endorse), are unlikely to have bought those records anyway.
But enough about that. The New York Fund’s EP is incredible, fanta ...
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SPOTLIGHT ON EMILY HAINES (”METRIC”)
2007-09-17 03:56:47
It’s good to be Emily Haines in 2007. It’s good to listen to her any year, whether it’s when she’s playing with Metric or on one of her solo projects, Emily has a crisp voice with precise technique that favors pop over the typically more wanderous vocals of female artists.
Metric released only three albums: Grow Up and Blow Away (2002); Old World Underground, Where Are You Now? (2003); and Live It Out (2005). But Grow Up was out of print for a long time, and hard to find, until this year when it has been re-released. You can find it here.
The re-release alone makes this year a good one for pop music. But this year Emily followed up her fantastic 2006 solo album (Knives Don’t Have Your Back) with an EP of outtakes from that same session, titled, “What Is Free To A Good Home.” Far as I know, you can only get it on iTunes. And it’s worth every penny of the $5.94 it will cost you to get it in the U.S.
Emily has long been one of my favor ...
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THE GREY RACE-“Give it Love”
2007-09-15 04:35:03
“If I could, I would, turn the bad into good.”
“Cracks,” the first great song on The Grey Race’s first full-length, begins with this idealistic sentiment, but quickly recognizes a need for the “gritty edge to keep me interesting”, a need for cracks, a need for shades of gray. What follows are nine more deceiving light rock songs sung in New Zealander Jon Darling’s forlorn falsetto. Cynical lyrics lurk under soft and smooth pop music with perfectionist production values. Every note is precise, every snap of the cymbal or strum of the bass well-placed to drive each song forward. Although the album stumbles occasionally over slow and ponderous numbers, overall this is an album that deserves all the accolades usually reserved for The Shins and Bright Eyes.
(If the band sounds familiar, it’s because they released an advance EP earlier this year, which we reviewed here.)
“On The Chin”
“Cracks”
“Care of Cell #44 (Zombies cover).” ...
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AN INTERVIEW WITH LONGWAVE
2007-09-14 09:04:09
Raise ‘em up if you remember Longwave, the pop architects behind “There’s a Fire,” one of the greatest pop rock albums ever. Anyone? Well, it’s time to get reacquainted with a band who intentionally fell off the radar for a little bit, and are now back on the map and touring with Robbers on High Street.
Plus, Longwave is based in Brooklyn. Regular readers know, we give preference to boys from our hood.
Here’s how our conversation went:
Ekko: First of all, thank you for taking the time to answer our dopey questions. Endsong is a great record, and “Tell Me I’m Wrong” is one of my all-time favorite songs. I haven’t heard anything from you guys since your “There’s a Fire” album. What have you been up to?
Longwave’s Steve Shiltz (Guitarist and vocalist): Thank you for saying those things. When “there’s a fire” came out we did a little touring but not a whole lot. We have just been slowly working on new songs and playing whenever we hav ...
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MARMOSET–Florist Fired
2007-09-14 05:35:22
Marmoset’s “Florist Fired” begins with a somewhat awkward drum lead, accompanied by a guitar that sounds like the tolling of big ben. It then explodes into the title track, featuring anthemic vocal fuzz and lo-fi, high energy rock over the mantra, “Please go way! There’s nothing I can say!” And as soon as that begins, it switches gear into the closer-to-hardcore “Das Boot.” And again, that songs ends quick. It’s followed by another percussion-heavy number, “Eat Me Out.” (I’m sure you can guess what that’s about.) So far, not a single song over 2 minutes, and most are under 1. Perfect for a short-attention-span guy like myself.
“Laughing With Minx,” the next track, is a slower number, but I’m already ready for a rest. It’s longer than the tracks that preceded it, too. Two minutes seven seconds.
What proceeds are a series of songs that more like bits of songs–stuff that c ...
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REASONS NOT TO KILL YOURSELF BEFORE CHRISTMAS
2007-09-13 17:37:46
Consider this an early gimme list for Santa: The ten albums I’m most looking forward during the last quarter of ’07.
1. FOO FIGHTERS-“Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace.” I already got it scheduled for preorder, so technically I don’t need Mr. Kringle’s help here, but I’ve loved every one of this band’s albums and I can’t wait for the next one. The single, Pretender, is smoking. Sept. 25.
Cheer Up Boys (Your Makeup is Running) (Live version)-Foo Fighters
2. BETTYE LAVETTE-“Scene of the Crime.” One of the stalwarts of soul records with one of the greatest country blues bands around today, Drive-By Truckers, and the single is phenomenal. Sept. 25.
You Don’t Know Me At All-Bettye Lavette and the Drive By Truckers.
3. BAND OF HORSES-“Cease to Begin.” Sub Pop’s best band tries to reach the heights it hit with their first record. It’s already leaked, I’ve already heard it, and I’m already convinced this is one of the best releases of the ...
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ILLIMANJARO-‘A Problem.’
2007-09-13 03:58:55
The Beastie Boys. At the Drive In. Fugazi. Red Hot Chili Peppers. Illimanjaro?
It just may be that the annals of great punk/rage/rap has a new member. Illimanjaro bring incredible energy and musicianship to their brand of power trio punk–whether it’s the dub “Twisted Babe” (reminiscent of Sublime’s trippier numbers) or the streetwriter anthem “Feel My Graffit” (recalling Rage Against the Machine in sound, if not in lyrical content) the band is showing chops I rarely see in a self-produced, unknown and unsigned band.
The group is young and clear has a lot of kinks to work out. Most noticeably, singer Noah Penn needs to work on connecting his flow to the beat when he’s
rapping, and on his vocal range on slower songs. (A female singer identified as “The Shells” provides a much-needed respite on track 6.) The band also needs an editor, because none of its songs need to creep over the six-and-a-half-minute mark. But despite these flaws, the Astoria, Queens g ...
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